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T-Minus 0
Oliver kicked the wall grate. It gave way to his boot. With another kick, he cleared the way to a “secret passage”. He crouched down and pointed his flashlight down the long crawl space, illuminating a dust filled tunnel. This was the only way to storage room 2B that wasn’t behind several tons of rubble or exposed to the vacuum of space. It was just his luck that he was assigned to retrieve semiconductors. He stood back up and shook his head. The Russian standing next to him took his turn to peer into the glorified ventilation shaft.
“Having second thoughts?”
Soup placed a hand against the wall above the grate as he squinted into the darkness of the tunnel.
“Toast can’t be left alone for long, so let’s hurry.”
“Isn’t Bacon there with him?”
“She’s not enough to stop him.”
“Do you stop him?”
The scientist grinned, not obliging him with an answer they both already knew as he gestured at the tube’s entrance with his hand.
“So, you want to go first or me, Hensley?”
“I have the light.”
Oliver double checked his toolbelt to ensure everything was secure and laid prone on his stomach. He clipped the flashlight to his shoulder pad as the last measure. With a grunt, he began crawling into the emergency access tube.
What did he do to deserve this? The walls felt tighter than they seemed, but not enough to where he couldn’t clamber forward. He could feel the dust covering his hair as he ducked under the grate. Oliver gritted his teeth as he crawled along, shuffling awkwardly as he kept his head down. Every once in a while, he reached his arm out to make sure they weren’t approaching a corner. Behind him, he could hear Soup grumbling about the tight space as the researcher followed him in.
“You techies have it tough, huh,” Soup muttered after clanging his head against the ceiling for the fourth time.
“We’re just janitors with degrees,” Oliver sighed back.
“Then I’m a watchdog with a degree?” Soup inquired.
“Something like that,” he chuckled.
His hand hit a cold wall.
“Right turn coming up.”
He twisted his body towards the right, gritting his teeth as his toolbelt scraped his sides. After this turn, they’d almost be there. As for how they’d get back with the items, well, he would figure that out when they got out of this cramped space.
Streaks of light shone through where their exit was. It took a few tries to punch the grate out, and a few more squirming movements to worm their way out of the shaft. Oliver patted the dust off as he scoured the room.
“That was a venture,” Soup remarked, rubbing his head where he had hit it seven times. “There wasn’t an easier way?”
“Well, you can try opening the door,” Oliver said, pointing at the blocked entryway.
The rubble could clearly be seen through the small window attached. Even if they wanted to, the door opened outward, and there was no way the two of them were going to be able to muscle that. The Russian sighed and approached the various shelves of extra equipment instead.
“Semiconductors, right?”
“Yeah. Chief said we need to retrieve a boxful. We should be able to hold out until we finally clear all the rubble.”
“Why didn’t you just clear the rubble first?”
“Low priority.”
The two shuffled through the fallen shelves and disorganized storage units. The shaking had dropped everything to the ground and the further vibrations had scattered everything. Oliver righted yet another box, glancing at the label. Not this one either. With a huff, he set it back in its proper place. He did the same for its neighbor, eventually cleaning up the entire walkway. With his luck today, they’d end up clearing everything before they’d actually find what they were here for.
Oliver crossed over to another shelf, continuing his search. On the other side of the room, Soup was doing the same, although he took more time figuring out where the box was supposed to go.
“Have you found it yet?” Soup called.
“No. Oh, wait. Got it.”
The engineer opened the box just to make sure. There they were. An entire case of semiconductors, styrofoam peanuts and all. Soup came over, peering over his shoulder.
“How’re we going to bring that back?”
Oliver shrugged, pushing the box toward the grate. It was small enough to fit with some room to spare. He set the box inside before following it feet first.
“Come on.”
“How’re you going to get around the turn?”
“I’ll manage.”
Just as he ducked his head under as well, an unfortunately familiar rumble shook the floor beneath them. Oliver slammed into the wall of the tube, his head ringing. Outside, he could hear Soup’s cry of alarm as he fell somewhere among the boxes and shelves. Before he could crawl out and help, several of the boxes slid towards him and boxed him in.
“Again?” he cursed as he cradled his head from any further damage.
Anne, the techs’ pet name for the system announcements, voiced a warning a bit too late.
“Warning. Depressurization alert. Ring Section Two.”
Oliver rolled in place, laying on his stomach rather than his back. He pushed against the boxes that were now blocking the exit, bracing his feet against the sides of the duct.
“Caution. Emergency lockdown in effect. Stand clear of bulkhead.”
A quieter rumbling vibrated the walls as the bulkheads of the neighboring rooms closed themselves. Another shockwave shook the ground before everything stabilized itself again. Oliver grunted as he pushed the last box out of the way. He crawled out of the near death trap and found Soup pinned in the corner behind a hill of equipment.
The scientist was groaning as he held his head in his hands. His legs were stuck beneath several boxes of varying sizes. Everything the two had put up had come tumbling down again, and the storage room was now a disaster area. Oliver maneuvered through the field of extra equipment and dug Soup out.
“Ugh, you techies seriously have it hard.”
“All part of a day’s work,” Oliver sighed, setting the boxes aside.
He helped the scientist up with another grunt. Soup dusted his pants off, wincing as he checked some of the bruises that formed on his legs. He staggered a bit, bracing himself on a nearby shelf as Oliver went to go drag the box of semiconductors out of the duct. It had shifted a bit further inside from the shockwaves, but was still within reach with a bit of awkward shuffling.
Another tremor pulsed through the station just as he got a grip on the box. Oliver dug his nails into it, pulling it closer as he waited for the following vibrations to recede. The distant sound of metal twisting sounded loud in the confines of the duct. It echoed back and forth, reverberating through the small space. He quickly weaseled out with the box in his hands. He sat back and gasped for air.
“Now what?” Soup asked, limping over to him.
“I don’t particularly want to try crawling again,” Oliver decided, flicking his eyes toward the duct.
The grate groaned and creaked in reply, its distant echoing sounding loud even within the room.
“Probably not.”
Yet another soft tremor confirmed their fears. Their original entrance collapsed with a clamor right before their eyes, the metal holding it together inside twisting in an almost artistic way.
“Shit.”
“That’s an understatement,” Soup deadpanned.
Soup accepted the box of semiconductors from Oliver as the technician grabbed his flashlight that had rolled away from him during the recent quake. He flicked the light on and off. The thing still worked fortunately enough.
“You have a backup route?” the researcher asked.
“Well, there’s only the door left, and the last time I checked we were blocked in. We can try prying it open, otherwise we’re going to have to wait for help.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I don’t know what Toast is going to cook up without me there.”
The engineer inspected the room.
Door… can barely move. Walls might be thin enough to cut through. Some sort of alloy if I remember correctly. I’ll need a cutter or something similar. Ceiling vent? Nothing. Floor … sitting on nothing but space. That’s a surefire way to die.
“Door,” Oliver motioned.
They headed to the only door in the room. There was still rubble outside the window. However, according to Soup’s memory, the level of the rubble had shifted a bit, so there was hope. Oliver slammed his shoulder against the door. He stumbled as the door cracked open. The rubble outside slid down its mountain, pattering down on the hallway in clatters.
“Something happened,” Soup observed.
“Yeah? Well, get over here and put your back into it.”
The scientist stood beside the engineer, and with some counting down, the two slammed their shoulders into the door. It budged a bit further this time, the gap opening enough for maybe one of their feet to step through.
“Come on, one more time.”
The two rammed it once again. The door, once again, budged. The gap now fit maybe a leg. They rammed it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Soup collapsed first, sliding down where he stood against the door. His breathing was heavy, and sweat wetted his forehead. Oliver remained standing, his hand on the door as he caught his breath. His shoulder ached, and he already knew he’d wake up tomorrow morning with a bruise right there. They had managed to force the door wide enough for both of them to slip out, if only barely.
“Ready?”
“Give me a second, Hensley,” Soup said, his face grimacing as he stood.
“I’ll go first. I’ll see if everything’s stable out there.”
The scientist nodded, stepping aside as Oliver squeezed through the gap. He stumbled out onto the pile of rubble, climbing up until he reached the top. The engineering department had largely ignored the storage section since it was usually uninhabited, but now it looked like they’d never get it cleaned up with the extra debris.
“Are we clear?” Soup asked, poking his head through the door.
“It’s fine for now. Hurry before another tremor closes the door.”
Soup squeezed himself out, clambering up to where Oliver stood. Pieces of what used to be the wall and the ceiling and a billion other parts tumbled down with each of their steps. The engineer half slid, half ran down the rubble mountain as the researcher circumvented the top for a safer path. With a few short hops and careful balancing, Soup met up with Oliver at the bottom.
“Come on. We need to get to the elevator.”
The two of them headed down the hallway, careful of where they put their feet. A tremor at about the same magnitude as the first one shook the floor beneath their feet. Oliver grabbed Soup’s arm and rushed forward to a more open area as the rubble around them shifted.
“Warning. Containment brea-”
Just as they hit the other wall, they were greeted with a loud pop. Everything turned black. The fuses had blown out.
“Great, now what?” Oliver complained as the emergency lights jilted on.
The lights were dimmer than before, allowing them to see shapes but nothing distinct. Oliver turned on his flashlight to high beams as Soup stepped closer to the brighter light.
“What do you think is happening?” Oliver asked.
“According to Toast, it might have something to do with the anomalies we’ve been detecting. Nereid has always been accident prone, but three in a week is a new record.”
“Maybe she was right to leave,” Oliver muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Oliver guided their way forward, skirting around the obstacles littered in their path. Soup followed behind closely, staying away from the higher piles of rubble in case another tremor made them collapse. The shaking had almost completely stabilized now with only the occasional vibration beneath their feet remaining.
Anne powered up again, faintly in the distance.
“Warning...all...elevator...evacuation.”
The two paused and listened carefully. Anne repeated herself four more times before cutting off.
“Did you catch that?” Oliver questioned, his gaze turning back to the scientist.
“I don’t know, but we should get out of here regardless.”
Oliver nodded, continuing to head toward the elevator. There were various exits on each floor of the station, there being three floors in total. The main one was the elevator that operated in the center of the station. The labs and engineering bays on the third floor were connected to hangars where the drones and shuttles were located. There were some other hangars on the outliers of the first floor as well, the first floor being the majority of the residential areas. The two of them were currently on the second floor where many of the storage rooms were built. They would need to either go up or down. Their best course of action for now was to go down and evacuate down the space elevator.
“Would the elevator still be working?” Soup inquired.
“Doubt it. We should head for the emergency stairs.”
As they ventured through what remained of the second floor, all they saw was piles of wreckage upon wreckage. Piping was exposed as it was on the floor above. Most of the emergency lights was covered behind rubble, their muted lights glowing through the cracks. A faint buzzing sound zipped back and forth, and Oliver knew some of the older power lines must have been damaged too.
The hull breach had occurred on this floor, but he couldn’t tell if that was a blessing in disguise. Not many people ventured here unless they had business or if they were only crossing to another floor. Most skipped this floor completely, using the elevator to go up and down.
It was eerily quiet on this floor. Only their footsteps could be heard, and the occasional zap of electrical equipment beneath the rubble. Oliver kept his ears out for anyone crying for help, or even pounding on a door behind rubble. Nothing. He frowned. Even if there weren’t many here usually, there should’ve been somebody, especially with repairs going on upstairs.
“How far are we?” Soup asked, breaking the silence.
“It should be just around the bend. Right... here...”
Before them was a wall of rubble. As if to slap them in the face further, the lighting from where the elevator should’ve been could be seen through some of the cracks. The greatest source of light was the top where a narrow gap was.
“You think we’d be able to break through?” Soup asked, placing his hand on a larger piece.
Oliver pointed the light at the ceiling, gauging how large the gap was. It seemed a bit narrower than what they had to squeeze through earlier. Above that was the hole where the rubble had fallen from. He shook his head after surveying how the pieces of rubble were stacked together. It was too unstable to break through safely.
“It would take too long,” the engineer decided.
“Warning. All personnel, please evacuate the station.”
The pair listened to the repeating announcements from Anne, exchanging looks of surprise.
“How do we get down there?” Soup asked, gesturing at the blockade before them. “Unless there’s another way down.”
Oliver shook his head.
“We’d have to go up to go down. The rubble up there is contained.”
“How? The stairs are blocked,” Soup reminded.
The engineer approached the rubble and pointed the light up. The hole reached the top floor. Well, at least the light reached the ceiling of the next. He stepped onto the rubble, testing his weight on it. It didn’t move, so he handed the light to Soup and continued climbing upward. Reaching where the second floor’s ceiling was supposed to start, he squinted upward to judge how wide the hole was. It seemed wide enough for his shoulders to squeeze through, and that was good enough.
“Let’s try this way.”
“Uhhh, okay,” Soup answered, his brows furrowing.
Oliver continued climbing up, shifting his weight accordingly as he glanced from side to side. It was dark up here and there was solid walls, or floor if he thought about it, on both sides. Metal supports jutted out, some still holding solidly while others looked like one touch and they’d crumble down on the tower below. There was only a few footholds left from the hole at the top, so he reached out at the next jutting metal support. Pulling himself up, he grabbed the edge of the hole and swung himself up.
He pulled himself out, panting from the exertion. He was back on the third floor. Oliver peered back down to see Soup had started his trek. He had propped the flashlight butt up, lighting the way. The scientist took much longer judging where to go, pausing every time rocks slipped and plunged down the hill in horrible clatters.
“Almost there, Soup,” Oliver encouraged, reaching his arm down.
Soup grabbed his arm, and Oliver grunted as he helped pull him up to the ledge. With a bit more effort, they managed to bring the scientist out of the floor.
“Caution. All personnel, please evacuate Floor C.”
At the same time, they heard through the hole Anne’s voice from the floor below.
“Warning. Containment Breach. System Failure.”
Oliver waited for Soup to regain some breath before broaching the topic at hand.
“The stairs are right there. If you hurry, you’ll be able to get down.”
Soup stared at the engineer.
“And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make sure there’s no one still here.”
“Then I’ll do the same.”
The engineer shook his head.
“The Station won’t abide by it. You have to get out of here.”
“Hah, I need to make sure Toast hasn’t been ignoring the warnings. The Station won’t like it if I leave without him.”
Oliver sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
“Okay, fine. But once you make sure Toast and Bacon aren’t here, you have to leave. We’ll meet here.”
Soup nodded before sprinting toward Lab 5C. Oliver made sure he was heading in the right direction, watching as he disappeared around the bend. He turned the opposite way, running towards the Station Clinic.
Just like the floor below, this floor was quiet other than his own footsteps. It was strange, to put it lightly. He went around the bend, the clinic within his sights. He approached it, his foot through the opening when he heard shouting coming from further down the hallway. Oliver paused, trying to catch what they were saying.
“Warning. Fire in section two. All personnel evacuate.”
Oliver looked at the clinic. The lights were on, but it didn’t seem like anyone was in there. He took a step toward the voices. As his foot took another step forward, the shouting became screaming.
“What is that?!”
“Fucking shoot it!”
Gunfire rang out.
|
{
"subset": "scribblehub",
"lang": "en",
"series": "8941",
"id": "14408",
"q": 0.91,
"title": "Nereid - Chapter Six – Zero Hour",
"author": "ashielyn",
"chapters": 6,
"rating": 5,
"rating_ct": 1,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adventure",
"Horror",
"Sci-fi",
"Tragedy"
],
"tags": [
"Aliens",
"Co-Workers",
"Disabilities",
"Doctors",
"Engineer",
"Futuristic Setting",
"Gore",
"Multiple POV",
"Multiple Protagonists",
"Quirky Characters",
"Romantic Subplot",
"Spatial Manipulation"
]
}
|
T-Minus 3
Esther, as always, was wheeling around in her clinic. The week was at its end, and she was completing her regular inventory check. She carried a small tablet in her left hand and a stylus in her right. One by one, she checked off the list on the screen. With her regulars, she needed to keep her stock above a certain minimum. The usual antics coupled with the emergency rescue earlier this week had dwindled her stock, especially various painkillers and bandages.
“Need to request more from the Hospital,” she muttered as she wheeled over to access her computer.
With a few taps on the interface, a confirmation for her request popped up. It promised the supplies she needed would be delivered by the end of her shift. She nodded in satisfaction, continuing from inventory checks to equipment checks. The sooner she finished her work, the sooner she could rest easy. She was a natural hoarder, and the thought of not having a cabinet full of medical supplies irked her.
The walls began to shake. The floor vibrated. Several items fell off her desk and skittered across the room. She steadied herself against the nearest bed. The usual automated warning woman spoke.
“Warning. Depressurization alert. Ring Section One.”
Esther could only sigh with a shake of her head.
“What did they do this time.”
The ground shook again, this time nearly flinging Esther across the room.
“Caution. Emergency lockdown in effect. Stand clear of bulkhead.”
“That’s new,” she muttered, forcing her wheelchair over to the door.
The thick titanium bulkheads lowered from the ceiling, covering the windows. They smashed into the floor with a deafening thud. She pulled on the door.
“No good.”
An alert sounded from her desk.
Dr. Emerson, please report to Engineering
“How the hell am I supposed to get to engineering if you lock my door?”
The shaking had stopped. The usually organized clinic was now a jumbled mess. Papers and pens were scattered across the floor. A puddle of water from her lucky bamboo had spilled alongside them, creating a sopping mess. Ironically, the plant itself had survived and remained on the desk, although it was near the edge. The pillows had fallen off their beds. The medicine cabinet remained closed, however its contents had jostled within. At least her computer was attached to her desk. Her patients had already ran her budget dry and she would have to resort to using pen and paper if her medical machine met the floor.
Esther carefully wheeled herself through the maze of items. She accessed her computer only for it to once again ping her.
Dr. Emerson, please report to Engineering
“Shut up!” she retorted. “Now, where’s the message system?”
It took her a few seconds to maneuver through the familiar programs. She quickly reported her situation to Security.
Dear Station Security,
This is Dr. Emerson.
Please unlock my door.
Thank you,
Dr. Emerson
---------------------
Clinic 5D - Shift One
UID: 55263
Instantly, the system pinged her.
Message failed to send.
A few seconds following that one.
Dr. Emerson, please report to Engineering.
Esther threw her hands in the air. The 5C boys were getting it this time. She wheeled herself back to her door, pounding her fist against it.
“Anyone out there? Could you open the door?”
She couldn’t make out anything distinct. There was a muffled something out there. The doctor got no other responses even after repeated attempts. She kicked the door, a dull ‘clunk’ sounding.
“I’ll be back.”
Where was the emergency ‘open sesame’ button when she needed one? With shaking that severe, there were probably several injuries. She needed to find a way to break out of her own clinic.
“How ironic.”
What did she have on hand? Drugs, drugs, drugs, bandages, paper. Soggy paper. More drugs and pillows. Oh, and herself, a damsel in distress. Nothing useful against a door.
Attempting something was better than nothing. Esther rolled over to the medicine cabinet. The extremely volatile and fragile substances were packed away tightly and secured to the walls themselves in case turbulence like before occurred. She checked the labels on several of them, cross-checking their information with her database and medicine knowledge. Pulling several vials out of some chemicals that were left here by her regulars, she mixed them together and splashed the contents against the door.
The sizzling she wished would happen did not happen. Her desperate attempt amounted to nothing more than a larger mess she’d have to tidy up later.
“March 27, 2168. Experiment one, an attempt to see if the chemicals I had in stock would burn a hole in the door. Result: mild success. One millimeter hole burnt into side of door. Expected time to break though: two years.”
She rolled away and inspected the room again.
“If brains won’t work then…”
The doctor stood up and worked for several seconds, carefully carrying her stack of textbooks and medical records to one of the wheeled stretchers. With a little effort, she stacked various heavy objects up to her head. She positioned herself behind the makeshift ram and pushed, her feet barely gaining any traction on the aluminum tiled floors. With a shout, she propelled the cart forwards. It sped along at a moderate pace before crashing into the door, recoiling backwards, and sending all of the contents flying. The doctor sat down and gave up.
“Great. Ten years for your medical degree and you can’t even help anyone.”
There was a knocking sound, followed by a muffled shout. The doctor placed her ear against the door. There was a sizzling noise, followed by a sudden increase in temperature. She jumped, taking her face away from the now scalding hot bulkhead. A dark line, accompanied by the smell of molten titanium, appeared and began to trace a rectangle. The doctor quickly backed further away, evacuating behind one of the beds.
The door fell inwards with a loud thud. A cloud of metallic dust and ashes rose as a boot stepped through the hole in her accursed door.
“Emerson?” Hensley voice queried through the smoke.
“I’m here,” she replied.
“You okay?”
“Give me a warning next time.”
“I did.”
Esther propped herself up and approached the grim engineer.
“What happened?”
The dust settled to reveal Hensley in his work attire, covered in soot and scuff marks. He lifted up his welding mask. His face was scratched and she had a feeling there were some bruises beneath his clothes. In his hands was a cutting torch. A glance outside of her clinic revealed the scenes of a catastrophe in progress. Debris was everywhere. Several walls were warped and folded. Others were battered with piping exposed. People in white coats were rushing everywhere, yelling, shouting instructions up and down the hallway. Even as she asked Hensley what the hell happened, medics were pushing through the opening with heavily injured. Other engineers were rushing past their door, attempting to cut into the next room over.
“Hull breach in Section One. We’ve got dead and dying,” Hensley answered.
“Okay, direct any wounded to me.”
“Got it. I have to go help them clear debris.”
“Alright.”
Hensley left as suddenly as he came, filing in with the other engineers outside. The medics coming in approached her, asking for her help. Time to get to work. She stood up. Esther instructed those coming in to hold the stretchers for now. There were only two beds, and the floor was a mess.
She and another doctor quickly began working on the two patients on the bed. They were the most severely injured of the ones they found already. One of the other assistants cleared the floor, shoving the pens in a desk and soaking up the water with a piece of cloth. They pulled out extra bedding and pillows from a cabinet and set the arriving patients down.
“We can’t keep them all here.”
Esther stated an obvious fact that no one wanted to voice. This clinic was for small wounds and first aid. None of the injuries they were currently treating could be taken care of properly at this clinic, especially the two she was having difficulties with. One had broken ribs that were pressing down on his lungs alongside large bruises; the other had signs of severe hemorrhaging from a jagged piece of piping stuck through his abdomen. They didn’t have the equipment, much less the supplies to deal with wounds like these.
One was a scientist she recognized from Lab 10C; the other was a Navigator, obvious from the purple stripe in his uniform. The red patch on his shoulder labeled him as a Rank 8 Navigator. She recognized him.
“Can we get to the Hospital?” she asked, frantically finding other measures to keep these two alive.
Her co-worker, Dr. Rodgers, shook her head.
“We’d have to cut our way through the bulkheads. We won’t make it in time.”
“What are the engineers doing?!”
One of their assistants ran out to grab one of the passing engineers. A few of the engineers entered the clinic.
“Clear a way to the Hospital!” she barked.
“We’re already working on that, ma’am”
“Faster!”
“We’re already working as fast as we can.”
“I don’t see you out there,” she scathed.
“Look, if you’ve got a better idea, I’d like to hear it.”
The scientist’s vitals screen began to flash red. She waved off the engineers. Dr. Rodgers converged on the dying scientist.
“We need a substitute for a chest tube,” Dr. Rodgers asserted.
“There’s nothing like that here,” Esther lamented as the scientist seemed to be suffocating before her own eyes. His lungs weren’t inflating and his skin was turning bluer by the second.
“Please! Hospital! Now!”
However, the engineers had already left the room. They had long returned to attempt to do as she pleaded: open up a path to the Hospital. Esther furiously glared at the flashing red screen. She was playing a delicate game against it, and she refused to lose. Alas, what could not be done, could not be done. Soon, the scientist’s vital screen flared red one last time before his heartbeat monitor became a flat line. Amidst the chaotic scene of the clinic, Esther could only slam her fist against the bed before turning to the Navigator, whose vital screens were less than optimal.
The assistants moved the scientist’s still warm body off the bed, lowering another priority patient onto it. Dr. Rodgers went over to attend to her as Esther continued trying to stabilize the Navigator. More and more patients came in. The floor was crowded and there was little walking space. The climate control system seemed to be malfunctioning.
A technician came in, although not with news she was hoping for.
“We’ve cut through every bulkhead in engineering. This is all the injured. What should we do with the dead?”
“You’ve got room in the hangar? Put them there for now.”
Esther replied without turning to acknowledge him. She only heard the heavy thumping of work boots as the engineer jogged to continue working elsewhere. She took a minute to wipe the sweat off her brow. Blood stained her gloves, still warm to the touch. Her vision blurred.
“I...”
“Doctor Emerson,” one of the assistants called. “We’ve run out bandages!”
“Use the extra linen.”
“We’ve used all of that too!”
“The blankets? Tear that into pieces.”
“We did that.”
“The sheets?”
“We’re using all of them.”
The doctor stomped her foot, startling the others. She glared at the assistant.
“Damn it, use your head! There’s paper everywhere! Try using that!”
But of course, if they were out of bandages, they were close to running out of everything else as well. What followed next where the painkillers, then various medicines, and soon the rest of their clean tools. But perhaps miracles did exist.
“Emerson,” Hensley’s voice called from outside the clinic. “We’ve opened up a hole. We should be able to get to the Hospital now.”
Esther looked up from her work.
“Move everyone outside. Hensley, I need you to ask your chief if I’m allowed to borrow some of your boys to transport these people.”
“He sent us over for that.”
“Good. You four, come with me. We’re sending over those on the beds first.”
Four of the engineers carefully moved the two on the beds onto stretchers and ran out of the nearly destroyed clinic. She staggered out after them.
It took a bit to catch up with the group, but they hadn’t gone too far without her. The engineer on the stretcher was more or less stabilized. She just needed to get to the Hospital to properly treat her broken bone. The Navigator on the other hand was the problem. It had taken her entire concentration back in the clinic to keep him just stable enough for them to move him, but it seemed like that wasn’t enough. They were only of the quarter of the way there when he began bleeding profusely. His wounds had reopened. She immediately tossed her coat over him, whispering words of assurance as she and the engineers hurried faster.
In the end, she decided to send the other stretcher first as she halted those carrying the Navigator.
“We have to restabilize him,” she said.
The doctor squatted down beside the stretcher. She got one of the engineers, Jiang she thought his name was, to hand over his jacket so she could elevate the Navigator’s feet.
“Help me put pressure right here,” she instructed. “We need to keep it from bleeding too much. You.”
She pointed at the other engineer.
“Run after the others and get to the Hospital before them. Tell them we have a Navigator out here. Hurry!”
The engineer nodded, taking off at the speed of light. Esther turned back to her charge. She busied herself, going through the rest of her makeshift medical supplies. She felt a hand grab her elbow. The doctor turned to see the Navigator had woken, although his eyes were sluggish and glazed with pain.
“Esther? Are you there?”
“Shut up and hang in there.”
“I-It’s okay.”
“Someone call up Organ Dev, we need a new liver!”
“Esther- listen to me.”
“I told you to shut up, Zack!”
“Don’t worry too much... okay? It’s...fine. I-”
He groaned in pain, blood now pooling around his mortal wound. His pale skin glistened under the white lights of the hallway. Esther’s hands trembled. She needed a solution. The doctor racked her mind.
“Damn it. Hemorrhaging. Need to close wound. Remove debris and apply medical foam. I… don’t know. I need to do something.”
She took her haphazard plan and put it to action.
“Esther… I need... to tell you…”
“For the last time shut up! Bite down on this!”
A makeshift rag was stuffed into his mouth as she placed both hands on the piece of pipe embedded into his abdomen. She carefully pulled, extracting the metal tube out one centimeter at a time. His muffled screams attracted the stares of the nearby workers running about.
“A little more. Come on!”
The pipe slid out of the wound, coated in a thick scarlet liquid. Zack screamed again, tears forming at the edge of his eyes. Esther reached for her first aid foam spray and applied it liberally to the now open wound. He squeezed his eyes shut, spit the rag out, and began hyperventilating.
“Hey! Come on! Look at me!”
The Navigator squinted, staring at the ceiling behind the doctor. He heaved. She grabbed his hand. The world had stopped around them.
“...Go.”
“What?”
“I...You...”
He went into a state of shock.
“...Damn! I need help! Blood transfusion. IV drip. Anything! Someone get me anything!”
The Navigator was gone. She knew he was gone thirty minutes before. He had given her the look. It was a certain look that she knew very well. It was over.
She stood up.
***
|
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Relearning how to live with Lu Hao was a strange process. Hong Sheng felt the weight of the apocalypse pressing down on him, and he couldn’t help but feel that he needed to do as much as he could to prepare.
The villa hadn’t been lived in for a while, so the first time they drove back to the city to buy groceries Hong Sheng had worked on autopilot, gathering all sorts of heavy bags of rice, canned foods, and dried goods.
When the cart had been loaded up imperishables, Lu Hao had looked at Hong Sheng with a wry face and asked, “Are you stocking up?”
Hong Sheng froze, several cans still gathered up in his arms. “Um,” he said. “Maybe?” Thinking quickly, he made up the excuse, “Well, the villa is far, you never know if maybe we won’t be able to get to the supermarket before we starve.”
“I’m sure we won’t have to starve,” Lu Hao said kindly. “But you’re right. We should be prepared for any circumstance.” And then Lu Hao started piling some dry goods into the cart with him.
Hong Sheng had also nervously eyed all of the open windows and clear scenery around the villa. Lu Hao had noticed, of course, and asked if Hong Sheng wanted to redecorate.
“It’s… this is your house,” Hong Sheng said helplessly. Even if he wanted to start building the villa’s defenses, he didn’t dare modify the house like he owned it.
“We’re both living here now, so I want you to be comfortable and consider this your own home,” Lu Hao refuted. He took Hong Sheng over to a window and raised a hand to the clear glass. “Tell me, what do you think we should do with this?”
Under Lu Hao’s scrutiny, Hong Sheng finally muttered out that the windows should be covered with sturdy shutters. Lu Hao then dragged Hong Sheng all over the house, asking what needed to be changed - and Hong Sheng ended up spilling all of the memories and suggestions he had, recalling all of the ways the past life’s villa had been modified.
Lu Hao looked intrigued. He probably thought Hong Sheng was crazy with his talk of barricades and limited ingress points and traps. But Lu Hao smiled and said, “Alright, we’ll get this done,” and then over the next few weeks entire truckloads of construction materials arrived, and contractors came to build the new installations.
Though Lu Hao’s family was certainly not lacking in money, Hong Sheng felt ill about making him front all of these costs. With the rest of his savings, Hong Sheng secretly ordered the generators, purifiers, and security technology that would complete the villa’s preparations.
And with that, an entire month before the apocalypse, the villa had become a fortress.
The days passed by quickly. It was the calm before the storm, a taste of paradise before hell. Hong Sheng spent every day with Lu Hao. They ate together, exercised together, watched TV together, read together. Sometimes Lu Hao withdrew to his room to work on something with his laptop, and Hong Sheng took the opportunity to care for the small garden he had started to raise.
“What about school? And your girlfriend?” Hong Sheng asked one time. He was worried that Lu Hao seemed to put his life on pause, almost as if nothing else mattered other than staying here.
Lu Hao just smiled and said those things were already done with.
For some odd reason, Hong Sheng felt that Lu Hao was pampering him. When Hong Sheng had stayed still too long, or stared at something more than usual, Lu Hao always came to hug him and check on him, asking things like, “How are you feeling?” “Is this place okay?” “Do you need anything?”, and if Hong Sheng expressed even the slightest discomfort Lu Hao sprang into action to correct it.
There was one day where Hong Sheng had refused to leave bed. Lu Hao had knocked on the door and quietly entered when he didn’t answer. Seeing Hong Sheng curled up under the blanket, facing away from the door, he slowly sat down on the bed.
“Did you have a nightmare?” he asked quietly.
Hong Sheng didn’t want to speak. He had dreamed of dying, dreamed of being a zombie, dreamed of killing.
He nodded, and said nothing else.
Lu Hao didn’t ask more about the nightmare. He had simply laid down on the bed and held Hong Sheng in his arms until Hong Sheng stopped shaking, hours later.
That was a bad day, but it was better to not have to face it alone.
Today was a leisurely period.
They had finished everything they needed to do today. Hong Sheng’s garden had been tended to, and Lu Hao’s mystery hobbies were done.
Now, Lu Hao lounged on the sofa, reading while basking in the sunlight of one of the open windows. All other windows were dark, covered by the shutters, making the one spot of light brilliant in contrast to the shadows. Lu Hao looked warm and effortlessly beautiful, one arm slung over the back of the sofa, the other holding a book.
Lu Hao tilted his head, noticing Hong Sheng standing at the staircase. He smiled softly and beckoned Hong Sheng closer.
“Come here,” he said.
Hong Sheng padded toward the sofa and sat stiffly at the other end. Lu Hao dropped his arm from the sofa and onto Hong Sheng’s shoulder, effortlessly dragging him closer until they sat side by side, Hong Sheng’s head pillowed on Lu Hao’s chest. Snuggled up like this, the scene was so warm, so comforting. Hong Sheng closed his eyes, savoring the closeness.
Lu Hao had always been free with his affection, so Hong Sheng knew better than to assume this meant anything other than Lu Hao’s friendship. But still, to be this close, sharing breaths and drinking in his warmth, his scent, Hong Sheng felt so happy that he could have been drunk.
With the sun covering his skin like a blanket, Hong Sheng dozed off.
The night the apocalypse came had been quiet.
After all, over here, there was only Hong Sheng and Lu Hao. It was nothing like in his first life where he had been surrounded by people, trapped in the mire of the city, the sound of tearing flesh and screams everywhere.
In the darkness of the night, Hong Sheng sat in his room, staring out at the balcony. A flash of light illuminated the sky; the end of the world had come.
A low snarl sounded. In the room across the hall, Lu Hao was already changing, becoming something more than human.
And Hong Sheng remained the same as always.
He let out a shaky sigh of relief, put the knife back into the drawer, and waited for morning to come.
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The end came as Hong Sheng expected. When he saw the zombies reaching for Lu Hao, Hong Sheng ran forward.
The girls screamed, the zombies advanced, and Lu Hao looked grimly at death. The elevator was almost at its destination, and the same went for Hong Sheng.
The elevator dinged.
Hong Sheng took Lu Hao’s place in front of the zombies, and he shoved Lu Hao and the girls into the elevator. The last thing he did was smile at their shocked faces.
The metal doors slid shut just as the claws and mouths of dozens of zombies sunk into Hong Sheng’s skin.
Everything after that had been flashes, brief and vivid pictures of darkness and blood and pain. Hong Sheng as a zombie didn’t have enough of a working brain to hold complex memory, but he remembered the feelings of pain, and fear, and most of all: the hunger.
He had stumbled in the darkness for who knows how long, his half-decomposed body falling apart.
There was one day where the light came back.
Hong Sheng remembered a voice. It came from the warm body standing in front of him, rich and fragrant with blood and living flesh. Hong Sheng was so hungry. He wanted to eat. His rotten eyes rolled in their sockets.
The body in front of him had been making sounds. It had one arm outstretched, cold metal held in its hand. Two trails of water flowed from the body’s eyes when it saw Hong Sheng, and Hong Sheng rattled out a breath. It looked so delicious. It was everything he had ever wanted.
Hong Sheng had stumbled toward the light, and the body’s mouth kept moving, but Hong Sheng couldn’t understand.
Then, there was a loud sound, and the world fell away from Hong Sheng’s feet.
In his last dying moments, Hong Sheng had a moment of clarity. He remembered. The body in front of him was Lu Hao. Lu Hao, whom he’d loved since childhood. Lu Hao, who’d become a hero of the survivors. Lu Hao, who had always been handsome and popular, who’d always had a cluster of women and men adoring him, leaving no room for miserable little Hong Sheng.
Hong Sheng had just been Lu Hao’s pitiful childhood friend, but today, in his last moments, he received everything he could have ever hoped for.
Lu Hao’s tears and Lu Hao’s bullet, Hong Sheng received them both. And now, in exchange, Lu Hao took Hong Sheng’s life.
The boy known as Hong Sheng had died twice, and each time he had given his life to Lu Hao.
That was supposed to be the end of his story.
And yet…
An alarm shrieked by Hong Sheng’s ear. His eyes snapped open and he gasped, hands clutching soft bedding, feet trapped by warm blankets. Sunlight filtered in from the window. Outside, songbirds chirped their morning songs, and car horns blazed.
Hong Sheng sat up slowly. His hands fumbled the alarm clock, having forgotten the shape of it. He turned off the alarm, and when he flipped the clock over to check the date, he inhaled sharply.
It was the 14th of April, 2017. Three months before the start of the apocalypse, and eight years before the time Hong Sheng died.
Hong Sheng fell back onto his bed with a thump, his ears buzzing, unable to understand anything.
Before the apocalypse, Hong Sheng had been living alone in F City. After his father had remarried, there hadn’t been enough room in the house for Hong Sheng anymore, and anyhow, it was easier for him to get to work from his own apartment. Hong Sheng was a physical computing consultant. He hadn’t been smart enough to be worth the fees of attending school, so while everyone else continued studying, he went into the basement of an office building to fiddle with machines and software.
After the apocalypse, he had been rescued by the government and shipped off to a safe zone. By chance he had met Lu Hao again.
Lu Hao also lived in F City, but his family owned a villa in the countryside. When the apocalypse hit, Lu Hao had escaped there and established a base. Over time he had attracted more and more helpers until finally, he established a stronghold. There were ravagers and bandits of course, but Lu Hao had gained several incredible powers from the mutations a select few people underwent after the apocalypse, so he was able to single-handedly defend his home for a long time.
Of the people that hadn’t turned into zombies, Hong Sheng was part of the majority that didn’t receive any powers. He was left helpless to the onslaught of monsters, and could only clutch the thighs of others for safety.
Over the years, Hong Sheng found that he had a skill for making bombs and weaponry. He was also decent at sniping from long range, if they could get their hands on any salvaged military rifles. He had been glad to finally be able to contribute, but still, he would never shine like Lu Hao did, and it was impossible for him to stand up against the many talented geniuses Lu Hao had gathered in his home.
Despite Hong Sheng’s uselessness, Lu Hao had generously taken him in. Lu Hao had even remembered him despite having not seen him in years, warmly greeting Hong Sheng with a hug. Hong Sheng had been moved to tears.
For the rest of the time after that, Hong Sheng’s sole wish had been to help Lu Hao in any way he could. He was repaying a debt that spanned since their childhood, when Lu Hao had been Hong Sheng’s only friend, the sole person to protect and care about him for a long time.
Even if Lu Hao had forgotten, Hong Sheng never would.
Even now, with the apocalypse knocking on their door and death waiting at the doorstep.
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T-Minus 8
The elevator shot upwards, lugging along with it several sleepy specialists and a few hundred tons of supplies. It was early in the morning, too early for the men who were returning from their week long vacation. The thin atmosphere emanated a light, transparent blue as they broke one hundred kilometers. The Sun peeked over the horizon and illuminated a rugged and cratered surface. In the distance, Neptune glowed a deep blue. It didn’t take long for the city at the base to become a dot on the moon’s gray surface. The altimeter rolled as they climbed towards the heavens. Ten thousand, fifteen thousand, twenty thousand.
Eventually their ascension slowed to a stop, their arrival marked with a chime and accompanying pre-recorded voice.
“Welcome to Nereid Station, please exit to your left. Current climate temperature is... a lovely seventy degrees. The time is... oh-five-thirty-six universal time coordinated. Thank you for riding with ISEC.”
The hydraulics hissed and began to pressurize the airlock on the other side. One after another, the groggy technicians disembarked the space elevator, tapping their IDs on the wall scanner as they floated into the airlock. A gruff and equally groggy voice spoke from the intercom.
“Station security. Please place your belongings in the tray and prepare for spin gravity insertion.”
The engineers secured themselves to the wall and lowered their suitcases into the scanner. The room began to pressurize, and with a jolt, began a long trek to the massive habitation ring. After a few short minutes, the airlock module reached the ring, now spinning quite quickly, and finished pressurization. The men, now firmly plastered to the wall by centrifugal force, unstrapped themselves and retrieved their items. The intercom came to life once again.
“Alright, thanks. Grab your stuff and exit the airlock. Welcome back to Nereid Station, guys.”
The lead engineer gave the security camera a short salute and filed out with the others in tow. After agreeing on when and where to meet back up, they dispersed to find their quarters.
“Aight, I’ll see you at the bay later, Oliver.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Oliver yawned, waving away his friend as he plodded away to his quarters. He knew the habitation ring layout like the back of his hand. After all, he did spend almost a decade assisting with the construction. Navigating through several corridors, he found himself in front of a familiar door. Residential Area 1A, Room 244. He slapped his ID on the scanner and stumbled inside.
Home sweet home, he thought.
The room lit itself, a soft white glow coming from a lamp in the far corner. Oliver heaved his suitcase onto his bed, unlatching it. Out splayed his attempts at repacking, an explosion of clothes, essentials, and souvenirs. He sighed, rescuing the more delicate items and placing them in proper locations in his room. His clothes went into their cabinet, the essentials into the small wash closet, ISEC 3D model collectables from the city on his shelf, and the all important surface food into the other cabinet.
He especially couldn’t wait to try out the new chip flavors from the surface: spicy seaweed. Oliver didn’t even know what seaweed was, but it sounded interesting. Regardless of the taste and regrets, at least it’ll spice up his meals, right? Station food was bad for the mind and the soul.
The display case beside his bed glowed with the numbers 05:48. Oliver donned his uniform, splashing some water onto his face to wash away the remaining clutches of sleep. Reaching for his razor, he shaved the stubble that began to grow from his week long escapade. He turned the water to hot and poured it along with instant coffee mix into his mug. With a quick chug, the coffee went down smoothly, albeit a bit scaldingly hot. His clock chimed: 06:00. Time to go to work.
He joined the line of workers heading toward the lift. Most of them were wearing the same uniform as his. The blue and white patterns milled around, giving wide berths to those who weren’t wearing the colors. Oliver snagged a seat in the middle of the lift, shifting as close to the edge as possible for others. All around him greetings and “morning”s were exchanged.
The sight of a different color, purple, caught his attention. Oliver turned to see two Navigators taking their seats directly behind him. With the two of them there, no one dared to take any other seats from their row. They glared at the curious glances they attracted. Pretentious pricks. Oliver turned back around, leaning against his seat and waited for the lift to start.
“Hey, check it out.”
“Hmm? Wait, you actually got assigned to the expedition?! Oh my god! Congrats! When do you ship out?”
“Right? I can’t believe it either. I’m leaving next Friday, first thing in the morning!”
“Ahhh, what am I supposed to do when you're gone?”
“It’s only a thirty year round trip to Proxima Centauri. Besides, we can still send each other messages monthly.”
“It won’t be the same.”
“You’ll be fine. It's not like I'm your only friend in Astro Nav.”
“You have to remember to contact me often, okay? And bring me something from Station 13.”
Oliver glanced towards the fledgling Navigators. The badges on their uniform signaled that one was a Rank Three and the other Rank Five. Both of them were female, and looked like they were in their twenties. Of course, he knew from experience that they were probably fifty, maybe even a hundred years older than him.
Navigators live in their own little world. They’re not bad people but I shouldn’t get involved.
Nereid Station was an anomaly in the solar system. The average human would be lucky if they met even one Navigator in their lifetime. Oliver had already seen at least twenty on Nereid. A new Navigator would fly in from Earth or Mars every few months, and one or two would leave the station for expeditions, ensuring a constant flow of new faces. They all bore the insignia ARCNAV on their shoulders. He knew the name from the station schematics and many of the station employees displayed the ARCNAV badge on their ID, but he knew little to nothing about what it actually was. He shrugged. It was on a need to know basis, and as much as he wanted to know, he didn’t really need to know.
The lift slowed to a halt as the destination marker text blinked and switched to say “Engineering Bay”. This was his third home. The 22nd Engineering Division disembarked the tram in a less than orderly fashion, making their way towards the equipment room. Connected by a long passageway were the various divisions of Engineering, ranging from the pilots, computer specialists, maintenance, and command. At the very end of the hallway, the last two rooms, were the locker rooms. Straight past that was Engineering’s hangar.
In the equipment room, drone pilots donned their control helmets, computer specialist retrieved their tablets, and maintenance equipped their wrenches and blowtorches. As for Oliver, he grabbed his toolbox from his locker and quickly made his way to the drone control center. Maintenance Aerospace Technician was his official title. It didn’t pay as much as the title would suggest, but it was more than enough to live on.
“There you are Hensley,” the chief engineer growled as Oliver shuffled in. “The drones assigned to Lab 5C aren't responding again. I’ll need you to diagnose the problem.”
He sighed.
“I'll get on it, chief.”
Oliver nodded a greeting to his friend as he hefted his toolbox with him out the door. What happened to the drones in Lab 5C this time? Last time they were acting up, apparently the researchers had, as a joke, messed with their programming and started drag racing with them. The time before that some new researcher had accidentally sent them out for trash, and they almost got demolished. And the time before that... well, you got the idea.
Lab 5C was in the Development Area right beside where the Engineering Bay was located. Oliver didn’t know which smart guy decided it, but they shoved all the troublesome ones in this research lab where someone who could clean up their messes was close at hand. And unfortunately for him, the chief usually slotted him for babysitting duty.
He pressed the intercom at the door.
“Hey. It’s Hensley.”
“Oh! Finally! We reported that last week! Guys, guys, open the door!”
The doors slid open with a woosh, and three scientists immediately corralled him inside, the usual culprits. Blondie’s name was Toast. He had a PhD in nuclear engineering. Rough personality though, so they stuffed him in here. The Russian was his aide and he went by Soup. His field was mechanical engineering, and he was sent here as Toast’s leash. The last one was a newcomer, a lady by the name of Bacon. A fresh graduate from the Olympus Mons Institute of Technology with a degree in applied mathematics sent here as an assistant. Oliver couldn’t help but feel pity for her. They dragged him by his elbows to where they usually kept their drones.
“I’m considering bashing your heads in with a wrench. What did you guys do this time?” Oliver sighed upon seeing the drones.
Their hulls were battered, even dented in some places. He squatted down beside them, tapping their control helms. Those booted on just fine, although when he tried manipulating them the connection cut.
“We didn’t do anything!” Toast protested. “We sent them out like we were supposed to, but we ran into some freaky gravitational anomalies right around the range limit. We lost all the drones during that mess. That was a few days ago. We haven’t been able to complete any of our experiments because they said all the techs were out.”
“Can you fix it?” Bacon inquisitively asked, squatting down beside him.
He gave the hull of the drone a tap. “Not immediately. It’ll take a few days depending on how well some of the internal hardware fared against the gravity,” he answered. “Don’t you guys have some spares?”
“Uhhhhhm...”
“Toast crashed those the week before and he was too much of a chicken to report it,” Soup said, selling his boss out.
“Wait! Soup! You traitor!”
Toast flailed angrily at Soup. Bacon went to mediate the two of them, leaving Oliver to take a closer look at the drones’ damage. It looked like someone had crushed them like a soda can. Luckily, the engines and powerplant were in working order. Those wouldn’t take too long to repair, just a matter of touching them up. The antennae on the other hand was another matter. He didn’t think they had enough spares on hand to replace all of them. They’d have to request a batch from Triton, or pay a visit to the Manufacturing Division. Either option would take around a week to process. He’d probably have better luck repairing their spares so they could get back to work.
Speaking of the spares, Oliver went to the lab’s storage to inspect those. They didn’t look like they were about to be taken out for recycling, but they definitely needed some touch ups. Did they take these ones out for some racing again? He inspected the closest one, D-4076. There was a faint hissing noise coming from it, which became more noticeable as he approached. He paused for a second.
“Oh come on-”
The storage room exploded.
***
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It was a bright afternoon, the sea breeze carries a gentle salt smell, the weather was perfect. A lone building sat upon the cliff overlooking a sea, an abandoned church. There lies a single boy on the church backyard staring at a graveyard "May Marie Vilidi return to the embrace of Gaia 721-756". He grabbed a shovel and start digging the grave. The boy remembers what his mother told him before she passed away, "Gin, when I passed away make sure you plant this seed on top of my graveyard. Take this as my last wish". It was a blue seed, said to be a Bluenovum flower, a flower that Gin got from his father 7 years ago before he went on another journey around the world.
With an empty stare the boy looked at the graveyard while holding a leather-bound book on his right-hand side. He held the book tighter, pondering whether he should throw the book away or not. The book always reminds him of his father, it was a journal kept by his mother outlining the adventure of his father, the book was kept and updated every time his father went home. Last time was 7 years ago, Gin does not know whether his father is alive or not, but he does not like the fact that his father left him and his sick mother to her deathbed alone.
as he realized that he is now alone in this village, with only his father left as his family. Gin is the last member of his family that stayed in the small mountainous coast village in the Continent of Luse. The village name is Kinnalen, it was just another village that was built when the expedition to go to the western continent was the trend. Yet this village is also the village where her mother ended her journey.
Both of his parents used to be a researcher they seemed to fell in love when they were in university and they went on a long journey together which ended in Kinnalen due to her mother contracting a certain disease from their journey.
As the sun shone brighter with the passing of the time, Gin decided to go home, he traveled with an empty mind, realizing the truth that his mother just passed away. A now empty home is what awaits him. His mother did not leave him any instruction or dream her last message was simply to plan the Bluenovum flower on top of her grave. Being a young 16 years old boy Gin was lost on how to proceed with his life, he has no certain aspiration nor a specialty, simply said he is not a hero material.
********
As Gin lied on his bed for hours not being able to sleep, he seems to made up his mind on what to do. Gin decided that he want to punch his father’s face and find him on his travel. He might be alone here, but he still had family out there somewhere, assuming his father is even alive now.
“Where do I start?” a question was raised from Gin’s head. He opened the leather journal and start skimming it from the latest entry made by his mother.
“Lang said he found the trace of the world tree near an ancient ruin in southern part of Luse…
Near the kingdom of Beluze…problem with the locals as the ruin is sacred to them.
I wish him a saf- ….”
Gin closed the book after he took the key point of the journal, he pulls a notebook with a green cover and wrote. His mother taught him the essential of documenting his thought and purpose and Gin carry on that habit.
“1. Southern Luse, near Kingdom of Beluze, ancient ruins, local, world tree”
Closing his personal notebook, he started thinking on what he should do to prepare. He had a job at the bakery near the town, he should talk to the old man that he will go around the world to find his father. After that, he should write a message for his father saying that he will be travelling to find him. In case his father went home when Gin is searching for him, his father would have seen the message and goes after his own steps Gin hope.
Finalizing his thought Gin finally started to feel sleepy and slowly drowse into a sleep.
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T-Minus 8
It was too quiet in the Section Clinic. Squeezed in between two different research labs and the Engineering Department, there was often someone coming in shouting for medical help from some scientific mishaps. The past week had been relatively quiet since several of the boys from Engineering went out on break. Today should’ve been their first day back on the job, and yet it was still empty in here.
The door to the clinic burst open and one of the clinic’s regulars came in shouting. Who went and jinxed it?
“Doctor! Doctor! Hensley, he-”
“I know, I know, just toss him on the bed,” the doctor on duty said, standing up from her wheelchair.
She crossed the room, her hand lightly steadying herself against the wall as she went. Soup tossed Hensley onto the nearest bed before stepping away to calm the panicking Toast. All three were regulars, although the one usually getting hurt was always Hensley.
“What happened this time?” she asked, leaning over to look at the burns crisscrossing Hensley’s face and arms.
“Uhhhhhh...”
“One of the drones exploded,” Soup supplied. “Monopropellant tank rupture. Bacon must’ve forgotten to drain the tanks before returning it to storage.”
“Ah, so that was why the depressurization alarm went off. Were you guys racing drones again?” she accused, glaring at Toast.
“N-No?”
“They were already damaged from a failed experiment of his two weeks ago,” Soup said, continuing to leak his boss’s secrets.
“I thought you were supposed to be on my side!”
“You’re not supposed to keep secrets from a doctor.”
“Grrrrr. Dr. Emerson, how’s Hensley looking?”
“He’s got some bad looking burns, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. He’s only unconscious from the concussive force of the explosion. Hmm. You said drone monopropellant right? That means hydrazine poisoning as well. I’ll need to treat for that. He’ll be up and running by tomorrow. Now you two go back to your lab. I’ll send him back to Engineering once he’s up.”
“Are you sure, Doc?” Toast asked, rubbing his hands together.
“Yes. Now leave, you’re in the way.”
The two scientists left after making positively sure he’d be alright. She sighed with a shake of her head. Every single time, you would think the engineering chief would rotate who took on the babysitting role, so one man wouldn’t take so much of a battering. And yet here Hensley was, his name having the record of most times in a clinic in a week.
She began the treatment for hydrazine poisoning first. Consulting her medical computer, she brought up the symptoms. The computer sent a database request to the main medical computer the next ring over, and returned a list of treatments.
“Let’s see here. Hydrazine... 25mg of pyridoxine. A little bit of benzo. Hook up the IV drip here… Okay, now we wait.”
She dragged herself back over to her wheelchair and plopped back down. She rolled back over to his bedside, keeping an eye on his vitals. It was going smoothly, so she didn’t really have much to do. She surveyed the room. It was a metallic light-gray, like much of the space station, with two sick beds for emergencies. The desk where she handled her work was where she spent most of her time in here. The only touch of color were the plants in the corners and on her desk, both being her personal touch to the dreary room.
“Hmm...”
The plant desk, a small cluster of lucky bamboo, probably needed a change of water soon. If her regulars didn’t come barging in tomorrow, she would go do that. As for the bush of aloe vera in the corner, she needed to give it its biweekly watering. The last plant, and her personal favorite for the color it bloomed, was an azalea. Although they were beautiful when they did bloom, it was just past that season now, and she needed to trim its leaves before it become a hassle.
As her thoughts drifted from plant maintenance to personal chores, the clinic’s door opened again.
“Ah, Esther! It’s time to change shifts. You want me to take over for you?” asked her coworker.
Esther shook her head with a thanks.
“No need. Go eat your own lunch.”
“You sure?”
“On second thought, hold the fort for a second. I’m going to go tell the Engineering chief one of his members is over here.”
“Hensley?”
“Yeah.”
“Alrighty!”
Esther nodded and rolled her way over to the Engineering Bay. Most would just call, but the Engineering Division’s phone lines were always busy. And as she expected, once she arrived at the door there was a constant influx of people in blue and white coming and going.
She caught one of them holding a toolbox similar to Hensley going in.
“Hey, tell your chief-”
“Oh, Doc! Hensley’s out again?”
“Hydrazine poisoning. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
The technician nodded, continuing on his way.
“I’ll tell him!”
Now, she needed to go grab herself some lunch.
***
Oliver woke to the sound of munching. Breadcrumbs and condiments dripped onto the paper plate situated on his chest. The smell of mustard and ketchup with a tinge of mayonnaise filled his nose. He rubbed his face and sat up.
“For fuck’s sake, Emerson, come on!”
“Good morning, Hensley.”
“How long was I out for?”
“A few hours.”
“What happened?”“Monopropellant tank rupture. And on the first day back too.”
“Ah. Right.”
They sat in silence with the exception of the good doctor’s chewing. The smell of her burger roused a growl from his stomach. He coughed, attempting to slide off the other side of the bed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” the doctor suggested through her chewing.
He managed to stop himself right before he actually left the bed. The light tug of the IV still in his arm made him settle as her table once again. Emerson leaned down beside her wheelchair and handed him a bag.
“Here. Lunch.”
She placed the burger on the plate and practically shoved it in his face. Oliver grabbed the burger and pushed the empty plate away from him.
“Alright, alright geez. What did you order this time?”
“Instant Meal Type 5: Vat Grown Beef Burger.”
“My favorite, ugh.”
“Would you prefer Type 4 space omelettes?”
“No thank you.”
Despite his supposed disgust he still dug into the burger greedily. After a week spoiled by surface food, this wasn’t the most appetizing, but it was the only thing he’d eaten all day. He tried not to remember the magazine he read about what they actually put in vat grown meat.
As he chewed through the half-eaten burger, the door to the clinic opened yet again.
“D-Doctor!”
“Again?”
In came the usual trio of Toast, Soup, and Bacon, although for once they weren’t carrying him for obvious reasons. Bacon was crying as she paced back and forth by the door. Soup was carrying Toast. And Toast was, well, burnt. Burn marks criss crossed his lab coat, and a particularly nasty one ran down the length of his arm.
They lowered Toast onto the other bed. Emerson stood up, supporting herself by bracing her fingers against the wall as she walked. Oliver continued eating. It was rare for him to watch a medical procedure that wasn’t on himself.
“What happened this time?”
“He ran into a laser,” Soup said plainly.
Toast sat up with a groan and gave a protest.
“It’s more accurate to say that the laser ran into me!”
“It’s my fault,” Bacon sobbed. “I calculated it wrong, so the laser refracted in the wrong direction and made Toast toast.”
Idiots, the doctor and technician thought at the same time.
***
The work shift’s end came as an automated announcement.
“Attention all Shift One workers, the work day is now over.”
“Oh, it’s that time already,” Oliver muttered.
On doctor’s orders, he wasn’t allowed to go back to work, so he had spent the afternoon in the clinic keeping Emerson company. She was currently cleaning up her desk, readying it for Shift Two’s doctor. He swung his feet off the bed and went to tap on her desk.
“What’s the verdict, doc?”
“Sleep then go to work tomorrow,” she said briskly as she swept crumbs into the wastebin.
“Need help?”
“No, now get out of my clinic.”
“I’ll wheel you back.”
“No need. I can go myself.”
“I insist. As thanks.”
Emerson glared at him as she set the final file down in the drawer. She leaned back in her wheelchair, her hands poised over the wheels. He quickly grabbed the handlebars and pushed her out the door before she could wheel herself past him.
“Hey!”
“We’re going the same way anyways.”
Outside in the corridor, the others on Shift One were waiting for the lift to come around and take them home. They blended in with the crowd of blues uniforms and white lab coats. The atmosphere was livier than earlier, and conversations charged with scientific jargon. Oliver wheeled Emerson closer to the edge where they were a bit more out of the way.
“What’re your plans off shift?” Oliver asked.
“Sleep.”
The conversation ended. Oliver nodded in vague understanding. Okay then... The awkward tension was broken with the arrival of the lift. He wheeled her onto her exclusive seat, the handicapped zone. He took a seat beside her against the window. During the silence, she had started reading something on her tablet, and even now her gaze was intent on whatever interesting content was contained within.
Her light brown hair was tied in its usual ponytail, although some tendrils had come undone during the day. Her hazel eyes were glued to the screen, flicking back and forth as she scrolled down. Her white lab coat, which was pristine usually, had some stains from today’s work. Minuscule specks of leftover ketchup was caught on the edges of her sleeves as well. However, her most distinctive feature was her wheelchair.
“Are you done staring?”
“Oh-I wasn’t-”
“I don’t mind.”
She gave him a little smile that could’ve killed him.
This woman is dangerous, he thought.
The lift slowed to a stop. Something about today’s timing was impeccable. He hurried to wheel her out and to her room. It wasn’t a far walk from the tram station. Residential area 1A, Room 187.
“See you tomorrow then?” he asked as she carded herself into her room.
“Of course.”
***
|
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"title": "Nereid - Chapter Two – Disaster at 5C",
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"Doctors",
"Engineer",
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|
The survivors started arriving in the days after.
Soldiers, students, families, gang members, people of all kinds came to Lu Hao’s stronghold. The ones who were trustworthy stayed; the ones who were violent were taken care of.
Hong Sheng watched from the back, staring with hollow eyes as more and more faces he recognized arrived. There, that girl with her heart-shaped face and bright eyes, she was the fire-wielder that always called out “Hao Ge!” in a cute voice. And over there, that mature woman in a coat, she was the scientist who was as smart as she was beautiful, and who spent many hours discussing ‘research’ with Lu Hao.
The dancing twins who could heal people’s hearts as well as their injuries arrived, enchanting the entire stronghold. The mischievous beauty who attempted to infiltrate and steal their resources ended up defecting and joining them.
Countless talented and amazing people had come, just as Hong Sheng had always known they would.
And just like before, Hong Sheng had no chance of competing against them.
Hong Sheng watched Lu Hao greeting them, saw the sparkle in his eyes and his smile now directed toward someone else.
Oh well. At least this time, he had memories of those days when Lu Hao had treasured him like no other. Even if those days were over now, even if they would never come again, Hong Sheng could remember them deep in the furthest corners of his heart, where no one could ever touch.
They were throwing a party to celebrate a successful mission. Hong Sheng swirled the soda can in his hands. He didn’t feel like celebrating. It was too much noise, too many people.
He saw a girl stumble, giggling drunkenly into Lu Hao’s shoulder. Lu Hao turned his head and whispered something into her ear, then hoisted her up into his arms and carried her up the steps.
Hong Sheng sipped his soda and wondered if maybe he should try and grab some beer instead.
But he’d never liked feeling drunk. He might as well just go and wallow in bed, pretending that nothing was wrong, that nothing had changed. He was just pathetic enough that it might even work. Hong Sheng stood and quietly slipped away. The door to Lu Hao’s room was shut. He was glad that he couldn’t hear anything coming from there, not yet at least.
Hong Sheng entered his own room and padded toward the bed. He was tired, so tired. He collapsed onto the bed.
And someone was beneath him.
Before Hong Sheng could let out a shriek, an arm wrapped around his waist and the sound of a warm chuckle entered his ears.
“It’s just me,” came Lu Hao’s voice in the darkness. Hong Sheng froze, caught in the half-embrace, then pushed the arm away and scrambled off the bed. Lu Hao made a small noise of discontent, and Hong Sheng flushed.
“Lu Hao, you—why are you in my bed?”
“I put Meng Wei in my room. All the other beds are taken. I thought you wouldn’t if we shared… Hong Sheng?” Lu Hao sounded worried. “If this is too much, it’s fine. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Hong Sheng heard the ripple of bedsheets as Lu Hao sat up.
Hong Sheng didn’t understand what was happening. “Why… why aren’t you staying with Meng Wei?”
Lu Hao paused. “Hong Sheng, she’s drunk. That’s not… and in the first place, I wouldn’t.”
Hong Sheng knew he was overreacting. He drew in a deep breath and counted numbers. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, it’s fine. Let’s just sleep.” He could sleep platonically in the same bed as Lu Hao. That was fine.
“… Alright.” Lu Hao laid back down, and Hong Sheng climbed in next to him, perched at the edge of the bed. Lu Hao rolled over automatically and drew Hong Sheng in until their bodies pressed together. Lu Hao nuzzled the back of Hong Sheng’s head, and Hong Sheng shivered.
This was just something that Lu Hao did, Hong Sheng reminded himself. He was this affectionate with everyone. Don’t think so much of yourself.
“Hong Sheng…” Lu Hao whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of Hong Sheng’s ear, his breath coming out in warm puffs. “I was thinking. We’re getting a lot more people now, and rather than building more rooms, we should also think about conserving our current space…”
“Yes, that’s—a good plan,” Hong Sheng agreed, voice strangled.
“That’s right,” Lu Hao said. “So, I figured, rather than taking up two rooms, I thought that maybe the two of us could just share one.”
“What,” Hong Sheng said.
And Hong Sheng saw it. Lu Hao bringing all of his women back, pressing them down on this bed, forcing Hong Sheng to watch, maybe, or to know that in his own room were all these women taking what Hong Sheng could never have—
“Hong Sheng?” Lu Hao gathered him up tightly. “Hong Sheng, why are you crying?”
Hong Sheng squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want Lu Hao to see, to know how much it hurt. “Please. Don’t be this cruel.” Lu Hao inhaled sharply.
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. Do you…” His grip on Hong Sheng loosened. “Do you not… want us to be together?”
Hong Sheng tried to regain control of his breathing. Smooth, even. Don’t cry. “Of course I want to,” he said, trying to speak calmly. “But I don’t want to see your… relationships.”
Lu Hao’s arms fully disengaged from Hong Sheng.
“My relationships.” Lu Hao’s voice was flat.
Hong Sheng felt a prickling at the back of his neck. Somehow, he sensed a rising dangerous aura.
“Y-yes,” he pressed on. “Your… we can stay in the same room, but if you… with a woman, then please, do it somewhere else,” he conceded.
“If I what with a woman,” Lu Hao said. He took a deep breath. “Hong Sheng. You can’t be serious.”
“What?” Hong Sheng thought that was a decent proposal. There were so many other places Lu Hao could use. It’s not like it had to be in their shared bedroom.
A hand clasped Hong Sheng’s shoulder and flipped him around. Now, facing Lu Hao, he saw the tense expression on the man’s face. “Hong Sheng,” Lu Hao said lowly. “I’m not in a relationship with any woman. And I won’t be in the future.”
Hong Sheng’s eyes widened. “Oh,” he said.
“Do you want to know why?” Lu Hao continued, his voice deep with simmering anger. “Why I won’t be pursuing any women?”
Hong Sheng nodded slowly, unable to take his gaze away from Lu Hao’s glittering and furious eyes.
Lu Hao leaned forward until all Hong Sheng could see was him. “Because,” he said in a low tone, “I’m in love with you.”
Hong Sheng stared, open-mouthed.
“You didn’t notice at all, did you? Of course not. You’re so smart, but when it comes to emotions you can’t even figure out the smallest things.”
“What—” Hong Sheng looked away. This was—this was too much. This was unbelievable. Lu Hao liked women— there was no way, there was absolutely no way he would love— He turned back with a worried expression. “Are you drunk?”
Lu Hao narrowed his eyes. “Do I have to be drunk to love you?”
Hong Sheng hunched his shoulders. It was the most reasonable explanation.
Lu Hao sighed. His gaze roamed over Hong Sheng, the anger giving way to a sort of sadness. Lu Hao moved to pick up Hong Sheng’s hand, and Hong Sheng let him. Lu Hao held the hand preciously, sweeping a thumb over the pale skin. “Why do you think I can’t love you?”
“I don’t have an ability.”
“No one did until a year and five months ago, and people still fell in love then,” Lu Hao said. “Try again.”
Biting his lip, Hong Sheng said, “I’m… I’m not a woman.”
“That’s not a problem for me,” Lu Hao said in a rough voice that made Hong Sheng shiver.
“Uh—” Hong Sheng quickly thought of something else. “I’m— not beautiful.”
Lu Hao paused.
He raised his eyebrows and swept his gaze up and down Hong Sheng’s body, an appreciative slide that made Hong Sheng want to either cover up or strip.
“Try again.”
Hong Sheng swallowed.
He looked down. “I’m. I’m just.”
Hong Sheng didn’t know how to say the words.
‘I’m not worthy of you’— but that wasn’t enough to express everything.
Hong Sheng was very clear about his worth as a human being. It wasn’t enough to make his mother to stay. It wasn’t enough to make his father to keep him. It wasn’t enough to make a normal person love him, so how could it possibly be enough for someone like Lu Hao?
There were all kinds of people around Lu Hao, now. Scientific geniuses, professional fighters, miraculous ability users. Beautiful mature women, cute and blossoming girls. Lu Hao had brought all of these people under his wing, and they had all fallen in love with Lu Hao.
Compared to them, Hong Sheng was just an ant gazing up at a giant, wishing, ‘Look at me, please look at me’.
Hong Sheng knew that he wasn’t as important as everyone else. So when the time came where someone had to be sacrificed, Hong Sheng knew that the obvious answer would be him.
And so, he made the decision himself.
When Hong Sheng sacrificed himself to save the others, that was the only time that Lu Hao had really looked at him.
Hong Sheng had been content with that. Even when he was screaming from the pain and the horror of being eaten alive, he had thought that was the best that could have resulted from his life.
Hong Sheng was nothing more than cannon fodder that no one loved or cared for, and such an end was perfectly fitting for him.
But —
What he hadn’t expected was for Lu Hao to remember him, to come back and search for him.
Even if it was dangerous, Lu Hao had still come back to find Hong Sheng.
Even when Hong Sheng had been turned into a monster, Lu Hao had still cried when Hong Sheng died for the second time.
For that kind of person who was so generous, who could show more compassion than even Hong Sheng’s own family, there wasn’t anything Hong Sheng could do to deserve him.
“Oh,” Lu Hao breathed. He laid down beside Hong Sheng and held him in his arms. “It’s alright. It’s alright. I’m with you. I love you so much.” Lu Hao kissed Hong Sheng’s cheeks, rubbing away the tears that had started falling. “I love you. I won’t leave you.” He kept repeating those words over and over, pressing kisses all over Hong Sheng’s face. Hong Sheng shook and sobbed between his arms helplessly. “I’m so sorry,” Lu Hao said, voice cracking. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let you—” and Hong Sheng leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to Lu Hao’s mouth.
“You’ll really stay with me?” he asked.
Lu Hao’s mouth trembled against Hong Sheng’s. “I will,” he said hoarsely. “I promise. This time, I won’t ever let you go.”
He tightened his grip around Hong Sheng like he was desperately holding on, and Hong Sheng raised his arms and held him back.
|
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|
A scenery of blue as far as the eye can see. Contrary to the wrecked landscape, the calm waters reflected the clear blue sky. Who would have thought that this area was once a city filled with buildings that blocked out the sun?
*plop* *plop*
The silence broke, I was freed from the state of trance that enveloped me. At the corner of my vision, drops of my own blood continue to hit the sea of water underneath my feet.
Ripples formed continuously, expanding slowly... Along with my vision... then the ripples suddenly bounced back...
*ba dump* *ba dump* *ba dump*
My heartbeat rose... blood rushed to my head...
I was already nearing my limits and yet when I saw what was in front of me, all of the pain and fatigue that seemingly dragged my body downwards were forcefully forgotten.
In front of me was a person with medium length hair with hints of gray similar to highlights. He also seems to be at his limit yet when i looked into his eyes...
I looked down and contemplated. Looking at the reflection that was in front of me, I mustered all of my strength.
I swore to myself that although we are of the same appearance, I really can't stand the sight of this person. Every fiber of my being was genuinely feeling hatred towards him.
But no matter, in time he will cease to exist in anything or anywhere. It is time to bid farewell.
Quickly I gathered my own blood and spun it into the air.
<<Blood Cast>>
One's own blood is infused with mana, by using it as a catalyst for drawing magical diagram casting speed is almost akin to moving one's limbs.
<<Focused Strength>> <<Hardened Skin>>
I heightened my strength and defense at the best I can, to fail is not an option.
<<Heaven’s Road>>
Bluish lights enveloped my feet. After confirming the pressure of air beneath me, with all the force I can muster I launched myself higher and closer to one before me.
<<Earthen Wall!>> <<Flame Spear>> <<Thunder Bolt>>
I delayed and placed a trigger in the sequence of spells I’ve declared.
Once I have confirmed that the target is within range the spells will start executing. For now, I’ll continue to run towards the sky reaching a suitable height and distance from him.
And then numerous inscriptions appeared out of thin air. The spells are now active.
<<Multi-Cast>>
As the spells were about to be hurled towards him, I at the same time made an incantation that duplicated the active spells massively.
Walls of earth, each instantly are rising from beneath the waters out of nowhere quickly surrounded him. There was still a gap size of a fist on the top area but was part of the commands I placed when creating the spell sequence.
I felt some shaking, resistance from the earthen prison beneath me. As soon as the last chunk of earth forming the 2nd layer rose, numerous spears of concentrated flames are already heading towards it.
It rained unto the earthen prison continuously. The light browned colored prison before me was now turned into a glowing red, flaming and vaporizing the water around it. The prison was now a melting hot pot of lava contained into shape by magic. The gap above the prison is in place as expected. The last flame spear now rallied towards the molten prison and upon impact activated the last sequence of the spell.
*KABOOM*
The sound was deafening. A thunder of multiple sources continuously struck the molten prison precisely at the gap above it. The sea of water beneath me started to boil and steam continuously rose.
The spells were executed successfully, yet I am sure that it is still not enough as I felt a sudden surge of Mana when half majority of the flames hit it.
*BOOM!!!*
The wind blew suddenly in all directions clearing the vapor in one fell swoop. Rubbles were flying and cold breeze loomed in the air. It was now the exact opposite of what was around us was. What was beneath me was now the exact opposite of what is was earlier. Looking over the area where I cast my spells, great walls and spikes of ice are now encircling my foe. It was probably because he compressed the air and made it explode first before spreading it out to freeze his surroundings.
I looked into him, it seems that the spells I threw at him were worth as his breathing was now at disarray and blood was flowing from his left arm. I then threw my body into the air until my head was pointing towards him.
<<Heaven’s Road>> was still in effect. I gathered my strength unto my feet and kicked the air as if it was of solid ground and immediately hurled towards my foe.
<<….reo …porca….>>
He casted a barrier spell, mostly likely akin to the phenomena of reflecting. But I have already expected that and when I was just a meter in front of him…
Everything from then on happened instantly for not more than three seconds
<<Air mines>> <<Multi-Cast>>
With my blood casting <<Sanguinem precor>> still active, I activated numerous spells of air burst carefully placed the air around me and is ordered to burst according to a set of sequence.
<<Eye of Providence>> “all Seeing Eye”,
As a spell that eats a large amount of mana, it enables the user to see mana and the structure of a spell before him. Carefully observing the structure of the spell casted by my enemy I searched for a “Loophole” in the structure. As suspected it was indeed a reflecting barrier and there was a small hole. I then turned off the spell on my eyes, and placed the sequence to be followed with <<Blood Cast>>. A second had already passed, I am now less than half a meter from him.
I was still hesitant on either using a physical or magical attack as there was another structure that I was unable to identify inside the barrier. Seeing that we were both low on mana, he can only cast one more defensive or offensive spell. Clenching my fist firmly, I was able to decide on what I would do and activated the trigger sequence.
<<Heaven’s Road>> was no longer in effect so I had already entrusted my body to the multiple bursts of air that I laid out to be triggered in the sequence I intended. I was then placed instantly to my opponent’s left, and he seemed to have been shocked by the fact that I was already on a stance where my feet are now touching the ice footing at his side. This was a reverse of my position earlier I was about to collide head on.
We then stared at each other, each clearly seeing one’s reflection unto the other’s eyes. Both of us knew that following this would be the final strike. At this moment 2 second had now passed.
With the spells that strengthens me and my defense still in effect. I gathered all my strength and punched the gap which was the loophole in the reflective barrier my foe set up around him.
Seemingly expecting that I would be finding the loophole in his defense, he placed a reflective barrier that returns all physical attack more than thrice the amount that was received. I flew a few meters back upon taking the damage from the reflective spell that I hit. However, I also expected that there would be another barrier placed to cover up the gap in his first defense.
A ball of compressed air rippled at his side. It was the last and most powerful of the burst of air i used to position myself to his left. The trigger was automatically activated upon confirming that I have activated his 2nd barrier at the cost of my right arm.
With no other means of protecting him, the highly compressed ball of air exploded flinging him into the air and smashing him unto one of the pillars of ice around us. At that time all three seconds had passed and he is now lying on the floor face up.
After confirming his position, I slowly walked towards him. As I did, my right arm was hanging and the wound from my head opened up again because of the impact that threw me out earlier. I slowly scanned myself and estimated the amount of mana I have left and what I can do with it. It seemed that I still have a number of spells actively consuming a bit of my mana so I decided to disassemble them.
As I was getting closer to my foe I gathered the final reserves of mana I have left.
<<Arma arcess>>, <<Empyrium>>
Out of thin air, I pulled out a sword similar yet slightly longer than the normal Scimitar. It had a black glistening blade with inscriptions that glowed bright red. The air and space around it were somehow getting distorted and threads of gray smoke somehow emanating from the hilt.
With my left hand, I pointed the blade at his chest. He tried to stand but.
“Aaaaarrrrrgghhh!!!”
I did not permit him and stomped at the side where the spell hit him. I looked at him.
“Your eyes still have light within them.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond and readied the blade in my hand raising it above his chest. Feeling the weight of the blade and tightening my grip, I looked back into my memories. It was more than 3 years ago that this feud between us happened and now the conclusion was at my hands. I again looked towards him.
“You and I are one yet at the same time we are not. We yearned yet loathed one another.”
I raised the sword readying my thrust.
“In absentia luci, tenebrae vincunt (In the absence of light, Darkness prevails). <<Invictus Maneo>> (I Remain Unvanquished).”
The inscriptions on the sword shone brighter than ever. By plunging the blade Empyrium unto the heart of this person before me, his spirit devoid of all unnecessary emotions will be assimilated unto me.
*Klshuk!*
With all my force I stabbed him through the chest going directly into his heart. Afterward, his essence would vanish and his spirit will slowly integrate with my own.
It was what should have happened, however… The blade although going through his chest was not able to pierce his heart. I have used all of my strength in forcing the sword down his heart but something is preventing the blade to reach it.
A chill run down my spine. Both of us no longer has the capability to cast another spell and no other person should have been able to go near us as this place was sealed with a complicated high-level structure of magic. I clicked my tongue, there is indeed one logical way to explain this.
“A Curse…. To think that a curse of such high magnitude…. Was enclosing his heart…”
I was infuriated, to think that I was to be hindered by such a thing at this very moment when all was just a step away. What I feared then occurred.
The curse was of such high magnitude that it was capable of blocking <<Empyrium>>, One of the blades of creation that governs the phenomena of Death. Without even giving a chance to retaliate, I was thrown a meter back.
“…Why? Why do you fight!? You have witnessed firsthand the reason why I do what I do… and yet… WHY DO YOU DENY MY WILL!?”
Catching my breath, I slowly stood with the aid of the debris spread around me. Focusing my gaze towards him, he tightly grasped as his bleeding chest and answered.
“My life is my own and not yours for the taking… through your journeys throughout different worlds… I don’t know why… but, I have bared witness to all of what you had seen and felt… to the point of collapsing my own mind… both you and I know that what is lost cannot be brought back… that is why…”
Something then glimmered within his hands. A sword adorned with engravings akin to the wings of an angel. <<Anima>> the sword that governs the entity of souls.
“I shall end you and put all the souls that you have gathered to rest… then… I will take… MY OWN!!”
This world… all worlds… are something that I have grown to deny. In here, I face the final hindrance to end my so-called journey.
“This will not do”
I whispered. Then, I looked straight into his eyes. This person before me blurred with the image of my old self. My old self which I had grown to very much filled with hate.
“So be it! In order to fulfill my lifetime wish! No matter how long it takes for me to recover… I will sacrifice all that I have right now and take your life!”
After a blinding flash of light enough to dim the those of the sun above, everything slowly faded into darkness. Gradually, the light slowly emerged from within the darkness… I have woken up.
These dreams that grew clearer as the years go by… I still don’t know why I have them. The concept of magic and other worlds…
All is but a fiction in this modern time that I live by.
|
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Brother John of the Holy Flame Army was his new title. As their mob grew and more of the people of the land came together, the more they were able to raid the camps of the outsiders. In those battles, they found the best way to prevent the outsiders from wanting to come back.
Fire.
A quick death was no deterrent to the outsiders, so their goal was always to prolong any death. But the longer a fight went on, the more damage an outsider could do. That's when they discovered fire. Fire, especially when the flames start low in the body and devour upwards, would inflict a slow cursed death while still keeping them out of the fight.
John found that he had a naturally affinity for fire, with his bartender skill create fire allowing him to set outsiders on fire after coating them in liquor. His performance when driving out outsiders had earned him the respect of those around him, and they had taken to calling him Brother John of the Holy Flame. They honoured him by bestowing him with the army's own name. He was truly one of them, inseparably one with the group.
Their army had started out with guerrilla attacks, hounding individuals until they would return to wherever the outsiders came from while spreading their message to the towns. But after the sacking of the iron-monger Fred, they had seen a rally of new natives coming to their cause. They had enough to form distinct groups to split up and hit multiple outsider camps at once. For his good works, John had been appointed a leader of a raid group tasked with making ready the lands near the first camp, so that when the moment of their glory came they would be ready.
His mob was only a small group, made to camp rough and move quickly. Those around him had suffered the pains of the wild just as much as him, and not a single one of them complained of discomfort on cold nights or long marches. They had spiralled around the camps headed towards the first camp, the origin of the outsiders, doing whatever they could to weaken, even if they were unable to break a camp with their small numbers. The key thing that they had to do was frustrate and inconvenience. They found that frustration was far better at driving away outsiders than death was. As such, they would poison water supplies with poisons that would weaken and cause pain, but wouldn't kill. They would targets valuable individuals for torture, rather than trying to break whole camps. They would damage resource gathering points and over-hunt the wildlife, so that the outsiders would have to travel further for whatever they need. In particular, they would use their holy fire magic to bake the soil, burning away not only crops, but even the nutrients in the soil needed to grow more.
Fire.
It was through fire that the land would be purified. The outsiders were purified through the flames as the land was purified by the flame.
"Brother John," a voice from behind whispered, barely audible in the din of the deep forest at night. The one armed beastmaster, Johanna, had snuck up behind him with a small red bird resting on the stump of his missing right arm. "We've received word from the northern flank. They're in position now. They've taken outsider camp known as the Ski Lodge and are resupplied. With where they were when we last heard from them, the western flank should also be in position by now."
Johanna looked at him with eyes that were wide with anticipation, shining in the dark with reflected starlight like a cat's. John knew that every man in their group that had overheard would be looking at him, unseen, with the same look. They were waiting on him to give the order that they had waited weeks for. The order that they would move in for their final attack.
"Spread the word," he whispered back, "we leave before first light. We'll meet up with the west flank at the buried supplies. Make sure they know we're coming."
Johanna immediately started spreading word throughout the men, and shortly after there was the quiet fluttering of his bird taking off.
John cupped his hands together and created a small flame within, small like a candle flame and dim enough that it wouldn't so much as light up his face. He watched the flame dance as he waited for the dawn.
After days of hard marching through the woods, they found themselves in the graveyard of a small village to the west of the first camp. They arrived there after the western flank, and the work of digging up the supplies that John and his men had buried was already complete. It was a convenient staging point, as outsiders had previously dug up the graves looking for valuables a long time prior, so other outsiders hadn't bothered looking there again. John and his men had spent sleepless nights rushing in, filling the graves, then rushing out before morning light. The town was just over a mountain from the first camp, just beyond the detection range of a cartographer's map.
Outsiders had established a damn on that mountain, using the height of the mountain to make water pressure for their cleaning and sewage. After previous camps had their water attacked, they had placed walls and guards around the lake, so they had to keep any movements in the area subtle. As such, the western flank was sneaking their men behind in the remnants of the buildings and only sending out a couple men at a time to dig up the supplies. That left time to gather together and become well rested before the action.
As midday arrived, the leaders of each fighting group met together in the remains of what was once a church to one of the lost worlds, though John couldn't be sure which one. Together, they burnt a smokeless fire, the light hidden by the bright sunlight outside, and prayed for success. They each stuck their swords, axes, spear-tips and whips into the flames. Through the power of their holy union skill, their weapons remained alight without being burnt. They in turn left and touched their weapons to the weapons of their fighters, spreading the flames. As the flames spread, their strengths averaged together, then exploded. Each fighter was equally strong, and through the individual buffing skills that they could use, the strength of the whole was boosted.
They moved as one as they marched up the mountain.
|
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|
S.D.Mills
While this story is a submission for the SSSC II competition, I did not really write this to win. To those of us who feel like giving up, I wrote this for you. Not a single one of us is strong enough to defeat our demons alone. I hope the words below encourage you. If not, at least know this:
You are not alone. Open up. You’ll be surprised how much you are loved.
Ruat Caelum,
S. D. Mills, a.k.a night0w1
Full Fathom Zero
Marnie was going to into shock.
Theo stood dripping over her body. He watched a tremor spread out from beneath her jean shorts, silent ripples coursing under her sugar-sprinkled skin. The sand particles rose and fell in place like buoys. Her tangled hair made a mess of brown roots, grasping her face—her chapped lips, her bruised cheek, her fluttering eyelids—then they ventured to the earth beyond and fanned out across the white beach. The ice water sea droned behind them, its smacks and sizzles indomitable to any noise that might challenge it. The only evidence of her short breath was the quick, rhythmic shimmer on her soaked shirt.
It was going to get worse. Soon the tremors would become spasms. It would start in her hands and feet, then make its way to her lungs, then her heart. Then the spasms would stop.
When the water breached the cabin and swallowed all the air and light, the cold burned into Theo’s body so deep, so fast that it stopped all thought. Floating in the dark, he felt nothing. It was so cold he lost all sensation. If that could happen to a thirty-five-year-old mage in good health, it’s natural it triggered such an intense reaction in his eight-year-old Marnie. Theo could treat her symptoms, but not the cause. Exposure to the cold water of the Northern Pacific triggered this, but the real problem was Marnie’s mana. The uncontrollable, furious mana in every cell of her body.
“It’s similar to a form of cancer. Your everyday mage has an affinity to one or more molecular structures or elements, sometimes even a specific isotope—
“Like deuterium.”
Marnie’s doctor nodded. “But in Marnie’s case…”
Theo’s eyes widened. “She doesn’t have an affinity.”
“There’s more to it. Though rare, there are mages whose bodies can process raw mana. They have a harder time practicing magic, but they can do it if there is enough raw mana available. You see, your daughter’s body can’t process it. She collects mana from her surroundings like every mage, but her body won’t process it. Without an affinity, her cells are rejecting it. The longer she’s alive, she’ll have more and more outbursts. Most likely, she’ll die of distributive shock. There are medications we can consider, but there are no cures at this…
Of course, Mar’s meds were a mile out and a mile down now.
The water slithered up and licked Theo’s ankles through his soggy sneakers. They couldn’t stay here.
He looked up the slope of the beach and saw nothing but pitted charcoal boulders and clumps of ice. Theo bent down and scooped up his daughter’s shivering body. She was so much heavier than normal. He waddled up the embankment, weaving through rocks and boulders. It was a serious chore. At every step, his shoes squelched deep into the loose sand. The wet denim and beach grit chaffed his skin, cutting into his joints. He could feel the salt was starting to crystallize on his face.
When they reached the top of the hillside, icy wind blasted through to his bones. His face and hands burned. The air scraped his ears, fumbling around like a broken speaker, so loud he couldn’t hear the ocean anymore. Before his eyes lay a sloppy graveyard of gray rocks, sucked dry of their volcanic heat a million years ago. Beyond them, the dark empty expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The sun held its warmth tight, sulking on the horizon, away from the clouds that dominated the sky and washed out all the color below.
Theo searched for a decent spot to lay Marnie down. He didn’t have time to be picky. He spied a smoothed out hollow beneath a clump of larger boulders. It must have been home to some kind of tundra—who gives a shit!
The spasms were starting.
Theo layed her down haphazardly and immediately tore off her shoes, then her socks.
Her knee kicked air.
Bits of clothing jumped all around. The wet clothes would only make hypothermia more likely. He’d get them later.
Marnie’s entire body was jerking about now.
Theo rubbed his palms together roughly to warm them up, then placed one to Marnie’s heart and the other firm against the side of her neck. He closed his eyes.
Feel the heart throb. The blood flow to the beat. Oxygen bouncing between red donuts. The storm of mana raging against capillary walls.
Marnie quaked and seized. Her lungs had stopped, and her—
Focus. Find the oxygen. Peel open the hemoglobin. Careful! Careful. Slowly. Free the oxygen. Not too many—she still needs to breathe.
Let in the mana, just a bit.
A bit more.
More.
Okay. The oxygen is moving too fast. Angry. Hot. Don’t let go. Control it. Push it out.
Fuck! Slow down, dammit.
Out through the skin. Slowly. Push it steady.
Steady.
There.
Theo opened his eyes. His daughter was breathing softly now, her body calm, goosebumps popping up here and there from the cold. He watched her intensely. He had to be sure.
Steam wafted off her skin for a long while, rising just a few inches above before it was eaten by the frigid atmosphere. Every once in a while, a tiny spark popped in the air as raw mana fused with the oxygen and the resulting energy burst into heat. Centuries ago, oxygen mages like Theo were misunderstood as sorcerers of flame because of how easily oxygen burns.
Eventually, the vapor faded completely. He checked her heart rate. It was fine. The tremors hadn’t resurfaced. Marnie would be okay—for now. Theo guessed she’d wake in an hour or so.
It wasn’t time to rest yet. There was more daylight up here during summer, but the sun would set at some point. Theo stood up and stretched out his back. He used his mana to push out the water from his hair, his clothes, his shoes. When he was dry, he stepped up next to one of the boulders that sheltered Marnie from the wind.
Luckily, Theo also had an affinity with carbon. And there was plenty of carbon in this volcanic rock. He reached out and touched the stone, drew out the carbon and realigned them into nanotubes, then dragged a sheet out of the rock’s surface. He crafted a curved wall and encircled Marnie with it, leaving an opening about two feet wide for a doorway. The crystalline structure of the carbon was nearly as tough as diamond, so it would serve as a decent shelter. It hadn’t rained or snowed yet. Theo figured he’d make a roof if it came up. Otherwise, he wouldn’t bother.
Next, he formed charcoal pellets out of the ground and tossed them into a pile in the center. After he lit a fire, he collected his daughter’s clothes and dried them before dressing her. He wished he could make a bed or blankets, but he didn’t have the skill or the affinities for such a thing.
All their luggage was gone. Marnie only had a thin hoodie and jean shorts, so he shook off his winter coat from his shoulders and draped it over her. Exhausted and hungry, Theo sat down, hugged his knees and stared into the fire.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
.
It was too fucking quiet!
Thoughts began to float gently in through the walls—he could feel them coming.
It started softly.
It was just him and Marnie now. All those people. How many fit in a plane? A hundred fifty? Two hundred? Not a single one woke up. How did this happen?
Theo couldn’t fathom it.
No.
He could. It was just more of the same—the same damn story since Rachel. Five years, now. Marnie was only three. Maybe it was better it happened when it did. Rachel was barely a blurry face in Marnie’s mind at this point. Yes, it was better this way.
Then Marnie had her first episode. In the beginning, they were months apart, but the attacks came faster and faster and worse and worse. Theo spent weeks, months, sleeping on hospital couches, left alone with the silence and his sleeping baby girl.
Why? They were so close. They were so. Fucking. Close.
Theo was forced to take any job he could find—constantly fired for taking too many personal days to care for Marnie. The best paying jobs for a mage like Theo were in the military, but he wouldn’t have the time for Marnie if he had taken one. It killed him inside, but for Marnie’s sake he went to his parents for grocery money. Twice. Three times. Ten times. Just thinking ab—
Theo’s lungs burned. He realized he’d been holding his breath. He forced himself to breathe in.
Breathe out.
He found an experimental treatment, in Russia. A surgery to replace the organs responsible for collecting mana in people with Marnie’s condition. A light. A maybe. Finally, a maybe.
Their application was rejected.
And rejected.
And rejected.
And rejected.
Then they made the list. It was a miracle! Theo was ninety thousand in debt, but it was possible. Just maybe. Maybe.
The surgery was free, but she had to stay in the hospital for five months for recovery. Five months in a foreign country without a job, plus plane tickets. It was a lot of money. So he saved, and he borrowed.
Then the visas were held up. Theo spent hours on the phone getting it resolved. He was connected to one person, who sent him somewhere else, then connected to someone else, who sent him back to the first person he called. Around and around, back and forth, over and over. He got the paperwork in the mail two days before they got on the plane.
And now…
There was no rest, never any rest. Theo had to hold it together, always together, always strong—no matter what new impossible cliff awaited them. If Theo let go, if he allowed himself to be weak, he’d break.
He knew it.
He knew.
He knew it like he knew the feeling of oxygen in his lungs and carbon in his cells.
Theo was running out. There was nothing left. It was coming. Soon, he’d snap in two from this pressure. He’d crack and then both of them would die out here. He didn’t give a shit about dying anywhere. But Marnie…
It was sick. Cruel. Disgusting that she’d come so far to meet this absurd hell.
Why was everything so hard? What do I do, Rachel? What the fuck should he do on an ice cube in the middle of the fucking arctic with nothing but clothes? Use magic? Magic was a joke. All it was good for was killing people. Killing people and pretending.
He was going to die. First, Mar would die and then Theo would die. He’d been dying so long he didn’t even feel it. Things were so far away. He was so deep inside himself, looking out through a stranger's body. It wasn’t real anymore. It just was.
“Mm. Owww.” Marnie was waking up.
Theo shut his eyes tight. He’d been staring into the fire too long and they stung like hell. He pushed his eyelids in with his fingers to rub out the pain, then looked over at his daughter.
No. Giving up isn’t good enough. I can do this. I’ve gotta keep going. For Mar.
She sat up and shook her head. “What happened? What’s going on?” Her eyes were bloodshot. The bruise on her cheek was starting to purple.
“We’re on an island. The plane crashed into the water.”
“Oh.”
She sat for a moment, processing. It was probably too much to grasp, such a violent shift in her reality. Her eyes flickered around the room, then back to Theo.
“Dad? Where are all the people?”
Theo felt the question squeeze his chest. “They’re gone, Mar.”
Marnie stared at the air between them. “Like, dead?”
“Yeah.” Theo watched her eyebrows slowly relax. She looked so far away. Alone.
I’m right here, Mar. I’m not going anywhere.
“Where’s the plane? Is it out there?”
Theo shook his head. “No. It sank in the water. It’s just me and you.”
“What do we do now?”
Good question. What the hell should they do? What could they do?
“Dad?”
“I’ll find us some food and we’ll wait. The Coast Guard will be looking for us.” He put up a flimsy smile. “They’ll find us. We just have to wait, okay?”
She straightened her back and leaned forward on her hands. “We can’t call them and tell them where we are?”
“My phone’s in the plane.”
“What about magic? You could, I don’t know, like send a message through the air.” Her eyebrows were wrinkled and lumpy again. “Can’t you?”
Theo shook his head.
“Well, have you tried? You have to try before you just give up.”
“I’m sorry, Mar. That’s not how magic works.”
Marnie frowned as if she didn’t believe him. As if, should she frown long enough, she’d think of something he hadn’t. Marnie sank back into her sitting position with Theo’s jacket over her lap. Her shoulders slumped and she lazily looked around the room, though there wasn’t much to discover.
Her dad. A quiet flame in the center. Salt and pepper sand spread thin across the stone floor. Silhouettes of small rocks in odd shapes here and there, projecting wobbly specters against the walls in the firelight. High walls encircling them. A hole in the roof.
“Hey, Dad! Look! Stars!”
Theo strained his neck to find thousands of specks peeking in through the roof. Most of their glory was washed out by the scattered light of the fire in front of him. He’d never seen the aurora. Neither had Marnie.
She hopped around the fire. “Can we go see? I never get to see stars at home!”
It’s hard to see much of anything from a hospital bed.
“Mar, it’s way too cold outside right now, and you’re wearing shorts.”
“Oh, come on! I’ll just go out for a minute. I can go out for just a minute, right?”
“You just had another episode. You need to lie down and sleep.”
Marnie’s shoulders fell and she flung her head back, mouth open like a chicken in the rain. “Uugggghhh!” She stomped back to her place next to the wall and leaned her back against it. “You always do this. I never get to do anything!”
She glared at him. Whenever she did that, all he could see was Rachel. They had the same eyes. Eyes that went on forever. Whenever Rachel gave him that look, Theo knew he was going to lose. Dammit.
If he lost Marnie too, what was he going to do? He couldn’t carry around another one. It’d destroy him. Maybe he was already beyond repair.
“Okay.”
Marnie’s face lit up. She cracked that same mischievous smile.
“Okay. Fi—
BOOM. What the hell? It wasn’t raini—
BOOM. It was even louder that time. Closer.
BOOM. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
Theo ran out of the shelter and looked where the sounds had come from. All he could see was a pool of moonlight floating on the water in the distance. The rest was black, empty except for the crashing of the black sea and the icy whistling of black wind.
He stood in the cold for a while, trying to find the source of the noise. Maybe, another plane crash? No, that was crazy.
“What was that, Dad? What’s out there?” Marnie shuffled out behind Theo, wrapped in his winter coat. “Woah. It really is like super cold!”
“Marnie, go back inside!”
“What for? I’m fiiiine.”
“Just go.”
Theo looked around a second time while his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Wait, just there. The white tail of a small plane slid into the water in the distance. And an orange spot bobbed in the waves.
A survivor!
“Wow. Those stars are so pretty!”
Theo strained his eyes. It was a girl, maybe thirteen? She looked unconscious. That water had to be below zero. Even in a life vest, she’d die if she didn’t get out of that water now. Theo took off toward the ocean.
“Dad? Dad! Where are you going?!”
Theo slurped the hot water out of a makeshift cup crafted from carbon. It was a poor breakfast, but at least it was warm. He set the cup down on the floor.
“Here, let me get you more.” Marnie took the cup next to their newest member, poured out the cold water onto the ground outside, then walked to the bowl above the fire and refilled it with fresh water. It was an almost completely empty gesture, but Marnie probably felt helpless seeing the redheaded girl in front her refuse to utter a word or acknowledge they existed.
After Theo brought the unconscious girl to shore, she woke up with a start and started screaming and yelling. After looking around a while and realizing what happened, all the light left her eyes. She’d been an empty shell ever since.
Theo had brought her to the shelter and dried her off, then heated her clothes and hair with magic to ward off hypothermia. After that, he made a pot, some cups, and collected a couple gallons of seawater. He removed the salt with mana, then boiled it to kill any bacteria.
They all sat around the fire drinking water while the sun rose. In the meantime, Marnie had tried everything an eight-year-old could think of to coax the girl back to the present, but failed. It was just too much. Chances were she had just lost her parents. Maybe she watched them die.
Marnie handed the new cup to the girl, and she accepted it, but that was all. Marnie stayed on her feet and leaned against the wall.
“So, uh. I’m Marnie.”
Nothing.
“You can call me Mar though. And that’s Dad. You can call him Theo. It’d be weird if you called him Dad, too. Heh heh… heh.”
Beneath her long orange curls, the light reflected in the girl’s eyes wasn’t the light of the fire warming her face. She was somewhere else—somewhere dark, wet, and freezing. Theo had spent quite a lot of time somewhere similar over the last five years.
He reached out and touched her shoulder. “Drink.”
She looked up at Theo.
“Even if you have to force yourself, you gotta drink. You need the fluids, and it’s very cold outside. I know we don’t have any food yet, but you need to be warm and hydrated first or you’ll pass out before I can feed you.”
She stared at the cup for a minute, then brought it to her lips and took a sip.
What comes next? Damn. Fishing, I guess?
Theo reeled at the task before him. What the fuck was he going to do with no supplies and two kids on a frozen rock in the middle of the ocean?
“Synecdoche.”
“What?”
“Synecdoche. That's my name.” She finally spoke.
“Nice to meet you, Synecdoche. I'm Theo.”
“People call me Syn. But Todd says—
She fell back inside.
Shit.
Marnie came to the rescue. “Syn? I like it! You have a super cool name, Syn!”
Synecdoche snapped out of it. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, uh…”
“Mar. Just call me Mar, okay?”
“Sure, okay. Mar.”
Theo took the chance while all three of them were present. “We need to do something about our situation while there is still daylight. We need food first. We can decide what’s next after that.”
Marnie leaned down and coughed. Theo could hear her ribcage rattling as she spewed blood through her fingers. He rose to his feet and rushed to hold her.
“What’s wrong?” Synecdoche’s voice was full of panic.
“I’m fine.” Marnie gently pushed Theo away.
“No, you’re not.”
Her meds were wearing off. Her hands were shaking, probably from painkiller withdrawal. It would get worse soon. Theo could only imagine how much it hurt right now, with all that mana coursing in her veins. Her nails were ragged from constant chewing. She’d been trying to hide the pain from him, but Theo could see it from time to time.
