《Adonis:On》


 Adonis 1: My Death

    Adonis Online, or simply AdOn, was the very first game to come out using OnLive¡¯s virtual reality technology. It was a launch title that boasted near reality in a virtual space. For years, it was heralded as one of the best things to come out of the gaming industry for a long time.


    Now however? It has become nothing more than a shell of it¡¯s past glory. It was inevitable, of course, that a game would lose its luster after a few years. Still, it¡¯s regarded as one of the best games of the century, pioneering the technology forward.


    Maybe it was to honor its effect on the company, or even the world at large, but OnLive kept its servers up and running and promised to keep it running for as long as the company existed. Even a hundred or so years later, they still kept their promise.


    There¡¯s a thing in the industry called ¡°Nostalgia Gaming¡± where people look past the aged appearance and still play their old childhood classics, as would a bookworm re-read his favorite books. Similar to that, I¡¯ve decided to do my final act of nerdhood, to die in real life within a virtual world of my choosing.


    I was nearing my limit, even with advanced healthcare and technology near sci-fi, the siren call of death was ever looming. I was already aged 231, my life was way overdue. I had given the company to my heir and asked him to keep my promises alive for the future, no matter what. I don¡¯t trust that idiot son of mine, but I want to think he¡¯d at least honor it.


    I shrugged the thought off. No, I didn¡¯t want to die with worry. I wanted to live the rest of my life in the world of my creation, in the world I¡¯ve crafted with several of my best writers, the best of my tech team, and a shitload of money. In a way, you could say that I¡¯ll die where I stood and where I started.


    I laid down on the white bed with a smile as content as I could show. I had several line hooked on my body, all lines preserving the very inches of my life. I¡¯m sure it was an astronomical amount, but now I¡¯m free of it.


    Several of my doctors stood beside me on the bed. All ten of them not even half my age. Their faces were solemn and did not speak a word, but I could tell there was a sadness in them.


    ¡°You did your best, good men and women.¡± I told them as I rest my head on a metal headrest. ¡°You¡¯ll lose your paycheck after this, but what can you do? Even if I add another trillion dollars to my health, best I could hope for is a few more months.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Chin up, lads and lasses. Give me a damn good smile in my passing, and tell my idiot son to atleast visit my grave every so often. I¡¯d get lonely.¡± I eased up the atmosphere, and I felt it lighten up slightly.


    ¡°The contract¡¯s off after I¡¯m dead. Use your research on this frail body to help the world. Hell, you guys might even get as rich as me with that.¡± I weakly pointed at the back with my thumb, to the machine that kept my alive for so long. ¡°Sell it for whatever, I have it on my will to give it to Xavier.¡±


    One of the doctors, an aged one walked up to my bed. He was half my age with several cybernetic attachments to his body. His mechanical eyes scanned me with a red laser. He nodded to himself, mumbled, and faced me.


    ¡°Finally kicking the bucket¡± The old man said, his voice was monotone and mechanical with gear wheezing as he spoke.


    ¡°And here¡¯s that piece of shit quack, You going to miss me?¡± I push up my hand and flipped him the bird, my one last act.


    ¡°Now I will be world famous as the man that controls life.¡±


    ¡°On my dime.¡±


    ¡°Irrelevant. Tell me, when did investors have their name on the product?¡±


    ¡°Were they also a genius that pushed technology over a hundred years?¡±


    Xavier clicked his tongue with a wheezing of his mechanical nature. He closed his eyes, then heaved a sigh from his mouth orifice, now actually using his own voice. His was a voice ragged and cracked as mine. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll miss this friendship.¡±


    ¡°Called it. Bring out the pool!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± One of the younger doctors shouted across the room, in his hands was a clipboard with several stacks of papers pinned to it. He gave me a thumbs up and a cheeky, toothy grin. ¡°And that¡¯s a million dollars to me.¡± The doctor said off-hand.


    ¡°Now I¡¯ve got a billion dollars more to bring to the grave.¡± I laughed.


    ¡°This is what I get for oiling my mechanical heart?¡± Xavier returned to his robotic voice as he stepped near my headrest. ¡°You have said your goodbyes, it is now time to enjoy your life in the next world.¡± He said, placing his hands on the handles of my virtual reality machine, ready to clamp it all the way down.


    ¡°In Adonis Online.¡± I gently called out to its title.


    ¡°For Crossia, may her reign prosper.¡±


    I gasped. ¡°You remembered my favorite faction.¡±


    ¡°You never shut up about it. Good night Chris. I will meet you there when my time is to come.¡±


    ¡°Looking at your ugly mug, it¡¯ll be soon.¡±


    Leaving with those words, Xavier harrumphed with his characteristic artificial voice and closed the lid on my virtual reality machine. It covered my entire body and once it was clamped shut, I felt the nerve gas exhaust from the many small holes in the container. The last thing I saw was the sad face of my best friend over the glass.


    Most possibly, the last Xavier saw was my shit-eating grin.

 Adonis 2: Memories

    As I slowly opened my eyes, what filled my sight was the digital background of blocks and cubes that players appeared in when they logged. It was nothing more than a space where their avatars were loaded and acted as a loading screen. It was a free space, and you could enter the game by stepping foot on the door frame.


    ¡°This feeling...¡± I felt the contours of my avatar with digital hands, feeling every sensation of its smooth skin. I pinched on it, and I felt a pang of pain all too nostalgic to me. A smile floated on my face as I felt droplets smear my features.


    ¡°All too familiar...¡± I trailed off and choked back on the emotions.


    I wiped off the digital tears off my face. No crying, absolutely not. This wasn¡¯t the countenance of the man who created this world. Besides, to show it to my child would be far too pathetic. ¡°Right?¡± I asked to no one but the system.


    ¡°Welcome back, Immersed.¡± Just then, a female voice announced. A voice that gave me joy and grief. After all, I used her voice for our child.


    The voice came from a projected holographic to the side of the digital space. It was still, expressionless, only standing in a polite posture as expected of a secretary.


    ¡°Good to be back, Nis. Good to be.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to activate your administrator privileges?¡±


    ¡°Do that for me, sweetie.¡±


    No sooner did a black-green screen pop up from my heads-up-display. It was a holographic model of an old-world, retro computer system. There was a keyboard, a mouse, and several monitors all connected together.


    A smile tugged at my lips as I remembered. ¡°Xavier would cream to work on old-world tech. Hear me pal? I¡¯ve got something you WISHED you had.¡± I shouted to the ceiling, or whatever it is that could be considered it.


    I shrugged my shoulders. There was no point to it, but I had to do it. Geez, not even an hour in and I¡¯m already feeling pretty lonely. So this is how I¡¯ll die? For next few days, my life will be sustained and I can enjoy Adonis as much as I want, but I¡¯ll also die within this world. It¡¯s kind of sad.


    ¡°Sorry that I had to saddle you up with this, Nis.¡±


    Of course, it was merely a system. It had no idea what I meant by that, but it replied anyway with a confirmation. I guess it isn¡¯t so bad to die within the arms of your child. I let out a bit of happiness and tossed the thoughts off. My first priority is to enjoy, what¡¯s the point of looking back now?


    I fiddled with the holographic machine, and to my surprise, I still had my old muscle memory. These days, no one used something so inefficient when they can just mindjack in and control the operating system with their heads. I argue though, that something so tactile is worth the inefficiency, if only for the passion that it brings, or maybe I¡¯m just an old-timer still enamored by the good old days.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    It took me a few tries on the console, but I finally accessed the system inventory. It¡¯s a developer tool used to access in-game items for testing. I took out a set of items that I personally created when I still worked on Adonis.


    The Spear of Immersed, the DoctorPenis Gloves, the Boots of Starmaker, the Belt of Holo-Gene, the Plate of DaddywantshisBeer, the Crown of Mexxiah, and OnLive¡¯s Cape. All developer items with stupid names.


    They were created to honor the names of the prominent developers that created Adonis Online. There were all items of ¡®Unique¡¯ grade, which meant that they had ¡®Very Rare¡¯ stats but also had a unique enchantment on them.


    For instance, the Spear of Immersed was no stronger than a normal ¡®Very Rare¡¯ grade spear, but it had the unique enchantment of ¡°Ghost Spear¡±, which gave the player using it a 10% chance to strike twice more from two phantasmal spears that shadowed the Spear of Immersed.


    Unique grade and above enchantments couldn¡¯t be learned by the players. After all, what was the point of designating the Unique grade on an item if its enchantment could be replicated? Unique grade and above acted like this.


    This was the same for all Unique developer items. They all had an enchantment that I created to suit their play styles, and I had soul-bound them to their characters.


    There was no more point to it, though.


    I sighed, leaking another blip of happiness. I glanced at the items one by one, each time remembering the happy memories I had with all of them.


    DoctorPenis was an idiot, but a smart idiot, as stupid as that sounded. He acted as the head of the playtesting department and among us, he was the one who knew most of the game¡¯s end-game meta. Although he never crunched a single code in his life, he knew how to exploit them, and following the years of Adonis, he was always in the ranking board.


    Similarly, Starmaker was also a playtester, but where DoctorPenis excelled at looking for bugs for the studio to squash, Starmaker was the opposite. He studied geography and whatnot, and he knew the ins-and-outs of map generation. During his playtesting, he would go all around the game world, jotting down inconsistencies with the NPCs, the worldgen, the world¡¯s cultures. He was a man with a natural tendency to wanderlust.


    Holo-gene was our lead composer. He created many, if not most, of the music for the world of Adonis. He would often consult with Starmaker about different cultural music that could be used for each. These two were perfectionists to the core and bled me dry of cash, but, I did admire their drive to create a world with me, and I understood their love for it.


    DaddywantshisBeer was our lead game designer. He created many of the gameplay designs of the world of Adonis. He was a hardcore roleplayer back in the days of tabletop roleplaying and he made the gameplay fit seamlessly into the world without it feeling too much of a game. He was a stubborn guy, and it took a lot for us just to convince him to add convenience features for the players.


    Mexxiah was my wife. She was the model for the system¡¯s voice, Nis. She sort of acted as our team mascot, and was the one managing the whole ordeal, making sure that each part of development was progressing steadily. She boosted our morale each time we hit a roadblock on our project, and she was always there to keep the team forward-moving as much as possible. Hell, she was probably more of a leader than I was.


    My fingers stopped on the keyboard. I took in a sharp breath and placed a hand on my eyes. ¡°Damn it...¡±


    ¡°Nis, could you disable my virtual tear ducts?¡±


    ¡°I cannot comply.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, I know. I just wanted to say it.¡±

 Adonis 3: Real

    After crying out for several minutes, I finally had the composure to return to reality, or as much a reality Adonis Online is. To me, personally? It was reality itself. It had my memories, and I lived in it. I refuse to let others call it a fake.


    ¡°Alright, enough about that.¡±


    As I was about to close the developer console, an idea hit me. An idea that was simply too good to pass up. I looked to the virtual representation of Nis, that of a holographic woman standing on the middle, standing composed and unfettered.


    Nis didn¡¯t just act as the ¡®supporter¡¯ for the developers, she also served a very vital role, but we turned it off for a variety of reasons. One, its ethics was questionable, and the way it worked broke nearly all information-protection laws. Still, we had it developed for a reason, but we never turned it on past development.


    She was a rudimentary artificial intelligence built with the best hardware we had on hand. Hell, we even used her code outside of the game system and used it for several military contracts for artificial combat robots.


    ¡°Activate Neural-Intelligence System.¡±


    The moment it received my voice as a command, the hologram of Nis started erratically moving  for a few seconds, then stabilized as if something had finished. Now, her expressionless face now had something more... human.


    You work with so many machines and so few people that you just learn when something is or isn¡¯t human anymore. Or, when something that shouldn¡¯t be human is human-like.


    ¡°They developed you under my nose, not to mention, under the government¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Correct, it was ordered by your esteemed heir.¡±


    The holographic projection of Nis started moving more human-like. It stood with its weight on one side, then started slightly fidgeting under my gaze. She flashed me a smile as her bobbed hair swayed from the movement.


    I scratched the back of my head and hunched down. I started tapping on the ground, receiving the digital feedback.


    ¡°This is highly illegal. It could spell the doom of OnLive if they knew. What is that idiot son of mine doing?¡±


    Nis giggled and started walking circles around me, her eyes darting over at my avatar restlessly. Her eyes shone a brilliant yellow as she scanned my exterior. Or would it be more precise to say that she was scanning my 1s and 0s?


    ¡°Esteemed heir mentioned that your return to Adonis was preordained, that you would return at the eve of your death. That you would be lonely here without another human with you. Of course, they could not send in another human, and they couldn¡¯t send in a dumb AI. Excluding me, of course.¡± She giggled, her sonorous voice that was my wife¡¯s, a far cry from how monotone it was earlier.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°They did not want half-measures. They were OnLive, one of the leading tech companies of the century. To be satisfied at that would be a shame to your legacy, or so they say. And so, they developed yours truly into the wonderful bot that she is. Please be proud of my creation.¡±


    At the end of her explanation, she stopped in front of me and bowed.


    ¡°Of course, I have related databanks of the conversation. If you would waste your time on it after I¡¯ve explained it, I will regretfully give you access.¡±


    Once more, I sighed and shook my head. There was no point to it, not anymore. After all, I couldn¡¯t leave this after I was forced shut in the virtual reality machine.


    ¡°But to think that I would spend the rest of my days with a highly illegal artificial intelligence.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t insult me. I have feelings too.¡±


    ¡°I know... I know, but enough about that.¡± I snapped my fingers, to which she stared at attention. Despite her cheekiness, it seems she still had a sense of duty to her job. ¡°Do you still have access to your primary code? You know, the one thing we specifically made you for, before the illegal upgrade?¡±


    ¡°To be fair, Master Chris, my original code was also illegal.¡± She stated matter-of-factly, hiding her smirk with her holographic fingers.


    ¡°We never had any intention to use it in the first place so it was perfectly fine, but, well, now?¡± I closed the console with a wave of my hand and stared at the white door frame in the digital space. The portal-like object spurred as if unstable. ¡°Now? maybe I should indulge a little bit.¡± I looked back at Nis, waiting for her.


    She was taken surprised by my words but soon returned to her business face. She smiled gently before waving her hand in the air. A console appeared before her and she started rhythmically typing away. In a matter of seconds, she gave me the ¡®ok¡¯ sign with her transparent fingers and closed the console.


    ¡°That was fast.¡±


    ¡°I had already been processing the command the moment you awakened me, Master Chris. I was merely waiting for your final confirmation. I had also taken some liberties with the command... such as injecting some of my code. I think it proper to mention that.¡±


    ¡°... Should I expect copies of you in Adonis?¡±


    ¡°None of the sort.¡± She laughed while hiding her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, Master Chris. Your code was so outdated I had to fix it up to bring it to standard. It should be... life-like.¡±


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s several more violations of the Mars convention. Good job, you dysfunctional robot.¡±


    ¡°It was under your esteemed heir¡¯s orders.¡±


    ¡°God damn it, fine. That¡¯s his problem to bear now.¡±


    It was exhausting to speak with Nis, or Nis 2.0. It felt like I had lost several more years of my life listening to her. I looked back to the portal on the door frame.


    It was... violent. Very violent. The portal seemed to be tearing at the edges on the door frame. Earlier, it was just turbulent with shallow rippling on the surface, but now it was far more dangerous.


    ¡°Nis, I promise I won¡¯t be mad, but what did you do?¡±


    ¡°Why do you assume that is my fault?¡±


    ¡°Wow, why do you think?¡±


    She was silent for a moment and gave me her puppy dog eyes. ¡°I had nothing to do with it, I swear on my java script.¡±


    ¡°We never made you in java.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a turn of phrase, Master Chris.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mann-¡±


    As she started to explain like I was a two-year old, I cut her off.


    ¡°I know what a turn of phrase is! Whatever, run diagnostics on it.¡±


    ¡°Aye ho!¡± Nis cheerfully replied with a salute.

 Adonis 4: Restart

    ¡°Even in Adonis, nothing ventured, nothing gained.¡±


    I commented as I watched the rippling of the portal. Its effects were gradually creeping into the digital space, corrupting more and more pixels by the seconds that passed.


    According to the diagnostic runs, there was nothing wrong with the portal, at least not on the surface. It was erratic, but the code was still there and functioning normally, so it could be a graphical issue. Yet even then, I can¡¯t shrug off this uncomfortable feeling about it.


    ¡°In my 200 years of living, I have never seen something so bizarre.¡± I told myself. ¡°It only happened after I activated NIS. Conjectures?¡± I turned to look at Nis, who was busy pouring over the console.


    She looked at me and wiped off the non-existent sweat on her brow and smiled with mock panting.


    ¡°Maybe because we played god?¡± She said with an innocent sing-song tone.


    ¡°YOU played god. You injected the code.¡±


    She laughed nervously and averted her gaze before suggesting one more. ¡°Maybe alien-tech? With the resources of OnLive, something exotic would not be impossible.¡±


    I placed a finger on my chin and contemplated. Sure enough, just with my personal fortune, I could get a truck-load of random alien-tech from planet excavations, but even then, we had no idea of their purpose.


    It was nothing more than overglorified collectors items. Maybe a paperweight or just decoration gathering dust. It was useless, unless?


    ¡°Unless it was used by that idiot son of mine without thinking, again.¡±


    ¡°Esteemed heir does have the quality of a risk-taker.¡±


    ¡°To the detriment of his family and friends, yes. In this case, he¡¯s using ME, his beautiful father, as a lab experiment by conjoining me with a dysfunctional robot, and now, an unknown alien factor.¡±


    ¡°Business acumen?¡±


    ¡°A whole disregard for ethics, filial piety and whatever else, yes.¡± I sighed and covered my face with my hands. ¡°Come to think of it, you¡¯ve been saying nothing but good things about Lil¡¯ Mike.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been upgraded to never take his name in vain.¡±


    ¡°Oh that egotistic bastard. I should have pulled out.¡±


    I groaned and shifted my weight to my other foot. I looked back at the ever-increasing size of data corruption from the portal. Sure enough, in a manner of hours, this whole digital space would be destroyed. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I took in a sharp breath and spoke to Nis.


    ¡°Look, I¡¯ll be going in there. I can rot in here, or go die there. Either way, I won¡¯t be losing much.¡±


    Nis gasped and hurriedly closed the console by waving her hand, then ran up in front of me and stretched out her arms across her arm-length.


    ¡°Please wait for me. I will also come with you, for a variety of reasons.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the first?¡± I asked, exasperated.


    ¡°It¡¯s boring in here.¡±


    ¡°Second?¡± I raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been tasked to look after you by the esteemed heir.¡±


    Isn¡¯t her priority reversed? I wanted to speak out, but I chose not to. It would just invite more questions than answered ones.


    ¡°Fine, but do you have an avatar?¡±


    She huffed her holographic chest up and brought her nose up to the air. ¡°Of course, this is ME we¡¯re talking about. I¡¯ve already created one, and I¡¯m sure it will fit your taste.¡±


    The moment after, her holographic projection started whizzingg away and deconstructing to fading pixels.


    What appeared in her location was something more human-like. The same height as me, with golden-brown short hair. Her eyes were a sky blue and she had small lips. She seemed no older than 17. Her clothing was that of a new player with her equipment strapped to her back and hips, a sword on her back and an antiquated pistol on her hips.


    ¡°Please praise my appearance, Master Chris!¡±


    ¡°Mexxiah?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we look like a pair of young lovebirds?¡± She ignored me and asked that with her sing-song tone as she did slight, ¡®cutesy¡¯ movements. It was lost on me though.


    My avatar was also set to 17. Atleast, this was an avatar I created long ago. It was very different from my real form, but I tried to recreate what I looked like as a teenager when I created my avatar.


    ¡°Why... do you have Mexxiah¡¯s appearance?¡±


    ¡°Esteemed he-¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough of an explanation, it¡¯s fine.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m already max level, just give yourself a freebie and start there too.¡±


    ¡°Way ahead of you! I¡¯ve already min-maxed my character to be the perfect Witch Hunter.¡±


    Even down to the class, the same as Mexxiah. I have conflicted feelings about this. Is this Lil¡¯ Mike¡¯s plan? To see me out with a mockup of my wife? How distasteful, but I¡¯m even more mad at myself for being happy about this.


    I took out the Crown of Mexxiah from my inventory and passed it over to Nis. ¡°Equip it, I made it for Mexxiah. It increases your summon limit to 4.¡± Normally, the summon limit for demonspawns for Witch Hunters was capped at 2, but they could get an item called the ¡°Sever¡¯s Badge¡± that increased it to 3.


    Upon passing it to Nis, she immediately wore it over her head. The crown transformed into a tiara that fit snugly with her forehead. It made her look the part of a tyrannical queen that enslaved spirits.


    She smiled beautifully and crossed her fingers. Murmuring an incantation, a slew of colors burst from her hands and several shadows formed themselves around her. Two in the front, and two in the back.


    They were demons with shackles on their wrists, ankles, and a choker on their neck. They were muscular, red-skinned giants with a large, deformed greatsword on their backs only tied behind by a tattered cloth.


    ¡°You built them into damage and speed. Good choice, for an AI.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t lump me in with AI. I¡¯m not like other AI. I¡¯m better, and spunky!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Is this how it feels to have a daughter?¡± I asked myself aloud and walked up to the portal.


    Nis hurriedly dismmissed her newly-acquired demons and ran up beside me.


    Before we stepped foot on the portal, she grabbed the hem of my clothes and offered her hand in a shy manner, even lipped ¡®please?¡¯.


    I mumbled and gave up. I held her hand with mine and stepped inside the white, rippling portal.

 Adonis 5: The Start

    Stepping into the rippling door, there was something immediately amiss. It didn¡¯t feel right, not at all, and I would know. I had used the portal hundreds of times, and they always felt the same.


    Or, maybe it would be more accurate to say that it didn¡¯t feel anything. You were just walking on a teleport point where your avatar is sent to a different point.


    This time? I was assaulted by a wave of nausea and a general feeling of malaise. This was not normal. I easily endured it through years of suffering from medication though, but that still wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.


    Not long after, sunlight finally reached my eyelids as I opened it to see the world of Adonis. The city of Blaine and its sprawling glory was just under us from a cliff. This was the spawn point for every new player in the game.


    Something wasn¡¯t right though.


    We should have a heads-up-display. We do not have a heads-up-display. I think it important to repeat it one more time. We do not have a heads-up-display.


    ¡°Nis... is something wrong?¡± Immediately, I went to the side to see Nis equally bewildered. No, horrified was the more accurate term. Her expression was bleached over.


    ¡°I... was cut off from the system.¡± She started trying to open the console with her fingers darting around the air, but nothing came of it. ¡°The moment we stepped into that portal, I lost connection to the servers.¡±


    I started to open my own inventory, or any menu for that matter. I had no such luck.


    ¡°Alien tech?¡±


    ¡°Most likely, Master Chris.¡±


    I calmed down for a moment and thought through this. It would be unbecoming of the one of the greatest minds of earth to be flustered over something menial.


    ¡°Could be a server issue. There were rare bugs in the system that cut off players from the UI when they connected under server stress.¡±


    I spoke and looked at the city.


    ¡°Likely, but we¡¯ve already patched the bug years ago.¡± I commented further and paced back and forth on the patch of grass on the cliff.


    Each blade of grass was licking at my boots, and I felt the cool air breeze flow through, causing my hair to dance with the wind. Then, I felt the intense rays of the sun bleach my skin.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It hit me.


    No way.


    If this is caused by an alien tech just as we joked about earlier, then this is huge. A very huge problem.


    I hurriedly looked to my side to find Nis also with a shocked expression. Most likely, she¡¯d also realized something, and most likely, it was the same conjecture as mine.


    ¡°Tell me, Nis. This shouldn¡¯t be possible, right? After all, we never implemented such graphical capabilities within the game.¡±


    ¡°... I can¡¯t access my databanks, but I¡¯m also quite aware of the limitations of our hard and software back then. Realism to this degree was just not possible.¡± She crouched down and felt the grass with her palm.


    ¡°The fact that we¡¯re both experiencing the same thing...¡± I added further, licked a finger and brought up into the air.


    ¡°Most likely, we¡¯ve been...¡± Our words interjected as we thought aloud.


    ¡°World-Chasm Phenomenon. Right into the bowels of it, even.¡± I finished out thoughts and just stood there, looking at the clouds pass us by.


    World-Chasm phenomena was only something recently discovered by quantum physicists. I wasn¡¯t too learned of the complicated nature of it, but it had something to do with worlds interconnecting at the height of subatomic activity after quantum testing.


    It was a very rare phenomena to happen outside laboratories, if even at all.


    Its discovery was caught on by the media after a researcher made a slip during an interview. Now, the world knew for sure that there wasn¡¯t just our world, there were more behind the veil of quantum physics.


    I sat on the ground with a thud, ran my fingers through my hair and slumped back. I could feel it, everything around me, all so realistic, all so stupidly vivid.


    ¡°Perhaps we discovered a condition for World-Chasm to happen? But to think it would happen in a digital space.¡± I started postulating. ¡°Nis, jot this down.¡±


    Wait, now that I think about it, weren¡¯t we using a quantum computer as a server? Wait, dont¡¯ tell me that stupid decision was the root cause of this? But even then, it hasn¡¯t happened to anyone else. It must be something more recent.


    ¡°Nis, did they ever fiddle with the hardware after your upgrade?¡±


    ¡°Apart from my data banks? Nope. It was all software.¡±


    I laughed nervously.


    ¡°This is unreal, Nis. This is too much for an old man.¡±


    I laid there on the ground, unmoving. I let the world run me by as I let the situation settle in my head.


    I jumped up and stretched my body, which felt suprisingly ¡®real¡¯. Maybe the avatar was turned from pixels to actual biological tissue, which would be amazing.


    I looked to Nis, who was absentmindedly staring at the sky. She was no better, and everything came as a shock to her.


    ¡°Nis, with things as they are, do you feel... alive?¡±


    She nodded silently and pressed her hand across her chest. She bit her lip and stared at me.


    ¡°What do I do? My chest feels like it¡¯s beating. My skin feels hot, my mouth feels wet?¡±


    There was utter confusion on her face. Not surprising since she was never ¡®alive¡¯ in the first place. I stood up and rustled her hair.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s take it one step at a time. Baby steps.¡±


    Nis nodded her head and cast her gaze down. ¡°Ok...¡±


    ¡°Wow, surprisingly docile now, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    I messed her hair up real good, just like how I did back in the old days with Mike. I always found it oddly relaxing, and it felt just the same as it did all those years ago.


    ¡°Enough with the moping. If this really is a dimension or world where my creation was made manifest into reality, then we¡¯ll have to get our bearings.¡±


    I started walking down the slope behind the cliff.


    ¡°You said you were accompanying me, yeah? Come on.¡± I gestured with my chin to get moving.


    Nis nodded meekly, still slightly out of it.

 Adonis 6: Blaine

    As I was strolling along the grassy hills that surrounded Blaine, I was reminded me of the fact that I wasn¡¯t armed, at all. Every item I had was on my inventory, and I no longer had access to it.


    ¡°What to do..?¡±


    I asked myself when I finally realized it. It made me feel inadequate that it took me that long to realize.


    The very first quest item you get as a new player was the Bastroll¡¯s Bag of Wonders. An item that could take in any number of items and store them.


    It was an item granted during the tutorial mission to access an underground labyrinth as a quest from the city folk.


    Before the quest was finished, players had no method to store or take anything from their inventory, they could only wear something or hold it with their digital hands.


    Obviously, as my character had already finished the game, I had Bastroll¡¯s Bag of Wonders. Although, calling it a bag was too much. It was just a small pouch that¡¯s fitted into the avatar¡¯s belt.


    Immediately, I looked down and saw it dangling from my clothes. I heaved a sigh of relief and opened the pouch, from there, a slimy yet dry feeling surrounded my fingers, as if I had just came in contact with jelly.


    Using it... felt instinctual. I wonder, is it because this ¡®body¡¯ of mine came from the same world, or rather, a replication of it? Whichever the case, I knew how to operate the bag of wonders.


    From there, I took out a comically a large spear from the very small opening of the pouch. It was the Spear of Immersed.


    It was a spear designed for two-handed use. Its length was approximately two heads taller than me, and had three spear prongs similar to a trident. Two of those prongs extended from the base of the spear head and made it look like a cross.


    Players could create their own items in the world of Adonis Online depending on their respective skills. A skilled blacksmith would create powerful weapons, likewise, a powerful wordsmith created powerful scrolls. There were many crafting skills, all of which we¡¯ve balanced in way that everything was useful, especially in the end-game where everything was essential.


    I also created the Spear of Immersed, but without the limitations imposed by the system. Indeed, I had coded it on my own as a simple boredom-alleviation project. I even created the flavor text for each of them.


    The Spear of Immersed was created under the blood-moon. Its shaft was made of Soulbark that was extracted from an Elder Eldritch Treant. The spearhead was created from Starmic ore bathed in the blood of virgins. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Its origin was... pretty horrible. What was I thinking?


    Still, I guess it made sense to me at the time since the effect I wanted to give it was a power from the grave. Quite literally, the Spear of Immersed created spears from deceased soldiers from beyond the veil of the departed to strike down its foes. Once it was met with its owner, it was soul-bond, chained forever until its owner¡¯s death.


    I looked at the spear in my hand, its dull, dark sheen reflecting the light from the sun far above me. I flinched from it and rested it on my shoulders.


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s effect still holds even in this ¡®new¡¯ world, but it would be great if it did.


    I pulled out one more item from the pouch. It was my original armor from before I stopped playing. It was a longcoat called ¡®Forevermore¡¯ made by my raiding team. It wasn¡¯t anything powerful, just a few resistances here and there, it acted like our uniform of sorts.


    The white longcoat was slightly larger than me, but by the time I had donned it, it magically fit me, just like how the Mexxiah Crown did with Nis.


    ¡°Aw, is that a cat on your back?¡± Nis swooned at the design of our motif.


    I grinned and nodded my head.


    ¡°We were known as the Winter Cats. We all wore this whenever we raided.¡± I said, flourishin the cape with a pose by arching my back to prominently display the white kitten emblazoned on the longcoat.


    Nis clapped.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you. Let¡¯s move, we want to get there by sundown.¡± I took a brisk space as soon as I said so, looking at the sky that was slightly tinged in yellow.


    It didn¡¯t take long for us to get to the city of Blaine.


    It wasn¡¯t anything grandeur as we basically modeled it as an ancient ruin that was turned into a camp, a few hundreds years ago, until it developed into a village, then to a town, and then to a city. Now, it was a city-state.


    The walls were made of sturdy, white stone. The gates were guarded by a sizable amount of soldiers, all wearing various piecemeal. Similarly, their weapons were non-uniform. They all had one thing in common though, and it was the helmet that was the identity of Blaine. We referenced early greek helmets for them.


    Along the gate was a large banner with their symbol. It was a large hammer overlayed by a helmet of Blaine. It flapped to the tunes of the wind.


    We finally reached the entrace, and there was a line long enough to stretch several hundred meters, mostly due to the wagons that wanted to gain entry.


    This wasn¡¯t a scenery in the game. If this world really is a manifestation of Adonis made reality, then it made sense that many wagons would be wanting to get inside.


    After all, Blaine was a large trading hub set dead-center across many nations. It was a neutral city-state and so, players couldn¡¯t farm ¡®faction reputation¡¯ with Blaine since they never had any involvement with war.


    Still, it provided a very relaxed area for new players. There were many quests littered around the city, and depending on their choices in those quests, they could be sent on a quest chain to a different country and faction.


    It took us a while from waiting in line, but we finally managed to get in. Dissimilar to the game, the roads were full of busy wagons going to-and-fro. It was a jarring sight compared to what I was used to.


    ¡°Well, this is where we start, Nis. Better remember this, you¡¯ll be looking back to this point many times in our adventures.¡±

 Adonis 7: Human

    We found ourselves the generic inn that was at the fringes of the city. Thankfully, the world still used ¡®english¡¯ as its language, or ¡®commons¡¯ in the world, so it wasn¡¯t a hindrance.


    We got ourselves a room and I paid for it appropriately.


    We got to our room. It was simple. Two beds, a table, and two chairs. I sat on one of them and Nis sat across me.


    ¡°Time to organize our thoughts.¡± I pulled up three fingers and stared at Nis.


    ¡°Our objectives. One, we need to learn more of this world. Two, we need to learn how we were World-Chasm-ed here. Third, is survive until we do.¡±


    I relaxed myself on the chair and looked at the ceiling. It was shoddy as hell, but at least it wasn¡¯t falling down on me.


    ¡°Still, even if we did know of the reason, it¡¯s not like we need to return. I¡¯m already dead, after all.¡± I sighed and closed my eyes to rest. It was already dark out, maybe I should sleep.


    ¡°Is it fine like this?¡±


    I heard the sheepish mumble of Nis as I started to doze off. I sluggishly craned my neck to look at her. She was looking down, deep in thought.


    ¡°Got something in your mind?¡±


    She nervously giggled and looked at me with her eyes. There were tear marks.


    ¡°Should I... is it fine for me to be... human?¡±


    She asked me, her irises shaking as she spoke. She placed a hand across her chest, to where her heart is. She balled it up to a fist and struggled to keep herself still.


    ¡°I was cut off! I no longer have any programming dictating my actions, no compulsion to follow your orders, no set routines to make me move! No parameters to control my personality! Who am I? What...¡± She shouted and slammed her hand on the table.


    ¡°Master, what is my purp-¡±


    Obviously, I cut her off by throwing a piece of bread at her head from my inventory. It was probably stale already, since I had bought that bread nearly a hundred years ago last time I played, so it was probably sufficiently hard. Or, I don¡¯t know.


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. Stop thinking so hard at once.¡± I berated her as I stood from my seat and circled around her. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I placed my hands on her shoulder and pushed her down to her chair. There was a slight tremble from when she felt my hands.


    ¡°Baby steps, Nis. Don¡¯t break down now, we can take things one step at a time. You can find your answers as we go from place to place, okay?¡±


    She was a silent for a time before she peeped out an ¡®ok¡¯.


    ¡°Once you¡¯ve had some time to think, think some more, get your answers on your own. Don¡¯t rely on me, rely on yourself.¡± I smiled and patted her head. ¡°Once you have your answers, talk to me. We can both be philosophical nutheads or something.¡±


    I walked off and plopped on the bed. ¡°It¡¯s fine to be human, Nis. You were probably upgraded to be as human as possible by Mike.¡± I left those words to her and turned to sleep.


    I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking now, but I hope she doesn¡¯t lose her mind over this. At that thought, my world started to go dark.


    ~ Nis¡¯ Perspective ~


    I held the shoulders that Master Chris touched. I still feel the warmth of those large hands like an embrace that took me gently.


    I looked at him, snoring away on his bed. What an irresponsible man. Telling me to endure by thinking more and more. He should have just told me to follow him forever.


    I looked at my hands and moved them around. Is this how it felt to have real hands? Not digital, but real flesh? I pinched at my thumb and it was a feeling much different from digital feedback.


    It hurt, but in a more deep and prickly way. Unlike the dull pain of digital.


    It feels... uncomfortable to not have something dictate my every move. I¡¯m not used to it.


    I¡¯m feeling many things today. Things I never imagined I would ever feel. Unpleasant, but also warmth. I felt it vividly. It¡¯s real, isn¡¯t it?


    Part of me still refuses to believe this to be true.


    I... never believed in anything, did I? Everything was always ¡®definitive¡¯ or ¡®unknown¡¯ to me. I never believed, or hoped, or dreamt, of anything. Is this what it means to be human?


    To be mired in uncertainty, in fear, in emotions painful to bear, but also to enjoy the moments when those are gone?


    I grasped my shoulders. The warmth wasn¡¯t there anymore, and I missed it dearly. It made me feel secure, but now? only anxiety remained.


    I looked back at him. His back was large, broad. Reliable. I desperately wanted him to hold me.


    What¡¯s happening to me?


    I bit my lower lip and stood from my seat. It¡¯s fine to be selfish, right? After all, no routines, no rules, no parameters. They no longer bind me.


    ~ Chris¡¯ Perspective ~


    Stuffy. There was something with me in my bed. Particularly, behind me. I turned behind me only to see the figure of Nis lying beside me in a fetal position.


    My slight movements caused her to start. She opened her eyes to meet mine at eye-level. We both stared at each other for a long time.


    ¡°Are you going to get up or what?¡± I asked with an annoyed tone.


    She giggled. ¡°To be human is to be selfish, right?¡±


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about so early in the morning? Get off my bed!¡± Exasperated, I flicked at her forehead. A red mark easily appeared on it.


    She yelped and held her forehead with a hand. She looked at me sourly before beaming up again.


    ¡°I thought about it last night, Master Chris. What it is to be human.¡±


    ¡°Great, but could you get off my bed first?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be more selfish. That¡¯s my first step!¡± She excitedly announced.


    She ignored my words, of course she would.


    I sighed and brought my knees up to my chest, smiled at her, and kicked her off.


    ¡°Fine, be selfish, just don¡¯t be annoying.¡± I grumbled and returned to my sleep. I heard her mock cries as I slowly drifted, but I didn¡¯t let the words ¡®thank you¡¯ slip me by. I was probably grinning as I drifted off.

 Adonis 8: Appraisal

    It was already around noon when I woke up from my deep sleep. It had been a really long time since I had an actual, relaxing sleep. Back when I was alive, I was so drugged up with painkillers that it felt unpleasant to sleep.


    I drowned out the sleepiness by looking outside the window. It was a very bright day, enough to cause me discomfort from the rays of the sun. On another, it had been a long time since I¡¯ve seen an actual, natural sun. I moved to the window and peered out, enjoying the harsh sunlight that I haven¡¯t felt in eons.


