《A Rattling Monster》 Chapter 1: Of gods and men Chapter 1: Of gods and men All forces in the universe have a certain bnce. Light gives birth to the shadow. Good and Evil co-exist in an evesting equilibrium. So if a being that could threaten that bnce, like a great Demon King, emerged, a counterpart would be born shortly after. The world may call him a Hero, the Saviour or whatever great name they could think of. However, in the end, those two would be connected by their fate and without one, the other''s existence would be devoid of meaning. What''s the point of a hero when there is no equal threat? Bing a gardener? However, when beings at the pinnacle of power fought each other with all their might, all their curses, blessings and miracles granted by their god, the fiber of reality itself could be damaged. To prevent that, each god that has chosen a champion is watching over them to maintain order. Such a scene of shing forces could be found between the proud and noble Tarrick of Astria, blessed by the Goddess Aria, and the despicable and cruel Khordal of Forslo, chosen by the God Oslo. Of course, those titles were purely subjective because, this time, it was the human world of Astria that invaded the demon world of Forslo. Their noble pretext was to kill and purge those vile and foul demons, which coincidentally were not responsible for any killing until the day of invasion and the real reason for their invasion was to steal Forlso''s wealth and mine for the worlds precious metals and magical gems. Unfortunately, after a drawn-out battle, Tarrick was winning and God Oslo began to fear for his champion. Enraged he began to reprimand the goddess watching the fight with him: "Seriously, you gave him [Status Immunity]?!! Do you even have the right to do such a thing? You know that not even some gods have it and you gave it to a human? How in the Nine Heavens is Khordal supposed to beat him?" shouted Oslo. "Not my problem, if you want to keep your world intact just state the truth." Aria said calmly. "What bloody truth, you mean the fact that Freya is more beautiful than you?" "I AM MORE GORGEOUS THAN HER!!! And until you admit it I will keep my blessings where they are." Threatened the goddess. Having this clearly enraged, but nheless beautiful, goddess face him in such an awkward way dumbfounded Oslo and he fell into deep contemtion. While saying that Aria was more beautiful than Freya was not that big of a deal in itself if thetter found out that he had said such, well, death would be a boon in that case. In the end, both he and Aria were still lesser gods, each in charge of only one world. Freya, on the other hand, was towering above them like a mountain, controlling thousands of worlds. No, he just needed to have this bothersome human champion of her''s die and then for the next twenty years, he will be free of the threat of a Hero. Without a Hero, nothing could threaten his world. That being said, it''s not like the Hero was the strongest fighter in the world or that the Demon King was the strongest among the demons. They were the most powerful, solely because they had gods backing them. And if either one of the two champions died, the world of the victor could take over the world of the loser without a hitch. Now, how could he get rid of him? While he kept searching for a feasible method, his great Demon King was receiving quite a beating and in the next few minutes, he would probably have hisst breath. However, feeling that things were going south, Oslo''s champion took out a dark stone which was pulsating as if alive from a spatial ring that he always kept on himself. "Khu, Khu, Khu, puny human, you have reduced this great sovereign to this pathetic state, but with the artifact given by the Great God himself, you will be doomed!!!" proimed Khordal loudly. Wary of his enemy''s final trump card, the Hero Tarrick quickly changed into a defensive stance and began to conjure his greatest defensive spell. Realising what the Demon King''s dark stone was, Aria gave Oslo a stare as if wishing for murder. "Oh I see, so MY blessings are unfair but YOUR [Death Ray] is allowed? Now I wonder what the Nine Heavens will say when they find out?" spouted the goddess sarcastically while lightly pping her hands. "Shouldn''t you be worried by the fact that none of your blessings will deal with this?" shamelessly responded the god. He was right on this point, there was no way that the Hero could survive the force of this spell by himself. A conjuration such as this, that could potentially kill even a god, was not a joke to be taken lightly. Since both of the gods had already breached the regtions in a grand manner, Aria thought it was just fine to help her chosen champion, the Hero, again by granting him a powerful spell-shield. And so she gave him the [Mirror of God] a divine blessing, that could negate the unholy spell of Oslo''s champion. She only forgot the mirror part of the blessing, thinking that if everything went smoothly, the magic contained inside that dark crystal will be sent back to this menacing demon, what could possibly go wrong? As the deadly spell wasunched with all its might, space-time seemed to tremble under its pressure. Looking just like an extremely oversized ck thunder it didn''t even need a moment''s breath to traverse the distance between them and shed onto the shield causing it to creak under its force. The Hero full of dread mustered all his might while shouting out loudly and pushed the shield against the ck force. Time had seemed to stop. But finally, just as the shield was giving out and disintegrated into myriad pieces, with a righteous sound, the dark thunder was deflected and bounced into space. And at the sight of a potentially deadly spell traveling across the universe, both gods held their breath hoping that it dissipates quickly enough. It did not. It was a beautiful day with absolutely no cloud as far as the eye could reach. The clear blue sky was gently touched by sunrays and Marc Cassidy was just leaving his workce. He had managed to extend the deadline of a work project by one more week by reporting the fact that some of his co-workers were striking and therefore slowing down the progress. He probably would not get the promotion he had aimed for after finishing this project but at least he would not bebeled as ipetent. Of course, his striking colleagues would not appreciate his move when they found out, but he did not really care. Those that were still really working would be grateful that he voiced his opinion and stated the facts. Nearing the beginning of his thirties, he had neither wife nor children and not a lot of friends to speak of. The rtive closest to him was eight hundred kilometers away. Marc was living a grey life with no surprises, big ups or downs and he was satisfied with that. And what made his day even a bit better was when his neighbors had problems. He was as such, that he enjoyed the misery of others more than seeking pleasure for himself. For example, traveling around the world or eating exotic food meant little to him. Besides some jogging and doing push-ups to keep himself in shape, he spent most of his free time watching movies, reading books on paper or online and ying video games. That''s why for him, avoiding a negative grade and make his colleagues suffer a little were just good enough. Whilst being on the way to his car he was thinking about how he would spend his evening. The parking lot was only a short distance away from his workce and a few steps before reaching his car he suddenly lowered his gaze. Right before his feet was a hundred euros note on the ground. Feeling the euphoria he rushed to grab it, thinking about the saying how good things alwayse in pairs. Today, he had extended his deadline and found some good money. And just as he lifted the note up over his head, to use the sunlight to see whether it was a fake note, he suddenly noticed a dark light at the edge of the sky that was quickly bing bigger. And before he could even have time to realize what happened, hit by something, he suddenly felt his consciousness fading, entering oblivion. Hisst thought being, that misery lovespany. Chapter 2: Where is my compensation? Chapter 2: Where is mypensation? Where am I? Did I not just die from that freakin dark light? I clearly felt the touch of death or whatever, that thing was colder than ice. But I am still conscious and I think I can feel something. Yeah, I definitely feel something, so that means I am not dead. But I do not feel safe either. Maybe if I just open my eyes a little I can probably see something. Just a little and white. The floor is white. That''s not a good sign since this white is like as white as the teeth on amercial. And they are clearly edited. And the floor doesn''t look like stone or wood. No, it looks like the very light is the floor. So I am currently lying down on a floor made of light. I think I really died. "I know that you are awake mortal and you wonder what brings you here but know that the heavens have granted you another chance." Ok so I am dead and this voice, which I think is a female voice, if there is gender in godhood, is probablying from a god. I mean she said heaven so she could be an angel. I really open my eyes this time and yeah there it is. She got a sun behind her, wings of white feathers, the few things missing would be a choir of angels and a golden halo on top of her head. But still, that intro with that pre-nned sentence is a good thing, that calms me a little. I mean, it looks so fake, it''s almost funny. And so God, or at least the angel in charge of Earth, is clearly a woman. I don''t know why everybody has put a man instead. Not that it really matters but still, I think nearly all religions got it wrong this time. As I stand up and watch around I notice absolutely nothing. Here there is only me, the divinity in front of me and the floor made of light. The rest is just darkness, shadows, and more darkness. But that''s trifling, what matter is. "So I died, and I have another chance, so miss, goddess, angel? Can you exin?" "My name is Aria, and I am what you, human, would call a goddess. I am in charge of dealing with unfortunate souls that have died but still seems worthy enough by the heavens to choose to either stay dead and have your soul flying into the heaven" she says as she opens a portal totally dark and clearly menacing " or reincarnate into a new world" and this time the portal is golden, with little blue butterflies flying around. As I watch her saying her monologue, I can''t help but feel that something is off. Without talking about the clear difference between the two portal and that she clearly implies that to reincarnate is better, shouldn''t that be allowed? I am fairly certain that there are rules that should prevent that maniption. Perhaps there is a quota for reincarnation and she didn''t reach it? But the problem is that except some elders that still get scammed by a Nigerian prince, no human with a minimum of intelligence wouldn''t find the situation weird. It''s clearly too big so there is a problem somewhere, as for dying, I am not dead yet apparently, still have a chance. Ok, what did she said, she said stuff about gods, heavens, worthy, worthy enough? Me, someone who could be described at best as an opportunist and at worst a leech. I certainly didn''t kill millions of people over some beliefs or religion but worthy to reincarnate, I don''t think so. There are two possibilities, the first is that they messed up the background check or the second is I am not supposed to meet that goddess. The first is unlikely, I mean maybe some angels sleep instead of working but the person in front of me would have noticed something weird. Instead, she did something weird so the second option is probably true. One way to find out. "Thank you very much for this chance but I think my time hase anyway so I will rest in the heaven." I say while putting a face of resignation." But I am still happy about the life that I lived." As I walk toward that dark portal the face of the goddess keeps changing between stupefaction, fear, and anger. Just before I can reach the portal she stopped me. "You sure you want to die, I mean you can have a pretty nice life in the other portal, maybe you can finally find your true love, have kids, a loving family", she says desperately. Ok, now I am certain they didn''t mess up the background check. She knows that I don''t have a wife, neither I have children. And she really, really, really wants me to reincarnate. "You can''t force people to choose between the two portal, right?" "No, but " "But you don''t want me to go to the heaven and maybe tell your superiors why I am there?" "No, no that''s not ..." "Maybe, because I am not supposed to be there?" "You, you died so my job is to " "Yes, but why I died, I remember a peculiar dark lighting toward me. I wonder what the one in charge would say after I tell him that." "No, no, no you can''t say it, it was an ident, an ident, it was" and she stopped talking and looks right into my eyes and I can clearly see her burning with hate "You dirty human, you tricked me, you tricked a goddess, I will kill you!!! You lowly life, you rat, you leech, you''re even worse than a worm!!!" "But you already did", and as I say that all her rage disappeared and she looked a little scared of me. I really don''t know why, except for the fact that she probably knows me and she knows that I like to exploit people. The fact that I am still alive as a soul or whatever I am right now meant she has no real power over me. "Please, please just revive into this world please." She even begins to beg me so I guess she broke a major rule, like killing an innocent bystander. "Alright, I will do as you say." "Is it true?" She says with a puppy face, with her eyes filled with tears and shining. "Yes but first, where is mypensation?" "Compensation? Whatpensation?" "You killed me so either I enter this world with a cheat ability, as the son of the emperor of the world blessed by the gods or the descendant of the mightiest dragon or I go directly through this", I say while pointing to the threatening portal. "I can''t change the environment where you reincarnate, I can''t make the son of a specific human or monster but I can give you this." Instantly, a 2.5-meter double-edged sword appears with burning me on the de. Well, that''s a cheat weapon. That''s clearly the stuff with 1% probability of dropping in thest raid boss of thetest expansion. And that''s totally useless to a normal human who is not a Hulk. This sword weighs probably 200 kg at the minimum. How am I supposed to use it? But now, I know that she can give me advantages in my revival. I just need to pick the right one. "Not enough!" "Not enough Are you kidding me that''s the sacred sword of the Archangel Balef, a sword used to kill a Great Demon King, a mighty and powerful Great Demon King? Do you know what it is?" I guess my remark hurt a little of her self-esteem, seeing her shouting hysterically like that. But still, a sword is just an instrument and in fact, that sword will make me die quicker than everything else. You see a normal-looking man with a clearly powerful and shiny sword will probably die the moment he falls asleep in his bed. With the 10 other men who were trying to steal his sword and failed. "Not enough, what I want is a system, a cheat-like system you see in any RPG." "A system? What is that thing?" The goddess questions. "A normal system with Exp, HP, level, stuff like that." "I don''t think I have that" "But can you make it?" "Hold on, if I gave you a system like that, would you be immensely powerful?" "No, in fact, I would be the same as I am now." "So why do you want it?" "Because I can." As I say this she is clearly debating whether or not she should give me this. And while what I say is true, the benefit of a system is not the immediate strength, it''s the perpetual power increase it gives. Mastering a spell, simply trying it 1000 times and it works. All the title, passive abilities and stuff easily can turn you into the strongest being of the world. Of course, it needs time, but if just survive can grant you more power than a century of training, it is totally worth it. Now I just need to convince her that what I ask is not dangerous. "I don''t really know why you want this system, and we don''t have that but if you really want I can create it, I just need you to explicitly say how that thing works and what it gives to you." She is not as stupid as I thought. With this, I cannot say openly how it''s broken beyond salvation so I have to carefully choose my words. "A RPG system is a system that allows the user to see each of his attributes like health, mana, strength clearly. It records the different skills and passive abilities that the character learns. There is some specificity like a title system that can either increase or decrease certain attributes, for example, a title like [dumb thinking] would remove one point of intelligence. But this kind of system allows any intelligent creature, human or monsters, to easily keep records of their evolution and progress." I think I covered all the problem, I didn''t say it''s overpowered and even include a disadvantage. There is no way she would refuse a deal like that. "Ok, I guess that would not break thew of the world, therefore I grant you that wish. You will obtain it after you walk through the portal to the world of Astria. Now go, I don''t want to see you ever again." She says it with a big smile like she is happy to get rid of me. "Dosvidania (Farewell)" Yes, I always wanted to say it and the fact that I scammed her allowed a parody of an evil Russian mafia. If I won with brute strength, I would have said Hasta vista so it''s fair. But still, as I walk toward my future life, that big smile on the goddess face reminds me that I probably missed something. There is no way she is happy after I ckmailed her. But I got what I want. I hope. (Finally, Marc Cassidy entered the portal and disappears from that ce, but as he did that, Aria let escape a sentence that will send our poor hero into despair very quickly.) "An intelligent creature ha ha ha." Chapter 3: Adventurers Chapter 3: Adventurers Aaaaaargh, aie, aie, aahhhh, that hurts, that really hurts. Who said that reincarnation was painless, I bet he didn''t experience it. Well, I guess not a lot of people have done that. But, like every part of my body hurt, my head hurt, my hands hurt, my legs hurt, my Wait for a second, what is that thing, on my back. It''s moving??? Ok calm yourself, open your eyes before, to see the situation and it''s all dark and a little cold. Like really dark, I can barely see some stone wall, natural stone not a stone refined by men in a building for example. So I am in a cavern or a hole? The part where she said something something something can''t choose where you are born is a total lie. Well, I guess my ckmail was a little too much so I forgive her because I am a just and noble future Hero. But let''s go back to the "thing" stuck at my back. Even if I am in the dark I can still see my hands and WHAT THE HELL!!! My hands! My poor and human-looking hands! Where are they? Instead, I got some weird ws. Hold on, so she could choose where I would have been born AND in what form I would have been reborn? And she chose a dark cave and what looks like a rat? Yes, that weird thing moving is my tail. Ok calm yourself, it''s not a big deal, you just have to survive as the first trash mob met in every good or bad RPG that you know about. Not really hard. Not really hard your mother! "Aria, you dirty daughter of a " (After a few minutes of intense and rude insults, our hero has recovered his spirit.) "I will fu" (I guess it was too soon, but now it is time for him to adapt to his new condition.) So I am now a rat. Wonderful. What are the advantages, small, quick, resistant to disease and poison, can eat nearly everything I guess? For the disadvantages, it''s easier. Weak, weak, less dangerous than spiders or bats alone, the prey of everything, not enough strength to kill something bigger than itself. But I have something special, behold the mighty SYSTEM!!! Not working? SYSTEM!!! System? Character? Inspect? Open? Personage? How do I open it? Normally I would click with my mouse or use a keyboard shortcut. Wait, my mind is theputer, my name is Marc Cassidy so open Marc Cassidy? "Systemunched" "User: Marc Cassidy" "Attributes: Name:??? ??? ??? ??? HP:1/1 ??? ???" Wow, wow, wow, why nearly everything is locked under some "???". I clearly and explicitly said that any creatures or monsters could use it easily. Yeah, I was thinking that she would double-cross me and turn me into a non-human so I said monsters too. But why can''t I use it, I am a monste Is a rat not a monster? But it''s a creature, I said creature. I didn''t just say creature, I think I shot myself in the foot on that one. So the System will not be working as I expected. But still, I can see my HP and bloody hell. 1HP. So if someone steps on my tail I can probably die. Great. The good thing is, for the past 10 minutes I have not seen a single living creature. So I can adapt to my new body. First, lift the front left paw. Ok, good now the other front. Wonderful. Bottom left, good and bottom right excellent. Now, walking and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 1, 2, 3, 4. Good, very good, excellent even. There is a rock like 2 meters away from me, I''m going to run as quickly as I can. 3, 2, 1, GO. So, in 7 seconds I have reached it. For a rat who is 10 to 15 centimeters long, I guess it''s good. Now, can I stand up? So, I push on my front paws and utter failure. Damn it, another try and c''mon c''mon c''mon noooo! I was so close. Maybe I could use the wall to help, and yes it''s easy with it. And while I am in this position, it''s my tail that helps me be stable, ok I got it. I am now a perfectly functional and independent rat. Can I have some Exp for that? You know like a quest for those actions? Nothing? Guess it''s still locked. The first objective then, finding something to eat or drink, or both. The second objective, don''t die. The third objective, find a way to level up or improve the System. Since I have a system, I will probably just have to kill something weaker than me. Weaker than a 1 HP rat. I need some small insects like flies, beetles, scarabs. Since none of those are in sight, I guess I have to travel. Ok, I am in a tunnel, in a cave, so left or right. Which way has the hotter air? Left, so go for the left. (After half an hour of walk without meeting anything alive, our friendly rat meets an unexpected event) "I told you Richard, we need more than 1 priest when we enter a cave full of undead." "And I say, I am a holy knight they can do nothing to us, look, we have been fighting for 30 minutes and none of us is dead, they are only skeletons, they are weak." "Look at the face of Irion, in less than 5 minutes, he will not be able to heal us or bless us." The face of the priest Irion, was clearly tired and only the threat of the undead was keeping him fighting. "But we are near the treasure, how many undead do you think are still capable of fighting. We have killed at least 200 of them." "Maybe, but we are all tired, the seven of us, even if there are just 30 mere skeletons, we could have casualties, so it''s better to retreat now ande back in a few hours. If we don''t and something unexpected happens, we could die." Thest man that talked, the chief of that group, a berserk of 2m10, was clearly more cautious than the holy knight. Deep inside him, he was wondering why so many weak monsters were in this dungeon. And if a threat much more dangerous was waiting for them nearby. (Of course, all that exchange was captured by the nearby rodent that no one noticed, either the skeletons or the adventurers.) Did my luck turn? Is it the legendary fateful encounter with a group of high level mobs that I can kill? But why are they retreating? They should push, be tired, get injuries so big that, at theirst breath I can do the killing blow and gaining all those juicy Exp. Are you human, I heard you, you talked about treasures, why are you not greedy? Seven clearly experienced warriors fearing some skeletons, some don''t even have all their arms. Wait, no, that''s a bad thinking. They are human, you knowpassion, stuff like that, the tenmandments, thou shalt not murder. Don''t kill the orphans or the widows. Well, you know what dear me, we are not on Earth. And they are probably some terrible people, criminals, no one will regret them. So, if they are mortally wounded, I will spare them horrible sufferings and end their lives peacefully. Anyway, it''s still weird that none of them have noticed me. I mean why, of course, I am hiding behind a rock more than 20 meters far but still, I have a life force or whatever the thing that all living have, at least the undead should notice me. Or maybe they are too low-level. They are really low-level so that can be true. Too bad for me. I won''t be able to kill them if they just retreat and even if they keep going I need some big bad monster, otherwise, they won''t even get a scratch. Here we go again, trying to catch an insect. But there is nothing at all, even animals are missing. That''s good they won''t kill me but that''s bad I can''t even have the choice to kill something. I guess what the adventurers say is true then, it''s a cave full of undead only. I can see them beginning to retreat and Did it get colder? Yeah, it''s really colder all of a sudden. Is it a Boss? Please be a Lich, please be a Lich. And it''s a LICH! Finally, something scary. And now, the adventurers are fearing for their lives. They will make mistakes, maybe even split up. Great, Great, hold on. Why are they fighting? Why is the lich losing? Seriously, they are winning? No, no, no, don''t, don''t win. And they won. Like that. Was it a trap? Like "we are weak and tired, one attack and we will die, I hope that no monster will try to fight us"? And now, all the undead are dead, for good. All the skeletons disappeared. So they are leaving like that, without casualties, without even a near-deathpanion. They took something from the chest of the lich, it looks like a crystal. So there are the monster cores in this world. And the priest is taking the bag of the lich. Probably some spell scrolls, manuscripts, parchments. All the rest are a bunch of broken armors, swords, and bones from the skeletons and the lich body. What should I do with that, I can''t eat bones, and a lich body, just the number of curse on it will not be low. But there is nothing else. To eat or not to eat, this is the question. If I was a normal rat, I would probably not do it but I have the mighty System. So let''s try. "[Curse of the dead] activated, reduce all attributes by 50%" Great now my HP goes from 1/1 to 0,7/0,7. That''s just 30% decrease, not 50%. Is my System broken? Or did I gain HP? So I eat a part of the lich body, I get a curse and I gain more life than before. So let''s eat again. Bless you mighty System! Bless you! Eating make me gain more HP after each bite. From 0,7 to 40,5 after eating all the lich body. So I have gain attributes, but no Exp I guess? Still, from losing against anything to survive and maybe beat some animals, that''s a great day for the rat race. However, the System didn''t change at all: "Attributes: Name:??? ??? ??? ??? HP:40.5/40.5 ??? ???" How ignorant I was, thinking that the legendary encounter has failed me. There is no way that it didn''t work. But still, I don''t really know if it''s enough. I should probably leave before the adventurerse back, I ate that undead corpse for a very long time. Just one small question, where is the exit? Chapter 4: Freedom Chapter 4: Freedom During that time, deeper in the dungeon, the seven adventurers have found the treasure or what some could call a treasure. Someone obviously not very rich. "5 gold, 61 silver, and 1,2, and 3 copper. That''s the treasure?" Said Jimmy the thief of the team. And while he said that all the other member began to look for their chief Khozak. Who, in return, throw a very ck stare toward the greedy Richard. "Gentleman, gentleman, please we have killed a lich if we bring his body to the Church I am sure they will reward us greatly. And for the coins that we found, it is still enough for repairs and refills all of our provisions. Is not it Richard?" "Ehhh, yes, yes the Church has a bounty for the evil creatures." "How much?" That question was asked by Irion, even if the other were not that exhausted, he, as the priest, had to care about all the healing, cure and purification. He probably needs at least 2 good days of sleep. The two ck areas under his eyes were the proof. "I don''t really know but for a lich, it''s going to be good. Trust me." said absolutely not confidently the holy knight. "Why do I never heard of it?" "I wonder; I mean we have travel for some years already." "And still, we have never heard of it." This time it was the turn of the three warriors, Pedro, Miguel, and Mario. But they didn''t direct their question toward the knight with a pale face. No, they were looking toward the berserk, their leader. Who didn''t have more colors than the holy knight. Miraculously for him, the thief found something, a chest. And it was a very impressive chest, with golden ornaments, quite heavy. At the sight of this future golden mine, everyone began to rejoice, some began even to sing. In their minds there is no way that a lich was that poor, the real treasure got to be in that chest. "Tons of gold for you, hey!" "Tons of gold for me, hey!" "Tons of gold for we, hey!" Funnily, even the knight start humming. The thief, of course, stayedposed, manipting with dexterity the chest, searching for any trap or problem. Seeing no such things, he began to crochet the lock. Finally, after opening it, they discovered its content. A lot of worthless rock and a scroll with the text "Haha I got you fools, signed Ezeriel". Provoking a heated discussion between all the seven adventurers. "Was the lich named Ezeriel?" "I think he said it like you have entered the domain of Ezeriel, you will die mortals." "So we really only have 5 gold in the end?" "Yes." "At least we can try to sell the chest, even some noble doesn''t have one with that quality." "Or we can try to scam someone interested in ults ways like this chest was cursed by a lich and found in their of one." "Is it cursed?" "No, but the buyer won''t know." "So in the end, we got free repairs, free meals for 1 weeks thanks to the coin, 1 odd-looking chest and the body of a lich. What about the contents of his bag?" "Nothing, I mean you have some stuff about necromancy but did you see his skeleton, this lich was a newbie even during the fight we killed it in less than 10 sec." "Let''s be honest, the only real way we can have money from this dungeon is the supposed bounty for the lich body." "I was sure the notice for this mission was overrated, us of five years ago could havepleted it." "Yeah." "Agree." Seeing the quite depressed member of his group, Khozak really hoped that the bounty he invented exists. In the worst case, he will try to sell it on the ck market, some people will pay a price for it but the danger of doing this is to bebeled as a heretic by the Church. He needs to raise the morale anyway, even if it cost him some gold. "Men, after we arrive at Ronta, I will pay you all a drink at the Thirsty Warrior." "Really, not like the other time where we end up at the Shield and Sword?" "Yes, the first drink will be on me." At the sound of a free alcoholic beverage, naturally, the others began to praise their mighty and generous leader. And they all began to walk toward the ce where the battle has happened. To found only bones. Bones everywhere, no entire corpse. They all split up to search the ce. "It''s there that we killed it, right?" "Yes, there is the trace of a fire there, probably the [Minor Fireball]." "So where is the body?" "I think this is the body of the lich." Finally said Jimmy, while pointing a clean white skeleton. Some could praise the effort of a certain rat since there was not a single flesh still standing on it. But for the adventurers, the fact that all they could see was a skeleton, yet a little whiter than the others, was horrible. How could they convince anybody that this was a lich body while themselves found it hard to believe it? "Is the flesh supposed to rot that quick?" "No, I don''t think so, there is the hand of the great Elder Lich Jorah still intact in the royal pce. It''s 400 years old." A lot of hesitation could be heard in the voice of Irion when he said that. "Did they cast a spell on it to preserve it?" Nobody knows who said it, but when that sentence came out, they cursed themselves for rushing to the treasure. If they have stayed a little longer maybe they could have saved it. Now, all is over. They all began to slowly walk toward the exit, a little bit depressed. A dark day for one of the most powerful teams in the region. (Our hero in the meantime, was trying to find the exit. Thanks to his brilliant mind, he figured out that following the trail of skeletons, bones, and broken weapons will probably lead him toward freedom. But when the path ended, he was still in the dark and totally lost) Damn it, they didn''t encounter enemies right at the start of this dungeon. So now I am stuck and I have no idea where to go. Left path, left middle path, right path. I guess I can only wait for them and hope that they don''t notice me while I track them. Can''t be that hard, a small rodent with a dark fur, I don''t think it''s ck, more dark-brown. Can''t really see but it''s definitely not white or easy to spot. And I just have to respect the rules of tracking, keep a safe distance, stop when they stop, don''t get in in sight, use the obstacles to hide. I just need to wait for them but where? What if they get a map with a shortcut? I will never be able to found them. No, no, I need to go where they will return. And that fateful ce is where the lich body is. No matter what, they have to go by that ce because otherwise, the lich wouldn''t have appeared there. If it was not near hisir, there is no way he goes attacking a group like that. I just hope I am right. As I guessed, yes, I am a genius. I heard them talking about the worth of the lich. Well, I can confirm that body is worth a lot. For me. It''s a good thing that they walk slowly. Or a bad. What if there are traps and they are careful? I don''t think I can survive traps. Please, no traps. Anyway thanks to their speed, I don''t lose sight of them. But after 20 minutes of running, I am getting tired. I don''t think without eating the lich I could have run that fast and for as long as that. I am still really too small for long distance. I never noticed how easy it was when I was human, to walk 2 meters. But with this uneven environment, I have a hard time as a rat. I really hope that the exit is close. 10 minutes after, there is no improvement. The distance is growing. I would have never found the exit without them. I would have probably died of hunger long before. I just need to persevere; my freedom is close. Hold on, my sight is getting better. I can begin to see the detail on the walls. The light, I see it, not the light of their torch, a real light, the one from the sun. The pure air, the refreshing wind, the peaceful and immovable sun. My nightmare has ended, I can finally roam across the world, save the princess, defeat the dragons. In front of me stand a nice looking forest, not one with the ugly trees that can crush you or with treacherous branches that hang you. No, a normal one, with oaks, pors, normal trees. The adventurers are nowhere near in sight. They are clearly too powerful for me, they destroyed that lich in seconds. But with a forest like this, my reign can finally begin. (And as he begins to think of all the good things he will do, he utters a mighty and powerful scream: "Sleeeeek!", which can be transformed into "Freedom!". A scream that no one past 5 meters could have heard.) Chapter 5: First Blood Chapter 5: First Blood Fear me innocent animals, for the Destructor has arrived. And by Destructor I mean me, the great me. Now I just need to find a weak prey. Let''s summarize all the weak animals one can find in a forest. You have a squirrel, rabbit, some small insects, arge wide variety of birds and rodent. Yes, as a rat I can be considered as a rodent but I am me and they are they, the difference is intelligence. Now the big threat. The weakest could be a fox; I don''t think I can beat a fox. After you have owls and eagles, other types of birds. They can kill me and I won''t even know what hit me. Large predators like wolves or bears, maybe some panther or cougar. They are all extremely bad for me at the moment. Can I sneak into a forest? Now that I can clearly see my fur, I confirm, it''s brown. Maybe a little darker than just brown but not totally ck. So, on the ground, I can be mistaken for dirt but I still stand out on leaves. It looks like it''s spring or summer because I don''t see red or brown leaves, or a lot of leaves on the ground either. A little disadvantage but not that big of a deal. The trees block enough of the sun inside to make me less visible. I can definitely go unnoticed, unless I am directly in front of a predator. Ok now that I have a n, how do I kill something? First, let''s test if I can climb on a tree. Can''t be that hard. Look there is a 3-meter-tall oak, that will be my test subject. Not a single animal in sight, no angry bird looking for a prey. Go. I must reach that branch. That was hard. I think I took 20 seconds just for climbing half the tree. That is absolutely not efficient. But the good point is I can do it. Just not in a rush. Now for the descent. Don''t fall. Don''t fall. Finally, the ground. I missed you. I took me twice the time. I can''t be careless because I can really die from falling. So a special jump attack from a tree is probably too risky. I can''t run after my prey because I don''t know where the dens are. Just by thinking about running after a rabbit to finally end up meeting wolves make me shudder. Not a good thinking. So I have to either insta-kill my prey or to immobilize it. For that, I need weapons and traps. The problem is, what can a rat achieve in both? For a trap, the simplest of it would be to dig a hole and hide it under leaves. But, to dig a hole that will takes hours, a day even, especially with those ws and not some hands. Next, for the weapon, I guess using a stick and turn it into a spear. For that, what is the best, my ws or my teeth? Too bad I am not a beaver. I try with my ws on some random woods but it''s is not precise enough. I can only try with my teeth. Bwargh, argh, disgusting. The taste of wood is horrible. How can the beaver bear it? But, in the end, I manage to produce a weird looking spear. I think it is enough to pierce through the skin of a rabbit, with enough force behind it of course. Now that I have improved myself, I need some test subjects. And for that, I need to enter that forest. Destiny, here Ie, brave, audacious, and then some. (If someone were walking in that part of the forest, he could have noticed a strange brown rat carrying a weird stick. Even if he had reported it to apetent organization, all he would have received in return would have been being ridiculed and joked about. I mean, a rat carrying a stick, who would believe such a thing?) I have been walking for an hour now and I noticed nothing. I have killed 1 fly and 3 scarabs but there is no change in the System and I don''t know if I get any experience from them. I didn''t eat them, I mean first I am full, or at least I don''t feel I am hungry. Now that I think about it, I don''t feel tired except during effort, I don''t feel hunger or thirst. So I am a real yer character, that''s an excellent point. No need to rest, sleep or any basic actions. Or maybe that''s a side effect of the curse? No. No way. Think positively. I really need to get rid of th... Rustle rustle What''s this? What''s this? There''s color everywhere. I can''t believe my eyes; I must be dreaming. A cute little rabbit. Walking alone in a forest. And eating something, I can''t really see. Not that I care that much but if it takes him a couple of minutes to eat that would be excellent. Now how do I proceed? Rushing with my spear? No, he will outrun me. Waiting in an ambush? And how do I know where he will be going. My special attack from a tree? I guess if I only throw my spear, maybe I can kill him. But I only got one chance. Well, it''s better than no chance at all. Now which tree branch will be the best? Since my uracy should be near 0%, I will take the lowest. Now the hard part, how do I climb with my spear? If the Rat God hears me, please your humble and devoted subject need assistance. No answer? Rat God, hello? At least I tried. I just hope I didn''t mess up his name. I would have offended two gods. Can I climb with only 3 ws and one holding the stick, Let''s do it. No . Pain . No .. finished. That was hard. But strangely better than I expected. I am really strong, for a rat. Guess that lich flesh was good. If only I could see my attributes. System? "Attributes: Name:??? ??? ??? ??? HP:40.5/40.5 ??? ???" Yeah, still disappointing. But even with a broken thing, I still gain 40 HP so I forgive you System. Now, let''s hunt. My nice little rabbit, you will be the first victim of the new me. Slow and steady, he is still eating. Poor fool. I ce the spear vertically above him. 1,2,3, throw. Bullseye. Right in the neck or head, near that area. I am not an expert in rabbit anatomy. But I have gained 0,5 HP, and since I didn''t eat it, that means I level up. Still, the level up of a rat would have only given me 1 HP. Thank you unknown lich for your body. I hope you will find peace in whatever ce your dark and tortured soul is. So the experience is not the only thing I can hope for, I can still eat the carcass and gain more power. I just need to Big Rustle really big rustle A wolf. Yeah, why not. Just casually walk by, eat the prey that I killed and leave like a king. Can you at least leave an arm or a leg? Of course, while he is still here I won''t make a sound. I am not stupid, even if he cannot see me above him, if he catches my scent I am in big trouble. But who would watch above him? (The wolf began to walk toward the dead rabbit and stop nearby, clearly perturbed by the wood stick nted inside it. I mean to him, it''s quite unexpected. Normally, the body should have been torn apart and the organs inside would have been eaten but not here. The only thing out of the ordinary was the spear. He had already seen this type of thing in the bodies of his fellow wolves or even stuck on the skin of a bear. But they were big, some were even bigger than the wolf itself. This is so small, why is it that small? Of course, that only makes him puzzled and soon he began to remove that annoying tree branch with his maw and take with him the rabbit, gaining an unexpected free meal.) Finally, he is leaving. But he took with him the entire body, there is nothing left for me, besides the blood on the ground. And my poor spear, you can see the mark of the wolf fangs. HE DESTROYED IT. Vengeance. Death. Death to all wolves. But first, let''s leave in the opposite direction of the wolf. I need to be stronger, to have a bigger spear, to make traps maybe. And the most important of all, to gain more levels. Because, I don''t think that even if I manage to hit a wolf in the eye, he will die. And after that, he will hunt me, kill me, devour me, and bye bye the rat. Now, time to make a new spear, a better one, here a good branch, rgh, that taste is even more disgusting the second time, how is it even possible? Chapter 6: Big rat? Small rat? Chapter 6: Big rat? Small rat? (After half a day and when the night was close, our noble rat was stronger than ever. Thanks to some difficult battles, like against the scarabs, where he more or less just stomped on them and they instantly died. In the end, because of his hunt, 7 more rabbit families will not see their dads again, or their moms, he didn''t check, me either. But he was not happy, because after eating his prey, he understood a dark reality.) No, no gain either on that one. I still gain some bonus HP thanks to killing them but no matter how much of the body I eat, I gain nothing. Still, I am at 44.5 HP so I guess that without the curse and if I were a normal rat I would have been at 9HP, for 9 levels gained. And the number ten is one of the best numbers in RPG. It''s like, collect 10 heads of goblin or you have achieved level 10. Maybe I will finally have my System repaired. I hope. Anyway, right now I am in quite a pickle. The night is falling, I have not seen a single animal or trace of one for an hour I would say. Even if I don''t need to sleep, I need a base of operation, somewhere where I can be safe. Even if I see in the dark, it''s not like the sight of an owl. Those birds could hunt me from hectometres I wouldn''t know. By the way, hectometre is 100 meters. It''s just that it''s never used anywhere. I wonder why? But that distance is quite useful there is a lot of things that have Stop, don''t think useless things, focus. First, a base. The den of a rabbit? I can even kill the survivors inside. But either I am dumb, or totally blind, but I didn''t notice one. I am fairly certain they have to hide the exit behind grass and leaves. Maybe if I climb on a branch tree I could spot them. But it''s just luck. Not worth the effort. What about hiding in a tree? I can avoid all ground threats, like those damn wolves. But the birds will hunt me. In the end, birds are my nemesis. A rat can''t fight something flying I mean except if that rat is a magician. I am not. Go back the undead cave? That is smart. Only someone stupid would go near something like that. No prey or grass for animals. The only threat is adventurers or humanoid monsters seeking a roof. The first one is cleared because the first group already looted the dungeon. The second one is just bad luck for me. I can''t be that unlucky. Now, where is the cave? I am not lost in a forest. Definitely not lost at all. Just that tree I don''t recognize it. But this one, yeah this one is Ok, moss grows on the north side. Wait, I am not on Earth, is it still growing on the same side? Think about when you have exited that spawn point. The trees were normal. No moss. So the moss was on the other side. Ok, I found the trail. The trail that I zed. I think. Yes, rabbit bones. That should be my third kill I think. Maybe the fifth? No, the third. So I just need to keep going. Keep going. Keep going. The rest of spear number 2, I failed to hit my target and the poor spear broke when it hit the ground. But I am close, I just need to found the first victim. The one murdered by a brutal and savage wolf. Yes, it was still there. No one has touched it. Don''t worry I will avenge you. Justter. Ok so first I was walking from here, bushes. That was the location of the rabbit. Now the tree that I used, yes. Now that way. Lookout old cave here Ie. (Without ident he arrived at his destination, except stumbles in localtles. But to his surprise and delight, he didn''t feel any scratching or itching. One of the numerous perks of being a rat.) Great, my home. I guess since I am the most powerful monster inside. There is only me but still. Now, I need to be close to the exit but not close enough that someone can immediately find me. Maybe if I go left, left, left inside. Ok, time to enter and Sash "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- Big rat 2- Small rat" Wait, I just walk on that poor worm and I level up? So my crusade against the scarabs was worth it? Yahoo! Now the System talks. And gives me something. Let''s see. Big rat or Small rat Wait shouldn''t the evolution be something like a goblin to orc or troll, and for me jump straight into something like a kobold maybe, a ratman? Why am I still a rat? And great choices, by the way, either a small or big rat. At least give me a gue rat, a zombie rat or a blood rat. Something cool. Not big or small. Well, I don''t have that kind of choices, so let''s go for the guesses. Big rat means bigger health pool, more power, more strength, maybe same agility but less sneaky, more visible. Small rat would be the opposite but with still a little more health and strength I think. No matter what I pick, I don''t think I can beat either a wolf or a bird. So it''s not what I choose now that is important, it''s the next evolution. What do I want to be? A rat ogre with tons of health and the strength of a dragon but with the mind of a baby? No. A rat warrior with both skill and strength, protected by heavy armors? Maybe. Can be either an assassin in the shadows or a dirty dark mage. I don''t think I will end up a saint or a priest as a ratman. Especially since I eat a lich. So more toward the small rat. So go for it. -I choose the Small rat! Not working? Wait how did I open the System in the first ce? Ok, I got it. -Marc Cassidy chooses: Small rat! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the evolution: Small rat has been chosen." "Attributes: Name:??? Race :Rodent ??? ??? HP:50/50 MP :85/85 ???" Great. I won 5HP so 10 in total if I wasn''t cursed. And my mana, damn that lich was good. I have more magical power than physical I think. But I am still not considered as intelligent by the System. I unlocked 2 things so that is a great improvement. Even if the race could have been avoided. Like seriously I know I am a rat, put rat instead not a rodent. It sounds awful. It''s like I am harmful. Now that I think about it, I don''t see my skills, perks, stuff like that. Maybe I can try something. -Marc Cassidy open active skills. "Active skills open: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 2]" Wonderful it worked! Maybe I can try to ask the System what does it do? -Marc Cassidy describe skill [Sneaky-Sneaky]. "?????? ?????, ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ????" Never mind. That''s good, I mean it''s probably a permanent skill that reduces the chances of me being seen. Next time System you can just say: "I won''t describe it". Instead of doing this. (During the 5 minutes that follow the thought, our smart hero decides to try a lot of wordsbinations. Unfortunately, that passage was so pitiful and pathetic that even Aria would have been touched. Of course, that stupid goddess was not here. I think, let me check, no she was not there.) I have tried everything I know. Either it is locked, like really locked not like the description that at least write something, or my decades of ying video games were wasted. But apparently, I need to say the username, my name for each action. That is highly redundant and useless. If I could just use a shortcut. But I don''t know how and where I can input thosemands. Wolf howling, joined by other menacing sounds Ok, I enter the cave right now. It''s not really night, more like dusk but not going to take the risk of a passing wolf. One already stole from me. Let''s go back to the n, I enter, I go left 1 times, 2 times, 3times. That tunnel looksfortable. There are small rocks here and there. Let''s build a stone house. Just carry this 2 rocks for the back, that long one for the roof and herees my house. Leaving it to see if it is suspicious. Not that much it''s still some small rocks. And doesn''t t really look like something. But, for a minor protection, it''s enough. And I feel a little tired, mentally speaking. That was a hard day of work. Maybe there is a wait or rest option? -Marc Cassidy rest. "There are enemies nearby" Should have known. Chapter 7: The Phantom menace Chapter 7: The Phantom menace It was only near midnight that Khozak and his group finally reached the city of Ronta. The faces of everyone began to brighten up and this useless mission hade to an end. They could get that free drink promised, sleep into a warm bed and rx. One could see a caravan stuck at the North Gate and some people waiting behind to enter the city. Of course, thanks to the fact that they were adventurers, they didn''t need to pass the security checks. And they didn''t need to wait in the queue either. The passer-by, seeing a group dodging the wait, began to protest. The guard noticed it but when they saw and recognized Khozak, they returned toward the caravan. Only the captain went toward them. "Good night Khozak, how was the mission? I heard that you went into a cave full of undead, any treasures?" While he was saying that to satisfy his curiosity, for the unlucky group it was a reminder of their "treasure". As the chief, Khozak couldn''t make the same face that hispanions but, inside he was no better. "Quite easy, we found some stuff, a chest." "A chest, excellent. I hope he was filled, be a shame to be empty." The only thing that they wanted now was to shut up that damn captain. They got an empty chest so stop talking about it. "Don''t worry about this, can we go now? We are quite tired." "Yes, of course. Let them pass!" The city that should be bustling with activities and people was totally deserted at that time of the day. Onlyte arrivals like them and the few merchants could be seen. Unfortunately, that means no cksmith, no repairs, no traders to buy food and water. The only stuff they could do was going to an inn for rooms or to a pub for a drink. They chose thetter while Khozak and Richard will be turning the mission. It was a direct demand from the guild master of Ronta and to be reported as quickly as possible. He will not be pleased to wake up in the middle of the night but it was a lich problem. That kind of thing only demand the best of the best and in this city, they were part of it. They couldn''t hold a candle to some of the groups from the capital but till it''s not a problem with a strength of a dragon, they could do it. They entered the Adventurer Guild and didn''t even see the receptionist. They were left with no choice than to wait for her toe back. Or him. They shift every twelve hours so maybe it was the transition. Most of the time they take some task in the morning and turn them in the evening. So they see both receptionists. But Audrea was the daughter of Lansco the guild master, while Martin was just an employee. If she was there, it would be easier. After a few minutes, the sound of a door was heard in the building and the berserk and holy knight saw a human walking in, with a bottle in his hands. They were a little disappointed but quickly called Martin. "Hey, Martin, can you take us to the guild master bedroom?" "Yes, but why?" "You remember the special mission we got this morning, wepleted it and want to report it to Lansco." "Ok, just let me get the keys of the room and drop this before he sees it." Martin said while pointing his hands The building wasposed of 3 floors, the basement, the ground floor and the first floor. The basement was essentially used for storage. The ground floor was where the adventurers could grab the missions, search details about monsters thanks to the library nearby and report the status of their missions to the receptionists. The first floor was upied in half by the guild master and his family with the rest being the storage of either valuablesponents or information. The ones that not everybody should have ess. One could ask why the guild master has that much power. The answer is basically to trust. Lansco is a dwarf, one of the strongest dwarf, but he is still only a guild master of a remote city. The reason is the pact signed by both human and dwarf, between the holy kingdom of Aria and the Grey Mountain kingdom. The world is filled by so much threat that such pacts are signed between races withmon interests. The world is divided between the civilized races, like the human, elf, gnomes and Halfling and the so-called monster, like the orc, the goblin, the spider, the troll and the undead. Of course, on some asions, one can see a human trades with orcs, a dwarf negotiates with a lich. But that doesn''t represent 0,1% of the interaction between the two races. Going back toward the current situation, Martin finally unlocked the door of the guild master bedroom. And get instantly knocked-out by a hammer. Khozak, fearing that his turn wille, shouted right after that. "Lansco! Lansco! Stop it''s us, you hit Martin!" "What? What kind of stupid idea you humans have brew into your brains? Why are you unlocking my room like some kind of thief? In the middle of the night?" "It was the lich mission, you said to report immediately and here we are." Said the panicked berserker. "That''s true, but you still disrupted my sleep." Lansco searched a drawer and pull out a potion. "Give that to Martin, he is lucky that I didn''t hit with the intention to kill." Both Richar and Khozak, seeing the bloody skull of the poor receptionist, were d that they signaled themselves quickly enough. "So about it, was it really a lich? Did you clear the entire cave?" "Yes, no more undead remaining but that was the weakest lich I have ever seen, here take a look at the core." At this word, Richard took the monster core off his bag and give it to the dwarf. He examined the core for 2 to 3 minutes before sighing. "You''re right, I barely feel the influence of a lich. The frost aura isn''t even properly constructed; one doesn''t even fear death near it. If I have to guess, I say it''s a lich that has less than 10 years." "We feel the same way, we beat it in 10 seconds and the worst spell the monster knew was [Minor Fireball]." "I don''t know if it''s good or bad for you. It''s good because you didn''t suffer during the fact but it''s bad because its core is worthless, I can''t sell that as a lich core. If I do it, my reputation will suffer." "Same story with the body." The two adventurers were now totally depressed. They killed a lich, but for that, they got an empty chest, a clean skeleton and a useless core. Even the bounty for the mission was only 10 gold because the presence of the lich was not confirmed. But the word body clearly interested the dwarf. "You have the body with you, great that I can definitely sell it." Unfortunately, the only answer he got was two pair of eyes void of any happiness. And he understood why after seeing the clean and white skeleton. "Don''t, don''t tell me " "Yes, it is." "It''s the body of the lich." "But that''s impossible, did you burn it, the flesh of a lich is resistant against rotting and magic, except with an [Inferno], you can''t destroy it that easily. That''s not like you ate it." When they heard that, they understood that it didn''t decay. But how could the flesh be gone before theye back from the treasure trove? What if they missed a corpse-eater? Lansco didn''t know, but after getting depressed by the empty chest, they came back to the city without checking the rest of the cave. With cold sweats, Richard asked. "There is not a lot of undead that eats bodies, right?" "Yes, since they are undead, it would be cannibalism, the mostmon is a ghoul." Answered the dwarf. "And if he ghoul eat the body of a lich?" "That would be awful, extremely dangerous, the body of a lich is extremely potent with magic. That ghoul can directly evolve into a matriarch ghoul with a little bit of luck." "And that monster is worse than a lich?" "Absolutely, a lich, most of the time, stays inside hisir and researches magic, designs some spells. A matriarch ghoul will attack his surrounding and use the dead to create more ghouls. Those same ghouls, after eating the corpse of powerful foes will evolve too and, with time, create more matriarch. I would rather have 20 liches surrounding me than a single matriarch. Why are you asking those questions?" Lansco was perplexed, they were talking about a lich, why did they switch the subject towards ghouls? As for the adventurers, they were terrified. They said that they cleared the cave, but after killing the lich, they supposed that no other undead was present. In their minds, they have already destroyed Ronta by their own hands. They immediately rushed towards the exit, without even grabbing the bounty of the mission. They only wanted to grab the 5 alcoholics in the pub and rush back to that cave. Before they provoked the ruin of this region. They found theirpanions in the Thirsty Warrior. Without even exining why they grabbed them and threw them out of the building. After that, without anyone else surrounding them listening, they exined how bad the situation was. When the rest of the group understood that point, they too began to rush toward the North Gate. Maybe if they were quick enough, they could reach the lichir before midday. Chapter 8: Prey or Predator? Chapter 8: Prey or Predator? (After a restless night, thanks to the proximity of enemies, Marc has decided to leave his cave again. He hoped that the next hunting day will be enough for him to evolve past the rodent race.) It''s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like this, rat like me should be starting to hunt. I really want to know the range of the detection of enemies. Because right here and right now, I see nothing. No dragon, no troll, no wolf, not even a rabbit. Apparently, I spoke too soon, I see a worm. Such a dangerous threat, the mighty worm can probably kill me in my sleep. I have to be careful of something that cannot even reach me in my cave, made of stone. Wait that means that I possibly have an enemy detector? I guess it should be locked since after my brainstorming session yesterday I didn''t activate it. Truly a weird system. Anyway, first I should construct my spear. Now that I am a small rat, I can probably be better at dexterity stuff, like weapon craftsmanship. Yes, finally, I can use my ws to design my spear. No more bad taste in my mouth. Since I am still the same rat and I didn''t get bigger, the length of it stays the same. But I can still feel that I am a little bit stronger so I should pick a thicker branch. Yes, that one is good. Now that I have my spear, let''s go hunting. I think I have already ughter enough rabbit, let''s try another thing. I think that since killing insect grant experience, killing an unborn bird in their egg should grant it to. Yeah, no rabbit in sight but a nice looking tree with a nest. I think it''s a nest. Hard to say from the ground. That''s a 10-meters tree. The biggest I have ever climbed. I can do it anyway; I just need to rest on some branches before reaching the nest. 3, 2, 1, go. Just two more sessions and I reach it. Go. Let''s rest a little, that is pretty high. Don''t fall. Go. Ha ha, some defenseless eggs waiting for me. 4 new victims, that''s enough. Let''s use the spear as a hammer. And it directly explodes. No change in the attributes. I don''t think that an unborn bird is worth as much as a rabbit. Another kill, still no changes. Ssh, Ssh. I have killed the entire family but I got nothing. And I don''t want to wait for mom and dad. So let''s just get the hell out of here. Truly weird, maybe I need more experience for the level up. But how much? Let''s kill some bunny to see. (After hunting many other eggs but failing to see any adorable mammals that are linked to chocte, the rat with the mind of a human began to doubt his condition. He was, after all, a human reincarnate into a fantasy world as a rat with a system. Doubt can happen in this type of situation, more often that one would think.) Maybe I can only evolve once? Maybe the experience for the second evolution is thousand times more than the first? I have killed at least fifteen eggs. Or fifteen birds. And two worms but that doesn''t really matter. Or maybe it does, I mean I evolved thanks to a worm. But still, do I need to kill something dangerous, like a wolf or a fox? I have seen a wolf but no fox at all. And I cannot it kill even with my new spear and my surprise attack from above. Rustle Rustle Speaking of the wolf. Herees another one. Lucky for me, I was still in the trees. It doesn''t look like he is hunting. No, I see a dead rabbit in his maw. That should be one of the reasons for their disappearance. He doesn''t notice anything weird, he is just walking. Maybe he is returning to his den? If I could follow him, I would know which ces I have to avoid. Like if I see the burned tree, I am close of the wolves. But even with my [Sneaky-Sneaky] skill, I will get caught if I am too close. And jump from tree to tree? I can try, I mean besides dying if I fail there is no problem. But that branch is close by, I don''t even have to jump. I am losing sight of the wolf; I need to be quick. Forget everything I say about jumping from a tree. They are so close together that I can always find a way to travel amongst them. It''s just slow. I have already lost my first wolf but soon after a second one has appeared. My luck is excellent. And after 15 minutes of tracking wolf after wolf, I finally end up above their den. And I see quite a number, there are at least 10 wolves down there. Two are still cubs but the rest are armed to the teeth. My best shot would be to kill one of the two babies but they won''t exit the den anytime soon. Nheless, information is power and power is power. So my first meeting with a wolf was really bad luck, the distance between the entrance of the undead cave and here is huge. For a rat. Even for a wolf, I would say it''s big. Since I have nothing to do let''s go back to bir "Get the hell away from my path wolves!" "Just die already!" What the hell? Who is this? Why does the sound of their voices sound familiar? Wait, that''s the adventurers of the cave. Why are they killing wolves? Did they lose weapons against them too? "Jimmy, you sure the shortest way is through here? I don''t want to kill wolves, how the newbies will train without them?" "I already make a detour to avoid 2 more dens since it was only a minute quicker but if we avoid this one, we will lose 15 minutes. Are we really going to give that monster 15 more minutes?" "No way, we already gave him a full day. The moment I see this damn ghoul I will make him meet my axe!" "Ok, let''s kill them all quickly and move on!" Looks like they are hunting a dangerous creature. They are not even caring about the wolves at all. Not that they really need it, 1 hit from them and the wolf is already dead. That''s payback for the spear. In less than 10 seconds, the adventurers have broken in, killed everyone and left. If it is not a grave business I don''t know what it is. Even I am feeling a little sad for the wolves. They didn''t have the chance to defend themselves, even the cubs were crushed. Notice for myself, if I ever see one of those seven adventurers I need to leave. The Gods of Destruction are less scary than them. There are body parts everywhere. Guess it''s time for me to ea Rustle Rustle More wolves??? Wait they followed the adventurers? And now they are going to fest on the battlefield? And me? Nothing again? Think positively. The nearest den is destroyed so more rabbit for me. There is nothing left for me here so let''s go back near the cave. By the tree of course, with so many predators down there I will get eaten if I go down. (Praise the justice, the poor spear was avenged. In the end, wolves are always the problems. And adventurers are not really a solution either. But you have to give it to them, even after 2 days of travel and nearly no sleep they are still fast and efficient. If only they had a little more brain.) The seven veterans finally arrived at their destination shortly after. They quickly light their torches and began to explore the cavern. "Irion, use your undead detection so that we can track that damn monster." "Take it easy, do you have any idea how much undead presence there is nearby? It''s a lichir, a weak lich but a lich nheless. But after a few days, the undead presence is less important." "Yeah, yeah, we got it just tell us where?" "Ok, left, left again and left. Again. Hey, don''t look at me like that, I am telling what I am feeling." "I don''t see anything, you sure you detect something around here?" "Yes, right here!" The priest pointed toward a small pile of rocks. If they didn''t have cast their sights on it, they would have probably missed it. But now, they all found these stones weird. It was not natural at all. But the important part was not that. "And the presence is frail, but it didn''t go deeper into the cave, ites back to the entrance." "So, you are saying that" "The creature we are tracking" "is currently outside???" As usual, the three warriors Pedro, Miguel and Mario were stating the obvious. But even if they understood that a ghoul matriarch was dangerous, Khozak and Richard didn''t exin it enough to understand how bad it was. And when the trio asked the question, the holy knight began to fear for the worst. "Kh-Khozak, the guild master said that the ghoul feeds themselves on bodies right? And after that, use them to create more ghouls?" "Yes, what are you asking this? But we didn''t notice any body or corpse on our way." "Didn''t we just kill an entire den of wolves, like, 1 hour ago?" Once again, the all group of adventurers began to rush again toward the exit and the location of their massacre. Chapter 9: A new goal Chapter 9: A new goal The destruction of that den didn''t really help me at all. The territory ruled by the dead end up in the ws of the other wolves. That means that my portion of prey stays the same. Not sufficient. And with the trouble caused by the adventurers, the boundaries of each hunting area are blurred. I just saw a bear for the first time where normally I wouldn''t even see a wolf. The entire forest is in turmoil and I better stay in the trees for the time being. The only good thing is, thanks to the adventurers and their discussion, I know where the city is. They said that they rushed to the undead cave, that means that I just have to follow the path they took to finally meet civilization. And since they look really well equipped, that means it''s not some country town. It should be a good city, with a mayor, a lot of shops and maybe some sewers. But for the time being, I think that the forest is safer, I mean what could possibly happen t.. Bird skriiiiek "-29 HP" WHAT? HOW? AAAAAH!! My HP, a bloody bird just caught me on my branch. Those owls, I knew that they were bad for me. I am currently flying inside the w of an owl. But, I didn''t drop my spear, I can probably hit it with that. If I have a death wish since the gravity will kill me when the bird releases me. No, I have to wait for him to reach a branch tree or a nest, where he will probably try to kill me and eat me. But the most important thing is, he did 29 damage! Like I only have 21/50HP now. I want to apologize to the civilization. I think it is a lot safer than a forest. Theck of threat made me arrogant. That lich has saved me again. But for the moment, the most important thing is not to drop the spear. And wait. "-3HP" Wait, why I lost HP again? I think that untill those ws are out of my body I will lose HP. But that is a bad thing. Please fly quicker, please fly quicker. Look that branch it looks good, right? Why don''t you just go there and try to eat me? "-3HP" The pain starts to be reduced. I hope I get a pain reduction or resistance. I was not masochist enough to hurt myself without guarantees. Since the System is still partially locked, I won''t try all those stupid things, like eating poison, hurt myself, create thousands of spears. I wonder what my next evolution will be. I have time since I can''t really do something right now. "-3 HP" It''s getting a little scary. I have now only 12 HP. That''s really not good. But I think he is slowing down. Yeah, great go toward that branch. Yes, keep going, keep going. And TOUCHED. Right in the rib cage. The skin of the owl is so much weaker than the rabbit one. Probably because thetter is leather. Now, am I safe? Scouting around and nothing. Cool, because I don''t know how to regen. And I level up I think. 12.5/50.5HP. I really wanted the usual "refill your HP and MP when you gain a level". Not working apparently. Maybe eating the owl body will heal me. Let''s try. Wonderful, yes it worked. Full HP again. That is a really, really, really good thing. But I had to eat nearly the entire body to heal. And that takes time. I really want a self-regeneration. That would be better. Now I need to make a choice. Either I stay in the forest and maybe I get killed by a bigger bird. Or stumble on a cougar or something that I can''t outrun. Or I try to go to the nearby city. The thing is, I can''t kill human with my current power. But this city will probably have tamed beast. Like some birds in cage, cat or dogs. And against such low-level threat, I can trap them and silently assassinate them. And for hiding, I can always go in the sewers or some old abandoned buildings. The sole problem is how do I get in? I don''t think that even a rat can bypass the securities checks. I mean I am small but it''s hard to avoid the sight of every human. Even a trader or a farmer can just spot me and speak about it. And if one saw me, the guard will maybe kill me for being a rat. In the list of the most hated creature in the world, I should be on a pretty good spot. At least back to Earth, the rat has provoked and spread one of the worst diseases of history. I can''t be sure in this world but the possibility of a rat being considered a divinity is non-existent. So I need to have a n to enter. I can''t just walk by, or even climb the walls or the ramparts. The only real way I can think of is sneaking into a cart full of goods from either some peasants or merchants. That way, I can be safe and hidden. A farmer one would be better especially if it is full of corn or something simr. That way I can dig to the bottom of it and there is no way that the guard will remove the whole load. They will maybe just nt their weapons in it so I have to be careful. If it is a trader cargo, those guards, if they are not bribed can unload everything and check the inside. If they do that, I won''t make it. But in both situation, I have to be lucky. But the threat of the forest just gets bigger and bigger with the adventurers'' presence. So no matter what, I have to try to go inside the town. I just wonder what is the exact distance between here and the city. Let''s just think about it, I have seen the same group with one full day and some hours between the two encounters. Normally, they had to sleep so since I saw them near midday if I was a human I could probably reach the city in 6 hours, more or less. Supposing they had left at dawn. Now, convert the time travel of a human toward a rat one. I have to walk across the trees to avoid all ground threat, slowly to check if owls or hunting birds are near. Within 2 days maximum, I will see the walls of that town. Anyway, right now it is prettyte. I need to find a safe ce to sleep. It''s toote for going back to the undead cave. But the wolf den is still threatening for the other animals. Maybe sleeping in the tree above it? And that way, in the next morning, I would already have the adventurers trail right in front of me. It''s an excellent n. (After a little more than an hour, a powerful and intelligent rat appears again near the wolf cemetery. After checking right, left, and right again, he couldn''t find anyone besides himself.) Wow, those wolves were entirely eaten. I can''t find any bones. If I didn''t know that I should find some carcasses, I wouldn''t have guessed it. It''s like every traces of the fight have disappeared. The only things broken were the nts and the grass that were stomped on. Just like I said, either the animals are still scared of the wolves or maybe they feel threatened by the adventurers because I see no one. They are frightening, they ughtered one of the strongest predators nearby. But in the end, both help me to find that sweet spot. Now let''s try to find a ce to rest. Since I evolved, my ws are more powerful, maybe I can dig a hole in a tree. Marc Cassidy uses Cut. It''s is not really effective. But I still get rid of some of the wood. If I work fifteen more minutes I can really dig a hole big enough for me. Chop, chop, chop It really worked. Not that I doubt it. I didn''t. And I can even use some of the remains of my work to block the exit of my hole. I just let a small window for air and perfect. Now let''s try to rest again: -Marc Cassidy rest "Rest Time: 0 hour" No enemies nearby, they are really scared of that ce. Even the insects have fled. Or maybe the insects were not counted in the first ce. But what was the enemy before then? Anyway, I should rest, 9 hours I would say. -Marc Cassidy rest 9 hours "Rest Time: 0 hour" It didn''t work? No, it only says when it has ended. I can see the sun rising. That is excellent. That means I can skip time more easily. A fine new day, excellent for traveling the forest. No one nearby. Toward adventure. Chapter 10: First blood, part 2 Chapter 10: First blood, part 2 (Because of iplete information, what should have been two quick days of travel were turn into 4 long days. When he finally woke up at the dawn of the fifth day, he could see some farm fields from the top of his tree. Now the intelligence of a rat finally need to be used.) Great, civilization in sight. If there is a field, there is a farmer. And if the farmer exists, a ce to sell his products exists too. And therefore a city. Now my brilliant n needs to be activated. Just need a road. Ok, I found 3 roads. Two are just roads made of earth, nothing besides walking on it could have created it. It''s not useful for themerce or the transport of goods. Thest is a stone road. And by stone, I just mean there are stones to delineate the way. Otherwise, it is still a very t and bnced road. That can be used by a lot of peoples. So let''s go toward the stone road. Now my two approaches. Either I stay in the forest, fall from a tree on a cart and hope that they don''t inspect too much or don''t unload the merchandises. Or I go toward the field and sneak inside a farmer cart. Which one to choose? Like I said earlier, it looks like it''s spring and the field are quite empty. Not a lot of farmer should go to the city for selling their vegetables. I think. Never really understood the job of farmer back on Earth. I can be wrong. But waiting for a caravan is not better. Currently, I am at the edge of the forest. If I see something moving from either the in or the forest, I can quickly rush to it. Now I need to wait. Just need to wait. Wait. Wait. I need a way to pass the time. Let''s count to one thousand, 1,2 1000. Let''s do it again, 1,2 (And after that, the first day was already over, but since some rat doesn''t need to sleep, he kept looking for a change. The second day, he noticed 2 group of adventurers leaving the city and oneing back. The third day, nothing happened. And finally, the fourth day wasing.) Why did I want to go to the city? More experience and avoiding danger? I would have probably evolved by the time I finally am lucky and find something. This town is really in the worst ce ever. Is it at the border of the country? Some rustic, lost, and abandoned ce. Or maybe that''s not the main way. Not the king way. You know the main street that everyone uses. And another full day wasted. I hope the night will be better. I said that sarcastically. "C''mon, c''mon I don''t want to reach Ronta at night like thest week. Those damn guards took their time to check everything since they were bored. Even when I wanted to bribe them, they asked for 30 gold since it was the night. I lost 2 hours at that security check. So make the horses walk faster or else you will all be paid less." Humans! And a caravan, it''s wonderful. They talk about Ronta, that is probably the name of the town. But the bad news is that the security checks seem to be pretty hard. 2 hours of wait for a caravan of 1,2, 8 carts. They really were bored. From my point of view, I would say that we still have 30 minutes before we can say it''s dusk. Anyway, the operation to infiltrate the town isunched. I am at the top of the tree so I need to go toward the first branches. With my HP pool, I can probably fall from 1 meter and still be alive. Is it possible and yes one branch is perfect. Now I just wait. There is one of the vehicles that is big enough for me. After that, I will just need to find a ce where I won''t be buried by the goods. But now, 3, 2, 1, JUMP! "-11 HP" Yeah, that hurts. That hurts. But I seed. Thanks to the stability of that cart. Damn, they are really professionals. I don''t even feel the movements caused by the road. Now, I need a safe ce. If I end up dying crushed that would be pretty stupid. Ok, is that crate locked, yes. The box, locked too. Chest, nope, that one, neither. Ah, finally a small chest. If I open it is pieces of jewelry. There is absolutely no way that thing will be checked by the guard. And I always dreamed of swimming in gold. If only I was a duck, someone would be singing a song about a hurricane. But why is it open? Bah, don''t care about that. The only problem is; I have no idea where we are. And I can''t see anything from a closed chest. I can only hear the merchant begin to curse himself for being that slow. I think seeing his state of mind that the night is falling rapidly. You probably don''t know that, but there is one person near you that is as much interested as you by the speed of the convoy. And hope to, that we reach Ronta before the nightes. Ah, we are stopped. I wonder what they are talking about. "Please, we are still in the day, look we can see the sun. Can we enter Ronta before the night?" "I don''t know, maybe you can, maybe you can''t. It''s prettyte and the guards'' shift is nearly over. Maybe we can finish it before that timees. If we don''t well, you will see with the other guards. I heard that they have taken their timest week." "No, no, no, I know those night guards. They are slow, bored and most importantly greedy. Ok, what is your price?" "2 gold." "Fine!" "For each wagon." "Really???" "Yes, final offer or you want to miss the chance to sell your articles before the end of the day?" "10 gold? I have the cost of the travel; I have to pay the mercenaries that I hired." "16!" "15? Can you make me a favor?" "18!" "Ok, fine 16." "Deal. Thank you very much for the patronage of the city guard." "Yeah, yeah, I am always ready for improving the living condition of my favorite guard." "Come back to the North Gate anytime you want." Poor merchant. Forced into a bribe right at the entrance of the town. Thews seem not really followed. I mean, apparently the night shift is even worse and from my point of views, the day shift is already an aberration. It looks like the guards gain more gold from the hidden taxes than their pay. Maybe I can join the guardter. That sound like one of the best job in this world. Better than the soldier who risked their lives for the country. Or adventurers and the threats they encounter. Even if I am pained for you dear merchant, you have my thanks. Without you and your noble sacrifice of sixteen gold coins, I wouldn''t have entered Ronta that easily. Now the wolf has entered the nest of the chicken. Or something like that. Maybe it is a fox. First I have to escape from my hiding. Open the chest, leave it, check the surrounding. We are stopped near an inn I would say. No one looking that way, just a young boy feeding the horses. And the tradering back toward me, probably for his chest of pieces of jewelry. I need to run. Now I am at the back of the stables. I found a hole and escaped thanks to it. Does this city have a sewer? And yes, that''s great. My future hiding spot is already found. But there are too many people right now. I can''t reach it without being seen. So for the time being, let''s check the nearby building and draw a mental map of the city. That''s funny but climbing a wood house or a stone house is a little easier than a true tree. After 30 minutes walking on the roof, I have a good idea of what Ronta really means. Just from some estimation, I would say 300 hectares and 60 000 citizens. I don''t know how many people live in each house and I don''t count the nearby farmers but for a basic understanding that is enough. First of all, that is not an abandoned city. There are paved roads with sewers. I have seen 3 or 4 big buildings looking like a cathedral from earth. So big presence of the clergy. The walls are impressive, at least 3 meters. I didn''t see the width but if someone tries to invade it, they gonna pay a big price for it. The citizens look happy; they are well dressed and well fed. And by that I mean they are clean, no ck stains on a dress, no rags and they have some form. I didn''t see anyone with the skin on bones, except one or two beggars. The city guards are really visible, at least in the areas where I was. I am sure that if I go into the slums, I would see them all disappear. But that can''t be avoided, at least peace is enforced on the main streets. The night is finally here. The way is void of people. Now let''s explore the sewers. Weird, I don''t smell anything. Now that I think about, did I everin about a smell? Every day that small body impresses me. Or maybe that''s my unique condition who knows? The good thing is the fact that they build a stone path near the river of garbage. Probably to allow humans to destroy any natural barrage that could be formed. Oh, some fellow rat, maybe I can speak to them? Sleeeek Sleek Skrieek Skrieek I didn''t understand a single thing. He neither from the look he gives me. Well sorry brother or sister, but your death will really help me. Skrieek Skriek Skuick Rest in peace. Chapter 11: Booby trap Chapter 11: Booby trap Thanks to that rat meat, I am full HP again. As for my attributes, I see absolutely no changes again. Only the lich allowed me to gain something, that''s a little weird. And now my vicious and amazing idea can be achieved. The cats of this city will probably never know what hit them. I have the bait; I need the killing weapon. It is still dark outside, so I have time. Now that I am on the street, where could I find a cksmith. Search, search, search. Logically, if I were a cksmith, I would go either near the barracks of the guard or near the guild of the adventurers. With a city that big, there is probably at least 2 to 3 cksmiths out there. But where is the barrack? Or the guild? I am still not high enough. But there is a church nearby, time to use my eagle vision on top of it. Maybe I will even find a trolley full of straw. The worst thing is, if I tell that joke in this world, no one would understand me. Ok, I am on top of the church. Most of the building is just on the ground floor, except 3, all unique and not looking like a cathedral. One looks like a castle, a small one. Probably the residence of the mayor and the city hall. Another one look like a tower. Maybe it''s the guild. The third is just a really big mansion. It only has one floor. So the tower or the mansion? The mansion is the closest let''s check it first. Worst case, I will still explore the city. While I travel, I notice theck of shops on the way. I can travel 1km without even finding a stall. That means the residential and the trader are clearly delimited. So if I find it, I will have everything for my future traps. Now the mansion is in sight and there is a lot of shops nearby. It is definitely important but will it have a cksmith? An inn, a pub, a tailor, another pub, bunch of alcoholics. A general store, I think, another one, a third and yes, a cksmith. And the building is partly made of woods. I don''t find any entries besides the front door and the back one and they are both locked at that time of the night. Time to dig a hole. Scratch scratch scratch It''s a lot harder than with the forest trees. But what can a wooden wall do against a great small rat? Inside, I find multiple anvils, some furnaces, a lot of weapons, some iron and steel ingots and a trash bin with the failures and the rest. That''s what I need. Let''s silently take everything out. (That heavy workload keep the small rat busy for the rest of the night. But the disappearance of the contents of the trash bin made baffled the master cksmith, and even after asking all his apprentices and fellows, no one could exin where everything was. Because of that, he med the poor apprentice that was in charge of the shopst night.) Now, it is time for the experiment. I need a mouse or rat body and I will see what are the limits of my System. Come on the fellow rat,e to see your cousin by an alliance from your step-father. Found one! Sleek Sliek Sliek Still not understanding a single thing. I wonder why? Slieeeee Oh, a level up. 51HP now. Those rats are really great farming tools. But guess what will grant me more experience? The bane of rodent, the enemies of the mouse, the nemesis of the rat. A cat. But since I am a rat, even with a spear and a surprise attack, there is a chance he just eats me without the time for me to try a second attack. So, let''s try something no cat will ever suspect. Sorry to disturb your eternal sleep rat number two but I need your body for this. Cut cut The stomach is open, rib cage in sight, now I need to remove every organ. Heart, done, lungs, done Finally, his all body is empty. Weird, I am not particrly disgusted by that. Probably watch too many horror movies. Or the fact that I am a rat. Now let''s find some fragments of iron that could fit inside this small body. Too big, too thin, perfect. Now another one, and another one. Great, the first official rat trap is finished. Now I just close the open stomach and that will be perfect. But how do I do that? I need a needle or something like that. I think I already found one and yes that will be good. I just need to use it and pierce through both skins that should be closing the stomach, one after another. Ok, if a human find something like this, he will immediately notice something weird. But a cat is stupid right? They are justzy animals and a rat that is covered in blood will bait them. Thanks to my exploration, I know where the residential area is, even inside the sewers. So let''s go. Ok, let''s take a peek, and clear. Go, go, go. I don''t even feel burden by a loaded rat body. Since I can kill them easily with 1 hit, that means, for a small rat, I am really strong. Now, for the perfect trap, somewhere where humans don''t really want to go, somewhere a little dark but not that dark. Like behind that house. It looks like a discharge. Now I put my fellow rat right here. And I return to the sewers. Whether or not a cat bites, those rats are a good chunk of experience too. And more rat dead means more rat trap. It''s a win-win even if no trap worked. (So our hero was thinking. A nice, happy and easy life, with no predator in sight, unlimited experience points. And it really was, even during the hunt of his fifth rat, a nice and pleasant surprise happened.) 52 HP thanks to the rat and 52.5 thanks to one of my trap. At least two level up. I wonder how much time did the cat suffer before dying and finally grant me my experience? Maybe there is two more cat suffering and just thinking about it makes me a little happier. Not that I particrly hate cats but since I am a rat, if I begin to love them that would be a little suicidal. And I like me being alive, very very much. Fine, in truth, I already disliked them on Earth. I really need to be more efficient at creating those traps. I am too slow, between finding the rat, creating the trap and going to one of the different residential areas. The problem is, I cannot put all my trap in one ce and those sneaky rats are really hard to find. I thought that in such a big city there will be a legion of rats. But they are even worse than the rabbit poption of the forest. What happened to make all the rodents disappear like that? Anyway, the stock of iron that I got is still enough for a dozen more. With all that, there is no way that I won''t get my next evolution. Or they really expect a lot of a rat, in total, I killed about ten of rabbits, same with the insects, an owl, 5 rats and maybe 1 cat or the thing that die from my trap. And I only evolved once. If those mighty and really destructive adventurers hadn''t killed that lich, I would be dead already. I want to report a bug, call the GM. I didn''t try that. -Marc Cassidy call technical assistance Had to try. Can''t hurt, imagine if it worked. But what works, is me, my trap, and those stupid victims. I should probably go back to work, I really need to stop doing those mental conversations between me and myself. But if I stop, I will be so lonely. Ok, we continue talking but we work at the same time. Deal. Am I schizophrenic? (While the only intelligent rat of this world kept debating and questioning his own mentality, he really worked hard and managed to kill 4 more rats. Two more traps were activated and the corresponding experience was granted to the hero. But unfortunately, the night was nearing and the chances of finding either a walking lone rat in the sewer or a walking stupid and fool cat in the city were drastically reduced. It was time to sleep). The night has arrived. Everyone is going to sleep and here I am restless on top of that church. What should I do? Go for cksmith hunting again? Explore the city under the moonlight? Hunt the remnants of the rat race, besides me, in the sewers? "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- Ratman 2- gue Rat 3- Undead Rat" One of my trap still worked at that time of the day? Which moronic cat didn''t go home but stayed outside? Doesn''t really matter, what is more, important is that choice. And not one evolution possible, not two but yes, three. I am blessed by the System, thank you very much. I will unlock you this time. But the time is not right now, I am exposed on a human building. First, I need to go somewhere safe, in my empire from below. Commonly called the sewers. Chapter 12: Second Evolution Chapter 12: Second Evolution Don''t worry faithful subjects, your king has returned from the outside. Stronger than ever and ready to repair the wrongs done to our race. He will even undergo an evolution, as expected of such a great character. It would have been better if they even existed, my dear subjects. But the evolution was not a lie. Let''s review my three choices. I have a Ratman, a gue Rat, and the Undead Rat. I suppose that the first would have been the usual evolution but the fact that I have eaten a lich gives me 2 more choices. First, Ratman. The name says everything, that means that I will at least be 1-meter tall. I don''t expect a 2-meters giant rat, it''s the first upgrade so I will be the height of a Halfling. But the most important is, a Ratman is intelligent. From my knowledge, they are on par with the goblins and the dwarves on technologies. Or at least they have discovered more than the human. Since I took the Small Rat path, if I pick that evolution, I will improve my agility a lot. Stronger too and more health that if I stay as a rat. Capable of using both his hands to do stuff, I can finally create real weapons and not those mediocre spears. Some very good stuff but one and important drawback. I will not be able to escape the sight of the guards that easily. Between a 20 centimeters rodent and a 1-meter creature, one is more discreet than the other. And I won''t be able to leave the sewers, the grid is too small. So if I want this, I need to evolve outside. The second choice is the gue Rat. I don''t think it will improve significantly my attributes but I will gain either some actives of passives skills. Probably, I will be able to create poisons, diseases, increase the fatality and the propagation of those. In a city like that, if I begin to poison the wells, I can create a pandemic and gain a lot of experience from it. I don''t really know if the most basic poison can kill humans, but the weaker animals will all suffer from it. The best scenario would be that no humans feel really sick by it but a lot of mouse, cat, dogs, and birds die from it. The authorities will be clueless about the death of multiple animals but they won''t investigate with the same strength without human victims. The disadvantage is nothing since I don''t change my current form. Thest choice is the Undead Rat. That evolution is most likely just a transition. That allows me to enter the world of the undead. Same advantages or disadvantages than my current form but, no more stamina used. Sometimes when climbing trees in the forest I needed to rest but this will prevent those situations. The only potential problem that could arise is the aura of the dead. What if it is permanent and cannot be prevented? That means an undead presence could be felt inside this city. And with the great number of adventurers, at least one or two will feel it. And when I will need to exit the city, I would need to be extremely careful at the security check. Just thinking about the fact that a human body could be cold when near me and therefore expose my position is terrifying. So, of the three choices, one will prevent me from hiding in the sewers, one can make me more easily detectable and the third let me stay in my current and pleasant situation. Sorry System, today you will not be fully unlocked. For this, I would need to choose the Ratman but I need to be a lot stronger before appearing in in sight. At least more than the current me. When I can at least flee from the seven Gods of Destruction I will stop being low-key. -Marc Cassidy chooses: gue Rat! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the evolution: gue Rat has been chosen." "Attributes: Name:??? Race :Rodent ??? Level : 0/20 HP:60/60 MP :85/85 Strength:10.0 ??? ??? Wisdom:17.0 ???" Whoa, whoa, whoa. I finally get to see my current level. And it''s 0/20, that means 20 more level. Pretty self-exnatory. And some of my attributes. I guess I have five of them with one being Strength and the other Wisdom. Out of the three, one should be constitution or vitality, on probably intelligence and thest either agility or dexterity. Standard RPG stuff. The holy five attributes, two for meleebatants, one for survival and thest two for magicians. And apparently, that lich stuff was bountiful. I have nearly two times more Wisdom than Strength and I think that none of my attribute gains were on Wisdom. But now I need to understand what those values mean. Do I need to consider that 1 is the most basic level of a rat? So that would mean that I am stronger than ten ratsbined? Let''s roll with that. Since I can''t say: -Marc Cassidy describe attributes! As expected. One thing is absolute, the System will not go easy on me. But I should take a look at my skills and maybe the passive ones were unlocked. -Marc Cassidy open active skills. "Active skills open: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 3] [Venomous Bite lvl 1] [Infected ws lvl 1] [Create Poison lvl 1] [Create Disease lvl 1]" Good news, my [Sneaky-Sneaky] has improved. Maybe it was when I passed that security check. But it''s weird, it''s like a passive skill because it is always on but it is on the list of the active skill. Maybe because I am a rat it is always active. Now let''s check the others. Venomous, it''s for fighting, the infected too. I guess the first is for poison and the second for a disease. The two other are simple to understand. But what does it really do? Let''s try because I don''t really understand how you can "create" poison or disease like that. But how do I activate them? Do I really have to do the full usermand? That''s stupid. No, let''s just think really hard about the skill. Think [Create Poison], think [Create Poison], think [Create Poison] and WHAT THE HELL??? (Since it''s pretty hard to exin from his point of view, I, your humble narrator will do it. Currently between his fingers was falling some green liquid. When this liquid touch the garbage that wasying around in the sewer, they began to slowly destroy it but not entirely. Just some small vegetables turning brown and stuff like that. It was organic garbage, not an iron or even stone waste. You didn''t really expect a new power to be that broken right?) So the first level of this is destructive enough to affect all the rotten vegetables nearby. That is really impressive. As expected of the gue Rat. And if I try the same with the disease. It does nothing. Well, maybe it did something. But I can''t see the virus with my eyes. I need to capture a test subject. Not a rat but a bird. A cat is still too powerful for me in a real fight. A bird should be weak enough for my disease to kill it. I wonder if the passive skills are open. -Marc Cassidy open passive skills. -Marc Cassidy open passivepetences. -Marc Cassidy open passive abilities. "Passive abilities open: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 2] [Poison resistance lvl 4] [Disease resistance lvl 3] [Craftsmanship lvl 1] [Pain resistance lvl 2] [gue Bearer lvl 1] [Poisonous Being lvl 1]" Great, that is great. So let''s guess what everything does. Scavenger should be me eating stuff and gaining his attributes. And it either was level max right at the start or my lich meal has improved it. Night vision it''s easy, and thenguage. So that''s why I could understand the human talking. That is definitely the reincarnation bonus. If I didn''t have it how could I live in that world? I would need to go to school, slowly remember the conjugation and verbs, learn to write. That would be a nightmare. And the level maximum means that I can understand everyone one that. Except for the rat tongue. Maybe that was not counted when they were listing thenguages. Being a rat, the poison and disease resistance were expected. After that craftsmanship means the System itself recognized my brilliant spears. Pain, let''s not talk about it. And the gue and poisonous are the upgrades from the evolution. So I have checked everything I could. Now I need to test two things. The first is the power of my poison and the second the power of my disease. No test subjects, no test. No test, no test. For both, a rat will probably have too much resistance, so it will be useless. Even if they don''t have the same level than me, just the basic one will probably cancel the deadliness of my spells. Let''s do my first idea, capture a bird. Now that is a problem. How am I supposed to capture a bird? Chapter 13: The underworld threat Chapter 13: The underworld threat We are currently in an ancient time,pared to my life on Earth. That means cat and dogs can be tamed because they are useful. The first is the bane of all rodents and prevent disease spread by the rat or the mouse. The second is a guardian for home, one thief would think before sneaking into a house with a dog. So their presence was exined. But a domesticated bird at that time was a luxury that only rich, powerful and noble people could afford. And even if I am really small, infiltrate a castle and hoping that the owner is fond of birds is an absurdity. Like in the forest, I couldn''t really attack the birds and I had to redirect my frustration toward the eggs, who were defenseless. But I cannot just guard an egg and raise my own bloody bird. I have noticed only some pigeons, and they are really concentred near my observation point, ormonly called the church. Think, think, think. They are stupid and moronic pigeons. They think about two things, eating garbage and target an innocent bystander with their excrements. So I can bait them with food but what food? Probably bread, they love bread. At least they loved the elderly that gave them bread. So I have to find a baker. Near the mansion, there was one. Still night, I can make it, dig a hole and return here before the sun is rising. And if during my travel I find a poor rat and I will dly direct him toward the heaven. I hope there is a rat heaven. But I don''t think that we have such luck. The baker is at 300 meters from the grid of the sewers. That distance would have taken me dozens of minutes before. Now in less than 5, I make it. I really want to know what is my speed attribute. No patrol in sight. This time it will be hard to transport the stolen bread. Before the cksmith was directly near the sewers. Here, I have to walk in the moonlight and on the main street. But first, let''s dig that hole. As easy as the cksmith one. Even if it takes some time, I make the hole a little bit bigger to allow more bread. Now, where are the waste? Even if he is really sessful, there is always some unsold products. And there it is. How many should I take? Let''s say, one loaf of bread is worth 10 pigeons. I would probably need at least 5 pigeons to experiment. That means I multiply this number by ten since I am not sure right now how will I capture those pigeons. That makes 5 pieces of bread. I should carry them one by one. It''s safer that way. Let''s see if there is a patrol and no nothing. First bread is a sess. The second one here i STOP! Guards. If we can call those snails, a guard. Speed up please, not everyone has all night. They turned around the corner and I can finally carry the second. The third was a breeze. Fourth didn''t pose any problem at all. I just need my final bread and Stomp stomp What is this? Is a troll walking? Heavier stomp Thates from the baker bedroom. He sleeps at his working ce. I didn''t know that. But oh my god! That man is a beast. He is tall, like more than 2 meters in height. And that face, an ogre would be more beautiful. I did not regret saying that a troll was walking. Just seeing this man could make an army root. And he is just a baker. He looks perplexed like he is searching something. Maybe he heard me? No, I was silent how could he heard me. "Whoever is here, just show yourself, if you didn''t steal anything yet I will let you leave!" Ok, he definitely heard me. Well farewell fifth bread, this rat has business far away from that monster. I hope the troll will not cause me problems. I only stole some defects anyway; I wonder what his face will be when he will understand that nothing was stolen. But because of him, there is one loaf of bread missing in my perfect n. Well maybe I only need one bread but since I don''t know my hunting capabilities, better be sure than sorry. Now that I have carried my bait from the store to the sewer, I have to carry it again across the sewers toward the church. And this time I have to take everything with me. That was a miracle that during my thief, no rat has stolen something. That is really hard to carry. It''s not heavy but it''s too big to transport. What I wouldn''t do for myself. (As usual, such a weird scene could be seen near our hero. A rat was nearly juggling with four loaves of bread. If it was in a circus, the public would be conquered by this wonderful service. Maybe he can still convert himself into a circus freak. The intelligent rat, that would make a lot of sales.) Finally, I am at the church, or under it. And the good news is, the sun is still not rising. I can see the sky turning blue but the humans are not awake. The pigeons should be asleep. So I can choose a spot and train myself. First, I have to use my iron stock to protect the 3 remaining bread while I hunt. I just bury the food under it and that should be sufficient. Now, bread number one, let''s practice medicine. And for that, I need to go on the roof of the church. If I am on the ground, I could be spotted by an enemy. Then, I have to disperse the breadcrumbs around me. Yes, that''s good. And finally, I need to be patient and don''t move, like a statue. I can see the sun now. The prey is getting closer. They have walked around me but didn''t dare to approach before. And with each new pigeon joining the group, they are getting bolder and bolder. Their doubts are vanishing. Their stupidity amuses me. They should clearly see and understand that I am not a statue, that I am a living being. But they nheless keep approaching, for a little more food. They are now in the range of my arm. But I am more patient than them. Why attack for one, when you can wait for two. Shortly after, some unconscious birds are eating at my feet. I don''t even need to jump. They thought that I was not a threat. But they were all wrong. Quieeeek Quieeeek Qeik The flock has fled, leaving two of his past members at my mercy. I took great care of not killing them, just stunning them. My original prediction crumble in front of the truth. It was a great underestimation of me and my power. I am clearly designed to aplish great things in this world. And it starts with a simple objective. Understand how much damage I can inflict on a huge city like Ronta. I take the two test subject with me and retreat to my hideout. Inside it, I gather around me something that can be used as restraints, like pieces of leathers, and put them on my two prisoners. After restraining both their ws and their wings, I separate them to avoid the contamination of both of them. To be sure and since the threat of rat seems to have been resolved, the distance between the two of them is one hectometer. On the first, I use [Create Poison]. When the first drop touches the unfortunate one, his all body begins to react. He shakes so much that his wings will break up. I probably squeeze the restraint too hard. Oh, he finally wakes up. It looks like he wants to scream but no sound leaves his beak. After a minute or two of intense pain, he stops moving. I think that he got a heart attack. But the experiment was aplete sess. The most basic level can inflict terrible damage against weak bodies. Now, it is time to see the power of the disease. Funny that the second pigeon didn''t wake up. I should probably wake him. Since I don''t know what symptoms will appear I won''t understand everything if he dies in his sleep. I p the poor prisoner on the face and that manages to wake him. He begins to scream like someone is ughtering him. He is not wrong. I use [Create Disease] and likest time nothing happens. Even after waiting ten minutes, the bird looks fine. I begin to think that my power has limits. But, looking at the pigeon again, I notice that his once clear eyes are beginning to look dull and obscure. He is blind now. After his eyes, his tongue begins to change. It already has three times the volume of a normal one. And its color is turning dark. Blue veins are appearing on his all body. His feathers are falling. His respiration is getting shorter, jerky. He has a hard time breathing at this point. I don''t even have to look at time to know that he will die in less than a minute. One moment he is still breathing, the next his body is convulsing and he is desperately trying to catch the surrounding air. But it is already toote, the disease has done its job. Two experiments and two wonderful sesses. One is a brutal and quick killing machine while the second is targeting the senses in the first ce. So if I n a dyed attack I can create a wind of disease that no one will notice. And in the middle of the fight, when the bodies are already tainted by this sorcery and the first symptoms are visible, then I spread my poison. For this, I need more test subjects. I still have 3 more bread. Maybe I can level up the two spells before I run out of it. Chapter 14: The plague bearer, the venomous one Chapter 14: The gue bearer, the venomous one Before going out, I carry the two bodies away from myir and the iron fortress. The obvious problem is the potential deadliness of the air surrounding the two former prisoners. I wouldn''t want my next subjects to die without even fulfilling their purposes. I will probably check the bodies after, see if any rat is baited by the smell of a body. A totally infected corpse can still be used in myter ploys. Once again, I leave my sewers without being seen. Even when the sun is shining above my head those pitiful humans don''t even realize that my powers are rising. They still haggle about mere food and equipment. One day, I will see if how much resistant they are. But right now, my hunting spot is calling. They never learn. I already caught two birds but the rest are still engrossed in the bread that I sprayed around me. Like thest time, my goal is to capture two of them. Come close, little pigeons,e closer and eat this wonderful meal. My patience is rewarded shortly after. When the entire group is here, their bravery and their foolish assumptions that there is no risk know no bounds. Two more subjects are caught and the rest are fleeing as if they saw a demon in front of them. But there is no demon here, only something worse. The same old ritual as usual. Bind the captives, and wake them. Their screams don''t reach those walking in the surface. Since I have already tested the power of one simple spell, let''s try the might of the twobined. On the first one I use [Create Disease] and I wait. When the look in his eyes is beginning to be vacant, I immediately use [Create Poison]. The reaction was unexpected. I would have thought that the poor bird will at least survive a little more. But the moment the poison touched the pigeon, his entire body violently shake and stopped. I think he got an instant heart attack or aplete paralysis. That means, against weaker enemies, abination of a pre-emptive wind of disease and the contact of my poison will grant them a swift and painless death. I guess it is based on the weakened immune system. The weaker it is, the quicker the poison spread. But what will the reverse order do? I approach the second test subject and he is clearly morebative than the other. Maybe it''s the fact that he already saw his fellow died a gruesome death. But my restraint is solid, he cannot escape. I gently drop a single [Create Poison] on him. And instantly follow that by a [Create Disease]. The evolution of the bird isparable to the first victim of my spell. His body shakes, he begins to lose his ability to scream. And after a minute, he dies. That means the poison is a lot quicker than the incubation period of my disease. It is useless to use both of them at the same time. After those two observations, I am starting to formte a more ambitious n. I reach my twost loaves of bread. I take one and cut it in half. Then I begin to use multiple instances of [Create Poison] on it. But a problem that I neglect arise. My mana is insufficient; it is only at 7/85 MP. I have used all my spells a total of 10 times, this contains myst 4 consecutive uses. After waiting a bit, my MP begin to recover, slowly and steadily. After some calctions, I begin to understand that my 17 in Wisdom means a recovery of 8.5 MP each hour. This is because of my [Curse of the dead]. For the next two hours, I silently wait. After using one time both [Create Disease] and [Create Poison], my MP pool fall by 20. Both spells use only 10 MP that is of a great efficiency. The bread that is currently green of poison is still of use. For trying with a bread tainted by my other spell, I will have to wait a lot. I begin to climb faster and faster at this damn church. Each travel makes me train my agility. My body is now totally in my control, even my tail. For this trial, I won''t need to stand like a statue. I just spread bread crumbs around the whole roof. Even after two attacks on that very spot, any intelligent creature would have avoided it like a gue. But not those pigeons. I can see some of them eat my contaminated bread. Weirdly, they are doing fine and eat more of it. Maybe the poison has been neutralized by my two hours of wait. And instead of being a drop of condensed poison, it is spread across half of a bread. But they should at least have some reaction. Finally, I see some of them shake. They are even trying to fly but the movement of their wings is erratic, uncontroble. I can see one of two falls to their death because of it. But that will make human suspicious. No bird should fall like a stone in front of them. More and more are dying. But some survive. Those that have only eaten once mostly don''t die, but for the rest, it is not looking good. Past the number of three infected breadcrumbs eaten, the fatality is of 100%. Between those two numbers, the first cause of death is falling. For those who were still on the ground, I can see some begin to walk again. Their immunity system has saved them. With all the experience granted by both deadly booby trap and venomous mayhem, I still didn''t level up. I have to level twenty times before the next evolution. Even if not all of my traps are activated, the bird doesn''t look like they give a lot of experience. I have to take it to another level. After checking, my spell has turned into [Create Poison lvl 2]. I guess the number of victims determines its progress. But I should wait for another day to do the same for my disease. In the meantime, I will walk to another church, this one will be inspected by the human. But they won''t search the sewers of the entire city. Too bothersome. (The merciful angel of death, I mean our hero begins his long wait. Even after transferring his iron stock, his bread and his bodies, he didn''t immediately attack the new church. The sun was slowly falling and when the night was here, he thought of another idea.) I have at my disposition four infected bodies. The number is low but the potency of my poison is very high. Each of them has suffered the direct contact with my magic. What if they were found in the wells of the human, contaminating their precious water. Of course, they are not allowed to float on the surface, where they could be easily found. I have to make them heavier. I begin to cut their stomach like I did with the rat. After it, I put some rocks and seal it. With the cover of the night, I should inspect the surrounding to find a well. But not here, near my new church. Since if havee from the North and down the West, I should go find a well in the East. The well is an important thing for everyone in a city. It is where the water can be found. That means, it is highly protected. No building can be found in less than 2 meters because if there is a fire or the building crumble, nothing should reach and fall into it. The most obvious ce would be on the main street or in a za. After searching for fifteen minutes, I find it. Now I just have to carry my deadly gifts. During the four travel, I encounter no problem. I wonder what will be the reaction in the next morning. Maybe just a fever, but I hope that the animals that will drink it will all die. I can see the rays of the sun reverberating on the dirty water of the sewers. I use this time 8 [Create Disease]. As expected, it is not the use of the spell but the number of victims. It didn''t level up. This church is more troublesome than the previous one. The walls are smoother. But it won''t prevent me from reaching the roof. I can see the same concentration of stupid pigeons. Those fools immediately fly towards my bread. They were not suspicious like the other. Conforming to my expectation, during 15 minutes nothing happened. But after that, I can see more than 2 birds hit each other. After that collision, none have enough strength to fly and they all died. The rest slowly lose control of their action and joined them in death. Every single one of the pigeons that are in the sky and that have eaten are dead or falling to their death. I can see some of those that were on the ground shaking. Their death is nned too. This time, the mor from the human is audible. I quickly enter the sewers and begin my way toward the South of Ronta. I can see in the System [Create Disease lvl 2]. And the [gue Bearer lvl 2] is a happy surprise. That means they are both linked to mass destruction. Fear me people of Ronta. Fear the food that you eat, fear the water that you drink. Because once I have used all my bread. You will be next. Chapter 15: Final preparations Chapter 15: Final preparations The fact that each of the four cardinal directions has a cathedral is a huge factor in my improvement. Without a building high enough to prevent someone from spying on my operation, I would have to pick off lone test subject in the cover of the night. But thanks to those buildings, I can continue my doing even in the middle of the day. As I approach my final hunting spot, I notice a slight increase in the number of the guards. I wonder if this area is normally more guarded, or that my actions have provoked a reaction. Unfortunately, as I stopped to listen to the conversation between 3 guards, I found that I was truly my fault. They are talking about a strange disease that is propagating across the bird. For the moment, the well that I have poisoned is not known. Or, not known by the guards. They are conjecturing diverse and surprising theories about the death of those stupid pigeons. One even suggested, that it was the mages that have tried a new spell and it backfire in the sky, killing those that were flying. The horrible and deformed bodies were caused by that supposed spell. Thanks to him, I now understand that the strange tower is the Mage Tower. Where all the alchemists, sorcerers and magicians are located. I heard that they were separated from themon people because of some past experiments that have killed and injured a lot ofmoners. After those problems, a lot of newws were voted to prevent any other incident. None of the guards could think that just by looking toward the corner of the roof where they currently are staying, they could spot the real perpetrator of the disease. I quickly flee toward my real objective. There I use my favorite and simplest hunting method, spread bread and be a statue. It works every time. After grabbing once again two birds, I reach the sewers for the final time today. Since I have tested both spells to the full extent of their powers, I will now focus on both my melee skills. I wonder if what the symptoms will be for each. I begin with [Venomous Bite]. To actually cast it, it took me three tries. I have to both think of the spell and think of biting my prey. Because of this, I wasted ten minutes where I was waiting for the bird to die when he was perfectly fine. At the third try, I felt in my mouth a strange sensation, probably the poison was activated. I bite in the wing of the pigeon, to prevent an effect to powerful. If I was able to inject my venom directly into his heart, the poor subject will die instantly. This is not what I want right now. I can see the flesh around the wound turn dark, like if it was necrosee. The blood that was slowly leaking from the wound turn ck too and grow thicker. After a few seconds, it totally stops from leaking. The veins, instead of being blue like previously are clearly of the darkest ck possible. I can begin to see the entire wing slowly decay but when the ck tide of blood reaches the heart, he dies. This is without contest the quickest death I have seen. If I had to time it, I would say in less than 20 seconds the bird was dead. For the record, the poison spell would take around 2 minutes and the disease one around 15 minutes. But unlike the bite, they can be spread and can contaminate at a much higher scale than just a bite. It is now time to see my ws in action. Thest test subject is not even fighting anymore. Maybe the aura of death surrounding me is so strong that he gives up his futile life. On the first try, my ws slightly prate the flesh of the wing. What will [Infected ws] will bring me? If one doesn''t look closely, the wound couldn''t be seen. Waiting for the effect in front of a passive victim is less funny than in front of an active one. No more scream, nost moment fight. It makes me ufortable. But science and magic wait for no man or rat. It happens so quickly that I nearly don''t react. The moment before he was alive, the next moment he was dead. I can see foam leaking from his beak. I guess the disease attacked the brain, turning him into a vegetable. His eyes are not pointing in the same direction. Yes, it is totally a brain disease. Maybe if he was fighting I could have seen his different body parts move erratically. Since I don''t understand the pigeonnguage, I cannot know if even his thoughts and his voice were affected. It''s all over for the moment. The scientific method that I employed has given me great results, like the real cost of my skills. Both [Create Disease] and [Create Poison] cost 10 MP. Then, the [Infected ws] and the [Venomous Bite] cost 15MP, that is a clear warning toward melee fight. Now the conclusion of the tests. First, against weak enemies like the bird, I can ughter them without even batting an eye. I could wipe out every single bird of this city in a few days. Next, my abilities improve with the number of killed not the number of time that I use it. That means I can''t grind them. I need to have a lot of targets to level up. Finally, none of my different weapons ovep. Every single one of them is unique and target a different part of the body. Whether it is the blood, the brain, the body in general or a quick attack on the heart. Without a more resistant test subject, I can''t know how much power have the four if they are regrouped inside a unique body. Now, what should I do? Train my skills more on innocent pigeons? I already killed a lot of them, I am not sure how many birds are still alive. Try to poison the entire city? Not going to happen with only the basic level, theck of rumors about an unknown gue on the East side is the proof. So I need more power. And by that, I need a lot of weak victims. Where can I find those? Birds are eliminated, rats are scared of me. Cats and dogs are too scarce for me to easily kill them in mass. Horses are stronger than human. But I can''t kill humans right now, even if they are easy to target. The well was a bad choice; the water has probably diluted all my poisonous bodies. I should have thought about that. But I have no choice, except leaving the city to reach the local farms and ughter all those farm animals like pig, chicken, and stuff. That, or start targeting human. Between the two, thetter is probably the better in the experience department. But the most dangerous. When I wake the ho nest, I will get chased. The backstabbing and greedy nature of human is strangely greatly reduced in extraordinary time. I can''t be stupid like that lich, thinking that the humans are weaklings. The good thing is, this world is named Astria. And I am 100% sure that this stupid and petty goddess called Aria is in charge. Therefore, if I kill someone, that will necessarily be someone believing in her. Praising her beauty, her mercy and stuff like that. While she sentenced me to die, she threw me into the body of a rat, into a cave where a lich was. Like, seriously, she lied about the reincarnation stuff, how can I not doubt that it was intentional? As for the fellow humans, first, I am no longer one. I don''t know why, but if I am not personally ughtering them, I think I can live with that. I just need to not see them dying for now. Yes, that would be enough. Before saying this, of course, I double-checked that theory. I have infiltrated one of those cathedrals and they are talking about the Goddess blessing the Hero. She was called Aria. This kingdom, they called this kingdom the "Holy Kingdom of Aria". Bunch of arrogant fools and fanatics. Calling yourself a holy kingdom, why not a holy empire while you still can. When religion is mixed with the power, you can be sure that enemies will be legion. At least on Earth that was the case. That was refreshing, this small hate internal conversation. But, I can''t kill adult human yet. Too strong, too big. So I need either the old and weak or the small ones. This is a civilized city right; an orphan is amon thing during those type of time. And a church will never leave some weak and easily influenced child out of their reach. So an orphanage must be built. I just need to find where. But by doing so, I will turn into a bad guy. No, I am the good guy, she was the bad goddess, it is her people. Let''s not think about them. (An orphanage? I didn''t think about it. But that is a solution, yes, yes oh, hum hum, our very intelligent hero has found a way to break the evil ploy of the angry and brutal goddess. He will now begin his reign of terror, to pay back that ungrateful act during the reincarnation. I mean he saved her ass back there, she would have been fired. You have no idea how hard it is, to be fired by the Nine Heavens.) Chapter 16: The day of Aria Chapter 16: The day of Aria It is a beautiful day of spring. The most important fact is the name of that day. In Astria, there are seven days each week and the final one is named Aria, because it is the goddess that has allowed our wonderful world to exist. Today is Aria. In the Aria''s Orphanage of Ronta, this day is special. When a family can''t have a child, it is that day that they visit the orphanage for adoption. But those situations are scarce. Most of the time no onees to see the children. Only one person visits regrly the orphanage. It is Max, the baker. When the new orphans see him for the first time, they run or even pee themselves. But he knows it, and even jokes about it. He brings fresh pastries and cakes. The 3 sisters running the orphanage are really grateful and each they bless him with the grace of the goddess. "Do you think he will give us cake again?" "Of course, Max always brings cake." "I wonder if he will have the pastries from thest time, they were so sweet." "Yes, they were the best I have ever eaten." One can see all the children ying in the garden, expecting the arrival of the gentle giant. Of course, in that state of excitement, injuries happen more often than usual but sister Gerande was here. She prays to the powerful goddess and Pouf! No more wound and the orphan can y again. Even herself was waiting for Max. No one said that the sisters can''t have some pleasure once in a while. And the products of Max are so good. Unfortunately, that bright day was tainted by the weird atmosphere of the city. Everybody is talking about a curse or a spell touching the birds. An entire flock of them were found dead near the western Church. Immersed in her thought, the sister doesn''t even notice that a troll was staring at her. When she raises her head, she sees a weird looking smile on its face. She knows that the smile is supposed to be friendly but if she didn''t know him, she would think that he is nning his next meal while looking at her. "Good morning sister Gerande." "Good morning to you Max, happy Aria." "Happy Aria." "How was the business these days?" "A lot worse than usual, that bird event truly ruined the appetite of the citizens." "I am so sorry to hear that, I really hope it will pass and your shop will be as flourishing as it was." "Thank you Gerande, can you pray on that?" "You know very well that I can''t pray for the sess of your shop Max, but I will pray that you are sessful." "That is good enough." They bothugh at this conversation. It has been many years that he tries to make the sisters bless his bakery and he never seeds. But they always bless him personally so he takes it with a smile. At this moment, one of the children noticed that sister Gerande is missing and after looking for a bit, see her and Max and shout to the others toe. The horrible and dangerous ogre is soon submerged by a wave of children. They break open his cart and begin to fight over the cakes. In the end, thanks to the intimidation of Max and the severe tongue of Gerande, they stop fighting and line themselves to receive their gift. Everyone is happy and everyone get something. Shortly after, Max leaves, his job is done. The rest of the day passes quickly, with the habitual prayers, teaching with sister Margareth and sister Maria and the y time with sister Gerande. It is already the time for dinner. While Maria is preparing the food, Margareth and Gerande are drawing water from the well for drinking and are talking while doing so. "Has Maxe today as usual?" "Yes, full of cakes." "Do you manage to grab some of them for us right?" "Yes don''t worry, he discretely gives me them before the kids saw us." "That is good, we have to put a strict front for them, but he is truly too talented for a baker, the cake fromst week was sumptuous. Did he bring any news about the bird incident?" "No, unfortunately, the only news he brought was the decline of his bakery because of it." "So we still don''t know what has provoked the death of so many pigeons? Was it the Mage Tower? Something that they ate? Something they drank?" "No, nothing, but for the food, they always ate the garbage or the waste of real meals they probably ate something bad. As for the drink, I hope it is not that, our well is not connected to the water of the city so we won''t have any problem if their water is contaminated." "Finally, we have enough water, those evening exercises really make me feel my age." "You are fine, you have at least dozens of years in front of you." "Only dozens? Don''t make me die too quickly youngdy, or I will report it to the goddess Aria when I will see her." While chatting no one saw a weird rodent spying on the roof. Or the evil glow in his red eyes, when they were talking about the well. The night was really calm, as each Aria is. That day, the kids exhaust them so much over the pastries that they all fall asleep quickly. After fixing two or three misceneous problems in the management of the orphanage, the sisters recite the night prayers and then go to sleep. In the shadow of the night, the calm and silent Aria''s Orphanage of Ronta is disturbed by a single thing. A creature is slowly approaching the well, and after reaching the hole, begins to create a liquid between his ws. The green looking liquid fall down and mix itself with the water. After a long time, that creature leaves, without even looking behind her. In the next morning, sister Gerande and sister Maria are one more time near the well for the early water. The kids are always very thirsty after they wake up. During that time, it is the turn of sister Margareth to prepare the food. The breakfast was nice even if some kids already want the cakes of Max after only one day. But it is not up to them whether or not they will get a cake. The usual routine unfolds. Prayers, studies, y time. It is only in the evening that some of the children are beginning to feel unwell. The weaker ones have even problem breathing. The sisters are taking that lightly and perform a minor prayer that makes them feel better. But as time goes on, more and more kids are experiencing those problems. Their state is worsening with each minute. While they are official sisters of Aria, they have not a lot of spells, in fact, they only have the minor prayer that can cure the most basic injuries and diseases. Even if they keep praying, they can already see some of the children throwing up not only food but blood too. They are quickly overrun by a situation that none of them are prepared. In ast hope, sister Gerande proposes to run toward the quickest Church to inquire help from the more powerful priest. Both Maria and Margareth agree since Gerande is the youngest and quickest of the three. She begins to run as fast as she ever runs, praying that she can be fast enough to save the poor orphans. But the Church is at 1km, and she takes several minutes to reach it. Out of breath, she barges into the evening prayers. At first, the father Gregory that was presiding this ceremony is outraged. Who dares to disturb the rites in honor of the goddess Aria? But after seeing sister Gerande, a member of his Church, panicked, out of breath and incoherent, he calms himself. To afterward enter a state of panic. From what he understands, the nearby orphanage can be wiped out of the city of Ronta because of a strange disease. He quickly calls all of the brothers and sisters in the building, and therge group run towards the orphanage. The passers-by are shocked to see so many priests running. Normally, they always see them calm, collected, even when death is close. Unfortunately, when they arrive at the local orphanage, all that was left to save was the two crying women, buried in a sea of dead bodies. The bodies were all tainted by a ck liquid. Some of their arms and legs were turned ck and when they touch it, it disintegrates. The vision of horror shocked the priests and they immediately put the two women in quarantine. The escort the sister that warned them back to the building and sealed all the doors and windows. Afterward, they begin to collect the different information, how did it start, when, who was the first victim, how much time before they die? Maria and Margareth answer robotically, without a single tear left inside their bodies. While all of this was happening in the East of Ronta, a rodent, in the South of Ronta, was smiling andughing at the sight of his level rising. Not only his level was rising, he found out that his skills were all improved too. He began to wonder what other targets he would need before turning this city in ruin. As for thinking about how he achieved that rise in his level, he never really thought too deeply about that. Chapter 17: The ratmen are alive Chapter 17: The ratmen are alive Sevens levels, I level up seven times thanks to that orphanage. My attributes are now: "Attributes: Name:??? Race :Rodent ??? Level : 7/20 HP:67/67 MP :92/92 Strength:11.4 ??? ??? Wisdom:18.4 ???" If I didn''t go that curse back in that cave, I could have cast a lot more spells. I am still a little disappointed. I spread my venom in the night, but I just receive the experience point after the evening of the next day. That means, during the day, no one died or just one. I didn''t stay to see my massacre. I am able to n the destruction of human kids, and do it but seeing them dying is still too hard for me. I am not a sadist or a monster. I just need to survive. So, let''s think. If it is in the evening that everybody died, that means it was around dinner. So, they all have drink water during the breakfast, the lunch, maybe a small meal around 4 o''clock and the dinner. My poison was not enough to provoke death on the first two or three meals but killed a lot after it. The most basic reflex, if you are sick, is either drink a lot or rest a lot. They probably tried both things on the children. But it was not a disease like everyone thinks. It''s a poison, that help doomed them. I tried to think about the poison contained in [Venomous Bite] this time. I really hope that I can manipte the effect of the poison as I want. I really need to hear the news about the circumstances of their death. Just the general symptoms, not the excruciating pain that was brought with them. But, for my potential destruction of Ronta, I need a lot more power. First, let''s talk about what was perfect and what I need for arger scale gue. The most important part is the target, they were children, they were weak. I wonder if I still managed to kill the sisters. If I did it, the future will be really smoother. But that''s highly unlikely. The well was a huge factor too. The fact that it was a minor water tank has allowed my poison to stay relevant. In the probable huge water tank that can answer the need of such arge city, my [Create Poison] will be worthless. But it is not level 2 like before. The gains of this attack are numerous. My level and my attributes have been raised, like my MP pool and my Wisdom, two very important factor for me. That means more spells and more recovery of my mana. Then my skills, they have been turned in [Create Poison lvl 5] and [Poisonous Being lvl 3]. Clearly, the quality of the victims takes a huge ce in the rise of my skills. Because I didn''t kill more children than the birds. But, I gained 3 level for the creation of the poison and 2 for my passive rted to poison. I wonder what the death of a true adult will grant me. The unfortunate part is that I need a new test subject, forparing the potency of a basic poison and an advanced one. And for that, my reserve of bread is already gone. Maybe I should try to find a rat, their pathetic resistance will be overpowered by me. But as usual, they are hiding, scared of the demon walking in the sewers. Finding a prey will be tiring but my patience has increased with each kill. Let''s see if I will be rewarded once again. Sleek Sleek Sleek (And with those strange sounds that should beughs, I think, a gue rat was hunting in the sewers. On the surface, more and more unrest can be seen and the different powers in the city are currently reunited in the City Hall. No one remembers when was thest time that the Mayor, the Guild Master of the adventurers, the Great Magus and the Archbishop were seen in the same ce.) Currently, 3 men and one woman are sitting around a table and none of them are willing to speak. They all look at each other, thinking that this tragedy is the doing of the others. Even if, for the public opinion, they are trustworthy and honest, secretly they all have shady deals with a lot of notorious people. Either the transport of some rare materials by the Guild Master Lansco. Or the redirection of the public funds by the Mayor Graeme Sorrel Tyne. No one really knows what are the unspoken experiments done by the Great Magus Aesseryn. And the doing of the Archbishop Mathews is not as clean as everyone thinks. It is the main reason that incited them to never meet in the first ce. The best they have done is just writing a letter once in a while to one of the other powers. Because they are both scared of others and scary for the others. The leverage they have can result in a potential treason of every single one of them, a thing that none wish. If one is used, the others will follow. Even the local Church can join the rank of the convicts. But in this state of suspicions and secrets, all of them actually agree on something. They have to talk about the current problem. Slowly losing patience quicker than the other Mathews finally begins to talk. "As you all know, yesterday, the day after Aria, one of the two orphanages of Ronta was hit by a terrible disease." He stops right after saying this, to see the reaction. Lansco and Graeme nod at this remark while the cold Aesseryn doesn''t even blink. "Three local sisters that were capable of curing minor wounds and disease were incapable of stopping that disaster. Losing hope, one of them ran toward the nearby Church. The father responsible for it, father Gregory rushed toward the orphanage. But unfortunately, that dy had done its work. No children were left breathing." "We already know that archbishop. Tell us the details about the gue." The mayor interrupts the man of the Church. Those stories were alreadymon knowledge, but even his spies didn''t manage to really gather information on what type of disease it was. "Agree we didn''t meet here to waste times on useless information!" It was the turn of the magician. Only the adventurer was still silent. Unperturbed by thements of his two neighbors, the Archbishop finally reveal the truth. "You know that before that incident, strange things have happened near the North Church and the West Church." "The bird." That was the first time Lansco talked. "Yes the bird, thinking that a connection could be found between the two, our best priest and "hum hum" some alchemists have worked together." Shocking news for Graeme and Lansco, Mathews actually asked for help and asked the Mage Tower for help. Even if the alchemists are mostly independents, their headquarters are in rtion with the Mage Tower. Some could say they are the only people that a magician trust besides his fellow peers. Arge portion of mages are alchemists too. But after dropping that bomb, the face of Mathews shows a bitter smile. "And they really made a connection. The problem is, I sincerely hoped that they couldn''t have." "Why are you so dark right now? Are you not suggesting the worst possible oue? Right?" This time was Mayor was clearly panicking. If it is something that even the powerful Church fear, what can a city like Ronta do? "Do you remember the fight between our world and the demon world, a hundred years ago?" "I was there, the Hero killed the Great Demon King but unfortunately, the portal between the worlds was broken. The coalition between all race except the banished one was broken." It is good to know that Lansco is at his 173e year. He was a proud and young dwarf back in the Portal War. "Thank you for your fight dwarf warrior, but it is especially this part of the History that I have to talk about. During those dark times, even the undead that have pledged to erase all life forms have made peace and fought beside us. The orcs, the trolls even the spider Queen stopped their assault. But the one, the treacherous, the cunning, the unnameable one." "Hold on, hold on, back off. Are you suggesting that? Are you really saying that they are still alive? Even after a century of hunting and the conjoint effort of everyone, every race?" "Aesseryn, please." At this word, the mage shows a strange looking liquid inside a bottle. It is green and is moving on his own it looks like. She shows after another bottle. Inside there are multiple particles floating in the air. They are red and strangely big. "The first is the poison used in the orphanage, as you can see, it is poison. I don''t want you to know but the children have suffered during more than 5 minutes after the poison has begun its attack and before dying of a heart attack. The second is the disease spread on the birds. My magicians have attached a spell on it to make it visible. Both are the spells that many races have always mastered. However, thebination of those masteries is only found in one race. A race that all fought and thought they were exterminated. But they are alive. The ratmen are still alive." Chapter 18: The History of the Portal War Chapter 18: The History of the Portal War After saying this, around the table, everyone can see that both the Great Magus and the Archbishop are really scared. They are not joking, the oldest and most powerful threat of the civilized races has made its return. Even if the mayor is perturbed, it is nothingpared to the habitually calm dwarf. The proud Lansco is clearly panicking. The others were born after the Portal War, but he had encountered the betrayal and the fear caused by the ratmen. Legions of them, leaving the sewers, roaming in the tunnels, and submerging the underground at a single order of their n Masters. Diseases spread across the world, poison inside the water. Even the sacred forest of the elf was not spared. Half of the trees died and some of the oldest treants, blessed by the Spirit of Nature, had sumbed to their dark sorceries. For the dwarf, their ancient halls and most secure tunnels were invaded, waves after waves, by a seemingly infinite army. The undergroundkes and all their source of foods were tainted by the spells of the ratmen. The aftermath of the hunt had taken decades to be repaired. If the Hero didn''t manage to kill the Demon King and hunt the n Masters, the whole world of Astria would have ruled by them. But, even after all the proofs were brought before his very eyes, proofs that the ratmen were exterminated, he never believed it. None of the dwarves or elves believed it. Most of the human have forgotten this race, destroy any evidence that could be seen by themoners that they even existed. But the people in charge of the kingdom, all the powerful and wealthy ones, are informed of the existence of an unknown threat. And, the potential return of it. Of course, most of them took it lightly, like the mayor Graeme Sorrel Tyne. As a noble, he was informed of the existence of the ratmen but took it as a legend, something used to scare the people into submission. For him, they were truly decimated and none of them are alive. But after he sees the gloomy faces of Mathews and Aesseryn, and most importantly the panicking Lansco, he thinks that the kingdom was really misinformed. "Gentlemen, mdy, what do you all know about the ratmen? Spare no information, even the most misceneous one. You are clearly more informed than me but as a mayor and for the sake of my citizens I have to know everything." After saying this, the archbishop starts talking. "This, this cmity we call ratmen was here before the human even appears. From the record, they were even born before the old races like the undead, the dwarf and the elf, am I right master dwarf?" Lansco slowly nods at his words. But he adds something before Mathews keeps talking. "Actually, we suspect it. Because of their technologies and sciences, but the real proof of their presence is only dozens of years before the Portal War." After that interaction, the man from the Church speaks once again. "They have a very structural society, ruled by the n Masters. The treacherous and backstabbing mentality means that infightings aremons. If there is a day with less than a thousand dead, it is a peaceful day. Under the n Master, there is the warriors and casters. Under it, themon ratmen and the worst of the worst are the ves. They use a swarm tactic to ovee their enemies, throwing bodies after bodies till the attack seed. If it was only that, the strong walls of our different countries would be enough to protect us. But the ratmen are inherently proficient with both poisons and diseases. Even the lowliest ve, if he bites a human, can kill him. That means, a single wound can weaken the best soldier and with their type of attack, thousand wounds stack quickly on the bodies of our soldiers." The archbishop paused a little, before continuing his grim description. "The higher ss the ratman is, the higher the potency of his poison. Even if in one versus one, a rat warrior is weaker than a human warrior or a dwarf, for example, he doesn''t need to fight with honor. A rat warrior is never alone, he will throw ves at you, waiting for you to be injured and then hit. And after you are hit once, your death is certain. Even if you kill the ratman, his poison is in your blood and only the most powerful prayers and spells can save you. From what I have read, even myself am not sure if I could cure the poison of the most powerful rat warrior." Silence followed this sentence. The face of Lansco was darker with every minute spent listening to the archbishop. The mayor began to realize his own stupidity, thinking that the problem could have been quickly resolved. The Great Magus, seeing her partner not continuing his speech, shares her information. "The problems are, those dark news are the uncovered threats. The two most important parts of their war power are the renown assassins and the spellcasters. The reason no one truly believed that we eradicated the ratmen are the impossibility to find the assassins after the fall of the Rat Empire. Not a single country or race has imed the murder of the true assassins. They just vanished. The Hero was even ambushed and nearly killed. Of the bodies that we discovered after this attack, we could only find some basic assassins. Not a single one of the Green ws, as the coalition called them, was ever found." Aesseryn keeps telling more terrible things, only witnessing the pale faces of the three other participants. "And finally, their mages. What can we do against beings that are capable of ughtering an entire city, from afar, just by spreading winds of malevolent power? Fortunately, for those dark rituals, a huge power was needed. A sacrifice of numerous ratmen and monster cores. It is this power that has alienated all the races against the ratmen. Because, they were hunting undead, trolls and all the dark races for their cores. But even without the power of a ritual, armies were slowly dying while walking toward the ratmen. Only the strongest could survive and if it wasn''t the whole world, we couldn''t have won." "You forget the most important." Everyone looks at Lansco after he says this five words. In their minds, what could be more important than the assassins or the dark shamans? "You forget the other reason for the core hunts. You forget their terrible weapons, sustained by the life force, by the monster cores. You forget the despair that they provoked when the five thousand Iron Beards were killed because of their devilish machines. You forget their terrible mutations, inflicted on their own race, creating monsters that shouldn''t be allowed to live. You forget their cruelty, while exploding their own n just to kill the enemy. You forget to say that after only a decade of hunting, the human stopped their actions and said that the ratmen was exterminated." The rage and hate that was contained in his speech were clearly seen by the three others. None of them said anything about the disrespectful tongue that he used while talking to them. They could have been instructed about the ratmen or looked in the books for more information. But he was the only one that had to fight against them. "Are you sure, it is the act of a ratman? Can no doubt be cast on that?" The mayor was asking this because if it was true, he would need to report that to his king. A potential disaster like he just heard, if it happens to his city, he is not prepared. The city guard are a mockery of an army, they never had to fight. He can only count on the adventurers but if they hear the real reason, they will all flee. "Sigh, based on both the Church expertise and my Mage Tower, there no possibility that a ratman isn''t involved in this. Maybe it is not a real rat mage and just one in training, I don''t know. But the pieces of evidence are inimitable." "So what should I do? Order a lockdown as a mayor? Warn the poption to not drink water? What am I supposed to do?" These questions were without answers. A lockdown will scare both the people living in Ronta and the ratman. He will be more prudent and the chances of catching him will be reduced. Preventing the water to be consumed is even more foolish. How was he supposed to do that, a human need to drink? "For the water, I, Aesseryn, have a solution. The poison used in the orphanage is already countered by some of the basic treatment created by the alchemist. Since it is the most basic, I can convince the chief of the local alchemists to give it to you for free. That way you can prevent the contamination of the water tank. Of course, the water will have a bad taste, but between dying and drinking water that has a weird taste, I choose thetter." "Thank you very much, Great Magus, I will definitely say this in my letter to the king. But even if we can prevent any more death, how can we catch that damn monster?" Unfortunately for him, while a mass poisoning can be avoided, the track and the hunt of a dangerous mage is not something that any of the four can achieve. Even after hours and hours of discussion and nning, the real threat was not erased. They all said that they will warn their peoples and press them to search around Ronta the ratman, but none of them had any real hope. Shortly after, everyone returned to their home, a lot more worried than when they left it. Chapter 19: Fearing the future Chapter 19: Fearing the future I have, during that night, encountered the remnant of a rat nest. Why do I say remnant is because it only had 3 little rats, born earlier. Yes, had. I probably have killed the mother and the father but I am waiting for one of them to appears. The reason is that the newborns didn''t look hungry and myst rat kill is from two days ago. After not waiting for a long time, I finally see something getting closer. The father or the mother. The sex of the rat doesn''t matter what is important is his or her resistance toward my spells. I quickly rush toward the rat and knock him out. He looked terrified right before he was put to sleep. The scream of the rat finally ends, and peace reign once again. I love a peaceful environment, calm and without any sounds. Afterward, I bind my captive and decide to first try to infect him with a disease. I use [Create Disease] and wait. Since I already know the effect, the fact that he is not awake doesn''t matter. After waiting for more than 3 hours and even seeing the sun pierce through the grid of the sewers, I decide that it was a failure. Of course, during that time, the rat has awakened but each time I hit him on the back of the head. My capability of restraining a bird is high since they are all both stupid and weak, but just preventing them to use their wings and they be useless. For the rat, I cannot underestimate him. I know the speed that he can achieve and in his tortured mind, he will try to escape. I now begin to use [Create Poison]. I suppose that if I didn''t ughter this orphanage, it wouldn''t have any effect on him either. But the fifth level of this spell can bring me a surprise. And indeed, it didn''t betray my hope. I use the same poison that for the human children, and I begin to see ck dot appearing on his body. His veins turning ck, his eyes leaking blood. On every orifice of his face is flowing blood. A dark and sticky one. At this moment, I p him to see his reaction. He instantly begins to scream, but he fell in silence as he is drowning in his own blood. But before the blood in his mouth should have killed him, he stops moving. The famous heart attack, not the brain one I think. Truly the weakest organ of the body. Based on this observation, I think that if I drop all my poison in a water tank that is filled with the water used by 100 human adults in half of a day, I can kill them all. The problem is, the current one that I am looking for sustains the life of dozens of thousands. I can''t be as lucky as previously and have a minor pocket of water used by a single building. Think about a way to spread your poison. In the air? Only the disease can be spread like that, and since I killed those kids with my poison, the disease iscking in power. In the water? The best way for me but the most difficult since I need a lot more power. In the food? That is a solution. Contaminate the food eaten by a part of the poption. Like an inn or better a pub. Turn the drinks like a bottle of beer or a cup of wine into a deadly trap. The only thing that can prevent this is, does my poison taste something. If it doesn''t, my n cannot fail. I will suppose that for one human adult I need one spell since my means of propagation are reduced. Each time my mana is full I can kill 9 adults because I have 92MP and I need to wait 10 hours before doing it again. That means if I don''t stop killing, more than 20 victims each day. At this rate, I will probably evolve in less than 3 days. But that is without any problem, casting my poison directly on his food and no guard or magician to stop me. But the consequence of my actions will probably be huge. So more guards, maybe a curfew, harsher inspection at the gates. Let''s see first what is the answer of the mayor of this city. Yes, a lot of guards. At least double the previous number. And some weird cloaked men and women. And one or two that look like a priest or the sisters of the orphanage. They have brought all their troops for this. So more guards, more men of the Church I guess and the second group should be mages? Maybe? Or adventurers. I should try to reach the trade area with the sewers. It is too dangerous for me to leave thefort and the security of the underground. And the situation is even worse. There is absolutely no way that I reach a shop that sells food. Every caravan is supervised by every mercenary avable. The traders don''t know what happened because they are still here, but they feel the increase of the security. And if even the authorities of Ronta are scared, they should be terrified. Every cart will be watched. So I can''t poison the food in the shop, I can''t poison the food in the cart. What can I do? First of all, I have an advantage, I don''t need to sleep or rest. So even if the security is increased, once the night is here, there will be fewer people awake. Then, I can still dig a hole in the wall of a shop. Now which shop. Not the baker, because most of his food is produced and consumed on the same day. The market gardener is the same deal, most of his products are daily consumption. It leaves the pub, with the bottles of drink conserved during a long time and the butcher. Even if fresh meat is his biggest product, he still has a lot of meat either conserved or that he will sell the next day. I am uncertain of how alcohol and poison mix together, so I will try the meat. As usual, those wood walls mean nothing to me. Now let''s see what should I poison. I only have 9 spells avable so I need to hit something that will sell. I can see the body of a pork and with many piles of meat next to it. I am not an expert in the anatomy of a pig so I randomly choose the 9 piles with the most meat inside. As I spread my poison inside, I can clearly see the meat turning a little blue. That is not good at all. It is not to the point that it won''t sell but it will clearly be more difficult. Since I can''t do a single thing about it, I return to my empire. And wait for a full day before trying in another merchant area. (That is without the intervention of the butcher. When he noticed the weird color of his meat he decides to thro to sell it anyway? And they were actually bought??? Like seriously you have guards everywhere, it is the first time of your life that you see priest and mages walking together and you decide to buy blue meat? Ok not blue but red with a little blue on it. But those foolish humans have brought cmity on themselves and even happy because they got a reduction because of the weird color. Oh dear.) Apparently, my stratagem has worked. As I noticed my level progressing quickly. Right before dusk, it finally stopped. I guess thest two were eating their dinner before dying. Currently, my all arsenal is looking like this: "Attributes: Name:??? Race :Rodent ??? Level : 18/20 HP:78/78 MP :103/103 Strength:13.6 ??? ??? Wisdom:20.6 ???" "Active skills open: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 4] [Venomous Bite lvl 1] [Infected ws lvl 1] [Create Poison lvl 8] [Create Disease lvl 2]" "Passive abilities open: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 3] [Poison resistance lvl 10] [Disease resistance lvl 5] [Craftsmanship lvl 1] [Pain resistance lvl 2] [gue Bearer lvl 2] [Poisonous Being lvl 5]" The poison and disease resistance look like they evolve at the same time as my active skill. I guess it is to prevent the fact that I could die from my own spell. But [Poison resistance] is level 10 so I suppose the next level it will evolve because Systems love the number 10. Now that I think about it, I never gave myself a name. I should probably think about it in the future because a rat named Marc Cassidy sounds weird. I am currently 2 levels away from my next evolution but it is more of a threat than a gift for me as I realize one thing. The contents of my past evolution had Ratman inside it. I didn''t choose it to be less visible but now I am afraid that I won''t have a choice. Funny that the very thing that will grant me power can at the same time condemn me. That means I need to leave this town as soon as possible. But not without a trail of bodies behind me. Chapter 20: Memories from the past Chapter 20: Memories from the past To escape from the trap that they have nned, I need to break one of the security checks. For that, I have multiple choices but the most possible is either incapacitate the guard or remove them. The first solution could be done if I could poison them but the problem is, their food and water are watched during the entire day and even all the night. It is not like the butcher that is sleeping during the night. Talking about the butcher he really has a poor life. My action has mysteriously turned him into the public enemy. All the terrible things I have done are put on his back. The birds and the orphanage are now a mass murdermitted by a demonic follower. The butcher, that many thought respectable, was, in fact, a madman. He first tried his poison on the bird and after seeing the effect, decided to destroy the orphanage. Seeing fear and worries spreading across the city, he decided to sell an infected meat to bring even more chaos. I heard that he was quickly executed in the morning and that now the poption is safe. But, while themoners are in the dark, I still see a lot of guards and priests. That means it is a ploy to make the poption calm while maintaining their focus only on me. I didn''t expect the mayor to be that ruthless and quick. I need to be really careful about that man. I heard that the mages and the alchemists, to prevent any problems, has brought the cure of the butcher''s poison. While it was unexpected, I was at first confused. Did they really manage to create a cure that quickly? But apparently, the local merchant and nobles had attended a reunion in the City Hall where they had seen inside a bottle the venom. And the effect of the cure was enough to make all threat disappear. That is another thing that I have to watch out. But while they have cured my poison, it was a much weaker one that the one I have now. The efficiently of the powers inside Ronta is very scary. I thought that they will be powerless but I have to readjust my n. The one good thing is, inside the sewers, I can safely listen to the conversation and hear thetest news. They have no way to prevent me from knowing everything that they made public. But, for the things kept in the dark, I can only think about it and prepare myself ording to my estimates. That means that the security around every exit of Ronta will be greatly improved. I need to make either a general panic to allow my escape in the confusion or to create an incident so big, so huge, that the guards will be mobilized and I can break through with a potential fight. Currently, if my [Create Poison lvl 8] touches a guard, he is dead. Now, what target can I choose? The castle? I need to reach the mayor to be effective and since he doesn''t seem like aplete moron he won''t move without a solid protection. The Church? Those damn priest should be able to cure my poison quickly enough. For the Mage Tower, it is the same, those alchemists seem really brilliants, concocting a cure that quickly. Maybe it was fake but they still managed to identify everything that I have done. It leaves the Guild of the adventurer. But the number of people walking in and out is really important. And their skills are unknown maybe they could feel my presence thanks to spirits or the thieves and rangers will spot me. But if I managed to create chaos inside their building, they will all flee quicker than a rat leaves a sinking boat. So I need to hit them hard. Let''s first wait the night and reach a good observation point nearby. I need to poison an important person, not necessarily the Guild Master since he should be the strongest being inside. But at least one of the intendant or the receptionist. The face that every adventurer sees each day, the person theyugh, cry or quarrel with. Now I just need to wait. For two days, I noticed a pattern. Right before midnight, a young man enters the building and a dwarf goes to the local restaurant and then return to the Guild. Weird, I thought that all dwarves have big beards, so why he doesn''t have one. Maybe we were wrong on Earth, dwarves don''t always protect their beard like it is their ancestor. Then at midday, it is the turn of the young man to leave the Guild, he then eats at a nearby pub and goes to an inn, visibly drunk. That means there are at least 2 people rying themselves to assure the service inside the Guild. And the young man each night brings a bottle with him, a bottle that he bought at something called the "Shield and Sword". I need to know if he buys the same thing each time or if he likes to change his drink. He buys only a drink named "Green Coast Wine". I would have called it vodka if it was on Earth because it has a very high alcohol content. Or the Green Coast people are used to that type of drinks. But since he buys the same thing each night, I can target him. Right after his death, the adventurers will be panicked and try to leave the city. The Guild is the closest of the North Gate so I should leave by the South Gate. I can''t underestimate the reaction of the mayor. My only problem is the fact that "Shield and Sword'' never close. My mission will be hard, but who will notice a small little rat. Those building made of woods are all the same. With each level, I am quicker to dig a hole. It looks like I am in the reserve. Now I need to search for my drink. I spend a lot of time before finally finding 8 bottles of it. Since I don''t know which one will be bought, I poison every one of them. I then slightly destroy a part of the papers where the name was written, on every bottle. That way, when the young man will leave this building, I will know if he took one of my bottles. That will allow me to flee from the scene of my future crime. Right when I finally regain my hiding, I see the ignorant man leaving and, in his hand, his future death. My time hase to leave Ronta for good. (Well at least he couldn''t have known that it was poisoned. Not like the other human that brought blue meat. There is an orphanage wiped out, a flock of birds falling from the skies and their best idea was to buy a blue meat. Anyway, I wonder if he survives. I mean he is working in the Guild of the adventurers, the chances of surviving with all the local potions and priest are quite high.) Humming, Martin was reaching his post when he heard behind him the sight of Audrea. He could already hear nagging about the bottle in his hand. "What Audrea? Do you want to taste that Green Coast Wine again? I remember the face that you made back then." "Oh shut up Martin, you are lucky that father didn''t fire you for being drunk." The female dwarf was clearly upset about that memory. It is true that a dwarf is highly resistant toward alcohol but that wine is the product of a demon. She passed out by just drinking half the bottle. "And I am not drunk, I would need to drink the entire bottle for that. I just take a small sip once in a while, to make stay awake. It is hard to patiently wait for something to happen, especially near dawn." "So you''re gonna already drink it? Right now?" "Why not?" And right after saying this, Martin began to open the bottle and drank one-third of its content. But, just after the third sip, he spat everything in the face of Audrea. Who screamed. "By Makan, did you really need to do that? I have to wash myself now. Martin? Hey, Martin?" He couldn''t answer her questions, because the poison already silenced him. He was shaking and trying to save Audread by warning her. But he could only see her staying near him while the poison was infiltrating the pores of the dwarf. In thest try before dying, he shouted one more time before drowning in his blood. That shout, even if it was a weak one, managed to reach Lansco. Fearing the worst, the Guild Master could only see Martin bleeding a ck blood and the scared face of his daughter that was shaking uncontrobly. Without waiting for another second, he quickly grabbed her and rush toward the home of the Archbishop Mathews. At his arrival, the guards that were trying to block him were blown away and he violently destroyed the door. Mathews was, of course, awake because of all the noise the dwarf had created. But only after seeing Audrea in his arm and her pale face void of life did he realized what happened. Even if she was dead, he tried all the major prayers, all the blessing that he knew. He even begged the Goddess herself to save the daughter of the Guild Master. But the only thing that he could hear as an answer was the crying father next to the body. "I''m so sorry Irissa, I''m so sorry. I shouldn''t have let them escaped. I should have fought with you Irissa. You were so proud of our daughter. You said that one of us need to stay alive. It should have been you. You should have resigned of the Iron Beards after her birth. It shouldn''t have been me. I''m so sorry. I''m so sorry. You trusted me. And I failed you. I''m sorry." Chapter 21: What is my name? Chapter 21: What is my name? "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- Ratman. 