《The Heretical Transmigrator》


 Prologue

    Recently I¡¯ve been consumed by the desire to chronicle my life. Perhaps it has something to do with this body¡¯s previous owner, or its because of the flashes of my original life I¡¯ve been seeing lately. But I suspect the true reason is because of the shocking reminder of our fleeting mortality I received 2 weeks ago when I killed my own fiance after I myself was violently murdered. My body may already be dead, but I am still alive, and I feel compelled to leave behind some record of what really happened.


    Fortunately, I have plenty of time on my hands as of late, so I can start from the beginning. There¡¯s not much else to do in prison. I¡¯m not sure if or when I¡¯ll be executed, but I wouldn¡¯t blame them if I did. I knew this would happen when I confessed to being an assassin sent after the life of the king after all. Execution was a risk I was prepared to take, and even that would help further my goals.


    By the way, in case you were wondering, I¡¯m not currently chained up in a dark dungeon cell like some common criminal. I may be heavily guarded, but as the crown prince of the neighboring country, I am afforded some comedies. Quill and ink to write with, for example, and a shabby desk and parchment to write on. So write I shall.


    ? ? ?


    It all started 19 years ago when I was dragged here from another world as a broken soul. My earliest memory in this world was when I awoke in pure darkness, surrounded by several contorted humanoid figures. Some of them had too many limbs, some too few, and most had a combination of the two. Half of them had seemingly random animal and insect appendages, and a few even adorned strange metallic castings. They were all completely unique, but one thing they had in common was that they were all staring curiously at me.


    One of the stepped calmly towards me, naked, arms spread wide as if she had nothing to hide. She seemed the most human of them, but something about her felt off. Whether it was her excessively large breasts or ridiculously wide hips, she fell deep into the uncanny valley in my eyes. Rather than lust, all I felt towards her is disgust.


    ¡°Welcome stranger, to the realm of the gods. I am Nihs, Goddess of Life,¡± she said as she circled around me, looking me up and down. After 3 rounds, she stopped in front of me and placed her hand on my cheek and smiled. It was warm to the touch, but sent shivers down my spine.


    ¡°Gods? But I¡¯m fairly certain I¡¯m a human,¡± I said as I glanced around the room. There weren¡¯t any clues in sight though, as the only visible things were the strange beings surrounding me. ¡°How did I get here?¡±


    ¡°This is the realm of the gods,¡± she said, ¡°but not the gods you may be familiar with. We¡¯ve summoned you from another world. Don¡¯t worry, all will be explained in due time, but first, if you could answer a question for us.¡±


    From the crowd surrounding me a black and white mask suddenly floated between Nihs and I. Though the spaces where the eyes should be were completely empty, I could feel it intently gazing at me. I would say that it felt like they could see into my very soul, but as I was nothing but a soul at the time, that would apply to everyone looking at me.


    ¡°Tell us, who are you?¡± it asked. The voice that came out of it was both completely androgynous and monotone, as if it didn¡¯t have a personality of it¡¯s own.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it common sense to introduce yourself before asking for another person¡¯s identity?¡± It¡¯s appearance only helped aggravate the feeling of unease I was feeling at the time, so I decided to be a little snarky with it.


    ¡°Yes, it is. Tell us, who are you?¡± it calmly replied in the same monotonous voice.


    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you introduced yourself yet? Are you looking down on me?¡±


    ¡°You have not yet asked for my name. We are currently at equal height. You have yet to answer my question. Tell us, who are you?¡±


    I breathed a sigh and asked, ¡°In that case, who are you?¡±


    ¡°It is common sense to introduce yourself before asking for another person¡¯s identity. Tell us, who are you?¡±


    At that point I was sure that thing was messing with me. Just as I was about to punch it with all my might, Nihs stepped forward and pushed it to the side with her right hand.


    ¡°Well, lets just ignore Shiku for now shall we? Don¡¯t worry, he means no offense; he¡¯s like that with everyone. As the god of lies and deception, his only purpose is to ask and answer questions as straightforwardly as possible, and tell when people are lying or hiding something. That should answer your question about who he is, and you already know who I am. I would ask that all the other gods here introduced themselves as well, but as you can probably tell, that could take a while. So unless there¡¯s anyone here you¡¯re specifically curious about, could you tell us who you are?¡±


    That was the 5th time I was asked that question. There was just one problem; I had no idea who I was. Truth be told, I didn¡¯t want to let down these complete strangers who I just met. They all seemed to expect something from me, and I didn¡¯t want to disappoint them by telling them I had absolutely no memories whatsoever.


    Rather than admit that, I would have preferred to take the time to learn who everyone here was, but I got the feeling the other gods were running out of patience. One of them in particular was practically glaring at me at this point, so I tried to deflect by asking about him.


    ¡°In that case, who¡¯s the fat, angry-looking bear with the crocodile head over there?¡± I asked as I pointed at him.


    In addition to those strange features, he was well over 8ft tall, had 4 arms, and a long, spiked tail. He donned a set of bone armor made from unrecognizable species, though human bones were clearly present. Looking closely, it seemed like his bear fur was growing out from the spaces between the scales covering his whole body. When he opened his mouth to speak I could see many rows of shark teeth.