Then he realized: with her medication wearing off, he couldn’t treat her attacks with mana extraction anymore. It would kill her if he tried again. Without the special chemicals that interfered with the process, her body would begin refusing to let the mana leave through the skin. It was part of the disease.
“Dad. I’m okay. I’m not gonna die, I promise.”
That’s not your job, Mar. It’s mine. I’m the one that makes promises.
He needed to move. If he spent all his time thinking about this, then they would definitely starve out here. Or freeze.
“You both will have to stay here while I get food. We need to survive until the Coast Guard find us—
“NO!”
Synecdoche threw her cup to the ground and glared at Theo. “We can’t wait around like this! They’ll never find us. Those planes… they’re underwater, so radio waves won’t reach them. If they can’t find us on radar or something, then—
“The Coast Guard will find us. Syn, it’s their job, okay? Everything will be fine, but we need to survive until they get here.”
“We’re a needle in a haystack right now. There’s no way to find us! They’ll never get here. They never, ever get here in time…”
This wasn’t really about the Coast Guard, was it?
“Maybe there's something down there, Dad. What if, what if there's like a, like a radio or whatever?”
“Even if we could get one back here, my phone and everyone else's will have short-circuited down there. And there’s definitely no reception in the middle of the ocean.”
“A satellite phone! Todd had one. It was turned off in his bag, so it should work if we go get it from the plane!”
Marnie chimed in to support Syn. “Yeah! We could try to-
“Do you have magic?” He could guess. Only one in a hundred people were mages.
Synecdoche twirled a lock of her hair with her finger. “No.”
“It's below freezing in the water this far north. The only reason the water doesn't turn to ice is because of the salt content and the tidal forces.”
Tidal forces? Really? His attempts to sound like an adult were faltering.
“But Dad, you could do it, right? With your magic.”
“If I'm gone and you have another episode, you could die, Mar. I’m not risking your life over a phone that might not even work.”
“If, if you won't do it, then I will!” Synecdoche balled her hands into fists, then stormed out, heading for the beach.
I don't have time for this.
He finally caught one.
It was heavy enough that Theo had to grasp the carbon spear with both hands. The fish shimmered in the sunlight, furious, desperate. It fought death admirably, almost flying free from Theo’s control. It took a few minutes to die, much longer than Theo expected.
What was this? Some type of cod? It was about an arm’s length, blood orange spine fading across its sides to a silver belly. It was probably enough. There were only three of them, after all.
It didn’t really matter anyway. The water all around was a murky sand cloud. If any brave sea creatures still remained, there was no way he’d find them, no matter how many times he might bury his spear into the ground.
Theo vaulted the fish up and behind his shoulder with the spear against his collarbone.
Maybe the teenager was right. It wouldn’t be the first time a commercial flight had been spirited away into an ocean, never recovered even with satellite imaging and thousands of man-hours searching the vast expanse. Maybe they were just fish in a huge bucket full of muddy water. Good fucking luck with that.
With Marnie’s meds dissolved in salt water by now, they were already out of time. The surgery was her final shot. She was approved at last only because she had been deemed terminal. They said she had a handful of weeks. That was with the medication.
Now…
He needed to get back to camp. Marnie had probably collected Synecdoche from her outburst and consoled her by now. The island took five minutes to walk the circumference if you took your time, so there weren’t exactly any places to hide. Besides, keeping his legs warm in this water was eating up a considerable amount of mana.
Back in the shelter, the only things waiting inside the gray carbon cave were the water pot, the cups, and fire. Marnie really shouldn’t be out there much longer. She didn’t even have long pants. Theo propped the spear against a boulder so the fish wouldn’t get sand on it.
“AAAAAHHHH!!”
That was Synecdoche.
“Help! Theo, help!”
Oh, no.
Theo found them on the beach, Marnie sprawled in the sand, seizing like she was shot with a taser. Synecdoche held her hands to her chest, collapsed next to Marnie.
“She just started shaking. She-she was just talking and, and…”
Theo ignored her and kneeled down next to his daughter. Mana extraction through the skin wouldn’t work now. Trying would likely rupture her skin and kill her faster.
Shit. What do I do?
His ears throbbed hot with blood, his heart slammed so loud he barely heard the waves crash behind him. He tried to calm his breathing, but it wasn’t working.
whatdoido whatdoido whatdoido whatdoido
The air just wouldn’t stay in his lungs. Was he going to pass out while his daughter died in front of him?
Dammit dammit fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuck whatdoidowhatdoido whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido—
She was breathing as fast as he was. She’d stop breathing in a minute.
His stomach turned. Once. Twice. Theo wretched and dry-heaved.
That’s it. That’s it. Her stomach! It’s full of water. There’s plenty of oxygen in there. I can do it. I have to try.
He placed his shaky hands on her abdomen.
Move along the veins. Travel with the flow. Around and around. In and out of organs, oxygen for CO2. Separate the hemoglobin from the oxygen. Absorb the mana. Control it. Trap it inside. More. Even more. Alright, that’s step one.
Fuck! That’s cold.
The tide crept up around Theo and Marnie, turned Theo’s legs solid. If this took long, Marnie would drown on dry land before she died of distributive shock.
Marnie glared at Theo with hot eyes, trapped inside the prison of her own body. She was still conscious. What amazing willpower, amidst all that pain.
When the water retreated, a stinging sensation needled Theo’s—
Stop.
Into the stomach. Push toward the stomach. The capillaries around it are small—be careful. Slow. Slow.
Okay. Keep it together. Don’t let go. Dissolve into the water.
Theo opened his eyes and shoved two fingers down Marnie’s throat. She bucked and struggled, but Theo didn’t stop until he felt sticky acid water covering his hands.
Marnie turned over on her side and vomited blood and water on the sand inches from her face. She coughed and coughed, but eventually pulled herself into a sitting position, finally free from the seizures.
“Mar?”
Her sobs were quiet. Marnie eased into Theo’s chest and let him hold her. He wrapped his arms around the tiny body as far they could reach and squeezed hard. She was practically made of glass, but he couldn’t loosen up. There was far too much risk his little girl would evaporate as soon as he let go.
I’m not going anywhere, Mar. No matter what.
Eventually, Marnie separated and rubbed her silent tears away from her face.
“Hey, Dad.” She coughed again, smiled. “Told you I wouldn’t die.”
He couldn’t take it. Theo stood up, turned around, and walked toward the ocean.
“Thank God you’re okay, Mar! Theo wait… Hey, what are you doing? Hey!”
“Dad?”
“Dad.”
“Dad, come back!”
Ignoring both girls, Theo waded into the water and started swimming toward where he found Synecdoche the previous night.
Exhausted, Theo flopped onto his back as soon as reached dry sand. The girls weren’t there, so they must have decided to dry off back at camp. He looked up at the yellow satellite phone. With a bit of mana, Theo evaporated all the water off every surface, inside and out.
Moment of truth.
Theo held his breath and pressed the PWR button.
“Please, God. Just cut me this one break.”
After pressing down for ten seconds, he heard a curt BEEP.
No.
It lit up. The screen read:
SEARCHING. . .
No way.
…nine, ten, elev—
BEEP.
READY
Theo’s fists shot into the air, trembling in weak victory. It was such a tiny thing, but it was everything. That crazy teenager just saved their lives. He’d never be able to repay this. He sat up and dialed 9-1-1. They weren’t exactly in range of any police station, but he couldn’t think of anything else to dial.
RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. click.
“SatTech Emergency Services, what’s your emergency?”
Marnie and Synecdoche were all smiles and laughter now. They both jumped up and down, danced, and hugged each other when they heard the news. The Coast Guard were tracking the phone’s location and would reach them in four hours. Marnie’s joy over even the smallest victories was contagious. Every time he saw her win someone over with that heart-melting happiness, Theo could only marvel at how he possibly had been so lucky to be her father.
“This fish is so good! What's it called?”
“I don't know. It's white on the inside. It might be some type of cod. But I’ve never been fishing.”
“Syn, where are from? Like, where are going after we get back?”
“Um, California.”
“That’s super cool! What’s it like there? Have you ever surfed? Have you ever seen a movie star?”
Marnie and Synecdoche chatted about whatever crossed their minds, fluttering between subjects. They were just back at the airport, waiting at the gate for their next flight.
Theo assessed Mar’s condition while she wasn’t paying attention. Past her boisterous smile were tired red eyes. Her knees bouncing constantly. She fidgeted now and then. The pain was probably worse than ever before.
Hang in there, baby. It’s almost over. Just a few more hours.
“I… I need to go to the bathroom.” Marnie stood up abruptly.
You don’t need to lie, Mar.
“Okay. Zip up your coat and keep your hands in your pockets as much as possible. The sun is out, but it's still very cold outside, got it?”
“Geez, Dad. I know. I’m not five.”
His not-five-year-old stomped out. Marnie had called Theo “Daddy” since she first spoke. Then she decided it was too childish, and Theo was demoted to “Dad”. When did she start calling him “Dad”? He wasn’t sure he approved of this growing up nonsense.
“What's wrong with her?”
“What?”
“I mean, what's Mar sick with?”
“She’s a mage, just like me. Only problem is, she can’t use it and her body doesn’t have a method to get rid of the mana it constantly collects.”
“So, like, it's like cancer or something?”
“Bingo.”
There was nothing more to say, so they sat in awkward silence for a moment.
“So. Synecdoche. Where were you flying to before you crashed here?”
“Uh… I was with Todd and Teresa—I mean my parents. I was with my parents and we were flying home. Well, I guess I’ve never been there but—
“You've never been to your own house?”
“I’m… well, I was adopted. On Friday.”
Only three days ago.
“I grew up in foster care, but the Jenkins found me and filed for adoption. I guess they knew my mom before she…
The Jenkins couple must have been the two bodies holding each other in the plane wreck.
“So when they found out I was in California, they came and got me. Todd said they're my godparents or something. I don't really get it, but they were really nice. The nicest…
Synecdoche was back in the plane again. Theo felt it was better to let her feel it. He knew from experience. The only way out is through. If you don’t let yourself feel it, the darkness will stalk your thoughts forever, then swallow you whole. If Theo had to keep all this together much longer, he might suffer that very fate himself.
Where was Mar? She’d been gone for at least fifteen minutes.
“Syn, I’ll be right back. I’m just going to check on my daughter.”
It took a few minutes, but Theo found her lying on her side at the foot of a small boulder. She’d probably been sitting there, then fell over. When he noticed the unnatural positions of her arms and legs, all the air in his chest abandoned him.
He didn’t need to check her pulse.
It was over.
What happened, why—nothing mattered. Marnie was gone.
He felt absolutely nothing. There should have been something—an outburst of anger, uncontrollable sorrow, something! But all he felt was a black tide of nothing rise and engulf him, stopping all thought.
It was all he had left—the space between them.
Theo shuffled to Marnie’s body, knelt down, and drew her into his arms. He hugged her unplugged hardware as tight as he could. He smelled her hair, breathing her in. He breathed her in and in, soaked every remaining bit of Marnie into himself until there was no more Marnie left.
He held her in his heart, the most precious mana he’d ever collect.
Synecdoche was standing behind him. She said something he didn’t quite catch, then he heard the deep thumping of a helicopter approaching.
In a dark, dry room that reeked of Pine-Sol, a lab tech in teal medical scrubs handed Theo a small brown container. Marnie’s ashes.
“Thanks.”
The tech left without saying a word. Theo stared at nothing in particular for a long while.
“Uh.”
Theo forgot Synecdoche was still with him. She had nowhere else to go. She didn’t have anyone—just like him.
“What are you gonna do with...
“Marnie?”
“Yeah.”
Theo cast his gaze down. “I don’t know.”
The clay surface was cool. No more wild mana beat relentless against its walls. Theo remembered this feeling from last time, with Rachel. It was exactly the same. Everything that mattered in the universe was rent in two. A millimeter from his fingerprints. Galaxies distant.
He’d probably been on that island ever since his wife died. And now Syn was on that island too. Maybe they’d never leave. Theo had been drowning deep inside himself for longer than he could remember. There was a maybe. Only a maybe, but more than zero. Maybe he could learn to swim.
Theo decided. Then he looked the girl hard in the eyes.
It was a good question. What was he going to do with Marnie now?
“I don’t know.”
But I do know something that I need to do. I promise I’ll try. I promise.
Mar.
Announcement
This is an entry for the ScribbleHub Short Story Contest. Press the Favorite Button ♥️ to vote for this story!
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Lotus had the others wait outside the temple while she continued to look around. As she hadn't been affected by the sleep inducement, and they had watcher her kill an old man, they didn't argue with her about going alone, though Dawn did seem as though she wanted to. To make sure they didn't wander off or freeze, Lotus brought out some of the rotten furniture wood out for them to make a fire with, before heading once again back inside.
As she walked past the throne on her way to the library, she once again strained her mind about some way to move the golden chair, though nothing useful came to mind. Considering its size, it would have been hard to even find a forge big enough to melt it, so there wasn't even a way to make it a more convenient shape. Inside the old man's room, which was previously so filled with piled books that it there was very little walking space, she found that the books had been reduced to dust, as if the old man's life had been the only thing holding the books together. She found that regretful; had she known that would happen she would have looked to see if there was anything worth making copies of first. Walking in the ankle deep dust was a disgusting experience, and every breath made her want to choke. None the less she walked over to the stone bed and, more importantly, the draw that was built into it. As she slid it out, which took some effort with the slide being filled with dust, she found soft leather wrapping, protecting a few items.
The first time covered the rest, as if to protect them, and was a metal breastplate made from a deep purple metal and embossed with leaf pattern trimmings. It was sized about right for either herself or Dawn, depending on how much padding was worn underneath it, but it was nowhere near large enough for Dima or Oak. That was, if anyone wanted to use it. Lotus wasn't familiar with metals, and didn't even know if there were purple metals in the real world, let alone if they were strong enough to make good armour out of. That said, just going by its appearance and general feeling, she assumed there was something magical about it.
The next thing that caught her eye was a silver flute, about as long as a tall man's forearm. Although she hadn't learnt any instruments, she found it to be a beautiful item, though she didn't know how it would compare to other flutes. She told herself that when she next logged out, she would download a virtual reality tutorial to teach her how to play. For the moment she tucked it carefully in a loop on her belt, wanting to keep it close. After that, there was a pair of leather gloves, with runic patterns tooled around the centre of their backs, forming a circle around an untooled space. As she touched one, it adjusted its size to fit her, an indication that it might have been magical, and she put it on. When trying to figure out what it did, and picking up her scythe to see if it affected her strength, she found that it made her scythe disappear, creating the tooled image of her scythe on the glove. After some more messing about, she found he could summon the weapon back to her by clicking her fingers. The glove seemed to store a single item, or a small bag of item that apparently needed to be smaller than a draw, and it stored the first time she touched after emptying it, and to return her weapon she need to pass it to her left and then juggle it back. As she put the other glove on, she thought that, not knowing what the breastplate did, she was sure that the gloves were the best thing she would find in the temple, and was glad that she didn't have to carry her heavy scythe around when she didn't need it.
The last thing in the wrap was what she estimated to be two hundred small golden coins. It was the first currency she had found in the game, as the players she'd found all bartered, and as she'd read on the forums, the coins gave off a slight magical aura, that NPCs used to tell if they were real coins. There were apparently a few merchant based classes that could drain the magic from coins in order to power their spells or some crafting classes that used them as a part of crafting, so they still had some value with players, aside from the utility of avoiding bartering. Aside from gold coins there were apparently blue copper coins and silver coins, with some rumours about there being coins of higher value then gold. Each of the gold coins was about the length of the tip of her thumb, and weighed less than fifty grams. As such, the whole sack was around eight to ten kilograms, and she couldn't imagine lugging around that much weight just to go shopping. She wrapped the coins and the breastplate back up and placed them into her bag. With the room now stripped of the only things it had besides dust, she moved back out to the main hall.
Directly opposite to the room she exited was an identical door, and she hoped that if there was another old man inside, she would be able to read his books this time. Opening the door, she was hit by a wave of heat and the smell of sulphur. The smell would have been far worse had she not had her sense of smell dulled by breathing in dust. Inside the room she found a fountain larva pouring into a pool and draining down a pipe in the centre of the pool. On the opposite side of the room was an identical looking fountain, but that one sloshed out semi-frozen water. Directly Between the two, an anvil was set up with a table arrayed with a range of crafting tools behind it. The wall directly opposite the door, adjacent to the two fountains, was a bed set up beside two luscious vegetable gardens. Sleeping on the bed, which was apparently padded with plant leaves, was a muscular greying old man, whose every section of visible skin seemed covered in scars from cuts and burns, though mostly burns. On her entry, the old man woke up and looked at her with a wide, toothy smile.
"You're a bit late, I finished the request so long ago that I've melted it down and reforged it several times over since. Not that that's much of a problem, this version's much better than the first one I made, and perfecting it helped me pass the time. Your boss paid in advance, so just pick it up and leave. It's the one wrapped in corn leaves next to the water. Now, I spent too long at the forge and need to rest. If you have any more requests, they'll have to wait for another day."
Not giving her an opportunity to explain, the man lay back down and seemed to sleep the moment he did. With that kind of quick sleeping, she would normal have assumed he was faking, but when she walked up to examine him, he definitely seemed to be entirely out. Considering apparently anyone else entering the temple would fall asleep, Lotus figured the real owner of whatever was being ordered would never be able to pick it up, and if the state of the main hall was anything to go by, the customer had likely already died of old age. As such, she walked over to the fountain to take a look at whatever her new item was. Unwrapping the leaves, she found herself looking at a sword that seemed more art then weapon. That wasn't to say that it looked impractical, but rather the workmanship and material formed a beautiful weapon. It was a kris longsword with a golden centre with streaks of red flicking out along the waiving, sharp edge. A fuller ran a third of the blade's length, despite how incredibly thin the weapon was, and the fuller was filled with delicate runic patterns. Despite how thin it looked, and how little it seemed to weigh, it didn't seem to bend or flex at all, and seemed incredibly strong to her untrained eye. It was the kind of weapon that wouldn't have been used in the real world, but with the mechanics of a game, it was a legendary treasure. Although she didn't use longswords, and neither of her classes had the proficiency for it, she knew she wanted to keep it. She threw it immediately into her left hand storage glove, replacing the stone she had kept in there as a place-holder, and hurried to leave the temple before the smith realised his mistake.
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Hong Sheng had some small savings from his time at work. He submitted his resignation that afternoon. It had taken him a long time to get accustomed to the busy city again. He was too used to the deathly quiet, the shuffle and moan of zombies, the need to hide in corners and search for dangers. Crowds made his chest tighten until he couldn’t breathe, and he’d spent the better part of an hour curled up in an alley, hiding and trying not to make noise while he hyperventilated.
It was unbelievable how many people were still alive, now. They were so… innocent. Chatting and laughing and fighting over inconsequential things, unknowing of the danger looming just before them.
In just three months, 80% of these people will all die.
The thought rang behind Hong Sheng’s eyes, and he found that he couldn’t bear to look at anyone’s face.
After quitting work he had retreated to his apartment, locking the door and rolling himself into a ball under the blankets of his bed. He didn’t leave for the rest of the day.
But he couldn’t just hide forever.
Hong Sheng had a second chance. He thought it over, and could only think of one thing do with it.
He wanted to see Lu Hao.
He told himself that he would help Lu Hao with his future knowledge, but no one knew better than Hong Sheng that his actions would have no impact on the flow of things. One little Hong Sheng was not enough to change anything for anyone; Lu Hao had established the base and become a hero long before Hong Sheng had even entered the picture. Hong Sheng was sure that after his death, Lu Hao’s life would have continued the same as it always had. Maybe Lu Hao would be a little sad to have seen his old friend die without being able to save him. In the elevator, surely those two beauties were comforting him while the zombies tore Hong Sheng apart. And when Lu Hao returned to the stronghold, there were the other dozens of beautiful people waiting for him as well… there probably wasn’t a thought left for Hong Sheng after that.
Still, Lu Hao was an honorable person, and a good friend. After all, he’d come back to the tunnels to end Hong Sheng and free his soul. Lu Hao had even cried for his death. (Hong Sheng had thought that no one, not even his father, would have cried for him).
Hong Sheng was well-aware that in the grand scheme of things, he was nothing more than cannon fodder. He was just one of the many who admired Lu Hao, who would give their lives for him. He wasn’t significant in any way.
But even so—
In his heart, he still kept the humble wish of wanting to stay by Lu Hao’s side.
There was a phone that Hong Sheng had gotten for work. He had never called anyone else with it, but today, he held the phone up to his ear and waited for it to connect.
Ring, ring, the phone trilled. Then, a click.
“Hello?”
A warm and deep voice. Hong Sheng’s eyes fluttered shut.
“Hello, Lu Hao. It’s… it’s Hong Sheng. I have something I want to say to you. Can we meet?”
“So,” Lu Hao said. He sat at the other side of the table, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. The afternoon light bathed his features warmly, making him look even more beautiful and elegant. Lu Hao’s deep eyes regarded Hong Sheng with a focus that made him squirm. A smile lit up Lu Hao’s face, and he continued, “Hong Sheng, I didn’t expect you to contact me. I had been looking for you.”
Hong Sheng ducked his head. “I’m sorry. It was my mistake.”
“You should have told me, you know. If I knew your father kicked you out, I would have made you stay at my place. You didn’t have to go through that alone.”
“I- I know. But I got a job, and I was able to live well for a while, so…”
“So you thought you didn’t need me anymore?” Lu Hao tapped a finger on the table. The smile on his face was sharp. Somehow even at eighteen Lu Hao still had the same pressure as when he was twenty-six and the leader of the SG.
“That’s not it,” Hong Sheng said. “I just… I was afraid of dragging you down.” Hong Sheng clutched his tea closer, his shoulders rising defensively.
“I was scared,” he admitted quietly, “and ashamed. I didn’t think I could face you.”
The two of them went silent. Lu Hao looked at Hong Sheng like he was trying to understand. The waitress came and left a plate of snacks on the table. Lu Hao thanked her and pushed the plate over to Hong Sheng.
“You should eat,” he said gently.
The plate was full of egg custard tarts, osmanthus jellies, sesame balls, and all the other sweets Hong Sheng had loved to eat on those days when Lu Hao dragged him out for lunch. For Hong Sheng, it had been over ten years since he had tasted any of these.
Hong Sheng found his eyes watering up, and he lowered his head to hide from Lu Hao’s gaze. “Thank you,” he said, and pulled a few snacks to eat.
Lu Hao watched him, not eating any himself, only sipping leisurely from his coffee. He had never been one for sweets in the first place. Hong Sheng knew that he actually had a bit of an old man’s taste, preferring things like dried squid and salted anchovies. In the apocalypse, when they’d raided stores and warehouses, Lu Hao was always happiest to crunch on the dried seafood snacks on the way back.
“What do you do for work?” Lu Hao asked.
Hong Sheng paused in nibbling the jelly. “Physical computing consulting at Y company.”
“Do you have to work tomorrow?”
Setting down the jelly, Hong Sheng found himself growing nervous. “Not tomorrow,” he said.
“The day after?”
“No…”
“A week after that?”
Hong Sheng pursed his lips and looked away. “Never,” he finally admitted. “I resigned from my job.”
He waited for Lu Hao to ask questions about why, and what he was going to do from now on, and how was he going to support himself. Hong Sheng didn’t know how he would answer. It’s not as if he could say ‘Work doesn’t matter anymore since the apocalypse is coming in three months’.
Unexpectedly, Lu Hao just sipped from his coffee. When he set down the cup, he said, “Come stay with me, Hong Sheng.”
Hong Sheng blinked. He thought he misheard.
“You’re not working anymore, so there’s no reason to stay at your apartment,” Lu Hao reasoned. “It’s better to stay at my place. We can go to the villa - you won’t ever see your father from there, not like if we stayed at my house. And it’s a better location, anyway.” He paused. “You remember the villa, right?”
Hong Sheng nodded his head, not trusting his voice. Head spinning, he eventually asked, “What about your parents?”
Lu Hao smiled, his dark eyes twinkling in the sunlight. “They’re on a vacation trip to Iceland for several months. You don’t have to worry about them.”
With the matter decided, Lu Hao stood and patted Hong Sheng on the shoulder.
“We’ll hire movers to bring your things,” he said.
And without even letting Hong Sheng refuse, he walked out.
Hong Sheng didn’t have much, so he desperately called Lu Hao to refuse the movers. “That’s fine. Just bring yourself then,” Lu Hao had said, leaving Hong Sheng feeling dizzy.
Hong Sheng stepped into the villa, the future base of operations, much earlier than he had expected. He thought that in the three months before the apocalypse he would be rebuilding Lu Hao’s trust and paving the way toward being invited to escape the city with him. He hadn’t thought that coming to the villa would be as simple as this.
The villa was large and open. The windows streamed in heavy sunlight, and trees swayed in the wind outside. It was beautiful, but also defenseless. In the past life, it had already been converted to a fortress by the time Hong Sheng had arrived. The windows had been welded shut with metal, and barricades impeded anything from approaching too quickly.
But for now it was a home, bright and airy.
“Hong Sheng, your room will be on the third floor,” Lu Hao said. Hong Sheng followed him up the steps, and gaped in surprise when Lu Hao pushed open the door to the balcony room.
In the past life, Lu Hao had used this room as the core of the stronghold. It was far away from all entryways, making it the easiest place to defend from invaders. It also had a small balcony from which one could climb onto the roof. Hong Sheng had used this position to snipe at faraway zombies before.
It was a stroke of luck to be offered this place. In fact, it felt almost too good for him. But Lu Hao had already prepared a bed and furniture for him, and he had even smiled and said, “My room is right across the hall from yours,” so Hong Sheng lost all will to refuse.
“Thank you,” he said instead, face turned to the floor.
“Hong Sheng.” A large hand grasped his chin, tilting Hong Sheng’s face up. Lu Hao looked at him warmly. “If you’re going to thank me, look at me when you do.”
Hong Sheng’s face flushed and he sputtered, jerking away from the sudden intimacy. Lu Hao laughed and released him.
“You never change,” he said. His voice was unmistakably happy.
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|
Dawn logged in and woke up in the early morning while it was still dark out and was immediately greeted by a high pitched scream. Of the people she had seen the previous day who could possibly make such a feminine panic, only the lady in the gaudy rainbow dress seemed to match. With how soon the scream happened after she woke up, she knew it had to have been a scripted event; a sequence in the game that was planned by the developers instead of occurring naturally through player interaction. With how much the game relied on player-driven stories, she was almost surprised to find any scripted sequences. Having none would give the game an organic feeling, but also meant players would grow bored of it quicker and the parts they would remember would be about the other players and not the game itself. Dawn knew that it wasn't necessarily any easier to make a game with good organic gameplay, compared to one with good scripted events, despite many people saying that they were lazy. It mostly came down to a lot of investments in the AI, environments and the games engine, which could easily chew through as much time and money as good story-boarders and implementation. She also knew that going too heavy on one end could make the other feel out of place, though if done well the scarcity could make them feel special. Most of all, she knew that cheeping out on time or effort would lead to a bad result regardless of the direction the developers went in.
By the time she got her feelings on the matter sorted out, Dawn had changed her clothes and prepared her weapons. While they travelled, she spent most of her time with her tinkering skill, along with stockpiling energy in crystals. As a result, she had made herself a curved knife with a glowing blue blade from the crystal-like tail spike of an armadillo-like creature they hunted along the way. Embedded in its pommel was the largest crystal she had, and it contained every bit of energy she had to spare for a couple of weeks straight. She had designed the grip so that she could comfortably hold it in a back-handed style with her thumb on the gem, letting her cast a spell whenever needed. Along with her strengthening the blade with voice, a blade that was very hot despite its cool colour, she was proud of how well thought out her plan had been. When she saw the way that Lotus was able to pull her scythe from nowhere, she had wanted to upgrade her own combat style. Despite several attempts, she had never been able to recreate the transformation the Lotus's weapon had gone through when she first strengthened it with voice. The weapons did get harder and sharper, but they didn't alter their shape or colour or gain new properties. Whether it was just a matter of luck or some unknown mechanic, she had no way of knowing.
Out in the dining hall, the other patrons gathered. The old man, his apprentice, his granddaughter and their pet were gathered nearby, while one of the knights, a relatively handsome man with dark brown hair and a well-toned body, now that he was out of his armour, blocked the way behind the bar, while a blond haired woman was consoling Oqua, who was in tears, seemingly having aged ten years over-night. The unknown woman wore a simple cotton nightdress, and from the baton, at her waist, she was the other knight. The noble was walking about the room, trying to pry open every window and door, all without any luck. Not sure what to do, Dawn walked up to the woman who had previously been wearing a gaudy dress, and now wore plain white bedclothes, to ask her what happened.
"It's truly terrifying," she said, "someone killed the poor old man in the night. When the doors open, I'll be sure to perform a purifying dance to see his soul finds rest."
"What's that about the doors?"
"Oh, it seems that the building was somehow attached to the old man, and it's not letting us leave until his killer is also dead. At least, that's what the wife said," she then lowered her voice conspiratorially, "Between the two of us, that Duke Dohebli has been fidgeting to leave the moment he found out. That kind of thing seems suspicious to me."
As she said that, Dawn heard a voice behind her.
"I hate this kind of puzzle. We could just kill them one by one until we can leave."
It was Lotus, having changed into her green monster-leather skirt, brown top and a bone chest plate with pouches across her belt, she looked as though she still wanted to sleep. Dawn admired how the white of the bone highlighted the wildness of her eyes and contrasted with her hair. While she knew that Lotus could be really kind, she also knew that she was entirely serious when she casually suggested murdering her way through the situation. As the only people that were currently armed, they were definitely at an advantage if a fight broke out, though Dawn was against that happening. Lotus had shone throughout the forest and at the temple, and now Dawn wanted an opportunity to prove her worth. This was a situation that required cunning, required deduction and planning. It wasn't a situation that could just be solved with brute force. Clearly seeing how determined she was, Lotus gave a heavy sigh and sat down at a table.
"Fine, we do it your way. But if it's not solved soon I'll solve it by force."
"You're the best Lotus," Dawn said with a beaming smile, "I'll solve the case in no time."
Dawn walked over to examine the body. The man's back seemed to have been pierced several times with a thin blade as he was walking towards his room. Running her mind through the various weapons and tools she had seen the previous night, only the noble's crummy rapier seemed to fit. That seemed too neat. He was the obvious suspect and he was the person who wanted to leave the most. Considering the violence and pain settings, there was no way the game was targeted at children, so the solution couldn't be that simple; he had to be a red herring. Tentatively, she walked over to the man to hear his alibi.
"Huh? Why should I explain myself to a commoner like you? Be thankful I don't have my guards kill you for daring to question my integrity," was the indignant response she received when she asked him if he had been in his room all night.
"My rapier is an heirloom of my noble bloodline, it was on my person the whole night. I would never allow anyone even the opportunity to touch it, let alone use it," was his response when she asked if anyone else might have taken his weapon. After that, he called over the free knight to chase her off.
Not only did it have to be him, but she also wanted it to be him. No matter how she thought about it, he just seemed too guilty. She refused to believe that the problem would be solved so easily. While she was wondering about what else to do, she noticed Lotus walk up to the draws that the old man's apprentice carried and started opening draws up at random. He was about to protest when she gave him an angry stare that shut him up. When she found a draw towards the bottom, she took out a purple rose-like flower and crushed it up in her hand along with some green seeds from her own supplies. When it was all mushed, she walked up to the noble, slipped past the guard by faking to one side and turning to the other, and shoved the contents into his mouth. She held her hand over his mouth until he swallowed summoned her scythe so that the shaft rested on his shoulder and the blade on his neck. When the man needed air, he ate the mixture and Lotus walked away from them.
"Give it five minutes or so and he won't be able to lie for ten to fifteen minutes. Or that's what the recipe said; haven't tried it before," she said with a shrug and tapped Dawn's shoulder like she was tagging her in.
Dawn felt like it was cheating, but she and the other occupants waited for the concoction to work. A few minutes later, he seemed to be dizzy, barely able to stand, and was laughing to himself like a drunkard. With him in that state, Oqua walked up to him and asked, "Did you kill my husband?"
"Husband?" the noble replied with a confused expression, "I didn't kill any husbands."
The guards let out relieved breaths, but they were premature. He continued to talk.
"I did kill an old man last night, though. The filthy backwater peasant refused to give up the fountain of light, even after hearing who I am. So, I did kill him. No husbands though. Do peasants even have husbands? Are there peasant wives also? Who would marry a peasant, though?"
After that, he started bellowing a full body laugh, as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world. His face grew red and he was short of breath. As he tried to reclaim it, he had a look of surprise. That soon turned to panic as he tried to speak despite his breathlessness. He started to pale, clearly unable to breathe, like a vacuum had formed around him alone. Next to him, Oqua was retrieving gold coin after gold coin, flicking them into the air while muttering a strange incantation. Each coin turned from glistening metal to colourless grey, then broke into ash-dust when they struck the floor. Even after he collapsed, she continued the trend until she was sure he was dead. Without any hesitation, she had burnt through a small fortune just to kill him.
With the man dead, the doors and windows opened, revealing the morning sun. Dawn found the whole experience entirely unsatisfactory.
|
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“Sheng Ge!”
Hong Sheng turned around, squinting past the sunlight. The convoy had just rolled in, and from the back of the armored jeep a small figure darted out. The young woman happily ran toward Hong Sheng, a bright smile on her face.
“Sheng Ge, I’m back! Did you miss me?” She stopped in front of him, holding her hands behind her back cutely.
“I’m glad you’ve returned safely,” Hong Sheng said.
The corners of his lips were lifted in a small and elegant smile, and the girl blushed prettily at the sight. After a dazed moment, she said, “Sheng Ge, look— I brought back something special for you…” She moved to present the box she held behind her back, but a large hand snatched it from her.
At nearly the same time, a heavy arm possessively draped itself around Hong Sheng’s shoulder.
Lu Hao smiled from where he stood next to Hong Sheng, the package held aloft in his hand. “Hey now, you know the rules. Distribution of loot has to be approved by leadership.” He tilted his head, looking down at the girl. Though his mouth was smiling, his eyes were not.
The girl flushed and frowned. “That’s not fair! You’re just going to give it to him anyway!”
“Yes, but now it’s from me,” Lu Hao said loftily. He opened the box and showed Hong Sheng the egg custard tarts they had traded from the other settlement, and Hong Sheng made a sound of appreciation. While Hong Sheng snacked on the tart, Lu Hao waved the girl away from where she stood enraptured. The girl sniffed at him and stomped off.
Hong Sheng looked up at Lu Hao with an unimpressed expression. “… Do I even want to know what that was about?” he asked.
Lu Hao smiled sunnily at his lover, and leaned down to press a kiss to his head. “I’m so happy that heaven answered my prayers,” he said.
Hong Sheng slanted a glance at Lu Hao out of the corner of his eye.
Lu Hao walked Hong Sheng back to the villa, guiding him with the arm around his shoulders. “You see, I asked them, ‘Please keep Sheng as oblivious to other people as he had been to me’. Clearly it’s been working.” He looked around at the adoring gazes of the surrounding survivors and glared. Most of them were cowed and looked away, but others glared back. Lu Hao narrowed his eyes. He would have to watch out for those.
“I think I should feel offended by that,” Hong Sheng said. He smiled up at Lu Hao. “But I like how you’re a little stupid sometimes, so it’s fine.”
“Sheng!” Lu Hao cried out. Hong Sheng just laughed and kept walking forward.
It had been eight years since the apocalypse had come.
Lu Hao looked at Hong Sheng’s back - Hong Sheng, alive, whole, and happy - and smiled softly.
His hands still remembered another time, another world, where he had lost the person he loved most.
Truly, heaven had answered his prayers.
Lu Hao ran forward, catching up to Hong Sheng as he opened the door to their home. Hong Sheng turned to look at him, and he paused, a trace of worry in his brows.
“Have you been crying?” Hong Sheng asked, raising a hand toward Lu Hao’s face. Lu Hao caught his hand and kissed it.
“No,” he said, eyes shining. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
ars
Thank you for reading!
An expansion of this story from Lu Hao's perspective, called "To the Start of a New World", is also available to read. Some details change in the expansion as I wrote it later and hadn't planned for it, but if you'd like to continue reading more about the journey of these characters, you can check it out.
Click here to read the expansion.
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John ducked behind a tree as it was quickly turned into a pockmarked pincushion by arrows, bolts, bullets and rays. As it turned out, the proprietor of Fred’s Discount Swords was no fool and was able to see through the brothers' grift, and moreover protected his customers rather openly. As such, John found himself hunted through the woods, separated from his brother, with his prised cart, and liquor supply within it, burnt to the ground. He would have preferred it if they had just robbed him; burning it was a waste of good drink.
The worst part of losing his booze was that it meant he couldn’t fight back. Well, couldn’t effectively fight back. While Jacob had gifted him a lot of powers to begin with, as his own class skills started to get stronger they started sharing less, with John able to survive on his own merit. But a bartender gained more abilities the more they drank. Having no drinks meant no power. In fact, he had been sober for long enough that his class was actually weakening him. One of the only abilities he could still use was his brewing flame ability. When he first got it, he could only adjust the temperature of existing fires, but when he practised with it a lot, he became able to make a small fire in the palm of his hand. It wasn't the hottest of fires, compared to a bonfire, you could probably even call it cold. Still, he could burn paper and cloth with it, and it made a handy light. Its main purpose was that it allowed him to be able to brewing drinks mid-air, just by placing a pot filled with ingredients on his palm. He had seem many forms of power wielding in his long life, but that was one of the least helpful he knew of.
He ran a hand through his hair with frustration, and thought about what to do next. If Jacob were there, they might have been able to win the fight, even so vastly outnumbered. Alone, running was about all he could manage, and the sobriety penalty was making even that difficult. He had though that they would have stopped chasing if he ran far enough, but they hunted him like wolves, just waiting for him to get tired and slow down. His one real option was to run towards the most dangerous monsters he could find and hope that the so called players tasted better than he did. Not that that would stop them. Those demonic bastards didn’t die when you killed them, and would simply come back with a new body and resume the fight. It was extremely unnerving. As much as he was grateful that he wasn’t in the great city when it fell, he did miss the good old days, when you could put a knife in a guy and feel safe knowing he’d never bother you again. Though, that wasn't always the case in those days either. The most powerful power wielders could call souls back and reforge bodies, ensuring that death had no real bite for them. That wasn't something he had ever needed to worry about, since neither he nor his brother was ever involved with anyone important enough to even know a wielder that strong.
The woods he ran through were uncomfortably hot, a temperature that was made worse by an unnaturally dry climate and a canopy that trapped the heat inside the woodlands. Part of him wondered how the woods stayed so green despite the lack of water, though he knew that his knowledge on all things natural was so limited that he wouldn’t be able to come up with an answer no matter how long he thought about it. He quickly pushed those thoughts down and continued to push himself forward. As he ran, a bolt struck deep into his calf. The metal tip hit bone, and he could feel a shattering pain spread through his fatigued body and he rolled forward with his balance lost. The effort involved in moving, up until that point, had numbed his body, but even that comfort had disappeared in that short moment, only to be replaced by the agony of hellfire, eating away it his leg. It was clear that the barbed bolt head hadn't been clean, and the player seemed to have used something to make it more painful; either a poison or just salt.
As he collapsed to the ground, like a felled tree or a sack or rocks, he began to roll sideways, down a nearby steep decline. Unable to control his speed with his exhausted body too rubber to respond, he rolled ever faster, praying to whoever or whatever would listen that he wouldn’t hit a tree. Apparently his plea went unheard, or at least ignored, as just as he reached the peak of his speed, he collided with an old and rotting tree, jutting at a cliff edge. John struck the thin stump side on, and he could feel his body contort and break, struggling to shape itself around the tree. The tree also had a hard time dealing with the impact, breaking under the strain and rot. It fell backwards to land on top of him, though it was braced by its stump and the hill and there was little pressure on his broken body despite its size.
He could hear a distant cracking sound or rocks moving and felt his mind slip and blackness overtake his sight.
He came back to his senses, after an indeterminable amount of time, in an instant, his awareness returning with absolute clarity. The sharp pain from his leg had magnified itself several times over, as a hoard of small rats stripped the flesh from his leg. He screamed and panicked. He kicked and battered them with his other leg and a nearby branch, apparently a remnant of tree he had hit. Seeing him active again, the rats fled.
His leg was beyond hope. What little remained of it was a blood soaked stub, more blood stained bone was visible then flesh. He could feel his blood flowing steadily from what was once his leg. While the shock was still fresh, while he couldn’t truly feel it through the pain that had become too much to understand and instead turn to numbness, he coated his hand with his brewing flame and started to sear the wound. The fire was nowhere near hot enough to seal it in an instant, and instead was a slow boil, cooking his leg instead of simply cutting away the damage. If he had been thinking more clearly, he could have used his flame to light the wooden club, then used that to seal it faster. Instead he prolonged his own pain and suffering. After nearly a full minute of burning his skin, the job was done. He felt weak. The blessing of sleep called to him. If he had been even the slightest bit wearier, he would have passed out again. However, he knew that if he did, the rats would return and he wouldn’t wake up ever again.
Bracing himself on a long branch, he pushed himself up, once again feeling new ways that his leg could hurt. He was in a dark and cold cave, or some other type of natural cavern, with nearly no light, aside from his own flame. What little light that occurred naturally in that place was the result of some glowing bugs of an unusual size. The air of the cavern didn’t provide any answers as to which way to go; it flowed strongly in one direction, then turned around and blew the other. It was like the steady breathing of a stone giant.
He pushed himself forward once more, hopping slowly with each step to avoid putting pressure on his now stump leg, hoping that the stick he relied on would hold his weight. He coughed, phlegm filled his throat and he struggled to get air. Panic and will to live fired once more, and he started striking his own chest to try and force his airways clear. Shaking, coughing; he tried all he could to grasp air. He fell forward as his struggles broke his brace, and he hit the cold stone ground with a hard impact. Luckily, the impact dislodged the phlegm and he could breathe again. The bad news was that the phlegm was actually blood, and a broken rib was likely lodged somewhere it shouldn’t be. He crawled, almost dragged, himself. He could hear the rats, like vultures, waiting for him to stop; waiting for an easy meal.
As they flooded towards him, he had some of his first good luck of the day; he recognised a nearby tree-root, that was protruding from the cave wall. It was the root of a tree that was jokingly called a booze-bush, though he didn't know its actual name. One of its unique traits was that the roots contained a very high sugar content, and, as the tree started to die, it would ferment into a very sweet, yet earthy, liquor.
Grabbing at the root and breaking it off, he prayed that the tree was dead, or else he would surely soon be. This time is prayer was answered, and he could hear the viscus slosh of the natural brew. Without a moment to lose, he downed the drink and activated one of his best bartender abilities. A green-purple flame burst from him mouth, spreading like a serpent through the air. The rats tried to react but within a moment, the cave was alight with the spirit fed fire. He could hear the screeching, and smelt the scent of burning fur.
With some small satisfaction, he lay on his back and let out a laugh. Pain filled his body beyond anything he had ever imagined possible, but that still seemed small compared to the simple joy of killing those rats. More than anything else, he hated the world.
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Dima Volk felt out of place amongst other alchemists. He was a more than two meters tall and people would say that he was as broad as two mountains. His large build, pale skin and white hair led to people giving him the nickname Polar Bear. He disliked that name for several reasons. The strongest amongst his grievances was that it took longer to say then his full name. Why would anyone use a nickname longer than his full name? 'What is the point in that?', he wondered. The wastefulness of it aside, he also disliked being compared to a beast. He acted out each of his motions with thought and planning, never one to be rash or make a quick decision. That his attitude was dismissed, and his appearance was what was focused on was annoying, and somewhat disappointing.
The use of that nickname, however, wasn’t why he shied away from others with the same class. It had less to do with how out of place he felt around them, and more to do with academic or professional differences. There were two main purposes for alchemists, potions and bombs. As such, the typical person who chose that class was small, skinny, weak or intellectual. It was not the kind of class that attracted people that could get the nickname Polar Bear, and instead was a class that attracted scientists and hobbyists who could challenge themselves in a new kind of physics. Other alchemists would act afraid of him or mistake him for a fighter, and that fear made it uncomfortable for him to be around them. Truthfully, he did consider himself more of a fighter than a healer. He learnt how to make both potions and bombs mostly as a formality. His real goal with the class was different, and that was where the professional differences started.
If an apothecary was the best class at manipulating the natural parts of plants; than the alchemist was the best class at manipulating the magical components. If a plant could be used for in medicine then it could be ground into magic powder. While that wasn’t always the case, it was that way a lot of the time. Most things contained at least a little magical energy, and mixing energies was what alchemy was about; mixing those energies like chemicals to form new energies. One combination he was fond of was mixing a heat-stone based powder with a sonic-bone powder and just a little cold-crystal powder, which resulted in a force-based explosive power. In short, an effective alchemic gun powder. When he discovered that recipe a system message rang through his head, telling him that he had unlocked the gunner prestige class.
Prestige classes were, essentially, unique classes that could be held by more than one person. Although, it would be more accurate to say the unique classes were individual prestige classes. They had conditions that had to be met before becoming them, and could only be taken by a player at a level higher than ten, but were generally stronger, or at least more focused, then base classes. The gunner for example, could be considered to be an alchemist that has focused on the use of a single recipe.
At the time, Dima wasn’t far from level ten so he considered it a lucky find. When he went into his recipe list, he found three new items there. When he unlocked the class, schematics for three simple weapons had appeared. From a message that floated near them, it seemed that once he selected one, the other two would be removed from the list. The selection, apparently, effected how his skills would progress once he became a gunner. The options were an alchemic flintlock pistol, rifle or blunderbuss. With those options, he felt that the rifle would be best for simplicity and versatility. When he made the selection, not only did he get the schematic, a weapon and a repair kit also appeared beside him. It seemed that it was a starting package for the class. He was thankful, but less so for the title that appeared at the same time.
“Title unlocked, First Gunner.” From the title description he found that the items were because of the title, and not because of the class.
After securing a reasonable supply of alchemic powders and bullets for his weapon, he set off on an adventure, hoping to gain experience with the weapon that he could use to refine the weapon and its powder. He had been working out of a town that sprung up near the original camp, but found the environment toxic, and the weather torturous. As someone accustomed to cold places, the heat of a summer like environment felt like it was melting him. Knowing his own preferences, and the necessities of his craft, he headed in a direction he guessed to be north, towards a vibrant old woods next to a glacier filled lake. How the two survived next to one another, and both near patch of perpetual summer, he had no idea, but it seemed to fill his needs adequately.
It was mid-morning on his third day of travelling when he encountered an NPC farmer. The farmer lived in a small hut with his family, surrounded by the land he worked. He was cautious at first, but offered Dima food and a place to rest, out in the wood hut. Though he was grateful for the offer, Dima could see that the farmer’s wife was unhappy with the offer, and he politely declined. As he left the land, the farmer warned him to avoid the woods; that the spirit people were heavily bound by traditions, and it could be dangerous to offend them.
He was curious about the so-called spirit people. From what he had read in the forum, if a player wanted to play as a race other than human, they would have to meet and befriend a member of that race. While he didn’t particularly want to stop being human, he thought that having the option available would be better than not, especially if it meant a new perspective on how the game world worked. He made a point to himself that, should he meet one, he would do his best to befriend a spirit person.
In the woods, at around lunch time, he could hear the flowing of a nearby river. From a distance, he could hear the splashing of water and a woman singing. He couldn’t recognise the words, but the melody and voice were very soothing. He thought about approaching, but was warned off by his common sense telling him not to go near a woman alone by a river. He didn’t think much good could come from it, although a lot of harm could result. The woods were a dangerous place, and any woman confident enough to play alone in the river was sure to be armed.
As he thought to himself, confident that he had made a wise choice, he failed to notice that the song had ended. Instead he was woken form his thoughts by a scream. It wasn’t a playful scream, but one filled with absolute fear. Running towards the scream, he could see burning wolves on the far side of the river. Burning wolves were large, copper-brown wolves that emanated a searing heat. Grass and leaf-litter around the creatures caught fire and the fire was absorbed into the creatures’ fur. When enough fire was absorbed, a burning ring appeared around the wolves and shot out like a disk.
It took a moment for Dima to notice that they weren’t targeting him, but instead the disks headed towards a strange structure at the bank of the river. It had four wooden legs, and was vaguely human shaped, with two arms and a head. Oddly, the head and upper body seemed to be made of glass, with soft glowing spheres of light in both the chest and head. The two lights were different colours, and he found himself being draw, completely fixated, to the golden light in the chest. It was like a small star, fresh wheat and the first light at dawn. He felt an overwhelming desire to possess that light. If not for the wolves he might have run down at that very moment.
As strange as it seemed, the statue moved to try and avoid the attacks, while letting out a startled, feminine cry, though no mouth was evident. One of its legs was unable to avoid and started to burn. The statue then rolled into the river, as a pained sobbing sound rang out.
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Lotus Crane watched from a nearby bush as a player called Dawn Light fought against a static rat. Fighting was a generous way of describing it, as Dawn seemed to carelessly approach the vermin as if she was oblivious to its danger. They were a very common enemy in those woods, as thunder rats, the adult static rat, gave birth to litters of twenty of them at a time. They weren’t particularly strong, dying from one hit of just about anything, but it was rare to see one by itself. What surprised Lotus the most was that the tall blond author came to the forest alone, despite being only level five. Since she was so obviously weak, she should have brought some more people with her. If she wanted to be alone, at the very least she should have chosen a safer place to start. Apothecary was considered a worse, or equal, class to author, though Lotus hadn't walked haphazardly into the first woods she found. Looking at Dawn's stats and equipment, even the rat was more frightening than her.
Inspect was a common skill, one that could be obtained by any class, and a useful one at that. It showed simple details about a target, such as their class, race, level and elemental affinity. Inspect would normally take a long time to improve, since it needed to be consciously activated and it consumed special points, SP, to use, but since it activated without cost whenever herbal lore was used, it grew quite quickly for her. At the 'amateur' level, it would usually only say the race of a monster, a player’s name and any titles, or a brief description of an object, and display the three bars of each of those things. When it reached the 'experienced-amateur' level, it revealed a monster’s level, but only if it was less than her own. After a few more stages, she reached her current level, sub-par expert. At that stage she could get the complete information on any target at a lower level to her and partial information on a target five levels higher. For some reason she felt like the level names were insulting her. Though she also knew that many descriptions and flavour texts contained insults directed at players; there was even a forum thread devoted to recording them.
Having spent two in-game weeks alone in the forest, mostly avoiding people and working on her apothecary skills, she felt that she had become somewhat feral looking. Her clothes were sown together plants and her hair was caked with a glossy red sap. Her scythe had long since been replaced with one made from the arm of a large mantis, not one she killed herself but when a pack of wolves left the shell, having eaten their fill, she moved in to collect it. Not only was the blade stronger and lighter, the natural ridges and contours held poisons effectively, making it the perfect weapon for her.
Within her first day in the forest, Lotus noticed that herbal lore pointed out dangerous plants just as readily as helpful ones. With her strength and equipment, poisons became her strongest weapon very quickly. She paid careful attention to how the poisons worked, compounding them to make them more effective or to target specific areas or leave part unaffected. The poison she was most proud of was one that destroyed the targets brain, but left the meat edible. It was a slow acting poison, and she noticed a number of creatures seemed able to shrug off poisons.
During her second in-game week in the forest, she encountered some players harassing a young, golden fox and kicking its dead parent around. Seeing that kind of thing really bothered her, as she felt it should bother anyone, and she swiftly took action. She pelted quick growing vine seeds at them and while they were confused, she followed that with some plant growth accelerating liquid. Spiked vines shot out from the seeds and spread out over the players’ bodies, trying to chase down every drop of the accelerant, which was everything they needed to grow in a concentrated form. Unable to move, the players could do nothing but wait for her scythe, which only came after she removed their bags. After she treated the fox’s wounds she received two system messages saying, “Title unlocked, Favoured of the 13th World.” and “Unique class unlocked. The 13th World’s Druid class is now available on levelling up.”
On inspecting herself, Lotus found that it was true; the Favoured of the 13th World title sat beneath her name. The title’s description read, “A player who acts in a way that the 13th world approves of, or otherwise has gained its favour. With this title equipped, the voice of the world can be heard and the traditional method of power casting becomes possible”.
A druid was like a nature loving wizard, and as such had the same strange problem as a wizard. If the title description was to be believed, if she changed her class to a wizard or a druid, she would be able to uses spells. Furthermore, she could choose a unique class. Unique classes could only be held by one player at a time, and were generally slightly better than the class they were based on. There was a rumour on the forums that Fred had the unique class devilish businessman but didn’t use it, since it would drive way customers. Whether that was true, or just something started by a disgruntled customer, he wouldn’t say.
Without hesitating, Lotus went and fought some more creatures to get the experience she needed to gain her next level. It felt right to her that on her 13th level, she would become a 13th World’s Druid. The list of added skills and abilities were somewhat long and, in the corner of her vision, was a transparent symbol that looked like an open book. When she shut that eye, she could see a list of the spells she could cast. Amongst her skills there were a few that she was happy to see. Herbal lore was replaced with natural lore, the improved version that also granted information about animals, beasts, insects and naturally living things. She also gained several skills from the communication category, which allowed the user to understand and be understood by the target, depending on the skill. She gained Communicate: Animal, Communicate: Plant, Communicate: Elemental Spirit and Communicate: World. Although she had those skills, they wouldn’t be particularly useful until they were levelled up. At their lowest level, she could only talk to plants and animals that already had near-human level intelligence.
As Lotus watched the static rat attack Dawn, she couldn’t help but remember the fox. To her, Dawn seemed every bit as weak and defenceless as that young creature, and the rat seemed as if it were picking on her because of it. Had the rat finished her off quickly, instead of playing with her, Lotus might not have made that connection; but since she noticed and she couldn’t ignore it.
With practised ease, she sneaked soundlessly behind the rat and dispatched it cleanly with her scythe. With the nuisance dealt with, she went to work treating the injured Dawn. Dawn’s skin was smooth to the touch, and its pale colour had reddened from the shock while her muscles beneath pulsed unbidden. She was also warm to the touch, hot even, from both body heat and the extra volts that travelled through her.
Taking a mixture of herbs from her pouch, Lotus staunched the skin with a moss like plant and numbed the pain and paralysed the spasming flesh with a mild poison, to prevent further damage. She then bandaged the affected area with a curative leaf, and bandages she had taken as spoils of war, letting a poultice work its way through Dawn’s body. The way she twitched with surprise at Lotus’s appearance reminded her of the fox and in a way it was very endearing. She found herself petting Dawn’s head and saying, “There, there, you’re safe now.”
As Dawn stood up, she was thrown off balance by her heavy bag once again slipping about. Lotus tried to contain a joy filled laugh at the sight, enjoying the comedy of the scene but not intending to ridicule. After regaining her footing, and brushing the dirt off her clothing, Dawn took a deep breath and started to speak.
“Thank you for saving me, that monster was small so I thought it would be weaker.” She said with a small voice that seemed to hide her embarrassment, and highlight that she thought the rat was strong, genuine threat.
“No worries, I don’t like it when the weak get picked on, so I wanted to help you out.” As Lotus said that, Dawn seemed to shrink even smaller, despite being the taller of the two. Although she meant well, Lotus had reminded Dawn just how weak she was, and the pride she placed in her class was hit. After all, she was saved by someone who was obviously an apothecary, one of the classes that were shunned for being weak. Although, Dawn couldn’t be sure that she was an apothecary, since there was a level difference, and she couldn’t use inspect on her.
Thinking about her own survival, Dawn knew that she would need the ability to heal, and some kind of close range fighting ability. From what she had seen, Lotus had both of those. If she could observe her activate those abilities, Dawn could copy them for herself.
As such she asked, “Would it be alright if I travelled with you for a while, I’m not familiar with this forest and you seem like you can handle yourself?” She asked, with the meekest voice she could manage. If acting weak would get the skills she wanted, then weak she would act.
Somewhat confused, but nonetheless happy, Lotus replied, “Sure. I’d love to travel with you.”
|
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Oak was getting more and more frustrated as the day passed. At first she felt okay about teaming up with Lotus and Dawn, or at least resigned to it and willing to put up with them as they didn't seem interested in her Dima, but when she saw how worried Dima was over their reactions to the cold she couldn’t help but feel jealous. To make matters worse for her, she got the feeling that she didn’t look cute when she used her weapons, especially when she compared her own longswords with Dawn's tiny bone dagger. Her innate cuteness was one of her proudest features, especially the way she could make her light glisten, and seeing her husband have a passing glint of fear in his eyes, whenever she started to swing wildly, really hurt her.
Seeing how happy Dima looked while eating lunch also made her clench her swords harder and look around for more beasts to take it out on. Did he think less of his wife just because she couldn’t cook? She felt that finding out the answer could crush her, so she kept it to herself and let the curiosity eat at her like the termites she had grown up living in fear of. After they had eaten, Oak made a vague excuse for the two groups to separate; something to do with investigating a log sticking out of the surface of the lake, as if that was actually of any interest. With that, she could have more time with just Dima; an opportunity to show off her good points and push out any thoughts he had of other women.
As they approached the iced over water, she noticed that it wasn’t a stick or log, but instead it was a pale woman’s arm, reaching out of the ice and stretching towards the sky. Sweeping away the snow cover, she could see the appearance of an unnatural beauty beneath the ice. Thin, pale with deep black, short-cut hair in a bob and piecing green eyes; with the way the ice was frosted around her head, like a crown, she looked like a queen. Her face seemed to be locked in a state of pure determination, as if she was ice-locked while pushing herself forward to survive, unwilling to let the lake be what bring her down. While Oak admitted that she was defiantly pretty, as if her circumstances were no reason not to look her best, she didn’t like how focused Dima was. If he had time to stare at a woman, he should have just stared at her.
Annoyed at his lack of attention, Oak moved further out, without watching her footing. A thunderous crack suddenly rang out and she could see the ice splitting, breaking way from the shore and spreading throughout the platform like a spiderweb. She turned to reach Dima, but before she could move from that spot, the ground beneath her feet gave out. Trying to hold her breath, she looked around. The cold frosted over her sight. She couldn’t see. Panic rose as she sank further and further. Suddenly, through the blackness, she could feel something wrapping around her, pulling her. While she felt relieved that she was being pulled to the surface, she was panicked by the feeling of cold that invaded her body. Even in the snow, she had never felt the sensation of being cold, and the alien feeling cut into her like a knife. She had thought that the two women were exaggerating the sensation to appeal to her Dima, but the cold was truly painful in a way she had never experienced. She sent a silent apology to the two, understanding that her experience of was shallow.
With the painful cold invading her body, and regret invading her mind, she let out her breath and fainted beneath the water.
When she awoke, she was next to the fire, its welcoming glow seeping the cold from her bark. Her armour had been removed and she was placed between thick leopard pelts. Looking around, she could see that her vision was still slightly blurred from frost, but at least she felt warm again. Though, rather than warm, she recognised that what she felt was the absence of cold. Having experienced cold, she could tell that what she felt was different to that. The existence of the negative proved the positive. Looking in the pelts, she could see her husband was in them with her. She could see Dawn nearby giving her a knowing look, and Oak could only think ‘good job’ to herself. On the other side of the camp, she could see Lotus was talking to the queen from beneath the ice. She seemed to be entirely healthy, despite having been trapped underwater for who knows how long. She seemed to have dried herself off and her colour looked much healthier, though that in turn made her shapely body seem more animate and less like a statue, a mere object of art. If she were to introduce herself as a queen of some distant desert people, with her appearance, there would be few that would disbelieve it.
Looking at the two, the strange woman and Lotus, they looked oddly similar. Oak thought that they might even be relatives. The woman looked like a slightly older version of Lotus, maybe an older sister or mother; if that were the case than it was a strange coincidence. Of cause, she didn’t really know that much about Lotus, so it was entirely possible that she came to this desolate place deliberately to find her lost sister. The point that really sold her about them being related was their eyes. They both had such piercing green eyes, so fierce that they could be seen through frosted sight and across the fire; wild and untameable like a nature given form.
Listening to their conversation, or at least the end of it, it seemed that the woman’s name was Lucy, and she was some kind of merchant. Lotus also seemed to be very close to her also, physically speaking, so her relative theory might still be true. The details were hard to make out, but it seemed that Lucy wanted to make some kind of a discounted trade with Lotus as a way of saying thanks. From that, Oak was able to work out that it was Lotus that fished them out of the water. Noticing that, she could see that the fire wasn’t burning wood, but instead some kind of thick, blue-white vine that had been sliced into sections. Oak recognised the plant; it was the Heat-Seeking Ice Hunter. Lotus had them search for an hour at the border between the desert and ice lake for its seed, and she had seen just how hard Lotus had looked for them. It only grew in cold environments and it attacked creatures, killing them by trapping them in place and draining the heat from them. The border was one of the only places that seeds could be safely retrieved, as the desert heat kept them docile.
When Lotus eventually found one seed, she seemed like she had found the most valuable thing on earth. She rubbed it on her cheek and treated it like a child. Oak never would have expected Lotus to be willing to use such a valuable item to save them, though she was entirely thankful that she did. Maybe she would write them a bill for it later. Maybe she would march them back to the border and have them look for another one. Either way, she had a new-found fear of that plant. Having never experienced cold, a plant that could fill her with that sensation was the scariest thing she had ever seen, baring maybe the termites that she had seen eat someone slowly from the inside. It wasn’t just that it would kill her, plenty of things could do that, it was that cold itself, as an unfamiliar yet dangerous concept, filled her with dread. Knowing that her husband felt that feeling while in that place, maybe even to a greater extent, filled Oak with a sense of utter dependence. Despite that feeling, he had stuck by her. Despite the cold he hadn't run away and left the task to her.
She pulled him closer in her arms. Having experienced cold, she could understand his earlier concern for Dawn and Lotus. The jealousy she had felt was replaced by a pride in her Dima’s kindness. Holding him in her arms, she circulated her spirit throughout her body letting her essence warm him. She didn’t want him to have to feel cold ever again, more then she didn't want to feel it herself.
As Oak was lost in her own thoughts, Lotus and Lucy exchanged some parcels. Waving happily, Lucy left the camp and started a trip down the glacier.
|
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Roland was once again caught in a death spiral, as he so often was. As he lay against the hot sand of a desert, with spines from a dozen huge echidna-like creatures digging deeply through his flesh, he started to wonder when the last time he took a break was. Just thinking about it was hard, especially whenever the bliss of death overtook him. It wasn’t just that the pain through his body was truly overbearing, with thousands of spearpoint-like spines shredding him, but if felt like a fog filled his mind whenever he tried to think about it, or even when he thought about things outside of the game. Even that he was in a game for that matter.
The fog didn’t just make remembering it hard, he could also feel it sap at his curiosity, like emotion was being physically removed from him, and after a few moments he became apathetic towards knowing. ‘Strange. That's strange, right?’ he thought to himself, as his lips and even jaws were no longer attached and speaking aloud would have been impossible had there been anyone around to speak to, ‘I don’t remember ever feeling like that before… before when? Ah, that’s right, before coming to this world. World? No, that’s not right. It’s a game, not a world. How did I get that mixed up?’
For some reason, he felt like there were problems with his memories, but they were, at best, vague doubts. Even those doubts faded into the sand when the wave of bliss hit him. Roland found it strange that he had forgotten that he was in a game. Even if it was the most realistic game experience he had been in, if the fantastical elements were ignored, that should still have been the most obvious part. He would be more worried about his impending death if he wasn’t in a game. At least he assumed he would have been. He had grown so accustomed to the sensation that he thought he might even want to experience it in the real world, just to compare the two. Yet, looking around with his one still intact eye, he couldn’t help but feel some doubt that the world was fiction. He had played other virtual games, but none of them could come close to the feeling this one gave. No other game he had played had ever given him virtual internal organs, as it was a waste of processing power when the brain could simply be told to ignore the lack of sensation. It might just be the pain talking, but the world was just too real to be fake. 'Ah, I called it a world again.' Those words nearly leaked out his pierced throat, instead being no more than a sputtering garble with air and blood spilling out, as his vision faded once again to black and death's smooth embrace came over him once again.
As the menu appeared once again before his eyes and his hand moved, almost on instinct to the option that would send him back to his spawn point, a flash of sudden realisation struck him though the clarity that death had brought him. There was no option to log out. That was weird. He was sure there had been one before. Considering the number of times he had died, and how intimately familiar he was with the death menu, why hadn’t he noticed it before? It was way too strange that he hadn’t noticed it gone before. For that matter, he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen it, other than during that first day at original camp. Free from his body, the fog didn’t fill his mind, and once again he tried to remember the last time he had logged out.
He realised it then. He hadn’t. Not once since he started playing had he logged out. That seemed impossible. He had been playing for at least a couple months. The best time dilation factor ever recorded was one hour to one day, and doing so resulted in heavy trauma to the brain, requiring significant rest before it could be reused. If he had been in there for two months, say fifty-six days, then two and a third days would have passed in the real world. There was no way that no one would have hit the emergency disengage by then. He lived with two flatmates who understood game safety, and he had tied his work phone to the device to log him out if he was called on it. If he had been in there for days then he would have been missed at work and someone would have called. There was no way that no one wouldn’t have noticed a problem.
It was also strange since he had seen plenty of other people log out. When he was still leading the expansion army, he often gave other people time off to log out and see to their needs. He would leave trails and markings for them to follow when they logged back in. They were physical trails, so he wasn’t just misremembering, and he could go there and see the markings he'd left for himself. What if he was the only one that was stuck? What if his flatmates had forgotten, or had gone on a trip, and his body was left there, slowly dying? How much time did he have left? He had no way of knowing.
As he started to panic, he could feel a faint, brutish, laughter in the back of his mind. It felt like he was being mocked by something very close to him, like his body or his instincts were criticising him for falling into panic. The familiar feeling then seemed to form words, but not words, within the back of his mind. It was like he was remembering words that he had yet to hear. They didn’t resonate from outside his body, and he didn’t know which words they were, exactly, but the meaning behind them was felt. It was more like the intentions behind the words simply appeared in the back of his mind. He felt it say, ‘Stop thinking too hard, my chosen warrior, just keep fighting until your soul can’t take anymore, or there is nothing left to kill.’
A moment later, he had spawned into the world and was standing once again at the natural shrine in the middle of a desert. The monsters that had killed him several times still surrounded him. He knew that he hadn’t selected the option, but he had once again forgotten why he hesitated, or anything besides the immediate threat and the bliss he would feel when he died a victorious battle. The fog had once again filled his mind, and his doubts and fears were gone as surely as if they had never been there. All that was left was the pain and bloodlust, the darkness that became bliss.
With newfound confidence and vigour, he leapt forward and lashed at a spiked creature’s head, letting the spikes impale him as he landed the blow. The creature died from the unexpected attack, but still managed to place its spines in the path of Roland’s momentum. He hadn’t hesitated or made any attempts at avoiding. He turned in the air and let the spines pierce his back, knowing that he would live slightly longer with holes in his back then in his front. With holes covering his back, and fractured bones throughout, he fought on. After continuing on like that for several more deaths, several more fleeting moments without the burdens of life, he was eventually alone on the sand.
Truthfully, he hated natural shines. They were death traps that he always seemed to get caught in, and he seemed to find them far more easily than other players. While he had no problem with that aspect, what got to him was how quickly they caused him to come back. When he was far from a spawn point, he could feel death's embrace for far longer than when he was near a shrine, as they somehow cut the experience short. He would have smashed it then and there, but he knew that the angels that saved him had cleaned one, and left tributes for it at the same time. He felt that if he kept finding them, one day he could find them again. He knew that they weren’t in the forest anymore; he had teams of players search every inch for a week, with no hints as to where they were. He had told them that raid boss level creatures like angels were too dangerous to be near an important town, and plenty of people joined in just to support him and carry favour with Fred.
His only clue was the god-forsaken natural shrine. It was his driving force, what he got up for each day. Long ago the drive to simply kill everything in his way stopped being enough for him. His goal now was much more noble to him. He would find the angels and make them his. The feelings of the divine creatures meant nothing to him, and he couldn't even grasp why they should. He would possess them; they would be his. For that reason he stood in front of the standing stone, that he hated more than anything for the precious moments of bliss that it took from him each time he had died. He even had a witch doctor friend of his make him a special item; a special type of jar that could capture a soul. Soul capturing jars were a common item for a witch doctor, and one that was essential for their class skills, but his friend managed to make one that could be used by anyone. It was far, far more expensive to make then a normal jar, but Roland didn’t mind the cost for what he had in mind.
When he found his angels, he would kill them, as painlessly as possible and preferably without damaging their bodies, and seal their souls. Once he had their souls, they wouldn't be able to revive and he could use the souls to force them to obey him. He wouldn’t give them a choice; they would serve him in every way. They would accept his love and they would never leave him, even if they stayed by him in jars while their bodies worked as puppets.
|
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Her stomach twisted and churned and Dawn found herself unable to hold down the soup, no matter how much she enjoyed the rich taste. While the boy's water tiger had kept the trip smooth, the floating town they arrived at didn't have the same benefit. Every small rocking sensation seemed to lift her legs in one direction and her legs in the other, leaving her dizzy and unable to keep anything down.
Lotus soothed her symptoms with her magic, but moments later they would return. She had unfortunately not known that, and eaten the a meal along with the village. That only put more into her stomach to come back up. The only way she could find relief from the sensation was to rest herself against Lotus. Even without casting a spell, her body gave off a calming sensation. She managed to get through the night in peace and comfort by embracing the other girl like the softest pillow in her apartment.
By the next morning she had grown accustomed to the sensation enough that she could separate from Lotus, though she felt like she didn't want to do so, and stuck close to her like a treasure. Lotus's curiosity had turned to the Earthfire Spires, and she had convinced Graff to take them close. His village wouldn't risk letting him take them all the way, believing that no one who went to the ever returned, but would instead let the off on a small island where the boats of those who approached the spire remain, and they could take their pick of the deserted crafts.
They packed lightly, leaving their heaviest items with Graff so they could fight more effectively and swim if needed. That was a particular problem for Dawn, whose powers depended on her access to books, but limited herself to just what few books would fit in a small waterproof pouch. That left her with just crystal magic, carrying strength, and tinkering. With those and her class abilities, she was reasonably confident that she could handle most situations, even if her combat power was reduced. She had stockpiled enough crystals that she wouldn't be a burden in combat, though she knew Lotus would still bear the brunt of any encounters.
The day was well underway by the time Blue pulled up on the small sandbank and let them off. A variety of small boats, from wedge shaped wooden crafts that would at best fit two people, to long boats with enough oars for ten men on each side, littered the beach. When to tide went down, a sand-bridge would form between that island and the spire, but if they were impatient they could take one of the boats across.
The crew of the abandoned ships had thought it better to wait, but there was a pile of ships against the distant natural-stone tower that made it clear that the other option was well tried. They weren't in a rush, and had no experience with boats, so decided to wait for the tide.
A few hours later the path was clear in the clear water and they took their shoes off to walk down the underwater road.
The Earthfire Spire darkened the sky as they approached, blocking out the sun like an eclipse with its height. It radiated heat even at a distance, and when a wave struck it, it steamed. Through crystal knowledge Dawn could see the spire light up with elemental magic, as magically enriched crystals seemed to be marbled throughout the stone. It was like a goldmine for any geomancer who happened upon it. With so much treasure on the surface, she couldn't help but wonder what they would find within.
Lotus saved them an arduous clime by throwing down what she called magic beans, and growing a thick vine that they could walk on like a ramp, corkscrewing around the spire. About a third of the way up the spire they were about level with the distant cliffs that housed the Inn at the Cliffs, and a cave into the heart of the spire opened up.
As they made their way deeper, it got ever hotter, and they needed to start stripping away layers of clothes just to stay comfortable. As they passed into the centre chamber, they were met with giant golden eyes, each larger than a person, and dark glowing red scales, like magma in the form of a living creature. It was a dragon, as tall as an office building and perched on its four legs like a sitting dog on what looked like a massive version of the fountain of light that they saw at the Inn at the Cliffs. Only this fountain didn't flow. It was dried up, as though the dragon was blocking anything from coming out.
Behind them the cave sealed, like a wound healing, and they found themselves trapped in the chamber with the titanic creature.
"I'll give you the offer that I give all those that enter my home," a voice filled their minds that sounded like a thousand voices crying out in perfect unison. "Free me from this imprisonment and I shall spare you. When you give up and fall into despair, I will consume you, for that is when you will taste most sweet."
Having delivered its message, the dragon curled in on itself and started to rest, as if it had no interest in them, and certainly had no faith that they would actually be able to free it.
Around the base of the fountain they found the notes of the many groups that came before them. At some point someone had started chronicling all the things they had tried, from attaching the fountain with explosives to trying to oil the dragon. The volumes were written in a variety of handwritings, and it was clear from the way the language drifted with time that there was a great span of time involved.
While Lotus tried to work her plants and magics at the task, Dawn read through the various things that were tried and stated to get a picture for what they needed to do. One geomancer had a solid idea, but no way to implement it. The energies that filled the spire would be enough to kickstart the fountain and push the dragon out. The problem was accessing that power. It would take multiple lifetimes to dig through to that many stones, let alone linking them together. And if she could dig to them, then she could have just dug her way out. Any who tried that were killed by the dragon and the walls were made to heal over as the path into the chamber had.
When she explained the problem, Lotus lit up.
"I have an idea, but we'll need to work together perfectly," she said as she pulled out a knife and two seeds.
She sliced open her palm and placed the seed into the pooling blood. She then told Dawn to do the same. When they were both bleeding, Lotus pressed their hands together and started chanting. With ever drop that spilt from their linked hands the ground began to steam with fresh moisture. Before long, her hand began to feel cold and weak, like energy was being drained from it. Dawn wanted to break out in a panic as she felt something writhe in her hands, but she saw Lotus's eyes start to glow with a bright green light and a calmness took hold of her, not letting her panic if she wanted to.
"Focus," Lotus's voice whispered, both in her ears and in her mind, like hers words were forming a physical bridge between them. "Focus your mind on the location of each crystal in the wall. Think about nothing but the gems and their energies."
Dawn was captivated, spellbound, by the words. Like there was nothing else in the world except what Lotus said. It was had to bring herself to do as she was told as she was drawn towards her lips, needing to hear more like a primal urge.
But she fought through that sensation and did saw she was told, setting her mind to work as a distraction, finding every gem she could. The writhing in her hands seemed to twist and chill her with every extra stone she found, but couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, simply focusing on finding more stones.
After what felt like hours, she was exhausted and chills ran up her whole arm. Confident she found them all, she opened her eyes.
She didn't understand what she saw at first when she did. Both she and Lotus were bound together in a sea of blood red vines that seemed to wrap around their joined arms and dig into their skin. The vines spread out from their bodies like a spider web, coating the walls of the spire and digging through the stone like roots. Looking into Lotus's eyes, Dawn suddenly felt a surge of power and sensation. She was no longer just Dawn, but also Lotus, but also the vines, but also the Earthfire Spire itself. The Dawn-Lotus thing that they had become could feel the flow of the nature's energy. The Dawn-Lotus thing that they had become could feel all the trapped energies of the crystals, the untapped energy of a long lost world just waiting for a chance to explode.
Together, by itself, the Dawn-Lotus things pulled the energies together, holding it in their shared body as their roots started to burn from the attempt. They, it, moved that energy into the fountain. Soundlessly they screamed with voice, commanding the energy to kickstart the fountain.
A flash of blinding light, and then Dawn was simply Dawn again. There were no longer vines around the room and Lotus no longer occupied her ever thought.
She could see Lotus had collapsed to the floor with her legs giving out, exhausted beyond what even Dawn felt.
They suddenly saw the system message, "Global: Fire magic has been successfully unlocked."
Dawn turned to where the dragon had been, only to find the fountain flowing with a sea of golden flames and no large creature.
|
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After a night sleeping on the flatland of the glacier, staying warm by burning the large pile of vines, Dawn, Dima, Lotus and Oak set out to finish climbing the hill. Dawn had taken the final watch for the night, and had ensured that the anti-cold potions had defrosted during the night. As they had been in Dima’s pouch when he went into the water, like most of his equipment, they were either soaked or frozen. Thankfully, the seals on the bottles had held and the potions weren’t diluted. Dima’s cartridges weren’t as lucky. Since it would be dangerous to dry them out too quickly, such as by putting them next to the fire, they would have to wait till they sun-dried over a few days. Given that, Dima wouldn’t be able to use his rifle, and instead had to make do with some simple alchemist bombs.
Dawn didn’t want to laugh at his misery, per se, but she had been feeling unneeded with how unstable the cold was making her, and having someone less useful than herself filled the gap and made her feel useful. Oak seemed somewhat happy about it also. It was hard to notice, given her alien appearance, but Dawn noticed that when she was happy, the light in her head seemed to bob slightly from side to side. It was somewhat cute to see; Oak was happy that Dima was relying on her, albeit reluctantly. Despite her initial irritation about them, the couple's adorableness had grown on her somewhat. Despite that, Dawn was still a little jealous of oak; she wished that she had someone of her own to cuddle up against like that. Before the ice cracked, Lotus seemed to be thinking deeply about something, and she seemed like she was worried about it. If she was worrying, then Dawn wished she would just talk to her about it. They were partners, as far as she was concerned, and Lotus bottling away her worries made it seem like she wasn't ready to confide in Dawn.
Dawn also noticed that, when Lotus was talking to Lucy, she barely even noticed Dawn was there. Dawn wasn’t sure why she hadn't mentioned anything, but it kind of hurt that Lotus didn’t introduce her to someone who was quite obviously her sister, or at least a close relative. It was strange that they pretended not to know each other, but that was probably something they agreed to in the real world, like pretending not to know each other so it would be harder for people to work out their real world identities. That was probably it, she didn’t introduce her because of that agreement; it wasn't an uncommon arrangement. Still, given the size of the game, what were the chances that they would bump into each other? That could have also been something they talked about in the real; her sister needed help so Lotus headed straight there. The talk about rare herbs and stones was just to convince Dawn to go with her and to pretend like she wasn't concerned for her sister. Yep, that was definitely it. Still, her sister seemed really strong; could she have been from the first wave? If that was the case then it was also cute that they both chose the same class. Thinking about it, Lotus could have chosen her class because she wanted to be like her big sister. That was adorable! There was no way she could get her to admit it, but that had to be the reason.
Without noticing it, the group had started walking, and Dawn had been following while day-dreaming, not noticing that she had been walking. At the peak of the iceberg, encased in ice on three sides, was a strange white-stone temple-like building. It was shaped like three rectangles of the same length arranged in a u-shape. There was some kind of elaborate etchings along the walls that curved over and onto the flat roof, but the details couldn’t be seen in any detail through the ice and snow. In the centre of the middle rectangle, up a flight of about twelve tall steps, was a pair of large metal double doors, tall enough that someone twice Dawns height could walk through without ducking. Unlike the rest of the building, the doors seemed to be designed to be practical, without decoration, like the makers wanted the building to be nice, but they still needed to keep something either out or in.
As they came up to the door, Dima and Oak tried the door. It wasn’t locked, but the weight of the cold metal made it almost as hard to open as if it were. Putting their combined effort into it, the four of them were able to push the door open. Through the door they found a large hall, about thirty meters by twenty meters. The building wasn’t three equal size rooms, but instead one large room and two small. The room was filled with large wooden tables, the tops of which seemed to be made from a single cut sheet of an incredibly long piece of wood. The chairs were also made from a smooth dark wood, and the hall could sit a hundred people. Directly opposite the entrance, on an elevated platform up another dozen steps, was an elaborate golden throne, which was laden with gems, that seemed to fit the etchings so well that you could be forgiven for thinking that the gems existed solely for the sake of the throne. Draping herself over the throne, with long legs over the right armrest and her head sleeping against the back corner, was an enchanting red haired beauty. Her smooth hair had grown out longer than her sylphlike body, flowing over the thrown like a sea of fire, matching with the woman's own coper red skin in a way that made her seem like fire itself. As they came closer, her eyes seemed to open under heavy strain, as if that alone were the greatest effort imaginable.
She looked at them, or rather it felt like she looked through them, with a look that gave of a sense of effortless destruction; as if reducing them to nothing was less effort than it was to wake up. Her eyes were green, not a fierce green like Lotus and Lucy, but the calm, light green of a spring meadow basking in the light and wind of the season. Making no effort to hide a yawn, her full, pink lips parted to show her delicate white teeth. With a deep sigh, she then spoke, in a rhythmic and melodic voice, that none-the-less sounded like she was reading from a script; like a song sung so many time that it grew tiresome to sing.
“Welcome, pilgrims, to this temple, the place of worship of the heart of the fourth world. I, the Spirit of Lethargy, welcome you. For more information, you can ask either the fourth scholar or the fourth craftsman.”
With her lines spoken, she rested her head back against the throne and seemed to sleep once again. She made no response to any questions asked and when trying to climb the stairs, each step felt like a day’s worth of effort just to lift one foot. The effort wasn’t physical, but was instead emotional, the strain felt from staying awake for too long but solely the mental component. She had introduced herself as Lethargy, so it was likely that was affecting anyone that attempted to get near her. However, even knowing that it was essentially a test of will, no one’s will was strong enough to go beyond the second step.
Even after walking away from the stairs, going onwards felt like too much effort. Instead, Dawn let herself fall lazily backwards, to be caught by Lotus. It wasn’t even midday yet, but Dawn couldn’t think of anything better than to simply go to sleep there in Lotus’s arms. As her eyes began to shut, she could see Dima and Oak had the same idea.
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Ben Six Hundred and Twenty-One regretted a lot of things. In particular, he regretted his choice of class. Like many people, when he looked at the class list he hadn’t noticed a spelling mistake. When he went to select the class rogue, hoping to live out a fantasy of being a noble thief or a dashing trickster, he had instead selected the rouge class. It was an understandable mistake to make, many people didn’t notice it, and many people who did notice it assumed that it was simply a spelling mistake by the producers, and selected it regardless.
Unfortunately for people like Ben, the rouge class was quite intentional. Like most of the less-than-normal classes that Saviours of the Wild had to offer, the rouge seemed to be entirely illogical. It was essentially a stealth class, with skills like hide and sneak, but it also had some magic like abilities. While spell-sneaks and arcane tricksters weren't uncommon in other games, this one had strange game mechanics. Its spells were mostly mind-effecting, with the spells would charm or enrage, but like most spell users the spells wouldn’t trigger without special conditions. The rouge gained energy to cast its spells by absorbing the happiness of those around them. There were two ways they could go about that, they could make someone really happy and absorb what the game treated as the excess emotion, or simply find someone already happy and use the spell Drain Emotion (Happiness), which didn't require an initial charge.
With the amount of work that was involved in actually making someone truly happy, the majority of rouges simply used the drain, especially when there were NPCs around. Player's might hold a grudge or take it out in the real world, but there was no real reason not to target NPCs, who were only lines of code in a computer game. People who didn't make that distinction, of course, led to the class getting a bad reputation, and the more suspicious minded players would even target rouge characters on the assumption that they would certainly make others miserable for their own gain. That reached the point where some people would simply kill a rouge on site, rather than risk having their emotions played with. Ben had experienced that first hand and was in turn equally unwilling to trust other players.
He had, however, realised that most people didn’t want to deal with complicated things when they were trying to enjoy their free time. He also realised that if he was going to survive the game by himself, he would need to have a broad range of skills. Knowing that, whenever he got a new level, he would select a new class rather than improving an existing one. As such, when he reached level seven, he had five classes; few people would notice his rouge class at a glance like that, and plenty more people would just mistake it for rogue. Anyone that could observe him would see that he was a fighter, rouge, meteorologist, alchemist and loremaster. With that many classes, he felt somewhat safe, and started to spread his levels evenly between them as he continued.
Since they all used different weapons and fighting styles, he found himself with different weapons and items strapped across his body on a variety of belts, pockets, pouches and straps. A longsword on his belt, daggers in both his boots, a bow on his back, a bandoleer of grenades and potions on his chest, a meteorologist’s special weather staff in his hands and assorted ingredients where ever they would fit. To prevent himself from being weighed down, or for the weapons to make noise while he was trying to sneak, Ben strapped the weapons tightly so that they could barely move. That prevented them from being drawn in a hurry, but that suited him, since he preferred to run from any confrontation he wasn’t prepared for.
His short, sandy-blond hair was messy when he woke up at a bar counter. He had been living off the profits he had made by selling some stolen items. A splitting headache was what woke him, a condition that was made far worse by the busy, and loud, morning life of the village he was in. It was a fairly small town, only twenty or so wooden buildings, and it was filled entirely with NPCs. However, it was still the largest village he had come across, and it made him grateful that he had been exploring away from the normal player locations. He was thankful to find they had a working currency system, and seemed to have some kind of trade set up with a group of other villages. The local dealer was more than willing to buy his goods, though he was fairly sure that he had gotten the worse end of the bargain. He didn’t really care that he was cheated; the goods weren’t his to begin with, so it wasn’t possible for him to make a loss.
The money that he made had lasted a few weeks of living in the bar. Though, it might be more accurate to say living on the bar, as he spent very little time away from the tap. The last of his coin had been used up the previous night, and he would need to start working again; a fact that the pain in his head made all the more unfortunate. He didn’t normally get hung-over, but then, he didn’t usually stay sober long enough to fall into that condition. As he left the bar and stumbled across the soft town grass, working his way towards a well, a cold breeze caught the back of his neck. Turning away from the breeze and hunching over, letting his head act as a wind-break, he faced down the main street.
In the centre on the town was a familiar face.
A number of weeks earlier, he had been taking a shortcut across a mountain. As he made the trip, he had met a beautiful woman with black hair and striking green eyes. She was a merchant of some kind, and was carrying a large backpack full of trade goods. She seemed kind, a little skittish, and altogether too willing to trust a stranger. When she was fishing for dinner, through a small hole in an iced over lake, he took the opportunity to betray her. When she was distracted by something on her fishing line, he poured a potion across the ice, thinning and weakening it around where she sat. As she made a heavy pull on the rod, the ice gave out and she was pulled into the water. As she struggled and asked for him to help her out, he convinced her to pass her bag out first, saying that he couldn’t lift both it and her at once. Maybe she was panicking, because she hadn’t doubted him at all. With her bag in his hands, he poured another potion, a potion that caused the water to freeze over in an instant.
To his surprise, the bag was filled with preserved body parts. At first he felt cheated, thinking that the organs and limbs were worthless, but to his surprise the fence that bought the stuff was very excited to see them. He wasn’t sure why the deformed body parts were valuable, but he wasn’t willing to stick around people who sold organs long enough to find out. His organs might have been long injured by his drinking, but that didn't mean he wanted them harvested.
Seeing his victim walking towards him, he felt a new chill; one unrelated to the temperature. Although she seemed unarmed, her figure felt like death itself as she drew ever closer. Her green eyes were focused on him, and he felt his knees buckle. His legs collapsed beneath him, and he lost control of his bowels. As the small woman got closer, never taking her eyes off him, she raised an arm dramatically until it was parallel to the soft, green ground. Her small hand turned a lightless black and stretched and curved into a long, thin, curved blade, seemingly writhing in resistance to its new form.
When she was a meter away, he noticed that he was crying. Tears flooded from his eyes, and his nose dripped shamelessly. He tried to beg for forgiveness, but she moved the black blade through his head before he could make a sound.
Sometime later, a new rumour spread through the game's forum. It was a ghost story about a man who died in the game and died in real life. It wasn’t uncommon as far as ghost stories went; in fact, it might have been the most common. It was such a common story that it only trended for a short while then was swiftly forgotten. The police that investigated the incident used it as an example of the dangers of using the illegal and uncontrolled program, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. With the most rational explanation being an all too familiar one. With the number of people using the hardware, it was purely statistics that every now and then someone would die of natural causes, heart disease and the likes, while they happened to be playing. Considering the obsessive nature of a lot of the players, it was also not unheard of for players to simply play without breaks, starving themselves to death instead of logging out. With warnings ignored, the number of players entering the game continued to grow.
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Fred ducked behind the thick wooden boards of the barricade that his camp had set up and bolts, both physical and magical, took a jaunt down the passageway and slammed into it just as he managed to get there. The dark brown skin of his arm was blistered over with what felt like acid, where a bolt of magic managed to land a lucky shot earlier. The NPC had been a bloodmancer, an advanced form of geomancer who filled their crystals with blood instead of elemental energy, and the blood arrow that hit the shield he was using had unexpectedly returned to a liquid when he blocked it, and that ate through the wood and singed his flesh. There were a surprising number of magic users out there, especially considering the resource cost they tended to have. Either the NPC army had a lot of backers, or they were able to ignore the spell cost for the sake of a more entertaining event. So far, the NPC Uprising questline was the first large scale event that the game had shown, given it was mostly focused on exploration and discovery, so there was some sense in the designers giving it more of a dramatic stake by increasing the magic in play.
At least, that's what the player in him thought, the shopkeeper in him was pissed off that his shop was being burned and looted, his crops stolen and workers killed, while he could only organise a defence and wait for the front line to return and save him. So far the siege had lasted three in game days, with little sign of easing or breaking. It had been a normal day when it started, and a particularly profitable one at that. He managed to sell off a large part of his stockpiled food to an NPC village, something he hadn't worried about since his farmers were due to harvest more that very afternoon, a decision that was apparently not in his best interest. When the NPC army entered the camp, they approached from four sides and used trade carts to hide their numbers. Anyone looking at a single direction wouldn't find their approach strange at all, just a trader with the sense to hire guards. It was only once they formed up into two groups that they started to seem suspicious, and by that point they were already at the camp's edge. With their soldiers well rested in the caravans, they burst out and charged the camp in two arrow shaped columns, with fighters at the arrowhead and mages in the shaft. Their blitz immediately killed camp's healers and mages, with the NPC's looting the materials needed to cast magic before they could spawn back into camp, rendering them unable to aid in further combat. While the camp still had components in the cave vault, that was all Fred's own property, and he had been reluctant to hand out those supplies when the combat started, thinking that the raid was just some disorganised bandit group.
While the farmers and other field workers evacuated, non-combat NPCs entered the camp to harvest the crops and burn whatever couldn't be taken. It should have been obvious then that the NPC were in for a siege, but Fred had still not thought of the possibility, given most games wouldn't pull that kind of stunt due to it being the kind of frustrating event that caused players to lose interest. He hadn't thought the event would last long, and hadn't issued any kind of rationing. Aside from a handful of Fred's staff, no one else knew about him selling off the reserves, and they hadn't held back either. Fighting was an energy intensive activity, especially with heavy gear, and hunger wasn't eliminated by death. By the third day of slow combat, there wasn't a single fighter who wasn't fighting through starvation. They had started managing their food when they were nearly out, and the food went to fighters first and casters only after them, since it was far less intensive to stand still and throw out spells, and they couldn't even do that by dawn of the third day, with the last of the resources used up. Worse still was how many NPCs still remained, and how well off they still seemed. The NPCs outnumbered the number of players, and they used their numbers to their advantage. The two wings started pressing and pulling back in perfect co-ordination, as if they were in constant communication, like a single gelatinous monster instead of a mass of people. They'd press hard on one flank to force the defenders to focus there, only for the other wing to break through the weakened side and make strikes at the exposed ranged players before pulling back again and repeating. Like that, the players were pushed back into the cave, where the crafting players had set up defences that maximised their defensive power. Unfortunately, that had also limited the number of people in active combat at any time, which meant the NPCs could cycle through their fighters and give themselves plenty of food an rest.
Worse still the players numbers were steadily reducing, even as their supplies were. The siege had caused a lot of players to stop playing, angry at having their resources stolen or wasted and having wasted their time, having only spent their play time paying off their costs to Fred, just to have their gains broken. It wasn't just new players that were quitting, veterans, even second wave players, were getting frustrated with the hunger and uselessness of it, and were dropping out. That was especially the case when they found out the worst part, and had to find it out through the forum. The NPCs had some witchdoctors amongst their magic users, and they were capturing souls on the battlefield. If a soul was captured, then the player was unable to spawn again until either the jar was broken or the soul was used as fuel in a spell or witchdoctor skill. It also seemed that they weren't being used as fuel, and were instead being packed into crates and shipped away from the combat. Unless someone went after those carts, it was the equivalent to permanent in game death; all progress lost. There were some players who didn't mind that kind of thing, and others who saw that as an opportunity to make a new character without making the same early game mistakes, but it was a major turn off for most.
As such, Fred's cave was starting to look bare-bones, with very few defenders left. He couldn't be sure that there would even be reinforcements. He had posted the help request on the forum, but that had since been drowned out by the permanent death complaints. Looking around, the defenders that remained were mostly tired looking, hungry people whose moral wouldn't last much longer. Fred fished through his pockets and pulled out a handful of coins, a portion of what he had made through selling the food. While he had started the game as a tinker, as his camp expanded he had spent less time making things himself, and had instead started to level up as a merchant. He held the shiny golden coins over his burnt arm and spoke the words that would activate a healing spell, restoring his wound but giving the coins a dull grey sheen. It wasn't the best use of the coins, it was even a bad use of them. But, he had had enough. His progress had been stripped away and his lands burnt and salted; there was no rebuilding. He had held out through the first wave, but at that time he had nothing and lost nothing by losing. Now the game had let him build, grow his base and feel progress before taking that away from him. That hurt more than any of the deaths.
He resigned himself. It couldn't go on. He walked slowly out from behind the cover and walked out to where the front line of each side was clashing, hoping to call a truce and surrender. When a stray blot, not even aimed for him, took him in the throat, he fell to the ground without fighting it, letting himself bleed out. From there, he logged out of the game, left his console pod and his apartment, instead going for a slow and wandering walk of his city, no longer caring about the game, or any game really.
In the game, the marker that had shown the camp known as Fred's Discount Swords disappeared, and players found that there weren't able to spawn there anymore. What was left of the camp was quickly overrun, the weakened players unable to resist having their gear stripped from them before they were killed. Before the remaining resources were packaged onto carts and shipped out, Fred's head was pierced by pike so that his body would remain standing at the cave's entrance.
|
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Although they had enjoyed travelling together, Lotus and Dawn didn't continue to travel with Oak and Dima. They spent a few days stripping the icy region and its surroundings of everything of worth, though they didn't return to the temple, and went their separate ways when their real life schedules no longer matched. While the couple decided to head through the desert towards a mountain bog that was rumoured to contain some supplies Dima needed, Lotus instead wanted to travel north with a river, having read a rumour on the forums that they had found half a stone house jutting from the water. She knew that that area was only lightly patrolled, and that monsters would be more pervasive, but she hoped there might be more buildings further upstream.
Along the way, after several days of travel, they stayed at an inn. It was a simple wooden building, make by stacking tall trees from the woods that surrounded it into the frame, and it sat on a cliff overlooking the vast river they were walking along. A fall from the cliff would take several seconds to hit the water and that water stretched out so far that the distant bank was only barely noticeable when the waves kicked up. Rather than a river, it might have been more apt to call it a lake, but the sweeping current made it clear that it wasn't. Aside from just wood, the inn had reinforced its foundation with the stone that was quarried when the owners made a stairway down to the river. The available stone meant they were able to get creative with fires and, aside from just the main hearth and the kitchen stove, each of the tables was made from tightly assembled stones, that were mortared with what seemed to be a resin or glass. The centre of each wide round table was a stone brazier that could be used on a particularly cold night, which the owners insisted happened fairly often.
The owners were an old couple that looked like they'd been together for most of their more than a half-century-long lives. The lady was Oqua, a Merchant of surprisingly high level, whose black hair and smooth skin seems to contrast with her wise eyes. By looking at her status, Lotus could see that she was clearly much older than her youthful appearance would suggest, and had a few extra classes in reserve. Lotus could tell that she wouldn't normally be able to examine such a high-level person, but Oqua was letting her look. "Some people might take offence if you go about peeking like that, dear, but I think, as an inn owner, letting people know just who they're dealing with helps people relax" Oqua explained.
The gentleman, Coyst, hadn't aged quite as miraculously gracefully, and he had a head of close-cut grey hair and wrinkles above his large and muscular body. He was a Restaurant Manager, which was an advanced version of the Bartender class. It was a class that apparently enabled him to control everyone and everything while within his restaurant. He could levitate and move any object freely, which let him cook multiple dishes and server customers drinks all at the same time, as if he had an invisible staff. He could also mentally compel people into obeying his orders, though the compulsion was apparently easily shaken or avoided. What he claimed he found most useful however was the ability to share his skills and muscle memory with anyone that the skill recognised as staff. "In the many years I've known her," he explained "my wife has never had any knack for cooking whatsoever, and had nonetheless insisted they I eat her practice attempts. When I gained this skill, she was suddenly able to cook the finest of foods." He had said it jokingly, and Oqua clearly pretended to be upset by it, and had clearly heard him tell the story many times before.
Lotus and Dawn had hunted a few creatures along their way, as well as harvesting what the woods had to offer, and preserved the goods with magic. They traded their goods for a room for the night and a well-cooked meal. Despite being in a remote location, the inn was surprisingly busy. There was a young man, whose class was Lord, in what looked like gold timed red silk robes, with an elaborate gold and silver rapier on his belt and two guards standing next to him in iron full plate from head to toe. The helms were only open in a 'T' shape, for breath and sight, and were each decorated with a plume of what could have been red-peacock feathers that were long enough to drape halfway down their backs, like strange ponytails. While both had unadorned long swords on their belts, one of them, who was appropriately a Knight, had a crested red and gold shield slung over his back while the other, the shorter of the two, had a gem-encrusted piece of shaped bone about the size of a police baton on their belt and was, strangely enough, a Meteorologist. Furthermore, they had long spears resting against the outside wall by the door.
At another table was a group of somewhat less cohesive outfits. There was an old man with dark brown skin and a wild grey beard dressed in what seemed to be a robe made by sewing together thousands of small blue feathers. With the robes and a staff that seemed to be made from a mixture of blue ice and quartz, it was clear that he was some kind of elemental wizard or the likes, apparently Coloured Mage; an offshoot of Geomancer. Sitting with him was a young woman, who seemed to be in her early twenties, dressed in a summer dress that appeared to have the texture of cotton but glimmered like a chameleon painted car. Her light brown hair was wildly curling and held back with a ribbon of the same near-luminous material. Appropriately enough, she seemed to be a Dancer, and Lotus could imagine how eye-catching she would be with a dress like that. With how high her skill levels were compared to class level, it was clear that she was more interested in dancing than fighting. That wasn't to say she wouldn't be dangerous; she had a Glaive resting within arm's reach against a wall that showed clear signs of use. The third person at their table was a white-haired man that was only in his late twenties with a heavy looking cupboard chest for a backpack. He was an Alchemist that had just become a Potion Master and was clearly being weighed down by the tools and ingredients of his trade. Dima's small selection of ingredients would have fit into a single draw of the cupboard, and he hadn't needed anywhere near as many tools and bottles. On the other hand, Lotus had heard that Potion Masters could replicate any spell in the game so long as they had the ingredients. As someone who likewise carried about a large selection of ingredients, she felt some sympathy for the man. Other than his shelves, he wore a simple hemp shirt and pants that looked like tan jeans.