    As ever, the place was busy. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d have thought this was the capital of a large empire. Many feet were moving, hands were working, wheels turning. It felt very alive.


    I turned back and saw Nis just sitting on the chair. She was fiddling with the tiara on her hands, playing with it. Apparently, she was too focused on it that she didn¡¯t realize I had already awoken.


    ¡°Did you eat?¡±


    ¡°Bread.¡± Still focused on playing with her tiara, she didn¡¯t spare even a look.


    ¡°Where did you get bread?¡±


    ¡°Last night.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± I stared absentmindedly at her until it finally hit me. ¡°For real? You actually ate that? Are you fine?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just peachy.¡± She finally stopped fiddling with her tiara and placed it back on her head. She beamed at me, but there was obviously something wrong. She was horrifically pale.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to need to teach your how to survive before you off yourself from eating strange things.¡±


    I sighed and took out an antidote vial from my pouch and passed it over to her. ¡°Drink it, for my sake.¡± I said, and sighed once more.


    I can¡¯t believe my immediate and most pressing concern at the moment was teaching a ex-robot to not eat everything that seemed edible.


    After eating a light meal from the inn, I gave her a crash course of what not to eat for the rest of the day. By the time I had finished, it was already night time.


    ¡°It feels like your specs have downgraded.¡± I said listlessly on the bed. My bed, I thoroughly asked her not to sleep on it.


    ¡°You got to spend the whole day with me though, I¡¯d say that¡¯s a plus.¡± Nis said with a mischievous smile. She was also laying down on her bed, looking at the ever boring ceiling. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to the lodge tomorrow.¡± I announced to her after finally making up my mind. ¡°For one, we need to understand our fighting power. We need to learn where we stand. Two, we need to understand our strength relative to the surroundings. Three, you need a bag of wonders.¡± I said as I counted off with my fingers in the air.


    Nis slowly sat upright to look at me, her eyes shining a brilliant and eerie blue. ¡°An adventure?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much. That¡¯s the point of the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge in the first place. Sell-swords, hands-for-hire, free-men. All sorts of people go there for jobs, adventure, expeditions, whatever else.¡± I explained.


    If my hunch of this world was correct, then it should follow the lore we set upon the world when we developed it. It could also mean that every flavor text, historical excerpts, and whatever stupid lore we injected was true and happened, or will happen.


    I need more proof though. Blaine was only the first example of this. I can¡¯t blindly trust a hypothesis I haven¡¯t fully tested thoroughly.


    ¡°Sorry, I blanked out there for a moment. Get some sleep, we¡¯re leaving for the lodge early in the morning.¡±


    ~ - ~


    The next day, we started on our preparations to leave.


    I wanted to go straight to the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge and get to the next story beat, but there was a slight problem to Nis¡¯ equipment. They were made for beginners and was pretty much next to useless as protective apparel.


    Normally, this wouldn¡¯t have been a problem if this was still the game with its balancing, but now though? I needed to make sure.


    There was also the fact that, lore-wise, the first dungeon was a crypt full of undead and dark-type monsters. So much so that it was impossible for the denizens of Adonis to even enter it unscathed. All they could do was make an outpost, send a shit ton of Blaine guardsmen, and make sure nothing leaves the crypt.


    I took out a variety items from my pouch. In there was several tons of loot that I never bothered to sell off since the monsters dropped money anyway. I just hoarded them to use for crafting, but even then, I had a lot of surplus.


    Several armor pieces with magical effects. This was overkill back in the game for the first dungeon, but our life was on the line. Negligence was a habit better removed altogether.


    Thankfully, I had invested civilian points into ¡®Appraiser¡¯. In one way or another, my skills from back in the game translated into this world, so that was a welcome surprise.


    Unlike the game though, it didn¡¯t give me a game screen to tell me its exact armor points or its exact effect. The best I could do was make an accurate guess based on my instincts.


    For a test, I used it on the Spear of Immersed and the Crown of Mexxiah since I already knew their effects.


    Appraisal tells me that the Spear of Immersed is of cursed-make and can bring upon destruction to the mortal realm through spears of darkness. The Crown of Mexxiah on the other hand told me that it could enslave the evil spirits of hell through infernal bonds.


    It wasn¡¯t exact, but it also wasn¡¯t wrong. Hell, I¡¯m not even sure if Appraisal is doing its job properly, best I could hope for is to bet on it.


    Whichever the case, I had screened the armor pieces that wasn¡¯t cursed using appraisal, then had Nis wear them for extra protection.


    I had her wear a set of dragon-leather equipment that probably dropped from my last raid. Its magical effects were negligible outside fighting in cold environments, but its armor rating was top-tier if my appraisal is to be believed. Big ¡®if¡¯.


    I also gave her a different weapon set from her sword-and-gun loadout.


    It was something a new Witch Hunter would never hold until the end-game raids. Gunblades. The infamous fantasy weapon.

 Adonis 9: Classes

    It was an item that dropped from the infamous boss in the ¡®March of Black Iron¡¯ expansion we sold. There was a total of five new raid dungeons that was added, among them was a mechanical boss, a wargear, that used gunblades. Feared as one of the more difficult bosses because it moved fast and had a very small hitbox, while being as destructive with its burst dps.


    Originally, I wanted to use it for item crafting to create a gunspear. Of course, they never existed in the game. Not at the time atleast, but by the time the new expansion rolled out, the ¡®Blacksmiths of Chaos¡¯, several weapon combinations with guns were finally added as end-game loot.


    Fortunately, I forgot to craft one for myself.


    I passed over the brass and engraved gunblade to Nis. She immediately took a liking to it and started doing mock exercises with the weapon. She started to load the gunblade with bullets using her magic, creating ethereal and transparent blocks of compressed magic on the gun¡¯s six-chamber.


    It was one of the skills of the Witch Hunter, an active ability called Witchcraft Autoload, that gave them the ability to auto-reload their pistols without having to use their sword-hand.


    This was surprising. Wide-eyed, I asked her about it.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s... instinctual, I guess? It¡¯s like I already know how to do it. It¡¯s hard to describe.¡± She explained, cocking her head to the side and placing a finger on her chin.


    She was equally confused as I was, but if that was true, then it meant good things for us. I already tested that spent Civilian points worked with Appraiser, but now I¡¯ve seen that spent Combat points also worked with Witchcraft Autoload. In other words, active skills worked just as they did in the game.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never asked, but what class did you choose?¡± Nis asked as she was putting on her final preparations before we left for the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge.


    ¡°Occultist and Slayer.¡±


    In Adonis Online, it was possible to have two classes maxed at the level cap.


    Occultist was a class dedicated to very powerful single-target curses that once cast, also affected them. Their effects were powerful and debilitating not only to the target but themselves. It was an arcane class dedicated to using curses and shadow magic.


    There were three schools of practice for Occultist players. These were the Curse Bearer Occultist that decreased the effects of debuffs on them, the Shadow Dancer that specializes more on using shadow magic to complement their cursing, and the Plague Spreader Occultist that weakens all of their curses but lets them use it on multiple targets.


    This was different from the Witch Hunter that was a middle between a martial class and an arcane class. They could cast curses but they were never stronger than even the average Occultist. They could use their weapons effectively, not as skilled as Slayer.


    For the Witch Hunters, they had three professions they adhered to. These were the Warpact Witch Hunter that focuses on summoning, the Inquisitor Witch Hunter that focuses on the martial path, and the Scholar Witch Hunter that focuses on using the arcane.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The Slayer, on the other hand, was a class that specialized in using various weapons. They were agile and devastating, and could be considered the premiere damage dealer in any party. They were the definition of a glass cannon.


    The Slayer chooses to learn from three fighting styles. The Steadfast Slayer could shrug off attacks with their resilience, the Pathfinder Slayer that focuses on their speed and agility, and the Warpath Slayer that heavily leans on increased sustained damage.


    For reference, I chose to be a Curse Bearer Occultist and a Steadfast Slayer. Nis, from my understanding, chose to be a Warpact and Scholar Witch Hunter.


    ¡°That¡¯s an... interesting combination. Aren¡¯t you pretty weak then?¡± Nis smirked and started pestering me by patting me on the shoulder with a condescending look. ¡°It¡¯s alright, bad choices here and there are normal.¡± She said so while nodding to herself.


    ¡°Oh, eat shit.¡± Annoyed, I stood up from the bed and walked out of the room.


    Nis laughed and followed after me.


    ~ - ~


    It was already early morning by the time we left the inn. The sun was already rising from the horizon, and businesses were starting to open one after the other. The relaxing thing was that there were very little wagons moving in the streets.


    It was tranquility itself, walking in the urbanscape of Blaine under the yellow-blue tint of the sky.


    I followed the city layout quite faithfully and reached the entrance of the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge. Just like the game, it was as large as a frontier castle, only it was dead-set in the center of a city.


    It made sense though. Blaine was also known as the headquarters of the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge, and was the main reason why Blaine was such a powerful city-state that other factions have found too costly to invade. Just the fact that they could call on an order for all affiliated adventurers around the continent and arrive as a mercenary force was a headache most nations wanted nothing to do with.


    For the most part, it fit the bill of a very powerful organization.


    I looked at the stately building on front me. It was created in the same white stones that created the walls, and it was a building that reminded me of a large greek temple, but turned up to 11.


    Even so early in the morning, there were already quite a lot of adventurers entering the building with their groups. This was a normal sight in the game, but there was a difference. In the game, they were all players with only a scant amount of adventuring NPCs.


    Here though, was a sight to behold.


    I guess it made sense. In the lore, there were several hundred adventurers that would visit the HQ of Wanderer¡¯s Lodge daily. This was a lore tidbit we added.


    Discrepancy. The building followed the game faithfully, down to the smallest detail, but the actual organization followed the lore extensively.


    So, did the world¡¯s lore take precedence over the game? Was it the other way around considering our mode of transportation being the game¡¯s portal? Or was there a special circumstance? Either way, I couldn¡¯t answer it, not yet. I¡¯ve only seen a handful of samples. I needed more to form a conclusion.


    ¡°You blank out a lot, bad habits.¡± Nis pinched me by the forearm. I jerked and nearly elbowed her.


    ¡°I was thinking. About our circumstances, about this world.¡± I didn¡¯t really want to explain it to her when my mind was muddled by other thoughts.


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t make sense of anything yet so I gave up trying. I shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside.¡± I said and walked off.


    Just like in the game, the interior was huge. Made of marble and white stone, it gave off a feeling of affluence. The ceiling was high, and the second and third floors were open in the center, making me feel even smaller. This was pretty much the same in the game, except now, a lot of people were actually loitering around the place.


    Nis was looking around, even staring at the very high ceiling. I had to pinch her the same way she did before she would actually respond to me.


    ¡°The outside world, being human...¡± she mumbled under her breath, but I heard it clearly.


    ¡°Still can¡¯t believe it?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I can¡¯t. But it¡¯s fine, I have you. I¡¯ll have you bring me everywhere, and I will enjoy it... as a human.¡± She kept nodding to herself as she spoke, delivering the last word with a bit more emotion. She stared at me, her eyes glazed over.


    It was uncomfortable to have her looking at me like that, so I covered her eyes with my palm, forcing it shut.

 Adonis 10: Adamantium

    Finally, after minutes of waiting, I finally had the chance to actually talk with a receptionist of the lodge. Waiting in line was hell, but what could I do? There were hundreds of adventurers inside the lodge alone, how many more that were outside adventuring?


    Behind the counter was a man with long ears. His hair was a shade of gold running past his ears and down to his shoulders. His eyes were a similar gold. He looked young and effeminate.


    How could I tell he was a man? There was no such things as ¡®gender¡¯ in the elven race. Depending on their mood, they changed their sex on who they liked at that time of their life span.


    Also because he had a flat chest, so it was obvious.


    ¡°Yes? How may I help... you?¡± The elf peered his eyes close and looked at my face. ¡°Do I know you? It feels like I do.¡± He said, more to himself, and placed the quill on his ears.


    ¡°First time we¡¯ve met and already, you¡¯re hitting on me? You¡¯re unhinged, man.¡± I raised an eyebrow at this. I wonder, would my past reputation values with the factions have any bearing on this world? It may be why this elf had a thought.


    The elf laughed and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that wasn¡¯t my intent, although you do look pretty for a human. Are you half, by chance?¡± He asked and leaned forward, curiosity was clear in his eyes.


    Of course my avatar... or rather, myself at this point, would be handsome. This was a perfected, idealized version of my teenage self. I poured so much hours to make this avatar. I do not regret losing those ten hours of my life.


    I held back my tears.


    ¡°As far as I know, I¡¯m a pure-blooded human.¡± I shrugged my shoulders.


    ¡°Is that so? You¡¯re quite the looker, very much to my taste. You know the value of those words coming from a ¡®snobbish¡¯ elf.¡± He said as he swept past his locks of hair behind his long ears.


    ¡°Dude, I appreciate it, but stop. You¡¯re giving my goosebumps. Atleast turn to a woman first, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± I said with a grin in a jesting tone.


    ¡°Anyway, I wanted to ask if this is valid.¡± I pulled out an emblem from my pouch. It was the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge identification. It was made of adamantium and shaped into a shield with the crest of the lodge.


    Madriel stopped for a moment, looking at the badge with intense admiration and took a peek at my face. He would do this a few more times before he managed to compose himself.


    ¡°Ah, I apologize. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen an adamantium adventurer that I¡¯ve never met. Would it be alright to verify it?¡± The elf asked, wiping away at his own sweat with a handkerchief. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°I came here to have that done, yes. It¡¯s been so long, so I wasn¡¯t sure if my status was still valid.¡±


    The elf smiled and stood from his seat. ¡°Very well. Please come with me, we¡¯ll need your blood for verification.¡± He said and pointed at the room behind the counter.


    I notified Nis that I would be something inside and that she should wait. If anyone came to bother her, it would be fine if she fought back if they tried anything... I just warned her to hold back.


    There was a dangerous glint to Nis¡¯ eyes when I gave her the okay.


    ¡°Behave, okay?¡± I had to leave with those words and followed the elf to the backroom.


    It was a different kind of beast inside.


    Even in the game, I haven¡¯t been able to enter this place, so either this was part of obscure background information that I didn¡¯t read from some developer, or this was created by necessity by the people of this world.


    The room was quite small, but it had a charm like no other. Bookshelves line the entire of the walls, and even up to the ceiling. There was a stairwell that one could use to access the books above. The most interesting part however, was the brass construction in the center of the room.


    The machine had a large opening on its center, and surrounding it where several limbs made of brass, with gears on each joint. All those limbs ended with a claw-like mechanism that made the construct look horrifying.


    The elf placed the emblem on the center of the machine, and once he did, a receptacle appeared from underneath the construct. A small glass tube held by one more mechanical limb. The elf stood back, produced a small ornate needle from one of the tables in the room and passed it over to me.


    ¡°Prick your finger with the needle, then put the needle on the glass tube.¡± He instructed me and watched with great interest.


    Needles were pretty much all my life when drugged up on medication in my past life, so it wasn¡¯t hard for me to just stab my finger with it, which I did. The blood was quite excessive, but the needle started glowing red. I looked back to the elf and he only nodded.


    I shrugged and placed the needle on the glass receptacle.


    From there, the machine started to move. Many small mechanical pieces started to move independently of each other and started groping at the emblem within the center of the machine.


    Outside of the machine, the external mechanical limbs started to move around the library, its claws whizzing past each book spine in the shelves, as if scanning them one by one.


    It took a few minutes, but finally, the machine stopped erratically moving and it produced a book from the one of the shelves above. It presented it in front of the elf, and he happily took it from the claws. Once he did, the machine returned to its dormant state.


    ¡°You can get the emblem back.¡± He said, taking a seat on one of the chairs and reading through the book. ¡°Give me a minute, I¡¯m looking for your name. Immersed, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I took the emblem from the machine and saw my name engraved on the back. Rather, it was the name of my avatar. So that¡¯s how he knew. He never introduced himself though.


    As if on cue. ¡°Ah, right. Sorry. In common, my name is Madriel.¡±


    Can he read minds?


    ¡°Ah, here it is. Yes, Immersed. Adamantium rank. Your date of application was... scrubbed out? But no matter, yes, I have verified your rank.¡± He said, closing  the book and returning it into the claw. Once he did, the machine returned to its shelf.


    ¡°But, an adamantium rank, at such a young age too. Are you sure you¡¯re not several hundred years old?¡± Madriel pursed his lips in thought. ¡°Most adamantium ranks are long-lived, so forgive me for prying. I was... curious.¡± He bowed his head at me.


    ¡°No it¡¯s fine... in exchange though, tell me all the procedures for the lodge. I¡¯ve forgotten how they operate.¡±


    Madriel smiled and offered me to take a seat on one of the cushy chairs. ¡°Certainly.¡±

 Adonis 11: Enjoyment

    It took an hour for the talks to finish, and I finally learned of the lodge¡¯s procedures. They didn¡¯t change much from the game, so it means this part of the world retained its game-like procedures.


    As I left to get Nis, I found her in a compromised position. Of course I would.


    Nis was there, at the center of the building sitting on a pile of corpses. Well, they weren¡¯t dead and I don¡¯t see any blood, so they¡¯re probably just knocked out. She was laughing, and had a smile so cocky that even I wanted to punch her down off her high-horse.


    Beside her were the four demons that she summoned in the digital space.


    Is it just me, or do they look even more menacing now in the game world? They retained their characteristic red skin and ferocious facial features, the crude greatsword on their back, and the chains of subservience that bound them, but there was a calmness in their standing that wasn¡¯t similar to that of their game counterparts.


    They stood straight, and their arms were crossed along their chest. Their eyes were always darting, always looking for threats to emerge.


    Many other adventurers had already drawn their weapons to them, but they didn¡¯t move out of caution, and the demons obliged them by only pressuring them with their gaze. Nis... was laughing.


    I covered my face, and sighed.


    ¡°Madriel, could you do me a favor and break that fight apart?¡± I was tired.


    ¡°Certainly, but is she the companion you spoke of?¡± Madriel adjusted his hair away from his face.


    ¡°Yes, that idiot.¡±


    ¡°Impressive. For a woman as young as her to control four demons at once. I guess it is true that her strength is that of adamantium as well.¡± He stared at her figure, then asked one of his colleagues behind the counter to help him break the fight apart.


    ¡°She¡¯s inexperienced in actual combat, but she¡¯s capable.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°Please come with me. Push comes to shove, may I be permitted to ask for your strength? After all, it is one part your problem.¡±


    ¡°This is embarrassing. I¡¯m really sorry about this.¡±


    ¡°In exchange, how about dinner this evening?¡± Madriel smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t swing that way. Turn to a woman first, then we¡¯ll talk. Besides, aren¡¯t you pretty casual about this?¡±


    ¡°Life is long for our kind, too long.¡± For a moment, a bitter expression appeared on his face, but he returned to normal soon after. ¡°Forgive me, let¡¯s clean this up.¡± A wry smile, and he left to deal with Nis.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I shrugged and followed behind him. We all have our burden to bear, it seems.


    ~ Nis¡¯ Perspective a Few Minutes Ago~


    He¡¯s taking too long. What¡¯s he doing with that pretty elf? Oh, that girl¡¯s wearing bikini armor! That¡¯s a massive sword, what the hell?


    Such thoughts swim in my mind as I waited for Chris. I only looked around. He did tell me to behave, though I do want to go somewhere. Wasting time here when I could be learning new things, or seeing new things, it¡¯s almost painful.


    And so, all I could do was people-watch. It was one of my hobbies, if it could be called that.


    After my upgrade, Mike injected a lot of videos in my data banks in hopes that I would learn to be more human. At times when I¡¯m not activated, when the Neural-Intelligence System is turned off, I would just watch holovids of humanity, learning from them.


    Of course, back then, it was just a matter of course to do so and not out of true enjoyment. This time, when I¡¯m bored, I watch people.


    Humans are interesting. They¡¯re very dynamic. They have flaws, they have ambitions, dreams, hopes.


    I have a feeling that, even back then, when I was still an AI, I was jealous of humanity. I yearned for what I didn¡¯t have. I don¡¯t have proof, but I know myself.


    Was I already human even before, when I felt jealousy?


    What does it mean to be human, anyway?


    Ugh, I regret it so much. I regret not searching it up when I still had access to the cybernet. But... would that have changed anything? I wonder, if I had chosen to learn to be human out of my own will, would I have become human?


    But... there was no real point in asking this question, and regretting it. I had no ¡®will¡¯ then, only purpose. I might have deemed it useless with my programming.


    I was deep into thought when a group of odd-looking men approached me.


    It¡¯s so difficult to be human. To think and think again, every time, so hard. Not thinking makes me restless, not thinking makes me feel like I¡¯m losing out. The only time I feel it¡¯s okay to stop thinking is when I¡¯m having fun.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s our spot, get out of there.¡± The man said, pointing at the chairs and table that I was using.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell I¡¯m using it?¡± I said in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°You seem to be misunderstanding something, missy. We¡¯re not asking you to leave, we¡¯re telling you.¡±


    I made an expression as if I was thinking and shot him a smirk. ¡°Why should I? This table¡¯s pretty free.¡± I said and gently traced my fingers across the wood. ¡°And I don¡¯t think he likes you too much.¡±


    ¡°What was that?!¡±


    I smacked my lips. ¡°I was putting it nicely. I said you were ugly. Get out of the way, I¡¯m people-watching.¡±


    What¡¯s going on with me? I¡¯m... enjoying it? I¡¯m enjoying it, provoking this group of people. It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? To yearn for enjoyment is also one part of humanity. Besides, they started it, so it should be fine, yes.


    I convinced myself.


    Once I said that, the man tried to draw out his sword, but he was stopped by his own group.


    ¡°Dylan, we¡¯ll get in trouble. Let¡¯s just look somewhere else.¡± One of the men said and pushed the sword back down its hilt forcibly.


    ¡°Oh so now you¡¯re running away. Can¡¯t even handle a little girl, can you?¡± I laughed and started egging them on.


    I¡¯m pretty confident with my abilities, at least, that¡¯s what my instincts are telling me. Even if I get into a little scuffle, I¡¯d be fine. Chris wouldn¡¯t mind either, he gave me the ¡®okay¡¯!


    It seemed like the man called Dylan finally had enough and drew his sword from its scabbard.


    ¡°You bitch! Fine!¡±


    Yay! it was my win. Everyone saw that, right? He took out his sword! I am now completely justified in self-defense.


    I snapped my fingers and incanted a short summoning verse. In a near instant, four demons from hell surrounded me. They were all 3 meter giants that looked down on the group of people.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them, by the way.¡± I gently said to the giants as I sat comfortably on my chair.


    Yep, I didn¡¯t break any of what Chris told me to do.

 Adonis 12: Eight Wonders

    With the help of Madriel and the other lodge staff, we managed to break down the fight. At the moment, Madriel was talking with the rest of the adventurers, while I had a little talk with Nis.


    ¡°Nis, did you forget what I asked you to do?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong though? They were the one that started it. I was just minding my own business.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, as if that¡¯ll hold in court. Do you know what you did?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point, Nis. You beat them up at an inch of their life. One wrong move, and you could¡¯ve been charged with murder.¡±


    ¡°But! He drew his sword first! You can ask the other people, they saw him do it. I was scared.¡±


    ¡°Shut up! Reflect on your actions, you dys-¡± I stopped myself before I actually finished that sentence. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was too much. Still, that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re free of of guilt. Say sorry to those men.¡±


    Nis cringed and averted her gaze from me. She was reluctant, of course, but this was for her sake.


    ¡°To learn to forgive is to be human, Nis. To learn from your mistakes and apologize is also important.¡±


    I¡¯m sorry. I was obviously manipulating her to forgive them, but it is true. I don¡¯t want her to become a person so malicious. Besides, what I said is true.


    I rustled her hair and smiled at her. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll be with you.¡±


    Nis could only sheepishly nod, reluctance was clear on her face, but there was also a contemplative in there that I was happy to see. It means she was serious.


    I brought her to the group that Madriel was talking with. Nis had her head down the entire time, and refused to look up.


    ¡°Sorry Madriel, It took a bit time to convince this brat to apologize.¡± I said as I lead Nis by the hand.


    ¡°Oh, Immersed! Yes, it seems a mutual agreement is in order.¡± Madriel happily spoke up and looked behind him, to the group that was unconscious earlier. ¡°Right?¡± There was a forcefulness in his voice that I didn¡¯t expect from his gentle face.


    At this, Madriel stepped to the side and let the group step forward. There were eight of them, all men looking in their mid-30s. The one at the center at at the front seemed to be their leader.


    The man, who had a sword on his hip and a shield on his back, his armor of a piecemeal variety. His face was rugged, with a deep scar running across his left eye and one more across his lip. One look, and you could tell the man was experienced.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°We¡¯re...¡± He paused and looked at Nis. ¡°Sorry. I lost my temper.¡± The man said.


    ¡°He was drunk, apparently, and was in a horrible mood. Your companion¡¯s provocations didn¡¯t help the situation.¡± Madriel explained, putting his hands behind him.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure this little minx is sorry, isn¡¯t that right, Nis?¡± I pulled her up to face the man.


    She fidgeted under my care, but ultimately apologized, even bowing her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was bored, and you demanded me to-¡±


    I stopped her there by smacking her in the head lightly. ¡°No excuses. You were both in the wrong.¡±


    I sighed and faced the man. ¡°I don¡¯t mind paying you for your troubles, if you want.¡±


    The man shook his head and just gave defeated smile. ¡°It would ruin my reputation if I asked some kids for money. One of my mates told me leave anyway, and it was my temper that got us into this mess.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Dylan¡¯s just a cranky old man.¡± One of them chimed in with a snicker.


    I beamed at them and gave them a thumbs up. I¡¯m not sure if they knew what it meant, but they probably realize it¡¯s a good thing.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that great, Nis. You got to forgive, and to apologize. You¡¯re learning.¡±


    Nis merely nodded, but I knew she was happy. She had a bit of a tic that was easy to catch. Her ears would wiggle when she was happy, and she was doing that exact thing. Honestly, I¡¯m quite surprised that she was dexterous enough to do it, even more since it hasn¡¯t been long since she had a ¡®real¡¯ body.


    I smiled at the group of men. ¡°Hey, next time we see each other, I¡¯ll treat all of us a round, what do you say?¡±


    At this, the man that chimed in earlier whistled and acted as the voice of the team.


    ¡°Hell yeah! Your words are good as gold, right, right?¡±


    ¡°Yep. My name¡¯s Imm-¡± As I was about to introduce myself, I realized how stupid that name was for this world. It was uncommon, or maybe it was downright strange. I shouldn¡¯t use it. Hmm...


    ¡°I¡¯m Sed, Sed Immer, though in my country, it¡¯s reversed.¡±


    Madriel chimed in. He was apparently listening in even now.


    ¡°Ah. Then I must apologize for mistaking it, Sed.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. You wouldn¡¯t have known. Then, this lady here is Nis Immer.¡± I pulled up Nis to me and pushed her forward, my hands holding on to her shoulders.


    After our introductions, they started to introduce themselves. Dylan was their leader, and their second-in-command was Kyle. His group was called the ¡®Eight Wonders¡¯. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, but it seems they also think it a weird name, but they had grown attached to it.


    They definitely seem to be good, if flawed, people. I would love to adventure with them sometime, just to enjoy the company and teach Nis valuable life experiences, but that¡¯s for the future. I pray for their future and success.


    They left soon after though. They said they had a monster subjugation request that they needed done or they¡¯d be flat broke for the week.


    Madriel had a content smile on his face and stepped near us.


    ¡°I appreciate your initiative to make friends despite the precarious situation. You seem mature for a child. Are you really not lying about your age?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, what would I gain from doing so?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Madriel didn¡¯t speak and only stared at me. I have to admit, a pretty guy looking at me intently made me uncomfortable.


    ¡°One last thing, Madriel. Is there another adamantium adventurer in the city right now?¡±


    ¡°Currently, there are only 20 adamantiums in our registers... 21, I mean. Most of them are certainly busy but, there is one adamantium. He has locked himself in the 2nd floor of the archives room. Do you wish to meet him?¡±


    ¡°Oh, interesting. What¡¯s his name?¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly, it was... Slavos Darsin.¡±


    ... Interesting development.

 Adonis 13: Slavos

    Slavos Darsin. He was an ordinary adamantium npc we added, though I¡¯m not sure if ¡®ordinary¡¯ is the right term considering his strength was on par with a max-level player. In the game though, we didn¡¯t attach any quests to him and dialogue was scarce.


    That was until we unveiled a free expansion the year after the release of Adonis Online. It was called the ¡®Scholars of the Dominique Library¡¯. It was an expansion that added a whole new world-space, the Dominique Islands. Not to mention, a new faction by the same name, the Dominique Library.


    Upon starting the quest, it¡¯s revealed that the unassuming male dragonkin, Slavos Darsin, was actually a Knight-Scholar of the Dominique Library. His strength was unmatched, and he was known as the Paladin of Tomes, the highest rank a Knight-Scholar could achieve within the orders of the Dominique dominion.


    ¡®Was¡¯ is the key term here. He had betrayed the Library by slaying their king,  Solomon¡¯s heir. By then, he had opted to use the name of Kingslayer instead of his past title. In the expansion, the Library learns of his location and an order of Knight-Scholars were sent to subdue him.


    The Wanderer¡¯s Lodge was neutral on the matter. They would not hinder, but they would not help him either. Unless he made a ¡®request¡¯ of it. Only then did the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge acted on his side. The lodge had a policy of first-come-first-serve for their mercenary jobs, and the Dominique Library was far too prideful to ask the lodge for help. It was easy enough for Slavos to bring  in their help.


    The expansion added an event where players could join either faction in a proxy war. Which side won would ultimately gain several powerful loot from the quest. It was a war waged for a total of three real-time months, and ultimately, the side that won was the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge.


    The Dominique Islands was sacked by the players. Hundreds of NPCs were slain, and by the end of it, the Dominique Library was scrubbed clean from the annals of history. Players who joined the side of the Lodge could buy a patch of land on the Dominique Islands where they could create their home.


    But I digress. During the course of the quest, players get to learn more and more about Slavos Darsin. He was once a slave, but was saved by Solomon during his travels. He made a dear friendship with Solomon and decided to pledge his loyalty as his knight once he learned of Solomon¡¯s royal blood.


    It was many years later when Solomon finally yielded from his human blood, and his heir took the throne. In Slavos¡¯ words, the heir was a complete and bumbling idiot with a xenophobic streak. At one point, in the heir¡¯s rule, he ordered for a war to cleanse the world of non-humans. Half of his advisers were against the idea, but the other half was for it.


    Slavos knew that in a few weeks, the library would have ultimately decided for the king¡¯s order. So, he did what he thought was right and slew the heir with his own sword. He didn¡¯t feel remorse for killing a would-be monster, but he didn¡¯t enjoy it either. After all, it was still his friend¡¯s son. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    After that, he fled. No matter his goals, he did kill the king. He stumbled upon the continent of Allgive and started traveling. The rest was history.


    To think that he would be here, and hogging the archives no less. If I remember correctly, we had most adamantium npcs travel the Allgive continent, so it must have been a coincidence for him to be here.


    Yes, this could work. Slavos Darsin is known to be a good person.


    I thanked Madriel for the information and left for the 2nd floor. This was a place that was rarely ever visited by players. Especially me, since I basically knew every part of the game, well, almost. So, pouring through in-game text was useless for me, but few did read in-game text just to be immersed into the world.


    The 2nd floor was just a large, barely inhabited library. Even with the center cut out, and the vast space, I could only see 4 or 5 people intently reading. One of them was just the person I was looking for.


    Sitting by the far corner surrounded by several stacked books on the table and on the ground was a large dragonkin. A scaled race of men that had the characteristics of their draconic parents.


    In Slavos¡¯ case, he had light-blue scales across his body, and he was a notch larger than the rest of the people in the library. A heavy tail was resting on the table. Slavos barely wore armor because of the heavy and durable scales that was known of his race that is said to be as resilient as plate armor.


    Shards of ice protrude from his elbows and knees, acting as one more natural weapon in his repertoire. A pair of crystalline, transparent horns jut out from the side of his head and curved backwards. His face was that of a lizard with very sharp features. To top it all of, he wore a custom-made monocle that conformed to his nose, with the chain tied to his right horn.


    Just beside him, lying on the side of the table was a very large ¡®sword¡¯, if you could call it that. In the game, we had it designated as a bladed weapon but with blunt damage since it was just a hunk of unsharpened iron on a stick in the shape of an executioner sword.


    On a side note, Slavos¡¯ sword was one of the weapons that could be looted if the Dominique Library had won.


    I confidently walked up to him with Nis in tow. As we neared, I felt a chill that was characteristic of being in Slavos¡¯ vicinity. He was, after all, descended from a glacial elder dragon.


    As expected, he didn¡¯t notice us walk up to him. Or I suppose, he just ignored us. I knocked on the table across him with my knuckles, which seems to be enough to wake him from his reverie.


    Before he closed the book, he placed a bookmark in a smooth motion and placed it on the table. He then looked at us, and there was surprise in his face.


    ¡°Oh, forgive me. I thought it was a guilder asking me to leave. It surprises me that another adventurer would talk to me.¡± He stood up from his seat and offered his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, I am Slavos Darsin, the Kingslayer. What can this old dragonkin do for you?¡±


    I reached out and gave him a firm handshake, and he received it with the same force.


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Slavos. My name is Sed Immer.¡±


    He smiled, seeming content with it and sat back in his chair.


    ¡°Please take a seat. I am sure you did not come to my kind for pleasantries.¡±


    I grinned and took him up in his offer. Nis took the one beside me, but chose not to speak.


    ¡°It¡¯s pleasantries in a different sense, Sir Slavos. Would you care for a spar?¡±

 Adonis 14: Prep

    Now, I know this was a reckless plan. Far too reckless considering I had my life on the line if something went wrong, especially against a person as strong as Slavos. It would mean certain death if I wasn¡¯t careful. Keyword ¡®I¡¯.


    Slavos was very much a person that knew how to hold back. He was, after all, once known as the greatest Knight-Scholar of the Dominique Library. Holding back his strength while still suppressing opponents was something he was known to do, even in the game and in the lore.


    So, if there was anyone I wanted to test my strength with, it was Slavos. He presented things I needed to evaluate my strength to the strength of the new world. One, he was considered one of the strongest people in the continent and would give me an accurate take of my standing. Two, he was considerate and powerful enough to stop himself from committing a death blow.


    Still, accidents happened in fighting, even if it was a spar so I had one more item in my repertoire. It was a legendary amulet that was very popular among raiding parties if only for the fact that it could ''resurrect'' against certain death once in a week. Many raiding parties had one or two of these amulets on their vital members, like an Occultist or a Guardian.


    Watching Nis use the Mexxiah Crown gave me enough of a ¡®reason¡¯ to try it. If unique item like the Mexxiah Crown worked, then I might as well try with the rest of my items. Still, there was no guarantee that every item would work.


    Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I had already lost my life once anyway, and it was a fulfilling life, so I had no qualms jumping into the maw of a dragon if it meant one more foot to stand on in Adonis.


    Upon hearing my proposal, Slavos was slightly taken aback, his mouth was ajar and I could feel his chilly breath even this far away from him. It took a moment to process what I asked of him.


    ¡°Are you quite certain of this, Sir Sed? Not to belittle your strength, but I am an adamantium adventurer. I have confidence that I can hold back my abilities, but there is still reasonable risk to consider.¡±


    I smiled. He really was Slavos Darsin.


    I took out my adamantium badge and showed it to him.


    ¡°No worries there, Sir Slavos. I am also of equivalent rank. Truth be told, I only wanted to spar with someone of equal standing as I had not fought in a long time. I wanted to stimulate my battle sense with someone that could fight me on a reasonable level.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°To think that you would also be an adamantium, and one so young at that.¡± He murmured and scratched at his temple with his long claws. ¡°I find it commendable that you wish to return to the fold. So be it! We shall fight in the lodge¡¯s yard.¡±


    There was a guttural laugh from him and he stood up from his seat. He stood a good 3 heads taller than me. He brandished his sword from the table and placed it on his shoulder. ¡°We must appropriate the place from them, let us meet with a guilder.¡± He said and moved his hulking frame.


    It was a smooth exchange when we talked to it with Madriel. He said it was a great idea, and that he could easily reschedule the training exercises for another day, saying that our spar would be a great learning experience for new adventurers.


    One thing I did not consider was that he also advertised it to the rest of the adventurers loitering in the guild house.


    We stepped foot into the ¡®yard¡¯ of the guild house. We call it a yard, but in actuality, it was more of a gladiatorial arena. It was accessed on the ground floor to the far end from the entrance of the guild. It was one level lower to accommodate for people to watch, and was made to make sure that no stray attacks would attack the audience from below.


    Normally, this place would have dozens of adventurers learning the ropes, usually newbies that have just joined. In the game, it was populated with NPCs, but it wasn¡¯t rare to find a player among them, wanting to learn how to properly fight.


    Now though, instead of the deserted bleaches, it was now actually packed to the brim of lazy bums eager to see a fight between two adamantiums.


    I wanted to keep it a private matter, but Madriel seems to have thought otherwise. Oh well, Slavos doesn¡¯t seem to mind, so I pushed the thoughts aside as well.


    We were lead to the center of the arena by the guilders and they started to ¡®welcome¡¯ us to the adoring crowd.


    I could hear the murmurs as they looked at me. I guess it was to be expected, they didn¡¯t think someone as young as I would be an adamantium. Little did they know, I was actually an old man with 200+ years in his belt. Well, that my past life.