    ¡°Learn your place boy. We are all gods and goddesses here except for you. I am Lorose, God of Strength and War. I am not known as a kind god, and if you don¡¯t start showing us some respect, you¡¯ll soon find out why.¡±


    His bottom arms swung an over-sized halberd and broadsword in front my face as his top arms shot an arrow past my right ear. As I avoided his menacing glare, I noticed smoke coming out of his flaring nostrils and a red glow coming from his throat.


    ¡°Now now, calm down Lorose. We have plenty of time here, I made sure of that.¡± An old man in a suit materialized out of no where in front of Lorose and spoke to him in a calm voice.


    ¡°It really is about time you learned some patience Lorose.¡± A raspy, masculine voice seemed to come out of Nihs¡¯ body, but her mouth didn¡¯t move as it spoke.


    Before I could ask about it¡¯s source, the old man turned towards me and introduced himself. As he did, his wrinkles faded away as if they were never there and his hunched back straightened. His thin, white hair suddenly gained volume and was dyed a rich, blond color.


    ¡°My name is Rotcod, the Lord of Time and Space. I hope my appearance doesn¡¯t startle you, it changes constantly depending on my mood.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a lord and not a god?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. Time and space has existed long before any of us have. I simply rule over it in this particular world. Therefore I am simply a lord unlike the rest of the gods here. Though if you ask any of them or the humans in this world, I am a god, so feel free to treat me like one if you wish.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I might as well do that then; it¡¯ll be easier that way.¡± Considering how everyone treated him with the same amount of respect as the other gods, it was safe to assume that he was just as powerful as the other gods present. Perhaps he was even more so, depending on his control over time and space.


    ¡°Very well young man. Now, I think I understand your why you¡¯re so hesitant to tell us about yourself. You can¡¯t, can you? You don¡¯t remember anything before waking up here.¡±


    ¡°How did you know? I don¡¯t seem to have any memories at all. But I¡¯m sure I lived a life before this.¡±


    ¡°I sense no deceit from his words,¡± said Skiku from the side. It¡¯s words caused a small murmur from the crowd.


    I was starting to worry about what would happen to me now that they knew I had amnesia, but Rotcod¡¯s next words put my worries to rest.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not a bad thing. It¡¯s actually to be expected, the chances of a soul remembering it¡¯s past lives are next to none, especially when they have to cross over multiple worlds. In fact, it¡¯s probably for the best if you didn¡¯t remember anything; if you did then we¡¯d have to send you back to the world you came from.¡±


    As he said that, Rotcod¡¯s body aged about 10 years, but it didn¡¯t bother me nearly as much as it should have. At least it was always a purely human form.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°Allow me to explain,¡± interjected a strange man with an owl¡¯s head. The back of his head was too big though, even for his enlarged owl head, as if it was making room for it¡¯s brain. ¡°The world you came is far more technologically advanced than our world, and what you knew about it could dramatically change the world we spent so much effort building. And we built our world the way we did for a reason; we wouldn¡¯t want you to mess it all up now.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well is there anything you can tell me about who I used to be?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You might not like the answer.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Its incredibly discomforting not knowing a thing about who you are.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I, Lirt, God of Knowledge shall tell you what little I can. As the one who read your memories, I can tell you more about yourself than anyone else here. Unfortunately, there isn¡¯t much I can tell you.¡±


    ¡°Why is that? Was my world¡¯s technology that big a part of my life?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not the reason why I can¡¯t tell you much. Its because you didn¡¯t have much of a life.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that? Did I die young?¡±


    ¡°No, you lived a long time. By this world¡¯s standards you were already a middle-aged man when you died. But you had no family, no lovers, and no friends you ever met face to face. Even after you died, no one truly mourned your death. You spent most of your adult life in a single room; you didn¡¯t even leave for nourishment. Everything you needed was delivered to you by others.¡±


    It was depressing to hear that I lived such a lethargic life, but it didn¡¯t feel like they were lying about who I was. In fact, everything they said simply felt right.


    ¡°How did I die?¡± I asked in a weak voice.


    ¡°Suicide.¡± The mysterious gravely voice from earlier answered me, but I was too distraught to find it¡¯s source. After a moment of silence I was ready to continue the conversation.


    ¡°So if it¡¯s not for my memories, why would you drag someone as pathetic as me here? What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter much does it? What matters is if you want a second chance to live a fulfilling life. Because if you don¡¯t, then we can just send you back and find someone else. I¡¯m sure Lorose here would be more than happy to replace you with someone more respectful.¡± Rotcod was just a little boy this time as he said that. His suit somehow adjusted to fit him perfectly each time he changed form.


    ¡°A second chance? You mean I can be reborn in your world?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What do you say? As the goddess of life, it would be a simple matter to inject your soul into a still-born baby. If you do, then we will gladly grant you our blessings so you¡¯ll have an easier time in this world. Of course, whether or not you¡¯ll live a happy life is completely up to to you.¡± Nihs said as she rubbed her womb.


    ¡°What happens to me if I say no?¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be sent back to the world you came from. What happens after that we don¡¯t know. You may be reincarnated, sent to some form of the afterlife, or simply cease to exist. We don¡¯t have much contact with your world¡¯s self proclaimed god, and every soul we¡¯ve met so far has had different opinions on what happens after they die.¡±


    I should have asked about the other souls they¡¯ve summoned, but I was too focused on the possibility of living a new live to notice. If I did, things may not have ended up this way.