The final member of their group was somewhat unexpected. It was a tiny person, about as tall as a forearm, completely scaled with black and green stones, broad-shouldered so that its long arms, which nearly scraped the ground when it stood upright, were almost a third of its body length detached from its centre of mass. Despite its rocky exterior, it also had sinuous and freely malleable fleshy wings more than four times its height jutting from its back, and 'feathered' by what seemed to be layers of moss and bonsai flowers. As it talked they folded and unfurled expressively as if its emotions were expressed through them and not its unmoving stone-beaked face. Its singular eye was large and seemed to shift its shape to suit its needs, and was encased in several stone eyelids that closed where it wasn't looking. It seemed to be able to see all but directly behind it, even without turning its neck. It didn't wear clothes, though no reproductive organs were visible, though it did have sharp talons, seemingly made from green gems, held to its feet with finger-like toes. Even compared with Oak, it was a strange creature, and Lotus would have assumed it a monster had it not been talking with its group. That it's class was Cannibal didn't give it a good first impression.
Dawn and Lotus chose a table near the group of far, steering clear of the noble's table, and waited for their food. It was getting late in the day when they arrived at the inn, and by the time they had settled in the night had come. When natural light was starting to dim, Coyst opened up the main hearth to light the room. When it was closed, it looked like a stone grain silo with carved patterns decorating rings above and below its sliding door. When that door slid around its curved body, a wave of warm light slowly, and unnaturally, spread out from the hearth. It wasn't the warm of a fire, but rather the perfectly even warmth of a clear sky on a summer's day. The light, too, didn't seem to have a direction, with everything being evenly lit; nothing seemed to cast a shadow but there wasn't a brightness anywhere that would hurt the eyes. What was most remarkable, however, was the hearth itself. Rather than being a hearth, it was more accurate to call it a wide basin fountain, one which flowed with golden liquid light instead of water. Coyst levitated some of the golden liquid out of the fountain and filled each of the table's braziers. It didn't change the light of warmth levels, but it did make a spectacular set-piece.
Their meal was a pottage roast which consisted of the fresh vegetables and meats that they traded, complete with an entirely foreign, though very pleasant, spice mix. Despite the ingredients being nothing she hadn't used before, Lotus was taken back by just how much better it tasted, with every flavour blending together but highlighting each other without overpowering. Each ingredient seemed to be filled with its best qualities, as if they were the highest quality and not just things she'd harvested. It was a taste experience that wouldn't have been possible in the real world.
The room they stayed in was a cheap option, with the other guest having already purchased the limited number of rooms the rural inn had, and they were given beds in the storage room towards the back of the inn. The beds were plush, and the room smelled of spices, so it was still a comfortable alternative to sleeping outside. While they slept there, they each logged out, saying that whoever logged back in first would wait in or around the bar for the other.
|
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Jacob loved this world. He was strolled slowly across an open grassy field, admiring the picturesque mountains in the distance and some small yellow flowers coming into bloom. A soft wind blew across his skin, slightly lowering the temperature in a comfortable way and refreshing his skin, that had broken a light sweat. Furthermore, carried on the wind was the scent of something sweet. Aside from the one setback, his cart being set on fire and his brother getting separated, the day couldn’t be any nicer.
Well, the fire and the basically immortal people trying to kill him. That was a little bothersome, also. The first few times he snapped their necks and crushed their bodies was fun, but, as the saying goes; no axe stays sharp forever. Or was that about taking break? Something about practice, maybe? He was never particularly good with stories, thinking that they were only necessary for his brother, who occasionally used them when coaxing people to drink. Whatever the saying he was trying to think of, it didn’t matter. He was as strong, fast and health as twenty people, so he had no problems dealing with the attacks when they came.
He also noticed that if he stole a piece of equipment before they died, they didn’t have it when they resurrected. That had turned the tedious encounters into something of a game; take a piece of equipment and bury it before the player caught up to him again. They seemed very much attached to their stuff; that made their expressions far funnier when they noticed he didn’t have them.
Maybe once they didn’t have anything left, they’d stop fighting. That said, he had no idea where he was going, since his maps had been in the now burnt cart. He was following the pleasant smell, because he was hungry, and it seemed to be in the opposite direction to Fred’s Discount Swords. Not that it really mattered. John tended to worry too much about the journey; Jacob knew that enjoying the destination was what mattered. Was that right? He got the feeling that he was forgetting a saying again. There seemed to be a lot of thing he was forgetting and remembering them was a lot of work. It might even be harder to remember them, than to remember everyone he had robbed, and they were too plentiful to be bothered with.
That was another one of his brother’s problems; he tried to remember everyone they cheated. Jacob honestly couldn’t see the point. John would say something about knowing who to look out for, but if a problem showed up, they could just deal with it then and there. Dealing with a problem before it became a problem was simply making more work for yourself in Jacob's opinion. Did that count as a saying? If it didn’t, he thought he should make it one. He could spread it around wherever he went and one day hear a stranger he'd never met say it to him. He found that to be an entirely novel notion and decided to make that one of his goals.
As he strolled through the soft green field, he took a moment to take his shoes off, placing them in the duffle bag he had looped over his back. The grass between his feet was inviting, and the sun warmed his blood like a fine drink. A fine drink would be one of the few good points his brother had. He had never met anyone that could make a better liquor then John. Ah, that’s right. The drinks were in the cart. Suddenly, the fire seemed like a much worse situation. Thankfully, one of the players approaching him seemed to have a wine-skin on his belt.
After that person’s head was severed from their body with their own sword, another game Jacob had started to play, he grabbed the cork from drink and took a sip. Rather than a wine-skin it was more of an ale-skin. He would have preferred wine, but the ale was refreshing under the sun. Kicking the fallen body into the chest of another attacker, he uncorked a second wine-skin and took a swig. To his absolute disgust, some loathsome trickster had filled it with water. What a bastard. Who would do something like that? It just seemed completely cruel to mislead someone like that.
He pelted the bottle at a nearby assailant and it created a very satisfying crack as they fell dead from the impact, the blow smashing their face flat. He then proceeded to finish of the remaining people with a series of destructive kicks. He had won the unarmed combat skill from a monk, and had enjoyed using it more than any weapon he had found. Which was fortunate, since he hadn’t needed to draw a weapon to kill someone for a long time. It was almost enough to make him regret taking so much power. It wasn’t enough, just close to it.
Before long, he found the source of the smell. It was a chef. A chef was apparently a better version of the cook class, a crafting based class that focused on food. It seemed strange to Jacob that someone would put so much work into becoming that good at cooking, just to be back in the middle of no-where. Then again, he didn’t understand most of what players did. Resurrecting probably resulted in brain damage, or at least insanity; there was probably a limit to how much trauma a soul could endure. That made a lot of sense to him. High level players tended to act the strangest, and died the most often because of that. Cause and effect there, if he ever heard it; straight up karma.
The chef was cooking some kind of pie in a pot over a fire. From what he could smell, it was some kind of spiced fruit dish. Furthermore, he was working on some kind of sugary sauce. Jacob watched as the man pulled out a bottle of fine wine, poured it into the source and set it on fire while mixing it through. That filled Jacob with a black hate, and he ran towards the man at his fastest speed. Before the man even noticed him, he was dead. Jacob quickly doused the fire, but found he was too late to save the drink. As a last ditch effort, he snatched the bottle and prayed for even a drop. His prayers were either unheard or ignored, since the bottle was dry.
After eating the pie and killing the hunters another time, he started walking again. Towards the centre of the grasslands, he found a small wooden cabin. Within it, he found a woman sitting alone at a table. From what he could see, she seemed to live alone there, and didn’t seem to be a player. A cruel smile spread across his face, and he invited himself into the house. She tried to run, be he blocked the only exit.
With him at the door, she backed herself into the corner crying, “Please don’t come closer” as if she thought that would somehow stop him. As he got closer, she just kept annoyingly repeating herself. With very step closer, she seemed to just get louder. Didn’t she know how annoying that was? Didn’t she know that if a thing doesn’t work, something else should be tried? Maybe she was bad in the head. That seemed likely. Who else but someone with a bad head would live alone in a house in the middle of a field? It seemed that it was his lot in life to be surrounded by the weak minded.
When she was within arm’s reach, he tore at her shirt, splitting it open and let the plentiful contents spill out. His joy was short-lived, however, as beneath the shirt, along her stomach, was a large eye, vertically aligned, and it started up at his face. Its cold blue colour matched the woman’s other eyes, and they matched her creamy copper-blond hair surprisingly well. Meeting the third-eye’s gaze filled him with an uncomfortable feeling, like a tingling sensation that started from his toes.
Taking a quick look at his feet, he started to see the cause of the feeling; his toes had melted and the dissolving was spreading further up his feet.
Without a moment’s hesitation he ran. He ran for the door and slammed it behind him, not looking back as he dashed out across the grass.
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For Dawn Light, there was no class that could compare to the author. Sure, she was currently suffering extreme hardship from its all around low-level abilities, weak attributes and reliance on expensive items; but she knew deep down that it would eventually be the most powerful class of all. If she could get twenty sheets of paper and some leather, or wood in a pinch, to bind them with, she could craft a special book that would let her replicate any ability she had seen, from any class. Only abilities she of a player level lower than her own could be used, however, and at a reduced effectiveness, also. She also didn’t have any of the speciality equipment that those classes had, so she would have to buy those, also. Despite those setbacks, she knew that, going forward, her class would show its worth. She had absolute confidence that the research she put into the choice and the time she spent planning would definitely pay off. Even if the amount of paper she would need for higher level skills increased drastically, and carting around books was heavy, they were small problems compared to the versatility her class brought.
So far she had the following books; Tinker: Carrying Capacity Boost, Tinker: Tinkering, Merchant: Expert Evaluation, Geomancer: Crystal Casting, Geomancer: Crystal Knowledge. The reason she had so many books already was because she was working for Fred. Every time she went to make a book, she would be required to make ten copies of that book in return. The paper was pulped by her, and other workers trying to pay off their debt, with wood and tools made by other debt-workers. Books were a surprisingly popular item, despite only providing the skill effect to two classes. Because a skill book contained a detailed analysis of how a skill works, people would often buy books about their own class skills to get more competent at using them, and to help uncover secrets and alternative uses. The only class that could write a skill book was the author, but they weren’t the only class that could gain skills from using them. The loremaster was a class that could also do so, and as a support magic class, it was a reasonably popular choice.
Dawn had chosen the books she wanted fairly carefully. There were a number of skills that sold well, and a number of skills that were useful to her, personally. Skills that were both had the highest priority. The skills that she got from Fred, carrying capacity booster and tinkering, were particularly important to her. Since she intended to carry a lot of books around with her she got carrying capacity booster, which she needed to be able to carry more. Tinkering was a skill that let the user craft any category of item, though with a higher difficulty when compared to more specialised skills, including providing her with an innate, though limited, knowledge for how to use tools and materials. Having that let her craft the items she would need to use acquired skills, and pay off her debt sooner.
The merchant skill, expert evaluation, let her understand how much an item or service would be worth, whispering into her mind approximately how much it would be worth in the general area or in the currently occupied territories generally. It wasn’t a skill that she wanted to get, but Fred insisted that she get it, and help out with managing the shop and dealing with customers. The only combat skill she had, so far, was crystal casting. It was the core talent for geomancers, and let them convert power from creatures and stones into special crystals, and then uses the crystals in magic. It was the reason geomancers were being called Money Mages; they had to burned valuables to power spells. If a group found a large stone overflowing with fire energy they would have to choose, have the stone turned into a weapon, or other useful item, or let the geomancer take the energy out, and turn it into a normal rock. It wasn’t Dawn’s first choice, but it was the first magic type she saw used, and was relatively simple to use. Of cause, that power was only useful with the Crystal Knowledge skill, that identified what crystals were, how much and why types of energy they could trap. While Geomancy could be used without it, the user would almost certainly overcharge their crystals and break them.
She originally planned to stay at Fred’s place for a short time, but had already spent several in-game days there. Her debt loomed over her, as if daring her to make a break and escape. She may well have done that, if not for having been the person who processed the report on what happened to the last person to try it. Instead, she was going to pay it off as fast as possible, while observing as many skills as she could. Once she paid of her debt, and after getting a few more blank books, she would start her adventure.
After working for Fred for nearly three weeks of in game time, she had finally paid everything off. With relief streaming from every pore, she stretched, facing the rising sun, and set off into the forest. The experience she had gained from working there had pushed her up a few levels, and she had gained the second key author skill, voice. Voice was a form of magic that converted certain nonsense words into spells. Unfortunately, it was also very tiring. The highest level author player boasted that he could use Voice three times without rest, but when told to prove it, he fainted after the third. There was no doubt it was powerful, but fainting in front of a monster meant death. Instead, she used it to farm energy to use in crystal casting. All she had to do was command the ground to freeze, and then collect the energy in a crystal for later use. She had tried it with other elements, but ice was both the safest and easiest to work with. Paying back the damage her experiments with fire had cause added an extra day to her work.
It was a very slow, grinding process, as each time she did it she would only empower the smallest speck of a shard and then have to rest. During the time she spent at camp, she built up a small pile of near worthless crystals chips that were going to be thrown out, a pile that would disappear quickly when she started to cast spells. After writing book after book to pay off her debt, Dawn was sure that she could stand any repetitive tasks. She was sure that she could secure a supply of crystals.
Hefting her heavy bag and adjusting the weight to sit more comfortably, as it shifted about when she walked, she walked towards the nearby forest. For the first time in a long time, she would be by herself. Thoughts about the dangers being alone would bring floated into her mind briefly, but she shrugged them off like they were someone else’s concerns. She was a master of ice magic, whose very words could burn or cut, what could possibly harm her? The ground crunched and squelched under her sturdy leather boots, as she walked wistfully through the forest, not feeling any of the stones through the monster bone soles. It wasn’t long before she encountered her first creature. It seemed to be a large brown rat, about the size of a medium dog, with fur that stood on end. As she cautiously approached, she could hear it snarl as a static crackle sounded, faintly but audibly, came from around the rat’s body. Before she could react, a bolt of energy struck her in her side and pushed her backwards as her muscles contracted and pulsed, stiffening painfully without her control. She rolled to her side as fast as she could, trying to get back onto her feet while her body felt both numb and inflamed.
The rat was fast. The rat was way too fast. By the time she stood up, it had moved from where it was. Looking around in terror, the rat was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly pain shot through her body through her back and she collapsed to the ground. Her body shook with a spasm, pain unlike anything she had ever felt rocketed through her body, like she was being torn apart by her own body, like her flesh was something foreign and no longer wanted to be attached. Tears streamed from her eyes as she tried to somehow manage the burning pain. As abruptly as it started, the pain ended. Turning around she saw the rat had been split in half and a strange woman was placing a plant based paste on her shock burnt flesh. It surprised her just how quickly the soothing effect of the plants seeped through her, as comforting as a warm bed in winter.
The woman was shorter than her, though by how much was hard to tell while Dawn lay on her side, and seemed younger. She had long black hair that flowed all the way down her back. Her fierce green eyes seemed like jade, twisting in sharp waves like the anger of the forest itself. Her healthy tan skin could be seen through a fine layer of forest dust and she had an intangible quality about her that radiated a quiet kind of power. Not an aggressive power, like a fire, but something resolute and unmoving, like a falling stone. The stone wasn't destructive, but only a fool would try and get it its way. A small shutter went down her back as she was both drawn to and repulsed by those eyes, a shudder the reminded her that the paste had yet to finish its work.
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Somewhat uncertain, yet driven to take action Dima Volk decided to attack the wolves. Bringing our his rifle, he broke the barrel open, just ahead of the action, and slipped a white coloured oiled-paper pouch in the side closest to himself and a blue coloured pouch snugly into the barrel. He locked the barrel back in place and brought the weapon up to aim, all of which in a couple seconds; a testament to the hours he spent practising the motions. When he first received the weapon, it needed to be loaded down the barrel, but he immediately took it to an acquaintance from real life, who was also playing, who made the changes for him. Not only did the rifle now have a breach-load, it was also fitted with a simple brass scope. It looked like something out of a western movie, and didn't particularly fit the game's theme, if it had one. In his large hands, the rifle felt clumsy, though he knew that the game had filled him with the knowledge on how to use it. In his mind, he activated his snipe skill and the vulnerable areas of the wolves were highlighted in his vision; eyes, throat, heart, brain, kneecaps, etc., even something internal that appeared to control the creature's fire magic, all were visible to him.
As he squeezed the trigger, a thunder like crack rang out and the wolves froze. They froze in a figurative sense, that they were frighted and confused by an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous sound. However, they also froze in a literal sense, as the alchemic reactants in the bullet and powder combined on impact and exploded in a wave of frost. It was resource expensive recipe, one that Dima had acquired from another alchemist at a very steep price. Not only did it need the normal powder ingredients, but it also needed bones infused with ice energy, powdered wind energy plants and the skin of a creature that was both flammable and water element. The original alchemist had used a larger scale version to make bombs, and had insisted on the price before he revealed the resource cost. At the time he felt like he was being extorted, but in seeing the effect of the burning wolves, he felt that he might have gotten a good deal. Though only the wolf that took the direct hit was dead, the others were slowed with near frozen limbs and might even die from sudden temperature change effecting their blood. It was more than enough that he could deal with them using more conventional bullets, or even walking up to them and using a knife if he were less cautious.
After the wolves were dead, and the used bullets were collected, he was about to start skinning them, and process them into alchemic materials, when he heard sobbing from behind him. Turning around with detest for his own negligence, he saw the statue hunched over in the river with its two arms pressed against one side of its cylindrical head, with the light its head contained floating closer to the arms. From the sound of crying, although there were no tears, she, although he was only assuming that, was distressed. He kicked himself that he hadn’t taken her thoughts into consideration. She had been hurt and a stranger used thunderous noises to start killing around her; of course she would be crying. He was annoyed more at himself for his prejudice than his inconsideration. For as much as he had disdain for his colleagues that judge him for his looks, he had judge the poor woman based on hers. He had considered her as an object, or like a beast or monster, just as they had all considered him like an animal.
Heading over to her and fished a healing potion out of a pouch on the side of his belt. He had no way of knowing if it would work on such a different creature, and had only experienced its use on humans, but he felt that attempting to help would at least calm her. When he arrived at her side, he could hear her mumbling something, though he couldn’t make out what it was, or even if she would speak a language he knew.
“Can you understand me?” he asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as he could, “I want to treat you wound; would you let me see it?”
Still through tears, and faint mumbling, she gave what seemed to be a blocky nod, and raised the burnt leg out of the water. The timber of it was scorched black, and the smell of burning greenwood was rich in the air, drowning out the woman's natural pine smell, which he found otherwise quite pleasant. Pouring the potion on the burn seemed to work, restoring it to a health sap-soaked, oaken brown. Relieved to see that it worked, Dima looked at his patient and tried to give his best smile. He held out his hand to help her up.
Still sniffling, the statuesque wooden woman managed a few clear words to him. “Responsibility… Take responsibility for seeing me naked.”
“Eh?”
Hearing her, his mind broke. Given her alien appearance, and lack of identifiable sexual organs, he hadn’t considered the possibility that she would be naked, let alone that she might need clothes to begin with. It made a kind of sense, though. He wore clothes, why wouldn’t she. Looking over to the riverbank, he saw a small basket hanging from a tree. From what the farmer had said, the spirit people were very strict about their customs. If he handled the situation badly he could be in serious trouble. Taking a deep breath he tried to sort things out as calmly as possible.
“Umm… By responsibility, you don’t mean…”
“Marriage” She answered before he could even finish, “You saw me naked, so you have to take responsibility and marry me. Otherwise I’ll never be able to.”
That stunned him. God damned programmers added something like that to the game. What era are they living in? Whoever they were.
“You know, even if you’re seen…” he started to say, before he was cut off once again.
“When a spirit person is seen naked, a piece of their soul enters their partner and they are joined.” Hearing that, gave some context to the rule, but he still hated the programmers who implemented that. “I won’t let you weasel out of it. Even if you try to leave, I can use the connection between our souls to follow you, and I'll bring my people with me.”
Thus began Dima Volk’s marriage to The Spirit of Blooming Oak. Later that day, they arrived in her village and it was officially registered. Under Oak’s name was the title [Dima Volk’s Wife]. He wasn’t willing to look at his own titles, but he got the feeling he had something similar there. The village was, during a ceremony that involved carving both of their names into an ancient, towering stone, recorded as a spawn point and gave him the option to change his race into a tree spirit.
The clothes that Oak was so embarrassed to be without, turned out to be a single wooden plate that fit over the clear section of her body, with spaces carved for her arms to be pushed through. Although they seemed as solid as wood, she seemed able to move and twist them with the flexibility of vines. The plate seemed otherwise indistinct from the rest of her wooded body, with one side of it having an elaborate, vaguely Celtic, engraving. He didn’t know what the carving's purpose was, but, for him, it served as a way to tell where she was facing. Despite forward and backward being otherwise symmetrical, Oak and the other spirits seemed to only be able to see in one direction. Not that he was even sure how they could see. Unfortunately, Oak noticed him staring at her chest and started to fidget in embarrassment.
He was also thankful for the floating names as, although each spirit seemed to have no difficulty telling each other apart, to Dima, they all seemed identical. When he asked Oak about it, she said, in an upset tone, that the colours and sizes of the lights in their heads were different and the grain lines were so completely different that anyone could tell with so much as a glance. From a distance he couldn’t really see it, but when she stood next to her brother it looked obvious, the lights not the grains that is. His new brother-in-law’s light was slightly more green then Oak’s soft white and slightly pink light. Her light was also larger by about a finger’s width at the radius. He later heard that the closer the light was to white, the stronger the spirit was, and that women had larger lights.
The average level amongst the villagers was around fourteen, though the outliers for that were extreme. His new father-in-law, a blacksmith, was level forty-five. Apparently, he did a lot of adventuring when he was young, and mentioned that he used to live in a place he called 'the great city'. His light was a pale blue-white. After meeting his new father, he resigned himself to the fact that there was no way out.
Oak was entirely accepting of the fact that he was a traveller, unexpectedly so. She said that she would travel with him for a while, to make sure he remained faithful, but would eventually go back to the village to have their children. As Oak was so sure that they could have children, he wasn’t going to question the method, both out of decency and embarrassment. As his young wife, as she had taken to calling herself, was a level ten blacksmith, he had no issues with taking her along. After all, a blacksmith was probably better able to fight then he was. Not only were they the best prestige class for crafting, they had the ability to use any weapon or armour they made, whether they had the skill for it or not. They could only focus on two or three types of crafting, but the crafting skills they focused on could reach higher levels and item quality than other classes. High level blacksmiths could even craft weapons with enchantments and other special effects. As Oak was only level ten, and therefore had only just become a blacksmith, that was a long way off, but she would still be better in a melee than him.
Aside from formalising the marriage and introducing Dima to her family, the main reason for going to the camp was to assemble adventuring gear. After changing into armour and filling a bag with essentials, her father met her at the front door. He knew that she had wanted to go on an adventure for a long time, that she had been inspired by the stories she had grown up on. He also knew that he didn’t want her to go alone. It was quite a shock when he suddenly brought home a husband, but the man reminded him of an old friend, and he trusted his daughter’s judge of character. He also knew she wouldn’t have pretended the soul trade was irreversible if she hadn’t seen something in him. As she left, he gave her a small pouch. It was a travelling forge; a small workspace that had been compressed inside a bag in the days before the collapse. His own father had passed it to him when he set out, and he in turn passed it to Oak. He hoped to live to see the day when she passed it on to her child.
The young couple left after spending the night in the village. They left, arm-in-arm, towards the glacial lake.
|
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He stood in a field of tattered bodies, severed limbs, spit heads and broken weapons, all soaked in the copper sheen of drying blood. He sifted his way through the viscera towards the cave mouth that had once been Fred's shop. The green forests and vibrant fields had been destroyed by battle and fire even before he arrived, and the soot and bloodstained land that was left there was nothing like the meeting place they had gathered for, worked together and built up. Roland through his spear away. It was just another random weapon he picked up in the fight. Whenever he was about to die, the people he was fighting would try to take his gear from him to prevent him from having it when he resurrected. That hadn't bothered him, he simply had to take a weapon from the ground or from one of the people fighting him. He had long since lost the preference for any weapon in particular. If he wasn't armed he could always just punch and claw and flail and kick. The only difference was the number of people he could take with him with each death.
He had arrived at the battlefield after the fight was over and the camp was abolished, but the enemy had left behind a section of their troops to clean up. Without a respawn point or shrine nearby, he would have had to walk a lot of ground after each death, but the 12th world granted him a new ability. While standing on ground that is soaked with death, he could cause the ground to rise up and form a new shine. Without any fear of the tedium that death would cause, he could accept the blissful embrace it gave and charged the foes the moment the shrine was formed. At first, each soldier was more than a match for him, and their teamwork ensured he could barely make a scratch on them before dying. That didn't bother him, he loved the sensation. The more they killed him the more bliss he would feel. The more of them he killed, the greater the sensation would get. So, he came back again and again, as scratches and bruises became cuts and bludgeons, which became gashes and fractures. With each person he killed, the whole group became noticeably weaker. It wasn't just in terms of their cooperative strength, but also their individual strengths got worse. On and on he fought until they knew he wouldn't break. They couldn't make him quit and he wouldn't stay down. They broke first and tried to run. But he wouldn't let them; he pounced on the fleeing people like a wild beast. He tore into them with sword, spear, fist and teeth, not letting a single person escape. He used bow and crossbow, bolas and net, chasing them down as they tried to get away. His body acted almost free from thought, as if striking was all that it needed, as if he were a machine that existed only for death.
When the battle was over, he felt kind of aimless. He had such a clear purpose while he was in action that it was a hollow feeling to be still. He kicked over a body to retrieve his most prized possession, the only thing he couldn't stand having snatched from him, the daggers that the angels left him. Taking them carefully into his hands, he cleaned them off and tied them once more to their rightful place on his belt. He couldn't stand it when someone else touched his treasure. He dragged the body responsible for that sacrilege by the neck towards the cart that had the army supplies. Inside he fished out some torch oil and doused the offending body. It wasn't enough to merely kill them, he wanted to make sure not even a scrap of its flesh remained. He replaced his tattered armour and bag and took out a new shield, sword and spear. After filling the bag with whatever he needed to travel, he dumped the body into the cart and lit a spark with a flint and steel. As he watched over the flame, feeling its warmth soak into his cold core, he didn't notice the way the blood-soaked battleground moved. Every drop of red vital fluid moved like snakes, tearing through bodies that trapped it to converge at the shrine. The blood formed into the dirt of the shrine, dying it crimson as it did, then soaked into the core of the earthen structure. Then, from the cloudless sky, a bolt of lightning hailed down and shatter the shrine, sending dirt in all directions.
Examining the remains, surrounded by desiccated corpses, Roland found a beautifully crafted mace. The shaft was as long as his whole arm and the head was shaped like a four-pointed star, with sharp bladed edges along the edges of the prism. The edges converged at a twisting point, like the twisting of raspberry liquorish twists. It's most striking feature was that it seemed to be made entirely from one single massive ruby. Such a weapon couldn't possibly exist in nature, and it had to be proof that even the heavens supported his quest. With such a weapon, no one could ever lay a hand on his angels. When he picked it up, it came apart, splitting into four and then four again and a dozen red snakes tore their way into his arm, eating away at the flesh to build themselves homes. When they were done, his arm was decorated with ruby lightning-scars that stopped just short of his elbow. With a single thought, he could command the snakes to take their weapon form. The heavens had seen his trial and granted him a weapon that he could carry into death. He could never be disarmed, and he would never stop coming.
Along with the mace, he received a new class; World's Paladin. It was another improvement on the Knight series of classes, a step up from his previous Gallant Knight. Most notably, it gave him access to of a range of spells; spells that he was able to cast. Ever since the game first launched, there had been a Paladin class available, though they were never able to use the spells that were listed. With a simple hand gesture and a commanding recitation of the spell, he cause the dried up bodies on the ground to form together, twist and meld, until they had the form of a horse with saddle, reins and stirrups. The horse was bloodless and lifeless, but it still moved as if it were alive, making a dry gusting sound as it imitated breathing. Without a care for how it looked, Roland hooked his bag to the saddle and mounted it. He could decay any tree in his path and flatten the earth as that happened. He would be able to travel in straight lines, without delays from navigating or traversing obstacles. Whenever he found a trace of his angels, he would be able to head straight for them.
"Truly the gods favour me; they know what I'm doing is right."
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What surprised Lotus the most was just how weak Dawn could be. It wasn’t just her level, which had risen substantially during the week they trained in the forest together, but all her actions and attacks seemed to lack impact, like she was holding herself back without meaning to. That she didn’t seem even close to noticing it was a quality that Lotus found endearing. Within the first hour together, Dawn’s pride gave in and she asked Lotus to teach her the skills she wanted, admitting that she had wanted to sneakily steal them; a request Lotus had no problems with at all. What Lotus found most strange about that, was that there wasn’t much of a difference between when she was pretending to be meek and her normal behaviour. Until she realised it herself, Lotus wasn’t going to point it out. No point cutting off a source of amusement.
What Lotus quickly noticed, but Dawn seemed oblivious to, was that the attack Dawn used least, seemed to be her most effective. Her voice skill was really powerful. From what she had read on the forums, it could even be used to command lower level monsters to simply die. The exact conditions for that command to work didn’t seem to be known, but as a general rule, the greater the level gap the higher the success rate. Despite that ability being so powerful, Dawn seemed to only use it to make slivers of material for crystal casting. While they trained and fought, Lotus was sure to point out any plants that contained energy that Dawn could syphon. Dawn's own related skill worked fine for animal parts and minerals, but didn't give any reaction to plants, even though the energy could be transferred to crystals. The majority of what she gained from fights, she used immediately, in other fights, resulting in little energy actually gained. Her proficiency at magic had grown, however, and she was able to more naturally integrate it into combat.
One day, as they were traveling near the town side of the forest, they saw a brown haired knight fighting a naked red giant. Through inspect, Lotus could see there were a lot of unique things about that player. They had the unique class, gallant knight, and two titles, Hero of the First Wave and Favoured of the 12th World. Furthermore he was a slightly higher level than Lotus, and was completely equipped with quality items. His armour in particular, a leather piece with bolted on sheets that were engraved with elaborate runes, was more expensive looking then anything she had seen anyone use. Even without his name being displayed she would have recognised him as Roland Five. There were fan-pages on the forum dedicated to him, and anyone who ever fought at the frontline would tell everyone about the time they fought alongside him. There weren't many players that were even remotely as popular.
The pair hid nearby and watched the fight progress, Lotus nodding to herself at Dawn successfully implementing of teachings. When the ground collapsed, they were disappointed that they couldn’t see the outcome. Peering down the hole, they could see the situation he found himself in, but shrugged it off as not their problem. That was until Lotus noticed the blood the giant had left behind. That thick, jell-like ooze, her skills instantly told her that it could only be a fire type elemental blood. Elemental blood was a high demand item, since it was needed as a base in nearly all advanced level crafting. For potions it replaced water as the base, for weapons it could treat wood and temper metal. It was even needed for ink in higher level books and scrolls. On top of which, it had a higher mana concentration then crystals, meaning a geomancer could cast with it without converting it to a crystal first. It was a powerful item and the giant had litters of it.
As the tiger-bear started to wear itself out, after they watched for an hour or so, Lotus threw seeds down to it, and used the druid spells rapid growth and strengthen plant to bind it. She could have likewise used fast growing potions, like she had when she saved the young fox, but she found the effects were better, both stronger and faster, if she used magic. She didn't use SP often, instead relying on poisons and skills, so she didn't mind using it wastefully. Following that, Dawn used voice to create a strong updraft that let them jump down safely. As they fell, Dawn used some of her electric crystals to stun the creature, a remanent of her revenge against the static rats, she had prepared more than enough to also throw them out freely. While it was both stunned and restrained, Lotus gave it a quick stab to the neck, and let her poisons finish it off.
After confirming that the creature was dead, the pair went to check on the fainted Roland. Seeing that his injuries were treatable by Dawn’s clone of herb lore, Lotus went to collect as much of the elemental blood as she could. When she filled a dozen vials and water skins with the thick liquid, she stored them carefully in her bag, and wrapped them up in soft leaves. Since Dawn was taking some time with her treatment, Lotus decided to make lunch. She quickly checking the forum for the best way to cook tiger-bears, and while she didn't find anything for that specific creature, she guessed that the meat turned tender in soups. Following that, she took utensils and vegetables from Dawn’s bag, and started chopping. With them in small pieces she placed a few nearby logs together and got Dawn to use voice to ignite them. With a strong fire instantly burning, she set a pot over it and browned the tiger-bear meat on it. She then filled it with water and a small amount of elemental blood. The vegetables were then added and the dish was left to cook.
Seeing that the meal was underway, and her patient had been treated, Dawn started to carve the tiger-bear’s claws into daggers. They were a strong material, and ones that resisted any kind of working, and thus it seemed a waste not to do anything with them. They also took the creature’s pelt, since it looked like it would make a good blanket at the least. After lunch was done and they had eaten, the pair cleaned the nearby resurrection shrine. While Dawn didn’t really care about them, Lotus felt like keeping them clean was something that the 13th world would like her to do, and the power she had gained from the world was useful enough that she was happy to keep the world happy.
Using the skill Communicate: Plant, and the rapid growth spell, Lotus convinced a nearby vine to grow into the shape of a ladder, perfect for Lotus to then strengthen. She found, as she progressed through the skill levels, that plants really wanted to be talked to, and were very receptive to people that took care of them. Despite never having actually conversed with the world, the Communicate: World skill gradually went up levels as she used magic or cleaned natural shrines. As they left, they placed a couple daggers and a bit of the leftover soup with Roland, making sure they were covered and no insects would get into it. Lotus hoped that he would take helping him as payment for the elemental blood, though she also knew that she was getting the better end of that deal. Better yet, she hoped he didn’t notice it. Having a high level player hunting them seemed troublesome, so she thought it was time to start leaving the forest.
For the remainder of that week, they gathered whatever plants would still be useful when dried, or had a long storage life, and prepared more potent poisons, using the elemental blood as a component. As they left the forest, at about midday, they saw a pair of suspicious brothers in a carriage. As they looked so seedy, Lotus and Dawn moved closer together and tried to avoid eye contact. When they passed safely, and thought they had made it, one of them suddenly called out to them. Thankful he just seemed to want to know about some angels that were apparently living in the forest. Having no idea about that they told him and were thanked with a bottle of what seemed to be alcohol. Since alcohol was a useful crafting component, as well as a drink that could provide some combat bonuses, they had no reason to turn it down.
That night as they camped between a mountain and a desert, they drank the drink with diner, having used the spell detect poison to confirm it was safe. It was a lot stronger then Lotus thought it would be and she quickly drank more than she could handle. The next morning she woke up next to her bed with a hangover and a new scythe. Dawn, who was in her own bed near her, gave her a sly smile and passed her some water.
Before she could get any answers about what happened, they could hear the sound of people approaching.
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Lotus wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but Dawn suddenly collapsed backwards into her arms. It happened not long after Dawn, Dima and Oak tried to get closer to the empty golden throne, within the white stone temple.
As they walked into the dusty room, filled with long decayed furniture too dust-laden to have its quality be recognisable, and got closer to the shiny seat, seemingly the only thing in the room that had ever been cleaned, the rest of the group stopped to stare intently at it. Sure, it was a very pretty and a valuable thing, but how were they planning to get it moving? It was a solid block of metal and rock, it wasn’t going anywhere. The might have been able to made a sled out of some of the least rotten table wood, but that would only get it to the bottom of the ice, it wouldn't help them once they got it into the woods. After a few moments spent staring at the unmovable golden seat, the three of them started to question it, asking what it was doing there, how long it had been there, and other strange questions. To no surprise, the seat didn't answer them, and Lotus was starting to think that they might be seeing something she wasn't. She looked about the room try and find any sign of what she was missing, and noticed that the room was brightly lit, despite having no lighting, like fire or lightbulbs, and also lacked any windows. It was as if the white stones of the wall absorbed the outside light and filled the room with a perfectly even level of lighting, like the walls were transparent to sunlight. It wasn’t uncomfortable, it may have even been the most comfortable level of lighting she had seen in the game so far, but it was discomforting in the sense that it felt entirely unnatural, or at least out of place. It felt like a very old computer game, one that had no shadows or shading to save on system memory and that also fed her impression that something was off.
When the three started to walk up the stairs, their faces seemed strained by the first step, and tired by the second. Oak managed to touch one foot to the third, but soon after, her shoulders slumped and she drooped low like a wilting flower while her head light seemed to quiver like a dying candle. Lotus wanted to know if the light thing had a specific noun, like ‘eye’ or ‘nose’, but was worried that might be rude, and it was common sense to know what it was called. She hoped Dawn was equality curious, and would blunder in and ask her. When they came back down, they seemed weak and tired, and started to fall asleep on the spot. She managed to catch Dawn, and Dima and Oak caught each other, laying against each other and braced against a table. Lying Dawn down on one of their fur beddings, Lotus started to look for clues to the cause.
She knew the cause couldn’t be gas, base since Oak was infected and didn’t seem to breathe. She hadn’t seen any cuts, darts or needles, so that also didn’t seem to be a likely cause. Lotus's apothecary skill poison resistance would protect her from an attack like that, so she couldn't rule out poisons entirely. She also didn’t think Oak could bleed, or have any idea what poisons worked on her, if any. Dawn and Dima both wore shoes with sturdy souls, so direct skin contact with the steps was also unlikely. Given the rapid onset and uniform effect, it was probably a magical effect of some kind. That diagnosis was bad. As an apothecary, her treatment options towards the arcane were very limited, and treating purely magical effects required very specific plants, of which she didn't have a ready supply.
Her options as a druid weren’t much better. From what she could tell, her magic seemed to amplify existing effects rather than create new ones, and they targeted plants and animals more readily than they did people. When she grew plants, the plants had their growth rate amplified and supplemented nutrients with magic energy. The same thing happened when she used magic to heal; the cell regeneration rate of a body was amplified. Wounds that were impossible to ever heal, and diseases like cancer which also used the same process, couldn’t be treated. Things like a magical effect, where there was no physical reason or response from the body, weren’t treatable either, at least not with the spells she had unlocked at her current level.
Looking into the room to the right of the entrance, she found that the simple wooden door opened smoothly, without sound or effort, as if it were well maintained. Clearly in contrast to the dilapidated main hall. The room inside was filled with stacks of leather bound books of various sizes and colours. In the centre of the room, sitting on a stone day-bed, was an incredibly old man, with skin like the books he surrounded himself with and a blank look in his eyes, like the world itself had betrayed him and he had nothing at all to live for. He wore a moth-eaten grey-brown robe, with a simple sting belt. With his outfit and age, he had the look of a medieval monk, locked away to write copies of the bible for the whole of his life.
As he turned to look at her, a small glint of hope seemed to appear in his eyes. He seemed to take a few moments to discern if she were real, then took a few more to remember how to speak. Above his head the two lines of text that floated there read, ‘???, level 3 Scholar of the 4th World’ and ‘Tortured by the 4th World’. Lotus was surprised by almost everything about the man’s texts. His level was really low, but she couldn’t Inspect his name. His title also indicated that he was a being tortured by a world; she had no idea that worlds could even torture, her own experience with the 13th world had certainly only been pleasant. Furthermore, he was the first other person she had met with ‘world’ in their class name, and it was a class she hadn’t heard of. Was a scholar similar to an author or loremaster? Was it somehow completely different? As she thought that, a pair of system messages displayed in her mind.
‘Player Lotus Crane has encountered the lost class scholar; the class in now available for all players.’
‘For unlocking a new class, you have been granted that class’s starting skills, research and lesser book affinity.’
From what she could tell from the memories the skills imparted her, research seemed to be a skill similar to herbal lore, except it told her the general contents and key information of books rather than plants, like a summary of a book finding its way into her mind whenever she touched a book. For the whole text, she would still need to read it, but it allowed her to skim the most important parts instantly. It also seemed to translate the in game texts and written languages. When she walked into the room, the titles of books seemed to be written in languages she hadn’t seen before, but, after getting the skill, they now appeared to be in English, though at the same time not, almost like an optical illusion where to images were visible at once. It was a very useful skill in that particular situation, but she hadn’t seen a single book that hadn't been written by a player since starting the game. Since texts written by players, and words spoken, seemed to translate automatically by the game's system, the skill seemed like it was only useful for NPC texts.
Games that translated weren’t uncommon, but the level of detail that that game went into was extraordinary; it somehow replicated the voice of the speaker without having any kind of incongruent or lagging visuals. They wouldn’t have noticed that they were each speaking a different language, if not for Oak asking Dima about his hometown. It turned out that he lived in a remote town in Russia. From his perspective they were all speaking his language, as he had never learnt more than a handful of phrases in English. Apparently the translation also seemed natural enough that it went unnoticed, and they’re lips seemed to synchronise with the sounds they made; he had thought they also lived there.
With that skill being of questionable worth, Lotus looked through her memories at the other one. Lesser book affinity was the downgraded version of the author and loremaster ability that let them use ability books to use other class skills. If an author could use an ability for three quarters of its max capacity, than she could use it for half; that was the kind of skill she was granted. Those numbers were also variable; the exact amount depended on the skill level of both the reader and the writer. Thankfully, she knew a reasonably competent author, who once spent a lot of time on raising that skill's level, so the obscene cost of books could be reduced slightly. That was if she could get Dawn to wake up.
As she looked through the skill, the old man seemed to have worked up the effort to speak.
“Plea… Please… kill… me…” though the words were spoken no louder than a whisper, with a voice that was like the personification of dust, in the silent book filled room there was no way that it couldn’t be heard.
|
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Pain shot through Lotus's feet with ever step she took down the long stone path. The late innkeeper had spent more than twenty years cutting stairs down the cliffside, and those efforts had allowed her and Dawn to make good progress down towards the river. But after several hours of walking on hard stone, Lotus was starting to feel like she was walking on bruised feet.
She was well used to walking, but she spent most of her time in forests and fields, where there was soft soil underfoot. As smooth as the stairs were, the rock was still painfully solid.
Dawn walked cheerfully beside her as they made their way towards the white-water river below them. The innkeeper's widow, Oqua, had thanked them for their help by giving Dawn a number of blank books as well as a vial of ink that was filled from the fountain of light that shone like golden sunlight when used to write with. The books weren't always blank, but they had been fished out of the river and ink had washed out. As such, Dawn had a portable desk hooked over her shoulders and was happily writing new books. Having met a number of new people at the inn, she had a new suite of skills that she could learn.
She had been particularly interested in the dance skill from the woman in the luxurious outfit. It apparently provided a range of small boosts, such as to grace of movement and beauty, but was also the dancer class's key skill for activating its other skills. At lower levels, dancers were able to do dances that provided support effects, such as increasing or decreasing attributes, but when they reached higher levels they could perform a limited forms of magic through ritual dancing. Between voice and crystal casting, Dawn already had a lot of options with her magic, but it seemed to Lotus that she wouldn't be satisfied until she could use everything. Dawn had said that her next book would be a meteorologist's weather control, but since that required crafting a special staff she wasn't in a rush to get that one done.
With the bookshelf on Dawn's back starting to fill, it wouldn't be long until she had to look for an additional carrying capacity type skill. Her Tinker: Carrying Capacity Boost skill was already at a high level, and leveling it up further was slow going.
One common thread on the forum was the ongoing quest to make some kind of storage magic. A loremaster who explored an old ruins found records that suggested storage magic was possible, even common, in the lost city that was a part of the game's setting. Knowing that the development team had left hints to it being possible caused a stir, and the various attempts at making it had been condensed into a maga-thread where every hint at how to do it could be thrown together. There were hints in various class skills, but they were very limited and resource consuming.
The one of the only successes listed in the forum was a painter skill called painted space, which allowed a room to be painted on a canvas, and for the painter to place items within it. The painting needed to be of a near-photographic quality, and as such a huge quantity of expensive paints were required, along with the time it took for the painter to produce the work and level up to the point that the skill was even usable. In the end of that experiment, a small amount of the paint smudged when they tried to put something living into the frame. All the items within the painted room were just trapped there even after the smudge was corrected.
With the risk that even the slightest smudge or cut could cause all the items to be lost, and since it required a high level painter, it was only used as a proof of possibility, especially since moving something as bulky as a painting was the point of storage magic so using it that way somewhat defeated the point.
By the time Lotus and Dawn made it to the river, it was the middle of the day. The day was bright and hot so they dipped their sore feet into the cool river while they lay under a shady banner that the late bartender had set up to keep his fishing supplies dry. Oqua had told them that there was a ferryman who passed by in the afternoons headed back down the river, so they had a few hours to wait.
While they waited, not wanting to do much more than relax after walking so much in the hot sun, they chat slowly about various things. They spoke about a range of things, but each skirted around the topic whenever things related to the real world came up. No talk of family, of jobs, or even of where in the world each was from. As close as they felt, they had each grown up online at a time when sharing such things was a serious taboo. A previous generation had been burnt by that and ingrained online secrecy into their children. There were some who didn't pick up on social cues and still spread that kind of thing, but were seen as odd for doing so, like a foreigner who ignored local customs.
Instead they shared stories of friends, spoke about other games they had played and social programs they used, testing the water to see if there were any overlaps where they would have met before. The world was big, the internet even bigger, yet there were still chance meetings where those with similar interests continued to bump into each other. With Saviours of the Wild's unusual character customisation, it was possible that they had played together, or chatted somewhere, and simply didn't recognise each other. After all, either person could be using a body entirely unlike how they were in reality.
They ate a lunch consisting of jam sandwiches that Oqua made for them. The bread was hard and a little burnt, but the mixed-berry jam inside was sweet and delicious, and had spent the whole day softening the bread to the point that it was still comfortable to eat. They also had some dried meats and cheeses, so the meal was very filling. Lotus jokingly recommended that Dawn should get the foul-eating skill from the cannibal, so that she could survive on whatever they find without issue. A suggestion that was swiftly shot down with a disgusted face. While Lotus hadn't been serious, she did still think the poison and disease immunity from the skill would be useful.
To further pass the time, they borrowed some fishing rods from the crates and threw lines in, using the inedible hard crust as bait. While Lotus had spells that could attract or charm animals, it seemed that the game didn't treat fish as animals, as the spells had no effect on their success with fishing.
"Maybe one of the devs is one of those vegetarians who still eat fish," Dawn joked.
Dawn, however, had more success with her own magic. She used voice on her bait to make it more delicious, and soon found a bright yellow fish the length of her forearm on the hook. It seemed that fishing was a good hobby for authors, as the time relaxing between bites was a good rest between each use of voice.
As the afternoon chill was stating to take hold, and night was just a couple hours away, the ferry finally arrived. The ferry was a sight to behold; a tiger, as wide as three cars, made of green-blue, semi-transparent river water with stripes made of the bright yellow scales of the fish they had caught earlier, that walked across the wide river as if it were solid. On the tiger's back was a log raft and a man that looked as though he would fall asleep, braces against large wooden crates. He was a young man, sun-tanned with a youthful smile, and he wore simple, thin shirt and short cut pants; clothes that would dry easily even if he swam in them.
"Yo!" He called out to them. "Are you looking for a ride down river?"
"We sure are," Dawn called back to him.
As the tiger reached them, it crouched down, dissolving into the water until the raft was sitting level with the waterline, though eerily stable against the waves and current.
"Hop aboard, don't worry about payment, I'm headed back that way and need some company to stay awake."
As he said that, they water beneath him let out a dismissive growl, as if to mock him.
"Quiet, you," he yelled down at his boat, and the tiger's tail reformed to tap him on the head. While it didn't look like it hurt at all, the kid was soaked wet from it. "Blue! Why did you do that? It'll be dark soon. If I catch a cold, it's on you."
The comedy routine in front of them caught them off guard and they chuckled as the lifted their bag onto the raft. As the large beast, Blue, formed out of the water, the boat rose high into the air, much higher than it had looked from the shore. Yet it was perfectly smooth, without any rocking from the water or Blue's movements.
Looking at the kid's stats, Lotus could see that he was a beastmaster and that Blue was in his pack. Beastmasters had the ability to tame monsters, and they would either form packs or herds depending on the types of animals tamed. She had heard that for a beastmaster to keep in control of the creatures in the pack they needed to be stronger than their monsters, but that was very clearly not the case here. The kid was low enough level that he could only have a single monster under his control, so it seemed impossible for a creature as powerful as Blue to be under his control.
The kid, whose name was Graff, explained as they made their way downstream. When he was younger, he came across a cat being picked on by some birds and scared them away by beating them with a stick. He then took the cat in as a pet while it healed up. Blue had just continued to grow over time, until he became to big to live anywhere but the river. They were already like a family when the darkest night happened and they were give classes.
As Graff told the story, and continued to talk about his prised friend, they came across giant rocky spires that shot up from the middle of the lake. They were taller than even the cliffs they had walked down and the soil went from orange to red to black as it stretched up to the skies.
"They're the Earthfire Spires," Graff explained. "Apparently they were famous even before the fall. The stories go that even people from a big city would travel from far away just to see them. They're pretty enough, but I don't get travelling so far just to see them. Seems a bit far fetched. They probably just travelled from a few villages over, and that got exaggerated with each telling. Oh, just don't go near them. No-one ever comes back from them, and even Blue won't go near them."
He added the last part with a shrug, as if he didn't actually believe it, putting on bravado despite being very obvious in his desire to give them a wide berth.
Not much further down the river, in the shadows of the spires, was a small village of boat house. In the centre of the town was a larger flat boat with a stone fire-pit, from which the meal they all seemed to share was prepared. A breeze carried a mouth-watering smell of cooking meat and vegetables, all boiling away in a large cook-pot.
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John and Jacob considered themselves exceptionally lucky. Just the day before the worlds crashed into Zen, they had been in the city. From what they had heard, the city was probably crushed by the new world, the one they were now living on. Otherwise, it was trapped in the void without power. Being trapped in a city that was slowly loosing air was not how they wanted to go. Granted, they didn’t really know how they wanted to go, but it probably involved copious amounts of drinks, however it was. The fact that a local small-time crime lord ran them out of town had turned out to be a real blessing to them. In the time since then they had often honoured him with a toast, despite having long forgotten his name.
The brothers strongly resembled each other, to the point of being mistaken for twins, despite there being an age difference. They also got along very well, which seemed to add to the common mistake. They both knew their own strengths, knew also that neither had a single bone in their body willing to put in a hard day's work, and used any advantage they could get to get by. When a white flash of light engulfed the world, and words and coloured bars appeared over their gruff, dishevelled, deep brown hair, they each found themselves with new abilities that they hadn’t possessed before.
John became a bartender and Jacob was a gambler. They knew why they had those classes; it was their roles in their usual scam. John would get the mark too drunk to think straight, and Jacob would fleece them for all they were worth. Naturally they would cheat; they assumed that all games were rigged in the first place and it was only fair that from time to time the games be rigged in their favour. A drunken mark wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them, and that really made cheating easier.
The pair did their best to avoid hard work, through there were none the less days where they did nothing but run from guards, that left their skin sun-browned and scarred. The weather-worn bodies also gave them an air of reliability to the common people they targeted; 'we weren't wolves, just sheep like the rest of you'.
Another blessing that came from the flash of light was an influx of gullible, strong people. They were strange people that acted oddly and called themselves players. They didn't seem to have any sense of consequences, like they were children discovering the world for the first time. It was truly great luck for them. The brothers were in no way strong looking, and they had disarming smiles. Strong people looked down on them, and the players seemed to think that the “enpeesees”, what they called anyone that wasn't a part of their player gang, wouldn’t trick them.
They quickly discovered that anything could be bet against a gambler. Not just money and items, players would bet strange things, even somewhat abstract things, like strength, health and abilities. It was an unmatchable sensation when he first felt his strength instantly grow. Although his body didn’t change, he found himself suddenly able to lift far more. They were a team, however, so half of what he gained he intentionally lost to his brother. After they first experienced it, they noticed; the players were far stronger than normal people. Not only were they monsters that could shed their bodies and come back from the dead, they were each stronger than a normal person at the same level. The crowning part of the ability was when they started to bet years of life. By the time the light had flashed, they were already old men. Year by year, they slowly won time back from their marks, until they were both strapping young men in their early twenties again. Unlike their first time in that age, they had wisdom and other people's strength.
Beasts and monsters were bad enough, but now the world was being covered with demons. Jacob swallowed that thought, and gave a charming smile to the female beast across the table from him. She was a player. She was a swordswoman, a fighter prestige class that was restricted to women. John had been drinking with her for most of the night, and she was defiantly starting to lose her footing. John, with a light a light tone, spoke around topics until the woman brought up the idea of gambling, as if it were her own idea and not something he was getting her to say. With drinks and flattery, most people could be kept in a conversation long enough to make a fool of themselves.
That was one way they liked to reduce the risk. They were never the one to suggest gambling. When the idea was brought up, they would act apprehensive, like they didn’t think it was a good idea, like they were concerned friends who didn't want to see their new acquaintance harmed. If, once they sobered up, they realised they’d lost everything, there would be witnesses to say that it was their own stupid idea, and the brothers were against it. It didn’t always work, some marks were sharper than others, but there was always running when that failed.
The bartender class was also a useful one. The more they drank, the stronger their abilities got, though they couldn’t survive alcohol poisoning any more than anyone else. Furthermore, John found that he suddenly knew a form of martial arts that he hadn’t previously known. He could also adjust the temperature of any nearby flame to a perfect brewing temperature. Brewing drinks also took unnaturally small amounts of time. Not that he was complaining, the more they had, the more they could sell.
They had renovated a horse drawn cart, which they had won, into a moving tavern with an opening wall with seats that would fold out. The labour on the renovations was also something they won. They travelled between camps and settlements, amassing whatever those places had for themselves or avoiding anything resembling law enforcement. Before long, the brothers were as strong, smart, charismatic and fast as twelve men and possessed a cabinet filled with a variety of weapons and armours, all of which they had a strange understanding of how they were used. Their levels, however, was still only fifteen, as the brothers preferred running over fighting and having a high level might scare away players. They only reached that level through the repeated use of their skills.
Recently, players had started to approach Jacob, entirely sober, and gamble with him. They would say something like, “Hey, look, it’s a gambling mini-game.” He wasn’t sure what they meant, and it was riskier to play against sober players. For some reason, they would almost always buy a drink beforehand if he told them to. He overheard them say, “Oh, a quest requirement, huh? That sounds good, then.” He wasn’t sure what they meant there either, but he was more than willing to assume that it was probably just another pointless thing players did. After all, he wasn’t one to turn down a free lunch, and the people that approached him like that were the plumpest sacks of coins on legs he had ever seen.
John was also happy with the situation, normally he would contribute to Jacob’s business, but now Jacob was adding to his; and business was good. Most players seemed to not care about the quality of the drink, and several times he had watered down the drinks to the point where it was more water than drink, and without being noticed. There were a few that demanded high quality drinks, but those were mostly just trying to look good for the people around them, and would pay a heavy premium for that vanity. One time, there was a particularly vulgar player pulling that act, and John served him the same drink as everyone else. After all his demands and posturing, he hadn’t even noticed. Of course Jacob took everything he had before they left town.
After leaving town, they approached a forest. There was apparently a thriving player camp on the other side, and they were making the decision on whether to go through or around. They weren’t in any rush and they had plenty of ill-gotten supplies, so they wouldn’t have any problems if they did go around. There were also fearsome beasts, and dangerous bandits, in there, so there was a point against going through it.
The only real reason they were considering it was a rumour they overheard. The rumour said the forest had been blessed, that it was being protected by a pair of unmatchable beautiful angels. They had survived a long time by listening to rumours, and there was a chance to profit if there really were angels. From what they knew about angels, they were pure and powerful creatures. If Jacob could use that purity against them, he could take their power. Better still if they could be captured or convinced to come with them. Having beauties around would add to their distraction and increase their earnings.
The decision came down to whether they’d trust the rumours or not. As they were making that decision, a pair of cute women left the forest. One was a tall, pale, blond with soft features, blue eyes and a heavy bag. The other was a short, tanned woman, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. Jacob was a little disappointed by them, as he preferred women with large breasts, though they were well within John’s strike zone. As they walked by, John called out to them.
“Pardon me, ladies, but did you happen to see the angels that are supposed to be living in there?”
The looked at each other and gave a shrug. The blond was the one to reply, with a voice a sweet as honey, “No, we haven’t seen anything like that. We were in there for over a week, also. Are you sure you have the right place, that sounds way too high level for this place?”
John sighed to himself and thanked the pair, passing them a bottle of one of his nicer meads, and then the brothers set off around the forest. If a pair of cute girls couldn’t see the angels after a week in there, there wasn’t a chance that the roguish brothers would bump into them while just passing through.
Somewhat disappointed, the brothers opened a bottle of good ale and passed the time as the made their way to the oddly named Fred’s Discount Swords.
|
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John kept himself awake through a cold night in the cave, shivering both from the temperature and a fever that had set in. Half way through the night just about everything in the cave that could burn, had burned, and the temperature dropped quickly after. He could, at times, still feel his missing leg, feel the pain that it had been in. Far worse than that, however, was when the fevered delusions made him see it still there, only for them to pass and he would once again find the sense of loss. He had a ready supply of liquid from the plant liquor, and meat from the rats, and with them he survived not just the first cold night, but two more that followed. Killing the hoard of rats gave him enough experience to level up a few times, and he gained the new skill, drunken regeneration, which restored some of his health while he was drinking alcohol. It didn't restore his leg, but it did slowly heal the rest of his body, and it killed the pain. Only the physical pain though; the pain he was imagining remained.
When those few days had passed, he found that his mind had cleared and the fever had passed; he tried to move around more. He used a sturdy branch as a crutch and started limping towards a distant light. The regenerating skill had done its job, and other then the leg, he felt renewed. A thin tear leaked from one of his eyes when found an exit, and the light of the sun warmed his body. Although he was out of the cave, he was still in the forest and far from out of danger. Knowing there wasn’t much he could do about that, John continued to move slowly forward, simply hoping that the world would be kind and he would make it out alive.
A couple hours later he found a small lake with a wooden church building overlooking it. It was clearly well maintained, with the grass kept neat and the walls cleaned, and there was light smoke from a chimney in use. From inside, he could hear voices, many angry voices. Despite the hard wood between them, on hearing their words, John knew that they were like him, that they were the allies he needed.
“Brothers! Sisters!” The voice leading the others cried out, “The undying beasts that plague our lands and wear the masks of men have struck again. The creatures that haunt and hunt us have once again struck a heavy blow against us. Treebourne, the town to our south, our greatest trading partner, has been destroyed, burned to the ground and not a man, woman or child left alive; all their wealth stolen without a copper left behind. Make no mistake; this is far from the first time that the creatures, that the vengeful thirteenth word made, have destroyed villages. Normfalk, Bellsville and Frostland; each was slaughtered by the beasts known as players. Each was destroyed because the monsters felt that ending those lives would be fun, that some small gain could be made at the expense of those that work the soil.”
John was filled with a deep and building rage, he knew that the speaker had intended that, but he didn't care, he reviled in the righteous fire that was burning in his chest. He had believed that there wasn’t a single thing that could make him loath players more, but the voice continued to speak.
“Brothers! Sisters! Treebourne was not like the wanton slaughter of those defenceless farming towns. Treebourne was a village in the trust sense; they had guards, ironworks and walls. It was the foundation of a city, the first step to rebuilding what was lost. It was a place like our own. For such a place to fall, it would take an army. But the beastly players can’t co-operate in an army for long without falling apart. They are like beasts and they turn against each other. Knowing that, a cunning and deceptive player used the kindness of the Treebourne villages against them. When they accepted him into their fold, despite him being a stranger, he called down a calamity upon them. The Beast! The Fiend! He angered the mother of demons, Lucy, and drew her in the middle of the town, letting her break through the town's defences before they led an assault of their own. Death means nothing to those players; he accepted his own death in order to bring about everyone else’s, knowing that he would be born again in but a few moments.”
By that point John had entered the church, and had joined those around him in cheering on the speaker. He noticed that he and everyone in that group had gained a level in a class he hadn’t heard of; lynch mobber. He knew that while they stood together, and acted towards the same passionate goal, their total abilities were each increased by 20% of the strongest person's, in each individual attribute. The stronger the individual added to the group, the stronger the group was by stronger. The speaker, whose class had changed to mob leader, called out to them. He spoke and they responded. He called for arms and arms were gathered. With a righteous anger, they left the church and headed straight for the nearest player camp.
If they players wouldn’t stay dead, then they just needed to make sure they couldn’t do anything. The leader had a plan; a plan that would ensure that their world would be free from those monsters. They would go from camp to camp, destroying ever campsite they found until only their first camp remained. From what they had heard, that camp couldn’t be destroyed. However, its destruction wasn’t the plan. They would build a wall around it. They would enclose it from the world, with every tool and technique they could muster. With the camp sealed, the beasts would never escape; they would be free from the undying menace.
The first camp they found was only lightly guarded. A group of six players pretended to welcome them, hoping to catch them off guard. On the leader’s instructions, they pretended to be deceived by the monsters and approached the camp peacefully. When they let down their guard, believing that their ploy was working, the mob drew their weapons and ended the players before they could even realise what was happening. With the players dead, they destroyed the camp before they could revive.
With the success of their first raid, the group was encouraged. They striped the place of all its valuables and returned to town. Hearing what they had done, the town’s council became angry. They couldn’t understand their group’s noble purpose. Those who sympathised with the beasts couldn't be tolerated. With the council replaced, the villagers came round to their message; with a village backing their work, they were able to rapidly increase the tempo, making use of the supplies they were provided with to recruit more to their purpose and go on more raids.
Raid after raid followed, swelling their supplies which caused their army to grow. When they started, they wore normal clothes and were armed with farming tools. Now, after only a week of raids, they were an army with weapons, armour and camp supporters. Their cause spread quickly, with other movement's likewise springing up in other locations, but the players didn’t seem to find it strange. They didn’t learn from the mistakes, nor did they seem to warn each other. The disorganisation of their enemy was their most powerful ally.
After the week, John stood at the front of a pack. They were preparing to attack one of the largest gatherings, one that had personal meaning for him. He bent down with his metal prosthetic leg and picked up a hand full of ash. The charred wood was all that remained of the cart he and his brother had travelled on. Standing there, with a fortified cave in the distance, and his allies around him, he knew that he had a purpose. Over his chain armour he wore a bandoleer of drinks. He and the other bartenders and alchemists would have a key part of the attack. While the rest of the mob held off the players, they would fill the cave with acid, frost and fire. Their group’s goal was to destroy the camp; to prevent revival and restocking. If they failed, it was only a matter of time till they were killed by the immortal enemy.
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The Heat-Seeking Ice Hunter seed that Lotus had thrown was an expensive thing, both for its rarity and for how dangerous it was in such a cold place. She wouldn’t have used it, but none of the other plants she had could both survive the cold and support Oak and Dima's oppressive combined weight. As the blue-white plant grew it coiled through the water like a snake; trying to reach the source of heat so close to its grasp. All the while it grew steadily thicker as it absorbed Lotus's spell and any trace of heat it could gather. On land it wasn’t much better, as Lotus avoided the plant that was trying to grasp her, made more difficult by the need to focus on her magic. She yelled out to Dawn, telling her to use her voice.
Dawn focused her energy and waited until the plant had pulled their companions from the water, preserving their heat for its own and unwilling to grant it to the water. When they were clear, she repeatedly yelled "slice" with her ability, and caused the plant to fall to pieces with clean cuts. Dawn then fell back into dizziness, all focus leaving her vision from the will drain of the skill and the impact of the cold. Lotus hurried to treat her new patients. Luckily, they Dima had consumed the cold protection potion, and didn’t seem to have breathed in any water. When he recovered from the shock of the sudden dousing he would probably wake up.
Oak on the other hand, seemed to be in a much worse condition, with her wooden body seeming to have absorbed the water and start to crystallise. Lotus left Dawn to take care of Dima, while she went to work. She immediately brought the heavy tree-spirit close to the fire and laid her on some of the pelts that Dawn had prepared. Her armour was frozen in place and had to be levered off with a dagger. The worst injury was a kind of frost burn around her body, especially where the plant had gasped her. Lotus wasn’t entirely sure about how to go about treating her, and immediately gave up on herbal remedies. Instead she used more of her druid power.
Mend plant and heal tree didn’t seem to have any effect aside from draining her limited supply of Mana Points. The improved version, restore nature, also did nothing, but drained even more of her power. From that, she realised that, despite how she looked, Oak wasn’t a plant, as far as her magic was concerned. That considerably lowered the number of spells she could use. In the end she tried to modify the heal animal spell, leaving out the words she guessed mean animal, until it had some small effect. When she could see it working, repeated it until Oak was fully healed, all the while consuming plants that boosted her MP recovery rate. It was crude and inefficient, but it eventually got the job done.
When oak had recovered, and was resting, Lotus noticed that an extra person had been pulled out of the ice. She was above average looking, and a little older then herself. There was something familiar about her that she couldn’t put her figure on. Lotus would have been more worried about her, since she had been in the ice, yet she was standing up and stretching like she had just woken up from a nap. Furthermore, her clothes dried in an instant, with colour rapidly returned to her skin. With a still sleepy face, the woman spoke with a yawn.
“Morning.”
Lotus resisted the urge to correct her, and point out that it was well into the afternoon and bordering on night, but instead returned the greeting.
“Good morning to you, as well.” On hearing a reply, the woman seemed to wake up more and look at Lotus clearly, as if she had been speaking out of reflex and hadn't expected a response. Her green eyes locked onto her own, and Lotus was reminded of the dreams she had had ever since she started first became a druid. Her dreams were when she felt like she was talking to the 13th world, an all-encompassing energy and soothed her and held her in an embrace.
“Eh? W-who might you be?” the woman somewhat timidly asked, “Did you, by any chance, save me from the ice?” Her timid attitude was far contrasted with her appearance. Her face looked like it was wild and carefree, like a fay creature out for mischief, but when she spoke, that image broke.
Lotus introduced herself and confirmed that she pulled her from the ice, throwing the slices of vine into the fire as she spoke. The woman introduced herself to Lotus as a demon organ merchant. Her trade was how she was able to survive under the ice, as she often used the best parts of the occupation on herself rather than selling them. Demons were often similar to humans in appearance and anatomy. As such, a demon organ merchant would preserve the fresh organs of a demon and transplant them into customers. Class-wise it seemed that to become one, levels had to be taken as both an apothecary and a demonologist.
A lot of Lucy’s internal organs had been replaced with demonic parts, and as such, being under the ice like that only put her to sleep, without any harm aside from inconvenience. Unfortunately, the reason she was in the ice in the first place, was because she had been robbed and had run out onto the ice to avoid the bandits. She wanted to repay Lotus for helping her, but didn’t have anything much on her to do that. As Lucy had once been an apothecary, she knew all too well how much the seed that had saved her had been worth.
One thing that she did have, however, was a small opal-like seed, that had colours like a tiny milky-way, like a night sky far, from city lights. Its colours and lights seemed to move and had no fixed position. It was solid in hand, but they moved like it was filled with a liquid or a gas. Lucy explained that it was a type of demon seed called a devouring shield seed. Demon seeds were, as the name suggested, seeds that came from demonic plants. They had both demon properties and plant properties, making them useful for a number of classes. Unfortunately, true demonic plants were rare and, if they lived long enough, they could become intelligent beings. The devouring shield seed could be implanted under the skin of a section of a body, and grow a light-weight but durable armour, that would regenerate if damaged.
It was worth far more than the Heat-Seeking Ice Hunter seed Lotus had used. As such, wanting to maintain a long lasting relationship, Lotus accepted the seed only in exchange for some healing poultices and leopard horns. She still profited heavily from the trade, but both sides could at least feel like they gained something.
After talking for a short while longer, Lucy said her farewell and promised to meet again after she got her trade back up and running. She made her way down the mountain alone, but seemingly in high spirits. To Lotus, she felt kind of like the big sister she never had, and it was comforting to know someone like that. With Lucy gone, Lotus checked on everyone’s condition. Dima was still out cold, though healing well, and Oak seemed to be pretending to sleep. It didn’t bother Lotus that she was faking; she just thought it was another one of her quirks, one likely related to her obsession with her husband.
Dawn, on the other hand, seemed to have acclimatised to the cold, albeit with the help of the fire, and was able to walk away from the camp without getting dizzy. Since the couple were going to be out until at least the next day, Lotus decided to take Dawn and hunt for dinner. With some luck, they came across some more leopards. Taking them down easily, they dismantled them and returned to camp.
|
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|
Dima opened his capsule and stretched his large body, adjusting himself to the cold room around him. Something about the room's temperature control had been broken as of late, and the heating treated the room as disused whenever he was logged in. When the system was installed, it was called a power saving measure that would automatically heat any room that was used while not wasting power on rooms that weren't. But he looked down at his slightly blued hands and knew that he would have to call the repair company again.
He had called them several times since the problem started, and they had swapped out the sensors and control unit twice already. He could tell that they were starting to think he was lying, but he pulled up the machine's own recording that said he somehow was leaving the room without opening any doors or windows and while lying down in a VR capsule.
"Unless you think I am somehow teleporting, your machine is clearly broken," he had told them.
Despite the cool of the unheated room causing his skin to discolour, he hadn't really felt the cold. It wasn't something worrying like frostbite, he had lived in a snowy region for all his life and knew what that was like, but just a kind of pleasant numbness. The same sensation left his skin feeling dry and stiff, more so than the winter air would normally make him feel. He would normally chalk that kind of thing up to getting older, but somehow, he still felt more dexterous than he ought to after spending so long lying down.
By the time he had dressed and was ready to leave the room, the heating had finally reached a comfortable temperature. As he pulled a meal from the fridge and broke its self-heating strip, he read through a chat-group that other alchemists had set up. The game's forum had a lot of public recipes and discoveries that players had shared, but the chat was used by some players who didn't like to make their findings public, either only sharing with the small group or trading for it. With the amount of effort and expense that went into some of the discoveries, it was more surprising that any recipes were shared. The rule of thumb that their community had unofficially made was that anything they learnt from a book, or an NPC was open to the forum. There was no real way to prove that anyone was or wasn't following that rule, but most followed it in order to be credited for it and get their name out.
While forum fame was mostly vanity, there were some real-world applications for it. That mostly came from Whales. While the game didn't have a cash-shop or any other apparent form of monetization, there were still those who found ways to use money to get advantages. There were people who would hire players as mercenaries, private doctors, or personal builders, paying them in real money for their in-game time. But there were also those who hired researchers or purchased recipes. Having your name on recipes in the forum was a way to be found by those looking to purchase the alchemist's talents.
Their chat group had devoted a page solely to acting as a marketplace, and Dima had taken to browsing it frequently. He mostly engaged with it from the side of a buyer, but he had also tested the water by selling some of his bullet recipes. As the packaging of his meal split open and let out the rich aroma of mushrooms and wine infused sauce, letting him know it was ready, he had just been contacted by a someone he had formerly purchased from with a new product.
He read through the offer as he spooned the fine tasting flavoured nutrient mixture, scepticism filling him with every word he read. The seller was one he had purchased from a couple times without problem, but what he was offering didn't seem right in the slightest. He was thinking of simply rejecting it outright when he noticed the location of the seller. He was conducting the experiments not far from where Dima had logged off. He was headed near there anyway and could see for himself if the claims had any validity.
After sending the seller a message to tell him he was headed that way, he returned to his room to get back into the pod. The plush bed melded comfortably to cup his body as the gentle humming of the VR machine booting started to reverberate through the small space. Before long he had fallen asleep and woken up in a leafless tall black tree surrounded by murky tan water and a forest of likewise dead trees. He could have easily fallen from there and drowned, but his wife, Oak, brace him against her rough trunk and held both of them on the branch with her four legs.
Somehow, the adaptive foam of the capsule bed seemed to pale in comparison to the comfort of being held by the woman, even as slinters of her bark poked into him. Something about her seemed to exude contentment as she sat there with him in her lap. Dima still couldn't understand how he knew what expression her faceless glowing head was making, yet he knew that the gentle breathing light fading in and out was something like peaceful joy.
Despite how much his wife hated the salt water of the marsh, the way she found peace even there of all places was something that Dima found infections. He had never intended to devote so much of his time to the game, but found himself spending ever more time in it, simply to just be around his NPC wife. He had heard of cases like that, even before the rise of VR, and knew how unhealthy it could be, but he found himself not minding that risk. He could only imagine all other drug fiends saying the same, as he held a hand up to his wife's face to stroke it.
"Dear, it's time to get up. There's a hermit nearby who wants to show off his work, so we won't need to be in the marsh too much longer." He could see her light flicker with disappointment at getting up only to burst with relief at the prospect of leaving the salt water behind.
Below them he could see their luggage still sitting on small rafts tied to the tree's spider-like roots, covered with thick waxed fabric that kept the water out. It was a strange material, one which Oak had brought with her when she left home. The material itself was spun from the fibres a reed with a slight electric property, then coated with the wax of a monstrous bee that made its hives underwater. The wax would normally avoid fabric, but the static of the reeds clung to it and held it tight, with the strange wax making it entirely waterproof. Or rather, water repellent; drops of water wouldn't be able to pass through holes smaller that a finger's width. As such, Oak could wrap it around her legs and move safely through the brine.
Next the draws of dried plants and boxes of ores were small cages filled with what brought him to that desolate place. Small black lizards, the same colour and texture as the trees, who secreted a flammable, sticky oil that they used to burrow into the otherwise indestructible trees. He had gone through a lot of trouble to get the black basilisks, as they were prized ingredients in a host of complex alchemic concoctions. The lizards were small, camouflaged, and capable of sprinting across water. Added to that was their ability to melt whatever was used to trap them and the danger of drowning them if a trap sank and they were a serious pain to capture safely. In the end, Dima and Oak had combined their abilities to make a cages from frosted ores they picked up during their travels with Dawn and Lotus and rushed over to scoop them into them while the melted through fine metal meshes that Dima shot from a specifically designed blunderbuss. They had spent day at it but only got a pair of the creatures to show for it.
That was much more success than many people had, so he couldn't really complain, but when he looked at the tiny lizards, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He passed the fabric up to Oak as he fed the critters a paste made from local bugs and carefully brushed some of their sticky oil into a jar.
As they trudged through the monotonous scenery, they eventually came across a pyramid of ancient stone jutting from the water with an inverted pyramid of black wood, built point-to-point above it. Even the towering mangrove trees were dwarfed by the strange structure. From far above a voice called out to him.
"Oi! Dima! Your here early, I just got your message."
The voice belonged to an unkempt woman with fizzled orange hair caked with dirt and sticks. Despite her clothes being a simple loose grey dress that was short enough to just be a man's shirt, she also wore a pure white lab-coat that was entirely out of place with the location and setting and had to be something she had custom made. It stood out blaringly against the dark wood and her dirty skin, not just for design but for its cleanliness, as if it were the only thing she bothered to clean. From her figure and facial features, Dima imagined that she would have been a sight to behold had she taken care of herself, but it was clear from her beaming smile that she had found a style of gameplay that she loved, and he wasn't one to tell her how to play the game.
She lowered a simple hand-cranked elevator and yelled for them to come up when they were ready.
When they made it to the top, he was immediately horrified by what he saw. A golden capstone was placed at the center point of the platform with four people pinned to it with bolt through their arms and legs. On pedestals opposite the pinned persons were jars made of blue glass with miniature transparent versions of the person facing them. The ghosts seemed to cry out in pain as they bled glowing whisp-blood into collection pans below the jars.
"Do you like it?" the lady who went by SciDo on the chat asked, "I had a witch doctor friend of mine help with setting it up. It cost me more than you'd believe to get jars with fine enough grates made in blue glass, so your first purchases really helped me out."
Her eyes were wild, and he suddenly noticed something off about one of her victims. He was wearing a band-shirt. That wasn't something an NPC would think to make. He had assumed that she was just the kind of person who didn't care about NPCs, but she was even willing to torture players. That kind of treatment was more than what any other game would allow. The kind of real-world trauma that such an experience could cause was why harsh laws around VR came into effect, and he knew that both she and the game's developers could be arrested with serious crimes for it. What was worse was that Dima's own money had gone to fund her madness. If he didn’t put a stop to it, he could also be culpable. Without hesitation, he drew a pistol from the back of his pants, pulled back the striker and felt the satisfying impact as the weapon recoiled into his large palms.
The shot flew clean and shattered the bottle, sending glass and glowing fluids flying in all directions as the newly freed spirit was reabsorbed into his body.
SciDo screamed, at first from surprise, and then in shock. She fell to the ground as if she were somehow going to piece the shards back together, but then grew still. Standing up while shaking and laughing, she reached into her jacket and pulled out a vial of liquid that glowed and shifted like a red and green lava-lamp. She flicked off the cork and downed it in a single gulp.
"How could you do that? Don't you know how much work I put into that?" She seemed to bloat and distort horrifically as she spoke, her voice becoming more and more garbled, "Well now I'll show you the power of my advanced class. The power of a mutator!"
Her flesh bubbled and stretched until her fists were four times the size and her arms became sinuous and long, like snakes that rested against the floor. Her spine became a row a sharp spikes and her eyes grew large and pitted, like the face of an owl. Her legs grew muscular and formed an extra joint, compressing down like springs that could be fired at any second.
She hobbled over to a weapons rack and hefted an axe in each grotesque hand. The sweat from the enlarged pores drooled down the haft, seeming to slowly dissolve the metal of the axe head.
But while she had prepared herself, Dima had done the same, grabbing a rifle from his bag a feeding shot and powder into the breach. By the time she had turned to face him with her axes, he had lined his sights and squeezed the trigger.
Her body twisted to the side as if it were boneless, avoiding the shot that flew wide anyway.
SciDo charged towards him, but he axes were blocked by Oak's heavy smithing hammers. The whip like arms and heavy hands were forceful enough to push back even Oak's sturdy four-legged footing, but she had resisted enough to dull the impact of the blows and let Dima catch her.
As SciDo brought her arms back for another attack, she suddenly found herself wrapped in chains made of condensed sparking air, like solid heat-haze. She turned her head around a full one-eighty to see the man in the band shirt raising one arm, tattoos of chains on that arm came clean from his skin and dissolved into the ghostly air chains that bound the mutator. The tattoo had started from above the sleeve of the shirt, but was quickly shrinking to below his elbow, an obvious indicator that the spell was running out of time. She only needed to wait it out.
But Dima didn’t give her that time. Unable to move and with her head turned, she never even saw the gun that nearly made contact with her head when he squeezed the trigger. As she fell to the ground, Dima smashed the other jars and set about freeing each of the bound people, treating their wounds and setting any notes he found on fire with lizard oil.
It was only a temporary solution, since SciDo would simply respawn and return to her work, but he could only delay her and spread word of her crimes, hoping others would have the sense to avoid her.
As they travelled back to the village the NPCs lived in, the tattoo artist thanked Dima and Oak for saving him by giving each of them a tattoo spell, a single use tattoo that could allow them to communicate telepathically for an hour at any distance. The man had used a lot of Dima's ores to do the work, but he admired the artistry of his work, making the tattoo look half like a runic tree and half like a bear.
|
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"title": "Survivors of the Wild - Chapter 28 – A Peaceful Day",
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The warm feeling beneath their skin was starting to feel like something of a lie. Although their insides felt warm and the frost hadn’t bitten into their skin, the outside of their skin felt every bit of the overwhelmingly cold. If anything, the warmth under the skin made the cold on the skin itself feel far worse. There was little Lotus could do about it, save maybe going back and making warm clothes, but going back wasn’t an option they had, apparently. The talking polar bear insisted that going back would just make matters worse, somehow, and his tree wife didn’t seem to be able to feel cold. Dawn was also no help, as the cold seemed to have made her dizzy and she needed to lean on Lotus just to walk straight. That at least was another source of warmth for Lotus, as the tiger-bear coats they used seemed to provide very little actual heat for how much they weighed. She imagined her situation in the real world and knew she would have died half way up the hill. Though, if she were in the real, she wouldn't have been strong enough to carry everything she was. On top of her woven plant backpack, that was almost her own size and more than her own weight, she also lugged around a heavy scythe and now another woman. It was almost strange that she could move as freely as she could, even within the context of a game.
As they climbed the tall-hill sized glacier, they found traces of creatures living there. Snow leopard like creatures attacked them on more than one occasion. They were about the height of a table each, and had a sleek-cat shape, with long, curved but jagged, blade like horns protruding backwards out of their skulls, behind the ears. A purple-blue lightning arced between the horns of each beast, and could travel through the creatures’ fur to coat their claws and harden their hide against attacks. Despite the individual strength of the creatures, they employed hit and run tactics, often attacking from behind. Worse was the way they could use their white pelt to blend into the snow. Countering their ambushes required fast reactions or careful spotting.
When an attack came, Lotus pushed Dawn to the ground and brought her scythe up to defend. The creatures’ attacks either sliced through where Dawn had been, or they were repelled by the weapon’s sturdy snath. In several attacks, while they were pushed back, Lotus brought the heavy blade down on one of the leopards or Dawn would be clear headed enough to lash out with a dagger. When that didn’t cause them to die outright, it was enough to hold in place long enough for Dima to get a clear shot. The loud shots would ring out and the echo moved across the icy mountain as the creatures fell to the ground with smooth metal chunks passing through thin sections of skull, near their ears. With the first leopard dead, the others would normally run, but those that didn't were sliced into several bloody pieces by Oak, who used two large swords as easily as if they weighed as much as kitchen knives.
The oddest part wasn’t Oak’s abundant and inexplicable strength, but that Oak didn’t have hands. Her arms were as cylindrical as her body, and they ended with a flat surface. Somehow, when she went to pick anything up, whatever it was just stuck to the flatness. Furthermore, she could choose what stuck and what didn’t, and even rotate attached objects. It was like she had a pair of invisible hands on the ends of her arm stumps. And not just two hands either, so long as there was space to place it, she could hold as many objects as she could lift. Lotus had noticed that Oak would place both her massive swords on one arm when she wanted to have a free hand.
While they walked ever upwards, Lotus had a stray though wander into her mind. How long had it been since she logged out? She was used to playing for extremely long periods of time, as time in virtual reality games often passed slower than in the real world. The exact difference was usually listed in the manual, but Saviours of the Wild was an illegal game, or may as well have been, and hadn't come with one installed. To pass time, she looked through the forum to see if anyone knew.
Surprisingly there were very few results, as if only a few people cared or someone had, for whatever reason, deleted the threads. Normally thread deleting caused a much bigger stir then any original issue, what was often called the Streisand Effect, but no one was complaining about that, so it was more likely that people weren’t noticing it, not caring. Apathy was far from uncommon, so that seemed like the most likely option. Looking through what thread were there, another odd thing quickly became apparent; there was an inconsistency between the people that did post about it. It wasn’t a particularly hard thing to test; you set a timer in the real, log in, count to sixty and log out. The ratio between the time on the clock and the counted out minute was the time dilation factor. If you wanted to be more exact, you’d have to subtract the time you spent logging in and out, but the test was often close enough for a rough answer. More expensive machines, or just custom build ones, often had diagnostic equipment that could measure the exact ratio. Given how simple the test was, that one person said a minute in life was an hour in game and another said it was a full day was a nearly impossible difference in results. Though she was willing to count that up to a mistake in their math considering how little real time would have passed in either case. What made the number more confusing was that there were other people that said there was no time difference, and others that said that almost no time had passed after spending a day inside. Neither of those results were likely, as time not passing outside was actually impossible, and, since she had spent a month in game, her body would have died a long time ago if there were no difference in time. She had set her device to wake her when her bodily needs needed seeing to, so she knew the difference between game and real times was fairly steep.
When they reached about two thirds of the way up the glacier, they found a flat section, that was apparently the plateau they were looking for. It was a relatively smooth and flat area that was roughly circular with a twenty meter radius. Towards an area in the shaded of the hill, was a space that seemed to have been frequently used as a camp site. There was the remains of a stone fire pit and a few cut logs around it, that were as close to being seats as anyone could expect in the wilderness. One of the previous travellers that passed through there had apparently left a pile of firewood, with a cover over it to keep the wood dry. Normally, that would mean that they were close by or intended to come back, but the snow over the cover was too thick for that to be the case. It might have been someone's kindness or emergency planning, or it might have been the local custom. Regardless, they were thankful for the convenient fire. With Dawn still too out of it to be useful, and neither Dima nor Oak being even slightly talented at cooking, it was up to Lotus to make the supper.
As it turned out, not only were the Leopards a wealth of craft materials, with an abundance of both electric and ice elemental material, they also tasted very nice when fried with a type of local radish. It wasn’t a complicated dish, just meat cooked with a thin wrapping of radish, but the flavour was still deep, with the radish providing both a bitter and sweet flavour and the meat being almost of zest. Once she had eaten, and had been next to a fire for a while, Dawn seemed to become more alert. In her new found awakened state, she set to work making some thicker coats from the Leopard skins, using traces of elemental blood treated vines as the lacing to give them a self-heating feature.
While Dawn worked, and Lotus started to clean the cooking utensils, Dima and Oak went to check out a nearby frozen lake. From the campfire, a stick-like object could be seen jutting out of the ice. As they went over to investigate, Lotus wondered briefly how much Oak weighed, and if the ice could support her, but dismissed the idea offhand. Despite her appearance and voice, Oak seemed to be quite cunning; Lotus often felt that she had to watch out for her. Knowing that, Lotus was sure that Oak knew her limits, and wouldn’t be walking out if she didn’t think it would hold.
As she thought about it, she heard a thunderous crack, worse than being next to Dima's gun, followed by the sound of a heavy object hitting water. Turing to face the frozen lake, she could see Dima and Oak sink rapidly into the water.
Without a moment to loose, she stopped what she was doing and ran to the water’s edge. Searching through her bag she brought out a small blue-white seed.
|
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Jacob had crawled through a field for several days before a travelling tinker found him. Despite the immense strength and dexterity, he had rightfully cheated from fools, there was little he could do with flesh-less legs. Whatever the three eyed woman had done had stripped his legs clean from the knees down, but the fast healing skill caused the wounds to seal over before he could bleed out. The bones of his feet were left behind days ago, and the crawling had chipped his tibia into a jagged edge. He knew in his head that it was painful, but the monk skill numb pain prevented it from being actually painful.
The tinker was a travelling craftsman who had tamed a monstrous snail and converted its shell onto his workshop, using the creature's own flame-sack to power his forge. As he rested on a wooden seat, he recognised the man's good foresight in picking the creature as it moved smoothly, without the bumps of a horse-drawn carriage. It was far from the fastest way to travel, but the comfort was a worthy trade-off. The man had also been gracious enough to pour him a drink. It was a cheap mead-like drink that the man brewed as a hobby, but after going days without a drink, Jacob was happy to have anything to stop the shakes.
After sleeping for what felt like days, he woke up to find the bearded old man hovering over his body. His thick arms were caked in blood, hands deep into his chest. He wanted to let out a scream but found himself completely paralysed.
"Awake, are you?" the man said with a gruff chuckle, "Sorry about that, the snail ooze was meant to leave you under for a while longer. You just heal up faster than I thought. Don't worry though, I'm nearly done here."
As he spoke, he tore Jacob's heart from his chest and throw it into a nearby open flame. Jacob couldn't feel a thing, but he felt dread fill him. He knew without a heart he had only moment left to live. He wanted to scream but no sound would escape his mouth.
"Now, now, don't worry about that. You won't be needing it anymore anyway. I'm a Steam Mechanic. I'm making you better things anyway."
He wanted to faint as he saw the strange man tear his lungs out, but the monk skill diamond mind forced him to resist the shock. His guts were torn out and his arms were cut off, along with what remained of his legs. As the sensation started to return to his body, he could feel a burning sensation from within. Not an emotional burning, but entirely physical. He could see the flickering glow of fire from within his open chest cavity as red and yellow embers shot through the smoke-filled air. The flesh around the cavernous wound was starting to whiten and brown, cooking from the heat. As his body was torn apart before his eyes and the pain started to return, the damage eventually overcame what his skills could cope with, and the embrace of dark unconsciousness eventually took him.
When he finally woke up, all he could feel was heat and pain, yet at the same time cold and soothing. The strange imbalance made him feel anxious as he worked up the courage to open his eyes and examine his body. As he did, he first noticed his arms. They were a strange mixture of fresh cast copper and glistening black iron that gave off the impression of magma, tipped with three crescent-blade fingers and a boneless twisting thumb. Beneath the pate armour that cased the limb were gears and pipes that leaked steam with every small movement in his hands. He clenched a fist and steam started to vent from the wrist as his arm started to turn red hot.
Looking down at his stomach, he could no longer see the gaping hole, and could only see a line of stitches that went the whole length of his torso. What was noticeable was that he no longer had ridges along his ribs, and instead it seemed as if he had a single smooth rip-plate beneath his skin.
While his arms had been shocking enough, he felt sickened by what he saw when he went to stand up. His two legs split into four this bladed legs each, standing him like a spider. It was the same copper and black of his arms and they also gave off steam with every movement.
He could see the old man sitting on the other side of the room, watching him with clear pride in his eyes. As Jacob fell forward on the strange legs, the man jumped up to catch him.
"Easy now, it'll take a while to get used to them."
As he spoke, he pushed a flask to his mouth and cool water flowed easily down his throat, which felt as dry as hot sand.
"You'll need to be drinking a lot more water than you used to just to keep those limbs moving. And wood too, coal if you can get it. You can burn normal food too, I guess, but it's more efficient if you stick to normal fuels."
As the old man laughed a hearty laugh, Jacob's anger boiled over, and he pushed a bladed finger through the old man's neck.
"I hold your life in my hand now, so shut your mouth," he said, both of them knowing that if he pulled the finger out, the old man would bleed to death in minutes. "The two of us are going to play a few games, flipping a coin and guessing crowns or counts. You will bet your skills and I will bet my health, easy as that. You win and get to live, how's that. Raise your hand if you agree."
As the man raised his hand, Jacob could feel the sensation of the gamble skill at work and proceeded to pull out a coin.
One by one he stole the man's skills and strengths, not losing a single call on the coin. The man might have wanted to say that the coin was rigged, but he was unable to make any such claim while a blade was pressed through his neck. Once he was stripped of all he was worth, Jacob pulled his finger free and left the man to bleed out. While the old man lay there dying, Jacob started looking through his belongings. He had taken control of the snail when he stole the skill that was controlling it, so all of the items in the workshop was his anyway, but it was useful to know what belongings he had.
When he found some sturdy leather clothes that he could wear without tearing, he noticed a bigger problem than just trying to wear pants. He was a neuter. The old man had cut is favourite limb off. He could learn to live with the metal arms and legs, but that was too much.
He balled his fist tightly until it turned red and leapt into flame, his control over the limbs increasing drastically after he took the skill governing their use from the old man. He dug the burning fist slowly into the dying old man's gut and lifted him into the air, letting his weight hold him against the flame. While he was still alive, Jacob threw him into the furnace to be consumed by his prized snail.
Feeling some slight revenge, he opened a bottle of what smelled like rum and took a deep drink, hoping that being drunk would take some of the pain away. He could feel the amber liquid track down his throat, the familiar burn being comfortable against the new foreign burning. That was until it hit his gut. He felt the flames within him burst with sudden energy, then pitter out as fast as it came. A new dread sent a cold shiver down his scorched back. The furnace within him was burning away the drink as fast as he could consume it. He would never be able to get drunk.
The old man had gone too far. The bastard had cursed him with sobriety. Eternity without a drink. Jacob could hardly think of a worse fate than his own.
|
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The ground began to settle and the sky found a fixed hue, less blue then most were used to but not the shades of violet they had grown to fear. Neither fire nor ice fell from the sky, except for in the areas where they were reasonably meant to. The trees were made of wood and didn’t secrete acid or poison, or worse things still. It was finally calm. After decades of troubles, it was finally calm. What felt like a millennium, but was less than a century, of shifting, panic, chaos and death, as the worlds collapsed, was finally over.
In the beginning there were twelve worlds; planets separated by an endless void. By touching the hearts of each world, the spirits that preserved and powered those planets, those who lived on the worlds were able to venture between worlds. With great pride, the best workers shaped a city in the void, a prosperous trade city at the centre of twelve worlds; the glorious city of Zen. For hundreds of years that city grew, with wealth, power and governance centralising itself there. For hundreds of years, energy was taken away from the hearts of the worlds without being returned to the cycle.
When the worlds became too exhausted to go on, they made one final attempt to survive, even at the cost of their creations. They moved themselves to the city in the void, letting themselves collapse into energy and form themselves into one world. The process was not a subtle one and the resulting world was unstable, falling apart and rebuilding each section of the surface on a near daily basis, like a puzzle where the pieces changed shape and had no fixed image to work from. The new world’s heart was also different; wiser and more bitter, with the shattered memories of the hearts that formed it. The power wielders of old, who could shape worlds and bring life to a void, could no longer hear the voice of the planet, no long feel the heart's energy flow through them.
Countries were lost. Cities were lost. People were lost.
But despite the loss, life went on. In the middle of a canyon, that had once been a mountain that inverted itself one night, a small camp, the start of a village, had been set up. There were young ones, born after the birth of the one world, who lived every day only vaguely aware that it was possible to have a sunrise in a consistent direction. From their perspective, that the ground had stopped shaking was something to fear; a sign of something new and unknown. They had grown up in a world of constant change and turbulence, and stillness to them felt like something being taken away.
But the danger was only just beginning, and the peril that they had lived their lives with swiftly returned. With the environment finally stabilised, beasts and monsters and other twisted things could once again repopulate. Within a month, the camp’s population had been halved. The only way they had lasted as long as they did, through the world's formation and the new beasts, was because some researchers, former power wielders, found new ways to reach the heart of the world. They knew the new heart was different. It was far more powerful than the old ones and had a heat for them rooted deeply within it. The old hearts would attempt to communicate, they would give their power freely and would guess and empathise to try and reach the wielder's desired result. The new heart, the One Heart, however, did none of those things. It ignored communication, was apathetic and would only grant power, if requests somehow reached it, in the exact wording; like a genie seeking to torment through perverting wishes. To make matters worse, it seemed to favour the beasts and monsters. Beasts that appeared on the twelve worlds grew much faster than they previously did, faster than could naturally be explained, and would often carry the ability to project power is some form, wielding the heart's power without the need for conscious effort. Monsters were far worse, however; they seemed to be able to wield power as freely as the races could on the twelve world of old.
As the camp was on the brink of collapse, one researcher finished his experiment. It was a vein hope; something that could be described as escapism. He gathered all the energy, all the power, from the crystals, bones, scrolls, books, potions, artefacts, coins and staffs. Naturally, that was done without permission and all of those things could have helped save lives in the fight against the beasts; but he didn’t care. His hope, his dream, was to use a gate spell, to escape the forest, to return the city in the void; return to Zen and his family that lived there. He reasoned with others, telling his sympathisers that the city would still be filled with its vaults and shops and power stores; that all of its treasures could be used to save their camp. They trusted him and helped him steal and barter for every scrap of energy they could find. Despite that, the spell failed. He tried again; the spell failed. He tried again; the spell failed.
He could hear the sounds of people dying getting ever closer, beast roars and screeches physically impacting his body. The battle was being lost and they were being pushed back. He had enough energy for one more attempt, though not from the treasure hoard that had turned dull around him. Instead he picked up a severed arm, that had flown loose for some unknown defender, and he cupped the still dripping blood, using it as a magnet to pull the blood and souls of the fallen into his ritual; burning the dead as fuel for his desperation. He had failed three times. But something wasn’t right. The spell should work. In a panic he thought to himself, what could he do to make it work?
He had an idea.
It was a crazy idea; even for a blood coated man in the midst of a battlefield.
He restarted the spell, this time without a destination.
The spell would open a gate between that world and the nearest other world. He knew that the spell would most likely fail; after all, the thirteenth world was the only world left. Would the destination-less spell target the city? Would it simply break? Would it open into a rift that would devour the valley? He had no way of knowing.
The gate opened. The gate opened but what he saw wasn’t the city he had grown up in. A pulse of white light spread out of the gate and encompassed the horizon. When he regained his sight, he could see strange green, yellow and blue bars floating above everyone, himself included. Furthermore their names were displayed, as were numbers. Similar bars could be seen over the heads of the nearby beasts.
By then end of the day that camp was destroyed.
It was an odd occurrence. In the games library of all virtual reality capsules was a game that no-one purchased. No company was listed and no one credible was taking claim to it, though many unlikely groups eventually did and others were unilaterally blamed. No one downloaded it, yet it existed fully downloaded, even on consoles that had been stored without a data connection. At first, it was believed to be a hacking incident, or a failed marketing stunt, as it couldn’t be uninstalled and was still on the drive after a factory reset. After a short while it was found to be even stranger than that. After replacing the hard-drive on an unused device, and running it in off-line mode, the game still appeared in the library. It was like an urban legend or a ghost story, but everyone had it there to prove it wasn't. To make matters stranger, when starting it up, no internet data was metered. It was a game that didn’t exist, but did everywhere, that was played online, but didn’t use any data.
The publicity over the strange event led to a sharp increase to the number of capsules sold, which in turn led in turn to the event being called a publicity stunt, with the implication being that the capsule makers had embedded the software into the devices and signed a deal with internet service providers. What made that idea less likely was that it didn’t just appear on one type of capsule. Any capsule capable of complete immersion, completely interfacing with the game's world with the mind, even DIY ones, had the game in the library. The game itself also made the idea that it was a publicity stunt less likely. There were laws in most countries about the level of realism a game could have; especially around the amount of pain the user could feel before pain was disconnected or numbed. The game followed none of those laws and would see the makers imprisoned and sued for psychological harm if they were discovered.
Players would get hungry, thirsty, hot, cold and tired. They’d get sick and diseased, and feel the weakness and wasting those things entailed. It also had a nonsensical level of difficulty that provided very little rewards for any efforts made. What it did have, that other virtual games didn’t, was a detailed character customisation menu. As laws were put in place to protect user from mental illnesses associated with inhabiting bodies radically different to the natural body, the customisation options of most games were limited. That game, however, didn’t follow those laws any more than it did pain reduction. There were many calls to ban the game, but since it existed without anyone doing anything, and its use wasn't traceable given it seemed to function without being metered, there was little that could be done about it short of manually monitoring everyone that owned a capsule. With the number of businesses that conducted meetings within private and secured virtual spaces, without the tedium of travel but still with the personal touch of a face to face meet up, imposing any such restriction would have caused political and economic harm that no career politician would be willing to touch.
The game was called Saviours of the Wild; it was a massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg) with a strong emphasis on survival. Many years prior, the multiplayer survival game had gone through a period of popularity, where companies pumped out cheaply thrown together games that caused the genre to crash, and at first glance a lot of the issues that caused that collapse seemed present in Saviours. There was no real theme or common environment, and often gave the impression that it was several different places, with different cultures, rather than one, all thrown together without thought or reason. Like the makers had purchased game assets online and randomly threw them together. Likewise there was the available classes; the staple of a classic role playing game. While the game seemed to focus heavily on a serious and sombre atmosphere, the playable classes seemed to disregard that entirely. While there were normal classes, like swordsman, rogue, wizard and archer, there were strange classes like fisherman, tattoo artist, meteorologist and gambler. Many others seemed entirely there as a joke, like the duellist, which was based around a pseudo-trading card game mechanics, instead of the expected dexterous sword fighter. To further confuse players, the rouge was at the top of the non-alphabetised list while the rogue was towards the end, leading to a number of players accidentally playing as what was apparently a magic using class. To make matters worse, people who chose to be wizards couldn’t use magic. They had a spell list and the system included the gestures and phrases they needed to do and say, but no matter what anyone tried, they couldn’t get a spell to cast. There was also a few strange double ups, with there being a bard class and a bard of the wild class. A normal bard had the same problem as the wizard; it had a spell list that no-one could use. It really didn’t take long for them to be labelled broken classes or scrap data from development that was never removed.