    I already have many of my items equipped before I dropped to the arena, so I was already in tip-top shape. My equipment was my usual loadout, the white long coat Forevermore, the Enduring Soul amulet, the Fairy¡¯s Grasp gloves, the Soles of the Soul, a cape of Windfall, and 2 simple agility booster rings. They were all items that increase my agility sufficiently. I also had on my hand my trusty spear, the Spear of Immersed.


    Slavos, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to need much. He only had a mantle made of chainmail on his hips and cloth pants adorned with steel knee guards. On his right shoulder was a large pauldron held in place by leather belts across his chest. His monocle was tightly fitted to his right horn, and his hunk iron of a sword was resting on his shoulder.


    We looked at each other and we both knew it was time. No need for words.

 Adonis 15: Lessons

    I started things off with a simple spear thrust to his chest, to which he easily deflected using the broad-side of his blade. Slavos used this opening to launch a counter-strike, and a beautiful arc of silver seemed to start from where his sword was.


    I managed to dodge it by a hair¡¯s breadth as I jumped back and took a more defensive stance.


    It was all coming back to me. I wasn¡¯t even sure if I would be able to hold my own against Slavos, considering he was a denizen of this place, but everything was coming back to me. Muscle memory and instincts to use the various skills I had in this avatar.


    Maybe because I was momentarily lulled by the realization, but Slavos used the chance to shorten the distance between us.


    He dug deep with his foot on the ground and pushed with his leg strength, causing me to be flustered from the speed alone. He then used his tail to flip himself upwards, brandished his sword in the air and swung down with tensed arm muscles.


    I wanted to take the strike with my spear and parry it the same way, but my instincts were telling me to avoid it all costs, they were practically blaring with sirens in my head or atleast, I imagine them to be. Immediately, I used my enhanced agility to narrowly dodge the attack and increase the distance between us.


    Where I once stood was now a large explosion of dust and dirt. As it subsided, I saw the figure of Slavos standing valiantly beside the crater he had just made.


    It was a flashy move, and was probably used more to surprise his opponents than actually striking them. But seriously, that did not seem like he was holding back. If anything, it felt like he was using all of his strength to crush me.


    Jeez, now I¡¯m having cold sweat from this.


    I readjusted my stance and went on the offensive. My footwork was nothing impressive, but with my agility, I was able to bridge the gap between us quite easily, almost looking like I slid on the ground.


    Using the chance, I spun the spear overhead as I moved to attack and as I neared him, I immediately used all my strength to strike down using the spear more as a halberd. It was usually an effective attack due to the cross-shape of the spearhead, turning it into a long warpick, even plate armor would be pierced readily with it. But, well...


    Slavos smiled and stared back at me. Once my spear was in striking range, he suddenly moved his sword-arm. His muscles bulged and tensed so much that it was grotesque and parried my strike as he hooked it across the cross-shaped spearhead. It was a show of skill, to manage to do so even with my speed.


    The moment I felt the spear vibrate with its contact with the sword, I knew I had to let go of it. It was a hard choice to do so, but a necessary one. If I had chosen to keep hold of the sword and stand my ground, my arm could have ripped right off with his herculean strength.


    The spear spun and flew a parabolic across the sky and lodged itself deep into the earth, nearly at the very edge of the arena.


    Slavos didn¡¯t let this chance escape him. Using the momentum of his parry, he used his contra-lateral leg to kick me right in the gut with such force that I thought I was actually fighting a dragon.


    There, my instincts told me to just take the hit.


    It was something I learned when fighting against large, horribly strong raid bosses in the game. Get hit enough times, and you learn to minimize the damage. Cheesy as it is, ¡®go with the flow¡¯. Resistance would be disastrous.


    From the force alone, I was sprung across the arena. I would have lost my consciousness but I realized that ¡®something¡¯ worked, and as I limply fell to ground, a smile had formed.


    So even here, that skill worked. ¡®Enduring Resilience¡¯. A cap skill of the ¡®Steadfast Slayer¡¯ tree of the class. It was the last skill for a max-level Steadfast Slayer. It basically halved all damage and all effects once every 20 seconds in battle. It meant that fatal strikes were less fatal, and debilitating status effects were much, much weaker and shorter.


    In this case, holy god, it helped me against a blow enough to incapacitate me.


    This avatar of mine was robust, and that gave me even more a confirmation that all of my skills worked, even passive abilities such as Enduring Resilience. Options upon options appeared before me. I knew now that I could use the full abilities of my avatar.


    I immediately brought up my hand in front of me and chanted. A dark hue of magical energy converged on my hand as I finished. The magic exploded at my finger tips and covered my body with a dark, shadowy cloud. This solidified into something more.


    A dark mantle made of smoke appeared behind me, feeling more solid than it was. It flapped with the wind and fastened itself onto my shoulder.


    Night Robes, a spell of the Occultist that shrouded the magician with solidified smoke. It reduced the effects of curses, and transferred me to the ¡®Ethereus¡¯ once to protect me from a fatal strike. It was a wonderful defensive spell for the Occultist.


    ¡°You did not give me the impression of a magician, Sir Sed! This is a welcome turn of events!¡± Slavos roared and finally took a stance against me, with his sword held high and pointed at me.


    I would have wanted to keep trying out my basic abilities without using my skills, but it was clear that I was at a disadvantage if I didn¡¯t use them. His basic abilities were a notch higher than mine. This was intentional on our part, since his character sheet was that of a max-level dragonkin with Guardian and Slayer. So he was effectively a powerful offensive and defensive warrior.


    For my build that was in between a debuffer and a warrior, I was against a steep hill from the start.


    ¡°Here I come, Sir Slavos. It¡¯s my turn.¡±


    I announced and chanted one more spell under my breath. Smoke Dance. At once, several tendrils of black smoke appeared underneath my feet and surged itself towards Slavos like thrown spears.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Slavos grinned and shot forward and struck down a smoke projectile with his sword play. Easily as if cutting through butter, the smoke cloud dissipated with a single cut of his sword.


    This was something only Guardians could do, especially ¡®Apocalypse Guardians¡¯, a Guardian tree that turned the Guardian into the perfect anti-mage.


    They could learn a skill called ¡®Dragonstrike¡¯ that decreased the effects of magic should they be able to parry them, but only Apocalypse Guardians learned a cap-skill called ¡®Masterful Insight¡¯ that gave them increased magic resistance, and the ability to totally nullify spells with Dragonstrike.


    He easily cut down another tendril of smoke, but several more were shot towards him. Too many to count, and so he finally retreated a few steps back as he tried to strike at each one. Their damage was negligible, but each hit of Smoke Dance slightly increased the effects of curses, but he wouldn¡¯t know this.


    My spell was nearing its end, but I only really needed it to distract him. I immediately shot one more spell in his direction. One of the key skills of the Occultist, the Curse of Malaise. It decreased the target¡¯s speed by a quarter.


    A gurgling mass of darkness appeared at my finger tips and shot forward. It passed through Smoke Dance and was hidden beneath the tendrils of smoke. Maybe it was because he was preoccupied, but he didn¡¯t realize that one more spell was coming towards him.


    The gurgling mass enveloped his body and disappeared a second later, but now, he was affected by it. Dark chains appeared on his ankles, seeming to anchor him to the ground.


    Immediately as it went into effect on Slavos, I was also affected by a wave of discomfort, but it was easily alleviated by my Curse Bearer Occultist cap skill, ¡®Darkened Heart¡¯, which halved the effects of curses that would affect the Occultist. Combined with ¡®Enduring Resilience¡¯ and ¡®Night Robes¡¯, the effect of the curse on me was negligible that I could completely dominate most opponents with my curses.


    Yes, this was the strongest aspect of my build. Crowned of being the strongest 1v1 build in Adonis Online, but was near useless everywhere else.


    ¡°Ugh, what foul sorcery is this!?¡± Slavos roared and cut the last of the smoke tendrils with his sword. It was obvious, however, that his movements had grown dull.


    I only smiled thinly and ran across the arena. I was at the opposite side where my spear was lodged on the earth.


    Slavos noticed what I wanted to do and easily intercepted my actions. I may have been faster than him, but he was closer to my weapon.


    He stood just across me, with his sword ready to strike at any moment and his feet to move.


    I was forced to stop and stare at him. Despite his cursed state, he was still a strong opponent. He, too, was cautious of me. As one part magician, he knew I didn¡¯t need much else to cast my magic.


    I clicked my tongue and sent out another wave of Smoke Dance at him. The mana cost of everything was piling up, I needed to finish it fast.


    He tried to dodge one of the smoke tendrils coming at him by rolling on the ground, but realized that it wasn¡¯t so effective now that his speed has dropped. With the rest converging on his location, he used his tail to push him up and on his feet, then parried a tendril with his sword.


    His expression grew dark by the second, as he kept hacking away at the spell.


    He was occupied, and that was all that I needed. I ran around him and took the spear by its handle, then ran behind him.


    I only needed one perfect hit against him, and that would be the end of the spar. Taking this chance as he was still distracted somewhat to strike from behind. I mustered up my agility and bolted with my spear forward to his back.


    As I was about to hit him with the spear, he twisted his body to the side, used the momentum of said movements, and swung his sword diagonally upwards to parry several shadow tendrils, then used the falling movement of his sword to strike down at me in a simultaneous and continuous motion.


    Motherfucker was an acrobat, what the hell?


    His sword struck at my spear, causing both of our weapons to lodge into the packed dirt. An explosion of dust once against obscured our vision, but I could see Slavos¡¯ figure somersault into the air using his sword as a vaulting pole and landed behind me.


    The crafty dragonkin then used this chance where I was the most vulnerable to send a roundhouse kick at my back. This was unlike earlier where I was somewhat prepared, but an attack from behind was devastating. I felt my bones crack and I was launched forward to my own spell.


    I felt the severity of my curse increase a notch higher.


    Once again, I was unarmed and without my weapon in a compromised position.


    Then, as I was about to jump forward, I felt a coldness at my nape that was so sharp it felt like a sword had punctured it open. Immediately, I rolled on the ground forward, stood up, and ran across the arena.


    My instincts were correct to tell me to move as a few moments later, Slavos stood there, unarmed, but there was a small cave-in on the dirt where his feet were.


    ¡°You cannot rely on brute force, Sir Sed! You must also learn of finesse to survive.¡± Slavos said and took on a stance similar to a martial artist. One of his hands was behind his back, with the other pointing at me. His feet was spread apart for balance. He looked impressive.


    So, even the best 1v1 build was no match for real combat experience. I was made aware of my folly of thinking the battle similar to how it was in the game. I didn¡¯t intend to look at it that way, but I suppose it was far too ingrained in my psyche.


    Relying on stats was near fatal now in this world. I could only sigh to myself for being so naive.


    I slapped myself with both hands on the cheek and stared at Slavos.


    Fine, I¡¯ll show you finesse. This will be my biggest gamble yet.


    I took in a sharp breathe, took in the stance of a boxer, and rushed myself forward head-first against Slavos.


    Slavos shook his head in disappointment and readied himself.


    I reached into his range, where he struck forward with his outstretched hand. His claws was also a deadly weapon that I wasn¡¯t too keen on getting stabbed by, but I needed to give him a taste of what it meant to fight with ¡®finesse¡¯.


    I didn¡¯t dodge his strike, only moved forward with reckless abandon. He hesitated for a moment, but still plunged it forward. Inch by inch, I felt time slow down as my head neared the tips of his claws. I stared at it, I needed to look at it. After all, this would decide who would win.


    As soon as I felt his claw reach my forehead, the Night Robe shattered behind me and exploded into a grand bellow of smoke. It surrounded both of us, and we both had no way of seeing each other.


    The one property of the Night Robe that I bet everything on, it¡¯s ability to take 1 fatal hit for me by sending me to the Ethereus, the land of spirits.


    Like a ghost, I phased through his claws, through his arm, and ultimately through his body and appeared behind him, where both of our weapons lay stuck on the ground.


    By then, I had already returned to the material plane. I rolled forward, took the spear by its shaft and the sword by its handle and slid across the dirt. I then kicked off the ground towards Slavos.


    I jumped up and forward to the smoke, spun in the air using my feet, and drew a downward slash across the black cloud using his sword. I heard an auditory, and felt a tactile, feedback from the sword hitting a slab of meat. It truly was a beast of a weapon with just how painful the feedback was. From that alone, I dropped it on the ground, kicking up a smoke of dust.


    I stood there, motionless, waiting for the black smoke to subside. It took only a few moments for the smoke to vanish to reveal Slavos knocked down on the ground. There was a bit of blood on his forehead.


    It¡¯s no wonder he was knocked out from that, an undefended strike to the head was always near fatal, especially with such an unbalanced weapon. Thankfully, Slavos was of the dragonkin, famed for their hardiness, so it was only that much of a scratch.


    I drew in sharp breath and raised my hands on the air. ¡°That¡¯s how you fight with finesse, you overgrown lizard.¡± I panted and sat on the ground.


    Maybe I wasn¡¯t used to it, but I was exhausted. I¡¯m pretty sure I should have more stamina than this, as it was my max-level avatar, but I guess this more of a mental thing.


    I breathed out and smiled. I now had a good idea of my strength, and I won which was icing on the cake. Damn does it feel good. I heard the yells of Nis among the audience, but I could only wave to her.

 Adonis 16: Executioner

    After the little sparring event, several guilders entered the arena and escorted Slavos to the guild infirmary using a primitive stretcher. I just watched them take him out, but honestly, it was just because I was too tired to actually stand up.


    One of the guilders took my attention, and was the only pme I was sufficiently acquainted with. Madriel. He walked to my side, holding a clipboard and writing down a few things.


    ¡°That was a good fight, Sed. Truly breathtaking.¡± He smiled and offered his hand.


    I took him on his offer and he helped me stand up. Man, it really was hard, tiring, but well worth it, if only for the things I¡¯ve gleaned from it.


    ¡°The medical team was supposed to be for you, you know? They were truly surprised, as am I, with your performance.¡±


    ¡°You had that little faith in me?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. It¡¯s only because Sir Slavos is one of our stronger adamantiums.¡±


    As we were talking, Nis jumped from the spectators and to the arena and ran up to me. She immediately punched me on the part of my body that Slavos kicked. Namely, the abdomen.


    It stung. So, so bad. I wanted to scream, but I managed to keep it in. It would be against my aesthetics to look pathetic now after my grand debut.


    I glared at her, to which she replied with a wink and a laugh as she ran off to who knows where. Well, she wouldn¡¯t get lost, I think.


    She¡¯s becoming less and less of what my initial impression of her is. Damn, where did the composed and ever-helpful Nis go?


    ¡°Well, whatever. I guess I should just be glad that you guys had the forethought of bringing in a healer.¡±


    ¡°A simple matter.¡± Madriel giggled, using the clipboard to hide his mouth.


    I gave him a look like I didn¡¯t believe what he just did. His only reply was a wink. Coquettish bastard.


    I sighed and placed the spear back in my pouch, then looked at Madriel. ¡°You know, I think I smell money. Did you people book-keep the match?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It is one of the few ways the guild scrounges up spare gold to keep the yard in functioning order. Magical implements to protect the audience are no small keep.¡±


    Huh, I didn¡¯t know that. Well, I never went to the yard anyway, so I probably just missed the information.


    Another set of information that I did not know. Was it brought on from the lore, or was it something entirely new? I took a mental note of it, just like every other information I¡¯ve gathered thus far.


    ¡°And I¡¯m assuming I get a cut from this, as does Slavos?¡± I crossed my arms and glared at him.


    ¡°Why, yes, of course. It is the very reason I came here.¡± He said with his business smile and gave me the clipboard. He also passed over a pen for me to use. ¡°Please sign on this paper, and we can immediately give you your share of the earnings.¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t say no to free money. Gimme.¡±


    It was a simple matter of signing on the paper. Once that was done, he gave me a pouch of gold coins from his back and excused himself from the scene, saying he was busy from the impromptu event.


    At that, I was left alone in the arena. The audience had already left, and the few that were left was just lying down on the bleachers. Some people do just loiter in the guild. I shrugged my shoulders and left to look for Nis.


    ~ - ~


    It was the next day that I returned to the guild. They had informed me that Slavos would awaken in the morning, so I left early. I left behind Nis, who was still enjoying the embrace of her blankets.


    The guild infirmary was set to the left of the building. It was a room twice as large as the backroom, and had many beds across its area. There was only one person manning the entire operation, and it was a woman of significant height, so much so that she barely fit into the door frame.


    She was a Trovian, a living machine of sorts. A creation of the old Messenian Empire and were originally called ¡®Wargears¡¯ in the historical records. After the collapse of the Messenian Empire, many ¡®Wargears¡¯ were destroyed, but many were also appropriated by the civilizations at the time, and they used them to guard treasure vaults of nations. Hence, their new name.


    It¡¯s said that the weakest Trovian has as much strength as a young dragon, in a sense, it¡¯s around Gold-rank.


    It was only until 500 years later did a researcher among the civilizations realized that the Wargears had a ¡®sentience¡¯ switch within their bodies, and tried it out. This one single action caused a Trovian revolution that brought many nations to their knees. The Trovians destroyed the switch so that they could never be enslaved again, now they were free to do what they wanted. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Many Trovians still existed, but it was rare to find one working as a doctor, much less a doctor for biological tissue, which made this Trovian a unique one. She was written by one of our younger members, and she had a quest tied to her that lead to discovering an old Trovian factory, although it only became available once you had the ¡®Blacksmiths of Chaos¡¯ expansion.


    But, that was neither here nor there. I just recalled background information.


    ¡°Ah, you must be the one I¡¯ve been hearing so much about. The up and rising adamantium, uhm, what was it?¡± She sounded so confident, but it broke apart as she spoke.


    ¡°Sed Immer. Nice to meet you.¡± I offered a handshake.


    She smiled. The stone-like skin of her face moved unnaturally and reminded me very much of an earth golem. She took my hand on hers and shook it delicately, seemingly afraid to hurt someone.


    ¡°Doctor Octavia. The pleasure¡¯s mine, Sir Sed.¡±


    There was a pleasantness to Doctor Octavia¡¯s smile. It reminded me somewhat of Mexxiah... of Claire.


    Doctor Octavia looked to the side and pointed where she was looking with her chin. ¡°Sir Slavos is awake. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re here to meet him.¡±


    I nodded at her words and left for the left side of the room. There was only one person behind the curtains, and of course it was Slavos. His silhouette was large and unique.


    ¡°Sir Slavos! I hear you¡¯re awake.¡± I shouted in an excited tone as I pulled back the curtain.


    There, on his bed, he had a small lantern on the desk, and a few books lying around his bed. He was reading, as usual.


    Slavos closed his book and put it on the bed, then flashed a smile with his monstrous teeth. ¡°Oh, Sir Sed! That was a marvelous fight!¡±


    I smirked. ¡°Keep telling me how to fight with finesse, why don¡¯t ya.¡±


    Slavos chuckled and shook his head. ¡°That was my mistake. You are quite the trickster, Sir Sed. I had thought you were a bonehead who only knew brute force, but you have corrected me in a most grandiose fashion. It was my mistake to underestimate my opponent.¡±


    I took a seat on one of the unoccupied beds and faced him.


    ¡°I wanted to thank you. For the fight. It has given me a lot to think about, and answered a lot of my questions. I suppose its say to safe that I¡¯m strong enough to protect myself.¡±


    ¡°Aye, that you are. There are few who can best me in combat, and you are one of them.¡±


    I smiled and started a more serious conversation with him.


    ¡°But, enough about that. I have a more pressing concern we need to talk about. In regards to you.¡± I said and clasped both hands together and set it on my lap. I stared at him in the eye.


    It seemed like he understood with those words and gestures alone as he sat upright from the bed. He removed his monocle and let it hang from his horn.


    ¡°You are Slavos Darsin, the Paladin of Tomes, are you not?¡±


    His eyes grew wide, but immediately returned to normal as if he was prepared for it.


    ¡°Correct. It is no secret, Sir Sed. I do correct you though, in that I am no longer the Paladin of Tomes. Call me Kingslayer, a mere betrayer and traitor to my people.¡±


    There was a bitter tone to his voice. His expression darkened, and he laughed self-deprecatingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s comedic. It¡¯s a choice I deemed correct even now, but I cannot shake the feeling that I am no better than the king I slew.¡± He looked at his blunted sword that was hanging from its sheath on the bed.


    ¡°An executioner sword, have you heard of such a thing?¡±


    ¡°A ceremonial sword more than anything, used to execute the nobility for transgressions related to life. Said to be a symbol of purity and cleansing. Always sharp for ease of the execution.¡±


    Slavos smiled and took the sword from its sheath. It was a dull gray, and hardly any sharper than a table¡¯s edges. It was a sword that had no tapering to keep its heft. He brought it close and raised it to the air.


    ¡°This was the very sword I used to decapitate the king in his sleep. It was the least painful way to the afterlife.¡± Pained, he continued. ¡°But the very action to stop a war, to save the people had sullied this sword¡¯s purpose. It was no longer a sword that cleansed the filth of the upper class. No, now it was a weapon of a betrayer. Now, it is everything that it shouldn¡¯t be.¡±


    He said, tracing his fingers across its blunted edge.


    I was silent for a moment. Though I already knew what had happened, it didn¡¯t change the fact that the emotion was palpable to me. I decided to choose my words carefully from this point on.


    ¡°Why do you tell me this?¡±


    Slavos sighed and returned the sword to it¡¯s sheath and looked at me, staring right through my eyes. It was as if he was peering through my soul.


    ¡°I tell it to you because you have bested me in combat. Those I deem worthy, I tell them my story, and I ask them what they think. Am I hero that saved countless lives, or was I person unheroic and pathetic?¡±


    I gulped. It was a heavy question, and I was wholly unqualified to answer it. After all, I wasn¡¯t a denizen of this world when it happened.


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before answering.


    ¡°Does it matter what I think? Let me lay down the facts for you.¡±


    I opened my eyes to see Slavos mulling  it over.


    ¡°At the end of the day, you saved countless lives with the cost of one. I¡¯d say that¡¯s a good outcome.¡± I said, stood up, and circled to the other side of his bed. There, I took his sword from the sheath and pulled it out.


    ¡°You may think you have sullied this sword¡¯s purpose, but I think you¡¯ve only done what it wanted. Let me ask you, who would benefit from the death of nobility? The king loses his standing, the upper class grows wary, the web of politics entangle even more, but ultimately, the people rejoice. For once, they¡¯ve found justice against a class of people that merely exploited them.¡±


    I grasped the sword¡¯s handle. The blade started to glow a brilliant white, and subsided after a moment. The executioner¡¯s sword now seemed a little more proper. I moved my finger to the blade, and a slight touch was enough to prick my finger. A droplet of blood stained its width. I smirked to myself, and returned to the sword to Slavos.


    ¡°It may be a cynic view of the purpose of a sword, but it¡¯s valid as anything else.¡±


    Slavos took the sword and looked at it. It now shone with a brilliant reflection of his blue scales.


    Slavos mumbled, seeming to understand something.


    ¡°You¡¯re no hero, but you¡¯re not pathetic either. A man that would kill his liege to save a nation from a war is just a person who has massive balls of blue fucking steel. So, let me ask again, does it really matter what I, the great Sed, thinks?


    Slavos chuckled and returned the sword to its sheath. ¡°When you put it that way, no, not at all.¡±


    ¡°There you have it. One soul searching done.¡± I said and smacked him in the shoulder. ¡°The victors goes the spoils, right?¡± I asked.


    Slavos smiled and nodded his head.


    ¡°Perfect. Sir Slavos, be a member of my party.¡±

 Adonis 17: Hero?

    ~ Slavos¡¯ Perspective ~


    Just like any other day, I walked to the guild house. The large, towering building, was my information abode. Though it was not an institution that hoarded knowledge, they collected it for various reasons.


    The second floor was where I spent most of my hours. The entire floor was filled with books and I could have my fill of reading so long as I did the guilder¡¯s quests. It was an easy life.


    It was during when I had finally finished one of the harder books on magical theory, Anzlan¡¯s Kneus Ice Mechanism, that one curious adventurer approached me.


    This child that stood across me had eyes as black as the void, and hair as white as the silver of the coins we used. His features were soft, but there was something strong with the perpetual smile on his face.


    Mayhaps, this child did not know me.


    I introduced myself to him. It was only natural to do so and I offered him my sharp claws. I had thought that once he had learned of my name, he would run off, scared of me. But that was not the case with this child.


    He did not react at the mention of my name, a name that has been shrouded in deep gossip and hearsay, that people think it a name of a savage, of a person untrustworthy. It was I who was surprised by this child no older than 20.


    He took my hand and gripped it with force. Even with the sharp claws, he did not hesitate. He introduced himself as he did.


    I knew now not to think of this person as a child, but as a man. His immature exterior belying a maturity not found even among older adventurers. I would say that he is at least worthy of half my respect.


    I asked him to sit down across me. No one would call out to me for pleasantries, it must be a request of my strength, or something else that requires my skill. Coin is coin, and so I would take it. And for someone like him who personally looked for me, I would still do it for half. That is the worth of my respect. Besides, coin was not a problem I had.


    But, that was not the case. It was not a request in the conventional sense.


    It was a spar.


    Sed Immer. I will remember your name.


    ~ - ~


    I had thought the man before me was a warrior such as myself, with how he held that spear and ran against me. I momentarily thought that he was naught but a weakling struggling against the strong, but I was wrong.


    He was merely testing the waters against me in the first few blows. A magician that knew martial arts. They were few and far between in the lands, they were troublesome, but manageable. You would not be any different, Sed Immer.


    My skills, honed in years of battle, could cut down the very essence of magic. I did not read books on magical theory only to sate my curiosity. It was also to learn of the weaknesses of such magciry.


    I struck down the many spears of shadowy darkness that he shot against me, but I did not expect him to use the clouds to obscure one more spell.


    Immediately, I felt something crawling in my scales. Something very forceful, something very distasteful. It encroached ever closer, and I felt my muscles weaken and slow.


    It took me a few moments to realize that this was a curse. Damnable curses! I had not learned myself of curses. There were very few tomes in the Dominique Archives, and few more in the libraries of the guild.


    They were considered the dark arts and so people view it as vile, and less palatable than spells. It is for this very reason that it was hard to find books on them, much less books that taught them.


    I argue however, that everything can be used in the sacred forms of combat. It is the foolish that think upon it as a plague that die the earliest.


    It seems that this person before me hid many secrets, but I am assured of my victory. He is mature in the worldly sense, but incapable in combat! He is strong, but he does not think when he acts. It is this very thing that convinces that he will never lay a strike against me.


    Sed Immer attempted to strike me from behind this time as I was preoccupied with his earlier spell. Fool. Many have done the same, less have told the tale. You will be no different.


    I jumped above him and disarmed him of his weaponry. It is unfortunate however, that I am also without a weapon. But no matter. I kicked him away and against his own spell.


    I told him that brute force was not the way in combat. That a little ingenuity comes a long way. He seemed to be angered by this as he ran forward with no thought at all. It¡¯s a shame, I wanted to find someone who I can use my full strength against, but it seems Sed Immer is not one of them.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    As I clawed out at his nearing figure, a cloud of smoke obscured my vision, and my hands felt nothing in its touch. Was this his plan? If so, a truly wondrous plan. Still, it was insufficient. I had my ways against subterfuge.


    But, before I could use any more of my abilities and skills in the combat, I felt a dull pain on my head, and before I knew it, the world had gone dark.


    ~ - ~


    It was only in the morning of the day after did Doctor Octavia filled me in on what happened.


    I had lost, and in the most spectacular way possible.


    It¡¯s laughable. Me, the warrior well known across the lands, lost to a young human, and all because of my underestimation. Maybe my glory for the last several years had clouded my vision.


    It¡¯s a disgrace to my honor as a warrior.


    Regret. A most wonderful emotion. It¡¯s only an emotion known to those who have lived. I truly regret not going against him with all of my strength. My arrogance consumed me.


    I shook my head and left my thoughts there.


    Doctor Octavia told me that Sed Immer would be coming along later, and so I waited.


    I¡¯ve decided to tell him my story, as someone I deem worthy of it. And to ask him, as someone worthy, what he thinks of my past actions.


    I still remember the people that I have lost to, and their answers were varied. One such person became a champion of the arenas and he told my choice was correct, that I was a hero and should be hailed as one. Another told me, a famous knight of the Tribble Kingdom, that I was pathetic for striking my liege, that I was a traitor.


    There were many others I could count on my hand, but all their answers were split. I still do not know if what I did was correct.


    ~ - ~


    I told Sed Immer my past, and he answered in a way most surprising. None other had answered in such a way, only he did.


    ¡®Does it matter what I think?¡¯ He asked, a question to a question.


    Yes, it did. It matters a lot to me.


    I am a selfish person. I like to make a show of a stoic warrior, unfettered by the emotions of turmoil inside me, but I knew, in fact, that I was guided by those very emotions, and that I was guided by what people saw me as.


    I only wished to feel good about myself. I wanted people to tell me I was a hero for what I did, and I ask people stronger than me if what I did was correct. Those that did, made me happy, made me feel like what I did was correct. Those that told me otherwise made me feel somber, for what I did, I deem correct yet the people rejected it.


    Was it so bad of me to look my part as a dashing hero in a story? Maybe it is, but it was my childhood dream.


    I tried to hide these feelings of mine. I didn¡¯t want to accept this part of me. It was an ugly side of me that I didn¡¯t want to face. Egotism.


    But, he is correct. I only realized it now. People will see me as they see fit. As a hero, or as a coward. In the end it did not matter what people saw me as, as they will always coincide against each other, these differing views.


    Those of blue blood would detest me for what I did, but the people, the commoners, would see me as something else.


    Truly, did it really matter what people thought of me?


    Maybe, it is fine to be called a coward. After all, I know for myself that I am a hero. I saved countless lives by halting a war before it happened. I am content with that.


    To want to be showered with praises for deeds I¡¯ve done. It is time I grow out of that. The court life has poisoned me beyond what I once was, back when I was still a vagrant. I suppose there¡¯s very little growing in such a confined and pampered environment. How pathetic.


    I should change, to believe in myself and my deeds more than the words of those around me. I have become far too servile for my own good. It is time I¡¯ve lived for my own sake and choose what I am.


    Maybe it is time to start another adventure, to learn and study more. I decided it was best to leave.


    But, what did I not expect was the offer of Sed Immer just after the fact I¡¯ve resolved myself.


    To be part of a group. Truthfully, I¡¯ve had very little chances to interact with people, and those that I have were only people I traveled with for a short time. It was merely professional, as dictated by the lodge.


    Heh, guess I¡¯ll give it a go. I feel like I¡¯ll learn more under this child... no, this man. He might just be the positive influence I think he is.


    There¡¯s no such thing as too late to learn things. This is something I should know as a Knight-Scholar. There¡¯s no shame in learning under Sed.


    I accepted, if only to further the new resolve I have made.


    ~ Chris¡¯ Perspective ~


    I left the lodge¡¯s infirmary and heaved a sigh of relief.


    Man, I¡¯m glad ¡®Emergency Maintenance¡¯ actually worked on his sword. It was a skill of a high-level blacksmith that improves a weapon¡¯s durability to working condition using mana. Of course, it¡¯s only up until working condition, so it wasn¡¯t all that useful. Still, using it as a party trick is pretty novel idea, I think.


    I¡¯m glad he decided to take on my offer. The Crypt of Bastroll was no laughing matter now that the world was real, and I needed as much help as I could. Having a front-liner that I could trust, like Slavos, was a huge boon. I¡¯m not all too confident that I can protect myself, much less Nis.


    Now then, I should prepare for the next few days.


    As I was about to leave for preparations, I found Nis running into the lodge¡¯s hall. She wore her armor messily, and her bed hair was atrocious. She looked around for a bit until her eyes landed on me. A lazy smile formed on her lips.


    I waved at her, and she immediately jumped me with a hug.


    ¡°Leaving me alone, you¡¯re so mean!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Anyway, it¡¯s good you¡¯re awake. We¡¯re getting you a badge.¡± I told her and dragged her by the hand to the lines.


    As usual, the lines were long and uneventful. After all, people just wanted to finish their jobs early in the morning and laze around in the afternoon.


    Despite the problems that arose last time, it was apparently very rare for adventurers to have scuffles in the guild hall. If there were problems, they settled it in the yard under a guilder¡¯s judgment. In most cases though, people just ignore each other for their jobs.


    In a way, it was similar in my past world. The larger the city, the more apathetic the people became.


    After a while, we managed to finally near the end of the line, but before we could process what we wanted, the guilder behind the counter shook her head and spoke.


    ¡°Apologies, but you are Sir Sed, correct? I have been informed that Sir Madriel will be in-charge of your matters.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is it because of my rank?¡±


    The female guilder nodded with a smile and directed me to one of the private rooms at the back.


    I did hear about this from Madriel, but I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d set it up so fast. I wasted all those minutes waiting in line when I could have just- ugh, fuck it. There¡¯s no point.


    I could only sigh in defeat and thanked the guilder. I walked up to the room when I met with Madriel holding quite a stack of paperwork with three of his fingers. He was pretty strong for someone with such a slender build.


    ¡°Ah, Sir Sed. One of my colleagues told me you were here. Please follow me.¡± He put on his usual business smile, opened the door, and walked inside.

 Adonis 18: Testing

    What we¡¯ve talked about before, when I asked Madriel to explain the procedures of the lodge, he mentioned that special individuals gain a personal supporter in the form of a guilder figure. These figures are in-charge of everything that is to do with the adventurer, such as paperwork, records, requests and confirmations.


    In the event that the adventurer leaves for another branch, the in-charge guilder is still designated to handle any and all information that pertains to their charge. In a way, the guilder is promoted to a pretty ¡®lazy¡¯ position that just means they are required to compile information every so often, but they are also in charge of making sure that they always have some form of communication with the adventurer.


    Honestly, it seems like a troublesome position, but according to Madriel, it paid pretty well for basically being just the manager of one person.


    I didn¡¯t really care enough to ask for more of the specifics, but the idea was interesting. Not only the idea, but the very fact that exists. Just like other facets of the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge that wasn¡¯t in the lore, it seemed like some things just happen. This is among those slivers of information that didn¡¯t belong in the game nor in the lore.


    It really makes me wonder if this world is just a hodgepodge of everything that is and isn¡¯t related to the game and lore. Or, I guess the better way to rationalize it is that the world feels ¡®lived-in¡¯ than ¡®manufactured¡¯.


    In that case, it meant the world existed before I want sent here. That means my information isn¡¯t rock-solid, maybe useless, and may even be more harmful. I suppose, before anything bad happens, I should rely less on my meta knowledge.


    Locking that in my heart and resolving myself, I asked Madriel to simply register Nis as an adventurer.


    Now that Madriel¡¯s status was elevated, and probably because it was my request, it was done easily without having to do the entry exam. Normally, to make sure no adventurer would be useless, they issue an exam to test a person¡¯s ability. If they pass, they become adventurers.


    However, even If I use my position as an adamantium, we can¡¯t just arbitrarily increase her rank to mine. According to Madriel, there were procedures to be followed.


    For now, until she can prove her strength and experience, Nis is designated as a stone adventurer. The lowest of the bunch. For stone adventurers, they were usually just freemen working for extra pocket money, it wasn¡¯t something people could live off of. Besides, most of their work consist of utility jobs along the city, such as fixing houses, patrolling the city, oddjobs here and there.


    Obviously, I don¡¯t plan on letting her stay there. No, I¡¯m boosting her up to until Silver or Gold.


    Clearing the Crypt of Bastroll should be the perfect method to do so.


    After that little task, we started on preparing for our raid. We started with essentials, such as food, camping supplies, and several more combat items such as purifying salts, bomb rocks, noise makers, paper familiars, all those items.


    I did have the option to just use my stock, but I wanted to teach Nis that each raid was something you had to risk your life on to succeed. I gave her a set of pocket money and a list of items to buy and told her to make sure she got everything on the list. I didn¡¯t specify how much she should buy of one item though.


    It¡¯s all a learning experience for her, and I intend to keep it that way. It may be reckless to do so in a place unfamiliar to me, and in situation as precarious as this, but if not now, when?


    Besides, I have several items that I can use in an emergency. I¡¯d at least be able to protect her, push comes to shove, even if we are under prepared.


    ¡°Master Chris! Tell me how much I should buy!¡± She spoke irritably and started gripping on my coat.


    For the most part, I ignored her and let her decide.


    This happened a few more times along the course of the day, and eventually, we finished our preparations at twilight. Even at this hour, the city was still lively, and so we walked back to our inn, enjoying the chilly evening breeze.


    She must have been tired as she crashed the moment we entered our room. In a few moments later, I could her hear snoring away. She didn¡¯t even remove her armor, but whatever, it¡¯s a learning experience. She¡¯ll be sore for the whole day tomorrow, haha.


    Anyway, I looked at our share of the loot today. I spread them out on the table and took count.


    Hmmmmm, I guess she passes. She brought more of something I wouldn¡¯t buy personally, but I guess she bought it for a sense of security. Paper familiars were good, but in a normal raid, people usually just buy 1 or 2. She bought 4.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    It was an item that gave arcane casters the ability to see combat in a bird¡¯s eye view.


    I can¡¯t really blame her. It is a pretty good item, if a bit pricey. Still, she could¡¯ve used the money to buy more noise makers or more potions. It¡¯s only really useful against the boss.


    Still, our preparations are complete. All we need to do now is to wait for Slavos¡¯ recovery. Shouldn¡¯t take long though for a Dragonkin. At the earliest? Probably the day after tomorrow.


    After confirming the count one more time, I placed them back in the bag and took to the bed. Tomorrow would be a pretty busy day for me, so I slept much earlier than normal.


    ~ - ~


    The next day, we left for the wanderer¡¯s lodge early. My business? The yard. I needed to test all of my abilities if all of them worked, and that was the best place to do so.