    ¡°I see.¡± After thinking it over for a moment, I gave her my answer. ¡°In that case, I would like to accept your generous offer. I¡¯ve already have amnesia; what else do I have to lose? I swear I won¡¯t live the same worthless life I did before.¡±


    ¡°I sense no deceit from his words,¡± Shiku confirmed I wasn¡¯t lying once again from the sidelines.


    ¡°Good. In that case, what do you want in your new life? 3 of us shall grant you our blessings. Whether it be fame, money or women, our blessings will aid you in acquiring it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know who I was, but I was certain I didn¡¯t desire fame. If anything I would prefer to not stand out, so that was out of the question. I didn¡¯t want an excessive amount of money either. Even if had it, I wouldn¡¯t know what to do with it. Back then I didn¡¯t know what money could buy, but even now I don¡¯t feel compelled to live a life of luxury. However, there was one thing I specifically wanted at the moment.


    ¡°I know I can¡¯t ask for my old memories back, but it would be nice to not forget anything else. I don¡¯t want to feel this way ever again.¡±


    ¡°Very well then.¡± The owl-man stepped within arms reach. ¡°I, Lirt, God of Knowledge, grant you my blessing. May your memory be ever-lasting.¡± The strange owl-man spread his feathered arms wide in a dramatic fashion and squeezed my head with his talon-like hands. It felt as though my skull was about to crushed, but the pain subsided immediately after he released my head from his grip.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay? We¡¯re supposed to bless his new body, not his very soul.¡± Lorose seemed shocked by Lirt¡¯s blessing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, what harm could a good memory possibly do? If anything, it helps that he¡¯ll remember this moment clearly years from now.¡±


    ¡°I concur, it probably won¡¯t affect the results too much.¡± Nihs didn¡¯t seem to have too much of a problem with this. As it turns out, giving my very soul that particular blessing would affect the god¡¯s plans more than they expected, but it seemed harmless enough at the time. Lirt was aware of this of course, and the other gods were very upset when they found out.


    ¡°So, what else do you wish for?¡±


    ¡°I...¡± I pondered for bit trying to discover what exactly what I wanted in life. However, it was hard to think of anything specific without any memories. After searching deep down within myself, I finally came up with an answer. It was something I¡¯m certain was missing in my previous life.


    ¡°I want to be loved. I want to be surrounded by friends and family who will miss me when I¡¯m gone, and who I can love back.¡± Tears ran down my cheek as I said that and I truly understood how lonely I was in my last life.


    I was barraged by a variety of strange laughs as I wiped the tears from my face. It was too late to take back my answer though, and I wouldn¡¯t even if I could. I was determined to live the most meaningful life I could, and I wouldn¡¯t let my shame get in the way.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for embarrassment; many people wish to be loved. Whether its as family, friend, or lover, another person¡¯s love and affection is many people¡¯s true desire. Therefore, I, Luslo, Goddess of Love and Lust, shall grant you my blessing when you are reborn into this world. What is the last thing you wish for?¡±


    Luslo was another naked semi-humanoid goddess by the way. But unlike Nihs, nothing about her was excessively large. If anything, her proportions were slightly slim. Unfortunately her looks were ruined by her pitch black eyes, razor sharp nails and fangs, and the long snake body that acted as her lower half.


    ¡°I...I don¡¯t know.¡± After thinking for a while, I couldn¡¯t come up with a sufficient answer, so that was all I could say. It seemed like my only wish from the bottom of my soul was to be loved. I could have wished for an easy, privileged life, but I got the feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be the meaningful life I wanted to live.


    ¡°Enough! No more stalling! I have a war to watch. We¡¯ve wasted enough time with needless discussion. If there is nothing else you want, then I shall grant you my blessing after you are born.¡± Lorose loudly declared. I questioned the effectiveness of a blessing given so angrily, but it all worked out in the end.


    ¡°Very well, now that that¡¯s all done, I hope you live your new life to the fullest.¡± Nihs said as she turned away from me. I recoiled in shock from her backside. On the back of her head was another face, pale and wrinkled. It¡¯s hollowed, cloudy eyes seemed to look through me rather than at me, and it¡¯s dried lips barely moved as it spoke.


    ¡°I am Shin, God of Death. We shall meet again when you die. Until then, I suggest you live each day like its your last.¡± I finally discovered the source of the withered voice that came out of Nihs¡¯ body earlier. Though he lacked the muscles to smile, it felt as though he was laughing at me.


    After that my vision blurred as the gods and goddesses faded into the darkness behind them. The last thing I heard was the jovial laughs of the deities as they disappeared. Back then, I thought they were simply happy for me. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t know just how cruel they were at the time. Nor did they know how far I¡¯d go for the sake of revenge.

 1.1 Lucy

    When I woke up I was just a newborn baby. The first thing I saw was a young couple sobbing in each other¡¯s arms. They were of course, my parents. I wanted to ask why they were crying but all that came out of my mouth was gibberish you¡¯d expect from a newborn child. I thought it would be easy move around and speak in my new body, but it lacked both muscles and muscle memory.


    However, my outcry was enough to direct their confused gazes towards me. They wiped the tears away to take a closer look at me before crying again, this time in joy.


    ¡°He¡¯s alive! Ellie, look, he¡¯s alive! Praise Nihs! The gods haven¡¯t forsaken us after all,¡± my father exclaimed. My mother was saying something too, but it was completely incomprehensible because she was crying even harder. Her full name was Elizabeth by the way, and his was Paul. Ellie is just Paul¡¯s nickname for her.