2- gue Ratman." As expected, that one kill was enough for my level up. But I cannot do it here, I have to wait. I have to exit this city. It is only the morning, but the entire popce of Ronta already knows thetest news. Apparently, inside the very Guild that protects them from the monsters, both receptionists have suffered a terrible fate. They were poisoned, and since the butcher should have been guilty, how could he do that? He was already dead, therefore the authorities have lied to themoners and even the nobles. From my observation point, I can see a lot of people rushing toward the City Hall for an exnation. And even more toward the different gates to escape. Apparently one of the two victims was the daughter of the Guild Master. So that beardless dwarf was a female? Apparently, but it is not the main point. What is important is the powerless Guild Master. He didn''t even manage to protect his own daughter. Seeing that, nearly all the adventurers can be seen bickering with the guards to leave as soon as possible the town. My opportunity is here. Even if the local guards are a bunch of cowards and weaklings, they have a lot of power and numbers. If the city doesn''t fall, they will keep all the advantages and different bribes from the fearful merchants. That is why, even if they have a chance of dying, they are still keeping their calm, because of their greed. If they leave too, once they reach another city, they won''t have a great chance to be a guard again. And that uncertain future is a lot worse than a potential madman. In fact, in their head, they probably think that since he is alone, he won''t ever attack them. I can agree with this reasoning. As I am a lone agent behind the enemy line, I cannot attack the masses, I can only target a specific location or people. If I evolved right now, since I can, I could probably bring this very city into despair. But that will be so stupid to expose myself after everything I have done. That''s why even if I am level 20/20, I don''t evolve. I just need to find a cart with an owner visibly afraid. That way he will bribe the guard and they won''t check too much since they already have to prevent the adventurers and a lot of people of leaving. Ah, that plump man looks good. And yes, a lot of carts in that caravan. You will be rewarded, my fat friend. I hide once again in the deepest hole of the wagon. This time, I don''t need the protection of a chest to survive the travel. I am strong enough to prevent myself from being crushed. I heard the guard and the trader negotiate and this time the guard is imposing a tax enormous. 100 gold for 12 wagons. He clearly is enjoying the situation and use the panic to increase the bribe. Even if the merchant is furious, he is too busy running for his life to really care about money. And as usual, I pass a security check easily. If the mayor were to know this, he will probably punish every city guard. Now, what does the South will bring me? (Meanwhile, in the North Gate, the Seven Gods of Destruction finally learned what happen in Ronta when they were away chasing the mysterious Matriarch Ghoul. I still don''t understand what happened inside their brains.) "What do you mean Audrea died? Are you talking about Audrea, the one from the brothel, right?" "No, no, no. Audrea, the daughter of Lansco, she is dead. An entire orphanage has sumbed too. It is a poison master, hiding in the city. All the adventurers are leaving. You should do it too Khozak. It is a dead city. Nobody is safe anymore. Lansco has lost his mind. He hadn''t left the body of his daughter since she is dead. He doesn''t eat, doesn''t drink. So I hope you will make the right choice, but we are getting out of here. Farewell!" Everyone from the group was stunned. They left for a little more than 2 weeks and when they returned, the entire city is now in a state of panic and everybody is fleeing. The worst is, they didn''t even catch that damn Ghoul. Even the great Lansco, a dwarf from the Iron Beard, has fallen. At the same time as they were hearing this dark story, Irion was looking weirdly at Richard. Thetter defended himself. "Hey, I never thought it was that bad, I just said that if someone talked about the Ghoul Matriarch in the future we should get the hell out of Ronta. Because we failed and it is our fault. But apparently, that escape n can still be used." "Aren''t you supposed to be a holy knight, saving the widow and the orphans? Or are you a bloody thief, fleeing the danger whenever you see it? No offense, Jimmy." "Oh don''t worry, I like to flee from danger, that way I stay alive. But yes, Richard as a holy knight, you should act like one." "Hold on, we voted for the escape and it was unanimous. Who am I to contradict mypanions?" Said the upset, and not so brave, holy knight. "He got a point." That time, it was the three warriors that were agreeing with Richard. They wanted to flee as soon as possible and that discussion was ruining their n. "Ok, I got it. Sorry Lansco but I hope you will forgive us one day. So we were debating before learning that news, did we stay in the holy kingdom or we go to the Notongrod Empire?" Shortly after the chief Khozak threw this question, the all group started bickering again. (At the first stop of the caravan, a weird rodent could have been spotted leaving one of the wagons. Unfortunately, or the opposite in that case since they would have all died, no one noticed it.) Like I said, plump man, I owe you, so I let you live for now. I hope you will sell your merchandises well because that damn guard stole too much gold from you. But I am finally free, I can probably evolve in peace in that forest. Yes, a forest again. Don''t they have another environment? I don''t know, mountains, hills. There was a small mountain back at the undead cave, but a small one. Anyway, I first need to hide in a safe spot. I wonder what monsters or animals I will encounter. I didn''t hear what was the destination of that trader, so I don''t know where that road leads to. Maybe it is the road toward the dwarf kingdom since there was a representative of that race back in Ronta. I should start exploring more and think less. It is a new world opening before me. I need to know what is the apex predator, what are the different monsters living there. I use my old technique for that, the tree-walk. Even after one hour, I don''t find a truly safe spot. The thing is I can probably evolve right here and right now and I will be fine. But I don''t know, what if a gryphon or some stupidly overpowered monster appears right now. I will be doomed. But I don''t know why I feel that the forest looks safer as I progress toward the East. Maybe it is the air, that looks purer or the trees, more living. I see countless insect alive and small animals. That is a problem. What could let those animals live in peace? Only something so dangerous, that no fox or wolves dare toe here. "Hello, my little friend, what is your name?" WHAT??? "-16 HP" OUCH! WHO IS IT??? SHOW YOURSELF??? Where did this voicee from, is it talking to me? I fell from my branch because of it. "Oh, poor little creature. I hope it is not hurt, ah, it''s good, it is alive. Over there little rodent." I look toward the sky and there I notice a small fairy. Yes, a fairy like the one in the fairytales. Small, two wings, a dress made of grass or leaves I don''t know. So that was the cause of atmosphere. A fairy will naturally make the forest more living and safer. "Wonderful, you instantly saw me. You are very smart, sometimes I spend minutes to make the animals look at me." And most important, beautifully andpletely innocent and nave. She still thinks that I am a normal rat lost in the forest. But damn, she made me fall. I lost 16 HP because of this. "So what is your name little rat?" You know that animals can''t talk right? And since none of my sarcastic remarks have reached you, you can''t read in the minds of animals. Maybe I should still respond something. Not that I can talk but maybe she can understand my scream. I try to say, Marc. Sleek "Sleek, that is a name quite fitting to a rat." Moronic fairy. Yes, why not, why shouldn''t I be called Sleek. Hey look, it''s me Sleek. Stupid spirit of the forest. Making me fall and then mocking my pronunciation. And that moronic name. Just thinking about saying in a conversation My name is Sleek sc. "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the name: Sleek has been chosen." No, you didn''t. You didn''t do that. Show me my attributes. "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race :Rodent ??? Level : 20/20 HP:64/80 MP :105/105 Strength:14.0 ??? ??? Wisdom:21.0 ???" He did it. He really did it. WHY? WHY AM I SO STUPID??? Ok, I am done, this fairy is dead. Someone has to pay the price. -Marc Cassidy chooses: gue Ratman! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the evolution: gue Ratman has been chosen." I can clearly feel my entire body grow taller, stronger. My ws expanding, my teeth getting sharper. I didn''t care about the choice; I just want to make her pay. "Gr-great fairy, you-you granting me a name has allowed me to evolve." "Oh, I have this power. I knew it, you are right to call me a great fairy, I am the Great Fairy L." "Yes-yes, please let me thank you, gr-great fairy." After saying this I extended my hand. She was too far in the sky for me to catch her, I have to make here closer. "Th-this is the way for my people to thank their benefactors. We sh-shake their hands." She will fall for it; she clearly saw me evolve right in front of her but I say that I know the usages of the ratmen. And she will not even think about it. "Oh, I never knew that such a thing exists but I will allow you Sleek, to shake the hand of the Great Fairy L." Yes,e to shake the hand of Sleek, miserable worm. I will give you something you have probably never seen. Yes,e,e. Finally, shees closer and put her hand inside mine. I gently shake her hand, reducing the suspicion. "It is a funny thing Sleek, I will report it to the other Fairies for future encounters with the ratmen." "Th-thank you Great Fairy." And now that she is enjoying it, the Coup de Grace. I didn''t check if I have new skills, I use my old [Create Poison], one that I have specifically modified. And she is still clueless. Now I see her eyes getting bigger, she is shocked as she watches the poison in her hand. "Sleek, what is this thing?" Your death moron. I can see her slowly losing the power of her wings, she will fall shortly after. Since she was at less than 1 meter from the ground she is fine and will not die from the fall. But each time she tries to stand up, her weak legs fail to aplish the task. "Sl.. Sleek, what. What did. Did you do?" "No-nothing Great Fairy L, it''s just-just a small gift to you." "A gift" I can see her, fighting to keep her eyes open, she is beginning to be lethargic. She loses her force slowly and steadily as I approach her. Her eyes are filled with tears. "Sl..leeee" Stomp I crush her skull with my feet. Because of her, my name will be forever Sleek. But my anger is not satisfied. I heard her talking about other fairies. The wrong of one will be paid by the death of others. None will escape my wrath. Chapter 22: Who is ??? Chapter 22: Who is ??? After I walked for fifteen minutes, I finally calm myself. I shouldn''t have been irrational like that. But I was really so afraid of a big monster rushing toward me that the fairy caught me by surprise. Then, I fell and lost many HP. And then, the name incident. What bloody moron. Me, not the fairy. Well, the fairy was stupid that is sure. But I got baited by her with my so-called superior intellect. And I end up with Sleek. I look again and yes, still there. Always look at the bright side of life, now I don''t need to find a name. Actually, what could be a great name for a ratman? Sleek is not that bad. I think. Ok, let me watch what did I gain. "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Ratman ss: gue Ratman Level 0/25 HP: 69/85 MP: 115/115 Strength: 15.0 Agility: 22.0 Vitality: 17.0 Wisdom: 23.0 Intelligence: 23.0 Active skills: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 5] [Venomous Bite lvl 3] [Infected ws lvl 3] [Create Poison lvl 10] [Create Disease lvl 4] [Aura of Mayhem lvl Max] Passive Abilities: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 6] [Toxic resistance lvl 1] [Disease resistance lvl 10] [Craftsmanship lvl 3] [Pain resistance lvl 4] [gue Bearer lvl 3] [Poisonous Being lvl 6] [Magical Restoration lvl1] [Magical Efficiency lvl 1] [Magical Handling lvl1] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria] [Followed by ???] [Killer]" Wow, I don''t even need to say my username to make it appear. That is a relief, now that I am a ratman I am considered as an intelligent being. And therefore the all System is unlocked. So let''s do it in the order. Race and ss are standard. The level requirement has been readjusted. HP and MP still affected by the curse. I really need to get rid of it. And the System doesn''t show the curse. No, definitely, no status or ailments, no buff or debuff. I guess it is a MMORPG System, so if I could click on myself I would see the curse with a red icon. That would be funny, walking with a red icon with a skull near me. Then the attributes, the holy five main attributes. Strength, for hitting hard, agility, for hitting quick and dodge, maybe even do a critical hit but I don''t think it is working. Vitality looks rted directly to my HP with 1 point of it turned into 10 HP. Now both wisdom and intelligence are at the same level. So which one grant me mana regen and the other mana pool? Now that I think about it, I shouldn''t have been able to cast those spells without eating the lich. Because I didn''t gain a lot of both wisdom and intelligence, the most improved one was agility. And for a rat, that is quite logical. Now the skills, everyone got an upgrade. Probably because of the evolution. [Create Poison] has reached level 10 that is very good. I hope I will get to the next level very soon. That way I can really hurt an enemy that is stronger than me. And the good thing is, the level up of my [Create Disease] will allow me to level it easily. Since only a level 2 would have been quite useless. But the most unusual spell has appeared. What does [Aura of Mayhem] do? Maybe the System will not answer me with a sentence full of ???. "[Aura of Mayhem]: allow the user to choose an element that he can create and turn his surrounding into that element. The consumption of MP is permanent while the skill is active." So, if I choose to turn the aura with poison that turns the air into poison? Let''s try. And yes it really works. The moment I turned it on, the air in less than a meter around me was transformed into a poison mist. And if I walk? It follows me. Poor grass on the ground, they were instantly destroyed. If I walk toward a tree, then the tree sumbs shortly after. And what is the consumption rate? So I had 115/115 MP, I used it for like 15 seconds and now I have still 101/115MP. That means 14 MP for 15 seconds so 0.9MP/s. That is a good ratio. I can activate it for a little more than 2 full minutes. And even just turning it for one second is enough. And I guess the [Create Poison] level is linked toward the efficiency of an aura filled with poison. That''s why the aura is level max. Next passives, upgraded, improved, upgraded. [Poison Resistance] get turned into Toxic I think. New name, probably same effect but better of course. [Craftsmanship] was improved that''s good. I guess the fact that I can finally use both of my hands with dexterity helps. But the three magics are a little weird. I guess it''s augmentation of mana recovery, reduction of mana cost and I don''t have the slightest clue. [Magical Handling lvl1], what is this? "[Magical Handling]: improve the casting time of the user." I forgot about that. But since all my spells are cast instantly, that bring me nothing. Anyway, it is always good to have. And finally the final thing. The titles. Did it bring me some benefits? Or is it just a record? Because I got forsaken by a stupid god that is right. And I guess I can be called a killer. That one is probably because of the orphanage. But the [Followed by ???], that means right now, someone is following me? And I didn''t notice. Weird. I check everywhere near me but there is nothing. Just some dead trees and that''s all. (Hahaha, that fool. He thinks he can see me. Truly a funny thing that System. But I think it shouldn''t have been created. That stupid Aria was never smart in the first ce. But, by letting this enter her world, she really has outdone herself. Honestly, back there, she should have just epted that she messed up and tried to plead her case. Not that she wouldn''t have been fired. But even being fired is better than losing all the believers in your world. I know that experience, it is really bad. The ice on the cake is, she even has marked him to prevent any other gods to see him. So when he will wreak havoc, the Nine Heaven won''t help her against an invisible enemy that she made herself. That will be a nice spectacle and I already have the best ce in the theatre.) Where is that unknown man, or woman, or creature, or monster, or something? Now that I know this, how am I supposed to befortable? The only thing I have in my mind is a weird man in a white van giving candies to a kid and watching them y in the park. And I am the kid in that story. That is not a good feeling at all. But on the other hand, he is probably following me since the beginning. Maybe the description will help me. "[Followed by ???]: you are constantly visible for ???" Never mind, let''s try another one shall we? The forsaken that will be good, the killer is pretty self-exnatory. "[Forsaken of Aria]: marked by the goddess of Aria during one of her many waves of anger. It prevents the marked one to enter the vision of a god." Hold on, back off? Are you saying that this is a bad or a good thing? I mean, if there are more gods like Aria, that is the most precious gift that she has given me after the System. But the two titles look a little contradictory. One is to make me invisible to everyone, the other to make me visible to only one being or thing. I really wonder who is behind me and watches me. Maybe he doesn''t really watch me, it only says that it makes me visible. So he can see me and that''s it. I am getting a headache with all those theories. Let''s forget those titles things. They are too troublesome. Now, let''s see where those damn fairies live. Not because I am still angry about the name. But because I need experience and most importantly I need to improve my disease power. Since poison is for single target enemy, and it is already quite high, I need to focus on my weak point. Back in Ronta, I couldn''t wipe out the entire guards for example, even if they were weak. I could only poison a group of people. But now that I am in a forest, I can probably spread a wind of death or, more urately, disease. That way, every little rabbit, every ferocious wolf, every big bear will be affected. And when quality is not avable, then quantity will make it possible. And since I saw the feeble body of L get ravaged in seconds, I guess the rest of the fairies will be the same. And if it the case, then their vige is doomed, no matter what happens. Chapter 23: The hunters in the forest Chapter 23: The hunters in the forest About the no matter what I will destroy the fairies, just forget it. I mean they are really peaceful creatures, I shouldn''t bother them with my destruction and pain. Yeah, we shall all live in peace and harmony for the rest of our lives. And they really don''t need to know that I killed that little fairy. It''s useless information anyway. And I destroyed her body when I activated my Aura so no proof. Shame that I didn''t get to see if eating her was good but, can''t be better than a lich. One was killed in seconds just because I wanted that, the other managed to survive a little bit against the seven adventurers. And, about that peace speech. Well, if your vige is guarded by what looks like a freakin dragon, I guess you will be without worries. I think it''s a dragon. I know there is a lot of differences between drake, dragon, wyvern, and others. But I can''t remember the details. So he has 2 arms and 2 legs, and his wings are attached to his arms. So that is not a dragon now that I think about it. But it''s what, a drake? A wyvern? Something else. Let''s go for a drake and if I failed well, not that important. I just don''t need to meet an expert on this subject that willin about how foolish I am to mistake this from that other thing. But in this world, who can be an expert about such a subject? Besides, dragon themselves, and dragon yers. So a lot of dangerous people that I will never talk with. I was nning to just spread my disease and leave but that threat is too big. Based on my knowledge, a dragon is highly sensitive toward magic. So if he smells my spell, then saw all his poor fairies friends die, he will chase me. Not a good thing. So let''s go back in the forest. To kill the animals, to save the frames. Now that I have evolved, my spell consumption has been greatly reduced. I can just walk, do a simple [Create Disease], walk for ten minutes, do it again and that for more than 90 minutes. After I still need to wait 10 hours but it is still very efficient to coverrge areas. After traveling for 3 days, I level up my spell to level 6 and [gue Bearer] to level 4, just one level behind my poisonous body. And as I walked, I could the dead bodies of countless animals. I really think that this forest was protected by the fairies and since the drake guard them, no one entered it. Maybe they are searching for me. They probably are. Well, let''s keep going to the East. How many drakes does this forest have? During a week, I have seen 3 more little fairy town and inside 2 drakes. One was just a few buildings in the treespared to the other with at least hundreds of houses, so that exins theck of drake. But why did theye here in the first ce? What''s good for them? Do the fairies feed them? That really puzzled me. For me, a dragon or whatever like two things. Steal gold from the dwarves, and have cooked meat. But I never saw a single coin inside the forest. And never saw the drake hunting for animals. So that means, they are after something else. But what? After many days, I finally encounter something else than dead bodies or fairies. A group of humans. And the good kind of humans. Sadist, violent and criminal bandits. At least for me, that''s good. Because if they are gone missing, no one will look for them. But they look highly trained, not the standard bandit that die from one hit of a guard. No, they are professionals. But what could be so interesting that nearly 30 veterans are required? Besides fairies, and the drakes. I think it is for the drakes. Yeah, I see big crossbows, the one that you have to assemble before using it, I think it is called either a ballista or a scorpio. Irons,rge iron shields, and weird scrolls. I guess they have nned the counter-attack and this will be used to counter the weapons of the drake. I wonder what should I do? Kill them since they won''t expect either my poison or my disease. Or wait for the death of the drake to see what the fairies are hiding. That is only if they managed to kill it. Because I can see on their faces the stress of the operation. It is not assured that everyone is going home after it. Now that I notice, they don''t look particrly on guard against spies or surprise attacks but none of them has spotted me. I now that I am at more than dozens of meters but I guess my [Sneaky-Sneaky] are really effective. That is probably my best spell but the most discrete of all. The sun is falling, they won''t dare to attack a drake that can fly in the middle of the night. They will rest and when they see the first rays of the sun, attack. I should just recover my mana. Or probe a little. See if I can kill someone. If I manage to poison and kill one of them, I know that I will not fear anything. But if I try to attack after the death of the drake, and fail, I will really be screwed. Probing is good. Now, who is the unlucky bandit that want to go into a peaceful location? For natural need. C''mon. You, yes, you, who are the sentinel, you will probably be reced soon. You don''t feel that you need to do something before going to sleep? No? Seriously, no one. Well, I don''t know how it works actually. For me, I don''t need anything, no food, no drink, no rest. But maybe they evolved too, they improved their bodies, tempering it with mana or potion. So maybe, they need less rest than the people on Earth. I mean, I don''t think that the dwarves, the elves, and the humans have the same body type or body needs. But if it is the case, my n is a failure. And yes it was. No one left alone, one time there was a group of five, leaving in a pack, watching the surrounding, but otherwise no lone wolf. So my attack will bepletely up to fate. Fate, that I am stronger than them. But at least I going to enjoy a nice spectacle. The vicious bandit attack on the guardian drake. New tragedying in your town in a close future. Don''t worry, the tickets are free. But like I thought yesterday, they are really prepared. From what I know, they are currently at 1 kilometer of the vige. It is here that they are fortifying their defenses and assembling the siege weapons. They are constructed in a circr arc. So if the drakees from the vige, everyone will be able to fire at him. And the disposition of the weapons makes it impossible to burn them in a single me. Some are close, some are far. Each has a shield with a little window in front of it. There is a weird substance of those shields, probably to prevent it to burn. I see 3 weird grappling hooks. I am fairly certain that they will use it to restrain the wings of the drake. Honestly, if that operation failed, it is really because the drake is powerful. And by powerful, I mean more powerful than everyone in this world. Nothing is left in uncertainty. They have the damage, the defense, the trapping system. The only thing I don''t see is the bait. What will bring the drake to this location? Except that, I will give them a full mark on the hunt. It looks like they are only 25 now. I guess a few of them have gone to the vige. And what can they possibly do to make the BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! An explosion. Didn''t see thating. But from what I hear, if that didn''t destroy half of the fairy town, I am not a ratman named Sleek. GWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAARRGH! That should be the drake. So I guess I know how they going to bring him here. By killing his little friends, their vige and possibly hurt him. I think he is pretty angry right now. And if he is angry, he will not think of why a little group of human will be stupid enough to piss him off. He will just chase them without waiting. But for the expendables that were sent to do this, I really am praying for you. Because between a human running in a forest and a drake, yes, yes I see him flying right now. And oh, I think he just grabbed a human in his ws. And he breath fire on at least another one. But the distance is reduced, and he is in the range of the first ballista. Looks like the real battle will start now. Chapter 24: Daryl Maimedhand Chapter 24: Daryl Maimedhand "Only 3 deaths before the drake have entered the trap. Not bad, I should probably raise the sry of the survivors. So we still have 22 hunters and those 6 freaks. From the report of the scout, that drake should have been born a century ago. That means he is still young, rash and full of vigor. He will try to tear us apart. To eat us alive. Only when he will feel deathing for him will he think with his brain and use his wings to his advantage. Not that it will make a difference." That was the thought of Daryl Maimedhand, the captain of the hunter group. He was already 60 years old and in his profession, that would be a great age. He lost three of his left fingers against an earth lizard when he was only in his teens. After that, he never underestimated any monster. But the reason he was currently hunting that drake was not because of a treasure in the fairy vige or whatever secret those towns could hide. He was here because the Order needs a drake heart for the ritual. Even if someone could mistake them as normal bandits, they will surely pay the price for their ignorance, because they were even more dangerous than even the Church; in their own way. Even if a world is ruled by one religion, a religion that transcends the race and the age, there is always a rebellion somewhere. It could be a simple schism or something darker. Daryl was part of the Order of Krieg, servitors of the Blood God. If the public were to know his allegiance, he will be instantly hunted, exiled, killed. Because when two religions are in conflict, only death can judge who is the worthy one. For him, living in hiding is half of his life, when he was reborn because of the Order. Once a famous adventurer, he was betrayed by the Church because he found a relic of the vanished race. When they tried to grab the relic from the hand of his group, he knew that something was amiss. But he never thought that the holy knights wouldunch an assault without prior notice. None of the adventurers in his group made it, and it was only a miracle that he was alive. That miracle was the very relic that condemned hispanions. It was a weapon, that was still filled with the monster cores. By sheer luck, he managed to activate it, decimating the priests and knights that were pouncing at him. But the price for employing a cursed weapon was heavy. The remnants of the spells of the darkest race were encrusted in the weapons. He was condemned to die slowly and painfully, all alone and surrounded by corpses. It was that moment, when he painfully exited the ruin where the betrayal had happened, when he wanted to the sun onest time, that the Order found him. They took care of him, and even managed to cure him. Even if he knew who they were, he couldn''t help but be filled with gratitude toward them. The dark and cruel Order of Krieg had saved him, a passer-by. Even if he knew that some rumors where true, it was still nothingpared to the brutality that the Church had inflicted on him. To thank his benefactors, he taught them everything he knew about monsters, his decades of experience when he was killing them. He was promoted time and time again, and now he was one of the higher warrior fighting for Krieg. The major specialty of the Order was the partial transformation of his members. For example, Daryl was infused with the blood of a Sphynx that he hunted years ago, granting him the ability to turn his body into sand. Numerous of the hunters under him were strange too. Someone would have the eyes of a gryphon, the other the skin of an iron rhinoceros. Currently, they were hunting drakes for their heart, for a ritual to turn one of his men into a Chosen, the freaks he was talking about. Only the most loyal could be chosen for this. After that, he will undergo a training with 19 other members. Only thest one standing will be granted his resurrection. But for that, he needs a lot of ingredients, alling from the most dangerous creatures alive or even dead. For example, they need the core of a lich older than 200 years. And right now, the drake heart was thest ingredient missing but there were only two ces where one could find those monsters easily. The Evesting Peak, north of the dwarf kingdom and the Fairy Forest, that was protected by the elves. While they could have gone to the peak, and it would have been easier to hunt a drake, a recent event had changed their n. Apparently, in a small city of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, a ratman was seen. Because of this, the frontiers of all the empires nearby were closed and watched with attention. And since they wereing from the South East, they could only hunt a drake in the Fairy Forest. But it was nearly a death sentence. No one was stupid enough to piss off the elves on their own territories filled with trees without a good reason. That''s why, after they finally killed this drake, they will need to get the hell out of here. This was the main reason causing them to be overly equipped and with 20 more men than necessary. Honestly, he could have toyed with this drake with only 6 of his best men but that would be stupid in this case. First, they needed to kill every fairies. If only one of them was alive, they could call for help and that call will be transmitted to the elves. That''s why they made the entire town explode. Of course, it will be heard, but the other towns won''t use their distress signal without knowing the situation. Next, they needed the heart of the drake in good shape. So they needed to be precise and make absolutely no mistake. And even if he was sure that his men won''t miss a single shot, this time, they won''t even fire on the main body. Only the wings will be targeted. But topensate that, some of his men needed to be a living bait. It was such a pity. Finally, the drake was in the range of all the siege weapons. At that moment Daryl ordered to fire at the drake. That poor creature didn''t even understand what happened before he began to fall. His wings were torn apart by the firepower. After being stunned for a moment, he began to feel pain in his whole body. Three weird-looking ws were stabbed in his flesh. Each time he tried to move, he could see at the end of the rope many men pulling it. As he kept fighting with the men, he realized that he could breathe on all of them and burn them all. But just as he was preparing his attack, he noticed a silhouette in full armor standing in front of him with a huge axe. Thest thing that the drake had in mind was how fast that armor was moving. "Only one swing of the axe and he killed it. As expected of those freaks." Daryl never liked those men after they were chosen. He didn''t know why, but he always felt ufortable near them. Like Gustav for example, the man that just killed the drake. He knew him before he became a Chosen. He even had a debt, but he thought that he will never let it go, even if he were a Chosen. He was too greedy to let 100 gold go away. But after the ritual, he never spoke about it. Daryl never saw him eat or drink afterward. He had lost his sense of humor too but that was not a big deal, that was even a blessing in the case. But he was not here to judge. Gustav had spared him the task of killing the drake. Killing him without destroying his body couldn''t have been cleaner. Maimedhand ordered his hunters to scavenge the body quickly. Even if no fairy was alive in that town, he couldn''t expect his operation do be without trouble. They probably need to get all the important parts in less than a dozen minutes. That''s why they were 25 hunters at first. Everyone was briefed and aplished his job quickly and in silence. Right before his mental deadline was over, thest man stepped away from the carcass and everyone fled as if they were on fire. And for the numerous shields, siege weapons, and grappling hooks, they were left without a regret. They needed to leave the forest before the elves caught up. They had at least 3 days of intense running before they left the forest. A distance that the elves can do in only one day if they were able to pinpoint their location urately. As he watched all his men close to him, he wondered if he had to sacrifice his men once again. He hoped not. Chapter 25: Purification Chapter 25: Purification I really thought that the drake would make it hard. I mean that''s a cousin of a dragon and a dragon is supposed to be strong. Like supposed to be so strong that they can force dwarves out of their mountains or even burn entire viges. This, this one''s a one-sided massacre. Besides the 2 or three death at the beginning the moment he entered the trap he was instantly in. They destroyed his wings, he fell, he got immobilized, one human in armor split his brain in two with one swing of his axe. Done. I mistook them for just really trained bandits but they are clearly more than just that. They are at least on the level of a special force. But what puzzled me is, were they here just for the drake? Because they took nearly everything inside, his heart, his lungs, huge vials of his blood but left the heavy scales and most of his skeleton. They even left their equipment, I can still see all the siege weapons, shields and grappling hooks. So they need to travel very quickly or will encounter something they can''t deal with, with both the spoils of the drake kill and their equipment. That''s a possibility since they came on foot, I didn''t see any horses so they had to carry all of it on their shoulders. It was already heavy so leaving with it will slow them down. Now that I thought how the hell they were carrying that. They are supermen. So I guess my failed attackst night was really a blessing. Because if they can do that, the chances that they are highly resistant to a lot of things like poisons or even diseases are too high for me. But they left the drake body so I can probably eat it. At least the rest of it. They did a clean job; he only has his scales left. They even took a part of his tail and his damaged brain. What am I supposed to eat, not the thing that is supposed to block arrows easily I hope? I try to eat it, but damn the wood back in front of the undead cave was better. And it is hard to chew. It doesn''t break. Ah, yes something is breaking, wait, no. I think that my teeth are breaking. No, better spit it out. Maybe I can try to recover a little bit of flesh on them. So yes, I can but, am I that pitiful to do it? I don''t even know if my ability will work with that much. Better try it. It worked, in grand total, I won 0.1 strength. But the good part is the fact that I am full HP once again. I knew that quantity is really important since I nearly needed to eat the all body of the lich to have the maximum effect. And I have evolved quite a lot, my strength is lowpared to the other attributes but it is not that low. It''s life sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And I didn''t lose anything here, at least I know that there is really a lot of very powerful organizations roaming around. Maybe I can explore the fairy town, see if there is something still standing. And after walking for a bit, I see that they didn''t go with just a diversion on those explosives. Everywhere I look, there is nothing not burned or torn apart. As for the fairies, I think they vanished because of the mes. I see none of them. The only thing notpletely destroyed was the home of the drake. And probably because he protected it with his body. So let''s do a little searching. Ok, absolutely no gold so I am disappointed. But the ground is filled with small crystals. They even emit some kind of light and energy. That''s probably thepensation of the fairies. They can probably be sold anywhere in the world for a hefty sum of gold. I supposed since even the drakes want a lot of it. But none of those previous bandits rushed to even grab one of them. And that''s very strange. The only possible reason could be that those crystals are a local production. Maybe only there could they be harvested. And since one location has the monopoly, if someone sells it, he will be marked as a thief. Well, I don''t mind that, let''s harvest a little. Not a lot to prevent everyone from finding that some are missing, but enough to let me see what are they capable of doing. After walking for nearly an hour toward the East again, I rest a little to analyze the crystals. First of all, they are blue with a little light inside. That light is of a lighter blue than the rest, I would say cyan-blue. Now let''s hold on in my hand and try to see what it does. Nothing, and after 2 or 3 minutes? Still nothing. I check my attributes or even my skills and no changes. And If I try to absorb it. Since I am a mage, I think, I should be able to do that. Let''s say the light is the mana inside, try to make go toward your hand and inside you. Absorption. Power. Infinite Power. No, doesn''t look like it is working. So I have a bunch of useless rocks. Great. I won''t even try to eat it. Let an unknown thing enter your stomach is the best way to make it explode. Last thing possible I [Create Poison] on one of them. And there is finally a reaction. The crystal, from blue turn green and the light is now ck. So it can contain the magic that I create. And what if I throw it? I target a tree with my crystal and manage to touch it. The spell is released with a much bigger effect than I thought. It looks like this crystal amplifies the spell inside. So what if I break one of the untouched crystals on a tree? I try it and the tree doesn''t look really changed at all. Still has leaves, not a single change of color. Guess the spell is not rted to trees. Wait, now that I look closely, the tree looks better. Just better. More robust, stronger, healthier. That''s it, it was probably used to heal the drake and improve them. That''s why such a mighty being makes a deal with the fairies. So what about me? I throw a crystal at my feet and instantly regret it. My all body begins to hurt me and the only thing that is working to prevent that pain is to activate my aura. After 10 seconds of intense pain, I look at my attributes, it got to be worth it. But no changes at all, so what happened? It is only after looking at my passive abilities that I realize the stupidity of myself. My previous [gue Bearer lvl 6] [Poisonous Being lvl 6] are both level 4 now. But [Pain resistance] is level 7, great. Trying to purify a being that is entirely based on poison and disease. Nice thinking myself. It''s like carrying a snowman in front of a fire. But the good thing is, I now have a ranged weapon. Only twenty of it but more would have been suspect. With all the kills in the forest, both my [Create Poison] and [Create Disease] are level 10. So I infused equally my spell into the crystals. That way, if I am in a pickle, I can throw it like a smoke grenade. A deadly smoke grenade. After this strange incident, let''s keep going, I really want to exit that forest. (Too bad he quickly changed the essence of those crystals. If he had waited one more day, a fine spectacle could have been seen. And I think he just saved those Krieg''s servants. About him, let''s talk a little since it is quite boring recently. There is 3 type of gods, in fact, there is a lot of types but they can be regrouped into 3. The ones in charge of the Nine Heavens, they are the boss, the kings of the kings. They totally deserve it. After that, you have the lesser god like Aria, in charge of a world. If by a miracle, somewhere, a cult is formed and have enough followers, even if it is not the main religion of the world, a god would be created. For him to have the approbation and help of the Nine Heavens, he needs to overthrow the current god in charge by destroying his religion. When one god neither have a world given by the higher up or a religion, he disappears. It is the only reliable way to kill a god. If you lose your world but the Nine Heaven think highly of you, they can still give you a new world. But if you failed them repeatedly, you will be fired and left dying. The final type of god is the one like that bastard Krieg. They are here to spice things a little. Their job is to try to destroy the religion inside the world their followers are. It looks like the job of a newly born god but in fact, Krieg and the other are tasked by the Nine Heaven for that. The answer of why they allow that and reward peace and security inside all the worlds at the same time. Well, the public reason is to promote and train the lesser gods. As for the not so public reason, it''s is to ...) Chapter 26: Shadows of the Past Chapter 26: Shadows of the Past Barely six hours after the death of the drake, shadows could be seen near the ruins of the town. They didn''t approach it, they just confirmed its existence. After that they roamed in the forest, searching for clues. They found a bottom half of a human body, a charred one and finally someone who had taken a direct hit of the drake''s ws. He was injured, alive. Fighting against his need to embrace an eternal sleep, but still alive. Only when he found out the presence of the shadows in the trees did he rx and began tough. As he transformed himself into a tornado. Maybe if it was normal humans, they could have been deceived and approached him, only to die by beingunched in the sky. But the shadows were expecting this and only back off. But that had slow them down for many minutes. After that, the forest was a total mess. For the former human, nothing could be seen of him. Shortly after the shadows found out the siege weapons and the shields, all broken and torn apart by the winds. The search for the next clue will be very hard. But the shadows were patients and very meticulous. They roamed the forest centimeters by centimeters. Any branch or grass that were torn by a contact of a living being and not by the tornado have been found out. But it was from where the mysterious group wasing, not where they were going. But at one moment one of the shadows noticed something weird in the local energy. Like, if someone were transporting one the fairies'' crystal. But it was quickly dismissed. No human was stupid enough to steal a crystal, especially after the mess that they have done. But as time passed, more and more really noticed the peculiar energy. And the only reasonable reason was a crystal. Even if it was nonsense, they had to follow the lead. They stopped their tracks when they found out a dead tree. The fact that he was dead didn''t really matter. The evident poisoning that he endured was the main point. In the minds of all the shadows, a recent news was shining. A ratman was spotted in the nearby city of Ronta. It was at more than 2 weeks of travel for a human but the possibility was high. Especially with this dead tree as a proof. It was at that moment that they were baffled. Clearly, humans have killed the drake. But the ratman stole some crystals. Were they working together? If they were, it had to be transmitted immediately. One of the shadows rushed toward where they wereing, to warn his superiors. They could have transmitted this message magically, but they didn''t know if it was a trap or not. If it really was one, the moment they began to cast the spell was the moment they died. Why would that ratman have left such an evident clue and a nice looking trail toward this location? Unconsciously, the shadows were getting into formation, expecting the assault toe at any time. But as nothing happened for a long time, they began to rx and dropped their vignce a little bit. The moon was rising in the sky, making the hunt harder. They searched closely for any clue of where the ratman was going after that. But the magical trail stopped right here and nothing was disturbed. They could track a human with their eyes closed because of his smell, his tendency to destroy living things, his equipment. But to track a ratman, one of the sneakiest race when even the lowliest ve is more discreet than an experienced human thief, was a tough task. Disappointed by the absence of something, they began to retreat toward the siege weapons, to finally catch those damn humans. But on the way back, they met theirrade that had left earlier. What was he doing here? Only after touching him did they saw his head fall from his shoulders. And heard a terrifying voice. "Pointy-ears sheek,sheek! Stab-kill them!" And the shadows were overrun by an even darker masse. After two days, Daryl was a happy man. Everything was going smoothly for him. First, of the three supposed dead hunters under him, one was still alive. And he was the one fused with a Wind Elemental. He managed to provoke a tornado so big that even Daryl and his men saw it. With that, the potential of all them making it back alive was greatly improved. And right now, they could even see the end of this damn Fairy Forest. They managed to sneak inside the territory of the elves, kill off the drake inside a town of the fairies and get away. That was a tale he will dly enjoy narrate it in front of the new recruits. Daryl Maimedhand, yer of the elven drake. That was a really good name. He began to stroke his beard with his right hand, satisfied with himself. Until he saw what was in front of him. Eleven elves heads. Still with the hood of the ranger. Someone had actually the courage to do something like that. But what was currently in the mind of Daryl was not the death of the elves. That was the name of the power behind those deaths. And when he saw a shadow appearing right in front of him, he quickly took three steps back. The hunters were scared by both the shadow and the heads but they still were in formation before Daryl finished hisst step. Even the Chosen were clearly aware of the threat, them for who a small drake like that is not even worthy to be mentioned. Both groups looked at each other for a minute before the members of the Order heard a voice. -Man-thing, core, trade-steal, sheek sheek! The shadow extended a w, like if it was asking them to give the core without a condition. Daryl looked in confusion at Gustav, because it was him who had the drake core. Even if that core was not particrly important for this mission, it was still a rare and valuable material. Just letting it go without even a fight will be badly seen by the Prophet of Krieg. But to his immense surprise, he saw the very man that killed a drake without even sweating searching frically inside his bag. After a few seconds, he finally found the core and quickly put it in the w. It was the first time Daryl saw him really fearing something. He guessed that they still had some emotions. After gaining the thing he was looking for, the shadow extended his other w toward the head. "Pointy-ears, man gift, sheek sheek!" And disappeared right after it. Every hunter was bbergasted. They didn''t even understand what happened. In their minds, the only thing that mattered was that they lost a drake core. A core that was earned with the blood of three of their fellows. They quickly expressed their anger and asked Gustav to exined himself of why he was scared of such a small shadow. He answered simply by bashing the head of the stupid moron that asked that question, while constantly looking around him. After a moment, he sighed. "Guess we are safe now, pack the heads. Now the elves will think that we killed their rangers. No matter what, even if we left the heads here. We have no one who can take the me for us, so let''s pray Krieg that they never understood that it was us that killed the drake." "But can''t we just say that is was that shadow? And who was it?" At this word, Gustav began tough. At first, it was a smallugh, but it was getting bigger, turning into a hysterical one. The curious hunter retreat, fearing that he will have the same fate as the injured hunter. But to his surprise, the Chosen only chose to shake his head. "Guess that you didn''t get the information. I mean only Daryl is informed by it, am I right?" Daryl nodded, he didn''t exin the recent news with his men. First of all, they learned it on their way toward the drake. And they were not qualified to know it that soon anyway. "A few weeks earlier, in a small city of the Holy Kingdom of Ronta, the trail of a member of a race supposed extinct was found. A race that during the Portal War, provoked so many troubles that the Hero had to take action and the Portal was canceled. So in the end, the years of war against the demons and the potential conquest of the other world was foiled by one race. The ratmen. And since apparently it took them a century to regroup and reform their empire, I won''t let the Order be the first victim of their vengeance. That''s why I let them have the drake core. And don''t be mistaken. Those eleven rangers could have yed with you. Even the six of us would be hard pressed fighting against them in a forest. But the ratmen managed to kill them, track us and arrive here first. And if you think that he was alone, always remember one thing. If you see one ratman, that means hundred are behind you. Now let''s be done with this mission and report to the Prophet. This news will definitely not be to his liking." Chapter 27: Second Prince of the Sand Empire Chapter 27: Second Prince of the Sand Empire Meanwhile, in a location directly at the North of the hunters'' squad, Sleek was finally out of the forest. It was a relief to him, who had spent the major part of his new life in either the forest or Ronta. But what he had discovered was a desert. And how the desert was merging with the forest baffled the poor rat. So this I a desert. Great. But just one little thing. If I step back for around a hundred feet into the forest, I am surrounded by fresh trees, living insect, all the stuff found in a healthy forest. Now I walk my hundred feet again, this time toward the desert. And now, I can''t find anything living at all. Just some bones lying nearby. Huge bones of a snake I would say, a huge snake, more than 5 meters at least. But that''s not the problem, the problem is what is between those two points. The vegetation and animals magically disappear progressively. We go quickly from a lot of trees to small bushes and finally nothing. How is that possible? Did the god who created this world at any concept of a natural environment? You know, a progression between two biomes? It''s like the heat. Inside the forest, the air is a little cold, fresh, filled with humidity sometimes. The desert is really hot. And I can even find a ce where half of my body is cold the other half is burning. Aria definitely had messed up this world. And I am not even surprised. But what is better, a forest or a desert? I guess inside the forest there will be more little animals but my spells are not improving. I guess this time they need a real threat and true monsters, not animals. And inside the desert, only the strongest survive. That is a little scary but I don''t think I am that weak. And the wind is a lot stronger than in the forest, so my disease will be spread far and wide. No one will be able to escape it. Let''s go farming some monsters then. And yes, my [Create Disease] is definitely working. Sometimes I stumble on some small snakes who have already died. Scorpions and other insects are not spared but they are very hard to find, I only noticed one and it was because he died on a brown rock. Otherwise, with the color of their skeleton matching the desert, they would be a huge threat to any travelers. As expected, myck of thirst and hunger is very advantageous. Even inside such a burning desert, I don''t need to find water. And each time I spot one of those oases, I justunch a spell and quickly leave. Even if I don''t need it, the more powerful monsters will clearly take control of such area and I don''t want to meet one of them. Or maybe I do? Well, let''s try and see what happened. So I get closer to the nearby oasis. And see absolutely nothing. No animals, no birds, no insects. If it doesn''t mean that a huge threat is guarding this ce, I don''t know what that means. I use the cover of the very few trees to approach the water. Still no reaction. Even if I was in the range of using my spell on it, nothing was moving. Maybe I was wrong and it is just void of life for a short moment. Anyway, I use 8 instances of [Create Poison]. That should be enough to poison anything who will be drinking this water. But even there, nothing was even making a sound. Better be careful, so I took the exact same road to leave. Now that my MP pool is low, I should probably stop spreading my disease. Not that it achieves anything but you never know. One more time I watch all my attributes on the System and they were not improving. I was walking in the night when I got a feeling that something had changed. And yes, a lot had changed, my early poisoning was useful. I gained two levels, and my attributes all improved a little. I attained HP: 87/87 and MP: 119/119. And most importantly, I achieve level 7 on [Poisonous Being] and level 1 on [Create Acid]. I suppose that rece my previous poison. I really wonder what I killed and in how much time I did it. Because half a day had passed between the two events. So I test my new skill. And it is more or less the same than the previous one, except it now has a corrosive property. That''s not good I think. That means, if I use it on a bottle of water, will the bottle be destroyed? Because right now, I had a hand full of sand and after activating my spell, the only thing still staying in my hand was the green liquid. I really need to find a gourd or something that can contain water inside it. But where am I supposed to find it in a desert? Maybe there are people living in it? Still, it leaves the ratman problem. Well, I can wipe them out. But I have to find them first. And except the usual living beings of a desert and the monster, I probably killed, not a lot of activities. And in the night the probability that I stumble into any intelligent being is nearly the same probability that Aria is not totally stupid. Yes, I can trash talk her. That really calms me. "My prince, I know that you want to hunt the Western King to surpass your two brothers and win the crown. But you know very well that even the Eternal Guard Tompas said that he needs at least 10 of his fellow guards and even he is not assured of winning. We are only twelve and nowhere near the power of the Eternal Guards." "Rest assured Ahmad, I trust your strength and your vigor. But what Tompas means is an honorable battle. We are here to kill the scorpion, not to have a battle with it. So, of course, we are going to trap it, wither his forces slowly and steadily. Only in that way we have a chance." "Yes, my prince." Would you look at that? Finding someone in the night. And apparently a prince, just that. That passive ability to understand anynguages is really helpful. But they areing my way, and there is no hiding spot nearby. I am in the middle of a dune and they will reach the top of it soon enough. I have recharged my MP to a suitable level, 97/119. If a fight will break, I am ready. Only twelve people versus me and my crystals. Finally, I can see a form standing in front of me and it''s, sand? A sand man? Give me a dream? So sand elemental, or maybe the genie in themp, or a djinn? But after seeing me they are clearly threatened by me and are in formation. "Who are you, walking on the sand of our empire?" Ok, let''s be peaceful. I have no idea if any of my spells work on something not really alive. "Sleek, just-just a simple traveler." "Sleek? What does it mean Ahmad?" "My prince, I think we should back off and let this traveler pass." "WHAT? WHY IT IS US THAT SHOULD RETREAT! I AM THE SECOND PRINCE OF THE SAND EMPIRE, SON OF SULIMAN III, THE FIRST WARRIOR OF THIS COUNTRY!" "Yes my prince, we really need to go." They are funny, one is clearly pissed and the other is trying to avoid me. What terrible reputation did the ratmen manage to make? Just one sentence from me, and I see most of the escort fearing for their lives while the others are totally confused. "Sleek, I will le-leave then." "Yes, make way, let him leave." "Ahmad, exin yourself, I am your prince! Why are you listening to a stranger and not the one you swore fidelity and loyalty?" I should really leave, apparently, they are really supposed to follow a strict hierarchy. That sandman will probably be punished. But now that I think about it, maybe they can tell me where I can find any human settlement. "Sleek, sandman, where is the closest hu-human vige?" "There is a town if you go that way." He pointed a direction near the South-East I would say. So this is my next destination. "Ahmad why did.." "SHUT UP! My prince. Stay quiet Selim." That follower will definitely be punished. Saying that to his prince, he really has a death wish. But it is a little suspicious, why did he tell me a direction that quickly. Or maybe he just wants to get rid of me and if the humans are their enemies, well it''s beneficial for him. He makes the ratman leave, and kill the humans with an external help. Maybe they should reward him. What is the worst case, he points an empty location far away from his empire. So I even get away from them. But I truly wonder what was the western king they were talking about. Did they say it was a scorpion or something like that? How can a scorpion be a king? Chapter 28: I dont like sand Chapter 28: I don''t like sand Ahmad is stressfully waiting for the cloaked ratman to reach the peak of the nearby dune and disappear. Only after losing sight of him he finally rxed. That was a situation too dangerous for the second prince that was currently staring at him with murderous intentions. Of course, he wouldn''t begin to talk before he was sure that the threat was away. So he signaled the prince to wait and climbed the dune. Only to see the ratman far away. "Ahmad, now better start talking immediately! If you weren''t my most loyalpanion and the one that has served me for many years, you will already be dead for insulting me." "Yes my prince, I ept any punishment that you find eptable. My conduct was only to save all of us. If for that I have to be condemned, I will dly ept it." "Why are you saying we were in danger; it was only one human. A short one, maybe it was a dwarf." "It was neither my prince, it was a ratman." "Foolish idea, the ratmen are just legends. They are the monsters of this world but they don''t exist." "My prince they really exist; it is just that they were supposedly dead. And we, the djinns of the Sand Empire, were one of the few races to be spared by their vile ns. We don''t have a core like monsters and our constitution prevent us from catching diseases. Only some poisons and toxic substances can harm us. That''s why we were not touched. You were not born during the Portal War. But the king and some of the ancient Eternal Guard like Tompas were." "Even if they existed, their power can''t possibly be at the same level of those legends. I mean resisting the assault of all races of this world for more than a decade. Destroying the eldest Treants of the elven kingdom. Wiping out 2 human kingdoms. Making the proud and ferocious dwarves lost 2 of their five mountains kingdoms." "It is true, everything is true but fortunately, they were never really interested in the desert. Not enough food, water, monsters for them. And it was even a blessing for us. The Lizard tribes of the East, our enemies, were decimated for their cores. But that''s logical that you took them for mere legends. They were supposed dead and they were unrted of the current problems. But please my prince, if you ever see a ratman, be polite with him, even if you are a prince. And if he asks you where you can find anything just point him toward the Tomb Kings." "Like you did." "Exactly, they are merely an empty shell of their previous power because of the ratmen. I would say, our empire would have never been that powerful if the Portal War hadn''t happened. Our two enemies were exterminated for the Lizard, and greatly harmed for the Tomb Kings. And even the new group of humans hiding in the old ruins in the South, they are not enough to threaten us. Now my prince let''s hunt this Western King." "Yes, you are right. That was a great encounter I would say. Do you think my two brothers would have known more about ratmen? They are more intelligent than me but even for them, they have no reason to think that the ratmen were more than just legends." "I have no idea, my prince. But you should warn the king when we are back. That would be a great deed." After this discussion, the group of hunters began to walk again in direction of their prey. A few hourster, they stumbled on it but they didn''t expect to find it that way. The scorpion that has controlled a huge area of desert and loved to ambush anything in his territory was already dead. But no marks of weapons were found on his body. It only looked like his eyes exploded and blood fell from his mouth. If it was a normal asion, none of them would have found the right answer. But after seeing a supposed legend walk in front of them, they quickly added the two elements. And that time, even the non-believers recalled their encounter with fear. Damn desert. I never thought that I will miss the forest. But right now, I don''t know where I am going. Everything is alike. I didn''t find a single thing. Only sand, sand everywhere. I begin to hate sand. I don''t like the sand. It''s coarse and rough and irritating. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating but walking in a mindless way is really getting on my nerves. And the worst part is, I didn''t manage to kill a single sandman. Yes, I tried to make them sick but apparently, I failed. So they are really resistant to that, they probably don''t even have blood. Or they have sand blood. Which is weird. Probably only my new poison, an acid that can melt sand, will kill them. But since he is from royalty, killing a prince, in a desert, in an empire ruled by sandmen, is a pretty stupid idea. I can''t have my aura permanently. But now I am walking in the direction that they showed me. I really wonder what is in the end. I really hope humans but I think it will not be as simple as that. The only bad thing that can happen is nothing. Like a direct line out of their empire and nothing will be found before I exit the desert. Which is not that bad, now that I think about it. At least there will be more living things than here. There is nothing, oh, no I spoke too soon, I see a dead scorpion. It has been 5 days; I am tired of the sun now. There is no shadow, nothing to prevent it to hit me. My clothes are burning. Like literally, at one moment I had to prevent my sleeve to take fire. But the evolution was nice, they gave me a set of clothes. Because running naked would have been bad. I am mentally getting thirsty. Because I really feel that my body doesn''t need to drink, but in my head, I just want a freezing soda or a ss of fresh water. The next time I see any djinn, I will kill him. No, the next thing I encounter will die. No matter what is it. And it is a skeleton. A living skeleton of a dead human. It''s weird each time I really think about it. But I will make him die another time. Only after I am 10 meters away from him did he noticed me. Either his sight is really bad, what I think, or I am really discreet, probably not to that point. He moves slowly and even without really doing anything I dodge his strike. After he tries to stab me, I dodge again. Seeing everything failed, he tries to approach me and grab my clothes. I activate my aura. I can see him melt, even his old broken sword share the same fate. That was the most basic undead created. A sword, slow movements, reduced intelligence. Shortly after, I spot a group of them. I calmly walk towards them and when everyone is close enough, my aura begins to ughter them. This time, since not every skeleton was in range, I had to activate it for 6 seconds. My mana is really low now. But the good thing is, two of the abilities rted to magic have improved. [Magical Restoration lvl3] and [Magical Efficiency lvl 3]. My spells cost less mana, even the aura and that mana lost is recovered faster. Only the [Magical Handling] stay the same. Probably because of the absence of casting time. The quality of the undead is too low to improve anything else. As for eating the bones, if it is not a real monster or high-rank undead, I won''t do it. Since only if the attributes are improved will my [Scavenger] be activated. That was the result of my research on little rabbits, back in the forest of Ronta. And one scorpion. The wood that I used to form my spears had a better taste. And was more useful. But I guess that if I keep going that way, maybe a lich or at least something better than a skeleton will appear. Why am I thinking that? Simple. Why, a skeleton would be here, if not because of something else. Well, there is still a chance that it was the field of a previous battle, thousands of years ago and the souls of the warriors have not found rest. And they decided to roam the battlefield one more time. But first, the bones don''t look like they have been standing many years in the sand. Then, if any monsters were passing by, they could crush the weak undead in seconds. So those djinns didn''t just make me leave their empire, they even throw me to the local undead. Well, I will dly oblige, I have a very good memory of the undead, especially if there is a lich. Chapter 29: Merciful god, ungrateful believers Chapter 29: Merciful god, ungrateful believers My only problem right now is finding the source of the undead. Because, yes I find a lot of small group of skeletons but I don''t know if I should go to the left after killing them or to the right. And I have to wait a few hours after each meeting because I don''t want to finally meet something strong, just to found out I can''t kill it. The good thing is my level. I got two more. So more everything. But my spells didn''t change. I really think that humans give me more experience than the skeletons. Because just killing small children had granted me extraordinary rewards. I guess the System reward is based on the intelligence of the victim. Because the skeleton is clearly stronger than a little kid. And again, small group, only 2. 2, 2, 2, another one bites the dust. Yes, I am bored. And I even said that I was thankful for the appearance of an undead. But now, I think that I have walked in a circle. And the main issue with my killing method is, there are no bodies afterward. I totally melt them. I have to, they are undead. But the small ashes left after they died are blown away by the strong wind. And then, how are you supposed to notice the difference between two dunes. I don''t even know from where Ie. If only I could see a rock or something. From my first encounter with a skeleton, I walk past one rock, a carcass of arge monster and 2 small withered trees. I just need to find one of those. Ah, I finally found my rock. Or I think it is this one. Wait, no it''s not the same. So I have nevere here. And no undead nearby. Well, I climb a dune again. And I found my two trees. Yes, the potential of two other trees alone in the desert is too small. So, my fear has been confirmed. I have walked in a circle. And when I was in front of them, I have walked to the No, not from that direction. Yes, I was in front of that dead leaf. And I took, right. So now, I guess I go forward. And I found the dead carcass. What sort of path did I take? I literally rushed toward any undead I found. So I keep going forward now. Even if there is a group of undead, I don''t attack them. Just keep going. It''s been a few days now, that I didn''t meet anything living or dead. I don''t know what to think about it. Maybe I am getting away from the undead. Probably I am doing it. I just want to leave that desert. Bring me back to the forest of my childhood. Ok, first let''s check something. My sense of orientation, bad. I mean, I didn''t get lost inside Ronta so why in that desert I managed to return back into the oasis that I poisoned. It''s the same, I remember it very clearly how it was. So I have lost, I don''t even know, ten days at the minimum. To return from where I wasing. So I have a choice now. Go back to the fairy forest, or take my original road. The one I took before meeting the sandmen. Talking about the sandmen make me remember it''s because of them that I have nearly been lost. And they wereing from that direction, a little North maybe, like North-East-East. Let''s meet again, shall we? After yet again, after many days of walking under the burning sun, I regret my decision. I should have gone back toward the forest. At least it has fresh air, peaceful shadows, cute little animals. All I can see is sand, more sand and finally yes, it''s sand. System do you have a map? Every System has a mini-map or the map of the world. Do you have it? Please? Let''s try with the username -Marc Cassidy open map! No, let me get lost. It''s better. That will forge my motivation and my will. Or some old Chinese pieces of advice that no one follows really. They have advice for anything, I am sure they have an advice for walking thousands of kilometers in a desert. As far as I know, in Europe, there is absolutely no advice about the desert. Except one, don''t go in one. And the other, if you are in one, leave it as quickly as you can. I should have followed that second fake advice. Just make a monster spawn in front of me. Even if it is the final boss I don''t care. I am at the end of my life right now. I have even found one oasis not long ago so I poisoned it. And I got no notification of killing something. Maybe it was an empty one. Aria, I regret immensely all the things I have said about you, please, give me a way out. I will go to the Heaven finally; I will even not say anything about the fact that you killed me. Just let me get out of this desert. I will even praise how smart you are, happy now? Nothing, as I expected. She marked me to be invisible to any other divinities. Maybe even she was not spared. So that means no matter which god I beg, I am alone. Ok, I have enough of walking. Let''s just sit right here, right now and wait. Maybe someone will notice me. Or I will notice someone. I am on top of a dune; I have a very good vision around me. That way I am both visible to others and I can see them. It is the third night after I stopped. Yes, I have waited for that long at the same spot. I mean, since I saw a group of sandmen, there should at least be scouts or guards nearby. Or even other hunters. But there is none. No creatures, no animals besides a little scorpion I killed a night ago. I took six hours of my time to slowly mutte it. Yes, it is a little cruel, but me being bored is even crueler. I am not even using my spells, to not scare anybody. Please, someone, I am a poor damsel in distress, stuck in the desert. Will a brave and proud white knight save me? I really consider saying this or not. Since I am in a cloaked cloth, they can''t see for sure that I lied. But the reputation of the ratmen will be beyond reparation if thates out. I decide to walk again. The wait is inhuman and even for a ratman it''s hard. I will just.. Wait, is this something in the horizon? Probably a mirage with my luck. But from what I learned in midnight emissions, a mirage is just something further away that it looks like. And that way I have a target. They never really said by how much the distance was extended. But I have walked for a day, and I am not getting closer. Perseverance is the mother of sess or some stupid advice like that. Well, that person that created this never had to walk for more than a month in a desert. I am getting to that point I think. I have spent more time in the desert than anywhere else in that world. And most of the time, and by most, I mean all the period besides hunting skeleton and talking to sandmen, I was lost. Another day and not closer. But the mirage is still there. So it''s not moving. I still don''t really know what it is, I just see some forms on the horizon. Could be buildings, or just trees. But even that is better than nothing. I finally begin to see what it is. It looks like a wall. So that means civilization. And civilization means somebody who can talk. And I will talk. Maybe I will even spare them from death. Because I am a merciful god. And a really lonely one. Yes, if it is not a sandmen vige, I will spare them. As for the sandmen, well they shouldn''t have thrown me toward the undead. I mean, I was thankful at first, but when I realized they didn''t point me directly toward the strong one, that gratitude turned into resentment. And that feeling brings hate. I can see some forms moving in the walls, I still can''t see the race behind those. But they have some shiny armors, that''s the spirit. Shining armors in the walls, to warn the strangers that they are strong. And it''s visible so everyone can see the power of the city. Just a little closer and I will be able to converse with them. It looks like they noticed me. Well, they don''t have a lot of travelers I think. But I am a peaceful one. I just want to buy a map, and get the hell away from that desert. They should have a map. I hope that they can read and write. But the clear quality of the walls means they are at least a little bit smart. It''s not like a goblin wall where there are holes everywhere. But it''s strange, they are shouting. I am not that big of a threat. I am just a small cloaked unknown creature. I am not scary. But they are really organized. I can even see pull out their bows and Wait, why are they loading it with arrows? Oh, bloody hell. Chapter 30: Work for Free? Chapter 30: Work for Free? "Ok, hold on, sleek sleek. Stop pulling the str-strings of your bows, please. Stop, pl-please?" "Who are you? You are on the soil of the Sand Empire, ruled by Suliman the third, yer of the Lizard and Protector of the Desert. Now, identify yourself or we will consider you as an enemy of this empire." They really are not joking. I mean, I didn''t expect to enter the kingdom of peace and love but, directly threaten anyone getting close to the wall is a bit extreme. So they are probably xenophobe. Or didn''t have a good memory with strangers. From the look of it, it is a nice and good wall. More than 4 meters in height, I don''t see the width but I can see at least 3 soldiers in a line. That is really a wall to prevent anyone from entering illegally and criminally in their empire. I wonder how much time did it took them to build it. Because they don''t have any technologies. They are still relying on bows and I see no crossbow or firearm. For rangebat, the bow is the lowest of all weapons. It only relies on the strength and uracy of the user, that means for real war, only the people trained in it can use it efficiently. Not like a crossbow or a gun for example, where even some recruits can fire it urately enough for war. But in a world full of magic and strange powers, it makes sense to use a weapon based on the strength of the soldier. Now that I think about it, the technology of the human wascking too. A cart pulled by horses, a well where you have to manually pull the bucket of water. The gunpowder is probably not invented yet, neither the industrial revolution has begun. But back toward the threatening soldiers. What should I say? Hello, I am a ratman, maybe you have heard of my race, I hope they have a good reputation. Not going to work. They are going to check all my equipment and everything that I carry, so 20 weird crystals with clearly menacing color. And they will notice my condition of ratman. I am in front of a wall, with no door or gates nearby. So I have no means of getting closer to those archers. And my silence is a little too long. I can see them getting more and more impatient. And I think I am in range of their arrows. I am at like fifty meters. Let''s try the peaceful solution. "I am a lone tra-traveller lost in the desert, sleek sleek. It has been 10 days since I sssaw anything alive, so I wonder if you can point a direction where I can fi-finally reach the East of this desert. Or do-do you have any shop ssselling a map of the desert?" After saying that, I wait. And I wait a long time. They are clearly not preupied with the fact that I could be dying without water or food. No, they are arguing, I can''t hear them but some are pointing toward the northern side of the wall while others are pointing their bows. My guess? Some are actually nice and want me to reach a gate where I can really talk. The others, probably want to use the arrows in their bows to transform someone into a porcupine. But the nice guys are a lot more than the bloodthirsty guys. "It has been many years since a traveler reached the wall of our empire. We don''t know the rules of hospitality of the others races so if I offended you I apologize for it. If you keep walking to the North, you will see the Fourth Gate of the West. After that, themandant in charge of it will check your situation and if he judges you peaceful enough, he will allow you to rest and continue your travel toward the East." "Th-thank you honorable members of the Sssand Empire. Th-this one will follow your advice, sleek sleek." After saying this, I can really feel that the one who has talked to me was smiling. He was probably like, you see that person was just lost, he was harmless, we didn''t have to kill him, I was right. I resume my march, this time following the walls in the direction of the North. On the ramparts, I can see two or three shining armors following me. Probably to exin the situation. I mean, I am really lucky to meet nice people, if I follow the walls without protection, maybe I will end up in a portion were the bloodthirsty soldiers are in majority. That would be funny. Not it won''t. And yes, I can see them talk to every officer, exining what happened. Now I just have a little problem. What will I do when I reach the gate? Kill everyone? I don''t think I can. I mean, this time I can see the numerous troops of that empire. If I get on the bad sides of them, my life will be miserable. Hunted in a desert where I am lost. But then what should I do? Bet on the fact that all the ratmen are not some total monsters or the boogeyman of this world. Honestly, there is no way that they have a good reputation. I just need one not too huge. If it is too huge, I am screwed. But now I am trapped. If I try to leave now, I will still be hunted because I am a potential threat. If I don''t leave, well my life is in the hand of fate. And that is never a good sign. But where is this Gate? I have walked for hours now. That is highly imperfect to have only a few exit points in a wall so huge. And since he has directed me toward the North, the gate in the South would have been even farther. Ok, they are trolling me now. First, I can see them keep walking at my side, on the ramparts. Then it is the night. They have not slowed down their advance out of concern for me. They have not enquired if I need to rest or eat or drink. So am I supposed to walk for how many days? Not that I don''t have time but, I am bored of walking. Ok, now I am seeing the gate. Just one day and a half to reach it. How huge is this empire and really how many centuries did it take to build that wall? If they say they made it in less than a decade I say they lied. Now the time of truth and judgment. Will the world condemn me or will he save me? I see an armor made of steel and with some epaulets made in golding toward me. That should be themandant. Only when he was close enough I could discern what was behind the armor. And, unfortunately, it was one of those sandmen or djinn. And of course, he is near twice my size, but we are not close enough for the discussion to be awkward. "Greetings stranger, I am themandant of the fourth western gate, member of the Watchers, Saad. From what I learn from one of the sergeants, you are seeking to go toward the East. What is your intention to do so and what are your intentions toward the Sand Empire?" That''s really an officer. So I guess he should have learned that a potential ratman is roaming in the desert. And why I say that is because of the respectful tone of the discussion between me and the group of hunters. Or he mistook me for something more powerful than a ratman. I prefer the first choice. Because that would mean a small lifeform is existing with more powers than my evolution path. And small things don''t tell me if they are dangerous as easily as a big dragon would do. "Th-thank you for your concernmandant, sleek sleek. I ssseek no harm to your country, I just want to re-reach the East of this world. As for why I am afraid I ca-can''t tell you that." Funnily, he doesn''t look surprised or angry by my answer. Like he was expecting me to tantly lie to him in front of his army. But I really just want to go East for no reason except I just want it. Why I want that, well, because, something. I have no idea what is in the North or South, how should I know what''s in the East? That''s why I am going. But I can''t tell him that. That''s even worse than lying. Because he will think that I am joking with him, but if I just lie, that means I have a logical reason. "We will dly let you go through our country if you just answer one thing. Did you destroy all the undead in the tombs?" "Wh-what tomb? I only met ssskeletons in the desert and after fo-following them I end up reaching your wall, sleek sleek. Wait, did you sssend me to exterminate your undead pro-problem? Did you dare ussse a ratman to do your di-dirty job and expect him to work for free?" Chapter 31: Work for Something! Chapter 31: Work for Something! Yes, that was a bold move by me. I mean, there was a chance that I get killed instantly by themandant for my threat and disrespectful speech. But since he was courteous, I was thinking that the ratmen are truly great people. They have managed to pacify a race made of sand, I mean, that should be a race really strong. Something that you can''t distinguish from the local environment and you can''t make them bleed. Or maybe they bleed more sand? That is really a weird thinking. But currently, after my angry sentence came out, I can see themandant unconsciously take half a step back. Like if you see a lion jump in front of you, you just instantly retreat but right after, you wonder if there is a better solution, so you stop. That was the situation of themandant. So for him, I am more dangerous than him by a huge margin. Well, time to make him panic. I gently and slowly crouch to grab a hand full of sand. Under his careful eyes, I use [Create Acid]. Even if I can''t see his expression under his helmet, I am still close enough to see his eyes. And when the sand begins to melt in my hand, and, he saw my hand unharmed of anything, his eyes start to crease. I don''t really know what that means, but at least I got a reaction. I would have expected him to open his eyes totally, like if he was shocked. But it''s more like he doesn''t want to see my spell anymore. Or maybe he is feeling that the former sand in my hand could have been his body. Anyway, since I have the advantage and they don''t look like they will attack me, I have to gain something. Either a map, a free pass for their empire, something. "Ssso you see. What are you go-going to do now, sleek sleek?" "Gurlp, may I hope that your noble character can wait for a little more? I am not qualified to speak onmon ground with you. I have to call my superior." "Do it, sleek sleek. But tell th-them that my patience isss limited." "Yes, it will be done, my lord." He even starts calling me like I am from nobility. But if he is reaching his superiors, my petty tricks can''t fool the really powerful people. But they can''t be that much higher of amandant of the great wall of the Sand Empire. There is probably, a general above him and after that a royal guard and finally the captain of the royal guard. Anything else stronger than the captain is an anomaly. Like a Hero or some stuff like that. So, the maximum is three grades higher than him. Let''s hope that the difference between each grade is low. He quickly returns toward the gate and let me wait here. But, if before some of the soldiers were watching me with evil eyes and were touching their bows every minutes or so, now they are standing motionless like a statue. He probably told them that if I attack, they won''t stand a chance so they don''t need to provoke me. If I wanted to wipe them out, I would have already done it. That''s in their minds right now. Shortly after, I can see a strange lizard leave the gate toward an unknown destination. So they stillmunicate with external means. Like a pigeon or in this case, a lizard. Don''t they have a mental connection or telepathy? That shouldn''t be their only mean ofmunication. At least, in case of a surprise attack, you need to have a reliable and instantaneous device, to warn the empire. Like a re or an explosion, something that can be heard or seen from far. Or can form a chain, like distress towers, where they burn a pile of woods on top of it. But since we are in a desert, a white light is extremely bad. And by that, I mean you can only use it in the night. In the day, there is no chance to be seen. So they need a green or red light, something peculiar in a desert. While I was thinking that, another lizard arrived. Now that I saw it, those little things were very quick. And I saw him climb themandant and speak in his ears. Ok, I apologize for the bad things said about you, you are both fast and probably can transmit direct sentences. So no mimunication possible, clear and direct orders can be transmitted without worries. If it was a spell, there is always a risk it goes wrong or some stuff can be lost. Not with those lizards, except killing it and for that good luck spotting a yellow lizard running at the speed of a cheetah in a desert. After listening to the lizard, themandant stands still for a dozen seconds. He is clearly perturbed. Is it good or bad for me? I don''t know. But he walks with rigidity toward me. Like a received an order he absolutely doesn''t want to execute but have to do it anyway. But it''s not my death sentence, otherwise, he would have prepared his men before meeting me. "Honorable guest, I have a small little detail to check before we can continue our discussion. I have been tasked to" "Yesss, what is it, sleek sleek?" "Can you, eh, remove your cloak to really check if you are a ratman? Please?" So even if I am talking weirdly, have ws and can manipte poison with ease, or acid in my case, they want me to show my face? Is it supposed to be insulting? Wait now that I think about it, the hunters were masked too. I didn''t really notice that detail on the soldiers, since having something protecting your face makes sense. Maybe they have a tradition to at least partially cover their faces. And that''s why he is clearly embarrassed to ask me this. But for me, it is just an appearance. The thing is, should I oblige? Or should I refuse? One is giving them face but make me submit to them. The other is confronting their authority, but at the same time saying that I am not theirckey. They can''t order me around. They won''t. "Sleek, sleek. With which authority you da-dare order me? And wi-with what are you missstaking me?" "My most profound apologies, I have no doubt about your identity. But it was my orders, I hope you will be forgiving enough to spare thispany of Watchers. When my superior will be here, I will transmit your requests. He will be here very shortly my lord." So they wanted to test me but thatmandant is either really smart or too terrified to displease me. Each thing confirms more and more that this empire has met ratmen in the past but probably didn''t get attacked by them. Or at least not to a war level. And yes, a momentter I see someone with strange clothesing. I say strange because it looks like a robe made of cotton. Most of the human clothes were made from leather or skins and for the farmers, it was made of what they cultivated. It is the first time I see something made from a material not rted to food. And yes, he has a veil on his face. So there is a weird tradition with the faces of people. Now is it good or bad, I don''t care, I just have to be vignt about it. It would be the best if I never show my face openly. The current me is hiding behind a cloak that is preventing arge part of my face to be seen. Add my small height and that''s even harder for the tall sandman. "Greetings honorable ratman, my name is Ahmad, brigadier general of the West Wall. I hope you remember our encounter a few days ago." I know that voice, that was the one that had encouraged me to follow his direction. The one that made me despair in a desert void of anything. He was with a prince if I remember. So they hope that since I didn''t kill them back there, I won''t kill him right now. What they don''t know is the fact that I really tried to kill them. Just that I used my disease and it totally failed. But he is still very close to the prince. I mean, in a secret mission, with only ten men, the prince chooses him. That''s really important. Maybe I can try to live a little in this empire. Maybe even help that prince reach the throne. None of his enemies will ever expect a ratman to help a djinn. He probably won''t refuse that offer. That''s the kind you can''t refuse. "Yesss, I remember your voce. Since you are here to ta-talk, will you lisssten my proposal? I am not in a hurry to reach my de-destination, sleek sleek. And I heard that yo-your prince has, how do I sssay it, sssome problems. If you can gr-grant sssomepensations, I can help him. Are you ccepting my help, sleek sleek, or do you re-refuse it?" Chapter 32: The Princes Hand Chapter 32: The Prince''s Hand "Should I ept his request? Should I not ept it and provoke his wrath? Or should I immediately rush toward the prince to ask him?" That was the three question turning in a circle inside the mind of Ahmad. He never thought that a ratman, something presumed dead, would knock on his door and humbly provide his services. But maybe it was a trap, they let him in and then the army of the ratmen will invade their empire. Every conspiracy possible was an option at this point for the brigadier general. But while his mind was in turmoil, the ratman kept looking at him. But he truly had no idea what to respond. And he even made a speech about how they already met, that they could talk easily. In the end, he could only make him wait again. From the report he got, it has been two full days of wait for the walking legend since he reached the western wall. And he talked first to an officer then amandant and finally him. He even began to think that the prince himself should just move to meet the ratman. Because from the point of view of the stranger, they looked really bad. Preventing to enter their empire, make him wait for a capable person only to find out the fact that that person was not qualified. And it was his turn. But he could only stall for time. "I am, I am not, not qualified to talk to that level. Can we, can we humbly ask you to wait? A little more?" Unfortunately, this time there was no answer from the small creature No movements at all, not even a sound was exiting his body. And that made the nearby soldiers fearful. Was he casting a spell to wipe out all of those incapables? And if themandant was a human, he would have already sweat every single drop of water stored inside his body. Not even the proud and powerful Ahmad was able to meet the expectation of the ratman. And theoretically, the superior of the brigadier general is the Marshal of the Empire. Or,monly known, the emperor himself. So who was supposed to meet the stranger? The emperor can''t really do that. The current ruler of the djinns can''t just walk toward a gate to meet someone. It''s that someone that should meet the emperor in his pce. But did they really want a walking disaster and the boogeyman of Astria inside the Sand Empire? No, someone had to take a decision and meet the ratman. So it was either the Eternal Guard or one of the princes. For Ahmad, the choice was quickly done. Right after respectfully walking back in front of the stranger, he forgot every single protocol and personally rushed toward the residence of the second prince. He didn''t know if the information had already been transmitted to the two other princes. Most likely, but even if it was the case, before one of the two took a decision, a long time will pass. First, they needed to be sure of what really means letting a ratman inside the empire. As for the second prince, the moment he came back, he immediately rushed toward the royal library. He is potentially the most informed subject of his emperor on that topic. Once again, he forgot every convention that he should respect when meeting with the royalty and shouted the name of the prince. "My prince, my prince! It''s Ahmad, where are you, my prince? No time for that, SELIM!!! SELIM, COME QUICKLY!!!" Under the shocked gaze of the servants and the maids. Someone has dared to call the prince by his name. Even if Ahmad is a notorious and respectable figure, that didn''t mean he had the right to do such a thing. The entire house was looking for the inevitable punishment that the soldier will receive. But contrary to their expectation, the prince was not angry, he was even delighted. "Ahmad, tell me did he finally arrived?" "Yes, my prince, he is at the fourth gate. It is lucky that I am in charge of this portion of the wall. Your brothers will be powerless." "But tell me, what ord did you reach for you toe so quickly?" At this word, the previous confident and smiling Ahmad quickly remembered the real reason for his visit. His face could be seen crumbling if he didn''t have a veil. In front of the sudden silence of his follower, Selim began to fear the worst. "What did you do?" No answer from the convicted. "Where is he? You didn''t make him wait outside?" Capital punishment was required for the used. "And you didn''t just leave him alone? Without even inquire if he needs something like food or drink?" The condemned was brought in front of his rope, someone verified that it will not break and the executioner was ready to activate the lever. Miraculously, no one pulled it and the convicted was pardon. The reason was the judge could be seen exiting his house even more quickly than Ahmad had entered. It was at that moment that Selim immensely regretted that he was closer of the military and had barely any contact with the schrs and sages. Any follower of either the first prince or the third would have at least managed to prevent the situation to reach this point. But his people just made it worse and worse. They left him, left him to wait in the heat of the desert and under the hot rays of the sun. Not even under the shadow of the wall. And as he kept regretting to not have made them all follow a course about basic knowledge and courtesy, he arrived at the gate. He quickly saw every soldier bow before him and he didn''t have the time to nod at each of them. Normally, on any asion, he will try to please the army because of his position inside the empire. But this time, there is something more important than just a gate. Even for themandant, he just looked at him and when the former saw that, he quickly decided to retreat inside the gate, just lingering a bit to see how everything will work out. He already knew that he had failed beyond reparation with this. He will probably be demoted and will never get back to his current position. When the second prince saw the ratman, he couldn''t help but notice that his clothes were in the same state as when he saw them, even after ten days minimum in the desert and some assault from the undead. And that means one thing, he encountered no problem during his travel. As expected from the yer of the western king. "Honorable guest, my name is Selim ibn Affn, the second prince of the Sand Empire and first warrior of this country. My people and I extend our salutations toward you." And at the same time he said that, he extended his hand. He found in the library that a lot of deals between nations and powers were concluded after shaking the hands of both parties. So he decided to use this tradition to make the ratman feel closer to him. What he didn''t expect is the previousmandant that was hiding in the biggest hole nearby. When themandant saw his prince extending his hand, he remembered that it was the same hand where a fistful of sand was melted. And therefore, he immediately shouted. "MY PRINCE, DON" "SAAD, YOU MADE A GRAVE MISTAKE! I had thought that seeing the current situation you will understand what should you do but apparently not! You are revoked of your rank ofmandant; this takes action immediately. You will be judged for your failure." "Yes, my prince but" "NO BUT! Do you still not realize the situation? Are you blind and deaf? Do you know how rude it is to interrupt a discussion between two people?" "The hand" "WHAT HAND? MINE? What in the name of the emperor are you talking about?" "Sleek, sleek, I th-think he is talking about thisss." And after the ratman began to talk, he grabbed again some sand in his hand. And the diabolic spell did its work again. The former beautiful yellow sand was nothing more than ash in the wind. And at the sight of this, the prince began to furiously curse at every single being in this world that conducted negotiations that way. And in addition, themandant and the brigadier general too. "Why for the love of every god alive did they not told me that his hand can destroy sand? And what am I supposed to do now that I have extended mine? Should I retract it and appear fearful? Or let this bane of humanity touch me and possibly destroy me or my precious arm?" And while he was thinking this, he could hear some strange noisesing from under the cloak. To him, it was the signal of aughing demon ready to eat him. And the next words he heard were not to reassure him. "Ssso you want to shake hands, sleek sleek. I will gl-dly oblige." Chapter 33: Harem? Chapter 33: Harem? Hehehe, that prince is a very brave sandman. Even knowing that I can probably kill him with just a contact of my hand, he wants to express his respect and his bravery by precisely shaking it. So in the end, at the first official meeting with a royal character of the Sand Empire, I have a direct contact with him. When such news will reach the other princes, I wonder how it will work? Will they denounce me and try to condemn him for treating with the enemies? That would not prevent me from reaching my goal, only if the emperor himself decides that I am too dangerous to roam his territory will I be chased. Because I have now the support of a prince and probably the brigadier general. That''srge enough for the moment, maybeter more and more will be convinced that I am a huge asset for them. And at this point, I will be able to use the infrastructures to gather knowledge about this world. Because it is the first time that I will be able to converse with intelligent beings. The fairies are morons, even if I were friendly to them, the best they could have told me is that trees grow and animals breed. But I can''t appear to be ignorant of how the world works. So I have to gather small details in each conversation. Because they probably think I am part of a kingdom or whatever is the ruling system of the ratmen. And till they don''t think otherwise, that invisible threat will assure my peaceful life. After the prince rapidly removes his hand from mine, I begin to examine in details his clothes. They are more or less the same as Ahmad, but with a much higher quality and some silver and gold sewn on it. That should be the formal dresses of the officials. And the prince has a veil too. They are really making sure that no one can totally see their faces. I wonder why, are they hideous? I mean, they are made of sand, they can have whatever faces they want, no? But that''s less important than the deal I have to make right now. I should ask for more than just a free pass. But what? Maybe some crystals like the one I found in the house of the drake? "Th-this lowly ssservant is called Sleek, your highnesss. I am charged to re-recolt something in the dessert, sleek sleek. Have you ssseen anything like th-that?" And I show him one of the crystal. I can sense him hesitating because of the weird looking color of the crystal. He is puzzled, like if he is debating whether or not he should grab the crystal to examine it with meticulousness. But if he were to drop it by ident, he will be instantly in. That cannot happen, he has to be careful. "My ap-apologize, your highnesss. This cryssstal is very dangerous, sleek sleek. Sssee for yourself." And after saying this, I throw the crystal far away from the wall, on a dune that can be seen by every soldier looking at us. The crystal has a pretty nice trajectory and hit right where I wanted. I am really good at throwing things. And after touching the sand, the crystal instantly free the acid spell in it. What was a normal dune now has a 3-meter hole in its nk. That sight is truly marvelous, I knew that the spell was amplified but in the forest, the poison spell was greatly less powerful than [Create Acid]. If even I am shocked, I can see that the sandmen were not expecting such power. I can see everyone just standing still, not daring to move a single finger. Even the prince took at least 5 seconds to move his sight away from the dune. And after it, I can see him stare at the crystal that I have in my hand. That one, I just pulled it out of my pocket. Because yes, I don''t have a bagh all those crystals, since they are smalls, can fit inside the numerous pocket of my outfit. That''s why I am seriously thankful of the System to give me such good clothes. But if I had an inventory like in the RPG, that would be even better. But I couldn''t have said to Aria that I wanted her to create an empty space that has no limit to stock everything that I loot. I have no idea how something like that can even be created in the first ce. The prince is slowly extending both of his hands to grab extremely carefully the crystal. Like if it was a national treasure. I can see themandant beginning to move towards us, to prevent the prince to be in such danger. But the assured death stare that Selim threw to him made him petrified. After those smalls interactions, Selim begins to examine my most powerful tool. Since I only have one tool, it is my most powerful. He turns it many times, and it looks like he wants to poke at it, to make it produce a sound. But after seeing the result of the broken crystal, he abstains himself from doing so. And returned it to me. "Honorable guest, I am regretful to announce you that this peculiar crystal can''t be found anywhere in the desert. But, there is something immensely simr to it that can be found." "Wh-what is it, sleek sleek?" "It is a monster core, particrly, the monster cores of the Tomb Kings." "Monssster cores?" "Pardon me to have neglected your knowledge, I am assured that you already knew the existences of monster cores. It is my fault, but the lich at the South of our position carry inside their bodies the same type of crystal that you just show me. I apologize to not be able to give you more urate pieces of information." So I was supposed to know the existence of monster cores. That means the ratmen are known to use it or harvest it. That is definitely the case, otherwise, the prince wouldn''t have apologized when I just say that name. Good thing that my pronunciation can''t transmit my feelings since for me it was in an interrogative tongue. He knows more about the ratmen than me, I have to make him talk about everything. But the other thing is the undead at the South. It was where I was lost I think. So they want me to go back to killing undead again. And he even said that there is at least one lich. But the only problem is, how do I still make me look like I am powerful but at the same time resolve myck of sense of direction? I can''t say I was lost in that desert. Well, I already did, but, not in front of him. I can''t allow them to escort me otherwise they will know that I am not able to cast spell permanently. Do they have apass? "Wh-what are the rewardsss for doing this tasssk?" "Re-rewards? The mon-monster cores?" "For eliminating your enemiesss, sleek sleek." Silence. He didn''t expect that. But I mean, I am clearly in a good position in this negotiation. They are fearful of me; they have a history with the ratmen or at least they know a lot about them. So they won''t be rash because of this. While I am just betting everything I have to reap the maximum benefices. But he is clearly searching for a suitable reward. And he doesn''t find it. I mean even I don''t really know what I want. I guess no matter what he proposes I will ept. "You will be granted a free pass." I won''t answer that; I mean that is clearlycking. I kill your enemies and your reward me with just the possibility to walk inside your empire. Dream on. But the prince doesn''t notice the fact that his offer is pitiful. Only after many seconds passed did he realize. "You, eh, you will be able to use the imperial infrastructures." That''s better, but what does it really means? What is defined as imperial infrastructures? Even if it sounds really good, maybe it''s a trap. So better not answer it. That''s not is final proposal anyway. Can''t hurt to gain something else. Even the prince doesn''t look that confident when he said it. "You know inside the, eh, imperial pce, there is a harem. With that, you can freely go in, something that even myself can''t always do. Inside there are the most beautiful creatures you could ever see." Ok, that is really embarrassing now. He just tries to buy me with a harem. Like I care about the sand woman. I mean, how is this working anyway? I don''t want to think about it. Just the sensation of sand is insupportable right now, with those days passed in the desert. And you want me to f*ck more sand? A long and really awkward silence was created. Start talking prince, please. "You will have a wish granted by the emperor himself. As long as it didn''t hurt our empire or start a war with a country, we will be bound to fulfill yourmand." Now that''s a great thing. One wish from one of the most powerful beings inside this desert. But I can''t let those previous propositions go away. "Deal! I ept ev-everything, sleek sleek." "Great... everything???" Chapter 34: Planned growth Chapter 34: nned growth (Harem? Did I hear harem? Where is it? Wait, why there is only my favorite ratman and a djinn nearby? Did I miss it? Where are the beautiful and full of lust creatures? You don''t know but the sand dancers, the djinns that are chosen to be part of any harem are really skillful. Not to the point of some subus, but the way their sand move is delightful. About the story? You don''t want to hear more about my 3 night with) That small exmation shout from the prince managed to wake up thest remaining soldier stuck in fear. They promptly reorganize into a formation, ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the prince. Only after they saw themandantmenting on himself did they realize there was no danger. It is good for me that they didn''t immediately rush toward us. I don''t want to kill a djinn but I have no means of defense except kill. I need to work on that, but I don''t know how to do it. While the System is great, the only thing that I ever gained by myself is the [Craftsmanship]. Maybe I should test some spells learned from games. Now that I think about it, I was only contented with my current power. Ick the ambition to improve myself. I should work on that, I still have to at least make that stupid goddess pay for what she did. And while I kept ming myself, the prince begins to enter a state of intense reflexion. He was thinking that only one of his proposal will be epted, not the three at the same time. And even if the free pass doesn''t really mean anything to him, both the wish for the emperor and the free pass inside the imperial facilities are huge. He could make his father ept one, but both. I can see on his fa.. no, I can''t see that on his face. Why do they have this stupid tradition? How am I supposed to read the mood of my interlocutor? "I agree with your demands. But you have to earn those." "Ssso what are your ordersss?" "You probably know it, but you already killed the western king, a threat that has gued this part of the desert. Now, I want you to remove every Tomb Kings that are in the South. I will not ask you to go into the Necropolis but all the other temples have to be cleansed of the presence of the undead. Saad!" "Present my prince!" "Give our guest Sleek a map with the location of the outer temples and the Necropolis. And give him a Pathfinder too." "Yes my prince!" I really wonder what is a pathfinder. By the name of it, that should be able to help me navigate in that desert without getting lost. I really hope it''s like apass or something like that. I can see themandant enter the barracks and after a minute return with a bag. He grabs inside it a map and gives it to me. They have created the paper and a strange looking ink. I mean, not an ink that looks like the one on Earth. But that doesn''t matter. On the map, I can see a wall with the description "South Wall". So I guess I will depart from there. After that, on a third of the map, I can see different oasis but mostly desert. On the rest is depicted multiple squares with a part of the map nk. That should be the Necropolis. As expected, the closer you are from the nk space, the more you have a chance to encounter one of those squares. If I have to bet, I would say those square are the temples they are talking about. After carefully examining the map, I watch themandant giving me a blue scarab. He is glowing I think but. A scarab? That''s the pathfinder? Or is it something else? I look toward the prince, and only after some seconds have passed did he realize that I don''t understand what this means. "Yes, I forget you are not a djinn. The Pathfinder, the thing you are currently holding, is capable of finding her husband or his wife even when hundreds of kilometers are separating them. That way, when you have finished the task, you just have to put it in your hand and he will point to this exact location." That''s a really good thing. It''s like a GPS, the only problem is, he is alive. And guess what will happen when I activate my aura. One melted scarab for the first table. Even the map will be reduced to ashes. But I can''t tell them that. Because they think I am able to control my power since I am not running naked. But that''s because the clothes are provided by the System. I am sure that if I bought normal clothes, they will be destroyed by me. No, I have to ept it. I need to improve myself, I waszy but not anymore. I have to at least be able to hold that scarab in my hand and not destroy it with my aura. "Th-thank you, your highnesss. This lowly ra-ratman will take his leave now, sleek sleek. May I asssk you to provide me with an es-escort to reach the southern wall?" "Yes, of course, I have the ideal candidate for this task. Saad, bring our guest to anywhere he wants." "Yes, my prince!" "My many th-thanks, your highness." "I hope the sound of your victory will be heard quickly. If you manage to impress my father, the emperor, you can gain even more than just my promise." So that means that the more I killed, the stronger I will be and the friendlier your people will be toward me? Who will refuse such a great thing? I depart following themandant without even looking back. I am certain the prince will not let me leave his sight before I am on the horizon. He can even try to follow me. But before I attack the undead, I need to go in one of those oasis marked on the map and improve myself or even create new spells. We walked for 3 days on the ramparts. Since I am charged with a mission by the second prince himself, I am allowed to walk on the walls. First of all, it''s a lot quicker than on the sand. Secondly, the entire army is now learning that the ratmen exist and that a deal was made. Some are still suspicious but most are friendly toward me. The fact that I am tasked to destroy their enemies, the Tomb Kings, are clearly appreciated. But what I want to know is the reason behind those walls. They clearly don''t have a big threat, apparently, the sole menace is the undead. And the army is clearly rxed, not in a state of permanent war. So why build such big walls if no one will attack them? Better be safe than sorry but still, that should have taken a long time to build. During this travel, many times we were stopped by othermandants. They made us wait for confirmation since they couldn''t really believe what their eyes were seeing. At first, Saad was friendly and even engaged with small talks like the situation of their family, if he had tasted the new liquor from some pub. But at the third stop and afterward, he was clearly pissed about the wait. Even his authority ofmandant was not enough and his pride took a big hit. And knowing the future punishment he will have, he began to be angrier. At the Second Gate of the South Wall, he even insulted themandant that was preventing me from leaving. I mean that was questionable, at the best. Ok, stopping us from walking on the walls, that was logical. It''s an asset of the army, you can''t let a stranger walk freely like that. But preventing a guest from leaving the empire? Shouldn''t he be trying to make me leave as soon as possible? Why was he insisting on making me stay? In front of such a stupid situation, Saad lost his calm. But in the end, the orders from the prince arrived and I finally left the gate. Saad, gave me a letter, written by the prince, allowing me to enter the empire when my mission will be sessful. I thanked him for his duty and entered the desert once again. It took me one day to reach the oasis that I chose. There, I put all of my belonging on top of a tree, to prevent any damage to them. I walked away from that tree and, when the distance seemed enough, I stopped. There I began to think of my next move. The most important thing was the growth of my System. I tried a lot of different interaction that could be seen in games, like a quest board, a map. In the end, no matter what I tried, nothing came out. I had to resign myself with just the System I had. And since he can''t improve by my will, then it is I that will improve. Chapter 35: [Nightfall] Chapter 35: [Nightfall] So let''s begin the basic test. First, I active the [Aura of Mayhem]. Didn''t change at all since the beginning. Strangely, when I walk with it activated, the sand gets destroyed as I walk to the level of the sand under my feet. So the aura managed to recognize that the thing on where I am currently standing is not to be targeted. And it maintains that level as I walk. So no possibility to fall because the sand gets destroyed. Next, when I activate it with my disease, nothing happens. I was expecting that; I mean a virus is supposed to be undetectable with only my eyes. Now, I am trying to keep the sand in my hand safe. I failed the first two times but at the third, I seed. I won''t have any problems running with my bag now. I try one more time, with my two hands full of sand. And yes, if I concentrate a little, I can spare both. That''s very good. After that I test my two spells [Create Acid] and [Create Disease] and they were conforming with my predictions. I have no target where I can use my bite and my ws, and I don''t n to use them a lot. Because that would mean that the enemy is close enough. And if he is close, I am probably dead. I don''t bet on thest strike before dying to save me. Especially since I am a ratman, I should run more and fight less. Now that I have reviewed everything that I have, let''s try to invent something. Let''s do the very awkward movements first. What should be the best is a teleportation or something that allow me to escape quickly. Either make me very fast or make literally teleport. Like a sh or a Blink. That didn''t work. I will forget those memories immediately. No one saw that, that is my onlyfort. Except the [Followed by ???], maybe this dirty voyeur saw me. I hope not. So space magic is not avable. Maybe fire magic or earth spells. Elementals magic is supposed to be easy, I think. Ok, let me feel the magic in my body. The mana, flowing through my veins, manifesting itself in his pure form. Now, like I did with my spell, imagine a fire. A hot fire, burning everything it touches, heating the very air, like right now and HOLY MOLLY! MY SLEEVE!!! Why are you burning again? Finally, I stopped the fire by putting my arm in the sand. That''s the second time it happens. But this time maybe it was because of me. So I get naked, to prevent any other ident like that. I am still brown-fur like I was when my condition was that of a rat. Maybe a little darker than before, but still can be considered as brown. My tail has grown like my body. I still don''t use it efficiently but it never gets in my way. I should probably be 1.20 meter. Now that I think about it, I, the small rat, was making those 2-meters armors shake in fear. And they never made any remark about my size. I also think that I should be taller. It''s just that my body naturally curve itself, I am never with my back straight. Probably the natural body of a ratman. ws at the end of both my hands and feet. Quite long. About 10 centimeters. I approach one of the trees where my stuff isn''t and scratch it with my hand. My finger easily tore apart the bark of the tree. I have nothing else to test it, so I can''tpare it to a rock or even iron. Probably worse than both, but I don''t know. And for testing my teeth, well, just remembering the horrible taste of the branch tree makes me renounce about that idea. And when I look at my reflection on the surface of the pond, I wonder if someone ever looked at a ratman and thought he was cute. Because that probably never happened. I only see red eyes with a dark light inside, horrible rows of teeth inside my maw and an insidious face. It literally screams that I am the bad guy. After that, I tried my best to run as fast as I can on the sand and I am satisfied. At least I am quicker than the wolves in the forest. As for my speedpared to other races, I don''t know. Last more thing to check. I put my hand on my crotch and yes, the package is still there. No gender-bender with the evolution. So now, let''s try again that fire element. I begin my meditation state, slowly materialize a fire inside my mind. My hands are getting hot, hotter than they should be. And then, a me appears. A tiny me, one that a child could extinct. But then it begins to grow and No? Not growing? It just stays as a small me. I looked at my MP and I didn''t lose any. So that didn''t consume my mana at all. But now I have a very small me in my hand. I searched on the System but no new spell or anything. After letting my mind wander like that, the me disappeared. But I was still perplexed. I created a fire inside my hand, I clearly felt the mana doing his work. But nothing acknowledged me. So I try with the ice this time. And like the fire, yes I create a little square of ice. Yes, it doesn''t cost me anything. But no, it is not usable for the System. But after doing both of this, my [Magical Handling] gained one level. So it counts the attempt of magic. So my efforts were not wasted. But I have still not seeded at creating a spell that will allow me to survive. Maybe I am not rted to elementals spells. I guess that is the issue. Just thinking about the size of both the me and the ice, if I was not a total trash in those domains, they should have been bigger than that. So what should be my favored spells? I am a ratman that had eaten a lich and even got cursed by the dead. So dark spells, maybe undead ones. I was offered the choice of an undead rat. Then poison and disease but I have enough of these. So let''s focus on death and dark spells. Since I am already really discreet, maybe if I had a touch of shadows or I prevent light from reaching me I could be nearly invisible. And yes, the invisibility spell is so broken that it probably doesn''t exist, so I won''t try it. I have already paid with the teleportation spells. But how should I control the shadows? I try to do the same method that I already used. Feel the mana, think about the shadow, see a dark form in my hands, see it cove It works! My arms are covered by dark air. I can still see them but I don''t know if it''s my spell that is weak or my very good night vision. "Congrattion to the user for creating a new spell. Please say its name." So it really worked. Even the System has noticed it. So affinity really ys a big part. So, since it is the darkness that is covering me let''s say. -Nightfall "System acknowledges the choice of the user, the spell: [Nightfall] has been created." And yes, I can see a new spell level 1 in my skill menu. And what about its consumption. After waiting five seconds, I finally lose 1 MP. With 123MP that gives me more than 10 minutes, without counting on my regeneration. But the spell has clear limitation. First, it only blocks lightly the light. So, I can''t use it in in sight or during the day. Otherwise, they will still be able to see a dark silhouette. Then, it only allows me to reduce my visibility even more. I am not invisible. But the fact that I manage to create it is huge. Maybe I can even control the undead? Since I ate a lich, and a lich can create skeletons, maybe I can too. But I can''t probably do it right away, I need to first reanimate dead bodies. Now how do I find dead bodies in the desert? Mmmm. Scorpion, where are you? Snakes,e, please. Ah, find you little scorpion. Now I should use a disease, to not hurt his body. Yes, dead in less than a seconds. Now, I grab him in my hand and begin to start the ritual. I invoke all the undead Gods I know and "User has created a spell not long ago, please wait." Seriously? Does it have such restriction? And for how long? "User has created a spell not long ago, please wait." Not telling? Are you sure? "User has created a spell not long ago, please wait." Ok, stop, stop. I get it. So I still have a new spell and now that my ritual to resurrect the dead scorpion would have worked. I just need to wait for the eternity to create it. I guess I will kill some Tomb Kings in the meantime. With some luck, maybe the cooldown will be reduced if I level up. After thinking that, I pick up my clothes, retrieve my bag with the scarab still alive, and depart to the closest temple. Chapter 36: The One Followed by a God Chapter 36: The One Followed by a God I travel from oasis to oasis. Thanks to some details on the map, like the position of the trees inside them, I easily find my way. They are really meticulous on those maps. Of course, at each pond of water, I drop some acid inside. You never know, maybe another monster will die from it. Now that I think about it, I forget to do that on my training oasis. Well, one out of five, that''s not a big number. Finally, I begin to see the same group of skeletons that I hunted. Always less than 5 but rarely alone. From what I can deduct, I am in the middle of the day, but I should arrive at the first temple at midnight. That is, if I don''t end up killing some skeletons every five minutes, and wait to retrieve my mana. But I have to do that, otherwise, I will get near air of a powerful monster with just one spell that I can cast. Even with my improvised bombs, I can''t use them for just a minor threat. And I still don''t know the power of those Tomb Kings. Only that the djinns are rather pleased to not fight them and send a ratman to do their dirty job. While I am fighting the skeletons, I try to do the basic leveling stuff that you do against low monsters. I try to dodge their attacks and fight them with my ws. Unfortunately, I never learn a passive rted to either action. And my ws are not strong enough to really cut the bones, so every time I hit them, that hurts me a bit. So in the end, I have to activate my aura. I try to fight more than ten groups like that, but nothing came out. Even my pain resistance is just patiently waiting, not improving at all. And I said I won''t hurt myself, only some maniacs would do something like that. I like my flesh where it is, clean, safe and not bleeding. I fight during all the night and only when dawn wasing, did I finally saw the sun and the temple. And by temple I mean, some rocks clearly organized standing in the middle of the desert. I was expecting something like, I don''t know, a pyramid? Maybe a temple like the Egyptians made, in the Valley of the Kings. But no, it''s more like a tomb with extra ornaments. And I can see stairs. So it''s underground. They didn''t say anything about that. So I approach the building and I instantly see some real warriors. Like, nothing is simr to the others undead. The one I fought was barely standing, slow and had broken sword most of the time. What I am currently seeing, are heavily armored undead. Shields and spears, helmets, strons and leggings. A littlecklusterpared to the djinn army but infinitely better than the previous skeletons. And they are in formation. I can see five of them forming a wall and five others right behind with their spears raised. The only good thing is theck of any ranged threat, there is no casters or archers in sight. The problem is, even if I can melt the bones of the trash mobs surrounding me, can I do the same to those elites? I wonder how many years they have spent in this formation, but I am certain that the moment they see me, they will advance in order toward me. They will not break the wall. So that means, they are slower than me. I hope. But if they find that they can''t catch me, maybe they will throw their spears. No, they will much likely throw their spears instantly, I think I can see some javelins in the back of the undead. The sun is rising, so my new dark spell is useless. And I don''t want to throw a crystal on them. Even if they are a big threat, they are not the main boss. They are at the best just the guardians of the door leading to the boss. Maybe some undead even stronger are down the stairs. And I have only neen crystals for, let''s see, at least 8, no 9 temples. Or nine tombs. Yes, it''s more a tomb than a temple. And I don''t know if the core of the lich is working the same way as my crystal. But as I keep examining the terrible soldiers in front of me, details that don''t match their apparent strength kept appearing. For example, while I couldn''t see their legs because of the leggings when I found another ce to watch them, I noticed that half of the first line of undead are missing a leg. And some of the backlines are missing part of their rib cage and arms. If I was directly looking at them by the front, I won''t notice anything suspicious. But since I am a ratman, they didn''t detect me when I was circling around them. The tomb is in such ruins that some of the walls have a hole inside it. Their back is still protected by the walls but the nks are not. Even time or fight have taken their toll on their bodies. I am not fighting a full force of ten strong skeleton warriors. I am facing some injured, elderly undead. I am not even sure they can really leave the top of the stairs where they are standing. Let''s just try something. I stop being discreet and stand up in front of them, with a hundred meters between me and them. I notice that they find me because all of their empty skulls are looking at me. That look war between eyes and empty sockets is in a stalemate. But that confirms my thought about their immobility. They know that if they leave their position, their weakness will be exposed. That''s an intelligent strategy. So either they can think about that, or it''s the lich behind them that have given the order. I bet on the lich. Finally, they begin to move. I can see marching toward, toward nothing? They are aligning themselves, to make way for me. With their arms, or sometimes missing limbs, they do a final military salute. And then get disintegrated. I can see the armor and weapons falling on the ground and do a huge noise. What happened? Is the lich so weak that it decides to stop maintaining his warriors? That doesn''t make any sense, especially to do that in front of your enemy. But, the path is clear I guess. I slowly and very carefully walk on those stairs. At each step, I stare at the march, calcting its size,paring it to the previous one, checking if there is an abnormal thing on it, like a trap. But except losing time, I find nothing. Even when I exit the stairs, no trap was activated. I see a long corridor in front of me, opening on a huge room. With a seat and the end. Not a throne, huge and majestuous. No, just a seat, made of stone and a little broken. On it, is sitting the lich, wearing the same clothes as the brigadier general and the prince of the djinn. So either the djinn stole that from the Tomb Kings or they have the same source for their clothes. But his face is not concealed, I won''t say that he is not hideous but I expected worse. His nose is missing, his lips gone and there is a hole in his left cheek. His flesh is rotten of course, but it''s a lich. He is leaning on his right fist, probably on this pose for centuries. His eye sockets are filled with a blue me. I didn''t face the lich that was killed by the adventurers so I can''tpare their eyes. The me was probably extinct when I was eating the body. As I walk on the first b of the room, I can see the lich move, toward a more impressive posture, his back straight, his hands joint in front of him, like if he was nning some evil deeds and world conquests. "Kakaka, only after ny-two years do you finally have decided to finish your massacre, Kakaka. So be it, I will not resist, we shouldn''t have survived for this long, we shouldn''t have survived five millennia ago either, Kakaka." So I met a depressive lich. Not that I care about his mental state, but apparently the ratmen have tried to destroy the Tomb Kings before. And before that, they nearly survived against something that happened 5 millennia ago. Maybe I am not obliged to kill it right away, maybe I can understand this world a little more and since he is resigned, he probably won''t try to kill me. "Kakaka, wait, you are not marked by the treacherous god, the bane of the universe. You are even followed by our god. Who are you? Are you really a ratman? Kakaka, even if you are here to kill us, please will you grant our race onest wish? Will you listen to our story? Will you, the one followed by Oslo?" "Congrattion to the user for unlocking a title, the title is [Followed by Oslo]." (So they survived) Chapter 37: The Final Action of the Agorians Chapter 37: The Final Action of the Agorians Ok, so I was followed by Oslo. That is great? But I wonder what does it give me. Well, maybe if I listen to the lich I will know. But he is really good, I mean he managed to detect that his god was following me and that I don''t have the mark of the god of the ratmen. But that''s an issue too, I can''t fool the ratmen. They will know if I am part of their group. But at least, I know that before meeting them. Imagine me, walking into theirir and get killed without knowing. Not a good thing. "You are ri-right, sleek sleek. I am not part of the ra-ratmen you know. And Oslo himssself is looking after me." (Hey don''t try to scam my believer. Even if you don''t hear me, be careful of what you think.) Don''t worry, if you tell me everything you know I won''t kill you. Probably. Look I am in your side, I am followed by your god. (I knew it, if it was a hundred year ago, I would have made you feel more pain than you can possibly imagine. But I am too weak now, because of that b*tch and that *sshole.) "Kakaka, very well. Let me tell you a story that has started a long time ago, on another. At that time, we were called the Agorians. We were the human race ruling the world. We exterminated every heretics and infidels, but we didn''t expect what could have happened. One day, the Sorcerer-king, our leader, told us that a meteorite wasing, one that will destroy our world. Our god, hearing our distress, decided to give us a way out. But the price was huge, millions of our people were sacrificed to open a portal, leading to this very world." After saying this, the lich lightlyughs, a bitter one. He shakes his head too. "Kakaka, we were foolish, thinking that we were saved. The world we arrived on was a perpetual war. Elves fighting human, dwarves against undead, lizardmen hunting earth elementals. The god ruling this world was weak and changed many times. But no one managed to reinforce their rule strongly enough. Many gods were fighting for it, and it is at that moment that one of them, the treacherous Szar thought of a n. His forces were the djinns; I don''t know if you already met them. At that time, this ce was an orchard, full of delicious apples. And the desert was not that huge, confined in the North. But with the help of their god, the djinns cursed this world, dooming it to transform into a giant desert. If it was a normal world, they could never haveplete it. But no one noticed their machinations before it was toote. They used the souls and life force of everyone dying, and it seeded." Then, the lich slowly gets up. He leaves his seat and approaches the table behind it. He then removes the dust on a gem. A dark gem. "After saving us, Oslo had to recuperate. A portal is not that easily opened. But after seeing thepleted ritual of Szar, he had to intervene. Since he couldn''t prevent the desert, he gave us a choice. Die because of our human condition or be reborn as undead. You can think of what we chose. After turning into undead, our Sorcerer King sacrificed his life to fragment his heart. Each of the numerous priests turned into lich were to keep it, and infused their power in his heart. That way, the desert will not spread any further. In every temple where a lich is still standing, you can find one of those. Unfortunately, because of his death, our connexion to our god was severed. In an external world, with no possibility to be blessed by him, we slowly decayed. Millennia passed, Aria finally took control of it. But she was arrogant and prideful. She thought that she didn''t need to exterminate the non-believers. She thought that by strengthening her forces, she will survive. And it worked. Until Szar decides to send his army of ratmen. Until they scavenged enough power to create a portal between two worlds. Until the Portal War. Nowe." I follow the lich toward a sigil, then we both stand on it. He clearly doesn''t have any evil intention toward me. But what he is saying is truly shocking. If it is true. But the fact that Oslo has watched me can verify some facts. I can hear him casting a spell and shortly after we appear in a round room. I can see 3 circles of tables and chairs, with us in the middle. Some are intact, while some are destroyed. I look at the lich, and I think he understands my questions. "We are in the Necropolis, precisely in the council room. Before, hundreds of priests could have been seen. Now, only a handful remained. Your arrival probably means that onest session will be held. Go take a seat, on the chair of the sorcerer-king, he isn''t alive anymore. We never had one after we were turned into undead. I will light the ceremonial crystal, to call the others." I do as he ordered me and take my ce on the chair. The reason I can distinguish it is because of the gem encrusted on it. The same that he showed me, a dark gem. It is the only one which has a gem. Then I see a blue crystal light up in front of the lich. After a small waiting period, a lich appears at the same location we did. He looks toward me, inspecting me for a long time, before finally reaching his ce, on the second row of tables. Many more appear after him, all peacefully going toward their ce. One time, it was a banshee that appeared. She was barely visible but easily recognized. White dress, floating at 1 meter away from the ground. In the end, only twenty or so were present. Only lich, beside the banshee and me. Then, the one that had arrived with me begins to talk, while in the middle of the room. "Greeting my fellow priests, mdy, I have convoked you onest time, before our time on this world end. You know that our duty is failing, the ritual will consume this world without us but our enemies are on the move one more time. Ratmen are seeking for monster cores again, djinns are plotting to annihte us. A new threat, in the form of the Order of Krieg is rising. Our eternal fight will end, without us victorious. But there is one thing that we can do. This ratman, is blessed by our god, Oslo. Szar hasn''t tainted him with his madness and destructive thinking. He is the link to restore themunication with Oslo. But you know what will happen to us. So let''s vote, the final action of the Tomb Kings, our final strike. Are you with me, Agorians?" I can see everyone one raising his hand, one after the other, starting with the banshee. I didn''t understand everything, but they are clearly nning something big. And it is probably thest time that they will doing something like that. Just by seeing them, I can feel that they are out of forces. Thinking about the skeletons and seeing the previous despair of the lich I met are good indications. When all the hands were raised, that lich walks toward me. He begins to remove the gem on my chair. I suppose that was the original heart of his sorcerer-king. After that, he returns to his initial position. Then, I can see the banshee floating toward him. She put her hand on the gem and fade away. Truly thest action indeed. After that, a lich does it too. And begin to crumble on himself, only leaving the rest of his shattered clothes. In the end, only two people are still standing. With sadness in his blue mes, he walks toward me. He stares at the gem for a long time. "Maybe you will use it against Oslo. I don''t know you, I don''t know why when you were born, you didn''t receive the mark of Szar. You are an aberration for the ratmen. But I hope you will avenge us. This is the memory and power of the Agorians, the human race ruling Pashkat. After this ispleted, recover all the heart fragments in the temples. All the undead are already destroyed by now. Don''t let those djinns get a hand on them. If they give that to the ratmen, your life in this world will be incredibly difficult. Now, farewell, the one who is followed by Oslo." "What''sss your name, sleek sleek?" "My name, kakaka, my name is I don''t even remember, kakaka. " And while he wasughing, I could see him begin to disintegrate. Right before he truly disappears, he put the gem in contact with my head. I can sense magic passing from the gem toward my body. "Congrattion to the user for gaining the power from a god, the god is: Oslo" (Can you hear me? Tell me they didn''t fail?) Yes, I can. Greetings Oslo. Chapter 38: One Planet, Four Gods Chapter 38: One, Four Gods (First of all, I am sorry for killing you. It was a mistake.) Wait, what? Was it not Aria? She literally confessed it. (She deflect a spell of mine, and that spell killed you) Oh, thank you for being honest then. But can you stop reading my mind? (Won''t happen, you are and already were my Hero.) An exnation? Because I don''t want to be the guy we send to die and protect the widow and the orphan. (The numerous gods can only have one representative alive at a time, they could be named Hero, Demon King, Oracle or even Prophet. It is only after this person is dead that the god can choose another one. The problem is the dy between two Hero. A hundred years. That''s why you were only born a century after the Portal War but was killed during it.) So I was killed during the Portal War, but what is that war? I mean, the Agorians talked about it like it was a cmity. (Let me first exin the different types of gods, first, there is ) A pretty boring speech if I could judge it. ... I can hear you, you know. And finally the gods like Krieg or Szar, who roamed the universe, looking for a weak world. Infiltrating it, scheming against the ruler and destroying itpletely. But even I got to admit, what he did this time was a genius move.) Why? (Like I imnted the Agorians, he infiltrated the djinns. And after I managed to ruin his n, both of us were weak. You have to understand; a god is only strong when he has a lot of believers. It is both a virtuous circle and a vicious one. Strong believers make a strong god, and a strong god grant many benefits to those who believe in him. Especially in the world he is in charge. He can modify the weather, to grant permanently good harvest. He can increase the magical potential of the new-born. Even if he can''t take a direct action, he can manipte the world to make his army stronger. But if you begin to lose them, your fall is assured. That''s why the two rituals that use our believers as a resource are costly and risky.) So you have no regret sacrificing them just for you? You were using human sacrifice, the people that worshiped you like a god and you just sent them to the ughterhouse. (Hahaha, regrets. For trying to save an entire race, I will personally sacrifice a majority if I have too. I am an old god. I was in charge of countless worlds, saw them fall, saw my precious friends die. At first, I didn''t want to do those hard choices. I was nave, optimistic. Now that I think about it, I was blessed with a godly luck. No troubles or invaders for centuries. And then something happened. Something that no one would have imagined. Only after that first loss did I realize one truth in this world. That in the end, the survival of many surpasses the sacrifice of a few. Even if they are gods like me. Let''s go back to the matter regarding Szar. He patiently waited for a long time. Both of us still had enough forces on this to assure our survival, should everything else failed. Like a life insurance. And we probably lost both our Hero in this duel. Both sacrificed to grant more power to the spell. But while I was cut from the Agorians, I am now certain that he wasn''t.) And why are you guessing this? (Because of the Portal War. Now that the gem has fused with you, I can extract the memories of the different lich. And yes, three centuries prior of this, another ritual was performed. This time, the ratmen entered the fray. If Krieg is specializing in mutation and blood transformation, Szar is feared for his ns and poisons. On my, Forslo, he infiltrated some spiders and snakemen. And on Astria, the ratmen with the help of his djinns. And when everything was ready, he opened the portal between the two world. Since the ratmen were not affected by it, I guess it was mostly on my side where the sacrifice had happened. That should make me the lucky one.) And you didn''t notice something that big? How are you apetent god? (Like I said, a god is bound by his believers. He can''t see when they can''t see and don''t learn anything else than they do. And no one was in the desert except the Agorians. But they didn''t transmit this information to Aria since they were my people. And that''s why you have to be ruthless, exterminate any enemies or threat when you take control of a world.) But you missed them too. (Yeah, I know. When the portal was stabilized, we both dly jump in the trap set up by Szar, the Hero of Aria killed mine and it was at that moment that the troops of Szar attacked both of us. Two third of my demons were killed before I managed to reduce those spiders and snakes in ashes. But that costed me a lot. Both the Portal War and the survival after it. That''s why even if I had marked you when you were scamming that stupid goddess, I couldn''t talk to you. I could only watch your surroundings.) So that means, you are not bound like Aria to just my vision? And why is it possible? (No, I had made you my Hero, I already said it. Do you expect us to let our hope run into a trap because that''s the first cause of death for this job. That way, we can scout the surrounding and normally tell you of any danger ahead. It''s just that weird System of yours, that kind of block the transmission before you were infused with the heart of my sorcerer-king. You got a pretty good deal anyway, most of the Hero only get a magic sword or an increase of magical affinity. But they are stupid hot-blooded morons that are easy to manipte, we always make sure of it. Because we have only one shot at it, we take the most malleable. We have some ways to improve his power anyway. So in the end, I think you are the only living being that is the Hero of two gods.) So, the fact that she gave me the System, made me her Hero? (Yes, that''s the way, and that''s why she threw you inside a lichir. She probably hoped that you die quickly, that way the dy is shortened. But you survived, and I see that you were forsaken by her. So she won''t be able to talk to you directly. She probably did that because between the Hero and the god, you can mentally talk like we are doing. You pissed her so much that she didn''t want to hear your incessant questions about anything.) So her Hero died after the Portal War? (Of course, otherwise, you wouldn''t be here. But she probably kept it quiet. Because I can''t see in the memories any mention of the death of Tarrick. It was his name. So now that you have a global vision of the situation, what do you want to do?) Do I have a choice? (Yes, either you can aplish thest wish of the Agorians and killed those sons of b*tches, both the djinns and the ratmen. I will dly help you, with both my power and your System, we can probably manage that. And with some luck, you will be stronger than a god, that''s what you wanted right? Take revenge on Aria.) Shouldn''t that take a huge burden on your already weak power? (Yes, but I will survive. Probably need another century to recover after that. But if you ept this, you will be affiliated with me. So if you start a rampage, and you grow stronger, I will benefit from it too. It''s a win for everybody.) And the other choice? (You do whatever you want, BUT! You will hear me nagging at every single second of the rest of your life. I have centuries of histories all more boring than you can possibly imagine.) Ok the first choice, but first let''s make some changes. (What changes?) You give me some power right here and right now. To kill the empire of the djinns, it will take a lot of power. They are immune to my disease and only my acid can kill them. And I don''t even know how strong they are. (That''s fair, I will prepare it. In the meantime, go search for every piece of the heart. It will be extremely useful whenpleted. I will tell you how to use it at the same time I will bless you. The only unknown factor is your System. I don''t know how it will react.) Don''t worry about it, it will be fine. So we have a deal, I kill every servant of Szar, and you help me with this. (Deal) Chapter 39: The Curse Chapter 39: The Curse He is probably gone by now. Yes, he doesn''t respond to my thoughts. I really need a different way tomunicate. Having someone knowing everything you can think of is disturbing. But if it grants me power, well I have to deal with it. The former bright blue crystal is slowing fading too. I think that when he will be gone, thest trace of a living Agorians will disappear. Only the heart pieces will remain. But they were truly unlucky. First, the meteorite condemning them. And after that, the portal leading to this world and the end of their humanity. Living for years, to hold a promise made to a god that couldn''t hear them. If I follow Oslo, will I take the same path? Probably not. They were an entire race; they did what they needed to make the more of them survive. I am just one ratman. The only thing I care is whether or not I will die. Now I need to leave this room. The light is already gone. The sigil won''t work anymore I think. There are two doors. I take the left. As I walk in the corridor, I can see the painting on the walls. The story of their people. The first world, was it Pajat? Or Pashkat? I don''t remember. Luxurious, full of life. Farmers working in the fields and smile on every face. The reality shouldn''t have been this good, but it was probably better than their condition. After it, the portal. I can see that they sacrificed their children and elders. They probably wouldn''t have survived the travel. After walking a bit, I see arge picture of the two rituals. One made by the djinns, turning the trees and grass into sand, and the one by the undead creating a cage around it. Right after this, I see the sorcerer-king split his heart with his hands, and multiples rows of priests holding them. There are four banshees near him. Probably his wives. In the end, only one survived long enough to meet me. Funny, their closest memory is near the entrance while their best is near the council. Maybe to make the mood a little better before normally entering the council room. Right after that, I finally see the exit. And what awaits me is arge ce, with multiple buildings. Most are in ruins, but I can sense what were their uses. One look like a tribunal, another one a bathhouse. A pce, a prison, some habitations. The former city of a human race. I can spot a well as well a cistern. But when I look in both, I can only find sand. They really did the right choice, to turn into undead. Otherwise, they would have died and Szar would have won. I wonder why, but I can feel the different pieces calling me. Probably because of what the lich did to me. During my search, like he said, no skeletons bothered me. I could find in all the temples were a piece was located some pile of weapons and armors. Should be thest armored guards. Those that had to salute me. It took me many days to get everything. In the end, I don''t know why, but I return to the first temple. Maybe for the symbolic of my action. Since I have chosen to uphold my promise, at least I have to do it right. Now I am waiting for the god. Funny, when I didn''t need him, he was stalking me and now he is gone. I really hope he will give me something good. (Are you here?) Yes, I never sleep, you should know it. (Ok fine, sorry to warn you. Did you get theplete heart?) Yes, why do you need it? Will it help me? (Not directly. You see, the ritual of the djinns is based on a simple principle, turning life into death and desert. That''s why you have nearly no animals in it. They are all hunted to sustain the ritual. Any humans, elves or whatever living being that enter the desert is hunted to fuel it. So, to make it understandable, what will happen when we supply the ritual with an orb full of death energy?) Explode? (Yes, and with a little bit of luck, resorb the damage done to thisnd, reduce the area of the desert. But don''t worry, if it explodes, they will die, but you, you have my protection, you will even be able to gain some of what you call experience. Is it the right term?) Yes, so you are saying, I should infiltrate them and bomb their most secured and precious magic? Just like that? (More or less.) Ok, just two things. One I have not the mark of Szar, even the lich felt it. So how am I supposed to bypass the real djinns? I am not talking about this stupid second prince, he noticed nothing. I am talking about the real deal, probably the emperor and some of his guards. (That I can do it, but you need to search some of the crystal you loot in the fairy forest. It will help me recover some of my force, to sustain the mark long enough for you to earn their trust and get near the ritual.) Then, second thing, what is my current reward? (That''s why I can''t do both and I really need you to either go back to the forest or find another source of power. I know you have been cursed when you ate the lich, what about getting rid of it?) That''s fine by me. Do your job. "[Curse of the Dead has been removed, all attributes are back to normal" Great, it worked, let''s see it. "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Ratman ss: gue Ratman Level 4/25 HP: 178/178 MP: 246/246 Strength: 15.9 Agility: 24.0 Vitality: 17.8 Wisdom: 24.6 Intelligence: 24.6" Can you see what I see? (No, that is something only you can see. That''s why I say your demand was weird but really smart at the same time. No god will ever expect something so, intangible to exist. But that really use a lot of my powers. Don''t mistake that, if it was on my world, it would have been a piece of cake. But here, the interference of Aria makes things difficult.) So, I won''t be able to reach you before I either get stronger or grab those crystals? (Yes, good luck with that. I will still keep a look at the surrounding and if there is a huge threating, I will warn you.) Yeah, don''t worry, I will probably flee like a rat and survive. Just ast thing, do you have a map or something like that. I get easily lost. (I noticed, I can only give you the location of the burned vige.) I only had the time to hear his words that I got a strange feeling inside me. Saying to go in a certain direction. Guess that''s what he meant. I really wonder how that is working. Did he put a waypoint on it? Anyway, let''s quickly get toward it. The travel was as usual boring and uneventful. But it is only when I arrived in the fairy town that I noticed a huge problem. While before the desert was at more or less 2 days of travel, now it only took me one day to reach the town. The ritual is truly frightening. No one besides the djinns and the ratmen knew that the Tomb Kings were saving the world. If one of the human of the Holy Kingdom of Aria would have spotted them, they would haveunched an assault to destroy the filthy undead. And that would have cost them their world. The fairy town is exactly how I left it, still destroyed. The only thing missing is the crystals. The other fairies should have retrieved them by now. So I still will have to fight a drake. But now that I am free of my curse, everything will be easier. I will fight with my full power. And I really want to see what my acid can do to scales. I remember the location of the two nearest cities. I quickly run toward the closest, because I really don''t have time. Especially since it''s midnight, I can be more sessful right now. If Szar wins, he will not be as passive as Aria, he will try to hunt his enemies when they are weak. And since I have the mark of both Aria and Oslo, well I am definitely not on his friend list. I can begin to see some fairies flying around, shining in the air. I never liked you in the first ce, but I will remember you as a sacrifice for the greater good. Your death will help me save the world. Be thankful for it. But a curious sound stops me right before I begin my n. What could possibly be such a small sound? It''s not a natural sound, that''s why I noticed it. It''s like someone is hiding nearby and watching the surroundings. But he got a little bored and moved. And his boots did the sound. (Elf, third tree to your right, at 5 meters) That''s what I thought. Didn''t expect the elves. But what other race is both silent and live in the forest. My only problem now is, how do I dodge the arrows? Chapter 40: The Protectors of the Forest Chapter 40: The Protectors of the Forest Oslo, if you can hear me tell me exactly how many elves are nearby. Since the result of this action will bring us too many benefits, I will use all of my crystals if I have to. I just need to know where they are. (You want aplete vision on them? Well, I can sustain it for 5 more minutes, after that you will have 30 minutes to gather the crystals. Otherwise, I will get expulsed by this world because I am too weak.) Five minutes is enough. So how many elves? (11, surrounding the town. If you keep running, you can kill them quickly enough.) So let''s melt this down. I start to throw my first crystal toward the tree where I heard the noise. I don''t even stop to watch the spectacle. I know how potent this thing is, the tree and the elf inside will probably melt in seconds. With a little chance, he won''t be able to scream before he dies. (5''oclock, 27 meters) The new target is in sight, and yes, no sound was heard. Only some small pshiiiiiiit, but that''s hardly enough to be noticed. I throw my second crystal. (10''oclock, 57 meters, 12''oclock, 73 meters) Two are close to each other. I need to hit them at the same time. I slow down a little, to be sure to not be seen or heard. When I am between the two trees, I begin my attack. (9''oclock, 42 meters) Damn it, one of the two trees was too big, some branches fell. That will probably be noticed by one fairy. It will take time for her little brain to understand the meaning of it. But I have still seven elves to kill. I reach my fifth target and I can see him looking toward the ce I just left. I quickly silence him before he warns the others. (1''oclock, 89 meters, 2''oclock, 94 meters) This time they are really too close for me. They can see each other; I can''t be between the two of them. I have to take my time to find a proper ce to kill both of them. I lose 20 seconds but I have the perfect spot. As usual, my agility allows me two perfect shots. (12''oclock, moving toward you 32 meters, 31 meters) So they had someone to do a patrol. Good thing I was on his way. This time, I won''t spend a crystal. A moving target is too quick for me. I can''t risk it right now. The elf is running on the ground. I suspend myself on one of the branches on his way. And when he is right under me, I fall on him, using my acid. My spell manages to melt his upper body, but his legs are intact. I have no time to make all the pieces of evidence disappear. (3''oclock, 49 meters) Still, 3 elves living. Without incident, I dispatch him. But I can see the fairies flying weirdly. They are beginning to inspect their surroundings. Only two men standing. After that, I will just need to take care of the drake. (They are moving inside the town) What? Damn, the fairies have reported the melted trees. So let''s start the n B. I begin to use 5 winds of diseases. My MP pool after getting rid of the curse allows me that action. And I guess my increase in attributes will improve the lethality too. Oslo, keep your forces, I don''t need your help anymore. He doesn''t respond to me, but that''s good. That means he heard me. So I have 30 minutes to kill the drake and the two survivors. The problem is, I know my spell. It will take at least 15 minutes to really achieve something. So that''s half of the duration wasted. But I can''t do anything about it. I wait and watch the town. I can see the fairy beginning to feel their fragility. They are even weaker than I thought. The problem is, the drake is totally awakening and the elves are chanting or something. If they are calling for help, it will take some hours. But if it is a nature blessing or the trees protecting them from me, that will be tricky. But as time pass away and fairies follow the same pattern, I see my level rising. Just the kill of the elves was enough to gain something, and now, I can add the ughtering an entire town full of fairies. Just a bonus before the real fight beings. Ten minutes have passed and no fairy is alive. The ground if full of little bright creatures. Only the elves are shaking in the middle. I guess either they are afraid or they are not protected enough. But the drake is clearly angered and ready to kill at sight. But it is still night. I use my new spell [Nightfall] to get closer. I have to distract them before throwing my crystals, in case of failure. I quickly arrange a rock on a nk of wood. I can see it slowly descending on it. When he will fall from it, that will make enough noise. It is really too quiet. I go away from my rm. And wait. Maybe I failed it. Clearly, a minute has passed. Should have been set to fall thirty secondster. That was too archaic. So I use the good old method of throwing a rock toward a location. I put a [Nightfall] on it and surprisingly it worked. Excellent. Both thest elves and the drake turned their heads toward it. And then I throw two more crystals toward the elves. By the time the drake looks at them, they are gone. Disappeared without a trace. Even if he is not the smartest drake in the universe, he is still able toprehend that his enemy is in the dark. And as he is ready to fly away, my rm finally worked. He breathes on it without waiting for just one second. But while doing that, he exposes himself to me. That time, it is all my crystals that are in the air. 9 deadly but beautiful things flying toward the drake. I will never know how many were really needed. The only things that I can see now are the head and the tail. Everything between those two body parts is gone. And it was at that moment that I reach my max level. "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- gue Warrior. 