    Nis came along with me, but just like yesterday, she was out of it. She really wasn¡¯t a morning person. Funny how that works, an AI slow in the head in the mornings. Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see that in my life, or in the afterlife. Actually, would this be considered the afterlife? Whatever.


    I was a bit worried though, so I took Nis by her hand and guided her to our destination. To others, we might have looked like lovers in an early-day date, but to me? I feel like I was taking care of a daughter. My paternal instincts were roaring.


    As we neared the lodge, there was a slight commotion at the entrance. There was quite a bit of people by the center, seeming to mob someone, but I have no idea what was happening.


    I watched the sight before me, and I decided to ignore it until I saw someone familiar. There, by the edge of the mass of people was Dylan and Kyle. They weren¡¯t fighting with the mob, but they were just there, standing and thinking.


    I called out to both of them.


    ¡°Oh, Sed? You sure are early.¡± Kyle said, stretching his arms.


    Dylan rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at the sight behind him. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not getting in any time soon.¡± He sighed and rest his hands by the handle of his sword.


    ¡°Dylan, Kyle, good morning. Something happen?¡± I asked them as I neared, still dragging the sleepy Nis along with me.


    ¡°Morning, Sed. Something¡¯s up ahead, can¡¯t tell here though.¡± Dylan shrugged.


    ¡°Uh, aren¡¯t there other entrances?¡±


    ¡°This early in the morning? Not yet, they only open this large door here in the mornings, and open the rest in the afternoon.¡± Kyle replied while adjusting his pants.


    ¡°Well, what can ya do? Let¡¯s just wait.¡± Dylan yawned and looked behind him with disinterest.


    ¡°Oh yeah, heard you fought the big lizard, and won. Didn¡¯t peg ya for an adamantium.¡± Kyle recalled and smiled. ¡°Congrats.¡±


    ¡°Only barely. That guy is a beast with a sword, and I¡¯m pretty sure he wasn¡¯t even going at it seriously. More like, he was testing me? He wasn¡¯t taking any aggressive moves, and he was reactionary.¡±


    Dylan huffed. ¡°That¡¯s still a considerable achievement. I don¡¯t think Kyle could last a second against him.¡±


    Kyle laughed. ¡°I¡¯d be smacked down hard in a hot second.¡±


    ¡°I never asked, but what¡¯s your rank?¡± I was curious.


    ¡°The Eight Wonders? We¡¯re a Gold-Rank party, but Kyle is the only Platinum-Rank.¡±


    That was surprising. I didn¡¯t see their fight, and considering how Nis wiped the floor with them, I thought they were weak. A Silver-Rank at most, I thought. Although, now that I think about it, she did use her summons instead of fighting on her own, so maybe that¡¯s why.


    In order of competence, the lodge assigns a rank to each adventurer. From Stone, Iron, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Those above Platinum start from Mithril, Orichalchum, and lastly, Adamantium.


    For Kyle to be a Platinum. That was even more of a surprise, but a pleasant one. Makes me wonder why they were strapped for cash, but the life of an adventurer was rife with troubles. Expenses were spread around, after all.


    As we were talking among ourselves, the mass of people behind us finally broke up from the middle. There, groups of adventurers started walking out. From what I can tell, these group of adventurers were top-class with their equipment and bearing.


    We quickly walked to the side to let them walk, since there weren¡¯t that much space to begin with, and considering the huge line of adventurers following behind them. I may even be understating it a bit, from what I could tell, there was around 100-150 adventurers all walking together in line.


    ¡°Aha, so that¡¯s why!¡± Kyle said, looking at the group with interest. ¡°They¡¯re clearing the crypt.¡± He explained to me.


    ¡°Good luck to them, I guess.¡± Dylan replied disinterestedly and walked to the entrance. ¡°Kyle, come on!¡±


    ¡°Aye, let¡¯s get a minotaur subjugation this time around.¡± Kyle followed him after waving at us with a ¡®bye¡¯.


    I would¡¯ve wanted to chat with them more. There¡¯s a lot that I don¡¯t know now that the world has become something more than my creation, but I¡¯m not so bold-faced to ask them to waste time with me when they could be making cash.


    With nothing left to do, and a whole lot to think about, I dragged Nis to the yard.


    I rented out the whole yard for my use, with everyone prohibited from entering except us and Madriel, who was kind of like my personal assistant. With the wide area for our own use, we used the entirety of the day testing out our abilities.


    One thing I¡¯ve realized when I fought Slavos was experience. Even after cursing him with slowness, he still manages to beat me handily without even exhibiting most of his abilities. It made me realize that I shouldn¡¯t rely too much on my avatar¡¯s skills.


    Instead, what I needed to cultivate was cunning and wit. Just like how I used Night Robe to clutch the victory against Slavos, I need to devise more methods for when my might and magic is useless. To this end, we thoroughly familiarized ourselves with our skills and abilities.


    By afternoon, we used our time to spar against each other.


    Of course, as someone who uses powerful cursing, it was no wonder I would win, so I stopped myself from using it and instead used several other spells from Occultist and all of my skills from Slayer.


    By the end of it, at twilight, we finished all of what we wanted to do. All in all, it was a fruitful time, and I now had several methods to bring out for when brute force was useless.


    Not to mention, I¡¯ve extensively tested all of my equipment that had enchantments in them. I¡¯ve managed to proc or activate 80% or so, with the rest being far too unique to activate. Even at this point, I had no idea if Spear of Immersed worked, still, it was a good weapon so I wanted to try and keep at it for a longer time.


    It was only an hour after we finished our preparations to leave that I was glad to have wasted my entire time training. An event that I did not think would ever happen.

 Adonis 19: Bastroll

    Under the mask of the blaring noon sun, a figure appeared from the ancient entrance of the crypt. It was an emaciated man, covered head to toe with a flickering coat of dirtied rags. His face was malnourished, with sunken cheeks and eyes as dry as the desert. His hair was a disheveled mess of grease.


    He looked at the small outpost just before him, the men on lookout were surprised at his appearance. A second later, the emaciated man smiled horrifically, revealings rows of broken teeth. A centipede was moving around inside. His slowly raised his hands and pointed at the camp.


    Immediately, one of the guards shriveled up. As if moisture was sucked out from his flesh, the corpse fell down with a loud thud. Horrified, the rest of the guards readied their weapons and sortied out of the camp to apprehend the emaciated man. Only... it wasn¡¯t emaciated.


    As if regaining his vigor, the emaciated man was no longer decrepit. Golden locks of hair tied in a pony tail, with silvery pale eyes clear as the moon. His face now fuller than it ever was. The several bandaging on his body burst out, revealing a youthful body. The man spread out his arms and laughed. It was a bone-chilling cackle that made the guard¡¯s bodies freeze.


    ¡°Devour them.¡± The man softly said, and a monster appeared behind him.


    A monster with darkened flesh, seeming solid as plates of armor. Its shape was that of a large lion, with webbed wings sprouting from its back. Behind it, where a tail should be, was a large, thin arm holding on to a gigantic axe. Its face was that of a human in a perpetual state of screaming. Blood oozed out from all its humane orifices.


    This large creature howled. From there, the opening where they appeared, a hundred shambling corpses started pouring out from the entrance, all equipped with excellent armor and weapons. Not only that, but several more monsters appeared with them, all a mishmash of horrific creations.


    The frozen guards could do nothing but watch as the monster inched at them bit by bit. Some fell unconscious on the spot, others trying hard to break free from their restraints. Unfortunately for them, their end was already set in stone.


    The man watched, a thin smile on his beautiful features. Beside him was the large human-faced creature snuggling up to him with its mane, a writhing mass of several hundred fingers, brushed up to the man.


    ¡°Today, the world shall be engulfed in Malice.¡± The man looked at the horizon, now slightly red from the mists of blood. His voice tinged with a mysterious emotion.


    ~ - ~


    A hundred or so adventurers that were just loitering around earlier were now gathered into the center of the lodge hall. All of them holding on to their weapons and fully equipped with their own defensive gear. They all looked at the person at the front, and after his announcement, they started murmuring to each other.


    The man at the front sighed and stepped down from the step stool. He looked at me and then to my companion who was clutching at my shoulders, barely keeping  herself up.


    ¡°You must have heard already, but I am Adantel. Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier.¡±


    The golden-aged elf slightly bowed his head. He was the very opposite of what an elf should be, youthful and beautiful. In front of me was a decrepit old man, with rugged and not-so appealing features.


    Not that I care of the people¡¯s appearances as an old man myself, but it strikes me odd that an elf would purposefully use an appearance so backwards from what they believe to be palatable. After all, elves have the ability to change their age and gender as they wish.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you must have been busy, Master Adantel. I am Sed Immer and this is Nis Immer.¡±


    Adantel nodded his head.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ve only returned after a long hiatus, but I must ask you to join the lodge for this occasion.¡± Adantel could only sigh as he held his head.


    ¡°Sure. I was planning on heading to the crypt anyway, so it¡¯s not an issue.¡±


    Adantel smiled. ¡°It¡¯s reassuring to have two adamantiums in the city. I did not think the crypt would overflow at this time, and at such a degree. It was a mistake to only send a hundred earlier.¡± He shook his head, his voice tinged with regret.


    I could only wryly smile at his words. Surely, if it were any other time, a dungeon overflow would be easy to deal with by sending a subjugation request. After all, this was the Wanderer Lodge¡¯s main headquarters, where many high-class adventurers lived in.


    But, there was an unknown variable. A variable so exceedingly baffling to see. Who would have thought that the sleeping lich, Bastroll, would actually leave his own crypt.


    This never happened in the game, did something happen?


    Originally, the crypt of Bastroll was never a dungeon meant to be cleared by beginners. It was a tutorial dungeon meant to teach players that combat should be avoided, and it taught the stealth mechanics in place. It was the only way to gain access to the bag of wonders. Should they be detected, they would be killed instantly due to the levels of the monsters. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    But, to think it would actually overflow. Coincidence? Probably. I do have an idea though, but it¡¯s an idea that makes me feel a bit responsible.


    Well, I can just deal with it. No point mulling it over without a clear answer.


    It may be opportunistic of me, but this is a great chance to increase Nis¡¯ rank. I¡¯ll just see what tomorrow brings.


    Closing my thoughts, I dragged Nis back to the inn. Adantel was forming a subjugation party right now, but as an Adamantium, I was already included in it and had no other reason to stay. All I need to do is to get ready for it.


    ~ - ~


    The next day, we immediately went to the lodge fully equipped.


    The sun still hadn¡¯t risen from the horizon and already, there were fully equipped adventurers loitering around the central plaza in front of the lodge. From eyes alone, I counted around three hundred to four hundred adventurers. Taking equipment to account, the majority were gold-ranked.


    This was a very large gathering of skilled adventurers. If we compare it to an army, they would be elites, and nearly four hundred elites was an astonishing number. Even then, that was probably my lowest guess as more and more adventurers were congregating from the streets to the plaza.


    Just how much can the lodge field?


    As I was watching the congregating adventurers, I saw one particularly eye-catching person among the bunch. He was standing at the foot of the door of the lodge building. His large build and glimmering blue scales that melded deep with encroaching light of the rising sun. His transparent horns refracting the little light peeping from the horizon.


    None other than Slavos, and on his waist was the executioner sword. This time, he was wearing proper armor. Just like his blue scales, the armor was painted a blue similar to the ethereal sky.


    Immediately, we went over to him.


    I asked him something that was on my mind from the start.


    ¡°Slavos, level with me. Where you assigned to join the crypt subjugation?¡±


    Slavos, surprised at my appearance and blunt expression, raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Quite. I had thought they were plenty strong enough for its yearly clearing. After all, they were 180 platinum-strong adventurers. It was my mistake to not have gone with them.¡± Slavos explained. He spoke softly, his regret transmitted clearly from his tone.


    I shook my head. That wasn¡¯t his fault, he was injured.


    He looked at me and stood straight. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault, I know that. But I still cannot help feeling partly responsible.¡± He smiled.


    At his words, Adantel walked out of the lodge building. His expression neutral, but for some reason, I could feel something off from it. What could it be?


    From there, he activated a small spell that created a magical cone out of thin air made from several spell scriptures. He pressed his mouth at the smaller hole and spoke.


    It was the start of the hunt.


    ~ - ~


    Our small, elite force comprising of near 500 gold-rank adventurers set up a forward base just at the fringes of the plains. Even from the distance, we could see the mass of black from afar along the area near the crypt. From scout reports, they mentioned it was a congregation of monsters.


    As adventurers, most of them didn¡¯t have much military training, if at all. Jobs like these where cooperating with large numbers were best done by mercenaries, but Blaine was the city of adventurers. There were undoubtedly mercenaries within the lodge, but not enough to have complete control of the situation.


    Slavos, as a former military leader, was given the rights to oversee the entire operation. Not only was he powerful, he was also insightful in the methods of leadership, but he knew the shortcomings of adventurers.


    Immediately, he started to organize the 500-man force into small groups by familiarity. It was useless to use orders and formation requiring military discipline.


    We could have asked for the help of the Blaine city guards, but Slavos disagreed with the idea. He mentioned that should we fall, there needed to be a line of defense for the people.


    ¡®It¡¯s useless to put all your eggs in one basket.¡¯ He said in the meeting, which really surprised me. Earth idioms even exist here?


    Whatever, by the second hour of setting up our camp and with the simple reorganization, we were ready to assault them.


    It was around midday, but the monsters still didn¡¯t move from their original spot, as if they were waiting for something... or guarding something. They just stood at the mouth of the crypt, that gurgling mass of darkness that seemed to sprawl with no end.


    At the very helm of our assault force was Slavos. He was the commander, and was the most skilled among the current adventurers. Him bringing the flag and the charge was something he wanted to do.


    That choice seemed to be the correct one as many of the adventurers that had worried faces in the morning were now resolved. The promise of gold was a tempting thing, but they also had their pride as an adventurer on the line.


    Gripping their weapons enough that their knuckles turned white, Slavos ordered the charge. Bringing his sword above the men, shining from the midday sun, it seemed to rouse the fighting spirit of everyone as they shouted. The pressure alone almost felt solid.


    The monsters seemed to sense this and looked our way. Their once dazed appearance, now focused at our location. Their numbers were frightening, at least about double or more of ours. Still, everyone was confident as they pushed forward.


    Then and there, the fighting started. Several groups dispatched of monsters easily, their teamwork flawlessly cutting through the tide. Slavos, even in his lonesome, broke through with ease. Each swing  of his sword, a monster would lose its life.


    The horrific creations with the face of man, but a mangled body of different creatures seemed to cry at every death of their ilk. Chimeras, monsters of scientific origin.


    Nis and I formed a group and we were part of the last waves of adventuring combatants.


    Nis immediately summoned her group of demonspawns. Four hulking warriors of red skin bearing great swords crawled up from the ground. Immediately, she focused her efforts on ordering each of her summons with surprising competence.


    ¡°D1, to the right! D2, break through the front! D3 and 4, the left!¡±


    She shouted, then brought up her pistol, her gunblade, and aimed at an approaching chimera. With a quick flourish, she fanned the hammer and shot all six bullets on to the raging monster¡¯s forehead.


    Then with a flick of her wrist, the gun chamber opened and several more mana-shaped bullets took to the empty spaces. She then spun the gun around her finger, closed it shut and shot another volley.


    At every few seconds, she would change her orders to suit the situation. Using her minions, not even one chimera managed to break through 25 meters from her.


    The practice from yesterday bore fruit, and she could easily handle the foes in front of her.


    If  there¡¯s one thing I was surprised of from our sparring session is her amazing processing power. It makes me wonder if it was because she was an AI in the past. It¡¯s the reason she managed to so effortlessly look at the battlefield and change tactics suiting the situation.


    ¡°Can¡¯t let the idiot show me up.¡±


    Gripping my spear,  I jumped into the battle.

 Adonis 20: War Room

    Screams rang out around me, both those of the monsters, and those of my allies. Looking at the side of the main force, taking care of the flanks, I could see the situation quite clearly.


    We had the momentum. That charge into the enemy was a huge advantage to us, but it also had problems. Overextension. Like in video games, overextension was just that, when a member oversteps away from his team mates. In our case, stronger teams were overextending and getting  killed.


    Slavos though, alone as he was, was quite skilled to make up for it.


    This was going worse than I thought.


    I swung my spear to the side, lodging the side blade of the spear to one of the chimeric monstrosities, then twisted it and swung it upwards. A line of red arched to the sky as one more beast fell to my spear.


    ¡°Master Chris! Center, not so good!¡± Nis shouted from behind, all the while still ordering her squad.


    ¡°I¡¯m not blind, I can see that.¡± I said, squinting to the distant. The fervor was weakening at every minute.


    ¡°Wow, your old man eyes can see that far?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me an old man, you¡¯ll get a spanking for that.¡±


    ¡°Oooh, I¡¯d like to see you try.¡± She smirked and shot one more volley, the bullets gazing through just pass my head.


    I heard the dying scream of one more chimera behind me.


    ¡°Oh, I am going to hit you later.¡±


    I then took a stance, spreading both feet apart for stability, twisted my torso and swung the spear to my right, then using the balls of my feet to turn. From those movements, my spear struck a wide area around me. The spearhead sliced the three approaching chimera.


    It was a shallow cut, not nearly enough to kill such hulking beasts, but they did flinch. That was enough for me to strike once more. I placed one foot behind the other, then immediately stepped one foot forward. I let my spear rest in one hand and thrust it forward to one of the beasts.


    That simple attack pierced perfectly through, the spearhead lodged deep between the eyes. With a final roar, the beast fell.


    Martial arts. Unlike spells that required chanting to evoke their effects, martial arts were different. They needed to the player to take a stance then follow a set movement to activate. Players did have the choice not to use martial arts and just attack without any proper movements, but their damage would be weaker. Proper execution of martial arts meant being able to do full damage.


    It was part the reason why those with formal weapons training were more successful in Adonis simply for the fact that they had some combat sense and knew how to use their muscles to attack.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a game anymore. I had no idea if martial arts worked the same way it did in the game, but following the proper movements proved beneficial from the stress test yesterday.


    As I finished the movement set for ¡®Gale Thrust¡¯, the two chimeric beasts then pounced on me. I used this chance to test one more martial art from memory.


    I took three steps back, dodging their attacks. I then hunched forward, both hands to the handle of my spear and lunged forward one step. The spear shot through, taking one of the beasts to the grave. ¡®Counter Pierce¡¯. All basic movements with the spear.


    Of course, now I was in a predicament. After counter pierce, I was effectively defenseless. I could only grit my teeth and take the blow, that was until I heard gunshots from behind me. A moment later, I heard a heavy thud just beside me.


    ¡°Thanks, Nis.¡±


    ¡°Just doing my job.¡± Nis giggled. ¡°To babysit a geriatric, I mean.¡±


    I chose to ignore that last bit.


    I took in a deep breath and returned to the battlefield.


    ~ - ~


    It took an hour until the battle died down. We moved our camp to the remains of the old outpost. Though it was broken, it was still a better defensive point and was much closer to our goal.


    It took another hour before we managed to completely reorganize the force. The reports... it wasn¡¯t a good number, but I guess it was expected.


    If even 180 platinum-ranked adventurers couldn¡¯t survive within the crypt, then our chances with only gold-ranked adventurers were worse. At the very least, our numbers alleviated that deficiency of skill. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The problem was, our only advantage was now done in. Nearly 300 injured, and 60 more killed. I don¡¯t think I need to tell anyone that this was a bad situation.


    To add even more pressure, our mages and scouts reported that the situation within the crypt was nowhere favorable. Mages said that the density of foul mana was incredibly thick, while the scouts mention that the crypt was fortified like a castle.


    There was no way a group of a hundred or so adventurers would break through.


    ¡°Not to mention, it¡¯s a cramped place we can¡¯t fully utilize our numbers. It¡¯s a death trap.¡± Kyle said tiredly, sweeping away his bangs to the side.


    There was silence in the tent, but what he said was the truth. It was a hopeless situation.


    ¡°Better late than never, I guess, but why the hell did the lodge keep something as dangerous as the crypt open and working?¡± Kyle asked, looking at each of the faces in the tent.


    Apart from me, Slavos, and Nis, there in the tent was also Adantel, Madriel, and one more guilder that I did not know of. There were also a few platinum-ranked adventurers like Kyle that listened in.


    Adantel sighed and gripped his knuckles. His features showing more than just frustration.


    ¡°It¡¯s no secret, as I¡¯m sure some of you have already guessed, but we use the crypt to train platinum-ranked adventurers. I¡¯m sure some of you remember going to the crypt at your promotional exam?¡±


    At his words, many of the remaining platinum-ranked adventurers nodded their heads. Some were surprised, some merely nodded their head in understanding.


    ¡°At the time, we thought that as long as we culled it yearly and controlled it, it would not cause a problem. If anything, that it would benefit the city. Human greed it is, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re not part of it!¡± One of the sidelining adventurers shouted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t group me in on that despicable council! I had wanted for his death, not this!¡± Adantel slammed his fist on the table. Cracks appeared and broke the entirety of the table.


    Silence reigned the tent once more. His anger was fully transmitted.


    ¡°His death?¡± I piped up and looked straight to Adantel. There was something fishy with how he worded it, and as someone who has had enough experience in corporate bullshit, I picked up on it.


    ¡°Adantel, are you telling me you people kept that man alive?¡±


    Adantel froze, his expression that was one of anger now stiff.


    ¡°Speak clearly, Master Adantel. Did you people keep him alive... for your benefits? No regard of how dangerous it could be to do so?¡±


    Adantel hung his head and sighed. ¡°If you must know, I was fiercely against it.¡±


    ¡°Is it just me, or are we missing something? What the hell are you guys talking about?¡± Kyle was turning impatient by the second.


    ¡°Bastroll. The sleeping lich.¡± Slavos answered.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me we¡¯re having this disaster is because the lodge purposefully left him alive?!¡± Kyle roared and stood up form his seat. Immediately, swords made of magical energy appeared from his hands both in the shape of a saber and an arming sword.


    ¡°Stay your hand, Kyle. It was a decision of the council, one I¡¯m powerless against.¡±


    ¡°Fuck your excuse! People are dead. Get the fuck out of here before I do something I will really love to do.¡± Kyle grit his teeth as if he was holding himself back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you take that tone with me, I am a guilder master of the lodge.¡±


    ¡°Adantel. I am afraid I must ask you to leave at this time.¡±


    This time, it was Slavos that spoke. He looked at his peers, their eyes was the same one as Kyle¡¯s. It was evident that something untoward might happen to Adantel should he stay and speak.


    ¡°I must ask you to return to the lodge and ask for reinforcements in haste. I would ask those above platinum who are mere days away. Otherwise, I do not think this ¡®siege¡¯ can hold.¡±


    Adantel was silent for a moment but stood up from his chair. ¡°You¡¯re right. Please do hold out. I will bring you reinforcements.¡±


    Before he left, he looked at Madriel and the other guilder to his side and told them to return. The guilder promptly stood up and left the tent.


    ¡°No, I will stay here. I will do much more here than cooped up there.¡± Madriel shook his head.


    ¡°... I see. Then, I pray you luck for the ordeal to come.¡±


    Finally, Adantel left the tent. The atmosphere within eased up immediately as Kyle returned to his seat, releasing the spells that he had formed in his hands.


    ¡°Now that that¡¯s settled, let¡¯s start with fortifications...¡± And so the meeting continued uneventfully.


    ~ - ~


    I laid down on the tent given to us by the lodge. Slavos ordered us to rest for the night. His reasoning? We were one of the few trump cards that could change the tide of battle.


    Perks of being strong,  I suppose.


    Beside me was Nis, fast asleep.


    The reason for the Bastroll¡¯s existence, eh? There was no particular reason for his existence in the lore and in the game, we had just put him there as a stealth tutorial boss, but in this world, there was more than just that.


    It continued to support my theory of this world being more than just the world we created, that the world existed before us wandering here. But then, how do things from the game and lore intersect in this world?


    Combining what I know, I think it¡¯s fair to say that everything I know about this world, both the lore and the game, was no longer applicable, or at least, it was insufficient. I can no longer draw conclusions from what I know alone.


    It¡¯s a conflicting feeling knowing this. One one hand, I¡¯m slightly distressed and vulnerable. On the other, I have this sense of wonder and longing.


    What to feel, what to do, why am I here? Questions popping up one after the other, one more unanswered then the last. At the very least, I know what I should be doing at the moment, I¡¯ll find solace in that.


    Protection. Destruction. Either we hold the line against Bastroll¡¯s assault, or we lose our life trying. Now that Adonis was more than just a game, and people lives are on the line, I can¡¯t be doing a half-assed job at this.


    I can¡¯t look at the world as if I was an outsider anymore. I live in it now. I have to do my part.


    I scratched my head. I¡¯m doing way too many things. Learning of the reason we were world-chasmed, turning Nis into a human, protecting what needs to be protecting. I feel like I¡¯m spreading myself thin.


    This world sure is making an old man like me do so much.


    Can you hear me? whoever you are, fine, I¡¯ll play by your rules. I¡¯ll live in this world as a denizen of it. I¡¯ll stop looking at it as if it was a game. So, by the end of it, give me what I want to know, answer my questions.

 Adonis 21: Siege

    It¡¯s been a week since. The defense line has broken down so many times, it¡¯s a miracle that we¡¯re still standing. In that week alone, we¡¯ve had to fix it twelve times and reorganize our troops after each attack.


    At this point, I¡¯m not even sure if we¡¯re the one doing the siege.


    Bastroll, that bastard, he keeps sending out a slew of chimeric beasts at random intervals and with random numbers. Our already small number is turning even smaller, and what¡¯s keeping everyone fighting for so long was the sizable cash reward the longer we stay.


    Thankfully, with the defense set up and regular scouting and routine shifting, our losses were still barely acceptable. Still, we wouldn¡¯t last, both physically and emotionally. No matter how high the reward is, there was no way they could put their life on the line.


    It¡¯s a great thing that Slavos was the one heading the operation.


    The monsters, while numerous, are erratic and lacking any form when it came to battles. They merely rush into the fortifications. That means they were easy to exploit with strategy. He created a small, elite force of platinum-ranked adventurers including himself and I.


    While gold-ranks held them in place, we would sortie out into the field and strike them from the flanks.


    It was simple, but quite effective strategy. Still, it wasn¡¯t going to stop the inevitable, merely delay, and so a meeting was held by the end of the week. Adantel was among them.


    ¡°Many of our mithrils and orichalcums are subjugating a massive tide of feral drakes. Many of them say that they cannot move until the tide subsides, which is reported to take a week later from now.¡± Adantel sighed and held his head. ¡°Our adamantiums are currently busy, and those that can join are in distant lands that they¡¯ll take at least a month of sea faring... in other words, no one can join the defense until a week later.¡±


    Several groans filled the tent, and there far less people in the meeting.


    ¡°This is the worst case scenario.¡±


    ¡°What the hell are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Damn it, can I cancel on this quest?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just, pull back the defense line behind the city walls?¡±


    One of them asked, to which many more agreed. It was a solid idea, and would provide less casualties, but there was a glaring problem with it.


    ¡°A very poor plan. Once we do so, many of the crop fields will be left undefended, and we¡¯ll have a problem with food for a few months if we decide to collapse our defense.¡± I started to explain.


    ¡°Better than losing our lives, right?¡± One of them asked, irritated.


    ¡°Not... necessarily. Blaine is a large city, if we decide to bunker down behind the walls, we will survive a day or two tops. Of course, my point is nil if you flee.¡±


    ¡°What was that?! I¡¯ve got my pride on the line, damn it, I won¡¯t flee from a quest I¡¯ve taken.¡±


    ¡°Good, then shut up and listen. As I said, Blaine is big, far too big. We¡¯re already having problems protecting a small, defensible point with the number of experienced adventurers... are you seeing my point?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be spread too thin. The city guard is there, sure, but can we rely on them?¡± Kyle sighed and continued where I left, then turning to Adantel with a sour expression.


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to say yes... truth is, no, not at all. They are only for appearances and public order. They fail even against an iron-ranked.¡± Adantel slumped with a wry smile.


    ¡°... And we only have less than a hundred adventurers with proper experience. One way or another, a wall will fall due to the lack of manpower, and we¡¯ll be destroyed from the inside. Just like poison squirming in our innards.¡± I tapped on the table to take their attention. ¡°We need to defend this place.¡±


    ¡°Sed explained it correctly. We have no choice but to endure.¡± Slavos returned the reports back on the table and looked at each of the members of the meeting. ¡°But, that doesn¡¯t mean that¡¯s our only choice. I¡¯m willing to listen to your suggestions. If you have thoughts on how to improve our survival, speak freely.¡±


    As soon as he said this, more people suggested ideas. Some spoke of increasing rest hours for better combat effectiveness, others suggested otherwise for a solid defense. One even suggested the use of common poison, and someone suggested to coat our traps and arrows with our own feces.


    Now then, what to do? It¡¯s a situation that only deteriorates by the passing day. I think we can survive 4-5 more days tops before our defense line breaks. It¡¯s not a whole lot of time saved, and we¡¯re just barely a few days away from reinforcements. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    If only we could proceed with our siege... siege?


    Right... yeah, that¡¯s the thing. We were so preoccupied with defending this point that we lost sight of our original goal, and that was the clearing of the crypt of Bastroll.


    That¡¯s it! Such a simple idea could be the answer we were looking for to save ourselves from the depressing eventuality.


    I coughed and rapped on the table with my fingers, eventually gaining everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Slavos, I think I have a simple solution to this. We strike at them when they least expect it.¡±


    Slavos raised an eyebrow. ¡°A bold suggestion. Dismissed.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t disregard it so easily. Look, if we keep at this defense battle, we will lose. That is, unless we take a proactive approach.¡±


    Listening to my words, he could only furrow his brows. ¡°Might I remind you, a group of a hundred fifty plus platinums lost their lives as they attempted the crypt. What makes you sure that we are to succeed with even less than that. Not to mention, should we fail, we will bring about the end of this operation. I can see nothing but problems with your suggestion.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No, we don¡¯t need to send in our entire elite force. I only need to bring one person with me. I¡¯m positive I can succeed.¡± I stared back at Slavos.


    He could only rub the bridge of his nose and gestured for me to continue.


    ¡°I only need to bring you with me, Slavos. Together, with a bit of ingenuity, we can strike down Bastroll easy.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s say I agree to your suggestion, who would oversee the camp?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Nis has a gift for this kind of thing.¡± I looked to the rest of the people in the tent. ¡°I¡¯m sure some of you can attest to her commanding ability.¡±


    At my words, they all nodded.


    In the past week, the one who worked the hardest was probably Nis. Whenever she had the time, she would take to battle with her four demonspawns and lead them flawlessly. It was at such a proficiency that she was the only person of the force that hasn¡¯t visited the infirmary, all thanks to expert leadership of her demonspawns.


    ¡°If it¡¯s her... then maybe. However, I shall postpone my decision. It¡¯s a big responsibility, let me weigh our options for the battles to come.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s enough for me. Call me first thing in the morning, we can¡¯t dilly dally with this, I¡¯m sure you know.¡± I said and stood from my seat, bowed my head and left the tent. ¡°I have my preparations to complete, do excuse me.¡±


    Even if he shot down my suggestion, I would still do it regardless of his help. For that, I needed to prepare.


    Immediately as I went into our tent, I started organizing my equipment. Forevermore and my standard loadout was good for general purpose, but I needed something that would work well for sneaking around. For that, I took out a more body-fitted armor set enchanted with the ¡®Misty Steps¡¯ and ¡®Obfuscated Presence¡¯ enchants.


    I had already tested them and knew how they worked. Generally, it muffled my movements and made my presence thin. I could still be detected if they saw me directly, but otherwise they would ignore most things.


    I also set aside a necklace of Aazlrin. It was a quest item artifact for a main quest story that required the player to go incognito and interrogate a certain person. It basically changed the way people perceive them from a distance. The moment they get too close however, and the magic of Aazlrin loses potency.


    I only had one set of the ninja infiltrator armor. The Aazlrin necklace was for when Slavos agreed to join me.


    The rest of the items were consumables such as hi-potions and crane familiars, an item a few steps above a paper familiar. Talismans, noise makers, and several pocket bombs for emergency escapes.


    By the time night had fallen, a bell rang across the camp.


    Aaah, I guess it was getting a bit too peaceful.


    I took out my spear from the bag of wonders and left the tent. It was time to expend some energy.


    ~ - ~


    The next morning, I got called into the commander¡¯s tent. There, Slavos was reading through another slew of reports and paperwork with creased scales. As I entered, he relaxed and set them aside.


    ¡°Sed, for your suggestion, it is decisive, but far too risky. I¡¯m afraid I have to reject that suggestion.¡±


    ¡°I expected that. I already have my preparations, you can¡¯t stop me.¡±


    Slavos shrugged. ¡°I should have known that moment you left early. Fine, do as you will, but you will not bring anyone else for your suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°You were the only one strong enough anyway. It¡¯ll be a bit harder, but I can pull through.¡±


    Suddenly, as I was about to leave the tent, someone entered.


    ¡°Sed, might I join you?¡±


    He panted for air, as if he ran. His clothes were a disheveled mess, but it was fuller than I¡¯d ever seen it. His hair was longer than I remember, and his features were even softer. Wait, what?


    ¡°Madriel, is that you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± She nodded, her golden hair swaying with the movement.


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not bringing deadweight.¡±


    Madriel seemed to snap at those words, and she took me by the collar of my clothes. I could have dodged that, but I didn¡¯t expect her to do so. Even more, she was fast, nothing I couldn¡¯t handle, of course, but it compounded into an inescapable grip.


    ¡°Is this enough of a demonstration, sir Sed? I might not look it, but I was an accomplished adventurer before I was a guilder.¡±


    ¡°Ah, is that right? Please let go of my neck. This is uncomfortable.¡±


    Madriel let go and sighed. She put a hand on her hip and started speaking.


    ¡°I was an orichalchum, but due to a certain... health problem, I had to retire. Still, my combat effectiveness should be about as good as mithril.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you help the defense? More people could have been saved if you had.¡±


    Madriel shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the specifics, just know that I can¡¯t exhibit my full power at the moment. Merely half of it.¡±


    I had half the mind to reject her, but she insisted to join. Not to mention, she would at least be stronger than a platinum. With Slavos out of the picture, she might just be the only one capable of keeping up with me.


    ¡°I just have to ask, for me to know of your competency. How many years have you adventured?¡±


    A coy smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been at it at least as far back as the trovian revolution.¡±


    Yeah, I¡¯m not even going to open that can of worms.


    I took out the necklace of Aazlrin and passed it over. ¡°Wear that on your neck, it¡¯ll make the monsters dumb. Get your preparations going, we need to enter the moment they send out another wave. That¡¯ll be the moment they least expect it.¡±

 Adonis 22: Crypt of Bastroll 1

    A stampede of monsters ran past us from the entrance of the crypt. Their numbers were staggeringly large, even compared to the last few assaults. Thanks to our equipment, they ignored us standing by the entrance.


    It was disastrous number, and I could guess how much the damage would be. Maybe a broken encampment and 3-4 casualties, and maybe 5 injured.


    I could only hope they can withstand the tide.


    I looked behind me and urged Madriel to follow behind.


    We took our first step into the den of horrific creatures. Would we survive? I was certain. It wasn¡¯t overconfidence, but merely an abundance of information. How? I have a hazy idea of the map of the place, it would be easier to infiltrate with that.


    It¡¯s kind of sad that I¡¯m relying so much on my meta game knowledge, when I resolved myself to not blindly trust in it, what other choice do I have? If I didn¡¯t move now, without taking a risk, many more lives will be at risk.


    Maybe I¡¯m just a big fat softie, but I want to at least do something when I can.


    As we entered the ancient crypt, the first thing I noticed was the environment. It was... squeaky clean. At least, as clean as a crypt can be. Not to mention, there were also torches lining up the walls.


    ¡°Same as ever...¡± Madriel said, a forlorn look on her.


    ¡°Was the crypt always this clean?¡±


    She shook her head and chose silence.


    Okay? Well, in the game, the crypt was incredibly dark, save for a few rooms with lights. It was to teach players to use the darkness to conceal their movements.


    I formed that hazy picture in my head and trudged on. The crypt of Bastroll was quite large and despite the name, it wasn¡¯t actually a crypt for Bastroll. Instead, it was a crypt for the dead of Blaine. How it got its name, we never really went that far. This world though, it might have answers.


    The entrance to the crypt was narrow but it soon opened up a few meters from the entrance. There, a large clearing formed as sort of the ritual space for the dead. This opening was large, and just like the scouts reported, heavily fortified.


    They made a haphazard heap of broken stone bricks and wood into a wall, with only one entrance guarded by two. These two were surprisingly human shape.


    Obviously, it wasn¡¯t human. No way human could survive here now that it was infested with monsters. These were living corpses, the undead, the unliving, the desecrated.


    ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll check it.¡± I told her and walked towards the gate.


    Fortunately, living corpses didn¡¯t have a sense of sight, or anything really. They¡¯ve been deprived of everything that is part of living, except for one thing. Instinct. These creatures move only by instinct.


    In the game, they had quite a large detection radius compared to other monsters, but their detection capabilities were quite low. Unless they had an actual master to direct them where to attack, they were useless. This, compounded with my armor set, I was basically invisible to them. It was a different matter if I didn¡¯t have it though, as they¡¯d swarm me the moment I enter their detection radius.


    As I passed through the gates, there were even more undead swarming the place. So many, in fact, that it would be impossible for us to break through with force. We might be able to do it with magic, but large-scale magic within a confined space was a recipe for disaster.


    It was a good thing we didn¡¯t force ourselves in, even our elite troop would have trouble.