    I couldn¡¯t understand their reactions at first, but then I remembered Nihs said my soul would be transmigrated into a stillborn baby. In other words, I was born dead, so of course they were overjoyed when I turned out to be alive. I dread to imagine what would have happened if I was reborn even an hour later. I may have woken in a tiny, wooden coffin 6ft under.


    I wanted to let my new parents fawn over me a little while longer, but I was both cold and hungry, so I involuntarily started crying. They sent sent distressed looks at each other, fearing the worst. But before they could start panicking, the wet-nurse stepped in.


    ¡°Now now, don¡¯t look so afraid,¡± she said as she picked me up and checked my condition. ¡°Mother Nihs wouldn¡¯t have breathed life into your baby boy just to let Shin take him away.¡±


    Her name was Betty; she was the wife of the village head, Tom. Despite being only 31 years old, she already had 5 living kids and 9 grandchildren by the time I was born. No one in the village in knew more about childbirth than her.


    ¡°But its happened before Betty! Our 3rd son Cedric passed away just 2 weeks after birth!¡± My mother sounded hysterical.


    ¡°Calm down Elizabeth. That won¡¯t happen this time. Cedric was weak and frail, born in the middle of a cruel winter. Its still summer, and this child is strong, very strong. I can feel Lorose¡¯s blessing in him.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t know that for sure until we confirm it at the temples.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I know what I¡¯m talking about. Look, he¡¯s just a little hungry,¡± Betty said as she handed me to my mother. ¡°You know what to do by now don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course! You¡¯re just hungry aren¡¯t you?¡± my mother asked as she held me up to her breasts. ¡°Here, drink as much as you want.¡±


    My baby instincts took over instantly and I drank until I was full. As I was being rocked gently in her warm embrace, the cold I felt earlier was slowly being replaced by a feeling of drowsiness. I closed my eyes as I listened to the calming beats of my mother¡¯s heart.


    ¡°See? Now that he¡¯s full he stopped crying. Look, he¡¯s falling asleep. Have you already thought of a name?¡± the wet-nurse whispered.


    ¡°Yes, if its a girl, Fiona.¡± my father said.


    ¡°And if its a boy?¡±


    ¡°If its a boy, then Lief.¡±


    My mother saying my name was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep¡­ just to wake up half an hour later, crying again. To be honest, life as a baby isn¡¯t very interesting. Most of my time was either spent asleep, crying, or playing whatever I could get my hands on.


    And because I¡¯d rather not focus on a time of my life when I didn¡¯t have much control over my bladder and bowels, I¡¯ll just skip ahead to when I met the girl responsible for the revenge I¡¯m seeking, Lucy.


    ? ? ?


    ¡°So this is your fake church.¡± A scruffy, middle-aged man showed up on our farm one day. I¡¯d seen him around, but until that Sunday I¡¯d never spoken to him before. He was the baker in our small village, Micheal. ¡°But where the hell is everyone? I thought the entire village came to pray every Sunday?¡±


    ¡°We never claimed this was a church, and you¡¯re a bit too early to meet everyone,¡± my older brother, Henry, corrected him. He was 5 years older than me, and nearly as religious as our mother. His neatly combed hair and tidy attire contrasted greatly with Micheal¡¯s unkempt beard and raggedy clothes.


    ¡°Ha! Could¡¯ve fooled me with your fancy bible and wooden statues. But last I checked, you still don¡¯t have a blessing, so you¡¯re not a real priest. In the end you¡¯ll all just be farmers no matter how hard you try.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing here Micheal?¡± Elliot, my eldest brother, glared at him. He was 2 years older than Henry, and was dressed in his best imitation of noble¡¯s fashion. ¡°If you¡¯re just here to mock us, then save it for the pub.¡±


    ¡°Oh, forgive me your highness.¡± Micheal gave him a mocking bow. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you¡¯ve finally become our lord.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®your grace¡¯. You of all people should know that, having worked for my late grandfather and all.¡±


    ¡°You might be named after the old duke, but until you¡¯re officially a part of the Taylor family, I don¡¯t have to call you anything other than ¡®little brat¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Just state your business and go. Obviously you¡¯re not here to pray or socialize like the rest of us respectable folk, so why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that Elliot. It¡¯s never too late start being more pious. Come, pray with us Micheal.¡± Henry tried to lead him towards the building filled with sculptures, but he didn¡¯t move an inch.


    ¡°Get your hands off me! I¡¯m not here for me, but my daughter.¡±


    ¡°Daughter?¡± I asked. The few times I did see him around the village, he was always alone. In fact, most people actively avoided him. I never would have imaged he had a wife, let alone a daughter.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re Leif right? I¡¯m not surprised you haven¡¯t met her before.¡± He turned towards the stables and shouted, ¡°Come here Lucy! Do you hear me? Get over here already!¡±


    ¡°Is someone back there?¡± I asked when no one appeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s where she said she¡¯d wait. Hey kid, go get her.¡±


    ¡°Why me? She¡¯s your daughter.¡± I didn¡¯t know him very well, but his short conversation with my brothers was enough to dissuade me from doing him any favors.