The classes that were able to use magic, however, required strange methods for casting, and different methods between each class. A geomancer collected energy from creatures and stones, storing it in crystals, and then used those crystals as the fuel for spells later. The summoner, on the other hand, worked through a strange process of drawing energy from spiritual animals. They had four major spiritual animals, from cardinal directions, and could cast spells associated with those animals while facing the correct compass direction while standing in a carefully drawn spell circle. It was noticed fairly quickly, by those who chose that class, that the sun didn’t rise in a constraint direction, however the direction they drew power from stayed the same. There were also classes like the witch doctor, which gained magic, as well as class abilities, by harvesting the souls of the dead. They were quickly considered to be unpleasant to be around, as they had a tendency to kill other players for extra spell resources.
When Laura first started playing, she saw a class that appealed to here almost instantly. The apothecary; amongst the classes that could heal it was by far the most criticized. It had a bad health attribute growth rate, it could only equip three types of weapons, and its healing method was non-magical and was slow when compared to other healers. The worst part was that at low levels, they could only provide healing in certain environments. Despite knowing all that, Laura still wanted to be one. She had dreamed about being a wise, all knowing doctor, at-peace with nature with a small shop that was soaked with the smells of herbs. The kind of small cottage that could be romanticised, though probably never existed.
To fulfil that dream she entered her capsule and booted the game. When prompted to make a user-name she entered “Lotus Crane” and was taken to the character creation menu.
|
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Roland made a quick roll as he ducked under the claws of the tiger patterned bear creature that sliced through the space he had been standing moments before, rancid mud staining adding a new layer of mess to his already mess coated gear. As he rolled, a sharp stone pierced his side, easily passing through his now tattered armour and cutting another wound into his gashed body. His had felt faint as yet another source of pain flared through his body, and further faint from the loss each of those caused. Blood flowed steadily from the new wound, as it did from the others across each section of his body. With the gash on his head getting blood in his eyes, it was hard to focus, but he tried his hardest to track the creature’s movements. He knew that he would once again die, even if he won the fight, but he continued anyway, knowing that the bliss he would feel would be all the finer for it.
A day earlier, he had returned from the frontline, the edge of the territory that the players had secured into a reasonably safe state, to meet with some friends and to get new equipment. An alchemist and a blacksmith that he knew had teamed up with a sculptor, that he didn’t, in order to find new methods of improving equipment. Alchemist could create coatings, called oils, that granted powerful effects, but wore off when the liquid dried or got wiped off. Blacksmiths could engrave magical runes into equipment, but if the intricate rune got even slightly chipped or worn then the effect ended. Sculptors could engrave images into equipment that were very durable, and lasted as long as the equipment did, but they couldn’t control what effect the image would give. Two identical images on two identical pieces of equipment could give different effects, and the effects weren’t always good. With the three working together they had devised a new enchantment system.
First, the blacksmith devised the rune they needed for the effect they wanted and to ensure that the rune wasn't damaged they filled it with a resin that seemed to still allow the magic to flow through. In addition, to give the weapon a random chance of being even better, the sculptor would be the one to apply the runes so that the system treated it as an art piece. If the sculptor and the blacksmith both worked on it, it seemed that both effects would apply. That worked about half of the time. Sometimes only one or the other would apply, and other times neither would work. Furthermore, while the resin coating didn’t fade like normal oils, it did slowly dilute on contact with water. They had other resins that didn't, but the ones they'd so far found didn't conduct enough magic for the rune to work. The fact that the technique required three classes to work, and that one of the classes was a prestige class, meant that the equipment would be far too expensive to warrant the improvement for the majority of players. They gave up on that idea as a mass production method and, after selling what they knew to various other players, they looked for another way. The results of their trials were also posted to a development forum that had sprung up, and they handed Roland a prototype armour, complete with runes for hardening and weight reductions and an art effect that boosted his lightning resistance.
After trading monster materials for potions, oils and a new shield, Roland went to leave town. As he was leaving, he saw a group of people gathering. Curious, he went to see what it was about. A man, dressed as a mage, with a long pale green coat and hood that covered his face, was standing in front of the crowd. The robes also concealed any of the man's other features, even obscuring his build and height, to the point that Roland was only confident that it was a man from his booming voice.
“Hear me and fear, lowly people whom call themselves players,” the man said, with a voice that seemed to come from multiple directions at once, as if the sound level was consistent and not fading over any distance, “I am the Lord Demonist, Vash. The lowly you have built a town near my land, and have not paid onto me a tribute. If you continue to go on with such disrespect, don’t blame me for the plight you find yourselves in.”
As he finished speaking, a towering naked man with blood red skin arose slowly from the ground like a synchronised swimmer, graceful and clearly in control. Until then, Roland hadn't realised that the game's disregard for law was to the extent that even public nudity was possible. Vash stood comfortably on the giant’s palm as the monster walked towards the forest. The creature's pose while holding the demonist reminded him of an old caricature holding a pizza box. The extraordinary scale of the creature also dwarfed everything Roland had so far killed; even at a distance he would estimate the monster was at least five metres tall.
Roland quickly readied himself for a tough fight, and ran after the giant, eager to see where such a quest line would take him and how he compared to the giant.
He caught up to them after entering the forest and then some distance deep. Despite its leisurely pace, the giant still moved quickly, attributing to its size. Drawing his sword and bracing his shield, Roland charged forward, making the most of his speed to add to his impact force. The giant’s free fist slammed down to meet him, as if his fleshy hand would be able to stand the swords metal, but Roland ducked to the side at the last minute, not willing to test his blade on the giant's apparent confidence. The force of the fist sent out a bellowing wind that pushed him back, even as a missed attack, but not before Roland got one wild slash in. When he had ducked to the side, he slashed vertically with his sword, making a line along the monster’s forearm. Thick jelly-like red blood oozed slowly from the wound, as it twisted on one foot to turn towards where the wind had knocked him.
A sword made of fire condensed in the creature’s hand, several metres long and baking the earth just to be in its presence, and it swung a heavy blow towards him. As he had yet to completely regain his footing, he couldn’t move out of the way, and instead dropped his sword to take the attack with both arms controlling the shield. Pain shot through his arms and he felt like fractures had formed, but somehow he survived the blow. His shield wasn’t as lucky, however, as the metal overlay was melted and the wooden underlayer was cracked and burnt clear through. It wouldn’t have been able to take any kind of hit, so he dropped it when he picked his sword back up, freeing himself of its weight.
Focusing on dodging, he avoided several more attacks, getting pushed around by the air all the while. The ground they had been standing on was filled with holes and craters. He realised that if the giant wasn’t holding Vash, Roland would have been dead a long time ago, and he was thankful for the handicap. Knowing that, he pressed that advantage. He remained on that side of its body, forcing it to make unnecessary moves and turns to attack, and it would hit with reduced force with the difficulty of keeping his hand as a steady platform. Whenever completely safe, Roland would make a quick, shallow cut, but he never risked a heavy attack, knowing that the giant could lash out with a kick if he was ever in one place for too long.
As the fight went on, the ground became even more damaged and uneven with potholes, causing Roland to trip. As he tried to get to his feet, the creature stamped its large foot, with all its heavily weight, onto his back. He could feel the force through his body, like a pressure cooker boiling his organs. He survived only on the merit of his armour, which had small breaks throughout it.
He focused his effort and energy into his arms, willing himself to stand or brace himself against the weight, or just avoid the next attack, when he suddenly found himself falling.
The ground couldn’t take anymore and it fell, revealing a long since buried cave system. Having fallen for several seconds, he met the new ground with a heavy greeting, slipping into the peaceful sensation he was growing attached to. When he spawned once again, he found himself still in the cave. Nearby was a natural alter, a resurrection point that occurred naturally and were known as a warrior’s blessing. Until he went to another town, he would be stuck reviving in that cave.
Looking around, he could see that Vash and the giant also died from the fall. Not knowing what else to do, he took a look at their bodies. Vash had a belt pouch bag, which reminded him of a large perse, and a wand of some kind. Inside the bag were some coins, scrolls, broken potions and a book. Although the game translated everyone’s spoken languages, it didn’t change written languages without associated skills. As such, the book and scrolls were worthless to him. He put the wand into the bag and dumped it into his own bag; even if he didn’t know what they were, they might be worth something to someone.
From deep in the cave, he heard a low growl. He could see a monstrous tiger approach the area slowly. Readying himself, he looked for his sword, and found it not far away. As he lifted the rock that it was half under, he found his luck was worse than he thought. It wasn’t that the sword was half buried; it was simply that there was only half a sword.
As it was his only option, baring the even smaller peeling knife in his bag, he gripped the half a weapon and waited for the beast to come closer. As it did, he could see it more clearly. It was light orange in colour, with black stripes decorating it. Its large body stalked slowly forward, with a heavy frame more bear like then tiger, though with facial features that could easily have been from both. The claws on its paws were like jutted curved blades, both heavy and sharp. It stood up on its back legs and let out a cry, with the volume of a tigers roar. Foam filled its mouth and it charged, moving forward on its back feat with its front claws held ready to slash. It moved far faster than it looked like it was capable of, and closed the distance before he could blink. The creatures paw smacked his left arm and sent him flying into the wall closest to the alter.
As he tried to get up, he could see his arm was in pieces, several breaks in the bone had pierced through the skin. He stumbled to his feet, only to be met with claws through his stomach. His newly forged armour seemed to have no effect against the creatures claws. He fell to the ground once again and waited to be finished off, waiting for the sensation. Another blow never came. The tiger-bear watched as he bled out, its snout distorted into a sick smile.
After several minutes of torment and pain, he eventually died, giving the precious few moments of clarity he craved. He spawned again, only to have his head severed before he could even react. He revived once again, and this time dropped to his knees to avoid the hit. It didn’t help much, as the creature’s second hand scooped him up with its curved claws and sent him flying upwards, entirely out of his control. He landed heavily on his neck and died, with the familiar suffering of if first. A sick kind of nostalgia.
After ten more near-instantaneous deaths, Rolland started to get an understanding on the creature’s abilities and patterns. The difference between them was beyond ridiculous and he felt like a speed-runner taking on the final boss with just starting gear. He started to be able to narrowly avoid attacks, or at least reduce the depth of the cuts. After another ten deaths he was starting to be able to slightly put up a fight.
After taking a roll on a sharp rock, he felt that he had lost too much blood to continue. He still fought on anyway though, ducking the fearsome attacks that were coming his way. Exhausted, he fell over once again and waited for an attack that would just heal him up to start again. When the beast once again didn't finish him off, he thought that it was just the sadistic nature of the creature; he was surprise when he opened his eyes. The creature was bound in vines and, descending from the cavern in a beam of light, were two beautiful figures. The golden haired angel sent lightning down from the heavens as the back haired angel bound it with the gentle ferocity of nature. As the tiger-bear struggled against the vines, the black haired angel sliced into its head with a scythe, barely long enough to reach the creature's neck in her frail looking arms.
Although the weapon barely managed to break its skin, its struggles grew weaker with each passing moment. As the beast grew still, Rolland’s mind gave out and he fainted. He later awoke to find his wounds treated, and there was a ladder next to him. The shine had been cleaned and an earthen dish filled with a soup was covered in a vine mesh next to him. His amour had been removed and slightly patched and, while his sword was still broken, some daggers made from the beasts claws were prepared for him.
He didn’t know what his title, favoured of the 12th world meant, but it seemed that the 12th world, whatever that was, had sent angels to save him.
|
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Roland Five was known as the Hero of the First Wave. Despite his opposition to the title, the name stuck. For him, the first wave wasn’t something that had heroes. If it did, and only if, there were other people there that were far more deserving of that title.
He logged into the game the moment he saw it on his games library. It wasn’t that he was curious or cautious but simply made a mistake. He had heard about a game with a similar name, or not particularly similar but it had been fairly early in the morning, and while was still in development, he had been fairly confused by the various pre-order bundles the company had offered and simply assumed that the one he chose was one that came with early access or beta access. He wanted to learn as much about the game before reviews started to release and things got spoiled. Better still, if he got some good footage then he might make some money by uploading it with his own review. When he entered the game it was obvious that it wasn’t the game he thought, seemingly not even in the same genre, but it looked interesting enough, so he continued playing it anyway.
He selected the adventurer class. From the class description, which could be found by navigating through three menus of the unintuitive class selection system, it seemed to be a fighter variant that focused on combat within the wilderness. The fighter class was essentially a blank slate combat class. It could focus on one weapon, one type of weapon, one size or category of weapons, generalise to any weapon or spread their features so widely as to be bad at everything. They had more alternative class features and ability choices than any other class, but few of them were more complicated than new and creative ways to hit things well.
He chose his abilities points to focus on defence and speed. Increased movement when not wearing leg armour, increased defence from shields and chest armour and increased strike speed from one handed weapons; he forfeited a weapon focus to get those abilities, knowing he could pick one up later once he was more familiar with what was most effective in this particular game. With a sword, shield and chest plate, all made of stone, he spawned in the original camp surrounded by monsters. A message rang through his head telling him that he was the twelfth person to start playing and that he would get a thirty-eight percent increase in experience gained for the next week.
While listening to that message, he was killed. Pain shot through his neck as it was impaled from behind by a two metre tall lizard with a narwhal-like horn. He chocked and panicked, feeling nothing but his head, knowing that he wasn't breathing, seeing his arms flail widely but having no sensation below where his spine was crushed and only pain above it. He wanted to clutch at his neck, as if his hands could cover the hole and he would be fine. As his uncontrolled body slammed flat to the ground, his eyes widened and he tried to in vein to breath. His mouth filled with blood, blood that fell back down his throat and seep from his gaping wound. He had never experienced anything like that. That was obvious, had he died previously, he couldn’t be playing the game. He had played plenty of other games, but none of them had allowed him to experience that; the actual sensation of dying. They would all cut the connection before anything truly bad happened and numb the experience. As his body lay on the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut, his vision blurred and the pain started to numb. With everything fading, he started to feel a twang of fear, it all felt too real, what if he was really dying, his own body wasting away in the capsule. A moment later he found an odd sense of calm about it, a realisation that it didn't matter, that nothing mattered and he could truly be at peace with that. It was the most profound thought, or rather feeling, he had ever had, and that inner peace felt almost addictive. When he finished dying he found himself staring at the main menu once again. He could re-enter if he wanted, face the certain death that would strike without notice and without hesitation; fill him with pains like he had never known. He could also not, leave his pod and go on with his life like he had never tried it in the first place; never again feel that pain or fear. It was obvious that any game where you could die before the first system message had finished was a broken mess. It was also obvious that pain and death were terrible, especially in such a miserable and worthless way. Yet he found himself logging in once more.
As he stood, once again, in the original camp. He could see many more people were logging in and dying. He quickly confirmed his equipment was still with him, and quickly attacked the creature that was busy eating the body that had been him. The horned lizard was still his first opponent. He went to block its attack, preparing to slash out with his sword the moment the shield pushed the horn and exposed the creature's neck, but its horn went through his shield like it was paper, continuing through and into his arm. He was driven backwards, pulling his arm free, and hole in his shield caused cracks throughout it. On the second attempt, he pulled his shield backwards as the blow impacted, like he was catching a ball with soft hands, allowing him to direct the flow. That time the shield held back the attack and he had an opportunity to attack. His blade swung with unmatchable speed, his compressed back expanding to drive his arm like a scorpion's tail, and he sliced across the creatures face, leaving a cut on its scaly cheek from yellow eye to bony chin. The attack was shallow. The attack was far too shallow. It barely even noticed Roland’s attack. It let out a coarse cry and attacked once again. Having gotten the hang of using the shield, he braced the attack easily.
While he was feeling like he might be able to keep it up, kill the creature and win, he felt once gain the cold embrace of death as a slashing cut crushed his heart and everything else is a diagonal line to his hip. The lizard had his complete attention, and he hadn’t noticed the human sized mantis behind him. Death came quicker the second time, as a second blade pierced his brain with ease.
Once again he was at the main menu. Most people that entered the first wave hadn’t tried a second time and, amongst those who did, even fewer went for a third. No one could blame them, it was entirely madness to do so. Roland, however, did press that log in button once more, and without any hesitation. The second time came too quickly and he had only the slightest hint of the bliss he sought. He retained his equipment when he returned, though its condition hadn’t improved. He waited till the mantis wasn’t near the lizard before once again attempting to kill it. He was killed a third time, before he even made it to the lizard, by a snake that was as thick as a football and long enough to warrant that thickness. On his fourth attempt he blocked against any interfering creatures, and was skewered by the lizard. On the fifth he managed to land a cut the lizards tail before he was killed by a burning house-cat, set aflame and left to cook. On the sixth he managed to wound one of its legs but on the seventh his shield finally broke, giving in to the cracks and strain. On the eighth his sword followed his shield. On that same life, he stumbled, literally tripped, on a human body. Since when players died their bodies disappeared, he assumed that it was the body of a non-player character, an NPC. He was lucky. Really lucky; the body was clutching a sharp metal sword and small, round metal shield, both of which were rusted but would serve his purpose.
As he equipped the sword and shield, he turned to find the lizard. With his target in front of him he charged forward to meet it. On the ninth attempted, he retained the metal equipment, an advantage he used to full effect. He yelled out to nearby players, telling them to look for bodies with better weapons. Using what they could find, and repeatedly re-spawning, Roland and a few others eventually cleared the camp. With the bonus experience and with fighting so many creatures that were far too high level for new players to reasonably compete with, he had levelled up a number of times. Once the camp was safe a number of players either returned joined for the first time. They were the second wave, those who didn’t have to go through the cycle of death. They looked at the first wave as raving madmen and dashing heroes, and the first wave looked at him like a leader, Roland who hoisted his iron high and pulled them all forward. Many of the first wave proudly admitted that they would have dropped out if not for Roland. They saw him come back time and time again, dying in the worst ways there were without any hesitation. They couldn't bring themselves to back down after seeing him, felt with instinct that they would live with shame if they backed down while Roland was pushing them forward and bearing their weight.
Whether he liked it or not, that was the beginning of his nickname. The hero of heroes, Roland had unlocked a title, which floated above his head, beneath his health, special and stamina bars. He unlocked the title of Hero of the First Wave and he had no way to change it, short of getting a higher ranked title to take its place. Not that the title was without benefit. Having that title granted him an experience gain bonus. As he led the push forward, expanding their territory, he gained experience faster than other players, especially with the near suicidal way he pushed. He was the highest level player and the leader of the player army. When momentum of the first push faded, and players started to make camps and towns, his army disbanded. Roland continued to push forward alone. He had been an adventurer. He was a knight. He was favoured by the twelfth world.
|
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The spawn point, the place where new players started and players that died revived, was the first real challenge when people first started playing. There was only one location, and it was covered in ferocious beasts. Lions the size of horses, bone spiked wolves, fire breathing snakes and a host of other creatures circled the area, seeming to work together to hunt the players as they arrived. After waves of people logging on for the first time, the beasts were either dead or had eaten their fill and left. Either way, that allowed players to get a footing in the camp and build up an organised defence. Within a week of in-game time, they had pushed out to new locations and constructed new spawn points. The class tinker was especially important to players, as they soon discovered. They were a production type class, but unlike other classes, they were able to use any crafting skill, to a limited extent. Where there real value was, however, was in their ability to found camps. While any players could set up a group of tents, only a tinker could make a camp. The difference was that a tinker made camp was a spawn point, where players could resurrect and new players could start.
It was a very fluid system, as beast and monsters would try to destroy spawn points and new points would be constructed as the players expanded. It also seemed that if two points were made too close together, the spawn location defaulted to the one made by the higher level tinker. When Lotus went to spawn for the first time, she chose a point that was roughly midway between the original camp and the furthest one. Her reasoning was simple, the front line was dangerous for new players, and they often found themselves in a death cycle, where they died once and continued to die trying to retrieve whatever they had on their bodies. While she wanted to avoid that, she also wanted to avoid the original camp. As most people chose start there, it had been hunted to the point of being barren, and the valley it was located in had been thinned of trees, with players mistakenly assuming resources would reappear over time. While players with the farmer class made attempts as reviving the earth around it, they were throwing cups of water into a volcano, hoping to hold back to flow. Most gave up and started to walk to newer camps.
If she was going to go there anyway, Lotus would rather start there than walk there. As such, she chose to spawn at the camp labelled, Fred’s Discount Swords. Fred was a tinker who entered as a part of the first wave. After experiencing the repeated death and re-spawn that all the first wave players went through, he insisted on becoming the best smith there was. During the outward push of the first week, he stumbled across a cave, rich with mineral deposits and monsters that hoarded ores. To make matters even better for him, it was close to a river with a good supply of clay. Using everything he could, he set out to ensure new players had the essential equipment they required, or at least more than the hemp clothes and wooden weapon the started with.
Nothing, however, was free. He would make them the swords, bows, armours and tools they needed, but he would always turn a profit. If a new player wanted a sword, he’d make one, but they’d then have to use that sword to hunt for materials to craft two more. If someone wanted tools, then they’d work the mine or craft weapons and armours with them. If anyone took equipment and didn’t pay it back, Fred would set a bounty. Veteran players would travel back from the front line for a chance at one of Fred’s bounties. The allure was very strong; Fred, as a survivor of the first wave, was one of the highest level tinkers, and he set aside his best equipment for bounties. That method ensured the front line had the gear they needed to keep expanding while also making sure everyone stayed on the level.
Not that too many people were willing to cross him to begin with. He was a very imposing person. Fred was taller than most, well passed the two meter mark, and broad shouldered enough that his height didn’t seem lanky. Furthermore, the hours he spent behind a forge left him bulky and soot-stained. Behind his kind words and merchant spirit was the slightest hint of malice. When you entered a deal with him, you knew you were selling your soul to a devil.
Devil though he defiantly was, the number of people that accepted his offer strained his ability to meet the demand, and would have been entirely unmanageable if not for the regular supply of workers paying off their tools. While cursing them as fools, he happily gained a steady stockpile of materials. The strange part was, unlike the original camp, the environment around Fred’s Discount Swords seemed to flourish. That was another job Fred would order. Farmer, rangers, fishermen, tamers and demonologists all ensured a healthy supply of plants, trees, beasts and monsters. Over consumption and reckless destruction would lead to bounties, just as readily as stealing. As Fred put it, “Trying to take anything from me or my land, without putting something back, is just as stealing as taking a hammer outta my hands.”
Looking over herself, Lotus could see the few items she started with. For playing as an apothecary she started with only a simple hemp dress, which was styled like a summer dress with a simple rope belt, and a scythe made from a brittle wood, with a blade that seemed to be chipped stone. It was the kind of scythe suited for harvesting fields, with the blade near parallel to the ground, not the perpendicular kind that could be used in battle like a pick or an axe. Her feet sunk into some fresh, moist soil and the earthy feeling notified her that shoes weren’t part of her starting package. A pouch like woven satchel bag was slung across her body, the thin cord sitting uncomfortably between her breasts. Although its total weight might have been less than that of the scythe, it felt heavier as it sat uncomfortably against her body. Inside the bag, was the default starting package, called as such since there was supposedly a rare starting package that random individual were given. It was just as she had read on the forums prior to starting; two short torches that could burn for about an hour each, a flint and steel, a thin blanket that was barely more than a towel, a water skin with about three litres and two days’ worth of dried food, meats, cheeses, grains and berries, weighing about a kilogram. They were the basics that no-one could do without.
It was a popular topic on the forums; which class had the worst starting gear. There were art type production classes, like sculptors and painters, that complained about not even starting with a weapon, not that the wooden weapons that the other classes had were much to boast about. There were the geomancers; power users with a crystal that could only enough charge to launch the lowest level of spells, and only once. There were witch doctors, which needed glass jars to trap souls in, but start with none. Amongst the debate there was a shining class that declared itself the worst package of all; the apothecary was the only class, which had been discovered, that started without shoes. Weirdly, even the beast master and druid classes started with deerskin moccasins, despite the flavour text of both classes describing them as belonging to the wild. Other than that, the apothecary's starting weapons were also useless in combat. It was decided, apparently at random, which type of weapon a player would start with from those that have class compatibility. It was entirely possible for a player to use a weapon that their class wasn't proficient in, but a weapon seemed sharper, harder and more durable when used by someone proficient. The apothecary could start with a scythe, a knife or a sickle, all of which were made too brittle to be of any use against monsters, and were clearly intended for collecting plants with.
To make up for that, they gained the herbal lore skill, which improved as they levelled. It was an ability that appraised any plant or fungus, somehow imparting knowledge about them into the mind of the apothecary as they were looked at. At the first skill level, it could only tell the general knowledge about plants that grew in forests, but rumours had it that at its highest level, an apothecary could find plants with healing properties in absolutely any environment and find ways to use any plant. Another feature they had was poison resistance. It was basically the ability to take poison or be hit with venom without getting ill. At low levels the effect wasn’t much, but it grew rapidly. It seemed fairly important to have that ability, since a lot of new healing recipes came through trial and error.
On entering the cave that served as the main office for Fred’s camp, she was greeted by a secretary-like person who swiftly ran her through the procedure for gaining equipment, and more importantly, as she was told, repaying it. The only thing that she wanted was a more durable weapon. As there wasn’t much demand for scythes, and there wasn't a stockpile of them made by people paying for their own, the price for them was somewhat unreasonable, and the repayment would take far too long. As such, dejected that her plan had already started to fall apart, Lotus Crane left the camp having accomplished nothing.
|
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Although she originally followed Lotus because she wanted to steal her skills, Dawn stayed with her because she started to enjoy being around her. Having spent a week training together, they had found a good rhythm together, and could gauge each other’s intentions fairly well, making an effective team. Despite her tendency to act like she was some kind of nature lover, Dawn knew that lotus was very mercenary, that she calculated everything's worth and never acted without some kind of return. Not that she thought that was a bad thing, it was reassuring to know that she was valuable in Lotus's eyes. The way Lotus pretended to be interested in helping people, while taking anything of value around them, was a surprisingly cute performance to watch.
It was also surprising to see how bad she was at holding her liquor. She might have thought that her poison resistance would work against it, but, as they found out, it really didn’t. During her drunken ramblings, Lotus let it slip that she thought the voice skill was the best ability Dawn had, and she was wasting her time with the crystal shards. It seemed she had thought of a lot of way to use it, and was waiting for her to figure it out for herself. She mumbled that Dawn had the power of a god but played around with other people's rubbish. To test out one of Lotus's theories, she used voice to command Lotus’s scythe to strengthen, which caused it to turn a sinister shade of black and the various parts of what had been the mantis's arm started to stretch and sharpen. Furthermore the blade’s edge hooked more sharply downwards, giving it a look like a hungry bird of prey, out seeking blood. It was far from a weapon that a hero would use. As she got nearer to it, it almost felt like her blood was being pulled towards it.
The next morning, as lotus was dealing with a hangover, they heard the sound of some people approaching. From what they could hear of the voices, they seemed to be an overly affectionate couple. The man’s voice was deep and calm, a strong mix that built a reassuring aura. The woman’s voice was soft and joy filled; energetic without being tiring. It was the kind of soft voice that would be soothing when singing. Without seeing them, they seemed to be the ideal couple. Hearing them flirt so early in the morning put Dawn in a bad mood, a reminder that she was alone in her room playing a computer game instead of out having a fulfilling romance of her own, and she sent Lotus a look that said, “Let’s kill them and take their stuff”.
Responding with a determined nod, Lotus disappeared into some bushes. Dawn had noticed that plants seemed to really like Lotus, and would often bend out of her way to help her avoid making sound when sneaking and covered her when she hid. When that was combined with Lotus’s own ability and practice, she was as close to invisible in woods as a person could reasonably be.
As Dawn readied a pair of tiger-bear daggers, and took a position behind a tree, she waited there for them to pass by. She was met with a strange sense of betrayal, or maybe disillusion, when she saw what the couple looked like. It wasn’t an ideal, beautiful couple at all. It was like an abominable snowman was taking his pet tree for a walk. Or maybe it was an abstract art style coat hanger and a polar bear. Either way, their appearance and voices left a huge gap. The difference was enough that Dawn forgot to attack. She just stood there blankly and let them go on their way.
Almost a minute after they left, Dawn and Lotus started to prepare for the day, not mentioning what they saw and pretending that it never happened. Some small part of Dawn wanted to go chase them down, but the greater part saw them as unnecessary trouble. Instead they ate breakfast and packed their camp. They had recently acquired good fur to upgrade their blankets and a lot of strong red leather to make a tent with. With their abilities in both magic and skills, it would be no problem to craft as they travelled.
At around lunch time, they made it around a small mountain range and stood at the border between the mountain, an open sandy desert and a glacial lake. They had come to that spot intentionally, as Lotus was aware of some powerful plants that grew in that strange environment, requiring the extremes in hot and cold while also benefiting from the mountain's rain. As they searched, they once again came across the strange couple. It seemed they looped around the other way and approached from the opposite side of the range. While Dawn and Lotus had been closer to the desert, the couple seemed to have been heading directly towards the ice-lake.
For a few seconds, the four stared blankly, before the tree-statue started to speak.
“Um, I’m The Spirit of Blooming Oak Volk, and this is my darling husband Dima Volk. It’s nice to meet fellow travellers after not seeing anyone for some time.” Her voice still sounded entirely out of place with her appearance but a hint of worry, maybe the fear of strangers, could be heard from it. Dawn had to admit, she wasn't sure how a tree should sound, but cute was definitely not the first thing that came to mid. It also seemed that she was very proud of her apparent husband, something that entirely rubbed her the wrong way. Bad enough that the people she knew boasted about their relationships, but now a tree was doing it too.
“I’m Lotus and this is Dawn, we’re travelling healers. If you have anything you need treated, feel free to tell us.” While Dawn tried to pull her thoughts together, Lotus brought out a practised smile and began her sales pitch. Dawn had heard it a few times already, but she was always surprised by how genuinely concerned she sounded, without any trace of the avarice that Dawn knew she was motivated by. Despite the concern, Dawn knew that Lotus was only really thinking about the contents of their bags, and was probably using her skills to appraise them and their gear as she spoke. “Even if it’s only a minor thing, minor things can make the difference between life and death in the wilds.”
While they talked, the bear, that was apparently called Dima, looked away with a slight blush to his face. Dawn couldn’t think why that was the case, but immediately after Oak pulled herself closer to him. Giving an understanding shrug to Oak, she let out a sigh and continued to talk about the services she offered. As the conversation progressed, an agreement to travel together was somehow reached. Unknown to Lotus and Dima as to how, Dawn and Oak seemed to really get along. When the agreement was reached, they became able to see each other's stats, and Oak suddenly seemed shocked.
“Eeeeeh? You’re a 13th World’s Druid? Amongst my tribe, there’s a story that the 13th world hates all the peoples, and would never favour anyone. The chaos of the lands was supposedly one of the world's attempts to kill off the peoples. What did you do to get the world’s attention like that?”
Lotus simply shrugged it off and said that she hadn’t noticed the world being particularly cruel. In fact, from her perspective, the world seemed quite kind; almost motherly. Furthermore, she shifted the conversation by pointing out that Oak was a NPC, and started to tease Dima lightly about that. Dima, that was having a hard time interacting, as if he were out of practise merely speaking, started to respond to that, and warmed up to them when the prodding forced him to participate in the conversation.
Truthfully, Dawn wasn’t sure why Lotus wanted to join up with them; she had assumed that Lotus would be against it, as whenever they encountered people in the forest she would either fleece them or kill them and walk away with no concern for what she did. The reasons she gave was just that more people would lower the workload, and travelling with more people was more enjoyable; they seemed to ring hollow. Dawn really couldn’t think what her real motive was, but whatever it was, it probably wasn’t anything too bad. At the very least, Lotus didn’t think that it would be bad for her personally even if it was towards Dima and Oak.
After lunch, the four of them finished searching for the plants Lotus was after, and they made their way towards the tallest ice mountain. Dima had heard a rumour that the glacier had a flat section near the top, where a number of rare materials could be found. Furthermore, the materials were protected by some unique creatures. Those creatures and materials appealed to both Lotus and Dima, so they pushed their respective partners along with them.
By working together, Lotus and Dima made a potion that stopped the cold from affecting them, and gave them some protection against frostbite. It wasn’t surprising that alchemists and apothecaries worked well together, with each bringing out the magical and mundane properties of the ingredients, and they made a potion that was better than either could have made by themselves, and the research time was greatly reduced.
With a warm feeling beneath their skin, seemingly heating them from the blood itself, the party moved through the snow, climbing towards the top of the ice; towards the icy plateau.
|
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The 4th scholar had sat there on his stone bed, in that place for nearly a century. Even before the worlds collided, an event he didn’t know happened, only the suicidal would visit a temple that made them sleep until they died, and those that were after a peaceful death didn't think to walk into his library. Another reason the temple had few visitors was because it was located on the 4th world, the world of ice and darkness. No intelligent creatures, aside from demons and some frost golems, lived on the 4th world; it was a world of death whose heart had long given up. It was only connected to the great city by chance, when the people of the 3rd world were searching through the void for somewhere to test new powers without endangering the city or any of the habitable worlds. When he was young, only just leaving home, a rumour was going around that the previous world scholar had found a way to die. At the time, he wasn’t interested in the method so he hadn’t paid any attention to it. World scholars were famous, even in the city so filled with wonders, as the keepers of all the world's knowledge; great sages who could ask the heart any question. In his youth he had seen it as an opportunity; a get rich quick scheme with fame as the prize. He had been just another person in the great city, a figure in the crowd, and he wanted to stand out more than anything.
As he went to bed that night, a red and green fire floated above the city, splitting into fragments and travelling to anyone who desired the role. On seeing that flame, somehow he knew it. He knew that if he didn’t go to the temple of the 4th world, the fire, that was now floating around him would just fizzle out and that would be the end of it. Alternatively, he could let the fire devour him inside the temple, burning him and birthing him anew with a connection to the word's heart. When he entered the temple for the first time, he was greeted by a woman on a large golden throne from across the room. She introduced herself as the spirit of lethargy, and told him that he would be the new scholar, and would serve beside her forever. He had thought that there would be others, that he would have to compete for the position, but no one else had arrived and he received the role by default. At first he was excited; it was an opportunity to work with the person closest to the world’s heart, the spirit made manifest. He was in such a good mood, at the time, that he hadn’t realised the implications of what she said.
He was immortal. He still aged, for centuries on end he still aged, and nothing could kill him. If his arm was severed, it would just float in place where it was cute until the wound was healed. His body functioned like an undead monster, though the books he had studied had assured him that he wasn’t. Although he still needed to eat and drink, he couldn’t die from not doing so, and the pain of starvation became entirely ignorable after a couple decades. Despite it not being any effort for her to do so, Leth never created food for him, and instead left him in a wasting agony, often forgetting about him entirely as she slept. Water, he got from the 4th Craftsman, another immortal servant, and one that seemed to enjoy his life, despite having been there since long before him.
He also couldn’t leave the temple, if he tried, the heavy metal doors simply wouldn’t open for him. Even leaving his room filled him with a compulsion to return to it. If he did somehow open the door and get out, the green-red flame would appear again, but not to kill him, instead to drag him back. Given even the flame wouldn’t kill him, he spent most of his days contemplating how his predecessor managed to find the sweet release of death.
The answer came to him one day, as a powerful earthquake shook through the temple. The fire was the answer. Although the fire tried not to kill him, it only pulled him with its outer edge. It couldn’t control its core. If he could force its core into contact with his head, there was no way he could recover. The only problem was, he hadn’t been strong enough to pull that off; he might not have ever been that strong. He also didn’t have much hope for someone else helping him, only people with world blessings could enter the temple without being affected by Leth's aura.
He had given up all hope, and even stopped moving or drinking, when a woman one day entered his room. Turning to face her, he thought that he was hallucinating, like he had many time before. But that time was different, he never would have imagined those dangerous eyes. The fierce green of the forest; none of his books had recorded that one, they were clearly eye's that had been effected by a world heart, but not one he had ever seen before. Could a new world have been found? Judging by the patterns, he would have guessed that it was a powerful one, and a dangerous one at that. But for a world to be as strong as those eyes would indicate, then the great city would have found it long ago. How it had remained hidden didn't particularly matter to him since, if a new world had been found, and it didn’t yet have a temple, then it would make sense that she could be there before him. Using a small drop of channelled power, he created water in his long dry throat. With the greatest effort he could manage, he was able to get his voice to wheeze out.
“Plea… Please… kill… me…” It was too quiet, to the point that he thought she wouldn’t hear him. To his surprise, she gave a shrug and replied.
“Okay, sure. But only if you can tell me how to wake my friends up.”
He couldn’t believe it. She could see his suffering and was holding relief ransom. He couldn’t help but wonder what her green could represent. There was clearly power there, a wildness that seemed to promote madness, like a host of powers each trapped in a spider's web that could snap at any moment. Putting her demand, and probable cruel nature, aside, she definitely had the power to kill him, probably without even needing the flame. Strung to her back was a black and red scythe, truly, she was the reaper he had longed to see. If he had any spare moisture in his body, he might have cried.
With great effort, he moved himself up towards a pile of books in the back of the room. His muscles had long since atrophied, but his immortality prevented them from disappearing entirely. Buried deep in the pile was a thin black book with emerald bindings; it was the book Countering World Spirits: 10 New Ways to Survive in Temples. It was a small text, only thirteen pages long, that summarised how to counteract the effects of each world spirit. He flipped through to the page on the 4th world. Other pages had more written but the 4th entry was somewhat thin, not even taking up half a page. It simply said, "Entering the 4th temple means to sleep yourself to death. The only way to wake someone up from that state is to circulate world energy through their body in the pattern shown in the following diagram, and move them out of the temple as fast as possible. As only people with world energy are able to survive entering, there aren’t any other known solutions.’
He thought that he was remembering it correctly, though he had confirmed it to be sure. It had been several centuries since he had last read it and the lady didn't look like she would forgive mistakes. She looked at the book with interest, then walked quickly out of the room. He hadn’t even told her yet, but she had already started to help her friends. Why had she bothered to ask him if she already knew the answer? Did she just forget and seeing the book jogged her memory? But the only copies of Countering World Spirits: 10 New Ways to Survive in Temples belonged to the world scholars; when would she have had an opportunity to read it? The green were always so enigmatic.
He joined her in the main hall as she filled the fainted people with energy, and moving them outside when they started to wake up. He could see his mistress was still sleeping on the throne, but could feel her anger at him none the less. With the people moved outside, he walked through the open door. Sure enough, the green-red fire appeared once more above his head.
“Now, please… cut through the… fire… and strike… my head.”
As he finished speaking, her companions gave shocked expressions but she drew her wicked scythe. With an emotionless face, she brought the heavy blade down and finally the bliss of death filled him. His final thoughts, as his spirit left his body, were the sudden realisation that the Countering World Spirits: 10 New Ways to Survive in Temples should have only had 12 pages in it when he had last read it.
|
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"How dare you!? I didn't even cook that soup! I just being a good friend to your mother!" lady Thea shout out rage pointing me. You can't lie to me, everyone saw you cook that soup.
"You didn't even give father soup, before when you cook you gave him, but now you cook that soup but you didn't give him," right now I in the kitchen. I checking the soup that had poison. The one who cook the soup is lady Thea and she denying it. I can see she turning pale.
"Then why there's a poison on my mama's soup?" I ask calming. I'm just a five year old young girl but mentally am 18. Yes, I reincarnated into this body. Last month.
"Honey! Look at your daughter! She assuming m—" before she even finish her sentence father slap her, he said, "If my daughter didn't check the soup, Anna and my unborn child will die!"
"But it wasn't me!" again she denying it, she begin to cry in front of us, "It *sob* wasn't me! *sob*"
"Mom please! Just say father the truth!" my half older brother, Alois.
"I *sob* didn't even put that oisloc poison!" bingo. I can't stop smiling. She's in her last play!
"Then why do you know about what kind poison was on the soup?" I ask again. This time she become paler. I can feel father's aura become heavy you can't even breath properly.
"Thea... I give you everything you want but why you must hurt Anna?" this time father ask her. I can feel father hate about her beginning to deeper and deeper.
"Why? Why? Are you really sure you ask me about that!?" she laugh like she is crazy, "Because I love you! But you love that bitch! this is her third time she got pregnant! How about me!? Just because I am just your mistress! Hahaha... all I want is your attention but you didn't even come to my room! So if I kill her and the unborn child, you'll notice me like before! B... but..."
She grab a knife and point it on me. IS SHE GOING TO KILL ME!?
"Hahaha.. It is all your fault! My plan should be accomplish if you didn't interfere me! Because of this I will end you now!" she said and run toward me but before the knife go through my vein father stop her.
"Thea! How dare you to plan to kill my Daughter!?" he said and slap her again making her fall in the floor.
"Enough!" We heard a sweet innocent cries making father stop slapping her "D—don't slapped her!"
It is my mama. Annalise. She walk near at me and hug me and my older brother, Aaron.
"But she nearly kill you!"
"It's no reason for you to hurt her! As the head of our family you must know what rights and wrongs!" Mom! she nearly kill you and my younger brother in your womb! Father is just worried about you!
"Mommy, father is just worried! Don't be angry to father but to that woman!" Aaron cried while hugging mom.
"Annalise I have a reasons to enough to kill her!" this time father rage and point at lady Thea, "Guards! Take this useless woman to the dungeon!"
As some guards pull lady Thea away while she's begging, "I beg you honey! All I want is your love!"
"I don't have a second wife who's crazy" father walk next to us as me and second brother move away then he carries mama in his arms, he said, "As the head of this household I want Thea Linos will not acknowledge as the second wife anymore and if she come here in the future, kill her! While her son, Alois will be acknowledge as the first son of my first wife, Annalise, but he will lose the power as a heir!"
Ah look like I bled my first brother future too!
"Dear! You can't that for him! He is the first son! First son must be the heir!" mama scolding father, father said, "Yes I know love but he personally ask me to not make him as heir and he want to be free, I am right Alois?"
"Yes father, lady Annalise, I want to be free, not as an heir or noble,"your just seven year old but you think like a grown man, 'Ah first brother be happy that I helping you!' I thought.
I see mama smile, ah no wonder father fell for my mama, just an innocent and beautiful woman! Truly a fairy goddess!
"Annalise you will sleep in my room for now on! Maids! Take Annalise's things in my room!" father orders. He looks at us (me and second brother) and smile bitterly, "As a father I apologize for my bad behavior and what happened today, I wish you two forgive me."
"It's okay father!" he say and little smile, "I know father only doing it for me and my little sister safety!"
"No need to worry papa! I'm not mad at you!" since I bled my future! step one success!
He bid his good byes and walk to his another room with mama in his arms.
"I don't forgive your mother did to my mommy!" I turn around and see Aaron point his finger to Alois, "But I do feel happy because you doesn't want to be an heir so the title is mine!" he look at me, "Let's go little sister!"
'I must proceed with my next plan: To help my first brother and second brother be okay to each other!'
"First brother, if you excuse me and second brother," I bow and smile a little then walk next to my second brother.+
"Little sister— It seems your not like my mother... thank you for everything"
|
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"title": "So I Reincarnated? No Way! - Chapter 1: Success!",
"author": "Cinnamon40",
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"Romance"
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|
Sigil tried to control his expression as he almost rolled his eyes in front of everyone.
The opponent just said dogs and you were offended?
Are you so easy to offend?
Don't you have any standards?
Sigil sighed as he shook his head. He couldn't let this brainless fool fight for the whole group. After all, Sigil instinctively knew that his own teammate would lose the battle.
“If you hadn't stuffed your brain with steroids and spent your free time in humping your boyfriend's anus, you would understand that you aren't the ambassador of your group.”
Sigil smiled lightly. He patted Ronald's shoulder and made him step backwards.
“And you, since when do you have the balls to speak for our team?”
His cold eyes gazed in Ronald's nervous eyes.
“I- I'm … sorry!"
Ronald looked a little embarrassed and stammered. Sigil simply waved his hands and let him retreat.
Meanwhile, the bulky man had a red face as he looked extremely angry.
When was the last time someone spoke to him like that?
Never!
Just before he could think of a comeback, Sigil's vicious words struck his self-esteem once again.
“And what's with your hair? How could you fuck up something so simple? Take a comb and groom them properly.”
Martha and Alicia immediately recalled the times when Sigil took a long time as he carefully combed his hair.
“You… yo–” The guy from the BlackBee looked extremely embarrassed as he wanted to speak, but alas, Sigil had graduated from the course named 'pushing the right buttons’ in his previous life and didn't let him finish his sentence.
“What 'you’? Do you think you are so special if you have a boyfriend that can take up your entire arm in his own anus? Let me tell you, if he took your large stuff, this means that your boyfriend took someone else's large stuff for practice.”
Sigil made the action of putting his hand inside an imaginary hole and pointed towards the bulky guy's large hands.
“Aaahhh, I will kill y–”
“ENOUGH!”
It seems like the muscular guy did not have any luck to finish his sentences.
Another youth emerged out of the crowd, his aura intimidating, his hair well groomed. He was lean and looked healthy.
“I am Brad BlackBee, son of the family's Supreme Elder. It's an honour to meet the genius Sigil of the Grey Family.”
The youth introduced himself.
If it is an honour, then where were you till now?
Sigil thought speechlessly. If you want to look elegant, then at least choose the right words. He looked towards the smug Brad and smiled arrogantly.
“What the hell are you acting elegant for? I know that you are the one that takes that dude’s steroid-driven penis in the night.”
Puchi
“Hahahahahaha!”
“Fierce…. too fierce!”
“Damn… hahahahaha!”
Sigil's words caused every single member of the Grey Family to laugh without control. Even Martha and Alicia laughed hard as Aria looked around clueless.
Brad couldn't maintain his demeanor and looked extremely embarrassed. He gnashed his teeth in anger.
“Don't be too arrogant! You haven't even opened your Seventh Gate of Wonder!”
He shouted.
Arrogant?
Sigil shook his head secretly. He wasn't being arrogant. He was just fulfilling his role of the young master of the family.
After he arrived at this world, he showed an immediate change in behaviour. He stopped going to brothels, the number of girls and maids visiting his rooms turned to zero and he also stopped bullying people.
Instead, he became a kind, affectionate man that every father wants as a son and every girl dreams as a husband.
But Sigil felt bad. He made a mistake!
He changed too quickly!
It would've been alright if he slowly transitioned to such a kind soul, but now, he could only salvage the situation by fulfilling his role of an arrogant young master.
Sigil's cold eyes looked towards the member of the BlackBee Family.
“Enough chit chat! Which type of battle would you fight in? Spell battle or a combat battle?”
What chit chat?
Isn't it only you insulting us?
The members of BlackBee Family felt suffocated.
“A combat battle. The one who surrenders loses.”
Brad gritted his teeth.
If he didn't beat him with his own hands, he will have nightmares about this encounter.
On the other hand, Sigil felt a little disappointed. He truly wanted to take part in a spell battle. Even though it wouldn't be as efficient and smooth as the spell battle Chakra Stage Witches, the spell battle is still more competitive because of more variations.
“I will be the one participating from our side. What about you guys?”
“I will battle you.”
Sigil's proud voice rang as he immediately shot towards an unprepared Brad.
“Hmph!”
Even though Brad saw Sigil playing dirty, he simply snorted. After all, he was an expert with all eight of his energy gates opened.
Even though Brad did not know about Sigil's recent breakthrough, he was still confident in beating the opponent.
The distance between both of them quickly closed in as Brad took his stance to prepare for the battle.
Two fists flew out at the same time, but only one landed.
It was Brad's!
After all, he was stronger and faster than Sigil. When both of them threw their punch, Brad's punch reached Sigil's face and he had to defend his face with the remaining hand.
Thud
A dull thud rang out and Sigil was forced backwards. His left hand protected his facial region and became a little numb from the impact.
Huff
'Strong!’
Sigil assessed his opponent once again. This simple exchange was enough for him to gain some insights into the opponent.
First, Brad did not continue his attack. This meant that he was confident in beating Sigil.
Second, Brad never let down his guard even, making him prepared for Sigil's every move.
Even though Brad was bad with words, he wasn't stupid.
'Man, fighting that bulky douchebag would've been easier.’
Sigil took his combat stance. This body was proficient in boxing Techniques. Even Sigil took a whole week to make himself familiar with these Techniques.
Meanwhile, Sigil's teammate themselves felt that their leader was being too arrogant.
It had to be known that there were many fighters in their group that had already opened all the eight gates. Even Martha felt that Sigil still had a long way to go, after all, he simply decided to fight a stronger opponent without any thoughts.
Out of the group, only Aria felt a little worried for Sigil, while his Fiancée– Alicia also looked a little neutral. Even though she knew that he was trying to change himself, he still needed some more time. She felt that this defeat will be a true wake up call for Sigil and he will truly turn over to a new leaf.
On the other hand, the members of BlackBee Family were feeling happy. Their members were insulted viciously by Sigil and they felt a little comfortable when Sigil was pushed back with a numb hand.
Meanwhile, Sigil adjusted his posture. His left hand needed some time before it could be used. So Sigil immediately changed his posture with his right fist in the attacking position and his left hand maintained the balance of the body.
He ran towards Brad once again and punched towards the lower left of his abdomen, which was once again blocked by Brad. The defence was followed by a vicious counterattack, hitting Sigil's chest.
Thud
Puu
Sigil's whole body felt a tingling sensation followed by a lot of pain. The upper-right part of his ribs was almost cracked in the previous attack.
A stream of blood flowed from the side of his mouth and he breathed heavily.
“Seeing that you are the adopted kid of the Grey Family's Head, I will leave you some face and let you surrender without breaking any of your bones.”
Brad chuckled and cracked his knuckles viciously.
Sigil, on the other hand, did not pay any attention to Brad. He finally found a weakness of his opponent.
His combat foundations were weak. His attacks and defence were simple, without any tricks.
Before any attack, there is a reaction in eyes and the lower body of the opponent.
Sigil recalled his Combat Master's words.
Before someone attacks, he aims towards the target and prepares his body to launch the strike.
Sigil wiped the blood off his mouth and stood straight. He lowered his defenses and started running towards Brad. Meanwhile, his eyes were scanning the opponent's eyes and lower body in shifts.
Brad smirked at the incoming enemy.
'Now!’
When there was only an arm's length apart, Sigil saw slight movements in Brad's legs and immediately shifted his body to the right and punched straight.
Whoosh
Thud
His punch landed in Brad's right arm, without waiting for his opponent, Sigil relied on the experience of his past life and took Brad's hand and threw him on the ground.
The spectators were stunned!
Brad was stunned!
Before anyone could form different thoughts, Sigil's voice rang out.
“You lose.”
A barrage of punches followed his voice, striking the fallen opponent on the face.
One...
Two…
Three…
Sigil kept on punching as Brad's nose broke and blood flowed like a river. His eyes were swollen and his cheeks were red. His mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth.
Meanwhile, Sigil's condition was also bad. His left arm had already turned blue, his chest was in pain and his right fist had become bloodied.
Sigil stopped after punching for a minute, leaving an unconscious Brad on the cold hard ground.
“What the hell was that?”
“Vicious!”
“Too fierce!”
“Save young master Brad!”
“Quickly bring out the medications!”
The two groups had different reactions.
Sigil's teammates also brought some medications and started to treat his injuries.
“I did not think that you could defeat him. Good work.” Alicia spoke truthfully and also praised Sigil. After all, he beat a stronger opponent. Even though it wasn't a straightforward method, it still counted.
“Hehehe, thanks!”
Sigil grinned and inwardly raised his points for Alicia. Not many girls were straightforward like Alicia. Meanwhile, Martha simply shook her head.
What else could she say other than the words of congratulations?
“Awesome work, Master.”
She said as she wrapped Sigil's fist with bandages.
“Ho? You didn't think that I will lose?”
Sigil smirked. Even though he felt uncomfortable by the gentle side of Martha, he did not show it on his face. After all, he wasn't used to such affectionate acts.
“No, no. I thought you would lose and terribly at that.”
Her voice was still soft, but her words caused Sigil to chuckle.
Would it kill anyone to just lie and make him feel better?
First Alicia and now Martha.
After all of his wounds were taken care of, he stood up alongside Martha. Aria had already calmed down and was collecting the Green Jack Pines alongside Alicia and others.
Brad was still unconscious and all of the BlackBee Family remained on the sidelines. They had lost the battle and couldn't continue to press forward. If they did violate the rules set by their Family Head, they will be punished severely.
After collecting the loot, the group comprising of Grey Family's younger generation walked away to explore other regions.
“Hey, what do you think about the inner regions?”
One of the members asked his partner.
“Well, the outer regions is filled with forest and mountainous terrain. I think that the inner regions will be filled with swamps and rainforest.” His partner guessed.
Even though they were prohibited from entering the inner regions, they still guessed the ecosystem held in the inner area. After all, the resources found inside the inner regions will surely be more rare and precious.
Aria also heard the conversation as she asked Sigil.
“Big brother Sigil, what do you think about the inner area?”
“Hmm?”
Sigil was lost in his thoughts and was surprised by the sudden question.
“Well… hmm… I think that the inner region is a Desert.”
Of course, he knew the correct answer.
“Ohh, then should we enter the inner regions?”
“Nope, Elder Linda will kill me.”
Sigil smiled and shook his head.
“Besides, finding the entrance of the inner region is already hard. Without appropriate Familiars, it will take us days before we actually find a valuable clue.”
Sigil explained to Aria.
His condition was getting a little better. His healing factor alongside precious medicine quickened the healing process of his body.
“Shh!”
Alicia suddenly put a finger on her lips and motioned everyone to quieten down. Her actions were quickly complied and the group could finally hear some noise.
It was the sound of leaves rustling.
The sound kept on getting closer as someone finally noticed a movement in the nearby grassy area.
“Vines!”
The person shouted and immediately slice towards the vine with his machete. His voice alerted everyone and they took out their blades too.
“Prepare for fire spell and also a water spell.”
Sigil's words were quickly heeded and two members of the team- Blake and Martha prepared the materials for a fire spell and water spell.
Meanwhile, Sigil gripped his Machete with his left hand and sliced towards the incoming vines.
Strangely, they were slowly getting surrounded by the vines.
“Hmm? They don't look natural.”
Sigil noticed something strange after cutting the vine. There was no liquid coming out of the sliced region. It actually looked like a plastic vine.
His expression turned dark and his thoughts unreadable. It was a Spell Ambush!
He didn’t alert his group and let them prepare for the spell. Meanwhile, he started thinking of the possible solutions.
If he had to guess, then he would suspect the previous group of BlackBee Family. But he still felt that something was missing.
Since this was a trap, he thought of something. He immediately shot towards Aria.
“Aria, give me your phone. My mobile phone was destroyed.”
She complied to the request and took out her phone.
Sigil opened the video recorder of the mobile and screamed at the top of his lungs.
“We are from Grey Family. You are breaking the rule by the ambush. If anyone of us gets hurt, you will pay a harsh price.”
His scream stunned everyone. The quick-witted members suddenly understood the scenario and their expressions turned gloomy too.
After his scream, the vines started to move even more quickly and viciously.
Seeing this, Sigil smiled secretly. This meant that the opponent could hear his voice, which implied that the enemies are nearby.
“Don't lose focus and defend the spellcasters. I will return in a few minutes.”
He handed the mobile to Aria and asked her to stay near the spellcasters and record the whole thing. Meanwhile, he let out a loud whistle and ran inside the deeper regions of the forest.
He did not know the location of the enemy and he couldn't risk calling out for Inverse Witch. He kept on whistling until a dark shadow pounced on him.
'Found you!’
Sigil stopped and retreated as the Green-eyed black panther growled at Sigil.
He could only make use of this reluctant familiar.
He took out a patch of a vine from his pocket and threw it towards the panther.
Grawooh
The panther rolled its eyes.
I am a panther, not a dog!
Sigil frowned at this.
“Look, you understand what I am trying to say, right? If you do, then growl once and I will give you your treat!”
Sigil spoke with uncertainty. He still did not know about the intellectual level of the familiar in front of him.
Grawooh
Unexpectedly, the Panther growled once again and looked towards Sigil with expectations in its eyes.
“Ok, help me find another group of people near this place.”
The panther looked a little hesitant before jumping on a branch and running towards the western region.
Sigil followed the panther and paid close attention to the surroundings. He still needed to be careful of the monsters in the forest.
After two minutes, the panther stopped before an open patch of land. The panther had already melded with the shadow of the trees and Sigil took a sneak peek.
On the open patch of land, he could see a group of girls in yellow tights huddling together. The sound of muffled chantings kept on coming out from the group and he could see almost twenty members guarding the girls that were chanting the spell. In the centre laid a pitch black seed and countless vines kept on emerging from the big seed and crawled towards the direction of Sigil's group.
Since Sigil was on a branch, he easily escaped the Vine's attacks.
Yellow Spider Family!
The Yellow Spider Family was a Matriarchal Family. This could be seen by the treatment of the male members of the family that could only stand as a guardian. Their conditions also looked a little worse. Their eyes were sunken and their faces were pale.
Sigil took out a canned food from his small pouch and opened it for panther before throwing it far away.
The Panther silently chased his food…. like a dog.
With all the distractions taken care of, Sigil prepared his gun.
He will only get one shot!
After that one shot, he had to run away. Since the family dared to strike with fatal mean, this meant that they didn't want any survivors.
Before Sigil attacked, he noticed another thing. There was a diversion of vines as a part of these vines were going towards the other direction.
Seeing this, Sigil felt a little heavy. Since the Yellow Spider Family had the confidence to move against two groups, this meant that they were given such instructions by their family head. At least, this was the only conclusion he could arrive after considering the clues in front of him.
It was a conspiracy!
Sigil was almost sure that all the members of Yellow Spider Family were attacking other families, if not their family.
He aimed his gun at the girl that was in the centre-most position and fired.
Bam
He did not wait to see the result and shot towards his group. As he neared his group, he saw the surroundings covered in fire and Martha reciting the Water spell, to placate the fire.
In her hands was a hex bag as she kept chanting the spell.
Fwoosh
The small hex bag opened and a huge amount of water emerged from the bag like a waterfall. It only flowed towards one direction, creating an escape path for their group.
|
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"id": "9766",
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Conspiracy",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
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"Action",
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
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"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
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"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
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"Unique Cultivation Technique",
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"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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|
Hey guys! This Q/A is released a little earlier due to my exams. I had actually planned a lot of stuff to write prepared a lot of written material in my notebook, but I forgot about my mid-terms (hahahaha)
So, to continue the momentum, I would like my readers to voice out their doubts. It may be about the novel or the author.
The answers that contain spoilers will not be revealed.
Some basic questions.
1) What is my inspiration?
Well, I have read many novels and have written four novels. Out of these, one novel is a fanfic that is suspended for now, one novel has been discontinued and one of them is only started as an experiment. This novel, on the other hand, is inspired by reverend insanity and Monster pet evolution. So you guys may see some familiar concepts.
2) How do I intend to motivate character growth?
Through tragedies. The mc may lose his pets, loved ones or many stuff like that.
3) Love interests?
Love interests are many.
4) Character nature?
I intend to create Sigil as a normal human being that is rational, selfish and motivated. Not the type of person who only knows how to kill nor the type of person who only knows how to be good hearted and a hero of justice.
Sigil will be a complicated man like all of us. He has his own emotions and emotional conflicts.
The rest of questions are up to you guys.
PS: other novels can be found in webnovel under the same pen name
|
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"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
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"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
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"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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|
Step
Step
Slowly, Sigil could hear the sound of varied footsteps. He smiled silently. Even if all of them did not arrive, he still succeeded in his provocation.
The figures of his competitor finally emerged as Sigil could see Mada, the leader of the Fiery Lion and many other witches. His attention was attracted to one of the ordinary witches in a grey robe that exuded a suffocating pressure.
Seeing him, Sigil's expression turned stern, but slowly, it returned normal once again.
Behind them, he could see their underlings. They all looked nervous while some of the exceptional ones showed excited expressions.
Seeing them, Sigil finally stood up. His entire being exuded a sense of carelessness and laziness. Seeing his smug expression, Mada immediately raged.
"Hmph! Sigil, you truly have the balls to challenge us all at the same time?" His voice was loud as he tried to gain some momentum for his group.
Before waiting for Sigil's reply, Nox also spoke in a cold tone.
"Just a mortal witch and such arrogance? You really don't understand the true strength!" The moment he spoke, a suffocating aura emerged from his body, pressuring everyone in the surroundings.
A Chakra Level Witch!
Behind Nox stood Yasmine and Brady, the leaders of the groups from Yellow Spider and BlackBee Family while Peter stood behind Mada.
Aside from both of them, one of the unknown faces had also arrived that exuded the same pressure! Two Witches that had opened their chakra points.
'No.' Sigil looked towards one of the witches that stood behind Peter and Mada. He was wearing a navy blue t-shirt and camel colored pant. He had a calm demeanor as he felt Sigil's probing gaze.
Under Sigil's gaze, the unknown witch let out a wisp of energy that could counter Nox's and the lone Witch's aura. Another Chakra Stage Expert.
Mada also smiled as he felt a little better in his heart.
Before others could continue, Sigil waved his hand and spoke loudly.
"We all want maximum benefits. In almost six minutes, the protection of the ancestral pool will be lifted and other family heads and leaders of the dark Guilds will also be able to enter the area. I am certain that they would want the eggs for themselves and give us some measly contribution points or other rewards."
He spoke after a brief pause as he looked at the two lone Witch's expression. Apparently, they weren't informed and their expressions had already turned ugly.
"Why don't we decide the distribution right now?" Sigil wanted to curse at Yasmine for her betrayal, but they had a short timespan and they needed to do a lot of things.
"How do we decide the distribution?" Nox asked as he frowned. He was feeling something amiss. His only assurance was a small part of their group acting as back up for them.
"It's simple. We have six minutes, enough for me to break all of you." Sigil spoke as his silver hair turned pitch black. His body expanded and his muscles ripped a part of his clothes. His nails grew longer and thicker while the tip of his fangs alongside his vertical blue pupils caused most of them to feel terrified.
As if his transformation had achieved a domino effect, other constellation users tried to use their constellation while the expression of the three chakra Witches turned serious.
"Too late!"
His arrogant words entered their ears only after he appeared in front of Mada and slashed at his chest. Previously, he was only using his punches, even though his attacks hurt a lot, it wasn't fatal. The only person that was almost killed was the beautiful traitor– Yasmine.
Now, he did not want to pull back on his attacks.
His tough claws dug on his chest, leaving a deep gash. Blood flowed nonstop from the four slash marks, but Sigil did not stop here. He appeared behind Mada, and punched at the end point of his spine.
The whole scene ended in few moments as other attacking type constellation users transformed. By then, they had already lost one of the strongest player– Mada. His eyes had already rolled up from pain and he fell on the ground, unable to move.
Aaahhhhhhh
Yasmine immediately shrieked and stopped in her tracks. A terrifying figure had already appeared in front of her.
"Yo!" A big hand pierced her chest and her eyes widened in fear and disbelief. Her whole body couldn't help but shiver when she looked at the vicious grin that revealed four fangs instead of canines. A bloody hand emerged from her chest as she fell down, her eyes still filled with disbelief.
"Damn Youuuu!" Peter shouted in rage, he immediately shot towards Sigil. Alas, another figure had already taken the time to emerge from the house during the chaos. It was Alicia. With a silver dagger in hand, she immediately parried Peter's sword.
Unknown to Peter, Ivan had already snuck behind his back and planned to stab his old friend in his back.
Ivan's gaze flashed in sadness, but this hesitation was momentary and he immediately plunged his dagger, only to be stopped by a green vine as it started twirling around Ivan's dagger.
Decisively, Ivan threw the dagger and took out his sword. In front of him stood a black-haired youth with a lean figure. He was Brady, the leader of Blackbee's group.
"Hehe, Sigil may be too much, but I can deal with you!"
Brady flashed a smile as Ivan snorted. The opponents had already been decided.
Alicia battled with Peter as Ivan took care of Brady. Meanwhile, Cathy and others were occupied by the members of other groups.
The battle raged on as Nox started to frown. According to his calculation, the enemy count wasn't correct. He was an extraordinary schemer and he immediately understood Ivan's and Sigil's plan. But he simply snorted.
To actually divide a part of the group to deal with their back up not only reduced their group's battle power, but it also made sure that the enemy had more numbers, leading to a battle advantage.
Nox, Mican and Buster stood 50 metres away from the Eggs as their path was blocked by Sigil. These three were the only witches that had ascended to chakra level, but they still felt their heart shiver slightly when they looked at Sigil.
His short black hair along with icy-blue vertical pupils and a bloodied hand was still quite fierce for these three youths' emotions.
They still couldn't understand Sigil's extraordinary power as it was beyond their comprehension.
"You guys going to stand there all day?" He didn't wait for their response. It wasn't that he was short in time, he just didn't want to give them appropriate time to stabilise their minds.
He targeted Nox. He was the only one that had an extraordinary mind between these three. Leaving him for the last may very well be fatal. After all, confidence in one's own abilities did not mean that one should leave the enemy to think of strategies to defeat themselves.
"Hmph! Arrogant!" Even though the usage of magical items and spells was banned. There is always a loophole. A grey mist emerged from Nox's abdomen and quickly turned into a demonic being as its claws shot towards Sigil. The grey spirit was attached to Nox's abdomen.
Just like the formation of the constellation is one of the miracles of Energy Gates, Chakra Points also had some effects on the formed constellations.
After every opening of a Chakra Point, the constellation would be strengthened and also gain another skill. Even though these skills only provide a minor boost, at their levels, it was still a major boost in their current battle power.
The other two also summoned their constellation. Mican, the grey-robed guy stomped his feet as his limbs gave out a metallic sheen. A light glow could be seen emerging on Mican's hand as he directly slashed at Sigil.
Meanwhile, Buster, the witch that had cooperated with Mada let out a huge roar near Sigil's face. His roar created visible shockwaves as this move not only affected the enemy, but also the allies.
Bang
Psst
Sigil's punch landed on Nox as the shadow pierced Sigil's right shoulder. Mican's hand also slashed at his left elbow joint, turning his left hand temporarily useless.
Meanwhile, Buster's roar affected the three of them equally.
"You idiot!!!" Mican couldn't help but roar as a line of blood could be seen seeping out of his ears. Nox wasn't in any better condition. Sigil's attack also increased his injuries.
He simply bit his lips and resisted his urge to vomit. Out of the three of them, only Sigil had a strengthened body and could endure Buster's attack.
"Hehehe, wouldn't it better if I take all of them?" Buster laughed sinisterly and opened his mouth once again.
Graaawwwwgghhhhhhhhhh
Another roar emerged from his mouth that caused both Mican and Nox to stagger back. Their bleeding had intensified as the whites of their eyes also showed some red lines.
"Hahahaha, you all are just worthless trashes!" Buster laughed loudly. It was at this moment he felt something amiss.
Thud
His throat was suddenly punched, crushing his Adam's apple and turning his throat into a mesh of blood and flesh in a single moment.
Sigil had crouched down the moment Buster laughed aloud. The next moment, his fate was set in stone.
"See, that's the difference between you and me! You are arrogant and stupid." He spoke as he kicked his abdomen, sending him away.
"Very well, we will retreat. This time, you have won." Nox's eyes were dark and he spat coldly. He still couldn't believe that he lost because of a dumb teammate. It was right when they said 'It's better to engage a wise enemy instead of having a foolish teammate'.
Mican chose to remain quiet, but his behaviour showed that he had accepted his defeat.
"Hmm? No matter victory or defeat, I want all of you to be crippled for the time being." Sigil spoke lightly and shot towards Nox.
***
Sigil's whole battle lasted for three minutes. He looked at Nox, who had his limbs twisted in different directions and Mican who laid down on the ground unconscious. He then looked at his surroundings for a brief moment.
Alicia and Ivan were still occupied with their opponent while many of the witches had retreated in fear when they heard the loud roars of Buster and Nox's cries of pain.
Right in front of him were the twelve eggs.
Out of the twelve eggs, there were two huge ones, four medium-sized eggs and the remaining six were comparable to a palm in size.
Sigil's agreement was to give 40 percent of the treasure to Ivan. He quickly calculated and looked at the eggs. It was almost impossible to take away the giant eggs as they can be cracked open anytime.
According to the deal, Ivan should be given 4.8 eggs which should be rounded off to five eggs. He quickly shot towards the huge egg and decided to break open one of them. After all, having huge Familiars didn't mean that they would be equally strong.
He chose to open the light grey egg and punched at the shell of the egg. The whole battlefield was raging and even when many saw Sigil's movements, they couldn't extract themselves from their battles. While the egg was cracking, Sigil decided to pocket the five small eggs and held one of the medium eggs in his hands.
Since the eggs were made of a spell, the emerging Familiar did not have any urge to eat the eggshell. Before Sigil could actually see the creature, he decided to simply jump in front of its face and let out a long howl.
Since he was still in his transformed state, the planned effects were achieved and the Familiar looked towards Sigil through the cracks of the eggs.
Traaaannnnnnnnnnn
Before Sigil could register what had happened, a car-sized, light grey elephant ran out of the crack and rushed towards Sigil.
"..."
The emergence of Elephant attracted everyone's attention this time.
"Go." Sigil immediately rushed out and shot towards Peter, his leg instantly reached the dazed Peter's chest and threw him away.
"I'll cover for you. You only have a minute." Sigil's voice was heard by Ivan as he kicked Brady in a similar fashion. He placed the medium-sized egg in Alicia's hand and instructed her to get as far as possible. Meanwhile, the five small eggs remained inside the various pockets of his clothes.
He could feel that the eggs had started to crack inside his clothes, but there was still some chance to distribute them as they haven't fully emerged from the egg.
Meanwhile, Ivan rushed towards the remaining Eggs.
On the other hand, Sigil called for his team members.
|
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"Arrogant Characters",
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"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
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"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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|
The main camp of the Family was divided into smaller sections like the resting area, dining area, medical care and other stuff. Since this camp was erected for a total of eight people, regular employees had to drive back and forth.
The driver led Sigil to the resting area of the camp. This part was also separated by thin walls made out of plywood. He was led to John's room before the driver excused himself and left hastily.
Knock
The knocking sound came out a little weird as the door was really thin.
"Come it."
A deep and magnetic voice permitted Sigil to enter the room.
"Father, you wanted to see me?"
"Sit." John pointed at the chair and remained seated on his bed with his legs crossed. After Sigil waited for five minutes, John finally opened his eyes and smiled at Sigil. His eyes were full of appreciation and encouragement.
"You have made your family proud this time. I would have heavily awarded you, but given your profits, material rewards aren't appropriate anymore. Here, after reading and understanding all of this, you shall destroy it." John spoke lightly as he passed on a black flash drive to Sigil.
Sigil accepted the rewards without any questions. After all, he would know the details of the content after he reads it.
After handing out the flash drive, John looked at Sigil with mixed emotions in his eyes.
"There is one more thing. Someone wants to see you."
"Me?" Sigil pointed at himself and asked with a frown.
John plainly nodded and waved his hand.
A silver light flashed from his body as a small, Silver-Furred Wolf appeared in front of him. Its size was comparable to a cub, but in reality, its body was completely mature. It was a miniature wolf that looked like a stuffed animal bought from toy stores.
But seeing the wolf, Sigil's whole body shuddered.
The Grey Family had a nickname. It was the Silver Fang Family. They were named like this due to their accomplishment of clearing out werewolves and also this particular Familiar.
The Ancestor's Familiar!
Silver Fang Wolf.
This particular Familiar had been passed on by the ancestors to their heirs. This Familiar was also one of the reasons for the family's current power.
After all, this wolf had completed its growth cycle and is comparable to a Grimoire Master in battle power.
Sigil immediately stood up and bowed in front of the wolf.
This was the respect that should be shown to the protector of the family.
The warmth in John's eyes grew brighter as he saw Sigil being so respectful.
"I think that you already know that you were brought to the family by the Ancestor's Familiar, right?"
John asked.
"I have heard some whispers in the family." Sigil did not deny. This was one of the reasons that the previous owner decided to go down the path of silk pants young master.
"From the moment you were brought here, the Silver Fang Wolf had requested me to take good care of you, no matter what. He used to keep an eye on you. But after seeing the change in your behaviour, he stopped following you, but the request was still maintained."
John smiled lightly as he scratched the wolf's ear as he laid down on John's lap, his eyes squinting and looking at Sigil.
Sigil was still standing. His mind was processing all the information as he started to glean some clues about his true origin. The Evolving Constellation, the affection of an old Familiar, all of these pointed at a certain profession of this world.
Sigil remained silent as he waited for John to continue.
"But things changed two days ago. Silver wanted to personally meet you for some reason. He did not want to tell me his objective and I could only arrange a meeting between you two." John spoke as he smiled wryly.
This was the first time that Silver had decided to keep something from him.
Sigil nodded and finally sat as he sunk deep into his thoughts.
Aaoo
Silver howled lightly and jumped from John's lap, landing near Sigil's feet as it started to walk around Sigil in circles as if examining something. After a few minutes, the wolf nodded to himself and turned into a silver light as he entered John's body.
"Silver is saying that you should accumulate before cultivating any further." John spoke lightly and looked at Sigil with a smile.
"Haha, I did not know that you will be able to gain Silver's approval. With you around, I will be able to cultivate peacefully and let you handle all the family matters."
The tension in the air finally decreased and John chuckled.
"Yes, Father." Sigil only nodded.
"Oh, one more thing. Did that anonymous sender contacted you again?" John asked suddenly.
Sigil shook his head as Ricardo's face flashed past his eyes.
"No, it seems like he is trying to keep a low profile. I contacted someone to try and trace the location, but it eventually failed." Sigil replied.
"Hmm, alright. The results will be announced in one hour. Even though it's only a formality, you should get dressed well. Also, because of your highest contribution, you will be given a chance to select the first Familiar in the family." John spoke
Thud
Thud
It was at this time the whole camp started to shake–
Traaaannnnnnnn
It was followed by a loud trumpet.
Sigil immediately stood up as he felt something wrong.
Before he could open the door, the whole resting area was destroyed alongside the door. A long trunk emerged from the mess and lightly touched Sigil's head before the shaking stopped.
Sigil's mouth twitched as he saw a brown feline cub rushed towards Sigil with its short legs and started rubbing its head on his legs.
He almost blacked out as he saw a dragonfly rushing towards his face while a long trunk lashed out once again.
"Enough!" He could only shout. His voice caused both the elephant and the dragonfly to stop in their tracks.
He picked up the cub and walked out after bowing towards John, whose face was extremely wonderful at the moment.
'Who is going to repair all of the mess?'
***
Sigil left the family's camp with a car-sized Elephant, A buzzing dragonfly and a cute little cub.
After distancing himself from others, he finally had the time to look and analyse his familiars.
Since they were staying on the flat ground, he had enough space to start some light training to discipline them. After all, he had one hour. Previously, he needed to change his get up, but now, the camp was ruined alongside his clothes.
"Stand still." He pointed at the Elephant.
The moment he pointed at the elephant, the Familiars understood his actions. The cub jumped out of his arms and ran towards the elephant's leg while the dragonfly perched itself on the elephant's head.
Sigil's mouth twitched once again and he simply gave up for the time being.
These were all Adolescent level Familiars with battle power comparable to a Chakra Stage Expert. Their 'wills' were also outstanding and needed to be brainwashed before they could be tamed, this meant that their future prospects were amazing.
Even though they did not fully comprehend his commands, Sigil knew that it was only a matter of a few days before they become reliable Familiars that could help him in future battles.
***
Chestcovia City, City Park
This was the place where the totem pillar was erected during the formation of Ancestral Pool.
Right now, a stage was prepared alongside some light decorations by an ingenious use of translucent curtains.
In front of the stage, many people could be seen walking around comfortably and chatting with each other. Most of them wore glazed tuxedos and other formal dresses, except for a certain group.
They were still wearing their sports attire that had many holes and marks of blood. Their faces looked fresh, as if they had washed it before attending the party.
Many tables were set up to serve delicious snacks to the participants of this gathering.
"Your group was ambushed, too?" Ivan asked in surprise as he talked with Sigil. He was made aware of the enemy attack after the barrier was broken.
Sigil nodded and looked at Ivan in dismay. He was well dressed as he wore a black shirt alongside a black blazer. He then looked at himself. His shoes filled with dirt and his pant in tatters. Meanwhile, he could feel the angry gazes of his teammates from behind him.
All of them looked like they had just come out of a street fight. Even the graceful Alicia pinched Sigil's waist a couple of time before she could tolerate Sigil's goofy grin.
As they chatted, Alicia was talking with Bethany, meanwhile, the members of their group seemed to have befriended each other. George, Annie, Oliver, Cathy and others chatted with each other happily.
Jacob looked around him and cursed lightly. He was left alone. Again.
"So, our lie would be caught very quickly when the reports of this battle are given to the superiors. We have three days max." Cathy smiled and laughed brightly.
To others, it seemed that she had heard a humorous joke.
"Don't worry, with the team leader on our side, the city will be taken down in a day." Annie smile gracefully. Even though her getup was very dirty, she still managed to keep up her noble appearance.
"Uhm, can I have your attention?" A gentle voice spoke through the microphone as a bespectacled man walked up the stage. He was wearing a light blue blazer alongside a dark-blue shirt and a matching pair of pants.
His long, untied black hair fell on his shoulders and gave him a scholarly appearance.
"I, Alan, feel extremely honoured to be announcing the names of the champions and heroes that emerged from this year's battle of Ancestral Pool."
As he saw everyone turning silent and listening to him, he continued.
"I would like to announce that Nox of the Giant Sparrow Division of the Carefree Alliance, Buster from the Brewed City and Mican from Busan City were fortunate enough to take another step in their cultivation and ascended to the level of chakra points. They have become the pride of the younger generation and have earned their right to be taken seriously in the Witch's World." Alan smiled widely as his announcement was followed by a round of applause.
Meanwhile, the three mentioned 'heroes' had an extremely ugly expression. They felt that these praises were a sharp knife that kept on slashing at their hearts and pride. Nox gave a venomous look to Sigil before calming his emotions.
"Next, I would like to call Amanda on the stage. She was fortunate enough to tame a Wide Eye Crocodile. A water type Familiar that also boasts a good physical strength. I feel very happy to present the data about the Familiar to Amanda."
A beautiful maiden walked out of the group of Yellow Spider Family. Yasmine gritted her teeth and looked at Amanda with unconcealed rage and jealousy.
Ivan was the same. This crocodile was supposed to be his, but in the face of opposing witches, he had to abandon the huge egg containing the Crocodile and leave with two medium eggs.
After honouring Amanda, Alan spoke another name.
"Next is Jacob Grey of the Grey Family. He was fortunate enough to tame a Hurricane Sparrow. Please come up on the stage and collect the detailed information on your familiar."
Alan's voice was still gentle and polite. It looked like he wasn't a family head, but a humble host.
Jacob's face flushed red as he hurried along in excitement. Sigil and others also applauded as hard as they could.
"Next, I would like to announce that Gary RedHawk of the RedHawk family has tamed a Shadow Stick Snake......"
Just like this, Alan kept on calling the participants who had tamed an Adolescent Level Familiar.
Agatha of the BlackBee Family had tamed a Raging Boar, a strength path Familiar.
Ivan had actually tamed two Familiars. They were Gliding Eagle of the wind path and Furious Deer of the illusion path.
Alicia was also called us the name of her Familiars were announced. A poison path Swift Butterfly, a fire path Red Skinned Piglet and a shadow path Black Step Rat.
"Lastly, I would like to announce the top performer of this year's event, Sigil Grey. He has tamed an earth path Rocky Elephant, a Vision path Demon Eyed Dragonfly and lastly a Strength path Fiery Lion."
The last Familiar caused a wave of discussion among the younger generation as Mada's face turned green. After all, Fiery Lion was the strongest Familiar of their division.
As Sigil walked up the stage under the heavy applause, Alan smiled and handed him the flash drive.
Sigil quickly accepted it and finally got down.
"Now, there is one thing that you all should know. The information regarding the habitat of Familiars and the ways to nurture them are extremely precious. In some cases, they are treasured more than some spells. But right now, the Carefree Alliance has decided to give this information because of the fact that a competition will be hosted."
"This isn't a regular competition like this one. It will be a life and death battle between the younger generation of carefree alliance and the younger generation of the Witch's Organisation."
"The date is still not decided, but it won't take long. So please be prepared."
"With this, we have concluded our event. Please feel free to enjoy the snacks and chat with your companions."
Alan spoke and got down the stage, walking towards the area occupied by family heads.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Connections",
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"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
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"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
The start of every relationship or partnership should be established by cleaning the slate and making a fresh foundation.
There was already a lot of bad blood between Ricardo and Sigil.
Now, the first step for Sigil to make use of this variable is to make himself look a little favourable in front of Ricardo's eyes. If his guess was correct and Ricardo was truly someone like him that had experienced a different life or returned from future then he needed to understand more about the true personality that he developed over the course of his alternative life.
Ricardo's face held a strange expression as his mind flashed countless thoughts. But in the next moment, his expression froze.
Sigil bowed in front of all the younger generation practicing in training ground.
"I am here to apologize for my past behaviour."
Sigil's calm voice echoed in the silent training ground as all the people looked towards the young man with a shocked expression.
Was this really Sigil?!
Everyone felt strange and some of Sigil's victims even felt a strange sense of unease in their hearts.
Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes were shining as he was waiting for Ricardo's response.
This was one of the most crucial moments in determining the true nature of this enigma.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes as he felt the sincerity in Sigil's voice.
"You think it is this easy? You made my life a living hell. Go away!!" Ricardo spoke out without a change in his expression.
His words stunned the whole training ground.
What is courage?
This is!
Who has the strongest strap on?
Ricardo does!
These thoughts flashed by all the young ones in training ground, male and female alike.
Sigil, instead, smiled secretly.
'Determined, Honest and….. Righteous.'
This is Ricardo's first impression on Sigil. Of course, he would not dare to play his cards according to the first impression only. What if he was acting? What if he was planning against Sigil himself?
Sigil's gaze revealed a thoughtful expression as he saw Ricardo going away.
His back straightened once more as he walked away to meet up with Ivan. His goal in meeting Ricardo had been accomplished.
Even though he couldn't clean the slate, he inferred one thing from Ricardo's sentence.
The bad blood can be dissolved, but it wouldn't be easy!
He took a deep breath as he made his way towards the exit of the estate. Meanwhile, the news of the most arrogant young master of the family apologising to a small time member immediately became the top news.
***
"No physical confrontation took place, right?"
"Yes, Lord."
"No signs of spell either?"
"No, Lord."
John's gaze shined as he felt a weight from his shoulders being lifted up…. no…. the weight on his shoulders had been flung away.
Sigil is finally getting on the right track!
He looked at his subordinate and thought for a little while.
"Follow him, just in case. We still don't know the reason for such sudden changes. He is the inheritor selected by totem itself. No kind of harm and manipulation should touch the Kid."
John spoke out after contemplating for a little while. This world is filled with strange spells and a little caution doesn't harm anyone.
The subordinate nodded and left through the door of the office.
***
It was early in the morning and besides the occasional school buses, Sigil did not even find any store in business during these hours. He was jogging towards his destination.
He had just broken through and opened the seventh gate of wonder. His body needed a little time to adjust once more. This is the reason he decided to travel by foot instead of riding a bike.
After 15 minutes of jogging, he finally reached his destination.
It was a gym named Eagle Pump.
While a retail store wouldn't be in business during these hours, it was a rush hour for many gyms in the area. Eagle Pump wasn't an exception as many vehicles could be seen outside the gym.
He took a deep breath and entered the gym.
The interior of the gym was standard. Large space for pieces of equipment, various plates of weight, a square ring for combat practice. The whole place reeked of sweat.
'What else should I expect?' Sigil became speechless from his own thoughts.
Why would he complain about the smell of sweat in a gym?
He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he saw a 90's gangster haircut.
It was Ivan!
He was currently hitting on a hot member of the gym. She was wearing a sports bra with dark yoga pants. Her flat stomach was on a full display, attracting the attention it deserved.
Meanwhile, Ivan looked cool and composed. Evidently, he did not work out at all or the work out of the gym was ineffective. His smile still infectious, charming the lovely lady.
"Yo! You wanted to meet me, darling!" Sigil smiled as he patted Ivan's butt, causing the lovely lady to feel surprised. Her expression turned into one of an understanding as she bid her farewell to Ivan.
"Hey! That was a cheap shot."
He really had a chance with the gorgeous lady.
"Well, I take them whenever I can."
Sigil smiled in response.
He wouldn't let any RedHawk to turn on their womaniser charm in front of him. Even if they did, they still fell a little short to Sigil's wolfish charm.
They both walked towards the door of the personal office of the owner and entered it.
"So? What happened?"
Sigil asked after sitting on his chair.
Meanwhile, Ivan took out an already smoked cigar and took a deep puff before sighing.
"Well, I couldn't tell this on the phone, but… sigh, I am outsourcing a service."
"For?"
Sigil's eyes narrowed.
"My brother."
Ivan replied. His expression immediately turned into a disappointed one after thinking about his brother.
'Where did we go wrong in raising him?'
Ivan thought silently.
"Look, I know that he did wrong, but he has already paid for his wrongdoings. Why get him killed?"
Sigil understood the meaning of 'outsourcing a service' all too well.
"You don't understand. We can go to brothels and pick up any girls from bars or other places as long as they are willing. Not only he tried to force himself on that Aria girl, but he also managed to force himself on a girl in our own town."
Ivan felt helpless.
"Wait, didn't I slash his dick off? Did you guys transplant a new one for him?"
"No, we didn't. He destroyed the girl by using metal rods. When we found the girl, she had already died due to blood loss. Sigil, her intestines were pierced!"
Ivan had a disgusted look. He wasn't disgusted by the girl's condition, instead, he was disgusted by his brother's twisted desires.
Even Sigil's mood turned grim when he listened to Ivan.
"The girl's background?"
"Orphan."
Ivan replied.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Sigil came to the main issue.
"Dad wants to find an external professional for the task while I want to end my twisted brother personally. I am here to bid you farewell!"
"No!"
Sigil immediately stood up.
Killing one's own brethren meant that you are going rogue and you will be hunted by the family for the rest of your life. A luxurious bounty will also be placed on the rogue, causing many other witches to hunt rogue down.
Even though they did not speak much, they were already best friends. To previous Sigil, Ivan was also a brotherly figure.
"Calm down, I am not rushing to my death. I have contacted the Black Spiders and they have already prepared a familiar for me. Even though I will miss having a RedHawk of the family, I don't want a single familiar to be the reason that my brother can die an easy death."
"So…. you decided to go to a dark guild?"
Sigil slumped on his seat. He was speechless!
Black Spider was a terrorist organisation and every member of the organisation have large bounties on their heads.
"You know, I can just catch you and hand you over to your family."
Sigil continued with a chuckle.
Ivan smiled as he stood up.
"Thank you for being my friend. The next time we meet, don't try to be overly familiar or it will cause you trouble."
Sigil already understood that Ivan was going to kill his brother and go rogue. He just wished him luck and departed from the gym.
"Ah, I hope you would forgive my brother for his bad sense of humour. So? Where were we?" Ivan immediately walked towards the lovely lady with a charming grin.
***
Chestcovia City
The city was a small place and news travelled fast. The end of the serial killer ghost had already reached many pairs of ears and every citizen of the city felt joyful.
It has already been two days since the job had been taken care of.
In one of the morning bars of the city, an old man suddenly dropped his jug of beer and fell off his chair, falling on the broken jug.
As if the old man started the domino effect, all the customers of the bar started to die. The customers were followed by the bartender, the beggars and whores outside the bar and then the whole city.
In mere moments, the whole lively city became the land of the dead.
On the seat where the old man fell off from, a silver plated book emerged mysteriously. Its cover shining in a silver light and a strange rune etched on its surface.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Ivan; Unlucky City",
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"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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|
"Add Sigil, Buster, Gary and Mican to the list." A melodious voice emerged as three figures could be seen sitting in a dark room with a crystal ball placed on the middle of the table. The figure had ruby-red hair as her figure spoke of fullness and her healthy skin increased her charm.
She was Ruby, the director of the Black Spider Faction belonging to the Carefree Alliance.
"Aside from these high-profile kids, we should find some strange ones. Those could be the possible suspects behind the incident." Sabar spoke as his rough voice filled the secret room.
"Can't you speak lightly. Your voice booms back!" Ruby glared at the muscle head and continued looking at the crystal ball.
"Some strange event has already occurred. There is a kid in the Grey Family and he has opened his Chakra Point." Old Sparrow spoke lightly.
"What's so strange with that?" Sabar frowned.
"He had only opened his second gate before entering the ancestral pool."
"That's... definitely strange. I am adding the kid to the list. What's his name?" Sabar asked.
"Ricardo."
"Let's not forget about the kid in Eyesian City. He actually tamed a Mature Wolf-type Shadow Familiar. His whole family dominates the area as the influx of a mature beast has strengthened the Witch's Organisation." Ruby spoke as her expression turned dark.
"Eyesian City isn't far and Shadow Path is one of the suspected paths of the Grimoire World. We should send some of the spies to that city." Old Sparrow nodded his head.
"Sigh, all this work is affecting my skin." Ruby yawned and stretched seductively. She was wearing a cream coloured dress that had a deep neck and was hanging from her neck through a thread. With such a gesture, her beautiful and shapely breasts threatened to spill out.
After completing her action, she looked at her peers with an exhausted expression.
"Those days were better when you guys couldn't control your feelings." She sighed sadly.
"I still can't control them. You have simply lost your charm. Why would I want to have a go with a 100 years old virgin?" Sabar spoke in a mocking tone.
Without any words, Ruby's hand extended as a Crimson-Red book appeared in front of her.
"You are dead." She spoke coldly as both of them disappeared from the room.
"Hmph, kids!" Old Sparrow snorted and focused on the crystal ball. Surprisingly, he could easily see the various scenes happening in the ancestral pool situated in Chestcovia City.
***
Mist Divine Country.
The headquarters of the Witch's Organisation was situated in the capital state of the Mist Divine Country, Mist State.
Mist Divine Country had two extremely powerful states that had become the supporting pillar of the country. The names of the States are Mist and Divine, getting the first and last name of the country because of their military prowess.
Out of these two, Mist State was slightly powerful.
The headquarters of the Witch's Organisation was actually a skyscraper with more than 80 floors constructed. Right now, many commoners could see mystical beasts and various supernatural entities emerging near the front door of the building.
Inside the reception hall of the HQ.
"Haha, we would like to welcome our strongest Elder. Elder Eugene Oregon! Even though he is only a Witch with four chakra points open, he used his extraordinary methods to capture a Grimoire Master of the enemy country. He is the pride of the Organisation and we look forward to his future legends. Let's welcome our Guest Eugene with a round of applause." The host was experienced as he directed the crowd of extremely powerful Witches to applaud for a witch weaker than them.
Under the rounds of clapping, a brunette, thin man emerged from the backstage. He was dressed in a handsome black tuxedo and his eyes were extremely bright. A confident smile hung on his mouth as he walked near the microphone.
"Thank you for your warm welcome." Eugene waited for the clamouring to stop before continuing.
"I know that many Elders have always been curious towards my methods. On such a rare occasion, I would like to present my secret to you guys." Eugene smiled and his words attracted everyone's attention.
They were all elder level Witches with higher cultivation than Eugene. Yet, he was able to capture a Grimoire Master alive while they couldn't even beat the opponent that was slightly stronger than them.
"The truth is, I am a spy. The Grimoire Master I captured was a slave from the Origin Country and I am the only son of the president of the Country." His mannerism was noble and graceful but his words caused the entire hall to be stunned with shock.
Before anybody could speak, they suddenly felt that they were stuck in their position without being able to even move their mouth.
"I know what you guys are thinking. Some are thinking that I am playing a prank. Some may ponder on my motive to come clean. The truth is, I just wanted to leave the country with a bang." The moment he said 'bang', the heads of all the witches exploded into a bloody mist.
"See, you guys will always remain a weakling. Too afraid of real power. In Olden Era, you witches exterminated the Scholarly Wizards, in the Bloody Era, you tried to end the lines of us Warlocks. Too bad, you guys aren't capable of defeating the war maniac brothers of Wizards." He spoke lightly in the hall filled with bloody mist. It felt like he was venting off his frustration.
Slowly, a mark of a black skull appeared on his forehead as various rotten hands emerged from the floor in a mysterious manner. Slowly, the rotten hands dragged the bodies into a black vortex and disappeared.
"With so much nutrition, a breakthrough is imminent." He smiled happily as he walked away.
Inside the empty hall, the chandelier kept on giving off strange radiation as one could see a crystal ball placed on the chandelier alongside a black Rubik's cube.
***
"It's here." Ivan suddenly spoke as he looked towards the ten-legged spider on the top of the totem.
Sigil walked forward and reached the window to observe a strange scene.
The statue of the spider seemed to have gained life as its body shuddered and it started crawling towards the ground.
Slowly, it started laying out different sized eggs. Some were dark in colour while others were light. Some were only the size of a palm while the others were as big as a human being.
After laying 12 eggs of varied sizes and colors, the spider stopped in its tracks and cracks of various depths and sizes started forming on its body. Slowly, the body of the spider started to fall off and its body crumbled away.
But nobody seemed affected by its disappearance. The moment it crumbled away, the magical energy coming from the totem stopped and they could feel their surroundings turning normal.
"According to the information, we only have 8 minutes left before the barrier of the pool disappears. At that time, even the family leaders will fight for the egg since the rules clearly state that the ancestral pool had collapsed and our advantage will be gone. We need to get everyone in a single place." Ivan spoke with a hint of urgency.
"Yeah, yeah, leave it to me." Sigil spoke lazily. He was fully recovered by now.
He slowly opened the door oh their house and walked out with firm steps. Right now, he was the strongest fighting force in the ancestral pool. This wasn't arrogance but extreme confidence in his abilities.
If he had merely formed a simple howling Wolf constellation, he would be stronger than others because of the physical talent of the constellation, but now, his strength wasn't something a regular Eight Gates Formation Witch could compare to.
Because of his existence, all the competitors had some of their scouts keeping their eyes on the house they were staying at. The moment Sigil came out of his house, every team leader was notified.
Sigil did not bother transforming yet. Not only did his transformation cost a huge amount of stamina, but he also needed to act according to their plane.
"Do you think it will go well?" Bethany couldn't help but ask while Alicia's body remained tense.
On the other hand, Ivan remained calm.
"All long-range attackers, prepare your gun. Nobody will fire without my command. Alicia, you should be prepared to join the fray, I will be supporting you and Sigil in close combat."
The group nodded as they waited.
Meanwhile, the leader of various groups that were staying at various buildings frowned when they heard about Sigil's movements.
"Why the hell is he coming out?" A grey-haired youth rubbed his chin. His eyes were sunken and his triangular shaped face gave him an extraordinarily fierce image. His hair was uncombed and looked rough.
Beside him, a beautiful figure– Yasmine shuddered unconsciously. She was still healing but her limbs were properly joined once again. An image of a Furious Demon emerged in her mind as her legs couldn't help but tremble. She did not want to go through that unimaginable pain again!
"Pathetic!" Nox, the leader of the Old Sparrow group spat coldly. A person's heart and resolution define their self, but Sigil broke that very resolution. The lofty Yasmine, the genius of the Yellow Spider Family, one of the direct apprentices of Alan– the family head, had lost her will and confidence.
Now, her only use may be her beautiful flesh that can attract weak-minded mortals.
Nox thought for a little while and still couldn't think of Sigil's motive. Is it an ambush? Is it a call of truce to distribute the treasures peacefully?
Before Nox or other leaders could think, a loud roar could be heard.
"Hahahaha, did everybody piss themselves? You guys don't even have the guts to face me, Sigil?" Sigil's wild laughter could be heard in the surroundings. His voice hoarse, like a beast's roar.
The moment he said these words, expressions of every top-level witch couldn't help but change.
A challenge!?
To all of them!?
Is it a trap or utter confidence in one's own abilities?
Meanwhile, Sigil took a deep breath and returned to his human form. No matter how hard he shouts, it couldn't achieve the impact of a Wolf's howl.
After achieving his aim, he could only wait. He had already planned with Ivan and now, everything will depend on the situation.
Previously, Sigil had proposed that he should just steamroll the enemies and pick up the eggs by himself. After all, with his strength, he could achieve the goal without involving anyone else. This way, the members could live safely and earn profits.
But the moment he proposed the idea, Ivan rejected it immediately. He gave two fatal weakness of this plan.
First, what will happen if somebody shot at the eggs? The moment the Familiars woke up from their hibernation and looked towards the nearest human, they would belong to them. This increased the uncertainty of the plan as all the Familiars may end up choosing someone else and their own alliance will earn nothing.
The second reason wasn't a typical weakness, but the policy of their alliance. If Sigil ended up doing everything, how will Ivan and others earn their gains? They needed to contribute themselves to earn the appropriate profits.
"Alright, you guys move out. The moment those guys appear, you will search their base and cripple their backup members." Ivan spoke to four members of his team.
'Come on!' Ivan looked towards Sigil's direction with a hint of anticipation.
|
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|
Even though this Earth is familiar to Sigil's previous world in terms of use of various technologies, the geographic features of both the planets did not match at all.
There were no different continents on this Earth. The planet was divided into a circular land covering 43% of the planet while the water bodies covered the rest.
Humans named the continent 'Glory Continent'.
The whole continent was divided into Six Countries that were further divided into states, cities and towns.
The esteemed Grey Family's base was situated in the town named Silver Fang City. The town itself was infamous for the werewolves terrorising the people of the town.
It was the first ancestor of the family that brought his familiar- A Silver-Furred Wolf and eradicated all the werewolves by himself. Later, he used the town as the base for establishing his own Witch Family.
Alicia and Sigil were on their way towards a city named Chestcovia. It was an hour's drive from the family base and did not take much time in their sports car.
"Alright, I will go check into the hotel and you should talk with the police. We will meet at that cafeteria in an hour."
Alicia got out from the car as she handed out the key of the car to the Sigil. She did take both her's and Sigil's bag inside the hotel.
Their meeting place was a café right in front of the hotel.
"Fine by me."
Sigil sat on the driver's seat and drove to the Police Station of the city.
***
"Yes! We checked for various paranormal signs and didn't find anything 'Beastly'. All the citizens have been tested with holy water and silverware. Even the EMF readings were at their bare minimum." A middle-aged officer reported most of their findings to Sigil after he showed his Witch's Permit.
"Any local lores or legend?" Sigil pressed on. The murders couldn't be accomplished by anything normal.
"Look, kid! We have searched every corner of the crime scene and still haven't found anything. Most of those strippers had already opened their second inner gate, two of them had even reached the threshold of opening the third."
The officer handed him a file regarding the case.
"Thanks. Uh..can you also give me all the reports on the missing civilians."
Electromotive Force or EMF wasn't a sure thing during the search of a ghost or their other kinds. Most of the people of the world have basic knowledge about the Voodoo stuff going around, but they cannot remain fearful for everything and not continue their lives.
Many civilians are equipped with EMF reader to locate any nearby ghost and even have some minor achievements in the cultivation of opening of the eight inner gates.
After stashing all the files, Sigil drove off to the crime scenes.
He pulled up in front of a small house. The neighborhood was friendly, which was quite unexpected for a woman with such a bad reputation in her circles.