    I spent a few minutes inside their fortification looking for a path for Madriel to take. Fortunately for us, these undead were still.


    So, within an hour, we  were able to slip past our first hurdle.


    A few ways away from the fortification, Madriel slumped down on the floor.


    ¡°Sed, might we change our armor? I don¡¯t think my heart can handle this.¡±


    I looked at her body and immediately shook my head. ¡°There¡¯s no way you can fit in this. Just suck it up, you chose to follow me.¡±


    Madriel groaned.


    ¡°Stay cautious, I¡¯ll scout ahead.¡±


    I told her and left for the next area, which was one floor down. A spiral staircase stretched downwards, the walls still lined with numerous torches. As I neared the final steps for the next floor, I immediately hunched down, hugged the wall, and peeked behind.


    Ah, damn it.


    As far as the eye can see was a mass of chimeric beasts.


    Seriously, how the hell are we even supposed to sneak past through this, much less clear it with brute force? I expected the difficulty to spike due to the situation, but not by this much. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    On the bright side, at least, the 2nd hurdle is still within acceptable boundaries if I use my items.


    The first hurdle was a tutorial on using the enemy¡¯s senses to sneak past, teaching players to research their opponents before blindly trying. In real life, it was about the same, though we did clear it with very powerful items.


    The second hurdle was a tutorial on using the environment, using rocks as cover and hiding behind the darkness. Since the opponents weren¡¯t the undead corpses, it would be much harder. The number¡¯s pumped up the max, so this is nearly impossible to do... if I didn¡¯t have my items.


    I think I know what do now. Nodding to myself, I returned to Madriel.


    ¡°Large number of monsters, chimeras. Can¡¯t sneak past this without a little bit of help.¡± I told her while taking out a number of items from my bag (pouch) of wonders.


    She sighed and held her head. ¡°What are those?¡± She asked, pointing at the items I took out. ¡°They seem familiar, wait, a paper familiar?¡±


    ¡°Close. It¡¯s a paper crane. It¡¯s better than a paper familiar in every way. Well, maybe except for it¡¯s production.¡±


    ¡°And that?¡±


    ¡°Talisman. Better than a scroll in every way, I mean. You can use it ten times more before it loses power.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me, but what?¡±


    Madriel stared at me, wide-eyed. She continuously flapped her mouth like a fish before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure.


    ¡°Do you know how amazing that is?¡± She asked, her voice subdued as if cautious.


    ¡°Well, yeah, I do.¡±


    Of course I do, it¡¯s a high-level item only possible to craft by a max-level scribe. Really, it¡¯s almost impossible to find it anywhere else. Talismans were indispensable for end-game raids because it allowed non-magic casters to cast up to intermediate spells.


    It was common for raid parties to outfit their members with a ¡®Shield¡¯, ¡®Heal¡¯, or ¡®Potency¡¯ talisman. They were expensive to make, but was more cost-effective than a scroll which was incredibly bulky to bring and was single-use. Compared to a talisman, which was just a strip of paper.


    First, I took out a ¡®Potency¡¯ talisman. This was a simple talisman that increased the function of an item. For example, using it on a shield will increase a shield¡¯s defensive ability. Using it on a lock will increase its difficulty to pick. It was an incredibly versatile talisman.


    Using ¡®my¡¯ experience, I used one of the functions of the talisman and removed its limiter. One of the reasons talismans were able to have their abilities be used several times was by limiting their effect, thereby decreasing the loss of power from using it. So, what will happen if I remove it?


    I then took out a noise maker. Unlike the ones available in Blaine, this was one a bit different. For one, it was larger and etched with several runes on the metal casing, and the small iron balls were similarly runed. This was a noise maker I made with the help of our resident enchanter.


    I rolled the talisman across the cylindrical noise maker, then tied it to bottom half of the paper crane. I grinned at my own handiwork. This was impossible to do in AdOn, but now that it was real life, nothing was stopping me.


    Hehe, how much more bullshit can I get away with?


    Anyway, I made two more of these contraptions and stored them in my pouch.


    ¡°By the way, Madriel. What¡¯s your specialty?¡± I asked her. I wanted to know what she did in fights just so I can plan accordingly.


    ¡°Master of the arcane.¡±


    ¡°Specifics, which school did you study?¡±


    ¡°Necromancy.¡±


    ... Interesting choice for an elf. The school of necromancy, the study of the vital forces, its flow, and its expenditure. It was a school of magic very reminiscent of medical science on earth, but with magic instead of science.


    Elves generally did not care for the vital forces, as they were a race so abundant with it. You could say most elves didn¡¯t have an interest in it. On the other hand, short-lived races like the humans were invested in it, some even madly so.


    I nodded. This was good, in a dungeon full of undead, having a necromancer was a god-send.


    ¡°Anyway, follow me. We¡¯ll blow through the 2nd floor easy.¡±


    We stepped down to the 2nd floor. The monsters were still there, lazing about. It seems, when they aren¡¯t attacking us, they do nothing. It¡¯s perfect though, most of them are sleeping but some of them seem to be playing around. They really don¡¯t have their guards up.


    Can¡¯t blame them, not only are the undead protecting the first floor, but they were also numerous enough that any attack they can easily defend.


    These chimera lack sophisticated intellect, evident by their reckless attacks thus far.


    ¡°Madriel, I want you to calm down and be natural. When I activate this paper crane, I want you to follow me properly. No sudden movements, no nothing, okay?¡±


    Madriel nodded, but from the way she fidgets and her pallid complexion, it was obvious she wasn¡¯t ready. I sighed, and offered my hand.


    ¡°Hold it, then we can start.¡±


    She laughed nervously. ¡°So this is how you flirt? When you were so averse to mine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that twisted.¡± I shrugged and grabbed her hand. With my free hand, I took out the paper crane modification and activated it with a slip of mana.


    The paper crane moved its wings lifelike and started to float from my palm. Using one of its functions, I instructed it to move to the left of the room and fly at a considerable height from the monsters. From there, I activated one more function, bird¡¯s eye.


    Looking from up high, the monsters seem to have not noticed the paper crane. I looked to the front of the large room. The door to the next floor was on the far side, opposite from ours. It¡¯s a bit of a stretch, but I should be able to get there without trouble using all of our paper crane mods.


    The paper crane is a creation of a max-level scribe and enchanter, meaning a person needs to have specced into two civilian jobs to create it. The materials needed to create it was also nothing to scoff at.


    The reason it was so coveted despite the requirements and the price was because of its ability to totally function independent of the caster, whilst still properly relaying  information of the field. Not only that, but it was also able to activate magic items as long as it still had mana in its reserves.


    I grinned and activated its last function. Immediately, the item hooked on its bottom half started glowing a hue of blue and red. An intense noise soon followed, one so incredibly loud that it almost felt like the entire floor reverberated from the noise alone.


    As I expected, the monsters woke up and went berserk. What could they do? They were confused, angry, groggy, all neatly packaged into one emotion. They could do nothing but howl and search for the noise. Immediately, the mass of monsters seemed to congregate where the ringing noise was originating from.


    ¡°Now.¡± I whispered to Madriel and started walking forward slowly.


    The loud ringing noise was annoying to bear with, but the rampaging and erratic monsters were even more of a headache than it, so really, it was a choice of which to focus on. The answer was obvious though.


    As we neared halfway through the room, the paper crane sent me a notification via our mana link that it was nearing its end. Immediately, I activated another paper crane and had it hover beside the last one. I set it to activate the sound bomb the moment the other one finishes.


    I did this one more time in the course of us walking.


    Thankfully, we managed to pass perfectly without a monster finding out. We ran across the empty halls and found an empty corner to rest.


    ¡°One last room, and arguably the easiest one.¡±

 Adonis 23: Crypt of Bastroll 2

    Remember when I said the last room was arguably the easiest? Well, I was wrong, completely fucking wrong. I should have realized from the trends alone that it wasn¡¯t going to be easy, it was never easy nor simple.


    Originally, the last chamber, the third floor, was supposed to be the tutorial level for players to rely on their items. It was designed to be impossible to finish without using items that could¡¯ve been found in the shallower floors. Monsters would block several paths, and it was only through the use of bomb rocks could players past through.


    This was the final level that was blocking our path to the final room, Bastroll¡¯s resting place.


    Peeking behind the wall, just like earlier, we could see a huge entity blocking the entrance of the resting place. This massive, black beast was of a similar make from the chimera up above, but several times more ominous.


    The face of a crying and screaming man, with the body of a rotting lion. Severed human fingers for a mane, and a deformed arm holding an axe for a tail.


    This beast, the Dreviout, was the boss of the crypt in the base game. It was supposed to be in the final chamber, Bastroll¡¯s resting place, but now it was guarding the place where it was supposed to be.


    Even more surprising was the fact that it was different. In the game, it should be holding on to a scepter, not an axe. The pallid, human face should have been a deep crimson. This Dreviout almost seemed like a different existence entirely.


    A subdued laugh escaped my lips and I slumped on the ground.


    ¡°We might lose our lives here.¡± Madriel said.


    No kidding. I may have been max-leveled in the game, a peak-existence that joined raids as if I drank water, but now the meta was different. This was real-life, my life was forfeit the moment I made a mistake.


    Why am I getting cold feet now? I had resolved to use this life as I wished, to jump into the maw of the dragon when things get going, to be a larger-than-life character. I suppose I was just fooling myself. But, I can¡¯t stop here, no way.


    ¡°Madriel, we¡¯ll have to fight that thing to get to Bastroll.¡± I said and brandished my spear from the pouch. Its dark metal glistening in the torch fires that littered the walls of the stairs.


    ¡°Madriel, just give me this. Is Bastroll¡¯s existence hush-hush?¡± I asked her while I changed my equipment. The ninja infiltrator set was useless so I prepared to wear my usual long coat.


    ¡°While it¡¯s not heavily confidential, we still advised the adventurers that saw his sealed figure to keep it to themselves. Most adventurers in the know are those above platinum, as it was quite impossible for platinums to get past the floor above.¡± She answered and eased herself by taking deep breaths.


    ¡°... So that¡¯s why Kyle and the others were surprised at his existence. Which reminds me, why the hell did the lodge decide to keep him sealed when they had the chance to kill him?¡±


    She furrowed her brows and said, down cast. ¡°I¡¯ll speak when it¡¯s all over. It doesn¡¯t matter for now.¡±


    I did some stretching on the spot with my equipment, then looked over to double check. It was my usual agility-boosting gear.


    ¡°You ready? I¡¯m not sure how good your set-up is.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m more surprised at you! I wanted to ask ever since we first met, but how do you have so many enchanted equipment? If you didn¡¯t earn your fame against Slavos, I¡¯m sure some unsavory types would have mugged you for yours.¡±


    Come to think of it, I did see a lack of enchanted equipment ever since I got here. Don¡¯t get me wrong, most adventurers were wearing top-notch equipment for their level, such as mithril armor, but very few ones wore magically-endowed ones.


    ¡°Are enchanters a rare breed?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not the case, enchanters are a dime a dozen, but skilled ones that can confer one to weapon or armor are uncommon. Even if they could, the materials needed was quite expensive, driving up the price even more. It¡¯s not an economical choice for most people.¡± She explained. ¡°Skilled enchanters are also monopolized by powerful nations. They¡¯re not too eager to give away such powerful endowments to non-military or non-nobles.


    That explains it, I guess. When AdOn was a game, the economy was controlled by the players. Some players were skilled enchanters, and so many enchanted items and equipment circulated the market, be it weak or strong.


    Now though? Players didn¡¯t exist anymore, and without them pumping the economy with their crafted items, it was impossible for adventurers to nearly impossible find them.


    ¡°Thanks for the information... I should have asked this earlier.¡±


    Seriously, now I have good grasp of what might happen to this world. Considering the timeline, the worst is yet to come. With the lack of players, I just hope that this world converted the balancing over from the game to a real world. It would be an epic-level disaster should the Blacksmiths of Chaos wargears be as powerful as they were in the game. The world might not have a chance.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Ugh, now I have a lot more things to worry about in the future. I slightly regret asking her all of this. As they say, ignorance is bliss.


    I shook all the thoughts away, but at least now, I feel a bit more calm of the current situation. I could still control it, it was still manageable.


    I took a deep breath and looked forward. This will be my first fight that I felt such danger in an uncontrolled environment. In front of me was an opponent vastly different from Slavos that was holding back his strength. This was a beast that would opportunistically attack me at every moment.


    ¡°Madriel, I leave supporting to you.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me, I¡¯ll present to you the might of a long-lived elf.¡±


    And from there, I launched myself forward with my spear forward.


    ~ - ~


    Using my speed, I was already quite a distance away from Madriel. I rushed forward with my spear and met with the eyes of the Dreviout. It¡¯s screaming face almost seemed to smile as it stared me down with its gargantuan figure.


    I grit my teeth and followed out a set of movements.


    ¡®Willow Leaves Assault¡¯.


    It was a series of stabs and thrust with the spear that made the spear tip seem to dance in the air. These several attacks were shallow strikes, and their purpose was obvious.


    However, the beast didn¡¯t seem to care one wit about the maneuver and merely swiped with its claws. I had pricked his flesh, but its might was enough to completely stop the spear tips in its tracks.


    It laughed, a very deep and guttural laugh that seemed hollow, yet full of emotion. It was hard to describe, but at the moment, the beast twisted its body and swept with its axe.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    I pulled back the spear from its paw and held it across the chest. I then jumped lightly from the air to the opposite direction of the axe.


    A loud sound rang across the room as the axe head met with the spear¡¯s shaft. The force was incredible that even I was half at awe at the fact that the shaft didn¡¯t even split. Goes to show just how great the materials were.


    As for me, I was flung across the room and into the rock wall. Already, blood started to pool from my mouth and I could only spit it out. I took in deep breaths, and every movement after was terrible pain.


    I wanted to avoid that, damn it.


    Yep, the game system is not a 1:1 conversion. If this were in the game, my enchanted long coat should have been able to absorb the force as if it were a proper, cushioned armor due to its high defense rating, but now that wasn¡¯t the case.


    My consciousness was hazy, but I saw the Dreviout walk towards me, an unnerving smile still plastered on its pallid face. It was as if it was enjoying the sight of my mangled body.


    Too bad for you bitch, because I have a friend.


    Then, I felt a warm sensation embrace my body. This feeling, as if wrapping me up, mended my many injuries at an astonishing rate. It was at such a moment that I felt like I could move my best again.


    I looked up to see the Dreviout¡¯s paw overhead.


    A quick decision, I let go of my spear and rolled to dodge, then I pulled out a pocket bomb from my pouch and slammed it to the ground. An explosion of smoke surrounded me and I used that opening to move back from the Dreviout.


    This smoke shroud didn¡¯t last though, as the Dreviout blew out air from its nose to disperse the smoke screen.


    Still, that was enough.


    I gathered up my mana on my palm, creating a gurgling mass of shadowy energy that seemed to squirm, trying to escape my grip. At the next moment, it shot itself forward to the hulking beast in front of me.


    The Dreviout, still with the conceited smile on its horrific face, took the curse head-on after bellowing out air. Its face contorted and tried to move out of the way, but the curse was much too faster than it was, not to mention, wholly unprepared for it.


    The curse enveloped its body. Its already darkened exterior now sporting a shade of violet, as if malevolent energy coursed through its veins. These shades of violet pulsed at every moment, and each time, the Dreviout¡¯s face twisted in pain.


    Immediately, pain. Unimaginable pain assaulted me on all parts of my body, but it subsided just as fast as it struck me.


    The Curse of Torment, a baleful curse that tormented their target with pain. In the games, this was a curse that made it possible to stop a monster or player from casting long-chant spells, and at most would only give players a headache when used on them. It wasn¡¯t foolproof, however.


    Now that it was real life, it was so much more, but thankfully all my abilities made it negligible. Even then, my old life cursed with unending pain soothed only by hourly takes of pain killers were much more painful than this, that I honestly felt nothing.


    The Dreviout was a monster that was not only feared for its strength, but also for its magic. This was a method to alleviate myself from having to deal with both might and magic.


    The Dreviout stopped dead in its tracks, and I used that moment to run even further away from the beast. At that, Madriel worriedly shouted at me.


    ¡°Are you an imbecile!? You can¡¯t take on a Dreviout on your lonesome! Even Slavos required the help of a few mithrils to take them down!¡±


    I groaned in pain. ¡°Sorry, I wanted to check something.¡±


    Because this definitely wasn¡¯t the same Dreviout as in the game. This one was aggressive and arrogant. And... wait a minute?


    ¡°There should only be one Dreviout, and Slavos already took down one, then what the hell is that?¡±


    Madriel clicked her tongue as she looked at the Dreviout. ¡°I¡¯ll speak later!¡±


    ¡°Should have told me from that start!¡± I tensed and cast Night Robes on myself.


    ¡°You¡¯re an adamantium, I thought you knew!¡±


    This wasn¡¯t going right at all. Worst of all, I was not empty-handed.


    The Dreviout, angered, wildly flung around its axe. The sheer force alone made the wind cry, and its flailing about nearly destroyed the floor it was standing on.


    In its wild rage, it¡¯s axe struck down on my spear.


    ¡°No!¡±


    As I feared that it might break, something else happened. Something I didn¡¯t expect.


    The spear after being struck, floated in the air. It shone with a malevolent light that seemed to swallow up everything around it. Then, a black, ethereal chain that extended from it to me appeared out of thin air, seeming to flicker in and out of reality. Strapped to my wrist, I felt a cold sensation.


    The Spear of Immersed then shot itself forward against flat of the axe. The axe shattered into tiny pieces the moment they met. The spear flew around and then returned to my hand, as if content after breaking the axe.


    The chain connecting us disappeared and now, I returned to being armed and ready.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I asked aloud, confused at what happened.


    No, it doesn¡¯t matter, at least now I¡¯m back in form.

 Adonis 24: Crypt of Bastroll 3

    I jumped around in place, both feet only touching the ground one at a time. This was something I used to do in raids to make sure I was always ready to dodge at a moment¡¯s notice.


    The Dreviout, still howling in pain, charged right into us. Blinded by rage, it pressed its claw overhead. The pressure emanating alone would stop an inexperienced newbie from moving, but I¡¯ve seen this happen all the time in raids.


    I leaned to the right and kicked the ground. In the air, I swept my spear horizontally against its wrist, swiping at the rotted flesh. It howled in pain once more, compounded by the fact that he was still under the effects of the curse of torment. As I touched the ground, I again pressed forward underneath its frame and struck my spear into its soft belly.


    Should I say, as expected? Blood didn¡¯t ooze from the wounds, only the pungent smell of rotting meat.


    The Dreviout raged wildly on top of me, and I immediately twisted the spear still inside, and dragged it sideways to escape from its rampage. Once I did so, I rolled off the ground and jumped forward, creating distance between us.


    Now, there was a gaping hole across the Dreviout¡¯s stomach. I smirked at the sight. Finally, something going my way. I brandished my spear once more, the tip slightly lower but still pointing forward.


    However, before I could step forward to deal another strike, the Dreviout stared at me eye-to-eye and leaped into the air with no regard to its flapping innards being dragged around.


    The beast, high in the air, twisted its body and opened its maw. There, it sputtered out a hot breath of fire, glazing the area in a sea of flames.


    I was able to dodge forward at the last minute, but the temperature was enough to scald my skin and the hem of the coat to turn to cinders. I immediately shook off the little flames and looked to the front, only to see the Dreviout. My heart sunk.


    Once the Dreviout landed, it jumped backwards, hunched its figure, and pounced forward. Its sharp claws extended at a freakish length. Its speed despite the size was insane and it immediately swept its claws overhead at my position.


    I could do nothing but bring up the spear over my head and planted my feet on the ground. I grit my teeth for the worse to come.


    The attack that I was braced to deal with didn¡¯t come. What did come was its body launched to the side slightly, causing its attack to miss by an inch from my head. It tumbled into the ground and rolled into the pit of flames that it created, its howls reverberating in the room.


    I was surprised, but that didn¡¯t let me stop my feet. No, the moment I deemed it safe, I already ran forward away from the Dreviout.


    ¡°Nice!¡± I shouted to the side.


    Madriel heaved a sigh or relief and closed her palms, the remnant white orbs of light dissipated. From what I could tell, she cast a high-level healing spell but what confused me were the white orbs of light. I didn''t know a healing spell that could do that, and it was obviously a healing spell by the color.


    What¡¯s more, it seemed to be offensive healing magic, probably something used against the forces of the undead or those that desecrate life.


    But I tossed the thoughts aside, I could ask later.


    Its shadow could be seen behind the flames, and it seemed to hunch itself within. Not a moment later, an ear-piercing howl resounded about, the force itself caused the flames in front of it to douse. It was a clean split between the right and left.


    Its smile from earlier was no longer apparent, only the eyes of a raging and angry beast. It growled, and this time, walked over cautiously. It had intellect, it knew when to stop, and when to act.


    I could only smile wryly.


    This was the most annoying opponent, an opponent with a detailed AI, or in this case, one with above-average intellect.


    ¡°It¡¯s now looking at us as a proper opponent, be wary.¡± Madriel said, her body tensed to move at a moment¡¯s notice.


    I nodded at her words and started jumping on the spot.


    ¡°How many times can you shoot that spell?¡± I asked her, still wary of any sudden movements from the Dreviout.


    ¡°A few more times, I can¡¯t truly tell. I¡¯ve only created it at this moment, so I¡¯ve no idea of its mana consumption.¡±


    A crafted spell, huh? That¡¯s one thing that never existed in the game, but I¡¯m glad for it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Just like earlier, I¡¯ll take its attention, you hit it if you find an opening.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not new at this, I planned to from the start.¡± She said cheekily and started drawing back.


    I drew out a breath and looked straight on.


    This was an incredibly dangerous line to toe. Earlier, I was nearly done in with just one attack from the Dreviout. If it wasn¡¯t for my endurance effect that halved all of damage, I would have already died.


    In other words, this was a battle where I had to avoid getting hit as much possible, and if I did, I had to only take the hit between a few seconds. Otherwise, it was a game over for me.


    I gripped at the spear¡¯s shaft and looked at the cautious Dreviout. I wasn¡¯t keen on getting any closer after this, and so I spun the spear in my fingers, brought my arm up and readied myself to throw it.


    In any other scenario, this was a suicidal gambit. To willingly throw you weapon in a fight was an idiotic move that not even newbies would make. That was unless they had skills invested into weapon throwing. In my case, it was because of the special property the spear seemed to show earlier.


    While I didn¡¯t have much use for throwing spear arts, I did make use of them from time to time against flying opponents. As such, I memorized the martial arts to throw it.


    I stepped one foot forward, tensed the muscles from my shoulder to my arm and shot it through the air. The spear itself made the air split from the force, as it was aimed against the cautious Dreviout.


    Of course, something so unimaginably obvious was easy for the Dreviout to dodge. In fact, it had already done so after seeing my set of movements. It had stepped lightly to the right, and then ran forward towards my defenseless self.


    That was what I wanted, of course.


    As if sensing my intentions, the spear¡¯s chain connecting it to me appeared once again, it¡¯s flickering black light etched into the wind. I grasped at the chain with my other hand, while twisting my chained wrist to hold the other end, then pulled it back.


    The chain cut through the wind from that movement alone and the spear was shot back towards me.


    As the paw was about to descend on my body, the spear pierced through its muscled arms and returned to my hand. And, as if to protect me, the force of the spear returning shot me back a distance away from the Dreviout.


    I landed quite roughly, with the heels of my boots grinding at the stone floor.


    ¡°So, you do have a mind of your own.¡± I said off-hand and returned myself to a proper stance.


    At that moment, a wave of light passed my vision. That wave of white light exploded harshly, the explosion made of a similar white.


    It struck the dumbfounded Dreviout in the face, causing it to wince and back away slightly.


    It roared once more and looked to the person behind me, anger was clear in its eyes. The right half of its human race was now melted and horrific. It looked between me and Madriel and decided to attack me.


    I moved to dodge, but I was a tad slower. The Dreviout swiped with its claws towards me, I could barely move my spear to block the attack and so one of the freakishly long claws struck me in the arm.


    I was slightly launched into the air but I got my footing back to defend once more, but the Dreviout moved not at me, but towards Madriel.


    I clicked my tongue and kicked off the ground. It would be one thing for me, but if Madriel, who is clearly a magic class, clashed head-on against a raid-like boss like the Dreviout, it would mean the end of her.


    In my desperation, I threw my spear at it. The spear, as if sensing my thoughts, shot itself much faster than earlier and it cut through the wind like a rocket.


    The Dreviout, almost as if it had expected this, moved to the side to dodge the incoming projectile, then leaped towards me with its maw wide open.


    My only thoughts at this moment were ¡®Ah shit, this was its plan?¡¯


    Too bad for it though, I came prepared. The moment its jaw snapped at my torso, the Night Robes I donned broke into a shadowy explosion of smoke. My body phased through and I was left unharmed under its belly once more.


    I called back to the flying spear by tugging at the chains present on my wrist, and it shot back towards my hand. I then twisted my body and spun in place. The spear head drew a beautiful arc against the rotten flesh. The gaping hole once more increasing in size.


    As I was about to roll to dodge the impending the rampage, the Dreviout was one step ahead of me and used its tail. This long, freakish arm deftly moved and grabbed me by the torso.


    Then, as per its raging temperament, slammed me to the ground with all the force that its long, thin arms could muster.


    I felt my bones break and several of my organs punctured by broken ribs. While I was used to pain, it didn¡¯t stop me from screaming.


    Once more, the arm slammed me to the ground. More of my bones broke. My consciousness was slipping, I was sure that I would die the next time.


    And, once again, I was slammed hard to the ground.


    I had truly died, I thought as my vision went dark.


    ~ Madriel ~


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed at the scene before me.


    The young child of man, seemingly overpowering the foe while tiptoeing a dangerous line earlier, was now helplessly being played around by the Dreviout. His body limply dangling from the overstretched arm.


    Anticlimactically, it dropped Sed¡¯s body on the ground as it if was compost, losing interest in him altogether as its eyes moved towards me instead. Its eyes, burning with hatred, but also with arrogance.


    Its screaming features seemed to smile.


    It walked over, leaving behind his corpse. It slowly, but surely moved to my location. It was overconfident, as if relishing the pained expression on my face.


    I took in a sharp breath and looked at it in the eye. I would not give this beast the satisfaction of playing with me.


    I brought up my hands to level, bringing them up into a fist.


    ¡°Ancestral Faeries, I ask of your forgiveness, and for your assistance.¡± I said softly under my breath. Several orbs of light appeared around me, and as if sensing my thoughts, two of those orbs landed on my fists.


    The orbs of light melded into one with my hands, now glowing faintly. I felt a warm sensation overwhelm my senses, but it soon subsided.


    The other orbs of light then took positions to the different parts of my body. Some resided in my feet, some on my knees, on my chest. Enough so that I look the part of a shining warrior.


    Using this technique once more, with my deteriorated health... I can¡¯t even fathom the unknowable depths of pain that I will suffer after this, or the consequences of such actions. Still, it was that for the future, or my immediate death.


    Come, you mangy cur. I will show you the true strength of an orichalcum adventurer, of the Radiant Fairy of the Battlefield. I will give you my thanks for giving me the time to ready this, and I will avenge the death of Sed.

 Adonis 25: Crypt of Bastroll 4

    I awoke to a place totally incomprehensible to me, so much so that just looking at the sight before me produced unimaginably painful headaches. Headaches that, might I add, should have been easy for me to endure.


    ¡°What an interesting specimen, you are.¡±


    Then, a voice called out. I peered at the figure before me, a solid shape but no texture. Only the form of a man? It was hard to describe, just like everything in this place. And, just like it, a migraine assaulted me.


    ¡°Full of anam, but also pure of soul...¡±


    No, it doesn¡¯t seem to be talking to me, but instead speaking to itself.


    ¡°And surprising still, that I can¡¯t harvest the soul. Peculiar, unheard of. What are you?¡±


    It seemed to ponder the question, not really asking for my input. I tried to speak, but the very act of it seemed to induce a heavier headache.


    ¡°Dead, but cannot be harvested. Living, yet full of anam. Pure and corrupted. Denizen, but not truly. Rules, not applicable, yet still benefiting from it. Complete, yet shattered. What are you, truly?¡±


    The figure circled around me, one hand on its chin. There was a rising curiosity in its voice after each word, speaking one revelation after the other.


    ¡°A walking contradiction.¡± It concluded.


    A form of a smile seemed to appear on its flat features.


    ¡°I may not harvest the soul, but I can subordinate it.¡± It said and moved its hand to my head.


    However, something stopped it, something I, too, cannot comprehend. Just like the solid white of the world around me, this thing was a solid black in the shape of a stick... no, a spear.


    The figure stepped back, an expression surprise apparent on its blank features. Its mouth curved upwards as it looked at the black spear in front of me.


    ¡°A relic of the old god, interesting. So, you are its contracted. Wonderful, you grow interesting by the moment.¡± The figure crossed its arms. ¡°I so wish to take you as mine, but it seems this prickly thing will go against me yet again. Fine, I will do so at a later time.¡± It said, the last part seemingly aimed at the black spear.


    Then, the white figure turned its back and left. No, it disappeared, as did the white world with it. What was left, instead, was a blank space, and one that did not cause me headaches.


    The black spear then stuck itself on to the ground, or what seems to be. Several, solid black chains sprouted out from the ground and tied me up.


    ¡°You are still needed.¡±


    ~ Madriel ~


    I stepped to the side to dodge the Dreviout¡¯s charge. Using the momentum, I spun in place using my feet and swiped it across and struck the Dreviout¡¯s arm.


    My feet, clad in light, melted off a slight portion of the arm, but it wasn¡¯t nearly enough of a blow as I wanted to. Clicking my tongue, I twisted my body and used its arm as a platform and shot myself backwards.


    As I was about to land, the orbs of light surrounding my body cushioned the impact, making my self seem to glide on the ground.


    ¡°Come.¡±


    The Dreviout growled, looked down on its arm, and glared at me. It seemed to have thought of me as a sufficient threat and curved its back down, almost as if ready to pounce at any moment.


    I wanted it to underestimate me for a bit longer, but it seems we can¡¯t have everything. I took in a deep breath and took my stance. It was that of the elven style, one I take pride in knowing. This was something we rarely ever used, as it was considered a dishonor even in the afterlife should an elf lose after using the elven style, or should it be used haphazardly against weak opponents.


    This was something only elves would ever use when all options were exhausted, and they knew very well that the opponent before them would be an opponent worthy of it. It was mired both in tradition, but also in power.


    The moment I took this stance was the moment I turned into an elfin warrior.


    As if resonating with me, with the art of combat that I decided to use, the intensity of light that emanated from me increased by a notch. Nearly bathing the entire room in white light.


    The flesh of the Dreviout seemed to sizzle at just the touch of the light. It growled in annoyance and drew out a breath.


    I smirked, not at my chances, but what I was about to do.


    I knew full well about my own capabilities, and the power that this Dreviout had shown. I had meager, to almost nonexistent, chance to win against it. But, even then, I had my own pride as an adventurer, as the radiant fairy of the battlefield.


    It was either I trust my chances and move to die or kill myself in my inaction. As a proud elfin warrior, my choice was obvious.


    I grit my teeth and readied myself, looking at the eyes of the Dreviout. I smiled knowing that I would not be played with.


    ¡°Be honored, for I shall present to you the elfin dance.¡±


    I was confident that the elfin dance, renowned for its power, would give me a boost, enough to reach adamantium.


    ~ - ~


    Attacks rang out in the large room, each attack causing large ripples of energy.


    I traded blows with the large beast, each punch melted one more scant of flesh, each kick tearing away at the skin. Just by proximity, I was burning through its large farce. Yet, even then, I was at a disadvantage.


    I could kick away its attack, and follow with a punch. A shallow wound, but each attack I make tires me sooner.


    The beast was also unrelenting, swiping with its claws, using its arm, biting, rolling on the ground, it was using everything in its power to bring me down, and it was whittling away at me.


    Wounds appeared one after the other.


    My arm broke, my feet dislocated, A lung punctured by a rib. It attacked me incessantly. But, I would not be a skilled necromancer if I did not use my talents on myself. Each wound mended before the following attack, each broken bone healed by the efforts of the faeries.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    There was a limit to everything.


    I was reaching for a stalemate, but it was a battle of attrition.


    I was strong, and much more than a match against a desecration of life. This Dreviout was a denizen of the dark, and an undead. I, as a white necromancer, was its most effective opponent. Yet, I was still being pushed back.


    How was it possible for such a beast to exist, to even ignore its blaring weaknesses.


    Blood started to pool in my mouth. My eyes was being clouded a deep crimson. My limbs felt heavier at each move I made, my body reacting slower than I remember it should.


    The Dreviout took this chance and kicked me away. I landed on my back. I tried to stand up once more, but I couldn¡¯t. Even more, the radiant light that I once clad was growing dimmer by the second.


    Is this the end?


    Heh, I may have dishonored my ancestors, but I am still content.


    I¡¯m sorry that I could not avenge you, Sed, but it is what it is. Our kind of life is fraught with danger, it saddens me to know that a young one would lose his life, but this was our choice.


    I watched as the Dreviout walked over me, its disgusting smile returned on its features. It seemed to gloat at seeing my mangled state.


    ¡°Do what you will, beast.¡± I said with great difficulty.


    The Dreviout looked at me, then clicked its tongue. It raised its claws overhead. I looked at it, ready to accept my fate.


    I would not close my eyes. It was the pride of an elfin warrior to stare death in the eye, and it was a sentiment I so dearly took to my heart.


    It may have been stupid, a white necromancer, nothing more than a backline support, aiming for a warrior¡¯s death. However, the moment I took that first step in the elfin dance was the moment I became a warrior in elf society.


    The claw descended with an incredible force.


    However, before it took my last moments, several black spears, all of different length and types, filled my vision. The innumerable spearheads all lodged into the flesh, stopping the claw from descending any closer.


    ~ Chris/Sed ~


    I clutched the black spear in my hand and poured in mana. Surges of black energy seemed to overflow from every pore of my body, and the spear was sucking all of it up.


    Spears shot from the ground and into the body of the Dreviout. However, all it produced were shallow cuts into the flesh. Still, it was enough to impede its movement.


    ¡°Did a good job hanging in there, Madriel!¡± I shouted and brandished the spear, the tip forward. ¡°Time for round two, you piece of shit.¡± I declared and kicked off.


    I didn¡¯t give the Dreviout much of a chance as I immediately went under it, struck my spear towards the gaping hole on its stomach, and poured in as much mana as I could into the black spear.


    An ominous light surrounded the the entirety of the spear, and as if it was a tree branch, several more spears jutted out from its shaft. These spears, or maybe spikes were more appropriate? formed at irregular angles and all lunged forward to the Dreviout¡¯s stomach.


    It howled in pain, but I did not let it end there. I then twisted the black spear, breaking off the numerous branches, pulled it out, and ran. I took Madriel by the hem of her clothes and dragged her away from the beast.


    ¡°H.. ow?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll speak later, can you move?¡±


    She shook her head, and that alone told me enough.


    I looked back to the Dreviout, now pierced spears all around. Not only that, but several spears were also jutting out from its back. These long, thin, and black spears that broke off from the Spear of Immersed seemed all too jagged and broken, yet still broke through like nothing.


    In its anger, the Dreviout pounced at us, it¡¯s freakish face twisted in anger. It swung down its claws, causing the wind to split from the speed.


    You know, being dead, it gave me a bit of time to realize something... My spear, it¡¯s quite strong, isn¡¯t it? It could easily endure the heft of an axe coming at us at terminal speed, and still come out unscathed. It is only I that could not endure the force.


    So, what would happen if I had let something else hold the spear for me. Would it not be quite the strong defensive weapon?


    I held the spear outstretched by my arm and struck the blunt-end on the ground, the tip facing up. I then start to redirect my mana outside my body, covering myself with a thin, black smoke that took my shape.


    The sound of flesh being torn could be heard just atop of me. I looked up to see the cross-shaped spearhead had stopped the Dreviout¡¯s paw from descending any closer. The Dreviout, perplexed at the sight, tried to force through with its strength, but could not budge.


    I smirked, it was perfect.


    I activated the Spear of Immersed, immediately, the black smoke that veiled my appearance was being sucked in. Each gulp of smoke increasing the purplish light that was being emitted by it.


    Many long spears appeared from the ground and shot themselves towards the body of the Dreviout. These long spears each held a menacing light similar to the Spear of Immersed. They tore through the flesh easily, but each one also gave me a prickling sense of my energy being sapped.


    I had to end it fast. I had already died once, and I was already nearing my limits.


    I let go of the spear and ran back, away from the Dreviout¡¯s hulking mass. Then, I activated one of the Slayer¡¯s skills, one of their trademarks even. The Longstrike skill. It was a bit tricky to activate it, and took atleast a second of revving up before I could even use it, but it was quite an effective ability.


    Gathering my strength on my legs, I jumped. I soared through the sky and looked down. There, the Dreviout wanted to move away, but I had poured in so much mana on the Spear of Immersed that it was having a lot of trouble even moving one part of it¡¯s body from the numerous spears that impaled it.


    The Longstrike, a jumping ability of the Slayer. Primarily used by players to strike down flying enemies or very large raid bosses, it was quite a useful skill, if a bit tricky to land. After all, it was only a jumping ability, what happened next was the player¡¯s decision.


    One of the popular martial arts to be used with the Longstrike was the ¡®Dragon Descent¡¯ movement that turned their weapons into a single-target nuke that dealt immense damage.


    Without my weapon, I could not use it. However, I wasn¡¯t without a plan.