    ¡°Just do it. She¡¯s around your age, so you¡¯ll probably not scare her too much. I want to have a chat with your esteemed brothers some more before they go off to live in some fancy castle or temple somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Go Lief. Anything¡¯s better than being around this old fart, trust me.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± I breathed a sigh as a ran towards the stables. If his daughter was anything like him, I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.


    ? ? ?


    When I got there, a young girl was gently petting our horse. She looked completely out of place in her white, one-piece dress and wavy, auburn hair. Compared to our dirty stable, she was the very image of beauty.


    ¡°Lucy?¡± I asked hesitantly. It was hard to image she was Micheal¡¯s daughter, but there was no one else there, so I had to assume it was her.


    No response.


    ¡°Are you Lucy?¡± I got closer and asked again.


    Still no response. I wondered if she was hard of hearing or just really loved horses. I walked up right behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, are you Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± She shrieked as she backed away from me. But as she did, she tripped over the pitchfork lying around. Fortunately I managed to catch her before she could fall.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    That was when first got a good look at her face. Her fair skin was quickly dyed red as I held her in my arms. It made her lake-blue eyes all the more prominent.


    We stayed like that for a moment before she let out another shriek and slapped me in the face. She ran away again and completely hid herself behind my family¡¯s horse.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you. Are you okay?¡± I asked as I rubbed my cheek. It still stung, but I was too bewildered at the time to be angry at her for slapping me.


    ¡°SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY! Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Leif, and that¡¯s Hufflehoof you¡¯re hiding behind. Are you Lucy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Yes, I¡¯m Lucy. It¡¯s¡­ a pleasure to meet you.¡± Her voice barely audible.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize so much you know? It would be nice if you could talk a little louder though.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I get told that a lot.¡± She managed to raise her voice slightly, but was still hiding behind Hufflehoof, so it wasn¡¯t much easier to hear her.


    I sighed. In a way, communicating with her at first was more troublesome than her father. It took a couple of weeks before she could talk to me normally.


    ¡°Anyways, your dad sent me to get you. Follow me,¡± I said as I leaned the pitchfork back against the wall.


    ¡°Daddy did? O-Okay.¡± When she limped out from behind Hufflehoof, I noticed the streak of blood behind her.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re bleeding!¡± I pulled a chair next to her. ¡°Sit down. We need to treat this as soon as possible. Don¡¯t want it to get infected.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I got blood everywhere.¡± She buried her face in her hands as she sat down.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s my fault anyways.¡± I gently lifted up her foot and examined it closely. ¡°Looks like a pretty deep cut. Wait here, I¡¯m going to grab a potion from the house.¡±


    ¡°Wait! You don¡¯t have to waste something so expensive on me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. You can¡¯t even walk like that.¡± I ripped my shirt into strips and tightly wrapped them around her foot before running off towards my house.


    I found our small stock of potions in our kitchen¡¯s cabinet. Most families couldn¡¯t afford potions, but our uncle would gift us a few each year. I grabbed the largest one and a waterskin and ran back to the stable.


    Lucy was nervously combing her hair when I got back.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Alright. Just a bit faint.¡±


    ¡°Here, drink this.¡± I handed her the water and carefully unwrapped the makeshift bandage. Fortunately she hadn¡¯t lost too much blood yet. ¡°Hold still, this might sting a bit.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She closed her eyes tight. Potions are extremely effective at healing wounds, but they sting harder the worse the wound is.


    I pulled the cork from the glass bottle and poured it¡¯s contents over her foot. The pain made her clench her fists, but she managed to not cry. When it was all gone, her foot was completely healed. Not even a scar remained.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to waste the whole bottle on me,¡± she said as I washed the rest of the blood off her foot.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a waste. Besides, potions might have a long shelf life, but then go bad really quick once you open them. Might as well use it all at once.¡± I stood up and offered her my hand. When she took it I couldn¡¯t help noticing how soft they were compared to my rough farmer¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± After I helped her up she tested her foot.


    ¡°How¡¯s it feel? Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all better now. Thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Anyways, we should probably get going. Your dad sent for you a while ago.¡±


    ? ? ?


    When we got back the other guests were starting to arrive. Elliot was conspicuously missing and Henry was massaging his temples with his eyes closed. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess why.


    ¡°There you are! Why didn¡¯t you come when I called you?¡±


    ¡°S-Sorry daddy, I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± She was hiding behind me just like she hid behind Hufflehoof.


    ¡°Well what took you so long? And why are your faces so red? And why aren¡¯t you wearing a shirt anymore kid?¡± His nostrils flared as he menacingly walked towards us. ¡°What the fuck did you to my little girl?¡±


    ¡°N-Nothing! Sir!¡± In that moment he was far more intimidating than Lorose could ever be.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ¡®sir¡¯ me. Now tell me what you did!¡± His yell attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Stop it daddy!¡± Lucy ran out in front of me with her arms spread wide. ¡°He really didn¡¯t do anything. I cut myself and he healed it, that¡¯s all!¡±


    He stopped dead in his tracks.


    ¡°Healed? Since when were you a healer? You have Nils¡¯ blessing boy?¡±


    ¡°I used a potion.¡± I showed him the empty bottle.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ a potion huh? And a big one too.¡± Seeing he calmed down, most of the other villagers resumed their business. They were already used to Micheal¡¯s momentary bursts of anger. He never actually hurt anyone, but it didn¡¯t make him any less daunting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something to say to my little brother Micheal?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°Tsk. Thanks for taking care of my daughter kid.¡±


    ¡°How about a word of apology?¡±


    ¡°For what? I had every right to be suspicious!¡± He adamantly believed he was in the right.