*Knock* *Knock*
Cluck
"Yes? How may I help you?" An old woman opened the door. Her face was filled with wrinkles and it looked like she didn't get any sleep for the past three days.
"Miss Gringer, I am Sigil. I am with the group of Witches and would like to ask you some questions about the recent murder."
Sigil flashed his Witch's Permit.
***
"I am sorry for your loss, Ma'am. I know that this is a hard time for you, but I still need to ask some questions."
Sigil felt a little bad inside when he saw the old woman breaking down right after hearing her daughter's name.
"Yes, of course. My daughter… Linda was unlike others. She took care of me even most kids her age just put their parents in a house. She even started to do some odd jobs, but she wasn't well received because of her refusing to provide other services. I think th.... tha… that, a drunkard did this to my daughter."
The poor lady started to cry again.
"Ma'am, please try to control your emotions. Here, take this." Sigil handed her a tissue paper.
After some time, he was finally finished with his interrogation.
"Looks like I am on time." He quickly drove off to their meeting point.
***
Meanwhile, something was happening in a strange location. The room was dark and the walls had water streaks. A light grey shadow kept appearing and disappearing from the same location with a 'Bzzzt' sound.
"You… have… to… keep… going…"
The shadow belonged to a pale white woman. Her features were unclear and she possessed dark hair. The only recognizable feature of her face was her right eye that glowed light blue.
***
"Hmm? So no EMF, no nothing?" Alicia asked as she sipped on her coffee.
It was already 10 in the morning.
"Well, no Ghost signals in the first victim's house at least." Sigil sighed as he ate a sandwich.
"So, got any guesses?" Alicia looked at the file of the most recent victim.
"Well, we cannot use tracking spells without going dark, so, I am going back to hotel room to do a little research, while you go and check on the other four victim's family." Sigil spoke as he finished his sandwich.
"Sure thing."
Alicia handed him the key to the hotel room and drove off in her car.
***
"Excuse me, Sir. Can I have a little chat with you."
A kid, around the age of 13 stood in front of Sigil's table while he was sipping on his coffee and looking through the police reports.
"Hmm? Uh….yeah! Sure, why not?"
He looked at the strange kid chose not to ignore him.
"So, what's up, kid?"
"You are from Witch's Organisation, right?"
The kid completely ignored Sigil, causing him to sigh.
'Is my body not intimidating enough?' He was speechless.
He flashed his Witch's Permit, causing the kid's eyes to shine.
"Fine, I believe you! Three years ago, when I was 9, there was another case where many children went missing. We couldn't find anything unusual and even the police had given up. The Witch sent for the case did manage to find a vengeful spirit, but he didn't completely kill it."
The kid spoke all the information in one breath.
"Wait for a moment." Sigil frowned and searched the database from his smartphone.
"Hmm? It says here that the case was taken up by a Chakra Stage Witch named Eugene. He not only completed the case, he even set a barrier to protect the civilians from some of the paranormal existences. Kid, are you lying to me?"
Sigil narrowed his eyes.
The young boy immediately shook his head.
"No, the witch couldn't kill the spirit because he couldn't find the object that the spirit was attached to. I was there that night. The witch used a strange spell and the spirit was slowly burnt away, leaving a spherical object. After that, the witch master dropped me off at my home and went away."
Usually, to kill a vengeful spirit, a person can cremate the body of the spirit or burn the object that the spirit is attached to. Higher level Experts can also kill the spirits by using certain spells and magic.
Sigil felt a little suspicious.
"Do you remember the place where the witch used his spell?"
The kid immediately nodded.
"Alright, take me there."
He immediately packed up his files and put in his bag. He then called for a cab and went towards the outskirts of the city.
Meanwhile, Alicia also concluded most of her interrogation.
"Hmm? A text from Sigil?"
Alicia read the text as her expression became a little weird.
"Eugene, huh."
|
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|
Their group was three hundred metres away from the totem pillar. From Ivan, Sigil was informed that a protective bubble was formed around the totem pillar with a diameter of 50 metres. Till the upper level decided, the treasures wouldn't be revealed.
Currently, he was feeling strange inside his heart. He was feeling excited yet fearful. The extreme changes in his emotions made him feel extremely complicated and conflicted. In his previous life, he had only felt these feelings on very rare occasions.
These were the feelings that made him realize that there was much more to the human mind then he thought.
In his room, Sigil sat and concentrated on his Constellation. In his spiritual wolf, he could see eight bright stars connected with several small and dimly lit stars, forming a fierce wolf howling towards heaven.
Every Constellation is unique to the witch and they provided certain talents and benefits. This wasn't all, the formation of constellation proved that the witch had the potential to form his own Grimoire. But of course, it was just potential.
With enough resources, even the most talentless witch could create a constellation and increase its potential and solidify the foundation of his abilities to have a bright future.
But his source of excitement wasn't the howling wolf, it was the fact that his body was currently absorbing a large amount of energy even after completing his eight gates formation. Mysteriously, all the energy was being sent towards the constellation, causing tremendous changes in its body.
The original wolf's body started to expand and its muscles grew bigger and stronger, in comparison, many small stars started to connect with his constellation to accompany the change. Along with the change in the body, the original furry hide of the wolf started to change as it turned dark and gave off a metallic sheen.
When Sigil thought that the changes were complete, the Spiky Wolf let out a soundless howl and the speed of absorption of the energy increased.
The moment this change took place, Sigil's mind fell into a mess, but he still couldn't hide his own smile.
The body of the wolf started to elongate as it stood on its hind legs. Its upper body became muscular and its spiky hide turned sharper and more ferocious. Its upper limbs started to grow as its claws elongated and grew thicker.
A Lycanthrope!
Sigil looked at the ferocious Constellation with a mixture of awe and glee.
"Iron Hide Lycan!" Sigil decided to name his constellation as he started to meditate and calm his self.
***
The Grey Estate.
Two days had already passed and the family's ancestral pool was closed once again. But the events of this year's event shocked the entire family.
Ricardo, the trash of the family, unexpectedly ascended to the Chakra Realm within two days. He also managed to become the youngest family elder, taking away Linda's honour as the youngest.
This was truly the case of ascending the heavens with one step.
Meanwhile, Martha had a sour expression. Her foundations were solid and she had already achieved the entry level of the realm of self, the spiritual beginning.
Who knew that she would still remain stuck in the realm of eight gates. But even if she felt sour, she did not complain too much. She looked inside her spiritual world and observed her constellation.
It was a beautiful humanoid figure with a bountiful figure. But the strange part was that the figure had red vines for her hair and her private parts were covered by elongated petals that extended from her back. Her constellation was currently curled up like a ball as she hugged herself within the black space.
Martha still felt surreal. She only decided to form her constellation on the spur of moment, but she never imagined that there will be such a strange occurrence. Now, she started to doubt her origins, but she did not dare to tell the truth to anyone.
Out of all the participants, it was Ricardo that truly wanted to cry.
According to his estimation, he should be able to reach the stage where he could open his third chakra point, but who knew that he wasn't able to absorb the required energy and could only open his first Chakra Point.
***
"We only have one day, most of the groups have already started to patrol the nearby region and stationed their members to attack whenever the situation required. How long will Sigil take?" Yasmine growled as Ivan felt his head aching.
They both were standing in front of Sigil's door and face a beautiful, dark-haired girl. She was sitting cross-legged in front of the door and her eyes remained closed. Seeing Alicia blatantly ignoring her, Yasmine immediately kicked. Her attack was sudden and vicious.
Even Ivan was startled, before he could intercept, Yasmin's kick froze as a ripple emerged near Alicia's face. Ivan's and Yasmine's eyes widened in surprise as she immediately stepped back.
With the emergence of ripple, they both were able to see a small hemisphere covering Alicia and protecting the door from any harm.
"A defensive Constellation." Ivan admired with appreciation in his voice.
Alicia still kept her eyes closed. Evidently, she did not even put Yasmine's attack in her eyes.
Ivan shook his head and decided to wait. Even though he waited for Sigil, it did not mean that he didn't organise his own forces.
He had already planted his fighters and sent many people to patrol the area.
***
Origin Country.
Warlock Association, Blood Fall.
A black castle belonging to the medieval era was situated atop a waterfall. The strange thing about the water was that it was red in colour and was extraordinarily viscose. These characteristics made people name the waterfall as Blood Fall.
The castle was situated on a small island in the middle of the river while being surrounded by the blood-red water. Three round towers emerged from the castle as they were surrounded by bright red bats, giving the castle an evil feel.
In the middle tower, only one silver-haired man could be seen sitting in a meditative position. Meanwhile, a dark-blue phantom surrounded his body, making the man's features extremely unclear. In the darkness of the castle, his bright silver hair had an illuminative effect.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked towards the southern direction, his eyes were light-blue as his pupils were vertical in shape. His whole demeanor transformed into a Hunter's, that was looking at its prey.
"Kekeke, that bitch thought that she could keep my darlings away from me. Hmm? one... two... where's the third one? That bitch is personally protecting direct bloodline? No matter, they can't escape anymore."
Even though his features remained unclear, his hoarse voice and vicious comments unraveled his true nature. The phantom behind him turned into a vicious blue wolf that had Lightning snakes roiling around its body.
The blue wolf opened its mouth and let out an excited howl, shaking the whole castle.
"You silver-haired mutt, have you gone senile?"
"Wolf King, stop your totem immediately!"
Two stern shouts emerged from the other two towers and the condition of the whole castle stabilised.
***
Redwood Country, Eyesian City.
"Haha, my son! You are my pride!" A middle-aged man laughed and kissed the forehead of a young man. His features were gentle as his silver hair and ice-blue eyes made him look extremely handsome.
Besides him stood a pitch black wolf with red eyes. Unexpectedly, it kept on following the youth as its eyes showed faint emotions of excitement.
Meanwhile, the youth clenched his fist in joy as he looked at his Pure White Werewolf Constellation. His expression remained happy and excited, making him look like a young hero.
***
Redwood Country, Chestcovia City.
Sigil remained inside his room as he counted the days. From his estimation, only one day is left before the emergence of the treasured familiar eggs.
Right now, he was sitting in his soul space filled with various comics, action figures and other heavenly artifacts. But even in such a beautiful environment, Sigil's eyes remained closed his brows furrowed.
"According to my estimates, there is a sixty percent chance that I could open my chakra point, by I don't have enough time." He mused as he tried to think various ways to get out of this predicament and ascend to the next level.
His whole body exuded a warm glow as he kept on meditating and unraveled the realm of self. His soul was at the level where he could only feel the warm and gentle presence of his soul, giving it the name– Spiritual Begining. The more he meditate, the larger the area of soul he could unravel.
Out of the three paths of witchcraft, the realm of self is the only path that is heavily based on accumulation. There are no shortcuts as a witch has to slowly feel his soul and connect with his self and nature to perform extraordinary tricks.
"Huff, I don't think I can stall anymore." Sigil sighed as his surroundings changed and he was back inside his room. He slowly opened his eyes and then got out of the room.
***
"Alright, only one hour is left before the battle begins. Sigil and I will be the main attackers as Alicia will protect us. Yasmine will take care of crippling the defeated while you guys will use your weapons to take care of others that haven't formed their own constellation. Got it?" Ivan spoke without any expression. Sigil, Yasmine and Alicia stood beside him as they were the only one out of the whole group that had formed their own constellation.
In front of them was their group, whose hands were filled with weapons, both short range and long range. Most of them had decided to use their guns while some of them had decided to use daggers, machetes or swords. Evidently, they were good in short range combat and their foundations of fighting were better than others.
Jacob remained expressionless as he gripped tightly on his rifle. Besides him, there was another girl from Ivan's group that held a heavy sniper rifle in her hand.
"Cathy and Jacob will take care of all the stationary enemies. We will be counting on both of you to clear the enemies." Ivan smiled at both of them.
Everyone except Sigil had various expressions. Some felt excited while others felt nervous. Their alliance had a total of 20 members including Sigil, Ivan and Yasmine.
There were seven members in Ivan's and Sigil's group while Yasmine's group had six members.
'Previously, my howling wolf was already resistant to most of the guns, but now, with the help of Iron Hide Lycan, I should be able to steamroll the opponents. After all, my constellation evolved two times before stopping.' Sigil thought seriously. If his conjecture was correct, he didn't even need to participate in the alliance.
He sighed and shook his head. If he knew this was going to happen, he would have decided to go Solo and take away all the familiar eggs.
"Alright, let's get going. We need to find a good stronghold to counter the opponents. Remember, no killing." Ivan reminded sternly and the group finally set off.
***
The Totem Pillar was placed in the city park. It was situated above an altar as the park was surrounded by many people. Some wore black robes while others had their faces shown. There was one common thing between all of them, they remained seated with their eyes closed.
They were the various vanguards of their groups and surrounded the pillar to take advantage of the moment the treasure was released.
By now, most of them knew that the treasures were the familiar eggs of Adolescent level Familiars. This information could be credited to the other members of the dark Guilds as they tried to form the alliance with other families and lone Witches.
"Hmm? Isn't this the famous silk pants Sigil Grey?" One of the vanguards spoke as they looked towards the new arrival. One was a Silver-haired youth with handsome features while the other guys was a dark-haired youth with good looks that exuded a noble demeanor.
They were Sigil and Ivan.
One of the vanguards stopped himself from attacking Ivan on the spot.
He was a member of the RedHawks. Even when the whole family hated this young master for betraying the family, he still had some logic left inside his mind. If he dared to attack Ivan, the whole place would descend into chaos as various groups will start to fight.
But even if he did not want to start chaos, it didn't mean that Ivan didn't want to start chaos.
Ivan looked towards all the vanguards and found his target.
He smiled towards the member of the RedHawks and waved at him.
"Yo, looking at you, I finally knew why my father hates me. After all, I am the strongest of the younger generation, without me, you guys will always get destroyed." His voice was loud and his words were heard by all the members of the RedHawks surrounding the pillar.
|
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|
“Sigh, the time flow is the same in this Grimoire World.”
Bert sighed as he announced to the group. A Grimoire World may have a different time flow from their world. If the time flowed quicker in this dimension, then they would've been able to explore for a longer time and gain more resources.
‘Well, at least this is confirmed.’
Sigil thought in his mind. This was one of the information in the message. This was also an important fact for the continuation of their partnership.
Now, he only had to separate himself from the group without compromising the security of the people he cared about.
Unlike the previous Sigil, who had intimate relations with many women, the current Sigil only cared for Aria. After all, it was unreasonable for him to have the same sentiments for Alicia, Martha and Linda held by the previous owner if this body.
Yes, he did flirt with these three and yes, he had some intimate moments with Alicia. But what else should he do? A beautiful woman wants to kiss him and he should reject the offer? He wasn't out of his mind.
Right now, he could only come up with two plans.
The first is to immediately separate from the group without giving any explanations.
But this method had a downside.
He wanted to separate from the group to enter the true inheritance ground of the Grimoire World. He would not be able to explain himself once he gets such an outstanding opportunity.
The second plan is to create an incident or leave the group in a chaotic situation.
But this method might compromise Aria’s security.
Since the first plan wasn't viable, he chose to wait.
“Alright, the Elders may accompany me or explore on their own. Other than Elders, no one will enter the inner regions of the Grimoire World, understood?” Bert commanded sternly.
The younger generation of the family nodded while various Elders started grouping. Linda chose to enter the group of the Supreme Elder. She also lectured Aria to ensure her safety before anything else and entrusted her to Sigil.
They could leave the Grimoire World using the same chants and talisman.
Meanwhile, Sigil felt a little troubled.
Not only Alicia, Martha and Aria teamed up with him, but also many more people requested to enter their team. After all, the three of them are recognised experts.
His gaze suddenly shone as he finally found an idea.
Without any hesitation, he started to accept every single person requesting to join their team. Alicia and Martha looked towards each other in a strange manner.
The Sigil they knew would never let any outsider enter the team if he could spend some alone time with both of them.
Meanwhile, Sigil had a single thought. More people always lead to chaos!
They all were transported to the outer regions of the Grimoire world since they entered this dimension through the border of the affected region. The foot of the tall mountain was just a start.
The group of Elders decided to climb the mountain while Sigil's group decided to walk around it.
Their group soon entered the nearby forest as they started making their way towards the left side of the mountain. Every member had already taken out their silver knives while Sigil also placed his hand over his gun.
Benefits are only obtained by taking appropriate risks!
The whole Grimoire World was an untapped land of resources and also an unexplored land filled with dangers!
“Ah! That's a Serpent Bark!” A youth, around the age of 23 spoke aloud in surprise.
He pointed towards the strange looking bark that had an extremely smooth surface. It was a Serpent Bark. A poisonous material that could be used in creating Poisonous Curses and exotic Talismans.
Soon, the youth cut apart the bark as he quickly slashed apart the outer surface and collected it in an empty bag while others waited for him.
A Serpent Bark wasn't lucrative enough for everyone to fight over it. After all, they originated from the same family.
The group continued forward as they kept on finding some herbs or other materials. The group had a simple rule, the finder is the keeper.
Meanwhile, Sigil only took some resources beneficial for little Aria. Other resources weren't good enough for him and hence, he did not bat an eye when others took the resources for themselves.
Rustle
A rustling sound caused all the members of the group to pause in their tracks.
“Grrrrr”
A humanoid figure slowly emerged from the nearby bushes. It was a man with a pair of white eyes and no pupils. His canines were elongated and his nails looked extremely sharp, glimmering coldly.
Seeing this new arrival, most of the weak people took a step backwards.
It was an Incomplete Werewolf!
‘Who rear werewolves in his Grimoire World?’ Even Sigil felt speechless.
Incomplete, Complete and True.
These were the three Evolutionary stages of most of the humanoid monsters including Vampires, Shapeshifters and other monsters.
The three levels correspond to the three stages of Cultivation of a Witch.
Gwaaaagh
The werewolf roared as he sensed the shift in the surroundings.
Bang
Before it could attack, a loud bang was heard as a silver bullet pierced the heart of the Werewolf.
He died an uneventful death!
“Don't you guys have guns? Why did you freeze in front of him.”
Sigil kept his gun as he frowned at the group.
What a bunch of wastes!
They just knew how to loot resources. In actual combat, they even forgot that they had guns that could easily trump weak monsters.
Sigil looked at them and continued his journey. He still needed the group as a distraction in due time.
The group continued their journey. After reaching the left side of the mountain, the group encountered a patch of Ruby Petals near the nest of Werewolves. At this moment, Sigil's eyes shone with brilliance. He finally found a landmark!
Now, he can officially start his plan.
“Everyone, prepare your guns.”
Alicia took the lead this time.
Ruby Petals were valuable Cultivation resource and she also wanted to contribute to the battle to earn a part in the loot. Even little Aria took out her gun as they all prepared for open fire.
Bang
Bang
Bang
Bang
The ambush proved to be successful and the nest of incomplete Werewolves couldn't stand the barrage of the silver bullets.
In this world filled with monsters, every single abomination had some sort of weakness except for Humans.
Even though humans were born weak, they did not have a weakness towards different types of metals or elements.
Meanwhile, most of the monsters had some sort of weakness. Werewolves were weak towards Silver, Vampires could be killed by mortals if a wooden stake is pierced in their hearts.
“Collect their canines. They are good materials for spells.”
The group started to loot the area. After eradicating the whole nest, they dropped their guard.
It was the outer regions and encountering a monster comparable to a Chakra Stage Expert was unlikely, or so the group thought.
Aooooooooooooo
Except for Sigil, everyone felt a slight chill in their heart when they heard the howl. The howl was filled with sadness and rage. Before anyone could react, a grey shadow flashed and the head of the teammate, that had gone towards the opposite end, fell off.
Everyone could finally see the assaulter.
It was a man with his arms covered in grey fur. His canines were longer than the incomplete Werewolves and his feet had a slight protrusion, as if he was growing another toe from the back of his feet.
A Complete Werewolf.
Most of the members of the group had shallow foundations and very low experience. This also included Aria, Alicia, Martha and Sigil. If it wasn't necessary, Sigil would never risk his life to encounter such a being.
“Don't worry. It's just a Rank 1 Werewolf. Even though he has a stronger defence, it can still be killed using the silver bullets.”
Bang
The moment he finished speaking, one of the members pressed the trigger, firing at the werewolf.
The sound agitated the near-insane werewolf.
The difference between an Incomplete Werewolf and a complete Werewolf was astronomical. It was like comparing a rock to a mountain.
The physical ability of a complete monster is enhanced exponentially. This could be understood by the fact that the Werewolf had dodged the silver bullet and moved towards the attacker at a great speed.
“Attack!”
Sigil immediately commanded. Even though the werewolf was strong, it could not keep dodging the silver bullets. It had to either retreat or keep on attacking with his life on the line.
Of course, the werewolf had chosen to retreat if his entire nest would not have been slaughtered and then ravaged.
Bang
Bang
Bang
Bang
The battle lasted for a couple of minutes as the sorrowful Werewolf lay on the ground. His whole body filled with numerous bullet wounds, including the head region. This only proved to showcase the strong regenerative Abilities of complete monsters.
But right now, the werewolf couldn't heal his wounds. After all, his heart was punctured by a lot of silver bullets.
“Huff, this was dangerous! Right, Master?”
Martha asked casually as she looked towards Sigil's location.
“... Master?”
He wasn't there!
***
Crack
Sigil stopped in his tracks as he accidentally stepped on a twig. The forest in the Grimoire World was a dangerous place and such accidental sounds may also garner unwanted attention.
He stood in his place and calmed his breathing while he tried to sense his surroundings.
Adventuring alone isn't exciting, but Dangerous!
To gain good loot, Sigil took a huge risk of exploring the Grimoire World on his own. He had to take care of everything since he was alone on this adventure.
After confirming that there was nothing strange around him, he continued his journey.
From the foot of the mountain, he started moving towards the north direction.
Outer Area, Inner Area and Core Area.
The Grimoire World is divided into three areas and each area have a different environment suited for the growth of different species. The ecosystem of the core area is of the highest quality followed by the ecosystem of the Inner Area and the Outer Regions.
But Sigil's aim was neither of them.
He kept on moving carefully. A bag hung on his shoulders while his left hand held a Silver Machete and his right hand held a torchlight.
His body was fully clothed and he also sprayed an insect repellent on himself. He needed to be safe from all directions and even the insects of the Grimoire World shouldn't be underestimated.
Thud
Sigil's body froze as he suddenly heard a slight 'thud’. He tightened his grip on the machete and quickly ducked down.
Whoosh
A black shadow swiped past Sigil and immediately hid in the shadows of the tall tree.
Sigil did not waste any time and immediately pointed the torchlight towards the attacker to discover its species.
It was a panther!
A pitch-black panther with green eyes. Its fur shone in luster, as if untainted by the filth present in the forest.
It was a familiar!
In this world infested with monsters and legendary beasts, humans have found a footing for themselves by cooperating with familiars.
Werewolves, Vampires, Scyllas, Gorgons, Minotaurs, Chimera, etc are all the monsters that cannot be tamed by a human practitioner of a chakra stage. Meanwhile, all the other animals that can communicate with certain elements and show any elemental affinity are categorised as familiars.
The green-eyed Panther in front of Sigil was actually a Familiar with an unknown elemental affinity.
Sigil smiled bitterly as he saw his opponent.
“I was scared for nothing. You are just an infant, aren't you?”
He smiled towards the panther.
Infant, Adolescent, Adult.
These are the three stages of growth of a familiar. Each familiar has different characteristics of their growth cycle while each of the growth cycles presents them with enhanced powers. The three stages are corresponding to the three power stages of humans and three forms of monsters.
Grrrr
The panther growled threateningly as it saw the strange human smiling towards it.
“Hmm? Let's check your tier. Even though you are an infant, it won't be long before you enter the Adolescent Stage. Do you know what this means?”
His smile grew wider as he looked at the majestic beauty in front of him. This familiar was a bonus.
Even though he couldn't make a contract with it, he could definitely tame it.
“This means you are mine.”
He shot towards the Panther without delaying any more.
Shockingly, his speed was almost equal to the speed shown by the panther during the ambush.
This was to be expected, if Sigil was slower than the Black Panther, he would have already succumbed to his fate in the sneak attack.
His eyes shined in brilliance when he saw that the Black Panther chose to attack him instead of retreating to a safe distance. Sigil tilted his machete and met the claw with the blunt side of the blade. He may be eager to kill monsters, but he wouldn't harm any familiar without any specific reason. After all, every familiar has a chance to increase the combat ability of a witch.
Grwaaoh
The Black Panther cried out as it jumped on Sigil once again.
Sigil dodged to the right and struck the blunt side of the machete on the Panthers back.
“Hoo, so you are from the Jaguar Family.”
In reality, there is no different species for a Black Panther, it is a simple misunderstanding.
The black fur is the variation pigmentation in the Jaguar and Leopard family. While Leopards have a light build and could be scared off easily, Jaguars, on the other hand, are more of a courageous kind.
Sigil took a deep breath and sheathed his machete. This action caused a strange sense of wariness in the Panther’s eyes and it slowly crawled in a circular path.
Meanwhile, Sigil took out some canned food from his bag. He swiftly opened the can and placed its contents on the ground, in front of the Panther.
He had already caused the Panther to feel cautious of him. That was the show of his strength. Even though he knew that Panther had a lot of fight left, he did not want to waste his time and energy in battling it.
Trying to befriend a familiar after showing appropriate strength is always a good method of taming a future familiar.
Sigil even had a sure-fire trump card, but for that, he had to get in contact with the panther in a calm and orderly manner.
|
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"Arrogant Characters",
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"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
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"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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}
|
A large, ten-legged spider roared silently. Its dark grey fur and crimson eyes made its looks ferocious. After letting out the roar, it started moving towards the clouds that were covering a bright star. Behind the spider, Sigil could see seven spots of bright light, forming a strange pattern.
Thud
The large, starry sky shook a little as the spider collided with an invisible wall. Its eyes shined brutally as it started thrashing on the invisible wall.
In the real world, Sigil's body kept on shuddering. After all, the rough treatment to the gates caused some damages to Sigil. But still, he silently endured it. His expression still like a lake and a soft glow emerged from the region surrounding his heart.
Sigil wasn't impatient with his Cultivation, after all, he had full three hours, unlike others. He and Alicia were chosen for the last spot of scouting and thus, they both were given the advantage to absorb more energy than others.
Time slowly passed as the surroundings remained silent. Evidently, many people decided to quietly absorb energy and increase their power instead of fighting it out this early. But Sigil still felt something wrong.
According to the information, the closer one is the totem, the purer the energy absorbed, but this was a super-sized Ancestral Pool. If Sigil was even 100 metres away from the totem pillar, he could still peacefully advance to the Chakra Stage.
Even though he understood the concept of crippling the competition, the people participating in the event weren't fools and wouldn't act if they did not obtain any profit. If he followed this conjecture, he had a feeling that there was something special near the totem that will induce a battle royale.
***
Three hours later.
Sigil and Alicia walked out as they nodded towards Bethany and Annie. After relieving the two girls from their duty, Sigil and Alicia stood together as they looked towards the totem pool.
Unknown to Alicia, Sigil's hand moved towards her very slowly.
'Since I am going to act like a young master, maybe I should get some benefits when no one is looking.'
Yes, even when Sigil loved treating the two girls with respect and showered them with praise, taking slight advantage of them during their alone time is also a show of respect.
The moment his hands neared enough, Sigil decided to distract her and strike.
"You remember when you kissed me in the car?" His words startled Alicia as her mind flashed the image of her climbing on top of Sigil as she gave her a passionate kiss and passed on her mother's heirloom.
"Wha-"
Her eyes widened as a slithering hand grabbed her perky butt and a hand grabbed on her neck and pulled her face upwards. Her mind started to ring warning bells as they were bypassed by something warm on her lips.
Feeling the tender kiss and passionate grabbing, her mind finally calmed down and she closed her eyes. A slight blush emerged on her smooth cheeks and she could only squirm a little to fulfill her ego. After all, no girl wanted to show her man that she was easy to get.
Alas, the naïve maiden did not know that her fake struggle gave a sensual feeling to Sigil's hand as he started to massage them unconsciously. He did not need to grab the other cheek since it would only make him more awkward. His grip on her neck tightened a little and his tender love turned fierce.
If she wanted to struggle, he needed to show her that it was useless!
After a full five minutes, Sigil decided to take a break. Even though he just wanted to have a little fun and tease her, Sigil felt a little terrified by the fact that her charm made him go for real. As he took deep breaths, he looked towards the panting Alicia.
Her entire demeanor was a mess. Previously, she wanted to show off the fact that she had opened the eighth gate in a single cultivation session. This feat spoke volumes about the benefits of super-sized Ancestral Pool and her talents. But her plan was ruined by Sigil.
....Not that she hated it.
Alicia shook her head and tried to control her thoughts. She slowly calmed down, but her physical appearance was still in a mess. Her face had a tinge of pink and her lips looked more sensual and luscious.
As Sigil saw the thought-provoking beauty, he grinned. From her reactions, he knew that he did good enough.
"This is the payback." Sigil concluded calmly. But the lower tent betrayed his gentlemanly demeanor.
"You- you.... What if someone caught us?" Alicia chided fiercely.
"Caught us?" Sigil thought before his aura changed. A pressure belonging to the experts with all of their gates unlocked emerged from his body, this aura surprised Alicia.
"We both are going to be engaged. So what if someone saw us? They can only envy the fact that you are mine and I am yours."
Sigil words were spoken carefully and seriously. Hearing her, Alicia's heartbeat quickened. An exciting, yet, unknown feeling welled up her heart and body. She couldn't rebuke Sigil as he really did get her this time.
She quickly averted her eyes and spoke in a whisper.
"Whatever! Congratulations on your breakthrough."
"The same goes for you."
His words surprised her again.
"How did you know?"
"Oh... um... let's just say that you can't control yourself when you are aroused." He smiled and spoke bluntly.
Alicia felt embarrassed, but kept quiet. Apparently, she wasn't successful in diverting the topic and it led back to their make out.
"Now that fun time is over, I want to discuss something." His voice turned serious. In such a tense environment, the previous situation helped both of their mentality as they could calm down a little and their frustration level was low.
It had to be known that Old Sparrow had played quite a game with the youngsters. By informing them that they were allowed to cripple the competition, he planted a vicious seed inside the mind of every competitor. His words implied the impending battle royale and many would want to strike before others could get stronger.
Even Sigil wasn't aware of such a psychological impact. After all, he was still a little short in schemes when compared to a hundred years old monsters. But their make out relieved them of their psychological stress, making them feel a little refreshed.
"What is it?" Alicia asked.
"Why do you think that we will have to fight other eventually?" Sigil asked her. His question had profound meaning that pointed at various clues and doubts.
Alicia thought for a little while as she muttered under her breath.
"Humanity is a greedy species. The only thing capable of raising conflicts is profits. But this ancestral pool is already a huge profit. This means–"
Her eyes twinkled as she tried to control her excitement.
"There is something even better than the ancestral pool." Sigil nodded and completed her statement.
"I think that many have already figured out the existence of the hidden treasure. Most likely, we will be finding it near the totem pole. Now, I wanted to discuss the methods of dealing with the situation."
Sigil explained the methods he came up with.
First was to form an alliance.
Their team could ally with some of the exclusive members of the dark guild by using Ivan as the mediator.
Second was the preemptive strike. They could move for the treasure immediately and contest to acquire it. Since it has only been a few hours, not many would have gained the true benefits of the Ancestral Pool.
Alicia pondered on both of the situations as she pointed out the loopholes.
"In the first method, we do not have a strong binding force. What if the value of the treasure exceed our imagination and they turn their back on the alliance. And the second method also has many risks. First of all, we are trapped here for five days. If we move out now and acquire the treasure, then it wouldn't be a simple competition between the groups, but a hunt. All the teams will hunt our team." She sighed. Her will was resolute and she wanted to fight for the treasures. Sigil was similar to her.
Arriving at this city brought back the sad memory of him abandoning the Grimoire World, gaining huge losses. Even though the core materials were stored inside the Grimoire, he still felt sad.
This memory brought along a burning will to swallow up the entire competition and gain the maximum benefits.
***
"Huff, just a little more." Ivan stood up and sighed. He had been trying to break his mortal shackles and open his chakra point. His team included the core members of the Black Spider. Even though he came from the newly established alliance, the presence of internal strife remained. It was natural, wherever humans existed, conflicts were bound to arise.
Right now, there were three factions from the alliance, four Families and a group of lone Witches brought here with the intention of recruitment.
Ivan slightly smiled as he looked towards the totem pillar. He was confident in Victory. After all, the Yellow Spider Family was the direct subordinate of the Black Spider Faction and he had them under his control. He just needed another faction as an alliance to draw in the lone witches and his task will be accomplished.
He thought for a little while. He couldn't cooperate with RedHawks, the BlackBee Family could be a worse decision as they belonged to another faction. This left him with the Grey Family. Even though they weren't a direct subordinate, they still belonged to the faction of Black Spider and he also had a friend in that family. He was almost sure that he could easily gain their cooperation.
While thinking all of this, he also remembered his senior's words.
"Remember, the director wants to know worthy members to place as spies. Watch out for potential."
***
"It's your turn." Jacob came out of his room. Since the team comprised of seven members, he was the only member who would be keeping an eye on the surroundings alone. This was only because of the fact that Annie was a girl and she was grouped with Bethany. Alicia and Sigil were a couple and therefore grouped together. Even George and Oliver befriended each other, leaving Jacob alone.
He could only blame his luck as he saw both of them entering their rooms after giving him a nod.
He looked around and thought of relieving his stress too, but the thought of failure stopped him. He was feeling uneasy, but he did not know the reason. This kind of situation increased his mental burden as he heaved a deep sigh.
"Don't worry, you chose to remain a bachelor. After all, who would want to hear a girl's nagging every day? Yes, it isn't because you couldn't woo a girl, it's because you chose this path."
He kept on repeating his bachelor sutra and guarded the place with diligence.
After one hour, Oliver and George replaced Jacob and the cycle continued for a whole day. Even when all of them were feeling hungry and thirsty, they kept continued their cultivation. The benefit of the Ancestral Pool started to emerge as the group's cultivation increased by leaps and bounds. Bethany was on the verge of unlocking her Eighth Gate while George and Jacob had unlocked their seventh gate.
Annie and Oliver still had to show some significant results. Even though they both were chosen to enter the ancestral pool because of their Background, they weren't talented enough to exploit the opportunity for their maximum benefit.
Due to such a situation, there was a change in the social position of the group. Bethany was already Sigil's and Alicia's friend and started hanging out with them. She had already lost her interest in Annie while Alicia and Sigil decided to keep watch for their location. After all, the quality of the energy wasn't strong enough for another breakthrough.
On the other hand, George and Jacob recognised each other and became friends. Only the talentless Annie and Oliver remained as they looked at their peers with envy.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Eighth Gate",
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"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
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}
|
Hey guus, I have also started a new fanfic based on Reverend Insanity/ Daoist Gu.
For those who love evil mc, anime and reverend insanity, this novel is for you.
Here is the link
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/18806/reverend-depravity/
|
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"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
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"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"Thank you, kids." The police officer sincerely thanked both of them after he received the news.
Alicia and Sigil had already packed up and were ready to leave the city. Their hunt was over and they just had to wait for sometime before they could become full-fledged witches.
"I will drive. You are still tired from the spell." Sigil took the keys from Alicia and jumped on the driver's seat. Since it was already daytime, he had decided to retract the car roof.
"Say, Sigil. We both were pretty good together back there. How about teaming up for next hunts too?"
Alicia spoke as she leaned her head on the back of her seat, enjoying the wind and warmth of the sun on her face.
"I don't know, teaming up with my fiancé can be pretty awkward. Wouldn't other witches think that you are keeping me on a short leash?"
Sigil smiled a little as he drove. After everything he went through the previous night, he had to give himself a little 'me' time. He finally understood the things he would be encountering in the future and to be honest, it was very hard to swallow all the information considering he was only a week old.
"My, my, aren't you all hopped up about us getting engaged." She squinted her eyes.
Even she could use a relaxing conversation after going through such a dangerous mission.
"Why wouldn't I be? I consider myself lucky that I am going to be engaged to you."
Alicia opened her eyes and looked at Sigil.
"Why are you watching me weirdly again?"
"If you weren't driving, I would have gotten on top of you and kissed you." She leaned back once again.
Sigil chuckled at her words.
"You know, you can kiss me without getting on top of me." He smirked.
She smiled lightly.
"If I do it according to your suggestions, it wouldn't be hot enough."
"Touché." Sigil continued driving.
"So we are a team now?" Sigil looked at Alicia.
"Sure."
Alicia still had many doubts in her mind regarding Sigil suddenly touching Grachen's spirit and making it disappear and also how he got the information on the ingredients of the spell.
Even then, she did not ask Sigil about all of this. She wasn't being considerate or anything. Even Sigil knew that Alicia was quite blunt despite her noble looks. The only reason she let her questions slide is that she was mentally exhausted by the spell and couldn't muster her energy to get in any kind of argument.
***
Garachy City, Local Graveyard.
Garachy City was known for its connection with the Witch's Organisation. There is always a Chakra Stage Witch stationed in the city.
A scrawny man with light-brown hair and a thin face could be seen sleeping near a tombstone.
The tombstone looked relatively recent with a pun etched on its surface.
' Pardon me for not greeting.'
Whoosh
A grey owl suddenly landed near the sleeping man and lightly pecked on his palm.
The owl wasn't an ordinary owl since it still looked lively during the daytime and its size was twice the size of a regular owl.
"Hmmm? Swingy? Weren't you ordered to stay near the Specter's eye?"
The scrawny man yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Ohhh? The treasure has been destroyed? Oh well! I did not have much hope for that one either way. It would have taken 16 more years to complete the treasure and I don't have time."
Apparently, he could communicate with the owl without any difficulties.
The scrawny man sat and leaned on a nearby tombstone.
"Well, I still haven't reached the stage of fifth chakra point. Heck! I haven't even reached the fourth chakra point." The man muttered to himself.
He took out a cellphone from the rag of a cloth he was wearing and dialed a number.
"Yeah! This is Eugene. I would like the report of the recent cases dealt in Chestcovia City by the organisation. Oh? You are saying that the latest report hasn't been submitted yet? Alright, send me a copy when it's submitted."
Eugene hung up and slowly stood up.
The grey owl turned into a grey light and shot inside Eugene's body.
His gaze suddenly stiffened as he read the pun etched on the tombstone.
A black light emerged from his fingers and shot towards the area beneath the words.
Another line was etched on the tombstone saying- No pun intended.
"Well, let's go and meet other two familiars." He stretched a little before walking out of the graveyard.
***
After half an hour, Sigil and Alicia returned to the Silver Fang City. The white sports car revved around the streets and finally stopped outside the gates of the Grey Family's Estate.
"Huff… finally home."
Sigil exhaled deeply.
"Yeah, yeah, don't become relaxed too quickly. We have to report to Dad, remember?"
Alicia stretched her hands as she got out of the car.
"You should do this more often."
Sigil would be damned if he did not check her out while passing out a comment. Her whole body was displayed to him and his eyes captured every single inch of her.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you check me out. It was the bald owner that I wanted to smack when he checked me out."
She replied nonchalantly as she walked past Sigil.
"It wouldn't kill you to act a little shy." He sighed and followed the little missy.
***
"You mean that someone planted that treasure and did not report it to the organisation?"
John leaned on his desk, his thoughts unknown.
"How did you know about the original recipe?" John asked and looked outside the window.
"Anonymous message." Sigil decided to come out clean. It would be stupid to try to keep this a secret and if he took a step back, he did not even need to keep this a secret.
"Ohh?"
John looked at Sigil, prompting him to show the email he received a day before.
John frowned after reading the message.
"What did the sender mean by warning about leaving the city in two days?"
"I don't know, Mast- …. Dad."
Sigil replied.
"Alright, don't mention anything about the treasure in your report. By the looks of it, this treasure was still in its infancy. If your suspicion is correct, then that Eugene already knows about you two and it would be better for you two to keep a low profile."
Even though the Grey Family is counted as one of the best Witch Families out there, it still doesn't hurt to be cautious.
Alicia and Sigil nodded.
"To sum it up, because of the sudden treasure, this case would have been officially turned into a five stars case. Since the existence of the treasure wouldn't be made official in the report, you two will only get the original rewards."
John smiled at both of them.
He took out two pouches and tossed it towards both of them.
"But you still completed a five stars case as your first mission. For that, I will be adding a personal reward."
He took out a small box from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
John's palm touched the box as a green light flashed by.
Click
The box opened and he took out two keys from the box.
"This is the key to the personal library of the estate. Unlike the Elders, you two will only have the access to the chambers for two weeks before the keys disintegrate."
He passed on the keys and let them take their leave.
"Well, I can easily open the seventh energy gate with this reward. What about you?" Sigil played with the pouch as he made his way towards his bedroom.
"Same here. Let's hang out later, I am really tired. I will bring Beth with me before dinner." Alicia went towards her room while yawning.
The condition of opening the inner gates wasn't too harsh. If one had appropriate materials, he or she could easily open the gates without any hidden consequences.
After he entered his room, he immediately slumped on his bed. A habit of his past life.
Vrrrr
His cell phone suddenly vibrated.
"Hmm? Who's calling me now?"
He saw the name on the screen of his mobile and had an urge to put his fist through his cell and punch the caller.
He sighed before answering the phone.
"Yeah? What do you want?
His tone neither considerate nor cold.
The person on the other line was sitting in one of the bars of the town.
The caller was wearing a formal black suit. A glass full of scotch in his hand and a polite smile on his face. His black hair was trimmed from the side while the rest was combed neatly and slicked backwards.
A tattoo of a rose could be seen on his neck, half covered by the collar of his shirt.
If Sigil saw him, he would immediately describe him as a 90's gangster.
"Sigil! My man, good to hear you too! I am back in town for a little business. How about we hang out?"
He was Ivan Redhawk of the Hawk family.
"Is your brother here?" Sigil maintained his tone.
"*Chuckles* I told you that I will take care of him, didn't I? He is in the family dungeon. If he does something like that again, I will kill him myself."
Ivan chuckled as he sipped on his scotch.
"If you don't then I will. Anyway, I just returned from a case for my Rite of Witchcraft."
"Hooh, our little boy Sigil has grown up, huh? So, when do we meet?" Ivan smiled at the cute bartender as he talked with Sigil. He had the kind of a charm that could work on any female including the girls with daddy issues, mature and single women and distressed housewives.
He was a womaniser.
"I ain't meeting you man. You already know me. Even if we screwed around, we never forced anyone. If we didn't catch your little pig in time, even I would have been severely punished."
"Come on man, for old time's sake. I really have some stuff to talk about."
Sigil thought for a moment before agreeing.
"Alright, tomorrow morning, the usual place." He hung up after setting the time.
Ivan smiled as he put his cellphone in his pocket.
"So, love. How can I entertain you!" Ivan smiled as he leaned on the counter, making the hot bartender feel a little fuzzy.
"Now that I think about it, I should check on Aria." He stood up and walked out of the estate. He still had loads of time before meeting with Alicia and catching up with Beth.
He entered a Café named 'The Silver Waffle'.
There weren't many customers at this time of the hour. The whole café was neat and well maintained. The moment he entered, a silver shadow immediately shot towards Sigil, crashing into him.
It was a fox.
This fox was almost a size of a puppy and started licking Sigil's face like an actual puppy.
"Yeah, yeah, good to see you too, Foxy."
He stood up and hugged the fox in his arms.
This wasn't any ordinary fox but an offspring of the Silver Fang Wolf of the grey Family and a Three-Tailed Spirit Fox.
This was also the familiar of the owner of this Café.
"Ah! Mom! White Bro is here." A cute teen shouted as she immediately stopped waiting on a table, leaving the customers disgruntled and a little humorous.
"Yo, Aria! You have been a good kid, right?" He smiled and placed the silver fox on the girl's head.
Her name was Aria Grey. She was one of the talented kids of the family with a bright future ahead of her. Her small, black hair was tied up into a ponytail while she wore a light-blue skirt and a grey apron. She was only fourteen years old and had already opened her second gate.
"Hehe, of course, I am a good girl. Ah! I almost forgot! Please sit here and I will bring you your regular meal." She immediately ran inside the kitchen and left Sigil to his own.
"Aren't you well received? She is never this excited when she sees me." A melodious voice entered his ears as a mature woman with Black hair sat in front of Sigil. She was wearing the chef's outfit and her hair was tied into a bun. Her light-grey eyes staring at Sigil and her petal-like red lips held a smile.
"So? What brings the most talented young master of the Grey family to this small café?"
The chef mocked him.
"That depends! Are you done mocking me?" He smiled at the new arrival.
"Yeah, yeah! Congratulations on the successful completion of your case."
"You already knew?"
"It's a small town and news travel fast."
"I suppose." Sigil leaned back.
"So? Did you have a little 'fun' during your trip with Alicia?"
Her eyes turned crafty and her expression longing for some gossip.
"Stop it already Elder Linda!" He shook his head.
"What Elder? I am only 21 this year."
"Family rules! Any member who has achieved the Chakra Stage is the Elder of the Family."
"Like you ever cared for such rules."
Sigil shrugged.
The woman in front of him was Linda Grey, the youngest Elder of the Grey Family since the family's establishment.
"You are right. I should have started by complimenting on your figure and how this chef's outfit does you injustice. If I haven't personally seen you in your training outfit, I would have thought that you don't have much to show off."
He chuckled.
"There you go!" Linda smiled.
"How's Aria holding up?"
Sigil suddenly asked Linda.
"Well, you know the kid. She bounces up no matter what."
Linda smiled.
Sigil sighed and couldn't help but shake his head. If he was in Aria's shoes, he would have already stopped any contact with strangers and his smile would have already gone for a long time.
"Don't feel bad for her. If even you take pity on her, then she would truly feel sad."
"Yeah! Anyway, I need your help too."
He passed his cellphone to Linda and told her about the anonymous sender.
"Can you track the sender?"
"I can try." She forwarded the email to her cellphone and returned his phone.
"So? How you holding up? I know all about your case this time. Such unexpectedness is really rare on your first case."
"It's not much. We completed the mission and that's what matters."
"Here!"
Aria arrived cheerfully with a plate of a sandwich and a cup of coffee.
"Thank you! Aria."
Sigil thanked her, causing her to blush.
'No, no, no.'
Sigil immediately shook his head to restrain his urge to tease the cute kid.
"Aria, the other customers are also waiting." Linda smiled at Aria, causing her to scamper away.
"Oh yeah! I also wanted to know about the familiars we would be allowed to choose from."
"Sure, I will send you the information about them. But I can't send the confidential info."
"Thanks."
Linda stared at him as he ate.
'Really, all the girls of this world really like to stare creepily?'
He couldn't eat his meal in peace.
"What?"
"One of the RedHawks is in town." Her eyes observing his expression intently.
Sigil nodded.
"I know. It's Ivan."
"Why is he here?"
"I don't know. He contacted me and I am meeting him tomorrow to know that very reason."
Linda narrowed her eyes.
"Even after what his brother was about to do to Aria?"
"Well, I did cut that Pig's willy off. And Ivan says that his brother was sentenced to their family's dungeon."
Only after hearing this did Linda's mood get better.
"Alright! But don't hang around with him for too long. They may never lie but they are well-known schemers."
Linda stood up and made her way towards the kitchen.
|
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"Adopted Protagonist",
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"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
The car stopped in front of a huge metal gate attached to fence walls made of bricks. The whole mansion was surrounded by the fence and every part of the fence had a strange pattern. A circular mark with three inverse stars was also inscribed on the metal gate.
The butler walked outside the car and opened the door for Sigil and Alicia.
No vehicles were allowed on the family property.
Kwinnnnng
The sound of the gate could make the listeners feel as if they had entered a medieval mansion.
"I will be at your service whenever you require me." The butler bowed and left with the car.
Alicia and Sigil calmly walked and entered the property.
'Wow!' No matter how many times he sees it, Sigil still felt astonished.
The whole property surpassed the area of 3 kilometres radius alongside many facilities and a mansion.
Footpaths were constructed for leading the path towards the various facilities while walking on the nearby lawns was strictly forbidden.
"So, our Rite of Witchcraft will be held in a month. Did you find yourself a 3 stars case or do you want to solve a 4 stars case together?"
Alicia asked as she looked at the beautiful flowers at the banks of the footpaths.
"Well, since we both haven't broken through to the chakra stage, let's solve a case together. There is not much of a difference between 3 stars and a 4 stars case and we can provide back up to each other."
Sigil thought for a moment before he spoke.
'Are you kidding me? This body is so athletic that I haven't been able to control all my movements. Going alone will be death.'
Sigil snorted in his mind. He already had a large built compared to his peers. This alongside the act of opening the sixth gate already made him a superhuman in terms of his previous world.
"Sure thing. I actually found a four stars case just 30 kilometres away."
They both chatted as they reached near the old mansion.
In front of the big manor was a statue of a wolf made of pure silver. Just a look at the statue clearly indicates the care and maintenance. The Silver Wolf seemed as shining magnificently. Even the sharp look in its eye indicates that this was no normal wolf.
The wolf was sitting in an attention position while the onlookers could feel the wolf's pride and noble aura. The statue was so incredibly detailed that even the fur of the wolf was carved out in a precise manner.
A tablet with the word 'Grey' was inscribed on the supporting base of the statue.
The statue was placed in a small, circular lawn with bushes of black roses surrounding it. The viewers could easily feel the image of a proud wolf rising through the darkness as he tore a path towards the light.
'Man, stuff like this remind me that we are not on my Earth anymore.'
Sigil admired as a silent sigh escaped from his head.
"Well, I will send you the details of our case through an email. You should go freshen up since Dad will be joining us at the dinner." The door of the manor was opened by one of the maids as they both entered.
"Master will be joining us?"
"You should call him Dad too. Either way, he wants to talk about our preparations and thoughts about the first familiar." She walked near him as she knocked on his head.
Since her build was smaller than his, she had to stretch her toes a little.
"Master is master. Besides, I will be calling him Father-in-law soon." he returned the gesture as they went to their own rooms.
"Huff"
Sigil immediately slumped on his bed after entering his bedroom.
"I tell you! Transmigration ain't a walk in the park."
He spoke to himself as he closed his eyes to clear his thought process.
"I have to get a good control over the body before going out for a hunt."
He sighed as he stood up and entered the bathroom to take a shower and change his clothes.
After changing into a black t-shirt and a pair of dark-blue denims, he sat on his desk and fired up his laptop to check local news and download the case file sent by Alicia.
"Um... pretty standard stuff….oh ok, bones crushed and internal organs turned into a mush... uh... a pattern of five years? That's pretty long. Well, all the victims are blonde girls with a thing for stripping in a club."
He started looking through the files and thought of various kinds of monstrous existence that could fit the description of the killer.
*Knock Knock*
"Young Master Sigil, it is time for dinner." A maid's voice could be heard from outside the door, causing Sigil to shut down his laptop.
The diner was constructed on the ground floor, right beside the living room.
He walked quickly since he didn't want the head of the family to wait for him. As he entered the diner, he was a long dining table with fifteen chairs on both the sides along with two chairs at the end of the table filled with only two people. The rest was empty.
On the seat of the head was sitting a young man in his early twenties. His hair was dark brown with the characteristic silver eyes. His facial features belonged to the good-looking side and had an aura of a noble scholar.
The moment Sigil saw him, he immediately kneeled on one leg.
"Sigil greets Master."
"Will you please stop this. Even I am embarrassed to see my son and now, son-in-law kneeling every time he sees me."
This man was John Grey. The head of the Witch Family Grey. One of the leading witch expert and a monster hunter of the district.
"Yes."
Sigil stood up as he made his way toward the left side of John.
"Sit here."
Alicia hadn't arrived yet and the right seat to John's was empty. He quickly pointed Sigil towards the right side of his seat.
The right seat to the head's seat was an indirect method of presentation of trust.
Sigil did not say anything and sat on the right chair, right next to John.
"Do you know the reason I joined here today?" John asked as a maid served the dinner.
"Since Alicia told me about Master coming here but not arriving here herself, I would think that you want to talk something about me."
Sigil spoke as he waited for John to start eating first.
"Sigh, to tell the truth, I have never been so proud of you since you played my song on that piano. No gambling, no red light district, no bullying, nothing. All I am here to say is that you did not let me down." John smiled at Sigil as he placed a bite in his mouth.
Sigil flinched a little at his words.
How could John not know about Sigil's actions? Sigil was the only adopted child in the Grey Family with the treatment equal to the princess of the Grey Family- Alicia Grey.
They both did not speak after that and ate their dinner quietly.
After they both finished, John was the first one to get up.
"From now on, you call me Father or Dad. Stop with your 'Master' crap."
John didn't wait for any reply as he walked away.
"Also, start your morning workout routine once again. You have just opened your sixth gate and need to stabilise your body with proper training."
Even though John had disappeared, Sigil could still hear him easily.
|
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"Arrogant Characters",
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"Beasts",
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"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
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|
"Look, here he comes."
A voice suddenly spoke out.
Immediately, everybody stopped talking and kept their gazes on the gate of the family garden. Even the family Elders and the family head looked forward to the choice of the top witches of the family.
The choices depict the character of the witch. If you take the strongest Familiar without any thought of the future path and development, then this means that you aren't worth cultivating. After all, sabotaging such a good chance for a short-term benefit shows the narrow mindedness of the witch.
If someone chose the familiar with the most potential, these people are worth paying attention to.
But still, there is a variable of future growth. Nobody knows the future and the developmental path taken by the young witches. This is also the reason, the top five Witches get all the support from the Family, allowing them to open their chakra point.
Of course, anomalies like Ricardo still exist. To be able to ascend to the chakra level without any prior foundation stunned the whole family. Even the branch of the Carefree Alliance and other Witch families have been paying attention to Ricardo.
As Sigil slowly stepped out, the attention of the whole group fell on the small Silver-Furred Chimp walking behind Sigil while its active eyes scanned the surroundings.
"Hmm? This fluctuation.... Soul Familiar?" Garthe looked and frowned. His voice wasn't loud, but his words were heard by almost every Elder and their expressions couldn't help but change.
Only John had a calm expression on his face.
On the other hand, the reaction of the younger generation was even more exaggerated. They started to back away from Sigil and created a distance of five metres. Looking at this situation, Sigil couldn't help but shale his head. Only Martha and Alicia decided to join Sigil, but he could feel that these two girls also had some awkwardness in their hearts.
Nodding at the two beauties, Sigil made his way towards John and bowed slightly before speaking.
"I express my gratitude to the Family Elder for giving me a chance to select a suitable Familiar. I will not disappoint the family's trust in me."
Hearing his words, Garthe's expression changed slightly and John couldn't help but smile internally. Meanwhile, Ricardo's and some of the Elder's expression also turned strange.
Even though the younger generation couldn't understand Sigil's intent, the mature Elders did. They have years of political experience and they have already formed an instinct towards the methods of handling social situations.
Through his words, Sigil conveyed two things, first, he announced his intention to cultivate in soul path. After all, he did say that he selected a 'suitable Familiar'. Secondly, he also attached the future cultivation of the family on himself.
Soul path is frowned upon in the Witch's World and even if he exhibited unnatural talent in soul path, he will face many hurdles in the family. By saying that he wouldn't disappoint the family's expectation, Sigil made clear that the family will have to cultivate him properly to realise the said 'expectation'.
Of course, all of this is just a show of political eloquence. But this aspect also gained the attention of most of the Family Elders.
Even though the individual power is the most impressive methods to handle the situations of life, sometimes, a person's creative mind and flexible eloquence can achieve more benefits than simply using your power to bulldoze the hurdle.
"Sigil... is he really the Sigil of my previous world?" Ricardo couldn't help but fall into deep thoughts.
"Good." John only said one word and Sigil went back.
"Wait.... look at the Ghost Chimp. He already looks tamed!" An Elder couldn't help but speak as he noticed the strange situation.
According to common sense, taming is one of the harder aspects of cultivation. Every living being has its own thinking and personality.
This is true even for plant lifeforms.
But this personality does not refer to the personality of a human being like a stubborn or gentle personality.
It is the personality of the soul of the living being.
Some Familiars have stubborn quality in their souls, some are instilled with gentleness or craftiness. These personalities may appear from the time of birth or these may be gained through the experience of life.
Till now, the world of witches could only speculate about such vague concepts.
After all, external personality is already intangible, then the measures of personalities of the soul can already be a pipe dream.
But now, in front of everybody, Sigil has shown yet another quality of himself. He has actually tamed a Familiar in such a short time!
As the Elder's voice fell, everybody's expression changed sharply.
Before the chatter about such a talent could begin, John coughed and started sending other witches to take their pick from the Elite Garden.
***
"Alright, the four juniors have already selected their Familiars. Only one elite Familiar is left in the family garden. Other juniors and Elders will be given a chance to observe the Familiar and make the decision."
Without wasting, John waved his hand and a small red light erupted from the gates and shot towards John's palm.
When the figure of a red wolf cub became clear, John spoke lightly.
"This is the blood path, Blood Fur Wolf."
Seeing the figure of the wolf, the excitement of the family dissipated and all of them looked disappointed.
Even though the Blood Path is related to body strengthening, its methods are heavily criticised and also discriminated against. Furthermore, this wolf itself does not have any outstanding quality and looks weak compared to the other four Familiars.
Seeing such a reaction, John nodded internally. Even he did not know the reason behind the Silver Fang Wolf selecting this Familiar.
"Maybe, they are both wolf type, is that why?" John spoke internally. He even tried asking the wolf, but the wolf itself gave a vague reply and said that it did not know the true potential behind the red wolf.
"Well, even if it has a godly potential, what is the use if it cannot be identified?" John thought and waited for some time.
"I would like to tame this wolf." A faint voice attracted everybody's attention.
It was Ricardo!
Even Sigil's eyes shone like a bulb and looked at Ricardo's movements.
Every single step taken by Ricardo is in consideration with the benefits retrieved in the future. After all, Sigil knew that he was a person who is reincarnated from the future.
"This wolf has a special significance." Sigil immediately connected the dots.
First, the blood path is heavily discriminated and no person will choose the Familiars of this path easily. Especially, in front of a crowd.
Second, this wold doesn't show any outstanding talent, but is still favoured by Ricardo.
This aspect itself shows that this Familiar's potential is recognised and understood by Ricardo.
"Now, should I stop him from gaining an undue advantage because of his rebirth? Or should I simply ignore him and retreat from his path."
"No, since he understands the potential of the Familiar and is even willing to take up this path in front of a crowd, this means that the benefit provided by this Familiar will easily cover the loss of his recently gained reputation."
After making his mind Sigil's eyes looked at Ricardo.
Till now, their relationship has always remained subtle.
Sigil used to bully him and then he took the initiative to apologise. Then, they also took a mission together. Till now, their relationship is mostly based on their previous lifestyle, the life before they both took over again.
One transmigrated and turned over a new leaf, other reincarnated and started taking benefits of his knowledge about future events.
"But still, I can only cultivate one path. Even if I am talented enough to gain Two Sky Chakra Points, do I need to change my future path to Blood and Soul path because of one single advantage?"
Sigil suddenly hesitated.
He was still new to this world and both the laths are frowned upon.
He wasn't like Ricardo that could easily change the situation because of his knowledge about future events.
Meanwhile, Ricardo was still anxious.
"Alright, the first step is taken and still need to wait for the Silver Fang Wolf to make an appearance."
Ricardo thought for a bit and spoke once again.
"Family head, I am willing to abandon my chance to explore the family garden to tame this Blood Fur Familiar."
Ricardo's words made many Elders speculate about the path taken by Ricardo. After all, he still hadn't disclosed his chakra path.
Now, actively asking for blood Familiar made most of the Elders come to the conclusion that Ricardo had taken up the Blood Path.
Speechless!
First, Sigil decided to take up the Soul path, and now, Ricardo took up the Blood Path.
Before John could say anything, his body flashed silver and a small silver coloured wolf shot out of his body and picked up the red fur wolf from his palm.
The situation changed too quickly.
Aoooo
The Ancestral Wolf of the Family walked towards Sigil elegantly and placed the Blood Fur Wolf in its mouth on the ground, as if presenting it to Sigil.
'Can you be anymore high profile?' His mouth kept on twitching as the gazes of everybody present concentrated on Sigil.
He looked towards John, his eyes begging for an animal translator.
John looked around and he felt even more bitter. Why beg me? I am as shocked as you are!
He slowly walked towards the Ancestor Wolf and picked it up.
"Sigh, Silver Fang Wolf wants you to take the Blood Fur Wolf."
John's voice made everyone frown.
According to the set regulations, this is not possible. After all, Sigil has already chosen a Familiar.
If John actually allowed such a thing to happen, his influence among the family Elders will surely diminish, tarnishing his magnificent reputation.
Even Sigil understood this point. But still, he looked at the Blood Fur Wolf intently.
As if sensing the burning gaze, the wolf cub looked up and their eyes matched for the first time.
Shiver!
Previously, the wolf was sealed in an ice cube, so he couldn't make out its gaze. But now, meeting the wolf cub's gaze, Sigil felt a shiver run down his spine as the dormant wolf constellation suddenly let out a soundless roar, as if wanting to emerge from his body.
Sigil gulped and looked around. Now, he was certain that this wolf is extremely special. After all, his wolf constellation has evolved twice and he still doesn't know much about the situation. But this wolf could actually evoke a strong reaction in his constellation formed by his own energy gates!
"I don't think this is very appropriate. After all, the rules set by the family shouldn't be changed easily."
The family had dozens of family elders while tens of guest Elders. The one who spoke was one of the family Elders.
"I think we should discuss such a situation before we decide anything." Another one spoke out.
Slowly, many of the Elders started to present their opinions while some chose to remain silent. It was to be noted that the young and old family Elders chose to remain silent, while the Elders that grouped along with the Supreme Elder Garthe spoke their opinions with great gusto.
"This decision should be based on the family Head and the Ancestor Familiar of the family. We have no right to present our opinions on this matter."
This statement caused everyone to look at the speaker in shock. Even John's face changed slightly.
These words really put him in a difficult spot. Even though the statement sounded respectful, in reality, the statement implied that if the Family Head wants to break the rule, who can stop him. Even if these kinds of situation occur in the future, the Elders won't have any right to intervene.
John looked towards the speaker deeply. Surprisingly, these words weren't spoken by the Supreme Elder Garthe, but the most recent Elder, Ricardo.
Right now, his expression was serene and he looked extremely respectful towards John.
Even Sigil was stunned by his words. But he wasn't surprised because of the implied meaning. He was stunned due to the fact that Ricardo was willing to offend the Family head and risk his placement in the family for a weak Familiar.
This changed the situation entirely.
Previously Sigil thought that Ricardo wouldn't mind giving up his reputation for the familiar. In reality, the cost of the reputation is almost nil and the profit he would gain in future may be great.
But now, he was willing to offend the family head. This meant that his cultivation resources could be limited by John if he wanted to.
This meant that the benefit gained by this wolf is definitely greater than the benefit provided to Chakra Points Practitioner for their Cultivation.
This left only one answer.
Grimoire Master!
This wolf cub is the key to a treasure trove that can probably give out a Grimoire Master's heritage. Just like the Inverse Witch's Inheritance.
Broughtwaorld
hey guys, author here.
If you guys have been enjoying this novel, you can support me further by joining my patreon. In the future, I will also release advance chapters.
Have a nice day!
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Arising Conflict",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
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"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
A 10-seater minivan drove away from the Grey Estate. Instead of looking like a big tempo vehicle, it looked like a luxurious limousine with a broad frame. The body of the minivan was painted metallic black and a symbol of a wolf howling could be seen on the hood of the car.
The minivan was divided into two compartments connected by a movable black glass. Meanwhile, the seats of the van were placed on the left and right side, with the back facing the windows of the van. Each side capable of holding 4 people.
John had decided to sit on the front seat, right next to the driver. Usually, he would never sit on this seat, but right now, he wanted to leave the kids alone and have them talk with each other. Even though they all were of the same family, many of them did not even know each other personally.
"Master, I am deeply honoured that you have decided to give this old man some company." The driver/butler spoke out. His voice filled with emotion and respect.
"......"
John didn't know how to reply.
***
Sigil, Alicia, Bethany and Jacob were sitting on the left side of the van. Jacob was thinking that he might have a shot with Bethany since Alicia and Sigil were engaged unofficially, but who knew, he had to eat the bitter pill.
Starting from the corner, Bethany took the first seat, Alicia took the second and Sigil took the third seat. This way, both the girls were covered by Sigil. Meanwhile, Jacob remained slumped on the seat next to Sigil.
On the opposite side sat Oliver, George and Annie.
The whole van was suffering from an awkward silence. In front, John chose to remain indifferent about all the chatter of the old butler, while the younger generation remained silent out of the sheer awkwardness and unfamiliarity with each other.
After all, everyone will feel uncomfortable if they had been put into a box filled with unknown and strange people. But this feeling would intensify when those people are your distant acquaintance that you purposely avoided.
The situation did not last long because of Alicia's popularity.
"So, how are your preparations? I am still feeling nervous even after all the preparations." Annie smiled as he started the conversation with Alicia.
Annie was the daughter of an Elder of the Family that showed promising growth. Even though she wasn't much of a genius compared to the two members that were selected for the Family's baptism, it did not mean she was weak.
She had already opened her fifth gate and she only needed to complete a few more missions to reach the pinnacle of mortality.
"It's the same for me. This is the one-time ancestral baptism we are talking about, how could I not feel nervous?" Alicia smiled politely and replied modestly. The skill of speaking and maintaining the facial expression during the conversation had been ingrained in the top members of the younger generation.
Annie nodded in understanding. Since they both were seated on the opposite and face each other, they had to speak a little louder. Meanwhile, Bethany simple closed her eyes and decided to rest. According to the Family Head, the destination wasn't far, so she decided to utilise this time to calm her mind.
Oliver and George also started whispering to each other. Apparently, they also decided to enjoy each other's company. It was only Jacob and Sigil that remained silent.... awkwardly.
'Fuck!' Jacob cursed internally as he snuck glances at Sigil.
Sigil was also portraying his character well. His face held a small, yet arrogant smile. His whole demeanor displayed confidence. Alicia didn't mind it that much. After all, she understood that behavioural change is a gradual and slow process.
***
Almost 40 minutes later, they reached the border of Chestcovia City. Unlike Harrisonburg City, it wasn't surrounded by forest, the bordering area was simply an undeveloped region with lots of farmland.
Right now, they all could see the unfortunate City perfectly. But it was surrounded by a translucent, blue-coloured hemisphere that showed a regular wave-like pattern. The city did not have a lot of tall buildings and the group could see a tall pillar with many paintings and scribbles of spiders. In fact, a giant, 12-legged spider was carved on the top of the pillar, whereas, many ancient writings could be seen on the base of the pillar.
The Grey Family wasn't the only one that reached the city. The surrounding three families, the alliance and some talented lone Witches could also be seen.
Seeing the specific area filled with Leader Level figures, John turned to the group and once again encouraged them.
"I wish you all, best of luck. This is a wonderful opportunity for you all, after all, this is a super-sized Ancestral Pool that also affects the potential of the chakra points. I hope that you guys can make the highest use of this blessing." John spoke before he left to mingle with other leaders of families and organisation. He was already feeling a little empty from the inside as he listened the old butler chattering away. He really needed to talk to someone with Equal status.
"Huff, it's time. How about teaming up and cultivating together?" Jacob proposed hesitantly.
Even though their task was simple, it was filled with hidden hurdles. In the ancestral pool, one needs to actively absorb the energy and strengthen themselves to create a better foundation and ascend to the realm of chakra mastery.
But, this world is filled with competition and your success meant someone else's loss. Many people will try to harm you and make it so that you wouldn't be able to absorb the energy. Use of spells and other magical weapons was not allowed. They could only use mortal weapons.
In the olden times, it would have been fine, but with the invention of gunpowder and advancement of technology in the area of firearms, even mortal weapons posed threats to their lives.
Their group had weapons with themselves, too.
As they slowly conversed with themselves, a conflict erupted.
It was the RedHawks and Ivan. Even though the leader of the RedHawks stayed away, he was staring daggers at his only son– Ivan.
"You bastard! How could you? Why would you?" A black haired man kept on hitting the other one with a rose tattoo on the side of his neck.
Surprisingly, Ivan did not retaliate. He remained quiet and took the beating. Seeing this, Sigil sighed. He could not help him even if he wanted to. Personally, Sigil wanted to kill Charles himself, but he would never have gotten the opportunity to do so.
"You betrayed us. YOU LEFT US!" Sigil actually knew the aggrieved party. His name was Peter, Ivan's friend. Well..... his ex-friend.
"I am sorry." Ivan smiled sadly. His eyes filled with emotions, alas, he had no right to speak about some matters. After all, he decided on an action and was facing the consequences.
It was at this moment that an unusual presence was felt by everyone.
Slowly, all of them looked up and saw an old man floating downwards. He was Old Sparrow, the director of the dark Guild– Grand Sparrow.
"Kekeke, Welcome! I will be conducting this year's Baptism." Old Sparrow cackled and his hoarse voice reached everyone.
As everybody focused on Old Sparrow, he continued.
"Fighting with opponents and crippling the competition is allowed, but if anybody kills their opponent, they will be executed on the spot. Any questions?" Even though his voice was hoarse, his words ignited the fighting spirit of every team.
"Yes, I have one. What happened to the Grimoire World." Roman asked with a cold voice, making Old Sparrow flinch.
Usually, if any chakra expert tried to get into a conflict with Old Sparrow, he would have immediately killed the opponent with a snap of his fingers, but now, he wasn't a member of a dark guild. He had to play by rules, too.
"We were fortunate enough to find the inheritance ground of the Grimoire World and passed all the tests." Even though he knew that his lie was filled with loopholes and the news of the Grimoire World getting destroyed will reach the Alliance headquarters, he still had to buy some time.
He secretly cursed the directors of the other two guilds. They were quick enough to choose their task and left him with this burdensome task.
His words caused a lot of murmuring among the crowd and Roman simply smirked. Since he couldn't fight the directors physically, he chose to fight them a battle of wits. After all, they also had a part in the death of his youngest son.
Meanwhile, Sigil smiled. Old Sparrow's words couldn't fool the wise ones. Firstly, he knew that he was the one to inherit the inverse Witch's Grimoire, second, why would they destroy the Grimoire World after inheriting it.
The Grimoire World could produce many rare space path and illusion path resources. It would have provided them with a huge amount of profits. After all, not everybody in this world was foolish and clichéd.
Similarly, Ricardo, John, Brian, Alan and Roman deduced the truth.
Somebody had stolen the Grimoire!
Even though this news came as a shock to them, they still kept quiet. Instigating the matter further would only cause them backlash from the three directors. Even though they couldn't kill them, the directors could still pressure them in another manner.
Roman understood this and kept control of his emotions. His smile made the Old Sparrow curse in rage, but the situation caused him to keep his emotions in check.
Meanwhile, Sigil finally understood that sometimes, simple words could have hidden meaning. He finally understood that not all of them were as clichéd as the previous owner of the body and not all of them could be fooled easily.
Snorting coldly, Sparrow continued.
"Alright, the baptism will be active for five days." He spoke simply and flew away. Almost at the same time, the hemisphere with a wave-like pattern changed it's colour from blue to dark Grey as the totem in the middle of the city shined a pitch black light. The words on the foot of Totem shone a crimson light as the eyes of the ten-legged spider turned crimson, too.
A small opening was formed on the surface of the Hemisphere and the selected members rushed inside the city. Many were running alone while others ran in groups.
Sigil had decided to team up. After all, they could alert each other if they saw some long-ranged weapon or someone following them.
The moment the group entered the city, they suddenly felt a rush of pure energy inside their body. But they only felt it and no changes occurred in their bodies. After all, one needed to meditate and consciously absorb the energy to stir their energy gates.
Most of the competitors were of the same age and had only opened their energy gates up to the seventh energy gate– Gate of Wonder. Meanwhile, those who had opened their eighth energy gate could be counted in one hand.
Even when Sigil was hailed as a genius, he had only opened his seventh gate. Even though it could be said that he did not have enough time, but the fact remained that he was still weak compared to some youths and this society only demanded results.
Nobody would care about your hard work or your sacrifices if you don't produce satisfying results. That is the reason that Sigil could live an unobstructed life of debauchery. He produced satisfying results in his Cultivation.
The closer they were to the totem pillar, the purer the energy became. After entering the ancestral pool, every group dispersed and quickly hid away. After all, there was a chance that conflicts would arise and nobody wanted to waste their precious time on this petty competition.
Sigil's group chose a residential house with two floors built. They quickly settled inside the house. Two people from the group had to guard the house while the other five will be cultivating.
***
Sigil made himself comfy on the bed belonging to the dead. Since it was a two-storied house, the five of them had enough room to practice alone.
He simply closed his eyes and entered his meditative position to start cultivating.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Ancestral Pool",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
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"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
'Crush the nails of the vampire.'
Sigil had already returned to his room. Right now, he was sitting on his study, in front of a small bowl.
The pouch that he and Alicia obtained in the form of a reward for completing a mission was already untied and some materials could be seen.
Sigil already had a pair of surgical gloves on as he slowly crushed a black nail using a small metal bar.
Some of the materials, if handled inappropriately, may cause the witch to suffer from consequences.
For example, the vampire's nail. It was well known that the vampire converts a human into their kind using the venom secreted from their canines. But their nails were a completely different matter. Their nails, if used correctly, may cure a disease or cause a terrible one if infected.
Sigil slowly crushed the nail on a piece of paper. After completing the process, he carefully slid the contents on the paper into the bowl.
'Next, battering the Raksha Eye.'
He controlled his nervousness as he took out a small eye from the pouch. The whole eye was black with a light green pupil.
Curse, Nurture and Self!
These were the three characteristics of the witch nature.
The curse was a part of the study where a witch gains the knowledge about various spells that can be used to heal, kill and exorcise.
Nurture was a part of Witchcraft related to nurturing of familiars gained in the higher levels.
Self was a part of the study where a witch meditates to connect with nature and attain the wisdom of a higher realm.
The three parts of the Witchcraft are interrelated and codependent to each other.
Each study contains broad diversification and endless knowledge. Every single witch has his own thoughts, leading him to have his own comprehension and his own path. The collection of millions of witches created the foundation of witchcraft and a path for future Witches.
The spell that Sigil was working on was a one-time Cultivation spell of the Curse Study.
A curse isn't always a bad thing. It can be used to nurture a body or destroy a body.
Even though Sigil had experience of the previous body, he still felt a little repulsed when a sensation of 'squishiness' was transferred to his brain from his fingers holding the black eye.
He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts.
He was a genius!
In the profession of Witchcraft, a genius isn't someone with extraordinary potential hidden inside the physical body, it is the potential of a witch's mind and his comprehension ability.
No matter how much of a silk pants Sigil became after associating with Redhawk's youngest scion, he was still a genius with more than seventy percent success rate in the completion of entry-level spells.
He put the black eye in the middle of the bowl, on the powdered nail.
He picked up a small spoon and slowly squeezed the eye with the backside of the spoon.
When he saw all kinds of liquid spurting out, he almost vomited. He controlled his urges and did not delay the process by squishing the eye slowly. He flattened the eye as dark green liquid filled the bottom of the bowl, covering the powdered nail.
He repeatedly battered the mixture and then cleaned the spoon with a tissue before tossing, both the tissue paper and the spoon into the dustbin beside the study table.
Now, the whole mixture looked dark-green and smooth, except some floating threads that were originally a part of the eye.
'Wings of the eight-legged ant.'
He took out a thin pair of finger-sized wings and placed it inside the mixture. He did not mix it and let it remain floating.
'Now, the main part.'
He picked a small silver knife and made a cut on his palm, letting his blood fall on the dark-green liquid.
Some spells required a witch's blood as a medium to execute the spell.
"Self-type curse and nurturing spells mostly require the blood of the witch. It not only allows the spell to be compatible with the witch because if the exposure to the blood, but it also connects the soul of the witch to the spell."
Sigil recalled the most basic lecture on the spell as he himself felt a surge of energy connecting his being to the liquid in front of him.
Without wasting any more time, he immediately started reciting the spell.
'The spell belongs to the modern era and is relatively easy to execute. I have the foundations of the previous owner and just need to be careful.'
"Hdery Glomin Dityse be Grameek Kloman…"
As Sigil started reciting the spell, he felt a part of his being getting exhausted. It wasn't physical exhaustion but mental. His soul was used as the fuel to conduct the spell with his blood as the medium.
The dark-green liquid started to converge on the pair of thin wings, dying the transparent wings into a light-green color.
"Sigh, success."
He leaned back on his chair and let out an exhausted sigh.
The next step was to let the wing soak in the liquid for 8 hours.
He got up and went to his bathroom.
"Uoooo Ghouuu."
Sounds of vomiting rang inside the empty room.
After emptying his stomach, he cleaned up his study and covered the bowl with a silver cover.
He wrapped up all the wasted equipment in a plastic bag and handed over the bag to the maid placed outside his room.
Huff
He slumped on his bed and set an alarm before sleeping to rest his tired mind and soul.
***
Beep Beep Beep
It was five in the evening as Sigil's smartphone started vibrating with a sound of 'beep beep' coming off it.
It was the alarm!
The door of his room clicked open as his maid walked inside his room. She was wearing a traditional maid costume of black and white. Her snow white hair, similar to Sigil were combed neatly remained open, flowing down her back. A black coloured headband kept her hair from falling on her beautiful face. She had healthy skin with a pair of pitch-black pupils.
Her face had soft and beautiful features.
She was Sigil's personal maid and the previous owner's 'first time'!
"Master! You always set the alarm but never wake up!"
She softly pulled his blanket and started shaking Sigil's shoulder, causing him to finally wake up from his sleep.
"Hmm? Martha?"
He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
He felt a little awkward around her at first, but now, he had become casual around her antics.
"Say, Master? You always look painful when you wake up." She sat on the edge of Sigil's bed as her hands trailed up his legs, towards a bulging tent.
"Don't worry! It's just puberty."
He smiled and got up. Even though he was casual, that didn't mean that he would let anyone touch him whenever someone wanted to. It should be the other way around.
Martha also got up after her failed attempt of teasing. The bulge remained in his pants, though.
'It was better when I grew older. I could at least hide it. And what's with this size?'
Sigil felt both lucky and unlucky to be stuck in this body.
Lucky because he was talented with a good foundation, good physique and a manly face. Unlucky because he had to clean up the past mess left by the original owner.
"Martha, what gate have you reached?"
He checked her out as he spoke. Before he arrived, the original Sigil made Martha wear a knee-length skirt with a tight maid blouse, so that he could check out her curvaceous body thick thighs whenever he wanted. Sigil understood his past counterpart's urges because Martha was a 'disaster' to any man. More dangerous than Alicia, Linda and Beth combined.
"Reporting to master, I have already opened the Eighth Gate of Death. I am currently trying to breakthrough the Chakra Stage and make a contract with my familiar."
Sigil nodded and spoke out.
"You already know that the top five from the rite will be allowed to bring another person to the ancestral pool. Be prepared when the time comes."
"Yes, Master."
Martha did not have a joyous expression since she could reach the chakra stage anytime. She only had the expression of expectation and a grateful feeling in her heart.
"I will be eating dinner in my room. The usual, alright?"
"Yes, Master."
She stood up and walked towards the exit.
She walked slowly and her loose robes still couldn't contain her sexy back. Sigil's gaze also walked her out.
Before she walked out, her hand suddenly slapped her own butt.
Pah
The sound startled awake Sigil as he looked at the smiling Martha winking at him.
He could only shake his head as she walked out of the room with a cheerful smile on her face.
Martha Love, nineteen years old, the genius of the family. The only reason she was unrecognised is that it wasn't any Elders that brought her in the family. It was Sigil himself.
Until he becomes an Elder, her status will remain that to a maid.
This was also why she wasn't allowed to have the familiars from the family and couldn't enter the ancestral pool during her own Rite of Witchcraft.
As he started dressing, he heard a knock on his door followed by Alicia's voice.
"We are coming in!"
Truly shameless!
Sigil hurriedly pulled up his pants before any misunderstanding could be caused.
The door clicked open, revealing Alicia and the blue-haired Bethany Grey. Unlike the usual Grey, she was a blue-haired woman because of her mother's curse.
Her mother was afflicted with a curse from an enemy witch. To remove the curse, her body needed to be altered. Bethany's father, the supreme elder of the family and John Grey performed the surgery themselves.
Alicia's mother was pregnant at that time and some of the changes also affected Bethany, causing her to be a little different than the regular Grey offsprings.
"You ready?"
Alicia sat on the edge of his bed as Sigil combed his hair.
He wasn't in any strange world where spiky and otherworldly hair looked cool. Sigil preferred neat and well maintained hair.
Bethany, on the other hand, opened the silver lid of the bowl and showed a surprised expression.
"Sigil, you already completed the spell?" Bethany already knew about the reward for Alicia.
Even Alicia felt a little surprised at her words.
"Well, I did not have anything else on my hands. Beth, didn't you already choose a case?"
He smoothly diverted the conversation topic as he finally got ready.
"Yeah! It's a three-star case. Hopefully, it won't steer off like your first case."
She sighed. She chose a creature hunt rather than a ghost hunt.
Presumably, she would be hunting a vampire.
"You taking any backup?"
Alicia asked in concern.
Bethany nodded and gave them the details of the case.
"Ricardo? He is just a second gate expert."
Alicia frowned as she heard her beastie's idea.
"Even I thought the same way. But his battle experience is very high. I tested him in a sparring match and if it wasn't for me having a stronger body, I would have lost to him easily."
Bethany was a genius spell master with four of her energy gates unlocked. If she was praising Ricardo so much then he is definitely something.
"What did you mean by battle experience?" Sigil asked in confusion.
Bethany took a moment before replying.
"Just like Alicia practice Martial Arts, you practice Boxing and I practice Swordplay, we all have a method and a pattern of fighting. But Ricardo… he-... he is like a beast in a fight. Pure instinct, no pattern."
Hearing her words, they both felt shocked, especially Sigil.
He remembered the strange occurrence in the classroom and his belief of Ricardo being a reincarnator or a transmigrator like him became even stronger.
If Bethany's words were true, then it meant that Ricardo was already a master level close combat practitioner.
"That won't do! I will hire a professional for you as a backup."
Alicia immediately denied.
Bethany and Alicia immediately entered into a heated argument.
"How about this? You take Mest as your backup. I think that he still hasn't chosen any case and he would be more than happy to collaborate with you."
Sigil spoke out, causing both of them to go silent.
As if sensing something weird, he asked both of them.
"What happened?"
"You know that Mest is a well know pervert, right?"
'Of course, this body only knows the well-known pervert.'
After a lot of fighting, Bethany finally conceded to Alicia and accepted the idea of hire hunting.
Meanwhile, Ricardo did not even know that his another plan had failed even after he tried helping the two persons who became the reason of this failure.
After the three of them had their fun, they returned back to their respective rooms, preparing for their case or cultivation.
After eating his food brought in by Martha, he finally waited for another three hours as he did some basic exercise to get even more familiar with his body, he walked up to his study and opened the silver lid.
|
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"series": "8611",
"id": "9151",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Brewing Spell",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"So, what's your name kid?" Sigil asked as they rode the cab.
"Joseph"
"Joseph? That's a nice name. So tell me, Joseph. What were you doing near a witch and a vengeful spirit?"
Sigil started his interrogation.
The whole situation felt a little off to Sigil. Why would a Chakra Level Witch lie in his report? What was the spherical object? And why would this Eugene leave a protection spell on this town?
No witch is good enough to exhaust their magic to protect the humans from supernatural contingencies.
"I…-that night, I was captured by the spirit. It was Mr Daniel's ghost. My mother once told me that Mr Daniel died because of a child's prank. This was the reason his spirit targeted kids like me. After the bodies of three victims were discovered, the police asked for a witch's help."
Sigil nodded as he understood most of the situation.
"So, the corpse of this Daniel guy was cremated according to the standards, right?"
Sigil asked for the sake of confirmation.
"Yes! Every person of this town gets their bodies cremated after their death."
Joseph nodded his head.
"Kiddo, we reached your destination." The cab driver spoke out.
"Thanks. Keep the change."
Sigil paid the driver and got off together with Joseph.
They were standing in front of a Graveyard.
Even though the bodies of the dead get cremated, the family of the said person usually place a tombstone for the person.
Joseph led Sigil towards the tombstone of Daniel. Since it was daytime, the graveyard barely looked sinister. Instead, the place looked extremely lively.
"Here." Joseph pointed at an old tombstone with fungus attached to it. The condition of the tombstone was extremely bad. Evidently, no one visited or cleaned this guy's resting place.
"Hmm? Let's see." Sigil took out a handkerchief and wiped the front of the tombstone.
"Here lies Daniel McGee, may his soul rest in peace."
Sigil read aloud.
Beneath the writings was a circle with a pentagon etched inside it. A small dot had been carved at the centre of the strange circle.
"A sealing spell."
Sigil's mind flashed countless thoughts as he felt even weirder.
"Thank you, Joseph. You should go back." Sigil handed some money to the kid since it would take him some time.
After booking a cab for the kid, Sigil immediately returned to the tombstone.
"That's strange, this isn't just a sealing spell." Sigil clicked the image of the spell and sent it to someone. He then dialed a number on his mobile phone.
"Hey, Beth. It's me. Yeah! Listen, I have sent you an image of a spell. Can you check the library and find a match? Yeah! thanks."
Bethany Grey, one of the young geniuses of the Grey Family with four gates unlocked in such a young age. She was also a spell master. Alicia and Bethany are the only girls from the younger generation of the family treated with respect belonging to a Chakra Stage Witch.
"Hey, Alicia. I'm at the city graveyard. Pick me up after you check on every victim's family. Yeah! Alright, bye."
He contacted Alicia after that and walked towards the nearest security building of the graveyard to get some tools.
***
Meanwhile, Alicia also interrogated the family of the victims and some witnesses.
"So you mean that Miss Aria was strictly professional and did not perform any other entertainment activities outside her payroll, yes?" Alicia asked the husband of the last victim.
"Yes! Even though she used to work in a strip club, I supported her unconditionally and our marriage was really healthy. She did not hide anything from me and I knew her routine." The victim's husband's condition was really terrible.
"So, did you notice anything strange in her behaviour or any unusual feeling the day of the accident?"
Alicia narrowed her eyes.
"No, not that I can think of. One thing though, she wanted to leave the club after what happened to Sophie." The man spoke out.
"What do you mean?"
She immediately picked up the conversation and asked her question.
"Well, there just before all the deaths took place, an employee going by the name of Trisha had disappeared strangely. No feetbody has been found yet."
Alicia raised her eyebrow at the information.
"Thank you for your time."
Alicia stood up and went away.
Before she drove away, she dialed a number on her mobile phone.
"Hey, Sigil! Still at the graveyard? Yeah! Checked on all the victim's family. Coming to pick you up."
***
"Thanks!"
Sigil hung up as he continued digging the empty grave of Daniel.
Thuk
The shovel suddenly hit a solid plate, causing Sigil to smile lightly.
"Mr Chang, can you pass me that mattock?" Sigil shouted at the security guard on duty.
"Sure thing, kid!" The kind looking Asian American passed him the pitch black mattock.
"Honestly, I have opened five of my inner gates and I still don't get why you witches are so much into digging graves."
Mr Chang chuckled a little as he bent and watched Sigil using the mattock to break open the stone platform.
"You don't know the half of it."
Sigil also chuckled.
Bang
Bang
He kept using the mattock to beat at the stoney platform.
"Hmm? Kid, want me to give a hand?"
Sigil had already dug seven feet deep and six feet wide. Mr Chang could easily fit in the hole and give him a hand.
If it was the original Sigil, he would have already mocked Mr Chang for being one stage lower than him.
"Sure, why not? I could use some help."
Sigil smiled as he struck the stoney platform once again.
Soon, Mr Chang appeared with another mattock and joined Sigil.
Bang
Bang
Bang
"Damn, this isn't a normal platform. What the hell is this, boy?" The old security guard couldn't help but feel astonished.
He could be considered one of the strongest, including some police officers. After all, opening the fifth gate is an impressive achievement for someone without any background.
"Of course, it isn't a normal platform. Don't you see that the mark on the tomb isn't just a sealing spell, it's also a nurturing spell?" A sweet voice answered the old man's doubt.
Sigil looked up and found Alicia looking back at him with a strange expression saying- 'You should read more.'
Technically, it wasn't Sigil's fault. He just arrived at this world a week ago.
"You know about that spell?"
"Yeah! I once saw this on Dad's desk. He wanted to nurture a specter to breakthrough from the fifth point of Throat Chakra to the sixth point of Third Eye Chakra. Well, the treasure to be nurtured depends on the quality of the specter itself but he still hasn't found any specter near the family town."
Alicia spoke out as she remained in deep thoughts.
"Oh… this makes sense." Sigil immediately understood the reason for the durability of the platform.
Nurturing spell required high-quality materials. The spell doesn't just nurture a treasure or an object with the surrounding magical energy, it also creates a barrier to defend the treasure getting nurtured. If the spell is combined with a sealing spell, the durability of the defence increases even more and even high-level Chakra Experts wouldn't be able to break the defence if they don't know how to reverse the spell.
Sigil sighed and got out of the hole alongside Mr Chang. With his body's condition, he could easily jump at least 12 feets high.
After returning the tools, he and Alicia went back to the hotel. They did not fill the hole as they wanted to return later.
"So, do you know how to reverse the spell?" Sigil asked Alicia as she drove the car.
"We can't reverse it until we know the materials used to set up the spell." Alicia replied nonchalantly.
Vrrr
Suddenly, Sigil's mobile phone rang.
"Hmm? Beth?"
Sigil picked up and greeted Bethany back.
Meanwhile, a blue-haired girl with beauty comparable to Alicia had a pale face. She was sitting in the Grey Family's library with a thick book opened in front of her.
The same nurturing mark could be seen on one of the pages that Sigil encountered.
"Sigil, you have to get out of the city with Alicia. It isn't a four stars case anymore. I am sending you the details of the spell."
Bethany's mind was in a chaos right now. She immediately sent the relevant information to Sigil's mail and immediately moved towards the main estate where John Grey, the family head of the Grey Family lived.
Unknown to her, a shadow was following her. It was Ricardo.
"Should I help those two? Most of the circumstances have already changed. Sigil has already stopped bullying me and many other situations have changed too." Ricardo's thoughts were in a turmoil.
After reincarnating to his past self, he didn't go through the same unfortunate incidents.
"Well, it's just this one time." He immediately wrote down a few ingredients on his mobile phone and sent to another mail.
The user ID of the mail read as SigilGrey41.
Alongside ingredients, there was another line written.
'Leave in two days.'
Ricardo personally knew the future Necromancer Eugene and his works. Even though he felt conflicted in helping Sigil, he couldn't let a family member die.
***
Sigil immediately received two emails. One from a user id named Beth789 and one anonymous mail.
He skimmed through Bethany's information as his face grew dark. If the information was correct, then that means the family head of the Grey family did not use the spell because of his own choice rather than the inability of finding the treasure to be nurtured.
He then proceeded to read the mail from someone named 'ghridbcnn234'.
It was a list of ingredients alongside a warning note of leaving in two days.
"Alicia, we got some work to do."
He immediately gave her the information from Beth's id but remained quiet about the anonymous id.
They both immediately returned to the hotel to study the files and find some clues regarding the next attack.
***
Yester Pub, 23:30.
A blonde woman walked out of the backdoor of the strip club. Her face looked tired as the job of being a stripper wasn't easy. Not only you have to physically tire your body with such acrobatic moves, but you also get mentally tired by guarding off against some perverts trying to touch your body.
But right now, despite her tiredness, she still walked quickly out of the dark alley.
After reading about all the strange deaths happening in the city, she couldn't feel safe anymore.
Trsh
She suddenly heard a noise as she suddenly stood stiff, too scared to look backwards.
"Haaaa."
Her breath suddenly felt cold and her body shuddered involuntarily. She slowly looked back and her eyes widened. Her light green pupils dilated to the extremes.
"AAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Chgh.
Only the sound of blood splashing remained.
|
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|
A black luxurious minivan was followed by a truck as it stopped in front of the gates of the Grey Estate. From the minivan, Sigil, Alicia, Bethany and others got out with a tired look on their faces.
Behind them, the truck opened the shutter of its storage area as a number of animals walked out of it in a flurry.
John also got out of the van and left the area without addressing anybody. He would have decided to have a chat with his daughter, but in front of so many kids, he decided to give them their space.
"Huff, so tired." Sigil twisted his arms and shoulders as crackling noise could be heard from his joints. He even squatted and stretched his legs before doing anything else.
He wasn't alone, Jacob and other guys did the same. Although their stretching methods were different from Sigil, the motive was the same.
Meanwhile, the big elephant and the other two Familiars also appeared behind Sigil and waited for his instructions. Apparently, his training for preliminary discipline could be considered beneficial.
He looked at his Familiars and frowned a little. Their gazes were filled with love, respect and dependence. Even though their care for him was extremely moving, he knew that he shouldn't get too attached to them just yet.
He hadn't opened his Chakra Point yet and he had not decided the element and pathways he wanted to cultivate in. If he started to feel for his familiars and then needed to discard them in future, it would become a hurdle in his path of cultivation.
Alicia and others were the same. Even though they petted their Familiars, their feelings were indifferent.
He sighed and moved his arm while his palm faced the Rocky Elephant. Immediately, the large elephant walked near Sigil and bowed his head, rubbing and nuzzling his forehead against his palms.
'Sigh, caring for Familiars without feeling for them is extremely complicated. Even I am feeling conflicted when I think about the future.'
Sigil couldn't help but shake his head. His heart was feeling extremely heavy, but he understood the concept of sacrifice and knew that the path to power isn't filled with fluffs and candies, but filled with hurdles, thorns, pain and battles.
"What are your plans for now?" Alicia walked near him with a piglet in her hands and asked softly.
"I don't know. We are still allowed to choose one more familiar from the family. Father said that it will be held tomorrow. I can only think of the future after collecting everything."
He replied.
Alicia nodded and left the area with her Familiars. Similarly, Sigil did not wait for others to leave and only nodded at Bethany before leaving.
***
Outside the family's mansion, a car-sized Elephant laid on the ground and gently closed his eyes before sleeping.
Meanwhile, Sigil sat on his bed as he looked at the two palm-sized Familiars.
He had acquired a male Rocky Elephant, a female Fiery Lion and a unisexual dragonfly. He was looking at his laptop while it was connected with the flash drive.
This was the rewards received from the alliance. It contained the details of the Familiars he tamed and the methods to nurture it.
"How pathetic. Fiery Lion is one of the dark Guilds with the backing of a Grimoire Master and yet they are afraid to give out a male Familiar." Sigil sneered inwardly.
If the Fiery Lion Division had given out a male Fiery Lion, he would have been able to use that Familiar to reproduce under the environment of the family garden and get more Fiery Lions.
After reading everything, he removed the flash drive and inserted another flash drive. It was the reward he received from John for his contribution during the event.
"Hmm? Pathways and Elements?" Sigil started reading with interest. To a witch, the more knowledge one had about various elements and pathways, more options will be available to a witch during its ascension.
After studying for a while, Sigil decided to take out a parchment from his night table and started going through with it. It was the comprehensive information about various pathways and elements given out by the Alliance as the reward for his previous mission.
Lightning Path, Fire Path, Wood Path....
Information about various paths and their methods of identification were written down and explained.
After finishing with the information, Sigil looked up and found that the two Familiars were already asleep. It had already been hours!
"Elemental paths are more popular because of the availability of resources in the country. According to the information, our family also produce many resources regarding the Ice Path and Strength Path. But it's not as rich as Fiery Lion's resources. There are also many popular non-elemental paths like Vision Path, Poison Path, Blood Path and Soul Path. But most of the witches cultivating in these paths are considered extremely dangerous. They are also hunted proactively by both the dark guilds and the organisation."
Sigil was deep in his thoughts.
"The Family also raises many Familiars that belong to different paths. There is Elder Garthe's Thunder Owl and also Elder Bril's Speed Path, Sharp Legged Hound."
Sigil rubbed his eyes and got up. He was in no mood to sleep just yet.
"Then there is also the family head that is a rare genius. Being able to cultivate in two pathways, making him extremely strong compared to his peers."
"The world is too big. Just in one state, I am able to see and experience so much. Familiar Eggs, different Elements and paths and also the strange situation of the constellation evolving."
He walked to his study table and sat on his chair. His back leaning against the chair and his legs placed on top of the table.
"Right now, I am in possession of many elementary spells belonging to cultivation curses, but none of them are any use to me anymore. There is also the memory spell from the library and the pictures in my smartphone. Too much to do."
He closed his eyes for a while before switching on his smartphone and diving into the various spells and information regarding the chakra stage witches.
***
In the living area of the Family, a dark figure could be seen walking towards the building filled with apartments. Most of the Watchmen were mortals with a few energy gates practitioner mixed within.
Strangely, the shadow bypassed all of them without making a sound and made its way towards the top floor of the building through the stairs.
As he moved, a strange undulation of energy leaked from his body whenever the shadow encountered any security cameras.
Soon, the shadow reached its destination.
The number plate on the door showed '18' as the shadow stood outside the door without making any noise.
"Basgh hui harde." The shadow turned out to be a man dressed in a black robe. His face covered by a black hood.
He pointed at the door and moved his fingers. As he recited the spell, his index finger let out a greenish glow and a strange mark was soon formed in midair.
"Go!"
He commanded and the mark stuck on the door.
Woosh
A light sound could be heard before everything turned silent.
The man took a deep breath and entered the apartment.
The moment he stepped inside the room, the silence was replaced by heart-wrenching screams. The voice was shrill and the man quickly shot towards one of the rooms and saw a horrifying sight.
On the ground lay a blue-haired beauty that was screaming loudly. Her skin was corroding as a green smoke invaded her body. Slowly, her smooth flesh was removed as it turned into green ashes.
The only thing that remained was a black smoke like substance that kept on roiling around.
"You know, I offered her my service. That way I could save her and capture you at the same time. Sadly, she decided to take hired help with her. Looking at you, I presume that her support is already dead." The man shook his head and spoke lightly.
The black smoke let out a hissing sound before the man snapped his fingers.
Tsssss
Immediately, a green light erupted from his body as the black smoke started to let out a corrosive sound until half of its body remained.
"Kue... kue... Daklll?" The smoke let out some whispers. It started to calm down as quietly spread itself on the floor.
"Your core is already sealed. I can exterminate your existence with a snap of my fingers."
"Kukuku.... karnd.... basell!"
"Devil King? Believe me, that's the least of your worries. You can carry out your task as you see fit. You can even take up your previous disguise. But I need some of the exclusive Familiars of the lower continent and of course, some complimentary materials. I will give you three days. In three days, you will bring me all of these."
The man threw a slip and started to walk away before stopping.
"Oh, one more thing. You try to ask for help and you will be killed immediately. I thought that you should know the consequences of betrayal."
The black-robed man spoke before walking away.
After the man left, the black smoke started to squirm as a layer of milky white flesh covered its body.
After forming the body once more, the blue-haired beauty— Bethany glared at the direction coldly before sobering up.
At this moment, she was completely naked. Her marvellous body displayed but no admirers in the vicinity. But she wasn't in any mood to compliment the beauty of this body.
She was almost killed!
"Wait, how did he even know about my cover. He did not have any detection type tools nor did he use any spell to confirm my identity. He just struck without any confirmation. Did he already know about the plan? After all, he spoke about saving this body before capturing me."