2- gue Sorcerer. 3- gue Assassin. 4- gue Apostle." Wow, so many choices. But now is not the time. First, grab those crystals, allow Oslo to recover and then stop the djinn ritual before it is toote. At the minimum, go in one of those oases inside the desert. That way, the elves won''t follow me. Because for what I have done, I will definitely get hunted. I search the drake den and found as I expected arge pile of crystals. (Good what you have found is big enough. I will even be able to support you like I did more frequently with that. But first, absorb them. We will talkter.) Ok, but how am I supposed to do that? (Just take the crystal one by one, put them on your front and try to feel the dark gem, the heart of the sorcerer-king. After that, absorb the power inside the crystal and direct it toward the gem.) Sounds kind of hard. But I will try I guess. I grab one of those blue crystal and do as I was asked. When it is in contact with my front, I begin to search for that heart. It was easy, looks like it is a part of me now. And the mana transfer was finished in second. What is lying in my hand now is just dust. I don''t know how many would have been required topletely heal Oslo. But I have to trust him saying that this pile is enough for now. We can always harvest more after the imminent threat is cleared. It took me nearly an hour to harvest all the energy possible. Oslo and I have spared 20 crystals from total destruction. We both agreed on the fact that this number was not enough to heal him more than he already is but good enough to protect me. Now is the time to leave and infuse a new spell in those crystals. (Well, looks like you will do that in the desert, a lot of living creatures areing toward us.) Elves? Do you think they will catch us before we reach the desert? (No this time, you clearly disrespected the forest itself. They didn''t let the elves take care of their problems. The treants are on your tail. You better start running right now in this direction.) As I start running I have to ask some questions. What do you mean treants? You mean treemen? Like the ents? Protectors of the forest and stuff like that? (Yes, the only good news for us is, the desert is closer than they think, you will be able to escape before theye near us. You have 3 hours.) Chapter 41: Another Training in an Oasis Chapter 41: Another Training in an Oasis So now, some enraged trees are chasing me. That''s probably a first time for me. Since on Earth, trees are a lot nicer and just stay in ce. They don''t move like that, they don''t even think, I think. But while I managed to destroy the local oaks, I don''t think that will work the same for those chasing me. I mean, they will probably have an incalcble number of buff and blessing on them, because we are in a forest right now. If I used only one crystal, I am sure they will just slow down and regenerate their missing limbs in no time. And from what Oslo told me, it didn''t sound like my chance of survival should I encounter them was high. Now I am grabbing my Pathfinder that I got from the second prince. C''mon little scarab, do your job and tell me where to go. He points me a direction and I instantly follow it. He probably knows better than me, since I manage to get lost multiple times already. But now that I have killed such a high number of fairies and both the elves and the drake, I am at max level. And I really run a lot quicker than I thought. Those non-cursed attributes are more powerful. A lot more. I am fairly certain that the distance I should have run for three hours was done in just one. I see the desert, calm, yellow, and desperately advancing. Right now, I see how the grass slowly turns into sand. The fact that I managed to anger the treants is a good thing. That way they will see this, and try to do something. Because if we are not lucky, the desert will still have the same size. Only with fate by our side will we be able to reduce it. As for why it really bothers me, well, I don''t want to spend more time in a desert ever again. I hate sand now. But there is no time to think. I have to make a choice before entering the Sand Empire. Should I evolve and have all my abilities improved? But at the same time, provoke suspicion, because I don''t know how I will be dressed after it and how I would look. Just thinking about a total change that would prevent me a quick and easy recognition from the prince, that is not a good thing. But if I stay the same, when I will face the elite guards of the emperor, after or even before I find the ritual, I will have a harder time. I stop at an oasis before continuing my travel. Maybe Oslo can help me with that. (Nope.) Thank you very much for your contribution. Are you even a normal god? (You prefer a god like Aria? Stupid, arrogant and that think that every single representation of her should be the beauty itself?) Now that I think about it, my first meeting was with a beautiful angel and even inside those cathedrals, the representation of Aria was always finely painted or engraved. Is she really that concerned about her beauty? (Yes, and you know what is the worst? Just appearing with a form like that cost her some powers! That''s why most gods don''t even bother to have a form, we just stay as nothing or at best a ck, grey or white mist.) Ok, you are better but first I would like your thoughts about some stuff, I have now the possibility to evolve. (That quickly, you already evolved like 2 or 3 times in a month or so.) Yes, that''s the power of the System, if you kill a lot, you evolve a lot. (Well, I don''t think a ratman should have been able to kill a drake like that. So that makes sense. But you are even quicker than the humans. And here I am with my demons, waiting for eternity.) Why? What are the problems between demons and humans? (Well, humans since they have a short lifespan, are able to quickly learn and improve themselves. That way, from the moment he is born to the moment he can be considered a Hero, for example, it takes, let''s say, twenty years. For a demon, that''s the opposite. I mean, they earliest Demon King I had was a six hundred years'' demon. Now you realize what was the problem when I lost my Demon King to the Hero of Aria.) So, that''s means that even if you made me your Hero, you didn''t lose anything, since even if I die at like 200 years, you won''t have a proper Demon King. (No, it was because, eh, you were, eh, special.) You think I will trust that? (Ok, fine you got me, yes I wouldn''t have lost anything, that was only beneficial to me. Even if you died instantly.) Thank you for your honesty but now about my evolution. I have four choices, a Warrior, and Assassin, a Sorcerer, and an Apostle. (Don''t take the Apostle, that would be useless to you.) Why? (Normally I should have made you an Apostle, but the problems are that you are smart, that''s a problem yes, and you will need a true evolution path. The principle of an Apostle is to strengthen the bond between the God and the Hero. But you are clearly more powerful than the regr ones and you evolve too quickly, so that will prevent additional growth. I don''t know what will be the next evolution if you take that path, but I will guess that it will be more beneficial to me than to you. And I want you to be strong.) That''s strangely niceing from you. I would have thought that you would try to make me your Apostle at any cost. (That would be good for me, in the short term. But we are on Astria, not Forslo. So, my help will be limited anyway. So your strength is better than my strength. Just the detection of the possible threats in the surroundings is enough for the moment.) That''s true, so I still have the three other choices. I really don''t know what I will pick. (Seriously, like you always have gone toward the magician way and now you are trying to make me buy at your hesitation? Just take the damn Sorcerer and be done with it. You know, desert, ritual, end of this world?) Ok, ok, fine. Just onest thing. Can you currently put a false mark of Szar on me, right now? (Yes.) If I evolve, are you sure with absolute certainty that you will still be able to do it? (Yes. Probably.) Yes, or probably? (I don''t know what will change with you damn System. You could have taken that damned and cursed sword at the beginning. It would have been easier.) Ok, forget my question. With the recent supplies of crystal, do you think that you have the power to do it? (Yes. On that point, yes. Maybe it will take me a day or so to figure out how to apply the mark but I will be able to do it.) Ok so let''s evolve. -Marc Cassidy chooses: gue Sorcerer! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the evolution: gue Sorcerer has been chosen." "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Ratman ss: gue Sorcerer Level 0/30 HP: 230/230 MP: 350/350 Strength: 20.6 Agility: 36.0 Vitality: 23.0 Wisdom: 35.0 Intelligence: 35.0 Active skills: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 8] [Venomous Bite lvl 10] [Infected ws lvl 10] [Create Acid lvl 5] [Create gue lvl 3] [Aura of Mayhem lvl Max] [Nightfall lvl 5] [Magical Orb lvl Max] [Cursed Winds lvl 1] Passive Abilities: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 10] [Toxic resistance lvl 8] [gue resistance lvl 6] [Craftsmanship lvl 5] [Pain resistance lvl 10] [Deadly Body lvl 1] [Self-Healing lvl 1] [Magical Restoration lvl 5] [Magical Efficiency lvl 5] [Magical Handling lvl 4] [Cause Fear lvl 1] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria] [Blessed by Oslo] [Killer]" A lot of new things and a lot of improvement. First, two new spells. I use [Magical Orb] and I barely need 1 MP for it, that creates an intangible orb inside my hand. Since it is empty, I try to pour my acid inside, and it worked. So no more crystals are needed. That''s a good thing. After that, I can use it tounch my spell at a huge distance. It is working just like a fireball, just that I create it first, then put a spell inside, andunch it with mana. The orb is doing a great straight line for 300 meters. And then it slowly falls and explodes on contact. I try to do the same with my crystal, to test the differences. I only manage to barely reach the 140 meters, but the explosion is a little stronger. That was expected. But one is clearly capable of hitting a target from far away. And it doesn''t even produce a sound. For the [Cursed Winds] I guess that will be my main source of curses. It cost me twelve MP. I can see the air turn purple after my spell. It is in a wide area, all around me. Even after 5 minutes, it is still present and only beginning to fade away. Unfortunately, I have nothing to test it. Both my [gue Bearer] and [Poisonous Being] are fused into a [Deadly Body] and that has given me a self-regeneration I guess. That is extremely useful. I won''t need to depend on eating bodies to survive. Last but not the least. The weird passive called [Cause Fear]. That should probably strike fear in the heart of my enemies. But since it is a passive, everyone will be affected. That is both good and bad. Good, because even if someone tries to attack me by surprise, they will be affected. Bad, because all hope for negotiation will be canceled if one of the two parties is too scared to talk. But, everything else has improved so, I am more than ready to return to the Sand Empire. Let''s see if I can enter by the front door or if I have to pierce a hole in those mighty walls. Chapter 42: Suliman ibn Affan III Chapter 42: Suliman ibn Affan III This time, I do not approach the wall like I didst time. I don''t know if they are on alert because the emperor discovered that I was not who I seem to be. There are probably some hiddenmunication ways, between the djinns and the ratmen. To allow the next target to be identified and attacked. Now that I settled the Tomb Kings problem, the emperor should have talked with the ratmen. And if he did that, I just hope that thetter didn''t tell him that they send no one in the desert. Because if they did that, well I am in a pickle. I keep, walking far away from the wall but following the Pathfinder. Now that I can run at that speed, I won''t have to walk for days in the desert. And shortly after, I see my Fourth Gate. And both themandant and the brigadier general are present. It has been only a little more than a week that they have waited for me. I don''t know if they are fearing that I failed. Some djinns already know that I seed but there is no way the two of them are part of that group. I just need to know for sure if the second prince is just an ignorant or a master actor. Oslo, put that mark right now. (Already done.) I don''t feel a single difference; I probably won''t know if the mark fade or something happens to it. (HEY! I am a god, so have a little faith.) I already am nning that you failed in your job. That''s why I took those crystals with me. Reality always tries his best to destroy any possible n. I am just ording myself to that reality. Now, I should try to win that Oscar my parents never believed I will win. I begin to walk as slowly as I did previously. I can''t suddenly be the fastest ratman alive. The good thing about the evolution was theck of changes in my clothes. Maybe they are a little darker than previously, but the general form and color were maintained. I can see them react to my presence. They are getting ready to receive me and I see themandant leaving quickly the gate. Probably to warn the prince. Now the only thing I have to do is have that wish of the emperor. And then, manage to make him believe I am a true follower of Szar. Easier said than done. "Honorable ratmen, we were expecting the news of your victory against those vile and cruel Tomb Kings. The prince will arrive shortly, but I am here to thank you, on the behalf of all the djinns inside then Sand Empire. You have removed a great threat to this world." Yes, great threat. You have no idea that it''s you that is threatening it. They were the savior of this world. But they will be remembered as just an undead race. Such irony is truly making meugh. But my supposed fear is not working. Or at least, he shows no sign of being afraid. Well, he is supposed to be a very important officer. If he was scared for nothing, he wouldn''t have received the job. "Yesss, those To-Tomb Kings were nothing to a ra-ratman, sleek sleek. Now that my pa-part of the deal isss done, I hope that you will up-uphold yours." "Of course, fear not, I mean, don''t worry. We have never reneged on any promise." Well, since you have never met anyone besides the ratmen that you didn''t instantly kill, I guess you truly never broke a promise. But the wait is too long. I remember that before, it was not that long. Something is off. "Who is this person Ahmad?" And herees the danger, knocking on the door, asking to let him enter. Dressed into the heaviest and sturdiest armor I have ever seen in this world. Wearing two sabers on his back. He is taller than the brigadier general by at least one sand head. "Tompas, sir, this is the ratman that has destroyed the Tomb Kings. This threat is finally eliminated after all those years." "Why is a ratman allowed inside the Sand Empire? Who allowed this?" "It''s the order of the second prince sir, he has promi" "I am the captain of the Eternal Guard and in this authority, I dere this ratman enemy of the empire. I will take him into custody. You are dismissed, Ahmad." I can see the brigadier general wanting to retort back, but he is fearing this man more than the anger of the prince. He is even shrinking a little. And for this supposed treason and custody, just smoke, to hide the truth. Even ifter, Ahmad or even the prince find the bravery to look for me, this djinn would have said that I was executed. Even if what should happen is just letting me go free after a little talk. We walk in the exterior of the city, toward the imperial pce. I can see the djinns happy, living their lives in happiness and without worry. They have probably no idea of what is happening or even what happened. They are just a cattle waiting for the butcher to finallye. Maybe not this year, but one day, another ritual will be cast. They will be used. Even with the big legs of this menacing guard, we still take half a day to reach the pce. Not a single word was pronounced during the travel. I entered the pce by a back door and was brought into a luxurious room. Probably the bedroom of the emperor. While in the imperial building, I saw a lot of djinns dressed as the one in front of me. So that''s the guards. I can even sense magic on those armors, probably to improve the defense of it. Or maybe an anti-magic armor. Who knows? The djinn called Tompas left me alone. He probably is not fearing that I try to escape. I ask the important question to Oslo. Did he have a mark? (Yes, and I don''t know if he is capable, but the emperor will definitely see the fake mark that I created. And for the ritual, I have not been able to locate it. It is probably in a hidden room, but a roomrge enough, at least one hectare.) One hectare is pretty big, especially for a hidden room. Keep searching from the exterior of the pce, to see if the measures from inside and outside don''t match. (Got it.) Right after this exchange, I hear a sound, like a door opening. And then I see him. The emperor. And he is clearly angered because he is the first without a veil and I can see his face. "What were the n thinking when they tasked you? Did they forget to give you a map? This meeting between my second son and you shouldn''t have happened. Now, if someone manages to saw this and report it, the world will know that the djinns and the ratmen are working together." "Ssso you will finally know what it is to fa-face the wrath of the world. You were fine and sssafe, while we were at-attacked, sleek sleek. The Hero of Aria is bo-born by now, and we needed the co-core of the Tomb Kings." That''s for you. Talking like you are powerful and mighty. But as I suspected it, even after I med it, he doesn''t respond to it. Even if the djinns are powerful inside the desert, their limitations are their biggest weakness. And they know it. That''s why I think Szar brought the ratmen to this world because the djinns were not enough. "Fine, but tell those n Masters to warn me next time. I am still Suliman ibn Affn III, ruler of the djinns. I deserve respect. And if I don''t have it, well, I guess we can finally show to Szar which race is stronger." "Sssaying this after I took care of the Tomb Ki-Kings, truly fitting for the djinnsss. You have probably fo-found that the ritual is working again, sleek sleek. Otherwissse, you wouldn''t be so pretentious." "You damn gue masters of the Decar n. Always so arrogant, knowing the ravage you can provoke. But what was that trace that you left at Ronta? You provoke an increase of troops moving around the frontiers." "Fear isss the greatest weapon, sleek sleek. But you pr-probably know that. Only with sssome ch-chaos, we will be able to cr-crush the Holy Kingdom." "Try to do better than thest time, rat. We won''t help you." "We never be-bet on your help, sleek sleek. Onessst thing." "What is it, I have to kill everyone that saw or heard of you. So most of my western and southern wall will tragically perish because of some remnants of the Tomb Kings. As for the other, they will be picked off. All because of you. Even my second son. Your n Master will hear of that, so what is thest thing you will aplish in this life, worm?" "Check your ri-ritual. I have brought sssome crystal to hasten the result, sleek sleek." And as I show the fairy crystals that were not tainted by me, I see the emperor smiling for the first time. Chapter 43: A Change of Heart Chapter 43: A Change of Heart That act of generosity has probably given me his favor, not that I want it. I just need him to lead me to the ritual chamber to finally end this once and for all. And the greedy look in his eyes tells me that those crystals are far more precious than I thought. A good thing that I only changed half of the crystals in my possession. Apparently, just 9 are enough to buy me a guide. "Hmmm, that doesn''t solve all the problems that you have caused me. But well, I won''t tell all of it to your masters, I will maybe spare you the torture before your death. Now give me the crystals." "SSSurely not. You will forget your pr-promise quicker than a ve is eaten. I will persssonnaly deliver those things like I was ta-tasked, sleek sleek." "Insolent rodent, so be it. TOMPAS!" "Yes, your highness." "Kill everyone that has seen the ratman, and bring me my foolish son and his follower. Bring them to the secret room. At least their deaths will bring more power to the ritual." Quite the ruthless fellow. Sacrificing his son on a whim. I truly wonder how the djinns royalty managed to survive for this long. Probably his two others sons are knowing his secret and just the honest and proud military son is kept in the dark. I liked him, at least he was courteous and respectful. Such a shame. "And you my rat friend. Follow me, I will not let you make me lose more time. The sooner this is finished; the sooner you will return to the hole that gave you birth." "And the sssooner your sand will rest for eternity, sleek sleek." "Damn you, vermin." And while we kept exchanging such pleasantries, we walked across many corridors and stairways. At the bottom of it and near what should be the imperial dungeon, we stopped by a painting. It was representing the Tomb Kings, but this time, they were seen assaulting the wall of the Sand Empire. Well, I guess that history is written by the victorious. The emperor removes the painting and then begin to chant something. Shortly after a door emerged. Inside I could see hundreds of djinn magicians chanting something. In the center of all of them, multiple circles, squares and other things could be seen on the ground. That should be the location of the ritual. (Yes, but now that we have arrived, I just need to tell you a minor problem.) What? Don''t tell me I won''t survive the copse of the ritual? (No, that is fine, especially after our little trip to Fairy Town. No, I am talking about the fake mark; the power of Szar here is corrupting everything it touches. And that is eroding my imitation.) Tell me we have some time. (You have a day, so it is like I said a minor problem. I just wanted you to know that you can''t stay here forever. And that, at some point, maybe they will notice that the mark is weaker than it should be.) And you expected me to fully trust you on the sole job you had. No, don''t talk anymore, I want you to monitor the Tompas and see when he brings the prince. If I begin to walk in the center of the ritual with the heart of the sorcerer-king, I will be obliterated. The fact that they still haven''t notice that I have that on me is a miracle. (Provided by your best god, Oslo. With Oslo, the problem disappears.) It does not even rhyme. Just do as I say. Now the emperor is looking at me like he is expecting me to give him my crystals. But I literally bypass him and go toward the high ranked mage nearby. And how I find out he is the chief of the local congregation. Simple, he is the only one without a veil or a mask. "Here, take thossse crystals for the ri-ritual. A gift, to the po-poisonous one, sleek sleek." "As the mastermand." But before he leaves, I show him the other crystals, the ones that are contaminated. To which he immediately exims. "Don''t bring that near the ritual, that won''t do any effect and will even increase the burden on our shoulders. Such beautiful sources of life destroyed by your spells. As expected of the ratmen. Now leave." Well, I expected a simr reaction. But at least, what both the Tomb Kings and Oslo said are true. This ritual is based on life and death has no ce near it. The problem is, we need to wait a long time before the second prince arrived. I don''t know how to make the emperor let us stay ... Nevermind, it doesn''t look like he wants us to leave, we can wait apparently. (They areing, but it is weird, they are controlled or something like that. They are just mindless, following the guard without question or even a reaction.) That''s bad, I expected the prince to at least put a fight or divert the attention of the emperor. Because he is currently looking only at me, expecting me to make a mistake so he can personally kill me. The pleasure of making me killed by my own supposed masters is not enough apparently. I guess the servants of Szar have some of the problems of their master. Just when I finally see the prince and the brigadier general, I know that it would be hopeless. They are totally lifeless, and only their limbs are moving. No reaction, they are not even turning their heads when they are taking a curb. Just two puppets. "Tompas, make them remove their clothes and armors. I don''t want some interferences. And let Ahmad goes first. I will wake up Selim to make him see his own foolishness. And to see his despair, knowing his own father will sacrifice him. Kekeke. That will be funny." Like I said, servants, learning from their master. The two puppets quickly remove anything that is not sand and I can see Ahmad reaching the edge of the ritual. And then he stops. Well, to make his son sadder, why not kill his follower in front of him. I am betting on that reason. p That should have hurt. If he was really conscious. Wait, I think he is getting back to our world. Wee Selim, you have slept for only 30 minutes but your world will crumble soon. I hope you will spend yourst moments with your family. "Wha-wha..wher..Tomp..FATHER? Where am I? What is this, thest thing I remember is? Wait? Who are this people? And the ratman is here? But-but Tompas..." "KEKEKE, stupid as always, not like your two brothers. They are making their father proud. Not like you. Yearning to be the strongest warrior. Treating with the ratmen when you are seeing them. Even making them walk on the ramparts. LETTING THE WORLD KNOW THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM!!!" "But-but father" "You are my biggest failure. Your mom, should she find peace one day, would have been so ashamed of her son. You don''t even realize the situation that you are in. Look over there, who is it?" "Where, what Ahmad? Why is he naked?" "Enjoy the scenery." And like me, the prince is looking at the former brigadier general that have breached the first circle. He slowly walks inside, losing his body with each step. When the center was just three meters away, he stumbles and falls. His body disappearing before it even touches the ground. Of course, the chant of the priest never stopped. Probably outside, another meter of the desert was created. "AHMAD!!! AHMAD? What-what have you done to him?" "KEKEKE, how can you be so stupid?" p "Why do you think we were spared by the ratmen during the Portal War? Because we were already working with them. That vermin that you see here, is just an envoy of the n Masters, to finally remove the only thing preventing the djinns to rule this world, the Tomb Kings. But while you thought they were a threat to this world, it was us. If not for them, we would have already conquered this world and destroy any living beings centuries ago, even millennia ago." "But-but they were our enemies?" "Yes, and for the first time in your life, you did something good. You allowed him to find those Tomb Kings, and as expected he killed all of them. But while the ritual is working again, the other races need to be kept in the dark. Because otherwise, they will barge into this room and destroy it. That''s why everyone that had contact with this ratman needs to die. You included." "You will kill... your own son?" Before answering, he quickly cast a spell, probably the mind control he used. The anger and panic on the face of the prince are fading, and he is returning to his immobile stance. I need to act now. "Ca-Can I make him carry sssomething, sleek sleek?" "Hum? What is it vermin?" I show him the Pathfinder inside my hand. I have to bet that he will ept this as a living being. "Kekeke, well that''s a living being I guess, you gue masters won''t even spare a little scarab. You probably won''t use it anymore, just put it on his shoulder." I arrive near the prince and because of my small size, I try to make it convincing that I can''t reach the shoulder. Then I look at the emperor, who is visibly exasperated. He makes the prince bend his knees allowing me to ce the scarab. I ce something else inside the body of the prince. It is curiously soft and malleable. I expected his skin to be hard to breach. Well, the fact that he can''t react is probably part of it. After doing this and verifying that nothing can be found on the stomach of the prince, I back off. Then, the emperor begins a monologue, like every evil person likes to do. But since the mind of the prince is already gone, I don''t know the utility. Maybe it is directed at me. But in the end, like his follower, Selim can be seen walking toward the center of the ritual. The scarab was the first casualty. Shortly after, the prince is under the assault of the old spell. But he is resisting more than Ahmad. Guess the first warrior of the empire was not a joke. He even managed to reach the center. For that, I begin to lightly p my hand, while snickering. And that doesn''t escape the vignt eyes of the emperor. "Why are you doing this, he can''t hear you. Just a pathetic worm praising a foolish tool." This time I trulyugh. He is really the perfect evil man, can be hated by everyone and no one will cry when he will die. At least I won''t. "What''s so funny, ratman?" "Maybe it''sss the fact that there is no such thing asss an envoy of the Cl-n. Or maybe is thisss, sleek sleek!" And I point the gem that can be seen inside the chest of the prince. A shocked face can be seen on both the emperor and the high priest. "Ta-Tadaaa!" Chapter 44: A New Ritual Chapter 44: A New Ritual Right after saying this, a huge explosion urs in the middle of the ritual. Dark light can be seen exiting the gem inside the prince''s chest. Those lights seem to target the priests that were chanting. One after the other, they begin to scream horribly, like someone that is being tortured. Even the high priest that was trying to repair the damages that I caused was not spared. He begins to kneel and then slowly disappears. The runes and sigils on the floor were not spared. Multiple shadows could be seen attacking them, tearing them apart. I guess the heart of a sorcerer-king was a lot more powerful than I thought. Well, he was still the representative of a god, when he was still alive. I can see that even without my help, just letting the heart do his job is enough to ruin everything that the djinns have built. But while he is helping me deal with the priests and the ritual, the nearby guards and the emperor are out of reach apparently. And looking at me like they want to kill me. I wonder the reason. "You! YOU! YOU DESTROYED IT! TOMPAS! KILL THIS WORM!" Better let his hunting dogs do his job. And he runs toward the stairs, like the coward he is. Before his captain evene close to me, Iunch on him one of my orb of acid. Seeing the projectile, he has no choice be to retreat. But instead of destroying the ground and melt everything around it, the orb just exploded and create a small hole. That was not nned. What is happening? (The ritual is currently disturbing any magic nearby, I think. So your spells will be ineffective as long as the battle between my forces and Szar ritual is notpleted. I suggest you run.) Thank you for the reminder, otherwise, I would have defied in a duel that strong warrior right in front of me. Can something go as I nned it one time? But after seeing my supposed strong spell do nothing, all the guards begin to rush toward me. Do I have to flee inside a closed room, located underground? "HE IS TRAPPED! MY ETERNAL GUARD KILL HIM! KILL HIM FOR THE TREACHEROUS GOD!" Apparently, even the emperor doesn''t fear me anymore. He doesn''t rush toward me but at least he is not fleeing like before. I bet that if I am caught I will suffer by his hand a miserable fate. I am currently circling around the ritual with a bunch of guards behind me. But the problem is, other guards areing from the opposite way. So in a few moments, I will be stuck between two groups. What should I do? What should I do? (I can cancel your fake mark if you want.) Great, and what is the purpose of this? (A chance, if you enter the ritual with my mark, the sorcerer-king won''t attack you. But if just one of those dirty djinns dare to set a foot, you will enjoy a magnificent spectacle.) Well, I don''t have a choice. I will do as you say. I really hope you know what you are doing. And as I put my foot inside the ritual, I strangely feel an odd feeling. Not a bad feeling, just an odd one. One just like when you enter a very old house, with numerous secrets and memories. When you are out of time, back in the past. I kept walking toward the middle of the circle. And as I walked I could hear someone talking in a strangenguage. I can''t understand it. But I should, I mean, myprehension of all thenguage of Astria is perfect. The system never failed me on this one. And then I realize why I don''t understand it. It is because the humans talking it are not from Astria. Inside the heart were the memories of an entire race. Sometimes I understand it, sometimes the memory is from a very long time ago. I can see outside the ritual, the emperor screaming and shouting toward the guards. But no one moved. Shortly after I understand why. I can see a good chunk of armors and sabers lying on the ground, near the edge of the ritual. They were not as lucky as me. I am now closer to the center. The memory that I can see right now is when the sorcerer-king broke his heart with his hands. Damn, I knew his heart was broken, but doing it with his own hands. That''s the definition of a tough guy. With hisst force, he incrusted thest part of his chair and died. Shortly after, I can see the legion of ratmen surging on the Necropolis. Am I supposed to fight this? They are millions, and it was just an army. I can see some machine guns or at least something like it. An even some snipers. They are using the monster cores to fuel it. Vials of acid areunched too. But the damage done to the Tomb Kings are minimal since all the lich are inside the council room. They are only killing the undead created by them. But after thinking about this, I see what happened next. Hundreds of assassins leaving the darkness andunching an assault on the lich and the banshees. Even if the number looks huge, only a handful are the true threat. Every time one of them strikes, another undead is resting for eternity. And when the meat bags are all lying on the ground, the deadly group disappear, leaving the survivors in fear. That small group was the one I met. Finally, I reach the final meeting. But the moment I see this, a shadow appears near me. Someone I never saw. Well, it''s hard to distinguish anything since he is really just a shadow, not even an aspect of a body or something like that. He is just extending his hand, just like the second prince did one time. (Take his hand, give him your mana. That way, the ritual will be inverted.) Why do I feel like it''s a trap, and by the time my mana is empty you will take my life too? (I still have to make the ratmen and Szar pay, you are my only hope for this. I will never try to double crossed you.) Yeah, they all say this. I will do like you said but I will keep a part of my mana. (That''s fine, just allow him to use a part of your power. You are a lot more powerful than a normal ratman. You could have done so many good things, if you hadn''t gone toward this road.) You mean the natural road of a reincarnated rat? Whatever. Here, take my hand. So I ept his offer and I can now feel my power leaking. I see on the System my MP going down quickly 200/350, 150/350. It stopped at 10/350. Guess they were fair after all. But now you have to use it right? Am I in danger inside the ritual? Probably not, since the reaction of both the Eternal Guard and the emperor are obvious. Some of their flesh, and by flesh I mean sand, are flying toward my location. So they used me to increase the range of absorption. That will probably affect the entire imperial pce. And yes, on the door that was closed, I can see multiple rivers of sand rushing here. As for the innocents working here, well there is no innocent in a war between two gods. "You, you are just a little. And small RAT!" I am already regretting the soundproof barrier than was previously activated. The sound of his voice is literally horrible to hear. The fact that his mouth is disintegrating is probably the main cause. "Ke.the. rat... men. KA... SA.LA.ZAR!" I think he wanted to say more, but unfortunately, he was not as resistant as his son. And as I turned toward the shadow that was holding my hand, I can''t help to feel that he really was looking like the second prince. But that''s probably just my imagination. Except for the size, theck of details prevents me from verifying this theory. I just hope that he will still learn that his father got was he deserved. He was a funnyd. (It''s over, we can go now.) Oh really, no more guard will hunt us? (I can''t say that the guards on the walls will be affected, but everyone in the proximity of the pce is dead. The citizens that you saw happy are probably absorbed too. The desert should have his size reduced to half of its original size.) So what should we do? Hunt ratmen? (No, absolutely not. The djinns were never really favored by Szar, so it is logical that they haven''t learned of your existence. But I have seen some assassins looking for you since Ronta. And after they report it, the n Masters will know that you exist. You won''t be able to fool them. And, they are a lot stronger than the djinns, just remember those memories. It was just an army, not the army.) So crystal hunting? (Crystal hunting.) Chapter 45: Action and Reaction Chapter 45: Action and Reaction Far away, to the north-west, in a mountain filled with broken dwarf buildings, a patrol of that race could be seen. They were exploring the ruins of one of their cities, destroyed by the Portal War. The vast kingdom of the proud dwarves was huge, and to check everything will take an eternity. Sometimes, some monsters that shouldn''t have been awakened tried to escape from the deep holes where they were born. Because of them, those patrols were created. But like most of their searches, the dwarves found nothing. They began to retreat toward the closest garrison, expecting a good beer and a hot meal. They didn''t notice a shadow moving above them. That shadow was waiting for their departure. Shortly after all the lights were gone, the shadow arrived at a peculiar location. It was a pile of rocks. Without a sound, more came behind it. With the help of twenty of itspanions, they began to clear the way. They took an hour to do that. After that, they entered the hole that was now visible, and another group of shadows could be seen exiting and closing the passage. Of course, no one except them saw that. The first group arrived in the slums, filled with millions of ves, waiting for their death or to kill their superiors. Amon sight could be seen in front of that group, two ratmen fighting for food. But while one of them noticed the neers, the other didn''t make way quickly enough. His head was sent flying. One of his arms was torn apart and grabbed by a shadow, who begins to enjoy his meal. The other ves, noticing that, all kneeled before them. The group continued its way toward the higher levels, meeting with terrible machinery, monstrous creatures, warriors training, magicians testing their new spells on some unfortunate ves and prisoners. Until they arrived at the highest location of this hole. There, only two of them entered the room. What should have been a table with ten participants, now only five seats were upied. Around it, the n Masters of the ratmen were seen talking, threatening, and insulting the others. The two shadows approached the only one who was not reacting to the current infighting. After saying what they needed to say, they exited quickly the room. The other n Masters, noticing that, began to calm down, awaiting the exnation. "Th-the djinns are dead. Th-the ritual has been canceled." Only that phrase could be heard from the head of the n Noctulis. The n that had formed and trained the Green ws for centuries. Of course, after saying this sentence, everyone stopped what they were doing and began to calcte all the possibilities of this information. "Is-is this the traitor''s work, shlec shlec?" Toward the question of the Decar n Master, only a nod was enough. Everyone around the table was aware of the existence of a lone ratman. But since his previous deeds were the killing of humans and fairies, his survival was allowed. Now that he had directly attacked a servant of Szar, only death will await him. "Green w, one, enough." New sentence of the Noctulis head. But after saying this, every other n Masters was reassured. To kill the previous Hero, they only needed three Green ws. There is no way that a lone ratman will survive the assault of one. But the repercussion of the destruction of an entire race will be huge. Especially since it is the work of a ratman. Even if they knew that it was not their doing, the rest of the world will see it as the first wave of attack. They will fortify their defenses, increase the security of their border. That will give a headache to all the remaining ns. Noctulis, Decar, Skar, Sicle and the apostle of Szar. The five participants will have to work together as one this time. Or their god will not forgive them as he did a century ago. Such a reunion could be seen in all the world. Dwarves in their iron fortress were increasing the production of rifles and cannons. Their famous ck powder was now considered a secret. All trade containing this substance was canceled and everyone from another race in possession of such a thing will be considered the enemy of all the dwarves. Elves were meeting with the old treants in the forest and their friends the fairies. They were discussing the deadly progress of the desert but the news of the destruction of the djinns by a ratman and the recovery of their forest provoked mixed feelings. Clearly, the cause of the desert were the djinns and their destruction was a good thing. But the one responsible of this was a ratman, a race supposed to be evil. They were the cause of the ughter of two towns and twenty-two rangers. And while the elves were not ready to forgive them at all, the treants decided that they will listen to what their savior will say. They will not forgive the previous destruction and poisoning of their forest, a hundred years ago. But to the ratman that have saved them, they will not attack him on sight. As for the human, every single magicians and alchemists were conscripted by the army. They were now tasked to provide any cures or antidotes for free. Of course, the ingredients for those were provided by the kingdom. As for the magicians, they were now turned into hunting dogs. They have to find every trace of the ratmen and for the most powerful of them, track the responsible for the eradication of the djinns. The Church was not idle either. The priests were all praying for the blessing of Aria, waiting for a mighty Hero to free them from the evil plot of the ratmen, as he did a century ago. But, while the blessings could be felt around the world, no Hero wasing this time. The spells that can allow someone to see from far away were not mastered by anyone, but every race has at least one mean of seeing what is happening somewhere else. And at that moment, every single of those powers were watching the imperial pce of the Sand Empire. Where one little ratman was currently walking away, in a sandstorm. This sandstorm was not natural; it was just the former djinns getting absorbed by the ritual. (Do you have any idea of how many are currently watching you at this very moment?) What do you mean, the djinns are all dying, no one is watching me? (I am talking about magic. Or technology for the dwarves. But that''s not the point. I can say, that right now, at least fifty, no, sixty living beings have their sights on you.) It is really hard to be famous, everyone is looking at you, searching for you. Do you think if I say that I am an envoy of Aria they will believe me? (Not a single chance. But while I can''t personally see by myself, I can sense that some of them are located in the forest near the Fairy Towns. So, the chance of us, sneaking in, grabbing some crystals while destructing everything is really small.) Yes, but I am stronger now. (Did you get any experience or the stuff you have when you kill something? Because that was an entire race. I mean look around, everyone in the city is gone.) No, the System probably thinks that it''s your guy, the sorcerer-king, that has done all the work. And he is not wrong. Even if I think that I deserve an Oscar for that. (What''s an Oscar? Is it something that you can eat?) No, let it go. So, since crystals are in a vault, where are we going? (Well, I remember that you met a powerful team of hunters.) Yes, they killed that drake, they were quicker than me. (They belong to an old friend of mine, so if we can just say hi, he will probably get the hell away from that and leave us alone.) Seriously? Will he listen to you? For real? (What you think I am not convincing? The only problem is, I know he is trying to invade another, so if he seeds, we have no chance to make him leave. But if he failed, well we can probably trade something.) And what is that trade? Because except the nine corrupted crystals I have nothing to give. (Oh don''t worry, we have done a lot of those deals, let me resume it how most of the time they are done. One of us approach the other, we both say hi we exchange thetest news, and the stronger one threatens the other. If the weak is not leaving, then we both attack each other. That''s the standard procedure of our exchanges.) And you think I am the strong in this case? (No, you are probably weaker, but after you manage to destroy a race, he will be scared of you. So it doesn''t matter if you are truly strong or not. The important thing is, he believes you have the power to destroy his believers. So if he failed his invasion, losing another group will hurt him a lot.) Chapter 46: Hunters in the desert Chapter 46: Hunters in the desert So in the end, instead of going West, we are going South. Pay ast visit to the Necropolis at the same time. Of course, before that, we need to exit the Sand Empire. But on this point, I am happily surprised. I will never doubt again the efficiency of those Eternal Guards. We barely stayed inside the imperial pce for what? 3 hours? 4, maximum. And the southern walls have already encountered a dangerous troop of undead seeking to destroy the djinns. A lot of casualties in this battle. So many, that the previous numerous troops and sea of armors are now reduced to less than fifty men, guarding a gate. They are of course looking at the sandstorm behind me and now, looking directly at me. I just lightly nod at them and intend to keep walking. But right before that, I notice one of my new best friends. Yes, it is Sedi, or Sami? (It is Saad.) Of course, I knew it. Apparently, he had ended up at a southern gate and even survived the assault of the undead. That is a clear problem. How did they miss that guy? I have spent every single moment inside this empire with him. Well, maybe the fact that he got fired from his former position saved him. He is not wearing anything that can make him a target, he is just like every soldier. But know, I can see him shaking. He never was a brave djinn. But when he sees me, he immediately rushes toward me. "Honorable guest, what happened? What happened to the second prince, the pce, the emperor?" "Sssmall things really, sleek sleek. I am af-afraid that you have to sssearch for a new job." "A new job? Again?" But while he was familiar with me, for the others, I am just a stranger leaving his crime scene. They get in formation and threaten me with their spears. But like I said, they are not enough. Especially if they are packed like that, just asking for one big explosion. I immediately use my new power to create three orbs of acid that I throw on them. The first two were enough to melt everyone and the third touched the wall behind them, piercing a hole inside it. After that, I leave this dear Saad alone and probably stunned, wondering who I really was. I really hope he will make it out. I even gained a level for killing those djinns. Well, it is still fifty armed soldiers of a race that is invulnerable to any poison and diseases. A shame they are not resistant at all against acid. Not a shame for me of course. I wonder how much killing Saad would have given me. Not enough. I do my usual road of the oasis, spreading some acid and diseases inside it. Who knows? Maybe I will kill another big monster. Probably some scorpions again. And here I am on the beautiful and peaceful Necropolis. Filled with sand, armor and weapon dust blowing in the wind. The majestuous broken buildings. The humans seeking treasures. The Humans? (Yes, exactly who we were looking for.) Shouldn''t they try to put the maximum distance between the huge sandstorm that happened a day ago? Or maybe avoid the city of the Tomb Kings? I mean, they should know about the sandstorm. (Give me a second. Apparently, they know that the sandstorm was to kill the djinns and annoy Szar. And they learned that the Tomb Kings are no more. I don''t know how they manage to get thest information. Probably during one of the scouting mission, they never saw a skeleton and deduct the disappearance of the lich.) Ok, that''s great, but are they able to talk to us? Can we discuss with those humans or should we just go to the big boss? (Go to their chief, but first let them know that while the Agorians are dead for good, their god is not pleased with them sneaking inside his city.) So I kill everyone? (Leave one alive, I will tell you who. Oh and by the way, the servants of Krieg are all a little weird.) What do you mean weird? (I didn''t tell you about the blood thing, the transformation of their body in a hybrid of two races? Or even more sometimes.) Probably, yes. But that is not really important. Except if they can turn into an acid elemental or something like that. (If you say so.) We are currently in the middle of the day, so no shadows to hide me. They are just ten humans, but they are the same bunch that has destroyed the drake inside the forest. I remember that they are highly trained but most importantly, very careful. They are not the type of group that split up alone, at best there will be three people close to each other. So probably three groups with only one with four hunters inside it. I will keep this group forter. They are clearly not confident, walking inside this city. While I know that the only thing moving inside is sand and me, they don''t know. They are probably expecting a roaming undead to appear at any second. For nearly an hour, I follow them. They never split up, and while I can kill all of them in one nice shot, I need one alive, order from the heavens. (Hey, I heard that, I just need that old man with missing fingers on his left hand. He is their leader and can grant us a direct ess to the representative of Krieg. As for the others, you will do as you want.) Copy that. But I can''t attack them when they are grouped like that. First of all, I know how they targeted that drake, I will never show myself in front of them if they are as focused as they were. Secondly, I don''t see the previous men in armors. So either they are noting, or they are in another part of the city. About that, a little help? (Yes, and no, nobody else besides the group in front of you. Really, am I just a walking detector for you?) No, you are also the person that killed me. Partially and identally but still, killed me. And finally, as I guessed, three groups. Now, just wait for a little, and one orb will do the trick. I begin to go closer to one of the group. I can hear them talk about the absence of undead. They are really puzzled by it. When I think they are far away from help, I begin to test the only new thing left from my evolution. Behold my [Cursed Winds]. No reaction. Oh, wait, wait, they are a little slower. And they are shaking more. I mean, right now, they can''t use precisely their crossbows at all. Even if I were standing right in front of them. And the spell level up too. That was easy. I can probably take a hit, not in the head of course. Let''s try something else since they are not in a position to hurt me a lot. I walk right in front of them, without any obstacle. Before they were shaking, but now they are fleeing. Thebination of both my curse and my new passive causing fear is enough to make them run. Of course, I let them run just a little before three orbs were sent flying toward the hunters. Just after verifying that all the targets are dead, I move to the second group. I try to do the same, and it is even more sessful. While they are trained, I don''t think they are really that strong. I meanpared to their leader or even those men in armors, I am certain that they are weak. Physically and mentally weak, but not weak in their capacity of inflicting damage. They are the definition of a ss cannon. Very high damage and probably a good uracy. But if someone gets close to them, they are probably dead. But their evident quality is what makes my spells gain some levels. Now level 3 on my fear attribute and still 2 on my curse. Now, I need to see if their leader is better, or at the same level. One thing is sure, however, he is clearly smart. I don''t know if he nned a contact every fifteen minutes, but he knows that the other groups are dead, or he feels it. Even when I dispatched both of them in a little more than twenty minutes. He is retreating toward where I first saw them. They are exiting the city of the undead. Probably shouldn''t havee here in the first ce, but it is a little toote for regret. Now how do I kill theckeys without hurting the boss? Easy, with fear. I really like thisbo, even if it is really costly in mana, the potential of this spell is really important. Just managing to slow down everyone in a huge area around me is good enough. But if I can even make them shake or miss their attacks because of it, it bes excellent. And as expected, the hunters are fleeing but their chief is immovable. Unbreakable in his spirit. He didn''t even blink when I throw my orbs at his friends, well maybe they were not friends. Now is the time for the great speech about why I am doing all of this and "I, Daryl Maimedhand, from the Order of Krieg, surrender!" Chapter 47: Sand and Bones Chapter 47: Sand and Bones Can he do that? Surrender like this? (Well, if I was Krieg, I would probably be very upset about my follower right now. But, even if he is probably one of the pirs of the organization, he is still a human being. Like the emperor of the djinn, he never directly attacked you because he was scared. It is just a strategical retreat.) Ok. Makes sense, just I thought that they were supposed to be loyal to the death or some stuff like that. But know what should I do? Because you asked me to keep him alive. And now I managed to make him my prisoner. (Since we havee to this situation, just ask him to escort us to his base. And have a meeting with the person in charge, he should probably be called a prophet or an apostle. That''s the standard name.) Ok. "You will conduct ussss to your le-leader, sleek sleek." "Us? You and who else? Were you even more than just one ratman?" I can see him watching his surrounding as he questions me. "Me and sssomebody else, sleek sleek. But just lead me to yo-your base." Ok my bad, I said us. But that''s a good thing, that way, he will think that there are other ratmen around me, waiting just a single order to kill him. But that means he really surrenders to me alone. And he doesn''t look very scared or even surprised. That''s weird. Maybe he is really good at hiding his emotions. So I follow him after we exited the Necropolis. Strangely, it is the first time I am with someone that needs to eat or rest. All the other time, it was with a djinn or with a god. But now, I have to wait for him to finish his meal or even sleep when it is the night. He must truly find me weird. I mean, I just stand here, without moving and watching him do his business. I guess he would have probably tried to escape if I wasn''t like that. Like, with the help of the night, when I was asleep, he quickly sneaks out of my vignce. But too bad for him, I don''t need to do those things. If he asks a question about that, I can tell we are multiple ratmen rying each other. I hope he doesn''t ask this. In the end, we are moving very slowly. Just the fact that a human is not supposed to walk in the desert is a good factor. After that, you have the numerous breaks, where he drinks, rests a little, eats something. Sometimes, we just stop at an oasis for hours, to refill his gourd and enjoy some shadows. That situation reminds me of the innumerable escort quests, where you have to carry a stupid NPC to a point, where he moves at a snail speed while you could have done it in five minutes if he wasn''t present. Those that are even worse than the one where the NPC is just a little slower than your own walk speed, meaning you have to walk, stop, walk again. That''s what is happening right now. I am now hoping that a monster will target him, just to make him move faster or even run. Yes, that would be great. Oslo, do you see anything nearby? (No, nothing, but if it is hidden, I would have a hard time finding it. And with the erratic movement of our captive, I am not even sure if we are really on our way to the Krieg hideout.) Great, now maybe there is a chance that Daryl is trying to make us get lost. I am really losing patience now. Well, forget it, I will just melt one of his arms and then he will move. I approach Daryl and as expected he quickly back off, feeling something odd. Don''t worry, I won''t kill you, just destroy a limb of yours. Of course, I won''t say that to him. But the problem is, every time I do two steps, he does one and we both travel the same distance. So either I have to pounce on him, or I have to make him stop. I create an orb in my hand and filled it with acid, then I look at Daryl, and begin to walk softly. He doesn''t move anymore. My threat is obvious, it''s either you stay put or you receive my orb. After I am close to him, I remark that he still hasn''t tried to talk. That''s weird. He should have at leastined or tried to prevent me to do anything to him. Just as I try to grab his arm, I failed. What? How can I fail to grab his arm? I try again, but the only thing I grab is an empty sleeve. There is nothing inside. And as I try to look in the eyes of Daryl, I see his face turning into sand and slowly get carried away by the wind. That bastard! He was partly a djinn. And now he is escaping. By the time I recover from my shock, his body is already gone and only his clothes are visible on the ground. It is even toote to use my aura to wipe him out. (I warned you that they are a bunch of strange creatures. I didn''t expect the sandman, just to be clear. But that means we have no way to find the servants of Krieg. And we are probably not close.) Ok, just can you find him, with I don''t know a tracker? (Yes, don''t worry, he thinks he is escaping just the ratmen, but you can''t escape the sight of a god. Well, you can, but not him. Take it easy, rx in the oasis and wait for him to reappears.) So I am supposed to just sit and wait? Fine, but maybe I will try to create a new magical spell. The cooldown on this should have expired by now, or at least my evolution should have reset it. So what new wonderful source of destruction should I create? Let''s resume what I have. I have a spell to cover me or an object in darkness, useful only in the night. Or to provoke surprise in the middle of the day. I have a long range and urate weapon that is fuelled by both my acid and my gue. I have an area of effect curse to slow down the enemies around me. I have a small regeneration so my health can always be replenished. What do I need? Not something with the basic elements like fire or ice, I already tried those. Something rted to death, darkness, poisons or diseases. I could be a small necromancer. Resurrect bodies, to act as a meat shield. But the only problem is how I kill my victims. With acid most of the time. So not a lot of bodies are still intact. And I don''t know if I can just create a skeleton from nothing. Well, I can still try. Think carefully, create a creature of death, feel his bones materialize in front of you, just bare hand, a perfect white skeleton. With a full body. No missing limbs but nothing else. Now form the mana in your hand into that idea. Yes, yes, IT IS ALIVE! ALIVE! BEHOLD MY CREATION! Something is forming right in front of me, I can see the bones slowly appearing from nowhere, only because of me. Yes, a skeleton is forming, the first soldier in my army. An army, created with the sole purpose of attacking all that opposes me. "Congrattion to the user for creating a new spell. Please say its name." Hahaha, of course, it would be a name easy to remember and logical. -Raise Undead "System acknowledges the choice of the user, the spell: [Raise Undead] has been created." Great, now I just need to create more and 2/357 MP. I used nearly everything that I have, just to create the most basic skeleton. He doesn''t even have a weapon. It will take at least six hours, to create a new one. And I am sure that he is not resistant at all. I get close to my newly formed soldier and just lightly hit him. His shoulder exploded at the contact of my ws. He loses his life, or unlife I would say, instantly. Great, so for my meat shield, I think I can forget. But all the passive rted to magic have improved. Great, so more mana regeneration, less casting time and less consumption during the spells. Just calcting in my head what would have been the real cost of creating a skeleton without this reduction. At least six hundred MP. Damn, I understand why this lich in the undead cave only had the worst of the worst. Because he couldn''t get anything better. At least they had broken swords and stuff like that. Ok, maybe I was too harsh on that lich, at least his skeletons were capable of taking 2 hits before dying. Mine has nothing and gets destroyed by my pitiful strength. During the following days, each time I could, I created another skeleton. But my spell never was upgraded, so I have still a probably 1 HP skeleton. One time, I ask one of them to punch the nearby tree, his hand was destroyed in the process. It is going to be a very long road. (Stop ying the God of Death and prepare to move, I finally manage to find our old friend.) Chapter 48: Where is the sand? Where is the desert? Chapter 48: Where is the sand? Where is the desert? "Why is a ratman inside the Necropolis? Does it mean that they finally managed to wipe them out after all those years? And why did he keep me alive to lead him to our base? He can''t really expect me to just give up my benefactors without a fight. Even if I surrendered, or that''s what he thought." That was the thoughts of Daryl, as he began to reassemble his body. It was an incredibly hard task and a really painful one. While turning flesh into sand is easy, the opposite is definitely not. Because sand doesn''t have feelings or sensations, while human flesh does. Fearing to open his mouth because of the possibility of some ratmen checking the surrounding, the servant of Krieg had no other choice but to grit his teeth and deal with the pain. Even if he was old and have survived the worst treatment, the transformation from a sand body to a human body is still one of the most painful events he ever had to endure. Even if he only did it a few times, he forever swore each time to never use it again. But still does it, life in pain is better than peace in death. The other big problem was, while he could manage to not have his body dispersed across all the desert, sometimes it was pretty hard to find some of the missing sand. This time, for example, he was missing fives ribs and his right arm. He tried to quickly rush toward the location where his limbs were, even if he was afraid that the blood loss from his right shoulder will make him faint before he reached it. He absolutely couldn''t afford to lose time. The Order of Krieg must be warned about both the annihtion of the Tomb Kings and the presence of ratmen so close to them. The good news was theirck of scouting in this area. They had to rely on him, so they were foreign to this part of the world But one problem of what he did was the fact that he was nowpletely lost too. He was in the middle of the desert, and with no oasis or peculiar thing to know where exactly. But he quickly figured out that just by going East, he will probably see something familiar. And he did, not what he was really looking for, but he did find something familiar. He was now utterly andpletely confused. Right in front of him was a huge rock pile. It was quite close to their hideout. But it was mostly buried under a dune, and only a few rocks could be seen most of the time. Strangely, right now, he could see the entire pile. And he could walk on some dirt, not sand. This was supposed to be at a distance of many days to the edge of the desert. But right now, the desert ended before meeting the pile of rock. So the desert withdrew. But why? Daryl had seen many things in his life, many things that most of the people will find impossible or treat it like mere legends or stories. But he had seen or even experienced it. And now, he had seen a desert losing kilometers in size. But even him found it hard to believe. He began to even suppose that the ratmen had put a poison inside him that was making him hallucinate. That was the only logical exnation for such a sight. After spending minutes at doing nothing except thinking about stupid theories, he finally walked toward the base of the Order of Krieg. No matter what problem he will encounter, they should have the solution. But as he kept walking, he discovered that the desert was not growing back. He slowly lost sight of the dunes that were countless before. He began to fear for his friends. What will happen to anyone inside the desert? Even their base was under the sand, hidden. So, it would be visible now. Anyone and especially those ratmen could find it. He had to get to it faster. And he began to run, a lot quicker than when he was running in the sand. After half a day, he finally reached theirir and his worst fear was realized. The desert had left the underground hideout, allowing anyone to see it for far away. That meant that an attack will be imminent. He could see some hunter patrols quickly returning, visibly shocked by the sand disappearance. Out of breath, he tried to reach the entrance and then realized a big problem. The door leading to their base was at 5 meters away from the ground. It was the location of a former dune, so there was a lot of sand. Now that the ground is so low, they had no way to reach it, except climbing. They will probably need to build moredders. And while he was thinking this, he quickly reassembled the lost hunters to make them find some rocks and stones to build some temporary stairs. The building in front of him is smoother than anything else, because of the perpetual movement of the sand. The possibility to climb it is low, except for some who were transfused with climbing capacities. Noticing one of them in the group near him, Daryl asked him to enter the hideout and asked those inside to bring adder for the rest of them. He also told him to raise the rm, an attack was imminent. The fellowrade, while puzzled by those instructions, began his ascension. He disappeared and shortly after, a lot of noises could be heard from the outside. Unfortunately, the calm was shortly ended, when one of the hunters screamed, while pointing a dark silhouette that could be seen on the horizon. A member of the drake expedition recognized it. "The r-The rat-The ratm-The ratm!" "THE RATMEN, NO IT''S NOT POSSIBLE!" Daryl violently eximed. He had lost them in the desert, how could they have followed him. Except for the brutal disappearance of the sand that was covering their secretir, they shouldn''t have been able to find him. (I told you, he cannot escape from me. And that is the base of Krieg, quitecking. I mean, it is very easy to spot it.) That''s why you failed and we had to follow this man here. (Hey, I say that but before the destruction of the ritual, the desert was still here so it was probably very well hidden. They shouldn''t have let it stand out like that.) So now that we are here, what should I do about the twenty or thirty men standing in front of us? (Well, it is some muscled negotiation so, we have to make them understand how strong we are. Do your best, but don''tunch those undead at them, one just fell and killed himself I think.) You don''t have to remind me about that. Why this spell is not leveling seriously. How many weak skeletons do I have to create? But now, is not the time to think about it. Let''s first approach them, try a diversion, and proceed to exterminate them. (What''s the diversion?) You will see, it is highly effective against humans. And works every single time. This n was designed by some genius. (I am then really awaiting for such a sight, can I record it, for future research purposes?) Of course, you can. I think I am close, a little more than two hundred meters. Now see, the greatest diversion tactic ever disyed. A slight wave of the hand. And as I can see, every single one of the hunters even the old man is stunned by my diversion. Their little brains can''t understand why a ratman will wave at them. I can even see one of them wave back, by pure reflex. (THAT''S YOUR STRATEGY? But that''s the most basic movement, it''s not even that efficient. Or, forget myst sentence, why are they not reacting or at least preparing for a fight?) Because it is basic human psychology, a wave of the hand means something good, and they have very important problems to associate a good action with me for example. I can assure you, even the most hardened veterans will be puzzled by his enemies waving at him. Of course, now that I have done that, I throw five acid orbs toward the group. Except for the old man that once again managed to flee in time, all the hunters have melted. And my acid spell has gained a level, wonderful. Especially since after all the time I have used it, it never did that. While my former prisoner managed to dodge most of the damage, I think his left foot was still caught in one of my acid explosion. I can see him drag his body away from me. Not that time, you will not escape me for the third time. I don''t know if he can turn his body into sand once again but just in case I prepare another orb. I then slowly walk toward him. He is not able to see me when he is crawling away. And when I finally arrived near him, just before I put an end to his life. "I, Daryl Maimedhand, from the Order of Krieg, surrender! I surrender!" C''mon, twice in a row? Chapter 49: Brave Sleek Run Away Chapter 49: Brave Sleek Run Away I finally reached my destination. This cunning old man really tried to make me avoid this area. But too bad he didn''t expect a god to watch his every move. Now, should I ept his second surrender or not? I mean, the first time he was my captive, he managed to slow us down and even seed at escaping. So he is really an efficient follower of Krieg. But just the fact that he is keeping such a in face in front of me is pissing me off. I mean, yeah your base is near, but do you really have to keep such a stable voice when you are talking to me. You just saw the other men get disintegrated. I am sure you want to join them, right. "STOP! STOP PLEASE! MISTER RATMAN! STOP!" Who is this, that''s not Daryl. It ising from this building. I look at the top and see one of those armor men. Just the people I am absolutely not happy to see. The fact that one hit from them is capable to kill that drake means the moment they touch me; I am dead too. The good thing is, they are currently at the top of this building. So if they try to jump, I have time to run away. But the risk is too high, they are normally immune to my fear and curses. Maybe even immune to my gue and acid. So the death of the old injured man will wait. I step away from him, that means I understand what they said and will listen to the discussion. "Great, great, Daryl? You there? You ok?" "Yes, I am fine, except for the fact that it is the second time I got captured and now my foot is gone. It is really hurting a lot, and I can still see some of that acid working. So, if you could help me quickly enough, that would be the best Gustav." "Hey, you think he will agree to that? And what did you do to piss him so much that he tried to pierce a hole on one of the walls?" And as they kept discussing, something baffled me. Again, I was out of the picture and they were talking like I don''t exist or can''t hear them. You can directly ask me you know. Maybe you are really good friends, but seriously, I am waiting now. Even if I get slightly angry right now, it is more annoying than anything else. Someone talking about you, right in front of you, disregarding your very presence. Ok, fine, let''s make them focus on the real problem. Iunch another orb at the previously damaged wall. This time I really manage to pierce it. I can even see some of the men inside scream, maybe they got in the area of effect of my spell. "Ssso, now can we di-discuss?" They both were silenced for a few seconds. I don''t think they expected me to attack them without warning. Maybe they didn''t have the time to react to my attack either. Now that I think about it, that could have been a strategy to make me lose my nerves, and try a sneak attack. I watch the surrounding but see nothing. (Oslo is here once again, you have 5 hunters at 8''oclock, 42 meters. I think they are fused with an earth elemental, that''s why you can''t see them. They have merged with the ground and slowly getting closer to your position. But you can probably still exterminate them without a problem.) So the two idiots that were talking were really trying to trap me. Ok, since it is the case forget my anger, that was a pretty good job. But to answer their silence, I create another orb, this time I do notunch it. They are not even trying to defend themselves, just looking at me, and Daryl is making a funny face. A face meaning, he doesn''t understand why I would create another orb. Full of questions and iprehension. Definitely trying to make me rx, let my guard down. Where are the ambushers now? (35 meters, same direction. They have stopped a little when they saw you create your orb. I think they fear you, so now they are targeting you with their crossbows. You shouldunch your spell in less than five seconds I would say.) Thank you. So I quickly face the direction given by Oslo andunch my spell at the location he gave me. And while I hear no screams or anything like that, I can see the very shocked face of Daryl. He didn''t expect me to find the trap they set up. Maybe the guy in armor is making the same face, too bad I can''t see his. After checking that no one survived, I looked at them again. This time, they are really silent. "What wasss this, sleek sleek? More de-death for your god." "As a captive of the ratmen, I would say that it is my duty to try to escape. I hope you will forgive me for those actions." So he really confessed that he tried to lead me away and have done everything he could to escape. He is both really honest and deceptive. At least, he is capable of reading the situation. Right now he is trying to please me, or reduce my anger. But it is not what I came looking for. Now how am I supposed to negotiate and with who? (That armor guy wear the direct mark of Krieg, not like the old man. So he is in direct contact with our target. Just ask him to go fetch the prophet or apostle.) And of course, he will listen to me and do as I say. I am fairly certain that the man he will bring me will be a suicidal bomber. At best. There is absolutely no way he will really get me the Prophet or the Apostle. "Bring me your le-leader, sleek sleek. The Apossstle or the Pr-Prophet of Krieg." When I said the word apostle, Daryl didn''t react but when I said both prophet and Krieg, his face went white. So, there is a huge chance that the chief is called a prophet. Of course, no answer from the building. Can you see inside, listen to their conversation and stuff like that? (I can see most of the base, and they are at least five hundred men inside. They are all armed and ready for war. I see twenty of those heavy armored soldiers. But there is only a part that I cannot clearly see. Unfortunately, your thought might be right. The man we spoke with didn''t go toward the hidden part, he has gone inside the armory, he is searching for something. I can see him opening a chest, and grabbing a A RATMAN WEAPON? How did they get this? You remember those machine guns you saw in the memories?) Yes, they tore apart the legions of undead. It was a massacre; the only reason it was not enough was the sheer number of skeletons. But every bullet fired by this was enough to destroy and pierce dozens of undead. (Well, they managed to grab one and apparently they have the ammo to use it. My advice, run away. I am not sure if they modified it, but the fact that they have such a weapon is bad news for us. Who knows what else they have?) We really can''t fight this? I mean, I am really agile, I can maybe dodge it. Who am I kidding, you are right, I won''t die for anything. But you are sure I can''t do something to prevent them from using this weapon? (No, only the elites of Krieg are near it, so no curse can prevent them to fire it urately. Two are wielding it and a third is carrying the ammunition. Except for the natural weak uracy, they have everything covered. So just go. Drop a gue before leaving, at least they won''t pursue you.) So we have spent days in the desert, following a sandman. And when we finally reached our destination, I should run in fear. Just because they have more people, a better equipment, and we don''t even know the power of the final boss, the prophet of Krieg. Did I resume it correctly? (Yes, pretty much everything. It was an urate description if you ask my opinion. So where are we going now? South? East? Since we are at the edge of the desert.) Well, I was thinking of returning to the human kingdom. I mean, they were really great to my growth. Now, I can probably raze Ronta. And that will maybe make my undead stronger if they manage to kill a civilian. Because this skill didn''t level up, no matter how many skeletons I invoked. So I guess it is like the rest, rted to the number of victims. (To Ronta then.) To Ronta, farewell Order of Krieg. May we meet again in the future. Chapter 50: The Hidden Threat Chapter 50: The Hidden Threat As I walked West again, I couldn''t help myself to look behind me, once in a while. Even with Oslo constantly nagging about the fact that I don''t trust him, theck of people following me is truly weird. I would have at least expected some servants of Krieg to track me. Just to get revenge on their brothers that I melted. But nothing, nothing at all. I am just walking on the ground where I can see multiple trees and nts grow very fast. Since the curse is broken and the ritual of the sorcerer-king is working, the life and vegetation are flourishing again. An oak that could be described as old has literally grown up in more than an hour. Yes, I rested in a spot to raise another skeleton and make him kill the living insects. I mean, that method helped me evolve for the first time. But while I could gain experience for it, my ve is not reaping the same benefit. Even digging the ground is hurting his fingers. Who would have thought that the supposed strongest spell in the world would be so weak? Because, objectively, a spell that allows you to create an infinite number ofbatant loyal to you and without any needs is really powerful. Can be even described as one of the strongest spells. But what I got is some suicidal skeletons that spend their time stumbling on some rocks and die. Even when I monitor them. I tried one time to gain the full control of one of them. Even if I am in a meditation state, and therefore weak state, the presence of Oslo prevents any sneak attack on me. So, while I was totally controlling my skeleton, I make him dig the ground. I manage to do this efficiently, with normal movements of my hands. After that, I asked him to do the same and he seeded. That''s why I thought that by programming some sets of movements inside their brains, I could make them grow stronger. That was without remembering one tiny and small detail. The most recent order erases all previous orders. That means, when I ask him to, for example, walk by lifting his feet higher, he will do this. But forget the order follow me. So he walked in a straight line and crushed himself on a growing tree. Oslo said that it was one of the funniest scenes he has seen for thest century. If I could just prevent him to say all the sarcastic remarks. But right now, I am beginning to regret to have created this spell. I just hope that Ronta will be the lighthouse in my sea of despair. And now, I am walking once again in a forest. I don''t know if it is still controlled by the elves at that point. I mean, we are really far away in the South. But it is still possible that the forest was this huge. And right now, I have even stopped to spread my gue. Since all the problem I have caused, I don''t think to let a trail of dead bodies behind me is a judicious idea. That''s pretty easy to notice and follow me with this. But I didn''t walk for more than a hundred meters before Oslo informed me of something. (I have a good news and a bad news, which one do you want first?) Seriously, the good news bad news? Nothing more original? Let''s go for the bad first. (You are surrounded.) What? How is this possible to bypass your superior vision? You incredible capacity of seeing the iing danger? And there is nothing around me except trees with faces and trees "He-Hello, sleek sleek." (Yeah, the good news is, either they are asleep or they are not intending to immediately kill you.) Great fuckin good news. So I guess you mistook those trees with normal trees and you only realized that now. Instead of running directly toward the elven kingdom, we havended inside the treants forest. Which one is better, I really wonder? "Aarree yyoouu tthhee rraattmmaann tthhaatt ddeessttrrooyyeedd tthhee ddjjiinnnnss?" And they are talking very slowly, it is really hard to understand what they mean. But what should I say, yes or no? I mean if I say no I am still a ratman so I will end up on the case direct execution. So let''s try with the yes. "Ye-Yes." After saying this, they all looked at me and I think, are now talking in the treenguage. I can hear some strange noises and they have a look like they are discussing something with each other. But first of all, I understand nothing, and the facial expressions of a treant are really hard to read. I am divided between in indifference and a bored face. And disappointment, because I should understand them, I have a passive for that. But like with my fellow rat, when I was in the sewers of Ronta, I get nothing out of it. And it is taking hours now. I know that I can''t just leave like that, but do they really have to talk for that long. With time passing, more and more are joining the fray. I can count around fifty treants now. If before I had a chance to leave by killing everyone, that idea is already done for. Some are huge, really huge, even with 2 or 3 orbs filled with acid I wouldn''t kill it. The best I can do is wait. I really am spending too much time waiting or following something. I just want to go to Ronta, for experience purpose. (Ok new bad news, do you want to hear it?) No, of course, let me face it without giving me any information. Of course, I want it. Are the elvesing? (No, worst, one of the ratmen assassins is nearby and I think he is here to kill you.) Well before I had just the entire world against me. Now I have the entire world minus maybe the treants. And I really mean the maybe. But the good thing is, I am in the middle of a force that even that assassin won''t try to piss off. Already fighting in the forest against a few would be suicide, so against fifty of them, not a chance. I am safe here. "Wwee hhaavvee ddeiiddeedd ttoo lleett yyoouu lleeaavvee wwiitthhoouutt kkiilllliinngg yyoouu. Ggoo nnooww." And my protection decided to send me to die. Well, at least they are not trying to kill me right now. Think of the bright side. They are allowing me to leave. Meet my fellow ratman. To kill each other. Ok, I have one option. Run quicker than he would think I can run. I bow before all the treants, to show them my respect toward them. And flee right after bowing to thest member of that improvised council. (He was waiting for you to leave the protection of those treemen. But now he is chasing you. But he is not catching up. He is fearing a trap or something like that. He is really a professional.) Are you praising him? You know he is trying to kill me right? What are you, the president of his fan club? (A fan club, is it the group that supports everything that someone does? Without even questioning the logic behind those actions?) Yes, it is one of the possible definition. But let''s talk something real, are you sure that he is not reducing the distance between me and him? (Nope, this distance is even growing a little. He is more than three hundred meters behind you. When you both started running, it was only two hundred and fifty meters.) And I have the advantage of not getting tired, or not getting hungry. So if I just keep running, I will be safe. But he will follow me, even in Ronta. So what do you think is the best ce to ambush him, inside the forest or inside the city? (Inside the forest, it is basically a duel. One of you will die and maybe will even take his opponent with him. He is capable of tracking you from far away and I don''t know how. And with me, you can do the same. But the potential for a trap to work against such a professional is really low. So it will be in the end a death battle, your spells against his skills. And I am not betting on you for that one.) Thank you very much for thatst remark. (While in the city, both of you will be hidden, because the human will not let you rampage Ronta that easily. You will be able to improve your spells, and with some luck quickly enough to match the assassin. It will be both a training ground and a hunting ground. You two will be the prey and the magicians, priests, and soldiers the hunters. Avoid detection, while at the same time try to assassinate the other party. And every single day you manage to stay alive, that is another day where you improve. In contrary of the ratman assassin, who will not experience the same growth. So my advice is to go to Ronta and provoke so much chaos that every single human troop will try to join the party.) More humans, more victims. More victims, more experience. And with the experience, I will win. That was really well said Oslo. So I guess I just have to keep running now. And hope that Ronta will be as promising as we hope. Chapter 51: Back to my Empire E Chapter 51: Back to my Empire E Still present? We didn''t manage to make him lose us for thest three days? (Nope, still there. Even after he rests and make a small break, he is still on our trail. He will definitely find that we are in Ronta, I just hope his mean of detection is not enough to precisely locate us inside such a big city.) That was what we expected, but you know very well that things are not that easy in real life. (Except the emperor of the djinns. That was really easy to do it.) You forget the part where a lot of guards were chasing me and you ask me to nearlymit suicide by entering the ritual. (It worked, so I am saying it was easy. It''s just you do not trust me enough.) I trust you just the right amount, you don''t have to worry about that. Let''s focus back toward the real problem. I am now seeing the wall of Ronta, just like when I left it. The guards are as usual greedy and make the merchants pay an additional tax. But the city seems a lot more livelypared to when I was leaving. Maybe the fact that nearly a month has passed and the terror that I provoked has disappeared y a part. But now I am in quite a pickle. How am I supposed to discreetly get inside? Because I have no time to waste, an assassin is ready to kill me if I am too slow. The good old technique that I used is useless, I won''t be able to hide inside a caravan and don''t have the time to wait for one. Climb the ramparts and hope no one sees me? If it was the night, I could do it. Oslo, will he arrive before or after dusk? (A little bit after I would say. If he follows the same pattern he has since the beginning of the pursuit, he will do one more pause before reaching Ronta. If he doesn''t do it, he will arrive before dusk.) Ok, so the infiltration with the help of the night is canceled. And in broad day, at the sight of all the guards on the ramparts, the news of my arrival will be announced in the entire city. While before, only the mayor and some important people were aware of my existence, if I now begin to show myself to themoners, the city will be emptied in a day. And I still need those people to increase the power of my skeletons and my spells. A potential of fifty thousand victims. That''s too much to let it go. (And if you enter inside by the sewers? It was your empire if I remember.) Yes, but the grid is too small for me to enter Forget it, I have an acid spell now. You are right, I was thinking with my past mind. I am now powerful enough to not care about small details like a sewer grid. And if I remember correctly, the exit of the sewer is right here. Yes, my memory is still good. I melt the iron blocking my way and enter my former house. How many things and thoughts did I n inside those walls? The cat trap, the orphanage, the assault on the adventurer guild. And here I am, back to the most secure ce I ever was. At least, safer than the elf forest or the djinn desert. I remember my fear of the Seven Gods of Destruction. I wonder where they are now. Probably left like every other adventurer. And I was thinking that the rat poption was low. I just roam around the all city inside the sewers and find not a single rodent alive. I am fairly certain it is my fault. First, a ratman was spotted here. Then a ratman provoke chaos and destruction in the desert, killing an entire race. The poor rats were the victims of the hate toward the ratmen. But that means there is at least a patrol inside the sewers. Without someone killing the rat directly, there is no way the rodents will die. Even my poisons had a hard time killing them. So only a direct attack will do the job. Some humans have the bravery to enter those dark sewers to hunt me? Well, allow me to retort. Where are they Oslo? (Second corridor on your left then third on your right. Their backs will be facing you.) Great. I follow his instruction and as he said, they have no idea that the threat they are looking for is just behind them. I see 5 humans, four guards and one magician I would say. He is not wearing the clothes of a priest and not the standard uniform of the local garrison. Maybe he is an adventurer. I can hear them whisper. They are talking about the fact that they are well paid for a job with no risk. You know, when you say that kind of sentence, you are really asking for the worst. I slowly creep toward them, closing the distance between me and them. When I am just at less than five meters, I make a noise, to make them turn. And I must admit, I am shocked. They jumped in fear just because of the noise I made, they didn''t even turn before doing it. And when they finally face me, well they are paralyzed. I help a bit on that part with a cursed wind, but to be that fearful, why did they ept that job? Even when I walk toward them, they dare not to move or even breath. I think one of them is even dead, heart attack. Oh, the [Cause Fear] has leveled up. Maybe killing someone with just fear is a way to improve the spell. But that was not the point of my n. I invoke skeleton number one, to prove that I am right. I order him to kill the four survivors. Even after seeing theirpanions get killed slowly by a bared hand skeleton, they are not moving by an inch. It is shocking at this point. After five minutes of intense effort from my loyal undead, he finally manages to end their lives. And the raise the dead gain a level. I was right, it is the number of victims, like everything else. But in my joy, I may or may not have pushed number one in the sewer. And he is not getting up anymore. So, I have now all my mana emptied because of those two spells and an assassining right after I regenerate that amount. Did I make a mistake testing this? (Honestly, I don''t know, if we could just see what is the improvement of your skeleton, I could judge it. But right now, all I see his wasted time because, at a moment, the officers will notice that one patrol didn''t make it back. The same day, they willunch a vast operation to find them. It is at that moment that the mayor will be warned and from what I saw, he is definitely not a stupid man. He will warn the king without dy and even maybe directly ask the help from the Church. And believe me when I say that, those knights that will be sent are not a joke. During the Portal War, I saw their power and those Krieg armors won''t be able to even scratch them. When they arrived, I will tell you, and it will be the time to leave Ronta. Even if the assassin is not dealt with.) Ok, so instead of just an assassin, I can end up with the most powerful force in this world looking for me. The forest was really nice now that I think about it. And without MP, I can''t do a huge massacre. I can''t poison anything, can''t spread a gue. I just have an improved spell that cost me too much each time I cast it. Was not worth it. So during hours, I just patiently waited. Of course, I reached the opposite side of the city. That way, when the assassin will arrive, he will still have to travel across the entire town to reach me. Even if I don''t really know if that will slow him down, it is better than nothing. And right now, it is toote to poison the popce. The workers areing home; merchants have stopped their business. Everyone just wants to have a good meal and then sleep. So the potential of contamination is really low. I need to be in a great shape to face the ratman. I still have ten crystals, my only trump card. By now, the missing patrol should have been noticed. Maybe they will wait until the morning to really check, maybe not. But in the end, by dawn the next day, the mayor will act. (He has arrived, he enters the same way you did, by the sewer. Looks like he is following you by your scent or your trail. He is following your footsteps too urately. That means we have a problem.) So no matter what I do or where I try to hide, he will find me. Only chaos will save me then. So chaos it will be. Chapter 52: The First Attack of the Ratmen Chapter 52: The First Attack of the Ratmen Now is the time of truth. Will I manage to survive or not? For the first time, I am a walking target. Before, the only things that could threaten me was something that I brought on me or just the bad reputation of the ratmen. But being chased by the most feared assassin of this world is something new. Especially when I know he can track me without missing a single of my movements. So I need to be perpetually on the move and remember where I have gone. I can''t walk nearby a ce I was some hours ago. So my best chance is to run around the city without resting a single time. While dodging the iing answer from the mayor. Even if I know that the ratman after me is highly trained, at least I have seen them at work, during the memories inside the ritual. For the mayor on the other hand, everything that he will do is unpredictable. I don''t know how much power he has really. He managed to force the magicians and the alchemists to make a cure in less than a day and get the help of everyone inside the town. Only my assassination on the daughter of the adventurer Guild Master put an end to the helping from this faction. But the rest was immovable, they didn''t flinch when hearing my deeds. Dawn is here, so being his answer. I stop near a well, to listen to themoners. Even if they are not in the secret, they are my best way to get some information. Oslo, you are sure that you can''t find the mayor or even someone important? (No, the castle is an empty shell. And both the master room of the Mage Tower and the residence of the Archbishop is empty. They are hiding, to not get killed as the daughter of the Guild Master.) Like I said, really smart. If I were them, I would sleep in a different noble residence each day. There is at least 50 of them, dispersed across the entire city. And even inside a new residence, maybe they are walking in butler and maid outfits, to prevent me from finding my real target. If they are really doing this to that point, I have no way to really kill them. Of course, that is the worst possible oue, but even the best would probably to stay inside the basement of a secret mansion, reserved for that kind of asion. And now that they are already in hiding, you can''t find them. (Well, try to scout every single meter of a city that big. It will take me a year to find a single trace. Even if I just watch every house one by one, to see if there are some unusual visits from the guards, the magicians or the priests, it will take some months. You can''t influence that side, only predict what they will do.) And apparently, what they are doing is organizing an evacuation from the city. That was my worst fear. First, an evacuation means fewer victims. Then, it means that the army will rece those that left. I am sure that currently; a courier is riding toward the nearby military camp or the capital. And I have no idea of the time they will take to reach Ronta. Theter it is, the best it is. I need to grow before facing such forces. What''s the number of guards and other forces on the outside? (You remember their numbers when you were trying to flee?) Yeah, there were a lot of them. I am certain that no guard was resting that day. Everything was activated to prevent my escape and try to capture me. (Well, it looks like they got some reinforcements since that time because they are at least triple that number. And not just triple in the guard faction, no, no, no. The priests are even more actives than before and the alchemists are actively checking the wells. You can''t approach them at all. No matter what you do, the water is under heavy surveince. Not a chance you can reach it.) Damn, they are too efficient. I expected them to watch those wells. But to guard it day and night. I mean we are in the very beginning of the day, the moment where the watchers are the most rxed and they didn''t let their guard down. And now, my first potential way to spread a huge gue is impossible. Next, it would be the food. But with the butcher incident, I am certain that if anything is out of the ordinary, like grain turning green or something like that, no one will eat it. They will even report it to the local guards. What should I do? (So water is out, food is highly unlikely. Maybe you are strong enough to just use the wind to spread a gue. A gue, not your acid spell, it would be useless in this condition. But for that, you would need a higher ground, like being on top of one of the cathedral. But by doing that, everyone will see you. The track will beunched; you need to do the maximum of damage. After that, you will really be hunted, because they will find your traces.) Great, and except that suicidal idea, anything else? (No, except try to kill the assassin before the elites of the Church arrive. But if you kill half of the city, you will be able to y that ratman.) That''s if I manage to gue half of the city and they don''t have the help of both the priests, the magicians and the alchemists. The moment I spread my gue, a cure will begin to be researched. Even if I improve his level, only his potency will be increased. I don''t think they will need to do a lot of improvements to counter its stronger version. But like you said, that is my only chance. Now tell me, where is the highest density of poption near one of the cathedrals? (Ok, the West is, North, South, East. So there is that, but the merchants, only soldiers, too many priests. Alchemists, not good. Ok, my choice, the North. There are a little fewer people than the other three ces, but the number of patrols is extremely reduced in that area. Maybe because they think that the adventurers are enough. I see a lot of them, but not a lot of potential threat for your gue. Mostly swordsmen and warriors.) So North, but that would mean walk back, and face the assassin. If I do that quickly enough, he will not catch up. Really the entire world against me. Except you, I know. Don''tin, I know, I know. I rush toward the location of my memory. I remember exactly the different sewer grids around the building. One is very close, but when I get near, I can see without the help of Oslo a troop of guards standing right on top of it. The news of the missing team is definitely acknowledged. They know that the sewers are a dangerous ce, so instead of searching inside it, they block the exit around the locations where I have been. But now that I will do a really stupid idea, it is not that mere troop that will stop me. I st them with only one orb, and quickly rush toward the cathedral. I can hear the screams of fear and terror of the popce. Is it my appearance or my passive [Cause Fear], I will never know? I am certain that anyone around me is seeing a ratman quickly climbing the faade of the church. And when I arrive at the top, I can see the masses flee in panic. That is not good for me. I cast a total of ten [Create gue], hoping that this amount will be enough. The assassin can probably hear the screams that I caused. I need to keep a part of my MP pool. But while I am here, visible by everyone, why not cause their anger against the ratmen to be even stronger. I will just waste a few minutes for a potential counter-attack. "Fe-Fear the power of the RATMEN, sleek sleek. The n Mastersss will fi-finally bring this kingdom into ruinsss. The n Decar will pl-gue you all. An assassssin is al-already here. For the Po-POISONOUS ONE!" Now, everything that I will do is entirely the fault of the ratmen. Even if the treants interrogate me for a second time, I will plead innocent and say that I wasn''t even around. I was never at Ronta in the first ce. I am not part of their ploy I do not serve Szar. No one will ever believe me, but if there is just a single spark of chance that this is working, I will try it. And I even told them that an assassin was here with me. So they will not focus me thinking that I am alone. They will try to catch us both. But as I watch every sewer grids around me heavily guarded, maybe that speech was a mistake. Chapter 53: The Counter-Attack Chapter 53: The Counter-Attack I am encircled. I have not a single chance to climb down the cathedral without getting targeted by their crossbows or their spells. And the guards are defending each position with some priests near them. I can see some particles around each man of the Church. That''s not good, they have modified the air around them. Whether it will reduce my acid or reduce the damage that it can inflict I don''t know. But I won''t be able to instantly kill them like I did before. Or it will be too costly. Right in front of me is a za, huge and without a building near. But at the back of the cathedral, the distance between it and another roof is not that big. I can try to jump. And after that, a pursuit will begin and that is at my advantage. The moment I can see a sewer grid without surveince, I can return to the underworld and enjoy its protection. If I forget the ratman assassin inside it. I quickly climb down the bell tower and run on the roof. After that, however, I am in range of the crossbows. I can see numerous boltsing toward me. I activate my aura for a few seconds to melt them. Just the time needed to reach the end of the roof. There, I jump on a house, without taking any damage. I can sense the army trying to follow me. But they are a lot slower than me. First, they have to take the roads while I am just jumping from a house to another house. And now, I realize how quick I am. At my full speed, the nearby enemies are quickly left in the dust. But at each new crossroad, new guards and magicians areing. My speed and theck of aiming have allowed me to dodge every bolt. But my luck will not be that good forever here. Did you finally find a gate to the sewer? (No, nothing, they aremunicating. Now, all the sewer grids near the cathedral are not watched but you are so far away that by the time you reach them, the guards will be in position. The only thing you can do is outrun everyone and hope that at a moment they will not be quick enough.) Easier said than be done. Are you really expecting me to run around the entire city just to have a chance? No, better melt my way out. Find a location where they are not that prepared, where only guards are present. I don''t know what the magicians and priests are doing, but I don''t want to meet them right now. (Ok, so keep going in that direction for half a kilometer then when you will see a house with a red door, jump to the right three time. The priests are all too far away from that grid. You will have to face at least ten guards.) Ten is not a threat. Just my aura is preventing me to face their bolts and an orb will dispatch them. Even if I only have a hundred MP by now, it is enough for doing this. But I really need to reap the benefits of my gue. No one has died yet. That''s not a good news. After less than a minute, I see the red door. I obey the instructions of Oslo, and like he said, three jumpster, a patrol is pointing their menacing crossbows at my location. I can see a priest at the end of the road, but he is too far to do anything. He can only see the humans facing me get disintegrated. Shortly after, the gate preventing me to enter the sewer is destroyed as well. But I am really nervous. I have done that, to kill a lot of people. But nothing has improved. I know that my requirement to level up is huge since the number of people I killed after the djinn ritual is more than a hundred. And all were true warriors, not a poor peon that is useless in a fight. But if that failed, I would have anger this city for nothing. Right now, I have not a chance to escape from the assassin. Where is he by the way? (He reached the cathedral. But right now, he is not moving. He probably needs to follow your footsteps and since you were on the surface, he can''t track you. At least, you make him lose your track. The problem is, he will roam inside the sewers till he finds a trace of you again. Because he knows that with the mess you made, there is no way that you can stay on the surface.) So before I had a fixed distance between me and my future killer and now, he is going to have erratic movements, and can even randomly find me or a ce I was minutes ago. Great improvement. Wait, my gue has gained a level. I have gained a level too. It is working. It is really working. Get that you Church. Not so powerful. After some moment of joy, I realized that I only gained 3 level in total. [Create Acid] was ovee by my other spell for the first time, it was only level 7 while [Create gue] is now level 8. And [Deadly Body] breach his boundary of level 1 directly to level 3. I really wonder how many people did I killed. Oh, my title changed, I got [ughterer]. What''s the description? "[ughterer]: you are a mass murderer, by your hand, more than 1000 living being have perished." So I guess the [Killer] was just a hundred victims. Weird, that means all the djinns weren''t counted as my victims. I guess that makes sense since I didn''t receive any experience from their deaths. And I feel that the System is judging me. I mean, he says that I am a mass murder but who won''t be with such a System. Something that can improve only by taking the life of others. Such thoughts are useless right now. I need to run away quickly. And prepare for the next wave. First, they tried to defend themselves by blocking my entrance to the sewers. And since that nmentably failed, they will forget the defense and begin their offensive. I just need to know what will be used. They can''t drown me since the sewers are toorge. They can''t use fire either and try to use smoke to force me to show myself. So what will it be? (I think I know what. I can see those alchemists bring a lot of potions, even barrels of a product. I don''t know what is the effect of it, but it shouldn''t be good for you. They have now a lot of it, near every single sewer grid that I can see. They will probably leak it inside.) So what, I should escape? Where and how? Since they are confident, I can''t risk to touch it. Now that I remember, the rat nest that I killed was in a small cove, only partially exposed to the garbage flow that flows inside the sewers. Maybe I can avoid the danger. But I need to be quick, it is quite far from my position. And they can release it at any moment. My best hope will be that the assassin dies because of it. But expecting that false hope is stupid. I have to suppose that he will survive anything that won''t kill me. But if he is injured, and it is a possibility, that''s still very good. The slower he reaches me, the stronger I will be. Well, if that gue keeps going. And it is not looking very bright on that side. C''mon, a few more levels, please. No? (They are beginning to use their weapon. It has not reached your location yet, but the eastern side of the city ispletely done. But I still don''t know what the liquid is doing. Yes, it is a liquid that I mixing with the dirty water of the sewers and Reach that shelter right now. You better run quicker, you will not make it at that speed.) What? Why is this so urgent, how powerful it is? (It''s not that powerful, but I recognize what it is. They used it during the Portal War and it is not directly threatening your life. It''s is highly efficient, and totally harmless toward any humans inside Ronta. It is part of the blessing granted by Aria. Just that they turned it into a curse to any non-believers. The more you breathe the smoke generated by this liquid, the weaker you be. They mainly used it during battle, where they broke small vials filled with it at their foot and then begin to fight. My only option was to either have a weaker army in a strong position or a strong army in a weaker position. They manage to capture a few fortresses with a lot of it. And even if you have the mark of Aria and it shouldn''t be effective on you, you have my mark too, so don''t breathe a lot.) Hahaha, so you are telling me, that for the first time, the fact that Aria made me her Hero will save me. Hahaha, if the men outside were to learn that, Hahaha. Chapter 54: Perseverance is Key Chapter 54: Perseverance is Key Just as I arrived at my shelter, I could see something leaking from the grid above my head. To describe it, it is sticky, not like water. And his color is red, same as blood. That is supposed to be blessed by the goddess? Is she the goddess of Massacre and ughter as a part-time? (No, you can''t do that job partially, you mainly specialize in one direction, like Krieg and his hybrid.) So you are an expert in what domain? Getting crushed by a young beautiful goddess? Getting easily infiltrated by warmonger gods? (No.) Just no? Nothing else? Not going to say something else? You know it is suspect, I mean I am your Hero so I guess I have the right to know that thing. Not answering? Seriously, just say it, I won''t judge. Well, since he is not really enjoyed by the sight of me knowing his secret, let''s focus on the blood liquid. I can see inside some weird, brown particles. And periodically, those particles release a gas, that''s what Oslo warned me about. Better not breathe it. The good thing is, I am slightly less exposed to it than I thought. First, there is a grid right next to me and my little room where I am currently staying is not filled with gas. I know there are other rooms like that, so I hope the ratman didn''t find one of them. Crunch Oh, that was the bones of a rat. They didn''t destroy the skeletons of my victims. Maybe they just didn''t check, now that I watch my feet, I can see the body was covered with garbage. They probably missed it. (ytime is over; they are descending into hell to fight the demon reigning over it.) You mean they are going in the sewers to kill me? (Yes.) God of the Theater? God of the Tragedy? No? Too bad. But that news is worse. They are expecting me to be weak and easily kill me. But while I didn''t feel a single thing, I am short on mana. If they really areing here, I will have to fight with my ws. I can''t waste my spells on just basic guards. Ok, let''s remember all the actions movies I have ever watched. How do I fight efficiently against opponents a lot taller than me? And wore armors, have shields, swords, spears. Clink, Clonk, CLONK. The grid fell right in front of me. "GO! LET''S HUNT THIS MONSTER! FOR THE KINGDOM! FOR ARIA!" Great, some fanatics, and they will arrive right in front of me. I can see the firstmentably fail tond up, and nearly drown inside the river of garbage. Of course, I quickly help him by inserting my two ws inside his neck. The second and the third soldier are better but still unstable. My passive causes them to fear me and not properly react. I bash the shield away and target once again the neck of the guard. But the third has his back against the wall, and he is ready. More and more soldiers are falling. I can''t kill them when they are in such number. If only I had some help. Like a useful skeleton. I really need to know if he really improved. Because if I invoke it once again, I will have to survive 6 hours without my mana pool full. Right now, I will probably need at least 4 hours to reach that point. And each spell cast slows that progression. Right in front of me, I see another troop. They are 5 but I can''t have a front sh. I notice that the humans are highly reluctant to touch the dirty water, they walk exclusively on the stones. That means only 2 to 3 men can walk side by side. So while they noticed me, I go in a corridor where they can''t directly see me. Here, I hold my breath and dive inside the river. Now I need you, Oslo, to warn me when the first row has passed and I am in the back of the second row. Their boots have a weakness, a small area where the leggings and the boots are not covering it. I can''t be sure to kill my prey but make him lose his feet or even his foot is possible. (Ok, they are just at the corner, and they are stopping to run. They are really careful, they slowly show their heads, and really verify that you are not present. They are now discussing whether or not they should follow you. Apparently they think that since you ran away, it is safer to follow you. Ok, now they are walking near you. Get ready. 3,2,2,2,2,1.9) What the hell? What is 1.9? (Well they are right above you, but they are discussing again. One of them is saying that it could be a trap. You are a ratman and none of them really knows what it means. But they are cowards so they will try to stay alive. And following a monster like you is perturbing for them. When they ran to chase you, it was in the heat of the beginning of the operation. Now they are questioning that very operation.) Ok, I get it, they won''t move. Just tell me if I can attack one of them. Because I am nearly out of breath. They are too slow. (Yes, right when you leave the water, on your left.) Finally, what I wanted to hear. I jump out of the water and use all my strength to cut the legs of that poor soldier. Without the protection of his armor, his flesh is easily torn apart. His screams can be heard very far away. Hispanions, hearing those noises, quickly organized themselves, and flee as a group. Leaving behind only me and the screaming guard. I silence him, not wanting to hear any sounds that leaves his mouth. (There is at least seven groupsing toward you, take the left, right, right, forward, right.) Thanks to Oslo, I evade once again my pursuers. But the is closing on me. I need to find somewhere where I can stay hidden. My small shelter was a good ce, but anyone passing near it will immediately search such a ce. It is too obvious. With my discretion andck of light, I can stay unnoticed. I don''t see anyone with torches. Even if the lighting from the sun is enough right now to see, there is still some corridors darker than the others. I need to find one of those. Oslo? (Yeah, what will you do if one day I disappear? Follow my instructions and you will find what you hope for.) And as expected, a cold, dark and creepy corridor. Now I just need to stay here and I will be safe. (Ok leave, the assassin is too close. Sorry about that, I only noticed that moments ago.) Never mind, just tell me where to find another one like that. And, no forget my previous sentence. If he is near, and by miracle he finds this, he will be able to track me again. So I need to run away. Make me avoid every patrol and put some distance between my fellow ratman and me. (Like you ask. For four hours, no rest.) During four hours, I keep avoiding patrols and walk away from the assassin. He managed to find my footsteps because Oslo warned me he was behind me. But the good news is, I have the power to create another skeleton. One that is improvedpared to before. I really spend too much time trying to upgrade that spell but I really need an army of mine against the ratmen. My gue and acid will do no damage, and they are legion. I saw that even the Tomb Kings failed to really defend against them. The Hero of Aria failed to survive the assault of their assassins. So I am really betting on that spell. I don''t know the cooldown to create another one. Maybe it is even worse than that, just one spell every evolution. And I would have waste a chance with [Nightfall]. No, let''s think positively. Now, positively, work better [Raise Undead]. I see in front of me forming another skeleton. But while the previous invocation formed a weak, feeble and small skeleton, this one is a lot thicker. His bones at least. Taller even, taller than me at least. Even his fingers are sturdier. He can probably take a hit from me. He still has no weapons and armor, but who cares. I have an army of guards to supply me those. I ask him to punch the wall with half his strength and he didn''t break his hand. Well, I don''t know what is half of his strength. I ask him to punch me with the same strength. And OUCH! "-21 HP" That hurts. Damn. He is really capable of doing something. He hasn''t reach the same level of the skeletons I first saw at the undead cave. But he is near the roaming ones, near the Necropolis. That''s very good. Now, I need to give him an armor, a shield, a sword. And more victims to kill. Chapter 55: Trial of the Undead Chapter 55: Trial of the Undead Now that my skeleton is a little bit better than before, even when he falls, he doesn''t get killed. He just gets up and follows me. Of course, I try to not make his path difficult, like jumping across the river of garbage. I am sure that if I do that, he will just walk right in and get killed. I can''t risk that. So I wait for twenty minutes to get enough mana to curse a group of soldiers. Their deaths need to be done by the hand of my loyal undead. After I manage to create a real group of skeletons, I am sure they will be capable of hunting those soldiers. But I need time for that, like for everything. Oslo, where is the nearest group of humans? (No, not the nearest. I have a group a little bit farther but you will like it more. Because the closest is apanied by a priest. You probably don''t want that. Instead, I get ten guards alone. It''s better, right?) You are right. I choose the ten-man group. I have not a single intention to defy the priests, especially since I need my skeleton to survive. So I quickly reach those slow humans, while making sure that my undead is not dying on the way. I hope, I really hope, that at the level three their intelligence will grow. Like the elites in the lich temple. They were organized, they had a n, a good way to fight the enemy. I only have a mindless servant. And he just falls again. But at least, I know he is resistant. In half an hour, he has touched the ground four times. Well, I have to say, the ground is really uneven, it''s full of garbage. "Can we just stay here, under this grid, and say that we participated?" "Roger is right, I mean it is not our job to hunt monsters like ratmen. And apparently, they are at least two, a gue master and an assassin. I don''t want to meet them." "Yeah, my poor mom was his victim, she died horribly. She had turned ck, and every time I touched her, a part of her body was destroyed. I don''t want to end like this." "Shouldn''t you be angry about this?" "No, I value my life more, I have still 3 kids and my wife to feed. And the bounty they offered is a death trap, of course for those adventurers, it is possible that they really capture one of the two ratmen. But for us, the guard? We will just be ughtered." "Agree, let''s just stay under this grid and wait for the night. It shoulde soon. That way, we have the additional pay for getting in the sewers and we survive." "Yeah, the sewers are so big, what are the odds to really meet one of the monsters." "Why did you say that; you know very well that it''s stupid. You jinxed us. Shut up Roger, next time don''t even talk." I agree with thest guard. What was in the head of that stupid Roger. Every single time someone says those kinds of sentences, the apocalypse arrives just to prove them wrong. And in this case, I am the apocalypse. I activate my cursed winds and see them slow down all their movements. Their faces are hrious. Most are just shocked, but three of them are angrily staring at the poor Roger. Who in return is looking at the ground, trying to make them forget his existence? But the ostrich strategy won''t work. When I finally get inside their visions, they are really shaking. I guess the blessing they all got, in the beginning, is fading. I mean, the first group I met never reacted to my [Cause Fear]. But now they are. That''s the best thing possible. I approach them and quickly cut their hands and legs. Not enough to kill them, but they won''t move. After that, I ask my skeleton to grab a sword and pierce the neck of every single one of them. He executes his task, silently and without error. But as Roger, thest survivor dies, I notice that I don''t get anything. So ten humans are not enough. But at least, now my skeleton is armed and ready. He is wearing the armor of the former guards. With a little bit f chance, in the darkness and seeing only his back, someone can mistake him. The problem is the helmet; he doesn''t block the sight of the face. So anyone can see a skull. But like I said, from his back, it is really hard to notice the difference. That gives me an idea. I want to see what he will do in a real fight. I need to try that. At least to understand his limits, for example, will he try to block, parry or just permanently try to attack? How will he use the sword, sh or stab? Of course, I will use the cursed winds to slow the guards, but not my fear effect that will paralyze them. Oslo, need a target. (Well, currently, I think that if you just take the corridor to your left, a patrol will arrive in 2 minutes.) That''s perfect. I get rid of the bodies by throwing them in the river. I don''t want to waste either my mana or my crystals. And the flow can carry the dead bodies across the entire sewer. That way, they will see that other humans have died, but won''t be able to find the location. Since they have alreadyunched most of their forces against me, everything that instills fear and anger in their heart is a good thing. Now I need to prepare my trap. I keep only one corpse with me, it will be useful. I then nt my skeleton at his ce, and from where he is standing he can see just a bloody leg in the corner of a passage. My n is to make him seems like a soldier that has noticed the leg. So he stops and carefully look around, expecting the ratmen. Fortunately for him, right at this moment, another group of guards Iing. They join him and he shows them the leg. That way, the guards will let down their guard in front of my skeleton and furiously check anywhere except the strange and lone soldier that showed them the corpse. Is it good enough? (Honestly, I don''t know how it could be better. The grouping is only seven guards, so if he can assassinate two or three before they react, with the help of the cursed winds and the confusion, he can maybe even kill the remaining survivors. Now everything is on his shoulders. If he failed, that''s because he is still too weak.) So now, I am positioned near the corpse that I set up. Close enough to the group for my curse to take effect, but far enough and out of vision so my fear is not activated. And I wait. I think I begin to hear them. "Do you think they are far? Or close? I mean, someone had probably already met them. Poor fellows." "And even if I heard they are two, we know that the ratmen are expert in lies and maniptions." Maybe they are more, maybe he was just alone. We have no way to check that, besides finding them. "Well, the others can find them, I don''t really want. Even if they have done a lot of damages, I just want to resign. But they say that everyone that flee will be executed as traitor and deserter. I should have resigned back when the daughter of the adventurer Guild Master died." "It''s toote for regret just LOOK!" "What? A lone guard, what is he doing alone? Where is his unit?" "Hey, what''s up, man?" "Look, he is closing his fist. What does this mean?" "That probably means shut up. But why does he do that?" "Now he is pointing something, I can''t see A LEG!" "WHERE? THERE IS BLOOD ON IT!!!" "That''s why he wanted us to shut up. Someone died nearby. Get in formation. Fellow guard, join us. The more we are, the safer we are. What''s your name by the way?" "He is probably terrified, all alone in those dark corridors and seeing his first death, look at him shaking." "Pal, you okay? Do you nee" He never finished his sentence. It was the closest guard and the moment he lightly touched the shoulder of the skeleton, his life ended. My servant did a great job. He singles sh, cutting his head. Right after, he pierces the neck of the soldier behind his first victim. They are not reacting at all. Some are still watching behind them, looking for the ratmen. Only after hearing fighting noises do they turn. But it''s toote, the third and fourth guard are lying on the ground. Their slow reactions barely manage to save two guards, the fifth getting kicked in the chest by the skeleton and then executed. He is even improving. I did order him to kill them efficiently. I need to remember to say that in the future fights. Thest two guards are defending and counter-attacking, but they are far too slow. They are even shaking in fear. My skeleton quickly bashes one with his shield, and then let go of his sword to grab the head of the other. He inserts his fingers into the eyes of the guard, who begins to scream. After that, he retrieves his sword and achieves him. The only survivor just has the time to get back on his feet before seeing a body fall on him. Stuck under it, thest thing he probably sees is a sword falling on him. He doesn''t gain a level, but I am certain that his intelligence is progressing. Chapter 56: Skeletons dont talk Chapter 56: Skeletons don''t talk That was a good surprise. To see my skeleton that I thought was useless and clumsy kill them in that way. Now I need to have a second skeleton, to see what gave him that intelligence. Is it the duration of his presence of this world? Because he managed to survive for more time than all the precedents undead. Well, most of them died because of falls or direct contact with the environment. Another possible thing is the number of victims. He has killed more than ten guards. If each time, he gains a part of the intelligence, that''s close to a real human mind. Oslo, next group. If during the travel he doesn''t fall, at least one of the two probability is true. (No, no hunting, the assassin is too close. I suggest we first go to the West of Ronta. Even if there are more priests in that area, it will slow down the assassin. And after that, the night wille and the humans will leave the sewers.) Did he kill someone? (No, not a single victim. He always avoids them. He probably doesn''t want you to know that he exists. I mean, if he didn''t hear your speech about his presence or hear a guard talking about two ratmen. But he will learn it sooner orter. And at that moment, he will not patiently wait for the patrol to go or avoid it and lose time. He will butcher his way through.) Only after dusk will I be able to raise another servant. That means I have to use all this time to kill more guards. If he evolves before I cast my spell, I will have a stronger skeleton. (Can''t you just reduce his size? Or change his form? Like grant him a dog form or even a spider form?) What do you mean? (Well, it is a spell created by you. So, you decide to give him the form of a human skeleton. But you can probably just create dog undead or even rat undead. That''s up to you.) That''s... true, I guess. Well, for me, a skeleton is nearly always a human skeleton. But now that you say that, I can maybe create smaller bodies, that way I consume less mana. But it has to be useful, like for a spider undead, it is useless. The main weapon a spider has is its venom and in second its web. So, since I can only create skeletons of living beings, without anything else, a spider will just try to bite the guards. And bites only, without poisoning them. But the dog idea is not bad. It is smaller than a human. It is still effective. Except for a dog, you have any good ideas? (No, and we still have to try that. I don''t know if it will really work. And maybe it will still cost too much mana.) Well for that, I will try a spider, like you said. If that cost the same as a human, the dog will not be worth it. And I will still be able to have another skeleton warrior before the sun rises. But now, let''s go to the West. And apparently, my dear and really impressive skeleton warrior is learning. In thest thirty minutes, he didn''t fall, even not one time. That means he calcted his way, and took note of the weight of his equipment. But I have still no idea if it is the number of victims or the time spent alive. Now, I will try something else. Since I know he is strong, a lot stronger even that a normal human under my curse. He will directly fight a small group of soldiers. OS (Yes, just stop saying it that way. It is making me look like your servant. I am a god.) A god I still don''t know his specialty. And till you say it, I will keep asking. (I get it, just go left, right, forward, forward, forward.) Thank you, and how many? (Only 5, that''s the minimal number apparently. Anything with less is either a group of only magicians or only priests. And you don''t want those.) Absolutely. Come with me, my faithful number one. To victory. And by number one, I mean the only skeleton I have. I never manage to reach number two. But let''s make it happen, shall we? A new group of soldiers. The same cowards that are talking about running and abandoning their jobs. Besides the first wave that was pretty enthusiastic about the idea of killing me, the rest is more human. Not at all fanatic praying Aria day and night, expecting the blessing toe. Just some normal human, wanting to leave this city as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I happened. And I came back. So I activate the curse before they even see us. They are reacting, feeling that something is not right. They are on their guard now. Perfect. Let the game begins. At first, they don''t react to my skeleton. I tasked him to not show his face before getting close. After seeing a fellow human, they begin to rx but are still puzzled by their sudden lethargy. And a bit curious about why a lone guard is roaming inside the sewers. Not like the first group that dly embrace my servant, those peoples have their shields raised. And finally, one of them notice the trick. I really hoped my skeleton warrior could still attack them by surprise. But it won''t happen. The order that I give this time is to kill them all. Three are in front and two at the back have their swords pointed at my undead. They discarded their shields, have taken the sword with their two hands. Without the impact of my fear, I can see that they are still well trained. Even for the guards, I would say that they are one of the best troop. But now, I want to see what my skeleton is doing. For the first ten seconds, he hasn''t done anything. That''s good. If he rushed toward the wall of shields, he would have been destroyed. Five swords hit are more than enough to at least cut some bones. But he has to obey me and kill them. He only has at his disposition a sword, a shield, and the surrounding. Unfortunately, there is no rock or anything nearby. Some lettuces only. Won''t be able to inflict any damage with that. Finally, he starts to move. And he stays just outside of the reach of the backline. And there, he keeps kicking the shields. That''s one way to do it. It won''t really do anything, but eventually, they will be tired. That''s the main advantage of the undead, no need to sleep or eat. Attacking while factoring this is a proof of intelligence. Using his strength and targeting the weakness of the enemy. Very good. But that small spectacle brutally ended after only one minute of kicking. The soldiers were aware of the long-term strategy and they forcefully charge toward the skeleton warrior. My servant, of course, retreat progressively, not letting the two additional soldiers in the back the possibility of an attack. Seeing the movement of the undead, the guards quickly exchanged the front line with the back line, letting three somewhat tired humans rest a little. The main problem now is; can they hold for enough time to get some reinforcements. Because we are fighting and we produce a lot of noises. Yes, that inefficient. Now, I have seen that my skeleton is intelligent, his job is done. I show myself and immediately, the former slow movements are now stopped. I order my warrior to clean this and another five victims to his ount. But no level up again. Oslo, now finds at least 15 guards in the same group. (That number is really high; I can find a fourteen-man team near but not anything else.) That''s enough. Probably that will be enough. I quickly rush toward their position. This time, I don''t lose time in nning a trap or something like that. I immediately activate my cursed wind and provoke fear inside them. As usual, they are immobilized, like some cattle is brought toward a ughterhouse. And my servant is the butcher in charge. And yes, my prediction was urate. Finally, the level 3 of this spell. I get close to the undead, to see the changes. Nothing? Do you mean only newly invoked skeletons will benefit from the upgrade? That''s not good. I mean, they are supposed to be expendable in the first ce. But they can at least evolve. Well sorry number one, you will have to wait. -Don''t worry master. Yes, I will not worry. Wait, Oslo, why did you just call me master? Did you not say that you are the god and me the believer? (It was not me; I think it is the skeleton that just talked.) Nonsense, since when skeletons have Why is he weirdly looking at me? Chapter 57: The New Strategy Chapter 57: The New Strategy -Yes, master, I can talk. So, at that level, he gains a real mind. Great, but. I don''t know. Doesn''t sound really good. First, why is he speaking better than me? He is a skeleton, how is he speaking? -I don''t speak with a tongue like you do, I can directly speak thanks to my spirit, master. Are you reading my mind too? Why did he speak that sentence otherwise? (I don''t know, I mean lich have their own spirit and can converse, but they are the higher tier of the undead. Of course, there is some exception like most of the spirits like banshee, vengeful spirit, and ghost can directlymunicate even when they are inherently weak. But a skeleton speaking is strange. But that''s good news.) Yes, just strange. What did I create? Think, remember, what did I want at that time. To create multiple undead, yes, but most importantly just create a skeleton. Did I want them to speak and think? Probably, it''s better that way. I can order them to do stuff and they can think of a way to do it. "Can you ssssee what I th-think, sleek sleek?" -Yes, master, we share a telepathically link. Of course, you can prevent me from reading your thoughts at any moments. Oh, well, how am I supposed to know how to do that. Fortify my mind, don''t let anything go through. My mind is mine and mine alone. (And mine too.) Shut up. Don''t interfere with that. If you hear me number one, say yes. Say yes. I order you to say yes. No, he doesn''t hear me. And now, I let my mind open and say yes. -Yes. Beautiful. And did that telepathically thing has a range, or is it capable of reaching you anywhere in the world? -I have no idea, master. Well, that was expected. I mean I should ask the System. No, I should forget it, it''s better. Only the description of the abilities granted by it has a description, [Nightfall] doesn''t have one. So an improvement of a spell created by me will not be defined either. I can really see more and more the limits of the System. As I keep improving, he is bing less useful. Like the [Scavenger]. That ability saved me, granted me my current life. But since the time I eat the drake, I never used it. First, because I understand that only a small percentage of attributes was really gained. And secondly, because all my kills are disintegrated. But now, I can use efficiently my number one skeleton warrior. Are you capable of doing the same trap we did the first time, with a bloody leg? -Yes, master. This one is capable of reproducing the event. And are you capable of hearing Oslo? -Who is Oslo, master? Damn, he doesn''t hear you. (That''s because I didn''t speak. Let me try something.) -I can hear him, master. Great, great, great. That way, you can keep hunting small groups of humans and at the same time, I can flee away from the assassin. I let you two discuss the details, just remember number one, follow Oslomands. He is a very powerful god and deserves your respect. Less than me of course. (Thatst part was not useful at all. You could have just avoided to say it.) Just make me proud of you, number one. Now go, and be efficient. I can see him disappear inside the dark corridor of the sewer. Kids these days, they grow up so fast. (What do you mean?) Just a regr sentence that you hear everywhere. I always wanted to say it. But I notice something and that''s not good. (You mean the number of kills to upgrade your skeleton? If it is as you think, yes it was great, but it will slow down a lot of your progression.) The first time was four kills, second time thirty-six kills, that''s nine times the initial amount. If that keeps going that way, for the fourth upgrade, my skeletons would need to kill 324 humans. And I am not even talking about the level above that. But like you said, that''s for the original form of my [Raise Undead]. I run around the sewers for a few hours, and with that, the night hase. I learned from Oslo, that number one killed fifteen guards during that time. Since he doesn''t have the protection of my curse, he will only target the weakest group. But that''s enough for me. I didn''t expect anything, I came looking for copper and I found gold. I can see progressively all the soldiers and magicians leaving the sewers. The day was bad for them. They don''t know, but shortly, they will learn that a lot of humans have died inside my underground empire. Not a lotpared to the total number, but too much for a day without anything aplished. Except verifying the fact that there is a threat under their foot. And now, the cat and mouse game started again with only two yers. A gue sorcerer and an assassin. Now, I need to change those rules to an assassin and an army of undead. And test the suggestion of Oslo. I have just enough mana to create another skeleton warrior. But please don''t use that amount. I begin to think of something very small, a spider. Just a little spider, without poison, without a web, just a small spider. Now create that spider for me. I think of a ck widow, even if it will probably don''t have the color of it. But I see the form, now create. And, yes, I got a small white spider. So the colors are not included with the invocation. Not that I care. So how much did It took me to create a small living being? 