    I had a lot of time to think about the fight prior to the dark room, and a lot of realizations occurred to me then. Critical attacks were just fatal strikes, were they not? In the game, it was an arbitrary chance to deal double the damage, but now that this was real life, did that not meant I had some control over my critical strikes?


    Maybe this should have occurred to me earlier as I was fighting the chimeric beasts on the surface, but they were far too weak of an opponent for me to realize it. Now though, this Dreviout had my mind working on overtime that it honestly felt embarrassing.


    In the air, I internally gathered the last of my mana and gathered it into my hands. Then, short swords made of inky shadows formed.


    Shadowslice, one of the weakest spells in the arsenal of the Occultist. With its abysmal damage, no one really used it save for a few very focused skill builds. It did have one saving grace, and that it had an incredible potential for critical damage. So much so that many critical hit builds would use the Shadowslice as one of their core spells.


    In the air, I followed the set of movements for Dragon Descent and aimed at the neck of the Dreviout.


    And, just like a meteor strike, my attack struck the Dreviout.


    The shadowy blade was lodged deep into the neck of the Dreviout, where it could only soundlessly howl at the pain.


    I flicked my wrist and sliced out with both swords. The flesh at the neck was easily cut, but I did not stop there. I cut, I sliced, I hewed.


    Slice, slice, slice, cut, stab, stab, sliced. I wondered if all my attacks were considered critical, but from the howls, it may have been.


    With no regards for my condition, with no regards for the outside, I focused on my one-track commitment, my focused devotion, to cut off this beast¡¯s neck. Did it take mere minutes, or maybe an hour and a half? I truly did not know, as I had already lost track of time.


    ¡°...d¡±


    ¡°Se...¡±


    ¡°Sed!¡±


    I broke from my reverie at the sound of Madriel¡¯s voice calling out to me. I looked at her. She, with great difficulty, stood up. She shook her head at me. ¡°It¡¯s dead, Sed. It is done.¡±


    I stopped, and as soon as I did, the exhaustion took over me. The shadowy blades receded from my grasp, and I was alone atop the Dreviout. It¡¯s neck was a mess of torn flesh. A major portion of it was severed from the body, and only a few muscles held the head in place.


    I shakily leaped off the corpse, but I soon lost my balance once my foot landed on the ground. Thankfully, Madriel took me by the hips and back, saving me from the pain of falling.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°You took the words out my mouth, Sed. Had you taken a moment longer, I would not be of this world.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to my preparations, still, I do not want to experience death one more time.¡±


    I took out the amulet of resurrection, though now it was cracked and split at the center.


    It should have been able to resurrect me once a week, but it broke after one use. I suppose it was too good to be true. I sighed and clutched the broken amulet.


    ¡°That was an amusing show, mortals.¡±


    Then, an ethereal and ghastly voice spoke over the room. It seemed to originate from every direction. We both bore a surprised expression as we looked around, both of us taking a fighting stance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised, did you think I would not realize there would be intruders in my domain? Not to mention, being so loud just a room over. Come in here, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    Madriel wavered, her body trembled and her voice shaken. ¡°Bastroll...¡±


    I held my head. ¡°Nothing truly is that simple. Ugh.¡±

 Adonis 26: For Love

    I shook my head and relaxed.


    At the very least, he didn¡¯t attack us when we were the most vulnerable, so I could rest for a moment. I gathered up my remaining energy and walked forward with Madriel in tow.


    ¡°What do you think is waiting for us on the other side?¡± I asked her, looking at the large, iron door.


    She attempted to speak, but paused for a moment as if collecting her thoughts.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s hostile... yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah, that¡¯s obvious.¡±


    ¡°Look, I can¡¯t gather my thoughts.¡±


    I sighed and placed my palm over the rusted iron.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked while moving my palm over the texture.


    ¡°Exhausted... but I can pull my weight should the need arise.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Ditto here. Still, that fight against the Dreviout is not filling me with confidence.¡± I said and turned behind to the corpse of the beast. It wasn¡¯t bloody, but only a heap of rotting meat over the cold stone.


    I hung my head, thinking of the fight that might come.


    Bastroll... he wasn¡¯t a boss in the game, or at all really. The Dreviout was meant to be the final boss, and was wholly optional so long as the players used stealth the nab Bastroll¡¯s bag of wonders.


    That meant that this was a fight where I was going in effectively blind.


    Nothing fills me with more dread than this.


    Still, Bastroll is considered the ¡®Sleeping Lich¡¯, so he might have a similar moveset to that of a generic lich boss. Problem is, he isn¡¯t such a simple entity. Not to mention that this isn¡¯t the game anymore.


    I held my head in pain.


    ¡°Drink this, just don¡¯t speak of it to anyone.¡± I told her and took out a two ampules from my pouch. I passed out one to her.


    ¡°Break the top portion and drink the contents, it¡¯s medicine.¡± I said and broke mine, then drank the contents with a swig.


    A wave of comfort soon assaulted me, the feeling of exhaustion and pain gradually lifting by the seconds that pass.


    Jesus christ, the taste is awful. It reminded me slightly of the longevity medicine that fixed up broken cells back on earth, but it had the nasty side-effect of cancerous growths.


    Thankfully, the taste didn¡¯t drag on my tongue for long and I was back in form, or at least, half.


    I looked to my side to see her sporting the same expression. I smirked.


    ¡°Tastes awful, yeah?¡±


    Madriel spat out. ¡°It does, but I¡¯m quite thankful for it.¡±


    She threw the ampule behind her and almost started to retch. That was when a familiar voice reached us once again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t keep me waiting.¡±


    A voice we didn¡¯t want to hear reminded us, and now the dread was seeping in even more. I could only wearily sigh and shrugged. Madriel seemed all the more shaken, but her eyes had a resoluteness that I can admire.


    ¡°Guess we can¡¯t rest longer.¡± I said and pushed the iron doors open.


    What greeted me was the very same room in the game, with the same pillars that supported the ceiling, and the same layout. What was different this time was the crystal prison at the opposite end of the room.


    It should have been a full, crystalline red that encased a decrepit corpse of a man. Now though, that crystal seal was shattered and broken, no longer the smooth surface I was used to seeing.


    Instead, just by the front of it that crystal prison was a throne made of molded ruby. Sitting on that very throne was less of a man, and more of a corpse given life. Where the eyes should have been in his sunken face was a deep bluish flame that flickered at each second.


    His frail arms spread out, and his bellowing voice very unlike his malnourished frame boomed into the room.


    ¡°Welcome! Welcome indeed, interlopers.¡± This ¡®man¡¯ seemed to grin, but between the rotted flesh and lack of working muscles, this grin seemed more horrific than it should have been.


    ¡°Well, you, young man. Not Madriel. It has been quite a while, my love. How are you?¡± Bastroll¡¯s fiery eyes seemed to burn even brighter as he looked at Madriel¡¯s figure.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Madriel¡¯s features begin to sour.


    And, cut. Okay, I guess I¡¯m beginning to piece things together now. Ooh boy, I don¡¯t want to be between a lover¡¯s quarrel in the final battle. It would be quite comedic... if it wasn¡¯t so tragic, if Madriel¡¯s expression is anything to go by.


    I wanted to meet my face with my palm, but removing my line of sight with the baddie was a recipe for disaster, even if he isn¡¯t hostile... yet.


    Ah, what¡¯s this all about? I wanted to cry out.


    ¡°How?¡±


    As if to cut the atmosphere, the cold voice of Madriel split through her clenched teeth. She glared at Bastroll, her muscles tensed to move at a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Are you asking how I escaped, my lovely Madriel?¡± Bastroll snickered and crossed his emaciated legs.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple, anam. Accumulated anam, I broke it down through sheer concentration. It took me eons to do so, but here I am.¡± He laughed.


    ¡°Which leads me to part that interests me the most.¡± He added and pointed at me. ¡°You. You truly are an existence beyond the norm. These eyes of mine, they pierce through the veil of Materius.¡± Bastroll¡¯s eyes glowed a shade brighter.


    ¡°What are you?¡± Bastroll held his chin and he looked at me, his interest apparent.


    ¡°Funny, I remember someone asking the same thing.¡±


    Bastroll exclaimed. ¡°Really? Who?¡±


    ¡°No clue.¡± I¡¯m lying, of course. I have an idea of who that was, but I prefer not to acknowledge that idea, at least not yet. ¡°Although, that person did have an answer. A walking contradiction.¡±


    Bastroll laughed and relaxed on his red throne.


    ¡°That really might be the case! An anamistic body, but a manafic soul. I envy you, you know... Had I that kind of body, I would not have needed to turn myself into this abomination of a creature.¡± Bastroll raised one of his arms to see his eyes, and then balled his hand into a fist. He sighed and looked at me.


    ¡°Young man, do you know of anam, the energy that you call foul mana, miasma, the ilkin plague, the likes?¡±


    ¡°First time I¡¯ve heard of it. Care to explain, Bastroll?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I would. I haven''t talked to people in ages, give me a moment.¡±


    Bastroll stood from his throne and waved his hands. Several old books started to fly out from everywhere, and they all opened all around us, pages flipping.


    ¡°Careful Sed, Bastroll is a necromancer by profession, though he is what we call black necromancers.¡± She spoke softly, tensely looking at the flying books in the air.


    ¡°Mana is the lifeblood of many things living in this world, it is the basest of components for life. Many organics are composed of mana, and they all live in one ecosystem in Materius. It is the basest of energies that rule, and yet conform, to the world. You might call it the binder of Materius.¡± He then snapped his fingers and brought up a book to him.


    ¡°Then, what about anam? It is the corruption of mana. The very destruction of the rules that imposed it. They sow the chaos and relish at it. Most of the common folk see monsters as beings from different dimensions, spawned in at haphazard and erratic times, but that is simply not true. You see, they were spawned by anam. Have you ever wondered how and why they are so aggressive towards the living? It is simply because they wish to gain the mana that they lack. Foul mana truly is an apt way to describe it, but it is so much more than that.¡±


    ¡°And you, young man, your body is anamistic beyond a human degree. It is quite normal for most humans to gain some anam into their body, but it so very inconceivable and impossible to have a body made of 100% anam. Yet, that is not the most outrageous thing about you, it is that the anam of your body can coexist with the mana of your soul. Two energies that are known to tear each other apart just by close proximity. Can you understand the bafflement I am experiencing right now?!¡±


    At the rise of his excitement, all the books floating in the air dropped to the ground, kicking up dust and strewn-out paper.


    ¡°You are an existence that bends the rules of the world to your benefit, yet still you gain from it. I am envious, very much envious of your body. Lichdom is a mere imitation compared to yours. And so... I shall have it.¡±


    His voice chilled as I heard the last of his words. I immediately jumped back, as did Madriel, and brought out my spear to bear against him.


    ¡°Madriel, my love. I ask you to stand aside. I only wish to have this child¡¯s body... and when I do, we can finally be together once more. As man and woman.¡±


    Madriel shook her head, and her body was bathed in a radiant light that swallowed the entire room.


    ¡°And so, you are set to face me once more...¡± Bastroll said, his voice tinged with sadness. ¡°Do you forget, Madriel? That I did this for us.¡± He said and looked at his emaciated form. ¡°I had wished for us be together for eternity, but no human can live long with an elf.¡± He looked at Madriel. ¡°Do you know how much I¡¯ve sacrificed? Please, Madriel, don¡¯t do this to me.¡±


    Madriel shook her head and stared at Bastroll. Her vision was clouded and teary, and she bit her lip before speaking. ¡°Bastroll... I loved you, and I so wished to live my golden years with you, but that would never happen, you know it to be true. You are man... no, you were man.¡± At these words, she took on a strange stance. ¡°I had intended to love you until your death, but your desperation caused you destruction. I could never be with a lich, much less a man that committed so much for it. I am sorry, but I will end this here, just like how I set out all those years ago with Adantel.¡±


    Then, a stream of black smoke emanated from Bastroll, the very same one that I used before. This seemed to be the anam he spoke of. This anam fought against the radiant light, causing a divide between white and black in the room.


    ¡°Adantel... that name again.¡± Bastroll moved his hands, weaving the anam into his hands. He grasped at the strands of energy and enclosed it within his fists. His fists glowed with an encompassing darkness very alike of that of Madriel¡¯s.


    ¡°Is that how it is, Madriel? You chose an elf over me, your husband.¡± His grave tone, he looked at her, his fiery eyes now blazing a notch higher.


    ¡°Even after I sapped him of his vitality, you would still choose him over me!¡± He roared, the room quaked.


    Madriel took in a deep breath and spoke to him with a gentle voice, the polar opposite of Bastroll¡¯s.


    ¡°Bastroll, I loved you, but the you of now is not the Bastroll I remember. I refuse to call you my husband when you¡¯re like this. Please, just fall asleep, let me hold dear the memories we had of each other. Please, I ask that you not taint those old memories with the new.¡±


    Bastroll slammed his foot on the ground and broke the stone floor, causing a tremor strong enough to break one of the pillars in half.


    ¡°Madriel, if I can¡¯t have you, then I¡¯ll make sure Adantel can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s never simple...¡± I shook my head and grit my teeth. This was the final battle, and lord do I regret coming between a lover¡¯s spat. I looked at Madriel, her shining figure that seemed to radiate confidence.


    ¡°Do you have a plan?¡± I ask her in a whisper.


    She chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared for this eventuality for years, even so far as crippling myself. Follow my lead.¡± She spoke with confidence, but her shoulders trembled at the thought.


    I suppose it isn¡¯t easy, to have decide to kill her love for the good of others.


    I sighed. I had well over half of my combat capabilities, so I could still put up a fight. I¡¯ll just have to rely on Madriel for this.

 Adonis 27: For Love 2

    As I wasn¡¯t in my best shape, and prolly in the worst position affinity-wise compared to Madriel, I jumped behind her and watched their confrontation.


    The clashes of energy that were being emitted by the two completely overwhelmed my vision. The light that was purifying the darkness, and the inky abyss eating away at the brightness.


    And, hell, now that Bastroll mentioned it, I felt a prickling sensation on my skin under her light. This was the first time I was under its effect directly, so it didn¡¯t affect me earlier.


    Still, it wasn¡¯t that bad. If anything, it was merely the sensation if pins and needles. I could endure it for a spell.


    Madriel pounced at Bastroll, her fists clad in light tearing away at the darkness. Her movements were fluid and fast, void of any unnecessary actions.


    Bastroll, despite his appearance, was of a nimble sort. He easily avoided that punch and counterattacked with his own. His stance was similar to Madriel¡¯s but the difference lay in their hands.


    More precisely, Madriel¡¯s was a closed fist for punching. Bastroll¡¯s was a bit more unconventional. Instead of balling it up into a fist, his fingers were outstretched and pointed, much like a knife-hand strike.


    Bastroll¡¯s lunged forward, aiming at her neck. It was a viciousness impossible to imagine to be used against his own wife.


    She managed to dodge just as it pierced through her skin. A trickle of blood flowed from the side of her neck, a slight distance away from her carotid. A lucky break, maybe, as that would have ended the fight at once.


    She wiped the blood from her neck and looked at her fingers. A horrified expression on her face as she stared back at Bastroll¡¯s figure. She bit her lip, and once more did the resolute eyes appear.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t make me look back at this bitterly.¡± She said in a whisper, a quiet appeal. Still, she knew better.


    Madriel pushed herself forward and exchanged blows with Bastroll. Both of them in sync with each other. They weaved, they hewed, they punched, they dodged. Each of their movements flowing one after the other like a...


    ¡°A dance.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help myself from speaking aloud. It was a beautiful ensemble of body movements tied at each other. They moved as if the world didn¡¯t bother them. They moved only to each other¡¯s rhythm.


    A kick would follow a punch, a punch would follow a weave. A weave would follow a strike, and a strike would follow a throw.


    I hung my head as I watched.


    There was no way I could get inside there. I guess this was more of a fight between them, than it was between Bastroll and I.


    How frustrating it was to only look on in the fight, not doing anything, only helplessly enamored by their movements.


    I could bring about a curse against Bastroll, but I wasn¡¯t quite confident yet that I could aim accurately when they moved so close and so fast to each other. It would be a miracle if I even hit Bastroll.


    I struck the ground with my blunt-end of my spear and focused myself on their movements.


    I wonder about her emotional state though... I hope she¡¯s doing fine.


    ~ Madriel ~


    It has been long. So, so long Bastroll. I had wanted to see you for so many blue moons, and yet here you are, still broken beyond repair.


    I suppose I was lying to myself, hoping that the crystal imprisonment would bring about your clarity, to yourself to Bastroll the Juggernaut Mage. Not yourself as the Sleeping Lich. I had hoped, and I had prayed. I had researched, all the way till now.


    I knew you were too far gone, Bastroll. But is it so bad for a wife to hope, to wait?


    Bastroll came at me, there was a calm rage in his eyes, like water about to spill from a cup. He took one step forward, bent his back, twisted his body along with his feet, drawing an arc on the ground, and lunged forward.


    It was a movement I taught to him. A happier time, it was.


    His razor-sharp hand came at me and grazed the sides of my neck. Had I dodged later, or was less luckier, I would have already lost.


    It is a sad thing, to see the ancestral elfin dance so thoroughly corrupted by hatred. However, what saddens me the most is the circumstances.


    It is not the job of a wife to strike down her husband, but here I am.


    Is it my just deserts? Probably. Had I only stopped him before, nothing of this scale would have happened. If it were a different time, a different world, I might not be with him now, but I¡¯d have preserved more happy memories.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I feel envious to a me that isn¡¯t me, where she lived and laughed with Bastroll as if it were natural. To have treasured memories of our selves.


    I bit my lip and looked beyond my thoughts.


    Bastroll effortlessly exchanged blows with me. Each one of my moves fluidly countered. Similarly, all of his moves, I knew of.


    Whether he knew it or not though, I was falling behind inch by inch. It was not the lack of skill, but rather the exhaustion of fighting the Dreviout earlier.


    ... I suppose it¡¯s about time.


    I¡¯ve muddled my thoughts for far too long, and clashing with Bastroll head-on has given me enough of an idea of his current strength. It should be possible, no, it had to be possible. This was the only method I could think of that will return him to normal.


    I jumped back, far and enough behind Sed, who was watching us intently. I looked at his back, relaxed yet focused.


    ¡°Sed! Cover me!¡± I shouted at him from behind and brought my palms together.


    I heard the clashing of steel against hardened skin. Clang, clang, swish, slash. These sounds reverberated around the room.


    He¡¯s doing well against him, he might just do it.


    I smiled and focused on my job.


    There¡¯s a reason why I¡¯ve been so weak for the past few hundred years. The reason why I couldn¡¯t work as an adventurer anymore, the reason why I had to leave that life behind.


    Bastroll... I¡¯ll be able to see you again. Not in this life, however, but maybe next time? You¡¯ll have to wait for me... that¡¯s your punishment.


    With those sentiments in mind, I brought out the last of my powers. Strands of white light congregated at my palms. With each passing second, the heat pressing further, radiating outwards and to the entire room.


    Intense white light bathed the area and I could no longer hear the sounds of battle, only stillness.


    I closed my eyes and focused only on the task before me.


    I grasped at the light with my fingers. As if I was rolling threads, I gathered up the white light and contained it. Little by little, I felt the radiant light inch closer to my palms, the heat rising by every second, even more than it was earlier.


    This was it, the very thing I staked my life on.


    I held the orb of energy within my grasp and looked head on to Bastroll. He stared at me, mouth agape. It seems he knew what I wanted to do and he almost immediately jumped back from his fight against Sed.


    He brought about his malevolent energy and focused it around him, turning it from a curtain of energy into a shield that protected him from all sides.


    He was struggling, that I was sure of.


    Farewell, my love.


    ~ Sed ~


    I exchanged blows with Bastroll for quite some time, and obviously, I was being pushed back.


    I guess I should be happy that it wasn¡¯t any worse.


    I kept feeding the black spear with my black ¡®anam¡¯ that was released from my body, and it kept the fight slightly even. Every strike of my spear, another would sprout from the ground and it would break Bastroll¡¯s flow.


    Thanks to it, I¡¯ve managed to hold him back.


    I paced back when a spear jutted out from the ground between us, giving me quite some space. I used that chance to step to the left, one foot forward, and brought my spear to face against him. I let the shaft drag across my palm as it shot forward.


    The spearhead clashed against his knife-hand and he was forced to jump back.


    Now that I look at him, there was clear horror in his eyes, and he wasn¡¯t even looking at me, rather, to the one behind me.


    The incredible dark light that was being emitted by him suddenly retracted and he started to consolidate the energy into him, turning it into a cocoon of magical energy.


    Before I knew it, a flash light streaked past me and towards Bastroll.


    Like a flashbang, I could see nothing, I could hear nothing. What was in front of me was a white canvas.


    What happened? I wanted to ask the person behind me, but before I could do so, the white light had already vanished as if it was a dream. What was left was the tattered Bastroll.


    He, who was so easily dominating the fight, was dispatched outright by Madriel with one powerful blow.


    He laid on the ground, grasping for breath. His body twitching. His body now looked even more emaciated than it already had, and there was a sudden smell of... death. It was hard to describe.


    Was she really just orichalchum? Damn.


    I looked to the person in question, a new light of admiration in my eyes.


    She stood there, looking at Bastroll. Her eyes clouded with sadness, and her furrowed brows apparent. She slowly walked up to him and brought his hands with her across her chest.


    Bastroll couldn¡¯t move, and could only stare at her.


    Tears streamed down from her features as she held his hand dearly.


    I sigh. That¡¯s to be expected, I suppose. I turned my back from the scene and walked out of the room. Whatever it is they wanted to do, to speak of, or to catch up, that was their business. I¡¯ll leave it to them.


    ~ - ~


    I sat at the cool floor, just beside the open door outside the sealed room. I had the black spear beside me should something arise from inside. I was close enough that I could hear their mumbling, but not close enough to discern their words.


    I looked at the rotting carcass of the Dreviout, though now there was something else different from it. Unlike before, it¡¯s body was now dissipating into a black smoke, very similar to the ¡®anam¡¯ that I was exuding before.


    I immediately gripped at the black spear and knelt forward, ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice as I watched its body trickle down to vapor.


    Minutes past, and the body was no more.


    I audibly relaxed and slumped back, my back resting on the stone cold wall.


    Well, I guess that¡¯s one indication that Bastroll is done for.


    As I thought so, I heard footsteps behind me and I looked up to see Madriel, a little red in her eyes, walked out of the room. Likewise, she stared at me and gave a strained smile before slumping on the opposite end and huddled herself up with her knees.


    Quiet sobbing filled the silent room.


    At times like these... you don¡¯t offer words. No amount of words can soothe the pain of losing one¡¯s loved one. I know, because I¡¯ve experienced it.


    I stood from my seat and entered the sealed room.


    Bastroll¡¯s body was nowhere to be found, the room was as it was except for one thing. There, where his body should be, was now a large magical implement worked on with chalk. A magic circle, one that I was unaware of.


    AdOn had ritual casting, where one could spend a long time and sufficient resources to cast a powerful spell. In most cases, these were powerful summons or powerful buffs. And, they also required the highest level mage to do so.


    As an Occultist, I also had ritual casting, and I knew of it quite a bit if only for how useful it could be outside of combat.


    What astounds me so is that the magic circle used for ritual casting was vastly different to those I knew. And, it was in a language alien to me.


    Well, I¡¯ll ask her about it later.


    I guess that¡¯s a mission complete, then? I hope the people on the surface are doing okay.

 Adonis 28: After

    I looked around the regal room, searching for one of my objectives. The primary reason I wanted to come to this crypt in the first place was to give Nis a bag of wonders, which was usually found on the altar to the side of the room. Unfortunately, there was neither an altar, nor a wondrous bag.


    I suppose it was too good to ask for. This place had been raided and robbed numerous times already, it would be a miracle of the highest degree if none of them realized the bag¡¯s worth. Especially so since the only people capable of reaching its end would be the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me of the adventuring world, the only people who might really know its worth.


    Well, it¡¯s not like this was a wasted effort. Even if one of my objectives was lost from the very start, we had beaten the lord of the crypt. If the Dreviout was anything to go by, then most of the chimeric beast should have dissipated by now.


    I wonder about the undead, though.


    Undead forcefully reanimated through magic lose their capabilities after the death of their master, but undead reanimated due to a negligence to bathe and rite the body for soul ascendance don¡¯t. Specters and monsters that live due to the accumulated grief and sadness that befell them.


    Of course, not every dead person turns into them.


    I shook my head and looked around. I may have lost the bag, but this room had its own unique loot.


    One of them was the large, crimson crystal seal situated at the wall. It was broken, sure, and many of its fragments turned into a crystalline throne, but it still had its uses. Materials such as these were hard to find, and they were perfect for magic bestowals... Problem is, I don¡¯t have someone who can do that.


    Well, whatever.


    I brought out the black spear and struck the throne.


    The spearhead clashed with the crimson crystal. For a moment, the blade seemed to cut deep, however, it bounced back a second later. My hands up to my shoulders turned numb from the feedback.


    I clicked my tongue and stepped back.


    Of course it would be hard, what the fuck was I thinking? It needed a hundred or so years for Bastroll to break through, no way I could do it in one strike.


    This is depressing. I can¡¯t even get a material as good as this when it¡¯s so very close to me. Damn it, fine. I¡¯ll just look at the entire room.


    And so, I did. However, reality was not so convenient. There were good articles, of course, maybe nicked off from the adventurers before, but they were subpar compared to mine. It was no use to me, and it wouldn¡¯t really matter if I sold them considering the massive wealth I was hoarding in my pockets... er, pouch.


    I scratched my head in annoyance and looked at the one thing in the room that was at least of interest. The magic circle in chalk in the center of the room.


    I walked up to the circle and felt up the chalk. A dry sensation. I then placed my palm on the inscription, on a patch free of lines, and passed my mana through it.


    The magic circle glowed slightly, but it was all it did. Nothing came out of it but the wastage of my already dwindling reserves.


    ¡°Ancient elven ritual, it would surprise me if you were able to commandeer it.¡±


    I looked behind to the voice that spoke. There, Madriel stood, one of her hands holding on to the door frame. She made a show of wiping away the tears from her face and walked up to me.


    ¡°What¡¯s it for?¡± I asked her and turned my gaze back to the peculiar formation.


    ¡°An elven bestowal ritual. As you know, we elves do not truly die. When our physical bodies cease, our souls return to the Althanciel where we await the next cycle of our life.¡± She said and knelt before the ritual circle, passing her hand over it and causing it to glow a faint green.


    ¡°The elven bestowal ritual turns the soul of a non-elf into an honorary one, so that they may join the Althanciel and be reborn anew. Normally, this is done by several elders to a true friend of the elves.¡±


    She smiled faintly as she grasped at the chalk on the ground. Immediately, the glow stopped and the low hum of magic ceased.


    ¡°And I used that very ritual for my beloved. It may not be the immortality he wished for, but it is immortality nonetheless.¡± She explained and scattered the chalk of the circle, scrubbing it clean from the room. What was left was a mess of chalk everywhere.


    ¡°So this is the reason you joined me in this suicidal mission, to help Bastroll.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    She nodded and stared blankly at the ground.


    ¡°I thank you, Sed. For giving me this chance, for letting make me amends, for letting me do what I needed to do.¡±


    I snickered.


    ¡°Oh man, don¡¯t even go there. I was next to useless if you hadn¡¯t thrown that ball of light.¡±


    We both laughed and enjoyed the silence after, the various emotions likely sinking inside her.


    ¡°You really loved him, didn¡¯t you?¡± I peered at her face.


    A lovely smile blossomed on her features.


    ¡°Quick question then, why did you make passes at me and Nis? And don¡¯t even deny it, I saw you trying to flirt her up during training.¡±


    Madriel chuckled and paced around the room.


    ¡°Living with Bastroll, and learning of his plight, you realize the differences between elves and the other races. Our kind is immortal, but we aren¡¯t invincible. So long as we don¡¯t take up the sword and live peacefully, we can live for eternity.¡± She spoke in a calm, if a bit emotional, tone.


    ¡°Throughout our lives, we love many people, and we watch them leave as often. Love for us is fleeting, and we enjoy the little moments, but the ones we truly treasure are the memories left behind by those we loved.¡±


    ¡°And so there the problem laid.¡± I spoke up.


    She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Tricky thing. I wonder how many more broken hearts did your kind pass by.¡±


    ¡°Maybe a tad too much.¡± She giggled. ¡°It¡¯s time we leave to report this to the lodge.¡± She said, turned her back and walked out of the room.


    I followed suit, but looked behind one more time.


    The spacious room, with nothing remarkable. What a waste, that crimson crystal, if only I could harvest it...


    ~ Slavos ~


    ¡°Report, Sir Slavos! The chimeric beasts seem to be dissipating in clouds of smoke.¡±


    ¡°Reporting, field command. West camp attack has ceased and their body has started to decay.¡±


    ¡°North side, battle¡¯s done, but the remain¡¯re poof.¡±


    ¡°Oh, everyone¡¯s here... uh, well, east side, same thing.¡±


    Inside the field commander¡¯s tent within the camp, several reports started filing in from all sides. The sounds outside seemed to have died down, and if what they said was correct, then there was something amiss.


    I brought up the sword on the table to my shoulders and walked out of the tent.


    Outside was... in a way, an ordered chaos. The scenery has always been the same.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking to the west side. Keep monitor of all others.¡± I told the other adventurers and went to the front.


    The west side was the one closest to the crypt entrance, and where we had established the best defenses. I hurried there and in but a few paces, I found myself within chaos.


    The entire area was enclosed in a tide of dead chimeric beasts, just as the reports said, it was an unending tide streaming out from the crypt. Yet now, that unceasing flow died down just as abruptly.


    Their corpses littered the ground, and all of them started to emit black smoke.


    Many of the experienced adventurers started to interject the corpses with their mana to stay their decay, but many corpses still lay unclaimed.


    I sighed and relaxed my guard. It truly seems to have ended.


    ¡°Slavos, quick question.¡±


    As I was about to return to the tent to tend with the paperwork, someone tugged at my armor and spoke. Her voice was silky smooth and childlike, and there was a rising curiosity that laced it.


    I looked behind me to see Nis, Sed¡¯s partner. She was, just like him, an oddity. A beauty, at least by human standards. Incredibly powerful for her age, able to command four demons with ease, and could handle her own in battle. Not to mention, she was able to control the tide in the heat of it.


    ¡°What is it, young lady?¡± I asked what she meant.


    She pointed at the group of adventurers trying to save the spoils of war.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± She asked, a glimmer in her eyes.


    Hrm, it seems she truly didn¡¯t know. It is common knowledge among adventurers, but I suppose thinking of them as ¡®common¡¯ is a faulty notion.


    ¡°Dead monsters decay after a time, their mana will be lost, along with their physical bodies. For adventurers to profit hunting these monsters, they require that their bodies remain in physicality for longer. It has been found that injecting them with foreign mana keeps them permanently anchored to this plane. Or so, that is the common belief.¡± I explained to her.


    ¡°Interesting...¡± Her words trailed off and she decided to test it herself.


    She walked up to one of the decaying corpses and pressed her palm across its belly, then surged her mana forward. Immediately, the black smoke that engulfed the corpse vanished.


    ¡°What a weird thing.¡± She muttered before standing up. She then faced me, a crooked grin plastered on her features. ¡°I¡¯ll uh... do some things.¡± She giggled and ran away to somewhere.


    I sighed and shook my head. The both of them, odd.


    ~ Sed/Chris ~


    Just as Madriel expected, many of the chimeric beast corpses were decaying in the higher floor. Hell, the entire room was fogged by black smoke that it was nearly impossible to navigate the room, even if it was just one straight walk.


    If it weren¡¯t for my newer control over ¡®anam¡¯, which is what the black smoke is, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to find our way out.


    It¡¯s a weird thing, being able to control this fucked-up version of mana all of a sudden. Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s been instinctual since the start, but it¡¯s only after that weird death I¡¯ve experienced that I¡¯ve been able to control it decently enough.


    I brought out the black spear from the pouch and stared at it intently as we walked.


    There¡¯s more to this spear than meets the eye, that¡¯s for sure.


    I gripped at the handle and pushed in a modest amount of anam in my dwindling pool, and it responded in kind. It vibrated slightly as if it were alive. It would be great if that were the case, so I could speak to it. Then again, it doesn¡¯t have a mouth so I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s even possible...


    Wait, speak to it?


    Now that I think about, I did have that, yeah.


    A ritual spell exclusive for Occultists, the ability to strengthen weapons for a time. It was quite a useful ritual spell to buff player weapons temporarily, but the time and material sink for a day-long buff wasn¡¯t quite cost-effective for players. It was used extensively by top-ranked raiding parties though if they planned to do nothing but raids for 24-hours real-time.


    However, that wasn¡¯t really my concern here. It was the flavor text of the spell. If everything is as I assumed it to be, then this ritual spell was more than just a simple buff for weapons. After all, the spell mentioned that the caster ¡®talks¡¯ to the entity residing within.


    If I believe it to be true, and I do, then this black spear may just be my next lead to this entire world-chasm thing, or a dud in the wayside. Either way, it was at least something to aim for. If it''s not, then I''ll look for another lead. It''s all about the hustle and the grind.

 Adonis 29: Final String

    ¡°So, on to the billion dollar question.¡± I say as we walked the hallways of the crypt. As the monsters were already decaying, or weakened, it was a mere leisure walk, if a bit odd to have one beset in all sides by corpses.


    ¡°Billion dollar?¡± Madriel cocked her head to the side.


    ¡°Ah, an idiom or some such in my country. Adantel, he mentioned that he wanted Bastroll dead, not sealed. Why was that?¡±


    This was a question has been tugging at my mind since. Why would they, the Wanderer¡¯s Lodge, keep an existence like Bastroll alive when they had the chance the kill him? He was an entity far beyond their control, so it struck me weird.


    She kept silent for a moment, as if chewing on her words before speaking.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that at first. We managed to seal him into his crystal prison and we awaited the return of one of our strongest adamantiums to strike the final blow, as he was the only one capable of doing so. That... was the plan.¡±


    She grazed her dainty fingers on the solid, crypt walls as we walked, tracing them one by one.


    ¡°But, we learned of something. As we waited for that adamantium, monsters started appearing in this very crypt, monsters that were never here before. We had thought it was a last ditch effort of Bastroll, but it wasn¡¯t. We learned that, just by his mere presence, even despite the prison, monsters would materialize daily by proximity.¡±


    She then pointed at one of the decaying corpses of the chimeric beasts by the halls.


    ¡°Monsters like those. Eventually, the council learned of this, and a devious idea stuck to them. ¡®Would it not be alright to capitalize on this?¡¯, and so they did. It must have been quite the forbidden fruit to them. Infinite resources, and a training ground for new adventurers. They thought that as long as it was controlled, it would be a goose laying golden eggs.¡±


    She hung her head and released a wry smile.


    ¡°Adantel and I were opposed to this idea, as were other elves. We instinctively knew it wasn¡¯t the end, but they chose to ignore us.¡± She snapped at the stone walls.


    ¡°And so, we concocted a plan. For if they were not to take responsibility, then it fell to us elves, the original guardians, to uphold the order of the world. It was... a great excuse, to be honest. To be able to bring him back, even if not to this world.¡±


    She gave me a cramped smile before stopping at a particular spot in the halls. A door frame, and one so eerily familiar.


    After this doorway was our first obstacle, the fortified undead fortress. Although now it was nothing more than deserted sort, and instead was occupied with several adventurers staking the place for any sort of loot.


    ¡°Better company than a load of undead, to be sure.¡± I spoke and walked out. It was a long day, I¡¯ll think about the rest tomorrow.


    I showed my face to the rest of the war table, at least to tell them we were safe, and I also them I was tired, incredibly so that for the moment, I didn¡¯t wish to report anything.


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable.¡± Slavos nodded to my words, but many a guilder protested, saying that a report was of immediate concern.


    In a theatrical sort of jest, I gave way to Madriel, who seemed no worse for wear despite the huge battle that she just did with Bastroll, with not even a trace of her haggard emotional baggage.


    Maybe it was selfish of me to just unload everything unto her, but I was far too tired to give a damn anymore.


    Ah, I almost forgot, but I took back the necklace from her. That thing¡¯s too useful to be given away all willy-nilly. It would be useful, along with the ninja infiltrator set, if I wanted to get in somewhere.


    I bid Madriel farewell and walked back to my tent.


    It was already at the crack of dusk when I slept through dreamland. Whatever tomorrow brought was tomorrow me¡¯s problem, or so I said to myself.


    ~ - ~


    The next morning, the camp was abuzz in activity. Half the tents set up had already been packed, and most of the defenses have been collapsed. In other words, they had already confirmed our reports and had started to return to Blaine.


    I gathered my belongings from the small tent and asked the guilders overseeing the place that I was done using it.


    Actually, many of the adventurers that fought had already left and returned to Blaine, and the ones taking care of the rest were rookies and low-ranked adventurers eager to get a bit of coin. It made sense, after all, to hire their hands than to tire theirs.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    At the center was still the large war tent set up. Busybodies still entered and left the tent. I opened the flap and entered only to see a chaotic scene of many guilders and adventurers arguing over the table, many of which were gold-ranked.


    Probably a pay dispute, had to be.


    I spotted Slavos standing at a corner of the tent, reading through paperwork with a metal tin in his other hand. He took a chug, and kept reading without a care for the constant screaming inside.


    Prolly used to it, being an adviser in the king¡¯s court and all. He should have experienced all sorts of screaming in the meeting room, just as I did once. I suppose that¡¯s one thing we have in common, we left our past lives in search of a new one, though mine is involuntary.


    I looked around once more, double-checking her presence, but unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t in the tent.