Her eyes were serious as she felt that their plan wouldn't be able to advance as smoothly as she thought.
She then took up the slip and her expression turned ugly. Too Expensive!
She then thought of the strange spell attached to her core and bit her lips.
"Damnit, It's too frustrating." She scowled and pulled the drawer of her nightstand before taking out a plastic 'spear'.
***
"Hmm? What the hell is this?" John's eyes widened as he looked at all the information placed in front of him.
"Eugene... Eugene... right! He was the one that had planned to create a treasured eye to advance his cultivation. So he was a warlock? And a warlock connected to the death element. Maybe, he belongs to the Reaper Faction."
"This is still very disastrous. The whole organisation has started to clean up all the spies. They even found some Devils involved."
Garthe's expression was serious as he reported.
"Devils... the lower continent will make a move again. Garthe, arrange a team of Elders and start patrolling the formation spell from tomorrow. I don't want to take any chances."
"Yes."
"Oh, right! Be sure to take Ricardo with you. He is a good seedling that has just uncovered his potential. Be sure to train him properly."
"Sure thing."
After Garthe excused himself, John sighed and leaned back on his chair.
"Sigh, the world is changing. It is always something big with the matters relating to those Devils. Hehe, what would happen if those higher continent bitches decided to join the fray." John couldn't help but chuckle.
"What do you think?" A silver light flashed and a small wolf was nuzzling on his laps.
"What should I tell you? I have eaten so many Devil Kings that this amount of pitiful spies can't even work up my appetite." A soft voice entered his mind.
"Oh, right! We have to start the plan. How are the preparations?" John asked loudly.
"The candidates have been already chosen. The materials are on their way. Once we have satisfied all the condition, we will be able to perform the mass spell."
A melodious voice spoke from behind John.
"Things are getting interesting. Keep a lookout for strange news. If you think that you can earn good profits, you are permitted to take a team for yourself and snatch it away."
Josh smiled and closed his eyes.
"Yes, master." The melodious voice agreed before the surroundings turned silent.
"How many devils did you smell?" John scratched the wolf's head.
"Hmm? Our family has four of them. The guy Garthe's daughter is one of them." A soft voice replied in his head once again.
"Hmm."
'They think they are smart, huh. I think they forgot how our ancestors feasted on their raw flesh.'
John couldn't help but smirk.
His eyes then fell on a framed image.
It was the picture of a mature, dark-haired woman with soft features. She was wearing a pure white dress as she looked towards John.
His gaze instantly turned gentle.
"Darling, everything is fine here. Alicia has grown into a beautiful lady and our adopted son has returned to the correct path. All I am waiting is for you to return quickly."
He spoke in soft whispers. He was confident that nobody could hear him talking to the framed image.
Strangely, the image of the woman smiled and nodded her head gently before turning back into an image.
|
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|
After catching up to Martha, Sigil did not press for an answer and simply searched for a wood path familiar inside the forest. Since they were finding a familiar in a Forest Ecosystem, they were actually able to find some Wood Path Familiars, but they all had extremely weak potential and to get them to Adolescent Level or Mature Level is an extremely expensive project.
They all had a day to search for the Familiar in the Family Garden and the duo decided to take a break after an hour of searching.
Since Sigil was wearing some baggy clothes that were comfortable and yet combat ready, he was able to pack some essentials with himself. He took out a small bottle of water from the pocket near his knee and passed it on to Martha.
"Here you go!"
He took out another bottle of water from his other pocket and drank it whole in one go. He didn't throw the bottle away as it could be refilled when they encounter a water source.
"Hmm?"
He looked at Martha, who was sitting on a rock with a slightly dazed expression. She hadn't even drunk water yet. Seeing her like this, even Sigil felt somewhat strange.
He walked near her and sat beside her and placed his palm on her shoulder.
"You alright?"
He shook her slightly.
"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing!"
She shook her head and uncapped the bottle to drink the content.
Hearing her nonchalant reply, Sigil only rolled his eyes.
"Do you think I am a three-year-old kid?"
He scoffed and didn't ask her again. Since she wasn't willing to disclose her problems, he couldn't do anything about it and just giver her some space.
Martha also sighed in a depressed manner. She didn't like keeping things away from Sigil. But her physical condition may actually become a burden to her friends and she didn't want that to happen.
She looked at Sigil who had started to ignore her because of her own attitude and pondered for a moment.
"Do you think it's stupid that I want to change to Wood Path so suddenly?"
Her soft voice moved over to Sigil, making him feel slightly surprised. He really didn't think that she would speak up.
He thought about her question and then shook his head.
"I still remember your reason to walk through the Illusion Path."
He stopped for a moment and then looked towards Martha, who had a slight blush on her face.
"Hey! Don't speak of that night again and again."
She snorted.
Seeing her usual response, Sigil smiled silently and continued.
"You have researched on the path for a whole year and now you want to change it. There must be a reason behind all this... but you should always remember that I will fully support you."
He spoke solemnly.
Martha was slightly stunned by his response and then only smiled sweetly.
To Sigil, this response was more than enough.
After they had rested for some time, Sigil stood up again.
"Let's go! We can't rest our somebody else might take away the familiar belonging to you."
Martha looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"Yeah!~"
They both continued their search.
***
"Since most of them will only emerge tomorrow, we will hold another ceremony. The Elders of the family will be allowed to enter the garden tomorrow. You all are free to do whatever you want."
Saying that, John retreated as the whole group started chatting before dispersing.
Some of them were happy, for instance, other elite younger generation of the family, since they gained a top-notch familiar.
While some people had sour expressions like Linda.
'Hah? I decided to help him and that idiot couldn't even come and thank me? Whatever, I will punish him later!'
She snorted in her mind and went on her own merry way.
On the other hand, some people were downright murderous.
Ricardo was moving towards his apartment with a dark gaze as bloodlust flickered in his eyes many times.
'I need to have that cub no matter what!'
He then thought back at how Ricardo 'easily' accepted the cub and frowned even more.
"All of this is a ripple effect? Nothing has been going right since my rebirth. What if something wrong with Sigil himself?"
He couldn't help but speculate. When he went over his past experiences, he did find that everything turned awry after Sigil interjection.
"Two days left before the invasion.... that won't do. I need to get the blood cub no matter what!"
He started making his plans. After all, he needed to have full preparations if he wanted to infiltrate the Family Head's mansion.
The family kept on functioning as usual and soon, darkness descended.
Near the outer boundary of the City, a small grey portal could be seen forming on the surface of the ground.
Around the portal laid a number of corpses as their blood entered the portal and powered it even further. The blood flowed in like a swirling typhoon and the size of the portal kept on getting bigger and bigger.
Beside the portal stood a lovely lady in a black dress. Her blue hair fell on her shoulder and her eyes were red. Her smooth white skin created a graceful contrast with ger pitch black dress. Her beauty seemed to be even more enchanting when surrounded by numerous dead bodies as their necks kept on pouring crimson blood on the ground.
She was Bethany! At least, her body was Bethany's.
She suddenly spoke an unintelligible syllable and the portal stopped growing and the whirlpool of blood finally turned into a pool of blood.
From the other side of the portal, Bethany could hear some whispers as she frowned. She then replied in a similar fashion and a sliver of black smog emerged from her mouth and entered the portal.
"You guys will protect me. If someone sees us, kill that human or animal."
Bethany spoke coldly and sat back while numerous shadows emerged from inside her body.
Since this was her private operation, she did not mobilise her team and used her own slaves as protective measures.
The moment the shadows emerged, the surroundings turned even darker and whispers of women wailing could be heard near Bethany. Her pure white skin started to corrode and turned black while her blue hair turned purple.
Her eyes were shut tight and she kept her focus on the portal.
"Almost all the items are worthless while only some of them are precious. Did that person wanted to hide his true intentions and mixed in some useless items?"
She thought internally as she started collecting the items stated by the person.
Inside the mansion, John's body glowed silver and a small silver-furred wolf emerged from his body.
Wuuuu~
"Hmm? A portal to devil realm?"
John frowned at the sudden information.
He thought for a while before his fingers glowed dark blue and he started to draw an inscription in the air.
It looked like a big circle with an eye contained inside of it.
John whispered some words and then the whole inscription incinerated.
"You will follow the group. If they can't defeat the enemy, you will save as many family members you can and retreat as quickly as possible. Remember, you have to save them irrespective of their attitude towards me and the family. We can't be having internal conflicts at this moment."
John spoke and a cold whisper responded to his words.
"Understood... master."
Whoosh!
Sound of an object passing through the thin air could be heard and the figure left with a gust of wind.
After the figure left, the Wolf looked at John and snorted softly.
"Yeah, yeah. I am not that petty, you know. Either way, she will be returning soon. I have to keep this place safe until then."
John's eyes glowed slightly as he looked at the picture of a mature woman framed on his walls.
As if the picture heard his words, the smile on the woman's face turned even brighter.
|
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|
A dark grey Nissan could be seen on the road. Within the ordinary looking car, Sigil and Alicia were bickering like kids.
Smack
Since Sigil was sitting in front seat, his head was smacked by Alicia and he couldn't defend himself.
“Ow, you are resorting to physical attacks if I am gaining upper hand in an argument?”Sigil grumbled and his head was smacked again.
“Like I said, we should have just used my car. The engine of your car has such a loud noise.” Alicia spoke with a wise face.
“You don't understand, that is the beauty of muscle cars.” Sigil replied complacently.
Martha sat beside Alicia quietly as she did not have interest in cars.
Meanwhile, Ricardo, who was driving the car, was in his own thoughts.
‘Did I even reincarnate into my own world?’
He couldn't be faulted for having such doubts. After all, too much has changed. The emergence of alliance and changes in his supposed enemy- Sigil. He wasn't arrogant, snobbish….. or a man whore. Instead, he was quite casual with everyone and that included the mortals.
They were currently going to their mission site in Ricardo's car. His car could be considered ordinary among all the cars in the range of a mortal middle-class family.
“Whatever, I am too tired to argue.”
Sigil shook his head and took out a book from his bag’s outer compartment. It was a thin book with a light-grey cover.
“What is that?” Martha's interest was finally piqued.
“Oh, I brought some books from the library to pass time in the car.” Sigil spoke and took out the other two book placed in his bag.
“What is that? Furry Heaven?”
Martha and Alicia took a book each. Sigil had the book on Acupuncture, Martha had the book of Furry Heaven and Alicia had the book of refreshing exercising sets between male and female.
The books were filled with interesting content that could bait a youth's mind and Alicia and Martha were not different. Within a few minutes, they were engrossed in the book. Even Sigil read the book on Acupuncture Pleasure with great concentration.
These three books had different ideas that sounded viable and interesting, but they were extremely expensive and impractical. According to the book, to achieve maximum pleasure, a witch should create some exotic acupunctures with a spell. Of course, nobody ever accomplished such a feat in the witch’s world.
Their destination was a city towards the west named Harrisonburg City. It was a city filled with carpenters and other craftsmen. This city was also regarded as one of the more developed areas of the region. The city was almost 3 hours away and Sigil and the group had a long time of journey left.
***
“Wow! This book had some strange ideas!” Martha sighed as she closed the book.
According to the self-proclaimed Immoral Witch, the author of the book– Furry Heaven, reproduction between Familiars and monsters were possible. Even though there is no evidence or any progress in the research, there had been some rumours about strong Familiars that were produced by cross-breeding.
“Tell me about it. This exercise is simply impossible.” Alicia sighed and closed her book too.
What Refreshing Exercise? The author was a pervert and a possible paedophile.
She returned the book to Sigil and closed her eyes. Even though there were some innovative and unusual ideas, the results were impossible to produce, at least, nobody had succeeded in the strange exercise.
Now they knew why these three books were popular with the Elders of the family. They were simply fun to read.
As they kept on chatting amongst themselves, a strange occurrence was
Taking place near Chestcovia City.
***
Inside the Grimoire World.
A small patch of forest started to lose their lustre and kept on growing dull. The process was taking place at a phenomenal speed and slowly, the patch of forest turned into dust alongside the ground and some of the minerals hidden within the ground. A pitch black hole took place instead of the forest as it slowly started sucking away the ground.
***
“Four rooms please.” Sigil tapped on the reception and spoke flatly. Since the group packed light, they decided to carry their stuff to the booked room themselves.
“Wow! This is nice.” Sigil threw his bag on the bed and admired the interior of the room. No wonder this city was famous for their artistic taste.
The room was painted in cream colour and the curtain had a light brown colour with an intricate design in golden colour. The bed was springy and not too soft, making it perfect for tired backs. Sigil refreshed himself before climbing up to the bed and rest with a satisfied smile.
The past couple of days has been tiring for him. The most exhausting day was when he cut the connection of Grimoire World with the Grimoire. Even though he took away most of the important resources, one had to understand that a Grimoire World is a land that can continue creating important treasures as long as it remains in existence.
But Sigil did not regret his decision…. no, in Sigil's mind, there was no such thing as regret. For Sigil, it was simple. He made a decision and he had to live with its consequences. If he could do it over again, he would do the same thing, After all, he wasn't strong enough to protect the Grimoire World and he couldn't simply take it away, therefore, he made a decision of taking away the most precious treasures and Familiar for the cost of destruction of the Grimoire World.
Knock Knock
“Ugh, can't even lay down quietly.”
Sigil groaned.
He got up and opened the door. It was Alicia, Martha and Ricardo. His lips twitched in annoyance as he smiled.
“Yes?”
“We are going to the alliance's office in the city to take the look at the case file and find some clues. Do you want to join us?”
Ricardo spoke.
“Do I get a choice?” Sigil asked flatly.
“No.” Alicia and Martha spoke in unison.
He sighed and closed the room before taking his leave with them. They asked for the directions to the local office of the alliance from the receptionist before taking their leave from the hotel.
The Alliance had only been established for three days, yet it was too popular among mortals. After all, on the first day of establishment, the Alliance solved more than a hundred thousand cases. This earned them a lot of goodwill among the mortals and many people applied for the mundane jobs in the alliance, like technical support and other accounting services.
It had to be understood that previously, the Witch's Organisation did not admit the regular mortals into their organisation for even the most mundane task. With the employment from the Alliance, many people now found a stable source of income. Even though it hadn't been long, it was just a matter of time before the economic state of the whole continent could be raised together.
The regional office of the alliance was established near the police station of the city. The building was leased by some landlord and the outside of the building was decorated with a big board in the name of the alliance.
The four of them quickly entered and stood in front of the reception counter.
“Please check the mission number 1455678. We want all the relevant information about the case.” Martha tapped on the counter and spoke flatly.
Since the other party was a mortal, she did not feel the need to be polite with her. This was the pride of a witch filled within her bones.
Ricardo and Alicia had impassive expressions while Sigil had no comments. The receptionist quickly typed in the relevant information and asked for their identity numbers politely. After verifying their identity through the biometrics scanning, the information about the case was transferred to them.
Usually, there are two types of cases. One, where the mission is reported to the organisation or the alliance and they will post a relevant reward for its completion.
Second, these are the type of cases that the Witch finds himself. Like Alicia's and Sigil's first case. They found the case from a newspaper and solved it successfully. In return, they were rewarded by their family. Usually, lone witches that do not have any backing, usually apply for missions from the organisation.
The group left and went to a snacks point for some refreshments.
“I will have a plate of fries.”
“Burger for me.”
“Chicken Wings.”
“A plate of pasta with a glass of Ice Tea.”
After placing their orders, they dived into their discussions. The information collection team of the alliance proved their worth by such a comprehensive data. There were six victims till now and all had the same attacking pattern. A small bite on the neck and a deep wound on the back of the head. The backside of the skull was crushed by the attack and still, the assaulting familiar took a nip on the Victim's neck.
To humanity of this era, they were only attacked by three parties— Ghosts, Monsters and untamed Familiars.
The area was already free of EMF, so the possibility of Ghost was close to nil. The area also had no other clue except the dark footprint of a bunny near the victim. It was as if the feet of the bunny let out some inky substance right before attacking the victim.
Of course, the possibility of a monster appearing could not be ignored and this was their risk of the mission. The rewards for fighting and defeating the monsters were higher than solving the case filled with Familiars. But, if the Familiars could be captured, they could fetch a high price.
Another thing to note was that the footprints were of the different size near different victims.
“So? What are we looking at? A Familiar Nest?” Sigil spoke as he received his plate of pasta.
“If they are Familiars, we have to identify them and also find out their abilities and weaknesses.” Alicia frowned.
Familiars were one of the core parts of a Witch's battle power, this was because of their myriad Abilities and different usage that made their use very efficient and profitable. But if they were untamed or not contracted, they could also be the reason for the death of a witch.
“We should also try to find a pattern between the victims.” Martha commented.
“What about a rogue witch?” Ricardo's words quietened the trio.
Even though there were many rogue witches in the dark guilds, they did not tally for all the lone witches that experiment on mortals and kill them for the benefit for their own witchcraft.
“That could be troublesome.”
“How about this? Martha and I will talk with the victim's’ families and you guys check the crime scene.” Alicia spoke out as he started eating her plate of French fries.
After deciding their plan, they left for their own task after eating their fill.
***
“Well, this is the latest attack. His name was George. He was a good kid.”
The police officer near the crime scene guided Ricardo and Sigil around. The body was taken away, but there were still many clues left. Out of the six crime scenes, only this was left that could provide some insights.
The place of George's murder was at the back alley near a drug store. His whole body was smashed to the trash can with the back of his head caved in. Sigil walked near the pair of footprints near the trashcan and touched the inky substance.
“Can you bring us all the possessions of the victim during his murder.” Ricardo spoke naturally. After all, he was a Grimoire Master in his previous life and his experience greatly surpassed Sigil's. After some time, the police officer brought both of them to the police station to allow them to see all of the victim's belongings.
For the purpose of the investigation, the possessions of all the victims during their murder was placed inside the police station.
Sigil, meanwhile, paid close attention to Ricardo's movements. He knew Ricardo's secret. He was a Reincarnator!
To Sigil, Ricardo was a big variable that had insider's information about various future events and this also made him an untapped treasure trove. The benefits one could receive because of the future knowledge are astronomical.
But, how should he excavate the treasure? He couldn't simply make Ricardo spill the secrets. All he could do was to slowly build a strong friendship and gain his trust.
After checking all the items, Ricardo frowned. He couldn't find a pattern through the victim's possession. This meant that the attacks were indiscriminate or the necessary clue wasn't in the possession of the victim.
“Please send us all the data of the victims.”
Sigil still asked for their data and left with Ricardo.
“Where should we go next?” Ricardo asked Sigil. Ricardo still felt a need to ask Sigil since he wanted to establish Sigil as the leader of their group. There was no particular reason for such action. Ricardo simply thought that him being in the limelight can cause some suspicion and trouble.
Sigil blinked at his question before speaking out his thoughts.
“Let's visit the last pub our little friend George visited.” Ricardo nodded in appreciation and followed Sigil. Since they were walking, they received many stares from the opposite gender …… and some males as well.
It was mostly Sigil's handsome figure drawing unwanted attention. Yes, it wasn't required to move with one girl in each arm.
Ricardo was speechless at Sigil. Two girls, who apparently were friends, decided to tag along with Sigil when he invited them. Sigil was picking up girls in broad daylight. His hand was placed on their hips as he felt their bouncy figure.
Meanwhile, Ricardo thought of Alicia's and Martha's impassive expression and felt a little sorry for Sigil. For all the past grievances with Sigil, Ricardo had decided to throw Sigil under the bus and tell the two gals about his current escapade.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached the Pub named Wood Snake and entered it.
|
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|
The value of the Grimoire World of a Grimoire Master is clear to Sigil.
He knew that if he was given some time to utilise the inheritance of the Inverse Witch, then he would've been able to increase his cultivation at a breathtaking pace.
But now, he was forced to abandon the whole Grimoire World, which caused its destruction.
In the end, he only gained highly valuable monster familiars and top notch cultivation materials. But these things could not be used at the moment.
Now, a blood wolf had brought him hope of acquiring another inheritance of a Grimoire Master.
Even though he did not understand the true value of the Blood Fur Wolfcub, he knew that this could definitely be his leverage over Ricardo.
Even if this familiar did not bring him a direct advantage, he could surely force out some benefits from Ricardo.
He looked at the Silver Fang Wolf looking at him with expectant eyes and nodded smoothly without any change in his expression.
"Lord Silver Fang is the ancestral familiar of the family. How can this junior disobey your advice? I will definitely tame this Blood Fur Wolf!"
Sigil nodded and looked towards the Blood Fur Wolf cub with a smile.
Understanding Sigil's response, the Silver Fang Wolf looked at the small wolf cub and snorted gently before turning around and walking away with its head held high.
Seeing such an outcome, John's eyes twitched.
"He just used your reputation and made you the sole bearer of the responsibility of breaking the old rule and you can still feel pride in your decisions?"
John couldn't help but think bitterly.
Before any Elder could speak again, Sigil bowed in front of the whole crowd and spoke out loud.
"I apologise for breaking the old rule of the family. But as the saying goes, Rules are dead and people are alive. The Elders of the Grey Family are bold and magnanimous. I hope that the Elders won't hold it in their hearts."
Previously, Ricardo's statement put John in an extremely passive position, giving the opposing Elders a chance to suppress him.
But now, Sigil's reversal put the Elders in an extremely embarrassing position.
If they continued to argue about old rules and tried to suppress John, then they won't look 'bold and magnanimous' in front of the younger generation.
This outcome is pretty harmful to their reputation and their future development in the family.
Think about it.
If a youth with a passionate hearts know about this situation where a group of Elders tried to argue for a small Familiar belonging to the younger generation, he will think that this kind of Elders aren't worth his loyalty and they will definitely move away from them.
But, the situation didn't seem too easy for them. Sigil's words were thought carefully and the inner complications were extremely vicious.
If they don't let go, they look petty in front of the younger generation.
But what if they let go and allow Sigil to keep the Blood Fur Wolf?
They will look weak in front of their peers. In future, they will be mocked behind their backs and if they ever need to co-operate with each other, this group of Elders will receive a shorter end of the stick.
Silence
None of them spoke because they didn't know the right thing to speak.
If their response didn't overcome their current predicament, the Elders felt that their value in the eyes of the Supreme Elder will fall to the bottom.
After all, they all will be defeated by a kid in a battle of wits and politics.
They immediately started to think of various solutions to counter this response in an effective manner.
But before they could speak, a peal of melodious laughter emerged in the silent field.
"Haha, Junior Sigil has spoken correctly. Rules are dead and people are alive. We, Elders, have always supported the decisions of our Ancestors. Even if we are asked to break a millennium old rule, so what?"
It was Linda!
The young brunette was wearing a black combat t-shirt alongside a pair of blue denims. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail and her beautiful face smiled at Sigil.
These words left no alternative for the group of opposing Elders.
"Oh? Linda is a talent, too. She easily implied that going against the words of the ancestral familiar is a sin in itself."
Sigil's gaze brightened as he nodded and smiled at Linda's statement.
Seeing that the tension in the surrounding was getting higher, John clapped and smiled.
"Alright, Sigil is fortunate enough to gain the ancestral familiar's favour. Anyway, we will be continuing the selection of Familiars. All the Elite Familiars have been chosen and we will start with the free selections."
"All the juniors with all of their Eight Gates opened will search for an appropriate familiar for themselves alongside their partners."
John's words immediately changed the tides of conversation and all the youths were very excited and immediately forgot the previous aggression.
Alicia and the other three elites of the younger generation had already selected their own Familiars and other Eight Gates Experts of the family felt their blood boiling at the prospect of selecting another familiar this year.
The Grey family bred a large number of monster familiars every year. Of course, not all of the familiars have high potential and they become the main source of the income for the family.
To motivate the younger generation for continuing their contribution to the family, they are given a chance to select a monster familiar for their own.
Even though these monster Familiar's potential cannot be used completely, these familiars can be sold separately and the younger generation can earn their own side profits to help with their cultivation.
Anyway, the loss of dozens of Familiars doesn't put a big dent in the Family's pockets.
Immediately, 19 youths stepped out as they brought their partners with them.
"Will you be waiting here?"
Sigil asked Alicia as he prepared to move out with Martha.
"Hmm? No, I have to tame this little thing. I will meet you at dinner."
Alicia spoke as she pointed at the Golden Monkey in attached to her thighs.
Seeing this monkey, Sigil couldn't help but sigh in bitterness.
One look at the monkey grabbing Alicia's 'oh so thick' thighs and he understood that this fellow was an existence of culture.
But even then, Sigil felt like hitting its face that kept on squinting in pleasure and rubbed its face on her upper legs.
"You want me to help?" Sigil crackled his knuckles near the Monkey's ears and flashed him an ugly smile.
"Don't be silly. It's just a kid." Alicia tapped Sigil's nose.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you at dinner time."
Alicia nodded and walked away with the Golden Monkey forcibly removed from her thighs.
"Ready?" Sigil walked near Martha and whispered.
"Yeah! I had to sell my previous Familiar. But now, I need to choose an appropriate one for the future cultivation." Martha nodded seriously.
"Hoho, so serious. What happened to that lazy sloth named Martha?" Sigil chuckled and picked up the Blood Fur Wolf cub stuck near his legs.
"Hmm? Her? She will emerge once I return to my room."
Martha stretched her neck out with pride and replied. She then looked at the small wolf that looked more like a puppy and couldn't help but rub its head.
"But you really got it lucky! That Silver Monkey and now this cute guy."
Martha pointed at the Silver Monkey hanging around Sigil's neck and then looked at the Blood Fur Wolf.
Thinking of the Ghost Chimp slinging on his neck, his face couldn't help but show helplessness.
Even though it was already tamed, the Ghost Chimp had an unruly and an adventurous personality. This couldn't be changed by anyone.
"Well, there are still five minutes before we enter the Garden. Let me just place these two fellows in my room real quick."
With his physical capabilities, it wasn't hard to reach his room in one or two minutes.
Martha nodded and stood among other girls and started chatting with them for the time being.
|
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|
"Huh? You were already awake? That's quite uncommon." Martha asked in surprise. It was early morning and she had come out to jog and mover her body a little.
"Oh... I am perfectly capable of waking up early." Sigil replied as he stretched his body. The three familiars tried to copy their master, but failed.
The Rocky Elephant tried to lift up his leg and tried to twist around his body. Before he could register his surroundings, he had already fallen onto the ground while four of his legs turned sideways.
The tiny fierce lion was doing considerably well. She was able to stand on her two legs as she tried to bend sideways. Her belly was covered by soft white fur.
Meanwhile, the dragonfly kept on buzzing around without any aim or motivation. It could not stretch and it simply decided to fly around.
"These are the Adolescent level Familiars?" Martha couldn't help but giggle. Their cute antics were really mood lifting.
"Hmm? You already got the news about the Ancestral Pool?" Sigil asked with a confused expression.
"Yeah, I just heard. By the way, congratulations on such a huge gain." She smiled and joined Sigil in stretching her body.
"Did you know about Ricardo?"
"What?"
"You really are strange. A weak Energy Gates Practitioner ascended to the chakra stage in one day and you still don't know about it?"
"Ricardo? Chakra Stage?"
Sigil was astonished. He couldn't help but think about the path that Ricardo chose. After all, he had already deduced that Ricardo knew about future events. This meant that he could have selected an entirely new path unknown to the continent.
"It's not that surprising actually. Many Elders discussed and formed a theory that Ricardo was able to uncover his potential only after entering the ancestral pool. He may have some kind of extraordinary constitution.
Sigil simply nodded and didn't want to break her illusions. He did not have any evidence that Ricardo was someone from the future. And throwing him under the bus would definitely strain their relationship and he might not be able to utilise him in the near future.
"You guys are just going to do some stretching?" Alicia appeared behind them and tapped on their shoulders.
Behind her, three small Familiars could be seen moving around.
"Cute!" Martha shot towards the piglet in a moment's notice.
Alicia shook her head and looked at Sigil's Familiars as a strange expression took its place.
"What are they doing?" Alicia frowned.
"Stretching." Sigil replied seriously as he looked at the fallen Elephant, a small cub standing on two limbs and dancing around and a dragonfly flying between the four limbs of the elephant as if it is an obstacle course.
Alicia's mouth twitched and stopped asking completely.
"You know that their affection is contagious and will cause you to make incorrect decisions." This time, her expression was sharp and her words made Martha stop in her tracks.
"I didn't command them to do such silly actions. And they are attracted to me, not the other way around." Sigil spoke plainly.
Alicia nodded before continuing with her workout.
As he saw Martha and Alicia performing various poses to exercise, he lost his mood to train himself and sat near the elephant. He leaned his back on the Elephant's body and put his hands behind his head, keeping his gaze on the two girls that gave him a good show.
Slowly, the small cub jumped on his lap and a green dragonfly perched on his head. Meanwhile, a red piglet also sat near Sigil quietly as it looked at its master with a respectful gaze. A small butterfly kept on flying around Alicia and a black rat rushed around here and there.
"What the hell are you staring at? If you wanna work out then join or else, go away." Alicia gritted her teeth as she lost her patience.
Martha simply giggled. Even though they were wearing tight clothes and moved their body, nobody in the family dared to look at them. After all, one was the daughter of the family head while the other was the personal maid of the son of the Family Head.
But the thing that deterred them the most was Sigil. His cruel display of power had already spread around the Family. Many girls even shivered when they heard about Yasmine's fate.
Sigil sighed and stood up. He was too tired. After all, he did not sleep at all.
"Yeah, yeah, just like that. Keep on scaring your fiancé with that cute butt of yours." Sigil waved at them and did not wait for their reply.
***
Besides the mansion, apartment buildings, training area and open ground, the estate had one specific area that was valued very much by the family.
Behind all the constructed areas lay a wide spread of forest. The forest was surrounded by a dome made of mesh walls. The walls itself were made out of strong and precious metals and the gate of the dome was inscribed with a beautiful, red-coloured pattern.
This was the family garden!
Right now, many people could be seen outside the Family garden. Even the family head and the Supreme Elder were present.
"Hmm? I don't see Bethany?" Sigil wondered. This was an important event and she would definitely benefit.
"Yeah, I tried calling her but she didn't pick it up." Alicia spoke out.
"Maybe, she got sick or something." Martha mused.
"Well, I wonder what kind of disease she caught." Jacob besides them wondered.
"Wow, you really think a lot of stupid things." Sigil commented lightly.
Jacob stopped immediately.
"Ahem! For those who are not present today, they will get another chance six months later. Now, Sigil, Alicia, Janice and Kael, come forward." John's word echoed and the whispers of the other family members were stopped.
Many people were present in the crowd. The Elders, members of the younger generation and even the normal humans in the family had gathered together.
Right now, Garthe had a bitter face. After all, his daughter suddenly sent him a text out of nowhere and then disappeared.
"A boyfriend?" Garthe thought as his face darkened.
Four people, two girls and two boys stepped out. They were Alicia, Janice, Sigil and Kael respectively.
"Alright, you four will have the chance to interact with the newborn Familiars that are specially chosen by the Ancestral Familiar. If you don't want to tame any of them, you will be given a chance to step inside the garden with your designated partner and tame one for yourself. Remember, if you chose the second option, you will only be given a day's time before the other members are allowed to explore the forest."
John stated the rules. Most of the family members already knew about the rules but he recited them for formality's sake.
"Sigil Grey, you have contributed the highest to the family's reputation and have achieved the best results among your peers. You have successfully completed your Rite of Witchcraft and received the baptism of a super-sized Ancestral Pool. You are permitted to get the first chance in choosing the desired pet from the selection."
John's voice had turned from kind to serious and deep. His expression was dignified as all the other members listened silently.
"Enter the Familiar Garden and you will be guided."
Sigil nodded and pushed open the gates of the garden before entering the dome.
In the area occupied by Elder Level figures was a conspicuous young man. His dark hair combed neatly and his grey pupils showing a worried and anxious expression.
"Ricardo, what happened? Did you find some troubles during cultivation." A middle-aged woman with a ripe body smiled and chatted with Ricardo.
"Oh, its nothing. I was just thinking about the future and it got me slightly worried." He smiled politely.
"Oh, you. You are still so young and your potential is very good. When we Elders are given our turn to select familiars, I will accompany you to guide you. How about that?"
Ricardo's breakthrough had caused a buzz within the group of Elders. Many single female Elders of the family had also started to chat with him and tried to rope him in. To these 'hungry' man-eaters, Ricardo was a perfect candidate to settle with.
The person interacting with Ricardo was Karla Grey, she was one of the Elders that approached him with some modesty. Unlike some Elders that tried to eat him the moment they met him.
"Oh, my! Karla, you are old enough to be his mother. Don't you feel ashamed? Leave this had Ricardo. How about I accompany you? I can show you a good time, too."
A relatively younger woman walked as she swayed her buttocks. She had light makeup on her face and she looked way better than Karla. She was Mina Grey, one of the Elders that tried to eat him yesterday.
Ricardo's smile stiffened as he wanted to stay away from this woman.
"Um... *gulp*... hehe, I think I will go with Miss Karla this time." Ricardo smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Mina's smile froze as she stomped her leg and went away with a disgruntled expression.
On the other side of the area, the relatively younger Elders like Linda and others were conversing with themselves.
"Hmm? Linda? You look distracted." A bespectacled man smirked.
"Is it because of ~young master Sigil~" His voice turned weird as he said Sigil's name.
Linda looked at him and smiled gently. A silver light flashed from her body as a small Three-tailed Spirit Fox jumped at the man and bit on his chest ferociously.
"Aaahhhhhh...."
"You still haven't tamed any Familiars while he is going to tame his fourth Familiar. So tell me, Mister Outer Elder, should I be thinking about you or him?" Linda spoke as she commanded the fox to return.
The silver fox jumped and landed on Linda's arm.
"Damn, Linda! We have been friends for seven years and yet you treat me this way. You know that a lone Witch can't do much in the taming department. You should be a little kind to me." The man teared and looked pitiful. The surrounding people also looked towards them with interest.
Linda shook her head and walked near him, before kicking him harshly.
"Get up! If you weren't my friend, my fox would be aimed towards the southern part of your body."
The man immediately shivered and got up with creating anymore commotion.
"Let me get my familiar, then I will teach you a lesson."
"You can only get an infant Familiar from the garden while my spirit fox has been nurtured till Adolescent level. Do you really want to compete?"
"Sigh, we will battle after two years then."
He spoke as he sighed in defeat.
***
Sigil had already entered and the members had made different groups as they discussed and chatted around.
Even John and Garthe had started to chat with the older Elders of the family.
"During my previous life, Sigil did not select the Red Demon Wolf because of its weak appearance. According to the plan, I should have waited for the selection of the Familiars before actually ascending, but the emergence of the alliance changed the whole scenario and I had to force my breakthrough. The Devils have also made their moves. I bet she is already collecting materials for me. I also need to find appropriate Familiars resonating with my path."
"Other than that, I have to start finding resources related to Sealing Path to cultivate in future. And then there is the problem of most of my experience locked away in my soul. Alicia's locket is probably the key, but getting it from Sigil may be tough."
"Sigh, too much to do and such a little time. Really, time waits for no one."
Ricardo sighed as he started forming plans. He has already tried to bend according to the situation, but lately, nothing seems to have gone his way.
"Previously, some of the sealing path resources could be gathered from the core region of the Grimoire World. Right now, I need to quickly open my second Chakra point and attune it to a popular path."
But still, his expression remained worried. After all, he really needed that Familiar from the family and he had an uneasy feeling that he was going to be screwed again.
He silently calmed his heart and chatted with Karla.
|
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|
After locking the windows and door of his hotel room, Sigil walked towards the power foot hare. His mind was concentrating towards the feeling of the connection of the souls that he felt during his last encounter with the ghost in Chestcovia City. A gentle glow emerged from his left palm as he slowly put his left hand on the hare's head.
Voom
A zooming sound was heard and Sigil found himself in a patch of forest. Sigil tried to feel his surroundings and discovered that an invisible barrier was blocking him from moving too far.
After feeling the perimeter of the surrounding, Sigil started to search around the patch of forest. Since he had tried to connect with the soul of a bunny Familiar, he had to look for the nest of a hare or something related to their kind.
Sigil started looking around one tree at a time. Even though his search was slow, he finally found his target. A weak looking power foot hare was laying near the foot of a tree, hidden by a patch of dirt and grass. The condition of the Familiar was very rough and it had ragged breathing.
Even though Sigil did not the state of the soul of a familiar after entering into a contract with a witch, he still had a feeling that this hare was being controlled somehow. Sigil took a deep breath and slowly crept near the Familiar. In the real world, he had no need to be afraid of a simple Familiar that could not even defeat a witch with four gates opened, but here, he was just a manifestation of his soul. He had no knowledge about the conflict between two souls and wanted to be cautious.
As he slowly touched the head of the bunny, a loud screech was heard from far away. The body of the injured bunny shook lightly and its condition worsened. Behind Sigil and the bunny, a new manifestation emerged. It was another power foot hare, but this one was almost twice in size and a white coloured pattern was imprinted on the head of this bunny.
Sigil felt something behind him and immediately saw the scene of this bunny emerging in the soul space of the injured Familiar. Sigil immediately understood a part of the situation when he saw the emergence of this new bunny. From the size and vigor of the bunny, he could easily ascertain that this bunny was far more powerful than the Familiar laying near him. It may even be more powerful than Sigil himself.
This was the case of bloodline control!
Sigil immediately stood up and looked into the eyes of the big bunny.
Squeel
A sharp squeel emerged from its mouth as the Familiar shot towards Sigil with incredible speed. But alas, a strange situation occurred. The moment the bunny jumped towards Sigil, it realised that its speed wasn't anything comparable to the real world.
Even Sigil was surprised. To him, it looked like the bunny was dancing around. After all, it squeeled loudly and jumped, only to fall with a confused look on its face.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sigil frowned and started walking towards the bunny. The bunny also sat up as it looked at the surroundings in a confused manner. Even though this bunny looked like the leader of the other Familiar due to its size and appearance, it was still clueless about this strange space. After all, in the soul space of the injured Familiar, the three of them were mere projections of their soul.
Sigil immediately closed the distance between himself and the bunny before kicking it violently. Even though they could not use their magical energies, the kick still landed solidly on the body of Bunny Leader.
Duph
A blunt sound emerged as the bunny flew back and smashed against a tree. Strangely, neither the bunny seemed to be hurt nor the tree took any damage. Seeing this, Sigil's interest in this space increased even more. This time, he took a different approach.
He once again walked near the aggressive yet confused Bunny Leader with the intent of eradicating the soul projection. A violent glow started to emerge from his palms as he touched the head of this Familiar. The glow in his hand was a little different from before. Previously, the light from his palms gave out a refreshing and calm feeling. It felt like a warm Maiden willing to have a happy conversation, but now, the light from his palms looked like a war-goddess, destroying everything and anything.
Pu
With a popping sound, the projection of the rabbit leader was destroyed. The rabbit couldn't even let out a sound before it was removed from the soul space of the injured familiar.
Huff
Sigil sighed and felt a little fatigued. Evidently, the strange move had expended some of his mental energy. He slightly shook his head to shake off the dizziness and walked towards the injured Familiar laying near the foot of the tree.
As he looked towards the weak bunny Familiar, Sigil had a strange thought. How did its soul get so weak in the first place? This had been the greatest doubt in his mind. Sigil only inflicted physical injuries to the Familiar, his soul was clearly not targeted by Sigil's attack.
Thinking of this, Sigil couldn't help but sigh. Another one of his mission was taking a strange turn. After deliberating for a while, Sigil decided to close off the connection and finally returned to his own world. The time flow of the soul space was extremely strange. Even though he had been there for almost 10 minutes, in reality, only a few seconds had passed away.
After taking a look at the bandaged beast one last time, Sigil decided to lay down on the bed while maintaining slight vigilance. There was no point in looking at a single bunny for the entire night. If Sigil had a choice, he would have chosen to look at a cosplayer in bunny's outfit for the whole night... well, not just looking.
***
Piu piu piu
Te den te den
Piu piu piu
Te den te den
"What the hell?" Sigil woke up in a gruff mood as he rubbed his eyes. As expected, he immediately slept after laying on the bed. As he looked towards the healing bunny, he sighed in relief. But what the hell is wrong with all those siren sounds? He looked at the clock placed near his bed and saw that it was only 4 in the morning.
People are really hateful!
"Sigil, it's me. Open the door!" Almost immediately, Alicia's voice sounded out from the other side of the door. He sighed an stood up to open the door. What else could he do? After all, he couldn't continue his sleep anymore.
***
Streets were being filled with strange black-furred bunnies. The number of bunnies was huge and the whole city was almost filled with the strange animal. The strange thing was that these bunnies did not hurt anyone and quickly left the whole city, fleeing towards the nearest forest for the living. Evidently, all these power foot hares were actually present inside the city from the start.
From the window of the hotel, the four witches of the Grey Family looked at the chaotic situation with gloomy gazes. All these hares were Familiars worth a fortune! If they had collected these Familiars, their profits would have been very high the resources of the Cultivation of the energy gates would have flown into their pockets easily. Even the carefree Sigil felt rage bubbling up inside his body.
"Contact the police station and ask for the satellite image of the place of the origin of all these Familiars." Sigil's gaze was eerie as he looked at the strange scene from the window of his hotel room. He was not in any mood to decide about the position of the leader and simply stated out the task that needed to be accomplished. Who would complete it? Or how would it be completed wasn't his problem.
After sending the three of them away, Sigil looked at the injured Familiar, whose body was shaking with excitement and coldly harrumphed. He walked towards his bag and took out a pouch. The pouch was made of a black leathery substance with its end tied by a familiar's tendon. Sigil opened the pouch and took out a small pinch of light green powder before sprinkling it over the excited, yet, injured Familiar.
The moment the green powder came into the contact of the Familiar, it was immediately absorbed by the skin of the bunny involuntarily and the shaking of the Familiar finally came to a stop. The item used by Sigil was a sleeping agent made from the Green Jack Pines. The effect was immediate and the bunny took a deep and long sleep.
After almost 30 minutes, Sigil's door was knocked again. It was Martha.
"Well, we found the area of the origin of the Familiar from the satellite but the owner of the property has some complexities." Martha walked slowly and sat on Sigil's bed. She put down the file in her hands and placed it on the table, beside the sleeping bunny.
Sigil picked up the file and read with furrowed brows. It wasn't a work of a witch. The owner of the property was a simple carpenter of the city. His works had a decent reputation and he earned a stable income in the city. All the clues and investigation material pointed out that Ryan Belwind– The owner of the property, was an ordinary artisan.
After thinking a bit, Sigil placed the file on the table and spoke to Martha lightly.
"We leave in fifteen minutes. Be prepared for any kind of witchcraft."
Martha's eyes also sharpened and she nodded. She had to tell the other two about the situation too. She did not linger around and flirt like she usually did and immediately went away to make preparations. Every witch's battle was a matter of life and death. She would not want her own unpreparedness to be the reason for her death.
***
"This guy can be a witch or a regular mortal. But one thing is for sure, he definitely has a Familiar by his side." Sigil spoke calmly as they looked towards a brown painted house from their car. Ricardo was sitting on the driver's seat while Martha and Alicia sat behind. They all were wearing their combat clothes and their bodies were equipped with deadly blades and pistols and revolvers.
"We should probably use all of our sleeping drugs and try to infiltrate the house after creating a safer environment." Alicia's idea gained the approving nods from the other three and they simultaneously took out their pouches filled with sleeping drug. Even though this kind of drug was expensive and had a high demand, it could be purchased from anywhere.
"Alright, shall we complete the mission?" Martha smiled lightly and opened the door of her side. Sigil, Alicia and Ricardo followed Martha as she took the pouches out of their hands and walked near the house. Before the group entered the house, Sigil threw the sleeping bunny, that he brought along with him, over the fence of the house, making it land on the little garden of the house with a dull thud. This move was to check for potential witch traps. After confirming the integrity of the garden, the group jumped over the fence and walked towards the backdoor through the garden.
The house had a standard build alongside a basement and the outside door of the basement, situated at the end of the garden was the main objective of the group. After all, according to the data, Ryan was an ordinary artisan and a sociable person. He wouldn't be stupid enough to keep hordes of magical Familiar in the dining room of his house.
Sigil took out his gun while Alicia and Ricardo took out a sword and a machete respectively. Meanwhile, Martha took out a small packet of blood from the pouch of her pants placed near her knees and slowly drew a magical pattern on the door of the basement with her fingers using the blood as the ink.
"Your spells have gotten even better. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to calm my mind with the blood of Holy Sparrow on my fingers." Sigil praised Martha. Her mastery at such a young age definitely deserved such praises. Her serious expression alongside her snow-white hair tied into a bun created a beautiful scenery for Sigil. He even had a light urge to tease and flirt with her, but he restrained himself. They were on a task and it would be stupid to ruin the efforts of everyone over a slight urge.
Martha was using the blood of the most common monster of the Rakshasa species– The holy sparrow. The blood of the holy sparrow was a widely used spell ingredient of the curse study. Even though the curse study seemed simple, it was actually quite an elaborate concept.
The curse study was further divided into many categories. There were Cultivation curses, attack curses, trap curses, death curses, investigation curses and many more. While Sigil was a genius in the area of Cultivation type curses, Martha was a renowned genius in the area of trap curses. It could be seen through her application of such a low levelled material to perform a relatively complicated spell.
The blood of the holy sparrow also had a spirit-numbing effect on direct contact. Even then, Martha maintained her focus and this was also the reason that the other three did not disturb her during such a sensitive time. Ricardo was also full of praises towards Martha. Even though he could do the same in a very short time, he would be using his experience of a hundred years. Meanwhile, Martha was barely twenty years old.
After completing the curse pattern from the holy sparrow's blood, Martha took a deep breath and opened the four pouches filled with the sleeping drug. The beautiful, green-coloured powder quickly made a small mound on the blood pattern.
"Radg Ver Grindl Bahj." Martha spoke in whispers as the powder placed above the blood pattern had some slight changes as the blood pattern started to disappear silently. After the blood pattern had fully vanished, the green powder seemed to have possessed a life of its own and started to enter the basement through the corners and the foot of the door.
This was a trap curse named Floating Grains. A relatively harmless spell in its own, but if used correctly, the potential of the spell was really high. After sending the mound of sleeping powder inside the basement, Martha stood up and walked away from the door. She took out a small pill and placed it in her mouth as she started to feel refreshed once again.
As they waited for some time, Martha had already recovered from the exhaustion of using the spell. Seeing that everyone was in an appropriate condition, Sigil motioned his hand silently as he pointed the gun towards the internal lock of the door.
Chhg
Thk
His gun was equipped with a suppressor and the lock wasn't strong enough to withstand the attack of a gun at a point blank range. After destroying the lock, Sigil used his leg to slowly push open the door as the rest remained to the side of the door. The members of Witch's family had to go through basic military training and they were adept in many sign languages as well as various tactics during special circumstances. The tactic of using a single leg to push open the door while hiding the body was one of the well-known tactics during the infiltration of a base.
After feeling no reaction from the other side, Sigil motioned the three of them from his hand and slowly passed through the door. He was followed alongside the three of them.
|
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|
After leaving all of his Familiars inside his room, except for the Rocky Elephant. He had to place the big guy outside the house as he swiftly returned to Martha's side.
All of the family members below the Elder Level were ready to take a piece of this year's festival.
Even Martha's eyes were burning brightly. She had already taken part in the selling of Familiars gained from the garden to earn enough resources for her cultivation. The family did not restrict such actions, instead, they encouraged the sale of Familiars to outside sources as it will allow a good exposure of the economy on the minds of the young ones.
"Are you ready?"
Sigil tapped Martha's shoulder as he couldn't help but grin at her expression. She looked really cute when truly determined.
Feeling his ridicule, she pouted slightly and shrugged her shoulders off his hand and snorted.
"Hey, don't be like that! Say, how about going out with me this weekend?" Sigil grinned and boldly placed his arms around her waist.
Sigil and Martha's relationship wasn't a secret and even John was aware of them. Even though his mouth twitched slightly due to the affection in public, he could only sigh as his daughter also had affection for this kid.
'Maybe I will just send him to the border for training. Six months without any female contact will do the trick.'
He thought darkly and made up his mind. Sigil was a talent that needed to be polished. He couldn't keep him in the family only to flirt around. Even though the results he had produced are outstanding, it doesn't change the fact that he still has time to waste.
"Enough! Before you go in, remember! We all are a family and no vicious attacks will be tolerated!"
John raised his voice once before finally opening the gate of the garden as the members rushed in with their partners.
Meanwhile, Martha and Sigil were relatively calm, but their speed was still quick enough.
"Hey, Martha. You never told me the elemental path you want to cultivate in?"
As they entered the family garden, Sigil suddenly asked Martha.
He gave her a look and couldn't help but appreciate her beauty. Her snow-white hair fluttered behind her as they left a glowing trail while her whole body was already one with the wind.
She was already in her battle suit as a black, form-fitting suit hugged her body. The whole material was heat resistant and Martha was able to showcase her full speed. Not only that, but the black suit also had paddings in the joint regions and these paddings were made with the material found from a water familiar.
Meanwhile, a dark black zip-line moved on her back from the base of her neck to the curves of her hips.
".... so that is why I want to chose this path."
Martha spoke and she looked extremely serious, stunning the already stunned Sigil.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Sigil couldn't help but sweat as he completely ignored Martha's words and kept on gazed at her supple and round butt.
"..."
Martha looked at him with an indifferent expression and sped up.
Sigil could only sigh at his blunder. Usually, she would be continuing with flirting if she caught him staring at her beautiful butt, but right now, she was truly focused on getting a good familiar for herself.
"Hey! Wait up!"
Sigil easily caught up and didn't speak any bullshit. He was sensible enough to understand that it would only make her more furious.
Even though it is said that the family garden was a relatively small forest, it was only slightly smaller than a top-notch forest with an established ecosystem.
Martha and Sigil kept on leaving the clues wherever they felt necessary and moved on to a different region.
They had already come across three Familiars.
One was a dark brown toad with red marks on its back. It was a poison path familiar called Red Dot Spit. If the spit of this toad landed on any living being, a red dot mark will appear on the point of contact and the area will start to bleed continuously.
Actually, this familiar species was extremely rare and not much was sold in the market. If it were before, Martha would surely capture this familiar and sell it off in the market. But this time, she was focused on only the Familiars of a specific path.
As they moved forward, they saw another familiar of the light path.
It was a Blessed Raven. It was quite common in wildlife and had extreme reproductive capabilities. The Blessed Raven found by the duo was actually safeguarding a nest filled with dozens of pitch black eggs.
Those were the eggs of the Blessed Ravens. Unlike the sinister appearance of their eggs, the Blessed Ravens looked extremely graceful and sported feather with a colour combination of white and pure with their tail feathers completely purple in colour.
The last familiar they encountered was a metal path Bronze Boar. As the name suggested, the bronze boar had a skin made of bronze. Actually, this Familiar had different rare variants like Iron Boar, Golden Boar and more.
As they kept on moving forwards, Sigil couldn't help himself as he sighed before asking Martha once again.
"So, which path have you decided on?"
He acted as if the previous blunder did not even occur.
Martha looked at him for a while and then sighed in defeat as she looked at his face.
"Tch! Don't ignore me next time!"
Before telling, she made sure to glare at him one more time before telling him her desired route of chakra path.
"I want to become a wood elemental chakra witch!"
She spoke lightly, causing Sigil to frown.
"Wait a minute, didn't you say that you wanted to become an Illusion Path Chakra Witch?"
Sigil still remembered how Martha spoke with utmost confidence about choosing the Illusion Path. She had also used one year of her time to research on the illusion path and now, she is suddenly saying that she wants to select the wood path.
Martha thought for a while before shaking her head.
"I just changed my mind."
She didn't speak anymore and started to move.
"Hey! Wait up!"
Sigil immediately chased as he soon reached near her. His frown hadn't eased up as he felt that she might have been affected by the results of Ancestral Pool of the family.
|
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|
“A bottle of beer for me and for the ladies?” Sigil entered the bar as his nose was assaulted with the smell of alcohol, cigar and …. ammonia. Well, this is the only thing to accept from a bar. Even though it was daytime, it did not keep the customer's with issues to get hammered. Sigil tapped the counter as he looked towards the ladies with a smile.
“Glass of scotch for me!” Amanda, the pretty blonde spoke out.
“I will have a beer too!” Kayla, the big-breasted brunette laughed cheerfully. Meanwhile, Ricardo stood a little away from them and ordered a bottle of beer for himself.
“Here you go, a bottle of beer and a glass of scotch.” The bartender was clothed in cut sleeves t-shirt and his bulging arms were decorated with the tattoos of monster girls. As Sigil saw that he and Ricardo weren't given their drinks, he put up a haughty expression.
“Hey! What's the big idea? Where's me and my friend's drink?” His tone was loud enough to draw the attention of some of the sober customers.
“Go home kid. Only your parents are allowed to drink.” The bartender had already seen many teenagers trying to drink underage. His expression was calm as he had the appropriate strength in his arms to knock out the young man if he caused some troubles, or so he thought.
“What are you? Some cop?” Sigil chuckled and placed some more cash on the counter. Before the Bartender spoke, he heard the sound of a solid material hitting the counter alongside the sound of cash. As he looked at the table, his expression changed and he immediately quietened down.
The ladies accompanying him were enjoying their drinks as Sigil pocketed his Witch's Permit. If they knew about his identity, they would be simply scared off. He couldn't have that now, could he?
After taking a sip out of his served beer, he looked at the laughing ladies.
“You girls sure are nasty. Getting drunk during the daytime.” He leaned on the counter and chuckled.
“Hoo, we can get even more nasty, handsome!”
“Kayla, don't be so naughty! It's only reserved for the other side of the room.” Both the girls laughed as they flirted with Sigil. Their body language and their sultry eyes pointed out their intentions.
Sigil's eyes shined as he looked visibly excited.
“Oh? Then you guys really need to get hammered. Keep bringing them drinks.” He ordered as the strange scenario began.
Sigil and the girls kept on flirting, leaving Ricardo on sidelines. The daytime quickly turned into evening as the customers started to increase. Meanwhile, the two girls were truly drunk by this time while Sigil barely finished his first bottle of beer.
Seeing the almost passed out girls, Sigil chuckled and walked over to Ricardo.
“Hey! Do you want to quicken the investigation?” He smiled mysteriously and put his hand around Ricardo's shoulder. Ricardo was surprised by the question before he nodded.
Of course, he wanted to finish the case quickly. Why else did they arrive here?
“Alright, who do you favour? The brunette or the blonde?” Sigil pointed at the two girls.
Ricardo looked at the two girls seriously. One was blonde with a nice upper body and especially plump bottom while the brunette was generous on the upper side of the body.
This was a tough question!
After a moment, Ricardo evaluated his years of experience with a number of women and finally settled for the busty Brunette.
Sigil nodded and pulled him together as they walked to the girls.
“Let's go, girls! We need to take this party somewhere else.” Sigil came over naturally and put his hand on Amanda's slender waist and lowered his hand to cop a feel. Amanda giggled as she leaned on Sigil.
Meanwhile, Ricardo had troubles with his one.
“Uh, Who are you?” Kayla made a face as she tried pushing Ricardo away, but her strength was close to nil.
“Oh, don't worry darling. He is my cousin. Don't look at his face, he has an enormous gift hidden for you.”
The girl was completely drunk! She would have even believed that Ricardo had an elephant inside his pants.
“Ooohhh, I like surprises.” Kayla leaned on Ricardo as her breasts pressed on Ricardo's chest. Her face was almost touching Ricardo's, making him feel her hot breaths on his face. He looked towards Sigil in a completely different light.
Even though he was a silk pants young master, he had enough mastery to get any girl on his bed. This also required extreme training!
Both of them eventually left the bar and walked towards a back alley. Since it was already evening, the alley was already quite dark. He quickly whispered Ricardo to go towards the other alley and remain cautious.
Ricardo felt a little weird after listening to this request, but he wouldn't mind a little privacy at this moment. Sigil also took Amanda inside the dark alley and quickly pushed her towards the wall, his hands roaming and exploring her upper body.
Amanda was wearing a simple black top and a pair of light blue denim shorts. One of Sigil's hands massaged her left breast while his other arm caressed her thigh. Their tongues interlocked as they exchanged their saliva.
“Hmm, take me right now!” Amanda moaned as Sigil lifted her legs and their sweet parts started grinding against each other.
It was at this time, Sigil heard a moment and he immediately took the girl and rolled her by the wall. Since he had already lifted her body up, this motion only Sigil against the wall and Amanda sucking his mouth with her back towards the dark alley.
Unknown to Amanda, Sigil had already freed one of his arms as her legs locked around her body and supported her without difficulty. They were still making out intensely, but Sigil's left arm shot towards the back of Amanda's head and immediately made a grabbing motion.
The moment, he made the grabbing motion, he felt something soft and cotton-like getting caught in his hand and without waiting for anything, Sigil smashed the fluffy stuff on the wall.
squee
A painful, yet light squeal could be heard and Sigil smashed the thing on the wall again, before dropping it. He then rolled her over again and pulled her black top up. As he removed her top, a pair of lively breasts held by a yellow brassiere appeared in front of Sigil.
Tuc
Sigil immediately pulled down her bra and started sucking on her erect beans while pleasured moans escaped from her mouth.
After he sucked on them for a bit, he stopped and sighed.
“Work first.” He immediately let her down and controlled his breathing. He looked at the almost passed out girl and felt a little troubled. According, to his plan, he only intended to kiss her, but he lost his control and got a little carried away. Amanda was having trouble standing straight as she slumped on the ground, her beautiful breasts exposed to the dark alley.
“Sigh.”
Sigil sighed as he dressed her quickly and looked for the broken fur ball of menace.
It was a Rabbit Familiar!
The Rabbit had black furs over its body as its hind legs looked extremely bulging at the moment. A black-coloured substance kept on leaking from its feet.
Sigil picked the unconscious rabbit and placed it inside a polythene bag and picked Amanda in princess carry.
“Hehe, such a gentleman!” Her neck stretched as she joined their lips together again.
“Don't worry, sweetheart. Let's get you to the hotel.” He chuckled and walked lightly. As he passed the alleyway with Ricardo and Kayla, he still heard the light moans of pleasure.
“Oi, Ricardo. Get out from there. I got ourselves a specimen.”
His shout caused the alley to turn silent, followed by the sound of clothes rustling. Evidently, Ricardo got a bit carried away himself.
Soon, Ricardo emerged with a girl in his arms as they both walked towards the hotel. As the arrived at the hotel, Sigil decided to lay Amanda down with Kayla, on Ricardo's bed and they both arrived at Sigil's room, to study the newfound Familiar.
“Be sure to close the door properly.” Sigil reminded Ricardo as they closed Ricardo's bedroom door properly. It won't look good if Alicia and Martha saw both of them fooling around during the mission.
Sigil took out his phone and called Alicia.
“Hey, hmm, yeah. Yeah, we found something. We got the Familiar. Yeah, we are waiting for you.” Sigil pressed the end button and looked towards Ricardo.
“Alright, when they ask how we got this Familiar, just say that we both were scouting an alleyway and it ambushed us.”
“Yes.” Ricardo nodded and replied solemnly.
“Alright, now, let's get started.”
Ricardo and Sigil looked at the bloodied Rabbit. The stuff leaking from its feet had already dried out and the size of its hind legs had returned to normal.
'A Power Foot Hare!’ Ricardo obviously knew the true identity of the Familiar. With his experience of 165 years of witchcraft, he had seen many kinds of Familiars and also used many of them. Right now, the poor rabbit was laying on the table, its body riddled with injuries, breathing weakly.
“Well, it doesn't look poisonous despite its appearance. Why don't we search the alliance's database and look for information on the Familiar?” Ricardo said after pondering a bit. He was still hesitant to show his true combat power and knowledge to others.
“Yeah, I had the same thought.” The alliance was filled with information of common and rare Familiars. It was highly possible that the information about this particular Familiar could be found in the database.
Sigil opened the alliance's application on his smartphone and started typing the description before he found the information about the terrorising Familiar.
“Hmm? Found a match. It's called a Power Foot Hare…. the pores of their feet secrete a drug-like substance that can increase the muscle density for some time and also increase the blood flow within their hind legs. Their back is extremely flexible, allowing them to move their body in midair. Too bad they have a weak defense and this one isn't even near the Adolescent Stage. If I have to gauge its strength, then our little guy will be comparable to a witch with his third gate opened.”
Sigil gave the details as he poked the injured rabbit.
“But why would it attack us?” Sigil pointed out the main problem. Even though they were tasked to capture or eradicate the whole nest of the Power Foot Hare, it wouldn't hurt them to gain more knowledge about their behaviour.
“Do you think it attacked you because you were going to….. you know.”
Ricardo gave the universal 'dirty’ look to Sigil and asked him. He obviously knew the reasons for Sigil getting attacked by the hare. All he wanted to do was to point out their behaviour by asking 'innocent’ questions.
“Possible. That is the reason I brought along a company with me to test that possibility. But these are from the rabbit family. Heck, they are even referred in the phrase– Humping like rabbits. So, why would a rabbit want to stop some humping?” Sigil frowned.
In the information given out by the alliance, it did not record their basic nature.
“First thing first.” Sigil called Alicia once again.
“Hey, how's your work going?.... Hmm, yeah, listen, Alicia. We just found the crazy Familiar. When you come over, be sure to bring some of the Soul strips along, will you? Oh, thanks.” Sigil ended the call and brought out some bandages from his bag and started to treat the injured rabbit. There was still a chance that this Familiar was contracted to a witch, therefore, Sigil wasn't intent on healing the rabbit completely.
“You might want to get those two girls out. If Martha and Alicia found out about Amanda and Kayla, we will be in big trouble.
Ricardo frowned as he saw Sigil wrapping up the bunny.
“You meant that only you will get in trouble, right?”
Sigil and Ricardo looked at each other briefly before Ricardo went to his room and called for room service. This hotel was one of the more prestigious ones and had a lot of unusual call for room service. Taking out a drunk chick wasn't unusual to the staff of the hotel.
After giving it some thought, Ricardo decided to write his contact number and put it in Kayla's back pocket and wrote down Sigil's contact info and placed it inside Amanda's pocket.
Satisfied with his work, Ricardo handed the two unconscious ladies to the room service and went back to Sigil's room.
After waiting for five minutes, Alicia and Martha finally returned. Seeing them return, Sigil furrowed his brows.
'Something doesn't feel right.’ He spoke silently as they inspected the Familiar and raised their heads, looking at Sigil with a little different attitude.
“Where did you find this?” Alicia narrowed her eyes. Her face passive, not letting out a single emotion.
“Oh, well, we thought of becoming the bait for this rabbit and decided to walk different alleys. Ricardo also had a company with him in the alley when they were attacked. I ran after them when I found nothing near me.” Sigil smiled after completing his statement. He had already noticed the different atmosphere around the girls. He immediately connected the dots with the girls forming the same conclusion about the familiar after interrogating the victims' families.
“?!” Ricardo looked stunned. What did I do to you? Why throw me under the bus? Ricardo felt a little indignant. Meanwhile, the girls’ expressions finally eased and they breathed out a slight sigh of relief.
'Being engaged is troublesome.’ Sigil understood most of the stuff from their body language as he cursed the anomalies that these rabbits were. Why would you attack someone that was going to have a 'great’ day? Did you guys think only you have the right to hump?
“Oh, good job, Ricardo.” Alicia nodded towards Ricardo.
“We found some leads about these Familiars too. The victims were all single and known for their promiscuity. Even their family had headaches over their daily 'escapades’. It is even reported that the victims were going to engage in their fun activities before they were attacked to death.” Martha spoke out, confirming Sigil's suspicion.
Meanwhile, Ricardo bit the bitter pill and let this event go. He wouldn't try to fight it out with Sigil about such a small thing. If anything else, he wanted to get closer to him to pick up some moves.
Sigil also showed them his mobile phone, giving them the information about the Familiars they were dealing with.
“Alright, give me the soul strips.”
Sigil spoke out as Alicia took out a packet of small stick-like products. The sticks were finger-long and painted in dark green colour. Their diameter was around half a centimeter. These were Soul Strips. If the blood of a contracted Familiar comes into contact with the strip, the colour of the strip will change from green to black, whereas, the blood of a non contracted beast will turn the colour of the strip from green to red.
Sigil immediately opened the packet and took out a soul strip, placing it in the Power Foot Hare's mouth. Slowly, under the eyes of everyone, the green-coloured strip turned into a black-coloured strip. Seeing this, Martha let out a slight sigh while the other three frowned.
"Alright, this is definitely strange." Alicia spoke while narrowing her eyes. Her voice caused some confusion to Martha while Sigil and Ricardo nodded in agreement.
"What's going on?" Martha understood the strange atmosphere and she immediately felt a little weird.
"According to data, these Familiars are gentle natured and even if they catch a whiff of intercourse, they just attack with their limbs. But this nest of rabbits also have a taste for human blood. This is definitely strange." Sigil also laid down his doubts.
Martha finally understood the situation. When she thought of it, she also felt weird about the bite wounds on the neck of the victims. Why would a rabbit pierce human necks?
"Alright, it is quite late. I will keep an eye on this Familiar while you guys rest. If anything happens, I will call for you guys." Since they were in Sigil's room, he readily took the responsibility of keeping an eye on the Familiar.
Ricardo thought for a while before nodding at the decisions and leaving the room. Only Sigil, Alicia and Martha remained in the room alongside the healing Familiar.
"You really had nothing to do with any woman, right?" Alicia looked at him suspiciously. She had her priorities straightened. After discussing the mission, she immediately chose to interrogate her fiancé.
"No, no. You can believe me!" Sigil spoke with a straight face. His voice laced with gentleness and a little determination. Alicia narrowed her eyes and looked at Sigil for a while.
"Hehe, come on, Alicia. You should try to trust him a little. After all, he already has his hands filled with enough girls." Martha chuckled and tapped Alicia's shoulder. Even though she said that, Martha looked into Sigil's eyes and winked while wearing a foxy smile.
Alicia also knew Sigil's relationship with some of the girls of the family, especially Martha. She wasn't against it. In this world, the strong had the right to do anything. After all, her own father had married to different women. Even though Alicia was the only offspring of John Grey, this did not mean that he had a relationship with only a single woman.
After hesitating a little, Alicia finally left alongside Martha. Seeing them leave, Sigil let out a sigh of relief. Right now, he hadn't slept with either of them and he wanted to keep things the same way. After all, he wasn't the previous Sigil that was fond of being a man whore.
To Sigil, fooling around wasn't a crime or a sin, it was only fun. If he had actually slept with someone, that would mean that he had to take the responsibility of supporting her, until the other party breaks off the relationship.
At the moment, he couldn't afford to be held back with emotions. This world was plenty dangerous and emotions only increase the difficulty. As the door of his room closed behind the girls, Sigil stood up from his bed and walked towards the rabbit Familiar. His gaze incredibly dark.
|
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"series": "8611",
"id": "10450",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Power Foot Hare",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
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"Supernatural"
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"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
The stairs were filled with sleeping bunnies. Some of the Familiars looked stronger than their captured friend while some of them were weaker than a witch that had only opened the first gate. The four of them walked slowly and avoided the bunnies. Since it was nearing the dawn, the whole staircase was still dark and they had to rely on their slightly improved eyes.
When a witch opens his energy gates, his body will receive nourishment and get stronger. Even though the witches were a lot stronger than regular mortals, their physique fell short in front of monsters, devils and Familiars. The same is the case with their eyesight. If they had a tamed Familiar with enhanced eyes that had a power level equal to a seventh gate witch, that familiar's eyesight would be better than the four of them.
After slowly moving forward, they almost reached the end of the staircase. It was at this time that they heard a loud sound of metal clanking and a heavy door opening. They immediately stopped in their tracks and decided to watch it out. The metal door connecting the house and the basement opened as rough breaths of a man could be heard. With quick steps, the man reached the basement.
"What?" A surprised shout sounded out as he saw all the bunny familiars sleeping on the floor. Even the Familiar lord, the power foot hare with white markings on its forehead could be seen sleeping on a desk.
Seeing this, the expression of the man turned gloomy and he immediately ran towards his house. When they heard the sound of running, Sigil motioned the other three to stand guard and call the alliance.
"Tell them that we would like to submit a Familiar lord alongside other Familiars." Sigil spoke as he positioned his gun and started to walk towards the escaping man, Ryan– the carpenter.
Infancy, Adolescence and Mature. These were the three stages of a Familiar's growth. The infant Familiars had no title to their names but Adolescent Familiars were also called Lord Tier Familiars and the Mature Familiars were called Emperor Tier Familiars.
As Sigil moved forward, his gaze was attracted towards the largest Familiar sleeping on the table. It had a slightly better muscular build and white markings could be seen on its forehead. This was the Familiar that arrived in the soul space of the captured power foot hare.
Even then, Sigil kept a steady speed and climbed up the stairs. He could not tame the lord tier beast, neither make a contract with it. This was the reason he decided to contact the alliance and also the reason that the other three did not raise any objections. His grip on his gun tightened as he used his other arm to push open the door.
The metal door was connected to the backside of the house and Sigil entered with light steps. The house was dimly lit and he could hear the sound of things moving near him. The man must be panicked. After all, he was packing his things very quickly.
Sigil immediately ran up the stairs that lead towards the bedroom of the house and the place where the sounds of quick packing emerged from. The door to the room was open and Sigil decided to sneak a glance inside the room.
Inside, a middle-aged man with light brown hair packed some stuff inside his duffle bag. Aside from clothing, Sigil also saw Ryan storing some papers and weird things. Yes, weird!
Aside from papers and clothes, Ryan picked a green incense and placed it inside the outer part of the bag and then proceeded to place the bones of a finger inside the other compartment of the bags. It wasn't just the bones and the incense, there was much strange stuff like red grass, a black ball with a green shadow and also a red-covered booklet.
After seeing that the man was almost harmless, Sigil aimed his gun from behind the panicked man and shot.
Chhg
Aaaaghhhhhhh
A bullet pierced the left calf of Ryan as he screamed loudly. The attack came too quickly. He wasn't able to support his body and fell on the floor. He was holding his legs as he kept on screaming in pain.
Thud
The sound of the door closing behind him could be heard as he looked towards a handsome youth with clean-cut silver hair and blue eyes looking towards him with a deadpan expression.
Sigil looked towards the crying Ryan and pulled over a chair for himself. After sitting on it, he placed the gun on his thighs and leaned in front, his eyes gazing into the tear-filled eyes of Ryan.
"You have two options. First, you tell me everything in detail. Second, I force it out of you." His voice was extremely cold. Until now, he had been trying to act according to the behaviour of the original Sigil. This was the reason that he acted out alone and followed Ryan upstairs.
Right now, Ryan did not look like a decent middle-aged man. His disheveled hair, his teary eyes, snot-filled face made him look extremely disgusting. His teeth were chattering in fear as he remained still in front of gunpoint.
***
"Hello, this is the Carefree Alliance. Press 1 to know the details for joining the alliance, press 2 to get information on the nearest alliance office. Press 3 to assign a mission. Press 4 to apply for a mission. Press 5 to talk to our customer advisory services."
Alicia touched the number 5 on the dial pad of her smartphone. The other two were checking out the surroundings.
"Thank you for calling the carefree Alliance. We will connect you shortly to our employee. Please wait.... du... du... du... Hello, my name is Gary, how may I assist you?"
Alicia quickly gave her mission details and her id no.
"Yes, Miss Alicia. You would like to apply for the pickup of Familiars for the extra reward for the group, correct?"
"Yes."
"Please hold the line, I am applying your request. The pickup employees will reach your destination in an hour. Thank you for calling the carefree Alliance. We hope you have a good day."
The line disconnected as Alicia kept her smartphone in her pocket. She sighed and quickly joined Martha and Ricardo to check out for other fainted Familiars.
Meanwhile, Sigil had an ugly expression as he looked at Ryan. He walked up and quickly took out the book from the outer compartment of the bag. From the feeling of the cover, it looked like it was made from the skin of an animal. Sigil did not waste time and quickly opened the strange book. As he read it, his expression kept on darkening. He shook his head and pocketed the book and looked towards Ryan. Originally, he was just an ordinary human, but now, he encountered something he shouldn't have and even desired to use it.
"Using the devil's transcript is strictly forbidden. You not only used the transcript but also assaulted regular mortals with the strength of Familiars. Why?" Sigil's cold voice became even more frigid.
"You- you.... sigh... I only wanted to become stronger." Even though Ryan's condition was very poor, he could only reply in whispers. His voice had already become hoarse from all the pained cries. Sigil looked at Ryan and immediately punched his face, knocking him out.
After doing that, he opened the book once again and started taking pictures of all the information on the book. After that, he kept the book inside his bag and put his smartphone away. Even though it is forbidden to use Devil's script, it wouldn't hurt to know more about it, right?
The alliance was efficient and a team of witches alongside a chakra stage witch quickly arrived at the destination. They were driving a large truck with reinforced defences, to protect the Familiars from any harm, but it would be mostly useless. After all, the Familiars had been enhanced by the methods of the devil's script.
"I would like a full report on the matter. Who is the leader of this group?" A brown-haired middle-aged man with light green spectacles and wearing an unceremonious night suit spoke in an annoyed tone. He was a chakra stage expert in the newly created alliance. He was like many other fortunate witches that were able to step into the realm of Chakra Sky without any help of a prominent family. The emergence of the alliance gave these lone witches a method to earn more resources to further their Cultivation without going against any orthodox power of the country.
All of them were standing in the basement and Martha, Alicia and Ricardo immediately looked towards Sigil. Their eyes gave their decision about the long-awaited question of the leadership of the group. While Sigil was still a rash and arrogant youth in their eyes, they still saw this quality of his redeemable. Ricardo also wanted to keep observing Sigil. After all, he had contacted Sigil previously to take down the Grimoire World, but now, he couldn't find the inheritance ground and the Grimoire World was being controlled by the Alliance. He could only stick around with Sigil before any other interesting event takes place.
Braun, the Chakra Stage Witch, looked towards Sigil as well.
"What happened here?" He plainly asked. He was in the midst of his sleep and had to be forcefully awakened to deliver these Familiars. It had to be known that many witches are burdened with a lot of stress and often enter the condition of insomnia. Braun was of a similar case. As he looked at all the sleeping Familiars, his annoyance only grew.
"It's like this, these Familiars have been altered by the methods of devil's script. While the infant Familiars have mutated along the lines of blood beasts, the lord class Familiar has mutated towards the soul class, as it could control the actions of most of the Familiars....."
Sigil slowly explained everything as he took out a small book from his pockets. Meanwhile, the expression of Braun turned darker. Even though the humans were widely segregated, they were still united against one common enemy- The Devils. There hasn't been too much information about devils, but it has always been advised that one should at least reach the level of opening of chakra points before thinking of facing a devil face-to-face. Even though there are many spells that could eradicate a devil, the materials to execute the spells are very expensive.
Braun immediately kept the book without even opening it and ordered his subordinates to fill the truck with the remaining Familiars. He also contacted his higher-ups and informed them of the situation. After all was done, he walked up towards the bandaged Ryan and coldly picked him up with one hand. Even though the bodies of witches isn't comparable to that of monsters and familiars, they were still a lot stronger than mortals.
"He will have his memory searched and be subjected to the punishment of the alliance. As a representative of humanity, I would like to applaud your efforts as this idiot could have caused even more damage. Your Rewards will be sent to your respective households and you should leave. Many witches are on their way to quickly kill all the infected familiars before they become contaminated enough to hose devils inside them." Braun spoke as he quickly backed up the truck. Even though the reinforcement would deal with other loose familiars, the alliance was quite interested in the Familiars themselves and ordered Braun to bring a batch of captured familiars to the headquarters.
The whole affair only took an hour and the group had successfully completed their mission. They did not immediately leave Ryan's household and started searching around. It would an absolute waste of their efforts if any trace of the devil was left due to their carelessness.
***
"Huff, finally free!" Martha exhaled deeply and sat near Sigil. Her head was leaning on his left shoulder as she squinted her eyes in relaxation. They were all inside Sigil's room. Well, not all, Ricardo was sleeping inside his own room.
'I want to sleep, too!' Sigil sighed as he felt the two girls invading his personal space quite annoying and cute at the same time. Previously, he would have just been annoyed, but after so many interactions, he started feeling warm towards both of them.
After all, Sigil was only a human. He wasn't an old demon, neither was he an indifferent impotent. Martha and Alicia treated him warmly and were kind towards him. Martha even had a sexual escapade with the previous owner of the body, it was almost inevitable for the current Sigil to start feeling for Alicia and Martha.
On the soft red bedsheet, the two silver-haired couple sat peacefully. One had her head over other's shoulder. The whole scene spoke of beauty and elegance if not for an annoyed dark-haired Girl.
"Are you going to ignore your own Fiancée?"
Alicia's melodious voice had an annoyed tone. This caused both of them to chuckle a little. Sigil shook his head and patted his legs.
"Since you are my fiancée, I will always have a special place for you."
Sigil openly invited her to use his laps as a pillow, but unexpectedly, Alicia removed her shoes and climbed up his body. She quickly made herself snug as she leaned her back on his chest and shook her hips a little to make herself more comfortable. Her entire being was laying on Sigil and they fit perfectly.
Martha on the side and Alicia on the body. A wonderful sense of softness exploded and invaded his sense of touch. Alicia's bouncy butt on his crotch and Martha's soft breast on his biceps made his blood rush towards the southern direction.
Meanwhile, Martha also smiled at Alicia's antics and closed her eyes peacefully. Getting angry over sharing Sigil was stupid. Wouldn't it be better to perform some acts together to increase pleasure?
Even though the three of them knew of the raging spear, they remained still and did not move. Alicia felt a little funny on her butt, but she still closed her eyes and slept peacefully. The three of them were tired due to not having adequate sleep and quickly dozed off.
***
"Two months.... in two months, the devils will strike. Previously, the alliance wasn't created and the organisation did not invest too much in such simple missions. Who knew that the Devils wanted to invade the main continent through the use of mortals. But this raises even more questions. Why are there such changes? Will the devil race even emerge this time? After all, this is the high time for the humans of the main continent. Even though there are still some other continents in a different plane, it isn't easy to cross the borders. And most of all, I need to determine if I am the cause of all these changes."
Ricardo muttered as he remained in a meditative stance. Nothing was going according to his plans. At first, he doubted that Sigil had obtained the inheritance since he did not contact him, but after knowing that his smartphone was crushed during the exploration, he cleared that doubt. But that did not mean he wasn't suspicious of Sigil, in fact, he was suspicious of everyone that went inside the Grimoire World.
"Yawn, this body is still weak. I still need to have some rest before I can start thinking about some countermeasures." Ricardo shook his head and went to sleep. He knew that making plans with a refreshed mind is always better than a tired one.
|
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"series": "8611",
"id": "12646",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Completed Mission",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
],
"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
Broughtwaorld
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"Check weapons, we will leave in five minutes."
Two days have passed and the group had finally decided to move to another location, preferably, closer to the totem pillar.
Sigil ordered the group calmly. These two days haven't been a waste for the group. Even though it was hard for Sigil to cultivate with the current quality of energy, he meditated continuously, exploring his soul. His whole body projected a peaceful image.
Even his teammates started to notice the change as the arrogant Sigil had transformed into a calm and mature human being. Even though the change wasn't huge, nonetheless, it was noticeable. His relationship with Alicia took a turn for the better as she stood behind Sigil.
Her face had a small smile as she looked at Sigil's calm self that could give out orders and started possessing the features of a leader.
After the group started packing and gearing up, Bethany walked over to Sigil and Alicia.
"Ho ho, Sigil, what did Alicia do to you? I wouldn't even dream of your current self." Bethany smiled in a teasing manner and sat near Alicia.
"As long as you dream of me, it is fine." Sigil smiled smugly and his projected aura collapsed immediately. Such an immediate change caused Bethany to feel surprised and his words made Alicia groan in her heart.
'I am sitting right here!' She could only feel slightly bitter without complaining. After all, these past two days, Sigil treated her with quite a strange manner. He would give bits of advice regarding meditation, he would even cook sometimes and he never forgot to take advantage of her when they were alone.
Previously, she would have never thought that she could feel this excited by just feeling his breath in her ears and his warm and sturdy hands on his neck and chest region.
"Hmm? What's this?" Bethany was thinking of a comeback when she looked at a strange mark on Alicia's neck. The side of her neck was being covered by her dark hair but the red mark was still noticeable on her milky white skin.
She immediately reached near Alicia's neck and brushed away her hair. Alicia's eyes widened in surprise by the sudden movement and Bethany's eyes widened because of the mark.
"My, my, you have already marked your territory, huh. Sigil, I didn't know that you had the guts to finally take on Alicia." Bethany smiled slyly. Her words caused a blush to creep up Alicia's cheeks as she covered the hickey with her hair. She glared at Sigil with an indignant expression and got up.
Sigil wasn't affected by her expression. Alicia's pout was one of her many charms that could boil a man's blood.
"You know, to outsiders, it would look like you also want one of my territorial marks on your neck." Sigil grinned and crept near Bethany.
"Now that I think of it, your blue hair gives you a youthful feeling and your freckles look cute, too. How 'bout it? Want a nibble on your neck?" Sigil kept on getting closer.
Before he could tease her more, Bethany stood up with a red face and quickly walked near Alicia. She couldn't handle Sigil by herself.
After five minutes, Sigil got up and clapped his hands.
"Alright, we will move out according to the plan. Jacob will remain behind and keep a lookout and provide backup. I and Oliver will be the vanguard while the rest will provide support. Any questions?"
The group shook their heads as his demeanor surprised Bethany once again.
'Maybe he really changed?' Her eyes held an indescribable emotion and her expression remained neutral.
The group moved out as they walked through the streets slowly. Jacob followed the group as he held a Wooden Class Rifle– Spark78. It could be noted that Jacob's demeanor looked extremely similar to an assassin. Even Sigil had trouble sensing him and he was stronger than Jacob.
They were almost 800 metres away from the Totem Pillar when they heard the sound of running and immediately stopped. Jacob also prepared himself as he immediately set his rifle. His aim was set towards the group's direction and he saw a black figure jumping from a high location.
Chhg
A suppressed sound emerged as the bullet was fired towards the unknown assailant with utmost precision.
Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes widened as he saw the face of the unknown assailant. He wanted to shout and stop Jacob but the bullet was already moving towards the newcomer.
Without any surprises, the bullet pierced the thigh of the man as he fell.
"What the hell???" A Familiar voice erupted from the figure as he removed his hood. His face surprised everyone, except for Jacob. He was standing a little far from the group, and even if he could shoot a moving target, it was still hard to see the facial features of a man with his cultivation.
He quickly reloaded the gun and aimed once again, only to see Sigil stopping him and motioning him to get near the group.
***
"Wow, you really hate me don't you?" Ivan spoke with a bitter expression. His face was contorted as he looked at his injury healing at a great speed. Sigil's group looked at the strange scene with a shocked gaze.
"Gates Constellation." Jacob immediately spoke in a surprised voice. He was sure in his abilities and seeing the wound from his gun healing so easily allowed him to deduce Ivan's situation.
"What are you guys looking so shocked for? This is a super-sized Ancestral Pool. If you did not even form a constellation in this place, you should just jump off a building." Ivan spoke as his words cut through the hearts of the group.
Sigil and Alicia remained expressionless.
"Either way, a constellation providing a healing ability is quite rare." Sigil shook his head and moved his hand towards Ivan. Ivan smiled and grabbed on his hand, getting pulled up immediately.
"Let's go. I want to have a word with you." With Sigil's nod, Ivan led the whole group to his hideout, which was only 300 metres away from the totem pillar.
It was an office building with more than eight floors.
***
In a conference room, Ivan was introducing the two leaders of the group.
"Sigil, she is Yasmine. She is leading the group from the Yellow Spider and she is also one of the apprentices under Alan, the Family Head of the family." Ivan spoke as he introduced the charming girl.
"Yasmine, he is Sigil. John Grey's adopted son as well as the leader of the group from the Grey Family. I hope you two get along well." Ivan spoke out as they both shook each other's hand.
The moment Sigil shook her hand, he felt a strange touch. It felt like Yasmin's palm had very tiny spikes covering her palms.
After nodding, they both sat down as well.
"I am sure that both of you have concluded the existence of a treasure based on the instructions left by Lord Sparrow, right?"
Ivan did not waste time and brought up the main topic. His eyes were observing both of their expressions. Sure enough, Yasmine and Sigil looked more solemn.
Sigil's mind flashed countless thoughts and factored every clue and possibility he could think of. After giving it some time, he could only come up with the only situation that was most likely.
Sigil turned towards Ivan with a smile.
"If you gathered us, you should have information about the treasure. What are the conditions of cooperation and how do you propose that we distribute the profits?"
Yasmine also understood Ivan's intention. She looked at the discussion with interest in her expression.
"Right now, there are four groups from the families, three groups from the alliance and one group consisting of lone witches. If we group together, we would be able to achieve more profits and reduce the risks. As for the treasures, they are the eggs containing Adolescent Familiars."
As Ivan's voice fell, both of them widened their eyes. Familiar Egg!
Sigil immediately composed his mind and recalled the information he was taught about the spell.
Many familiars are very violent, vicious and dangerous the moment they are born. But contrary to their nature, these kinds of familiars also exhibited extraordinary battle power. These kinds of Familiars could be only tamed and contracted after gaining their trusts. And the only method to gain their trust is to become their parent, which is decided the moment these Familiars are birthed.
To tackle this issue, many witches dedicated their entire lives. It was only during the Bloodline Revolution when a genius Witch named Walter Blackbone invented a spell that could create an egg-like structure around the body of the Familiar and slowly erase their memories, sending them to the condition when these Familiars were birthed.
After sealing them in a spell egg, the user needed to wait for the incubation period to complete and then become the first existence that the familiar lay its eyes on. This way, the witch will be regarded as the parent and will be able to gain complete trust of the Familiars.
"Which familiars?" Yasmine asked suddenly.
"We are not provided with the information." Ivan shook his head.
Sigil nodded and took a deep breath.
"Then the issue of distribution?" He asked him in a serious expression.
Ivan took some time before answering.
"Yasmine's group will gain 20 percent while we both will take 40 percent each."
Even though the Yellow Spider was the direct subordinate of the guild, it did not mean that they completely owned them. He still needed to give them sufficient profits and remuneration for their assistance.
Yasmine's look turned slightly cold but she remained quiet. She understood her family's position and could only bite the bullet.
It was Sigil that shook his head in dissatisfaction.
"Ivan, you are my friend and I will give you my last offer. 50 percent."
"Are you crazy?" Yasmine shouted in rage and frustration. She wasn't even given an equal treatment while this rascal was asking for more, how could she not rage?
"Sigil, think of the bigger picture. If we gain more eggs, you will still profit. Don't think of the profit on the basis of contribution, but by the quantity." Ivan spoke seriously.
Sigil understood his meaning. If they were able to acquire a lot of eggs, their group may have some surplus that could be either sold or given to the highest contributor.
"No, you misunderstood. I am giving the price based on the effort that me and my group will expend. You are hated by the RedHawks while your relationship with the BlackBees is neutral. Let's not forget the competition between the three dark Guilds and the greed of lone witches. With just three groups, we won't be able to defend the malicious attack of the RedHawks and the harassment of other groups."
His statement caused both Ivan and Yasmine to close their mouths.
Sigil smiled gently.
"Sigil, you are my friend and I am concerned with your well being. I am also not shameless to ask a huge piece of 60 percent and settled for 50 percent. You should recognise my goodwill and not undermine my efforts."
His next statement made both of them speechless. He was simply blackmailing Ivan by taking a cover named friendship.
"Besides, my talents will certainly be more than enough." Sigil's voice turned a little deep as his body started to shake a little.
Slowly, his nails started to elongate while his canines grew sharper and their tips could be seen touching his outer lips. His exposed wrist was also getting covered by silver-grey fur, similar to the color of his hair.
"A constellation with full body transformation!" Yasmine couldn't help but exclaim as Ivan's eyes shined brightly. Sure, he could heal his body in a short time, but many other witches could do the same with various materials and spells.
It was a talent like Sigil's transformation that many Witches desired in their early stage. Not only this grants them a great battle power, but Ivan also knew that their defense had been greatly increased, touching the realm of Chakra Stage, gaining safety from most of the mortal weapons.
Sigil smiled as his expression looked especially vicious. He returned to his original self.
"Alright. The resources will be divided into 50-40-10. Sigil will take 50 while Yasmine will gain 10."
Yasmine's face looked very ugly as he looked at both of the males with hatred. Ivan did not suffer any loss as he may gain even more with the help of Sigil's Constellation. She immediately changed her expression and smiled at both of them.
"Two masters, please give this girl a path to survive. I will lose my face greatly if I only gain 10 percent. Perhaps, I may be able to provide other services to appease the masters." Yasmine's voice was extremely seductive and she slightly unzipped her suit. Her pure white skin providing a great sight for Sigil's and Ivan's eyes.
Since the important stuff has been discussed, the mood had loosened as they both decided to play along Yasmine.
"Say, Sigil. Do you know the highest form of trust in the real of friendship?" Ivan asked as his eyes stared at Yasmine teasing herself seductively. She did not perform anything explicit, but the way her hands touched her body as she stretched gave out many intentions.
Sigil nodded at Ivan's words.
"Of course, it is the realm where two friends can be comfortable around each other even if they are naked."
He was also staring at Yasmine slowly unzipping her suit till her deep cleavage could be seen.
"Masters♪ Please! Stop teasing poor Yasmine." She was already moaning as her eyes looked at both of them passionately.
"Alas, this trust is only a mythical legend as no two guys will be friends with each other if they actually sat around naked. Besides, I don't want to be touchy with my friends, especially this old gangster." He smiled and got up reluctantly.
Ivan also smiled as he got out of the room with Sigil, leaving poor Yasmine alone.
"!?"
|
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"id": "14502",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Highest Realm of Trust",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
Thud
Thud
A dark shadow could be seen passing around different witches. The moment the dark shadow struck, the fate of the opponent would be sealed as they are destined to feel a lot of pain before passing out.
Sigil's expression was stern as the situation was turning dire. The eggs inside his pockets were almost cracked and the Familiars threatened to emerge out of the eggs.
Thud
Thud
Meanwhile, a grey elephant kept on chasing Sigil as it let out loud trumpets. Because of the obvious difference in strength and level, the elephant was quicker than Sigil and had almost caught up to him.
On the other hand, Ivan was shooting at the base of the huge egg to quicken the process and tame one of the Familiars. He had already pocketed the remaining small egg and protected the other three medium-sized egg with his life on the line.
Animals die for food while Humans die for treasures!
Right now, the true nature of humanity was shown as all of them let put their beastial self and threw themselves at Sigil to push this monster of a witch back.
Slowly, Sigil was getting pushed back as his stamina was reaching the limit.
Traaaammmmm
With a huge thud, the Familiar Elephant reached out at Sigil and suddenly picked him up with its trunk, lifting Sigil up.
'Damn!'
He didn't care if the Elephant wanted to familiarise with him or wanted to show its care. The fact remained that he was trying to block the group and buy as much time as possible.
As expected, the moment Sigil was lifted, the group immediately shot past him and left the Elephant alone. Right now, all of them had their eyes on unhatched Familiars. Of course, Ivan alone wasn't enough to protect all of them.
The Huge egg still had some time before it hatched. After thinking for a bit, he bit his lips and picked up two medium-sized eggs and made a run for it.
The situation had turned out of control and Ivan's decisiveness allowed him to retreat safely with some profits. If he chose to stay stubbornly, he may have been crippled without getting any benefits.
"Jacob, take this, quick!" Sigil called out to the nearest teammate and passed him one of the small eggs.
Jacob nodded and caught the egg as he ran past Sigil, who was still being stared by the Elephant while lifted up to midair.
"Wait, where are the others?" Sigil frowned and looked around. He couldn't find Oliver, George, Annie or Bethany. According to their plan, they should be nearby as they fought against the enemy group.
"Put me down, NOW!" He didn't have any other choice as he stared at the elephant with wide eyes.
The poor Elephant seemed to have recognised the stare and put Sigil down meekly. It bowed its head and brought it near Sigil's face, as if asking for a pat.
Sigil sighed deeply. Even though they had planned, the situation still turned worse. This kind of uncomfortable feeling created a seed of anger inside Sigil as he ended up venting his frustration on the Elephant.
This was normal human behaviour and Sigil adhered to this protocol since the situation is truly urgent. He recognised his mistake and started calming his breath.
"The four of them should be here, but now, things seem a little fishy." He immediately shot towards Alicia's location with the Elephant behind him.
According to the previous agreement, he had to pursue the maximum benefits for their group, that meant that he had to fight the opposing group and protect the eggs. But looking at them attacking like rabid dogs, his motivation deflated and he chose to retreat as well. After all, his transformation wasn't eternal.
***
Near the Power Plant of the Chestcovia City, a blue-haired girl could be seen sitting near the base of an electrical tower. Beside her, a dark green crystal ball with various delicate dark-green inscriptions carved on the ball
Around the blue-haired girl, many shadow-like creatures could be seen. They were feeding on flesh. Human Flesh! Many members of Ivan's group, backup members left by Nox and others could be seen getting eaten. They were already dead and were feasted upon by the Shadowy Creatures.
Soon, all of them were eaten as a large pile of flesh and blood littered the area.
"Alright, you have eaten your fill, now turn quickly. The evasion spell wouldn't last long." The girl spoke calmly. The shadows behind her started squirming and their shapes changed quickly.
Slowly, a layer of flesh started to form around their body as various set of hair emerged on their heads.
George, Annie, Cathy, Gary.... many familiar faces could be seen as the shadows transformed into a number of witches.
Meanwhile, Bethany gazed at the strange situation. Her cute and appearance was replaced by a calm and cold demeanor. Her eyes were pure crimson and a black mist could be seen emerging from her palms. The black mist slowly entered the transformed Witches ears and drilled into their brain.
"This is my memory on their behaviours. You guys will act and change your nature accordingly. If you get caught, self destruct. You are only allowed to act after the plan has begun. Understood?" Her cold voice entered their ears.
Cathy had already opened her eyes as she looked around like a curious cat.
"Hmm? So wonderful. The upper continent is always fresh! Hooo? This body almost caught one of the important figures by her charms. Good!" Her cheerful voice sounded forced and strange. But slowly, her entire body language, expression and tone shifted and got closer to real Cathy's behaviour.
"Alright, move out. Remember, you guys should look tired enough." Bethany spoke as her eyes turned normal. She crushed the crystal ball and whispered lightly, causing a wisp of green smoke to latch onto them.
Meanwhile, she opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, causing all the flesh and blood that littered the street to fly inside her mouth. Strangely, the size of the remains got smaller and were able to enter Bethany's mouth without any problem.
"Go!" She spoke before rushing out. Her words caused all of them to rush out as well.
***
"Whatever, don't reject them right now! I can't find Bethany or others. You will take these two and these are for me." Sigil spoke as he passed on two small eggs to Alicia from outside the house.
He would've entered the house, but the elephant kept on following him and only started to show some signs on intelligence.
Alicia's heart felt heavy as she accepted the eggs. The eggs were full of cracks, evidently, the Familiar inside the eggs were ready to burst out.
"Did something happen to Bethany?" To Alicia, Bethany was different than others.
They both have been friends for many years and had an outstanding relationship.
"I can't say much. If they were ambushed, all I can hope is that they are still alive." Sigil shook his head. He didn't know how to comfort Alicia.
He looked at her and spoke softly.
"We have to do what we can perform right now. Go and tame these Familiars. It will be unfortunate if someone else disturbed you right now."
He looked towards a red piglet behind her.
"I understand." She nodded. She understood their dilemma. Even if she wanted to go look for Bethany, it would be a very foolish thing to do. There was only a minute left before the barrier is removed and she had to tame these Familiars before anybody else can.
Sigil nodded and watched as she closed her door. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go near the cemetery. After all, it was near and he had already been in that place.
With the following Elephant, he quickly ran towards the cemetery. Right now, his transformation had already been removed and his speed was reduced drastically.
Before he could actually reach the cemetery, he could hear a crisp sound that caused him to look towards the sky.
Crack
The barrier had a crack and was going to break apart.
His gaze flashed with helplessness and uncertainty. He took out one of the smaller eggs and crushed it in his hand.
Thrsh
Before the palm-sized Familiar could leave, it was caught by Sigil's hand and he brought it near his face.
It was a brown cub!
As he presented his facial features for the cub to examine, a low shout appeared behind his back.
"Look! There he is!" One of the witches pointed at Sigil, causing him to curse under his breath.
Immediately, a group of witches started pursuing him with all their efforts.
He quickly placed the cub inside his pocket and ran for his life. Right now, he was very weak. His entire stamina was drained and he could barely maintain his speed.
The Elephant kept on trumpeting as if it was having fun running around.
'Damn!'
He bit his lips and took out the last egg.
Seeing the crack-filled egg in front of their eyes, the expression of all the witches turned crazy and they started shouting.
"Stop! Give us the Egg you thief!!"
"Sigil, don't think that you can digest all of the rewards!"
"Just cripple him!" A low shout was heard followed by the sound of a gunshot.
Bang
Sigil immediately fell down on his knees as a bullet was lodged in his calf. His face had turned pale from the pain and cold sweat started to see.
Traaaaannnnnnnn
This time, the Elephant finally turned crazy as it saw blood in his parent's legs. Its big head turned towards the rushing group and it stomped on the ground loudly.
Immediately, the road was filled with cracks as long and pointed earth spears emerged from the cracks, piercing towards the incoming group.
The whole scene exploded in an instant as the witches started to shout in panic and fear.
"You should have thought before shooting me, dumbass!" Sigil cursed and laid still. He immediately crushed the last egg and caught the familiar, placing it in front of his eyes.
It was a palm-sized dragonfly.
Bzzt
In almost an instant, the dragonfly twisted its body and flew away from his hand, resting its body on Sigil's head peacefully.
Seeing this, Sigil finally let out a sigh of relief. He even forgot his pain and looked at the sky.
Trsh
Crack
It didn't take long before the barrier was removed.
The Ancestral Pool was closed and the treasures have been distributed, their event was complete.
Snort
The elephant snorted gently and bent its legs to sit on the ground. Its whole body was placed in between Sigil and the Witches that were groaning in pain from all the earth spears stabbed in them.
***
"Where were all if you?" Sigil asked calmly as he looked in front of him. Annie, Oliver, George and Bethany stood in front of him while Alicia and Jacob stood behind him.
Near them, a grey elephant stood like a statue with a dragonfly on its head and a brown cub near its feet. A red piglet remained still in Alicia's arm while a light green butterfly was perched on her head and a black rat moved near her feet.
Near Jacob was a flying Sparrow that was dark brown in colour. It kept on flying around him and tweeted happily, completely unaware of the surroundings.
Bethany and the others had haggard appearance and blood could be seen on various spots of their clothes.
"We- we were ambushed." Annie replied weakly. Her whole body looked pitiful and if it wasn't for the search team of the family, they wouldn't be able to find these four easily.
Sigil frowned as he looked at all of them. Annie, George and Oliver avoided his gaze and hung their heads low guiltily while Bethany simply smiled bitterly.
"What do you mean by ambushed?"
"The other party had predicted our moves and easily dealt with our scouts and moved out to trap us one by one and defeat us." Bethany replied.
Sigil pondered a little and eventually sighed.