50MP. For something not even the size of my feet. That''s bullshit. Or maybe the Systempensate theck of details. Because I can precisely create a human skeleton, I mean I saw that in my biology sses, on a lot of games, movies. A human skeleton is easy to create. But a spider skeleton, the details? I probably messed up a lot on that. But for the rat and dog idea, that''s bad too. I don''t know how their skeleton looks like. So it will be costly for something weaker than a skeleton warrior. The good thing, it is still only an hour of wait. Not that bad. So by the time the sun rises, I will have number two and number three ready to face another day. Maybe I should try another round of gue? No. First, this time, the civilians are probably already evacuated. And if they are not evacuated, they have fled the city. Except for some old ones that don''t want to leave the house of their family will stay. All the other, merchant, shopkeeper,mon citizen, all will exit Ronta. They had the entire day where I fought in the sewers. By tomorrow, Ronta will be only upied by the armed forces of the Holy Kingdom of Aria. So another gue will be useless. And dangerous, because before, maybe they didn''t cast a spell to not hurt the local poption. But now, they will make the houses explode if that can hurt me. And every tall building will be guarded. But since they failed their action today, what will be the next move? They tried the poisoning blessing of Aria. They tried to invade the sewers. So what''s next? The worst possible thing will be for them to just stay on the outside. That means I will have to bring the fight to them, and my skeletons will perish under the heavy crossbow bolts. Or even just a priest or a magician. The best thing is another round of invasion. And so I waited. I waited when the sun has risen. I waited hours after that when nothing was happening. And by wait, I mean I ran around the city. Can''t forget that ratman after me. Now I am in the best condition possible and apanied by three skeletons warriors. I managed to retrieve two new sets of armor and weaponry for them. That way, I begin to really have a small group to fight in my stead. I don''t have to personally be involved. But as time passes, and nothing changed, I begin to fear that the worst oue was chosen. And I can''t let that happen. Since I will not have any mana problem for a while, I decide to make them regret their passive stance. I st a grid and thenunch my acid orb on the surrounding guards. Some melt, some were protected by an invisible shield, and some magicians throw a fireball and other spells toward me. Of course, I immediately ran back into the sewer, not letting anything visible except my head when I cast the spells. I keep doing that every hour. Each time, killing less and less guard. Somewhere before midday, myst attack didn''t kill anything. That''s bad. That''s really bad. Chapter 58: An Iron Beard Chapter 58: An Iron Beard In a dark and creepy basement, three people were sitting at a table. Even if outside, the sun should have risen, here nothing indicates this information. They should have been four, but thest member of their group didn''t answer their letters or their convocations. And while the three humans were quite angry with the missing dwarf, they really need him at that moment. He was the only one that has real experience fighting ratmen. But the seat was desperately staying empty. At this sight, the Mayor Graeme Sorrel Tyne lightly sigh. "I guess the Guild Master will note. Did any of you have any news about his whereabouts since the beginning of this crisis?" "No, not a thing, when I failed to save his daughter, every time I try to contact him or even visit him, he doesn''t answer. I am not even sure if he is still inside the city." "But that would have been impossible for him to escape, my magicians never saw him leave, and they were very vignt for the past months." "I trust your words, Archbishop and Great Magus. But I am not certain of the abilities of those under your supervision. They have let at least one gue master of the n Decar enter Ronta and even an assassin. Thest information was not verified, but if in the worst case it is one of those Green ws, we probably will need to change the location of where we rest quickly. No, even if it is not those dangerous ratmen, we need to move tonight." The words of the Mayor make both of his interlocutors frown. They were not enjoyed to stay underground in the first ce, and they both have important meetings outside. Mathews needs to be with the priests to improve the efficiency of the blessing of Aria. Aesseryn needs to check on the cure research. But Graeme didn''t even let them go outside since the first patrol had gone missing. For him, if any of the three humans die, the city will be in total chaos. Lansco has lost a lot of prestige and trust from the popce, so his death won''t be as impactful. But for the three reunited here, if even Lansco dies from the ratmen, they are in a huge problem. He was once part of the Iron Beards, the strongest army of the dwarf kingdom. His death will be the confirmation of a Green w roaming inside Ronta. While they were all thinking, the door opened. A messenger brought some news to the Mayor and shortly after left the room. Both the priest and the magician were waiting for the content of the report. But Graeme was visibly agitated. Mathews, not wanting to stay here doing nothing finally asked the important question. "What is the number of missing peoples?" "They are currently checking and not sure but, apparently, at least more than fifty guards never emerge from the sewers. And after some confirmation, some were killed after pouring the bloody blessing inside the sewers. That had absolutely no effect on them apparently." The bloody blessing was themon name for the mixture concocted by the alchemists. Since the liquid had a red color and was created mixing a highly vaporous liquid with some holy water from the Church. The huge problem was the low quantity of holy water that could be created each year. Of course, every city has a huge reserve of those, stocked since the Portal War and after it. But even if the reserve is huge, it is not infinite and they have to only use it against servants of other gods. Because the moment they don''t have it anymore, they lost their greatest weapon in the iing war. Unfortunately, right now, it doesn''t have the effect that everyone hoped for. "We said it before and I will say it again, the bloody blessing is not useful against a small group of enemy agents like in this situation. Even if they breathe the gas produced by it, at best it will have weakened the ratmen. But they are still able to move undetected inside the sewers and kill the guards that don''t have the support or a priest or a magician. Mayor, no magician or priest was killed, right?" "No, you are right, Great Magus. They only targeted small groups that were patrolling. Some groups have managed to spot them, but after a quick battle where the human side lose some people, the ratman escape and no one can follow him. They are too quick. The attacks are apparently in the entire sewers. So either it is one ratman roaming everywhere or at least two to three of them. Quite frankly, I don''t know what do to, I ask everyone to just stay outside of that trap today. We can''t let them slowly kill us, one group at the time." "Concerning the gue Aesseryn, did your alchemist manage to produce a cure working? Because my priests saved a lot of people yesterday, but they can''t be everywhere and they don''t are superhuman, they need to rest and sometimes, we couldn''t save some children because they were too tired. We need that cure in the future." "I know, I know. The moment someone finally manages to create the cure; you will see a happy magician walk past this door. But it is nothing like the precedent attack. Back then, only the weak children were affected by it while the sisters of the orphanage resist it easily. Here and right now, even some healthy young men have died. That''s why I think previously it was only an apprentice of the gue master. And now, the master hase to end the job." Following those dark words, everyone stops talking for a moment. That''s everything they can do, n something to try to protect the poption and kill the ratmen. And wait for the reinforcements. An hour after dawn, a panicked butler arrived. "Mayor, Mayor, the Guild Master ising inside!" "The Guild Master? You mean Lansco? Make hime quickly, he will reveal our position. Damn, we need to leave this ce right now, let''s see what he has to tell and leave." "But he is right" Thump The poor butler was ejected out of the way, and where he was standing, a proud and armed dwarf can be seen. Wearing an armor made of the steel forged inside the Mountain Heart. Infused with mitrhil by the runesmiths of the Evesting Peak. Equipped with a sharp axe, a stable and solid shield. Armed for a war. A war where only the strongest will survive. Some dust can be seen on it, proof of its old age. But that vision shocked all the humans surrounding him. Wearing a helmet protecting his entire face and even his beard, Lansco begins to talk. "Mayor, Great Magus, Archbishop. I have seen from my window the assault that you made yesterday. Even if I am optimistic, I am afraid that you already lost some guards, right?" At those words, the Mayor quickly nod. "As expected, you humans have forgotten what is the strength of the ratmen. Shadows, assassinations, poisons, gues, avoiding direct contact at all cost. You dare enter a world filled with darkness and hope that you will catch one of those monsters. Bah. Stupid and foolish idea. If those knights of yours Mathews were here, it would have been sessful. But only local guards? That''s sending them to their graves. By now you are out of options, except wait?" The two men and the woman lower their head because the dwarf question was right on the spot. They were really waiting for the reinforcements. "You are hiding underground, while your men are dying outside. I get the idea, if one of you three dies, the city will be doomed. But that''s not the case for me. I have a revenge to take. So keep doing what you want, I will personally put an end to this madness." "Lansco, Lansco, stop! You can''t face them, there is an assassin, you didn''t hear his speech?" "Graeme, don''t worry, I heard it. But for you to believe a ratman is a mistake. Even if he said the truth, which I doubt, you have to consider that they are triple the amount. Only in that way, you will have a chance. As for that assassin, well if he is really here, we are all dead. Let me take a few of them with me." And without even wasting time, he quickly left the Mayor, the Great Magus, and the Archbishop. And the poor butler that didn''t wake up. They were all very worried about the dwarf. While he is very strong and no one will say the contrary, they are all scared of what will happen when he really meets the ratmen. In the end, only Mathews speaks. "We have to get out of here. We have to survive; we need to find another hiding ce. Graeme, where are we going?" "East, under the brothel, there is everything waiting for us. And don''t look me like that, a brothel is a respectable establishment and they have happily proposed their services to us. And I epted, I mean who will expect us three to hide in the basement of it?" Chapter 59: Planning the Escape Chapter 59: nning the Escape We are in the middle of the day right now. And there is no movementing from the outside. Except for the reorganization of the troops because of my guerri attacks, nothing at all. Since Oslo has no news for me, that means the assassin is still far from me. And my group of three skeletons is following me, doing nothing. I can''t let them die right now. The good thing is, every skeleton has a spirit of their own. That means, they can all organize themselves with Oslo for the future operations. But they didn''t get anything else besides that. No stronger or thicker bones, no additional strength or agility, just a mind. That''s good, I mean, the smarter they are, the closer I am to have some lich or stuff like that. Probably need at least 4 more levels. I quickly calcte the number I would need and that gives a quarter of a million. That''s a huge number. But that''s logical too. I mean, I can''t have instantly something that powerful. For example, even my acid I needed a lot of victims and now, since I am facing magicians, I see that it is not that powerful. Against meleebatants or even archers, that''s incredibly destructive and lethal. But versus mages? I didn''t kill anyone in thest 2 hours. Every time my head is visible, there are three fireballs fired at me. Now I am only destroying every grid in the city, that way, I can more sessfully ambush them. Because otherwise, I have to melt the grid, that gives them an indication that I will attack. Never good in a sneak attack to have to make some noises before doing it. Currently, one orb is only costing me a little more than 6 MP, which I can regenerate in 6 minutes. I have reached the 1MP regen/minute. Still, have 238 HP and 378 MP. I can see now the slow in my growth. Only with my gue, I can gain another level. But now, I am fearing that the cure is already out. Sometimes, I spread five [Create gue] in front of the missing grid. But I didn''t receive anything telling me that it worked. Coming here was maybe a mistake. Maybe I should run again. But to go where? (Not right here. I have something special to tell you. Another living being is inside thebyrinth of the sewers, and you can maybe consider it as both an ally and an enemy.) Why? And what do you mean, one living being? Who will be stupid enough to go alone near me or the assassin? (A dwarf, in full armor, blessed by the local priests, and with some strange vials inside his bags and some balls too. But like all the dwarves, he is really slow. And he doesn''t look like he knows where the ratmen are. He is just roaming around, ready to battle anything.) And why is he an ally? (Because I can monitor him. The ratman following you just have your trail. He can''t see anything else, like a dwarfing his way. So if you manage to make the two encounter, they will fight. And I am not betting on the assassin to remain unscathed. That dwarf has the best equipment I have seen in this world.) Better than those Krieg men in armor? (Yes, there is something shining in his armor, his shield and axe. Looks like they have something else than just steel. That''s why I say that. And he has different protections given by the priests or the magicians. Your acid will be useless on him; I am not even thinking that it will leave a dent on his helmet.) So once again, I have to flee against someone stronger than me. When can I finally can face the world? (Like I said, you only have my help. If you manage to have more power from Aria, you will be a lot stronger. But since she just ignores you, well, not going to happen. And don''t even think about asking me to ask her something. The moment she notices that I am still attached at her world, she will try to expulse me. So no godly detection for you anymore.) Ok, fine. I guess I will just permanently create new skeletons in the meantime. My hope of my two enemies getting injured and that I can execute them both is unlikely. One is a walking fortress apparently and the other is of the same race as me. But between the two, who is stronger? I really want to know. That way, we will have a better idea of the power that the assassin has. So I try to predict the path of the dwarf and take the same road as him. Of course, it''s is Oslo that is doing that. Unfortunately, even when we try to do that multiple time, either the ratman is too slow or fast, or the dwarf is not even walking in the predicted corridor at all. An entire day has passed, the dwarf left the sewers and I have gained another skeleton. The night passes without an incident, time is a little boring. I can''t do anything except keep running and hide my undead servants. When the dwarf finallye back inside my empire, I have a total of six skeletons warriors. The dead bodies of the previous guards are still underground, so I can retrieve everything necessary for the future invocations. I still have at least ten sets of armors and weapons avable, I remove some that were too damaged or were found inside the dirty river. A full day of cat and mouse, with three yers this time. Not a single time, they meet each other. The closest was a five minutes'' window where both have walked by the same spot. The situation is not improving. The day where a huge army arrives at Ronta ising. And my gains are not enough. Some skeletons that can talk, three levels gained. And now, I am not even improving at all. No, I need to leave. It is too dangerous to stay more than even a single day here. Oslo, is the entrance of the sewer guarded? (About that, I think you can forget. Not a very good idea if you ask me.) So guarded, but that''s my escape road, even if it is heavily guarded it can''t be that much of a problem. (Hundred humans, eighty crossbows pointed at the sewers, ten priests and ten magicians. That''s theposition of the little army standing there. What did you say about that problem?) That''s a problem. Now I understand why they are confident with just guarding the sewer grids on the streets. Because it is my only real way out. I have more chance of getting out of Ronta by climbing the wall that leaving in the back entrance. But for that, I need to destroy the blockade put in ce. And for that, I have an idea. First, Oslo, regroup the skeletons in the North of Ronta. (Ok, but what do you want to do?) A little surprise, I just hope that it will work, I have just the number of skeletons to do that. But I need to know if they can speak, I mean really speak, like scream something that is audible for the humans on the surface. (What, you want to make the forces move to the North while you escape in the East or West?) No something even better. But first number one. -Yes, master. Are you capable of talking not telepathically? -Yes, master. What do you want me to say? Great, great. Come first to my position and we will do something. But before doing this, I need to get rid of the dwarf. He ising toward where the skeletons warriors are located. Guess I will finally need to make an appearance. Oslo, point me toward his location. (Here we go, with Oslo.) After a moment, I finally meet the dwarf, at a little more than sixty meters of distance. The moment he sees me, he instantly grabs something in his pocket and violently throws it at me. I, of course, run away quickly toward the South, not wanting to know what was that thing. The explosion behind me reveals its content. That was a bomb that he just threw. That was too close. Even if I am really quick, if we really met by ident, that huge explosion will have at least hurt me. But the good news is, he is following me. But now, I make sure that there is at least more than a hundred of meters between him and me. Not going to try to escape another bomb. Of course, the sound of the explosion is huge, I guess the entire city heard it. And the assassin too. I just need to get rid of both of them. And after rush back to the North. "COME BACK HERE VERMIN! AN IRON BEARD IS STILL LIVING HERE!" Well, your taunt master dwarf won''t provoke me into a duel. I mean, I think no ratman has ever epted a duel. Do they even know the word duel? Chapter 60: The Northern Wall Chapter 60: The Northern Wall Now that the dangerous dwarf is located in the South of Ronta, I can finally try my n. Of course, I ask Oslo once again to monitor the two most dangerous threats. Now that I think about it, you don''t have a problem with such a heavy use of your powers? (Quite frankly no. I mean, the fairy crystals were very good, so filled with life. And your recent massacre has allowed me to reap some benefits too. So no, I am fine right now. In fact, the gem located inside you allow me to absorb a little bit of the magic around you. That was a surprise and since you never asked, well I didn''t see the relevance of such information.) That''s great, I think. Besides the fact that you are absorbing something thanks to my body and I don''t even know it. What else is he hiding? (Nothing, nothing at all.) Like I trust you, God of nothing. Actually, I trust you for a lot of things, too much even. But I have no choice, you had no choice, my skeletons warriors have no choice. Speaking of them, they are really important to me. But I have to sacrifice them, for the greater good. I just hope they didn''t hear that, was my mind fortified enough? No answer means yes. (I still don''t understand what you are nning to do.) That''s easy. First, I will do another stunning performance that could grant me another Oscar. I will try to fool the soldiers by saying that I captured some of their fellowpanions for my experiments. Then, those will manage to escape. They are my skeletons warriors, that''s why I ask if they could speak. I will train them a little of course, to make their voices looking like the voice of someone terrified. After that, I will make one or two nearly escape to the surface, like just an arm and melt them. That way, the soldiers on the surface will spread the information. They will try to save the future guards trying to escape the mad ratman. After a short time, I will kill another skeleton in front of them. That will definitely be enough. The next three skeletons warriors will carry 3 acid crystals with them. Simultaneously, the three will escape to the surface, by crouching on the ground, not showing their faces. And when the reinforcements will try to save them, they will break the crystals, melting everything around them. And at that moment, I will follow that and jump out of the sewer and rush toward the wall. Genius, right? (Low chances of sess, certain death in case of failure, based on sheer luck. What are we waiting for? No, just kidding, but that is not a good n, but it''s the best n, I agree with that. I will try to find the closest exit to the sewers near a wall. I guess you want the two others exit to be very close too, right?) Yes, the closer the three skeletons will be, the better. But first, a little lesson of theatre for the six undead. Now that I arrived at the meeting point, I can see that some of the armors have some blood on it. That''s good, that way, they will really think that I tortured them, and only with some luck did they escaped. I will even say that the dwarf helps them. Of course,ter, they will learn that he had no part in that escape. But for the moment, the only thing they heard was an explosion in the middle of the city. Now, the dwarf could be anywhere. Number one, talk to me, say help, help, help me, in a way that could be seen as desperate. "Help! Help! Help me!" That''s good, just a little more screaming, and less shouting. Try again. "Help! HELP! HELP ME!" Very good, excellent. You all five have seen the example of number one, you need to reproduce it, the same tones. Now, number six, you will say help me please, for the love of Aria. Number five, you will say just get me out of here I don''t want to die. Number four, your lines will be he is behind me, he is behind me. As for number one, two and three you will just scream for help. Now, six, five and four go to the location that Oslo will indicate you. As for you three, I need to give you something else. Here, each takes three crystals, you will have to crush it the moment someone touches you when you are outside. That''s all, go to your designated location too. Everything is in ce, Oslo, you have managed to find the perfect way out? (Yes, three sewer grids near a wall and some on the way. Like that, it will seem like they were running in the same direction but some tried to escape earlier and were caught by you. And thest three survivors were finally rescued by the brave guards and the surrounding priests and magicians. But for that, you really need to make them understand that if they don''t go help them, humans will die.) Yes, yes I know. But with the help of my undead, I am sure that I can fool them. And just the hope, that someone manages to survive a night with a ratman, will blind them. They will quickly rescue my skeletons warriors. And now, I need to execute it wlessly. Before the army of the kingdom arrives, and before the assassin catches me. Ok, three, two, one, breathe and action. "WEAK HU-HUMANS, YOU WILL NOT ESSSCAPE ME!!! THE DWARF WAS NOT ENOUGH, YOU WILL PE-PERISH WITH HIM, SLEEK SLEEK! FOR THE PO-POISONOUS ONE!" Now number six, and as I say that I can hear his scream resonating inside the sewers. Of course, while it seems he is running for his life, he is actually just walking peacefully toward the nearby grid. There, without stopping to scream, he extends a hand to the surface. It is at that moment that I throw an orb of acid at him. The death of a skeleton is really painful for me, just thinking about the time I spent to create them. But I need to do that. I can hear the humans shout, they are reacting, good. "YOU THINK YOU CAN ESSSCAPE! YOU WILL ALL DI-DIE!" Number five, action. The same ritual as number six, we approach slowly the exit of the sewers and once again, just when he is about to leave the dark corridor, an orb put an end to his progression. Now I can really hear the humans curse me andin to their goddess. Well, sorry, but your goddess has no power over me since she granted me my new life and she won''t have any power over me ever again. "TWO ARE AL-ALREADY GONE! FOUR WILL SSSUFFER THEIR FATE, SLEEK SLEEK!" The act needs to continue. This time it is my fourth skeleton warrior that has to be sacrificed. But this time, instead of the hand, it will be the helmet that will remain. I carefully position the undead in a way that with a good shot, there is a chance that the helmet will be expulsed toward the surface and at the sight of everyone. I aim, I shoot and, damn I miss. I am sure that from the exterior, the helmet could have been seen, but he didn''tnd on the ground, it returned inside the sewers. But by now, the information about some guards running for their life should have reached the next barricades. "YOU LASSST THREE WILL NOT ESCAPE! DIE, HU-HUMANS!" Three, two, and one go now. I approach the location where number one is. It is by that exit that I will jump out of the sewers. I can see the legs of number one moving slowly like he is trying to escape the sewers but doesn''t have the strength to do it. That''s really a smart skeleton, really a shame. He was the first to ever show the sign of intelligence. Fushii SHiiiii SCHiiiiii The three explosions of acid. Now it is time for the ratman to make his apparition. I quickly take the now wide hole in the street. I can see the shock on the remaining humans around me. The wall is at barely a hundred meters. I quickly begin my ascension under the cover of the chaos that I created. Unfortunately, the wall was guarded, but not with enough men. I activate my aura for the few seconds that I spend on the ramparts. I think that I melt four men while doing so. I climb down the wall, not getting shot at all. I guess my speed was too fast for them to react in time. The moment that I finally touch the ground, I see a boltnd right next to me, the confusion has ended apparently. Too bad it is far toote for them, I can now escape without any problems, only some fields are surrounding me. Farewell Ronta, for good this time. Chapter 61: Green Claw and Iron Beard Chapter 61: Green w and Iron Beard Damn, I lost his track. That was the thought of the Green w, still stuck inside the sewers of Ronta. This whole chase was utterly useless for him. Normally, each time the n Master gives him a target, he will locate it with the help of the tool provided by the Sicle n. This time, it was the scent-catcher, once the target trail is found, no one can escape it. And he had followed it, from the forest of the elf to the city of the human. But he never managed to reach the rogue ratman. Even with his speed and by resting for a short time, the moment he left the protection of the treants, he could never catch a glimpse of the ratman. That was an insult to all the Green ws. For days, he had roamed the sewers of this city, hoping to see his target. But after all this time, he figured out that the rogue gue master had found out his presence. And that puzzled him. He was absolutely certain that no one had the possibility to see him. Even sensed him. So how his target knew that he was tracking him? Otherwise, he wouldn''t have walked more than four times the size of the sewers. And always in a circle, never going back on his step. Sometimes, he even doubted that this was really his target. I mean, he clearly gued the humans, he saw countless dead bodies across the sewers. And he was aware of his presence. Only someone with another tool of the Sicle n could have done that. He even had gone to the surface one time, to mess up with the scent-catcher. It took him an entire day to make the tool working again. And now, he is stuck. The reason is the dwarf throwing bombs all around the ce. He destroyed the evidence. And his incessant naggings about duel and killing ratmen is irritating the assassin. Even if he was not on the list of the important peoples to kill, the ratman was considering making an exception. That was to show how pissed he was. It was probably one of the few times a Green ws ever failed an assassination. And not even because the target was too powerful, but because he couldn''t catch up with it. A ratman, incapable of outrunning his prey. The entire n willugh at him for that. But as he watched more and more the dwarf, he noticed that he was wearing a rare equipment. Something that was extremely hard to get. Was he an Iron Beard? Why would a member of this army be inside a human city? A few questions were raised inside the mind of the Green w. The report of the lower assassins of the n Noctulis hadn''t stated an alliance between the Holy Kingdom of Aria and the Grey Mountain Kingdom. But a member of the royal guard of the dwarf was inside this very city. And he was equipped with the standard equipment. A sac filled with bombs, I guess the three potions to resist the poison and gue of the ratmen were there too. Runes inscribed on every single piece of armors and both the axe and the shield. Taking his head and reporting this to the Council will make them forget his failure. But now, how to kill this indestructible fortress of steel and muscle. While most humans armors were weak or had a lot of weakness, counting on those for a dwarf armor was just in stupidity. Especially the armors of the Iron Beard. Even their beard was protected, so hoping a weakness was useless. How many bombs did he use, I heard at least 3? That means, the minimum is five, so two more are expected. He didn''t use any of his potions, I think. Damn, if that gue master was here, he could have distracted him, now I have to attack him alone. But such thoughts were only slowing down the assassin. He needed to attack before he got close to another sewer grid. If he had the support of the humans, there was no chance for the Green w to kill the dwarf. During this time, the dwarf was carefully watching the surrounding. Before, he had sensed no danger, but his experience was telling him that right now, he was in danger. His axe was still not drawn, he only had his shield and his other hand inside the bag of bombs. Ready for anythinging at him. At one moment, he heard a rock fall. He turned his attention to the opposite of the sound, where he finally saw the demon he was looking for. A shadow a little darker than the other. An assassin. So Graeme was apparently right, a Green w was located inside Ronta. Even if he saw it, he didn''t throw a bomb. He only had three more. Now that he confirmed the presence of such a threat, his survival was more important than his vengeance. He needs to tell that to the humans. "IT''S A FINE DAY TO DIE VERMIN! WHAT A PLEASURE TO MEET A GREEN CLAW INSIDE A SEWER! REMEMBERING YOUR FAILED ASSAULT ON THE MOUNTAIN KING?" The dwarf carefully retreated a foot at a time. If he began to run, his defense will show some weakness that the assassin will exploit. He already lost the sight of the shadow. Now it coulde from any direction. The closest sewer grid was at more than a hundred meters. Too far in his current situation. Walk softly, listen to your surroundings. His training of Iron Beard was kicking back inside his mind. A shadow on his left pounding on him. He threw a bomb, only to find out it was a trap. A piercing dagger is now nted on his right shoulder. Even if the dagger was very sharp, it doesn''t really injure the enduring dwarf. But his reaction with his shield will be slower. And he lost a bomb. The most important is not the dagger, it is the poison inside it. The Iron Beard quickly drink his three potions. Even if his opponent is a Green w, those three potions were the proudest achievements of the dwarves'' alchemists. It will allow him to live for at least thirty more minutes. After that, if he doesn''t have the help of Mathews, the Archbishop, he will be dead. But he only walked for twenty meters. Plick Plick Plick Something is dropping in front of him. He knows that it is just a bait, but his mind is still diverted by it. Rustle On his left. Nothing. And behind him, nothing at all. What was that? But the distance is now half of what it was. His left hand never leaves his bombs. A silhouette is rushing just in front of him. Without even watching it, he violently bashes behind him. He senses that he has hit something. But by the time, he turns himself, it has disappeared. Just a hit from his shield will provoke no injuries but will prevent an attack for a short time. He can now see the lighting from the sun. Another shadow is jumping on him from the left, so he throws a bomb to his right. But this time, the shadow was real, he can see partially the face of the ratman. The target of this attack was his left leg. The dwarf will have a hard time walking. But only twenty meters. Lansco tries something as thest hope. He stops defending himself and rushes toward the exit. The assassin was clearly not expecting this but his speed is far greater than the speed of an injured dwarf. Three meters before the grid, the dwarf feels the ratman right behind him. He stops, turns and throws hisst bomb not toward the ratman, but on himself. The explosion blows both of the opponents, injuring lightly the assassin because of the distance and barely stunning the dwarf, thanks to his heavy armor. Of course, a part of his beard has burned, but that''s a low price, he is now directly under the sewer grid. "HELP ME HUMANS MAGGOTS! QUICKLY!" But if the armor was heavy enough to protect him from the explosion, it is incredibly hard to climb thedder to exit the sewers with it. And during the short moment where he is not yet out, the assassin rip both of his leggings in pieces and his legs are now riddled with flesh wounds. Only the menacing looks of four magicians make the ratman flee. The nearby priestsmence to heal the dwarf who has fallen unconscious but watching his state worsen, they are asking for Mathews immediately. Those wounds are nothing to him, but the poison spreading inside his body will be his doom if it is not cured quickly. In the end, a few minutester, the Archbishop could be seen walking toward the injured dwarf, his face turning white shortly after, due to his efforts of getting rid of the poison. Lansco wakes up for a short moment but unfortunately, just the power of one Archbishop is not enough. He will need to heal him multiple times before finally getting rid of the potent poison. A moment before falling into aa once again, Lansco pronounces some dark words. "Green w human. One here Ronta. Warn Mountain." Chapter 62: The World of Astria Chapter 62: The World of Astria Now, what should I do? I went to Ronta to get a lot of experience and by that, I mean a lot of victims. Now that I am North of the city, I can either keep going that way and return to the forest of the wolves and the undead cave. But that would be useless. Except if there is something further North. Oslo. (Yes, so apparently, now that you need a map, you figure out that I should have told you the location of the different races. Ok, so that''s based on the memory of the Agorians, and they only know that because a representative of the holy kingdom asked a truce during the Portal War. You have currently Ronta in the middle, I will say it that way. East, you have the elf, the fairies and the treants in a big forest. Really huge forest, I guess now that the desert is reduced, the forest will be even bigger. After the elf forest, you have the desert, you know that. To the East of that, you have the different tribes of the lizardmen. They are surrounding a hugeke, and are fighting their northern enemies, the spiders. That''s for the part we will probably never return to. West of the spiders, there is still a bit of forest controlled by the elves, but more importantly, there are the five mountains of the dwarf kingdom. It is located directly North of where we are currently standing, so North of the undead cave. There is a rumor saying that two of the five mountains were lost and not rebuild after the assault of the ratmen. But I am not sure. North of the dwarf there is the ins, ruled by different tribes of orcs and goblins, still fighting the dwarf. To this point, the emissary of the holy kingdom didn''t day a single word about something farther than that. North West of the holy kingdom, west of the dwarf kingdom and south-west of the ins, to give you an idea, there is the Notongrod Empire. A human kingdom. But they were fighting the holy kingdom apparently. Like every human faction, always infighting with their fellows. And nothing was found out above it, I mean, I have nothing my knowledge ends with the Notongrod Empire.) And South? (First the West. There is the Never-Ending Ocean, that no one ever manages to travel across. At least, no one ever returned from it. Now, in the South, there are the mountains where the barbarian'' tribes live. They are called barbarians because they believe in the spirits of Nature, and not in Aria, and are still wearing leather armors and stuff like that. But their shamans are incredibly powerful, and they are not afraid to die in war. For them, die as a warrior is the greatest thing that can ever happen. The holy kingdom provides some grain to them and in exchange they don''t attack the kingdom.) That''s weird. I mean, I would have tried to starve them and crush them. Why are they paying a tribute like that? (Because of the threat of what is in the South. The Vampire Council. Ruler of an empire filled with undead creatures. The barbarians and the vampire are fighting for centuries. And since the holy kingdom has no interest to start a war with the undead, they use the barbarians as a shield. So now you have a clear understanding of the world of Astria. What is our destination?) Well, let me think a bit. What is the best for me? A human kingdom I would say. I have seen the power of one dwarf so fighting against them is not a good idea. The orcs and the goblins, I still haven''t seen them, so I can''t judge but they are the same mindless brutes as the barbarians, at least in my mind. People that wouldn''t care about the death of their fellowpanions if they can just kill their enemy. I hate the berserkers or the fanatics like that, too dangerous for me. Elves and treants, not a chance. Lizardmen sound interesting but just thinking of the travel is making me anxious. And the undead country is not appealing either. No, the best would be either the Notongrod Empire or the Holy Kingdom of Aria. In every case, I will need to go West right? (Yes, in this direction, you can go near the capital of the kingdom or reach the frontier with the empire. But since both nations are at war, passing the frontier will be a hard task. You can always just gue both sides, but they will probably have a lot of priests and magicians ready for that.) Fine, I get it, so toward the capital, or more urately, toward the local viges around the capital. As I travel, I can see all the fields and the farms totally empty. They should have evacuated as the rest of Ronta. Maybe I can catch up with them. That''s a pretty good thing if I can do it. There are still some hours before the night arrives. So I need to be discreet. I carefully run near the road going West while the sun is still shining. But at the moment thest sun rays are gone, I run at full speed. I am immensely quicker than a walking human with that speed. And since it is in a in and not in a forest like the northern road is located, I have nothing slowing me down. After a few hours of running in the dark, I see the light of a campfire. I carefully approach it, expecting the refugees. But instead, I meet a group of armed humans. Eight of them, 6 males and 2 females. Looking at the difference between every outfit, I guess they are adventurers. Most are asleep, except only one. He is wearing something simr to the clothes the elves ranger were wearing. I guess he should be either a hunter or a ranger himself. Maybe even a thief. Even if it is past midnight, he is still awake and ready for anything. He is alert, constantly changing of position to have a better vision on one of his blind spot. Of course, he is not detecting me at all. Since I have no idea of their strength and weakness, and their number is quite important, I decide to not invoke a skeleton to kill them. First of all, if I do this, I will not be able to fight correctly if some escape. And the skeletons were never really silent in the first ce, even when they didn''t wear their armors and weapons. No, better finish this quickly. I create five orbs of acid andunch them toward the camp. The sentinel didn''t have the time to scream something before dying. Everyone follow his step, except one man and one woman. The orb that wasunched at them were disintegrated before reaching its target. I didn''t pay attention to this when I first saw them. But now, I can see that the armor of the man looks strangely like something that a pdin would wear. You know, those knights of justice, blessed by a god. And the female is wearing a robe, I think she should be a magician. And they are bothpletely awake now, staring at the holes left on the ground. That is where theirpanions should have been asleep, now, there is nothing. I can hear the woman sing something and another of those strange particles are floating around the two survivors. The man, he is shouting some strange words and his armor begin to shine, illuminating the surrounding. I guess they want to use that to see where I am. Too bad for them, I have something for them. I cast [Nightfall] and try to target the pdin. I never tried it before, but I think that should work. The spell is level 5, that should be enough to at least reduce the light. And yes, I can see some shadow surrounding the shining armor, reducing it to a dim light. I really need to test the distance of activation, because it is really useful if I can extinct a torch for example. I can see both of them shaking, visibly affected by my spell. They probably never expected something like that. Now, how strong is your shield, mdy. Iunch another orb, doing nothing. Two, three, four, the woman is visibly shaking more and more. When Iunch my ninth spell, the orb goes through the shield and directly hit the two humans, ending their lives. That was still very impressive, 9 acid orb was required to destroy a magic shield. Even if I have no idea how strong they were, the fact that someone can even create a barrier like the woman did before falling asleep is dangerous. I have to analyze my victims more, this time was due to my negligence and arrogance. Even if I was victorious without anything really threatening me, I was still surprised by something. Well, it was just two minutes wasted in a night, I need to keep running. Chapter 63: Night Attack Chapter 63: Night Attack Only after the sun has risen did I catch the trail of the refugees. They were as expected very slow. Families with children, farmers with their animals, not enough cart for everyone and the guards pressing them. At least, they have a protection on their way to their new home. Not a lot, but no bandits or wild animals will be able to inflict any damage to the convoy. And now that my prey is in sight, what should I do to gain the maximum out of it. There is a guard every two meters on the nk of the long queue. That means that everyone can help his closest neighbors and even some farther with their crossbows. If I try to throw a spell at them, they will for sure melt but that will provoke a reaction and maybe a troop of cavalry will hunt me. And with the environment being a in, I have no chance of hiding. No, the best I can do is wait for the night. Of course, wait means a waste of my mana so I decide to create some skeletons in the meantime. I invoke once again number one and number two to help me. It ispletely free for me and it will even potentially help me during the assault of tonight. I just need to keep them out of vision but with the help of Oslo, I can manage to do this. And yes, I see a troop of forty knights riding toward Ronta. They should be the quickest reinforcements avable, signaling the arrival of the true army. And by a knight, I really mean it, they are the definition of the knight. A horse capable of wearing a heavy armor, travel for day and night. Can carry a man wearing a full te armor, one, two, three spears and a shield and a sword. I can see it clearly, but it looks like all their equipment is polished and without a defect. They are the white knight, shining in their armors and blinding everyone that directly look at them. They keep going in the direction that I just left, not even sparing a single nce to themoners nearby. But that appearance is bad for me. That means in the next few days, more will arrive and I will have to flee once again. That''s why tonight is really important. As I keep roaming around the convoy of refugees, I notice once in a while a priest or a magician. But they are really not a lot. I guess the mayor has judged that they will be more useful inside Ronta than protecting the popce. And he was right, they totally made my attacks useless. But with such a low number of threat, not every camp will be safe. Dusk ising and everyone is tired, I order Oslo to bring the skeletons closer. I will begin my attack one hour after the sun is gone. Because I will need the cover of the night to flee the farther I can. All around me, I can see the families prepare their dinner and even some children ying with the guards. Even if they are still scared, they are beginning to see hope again, they are nning where they will live, what they will doter. I even see some guards ying dice and drinking. Fortunately, the magicians are staying in a remote location and all regrouped in one ce. That means it will take some time for them to help when I will attack. On the other hand, the priests are all sleeping with themoners. They are spread, not more than a single priest in each camp. I guess it is a good asion for them to preach about the benefits of Aria and how powerful and helpful they are. But, while I know a little more about the power of a magician and more specifically, their magic shield, I still have no idea of the potential of the priests. And I don''t want to experience it, that''s why I will target them first. Since the magicians will probably cast a barrier like the one the adventurer had cast, attacking them is stupidity and madness. Now everyone has finished their meals, they are regaining their tents. I see thest patrol returning to the local officer for their report. The children are already sleeping, tired by their walk of the day. And the adults are not really better. It will be a deep sleep tonight. More and more are beginning to dream. The number of guards standing can be counted on my two hands. I am sure that if I follow the trail of camp I will find more but in the area that I am standing, this number is far too low. I guess they are really expecting me and the assassin ratman to still be inside Ronta. About him Oslo, any news? (No, I can''t see Ronta anymore, we are far from it. I told, we can see the surroundings of our Hero to prevent any mishaps but we can''t see that far. I am blind in the rest of the world.) Well, no news is still good news. Since you manage to detect him in the first ce, if he gets too close you will be able to do it again. And now that the only problem is fixed, let''s begin our work. Thanks to my natural discretion, I slowly approach one of the human watching the surrounding. The moment I am close enough, I jump on him, cover his mouth and pierce his neck with my ws. He died instantly, and not a single sound was made. I carefully carry his body toward my two skeletons and order number one to wear his clothes. I repeat the exact operation on another guard, granting to both of my undead servants a disguise. And with the disguisees the protection and the weapons necessary for their survival. Two guards went missing and no one has noticed yet. They are truly carefree tonight, not expecting something at all. The two sentries were a little lonely, stationed far from the tents. I guess it was designed that way to allow the refugees to sleep well without the sounds of the armors and the swords. But that defect allowed me to reduce the risk of my operation. And since it works that well, I better keep doing it. I approach the third guard, the fourth, and I keep doing that until everyone still standing is dead. And when I kill for the 16 time a guard, I can see a sea of defenseless tents. Now I need to find a good point where I can target multiple priests at the same time. I put each skeleton near a group of tents without a priest. That way, they will have no problem dealing with farmers and citizens. When everything is set, I begin to cast my first orb. I have my back facing the tents of the magicians but Oslo will warn me when they are awake. Iunch my first spell, melting three tents and everyone inside. So that gives me the answer I was looking for, the priests don''t have a protection like a magician have. I order my skeletons to begin the massacre. Second orb, third orb. Keep casting, keep throwing, some humans are leaving their tents. More orbs, more acid spread. (The magicians are reacting, but they are still shocked.) Great, I have already killed all the priests nearby, now I am targeting the higher concentration of humans. Five tents gone, a group of four disappear. I have alreadyunched 22 orbs of acid and I can probably cast 10 more. (The magicians are singing something; you need to get out.) But I need to stop now, I quickly escape with the cover of the night. Right before disappearing, I watch onest time the convoy. My skeletons are still attacking; I regroup them and I throw an orb toward them. In the confusion, no one will be sure that it was some skeletons that have attacked them. That trump card of mine needs to be concealed, especially since it is my main hope against the ratmen. I can see far that the magicians are perplexed by theck of enemies, they can see death surrounding them but not the actual reaper. Well, that was useful. My acid has improved, my deadly body too. And the skeletons have killed at least twenty people, most were still asleep. That attack hassted for a little more than thirty seconds. Too short to inflict some real damages, but not too long to have been caught. Unfortunately, that was probably myst chance to do this. Tomorrow or the day after, the reinforcements following the knights will arrive and protect the refugees. Since it is useless to stay here anymore, let''s go further West. To the capital or should I say, to the sewers of the capital. Chapter 64: Lucia Chapter 64: Lucia After the assault during the night, I have seen a huge increase in the number of guards. The reinforcements have arrived, as expected. I saw half rushing toward Ronta and the other half stay to protect the former citizens of the city. Since it is nowpletely useless to say near, I keep running at a reasonable distance of the convoy. I am quickly reaching the front of it, and I will probably follow the road. I need to find the capital, just I don''t know if there is a city between Ronta and the capital. What is the name Oslo? (Artia. Those names are really getting on my nerve.) So, Aria, named her kingdom the Holy Kingdom of Aria, on the world of Astria, with a capital named Artia. Why does it look like she has literally no imagination for the names? What about you, you didn''t do something like that? (No, no. Absolutely not. Except the called Forslo, but it''s just for the different gods to know who is in charge. What she has done right here is a clearck of humility, she is basically screaming at every invader that it is her world. As we don''t already know that.) After a few hours of me running at full speed, I finally reach a crossroad. There are a few indications written on the different nk of woods. There is the name Ronta, Forlong at the North, and Lucia indicated at the West. And nothing about Artia. But since you say that we are in the East of the country and the capital is located more to the West, I guess we should follow the road toward Lucia? (Agree, but we shouldn''t stop at Lucia. The refugees will be moved toward this city and the additional armies too. So, even if the city will have weaker members because of the tiredmoners, they will probably be extremely careful. The sewers can already be sealed or closely watched.) We can at leaste near and you can scout that. Oh, something ising from the direction of Forlong. Looks like a caravan, surely a merchant is taking this road since it is more stable for his merchandises. Even if I can''t really show myself, it would be a shame to leave without a gift. I cast dozens of [Create gue] while I am still standing in the crossroad. That way, even if he is going to Ronta, the humans will still be contaminated. I am at a point where even small profits are good profits. The potency will, of course, be reduced since it will take them some minutes to reach this point, but I can still hope that the huge number of gue lingering around will make it work. After running for an hour on the ins surrounding the road, I get a nice surprise. I gain a level. Well, with all the massacres that I have done, it is finally time. That makes me wonder if the victims of my skeletons really grant me experience. Curiously, I begin to calcte andpare with my memory. In the end, I still don''t really know but I would say that I still receive the experience. The huge problem was the number of people inside the caravan. What was the number already Oslo? (48 humans, 3 huge boars, and a bear. But I have to say that those boars and the bear were mutated or something like that. Calling them monsters would not be a mistake.) And I remember that when I killed the monster that was a scorpion, I gained a lot of experience. So, it''s fifty-fifty. Right now, except the caravan, there is nothing really interesting. Sometimes I can see some rabbits or some birds in the sky. Even after a full day and night of running, the ins are desperately empty. Only after dawn, I begin to see some farms on the horizon. And who say farm, say food. And food needs to be sold in a market or to a merchant. And therefore, I will reach the city, probably Lucia. Effectively, shortly after, the proud and strong Lucia appears before my eyes. The city, however, looks a little smaller than Ronta, I guess it is due to his position. Ronta is near the frontier between the dwarf empire and the forest of the elves. So the potential of a trade between the three races is huge, and who say trade, say benefices and with that, you construct a huge city. While Lucia is probably in charge of a lot of farms. I can see some small rivers, meaning the ground is good for the agriculture. And Oslo already told me that a god can grant the best weather to his believers. If he can even improve the soil, there is no need to have a lot of farmers to feed a lot of mouths. It is those small improvements near imperceptible that can make a race very strong. Without it, I am certain that the ratmen could have just destroyed all the harvests and make the holy kingdom starve. But with the perfect harvest each time, the stockpile of food should be huge. The king of this kingdom could even sell the exceeding food to the others races and still be without worry. I guess that''s why the tributes to the barbarians are not gold or silver, or even armors. (I search around the entire city. There is three entrance toward the sewers. Two are sealed except a single hole left in case of heavy rain. The third, well, theposition of the humans guarding it is literally the same that I told you back in Ronta. Not a chance of entering Lucia discreetly, you will need to fight to do that.) And with the refugeesing in less than a week, the rest of the army will be there, and if just one of those knights are nearby and spot me, it will be hard for me to escape. Let''s go to the West again. I just hope that the capital is so huge and with so many different areas that even the entire army can''t protect everything. (I hope too; the worst case scenario would be a protection of the entire city. But the good thing is, we will have some helping from a special ce.) What help, what are you talking about? (The Slums. Their of the criminals, smugglers, madmen, and maniacs. The poor, the forgotten, the exiled. The army will protect the good citizens and the people that pay the tax and contribute to the society. But for those animals that were cast aside, no help wille. With a huge poption automaticallye corruption and greed. The Holy Kingdom of Aria is not a utopia, you have to remember that, I am even certain that there are two to three heretic cults. And with those, gods were formed and will try to do anything to harm Aria, even if in the end, it is them that will be harmed.) How many times did you do this? How many times did you have to take care of those cults? (I told you, even if I am currently weak, I am an old god. I have seen many things, sometimes I was even in control of multiples worlds. You don''t need to know all the details, but even if I lost Forslo, I have still some cards in my hand. Of course, the best thing happening is you capturing this world and opening the portal to Forslo once again. After getting rid of every believer of Aria, Szar and even those servants of Krieg.) And will you be able to find those cultists since you said they exist? (Aria need to personally see them through a high ranked priest, even if a normal believer saw them, they will not be able to perceive the mark of the foreign god. If she had a Hero in the vicinity of them, she could easily spot them, without any direct vision. As for me, if you see one heretic, I can tell you if he believes in Aria or not. Like what happened with the hunters or the djinns.) So our best n is to infiltrate the capital and provoke chaos inside. The worst n is just to wipe out the slums since no one will really care. And with a little bit of luck, we can spot some heretics and kill them, did I resume everything? (You forgot the fact that a heretic will be chosen as a Hero, even if the god is weak and born recently. That means your System will probably award you something great for killing such being. And you told me that he recognizes the moment you officially became my Hero, so he is capable of feeling the invisible power of a god. What do you think will happen when you kill someone carrying such power?) Something really good I guess. God of Intelligence? God of Cunningness? Not one of those? Chapter 65: The Apprentice Robber Chapter 65: The Apprentice Robber An entire week. It took me an entire week to finally reach the capital, Artia. During that week, I have seen a lot of cavaliers and knight roaming around the road. Not a single trace of bandits or a monster was found. I guess only near the frontiers will I be able to spot such beings. Even if I was slow down a lot by all those armed men blocking my way, the distance between Lucia and Atria is pretty huge. More or less the length of the desert when the ritual was once again working. It is really highly inefficient to let such a huge area without doing anything. Well, one time, I did find another crossroad with two roads leading to the South so maybe I missed a city. But the crossroad had a military camp regting and controlling the traffic. Not a chance that I wille near it to read what was written on the wooden nk. And I learned something else with that. Oslo can''t read thenguage spoken by the humans inside the holy kingdom. He doesn''t have any memory of suchnguage inside the minds of the Tomb Kings and he never learned it. So while he can understand what is spoken, he is unable to read the same sentences if it is written on a paper. I find it a little funny that a god can understand when people are speaking but not when they are writing. I realize more and more that the System had given me a huge gift with theprehension of all thenguages of the world of Astria. Something that seems so useless in a fight is, in fact, more important even than some of my spells. Like my melee skills. I never used since the experiments on those pigeons. The reason, they are costly in mana and need me to be in contact with my victim. The only beings that I approach are those that I know won''t see me and can be killed with my ws alone. I presume that if I had chosen the path of either an assassin or a warrior, I could have learned some skill with very low cost in MP and deadly to everything close to me. Unfortunately, all the fighting passives or skills seem to have been locked forever. But I won''tin, especially when I can create some big and strong skeletons. Unfortunately, I hoped that by the time I reach the capital, I could have an army. But all those men on their horses have crushed that hope. So I am alone on my little hill near Atria. (Not really alone, but I will let it go this time. And all the other times too, since you always forget my presence.) Since you are not physically here, I consider that I am alone. But nice job finding this small hill. I can really see by my own eyes how Atria is, instead of relying on you and your reports, which are all excellent, just not as perfect as my own vision. First the size of the city. One word, huge, really, really huge. Ronta is barely one-quarter of Atria. And that''s just counting the city inside the walls. From every direction, some small towns are spreading outside the protection of the walls. Sometimes, they are nice towns looking exactly like the inside of the city. But most of the times, it is more looking like a bunch of broken house, dirty market and the houses of shady individuals. In other words, the slums. Only the western towns seem safe and peaceful, the rest are allposing a huge ghetto. Apparently, I will not even need to infiltrate the sewers to attack the capital, they are already offering me their most dangerous specimens on a te. The idea of Oslo is getting more and more appealing. First of all, my skeletons, when I manage to obtain a disguise for them, will be able to just roam around, provoke some fights and kill their targets without even a reaction from the crowd. But for that, I need aplete set of cloth and even a veil or a mask. With, of course, a weapon, like a saber, a sword or a spear. Oslo, find me the closest weapon dealer or gang. (And how am I supposed to do this? Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a real target, everyone is cloaked and armed? There is more sword hanging around their waist than the number of drink inside a pub. Give me a moment, ok, I find I see something promising. Two humans ying dice in front of an entrance and with a third controlling those entering. I guess it is the guard and the reinforcements. For each visitor, the two ying are stopping and analyzing the foreigner. Definitely not a small gang, but you ask for a gang, I find it. Here, it''s the location.) It''s a little far inside the slums. It will be hard, even for me, to go that far without being noticed. And while everyone is shrouded in darkness, they are all humans. A small silhouette with barely 1.20 meters in height will quickly be discovered in the crowd. The child kidnappers or child lovers will have some ideas about me. As for the rest, they will be puzzled, maybe some will think of a dwarf, but I am afraid that the most knowledgeable will make the link with the ratmen. And while I can be sure he will sell this information at the highest price possible, the authorities will still be informed in the end. No, I can''t go during the day, and I think the night will be pretty agitated too. So, another time for me to jump from roof to roof, with the help of [Nightfall]. Since it is still the middle of the day, I can invoke two new skeleton warriors, to prepare my army. Oslo has found a recent tomb nearby; I will use this to hide my undead servants inside. And if someone is trying to dig the body inside the tomb, well, he will have to face two living skeletons. Something that he probably wouldn''t expect. The moon can already be seen; it is time for me to make my move. I cast [Nightfall] on myself and prepare to approach the city. The moonlight is not enough to make me visible on the roof. But I can see a lot of movements inside the roads and dead ends. The slums are never really sleeping. I carefully approach the house that was designated by Oslo. It is quite a huge house, with an additional floor. The good news is, close to it there is another huge house. He had told me about three guards, two that were ying dice. Now, they were reced by two drunk men, but their purpose is obvious. They are always roaming back to the door leading inside the building. Even if they try to make them look totally drunk, it will probably not fool a lot of people. As for the third man, he is still standing near the door. He should not be the same that Oslo saw, so he is not tired, like the two patrolling. The good thing for me is, they are absolutely not looking above them, so I can safelynd on the roof without a problem. Now, I need to break in, there is no chimney on the roof, so I have to break a window and enter. That will make some noises. Oslo, lead me to the window without anybody near it. (Ok, go forward a little and then three steps to the right. There, if you can hang on the edge of the roof, you will be in front of a window. At this point, whether or not you manage to open it silently, it is not my problem. But I have checked a little the building and there is a lot of armed men. At least thirty in the first floor and probably more in the basement. Those on the first floor are sleeping, that''s the good news.) I am sure that a normal ratman could have open it with some lockpicks easily and quicker than a normal human thief. The problem is, I didn''t get that training. So I have to open it with my strength. Or, I can try to melt it. Yes, that would be more efficient than punching it and make a horrible sound. With one hand, I grab the edge of the roof and with my other hand, I cast [Create Acid] on the window. I can see the ss melting, with the wooden frame. I am such a genius. I slowly destroy the entire window. But the acid is melting the wood a lot quicker than the ss. And at the moment where the wooden frame is destroyed, the remaining pieces of sses fall because of theck of support. I only notice it toote and can only see it fall. TLING TCHING TRING Oh, bloody hell. Chapter 66: Captives? Chapter 66: Captives? Since it''s toote for regret, I need to get in. As I watch onest time outside, I can see three men in darking from a nearby street. After a short time, the three of them raise their head and point to the window that is now missing. And immediately begin to scream and rush back toward the entrance. So now, every hope that I could be discreet and not be caught is crushed. The only good thing is the fact that they haven''t seen me, so they will deal with the threat as they always do. They will consider that a thief or an assassin has entered the house and not be prepared to face a gue master. TOMP TOMP TOMP I can hear people running around and knocking on the doors. By now, half of the thirty men should be awake and the rest are probably preparing their weapons. The room I am currently in is a storage room, I can see food, some clothes but no weapons. That makes sense, the armoury should probably be in a safe location, like in the basement. Wait, there is some vials near me. Strange things, they look oddly familiar. (They are the same that you probably saw in the hands of the alchemists in Ronta. I guess that even the gangs are fearing a gue or poisons so they have bought some cures and antidotes. I suggest you to destroy all of them.) I don''t think they really understood the importance of those potions. If they were really knowing it, there is no way they would be not locked inside a chest and instead put in disy like that. Well, too bad for you, but nothing will save you from me now. I quickly throw everything in a corner of the room and begins to search for more. But after a few seconds, I find nothing. And by now, they should be prepared and waiting me to open the door. As I get close to the door, I can see no lighting from under it. So that means they haven''t brought a torch and are just relying on the moonlight. If it was a normal human, this will probably hurt him since both opponents will be partially blind. But for me, that''s asking for death. (Well, that is logical for them, they only need to see the door move and they can fire at it. There is 6 men with crossbows targeting the door. The moment you open it; you will be pierced by 6 bolts. I say that because the door doesn''t look very strong and sturdy but those bolts are of high quality.) So you are saying that no matter what happen to the door, the person behind it will be turn into a porcupine? Now that makes sense why they are relying on the moonlight, they only need to see the handle move and then they will fire. But what happen when the door disappears? I cast [Nightfall] on it and as expected the shadows arepletely covering it. (They are perplexed; they are murmuring that they have lost the sight of the door. They are now debating whether or not they should fire. Stay away from the door for the moment.) I will do more, I cast an orb of acid and throw it on the door. I can see it melting, with a little bit of the surrounding, but the form of my [Nightfall] is still standing. That wall of darkness is a nice shiel Clinks Clink Clink Clinks Clinkz Clink Wow, they decided to fire actually. I can see the six bolts on the opposite wall. My spell is just based on shadows, it has literally no defence whatsoever. But now, they have lost their only means of attack. Without even really aiming, I throw three acid orbs through the dark wall. The screams that I hear after that acknowledge my uracy. (You killed the six men with the crossbows and two more near them. But that''s only eight, and the rest is charging with their swords. Since they can''t see behind your wall of shadows, they will go through.) So they areing after me through a corridor where they can''t dodge my orbs? Let theme then. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight (Stop, that''s good, that''s enough.) As expected who will be able to defy me as a simple swordsman. I can go now? (Yes, it is clear, the first floor is safe. But under it, there is still fifteen more bandits and they are all wearing something different. At least two of them are magicians or priests, I don''t really know. Be careful, they are barricaded in front of the stairs.) Ok, so no rush. I approach slowly my wall of shadows, that was actually extremely powerful. I really need to cast [Nightfall] regrly, that way, it will improve and be even better. And as I walk past my spell, I can feel the floor under my feet falling. I forgot the aciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Thump "-3 HP" Damn, I forgot the acid that I used on the door. And as I watch around me, I see some people enchained to the wall. I guess they are ves or were captured recently. Oslo, you didn''t warn me about that. (Well they are three, two females and one male. And since they are lock inside the room and are not a threat I didn''t tell you about them. Actually, after getting rid of the bandits I would have told you, just that now, you have a bigger problem.) Yes, yes, I know. They are looking at me with fear in their eyes. The three humans have mark on their bodies, they are probably beaten every day. One woman is even nkly looking at me; her mind is probably gone by now. Of course, the three of them are all gorgeous, each in their own domain. A beautiful athletic body for the man, huge breast, and butt for the red-haired woman. And a petite body for the blonde and broken girl. The funny thing is, they can''t see me clearly, since I am in a dark room with no light. But I can see hope on the visage of the redhead. -Si-Sir, are you here to help us? Please? We will do anything you want, just free us, we will serve your every needs. Like I care about that, but that''s weird, why no one heard me falling and no bandits areing toward here? Oslo? (No, no reaction, they are all patiently waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs.) Since they are captive here, I guess they have made the walls soundproof, that''s what I would have done. Well, I can probably nk them from this position, I just need to be silent and what is silent? The acid of course. I can see that the chains of everyone are long enough to nearly reach the door, that''s perfect. I gently grab each of the captives and bring them near the door, I don''t want to waste some mana. But the woman is already dreaming. -Thank you, thank you, thank you, than Spissssh I active my aura for one second and everything is silent again. The only thing inside the room is now me and three broken chains lying on the ground. There is now a big hole in the wall, where the door was once standing. And I can see a light reflecting on the ceiling two rooms away. This time, they have brought torches. (You can safely reach them by just crouching, you will be a little behind them. The two supposed magicians will be just in front of you. But be quick, they are losing patience and some are discussing if they should go to the first floor or not. The moment they split up, you will lose the opportunity to melt them all in a few orbs.) If I can reallye unnoticed, I will not use my orbs, especially since they are magicians. No, I will sneak right behind them and activate my aura. In the confusion, I can get close to everyone before I run out of mana. But you are sure that after this, there is not a single bandit still alive? (After you kill this group, the four remaining people inside the building will be you, the chief and the two women inside the basement that are currently being used by the boss. There is nobody else besides those three humans.) I really don''t understand his logic; does he really have the time to do that when he is under attack? (Well, I have seen a subordinate knocking on the door but the big boss told him to f*ck off otherwise he will personally kill him. And he is pretty far inside the basement, so there is a chance he didn''t get the news after your ughter on the first floor.) Well, for the first time, I think I will do a favor to this world and get rid of such a parasite. Chapter 67: Arming the Undead Chapter 67: Arming the Undead Now I can see them, all standing behind the walls and some table reversed to provide them shields. Sometimes, they exchange some eye contacts and do some gestures, the signification of those gestures being whether or not they climb the stairs. Some are doing the universal sign of negation, meaning shaking his head from left to right and doing the same gesture with his hand. Other are just waiting for the decision of the group and the entire troop is stuck. But now, they are wavering with their concentration and looking everywhere but the stairs. That means I can''t sneak near them. Or I still can. Another use of [Nightfall] forms a small taint of shadows inside the stairs. All the previous rxation andck of concentration are gone. They are also raising their torches, trying to pierce through the darkness. But my spell is powerful enough to make look a pdin light just dim, so the natural light of the torches is useless. One has the wonderful idea to throw his torch inside my spell. Well, except the fact that yes it goes through, and no it isn''t visible anymore, that action was useless. One of the magicians is even facepalming himself, in front of such stupidity. The bandit was not totally wrong, but his action is warning whatever enemy is behind my spell. Not that it really matters since I am behind them, but it was still not the smartest move in the world. Especially since everyone is looking at the bandit in the front or the wall of shadows. I discreetlye close to the first magician. I can see around him the strange particles, meaning that his magic shield is active. But it still let organic things walk in, like me. Maybe only magic is prevented, and for example bolts or arrows could go through. I will need to test that in the future. How, well, I can probably create some skeleton archers, I mean I have created a skeleton of a spider and some great skeletons warriors, why not create something designed to be an archer? Maybe they are already capable of doing this, I really need to to be sure about that. Once I am finally close enough, I activate my [Create Acid] on him and put my hands in front of his mouth. I can feel my ws falling inside his body, his teeth melting and the rest following their fate. The sudden extra weight that falls on me get quickly disintegrated, without too much of a sound. The magicians were both pretty far in the back, and the second is probably a little deaf for not hearing this. I quietly drop the lower body of my victim on the ground and approach the next. The same method worked again. From the fifteen opponents, the two most dangerous are already dead. Knowing that nothing can stop me and since I have enough mana to activate my aura for more than thirty seconds, I just run at every single human still standing. The first criminal didn''t even have the chance to react. But while the others can, their futile efforts are useless. No bolts are capable of reaching me, and I am a lot quicker than them. Thest survivor died in the dark because all the torches were already gone. That all thing only took me eight seconds. Now, it is time for the chief. Where is the basement? (You see the half melted table there, yes that one. You go there, turn right, destroy two doors and the stairs leading to the basement will be in front of you. Inside, there will be three doors leading in three directions. Left is the armory, right is the treasury and in front is the master bedroom.) Anything shiny that you want? Another dark gem? (Very funny, we are all very amused. You can just leave it, but the problem will be how you will transport those weapons out of here.) First, the final human living, after we will think of a solution. I arrive at the first door and since I don''t have the key, I am forced to activate my aura. For the second too and the third inside the basement as well. After tearing down the door leading to the basement, I begin to hear some screams and a rough breath. I guess they are still doing it. I enter the room and see three humans on the bed. One woman is lying in front of the muscr and quite giant man, who is in the same time kissing the remaining woman. The fact that I arrive without a sound allows me to just stand inside the room undetected for a few seconds. But in the end, one of the ves notice me and scream. -Why are you screaming for? SLAP -That will make you learn more; I still have some hours before I have to deliver you to my clients. After that, I will have one more round with that big boobs and fiery woman, hahaha. Oy! Why are you pointing in front of you? There He finally notices me, great god. He ispletely naked in front of me, his weapons are still outside of the bed and the moment he moves, I will dly throw an orb of acid. But since he is the chief of a gang, I am sure that he knows more about Atria than anyone else. -Ssspeak what you know wo-worm. Exin to me the sssituation of At-Atria, sleek sleek. -Hahaha, exin what assassin. You havee to kill me right, who send you? Joe, Dareen or that old and blind crow called Shadow? And why are you stuttering like that, ssspeak, who speak like that? Initially, I only found you repulsive and lustful. Now I find you really hard to maintain alive. -Who are your cl-clients? -HAHAHA. So it was Shadow, he finally decides to make a move. Never expected him to try to kill me, you should have begged for mercy the first time you saw me. Now, my boys will dly enjoy cutting you in little pieces. BOYS! BOYS! BOYS? So he probably doesn''t know what really happen outside. Well, unfortunately for you, no one will ever respond to you again. -No one will sssave you. -What did you do? Did you drug them? Why is no one answering? -I didn''t drug th-them like you sssaid, sleek sleek. I killed them all! -That''s impossible, we are more than fifty inside this house. Even the guards are not messing with us, not messing with me Oktar. But so be it, I guess it couldn''t have been helped. I will show you why no one ever tried to assassinate Oktar the Barbarian. And when he said those words, he finally moved. I was getting bored, honestly, I find him a little arrogant. Saying such boastful words when an assassin has breached inside your bedroom. I throw an acid orb at him, dealing with both him and the two woman. But as I walk back, Oslo warn me of something. (He is still alive; you know?) WHAT? HOW? I immediately turn toward the location of the acid orb, only to see the naked body of Oktar glowing. It looks like there is a small shield on his skin, preventing the acid to enter in contact with it. After seeing this, the mad barbarian isughing. -Hahaha, the mark of those shamans was really something. I will never doubt those spirits again. So what now assassin? What now that your attack is canceled and my body is invulnerable? Oh, so he got a mark from his shamans, and that mark was activated and protect him like the magic shield. This world is truly fascinating; such a thing could be done. As for living criminal, well Iunch countless orb at him. After doing this for the thirteen times, the glowing shield was broken and he died. But now, I have less than 100 MP. The good thing is, apparently they are famous, so no one will really investigate this house for a moment. The entire bedroom is now filled with holes, everything hidden inside is probably destroyed. I walk back toward the door leading to the armory and begin to search for anything that could be used by skeletons. I found some great leather armors, covering someone from the toes to the head. That way, their condition of undead will not be exposed. I find some helmets to hide their faces,plete helmets, not like those of the guards where the face was visible. A huge stack of sword, spears, and crossbows areying inside the room. The problem when I think about my archer skeletons is theck of bags. I mean, they have to carry their bolts with something so the idea has to be forgotten. And they will probably evolve quickly enough to learn magic and in that way, I will still have some ranged attacks. I use the rest of the night to silently transport thirty sets of armors outside of the house. I do it again for the same number of swords and shields. After that, I dig up my two buried skeletons and equip them. After some small changes, they look really human and can probably walk in the middle of the day inside the slums without a problem. I verify the sounds of their voices once again, to be sure. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, I let them loose inside Atria, I just hope they won''t die the first day. Chapter 68: A New Hunt Chapter 68: A New Hunt I am number one. At least that was the name that my master has given to me. My master is a good looking and honest ratman. He is a little smaller than me and number two, but he is really worthy of our loyalty. I don''t know why I am thinking this because we have only lived for a day. Before going into town, master has buried us inside a tomb. That was to protect us. We even met another skeleton, but unfortunately, the master told us that he was dead. For good. It was such a pity; he could have been number three. After waiting for a long time inside the ground, master helped us getting outside of the tomb. After that, he even got us some weapons and some clothes. Master is a good master. He told us to wear those things, even if we didn''t really need it. I know that clothes are used by different races to protect them from heat and cold, or in general their environment. But as a skeleton, me and number two don''t need such protection. But master told us it was useful so we obey him. After that, he gave us two swords each and told us to let them hang around our waist. That way, if someone has bad intentions toward us, we can defend ourselves. Master is really smart. After that, he asked us if we could hear a strange voice. We told him that yes, we could hear the voice even if we feel that the voice is not real. Of course, we didn''t say that, because he implied that us hearing the voice was a good thing. Right after saying this, he asked us if we could talk. We answered again, and he asked me and number two to talk to him. We executed his order and after hearing it, he told us to change it a little. After those changes, I find that my voice was a little better than previously. The same thing was happening to number two. Master is very generous. But unfortunately, he told us a bad news. We have to leave him alone and roam the city. When he talked about the city, he was visibly angry about it. That means the city is a bad thing. He told us that if anyone was threatening us or attempting to attack us, we had the obligation to kill them. He specified that after doing that, the voice will tell us what to say. He even wished us good luck during our time inside the city. Master is really careful. (Do you have any idea of what is inside the minds of those two skeletons warriors?) Not a single clue. I mean, I know they have a mind and a spirit, they can understand what I say and even maybe hear my thoughts. But their intelligence and the way they process the information given? Why are they loyal to death to me and are incapable of telling a lie? I have no idea, better ask the System and he hasn''t told me anything useful for a long time. The only good thing that I know is the fact that they are good warriors. Really good warriors and even if their clothes are pierced by weapons, they will not bleed to death and will keep fighting. So the chances that one of them truly died in one day is low. Are you still monitoring them and keeping them close by not visible to each other? (Yeah, yeah, don''t worry. Just keep creating more and more of those undead and we will be good. Absolutely don''t use any gue or disease in the meantime. We really need to make the [Raise Undead] work to his maximum effect to take down the ratmen. Even if your acid is potent and deadly, the ratmen has some horrors inside their city that will make your spell look like a refreshing and healthy water.) And you are now an expert with the ratmen since? (Since nothing, I am an expert with Szar and I know for sure that we haven''t seen his most dangerous creations yet.) Well, that''s for the future, now what should I do? Like you said, I can''t gue the capital because first, I will be noticed, tracked and hunted. Then, because I will kill more people than my skeletons, even if just thinking about the number of people that they need to kill make me sad. So what, now I am just the skeleton warriors'' factory? Creating one, arming it, make some adjustments and sending them to kill? And when I am bored, casting [Nightfall] to make some progress on it as well? (Pretty much the only thing you have to do. I mean, patiently waiting for your undead servants to kill some humans, potentially giving you free experiences. Is it that bad?) That''s just boring, you know. I am sure that during those long days you can tell thousands of very interesting stories and talk about strange worlds, stunning creatures and such. But I don''t want that, I want to do stuff, stuff that will not kill me of course. (Well, you have to remain near here, to create more skeletons. But you want some challenge and to do something useful at the same time. So I offer you, to hunt the people that the barbarian named.) You mean Tedd, Darwin, and Cloak? (No, Joe, Dareen, and Shadow. You really have a problem remembering the names, I am sure you don''t even know the names of the adventurer that have killed the lich right after you were born.) Yes, I remember them, for who are you taking me? (So their names? You have at least heard 2 names.) Easy, the Seven Gods of Destruction. That''s their name and they have a holy knight, a priest, a berserker, a thief, and three warriors. (I will notment on that, but you can still hunt the names that I have told you. And without my help, that way, you can still be near this ce to create skeletons every six hours, and at the same time train yourself.) Without your help? And what are you going to do? (I don''t know maybe MONITORING TEN SKELETONS? All at the same time? You are exploiting me, seriously, all my previous Hero were begging me for my power, they are on their knees just for a small blessing. But you are enving me, making me work for everything, scout everyone, never resting for a single moment.) Maybe because I am the first intelligent Hero that you have and your best shot at capturing Astria? And don''t think I didn''t notice the moment where you manage to slip away and had gone watching the spectacle with the chief. Even if you are not the God of Sex, you are a huge pervert, I bet that if I was one of your Hero, you would have asked him to save the captives and f*ck them after. (First of all no. That''s totally not true. I was watching the surroundings, for your safety. I absolutely didn''t notice them the moment you enter thanks to the broken window. It was only after we reached the cell that I saw them in the basement.) Ok, ok I believe you. So I guess I will have to hunt some criminals without you. Just wait a few hours for number three to arrive. And after what? How am I supposed to do this? Disguised as a child and hope that they will kidnap me? Hope that they won''t notice the fact that I am not a human and definitely not a child. Or maybe just follow my skeletons warriors. That way, if they provoke some chaos, the gangs will react and try to deal with the menace. And I can follow them back to their base. Without the help of a god that is my best chance of finding something inside such a maze. While the first base Oslo noticed was a huge house, nothing allows me to be certain that the other bandit hideouts are simr. Instead, it would be better to have multiple houses that touched each other and tear down the walls. That way, from the outside it is four different houses but inside just a giant property. Finally, I have the mana to create number three. I quickly do this, give him his armor, his weapons, and his instructions. Like his fellow undead, he follows my orders, without a question. And since I have no idea where number one and two are, I decide to just watch the surrounding of number three. But as I get close to Atria, the problem of the surveince is raised. How will I be able to follow my skeleton warrior without being seen? Because jumping from roof to roof, in the middle of the day and with some houses clearly taller than the others, is a bad idea. Well, let''s try the child disguise. Chapter 69: Shadow of Death Chapter 69: Shadow of Death Never mind for the child disguise. On that point, I am really feeling dumb. First of all, yes I am a cloaked silhouette, but if someone looks closely, they can see my hands leaving the sleeves and my feet are definitely not human. The good thing is, I notice that right before really entering the city. But what am I supposed to do now? Cast [Nightfall] indefinitely on me, to prevent anyone to notice my condition as a ratman? And ask all my three skeletons to protect me? That''s possible. Oslo, lead number one, number two and number three to me. (Are you sure they will kill more people when they are near you? Because that was the main point of doing this. The ratmen are rising once again, and because of you. Even if they have probably suffered a lot of casualties during the war, they should still be one of the strongest force on this world. And since we are currently weakening our shield, we should do it quickly.) Ok, my idea of making my skeleton duel some bandits or the greedy thieves was not that great either. But a shadow roaming inside the slums will make the different gangs make a move. Or we can just begin to ughter everyone, I am certain that my three skeletons are capable of that. Until the moment the enemy forces are three times the number of my undead servants, we will win. (I will do as you say, but you will make the guards notice you. Even if the slums are not under their control, a broad massacre during the day will make them react. And this time, the real knights of the Church are close. You will have no chance against them.) The moment I gain my next evolution; I will have a chance. But I am far too slow right now. So I have to take some risks, and just warning the guards is not a big threat. I just have to be careful and absolutely never attack the guards. For them, the death of the criminals can even be a blessing, less work to do. So let''s prove our might. Shortly after, I can see two more masked swordsmen leave the slums. They are number one and number two. Theck of blood on their clothes prove the fact that everyone is worried about the strength of others. Provoke someone to fight is not an easy feat, especially when you are looking tough like they are. But now, it will change. There are still five more hours before I can create another skeleton. That''s five hours to lose. I put number one and two slightly in front of me and number three behind me, to protect against any sneak attack. The cost of [Nightfall] is so small that it doesn''t even make my MP pool move by a digit. And itsts for a pretty long time. So I won''t have to worry about losing its effects. Am I surrounded by enough shadows Oslo? (Yes, covered from head to toes. Except for the part where you stand out a lot because of that, no one can know what you really are. They will just see a moving shadow surrounded by three armed men.) Great. Now it is finally time to make my entrance. As I approach the slums, I can see some people that are checking the outside gasped when seeing me. I guess my [Cause Fear] is still working. Most are retreating and getting out of my sight, except one or two that are immovable. They should be the sentries put in ce by the different gangs. But in the end, even them begin to move, probably to report my presence to their leader. Now that I finally enter Atria by the front door, I can see that the ground is filled with garbage. It is really unhealthy here, someone could catch a disease easily. The crowd that was dense is now scattered in front of us. No one when to touch us. I travel for a few minutes like that, everyone avoiding either my sight or the body of my skeletons warriors. Until that weird incident. Someone was visibly drunk and just bump on us, precisely on number one. Of course, my servant was lightly pushed by the drunk man. What I didn''t expect was the next move, a dagger was then nted on the chest of number one. The drunk man was smiling and quickly trying to escape. He never expected the two hands of number one to grab him by the neck and begin to crush it. His previous smile was now gone, reced by the horror of hisck of oxygen. A few secondster, a huge sound could be heard, his neck was broken. I asked telepathically number one to remove the dagger since no man should be able to stay stoic with such wound. He obeyed my order and right after that, a dagger could be seen falling at his feet. We resumed our travel, leaving behind a dead body and a dagger without traces of blood on it. After that, no one dares to stand in our way. But that was not good enough, I need more victims. I order number one and two to unsheathe their swords. Everyone that is in range of it and is still standing in front of them will be killed without a hesitation. In a few hours, more than thirty people died during our travel to the North of Atria. One was ady from a brothel, she was expecting that since we were visibly armed with weapons of good quality, we should be rich. Unfortunately, we didn''t have gold or didn''t need her service. I can now hear the rumor about the shadow of death roaming the slums. Three guards that haven''t say a single thing and only know to kill. A dark master with a sadistic hobby, torturing the orphans and now targeting the scums of the humanity. They heard that he sacrificed thirty virgins to an unknown god and that the Church is looking for him. That''s a bad rumor. The moment I hear that I know that the imagination of a human is one of his greatest weapons. Just killing my way to a location, and I am alreadybeled as a heretic, an enemy of the Church. The only good thing is the fact that this rumor will have a hard time leaving the slums. (You should probably walk back; you will be able to create another skeleton.) Yes, I know. But first, where is the local market? (What do you want to do? Targeting such asset is a war deration to the entire slums, I am sure that the very existence of this ce was a deal made between everyone, the popce, the guards, the gang. Even some nobles can probably be linked to this ce, for their dirty jobs. That''s the horned nest Sleek,ter you will be able to kick it, but now is not the time.) I know all of that, I just want to see it and get near. That way, it will look like I respect the organization made here, by not destroying something so vital to the slums. Now get me there. (Ok, fine.) When I arrive near the ck market, I can see that the security is huge. And not organized as a single entity. I can see at least three different clothes that the sentries are wearing. So I guess three gangs are ruling this and everyone wants to protect their assets inside. Ie close to the nearest criminal, someone wearing a darker leather armor than the other. He seems baffled by my presence and clearly is ready to run away at the first sign of a movement from my side. I task number one to speak in my stead, my stuttering being too obvious. -Joe, Dareen, Shadow? -Wh-What are you talking about? What do you want? This-This is protected by the four heads of the slums; you better get away. -Joe, Dareen, Shadow? I ask number one to repeat the question since the ouw is visibly fearing us. Finally, after a moment of wait, he answers. -Dareen. After that I leave toward the East of Atria, to return to my armory. I ask Oslo to report me the conversation that the brigand will have with his fellows. -What were they asking? Are you okay? -Yes, yes I am fine. I just didn''t expect the shadow of death toe here, he just asked about three names, Joe and Dareen and Shadow? -And what did you answer? Not Shadow I hope, otherwise, he will get your head for that. -No, I answer Dareen, if the shadow of death can hunt him, we will be fine. The thing is, why he didn''t ask about Oktar? -You still didn''t learn the news? Oktar and his gang were wiped outst night. And since he didn''t ask about them, that means -We have to warn Shadow about that! Can I still have you track them? (Yes, you can ask me that.) Chapter 70: No Survivors Chapter 70: No Survivors No one died because of us on the way back to the tomb. That was expected since we have let quite a trail of dead bodies behind us. Right at the time where I get the mana necessary to invoke the next skeleton warrior. The only good thing is the huge number of people that were affected by my [Cause Fear]. Thanks to this, the ability has leveled up. Checking everything on the System once again. "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Ratman ss: gue Sorcerer Level 5/30 HP: 240/240 MP: 374/385 Strength: 21.1 Agility: 38.5 Vitality: 24.0 Wisdom: 38.5 Intelligence: 38.5 Active skills: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 8] [Venomous Bite lvl 10] [Infected ws lvl 10] [Create Acid lvl 8] [Create gue lvl 8] [Aura of Mayhem lvl Max] [Nightfall lvl 5] [Magical Orb lvl Max] [Cursed Winds lvl 3] [Raise Undead lvl 3] Passive Abilities: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 10] [Toxic resistance lvl 10] [gue resistance lvl 10] [Craftsmanship lvl 5] [Pain resistance lvl 10] [Deadly Body lvl 4] [Self-Healing lvl 1] [Magical Restoration lvl 6] [Magical Efficiency lvl 6] [Magical Handling lvl 5] [Cause Fear lvl 4] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria] [Blessed by Oslo] [ughterer]" Except for my level that is still extremely low, everything else is quite good. The fact that the only few times I get hit by something is more because of me have prevented my self-regeneration to get improved. Otherwise, I am quite proud of what I have aplish. Facing the ratmen or even the real power of the holy kingdom, of course it is weak, far too weak. But just to survive in this world it is enough. And heree number four, armed and ready. Now, Oslo, can you point me the location of the base of those guards that I asked you to track? (Yes, just be more careful, I really want you to survive long enough for me to do some stuff on Forslo. Just a little more and I can at least re-apply half of the blessings that were removed during the Portal War.) And what is a little more? (Oh, not a lot. Barely fifty thousand deaths.) As expected of a god, the not a lot is turned into a huge number for me. But that''s logical too, since he has to use his power for me during that time and to bless an entire is probably very costly. What do you think is the total poption on Astria? All races, all kingdoms, even those not believing in Aria or the servants of Szar and Krieg? (Just for the holy kingdom, I would say a little less than one million. After that, counting every living beings and undead beings, ten million. On Forslo, right now, I only have barely three million. But my is smaller than Astria so it makes sense that her poption is a lot bigger than mine.) That''s a lot of people to kill, a lot of experience. I can probably reach two evolutions with this, the worst part would have been to have killed everything and still not be able to evolve to something else. And talking about killing, let''s make a visit to the boss of those criminals. Once again I travel to the North of Atria, but this time with four servants instead of three. Just this information is turning the entire slums into a huge turmoil of questions. How many swordsmen do I really have? Who are they? Can more arrive shortly? Do they have to expect a revenge if I die? Before I was just the shadow of death reaping his victims, now I have be an enigma, and everyone is trying to find the truth. More and more people are following me, trying to sell whatever information they will learn about me. The mutes are beginning to talk, the deaf listen and the blinds open their eyes. The beggars disappear in front of me but never let me go out of their vision. And apparently, my little discussion near the ck market was already known by the entire den of criminals. And seeing me walking toward the only notable ce in that direction, the nearby passer-byes whisper the name of a shadow. And that death has finallye to unveil the mask. By the time I arrive at the house mentioned by Oslo, a wave of humans is here, expecting a fine spectacle. I can see even some ouws wearing the two other colors that I saw in the ck market. So the alliance between all the gang leaders was definitely just for the profit. I guess that after I kill the second head, they will probably really join their efforts against me. Even if they suspect that I am responsible for the death of Oktar, they have no proof of it. In front of me is standing ten men with their crossbows loaded. Behind them, five are wearing some shield and spears, they are capable of holding the entrance without a problem. First, they will shoot their bolts and then retreat behind the wall of shields. Seeing me without any means of killing someone from a distance, that is smart. I can even notice some strange particles floating in the air, the sign of a magician. Even if I can''t see him, I know that a shield is protecting those bandits, so even if I throw an orb of acid on them, they will be unscathed. That is quite problematic, even if my skeletons are far enough to not be hit by my aura of acid, seeing them pierced by multiple bolts will make the surrounding crowd puzzled. And if they get close to me, I know I can spare them from the acid but it will be very taxing on my mind. Actually, I am not sure that I can do that. I can probably save number one for sure, number two probably, but sparing both number three and four will be impossible. That is one point I forget to train. My ability to control my aura as I really wish. And their shields are not enough to protect their entire body, so if the crossbows are really fired, one or two bolts will probably pierce the leather armor of my undead servants. And I can''t let that happen. But right now we are in a standoff. They are not firing; we are not moving. And this keeps going for a minute. Some inside the crowd is getting impatient but they are quickly told to shut up by the rest. I need to take the advantage. I order all of my skeletons warriors to stand behind me, with only number one close to me. That action provokes a huge noise in the surrounding. After that, I calmly approach the crossbows, closing the distance. The moment they fire; I will melt their bolts. I know that my reflex is immensely better than theirs thanks to my high agility. And when one will fire, the rest will follow shortly after. That way, the first and only volley will be useless. I keep approaching. Forty meters, thirty-five meters, thirty meters. At that moment, probably my [Cause Fear] took effect but I won''t know, one of the bandit fire. Badly I have to say, the bolt wouldn''t even have touched me, but I melted it anyway. That provokes a chain reaction and soon, all the ten crossbows have unleashed their deadly projectiles. That harmed no one, in the end, only costing me three seconds of aura. The sudden disappearance of the bolts provokes this time a real mor from the crowd. The shadow of death is a magician, and a powerful one. He destroyed ten moving projectiles without a problem. The face of everyone facing me is now white, without any other colors. The now useless bandits in the front quickly run in fear inside the house. And the poor shielded criminals are really tempted to do the same. I order my four skeletons warriors to get close to this shield wall. Their robotic and without fear approach make the remaining ouws shake. This is of course greatly because of my presence near them. I am not sure of the actual range of [Cause Fear] but where I am standing, it is definitely affecting the humans. This time the battle will really start. All the weapons are unsheathed, masked undead against coward humans. Blood will be spilled today, and nothing is apparently trying to prevent that. After waiting a few seconds to see any reaction from the gang, I order all my warriors to ughter the five men standing in front of them. Order that I remove immediately after. -STOP! STOP! My leader, Shadow is requesting this honorable sir toe inside and talk about this regrettable situation. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to die today. I humbly ask you to prevent your men from doing anything that you could regret in the future. Can we talk in peace? Walk inside your house to talk about that? Better walk in the wolf mouth, it would have been a quicker death. I convey my words to number one, letting him talk. -My master said no survivors. Chapter 71: God of Holidays Chapter 71: God of Holidays Silence follows that sentence. The man that was asking me toe inside is confounded. I bet he doesn''t expect that someone will totally disregard the words of his leader and say that he will kill them in broad daylight. And the bandits holding the shields neither. But fortunately for me, my skeletons warriors have no thoughts like that, preventing them to do their job. The moment number one say my sentence, they immediately try to hack the shield wall in pieces. And that small period where the humans are not concentrated enough is sufficient. Two are already dead and another one is injured. The two remaining are now under the assault of my entire army. Blood is spilled on the ground and nothing that they are doing is preventing more toe. A few secondster, five dead bodies areying on the ground, their shield broken and their leather armors are torn apart. The five bandits were clearly abandoned by the rest of the gang. The door is now closed and I can see some movements near the different windows. The ss is broken, letting the crossbows take its ce and granting a direct vision for the magicians hiding inside. As for the crowd, after the first casualty, everyone has fled. Beggars, passer-by, members of the others gangs or even the guards. What will happen here and right now is the problem of Shadow and his problem alone? As for helping him or warning the guard? Well, the guards have seen what happen and decided it was not their business, so that solution is not possible anymore. And helping a soon to be a dead man, that brings no profits or anything. Only a lot of danger, because I am now officially a magician capable of destroying bolts with my mind alone. And it is just the first thing that they have seen me doing. But now, I am facing a fortress, with a locked door and a garrison. Seeing the fact that number one is incapable of breaking in, I am forced to make another move. Good thing that this house was quite far from my weapons stash, that way, I still have enough mana to cast some spells. I lightly approach the door and inspect it. It is not a usual door, it was reinforced with many iron nails and a reinforced nk of woods. Only with a real battering ram can it be taken down with conventional means. Otherwise, it is just wasting the energy of the assants. But that''s nothing to me. But before this, I knock three times on the door, like I am a guest wanting to enter. I expected an answer or a reaction but was disappointed. Nothing came out. But before melting it and gettingpletely exposed to anything behind it, I cast [Nightfall] on the door. And finally, after using it a lot recently, the spell gains another level. I still haven''t see the limits of it, and still don''t really know what will be improved. But the joy of getting something better is still present. TCHONG Oh, someone releases a bolt. Too bad, the door is strong enough to not even move after that. So, piercing it and hitting me is even less realistic. But I guess that he thought the sudden shadows that appeared have removed the sturdy door. That''s not the case but I still have to be careful about a sudden reaction like that. I ask my four skeletons warriors to step aside and don''t be on the trajectory of whatever wille out of the house. Then, I release my acid once again melting a door. This time, however, it is barely a second longer than my usual melting. That makes sense, normally the front door is the strongest and I never really entered a building by its main entrance. Those not so sweet memories of eating wood and digging into a weak wooden wall. rgh. Just thinking of that makes me taste that horrible thing again. By now, the door is already gone and I just need to prepare my next step. And no matter how I call Oslo, thatzy god doesn''t answer me. (I can hear you, but like I said I take my holidays and that means today, except the location of the house, you have no help from me. You know I still have a to manage and something have been done that I need to fix. And I trust you to not die, maybe not seed, but you are the most cowardly Hero of the universe. So good luck.) Can I at least know how many people are inside? No? Just an approximation? God of Holidays? Apparently, he doesn''t even bother to answer now. That means something quite big happened on Forslo. I wonder what, I just hope that will not make him any weaker than he already is. If I lost my godly detection and tracking device, the road will be a lot harder than I supposed. And now I am kind of blind and in front of a little army, I have no idea how I should kill it. God of Betrayal, that what his name is. The funny thing is theck of counterattacking from the bandit den. I mean, I know they have magicians, and I know that they have a huge firepower, just thinking about the number of spells they threw at me back at Ronta. So why, inside Atria, I have never seen a magician attack. They only defend themselves, mostly with their magic shields. One of the reason could have been that they never saw me, and during my night assault, it was true. But today, I was clearly alone and in front of them, so why no one threw a fireball at me or even something weaker? Just a simple spell, but nothing was cast. Maybe there is a rule saying that nothing harmful should be provoked by a magician, or maybe they are hunted by the authorities and if they cast something, they will be found. Such a rule would make sense, especially in a fantasy world. You can''t expect to have a standard and civilized society without some basic rules preventing idents. Like a magician losing control of his spell and devastating an entire district. But the people still fear the might of a magician, seeing how everyone quickly get away the moment they realized that I was one. That probably means that if the spells created by a magician are urate and doesn''t hurt some innocents, the guards will maybe close their eyes. Well, that''s good for me, I never miss a single spell. But for the others, in such a restricted environment, inside a house, and with more bandits than enemies, they have to be careful. And therefore, will rely more on the crossbows that are extremely good short to mid-range weapons instead of the unreliable magic. If only I had Oslo, I wouldn''t have to think about such things. Now, it has been twenty seconds since I melted the door, and I can hear behind the wall of shadows someone talking. Not to me, but to the others. I can''t really understand what he is saying. But I still don''t know what is behind my spell. So let''s create another shadow. I create a silhouette with [Nightfall] that looks like me. And then, I move it behind the wall that I created. THONG TCHONG TLOUNG Wow. Looking at all the bolts stuck on the ground behind me, I would say at least twelve, no thirteen people fired. And maybe some didn''t, but now it''s time for me to enter before they reload. That''s the main issue with such weapons, very good pration, dealing a lot of injuries to his target, urate at a close distance, but unreliable past a point and slow to reload. I activate my aura and enter, asking all my skeletons to follow my lead. Only number one is inside my aura, but my control over it is increasing, I think. I really have to train that. What I see in front of me in a very long corridor, with multiple bandits, protected by many open doors and reversed table. Only a few are still targeting me, the rest are desperately trying to reload. Near two groups, I can see the particles meaning a shield is surrounding them. The magicians are not in sight, and the man that talked to me before is in one of the groups. At my arrival, everyone stops for a fraction of second, looking at me. They still are trying to figure out whether or not I am another of those shadows, a doppelganger without substance. Only after seeing my skeletons appearance and them breaking the weak walls inside the house, do they realize the true threat is near them. As for me, since there is no danger, I cancel my aura. No need to waste any mana. Seeing two big holes inside the walls at my nk, I know that my undead servants have infiltrated the house and are no longer an easy target for the crossbows. As for me, I stay here, capturing all their attention, diverting them from the undead. I see some of the closest criminals drop their weapons and unsheathe their swords. Now the true battle is starting. Chapter 72: Battle inside the Houses Chapter 72: Battle inside the Houses I have already tried to make a connection between my mind and the mind of number one. I was thinking that, if this is a sess, I can finally see what he thinks or even see by his eyes, or whatever he uses to see. That was a total failure, I canmunicate with them even at a huge distance like three hours of walk. But I can''t see what they see or what is in their minds. Maybe it is to protect their privacy or maybe I need to create another spell just to do that. However, in the current situation, except when I clearly see my skeletons warriors, I have no idea how the battle is going. Now only ten bandits are visible inside the corridor, all pointing their crossbows on me. I have seen some reinforcements passing through the doors, but they didn''t stop and they are probably fighting at this very moment. The only thing that is telling me that my undead servants are winning is the white face of the man who was speaking previously. At first, he was just a little pale, but he was confident. Now, he is looking at me with more fear than he should. I hear a lot of bandits saying that this man is hurt, this other man is injured or even that a third had died. They are also saying that my warriors are unstoppable, and don''t even feel tired. Well, that is what an undead is. But even if we are winning, I don''t see it as a massacre but more as a close battle. Now that my skeleton warriors are smart and have a mind, they will not charge recklessly, but more fight a war of attrition. In that case, we will win with almost no casualties, that would be the best. As for the battle currently ying inside the long corridor, well it hasn''t moved at all. No signs of retreat, no signs of firing, no signs of the magicians. Just me and them, looking into each other eyes, well mostly me since they can only see a shadow in front of the previous entrance door. While I can be patient for a good time, the faces of the closest crossbowmen are showing signs of heavy stress. They are targeted by my [Cause Fear] for a few minutes already, and I never had the time to see the effect in the long term. Every two seconds, I can see them touch their eyes like it is hurting them. Those farther away don''t feel the same power as them, they are only lightly shaking. Only the present leader is unaffected, that means he is already at another levelpared to the mob. But as minutes passed and the battle keeps going, now I can see a lot of injured criminals retreating in the back. The lower limit of the local leader will nearly be breached. I have heard at least five deaths for the moment, maybe more but no one screamed about it. The skeletons warriors have gained the control of two additional rooms, one in each side. The bandits in front of me are now looking very frequently at two locations, my guess, it''s the ce where the two magicians are standing. But there are at least four walls between me and them. Counting the additional magic shield, there is no way I can kill them. When I hear someone scream that another bandit died, the leader finally does something. He orders everyone to back off and retreat toward the next house. As for the injured that are too slow to make it, well he doesn''t talk about it, but everyone understands what will happen. Some friends are literally carrying them, and with the help of the threat posed by the crossbows, they make it. As for those that were too close to my skeletons, well, no one can save them anymore. I order my undead servants to kill everyone in the rooms in front of them, but do not follow the survivors that are in the corridor. Because I can now see the two magicians looking at me and the surrounding rooms, prepared for anything. Without some bandits to shield us from their spells, they can ughter my skeletons without any problems. It was quite a good retreat, but the final oue was decided the moment I entered the house. After everyone flees away, another door is locked and reinforced. I can hear some hammer sounds, probably fixing some nk of woods on it. They should have put quite a number of chairs, tables, and cabs behind, to slow me down. So they think that I will walk in through the front door once again? I did that because there were the missing magicians and the crossbows at the windows. Now that they are blind, why should I walk from where they expect me to enter? No, I notice that the next house is really built next to this very house. That means, the door is between the two houses, but the walls surrounding it are too. I split my skeletons into two group and order them to retreat to the previous rooms. Then, I approach the wall in the left room, activate my aura and quickly rush to the room on the right to do the same. After that, my undead servants quickly begin their attacks on the surprise bandits. No long corridor to control me anymore. This time, I follow number one and number two in their fight. My very presence is a disaster for the fighting criminals. Before, their vision was blocked by countless obstacles, mainly some walls. In that way, they were spared from my [Cause Fear]. Now that I am standing behind my two favorite undead, well, that''s another story. I really want to see the face of the leader when he will learn that they fail to defend this side for more than fifteen seconds. Because that was the time that my skeleton warriors took to ughter everything living in front of them. Except for some screams, the ouws didn''t have to time to warn theirpanions. With such speed, our group of three strides toward the deeper rooms. Taking by surprise the injured that were resting and getting healed. But they still manage to shout our position, preventing a surprise attack on the true targets. The leader and the two magicians. By now, only a little more than ten criminals should be alive, and at least half are fighting the other group of skeleton warriors. So the chances that one of the two magicians begins to cast some spells is quite high. And I don''t really know if my undead servants can take a hit and still survives. Probably one, but definitely not two. The fact that they are beating the criminals are mainly due to theirck of fear and their incredible stamina. Every human, especially some criminals like that, wants to live and will most likelyck the motivation of my skeleton warriors. While the ouws have to care about any injuries or even death itself, my troop can take some small hits or even got their armors pierced and still be fine. Without those factors and the situation where the bandits can''t swarm my groups of undead, I will have probably retreated a long time ago. Seeing thest injured bandits die near me, I order my skeletons warriors to go toward the main corridor. Before immediately cancel that order. I don''t know why, but I feel something weird. I cast a new shadow with [Nightfall] and let it walk through that door. My senses were right, a huge fireball destroyed the shadow and even the door frame. Now, it will be tricky. The only good point of my situation is my position inside the house. I have a direct vision on the next heavy door, meaning they can only exit by the windows on the other side of the house. But if they do that, first they will be noticed by the entire slums as running cowards, and I will hear it. The true leader, Shadow, has already left the building, that''s for sure. With a name like that, he won''t be like Oktar and try to kill me in a direct confrontation. No, he has left, maybe right after the first retreat but who knows. I can hear some small noises, probably the screams of the fighting bandits. The second group of skeletons warriors is still responding to me, that means they have not yet won, but are not dead. Apparently, they tell me that only two bandits are alive, and in a few seconds they will win. I order them to not pursue the fleeing survivors, to stay inside the room they are. But they don''t see anything else besides swordsmen. That means, no magicians in sight. I cast another shadow, to see their reaction. And another fireball sts it. I can''t bet on some low mana pool. I mean, the first lich I saw had more mana than the current me, two magicians have probably more manabined than that lich. Oslo? Any help? Chapter 73: The Not So Brave Shadow Chapter 73: The Not So Brave Shadow I should have known that he will have let me down at the worst moment. I am fairly certain that the two magicians are in the middle of the corridor and watching all around them. Probably surrounded by the remaining bandits, carrying their deadly crossbows. And their mighty and proud leader, shaking in the middle. Ok, I am inventing thatst part, I have no idea what he is doing. And I have no idea of what I should be doing. Create more shadows that will get blow away by fireballs? Make my undead servants charge and watch them get destroyed by both the bolts and the spells of the magicians? Wait for them to run? -Ok, ENOUGH! Oh, they are talking now, I think it was for me. -WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING US? Why? What did we do to you? We are not like Oktar and his madmen, killing everyone and kidnapping some innocents. We have never really killed anyone, except for some situations where we had to defend ourselves. But we are the good guys, I mean, inside the slums. That''s the first. A member of a gang, saying that they are the good guys. This city is really incredible and stunning. But what should I answer, I have to resolve this standoff one way or another? I order number one to talk once again. -Shadow. That''s good, that way, I give them an exit door and they give me their leader. -What Shadow? What do you want with him? Information? You could have just asked; we would have given you a discount. -Shadow. -Ok, we would have given you the information for free, you are happy now? So what do you want to know? Who is the father of a bastard? Which noble did kill the prostitute inside the "Red Lantern"? Whatever you want, we have it. -SHADOW. Really, I don''t care about all your information. I mean, yes they can be great or even good for a lot of people. But I can''t just ask them the current situation inside Atria. If I do that, I will bebeled as a stranger, a foreigner. And actually, I don'' really need to know that either, I just need to know some information that Oslo can already provide. Right now, I want to target all the gangs and kill their members, that''s all. And without my condition as a ratman and the nature of my skeletons warriors revealed. So I can just say his name one more time. -Shadow. -Oh c''mon. Shadow, Shadow, Shadow. All you say is always that name. He has run away a long time ago; you see that door right next to you? That one is the door leading to his room. Normally it is not locked, but now it is. That means he has decided to flee by his secret tunnel under his bed. So good luck finding him, he has at least 4 different hiding ces across the entire slums. I only know those, but I am sure he has more. Maybe he will even seek help from Joe or Dareen. So whatever grudge you have with him, can we just all walk away, like nothing happened? So even his lieutenant believes that his chief has fled the battle. And with the support of two magicians, I can''t win this without casualties. Well, sorry number three and four then. I order the two skeletons warriors to show themselves quickly behind the group. They just have to appear for less than a second and hide after that. Separate themselves, one near the corridor, the other near the door leading to the next room. I can hear a fireball being cast, but both of my undead servants inform me that they are fine. I split number one and two like their fellows. That way, the magicians have to cover four different ces. The crossbows are irrelevant in front of an undead. It was just to maintain the mask of humanity, now it is time to discard this disguise. When everyone is in ce, I order all my undead to charge. I can hear two different fireballs being thrown and at least six bolts being released. As I contact all my skeletons warriors, I notice that number two doesn''t answer anymore. And number three has lost his right arm. So as expected, a fireball is capable of inflicting heavy injuries into my invocations. But as I walk through the door leading to the corridor, the sight is enjoyable. I can already see a head on the ground and the body of a bandit near it. The magician is pierced by the sword of number one and is losing a lot of blood. Behind them, number three and number four are ughtering the unarmed crossbowmen. They didn''t even have the chance to unsheathe their swords. Only the lieutenant is rushing toward number three, a sword in each of his hands. As for thest magician, he seems to have escaped. Shortly after, I hear the sound of a broken window. Turning my head to my right, I see a fleeing silhouette, he was quite fast. But not fast enough. I quickly reach the nearby window, broke it as well and throw an orb at him. The only trace of his existence is the hole made in the courtyard of the houses. Good thing those windows were not facing the street. I return to the corridor and meet an unexpected surprise. That man is a lot stronger than I thought. Number three is dead. First, the injury provoked by the fireball, then the assault of the lieutenant sealed his fate. And even against number one and number four, he is strong enough to not sumb to their attacks. I can even hear him mumbling the same word over and over. Undead. I guess he figured out the secret at the end. That''s why I couldn''t let the magician escape. The fireballs burned the leather armors, revealing the bones under it. We were close to the group of criminals so number one managed to kill the magician. But apparently, neither number three and four manage to aplish the same task. Is it because they were createdter? Well, I really rely on number one for a lot of things. That''s ying a part too, the implication of the invocator. As for the lieutenant, he is truly standing his ground. Attacked from the front and the back, he is still alive. My arrival doesn''t change anything, so my [Cause Fear] is not strong enough to influence the mind of a great warrior. Like the situation with Oktar, he was fearless. He even has the time to take a peek at me once in a while. He is probably thinking about what I am. Another undead, maybe a human that is a necromancer. Since it has been a long time that I wear this stupid appearance, I will grant him hisst request. And it was really a hard time for my eyes to see through my [Nightfall]. Now that I think about, I check and yes, my night vision has improved. That was an unexpected gain. It is now level 11. So the level 10 is not necessarily the limit of my spells. But during the entire day, I have walked with a veil of darkness in front of me. If it didn''t improve, I would really have wonder if level 10 is the absolute limit. But that''s both a good thing and a bad thing. That means an ability has to have more level before evolving, like my [Create Poison] turning into [Create Acid]. Slowing me down at the same time, because my acid is immensely more powerful than just a poison. One can melt iron while the other only target living organisms. But for all the skills that don''t have an evolution, like [Night Vision] I guess, that means it dys the level Max. We will see in the future what will happen anyway. As for the current situation, I can finally see the light. And the lieutenant, see my real form. Well, just see my ws and my weird feet. And a strange silhouette dressed in weird clothes nearly covering his entire body and preventing his face to be seen. Seeing his very puzzled face, I order my two skeleton warriors to stop their assault. Making thest human even more baffled. I then proceed to slowly remove my hood, showing my head. Before he was scared, now he is terrified. -Ra-Ra-Ra-Ratman??? I order number four to backstab him, and the poor lieutenant will never learn how he died. His heart was pierced by a precise strike. But his face was not even showing pain, only pure terror. I guess I will have to melt him as well. I order my undead servants to collect all the bodies surrounding us, all the bodies inside the corridor. Even the two skeletons of number two and number three. When a pile is formed on the middle of the corridor, I activate my aura, melting every proof of anything suspicious. Just another day in the slums, with a gang being attacked by five unknown humans. As for the shadow of death? Just a magician trying to impress the crowd. But that small attack cost me a lot of mana, slowing down the invocation of the next skeleton warriors. But I got what I was looking for, more humans died under the sword of my undead servants. Chapter 74: The guards arrive Chapter 74: The guards arrive Oslo, please, answer. OSLO, OSLO. Don''t do that, please. Seriously, I am not even capable of returning to the tomb with the weapons and armors. Ok, I am maybe exaggerating this part, but I really want your help. For the great God Oslo, ruler of Forslo and thousands of other worlds. Nothing? Damn, I really tried everything this time. I just hope I won''t have to make a trip to the fairies once again and look for the crystals of life. Because he was clearly a lot stronger than when we first met after the death of thest Agorians. And just his godly eyes are enough for my survival, but I get even more with all the information he gave me. OSLO! No, really nothing. I tried onest praise, thinking that if he was listening he will speak or say something. So he is really gone for a moment. That is a little scarier than I thought. But now is not really the time to think. My battle has ended, but the aftermath will appear shortly. First, the previously blind and deaf guards will encircle the ce and check everything. Under the cover of thew, they will try to scavenge everything not taken or destroyed. In the end, I still have fought for nearly a half of an hour, from the beginning apparition inside the za. By now, every scavenger or despaired men will try to gain the most out of this battle. They still fear me and my skeletons warriors, but after seeing that I only have two remaining, maybe courage will find them. Thinking that they are numerous, they will even maybe try to attack me. As for that possibility, only one thing will stop them to do it. I turn back from the hole where everyone had melted, reaching the original front door. There, I ask number one to violently kick it. Before that, I have of course checked their armors and weapons, verifying that nothing could leak their condition as an undead. I casted [Nightfall] on me once again, shrouding my body with darkness. And now here we are again, at the same ce where everything had started, but with two fewerpanions. I can see that the previously dispersed crowd is now filling the za to its full capacity. Most are weak and unarmed, but some are already bloodied, probably an earlier fight. Only a few wear the colors of the two other gangs, weird that they didn''t move at all. I would have expected them to being here with a bigger troop, trying to win their part of the treasure located inside the master bedroom. Or they already know that Shadow has escaped, and therefore the treasure is just a bait to the blind popce of the slums. Baiting them toe here, and kill me. For now, everyone stays away from the door and me. But I can see some touching their swords, hoping that they will use it. And as I am leaving, they are counting the number of people still alive. Unfortunately for me, the low number that can be seen is a great thing for those ouws. The previous fear is reced by joy, surprise, expectation. One was far too imprudent and rush toward number one. Without even me saying anything, my strongest skeleton warrior just cuts in half the foolish man. Well, well, well. Did you really expect us to let you go in that easily? Did you expect us to be frightened by your number? I can kill all of you with just a single spell, but you will not be used that way. You are the ingredients of the growth of my skeletons warriors. And since I am still blocking the ess to the house, you all animals will have to step on number one and four to enter. I can see some retreating, feeling that their lives are more important. But they are just a few drops of this sea of criminals. Only a spark is needed now, and the fire will start and try to burn me. -THEY HAVE TAKEN THE TREASURE OF SHADOW! I turn my head toward the source of that shout. It is one of the members of the gang. He is wearing a green hood. I will remember you and your gang for that action. The green will die next. As for the blue gang, after hearing that shout, he quickly disappears. Tactful, you will be spared for now. As for the consequences of saying this, well, all I can say is that the fire is burning more violently that I expected. I can see inside the eyes of the closest men the me of greed, such a deadly sin. A few seconds, without anything happening. Then, someone shouts the same sentence, quickly the all crowd shout it. As a war chant, to give them strength, to give them hope. Frenzy is spreading in their bodies. The worst part is, I don''t even know what is that supposed treasure. I will probably never know. The first dogs are pouncing on number one and four. Outnumbering them. But, having their backs on the wall near the door, they are only attacked from the front. And those weak human bodies are nothing to them. They cut in pieces the first attackers, and kick the rest. When three or four are too close, they use their shield to bash them away. But more and more dispirited scums areing. Truthfully, if number one and four were not undead, they would have never managed to survive that long. Between the fight inside the houses and the fight on the za, their stamina would have been depleted. But that''s the best part about them, they will never rest, they will never need to do that. Second after second, minute after minute. Waves and waves crashed on them, but they are solid, sturdy, like a rock fending the sea waves. Dead bodies can be found everywhere near them, the other humans not caring about it and stomping the injured on the ground. More and more in the crowd are shouting, shouting to kill me and my undead servants. To hang us, to torture us, to tear our limbs apart. More violent way to dieing after another. But even if words could kill, they will certainly not be able to y number one and four. On the other hand, my two skeleton warriors were harvesting, collecting death after death. The very ground was filled with fountains of blood. After a time that I couldn''t determine, the crowd finally fled. Only to let me see the result of the massacre. Countless bodies can be seen all around the za. Most were not even our doing, just the crowd stepping on some that fell. The closer we get from us, the more dead bodies can be seen. And at the feet of my undead servants, only pieces of bodies can be found. Not a single intact corpse. I don''t even know how many died here. At least three hundred trash were reunited here against us. Barely hundred manages to flee. As for who truly died because of my skeleton warriors and who died because of infighting, I can''t know. The only other person still standing is the green hooded man. His face is even making meugh. It''s like he saw the devil in flesh right in front of him. He is stunned. As for your precious gift, I will return the favor. I order number one to pick up the best swordying on the ground near him and to throw it at the man. That poor soul doesn''t even react to the movement of number one. Moving only after seeing my undead servant begins his throw. But it is far toote. I can see a sword deeply inserted in his left shoulder. Won''t be lethal, what a shame. This insect is now crawling away, expecting his master to save him. Don''t worry, you won''t wait for a long time. -Are you sure that they attacked the fortress of Shadow? Are they insane? -No captain, I saw them, they should still be fighting at this very moment. -Good, if what you say is true I will rewa WHAT?!! And herees the guards, alwayste for the party. They wereing from the left, a dark alley where nothing of the za could really be seen. But after they arrive, they immediately the scene that can be seen only during war times. The guard that is nearby the captain is looking at me and my two swordsmen with frightened eyes. He really didn''t expect us to survive the battle inside the houses, so the huge massacre that he is seeing is making him wet himself. It is not a hypothesis; I can see it. He will have to wash his armor a lot. As for the troop of guards, most are retreating like they never saw a single thing. The captain looks at me for a moment, then looks toward the only two guards that are not running away and takes a decision. He removes his helmet, waves at me for a second, then puts his helmet in ce and walks away. A few secondster, that walk turns into a loud run, hearing from a very long distance. The armors of those guards are really loud. Now it is time for me to reach my favorite tomb. Chapter 75: The power of Nightfall Chapter 75: The power of Nightfall The road toward my armory was exceptionally calm. Nothing happened, the roads suddenly cleared themselves at my appearance. Before they were just getting out of my sight, now I presume they even put some real distance between me and them. Doors were closed, windows were shut down immediately. The scarce merchants were even abandoning their stalls, more worried about me than a thief. And thetter was not bothered by that sudden free meal, he is fleeing too. Some can say that in a single day, my reputation across the slums has changed from a bloodthirsty foreigner to a group that none shall hurt. And while it allows me to travel more quickly, it prevents me to kill those that are slow to move. Before sometimes, they were justgging a little bit and I could kill them. Now, everyone run away without a second thought. Finally, I arrive at my favorite tomb. I really wonder who is buried in, I mean, I have used hisst residence as I wish. But I was too quick toe back, I will need to wait for some hours. Well, that way, I can safely and slowly train my skills. Especially [Nightfall] and my aura, those are really important. I need to be able to control them to the best of my ability, like be capable to create more than just one shadow and maybe improve the range of my aura. I have not seen the full capacity of those two abilities, and I really want to the see the result. But first, what did I gained during those battles. First, I have gained three levels. I am now level 8/30. That makes sense, first, it had been a long time since I have gained a level, so I was certainly pretty close after killing all those humans on my way to the base of Shadow. And since I have killed at least 150 humans, counting both the men of the gang and the beggars in the za, it is quite good. But I should have barely gained the three levels, more like 2.2 levels. But that''s not the most important, what is good is now the fact that I can cast my [Raise Undead] and still have enough mana for more than just one spell. On the other hand, my magical abilities are really slow to be improved. But except casting something, I have no idea how to really do something about it. Or maybe create another new spell? Now that I think about it, each time I created a spell, I gained at least one level. But the cooldown, I still don''t know what is it. And it only has been two, maybe three weeks since the capture of Daryl MaimedFoot. Is it his name? Maybe I got it wrong. Well, let''s try, and if the System says no, so be it. But what should I do now? I have a spell that is really useful, [Nightfall]. It can block the vision of the enemy at a good range, prevent light from leaking, and most importantly, baffled everyone. Nobody truly understands how this is working, me neither, so I always have a little advantage. The next spell is my hope to kill the ratmen, [Raise Undead]. And even my hope to survive for a very long time. If I can reach the point where I can just create some lich, I will be invincible. And even before that, thanks to my skeleton warriors, I don''t have to personally fight or even to be near a battle. Since for the moment they are still quite weak, I have to travel with them, but in the future, they will probably be able to stand their ground against enemies bigger, stronger and a lot more powerful. So in the end, I have one of the best ability and a very useful disrupting spell. What should I need now? The good old escape spell. But just thinking back to what I did in the first oasis, that was a shameful memory. Well, I can still try again. Think about moving your body to this tree, you are now disrupting thews of space and time, you are near that tree. Your body is not here, it is near that tree, you are moving at a great speed. MOVE! Nothing. Well, I had to try. Honestly, I have no idea how to create that spell or something simr. Back on Earth, we hadn''t even managed to reach that point, so if even the greatest minds didn''t create that, how am I supposed to do it? I am a lot smarter than before but that''s just thinking process and risk evaluation. I will probably be unable to solve any impossible equations and win that sweet reward. I am talking about the Millennium Prize Problems, I am far from being near that level. That''s what I noticed, those intelligence and wisdom are just attributes, they are not improving me at all. Or maybe my human mind is still better than those? Am I better than forty times the mind of a rat? I hope, but that''s still a lot of rat minds. So, the teleportation is a failure again. What''s next? The magic shield. Now that I think, that''s what I amcking, a way to defend myself, because only relying on my aura to destroy iing projectiles is not very safe. If I get ambushed, I won''t have the time to think about my aura. I need a small shield, like the weird glowing halo that the barbarian had. Something that I can permanently activate and is capable of stopping something. Ok, so think about a barrier between you and the air, nothing can go through, nothing, except the oxygen, wait, do I need to breathe? I will say yes, but I think more of a no, I am truly like a character of an MMO, no need to sleep, eat maybe even breathe. Let''s think nothing can go through, not even the air, the shield is perfect, covering my entire body, even under my foot. When something touches my shield, it is destroyed, but it still follows my movements, it is not rigid. It is a dark shield surrounding me, preventing any harm. No create the SHIELD! "Not enough mana" Are you kidding me? I have 278/406 MP, that''s enough for a lot of things. Let''s try again, I say a shield that is surrounding me, create my SHIELD. "Not enough mana" The good thing is, he hasn''t talked about a cooldown, so I just have to wait. Maybe the creation of a spell needs a full MP pool. All the previous time, it was like that. So let''s wait a bit. After some hours, I finally have all my mana. Let''s think again, a shield, a dark shield, surrounding me, a dark shield protecting me, create the SHIELD! "User has created a spell not long ago, please wait." Ok, shut up System. Seriously, do I really have to wait for another evolution to.. oh wait, there is a cooldown. I didn''t see it; it is really small. Let''s see, I need to wait 24 days 13 hours 24 minutes and 49 seconds. Ok, that definitely means that an evolution reset that cooldown. But the other thing is, it is REALLY LONG. That''s potentially two months between two creations. Yes, I don''t remember exactly how many days have passed since I created [Raise Undead]. So let''s wait another month for my beautiful dark shield. Since I have nothing else to do, and I resurrect number two, keeping number four as he is. I don''t want to disturb them more, and since the night is near, I can use that time to create number three and number five. I will only enter the slums tomorrow, during the day. But during that time, I will train my [Nightfall]. First of all, I create a shadow of my size and wait. To see the duration of my spell. Because I never saw when the spell is canceled. I mean, getting hit by a fireball and be destroyed doesn''t count. After nearly thirty minutes, I see the spell getting a little weaker. In the following seconds, the shadow is crumbling and disappear. So that''s still a good duration. Because during the assault, I kept reapplying the spell every five minutes, wasting quite a lot of mana. But it was safer to do that, than hoping that the spell willst long enough. After seeing the duration, now I want to see the quantity and the size. I try to create the biggest pir of darkness that I can. In the end, I manage to create a weird thing, with a height of five meters, a length of fifty centimeters and a width of the same size. That''s good, I can cover a lot of ground with that, especially if I reduce the width. I try it one more time and I manage to create arge wall, but with a width of barely a centimeter. So I can manipte the form of my spell quite easily. After that, I do the same experience with the number of shadows. I always use my body as a model, to see how many doppelgangers I can create. The number is seven. Thinking about something, I try topare the size of the seven shadowsbined and the size of my pir. They are more or less the same. So I can only use a fixed amount of darkness. And I suppose that with every level of [Nightfall], that amount is increased. Now it is time to train my aura. Chapter 76: The Strange Mansion Chapter 76: The Strange Mansion So for my aura, I put four different stones around me, and I will try to not melt them. I activate my aura for one second, and all the stones are fine. This time, since the stones are not that bigpared to my skeleton warriors, I try to put eight stones on the ground and two additional rocks on two stones. That way, I have ten different objects around me. I will now activate my aura for three seconds, and I have to keep my concentration for that period. I activate my aura and at first, it was fine. But by the time I reach the third second, one rock was melted. So if it is for a very short duration, I can control it, but the longer I activate my aura, the more difficult it is to control it. I approach the surviving rock and I can see some of his edge getting destroyed by my acid. That''s highly insufficient for the moment, I can''t even try to expand the size of my aura if I can''t protect just a few stones. And the cost of my spells is still important. I have now understood how [Magical Efficiency] is working. Ok, I didn''t do it, I just asked the System. Something that I should have done a long time ago. At first, he just said some standard description, like reduce the cost in mana of your spells. But after discovering the small cooldown on the creation of spell, I decided to dig deeper. And I found the real reduction. For example, level 6 means a cost of only 53% of the real cost. That means, for every level, the original cost is multiplied by 0.9. So the probable cost of 600 for my [raise Undead] is turned now into 318. That''s for a standard skeleton warrior. So what would be the cost if I try to make my skeleton be a magician? Maybe there is even a level requirement. As for that, even after searching for nearly ten minutes, I find nothing. So here I am, waiting for an entire night just to create two additional skeleton warriors. But it is a good thing that I check the limit of [Nightfall]. Just a shame that I can''t create another spell or even really train my aura. Just one second is already a little more than 5MP. And since I have 406MP in total, with the t 60% increase of [Magical Restoration], I gain 65 MP each hour. So just activating for 13 seconds make my aura waste an hour. And undead servants are more important. The sun is already high in the sky when I finally create number five. The three new skeletons are equipped with fine armors and weapons. While number one and number four still wore the damaged clothes from yesterday. I mean, I only have more than 40 sets of armor, and I don''t know where I will find such quality. Becausepared to the equipment the gang of Shadow was wearing, it is a lot better. I guess the passion of the leader ys a big part since Oktar was more of a fighter, he wants the best equipment. While Shadow, except running, I don''t really know what he does, apparently collecting information. And this job doesn''t require a fine sword and a sturdy shield. Oslo? OSLO! Ok, so now I am a little lost. I want to kill the green hooded men, but I have no idea where they are. And I don''t know who is the boss, is it Gareen or Zoe? Anyway, since I have gone to the North and Shadow was located there, and the East was the territory of Oktar, that means the South is probably my next destination. So let''s go my five warriors. The same scene of terror is repeated at each street. The already running people are scaring the others, they in return turn their eyes toward me and run away. I have noticed at least one patrol of guards that just stopped walking while I was passing in front of them. And they quickly resumed their patrol once I was out of sight. As for the spies sent by the gangs, well, I don''t know where they are. I am certain they exist, but I guess they won''t wear the color of their gang. So that could be that beggar who was saying he was injured at his legs but ran quicker than everyone else. Or the two drunk men that quickly recovered their spirits once they saw me. I have no idea. And I have also no idea of where I am going. But I try to always follow the biggest pack of humans. The first time, they lead me to a church, with the doors closed when I get near. The second time, it was the gate leading to inside the city. The terrified guards around it all sighed in joy when I walked away. Provoking some angeredments about the inefficiency of the guards. And now the third time, I am near an old mansion. Something that a noble could possess. With a garden in the courtyard, a huge door and enough space in front of the house to store the different vehicles of the visitors. Honestly, the more I look at it, the more I think this mansion is out of ce. Probably thest remnant of an old town, the mayor mansion. That''s what happens to a lot of little towns, especially the one close to a capital. At first, they are still far away, but as the centuries passed, the big city is creeping near the little town, until the moment the two enter in contact. As for the name of this ce, it is already forgotten, just another part of the slums. But the crowd have brought me here, so that means there is something that can protect them from me, or at least divert my attention. Whether it is the guards or the church, both are two forces that I can''t provoke. As for the person in charge of this mansion, it is necessarily someone with a lot of power. But someone the scums living here are scared of. Nobody has entered the mansion. They all fled in another direction, not daring to even walk past the iron gate. As I get closer, I can see some letters above the gate, but the old age has already taken its toll. Half are missing and the others are in such a bad shape that even I with my knowledge can''t form a word. But since they have brought me here, I have to at least see what is inside. I walk toward the door and pass through the courtyard. The air is suddenly cold, a lot more. I mean, we are supposed to be in spring or summer, the seasons are weird here. Probably the effect of one of the blessings granted by Aria. Outside the mansion, the air is rtively hot, not that hot when there is a light wind, but not fresh. So to turn the very air cold, something is weird here. Is it a haunted mansion? That would make sense to lead me here, that way the ghosts inside will deal with the shadow of death. Even if I know undead exists and that the ghosts should, I really want to know why a potentially haunted mansion still exists near the capital, especially with the presence of the Church. That unholy ce should have been burned a long time ago or at least get cleansed and purified. Now that I am in front of the door, I try to open it. But I can''t, I don''t know if it is locked or not, but I am unable to open it. I ask number one to do it for me, and he doesn''t seed. Well, too bad, but I won''t waste my mana on that thing. I decided to just keep searching for the gang. As I walk across the paved way in the courtyard, I hear a sound, a weird sound. I watch the iron gate and find nothing unusual, then I look at the previously locked door. And of course, now it is open, inviting me inside. That is so funny, I mean, does the spirit inside think that I will suddenly walk inside such an obvious trap? Well fat chance, but I won''t. I keep going and leave that cold ce. Nothing prevented me from doing so, not a sudden tree falling, not the iron gate blocking my way. I can just walk away, and that''s what I will do. As I leave the mansion, I can see the crowd looking at me weirdly. When number one and two unsheathe their swords, they scatter once again. I guess I will have to look for another ce. I have no idea of where I am supposed to go. So let''s follow someone, you, you look like a strong and well-fed man. I guess you work for somebody, so you won''t mind if I follow you. Chapter 77: Problem from Another World Chapter 77: Problem from Another World I followed that powerful man for quite a long time. But in the end, he passed out after running at full speed during at least 5 kilometers. His stamina was good, but his sense of direction was pretty bad. In the end, I returned in front of that old mansion. Just for that, I ask number one to pierce his heart. He could have to lead me anywhere else, but he decided to faint in front of the only ce I have no business. It''s like fate is paying with me, to see if I will really enter a haunted house or not. The answer stays the same, no. Wooshoshoshosh That was the sound of a cold winding from the very ce I want to avoid. You know that by doing this, no one will want to enter your mansion? That''s making everyone run in fear. This time, since I have really nothing else to do, I try something new. I target a beggar that was a little too slow with my [Nightfall], surrounding him with shadows. Shortly after, I can see him stumble and fall to the ground. I ask number two to pick him up and bring him to me. Seeing that he doesn''t wake up, I ask number two to p him. After that, the human finally is awakening, and visibly terrified. As usual, number one speaks for me. -Dareen, Joe. -I-I-I don''t know, I I know nothing, please, please good sir, let me go. Seeing that our presence is not enough, I ask number one to cut his arm. The scream can be heard from a very long distance. I didn''t expect such a feeble man to be able to produce such a sound. -Daree... -Ok, ok, please, stop. I will tell you what you want, just stop. For the love of Aria. I don''t know where is the base of Old Man Joe, but I know where Dareen can be seen. I, I, I can even lead you to him. Just please, spare this lowly life. And he kept mumbling and mumbling, even crying. Number two lightly shake him, to stop this incessant noise. Finally, a little bit of peace. After that, and understanding that we were expecting him to do what he told us, he points a street with his finger. He keeps doing this until we see a little house. I mean, it is really a small house and just a single house. Not a huge house like Oktar, or the sessions of houses that Shadow possessed. Just a small house, even a little broken. We all turn toward the beggar, wanting some answers. -It''s true, it''s where Dareen live. Really good sirs, it''s here. Just ask anyone, it''s really here. But that doesn''t make any sense, it is impossible for one of the heads of the slums to live in such, thing. But as I get near, I see more and more green hooded men. So the information is true, or at least, it is part of his organization. Number two quickly behead the beggar, and we begin our approach to the little house. Everyone that hasn''t fled is looking at us. I guess I will need to kill more than just one person to make them flee. Right in front of the door, I stop our progression. Even after carefully watch the windows, I have not seen anything moving. I order number five and three to walk around the building, to see if there is something special. But after theye back, they have seen nothing that can be described as special. But I still have a weird feeling, that something is not right. I turn to see the faces of the humans inside the crowd, some are scared, some are terrified. But none of them are the member of the gang. No, they are waiting for something. But what? Us to enter the house and surround our group? The massacre at the za in front of the base of Shadow is an example of what will happen. And there is not a lot of hopeless people nearby, not a lot will throw away his life just for some gold. I back away from the house, just in case, and seek shelter in a street small enough to only let two people walk at the same time. That way, if they try to surround us, numbers will be useless. After that, I ask number five to go near the door, and violently knock on it. He tries to do his best, but he doesn''t manage to destroy it. And now, the faces of the gang members are white. There is definitely something with the door. Can they have put a trap behind? Or maybe even nt a bomb on it? As for the bomb, I don''t really think it is possible, except for the dwarf, I have not seen an explosive. But I have seen a lot of vials, so the possibility that one is filled with an acid or a poison is very high. Well, even if trying to use that against me is both foolish and useless, they can''t know that. And my skeleton warriors are immune to anything that can be contained inside a potion, except an acid. So, opening this door won''t be deadly, but if it really is something that can dissolve the clothes of my undead servants, then it is worse than death. And I can''t risk that. I definitely can''t risk that. So to prevent anything from leaking, I approach the house and stop when I am at one meter from it. Then, I create two walls of shadows with [Nightfall]. After it, I throw an orb of acid on the door, to see what was the trap. Following that action, I see a deep green cloud inside the house. So it was definitely a trap. I don''t want to know what is inside this cloud and its effect. Even if I am resistant to diseases and poisons, I have nothing else, so if it''s a potion targeting the mind, I will be helpless. Just to be sure, I throw three additional orbs inside, destroying whatever was left. After that, I cancel my two walls, letting the crowd see what happened. Well, they probably won''t really understand anything besides the disappearance of the door, but for the hooded men, it is a dreadful news. Their trap was destroyed, and I am still fine. I can see them run away the moment they realized the truth. Shortly after, nobody can be seen around me and my skeleton warriors. But that means something else, something that only the citizens of the slums know. I am still a foreigner that can''t manipte this rotten society as I wish. But they can, I don''t know how, but they manage to convince the poption that even if they are caught, they have to lead me to this house. That beggar would have done anything to save his life, but he still didn''t betray Dareen or whoever is in charge of this part of the slums. Even if I am considered as the shadow of death, reaping the lives of anyone that cross my way, I am still not feared enough. So I guess I will have a really hard time finding his base with the terror that he has instilled inside the heart of the residents of the slums. Contrary to the guards or the church, or even the haunted mansion, no one will approach the demon that rules this empire. Or even lead me to it, because even if I killed one and make the other run, two are still standing strong enough to prevent any rebellion. And the army inside the two fortresses were the loyal soldiers, not the entire force. I bet right now, Shadow has still more than a hundred gang members, that were demanded away from the base or doing some errands. As for Oktar, it is probably the same thing. But since their leader is dead, they will be absorbed by the three other chiefs, or maybe only two others right now. Shadow won''t have anything to offer with his base broken and his core members dead. I just need to (Ok, take the second street to your right.) Oslo! You are back, how was the thing on your? (Bad, worse than I thought. That bastard Krieg use the time where I still don''t have a Demon King to infiltrate my world. I can still manage to fight back and defend my world, but I really need you to wreck his forces here. But since you don''t have some advanced skeletons, I can''t ask you this. That''s why in the following days, you have to ughter everyone in the slums, no matter the consequence. After, you have to return to the desert and destroy his base. We can stille back here, but if we don''t do that quickly, you will lose my support, for good this time.) If I truly don''t need to care about the consequences, well, I have a lot of things I can finally do. Chapter 78: Blood Flooding the Streets Chapter 78: Blood Flooding the Streets The worry that I can hear hidden inside the voice of Oslo is truly terrifying. Even if he was weak the first time we met each other, he was boastful and proud, like a god. Now he is even begging me to attack the follower of Krieg. Those inteary wars are truly something eye-opening. Gods fighting on multiple worlds, all for the pleasure of the Nive Heavens if I recall correctly. I really wonder what it takes to enter that closed circle. I guess power, but how much power, how much before you are considered as something that can''t be killed? Apparently, he told me that a Freya, a goddess, was the lowest god inside the Nine Heavens but she only had a thousand world. Only a thousand. Truly a small number. As for now, even if I aming near the real base of those green hooded men, it is not the end of my massacre. The help of Oslo is really useful to find out rat hiding nearby. I split all my skeleton warriors except number one, tasking them to find the ouws nearby. And with the help of Oslo, it is really easy. I can already hear many screams, and then silence. Before I only killed those in front of me, but now, I need to provoke a bloodbath so big, that my spell will finally be upgraded. As I walk on the streets that are now red, every living being abandon their houses when they see me. They have learned the truth, that the shadow of death will evene to their houses to behead them. Right in front of me, I can see number three kicking a weak door and enter the house, shortly after, he exits with his sword where I can see blood leaking. For the next minutes, the same thing happens over and over again. Doors being broken, peaceful citizens ughtered, blood dirtying the clothes of my undead servants. But that allowed me to finally see the end of my problem. More than a hundred humans were needed to eventually allow my [Raise Undead] to gain a level. He is now level 4. But that''s not enough. (You are right; it is just the beginning. I need that spell to be level 5 at least. It is only my assumption, but when you will reach this level, you can probably begin to create skeleton magicians, or at least something alike. That way, you will be able to take that fortress inside the desert and kill every follower of Krieg, even his prideful men in armors. And so his Prophet will fall. Hahaha. I really want to see his face after he discovers that it is my Hero that has done that. And we will be able to see the reward of the System.) Like you say, it will be good. But The number of victims for the next level will be at least near 3 thousand. That''s a very huge number, especially near the capital. Even if hundred died inside the slums, no one will take notice, except a few that will be happy. But thousand? At this point, even the Church will react, because even if they are not really believing in Aria, they can still be converted. Like the presence of the nearby church, they haven''t given up on those criminals and madmen. So I have to kill that number before the end of the day. Tomorrow, the reports about my actions will end up on the desk of some ministers and everything will be over. As for my skeletons, I bring number one inside the closest house. Inside, I can see the dead boy of an old man. He was resting on his bed, maybe he was lucky and was asleep. I order number one to remove his clothes, to see the difference. The third upgrade gave them a soul while the fourth was like the second, granting them more strength and resistance. I ask him to punch me with only 1/4 of his strength, I am not a madman. I remember thest time I did this, it was only half and I ended up with some injuries. This time I am prepared an "-74HP" DAMN. OUCH. AIE. THAT HURTS. DAMN. (Oh don''t be such a baby, flesh grows back. Except, in your case, I think you broke one of your ribs. And they don''t.) Yes, that hurts. Seriously, he is extremely strong now. Probably at the level of the guardians of the lich, inside the desert. Smart, strong, and with proper equipment, a force to be reckoned with. So what do you say Oslo, good enough? (Not at all, you have never really encountered and especially feel the strength of your opponents. Even that barbarian that you killed, he could have just hit you with his fists and you will end up dead. Don''t forget that you are really weak, you have nothing for your defense, no shield, no hard shell, not even some scales that can prevent some damages. If you are hit by something, you will die. Never forget that you are just a fleeing ratman that will run away and hide. That''s you. And that''s very good for me. That way, you won''t be bound by honor or some stupid things that we teach our Hero to think about. And won''t be traped because of it.) Thank you for thepliment, I guess? But that still hurt me a lot. I lost a third of my life with the punch of my servant. But that means the skeletons automatically upgrade after the gain of a level. I order number one to put on his clothes and to keep following me. The previous efficient work of my skeleton warriors is now even quicker. They don''t even have to knock multiple times on the door to broke it, just one kick is enough. But they are too close to each other. OSLO. (I will never miss the sound of your voice. Yes, I will make them cover more terrain and kill their way even to the North if they have to.) Thank you. As for me, I will follow the direction that you told me. I have a small thing to deal before I leave this city. Just a small gang to destroy. And I think that just number one is enough now, nobody can sustain a fight against him. And my newprehension of [Nightfall] will allow me to make four doppelgangers of him. Because he is bigger than me, so I can''t make more. The only thing that never changes with my skeleton warriors is their height. Probably because I think about them this way, so they can be improved, but without me making them bigger, they won''t. That''s why I have to think of a way to create some magicians. Because it is up to me, I know that I can create some animals or even insects, but create something that can manipte mana? For example, a lich will be able, and I have seen enough lich to mentally have an image of this undead. But skeleton magician? Besides creating a normal skeleton and giving him the dress of Gandalf, I don''t know. Maybe a staff, or a ck grimoire. Such a shame I never found anything like that on my enemies. Maybe I forget, let''s see, did any of the magicians had a staff? Or a wand? So Ronta, no, the adventurers, she had a, not really, maybe, it was the night and I couldn''t really see, not that excuse it won''t work. No, she just sang something, and then she created the magic shield. Not a wand, just her voice, I guess. And those exiled magicians inside the slums don''t have anything at all. Just their robes that make them stand out, but except that, nothing that improves the magic. So, how am I supposed to visualize a skeleton magician? Spuish Oh, I stomp on a head, sorry. I really have to be careful. I was thinking and just followed number one, while he was killing anyone in sight. And by now, I think we have arrived. Yes, there is a lot of green around me. A lot of trees. But not a single hooded man. So Oslo was wrong? (No, it is here, the base that you want to raze. Just, how do I say that they have all fled? When they heard that you wereing here with only one swordsman, they debated for a few seconds before unanimously voted to leave. So the base is empty, you can''t do anything at all.) Seriously? They can do that, run away, without even fighting to protect anything? (They have of course take all the gold and silver inside, with an important stock of potions. And some misceneous items, but they are without importance.) So what should I do? How is the massacre with the remaining undead? (Pretty good, I think that in thest hour, we have killed more than a thousand humans. But it is getting more and more difficult, everyone has fled toward the ramparts or even have left the city and ran in the ins.) TULUTULUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU What is this? That''s the sound of a horn? The Gondor is calling for help? Chapter 79: The Next Level Chapter 79: The Next Level (We thought that the Church will be slow to move, but the answer from the guards havee more quickly. That''s the horn of the South Gate, that''s the order that the slums are allowed free pass toward the inner city. They can escape from you, and except crushing the guards at the gate, we have no choice.) Yes, we have a choice, that means everyone not brain-dead will rush toward the gate and the horn, so what will happen when are the first to arrive? (You want to form a blockade in front of the gate, preventing the flow of humans? You can still face the opposition of the guards, but if you are still far enough from them to not be targeted by their crossbows, you will be fine.) I don''t care at all about the crossbows, I have [Nightfall]. Except two that will continue their massacre toward the North, gather the two closest skeleton warriors, I will need at least 3 of them to hold the passage. Now we need to quickly get there. And while we are running, I can still see the sword of number one moving, shing, reaping the lives of the slow insects nearby. As for those that were filled with hope but are not very fast, only death will await you. By the time we arrived, I can see number two standing in the middle of the main street. In front of him, a crowd, terrified at the sight of the bloodied sword. Not a single clothing isn''t dirty, soaked with the red liquid that grants life. Each of his footsteps is just a mark made with blood. After we quickly kill our way to reach him, I can see from afar, thest skeleton warrior. The crowd is so paralyzed that he has no problem joining us before everything starts. In front of me, my prey, my reward, my hope for survival. In my back, I have a troop of guardsing that way, and some of them are even loading their crossbows. I have not a single hope of escaping this city if I kill just one of them. That is why I just remove them from this battle. I cast thergest wall of darkness that I can. It is so big, that even the guards on the ramparts above the gate can''t see us. But those that are a little farther away have their sight blocked by the different buildings. They can partially see us, but to have a clear shot, that''s impossible. The threat of crossbows removed, I only have to hold this point and do my best. TULUTULUUUUUUUU They have done it again. That means, more and more humans wille. Quite frankly, it allows my skeleton warriors to not lose time and directly finds their next victim. I have to thank you actually, for that horn. I would have never managed to regroup at least hundreds of citizens without it. But now that themb has been brought to the ughterhouse, the butcher needs to do his job. Only number one will stay here, while number two and number four are encircling the crowd. My idea is to make them go to the back of the crowd, start a massacre and then the remaining survivors will try to overthrow me and number one and reach the gate. What they have no idea is the power of my [Cause Fear] and [Cursed Winds]. Against such a weak target, the humans won''t even be able to harm me. It barely takes a minute for my two undead servants to reach their positions. And then, they begin to hack and sh. As for my side, the crowd still gather more and more humans. But they are too afraid of the two unknown men in front of them and the huge wall behind me is truly terrifying. I mean, they can''t know if the darkness is harmful or not, so maybe they think that if they touch it, they will die. That is something that would have been a great upgrade to my spell. Unfortunately, I don''t think I will be able to do that, most likely because when I first created it, I just thought about shadows covering me or even the light. Not a single thought about something dangerous hidden inside. I can now hear the screams made behind the crowd, and some heads are turning in that direction. Shortly after, two waves of running men and women came, crashing on thepact crowd. The movement of panic turning the previous peaceful pack in a flooding river. Now, they are running toward the either some dark alleys near me or the gate, where a part is still visible. The hope that the guards will save them, or try to run away by their own means. A few courageous choose the dark paths, while most of the sheep run toward the military. But before reaching them, you have to bypass me. As theye closer and closer, I can see fear being deeply rooted inside their eyes, I can see them shake, some even try to run away, but fail and fall. They will be stomped by the rest of their former friends. When they are surrounding us and some even are behind me, I active my [Cursed Winds]. Everyone stop what they were doing. The few lucky that have run in contact with the different houses and therefore too far away to be killed by number one are affected too. And against a sea of statues, number one efficiently behead everyone. I walk toward the center of the crowd, to use my curse to its full effect. And for those that would have been out of the area after I walk away, well, they are already all dead. The speed of number one is truly excellent. I can hear some shouts inside the crowd that is not affected by me. Questioning why everyone has stopped moving, why they are not rushing to the gate. The answer quickly reaches them, or should I say is brought to them by me, and when everyone alive is blocked by me alone, it is really over. Three skeleton warriors working together, with each second, a new head fall. It takes some minutes to end this, but it is not enough. It is never enough, and I am out of time. That attack was made in front of the gate of the capital. If such things could be done every day, the holy kingdom would have been destroyed a long time ago. Fearing for my life, I decided to let my three undead servants keep going to the West, ughtering everyone in sight. While I will run away, and move toward the desert. If by the time all my skeleton warriors are destroyed and I have not gained a level in [Raise Undead], then I will have to attack that city called Lucia. Because, between Ronta and Lucia, where one is probably reinforced by thousands of soldier and one is filled with refugees, the second choice will be better. After I have run for an hour, Oslo warns me of something that I forget. (You are too far, now I can''t help your skeletons anymore. They will have to rely on their intelligence to hunt down every weak human. So that means, our chance to truly upgrade your spell has fallen down by a huge margin. Before I have lost my sight of the city, I have seen numerous troops of guards beginning to prepare for an attack. Before the sun will be gone, your five servants will be dead.) Damn, I contact every skeleton that I have created. For the moment, everyone has answered my call, so no casualty. And while I was not looking, I have gained 2 levels. That means we have probably killed at least two thousands of humans. But I need three, not just two. Number four, are you responding? Number four? Number one? -Yes, master? Keep going, you are doing a great job, your master is very pleased with you. -Thank you, master. So that means I have lost number four. Shortly after, I lost the connection with number five and two. I only had number three and one. But all those efforts were not wasted. Right before I lose number three, I see that my [Raise Undead] has finally reached level 5. So this foolish action was not that foolish in the end. -Master, I think I will be gone soon. Why are you saying this number one? What happened? -There is a lot of men in shiny armors and some are singing something about an Aria. I have seen them kill number two, and I don''t think I will survive after they finish their song. Just go away, you have finished the task that I wanted, you can still live. Just go to the East, follow the road, and go to Ronta, I will wait for you there. -Thank you, master, you are a goo Don''t worry number one, you will be resurrected in no time. And the world will see your strength. Chapter 80: A Burning Desert? Chapter 80: A Burning Desert? It took me exactly ten days to reach the desert. Ten days, during all that time, I kept using [Nightfall], and I gained a level. Now it is level 7. This time, I need to perpetually train my skills while I am traveling. But while all the other needs me to kill something, [Nightfall] is the sole utility spell. Of course, with my important mana regeneration, the pitiful cost of creating some shadows is not a burden. That''s why I trained my [Aura of Mayhem] too. I think that I can manage to have five different skeletons inside it, and still don''t melt them. As for the duration, past five seconds and my concentration will falter and at least one will die. I never managed to improve the range of that spell, it is still a few meters. Besides that information, I was never detected and I avoided every living being. No matter their race, human, elf or even treant, I didn''t let one see me. As for a ratman following me and trying to assassinate me, Oslo never manages to catch him. My escape from Ronta and his probable encounter with the dwarf has allowed me to disappear from his sight. Only when I was passing near Ronta did something strange urred. Oslo detected a shadow, not like the assassin that was clearly a ratman, I am talking about a living shadow. No matter the angle, it didn''t have any size, and that''s what puzzled both of us. Shadows don''t move like that, without a body to create them or a magician like me. But the shadow was located inside the wood, North of Ronta, and never seen again. It looked like she was moving toward the South, as for whether it was going to oring from there, we haven''t a single clue. But now that I am at the edge of the desert and out of the forest of the elves, I can finally begin my n. Normally, I should be lost because that part of the desert had greatly evolved while I was away. But Oslo managed to find one former oasis which had turned into a smallke. And since I have no idea how he can do that, I only have to blindly trust him once again. He said that he recognizes the rock where I experimented my spells, back then. That''s what he said, honestly when I saw the stone, I didn''t find anything strange. Normally, that''s the moment where I should have seen a melted dune or at least some traces of acid. But nothing. But we are not lost, apparently. And it is time to create my new skeleton magician. About that, during those days where we were traveling, I have really imagined multiple scenarios where it can work. Well, at least in my mind, that is working. That''s why we have not rushed toward the base of Krieg, because we need those skeletons. The men in armors are too dangerous to face in a melee fight, even if my level 5 skeleton warriors are pretty strong. But with an army bombarding the base from far away, the followers of Krieg will have no chance to win this battle. The first thing that I will try is not necessarily the magician form of an undead. It is to at least grant him the control over magic. Like me, I am feeling the mana flowing through my veins, I can feel it take form when I cast a spell. Those things are necessary for my undead. That''s why, even if I won''t create a true magician on my first try, make him feel the mana will still be counted as a sess. I try to think of the same skeleton as usual, but with a flow of mana surrounding him. Mana being inscribed on his bones, and that he can activate as he wants. I keep trying to describe more and more of those feelings, and then a skeleton is finally created. I check my MP, and from the look of it, this skeleton has a higher cost than the normal one. 48/420, that''s a little more than fifty mana of difference. As expected, the System recognizes the form that I wish to create, and establish the requirement in mana. After a little reflexion, I figure out that if a normal skeleton cost 600 MP, this one would have cost me 700 MP. If I didn''t have that reduction, I would have a hard time invocating just a small dog. But now, let''s see what he does. Number one? -Yes, master? Are you feeling something that doesn''t exist but yet is present? Something that goes around your body, that you can manipte but yet is strange, eerie? -Yes, master, I feel something in the air, what are your orders? I want you to use it as you wish, create something out of it, and show me what is the spell that you created. -As you wish, master. I can see him concentrating on his hands, slowly turning them around. Even if it doesn''t really make sense, and his movements are erratic and random, I still think that he truly feels the mana around us. For nearly a minute, he keeps going, but without doing anything. Nothing was created in the end. -I am sorry master, I manage to touch this feeling, but every time I tried to capture it, I failed. That''s alright number one, it just means you are not suitable to use mana. I created you with just the intention of you to feel it, not necessarily use it. That''s okay. Now return from where you havee. I melt him, since he was not in his final form. No matter what happens, number one is and will always be my strongest undead. After that, I waited for hours and thinking about how I can create a skeleton that can touch the mana. For the second try, I start with the same idea, but a different result. I imagine a skeleton capable of creating a me in his hand, capable of burning the tree around him. I keep thinking about that picture and then summon number one. 22/420, this time, it was even more costly. I ask him the same questions and he answers identically as his former self. As for touching mana and creating something, this time he manages to do it. -See master, that is what I can create. And inside his hand, a small fire was burning. Just with his mind and my imagination, I have created the first skeleton magician in my army. But while it is impressive, the size of the fire is small. I ask him to make it bigger and to throw it at the trees that we can see just outside of the desert. He executes my order, but while the me grows bigger, near one meter of height, the moment the fire leave his hand, it is gone. I ask him to do it again, to make the fire leaves his hand and touch the trees. He never manages to do it. I have to melt another number one. For the third time, I think about the same skeleton, but this time, I imagine him capable of casting a spell, like a fireball the magicians used against me. It seems to be a pretty standard and easy to learn spell, since everyone had cast it against me. I imagine my skeleton capable of throwing a huge ball on some trees, burning them to the ground. And while the invocation was fine, at thest second, something went wrong. I don''t know why since a skeleton has appeared in front of me. But something was wrong. I check my mana, and this time, I had nothing left. 0/420. I apparently didn''t have enough mana. And as expected, when I ask him to cast fireball, it explodes on his face, killing him. I try to create another number one. The spell hasn''t even started that a backsh of mana destroyed my skeleton. The third time, the fireball wasunched, but instead of going toward the tree, it went to the sky and fell down on number one. Again and again, I try to make him cast a simple spell. But most end up dead after the first try, and those that survive the fourth cast of fireball are none. Five days after reaching the edge of the desert, I have still not managed to produce a single skeleton magician. Even Oslo is worried, our hope was crushed, as the numerous ashes of my skeletons fly in the wind. I try one more time, only to see him failed miserably. Six hourster, another try and 38/420! I check my abilities, and everything rted to magic has been upgraded. So that means. NUMBER ONE, CAST FIREBALL! -Yes, master. And as I watch him skilfully create a big ball of fire in his hand, and targets a tree, at least a hundred meters away from his position, I feel satisfied. Because the tree and three others that were too close are burning. Chapter 81: Assault in the Desert Chapter 81: Assault in the Desert After some discussion with Oslo, we figure out that with ten skeleton magicians, the assault in the desert will be a sess. So we waited a few more days, to obtain that number. Unfortunately, I have tried to create some equipment for them to wear, but I failed. I can create them, and even give them abilities, but they will always end up naked at the end. Good thing I am only creating skeletons. I tried to raise some zombies, but I have a hard time dealing with living flesh. The zombie always turns into a skeleton at the end. But Oslo thought of something very smart and his idea worked. So now, I have spirit number one. Actually, he can''t do anything at all and is barely visible. It cost me the same amount of mana that the skeleton magician. We test a few things and besides his ability to fly through the nearby trees, he is pretty much useless. But that way, it can theoretically allow Oslo to search a bigger area, and from far away. For example, if I had created some of them when I was in Atria, he could have been able to scout and gather vital information. Another pair of flying eyes is still important in the end. As for trying to grant some poison to skeleton spiders, well, we have not the time to do that. Later. Oslo is immensely curious about that limit of my spell. He told me that he only saw two or three elder lich do the same thing that my [Raise Undead] can do. Of course, he reminded me that they were experimenting on skeleton dragons or some big creatures, not on some mere rats and spiders. (Ok, so you see that big tree over there, if you climb it, you can see the base. It is right behind it.) Great, finally, I will be able to ept the third surrender of that old man. I really remember him; I mean he fooled us quite easily. I will never forget the shame brought on us by Daryl MaimedFoot. (Daryl MaimedHand, not the foot it is the hand. How many times did you mess up names when I was gone?) Hey, that''s my mind, I can think of whatever I want. And I still have his name right, it''s just that weird title, who calls himself like that? Anyway, how is the entrance toward the base, still above the ground? (Yes, unfortunately. They have built some stairs, but it is still hard to enter by the front door. So, do as you didst time, st one of the walls and let your army burn everything inside. With a little bit of luck, that will produce enough smoke to kill them inside.) Yes, because someone that can kill a drake will die because he breathes some smoke? First of all, if that really happens, I will humbly apologize for everything that I have said about you, God of Prediction. And after that, I will be baffled by the stupidity of that death. The order of my actions will probably not be like that. Iunch spirit number one into the sky and above the base, to see something. After that, I ask him to show his surroundings. He can''t, that''s too bad, like the skeletons, he will only be able to telepathically report the enemy movements but not be able to record and transmit it to me. Like a live camera. Why every time I try to think of something that can be great, the System prevent me to do so. Yes, Iin, I asked for a broken System, and I got it, but it was the other type of broken I meant. Anyway, thanks to the cover of the forest that probably appeared shortly after we left, no one manages to notice our presence. But they have done a great job, clearing anything around their base. It is a true in, not even a little bush to hide something. Of course, the sentries are checking the ground, not the sky above them, where my spirit is located. If it was a bird, he would have probably been spotted, but like I said, my spirit is really transparent. When there are no clouds, he is impossible to differentiate from the sky, even I wouldn''t know where he is exactly if I haven''t the mental connection. But now, even if it is the middle of the day, it is time for the battle. I cast [Nightfall] on the top of the building where the sentries are positioned. I am too far to hear their screams, but apparently, for my spirit, they are alerting everyone. When they ask what is the problem, they are saying that they can''t see anymore. That''s not really the truth, but they are not far from it either. I use the time where they are still confused to get closer. When I said that they have cleared everything around the base, it was literal. All around it on at least 300 meters. And my mages are not capable of firing at more than 150 meters, so we have to get closer. By the time we arrive close enough, spirit one informs me of the appearance of the armored men. And we finally learn their name, they are called the Chosen of Krieg. Well, we will just say Chosen, it was kind of stupid to only call them armor or statue. But we had no idea, I mean, yes, Chosen is a possibility, but like anything else. Knights, death knights, warlord, whatever sounds good. But spirit says that they are asking some of the Chosen to go to the armory and search for the relic. I am not an expert, but the relic sounds a good name for that ratman weapon. (Yes, they are taking the same way they tookst time. They are definitely going for that damn thing. The good thing this time is, instead of just one orb of acid that will probably not hurt them, they will face ten fireballs additional. That will prevent them to fire the weapon.) I really hope you are right about that. Now that we are close, I fire three orbs of acid at the wall. Honestly, only one was necessary, but that way, there are more holes, so more probability of a fireball entering the building. I can see some soldiers already dead, half of their body melted by me. For the rest, they are watching me and my skeletons, all shocked. Some are already running toward something, probably to go deeper inside the base. (Yes, that thing you see right in front of you is just a small part of their hideout. Most of it is underground, a huge cave with multiple floors and rooms. It bears a huge resemnce with the style of the Agorians, but yet, I have no memory of such a building here. Maybe the memories that I absorbed where not enough. Anyway, after you will conquer the outside, be extremely careful, I see a little army inside. There are 500 hundred men. I guess previously, some were sent away to search for something. Now, you have the full force of Krieg on Astria, let make him pay for his insolence. He will learn that the fight we had 700 years ago was not a fluke.) What happened at that time? Did he invade another world of yours? (No, this time it was me that managed to snatch a world away from him. He was so mad about that; the bad part was when I discovered the presence of seven different gods on that. That was the moment I decided to stop caring about it and just make my people survive, not fight for the control of that world.) That''s what you were talking about, the multiple worlds where you are installed but still don''t rule it. Even after hearing so much about it, it is still strange for me to imagine thousands of gods fighting for the control of even more worlds, and all of that, just to entertain someone. The universe is truly mad. (Not mad enough if you ask me. The moment the universe will be mad; no one will be spared. Gods, Heroes, Humans, Elves, Demons, Undead, every race. All fighting, without any control, without any restrictions. Portal connecting all the worlds together, only to serve the greed and pride of a handful. Even if I me the current system, some worlds are still spared. Do you think that your Earth will be that peaceful without the protection of the Nine Heavens? No, and gods like me, would have already been dead a long time ago. But enough of this nonsense. Just kill this bunch of madmen.) You know they won''t escape, so sparing them for a few seconds won''t change anything. And I need to wait for the Chosen carrying the weapon. I can''t allow my first volley of fireball to only hit some vermin. No, it has to hit hard, to hit directly the Chosen, take them by surprise. Only after that, I will allow my skeleton magicians to create a rain of fire. (Well, I can say that your wish is granted. At the hole on the left, they are near it.) Chapter 82: Mana Problems Chapter 82: Mana Problems Yes, I can see them now. Barely visible with their machinegun. I can only see the weapon and the man carrying the ammunition. I wonder what will happen if a fireball touches those deadly monster cores? Well, I can still try to make it happen. Now that I have a clear sight on the target, I order all my skeleton magicians to cast a fireball at the Chosen. Like I said, they are naked skeletons, so, to think that in fact, they are really capable of manipting mana, it is near impossible. At best, they will think that I will use them to protect myself and use them as a meat shield. Very far from the truth. The rain of fire that is provoked after my order is truly a beautiful sight. Fireball after fireball, they keep throwing them and quite urately. Most of them manage to enter the building and only a few hit the wall. The previous confident Chosen, are now fleeing, but it is toote. The spell cast by my magician is fast enough to reach them in a little more than a second. And that time match the slow reaction of the humans, due to their surprise. And finally, the first fireballs hit the cores. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM WAOW! That was powerful! Previously, only a few holes were made on the wall, because of my acid orbs. Now, the entire faade is destroyed, and the building is crumbling. A very big hole has appeared and every human near the explosion has vanished, turned into ashes or even disappearpletely. The weapon has the same fate. I knew that it was dangerous, but that dangerous? Well, it was apparently a lot of cores, so a chain reaction provoking the release of all their energies is possible. And therefore boom, no more Chosen. (You don''t have to worry about anything outside the underground, everyone is dead, even the two sentries on top of it. Well, they are not exactly dead, but they have at least five different energies in their bodies now. And that is not good for any races, except a few. So, three, two, one, one one?) What do you mean one? Pchuit Pshuit (There you go, they exploded. That was what I was waiting. Even you, actually, no, I have no idea. A normal ratman would die like those humans, but you, with your System, I can''t know, just don''t try it. You are absolutely fine as you are, don''t need to risk everything just for something we don''t even know if it is good for you.) So you are saying that I should now go inside the underground base, any suggestion? Because while I beat their most powerful weapon, Krieg should have granted them something good. (Well, like I said, watch out for the strange mutation and augmentation that every soldier have. But if you are at a good distance from them, you probably won''t risk anything. And that''s the problem, you will enter a real maze down there. So, I suggest that you put two skeleton magicians in the front, that way, if there is an ambush, they will face it first. And you, just stay with the main group behind.) Ok, in the meantime, use spirit number one to check the different rooms where you can''t see, you know those rooms where you supposed the Prophet was located. And if you find something dangerous, just a little warning. (As usual.) I order my skeletons to follow me inside the ruins. Following the indication of Oslo, I find the entrance to the basement. Unfortunately, it is blocked by many rocks. That explosion was too powerful, destroying the foundation of the base. I ask my undead servants to dig up and remove all the obstacles. But that takes time, so for nearly 30 minutes, I have to wait outside. By now, the effect of surprise is already over. For the followers of Krieg, those stones were the best thing that could happen. And I don''t know why, but the skeletons seem a little weak? I don''t know, but I think that the previous number one back in Atria could have work faster. Maybe when I created them I was thinking about a mage and not a strong warrior. It''s my best guess. Finally, the way is clear, but in the process, one of my skeletons died. He was pierced by dozens of bolts, and since he didn''t have a shield or an armor, he was killed. That''s not good. But that was expected, I should have just put a [Nightfall] in front of them. My bad, sorry number, seven, I think. Yes, it was number seven. I still have a little army in front of me, with a lot of Chosen and even strange hybrids. I should not take it easy like I am doing. I can see the bottom of the stairs, without anything in sight. I, therefore, cast a wall of shadows to help us descend. The servants of Krieg keep firing once in a while, wasting ammo but preventing us from really advancing. I still don''t have a magic shield, and my skeletons really only know fireball. Or do they? Number one, try to create something around you that can protect you from the bolt. -Yes, master. I see him concentrating and doing some weird hand gestures. Shortly after, I see one of those particles, meaning that he seeds. It can cover the entire corridor, that''s good. The next second two bolts go through my wall. The first is blocked by the shield, but the second breakthrough. Well, only stopping just one bolt is a little weak. Number one, create a smaller shield, but a stronger one. -As you wish, master. I see him create a very small shield around him, only 1 meter around him. That should be better than the previousrge magic shield. I ask him to go near the bottom of the stairs, where a bolt can hit him. After that, we wait, not long. One bolt, nothing, two, nothing. More and moree crashing on his shield, and only at the 14th bolt do the shield disappear. That''s very good, number one. -Thank you, master. Ok, listen up everyone, number one to five, you create the same shield that number one did. For the rest, you go in front of them, and when you are at the bottom, you cast fireball indefinitely. You just have to fire, not aim. A barrage will make some victims anyway. After listening to my instructions, I can see them take the position. The good thing is, even if the followers of Krieg manage to break a shield, my skeletons will have enough time to cast it again before all the magic shields are down. So that''s a perfect defense, coupled with a superior attack. I am very proud of you my skeleton magicians. At the first rain of fireball, I can already hear some screams. But the counter-attack happens instantly. Dozens of bolts, flying toward my troop. Two shields are destroyed, but the rest is enough to prevent any casualty. And even if after each volley of the fireballs, my wall of darkness is destroyed, I just have to create it again. It costs me nothing, and the perfect synchronization of my undead servants means that the vision is always obstructed. The situation remains the same for a few minutes. My sideunching fireballs, their side firing bolts. But we have not a single injured, while I can always hear some screams from the other side of the wall. And the rate of fire of those crossbows is slowing down. A lot. After waiting for a minute without seeing anything leaving the darkness, I order my skeletons to stop. I remove the wall of darkness, only seeing an empty hall, filled with burn marks. Laying on the ground, shields, weapons, and armors, all pretty much melted by the intense heat of the fireball. So we are victorious in this battle. But it was the first wave, with only some hunters, not the real deal. No berserker warriors, no Chosen, no hybrids. But I will stop right now, let''s charge my numerous undead. -Master? Yes, number one, what is it? I hope there are no problems? -I have discussed with number ten and the others, and we are fearing that we are low in mana. We can''t fight anymore. Especially battles like that, when we have to constantly use our spells. So, you don''t have infinite mana? Damn. I forget about that part. So ok, we will wait. That makes sense, I mean, I asked you a lot today. And you probably don''t have a huge mana pool like me, or maybe you have a bigger. You don''t have some numbers to give me right? -No, master. I am sorry. That''s not a big deal. And for how long do we need to wait? -Not a lot master, just three days. THREE DAYS? Chapter 83: What is my race? Chapter 83: What is my race? So we had to retreat. Since I forgot one teensy-weensy, but-ever-so-crucial, little, tiny detail. MANA. I truly thought with an iparable innocence that it wouldn''t be that much of a problem. Besides the utter stupidity of this, Osloined for three entire days. Three entire days, where at every second, he reminded me that his is his great peril and stuff like that. And while, yes, I acknowledge his misery, but no, he doesn''t have to make me share that burden. Because he has no one else to talk about that since I am his Hero. It was a nightmare. Anyway, three dayster and with a total of 22 skeleton magicians, I reach once again the base of the Order of Krieg. And the spirit was constantly scouting for us the surrounding. So, the walls were fixed, and nearly everyone is scouting for my arrival. So the surprise attack, hehe, not a single chance. But the good thing is theirck of information about me. And the fact that they still think that they can hide away from me. Like those two tree-men, that are currently dead in front of me. I have a god watching you, you can''t escape me. The same method, I shroud the building with shadows and darkness but this time, I eliminate every remaining force outside. So goodbye to the mole, the two birds, and the rock. Quite frankly, they were really well hidden, I would not have thought that they were human in the first ce. But no matter what they choose, they will be discovered, hunted and killed. After cleaning a bit around the dark building, we can finally enter once again. But this time, have to be careful about the spells used. And if it has to be precise, I have to do it, since my MP pool is filled in less than six hours. Between three days and six hours, the choice is quickly made. Once again, I st away the wall in front of me, hard to miss a shot like that. This time, however, no one died because of this. They learned about their past mistakes. (Actually, it is empty, everyone is reassembled under the ground.) Ah, ok. So let''s reach the stairs. Are they waiting at the bottom? (No, no the first floor, only at the second floor. But, this time, they have not a single crossbow, when you will reach this point, it will be a fight, a close quarter fight. And I can see already some mutate into gruesome monsters.) Very reassuring, but what are they expecting with that, I mean, I have the higher ground, I will burn them if theye too close. I am not underestimating their powers, but what can they do, jump to us? (Well, some are made of stone, some of iron, I see even two air elementals. So, your fireballs will be useless against this bunch, and only your acid will be able to kill them.) Oh, WAIT? We are stupid, are we? (You are stupid until you have proven me otherwise, but why are you including me in your n?) Because I am stupid. And I acknowledge that fact. I will strive to improve myself. (Very good, but what did you think about?) We don''t need to fight them; we can just gue them. (Ok, you can say that I am stupid. I totally forget about that part, it''s true that with the level of your skeletons, it is no longer necessary to kill everyone with them. Barely 500 men are not enough to change anything, so we can finally use your real powers.) Exactly. This time, we will y dirty, as I did previously. I order all my undead servants to spread around the hall located on the first floor. That way, if the followers of Krieg dare to make an assault, it will be easy to crush them. And they won''t be able to reach any of the skeleton magicians without facing the firepower of the rest. I order them to clear that floor from any obstacles where the enemy could seek shelter or that could prevent their fireballs to hit. After waiting a bit and see that it was now impossible to hide, I slowly descend the stairs. In the middle of it, I stop. Then, I throw twenty orbs filled with my deadly gue against the door that was blocking my way. And while it would have been useful to prevent us from attacking them, it is useless against something that will contaminate the air. After watching my orb all get destroyed in contact with the door, I regain my troop, waiting for the result. (They are a little perplexed by the sounds that you made. But since your gue is invisible and your orb is disintegrated in contact, they have not a clue about what is happening. One brave enough hase close to the door and looked through the keyhole, but he returns to his position, shaking his head. It is the first time that your obsession with melting people is useful.) Hey, it is not an obsession, just that it is more efficient. Between killing someone in seconds, and killing someone after fifteen minutes, one is quicker. And it can destroy the environment too, so it''s better. For example, now, we just wait. Without doing anything. (You want to hear a story, it''s about the sand dancers, did I talked about them? Well, they are like the djinns but) Shut up, please. Would you kindly shut up, and let me wait in silence? Or at least, tell me what is happening. (Ok, fine. No one is feeling bad, they are all healthy. No cough, no eyes in tear. Nothing.) After five long minutes of wait, finally, Oslo say something useful. (Ok, one ising near the door. Apparently, he has the key and is unlocking it. They can''t know if you have left, but apparently, they think that. Like you didst time, they still haven''t figure out why you did that. So, the possibility for you to do the same attack twice is high.) Ok, so you are saying that he is climbing the stairs? And that no one is sick and everything is fine on the second floor? (Pretty much, yes. So try to aim at the stairs, and when I say fire, you throw an orb of acid. Three, two, two, two) Not that again. (FIRE!) It almost takes me by surprise but I still obey Oslo. Shortly after, I can see my orb directly hit the head of the hunter, melting himpletely. Except for the fact that Oslo has a real hard time visualizing the speed of an object, he is urate with my power. I can hear a moring from the stairs, I guess some were watching the progression of the human. And saw his tragic fate. That will probably prevent anyone from doing the same thing. Earning me some precious minutes. (YES! Finally, someone has his eyes that are hurting.) That''s what you call a victory? Why do you scream that loud just for this? (To be fair, I didn''t even believe that your gue will do anything, so making some a little sick is very good. Not that I want to reduce your efforts, but they are hybrid, so trying to make them sick is really hard. You have to use something that will make even the creature they have fused with dying. And multiple humans can be turned into elementals that quite frankly, doesn''t care about anything rted to blood, like diseases or poisons. That''s why I was very doubtful.) Anything else besides that poor soul that choose the wrong creature? (Yes,e are now coughing, but a minority still show no signs of anything. Especially the Chosen, with a name like that, a small gue is just a tickle for them. But for the rest, it is working, I can see someone with blood leaking from his eyes. More and more are falling, screaming for help. You can hear that.) Yes, I can hear the sweet sound of a working n. At first, it was still intelligible sentences, like a call, but then it turns into just gruesome sounds, the rale of a dying man. By now, the previous strong and powerful army is reduced to a small troop, but they are all the most resistant. The Chosen, those that have fused with something that can''t be hurt by anything in my possession except my acid. Probably the fireballs of my skeletons will burn them, but I doubt. There is only one way to find that. (They areing, but they are careful. After that little gift from you, they won''t charge, they will expect a trap. That''s something you should have done, but since your orbs break on contact with something, it will be hard to set up an acid trap. And they have no information on the number of skeleton magicians you have at your disposal. So I would suggest a few walls of [Nightfall].) Brilliant idea, I was thinking the same. What can blind men do against us? Chapter 84: Forgot Something? Chapter 84: Forgot Something? I put five different walls of shadows between my army and the stairs. And I ce my spirit just above the entrance of the stairs. That way, all my skeleton magicians can target a single point under my spirit, unleashing their terrible powers. That''s the other perk of the spirit since everything that I created is linked with me and the others, everyone can feel the presence and the precise location of one of my invocation. And the immaterial spirit that can hide in the ground above this very hall is a perfect example of coordination. Now, I just need to wait for the signal of a busy god. (Ok, by now, you should hear them walk on those stairs. The first wave isposed of the elemental half-men that I talked about. Some will be resistant to your acid while the others will be vulnerable to the magic fire created by your army. After that, it will be some monsters that are too powerful or too strange to just be killed by a gue. I see our old friend the Sandman, he avoided the gue. There are five werewolves, two rock snakes and dozens of vampires. That''s actually a very good thing, to be turned into a vampire, I mean, you are an undead, your blood is not really moving, it is frozen, so no gue can be transmitted, and it can fly. That''s why a lot of them are fused with that.) And beside them, the number of survivors is what? 50? 60? (Ok, so, elementals, monsters, hybrids, Chosen, and we have 7, 8, 13, 36, I add everything together and we have) 64 survivors and half of them are the Chosen. I guess that''s why I gained seven levels, I killed a lot of strong warriors, but the best of the best will follow. I have no time to watch what I gained, but I will suppose that my gue has been improved. Maybe even my deadly body, but for that, I have (STOP! THEY ARE AT THE TOP! FIRE!) Oh, bloody hell. CAST YOUR FIREBALL! I join them and cast many acid orbs at the enemy. I can hear some screams beyond those dark walls, but I guess they are clueless about what is happening. I, myself, am blind too. (Ok, so you have killed the elementals and a good chunk of the rest, but the Chosen are highly resistant, only one that has been hit by thirty fireballs is injured. As for the remaining Chosen, the good thing is the fact that they have no idea where to go, each time they pass a wall, the fireballs areing from another angle. I have taken control of your skeleton magicians, by the way, now is the time to be precise.) Ok, do your job just put the spirit above one of them, I don''t know if I am hitting something. I do a small call to every undead servant that I have, to see if one of them is dead. For the moment, everything is fine, they still haven''t breached past the fifth wall. At this time, they will be visible to us but we will be too to them. (Ok, we have managed to kill three Chosen, but the rest will breach soon enough. I suggest you get closer to the exit, I have no idea how the battle will turn after they have regained their vision.) I am already near the door leading to the exit stairs, but since he warned me, I will even back off a little more. Now I am at the bottom of the stairs leading to the outside. And I can finally see the first Chosen leaving the shadows. He takes barely a fraction of second to watch his surrounding, before rushing to the closest skeleton magician. The five meters between them, he doesn''t care. In a second, he has already approached my undead and hacks him to pieces. But, by doing so, he has exposed himself to the rest. And at such a close distance, the five fireballs are doing more damage and are precise enough to only hit his head. I can see smoke leaking from his armor, and he finally stops to move. But that was the first, more and more are leaving. All are instantly rushing to the closest skeleton magician, and dispose of him in mere seconds. From my huge army, I only have 13 undead servants alive. I keep throwing acid at the Chosen, but only one is not enough, each time I need more than ten. Now, I see that at least 16 Chosen have left the obstacle caused by my [Nightfall]. Is it everyone alive, or some are still slow down by my spell? I don''t know. But now, I only have number one, three, sixteen, and twenty, against sixteen humans. Well, it is time to leave I think. I ask everyone except number one to keep fighting and try to kill the remaining followers of Krieg, while the two of us are leaving. I don''t forget to put more walls of shadows inside the stairs since the previous are now useless. And the very brave me turn his tail and run away. But bravely. I don''t know if they are tired or they consider me still extremely dangerous, but we manage to leave the building and get away without problems. Of course, I have lost my army, but they have lost nearly everything. And while they won''t be able to reinforce their army, since they are only the servants of a foreigner god, I will able to reproduce every single skeleton without breaking a sweat. I just need a lot of days. A lot. When I have returned to the former oasis far away from the base of Krieg, I begin to search what has changed after that battle. Because it is the first time that I destroy an army, a real army. With a lot of strong warriors and even some elites. Comparing them to the massacre against the beggar, it is like day and night. One was totally weakened just by my [Cause Fear] and I am not even talking about my curse that (You forget your curse right? Are you actually saying that you could have activated your curse, and potentially slow them long enough to really annihte the followers of Krieg? How did you forget, you only have four spells?) Oh, oh, I have more than four spells, I have well five spells? (If you count your [Raise Undead] I disagree, that spell is not useful in battle, I am talking about real spells, that you use a lot. You only have four, your orb, your aura, your shadows, your curse. Anything else is not considered a real spell, I am not even talking about your closebat skills. Did you used them just once?) Yes, but only on pigeons. Except that, I don''t think that I ever used them, so maybe you are right, I have only four spells. And I manage to forget about one of them. But you see, I was so proud after thinking about my gue that I totally forget about the rest. And it''s you that shouted at me, saying they areing like that. Otherwise, with a clear mind, I would have probably used my [Cursed Winds]. (Yes, me me, it is always the supporting guy that gets med for everything. You didn''t warn me enough about the enemy, you said toote that they areing, you misjudged them. But let''s take a break, and you should see everything that you gained. Because you killed some Chosen, only neen are remaining.) "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Ratman ss: gue Sorcerer Level 19/30 HP: 268/268 MP: 213/483 Strength: 22.5 Agility: 45.5 Vitality: 26.8 Wisdom: 48.3 Intelligence: 48.3 Active skills: [Sneaky-Sneaky lvl 8] [Venomous Bite lvl 10] [Infected ws lvl 10] [Create Acid lvl 9] [Create gue lvl 9] [Aura of Mayhem lvl Max] [Nightfall lvl 7] [Magical Orb lvl Max] [Cursed Winds lvl 3] [Raise Undead lvl 5] Passive Abilities: [Scavenger lvl Max] [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Night Vision lvl 11] [Toxic resistance lvl 10] [gue resistance lvl 10] [Craftsmanship lvl 5] [Pain resistance lvl 10] [Deadly Body lvl 5] [Self-Healing lvl 1] [Magical Restoration lvl 7] [Magical Efficiency lvl 7] [Magical Handling lvl 6] [Cause Fear lvl 4] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria] [Blessed by Oslo] [Butcher] Well, that''s pretty impressive. Except for the part where my curse is only level 3 and my fear attribute isn''t really much higher. And I even gained a new title, I guess since the first was 100, the second was 1000, so this one is the next step, 10000. But the good thing is, I am close to the next evolution, I mean, killing the rest of the Chosen should grant me two levels maybe. If I count the Prophet of Krieg inside. And the promised reward for killing the Hero of a God. I just need to wait for a few days, and boom, no more Krieg on Astria. Chapter 85: A Truce in Sight? Chapter 85: A Truce in Sight? The small peace that I hoped was a futile dream. The reason, I managed to run away quickly because they were scared of me, but they are still capable of finding me. And apparently, Oslo can''t really see them, only know that they areing. Exin to me once again, because I did really understand. (It''s easy, like I said before, since you are my Hero, I can see your surroundings. The stronger you are, the more urate is my vision, and the bigger is the area where I can scout. But, to prevent other Heroes to meet each other, all of us have put a small invisibility spell on you. For example, the blessing that Aria granted you, the forsaken thing if I remember correctly. Well, that makes you totally invisible to any gods, except me since I tracked you from the beginning. So, if Krieg is watching the oasis where we are, he will only see a skeleton, number one. You are something that he can''t see, except when his followers have a direct sight. You get that part?) Yes, it is always about your Hero, you grant him many advantages and therefore, try to do anything to protect him. And since it is mainly a war between two gods, hiding a Hero from the sight of the other god is a smart idea. What I don''t understand is how can you know that they areing, but don''t know how many? Shouldn''t you be able to see the Chosen but not the Prophet? (That''s what I was exining. The Chosen are, first of all, marked by Krieg, to make them his people. Then, they follow a dark ritual to grant them more benefits, like a minor Hero, if you have to think about something. So all that he gives to his Prophet, the Chosen receive a bit. And so, the invisibility blessing that I talked about, instead of making them invisible, it just caused a dark area in my vision. So I can see that blind spot moving, and it ising that way.) So, for example, if we do the same ritual to number one, shouldn''t he be stronger? (Well, that''s not some basic ritual, it''s is very costly, you need a lot of ingredients, some strange materials, sometimes, even the soul of a living monster. The nature of such a thing is based on the God that grants it, the Hero, the receiver of the ritual, a lot of things. In short, you won''t be able to do anything like that. I am not a roaming god like Krieg, until we are back at Forslo, it would be impossible anyway. So just prepare yourself for the iing fight.) Do you have a book with all the rules and everything you can and cannot do? Because it looks extremelyplex, all those inteary wars, world invasions, roaming gods, guardian gods. Newborn gods. (No, you learn all of this with your experience and failures. A lot of failures. Normally, if you look toward the South, you can see them.) Yes, I see them. Are they twenty-two? Didn''t you tell me that only neen Chosen have survived? So why there are two additional people? (Because they are not Chosen, it''s the surrendering bastard and another lucky guy. I really wonder how they managed to survive. They probably hide in some dark holes and only the threat of the Prophet brings them here, in front of us.) Well, at least we will have a familiar face, it''s better than all those armors that are all the same. Maybe one of them is the one we met the first time we reached the base. But right now, I have barely 300MP, so no additional skeleton magician and number one is probably out of mana. What is your condition number one? -I can cast four fireballs, master. Or just one shield, if you think it is better. Keep your mana for the fireball, the shield will be useless anyway, they have no crossbows, and whatever spell the Prophet will cast will most likely pierce your magic shield. During that time, I can see them keep walking, toward us. Five hundred meters, four hundred, three hundred. At that point, they stop, and some hooded human leaves the ranks and stand in front of the Chosen. I guess that is the Prophet. -RATMAN! I AM THE PROPHET OF KRIEG, THE BLOOD GOD, THE RULER OF THE ASHEN PLANE, THE SLAUGHTERER OF WORLDS, THE BUT -OK, I GE-GET IT, sleek sleek! No, but seriously, he would have really said all the titles and stuff that this god had done. Like I care if he is ruling a ne filled with ashes. No, if he wants to talk, he just has to say what he wants. And why are they not attacking us? -Don''t be disrespectful ratman, my god will not be pleased. He told me that you have the support of a pitiful and weak being called Oslo. Is it true? Wow, he is definitely not liking you. He isn''t even calling you a god, what did you do? (Like I said, him and me, we have backstabbed each other more times than you could imagine. Most of the time he invaded my world I manage to crush his army, but that bloodthirsty madman always ruins my ns when I try to conquer another. Like here, I am using you to hurt him so bad that I am hearing the news that on Forslo, my demons are winning. Like I said, the Chosen are now linked to him, so it is really hurting. Hehe. Keep going.) -Yes, what do you wa-want, sleek sleek? -A truce, this world is not yours, so you have no business protecting it. My offer is that you let us go away, and we will stop the invasion of your. Of course, we will do that by the rules, swearing on the Nine Heavens. What is your answer? What''s that truce, and the swear on the Nine Heavens? (That is to bound two Heroes to their words. Basically, you lie and break the oath, your god and you will be hunted by the Nine Heavens. Any other oaths are totally useless when dealing with a god, but every single time the name of the Nine Heavens is invoked, no perjury was ever made. Or, not a single god survived after doing such a stupid action. But don''t ept, just kill them.) I can''t, I mean, I can escape ande backter, but I have to let number one to do that. And each time I will invoke a skeleton, Krieg will be able to notice it, and rush toward me. Except if you have a great n? (Yes, actually. You use [Nightfall] to surround everyone with shadows like I said, he can''t see you at all, so inside a ck cloud? Not a single chance. After that, you use your aura to melt every Chosen, if their armors are protecting them from outside threats, what will happen when the very air they breathe turn into an acid? Number one will be able to finally kill the two remaining hunters. And it only lets the Prophet alive, meaning you can get away and refill your mana. And at that point, it will be a mouse and cat game, with you as the cat. He has nothing for hiding himself, while you are the most discreet race in this world, besides maybe the elves.) That''s a great idea, I love it, I just think about a tiny detail. HOW DO I GET CLOSE? (Ehhhh, you will find a way.) Seriously? Ok, so let''s make them think I y along. -I ac-ept your offer, sleek sleek. But we have to ag-agree on the termsss. Nothing will be le-left untouched. -Of course, like I said, by the rules. It will be a proper contract between two representatives, for you, you will be unable to harm us by any means in your possession, so your skeletons won''t be able to assault my men anymore. While on my side, Krieg will leave Forslo. (Stop, precise, all the followers, dead and alive, of Krieg, will leave Forlso. That''s the most basic trap.) -All the fo-followers, dead and alive, of Krieg wi-will leave Forssslo, sleek sleek. Don''t try anything like th-that again. -Fine,e closer, we have to be within reach of the power of both of our gods when we pronounce the oath. Don''t worry, your god can tell you that I have not cast anything while we are speaking. You didn''t, I didn''t, so let''s just end this. It''s not even your world, so I have no idea of why you are focusing on us. -You are the we-weakessst, sleek sleek. That''s true, but when he said that, that gives me the possibility to approach them. Oslo, what is that area of power that he was talking about. (To make the oath working the two Heroes should be at less than fifty meters away from each other. So that makes you at a big distance from the army. More than the size your [Nightfall] can cover. You will have to run for at least 40 meters in broad daylight, but the connection with Krieg would have been lost. But if any of the followers is outside your spell, he will be able to spot you.) So, I have to blind the twenty-two humans in front of me with one spell? Or multiples instances of that very spell? Chapter 86: Blood Rite and Blood Monster Chapter 86: Blood Rite and Blood Monster I approach slowly and carefully the other group in front of me. I mean, since I will try to betray them and kill them, why are they not doing that same thing? The potential of an attack will be higher after each of my steep. Right now, we have still a distance of 200 meters between me and the Prophet of Krieg. That''s too far to catch by surprise, someone. And they are clearly slower than me, so if they try to y a trick at that distance, it will be futile. Like my number one that has been turned into a statue, no one moves inside the group of the followers of Krieg. No Chosen, not the two lucky humans. I wave at Daryl while I walk, that makes everyone, even the Prophet, turn his head toward the poor Daryl. I think he is even beginning to turn into sand, just in case. That wouldn''t be the first time he does that, but I hope it will be thest. Just barely a hundred meters now. I can see the impact of my spells on the armors of the Chosen. Some have the steel of their shoulder melted on them, instead of a regr piece of armor, it has the shape of the body under it. One had part of his helmet gone, and I can see behind the rest a face that will make even some undead have nightmares. Qualifying them as a human is not really making justice to the human race. At least Daryl is looking exactly as a human, and except the part where he can turn himself into sand, that''s ok. But the Chosen? Without their armors, everyone would flee in terror. I can only see his left cheek and a part of his mouth, but I have to say that they are both gone. And not because of my acid, I know the power of my spell, that I definitely not my doing. First of all, he has no lips, only a rotten flesh maintaining in ce some deadly razor des. That''s what happened to his teeth, it''s not looking like a tooth, really like a razor de. Well, more like the end of a sword, you know, the part where you can pierce with. And that''s for every tooth, not just the canine, like a vampire, for example, no everything is gone. As for his cheek, it has a hole, and only the nerves are visible. Not a pleasant sight. And finally, I am one step away from the distance required. I stop right before, to observe the surroundings. I can see the Prophet getting impatient since I am dying whatever n he has. -Ratman, please, move. No one has really the time to do something. You are just dying the departure of our two groups, that will never meet again, I hope. And if you think that I will try something, well, it''s true, but you are doing the same. So, it bnces the entire deal, we make the oath while both of us try to kill the other. -Fine, let''sss begin, sleek sleek. I walk for one more meter, effectively putting me at less than fifty meters away from the Prophet of Krieg. Now, I have no idea of what will happen during that oath, Oslo? (Well, basically, you will both state your conditions, you will both repeat them, if there is a problem, you will just have to say them again, from the beginning. After that, I and Krieg should use our power to swear on the Nine Heavens. If only one of us swear and the other doesn''t, you will be sure that the deal is still considered asplete, and if anyone breaks it, it is totally his fault. But if none really swear, that means the entire discussion was just a smokescreen. That happens more often than you would think.) So, the two Heroes have to recite an entire list of conditions, the exact sentences each time, and then, even if only one god seal that oath, it is considered asplete? That''s really interesting and smart, that way you can introduce an error during the conditions to cancel it legally, but if you don''t do that and your god swear on the Nine Heavens, it protects you from evil intentions. So let''s start the discussion, to lower the suspicion. -The forcesss of Krieg, alive and dead, wi-will leave Forslo. I, Sleek, and an-any of my subordinatesss will never attack you ag-again, sleek sleek. The troopsss of Krieg on Astria or th-thoses that wille will not at-attack me. Isss it fine? -Can you repeat it without the stutters and the weird sound, the thing that goes skelk or something like that? Did he just insult me? Or did he insult my very name? -No, but because like I said, for the oath, we have to say the exact same things, so with you add your weird noises, well that screw the oath. Ok, so in that way, that is reasonable, I mean, I understand that he doesn''t want to repeat my sentences like I said them. -It''s SSSLEEK, not skelk, sleek sleek. -Skel, you say? And what are you saying that? Ok, never mind, a part of me thinks he is really doing that on purpose. But the majority thinks that he is just not used to the speech of ratman, or he doesn''t make the difference between some small words. (So you are going to y his game for how long? Because, you know, you will kill him anyway. So you can spare yourself the humiliation of your stuttering speech, and just go directly to the part where you kill him.) Well, that''s true, I can just go to the part where I kill him. I cast twenty-two bubbles of shadows directly on the head of every follower of Krieg. And directly rush to the Chosen, my main priority. Of course, during this time, the Prophet isn''t waiting patiently. -WHAT? BLOOD RITE! I can see all around him waves of blood surging, turning into a tornado. But his blindness prevents him from really harming me, I just have to dodge the different des of blood inside the spell. A poor nt that was a little too big was cut in multiple parts. And when the spell is close to a member of the Order of Krieg, it just goes through them. Even if it''s a dangerous situation, it is still rtively safe when I am away from him. The dy between two blood des is of a few seconds, and I have enough speed to dodge them. After a few seconds, I arrive next to the Chosen at the end of the group. Even with his sight removed, he can still hear me apparently, because he swings his axe in my direction. But our two speeds are iparable, and this time, I use [Cursed Winds]. The moment he finishes his attack, I get close to him and activate my aura for a second. The sudden fall of the armor clearly tells me that the n is working. I dodge the iing de and keep going. One after the other, I melt them from inside their armors, dodge their axes and escape from the deadly spell of the Prophet. Hearing my dark deeds, the Prophet is clearly panicking and trying to destroy my [Nightfall]. But no matter what he tries, the moment I see my spell failing is the same moment where I cast it again. Preventing the help of his god. When there is only half of the Order of Krieg still breathing, the Prophet tries something new. -Gustav, I need your blood! -Yes, it will be done, my lord. The sudden interaction between the two of them puzzled me and I stop for a second what I am doing to get away. That kind of sentences is never good for the attacking side. I can see the remaining Chosen get close to the prophet, and this time, I can see their blood flow through their helmet. As for the two hunters, one is already dead, and the white-haired man is nowhere near us, I guess he escaped once again. My choice to do a tactical retreat was the good one. Thanks to the new supply in blood, my [Nightfall] was canceled, and no matter how many I cast it, it was instantly removed. The blood rite was strengthened too, even a fly would die inside, so a ratman like me have no chance. As for the Prophet himself, well, from the previous human appearance, he has now been turned into a monster with many tentacles and maws. He should be taller than 3 meters and is even bigger than the drake inside the fairy town. Of course, while thinking that, I have discreetly take my leave. But that was thinking that escaping would be easy. I stumble on a strange invisible wall, preventing me from getting away. And when I turn to see the hideous monster, I see himughing. -THIS IS THE PART WHERE I KILL YOU! (This is the part where he kills you.) This is the part where he kill wait for a second, it should be the part where I kill him? Chapter 87: A Strange Battlefield Chapter 87: A Strange Battlefield (Did I ever talk about the battle between two Heroes before? I don''t really remember.) Definitely a big no, except some advantages and things, you never talked about a proper battle, like the one we apparently have to do it, because there is a F*CKIN WALL! (Yeah, so normally, one Hero is the strongest being of the God. Most of the time, for example, you are still weaker than some of the Greater Demons that I have on Forslo. But let''s assume you are the strongest. So, you are a terrifying creature, capable of splitting mountains in half, destroying entire hills and even sometimes tearing apart time and space itself. To prevent such things to happen, and therefore, prevent a to be destroyed by the battle only, something was created. You can call it the arena, the battleground or whatever name you like. Inside this location, nothing will harm the world, so for example, if you throw an orb of acid at your feet, the ground would be destroyed, but at the end of the battle, the ground will be intact. You understand the goal of it?) Yes, protect the, prevent a mass destruction or even coteral damages, namely, the innocent races that were close to the fight. But why can''t I leave this arena, there is a way out, right? (Yes, yes, yes.) Just yes? Nothing else? Like the way to do it? (Not my, so I can''t do it. Only the defender can escape, and we are both theoretically attacking the world of Astria. So, since Krieg activated it, we are trapped. Good luck!) Wait, wait don''t leave me like that! You have to help me a bit, you have something to give me? (I thought that you will be fine and escape, so I already cast dozens of blessing at Forslo, so I am a little weak. Sorry, but I trust you, just make the fight the longest possible, he can''t maintain that form forever. And you can regenerate your mana quicker than him, I think. I will cheer for you in the meantime.) Great, excellent, so I am now trapped against a monster that has five times my size, can probably kill me in one hit, and inside an arena of? (Wait, a second, that, I know it. Exactly, a range of two kilometers. So you have the possibility to run inside the forest and hide.) Ok, that just means I am dangerously close to him since I am barely 100 meters away, but if I manage to bypass him, I will be fine. The advice given by the god is true, the Prophet can''t really maintain that form forever. Even if it has to take me many days, I have a better stamina, I don''t need to eat or drink, so I am invincible on those points. I just need to know his speed. Right now, we are in the middle of the in surrounding the oasis, but on the other side, there is a big forest. And number one, still alive. Now that I think about it, he can still be useful. Since it is an invocation made by me, I guess the arena consider number one has part of me. And that''s why Krieg only activate it after every Chosen was either killed by me or fed to the Prophet. The strange thing is, even after hepleted the ritual and taunted me, he doesn''t move. He can see me, and I can see him too, so why he isn''t attacking me? I throw an orb at him, to test the water. One tentacle intercepts my spell before it enters in contact with the bloody body, disintegrating the tentacle. But in less than a second, a new one appears. And it doesn''t seem that it hurt him at all. But following that simple attack, the monster roars, and charges in my direction. I suppose that''s fair, but I am not ying with honor. I cast numerous walls of [Nightfall] around me and goes toward the East. All that darkness blinds the both of us, but while I hear him stops his charge, I can discreetly sneak out. And I still have spirit number one, ready for duty. (Ok, now destroy your third wall, and put that wall in the same direction but five meters away from the fifth wall.) Thanks to it, Oslo is capable of seeing the monster and direct the creation of my walls of shadows. After a minute where the Prophet is still trapped inside the walls, I have finally arrived inside the forest of my dream, big, full of life and most importantly, very dense. And it is at that moment that I hear something very loud. HRRRRRRRRRIEK Oslo, report? (He destroyed all of your walls but doesn''t find a trace of you, so he screamed like that to express his anger. Now, like I said, you just patiently wait, he still hasn''t noticed the flying spirit above us. That thing is really wonderful, especially with your blinding spell.) Great, so now, back like I was in the sewer with the assassin ratman behind my back, I just have to run in a circle. Shortly after, Oslo informs me that the monster is inside the forest too. It was an obvious hiding spot, but the vegetation is on my side, there is no sh sh SLASH WHAT? I barely avoided a de of blood. It wasing from a tree and cut it like butter. I really shouldn''t underestimate my enemy, since the forest is an advantage to me, he decides to destroy it. That''s clever, that will cost a lot of mana or whatever he needs, maybe blood. But in the end, we will be in a in, and I will only be able to hide because of [Nightfall]. And even that, he can destroy it. Since it is the case, I exit the destroyed forest and join number one near the oasis. He manages to avoid everything since the Prophet never really focused him with his spells. Feeling that is most likely in danger once there are no trees standing, I make him go away, at the limit of the range of his fireball. That should be enough, nothing that will target me will touch him. After a few minutes where I can see the destruction caused by the blood des, the Prophet finally decides that it is enough. Previously, he has seen me watching him, but he preferred to destroy any shelters avable. Now that everything is gone and only three things are standing, it should be time to do a marathon. I immediately begin to run, while tasking number one to go in the center of the arena. I can see the monster trying to follow me, but as expected, hisrge size has reduced considerably his speed. He tries to cast some blood des at me, but the distance is sufficient, I can dodge them. For nearly an hour, we keep running like that. Sometimes, I wait for him to get a little closer, looking like I am tired. Of course, it is just a show designed to fool him, and it takes him an hour to understand it. But what can he do? He has nothing to slow me down, he can''t reach me with his spells, while I have now half of my mana back. I really was hoping that this situation could have been maintained for a few hours. But fortunately, he tried another thing. Instead of running like that, he just decided to wait in one ce, for me to probably sleep, or maybe eat something. Maybe he was even hoping that I will die because of my thirst. In the end, it didn''t change a single thing. Thanks to that, I now have my entire MP pool filled to the brink. I create a skeleton magician in front of him and order him to follow number one. Maybe the fact that I have done that openly, just in front of him, has angered the monster. But right after that, he instantly rushes again toward me while I follow the same pattern and run away. This time, however, only some minutes were spent running. And instead of waiting at a spot, he decides to walk toward my two skeleton magicians. I can outrun the Prophet, but they can''t. So I split them up, and decide to attack him before he met my undead servants. I throw orb after orb, while fireballs are crashing against his terrifying body. But nothing was really hurting him, and all our effortsbined only caused the destruction of some tentacles. The body of number two was devoured, while the limbs of number one were torn apart. My hope that I will be able to build an army inside this strange battlefield is now crushed. But while I can''t really hurt him, he can''t even touch me. And so, for a few days, we keep battling each other, me throwing an orb once in a while, he trying desperately to grab. Only for me to hear in the middle of the third night. -CAN WE HAVE A BREAK? Chapter 88: The Prophet of Krieg Chapter 88: The Prophet of Krieg He wants a break, but we are not even truly fighting. I mean, does he want me to stop running so he can catch me? Or does he want me to stop destroying his tentacles with my orbs? Either way, not a single chance to happen. I will keep running until he dies. -COME ON, STOP RUNNING! Haha, if you think that only by doing this, I will obey you, you are truly mistaken. The moment I attacked, I knew it was a death battle, where only one of us would leave this ce alive. The battle between two Heroes, ratman against human, a duel between two mages. The final conclusion in the war for this. (Really? I thought you said that you wanted to leave this ce by not even facing the Prophet. You said that since he will never catch you again, with his speed, you were free to just kill his Chosen and then flee. I really remember only that, not some death feud or stupid honor battle.) Ok, maybe I made the current situation look a little better than it is actually. And maybe I add some new versions to my previous sentences. Like turning fleeing like a rat into battling like a lion, just some small stuff like that. But in the end, the meaning is the same, to survive. And that''s the story inside my mind, why do you care about what I think? I am free to imagine you looking like a small little white rabbit if I want. (I said it, I have not a real form, Krieg doesn''t have one and that stupid Aria is not the angel that you saw. But maybe you should answer the Prophet, I mean, what do you lose? Time? You have plenty of that here.) You are right on the time department, but I will still let him wait for a while before answering. I mean, he devoured one of my skeletons and killed number one. I can still see his white bones near the ce he was dismembered. Just for that, I will wait an additional day. -STAY HERE! -STOP NOW! -JUST STOP RUNNING! -PLEASE, STOP! After hearing his plea for help during thest day, and feeling that his patience is already gone, I answer the huge monster. Even after that many days, he is still alive and kicking, and still a terrifying creature capable of destroying an entire army by itself. -Yesss, what do you wa-want, sleek sleek? I can see him stop running, and if he was a human, I would be certain that he is currently sighing. Maybe he would even look relieved. -THANK YOU FOR STOPPING. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW UNCOMFORTABLE THIS FORM IS. AND EVEN AFTER SUCKING ALL THE BLOOD IN THE SURROUNDING, ALL THE BLOOD INSIDE THE INSECT AND THE LIFEFORCE OF THE PLANTS, I WAS NOT ABLE TO TOUCH YOU. YOU WIN, I CAN''T KILL YOU. SO LET''S MAKE THE OATH, JUST TO END THIS PARODY. An interesting thing, so he absorbed all the ingredients he needed from the living beings around him. That''s why the previous healthy trees that were cut are now rotten. I thought it was the effect of the arena. Since no matter what we do, they will be alive in the real world. And it was designated just to contain me and the Prophet, not to have some trees inside. But to agree with his conditions would be a stupid thing. First, the range of the oath. While I can easily avoid his spells and his monstrous body, it is because I am really far away. I am at the limit of the range of my orb of acid, and I am never closer. At that distance, he can''t really avoid my orbs without using his tentacles, while I can dodge the blood des since they are slower than my spell. But by getting closer, the difficulty to do the same actions is greatly improved. If he manages to create a better tornado of blood than the previous one, this time I will probably not be able to escape. Because I can''t blind him with [Nightfall] anymore. And therefore, he will be able to control it urately to harm me and my precious body. So instead of answering, I just keep running again. The monster looks at me for a few seconds, before resigning himself to his fate and follow me. I think that even the Prophet himself wasn''t really sure of his proposal. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have spent an additional day running without talking. At the dawn of the day after, I can see his previously living blood turn a little darker. Like a blooding from a recent flesh wound after leaving the body for too much time. As the day progress, it is bing more and more obvious that something wrong is happening. Now, when a tentacle is destroyed, sometimes, he doesn''t even bother creating a new one. The former innumerable is now reduced to barely thirty. Even his body is shrinking, he is no longer bigger than the drake. He is still a lot bigger than a normal human, but he is getting closer and closer to the size of the guards of the Eternal Guard. You know, those big warriors of the djinns, they were giantspared to me. But seeing the monster in front of me reduced to that size in just one day make expecting the following days. After that, the regression was visible every hour. Sometimes, it is a maw that I closed forever, sometimes, another tentacle disappears from the world. Each of my acid orbs is now really hurting him. I really want to know what will the Prophet do when he loses his mighty form. I mean, he should still be a magician with some deadly spells, but if he thinks it is the best to remain in that form, that means all of his spells are useless against me. Because let''s be real, if the best he got is those blood des or the tornado, he is pretty much doomed. And since he is the strongest foe I have encountered and will possibly y, I will definitely stay outside of his range of action. Getting closer? NAAAH. Two dayster, I can see him be barely taller than his human form. Even his appearance is very close to what he was previously. Only five tentacles are stuck on his body, and three maws are opened. No big muscles, no huge legs, and arms, just a feeble human. By the end of the day, he will have to discard the monster form and retrieve his humanity. Right before dusk, I finally forced him to turn into a human. Because yes, strangely, the time is still going, I mean, why the sun is still rising if we are in a different area that reality? Well, the answer from Oslo was basically a virtual shrug. Apparently, it was designed that way, so when the different gods are bragging about the exploits of their Hero, they can say that he battled for three days and three nights but finally emerged victorious. With myprehension of the gods, I find that answer to be perfectly logical and most likely the truth. After the Prophet is back in his human form, I patiently wait for his first move. I mean, I don''t want to be casting an orb when a sudden attack will arrive. Even if the spell is instantaneous, my concentration wavers a bit. And I absolutely don''t want to be caught by surprise. But after many minutes, and seeing nothing, carefully examine the Prophet. He is standing still, without moving a finger, but without falling either. I can see his mouth moves a bit, but I am not so sure. I ask spirit number one to get a little closer, to hear what he is saying. What dangerous incantations and terrible spells will he cast? Only when the spirit is close enough, I finally learn the truth. (He is asking for blood and water. I think that while his monster form is capable of sustaining his body without drinking, his human form still needs to satisfy his thirst and hunger. And you have fought for nine days, and except the blood of some insects, he had nothing. So he is dehydrated and hungry, I don''t think he can even protect himself anymore.) Oh, that was unexpected. But even with the fact that he is a Hero, nine days without a meal is still very long. And I slowly withered him by repeatedlyunching my acid orbs. So, that means I have won. I try tounch an orb at him, and he doesn''t even move, but a magic shield protects him. After countless orbs, or exactly 41, I break his protection. After that, I throw an orb that manages to touch his body, melting his right side. The next put him on his knees, his ribcage opened. The third st a part of his face, burning an eye. The remainingunch a death stare at me, but that''s literally hisst action. Thest orb partially melts his head, only with half of his brain remaining. I can see his body fall to the ground, signifying my victory. After that, I can see a distortion around me, and I end up in the same ce, just with the forest intact. It is at the same time, I hear a notification of the System, and a scream behind me, a human scream. Chapter 89: Daryl MaimedTwoHands Chapter 89: Daryl MaimedTwoHands I ignore the scream of the human since I see that it is only Daryl MaimedTwoHands. I name it that way because he has lost his right armpletely and his left arm is melted at the elbow. So the threating from him is minimal, except a head-butt, or maybe some kick, he won''t be able to hit me. They are two very important flesh wounds, but he is not insensible to pain, so I can see him barely to maintain consciousness. No, I focus on the important part, the big, juicy, and promised reward! Come on System, shower me with your gifts and presents. "The user has sessfully in the representative of a god; the god is: Krieg." "The user can choose between four different spells that the representative possessed. Those four spells will be randomly chosen among all the spells avable." "Please choose the spell: 1- Blood Rite 2- Blood de 3- Blood Form 4- Blood Touch" Great, that is great. That allows me to bypass the cooldown of the spell creation and directly gives me a new spell. And that''s a spell created by the System, so I will have the description, the natural progression, maybe even an evolution. And the other good part is my affinity with the spell. I guess that I will be able to create an enormous fireball or some stuff like that if I manage to y the representative of the God of Fire. Because otherwise, I am not even able to create something bigger than a really small me. Since it''s a spell by the System, it will be perfect in every way. Now I just need to choose, that will be the hard part. So let''s check everything, can I see the description of all? "[Blood Rite]: create a tornado made of blood around the user. The consumption to maintain the spell is either the MP of the user, or a source of fresh blood around the user. " "[Blood de]: create a crescent-shaped de of blood to attack the enemies. The consumption to use this spell is either the MP of the user, or a source of fresh blood around the user." "[Blood Form]: turn the user into a monstrous form, capable of sustaining heavy damage. This form has the ability to permanently absorb the living force around it, sustaining it. The consumption to maintain the spell is either the MP of the user, or a source of fresh blood around the user." "[Blood Touch]: allow the user to absorb on contact or at a very small distance, the blood of a living being. This skill doesn''t consume any MP but regenerate the mana pool of the user depending on the volume of blood absorbed." For the first time in my new life, the System decided to be friendly and gives me exactly what I want. That''s really a brand new day, ying a Hero, having the System serves my every need. I really want it to keep going like that. But now, it''s time to choose and decide. First, the Blood Rite, that''s the first spell he has used. I don''t know the consumption of such a thing, but it should be a lot bigger than my aura. Just the range, even at fifty meters, there were still some blood attacksing at me, even without a real aim. So, to prevent someone froming near me, it is excellent, and even if an assassin breaches this spell and get too close, BOOM, an aura of acid. The only drawback would be the mana cost, but I can''t know it, right? Let me search, name, no, MP, MP, MP? HAHA, no wait, that''s not it. Damn. Ok, let''s see the next spell. Well, Blood de isn''t really appealing. I mean, yes it can cut multiple trees in a row and can probably pierce a lot of things. Maybe it is even better than my orbs. But the slow speed is really too bad, I could dodge a lot of those without any real problems and it is still a single target spell. My orb can touch a lot of people at the same time, even if it is weaker against armored and heavy targets like the Chosen. Compared to the Blood Rite who would destroy anything near me, it is not that useful. Then, the Blood Form. I guess that the monstrous form of the Prophet. During nine days he survived against my constant attacks with that spell. And it is really powerful, I mean, the multiple tentacles can defend from all direction, the numerous maws can eat and absorb the blood of the fallen victims. It can serve as the defensive spell that I was looking for, not a single assassin can destroy this thing quickly enough. That would allow me to escape and survive. The only unknown variable is my capacity to run. It is really slow, but was the monster slow because the Prophet was just a human, or is the spell slowing the caster? I keep searching for an answer but I don''t know, and probably won''t. Finally, the Blood Touch. My guess, it is the spell that the Prophet used when he called his Chosen near him. And apparently, it can solve my mana issues, since I already know that my skeleton army can turn the streets into rivers of blood, it is extremely useful. But the part where the recovery of mana depends on the volume of blood is a little scary. Does it depend on the quality of the blood? Or just the quantity? I would guess it is both since he called his Chosen and that allowed him nine days of fighting in the monster form. But another thing, it can be used offensively. That means, if an assassin is too close, I can maybe temporarily root him, and use this to draw his blood out. The drawback would be against some undead or elementals that don''t have blood in the first ce. But all the spells are like that anyway, all depend on either my MP or the blood surrounding me. That means, against humans, for example, those spells would be terrifying. But against anything that doesn''t create blood, it would be nearly useless. Hard choices, hard choices. (Honestly, I would consider either the Blood Form or the Blood Touch. By now, the cooldown for creating a new spell is over, so you can create your dark shield that will protect you for assassination. The Blood Form will allow you to battle against a huge army without fearing to die or prevent your death in case your magic shield is broken. The Blood Touch will allow you to create a bigger undead army a lot quicker, simply return to the slums, massacre hundreds of humans again, and you can possibly have dozens of skeletons in exchange. As for the two other spells, the de is not strong enough for you to discard your orbs, and the tornado is not capable of protecting you against ambushes. As you saw, it takes time to really create the tornado, during that short moment, you will be killed thousands of times. That''s my choices.) Yes, you are right, I check inside the System and in the same dark and remote corner, the clock has stopped at 0:00:00. So I can finally create my dark shield. If I do that, I don''t really need that monster form that much, since I will have a defensive mechanism. So I guess I will take the Blood Touch. -Marc Cassidy chooses: Blood Touch! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the spell: Blood Touch has been chosen." Now that I look at my attributes, I see that I gained two additional levels, meaning I am at 21/30. The [Blood Touch] appears, and it is directly level Max. That means the amount of Mana I will recover will always be the same and will never improve. Well, that''s a little bad, but that''s alright I guess. If I could at the end recover 1000 MP from a drop of blood, that would have been really powerful. The other really, really, really bad part is something unpredictable. It is my [Create Acid], it has leveled up, and instead of showing me lvl 10, it shows lvl Max. So I will not be able to improve that. And since my gue is level 9 too, I fear the moment I will have both of my primary abilities stuck forever. I am only at 213/497 MP, something a little low. But wait, there is someone else near me. Someone alive. I turn toward the nearly dead white-haired human. I can see that he will probably die in a few days, at the maximum. So instead of doing something useless, you will be the first to face the spell of your very God. I approach him, and he doesn''t even wake up. I can see blood leaking from his wounds, such a waste. The moment I am standing right on top of it, I activate [Blood Touch]. It takes nearly five seconds to gather all the blood on him, in him and around him. By the end of the cast, I only see a mummy in front of me. I watch my MP pool, 264/497. Fifty for an adult human that have lost some blood, that''s not that bad. Chapter 90: [Veil of Darkness] Chapter 90: [Veil of Darkness] At the same time, I create once again a spell, and since I have decided to use the reward granted by the System to get a utility spell, I have to finally create my defensive spell. But for this, I will have to wait a bit, I need to have my entire MP pool to do it. Around me, only melted armors and destroyed bodies. While the arena made by Krieg didn''t disturb the armors of the Chosen, it looks like time was not suspended. What really happened Oslo? (Like I said, it''s a battlefield out of time and space itself. Sometimes, it turns month into minutes, sometimes the opposite, hours into a day. But most of the time, it just slows down, meaning days turn into hours for example. Here I think, remembering the state of Daryl, your nine days turned into one day I think. For example, the battle between my Hero and the Hero of Aria during the Portal Warsted five days and on my world, it was a month, and on her world just a minute. It ispletely random.) And is it possible to notice it and encircle that thing? For example, let''s say we use that peculiar oath to bind the Hero of an unknown God, a new-born one. Is it possible, without seeing the dispersion that is provoked, to know that a special arena was created? (No, it is truly impossible, even with direct sight from a Hero and his God watching behind him. If you provoke a massacre right before and they surround the ce because of the bodies, it is possible to be in the same situation as Daryl, where you see a random creature appearing right in front of you. But you can''t expect it, that''s the point.) Great, so since I managed to kill that Prophet, that means I should be stronger than most of Heroes in this world. Except maybe the one serving Szar, but for all the heretics one, that would be a piece of cake to ughter them. And I have now even a way to trap them in a duel against me. A duel or no matter the destruction that I provoked, I will be able to get away without alerting the holy kingdom and his Church. After a few hours, I finally reach the point where I can create my long awaited shield. I think of him surrounding my very body, not expanding in the air like the rest. Because doing it like that can protect my nearby skeletons, but I don''t really care about them. I mean, they can already protect themselves, so I don''t need to protect them myself. No, I need something to defend only me, and especially against assassins. And a big shield floating around me is useless against a dagger nted in my neck. The proof was my assault with my skeleton warriors, back in their of Shadow. My undead managed to go through the magic shield and slew the magicians. And since I don''t really know how number one managed to create his magic shield, I think of mine dark, ck, filled with the aura of dead and devastation. I have no idea if this is the way to do it, but I have to try. A shield that repels the bolts, destroy the spellsing at me, prevent my dear back to be stabbed. Now, create this perfect means of defense. Create, my, SHIELD! "Congrattion to the user for creating a new spell. Please say its name." -Veil of Darkness "System acknowledges the choice of the user, the spell: [Veil of Darkness] has been created." I can see surrounding me a feeble and nearly transparent dark skin. I watch my MP pool and see no change. That''s weird, the spell is currently active, oh it has gone down 496/497 so it still has a cost. No wait, 497/497, I have recovered the missing mana. I keep watching it for a few minutes and finally conclude that I have enough regeneration to sustain a permanent use of my [Veil of Darkness]. That''s really good, except for the fact that I am certain that just a small little pebble can break it. I invoke number one as a skeleton magician and ask him to throw any small thing around him. I immediately cancel that order when I see him pick the axe of a Chosen. Thank god, if he had thrown that, I am certain that I would have died. And the axe is huge, why does he think it is small? Never mind, just a skeleton spirit, the biggest enigma of this world. I find a very small rock, give it to number one and ask him to throw at me. "-2HP" As expected, the shield has been broken. And it doesn''t reappear without me casting it again. So I cast again my spell, and since I have no enough mana to create anything else, I ask number to throw again the pebble. "-3HP" Ouch, he threw it to my face. More precisely, my nose. That is extremely sensitive, I have to ask him to only throw on my body. I keep doing that for a few minutes before my spell finally reaches level 2. The previous near transparent magic shield turn into an opaquer skin. That''s why I named it that way, in the final level, I hope that this spell will turn me into a very dark silhouette, improving, even more, my hiding capability during the night. As for the day, well, I was not really that invisible anyway, so that''s not a huge loss. And inside my [Nightfall], a dark shield is better than a light shield. When I ask number one to throw the exact same rock, this time, it doesn''t break my magic spell. Instead, he gets repelled and falls to the ground, doing no damage. It is time to get a bigger stone. Thanks to the environment, it is not really hard to find a big rock, it is just that I need to find one not that big. Otherwise, with the strength of number one, I will get killed by my undead servant. That would be the biggest joke. I finally find something that is barely smaller than my hand and gives it to number one. I specify to only target my stomach and absolutely not my "-16HP" OUCH. Eh [Self-Healing] has improved. Does that mean I have turned into a masochist? No, it is only for science. And if my shield can''t even stand against a rock, what can I expect against an arrow, a bolt or a sword? This is the only time where I will have to hurt my precious me, I have to be strong. Come on number one, do your worst, I will "-23HP" NOT THAT WORST! We kept doing this, for hours, this time the shield was very hard to improve. At one point, we had to stop because I only had a third of my life. During that short break, I manage to see the effect of multiple spells. First, my HP regeneration. Each level grants me 10HP recovery each hour, so level 2 means 20 HP. That''s both good and too little. But at least, I don''t have to eat a body, eat a body, eat a body? I still have a body. Daryl, I aming. After eating him, I have gained nothing but I have recovered nearly all of my life. That''s a shame the rest was all melted by me. Then my regeneration of mana, it has gone to a huge number, 85MP for each hour. But the drawback of my magic shield can be felt. After many calctions, I have arrived at a number, it''s 50MP of consumption by an hour. That means, if he is permanently cast, it reduces my regeneration of mana to only a third of what it is. Yes, a big third, but still not half. That''s why even after a few hours, I still can''t create a skeleton magician. But after eating the mummified Daryl, the nearby useless Chosen armors give me an idea. I still need a vanguard for my army, and those armors would be extremely useful. Of course, most are partially destroyed, but even if all have melted a bit, because of my aura, they are still extremely powerful. They managed to bear the firepower of my army for a very long time. It is potentially the best armors that I have seen, besides the one of the dwarf. But the dwarf armor was not tested, I only fled when I saw him. So I can''t judge. After removing some of the parts that were truly destroyed, I manage to recover nine sets of armors. I have more than fifteen axes in good shape, but with no armors, it would make my skeletons visible. So I will have to make my undead servants carry them until I can create more warriors. You can resume the training number one. The only thing displeasing me is to let some normal skeletons wear this powerful equipment. I have managed to create some magicians, and even if they were costly, they were extremely efficient. So why I can''t create some specials skeletons or undead and make them wear the Chosen armors? That would be interest "-21HP" Chapter 91: Four Undead Left Chapter 91: Four Undead Left So in the end, after a few hours, even if I had enough mana to create a new skeleton, I decided to train my other skills first. So, a lot of [Nightfall], some maniption with my aura, some reinforcement of my shield. Of course, it was very painful but in the end, I managed to reach level 4 on my [Veil of Darkness]. I stopped at that moment since the damage that I was receiving before was too important. I mean, my [Self-Healing] is level 3. Do you have any idea about how many points of damage did I suffer before achieving that? A lot, really, a lot. And since even the biggest stones can''t pierce my shield with the strength of a skeleton magician, and I don''t want an axe to be thrown at me, I decided to stop for now. Now that I have 497/497, I can create my new form of undead. I have for now create 4 things with [Raise Undead]. First, my loyal skeleton warrior, strong, big and exceptionally smart. Then, I created a very small spider, that was quite useless if you ask my opinion. Later, the iplete andplete skeleton magician, capable of creating new spells, but only on mymand. And I have to visualize the spell that would be created, they can''t think by themselves. So for now, they still only have the fireball and the magic shield, nothing else. The blood spells don''t work at all, maybe the fact that they don''t have blood or they are undead are causing it. And finally, my little spirit, near invisible, capable of traversing everything and granting an additional pair of eyes to Oslo. That''s all my creations, but this time, I will try to improve the skeleton warrior. Or maybe just create something totally new. First of all, since I have a lot of mana, let''s see the different type of undead. We have the zombies, the ghouls, the spirits, the skeletons, the vampires, the end? I can''t think of anything else, I mean, a lich is basically a stronger skeleton, so no, nothing else. So zombies first, they are slow, most of the time stupid but I have read some strange things about zombie mutant. So I guess they are not that useless. I try to think of a zombie and create it. AAAAARGH OK, it is done. A little less than 200 MP, so it was less costly than even a skeleton warrior. I try to talk to him. Number two? -Yes, master? Ah great, the level of intelligence is still more or less the same as the skeleton. I order both number one and number two to run for half a kilometer. That way, I will see the rtive speed of the zombie. As I watched both of my undead give their best, I quickly notice that number one is really quicker than number two. And he is just a skeleton magician, not even a warrior. Not even waiting for them to end the race, I call them back to see other things. I find two trees looking simr and ask the two to destroy it with anything in their possession besides magic. This time I am pleased by the sight. Of course, number one is having a real hard time, and his hands are not suitable to do such things. He can only scratch painfully the bark of the tree. In the same time, number two is in a rampage. He uses his hard nails, his powerful mouth, and his robust teeth to tear it apart. In a few seconds, a previously healthy and robust tree ispletely destroyed, the savagery of number two is really a sight. So as expected, very strong but slow, too slow. Now, about the resistance of number two. I create number three, a standard skeleton warrior. I have barely any mana left after this, but I have to do it. I put the two ten meters apart, and ask number one to st them off. I begin with number three since he is the most recent creation. It took nine fireballs to destroy it. And without any equipment to protect him, they have truly be resistant. Well, the fact that it is a magical fire that can''t really hurt some bones y a part. After that, the same thing with number two, my zombie. The first fireballes crashing on him, but instead of burning himpletely, it quickly extinguishes itself. Completely took me by surprise. I mean, at level 5, the [Raise Undead] allows my skeletons to feel the mana and be a magician. I can also create some spirit, I think that in the previous level, I wouldn''t have the possibility. So, there is a chance that this very level grants a small magic resistance to my zombie, that won''t be impossible. The second fireball touch number two and once again, burn him a little before vanishing. In the end, I have to stop because number one tells me that he won''t be able to destroy number two. If it takes more than twenty fireballs like he fears, it would be useless. He advises me to wait for another skeleton magician. I acknowledge his concern and do as he says. For another five hours, we waited until number three appears. But during all that wait, a strange thing can be seen. The previously burned area on the body of number two was healing. By the end of the five hours, only a small stain on his shoulder could tell me that he was hit by a fireball. Now that I think of it, maybe all my undead have this property? I broke a rib of number three, to see what will happen. But now, I will test the resistance of number two. Twenty-one fireballs, that''s what it took. A grand total of twenty-three. And only at the 16th spell did he burned. I really think that he has a small magic resistance or at least something that prevents him from burning. But besides his importantly slow speed, the zombie is a killing machine quite cheap. In term of blood contribution, four adults mean a zombie. That''s eptable for a cheap defense, in case my vanguard of skeleton warriors falls. And it was the most basic zombie, so if I manage to think of a mutant like in some movies, the one that can jump from the buildings, create a pyramid to reach helicopters, that would be good. Or even some mutations, I mean, besides four survivors armed to the teeth with one old Vietnam veteran, I can''t see anything killing them. God bless the imagination of the Earth, so many possibilities, created just for me to use. Of course, it will take a lot of mana just to create the simplest, and even with everything that I have, I don''t think I will be able to create them before the next evolution. So I have only tested the first undead type, next would be the ghoul. I have deactivated my shield, since nothing can upgrade it for now, except maybe a fireball, but I have not a single thought to try that. After waiting for myplete mana pool, I try to think of a ghoul. Some could consider the ghoul or the zombie to be the same, well, for me it''s not true. The zombie is most of the time a human that has been reanimated to serve the dark deeds of his master. The ghoul is a true monster, like a vampire, and respect a hierarchy and can think. If the first is a brainless bodyguard, the second is an efficient soldier, with just a huge thirst for blood. I try to think of something that I remember reading. They are attacking more in a pack, like some wolves, with a clear strategy and sometimes a swarm tactic. But their bodies are simr to one from a zombie, just with less putrid and rotten flesh. I keep thinking of it, but either I don''t have enough mana or my image is not clear enough. I failed, I can''t really invoke such monsters. I am clearly upset about myself because they could have been an auxiliary force capable of rampaging the countryside and escape the hunters engaged by the Church. And even in a middle of the battle, they could havee in a nimble way attack the back of the enemy army. If a zombie is a bait, then a ghoul is the hunter in the bushes, waiting for a prey toe. No, I can''t lose like that. I have to keep trying, I once again remember anything that I have thought about them. I forget all the useless backstories of every universe where they are present, just the virtual image, how they look, how they move. I keep doing that, and I finally see in front of me something appearing. But either I used too much mana, or my concentration wavered, but thest thing I remembered was a huge explosion in front of me. "-179HP" Chapter 92: A New Chosen Chapter 92: A New Chosen Waho, what happened? (If I have to guess, your first mana rebound. Normally, that''s the natural process for a sorcerer or a magician. They learn their spells, they try to cast it, and the first time they don''t manage to bound the mana to their will, that incident happen. Whatever the name used to describe it, basically, you failed your spell. Since all your spells are provided by the System, you don''t have to worry at all about that. And for [Nightfall] and [Veil of Darkness], they both don''t cost enough mana to hurt you. At worst, it will just cancel your spell if you don''t concentrate enough. But for [raise Undead], you have to be more careful. Your two arms were sted, destroyed beyond repair. But your healing ability managed to fix this, and shortly after, I saw your clothes grow back.) Wow, a lot happened, so I guess I was out for a long time too. How much? (Nearly three hours. That''s why it''s a good thing you nned to experiment here, away from civilization. The closest intelligent beings were the followers of Krieg, so the next would be the treants. And since the forest has grown back, they will slowly conquer this part of the former desert. But for now, I don''t see any movements from them, so it''s safe. Just be careful with your spell, that was potentially deadly.) Yes, it was. I know that the System told me how much life I had lost, but I have no memory past the explosion. I just know that I wanted to create a ghoul and, left, right, no, nothing at all. So it was only an explosion and nothing was created. And I have only 236MP/497, so that means my failed experiment used all of my mana. And unlike the skeleton magician were it was close enough to create just a failed magician, this time, it exploded. I mean, that''s my guess, could be theck of clear visualization by me. Zombie, skeleton, and a spirit, that I can easily imagine it. Vampires and ghouls will be a lot more difficult since there is a lot of different vampires in my mind and not enough ghouls. Yes, for the former number two, it was the standard human turned into a zombie, nothing too creative. And for the skeletons, well, it is a human skeleton, can''t be moreplicated than that. I just never expected such a thing to happen to me. Now I am d that when I created spirit number one, the spirit didn''t explode at my face. As for him, his form is a simple ball, no face, no eyes, nothing at all, just a ball of energy. Now that I think about it, how can he see? (Well, you thought that it will see his surroundings?) Yes. (So it can see, I think you don''t have to do anything else besides that. Just think of it as a special ability that you granted him.) That both makes and doesn''t make any sense. But the System in the first ce is a weird thing, so, I guess I will have to ept such truth. And forget my n to create a vampire or a ghoul. Because if thetter is impossible to create, then the first, that have life steal, can turn into a bat, and live for eternity, will be a lot harder. No, just the spirit and my new skeleton warrior. In fact, just the skeleton warrior. The spirit is good enough like that, and it costed the same as the skeleton magician, so I won''t be able to improve it anyway. And the only real use that I am able to think about is a ghost army. So for that, I need to create a human shape body, something ethereal that can''t be harmed by usual weapons, but still can hurt the living. Just thinking of the difficulty, let''s postpone everything. The next evolution will really need to be a big upgrade. Because otherwise, I will have to wait for a very long time. Where should I begin? First, let''s think about the size of my skeletons. For example, the Chosen were all giants among men, so my warriors should be of the same size, to not be bothered by the armor. So I have to think about that. Next part, would be the strength of them. As for that, I have no idea how to do it, for example, for a zombie, I would think of bigger muscles. But for a skeleton, what should I do, give him big bones? Probably. And still give him the capacity to touch mana and use it, for utility spell. For example, a haste or a stuff like that, granting them a better speed or a superior agility. I try to think about all of this, while really specifying he is not a real magician. If in my mind I begin to add everything, I will not have a chance toplete the invocation. But this time, no explosion and watching my mana, 19/497. Well, that was close, really too close. But as I watch my skeleton, I think that it was worth. Saying that he is big and impressive is just too little. He is a mountain of bones, sturdy and strong bones. The previous barely damaged tree, the one that I asked my magician to cut, I just task my new warrior to hit it. His very fist pierces the bark all the way to the other side, just one punch. Even the zombie needed a few seconds to sh his way through. But not my new warrior. After that I ask him to wear the armor left by the Chosen, to see the creation of a troop that will be feared. The result is glorious, a giant inside an impermeable fortress. Just to be sure of onest thing before shouting victory, I once againpare the speed of number one and number two, the newly created warrior. After a few seconds, I can see that number one is slightly quicker than number two, mainly because of the armor. But I remember the speed of the Chosen, and what I thought during the invocation. This time, I ask number two to use any means to run faster. A strange glow appears on his armor, and the previous slow giant begins to catch up with my magician and overtake him. That''s what I was talking about, I really create a true warrior. At this point, I am even considering to destroy number one and reborn it into my personal guard. Even if some of those heavy warriors will be facing my enemy, I need at least two to protect me at all time. Just to prevent unforeseen consequences, I am not able to know everything that will happen to me. But now, it is time to return to the human city, with something a lot stronger than I left. And on the way, there are two cities in my way, it would be a shame to leave them still standing. That way, I will be able to properly arm the rest of my skeletons, with a lot of armor and weapons. And maybe I can even loot some of the stuff carried by the magicians. You know, staff, wand, orb? Since I have the time and no enemy in sight, I will take a small holiday, and just create my army. During that time, I create my nine armored Chosen, yes I will call them like that. They wear the armors of the former Chosen and they are the strongest warriors that I possess. So it''s fine. I create twenty-three skeleton magicians, to have a strong firepower. I also invoke two additional spirits, to improve the scouting potential of Oslo. After all those preparations, I think that I am good. Do you have anything that I missed Oslo? (No, just before reaching the holy kingdom, I have a small suggestion. I am certain that you will dly ept since it is just a small request. Can we stop by in a few fairy towns, you know those towns that are filled with life energy? Like I said, I am a little weaker recently and the bad thing that I hadn''t told you was after the death of the Prophet. Normally I should have been able to retrieve most of his divine energy, but something blocked me. Is it the fact that Aria is still your god or your System that have captured everything and left nothing? I have no idea, but since it is on the way, you can just grab some life crystals andpensate for my loss.) Well, I have no idea of what caused what you just said. But if I have to guess, I will say it is my System. And since it is my System and my army is still based on your observations, I will oblige your request. And you are right, it is just a small dy that will not prevent me to do anything at all. So, Fairy Town, here Ie. Where is the Fairy Town already? Chapter 93: Last Stop at Fairy Town Chapter 93: Last Stop at Fairy Town Thanks to the once again perfect indications of Oslo, we reach the first of the two Fairy Town that we encountered earlier. During that travel, we had some patrols of elves roaming around, but we managed to escape them. The forest is filled with trees, not like the new forest created after the failed ritual of the djinns. That means the visibility is low enough to allow us to stay unnoticed. The worst we had to face was just some elves rangers, not the proper army with their spellcasters, their armored guards and their terrifying friends, the treants. That''s why even if we can properly destroy a good chunk of their forest, thetter we do that, the better it is. By the time it will be done, we should have reached the western part of the forest and the frontier with the holy kingdom. About the first vige and what happened inside? Well, veni vidi vici. In other words, we arrived, we saw the only threat being a drake and then we killed them all. The only good surprise was the fact that the blood of the drake allowed me to create a new skeleton magician. That was a very pleasant surprise. About the second vige, since we are still a lot faster than regr humans, nothing attacked us on the way. We have done the exact same thing, namely, my skeleton magicians throwing so many fireballs that the poor drake died. How is it possible? Well, we had a debate, and Oslo thinks it is the impact of the spell that killed him. For me, it was still the magical property of the fireball that still inflicted damage. Anyway, the only reason we are a little slow is the fact that I have to grab a crystal one by one and absorb his energy. In the meantime, since my army is slower, they are already on their way to the next objective, losing nearly no time. Only a few hours before we leave the forest, something happened. (Guess who arrives, a clue, it is our old friends.) I don''t think you ever talked like that about the elves so I will try to guess and say the treants? (Congrattions, you win an army of hundreding your way. It is mainlyposed of actual trees moving and only two or three are human-like tree. But seeing how they are rushing to intercept you right before you leave the forest, I advise you to meet them before they encounter your skeletons. That way, you can slow their progression and will have no trouble escaping. Even with your fireballs, don''t forget you are still inside a forest, I have no idea how the local trees will react. If they manage to awaken them, you are in a big trouble.) Yes, I know. While it can be expected that an army capable of producing a lot of fire would win against some angry nts, it is based on the fact that the nts can''t reach the army. And here, just the root of some trees can bind my magicians and maybe even destroy them. Like an anaconda killing his prey, but this time, the threates from underground. Invisible before the attack, capable of hitting nearly everybody with ease. I am sure that my Chosen will be able to survive and crush those roots, but after they will have to deal alone with the rest. And the possibility of them being crushed under the number is very high. So I listen to Oslo and goes toward the forest awakening. As I get closer, I can see more and more unusual movementsing from the vegetation. Branch moving on their own, the trunk of the tree twist on itself. Even the flowers or grass on the ground are habited by a strange power. I guess that really was a good choice. Now I hope that I can negocia SHLACK DAMN! A tree just tried to punch me. He literally tried to punch me with his branches, he lowered himself to do that, I can see him goes back to his normal position. That is too dangerous. SHLACK SLASH SLACK Wow, wow, wow! I have to dodge everything that is thrown at me. I still decide to not use any spell besides my shield, the moment I dare to hurt the forest, the meager hope of peace is over. They already forgave me one time, the second need me to be perfect in all ways. Of course, I have to stomp on some grass, but my very light body is not really hurting them, so that''s fine. For the next few minutes, I keep dodging the iing attacking from the tree. The only good thing is theck of a surprise attack. Each time, I can hear the tree moving, take his time to prepare his attack by beginning to move his huge body, and only after that, he swings his branches to hit me. So I have both visual and audible clues, and Oslo is very good at remembering the next attack. In the end, after all thatck of fight from my side, I see far away from me the treants. The real treants, and surrounding them all the moving trees, patiently and slowly encircling me. Oslo, your idea to leave stealthily is done I think. (Well, that''s still good, you have gained some precious minutes to your skeletons. Normally, you just need to stop thempletely for half an hour and then you can escape. Otherwise, there is still a good chance that they are able to wake up the trees on the way of your army. I didn''t expect the range of the awakening to be that big. And you saw how many were attacking you, imagine that against your slow skeleton magicians.) Yeah, not a good thing at all. Even I had a hard time surviving and sometimes, some branch touched me but thanks to my shield I was fine. For them? The moment they are touched, they will fall and after that, it is game over. I have still not an army big enough to not care about one or two losses. Right now, every skeleton is important. But instead of thinking about my army, maybe I should concentrate on the threat that I am facing. Some big monsters made of nts are watching me, but no attack. Maybe they are remembering me, but I have no idea if they were present during the sudden council of the tree-men. Oslo, you recognize someone? (Yes, you see, the one a little yellow, like he is at the beginning of autumn. This one was present, and I think he was favorable to your action of killing the djinn. So, if you have to talk to any of the three, it should be him. After that, what should you two talk about?) Ok, first, I have not destroyed any trees since I have arrived in this forest. For the massacre of the fairies, well, I just killed them not the surrounding forest. The drake will probably not be a burden to me since it is a fire-breather. And I will attack the humans, that have probably invaded this forest countless times or at least chop some woods. Yes, I will get rid of them, outside of the sacred forest of , the sacred forest of Oslo? (No idea, I mean, I have an idea or more precisely a memory, but it doesn''t make any sense. And since I don''t have an instant trantion like you, if I told you the name, I will butcher it. Even the human that talked about was not really sure when he pronounced it.) Ok, let''s forget the name, we will just say the sacred forest. I approach the slightly yellow treant, and being to praise him. -Mi-Mighty treants of the sssacred forest, you pr-rpobably recognize me, I am the ssyer of the djinns, sleek sleek. I am now on my wa-way to kill thosedirty humansss, that destroy forest and cr-crush trees. Can you le-let me go, sleek sleek? My interlocutor is perplexed; I think he is. Shortly after, I see him retreat a little and talk to his fellows about what I said. The good part is the fact that they are very slow at talking. That way, just this small reunion will be able to grant me the necessary time. After waiting for a very long time, I see the same monstering toward me. Oslo informs me that my army is safe now, I can escape if there is any danger. But first, let''s listen to this protector of the forest. -Ssmmaall lliittlleerreeaattuurree, yyoouu hhaavvee ddeessttrrooyyeed tthhee ttrreeahheerroouuss ddjjiinnnns, bbuutt yyoouu aarree ssttiill aa rraattmmaann. Tthhee bbeettrraayyiinngg rrae. Hhoowweevveerr, wwee hhaavvee nnoottieedd tthhaatt nnoott aa ssiinnggllee ppanntt wwaass hhuurrtt. Aaass tthhee gguuaarrddiiaann ooff tthhiiss ffoorreesstt, wwee oonnllyy aattttakk tthhee kkiilleerr ooff tthhee ttrreeeess, yyoouuaann ggoo. Tthhee eellvveess wwiillll hhuunntt yyoou fforr yyoouurrr ddeeeeddss aaggaaiinnsstt tthhee ffaaiirriieess. Lleeaavvee nnooww! That was good, I can see that the army surrounding me begins to retreat. Tthhee wwiillll ooff tthhee ffoorreesstt oonnllyyaarree aabboouutt iittsseellff. (Never do that again, now leave this damn ce and go to Ronta.) Chapter 94: Beginning of the Great War Chapter 94: Beginning of the Great War What can be said about Ronta? It has the best orphanage in this world, the butchers are unscrupulous, and the guards are a bunch of greedyds. It has served my perpetual evolution for a very long time. At first, I was only a small little rat, fleeing some Gods of Destruction and wolves. Then, it was to prevent an assassin from killing me, and I ended up against a dwarf. But every time I left it, it was because of the chaos that I provoked and with a bunch of humans chasing me. It has been more than a month since I rushed past the ramparts and exited by the northern walls. At that time, I was still scared by the magicians. I am still scared of them, I mean, they are the only reliable way for the holy kingdom to destroy my army. But between my incapacity to kill them and just a pain in the ass to do it, I have greatly improved. Ie from the East of the city, and I am still a little too far for the humans to spot my army. The local farmers that should be nting their seeds or taking care of their animals are all gone. Apparently, the mayor didn''t manage to appease the fear of themoners. As I approach Ronta, I can see that instead of some farmers, there is an army with a lot of tents surrounding the walls. That is very strange? Why are they outside and not inside? I mean, with the absence of the poption, there is plenty of rooms inside the city, there is no way that it is full. What could possibly happen when I was gone that would force an army so big that the important city of Ronta can''t provide a house for everyone? There is a problem. I order my three spirits to roam past the walls, to see the inside and let Oslo watch everything. Shortly after, the god speaks to me with a powerful voice. (GO AWAY! NOW!) Ok, fine, I return toward the forest, where I can''t even see the walls of the human town. But I need some answers now Oslo, what happened? (Honestly, if I had to guess, a new Portal War. Quite frankly, there are more troops near Ronta than the poption of both Lucia and Ronta. The army is huge, and it has encircled the town from all sides. Even in the West, there are a lot of tents and cartsing and leaving. They are preparing for something, but I don''t know what.) That''s why I asked my spirits to go, that way, you can scout, listen, gather information and report to me all of this. (The spirits the spirits are all dead.) WHAT? They cost me a lot, what happened? (Like I said, it is an army like the one I saw during the Portal War. That means the Church has made the first move. The holy priests and some archbishops have put so much walls against detection, undead, evil spirits, that the moment I discovered their presence, they already had destroyed the three spirits. The power of faith is a scary thing. And now, there is a horde of fanatics and madman believing in Aria located in the same city. If you do the same thing that you did at the orphanage, it will be useless. Now even the weak sisters that barely have any powers are capable of healing your gues.) And I guess that the high concentration of men belonging to the Church improves the blessings of Aria too? (Yes, you get it quickly. That''s the perks of having a big and powerful army, the stronger it is, the stronger it bes. A virtuous circle. But the reverse happens when you begin to lose too many battles. Honestly, there is only one thing that can provoke such a reaction. It is your action, saying that the ratmen will attack once again. But there is still a problem that I have no idea how they fixed it.) You mean, where the ratmen are? Because what is the point of such an army if you have no enemy in front of you. But the presence of the army means they have at least a clue about the position of the ratmen. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have been reassembled at Ronta. But I guess that means my n to attack the city needs to be forgotten. (You can still attack if you want, I will bet that your army willst exactly 10 seconds. 11, top.) Yes, I get the idea, you don''t have to do such sarcastic remarks. But the good thing is, if I manage to reach Atria, the capital, nothing will stop me. All their forces or the majority is here, leaving a meager garrison to prevent the powerful me from rampaging. So I just have to dodge the threat in front of me and most importantly, not be seen. Because otherwise, they can detach a small troop of heavy knights to deal with me beforeunching the assault against the ratmen. (We have no idea for how long they will stay here, maybe they are waiting for the elves, maybe they are waiting for some information from the dwarves, who knows? As for the moment, I can advise you to create a new spirit, for me. And to be sure, when you recover enough mana, invoke once again the two others. That way, your travel to the capital will be without surprises. I know that you hate surprises, so it''s for your own good.) Yes, I know, here you go spirit number one. I create it and after that begins to travel toward the South. I don''t enter the forest once again, fearing the reactions of the treants. They can potentially watch me and I will have no idea, even Oslo have a hard time knowing what is a true tree and what is a living tree. Only when they start moving can my spy in the sky detect them. It was a pleasant walk, in the ins, with a slight breeze. An enjoyable walk, with no problems, no worries. I have to enjoy such things, otherwise, I will be bored. I spend more time walking and running than fighting, and even when doing such things, I am not protected from unforeseen events. Why am I thinking such things, that''s really dumb? It''s literally an invitation to a disaster, and I will only have me to m (NIGHTFALL!) I instantly active a huge cloud of shadows around me, blocking any light and preventing someone to see me. During a fraction of seconds, I really begin to curse Oslo. Only to praise him. "-146HP" OUCH! I have a dagger nted in my right shoulder, it broke my magic shield. That''s probably what prevented my death. Surrounding me, all the skeleton magicians are casting their magic shields and my Chosen are getting in formation to protect me. But all of this is useless, I know that only one thing can bypass the detection of Oslo. The first time, it was just sheer luck that I was stuck with the treants, forcing the assassin to stop and be easier to detect. And even during that time, it took a long time for Oslo to spot him. I remove the dagger from my shoulder and put it in my bag. I can''t drop it or the sound will alert the assassin. Inside my [Nightfall], I am near invisible. The size of it is now huge, and I have a huge space to move inside. So by now, the chances that a lucky throw can hit me is far too low. Adding all the magic shields, even the strongest weapons or spells won''t be able to hurt me. He has to get close, and for that, I am waiting for him. (He is gone, for now. But this time, he is running to the North, not even checking if you are dead or alive. He probably will report you alive, seeing your skeletons to have a proper order and formation. So apparently, the ratmen are on the rise once again. You are really unlucky, I am certain that he was just checking the army of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, and you just appeared. I have no way to tell if it is the same as before, but you are probably on their death list. I advise you to create ten doppelgangers of you, for now, that way, you will be able to dodge some assassinations. Now, you have to deal with the humans and your people.) Great, thanks for your kind words and your concern about my injury. But I really didn''t expect the ratmen to be so close to me. And that means they have found me, and I kind of dishonored them, by escaping one of their assassins. Farewell, my walk in the park with no troubles and wee to my highway to hell, what will kill me first, the knights of the Church or the assassins of Szar? Chapter 95: Just a Simple Bottle of Wine Chapter 95: Just a Simple Bottle of Wine -Mayor, you should reduce your consumption of wine. It is not healthy. The butler was near the mayor that was currently opening his second bottle of wine this day. The daily life of Graeme Sorrel Tyne was very grim, since the days that the ratmen were found. The previously all-powerful mayor was reduced to just stay inside his manor and not leave it. The worst part of that? He was not in charge of anything at all and even the local guards weren''t under his control. If it was just that, it would have been fine, the mayor would have even considered it as holidays. But the other side of the coin was the totalck of information. Nothing wasing from the outside, it was a tower of ivory, a good ce to live, but cut from the outside. It has been the second week that the Church had officially arrived at Ronta, and besides the first day were the foreign archbishops told him that he was fired from his position. The reason was that he let the ratmen escape and let a member of the Iron Beards gets heavily injured. In truth, it was a miracle that the number of victims was this low, especially since he didn''t have any reinforcements for a long time. The Great Magus and even Archbishop Mathews pleaded his case, but to be brutally silenced by the power of the Church. In the end, fearing for their jobs, they decided to abandon him. Honestly, the mayor was d that they even tried to defend him, he expected nothing out of them. The only reason was the basic survival since after the mayor was removed, the next to me would have been the two of them. But it still warmed a little the cold heart of Graeme. Following that event, to exin to the remaining poption and the guards why he was fired, it was quite easy. They med him for corruption, bad conduct, adultery and everything else. The habitual condemnations against a noble. The only funny thing is the adultery since he had lost his wife fifteen years ago. As for the rest, of course, every mayor is a little corrupted, it goes with the job. Even Mathews was corrupted, a man of the Church, so for a normal noble? The bad conduct was exined when they were hiding under the brothel. During that time, it seemed like a great idea and no one managed to find them so they were safe. But after that, they distorted the fact, saying that I was indulging in pleasure while my men were dying. The brothel was even closed and all the girls that could have been found to prove my innocence were sent to repent in some far abbey. As for the guards, they just shut their mouths and enjoy the protection of the Church. And that''s it, that''s everything that happened to the mayor and lead him to this life of wait, with just the pleasure of drinking good wine left. Right now he had in front of him a bottle from the Green Coast. Normally, he shouldn''t be drinking such a harsh alcohol drink, but who cares. Right before beginning to really drink it, the butler informed him that he had some visitors. Great, a new thing will finally happen. He immediately rushed toward the reunion room, to stay presentable. Only after arriving inside the room, he noticed that he still had the bottle of wine in his hands. With not enough time to leave, he only put in on a table nearby. He quickly arranged his face, his clothes, and right after he finished, he heard the door opening. Do his big surprise, it is two archbishop surrounding a dwarf. And not just some random dwarf, he wears the emblem of the king of the Mountain. -Greetings master dwarf, I hope that you will find this humble house to your liking. -Bah, don''t bother with some pleasantries human, I am only here to finish a request made by someone. I already exined to all those Church men the location of the city of those vermin, and they are here because they don''t want me to say it. I will truly never understand all of you, facing a mortal enemy you still have time for petty politics. -Yes master dwarf, I am afraid that we will always remain like that. Strong and brave against an immediate danger but petty and untrustworthy before it. So what is the request, if I can do it, I will dly try my best? -Not a lot human, it ising from Lansco, I know that you two were friends, or at least, were pretending to be friends. Anyway, I know that it is only you that has the key to the apartment of the Guild Master. During the battle with the dirty rat in the sewers, he lost his key, meaning we can''t enter the Adventurer Guild. -Yes, of course, Charles! -Yes, mayor? -Charles, please, go fetch the key that I have prepared on the red desk, the big one, thank you. As you see I was already prepared for anything. In truth, I was expecting the adventurer guild to recover his property, but with the waring here, they didn''t even bother. So for thest month, the Guild was abandoned, except the reception and the public basement. As for all the dangerous tools located on the first floor, I guess you can let those two gentlemen deal with it. As proof of our sincerity and friendship, whatever you see that you need will be offered to you. -Is it true? At those words, a strange light appears inside the eyes of the dwarf. He looks anxiously at the two members of the Church, to see their reactions. But, those two humans were clearly not expecting that move from the mayor. And they are in quite a pickle, should they refuse that to their ally, that will fight with them against the ratmen? Or should they keep the ingredients to strengthen their own forces? But by doing so, they will clearly anger the dwarves. Seeing the clear embarrassment of the two men, the mayor quickly seals the deal. -Of course, the Church will never be stingy with their allies, especially the proud dwarves. You were those that managed to destroy those dirty machines inside the Gold Summit, turning the tides in the past war. That''s why, if there is something that will be useful to your incredibly talented engineers, you can get it. -Haha, good words mayor, very good words. I know understand why you two were friends, the tongue of the human is truly a wonderful ability. I don''t really know if you think all of you said, but you make me happy anyway. A drink! To this! To the END OF THE VERMIN! After seeing this, the dwarf approach the wine put on the table. The mayor has no fear about that since the dwarves are naturally resistant to alcohol. Even if he drinks all the bottle, at worst, he will be drunk. But seeing the dwarf being an endless hole, Graeme is regretting this. He will probably not even be able to taste the wine before the bottle is empty. What nobody expected was the previous healthy dwarf to spit blood right after finishing to drink. The two agents of the Church instantly get near him and begins to heal him, preventing the death of the emissary. If a dwarf really dies inside Ronta, who knows what will happen to the alliance between the two races. Because the Church had assured that not a single ratmen was located inside the city, so the only exnation was a poison used by a human. This line of thought was currently running in a circle inside the minds of the three men around the dwarf. But while the two men of the Church was currently targeting the mayor with death stares, Graeme himself was truly shocked. First, if he had drunk that bottle, he would have been dead, since even the strong dwarf only survived because of the presence of the archbishops. And then, who had poisoned that wine? Because the bottle was sealed, or at least he thought it was sealed. And it is one of thest bottles in his reserve, something he would probably never have drunk if not being fired from the position of mayor. No matter what is the solution, it doesn''t make any sense to him. The people inside the mansion was loyal to his family and himself, he will swear on everything he had. Charles, for example, his son had managed to enter the order of the knights only because Graeme had helped him. And for the rest of the maids, they all had many favors granted by him. During all of this, Charles finally enters the room, carrying the key. But seeing the weird scene, he doesn''t really understand what happened, only looking at the mayor with troubled eyes. -Charles, where does this bottlees from? -Eh, mayor, I think it is from one of the different pubs that have closed after the evacuation. I don''t know anything else. Seeing hisst hope fly away, the poor mayor resigned himself to his fate. After stabilizing the state of the dwarf, the two archbishops look at the former mayor with angry eyes. -Graeme Sorrel Tyne, you are under arrest for the tentative of murder against the emissary of the king of the Mountain. You will be judged by the Church for this attack against the dwarves and during such conflicted times. You will also bebeled as a traitor, betraying the human race from whatever payment you hading from the ratmen. You truly have disappointed us. Chapter 96: Robbed? Chapter 96: Robbed? During the travel to the capital of the human kingdom, I never slept well. I mean, besides the fact that it is useless to me, I never was safe, always fearing a new attack. That provoked the stagnation of the number of undead servants under mymand. The permanent use of my [Veil of Darkness] and the creation of multiple doppelgangers thanks to [Nightfall] was too costly. I never lost any mana, but I only was able to create a new spirit after 5 days. Since I had to dodge anything that could see my army and report it to the Church, only after the creation of the third spirit, we reached Atria. Strong Atria, beautiful Atria, full of life Atria. Thest part is a major concern for me since I have this wonderful ability granted by the Blood God himself. But I have deviated a lot from my former road, and I am now near the northern part of the slums, instead of reaching the city by the East. Not that it will really change anything, but I have still my tomb in the East, you know, the tomb filled with leather armors capable of preventing my skeletons to be detected as undead. The only problem is the size of my army, before, the leather armors were enough, but now, it is definitelycking. But well, I will see when I will arrive at my armory. We stay, of course, far away from any habitations of the humans, to not be seen. It would be a shame that the slow travel I had to endure can be useless just because of me, being careless. But apparently, Oslo doesn''t find any criminals or ouws leaving the town, so that''s fine. I finally arrive at my tomb but notice something weird, or unexpected. The ground is perfectly fine and there is grass everywhere. But I truly remember the tree nearby and the location, so the tomb is here. Just, the precise location? Damn that perfect weather. Seriously, I am certain that this perfect atmosphere created by Aria has caused the ground to elerate the growth of the grass. How am I supposed to find my tomb now? Well, if I remember, it was under those leaves, or at least the shadows of those leaves. Maybe a little further? I ask my skeleton magicians to begin to dig everywhere near this ce. More than twenty skeletons working will probably discover the tomb. After a short moment, number twenty manages to uncover the bones of the buried criminal. Great, that means my stock of weapons is close to it. I only let the five closest undead keep working since numbers will slow down more than help. After uncovering theplete body of the ouw, the undead servants inform me that they have finished the job. They are really efficient. I approach my former armory, prepared to sort the leather armors that have suffered the passage of time. But my smile quickly disappears. I HAVE BEEN ROBBED?!! WHO DID THAT? I clearly remember that my many bags were located inside the rib cage of the non-living skeleton, or at least close to that part of the body. But no matter where I look, I find nothing. I have been robbed. What kind of sick maniac would dig a tomb? And he was looking for what? I mean, I can see theplete wait, where is the skull? So he was looking for a human skull, and unfortunately for me, find my armory, hidden inside this very tomb. Damn, that''s one of those bloody heretics you were talking about Oslo. (I think you misunderstood me on that point. And I think you have a different version of what is a heretic. What I call heretic is everyone that is thinking and believing in another god that the one in charge of the world. For example, the ratmen, the djinns and the followers of Krieg were all heretics. You, even if it is a little weird, are even a heretic, from another side. Since you are believing in me, Oslo, a foreign god, and not in Aria.) Oh, I am believing in her, believing that she is a trash goddess and deserve to die. I was the one that she killed but she turned me into a rat. I got better afterward, but still, a rat. That''s why I am believing in her, believing that she will stay alive long enough to see all of her believers dead. And that time, there would be no Hero to save her. Because she made the mistake of creating me and throwing me into a lichir, condemning to die. And if not the Seven Gods of Destruction, I wouldn''t be present here, talking about some stupid and childish goddess that deserve nothing but to be overthrown. Is it the type of believing you expect? (Well, I was talking about another type of believing but whatever. So, it is just a description of a person, not their nature. For example, you can have a proud and zealot believer of Aria, that is at the same time a child killer and eat them at breakfast. He will do some horrible actions and deeds and will be judged for them, but he is still a believer in Aria. At the same time, you can have a good man, participating in the city, helping elderly and young children. But he is believing in god number two, and therefore is a heretic.) Ok, I get it. Yes, for me, heretics was both a believer in another god and a bloodthirsty monster. But your version of the heretic is just the belief in one god or another. So I withdraw my words, and say, what can of maniac is searching for a human skull? (Most likely a heretic.) Are you messing with me? You just say before that it doesn''t have to be a heretic human, that they can be good people, helping people. And at the same time, you still agree that it is most likely a heretic that has done that. You realize there is a problem with your sentences. Do you see the contradiction in it? (No, you were generalizing the situation andbeling all heretics as monsters. I just remind you that it is not the case, that they are still humans, elves or whatever their races. But, it is most likely that a new-born god will need a lot of things to survive under the oppression of Aria. And I know quite a number of things that need the skeleton of a deceased. I mean, my Agorians back in the day had done the same thing, so I can rte. That''s why I still agree that it is a heretic that has stolen all your stuff. He was quite a luckyd.) Yeah, yeah, lucky. Not so lucky when you will find him and I will personally steal his blood inside his veins. Him, and everyone in his cult. Since I can''t defy the natural order yet, I will get rid of all the opposition to your reign. So, Oslo, God of Nothing, can you do that? (Nope, can''t do. And don''t ask me to search the entire city again, I have told you, without a direct no, actually I can find some heretics thanks to your spirits. Ok, I will try, but don''t expect anything. Searching the city with only two spirits will be a long task. And I won''t even be able to tell what cult had stolen the skull of the criminal.) You already told me that a long time ago. That''s why I will increase the number of spirits to five after I have replenished my mana. But as you already know, I need you to look out for the ratman assassin or anything stalking me. So, in the end, I have still all my skeleton magicians naked and extremely visible. The good news, the number of holes in the ground. I quickly dispatch all of them inside the numerous hiding ces newly create, like I did when I only had number one. After seeing all the exposed skeletons buried, I approach the city. The same warm and feeble breeze can be felt. It is truly a strange weather; I really want to know if there is a winter or not? Because winter is definitely noting. My sudden approach is quickly noticed by everyone still residing in the slums. But apparently, my reign of terror is still present in the minds of everyone. Not even before I reach a single street, I hear screams and shouts far away, warning everyone that the shadow of death has returned from his kingdom. Ahh, such sweet sounds are ringing in my ears. Cry of the children, screams of the adults, sound of broken things, destroyed in front of the running crowd. I really missed those. Well, time to start a new road of ugther in the slums. Chapter 97: The First Gate Chapter 97: The First Gate I return to the base of the green hooded bandits. Since I have no idea if they men of Shadow have been rallied or where is located thest gang. But what I know, is the fact that whatever is inside that base, it''s going to be good. At least, a huge number of clothes, since I don''t really need weapons at the moment. As for all the potential traps and vials that will be thrown at me, well, it doesn''t matter anymore. Since I have my wonderful shield. Instead of my multiple doppelgangers, I only maintain two of them. That way, it is still three targets to choose and at the same time, not too much, that will not make the guards overreact. Because if I arrive with my army of ten potential shadows, even if they are just baits and non-existent, for the humans they are all real. And if ten people with a strength simr to mine were to enter the capital, it will provoke a huge uproar that will force the Church to make a move. The proof was provided by the previous number one. He told me before dying that the Church was involved with the killing of all my undead servants. That means, they know that they are all skeletons under their armors and my arrival, and potential ughter will trigger an answer. What they probably don''t know, is the fact that I have seen their armies far away. Well, no actually, they will suppose that I know that information. Otherwise, why would I return only after the departure of the strongest knights? TULUTULUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU TULUTULUUUUUUUUU TULU TULUTULU Once again, the horn of the guards is resonating across the entire slums. And this time, it is not only once, but every horn that is used. It a full retreat organized just by my arrival. Well, since the mask has fallen, why should I keep mine? I order all my skeleton magicians toe near our position since we will need all our forces. Even if I didn''t really underestimate them, they are still surprising me. Not a single soul can be seen in the streets and houses. This time, the rats have fled instantly, without even waiting for the ship to sink. And I was hoping for one or two that were too slow to escape. Now that I think about it, they have probably been killed by my skeleton warriors before. Now, only those that can run quickly are alive. Fat chance for my [Blood Touch], and I still can''t create new undead without it. After some time where we walked inside the deserted streets, we finally reach the same building that was emptyst time. There is nobody else around us, and this time, we have note for their lives. Well, yes we were here for that, but since everyone is gone, we are here specifically for something else. Even without the need to hide my skeletons for what they are, the defense provided by those leather armors are still useful. At least, they can stop some damages on my magicians, not a lot yes, but still some. And that is all I want, and just for the style too. I mean, it is a real army that I have, why should my magicians run around naked? That wouldn''t be as scary as a silent armored army standing in front of you. I ask number two to destroy the door and he executes my order. Just one swing of his axe, and not just the door, but the nearby walls are all destroyed. I should have asked him to just destroy the door only, and not everything else. But it is toote. Even after entering, there is no trap or surprise for us, I guess that all the mechanisms to deploy them were destroyed by the axe. Shortly after, all my undead servants are looking for clothes. They were found quickly, since it is not a dangerous thing, and finally I have a proper army. Leaving the ruins of the gang base, I approach the closest gate, to be more precise, the South Gate. I have already deal with them, and they were particrly slow to react and not really pressed to join the fight. I mean, I block the way to the city, and they had done nothing to stop me. Not even one crossbow was fired if I remember correctly. Yes, I have cast [Nightfall], but they could havee closer, and walk through. But they haven''t, and that was perfect for me. Unfortunately, this time, it is them that I will target, not just some citizens of the slums. I wonder if I will see that officer that was trying to discreetly use his power to loot the base of Shadow. Because all of his men were the best type of people I want to face. Coward, weak-minded, fearful of me. And against my [Cause Fear] which is level 5 8? Level 8? When did it get upgraded that much? Maybe it was that that provoked the scream from Daryl. Because even if he was dying, to scream after seeing me was weird. But the thing is, how did that happen? I check my attributes, nothing, my skills, nothing, my abilities, nothing more, and my title just oh, here you go, my little friend. [Nemesis of Krieg], hehe, I forget to check my titles previously. That''s kind of dumb, but since I had a lot of things to deal and they are in a separate window. But that''s probably what improved my passive ability, I mean, I am now considered as a deadly foe by Krieg. And he is the god of blood, death and strange mutations. Well, it doesn''t matter where I get that, the good thing is my newly increased capacity to terrify my enemy. Because before, I was already capable of scaring the bandits and nearly all the guards, now, they will personally wet themselves during the battle. I mean, if they are not dead yet before they reach me. Because a rain of fire will be unleashed inside this very city, and not even the help of a stupid goddess will prevent that. And here we are, facing a huge wooden door with an iron grid. There is no drawbridge to prevent us from entering, just two things that are highly weak to my acid. On the ramparts, I can see the guards preparing their crossbows and beginning to aim at us. They are shaking, fearing for their lives, their useless and short lives. Not a single of them is in front of those doors. They have at least acknowledged the fact that I am a lot stronger than they are. Otherwise, some men would have been facing me directly. (Even before you ask because I was following your train of thought. No, nobody ising to help them. The Church is still not acting, and the other garrisons are not sending any reinforcements to the gate. Even after I saw three or four guards running away in direction of the closest gates. I guess, they are fearing more attacks than just you, so they will not help their fellow guards for the moment. As for theposition of the defenders, they all have crossbows and behind the door, there are already pikemen and a wall is formed. Expect heavy resistance, it will not be easy. There are at least hundreds of soldiers right in front of you, and thousand in less than 500 meters around us.) For the first assault, I will not be suicidal and rush things. I still have time, until the Church reacts. I just have to capture this gate before they begin to charge at me. As for that, I will, first of all, grant them a small gift. I throw five orbs filled with my gue at five locations on the ramparts. My spell has a higher range than their crossbows, so I can do it without risking anything. And now, I will wait for a few minutes, I don''t believe that something that was capable of killing the followers of Krieg can''t handle some small guards. (They shouldn''t survive, but you are talking about the capital of the kingdom of Aria, the holy kingdom to be precise. Don''t expect your spells to work the same way they were inside the slums or even inside the desert. You will have a hard time killing those believers with just some gue, even if neither you or your skeleton army will be affected by the environment. If you were not the Hero of Aria, you would have faced so many restrictions and curses the moment you step inside the slums. But while you are not weakened, they are still strengthened by the local blessings. Even without ... well never mind, you can''t see it, but there are some priests already praying.) Damn those priests. So I guess I can cancel my idea to let my gue do its job. It is time to set the world on fire! Chapter 98: Minor Resistance Chapter 98: Minor Resistance After a few minutes, I notice no change inside the ramparts. Those bloody priests are efficient; I have to give that to them. And with the local environment, I guess the most basic blessing will be able to save a life already at death''s door. But thinking you can get away unscathed? All you will receive is painful after burns. I order my skeleton magicians to fire the first volley of the spell. The humans are clearly shocked by that since a lot of them are touched by the spells. My army is clearly coordinating with each other, since not a single skeleton fire on the same location as somebody else. That means, more victims and a bigger area burning. Seeing the archers currently retreating from the edge of the ramparts, it is time to use my Chosen for the charge. I fire at least seven orbs before managing to form a hole big enough to let them pass. I can see from that hole the terrified faces of the pikemen behind the door. Unfortunately for them, there is no magician to rally them in front of my Chosen after they will breach the door. And like the scene of a very famous movie, the brave and proud soldiers are getting quickly overrun by armored giants. I can see number two lead the charge and pierce the wall, swinging his axe left and right. Each time he does that, a few soldiers lose their lives, cut in half by the sharp weapon. No matter what it is, their steel armors, their iron shields, their helmets, their chest tes. All is destroyed in one hit by my Chosen. Causing chaos among the guards, and beginning to paint the streets red. Exactly what I was expecting from my most recent creation. Leaving the crossbowmen under the fire of my magicians, I approach the door. The fifty men that were guarding the gate are now all dead, dispatched in a little more than 20 seconds. The hole formed by my acid has been erged, letting at least two of my normal skeletons pass at the same time. I can see some of the Chosen take cover under the wall while the rest is hacking the remaining wooden door in pieces. They can''t allow their axes to be broken by doing the same on the iron grid, but for the wooden door, it will not be a problem. Right now, my Chosen have only taken some minor damages, and are protected from the crossbowmen. There is a blind spot just under the gate, where only people on the streets can target me and my skeletons. But, all the humans that are present in that street are dead, their blood flowing even to the gate. Seeing that, I do what everybody will do. I crouch a little and absorb all the blood near me. Seeing my mana being replenished, I begin to smile. Just a small part of everything spilled on the ground, and I can already create a new magician. But, it is not enough, I need something that can create a diversion. I decide to create some zombies, and since there is a lot of corpses nearby, I want to try something else. Since all of my creations were based on my imagination and my mana, what happens when I try to use [Raise Undead] on a body? Will it cost less mana? That would be great. I search for a few seconds and see a corpse that only has a hole in his chest. His heart is missing, and a part of his lungs was removed. I guess one of my Chosen literally grabbed his heart, well, they have the strength to do this. I surround myself with a huge cloud of darkness, to prevent anyone from targeting me while I try my new experiment. I put my two hands on the body, and think of a zombie, the same zombie that I created, one that is resistant to magic, strong but a little slow. After a short moment, I see my creation, it is the very body that I used, with all his equipment. But after looking at my MP, I notice that it is the same cost. Damn, that was a failure, except the face of the zombie and his appearance that are a little cleaner, nothing changed. Well, I had to try that one day, because if that worked, that would spare me a lot of mana. After searching for every single drop of blood, I manage to create ten zombies, capable of taking the hit for my Chosen. I order all of them to split in two groups and begin to climb the stairs leading to the ramparts. That way, I and the Chosen stay safe, my skeleton magicians keep firing at the soldiers visible on the ramparts, and a horde of zombies will, in a very short time, join the party. And it doesn''t matter how many fireballs touch them, they will be able to survive the hit and only have one order, kill every human they see. (Ok, so we have a small problem with your brilliant n. The stairs are blocked by some soldiers with spears, they have managed to nt the head of the spears inside the flesh of the leading zombie. On each side, so, the two groups are blocked, they can''t progress.) Fine, so I have to takemand of the problem. Number, number? Zombie in front! I receive their answers, meaning I am in contact with the two undead that are skewered on the pikes. That''s great, I ask them how and where they are pierced by the human weapons. Shortly after, I understand that they arepletely stuck, there are at least ten spears incrusted in their flesh. And since it is some stairs, the rest of the group is pushing on the leading zombie, preventing him from backing off. They can''t climb above him either. I guess the intelligence of those zombies is clearlyckingpared to that of a single skeleton. Otherwise, they would have retreated, grab their immobilized fellows and then charge again, and making sure that the same situation won''t happen again. But no, they keep rushing toward the closest human and at the same time, prevent everyone from doing so. Now I understand why they are cheaper than the skeleton warriors. Because they are dumb! Let''s keep calm, I ask every zombie to step back a little and the closest to the pierced undead to grab him. After receiving the confirmation that everyone is out of the spears, I ask only two zombies in each group to walk toward the guards. I order them to grab any spears that are in range. Shortly after, I hear some screamsing from the stairs, I guess they seed. I tell them to keep doing that, while the other zombies are in charge of killing any humans that have felt. The stairs on my left are cleared a lot faster and they begin to charge on the ramparts. That time, I let them do whatever they want, only to kill a maximum of guards. As for the right stairs, I have lost the connection. I keep asking mentally a report, but nothing arrived. What happened? (The priests were located on that side after the failed gue attack. So, seeing the zombies grabbing the nearby guards, they have sung a strange melody, and after that, all the undead were burning. That should be a spell really efficient against undead, and that''s only the beginning. Like I said, it is some priests from a local church, not the men from the Church. They will arrive with holy water, blessings, countless blessings, and some equipment that will tear apart your zombies. As for the Chosen, they will have a hard time surviving, but there is a still a chance. Anything else will be destroyed.) Well, I guess I only have to take the stairs to my left and let the right side stay alive a little longer. I climb toward the ramparts, with my group of Chosen following me. At my arrival, I can see numerous dead bodies, most of them are bleeding. There are some burned corpses, probably the doing of my skeleton magicians. But the majority was still alive, and killed by my zombie. I see that three of them are running after the fleeing guards, in front of me. As for the other two, I turn to the other side. Only to find two rows of crossbowmen and some priests looking at me. The faces of all the guards are terrified. They are looking at my three shadows and my Chosen, with big open eyes. I guess they were not expecting us to get here so quickly. In front of them, the bodies of my two zombies, totally ck. The burning part was true. But, as I look in the eyes of the priests, I don''t see fervor and bravery. What I see is sheer terror and despair. Something is telling me that they are absolutely not confident about facing me or my Chosen. Well, that''s really a shame, because you won''t be able to y anymore of my zombies. Chapter 99: The Messenger Chapter 99: The Messenger I look just for a fraction of second before attacking at my attribute window and I see that I have gained a level. Seeing the chaos around me, I will say that''s fair. Between the ughter perpetrated by my Chosen and the continuous volley of fireballs, I have already killed more than hundreds of guards. And my zombies are chasing the fleeing side and with each second, more death can be found. The standoff we are currently is quickly resolved, without violence. I mean, real violence, it was even kind of funny. I just approached the guards and priests and at the same time used [Blood touch] to absorb all the blood surrounding me. The floating rivers of blood that were converging on me should have been a really scary scene. And that, with the support of my [Cause Fear], provoked a chained reaction. At first, only one crossbow was dropped and his bearer seen fleeing. But shortly after, a wave of humans was seen running away, bravely. The only men standing were the priests, and by men, I mean men and women. Now that I look at it, there is two female priest, not that I really care, but you have to give them some merits. They are more courageous than the guards. By a small margin. Because when danger reared his ugly head, all those people of the Church bravely turned their tails and fled instead. Unfortunately, cowardly behaviors won''t save you from me. My Chosen, using their spells to grant them additional speed quickly reach the slowest guards and behead them. No one managed to outrun my skeleton warriors, not a single soul from that group escaped. And with that additional supply of mana, I create ten more zombies, and I direct them toward their fellow undead. That way, one side of the ramparts will be permanently attacked by my zombies. As for those that are in sight of my Chosen, I will let them off for the moment. Now that everyone is dead around me, oh no, there is a survivor here. Well, until I sucked all his blood away from his body. I begin to go to the area where my spell [Blood Touch] can still be used, and after that, I finally have five spirits in total. Two to my protection and three searching for any heretics hidden inside the capital. (Yes, searching the capital but not the entire capital, I just want to precise that.) What do you mean, not the entire capital? (Remember those dead spirits in Ronta? IT IS THE CAPITAL! Of course, there would be some weird shields and blessings, preventing your undead from entering. So, each time I have to move them to a location, I have to check that nothing will kill them. And it is really slowing down my progress, there are already five areas where I can''t approach. Basically, I can go about five hundred meters away from the ramparts, before being blocked. So that''s not really a lot of surfaces to cover.) Wait, wait, wait? You are saying that, but does that mean that once I will enter the city, all my undead will be killed? (Yes and no. Yes, your zombies will definitely die, that''s nearly certain. They are you weakest undead and they are dumb, so they will take the blunt of the attack at its full effect. Your skeleton magicians should be able to stay alive, partially because of their higher knowledge in mana and their magic shields. As for the Chosen, don''t worry. Their armors were designed to break anything that Aria will throw at them. The bad thing was that they were not that invincible against your spells.) You nearly scared me for a minute, but I guess that makes sense that a weak spirit that doesn''t even have a single resistance will die to the first barrier. But that means that I have to improve my zombies or stop the creation of them. In the meantime, they are still useful at destroying and rampaging the ramparts, where only guards are located. Except for some unexpected priests. I regroup my true army around me and begin to go to the right side of the ramparts since the left is taking by my zombies. Now that I have destroyed a gate and that the news is spreading, my kill count is not rising as before. The guards are all gone by the time I reach the second gate. No matter what, I keep going but I have to face a problem at the third gate. There is still no one near. I expected them to be cowardly, but that cowardly? They are bloody chickens, running away even before the fox arrived. And I am not talking about the buildings located near the walls. I have seen some abandoned pubs, even some inns deserted. No one is staying near me and my force, and the city is still big enough to not really provoke a problem. Like I said, Ronta was not even a quarter of the capital, so just sheltering the slums and the exterior houses are not a huge problem. And there are three walls in total, separating me from the royal pce. I have not heard the retreat from this zone of the city, meaning that if I provoke too much trouble, they will close the second wall. And it is even bigger than the first. After the 6th gate, I resign myself to my cruel fate. I won''t be able to do anything in the ramparts, and, with the minutes that I am wasting, it is not looking good. I call my zombies, to see if they have seen anything. They answer that besides the first running guards, they have not managed to grab anyone. They tell me that they are hungry too, but that they continue to run on the ramparts, looking for a prey. That confirms my supposition, the ramparts were clearly abandoned, and the guards must have retreated to the second wall. As for themoners? I have no idea, maybe they were let in, maybe the gates are already closed. Since I am just letting the Church gather more troops, I order my zombies to spread inside the city, only the edge of the city, preventing them from getting close to the areas where Oslo have found some strange protections. As for me and my army, we will directly go toward the second wall. That way, we can both walk inside the city and watch out for any survivors hidden in the deserted houses. Because while the slums will be weed inside this part of the city, there is absolutely no way that they will be able to pass through the gates on the second wall. That''s in logic, in time of desperate times, only the good-looking and innocent citizens can survive. The rest? They will be lucky if they are not captured and turned into death squadrons, earning their freedom by killing the enemy. I am certain that there is a bounty for the head of the shadow of death, or whatever is my name now. Madman and maniacs, hopeless and bloodthirsty criminals, they will be thrown at me, just trying to hurt me, or even better, kill me. But that will only make me stronger, more bodies, more souls, more blood. As I walk, Ie across a well, connected to the water tank. I remember when I tried to poison the entire city of Ronta, now I realize that they have a means of preventing anything. Not even the alchemists that are quite good, but just some priests, thanks to the power of faith, can turn a poisoned air into a pure one. CATACLOP CATACLOP A horse? I hear a horse running away, and another oneing in my direction. I guess they don''t know where I am. The moment he appears in the za located around the well, I can see his face distorted by fear, and see him trying to get away. It is not a knight, a squire at best. But his horse is scared, and he has thrown him out of the saddle. Now, I can slowly approach the stunned young man, while the horse is returning from where he wasing from. It takes him a few seconds, but the young man finally recovers his mind, only to be encircled by me and my Chosen. His face is now pale, not a single touch of red in sight. I ask number one to do that talking, as always. -Where are you going? What do you carry? He has a bag, and he was clearly on a mission. I can guess what it is, but I need a confirmation. -Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th He keeps stuttering until he stopped. For a moment, I don''t understand, but then, seeing the light in his eyes fade away, I realize that he died of fear. Well, I guess it is a painless death, but it is not useful to me. I suck his blood and begin to search inside his bag. I found a letter, sealed, that I quickly open. Inside, its content reveals that an unknown force has attacked Atria and the army located inside Ronta has to bring some reinforcements to the Capital. So I guess, mental telepathy is not spread across the country. And the other horse that I heard had probably the same letter. But that means I have nearly a week to destroy as much as I can the city before the reinforcements arrived. And I am only short of 8 levels before my evolution. Chapter 100: A Lack of Victims Chapter 100: A Lack of Victims I keep going deeper inside the capital, not wanting to waste time. Until at one point, number one informs me of the