    ¡°Let it go Henry.¡± I sighed. ¡°No point in asking for the impossible.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. So, you must be Lucy. You¡¯re very brave, standing up to your dad like that.¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond and just hid behind me again.


    ¡°Come on, get out and introduce yourself. You need to learn to be more ladylike if you¡¯re going to get a good husband someday. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here after all.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well I want Lucy to learn some proper manners from a real noble, but I¡¯ll have to settle for your mom. Unlike you and your brothers, she was raised by proper nobles. If she wasn¡¯t stupid enough to elope with your father she¡¯d still be nobility, so she¡¯ll have to do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s no way to ask for a favor is it, Micheal?¡± Henry¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get on your knees and beg?¡±


    Normally he was person of infinite patience, but insulting our mother was crossing a line. If Elliot was still around, he probably would have punched Micheal in the face for saying that.


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for anything. You¡¯ve said anyone is free to pray here before right? Well from now Lucy is going come here every Sunday to do just that. She¡¯ll just happen to pick up a few things from your mother while here.¡±


    ¡°Eh? What do you mean daddy?¡± Lucy seemed just as confused as Henry and I were.


    ¡°Now go with these boys and pray. I¡¯m sure Henry here would be more than happy to show you around. I¡¯ll come pick you up before dinner.¡± Micheal waved her goodbye as he turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait! I really don¡¯t think your plan is going to work,¡± I yelled. ¡°Mom spends most of her Sunday praying; She usually doesn¡¯t even talk to anyone else here.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe she¡¯ll learn how to not act from your idiotic brothers. Either way, she¡¯s coming to pray from now on.¡± Without letting us get another word in, he hastily returned to the village.


    A long silence befell us before Henry let out an awkward laugh.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m Henry. It¡¯s nice to meet you Lucy.¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s a¡­pleasure to meet you too.¡± She gave an adorable curtsy before hiding behind me again.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t we met you before? It¡¯s a pretty small village; I thought everyone knew each other here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t leave the house much,¡± she said after another long silence.


    ¡°I see. Why don¡¯t you show her around Lief? The other villagers are starting to show up and I have to go greet them. Enjoy your stay Lucy.¡± Henry flashed Lucy an awkward smile before rushing to the entrance, pushing the task onto me.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll give a tour then.¡± I pointed towards the wooden building the others were entering. ¡°See that? It¡¯s where everyone goes to pray every Sunday.¡±


    ¡°Why is there a church here? I thought they only existed in big cities?¡±


    ¡°Well it¡¯s not a real church.¡± I explained to her as we walked in. A few people were already inside praying. ¡°There aren¡¯t any priests, and some of god¡¯s statues aren¡¯t done yet. The statues wouldn¡¯t be lined up in grid like this to save space either. They¡¯d be in a giant circle.¡±


    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s so big!¡± She marveled at the spacious interior and life-sized statues. They weren¡¯t accurate depictions of their divine counterparts, but father wouldn¡¯t listen to me about the designs. ¡°Who made all this?¡±


    ¡°My dad did. He was a carpenter before he became a farmer. After I was born, mom became super religious and had him make everything here. But I helped with a lot of the statues,¡± I bragged. ¡°Come, lets pray before it gets too crowded.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay. If I have to.¡± She wasn¡¯t very enthused. ¡°But how do you do that?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to pray? Everyone prays, even if they don¡¯t have a statue to directly pray to.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She looked down dejectedly. ¡°We never pray at our house. Daddy says the gods are a bunch of good for nothing th-¡±


    I covered her mouth with both hands before she could continue.


    ¡°Shh. Don¡¯t let anyone else hear you say that, understand?¡±


    Eyes wide open, she nodded head rapidly. After looking around and making sure no one heard her, I let her go.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She looked like she was about to cry.


    ¡°It¡¯s not something you have to apologize for. I¡¯m telling you this for your sake. Saying stuff like that is dangerous. If the church finds out you¡¯ll be forever branded a heretic.¡±


    ¡°I-Is that a bad thing?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t actually seen one, but I¡¯m told it¡¯s worse than being a slave. The church literally works them to death. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re man, women or child; heretics all suffer the same fate. So don¡¯t ever say anything like that again, alright?¡±


    ¡°All right. If you say so Lief.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now, let me show you how to pray. See that pretty lady over there?¡± I pointed at the woman kneeling in front of the statue of Nils.


    Her statue was that of a mother with a baby in her arms. And unlike the real Nils, Shin wasn¡¯t attached to the back of her head. He had his own statue, a faceless cloaked man carrying a large scythe.


    ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    ¡°Most people have that reaction. That¡¯s my mom, Elizabeth. She was blessed by Alpsri, Goddess of Beauty. And that¡¯s Nils¡¯ statue she¡¯s praying to.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s the lady daddy says I have to learn manners from. Do I have to say hi?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, she¡¯ll be like that all day. Nothing can interrupt her when she¡¯s praying. But that¡¯s how you do it. Just get down on your knees, clap your hands together and close your eyes. Then you just tell the gods anything you want to say.¡±


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t have anything to say?¡±


    ¡°Then act like you do. I don¡¯t think the other villagers would turn a little girl in to the church, but I do know Henry will at the very least will give you long lecture about how amazing the gods are. It¡¯s not worth it, trust me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I thought I saw a slight smile on her face before she knelt down and pretended to pray.