"Huff, I am sorry that I couldn't save the Familiars for you guys. The situation was chaotic and the eggs were already cracking." He could only apologise for their loss.
Bethany shook her head and smiled weakly.
"Don't worry, we are fortunate that we did not suffer any permanent injury."
Sigil nodded in agreement as the surroundings finally lost the tension. Alicia quickly made her way towards Bethany with the piglet in her arms as the black rat followed her pace.
Jacob also decided to chat with his friend.
Right now, they were still staying near the border of the city. The result is needed to be announced before this year's rite could be officially concluded. They were staying in a big camp prepared by their family.
"Young Master Sigil, Family head wants to speak with you." The old driver was acting as a temporary messenger and called for Sigil.
Sigil looked at him and his eyes flashed with various thoughts.
"Lead the way." He nodded and followed the driver, they were being followed by a big elephant with a small dragonfly perched on its wrinkly head while a small brown cub followed in short steps.
It would sometimes fall on the ground as its body wasn't mature. Every time it fell, the elephant would gently use its trunk to nudge the cub and support it, just like an elder brother.
Broughtwaorld
Hey guys, my new novel is released. I hope that you guys will support it the same way you have supported me and my novel.
You guys have been the best reader.
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/15674/savage-limitless/
You can also support me at my patreon.
|
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"id": "15677",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Undercurrents",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"Shut your mouth!" Gary shouted in rage. He was the member selected by the RedHawks to act as the main attacker.
"Why should I? You are just a weakling, why should I be careful of my words around you?" Ivan smiled arrogantly.
Meanwhile, Sigil looked at Ivan with a complicated expression. Ivan was kicked out of his family and a bounty was placed on his head by his own father. His sin was that he killed his own brother.
But he did not regret his actions, Sigil could somehow feel Ivan's motivation.
Only selfishness can make you extraordinary.
Ivan was selfish enough to kill his own brother for the sake of his morals. He was selfish enough to become a traitor and caused his father a great heartache just so he could join the dark guild and use their resources.
From a different perspective, Sigil held admiration towards Ivan. After all, he was a powerful witch with a determined and powerful will. All of his actions were planned and he works his way to earn more benefit. Only this kind of person can actually survive in this hellish world for a long time.
"Say, Ivan, why don't we just cripple these good for nothings?" Sigil smiled viciously. They had already planned to cause chaos.
Out of the eight groups, three were already in an alliance. But even when all these groups had come into contact with each other, they did not fight immediately, this meant that they were waiting for the treasures so that they could fish benefits in troubled waters.
While some were thinking in this direction, some of the witches simply lay hidden and kept on cultivating. These were the witches that were on the verge of breaking through and advancing to the level of Chakra Opening.
But the problem was that they were all Sigil's and Ivan's opponents. No matter if they were waiting or cultivating, their alliance had already decided to disrupt their plan.
Without waiting for Gary to prepare, Sigil's body was covered by black metallic sheen as his silver hair turned pitch black. His nails grew longer and thicker, while his body grew a little more muscular. Such a change even shocked Ivan.
After all, this wasn't the transformation Sigil showed previously.
Whoosh
Sigil's cultivation combined with his constellation gave him a superhuman strength and speed. Before Gary could even take out his blade, a dark figure landed in front of him as a wide fist connected with his face.
Bang
Before Gary was thrown away by the punch, a bullet emerged from the rifle of an Asian kid.
Tinc
A metallic sound emerged as the bullet couldn't even pierce Sigil's skin.
Bang
Gary finally landed near the edge of the house with a bang. His eyes rolled up, as his mouth was covered with his facial liquid and blood.
...
The members of vanguards, as well as various snipers and scouts, remained stunned in silence.
Bang
Gunfire was heard as the Asian kid who had attacked had his shoulders pierced by Jacob.
The sound of the gunshot marked the awakening of all of the opponents as they looked at Sigil with fear.
"A-A- A full body constellation?"
"What the hell is with its defense?"
"Attack, everyone, focus on the kid!"
Various shouts could be heard as a flash of yellow emerged from the sidelines, zooming towards Sigil.
"Damn, the upper level should have also banned the use of constellations." A red-haired youth smacked the table. His eyes were gazing at Sigil with unconcealed rage and hatred.
"How long till he ascends?" The youth continued as he asked the bespectacled man.
"Another fifteen minutes." The man replied.
"Alright, you inform him to join the fight. I will keep the kid busy." Red-haired youth replied as his skin turned dark green, similar to a reptile. His eyes turned yellow and his pupils turned vertical.
He immediately stood up and walked out of the building.
Bang
Bang
Bang
Meanwhile, many gunners shot towards Sigil as they kept getting eliminated by Jacob and Cathy.
"IVAN!!"
A raging howl could be heard as a dark-haired youth equipped with a dagger could be seen rushing towards Ivan. He was Peter.
"Hmph, don't get carried away. Last time I did not retaliate because I was feeling guilty, but now, don't think I will go easy on you." Ivan took out his gun and immediately fired at Peter.
Before the bullet even reached Peter, it was deflected.
"Hmm?" Ivan furrowed and rushed towards Peter, starting a battle.
"I'll cover your back." Alicia appeared silently as an invisible dome protected Sigil from behind as he fought against a Yellow haired youth with small horns on his head.
"Hah, a dog can't be compared to a raging bull–"
Before the yellow-haired kid could complete his sentence, a claw pierced his sides, followed by a punch and kick to his groin.
"BACK OFF!!!" Sigil roared as his finishing punch connected and threw the kid away.
Right now, his fists were covered in blood while his icy-blue eyes scanned the surrounding. His ferocious appearance scared most of them.
Alicia took this chance to deactivate her constellation as it took a toll on her stamina and immediately started to shoot at the limbs of their opponents, crippling them.
Meanwhile, the other members of the group were already firing at each other.
Sigil and Alicia immediately retreated as they left Ivan with his opponent. After all, they had achieved their purpose and the fight had started before the designated time.
"Huff" Entering the building, Sigil immediately returned normal and slumped on the floor. Transformation of the constellation took a huge toll on stamina, it was even more evident as Sigil's Constellation evolved twice.
Right now, he could only use the constellation for seven minutes max and he had already used it for almost four minutes.
Bang
Bang
Bang
Sigil simply sat and rested as he heard the gunshots. The battle had begun and it would only get more chaotic.
And as their group predicted, the battle turned worse when the team leader of the Fiery Lion stepped up. He had also formed his constellation as he started destroying the enemy.
But the strange thing was that none of the shots was taken at the heads or the vital spots of the enemy. Since killing was against the rules, everyone kept their shots clean and crippled the opponent's limbs.
Sigil stood up as he heard the roar of the leader of Fiery Lion and looked at the battle. He could easily see that Ivan was just playing with his opponent. Since he could heal from the non-lethal shots, he kept fighting others as Peter had already retired from the fight while the bullets had little impact on the lizard-like skin of the leader.
As he observed the battle, his eyes suddenly constricted as his expression turned disgusted.
Right in front of him, Oliver was stabbed by Yasmine as she shot towards the other member from Ivan's group.
"Alicia, please support our group, you can leave the worthless trashes. Keep an eye on Jacob and Beth."
Sigil spoke slowly and his skin turned once again.
Without waiting for Alicia's reply, he immediately shot towards Yasmine.
***
"Wha-?" Oliver turned in shock as he saw a dagger stabbed in his stomach. He looked towards Yasmine and his eyes turned dazed when he looked into her red-hued eyes.
Strangely, Oliver's eyes gained a tinge of red as he laid on the ground wordlessly. Seeing this, Yasmine smiled in contempt.
This was her constellation's ability. She named it Illusionary Rose Thorns. After selecting her new target, she immediately shot towards him. She was an elite with eight energy gates opened and her constellation formed.
She could be considered the cream of the crop among various Eight Gates Formation Witches.
She smiled as he dagger shone a cold light.
Meanwhile, Ivan was held back by the leader of the fiery Lion.
"Mada, don't push me!" Ivan roared as he immediately attacked the vital points of the lizard leader with his dagger.
Even though the witch could die if they are shot on their vitals by guns, that didn't mean they would die by a dagger's stab. After all, after unlocking their energy gates, they have increased vitality. Even though they would need to rest for some days, they would certainly be out of any mortal harm.
Suddenly, he saw Yasmine. He wanted to shout and get her assistance when his eyes widened. She actually stabbed a comrade!
Because of this action, his whole mind fell into a slight daze, causing a heavy punch to land on his chest.
Bang
"Cough, cough, Belly, watch out!" He disregarded his injury and shouted towards his teammate, the one that was going to be stabbed by Yasmine.
Whoosh
It was at this time, a dark shadow appeared in front of Yasmine and grabbed her wrists before–
Crack
– breaking them.
Sigil didn't even give her any time to compose herself as she could use her trump card. Without any regard for her beauty and gender, Sigil grabbed her hands once again and pushed them behind her back, dislocating her arms and elbows at the same time.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" A shrill scream emerged from her mouth that was even louder than the gunshots. Everybody looked towards the battle as they felt a shiver run down their spines.
"I hate traitorous bitches!" Sigil's eyes were abnormally cold as he immediately kicked at her knees with great ferocity, breaking it easily.
Right now, Sigil could be considered the strongest. But with his cruel methods, he immediately ended the battle as everyone felt dispirited and fearful. After all, even if they could recover, they did not want to go through Yasmine's treatment.
Meanwhile, Yasmine kept on screaming and her face was filled with snot and tears.
Sigil picked her up by her hair and threw her away like a ragdoll. His expression neutral.
"You want to have a go?" He looked towards Mada and smiled sinisterly. His fangs alongside the blood on his hand and his pitch black hair scared the living shit out of Mada.
He bit his lip and snorted before turning back.
***
"Ahhh, damnit!" Sigil spoke softly as he lay limp on the floor of their building. He was totally exhausted and could on rest like this. His only consolation was that his head was placed on Alicia's soft thighs and not on the cold hard floor.
"Hmm" He smiled as he turned and nudged his head. He even tried to breathe heavily and get a rise out of Alicia. Alas, his prank earned him a slap.
"Sigh, can't you lay still. Just rest for now." Alicia sighed exasperatedly. Sigil smiled even more. He always liked to see different expressions on her face except for her cool and calm one.
"Hoo, this means that he could do more to these thick and wonderful thighs later?" Bethany smiled as she sat near them. Her words caused black lines on Alicia's face as she looked at Sigil's perverted expression.
Smack
"Hey, I did not even say that!" Sigil complained. He gave Bethany a glare and closed his eyes.
"It's good that you guys have the energy to play around. I don't even have any thic comfort." Ivan smiled bitterly as he laid beside Sigil.
"I-I can give Leader a lap pillow." Behind them, Cathy stammered and spoke softly.
Ivan's eyes immediately shone and he spoke with a grin.
"Sure, Cathy. Please help your team leader and give him your utmost support." With this, the position of Ivan's head alleviated and he started being serious.
"From the looks of it, Grand Sparrow made their move and got Yasmine. Good thing that she is broken right now." Ivan wasn't soft with his words and spoke with a dark expression.
"I never liked that woman." Alicia spoke coldly.
"Hmm hmm" Bethany nodded.
"Grand Sparrow, huh." Sigil silently mused. With the looks of it, Grand Sparrow was patient enough as they remained outside the battle. In the previous fight, only the witch families, fiery Lion and some lone Witches participated.
"Whatever, we did deal a major blow to everyone except Grand Sparrow. Lost a traitorous group and only got two casualties in return. I think that we are not at a disadvantage." Ivan smiled brightly and he looked towards Sigil.
"You will take Yasmine's share as you did the major fighting." Ivan spoke sincerely.
"Hmph, of course, I will take that. Did you think that you will get an equal reward? Don't kid yourself." Sigil didn't give his friend any face and shattered the illusion that Ivan was still the leader of this group.
Ivan just shook his head.
"Mmm."
The moment he shook his head, a small moan emerged in the group as they looked towards the red-faced Cathy with different expressions.
Alicia looked understanding while Beth and Sigil smiled slyly. Only Ivan felt a little complicated.
'Fuck, if I knew that shaking my head could arouse girls, why did I need to speak in a noble manner and entertain them?'
Even when he thought that he still started shaking his head rapidly, gaining a slap from Alicia.
Smack
|
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"series": "8611",
"id": "14938",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Battle 1",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
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"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
Sigil quickly recounted everything to others as they made their escape. The expression of every team member turned grim upon hearing Sigil's story. Some of the older members started to deduce the plans of the Yellow Spider Family while others simply hoped that the attack from the Yellow Spider Family wouldn't lead to anything too chaotic.
***
Ricardo had already delivered his mission and he was feeling extremely restless.
He still hadn't received Sigil's call.
“Did something happen?” He felt extremely passive right now.
He quickly wrapped up his stuff and drove his car towards the Chestcovia city. From his destination, it would take him almost 3 hours to reach the city.
As he drove, he started to recall all the experience he had been through after his reincarnation. He didn't gain Alicia's locket as it was given to Sigil. He couldn't accompany Alicia or Bethany to their Cases and achieve a good record.
It felt like everything has been going wrong since his reincarnation. This is also the reason that he wanted to drive to Chestcovia City. He had an extremely uneasy feeling.
After two and a half hours, he was suddenly stopped by traffic police. This stunned him.
He had his seatbelt on, he was driving within the speed limit even when he was in such an emergency. He stopped his car as he waited for the police officer to come near his car.
Knock Knock
The police officer knocked on Ricardo's car's window and motioned his hand to roll down the window.
“Yes, Officer?”
Ricardo frowned as he looked at the officer. He looked familiar!
“You can't move forward. It is the government's orders.”
The moment Ricardo heard the man's voice, his heart jumped in his chest. His expression remained the same, though.
“I am a witch and a valued member of the organisation. I am sure the Government would understand.”
The Officer's eyes looked a little strange and he shook his head.
“I am sorry, Sir. But this decision has to be cooperated by the members of the organisation, too.”
“I understand. Thank you for your hard work.”
Ricardo nodded in understanding and quietly turned around his car.
“Why did you let him go?”
Another police officer looked at the person.
“Boss’ order. We shouldn't let anyone know about our arrival until we ransack the whole Grimoire World.”
Meanwhile, Ricardo felt a little uncomfortable. He recalled the police officer. He was a member of the Dark Guild named Black Spiders.
His mind quickly formed various plans as he immediately opened his smartphone and started to spread the news regarding the sightseeing of the Grimoire World.
Meanwhile, he felt little uneasy. Such an event did not take place in his previous life. Did his reincarnation already affect the flow of events?
He could only silently think.
***
In a dark dungeon, barely lit by a fiery torch, a young man could be seen walking with a dark expression.
He placed the torch on the handle and opened the metal gate. The dungeon had been built for many years and metal gate let out a scratchy noise as it opened slowly.
Inside the room, one could see another young man.
His whole body held bruises and the young man was naked. The most horrible injury was the 'third leg’ of the man.
His penis had been cut off! There was only a slightly raised stub and nothing more. When the young man looked at the arrival, his eyes flared with vicious hate and he immediately barked.
“Ivan! You son of a bitch! Once I get out, I will kill you and Sigil. I will kill that Bastard with my own hands and destroy that little girl as I did to that orphan.”
The person in front of him was Ivan.
Ivan’s gaze was a little emotional. He walked near his pig of a brother and slowly patted his head gently.
“Till now, I never once called you by your name. I am sorry, Charles.”
Charles was stunned as he never saw his elder brother acting so gently.
Before he could comprehend anything, he suddenly felt a numbing sensation from his chest which was followed by nerve-wracking pain. Before he could scream, a hand blocked his mouth and Charles was forced to look into Ivan's gentle eyes.
“Little Brother, I hope that you get raised well in your next life.”
Ivan took out his knife and pierced Charles chest once again. Ending his life.
Ivan's eyes were already red by this time as the images of Charles in his younger eyes flashed in his mind. He closed Charles eyes with shivering hands and slowly walked away.
After getting out of the dungeon, he dialled a number.
“Yes, you can pick me up. Hmm? Fine, I am coming there.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, Alia smiled as she hung up.
“Hmm? Did something happened, Alia?”
Roman, the family head of RedHawk family asked in confusion.
Alia did not speak and silently smiled. A black blaze covered her body as the aura of Seven Chakras emerged from her body, stunning Roman, Brian and John.
“I am sorry, but my little sister isn't here.” A magnetic voice emerged from the black blaze as a mature man emerged from the black flames.
He wore a pair of spectacles and his smile looked warm and bright. But seeing this man, the faces of three Family Head's immediately paled.
“Alan!”
Brian could only call out one word.
“Why so anxious. We all are old friends. Let's have a nice chat.”
Alan, the Master of the Dark Guild- Black Spiders smiled lightly and sat on the ground while motioning towards the three others.
***
“INCOMING!”
Alicia shouted as the group stopped and prepared for battle. It was another group from the Yellow Spider Family.
Before waiting for the Spiders to prepare for an ambush, Sigil's group already took out their guns and pointed towards the incoming enemy.
The enemy group stopped before turning away immediately.
Their leader, a young girl, looked confused. Did they already find out about the plan set by the Family Head?
But since their ambush wouldn't work, she didn't want to destroy her forces to eradicate the enemy.
Sigil and the group started discussing if they should leave right now. All the fortunes wouldn't be worth their lives. Sigil sighed as he felt that things weren't simple.
It was at this time, the group from Yellow Spider that ambushed them previously, caught up to them.
Such situations kept on taking place in many areas. The fight between the elders was even fierce.
***
“Where is Alia?”
Roman asked cautiously.
“I need to punish her for all the ill-treatment in our childhood. After I am done with her, I will use her body as a material for a spell.”
Alan smiled and replied kindly. He was talking as if the Alia wasn't his own blood sister.
“Let's forget her. I removed my disguise a little early to inform you of some things beforehand. I am only doing this because of our past friendship.”
In truth, the three of the family heads did not really care for Alia. They immediately turned serious when they heard Alan's words.
“The three directors are interested in this Grimoire World and will arrive soon. You can either wait for them and lose your lives or take your family away.
Even though Alan had opened all seven of his chakras, he would still need to spend a lot of effort to defeat three six chakra points experts. He instead told them the arrival of the three Grimoire Masters to prevent them from doing such pointless actions.
“The organisation will definitely act.” John spoke slowly.
“By the time they reach, we will be done with this Grimoire World.”
Alan spoke calmly.
“Alright.”
The three of them were leaders of strong families. They could reach this place because of their resolution. They immediately made their decision and started to chant a strange spell.
John took out a big talisman and a blue light emerged from it, disappearing into the distance.
The other two did the same thing and waited silently.
***
Sigil's group was fighting when their talismans suddenly shined and they started disappearing one after another. The group from the Yellow Spider Family was stunned.
The members of the Grey family also did not understand this strange occurrence.
As a light shined on Sigil, he muttered something before disappearing from the Grimoire World himself.
Such a thing happened in many places. Except for the Yellow Spider Family, the members of the other three families were forcibly withdrawn and brought back to the real world.
***
“Sir, there is a rumour about the emergence of a Grimoire World near the southern regions.
A bespectacled man reported to an old man.
“No worries. The upper body already knows about the situation.”
The old man waved at his employee and let him do his work. They were the core members if the witch's organisation. How could they not know about the emergence of a Grimoire World? They had ignored the information out of their own discretion.
Meanwhile, the border of the Chestcovia City was filled with lights as one person appeared after another. The whole place was in chaos and it took a very long time before the situation turned normal.
After the family head explained the situation to the elders, they felt a little terrified and immediately started to move the whole family back to their base.
“Quickly move. Bring your vehicles and drive in order.”
The elders kept on commanding.
But before anyone could leave, a green light emerged from the ground, creating a hemisphere, covering every person.
John and others, who were near Alan immediately looked ashen.
“You cheated us!” Brian pointed and shouted.
“Relax! The three leaders merely want to have a little chat with your younger generation.”
Alan smiled slyly. He was true to his word. If they retreated from the Grimoire World, they would leave with their life.
John and others frowned as they made way towards their families and tried to calm them.
Meanwhile, Sigil was looking around in a dull manner.
Man plans and Heaven mocks!
Even though he had prepared the preventive measures before leaving the Grimoire world, the situation changed too quickly.
The emergence of Dark guild, the betrayal of Yellow Spider Family, everything was sudden.
He still felt a little relieved that nobody saw him with the Grimoire Will of the Inverse Witch.
“Uhm, Hello! I am one of the Directors of the Dark Guild— Black Spider. May I have your attention.”
A mature voice erupted in the area. Even if the figure did not ask for attention, she would still gain a lot of stares. After all, she was floating in the air whilst standing on a dark-red broomstick.
When Sigil heard the name of the Dark Guild, he immediately recalled Ivan's situation. He finally felt that Ivan's situation was connected to their predicament.
“As you all know, we Dark Guilds are hunted by the Witch's Organisation and other Witch families with a lot of strengths. We understand that this is because of our free-spirited manner of handling some tasks.”
The figure was a buxom beauty and her ruby red hair fell on her shoulders, making her look extremely enchanting. It was even more so, since their view was straight at her bottom.
Most of the people were speechless when they heard the criminal acts being mentioned as free-spirited methods.
“It brings me great joy to announce that the three Dark Guilds– Black Spider, Fiery Lion and Grand Sparrow will unite together to form a super Dark Guild. With such a power, we will not be hunted anymore, we can finally live freely.”
The beauty spoke out in excitement.
“You are too excited, Ruby.”
A hoarse voice interrupted the clamouring of people after hearing the announcement.
Another figure teleported inside the hemisphere.
“I am the director of Grand Sparrow Guild. Those who wish to join our organisation will gain precious resources. One more thing, all the elders below the age of 23 and all the direct heirs of the elders and the family heads will stay behind.”
The old man smiled viciously.
As soon as his voice rang out, the whole group below turned silent before erupting.
They were taking Hostages!
The faces of the family heads turned ugly. The director of the Grand Sparrow was directly asking for their blood children as a hostage.
It was at this time another ball of light entered the hemisphere and turned into a brutish looking male. He was wearing a dark grey flak jacket and his bulging arms were on display for everybody.
Seeing the new arrival, some members from Sigil's previous team looked towards him, to check if this young master was arrogant enough to trash talk this new arrival.
Sensing the strange gazes, Sigil almost cursed.
Why are you looking at me?
“Witch's Organisation does not have control over the southern regions of the country, this means that you all will be our subordinates. The heirs of the three families will be given rich resources and will also be given a chance to enter a super-sized Ancestral Pool. You join and earn riches, you refuse and you die a graveless death. Your soul will be tortured to turn into a demon and you will be our personal pets.”
His cold and ruthless voice silenced the whole field once again.
“By the way, I am the director of the Dark Guild- Fiery Lion.”
His proposal forced the family heads to finally think about the situation clearly. If they did not have the support of the witch's organisation, then they needed to cozy up to this new power to survive.
And this new organisation was clearly providing them with an opportunity too.
“Before that, we would like to introduce one of the newest members of our organisation. I hope you can learn from him and become more carefree.”
The buxom beauty smiled and snapped her fingers. From the outside of Hemisphere, a good looking youth with a rose tattoo on his neck walked inside the area.
It was Ivan!
Seeing him, Sigil felt speechless while Ivan's father, Roman RedHawk, felt a little agitated.
“He killed his degenerated younger brother with his own hand. He is one of the most righteous members of the guild and we should all learn from him.”
Ruby's voice shocked everyone, except Sigil.
“YOU THANKLESS BASTARD!!!!!”
A heartbreaking shout erupted as flaming figure shot towards Ivan.
He was Roman himself.
On his back were wings made of flame and his hands had turned into a hawk's talons.
Snap
A heavy aura erupted from Ruby and completely suppressed Roman.
One Grimoire Master could defeat countless Chakra Masters without breaking a sweat.This was completely demonstrated by Buxom Ruby.
Even though Roman's face was buried into the ground, his voice still reached others.
“Why? WHY? He was your brother. You grew up together for fuck's sake!!”
Roman had tears in his eyes that were mixing with the soil on the ground. His entire demeanor looked extremely embarrassed.
“I don't look forgiveness from you, father. I only wanted forgiveness from that little girl, but she isn't here anymore.”
Ivan spoke sadly.
He looked towards Sigil and nodded at him. This caused the Buxom Ruby to look at him too.
'Don't look at me, you rowdy fool! Look away! Look away!’
He cursed internally and didn't dare to return the nod.
“Have you all thought of your answers?”
The muscular master spoke out.
John and Brian looked at each other. Their eyes had the same look.
***
June 13, 2023.
On this day, a super faction appeared in the annals of Glory Continent.
This faction was an alliance of every single dark guild there is. The faction called themselves the Carefree Alliance and this faction had forces in every country and states.
The Witch's Organisation appeared in public to welcome the alliance and agreed to a treaty of nonviolence against each other.
|
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|
Sigil's whole body felt sore, meanwhile, Martha and Alicia chatted happily as they sat on the back seat of the old Nissan. Sigil massaged the left side of his neck, that was hugged tightly by Martha during their sleep. Since their position was quite awkward, Sigil couldn't move his body because of Alicia sleeping on him and using him as a couch while his neck was bent out of shape.
As they crossed the border of the city, they had to pass through a barricade of Witches. Apparently, the appearance of infected Familiars triggered the alliance and the organisation, alike. The whole city and the surrounding forest was being thoroughly searched for different kinds of infected Familiars.
Looking behind, Sigil felt comfortable when he saw the two beauties talking happily. He hadn't felt this kind of feeling for a long time. Even in his previous life, he was only fortunate to feel such comfort for a little time. He sighed and closed his eyes, after all, he was still in a dire need of rest. His special skill took a lot of his mental health, this made him prone to irritation and tiredness.
Even though he could keep control of his frustration, he still let a little lose against Ryan. Since they were going to have a long drive, Sigil had decided to take a nap to regain his mental capacity.
***
"How much time?" Ruby asked flatly. Usually, she would be flirting around and making sensual poses to tease the opposite gender. But right now, she was not in the mood. She was standing outside the Grimoire World emerged from Chestcovia City. Her gaze looked ominous as she looked at the pitch black hole from the corner of the Border.
"It isn't a matter of time. Apparently, the Grimoire attached to this world is well-versed in Space path alongside some other elusive path, most likely Shadow path or Illusion path. It is almost impossible to track down the Grimoire. If we really need to find some clues, we would have to ask the help of the alliance."
A gruff voice, belonging to a brute, replied. He was Sabar, the director of Fiery Lion. He also had an extremely ugly expression.
"Originally, we wanted to present the Grimoire world to the alliance as a contribution. But now, it will be used as a tool to mock us. I suggest that we loot the remaining treasures left and clean this place up." A husky voice suggested.
He was Old Sparrow, the director of the Grand Sparrow. He was the oldest out of the three directors of the dark guild and his words sounded logical, too. If they quickly loot the place and destroy the World, their reputation could still remain intact. If this matter was spread with malicious intent, their reputation would take damage and they may lose their title in the newly established alliance. The latter was something unacceptable to the three directors.
After all, as lone witches, they were true prodigies to reach the stage of Grimoire Master without the support of strong background. But, it wasn't only their genius that allowed them to reach their current capabilities.
They schemed, killed and snatched for every single resource for their Cultivation. Making enemies everywhere. The emergence of Alliance was a ray of hope for many Grimoire Masters like them to finally break the shackles of Witch's Organisation and live a life without any pursuers behind their ass.
If the were to lose their value in the newly established alliance, it would not be different from taking away their last method of freedom. After all, they knew that they weren't the strongest and needed a large thigh to grab onto.
"I agree." Ruby nodded as he expression softened. She tugged her ruby red hair behind her ear and spoke softly. Her demeanor of a greek goddess returned as she stepped towards the Grimoire World and vanished.
The old and the Brute looked towards each other and used their own methods to enter the Grimoire World. The surrounding Witches were also given a chance to enter the Grimoire World for free. This action was taken to quickly finish looting the Grimoire World.
***
"-e up! Wake Up, Sigil." Alicia kept on shaking his shoulders and called out to Sigil. They had arrived at their destination– the Grey Estate.
"Haaaaa.... mmmhhhh" Sigil took a deep yawn as he opened his eyes. He was feeling refreshed after such a good nap. All the accumulated stress was almost relieved.
He looked around as he rubbed his eyes and got out off the car. Ricardo had already left the area as his car will be parked by one of the servants of the family, while, Martha and Alicia waited for Sigil to wake up.
It could be said that their relationship had taken a big leap after last night. Even though there was no funny business involved, their feelings towards each other took a qualitative change after sleeping in each other's comfort. Even though Sigil wasn't physically comfortable, he still felt warm in his heart.
He wasn't the kind of person to deny his feelings. He understood his own romantic feelings towards Alicia and Martha and he was fortunate enough to be transmigrated to a world where polygamy was practiced.
Alicia and Martha were comfortable around each other, too. After all, the three had known each other from their childhood.
"Hehe, I would have expected to be woken up by Martha. You alright, Alicia?" Sigil chuckled and asked with a smile. Until now, he had seen the calm and jealous side of Alicia. To further explore her, he had to play his cards right.
"Hmm? Isn't it obvious? After all, you are my fiancé." Alicia smiled back, not flustered at all.
'Damn, I should have said something else.' Smiling in defeat, Sigil picked up his bag and walked alongside the beauties.
"Say, who are you going to give your second spot of the ancestral pool to?" Martha asked suddenly. Alicia and Sigil were guaranteed a spot for the super-sized Ancestral pool of the alliance branch. This meant that they could nominate two family members for the spot of Family's ancestral pool.
Since Sigil had already decided on Martha and Ricardo, Martha was really curious about Alicia's choice. Alicia thought for a little while and answered.
"How about Lisa and Minda?" Alicia spoke with uncertainty. Since Sigil was nominating someone from the weaker part of the younger generation, Alicia decided to do the same. Either way, she did not realise Sigil's true reason.
After some interactions with Ricardo and knowing that he was a treasure trove filled with knowledge about the future events, Sigil wanted to make use of him. He did not have any methods at the moment, but he was sure that he could put his strange ability to use one day. By nominating him for his place for the ancestral pool, he could build a good relationship with Ricardo and try to glean some more information.
Martha nodded at Alicia's recommendation and walked with a slight smile. She had been feeling happy since last night.
Previously, Sigil only wanted her body, but recently, he was more caring. He wouldn't touch her and would not let her touch him, too. This, alongside the flirting and harmless play, made her feel for Sigil. Even though she was passionate about the previous Sigil, she always had a sour spot in her heart, after all, who doesn't want to be treated like a princess.
Right now, Sigil's action towards Martha and Alicia made both of them feel wanted and loved. Even though he did not do much besides joking around, they liked him even more because of this. After all, the previous Sigil was nothing but a pervert, who liked to take advantage of them.
Unlike others, Sigil had a single rule to treat his girls– Respect. After all, if he took advantage of them in public, they wouldn't have enough face to live with their head held high.
After settling the matters regarding the ancestral pool of the family, they went off to their own rooms. They still wanted to get fresh and take a warm bath before doing anything else.
***
"Young Master, a package had been delivered with your name as the recipient. The package has been checked for any harmful substance and is placed on your bed." His maid bowed and spoke lightly.
Sigil nodded and walked past her, opened the door of his bedroom and laid on his bed with a 'thump'.
This was the best feeling of returning home, to simply let go of any stress and slump on the bed. Ah, the comfort!
After a while, he stood up and placed his bag on the floor before going off for a bath.
***
"Hmm? Alliance sure is efficient." Sigil praised as he looked at the package delivered to him. It was a box divided into three compartments alongside a letter.
The letter described Sigil's righteous act of finding of the infiltration of Devil's contamination and praised him endlessly. The letter also stated the ingredients rewarded to him. In total, Sigil had received three rewards. One for the completion of the mission, the second for the acquirement of the Familiars and lastly, for discovering the devil's transcript.
The same rewards were also given to Ricardo, Alicia and Martha.
Sigil dried his hair as he rubbed his towel on his head and opened the box. As he opened the first lid of the box, his sight was welcomed by many squishy stuff. Most probably, they were some exotic refining material. Near the corner of the compartment was a small partition with a piece of paper attached to it. As he read the paper, he understood that it was the refining process and the description of the Cultivation spell.
After holding his urge to throw up, he removed the first compartment from top of the second compartment. The box was designed like a tiffin box with three compartments to separate the dishes.
After placing the first compartment on his study desk, he opened the lid of the second compartment.
It was a piece of parchment. This was his reward for acquiring the Familiars. He removed the layer of translucent sheet stuck on the parchment and read the title of the content.
Information on Chakra Paths.
Reading the title written in an ancient language, Sigil sighed endlessly. He looked at the parchment once more and placed it aside. It was still too early to read that stuff.
Opening the lid of the third compartment, Sigil's body shivered in excitement. His eyes shined and he licked his lips. Inside the third compartment, one could see an accessory made out of light blue pearls.
It was a meditation tool!
Meditation was greatly related to the 'Self' part of the Witchcraft. One also needed to have a certain attainment in the realm of meditation before breaking through the realm of chakra points. That was the main reason for some of the talented witches to never reach the chakra stage, whereas, some of the lone Witches easily enter the realm of chakra.
Sigil immediately closed off the third lid and placed everything on his study table. The Rite of Witchcraft was going to be held four days later and they had to be prepared for their possible ascension.
There had been many cases where a Witch with five of his energy gates unlocked could easily ascend to the realm of chakra, whereas, many talented Witches with all eight of their gates unlocked could never reach the chakra stage after experiencing the ancestral pool.
It had only been a few days since Sigil's previous breakthrough. Even though he wanted to, he couldn't use the refinement materials to unlock another energy gate. Same was the case with Alicia. Out of the three of them, only Martha was the one with all of her gates unlocked and a stabilised foundation.
After sorting out his rewards, Sigil went back to optimising the spell regarding the memory of the brain. Even though he had already cracked the spell, it wasn't too efficient in his eyes and wanted to experiment for a better version of the spell.
***
"Sigh, I really had hopes for that kid. After all, he was my spy, too." A skinny man stood near the border of Chestcovia City as he gazed at the black hole that kept on devouring the Grimoire World.
An owl was silently perched on his shoulder as the man stood still for a minute.
"What was that kid's name anyway? Joseph? Jojo? Joker? Well, I need to find someone else to infiltrate the Warlock Association." Eugene gave a long sigh and finally walked away. A brown light shined from his body as another owl emerged from his body and fused into his back. A pair of brown wings emerged from his back as he flapped the wings to fly from the region.
Since every Witch was already inside the Grimoire World, nobody took notice of the Witch's arrival.
|
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|
Grey Estate.
Sigil was sitting in front of his computer and read a confidential article about Inverse Witch. Even though he had access to the information of higher quality, he still couldn't see all the information about Inverse Witch. One had to know that he had Elder level access on the database of the Carefree Alliance.
Apparently, the Inverse Witch was one of the Genius Grimoire Masters of the Witch's Organisation who created her own Grimoire at the young age of 96. She also had high accomplishments in Space paths, one of the rarer path of Witchcraft.
After reading the unlocked information about Inverse Witch, Sigil felt speechless. He finally figured out how such a young Grimoire Master attained such a huge amount of wealth and how she died so mysteriously.
She scammed various Grimoire Masters of Dark Guilds across the country. This act of her's made her a target for almost all of the Grimoire Masters.
Even though the information about her death was kept as a secret, Sigil was highly confident that she died at the hands of an indignant Grimoire Master of one of the dark guilds she scammed.
“Your food is here, Master.”
Martha entered the room.
She pushed the food cart and sat near Sigil she immediately uncovered the dishes and started eating food with Sigil.
“Martha, I have talked with Father. Since I will be entering the Ancestral pool of the branch of the Carefree Alliance, you and Ricardo will take my place during the Rite of Witchcraft.”
Sigil spoke as he ate happily.
“Ricardo?”
Martha was slightly surprised at his decision. Didn't he use to bully Ricardo all the time?
Seeing her expression, Sigil chose to explain.
“We really hit it off at yesterday's exploration. So, I thought that maybe I should give him my spot to make up for all the suffering I caused him.”
“Since when did you become so good?”
“I thought you liked this version of me better.”
Sigil replied and ate more. He had already opened his seventh gate and he was sure that he could open his eighth gate in the Rite of Witchcraft. Even if he couldn't open his Chakra point, he could still complete the missions of the carefree alliance to gain some resources and breakthrough a Chakra Point.
Sigil switched on his television.
On the news channel, there was a reporter comparing the statistics of reduced deaths of ordinary citizens after the Carefree Alliance started to send their own witches on missions.
The alliance of dark guilds was actually helping mortals!
Sigil understood the motive of the carefree alliance.
They were a new organisation and having the support of the public wasn't a bad thing. Besides the various witch's family, many ordinary citizens have talented offsprings. With such a rise of popularity, many talented youths will like to enter the Carefree Alliance.
Sigil thought for a little while before opening the alliance website. Martha was still near him, eating the lunch.
It was at this time, another figure barged into the room.
It was Alicia.
“Are you busy?”
“What is with you guys? You at least knocked before.”
Sigil did not reply and spoke in a depressed manner. Even then, he kept on checking out the website of the alliance.
“What are you doing?”
Alicia took a chair and sat near Sigil. She also took a plate for herself and started eating alongside Martha.
“I am looking for cases. I figured that we could complete a case and earn rewards instead of waiting around for the Rite of Witchcraft.”
Sigil opened the Missions tab and selected the Eight Gates Category.
The missions of the witches in the realm of Eight Gates was categorised in five categories— From one star to five stars, one star being the easiest and five stars being the hardest.
“What about this one?” Martha pointed at the screen.
“A small nest of vampires? Let's look around for a little while. The site of this mission is very far from us.”
Sigil shook his head and browsed a little more. Martha kept on pointing out some missions while Sigil declined them with logical reasoning. Alicia looked at this scenario as her eyes turned dazed and her thoughts unknown.
“Alicia, What about this one?” Sigil pointed at the screen.
It was a mission to take down a group of recently emerged Familiars. If the Familiars were brought back to the Alliance, they will earn an extra reward. The appointed members to the mission shouldn't exceed four, though.
“Huh?.... uh…. yeah, sounds good.”
Alicia replied thoughtlessly.
Sigil looked at her strange condition and inquired once again.
“Are you feeling a little weird because of your breakthrough?”
His words surprised both the girls. Martha assessed Alicia and indeed, she had opened her seventh gate.
Meanwhile, Alicia looked a little surprise for a different reason.
'He noticed!’
After she finally accepted her engagement with Sigil, she felt a little happy as she looked at her kind and handsome Fiancé. He had truly proved himself as he stopped gambling, bullying and hiring prostitutes. He changed for the better.
But then, her time with her fiancé was being shared with Martha, Bethany and Linda.
No matter how straightforward she was, in the end, she was a girl. She had her dreams and fairytales about that perfect guy, who would swoop her away.
Today, when she saw Martha and Sigil chatting so casually in front of her, she felt a little left out and empty. But when her breakthrough was noticed by Sigil without her telling him, she felt all her frustration washed away.
On a different note, if Sigil knew her thoughts, he would be shocked speechless.
If you feel left out, the chat with us! Why think in such a complicated manner?
“Yeah, I just achieved the Seventh Gate and feel a little dizzy.”
She replied lightly.
“Anyway, congratulations.” Martha nodded and smiled at her.
“Thank you.” She smiled back and looked towards Sigil.
Sigil looked towards Alicia.
…
“What?” Sigil felt a little confused. Why was she staring at me?
He only mused silently.
“Congratulate her, Master.”
Martha whispered lightly.
You still want me to congratulate? I friggin’ noticed your breakthrough in the first place.
Sigil felt a little strange but still congratulated her with a smile.
'Anyway, where were my congratulations when I opened my seventh gate?’ He suddenly remembered.
After accepting the mission, Sigil called Bethany to ask her if she would like to accompany them on the mission. After her refusal (because of her dad), Sigil contacted Ricardo and set a date.
He could have contacted Ivan, but he denied the idea in his mind. His identity was still a little sensitive even after the emergence of Carefree Alliance. After all, Ivan was a local and had relations with the younger generation of all the four Families.
Since it was afternoon, Sigil decided to enter the family's library. Even though he had a trove of information and spells in the alliance, it wouldn't hurt to broaden his horizons.
Alicia also went off to train and adapt to her enhanced bodily performance while Martha decided to start searching for information about the sightings of strange Familiars.
Even though she had planned a trip to Familiar Farm of the Grey family, it wasn't open for family members yet. So she wanted to gather information about potential Familiars with good Abilities.
After all, it doesn't hurt to have a backup.
The Family Library was constructed near the main villa of the family alongside the Elders Compound and the swimming pool.
As he passed the swimming pool, he decided to assess some talents before making his way towards the library. The library was a gloomy building. Other than the ground floor, the building held three floors and a hidden basement.
He made his way inside and was greeted by an Elder stationed as a receptionist. He was Elder Garthe.
“Hello, Elder Garthe.”
“Ah, Sigil. You ready to claim your reward?”
Apparently, Elder Garthe was already informed about the Sigil and Alicia having special access to Elder's Library.
“Yeah, please guide me to the entrance.”
Elder Garthe nodded and motioned Sigil to follow him. The ground floor was filled with shelves of books and parchments. These were simple historical records about various prominent witches and their legends.
Sigil looked around the library as he followed Garthe. This was his first time inside the library. As they made their way towards the backside of the library, Sigil read the titles of some interesting books.
The Secret Therapy of Acupuncture Pleasure.
The Refreshing Set of Male and Female.
Immoral Witch's records of Furry Heaven.
See? Interesting!
Sigil made a note in his mind to pick these books before leaving the library.
Elder Garthe stopped in front of an old wooden door. The surface of the door was filled with various markings. Sigil knew about these patterns.
They were the inscriptions to ward against the devilkin stated in the ancient codex of Roka.
Sigil nodded towards Garthe gratefully and took out the key to the door. Since this opportunity had a time limit of two weeks, Sigil planned to take the maximum benefits from this trip. After all, some of the days were wasted because of recent events and he was not likely to make any future trips here.
As he entered the brightly lit stairway to the basement, he kept on seeing various kinds of devil wardings on the wall.
“Wait…. what is this? A beast warding?”
Sigil stopped in front of an inscription and touched its surface. The whole pattern was made with a pitch black substance. It looked like a Japanese character that looked like a tree, but the ancient language of spells suggested that it wasn't quite Japanese.
Seeing this pattern, Sigil's curiosity was ignited as the previous Sigil knew nothing about the pattern himself.
He took out his mobile and took an image of the pattern before continuing his path towards the confidential library of the family. It was a small basement with barely two whole shelves filled. The parchments were thin and looked extremely old.
These bookshelves were filled with various research on spells, nurturing methods and written notes about the various experiences in meditation. Sigil looked extremely intrigued and immediately took everything off the bookshelves.
He whipped out his new smartphone and started to take pictures of every single parchment and written materials. Exotic Spell, Various Inscription Marks, Meditation notes and information about the past Familiars produced in the family and their uses. Sigil even took images of some extremely disturbing spells that used a living human as a refinement material.
The most confusing thing within these notes was the description of various paths that a Witch could follow. A witch can use elemental spells, use the strength enhancing spells and there was a record of extremely strange path named Death Witch.
The various information was written in the encryption language of the eras they were recorded in. Even if Sigil could understand some of the parchments, he still did not know the meaning of most of the notes.
The reason he took the image of all the information is that he wanted to slowly decrypt the information and gain the knowledge of the family.
This was free information and he didn't want to let this benefit slip out of his hand. After all, who knows which knowledge comes into play. As he took the image of all the notes, he suddenly had a thought.
“Am I the only one who took images of the notes or is there someone else that had the same idea too?”
Sigil cleared out his thoughts as he finished taking all the image after an hour and placed the parchments back in the bookshelves in the same order. He then took out the notes of one of the enhancement spells related to the memories of the witch and started decrypting it.
Most of the knowledge inside this library is already outdated and the elders who visited the library only used it as a medium of inspiration. After all, Witchcraft is all about innovation.
Innovative of spell, curses, nurturing methods, meditative methods. Heck, witch's organisation was even researching the methods to produce genetically engineered Familiars.
This was the era of technology and invention, this also applied to the world of witches.
Sigil understood that the Memory Enhancement Spell he would derive on the basis of this ancient spell will be completely different from someone who has already created a similar memory enhancement spell.
The difference may be in the effectiveness of the spells, materials required for the spell and the requirements of the user as well.
Sigil immediately forgot his surroundings and concentrated on the spell in front of him. Trying to figure out the process of constructing this spell.
***
“How is the plan of invading the Alliance going on?”
In a dark conference room filled with 13 people, a red-haired man spoke out.
“Their security is quite poor and they seemed to have formed the alliance in a hurry.”
Another man spoke out.
If a well-informed witch came to this place and saw the leaders in the meeting, he or she would scream in fright.
The Thirteen Founders of the Witch's Organisation!
These thirteen people were extremely old with the minimum age of 300 years. They were also the thirteen strongest Grimoire Master in the Witch's Organisation with their names spread throughout the Glory Continent.
“Even though the alliance has been performing missions and amassing resources in ridiculous speed, it still looks like they formed the alliance without any motive.”
A female master spoke out.
“The strangest thing is that we still don't know what gave these dark guilds the courage to even think of going against us.”
She continued with a frown.
Normally, the Dark Guilds operated in shadows of the colossal that is the Witch's Organisation. After all, they won't be benefited by attacking the strongest organisation of the continent. This world is operated by resources and benefits. If the dark guilds actually took the risk and attacked the Witch's Organisation, they wouldn't receive much benefits and will get their groups eradicated.
“Did they follow someone incredibly strong and forge the alliance on the basis of the arrival of a mysterious party?”
A gruff voice sounded, silencing everyone else.
They were all old monsters and they did think of such a possibility themselves. But this was the outcome they feared the most.
“Old Lu will use his Foreseeing Mantis to gain clues and insights on regular intervals until he finds something important. This matter ends here. Miller, tell us about the Devil's Battlefield.”
The person sitting on the leader's position spoke lightly.
“Yes. The battlefield is still in a stalemate. Even after allying with the Carefree Alliance, the situation doesn't seem so promising.”
“What do you need.”
The leader easily interpreted Miller's meaning and asked straightforwardly.
“I would like to have more soldiers in the chakra and Gates stages. I would also like to request another Grimoire Master to increase our forces compared to the Carefree Alliance and take a better part of the loot.”
“Impossible.”
“No way!”
Before the leader could reply, two voices immediately shouted in rejection. Placing soldiers was an easy matter. After all, the kids in Eight Gates and Chakra Points were similar to mortals for them. The leaders wouldn't bat an eyelid and place almost a million of such soldiers. But a Grimoire Master's worth is way more than million of soldiers.
Only the best of all the elites enter the stage of Grimoire Master and even the talented monsters among these geniuses have a hard time increasing their Cultivation after becoming a Grimoire Master.
The leader thought for some time before rejecting Miller's proposal.
“You can assign as many soldiers as you want. But you won't be given a Grimoire Master. Make use of the existing ones in your team.”
Miller could only grit his teeth and sit quietly.
“How is your search on the necromancer mosquito?” The leader looked towards a bulky man.
The bulky man gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“Sigh, that Inverse Gal was really a something. She could actually hide from our investigative techniques and hide her Grimoire. No worries, even though The Necromancer Mosquito is an important Familiar for our growth, stop your research for the moment and take over the invasion plan of the Carefree Alliance.”
The Leader spoke flatly and adjourned the meeting after dealing with the matters of other members.
***
“Hmm? Are you sure you want me to issue these three books?”
Garthe looked at Sigil. His gaze projected weirdness and a slight amount of reluctance.
“Yes, these three are good reading materials during a short trip.”
Sigil nodded and passed on the books to Elder Garthe. Garthe shook his head in defeat and issued the three books related to carnal desires of a human written by one of their own ancestors.
The Secret Therapy of Acupuncture Pleasure.
The Refreshing Set of Male and Female.
Immoral Witch's records of Furry Heaven.
These three books were truly popular within the circle of young teenagers and some of the old Elders still liked to give it a read to pass their time. One of the elders was Elder Garthe.
After getting the book issued in his own name, Sigil left the library with a satisfied smile. He had all the data in his smartphone and he also successfully interpreted a spell related to the enhancement of the memory function of a Witch's Brain. All he had to do now was to compare such spells in Carefree Alliance's database and adjust the formula for his own use.
After all, memory enhancement was a brilliant effect that will help a witch in the long run.
Sigil soon returned to his room before getting his summons for another family dinner. Since they were going to leave for the mission tomorrow, Sigil decided to pack the three books inside his bag and made his way towards the dining hall of the villa.
Other than, Alicia, John and Sigil, the villa was a house to many personal maids including Martha. There were no extra chefs in the mansion because the food was personally cooked by a group of personal maids with sufficient expertise in the area before getting it tested (tasted) by Martha.
As the maids arranged plates and food on the table, Sigil sat down and waited for some time before Alicia arrived too.
Surprisingly, John Grey hadn't reached the diner yet. Usually, it was the master of the family that waited for the kids before starting the dinner.
“Ah, sorry, kids. I got a little busy.”
John arrived in hurried steps and apologized as he sat on the chair of the head of the Family while Sigil and Alicia sat opposite to each other.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Alicia for opening her seventh gate.”
John smiled and rubbed her little girl's head.
“Dad! Don't ruin my hair!” Alicia pouted cutely and moved her head backwards.
John shook his head and motioned with his hand to start the dinner. As they ate in silence, John finally started the main topic of today's meeting.
“I want to talk to both of you about the recent emergence of the alliance and …. Ivan RedHawk.”
As he spoke the last part, he looked towards Sigil and continued.
“The Family Heads of the surrounding area received a mail from the Alliance that described their hierarchy and their influence. So, what I mean is that this Alliance is official and so is your membership.” He pointed at their wrists.
Alicia's and Sigil's mood dampened immediately. Even John felt helpless. He continued.
“I will send you some documents, go through with it and also one more thing, you have to stay cautious of RedHawk family.” John looked at Sigil.
“What do you mean, father?” Sigil frowned slightly. What trouble did he get himself into now?
“My personnel reported that you met Ivan before he decided to kill his own kin. If I can find out about this, so can Roman RedHawk. He just lost his youngest and eldest son. If it were me, I would want to vent my hate and anger on one common point between the two, that is you.”
After all, Charles and Sigil were buddies and also hanged around Ivan. Sigil sighed and nodded at John.
“One more thing, even though you took the images of the parchments in the library, if they happen to leak out, you will be dealt with Family rules.”
John passed the comment casually and Sigil nodded in understanding. He never thought that John wouldn't know about his idea. He still chose to take the images because he truly wouldn't have the time to return back to the library.
After the dinner, Sigil returned to his room and opened the folder placed on his bed. This was the recent information about the inner circle of the Alliance. This information was recently released by the alliance for its members to provide them with a clear picture of the inner working of the alliance.
“Hmm? ‘We like to present you the new future of the Witchcraft– The Carefree Alliance, where mortals and witches are treated alike. Where we have only one common enemy– The Devilkin and Otherworldly Monsters’….. quite a formal presentation for an alliance of dark Guilds.”
Sigil read the introduction and felt speechless. It was public knowledge that Mortals were often exploited by strong witches, but this new alliance claimed the opposite.
Such a formal and orderly introduction piqued his interest as he finally started reading the whole document. The document included the name of every Dark Guild inside the Alliance and various witch families that became the member of the alliance. According to their word– There are no subordinates, but simply the members of a different hierarchy.
The document also showed the map of the whole continent where their influence was the strongest, this also included the area where the Grey family was situated. Another map was drafted on the next page showing the Dark Guilds running the branches of the Carefree Alliance in different parts of the continent.
Glory Continent was divided into 6 countries. Out of the five countries, 67 percent was shaded darker than the other regions. That was the area controlled by the Carefree Alliance and this also showed their might. This map served as a proof that a united organisation of Dark Guilds could compete with the former Strongest Organisation without losing their foundations.
The next part of the document included the details on the various families pledging their loyalty to different Dark Guilds.
Sigil's family was also mentioned. Their family was now a part of the Dark Guild– Black Spiders. As Sigil read the alliance of various families, he finally understood the purpose of the Black Spiders and other guilds forcing their family into subordination…… no, making them the members of a lower hierarchy.
Their purpose was to have a good standing within the Carefree Alliance. Right now, Black Spiders had a position in top 100 for bringing in two witches families during the establishment of the Carefree Alliance.
They were the Grey Family and the Yellow Spider Family.
The thing to note about the Yellow Spider Family was that their leader had changed and it was a man named Alan. Even though the Yellow Spider was a Matriarchal Family, nobody questioned Alan's leadership because he was the blood brother of the previous Leader and he was stronger than her.
After finishing the document, Sigil took the document and handed it to one of the maids before sleeping.
|
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|
A pitch black Equus Bass 770 in a matte finish revved out of the Estate. The sounds of the engine clearly established the black beauty as a muscle car.
“I missed you, Baby!”
Sigil muttered under his breath.
He wasn't wealthy in his previous life and had to travel through public transport. But who would have thought that the original Sigil had good taste in cars?
“My car is better. This one just drinks oil.” Alicia snorted as she slumped on back seat alongside Martha.
Neither of them was allowed to sit in the front seat. Why?
Because Aria called the shotgun.
“Tell me, why should such a young girl accompany Master in the front seat?”
Even Martha felt a little disgruntled.
“Because I cared enough to call shotgun.”
Aria smiled happily as she hummed a tune.
Linda was accompanying Bert and other Elders, so Aria came along Sigil and others.
“Oh come on, you guys! It's just a front seat. No need to fight about it.”
Sigil smiled cheerfully when he saw their sullen expression.
Ding!
His phone let out a sound but he ignored it. One should pay close attention to the road when driving. It is even more important in this world where any kind of demonic crap can pop up in the middle of the road.
The travel was uneventful…. well, besides the fact that Sigil could gloat on Alicia's and Martha's expressions.
When they reached near the City, they could see a lot of parked vehicles of the family.
Sigil parked his car near the area and got out from the car. The city was off limits and a big tent could be seen near the parking area.
Since it was almost an hour's ride, nobody brought their own tent as almost all of the Family will participate in the expedition.
When the four of them entered the area, they could see John and Bert discussing something in the distance while Linda and other Elders were preparing for the trip.
The four of them walked towards the area filled with the younger generation.
The term younger generation was a little different in the world of the witches. It was not related to age but a person's Cultivation.
For instance, Linda. She was only 21 years old and still attending college while she worked as a Chef in her own Café. Due to her talent, she had already risen to the ranks of an Elder by breaking through the Chakra Points in her first try. Meanwhile, there were still many people of the same age stuck in the realm of eight gates, making them a part of the younger generation.
Alicia was already popular and had a lot of good friends, so she was already surrounded in a moment's notice. Meanwhile, Martha and Aria stayed with Sigil.
They simply sat on the ground. They had nothing else to do.
Aria started playing a game on her smartphone while Martha took out her silver knife and started sharpening it. Her pretty silver hair was tied into a tight bun, which was covered with cloth to prevent them from falling during the exploration.
Sigil took out his phone to check the message he received.
As he read the contents, his eyes turned serious. He immediately concealed the look and acted normal, as if he was chatting with a friend.
He had received a message from an anonymous sender with the email id: Qertty234.
The message was actually filled with some information about the Grimoire world and the location of a small number of uncommon materials.
At the end of the message, it read: Do you want to cooperate?
Evidently, the sender had even more precious information.
Sigil closed the tab and started thinking about various consequences.
What if he cooperates and gets schemed against himself?
What if he was to be found out by the family head?
Such scenarios would have very troubling consequences. Sigil sighed as he also felt moved. The resources that were mentioned in the message were already very rich. But of course, if the other party asked for a corporation then that would mean that the sender itself cannot take a tour inside the Grimoire World.
But on a different note, a cooperation also means equal benefits. After all, he wasn't the one asking for a cooperation and he wasn't an employee of the sender. If they were to cooperate then that would mean they were partners!
Sigil sighed in his heart as he remembered the words of his old friend, the one from the marketing team of the company.
“If you don't even have the heart of taking risks, how will you ever earn any profits?”
Sigil smiled and replied to the anonymous sender. Before any partnership, he had to ensure that the news was reliable.
After chatting for a while, Sigil and the anonymous sender reached an agreement.
On the other side of the chat, Ricardo sighed deeply and felt a little exhausted. Even though he had decades worth of experience, he wasn't good in scheming too much. On the other hand, he felt a little surprised that Sigil had so many suspicions.
Suspicion about information?
He had lived through this time and had seen the official report of the family and the Witch's Organisation regarding this Grimoire World. Even though he did not remember all the locations of the important resources, he still remembered the location of the most important inheritance.
Ricardo rubbed his eyes and went towards the nearby forest. Since the assaulter was a newborn familiar, he could easily catch it and maybe make a good contribution to the family, increasing his status by a small amount.
Personally, he did not care about the status in the Family. He had already experienced a world greater than the nearby regions. But he really needed to enter the Ancestral Pool.
Meanwhile, Sigil put away his phone. The agreement was already set and he needed to enter the Grimoire World to confirm the details.
After 1 hour, all the members of the family had arrived.
John once again stated the rules of the expedition.
1) The time limit is of two days.
2) Standard witch’s battle in case of conflict of interest with members of other families.
3) The younger generation was prohibited to enter the inner and core regions of the Grimoire World.
The third rule was for their own safety. They weren't strong enough to experience the hardships of those regions.
All of them were given a talisman. This was a tool to identify the wavelengths of the different dimension of the Grimoire World and enter it.
Soon, all the present family members, except the family head, moved out.
Instead of transportation facilities, the team was walking towards the border of the city while the group was divided into three teams. Each team comprised of almost 20 Elders and almost 80 members of the younger generation.
The team wasn't strictly organised and Linda, Martha, Alicia, Aria and Sigil managed to enter into the same team, much to Sigil's dismay.
He wanted to explore the Grimoire World according to the path discussed. But now, he had to make some changes. He had an instinctual feeling that besides Aria, the other three were going to be a headache for him if kept close.
They were placed in team three with the strongest expert being an Elder that had opened his Fourth Point of Chakra.
They reached the border of the city as Bert made a stopping motion by his hand.
If they stepped inside the city, they will be affected by the radiation of the Grimoire World and will most certainly die.
The Grimoire World was a different dimension that was connected to this world through a medium named— The Book of Grimoire.
The nearby families still did not know whose Grimoire World had emerged, but Sigil was informed by the mysterious person.
Even though he did not blindly believe the information, he still used it as a good reference.
“Take out your Talismans and follow my lead.”
Bert took out his Talisman and chanted a few words before it shined a green glow.
“Now!”
He commanded as everyone started chanting and a green glow emerged from their Talismans. After the green glow shined for a few minutes, small dots of light emerged in the sky and shined on every single member of the family. It was like a tractor beam.
The members of the Grey Family felt their surroundings change as they found themselves transported near a foot of a mountain.
Bert's eyes shined as he looked around. Even he as a strong expert of six chakra points opened felt incomparably excited about the riches that could be found in this Grimoire World.
Meanwhile, John took out his car for a spin and met up with three individuals.
They were the Family Heads of RedHawk, BlackBee and Yellow Spider Family.
“How is the blockade on the news?”
A middle-aged man with a neat haircut and a tattoo of a skull on his neck asked.
He was Roman RedHawk, the Family head of the RedHawk family.
“Well, it is assured that it will take four days before the organisation can find out about this Grimoire World.”
A mature woman replied.
Her raven-black hair fell down her shoulders. Unlike others, she did not wear traditional combat clothes. She was wearing an extremely hugging black-suit, like a spy's. She was Alia Spider, the family head of the Yellow Spider Family.
“Ah! Look who it is! John Grey.”
A fat man smiled towards John.
He was Brian BlackBee, the Family Head of BlackBee Family.
“I apologize to keep all of you waiting.” John smiled.
“So, did you guys already checked for rogue Witches and Dark Guild?”
John asked as sat on the ground, just like everyone else. All four of them had already gone through a lot and did not care much about appearances when they chatted amongst themselves. After all, they have been cooperating with each other since they were young teens.
“Dark Guilds won't be a problem for the time being. It would be best if they and the organisation arrive at the same time.”
Alia replied.
John nodded and laid down. He stretched himself as if he was with his best friends.
“So, how are you, Alia? Still sucking the life out of young kids?”
Roman asked Alia. It was no secret that the Yellow Spider Family was a Matriarchal Family. Alia even used the essence of young kids to retain her youth and cultivate.
“Yup. To be honest, if I was a mortal myself, I would have signed up for a task where a Witch can suck out my essence if they provided the same benefits as I do.”
The Yellow Spider Family use various spell to suck away the life essence of young teens, mainly young males. Most importantly, the youths also volunteered for the task.
After all, the Family provided a condo, fully paid health insurance, monthly pensions and a vehicle as a payment.
To a Witch family, money was not much of a use. Every single Witch Family, even the smallest family, had at least a couple of billions of dollars in their vault. And they could earn more!
The other three family heads nodded in understanding.
“Sigh, So? How are the new generations in your family? Someone promising?”
John closed his eyes peacefully as he asked the other three.
“Yup!”
“Yeah!”
“Of course!”
The answer was to be expected.
They kept on chatting peacefully while the exploration inside the Grimoire World had already begun.
|
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|
A pair of crystal-like wings was placed inside the bowl. Around the beautiful pair of wings, the whole bowl had a dark-green residue-like substance stuck on its inner surface.
"The Wings of the Fallen Fairy Ant."
Sigil sighed as he looked at the successful spell. This spell was a method to create a pair of wings of fairy creatures of legends.
Since this spell belonged to Cultivation category of the Curse knowledge of the Witchcraft, Sigil was only required to utilise these beautiful wings in an appropriate manner and increase his Cultivation by unlocking the Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder.
Usually, these spells are not available readymade because of the compatibility issues and even if there was any Spell related to Cultivation completed and made available in a readymade fashion, its price would be astronomical.
He picked up the pair of crystal wings after putting on his gloves.
The Wings were pure in nature, it was the residue that was corrosive to human skin.
After placing the pair of wings on the silver lid, he threw the bowl in his trashcan and quickly covered it in a plastic bag.
After completing all the necessary safety measures, he picked up the silver lid and sat on his bed cross-legged.
His eyes were closed as he started meditating.
Meditating belonged to the 'Self' part of the Witchcraft.
Even if a witch can increase his power using various materials, it will be limited to the Eight Gates Stage. To truly step into the Chakra stage, one needed to be in sync with his mind and body.
As he controlled his breathing, various thoughts in his mind seemed to be disappearing. Of course, it was just a feeling. A person's thoughts cannot disappear completely until he dies. This feeling of lightness was to be credited to the years of hard work and meditation performed by the original Sigil.
In the darkness, Sigil could finally see six glowing globes of light, connected by a bright light. Akin to stars in the night sky, the glowing globes of light seemed to be forming a strange constellation.
Sigil had a feeling that this constellation was incomplete and his mind moved towards a vague globe of light covered by darkness. He could see the bright light that connected the six star-like gates flowing towards the vague ball of light.
Sigil's hand touched the pair of crystal wings and held them in his right palm.
He slowly brought the pair of wings in front of his face and broke the pair of wings in half using both of his hand.
"Sssssssss!"
Even though Sigil's eyes were closed, he still took a deep breath the moment the crystal wings broke in half.
A small puff of green smoke, around the size of a pea, emerged from the broken wings. The smoke was inhaled the moment Sigil set it free.
In Sigil's subconscious world, he could detect a huge creature in green.
The creature looked like a three-storied tall Ant with eight legs and a pair of gigantic crystal wings.
'Pixie Dust!'
Yes! This was the legendary pixie dust of the mythical Fairy species.
Witchcraft is a mystical profession with a foundation of more than a thousand years. Many great heroes emerged during these times and many new innovations also appeared in the three Fields of Witchcraft- Curse, Nurture, Self.
This spell was an ingenious method to imitate a real Fairy's wings and create a small amount of pixie dust. Pixie Dust is considered to be one of the most valuable Cultivation resources and only a small amount of it was enough for Sigil to reach the Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder without damaging his foundations.
The Giant Ant inside his subconscious was a projection of the Pixie Dust created using the wings of Eight-Legged Ant.
Sigil could also fell a connection with the giant ant as he could control the huge mass of energy using his own will.
This was because of the blood from his palms. Since his own blood was imbued with the spell, he certainly had full control over this energy. If he wanted to, he can snap his fingers and the whole cloud of energy would dissipate.
Sigil cleared his head from stray thoughts and willed the Giant Ant to move towards the ball of light covered in black.
As the energy went past the original six gates, they were being constantly nourished by the Fairy Energy, strengthening Sigil's bodily foundation.
"Chi"
An ear piercing sound rang out as the Giant Ant collided with the darkness.
This darkness was the Seventh Gate of Wonder and the ball of light that he could vaguely feel was the energy that would be unleashed after the opening of the gate.
***
Ricardo was meditating cross-legged on his bed. His face looked gloomy as he was given the news that Bethany wouldn't be taking him to her case.
Now, the top three geniuses of the family had already selected their cases and two of them had already completed it. If he couldn't get a good record, he wouldn't be allowed to enter the Ancestral pool. There was another method of entering the Ancestral pool, though. He could enter the pool using the invitation from one of the top five candidates of the Rite of this year.
He shook his head at this thought.
'Why would someone invite me?'
He sighed as he cleared his head.
He took a deep breath as he started recalling his experience.
He was reincarnated into his past self after dying from the overpowering might of the Rakshasa Emperor.
He had seen many spells and methods that would only appear in the future and yet he still tried to be level headed.
After all, even with all the advantages, he still died in the end.
A bright light shined in the middle of his forehead as his expression became peaceful and relaxed.
Curse, Nurture and Self.
Ricardo could be considered a master in all the three parts of the Witchcraft.
His knowledge about the curses of various kinds was incomparably deep. His methods of nurturing the familiars were outstanding and his experience allowed him to have high attainments in the realm of Self.
If any of the Elder of the Family saw Ricardo in this condition, they would be shocked.
The Realm of Soul Searching.
This was a high attainment of Meditation where a Witch not only sync his mind and body, but also his soul.
Ricardo opened his eyes and sighed.
His soul had become too peculiar!
All his past experiences were actually imprinted on his soul like an inheritance. And the strange part was that these experiences were locked.
In other words, he still had all the knowledge and high meditation attainment, but all of his practical experience was locked and he had no idea about the key to this lock.
He even had to practice his fighting style for four hours a day before he was familiar with his past body.
He shook his head and went to his sleep. He had already decided to complete a simple One Star Case and would apply for the same the very next morning.
***
Chi
Chi
Chi
The green coloured, phantom ant let out silent roars as it struck against the gate of wonder.
The pitch black darkness that covered the seventh energy point now had many cracks as if it was a solid surface. A soft and warm glow of light emerged from these cracks on the gate.
Sigil looked at the Pixie Dust in the form of the eight-legged Ant.
The giant ant had already shrunk to three metres tall and its body looked exhausted.
'One last strike!'
The Ant shot towards the veil like gate and its wings let out a brilliant glow.
Crack
Seventh Energy Gate of Wonder achieved!
The veil-like darkness disappeared as most of his subconscious space was lit up. Seven globes of light connected by a straight line of light now reversed its direction.
The seventh gate of wonder was located right below navel while the Eighth Gate of Death was located in the middle of a person's heart.
Sigil let out a turbid breath and opened his eyes. His whole body felt light and his eyes sparkled even at night.
"Huff! Time to sleep."
***
The next day, Bethany had already left the estate to complete her case alongside a hired manpower appointed by her father- The Supreme Elder of the Family.
Meanwhile, Ricardo had also gotten up early to find a one-star case nearby the town and continue his daily practice.
Even Sigil woke up with Martha's help. He had specifically told her to wake him up early in the morning.
He brushed his teeth and combed his hair before leaving the room in his yesterday's clothes.
He slowly trailed the training ground of the Estate and finally found his target.
Sigil was a salesman in his previous life. He was very good at his job and even helped the Marketing Department of their company to formulate decent policies and plans that allowed the profits of the company to rise by a decent amount.
Through his years of practice, he knew one thing- Never leave a single Variable out.
Even though this world was different, the concept of life was similar and so was his theory about the variable.
In front of him stood a thin youth with black hair and grey eyes. He looked quite pitiful when compared to Sigil's physique.
"Ricardo, I want to talk to you."
|
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|
Sigil was standing near a lake. The water was still and clear while the surroundings were quiet and peaceful. A raised platform could be seen in the lake. Above the platform, a blue-colored egg was placed in the centre.Sigil frowned and looked around. “Looking for something boy?”A flirtatious voice entered Sigil's ears as he looked towards the source. It was a youthful figure with short hairs, a nice jawline, foxy eyes and a tall figure, almost as tall as Sigil.The mounds on her front and the lack of penis suggested her gender.But why naked?“Let go of your shame and embrace every inch of your imagination.” As if sensing Sigil's doubts, the figure spoke out.Sigil, who was almost enamored by the peerless beauty, was startled awake by her voice.“I greet the respectful Master.”Strength deserved respect. Even if the figure in front of him was naked and looked harmless, he wouldn't dare underestimate her.“Let's forget the pleasantries.”She smiled lightly and her palms glowed blue. She immediately vanished and appeared in front of Sigil.Sigil wanted to move his body, but a strange force restricted his movements.In the meantime, the beautiful lady touched every single part of his body as with the glowing palm. After she was done examining Sigil's body, she stepped away and the strange force restricting Sigil was also lifted.“Hoho, decent talent, Unique mindset. Last question, young man. What do you think of all the tests? Were they complicated or simple.”Sigil was surprised by the question, but he ended up answering in a moment's time.“Simple.”***“But even after all these years, I still don't understand Eugene's statement about the Grimoire World.”Ricardo thought in a puzzled manner.In his previous life, when the Grimoire World surfaced, it was Eugene who inherited the Grimoire World. Back then, he hadn't gone rogue yet. During the banquet on his success, he simply summarised his experience in a single statement.“To inherit the Grimoire World, I simply let go of my complexities.” After saying the statement, Eugene set-up a dark spell and slaughtered every single witch who attended the banquet, making his reputation known far and wide.“Let go of complexities, huh?”Ricardo felt that he was nearing the truth about something important but it was covered by layers of cloud.***“Why simple?”The lady continued her questions.Sigil looked at the lady for a few minutes without replying. Seeing this, the lovely lady frowned.“Why don't you answer?”“It's a trap.”Sigil's face had a neutral expression. His answer caused the lady to smile cheerfully.“Congratulations, Master. You have passed the tests of my original body, the Inverse Witch.”The image of the lovely lady blurred a little before she appeared once again, wearing a witch's robe. Her bountiful harvest covered in wide neck robe made her look even more alluring.“I am sorry, what?”Sigil was still a little dazed. That's it? He was going to go through complicated steps by cooperating with the strange man for this?Looking at his incredulous expression, the lady finally introduced herself.“Let me introduce myself, Master. I am the inheritance will left behind my original body, the Inverse Witch.”“Did the original owner really keep such loose requirements for his inheritor?”“You have misunderstood, Master. The original body only understood one concept- To let go of your complexities.”Inverse Witch replied.“Let go of your complexities?”Sigil mulled over her words as his eyes brightened. He understood this as he took part in all the strange tests.“Then what was with that glowing palm?” “That was to check the talent of Master. Even if master has a unique mindset compatible with the original body, master still needs to have required talent.”Inverse Witch commented lightly.“So, that means, I control the whole Grimoire World?”“Yes, Master.”She replied respectfully.Sigil looked towards the egg and revealed a thoughtful expression.“Transport me near the banks of Devil's Piss.”“Yes, Master.”***Near the green-coloured waterfall, a blue light shined revealing Sigil and Inverse Witch. “You keep an eye on all the areas and don't let anyone take any of the prized herbs. But don't conceal too much. I don't want others to get suspicious just yet.”“Yes, Master.”Inverse Witch bowed respectfully before teleporting away. Sigil sat down cross-legged near his baggage as he started to remember everything he knew on Grimoire World. “But before that…”Sigil took out his cellphone from his bag and crushed it. ThakHe then threw the cellphone back inside his bag.“Alright, A Grimoire Will cannot affect the Grimoire World until it has been inherited. Hmm…. that is to say that I can command Inverse Witch to do anything with the Grimoire World. There are still those four heads left and the incoming witch’s organisation.”Sigil's thoughts were deep as he started to form the most viable plan.He decided to crush his cellphone and then later ‘announce’ it by blaming an accident.He figured that his mysterious stalker will definitely find this information and not form any weird thoughts about Sigil not contacting him.The Grimoire World is movable since he became the new owner of this world. But if he moved it now, he along with others who are starting to explore this place will become the possible suspects. He wanted to widen the range of suspects as large as he could.On the other hand, he also wanted to preserve as many materials as he could. After all, he wouldn't want to lose his own benefits. Sigil was just like this. He cared for his family and stuff, but he would never lose benefits to others unless he truly feels special about the person competing with him for the benefits.And right now, he had no such feeling for anyone except the affectionate little girl.After packing away his belongings, he didn't call Inverse Witch, instead, he started to move around the place. This world was filled with strange things and otherworldly investigative methods. He wouldn't want to be found out as one of the suspects if someone tracked this area.He started to circle out of the area in an orderly manner.It was at this moment, he suddenly sensed something. A viper, disguised as a vine, lunged towards Sigil. Before he could counterattack, a black shadow swiped the viper away.It was the green-eyed black panther.GrawoohIt growled towards Sigil before jumping away, hiding inside the dark forest.At first, he felt a little troubled about not being able to tame it because of the lack of time, but now, he smiled lightly and let the dazzling beauty chill in the dark forest.He still had more than 30 hours left and he had already achieved the objective. “Maybe, I should find Aria and others.”He thought before shaking his head.After covering his tracks, he jumped on a trunk and called for Inverse Witch before teleporting to the inheritance ground.“What is that egg?”He finally asked the question as he relaxed on a beach chair placed near the lake. “It's the egg of the original body's main familiar– Mirror Panda.”Sigil looked towards the egg with dazed eyes. Such a mythical creature!He sighed as he looked towards the still lake.“Show me all the rare herbs in each region and describe their use.”After almost 2 hours, Sigil got a detail of all the rare herbs left and made the Grimoire Spirit bring the most valuable herbs out of the group. He did not take away all the herbs as it wouldn't be worth it.If he alerted others by taking away all the precious herbs, he might lose the Grimoire World itself. These plants could be planted again since they weren't extinct. The loot he took away were carefully planted in the inheritance ground. Even though the plants weren't placed in a compatible habitat, they could live for a few days.Sigil wasn't even worried about the rare minerals present underground. After all, everyone had a time limit. After doing all this, he had himself teleported 1 kilometre behind the group he abandoned to continue his adventure.***“Master, where were you?”Martha and others were surprised when they saw Sigil coming from the back.“I am sorry, I was ambushed by a familiar. It's all taken care of.” He smiled as he sat with the group. The whole group was sitting around a campfire.The whole group rested for almost 6 hours before finally moving. Now, they had almost a day's time to explore the whole place.Sigil took the lead as he started trailing his old path towards the region of Devil's Piss. He just circled around the area as they kept on exploring. The Green-eyed black panther did not appear this time, obviously intimidated by the large group.Sigil's group had a total of 37 members including himself. When Sigil was apart, the group made a lot of gains. Ingredients from the nest of Werewolves, some precious rocks and various plants and animals. All of their pouches were almost filled with materials while Martha had already started to stuff the materials in her equipment bags.“Hey, look! We've got company.” A loud call attracted the group's attention as they looked towards another approaching group. They also wore a combat uniform. The uniform of the group included a brown t-shirt with a picture small beetle on their t-shirt.They were the members of BlackBee Family.Both the groups stopped and looked towards each other.Sigil's group was going to harvest the Green Jack Pines, a fruit with an instant drowsiness effect. It could be sold for other important herbs to complete various spells. The body of a witch is enhanced by various spells over the course of his life and various drugs slowly become ineffective on the enhanced body. Sleeping Drug is one of them. The witches need good sleep to feel mentally refreshed and experiment with spells. This fruit allows the Witch to sleep like a baby since sleeping drugs are no longer effective on the experts with more than four energy gates opened. This effect made the fruit extremely popular and high demand alongside high price.The Members of BlackBee also noticed the Green Jack Pines and then looked towards Sigil's group. This time, they had a hostile expression in their eyes.“According to exploration rules, a witch's battle will take place if there is a conflict of interests.”A youth, around the age of 20 years, walked out. His body was bulky and his light brown hair was pointed towards the heavens.“Why should we talk to these dogs? Just start the battle and defeat them, as we did with the previous group.”Another member of the BlackBee Family sneered. Evidently, this was not their first encounter with the Grey Family.This comment angered the members of the Grey family. Even Aria was trying to control her anger.But some people obviously did not have the same quality of upbringing that Aria experienced and started retorting.“Who the hell are you calling dogs? You want a fight? I will give you a fight.”One of Sigil's teammate stepped forward, his eyes blazing and his face fierce.
|
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"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
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"Charming Protagonist",
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"Depictions of Cruelty",
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|
Sigil was currently crouching near a red-coloured plant. The stem of the plant was only a size of an index finger while it had two dark-red leaves with black-coloured marks on its surface He took out a pair of latex gloves from the outer compartment of his bag and took out a small knife to cut off the leaves of the plant without damaging the stalk attached to the leaf.He needed the full plant except for the two leaves. This was the only method known to humanity to harvest the Crimson Desire, an extremely rare herb.Sigil did not throw the leaves of the plant and shoved them inside a small test-tube. Within a few seconds, the black spots on the leaves started secreting a black liquid as the leaves started to melt, filling the glass test-tube. It was venom!Sigil then proceeded to keep the stalk of the remaining plant in his pouch and continued his journey. Before he left, he made sure that he opened another can of food and placed it near the vicinity.RustleAfter a few minutes of Sigil walking away, a green-eyed black panther with a luscious coat of black fur emerged and sniffed the area before making its way towards the canned food.***“It's like that person had already been here.” Sigil's thoughts were unknown as he gazed at a large black fruit hanging from a tree branch. The whole tree looked abnormally sturdy with small spikes on its surface. The spikes were laced with a bluish liquid that Sigil definitely wanted to avoid. He put on his pair of trusty latex gloves and started the process of harvesting the fruit. The tennis ball sized fruit was another rare medicine named Berry of Truth. If this berry is consumed, it will work as a drug that dulls your mind and sends the user into a hypnosis-like state where one would not be able to lie even if they wanted to.The process was relatively simple. His shoes were military graded and the spikes on the trees could not pierce his shoes. He simply jumped on the branch and plucked away the fruit.He once again left the area after placing another can of food. 3 hours had already passed since Sigil separated from the group. On his journey, he did clash with some animals, but they were not familiars. The beasts did not possess intelligence and did not have any outstanding features compared to the Black Panther following Sigil.He simply beheaded the annoying ones while avoided the relatively cowardly beasts. He wouldn't get any benefits from killing them. Their body did not have any rare material, so why should he waste his efforts?Out of the allotted time of 48 hours, he still had 43 hours left. After that, the talisman on his body will activate automatically and transport him back.After walking for 8 more minutes, he finally found the last herb he was looking for.It was a couple of light blue leaves stick to the ground. He smiled lightly and scouted for surroundings before making his way over.He didn't even wear his trusty gloves and immediately grabbed the leaves and pulled hard. In his hand was an underground mushroom with blue leaves attached.His eyes widened as he barely tilted his head on time. A blue blur passed by Sigil's face, scratching his cheek.Sigil immediately stored the Devil Mushroom inside his pouch and took out a butterfly knife as he rolled away. It was a Crab!An extremely small one at that, with a pair of wings.The abomination in front of Sigil wasn't a familiar, but a monster from the Rakshasa Lineage.Blue Winged Snapper.The crab’s body was blue and small spots of red could be seen on the hard exterior body. It kept on weaving horizontally as it snapped the two claws viciously.Sigil's gaze narrowed as he wiped off the blood streaming from the wound on his face. His healing factor was greater than regular humans and such scratches would heal up in no time. Even though he almost died, Sigil felt thankful. This sneak attack was a warning for him that an enemy can hit you from any angle. He took a deep breath and started flicking his butterfly knife. The sounds of the knife attracted the crab's attention.BangA silver bullet landed precisely on the exterior body of the crab, piercing it.“Just a stage 1 Rakshasa.”Sigil commented lightly. He left the area without placing another canned food as he already left an extremely nutritious meal for his Feline stalker.After collecting the three rare herbs, he made his way near a waterfall. The place was a few minutes away. The waterfall wasn't large, almost 5 metres tall but the water wasn't the regular drinking water. It was light green in colour and exuded a pungent smell, repelling most of the animals and monsters.Sigil covered his nose with one hand and took out his cell phone from other. Usually, wireless connection to the outside world would not be possible due to two reasons.The first being the difference in time flow and the second being the dimensional barrier of the Grimoire World.But right now, Sigil had already bypassed both of the conditions. He was standing at the spot with the weakest point of the dimensional barrier and the time flow was equal to the world outside.StepStepSigil suddenly heard the sounds of steps and frowned. He looked around before placing his bag near a dark shade and covering it with the nearby leaves and mud. If he was lucky, then this would be enough. He then gritted his teeth and jumped inside the pool of pungent water. He didn't jump and made his way inside extremely slowly, making the least possible noise. This only made the whole process for Sigil even harder.He took a deep breath before he heard the steps getting closer. As he felt the new party getting near slowly, he made up his mind and dived inside the water.Rustle“Damn, fatty! Did you fart again?!”A female's voice sounded. Her voice was full of aggression. “No, I did not. And I didn't fart back then too. I know it was you, but you put the blame on me because Ivan was with us.”A gruff voice retorted.“Shut up!!”The previous voice sounded again, but it was shriller compared to before.“Don't shout at me! If you don't want to fart accidentally, keep low on soda and fries!”The man did not back down.“Enough, we should be searching for materials. We also have to find enough so that the 30 percent cut for the family doesn't affect our Cultivation.”A helpless voice sounded.“You! Stay out of it.”Both of them shouted at their third partner.“By the way, none of you farted. It is the water.” The third voice sounded again. This caused the bickering of the two to stop.“Is that?”“Yup, it's Devil’s Piss. A good refinement material. Alright, I will take a bottle for myself.”The three of them quickly filled a bottle for their own use and went away.“It's a real disappointment, though. Ivan would have gotten a good loot here.”The three chatted away.Sigil couldn't see them but he could hear them. They were from RedHawk family.Before he started to move, his attention was caught by a strange situation. He tried to focus and felt speechless.He did not see wrong.There was a statue of a muscular man, buck naked, holding his ‘erect sword’ with a look of pride. The strange thing was that the ‘erect sword’ was actually a sword!The sword had a grey handle and an extremely sharp edge.'What the hell!’First, he had to take a dip in a refinement material named Devil's Piss and now a statue of a perverted man holding an actual sword instead of his penis.What happened to this world?!But Sigil still made his way deeper into the pool, until he reached near the sword.He was curious as well as repulsed.‘Calm down, there is nobody here.’(Except Author and readers, but he doesn't know this.)With a nervous expression, he touched the edge of the blade and……. BamThe sword suddenly fell.As if he had activated a trap, the whole base of the pool started to shake and the statue fell towards its front. In the place where the statue stood was a line of words written on a metallic patch placed on the base.“If you want to inherit me, let go of all shame. The next clue is hidden where the thing after the first thing comes out.”It was a clue! As if he was in a university cultural festival!He wasn't an idiot!This was an inheritance ground!He actually stumbled upon the most prized possession of the Grimoire World by following the directions of the anonymous sender.But this wasn't all, he was also shameless. Extremely so!He did not need the clue's advice to let go of his shame.He immediately understood the meaning of the clue. It wasn't a brainer at all!It might have been a tough question during the previous era, but now?After learning the value of this place, he let go of all the morals and stuck his finger inside the extremely vivid back hole with his middle finger. It wasn't long as a button was placed inside the backdoor of the man.Click.Even though Sigil couldn't hear the click underwater, he could surely feel his fingers pressing a button.This sensation made him feel even more speechless. He didn't know who the Grimoire Master of this World was, but he knew one thing— an ordinary mind cannot comprehend the 'brilliance’ of this master.After the clicking sensation, he suddenly felt his vision changing once again. He wasn't in the pool anymore!He was standing in an old bedroom with almost no furnishing. The walls were decorated with handmade paintings instead.There were all kinds of painting, but they had one similarity- They were all men.Seeing the naked ones made Sigil feel extremely uneasy. He wasn't the kind of person to judge someone else based on their sexual preference, but this was too much for him.“So, this is the inheritance ground?”A Grimoire World is divided into three main areas- Outer, Inner, Core. But there is one place that is the most prized possession of every Grimoire Master and could be placed anywhere– the Inheritance Ground.“Well, if it was someone else, they wouldn't have dared to put a finger in male statue’s asshole, except some creeps….wait….. does that make me a creep?”Sigil muttered to himself.***Ricardo was staying in a cheap motel. He did not have funds to book a room in a nice hotel. Right now, he was sitting peacefully with a brown rat caged in a box.This was the familiar causing havoc amongst the citizens. He had already sent the confirmation of completion of the mission and was now waiting for the witch's organisation to send a worker to pick up the familiar.Every familiar is worth its price and shouldn't be killed if not necessary.Ricardo understood this point deeply.Right now, he was waiting for Sigil's call. He could have entered the Grimoire world himself, but it would have been of no use. According to his memories, the inheritance ground required a certain talent to gain the Grimoire World.He understood that his body did not have the requisite talent. He only hoped that Sigil would. If everything went according to the plan, he would be able to get that mystical familiar and also establish Sigil as his front for many tasks like this one.All Sigil had to do is collect the required materials, call him and chant the spell of the oath that he would give him. This way, a partnership could be established.“In my previous life, nobody would have thought that the Grimoire World belonged to Grimoire Master Inverse Witch. Only after a freaky girl pushed that button did everyone understood the true value of the Grimoire World.”Ricardo waited patiently.Meanwhile, Sigil had already started searching for clues in the room.Except for a futon, a couple of pillows and some used clothes, he did not find anything.“Maybe it's the paintings.”He frowned and thought of his previous experience. The Devil's Piss, The Erect Sword Holding Muscle Man, Pushing of the Devil Button.It had to be the paintings!Sigil was on a clock here and he could not get out of this trapped room. After all, there were no windows or doors.He started trailing the numerous paintings drawn on the wall. As he observed the paintings, he looked towards the odd one out.“Really now? This is too easy. How can someone so stupid be a Grimoire Master.”Sigil looked towards the painting that looked the most feminine. Even though it had some manly features, it was still fully clothed amongst the paintings of perverted muscle men.He shook his head and touched the feminine painting. The moment he touched the painting, he felt his vision change once again.***“The Grimoire Master Inverse Witch was a genius amongst genius and created spells to target a witch's most feared imagination. After the statue was found in the Grimoire World, it showed different things to different people. Some claimed that they saw their old mothers in skimpy clothes while some spoke that they saw their loved ones in horrific positions. The common thing was that all the images were sexually suggestive.”Ricardo recalled the past memories, his gaze incomparably deep. In his previous life, the inheritance ground was found 7 years later after the Grimoire emerged and infected the surrounding place and the strangest thing was, nobody knew the true appearance of the statue besides the new inheritor of the Grimoire World.“The second trial is almost the same. But this time, they show you paintings of your most feared imagination and only one painting of the imagination that could trump your fear. Normally, such a trap would lead to nowhere, but Inverse Master was a genius Space Element and Illusion Type Spellcaster. Such a combination made him one of the strongest out there.”“These both tests are nothing for me. After all, Inverse's most famous quote was to let go of your shame and embrace every part of your imagination. It is the last test that is the most difficult. The test of talent and potential. After all, who would want to give away their lifetime worth’s hard work to someone talentless and with no future.”Ricardo sighed as he slumped on his chair. He was still restricted by his body's talents. Even though he knew that he could achieve everything with a steady flow of resources, he still felt regret that he couldn't attain that familiar himself.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Exploration (2)",
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"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
],
"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
I apologise for not being able to update for a while as those who follow me on webnovel will know that I had already paused this novel.
Right now, I am crushed by other novels but what I am saying is that in the meantime, I will edit this novel and make some tweaks and then continue with an official schedule.
For those of you who have been waiting till now, you all have my utmost gratitude.
Thank you for all the love and support
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Hey guys",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
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"rating": 4.2,
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"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
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"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
Besides the mansion and other facilities, there were also many homes in the vicinity. The Grey Family was a big family with lots of branches and many people lived in the estate.
In one of the smaller house, Ricardo was sitting on his couch while eating a slice of pizza. A local news channel could be seen from the television.
"Sigh, I am still at the second gate. With the potential of my body, it will take 3 months to open the third gate. I can use other Techniques to increase my strength but it will bring more harm than benefits until I reach the Chakra Stage."
Ricardo was deep in thoughts. His first objective was to find a 1 star or 2 stars case before the Right of Witchcraft or he would not be allowed to have a family's familiar.
"I also need to secure Alicia's locket. That thing has a lot of secrets and it also has one of the blades of the ancients stored inside it." Ricardo's mind was forming many plans.
"I need to take Alicia and my familiar away before the disaster strikes the family."
He stood up after eating his dinner and went to his room.
A picture of a couple and a little kid was framed and placed on his study. The couple was his late parents. They died at the hands of a crazed Vampire that they were supposed to kill.
"Huff… All the Gates technique have the similar effect on my energy gates. I just need to find appropriate resources to quicken the rate of opening the gate. In my previous life, Alicia went to solve a four stars case alone and barely returned alive. It was found that there was an eye of a mutant specter strengthening the vengeful spirit. Maybe, I will make a trip together with Alicia."
He sighed and continued his cultivation of opening the eight inner gates of the body.
Meanwhile, Sigil had arrived at the training facility as usual. The training facility looked like a modern gym from regular Earth. The facility had all the types of equipment of practice and many weight lifting equipment.
The moment he entered, he could see a group of 12-13 years old kids training with those pieces of equipment.
The children of this world had different entertainment methods.
After opening their first gate, they already had the strength to lift 30 kilogrammes.
"Young Master Sigil, here for the regular course?"
A brawny man walked towards Sigil.
"Yeah! Just set me up a regular course."
This man was the head of the facility. He had already opened all the gates inside his body but failed to enter the later stages of Chakra.
This world is filled with mythical existence like Ghosts, Demons and other supernatural entities. To ensure the survival of humanity, some experts started to spread certain cultivation methods that could allow regular mortals to have great physical strength while talented humans could enter the realm of magic and witchcraft.
The first realm of the Cultivation practice is to open the eight inner gates of the body.
The eight inner gates of the body are Gate of Opening, Healing, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Wonder and Death.
Unlike their names, the act of opening the gates only enhances the body as a whole.
They both made way towards the open ground to train the basic movements of his body.
Sigil started with simple exercise.
200 push-ups, 200 squats, 200 sit-ups, 5 kilometres jogging and 2 hours of basic Martial Arts movement consisting of Three variations of punches and kicks alongside three variations of defence using hands.
"I barely broke a sweat even after all this. My previous body would have already been admitted to the hospital if I performed such a hardcore training." He muttered to himself as he rotated his wrists.
"I figured you will be here." A sweet voice startled him.
"Well, I was missing my fiancé during the dinner." Sigil chuckled.
"Oh! Already missing me, you really are going to be a sweet husband."
Alicia smiled and sat near him.
"Did you go through the file I sent you?"
"Yeah! It looks like a work of a ghost, a psychotic serial killer or a mortal witch hexing some strippers out of spite."
Unlike Sigil and Alicia, who were on the path of magic and 'good' witchcraft, there were many mortals who failed to enter the Chakra stages and used hexing spells and other sacrifices to perform spells.
Alicia looked at him for a long time without saying anything.
"What happened? Did I become too handsome?"
Sigil chuckled.
'Finally, I can pull this kind of joke.' He felt pretty good after saying that.
"What changed you? That day, you became unconscious right after touching my hand and had some troubles getting into physical contact with others. You even stopped your shenanigans and even stopped teasing other girls of the school. Moreover, you actually completed your school work and even perform basic training like this during the night."
Alicia looked at him curiously.
At first, she really felt something for Sigil since they have been raised together. They have seen each other naked for crying out loud. But slowly, Sigil turned into a wastrel of a young master with a famous reputation in wrong places. But now, he had completely changed. He became someone comfortable to talk to. He won't try to take advantages of her and even treat maids and other mortals of lower status with consideration.
Sigil fell silent after hearing Alicia's question.
What changed?
What should he reply with? That his soul changed? That he went through a terrible heart attack and sees life differently?
"How should I put it? I just came to see myself in the mirror. I realised the ugliness hidden inside my body and want to get rid of it."
Sigil wore his jacket and replied calmly.
Alicia's eyes held a complicated expression when she heard Sigil's words. She had wanted to cancel the marriage agreement but now, she had second thoughts. This also the reason that she had invited Sigil to hunt together.
"We both have been granted a leave from the school until we complete the case. The school and the family will send officials to check our progress and make a complete report after the case has been solved. You should prepare all the necessary items, we will leave tomorrow morning."
Alicia sighed and got up.
Sigil didn't move until she was out of sight.
"What a complicated world. The previous Sigil really had it easy. Simple minded without the care of the world."
He sighed and stood up.
***
The next morning.
Sigil got out of his room in casual clothes and a black jacket. He held a bag on his shoulders and walked outside the mansion, towards the exit of the estate. Inside his bags were various items like a bottle of holy water, a pistol, a rifle, loads of ammo, a bottle filled with salt and a lot of markers and cans of spray paint.
He could already see Alicia with his enhanced vision. She was wearing a white crop top with a pair of light blue denims. A black jacket, similar to Sigil's, was worn by her. Her long black hair was tied into a single braid.
A bag could be seen near her feet, filled with various supplies to hunt down supernatural entities.
"Here is your Family badge and this one is your Witch permit."
A white sports car was parked near them.
"I will drive." The car had an automatic roof and Alicia immediately hopped in the driving seat.
"Fine."
Sigil loaded the supplies in the car trunk and sat on the front seat.
"You ready? Our first Hunt." Alicia had an excited smile on her face.
"Yeah, sure!"
Even Sigil held a little bit of anticipation towards the supernatural beings of this Earth.
Vrrrrooommmmmm
Alicia immediately geared the car and revved as if she was in a race battle.
John looked at all of this from the top window of his mansion.
"Best of luck, kiddos."
***
"What? They both went to solve a case together?"
Ricardo just heard the top news of the family. His heart felt a little uneasy since most of the things had already changed. Alicia was supposed to solve the case 8 days later while Sigil should have gone to solve a 3 stars case.
"Let's hope that all the changes still lead to the same outcome."
He wasn't strong enough to change anything and his only focus was to get stronger quickly.
|
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"id": "8807",
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Moving Out",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
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"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
10:00 AM
Knock Knock
Click
The door clicked open as the caring Martha entered the room while pushing a small trolley.
"Master! I brought breakfast."
Martha called out for Sigil, who was currently taking a shower.
After his meeting with Ivan, Sigil decided to train in basic exercises. He had only entered the bathroom for a couple of minutes before Martha barged in.
'How rude!'
Sigil sighed.
Sigil loved to have a good bath. He wasn't particular about staying neat and clean, but it was more about the water pressure. He shook his head as he wrapped himself in his towel and got out of the bathroom, encountering a cheerful Martha looking towards him while eating the breakfast with shining eyes.
Even though Martha had a status of a maid, nobody actually really treated her like a maid. It was Martha herself who liked to act around Sigil.
The breakfast trolley was stationed near the bed while Martha was sitting on the edges of the bed with a plate on her laps.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to give me some privacy."
Sigil's bedroom only had two partitions. One for the bed and the wardrobe, while the other was for the bathroom.
"Oh come on, Master! We both have already seen each other naked. What's the point of getting shy now?"
She spoke as she took another bite of the breakfast.
"Do whatever you want."
Sigil refused to take the towel off as he took his clothes inside the bathroom and then exited after getting fully dressed.
He brought his chair near the trolley and immediately started eating the breakfast alongside Martha.
"Master, would you like to accompany me in the familiar farm of the family?"
Familiars are an extremely important part of a witch's life. In the three main studies of the Witchcraft, the familiars are the main reason for the study of 'Nurture'.
The study of Nurture not only strengthens the familiar, but it also provides certain benefits to the master of the familiar.
"Do you even need to ask?" He commented lightly as he ate with gusto.
Martha wasn't a true blood of the family and neither was she brought in by an Elder of the family, making her status extremely low.
Unlike Martha, Sigil was brought up by the family head himself! Not only was he treated as a young master, but he was also treated as a true grey!
He could choose a familiar from the family's elite group of familiars.
Seeing that her invitation was accepted easily, Martha smiled.
"So, Master. When do you plan to bed young mistress Alicia." She asked and acted in a subservient manner.
Looking at her acting, Sigil could only roll his eyes.
"Stop with your act. How about I bed you?"
Even though he said this, his actions were completely opposite. He did not stop eating at all!
The trolley had two compartments filled with food. Why would he stop eating?
"Well, you know that I won't say no to my dear master."
"Yeah, yeah. Just eat."
He responded in a dispirited expression.
He really felt tired talking with Martha.
Even though their relationship was a little complicated, they always manage to bypass their awkwardness by making silly jokes and mature humour on their previous act.
Well, at least, the new Sigil did this. The previous owner acted like a horny rabbit, ready to hump in a moment's notice.
Sigil shook his head and switched on the television.
"Hey! You are ignoring me again?"
"If you won't shut up, then yes!"
Sigil replied honestly and watched the television as he ate his breakfast in peace, or at least, he tried to eat in peace.
A polite knock could be heard followed by a voice.
"Young Master Sigil, Family Head has asked for every single Elder of the family to attend an emergency meeting. He also asked for your presence."
Sigil sighed and stood up.
"Well, this family doesn't let anyone eat peacefully." Martha snorted.
"You are the one to talk."
Sigil rolled his eyes and stood up.
***
Ricardo, on the other hand, had already arrived in the town of the one-star case. He was asking some questions regarding the victims when he looked at his watch.
"It seems about right. The opening of Grimoire World."
Ricardo muttered.
Only he knew how much he wanted to join this trip to Grimoire world. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.
Even with his knowledge about the future, he was still moved by the opportunities in this Grimoire world.
His gaze flashed as he remembered the scene of Sigil bowing in front of him.
His gaze looked a little conflicted, but soon he sighed and carried on with his own task of solving the case. If he wasn't wrong, there was a newborn familiar in the area, causing all the suffering.
***
In the meeting room of the Grey Family.
"We just received the news of the sightings of a Grimoire World!"
John announced, his tone grim.
Beside him stood a bulky middle-aged man with a crew cut and trimmed Beard.
His name was Bert Grey. The Supreme Elder of the Grey Family, second only to John and a loving father to Bethany Grey.
In front of him sat other elders of the family. At the end were two young kids— Alicia and Sigil.
"Why were we called?"
Alicia whispered to Sigil.
He looked at Alicia strangely.
"If you don't know, how the hell am I supposed to know?"
Alicia's expression froze and soon turned into a wry smile. He was correct!
"We were able to block the news from going out, but the neighbouring families have already caught wind of the news. Including us, there are a total of four families. Our technicians are blocking all the news regarding the matter but we are still on a clock."
As John spoke, the facial expressions of all the elders turned into an excited one. Even Linda felt her face heating due to the excitement.
Energy Gates, Chakra Points and Grimoire Master.
These were the three stages of Witchcraft.