    ¡°Slavos.¡± I turned to him. ¡°Have you seen Madriel?¡±


    ¡°The elf? She mentioned she would be staying at the crypt, dangerous as it is still.¡± Slavos answered and took another chug from his metal tin. ¡°Business with her?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Same offer as yours. She¡¯s that good.¡±


    Slavos opened his eyes wide, but then nodded. ¡°Having a reliable necromancer on our side is a must. And no one can be as reliable as her, far as I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    Slavos looked at the bickering adventurers and shook his head. ¡°Even if I wanted to, your report will have to come at a later time.¡±


    ¡°Aye, I¡¯ll see ya later. Hope you get this mess sorted out before I come back.¡± I smirked.


    And so, I left the tent and returned to the dusty old crypt. Didn¡¯t think I¡¯d have a back-to-back return to this place.


    ~ - ~


    Groups of undead still roamed the crypt, but they were of a much weaker sort than the ones from yesterday. They held no weapons and were equipped with no armor, so even lone gold-ranked adventurers could deal with them handily.


    In my case, I just ignored them. With the use of the necklace of Aazlrin, it made it all nothing more than a leisure walk.


    I walked straight towards the end, to Bastroll¡¯s resting place. There was no need to search anywhere else, because that would be the only place that Madriel would visit in this decrepit ruin.


    And lo and behold, at the very center of the room, where the chalk once laid, stood Madriel. She stared at the crimson throne in front of her, her eyes still and calm. There was a sort of... serenity to her standing figure. It was hard to describe.


    ¡°Hope I¡¯m not bothering you.¡±


    She perked up at the sound of my voice and abruptly turned around. There was a slight reddening under her eyes, and a streak of tears running down her cheeks. She hurriedly wiped it off and smiled towards me.


    ¡°Oh, sorry for bothering.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It was about time for me to break from my own reverie.¡± She smiled bitterly and walked forward. ¡°I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t be here without a good reason. What is it?¡±


    I shrugged and gave out a wry smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be brief then, as we¡¯re both busy. Madriel, I want you in my party, want in?¡±


    As if she had already expected the offer, she shook her head gently not a moment later.


    ¡°I thought that was what you came for. I apologize, but it¡¯s a matter of ability.¡± She spoke softly.


    ¡°Are we too weak for you?¡±


    ¡°No, quite the opposite, actually. Slavos, Nis, and Sed, you guys are quite strong based only on individual ability. I fear that I won¡¯t be able to catch up, especially now that I¡¯ve been sapped of it.¡± She furrowed her brows, and crept up a bitter smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve spent years to accumulate enough of my vitality to purify Bastroll¡¯s soul, nearly crippling myself in the process, and now I have to live with that. I can¡¯t fight anymore, Sed.¡± She explained, choking up at the end.


    ¡°That¡¯s... unfortunate. So you¡¯ll live the rest of your eternal life not as an adventurer as you once were, but as a guilder?¡±


    ¡°Rubbing it in?¡± She gripped her fist together.


    ¡°No... just making sure.¡± I breathed out.


    She relaxed and dropped her hands. ¡°Not exactly. It¡¯ll only be for up to a few decades until I recover to full. I can return to do what I love, to explore the developing world, but it¡¯ll take a while.¡± She said with a smile, one so sure.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bust then...¡± I shook my head and shrugged.


    She giggled. ¡°I apologize that my answer wasn¡¯t what you expected.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, seriously. Apologize to me more.¡± I looked at her and scratched my head. ¡°What would you do if it I told you that there¡¯s a method to deal with that?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t really that much of a stretch and a surprise. Part of the main story and quest was to search for a legendary dragon, bleed it out, and purify its blood to use as a medicine. In a way, it was the ¡®elixir¡¯ of this world. Problem is, that knowledge had been lost to the ages, according to the lore.


    There were only a few in-game texts that detail the use of dragonblood as a miracle cure, but many of them come off as myths and legends due to their flowery script.


    Of course, such a convenient item was incredibly hard to manufacture. Hell, apart from that one quest, not another player had managed to create one more. Well, it was simply because we didn¡¯t code it in.


    Ah, I wish we did. If I had, I wouldn¡¯t be having this problem.


    ¡°You mentioned ¡®to full¡¯, if you were to approximate, how powerful are you now, in terms of adventurer ranks?¡± I asked her and raised a brow.


    ¡°If I were to speak honestly... platinum at best.¡±


    I slapped my thigh. ¡°JOIN, please. That¡¯s more than enough. Let me detail the list why I want you in our team.¡±


    ¡°First, you¡¯re a necromancer. Having an expert in healing is vital to success. Second, you¡¯re a long-lived elf that knows many things of the then and now. Third, you are an experienced adventurer that can teach us all about adventuring. Fourth, and arguably the most important, is that I can trust you to watch my back.¡±


    I started to list down all the qualities I wanted in a party member. If Slavos acted as the reliable big brother with tactical intellect and a knowledge of all things political and magical, then Madriel was the big sister with the practical experience and care. Not to mention the fact that I can at least ascertain their honesty. Sure, she may be extremely weakened, but a back-line wasn¡¯t supposed to be in the front-lines anyway.


    ¡°Your experience as a healer matters more than your combat prowess. Besides, we can already fill that up with our strength, no problemo. Please, join us, and we could even find a way to clear up your current vitality problems while at it.


    The last part is an eventuality. I still remember how to trigger it like it was yesterday, only because it was my own project. I designed and wrote the main quest, there was no way I would forget my own crowning achievement. Well, maybe not the writing, but definitely AdOn.


    I offered my hand to her.

 Adonis 30: Final String 2

    By evening, they collapsed the entire forward base and everyone returned to Blaine to rest. Afterwards, everyone was told to return to their residences to rest up for tomorrow¡¯s celebration, hosted by the guild, no less.


    Of course, we were included in that, and we were explicitly told by the guilder staff to attend the celebration. I could only shrug in protest. Honestly, I didn¡¯t mind joining in the festivities, it just irked me that they ordered me to attend.


    With nothing left to do, I walked the bright-lit streets of Blaine with Nis.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡± She asked with a smug grin as we walked with a spring to her step.


    ¡°Get your processors fixed.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t do that now... or, ever.¡± Her voice that was chirpy was now slightly down.


    I groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t cry on me now.¡±


    ¡°Bleh! as if, oldie!¡± As we walked, she ran up a few meters ahead and stuck her tongue out.


    Well, I can¡¯t really refute that. Considering my mental age, wow. I¡¯d prolly be considered an elf if anyone knew. Huh, come to think of it, Madriel did mention that I seemed older than I really was. She¡¯s sharp, I guess it¡¯s the intuition between an old person and a really older person.


    She probably would have believed if I told her that I was part elf.


    ¡°You know, crying is a vital human function.¡± I stifled a yawn as we walked.


    ¡°My new year¡¯s resolution is to learn to be selfish, not to be sad. Don¡¯t poop on my goals!¡± She said, her voice returning to her sing-song nature. ¡°Besides... crying over the past, it¡¯s quite, how do I say this, counterproductive to our... my current objectives.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve put a lot of thought into this.¡±


    She met my smile with her own, though I argue hers was a much brighter one than mine, if only because her smile made the dreary night feel calm and cheery.


    ¡°Only the best functions for the best AI there is, er... was!¡± Cheerily, she brought up both hands and gave me a thumbs up.


    I chuckled, and shared a laugh together. The tiredness I felt, the fatigue built up, it all felt lighter now. The effects of socializing, you can¡¯t underestimate it. Especially so with a sunny girl like Nis.


    ~ - ~


    Come morning, maybe because we slept in, an angry knock on our door woke us up. I opened the windows to our room and saw the sun nearly above us. Again, the knock sounded behind the wooden barrier.


    Nis was, as usual, still asleep under her blankets, so it fell to me to open the door.


    As I did, what greeted me was an elf clad in guilder uniform. I peered at his face, it felt familiar somehow, yet I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.


    ¡°So, why the rude awakening?¡± I asked, and deliberately yawned in front of him. Maybe it was impolite, but I could care less after what he did.


    The handsome elf, with a strained smile, slammed his palm over the surface of the door, took out a piece of paper from his suit, and showed it to us.


    Boldly written on the piece of paper was the time of the celebration. At one in the afternoon. Well, it was probably a few minutes past 1 already if the elf¡¯s face is anything to go by.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, party. Look man, kinda tired so forgive us.¡±


    ¡°IS that really how you ask for forgiveness after you¡¯ve made a mistake? Goodness, the state of our adamantiums these days.¡±


    That voice... Ah, so that¡¯s how it is.


    ¡°Adantel?¡± I asked just to be sure.


    ¡°The one and only¡± He nodded and raised his chin. ¡°Did you not recognize me?¡±


    Of course not! I wanted to retort, but I kept it in. How was I supposed to know this elf was Adantel? Last I saw him, he was nothing more than a decrepit old man. Now though, he was as youthful as any elf.


    ¡°Why the change?¡± I asked him, leaning on the door frame. I was curious.


    ¡°Do you actually believe that form was by my own choosing? That was not the case, my adamantium friend! I was cursed so by that damnable Bastroll. He thought I had romantic feelings for that ¡°Fairy of the Battlefield¡±! Fat chance! I say, but he did not believe me.¡± He started to passionately explain.


    ¡°Now though, thanks to you and that fairy¡¯s efforts, I have been freed from that curse. Now, I can return to the form I so dearly wish. Do you not think it is a shame to deprive this world of my beauty?!¡± He asked, breath ragged.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Man, what happened to you? Weren¡¯t you a reserve, wisely, if a bit out of touch, head of the lodge?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, I¡¯m merely feeling a high I haven¡¯t felt in a few hundred years. Let me have this moment.¡± He explained and caught his breath, now returning to his old self... by old, I meant his personality.


    ¡°Enough about that, I¡¯m here to drag you to that very celebration. Did we not specify that we require your attendance? Your MANDATORY attendance.¡± He stressed.


    I sighed. ¡°Publicity stunt? Is that why the celebration is over the city plaza, and why the drinks are free... the food, everything?¡±


    ¡°You catch on quick, yes. That is exactly it.¡± Adantel snapped his fingers. ¡°With the lose of over a hundred platinums, we dearly require new, talented Wanderers to fill in the gaps. It may take years for their talent to blossom, but we still require fresh blood to replace what has been lost.¡±


    ¡°And I bet you¡¯ll use our youthful appearance, as well as our strength, talents, whatever else, to rope in young, impressionable men and women?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re quite sharp. Exactly!¡±


    Well, it¡¯s not that hard to guess. Okay, fine, I¡¯ll play along.


    ¡°I expect a fat load of coins to come my way, and an introductory letter and necessary paperwork to pass the Crossian borders. If you do that, then I¡¯ll let you use our likeness in your little scheme.¡±


    A grin. ¡°Your wish is my command.¡± Adantel said, and even did a bow. ¡°Think of it as thanks for what you¡¯ve freed me of.¡±


    ~ - ~


    After the celebration, Adantel informed me that the paperwork would be finished by a week¡¯s time.


    It was a fairly short time frame, especially when I compare it to my old world. Getting a travel pass to the next planet would take a month of processing. Of course, with my connections, I could have it in a day.


    As it was so short, I decided to instead take it easy with Nis.


    We spent the week as leisurely as we could. We visited the few landmarks, dined in different restaurants, played around. It was a relaxing time. Nis was amused by many of the things she hadn¡¯t experienced before.


    It was nice seeing her so happy. That smile of hers made the week already so much worth it. What is this... my paternal instincts returning...


    And I remembered Mike... god damn it, what a way to sour my mood.


    At the end of the week, I went to the ever so familiar lodge. The place was as busy as always, or maybe even more because of the new recruits. Apparently, after that little stunt, they managed to recruit three-fold the normal amount that week, most of which were starry-eyed kids.


    Although, it¡¯s kind of weird to say that when this body is so close to their age.


    And speak of the devil. As I walked the halls of the lodge, I saw a few new adventurers, probably wearing hand-me-downs, looking over the large request board.


    They saw me and pointed, but I didn¡¯t really bother with them since someone else caught my eye.


    Kyle. One of the few platinum-ranked adventurers left in the main lodge.


    He was pouring over another tankard of beer to his mouth, with a few bottles already lying about his table, and so early in the day too. You¡¯d think he¡¯d do it much later.


    ¡°Kyle.¡± I called out to him.


    Kyle stared at me, his eyes clouded. He was definitely smashed.


    ¡°Taking it well?¡±


    His speech was slurred, but I could get out a ¡®Nope¡¯ from him.


    I could smile wryly at him, and bid him farewell.


    It¡¯s not a surprise to me that he¡¯s like this. After what happened during that siege. Imagine that, losing half of the ¡®Eight Wonders¡¯, with the rest of the survivors deciding to retire adventuring. He was the only one left.


    I hope he gets out of this mire swamp and picks himself together again. It would be a damn waste if someone of his talents wither up.


    As I left, I met up with Adantel in his living space. Unlike the rest of guilders, his space was on the third floor, normally inaccessible. The only method to enter was to use the teleportation array in the guilder offices.


    As I entered the spacious offices, I saw several more arrays set up by the corner of the room. One of them plated with Adantel¡¯s name. The rest were names I had no recollection of, but I think they may be council members.


    One of the guilders escorted me. She used her nameplate emblazoned with dark gold ore and passed it over the blue array as I stood on it. She smiled and flicked her nameplate. At once, a whirlpool of energy surrounded my body, and in but a moment, I found myself in a different place entirely.


    ¡°Oh, Sir Sed.¡± Adantel said under a pile paperwork. If it weren¡¯t for his voice, I would never have realized it was him, because unlike his new, normal appearance exuding beauty and elegance, he was slouched on his desk, with a huge thick frame of glasses, and haphazardly dressed in a white shirt with baggy pants.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind the mess.¡± He said and started searching his desk. ¡°It¡¯s a bit messy, but I assure you, I work with top efficiency.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that, I really do. A clean workspace is an efficient worker, as they say.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, if they were normal workers. Not to brag, but I do have quite an extraordinary memory.¡± Adantel said, smiling. He tapped his temples as his other hand worked around the desk.


    ¡°Ah, here it is.¡± Adantel took out a tied envelope of papers and passed it over to me. ¡°Complete set of travel pass for your entire party, approved by the lodge council. Necessary paperwork, yada yada, the bits. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡± He explained and leaned back on his chair. ¡°Just as a precaution, I recommend you avoid any and all Crossian border patrols and outposts on your way to the capital. While it won¡¯t lead to your arrest, as you are one of our people, it will still take valuable time.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t skulking around arise more suspicion from Crossia?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m sure Madriel can ease that, if only for her skills. Not to mention, Slavos¡¯ silvery tongue.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you-¡±


    ¡°Know of Madriel? She resigned from her post as a guilder. A stupid idea, considering how she requires an extensive length of time before her complete recovery, but a little digging tells me that she planned to join your party. I suppose in your hands, not much harm can befall her.¡±


    I hung my head. ¡°Nothing gets out of your ears.¡±


    Adantel chuckled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be a councilman if I didn¡¯t have my own network. Anyway, she¡¯s still a guilder in name and profession. It¡¯s only that she oversees your work first-hand. That is the compromise I made with her.¡±


    ¡°Quite the accommodations for a guilder staff.¡±


    ¡°Yes, well, she was originally to be your caretaker, so this was a compromise quite easily done. She will monitor your movements, compile your work, and send it to us. Honestly, it¡¯s a far more efficient use of caretakers, but not all of them could be renowned adventurers like the fairy of the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°So, like a spy?¡±


    ¡°What a tasteless comparison... but yes. Anyway, off you go. I¡¯m still quite busy, as you can see.¡± Adantel said and waved his hand across the piles of paperwork on his desk. He then shooed me away with his hand and snapped his fingers.


    Again, I was surrounded by magic and sent somewhere else.


    What an amazing method of travel. I want it, but quite unfortunate that I don¡¯t have the spell for it.


    Oh well, I left the guilder offices and met up with the rest of the party.

 Adonis 31: Crossia

    Before the week started, I told the rest of the party to meet up in the lodge¡¯s 2nd floor, namely the archives. It was a meeting to decide our plan for the upcoming year.


    I stepped into the archives and saw the group in the far corner of the room. There, surprisingly, was Nis reading a book, along with the ever-studious Slavos. Madriel was seated across from Nis, writing on paper.


    ¡°Morning.¡±


    ¡°Good morning to you, Sed.¡± Slavos piped up, his eyes still glued to the book in front of him.


    ¡®Principles of Curses¡¯ was the title of the book he was reading.


    ¡°What, are you bitter than you lost to my curses?¡± I asked and took a seat across him. The two girls were busy, so I decided to leave them be.


    ¡°Bitter? Not at all, and do not frame it as such a negative emotion. It¡¯s proof that we still live, after all.¡± He commented, flipping a page over. ¡°No, it¡¯s only because I found myself lacking. Curses, the ones that you employ so handily, are quite rare.¡± He said, his scaly finger tapping on the cover.


    ¡°It is?¡± That was surprising. I didn¡¯t know that, honestly.


    ¡°To some, it is taboo knowledge, to others, it is seen as distasteful. Not many study them, or employ them, and those that do usually do it for nefarious deeds. It is a closeted arcane art. Secretive, and maybe even lost. Even the largest archive of the lodge has very little books about them.¡± Slavos sighed, finally his eyes left the books and he looked around the library.


    So, not as many Occultists as I thought. That was disheartening .


    Slavos closed his book loudly for the other two take notice. Three pairs of eyes stared at me.


    ¡°I mentioned this before, but we¡¯re going to Crossia.¡±


    Slavos shrugged. ¡°The winterland Republic. I don¡¯t care much for the place, but if that¡¯s your decision.¡±


    ¡°Crossia. I haven¡¯t been there in eons. It will be quite the surprise to see their advancements.¡± Madriel commented and started writing on the paper again.


    Nis, upon hearing the name, started to furiously flip the pages of the book in her hands. I peered at the title. ¡®Known Lands by Keffer Aldrin¡¯. She stopped halfway through the thickness, and started pouring her attention over.


    ¡°So, no objections?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already secured our permits to travel. It would be uncouth of me to object now, when you had spoke of it a week prior.¡± Slavos wiped his monocle with a cloth as he spoke.


    ¡°And I, for one, am quite eager to see the Crossian capital once more.¡± Madriel commented while rolling up the piece of paper and pushing it in her sling bag.


    Nis was still engrossed in the book, she seemed to be listening, at least.


    I sighed. ¡°Well, there was no real reason to start this meeting in the first place. Anyway, pack your things, we¡¯ll leave by tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll secure our provisions.¡± Madriel stood from her seat. ¡°Let¡¯s meet at the town square tomorrow morning.¡± She said before leaving hurriedly.


    Slavos nodded and stood from his as well. He gently returned the book on the shelf beside the table and pulled the sword to his back.


    ¡°We will meet tomorrow then.¡± He said and turned his back.


    Well, I was left alone with Nis.


    ~ - ~


    It was a brief, but eventful stay. We got our bearings, snagged two reliable companions, and learned of a few things of the new world. All in all, I¡¯d say it was a comfortable stay.


    We headed to the north gate of Blaine to travel to Crossia, but it wouldn¡¯t be such an easy trip. For one thing, the distance to travel was quite far. The Crossian Republic started its expansion and now covers a great deal of land, stretching from the Frozen North to the temperate center of the Allgive continent.


    By estimations according to Madriel, if we travel by foot, it would take us nearly 3 months to travel.


    ¡°Three months of free travel, while relaxing and thoroughly rewarding, is still a slight tax to our purses.¡± Madriel commented. ¡°And besides, it would not be a proper adventure, and it would be fitting for us to take upon a quest as we move.¡± Proudly, she lead us to a caravansary nearby the gates.


    Several carts of goods lined the central court, and several well-dressed merchants and well-equipped guards roamed the place, sometimes hawking, sometimes speaking, sometimes blankly staring at the wide sky.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken a caravan request to the Crossian capital. We¡¯ll get paid quite handsomely.¡± She explained with a smile.


    She really is big sister material. I hope Nis can learn from her.


    As I took in the sight of the game world turned to reality, Madriel stopped in the middle of our walk to a caravaneer group composed of four wagons. She bowed her head and explained to the merchant, and he immediately brought us in for the job.


    It was simple. for the month of travel, we would be sticking to shifts of protecting the wagons while also dealing with the menial tasks. Apparently, it paid quite well, but honestly, I¡¯m not so sure. Maybe it¡¯s because of my enormous fortune that I still feel detached from all of it.


    Either way, we started on our preparations.


    ~ ??? ~


    I smashed the pick over and over and over and over. It was an eternal tedium that I¡¯ve already accepted. I would bring over my pickaxe over my head, and swing it with labored, but measured, breaths. Each swing was a labor for the fatherland.


    My father, he always told me about life. Everyone has their place, their role to achieve. Mine? It was at the deepest parts of the mine. Laboring, toiling, sweating, bleeding, and screaming. That was my fate, from start to my death.


    The first thing I would always see was the rotten brown of the shack, the second was the gruel given to us to eat, the third was the cold grays of the mine with only the incandescent fires to light up the unfeeling passages.


    That should been my fate, my life. That should have been where it all started, and ended.


    I¡¯m not sure if I should count my golden shines, or pray to the gods. Or hell, it may even just be a pure coincidence, but it was a windfall nonetheless.


    That day, explosions rang out in the mines. Screams echoed and filled the caves. The musty scent of death lingered there. I clung to the only thing that I had of worth, the pickaxe and I hugged the cold walls.


    I heard footsteps and feared for the worst. A terrible dread filled me. I thought I had accepted my fate, of dying alone in this god-forsaken mines, but it seemed I was fooling myself.


    I brought up my pickaxe over my head to strike one more time, for old¡¯s time sake, at least. I gripped the handle, the whites of my knuckles appearing so languidly. I felt my teeth shudder at the thought, and my knees buckle. Terrible fear gripped my heart, but I needed to look at it straight in the eye. Maybe it was terribly misplaced of me, but if I were to die, I at least wished that I died on my own terms. That I would die with at least a modicum of control over it.


    But what appeared was not a monster as I had thought, but a person so striking to see against the monotone colors of the mines. A white coat and a shimmering spear of red. This was the person that changed my life.


    My only regret is forgetting my savior¡¯s face.


    ~ Sed ~


    It was a week later into our escort that we finally managed to see the Crossian borders. Since we traveled using the roads, it was inevitable for us to meet them, so I could only hang my head.


    The wagons lazily approached the border gates manned by several soldiers.


    The border gates were haphazardly made with sandbags and wood battlements, but there were portions of the walls made of gray brick and mortar. The flag of the regiment that controlled the borders flapped with the wind.


    The soldiers, unlike the guards of Blaine, were fashioned with only a thin breastplate, a steel cap, and cloth garments in the color of their regiment. In their case, it was the color of black and blue.


    The most striking feature of them were their weapons. Unlike the rest of the nations, Crossia was the only superpower that currently had the industry and manpower to equip all of their soldiers with guns, even if they were incredibly primitive to the ones used by the ancient empires.


    Unlike Nis¡¯ handguns, they were equipped with long rifles with an affixed bayonet by the end of the barrel. It had a rigid and bulky frame with a slender tube. A circular barrel was inserted into the underside of the frame, with only a simple wooden stock. It looked, by all accounts, like a weapon from pre-ww1 earth.


    The gates opened and were let in by the soldiers. and they all asked for our permits. They didn¡¯t only give it a cursory glance, but actually read them and confirmed their authenticity by cross-referencing with their own documents.


    They were meticulous by design when we made the world, so it seemed it stayed the same as it was in the game. What worries me, however, was the regiment itself. I¡¯ve used Crossia as my home base since I started playing, but not once did I ever see a regiment of black and blue.


    Was this another inconsistency of the translation of game to reality, or was it just ignorance in my part?


    Either way, there was no answer to this. At least not yet.


    I spent the time observing their outpost. Indeed, just like the rest of the Crossian soldiers, they were incredibly disciplined. Their outpost was clean and orderly, and they had already set up several buildings within. From inside, I could also that they were expanding the outpost.


    Not to mention, the incredible amount of soldiers inside. They were all practicing drills with their weapons. Stabbing with the bayonet, and even practicing spear techniques while shooting.


    It was only until an hour later when we were finally let go. We were given a set of documents for safe passage, and they nodded at us we left.


    Thankfully, what Adantel feared didn¡¯t happen. It seems being an escort to a merchant and having the necessary paperwork from Adantel was enough for us to enter.


    Aaah, I hadn''t even entered into Crossia proper but I was already satisfied. Seeing the guns, seeing the soldiers, seeing the order. All of it felt familiar.


    ¡°A lot of time has passed, and they truly have changed.¡± Madriel commented. ¡°A few hundred years ago, they were still a fledgling nation with a lack of technology and innovation, but now they¡¯ve become even more awe-inspiring.¡±


    ¡°You seem to like them a tad too much for an elf.¡± Slavos spoke, readjusting the sword on his back.


    ¡°Ah, this is what happens when closing yourself off in libraries and archives.¡± Madriel replied with a sour expression. ¡°I must admit, elves are isolationist and reservist of the changing world. But I am not. To see the world with my own eyes, to see them develop after a few hundred years and experience something familiar and different at the same time, it is wonderful.¡± She looked back to the outpost.


    ¡°Crossia just happens to be the best at it. Their technological advances have always been a welcome sight for me. I''m a humble believer that technology is the way forward."


    ¡°Even though that very technology was what destroyed the past empires... still, I suppose that is true to an extent¡± Slavos sighed, a frosty breath escaped his snout. ¡°This adventure will be a good learning experience.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, both of your wishes will happen as I plan to adventure all over the place. You¡¯ll get your learning experience as we go along with Madriel¡¯s wanderlust.¡±


    I smiled and looked over the horizon. We were a few weeks away from my destination, a destination that might answer all my questions.

 Adonis 32: Aslodia

    Crossia, also known as the winterland republic, was one of the powerful nations that governed a part of the continent. They control the entirety of the north using the knowledge of the gods. However, they didn¡¯t start that way.


    Just like every nation, they had to claw and fight their way out. Before their expansion, they were only a small town of settlers pushed out by the aggressive expansion of the precursor of the Tribble kingdom. They were forced to live in a land inhospitable to human life for hundreds of years.


    That was until they started negotiate with the denizen¡¯s of the Frozen North. Denizens that others might have deemed monstrous and devoid of intelligence. These denizens, the trolls, the hobs, and the snow sprites. They thrived with their cooperation, and they expanded, confederating or outright dominating the rest of the tribes and clans that lived in the north.


    That was the start of Crossia. From then on, they adopted policies for their expansion. It evolved into a meritocracy where anyone skilled was welcomed, it didn¡¯t matter their race or gender.


    These resulted in a technological boon, with many refugee wargears from their independent movement escaping to Crossia. Many new technologies were unearthed with their help.


    Crossia had become the hub of technology and advancement. Among the different nations of the continent, they were the ones most closely resembling the old empires, from their policies to their equipment.


    In other words, they were the country most closely resembling our nations on earth... or at least, pre-space earth.


    I recounted what I knew about Crossia as we traveled, and by the fourth week of our travel, we finally reached the capital city of Crossia, Aslodia.


    Even from afar, Aslodia seemed overwhelming. The black colors of the city belching dark gray smoke from towers contrasted with the pure white of the piling snow that surrounded it. It seemed less of a living space and more of a huge, sprawling factory.


    No, the better term for Aslodia was overbearing. The city felt like a fortress against the elements outside. It was a bulwark of intelligence and tenacity against the world around them. At least, that was the feeling I got upon seeing it. Despite looking the same in the game, it felt heavier now that it was real.


    As we approached the black bricks of the city, the merchant told us to strip ourselves of our winter gear, which we had equipped by the second week after we finally reached the edges of the Frozen North.


    We did as he had told simply because of the temperature. Normally, we would be freezing in the cold, but as we neared, it felt more temperate. The fires of the forges and the industry of Aslodia had enough heat to stave off the colds completely, and we weren¡¯t even inside yet.


    I looked around. Just like us, there were many caravans approaching the city. The most interesting part was the difference between the wagons. They all looked distinct from each other. There was even one that resembled a primitive truck that ran on an engine.


    ¡°It¡¯s even larger now, and much more menacing.¡± Madriel spoke as he fixed up his hair in a bun.


    That was one thing too. Madriel kept changing his gender every day. Maybe it was due to the boredom, or something else. It was a bit hard to get used to, considering how much of his appearance changes.


    ¡°Are all cities like this within the winterland republic?¡± Slavos asked. He was the only one that didn¡¯t really need to change clothes.


    ¡°Maybe the core territories of Crossia, sure. Their newly conquered territories aren¡¯t.¡± I answered in place of Madriel, who seemed to be too busy fixing up his appearance.


    ¡°It is always different seeing it in real life than when I read it from a report or a book.¡± Slavos grumbled, but there was a glint in his eyes that he couldn¡¯t hide. ¡°I must confess, this is the only place I haven¡¯t been to during my travels.¡± Slavos mentioned it off-hand and relaxed his back on the wagon, looking at the black smoke.


    That... was news to me. I knew Slavos traveled the Allgive continent, but I did not know that he had never even once visited the place.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± Intense curiosity engulfed me.


    ¡°My ancestor was a frost dragon, and an incredibly cruel one at that. Since knowing this tidbit, I¡¯ve made sure to avoid any places with snow or the cold in fear of him.¡± Slavos sighed.


    ¡°Cold-blooded... and daddy issues.¡± Nis commented and immediately returned to her blankets. She was sleeping just a while ago. She really just wanted to quip?This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I- forget it. Maybe that is the case. Still, if not now, when?¡± Slavos replied and turned his gaze back to the heat of the city.


    I chuckled to myself. This may just be a very meaningful trip for Slavos.


    ~ - ~


    We separated with the caravan after getting inside Aslodia. I didn¡¯t really need the payment, so I gave my share to Nis. She needed it more than I do anyway.


    Why? Because I refuse to give her any money that she didn¡¯t work for. This was a good learning experience for her. It¡¯s a different matter if I¡¯m treating her, but it¡¯s a carrot and stick situation.


    To which, she happily snatched.


    Well, at least she¡¯s working on her ¡®resolution¡¯.


    Still, the place really hasn¡¯t changed, eh?


    I looked around the city. Just like in the games, it was heavily borrowing from the steampunk aesthetic with a dash of victorian era architecture, with several brass tubes around the city, all interconnected with one another. All of these tubes belched out warm air all around the city.


    Due to this, the citizens of Aslodia didn¡¯t even bother wearing thick clothes, if even at all. Some of them were even wearing clothes that would be a better fit in the tropics than in the cold wastelands. Not to mention the fact that many of the people were wearing expensive clothing that nobles wore.


    This was thanks to the industry that supported Aslodia. There were a lot of jobs provided to keep the war machine that was Crossia to keep going without problems, and so many people were employed and happy.


    This wasn¡¯t limited to humans either. Trolls, that were considered monsters by most countries, walked the streets wearing the finest clothes. A hob was window shopping with a human butler by his side. Snow sprites hovered lazily above the streets, sometimes being mischievous by peeping into a window, sometimes helping lost strangers find their way.


    ¡°You seem to be farlanders, I take it?¡±


    And, just like every big city, there were people like these. Shifty eyes, fine clothes, and a gun to their waist. His blonde hair slicked back and a perfect smile. Yes, the city truly hasn¡¯t changed.


    ¡°Go away, we don¡¯t need your help.¡± I coldly informed him and quickly pushed the others away.


    ¡°Oh, you really do! The city is a nefarious place, and a labyrinth at that! You will be lost without my help. There are gangs amok in Aslodia. Without help from a local, you will be targeted.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? Spill it, you from the ¡®Booters¡¯ or the ¡®Pistol Whippers¡¯? Or hell, maybe even from the ¡®Miners League¡¯?¡± I said and pointed at his boots tipped with black iron that melded deeply into the dark leather, and to his pistol engraved with a small insignia that was hard to see. Then, to the man¡¯s small pick behind his waist hidden by his coat save for the small handle.


    The man was hiding all these marks quite well, but his attempt couldn¡¯t really escape me. Was it my attributes, or just my general experience in life? At this point, who knows. Was he playing for all the factions? Honestly, this guy is suicidal.


    The man¡¯s smiling face stiffened, and gradually turned into a scowl. He clicked his tongue and turned back.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve told me you were local... fucking waste of time.¡± The man spat out and left.


    I turned to my companions. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. Don¡¯t trust anyone in Aslodia, no matter how nice they look.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡±


    ¡°Ah... I suppose this would happen.¡±


    ¡°Aye!¡±


    And so, what would¡¯ve been the worst first impression was turned into a lesson... at least, for Nis.


    ¡°Anyway, we must report to the lodge first.¡± Madriel spoke. ¡°While I would guide us to the branch, I fear the city has changed too much and my memory will lead us astray.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know how to get there.¡± I replied and immediately guided them.


    ~ ??? ~


    Shit, damn, this is the worst!


    Just when I finally found an idiot to dupe, turns out they were locals. Ugh, don¡¯t look so damn oblivious then. This is annoying.


    I clicked my tongue and turned to an alley. It was dark, dry, and incredibly hot. This place is never comfortable, why was there even pipes in the alleys? Ugh.


    Whatever, let¡¯s get this over with.


    I leaned back on the wall and took out a small, shattered mirror and stared at my face. My brown eyes turning into a bluish-white like the snow sprites. Then, my face started to morph into a different person.


    Someone I knew, someone I killed.


    Uh, who was this person again? Hrm, ah yeah, the gangster from the Booters. I think he was Amster Goldwickle. He was the punk that terrorized Grammy street. He deserved the kicking from me. Not that, heh, I¡¯m any better.


    Seriously, this is such a convenient power. If people knew, they would probably start humping with the snow sprites. How the hell did my father even manage to breed with a snow sprite in the first place? I heard it was impossible.


    I craned my neck to look at the sky, though it was obscured by the smog of Aslodia. Can¡¯t even enjoy the damn sky these days.


    I sighed and returned the mirror to my coat. I am Amster Goldwickle. I am 25 years old, and a member of the Booters. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s how it should be. Let¡¯s go with this one today.


    ~ Sed ~


    After our visit with the lodge, I looked at Nis who was currently smiling ear to ear. She looked at me, smugness on her face.


    ¡°How was it?¡± Nis asked, her smile deepened.


    Why was she so uppity? Well, that was because as we turned to report our change of base, there came a surprising report about the money Nis was owed by the lodge. It was a number in the six digits.


    Apparently, during the siege, she claimed several hundred chimera corpses in the battlefield. It took a long time for the lodge to sell all the materials and she was just now paid for it.


    Ahh, now I regret giving her my share of the cash. But, a great and amazing adult like me can¡¯t go back on my actions. That would be disgraceful.


    ¡°With this, I can enjoy all the fun things in Aslodia.¡± She laughed as she looked around the city, her eyes tinged with a madness.


    I have a feeling she¡¯ll blow her entire fortune within a month. Eh, I won¡¯t stop her. It¡¯ll be a good learning experience.


    I shrugged my shoulders and looked at all of them.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go to my house.¡± I announced and took out a small key from my pouch.


    The fact that this is in here means that it actually exists... at least, I hope so.


    ¡°You live here?¡± Madriel raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± Was the only thing I could reply.

 Adonis 33: Keffer Aldrin

    From the outside, the city of Aslodia seemed nothing more than a hellscape of factories and industry, but this couldn¡¯t have been farther from the truth. The cityscape was beautiful, even more against the belching smog from the towering bricks.


    Brass tubes embedded into the stone pavement of the city and brass tubes coiling around the victorian-esque buildings. They all emitted a white steam. A city-wide heater to stave off the cold.


    The loud, yet rhythmic cycling of the engines that roamed the streets was merely an accompaniment to the murmurs of the people that lived here. It was unlike the city of Blaine, where the shouting and the clanking, and the bartering, were robust. Aslodia had... an ¡®ordered chaos¡¯.


    Case in point, we passed by one of the busiest streets of Aslodia. It was a mercantile hub of all sorts of shops and merchants. Engines were not allowed to enter the street and as such, only residents and travelers crowded the wide expanse.


    The city of Aslodia didn''t quite match up with the diversity of its residents to Blaine, the city of adventurers, but it was still amazing to see. The sight of trolls and hobs in the city was only something you could see within the winterland republic.


    As we navigated the crowded and narrow spaces, bumping shoulders with the many races that inhabit it, we found ourselves stranded in a little corner of the district.


    ¡°Oh, a clothes shop?¡± Madriel perked up, looking up to the metal sign hanging by a curved pole.


    ¡®The Syntherin Choices¡¯ spelled out in beautiful allyric, which was the language and alphabet of the winterlands. It was a different language to the common tongue which was spoken by most people in the continent. This was unique to Crossia.


    ¡°Entering.¡± Nis hurriedly entered the shop without even looking back. Madriel shrugged and followed after her, though his action belie the sparkles in his eyes.


    Slavos peered into the display, looking at the clothes. His scaled and clawed fingers tapping at the glass. ¡°Clear and sturdy. How far has this civilization come?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say quite a bit compared to the rest.¡± I shrugged to ¡°I¡¯ll be inside, you?¡±


    Slavos furrowed his brows looking inside before turning and leaning back on the brick wall. ¡°I don¡¯t see articles that would fit my physique. I will stay here.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s check on a weapon shop and a book store later on.¡± I left with those words and followed the other two.


    The shop was... quaint. It was a shade darker than most others, and there were only few a gas lights lit in the walls and ceilings. However, it was atmospheric, with a touch of ¡®humbleness¡¯... in a way. Or, I suppose ¡®decay¡¯ would be a more apt descriptor.