 1.2 Lucy (Continued)

    We took a few seconds to pray in front of each statue before leaving. Most of the villagers didn¡¯t have much to say to the majority of the gods. I think they gathered every Sunday more to socialize than to pray.


    Some people even completely skipped over the irrelevant gods. It was in front of one of the ignored ones where we caught up to my mother in our route around the makeshift church.


    ¡°G-Good morning Mrs¡­um¡­Lief¡¯s mother!¡± Lucy gave my mother a well-practiced curtsy as she stumbled over words.


    ¡°Well she won¡¯t hear you unless you speak up. But like I said, there¡¯s no point in trying to talk to her in the middle of prayer. Watch this.¡±


    I shook my mother¡¯s shoulder and whispered, ¡°Mom! The house is on fire! Elliot¡¯s trapped inside!¡±


    She didn¡¯t so much as twitch.


    ¡°See? Nothing. We like to joke that she¡¯s the only statue here my father didn¡¯t build. You might not even get a chance to talk to her today if your father really picks you up before dinner.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t daddy get mad at me though? I¡¯m supposed to learn from her right?¡±


    ¡°I did warn him this would happen. It¡¯s his own fault for not listening. Anyways, lets finish praying before it gets too crowded in here. This is Yllavein, the Elves¡¯ Goddess. Though you don¡¯t have to pray to her if you don¡¯t want to. Most people don¡¯t.¡±


    Unlike the other gods, her statue actually looked like her true form since the finishing details we left to me. Her torso protruded from a dead tree and was draped in a cloak of leaves. Like the elves she created, her body was thin, skin pale, and ears long and sharp. On her head was a crown of thorns.


    ¡°Elves are real? Why don¡¯t people pray to their god?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Well, people tend to discriminate against the elves since they only believe in their god. It got so bad that the elves were nearly wiped out in a war a hundred years ago.¡±


    In actuality, elves don¡¯t worship Yllavein anymore than the rest of the gods, but I wouldn¡¯t learn that until I met them a few years later.


    ¡°Then why did you make a statue for her?¡±


    ¡°Mom forces us to worship all the gods, even ones for other races. She prays that the elves will worship the other gods as well someday. Dad still doesn¡¯t like them though, so I had to do most of the work.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She took a moment to study my work before asking, ¡°So what do you pray to Yllavein for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to meet an elf some day. But that¡¯s not very likely; they hide themselves in the woods since they¡¯re usually killed on sight.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not against the law?¡± Lucy seemed shocked.


    ¡°Not in the Thearyn Kingdom at least. Uncle John says none of the other nobles are interested in making peace with them. But he thinks there are definitely some elves hiding in his territory. His men just can¡¯t find them.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­well if no one else prays here, lets move on.¡±


    ? ? ?


    After we were done praying, I led her out to the socializing area. It would be a waste simply leave after praying, so the other villagers usually spent a couple hours socializing after praying.


    Of course everyone was separated by their cliques. The parents usually left their kids with the elders while they relaxed on the other side of the farm. Meanwhile, teenagers Elliot¡¯s age would play in the river or explore the surrounding woods. Henry stayed inside the entire day preaching, but the other kids his age played near the livestock.


    Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t old enough to join them, so I was left with the elders and the youngest and most obnoxious children. Perhaps it was because of how old my soul was, but I was much more comfortable around the elders than the kids.


    ¡°Good afternoon Betty,¡± I called out to the woman already seated in the shade of the canopy father built.


    ¡°Please, call me grandma, like everyone else,¡± she said. ¡°But who¡¯s that hiding behind you?¡±


    ¡°Good afternoon g-grandma.¡± Lucy stepped out and greed her when she was found out.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call her that if she isn¡¯t actually your grandma Lucy,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s why I don¡¯t.¡±


    Lucy gave me a confused look.


    ¡°But she is my grandma,¡± she said.


    It took me a moment to register what she said.


    ¡°Eh? One of your daughters is married to Micheal?¡± I asked Betty.


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s no! Mother Nihs would never allow that. He¡¯s my youngest child after all.¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s hard to believe.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that Lief?¡±


    ¡°Well, no offense, but I just can¡¯t imagine you raising such a rude son.¡± Betty was one of the nicest and most respected people in the village, and the rest of her children were just as well mannered. So it was hard to accept that Micheal was her son.


    ¡°Well, he wasn¡¯t always like that. Believe it or not, he wasn¡¯t much different from you growing up. I could tell you all sorts of stories about the trouble he got into as a little boy.¡±


    ¡°Really? What changed?¡± If he really was like me, I wanted to know how to avoid turning into him as an adult.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t be certain, but it was probably after his wife died. When he left to become a chef in Derton, he was still an optimistic young man. But he was already like this when he came back with Lucy.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Derton was the closest city to our village by the way. My uncle John ruled over it as it¡¯s duke.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know. Do you miss your mom?¡± I asked Lucy.


    ¡°N-No, not really.¡± She shook her head sideways. ¡°Daddy says she died giving birth to me, so I didn¡¯t really know her. Apparently I look just like her though.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. Luckily Betty sensed this and changed the subject.