Even the Grey Family had never produced a single Grimoire Master. After all, they were the elite of elites.
"Uhm"
Bert coughed lightly.
Such a light cough proved to be effective as all the Elders were startled awake from their excitement.
John looked at them and nodded.
"The exploration will be led by Bert while I and other three family heads will stand guard outside the Grimoire world. No matter what lucky gains you get, you are entitled to keep it. But the exploration team of all the three families have a time limit of two days. After that, we, the family heads will explore the Grimoire world. There is no objection, right?"
Such a condition was extremely lucrative and nobody had any objections. Unlike other families where the Elders were supposed to give a cut of their gains to the family, John Grey gave them all the benefits.
Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes shined.
He suddenly remembered that John was also a professional scholar.
Such a method was extremely effective to boost the morale of the Elders to get as much benefit as they can. This will increase their own family's foundation while the resources left for other families will be extremely low.
"Gather all the juniors who have not left for their missions and prepare to move out. You have 20 minutes. Sigil and Alicia will stay here, others may leave."
John spoke out as all the Elders including Bert bowed towards John and left the meeting room.
"Do you guys know where the Grimoire world emerged from?"
John asked both of them.
Sigil and Alicia shook their heads.
"Chestcovia City."
"What?"
Alicia and Sigil felt a chill in their hearts.
Every time a Grimoire world emerges, the surroundings will face some kind of disastrous calamity.
The stronger the Grimoire World, the greater the area of impact.
"Yeah, the whole city has become a land of the dead. If you both hadn't left yesterday, you guys would have died as well. That is to say, the anonymous sender also warned you. From now on, if the sender contacts either of you, tell me immediately."
John spoke out gravely.
A Grimoire world is left behind a Grimoire Master as an inheritance. The Grimoire world will contain the spells, nurturing methods of certain familiars and other resources.
The fact to know about the Grimoire World is that no one could deduce the location of an unerupted Grimoire World.
The fact that the Anonymous sender deduced the location meant that there may be certain Techniques and spells to deduce the coordinates of the Grimoire World, which could bring great profits to the family.
"Understood."
They both replied.
***
"Elder Linda, did you find anything about the sender?"
After separating with Alicia, Sigil immediately found Linda. He wanted to know about the progress in finding the anonymous sender. Besides Alicia and John, only he knew the true worth of such an informant.
Linda was preparing for the expedition. Various tools were being packed alongside some exotic materials. Her familiar- The Three-tailed Spirit Fox was nowhere to be seen.
"We still haven't found the sender. Obviously, the sender knew what he was doing. Not even a single trace was left behind."
Linda spoke out. Even she was astonished when she couldn't track the sender.
"What about the list of familiars?"
"I will send that to you after the expedition."
"Mom! Where are my silver knives?"
A cute voice shouted as she entered the room.
It was Aria.
Aria's real parents died an unfortunate death in a case. They had just reached the title of an elder, but they ended up dying. At that point in time, Aria was only 4 years old. It was Linda who adopted Aria after the accident and they both have been living a good life since then.
"Ah! Big Brother Sigil! What are you doing here?"
She immediately hugged Sigil as she asked cutely.
Sigil chuckled and rubbed her small head.
"Just here to ask something."
Evidently, even Aria had to go to this expedition.
Linda and Aria were in their combat clothes. Unlike the fantasies of young blood, the combat clothes of Witches were extremely efficient, instead of showy.
Linda was wearing a Black T-Shirt with some markings on it. Her pants were a little baggy, her boots were solid yet flexible. On her belt were placed two pistols while a broad knife was strapped on to her thigh.
Meanwhile, Aria also had the same outfit.
The baggy pants were stretch and tear resistant, making them extremely effective in real life combat.
"Well, during the expedition, you will stick around with Sigil, alright?"
Linda said to Aria.
During the expedition, the Elders will explore the inner regions while the young generation will explore the outer region of the Grimoire world.
Sigil nodded at both of them and left for his own room to prepare for the expedition.
After getting into his combat clothes and preparing all the materials and weapons, he walked out of the room with a bag on his shoulders.
"Master, are you ready?"
Sigil controlled the blood in his nose, trying to prevent them from tearing his blood vessels and erupting like a volcano.
Martha had shown her worth as a Femme fatale.
Even the baggy combat pants looked a little tight on her legs!
"Even you are joining?"
"Of course."
This was a Grimoire World. Martha wouldn't want to be left out from such a lucky opportunity. She may very well enter the realm of Chakra Points in this expedition.
Sigil nodded and walked towards the garage of the Estate. This time, he wanted to take out his own car for a spin.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Grimoire World (1)",
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"rating": 4.2,
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"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
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"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"This way."
A police officer guided Alicia and Sigil towards the crime scene. The whole alley was sealed away by the police. A white cloth had been placed above a certain mound and many officers were questioning the other employees of the pub.
"The death rate has increased very quickly." Sigil whispered to Alicia.
There were a total of seven deaths within one month. All the victims had their body crushed into meat patties.
Sigil walked towards the mound covered with the white cloth and peaked under the cover.
"Sigh."
Sigil could only sigh. The body was barely recognisable. Only a few strands of golden hair could be identified.
Alicia walked near the corpse and took out her EMF reader. The piece of equipment looked like a Walkie talkie, except the front was a digital screen with six red bars positioned like a network signal of mobile phones.
The reader produced strange noise as the six of the red bars produced lights.
Alicia tapped Sigil's shoulder and pointed at the reader.
"Definitely a spirit."
They both came to a similar conclusion.
"Let's go and interrogate the owner." Sigil stood up and walked towards the bald owner.
Seeing the witches approaching, the police officer interrogating the owner nodded towards them and let both of them handle the owner.
"Hey! How long have you run this pub?" Sigil flashed a smile as he asked the owner.
"For almost 23 years." The owner replied nonchalantly as he looked at Alicia.
'Witches from strong families really have a mine filled with beauties.'
It was an instinctual move from the owner. He didn't mean to offend any woman when he checked them out. It was more like a talent scouting.
"23 years, huh? Can you tell about Sarah?" He ignored the owner's disinterest and asked with a smile.
"Hmm? Sarah was a hardworking employee. Barely took any leaves and had a good reputation. She also had a healthy relationship with her co-workers and customers, except some people." The bald owner finally took his eyes off Alicia.
"Of course, she had a good relationship with most people except those who wanted a 'private show', correct?"
Alicia asked the owner this time.
Her question made the owner flinch a little.
He nodded after a moment.
"In a business like this, some conflict is inevitable. Besides, Sarah wasn't forced to do anything unethical. She did feel mentally pressured because of the fact that some of her co-workers performed privately. This not only caused her customers to decline but also boosted the advances made by certain customers for some extra entertainment services." The owner came out clean.
His meaning was simple. Sarah did not want to change her career from a stripper to a prostitute and hence, felt a lot of pressure from those who really wanted certain services from her.
"Thank you for your time." Sigil let the owner go as they both walked away from the crime scene.
"So, all the victims have similarities. All the victims are blondes that refused to become hookers." Sigil spoke out bluntly.
Alicia nodded as they soon reached their hotel.
"You check all the deaths in the past year while I find a way to reverse the spell." Sigil had already sent Alicia the ingredients by another anonymous id.
The moment they reached their rooms, they divided their tasks.
***
Knock
Knock
After three hours, Sigil knocked on Alicia's door.
Cluck
"Hmm? Did you find anything?" The door opened, revealing Alicia.
"Yup. A possible suspect." Sigil nodded as he entered the room with his laptop.
"Check this out. Grachen Collin, a stripper that died during one of her personal performance. Reason of death- the ceiling of the room fell on Grachen as well as her customer, turning both of them into meat patties."
Sigil passed the laptop to Alicia.
"Why would her spirit haunt blonde strippers then?"
Alicia read the whole article and asked with a confused expression.
"Quite simple. She wasn't supposed to be the one performing in the first place. It was the first victim that was asked to prostitute but she refused, causing Grachen to take her place."
"Hoo."
The whole image became clear to Alicia.
Since Grachen died during the activity she wasn't supposed to perform in the first place. Her spirit put all her anger on other blond strippers that refused to work overtime.
"Well, her body was cremated and she doesn't have any relative in the city. If my guess is correct, we can find her spirit at Daniel's resting place."
Sigil spoke out.
"Any methods to reverse the spell?" He asked Alicia, causing her to sigh.
"All the materials are quite high-end. Eye of the kraken, a nail of a werewolf, a heart of a vampire, these kind of materials aren't available in the market and have to be hunted on commission. I can't ask for Family's support since it is our trail of becoming a full-fledged witch."
She slumped on her couch.
"Well, I just thought of a way. We don't need to enter the sealed area. According to Beth, the spell allows the spirit to move out of the sealing area and hunt around. This hunting satiates the anger of the spirit and allows most of the negative emotions held by the spirit to pass on at the treasure that is being nurtured. So, I was thinking that instead of opening the seal, why don't we lure the spirit out."
Sigil smiled as he looked at Alicia strangely. He got this idea when he saw the Bald boss checking Alicia out.
"Wait, if we put an end to the spirit and fail to control the treasure, the whole city might be in danger." Alicia frowned.
"Why should we control the treasure if we can destroy it alongside the spirit?" Sigil grinned.
This kind of treasure was extremely evil and would be a little use to Witches like Grey Family.
Alicia's eyes shined as she heard Sigil's proposal.
"We do know the recipe of the spell. Instead of reversing it, we can use the opposite of the ingredients to implode the treasure." Alicia also felt that the plan was viable.
"Alright, I will get a blonde wig while you gather the materials."
Sigil walked out of the room without waiting for Alicia's reply. Only after a short time did Alicia understand the reason for procuring a blonde wig.
She was going to be the bait for the spirit.
***
Alicia and Sigil returned to the graveyard. They both were in their casual clothes except the brunette Alicia was converted into a blonde Alicia. Her grey eyes looked at Sigil fiercely, who remained unflinching and shameless.
"You don't have to look so angry. Brunette or Blonde, you look beautiful in both versions." Sigil teased his so-called fiancé.
"Shut it." Alicia rolled her eyes as she opened the trunk of the car and took out some materials.
"Alright, I will start creating the spell. Back me up till then." Alicia spoke to Sigil.
It was already night, the sweet time when the Spirit reveals itself to create more meat patties.
Sigil nodded as he took out a can of spray paint and immediately drew a magic pattern on the cemented pathway. Alicia then proceeded to stand on the pattern as she started mixing some materials in a bowl.
Zzpt
Sigil and Alicia both heard a strange noise and immediately looked towards Daniel's tombstone.
A faceless woman could be seen. Her body was translucent, phasing between the material and spiritual plane with a 'zzpt' noise.
"Concentrate on the spell. I got this!" Sigil armed the pistol in his hand and grabbed an iron pipe that was soaked in salt water.
Salt and pure iron are one of the major weaknesses of the ghost kind.
"Hey, Grachen! You don't have to do this." Sigil also noticed the distinctive eye on the ghost's face.
"Hel…p…-"
"So… much… to… do."
Just as a woman's voice could be heard, a masculine whisper cut off female's voice.
Meanwhile, Alicia kept on crushing various materials and kept on mixing them.
Sigil and Alicia still remained in the magical circle. It was one of the spells that could ward off the spirits haunting the material world.
"Maybe, I can separate the spirit from the treasure." Sigil suddenly spoke out.
"What? Don't screw around right now. Stay put inside the circle." Alicia could barely pay attention to Sigil and immediately berated him.
Sigil's eyes flashed with various thoughts.
"How long till you complete the spell?" He asked Alicia, his thoughts unreadable.
"A minute."
She replied as her forehead was already covered in sweat.
Completing a spell demanded high mental concentration. It wasn't just the process of combination of ingredients. The process also included the expenditure of mental energy.
After hearing her reply, Sigil looked at the unfortunate spirit and shot towards her. His speed easily surpassed the fastest champions of Earth and covered the distance between him and the ghost within a mere moment.
Aaaaaaaaaaa
A miserable shriek emerged from ghost's face that did not have any features.
'What better ways to test my abilities than now?'
Sigil decided to take a calculated risk.
Even if he failed, he could still stall time for Alicia to complete the spell.
"This may feel like a pinch." Sigil's hand flashed a light-blue colour and surprisingly, he could touch the spirit.
Whoosh
A sound of wind could be heard as the time seemed to be stopped.
The featureless face of Grachen's spirit started forming her face as she looked at the surroundings in confusion.
Sigil and Grachen weren't in graveyard anymore.
They were in a strange room… a bedroom.
The whole place was neat even if the place didn't look so luxurious.
"My… room?"
Grachen could finally speak.
She looked at Sigil warily and slowly stepped backwards. Her gaze focused at the gun in Sigil's grip.
"Woah! I am not going to hurt you. Try and remember what happened to you."
Sigil immediately noticed the direction of her gaze and disarmed the gun. Even though all of this was not real, he still needed to make Grachen trust him, or at least not be wary of him.
"I… I shouldn't be here. That voice said that I had to keep going." Grachen's expression was full of confusion.
"Alright, this may sound crazy but you died. You were doing your job and met with an accident. I am here to free you from the strange voice."
There were many spells to put an end on a vengeful spirit. The most 'mortal' way could be cremation of the spirit's body and also burning any other object that the spirit could be attached to.
Other methods included the use of spells to cut off the spirit's connection to the material plane, allowing the spirit to move on.
And there is an anomaly like Sigil, who could read the soul of a person.
After this little experiment, he understood that his ability isn't just limited to reading the souls of a living being, but also communicating with a vengeful spirit and affecting them.
"What do you mean?" Grachen slowly walked backwards.
'Huh? The spirits aren't in their vengeful mode in this space.'
Sigil slowly understood his ability even more.
"Sweetheart, I don't have the luxury to prepare you for what's next. I wish you luck." Sigil immediately caught Grachen's wrist.
"I hope you live a happy afterlife." Sigil smiled sincerely as a light emerged from Sigil's palm. The expression on Grachen's face changed from confusion to clarity and she nodded towards Sigil with a smile.
Her body started to disperse into small globes of light.
"Thank….. you."
Grachen could barely make out these words before she disappeared.
The whole scene changed once again and Sigil returned to the graveyard. Even though it looked like some time has passed, in reality, not even a second had passed.
The faceless spirit disappeared as a floating eye could be seen in its place.
"Alright, it's just you and us. No innocent souls." Sigil grinned at the strange eye and immediately shot back in the magic circle.
Haaaaaaaaahhhhh
An image formed around the strange eye. A middle-aged man with long black hair.
The spirit's bloodshot eyes stared at Sigil hatefully.
The spirit's left eye shined malevolently.
"You… will… pay…"
The spirit waved its hand towards one of the tombstone.
Crack
A piece of the tombstone cracked apart and shot towards Alicia and Sigil.
"Well, this is one way to deal with the warding spell." Sigil immediately swung the iron bar towards the cracked tombstone.
Thud
"Damn, how much longer?" Sigil could barely hold his own ground and it looked like the spirit still had lots of ghost juice left inside it.
"Done!"
Alicia used a knife to slice open a small wound and let her blood drop on the ingredients.
"I have to get into the contact of that eye. Back me up!"
Alicia bit her teeth as her face had already turned pale.
Hiyaaaaaaaaaaaa
The spirit shrieked again as three more tombstones flew towards them.
'Shit.'
Sigil immediately started shooting towards the tombstone.
"Not working!"
He grabbed Alicia's hand and barely evaded the attack.
Bang
Bang
Bang
Bang
Sigil immediately started shooting at the flickering spirit.
"What are you doing?" Alicia could only bid for time.
"Stalling for time." Sigil replied.
His heart was in a turmoil.
Even though his mental age was greater than Alicia, even he had never participated in such an intense face-off. His heart felt panic, fear and a little bit of….. excitement.
Reading souls, communication with spirits and FIGHTING spirits was too imaginative to be true.
If he did not see this for himself, he would have never believed it.
"Follow my lead."
He threw away the pistol after all the bullets were fired.
His hands gripped on the iron rod tightly and walked towards the ghost slowly.
Zzpt
The spirit suddenly flickered away.
"Behind!"
Sigil immediately turned back and swung the iron bar fiercely at the spirit with its hand reaching towards Alicia.
The moment the iron rod passed through the spirit, it became paralysed and failed to 'zap' away.
"DO IT!!!"
"Et Excoquam Ad Dissiliunt!!!"
Alicia immediately chanted the spell and threw the contents of the bowl at the stunned spirit's face.
Ssszzzz
Hyaaaaaaaaa
The whole spirit started to melt off alongside the strange eye. The spirit let out many shrieks, but could not stop its inevitable fate.
Alicia and Sigil watched on as the spirit slowly ceased to exist.
After a period of silence, Alicia finally asked Sigil.
"How did you know that it would appear behind us?"
She looked a little better now.
"I did not know. I just played another calculated bet."
Sigil replied.
That was the truth.
He did not know where the spirit was going to appear, but with its limited intelligence, the only place it should have appeared would be behind them.
|
{
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"series": "8611",
"id": "8948",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Solving the Case; Calculative Bet",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
],
"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
In essence, the family garden was a small patch of forest cultivated by the Grey Family to produce their own Familiars.
Sigil entered the dome covered forest and his sense of smell was assaulted by the pungent aroma of wet grass and damp ground. He frowned and looked around.
"Is this the seal of sense produced by the family? When I got closer to the gate, there was no smell and my eyes could see normally, but now, the natural scent of the forest and the dark surroundings are assaulting my two senses."
He observed and found that the whole forest looked a shade darker.
Crunch
Sigil turned his head sideways and found a black deer looking at him. The body of the deer looked healthy and its luxurious fur created a unique charm in this dense forest.
Black Wood Deer.
It was one of John's personal familiar.
The black deer and a Silver-haired youth stared at each other for a few moments before the deer turned around expressionlessly. It snorted gently and looked back at Sigil before walking towards the deeper section of the forest.
"It wants me to follow it?" Sigil looked at the black deer and thought internally.
'The information about the Family garden is reserved strictly and even the Elders are forbidden to pass on the information to their children. But the information about the various familiars can be provided in a vague manner.'
Sigil thought in his heart as he followed the deer. His mind kept on raising doubts about the whole scenario.
Why is the information about the family garden not circulated? After all, all the elders including the guest elders have entered this place at least once and most of the younger generations have also entered this place.
"No, that's not right. The information about the garden could still be gained from some of the clues left by family. It is the location of the elite Familiars that is the most mysterious out of all." Sigil's gaze brightened.
But suddenly, his eyes constricted and he looked around.
"Where am I?"
He wasn't in a forest right now. In front of him was a beautiful garden surrounded by a wooden fence. The height of the fence wasn't too big and it looked like an ordinary garden fence, painted in white.
He also couldn't find the black deer.
"Now that I think of it. My mind was constantly filled with various thoughts and many doubts were raised involuntarily, making me unable to concentrate. Is it because of the family garden?" Sigil frowned and looked around his surroundings.
He could only see a vast expanse of grassland and nothing more. In front of him was a beautiful garden filled with various unknown flowers and plants. There was a batch of pink-colored vines growing up on the fence. The vine itself had a large number of pores that kept on diffusing a pink mist that surrounded the periphery of the garden, giving it a hazy and dreamlike appearance.
In the middle of the beautiful garden was a shed. The shed was constructed in the style of ordinary barns and it gave a feeling of plainness.
"So this is the true family garden." Sigil muttered in amazement.
From distorting his thoughts, changing his location and bringing him to this dreamlike garden made Sigil sigh in admiration.
"There are too many spells in this world. The true power doesn't lie in the Familiars but oneself. With various spells, familiars can be enhanced. But Familiars can't enhance the mortal body."
"Then there is the mystery of my transmigration. Ricardo's rebirth and the methods of the devils. Is this all based on the spells? What about my constellation? Even if it isn't based on the witch's spell, it still complies to the mystery of this world."
"Now that I think of it, my previous world had a lot of myths and legends about witches, their uprising, their downfall and some of the local folklores."
"Did my previous world also inhabit the use of witchcraft. If yes, then why did this practice lead to the downfall of the witches?"
"Does this mean that witches cultivation has an inherent risk? A default?"
Countless thoughts flashed past his mind and he looked at the garden once again. His expression looked serious and he walked towards the gate and entered the garden.
Throughout the process, he wasn't hindered and he entered the garden smoothly.
"Hmm? That is a Red Lore Lily?" Sigil knew the origin of only one plant in the garden. This situation made Sigil recognise the true depth of a witch family. After all, all of these plants are rare herbs and some of them are extinct in the mortal world. But here, there are many resources that can make a Witch's eyes green with envy.
Sigil squatted and lightly touched the soil of the garden. The ground was light yellow with a golden glow. As he picked up a fistful of soil, his hand also glowed a little. From the soil, he could feel dense energy and also a peculiar sensation.
"It feels heavy. Even though it is just a fistful of soil, it gives a temperament of a sturdy rock. Is this the specialisation of law?" Sigil muttered and his eyes glowed brightly.
After observing other components of the garden, he decided to enter the barn shed.
Creak
The wooden door made a creaking sound and the whole structure felt old and rotten. Sigil even had a feeling that he can punch a hole in the wall, but his instincts kept on screaming that the defence of this barn shed may be higher than the family mansion itself.
His eyes looked around and his gaze fell on small Familiars playing inside the barn shed.
The interior of the shed looked ordinary. Dry grass filled the bottom to provide a cushion for the Familiars while they played with each other. From their size and power, Sigil could easily tell that all of these Familiars were only in the infant stage.
He couldn't find their litter nor the bones of the animals used to feed them, giving him a clue that this place is well maintained on a daily basis.
"So, these are the elite Familiars of the family, huh."
Infant, Adolescent, Mature.
These are the three stages of Familiars. But these stages do not represent their age, but actually, speak of their battle power.
Infant stage could contend with Energy Gates Practitioner.
Adolescent stage can compete with Chakra Points Practitioner.
And Mature Stage can compete with Grimoire Masters.
In this sense, many of the old Familiars may remain in the infancy stage while newborn Familiars may have a battle power of an Adolescent stage Familiar.
Woof
A brown dog immediately jumped from the raised wooden platform and shot towards a weak looking, red wolf. The wooden platform was high up the ceiling and Sigil couldn't even understand how it could reach that high.
Whoosh
Before the puppy could reach the wolf cub, a blue Shadow caught the puppy and took it to the platform once again. It was a miniature eagle.
The puppy barked in indignantly and snorted before laying low.
Kakakaka
From the dry grass, two figures emerged and turned out to be a golden and a silver monkey. Their size was small, too. Around 20 centimetres.
Grrr
At this time, a low growl could be heard and all the Familiars quietened down. They looked slightly anxious and looked towards Sigil.
Sigil himself felt a slight danger and he slowly looked backward.
'Oh?'
Behind him stood a small Silver-Furred Wolf that looked at other Familiars with gentle eyes. But behind the gentleness, the small Familiars could feel a sense of discipline and sternness that pressured their active minds and forced them into a calm state.
The wolf finally looked at Sigil and nodded slightly.
It was the Silver Fang Wolf.
A Mature Stage Familiar capable of fighting with Grimoire Master without losing its own advantage.
Sigil took a deep breath and looked back at the Familiars.
He already has 3 Adolescent stage Familiars from Earth path, vision path and strength path. He has also accumulated enough knowledge to understand the importance of choosing a right path for himself. After all, it is hard to transform the selected path.
Aoo
The wolf lightly howled and a frosty air emerged from its small body. The frost divided into five tendrils and shot towards the five Familiars.
Their eyes widened in surprise, but before they could dodge the frost tendrils, their lower body was already numb from the cold and finally, the frost entered their body, slowly turning them into ice blocks.
Sigil frowned. He did not expect such a change.
He looked back at the wolf and the wolf nodded at him before turning into a blue light and disappearing from the barn shed.
"There really should be some kind of instruction manual. First, you distort my thoughts then, you turn these Familiars into ice blocks. What am I supposed to do? Put sprinkles on them and sell them to kids?" Sigil muttered as he walked towards the ice blocks.
"Hmm? So this is it."
After paying close attention, he saw light blue carvings on the ice that informed Sigil about their names and paths.
According to the regulations, the information on the Familiars is extremely limited. But now, the elite members in the younger generation are given a chance to take away a Familiar with a good potential to reach the mature stage.
"But the trick is that there is one more test. How to tame the chosen Familiars? Unlike Familiar Eggs, these Familiars have their own memories and personalities. They have been living here for some time and their cognition is developed to some extent. This is probably the last hurdle of the Rite of Witchcraft. Taming the Familiars."
Sigil started from the frozen puppy. With Sigil's physical capability, it was easy to reach the high platform in a single jump.
"Metal Bone Hound, Bone Path."
Sigil looked at the markings and his expression turned disappointed. Even though the bone path is researched extensively, the use of this path is still uncommon and the materials for the cultivation of Familiars usually involve a lot of killing.
He then walked near the blue eagle and read its name.
"Lake Eagle, Water Path. Hmm, Elemental path is quite popular and the resources can be acquired much easily."
He then jumped down and looked at the Silver Monkey.
"Ghost Chimp, Soul Path." Seeing this Familiar, Sigil fell into a silence.
He already has a strange innate talent that can accommodate communication on a spiritual level. Developing in soul path might help him gain more clues about his ability and also the reason for his transmigration.
The golden monkey beside the Silver monkey was named Golden Chimp of the metal path.
Meanwhile, the red wolf cub was a Blood Fur Wolf of the blood path.
"Out of these, the strongest offensive power belongs to the Metal Bone Hound. The highest talent belongs to the Lake Eagle and the most compatible choice is Ghost Chimp." To Sigil, the decision was obvious and he didn't deliberate for too long.
His hand touched the ice block as a light glow flashed from his palms.
***
"Which one will Sigil chose?"
"Its only been five minutes? How can he chose so easily?"
"Heh, you don't know this but the true family garden's time is quicker than the outer world. Five minutes already means an hour."
"Oh, this brother, I did not know this. How did you get such information?"
"Hmm? I wonder if he will take away the best Familiar?"
Many people were chatting. The Elders were laughing and discussing while there was a group of Familiars staying on the sidelines quietly.
While Ricardo chatted happily, his heart was in turmoil.
"Damn, I really hope that the blood wolf isn't chosen. But if it's really chosen..." Ricardo felt that he really needed to start pushing his plans proactively.
Till now, none of the things have been going the way he wanted to.
|
{
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"lang": "en",
"series": "8611",
"id": "18546",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Garden",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
"genre": [
"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
],
"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"Huu... huff... huu... huff" Sounds of deep breaths could be heard from Sigil's bedroom. The lights of the room were dim as Sigil sat on his bed with a peaceful expression. A light blue bracelet, made of pearls could be seen on his wrist, could be seen giving out a gentle glow. The light from the pearl was bright enough to illuminate the Sigil's surrounding as it gave an elegant contrast to his hair colour.
Sigil was meditating.
Curse, Nurture and Self. These three areas of studies regarding Witchcraft were immensely deep and profound. Not even the Grimoire Masters are confident enough to claim that they have unraveled the true nature of the study. Each study is divided into various situations, elements, familiars, monsters, methods, languages, totems, expressions and much more.
Sigil was an outstanding member of the younger generation and could be considered as gaining the qualifications of entry level of the subject– Curse and Nurture.
Entry Level, Student Level, Master Level, Grandmaster Level, Sage Level and Pinnacle Level.
These were the categories in which the three areas of witchcraft is divided into. Reaching the Entry Level regarding the subject of Curse and Nurture was spectacular enough. One had to understand that these categories represented the foundation of a witch regarding the corresponding subject matter.
Right now, Sigil was meditating with a calm and peaceful mind to enhance his foundation regarding the subject of 'Self'. Unlike Curse and Nurture, Self was related to the enlightenment of the living being. It was a source of gaining inspiration and attuning oneself to connect with Nature. Whereas, Curse and Nurture were related to the knowledge of various subjects. If one had to compare, Self could be represented by the profession of Temple Priest while Curse and Nurture could be represented by the profession of Scholar.
The pearl bracelet on Sigil's hand was an exemplary embodiment of Curse methods of a Witch with Master level foundation. The bracelet was called Deep Moon, a material curse belonging to the category of Self Cultivation Curses.
To prepare this bracelet, one had to raise the core material in a pool of glacial water from the mountains. Placing an ordinary pearl inside the pool with other refinement materials, the pearl will gain a spiritual attribute that is helpful for connecting with the soul. Even though the process and recipe to create this Material Curse were readily available to most of the witch's family, only a few could produce it because of the rarity of the materials.
Right now, Sigil was using Deep Moon to connect with his soul and trying to gain some inspiration from nature. His lips produced some unintelligible whispers as the deep moon shined even brighter.
It was an activation spell. Even though the curse had been placed on the bracelet, it still needed to be activated. Sigil kept on whispering the Spell as he felt his mental energy getting drained away. Because of the consumption of his mental health, Sigil could only meditate for half an hour before he had to stop and take a rest.
He exhaled sharply and opened his eyes. Even though he was severely limited by the drainage of his mental energy, his eyes were shining brightly and a small smile hung on his lips. Gradually, the glow emitting from the bracelet dimmed off and the room was illuminated by the dim lights of the bulbs.
"Hehe.... hahahaha, this ability is amazing!"
Sigil laughed happily as he looked up at the ceiling of his room. His gaze was still as bright as ever. It felt like the mental drain wasn't affecting him at all.
***
The black hole covering the whole city slowly vanished as three figures stood some distance away. They were the three directors of Black Spider, Fiery Lion and Grand Sparrow, that has become a part of the alliance.
The witches guarding the spot had been sent back and also severely punished. They were penalised heavily for the destruction of Grimoire World. Even when the three directors knew that it wasn't the fault of these guard witches, they still had to fulfill the actions created by their authority.
"I propose that we should start sending spies and infiltrate the nearby families to look for the culprit." Old Sparrow spoke with a pained voice.
He watched the destruction of the Grimoire World as the previous Chestcovia City finally emerged back. Even though all of the residents of the city were dead, they could still have some use for this city.
"It's not a huge loss. We did gain a city for our own personal use, isn't that right?" Sabar spoke as he did not reply to Sparrow's statement.
"Aside from the fact of spies, we still need a good place to install the totem. How about cleaning this city and use it as an ancestral pool?" Ruby spoke flatly. Even though she had many gains in the Grimoire World, she was disappointed by the fact that they won't be able to properly exploit that mine.
As she spoke of the upcoming Rite of Witchcraft, Sparrow finally regained his composure. After thinking for a bit, he spoke once again.
"I apologise for my outburst. How about selecting new seeds as the spies. Ruby already has that traitor from the RedHawks, we can scout for talents in the Ritual."
His suggestion gained the nods from both of them.
Rumble
The sudden rumbling sound attracted their attention as they felt sour and indignant in their hearts.
The black hole had finally devoured the Grimoire World and with it, took away all the exotic space path resources.
Meanwhile, it looked as if a dark curtain had been uncovered and the whole city was finally visible to everyone.
"I will install the Totem tomorrow. It's your task to clean this city." Ruby regained her composure and left on her scarlet-ruby broomstick.
***
Sigil was once again meditating, but he wasn't in his own room... well, he was in his old room.
The posters of animated girls on his wall were very familiar. The human-sized body pillow with the image of one of his favourite anime girl was placed beside him as he remained seated in a cross-legged position on the bedcover with the image of another anime girl.
His study was filled with various games, these games also had many disturbing titles. Some related to the true culture of the universe– Hentai, while others were RPG and racing games.
Above the study table was a three-storied shelf filled with figurines, nude and clothed. And at the corner of the room, one could see a large bookshelf filled with noble literature– Manga and H-Doujins.
If an ordinary human saw this room, they would think a single word– Untidy. But, if a cultured human entered the room, they would think of only one word– Bliss.
Even with all the heavenly items surrounding him, Sigil still kept his eyes closed and remained still. His expression calm and peaceful.
If one saw carefully, he could see a gentle blue light appearing out of nowhere from the area around his right wrist and coiling around his body. This situation remained for another thirty minutes before Sigil disappeared from this room.
"Huff" Sigil opened his eyes in excitement and exhaled sharply. This was his fifth meditation session in two days and he could be said to be progressing by leaps and bounds.
Originally, he couldn't locate his Soul Space, but with the help of Deep Moon, he was finally able to locate his Soul Space. Surprisingly, it was his old room– The piece of Heaven.
The reason for his excitement wasn't the fact that he could read all the Hentai Doujins once again, it was the fact that he was naturally connected to nature through the Soul Space. This discovery coupled with the Deep Moon Curse allowed him to progress at twice the speed with half the effort.
He could already feel it, he just one step away from reaching the Entry level in the Realm of Self. At this moment, a knock was heard. Before he could answer it, the door was clicked open.
"Master♪! Lunch is ready." Martha smiled and spoke with a little hum. Evidently, she was feeling happy. After all, the Rite of Witchcraft was only two days later and she was confident that she could breakthrough the Chakra Realm. After all, it had been a whole year since she had opened her Eighth Gate and it has also been a while since she had reached the Entry level in the Realm of Self.
All that was left to do was to enter the Ancestral Pool and receive the baptism of the totem. With the help of Ancestral Pool, she would have a high chance to become an Elder Level figure in the Witch's Society.
Seeing Martha's pleasant behaviour, Sigil smiled as he felt optimistic himself. There were two days left and he had a high chance to barge in the Entry level of the realm of Self.
***
"Soon.... I will get you this time...." Ricardo's gaze was as eerie as possible. He was just informed that he could take part in the baptism of Ancestral Pool of the Family. Even though he had no chance to enter the chakra stage, he still felt a little relieved. After all, the baptism could reduce his problems by a lot.
He even felt a sliver of excitement as he thought of one the Familiars in the family.
He smiled slightly as he remained seated on his couch with a slice of pizza in his hand. Even though a show was being displayed on the television, his thoughts remained adrift.
***
Midnight, 8 hours before the Rite of Witchcraft.
The Material Curse, Deep Moon let out an eye piercing light as a wisp of translucent substance entered Sigil's mouth, which kept reciting the Spell to utilise the bracelet.
Shortly, the bracelet dimmed down completely and Sigil opened his eyes with a big smile on his face. His ice-blue eyes shined in darkness.... literally. It felt like Sigil had changed his species into a feline one, making his eyes stand out in darkness.
The strange process took place for a few minutes before it stopped. Sigil's entire demeanor finally spoke of some humanity.
He let out a breath of turbid air and got up from his bed. His legs felt cramped as he had been sitting in the meditative position for a long time. After stretching a bit, he finally laid down.
"Entry Level of the realm of Self– Spiritual Begining, achieved." He spoke to himself lightly.
"It doesn't feel much different, though. I wonder if my ability is affected by my realm of Self." He mused lightly. He looked at the time before setting the alarm and quickly snored away. He had to remain in his best state during the baptism.
***
"Hehe, it's like you are trying to invite me here every time." Martha smiled as she woke Sigil up. The alarm remained ineffective.
Martha was different from other maids of the manor and had an almost exclusive right to enter Sigil's room. Even though Sigil felt a little groggy, he decided to keep up his act. After all, he was in a phase where he was recovering from his life of debauchery.
He smiled at Martha and pulled her in bed, making her yelp in surprise.
"You are really going to do it in front of me?" A cold voice interrupted both of them, causing Sigil to smile secretly. He had finally started to like both of them, but to show his gradual progress, he needed to show a part of his debauched behaviour around someone.
He looked at Alicia as Martha blushed. She was stronger than Sigil, yet, she allowed herself to get pulled by him. She even knew about Alicia, after all, they both had gotten really friendly even when they were romantically involved with the same guy.
What's more, Sigil's morning wood was proudly displayed by the tent of his pyjamas, that poked at the right places, making Martha feel a little tingly.
"Oh, Alicia? Yeah, sorry, I didn't see you there. How 'bout it? Want to join?" He smiled and immediately put some distance between him and Martha and patted the unoccupied region.
This action made Alicia growl a little, making her look extremely dangerous... and cute. Her grey eyes kept gazing at Sigil until he finally got up from the bed.
"Fine, fine, geez, and here, I thought that Martha was into domination." Sigil's light comment immediately cleared the tense air and made both of them blush.
He smiled at his apparent success and immediately changed his clothes after entering the bathroom. He still didn't want to strip in front of others for no logical reasoning.
***
Assembly Ground, The Grey Estate.
John Grey stood in front of every single eligible member of the younger generation. There were a total of 13 people standing in front of him, while the Supreme Elder Garthe stood behind John, his eyes staring at his daughter, filled with emotions.
Since Sigil, Bethany and Alicia weren't participating in the family's baptism, their position wasn't given to someone else as it would be detrimental to the reputation of the achieved position. Alicia and Bethany had also not assigned anyone else to their position, making only Martha, Ricardo and two other members the selected Witches to receive the baptism.
Meanwhile, the other two witches also brought someone else with them.
John looked at the six people taking part in the family's baptism and looked towards seven others, who were going to take part in the Alliance's baptism. He sighed a little as he looked at each other's hand and saw the seal of the alliance.
"I wish you all Good Luck. Supreme Elder Garthe will take you guys to the family's Ancestral Pool. Out of you, only two members are eligible to choose from the elite Familiars raised inside the family. You all know the rules, the unchosen Familiars will be then presented to others. Those who did not take their pick will get a chance to enter the Familiar garden of the Family."
He took a breather and walked towards the seven others. He patted Sigil's shoulder and spoke to them.
"The choosing of Familiars will start only after your return. I hope that you bring a good reputation to our family." John then nodded at Garthe as he took the Six witches away. Sigil smiled towards Martha and nodded at Ricardo before leaving with John towards the site set by Alliance.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Spiritual Beginning",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
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"Action",
"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
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"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
Sigil sighed continuously and walked out of the school gates. It is true when they say– Disaster strikes continuously.
First was the emergence of the Carefree Alliance and now school.
“What are you thinking of?”
Alicia appeared behind him and tapped on his shoulders. On the back of her wrist, Sigil could see a strange mark. It was like a character of an ancient language. He then proceeded to look at the back of his own wrist. He had the strange mark too.
“I am just thinking about how so many changes can occur in one day.”
“Relax, it was only yesterday that we were ambushed. They didn't hurt us, though. We even have the right to enter the Grimoire world three times a week, unlike others.”
“Well, I didn't want such an honour.”
Sigil sulked.
The luxurious opportunities such as the right to enter the Grimoire World three times a week was only given to direct heirs.
It was the fault of that stupid gangster that he had to take an Ancient Oath and become one of the core members of the younger generation of the Branch of the Carefree Alliance in this area.
Pfft
Alicia laughed at his situation. It was true that he was quite unlucky.
Behind them was Bethany and others of the Grey Family. Even behind the group was Ricardo.
He could understand if things changed slightly after his rebirth. But now? A super faction emerged that didn't even exist in his time.
“You guys planned anything for today?”
Bethany followed and asked.
“Well, I wanted to go to the Elder's Library. But now, I have access to an even better information source.” Sigil showed his mobile phone.
He was talking about the application launched by the Alliance.
“Well, I still have to complete the spell of Eight-winged ant. So I will be busy today.” Alicia spoke out.
“Um, can I join you?”
It was Ricardo.
After Sigil apologised to Ricardo, this was the first time they stood face-to-face.
“Sure.”
Sigil smiled towards Ricardo. Sigil wanted to befriend this variable and this looked like an appropriate time.
“I was thinking that we should explore the Grimoire World.” Ricardo spoke out naturally. His casual attitude surprised Alicia while Sigil and Bethany seemed fine.
Bethany's eyes shined.
“Are you sure? Even though we can enter three times a week, you can only enter once every two weeks.” Bethany spoke out.
Ricardo nodded.
Sigil looked a little thoughtful before accepting the proposal.
“We will leave after one hour.”
“Great.”
***
“Master! I want to come with you too.”
Martha acted like a puppy in front of Sigil. He seriously looked at the half-bent Martha and silently compared her to the Buxom beauty of the previous night.
He finally found a perfect competition for Martha!
“Believe me, I am not going for fun. And besides, I won't stop you. So, why are you acting like this?”
His words stunned Martha as pink colour crept up her cheeks.
Sigil smirked as he held her chin and whispered into her ears.
“Is it because you want me to punish you?”
His hot breath caused a tingling sensation in Martha's body as the straightforward beauty blushed furiously.
“You are a bully!”
She ran away.
On a serious note, it was only Sigil, Ricardo and Bethany going for an exploration trip. After all, they just escaped with their lives the previous night. Who would want to go back this quickly?
Meanwhile, Sigil felt a little troubled. How will he take away the Grimoire of Inverse Witch? The whole place was probably stuffed with witches.
No matter how much he thought, he wouldn't be able to take away the already established Grimoire World for his own use. He could take away the core inheritances, but this thought made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
He sighed and shook his head. These are tough times and he needed to be more resolute.
After all, he hadn't even opened all of his energy gates. How can he dream of competing with the old Grimoire Masters?
He started packing his stuff for the trip.
After one hour, Sigil and Ricardo met at the predetermined location. Bethany still hadn't shown up.
Sigil sighed and called Bethany.
“Yeah, Beth. Are you coming? Hmm…. yeah, no worries. We will take care of ourselves.” He sighed and hung up.
“Supreme Elder Bert forbade Bethany to explore the Grimoire World.”
Sigil sat inside the car and informed Ricardo. They had decided to take Sigil's personal car to the Grimoire World.
“So… this is nice.”
Ricardo and Sigil were sitting in the car. Due to their past differences, there was still a little tension between them.
“You don't have to talk. It will just make it more awkward.”
Sigil sighed at Ricardo's desperate attempt to lift the awkwardness.
“Do you have a plan?”
Sigil asked Ricardo.
“Excuse me?”
“I meant that you have only opened your second gate yet. What's your angle?”
Sigil asked once again. Since they were exploring together, he wanted to understand more about the purpose of his visit.
“Oh, I just want to look around and experience the wilderness for myself.”
Ricardo explained.
“Oh.”
Sigil nodded.
'Not even little girls will for that excuse.’ Sigil shook his head and continued to drive. The rest of the journey took place in awkward silence between the two.
They couldn't reach for the radio station as it would mean that they were admitting that things were awkward.
This caused the whole situation to be even stranger.
After some time, they finally reached the edges of Chestcovia City that was covered by a hemisphere of light.
‘A protection spell.’
Ricardo hadn't seen the site yet. When he saw the light hemisphere, his eyes shined with a reminiscent expression.
Outside the hemisphere were a couple of Witches stationed by the Southern Branch of Carefree Alliance.
“Stop! Identify yourself.”
“Stop screwing with me, Ivan.”
Sigil looked at Ivan angrily.
“Whoa, Sigil. Calm down, why so anxious?”
When Sigil heard Ivan's question, his anger flared once again.
“This! It's because of you.”
When Ivan and his partners saw the Ancient Oath's mark, they simply chuckled and shook their heads.
“Yeah! Sorry about that. Alright, you have a time limit of one day. After that, the talisman will expire. Your friend here has to pay for the talismans, though.”
Ivan took out two talismans and passed them to Sigil.
“Nope, you caused me some emotional damages. You will pay for the talisman.” Sigil immediately shook his head and passed one of the talismans to Ricardo, bringing him in.
Ivan only let out a hollow laugh and allowed them to pass through.
“Be careful! The rules of non-killing are no more inside the Grimoire world.”
Sigil simply waved at Ivan's warning and entered the hemisphere. He then chanted the spell alongside Ricardo.
“Omnira Gretre Hirner Valisry Ciaruss!”
A blue light fell on both of them and the next thing, Sigil was transported to the Grimoire world. But there was one thing strange, Ricardo wasn't with him.
“Wow! He should write a book on ‘Acting normal amongst friends’.”
Sigil was speechless. Did Ricardo act without even giving a single thought? How was he going to explain his mysterious disappearance to Sigil?
“Well, it's certainly easier for me. Inverse Witch, teleport me to inheritance ground.”
His view shifted once again and he was in front of Inverse Witch, who was bowing in front of him.
“Welcome, Master!”
She greeted cheerfully.
“Did you do it?”
“Yes! As per Master's request, I planted 30% of rare herbs from each of the areas here.”
She pointed towards the numerous medicinal plants near the bank of the lake.
“Give me the report on all the living species left. Exclude the normal animals.”
“Yes! Currently, there are 1348 incomplete monsters, 189 complete monsters while we have 918 infant familiars, 37 Adolescent familiars and only 1 adult familiar.”
Hearing her words, Sigil felt shocked. One had to know that complete monsters and Adolescent Familiars had a battle power of a Chakra Stage Expert while the Adult familiar had the battle power of a Grimoire Master.
This was the true foundation that can create strong witch's family. But since he had already decided on something, he won't take a step back.
“Alright, give me the details on all the familiars. Also, list out the core inheritances left behind by the Inverse Witch.”
Since it was already decided, he started acting on his plan.
***
Meanwhile, Ricardo was moving extremely quickly. Even though his speed was way lower than Sigil, he was using some mysterious movement Technique to increase his speed.
His destination?
The waterfall of Devil's Piss.
Right now, Ricardo's light grey eyes were red in colour. His vision was filled with various colours.
“The energy from the two gates won't last long.”
In his countless years of experience and travel to other continents, Ricardo already knew a lot of mystical methods that could be used by a human in the realm of the gate opening. Even though he had only opened his second gate, he can still compete with stronger opponents.
As he kept his speed, he suddenly heard a rustling sound in the surroundings and immediately punched towards his left. Unlike Sigil, Ricardo's punch was tricky and quick. He did not waste any movements and could release an explosive power even when he wasn't in the posture of attack.
Ggrrrr?
A surprised growl was heard as a shadow dodged the punch by a hair's breadth.
'An Emerald-Eyed Shadow Familiar.’
Ricardo looked calm as he saw the true appearance of his opponent. Unlike Sigil, Ricardo knew the name of the familiar and it's true use.
“Other people may fall for your tricks. But I know that you have the power of enhanced vision only. Your fur is a rare material for spells and pieces of disguising equipment. But you aren't truly valuable until you reach the Adolescent stage of the highest tier.”
Ricardo smirked and immediately left the Black Panther and ran straight for the Devil's Piss.
Before the Panther could catch up to him and attack him, Ricardo jumped and took a dive inside the pool of green-coloured liquid.
“Master, someone just entered the first ground of inheritance.”
Inverse Witch spoke out as she saw Sigil studying the information on all the familiars present inside the Grimoire World.
“Hmm? Show me the image.”
Sigil commanded and the image of Ricardo looking around the pool in confusion could be see seen from the surface of the lake.
Sigil's pupils contracted and he immediately felt that he had seen past the layers of cloud that were blocking his vision. Seeing Ricardo there, Sigil immediately connected most of the dots.
Ricardo was feeling confused because he couldn't find the strange statue at all. Even the metal tablet with the clue on it wasn't placed on the deepest part of the pool.
It was Sigil! Before getting transported away, he commanded the Inverse Witch to remove the various tests for the inheritance ground. After all, it wasn't needed and if someone found it, they would know that the inheritance ground had already been inherited.
“Let him swim around as much he likes.”
Sigil stopped paying attention to Ricardo.
Instead, he started to look into the core inheritances of the Inverse Witch.
It was the Inverse Grimoire, the egg of Mirror Panda, Various research on the three main studies of the Witchcraft, An adult Familiar and an unknown mysterious egg.
The mysterious egg would surely be a precious treasure since even the Inverse Witch couldn't see through it. Before she could hatch the egg, she met her unfortunate end.
“How much space can the Grimoire store?”
Sigil asked, his gaze emotionless.
“Previous Master had already stored her library inside the Grimoire. Meanwhile, Master can store at most 46 Familiars.”
“Damnit!”
He gritted his teeth. If it wasn't for the new establishment of the Carefree Alliance, he could have taken the whole Grimoire world for himself and it could be used as a foundation to increase his own strength.
He took a deep breath and looked towards Inverse Witch.
“Take this list. Transport everything on the list inside Grimoire. Also, transfer all the core inheritances inside the Grimoire.”
Inverse witch accomplished the task within moments and looked a little hesitant.
“Master, if you break off the connection between the Grimoire World and The Grimoire, then this world wouldn't hold up for long.”
Of course, she wouldn't want that. After all, her real body committed so many frauds to creates such a Precious Grimoire World. She couldn't just cut it off.
“That is the only way.”
Even Sigil was reluctant. But this was the only way.
He waved his hands towards Inverse Witch as she nodded reluctantly. Her body let out a brilliant light and every part of the inheritance ground started to disintegrate. Sigil closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was standing in his previous location.
On his hand was a thick silver book with silver plates on its surface. The book had a brilliant metallic lustre.
It was a Grimoire!
Since Sigil inherited the whole Grimoire World, he also inherited the Grimoire of Inverse Witch. A Grimoire is a book filled with magical spells. The Grimoire in Sigil's hand had many illusion and space type spells.
He willed with his mind and the Grimoire immediately shrunk. It kept on shrinking until it became palm-sized and Sigil put it in his bag.
He looked at this Grimoire World and sighed. Once the connection between the Grimoire and the Grimoire World was destroyed, the Grimoire World would slowly collapse.
The collapse would start from the outer area and end in core regions.
Now, he set towards the location of Devil's piss to meet up with his strange friend.
It looks like he is more valuable than imagined.
Sigil mused silently.
On his way, he did not encounter his feline stalker as it had already been stored inside the Grimoire.
With Sigil's speed, it didn't take long before he reached near the Devil's Piss. The moment he reached the periphery of the region, he could see Ricardo coming out of the water with a confused look.
“Hey! Where were you? I was looking for you for such a long time.”
Sigil shouted and walked near the waterfall. He placed a handkerchief on his nose since the smell was really terrible.
“Oh… uhhh… I don't know but I was transported here. When I arrived, I was ambushed by a familiar. Since I am not strong enough, I had to jump inside the pool.”
Ricardo explained after thinking of something.
'What a liar!’
“Oh… sorry about all that. I hope you are not hurt.”
Even though Sigil felt a little speechless, he didn't show it on the surface and successfully feigned concern for Ricardo.
|
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"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Pained Decision",
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"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
A classroom packed with students concentrated on the teacher's words and looked at her drawing various monsters of different kinds on the blackboard. Her drawing skills had already reached a master's level, showing her commitment to the job of teaching. After drawing the last monster and explaining its strengths and weaknesses, she stopped her lecture.
“Alright, students! With this, we conclude our lecture on local monsters and their lores. Remember to keep yourself equipped with a silver blade alongside vials of dead men blood and holy water. We have heard the reports about recent sightings of vampires near the town.” The old teacher adjusted her spectacles as she closed a thick book placed on the teacher's desk.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, one of the students with conspicuous hair color- Silver, looked at another boy on the first seat of the middle column. A strange energy, only sensed by the silver-haired youth could be seen swirling around the black-haired boy.
Every other student seemed to be oblivious of the strange situation. After the strange energy was lifted, the black-haired youth looked around in confusion as a realisation finally struck him. His eyes had an excited gleam as he started acting normally once again.
“Did that guy just reincarnate?” The silver-haired boy muttered under his breath as he looked at the various emotions displayed on the black-haired youth's face. He was sitting at the leftmost seat and could easily see the other party's expressions.
To him, the concept of reincarnation wasn't too surprising. After all, he just hopped over to this world just a week ago. Yes, the silver-haired youth was a transmigrator himself!
“Sigil, did something happen?” A beautiful girl beside him asked in confusion.
‘Why would Sigil look at Ricardo in such a manner? Is he going to bully him again?’
Alicia, the beautiful girl, shook her head. Her expression was a little disappointed. After all, Sigil finally showed some changes during the past week. Is he finally turning back to his true self? Alicia could only sigh in disappointment.
Yes! The original Sigil used to be a bully, before a soul from another world hopped a ride on his body. What happened to the original Sigil?
His soul became a nutrient for the body snatcher.
“Nothing, Alicia. Let's go! Master is waiting for us.”
Sigil shook his head and got up from his seat. The last lecture was finally over and they could leave the school.
This world was almost similar to Earth, except this planet did not only give the title of the strongest Predators to Human Beings.
Vampires, Werewolf, Rakshasa, Hex Magic.
You name it, this world has it.
Meanwhile, the dark-haired Reincarnator– Ricardo was going through an emotional turmoil.
‘Huh? I should have died at the hands of the Rakshasa Emperor. Where am I??’ Ricardo couldn’t understand his situation. Just a few moments ago, he surely felt Rakshasa Emperor’s hand piercing through his heart.
‘What?! Wait, that’s Alicia! She is alive! But isn’t that how she looked in early age? And, That! That’s him, Sigil! What’s happening here? I was reincarnated into my old self? Wait- where is Alicia's locket?”
Ricardo immediately panicked.
If it wasn't for Alicia's keepsake, he would have died for good.
When he saw Alicia leaving with Sigil, his eyes flashed ominously.
‘Sigil, you will pay for everything you did to me in the past, wait- I meant the things you will do to me in the future.’
The three were in the advance placement of their schools and ready to enter the Witch College of their choice.
A black Mercedes was waiting for Alicia and Sigil. A black-suited, kind looking butler waited outside the car.
“Young Master Sigil, Young Mistress Alicia. Please take your seat.”
The butler bowed and opened the door of the car for Sigil and Alicia as they walked inside the car.
“So, we are finally going to be engaged.” Alicia hugged Sigil's arm as she put her head on his shoulder.
“Uh- yeah! Can't wait to get married.” Sigil's voice was a little strange.
“Don't worry, it isn't like you will be restricted with me. I am sure that the Elders will try to create more bonds with other families using you and marriage as a method.”
Alicia smiled as she felt that she understood her fiancé's dilemma.
Who would have thought that an average guy named Ruth from Earth will transport to this strange world?
Ruth Ambik lived a normal life. Normal Job, no love interests, an orphan with no significant origins.
Even his death seemed pretty normal.
He wasn't kissed goodnight by Truck Princess in the middle of the road neither did he receive a robber's attack for some poor damsel in distress.
A sudden Heart Attack visited him. A swift and numbing death.
“Um... Alicia, would you please keep a little distance between us... It's just that I am not feeling well and don't want to infect you in any manner.”
Sigil squeezed out a smile.
Alicia gave her a sweet smile as she hugged him tighter.
“You are so cute. Trying to be considerate even when you know we already have the brand of The Totem Blessing. Even if a Demon tried to possess my body, it won't work.”
“Yeah!... Forgot about that.”
Sigil gave up as he enjoyed the tight hug and the soft body of the school princess.
“How is your condition? Do you feel better?” Alicia loosened her hug as she asked him in concern.
“Ah? You mean the blackout? Yeah! I am getting better.”
He spoke as he surveyed Alicia's soul once more.
He had this ability in control now. When he was transferred into this world, somehow, he obtained this ability.
After all, it has already been a week since he arrived here.
“Say, isn't that necklace too old? Why do you still wear it.”
Even though he had all of Sigil's memory, he still didn't understand much about Alicia.
The original Sigil was also an orphan, raised by the Master of Silver Fang Family alongside his only Daughter Alicia Silver.
Even though they all had silver as their last name, they all had a unique characteristic of dark brown or black hair alongside a pair of silver pupils in the eyes.
Meanwhile, Sigil had bright silver hair and a pair of icy blue pupils.
Their physiques were on the upper scale of beauty.
Alicia, the beautiful princess, is gifted with a beautiful face with soft features. Unlike others, her lips were soft pink in colour and the light natural blush on her healthy skin gave her a tantalising beauty. Her figure was well developed with soft skin and a boneless waist. She had already hit her age of puberty 5 years ago and her figure has become a fantasy in every male and some females mind.
Meanwhile, Sigil looked the extreme opposite of the K-pop beauty of his original world.
His jaws chiselled and his nose sharp with a pair of sword-like, silver eyebrows. His upper torso looked lean and carefully built while he was endowed with a slightly wider wrist, making him look like a Greek definition of a handsome man.
The reason Sigil did not understand too much about Alicia even after growing with her is that he was stupid and…….. clichéd.
This was the opinion the new Sigil had for everything except his Father and Alicia.
Dumb Bully, check.
Not having a shred of respect for his caretaker and one of the most beautiful girl just beside him, check.
Lustful for other beauties, check.
Arrogant and Stupid to the core, check.
Not having a shred of patience, check.
See, all the characteristics of a young master that could die at any moment.
Sigil even had an inkling that Ricardo, the poor target of Sigil, might just turn the table against him.
“Is it just me, or have you actually started to take interest towards your own Fiancé?”
Alicia smiled and squinted, feeling a little happy.
“What can I say? I think it's high time that I correct my ways.” He smiled faintly.
His words caused Alicia to feel refreshed. She wasn't stunned since she knew that Sigil would have to face his wrongdoings one day. She was just worried that by the time he faced his sins, it might have been too late.
“Well, this locket was given to me by Dad. He said it was the last thing my mother gave it to him before she left.” Alicia smiled sadly.
None of the Silver family knew about the status of The Mistress of the family since she left it for her own personal matters.
“Yeah! To be honest, even I would like to meet the mother of such a wonderful girl.” Sigil sighed as he slumped on the seat.
“Hehe.”
Alicia smiled as she suddenly turned her body and sat on Sigil's laps. Her lips sealed his’ and Sigil could feel a hand slipping past his neck along with the touch of something cold.
Sigil was stunned as he relished the sweet taste of Alicia's mouth. He may have been a virgin, but the original owner wasn't. The original owner had a thing for the local red light district and learned many exotic skills.
But Sigil didn't use any. It wasn't that he was being a good boy, he didn't have any chance since the kiss lasted for a very short moment.
Alicia sat back as she looked at Sigil's neck.
“Your locke-”
“It's a deal, my future husband. Since you have started to repent, I am willing to give you a chance once again. Don't let me down again, Sigil.”
‘Man, what mess have I transferred to?’
Sigil smiled bitterly inside his mind as he smiled back at Alicia.
The way she pulled her moves, it's no wonder she isn't a clichéd princess.
“You bet.” Sigil grinned a bit as he touched the cold and comfortable locket around his neck.
|
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"id": "8613",
"q": 0.8263636363636363,
"title": "Witch’s Journey (Hiatus) - Transmigrator Encounters Reincarnator",
"author": "Broughtwaorld",
"chapters": 44,
"rating": 4.2,
"rating_ct": 69,
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"Adult",
"Adventure",
"Comedy",
"Ecchi",
"Fantasy",
"Harem",
"Mystery",
"Supernatural"
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"tags": [
"Adopted Protagonist",
"Alchemy",
"Angels",
"Arrogant Characters",
"Beast Companions",
"Beasts",
"Beautiful Female Lead",
"Blacksmith",
"Bullying",
"Character Growth",
"Charismatic Protagonist",
"Charming Protagonist",
"Conspiracies",
"Corruption",
"Demi-Humans",
"Demons",
"Depictions of Cruelty",
"Elves",
"Special Abilities",
"Transmigration",
"Unique Cultivation Technique",
"Werebeasts",
"Witches",
"Wizards",
"World Tree"
]
}
|
"He isn't your father?"
"Yes! He was a bodyguard, a shield for my mother." Abbe explained a smile plastered across his face.
"And when she gave birth to you, you were given to him for him to continue as a shield. Hence the fake name of Memo." Lilith further explained jumping up and hugging Abbe.
They stayed in happy silence for a long amount of moments clue to a quarter hour. Separating Lilith was the first speaker, "That man knew you. He was close to your mother."
"What if that crossed out photo wasn't my mother?"
"We can't know, there wasn't anyone that haad your features besides the girl named, Rose E...something I can't remember now."
"Rose is enough. We can do the same thing we did for my dad." Abbe responded taking out his phone. About to type into the search bar he was evidently stopped by Lilith.
"We can't do that. For lack of better words, if they are powerful enough to wipe Memo from existence they can do the same for her."
"What do we do then? We are currently with nothing. If that man comes again we can question him."
"Let's go over your childhood story again. We can't make any rash choices."
Near immediately Abbe's smirk was back, "Who are the most powerful people in the city?"
"The Evergre- That's it! Rose Evergreen!"
Abbe typed in her name and painstakingly waited for the slow college internet to log the search results. "Come on, load faster!" They exclaimed in annoyance.
When the load finished the top link was to the family website. After even more loading they saw the family tree of the Evergreens. At the body was a girl with blond hair and blue eyes and a facial structure striking similar to Abbe's. Tears were visible in his own blue eyes as he made the realization in this whole situation.
"Our three years haven't been in vain. We found my mother...we found her."
"What now? We can't go there and be like hi I'm your son why haven't you been part of my life for 22 years. We also need to learn of what happened to Memo three years ago."
"We've made the guess he went to my mother and under some kind of agreement for protecting me, he can't interact with us."
"We have to help him in some way."
"We can help him by finishing the pieces, by getting some form of leverage on them."
The fell into silence both in thought trying to find some kind of answer.
"A risk not taken is a journey lost," Abbe mumbled typing in a name to the search bar, no results appeared.
"Most kids learn after the first time." The voice from three years ago followed after the breaking of a door off its hinges.
Abbe stood strong looking the man directly in the eyes his voice unwavering, "Can't learn if there is no lesson."
The tension was tight as the man walked, his footsteps echoed off the tile floor, "Interesting take. Well, I'm a busy man so let's get right to business. Do you want answers or your father?"
"I want both," Abbe spoke confidently and without hesitation.
"Not allowed, you get one or the other. Don't think your father can provide both choices because you won't be meeting him, it is either his death or you get answers."
"So I'm the leverage."
"Smart, you're right your father confirmed your existence and for that, he has been allowed to continue living."
"I won't sacrifice my father's life to get answers to questions that won't matter."
"Won't matter? Won't matter! Hahaha! Kid, you should be a comedian. You think this a joke to us?"
For the first time since the man appeared Lilith spoke, "A joke is the wrong word. A game fits better, we are only pawns but you are only a knight."
"Hahaha. Fitting, extremely fitting..." Following his hearty laugh, his face turned dark his eyes devoid of light.
"This isn't a game of chess. I'll ask again, your father or answers?"
Neither Lilith or Abbe replied both hesitant towards the repercussions of either choice they make.
Visibly annoyed at how long they were taking to answer him he continued, "If no answer is given within the next 15 seconds both opinions will be lost." Even with the threat, Abbe was still hesitant to make a choice. The room was deadly silent with the ticking seconds on the clock echoing in their heads.
15...I can't let the man who raised me for so many years die...12...I need to know the answers, the path backward is covered...7...I need to make a choice...3...2...
"Answers!" A voice echoed throughout the room, it wasn't Abbe's but Lilith's.
"Good choice." The man replied before taking a phone out of his pocket and saying a few words after dialing, "Kill him."
Abbe was unsure how to react his face showed his emotions of confusion and regret. He knew he couldn't make a choice and both would leave him in despair. He couldn't accept making the choice himself, "Thank you..." He lightly said looking over at Lilith with eyes filled with sadness.
"Let's start at the important point, Morte wasn't your father, but he wasn't a nobody. Morte was a boy who had nothing but at the request of Rose, he was given a second lease on life. He became her unofficial bodyguard and after five years developed feelings for her. She was unwilling to betray the orders of her family following his confession.
She married another man and within the next year gave birth to you. Rose gave you to him with the task of protecting you till you could look for the answers yourself. Morte was a man of honor and much like your mother wouldn't disagree with orders given to him.
You are expected to do what your mother couldn't." The man explained the backstory between Morte and Rose with few details.
After the information, all settled in their heads followed by a few needless questions Abbe wondered, "What am I expected to achieve that she couldn't?"
"Speak your heart to Roy."
|
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|
"Dad! Dad!" A young voice sounded throughout the room but was unheard by the man they were calling. He was laying on a chair, eyes closed, and headphones with music hearable to those not wearing them.
Poking the man, the child once again called for the man, "Dad! Dad!" Still left with no reaction.
Getting up on the chair the child pulls the headphones off and called for the third time, "Dad!"
In shock the man jumped up, "I'm up, I'm up. Did something die or explode?"
The child giggled at their father's reaction before answering him, "No, but I need help with a homework assignment."
The father rubbed his eyes before yawning and answering them, "What is it?"
The child pulled a folded piece of paper out their pocket and handed it over. Unfolding it the father's face was one of tiredness but upon reading the first sentence his green eyes were bright as if he had awoken hours before.
"You need to know how your parents met?"
The child energetically nodded a smile beaming from ear to ear.
The father was at a loss, his eyes lost that brightness they momentarily had. His voice was heavy and slow as he replied, "I need some time to think. Go play with your dolls I'll call when I know the answer."
Once the child left the room he picked up his phone and hesitated while he dialed someone. His face showed nervousness as he mouthed over and over, "Come on pick up. Come on."
"Hello, this is Abbe's father. I'm calling about his most recent homework assignment for English." His voice calm and collected,
----
"I don't give a damn!" He shouted.
----
Following the phone call, he put on the headphones and calmed his emotions before he called for Abbe. It didn't take long before the sound of rapid footsteps were heard running down the stairs and into the room his father sat. Abbe didn't sit down as he pivoted from one foot to another his excitement was through the roof.
"I'm not going to tell the story till you sit." Abbe's father was smiling despite trying hardest his to sound stern.
Abbe sat down quickly and after, his father nodded and began to tell the story of Abbe's parents.
"We first met at a tutoring event to where I spent more time sleeping than working. They defined your mom as the most beautiful and smartest woman in the city. I was there as required by the school and had no intentions of interacting with anyone. Little did I know she would start poking me with a ruler. I wasn't pleased upon waking up to a rule pushed against my arm and when she saw me open my eyes she hit my arm out from under my chin. My head in response fell without resistance to the desk, I knew I was in big trouble but her response was counter to my expectation, 'Everyone else has left. You plan to be here all night?' I lifted my head and looked around to see everyone had actually gotten up and left me. I shrugged it off and thought nothing of it as it was nothing new."
"If mom was so beautiful why wasn't it love at first sight?" Abbe interrupted.
"You'll understand when you're older, beautiful women are a dime a dozen especially with how the internet is these days. Now, are you going to interrupt again or allow me to finish?"
Abbe did the fake zip the lips and throw away the key before his father nodded and continued.
"I walked out the building alone before making it to a small beaten down one-floor house. I was the only one who lived there. I was the complete opposite of your mother, I was alone in my life while she was forever surrounded by others. Initially, it shouldn't have been possible for us but fate is weird that way. I saved your mom from some evil people and we ended up dating not long after.
We were the classic pig eating swan meat in real life. I was nothing before I was with your mother while she was everything without me. I had to time and time again prove I was worth her hand in marriage but if you ask her parents and family they will still deny me."
"How old were you when you met?" Abbe wondered out loud.
"I was a grad student while your mom was one of the professors I never had. I was in my late twenties and so was your mom."
Abbe thanked his day before he dashed back to his room to write down what he was just told. His father had to constantly retell the story as Abbe didn't get it down correctly but he never had a problem doing so.
"Dad why have I never met mom?"
"How about we go get some ice cream, for a job well done?"
At hearing the prospect of getting ice cream Abbe forgot about his previous question. Abbe ran to the car while his father slowly moved talking to himself, "You doing well out there Rose? Don't worry your son is doing well and is likely to repeat your fate. Who knows me might change the world in ways you couldn't."
His father paused at seeing Abbe smiling his blue eyes absorbing all the light around him and his blonde hair that reminded his father of the sun along with the childlike cuteness his father couldn't help but comment to himself, "He got your looks, if I wasn't sure I might confuse him for a girl some days."
"Come on dad, let's go get ice cream!" Abbe exclaimed in excitement.
|
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Years flew by and Abbe was in the middle of his high school years.
"Dad I would like to introduce my girlfriend Lilith."
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Abbe's father but you can call me Memo."
"A pleasure to meet you as well sir," Lilith states with a bright smile on her face.
"I have somewhere I need to be so I'll just trust Abbe to treat you well." Placing the headphones around his neck he walks out the front door after hearing goodbyes from both Lilith and Abbe.
"Where is your mother?" Lilith wondered out loud,
Abbe frowned, reluctant to answer. They stood in silence for moments before he answered, "I don't know, never met her."
"What do you know about her?"
"Very little, only a project from back in elementary school."
"Let's try and find her." She suggested.
"Huh?"
"Let's go find your mother." Her eyes shone like the aurora lights.
"No, if she wanted me to know her she would have come to meet me herself."
"Can you truly accept such a fate?" She tempted,
Abbe didn't reply. Him not replying was a show of emotions in and of itself.
"Let's go. We have to start at the beginning. Do you still have the story from your childhood?"
Abbe nodded and led her to his room and took out a dust-free and creased piece of paper from his dresser. Lilith read it over and with a smile shook her head, "This is all a lie. Every word of it is likely a lie, except a few parts."
"I expected as such. Never wished to admit it though." Abbe confessed with a hung head.
"From the looks of yourself and Memo, I would assume the lines of her being beautiful are true. Your father has brown hair and green eyes contrary to your blond hair and blue eyes. Your body shapes are completely different, yourself being slim and tall, while he is much more naturally athletic and broad. It's almost like he isn't your father." Lilith explained.
Abbe laid on his bed his eyes staring at the white ceiling. When he spoke his voice was soft and slow almost distant, "He may be a liar but he is my father."
Lilith was saddened at hearing how he spoke with such a hesitant-esique voice but spoke words of strong conviction. "Okay let's use the information we have to find some kind of clues about your mother."
"How do we do that when we know my father's words to be lies?" Abbe pondered his gaze still held by the ceiling.
"Your father is an author, so we have to take his words like we would a child narrator. Everything may be lies but there is a form of truth behind them." She elaborated,
Sitting up Abbe smiled taking the paper in hand, "I believe you're right. Okay, let's start at the beginning. We can assume he was a bad student from the opening words, I don't think he was in college though."
She nodded in agreement, "How many colleges require a student to go to tutoring? He went to a local small liberal arts college as well and from when I was looking they didn't seem like those types of professors."
"He may have been in high school."
"That would be my guess as well. Does he still have a yearbook around?"
Abbe took a thinker position as recreated the house in his head. He almost believed there wasn't until he thought back to his dad's kitchen cabinets. "1996 behind the cookbooks in the top left cabinet." He replied with a bright smile to which Lilith returned. Neither of them spoke as they bolted down the stairs and looked where Abbe remembered and when they pushed away the cookbooks, the yearbook was there plain as day.
Abbe looked at Lilith with reluctant eyes to which she nodded and took the book out for him. They sat on the sofa and flipped through the pages. As they flipped through the pages they found one photo and name scribbled out. From what they could predict that was Abbe's mother. There were a few others who stood out to them but each of them had a reason for them to be crossed out of the list. One had blond hair but no blue eyes, blue eyes but no blond hair, and one who fit the bill but wore braces, headphones, and glasses. To put a cherry on top they would also define her as ugly or not good looking at best. They thought it might have been her but there was too much noise with the objects to get a clear idea even when placed side by side.
"Your father has gone a long way to hide traces of your mother."
"There must be more to the story we are missing."
"Maybe the evil people aren't a lie..." Lilith pondered out loud.
"Let's see if my father always had the same body shape."
They looked for Abbe's father but found no one with the name Memo, but they did find someone remarkably similar to Memo with the same last name, Morte Curtail.
The two were in disbelief, this temptation had brought them down a rabbit hole they saw no end to. A person crossed out, a father with a new name, a past that is a lie. They had gone too deep but they were already too deep to fill the whole back up and forget about it. They would instead continue to dig and see where they ended up.
They brought out their phones and searched the name Morte Curtail and the name of his high school. There were no results which was more freaky than if something had shown up.
"There is someone very powerful blocking everyone from knowing the truth," Lilith stated.
Abbe just nodded in agreement. The two sat in silence for a long while unsure of where to go now. This was broken when the front door was thrown open and was followed by a shout, "Morte I thought I told you to burn the book!"
Neither of them replied the house drifted to a deadly silence. Soon another shout followed, "Morte answer me! Where is the book?"
Their footsteps were loud and in rhythm like a march of a thousand soldiers. The man made his way to the living room where Lilith and Abbe were but only Abbe was still within sight. "You! Kid! Where is Morte?"
"No one by that name lives here only my father, Memo and myself." Abbe acted ignorant of the truth.
"You trying to pull a fast one?" The man exclaimed.
"Sir I think you need to calm down," Abbe suggested walking towards the man.
"You need to start telling the truth! Where is Morte! Or better yet where is the book!" The man bellowed meeting Abbe's stride.
"I. Don't. Know."
The man didn't hesitate and grabbed Abbe by the neck. "I'm going to give you one last chance. Where is the book?" The man demanded.
Abbe remained silent. The tension between the two growing by the second. Abbe's eyes were resolute towards his ignorance not showing weakness even towards the idea of death.
Neither were willing to give in and after an extended period of time, neither of them needed to. Lilith couldn't stand the pressure and threw the book at the man.
"Here take it. Let Abbe go." Tears running down her cheeks.
"It seems you have a good girlfriend." The man praised before dropping Abbe and picking the book up off the ground. Lilith rushed over and held Abbe in her arms afraid of any injuries done to him.
Walking out he bellowed, "Forget everything you both know because the fate I will return to you if you look into this again is one worse than death."
|
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For hundreds of years I did not view this universe as the real one. Aside from Chel who was born in this world every other person composing me was from the "real world". Your universe is something I am intimately familiar with, and I would I hope I am, after all the humans in my universe created it. That may be hard to accept even if you could accept that I am not from your universe but nonetheless it is true. In the other world, which I will continue to refer to as the real one, this universe was a game. A highly advanced game fueled by a star but a game. As someone from the real world I believed this one to be nothing but a dream or simulation. Maybe I was even still in the game but just not aware of it. I hope this mindset can explain how I was capable of some of the cruel acts I committed.
In the real world there is no such thing as tri-space and as such without access to superluminal space, convenient faster than light travel is impossible. Wormholes are still a possibility but we lack the required exotic matter and even if we had it the limitation of sending them out at sublight speeds existed. We tried generation ships. Maybe putting about at sublight speeds wouldn't be so bad. I bet most of you are laughed even now at the stupidity. As is common here the group we sent out got to the system it wanted to, colonized a rock and promptly collapsed. Maintaining a colony in space is just too hard when any supplies needed will only get there a few centuries later.
Despite all that we had confirmed life on other planets existed. Our failed colony found a biosphere another world and atmosphere spectroscopy had advanced to the point where we got new positives every week. We had finally answered the age old question: Are we alone? Knowing just made it worse. We knew there was life out there but we were unable to meet it. In the real world there are just as many species if not more but each one is trapped forever in the gravity well of their stars, doomed never to encounter another.
Thus when presented with a bleak and hopeless world humanity made their own. We wanted to exist in a world where we could travel and meet exotic cultures among the stars. This is that universe. This is the game called Frontier.
This is where Harris Harmes enters the story. Like many in his era Harris was game content. Its a social structure that doesn't exist in this world, perhaps because the people in the real one didn't want to acknowledge it existed. At a glance the real world seemed to be a utopia where every citizen had their needs met but this was only done so as to create living game content for the rich and powerful. These players would never rule over worlds or command great fleets. As such many found other hobbies such as exploration, hacking or singing. Harris was an archivist.
Living off of meat paste and corn meal Harris wasted his life before dying a pitiful death. When he next woke up he found himself sharing a body with a woman who couldn't be more different. Something caused his mind to move into the body of Chel Lokain which was drifting in the void of space. After being rescued, the woman everyone thought was dead opened her eyes. At that time, I was born.
Skamandrios | January 24th 2208
Stuck between two pillars the station's artificial sun reflected off of the small lake beside which two bikini clad women were lounging.
"Do you really plan on letting your brother be the next heir?"
"Mm hmm, he's smart, dedicated, driven and most importantly, not me."
"I'm not saying I started dating you for your wealth and prestige but I won't deny that was a factor."
The woman next to me took a long sip from her martini. She was a rising star in the Lokain group, projected to become Vice-Director of the west shipyard in under ten years.
"I'm hurt Adrita," I gasped, "I genuinely thought you started dating me for my sense of humor."
"The only humorous thing you've ever said is implying you're funny." She snorted. "Are you seriously going to give up all of this?" She gestured at the natural beauty around us. "I get that being ejected from an airlock is pretty traumatic but did you just decide to stop living?"
I gazed around admiring the artificial ecosystem my family had set up, one of the few green places left after the exodus from Earth. Finally my eyes rested on Adrita's cleavage.
"Just the opposite, I finally realized how to live properly. I won't spend another minute slaving away like a poor person would. From now on I'll simply sit back and enjoy my life of luxury!"
|
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|
Many call me heartless.
I feel that's rather naive of them. No one is more excused for the crimes they've committed. Nobody would be able to retain their empathy after what I went through. A hundred people merged into one. Living far, far longer than any human should. Having committed just the few genocides is already a rather impressive result in my opinion.
As heartless as I may be, when facing what I hope to be my death, I can't help but feel sentimental. I'm not a bad person and if I'm going to be remembered as one I at least want my story heard. I want people to understand the choices I made. The ones that saved this galaxy. Maybe to the average person I seem more evil than the Null Order but that only means I succeeded. If a girl who blew up a few stars is considered a greater scourge than those intergalactic strip miners then every death I caused was worth it.
That is why I hope you read this story. The story of a girl named Chel. Savior of the galaxy who betrayed the united fleets. Heaven Burner. World Crusher. Death Cheater. This is the story of the woman known as the Immortal Starkiller.
The truth is, the Immortal Starkiller isn't of this world. Only the mortal part of me is. Only Chel Lokain. Born the heir to a backwater shipbuilder Chel was killed by her own power-hungry brother. On that day a new creature was born. She wasn't the Starkiller yet, but she was certainly Immortal. It wasn't until nearly a century passed that she gained a level of power that would make anyone think of the current me. She killed her first star at four hundred.
Maybe to the Valdorn I still seem young, but to most species I'm downright ancient. Especially so for humans. Even the most advanced cybernetics and gene treatments have only gotten some rich bastards into their third century of life. In two weeks I turn 576. What an absurd number. I'm old enough that a history of humanity in space may as well be the biography your reading. With any luck, my suicide will go off without a hitch and that birthday will be my last. That'll make a lot of people happy. The end of the Immortal Starkiller.
I find it quite funny that after all the effort others put into killing me, the one to end my life would be none other than myself. I hope their celebration is founded. Not much seems to be capable of killing me at this point. I'm left with only one real option. Sagittarius A*. I've crushed a few black holes in my time, but even I should be affected if I enter a supermassive one. When that happens all that will be left of my presence in the galaxy will be hushed whispers and this book. Read on to learn about the history of the galaxy's most controversial figure. A history that begins with the death of the mortal Chel Lokain who was reborn when she fused with Harris Harmes.
|
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Preya had a sudden glint in her eyes when she noticed Max was not paying attention. She leaped from her Master's shoulder and headed for Max's face.
Max was still thinking of how he could probably ask Lumi to help him however there was a sudden silhouette in front of him. He was surprised by the sudden attack, all he could do was take it head on as it was too close when he realized it. The small silhouette suddenly turned into a big one, and with a swoosh sound Preya attacked with a straight punch to Max's face.
Max used both of his arms to cover his face, unfortunately, the attack did not come but a seeming shadow passed through his defense and hit him square in the stomach. Max went flying due to the force of the punch, he slid and left some marks on the ground.
Max tasted a metallic taste in his mouth. He spits the blood on the ground, he almost vomited the food that he ate. He immediately chanted a healing spell to heal his aching body. Preya was making "hek hek" sounds while hitting her lap as if she found everything amusing.
Sfx *whistle*
Both of them turned stiff as they heard the whistle. Preya turned back to her monkey form and ran as fast as lightning, heading towards the sound of the whistle, she did not even bother with Max.
It was their Master's call, it meant they had to head to his place without delay or both of them would suffer the consequences. Max followed behind Preya, he did not want to lose sight of the slippery and cunning monkey. He swore he'd definitely take his revenge and that there won't be a next time for her to sneak attack him.
Max's Master was waiting under the shade of a tree. It was his decision that Preya should attack Max when he was pre-occupied. Max has good perception and combat ability but there are times that he is too comfortable that he forgets his surroundings. He wanted Max to be always in a state of caution, he wanted to let Max know that there are enemies hidden everywhere who can attack you at any moment without notice.
Now that Max will be known as a Master class Light Magus, the extremists of the Goddess of Darkness believers would surely put him in their kill list. Once they obtain the information that Max can deal with high ranking demons, it was only a matter of time before they attack.
This was one of his grandmother's worry which is why he asked Evander to protect Max in their journey. The extremists from the Goddess of Darkness have been known to deal with potential threats to them. Blooming young mages murdered with cold blood, there were far too many examples which is why the Magic Tower made sure to secure mages with high potential. Their information is locked in their systems and only the higher-ups know of their existence.
However, for the last couple of years, there have been leaks with information which lead to the death of some young mages. One thing is for sure, someone was leaking the information and it was one of his grandmother's close confidante's in the magic tower.
Now that something happened to Max, she believes that it was not a coincidence. There are only a few people who knew their purpose in arriving in the Magic tower and those people are the ones who assessed Max's potential.
His grandmother was sure that it was not Verdi as she had made a pact in front of everyone that Max will be a friend to the elves and that he was always welcome to visit them. Verdi is well respected in the elven forest and considered part of the high council. She believes that if there was someone she could ask for help, it was from the elf mage Verdi.
This was also the reason why they did not let anyone accompany Max on his travel. It was very dangerous and full of peril. Protecting one person will be easier instead of many.
Evander did not hesitate to take it upon himself and protect Max in the journey. He might now show his emotions towards Max, but he has gotten close to the hard-working kid who never gave up. He was watching the kid grow up to be a man. He did not have a child in this life and Max was the closest to one he could ever have.
Not long after the whistle the two, monkey and man stood in front of their Master. It looks like they have used all their strength to run as fast as they could as both could be seen heaving and catching their breath.
Preya slowly moved towards her master and clung to his arms as usual. She did not have the energy to annoy Max as she just clung there like a koala not minding anything.
"We are only a day and a half away from the front lines if we continue without rest," His master paused and looked at Max while talking.
"…" Max
"Since it is almost sundown we will set camp here for you to rest," His master went back to his spot and sat there to meditate.
Max was glad he could eat and rest, he looked around and saw his unmoving master. It seems he had to take care of the food himself. He acted quick and prepared everything necessary like it was clockwork. He was used to feeding himself while he was training with his Master.
Looking at the horizon, he saw that he had perhaps an hour to catch a prey and prepare it.
|
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Memo came home to the door still ajar and was hesitant to enter. Checking his phone he saw no message. Taking inventory of where he keeps his knife he makes his way in ready for a fight.
"Abbe?" He called,
"Dad?" Abbe exclaimed his voice broken from sadness.
"What happened here!" Memo bellowed.
Abbe stares at the ground forcing Lilith to answer for him. She explained how they looked into Abbe's mother and the events following the choice. The time between the man leaving and Memo coming were less than 10 minutes.
"Not sure who I should be more angry at myself or him." Memo commented having taken a seat on the couch Abbe and Lilith sitting across from him.
Neither of them so spoke so Memo continued, " You shouldn't have looked into Abbe's mom but I guess I can't blame you for that. Yes my real name is Morte and yes it is related to Abbe's mother, this whole thing is. Do you remember what the man looked like? Hair color, eye color, body shape?"
"Brunette, your age, with red eyes I would have expected to be angry but were grief-stricken. Who is he?" Abbe explained.
Memo nodded in response releasing a heavy breath,"He is no one."
His face angry and fists clenched ready to fight. "I should suggest you two to follow his words, don't look into my past nor your mother's..."
"We understand."
"But I'm not going to do that. You deserve the truth of the situation you have been thrown into." The previous downcast looks they both held were replaced with looks of confusion and happiness.
"My life is one like a novel. I left clues in situations for you to solve my past but I expected it to be many years later from now. You obtained my personality, not your mother's."
"I wouldn't have looked into it if Lilith hadn't pushed me to look for the truth."
Memo smiled, "Fitting choice for a name. We digress. I can't give you all the answers, I can only be a shield and lead the way.
I was actually never married to your mother.
That sentence is enough to tell the whole story. Take the story I told you when you were younger and solve the missing pieces of information. I have some unfinished business to take care of."
Neither Lilith or Abbe responded and when Memo walked out the front door a coat over his shoulder and a hat covering his face he faded to black. He never came back, leaving Abbe to live on his own.
As the two sat across from one another in a college dorm room Abbe shot up and shouted, "I did it! I solved it! I know what we have been missing this whole time."
Lilith's and Abbe's eyes glistened as happiness spread over their face.
"He isn't my father! That is the fact we have both missed for 3 years."
|
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|
The heart is a weird organ for when making tough choices we are told to speak from it.
After much confusion and arguing Abbe reluctantly agreed to meet Roy and do what his mother couldn't.
Alone they existed in a room isolated from everywhere else. Roy sat on a throne overlooking Abbe who was ridden with anger at the man who believed himself to be king.
"Confusing wish is it not?" Roy spoke in an arrogant and knowing tone.
Abbe was slow to respond his voice caught in his throat, "A wish is only confusing to the men who don't make it."
"You got Morte's tongue, a pitiful truth... but an honest one nonetheless." Roy laughed, his speech condescending.
"To own the tongue of a world-refuted author is no pity. The pity is the inability to see it's worth." Abbe rebutted.
Roy broke into a wide smile, "So what is your heart's wish?"
"A wish? I wish to go back in time. I wish to never look into my past. I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish to not fall into temptation. I wish to not follow the path of death of a loved one. I wish to change history. I wish... I wish... I wish... I can be here all day making wishes of regrets I hold from actions I can never change; however, that isn't why I'm here.
I'm supposed to speak my heart, but how does one speak from an organ that holds no lips? How does speak their emotions when anger is their only one? How does one filled with pride admit he is nothing but a pebble? How does a man of action speak his thoughts when his actions are his words?
My heart holds no possible wishes." Abbe concludes.
Following Abbe's rant, silence ensued only to be broken by Roy clapping, "A worthy man. Words that were spoken from the heart." He praised.
"I'm-"
"I'm not done yet nor are you." Roy interrupted.
He continued in response to Abbe's nod, "The words of impossible wishes are ones you do in fact hold, those are true. You aren't telling the whole story though. No man is without wishes, you have walked down the path reach its dead end." (1)
Abbe didn't answer Roy for a long period of time; his eyes locked with Roy's.
"I hold no possible wishes." His speech unwavering.
"Goodbye then, you are no different than your mother if you can't speak the truth in front of overwhelming power." Roy stood up and turned to leave the room. Abbe stood rooted to place despite Roy's actions.
"You're a bastard!" His voice rose for the first time in this conversation.
"Oh?" Roy turned back curious.
"You're no king, no god, no ruler. You're a mortal like everyone before and after you. Do you believe the power you hold allows you to look down on the rest of the world? That it gives you the ability to step on others like ants?
You want to hear what my heart thinks? You are nothing more than a piece of shit! This whole family is! Memo, my father, is the only one I will refer to as my family."
"Spiteful at such a young age too. How will you change the truths you state though? Do you hold solutions or only fancy words that are useless without action?"
"I won't change it. I want nothing to do with it. You're right I do have a possible wish."
"What is it?"
"For me to have no connection to this family."
"A worthy heir."
"I decline."
"You don't want power?"
"No power is worth losing your way in life."
"With power, you create a new way."
"With the loss of the old one. One I would rather not lose. I have someone I love, someone who means more to me than anything else in the world."
"You are different than your mother. She folded the point you're at now. The look of anger in your eyes are the same as her own."
"I may be her son but she isn't my mother. I only had a single father."
"You're right, Rose was weak; your birth father even worse."
"I want answers."
"And you are worthy of them, you gave up more than enough for such. Morte was a good man, a man I wanted as a son. He was headstrong yet smart while putting his loved ones before all else. Rose wasn't strong enough to betray my rule unlike yourself.
I put her in this situation when she asked to marry your father instead of a rich boy. She wavered as the argument continued and under the pressure of losing everything she folded. I was displeased and if it was my choice she would have been disowned; that was her wish though. A failure isn't worthy of wishes though.
Hearing of your birth I had you sent to the man, I knew would be able to send you on a path that would allow you to achieve what Rose couldn't, betray my rule."
"Everything was done by you?"
"Exactly, all of your actions were forced by myself. Even the woman you believe you love so much was nothing more than a pawn in this."
"What!"
"Yes, Lilith was only a wall in the maze so you followed the way I wished you to."
Abbe was shocked, his body crumbling under the honest truth. "What about my father?"
"A man who disobeyed me, may he rest in peace." Roy closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"My wish is for all you to be out of my life. I forfeit my right to the power." Abbe turned to walk out of the room beams of light entering the dark room from the opened door.
"The family shall end with you then."
"As it should."
Abbe walked down the street a newspaper in hand with the date February 29, 2028, the headline reading, "Evergreen Family collapsed following the death of Roy Evergreen at age 92." For the first time since that day Abbe smiled, "It is all finally over."
He made his way back to his small apartment to find a familiar face inside, "It's been a long time Abbe." Her voice juat as soft and tempting as before.
"I missed you." He answered.
"I as well." She replied followed by a hug between the two.
END.
|
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"Lumi!" Max shouted as Lumi suddenly disappeared from his sight.
[Max I'm here] Lumi transmitted her thoughts in his mind.
It had the same feeling and connection when they were trapped in his consciousness, but this time, she could transmit words through their connection.
"Where are you?" Max asked in his mind.
[Its weird, this looks like the place where we first met] Lumi replied to Max.
Max was trying to process what Lumi said, then looked at his hand. The dagger which turned silver in color. It felt like the dagger was part of his body, he moved it with one slashing motion, and a white beam of light emanated from it.
"More important than that, you can speak now Lumi?" Max asked, trying to confirm if this was a lasting effect.
Lumi replied, [No, it's only when I'm in here. I wanted to talk with you for a long time now, but my current self is not enough to communicate with you without the help of this dagger]
"I understand. I want to talk with you more, but we don't have the time right now." Max looked ahead, the cracks on the barrier continued to spread and all apart, and how a window made of glass break, everything fell apart in one last swoop from the demon's tail.
Sfx *GRAAAAWWWRR*
"Get ready Lumi, he's coming." Max held tightly to his dagger, gathering more of his mana.
The demon appeared right in front of Max with great force, he could feel the wind on his face just from the aftershock of the demon's previous attack.
Sfx *kwack*
The sound of tail hitting the granite floor resounded, the deformed floor is a testament to how strong the attack was, it was something that did not get destroyed no matter how the adventurers or the monsters attack, but when the demon's one attack hit the floor, the floor caved in with cracks surrounding it.
Max, on the other hand, was able to easily dodge the attack to the side as the demon's attack was delayed by the barrier that was destroyed.
Max follow up with an attack with his sidestep, the mana that accumulated in the dagger is shining brightly with white light. He slashed with all his might at the body part that he could reach which was the demon's right arm.
Sfx*GRAAAAWR*
The demon shouted in rage when Max's attack hit it. The attack was effective, as smoke can be seen from the wounded part of the demon. Max did not stand still when he found out that his attack was effective, with another side step and going around the back of the enemy's blind spot, he went for the back of the demon with a leap, Max was able to hit the left side of the shoulder blade of the demon. The demon once again gave another thunderous shout from the pain.
The successive attacks caused the demon to stagger for a bit and took a step back, Max saw this as a chance and went around the demon's body with lightning speed, this time he went for the demon's thorax, as the demon core was located in that spot.
Using both hands to hold the dagger tightly, Max went in to stab the demon.
Sfx *GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR*
With another angry roar, the demon's anger could not be contained anymore as the roar felt like an attack to Max who was in front of its body, holding tightly on the dagger. Unfortunately, with the robust body of the demon, the dagger's length was not enough to reach its core.
Max removed the dagger and was trying to prepare for another attack, but as soon as he took a step away from his enemy.
Sfx *swoosh*
Max was hit directly on his body, his body was flying like an airplane that ran out of control. With the force of the tail attack of the demon, Max's momentum only stopped when he hit the dungeon walls.
Sfx *thump*
He fell on the floor while coughing blood, his arm which he used to receive most of the attack is broken. Max thought he was lucky that it was only broken, it seems like a couple of his ribs are broken, he was bleeding from all over his body due to the demon's tail.
Sfx *cough cough*
A beam of light descended on Max's body which came from the dagger that he was holding. Warm light flooded his body as his breathing became stable.
"Thank you Lumi," Max said in appreciation.
Max looked at the location of the demon, he was flung far away from the demon. He can see the demon standing tall in the same palace without moving. It seems to be observing him, waiting for the next move.
He can see the smoke coming out from its body had not disappeared, it seems that light magic is the bane of darkness creatures since olden times. It was not able to regenerate the wounded parts, this gave Max hope that he is able to defeat the demon.
|
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Max walked down the hall while looking around the place. The people were curious but did not approach him. He went to the infirmary to ask for the person in charge, following what his grandmother told him. There were no walls that divided this large hall, only curtains were drawn indicating that there is a person inside.
Max stood outside of one drawed curtain and announced his arrival. "Excuse me. I'm Max and I'm looking for the person in charge of the infirmary."
The curtains swayed as the person inside heard his voice. There was movement inside the curtains as steps were heard coming near his position.
"Swoosh"
The curtains moved and a person who looked to be in his 40's appeared. He had grey hair and a grey beard. It might be his natural color but Max was not sure. There are wrinkles that can be seen near his eyes and some lines on his forehead. While Max was observing the person in charge, the other person was doing the same. He was informed by the head that her grandson will be coming to assist while he was in the fortress. It was said that he is well versed in healing types of magic from light to heavy injuries. He happily accepted having a person with such capabilities under his wing. However, he did not expect the person to be so young. He looked at Max who seemed to be a teenager, a boy who is around 14 or 15 years old.
The head said that his potential is high, which is equivalent to a person being able to have high standings in the mage tower in the future. Having a good relationship with people who are able to climb to the upper echelons would surely be beneficial for his future.
The person in charge reached for Max's hand as a sign that he wanted to shake his hand as a greeting. Max took the other person's hand without hesitation and shook it once before letting go. This was the normal greeting for men in the human race.
"Welcome to our small infirmary. It may be small but we have a purpose in this fortress. We are here to support the soldiers who fight in the war, making sure that they can come back to their families alive." The person in charge said.
Max thought the statement was a bit lacking. Why are they only hoping for the person to return alive but not in a good condition? He did not ask for this as he knows in his heart, the answer.
War is inhumane.
You kill or you get killed, therefore, they do not have allowances for the opposing party. They give it their all, and that is to kill.
He understood what it meant but his heart could not bear to see his fellow countrymen dying. If they could do something shouldn't they help?
As healers, it is their calling to heal a person completely. Not by letting them live or survive but by letting them live as the same way they came as soldiers… complete!
He had these thoughts but he did not say it in front of the person in charge. Maybe he was too naïve and has not experienced a war that is why he had these thoughts. He would experience it himself to see if his belief would falter or if he can make a difference in the battlefield.
Max was having these thoughts while the person in charge continued to introduce Max to their procedures and assignments once the injured soldiers come in.
"You can call me Thomas. For now, I would like to introduce you to the other healing mages in the infirmary. In case something happens, it is best to know your fellow healers that may assist you if you are having difficulties." Thomas said kindly as he explained the ins and outs in the infirmary.
Hierarchy did not matter in the infirmary as they only have one purpose. To heal the injured! They heal everyone no matter who he is or what his family signifies. This was the rule of the infirmary.
Thomas and Max approached a group of men and women who are aged from 20's to their 40's. There are 7 who are currently in the infirmary at the moment but they totaled to 20 healers, not including Max and the Head which was Max's grandmother. Thomas explained this while he introduced the 7 people.
The people looked at Max with slight interest as they gave a precursory greeting. However, their interest did not last long as Thomas led Max to another destination.
"Since there are no attacks from the demon's army, there aren't many people who are in need of healing. A couple of injured soldiers from accidents, but they are minimal as you can see. There are fewer people in the infirmary but once there is a battle the other mages will gather here." Thomas wanted Max to be fully informed of the situation in the infirmary. He did not want Max to be lax as he was too young that inexperience with wars, or so he thought.
Max listened attentively to Thomas' explanations. He did not know how long before the elf's envoy will arrive so he made sure to be able to assist the other light mages while he was here. The elf's territory is said to be a month and a half travel by normal means. In that case, he wanted to see the demon race's battle prowess. He wanted to compare the demon that was summoned with the demons who are living in this world.
|
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Max woke up early the next day. He went to find his grandmother and was told by the soldiers that she was in the infirmary.
He was walking through the hallways while observing the infirmary. As he continued to walk, a wide room can be seen with single bed laid near each other. There are curtains that divide the beds and a small drawer beside it. One stool was under the beds that can be pulled out easily. The place was larger than a normal sized infirmary in his past life calling it a room was an understatement. It looked more like a basketball court with how wide the place was. The place had a couple of young-looking mages with their white robes as they moved about the place.
They would look at him once he passes them but did not greet him. He did not think much of this as he continued on his way to find his grandmother. He continued walking and found the only detached room connected to this place. There was a small garden with plants and flowers. He remembered how her mother told him that his grandmother liked to take care of fauna so he knew he was in the right place. He knocked on the door and informed the people inside of his arrival.
"Come in Max." His grandmother Milana called out.
Once he got in, he saw that the interiors looked warm and cozy. It must have been designed to suit his grandmother's taste. Compared to the living quarters that he used, this detached room looked homely.
Max thought of how long his grandparents have stayed in this fortress and he felt some sadness in his heart. Their lives were so different compared to his grandparents. He felt his life was spent in luxury and tranquility without the worries of life. His grandparents, however, had to deal with the hard life of being soldiers on the frontlines. They were away from their family and friends for 15 years without any break. There were constant enemy attacks and the battlefield was only a couple of fields away from where they were.
Max had seen the soldiers in this fortress and it was evident enough of how hard it was to live in a war-torn environment every single day.
"Come and take a seat child." Her grandmother beckoned Max to sit down while she prepared some tea and snacks for Max.
"Did you like the books that I've sent your mother?" She said with a kind smile while pouring tea on a cup.
Max gratefully accepted the tea and replied, "Yes grandmother. They were very helpful. Thank you."
He had always appreciated the fact that his grandmother would take the time to send him books that are necessary for training. She would also visit once in a while to see his and her sister's condition. She was a caring grandmother that liked to look after her grandkids. However, she had to stay away due to the war.
She had an important role in the fortress as the main support in the battlefield. Many lives would have been lost if she was not there, healing the soldiers and supporting the new recruits of light magicians. Even if grandmother was to be told that her services are not deemed necessary, she would probably stay due to grandfather.
Her grandmother looked seriously at Max and said, "I called for you to explain some things."
Max paid full attention at her grandmother's behest.
"I got the message from your mother. The demon attacks have been happening in the recent years so it did not come as a surprise. Summoning demons from another plane through a ritual was never unheard of. People can summon beings from another plane by using rituals, books from the ancient era have explanations and descriptions are depicted in those books, as long as you can understand them you have the chance to summon a being from another plane. However, it was the first time someone reported that a demon recited an incantation without any effects on the said person's body."
Max looked at his grandmother in surprise when he heard her explanation. "Beings can be summoned from other planes. Was his spirit also summoned in this world? Was he given this chance for a reason? If he reincarnated in this world, why were his memories not erased?" he had these thoughts for a long time but had left them in the back of his brain.
"Wait. If it is possible to summon someone, does that mean it is also possible to reverse the ritual for me to travel through planes?" Max's interests grew as there might be a chance to travel through planes. There was a slim chance but has anybody tried to do the same thing as his thoughts? He wondered.
|
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