dreadful truth about this very city. -Master, I am afraid that we are slowly disintegrating. At first, we were able to endure it and not really suffer. But right now, I am afraid that it will take only a few minutes for all the skeleton magicians to disappear from this world. Yes, I know. Now, I want you all to be regrouped in a formation where you are all protected by one single magic shield. I see them getting into position and shortly after, I see the particles floating in the air, meaning that the magic shield is activated. I ask number one once again if there is a problem. -No, master, thanks to that wonderful idea. The magic shield, as you suspected it, is capable of protecting us for now. But the skeleton magician casting it is saying that it is quite a burden on him. And since we already use a lot of mana on those ramparts, we will not be able to fight at our full potential. Ok, I get it, thank you number one. But you can still fight one more time? I receive a positive answer to my question. Now that is fixed, they should be able to survive, but I will probably have five skeletons removed from the fight since they will have to maintain that shield, even if we flee. That would be a shame if, after the fight, I see all my undead disappear in front of me. Because that would mean I won''t be able to do another assault. I have a window of a week to do the maximum damage to Aria and her holy kingdom. While, at the same time, I hope that they are already attacking the ratmen. That way, my two main enemies are fighting each other, and in the meantime, I survive. As for anyone else engaged in that conflict, I hope you will be destroyed too. Dwarves, elves, orcs or whatever you are. But not too much, otherwise, the ratmen will be hunted too easily and it will end before I manage to provoke too much chaos. NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII What is this, an old door creaking? But what does this mean, someone is near us? Oslo, can you say what is the situation? (Ok, give me a sec, I approach the spirit and yes, someone is behind the door. Hold on, more than just one human. Let me check something, yes, still there hum hum ) A true and clear answer? Somethingprehensible by an intelligent creature, not just some humming? (Ok, so your idea of throwing bodies at you? You were right, in nearly every house surrounding the street that the messenger took, there are at least three or four criminals waiting for you. And they are armed this time, with real weapons. That means, the guard tossed them something to use against you, they won''t fight likest time, with broken knives and rusty swords. They all have a proper equipment, and they will fight not just for their greed, by for their life. Really a shame, thinking that just some ouws can deal with you.) You say that, but you are as happy as I am. The truth is, if I haven''t the armors of the followers of Krieg on my Chosen, I would be scared. Because I personally had a hard time dealing with it and didn''t even manage to melt those reinforced metals with my acid. Only after many orbs can I break through it, so, just a normal iron produced for the guards? Not even the top quality steel granted to the knights, just an ordinary iron. There is no way they can even break a legging, at best their swords won''t be destroyed in the process. As for the surprise effect of their attacks? Well, that was before someone had the stupidity to move a door, most likely to have a better vision of me and my army. Since it will take too much time to hunt them one by one, and I have the distance advantage, I can end thisedy. I ry my words to number one, as usual. -Pitiful humans,e to embrace your death. Hiding in your weak houses won''t save you from the grim reaper. Let me see the feeble strength of the hunting dogs sent by the Church. I think it is an effective taunting. I mean, it can be better, I could have implied that they are impotent, their fathers smelt of elderberries and their mothers were hamsters, but that would be too much of an insult. Honestly, that is the best way of taunting someone I ever heard, but I have a reputation to preserve, I can''t just say those things when I am a ratman. (Yes, of course, not like it doesn''t really matter. What I want to know is, what is a hamster and what do you mean by elderberries?) Don''t you have those things in Forslo? Wait, there is nothing like that in Astria? (Nothing in the memory of the Agorians, so I want to ask, what are those things?) Nothing important, good thing then that I didn''t say those words. Because the only thing that would have happened is a total iprehension from the criminals. Instead, I insulted them in a more straightforward way but the effect is not as big as I thought. No one is leaving their houses, maybe they still think that I didn''t notice them? Seeing theck of answer and movement from the other side, I target the closest location where a group of bandits where. For that, I throw my most useful spell, my good old orb of acid. Shortly after, a hole inside a house and one half of a man lying in the ground can be seen. As for the rest that was too close to the wall, well, magic, they disappeared. After that, there is a big exmationing from everywhere around me. Followed by a background sound of intense and heated discussions. That''s the way I want it to happen. Now, they will discuss, decide that fighting in the open will be their only hope of survival, they do that, they encounter my Chosen that cut all of them in pieces and I recover my mana from all their blood. Following those actions, I create more skeleton magicians that I dress with theying equipment, and we can march toward the second wall. A perfect n. (Sleek, they are getting away.) NO! NO, NO, NO! Fight for your bloody life bunch of morons! Ok fine, you want it the hard way, Chosen, deal with them. I can see 7 of my Chosen rush toward the bandits that are exiting the houses in front of me. They are far too slow to do that, and quickly, my Chosen manage to sh the slowest bandits. Apparently, they are running in direction of the second wall, what are they expecting? Mercy? For what, the numerous crimes they all havemitted? (Well, they are doing that and they are also warning all their fellow members of the slums. Everyone is retreating, so that means the chances of you finding someone not running away toward the nearby gate is extremely low. For example, your zombies still haven''t found a single victim, after all this time. Even if they can''t fight you directly, they will hide under the protection of the many magicians and priests located at the inner level. Right now, from what I am seeing, you can''t approach the second wall.) That''s why I wanted to rampage this outer ring, create a big army, march on the inner circle, destroy that damned wall, repeat again the entire thing. But they clearly prepared themselves for myeback, because the speed of execution is far too fast. But what do you mean I can''t even approach the second wall? Why? (Ok, just a thing that I have to warn you, my vision can''t go past the second wall. The power of Aria is far too powerful after that, reducing my visibility to just the wall. That''s why, even without the spirits, I can still locate the bandits hidden inside this part of the city. As for the wall itself, hehe. Maybe you should just look from afar, to see for yourself.) Great, a new surprise, why do I have the feeling it is a very, very bad news. What should I expect honestly, thousands of guards? Sure thing, not anything less, especially since they know my location thanks to the bandits. Countless priests? Probably, meaning, no gue and probably a reduced power of both my undead and my [Nightfall]. Many magicians? Well, they were clearlycking on the first wall, but I understand them. Their houses are probably in the inner part of the city; why should they fight for the citizens of the slums? What did I forget? (Holy knights, a bunch of those fanatics.) Ah, yes, the final boss. Chapter 101: The End of the Slums? Chapter 101: The End of the Slums? Currently, I am facing a huge problem. I need to kill a lot of people, and for that, I need a big army of undead. But my zombies can even approach my current location, or they will be killed. My spirits are stuck in the outer part of the city, meaning the information I gather thanks to them is near none. Oslo has gone blind past the second wall and my magicians are running low on mana because they have to stay under the magic shield. Good news? My Chosen literally don''t care about anything, and since I am partially the Hero of Aria, I don''t care either. Because, apparently, if my undead and myself were not affiliated to Aria, we wouldn''t even have breached the first wall. I mean, that''s what Oslo said. (And I repeat it, it is the reason why this city was spared by the ratmen. They focused on the dwarves, the Tomb Kings, the elves and all the other races, but not the city of the humans. Because, Aria is still in charge, so they can destroy her Hero when he is away, they can ambush her army when she is inside a forest, but they can''t directly threaten the capital. Because of what you experiment right now, only when the god is truly weak can a foreign attack seed. But if you manage to get rid of all the allies of the humans, you can just patiently wait, harass a little each day, and in a few years, do enough damage to crush the rest of the kingdom. And like I said, she is a newly god, otherwise, the humans would have better technologies.) Yes, that''s weird, the dwarves clearly possess some explosives, and the ratmen have managed to create some machine gun fuelled with monster cores. But except for the vials of cures and some basic chemistry, there is no electricity, no steam fuelled machines. (Yes, that''s because it is her second world if I remember. Can be wrong, but not more than five I think. Me for example, I have the knowledge of the creation of nuclear weapons, but there is nothing useful on Forslo, except tons of magic gems. So that means, I will try to develop my in a magical way. Aria doesn''t have that, so she can only rely on her believers to make some progress, like trade with the dwarves to increase her intelligence. That''s what everyone does, you can be sure that to create something, you ask either a dwarf if you want it rock solid, or a goblin if you want to do a maximum of damage. But in this, I don''t remember have heard a great goblin empire. A shame, truly, because just some gold and you can buy whatever you want.) Well, I don''t really have gold on me, but at least I know that I won''t have to fear anything lethal, like a sniper rifle, capable of killing me without me seeing it. (You have to watch out for the ratmen rifles, they are deadly.) Yes, but I am talking about the humans, they are stupid and just relying on magic. Well, not that stupid since I am stuck here, without being able to do anything. But they still haven''t opened the doors, and let the criminals and maniacs enter the city? (Nope, so that''s the good point.) Ok, so let''s do a little bit of cleaning. I march once again toward the second wall, without a messenger or bandit interruption. And the closer I get, the more humans I see on the wall. All the colors are reunited, you have the standard iron that every guard is wearing. You have the white robes of the priests, with some gold and silver on it. Next, the numerous cloak of the magicians, they are in all the color possible, red, blue, green and the rest is present too. The brown color of the crossbows pointed at me and my army of course. But I don''t see any shiny armors or something that can make someone blind. So, the knights are not on the walls, where are they? (Ehhh, let me, no? Wait, here? No? There was a squadron of knights near the gate right before, where are, damn smoke and damn mist. The power of Aria is intensified; I can''t even see the stairs leading to the ramparts. But, be wary of them, at worst they are already out and I lost them.) So, the only force capable of killing me is gone missing? Thank you, God of Losing track of my enemies. But if you say that the power of Aria is stronger, that means they are near us. I walk past the house that was blocking my sight of the gate and I finally see a group of desperate bandits knocking on the gate. They are shouting for help, that they let them in. Unfortunately, humanity has lost today, and only survival is important. At one point, one of them see us and shout at everyone to turn around. Facing us is at least five hundred people. And still wearing the standard uniform of the guards. I don''t know what happened to them, but this time they are not running. Not because I have closed all the streets around them, I can''t, otherwise, I would be targeted by the magicians. But maybe they understand that no matter where they run, I will find them. They know that zombies are roaming around, and I have spread my mindless warriors near every gate of the first wall. So the exit is closed, if they don''t fight here, they will fight at the next gate. At least a quarter of the group runs away, in all the directions, truly too scared to fight. That behavior provokes the ire of the remaining ouws, and some even directly attack the fleeing men. Now, the smell of blood can be felt in the air, meaning that a fight is close. This time, not like when I taunted them, they will attack me in the open. I carefully spread my Chosen in front of me and the magicians, but remain at more than five hundred meters from the wall. I don''t know the range of some of the higher spells, but that should be enough for my skeletons to react and cast more magic shields if necessary. As for my warriors, their armors and speed are enough to resist and dodge anything that is thrown at them. I spread all my false shadows around me, and I am not in the middle. That would be a stupid move, create some illusions, but stay in the middle, where it is the most protected location. Because that''s where someone would try his luck. We stay like that for what, one minute I think. I can''t get close, and I don''t want to spend some mana. But seeing no movements, I have to do something. I throw an orb of gue, since it will not melt the precious blood in their veins, and at the same time, it is still an attack. They are baffled by the transparent orb flying toward them, that explodes on the head of a sturdy man. He barely is stunned by that, and even if nothinges out of my spell, I know that it is working. But the criminals think it was failed, they are evenughing about it. Cursing me, mocking me, saying that I am an ipetent magician, that my spells can''t even stun one of them. Even if they know that the capital is protected by a lot of blessings, they can''t be that stupid, to think that it can totally cancel a spell? Because I watch the priests on the ramparts getting rmed by my action, but they are still too far to save those stupid humans. After waiting for a dozen minutes, I see the first victim. A feeble woman, wearing colorful clothes, probably not the regr fighter that they were hoping. I can see her grunt, throw up a dark blood, meaning that my gue, without the intervention of the priests, is still deadly. At this sight, the previous smiles on their pitiful faces are gone, reced by sheer terror. They understand what I did, it only took them far too much time. Everyone, understanding that only the priests can save them, charges at me. Killing me means the door is open, means the priests can get reached. Actually, I think that even if they kill me, they will still die, without the door getting opened. But that''s my opinion. My Chosen are a wall of steel and bones, not letting anyone goes through. Countless bodies areying around them, with more and moreing. At the same time, I absorb all the blood and keep creating new skeleton magicians. That allows my skeleton warriors to crush the empty shell of the human body, turning it into ashes. That way, they are obstructed by a mountain of corpses, and that allows the bandits to stille easily in range of their axes. When everyone is cut into pieces or dying to my gue in the back, silence reign once more. Chapter 102: The End of the Outlaws Chapter 102: The End of the Ouws I can hear some of the soldiers on those ramparts throw up, because of the sight in front of me. You have human body parts everywhere, allpletely emptied of blood. Turn into a mummy. Behind that gruesome spectacle, you have the weak sheep, that haven''t been able to even get close to my Chosen. They died in the back, turned into ck corpses but the blood spread on their entire body. Unfortunately, I can''t get that close to the ramparts, meaning it is useless to me. Such a shame, there is at least hundred human bodies down there. And as much blood as I can get. But, for the rest that was nice enough to get close and die by the axes, I am thankful. I have improved my army of skeleton magicians to a huge number of 70, with a lot of new recruits, with their mana pool filled to the brink. And that was only the first group, more will join. The only minor problem is the huge audience that I following me, stalking me. Just to make them a little scared, I throw another orb of gue at them. To do so, I calcte the trajectory, since, after four hundred meters, the orb will slowly fall. After that short moment of reflection, I decided to try it out. It was the perfect throw, with a nice angle allowing it to do a beautiful curve when it is losing speed. In the end, I really thought it will still be short of a few meters, but actually, itnded even farther than I expected. I don''t think it hit the ramparts, but just behind it, provoking a very huge exmation from the guards. With some already running away, because they were not expecting my spell to be able to go that far. Of course, the different priests were already singing and praising Aria, meaning my spell won''t do any victims. But it was just to try something, what did I lose, 5 MP? On the other hand, I hear a big mor between the magicians and an officer. I think it is an officer because he is wearing the same outfit as the one I saw near the base of Shadow. I think he is arguing that since I am capable of hurting them, their magicians should be able to do the same. But the magicians are not really doing anything, and I see none casting a fireball or other stuff like that. After a few seconds of intense debate, the mage that was talking with the officer get near the edge of the rampart and cast a blue fireball. That should be the stronger version of the spell cast by my skeleton magicians. I saw him do that, and after doing the same thing that I did, he throws it. But he clearly didn''t take the same courses as me, because is angle is far too big, it''s like 70, not optimal at all. Well, I guess they haven''t gone to a university like me, but copying the stuff of a fellow schoolmate is a bad thing. And copying and still failing at the test is even worst. The blue ball is losing speed more quickly than my orb, and it falls at more than a hundred meters from my Chosen. I think that if he aimed it correctly, it could have nearly touched my skeleton warriors. But in the end, it was a failure, and almost like he meant it, the mage is extending his hand toward the location of the impact. Saying stuff like: "You see we can''t touch him". I can clearly see the guards being mad at the magicians since they are just a bunch of useless fellows. As for me, it was a little scary, because that means they can touch me, even at that distance. And their spells are deadly, my [Veil of Darkness] won''t be able to protect me from that thing. But even with the training with my Chosen, when I asked them to punch me, the progression of that spell is too slow. Anything more than a punch, and I would be dead. In the end, it is my limited vitality that prevents me from doing that. And I can''t do it anymore, with the threat of the ratman assassin and the fact that I am in enemy territory. But after that joyful reunion between the different forces on top of the ramparts, I was already leaving for the next gate where hundreds will be knocking on the door. Like here, and exactly the same fate will await them. The thing that makes me smile is my level, rising more after all that ughter. If this keeps going, I will finally be able to evolve before the moon can be seen rising. And with that, maybe I will be able to break that heavily defended rampart. I really have no idea how gives away the news of my arrival. But this time, instead of defending bravely like thest bunch of criminals, everyone is gone. Why did I rejoice about my level, seriously? That''s inviting disaster, and I know it. I gather some news from the outer part of the city, and effectively, some ouws have reached the gate guarded by my zombies. They tried to escape, but to do that, either they have to open the gate, and the mechanism I right under the eyes of my zombies. Or, they have to pass through the hole that I pierced in one of the southern gates. And this hole is not that big, it is impossible to bypass my undead here. The only other way would be to try jumping from the ramparts. And it is high enough to provoke death if someone falls badly. They already have killed thirty cowards by the time I reach the third gate, empty as well. It is bing really boring and a terrible thing for me. I need those lives, maybe not all of them, but a lot. Now, I am really fearing the reaction of the guards. Because they saw me create more skeletons from the blood that I gathered. So maybe, they are warning the ouws to go away, and not feed me more. In that case, that would mean (Spread your skeleton magicians, two at each gate, the rest hunting for them. I see some groups getting closer to the first rampart, with enough members to maybe kill a zombie. As for the rest, just let your Chosen hunt them. You won''t be able to do anything else anyway, they are not leaving the inner city.) Ok, I will do as you say. I keep only ten magicians led by number one with two Chosen near me. The rest is either send to defend the first rampart or hunt the rats hidden inside the houses. But that is slowing me down a lot, my hope of finishing this before dusk is crushed. Those stupid and useless guards. Just because it cost me nothing, I throw another orb, this time of acid. I calcte it right, at the orb manages to hit an unfortunate soldier right in the head. Now, even the priests won''t be able to save him. This deadly action, however, provokes nothing from the other side, besides some cry and screams. And a full retreat of all the guards from the edge of the ramparts. I truly wonder where were the magicians? Because that thing shouldn''t have killed anyone, I was expecting a magic shield. What is happening in that city? Anyway, I spend the rest of that day circling around that second wall. Every time I find a new gate, no one is in sight. I mean, on the ground, near the gate. I crossed the path with some survivors, giving me a small boost of mana, but that''s it. And the report of my skeletons are the same, yes, they see some bandits, yes, they kill or are killing them, no, the majority is escaping. Only three levels away,e on. Some of them are reporting the unpleasant fact of the survival of a special kind of humans. Those that attempted to jump from the ramparts. A bigger percentage of survival that I imagined, even after considering the big size of that peculiar wall. The good side of the coin is the injuries sustained by those that made the big jump. They always take several minutes to stop crying and move away. Making them ideal targets for my magicians. But I have still some blind area, where a human can just escape without me seeing them. And Oslo doesn''t have the capacity to watch the entire city at the same time. So, I have to let some survive, to kill the rest. It is the night, for a pretty long time. While that makes the humans clumsy and noisy, my undead are totally not affected by that. Meaning, I still am short of only one level. But by now, everyone is either well hidden, already have escaped or are lying dead on the ground. No sign of movement from the inner city? (No, nothing, besides a good part of the guards leaving the walls, since it is the night. And the number of magicians have perpetually been reduced since this morning. There is something going on, between the scenes, and it is helping us. The mage that threw that blue fireball, he is always seen arguing with either the priests or the officers of the garrison. I can''t get too close and hear the content of those discussions, but it looks like the magicians are not happy to stay on those ramparts all day. Except that, nothing.) Well, that''s good, I just need to wait until the next morning. That way, my undead will have restored partially their mana, and I will try to kill as many people as I can, to gain my evolution. Just one level, can''t be that hard. I check on everyone one more time. Chosen, no one has seen a bandit thisst hour, zombies, still staying at their post, no sign of an enemy. Magicians, ah, some are still killing humans, that''s great. Number one, what is the status of your mana? -Of the ten skeletons, only three has enough mana to fight. We need to exit this part of the city master, otherwise, tomorrow, we will be all useless. Yeah, I forgot about that. Just go toward any location without a skeleton nearby. -Thank you, master. Oh, a bandit, die. [Fireball]. Looks like he didn''t cut the mental discussion. So that''s how he is thinki "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution:" Chapter 103: Fourth Evolution Chapter 103: Fourth Evolution Ahhhhh, finally, those sweets words that I was waiting for. Hehe, previously, I was only a rat, battling against everything, my environment was a threat. Any animals could threaten my life with ease, from the birds to the predators like cats. Then, a chance, an opportunity, the will of this world letting me live. A better life, a stronger life, a life as a ratman. And I am proud, but now, what is next? "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- Harbinger of gue 2- Manifestation of Death 3- Avatar of Blood" Oh my bloody lord, what the hell does that means? One thing for sure, my System totally ditch the whole ratman thing, one way or another. I guess that''s logical too, like I said at first, I was an animal, a rat. Then I evolved into an intelligent creature, a ratman, capable of walking on its two legs, speak and think, cast some spells. And finally, I will evolve into into something? I mean, all the three options are clearly rted to at least one of my spells. But in what will I turn? (Oh, you evolved, great news, we have to celebrate this by taking the right choice. So what are your options? Because you are clearly perturbed right now.) Well, let me tell you all my choices, I have the Harbinger of gue, the Manifestation of Death, and the Avatar of Blood. Since you are older than me by a huge margin, maybe you have heard of one of them, the best case would be the three choices, but I won''t hope for that much. (All those three names are familiar to me, in a sense that I have heard them at least once. But I don''t have reliable information about them, I mean, not information gathered directly by either me or my believers. But at least, the three are as powerful as possible, and quite bnced if I have to guess. For example, the Avatar, it has managed to y a god. Hold on, not a powerful god, just a new-born one. But he managed to y his Hero, and by a weird ritual involving the very blood of the deceased Hero, attack the god rted to him. It caused a lot of discussions about that, but shortly after, the god responsible of this Avatar of Blood get hunted by Szar and Krieg. They were both really mad at the possibility of death, and put all their efforts to prevent anything simr to happen again.) Wow, so that''s some really, really, REALLY, powerful stuff that I can be. But at the same time, that will make me be a target to a lot of gods. (Don''t worry about that, whatever you choose, you will be hunted. At that point, you will be more powerful and stronger than any Hero. The reason is we kind of take our Heroes as expendables, throwing them just to conquer or defend a world. And it is always better to strengthen your entire race than just an individual. Like my sorcerer-king, I had to sacrifice him just to stop the ritual created by Szar. We are all doing this, so for a god to prioritize his Hero and make him be as powerful as the Avatar of Blood, it is truly bad. Because, what prevents the situation where they destroy all of your other weak believers, meaning that, in the end, only your Hero will still be able to fight. Because that is what happened to that god I was talking about.) Ok, ok, I get it with the Avatar, but what about the other two? Something less terrifying that killing a god just by turning the blood of his Hero against him? (Manifestation of Death, I have a huge doubt if it was that name. I think it was not Manifestation but Incarnation of Death, so I will speak about what I know about the other form. Can''t be that different, but who knows how your System truly works. It was the Hero of a god that managed to be part of the Nine Heavens. And it was truly because of this. The fact that, the Hero couldn''t really die, but each time he was in, he could find another body to host his soul. Shortly after, like in less than a week, he already recovered and was ready to fight. Meaning, for some drawn-out battle and conquest, it was incredibly powerful. A hero, that, no matter what you do, even if you kill him, can be reborn inside a random believer ande back at full strength.) Hum hum, with this, I would be able to survive to whatever will happen to me? Even an assassination from the ratmen? A holy prayer from the high ranked priests of Aria? I will always be able to just resurrect in a nearby body? (Calm down, I said that was the Incarnation of Death. And it was only possible because the god was monitoring the soul, there was a huge concentration of believers nearby, multiple things that we don''t have. But, for him, it allowed a near immortality to his Hero and a quick conquest of many worlds. Coupled to the fact that he was the God of Death himself, I am certain it was easier to pull off with that additional power. That''s why now he is part of the Nine Heavens.) Ok, so you have some good information on the Avatar of Blood, something that is potentially rted to the Manifestation of Death. What about thest one, the Harbinger of gue? Any news, random stuff that may or may not be that thing? (Hey, there are countless gods, types of representatives, Sorcerer-king, Great Demon King, Hero, Apostle, Prophet, Oracle, Wraith-King, Dark Seer, Sand King, and thousands more words to describe them. They have countless forms, countless spells at their dispositions. Some can form ck hole, destroying space around them. Others can turn back in time, to undo their mistakes. There is even on that could steal your mana from you, and blow up your empty reserves, killing you in the process. Just imagine of all that, and it is only the one that I have encounter or talk about.) I get it, you are still not a greater god, you can''t know everything. But please, just answer the question, we don''t have the enti ok, actually we have the entire night to do this. Never mind, keep going. (So, we were talking about the Harbinger of gue. Quite frankly, that would have been a great name for the Apostle of Szar. Or his Prophet, him and Krieg really like those two words. I have no idea why.) Yes, it is puzzling me too. I mean, they should choose something like Great Demon King, or maybe, Sorcerer-King, it would have been so much better. (Sarcasm, but I still think my names were better. About the gue part, I have no clue. Don''t look at the sky with those angry eyes, I know some Harbinger, but none were of gue. I know a Harbinger of Life, that was a nightmare to deal with apparently. Permanently healing himself, healing everything around him, curing any poisons and gues nearby. But I heard that he was baited in a fight, and while the god controlling him was busy with the fight, they created a huge ritual, just to destroy everything near him. Of course, that was very costly, they lost people during the ritual and the battle, but the Harbinger was dead in the end. And the enemy Hero was still alive, the god above him that told me this story was bragging about his superior intellect. It is just the other that was stupid.) So, you are saying that I will turn into the element attached to that title? (Oh no, that''s for everyone. Basically, whatever you choose, you will be turned into an immaterial spirit or form that isposed by that element. Meaning, near invincibility against any physical attack, only harmed because of elements capable of destroying the one you are. For example, like an elemental of ice that is fearing fire. So you have to choose what road you will take. guing everyone in a very wide area, not like you are doing currently. Maybe being reborn, but still will have increased control of your undead, that''s for sure. Be able to survive as long as there is blood around you, and maybe being able to use your [Blood Touch] offensively. In the end, whatever you choose, you will be able to destroy Atria, for sure. Without the full force of the Holy Kingdom, they have no chance against you.) Thank you for all your advice, that was pretty useful. But now, what should I do? The less powerful against my future foes would be the gue one, since I assume a lot of Heroes or even gods are immune to any poisons and diseases. At those words, Oslo is lightly humming, meaning that I am right. After that you have the Death and Blood. One can kill a god, but need blood; the other can potentially grant me immortality. And that''s only if the two are the same thing. I keep thinking for a few minutes, thinking how bad could things go. Seeing no bad scenario in sight, I finally decide of my next evolution. System be prepared, and give me the best shot you have. I choose Chapter 104: The Flying Ratman Chapter 104: The Flying Ratman -Marc Cassidy chooses: Manifestation of Death! "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the evolution: Manifestation of Death has been chosen." "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Elemental ss: Manifestation of Death Level 0/35 HP: 300/300 MP: 1100/1100 Strength: 24.1 Agility: 52.0 Vitality: 30.0 Wisdom: 60.0 Intelligence: 60.0 Active skills: [Create Acid lvl Max] [Create gue lvl Max] [Deadly Shadows lvl Max] [Domain of Mayhem lvl Max] [ Nightfall lvl 9] [Magical Orb lvl Max] [Cursed Winds lvl Max] [Raise Undead lvl 5] [Blood Touch lvl Max] [Veil of Darkness lvl 8] [Undead Touch lvl Max] [Death Ray lvl 1] Passive Abilities: [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Ethereal Vision lvl 5] [Status resistance lvl 4] [Magical resistance lvl 1] [Physical resistance lvl Max] [??? Resistance lvl 1] [Ethereal Body lvl Max] [Self-Healing lvl Max] [Magical Restoration lvl 9] [Magical Efficiency lvl 9] [Magical Handling lvl 9] [Cause Terror lvl Max] [Essence of mana lvl 5] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria] [Blessed by Oslo] [Butcher] [Nemesis of Krieg] [Followed by Hades] " Wow, that''s some new changes, even my body is weird, I wonder what "Two simr skills have been found, would you like to merge them into one? Yes/No?" Ok, I wonder what it is but, let''s go for it, can''t really hurt me. I will see the restter anyway. -Marc Cassidy Yes! "[Raise Undead lvl 5] and [Undead Touch lvl Max] has been merged into [Raise Undead* lvl 7]" Ok, thank you. I have no idea of what does this mean, but I am happy that you decide to do something System. That''s very niceing from you. And the description of [Raise Undead] is never mind, it was created by me. So there is no description, oh, there is one now. My bad. "[Raise Undead*]: allows the user to create any undead that he can imagine, the cost of this invocation depending on the level of details provided by the user and the strength of the undead invoked. *The user can now turn regr bodies into undead, with a cost reduced. But the body needs to have a link with the undead that will be created, a dwarf corpse can''t be turned into a spirit." So that''s what I wanted to try before, and I failed miserably. But now, I should be able to create my zombies, directly from the corpsesying on the ground. And with that, each death in battle will make my army grow. Or at least, it won''t be like now, when only four adults allow me to create the most basic zombie. But let''s not go ahead of ourselves, let''s see everything logically and carefully. (So, what do you have now, what do you got? Something good I hope, because I heard you mumbling about an upgrade of your spell that creates undead? Can you create a skeleton dragon?) No, at least not for now I think, I will say everything in my mind at least once, to allow you to participate. That''s really a shame that you can''t directly see the System, that would be a lot easier for me. (That''s still a gift from Aria, an enemy god, so that makes sense that I can''t utilize. I heard that one time, a god gave a trapped sword to his Hero. Later, when the Hero was defeated, his enemy recover the sword and use it. He only had to detonate the trap at a critical moment, killing the enemy representative and most of the officers in the army. That''s why, the gift granted by every god is either trapped, linked to a problem only known by the god, or a one-time usage.) The backstabbing and treacherous mentality of your friends will always amaze me. But first, let''s talk about my benefits. Ok, so I have 300 HP and 1100 MP!!! That''s huge, thank you, new evolution, you really are the best of the best. Besides the fact that my body is feeling a little weird, let me take a step and why am I not moving? (You are no longer a ratman, you are an ethereal body, maybe an elemental or something like that.) Yes, it is called elemental, but why when I try to walk I I don''t touch the ground? Am I floating? Yes, I am floating, that''s why I was feeling weird. I mean, I am still in a ratman shape, and I can still see my odd clothes on me, but, at the same time, I am no longer in a physical form? (Ok, don''t panic, I will exin since you can really see it from your side. Right now, you are floating in the air, don''t, DON''T DO IT! Don''t fly, you will get lost to easily, I saw in your minds the fact that you were trying to fly, don''t do it right now. It is serious.) Ok, fine, but I will be able to do thattter, right? Fly in the sky or at least above those houses? (Of course, I will just teach you how to get used to your new body, I have some knowledge about that, I had two other Heroes that were in the same situation as you are.) Suddenly turned into a spirit against their will and not born that way? ( Ehh, ok, not exactly in your situation, they were born as an elemental for both. But, since I was in charge of an entire race of elementals, I have learned some tricks. First, you don''t have to think about walking or moving your feet and arms. Just think of them as useless for now, you will probably barely have anything to do with your limbs. To advance in a direction, think about your entire body, floating and elerating toward that point, you get that?) Yes, I have to think that I will fly to a point. No need to walk or run or even jump, just my mind is enough. There we go, body, go toward that shop in front of me. Float, fly? Do something? Ok, new thinking, I am Sleek, I am a ratman shaped elemental, I want to fly in front me, I elerate to do that, I gain speed, and I arrive at that shop. Yes, I AM FLYING. I BELIEVE I CAN FLY. I BELIEVE I CAN TOU STOP! HOW DO I STOP? (Think of you stopping right now, you lose speed, do it now, no, no, no you are leaving the city. Do it before you pass the first wall, dammit. STOP!) I am trying, you think it is easy. Oh, the ramparts are in front of me. I want to stop; I am losing my speed. Please? HELP! My ratman body is not moving at all, I am stuck a meter before the stone wall. I have not enough speed to pass through the wall, and I STOPPED! HOURRA! (I have no idea if it is a good or a bad first try. But at least, the next time I have someone turning into an ethereal creature all of a sudden, I will know what to do. Thank you for your expertise Sleek, that was very useful.) Ok, now, I think I know how to move. I try to turn; I am really slow while doing this. Maybe if I elera. NO SLOWER! SLOWER! SLOWER! That''s better. Really, when you see the spirits do that naturally you think it is easy. But bloody hell, that''s hard, really hard. All the creatures that have to learn that have my eternal respect. Now, I am getting used to it, but the first time, it was a nightmare. Good thing you really warn me about flying to the sky. Otherwise, I would have float toward space, and I don''t know if I would have died. (Probably, not because of theck of oxygen, just for you to know, before you didn''t need anything because you had that System, now it is normal. A spirit doesn''t need a single thing to survive for millenniums. But you still are weak to a lot of things, like magic, sun rays, especially if it is a direct contact, for example, that''s what would have killed you in space.) Good thing to know, but on the other hand, I have not a single problem traversing houses or physical elements. So that means, I can''t attack with my body, but no one can fire a bolt at me and pierce my heart with it. So I am immune to any assassination with normal weapons. (Yes, but the dagger of the ratmen assassins are all magically enhanced, to pierce through holy shields, reinforced armors. So that won''t save you from their attacks. Even with your improved resistance and bigger HP pool, like you call it.) So now, that I have managed to control my body, let''s see what are the new wonderful surprises granted by the evolution. But that''s a little weird, why do I have the feeling that I have lost some important things in the bargain? Chapter 105: Stronger than a God Chapter 105: Stronger than a God Ok, first of all, I apparently have lost my spells rted to my mouth and ws. That makes sense since I am now ethereal and not in a physical form. After that point, it is not like I really used them a lot, even just once, I don''t think I have ever done it. Not a big loss. After that, both my spells rted to gue and acid are at the maximum possible, so nothing changed in that part. But I gained something strange, called [Deadly Shadows] and it already level Max, so that''s good. I try it to see what it does. After casting it, I can see some shadows, looking simr of my [Nightfall] spreading around me. I can even control it and makes it fly in a pattern. But it has a range, a short range, less than five meters. And no matter what I do, it doesn''t seem to affect the environment. Probably only doing something to living creatures. As for the cost, I calcte and find the same amount as my two other main spells. So, seeing the simr mana used, I try to infuse my deadly shadows inside an orb, and it is working. After throwing it, it has the same area of effect, but with the center being the location where the orb exploded. Following this, I have a pleasant surprise with the next spell, [Domain of Mayhem]. I search but my previous aura has disappeared, meaning it is probably the upgrade, turning an aura into a domain. I cast it with my acid and instantly cancel it. While previously, my aura could reach at best two meters, and most of the time was barely a meter. This domain is broken, beyond anything possible. Simple, the size, not just a small size, like 5 meters. A grand total of 20 meters, filled with acid. I destroyed dozens of houses by doing this. And at the same time, my precious number one and his fellow magicians. Sorry about that, but don''t worry, you will be reborn as something a lot better. As for my Chosen, they have managed to resist, but barely, I can see them shaking. So, my capacity to prevent any threat at a close range is extremely strong right now. Because, whoever tries to attack me, will have to survive inside my domain. So, no more backstab, or at least, the one that tries this will die when running away. And maybe my deadly spell is even more powerful against living creatures, more powerful than turning the very air into acid. As for the cost, just two times the cost of my former aura. Right now, it is a little less than 8MP for each second. And with my new mana pool of 1100, I can sustain this forever. Well, not really forever, but for enough time to do anything I want. [Nightfall] improved to level 9, coupled with my new shadows, that would be fun. Sometimes, it is just a harmless shadow, sometimes it is a deadly one. I can even mix the two because my offensive spell doesn''t really block my sight. (I have to interrupt but as a spirit, you will not have the same vision as a normal ratman. For example, try to see beyond the broken wall at your right.) What do you mean see beyond WHAT THE HELL? Can I see beyond a wall? That''s good, that''s very, very good. So what you are implying is the fact that I saw through my spell because of this. (Exactly, try to cast your [Nightfall] to make aparison between the two.) I do as he asked and yes, now I can see beyond my [Nightfall], meaning that I have no idea of what is blocking the light and what is not. And I can''t ask my undead to do this either, since they are mentally linked with me and each other, so they will be able to see what I see. Let''s just assume, that [Deadly Shadows] doesn''t block the sight, as a possibility. [Raise Undead] is level 7, meaning better in everything. Just looking around me, I don''t see any changes in my Chosen, but that''s because they are all wearing something. I ask number three if he feels smarter or something like that. Really a shame that I already melted number one. -Yes, master. I feel that the previous spell that we were using are ineffective and weak. There is a feeling that maybe we should improve them. Can we, master? Of course, do what you feel is necessary. That''s what I thought, now, they can even begin to think on their own and I won''t have to ask them to create a fireball from my memory. I am really waiting for what they will create, probably just some small improvements, like the blue fireball. Or something totally new, but they are still the basic skeleton magicians, not some lich. Maybe I should try to create a lich, that would be very good. [Cursed Winds] is maxed out, hehe. I will not talk about that, let''s just go to the next. [Veil of Darkness] is level 8, great, I try it, and the shield surrounding me seems sturdy, like, really strong. I ask number two, my Chosen, to try to hit me with his axe. I can see him swing his deadly weapon, and hit me on my right arm. But nothing happened, the axe was repelled by my dark shield. I can see numerous cracks in it, probably a second it would have destroyed it. But in a mere two seconds, the dark halo surrounding my body is as good as new. So, against people stronger than Chosen, I am still vulnerable. But, it''s not a lot of people, carrying magical axes, stronger than them? Besides the holy knights, I don''t think of anything else. (No, just them, or maybe if you decide to go against some old and big dragons. But besides some external enemies that would be stupid to anger, you will just have to flee against the Knights of Aria. I will tell you when one would be too close.) And finally, keeping thest one as the best, [Death Ray] level 1. I won (DEATH RAY? YOU SAID DEATH RAY?!!!) Yes, why? What''s the problem? (THE PROBLEM? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Ok, calm down, Oslo, just breathe. One, two, breathe, one, two, breathe.) Do you need to breathe? Or it is a mental breathing, to calm yourself? (Mental of course, but that''s because of your stupidly overpowered System. He granted you [Death Ray], do you have any idea of what does this means?) Ehhhh, a good spell? (GOOD SPELL? Breathe Oslo, don''t get mad, he can''t know. Breathe. Ok, first of all, you die because of this. It is the spell that traveled for billions of kilometers, without really losing its power.) So, it was your spell, if I remember, and Aria countered it with something that repelled it to outer space. (Exactly, it is a spell, that can kill a god, in a real, and straightforward way. For example, suppose we are back at the arena where you fought the Prophet of Krieg. You can just, throw that spell where Krieg is, and at best you kill him, at worst, you injure him so badly, that every blessing on the Prophet is destroyed. As for knowing where the other god is, I can just tell you that. It is basic information surrounding the arena, that''s why it is so powerful. As for killing a Hero? That''s a piece of cake, without something stronger, you can''t resist [Death Ray].) Great, I will try it out then, let''sunch the spell, just to see its power. "Not enough mana" I don''t have enough mana to cast it. (Thank the Nine Heavens, there is a justice in this world. If you could already cast it, I would have seriously thought of killing myself at this point. Do you have the idea, of what I had to sacrifice, just to have an expendable [Death Ray] incrusted in a gem? Do you have any idea?) No, but I guess you had to do a lot of stuff, while I just got it nearly for free. I mean, this spell should cost more than 2000MP, since even with my current mana and cost reduction, I can''t use it. But seeing you lose your calm and confidence just as I said this name, I guess that the moment I can use it, I will be invincible. (Not just invincible, a threat to anyone everywhere in this universe. Just the rest of your spells are deadly enough to ughter worlds, but now, you can even hunt gods directly. If you can just find a single heretic, you can track the rest of the cult and ughter not just their Hero, but their God. Think about the rewards you got from the Prophet. Now multiply that by a big amount. Honestly, you are stronger than me. I am telling you this, but, you are, right here and right now, stronger than my current form. This Manifestation of Death is really huge.) And that''s just the beginning. But that means that I will be able to destroy Atria, right? (Oh no, you just won''t destroy Atria. You will turn the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, into a new Necropolis. I really want to see the current face on Aria, when she will face a tribtion brought because of her.) Chapter 106: The New Number One Chapter 106: The New Number One Just some small details before we prepare our n for the conquest of this world. I lost my passive [Scavenger] and my other sort of racial skill [Sneaky-Sneaky], meaning that I have truly evolved. As for the rest of the resistance, they are all rted to my new condition. [Ethereal Vision] for my improved sight, like seeing beyond some small physical obstacles. [Status resistance], [Magical resistance] and [Physical resistance] must be linked to my new body. The higher is my physical since I should be impervious to any attack withmon metal. And I have a strange [??? Resistance], and that''s extremely weird. Because I shouldn''t have anything blocked, the System should have unlocked everything when I turned into a ratman. So why, do those odd ??? reappear? Anyway, all of this is directlying from my [Ethereal Body], like you said Oslo. That is a powerful thing, to be that resistant against a lot of things. (Yes, and that''s just the beginning. Because, you are not at the end of your evolution, there is always more. I mean, you said that, because you still have your level, right?) Yes, 0/35 level. Just thinking about the thousands and thousands kills that we achieved, but it will just be a small drop of all I really need. Like every other evolution. But, let''s not talk about boring and desperate things. My healing regeneration is maxed out, everything rted to magical is level 9. Means, more mana regeneration, less mana used in my spells, and betterprehension of magic. Just before thest, my [Cause Terror] level max. That''s some good thing, really. I mean, just one evolution and my original abilities were turned into something better. And this thing should be able to terrify everyone, just my [Cause Fear] level 8 could make those priests run. So the next level, with his full power unleashed? Maybe it will even be able to kill people just like the messenger. Just my presence and they will be so terrified, hehe. Finally, [Essence of mana]. That should be the missing link between my intelligence and my huge MP pool. Because, with 60 in intelligence, I should only have 600MP. But, the level five of that ability is coincidentally very close to 500MP, the amount that suddenly appeared. Not that Iin, but that means, if I manage to improve that thing, I should have even more mana at the end, not needing to gain a true level. And that''s it, that''s the end. (Sure? I mean, you have told me your attributes, your skills, and your abilities, but you have missed the titles.) But what can appear inside? I mean, it is not like I killed a Hero or something like that. Let me see, forsaken by a stupid goddess, blessed by an unknown god, killed too many people to even remember, in the Prophet of Krieg and HOW DID YOU KNOW? (Because I felt it, something in the atmosphere. I know you are mad, but I couldn''t really have confirmed it, and I still have no idea who it is. But there is someone else that can see you now, right?) Yes, [Followed by Hades]. Let me just assume something that can be totally abstract for you but Is he the God of Death you were talking about? (Yes, so that''s Hades, a very nice fellow. I mean, that''s the best possibility that could happen, because, he is part of the Nine Heavens. He won''t interfere with your progress; you are not a god. I was fearing that Szar managed to bypass the curse ced by Aria and could see you. Because, if it was that, we would have a hard time surviving.) So, for the new stalker, what he is going to do? Nothing, just watch? (Pretty much, yes. And please don''t call him like that, again. Because you will still anger him, and that''s not something you want. And don''t call him Hades, call him the God of Death, he will be pleased. And don''t insult death or do strange stuff. And ...) Ok, stop! I get it, he is the big boss no one want to piss off, and that if I do that, it would be a disaster for us. I know how it is, don''t worry, I won''t do anything strange. I just want to ask you a question, if you can feel it, will I be able to use [De (LALALALALALALALALALALALALA, stop, don''t think. Don''t think that ever again, better, just forget about that spell for the moment. You can''t use it anyway, so let''s think about the future.) Well, I still have time to lose, since it is the middle of the night. The first thing I want to do is testing my new [Raise Undead], with something that I was expecting the day I created it. The only undead that I have met multiple time and that I have a very clear vision about his form. Let me think about that, a human form, with rotten flesh attached to its bones. The capacity to create numerous undead and at the same time, fight with spells. The pinnacle of the skeleton magician, a lich. Be reborn, number one. -Greetings, master. What are your orders for number one? A much better voice I have to say, a great improvement on that part. Just keep creating the strongest warrior that you can, only the strongest. I watch number one beginning to cast a long spell. After aplete minute, I see appearing from the air a strange and strong zombie. He is ck, and not exactly like a zombie. More like a ghoul, yes, he managed to create a ghoul. The reason I say that is theck of open wounds on the body, but more of an intact corpse. His spine is also visible on his back, and a strange liquid is leaking from his maw. That''s what I am talking about, a better zombie or what I will call a ghoul. He is slightly bigger than my Chosen, but just by a small margin. I see that number one manages to create three of them before he has to stop. When I ask the time before he can increase the number of ghouls, he tells me that he will need an entire day. That''s fair, seeing clearly the power that those warriors are showing. I ask number one to send them near the second wall, to see if they are feeling the influence of Aria in the capital. After dozens of minutes, number one informs me that they are feeling nothing, just the smell of living creatures ready to be eaten. That''s the humans on the ramparts. Wait, maybe that''s because of me too. I ask my remaining magicians and zombies to go near the wall as well. Besides the zombies that are feeling some small needles on their skins, nothing else is reported. That means, I can attack the second wall with my current forces, and I won''t even be pressured by the power of the Church. But that''s still not the best time to do it. First of all, we are in the middle of the night, so the number of guards that I can kill is not that high. And the citizens will probably still be sheltered in time in the different vaults of the inner city. Even during the night, I don''t think that a lot of people are sleeping well. No, I want to wait the dawn of tomorrow, to create a new lich and have 6 of those ghouls. I ask them to climb on a nearby house, and that sight is a very good spectacle. They will have no problem climbing on the wall and creating a total chaos. I mean, that is the strongest warrior created by number one, I can be sure that they will be strong. He never betrayed me before, and he always has some good ideas. The rest of the night was without surprise; I was only waiting for my mana to be enough for another lich. The former useless spirits were now capable of going even beyond the second rampart, meaning that Oslo finally recovered his sight. About the missing holy knights, the true forces of the Church, apparently, they are not located near the wall. That''s strange, but maybe they need to sleep too. Even if it is really stupid to not even have one present anywhere near the wall. As for the different magicians, they are barely a quarter of what they were at the beginning of the night. There are truly some problems between the Church and the mages. But that''s fine for me, knowing that me and, by extension, my undead are resistant to the power of Aria. I can see the sun rising on the horizon, while my second lich is finishing his third invocation. I order the six ghouls to spread at six different locations around the ramparts. As for me, my Chosen, my magicians and my zombies, we will enter by the South Gate. And by entering, I meaning breaching the front door openly. Chapter 107: Anock? Chapter 107: Anock? The hot but still not that hot air in this world is truly wonderful. Even after all this time, besides the horrible experience with the desert of the djinns, I never needed other clothes that the on provided by the System. And I haven''t seen a lot of heavy clothes in the different houses, to protect the humans from the cold. So I guess winter is not reallying at all. As for the guards and priests facing me, I guess that their current outfit is the same as they wear during the entire year. About that, how do they count the day and the year? (Do you really want to know or is it just a rhetoric question?) No, I don''t want to know, just an idea I got in the moment. I ask once more if everything ready. My six ghouls are prepared to climb the wall far away from us, to create more chaos. My lich are still in the back, in a hidden location. Recovering slowly their mana, allowing me future assault if this one is a failure. But I highly doubt it, just looking at my zombies near me, they are not being destroyed by the power of the Church anymore. Even my spirits are resistant to that, so it is time to end this parody. Now that I am in an ethereal form, I just want to test something funny. I approach the gate, alone, without any shadows covering me, without even my Chosen following me. Reducing the distance, the original 500 meters are now only two hundred meters. Right now, I can see the faces of the guard clearly, they are all scared, ready to fire at me anytime. And then, someone really does it, and a bolt pierces the air, with his deadly speed, and reach its target. The bad news for the guard is, instead of piercing the flesh of a living creature, the bolt just crash on the ground and get broken. The hundred additional bolts fired right after that change nothing about the result. I didn''t feel anything, not even that something was theoretically inside me. That''s good, I won''t feel weird in the future thanks to this. However, the humans facing me are definitely feeling weird, seeing all their attacks doing nothing. While I keep approaching, I can see all of them frically reloading, and firing at will, without any order. I can even hear them shout that I am really the shadow of death, reincarnated in a ratman. Finally, I see my true enemying on the ramparts, the magicians. Only five of them, truly not enough. They all cast different things, magic arrow, fireball, ice spike, rock boulder. This time, I activate my shield, since it can hurt me. But even that magnificent usage of mana is reduced to the same result as the bolt. I am totally unharmed; my shield isn''t broken. Barely anything can be seen on the surface, as expected, the full force of my Chosen is clearly stronger than the majority of the world. But while the mages are baffled by my protection, they don''t give up. Casting more and more spells, to the point where they are out of mana. When the smoke surrounding me fade away, the humans can see me, standing right next to their door. That''s what I wanted, drawing the attention away, now, I order my ghouls to begin their attacks. By now, a major movement of troops should have been ordered, and by the time they realize there are more than just one assant, it will be toote. But now, I just knock on the big door facing me. Ok, I tried, but my hands just disappeared in the wood, it truly prevents anything from me. Well, whatever, [Domain of Mayhem]. I use it with my acid, to tear apart the ramparts. It only takes me a little more than five seconds, and by the end of that time, only silence is king. No sounds could be hearding from the humans since they are all too shocked to say anything. The previous magicians were not spared from it, their magic shields not strong enough to survive the assault of my aciding from everywhere. Right now, a huge hole can be seen surrounding me, and everything else is gone. No corpse, no bodies, no weaponsying on the ground, just an empty surface. Following this, my Chosen and zombies start their work and rush toward the petrified guards. Even after the first died, they are still incapable of moving, whether they are guards or priests, they can''t do anything. I should put that on my [Cause Terror] maybe, that should be right. Finally, after dozens of silent death, some are awakening from their terror and start to run. Those are targeted by my magicians, in a very interesting manner. By now, they know that I want the more blood possible, and burning a body is slightly wasteful. So, they created a strange spell, creating hands under the feet of the coward guards. That way, they are immobilized, and the nearby zombies are capable of catching up and ughter them. I too test my spell rted to death, and anyone that touches my deadly shadows is immediately in. I just see them turning white in less than a second and drop dead, probably a heart attack. The report from my numerous ghouls says that they are not encountering any resistance and that they have dealt with any magicians in the first ce. That''s a smart move, good job my ghouls. I absorb all the blood surrounding me and try to create a lich from a priest, it is aplete failure. Not a failure meaning I couldn''t create it, just a failure because it has the same cost. I try to do it on a guard, and the same thing happens. That''s really too bad, but that makes sense too. Probably only the corpse of someone manipting magic can be used to do this. At the same time, creating a normal zombie cost me only 10MP for each body of a guard. I am talking about the most basic one, without any improvement, great speed, thick skin. Just a normal dead body rising and hungry for brains. Of course, I create hundreds of them, the blood contained in one body can allow me to create 5 zombies, that''s a very good trade. I order my Chosen to split up and kill everyone on the ramparts while I spread my zombies inside the city, creating confusion and chaos. The news about me breaking the door is still not known by the rest of the capital, I killed everyone before they could leave. Only themoners have watched this gruesome sight and are running away, but they are not that fast. More and more people are leaving their houses, only to find out a zombie right in front of the door, waiting for them. I keep doing that without any problems, sometimes my zombies meet a group of magicians or holy knights and die, but that''s nothing at all. My new body allows me to float very quickly some huge distance. I am at least three times quicker than in my physical ratman form. And I don''t have to care about any obstacles in my way. Meaning, that by the end of the day, I have managed to do the full size of the wall, collect all the blood on it and create more than 30 lich. Of course, the downside is the fact that all my thousands of zombies were all killed in the end. They are far too weak, but they have managed to ughter a good part of themoners inside the inner city. Now, no one is alive in that part of the city, only those that are sheltered beyond the third wall are safe. I spend the duration of the night collecting more blood, only creating lich, not wasting any mana on some useless zombies. With the number of undead under mymand growing, I feel that my power is increasing. I am already level 8, but, I still have managed to destroy more than three-quarters of the capital. The only downside is my [Raise Undead*], the amount of kill needed for the next upgrade. I think I need to kill 20% of the poption of the entire, just to gain one more level. That will take a long time. Thinking about that, I decided to order my lich to create one hundred zombies andunch them in the countryside. That way, any small kill, like a group of adventurers, some farmers, some merchants, will contribute greatly to the undead cause. I try one more time to cast [Death Ray] with my new mana pool of 1500Mp, but it is still a failure. The moment I have this spell; it will be so good. "The user has sessfully in the representative of a god; the god is: Anock." Oh, I killed some heretics apparently, he was most likely hiding in the basement and my ghouls found him. So what is the reward Nothing. Well, I guess that is just a small god, the reward can''t be that good. "The user has sessfully in all the believers of a god; the god is: Anock." "The user can choose between zero different spells that the representative possessed. Those zero spells will be randomly chosen among all the spells avable." "Please choose the spell: " "System acknowledge the choice of the user, the spell: has been chosen." Wow, System are you alright? (What happened?) Nothing, just the System being weird, I killed aplete cult and the reward was nothing. Nothing at all. I guess he was far too weak as a god to offer anything. Well, that was just a small incident, let''s start this day with something big. Chapter 108: Noise in the Night Chapter 108: Noise in the Night At dawn of the next day, the sight that could be observed from the third wall should have been terrifying. An army of ghouls, surrounding the wall, with behind them some lich. I had an army big enough to cover every side of that rampart, not like one ghoul in each meter, but each undead could see another one far away. By now, the previous defender that was permanently seen, the guards, are all extinct. I guess that they were all defending the second wall when Iunched my assault, and their garrisons were nearby. Now, the defenders are all knights, from the kingdom or men of the Church. I can see some squires too and a huge number of magicians and priests. I will probably lose a lot of troops on the multiple fronts. But that way, I will still make them spread their defenses, in all the directions. Meaning, not a lot of troops that will face my direct assault, with the support of my Chosen and my skeleton magicians. But I am patient this time, I wait, I still have time. It is still the first week of my arrival, meaning that the reinforcements are away. Or maybe not even warned yet, but I won''t hope that. I keep making all those humans stay awake, fearful of a sudden attack. While my lich keeps creating new ghouls, and me new lich. At dusk, no one has left the wall yet. Even after the first hours of the night, they were all focused, with the holy knights, priests, and pdins lighting the ramparts and their surroundings. Midnight, no change at all. And when the sun rises for the second time, I can finally see some signs of stress on their faces. Some are even clearly tired, wanting to sleep at any moment. But the priests are casting something each time they hear someone yawning. Probably a blessing rted to vigor. Seeing this, I try to remember any movies or theories about battles. More specifically, sieges. So, you can either destroy their food and water. Can''t really happen, since I have no idea how much food they have. And I have a window of opportunities, while the majority of the army is away. Prevent their sleeping. That''s a good thing, I have enough undead to do that. I ask my ghouls to grab anything metallic near them, that is able to produce a distinct sound. After everyone ready I order them to m them between each other. I can hear multiple sounds, horrible sounds, form near me and far away. That should be audible from the wall. First, that will keep them awaken, secondly, that will make them a lot more stressful. I have to say, those sounds, if I was still a human, I will pierce my ears just to not listen to that. You have some acute sounds, some low-pitched sounds. But that''s not enough. Knowing that my undead can all talk, I order them to shout a word, permanently. GROND GROND GROND GROND GROND Yes, I know, I shouldn''t be allowed to do this. But I am on Astria, who knows the hammer of the underworld. And I find it quite fitting, I mean, I am surrounding a fortress, the white city of the holy kingdom of Aria. I just hope that no one will shout me to death behind me and kill all my army. That would be really bad, and too ironical. During the second night, a little before midnight, I see some movements. Oslo informs me that less than 5% of the defenders have left the wall. Following this sudden discovery, I wait for ten more minutes, to let them travel to their beds. And then I attack. I throw dozens of orbs on the wall, acid, and shadows mixed. Only that, and I can already some weaker magicians died because of my shadows. Apparently, this spell is able to pierce the magic shields, and only the men of the Church are capable of dealing with it. I approach the heavy door, still with all my undead shouting the same word. Well, I can''t really punch the door, so it will be only one hit and not four. But I can still have my Chosen act like trolls and kill every brave soldier behind those doors. I activate my domain, but this time, for a full 15 seconds. The door is too close to the center of the Church, meaning it is highly resistant against magic. But that''s not enough to prevent me from entering. Funny thing, I destroy the gate, not by melting it, but by making the stone supports disappear. After that, the two doors are slowing falling toward the interior, while my Chosen were already rushing after it. Behind them, dozens of ghouls, waiting for the first line to be breached. The magicians are all too busy defending against the spells from my lich and skeleton magicians, not capable of preventing the undead to enter the city. While I keep walking with my troops, spreading my aura of terror around me, removing the blood from any living humans too close of me. But I have to admit, those holy knights are really strong. They are currently shing against my Chosen, and not losing at all. Axes against shields and swords, dark bloodied armors against silver and shiny chest tes. Undead pitched against humans. With me still a little far away, they were capable of repelling the onught of my warriors. But, with both me and my ghouls arriving at the same time, they had to slowly retreat. The wall was pushed, step by step and even the numerous priests behind them blessing the knights and cursing the undead, nothing was changed. The number of victims from both sides was rising, the North was already void of ghouls and the West and East were slowly crumbling too. None of my lich died, that''s the good thing. Not wanting to waste any more time and let the other sides help the southern gate, I activate my domain, filling the air with shadows. Facing this, the already tired priests quickly sumbed, putting the knights in a hard position. Without the support of the Church, their already losing fight turned into a desperatest stand. But in the end, the gate was breached, and the wall of shields, broken. However, the lost were too big for me too. I lost 2 of my Chosen, their armors destroyed and the rest clearly need some repairs. Nearly all my ghouls were killed by the rest, and my magicians destroyed as well. I have to retreat, and that''s what I do. Onst time, I cast the biggest wall of darkness, thanks to my [Nightfall]. I have already instilled fear into their hearts, making them scared of just the shadows. Allowing me to retreat without any problem. That was a pyrrhic victory for the humans, and while I can replenish my troops with a little bit of time, they can''t. Every dead stay dead, or even worst, rise again inside my army. But right now, my lich are already creating new ghouls, and by the end of the day, more will be invoked. That is the power of a necromancer, having an army that never sleeps, never eat, never contest your orders and are reborn after each fight. I still don''t forget the basic and make them scream and make more noises once again. Of course, without the support of the ghouls, it is less noisy, but still not bearable for the men on the walls. Maybe even the royal pce, that is visible from where I am standing, can hear my army. I bet they are not sleeping well either. I can see multiples tentsying in the streets and zas beyond the wall. Now that I think about it, can''t I just levitate high in the sky, bypass the wall, and then either create some undead or kill all the refugees? (No, you are in the fief of Aria, she can see everyone here. And you are the most important threat to her, so she will monitor your movement the second you are passing this rampart. So, by the time you are close to the ground, you will have many magicians, waiting for you with all their spells, ready to annihte a spiritual ratman.) But I can still stay in the sky, and just throw some orbs under me? (Yes, and what is the point? Killing some normal humans that won''t grant any experience? Waste mana? Because you know that won''t kill any knights or magicians.) Seeing that from that point, you are right, it is both useless and a waste of mana. No matter what happened after my victory, they won''t be able to escape the might of my undead. So, letting them live for one more day, that won''t change their fate. As for me, I guess I will have to wait for one more day. And this time, I should be able to finally destroyed thest hope of Aria, for her believers. Chapter 109: An Audience with the King? Chapter 109: An Audience with the King? Actually, after confirming with my various spirits, I and Oslo discussed the deadline for our assault. And his arguments were good enough to only make me try onest time by the end of this week. That way, I will have a bigger army than just a day of wait, and I can still check if some reinforcements are arriving. The good surprise was theck of anyoneing near the capital. I am sure that the roaming zombies are taking care of any random peon looking for something inside Atria. And now, it is time for my new assault. The door that was destroyed is stillying on the ground, a proof of my victory. I can see tired faces on everyone, the incessant noise provoked by my undead is bearing its fruits. I can already see some magicians and priests arguing, the minds are on the edge of explosion. Facing an imminent death, everyone still wants to survive. The only strange thing is that no one tried to negotiate his way out. Probably my ratman appearance and my army of undead are crushing any hopes about a formal negotiation. I have now nearly twice the amount of ghouls that in the previous attack. But my Chosen are clearly not in the same shape than before. It will probably be theirst battle. After that, I will create new Chosen from the body of the holy knights and royal guards. But first, I have to kill them. Same strategy as thest assault, charging with everything I have. But now, the humans are tired, some injured and even a part of them was killed. They are not defending with the same vigor as before, crumbling under the might of the ghouls. I still suffer terrible loses, especially in the North. But while the South is nearly already captured, the West and East are still fighting well, and potentially will fall under my grip. Nearly ten magicians are needed to y one ghoul, and it is only if they manage to touch them. They have learned from their predecessors, and are dodging the spells more and more. The previous mindless charge is now a calcted one, where sometimes, they side-step a dangerous fireball or jump above some earth spikes. Provoking more and more despair in the rank of the remaining humans. Thest group of knights is fighting my Chosen, far away, and unfortunately, I can see that number two already lost his left arm. By now, only two Chosen are still alive, and by the time I arrive, only one is standing. I was still not quick enough to prevent the helmet of number two to be pierced, crushing his skull in multiples pieces. As for the knights that were shouting victory, it quickly ends when they see me. Their movements are slowed, and I just absorb the blood directly from their veins. Blood is leaking from their eyes, ears, mouths, noses. After killing all the survivors, I can create a new lich. That''s what I do the most, creating more and more advanced undead, that in return, create the backbone of my army, the ghouls. Seeing this side winning, I spread them to the rest of the ramparts, making sure that no one from the defenders will survive. As for me, well, [Blood Touch] still have to be used. By midday, thest knight was in in front of me, near one of the northern gates. Now, only civilians and some experts hiding in the crowd are present. And of course, the royal pce, the headquarters of the Church, of the magicians. The castle where the knights wereing from, all the important buildings, sheltering the students. Right now, they should all be terrified, but I guess some are brave enough to try to rally them into ast final fight. But it will take some hours to manage to assemble all the students. I won''t let that happen. Half of my army is marching on the castle, while the remaining half is going toward the Church. I alone will enter the royal pce. By now, I have experimented with the resistance of both my body and my shield. They are incapable of killing me, otherwise, they would have already done it. As I float toward the pce, I absorb the lives of everyone one on my way. Man, woman, children, elderly, birds, dogs, cats, horses. Providing more resources to my army. Those reinforcements will make their assault on the headquarters of the magicians since it is thest threat that I haven''t attack. As for why I didn''t divide my army into three parts? Too risky, they are still strong and I have lost hundreds of ghouls in the fight. Right now, my lich outnumber my warriors, and it is a bad sign. That''s why I take my time before going to my audience with the king. Oh before I forget, number onee with me. I still need a trantor; my voice is horrible. When I am facing the proud and big pce, I can''t help but feel that the one from the djinn was a little bit bigger. No, but really, from the race that is supposed to govern this world, it iscking. I really want to know where the gold was distributed because it was not in the pocket of those kings. As for the royal guards, they are wearing some golden armors, halberds, and shields. They are in formation, blocking the front door. I can still see them being perplexed by why I am alone, facing them. I mean, yes I have number one right under me since I am floating a little, but I am basically alonepared to the size of my army. I let number one convey my words. -My master, seek an audience with your king. Will this wish be granted, before you all die? I didn''t say it that way, but I still like thest sentence. The reaction of the captain is quick, they reorganize themselves, showing me a road with two sides of guards around it. I guess that means,e in, but we can still attack you from all sides. I ept the invitation, and me, number one, and fifty royal guards advance toward the audience room. There I can see the king, an empty seat near him, two men and one woman behind him. The king is old, but the three other humans are all adults, probably his children. Inside the room, countless men and women, with costly clothes, the nobles. Some are wearing strange outfits, with numerous papers carried by their assistants. Last but not the least, a group of 6 humans, 4 men and two women. One man has lost his arm and is wearing a military armor. A woman is wearing a golden veil, while a man is standing right behind her, guarding the frail youngdy. I can see behind the veil with my vision. The three remaining humans are all wearing the robes that Imonly saw on the deceased mages. So, I guess I have the three powers of this kingdom or at least the capital. The guards and knights, the priests and holy knights and finally the magicians. What a lovely sight, all that crowd, reunited just for me. After we arrived twenty meters away from the throne, the guard surrounding us stopped and pointed their weapons at us. Three circles of guards, surrounding me and number one, preventing anyone from leaving. After that, I see a man reading a paper, probably the list of title of that king. -You are in the presence of the 89th king of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, Protector of the Church, Defender against the Ratmen , noisy, number one, make him shut up. Shortly after, I can see the man turn white and drop dead. That''s better, of course, that provokes a reaction in the entire room, shouting to kill us. But the guards are still calm and professional, they know that I can do even worst. Now it is time for me to talk. -My master, give his greetings to your goddess the stupid, foolish, young beautifuldy with white wings, ARIA! Kekeke! At those words, everyone is stupefied, clearly not expecting me to say that. Of course, the only reaction that interests me is the one from the youngdy. I can see her eyes rolling in a strange way, and even some saliva leaking from her mouth. The veil is blocking the sight of the others but not mine. She is shaking more and more, now, even her bodyguard is seeing it. Watching me and my undead turn into a location inside this room, everyone turns their sight to the group near the throne. Even the king is looking oddly at the people from the Church, wanting an exnation. While I patiently wait, Oslo told me that it is possible, but still something that will kill the person used in that ritual. But, I guess that Aria doesn''t really care at this point that one more believer dies. No, she will want answers, and I will dly give them to everyone in this kingdom. Chapter 110: Audience with the Goddess Chapter 110: Audience with the Goddess The youngdy keeps shaking more and more, now she is even moaning in pain. I don''t want to know what is happening inside her, but it has to be extremely painful. The previously close bodyguard is slowing backing off, feeling something weird. Everyone in this strange looking group is putting some distance between the woman from the Church and themselves. After a few minutes, finally, we can all hear a sighing from her mouth. At the same time, a strange feeling can be felt inside the room, like we are in presence with a being greater than us. The same feeling that I had back when I was in the white room with the goddess. Number one is informing me that he has to create numerous shield just to survive the power that is emanating from the former human. That means she is truly her with us. I can see a light surrounding the frail human body, something not from this world. It takes still a good amount of time before she speaks, while we are all waiting for her. Finally, an eerie voicees from the mouth of the youngdy. -So, you are the Hero of Szar, what should I call you, his Prophet, his Apostle? If you think that just by destroying this city, you will win, you are truly mistaken. Right now, I can see my army marching toward your city, and with the help of the dwarves, we will end you, once and for all. So, enjoy your pitiful victory while you can. The tone is as arrogant as it can be, without any trace of fear. I still don''t know if it is just a faade, but apparently, they will attack the ratmen in a short time. Well, that''s if they manage to kill them with the support of the Apostle of Szar, I guess it is an Apostle. And I am fearing that the ratmen are more powerful than they think, because this time if they see the capital of the holy kingdom fall, they will bring theirplete arsenal. No hiding in the shadows, stocking the weapons and ammunition, preparing to join the darkness once more. After what I will do, even the blessing on the army of the humans will fade, so, I am not betting on her victory. And she isn''t even caring about her people apparently, letting me rampage this city without a problem. But she is still mistaken on one point, a pretty important one, I am not part of the army of Szar. Even if I am an ethereal ratman, it is not good to jump on conclusions this quickly. Now how should I y it? I directly tell her who I am? I have all the time in this world. But first, and the most important thing in this situation, the evilugh. I order number one tough as loud as possible and make his teeth be the noisiest sound in the room. -KEKEKEKE! KEKEKEKE! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE! That''s pretty good, I can see everyone back away, even the guards take a step back after this. This is probably thest time I will have some fun, so I will maximize my profit. After the evilugh, what should I do, tell my evil n to everyone, making them shake in horror? Well, I don''t really have a n. Except kill everyone. That''s still good enough, I mean, I am the bad guy here, I have an army of skulls, there is no way I can be the good guy with that. -YOU STUPID AND FEEBLE HUMANS! My master, will enjoy ughtering everyone that you care about, your children, your family, your friends. No one will survive this, because my master, was brought on this world thanks to a single person. He was sent to die, in an obscure cave, and now, every god on this will pay for this affront. -Brought here? -Obscure cave? -Who did that? -What? Everyone in this room is looking at each other, searching if they know more. Because I clearly designed a responsible for this situation. But as everyone is desperately thinking about every report they have read, the goddess is now even whiter than she was before. I don''t know what made her understand, the cave or every god, not sparing Szar in the process. (Ehhh, I am not in that thing right? Just to be clear, I am not physically in this world, so I am not included in this deration?) No, I mean, you were on this world, but I said every god on this. Therefore, since you are not really on Astria, that''s fine, I am not lying. I mean, you still have helped me enough, I won''t be a traitor and kill for what? A reward? Is it better than all the information still stocked inside your brain? (You nearly scared me, because like I said, the moment you have [Death Ray], you can pretty much kill any god. Maybe not in one time, but you will be able to do it indefinitely, so, the chances of surviving more than three spells are close to none. Can we swear on the Nine Heavens for that?) You seriously don''t trust me? I am really pained to learn that, but at the same time, I understand, you are old, and a little bit cowardly. You want to save your life, so let''s say this, I, Marc Cassidy, will not hurt or kill Oslo intentionally. In return, Oslo, will not hurt or kill Marc Cassidy intentionally. That''s good? (Yes, that can be good, meaning that for example, if you don''t know that a spell can hurt me, you will be able to use it against me. Now, I just need to tell you everything that can hurt me, blocking you. At the same time, if I see an ambush, I can throw you into the trap. Fine. Marc Cassidy, will not hurt or kill Oslo intentionally. In return, Oslo, will not hurt or kill Marc Cassidy intentionally. Give me a second. Aaaaaaaaaand done!) At this word, I feel some strange lights surrounding me. Then, an electrical sensation is numbing my entire ethereal body. I guess that''s the proof that the oath has been made and will have to be respected. The humans in the room don''t understand what happened, but the goddess clearly saw the entire process. And she has her eyes wide open. -HOLD ON! With who did you just make a deal? It can only be with a god, so you are still working with someone. But that doesn''t make any sense, you are supposed to be dead a long time ago. I even cursed you for that. You were inside a lichir, I made sure to do this. I Got you! Previously, the room was searching for a culprit, and guess who just fell into a little trap. Bingo, it is stupid Aria, I should make a song about that. The previous pious, respectful and even fanatic stares are now turned into iprehension and anger. Yes, dear humans, it is your very goddess that brought me here. And she clearly knows that she messed up since she is just silent. (It is not even the worst; I can feel the blessings hurting all of your undead be greatly reduced. Everyone in this room is supposed the be her most powerful believers, without their support, the battles against the remaining forces will be over shortly.) So, it is only good, that''s very good. Time to hammer the truth one more time, without an interpreter now. -Ssso, Aria, wh-why do I have the feeling that yo-you lied to me? You killed me firssst, then ma-make me reborn as a rat, sleek sleek. After that, I le-learn that I am in a lich ca-cave, sleek sleek. Only after a lo-long time, did I realizzzed, you send me to DI-DIE! Without Ossslo, I wouldn''t have sssurvive this long, sleek sleek, and up-uphold my VENGEANCCCE! That is really removing a heavy load on my heart. Knowing that I can finally see her face, her arrogant and full of herself face, crumbling before me. Even her believers, after hearing me and seeing their goddess not denying anything understand a little of what happened. At first, if she hadn''t said that she threw me into that lichir, they wouldn''t have believed me. She just talked a little bit more than she should have. -I-I-I am sorry. Ah finally, the apologies. I am a merciful ratman, I will just kill you after that. It is the extent of my mercy, destroying your life, but sparing you. (Not because you still can''t really kill her?) Absolutely not, I am not waiting to use my [Death Ray] on her. Not a single chance. -I am sorry, my people of the holy kingdom. I have failed you, I should have made sure that I destroyed personally that petty and insulting human. I should have broken the rules and send him right in front of that lich. I have failed you. WHAT?!! THAT B*TCH! SERIOUSLY, YOU MADE MY LIFE HELL, AND YOU WON''T EVEN APOLOGIZE? FUCK*NG B*TCH! -But I can still make it right, and finishing what I started a long time ago! [HOLY JUDGEMENT]! (RUN!) Chapter 111: The Expected True Threat Chapter 111: The Expected True Threat I immediately float to the ground and goes underground to avoid that spell. I try to reach for number one, but I have no answer, I guess that he was sted by that judgment. My [Veil of Darkness] is acting very weirdly, not really being broken, but something else. Like, it is activating periodically. For example, right now, my left arm has a big hole and my right leg is not covered at all, next second it''s something else. I can''t see any darkness around my chest, but all my limbs are covered in dark. Just what was that Oslo? (The judgment, something that you shouldn''t be facing whatsoever. Ok, it''s a weird thing, but basically, she sacrificed everyone in that room and try to kill you with that. The power of their faith and the judgment they have toward you is supposed to kill you. But, theck of conviction in their believers didn''t really manage to aplish this feat. You can regain the surface, it''s over, you won.) I listen to Oslo and like he said, the previously noisy and filled room ispletely empty. Only a lot of clothes and armors areying on the ground, the remains of the former humans. They believed in their goddess for all their lives, praised her, enjoy the benefits of such life. Only to end up as a sacrifice, such a great reward. The more I look at this, the more I think that the universe needs a change, something else. But, that would mean chaos, is it really better? Cough Cough Hum? Someone is still alive. I go toward the location of the sound, behind one of the pirs. There, I find the previously powerful goddess, reduced to nothing. I see her trying to stand up, but the body she used is not working anymore. I don''t know why she is still here, shouldn''t be gone, returned into the sky? (This time, I don''t know. You are right, there is absolutely no reason that she is maintaining her connection to this world. First, it is using a lot of power, then, what''s the point? And don''t think about it, it is just a projection, you can''t kill her, even if you destroy this body.) Damn, are you reading my thoughts? I mean, yes, you do that, but reading even before I think about it. Because I was really thinking about doing something if it can hurt one way or another. The stupid and petty thing, she didn''t even apologize to me! Seriously, she deserves everything that is happening to her. (I never told you why I use the [Death Ray], that way you will understand Aria a little better. We were fighting, normally, like that, then she began to break a little the rules. She was ying borderline with thew of the Nine Heavens, I could have reported her, but the presence of a gem with a [Death Ray] on my Hero made the thing a littleplicated. Then she asked who was the more beautiful goddess I ever saw.) Yes, so just full of herself, she was expecting you to say her, right? (Exactly, but if I did that, someone would have killed me, more specifically, Freya. She is part of the Nine Heavens, and is on all honesty a bit more gorgeous than Aria. Hey, that''s the truth, don''t think I am saying that because I have no idea if anyone is listening to our conversation. Like, you know who. The other stalker. Anyway, after I said that, she began to be angry, really angry. She literally broke several rules inside the arena, the same that you fought in against the Prophet of Krieg. In the end, because of that, she killed my Hero.) Well, right now, I can''t really see her beauty at all. The former beautiful youngdy, hidden behind a veil, is already an old granny. I guess she used the life-force of the human to supply her existence. After a moment, she definitely stops trying to stand up and look around. And she finally sees me, intact, unharmed and waving at her. Yes, I am waving and smiling, just because the sight in front of me is a pleasant surprise. -You VERMIN! You should have died, thousands of time already! You tried to scam me, so I had to return the favor. But now, you destroyed my capital, do you have any idea how much it will cost me! You, and that moronic and weak Oslo, you are truly a pair of garbage! Even now, he isn''t showing up, scared of me, like a rat, like you! (Oh, Aria, so many years have passed before we meet once again. How is life going? I heard you have a rat infestation in your house.) Ok, that was a good one. I take note about that, I will definitely say that when I will face Szar. I know that Oslo was not a good guy, but saying that in the first ce is a little harsh. I approve this at 100%. I can see the anger building on Aria after those wonderful sentences spoken by Oslo. But apparently, he is not done yet. (You know, you have something on your face, I think it is called a wrinkle. You should fix that quickly, otherwise, someone could mistake you as a monster. This will definitely not be the best move to appears more gorgeous than Freya you know. Except if you want the opinion of some orcs, maybe you would still have a chance.) Now, she is really fuming. If stare could kill, the invisible god would have been pierced by thousands of swords. I am certain that he is as happy as me at seeing the powerless goddess in front of us. But that doesn''t stop me from wondering why is she still here? There is absolutely no reason for her to stay here and listen to the insults of Oslo. I mean, she just has to leave this weak and ugly body and we won''t do anything. We can''t prevent that, right Oslo? (Oh no, she can leave whenever she wants. But until the moment she decides to do that, I will keep insulting her, I will never let this asion pass without doing my best. So keep thinking, I have something to do. So Aria, are you considering registering for a beauty contest?) I try to not think about the incessant noise that Oslo is doing, and think rationally. Let''s see everything else. I call all of my armies, to see what is happening outside of the pce. The fortress of the apprentice knights has been conquered quite easily. Only some old professors and some old students were really a threat. And with the reduced power of Aria, they all lost the support preventing their defeat. The Church has the same fate, without Aria, they are even less dangerous than some squires. At first, it was a nightmare to my ghouls, they were massacring my undead. But after the spell used by Aria, the tables have turned and a one-sided ughter can now be seen. The lich in those two locations inform me that besides some humans still hiding, they have destroyed all the resistance inside the two building. The thorn in my foot is the headquarters of the magicians. Even after all this time, they haven''t broken the original magic shield surrounding the academy. And all the ghouls were destroyed in the different assaults. The lich, not risking their lives, are suggesting to wait for the entire army. That was the only problem, the magicians are the only one that was regrly seen quarreling and arguing with the Church. So, they are absolutely not relying on the power of Aria but their own. I ept the proposition of my lich, just stand outside of the magic shield, far away, and wait for me. But with all those information, there is not a single ray of hope for Aria and she knows it. Thanks to Oslo, I learned that she can see through the eyes of her believers, so she knows that the situation outside is a disaster for her. What can possibly be more important than me destroying her capi -Your ar-army was dessstroyed by Szar, sleek sleek? After saying this, I can see the fear in the eyes of Aria, that means I am right. Oslo stopped talking too, analyzing what I said and with his knowledge, he can probably tell me what is the true situation of Aria. Silence remained for 5 seconds, before Oslo break it, talking to both me and Aria. (You have lost your capital, your puppet king, your army or most of your group of fanatics. Meaning, that with our zombies destroying the countryside, you only have the remains of a kingdom. You know that the other forces in this world will attack you when you are weak like that, not just Szar. The barbarians, the Notongrod Empire, maybe even the vampires. You are remaining here, because he is still your Hero, and you hope that he can save your kingdom. Hehehe, HEHEHE, HEHEHEHEHEHE!) With each new round ofughter from Oslo, I can see Aria be smaller and smaller like she is trying to hide somewhere. So this was the truth, SHE EXPECTS MY HELP? I will give her my help. I walk toward her, and she raises her head, looking at me with watery eyes. -Can I activate [Blood Touch], ending in less than a second the life of a barely living human. It was finally time to end this masquerade. But now, my fear was realized. Even the powerful army of both the humans and the dwarves failed to destroy the ratmen. And didn''t hurt them a lot, seeing the distressed goddess. I look at my level, 13, and I think that destroying Lucia and Ronta before reaching the ratmen is a good idea. Chapter 112: A Peculiar Convoy Chapter 112: A Peculiar Convoy A convoy of ten men can be seen approaching the proud and beautiful Atria, capital of the Holy Kingdom of Aria. But that group was special because they are guarding an iron cage, where a single man isying on the ground. His clothes are ripped at multiple locations, and his former elegant and prestigious posture can''t be seen anymore. The sad end of a noble fallen in disgrace, condemned by the Church for the vile acts that hemitted. Of course, while the Church can do such thing against nearly everyone, they still have to pass the judgment of the men in that case. The kingdom, and more importantly the king, won''t let any noble be executed without a trial. Even with the power of the Church, they still have toply with the rules in ce. Otherwise, why would they need a king in a first ce? As for the trial, no one is foolish enough to think that it will make a difference. No one condemned by the Church has ever escaped death after the judgment. This time, it will not happen either. Of course, to do that against a noble, they can''t just do it in a country bumpkin city, like Ronta. No, it has, and always will, be in the capital, in front of the king, all the ministers, and the rest of the nobles. As for the charges pressed against the desperate man, they are all very grave. Treason, at first, for betraying humankind and their friends, most importantly, the dwarves. An attempt of murder against the emissary of the King of the Mountain, who miraculously survive the terrible attempt. The two archbishops present were all very perturbed by that thing, that was done right in front of them. Colluding with the ratmen kin, probably the worst of all. No one really knows how it was possible, but the fact that the poison waster identified as a ratman poison leaves no doubt about his culpability. For Graeme, it was all a bad dream. Just offering a drink, no, the dwarf literally threw himself on that bottle. And he escaped death thanks to this, only to be charged and probably sentenced to death right after that. The worst thing he heard was a brave attempt by both Archbishop Mathews and the Great Magus Aesseryn. Later, they identified and recognized the poison as the one that killed the two receptionists of the Adventurer Guild. And they brought the proof to the Church, the answer? Mathews was sent to the North front, at the frontier of Nortongrod. Aesseryn was locked up in her tower, with the order to not leave before the former mayor was out of Ronta. The Church realized that he was innocent, but still, since they had made it public, they will kill him no matter what. At this ridiculous thing, the mayor lost all hope that he previously had. For the Church, it is better to kill an innocent and hardworking man, if they had previouslybeled him as a criminal. That way, the Church will never be wrong. When Graeme looks at the capital getting closer, he begins to remember all that happened. Born in a family with neither big powers or weak, but still highly respectable. Married young to a lovely wife, until she caught the Red Flue. They never had a child, that was his only true regret. During the years, he saw his wife slowly die, with no alchemists capable of helping them. And his family was respected by the nobles, for their opinion about the importance of the king against the Church. Meaning, that seeking the help of an archbishop was useless. After the death of his wife, he was offered a post at Ronta, where the city flourished. But in the end, the Church always wins. Probably because he is in that state of thinking, but he is the first to notice something weird with the faraway capital. After a few more seconds, searching desperately what seems off, he finds out. The silence, the city is totally silent. Why? That the thought that he discusses with the guards nearby. They are from Ronta, and worked with him for thosest years. Some in the guards believed the lies told by the Church, but none of them are near him right now. Of course, those discussions don''t escape the ears of the two archbishops at the front of the convoy. They quickly reach the iron cage and tell to the mayor to shut up. Having nothing to lose, Graeme decides to argue, since it will probably thest time he will be able to do that. -You framed me and are nning to execute me, and I still can''t talk onest time with my men? -They are no longer your men, traitor. The Church isn''t wrong; you are some vermin needed to be exterminated for your crimes. Guards, don''t listen to the perverted words on this heretic, he will lead you to a path where you will all die! -But -No, but! All he has said are lies, the Church has always sought justice and truth, and protects you. Have faith in our kingdom, in our goddess. -But, he is right! The capital is really silent! -Nonsense, how can But after hearing that, the archbishops, and everyone begins to stop talking and listen. For nearly a minute, no one talked, all hoping that even a scream will break this disturbing silence. But, the previously always busy and dirty slums, filled with ouws and criminals, rapists and beggars, are too quiet. They are still too far to see in detail the ramparts of the first wall, but no one manages to see anything moving in the streets. Until someone, in the back, shouts while pointing at something. A zombie, why a zombie is so close to the capital? The mayor and the guards are trying to get as far as possible, as quickly as possible too. But one is still trapped in a cage. Hopefully, the two archbishops, after a short moment of shock, quickly approach the weak undead. For them, a zombie is no threat at all. -Be gone, creature of Darkness! [Purification]! Following that, a huge light leaves the body of the priest, and fly toward the zombie. For a few seconds, the spell keeps going, and when he stops, everyone is baffled. The zombie didn''t get hurt at all. Now, even the archbishops are getting slightly worried, why such a resistant zombie is here? The two of them, keep casting every spell they know. Only after more than 10 spells, exhausting the men of the Church. Only after that important number, the zombie falls to the ground. -Why is a zombie here? -Have you seen how resistant he was? -Are the archbishops that weak? Thatst question was important. Because even the two persons that were casting the spells felt something weird. Like, they weren''t capable of unleashing their power, their true power. They scan their bodies and discover that they are far weaker than normal. And that scares them, but they have to hide it from the normal men. They have to discuss that with the pope and the voice of the goddess. It is a huge problem. But while everyone was looking at the corpse of the undead, Graeme turned around and saw something that petrified him. A huge army of undead, hundreds of lich, more ck zombies, and at its head, a ghostly ratman. And he realized why the capital was so silent. When he fell to his knees in front of such truth, the local guards finally turned around. Some died of fear, others were no better than the mayor. The archbishops, hearing themotion, finally saw the situation they are in. They are doomed since this army is so big. Knowing this, they try onest thing, before dying. -[Puri After that, the blood of everyone around the cage could be seen leaking from the faces of the humans. The men of the Church, the guards, everyone except one, was killed in seconds. The mayor didn''t understand why he was still alive, why he was spared. After that, the ratman approached his cage and faced him. -Wh-Who are you? The mayor took several seconds before he was able to talk. He was still scared of everything he saw, but he was born and educated in one of the most prestigious family. He finally recovered his calm and answered the ghost floating in front of me. -I am Graeme Sorrel, from the Tyne Family. Mayor of, well, former mayor of Ronta, noble of the Holy Kingdom of Aria. What are your intentions with the Tyne Family? Shortly after, a lightugh could be heard from the eerie form. The mayor didn''t understand what is happening, but, to preserve his honor, he will at least not die on his knees. He stood up, even in this cage. -Wh-why are you in thisss cage, sleek sleek? -An unfortunate event, I was offering a bottleing from the Green Coast to a dwarf, and then, he was poisoned. Later, someone found the link between this and the assassination perpetrated in the Adventurer Guild. But, since I was the one in possession of such a drink, I was condemned by the Church. My trial awaits me at Atria, but I think no one is capable of judging me anymore. Now, the previous lightugh was turned into an enormousugh. The mayor could even see the form in front of him pping his tight with his hand, but the hand went through. After a minute hearing the ratman, Graeme saw that he was calm once again. -Ma-Mayor, I have a lot of ressspect for you, sleek sleek. Your job wasss ve-very hard, and you have do-done it well. But, you are a hu-human, so, I will have to ki-kill you. That was expected, the mayor didn''t have any idea of surviving this day in the first ce. At least, it will be better than suffering the atrocious torments reserved to the traitors. Seeing that ratman raising his hand once more, Graeme thought of onest thing. -If, if you respect me, please, can you kill me, without me feeling any pain? The ghost though for one second, before saying something. -Gr-Granted. Thest image that Graeme Sorrel Tyne saw, was a dark shadowing toward him. Chapter 113: Farewell, Lucia Chapter 113: Farewell, Lucia The destruction of Lucia, the stomach of the kingdom, was easy. Not a single army waiting for me, only some guards and the usual low numbers of both priests and magicians. The walls were not even bigger than the first wall of the capital, my ghouls easily climbed them and ughtered any defenders. After that, with the size of my army, I was able to encircle the poption and block the doors, while my undead were doing their job. It took me, what, three hours, well, let''s say three hours to raze the city. Now, I already have hundreds of lich and countless ghouls. I only produced three hundred zombies, to let them roam more around this part of the country. It is the only way that I can really exterminate every single believer of Aria. Because, even if there are multiple big cities, sometimes, it can be a fisher or a woodcutter town, with barely a hundred humans inside. And I can''t search for them and lose my time, that''s why I let the zombies deal with this. And with the power of Aria greatly reduced, the local priests won''t be able to y my zombies, even the archbishops had a hard time. Before leaving Lucia, I order five lich to go in all the cardinal directions, that way, even if a fortress appears, they will be able to deal with it. I only lost 40 lich by doing this, besides the fourth main directions like North, I also spread them to the North-West. More surface, costlier but should be able to really destroy the whole holy kingdom. Because, for example, to the west of Atria, there is the Green Coast, but I have no idea of the number of troops deployed inside it. Not a lot since they probably recruit some of them for their assault against the ratmen. And now, here I am once again, going near Ronta, the city of my life. Honestly, at this point, I don''t really want it to be destroyed. Void of people, yes, but destroyed? No, just to have a reminder of it, I will ask my undead to do as little damage as possible on the buildings. That way, it will only be a ruin, andter, maybe some races will find it and think about the old races. (That''s only if you don''t kill every single being on that. Because you told me that it was your n, did you change it or not?) No, but you can never know, for example, an underground race? If I don''t have an opening to the surface, I can''t know they are here, and I can''t kill them. And, if I spare some of them and open once again the portal linked to your world, you prefer to have some survivors, like the dwarves or everyone needs to die? (A real question you are asking. Let''s see, they will have no idea that I worked with you, and I can even say that we killed the ratmen. Ok, yes about the dwarves, you can allow them to survive. Elves, you can ughter them, they never liked the demons just once. The treants, don''t anger them, we don''t need their wood anyway, so that''s fine. Orcs, humans, and the rest do as you want. We will use the ruins of the former kingdom anyway, so that''s fine. Ok, no, you kill the Notongrod Empire before, and if you can just destroy the barbarians, or, no, just the humans in the empire.) So, elves are dead, dwarves and treants are fine, I kill the empire but let the barbarians alive? (Yes, you got everything, you do that, and I will be good. That way, my potential enemies are not a threat, and I can safely invade this. It will take some years anyway, but I prefer to not hear a huge army from either the humans or the elves marching toward my demons. I don''t have a lot of them, and I don''t want to lose them.) So, after dealing with the ratmen, I create a portal, I destroy the empire, I kill the elves, and I will see. I should have evolved before that, I hope. 15/35, that''s good, but I still killed at least 400 000 humans in the process, with a lot of strong knights, magicians, and priests. The proof, an entire city razed to the ground, two levels gained. And Ronta won''t even grant me that, I mean, nearly all the refugees have left the city, the army is destroyed, what can the town give me? After a few more days, I reach the city, and unfortunately my hope to not destroy it is over. I can see multiple banners with weird symbols, raised on the wall of the city. Some buildings are still on fire, with the smoke darkening the sky. The ratmen decided that just destroying the army was not enough, they attacked Ronta as well. (Can you walk for a hundred more meters please; you will have a surprise waiting for you?) I hate surprise and you know that, why I have the feeling that''s an assassin that you managed to spot. If it is really that, I would like to congratte you, you are a lot better at spotting him than before. (You have no idea how much power I recovered when you destroyed Atria. I am feeling as strong as I was after that meal of life crystals. And the perception of your undead and spirits are a lot higher than before, so it is them that have detected the threat before me.) Oh, yes, I forgot about my spirits. Even if they don''t look like they have improved, I guess that they are more resistant, quicker and as Oslo said, have a much better vision and perception than before. Now that I think about it, my ghost army should be able to be done. Of course, I won''t need a sword forged by the elves and be born from a legendary family to use it, and uphold an oath made centuries before. And, that means, I will have a ghost army permanently, or at least, until they all die, or disappear, die from real death? How should that process be called? Anyway, we reached the point that Oslo tasked me to reach. Shortly after, I can see the ground moving under me and my troops, and hundreds and hundreds of ratmen are emerging from the ground. They immediately begin to attack the limbs of my undead, trying to tear them apart. Of course, the skin of my ghouls is too thick to be pierced by just some rusty daggers and broken swords. Because that''s the equipment of the ratmen. Wait for a second, if they are just ve, that means I look to my left, and see two of my lich dead,ying on the ground. The ghouls surrounding them are slowly crumbling, without the support of their summoners. Damn those assassins. All lich, protect yourself with the strongest shield you know, do nothing, but protect yourself. Let the ghouls kill the ratmen. As I say this, I see all of them casting some dark shields, and the attack from the assassins are not as deadly. I still see one lich dies, but three attacks were needed, and the ratman responsible was grabbed by a ghoul and brutally killed. As for me, enjoy attacking someone floating more than 50 meters away from the ground. Some tried to fire at me or throw some daggers, but none of them breached my shield. The problem is the fact that my domain is useless at this range, well, I still have my orbs. I quickly use them with my deadly shadows, and after each usage, I can see a lot of ves dying. Even some of the assassins are affected by it, slow down and destroyed by the fast reflexes of my ghouls. This battle barelysts more than twenty seconds, and when only fifty ves are remaining, the attacks from the assassins stop. As for the abandoned ratmen, they are quickly dispatched, not managing to hurt my undead anymore. That was the first test, and we are still far away from the city. I wonder what new devilries will await me when I get close to Ronta. (You wonder, or you want to know for real?) No, Oslo, I love the surprises, especially the bad ones, like I always told you. Getting ambushed is my favorite thing in this world, of course, I want to know. Do you really have to ask? (Just saying, don''t be that mad. Ok, so, that little group you managed to kill, well, that awaken the ho nest. The streets of Ronta are filled with ratmen, the pavement under them can''t even be seen. And they are installing some strange cannons on the walls, multiple guns, and some weird looking stick. Not really a stick, but it''s made of metal and I can see them cing a monster core in it, they are aiming, toward our position, I wonder what ) I immediately rush to the ground and bury myself, only to hear something right before I enter the ground. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIP Chapter 114: RUN AWAY! Chapter 114: RUN AWAY! (WOAW! Seriously, I hadn''t expected the range of this to be that far. I mean, you are at, I don''t know, more than one kilometer. And it entirely destroyed the two lich that were pierced by it. I honestly want to tell you that they won''t be able to fire more of that thing. But four additional metal sticks are getting loaded as we speak. Should we retreat for now?) Ok, this will be a painful memory, but I will have to deal with thister. For now, I only have one thing to do. RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! And, as bravely we were marching to conquer the walls of Ronta, we are running like cowards to escape the range of those snipers, I will call them that way. I mean, it looks like it is a sniper rifle, from the description of Oslo. Ah, and I am still staying underground, for now, I won''t dare to stand up in front of the ratmen. Never, never, underestimate a race that was hiding in the shadows and preparing their return for a century. I mean, we haven''t killed anyone, and I already lost 5 lich. By killing anyone, I mean, really killing anyone. Neither the assassins that we caught or the ve sentenced to die by the hands of my undead are really important. Why? Because, if they are caught by vulgar ghouls, they are no threat to me, meaning it is not their best ratmen. As for the ve, I won''t talk about them. It is obvious that they are the lowest vermin possible, and I remember the memory from the Agorians. They were as starved and weak as they were when they fought the Tomb Kings. I mean, just look at their weapons, a broken sword, not a single shield? Not even some leather armor, I am not talking about metal, just leather. As for the assassins, I didn''t really saw what was their equipment, but it should be barely better. They were just the scouts, the rms put in ce to prevent anything. I mean, we are still very far away from Ronta and ZZZZZZZZZIP ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIP ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAP DAMN! SERIOUSLY? (Yes, even after five seconds of running, they are still capable of touching us. The good thing is, the shields of the lich were capable of repelling the attack. Even a single shield of a lich has managed to stop the deadly projecting, so, I suppose that one kilometer is the maximum theoretical range. Past that, the projectile fired loose both his speed and his power. It managed to break two shields from your lich at a closer range. That''s going to be a huge problem, there are five of them.) Yes, but I only heard 4, does that means that the first one is still reloading.? (Let me see, yes, the weapon is fuming, a huge smoke is surrounding the metal stick. The three ratmen operating the sniper rifle, like you called it, are even coughing. The same spectacle can be seen around the four others. Let me count the dy between two shots. Still not able to even get close, ah, finally Now, they are putting the monster core, putting another one, and a third, clonck? I guess that means that the weapon is armed, and yes, I see one of the ratmen looking in a ss. It''s a magnifying ss, wow, it is really advanced, they can even modify the efficiency of the ss. But, for the dy between two shots, I will say, fifteen seconds.) So, every fifteen seconds, past the one-kilometer mark, potentially, I will lose 5 lich. If I make sure that they are spread, and not in line. And that''s just one weapon, you told me that other things were put on the wall? (Oh yeah, some very nice things. For them, of course. You have the five sniper rifles, you have one, two, three, four, yes, four cannons. The kind that is capable of obliterating a small group of lich in a second. I see dozens of machine guns; they are simr to the one found inside the hideout of Krieg. A huge number of magicians or sorcerers, but the good sign is the fact that they are not a threat to you or your army. Millions of ratmen are inside the city, and that''s just the surface, I have no idea how many are in some tunnels under it, waiting to ambush you when you are not expecting it all.) Let me resume something. I am facing, a city, that is capable of annihting my army from far away, with numbers beyond millions, and a horde of assassins that just want me to die. How did Aria think that she could win this war? I mean, yes, I am certain that I have in front of me at least a third of the total army of Szar. Because another should be attacking the dwarves and the rest should be defending the city of the ratmen. But just that, and I am already powerless. I have managed to single-handedly destroy the capital of the holy kingdom, but I can''t beat the army of the ratmen? (I think that you should maybe consider this situation from another point of view. Maybe the reason you were able to destroy the capital, was the already dead army of Aria. Because, the priests and the archbishops were not really threatening you at all, only the magicians were really dealing some damage to your army. The more I think about it, the more I find your victory a little too easy. I think that the first try, where you were quickly dispatched, the army of the humans and dwarves was still alive. But during the wait, they were all killed in front of the city of the ratmen. Allowing you to crush the defenses of the third wall and enter the royal pce.) That makes sense, but in one way or the other, both I and Szar helped each other. The fall of Ronta is very recent, not even a day. Otherwise, the cannons and sniper rifles would have already been put in position. Or, you told me that they were rapidly bringing all their weapons to the wall. Anything else I should know right now? Any strange monsters lurking in the streets, capable of tearing apart a ghoul with his bare hands? (Yes, a few. But, you should probably be able to kill them, I am more worried about both the assassins and the weapons in position on the wall. How do you want to y that?) First of all, I will retreat, and reform my army. Create more ghouls, more everything. Then, I still have [Nightfall], they won''t expect this. What can you do when you can''t see your targets? After that, I have something special for them, that I just thought. Did I evolve right? (Yes, you evolved. Meaning more power, more spells, a better body, more spells more creation of spell?) Exactly, I still have a chance to create a new spell. Now, I just need to find out what I really need. Because, I have an army, I have something allowing me to bypass all the environment, I have something to defend myself. I have also multiple ways of killing my enemies and I can blind or curse them. What do I truly need right now? (I have no idea; you still can''t use the [Death Ray] right?) Let me try once more, even with my 1750 MP, can I use it? "Not enough mana" Well, apparently, no. I truly wonder what is the cost of such a spell, even with 1750 MP, I can''t even cast it. But, forget about that annoying part, what should I create? Something to make my undead better? Something to kill people at a very long range? (Don''t focus too much on your undead. Yes, they are very good, and extremely useful, and right now, more powerful than you. But, sometimes, you will face a situation where you won''t be able to rely on an army of undead, to ughter your enemy. Sometimes, you will have to face stronger foes, meaning, you need to have a better spell. All the previous ones are still useful when you are alone, but if you create a spell just for your undead, you will stop growing.) Ok, I get it, me getting stronger is better than me getting stronger thanks to my undead servants. The principle of strength by myself and not by all my assets. So, you suggest creating a spell only avable to me, but then, what should I do? Besides having a long-range distance attack, that''s what I am currentlycking, I don''t see anything else. But that''s not very useful in an arena when I will battle other Heroes. (You don''t have to care about other Heros, besides one or two freaks, you are able to kill everyone. In a one against one, you can hide in the underground, make the other party starve to death, be gued, be melted. No, you need to focus on your shorings, and the idea of something capable of destroying those sniper rifles from far away is quite good. That''s always a nice thing to have, that way, you can almost every time strike first.) Ok, so we have the idea, but what will be the spell? Chapter 115: Comet? Purple Sun? Chapter 115: Comet? Purple Sun? Ok, before doing this, let me check my surrounding. I only have my eyes above the ground, and even if I can see a form on the horizon, I can really describe it. That''s Ronta, and that''s far enough. My five spirits are deployed in an arc between me and the ratmen, capable of seeing any assassinsing after me. So, too far for their weapons, and too protected for their assassins. That''s the perfect time to create my new spell. (Wait for a second, I am detecting something. Yes, a small group of assassins ising from the North-West, at four hundred meters. They are rapidly approaching, if you throw one or two orbs at them, you will be fine.) Yes, it is mainly to scare them, just to give me time to create my new spell. I can sense the location of one of my spirits, moving and approaching my army of undead. That should be the one that spotted the discreet ratmen. I wait a bit, to let them get closer and when I think that''s enough, I throw three orbs. I can see them quickly reach their destinations, and a cloud of shadows was delivered right under their feet. But I still hear nothinging from the distance, no cry or shout. That''s the difference between the humans and the ratmen, one is willing to do anything to survive, while the other is ready to die. (Ok, you killed, one, two Two assassins, the others managed to dodge your shadows. They have some pretty quick reflexes; I have to give that to them. After your attack, I saw them spread in multiple directions, and I have lost them after that. I am redeploying your spirits to encircle you, you can''t expect them to only attack from the side of Ronta. If I could have some additional spirits?) I can produce exactly five additional spirits, but that will make me wait nearly 8 hours just to have the opportunity to create my spell, is it really worth it? (Well, if you prefer to die after creating a spell that will most likely deplete all your mana pool, that''s your opinion. But, just 8 hours is not that long, when you are absolutely certain that nothing can get close to your army. And, you can still let your ghouls hunt the next assassins in your stead unless you personally want to kill them.) Ok, fine, you convinced me, I will do as you ask. You are right about me dying, I don''t want that, and I fear that like you said, my new spell will make my mana pool totally empty. So, here you go, five additional spirits. Now, let me stay underground, and just deal with everything else. If you find any of their strange weaponsing toward us and leaving the walls, just say it. I don''t want to hear you say run away once again, without even being warned. (For the moment, no movements from any of the machines. I have two spirits watching everything in Ronta, six forming a wall between you and the city, and another two behind us. Just in case, but we can''t be sure that no one will backstab us. As for the menace from the underground, either a ratman or something worse, I have nothing. The sight of the improved spirits can see at more than fifty meters under the level of the ground, and spot any living creature. So don''t worry, either they have to dig really deep, and it''s not worth it. Or, they will do likest time, and I will be able to see them.) Thank you to exin in details everything. I know that I don''t really need all those information, but I prefer being safe than having to deal with that in the heat of the fight. Just something bothering me, you are notining anymore about the heavy work you are doing, why? (Because, first, we killed a lot of humans. So, I am fine and ready to do a lot of things. And I have already deal with the most important blessing on Forslo, meaning no additional burden on me. The destruction of the forces of Krieg here and on my was a good boost, but what we did in Atria. Really a good stuff, ughtering all those humans, I was both happy and finally not hungry anymore. That''s why, I won''tin for a very long time, probably, the next time I will, it will be because of the creation of the portal linking Astria and Forslo.) After this discussion, we waited for a very long time. Sometimes, I heard my undead moving to a point, sometimesing back. Each encounter, however, killed a lot of my ghouls. But, theck of lich in the list of victims is favoring me in the long term. Even if I don''t have hundreds of them, just a little bit less, they are still capable of creating an infinite amount of ghouls, if they have the time to do so. And right now, we have all the time in the world. But the ratmen are in the same position, now, Ronta should have been fortified to the best of their capabilities. And anything needing time to be prepared, trap to be made or creatures to be breed should have been done. I wonder how the dwarves are dealing with this. This time, I am sincerely hoping that they can defend themselves, and potentially wipe out the threat menacing their homes. They should be able, just based the strength of the only dwarf I met. He was very menacing and have enough explosives to kill a small pack of ratmen by himself. By now, I will have enough mana in five minutes. So, during that time, I, or I should say, we can finally create something good. What do you think should be the best? (Something like a [Meteor], or even a [Blizzard]. But you suck so much in those two elements that it is useless to think about them. No, we need something rted to death, shadows, darkness or acid. Your gue won''t be able to destroy their machines, and that''s what we want. As for the form, I am not certain, there are some possibilities, spell created by strong Heroes, some legendary rituals.) Don''t you know something capable of bombarding a location, something from far away? (Well, I have some stuff, like the [Comet of Cassandra], but it is not rted to you. It is even worst, that it is a spell rted to light, and you should even have less power in that department that with fire or ice. Let me think a bit, you have the [Fate of Bjuna], that is capable of killing someone, but not destroying the cannons. [Winds of Death], but you already have shadows, and it is to kill enemies in arge zone, I don''t know if it is cast from far away. I bet not, but it spread so far that it can probably hit those sniper rifles.) Ok, fine, I get it, let me think of this by myself. So, I have a darket falling from the sky, and destroying the form on the horizon. Descendet, deadlyet, FALL! Ok, fine, the System didn''t even consider that a spell. I mean, we are searching for something capable of reaching them and destroying equipment, don''t have to be something looking like a meteor falling from the skies. (Can it be something big, but moving far away?) Yes, I guess, you have an idea? (Yes, but it should be barely less costly than a [Death Ray]. And it is definitely rted to shadows and death. His inventor was called Xerces, and he wasing from an advanced world. They could already travel toward multiples, with their rockets and spaceships. He was studying the effect of a ck hole when he suddenly tried to replicate the phenomena but in the form of a spell. Instead of a ck hole, a true ck hole, he created a purple sun, sucking inside it everything nearby, destroying it for eternity. The spell destroyed everything on more than two kilometers, his creator too. But, he already uploaded the exact form for the spell online, creating the [Purple Sun of Xerces].) So, you want me to think of a miniature ck hole, in a form of a purple sun, absorbing everything and making it disappear in whatever dimension. And that can move toward Ronta? Damn, that''s hard to think, but, apparently, someone managed to do it. And therefore my System should be able to do so. Let''s try this then so (Hold on, you should make your army back off first, and remove the spirits too. They will all die because of your spell. And you should be ready to hide in the ground.) No, I have a better idea, I will leave this ce, and go South to test it. After traveling for three kilometers, I end up in a forest. A calm and peaceful forest. That should be perfect, now, let me try that wonderful invention. Chapter 116: [Purple Moon] Chapter 116: [Purple Moon] Ok, right now, I am far enough. No matter what I will do, the worst that will happen is me destroying a nice little forest. Not that big of a problem. So, what can I do to create that purple sun, because, it seems like a pretty good spell? A moving ckhole, what can bring more destruction than that. I was really aiming too low, just wanting a small meteor to destroy a small group. While Oslo was looking big, something capable of annihting armies without a single problem. Except one, my imagination. Ok, I see a representation of a ck hole, I mean, the one from Earth. I have no idea if all those scientists are right, but I really hope they are. I am betting myself on that, so please, don''t be wrong. So for me, that phenomena is looking like a vortex, not even letting light escape its grip. But, I heard a theory that this attraction was because of the weight of the ck hole. So, in this case, I have to think about something incredibly heavy as well? Think about your physics sses, did I ever hear a description of a ck hole? I don''t think so, and on the book, it''s like a small note, with barely three sentences. The truth is, I have no idea how this is working. So let''s forget all the theories, and proofs from Earth, let''s just try what Oslo said. A purple sun, so a purple little star, not that big, but stillrge enough to affect a lot of objects. So let''s see, a sphere of 5 meters in height? Sounds good, sounds big but not that big. Then, it floats, of course, otherwise, it will just fall to the ground and dig its way toward the center of this. I don''t want that. A purple sphere, grabbing and attracting everything around it. And floating and moving away, while doing the previous action. As for the thing that touched the sun? Destroyed? Melted? Oslo? (Hey, I just heard of that strong spell and the history behind it. I have never seen it, just heard the description and thinks that''s what you currently need. As for the deadliness of that spell, I can assure you that nothing that was in contact with the purple sun survived. That''s what I heard, as to whether the objects are destroyed or broken, I have no idea. The god that told me that only said that a trail of destruction could be seen behind the creation of Xerces.) So, we will think about, everything in contact is slowly melted. Since I am quite good with acid, I can potentially do that, otherwise, I will not be able to destroy the cannons and sniper rifles. A big brainstorming now. Purple sphere, moving and floating at one meter from the ground, attracting everything a huge area, and melting everything in contact of the sun. That''s good enough? (Yes, I have no objection. Oh, wait, just one. Precise that the spell has a huge duration. You want it tost for thirty seconds or something like that. It won''t be instantly dispelled; you want it tost.) Right, you are totally right. I am certain that the System would have just make it appears then disappears the next second. Ok, I have everything, now think again. Purple sphere, float, move, grab everything, destroy everything,st for thirty seconds. Sphere, float, grab, destroy, long duration. "Congrattion to the user for creating a new spell. Please say its name." Great, it worked, I have no issue with my mana. That was potentially the scary part, but now, I am fine. What should I call it, I can use the name of his creator, I don''t even know if it is the same spell. But I did shape it as a purple sun too. Or, more exactly, a purple sphere, not necessarily a sun. What is shaped like a sphere too? Hmmmm. -Purple Moon "System acknowledges the choice of the user, the spell: [Purple Moon] has been created." (It is really low, what you just did. Seriously, you rece sun by the moon, and expect me to not say anything about that?) Actually, yes. Because even me think it is mediocre. But I had no other name in my mind, the only other sphere I could find is a moon. And, it is supposed to be deadly, so moon, death, shadows? (No, I won''t follow you on that thing. At least the sun was logical, you have something that can melt metal, because of its high temperature. But what does the moon do? Nothing? Besides influencing the seas and oceans, but even that, we, as gods, can deal with that. So it doesn''t make any sense.) Oh, you can remove the impact of the moon on the sea? Well, you can do a lot of things, like creating a perfect summer for all eternity, I guess making the seas peaceful is not that hard. But let''s forget about the bad naming, okay? Now, let me see what is the power of my [Purple Moon]!!! RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE BLOODY HELL! RUN AWAY! I immediately begin to run away, not expecting the spell that I cast 30 meters away from me to still attract me. Even at that distance, I still felt the power of my newly created purple moon. As for the trees around it? Nearly all can be seen stuck on the purple sphere, and slowly be destroyed. Only the strongest and oldest trees, that have deep roots are resisting, but I can see more and more fail to do so. Now, the spell is continuously floating forward, a little slow for his size. I mean, he should approach the 30 km/h, that''s a good speed for something that has the size of a human. But it is three times that size, so, I hoped that it was a little bit faster. Well, I can''t have everything. Its attraction is powerful enough to make me forget about the slow speed. And I will use it against static targets or in a situation when the enemy won''t be able to avoid it. I and Oslo can see the trail of destroyed trees on its way, and at that point, we begin to count. To see for how long the spell is active. When the purple moon finally disappears, dozens of trees fall to the ground, with more than half partially melted. I counted to 35, while Oslo only had 32. I guess he is better at that than me, and I have to confess that I was a little too excited. But the spell has a huge duration, and with its speed, it can travel for . Nearly 30 km/h, thirty-two seconds, I multiply and it gives me nearly 250 meters. Didn''t you say that the distance of the purple sun was bigger? (Yes, but you created a moon if I have to remind you. And, I think that a sun is better than a moon, you should have checked for that before doing this.) Ok, so that means, I will have to hide underground and cast it right in front of Ronta. That''s really not what I hoped for. I wanted something that could provoke chaos from far away. (And if you try to cast it from far away?) That''s true, I only tried it to see the impact, but we still don''t know the range of the spell. Maybe I can truly cast it from a kilometer, and that way, it will still work as we nned. But I have to wait to try that. I don''t have enough mana; this spell is really costly. I have 6/1750 MP, if I only had just one level missing, I couldn''t have cast it. And in the meantime, how is my army doing? (We lost thirty-three ghouls, but still no lich. The good number of spirits allow me to prevent that, but they are getting more and more ambitious. It looks like they care even less about their death squads than you about your ghouls. And, in the numbers department, we are not winning in the short term. Either, you will have to retreat after casting your purple moon, or the fight will really be hard.) No, we can''t escape anymore, especially not after we showed them how dangerous we are. The truth is, besides potentially the dwarves, we have no allies in that war. So, they will hunt us to the end of the world if they have to. We need to show them how strong we are first, by destroying and killing millions of ratmen. Then, we will be able to escape, when they are fearing me and my undead. And my newly created spell. For another 8 hours, I waited in the destroyed forest. After that, I float in direction of my army, and when I think it is far enough, I turn to face the forest once again. That way, I will have a clear distance and will cast the spell where I want. I try to cast it on one of the closest trees, at a little less than a kilometer. I activate my [Purple Moon], and, seeing the purple sphere appears right in front of the tree, I think that it''s enough. I can truly attack Ronta this time. Chapter 117: Consequences of Past Rivalries Chapter 117: Consequences of Past Rivalries I join my army, and we march once again toward Ronta. Right before the effective range of the sniper rifles, I stop and wait for a second, hearing the description of Oslo. (Ok, so you are now really in a huge trouble. I have spot thousands of ratmen digging tunnels under the feet of your undead. To the North, South, and West, assassins are waiting for you to retreat. I don''t think that''s a good idea, even reaching the gate of Ronta will be a hard task. And I am not even saying to goes through and face the army hidden behind those walls. That''s just the tip of the iceberg, I am beginning to see some ratmen totally disfigured, carrying some deadly diseases. They can''t hurt you, but I have no idea if they manage to create something, something to use against the Tomb Kings. And whatever works against them, will work against you.) You know very well that retreating right now is pure madness. I know that I should not face the ratmen like that. One does not simply walk in front of them, and expect to live. Their city is guarded by more than just ratmen, there are evils down there, that no one is able to name. The battlefield will be a wastnd, filled with poison, gue, and acid. The very air they breathe is some poisonous fume. Not even the army of humans and dwarves managed to kill them. (Exactly what I said, it is folly. Even the memories of my people, the Agorians, were filled with dreadful devilries. And that was only a small contingent of ratmen, not even possessing half the weapons that we are seeing on that wall. If you cast that spell, you will dere war, a war of attrition, and it is maybe the only time where the undead are not winning this. They will throw more bodies that you can create.) If they try to do this, then I will create more bodies that they can destroy. Lich, stop producing the ghouls and only create the same zombies that I did. If quality will not help me win and only numbers are relevant, we will see who has the biggest army at the end of the day. But now, I have to get rid of the threat of the snipers. But for that, I need to have a clear vision on Ronta. I leave my shelter, or moremonly called, the ground, and hide behind a group of twenty lich. That way, all their magic shields will protect the rest of us, while the other continuously create more zombies. The problem is the location of those snipers, they have been positioned far away from each other. To prevent any lucky spell from me to destroy all of them in one hit. Same for the different cannons and machine guns, not even one is close. A clear distance of at least 5 meters between each other, and from the report of Oslo, the ammunition are not all brought. Only five monster cores are present at the same time near each weapon. Not like the followers of Krieg, who brought more than thirty cores at the same time. Allowing me to wipe out the building sheltering them. So what should I do? Create the purple moon and make it goes toward the center of Ronta? Or make it destroy the ramparts and with some luck, the cannons that are too slow to be moved? (Ramparts!) I was thinking the same. I begin to cast [Purple Moon], and right when I am doing that, I hear 5 clear shots fired at me. Hopefully, the magic shields protected me, and nothing happened. Since they have done that, the different rifles are overheating, and blinding a little the ratmen. It is the perfect time to provoke chaos. A huge purple sphere appears near the walls, and begin to attract the ratmen on it. I can see some that are sent flying and are screaming. I create it near one sniper rifle, to at least destroy one. Even if that sight is pretty pleasant, the next is not bringing me any happiness. The thousands of ratmen under me, well, they decided to join the fray. With the assassins waiting to ambush me. I return to the safety of the ground, even if sometimes, I am inside a tunnel newly created. I can''t risk to stay above the ground and be a target for the true assassins. At the same time, that prevents me to use [Blood Touch] offensively, I can only wait for the end of the fight to do that. Oslo, what is happening? (Ok, so your spell is doing some pretty good damages, I have seen two sniper rifles destroyed and one cannon. But at least three will be destroyed, they are too slow with the two closest of the purple moon. As for the rest, the machine guns and all the sorcerers, they quickly run away. Minimal loses on that side, barely three guns and five magicians. Hundreds of those are still alive and ready to unleash their terrible firepower on your undead. I think that you need to stay in the fight.) WHAT? And be at the mercy of the assassins? No way, I am not brave enough to do that. You can''t even tell me who exactly is dangerous to me and protect me. And I will not bet on my [Veil of Darkness] to do that. If they can pierce through an armor like the one that the dwarf inside the sewers of Ronta had, just my feeble shield and my condition as a ghost will no save me. (Technically, you said that you were an elemental, not a ghost, even if you look like a ghost ratman. Ok fine, but you are not winning this battle at all. Your zombies are getting overrun by the enved ratmen, and your ghouls are only defending your lich against the assassins. Without you, your entire army will crumble in minutes. You have to do something, since you want to fight so badly.) And with what? My empty mana pool? Absorb all the blood surrounding and hope that nothing will prevent me from doing so? I guess that''s my only way, fine. I only put my hand out of the ground and begin to absorb the blood. I quickly fill my entire reserve of MP; I guess that the sheer number of death is helping me. If it wasn''t for all the threats capable of destroying me, this battle would have ended a long time ago. After doing this, I begin to activate my new domain, filled the air with deadly shadows. By doing this, I spare all my group of lich the threat of being destroyed. All the ratmen near me is dying, dozens of them. But the cost is still huge, I can barely sustain my domain. Why is this so hard, how many ratmen areying dead around me, all that blood? Even if they are clearly smaller than a normal human, meaning less blood, they should still give me enough to activate my domain for a very long time. But, even if I absorb rivers of blood, I am still losing my mana. Seeing this mystery, I look at the blood flying toward me. It is not a red, fiery and living blood,ing from a recent flesh wound or mortal wounds. No, it is weird, nearly solid, even turning green on some drops. What the hell is happening? What can provoke this, and why is this happening? (I know the answer, damn, he is faster than I thought. Ok, you probably have guessed but me, Szar and Krieg have fought on many worlds ands. Sometimes one of us win, but in the end, we pretty much know everything on the other side. That allows some strange alliances, like me and Krieg against Szar, or even the two of them against me. Because of that, that bastard created something to piss off Krieg. And you are facing it.) Hold on, he created something specifically to deal with the Blood God? Meaning something that can probably affect the surrounding blood and reduce the potency of his spells. Like [Blood Touch] or the [Blood de]. Oh, bloody hell. (Like you said, bloody indeed. He created a poison designed to destroy the blood surrounding the bearer. Of course, the ratman will die and most of the nearby fellows of that one will suffer a horrible death. In short, everything containing blood around us will suffer from this poison. Your undead are spared since they are already dead. You are spared since you are no longer a living being. But all the ratmen in this battle are sent to die, and inflict as much damage as they can.) But how can they know that I have this spell? Szar shouldn''t know about that? (Well, you used it pretty openly in multiple asions. And I can''t detect all the assassins stalking you, or even worst, something seeing farther than the webs of spirits you created. Just one time, you used one time the [Blood Touch] in front of a ratman, and Szar knew that you stole this spell from Krieg.) So, let''s back to the ground? (Hell yeah!) Chapter 118: A Terrible Defeat Chapter 118: A Terrible Defeat So here I am, once again hiding. I can even sense that I am losing some of my lich, because of all the assassins. But everything I do is useless. My [Blood Touch]? Countered by that strange poison created by Szar, every single of those ratmen is infected and bearer of this thing. Meaning, no supply of healthy blood for me. My domain? Can''t maintain it for more than two minutes, and I already did it for one and a half. I have a half of my mana pool, thanks to the weak absorption of the nearby blood. Anything else? My [Purple Moon] is too costly, my orbs are not really that effective against such a huge horde, gue won''t even tickle them. The good thing is the fact that their artillery is useless for now. (Are you sure about that?) Oh no, please, don''t tell me that bad news. Just, don''t, seriously, I am already in a bad position, if you tell me that they are deploying once again their terrible weapons, we will really have to retreat. (You will have to retreat. Right now, the machines guns and sorcerers are in ce, you can''t advance. The cannons are really too slow; it will take them at least a few minutes to join their former positions. As for the sniper rifles, they are already beginning to bring the ammunition. In a few seconds, they will reload and begin to aim at your lich, since you are no longer visible. You can''t do anything. I suggest a new strategy, something bold, and quite dangerous, to be honest.) That dangerous, or slightly dangerous? Because we really underestimated Szar and his ratmen, I really thought that they were exterminated or something like that. So why do they have this much firepower, so many machines, and troops? (I have no idea, I only have the news transmitted to my Agorians, nothing more. But I think that it is the fault of Aria, she probably destroyed a strong fortress and thought that it was the main base. Like I said, she is a young idiot and with just destroying it, and with probably the disappearance of the rest of the ratmen, she thought that she won. I am certain that Szar tried to do everything he could to make her think that way, by sacrificing some of his stuff, just to fool her. And it worked. But for my n, we will do something so stupid and irrational that even Szar won''t see iting.) Ok, I absolutely don''t follow you, but let me hear that proposition. I mean, we can''t do anything else, if we retreat normally, the assassins will keep stalking me and my army. No, I should say, all my lich are already doomed, they won''t survive. Only I can, so I will be all alone once more. So what''s your n? (Join the dwarf!) Excuse me, but maybe I am wrong on that. There is just one tiny, little, small detail to prevent that. I AM A RATMAN! Or at least, I am shaped as a ratman, how can you say that stupid idea. They will fire at me when I will appear in their sight if I am lucky. And even if they don''t do that, they will never believe me, or should Ie and say that I am a gentle ratman? I am a pacifist one, no, I don''t have thousands of gues and acid that could destroy your entire race. I am not in charge of undead either, the enemy of all living creature. Seriously, how are you expecting this to work? (That''s why I said it is dangerous. Because we have to bet on the reaction of the dwarf. And even worst, we have to bet that they are still alive. But there is only one thing that is certain, in all my years of existence, no other race is capable of outranging the artillery of the dwarves. Meaning, those sniper rifles and cannons preventing our approach? They will be destroyed by the dwarves, and inpensation, you will fight in their stead. It''s a win-win for both of you, if you manage to strike a deal, of course.) During our conversation, however, my army is slowly crumbling under the number of assants. Even after ordering to create zombies, that are more efficient to survive the waves of vermin crashing on them, I am still losing. And now, I even hear the deadly sound of a sniper shot. One more lich is destroyed. Damn, I have lost. I can''t win anyway. But do I really have to listen to Oslo on that one? Because it is really impossible to predict the future. I don''t know if the dwarves are still standing, I don''t know if they have lost their strongholds and are just fleeing. I know nothing, nothing at all about that part of the world. And I have to bet my life on a good oue for me. (What is the alternative, tell me? Flee to the West, to Lucia, to Atria? Wait there, form your army once again? And what? Expecting that no one will bother you during the weeks that you are doing this? Because it will take weeks to create an army strong enough to face the ratmen. And I just say face, not even win against them.) I can still try to go toward the barbarians or the vampires, letting them be my shield for a time. Well, never mind, by doing this, that would mean I let the ratmen focus only on the dwarves. And if they fall, the world will not react in time to survive the next assault of the ratmen. They can go whenever they want, destroy the elves, kill the remaining human empire. Hunt the orcs, trap the barbarians. For now, only I and the dwarves are openly fighting them. (So you know it is the only way out. If you don''t do it, you will have a much tougher challenge afterward. You can still do that, but I am not betting on you. So, leave this ce and go North, I will try to guide you. I have no idea which mountains are still in control of the dwarves. I only know that they lost two during the Portal War, as for which, I have no idea.) You are betting on the dwarves, but they still lost two out of the five mountains during that war. It is not a good thing, I mean, that would mean they are weaker than you think of them. Otherwise, it shouldn''t have been a problem for them to do that. (You forget one thing, previously, they didn''t know the existence of Szar of the ratmen. So, no preparations for the iing fight, nothing at all. But, if you want to get rid of dwarves when they are defending a point and are expecting you, you will have a really hard time. By now, I am certain that in thest hundred years, they have developed, invented, and created many things only effective against the ratmen. Potions against their poisons, explosives capable of burning their furs. Many and many wonderful things, from our point of view. A group of dwarves in the open is an easy target, a group of dwarves behind mighty walls and countless weapons is a nightmare.) So that means, they have probably the firepower capable of destroying me, right? Because, even if I am in an ethereal form, I am still sensitive to fire or stuff like that. I think so, otherwise, this form would be too powerful. I check onest time the connection with my army, while I am escaping to the North. Only 7 lich and 16 ghouls, all the zombies have already been destroyed. The sniper rifles are the main reason for the low number of my lich. If I could just get rid of them, it wouldn''t have been turned into such a heavy loss. (You still have the rest of your lich roaming in the holy kingdom of Aria, but I don''t expect them to survive for a long time. Only one lich, that undead will be killed by a small group of assassins. I suggest you regroup them and make them guard the wall of Lucia. That way, the ratmen will still be wary of you and won''t immediately march towards the dwarves.) Fine, I will do that. I order all my undead servants, besides the spirits that are still following me, to reach the city of Lucia. Everyone, zombies, lich, ghouls, everyone should guard the eastern wall of that city. That should be enough, it will still be many hundreds of undead present. And with the continuous creation of zombies, more will be created. The bigger the army looks like, the better it is for me. I try to reach number one and three, that were part of my army near Ronta. No one answers I guess that makes that move even more logical. But betting on the survival of another race? I am not even sure of what I will discover. Chapter 119: The Last Alliance Chapter 119: The Last Alliance -SECOND LINE! FIRE! Dozens of rifles were delivering their deadly projectile, right after that sentence was pronounced. This garrison was located right outside the entrance to the Deep Mountain, one of the two fallen mountains of the dwarves. Previously the deepest mine that could be found inside the Grey Mountain Kingdom, now their of the ratmen. It was thanks to the former Iron Beard, Lansco, that the engineers of the Deep Mountain managed to find the trail of the Green w. The battle between the dwarf and the ratman managed to break one of his tools, provoking a distortion in the mana. Numerous scientists were called, and after examining those distortions, they managed to found the entrance to the city of the ratmen. Of course, they were smarter and more discreet than that. They managed to fool the ratmen, by discovering one of their old weapons inside some broken buildings. This discovery was fake, but it allowed the dwarves to run some additional tests, proving beyond doubt the presence of the ratmen behind a pile of rocks. By doing this, the dwarf kingdom called their old allies, the humans from the holy kingdom and the elves from the forest. However, those pointy ears never showed up, and it is only the coalition between the dwarves and the humans that marched toward the underground threat. At first, the alliance was winning, and the preparations from the dwarves were sufficient. Between the power of the goddess Aria and the intelligence of the engineers from the Deep Mountain, they managed to pierce a hole in the wall, and unleash their hate on the ratmen. Both the humans and the dwarves were fighting side by side, and the holy priests and archbishops were strong enough to neutralize any deadly poisons or diseases. Until one day. No one truly understood what happened. But, the previously full of vigor and brave knights were having a hard trouble maintaining the line. The heal and cure from the men of the Church were not strong enough, and more and more victims were seen in the rank of the alliance. While, the ratmen kept throwing ve after ve, with sometimes the Red Guard of the Council making its appearance. The strongest ratmen, the best warriors,unching a surprise attack on some weak points, hoping to breach the line. And while their weapons and terrible monsters were suppressed by the numerous siege weapons brought by the dwarves, they didn''t bring enough ammunition to deal with the sea of vermin. Meaning that they had to let those ratmen warriors do whatever they wanted, and only hoped that the knights and dwarf warriors were strong enough. As for the threat of the assassins, the ratmen were truly taken by surprise. They knew that the human army wasing, but didn''t expect the exact location of the passage to be known. And the various crossbows, rifles, and magicians were preventing anything from leaving the hole pierced. The battlefield was constantly in the light, not letting any shadows move. But as the hours of battle kept flowing, the men were weaker and weaker. Now, three archbishops were needed to do the job of only one the previous day. The shiny light on the armored knights was now dim, only the embers of the previous me. But, no one, in the side of the dwarves or the humans, understood what was happening. No potions, spells, cures, or purifications was enough to get rid of that insidious curse. And what should have happened, finally arrived. One weak point, and the Red Guard attacking where it hurts. The line was broken, and shortly after, the previously contained sea of ratmen spread on the entire battlefield. Hopefully, the dwarves and the humans have already thought about the worst case, where they would have been defeated. During all the days of battle, the miners were constructing a safe passage, to prevent the nks of the retreating army from being attacked. The bad thing was the direction, the human army won''t be able to escape toward the holy kingdom. They will have to fight with the dwarves until the end and join the dwarves to their fortress. Because now, the ratmen will attack once more, and the old oath for the survival of this world will have to been made once again. The army of the humans and dwarves reached the fortress nearby without too many casualties. As for the siege weapons left behind that could be used by the ratmen? Three big explosions could have been heard shortly before their arrival. Now, only three tunnels that are leaving the Deep Mountain were not sealed, and all are guarded by fortress like that. Unfortunately, the garrison is not strong enough to survive the waves of ratmen, and even the walls are too weak. The army had to reach the Heart of the Mountain, where the huge walls of the capital will block everything. They had to warn everyone too, order aplete evacuation from all the external outposts. Because they failed. As for themander of that fortress, located the closest of the ratmen, he already knew his fate. After the passage of the army, he could already see the countless red eyes in the dark watching him and his men. The army had left the heaviest weapons, that would have slowed them too much. With that, themander will be able to inflict more damage to those vermin. He could see all the brave dwarves at his side, knowing what will happen to them. They were here to prevent those rotten creatures to reach the capital before the humans and the other dwarves. They were here, to block anything that wanted to enter the tunnel located in the middle of the fortress. Since they are underground, the construction of all those fortresses was designed specifically to counter any moves from the ratmen. For example, there is a roof above the head of themander, and the shape of the building is like a cube. The dwarf-made walls are stuck to the natural walls of the cave. Only hundreds of small windows are pierced, to allow the dwarves to fire at will on their deadly enemy. Only the front door and the tunnel, they are the only two exits possible. And, there are enough explosives to destroy the fortress, in case themander and all the dwarves have failed in their missions. Seeing the battle that will start in a few seconds, themander quickly put everyone in formation, next to the windows. He could only see some ves or normal ratmen, nothing else. But he knew that the assassins are already here, just not making a move because of the design of the fortress. He watched all his brave warriors, onest time before all will end. -FIRST LINE! AIM! The ratmen were still too far, but that way, the dwarves will be ready. Only when the first ves were seen clearly thanks to the lighting from the torches on the wall of the fortress, themander shouted. -FIRE! Dozens of projectiles, piercing the flesh of the vermin in front of them. But the sea was stilling after them, wanting nothing else but to eat the flesh of a dwarf. -SECOND LINE! FIRE! The dwarves didn''t even need to aim, since no matter where they shot, they will hit something. From the two sides of the fortress, countless ratmen were climbing on it, trying to enter by the small windows. The only thing that they received was an axe in the face. -SECOND LINE! DROP YOUR RIFLES! GIVE THEM A TRUE FIGHT! The first line was still not finished with their reloading, and they need the threat of their rifles for what ising next. In the meantime, the dwarves from the second line were hacking and shing all the ratmen in their range. Arms and legs were sent flying from both sides of the windows. Themander knew that they couldn''t break the door with just what they currently had. They needed something else. THUMP THUMP That was what themander expected. The terrible rat ogres, with the size of three adult dwarves. Without one of them, the sturdy door won''t break. -SECOND LINE! PUSH! FIRST LINE! KILL IT! All his warriors worked perfectly, to give an opportunity to his riflemen to shoot the terrible monster. However, the sea of ratmen was too big, and only a few shotsnded on the rat ogre. If he was now injured, he was not dead, and ready to destroy the door. TOMP TOMP CLANK -MAKLUM! THE TUNNEL! TORPEDOES! FIRE! Themander ordered the engineer in charge to quickly destroy the tunnel, as for the rest of them, they already had jumped from the ramparts, to defend the only exit. Some that were manipting the torpedoes created to deal with monsters quickly executed the first rat ogre. All the rest of the dwarves were carrying an axe and a shield and were fighting the ratmen. Those that were facing the following rat ogres could do nothing but be sent flying. The little less than one hundred dwarves were all dying one by one. Even themander, with his two-handed hammer, was heavily injured. He managed to break the knee of a rat ogre, but he was injured after that by an assassin. Retreating to the tunnel, he found his engineer dead, with the lighter in his hand. Following that, he felt a dagger pierced his armor and nearly taking his life. But, in onest try, he jumped toward the corpse of his friend and grabbed the lighter. -FOR MAKAN! FOR MELDUN! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM Chapter 120: The Truth about Atria Chapter 120: The Truth about Atria The dwarf currently listening to the reports has a serious, but pained, face. Even for him, the number of death reported was too heavy. The fortresses surrounding the fallen Deep Mountain have all been destroyed, but the good news was that every tunnel linked to those guarded locations have been sealed. Maybe it is a good news for his people, but for Meldun, it was the hard truth, that no one survived the assault of the ratmen. Just when the dwarf saying all those of those dark information has finished reading the paper in his hands, another one arrived. He bowed for a second in front of the king of the Mountain, before saying what everyone in this room was expecting. Even if the tunnels were all sealed, some noises can be right at this moment heard around numerous dead ends. The dwarves guarding the destroyed Gold Summit have reported the presence of ratmen, and they are currently retreating to the principal gates constructed in that mountain. In other words, the two mountains that were destroyed during the Portal War have been conquered by the ratmen. -Do you know if someone managed to bring me what I asked? That was the first time that Meldun had talked since the beginning of this audience. Previously, he was just listening to everything that was reported to him, but immobile like a statue. As for what he asked, only the nearby Iron Beards guarding him and the different nobles staying here knew about that. Some of them disapproved, but everyone was agreeing with the potential result. Nothing was lost from the side of the dwarves, and doing that could only bring benefits. Shortly after, themandant of the Iron Beards, Thongril, brought a bag to his king. Meldun put his hand in the bag, grabbed the thing inside, and showed it, to every dwarf in this room. It was the head of a ratman, but not just any ratman. It was the head from one of the Red Guard, just the head was two times the size of the head of a normal dwarf. Those gically modified and specifically bred warriors were a gue in the battlefield. But, their presence means that the ratmen are attacking the world once more. -Do you see that, fellow dwarves? Do you see the head of our enemy? Do you see his skull shattered by the axe of a dwarf? That''s what we will show to the world. That the dwarves, from the Grey Mountain, once more, will take their weapons and hunt those vermin to the hole that created them. Thongril, give that head to the emissary and ask him to reach out the nearest warboss of the orcs. He needs to make them respect the oath that everyone made during the Portal War. After that, or if you find another of those monstrous head, send him to the elves. Those pointy ears are a bunch of cowards, grass eaters. This time, they will need to leave the protection of that forest, and fight with us. Otherwise, we will not let our warriors die in vain, defending the south path leading to their forest. -My king. After saying this, Thongril rushed outside of the room. He had a lot of work to do, as every Iron Beards will in those dark times. Now, near the king, only the nobles were staying. Ironfoot, Longbeard, Strongfist, Shinyhand. All the most honorable and oldest ns were reunited. Each and every one of them would have quarreled the moment they saw each other. But not today, and maybe they will never be able to do it in the future. Every dwarf knew that this time, they won''t be as lucky as before. When the ratmen decided that war was not worth it and began to retreat and hide. When the holy kingdom of Aria was strong, not in this day. -My king, the army has arrived. Finally, what everyone was expecting, the return of the army. They were a little slower than the vanguard because they were carrying the injured and the sick. Of the 150 000 men and women that participated in that war, only 100 000 was still alive. Seeing so many that are still capable of fighting, the dwarves began to rejoice and even think that victory is a true possibility. The heaviest casualties were in the side of the humans, 40 000 of them will never see the sun again. As for the remaining 60 000, they were greatly weakened. The priests were rendered useless and only the archbishops still had some powers left. The only people that were not affected by that inexplicable phenomena were the magicians. However, they were in a small group in the first ce, not even more than 2500. That was the biggest mistake made by the holy kingdom. While the number of knights and priests are huge, the magicians were never truly taken seriously, provoking that clear difference in the numbers. And right now, thatposition of the army will be a burden for the iing fight. However, right now, the humans and the dwarves had to share all their information, because a bigger threat is menacing this world. Entering the audience room, one woman, one man and one dwarf. Aesseryn, the Great Magus of Ronta, Jasper Earur Borin, the general of the human army and finally Atli Strongfist, the general from the dwarf army. Normally, one of the archbishops of the holy kingdom and one of the engineers from the Evesting Peak should havee. But, both had very honorable excuses. One was healing and curing everyone he could, while the other was bringing the vials looted on the body of the Red Guard. -Greeting friends. General Atli, mdy Aesseryn, and general Borin. I have convoked all the noble ns from the Grey Mountain Kingdom, to join us for the discussion. I hope that you won''t take it badly. -No, king of the mountain. The holy kingdom and I, express our gratitude toward your people. In those dark times, you were the only one willing to help us fight this terrible threat. The more that are joining us against it, the better. -I will take it badly, your highness. If you call me mdy one more time, I am the Great Magus, not just some damsel in distress. The woman was clearly pissed that the two other men were called by their honorifics, while she was just called mdy. Right now, all of the magicians under her control were exhausted, they had to light up the entire cavern during the duration of that battle and block the numerous spells throw at them. Some even passed out during the travel. To prevent the situation from escting, since everyone was tired and angry, Atli tried to calm the magician. -My apologies, Great Magus. We are more familiar dealing with men from your kingdom, and the numerous dwarves that have lived in your beautiful country always told us that the nobledy was called mdy. -Hmpf! That was the answer from Aesseryn but she knew that arguing about this is pointless. She was too tired, and the peril too great to fight about someone calling her like that. But, her pride prevented her to not argue about the fact that she was a Great Magus. Seeing the situation evolved far from what he expected, the human general decided to bring back the true topic. -Your Highness, during this war, we encountered a very troubling problem. One that probably cost us the victor, or, at least, prevented us from ughtering more of those vermin. The power, infused into my body and the body of all the knights, is now weak, terribly weak. This thing is even affecting the priests and the archbishops, reducing the efficiency of their prayers. I am certain that it was not caused by anyone near this battle, not caused by the humans, the dwarves or even the ratmen. I have this feeling, this terrible feeling. That something else happened, something too big and too dreadful. So please, if you know something, just say it. We will not be able to bypass all those ratmen, so it will take us a long time before we can march toward the holy kingdom. And, if what is affecting us, affect the men guarding Ronta, I fear for this city. The deration from the human general clearly moved the dwarves, but they were all looking at Meldun. They had learned the truth a few hours before, and even them had a hard time believing it. But, with the fact that the human army had lost a good part of its power, what they saw was definitely the truth. -Come with me, you three. I will show you something. The king of the Mountain brought the three neers to a nearby room, where countless tools were located. Right now, even some engineers are still working on the prototypes for the iing ward. The king of the dwarf brought them to a telescope and pointed at it. At first, Atli looked inside, and his entire face turned white. Then Aesseryn watched through it and passed out. Seeing all of this, the general Jasper Earur Borin began to fear for the worst oue. Seeing some dwarves bringing the unconscious magician away, he turned his sight to the ss. What he saw was Atria, the beautiful and white Atria. But, after looking for a few seconds, he saw the different ramparts destroyed, countless bodiesying on the street, the proud Academy of Magic burned to the ground. And he realized the horrible truth, the Holy Kingdom of Aria was already no more. Chapter 121: Reports from the Outside Chapter 121: Reports from the Outside The group then returned to the audience room, to join once more the noble ns. The walk was silent; no one was willing to talk first. And if both the dwarves were thinking about the horrors that managed to destroy the capital of the Holy Kingdom, for the general Borin, it was even worst. In the past hours, he was thinking again and again about what could have caused the power inside him to fade. But never he imagined something that terrible, something that bad. He thought that it was the god behind the ratmen that was responsible for it, and that he gued the surrounding of his city. Reducing the aura of Aria emanating from the humans. When they finally arrived, they saw Aesseryn sitting on a chair. She was even paler than the human general, but she still wanted to hear what will be discussed. She was, after all, the Great Magus in charge of this army. Even if she wasn''t as strong as some of the old fossils buried under the books inside the Academy of Magic, they were no longer alive. She was probably one of the strongest human magician and the only one that already had to deal with the ratmen. And she could answer all the questions about what she and her fellow mages will be able to do in the iing war. The king of the mountain returned to his throne, and after that, began the probablyst audience of his reign. -Fellow dwarves, honorable humans. By now, you have all learned the terrible truth. Our army had failed to contain the ratmen inside the Deep Mountain, and the vermin are leaving their dark holes. Another terrible news to add, the destruction of the Holy Kingdom of Aria! After saying this, the few dwarves that weren''t knowing everything gasped, in horror. It was their only allies in this war, and if they were already all dead, they will have to bet on the feeble peace with the orcs and the reinforcements from the elves. No one was really optimistic about those two, even worst, some thought that convincing the orcs will be easier than the elves. Making those grass eaters leave their forests will be incredibly hard. -Besides the white capital Atria, my engineers have noticed more chaos. Lucia is destroyed too, overrun by an army of undead. Their leader is a strange one, they noticed a ghostly ratman invoking more lich. His army is roaming the western part of this country, and already is besieging Forlong in the North. Countless zombies are rampaging all the small viges in the countryside, and I fear that in less than a week, everything will be destroyed. For that, the dwarves from the Grey Mountain offer their condolences. With each news, the visage of both the general Borin and the Great Magus Aesseryn were getting more and more grave. That news was the logical consequence of the fall of Atria, but they never expected it to be that quick. And with Lucia already destroyed, the ratmen can quickly invade more than half of the holy kingdom without a problem. No matter what happened, this clearly told them that the ratmen are even more organized than they thought. -Excuse me your Highness, but, do you know from where this ratman ghost like you told it ising or even where he is going? -Only during the destruction of Atria, that was coincidentally at the same time as your assault on the ratmen city, we saw him. Previously, we haven''t received any reports concerning an army of undead or a ghost shaped like a ratmen. As for where he is going, it is toward Ronta, and right now he should have reached -MY KING! MY KING! At those words, everyone turned his head to see the running engineer. What news couldn''t wait to be properly transmitted? And especially verified by the Iron Beards, meaning that no errors could be found. At that moment, however, the dwarf breached the protocol and directly gave the report in his hands to the king of the mountain. And he, in return, opened his eyes in a manner nearical. Of course, everyone was mumbling about that, and the reaction of their king. Meldun grabbed the engineer by his cor, and threatened him. -ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS? The dwarf was shaken by the strong grip of the king, and some Iron Beards were even closing on him, in case he did something unusual. -Ye-Yes, my ki-king, it has been verified by three different engineers. We don''t know why, but they are FIGHTING! Meldun let go the dwarf that fell to the ground. The engineer was clearly not perturbed by that, and after a small bow, he quickly dashed out of the room and return to the cave where he was observing the ratmen. -Thongril? Thongril, quickly verified this! Where is he? -My king, you sent him with the head. -Oh, yes, that''s true. I guess I will have to trust it if three engineers have sworn on Makan. Fine, I will tell all of you what I just learned. It is just an observation, don''t get false hope or anything. Right now, the undead army and the ratmen army are fighting outside Ronta. IMPOSSIBLE! That thought was shared by anyone after hearing the king talked. No matter what, the two armies were clearly lead by a ratman or by someone shaped as a ratman. And they both attacked and destroyed the holy kingdom of Aria, one of the main enemies of the ratmen. So why, the two seemingly simr camp are currently fighting each other? This left everyone baffled and not knowing what to do? Especially the dwarves. Right now, even if the army of the coalition is still strong and filled with humans after they died, no one else will help them. However, if they managed to convince the undead army to fight the ratmen with them, they will have a strong ally in the iing war. But, by doing so, it could be considered as treason for the humans, since they were responsible for the destruction of Atria and numerous human lives. -MY KING! Another out of breath engineer arrived inside the room. By now, everyone was used to, and they all expected more news about that conflict. The worst case would be a simple misunderstanding, meaning that both the ratmen and the undead are allies. The best case would be the confirmation of such battle, a great news. Meldun quickly grabbed the report and listened to what the engineer had to say. After that, he dismissed him, and in his face could be seen a huge smile. That was something no one expected to see before a long time. -Friends, I have a great news. The two armies, the undead, and the ratmen are truly fighting. And most importantly, the ghost shaped as a ratman is a strong sorcerer. He invoked a huge purple sphere that managed to destroy the ramparts of Ronta. He has numerous lich under hismand and legions of ghouls and zombies. Right now, his army has been destroyed, but no sign of that ghost. He probably escaped, but that will mean a thorn in the foot of those vermin. Some troops that were marching toward us are now being redeployed toward Ronta. The ratmen are not taking this new enemy lightly. The best scenario would be of course that both of them kill each other. The more, the better. That way, general and Great Magus, you will have your vengeance and we, will all be able to get rid of those rats. FOR MAKAN! -FOR MAKAN! Every dwarf song the name of their first ancestor, the first king of the mountain, Makan. Right now, even some smiles could be seen on numerous faces. Before, they were all worried and depressed, fearful of the future, when they will have to face the entire might of the ratmen alone or with the remnants of the army from the holy kingdom. But now, another yer entered the fray, someone nobody expected. After that, they all talked about what fortifications would be needed, what tunnel should be opened or sealed. They talked about the food, the water, how protected they were, where was located all the ammunition. Everything was ready for a long siege and some months of battle. The humans mainly talked about where they will sleep and where was the necessary buildings for their daily lives. After that, for three days, they were constantly consolidating their defenses, constructing new weapons and resupplying all the outposts. The armors were remade with some fresh runes created by the runesmiths, the weapons were sharpened. Barrels of used water were stocked near the gates, to prevent any risk of fire. During that time, countless reports kept appearing, signaling ratmen in certain tunnels, reporting some strong noises under the ground. But for thest century, the dwarves had made sure that only the Heart of the Mountain could be reached from the two fallen mountains, and only there the final battle would be conducted. Near the dusk of the fourth day, a report arrived in the hands the king of the mountain, leaving him pensive for nearly a minute. Chapter 122: Finding the Dwarves Chapter 122: Finding the Dwarves DIE! In front of me, dozens of ratmen wereying on the ground, dead for good. In those past days, after I escaped Ronta and the horde of ratmen, I traveled to the North, toward the mountains of the dwarves. What I didn''t expect was the sheer numbers of ratmen located between me and my objective. Even now, I still encounter groups of ves and weak warriors. The good thing is, they are not infected with the same poison as the one fighting me near Ronta. So I can finally regenerate my mana. -Master, every ve is dead. We also killed the three assassins located above us. Good work number one, you did very well against those lowly lives. The new number one is even better than the previous one, but he is a lot scarier than before. Since I couldn''t make my army travel and because of the number of ratmen, I couldn''t create more lich or ghouls. So, I finally put in action my idea about the spirits. And therefore was created number one, two, three, and four. My four wraiths, the first undead of my ghost army. Strangely, I managed to aplish something I thought was impossible. Yes, I am talking about their weapons. I don''t know if it is because they are not really living or material, but they possess a scythe and a cloak. Meaning, they are literally the personification of the grim reaper, you know, all the images about Death. Maybe because I imagined them like that, but I was really baffled by the presence of the clothes and weapons. I will have to try itter, with my skeleton warriors. Because if I can create something for them, they will be a lot better than just some naked ghouls or zombies. As for the cost of my wraith? Nearly the same as my [Purple Moon], but it is totally worth it. Imagine somethinging from the ground and cutting your legs while you are walking. Or, even if you are climbing a wall in a cavern, you can still be hit by something from the other side of the wall. The only fact that I permanently have my [Veil of Darkness] activated, to protect me, has reduced the number of wraiths that I could create. But, better live with less undead than die with a lot of them. But that forces me to sometimes use my orbs to kill the fleeing ratmen. The moment one dies, everyone instantly split up and it is a nightmare for me and my troops to catch everyone. Even if my wraiths are two times faster than a ratman and don''t have the problem of stumbling on obstacles, twenty ratmen running in multiple directions is too hard to catch. And I have no idea if it is really the real direction, it has been two days since we entered the mines. (I told you, we need to go North, but two mountains have fallen in the hands of the ratmen. Or at least were destroyed, so I have no idea if this one was destroyed a century ago or days ago. And how am I supposed to know which tunnel lead to where? There are dozens of them, some are destroyed, some not. Were they destroyed intentionally and you need to float through the rubbles? I don''t know. This time, I have to admit, I have no idea of where we are going, except that we are still going toward the North.) Ok, now I have three choices, right, slightly to the right, forward? What should I do? (Right is blocked, forward is blocked and slightly to the right is blocked. Damn, I failed to see thating. Ok, I I have no clues.) Great, fantastic, I am lost and you are lost too. Why didn''t I expect that when you first propose that stupid n? No, we were in some ins, with a lot of vision around us. We could have defended Lucia, use the ramparts to protect my undead. And even if we failed at that, I could still have floated fast enough to reach Atria and reform my army there. Instead, we are in some dark and humid tunnels,pletely lost, and I don''t even want you to ask me to float through something that is not a tunnel. Because at that point, I can stay in the stone for a good amount of time before I exit. (Ok, I was just thinking that you could have found a big cave by doing this, but if you don''t want fine. Ok, spirits in front are all in hundreds of meters of stones, so nothing, oh wait, a dead end. To the right, however, past the destroyed tunnels, I see a big cave. And no ratman inside, well, no ratman visible at least. But I still see some destroyed buildings from the dwarves. Let''s go to the right.) I float with my four ghosts through the rubble inside the tunnel. For a few minutes, we see nothing, it was truly a destroyed tunnel. When we finally leave it, I can see what Oslo was describing, more broken things and no sign of life. I sigh after seeing this, I should have never trusted that god, thinking that it was a smart n. It always goes wrong at some point. After that, Oslo points the direction of the North, and I float toward that. Broken houses, check, broken stone tables, check, broken well, check. Broken gate, check too. All is broken and nothing seems to be recent, a lot of dust is circling around me. So, at least, I know that I am inside one of the two former mountains of the dwarves. That gives me a slight hope that they are all still alive. I just want the army that was facing the ratmen to not bepletely destroyed, to still have some troops. Because otherwise, just the sea of ratmen will bypass all their explosives and overrun the dwarves. And I hope they are not currently fighting, to make me more useful at creating undead. Maybe I can even ask them to supply me with some blood, allowing me to (You really think they will ept this? Feeding blood to an undead?) Hey, I was not the optimistic god that told me to join the ranks of the dwarves. You are already betting on them allowing me to live and fight side by side. If you are capable of imagining that, I don''t understand why supplying some blood to me will that big of a problem. (True, that''s true. Ok, keep going, four tunnels. Great. I love this country.) Same here, best thing ever. I am even beginning to regret the desert of the djinns. Ok, you know what I am done, this time I choose the tunnel, and it will be slightly right. (Again? Well, if you want, let me check your failure. Annnnnnnnnd, no you were right. That''s a viable tunnel, destroyed, but in the end, it opens another cave.) Sigh, I am not even happy to know that. Just another cave, great news. I will be able to see more broken thingsying around, that''s so good. (Hold on, there is nothing on the ground, the cave is clean. Is it bad or good?) Honestly, I have no clue. I would say that, since a tunnel reaches this cave, clean means some dwarves have gone inside it. I hope. Broken things are bad, they mean that no one care about them and they are useless. So that''s a good thing, try to find a tunnel open for real. (Ok, let me see, I have only one tunnel, it is a big one and YES! FOUND THEM!) For real? Are they here? (Well, not really, I just found some explosives inside the tunnel. So they are expecting the ratmen to pass through it or they will blow this tunnel in a few minutes. But that means someone is nearby or watching the exit, let me see, ok, they are defending the exit. That means, it should be one of the first lines of defense from the dwarves. Like, the ratmen pierced many destroyed and sealed tunnels, they arrive here, they saw the dwarves, they warn their fellows, they attack and BOOM! No more ratmen!) Yes, I finally reach the tunnel, but where are the explosives? I search for a few seconds, and I only see a grenade behind some rocks. They have really hidden well the trap, I can see it because of my vision and the vision of the spirits. After checking that, however, I follow the trail of ghost near the tunnel. I can''t just float inside the tunnel and leave by the normal exit. That would mean, expecting the dwarves to not make everything explode when they see a ghost ratman floating toward them. No one would do this. After exiting fifty meters away from the tunnel, I see all the dwarves guarding it. They can''t see me since I am above them and they are too focused on the tunnel. They have already built some small stone wall, to block the iing ratmen. I can see some holes dug too, they have really prepared it well. A little farther, I see a true fortress, a real one. Inside, in a room, a dwarf clearly wearing clothes from a higher quality. That should be themandant. I float inside the roof of the cave, and only above the fortress, I fall down. I am so silent that the dwarf isn''t even noticing my arrival and the four ghost apanying me. He is too absorbed reading the report on his desk. Maybe I should do something. Cough cough Chapter 123: Commandant Bori Chapter 123: Commandant Bori The dwarf doesn''t seem to notice me; he isn''t even raising his head. Maybe that cough was too weak? Let me try again. COUGH COUGH Ah, finally, he is awake. Good morning Nemo, you have entered the reality. Where ghost ratman and normal wraiths are floating behind you. But, instead of turning his head toward me, he just looks at the door, expecting someone. I mean, I just coughed, not knocked. Or, is it my voice, is it really my voice? (No, I mean, yes, it doesn''t look like a real cough from a dwarf, but I think it is not that close from a knock. But, your ethereal voice changed from before, I don''t think you noticed it when you were talking with Aria. But, you have still your stuttering, which makes no sense. You are a ghost, why you have a problem with your tongue inside your mouth? I get the sleek sleek part because it is now a habit, but the stuttering?) So, you are saying that I can speak normally? That''s cool, finally, I won''t have any problem or need number to talk instead of me. Well, I will still let number one talk because his voice is very good for dark circumstances. Or a threat about murdering a race, destroying a city and ughtering all the innocents. As for themandant in front of me, he left his chair and is approaching the door. After that he opens it, and seeing no one behind it or around, closes it. And at this moment, he finally turns and sees me and my army. He is totally petrified, looking at me with his eyes wide open. We stay like this for a few seconds, and I find it a little bit boring. I mean, he should be shouting or screaming, calling the guard to help him, no? Or is it my condition as a ghost and the four wraiths behind me that is shocking him? Seeing no reaction whatsoever, I wave at him, while smiling. I shouldn''t have done that. The dwarf instantly passed out after seeing my smile, I should have just waved at him. Is my smile that terrible? (Well, if you are looking to terrify small children to death, your smile is quite good. But, I mean, the ratmen are already ugly, with their deformed head, their pointy teeth, and their red eyes. Now, you add the fact that you are floating above the ground, that he can partially see behind you, and that your mouth does a horrible grimace. That grimace is what you call a smile, but for anyone else, it is a promise that you will eat them alive. Or at least, enjoy seeing them suffer thousands of tortures. Just wave next time.) I knew that my appearance was terrible but to that extent? Seriously, I have no choice, I mean, I think I have no choice. Can I change my form? I try to influence my body, but no matter what I do, I keep seeing my ws at the end of my arms. Not a beautiful skin like the elves, yes, I was thinking about that perfect skin. Not the pointy ears part, however, facing the dwarves, I don''t want to have the appearance of their potential enemies. (Yes, because, having the appearance of a ratman is better. Never mind, just wake him up, and peacefully, without anything threatening his life. He will be the link between you and the king of the dwarves. Don''t kill him.) I never nned to do that, but, how am I supposed to wake him up? I have no water; the only liquid I can produce is my acid. No, don''t worry Oslo, I won''t use it. I don''t want to see his face melt in seconds. My curse will make him sleep, even more, I can''t touch him. Ah, number one, give him a huge p. SLAP CRACK What do you mean, crack? What is a crack? (I think that number one just broke his neck. Why do you have to order him to do a huge p? Why couldn''t you just say a small p first?) -AAHHHHHH (Oh, no, he survived. I guess that was just a normal sound produced by his neck. You are lucky this time.) Yes, but the sound that he made was pretty huge. Well, it is not a screaming like help I am getting attacked. More like a scream, I have made a bad dream and I just woke up. But it is still a scream, and I am expecting someone to look out for themandant. So, I just put my face right in front of him. I can see the despair in his eyes, I guess that he truly wanted his previous visions to be just a nightmare. -Listen dwarf, in the few seconds, you will hear someone knocking on the door, sleek sleek. You just have to say that you made a nightmare, it is not so far from the truth. After that, we will talk, sleek sleek. I try to see if I provoke any reaction, but I see nothing. He is still giving me his nk stare like I am not something real. Maybe I should already begin to float away? Because he is not really in the condition of executing my demand. Knock Knock -Commandant, we heard you screaming? Is something wrong? Following this, I finally see the dwarf recover and look at me in an intelligent way. Not like a dumb vegetable. I see him get up, and approach the door. I and my wraiths are all hiding in the blind spot created by the door. Right before opening it, he looked at me onest time. I wave at him, signaling him to do it. I can see him shuddering after the gesture of my hand, I am not that horrible? -No that''s fine, sergeant, I just fell asleep on my desk. And I dreamed, something terrible. A ratman, more specifically, a horrible looking ratman haunting me. He was just floating in front of me, with his horrible face, and I could see in his eyes his desire to kill me and my entire family. -Don''t worrymandant, if a ratman approaches, he will be buried under countless stones. And even if he survived that, we are all ready to send them to the hell that created them. We all have a hard time sleeping, and I heard many of my manining about nightmares. For Makan! -For Makan! After this short discussion, themandant closes his door, and look at me with some perplexed eyes. I still think that he hopes that I was a nightmare. But, seeing me and my ghosts floating around him, he realizes the truth. Sighting, he grabs the chair where he was previously, and sit down in front of me. Now we can finally have a true discussion. -I am themandant of this fortress, Bori Longbeard. You are currently at the frontier between the Gold Summit and the Heart of the Mountain. Since you have visibly no evil intention toward me, and I don''t feel that you cast a spell either, may I inquire what is the purpose of your presence here? And more specifically, what is your allegiance? The important questions first. At least, he has the head on his shoulders. But that''s a strange name Longbeard, does that means there is someone called Smallbeard? And what is the Gold Summit and the Heart of the Mountain? (I guess the name of two mountains inside the kingdom of the dwarves. The kingdom is called the Grey Mountain Kingdom, that''s all I know. As for whether each mountain has a name, no idea. Ask him.) -Greetings, master dwarf. I am an elemental, sleek sleek. There are some that call me Sleek. -Greetings Sleek? -As for my intention with your kingdom, I have no reason to destroy it. You are a race that doesn''t actively seek war, and you haven''t done anything to anger us. That is not the case for the ratmen. Those insects have dared to attack me and tried to assassinate my undead. But I only had a small army with me, and I had to flee the battlefield. It was near a human city; I think it was called Ronta? -You know Ronta, what is the situation here? -For the human, a disaster, the city has been taken by the ratmen, sleek sleek. And I saw the power of those ratmen, their powerful weapons, and their sheer numbers. And it is in that way that, to repay the affront they have made, I seek shelter in your kingdom, sleek sleek. If you could provide me with just an empty location where I can create my undead, I will dly help you defend your precious mountains and kill off those vermin, sleek sleek. I don''t need anything else, no blood, no corpse, just time. I can see a conflict in the eyes of Bori, because what I say is still very important. What I asked was the entrance to his kingdom, and he needs to trust me. And, in my condition, no one will find me trustworthy. But I offered you hope too. First, I told him that I escaped the ratmen and came from Ronta, which is quite far. Then, I told him that I will help them, reducing the casualties of war. But like I supposed, it is not him that should agree or not. -Elemental Sleek, I will have to report it to the king of the mountain. I can''t allow you to move in the meantime. So, if you would have the patience to stay here, to not scare the rest of my men. I will write my report right away, and in less than a day, someone wille here to either confirm or deny your entrance to the Heart of the Mountain. I hope you will not find the wait too long. -That''s fine, but, can I keep creating undead in the meantime? The look that the dwarf threw me made me unsure of his answer. Chapter 124: The Story of my Life Chapter 124: The Story of my Life It only took 8 hours for the other side to answer. In the form of a strong dwarf called Thongril, he is apparently really important. When themandant first saw him, he nearly fell on his knee. And that dwarf was not alone, he was apanied by twenty ferocious warriors. Their armors kind of remind of the one from that dwarf, back in the sewers. Seeing so many people trying to enter the little room of themandant, in the end, only I, my five wraiths, Bori, Thongril and four of his men remained inside. The rest was standing right behind the door, ready to enter at any moment. And I said five wraiths because since I was safe, I canceled my [Veil of Darkness] that was costing me precious mana. And, themandant Bori neverined about the additional wraith that appeared in his room. So, I thought that we were good on that point. Maybe it was a mistake for me, but each additional undead will be really appreciated in the future. Especially those wraiths, they are the only thing capable of surprising the assassins of the ratmen. Because even them won''t expect somethinging from the ground or the wall and trying to kill them. I just hope that the dwarves will see the same thing that I do. So here we are, my army of undead on one side, the dwarves on the other side, and Bori sitting in the middle, where his desk was located. Since no one is willing to talk first, I can examine in detail the armors and the weapons of the dwarf warriors. Two of them were the same stuff that the dwarf in Ronta, except that their armors are shinier. The other two, on the other hand, are clearly here just because of me. Or should I say, because I am a ghost? They are wielding some strange methrowers, and I can see in their back the iron barrel containing whatever is activating that methrower. They are really prepared because that''s probably one of the only ways to destroy me and my wraiths. And that''s still a pretty good weapon against something with a fur, like the ratmen. As for the dwarf called Thongril, he is carrying a huge axe in his back, something that can only be raised with his two hands. And a blue light is emanating from it, probably enchanted or something like that. I don''t want to touch that axe either, I just have a bad feeling about it. I prefer the hammer from Bori, one that doesn''t look capable of hurting something immaterial. And now, the silence is ruining the moment. But should I start talking? If I do that, will I disrespect them? To hell with it, let''s try something. -Greetings master dwarves, are you here to discuss the iing war, sleek sleek? At first, Thongril was looking at me normally, but when my habit kicked in, his eyes turned angry. I guess that it is quitemon for a ratman to talk like that, at least my stuttering is gone. Good thing you warned me about that Oslo. (Yes, but your operation seduction is aplete failure. I have no idea if he hates you more than when he first entered the room. And now, he is just looking at Bori, the poor soul is shaking on his chair. He is clearly desperate; he has no idea what to do right now. We don''t know either.) -Commandant Bori only told us about four wraiths and a ghost shaped like a ratman. Or, I can see five wraiths. Therefore, as a proof of your goodwill, you will not deny me the right to ughter the additional creature of evil? Gulp, I guess it is turning bad. So, he hates the undead and the ratmen, what greatbination. I guess I have to ept what he is saying, I still have my [Veil of Darkness] on me. I activated it right before they arrived, just in case. So, if I need to flee, four or five wraiths won''t really matter. But all that mana wasted, it is really sad. I order number five to put the head of his scythe toward the ground and float in front of Thongril. That way, they won''t mistake it for an attack. The dwarves are clearly worried about the moving spirit, but seeing theck of attention that the wraith is giving, they recognize that number five is not a threat. The methrowers are still pointed toward me, but they haven''t fired. As for Thongril, he grabs his axe, begins to raise it, and cuts in half number five. I can see the two parts of my wraith floating for a second, before fading. My hypothesis was right; this axe is dangerous for me. Even the ground is broken under the impact of the mighty axe. I am certain that if someone is under us, he just received a huge fragment of the ceiling on his head. But now, they should be happy, since they have released a bit of their hate. And it is still a pretty good proof of goodwill? Letting them first kill one of my subordinates, and prove to them that they have the power to kill me as well. And the opportunity right now. -So, master Thongril, are you satisfied? -No, vermin, I am not. You are still a ratman, even if you are a ghost. Meaning that not killing you is already the extent of my patience. As for your proposal of alliance, I want to ask you something. You toldmandant Bori that the ratmen have attacked you near Ronta. And that, since they have done such a terrible thing, you will hunt them and destroy their race. Now, I want to know, did you already did that to another race? Gulp, tricky question. What can he know? To what extent, does he know my participation with the Tomb Kings? The destruction of the ritual of the djinns? The ughter that I provoked on both Lucia and Atria, the fact that the holy kingdom of Aria is nearly destroyed because of me? (I think that you should tell the entire truth. The only reason he is speaking like that, or questioning you like that, means that they know something else that what you told to Bori. As for what they know, it can be anything. Maybe they know your battle near Ronta, the one against the ratmen. Maybe they know that you were in Atria when it was destroyed. As for the rest, it is only spections, they shouldn''t have learned this. So, be honest, and everything will be fine.) Yeah, everything will be fine, like confessing the fact that I killed nearly half of a million humans, razed their capital to the ground. Their principal ally I guess, just doing that probably made their assault against the city of Szar a failure. We still don''t know if it is me that destroyed Atria first or Szar that destroyed the army. Maybe, the army even managed to retreat with minimal loses, meaning that a huge number of humans are working with the dwarves. That would be such a catastrophic situation for us. But fine, let''s be honest. -I am Sleek, an elemental of Death. I am responsible for the destruction of the Sand Empire, sleek sleek. The djinns were the servants of Szar on this world and were the allies of the ratmen, and they had a terrible ritual. Something that used the life of living beings and turned it into death and a desert. I was allied with the Agorians or maybe you know them under the name of Tomb Kings, sleek sleek. They fought the djinns for thousands of years and saved all of you. In the end, I was the only survivor from the Tomb Kings and the Sand Empire was destroyed. I watch my surroundings but see no changes on the face of Thongril. However, Bori is clearly shocked by what I am saying. -After that, I traveled to the West and arrived in the Holy Kingdom of Aria. However, I was hunted by a group of humans, saying that my death will bring them a fortune, sleek sleek. I heard that some cult was targeting any undead and offering bounties in exchange for their bodies or the core inside their corpses. Furious, I march until I arrived at the capital Atria. There I hunted the criminals and ouws roaming in the surroundings. But, that cult was not letting me have a free time, and they gravely injured me, sleek sleek. To repay that, once I was healed, I marched on the city and let them feel my fury. Afterward, I marched to the East and found Lucia. I did the same thing. Only near the third human city, the sign was saying Ronta, I encountered the army of the ratmen. Without even waiting for me to exin myself, they attacked. However, I had spread my army and was not as strong as before, especially after all those fights. So, I had to retreat, and here I am sleek sleek. Oh, and by the way, your tunnels are a nightmare, I got lost countless times and had to kill thousands of ratmen. Chapter 125: The Charisma of a Ghost? Chapter 125: The Charisma of a Ghost? Maybe I shouldn''t have said that. Comining about their tunnels. Because right now, all the dwarves are looking at me with angry eyes. I mean, I didn''t say that they were bad, I just say that we both were totally lost inside them. There is a huge difference, I think. I don''t have a map, the only thing guiding me is a god that know nothing about this world, except what the Agorians knew. And they were not particrly keen at exploring the world and its wonders. (Hey, don''t say that, the reason why they were not traveling was because of the ritual from the djinns. You can''t me them for that, they saved this world. Show a little more respect.) Oh, I respect them, a lot actually. I find their history truly tragic and they have made the best decisions they could have made in all those dark times. But, theirck of exploration is still truly baffling. Maybe not send a huge force to explore the world, but at least one or two explorers. That way, we wouldn''t have been lost for nearly four days in those mines. -The tunnels, you talked about our tunnels. What did you do? What happened to them? What? What is he talking about? Thongril is asking me something, but I don''t really understand. They are still fine, why is he Oh, I see. They think that we destroyed them toe here. Well, if I was still my former self, yeah, I would have melted all those tunnels and created a passage to the dwarves. Which would have been a really stupid idea. But, I didn''t do anything, how can I make them trust me. Yes, I know. I float slowly to the nearby wall and wave at the dwarves. They look at me with their big fiery eyes, still mad. Then, I put my hand in the wall, and retract it. I do that three times, then, I float through the ceiling ande back. I order number one to repeat the same actions, meaning that we don''t really care about stuff like rocks or stones. After that, we both return to our positions, and I exined to the dwarf what happened. -I think what you wanted to ask was, did I open a safe passage for the ratmen leading them here? The answer is no, we didn''t destroy any of your tunnels, we didn''t destroy any of the stones and rocks that were sealing those tunnels, sleek sleek. We traveled inside three or four tunnelspletely obstructed by obstacles before reaching an empty cave. There, since the cave was clean, I thought that maybe someone lived nearby. I found you, your nice explosives buried behind the wall of the tunnel, and the fortress, sleek sleek. Not wanting to get blown up, I float through the stone walls and arrived here, nearmandant Bori. And that''s it. I can see that I manage to convince him, but every time I say sleek sleek, his face is reacting. I need to get rid of this habit, otherwise, I will have a harder time. As for my form, I can''t manage to change it, and a ratman is still small, so, a good form. If I was a giant taller than those djinns warriors, I would have tried anything to turn myself into something smaller. But right now, that''s fine. -Good, good. If was you are saying is true, that means the engineers did their jobs and the ratmen will have a hard time reaching this part of the Gold Summit. As for your, nice, story from before, it still remains a story. Especially the part with the djinns, we never saw you near them. How are you exining it? Well, you probably saw me, as the ratman leaving the ritual. But I can''t exin that, and I won''t let them make a connection between that small ratman and the ghost ratman in front of them. First, how could I convince them that I evolved? Second, if I do that, that means they will realize that I lied because I already attacked Ronta before in that form. And my story will be a bunch of lies, which is its true identity. Think, think, what did I do afterward? -I was hunting a small representative of the Decar n, that was dealing with the djinns. Since he was helping the djinns that attacked my brothers and sisters, the Tomb Kings, he deserved to die, sleek sleek. However, at that point, I had no idea that the ratmen were in such huge numbers. Only after seeing that near the human city called Ronta, did I realized the threat. By following him, I got near the human kingdom and a city, but I sensed his presence farther West that the city, and I kept following him, sleek sleek. It was during that action, that a bunch of lowly lives dared to attack me and hunt me. They are no longer part of this world. Ok, now I should have everything covered. Except for my birth, but I can say whatever I think is logical, they will have to believe it. I still don''t know what they truly know, like, did they learn my presence in Atria, the capital of the Holy Kingdom of Aria? Did they see me fighting the ratmen near Ronta? All I see is some angry dwarves and a totally confused and perplexed one. Themandant Bori is truly in the dark, but I guess that makes sense. He is just guarding the border of a potential battlefield, and I guess that the dwarves don''t want the battle toe this far. Otherwise, they would have trapped the tunnels more, instead of sealing them. (Just for you to know, in case. I have no external signs that they want to kill you. The guards behind the door are still ready to fight but are not stressed. And the rest of the garrison is just looking at them weirdly, wondering why they are here. No ratmen in sight either, I have left a spirit in that previous cave. So keep going, keep spouting lies incrusted with truths, and we will be fine.) Well, that''s a good news at least. Especially theck of ratmen, if just one of them appears near this fortress, I am doomed. They will make a hasty connection between them and me, and all my efforts would have been gone. But Thongril is still thinking, can he be a little faster. Of course, I don''t show any emotion, but, mentally, I am counting the seconds. And it has been nearly 26 seconds, that''s a long time to think about something. Sigh He just sighted, what does this mean? Is it good? Is it bad? He is just looking at me, with troubled eyes. He is mentally conflicted; I can see it. Believe me, believe me, believe me. Or at least say something. -Commandant Bori! -Yes, general? -I want to ask you something. What is your opinion about all this nonsense that you just heard? That''s bad, he doesn''t really believe me. But since he asked Bori, I still have a chance. I didn''t do anything wrong in his presence, I am certain that he will be on my side. My charisma is too high. -Ehhh, I don''t really know. I heard that the djinns were destroyed and that they were truly the allies of the ratmen. As for the rest, is the capital of the holy kingdom truly destroyed by this undead? -Yes, I am afraid that he told us the truth about that. We have watched him leave the white city, leaving behind a trail of destion and corpses. Afterward, we saw him massacre everyone in Lucia. But we also saw him fight the ratmen near Ronta, and use some terrible spells. Spells, that could help us greatly in the iing war. But, those spells are as deadly for us that they are for the ratmen. And we know that he has the capability to create a huge army of undead in a short time. So, what are your thoughts now? I can see Bori bing more and more surprised. Damn, he didn''t know about my massacre of thousands of humans. That will probably be a bad thing, even if I justified myself. Oslo, do they have something capable of binding me to an oath? Like the thing with the Nine Heavens? (I have no idea, but for the dwarves, an oath is naturally followed, even without a threat. But that''s between them, for the strangers and foreigners, they have a totalck of trust in their words. That''s the general information, maybe those dwarfs are easily convinced.) -General Thongril, I think that we don''t have a choice. A century ago, I was just a young warrior, when I heard that every race fought against the ratmen. Why does this situation is not happening again? Back then, even the orcs stopped their raidings, the Spider Queen personally hunted some ratmen and the Vampires were searching for any member of that treacherous race. And, even if he had done something terrible to our allies, the humans, he is potentially stronger than them. We can''t refuse such help in those dark times. And he is a weird undead, I don''t think that he will attack us without a good reason. Chapter 126: First Step of Cooperation Chapter 126: First Step of Cooperation Thank you so much,mandant Bori. I knew you were the man of the , I mean the dwarf of the situation. My inimitable charm worked for the first time, and I managed to convince him that I was not that dangerous. However, even with my newly found ally, the judge is still not in our side, and a death penalty is still an option. But now, even the dwarves behind him are looking at me less as a mortal enemy and more as a normal bystander. I won''t expect warm hugs and other things like that, but just managed to not be burned down by the methrowers is a good thing. Thongril is still looking at me with those hard eyes, I guess he still wants me dead. So, good enough? -You managed to convince themandant Bori of your utility, but you are still a threat like he said. I can''t let you roam this kingdom without an escort, so, I will let this decision to one of those four Iron Beards behind me. If one, and I say only one, is convinced and think that you can be useful for us, you will join us in the glorious war that I awaiting every race on Astria. But if none wants you to fight side by side with us, then you will have to leave. We won''t kill you, just because you have already dealt a lot of trouble to Szar. First, the djinns, then the attack on Ronta. Now, let''s see what are your fate. Damn, he is clearly in charge and he is showing his displeasure, how am I supposed to expect one of the Iron Beards to ept me? And he is even saying that I won''t be killed, giving me even less chance to be epted. Seriously, that''s unfair, I want another trial. As for the four dwarves, they were clearly not expecting this. Even the methrowers are put down because the dwarves carrying them are thinking. That means they are not seeing me as a huge threat. I still have a chance. Thongril, Bori and I are all watching the four Iron Beards. One quickly reached a conclusion and raised his methrower in my direction. I will take it as a no, but for the three others, they are still thinking about it. One warrior raised his axe and shield, in an aggressive posture. Another no, but the two others are mentally debating. I can even see the warriors count on his hands, I have no idea why. It is certain that they are the most informed warriors in the kingdom, so they should be able to make a rational decision. Like, am I really needed? Because in truth, I have no idea. (You should be needed, otherwise, we wouldn''t have all this conversation. This Thongril would have cut your head off the moment he saw you. No, from what I am seeing, I think that you have two additional dwarves on your side. That means, the situation is worse than they originally thought if they have to ask the help from the ghost responsible for the destruction of the Holy Kingdom. Because that can be seen as a treason against the humans that sided with them. And the dwarves hate those kinds of things. Not necessarily the lies, but breaking a treaty or an oath, for them, it is insulting their ancestors. I think they are done with their thinking.) Yes, I can see the two Iron Beards looking at each other, expecting the other side to make the first move. In the end, Thongril makes a weird sound, that provokes a reaction from the two dwarves. Instead of pointing their weapons toward me, they sheathe their axe, shield, and methrower. Oslo was right, I don''t have the majority, but at least, I have an equality. Thongril seems neither angry or happy, but he returns to his position. -Well, you managed to convince not just once but two of my men. They know what is awaiting us, more than themandant Bori. In fact, if you were just a normal ghost shaped as a ratman, I would have epted you a long time ago. But, you destroyed the holy kingdom of Aria, and even if that wasn''t the reason for our defeat, it yed a huge part in it. Because of this, we failed our first attack, and that allowed the ratmen to leave their holes. And right now, the remnants of the human army are still located within the wall of our capital and they are working hard to help us. Even when they know that their cities are razed, their families are all dead. But, I guess you can''t really understand that since you are an undead. After saying this, he looks at me, like he is expecting a reaction. What does he want? Me crying and begging for forgiveness? I am way past that, first Aria tried to kill me for no reasons. Then I was hunted, lost into a hot desert, killed thousands. I am way past feeling anything, and I don''t know if it is my past as a ratman or my present condition as an elemental. But I have no regrets anymore. Seeing my impassive face, the dwarf sight again. -Like I said, we are still sheltering humans from the holy kingdom. And I don''t want you or your army to meet them. For both of your sakes. I know that if you have some time, you will be stronger than them, but right now, if you walk into the Heart of the Mountain, you will face the fury of 60000 humans. I bet you can''t handle that. -What you are saying is true if I am bound to fight. But I can escape after killing a handful of them, and they have nothing to stop me, sleek sl As for your proposition, it makes sense. I would even add something else, don''t tell them I am here. Make the both of us fight in different regions, that way, they will not have their mind clouded by dark thoughts. The humans are prone to irascible actions, that doesn''t make a lot of sense, sleek. But fear not, I have more to offer than you think. After saying this, I extend my hand and I order one of my spirits to enter the room. At first, no one notices it, even after itnds on my palm. Then, one Iron Beards shouted while pointing at my hand. I have to admit, they are more and more powerful. My spirits. Now, I can see them more clearly than before, but that''s because of my vision. However, for the rest of the world, it looks like they are near invisible. Before, they were just transparent but lightly visible. Especially at such short range. The only reason no one is detecting them is their position, above the enemy. And they have the same color as a clear blue sky, preventing anything from detecting them. As for the dwarves, after noticing the spirits inside my hand, they don''t know how to react. Until Bori march toward me, and begin to touch the spirit. And by touching, he puts his hand directly inside it and pierces my hand too. He quickly retracts his hand after that, while violently shaking it. Hey, my hand and my spirit are not dirty. -It, it''s really a spirit, and like him. But, mister Sleek, what is the use of such a thing? Because I can''t see any arms or even eyes, it is just a ball, I think. Well, it''s true that my spirits are all looking like a blue ball. Not my fault on that wait, no, that''s my fault. And it doesn''t make any sense that they can see without eyes. But it''s true. -This is one of my spirits. I have more of them and don''t be fooled by his appearance. It is mainly because of them that I noticed the explosives in the tunnel nearby, sleek. They can scout the advance of the ratmen, that''s why, for example, I know theposition of your army or the fact that one of the guards behind the door is touching his nose. After saying this, I see Thongril open the door and look at the surprised Iron Beards. One has still his finger inside his nose. After seeing this and without any exnations, he closes the door once again. I think that I convinced him. -What is the range of action of your spirits? How many do you have? Can they be detected by the ratmen? How long do you need to create more? -I can potentially reach your capital and still have my spirits telling me everything. I have right now only ten of them, with one guarding the cave I was beforeing here. As you can see, they are nearly invisible and can see beyond stones and rocks, sleek. Meaning, they can hide in a stone wall, and still be able to see the ratmen walking behind it. And I need some hours to create more. For the first time since he arrived here, I can see Thongril smile. A big, huge smile. Chapter 127: A Talking Blue Ball Chapter 127: A Talking Blue Ball After that, and since he was convinced that I won''t backstab them, he ordered me to deploy my spirits to different locations. Apparently, it is the probable tunnels that the ratmen will take to attack the Heart of the Mountain. He quickly exined the current situation, since I would have been lost in the future without that. The dwarf kingdom or the Grey Mountain Kingdom wasposed of five huge mountains. Between those five, of course, there are some small peaks or summits, but they are not as developed as the five big mountains. The position of each mountain is a little weird. There is the center, the Heart of the Mountain. It cuts the kingdom in half. South-West, there is Deep Mountain and South-East, nearby the elven forest, there is the Gold Summit. Fundamentally, before, some tunnels were created bypassing the capital and directly connecting the North and the South of the kingdom. But after the Portal War, everything was sealed, and except if those ratmen can dig more than 10 kilometers of destroyed tunnels, they won''t be able to join the northern side. And that''s if they find the right tunnel in the first ce. It''s a true maze apparently, especially from the side of the Deep Mountain. It was the biggest mine, and it goes to some ces that no living should have gone. There is something down there, that I a threat to everything, and that''s why no one is worried about that part. With some bad luck, the ratmen can even awake the thing sleeping in the deepest part of the mine, and that would be extremely good. To the North of the capital, there is the Evesting Peak. It is a thorn in the foot of the dwarves for a very long time. On top of it, live the Frost Wyverns and Frost Dragons, menacing to breach inside the mountain at any moment. But, they haven''t managed to do so and right now, they have slow down their assault. Thongril told me that it happened after I destroyed the ritual of Szar, located in the Sand Empire. After that, the dragons stopped attacking the dwarves and retreated to their nest. North of this peak infested with dragons, there is the final mountain. The Iron Wall. It was called like that because it is the fortress defending the dwarves from the orcs and goblinsing from the North. It is in a state of permanent war because a mine of mithril is located right outside of this mountain. Inside the territory of the orcs. Of course, they are too stupid to mine it without destroying it, but they have no problem raiding the minersing and leaving. And the worst part, it is truly the highest quality of mithril, and it even looks endless. So, the Grey Mountain Kingdom had to fight for it for thousands of years. After hearing all of this, I realize how prepared the dwarves are. The shape of an inverted Y is a huge help. They have already destroyed all the connections with the other mountains, leaving only one essible. And, they have probably put so many defenses between the Deep Mountain and the Heart of the Mountain that the ratmen will have a hard time reaching the capital. And, with the support of my spirits, they can even know exactly which tunnels are infested with ratmen, and in which tunnels the ratmen are just baiting a reaction. But, after ordering the spirits to reach the position indicated by Thongril, I can''t help but think of a little problem. -General Thongril, how my spirits are supposed tomunicate with you? I guess that he didn''t think about that. Because he is looking at me with surprised eyes. I guess he thought that since my spirits don''t have eyes but can see, they can talk without a mouth. And that''s true, but that''s telepathically with me. That gives me an idea, number one try to speak to Thongril. With your mind only. I watch the situation, but Thongril is still thinking. Number one, you said what? -I am trying to speak to you because my master ordered it. Was it good enough, master? Yes, very good. But he didn''t react at all, I guess that''s not working. I should propose something. -General Thongril, my wraith tried to talk with you in a mental conversation, did you hear anything strange, sleek? He looks at me like I am telling him something new, he definitely didn''t hear anything. -No, ghost Sleek. I didn''t hear anything, are you saying that your undead talk with you with their minds? Damn, that could have been great. Allowing your spirits to directly transmit the news to themandant nearby. Besides that, do you have anything that can allow us to hear what your spirits are saying? Because, if you are the only one hearing them, the news will be too slow to reach the frontline. Well, I have something, but I don''t have any idea if you are going to like it. I think that you will hate it, I don''t want to say that. -There is a way. But, it will be a little strange to ask you that, sleek. -Just tell me, if it is only strange. What can it possibly be? -Make one of my wraiths follow you. Yes, he is definitely not enjoying this. Just the look on his face, he is looking at me as if I was saying that I will ughter his wife. I know it is unusual, and a little weird. But that''s the only way, I know that number one is capable of talking directly to him. And I know that my spirits and my undead are all capable of exchanging information. So, having the grim reaper follow the dwarf general is the only way. -Just let me exin it. You see, my wraiths are capable of talking to you directly, with their own voices. For example, number one, sleek. Say hello to the dwarf. -Greetings, master dwarf. -You see, you heard it right, sleek? -Yes, ghost. I heard something talking to me, and it wasing from that wraith over there. And you are saying that they can transmit the information that your spirits have? Why didn''t you directly create a spirit capable of that? -Because I Why haven''t I done that? (Because you didn''t need to. You were all alone, or just with me, but we both didn''t need the spirits to talk. I suggest that you start saying irrelevant things, to excuse yourself. Because, the way I see it, that dwarf can think about two things. One, you truly didn''t create a spirit capable of talking, that''s possible. He was greatly surprised when he first saw one, and you can say that you concentrated so much on his invisibility, that you neglected a lot of things. It''s very close to the truth anyway. The other way of seeing this, is you, trying to imnt an assassin near a very important member of the dwarf army. And that will certainly meet the king or many other generals. After seeing your spirits, he knows that he can''t expect you to not spy on him. But your wraith? That''s a killer, not a spy.) I see I should create a spirit just for talking to him. I suppose I can''t let my wraith follow him, even under the ground. That makes sense, we are just temporary allies, not true friends. I can''t expect him to trust me like that. -Ok, general, give me a second, sleek. After saying this, I begin to think of a spirit simr as the previous one, but capable of talking. I have enough mana to do this small invocation, and I realize that the cost was barely five additional mana. I guess that the System doesn''t really care about talking like a normal person and talking mentally. Now, another blue ball is floating around us, and I order it to say hello to the dwarf. -BIBIBIBI BO BIP! BIBIBI BOP BIBIP BIBOP! I and Thongril both look into each other eyes, and I see some disappointment. Seriously, blue ball, can you just talk normally. Number one, give him a quick course aboutnguage. I raise my hands in the international, and probably inteary, sign of wait a minute. Shortly after, I hear number one saying that the talking ball is ready once more. I ask him the same request, to see if he had learned something. -Greetings master dwarf. Yes, that''s working. Thongril sight, probably happy that he doesn''t have to travel with a menacing wraith behind him. And the newly created spirit is as transparent as the previous one. So that resolves the information problems and everything rted. Now, the dwarves will have a better vision of the position of the ratmen, and they will need to thank who? ME! Now, I just want to talk about something else. -General Thongril, about my army of undead? Can I create it? What do you really need? Chapter 128: The First Line of Defence Chapter 128: The First Line of Defence For the next following days, I was put under themand of themandant Bori, who had a hard time exining that to the other dwarves. This way, some of my undead could have been roaming around in the fortress, with a huge crowd of dwarves looking at them anxiously. I can understand them, seeing a wraith with the cloth and the scythe, I don''t look very good. You are happily discussing with someone, and then, suddenly, you see the angel of death traversing the room through the walls. I bet the first day, they had jumped in fear, but now, they are used too. Our presence, not the fact that we are allies. Every time I leave the room of Bori, to let him sleep without having my horrible face floating around, I see the dwarves grip their weapons. Apparently, I am the worst, a ghost shaped as a ratman. As for the appearance, I have managed to slowly change it. Now, I no longer have any remnant of the horrible diction of a ratman. No stuttering, no unexpected sleek. As for me, I have gone from a true ratman, to a form between a ratman and a dwarf. I got rid of my tail first, that thing was truly useless the entire time. And my face is more humane than before. I still have my ws, the same size, and those horrible eyes. But Bori told me that he prefers this form. At this point, I don''t want to change more. First, I am used to be a ratman, then, I want to have this face when I will meet Aria onest time. To make her see that a rat sentenced to die survived and managed to destroy all her believers. Since I had time, I created 10 lich, that in return, produced only some ghouls. If I had ordered them to create some zombies, this small fortress would have been filled with them. And, with a low number of undead, the dwarves will be more forgiving with their presences. As a matter of fact, the moment the fight will truly begin, I will create only zombies. But for now, the ghouls will still be useful, especially to defend an exit like the one of the tunnel. I was just floating inside the fortress, to meet Bori, when I found out something weird above me. (Yes, I just noticed it, the ratmen assassins are already here. I have no idea from where he ising. The ratmen are still behind the blocked tunnels, no opening to the cave in front of this fortress. As for how long he is here, no clue either. But, he has toe from the capital or somewhere near. Because that''s the only location where I have no eyes. Besides the spirit following Thongril, but that''s not a good observer.) So, the ratmen has found a hole, that''s not good. I have to inform Thongril. I tell my speaking spirit that I have found an assassin near the fortressmanded by Bori, and that he has to say that to Thongril. In the meantime, I use [Nightfall] on that unexpected surprise. I can see the ratman standing still, while covered in shadows. He has no idea where he should flee, and I make no noise floating toward him. When I am close enough, I activate my domain, filling the air with shadows. I am far enough from the fortress to not kill anyone, except my target. The ratman fall from the ceiling andnd directly in front of the fortress, at the sight of the nearby dwarf warriors. I descend to the huge crowd formed and try to spot Bori. He is arriving because of all the noise created, and the moment he sees me near the corpse, he realizes what I just did. -An assassin has ovee your final defenses and now havee to murder you. I just noticed him a few seconds ago, but his presence is truly perturbing. I have my spirits checking the frontline, but he managed to bypass them. That''s impossible, there is a hole or an area that is not covered. I already told that to the general, but you should prepare for an iing assault. They areing. Bori just nods at my words, and begin to ring the rm. Everyone is getting ready; the peace is finally over. I don''t know where they will hit first, but in the following days, the kingdom of the dwarves will face the threat of extinction. (They have pierced the tunnel, in a few hours, they will reach the cave and the tunnel leading to this location. There are at least 200 thousand ratmen behind it. And I see at least five rat ogres inside the sea of ratmen, and more areing. I don''t know if it is big or small, but you have to tell that to Bori.) Well, and I thought that they would need some days. I instantly rush toward themandant that just left the crime scene. I can see him talk with his lieutenants, and organizing the defense. They have only 5 000 dwarf warriors, but they are heavily retrenched. The tunnel that they will be able to explode, the first wall and then, the fortress. I know that they have some heavy weaponry and siege weapons, even if they haven''t show them to me. But one time, during the night, I was bored and sneaked into the armory. Killing 40 ratmen for each dwarf will be hard, but not impossible. Especially with my help. -BORI! BORI! They have pierced the tunnel; they areing in a few hours. -Are you sure?!! DAMN! Fortuil, check the weapons and the ammunition, Dustag, prepare the potions, we will need a lot of those. Gloni, go form the first wall and ask the men in charge to check onest time the explosives. We will need them. EVERYONE! He provokes a huge silence, where even those that were running stop. He really has a huge voice. -I just received a report that the ratmen have entered thest cave of the Gold Summit, and are moving in this direction. They will need a few hours to reach this location, and by that time, we will be ready. Don''t forget to take your potions against their deadly spells and venomous gues. Not everyone will be able to see the Heart of the Mountain again. Maybe none of us will. But that''s not what matters. What matters, is to make those vermin pay for the affront of thest century! What matters, is by the end of this day, this cave will be filled with the blood of those rats! TODAY WE FIGHT FOR THE GREY MOUNTAIN KINGDOM! AND FOR MAKAN! -FOR MAKAN! That was a good speech, a realistic one. The moment I heard the news, I already prepared the first batch of zombies. The more my undead are targeted and killed, the better it will be. Because I have seen the power of the dwarf technologies, and bloody hell, those ratmen are behind. The only downside is the fact that apparently, they don''t have the same range on their sniper rifles. But, in a fight underground, where the visibility is reduced and many obstacles block the sight, it is good enough. The distance between the tunnel and the fortress is exactly the range of most of their artillery. Meaning that a permanent bombardment on the only exit is possible. Bori lead me to his office, where we will talk seriously. -How many? Directly asking the real question, should I reduce a little bit or not? No, the truth should be better. -For now, approximately 200 000 ratmen and nearly a dozen rat ogres. But, the explosives are still in ce and well hidden, so you will be able to cut the fight in two at one moment. As for the assassins hidden here, except the one that I managed to see, I have no clues. I have ordered my lich to begin the creation of my zombies, that way, you will have a good meat shield for the iing fight. -Good, good, very good. Do you know the reason why we created this fortress? Weird question. I mean, it is to defend the kingdom? Otherwise, that doesn''t make any sense. But, seeing me not answering he keeps talking. -Do you know why we didn''t destroy this way to the Heart of the Mountain? Do you know why we didn''t just close our frontiers and hope that the cmity will hit someone else? Because, we knew, that if we did that, the world like we know it will end. So, we created numerous fortresses like that, just to make the ratmen attack us. Everyone here is sentenced to die. We know that, and we know that by doing so, the army of the ratmen will keep going and reach the Heart of the Mountains. Only there, do we have a chance of annihting the ratmen. You still haven''t seen the genius of generations of engineers working together. But, even if we defeat this first wave, at one point, we will fail. And, at that time, you will retreat toward the capital and join Thongril. Chapter 129: The First Wave Chapter 129: The First Wave I didn''t think about that. About why did they created all those fortresses. Of course, one reason is to slowly destroy the army of the ratmen, but at the same time, to lead it to the final battlefield. There is a possibility that one of the fortresses destroy the assants, and that no one appears afterward. But for the rest, their main purpose is just to be used as a bait. Well, that was before I arrived. I will not flee likest time, I have someone that will protect me and in return, I will protect them. The nearby dwarves can see a line of zombies leaving the fortress and reaching the entrance of the tunnel. They avoided the traps on the ground and the obstacles put by the dwarves. I just hope that they won''t have the same poison that they had in Ronta. Because, if they don''t, this first battle will be easily won. I and three of my wraiths are positioned above the entrance, far enough to not be touched by the iing bullets and shells, but close enough to activate my domain. Seeing my mana full, I personally create some additional zombies, we can never have enough of them. And after that, I waited. I tasked number one to stand behind Bori and kill any ratmen approaching him. He is themandant, and he is a capable dwarf. If he dies too early, the morale of the remaining warriors will be crushed. (That''s good what you are doing. You are not turning into aplete madman. Did you realize that by talking with someone, you unintentionally cared about their lives? You are even asking number one to personally protect Bori. I am not talking about any undead, I am talking about number one, you are only using number one for something you really care. Honestly, I was feeling good that you had no regrets ying all those humans, but the innocent dwarves, if you truly ughtered them, I would have found that a waste.) Now that you are saying that, I don''t want those dwarves to really die. I mean, I guess I was too busy searching for the experience that I neglected my life. But like you said, the holy kingdom got what he deserved, like Aria. As for the rest, I will do as you ask and wipe out the threats for your demons. I just hope that it will be enough for me to reach my new evolution. After that, I waited, until Oslo warned me about the iing army. I wave at the lieutenant; I think it was Golni or something like that. After I see that he noticed me, I pointed at the tunnel under me. He seems perplexed for a second before nodding and warning his troop. That''s good that he understood me, I blend in the rock wall and wait for the first ratman that will leave the tunnel. The first wall was really just to destroy the first waves of ratmen. There are 200 rifles and 300 crossbows pointed at the exit of the tunnel. I don''t know what is better between the two weapons. I guess the crossbows are quicker for reloading but less deadly. The dwarves are positioned on a small wall, allowing them to fire above my undead that are blocking the way. After that, the traps, and finally, nearly 100 zombies waiting for fresh meat. The perfect defense, or at least, something that will manage to y a good chunk of the army. We wait for another 15 seconds when finally, the first ratman appears. It is the usual ve, badly armored, with broken weapons. He looks at the zombies, visibly terrified. I guess no one told him that he will fight undead and dwarves. He waits for a bit, and soon, more of his fellow ratmen leave the tunnel. Numbers give strength. No more fearing the zombies, he joins his friends, or at least kin, and begin to jump at my zombies. But, the first wave doesn''t even need the help of the dwarves. My zombies are tearing apart the weak body of the ves, and since they are not swarming my undead servants, it is quite easy. Each zombie can only fight two ratmen at the same time, preventing anyone from being surrounded. Seeing this, some smarter ratmen are beginning to climb on the stone wall. Some quick shes from my wraiths and body parts are sent flying. For now, I am alone capable of containing the ratmen. But that was for a short time. THUMP THUMP Probably after hearing some cowards that fled, the responsible of this attack heard the presence of my warriors. And decided to fight the zombies with some rat ogres. Fat chance for them, the dwarves that were a little farther will take care of this problem. I can see Gloni concentrated, as all the dwarves are. The first rat ogre that passed the entrance of the tunnel gets turned into a porcupine. He even blocked the exit for a few seconds, allowing the crossbows to reload in time. The second rat ogre shared the same fate as the first, and the third died from the rifles. After seeing this disaster, the nearby ratmen flee in terror, not wanting to stay here anymore. The first wave was easily destroyed, and I use the fresh blood to create 10 additional lich. I think that we killed at least 3000 ratmen and 3 rat ogres, but that''s just the beginning. After consuming all this blood and to block even more the entrance, I order my zombies to push the corpse into the tunnel, but let a small window opened. Now, instead of 5 ratmen that can leave the tunnel at the same time, only two can. But, I know that if a rat ogre truly wants to pass, he will manage to break the small barricade. I can see some smiles on the faces of the dwarves, and even I am nearly smiling. But that was before I heard the report of Oslo. I rushed to the lieutenant. -BLOW UP THE TUNNEL! He looks at me visibly terrified. But, instead of answering, he points at the fortress. That''s true, the one in charge is probably in the fortress. I ask number one to transmit my order to Bori, saying that the ratmen are digging numerous tunnels inside the main one, to create more front. Soon, the explosives will be found and became useless. I hear the reply of number one, and in less than a minute, a huge fire leaves the tunnel. I guess that they managed to blow everything. (Yes, but the spirits are reporting something else. Since the main tunnel is destroyed, they are digging in the entire surface of the wall. Instead of one front, you will have everything opened. Tell Bori and those dwarves that their first wall is now dangerous. They should retreat to the second one, and even there, I don''t think it will stay safe for a long time. But, you earned some free zombies.) Yes, thanks to my new lich, my count of zombies is rising. There is only one problem, how much times, need a ratman, to dig a tunnel that long? Because the rocks look hard to break. I tell Gloni that they are digging new tunnels, and this wall is now obsolete. After that, I float toward the fortress, to ask this question in person. The answer was satisfying. -Do they want to dig this? They have truly no clues about how hard it will be, that''s not like the rock from the Deep Mountain. Gold Summit is called like that because of the gold found near the peak of the mountain, but it is also called like that because only the summit is useful. The rest of the mountain isposed with that hard rock, slowing down everything. They will need at least three days or so to truly create a tunnel. Did you see what was their equipment? Oslo, what is used by the ratmen? (Ok, so you have the rat ogres that are using their ws on the stone wall. It is not very effective, and they keep breaking the handles of the pickaxes. As for the rest, looks like some normal pickaxes, nothing more. Oh, I see some heavily armored ratmen digging, they are a lot stronger than the regr ratmen. Besides the red color of their clothes, nothing else.) -Normal pickaxes, but the ratmen using them are heavily armored and clearly different from the rest of the pack. And they are wearing something red. -Some Red Guards? Damn, how many? It is really important that you transmit that to Thongril. -He should already know it; my spirits transmit to me the same information that is transmitted to my spirit near him. As for the numbers, only a handful, not more than ten. -Ok, fine, that''s good. If your wraiths could deal with them, that would be good. As for the time, if the Red Guard is participating, I would say two days to create a tunnel. Or more than just one. Chapter 130: Second Wall Chapter 130: Second Wall The final countdown reached a little more than two days. After that, however, they had managed to dig 7 different tunnels, spread on the entire stone wall. The cave is neither small orrge I think. One kilometer in length and 200 meters in width. Meaning that on the 200 meters distance, seven new entrances will appear. Of course, during all that time, my wraiths were not idle. I order them to target the small ratmen digging, not the armored ones. Why? Because I don''t have a lot of wraiths, and if I just lose one, it will be a big loss. That barely slow down the ratmen, since, after that, countless sorcerers are protecting the tunnels. And I can''t risk the life or undead life of my wraiths. Thanks to my spirits and some zombies that I put right in the predicted exits of the ratmen, the dwarves have managed to build some small surprises for our iing guests. Nothing too big in just two days, but 5000 dwarves have all worked very hard on those projects. I managed to speak a little with both Dustag and Fortuil, the engineers in charge. They think that with my help, we can probably destroy this army. But they are not very rxed about the future. A lot of things can go wrong, beginning with the increase of ratmen spies. In those two days, at least five of them were found and killed. I scanned the entire cave because of this, and we managed to resolve that mystery. In the top of the cave, there is a very small hole, that allowed the assassins to roam between their army and our army. I have put a wraith in front of it, but the damage is already done. They have full knowledge about theposition of our forces, their general location, and my presence. Meaning that getting the full effect of my [Blood Touch] will be very hard. I talked with Bori about that, and I informed him about the news that I learn from Thongril. The western part of the Heart of the Mountain is besieged, as the southern part is. Like us, another fortress in the Gold Summit, a little farther to the East, is currently fighting the ratmen. But the number of vermin is really low, barely 50 000. I have a spirit constantly looking for the battle on that side because if they lose their fortress, it opens a direct passage to our position. Meaning that we will need to retreat to thest fort before the Heart of the Mountain. Unfortunately, I fear that if this really happens, a lot of the dwarves won''t be able to escape before the ratmen take control of the tunnel. Even Bori is not happy with this. While fighting, and potentially dying, against the ratmen is an honor for him and his warriors, it is only because of the damages that they can inflict. If they have to fight a battle where the death toll of the ratmen is too low, they won''t be very happy about it. Of course, even if that dire situation happens, they can still destroy the tunnel, preventing the opening of another front. But, that will only dy the inevitable, and they can''t defend against an armying from the inside of their bastion. (They have finally managed to reach this cave. And the miners are retreating, I don''t like this. I think that at first, they will send their infected ves toward you, destroying any possibilities that you can recover your expended mana. Let me check that, yes, their sorcerers are giving some weird vials to some ratmen. Ok, just kill them with your zombies and prevent the spreading of this.) I can see the dwarves standing on the second wall, a few hundred meters away from the tunnels. That should be a sufficient distance, to not be infected by the blood disease. At this distance, however, and with the increased number of tunnels, my zombie can''t really contain the ratmen. We will have to let theme to the second wall, and only there, have my zombies fight. In those past days, the hundred have be thousands, and even now, more and more are joining the mass in front of the second wall. -GLONI! THEY ARE INFECTED! DON''T LET THEM COME! I shout this information to the lieutenant in charge, warning the dwarves to not let the ves approach. It will be a little wasteful on the ammunition, but it''s better than having the 1000 dwarves get infected and forcing them to use their potions. Apparently, we have enough to cure the entire garrison for three days of fighting. God bless the preparation made by those dwarves, they really thought about everything. Well, except a ghost ratman, but, even I didn''t expect it. Nobody expects the Manifestation of Death, my greatest weapons are fear and surprise, surprise and fear. And an army of undead of course. The first sh of the ratmen and the bolts from the dwarves end up quickly. After that, I try to absorb the blood and like in Ronta, I miserably fail to gain anything. The barely hundreds of ves are dead even before reaching my zombies. I quickly order them to pick up all the corpse and put them in a pile in front of me. There, I use my acid to melt all those infected bodies, if they had another gue or disease, it is destroyed. After that, for a few minutes, I see no movements from the tunnels. I guess they are waiting for their evil n to work and weaken the dwarf warriors. Every crossbow is aimed at the tunnels, the rifles are armed and ready and even two cannons are mounted on that second wall. Their targets are the terrible rat ogres since only a shot of that weapon is capable of killing them. As for the rest of the cannons and catapults, they are aiming at different locations, without a true target. They will destroy the important part of the ratmen army, like a machine gun or a sorcerer. Something that would be protected against crossbows and rifles because of the sea of ratmen surrounding it. (Ok, you have seven rat ogres ready to march on your position. And I see more and moreing. But, for now, the tunnel two from the left and three from the right. Ask the cannons to aim at those. The rest is just torrents of ratmen rushing toward you. I see nothing special about them, just some normal ratmen, not ves. Ah, never mind, some ves infected are still in the middle of the sea.) I transmit the instructions to the understanding Gloni that immediately move the two cannons. After that, he warns the warriors surrounding him that it will be the beginning of the fight. No long speech, just some small additional orders. After that, I can see the concentration of the face of every dwarf. Since I am still currently floating in the middle of nowhere, I reach the ceiling of the middle tunnel and wait there. They won''t expect me to do a surprise attack from that side. And even if I can''t do it permanently, I can still maintain my domain for nearly 4 minutes. The first vermin are leaving the dark holes on the surface of the stone wall. They walk for dozens of meters, before falling under the rain of projectiles created by the dwarves. The two rat ogres are leaving their designated tunnels, only to be instantly killed by the cannons. Their death provokes a reaction from the nearby ratmen, and some are trying to retreat. But the rest is still pushing forward, and soon, the cowards are getting stomped by their own kin. My zombies are finally fighting the enemy, and for the time being, they are winning. Some ratmen are climbing the natural stone walls nearby the dwarves, but the scythes of my wraiths are making them forget it. I only have two at my disposition, but they are scary enough to force the enemy army to the ground. Number one is still protecting Bori, and number three is located in front of the hole. Even in the heat of the battle, some assassins are still trying to pass through that hole in the ceiling. The only thing they met is the personification of death itself. But the battle is going nicely, for now, I can already see thousands of bodiesying on the ground. I only lost some zombies, just a handful and the barrage of bolts and bullets prevents the umtion of ratmen in one location. As for the nks, some dwarves still had to drop their weapons and fight the ratmen that bypassed my wraiths. The catapults in the back are constantly throwing huge boulders, killing countless ratmen. The cannons, however, are still waiting for the deadly weaponry of the ratmen to appears. They are far more precise than the catapults, but the number of cannonballs is lower. They can''t just waste a few shots on some useless ves. After nearly 30 minutes of battles, and seeing the amount of blood spilled, I decide to move a little. I activate my domain and float through the battlefield, killing all the reinforcements from that tunnel. After that, I move to the left, and then to the right. A huge number of corpses are now present in all the tunnels, blocking the way for a short time. But that brief window allows the dwarves to drink a bit, rest, and reload all the weapons. Even with all those dead, the minute where I activated my domain is not entirely covered by the poisoned blood. (They are retreating, you won this battle. But that was just 10000 ratmen, you still have more to fight.) Chapter 131: Problems in the Other Side? Chapter 131: Problems in the Other Side? I inform the dwarves that the ratmen are retreating for now, and they are not rushing through the tunnels again. In truth, it is easier than I thought. The ratmen are incapable of reaching the dwarves because of me, and all the strong monsters and terrifying weapons capable of destroying my army are targeted by the dwarves. And even if they manage to dig more and more tunnels, at worst, the dwarves will leave the second wall and hide in the fortress. This one has an external wall where the catapults and cannons are located, but the inner part is fortified on all side. A ceiling, strong walls, sturdy doors, and the entrance of the tunnel leading to the Heart of the Mountain. (Ok, let me resume a little the current situation on all sides before you are too happy. The eastern fortress, they are defending well, but some dwarves are already dead. They have fewer warriors than Bori, but I think that they can handle it. I see no traces of real assassins. However, the fortresses near the Deep Mountain, they are really besieged. It is where the human army, or what is remaining of it, is located. But it is also where the main force of the army of Szar is attacking. And I see some reinforcementsing from Ronta arriving. Your trap with the lich in Lucia is probably destroyed.) I try to connect to my lich still stationed inside the holy kingdom but no one is answering me. I guess that was predictable, I have no idea how many days I bought with that thing. Right now, honestly, I have nothing really useful to do, besides, create more lich. Even, I think that if I leave for a few hours, reach the fortress in the East, help it a bit and absorb the blood, it would be better. I approach Bori, to inform him of what I know. -I see, what you are saying makes sense. We have not a single death in our side, and the worst we have is an injured warrior. Your troops are really effective, they can allow us to fire at will and protect our nks. As for your little trip, like you are asking, I allow it. If you can help dwarves that really need it, you can go. But instead of going to the dwarves, why don''t you just activate your weird shadows near the tunnels? That way, you won''t have to exin yourself to themandant that probably won''t believe you and order his men to shoot at you. You are a secret, that only me, my men, Thongril, the Iron Beards, and the King of the Mountain know. That makes sense what he is saying. They probably hide it from the rest of the army, to not provoke any troubles. Especially with the humans. I let my wraiths here, to keep protecting this side while I am gone. Thanks to the spirit already located near the battle, I don''t have any trouble finding the way. After an hour of going inside the stone of the mountain, I arrive near the tunnels. They only dig 4 here, but that''s enough. I can see that the dwarves are on the second wall, but are facing the ratmen from all side, except behind. No wraiths to cover the natural wall forming the cave. I can see corpses of rat ogres here too, but the sorcerers are present and still alive. I see a huge hole, something that reminds me of the explosion provoked by the destruction of the machine gun, in the base of Krieg. They can probably see the machine guns, but not the sorcerers hiding in the sea of ratmen. I can see them because I am floating above the ongoing battle, but they are hard to spot. The good news is the fresh blood everywhere. No dark gue to prevent my [Blood Touch]. I go underground and begin to advance toward the dispersed sorcerer ratmen. After being close enough, I activate my domain. The appearance of shadows provokes a panic in the two sides. But only one is currently affected by it, and I cut the army in two. After that, I collect the blood by extending my hand above the ground and replenish my mana entirely. I can even create some undead. I keep activating my domain until the ratmen finally retreat. I can see the shocked expressions of the dwarves, I mean, they are seeing rivers of blood converging in one point. Thanks to this, I create more wraiths, the only thing that can follow me effectively. I manage to create six of them before I run out of blood. But that''s enough, in one trip, I helped the dwarves, created six additional wraiths, and killed countless of ratmen. I even gained a level, I am now level 16/35. That''s the only bad side of this war, the fact that most of the kills are made by the dwarves. And I guess the really, really low experience that is granted by killing a ve or a normal warrior. After that, I go back to the Bori, and I have to say that I am lucky. In the hours when I was gone, the ratmen didn''t attack. And with my appearance in two different battles, I wonder what will be their next move? (They are retreating, and by that, really retreating. They are going West, and are leaving this side. I guess that they want to pressure only one side since you and the dwarves are too heavily retrenched here. But, the additional number will be impossible to stop at the frontier of the Deep Mountain. I already told that to Thongril, and he asked you toe back. He even praised you, do you believe that? They are still letting a few troops here, but nothingpared to what you were facing before. I advise you to tell that to Bori. Maybe, he will make some of his men retreat to the Heart of the Mountain in advance. It is not looking very good in the West.) That was expected, they were defending against the main army. And with the reduced power of the humans, because of me, they already defended their position for nearly a week. They were already fighting when I was talking about the term of our alliance with Thongril. I arrive near Bori, to transmit the information. -I see mister Sleek. If what you are saying is true, you are right. We need to move more men to the other side. In the end, if the West truly fall, we will all have to reach the capital before the ratmen. I can already begin to carry the heaviest weapons. You said that they took with them all the rat ogres? I nod at those words. The only thing left is the ves, the warriors and one member of the Red Guard, probably to supervise and prevent the deserters. -So, I can get the cannons moving. GLONI! GLONI! Ah, there you are. Go tell themandant of the eastern fortress that they are retreating and all the weapons and monsters are joining the battle in the West. Tell him that the information is reliable, and make him move his cannons too. As for the rest, if he has any injured warriors, they can retreat. Tell him that it ising from Thongril himself, he won''t disobey an order from him. Now go! I can see the lieutenant quickly rush in the tunnel. I could have done it more quickly, but themandant wouldn''t have believed me. That''s a shame. -As for us, you said how many ratmen are remaining? (20 000.) -20 000 ratmen, mostly ves. Only one Red Guard is staying here, but the rest are all leaving. -Only that? If they are just ves and normal warriors, I can hold this with 2000 dwarves without any problem. Especially if your army of undead is staying here, I can even do it with less. -My army is staying here, I will only take my wraiths, except two. The one guarding the hole in the ceiling, and the one under you, ready to protect you. -That''s very nice of you. So, if I have the support of the undead, I can stay here with only 1000 dwarves, just in case. I know that if there is a sudden change, you will inform me and my dwarves, but we never know. So, 1000 allow me to hold this fortress, during enough time to get some reinforcements. Dustag! You will take 4000 warriors, the most exhausted first. After that, you will retreat, carrying the maximum amount of weapons and ammunition. See with Fortuil what should remain here or not. And when you arrive at the fortress before the capital, tell them whatever mister Sleek is saying. And if they are not happy or not believing it, just say that Thongril will smash their heads if they are not executing the orders. After all those preparations, and since the ratmen show no sign ofing back, I depart with the engineer Dustag toward the Heart of the Mountain. I truly want to see what is the look of this capital, especially when it is called like that. Chapter 132: The Heart of the Mountain Chapter 132: The Heart of the Mountain I and my 8 wraiths silently and discreetly followed the 4000 dwarf warriors that were following Dustag. When we arrived at the first fortress, a huge ruckus was provoked. Of course, for those inside that checkpoint, the long file of warriors and equipment was signifying the fall of a fortress in the hand of the ratmen. Only after a very long discussion with themandant, the matter was exined. Of course, he didn''t believe a single word of Dustag, and he interrogated many warriors until he realized that they truly think that this retreat is necessary. None of them spoke about me or my undead, but they were all looking under Dustag. They know that I was hidden right under him, and they were very grateful for this win without any casualties. At least for now, and until I make a big mistake, they will trust my words a little. That''s still good enough, to know that such a force is relying on me. But now, herees the tricky part. I can hear themandant yelling at Dustag and the others in charge, to confess what tricks they are using to talk with Thongril directly. But none of the men that fought with me say a single word, except the threat that Thongril will personally smash the head of themandant if he doesn''t let them go. Now, themandant is truly angry, but he is perplexed at the same time. Because, if what we are saying is true, he and his troops should begin to retreat too. The moment the West falls, his fortress will be isted and without any help possible. I don''t know how many they are here, but they are clearly more equipped than Bori. I can see more and more siege weapons and even some weird cannons. They are not exactly a cannon, but like, 10 cannons attached in a single entity. That should be extremely effective again arge number of ratmen. I see many methrowers too, something that Bori didn''t have ess to. To be fair, it is quite logical too. I don''t think the dwarves created a lot of those weapons, since the first time I saw them was my meeting with the Iron Beards. And those warriors are supposed to be the strongest warriors in the Grey Mountain Kingdom and the protectors of the king of the Mountain. They are not some scums picked up in a remote alley. We stay so long inside the fortress that the first warriors from the eastern fortress catch up with us. I can see Gloni in the batch and he is arguing with another dwarf. This one is clearly not themandant, but he has exactly the same weapons and armors that Gloni is wearing, I guess he is a lieutenant too. He seems clearly shocked to see so many dwarves from Bori here, and I can see that he is less angry than before. I suppose that he didn''t believe the news either, and only by seeing so many men from Bori here, he realized that it is probably true. The same thing is happening with themandant located here. Seeing another batch of not really injured dwarves, he begins to question the newly arrived warriors, but meet nothing except iprehension. They don''t know anything, just that, at a moment, they saw dark shadows kill all the ratmen in front of them, and made them retreat. I guess that should be pretty confusing. If I wasn''t responsible, I wouldn''t really have believed such a story either. Knowing that something is clearly out of his reach and that if the news is true, every minute is precious, themandant finally decides to let all of us go to the capital. He even asks one of his warriors to join us, and ask an audience with Thongril. If the two stories are matching, he has to immediatelye back. After this, we all marched toward the capital. The journey is quite long, we needed at least two entire days, with all the heavy equipment and artilleries that the dwarves were carrying. But, when we exit the tunnel, I finally see why it is called the Heart of the Mountain. Imagine the biggest cave that you can see. At least, 30km in size, 2km in height. And inside this deep and big hole, another small mountain is rising in the middle. It is a mountain inside the mountain. The peak should be at half the height of the cave, meaning at nearly 1km. As for its size, a third of the cave, more or less 10 km. So no attack from above can be done, except dropping something. But it is not really effective, just from here, I can''t see any buildings, just a mountain. So, all the infrastructures of the capital are under the second smaller mountain. No, I spoke too soon, I see one strange tower above the peak of this small mountain. I wonder what is this? VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM What''s this? A helicopter? How are they capable of doing this? (I told you that what you saw is just a fraction of the weaponry made by the dwarves. Like the ratmen, they have more and more tricks in their bags, and with that natural fortress already created, removing them from here will be impossible. As for that helicopter, I don''t know what it is. But that''s, my friend, I a gyro-copter. In truth, I have seen worsting from the dwarves, I have seen something simr to this, but ten times the size and capable of unleashing a rain of bombs under it. We are quite unlucky that those dwarves are not as advanced as those that I know.) Well, to me, they are still good enough. With those gyro-copters, like you call them, battling inside this cave will be a piece of cake. They have too much freedom, this cave is too big. They can stand above the ratmen army, and there is nothing that can be done, even the sniper won''t be able to aim at this. The reason they could urately fire at me and my lich, in Ronta, was because of our position. On the horizon, meaning the rifles were put on the ramparts, and they were using that to stabilize the terrible weapons. But, firing vertically, how can they truly be urate that way? On the mountains, I can see rows and rows of light, probably all the position of the artilleries. No, that''s too many, probably more the windows pierced on the walls. Anyway, seeing this I understand the concept of Heart of the Mountain. (Hehehe, not really, not the true meaning. I mean, it can happen that you will never see it directly, but know that there is just another reason for that name. It is something that can be found in the audience room, on the throne of the King of the Mountain. The true Heart.) A gem? Or something simr? Oslo? Oslo? Answer, seriously. Ok, fine, just drop that and leave, I''m fine. I will bet on the most beautiful gem possible, but, seeing the strange sentences pronounced by Oslo, I can''t deny the possibility of something else. Never mind, I should just keep going. I hear the reports of the different spirits located on the western front, and they are not really good. More and more ratmen are joining the fray, and now, the fortresses have a very hard time fighting back. The potions are less effective, and more and more humans and dwarves are falling sick. The good thing is, even with the reduced power of Aria, the priests and archbishops are still capable of curing those deadly diseases. But everyone is tired, the magicians and priests are always fighting back against the sorcerers of the ratmen, the knights and dwarf warriors against the masses of ratmen. Some archbishops are even targeted by the assassins, and already hundreds of them have been in in the back line. The food has been poisoned, and they are only holding on with the rations that every dwarf had prepared in that case. But, in the two following days, the food and water will bepletely gone, and it will be the time to retreat. That''s really bad, that''s exactly the time that it will take for the lieutenant toe back to the fortress. I warn Bori about that, and tell him that in exactly two days, the West will have fallen and by that time, the ratmen will rush towards the Heart of the Mountain. There will be just one remaining fortress between the ratman and the capital, but I have no idea how long it will take for the ratmen to destroy it. But, they won''t do some schemes like in the East, an attack then a retreat then an attack again. They will permanently assault thest fortress until all the defenders are dead. And even if they blow up the tunnel, it will only dy slowly the advance of the army of Szar. Only after warning Bori, and let him deal with the information, did we finally reach the main door of the capital. Chapter 133: Audience with the King of the Mountain Chapter 133: Audience with the King of the Mountain I kept following Dustag, since he was going to join Thongril for the fake meeting. Apparently, none of them were really happy to announce my existence to the rest of the dwarf army, and absolutely not happy to let the humans hear that I am here. But, now, they will have too. And, it will be easier after doing this, for the reports from my spirits and all. Because, apparently, Meldun the king, was very happy about the fresh and reliable news, but his engineers not really. They were not called as often, and they were beginning to wonder how their king managed to know such things, even before them. But, each time they verified a news, they saw that it was true, so in the end, they didn''tin and just verified the validity of everything. That way, that allowed Thongril to see the power of my spirits. Talking about spirits, during the days of travel, I created 6 talking blue balls, or talking spirits, for the future. The number of wraiths is good enough, and I can''t currently create more lich. So here we are, in the audience room. And by we, I mean, I am right under the ground, Dustag, Gloni, and the two additional lieutenants that I forgot the names. In front of us, Meldun, the king, twenty Iron Beards, a lot of dwarves, one human knight and Thongril. Thetter began to express his orders. -I know that you are baffled by this sudden information, but it is true. The army of the ratmen are prioritizing the West, and right now, the situation is dire. In a few days, we will probably lose all the fortress on the side of the Deep Mountain, that will open a way to the capital. As you probably know, this will mean that the fortresses located in the eastern part of the Grey Mountain Kingdom will be at the mercy of the ratmen. We can''t let that happen, so, you will leave right now, and ask your differentmanders to begin the retreat. Now, go, for Makan! -FOR MAKAN! I see the two lieutenants and Gloni leave and begin to run out of the room. Bori is already knowing this, but to gives the illusion, Gloni has to run too. Poor fellow, he had to run everywhere those past days. As for Dustag, he is currently anxious. He has no idea what he should do since he was here just to guide me. I knew where the room was, but I can''t say that. Because that would mean I am spying or someone with bad intentions could turn that information against me. Not a single chance I mess that up. I can see the King of the Mountain look at the engineer, with a troubled face. I guess that should be his role to announce the news to the rest of the kingdom. But, there is a knight right here, and he is visibly very tired. I can even see some blood on his armor. He just came back from the front, and the fight was very hard. I know that. But, with a bit of luck, he isn''t the main general of the human army, meaning he won''t have the same power. I try to look, to see if he has anything special. But he is looking like the knights in Atria, except, more tired and exhausted. -Knight of the Holy Kingdom of Aria, honorable members of the ns, I have reunited you in this day to talk about something that some could find impossible. I know that, in thest few days, you have heard me talk about things that are currently happening outside of the city. More specifically, talking about the battles with the ratmen. I informed you of very precise matters, things that none of you knew. Even my engineers were in the dark, but each time, I was right. Therefore, I will tell you how. You can raise now. I guess he is talking to me. Should Ie with all my wraiths? That would be very frightening. But at the same time, I will have to make them appear anyway. Better sooner thanter. Leaving the ground, 9 ghosts can be seen appearing behind the poor Dustag. The moment we are doing this, I can see the pale faces of the dwarves and the colors leaving the face of the knight. He is trembling, and even fall on his butt. He truly didn''t expect the destroyer of Atria toe and appear here. And now here I am, with still my form of a ratman, but less menacing. The only part that I never managed to reduce is the red eyes, with the dark light inside them. But now, I have a face looking more simr to a human, with just a nose particrly long. I guess that changes were not really appreciated at the same level that I do, because, they are still shouting and screaming. The only good thing is theck of reaction from the Iron Beards. That''s good, if they were to overreact, they could probably hurt me. When the mor finally stops, and everyone finds his calm once again, the discussion can be resumed. -I know that you have a lot of questions about his, unexpected help. But know this my fellow dwarves, he is the reason of that information. And he helped greatly the eastern side, as this brave engineer can tell. A moment of silence after this, and even with the king saying this, the poor Dustag is submerged with emotions. He really has a hard time finding his words, I guess he is not particrly high in the ranks of the engineers. So talking to the king himself, in front of all the ns, that''s a little hard. But finally, he regains his calm and starts to tell everything that happened. How I managed to spot the assassins and kill them. How I created a horde of zombies, allowing the dwarves to freely fire at the ratmen, without any casualties. How I knew the precise locations of the tunnels, and the iing rat ogres, giving enough time to arm the cannons and targets the iing threats. How, after the battle was over and the ratmen were retreating, I traveled to the eastern fortress and help the dwarves there. How I was responsible for those dark shadows that numerous warriors reported, the very same shadows that ughtered the ratmen. After saying this, Dustag was visibly shaken, and someone brought him a ss of water. But except that, silence reigns supreme here. No matter who they are, dwarves or the human knight, all were baffled by my actions. And I even have the support of the king and the Iron Beards, since not a single one of them moved to attack me. So clearly, the King of the Mountain has already decided of this. -Mi-Mister dwarves, king Meldun. I am not feeling very well, excuse my departure. The human says those words, and after that, quickly rush out of the room. I guess right, he isn''t really in charge. He will gather the different generals from the army of the holy kingdom, ande back here. Because I can see in his eyes the hate that he hides inside him. I am responsible for the death of his family, friends, people. The truth is, I know that at the end of this war, I will probably have to fight them. Until then, the dwarves will not allow any infighting, or, open actions. Meaning that if I or the humans make a move toward the other, Meldun will strike back. But that departure provokes a huge noise from the other dwarves. Some are even calling Dustag a traitor, to side with the undead. None of them dare to say that to their king, but most are thinking along those lines. Even if my contribution speaks for myself, I am still, in the end, a ghost shaped like a ratman. And my wraiths are not exactly very friendly looking. More like, ready to kill everyone in this room. For a few minutes, Meldun lets all those dwarves do as they pleased. They are getting more and more overbearing, and some are even directly using the king to collude with the undead. When that sentence is pronounced, Thongril loudly smash the ground with his powerful axe. -SHUT UP! WHO INSULTED THE KING? YOU, LONGBEARD? OR YOU, SHINYHAND? ANYONE ELSE? That is extremely efficient, the calm is finallying back. An angry warrior shouting at you is still as useful as ever. But Thongril didn''t end with just that. -Listen, you know me. If there were a single chance that one of our dwarves was injured or dead because of that ghost, I would have personally beheaded him a long time ago. But in this war, his information was extremely useful. And his army is very strong, he is capable of creating undead to defend our proud kingdom. Do you want more dwarves to die, or let some mere zombies take their ce? Because that''s the current choice? As for his deeds with the Holy Kingdom of Aria, he acknowledged it. He didn''t deny it in the slightest, but he also told me that it''s a war between the humans and him. And it won''t be a problem in this more important war. As for trusting a single word of what he said, of course, I won''t. But his acts are talking, and they are irreproachable. So tell me, what do you want, noble dwarves? Chapter 134: Hidden in a Corner Chapter 134: Hidden in a Corner I am really a bit annoyed by all those discussions. First, I had to convince Bori, who is quite a niced. But I still had to talk and talk, just to make him understand my point of view. Then, Thongril appeared, and once again, discussion. Yes, I did this, no, that was not me, ratman destroying Ronta? Never heard of him. I was just an innocent ghost just ughtering the holy kingdom, nothing else. I managed to fool everyone but that partial truth, but it took a lot to do so. And here, more talking. Do we have to ally with the undead, is it honorable, sorry this, excuse me that? It is a nightmare. Anyway, now I can see the different noble ns discuss nearly everything. About the king losing his mind, the Iron Beards not defending the kingdom against ghosts. But at the same time, I hear some praise the information gathered by my spirits. After hearing this, I make visible the blue ball following Thongril but making it float in the middle of the room. Of course, as usual, it takes several seconds for anyone to notice it. Seeing this, I order my spirit to talk about the ongoing conflict. -The western fortress is currently under siege; 13 corpses of rat ogres areying in front of the door. The walls are continuously under the fire of the machine guns created by the ratmen. A group of 17 magicians is attacking those machine guns. They destroyed them. The sorcerers from the ratmenunch a counter attack. 6 magicians are infected, but they are retreating to the archbishops. The line of defense is holding one. An assassin is attacking the general Borin. He failed and the general beheads him. But he is injured, two priests are And he keeps talking. That flow of information is visibly well received by the dwarves nearby. Some are even asking for the news of the eastern fortress of the Deep Mountain. The spirit is switching to that side and keep talking about anything. The number of injured, state of provisions, damages done to the door and the ramparts. After a few minutes were the ns are listening to this, I stop the spirit and makes him float to the ground. The dwarves are angry about that, and everyone is cursing me for being shameless, not giving the vital information that the Grey Mountain Kingdom needs. But they quickly calm themselves, and one of them walk two steps toward the king. -The Longbeard n supports the King of the Mountain! Finally, the first official support. That means, they are recognizing me as an ally, and therefore, will fight side by side with me. The others are still not as enthusiastic as the Longbeard representative, but the hardest step is already done. Just convincing one to talk openly like that is already a sess. I don''t know if they are rted to Bori, because he told me that he was a Longbeard. Maybe that''s just a family name, I should have asked about this. Shortly after, another one does the same thing. -The Strongfist n supports the King of the Mountain! More and more are expressing their support, and in the end, all the ns have approved the action of their king. Is it because they are truly thinking that, or they absolutely don''t want any problems or divisions in those dark times? In either case, that allows me to finally show my face to the world as an honest and caring ghost. (Forget all the honest and stuff that you can think. They are tolerating you only because the ratmen are far more deadly than you. And they particrly hate the ratmen for what they have done to their precious mountains. But, I am certain that by the end of the war, they will recognize your participation and most likely will even have friendly interactions with you. That''s the mind of the dwarves, those bastards never forget a grudge, but always remember the help. Especially in dark moments like this one.) Is it a personal experience, the grudge thing? Because you sounded quite angry when you said it. Well, following all that touching ceremony, I order all the talking spirits that I created to gather here. -Master dwarves, King of the Mountain. This is all the spirits capable of speech that I created. You can freely distribute them where you think they are needed. I ordered them to only follow the orders of Thongril of the King of the Mountain. You are more knowledgeable of the terrain and where the fight will be located, so the other spirits that Thongril is already using will be of a great help. As for what type of undead you truly need, I can hear your demands. -We already know that ghost Sleek. Just keep creating your lich and the biggest army of zombies that they can make in such a short time. As for the rest, we will be in touch. Follow Dustag to your new quarter, and don''t appear too much outside. You will scare the children. Thank you Thongril, as expected, you are so nice. Seriously, do you really need to put such a tough front and order me like that? Alright, I will y along. I slowly disappear with my wraiths in the ground and follow Dustag that is led by an Iron Beard. Such a shame that I can''t really see the city with all those stones. Even when we were brought to this audience room, we only took back entrances and hidden tunnels. From the moment we entered the capital, I couldn''t even see the street filled with dwarves. There is too much stone and rocks everywhere. And right now, we are taking the same road. I just want to see a bit of the city, I wonder if I should just float above the tunnel and toward the outside. I can still make my wraiths follow Dustag and catch upter. Yeah, I will do that. They can''t see me anyway. I quickly escape toward what I think is the outside. At first, I end up in what is looking like a garrison. Not what I wanted. Armory, not what I want, bathhouse, who cares. I finally find the way out; I think that building was constructed for the Iron Beards. Make sense to build it so close to the audience room. More buildings, more stone. Ah, a street looks like a street. I go through the different buildings separating me and finally I arrive at the street. And yes, it is a real one, where there are many dwarves. Young, old, with long beards, small beards, still a little bit of a beard and no beards. That''s the children, thest part. Ah no, I find a female dwarf. Looking like the one that I killed in Ronta. I really need this part of my past to be a secret. The atmosphere of the street is happy and yet still serious. The adults have all some dark faces, but when children are around, they all y along and smile. They don''t want them to be scared. As for the buildings, they are strong and sturdy, all made of stones. I can see a restaurant, with multiple dishes. One is a salt pig, with an apple in his mouth. The two dwarves who ordered this dish are salivating. Enjoy your meal. I can see that there is a ceiling everywhere. We are really inside a mountain, inside another mountain. I guess that no dwarves sleep with the sky and the stars above them. Right now, I am at the top of the capital, and I can see that the city is constructed on many different levels. In each one, I can see a wall, like in Atria, but while the capital of the human was on a in, this one is built on a mountain. There are countless stairs everywhere, but most of the streets are on a gentle slope. To allow the different carts and wagons to travel across the city. In truth, besides the location of the capital, there are not a lot of changes between a human city and a city built by the dwarves. Same types of buildings, the same atmosphere. Right now, I should be in the part close to the top, so, the houses of the ns. I have no idea if their clothes are better than the one from the bottom since I have nothing topare with. But I should return near Dustag, he should arrive at my new quarter soon. I reach shortly my wraiths, and apparently, no one noticed my little escape. Well, we are still under the ground, so, that makes sense. And I was early, we floated for more than 10 additional minutes before we attain a weird room. Inside, there are a lot of armors and weapons, I guess that''s one of the numerous armories. It shouldn''t be the main one since there is a lot of empty space. And a lot of dust too. After that, the Iron Beard quickly left, and Dustag took his leave too. Even if he is used to me, he doesn''t look veryfortable near me. And here I am, alone and hidden from the rest. Chapter 135: The Last Council Chapter 135: The Last Council Why do I have the feeling that the dwarves are trying to get rid of me? (Why do you think such a thing? Maybe the fact that you know very well that the Deep Mountain is now totally controlled by the ratmen? And that no one came here in thosest few days? Besides that, I see nothing that can give you this idea.) Sarcastic remarks, just what I needed, thank you very much, Oslo. But still, I will soon reach the limit of capacity inside this room. I have thousands of zombies, and they are getting too much space. My lich keep producing more and more, but I really want the dwarves to pick up all the zombies. And already brought them to the location where they should be the most useful. Not staying here, doing nothing. Not that it really bothers me, since I am an ethereal monster, so they won''t crush me under their numbers. But in a few hours, the limit will definitely be breached, and they will begin to step on each other. Since no one ising, and I don''t want to bother Thongril, I will just find an Iron Beard near here. I exit the armory and search in the tunnel. I find a dwarf not far from here, good, I approach him. He looks at me visibly perplexed but not really scared. So he knows about me and my existence, that''s even better. -Master dwarf, I have a small problem. I have created the zombies that you asked, but the number of them is too important. They will soon fill all the empty space in the armory, so can you take them out and bring them where you want? I ask all of this because he is wearing the Iron Beard armor. So, he is not the regr soldier that knows nothing. After I say this, he begins to walk toward the armory, grab the key and unlock the door. That''s why he was perplexed, he thought that with the door locked, he won''t see me or my undead. But I am like a ghost, I can float through anything. Right after he unlocks the door, three zombies fall on him, because they were pushed by the rest. The dwarf nearly takes his weapon, but he realizes afterward that the zombies don''t attack him and are getting up. He looks at them with a dark stare, but soon, his eyes are getting bigger. I can see him mentally count the number of undead in the armory like I said, they are a lot inside it. He removes his helmet and begins to scratch his head. Can you be a bit faster mister the dwarf, because taking a pensive posture won''t help me? After that, he looks at me, put his helmet on his head, and talk for the first time. -You have done a great job ghost Sleek. This help will definitely be appreciated. I talked with engineer Dustag previously, and he told me about the defensive capacities of your zombies. Do you mind if I take a look, just to be sure where they should be located? That''s a reasonable demand. That way, he will talk about it to Thongril and everyone and if it is good, that would be better. So, I make one of the zombies leave the armory and make him go a little farther in the tunnel. There is see the battle between the Iron Beard and my zombie. At first, he is just using his fist. To let him do that, I don''t let my zombie strike back. It is just to see the blunt resistance, nothing else. I can see the dwarf punch very hard on the arm of the zombie, and break his arm. Damn, he is strong. Fearing about a negative opinion I stop the dwarf. -Master dwarf, please. Before you attack again can you wait for a minute? He nods, even when he is surprised by that demand. I ask my zombie to move his broken arm, and the movement is not looking good. I can see the hand swing weirdly. After a minute, I ask him to do the same movement, and this time, the arm is repaired and he swings normally this limb. The Iron Beard look very pleased by that, he realizes what happened. He tries to punch once more, but this time, the zombie is truly fighting. At first, the Iron Beard has to take out his shield, to repel the assault of my zombie. But, even if they are truly slower and weaker than a ghoul, they are still very good warriors. My undead servant manages to dodge or partially dodge all the attacks of the dwarves. He is taller and bigger than him, so he uses the long reach of his arms to oblige the dwarf to defend. Of course, once he begins to use his axe, the fight ends prematurely. Baiting my zombie to attack, he quickly cuts his two arms and therefore wins the fight. At least he didn''t kill my zombie. After that,ughing he approaches me. -That''s a good fellow that you created here. I understand why you are capable of repelling the assault of the ratmen. Immune to all the poisons and diseases, capable of regenerating after some minutes, but still slow. That''s why an encirclement will seal his fate. I know where they will be useful. Do you have 800 of them, I think you do, but I have to ask? -Yes, ready to do anything. -Great, order them to follow me, I will make some space in this armory. I will get back after that, to pick up the next batch. Good job, ghost Sleek. -Thank you master dwarf. After that, I can see him leaving with 800 of my zombies behind him. Maybe after that, they will finally make me leave this hole. Anyway, let''s keep creating some more lich. After that, I keep doing the same thing, each time the Iron Beard knock on my door, he brings a huge number of zombies. I can hear my undead describe their locations, sometimes, they are in some tunnels, sometimes, positioned on the ramparts. But not a single one of them saw a human, I guess the dwarves are making sure that we never meet each other. I know that right now, the general of the human army, some archbishop, and a female magician are arguing in the audience room. Thanks to my spirit, I can hear that they don''t support the actions of the King of the Mountain. While they are doing this, the archbishops are even threatening to desert and hunt the ghost shaped like a ratman. That provokes the anger from the dwarves and the magician. She is the only one willing to not hunt me right now and deal with the ratmen first. I am sure that it''s because she didn''t lose anything with the destruction of Atria, besides family and friends. Well, that''s still a lot. On the other hand, the general is clearly too tired to even shout. The knight that was present was exhausted and his armor bloodied, but he was still rtively fine. As for the general, my spirit is describing him as a totally broken armor and red. Not red because of the paint, but red with blood. He didn''t even wash before meeting the king of the dwarves? The spirit says yes; he didn''t wash. Maybe I should just directly go there and see by myself. Because a report and the truth may differ. But if the Iron Beard arrives and I am not here, it will be suspicious. And he should be near the armory, it''s about time. Wait for a second, the humans are here. They are not defending the fortress anymore. I ask my spirits in that part of the mountain, and yes, no humans are visible. And the dwarves are losing badly, like really badly. One day, maximum and the fortress will fall. I look in the East, and that is still good. My undead are defending the fortress close to the Heart of the Mountain, the one where Bori was located and the eastern is already captured by the ratmen. The sheer number of zombies and ghouls allowed all the dwarves to retreat. They will arrive in less than an hour here. That''s good, one front lost nearly no one. But now, it will be time for the final battle. And if I am knowing this, that means Thongril knows this too. -Ghost Sleek, you are demanded in the audience room. It is very important that you arrive quickly, so, if you can travel through the stone, you can do it. But, all your wraiths and yourself have to appear in the room when you arrived. Now go, we are all very busy. Just before you leave, can make all the remaining zombies follow me? I order my zombies to follow the Iron Beard that is bing familiar with the pattern. And then, I rush toward the audience, but I still hear that the humans are present. Such a happy reunion in sight. Chapter 136: Sneak Attack? Chapter 136: Sneak Attack? Apparently, everyone was rtively calmed when I arrived. By that, I mean that when I suddenly left the ground with my wraiths, no one was shouting at me or really surprised. Funny how all the dwarves are looking at this spectacle like it is normal. It is normal for a ghost, but can you at least be slightly surprised? Best effect I managed to produce was cut the speech of the archbishop. He just stopped talking and look at me with his eyes full of hate. I got it, I killed the holy kingdom. And a lot of humans living in it. But the first to talk is not the one I expected. -I am general Jasper Earur Borin, knight of the Holy Kingdom of Aria. I will just ask one single question. Is it you that destroyed the capital, the white city Atria? It is the visibly barely conscious knight. The one that probably participated in all the battles, always in the front line. And the reports were not giving him all the credit he deserves. His armor is truly destroyed, it is even shaped as his body. Chest te smashed, gauntlets with missing fingers, helmet torn apart. I can see his right ear, even when he still has the helmet closed. If someone is telling me that he faced a rat ogre and won, I wouldn''t even be surprised. Well, the truth is already out, what can go wrong by saying it once again. -Yes, I destroyed Atria, I destroyed Lucia and everyone on my way to Ronta. If my zombies and lich killed more, then I am unaware. I just let them do as they pleased after destroying the capital. Retribution for what you did to me. Of course, I won''t tell that what they have done to me is essentially the bad deeds of their goddess. Better let them think that since it wouldn''t really make sense in my false story. At which point, should a ghost shaped as a ratman interact with a goddess and what did she do to him? Even I don''t have the slightest idea to say something like that. Too strange of a story. But after hearing me, the knight visibly loses his mind. He begins tough louder and louder, a hystericalugh. Maybe he should take a rest or some CLONK JESUS CHRIST! I see the sword of the knight at barely two centimeters from my face. Two scythes are blocking it, right before it touches me. I didn''t even activate my [Veil of Darkness], the thing that I am doing right now. But it''s a good thing that my wraiths are more reactive than me, otherwise, I would have been a dead ghost. Of course, the fact that I didn''t even react and with my face that can''t be really analyzed, it looks like I nned it. Like a dark lord letting his minions deal with his enemy. The truth is far from it, but I can see the fear in the eyes of the humans. One of their strongest warriors can''t even sneak attack and kill me at such a short range. Of course, even if time slows down for a second, to allow everyone to realize what happened, time can''t stay like that forever. Thongril grabs his axe and sh at the sword of the general Borin. Destroying it in the process. Looks like dwarf steel is better than the human one. Or whatever they used to create those weapons. After that, the Iron Beard punch in the face the human, knocking him out. The archbishops run to heal the fallen general. While the noble dwarves are looking at their allies with disappointed eyes. -My apologizes noble dwarves, King of the Mountain, and the thing floating in front of us. No one really said what you are called or truly what you are. But in the behalf of the humansing from the Holy Kingdom of Aria, we sincerely regret the actions that led us to this situation. As for the general, he is in a state of intense exhaustion, he needs rest. The stress of the battles has obstructed his mind; I hope that you will forgive him. I am the Great Magus Aesseryn, I hope that we will destroy the ratmen, together. Nice job, truly a good job. The previous disappointment turns intoprehension and forgiveness. The human general truly looks pitiful in this armor, and maybe he wouldn''t have done that if he weren''t that tired. But the thing that I will always do, cast my shield when humans are close. And I thought that they will respect the authority of the King of the Mountain. As for the woman, she is the magician that is truly important these days. Still capable of using her full power, dealing with the enemy sorcerers and spells. And the most important, the only person capable of annihting me or my wraiths. -King of the Mountain, master dwarves, Great Magus. I was called here because we already retreated from the East and the West will fall in a day at best. And I suppose that you couldn''t keep the secret any longer, especially with the previous knight seeing me. As for my contribution, I suppose that the Iron Beard that wasmunicating with me already told you everything. So what do you need? -Ghost Sleek, I, Meldun, King of the Mountain thank you for all the undead that you have provided. But now, we still need more. Especially those wraiths, I need you to post them at key points and make them kill all the assassins iing. They are the most reliable threat to their existence. As for the rest, your lich need to keep producing more and more zombies. But until the war is over, you will not leave this room. Your death will destroy all your undead, so in no circumstances, you will be allowed to be at the mercy of the Green ws. Your spirits and undead are too important. Great, I exchange a remote and dark room hidden in a corner of the mountain to a golden prison. What he is saying is true, but seriously, not leaving? How am I supposed to collect the blood of everyone and create more undead? However, the king of the dwarves was not finished. -But, I heard frommandant Bori Longbeard and Thongril that you are using blood to create more undead. Is it true? Tricky question, should I say yes or no? Yes, I mean, nothing can be worst than being a ghost shaped as a ratman. I nod at his question, and he makes a gesture with his hand. Soon, I can see a cart filled with bottles of blood. Seriously? This is heaven? And I thought that they will curse me for doing this. -This is the blood of the dwarves from this kingdom. Not the warriors, but those that were injured in the Portal War. They can no longer fight for their people, but after hearing what you are doing, they openly started to give their blood. I hope that this will be sufficient. -Sufficient, of course. The quantity is important, but the quality is even better. I never absorbed a blood from a dwarf, but I suppose that it is immensely better than the one from a ve ratmen. Don''t worry, about that, just bring whatever blood you can gather. Now, what are your exact demands, because right now, I can create nearly anything. The king of the dwarves smiles at myst remark, and soon Thongril approaches with a list. On it, is marked what I should create. 10 additional spirits, not necessarily talking, more lich, of course, 5 more wraiths, and some strange demand. Like, create a stone worm or some weird creatures. Of course, after giving me the list, he gives me a bag filled with hundreds of drawing. On each, I can see the drawing of one creature that they asked me to create. They look at me with expecting eyes, wait, are they wanting me to do that right now? Well, I am a little low in mana, but I start opening a bottle of blood. And yes, it is good quality. A bottle of 1 liter, and double the amount that is given by aplete human corpse. After filling my mana at 80%, I begin to look at one drawing. It is the stone worm; the particrity is the skeleton of this monster. It is like the insects; the skin is the skeleton. So I look at the different drawings and all the different representation. This monster looks very sturdy, even if it is a worm. Besides using it as a shield, I have no idea why they need it. Maybe dig something? Anyway, I will just create a small one. Not something with 10 meters in size, especially in this room. So I begin to concentrate, and for the price of a normal skeleton warrior, in front of me appears the stone worm. I can see some deception in the eyes of some dwarves, but Thongril doesn''t care. He takes a weird axe, not the one he is using or one from the Iron Beards. Probably something not to sharp, otherwise my little worm will be destroyed. He strikes at the barely smaller than me worm, and instead of dying, the little thing breaks the axe. Thongril raises his head toward me, and I can already hear his question. -Five times this size at best. But I will need a lot of those blood bottles. And I can only create skeletons, not flesh. Chapter 137: A Totally Normal Throne? Chapter 137: A Totally Normal Throne? After this, I kept receiving more and more cart filled with blood bottles and new drawings from the craziest engineers I ever saw. In fact, I don''t actually need real species, it was discovered after several tests. I just need a viable skeleton that looks to be able to walk or fly. The majority undead that I produced were rted to either digging or forming an artificial wall with their bodies. I even created something that can seriously be called a triceratops, you know those dinosaurs? Well, his massive head forms an extremely good shield and with his horns, it can be used to push back the ratmen. Sometimes, I created big skeletons, sometimes, small skeletons. But in thatst day of preparation, I was at the mercy of those foolish ideas. Honestly, it is their choices, if they supply the blood, I obey. But right now, they are even beginning to ask me to create small skeletons of a mole. They are thinking that they can put a bomb in it and ask my undead to dig toward the enemy lines. And with my spirits, they will be able to locate and explodes the sorcerers and dangerous weapons. After hearing this, I am beginning to fear for their sanities, and I exin that I can just use one of my wraiths to drop the bomb from above. No need to create something like that. They are looking at me like a kid that I just stole the candy in his mouth. Did I break their dreams? (No, they are just a bunch of madmen. In all the races, all the different history ofs, they are always present. Like Xerces, that tried to cast a ck hole in his very. Just don''t duel their dreams too much but at the same time, respect their creativity. You are doing fine, just keep doing this. Now, the fortress has fallen, and in the East, your lich are still holding on. But not for long, in the few hours, the army of the ratmen will destroy that small force and surround the capital. Just y along for now.) That''s not you the toy of maniacs. After hearing me say something true, however, they begin to calm down a little. They still like the triceratops, and I agree with them, it is a very good shield. It can even act as a door in some cases. But no mole. I mean, we already have the gyro-copters to drop bombs, that''s normally enough? Following my idea of my wraith acting as a ne dropping explosives, they still ask for a few spirits capable of carrying something. I create them, after drinking dozens of blood bottles. I have to admit; I am surprised by the quantity of blood that they manage to gather. Well, the poption of the capital is Oslo? (I would say, 80 000 dwarves, not counting the army. And a dwarf can probably give one bottle of blood, maybe even two. I am not sure about that, but they can definitely ask one bottle for each adult.) I already drank thousands of those bottles, but more are stilling. I guess that''s the determination of the dwarves, willing to lose a bit of blood to assure their victory. Such a great act of solidarity, I almost am crying. Not really, but it is still impressive. As I keep doing this, I still see dwarves and sometimes humanse and leave. Since I am stuck in the audience room, I remember the words of Oslo and look more closely at the throne. That''s a regr throne, I mean, yes it is made of gold, there are gems and crystals fixed on it. But nothing big, like the dark gem of the sorcerer-king, in the Necropolis. I keep examining it, at a normal distance but notice nothing. That''s weird, why Oslo told me to look at the throne if there is nothing special? I go in the back of the throne, and still nothing. So, there is nothing in the front, nothing in the back, top, nada, nothing. Meaning under it? I try to get close to it by the ground, but I can''t approach. I try again, but still, I am incapable of getting close from the ground under the throne. But when I look at it, I only see the stone and nothing else. Is it something that my vision can''t see? Probably, and I can''t approach, from the ground, I try to do it normally. Blocked. I can''t touch it; I can''t get in less than 1 meter from the throne. Since I am not that close to it, I am not really suspicious, more like someone appreciating the art and design of the throne. While I am really trying to advance. But until I extend my hand, no one can say for sure that I am trying to grab that stupid throne. Finally, I abandon the idea, it has been nearly a minute that I floated around the throne. The engineers, after giving me a break while I was looking at the seat of their king,e back to create more stuff. They ask me if I found the throne beautiful and I nod, yes it is beautiful. I can see them being happy, unfortunately, that provokes an increase of madness in them. This time, it was not a mole, but a bat. It is a nightmare. They want me to give it the property of the real animal, meaning, apparently, a confusing screech. First of all, I have no idea how to do this, but how can I say that to them? They take me for a genius ghost, I mean, everyone is doing that, even the humans. I managed to divert them by asking why do you need this when you can have wraiths directly killing the ratmen. The diversion worked, and after that, each time they try something that I am incapable of doing, I shift the topic. Create a venomous spider? Build a skeleton army! Yes, it doesn''t make any sense, but it is working. During all that day, I dodged everything hard. And the liberation finally arrived, in the form of Thongril requisitioning all the engineers for the calibration of all the siege weapons. The room was empty, excepted me, my wraiths, and some dwarves running through to inform every one of thetest news. I hear from my lich that now, a huge file of zombies is leaving the armory and are all marching toward the main door. As for my special creations, they are deployed everywhere, even outside of the capital sometimes. I can feel that the battlefield won''t be only around the capital. I know that my zombies are located in front of some tunnels underground. I guess it is logical for the dwarves to have some exit doors in case of emergencies, but right now, it is used against them. Or not, I mean, those tunnels should be really small, so, to defend such a thing, it will be easy. As for digging the stone in the Heart of the Mountain, it is even harder than in the Gold Summit. It took years for all the dwarves to build all those things apparently, so for the ratmen, they won''t be able to dig close enough to be worth it. Why? Simple answer, all the firepower of the dwarves. And if it is too far, it will take several weeks. (Feeling bored, want me to tell you a nice story in the meantime? You know, when you will be stuck here, creating undead, while everyone is fighting outside?) Cut the crap Oslo, what do you want? You never directly told me something like that, except about those hot nights with whatever race you were sleeping with. And I don''t want another word about that. (Ok, fine, but you will regret it. The fervor that my believers expressed during those nights can warn the most frozen heart. Like yours, or whatever is called a heart from the elemental of Death. Anyway, did you notice a difference between the actual throne and the stones surrounding us?) No, I mean that''s just stone. I look at a pir, stone, I look at the ground, more stone, I look at the throne, stone, stone everywhere. Even under it, it is still more stone maybe a slightly darker stone? Is that what you want me to see? (Look closely, look at the feet of the throne.) What feet, yes they are made of gold like all the rest. Wait, no, the gold is only on the surface, it is connected to the dark stone under it. But that''s doesn''t make any sense, I should be able to see this behind the gold, why my vision is incapable of piercing it? (Because that''s the Heart of the Mountain. You won''t be able to see it right now, but just for you to know, don''t mess with the dwarves. They are clearly a lot more powerful than I thought. This thing shouldn''t be in their possession. But for now, that''s fine, you are beginning to be a friend. Keep going. And even if you have to fight the dwarves, don''t evere here and near this throne. Otherwise, even I won''t be able to save you.) Don''t say such things. It will only make my future escape more pathetic. Brave I running away, as always, when danger rears its ugly head, well, I chicken out and flee instead. And you already curse me to do that once again. Chapter 138: Failure and Provocation Chapter 138: Failure and Provocation From the darkest holes, the ratmen left theirirs to destroy that. That was the general history of the countless worlds destroyed by Szar. Depending on the climate on the world, he would use one of his deadly servants to bring down the Hero of the defending god and therefore, achieve a total domination. If the climate was too hot for the mammals, he would use his nagas or snakemen. But, the ratmen were his greatest creation. The number of times they failed him is far too lowpared to most of his conquests. The biggest reason is the sheer number of them. Dispersed across the universe, their fervor and belief grant more power to Szar that one can possibly imagine. Besides the orcs and some beastman races, the ratmen are one of the best races to grow an army very shortly. Not a very strong army, but numbers make up for theck of quality. Also, they are capable of manipting magic and creating destructive devices, to them and their enemies. The rate of explosions provoked by one of their most powerful weapons is a true threat to the ratmen working near them. At best, the weapon will just lightly explode and spread a poisonous fume around it, not really be threatening to anything. And this was what should have happened on Astria a long time ago. First, it was an empty, so no need to use a lot of resources. Just a handful of djinns, a ritual to turn the into a desert and it should have been over. But who would have thought that those humans just South of his army would counter his ritual for no reason? Szar discovered after that it was the forces of Oslo, a strange god that no one really knew what is his specialty. Except for survival, since he was even older than Szar or the bloodthirsty Krieg. At such an old age, he should have already joined the ranks of the Nine Heavens but he was still struggling to survive. Seeing the failure of his forces, Szar decided to not care about that anymore and just destroy other worlds. He forgot this world for thousands of years until a new god was appointed. When his djinns told him that, he decided to teach a lesson to that arrogant young goddess. The gift that she received was a poisonous meal, looking fine from the exterior, but deadly inside. And so, he sacrificed a lot of his djinns to allow his ratmen inside the world called Astria. And soon, he discovered something that managed to make himugh. Right next to this world was the one controlled by Oslo. Seeing the possibility to use that, he consumed the forces from his conquered worlds to invade Forslo. After that, he waited. On one hand, the ratmen were free to do anything they wanted and that stupid goddess didn''t even bother hunting them down. That made the poisonous godugh again. While he was taking very discreet actions against Oslo, because he knew him for being paranoiac. He wouldn''t waste his forces for anything. Hundreds of years passed, and when the time was good, he decided to create a portal between the two. For that, he had to sacrifice arge part of his nagas on Forslo, since his main objective was the young Aria. And it worked beautifully. Szar watched as the demon protected by Oslo died by the hands of the human. In truth, he was shocked by that, but, Oslo probably still had other worlds to protect him. While Aria was far too young to have a stable foundation. Following this, he began his attack on everyone, inflicting heavy damages on Forslo and nearly decimating Astria. He just forgot something that shouldn''t have been possible. Astria was a former empty world, but all the races on this, except the humans of Aria managed to survive the permanent battles for thousands of years. And that was the downfall of the ratmen. In their mind, the only real threat was the humans. But who would have thought to create an oath against the ratmen and that all the other races would have hunted them? Undead working with the humans? Even Szar didn''t see that often. All his ratmen spread across the world were hunted one after the other. He managed to kill the Hero, but that was not useful at all. In fact, the humans were nearly useless, it was the world himself that was defending them. Orcs in the North, Dwarves in their mountains, Spiders in theirirs, Vampires in their corrupted coast. The lizardmen, the dark elves beyond them, the Tomb Kings, and the forest elves were all destroyed or reduced to such a pitiful state that they were too weak to resist. But for the rest, they were still strong enough to resist against his entire army of ratmen. Seeing this, Szar had to stop everything on Astria and ordered his troops to hide. After that, he regretted his hurry to attack the world. Normally, the army of the god in charge is the strongest, but here, it was not even close to the rest. But it was far toote. He had lost too much, he needed to wait. But that forced him to pause the rest of his conquests because he had overextended his power in that case. The only good thing was the death of both Hero, or that was what he thought. Oslo didn''t betray his expectation. The moment he was strong enough, he destroyed hisst force on Forslo, after years of hunting. The poisonous one cursed him for that, but that was fair, it was not the first time one or the other tried to hurt the other. But the behavior of Aria was baffling. Barely a dozen of years, and she proimed that she destroyed the ratmen. Like seriously, who do you think you are? Szar was really angered by that sentence. Normally, gods are scared of him or at least respected his strength. But here, a stupid baby is saying that she destroyed him? And he waited, and this time, he personally appeared in front of his ratmen. He said that if they failed that time too, death will be a pleasant dream. And he ordered them to not appear at all before they are strong enough to destroy that weak human kingdom. The only bad news was the timing, it took far too long to create another army and weapons, especially when they had to hide. Couldn''t steal as much food as before, couldn''t hunt enough monster cores. And then, a lone ratman appeared in a city inside that kingdom. Szar was truly baffled, but he nheless checked that. But, even his assassin couldn''t even see that ratman. And no matter how he tried, he couldn''t see that rogue sorcerer with his vision. The Hero of Aria should already be trained and armed, and something that stupid thing came out from nowhere. He had to start the war now before the old alliance was created once again. After that, he stillunched many assassins after that supposed ratman from one of his n. Even if he knew it was not true, otherwise, he could have just seen it anywhere in Astria. But what he saw was the army of the dwarves and humans marching toward his ratmen. He was rtively scared because he couldn''t see the Hero and find his weakness in time. And the army was just big enough to potentially destroy 80% of his forces. And after that, if someone else came, he will truly have lost the war on that. But nothing wrong happened. In fact, only good things happened. A ghost shaped as a ratman, something that never happened in front of him, destroyed the capital of the kingdom of Aria. Provoking the defeat of the army besieging his capital. And allowing him to fight on even ground. He will be able to spread around the world, and immediately start to destroy all the forces of Aria. And potentially even killed her. In fact, if destroying Astria was not enough, he will try to find her and annihte her others. That''s how angry Szar was. No one insulted him and survived. And everything would have been fine if it wasn''t for that ghost. The poisonous god was baffled by his capacity of creating undead and strange powers. He even began to start thinking that it was the Hero of Hades,ing here just to have fun and destroy anyone in front of him. But normally, that Hero should be shaped as a human, not a ratman. And after that, he saw through the eyes of an assassin that ghost with the dwarves. His assassin didn''t survive after that sight. But now, he had to fight something that shouldn''t be here in the first ce. He nearly cursed the Nine Heavens for that. What he saw was also the remnants of the human army with the dwarves and so, he ordered his Apostle to personally destroy the dwarves. With his entire might. As for the weird Hero, he was still thankful for his presence. The ghost was probably the reason for the absence of Heroing from the kingdom of Aria. A battle should have been conducted and the Hero of that stupid goddess was already dead. Otherwise, Szar had no idea why after a century, Aria didn''t bless another Hero. Chapter 139: An Assassin in the Room? Chapter 139: An Assassin in the Room? It is already the second day of battle, but I am still confined in this room. All my wraiths are out, except one, standing near me. The King of the Mountain, Thongril, Bori, the human general and the Great Magus are also protected by my wraiths. The two humans are not reallyfortable with this, but the dwarves don''t care. My wraiths are one of the best defenses against assassins. As for me, I just listen to all the reportsing from either my undead or Oslo. I feel like a Halfling, that knocked his head on a stone, missed the entire battle, but hear at the end that 3 of his friends died, the king included. Well, I have the radio to pass the time, but it is still boring. (The first wall is still strong and not breached at all. Your zombies and weird creations are doing an amazing job at holding back the ratmen. The volley of projectiles never ends, and more and more ratmen are dead in front of it. Of course, that provokes some towers of corpses, but when that happens, a methrower is used to burn it to the ground. With all the ratmen still climbing on it. As for the rest, it''s good, they haven''t found the secret tunnels yet.) Do you see the king or Thongril? What are they doing right now? (Thongril smashes skulls and the king is just staying on the ramparts, chilling. I mean, the battle is still under control, no need for him to personally act. Just his presence is enough to make the dwarves stronger and less tired. They have good rotations, and always have fresh warriors to hold their ground against the ratmen that bypass your undead. As for the humans, they are dying more than the dwarves, but are still fighting well. But what do you expect when everything capable of destroying the wall is broken and in pieces.) I really wanted to see those gyro-copters in action. I mean, I would have song the Ride of the Valkyries at the same time. No, you don''t know that, but on my, it is mainly used to fight barely armed fighters with overpowered explosives. And it is a good music. As for the sniper rifles and the sorcerers? (Well, it is either your wraiths or the human magicians. I have to admit, that woman is pretty much on par with you, at destroying things. Well, she doesn''t have the same mana capacity or regeneration and doesn''t have your legions of undead, but she has things that your [Purple Moon] can barely match. As for the rest, some are at the same level but only two or three humans. The rest are like the magicians that you saw at Ronta, capable of destruction, but not mass destruction. And your wraiths, well, you get the idea. Most of the time, when it is out of reach, it is your wraiths.) Good to know that they are more useful than me. Here, another lich. 1/1800 MP and no more blood bottles. I think that I drank too much in thosest few days. Be a shame if a (If a what? Why are you not finishing your sentence?) No, just a premonition. If I finish my sentence, bad things will happen. And with that mana, I can''t cast anything. So, I won''t say anything. Better be safe than sorry. (You know the world doesn''t work that way. It is not because you say that an assassin wille after you that he will. How can he manage to reach this, he has to pass through thousands of dwarves, and your spirits, with me seeing anything and ) No, don''t tell me that. That''s bullshit. I told you, you shouldn''t have said that. (Ok, maybe there is somethinging towards you. Something shaped like a shadow. Not a hundred percent sure that it is a ratman, ok, no, I will be honest, it is an assassin. Just hide, he can''t see you underground.) Of course, I will. But why is he here, he can''t know my presence in this room? So, he is searching for something else, like the thing you talked about in the throne. (THAT? NO WAY! First, it is near impossible to extract it. And I don''t see anything capable of doing it. Next point, destroying is even harder. No, I think he is just waiting here in ambush for the king of the dwarves. Nothing else would make sense. Look.) I can see the shadow moving on the ceiling. And by shadow, I really mean it, I can''t see the shape of a ratman behind it, even with my vision. That should be the big boss of the assassin. Maybe the one that killed the Hero, no, that means he would have lived for more than a century. Well, maybe ratmen live for a long time. After that, I see him approaching the throne, and like me, get stuck far away from it. He tries to approach it from the back, but nothing works. I know that feeling, but he loses his curiosity quickly and hides on top of a pir supporting the room. It is time for my wraith to act. Number one, kill him. I can see my faithful and powerful undead approaching the assassin. And then, he attacks with his scythe empty air. Right before the attack, the assassin already jumped out of his hiding spot. Well, you can run but you can''t hide, while we are capable of moving through the environment. Number one try again a few times, but each is aplete failure. He can''t even touch the shadow surrounding the ratman. On the other hand, the assassin is incapable of hurting my wraith. However, this strange dance ends abruptly. The shadow just walks away, since it can''t do anything. And my wraith doesn''t follow it since he can''t do anything either. I just tell that to Meldun, the king, that says that I don''t have to worry. Well, it is not me that has an assassin in my audience room. Following that short moment of action, I am still stuck here doing nothing. And I have to show myself to the dwarves continuously walking in and out of the room. The sad truth about being on top of the food chain. You lose your liberty and freedom. (Ok, time to tell you thetest news. We are officially still winning. This news was brought to you by Oslo, with Oslo, the chance of dying is very low.) Don''t you have anything better? It is tiring to hear such a thing. With your eons of existence, you don''t have anything better. (Well, actually, nearly all my heroes are the serious type, so I can''t joke like that with them. I try to be as respectful and sage that they think I am. Only with you, who are not really the same kind of Hero, I can do stupid things, like taunting Aria and insulting her. Otherwise, we are still doing a very serious business, like allowing me or you to survive. But you are the most cowardly Hero I ever saw. It has been so much fun seeing you just run away when something was even remotely dangerous.) Hahaha, very funny, we are all very amused. It is my life that you are talking about, I know you don''t really care that much, but I do. Like here, we are winning, and oh, a level. Great. Level 17/35. Barely below half of what I need. (Nothing else, like a skill being improved? Can you cast [Death Ray]?) "Not enough mana." Nope, as for the rest, I will tell you one more time. Since otherwise, you can''t know how strong I am. "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Elemental ss: Manifestation of Death Level 17/35 HP: 520/520 MP: 1850/1850 Strength: 25.6 Agility: 53.6 Vitality: 52.0 Wisdom: 135.0 Intelligence: 135.0 Active skills: [Create Acid lvl Max] [Create gue lvl Max] [Deadly Shadows lvl Max] [Domain of Mayhem lvl Max] [Nightfall lvl 9] [Magical Orb lvl Max] [Cursed Winds lvl Max] [Raise Undead* lvl 7] [Blood Touch lvl Max] [Veil of Darkness lvl 8] [Death Ray lvl 1] [Purple Moon lvl 1] Passive Abilities: [Language of Aria lvl Max] [Ethereal Vision lvl 5] [Status resistance lvl 4] [Magical resistance lvl 1] [Physical resistance lvl Max] [??? Resistance lvl 1] [Ethereal Body lvl Max] [Self-Healing lvl Max] [Magical Restoration lvl 9] [Magical Efficiency lvl 9] [Magical Handling lvl 9] [Cause Terror lvl Max] [Essence of mana lvl 5] Titles: [Forsaken of Aria (Marked by the goddess Aria to be invisible for all the divinities)] [Blessed by Oslo] [Butcher (have killed more than 10000 living beings)] [Nemesis of Krieg] [Followed by Hades]" Let me see, no nothing changed. I really want all those things rted to magic to be improved, at least one more time. That way, maybe I will finally be able to cast that [Death Ray]. Otherwise, nothing changed. Hello God of Death. Just in case he is listening. Well, he should have probably fled after my first mental monologue. Why am I doing this? To not lose my sanity, being alone, lonely, I''m mister lonely, I''m so lonely. (Stop, please, your mental voice is giving me a nightmare. Especially the weird thing you are doing with your voice, why are you singing like that?) You wouldn''t understand, that''s the song. Never mind, just keep telling me what is happening during this battle where I can fight. Chapter 140: A Hero Trapped? Chapter 140: A Hero Trapped? A week now, and I still can''t leave this room. I gained 3 levels, but that''s not what I really want, I want more blood. Especially when I hear the reports of all my zombies describing the rivers of blood stagnating in front of the wall. Well, it is an infected blood, dirt, yellow or green sometimes, but blood in the end. Good news is, the collection of fresh blood from the dwarves was generous. Everybody who is an adult and not fighting had to give, except the pregnant women and the children. With this, I created more wraiths, because I have only 13 wraiths now. Two were destroyed in that week, a trap created by the ratmen. They were constructing a cannon when my wraith attacked the engineers. Who all immediately exploded. Killing my undead in the process. Another one was when he was hunting the assassins. The same thing, some kamikazes died in the process, but the damages were done. But the intensity of the battle is near zero those days. After the initial attack that was a disaster for Szar, during four entire days, humans, undead, dwarves, and ratmen fought on the ramparts of the Heart of the Mountain. In the end, 10 000 more casualties from our side, most of them being humans. But we killed nearly 500 000 ratmen. They had to throw all their ves just to pierce the defenses, but when that happened, only my undead were dying. And they are reced quickly by my 100 lich that are working permanently. So after all those defeats and useless death, the ratmen retreated and searched for an alternative way to enter. Fat chance again, the stone is hard as hell, they tried to dig but quickly abandoned the idea. They finally found the secret tunnels, but they are even harder to capture than the wall. What can you do when only two ratmen are capable of walking side by side and thousands of dwarves and zombies are expecting you? The answer is nothing, and the piles of dead ratmen are the proof. After that, the servants of Szar tried to just attack the rest of the mountains controlled by the dwarves. The thing is, I asked Oslo to scout those fortresses for me. And those two contain the entire army of the dwarves not located in the capital. And if they begin to attack those two fortified points, they will have to stay close to the walls. Because otherwise, the artillery from the capital is capable of destroying them from afar. Those two fortresses are also capable of attacking the ratmen army, but they are apparently conserving their ammunition in case of a siege. They don''t have the same stock as the capital, meaning that every shot will not be wasted. So after all of this, during two days, the ratmen are just trying to build more weapons and bring all their dark secrets hidden from their city. And that was the reason why I am creating more wraiths, because they are the only thing capable of harassing the enemy, besides the gyro-copters. -Ghost Sleek, what a happy surprise to see you here. Hum, I look around me. And I see Bori Longbeard, not wearing his armor. I guess that with the calm, he can rest. Most of the warriors are still on alert, but after two days, more and more are getting half a day to properly rest and eat. The battle exhausted everyone, even the dwarves, and their important vigor. I wave my hand at the formermandant of a fortress. He managed to survive this far, it is very good for someone sent to die and retard the enemy. -Greetingsmandant Bori. Do you have any idea when I will be able to leave this golden prison and maybe cast a spell or two? Heughs at myst remark. In truth, yes, I am very well protected. Besides the fact that I spotted an assassin managing to reach this location. And if I die, there is a lot of chances that all my undead will disappear. I am not 100 % sure about that, but seeing the consequences after the death of a lich, I am confident about that hypothesis. Therefore, my protection is more important than even the king. Without me, no spirits scouting the enemy position, nomunication betweenmandants thanks to the talking spirits. No zombies shield, weird creatures blocking the way, no wraiths to hunt the assassins. -You know very well why we can''t allow you to even leave this ce. First, the enemy doesn''t know your position. Then the king order SHLUMP CLUCK SRHUMP WHAT IS HAPPENING?!! OSLO!!! (Calm down, it is just Szar getting angry. Remember the arena where you fought the Prophet of Krieg. Wee back.) But why is he using this? It doesn''t make any sense, he doesn''t know that I am your Hero or even the Hero of Aria, so why is he attacking me? (In fact, I think he doesn''t care at all about you. What is extremely important, is the fact that all your undead are transported here. So, in the real world, they no longer exist. Meaning that now the ratmen will attack with your sudden disappearance.) So, he basically sacrificed his Hero, just to negate all the things granted by my undead. No more meat shield,munication, information, assassination. Damn, that''s a smart move. I really didn''t expect that. (Me neither, and with the sudden surprise caused by the disappearance of your undead, the ratmen will attack hard and fast. They need to destroy enough of the defences before youe back. Because let''s be real, the Hero of Szar is doomed to die. Even without a [Death Ray], just your wraiths are capable of killing it. How is your mana level?) 