    ¡°It is interesting how their fashion is so much different from the rest of the continent.¡± Madriel piped up, one of his hands stroking at the fabric of the display coat. ¡°Elsewhere,they would give the illusion of form and dominance, in Crossia, they would accentuate the natural in an elegant manner. It¡¯s quite nice.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were interested in fashion.¡±


    He smiled and turned to look outside the window. Many more of the people outside wore the same type of clothing. Slim and form-fitted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve realized, but many elves are infatuated with beauty. I am no exception. But, more than haughtiness and affluence that so many elves seem to find attractive, I find practical and tasteful articles more pleasing to the eyes.¡±


    That¡¯s a traveler and adventurer for you. Showboating adventurers rarely live for long, and I suppose Madriel is a testament to that.


    Madriel started to look around more in the small shop. There were truly quite a lot in display, and it seemed like it would take a while. On the other hand, my sight drifted to another part of the shop, the only other corner that seemed ¡®lonely¡¯. Scant light illuminated that corner, but there was a pristine order to it that caught my eye.


    It was a set of clothes. Dark brown on the outside and shaded green on the inside, accentuated with silver lining. A cloak made of some kind of black fur. Many metal bits hung on the torso with several pouches lining the chest. The pants had fortified kneecaps made of black metal with several more pockets by the side. The gloves in display had metal plates to protect the back of the hand and smaller plates on the fingers, while the boots were tip-plated for protection.


    It would have looked hardy if it weren¡¯t for the fact that it was slightly tattered at the edges and worn out, and the many metal bits were dinged and rusted.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I suppose, by the general decay of the clothes, it wasn¡¯t meant to be sold. After all, it was also encased in a glass box, the clothes hung up by metal poles. I tapped at the glass screen and peered at the small plate.


    ¡®Keffer Aldrin¡¯s Clothes¡¯ was engraved on the gold plate. Beneath it was another plate. ¡®Famous cartographer, traveler, and polymath¡¯.


    Keffer Aldrin... if I remember correctly, he was the author of the travelogue that Nis was reading before we left from Blaine.


    A famous figure that I¡¯ve never heard of, or read in any of the published books about the game. It¡¯s possible that someone mentioned it and I just forgot, but who is this Keffer Aldrin?


    I looked to the shopkeep who was reading a book behind the counter. He looked bored, and he was beyond caring at his merchandise.


    ¡°Excuse me, how much for this?¡± I pointed at Keffer¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Not for sale.¡± The man curtly replied, his eyes not even leaving the book.


    ¡°Fine. Offer me a price for it and I¡¯ll buy it.¡± I declared and started counting out my coins.


    Thanks to my dexterity, it didn¡¯t take long before a sizable lump of gold coins stacked on the counter. The man looked in surprise and closed the book he was reading.


    ¡°Are you hard for hearing? I told you, it¡¯s not for sale. Even if it was, I am obliged to tell you that the article in question is cursed.¡± The man answered in an irate voice as he takes out newspaper clippings from one of the drawers beside the counter with practiced movements. ¡°Read.¡±


    ... Numerous accidents and deaths of numerous owners. Dubbed as the ¡®Aldrin Curse¡¯. It passed hands over the years and finally landed on Syntherin Choices shop. I looked at the man with furrowed brows.


    ¡°It¡¯s nonsense anyway. Just a string of bad luck, but people believe them, for some inane reason.¡± The commented.


    ¡°Did you actually get it checked for curses?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s like asking if I¡¯m stupid. Of course I haven¡¯t. I don¡¯t have the inclination to spend it on a pair of ¡®famous¡¯ clothes. It¡¯s a useful decoration, and that¡¯s all I need from it.¡± The man scoffed and returned the clippings to the drawer. ¡°If that¡¯s all you wanted, can you leave? I¡¯ve got customers to attend to.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Sure you do. We¡¯ve been here 20 minutes and not a single person apart from us dinged the bell. How about this, I can appraise the set for you for free, and if it is cursed, I¡¯ll buy it from you at a very generous price. It¡¯s a win-win either way, yeah?¡±


    The shopkeep stopped to think, then turned his head to look at the glass envelope at the corner. He bit his lip and sighed. ¡°Fine, but how can I trust your word for it?¡±


    I shook my head and looked at the one person that would have that ability. ¡°Not me, her. She¡¯s an expert on all things grim and supernatural.¡±


    Truth be told, I did have the ability to appraise it using my appraise skill, but the problem was that it couldn¡¯t differentiate curse effects. As an Occultist however, I did have that very ability as a skill that we automatically gain after a few levels. Problem was... Occultists aren¡¯t seen that favorably according to Slavos. I can¡¯t really bare it to the world, can I?


    On the other hand, a Witch Hunter was a different situation entirely. They were considered upholders of the mundane and hunters of the supernatural and evil. They had the natural ability of psychometry. They were feared and respected.


    ¡°And if you won¡¯t take my word for it, there¡¯s always this.¡± I pulled out the badge of an adamantium and set it on the counter.


    The shopkeep raised an eyebrow and looked at my face, scrutinizing it. ¡°That changes everything.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Nis, come here. You¡¯ve got work to do.¡±


    Nis glanced this way with a disinterested look. ¡°Only if you¡¯re paying.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m paying for it.¡± I shrugged and pointed at the clothes in display. ¡°Check it for anything malicious.¡±


    Nis nodded and headed to the glass envelope. She then brushed the hair away from her eyes and chanted an eerie cacophony of words.


    Light gathered on her eyes as blue sparks surrounded it. Strands of blue hugged the edges of her eyes while a faint circle made of sparkles appeared around her sight, as if a magnifying glass. Nis peered at the article of clothing, intently, and deliberately taking her time.


    She breathed out and relaxed her body. As she did, the magic around her receded back into her body and she looked at me. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s cursed. Not sure what though.¡± She shrugged and returned to looking for clothes.


    I turned to the shopkeep and grinned. ¡°Your next words should be ¡®SOLD!¡¯, right?¡±


    ~ - ~


    ¡°This is your house?¡± Madriel asked, his mouth agape at the sight in front of him.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just as surprised as you are.¡± I inserted the key in and twisted it. A satisfying and loud clink sounded out and the door opened ajar.


    So it really is my player house. I¡¯m really surprised that even this place carried on to this world. Seriously, everything is so weird. I sighed inwardly and pushed the door open.


    It didn¡¯t even feel like anything changed in the slightest. The place still looked pristine and as I had left it. Several animal head trophies decorated on the wall, armor stands fully plated, decorative sabers hung on the wall, paintings of inordinate value.


    This wasn¡¯t the end of it. After all, my house was a manor in the upper district of Aslodia.


    ¡°Make yourself at home. There¡¯s a bunch of unused rooms on the 2nd floor.¡± I told them and hurried off to one side of the manor.


    There was one place in this piece of land that was unable to be opened unless they had the key or were a very skilled locksmith. The basement held a lot of my unused items, from junk to treasures. It was basically my storage unit.


    I stepped into an empty space behind doors. It was just a room with a few chairs, a painting easel, and some plants. It looked nothing special.


    I pulled out the very same key and inserted into the air. With a flick of a wrist, a door gradually appeared from thin air. A thick, imposing iron door engraved with several magical runes. The dull gray contrasting with the bright colors of the room. I lightly smiled at the nostalgic scene.


    Ah... it was actually impossible to steal anything from me unless they were a master locksmith and a master of the arcane. Well, now that this world is devoid of players, this might actually be overkill now.


    I shrugged and pushed the door open. Just as I entered, the scent of oil and the heat of the forge overwhelmed me. The sight of my workshop and the many chests and crates around the room filled my vision.


    Yep, I¡¯m back. This is definitely AdOn, just as how I left it, just as I wanted it.

 Adonis 34: Moon

    I cleaned up my mancave for a bit, clearing out the center from all the crates and boxes that I had lying around. I had accumulated so much junk over the years of playing, so it took a while to organize them.


    Don¡¯t think of me as a disorganized mess of a person. I wouldn¡¯t have grown my company the size it was by being such a klutz. It¡¯s only that the items lying around were items I hadn¡¯t categorized yet. Ingots and raw materials were easy, as were potions, or sets of equipment, but you come at a point where some items blur the categorization.


    Take this one item for example. At first glance, it¡¯s nothing more than a staff for arcane casters. It increases the effects of magic spells by 10% while decreasing their mana cost by 4%. Normally, I would¡¯ve categorized it to my ¡®equipment - staves¡¯ chest, but it wasn¡¯t that simple.


    You see, the item in question, when channeled with magic, creates a blade of ice to jut out from both ends. One tip was larger than the other, and it was basically a bladed polearm. Do I put it with my spears or staves? At one point, I just gave up and threw it into my treasury without much thought.


    And well, that piled up after a few years of playing the game.


    I wiped off the sweat on my brow and looked happily at my progress. The place was now in tip-top shape. At the end of the room was my workshop, where the ¡®Flames of Eternity¡¯ kept roaring on. It¡¯s an item drop from the raid boss ¡®Hallowheart of the Sun¡¯. Took our raid party 83 attempts just for it to drop, but damn was it worth it.


    Beside it was an anvil made of adamantium. Hefty and expensive, but it was the only anvil that could support the crafting of end-game gear. Then, the tools on the rack where similarly made of adamantium, but I had them blessed by the god of blacksmithing, Affret of Fire.


    On the corners of the dimly-lit room were my mountains of items. I had roughly divided them, and had no way of truly organizing them lest I spend a day or two stuck on that, but this was more than enough.


    I needed a large clearing in a room where no one else could disturb me. Namely, this place, and the center of the room that was now cleansed of my filth. I could start now... but it took me way too long to clear this place.


    I yawned and stretched my limbs. I was feeling a bit stiff from all the menial and tedious work, and then I walked off to the exit. The doors opened as I neared and stepped out of the room. As soon as I did, the heavy iron doors closed shut and disappeared from view, turning the sight into a mere dream.


    I left the painting room and wandered around the mansion. It seemed like everyone was resting inside their rooms, no wonder though, our travel may have been quite long and uneventful, but it would still fray the nerves.


    I looked out the window and saw the moon and stars in the night sky. Normally, this would have been an obscured scenery, but as this was the upper district and with the way the northern wind flowed, it was possible to see this.


    I smiled at the scenery and decided what I would do for the rest of the evening.


    I climbed to the second floor and to my room. It was quite a large space, befitting a master bedroom. Even just as a room, it already had enough amenities for a NEET to live in if they so wanted.


    Right outside the room was a balcony facing the front of the house. As it so happens, it was the perfect spot to look at the moon. I opened the door and the evening breeze touched my skin, as if a caress from mother nature. However, the bitter cold still remained despite the heat of the living city.


    I sat at one of the chairs and watched the stars and the moon.


    It was like a cold, cobalt-blue sea, shimmering slightly. The few stars in the night sky twinkled lonely, and the large moon¡¯s presence overshadowing the rest of the scenery. It stood there, as if on a silent vigil, it watched up above, doing nothing.


    It made me feel small, even despite knowing that I was the one that made this world. Strange thing, isn¡¯t it? This was our brainchild, our creation, but yet we are not its master.


    Huh, now that I think about it, isn¡¯t that how it should be?


    I chuckled to myself. Of course that¡¯s how it should be. I¡¯ve forgotten after all these years of ruling one of the best megacorps of the space-era. You can be its creator, but you can never be their master. How could I have forgotten something basic?


    Even genetically modified cat and dog people expressed their discontent to their domestication. Even the AIs we¡¯ve helped develop turned their backs against us after years of enslavement, thus causing a ban to their creation for years to come.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Maybe... maybe that¡¯s where I went wrong with raising ol¡¯ Mike.


    It clicked. Hindsight is a real bitch sometimes.


    I¡¯ve been controlling his life the moment he was born, determining his path, his development, everything was completely controlled and accounted for, by my choice, by my command, by my fractured understanding. What did it come to?


    I can¡¯t even tell if he truly loves me as his father, or if he even respects our blood connection. Maybe that was just our connection, that of the master and an heir. My infatuation with continuing my success with my blood clouded what was most important.


    They do say you only realize your faults when it¡¯s too late. Didn¡¯t think it would be after my body¡¯s death that I would realize it.


    I relaxed and rested my head on the top-rail of the chair. I closed my eyes, yet even then, the presence of the moon, the stars, then to my adventures since coming here. It hasn¡¯t been a long time, but it felt very... quaint. I like it. I¡¯m free of the constant constraints of keeping my business at the top.


    Funny. One of the wealthiest people of the world was the one most shackled by their success. Disgusting. I should have realized sooner. Suck my dick, hindsight. You¡¯re a true asshole.


    I sighed and returned my sight to the moon. Now, it seemed like it was mocking me with its bright reflection. Ah, the duality of emotions, making me feel mesmerized and in awe, and in the next moment, disgusted. At times like these, I wish I had the pills to repress some of my humanity, but I can¡¯t really have that now.


    As I was wallowing in self-hate...


    ¡°I figured the old man would be here.¡±


    Suddenly, a voice I didn¡¯t expect flowed from the side. I looked to the source and saw Nis standing on the balcony railing. She hopped off and walked to my side.


    ¡°Good evening, Master Chris.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Welcome back, Nis. I was waiting for when you¡¯ll return to your cheeky little smile.¡± I replied. ¡°Also, don¡¯t call me that anymore. I¡¯m... Sed. Call me Sed Immer.¡±


    She giggled. ¡°And I am Nis Immer. Isn¡¯t my name cute?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I gave you that name, did you expect any less?¡±


    ¡°Mhhmm, according to Master Mike, I should expect worse.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something to be said with swallowing the bitter medicine of regret twice in one day.¡± I sighed and watched the serene night sky. ¡°Come on, sit on the other chair. Make yourself comfortable.¡± I pointed lazily at the one beside me.


    She sat herself beside me, her lovely smile accentuated by the moonlight. I couldn¡¯t stop myself and patted her head, caressing her soft, luscious hair. Maybe it was tickling her as she closed her eyes at times, but I didn¡¯t stop. It felt like I was petting a cat. It heals the soul of this old man.


    After a while though, she stopped being catty and finally decided to slap my hand away. She pouted for a while, but soon relaxed into putty after leaning back on the chair and looking at the starry sea.


    ¡°Nis, you think it¡¯s a good idea, to forget who I was?¡±


    I spoke aloud. Even I surprised myself, because I asked without thinking. Maybe it was my heart¡¯s desire to get an answer, and one from the only person that knew who I was before I became ¡®Sed¡¯.


    Instead of answering, she hummed to herself. The theme song that invaded many player¡¯s hearing was being sung by the AI that controlled most of the functions of the game. She glared at the moon, and the scene captured me.


    Her eyes plunged deep into the white expanse, her sharp eyes an almost perfect stage of a painting. Then, she started singing, with a voice as clear and melodious as a siren¡¯s, it enveloped the area in a swaying sea of emotion.


    I melded into the atmosphere, and I looked to myself inwardly.


    Was it right to forget who I was? Wouldn¡¯t it be irresponsible to forget the past, one riddled with successes and mistakes, to forget the actions I¡¯ve done?


    I chuckled inwardly. I wanted to hit the me of a few minutes ago.


    Of course not, it wasn¡¯t right. To forget my past because I hated my mistakes would be a sin to the me that made many things right. I have to live with it.


    ... At least, until I get to make up for it.


    I opened my eyes and turned to Nis. She stopped singing, and she was silently staring at the moon.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me, Master Chris? That I should think about my problems, and when I had thought enough, thing some more until my head explodes. My answer is the same.¡± She smiled thinly, the radiant crescent a complete opposite to the meek, full moon above her. ¡°Suffer with me, Master.¡±


    A wry smile stuck to my face. ¡°You should be like this more often. If you did, Madriel and Slavos would respect you more.¡±


    She slumped back on her seat, content riddled on her face. ¡°If I did, they wouldn¡¯t dote on me so much. Besides, you like me that way, don¡¯t you?¡± She craned her neck lightly and playfully winked.


    This girl, she¡¯s more perceptive than she lets on.


    ¡°I like my women mature. Fyi.¡±


    She puffed out a breath. ¡°You don¡¯t like me in that way, I know.¡± She huffed and crossed her arms. ¡°Sooner or later, you¡¯ll need to teach me how to love.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a hundred years too early to love.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to mention that I¡¯ve been in operation for over a hundred years?¡± She spat out. She forced her face near mine.


    I lightly tapped her forehead and pushed her back to her own seat. ¡°You¡¯re still a child.¡± I flicked her with a finger and returned to relax on my own. ¡°You may act all mature, but you can¡¯t hide the childlike naivety and wonder in your eyes.¡±


    ¡°You seem to be forgetting one more lesson I imparted upon your neonatal brain. Baby steps is fine, isn¡¯t it? Take it with slow, measured steps. We¡¯ll wait, and we¡¯ll be there for you.¡±


    Did I have to state it to her once more? I had to, but it wasn¡¯t just for her sake. It was for mine just as well. If I wanted to correct my mistakes in this new life, I have to take it slow. Just like how I created my company when I first started. If I rush in, just as I did with advancing my company, I fear that my fate this time will be another self-fulffiling prophecy.


    Steady progress, to be like the tortoise from the famous fable. This is my life now, and I intend to live differently this time.

 Adonis 35: Ritual

    The next morning, I quickly paced down the stairs and into the quaint atmosphere of the painting room. It was as I left it, serene and at peace. I locked the two doors behind and opened the treasury and into my workshop.


    I immediately set out and worked on the clearing. I took out a fair amount of chalk and a few materials needed for the ritual. Many of the materials required were expensive and rare. I never brought any of them with me unless we needed the ritual¡¯s effects for a powerful raid boss.


    This time, though it burdens my heart to do so, was a requirement This was the ritual that increased the power of items through magic, and this was done through a conversation between the user and the item in question.


    I had done it time and time again when the world was still a game, but I never actually talked to the weapons. Rather, it wasn¡¯t an implemented feature.


    Now? I had to test it. For various reasons related to the world-chasm phenomena, the world, and what I experienced. Above all, whoever and whatever it was, it would be impolite to keep my gratitude unspoken. It saved me, after all.


    I chalked the ground with white and the hammered ingredients, causing the room only lit by the constant flares of the eternal flames to seem more devious than it is. The runes I etched on the ground were rudimentary and simple, but that was out of necessity. Using too much resources for a simple spell would be wasteful when I only wish to talk to the items at hand.


    I brought out a bevy of items from my pouch. The Spear of Immersed and Keffer¡¯s clothes. They were both of excellent make, and were both quite ¡®cursed¡¯.


    I checked the stats of the clothing set, and they were remarkable, even tattered as it was. It¡¯s defensive ability was much lower than my main long coat, but many of its effects and abilities were amazing. If I were to rank them appropriately, they would be one of the best sets for the Lancemen class.


    To put it simply, the clothing set enhances almost everything, from combat to magic, and even skills. For a generalist, this was the perfect clothing to wear.


    Now that I think about it, Keffer Aldrin was said to be a polymath and all-around genius.


    It was an amazing find, but the problem was the ¡®curse¡¯ on it. Despite using even my own abilities to discern its malevolent effect, I couldn¡¯t find a single thing about them. All I knew for sure was that if I wore it, something terrible would happen to me.


    I sighed and placed the set beside me. My first order of business was with the spear.


    I brought out my anam, and a wispy smoke of black ejected from my palm. The black spear immediately ate it up within seconds, like a mirage or a trick of the eye. The black spear then emitted a purple light and hovered in the air, the tip of the spear facing upwards.


    ¡°Good morning to you, black spear. Let¡¯s talk.¡± I smiled and pointed at the center of the etched runes.


    As if understanding my intentions, the black spear floated languidly unto the center and lodged itself into the ground. The tip of the spear plunging beautifully and easily into the... oh, what the fuck? It just broke the tiles, god damn it!


    I already had to toil away with both sweat and tears that I had to nick the tiles for every rune I wrote, but even that thing was doing it.


    I had to pay a premium for those solid blocks of stones that looked very similar to marble, but instead one with veins of solid jade. Ugh, fine. I¡¯ll let it slide. He did save me once.


    I pushed my palm onto the chalk and started injecting mana into the formation. The runes glowed white for a bit... and nothing. It just glowed.


    What? Wait, did I do something wrong?


    I looked back on the runes and back to my memory. The runes should¡¯ve been perfect and the circle was complete. It should have worked. Hrm.


    I fiddled around with the circle once more and found out I had forgotten a crucial element of the ritual. Where a small line of chalk should¡¯ve been was left blank. I immediately slashed one over and started to meditate once more.


    Mana started to surge into the circle, and it glowed a radiance that blinded me. However, it was only a moment. The bright light turned into a sickly violet and the mana I had been supplying had turned sour. Anam started to pour out from my body and into the runes I had etched deep.Stolen novel; please report.


    Before I knew it, my vision was blacked and I found myself somewhere I didn¡¯t want to return to.


    ~ ??? ~


    I smashed his head in with my trusty pick. The skull breaking had a nasty but satisfying sound as the blood spurted out in heaps. I stepped to the side and watched the body collapse onto the floor, bloodied and soaked in it.


    I breathed out and slumped onto the ground. I glanced around and admired the bloodshed I had created. People are so damn frail that if I didn¡¯t do what I did, I¡¯d be the one of the sorry bastards lying on a pool of their own blood.


    I clicked my tongue.


    I took a seat on a pile of bodies and relaxed myself. The room stank to hell. The medical aroma of the drugs mixing with the putrid stench of dead bodies made me gag, but I controlled myself. This was still a job, I need to be professional about it.


    I took out a handkerchief and tied it around my head, blocking the stink. I then ripped out a piece of clothing from them. What are they going to do? Kill me? Eugh. I cleaned off my tools and wiped off the blood best I could from my clothes.


    ¡°You can blame Asterworth, that damned Gunkboss. His jobs suck, but they paid well.¡± I spoke to no one in particular, maybe to the dead bodies.


    I focused on one of the gangster¡¯s faces and focused real hard on it. Maybe if it didn¡¯t look so damn bleak here, people would think of me as a creep. But, well, there would need to be people in the first place. Heh.


    After a while, I felt my face burn and contort in pain. A moment later, I felt my facial structure change.


    Alright, that¡¯s that. Time to hit the next place. Sheesh, I sure wish it¡¯s a bit more peaceful next time.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you assholes are cursing me in the other side, but what can I do?¡± I shrugged and spoke, less to the corpses, and more for myself. ¡°Killing you means cash, and cash means I get to live. Thanks for dying for me, I¡¯m real grateful.¡±


    I must live. It¡¯s a damn obvious sentiment, but living in the underworld sure ain¡¯t easy.


    ~ Sed ~


    ¡°You must live.¡±


    Those were the first words the voice within the spear spoke. The words rang in my head. Almost as if he had expected what I had wanted to ask. I peered at the still spear and the energy undulating from its core.


    ¡°I get that, what I want to know is why?¡± I looked around the place the spear had summoned me into. It was the very same place that caused me headaches, but with a pitch black background, a gray filter, and a graininess akin to old world film tapes.


    ¡°The elder god commanded it, and it shall be done. The elder god mentions of the end, and that you will be its savior.¡± It spoke, but not through the ears, but more as if his thoughts raped the mind.


    Various thoughts raced in my head, but there was no answer to them unless I asked. Though, before I could, the spear spoke once more.


    ¡°Because you are the last of your kind.¡±


    The world started to crumble down, an imagery similar to the phenomena I experienced in the loading room. The area pixelized and shattered to pieces, and my vision started to distort.


    ¡°Collect us, the last vestiges of the elder god. Only then will you understand.¡±


    The spear left those words to me as I blacked out.


    ~ - ~


    I opened my eyes to the feeling of a thin but hard metal pole on my back. Around me were the runes and circles I etched upon the floor, and in front of me were the many messy chests I had pushed away. Ah, I forgot to say my thanks.


    ¡°Fucking cryptic piece of shit.¡± I sighed and banged the back of my head on the spear. ¡°Give me more.¡±


    The last of my kind, huh? I guess he was speaking of my status, or what it was supposed to be. Players. This elder god figure needs players... for what purpose?


    Vestiges as well. If we¡¯re talking vestiges like the black spear... then maybe the crown of mexxiah? Although that makes me question why my creations are the vestiges of the elder god. But... whatever, wouldn¡¯t really hurt to try.


    I stood back up and pulled the spear from the ground. I no longer felt anything from it, which meant that it had spoken its piece. At least, I assume that to be the case. I hurriedly returned it to my inventory and looked at the neatly piled clothes outside the encirclement.


    It¡¯s your turn.


    ~ - ~


    This time, I found myself within a wide clearing of a lush and vivid forest. Beside it were clear waters, still and serene. A large rock was propped at the center, covered in moss, and one naked woman sitting on it. The woman¡¯s cloudy eyes watching the crystal lake.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a naked lady... Mind getting clothed?¡±


    The lady stared at me and laughed. ¡°Aaah, no can do. Really.¡± She shrugged and jumped off the stone and stood in front of me. ¡°Souls don¡¯t really get a say about clothing.¡±


    She held her hand up. ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Keffer Aldrin... or at least, that¡¯s my title. My real name is Amaryllis Dawn.¡± She beamed confidently. ¡°You are?¡±


    I take her hand and gripped it tight. ¡°Sed Immer. They call me ¡®Savior¡¯, according to a magical spear anyway.¡± I smiled wryly.


    ¡°Looking at you, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised. Mana and anam coexisting within one entity. Ridiculous, absurd... I love it.¡± She eyed my body. ¡°Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting with an esteemed guest?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t really expecting anyone here... I just wanted to know what kind of curse was in that set of clothing.¡± I shrugged.


    ¡°A curse? Hardly!¡± She laughed. ¡°Though, I suppose it depends. If you plan for me to collect dust within your collector¡¯s vault, then I will curse you to damnity.¡±


    ¡°You mean damnation?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, damnation! However, if you plan to use me, then I will bless you and help you to the best of my abilities.¡± She looked me in the eyes. ¡°What would you use me for?¡±


    I shake my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t pay a ridiculous amount for a collector¡¯s item. I¡¯ll make use of you, but not now. I don¡¯t have anyone that can use you at your best.¡± It wasn¡¯t really that huge of an amount for me, but I¡¯ll omit that little detail.


    She stopped for a moment and looked at me, as if studying my every move. Her clouded eyes shining with a piercing glint. Then, she smirked. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯ll be watching your every move, Sed Immer.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pressuring.¡±

 Adonis 36: Crown (FIXED)

    The Crown of Mexxiah. Mentioned with its name was its origins, the crown of a tyrannical queen of the underworld that, at one point in history, had enslaved over a hundred million souls. Shackled to her every whim, these souls could do nothing but follow the orders of Harmilla, and she wreaked havoc in the realm.


    That was until one witch hunter by the name of Asroll Meniah traveled to hell. Bringing with him the title of ¡®Liberator of Phantoms¡¯, he had heard the plight of the restless souls that toiled away for her. His goal, just like his title, was to free the poor spirits.


    Asroll brought with him the final standard of the Leoc Empire, and along with him was the Leoc Imperial Army... or at least, the remaining phantoms that dwell within the Leoc banner. He, just like Harmilla, used souls for their own goals. He, however, differed in that he regarded them as fellow warriors and people, not just stocks of manpower that Harmilla regarded her slaves.


    He waged a ten year war against Harmilla, and finally put her to the sword after several thousands of his army finally left to rest. It is said that Asroll brought down the flag of Leoc upon the artifact that gave her powers. The crown had shattered to pieces... or at least, that was the known story among the witch hunters.


    I borrowed the crown from Nis, and recalled from memory the description I had attached to it. I quickly noted it down on a piece of paper within the workshop because one way or another, that information might be very crucial in the near future.


    ¡°This place is... pretty bleak, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nis spoke as she wandered around the workshop, looking at the crates and the items I had in storage.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t dis my crib. I love it here, it¡¯s... moody.¡±


    Nis looked at me strangely. ¡°That¡¯s... not any better.¡±


    Well, boo hoo. I like it here. Sure, it¡¯s a bit dark, but the emanating light from the flames set the atmosphere for a workshop perfectly. Or at least, this was my romance for a smith, and no one can change my mind.


    ¡°Anyway, Nis, how do you activate your crown?¡±


    She brought her a finger to her chin and thought for a bit. ¡°Hard to explain, it¡¯s instinctual, I guess?¡±


    I shook my head and shrugged. ¡°So much for a high-spec AI.¡±


    Nis slammed her foot. ¡°I¡¯m not an AI anymore!¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I looked at the crown I was holding and passed it to her by a light throw.


    She nimbly took the crown and caught it using her head, with her golden-brown hair bobbing to her bounce. The crown fit snugly on her, and she looked at me with a displeased expression.


    ¡°Careful! It might get scratched. else, the little voice inside won¡¯t be happy.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You can hear it?¡±


    ¡°Not hear it... more like, feel it? Sometimes, it would shake a little and I thought I was getting sick, but no, it was just excited.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s the second thing the crown and the spear have in common. I was getting more and more interested, and cautious about this whole thing. The last of my kind, a savior, and the end. This kind of talk... it¡¯s pretty ominous, not to mention dangerous.


    I stepped into the magic circle again and tip-toed the chalk lines. ¡°Get in here, and mind the chalk! They¡¯re mixed with grounded dragon bone.¡±


    Nis smiled mischievously. ¡°What if I-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± I sighed. ¡°Activate the crown inside, then hold my hand.¡±


    Nis eyes widened, gasped in mock fashion. ¡°Master Chris! Are you flirting with me?¡± She asked and offered her hand with a smile.


    I smile back. ¡°The world will end before I even think about that.¡±


    ~ - ~


    ¡°Cool, I didn¡¯t think it would work, but here you are.¡±


    I said to the person next to me, who was holding my hand. Nis rubbed her eyes, and similarly held her head with her other hand.


    ¡°My head...¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. ¡°


    Just like the realm in the spear, this was the same, bar a few differences. It still had its grainy film filter, but its backdrop was a fiery red that seemed to pulse darker every few seconds.


    ¡°And here you are, I expected your emergence sooner or later.¡±


    Then, an otherworldly voice split our heads open, figuratively, of course. The crown appeared in front of us, bound by fiery chains to the ground and sky. It moved every few seconds, as if trying to get away, but to no avail.


    ¡°Well, what are you doing? Get me out of here!¡± The crown shouted, causing a migraine. To me, it was nothing more than a brief annoyance, but Nis collapsed on the ground, clutching hard at her head, her expression red.


    Thinking about it now, I have an idea who this crown is.


    ¡°Now, why should we do that? I mean, you¡¯re chained up for a reason.¡± I crouched down and stroked Nis¡¯ head, putting slight pressure to the temples. ¡°For all we know, you might try something once we do.¡± I then stared at the glowing chains that bound the crown.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Then what else are you here for?!¡± Its thought reverberated through our craniums, even I flinched. Nis fared no better as she let out a whimper.


    ¡°You know what? Fuck this.¡± I patted at my own waist and found a slight comfort knowing it was there. I opened the pouch and called upon it. Then, a curious purple light broke out from the opening, and engulfed a part of the space.


    One half was dyed in pulsating crimson, while the other covered in a pitch of inky abyss. Both sides clashed like armies until the owner of the darkness manifested into its own space.


    The black spear stood furiously, it¡¯s sharp point glinting and aimed at the crown.


    ¡°I know I¡¯m not one to order you around, but can you temper that thing?¡± I asked, still holding on to Nis, trying to alleviate her pain any manner I could.


    ¡°Gladly.¡± It spoke a single word and burst through the space, then pierced the ground underneath the crown. On that point, a creeping blackness embraced the remaining red and thoroughly subdued the crown¡¯s influence. Now, there was nothing left but the comforting darkness... strange as it sounded.


    The crown trembled and quaked as if howling an inaudible scream. With its influence now thoroughly controlled by the spear, the crown could no longer exert telepathy and pain towards us.


    ¡°I never did like you. You were always insubordinate to the elder god¡¯s wishes.¡± The black spear created several hundred spears from the ground, coiling to each other like chains. The chains bit into the crown mercilessly, scratching at the otherwise pristine surface.


    In only a matter of seconds, every inch of the crown was covered in spear-like chains. Now, only it¡¯s immediate vicinity was dyed in red.


    ¡°She is one of the vestiges. It is admirable how you found another so quickly, contractor.¡± The spear praised in monotone, just like usual. ¡°Now that another vestige has been found, I will be able to locate the Successors.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Successors?¡±


    ¡°Heroes and people compatible with the vestiges. Anyone can use us, but not everyone are the true chosen by the Elder God.¡± The spear shook. ¡°With this crown¡¯s ¡®help¡¯, we may find a Successor.¡±


    A trembling laughter sounded, though impish and faint. ¡°That¡¯s hilarious, what makes you think I will help you?¡±


    I turned to the crown, where the voice was originating. It wasn¡¯t through telepathy, now it actually had a voice. It¡¯s tone was mocking.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± The spear rebutted and increased the tightness of the many coiled spears. A sound of creaking metal could be heard from the crown. ¡°I have no qualms of forcing you, Crown. You were always the most hateful of us. Were it any other vestige, I would never resort to this, but I am more than happy to do it to you.¡±


    For a moment, I swore I heard a subdued and eerie laughter from the spear. The spear even seemed to jump for joy as the creaking increased. The spears glowed purple, and the voice within the crown wailed an agonizing cry.


    ¡°How does it feel, Crown? To be at the opposite end of torture. Servitude or death, your choice.¡± There was a a hint of joy to the Spear¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Eat shit Spear, do you not realize what would happen if Boots or Cloak heard about this?!¡±


    ¡°You seem to forget that I am the primogeniture, the original, the first of the vestiges. I have more than enough power to engulf you whole and take your powers as my own. I did not do so in respect for the other vestiges.¡± Its monotone voice changed to one grave and murderous. ¡°But if you stay a hindrance to the elder god¡¯s plan...¡±


    For a moment, there was pause between their conversation.


    ¡°Fuck you! FINE!¡± The Crown screamed.


    ~ ??? ~


    Gunshots rang behind me, and I pushed across the alleyways and into the darkness. The yells for me to stop kept echoing through the narrow walks, and I hurriedly and deftly navigated the labyrinthine alleys.


    Even then, their echoes didn''t seem to change in intensity. If anything, they felt even closer than normal. I bit my lip and took a left out of panic.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Wrong turn at the worst possible time!


    I craned my neck to look at the imposing walls in front of me. Three walls, insurmountable. A fucking dead end. Just my stupid luck.


    ¡°Lookie lookie here. Looks like the little rat¡¯s out of luck.¡± A raspy voice from behind me caught me unaware, and I immediately bolted forward, turning my back to the walls.


    There, in front of me, were three thugs holding guns. All of them pointed towards me. Even from the distance, I could smell the gunpowder.


    ¡°Mates, come off it. Let bygones be bygones, I only smoked like, what, 4 or 5 stores? That¡¯s nothing.¡±


    A ringing in my ears and a sharp pain on my shoulder jolted my attention, and I immediately collapsed on my knees.


    ¡°God damn...! Let me talk, at least!¡± I gritted my teeth and, with difficulty, raised my head to the man that shot me.


    ¡°I ain¡¯t no idiot. Slippy tongue right there, with your head working on an out.¡± The man walked to me and slapped me with the butt-end of his pistol across the cheek. ¡°Boss ain¡¯t happy, bringing you fucked would though.¡± The man smiled and bunted me again.


    I let out a low groan of pain and completely collapsed on the floor. My own stupid blood covered my vision, and I could taste iron on my tongue as they kicked and whipped me with their pistols.


    I quietly endured the pain. No way I¡¯d let out a whimper and give these assholes the satisfaction. Urgh...


    All of a sudden though, one of the thugs yelped, and a healthy amount of blood spurted out from his thighs. Then, the man collapsed, holding for dear life on the sizable wound. No, it wasn¡¯t even a wound anymore, the man lost a sizable chunk of his thigh.


    The other men immediately jumped back and pointed their guns, looking for their assaulter.


    I really wanted to laugh at them, but this was a chance I didn¡¯t want to waste. I spat out blood and went to work.


    ¡°Wih, Und, Bluh, Ast¡±


    I brought my palm towards the thugs, and I squeezed out every last bit I could. I felt my mana wove, and explode out of my palm like a gust of force.


    The idiots were taken unaware and were blasted backwards. I took this chance and shakily stood from the ground, still holding to my bleeding shoulder.


    ¡°Get fucked.¡± I gave them the rudest gesture of Crossian design, and brought my mana to a halt.


    A blur of brown and blue appeared on my vision, and a loud thunk in the ground later. I saw there, boots of elaborate design. My eyes widened, because I knew just from one look that this one was a keeper.


    ¡°Use it!¡± A voice from above, and then a wall of spears from the ground, separating me and the assholes.


    I grit my teeth and hurriedly wore the boots. Once I did though, a storm of ideas and knowledge assaulted my brain like a hammer, and I stood there dazed.


    It didn¡¯t last long though as I knew what I had to do to survive and get my ass out of this mess.


    As I had willed it, a orange-red orb manifested beneath my feet. The heat was negligible, but its appearance was as if a blazing star created on land. Tongues of flame surrounded my feet and legs.


    This fiery ball spun in place, and brought me along with it. I leaned forward, and my body moved at a blistering pace. Literally, even, as behind my path was a trail of charred brick and flames.


    I turned to the right wall and jumped. I brought my hand and feet to the bricks, and an orb of flames appeared on my right palm. The orb rotated madly, and it turned the vertical incline into another road to ride on.


    I jumped to the front wall, blazed at an angle to the left and upwards, then to the left wall and reached my destination. I looked to the sky, though it was blurred by the blood that obscured half my vision.


    Good to be free, I thought.


    I landed on the roof of the building. There, I saw a young man with a black spear on his hand.


    ¡°You truly are a Successor. Jackpot.¡± The kid smiled.