1763/2000, I was waiting for another wraith. I have 16 of them, my dozens of spirits and a horde of zombies. As for my lich, if they create a new zombie, will he be created in the real world? (Yes, whatever you will invoke here, the moment you leave, it stays with you. So let them keep focusing on the undead production. Now, to end this masquerade quickly, where this little ratman is hiding. Let me see, F*CK YOU SALAZAR!) Wow, that''s harsh, why are you so angry? (Because that bastard created a huge arena just to slow you down. Basically, the entire cave is the arena. How much did he sacrifice to do this, normally the arena shouldn''t be that big? Best I had done one time was 10 kilometers and the other god insulted me for doing this.) Let me guess, the same situation as Szar is in? (Yes, my Hero was a weakling in front of the other, but my army would have won without the intervention of both of them. So, I did that, my army crushed the other, and patiently waited for the arrival of the enemy Hero. Trapped, surrounded, he was crushed under thousands of arrows, swords, and spells. But an arena this huge, and with the natural ability of a ratman, it will be a pain in the ass to scan everything. Let me take care of this, you can roam around in the meantime. Who knows? Maybe you will be lucky.) I activate my [Veil of Darkness] and leave the fake audience room with number one. Outside, I can see my legions of zombies spreading in all the direction. With such a big army, most of the ground will be in sight. The only problem will be the hidden caves or tunnels that we don''t know. For hours, everyone is searching for a small ratman. I checked the exits of the cave, and as expected, they are the limits of the arena. So he can be anywhere, I see my spirits searching the ceiling if the ratman was brave enough to climb that. But still no trace of him. And we have no idea how long a minute here is in the real life. But Oslo assured me that it is always slower, not faster. If we manage to grab that vermin well hidden in less than a day, the damages won''t be that big. But after that, neither I or Oslo have a lot of hope for the dwarves. Mostly because they arranged their defenses while taking care of the zombies. And without them, a lot of things are either useless or too weak. Even after an entire day, we still didn''t manage to grab a single trace of that Hero. He is even better at hiding and retreating than me. That''s a first, but I am really angry now. I try to see what I can do, acid or gue, useless. Shadows are not covering enough ground; my moon will kill too much of my zombies. I still have my [Death Ray] that is totally useless. I look at my mana, full. Well, let''s try it, what can I lose? Bzzzt, Bzzzt, Bzzz- KRAKOW IT WORKED! Chapter 141: The Hero Trapped Chapter 141: The Hero Trapped I see huge and dark lightning leaving my hand and be directed to the ceiling. I didn''t point toward the capital of the dwarves since my zombies and lich are still present inside it, but I aimed above me. Normally, no spirits should be there, and yes, no one was present. Good thing. But that THING is huge. Just look at the size of that hole. That''s what I call a [Death Ray]. Is it the normal stuff, Oslo? (Why do you have this, seriously? Are the Nine Heavens punishing me for being that old? Do the youngsters truly need to have everything that I fought and sacrificed so much for? About your spell, let me have a minute for myself. I need to contemte on the massive joke that my life is.) C''mon, don''t be that hard with yourself. Oslo, it is fine, I am your Hero, remember? Oslo? OSLO? Damn, I suppose it is good enough to even make Oslo mad about its power. Let''s see once again what it did. Hole of 15 meters in size in something that is so hard to dig that even the ratmen gave up? Check. The potential annihtion of a single target? Check. Cool sound effects and light during the spell? Check. Yes, it is very important to have a style, otherwise, it is not as scary. Like this, just the sounds of those dark thunderbolts, it is probably loud enough to be heard from far away. And the rest, the chain lightning spreading from me toward my target. The power, the destruction caused, by this mighty spell. The final impact, tearing the ceiling apart, breaking the sturdy stones, digging a hole in it. Well, it did cost me a lot to do this. 62/2000 MP, but is totally worth. Nothing can stand against that spell and survive, besides a god or something with a very important defense. Maybe a dragon, but an old dragon, like one with scales harder than the stone surrounding me. (Ok, I am here. Finally, after all those years surviving and fighting, I realize one truth. The Nine Heavens are clearly messing up with me. Otherwise, there is no way that Hades that I watching this right now isn''t saying a single thing. Hello, the God of Death, wake up maybe? A Hero, is capable of casting [Death Ray] infinitely, it is not allowed normally? God of Death? C''mon, don''t tell me you are all a bunch of incap AHHHHHHHHHH) Oslo? Are you fine? What happened? (I am fine, just someone threatening to kill me. I will not say a name, just tell you that you know him. Apparently, they all find this very amusing. Aria shouldn''t have created your System in the first ce, but the moment they allowed it to be your gift as a Hero, it opened a door. Something they didn''t expect and absolutely don''t want to happen. Now, they are fixing it, meaning that anyone with a smart idea to do the same thing that you did will fail miserably. All types of System are forbidden permanently and every god found creating it will be exterminated.) So, it''s like Aria did something wrong, but thew never said anything about that, and now they are manipting thew to prevent anything simr? (Pretty much what is happening right now. As for Hades, he is watching you only to be sure that your System doesn''t mess up with their system of the Nine Heavens. Your next evolution for example. I have personally no clues about what you will get. You are already stronger than 99% of the Heroes across the worlds. So the next thing would be like a god, but you are not supposed to be able to be a god. Only a belief can create that thing, not the power of an entity. At that time, maybe you will face the Nine Heavens. Because, if you threaten them, they will be without merc C''mon, don''t be like that, I didn''t tell him anything relevant! What do you mean the Nine Heavens? It is to prevent him from doing something very stupi AHHHHHHHH!) Oslo? OSLO? (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) Well, apparently I can''t reach him. But looks like Hades decided that he was too friendly with me and said too much. No, still nothing, he cut his connection with me. But it looks like he is really in a lot of pain. Those gods are truly scary. I understand why Oslo told me to shut up and not joke about them. Even if Hades is just watch the God of Death, the Shepherd of the souls, Godfather of all undead, is just watching behind my back, and not doing anything else, I guess I have to be more careful. Problem is this interruption. Now, I still have no idea if my [Death Ray] is really the same that he got back in the Portal War. I guess it is close enough since he was really mad. And the second problem, my spirits are without any direction. Normally, Oslo is capable of monitoring them quite efficiently, I have to give him that. As for me, I am trying, but I feel like it is worse than when Oslo is controlling them. And I still can''t find that Hero of Szar. New day, no news of the two missing persons. For Oslo, I have no idea what is happening to him, and it is beginning to scare me. I really need him for a lot of things, like the powers and moves of Szar. And searching this small and coward ratman. Yes, I am cursing him to be a coward, and I have a big reference for that it is me. And now, why am I talking like that? Like I have an audience? Ah yes, the important and very powerful God of Death. Normally it is for Oslo to know what I am thinking. Now, I only have one person listening to my nonsense. Another day, no clues. After the test with my [Death Ray], I remembered the fact that I can create more undead that will survive the return to the reality. So more wraiths and more ground covered. But by now, all my spirits already did aplete scan of the arena and found nothing. Now would be a good time for Oslo toe back. How can a ratman escape my army and my spirits? I know only a few things. First, he is a ratman, Oslo is sure about that. Next, he is in the arena, Oslo confirmed that this time 100% sure, not like the previous thing. I mean, he said that most of Szar Heroes are from the ratmen, but a few times, he used other Heroes to create some dark rituals. But let''s assume he is a ratman. Final thing, I already searched everywhere at least once. Ceiling, underground, fortresses, tunnels, everything. Even the capital of the dwarves. So where is he, or, my zombies can''t see him? If it is that, it would make sense. My spirits never checked where my zombies where. And I know that my zombies can''t really see a lot of things,pared to my spirits. So, I guess I just have to search everywhere my zombies searched. Great, and with not even 50 undead capable of doing it. I count only my wraiths and my spirits. And me of course. We searched everywhere except the capital of the dwarves. But if he is inside it, I will seriously apud him. That ratman choose the best hiding spot. I would never have searched there since I came from there and my zombies are flooding the streets and houses. So we are doing everything, the pce, the underground tunnels, the houses. And finally, one of my spirits notice something weird. Guess where it is? I will give you one advice, it is somewhere I was locked in. Congrattion, he was hidden just next to my lich. Who are just a bunch of stupid and blind undead, seriously. He was under your stupid and destroyed noses the entire time. We lost three days because of this. Three entire days where none of my lich figured out that the shadows produced by the torch were not natural. Yes, strangely, the torches burned indefinitely. I will have to ask Oslo about that. But now, it is revenge time. I try to make my lich leave discreetly, but did I really thought that they could do this? Discreetly? The moment two of them moved, the shadow left the underground building. The good thing was my spirit following it from under the ground, invisible to the ratman. Soon, my wraiths began to encircle the moving target but still away from his sight. When the shadow arrived at the audience room, I was sitting on the throne. Because in this reality, there is no problem doing that. The ratman stopped after seeing me, visibly shaken. The arrival of all my wraiths leaving the ground put him in a dangerous position. But as I said, I apud him. Literally, sitting on the throne I do that. He is trapped, nowhere to go. My mana pool is full; my wraiths are surrounding the ratman. What can possibly go wrong? Chapter 142: True Power of [Death Ray] Chapter 142: True Power of [Death Ray] The shadow is still not moving in front of me. I guess he is too scared of my wraiths; they are so close that they could kill him in a second. But finally, he let down the mask and allows me to see his true form. I am a little disappointed, the reason? He is looking exactly like me when I was a gue Sorcerer. More or less the same clothes, the same exact bag, I am sure of that. As for his face, I can''t see it. I gesture him to remove his cloak, and he obeys me. Good ratman. Ok, now I am angry, he is clearly looking more terrifying than me. Why? I want a refund for the face! He is looking like a normal ratman, but I can see some green veins across his face. Looking like a living river of poison is inside him. As for his eyes, instead of red with a dark light, they are red with a green light. As for the rest, it is more or less the same, just the green veins make him really scary. Why didn''t I have something like that? Ok, I have to admit, if I had to remove that before meeting the dwarves, it would have been hard. But the style, you know, how bad you are looking. Right now I am trying to look less dangerous, but sometimes, looking dangerous is very good. Like during the assault of Atria, I was dangerous enough to scare anyone. At least, the humans. Because the ratmen are insensible to my [Cause Terror], maybe because they are already more scared of their god than me. Bunch of fanatics. -My master, the Poisonous One, the Treacherous God, Father of All Po -Yeah, yeah, I get it. Why do Heroes always have to praise their master? In the end, what separates you from a ve? Power? Direct connection with your God? A man chooses, a ve obeys! So, what are you? Do you choose, or do you obey? I can see the ratman getting angry after my little interruption. But it is true, the more I hear about and see Heroes, the more I think that they are enved. Sacrificed for a ritual, sentenced to die just to dy the arrival of the enemy Hero, obeying the orders from above. The moment they received the power from the power above them, they lost their freedom. -Don''t curse my master. Not even the one protecting you will be able to save you if you keep doing this. Whether he is from the Nine Heavens or not? About that, do you know the God of Death? Strange question, the god following me is normally Oslo, why do they question me about the wonderful and powerful God of Death? He is certainly very busy doing something else, he probably doesn''t have time to deal with weaklings like them. -Who are you talking about? Do you really mean the God of Death or a god of Death? Let''s say it more urately, Hades or not? Hoho, I got a reaction. The moment I say the name of the mighty god, the ratman instantly steps back. My wraiths aren''t attacking him, but he was very close to triggers a reaction from them. Apparently, either him or Szar, most likely, Szar himself, is very, very, very scared of the God of Death. Well, he is part of the Nine Heavens, so I don''t know why he dares to insult him. I mean, he nearly swore that he would kill me, even if this god was defending me. That''s an insult to me. -I''m sorry, I''m sorry, mighty God of Death, Father of all Undead. This one deserves his punishment. I''M SORRY! Hehe, looks like someone else get owned by this fellow. Second god in less than a day being attacked by him. I can see the ratman shaking on the ground, constantly apologizing. The thing is, you shouldn''t have said that in the first ce. No, your master will pay the price, as you will. I make all my wraiths leave the ratman and I leave the throne of Meldun. I walk toward him and begin to cast my [Death Ray]. The unfortunate ratman isn''t even capable of realizing that he will die in a few seconds. He is still shaking uncontrobly. Farewell, Hero of Szar. Bzzzt, Bzzzt, Bzzz- KRAKOW "The user has sessfully in the representative of a god; the god is: Szar" "The user can choose between four different spells that the representative possessed. Those four spells will be randomly " "Please cho" "Syste" WOW, what is happening? I should normally get my four spells, it is abnormal. And the System can''t even finish his sentences. Let me see my level, 21/35, great, hold on. 3/35? 94/35? STOP! RIGHT NOW! What is doing this? I see my levels keep changing and my stats ordingly. Sometimes I end up with 10 HP, sometimes 58976HP. Something is messing around my System, and I only see one thing capable of doing it. Looks like my days of happy holidays are over. But first, why am I still inside the arena, I already killed the Hero of Szar. Even the System said it. Something created by the Nine Heavens, of course, there is something weird in it. But what is the point of keeping me here? I can''t do anything in the meantime. My mana and HP are fluctuating too much, it is like I found a glitch, but instead of being an exploit, it is a true bug. One moment I can cast ten [Purple Moon] without a problem, the next, I can''t even create a lich. And without Oslo saying anything, I can''t even know what is going on. Well, since I have nothing to do, all my undead, search for an exit in the arena. I don''t have a lot of hope for that, but it is the only thing to do. I personally search for an exit too. But the barrier is still standing, even without an enemy to fight and kill. For now, the survival of those dwarves is thest priority in my list. First, I have to leave this ce. Then, find Oslo, and finally, understand why my System is broken like that. (Did you saved my humans?) Hold on, that''s not Oslo, I recognize that voice. Aria? (Yes, I am sorry for the misunderstanding between us. I am too weak now, thest thing that I saw was a terrible battle in the dwarf kingdom. But after that, I lost connection with everyone. I know that you are nearby, so, I am asking you, did someone survive?) First of all, if someone survived, he will be dead shortly. When I will reach them, I will annihte your precious subjects. As for the misunderstanding, next time you try to do that, be sure that you kill your target well. Don''t just throw him in a lichir and expect an undead to do your dirty job. As for right now, the precious System that you gave me is broken and not working as intended, but I am sure that you know that. Since the entire panel of gods is trying to prevent anything simr to ever happen again. (Yes, and the God of Death asked me to destroy your System. Or at least, prevent its usage. You won''t be able to do anything now, you are even weaker than when you attacked Atria. That''s what you receive when you are trying to kill a god. And I see you in your stupid arena, still stuck. Hades personally put a lock on it, you can''t breach it by any means in your possession.) Wait, you see me? You can''t, except if you (If I what, I am still a goddess, I cane in anything in my world. Even when I am weak like that. But don''t worry, they will probably release you, in thousands of years. But for now, I will watch you trying to escape with your zombies, wraiths and lich.) It''s over, I can only roam around this arena, with nowhere to go. I tried to pierce the shield but it is a failure. There is nothing that I can do. [Ethereal Vision lvl Max]. 60/60MP. I am far too weak. (See, that''s what is happening when you do bad deeds. I knew that you were a bad person in the first ce, so killing you is actually a good thing. I am d that the reflected spell killed you, it probably spared a lot of people on your.) You are right, I was never a good person. [Ethereal Vision lvl 1]. Maybe not a bad person, but a good person? 8000/8000MP. [Ethereal Vision lvl Max], [Magical Efficiency lvl 7]. GOT YA BITCH! [Death Ray] [Death Ray] [Death Ray]! Bzzzt, Bzzzt, Bzzz- KRAKOW (WHAT? HOW DO YOU SEE MMMMMMMMM) "The user has sessfully in a god; the god is: Aria." "Congrattion to the user, you have met the requirements to evolve. Please choose the evolution: 1- ???????? ?? ???? 2- ??????? ??? 3- ???????????" Chapter 143: ???????? ?? ???? Chapter 143: ???????? ?? ???? I killed her, hehehe, I killed her! FINALLY! HEHEHE, MWAHAHAHA! That was good, a good old evilugh to start a new life. As for my choices, no matter what I take, I will only choose between less "?" or more "?". So let''s take it randomly. For example, the first choice is three words, with the middle looking like an of, with only two letter, not a lot of words are matching it. The second choice is two words and thest is only in one world. As for what they are saying, no clues. Now, let''s take th (STOP! DON''T PICK ANYTHING!) Big voice, threatening tongue,ing from nowhere. My guess? The mighty God of Death in person. What a nice surprise, do you really need to do that much just for the poor and weak me? (Don''t try to reduce the threat you are representing. What was given to you should never have been created in the first ce. It was a mistake, made by a newly born goddess, and she paid the price for it. As for you, we have our way to see what happened. You were a true victim, something that no one could have predicted. Well, the usage of the [Mirror of God] was a mistake, and you had every right to be reborn as apensation. But what you asked was far too much. Now, know your ce, and don''t you dare to evolve. Otherwise, you will be at war with us, the Nine Heavens.) Is it supposed to scare me into submission? Or maybe you will need to threaten me more to do that? Because honestly, I have no grudges with you. You could have just let me walk, and I wouldn''t even have bothered you. I only attacked those that were attacking me or Oslo, why do you need to put your noses into our business. (Kekek, fine, your choice. Oh, by the way, don''t expect to see Oslo anymore. He survived too long, he is not as respectable as he used to be. Allying with something like you, he truly disappointed us. We can''t do anything to you in that arena, even us can''t do anything. So it is your final choice since you are so adamant at attacking us. You can stay here, patiently, and in a few thousand years, if we see that you are cooperating, we will allow you to live under certain conditions. Or, you can evolve, but at this time, the moment you leave this arena is the moment of your death.) Well, Hades, looks like we have nothing more to talk about. -Marc Cassidy chooses: ???????? ?? ????! "Systef bioqdkfsjdif " Damn, still broken. Let me see my attributes? ???????? ?? ???? "Attributes: Name:Sleek Race: Elemental ss: Manifestation of Death" Wait, it didn''t work. Let me try that again. -Marc Cassidy chooses: ???????? ?? ????! "Sijfsf sikfdji,fsk,f" YES! I FEEL IT! I AM TRANSFORMING! I leave the form of a ratman and turn into, something really disgusting. I can feel my arms and legs disappearing, turning into just a single entity. I am still partially ethereal, but at the same time, I exist in the real world. It''s like the scythe of my wraiths, something that I never managed to be. I don''t think I have a face anymore. I don''t think what I am can be called a body. I am just looking like a slime, would be the best representation. A pile of a living organism. I can create tentacles, feet, legs, arms everything that I want. I can be shaped as I order. I try to turn back into my previous form and I seed. I will stay like that for now. Just for the fact that I amfortable with it. But I can be suddenly three times bigger or four times smaller in less than a second. Turn into anything, a sword, a giant shield. But what are the purposes of that? I try to grab a stone broken in front of me. A tentacle leaves my body and grabs it, but the stone is instantly destroyed. Melted or just turned in to dust? I don''t know. But I can still order my undead, meaning that my System is working. "Aqsifn Naif: Ndfs" Ok never mind. Let''s forget about it, shall we? I have turned into something, that I don''t know what is it. I try to cast a [Death Ray], it worked. Even better than previously. Damn, the hole is now big, at least 50 meters in size. I try to cast another [Death Ray] working again. At the fourth, I stopped, wondering if I gained unlimited mana. I mean, I am something that even the Nine Heavens are fearing. Just wondering about something, I look at my titles. "Titzqp : [Jeifjci] [Ifisjfi sdi qsijkdijf] [Djfsjfij Okj Husdfn Heajsqiujd] " Just three titles? I mean, the first is gone because of the death of Aria. The second was Oslo, I guess he is gone too. Or Hades is no longer following me. But the fact that the System is crumbling in front of me is a huge problem. I can''t ess to anything; it is worse than when I first arrived on this. At least, back then, I knew that when I evolved, I gained ess to more things. Now, I have no idea if it will work again in the future. As for now, I try to get close to the barrier. Previously, I was incapable of destroying it. But now, when I get close, I can see something leaking from the invisible wall. My sight has been improved apparently. I touch the barrier, and I can feel that I absorb its power. I create more and more tentacles, to suck dry anythinging from that wall. After a minute, I can see the barrier beginning to crumble and be destroyed. I am strong enough to leech the power stored inside. So, I am now a closebat fighter? In truth, I have no idea, but what I know is the fact that after I leave this ce, the gods wille after me. I have to escape. Think of something, maybe I can create a portal. But I have no idea how to do this. And no idea where to go, think, think. I touch my immaterial head and scratch my forehead. And then I remember, I begin to examine it and I feel a connection to a ce far away. But no matter what I try, I can''t manage to approach it. Maybe the barrier is preventing it? The moment the arena is opened; I feel thousands of death sentencesing after me. Myriads of spells are flying, and the only thing I think is that ce supposed destroyed thousands of years ago. Please don''t be that destroyed. I instantly activate the spell and warp towards this dested. I look at my body and see no damages. On it is shining a dark skin and another one under it, more ck than the first. One is my [Veil of Darkness] but which one? I look around me and see nothing but death and destruction. The is just one giant desert, nothing is alive. I float above the ground, to see if there is a sign of civilization, but nothing is appearing. Pashkat, the former of both Oslo and the Agorians. Maybe it is far enough to let me breathe a little. I don''t think that the gods hunting me expected a teleportation to work. I have to thank you again, sorcerer-king. You guys are really the best friends possible. I keep manipting the System for hours, before realizing the truth about its fate. I am incapable of making it work. Nothing, the creation of spells, I tried to create a light, I can already do that, but I tried to create it with a specification. The System tried to register this action, but never acknowledged it. And therefore, I still have no ideas about what I gained. What I know is. I have a new body, capable of eating pure energy like it is water. I have at least two types of shield, my [Veil of Darkness] and something else. I am capable of casting [Death Ray] and creating undead. I have a huge mana pool, a really big one. And I am capable of teleporting across the universe or maybe farther. However, I don''t know if I need to know the location of the ce, or need a beacon, like the dark gem in my mind. As for Pashkat, I roamed the for a bit. I discovered the impact of the meteorite. And it is huge, probably bigger than the one that destroyed the dinosaurs on Earth. Yes, I think more about the asteroid than the potential volcanoes. My opinion not that anyone cares about it. I am still talking like that, even when no one is listening. No sarcastically sentences from a bored god, no stalkering from the graveyard. I am all al BOOOOM Not anymore apparently. Chapter 144: Sleek Fried Chicken Chapter 144: Sleek Fried Chicken Well, would you look at that? A pigeon flying above me. Well, not exactly a pigeon, but a birdman or whatever that thing is called. Golden wings, carrying a blue staff from where that attack came from. A pure, white and yellow robe, but letting his wings on his back unrestrained. What are you, a sky magician? -You vermin, you couldn''t have just stayed where you were and die nicely? Now, we are supposed to clean up your mess. The entire world of Astria is destroyed because of you, the world itself is fragmented. After that we searched for you everywhere, but who would have thought that it was in this deste ce that you were hiding? What is it for you? Your homeworld? So the dwarves died. Everyone died, the ratmen, the elves, the dwarves, the undead. I guess the multiple spellsunched against me were too powerful for the to survive. Such a shame. As for what this represents for me? Simple, death, destion. What will happen to the Nine Heavens now that they have failed to kill me the first time? I begin to cast a [Death Ray] when that shining bird counters me. He cast a spell, preventing me from attacking him. I have no idea how is it working, but there is like a cage surrounding me and preventing me to use my powers. After that, I hear him sing something and see in the sky numerous lighting toward me. Damn, I need to get out, teleportation? I manage to leave that cage and the iing spell. I turn to see what was the effect and what I see is truly terrifying. A rain of spears and arrows, made from light, piercing the ground and destroying it at the same time. If I was still there, I would have probably died. But the pigeon is surprised by the fact that I left his cage. Too bad he won''t be surprised for long. [Death Ray]! "The dsklodsk kdsofks kosdkqlq pfffl." The System is totally messed up, even with the sentences signifying that I slew a Hero. A roasted chicken falls from the sky. My deadly spell is far too powerful for a Hero to survive. Only a god will be able to do it, and even there I have a doubt. But I am curious because I can still see something leaking from the body. What is this? I approach andunch one of my tentacles on it. After that, I hear some fragments of discussions. (No he is dead, the ... stupid Hades, he cou wait for a second, what is no, no, get him off me ) Is it the connection between the pigeon and his master? And what happens when I try to follow it? I throw more tentacles on it, and I can absorb more and more powers. The voice in my head is getting weaker and weaker. I can even hear him beg for mercy. Well, looks lik Do I need to jump? Why am I feeling this? JUMP! CLONK A huge anchor crash right where I was standing. After that I see a colossal robot looking at me, in his mighty armor. The anchor begins to move towards the robot, there is a chain linking the two. What are those things, what do I need to expect after that? A dog wielding a sword defending the tomb of his master tainted by the Abyss? As for now, I need to deal with ZZZZZZIP Laser? More robots? Behind the colossal spacesuit, there is a smaller robot, with countless rocketunchers andser beams. Well, I got Pikachu and Snox, a greatbination. I have to dodge the countlessser and rockets throw at me while dealing with a living wall. I try to teleport behind the small robot, but he manages to do the same and put some distance between us. Are they Heroes or something created? If it is the first, that''s good, if it''s the second, I am in a lot of troubles. But I have to end this quickly. I can''t catch the small robot with my teleportation, but I have something else for that. [Purple Moon]. I see the little thing getting constantly attracted by my purple sphere, and he can''t dodge it in time. I don''t know how, but something from my spell is preventing him to teleport out of the range of the [Purple Moon]. Now, one will be out CLONK DAMN! THAT BIG ROBOT! He just threw his anchor to the small one, and he is saving him. Not for long, I activate my domain, filling the air with acid. I can see the chains getting destroyed slowly and steadily. But it is too slow, [Death Ray]! Blocked. Seriously, he has a shield? Why does he have a shield like that? Something capable of negating my most deadly spell. Well, try to dodge this, [Purple Moon]. Now, the two robots are in the attraction of two different purple spheres, tearing them apart. The big one is nearly insensible and not affected by either my acid or my other spell. But the chains of its anchor are getting really weaken, and now, I can even see a link being destroyed. Finally, the anchor gets attracted by the first [Purple Moon], and the robot grabbing it fly to its death. One down, just another to go. I hear the notification of the System, and quickly dismissed it, since it is just a bunch of vowels and consonants mixed together. But the other is extremely resistant. Even with the force of attraction, he is still standing still. And moving toward me. I can''t deal with him, he is too durable and strong. I go towards the body of the second robot and he was actually a Hero. That''s great, I leech the godly power out of him. However, this time, the connection is ended more quickly than the first. Right before the end, I only hear the god saying farewell to the one is was talking with. Did hemit suicide to not let me absorb his power? And then, what am I? What did I be? My second [Purple Moon] ended and the colossal robot charged toward me. This time, I use two [Purple Moon] to stop himpletely. After that, no matter what I try, I can''t scratch its armor. He is indestructible, seriously, I have no way to damage that. But he is immobilized for a long time, let me try something. Iunch dozens of tentacles thatnd on him. Then, I directly absorb the godly power while he is still alive, or at least active as a robot. I can see him trying to break through, but what can you do against two moons? By the time my spell end, a lifeless body falls to the ground. Already three Heroes are dead, but that was the closest. I need more. And they can probably destroy this too, seeing how many people died trying to fight me. I need to leave this, but I can''t. I have no idea where to go. The first god, his connection was not forcefully broken. I reach the roasted pigeon, and as expected, I can still feel the god behind him. It gives me a new location, the thing that I instantly use. Look out new world here Ie. Brave, intrepid, and then some. I arrived in a world untouched by war. A world of innocence, a world of lush forest and clear rivers. I really just want to destroy it. I can feel near me and all around my location the faint power of that god. I don''t know why, but it smells delicious. Just by sniffing it, I can already see that I absorbed a lot of that thing. I guess that should be the reality of the blessings given by the god to that world. I roam for a few hours, rampaging and absorbing everything in my road. I end up near a vige with more of those pigeons. They are all smiling, visibly happy. Not knowing that their Hero is dead and that he really angered me. Not knowing that their god decided to save himself and condemn them. I will aplish his will. Not using my spells, just in case, I enter by the front door. At first, the warriors of the city are encircling me. Then I see someone wearing nearly the same clothes as the one that I already fried. Maybe less golden and more white. They are talking but, first, I don''t care, then, I don''t understand a single word. All I hear is some squeaks. Noisy birds. They are still threatening me, but I can see on the face of the white pigeon the same smug face that the Hero was wearing. Like they are the best in the world, invincible, strong and worshipped. He is the first that I attack with my tentacles. His entire face is destroyed by it, and his headless body falls to the ground. The warriors are too shocked to react and follow the same fate. Afterward, I kill every single living being in this city. When nothing is flying, I begin to follow the path where the condensation of blessings is the strongest. To the next vige probably. Chapter 145: Following the Trace of a God Chapter 145: Following the Trace of a God As I keep leeching the ambient power lingering around me, I notice theck of attacks. It has already been three days that I am here, destroying and killing all of those birdmen. But no Heroes in sight, no huge army from the god in charge in sight either. It looks like I am safe for now. I never used my spells once since I arrived here. And I don''t think that my teleportation is a spell, more like a passive ability. Like the former [Sneaky-Sneaky], something permanently possible but not needing an action from me. Because, I keep thinking when I was encircled by that cage made of light, before the devastating rain of arrows. The pigeon looked baffled by my movement, even after he prevented me to use any spells. I tried, on the moment, I am certain that I tried to use my domain or even [Death Ray]. But I was unable, how, I have no idea? Only the System can answer me about all the wonderful things that I can do now. However, it doesn''t look better than before, still numerous ??? or even nonlogical words. Like wahdox, what does it mean? And I really looked a lot, looked at everything. At first, I was like, maybe it is a code, like a for c, b for d. That it was not random, but a conversion. In truth, it is totally random. Some spells that I know where they are or have a good chance of knowing where they are don''t make sense. For example, [Create Acid]. I can still do it when I think about it, acid is leaking from my hands. And normally, it is in the first ce. Then, [Create gue] I don''t know, but I never managed to see that spell. Maybe if something can THOMP Oh, the corpse of a bird. I guess that my gue is working. Then, that would mean that those two spells are the first two. Logical. But, the first have kskjifk for the word create, the second has pqmdl for create. They don''t even have the same number of letters in it. And the letters are all random. So I discovered potentially three additional spells. And I say potentially because maybe I lost something. At least before I had 12 boxes, now I have 15. Let me see that first. [Deadly Shadows], working. [Nightfall], hum. Domain already tested, acid and gue done. Orb, let''s see, yes, still working. [Raise Undead], I create the most basic spirit and I see my familiar blue spirit. [Blood Touch], I have the corpse of the bird in front of me. I can see the blood floating toward me, that''s great. [Purple Moon] and [Death Ray] have already been used in the battle before. And I know that my shield, the [Veil of Darkness] is active, with another one. So, three new things, one is probably the second magic shield. Another one is the teleportation, seems fair. As for the third, I have not a single clue. And I can''t think about all the different spells that I know. As for the spell creation that I loved, broken, can''t use it. The System can recognize that I created a spell, but won''t end his process, being cut in the middle each time. It''s like you are paying something, and when you give the money to the seller, the money disappears. So, once again, you try to give the money, but it never reaches the seller. As for the passive, I don''t know, I never remembered all of them previously and I will never My curses. Damn, I forgot about that spell again. [Cursed Winds]. Eh? [Cursed Winds]! Not working? Seriously, the spell that each time I forgot, disappeared? Well, not a big deal, so I really gained something. Good, because if all I got was just the teleportation, it would have been so bad. Wait, no, that means I gained two things unknown. Because, I had three more active skills, meaning, with the loss of the curse, I gained 4 new active skills. That''s great, another thing I have no idea how to use it. With my race and ss still shrouded in mystery, I can only theorize what I became. I am partially ethereal and partially material. Meaning, maybe still an elemental, but something better than just Death. And I can see the godly powers directly with my own two eyes. I am capable of morphing my body as I wish, and the contact with my tentacles is deadly. I can absorb magic and life out of anything alive. And right now, I look like a dark ghost, shaped as a ratman. But that''s because I want it that way. Otherwise, I look like a small pond of garbage, something sticky and slimy. Something no one wants to touch at all. I know that evolving from a rat and then a ratman won''t allow me to have a pretty face or a beautiful body. But something better than a weird slug? Because, I look more like a slug that has been crushed, yeah, that would be a better analogy. Garbage isn''t alive, normally. Anyway, right now, I should be near the capital of those birds. How do I know that? In truth, I don''t know. Just predict that. I have been following the trail of blessings, and right now, that stuff is good. Like really good, a lot stronger than before. And maybe the fact that from far away you can see the city in the sky. Big, huge city, in the sky. How did they manage to build something on the clouds? I don''t know, but from the look, it is working. Maybe the air doesn''t have the same density on that. Anyway, wondering how I can travel that huge distance? I am still moving like a ghost, floating is easy. Unfortunately, my new friends are not happy to see me. But they are all very surprised, no one ever saw a ratman before. And I decided to forget the small modification that I did to please the dwarves. Now, I look even more terrifying than the Apostle of Szar, in fact, I am shaped as him. He is the scariest ratman I ever saw, so, it is normal that I use him onest time. Honestly, the security is very tight near this city. I didn''t even float for more than 10 seconds before random guard number one and random guard number two fly toward me. Once again, squeak, squeaks, squeaking. They can tell me that the bar is closed, I wouldn''t even know. The news of my arrival probably never reached their ears. Logical, when everyone was already dead after I left the destroyed towns. The best that they can know is the fact that they lost contact with everyone in this region. -Squeak squeak squeak, SQUEAKING! Squeak, squeaking? See, that is what I am hearing. Now that I think about that, how did I understood the pigeon that attacked me? That''s weird, they are probably from the same race and even the same people. So they should speak the samenguage. Let me concentrate a bit and -squeak squeak will kill you if you don''t leave this ce? Do you hear? He truly doesn''t understand us. -He is probably lost; did you ever saw something like that? Is it dangerous? He is nearly invisible sometimes and there is that, no, wait, those two dark things surrounding him. Is he a bad guy? -Hello, DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME? Are they taking me for a stupid creature? You know that by shouting and articting, it does nothing? Seriously, guys, if I didn''t understand a word before, shouting won''t fix the problem. Either you know some words of anguage, or you don''t understand anything. But the good thing is the fact that I can understand them. I really have no idea why; maybe because I concentrate on that? Ok, it is possible, since, from the beginning, I just saw them as a bunch of chickens and I didn''t even bother to hear them and tried to understand what they said. -What will happen if I try to touch him? -I don''t think that''s a good idea, he looks dangerous. Look at his eyes, they arepletely red. That''s a bad sign. -C''mon, I just want to turn him, look, I do it slowly, and steadily. There, I hit the air? Wait that''s the dark thing, the first one. Now, I slowly try to turn him and He won''t move. -What do you expect, he doesn''t understand what we are saying. And maybe he wants to go somewhere and we are blocking him. I mean, it is weird that he doesn''t recognize us since we are the strongest on that. Maybe he is part of the underworld? -Maybe C''MON . MOVE Can you help me, please? I can''t even make him move. Hey, what is th Ok, they won''t talk about more, both have their heart pierced by my tentacles. They know that they are the people of the god and they talked about an underworld. That''s enough. Farewell, random guards. Chapter 146: A Very Small Universe Chapter 146: A Very Small Universe More and more of those birds areing after me while I keep floating toward the sky. At first, they don''t notice the corpses that have crashed on the ground, but as I get closer, they ask more and more questions. No one raised the rm and all my kill were silent. Someone can even consider me as a silent assassin here, even if a lot of coteral kills are happening. Or not, since everyone is my target. When I am only at a little more than a kilometer away from the city in the cloud, I get surrounded and stopped where I am. That''s not a patrol of two or three guards, no that''s an impressive one. Twenty warriors, one of those magicians in white. They look surprised to see me, they were probably leaving to aplish a mission or something. Not too big, but still enough to require all of those people. As the rest of the guards, they ask me questions, about my identity, my race, my intentions. And my answers were exactly the same, unless, this time, I was visible from the rest of the city. When all of those bodies began to fall, I hear a scream from far away. There, I see a guard rapidly pping his wings to fly away, not caring at all about what will happen. The other is still screaming while pointing at me. I use an orb of acid to shut the noisy squeaking from his beak. But the damage is done, soon, more and more areing toward my position. They see the fleeing and panicking guard, but the space around me is empty. The bodies are on the ground, and the guard melted entirely. Just a simple ghost floating here, totally inoffensive. But they are cautious and don''te near me, they arm their bows and begin to sing something. Too bad, I wanted to eat your life. Well, I guess killing you and gathering your blood will be enough. I float toward them slowly, wanting to see the power of my two shields. I am certain that the first is my [Veil of Darkness] and I want to see how strong it is. As for dying, I don''t think that it will be easy, especially against such weak beings. Three Heroes tried to do that, and none of them seed. As expected, they have the brain of a bird but are not that hopeless. When I keep getting closer and ignoring their demands, they fire at me, only a few at first. But when they realize that I didn''t slow down and even receive any arrow, they all shoot their deadly projectiles. I can see a rain of arrows getting negated by my [Veil of Darkness], not even creating a crack in it. No, they keeping, getting the arrowheads destroyed in the process, with the wood part falling because of gravity. After seeing the efficiency of such a thing against me, they all begin to flee, following the example of the first guard. Only the mages are staying, but they are all scared. I expect the white cage and the divine judgment to fall on me. Instead, I get something looking like a fireball but being made of light, like a lightball? Is it a thing? Anyway, something like that, but blue and another one white. They keep firing those two spells, nothing else. I am really disappointed; it should be a huge city. Clearly, the concentration of blessings here is important, and even before I really attack the city, there are dozens of magicians surrounding me. But they can''t even break my first dark shield. I have no idea if their spells are deadlier than the arrows because both are doing nothing visible on my [Veil of Darkness]. In the end, I am getting bored and just teleport in the middle of all of them. Spreading my tentacles on everyone and draining everything from their lifeless body. Ah, feeling a lot better. They are the real agent of this god, they are loved, that''s for sure. And I keep approaching the city but feeling that something is off. Why? More of those pigeons? They are not a problem. What did I do I used my orb of acid. Stupid me. Well, that''s a way to see if they are capable of finding me because of my spells. But I have at least a few hours before anyone arrived. Let''s see how much I can eat here. The answer was a lot. I spent 3, maybe 4 hours hunting everyone in the vicinity. The first ten minutes, I annihted a building looking like a temple, but that was filled with those magicians. When they saw that they were losing, it was a nightmare to catch all of them. Their wings are really effective to flee away. As for the rest of the city, the normal citizens, same thing. Surprise allow me to kill a lot of them, but when they start screaming and flying away, it is bothersome. I know some managed to escape, it was not a small vige as before. But I think I did a good job. After that, I found an even stronger trace of the god ruling this world. Maybe that will be the real capital. I didn''t use any of my spells during the massacre. To see if they can find me with only one acid orb. For now, I have nothing stalking me, my spirit is above me, doing a circle around my position. I ask him to warn me about anything that is not looking like a huge pigeon. He found different types of birds, but they were clearly living on this. However, at one moment, he found something that both made meugh and surprised me. A group of human, where one managed to turn into a rock. Guess who I found on this? Maybe he will be able to tell me more about the current situation with the Nine Heaves. In the end, only a god can really know and understand this. As for why should he tell me, well, I did kill his Prophet. And all his forces on Astria. But now, I am sure that I will be very persuasive. We trail that group of hybrids, without them notice. Of course, at one time, I was really scared. They encountered a horde of wolves, bad and big wolves. With two heads, bigger than a bear from the Earth. Honestly, if those wolves were present on Astria, I would have been so dead when I left the undead cave. As for the group of humans, they all died, except one that fused with the ground and the one turning into a rock. I guess the other didn''t have a way to hide. After that, I had to wait a lot of hours before they were not scared to leave their hiding spot. If I had lost them, I would have never found out the base of Krieg on on the name of this. I don''t know about it. Let''s call it Birnd. The base of Krieg on Birnd. It took five days for the humans to reach it. Too much ground to cover. Maybe their base is well hidden, but when your sight can pierce the ground, it is quite visible. Especially the permanent movementing from the ground. So, I found it, what should I do now? Destroy everything? No, why Krieg will help me if I do this? In the end, since they probably can''t kill me, I just walk in by the front door. Scaring everyone by my presence. But I don''t know if they are too terrified to do it, or maybe smart enough to understand that I won''t hurt them immediately, but no one attacked me. Not even a tentative. So, I float across the corridors, following the normal path. Except for the fact that I bypass all the locked doors. And I arrive at the bottom of the underground base, where someone looking very simr to the Prophet is sitting on a chair. I know he can''t be the Prophet since I killed him a month, two months? Some time ago. Maybe he is called the Prophet, but he doesn''t have the power of Krieg yet. Would have been really bad for me if I had fought a fake Prophet on Astria. No [Blood Touch], my life would have been very grim. As for the human in front of me, he is shaking. I don''t think it is because of me, but because Krieg told no, it''s because of me. He can''t speak to Krieg right now, so I have to make him do whatever he needs to do that. -I need to speak to Krieg right now, no, I am not with you, if you slow me down, I will make sure that no humans leave this ce alive. Now that we made that very clear, what do you need to exactly to open a conversation with Krieg? Chapter 147: Missing one Ingredient Chapter 147: Missing one Ingredient The human looks really terrified. He probably didn''t expect me to arrive here without any trouble. I mean, I have my spirit scouting everything for me. The spirit that I created on, wait, not on Birnd. That was on Pashkat? Did I create another one after that? Let me think a bit after the three Heroes arrived, I tried all my spells. There I created the spirit and thought of teleporting to this. Did I bring him with me? And therefore, the only spell that I used was that one and only orb of acid. So I can''t create another spirit, or I need to take a risk. I hate the risk. But I will have to do that anyway since I don''t know how they are capable of finding me. While the false prophet is still shaking, I create another spirit that I hide in this ce. To act like a beacon. And finally, he is calm enough to speak. -Why, why do you want to talk to my master? He is the Blood God, Ruler of the Ashen n -Shut up! I know that, can you just say yes or no? You know very well what will happen if you pick theter. I hear the human swallow, provoking a pretty noisy sound. He is not used at getting threatened by a ghost, apparently. But I can see him think a lot, probably to remember all he needs for that ritual. After a dozen seconds, he nods at me and begins to recite a list ofponents. I raise my hand instantly since I have no idea of what he is talking about. -Ok, I don''t understand a single word of what you said, just tell me one thing. Is it possible to find it in a city controlled by the pigeons? -Pi-pigeon? What is this thing? Oh, I forgot that he probably doesn''t understand that word, like me. And I don''t know how they are really called, let''s just call them birds, I have to try that. -The birdmen, birdpeople? The thing with wings, a beak and are like you but with feathers. -Oh, them. They are the Children of the God ruling this, their names are -I don''t care; I don''t n on letting them leave long enough to use this. I just need to know if what you told me can be found in one of the cities in the sky. -But-but that''s madness. Those cities are heavily defended; you will not stand a chance against them. Even if there is a good chance that most of the ingredients can be found in one of their temples, it is still pure folly. We will not even be able to reach those clouds, and I am not talking about all the He finally stops talking, since I was looking at him very intensely. Maybe he realized why I talked about them because I can see the fearing back in his eyes. Yes, I already destroyed one of those cities, that''s why I am talking about. But when I searched those temples, to find the magicians, I found a lot of things. That I have no idea of what they were, and I didn''t need them. So, I have to carry him with me. But I have a small problem. Well, not a huge problem, but a small one. How can I make him follow me? I can''t grab him, otherwise, he will just die. I create a spirit shaped as a transparent cloud, to use it as a transport. Now, I can create whatever I want without any problem. After that, I point at the cloud. -You want me to ride this? But, how is it supposed to carry me, it looks so frail. -Just jump on it, I don''t have a lot of time. Don''t make me lose patience. After that, he immediately executes my order and jumps on the cloud. I destroy all the locked doors blocking his way since he can''t travel through them like me. And in front of all of his men that are petrified, we fly away. This time, instead of doing slowly, by tailing a group of two scared men, we rush immediately to the city in the sky. The ruins are still the same, and I don''t see anything out of the ordinary, or something capable of hurting my weak package. After that, we arrive at the temple, where the bodies have all rotten. The false prophet looks at me with his big eyes, but I quickly bring him to the room where I saw the multiples ingredients. In that storage room, I can see him jump in delight, in front of all the stuff gathered. He tells me numerous names, things that are very rare or nowhere to be found by the servants of Krieg. Of course, he doesn''t forget the main reason, and if I allow him to take whatever he wants, he still has to bring what I need. Unfortunately, his bag is too small, but we found another way. He put everything on the spirit shaped as a cloud, and like that, the room bes nearly empty. He looks really happy about all the stuff that he is bringing, but when I ask him if it is enough, he quickly begins to shake. That''s not what I want to see. -Mi-mighty being, there is a small problem. -Speak now, or you will never have another chance. I waited when you picked stuff irrelevant to me. But now, I have the feeling that you haven''t told me all I needed to know. -Gulp, no, that''s not it. I told you everything, just, it seems we are missing a little bit of something. I found a heart of a dragon, but, he was partially destroyed. It is not enough for what we will do, so if you could just -JUST WHAT? Kill a dragon and bring his heart? Do you have any idea how am I supposed to do that? Do you know where the dragons are living? -Actually, I know that. Oh, that''s great. If he told me that he didn''t know, I would have really made him suffer a lot. But that was not his fault, so, I am a forgiving god, a merciful one. I will just forget this regrettable incident and go hunt those dragons. But why is he not talking? I look at him, but he keeps his mouth shut. Are you a moron? You just told me that you knew where they are living, so just say it! -So -But there is another problem. There we go. I was wondering why he didn''t talk. You truly have 5 seconds, before I kill you. 4, 3, 2. -The dragons are living far away, in the North; it is a very long travel. And for that, you will have to bypass the capital of the mighty Pigeons. And I am sure that you can do that, but the heart has to be conserved in a fresh state, he can''t be allowed to rot. So, after you kill a dragon you have to immediately co -Yeah, yeah I got it. North, just onest thing, where is the North? He looks at me with a nk face. I mean, yes I am powerful and all that, but my sense of orientation was never good in the first ce. I remember being lost in the desert. Without Oslo to guide me, it is a miracle that I haven''t forget the way toe back to this city. After seeing him search for a few seconds, he points at a direction. I wave at him, and after he jumps on the cloud, I order it to go back to the base. As for the fresh heart, it will not be a problem normally. I just have to teleport when I find it and with my beacon, it will be easy. No, the hardest thing will be to locate one of those dragons. I have my spirit above me telling me everything, but its range is not that far. But first, I have to find the capital of the pigeons. Funny that the prophet told it that way, probably too scared to say anything that would be a contradiction with what I said. Therefore, the unknown race became the pigeons. That''s a good name. I go in the direction that was indicated, and I find that the flow of blessings is very strong. That was the same thing that I felt previously, before finding the group of hunters. And I was right, it does lead to the capital of Birnd. Shame that they will probably expect my visit, even after nearly a week away. I mean, I have no idea how fast those birds are flying and how many kilometers are between the two cities in the clouds. If it is only the local citizens, that will be fine. But if a Hero or two decide to join the fray, I guess I will just need to change my location. Maybe I will end up in Fisnd after this? Who knows? Chapter 148: Dragon Heart Chapter 148: Dragon Heart -Get him, don''t let him pass our wall! -He is too powerful we can -There is nothing capable of hurting him! -Look the -You will die from the hands of They kepting, over and over again. No matter what I am doing, they are neither surrendering or fleeing. A flock of birds, seeking their impending death. Even against thousands of those people at the same time, my [Veil of Darkness] is still strong. Only a Hero can really hurt me, or the spells granted by a god. As for their white lightballs and blue lightballs, they are far too weak. I keep crushing and killing everyone getting close to me, like a ghost reaping their lives. Right now, the previous thousands and thousands of guards are all dead, sucked dry of their lifeforce and all have fallen to the ground. Facing me is the rest of the magicians and the elite warriors. I will call them knights since I have no idea what is their names. But, they have clearly aplete armor and magic weapons, looking like the one that the human general, Borin I think, had. Not at the same level as the ones created by the dwarves, but still very impressive. If they can truly use it. Because, no matter how they tired, my tentacles are far too quick for them. And the moment they make contact with a living being, they instantly kill it. The only creature that manages to survive for more than a few seconds was the impressive colossal robot, back on Pashkat. Even under dozens of tentacles, he survived for a long time. As for those knights, death is what they receive when one of my tentacles touches them. I create a shield of those, surrounding me and constantly moving. Letting no one capable of approaching me. But I discovered something. My two shields are not covering the extended tentacles, and during the battle, especially against those knights, I have lost quite a few. Tentacles, I am talking about them. Their weapons are capable of cutting them, and at first, I was scared. But then, I realized that I didn''t suffer anything after that. I don''t know if it is like the [Blood Form] of the Prophet of Krieg. Something that barely affects the user, unless it is done thousands and thousands of times. And without letting the user absorb anything. The problem for them is, while they can destroy one or two tentacles, the hundreds of others are killing the rest of them. Not like in the arena, where I was hurting the blood monster without giving anything in exchange, they are trading something that I don''t care for the lives of theirpanions. That''s a very good trade, for me. But I have to respect their devotion and strength, they all fight until the end. When thest magician was out of magic and tried to hit me with his wand. When the sky was finally silent once again. As for the city, I just float through it. If someone was stupid enough to stand in my way, he died. If they just fled a little farther they lived. I don''t have time to do this, I don''t know how the System is working anymore. I have no idea how many people do I have to kill if I have to kill anything. I don''t know if leeching all the power from the numerous gods will help me. I have no idea how everything is working anymore, and that''s why I need to speak to Krieg. He is the only one that I know and someone that is old enough to understand what is happening right now. Honestly, if I found a race created by Szar, I would have done the same thing. It''s just that with a good luck, I found Krieg, someone that was very nice to me. I mean, he allowed me to gain [Blood Touch], and gain a lot of levels. I have to thank him for his participation, even if hi servants tried to kill me. I attacked them first, I have to admit that, unlike Szar that just tried to kill me after I destroyed the ritual from his djinns. Hum, ok, maybe it was my fault too. And the second prince was a nice fellow. Well, everyone is dead, why am I remembering this? To think of something nice, instead of doing a mental conversation with myself? Probably. I am finally out of that city, and still going in the same direction that the false prophet indicated. I just hope that he was right about those dragons because if he wasn''t precise enough, I don''t want to be like I was in the desert. Totally lost once again. At least the weather is nice here. For two additional days, I float toward the North or what I think is the North. If only I had apass or something like that. Because the sun is rising in front of me and is descending in my back. Maybe what they call North is what we call West on Earth? But still no trace of dragons. I find something looking like a dragon, but not really one. A huge worm with wings, and when I say worm, like a real worm. He has ten wings, but I don''t think it can be called a dragon or something simr. But it is huge, like 50 meters in size. He tried to eat me and actually managed to do that. I was surprised, I didn''t think that he will attack me. In the end, after piercing his stomach with a [Death Ray], I left him slowly dying with a big hole in his body. I saw a huge army of birds, flying creatures and a sort of flying shark rushing toward the worm and enter inside him. He will be devoured from the inside, that''s what you get by attacking me. Otherwise, I think that his skin is strong enough to resist anything and he should be one of the strongest species on Birnd. But that short break didn''t help me find a dragon. And during that time, I thought that maybe what we are calling dragon is not the same thing. Damn. I put my spirit here and begins to teleport toward the spirit in the base of Krieg. After that, I float toward the chamber of the false prophet. Once again, he is terrified and shocked. -What is your definition of a dragon? -What? What Ah, like the pigeon I understand. It is a creature with scales, you know what is a scale? Something that a snake has for example? I nod my head. Yes, we have at least the snake, and scales that are the same definition for both of us. -Then, a dragon is like a huge snake with wings. But he has 2 legs and 2 arms. He is very long and can breathe fire. Ok, I think I get it. It is like the Chinese dragons, or the sea dragons, big in length. I disappear in front of the human and reappear where my other spirit was located. Now, I have to find something like that. That big worm was not a dragon; it was just a giant flying worm. After that, I keep searching and searching but find nothing like that. I was attacked by multiple creatures, sharks, eagles, big monsters looking like a pterodactyl. But they all died, I didn''t want anything to slow me down. My tentacles were enough to prevent them from eating me. Well, seeing all the threats in the sky, maybe the dragons are smart and prefer to stay on the ground. With their wings, they can still fly away in case of a problem. Then, I fall down under the sea of clouds and begin to inspect the ground. At first, I only see terrible creatures, but nothing like a dragon. Huge snakes yes, but normal snakes, without legs or arms. They were eating the corpse of the pterodactyl that I killed. After another day, I finally find a cave, with eggs inside. I waited a bit, hoping that the eggs were those of a dragon. And my prayers were answered when mom or dad dragon came back. I kill him, create a spirit capable of carrying his heart and then order him to collect it. After seeing my spirit incapable of piercing the hard scales, I create a wraith to do this. A few minutester, I have a perfectly fresh heart of a dragon. Then, I teleport all of my spirits to the outside of the base of Krieg. I don''t want my heart to be teleported in the ground like I was. It would have destroyed it. After that, we enter once again, by the normal way, and find my new friend, the prophet. That looks at the heart with still some blood on it. My spirit drops it into his hands, and after that, I look at him. He is scared, but not terrified like he his dead. Great, that means he will be able to do what I want. Chapter 149: Talking with a God Chapter 149: Talking with a God I patiently stay in his room while he is coordinating with his men. Apparently, it will take them a few days to assemble everything together. In the meantime, he said that he will just let me do as I want. Since he clearly told me that he doesn''t want to see my terrifying face, I will not stay here doing anything. I moved away and hunted everything that I saw. Casting [Death Ray] and [Purple Moon] everywhere. They are a lot stronger than when I was just a normal elemental of Death. I already noticed it when I was fighting the three Heroes, but now, I realize how strong those spells are. The most noticeable is the [Purple Moon]. Before, I could just create it and hope that it willst long enough. Now, I can control the purple sphere as I wished. The only reason it didn''tst long enough when fighting the colossal robot is that of me. Now, I can maintain it for dozens of minutes, make it form a circle of destruction without breaking a sweat. Not that I sweat, I think I don''t do that for a very long time. Maybe even when I was just a normal rat. Anyway, now, I can have a near-permanent control over the battlefield surrounding me. I mean, what can you do when you have multiple spheres destroying everything and attracting people to their death? As for the fact that maybe they will find me, it would have already been done by now. So, either they are really blind or they found me because of something that I can''t know. Either way, seeing the full extent of my skills, I am confident about dealing with some Heroes, if they are not in an army. After trying to not be bored during the wait, my spirit finally informs me that the ritual is near itspletion. He can feel something not part of this world arriving. Looks like they truly did what I asked, you will be spared for that. I can''t just go everywhere and kill everyone, right? Someone has to be alive to tell the tales. And this time, Krieg will be the happy chosen for that task. Get it, chosen, his Chosen. Stop doing that myself. I really miss Oslo right now. Not for his utility and his knowledge but for talking to someone. Well, at least I will have Krieg for that. When I arrive in the room, I can see the prophet looking at me weirdly. What, do you really expect me to note seeing the result of what I asked? But except his eyes, he is entirely concentrated on the ritual. I can hear him sing something in a strange tongue, not the way he talks usually. After that, I can see something opening on the blood pond in front of him. Some ripples are appearing, even when the ground is perfectly stable. More and more, until the pond is shaking. But while the blood should just leak out because of the movements, it is always stopped right before exiting the circle. The singing is louder and louder until suddenly, everything stops. I can see the prophet fall unconscious, but he is not dead. Just unconscious, probably didn''t expect the ritual to consume that amount of stamina or mana. As for me, I can hear somethinging from the pond. But it is too weak. I try to inject my mana in it and not absorb it like I normally do. After minutes of doing this, finally, I can hear a distant voice. It is audible and that''s good enough. As for the mana lost, I don''t feel a single thing. Either I have my body doesn''t have a reaction or the amount that I gave was just too low. I am certain that I could have cast dozens of [Death Ray] with that. -Who dares to call me, the Blood God, Destroyer of Worlds, Ruler of -Yeah, yeah, I get it. Hi, it''s me. -WHAT? NONONONONO, GET AWAY FROM ME! Looks like he recognized me. Great, and apparently he is not happy to see me at all. He dropped the act of the mighty god quickly than I expected. I guess I am even more terrifying than what I thought. -So, Krieg, there is this small problem that I have with the Nine Heavens. And right now, I don''t really understand what is happening. So, I have a few questions, and you will answer them, would you kindly? First, where is Oslo or is he dead? Next, what am I? Finally, can you get me the coordinate of another world? -Yes, as you wish. Just don''t kill me please, I have barely 1562131 years, I am too young to die. -SHUT UP! ANSWER ME NOW! -OK! Oslo is dead, after seeing what happened to you and how you destroyed the Heroes sent to kill you, they decided that Oslo was a traitor. By now, he should already be removed from this universe, all of his believers dead. I heard that you are his Hero, but you are not a believer, or at least not a real one. So, he should be dead. I remember this discussion when he talked about how I believed in Aria. He said that believing and believing were two different notions, from his point of view and mine. I guess it is still true, so, I was not good enough to make him survive. Otherwise, I should have been able to contact him by now. Seeing me lost in my thoughts, the voice stopped talking but when I stare at the pond, Krieg immediately continues. -As for what you are. I can''t say it. If someone hears me, I will be dead like Oslo. You are something that should have been destroyed when the Nine Heavens were created. Please, don''t force me to say that name. -Fine, let''s see how you react to that. The pond is acting like a link toward Krieg. I begin to absorb the power in it, and I can hear him groan and suffer. At first, he is still unyielding, but when there is nearly nothing left, he finally surrenders. He should have just taken the easy road instead of making things difficult for him. -See, that''s what I am talking about. You are a race that was capable of seeing us as we really are. Sheer energy created from the beliefs of living creature. What we show them, all those forms, beautiful body, terrifying demon, monstrous creature, that''s just a smoke screen. We are just an entity made of energy. And you are capable of absorbing it. All the races capable of doing that were destroyed, your race was too. Those that fought those wars wereter known as the Nine Heavens. Oslo should have been part of them, but he was too scared to fight and hide. Like me. That''s why we are still like that, as a punishment. As for Szar, he is younger and didn''t experience it. But all the gods were scared, scared about one of you falling onto our and eat it alive. So, I am what, a god-eater? Something like that? But now, I understand why I am hunted like that. Sure, if I am a race capable of eating a god alive, the Nine Heavens won''t let me rest. But I still didn''t get the real name of it. -So, how those things were called? God-eater? -No, they were called the No, I can''t do it. I can''t do that. Don''t tell me to do it, please. The moment this word is pronounced, they wille. Please. Here take those coordinates. That''s a filled with life, enjoy whatever you want. Looks like he really won''t spit it out. But, I can still feel the that he is talking about. Sounds great, at least I have a way out in case of a fight. But I want that name, so I begin to absorb the power of Krieg once again. -What are you doing, I gave you everything? Do you want that name? but I can''t, I CAN''T! No matter how hard you cry and scream, I asked you only three things, well four. That''s not that hard, so just give me that name. Only when he was a fraction of his former mighty self, something changed. -Fine, I will tell you, just stop. That was not that hard, now I am just waiting for him to talk. I look around me, and the previously alive prophet is now dead. His corpse is void of any blood, as all the other humans are. I guess he needed that to survive against me. A shame, I nned to spare them and allow Krieg to conquer this. Now that the pigeons are all dead or fleeing. -The race that provoked the death of thousands of gods. The race that shouldn''t be named after it. We swore an oath about that. You know how hard the oath is. Probably you don''t. You shouldn''t have be this; you should have just lived a happy life. Why did you need to do that? And be thest Devourer of Go Right before he finishes his sentence, I can feel something telling me to leave. I activate my teleportation, toward the coordinates that Krieg told me. But I still heard enough to understand what I am. "Attdskfdk: Dkfe:Sleek sdjfid: ???? ss: Devourer of Gods" Chapter 150: Finding a Spaceship? Chapter 150: Finding a Spaceship? At least for now, I have my name and my ss written correctly. As for what happened on Birnd, I think that it was two different things that provoked it. First, they found me and probably tried to kill me like they did on Astria. Good thing for me, they are very bad at that and I always manage to teleport in time. Next thing, Krieg nearly told me the entire name of that race hated by the Nine Heavens. Of course, he didn''t say it entirely, but I can still think of the end. It''s like someone says Hasta vi and stops there, you can think about the vista part alone. Maybe even add baby, but I didn''t have enough ? for that. But now, I am on the ground as I spend the majority of my time. Do I try to float toward above me? I keep going, but at a certain time, I feel very hot. Even for me, it is hard to feel that, so something is wrong. I keep going for a few more seconds and yes, I feel really hot. There is a problem, I shouldn''t be like that. What could provoke that, a volcano, the bottom of it? I try to stay at the same line but the temperature doesn''t decrease. So, it was the second possibility, the core of a. I was upside down. I turn and begin my real ascension this time. And during that, begin to feel nothing. That''s better. After some very long minutes, I finally end up in a cave, a dark cave. Nothing alive surrounding me, except a wraith, a magic cloud, and a normal spirit. They survived, not like the other one that was a little too far. Poor beacon of the base of Krieg. He was at like, 200 meters? So, that should be the range of effect, if it is close, I can teleport it, too far, and I don''t. As for the cave, nothing special, not even a building or a destroyed construction. Nothing. Let''s keep going up. Another cave, empty. Damn, how many caves does this have? I keep finding cave after cave, am I under a mountain? God, I hate mountains, I get lost too easily. Empty, empty, empty, carts full of iron, empty carts? I look again and descend to the previous cave. Yes, there is a cart, with a railroad. But no one is nearby so, what should I expect? I try to see more but I don''t find anything alive and a lot of dust is on everything. I don''t feel anything special near too, like a blessing or something. So it is not the main race, and therefore, I don''t care. I am a busy Devourer of Gods, get lost peasants. Finally, after a lot of time floating mindlessly, I arrive on the surface. Green forests, with a little river. Squirrels trying to find food, birds singing nearby, bunnies living in peace. The perfect scenery for a documentary about species in a forest. But that doesn''t help me to find what I want. I float to be above that forest and see only trees on the horizon. I think Krieg talked about a very flourishing, I get what he meant. A totally green. I keep sniffing the air, to find any trace of a god, but I failed miserably at that. Well, since I can''t stay here, let''s take the forward direction. Maybe I will find some elves capable of telling me where to go. I continue my journey like that, not destroying anything at all since I am not that bored yet. If I keep finding nothing, maybe in a few days I will -Are you sure he is here? Hum, who is it? I can see on the ground six weird creatures. Oh god, Heroes. Definitely. They didn''t saw me because the leaves of the trees block nearly all the light, but I can hear them. Good thing I wasn''t rampaging that beautiful ce, otherwise they would have found me. But, what are they? You got a skeleton warrior, a troll warrior, an elf archer, a bearman warrior, a woman riding a panther and finally another robot. Looking strangely like the one that I destroyed. Anyway, a good bunch of dead men walking. Not waiting for them to detect me, I throw six [Purple Moon] around them and see the result. Only the pantherdy and the robot manage to get out of the attraction. The first runs away while the other teleports like he did on Pashkat. As for the four other, [Death Ray]. That was easy, four already down and -I AM THE DEATH KING! Wow, calm down skeleton warrior. Instead of just dying like the other, I can see his bones reassembling and merging into a new skeleton. So, I have to kill him another time? [Death Ray]. I wait a little bit since the panther is tracked by my spirit and the robot is hunted by my wraith. I want to see his reaction against a ghost, for now, the robot manages to avoid every hit from his scythe. -I AM THE DEATH KING! Ok, so once again, he is resurrected by whatever it is. Well, I guess I have to destroy entirely his bones, instead of just destroying his body. Because they are strangely not affected by my [Purple Moon], something that I never expected. When the skeleton warrior is alive, or not dead, I mean, the state where he can move, the Death King is attracted by the [Purple Moon]. But after his death, the bones fly to reform a new body on their own. As for the troll, bearman, and elf, they are truly dead. That''s what happens when you don''t have anything to protect you against magic. I approach the so-called Death King and activate my domain filling the air with acid. He is still affected by one of my [Purple Moon], I destroyed the others. As for me, now, I can safely get near without a problem. And now I wait. For nearly 20 minutes. That''s what it took for me to destroy all his bones, with thebined might of my acid and the melting properties of my purple sphere. Four down only two more. That''s still weird that they managed to follow me that quickly. Looks like Krieg told them about that. But they didn''t blow it, why? It''s like the fact that I can''t feel a blessing from a god. That''s weird. Instead, they throw more Heroes after me. And how Krieg knew about this world too? Something is fishy, I can smell it. Let''s kill the Heroes first. I find the panther, without any problem. As for the woman on it, well, she looks at me, terrified. I can still her sing something, and from nowhere a beam of purple light hit me. It onlysts for a second, but seeing the damage on my [Veil of Darkness] it could have been longer. Nothing again, I love the fact that I created it. Not like the second shield that is given by the System. Anyway, she looks visibly surprised that her song did nothing, so she does it again. One, two, in the end, eighteen beams of purple lightse crashing on me. Provoking nothing but removing the dust umted on the dark shield. I can see her shaking and stumbling backward, visibly exhausted. So, that was all. Pathetic, I grab her and her mount, absorbing all the godly power in them. Only the robot left. He is still chased by my wraith. Each time he teleports away, my undead servant chases him and tries to hit him with his scythe. But the robot is smart enough to always have begun his other teleportation before he is hit. He doesn''t look very tired or out of energy, I wonder how long can thisst? 1 hour? More than a day? I really wonder that, but I don''t think I have enough time to see this before other Heroes arrive. Like I did with one on Pashkat, I activate a purple sphere above him, interrupting everything. Shortly after, his corpse falls to the ground, partially melted. No matter how I tried, none of them possess a connection with their gods after their death. But, for example with the panther loving woman, I could hear the god talking before abruptly ending the conversation. I don''t think that the gods suicide to do that, I think that normally, they don''t have to care about an open connection like that. Only me and my race force them to do such a thing. I gather the remnants of blessings lingering around the battlefield and try to continue my journey. I don''t meet anything strange or suspicious during that time, except theck of intelligent creatures. Only a lot of animals, sometimes a wolf or two. But no monsters, nothing. Just a pure air and a fresh atmosphere. Until I stumble on something weird. It looks like a spaceship, or something simr. And it is going at a very high speed. Maybe I finally found the inhabitants of this beautiful? And where are they going? Chapter 151: Zeros Knowledge Chapter 151: Zero''s Knowledge I try to follow the flying vehicle, now that I am closer, I can really see its form. Looking like a car from Earth but flying, so, one from the Fifth Element. Ok, maybe not that bad looking and dirty, but just the wheels are already gone. Instead, there are multiple circles of metal vibrating. The air around it is pulsating; I guess it is how they are moving, as for the process, no ideas. Anyway, the flying car finally reaches its destination, an open in. Nothing in sight, so I don''t know why we are here. Leaving the car, a small green alien. A true green alien, a little green creature. Like the one that everyone is using to parody an extra-terrestrial life. Barely a meter in height, looking vaguely like a human, 2 arms and 2 legs. He is wearing a suit like awyer, clearly well dressed anding back from home. By now, I am right behind him, and I can see him touch his arm and a screen on it. Probably a future technology. He is still immersed in what he is doing, and only notice me when he closes the door of his car. And immediately shout after that. AAAAAAAAAAH Like a human I guess, but I can see him looking at me weirdly after that, and thenugh. Here, I am a little baffled, am I funny? I should be terrifying not provoking theugh from a little alien. I can see him tap his arm and begin to talk. -Ego, is that you that made that horrible thing? Seriously, man, you should stop, I almost died of fright. How did you think about using a rat, how do you know that I am terrified by those pesky rodents? What do you mean it is not you? Only you are stupid enough to pull something like that! You sure? Ok, let me find the ID of the holograph. Wait a sec! I can see him approach me, and if I understood correctly, he thinks that I am a holograph. Sounds logical, he can''t expect a thing from another toe and barge near him. But you won''t find anything, better end this quick. -Hello, I am Sleek, who are you? -Yes robot Sleek, just tell me who made you I need to send him a gift for that joke. He didn''t understand the situation at all. Actions are better than words in that case. I cast a [Purple Moon] far away, and we can both appreciate the scene of destruction provoked by it. Now, the green alien is petrified, his mouth still open. He keeps looking at me then the purple sphere in the air, and then me again. -I am Sleek, don''t try to think too much. I just need to know where I am. -Eeeeeh, I am Zero. Are you a ghost? -Yes, I am a ghost. Now, do you have a god that you are praising? I won''t exin to him all the details and the Devourer of Gods is a bad name. It is easier to trust a normal ghost than something called like that. I think, as for my question, I can see him ponder for dozens of seconds. It''s weird, he should know such a thing, or I am not on a controlled by the Nine Heavens. -Weird question, that thing with the gods. We are a scientific society, but for a ghost, it should be Actually, I have no idea; you shouldn''t exist in the first ce. As for gods, let me search a bit. He touches his screen, and I can see numerous articles written in hisnguage appear in front of us. He keeps searching until I shout him to stop. He looks at me with his eyes wide open, and I tell him to go back. I saw something. When hees back, I can see a name. Freya. I don''t know, but it does ring a bell, maybe someone Oslo mentioned. But I am not sure, I have a doubt. -Can you search god and the name Hades? -Fine, but I am a little busy so can you end your business as a ghost quickly? I look at him with my most menacing look and he finally shut up. I see on the images the name Hades and god having a lot of results. Now, I think I understand what is happening. I ask him three other names and realize why the Nine Heavens is that powerful. After that, I allow Zero to leave, and while he walks away, I can see him turn multiple times, to be sure that I was real. But his welfare is the least of my worries. I asked him exactly 3 names, to see if my theory was right. Freya was present, Hades was present. After that, I found Buddha, Osiris, and Jupiter. Something that I shouldn''t find in a totally different from the Earth that I know. I don''t remember, but I think that Oslo told me I was from a sheltered by the Nine Heavens. And I know now what he was talking about. Even I could have been a believer. Instead of forcing a single cult on a, they have spread their believers across the universe. And everyone has something to lose in case I attack them. It is a necessary alliance now, everyone is in the same boat. If I attack Hades, I will attack everyone else, and I don''t know how many gods are really existing. For now, I have five names, but if every god on Earth is alive, I will have some huge problems. That''s not a single Szar, or even that stupid Aria, I am talking about the God of Hammer, God of Storm, God of Writing and many others. ZZZZZZZZZZIP Well, talking about gods, heree my best friends. The robot firingser beams everywhere. But like the other, a single [Purple Moon] is enough to deal with him. The only problem is the fact that he managed to catch me here. I try toe close, but the connection to his god is already terminated, the only thing still standing is its melted corpse. Quite useless, I mean, I tried to grab the rockets but they are destroyed in my hands. Well, nothing to be found. Just a tiny robot with a logo on its back. I wonder what is written on it, let me see, T.H.O.T.H. Great, a full-fledgedpany creating robots is named after a god rted to science. Now I understand why the System considered it as a Hero, it should have been built by the Hero. So I can expect more thing like that, what other gods could do stuff like that? And what should I do now? Destroy this is a good n. But it is only the beginning, if I do that, I will truly have a war in my hands. For now, I don''t think that the scale of the war is that big, only a few gods are involved. For example, Krieg was not rted to it at first. Even in the Nine Heavens, factions and enemies should have been created, especially after all those years. Just the basic rtions between each god, they won''t be as nice toward each other as they are pretending to be. And in the end, if they try to hide, what I will do is destroying all theirs. Including the Earth. And I don''t want that. Killing humans on another world, a ce that has no rtion to me and even tried to kill me is fine. But destroying Earth? Life wasn''t all that nice, but I love that ce. Maybe steal a lot of money and have a peaceful life on an abandoned ind, but destroy and rampage the world? No, I mean, we are already destroying the quickly enough, I can probably wait for that. So that''s fine. As for the rest, I have no way of reaching all thoses. Without a connection with a Hero rted to a god, I can''t use my teleportation. And I don''t think that I ever attacked a Heroing from the Nine Heavens. Besides the robot which isn''t really something useful, nothing at all. Because the pigeon, the woman riding the panther or the skeleton that doesn''t want to die, they are all too weak. Not something capable of surviving against me or an attacking from someone of my race. So here I am, next to that flying car, and with a destroyed robot near me. The help from someone called Oslo would be great here. Or anyone that doesn''t have already an opinion on me, or a good one. Hades hate me, Krieg is probably dead too. Szar is probably hiding in the deepest hole that he can find. As for the others, they are all dead or presumed dead. Oslo, hehe, I don''t think that he has survived. Even if he was the God of Survival or God of Hiding. While thinking, a human wasing near my location. A dark aura was emanating from him, and I can feel the power emanating from him. Who is it, Hades? Someone else? Chapter 152: An Offer that cannot be Refused Chapter 152: An Offer that cannot be Refused He stops at more than 50 meters away from me. After that, I can see him look around, and precisely toward the point where the little alien, or should I say, Zero, left. I turn toward that location, and I can see him still here. Damn, he probably saw me destroy the robot sent to kill me. I wave at him, to appear nice and friendly, I mean, I didn''t kill him. But as always, this gesture is always taken badly. This time, Zero flees with all the speed that his two little legs can gather. Anyway, that way, we can finally discuss without anyone spying. -Good day to you, Mister Marc Cassidy. I didn''t hear that name for a very long time. Far too long. But that means at least two things. First, he truly saw my history and from where I came. Then, he doesn''t appear very threatening so my guess of him being the Hero of Hades is probably wrong. But I can feel a touch of something rted to the undead, so, maybe a god rted to it, just not the Greek one. -If you wonder how much energy you can absorb from this form, I have to say, none. It is merely a projection from far away, look. After saying this, I can see three identical men appearing around me, all covered in dark energies. So it is the advanced doppelgangers, capable of speech. After seeing this, I nod at him, to make him understand that I got it. -Since this part is already done, I have an offer for you. Seeing you previous pensive stance, I think that you understood where you are. And, even after learning this, you didn''t instantly begin to rampage the and destroy everything. Meaning that you are not a mindless ughterer. And that''s why I am in front of you. Like I said I have an offer, that you will probably ept, for your own sake. -I don''t really understand one thing. Hades tried to kill me, by sending Heroes of minor gods after me. With that, I am certain that the god Thoth had something to do with it. That''s already 2 of your little group trying to hunt me down. Because I am a Devourer of Gods. So why the rest of you are not directly attacking me? I can hear him lightlyugh, what, am I that funny? I suspect more than just two gods, especially since they destroyed the previouss. That requires a lot of power, something that is at the same level as me, or even stronger. -Because, when one sees a threat, someone else can see an opportunity. Hades is young, he was newly born during the fight against your race and so many others. He reached his position after it, but he is arrogant. Since his Hero is near immortal, he thinks that he is eternal. But in truth, you are totally capable of killing him if you find his Hero. That''s why he overreacted because he was scared. As for me, I know very well how strong all of you are. Don''t think that the Nine Heavens are all allies. Well, you probably figured that out. As for the offer, well, you will probably die if you ept. -Very nice of you to say that. But I guess that if I refuse, you and the entire Nine Heavens will truly attack me? -Exactly, thest appearance of a Devourer of Gods was 300000 years ago. But it was through an unexpected fissure, not where the normal portal was, and he was not alone. That group of creatures quickly devoured 137s, before we managed to trap them and destroy them, one by one. As for the reason why we are facing those things, let me teach you a few things. After that, I see him create four different bubbles. Yes, bubbles, of something that I don''t know. I can see them float and move separately and sometimes enter in contact. When that happens, they are stuck with each other. After a few seconds, the four bubbles are all attached to at least another one. One is quite unlucky, the three others are touching it. Few more seconds and that poor bubble explodes, freeing the three others. -You see, our Universe is just one bubble. But other universes exist, they are the other bubbles. At first, it is good, everyone is minding its own business. But then, when two bubbles encounter each other, a passage is opened. From that passage, a lot of creatures entered our Universe. We called that other side, the Void. From there, countless monsters attacked us, and we had to defend ourselves. Devourer of Gods, Doombringer, Ancient One, Shatterer of Reality, Carnaphos, and many more. Each more strange than the others. Each a lot more powerful than the strongest of our Hero. That''s why, right now, we are still trying to close that passage. -If they are that terrible, exin to me why did you win? I mean, just a Devourer of Gods is capable of destroying so many worlds? And the others, are they as deadly as me? -Yes, and no. We don''t know who is the strongest, they are just too different from each other. But all are capable of either absorbing or eating energy, and we, the gods, are made of that. So, to us, they are the natural predators. As for why we won, remember the bubbles, their universe is surrounded by 17 bubbles. And they are winning in half of them. That''s how powerful they are. And that''s my offer. If we truly hunt you, you will make us lower our defenses for just a short time near the passage. And we can''t allow that, because we don''t know when the next attack will arrive. Hades shouldn''t have provoked you in the first ce. But if we really need to kill you, we will do it. We can''t allow you to move as you want. Or you can help us defend this universe, and your Earth with it. What do you say? So, either I am a hunted creature or an expendable one? Great choice, thank you very much. Seriously, can I just have a break one time? I should have stayed in Atria after I destroyed it. That way, no problems, I could have listened to all the songs of that noisy Oslo and have a nice life. But do I really have a choice? Apparently, no. Rise and Shine Mister Cassidy, Rise and Shine. I just need to secure something before I ept. Even if it is more likely to be pointless. -Can we swear that with an oath? -As you wish, what do you want? -I, Marc Cassidy or Sleek, will What do I need to do exactly? -Enter the Void, provoke as much chaos as you want, and reduce the fissure between our universes to be so small that only you can pass. For example, the smallest creatures are you, and the DoomBringer. If we can prevent anything else, especially the Ancient One to pass, we will be fine. Each time one manages to go through, he destroys too much and opens the passage a little more. Oh, and if you think that we are desperate, don''t be mistaken. During the initial contact, we were caught by surprise but now, we just want to reduce the potential damage that will be made by them. -I, Marc Cassidy or Sleek, will enter the Void, provoke enough Chaos to prevent any invasion for 100 000 years, and reduce the size of the breach between our two universes to just his size. The Nine Heavens will not attack him after his return and aplish one of his wishes, wish, that will not hurt them at all. Is that fine? -Let me see, yes, just what kind of wish? Doesn''t really matter, if it doesn''t hurt us. I, Anubis swear on that. Marc Cassidy or Sleek, will enter the Void, provoke enough Chaos to prevent any invasion for 100 000 years, and reduce the size of the breach between our two universes to just his size. The Nine Heavens will not attack him after his return and aplish one of his wishes, wish, that will not hurt them at all. Done. Like I trust you to respect it. I feel the same thing that I felt when I swore an oath with Oslo. But this time, I am doing this directly with the Nine Heavens, that absolutely won''t breach the oath, right? Bunch of backstabbing liars, I know very well that after I return, I will be their only problem for a very long time. But with a little bit of luck, my System will be repaired. Because that''s my only saving grace. Like right now. "Asdribuyes: Zame:Sleek Rsde: Void Cliss: Devourer of Gods Lelel ??/??" As I keep learning things, the System is beginning to be back alive. Even the faults are reduced before I couldn''t even read the world name or ss, but now, I can suppose it. However, a quick look at my skills and abilities, and in that part, it is still too broken. I don''t know how to repair that, however. Maybe kill something from the Void will help, well, I only have that. I try to use the creation of skill, even in front of the other Hero. Nothing is working, as before. Still get the same broken message. "Tjdf jdfijd okofkgds hs" Let''s just hope that I arrive at the Void alive. Chapter 153: Another Portal? Chapter 153: Another Portal? After that nice discussion with great openings for my future, I followed that dark man to my next mission, across space. Yes, space, where the stars are. I don''t need to breathe anyway, so, that''s fine. And arrived at the passage or what I think is the passage. I see thousands of creatures, stranger than the other and everyone is different. I guess that''s the numerous Heroes guarding the way and preventing the passage of some unexpected guess. As for me, most are surprised by me and try to take a defensive stance. I get it, I am not looking very friendly. Some are just disregarding me, that should be those knowing who I am. And I even encounter those small robots, the one created by Thoth. But instead of just one, there are hundreds and hundreds of them. Now, I understand why I was only chased by one at a time, the rest is here. And not targeting me, thank you very much. In the end, I was brought near a weird white thing pulsating. Quite huge, I would say 5 meters in size. Yes, the portal is white, not ck and filled with darkness. No, just white light and even a peaceful atmosphere. Are we on the bad side? I look at the Hero of Anubis, but he just shakes his head. I guess the other side is the bad guys. Well, since I still don'' really want the Earth to be totally destroyed by something else than the humans on Earth, I will defend you. Don''t worry. -So, now that I am near this friendly portal totally white and absolutely not looking harmful at all, what should I do? Dance? Praise the God of Portal? -Hehe, no. Just enter it, and you will do what you want and we will get what we want. It''s a win for us and maybe a win for you in the end. Farewell, Mister Marc Cassidy. I can see him getting farther and farther until he just disappears. Astral or magical projection, just something to do that. Vanishing in the horizon. Anyway, I see all the other Heroes looking at me angrily or terrified. I guess they are just waiting for me to get out and leave them alone, without ughtering anyone else. Do they all know how many died trying to catch me? Probably not. Well, herees the Void. When I enter it, I feel the same sensation that I felt when I was resurrected by Aria. Not very good. But not painful at all, wonder if it is because of my race. After leaving the white trail I end up, in space. Again. Nothing in sight, no huge monster ready to devour me right after that. No meteorite crashing in my direction. Is everything just peaceful? Seriously? I mean, I am supposed to provoke chaos and trouble, what should I do now? Where am I going? Why didn''t I just ask about that? Where should I go now, left, right, forward? I try to scan the surroundings and see anything but find nothing. Not a single trace of a living being, even when there is still this huge door of 5 meters near me. And it''s pretty visible from far away, you can''t miss that. I create a small spirit near the door, to use it as a beacon. Now that I have near infinite mana, I will do as a famous fairytale, just leave some small blue spirit behind me. And that way, I will find the way home. I hope they won''t be eaten. Why did I say that? I should stop asking for those things, otherwise, I will never get out of this ce alive. Let''s go forward, as usual. I travel for a few hours in the immensity of space. I found a small asteroiding at me but I just dodged it. Besides that, nothing alive or moving. Is this ce supposed to be that bad? I mean, I saw nothing threatening, well, nothing at all really. Until I finally see why they sent me. Another rift hanging in the space, but blue this time. Dark blue, maybe navy blue. A lot smaller, barely half of my size. I don''t know, but if I turn into a smaller form I can probably still enter it. And around it, five slugs hanging in the air. The same type that I was turned into when I transformed into the Devourer of Gods. But I wonder what they are doing right now. Because, when I said they are just hanging around, they truly are. They are just waiting around the blue portal, for something. So I approach, to see what is happening. At first, they all turn to look at me, since I am quite a new face and they probably don''t see a ratman a lot. But, probably after they understand that I am the same as they were, they just keep looking at the portal. That thing should be pretty interesting. Why am I not attacking? Because I have no idea what is happening right now. So let''s just watch. I shouldn''t have nned that. I am certain that it is the second day that we are all waiting near this. I tried to discuss with the other slugs I mean, Devourers of Gods. They just said nothing. I still am debating whether they understood a single word of what I said. Because, I can talk, but I need to hear something before. And I didn''t hear a thing. SKADOOOSH What is that sound Oh, something appeared? So that''s was what they were waiting fo SCHLURP SCRUMP SHROMP Farewell little thing that passed through. The five monsters quickly absorbed it in less than a second. I didn''t even have the time to really see what it was. And after that, they are all waiting again. So, that is basically free food for them, every time someone is stupid enough to pass through. So, I already discovered 2 rifts in their universe, one totally unguarded, another one slightly guarded. But I still have a lot of things to see. As for the slugs surrounding me, well time to remove the infestation. I can roam around and they still are letting me do that. Only when I approach the blue portal, when I am a little too close, after that they react. They have a formation and they probably don''t want an intruder to disrupt their meals. Other than that, I can even get really close to one of them and observe one of them. They have the same dark shield than I have, not the [Veil of Darkness], the other. I still don''t know the resistance of it. Except for that visible aspect, I have to think that they will be able to teleport as they want, use their bodies offensively and maybe have a [Death Ray]. If I attack one, they will maybe don''t react. Like, it''s more food for them and it probably already happened quite a lot. But the moment I attack another one, they will all turn against me. Well, if it is not like that, I will teleport to my beacon. The first one, near the white portal. The only other issue is the fact that they are all grouped near the entrance of the blue world. I should be able to cast a precise [Death Ray] Yes, OHOH! I can see countless tentacles getting out of the body of the quite burned slug. They were targeting the empty space where I was previously, and now, I cannot see it Dodge again. It is quite funny, but right now, we can''t hit each other. I am teleporting away from the tentacles and they are hitting nothing. But I can''t aim at the enemy because we are moving too fast. In the meantime, the four others are not even bothering to watch the spectacle, they are all focused on the blue portal. I try to drag the fight away from them, to use more of my powers without having a problem. SLASH Another tentacle trying to hit me. What, you think I''m just gonna stand here and take it? SLASH SLOOSH SLOCH Teleport jumps left and right, stopping and starting. Until suddenly, everything ends. KRAKOW! Another hit on the burned slug. Now, I can see it barely keeping up. So, one hit from the probably strongest [Death Ray] possible is not enough, I need at least 3 in total. But I keep dodging and him attacking. I guess he is having a really bad time. But I have to at least deal with this one. It has been five minutes that I tried to find an angle where I can hit it without missing. As for why it is not running away, I have no idea. But I don''t think his friends will wee him in this weakened state. SLASH SLOSH SLASH Another row of tentacles, hitting nothing. Time for me to end this. KRAKOW! Miss, another one. KRAKOW! KRAKOW! KRAKOW! Damn, he is dodging now. But I need your life. [Purple Moon], I create 10 of them around us. Now, space is limited, I see him retreats after getting in contact with it. I guess my spell has something else than just energy. But now, I can manipte the empty space as I wish. After another minute, I create an opening in my back, a fake one. KRAKOW! Finally done, let me see. "Allributes: Nane:Sleek Dace: Void ss: Devourer of Gods Livel ??/?? RP: ????/???? MZ: ?????????" Well, nearly perfect for the first rows. After that, still in a pretty bad shape, but it is better now. Chapter 154: Slugs Against Squids Chapter 154: Slugs Against Squids I return near the blue portal and I see the four other slugs waiting. However, this time, they see me and look aggressively at my approach. I can see some tentacles already formed and ready to attack me if I get too close. They probably reach a consensus, preventing me from stealing their food. And I can''t deal with four different enemies, or at least I think I don''t. Even with my two shields. I ce another spirit a little farther above them or at least where I think is above. Still, in space, I don''t know if I stand correctly. They don''t attack my spirit that''s good. They prefer staying near the portal and wait for another meal. I keep floating for another day, still creating more and more spirits on the way. I don''t let them spread and scout my surroundings since I don''t want to disturb the rest of this world. Who knows, maybe they will enter their of a terrible monster, awake him and provoke his ire. And I don''t want that. During that travel I see more and more creatures, I guess the fissure leading to the universe with my Earth is hidden. I see some giant octopi traveling at great speed and fighting each other. After that, I saw a group of slugs on another one and they were winning. The giant squid was clearly losing his life slowly and steadily, but it managed to crush two Devourers of Gods before dying. Imagine a tentacle bigger than 30 meters, crushing it. And they are moving really fast, faster than the reaction of the slugs. But I stayed away from those fight, not wanting to take part in it. But that world is brutal, there are no orders, except maybe don''t kill your kin. And even that, it is clearly not respected a lot. I still have no idea what it is, probably the Ancient One? Since it is really big and maybe his tentacles are capable of erging the hole between the two universes. I could have turned into that, good thing I took the first choice. But after thinking about all of this, I arrived somewhere I shouldn''t have been. Why? Maybe the 10 giant octopi looking at me and the hundreds of slugs on the other side. Because, there is a portal between the two, a green one, and I guess that''s the fight for domination. One side will take control of it, use it as they want, while the other will have to back off. But why are they not attacki There is something near the portal? I get closer from the side with the slugs, but not too close. The rest of the Devourers of Gods are looking at me like I am a threat since I can steal their food. But I still reach a not so far location and see what is the form near the green fissure. Well, see is a big word, since I can only notice a ck shadow. And it is truly a ck shadow, nothing more. All alone? Why is no one attacking then? I wait with everyone for like three days I think. In the meantime, some of my spirits were eaten, but not the one near the blue portal or the white portal. So, that''s still fine. And I made sure that the distance between two spirits was big enough. After all that time spent doing nothing, I understand why the situation is locked into a standoff. More and more shadows are leaving the green fissure. After that, they all left through a passage between the two surrounding armies. When they are finally out, I see the fight beginning. The octopi and the slugs are fighting each other, while the shadows are just leaving. That''s a strange world. But since I am a Devourer of Gods, I will join the party. We fight hard, but they are winning. Maybe all alone, they are weak, but when in a group, they can use their tentacles to protect each other. And the other slugs only have their tentacles, not a [Death Ray] like me. Probably the perk of the System. We manage to kill a single Ancient One, but at least thirty slugs died before that. The corpse is getting surrounded by everyone, since it is food, and I participate too. As expected, I can now see some of my skills and understand it, like [Frzahe Acik lgl Max], I think it''s [Create Acid lvl Max]. But we are losing hard, so I need to take some measures. I float above the battlefield and begin to throw [Death Ray] after [Death Ray] on a single octopus. At first, some slugs were hit, but they soon understand what is happening and clear my line of sight. On the other hand, my spell is not as effective as I thought. Four hits are necessary to just take down one tentacle, and he still has dozens of them. It is clearly really resistant against magic or my magic but weak against the life absorption of the slugs. But I have an infinite amount of mana or at least I think I have. So I just keep firing over and over again. And that forces the other octopi to not be able to help the injured one. Soon, he is separated from the rest of the group, and when I think it is far enough I stop casting a spell. The poor creature is instantly surrounded by 20 Devourers of Gods and die in seconds. But they still didn''t take everything from his body, and let the heart intact. They probably respect me and my contribution, they let me have the best part. Thank you very much. After absorbing the heart, I keep seeing some changes. But that''s not enough. I keep doing the same tactic and iste a single octopus under my heavy firepower. But, our numbers are getting really low, only 60 slugs for 5 squids. I can see a lot of dark matters floating around the group of squids, the remnants of the deceased slugs. As from our side, the space is totally clean, everything is eaten in seconds. But I don''t think that we will win. Without me, this side would have lost a long time ago, but even with me and my [Death Ray], we are barely matching the might of those giant monsters. In the end, I don''t know how it is possible or how theymunicate, but when only 2 Ancient Ones and 10 Devourers of Gods are alive, the two sides retreat. The octopi leave as a group while the slugs are splitting up are spreading everywhere, leaving the portal unguarded. What is happening? I stand here for a little while, wondering about that sudden change. I get close to the green portal, to see if there is something wrong, but I don''t see anything weird. Space surrounding me? Nothing at all. Seeing the opportunity, I enter the portal. SKADOOOSH I arrive in space and surrounded by five of those shadows. They all turn toward me but are not acting yet. Around here, I can see some destroyed space ships and spatial stations. But they look old or maybe it is just my mind. In the meantime, one of the shadows approaches me and turn into a ratman. Into me? Well, I look really terrifying then. But what does this mean? Besides doing this, he actually stands still. Soon, another one turns into a ratman, and before I realize it, I am surrounded by five copies of me. I don''t want to stay here any longer. SKADOOSH Ah back to the Void where I am not seeing me. But I still see nothing else near me, or something strong enough to make the two sides run away. Since I have no interest in staying here, better keep going. 3 portals on 17, that''s good enough. I don''t know why, but I think this universe is very small. Even if I am quick, I can''t be that quick. The first universe that encountered this reality probably opened the box of Pandora and get crushed under the numbers of monsters present here. Wait, before leaving let me try something. I stand near the portal and try to close it. I said that, that I will reduce the size of it. Why does the Nine Heavens are not doing it? Probably on from this side can the portal be close, otherwise they would have done that a long time ago. So, how to close this? Alohomora! Wait, no that''s for unlocking. I want to lock, damn, I can''t remember that. I try to make one of my tentacles touch it, but every time, it directly goes through. I can''t manually close it; it would have been too easy. I create two wraiths, to see if they can do it. Instead, they just disappear in contact with the green door. [Death Ray], nothing changes. [Purple Moon] is the same. Since I can''t do anything, better leaving this ce. I don''t know, but I have this feeling it is not very safe. Chapter 155: GROOOAR Chapter 155: GROOOAR Was just a feeling, nothing in sight. And the five shadows didn''t follow me in the portal. But I can''t reduce it anyway, maybe with the spell creation. And even with that, what should I create? I want a spell that can close inter-dimensional rift apart the continuum spatial. I don''t really think that the System will like that. Especially since even I have a very hard time thinking about that concept. In truth, I shouldn''t have said that, but I don''t think that the oath will bind me in this universe. But when I return to the other side, it will probably act. Now, I should try to follow the two injured octopi alive. Even if they have traveled for a long time, it is my best chance to kill more thing. I will need at least hundreds of those to fully repair the System. And I am not even talking about the slugs, they bring me nearly nothing. I tried to absorb some of their corpses and it was not very effective. No, let''s do some squid hunting. I try to go in the right direction, but in truth, I just wander. Before, I could detect the trace of a god or his blessing quite easily, but here, I don''t have the same ability. Maybe because no power is leaking and everything is absorbed. And not spread across a or on a body of a Hero. After a few hours, I meet a lone shadow roaming in space. I still don''t see a single thing looking like a, but everyone is capable of surviving in space. So, that won''t pose a problem. As for the shadow, it is moving extremely slowly. Not like the ones that left the portal. I approach it to see what is happening. Like the previous situation, it turns into me and begins to cast [Death Ray] on me. Damn, it is capable of mimicking my abilities and skills. I was caught by surprise, but the [Death Ray] makes only my [Veil of Darkness] shine for a second. So, can replicate the spell but not the power behind it. Because I think that it should be more powerful than that. No cracks, just make my magic shield shine? That''s weak. After seeing this, the shadow tries to teleport away, but it is about 20 meters from its initial position. Confirming my hypothesis. I quickly catch up and nt my tentacles in his body. In a few seconds, the shadow disappears forever, and I find two errors gone. In the entire System which isposed of thousands of letters. A drop in thec, but still appreciated. I suppose that thing should be the Shatterer of Reality, since he is capable of copying me. And I understand why the others don''t want to mess with a horde of shadows. Since it is fighting against a weaker himself, but if they are more it is enough. But for me, it should be the best enemy, my shields are strong enough to negate the damageing from a weak [Death Ray]. Or it was just because that shadow was injured, I should find a healthy one. I keep roaming and creating new spirits, but now, not a single one survive for more than an hour. I am deep in the Void, and not in the outer part. A lot of creatures are moving around, fighting, and a blue ball should be a nice meal. Sometimes, I find arge army of octopi, sometimes a wave of shadows. I try to not attack the slugs since they are my allies for now. Only after I have dealt with the rest, will I truly attack them. In the meantime, they are still helpful, like right now. Another fight, squids against us. But our side has a hundred times the size of the opposing army. And with my [Death Ray], we managed to kill five octopi before they retreat. They are very quick at swi floating? Swimming in space? The second option is more appropriate since it really looks like they are swimming inside nothing. But they are quick at doing that. I gained another heart and more information. But the new abilities are still deeply hidden, I can''t even try to guess. After that, I try to follow the slugs, since they are moving in a big army like that. Why? I don''t know, probably for protection. Like against the octopi, I don''t think I could outrun an Ancient One if I didn''t have the beacon for retreat. Because otherwise, I will need to teleport by relying on my sight and it is not working well in space. Only some short jumps, barely a few kilometers. And those giant monsters are nearly as fast as that. GROOOOOOOAR Ohoh! What is this WHY ARE YOU ALL TELEPORTING AWAY? We are more than thousands here, is it that terrifying? GROOOOOOOAR Well, I still have my beacon, I will at least see what is provoking that much noise, especially in space. Sounds shouldn''t be allowed to travel like that, without air or a support. But I can still hear this huge roaring from here? RUN AWAY! Pfiou, that was too close. And I am back near the blue portal, the second that I found here. What was this thing, I thought that an Ancient One was huge but or maybe the thing that I saw was the Ancient One? I think it is, why someone would call a giant squid like that. While this, was really, really, really big. Just his head was already huge, like I don''t know, the Everest on Earth? And that was just the head, a huge crocodile head, with rows of teeth, each with a height of one kilometer, at the bare minimum. As for the rest, I couldn''t see it, but if that thing manages to pass through a portal, the world is doomed. So it can''t be an Ancient One since Anubis talked about it. And if he encountered that thing, he wouldn''t be alive. No one would be alive. I think I should retreat near my universe, for the time being, let this huge monster destroy everything in the meantime. And if he is too close, I can escape. Let''s do this, I mean, I am not on a timer. I have all the time in the world, I can do that safely and without a permanent risk of dying. That''s good, good thinking. Let see how the surroundings are. Four slugs waiting for a meal near me and the green portal, nothing changed. The road toward my home is quiet, like before, the line of spirits is intact, besides on death near here. But I still have a hard time visualizing where I am and how this universe is separated. I just know that where I was, a big, bad, and dangerous monster is lurking. As for the rest, squids, slugs, and shadows. Nothing else wait there is something near the white portal. I see a group of shadows near it, like twenty of them. They see me but doesn''t turn into me. They are approaching the portal, but are not entering it. There is a huge door in white, but they just retreat after seeing this. Not even retreat, they are just discarding it. They only stopped because of me, I don''t think they wanted to enter inside this portal in the first ce. I understand them, the defenses behind it are really important. Only the crocodile head can survive against it. That''s why thest appearance of a Devourer of Gods was a long time ago and in an unexpected rift. Oh, I talked too soon, they areing back toward me. Well, I guess I am all alone, I forgot about that part. Twenty shadows of ratmen areing toward me and cast [Death Ray]. I dodge most of them, but the few that hit me are not enough to break my [Veil of Darkness]. After that, I notice that they only have one shield, the one from my race. They can''t replicate the System, only the normal spells. Meaning [Purple Moon] Yes, working! They quickly split up, but two were caught by surprise and end up melted on my sphere. The rest is still casting [Death Ray] after [Death Ray], now I see numerous cracks on my first shield. And the second is not that resistant either. I keep throwing [Purple Moon] on them since it can appear directly on them. But, they are really smart, and only three too slow died from those moves. Right after thest death, my [Veil of Darkness] is finally broken just to be reapplied instantly. And the second shield managed to block everything in that short period of time. After seeing this, the rest of the shadows all flee in different directions, but in the end, two additional creatures are in. With this fight, I learned more about that race, and I am certain that it is the best for me to hunt only those. Or a group of two octopus. But nothing else for the moment. Chapter 156: GROAR Part 2 Chapter 156: GROAR Part 2 After waiting for a short time, I decided to go right from the original portal. That way, I will see the surroundings of this ce. For a while, I see nothing, except one shadow that escaped. I quickly kill it and absorb more energy. I don''t know why, but I can''t see anything rted to my attributes, like strength and agility. Maybe it is broken on that part, I only have this. "Attributas: Vame:Sleek Rate: Void ss: Devourer of Gods Level ??/?? HP: ????/???? MD: ?????????" Nothing more, I guess those stats are irrelevant. Can''t really apply to my current condition. I bet that Aria didn''t even know what is a Devourer of Gods. It is still a miracle that I managed to keep it, even if it is broken like that. Anyway, I keep going, until I find another octopus. Same strategy, [Death Ray] until he is dead. And if it doesn''t give me an intact body, it is still better than trying to leech his life and get in contact with this monster. I don''t think I will survive being crushed in one of the tentacles from that giant creature. Find another group of slugs, let them pass. They don''t attack me, I don''t attack them and everyone is happy. I keep roaming around, seeking a weak prey. And for weeks, or what I think is weeks, I repair my System. And now, I finally have all my skills ready for action. "Astive syills: [Crhate Acid lvl Max] [Cdeate gue lvl Max] [Deatly Shadows lvl Max] [Domajn of Mayhxm lvl Max] [Nigotfall lvl Max] [Maqical Orb lvl Max] [Ryise Undead* lvl Max] [Blxod Touch lvl Max] [Veil of Darkaess lvl Max] [th Ray lvl Max] [Pnrple Moon lvl Max] [Telyportation lvl Max] [Ehergy Storage lvl Max] [Hajdened Body lvl Max] [Avsorption lvl Max]" So I gained, thest four, and they are all simple. First is my teleportation,st is the fact that I can directly absorb something from my body. Just the two in the middle, I try to cast the body spell and I just see my arms getting thicker. I don''t think it is really useful since no one is using it, but it is part of the perks. As for [Ehergy Storage], that''s maybe my unlimited mana and the fact that I can absorb and use the energy than I gained. As for my passives, well [Handuate ig Arez lfl Mji] should be [Language of Aria lvl Max]. Not really looking great. But now, I have to think about creating a new spell, something really useful. Right now, Ick maybe some heavy hitting spells, something stronger than [Death Ray]. Nothing else, survival, I got it, speed, well my spirits are acting as a beacon when they are not destroyed. Let me see, something stronger than a [Death Ray], something like a beam of energy, annihting everything. This is probably thest time I will be able to create a spell before a long time, so, something capable of piercing the heavy skin of those Ancient Ones. "Condrattlon to ths usar for crqating a neq spelz. Pledse sjy its nkmp." -Annihtion! "Zystem afknowpedges the coice of the jser, tbe spgll: [Annihtion] hcs beun crehteu." Well, that was close I think since the System is clearly not in a good shape. But now, I need to test this on a real target. I keep searching for a while because this part of the universe is not filled with a lot of creatures. Even in a week, I only found enough monsters for the active skills, and just to make them look like real words. But the main advantage is the fact that I don''t have any threat to my existence. No big crocodile willing to eat me alive, not huge group of monsters seeking my death. Just some lone wanderers or small groups of creatures. And right now, I have an octopusing toward me. He thinks he can kill me alone, well, he would be right if I was a real Devourer of Gods, but I am Sleek, the Devourer of Gods. At first, I try to destroy one of his tentacles with my [Death Ray], and it takes me five hits this time. That''s not good enough, but at least, the octopus is not running away in fear. That''s when I use my [Annihtion]. How to describe it, well, the octopus is already dead. That''s the good part, I have a little bit of time now. That stupid Ancient One only used one tentacle to protect him from my spell, since he thought that it will take some time before I destroy it. Theser created by my spell, or beam like I called it, pierce a small hole in the tentacle, barely 20 centimeters. But after that, the beam keep going and hit its brain, killing the huge monster. On the other hand, [Death Ray] target a lot of ground and spread over a few meters, hitting an entire tentacle and not just a small part of it. To resume it, one is a huge bombardment while the other is a guided missile. One destroys many things, can even inflict coteral damages to innocent people in the vicinity. While the other only hits one target and that target alone, if it isn''t messed up. And ensures itsplete destruction. Wait a minute, I just think about something. My System can detect when I have a grave condition, like the curse I got from eating the lich at the beginning of my new life. So, it should detect the oath that I made? Well, I keep searching, but I find nothing. So, two choices, they truly broke the oath instantly or I just can''t see it. Well, in both cases, I will have to face them anyway. But how can I do this, while returning back to my universe? In fact, that choice is even more simple, do I really care about Earth? Saying no is potentially the truth. If it was destroyed because of me, I would feel sad, for a very long time. But I don''t really care, I will just try to save it if I can. GROAR NO! Jump away. I am not even trying to face this, I instantly jump to my first beacon and see if everything is calm. And it is, nothing in sight, did that thing followed me? I don''t know, actually, I truly don''t know. Maybe there are more than just one of those, and it is a very frightening thought. Just one is enough to scare thousands of Devourer of Gods, so if he has an entire family with him, I understand why everyone tries to escape. Who wants to stay in the same universe as this monstrous monster. GROAR No, not again? Wait, what is I can see countless creatures running away and toward the white portal. That''s not very good, they will try to escape the monster by entering my universe. I see everything and even another creature. It has the same shape as multiple crystals put together to form a weird human. A medium crystal for the head, a big one for the chest, four different to create an arm, a leg. Sometimes, those crystals are detaching themselves and rotating around the main body. At this moment, they are all floating to survive. I am still closer and can enter the universe before them. But is it the best idea? After all, the Nine Heavens are probably waiting for my arrival and reinforce their defenses. So, the first that will pass this portal will be in instantly. So, going first is out of the question. On the other hand, if I wait, I am not sure to enter it. Thousands of creatures are fleeing, and the passage is only 5 meters tall. That''s maybe big, but in a few seconds, that monstrous crocodile will arrive and eat everyone and maybe even the portal. I don''t think he will be able to, but no one in this side will survive. So, not first, but second or third. I get into position very close to the exit and seeing the panicked octopi, I decide to use this opportunity. I begin to target them with my [Annihtion] and more and more are dying. My spell can kill three Ancient Ones in a single usage if they are aligned. But I can only use it 4 times before the first monster arrives. It is the crystal shaped human, and soon, the shadows. The octopi that should have arrived are all dead but they are still a little bit faster than the Devourer of Gods. Of course, all those arrivals are separated by not even a second. Right before the first Ancient One enters the white portal, I do it and escape the iing doom. Thest thing I see is a huge mass floating on the horizon anding toward us. In front of it, multiple ck dots, representing those that were too slow. I came back to my universe earlier than I thought. SKADOOSH Chapter 157: The End? Chapter 157: The End? The moment I can finally see properly, what I notice is the huge battlefield all around me. But I must say it, those Nine Heavens gods were really prepared for anything. I see a sea of crystals floating in space and not moving at all, they probably were destroyed the moment they exit this portal. As for the shadows, I can see them trying to run away, past the robots and Heroes defending this ce. But they are decimated too. Now, I understand why they were not really worried about anything. But that was just the first wave of fleeing monstersing from the Void and probably the agilest and less durable of them all. Now, right behind me, the octopi are beginning to appear one after the other. The previously 5 meters fissure leading to the other universe is erged to nearly 80 meters. The sheer number of creatures are disrupting the efforts of thousands of years from this side. Stuck between two tentacles from those Ancient Ones, many slugs are squeezing to escape the doom from the other side. The thing is, my oath didn''t do anything since I am back after doing nearly nothing. I was right about that; they would have killed me if I came back alone. Right now, I can stay near the white portal and not get caught by the movements of the others. And enjoy the scenery. Those robots from Thoth are doing a huge work, sting everythinging near the Nine Heavens. Near them, thousands of Heroes are casting spells after spells. Lightning, fire, ice, energy, everything. Even if we are in space, those spells are still capable of traveling a short distance and hit the permanent assault of the Void. But I can see them slowly retreat, letting more and more space to their enemy. From the previous 1km where no one could cross, we already have two kilometers before we can grab a Hero and it keeps growing. The Ancient Ones are really strong against all those attacks and the frontline is getting closer and closer. For now, the Nine Heavens haven''t lost a single Hero, but it will happen very soon. GROAR WHAT?!! Why can we hear that here? I turn to take a look at the portal, and no one is leaving anymore. That crocodile probably caught up with his meal and we are SLURP WHAT IS THIS? RUN AWAY! I instantly begin to retreat and even if that exposes me to the attacks from the Nine Heaven, I don''t care. A huge tongue managed to pass through the portal, which is now bigger than a small mountain. And from that, the pink tongue is grabbing all the monster too close. Now, every creature from the Void is fighting with their lives on the line, since they are not even safe if they are too close. Following this apparition, and this sound that surprised everyone, the Nine Heavens are reacting a little too slowly. And finally, the first robot is destroyed, surprising since they were dealing with the teleportation of the slugs quite easily. I can see the Devourer of Gods on the product of Thoth getting sted a secondter, but the deed is already done. And that action redirected multiple spells to that slug, an overreaction. The group near the destroyed robot get assaulted by an Ancient One and quickly get crushed. More and more of those scenes are happening everywhere. Now, I can begin to hunt personally some of the Heroes, by taking advantage of the confusion. It is still a little bit risky, but I have two shields to guard me and a mass of situational allies. However, the only bad side is the fact that our number of creatures alive is very low. Barely hundreds of us managed to escape both the tongue of the huge crocodile and the attacks from the Nine Heavens, now, only the slugs and squids are alive No, finally those shadows make their move. I can see them replicate a robot and begin to deal with theser by using moreser. At first, they were trying to make everyone forget about their existence, but now that the situation is dire, I think they realized that they need to fight too. It is a good addition, but the other still have thousands of people. Wait, the crystals are moving, that bunch of cowards. They were all faking their deaths, I can''t even trust them anymore. I would have done the same thing. Some are truly dead, but more and more are reorganizing themselves and moving toward the Heroes. Each time a spell is cast on them, they store it in one of their limbs and release it toward the original caster. That can work when only a few spells are targeting the crystalmen, but when they were alone in the beginning, I think a lot of them were still destroyed by the huge number of things thrown at them. The only still real issue is the big tongue moving behind us. Even after all that time, I can see the white portal shaking terribly and letting more and more of that deadly weapon pass. It is a race; we have to push the frontline more quickly than this huge monster can destabilize the white fissure. Let''s do this, but before, I spread multiple spirits across all the battlefield. After that, I am using my new spell to take out all the strongest Heroes that I notice. Huge woman looking like an angel with white wings and capable of creating magic shields for her allies? [Annihtion]. A robot looking like a terminator and using two sma machineguns, or something simr, and decimating the Ancient Ones rushing toward him? [Annihtion]. With that, I receive numerous reply from the System, saying that I killed a Hero from a God, again and again, and again. Sometimes, he tells me that I have gained a new spell but I don''t have the time to look for that. It has been five minutes since I passed the portal, but the defense from the Nine Heavens is still holding on. Now, some of the shadows and slugs manage to bypass it and just flee. But each time, a group of reinforcements arrived and deal with them. Seeing this, everyone on my side understands that we need to achieve a victory, a true victory. Or we will be eaten or hunted. Now, the Nine Heavens notice me and begin to target me more and more. But I still am capable of teleporting and with my beacons in ce, they can''t encircle me and kill me. I waste a lot of their efforts, but now, I can barely use one [Annihtion] before needing to leave the location and teleport away. Each time I appear, multiple spells areunched toward me. Now I really begin to suspect something capable of knowing where I will teleport. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have been able to counter the other Devourers of Gods that easily. GROOOOOOOOAR C''MON! STOP DOING THAT! For a second, everyone stops doing anything and just looked at the teeth appearing from nowhere. That''s really bad, if we can see his teeth, the head will arrive soon. Can we be that unlucky? ZZZZZIP HEY! I SAW THAT! [Annihtion], that pesky robot tried to do a sneak attack. Good thing my [Veil of Darkness] is really strong. Right now, both sides have less than a hundred members. We have barely more than thirty, and only one Ancient One alive. Nevermind, aser just pierced his tentacle and reached eyes, he is out. A few crystals, few Devourers of Gods and a dozen of those shadows. But now, we are using a guerri tactic, since their firepower is scarce. We keep dodging and trying to disperse them, that way, we will be able to win. In the back, I can see some Heroes trying to close the portal and not taking part in the ongoing battle. None of the creaturesing from the Void are attacking them a strange thing. Because, if they don''t close this thing, we are all going to die, in fact, we should probably just run and let the Nine Heavens deal with this. And as I say that, I see a batch of robotsing toward us, I guess they still have enough forces to deal with us running away. [Annihtion], [Annihtion], [Purple Moon]. I try to disrupt the formation as much as I can, but that''s still not enough. Maybe if I absorb some energy lingering around us... Ah, much better. I don''t know why, but I felt that I was running out of mana, but now, I am fine. I wonder how much energy I have stored because I can still feel it, maybe I can gather more from around GROAR GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR NOT GOOD! I turn around, and what I see is a huge maw closing on all of us. I need to get out before CRUNCH Chapter 158: The End Chapter 158: The End AHHHHHHH, no, nevermind, I am fine. Well, fine inside the mouth of an unknown creature bigger than most of the known asteroids and capable of tearing apart the portal between two universes. Otherwise, that''s good but AH OH OUCH AOH I get hit by his tongue and I am bouncing around. I can see the corpse of many Heroes around me, they probably didn''t resist whatever is inside this ce. As for the Devourers of Gods, they didn''t make it. I can only see the crystals hitting the teeth and trying to get out. I notice that my [Veil of Darkness] is destroyed, created and destroyed again, every dozen of seconds. There is something here that is highly dangerous. But for now, I am rtively safe, better use that time well. I absorb all the energy around me, all the corpses are melted by my tentacles. Of course, I have to do it closely, since those parts of my body are not protected by my [Veil of Darkness]. I feel a lot better, I try to see around me, but except the robust crystals, nothing is moving WOOOOOOOOOOUSH We are being attracted by the inside of the monster. Either he is breathing or he is trying to eat us. Well, he will not eat a lot of things, I am barely capable of resisting the attraction, by constantly teleporting, and the crystals are stuck on the teeth. They are not looking weak; I think we can survive the first wave. And as expected, none of the three survivors, me and the two crystals, died yet. But it is not looking well, he is not opening his mouth. Maybe if I [Annihtion]. Ok, that was a critical error. I think I didn''t even pierce anything with that, damn that monster is strong. I look closely, and I see only a dent in the enormous tooth. I would need hundreds of that spell just to dig a small hole in it. After seeing me doing this, the two crystals are hitting once again at the same spot, I get close to see what are the results. A little better than mine, but not enough. They begin to release some of the spells they absorbed, but none are effective. Since I can do nothing, let''s see how many rewards I got. So, who did I killed? Let''s see, don''t know, don''t know, don''t know, Ares, that''s the God of War I think. Quetzalcoatl, an exotic one this time. Don''t know, don''t know again, Loki. I try to look at the rewards, but they are clearlycking or not really useful right now. Yes, [Treachery] looks really good, but I don''t think that I can use that on this space crocodile. [Vengeance] looks like something harmful to myself but doing some damage to the enemy. I am certain that he has more HP than 1000 of mebined. Give me something useful, a good god, like Thoth for example. Gaia, don''t need something rted to Nature either. Chronos, not really Wait, that''s very good. Let me see what is written. "The uzer can chosse between one differvnt spell that the rjpresentative poskessed. This ine ssells will be rabdomly chysen awong all the spetts avabje." "Pleose choore the smell: 1- Time Lapse" -Marc Cassidy chooses: Time Lapse! "Srftem acknowuedge the choice of tce uker, the spell: Time Lapse hos neen chosel." Not like I have a lot of choices anyway, but I wonder what does this thing do. And looks like something that would be really useful, even if traveling through time is a weird thing. Just now, how much can I get from WOOOOOOOOOOOSH DAMN! That time it is even stronger than before. I can see one of the crystals flying in the dark, toward the stomach. The other is deeply rooted in his tooth and I am still capable of resisting this. I keep teleporting toward a tooth but each time, I am really getting close to the point where I can''t see it anymore. And the spirits are all dead here I have no backup. Must not float Finally, it ended. We are safe for now. Wait, the mouth is opening this is our RUNNING AWAY! He is eating a or something, I can see tons and tons of things floating in his mouth and getting immediately melted. The rocks and stones are disappearing quickly, either from the local air or directly down his stomach. It is calmer, but I lost sight of my fellow crystal, I guess he was entrapped under all of it. And I missed my chance of getting out of here. No, better use this new spell, I am betting everything on you mate. [TIME LAPSE]. SKADOOOSH Ah, I am weak, far too weak. Where am I oh, here. In the mouth of that crocodile, again. Wait, I can see the two crystals hitting the teeth. It looks really simr to when I first realized that I was here. Just to try something [Annihtion]. "Net enougl mada" As expected. That''s why I am feeling very weak, but I can still sense that I have more power inside me, that I am not using. As for the jump in time, it is a small one. Just thirty minutes. I quickly absorb all the bodies and prepare myself for the iing attack. WOOOOOOOOSH Exactly like before, it has done the same thing. The two crystals survived, the bodies were eaten by me and nearly nothing ends up in the stomach of that crocodile. I just don''t know what I need for that time travel to work, I mean, I need to return where. The dwarves? The Tomb Kings? When I was a rat? Or even before, when I was on Earth? No, not the Earth, but right after. If I have my memories, I can use my System to its best capabilities. However, how much power would I need to do that, a lot and even with that bank that I can''t use I will surely not be able to . Except if I manage to use this. This enormous body, if I can absorb its energy, I will be able to do whatever I want. But how I can''t even breach his skin wait, did I even tried? I don''t think so, I only attacked a tooth, nothing else. And maybe he is invulnerable to any attack from the outside but from the inside? I mean, normally, everyone should be dead in his mouth, and even if he is huge, if I can reach a vein, I will be able to travel toward the heart. And who says heart, say energy, I guess. I still have a lot of time before he breathes again. Here, his skin should still be toorge for me. But if I bypass his tongue and I approach the location right before the neck, maybe I can try something. I float for at least a few kilometers, before seeing the skin getting thinner. Great, however, my two shields are really under a heavy fire. Every second my [Veil of Darkness] is broken, and the one under it is constantly getting repaired. I don''t know how much time I have. [Annihtion]. GROAAAAAAAAR OH GOD! It was definitely painful this time. [Annihtion], [Annihtion], [Annihtion] I keep casting this spell, but I can feel the huge body moving around me. I am almost here; the hole is nearly ready ... don''t have time. I turn into the smallest form possible, basically the rat that I was at the beginning. WOOOOOOOOSH I can feel that this time, he truly wants to deal with anything still alive in his mouth. Shortly after, I see the two crystals passing in front of me and my hole. I am safe and don''t feel anything, I keep digging more and more. By using [Annihtion], I can only dig a little more than 30 centimeters, but that''s enough. I arrive in a vein, where a weird green liquid is moving. Barely a second after I enter it, the hole that I created is closed. This organism quick at responding, meaning that the local white cells will try to hunt me down. I get as fast as I can toward my destination while absorbing everything around me. I can see the liquid turning brown and then ck after I passed. On the other hand, I feel stronger and stronger, that''s a very powerful energy. I keep doing this, and shortly after, I encounter the supposed white cells. But I don''t think they expect an [Annihtion]. I keep leeching more and more of his life, but it seems that it is endless. That will definitely be more than just 30 minutes. I arrive at the heart, and there I stop. I stand at the entrance, get in the middle of the vein and just absorb and absorb. All the white cells that areing are all destroyed by my powerful beams. Now, even the liquid that is arriving is already less green and browner. I keep doing this over and over again. The heartbeats are not as strong as before, and not as numerous either. But I don''t care, I keep doing this. In fact, why should I return in the past? I am capable of killing this; I am stronger than everything. With this, I can even potentially evolve, get even bigger, better. Stronger. What is the point, when the Nine Heavens are practically destroyed, when I will be able to hunt the Void as I please? Right now, this huge crocodile, that should have killed me is at his death''s door. The flow of brown liquid is slowing down; I wonder what I will receive after killing it. That feeling, sensing all that power stored inside me. I still don''t really know how to use it, but it can''t be that hard. Probably just thinking about it would be enough. So what should I do after, so many things to do. Stay here? Not really that good, but I can still take revenge upon the Nine Heavens. Return to the Void? Who knows? BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP The heartbeats are really too few now. The movement of the crocodile is not even making his heart move. Just a few more minutes, and I will finally achieve victory. And with it, my System will definitely be fixed, maybe I will even evolve. Nothing will be able to stop me anymore. HAHAHAHA! (You broke the oath!) What, sorry I can''t hear you? You look really weak right now, is it Anubis? Well, you see, I really tried to do what you asked, but unfortunately, this big fellow attacked me. My only hope was to return here, no bad feelings I hope. (YOU WILL PAY!) I am sure that I will, butter. If you could harm me, you would have already done it. You broke your oath anyway, I know it. You have no power, especially after that defeat. And I know that this huge space crocodile is eating yours one after the other. Well, not anymore, since he will soon die from my hand. And after that, Hades and everyone else will receive their fair judgment. (FAIR? FAREWELL MISTER SLEEK!) "-300 HP" "-300 HP" "-300 HP" "-300 HP" No, no, no. How can he do this, I am inside the heart of this monster, I am protected by my shields. "-300 HP" That stupid oath, how can they target me? I still have enough life, I see on the System that my HP is fine, ????/????. "-300 HP" "-300 HP" "-300 HP" But that''s too harsh, not good, ???/????, I only have three seconds left. Damn, fuck you all, I will use all my power [TIME LAPSE]! Ah, Oh, my head. Where did I end up appearing? Oh, the sky is blue, probably Aria, ah my head wait, what is this in the sky? A note, 100 euros? KRAKOW "Did you see that lightning?" "Weird, especially with a sky like that wait, look someone is on the ground!" "Call someone, quickly, sir, are you okay, can you hear me, sir?" Damn it. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!