    ¡°Well, enough about that. It¡¯s nice to see you outside of the house Lucy. Is my son here with you?¡±


    ¡°No, daddy dropped me off and left. He said he¡¯ll be back before dinner.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. I hoped he¡¯d finally forgiven the gods. No matter, he¡¯ll come around eventually. Why don¡¯t you play with the other kids in the meantime?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to,¡± she muttered as she shrunk behind me again.


    ¡°Why not? They¡¯re a bit annoying, but they¡¯re nice kids. At least say hi.¡±


    ¡°O-Okay. If you say so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right here if you need me,¡± Betty said as I led Lucy a few feet away where the other kids were playing. They didn¡¯t pray nearly as long as their parents, so there were already a lot of them there.


    ¡°Everyone, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve already met, but this is Lucy,¡± I announced.


    ¡°¡­H-Hello.¡± She greeted them after mustering up her courage. But she immediately hid behind me again. I couldn¡¯t blame her for that after hearing their response.


    ¡°Haha, look! It¡¯s rust-head!¡± one of the kids shouted.


    ¡°The witch left her house!¡± another one screamed. The rest of them weren¡¯t any friendlier either.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the name calling guys?¡± I was confused since they weren¡¯t normally so mean. Insignificant fights broke out between the kids of course, but they usually forgot all about it the next week.


    ¡°She¡¯s the witch of the village we¡¯re always talking about Lief,¡± one of the youngest ones explained.


    ¡°If you make her mad she¡¯ll curse you and something bad¡¯ll happen to you. That¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t have a mom and her daddy¡¯s such a loser,¡± the second kid said.


    ¡°Come on guys. That¡¯s not her fault. Besides, her mom died giving birth to her.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve been a witch that long?¡± someone asked. It didn¡¯t sound like they were being malicious, but it still wasn¡¯t very nice.


    ¡°Enough!¡± I was starting to lose patience with them. The other kids were shocked into silence as I¡¯ve never raised my voice against them before.


    I took a deep and, remembering why we were talking to the kids in the first place, approached the first kid since he was holding the toy horse my dad made for me when I was a baby.


    ¡°Can we play with that?¡± I asked. I assumed she would like that toy the best because of how I met her this morning.


    ¡°No! She¡¯ll get it all dirty!¡± he said stubbornly.


    ¡°But they¡¯re my toys. Is it that big a deal to share?¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± he yelled. ¡°I don¡¯t want it anyways!¡±


    But instead of handing it over, he ran it through the mud and threw it as hard as he could at Lucy. She cowered over to dodge the toy, but the mud still would have dirtied her pure-white dress. Luckily I realized what he was trying to do and managed to shield her in time.


    Before I could yell at him, Betty interrupted from the sidelines.


    ¡°What did I say about throwing thing? You¡¯re on time-out!¡± She was unexpectedly strict when it came to the rules. Not enough to make the kids hate her of course.


    ¡°But grandma!¡±


    ¡°No buts! Now go sit in the corner.¡±


    After he stomped off to the time-out zone, Betty went back to sitting in the shade and beckoned us over.


    Sensing the open hostility from the other kids, Lucy and I quickly followed her. We spent the rest of the afternoon just listening to her stories instead. I wanted to apologize to Lucy to for exposing her to the unwarranted bullying, but she wouldn¡¯t look directly at me for the rest of the day.


    ? ? ?


    It was nearly time for dinner when Micheal finally returned.. Everyone else had already left, and I was about to invite her to stay and dine with us. I thought perhaps he¡¯d forgot to pick her up.


    But instead of leaving right away like I assumed he would, he tossed me a small pouch filled with coins.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for? Hope you don¡¯t think we¡¯re babysitters. Or do you want us to donate it to the church?¡±


    ¡°Ha! And here I thought there was hope for you. But I guess all your parent¡¯s kids are idiots after all,¡± he snorted.


    ¡°Then why are you giving me this?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of any other reason why he¡¯d give me a pouch of coins.


    ¡°It¡¯s for the potion, brat. It chipped into our savings a bit, but it should be enough. Selling it¡¯s glass bottle should be enough to cover the rest.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that,¡± I said as I tried to hand it back to him. ¡°They were a gift from our uncle anyways.¡±


    ¡°Listen kid, we don¡¯t need your charity? I can take care of my own daughter.¡±


    Nothing I could say would probably change his mind, so I decided to just accept the coins. I didn¡¯t want to risk incurring his wrath twice in one day.


    After that he left. Before Lucy followed, she gave me a deep bow and said, ¡°T-Thank you for¡­playing with me today Lief.¡±


    ? ? ?


    The next day I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how sad Lucy seemed.


    ¡°Hey dad, can I take some time off working on this statue?¡± We¡¯d just finished tending to the fields and started working on the rest of the statues. My brothers helped work the earth of course, but I was the only one who helped with the statues.


    ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯s that?¡± he asked. ¡°Just last week you were begging for more control over their designs. You did such a good job on Yllavein too.¡±


    ¡°Well I hoping to make some more toys. Plus, I don¡¯t want to make a statue for Lorose anyways; he¡¯s a jerk.¡±


    ¡°This again? For the last time, you never met him. Even the pope doesn¡¯t claim to have met the gods. That was a just a dre-¡±


    ¡°Fine fine, I get it. Either way, I want to make some more toys.¡±


    Nobody ever took me seriously when I told them about my conversation with the gods. Even my mom thought it was just a dream since, according to the church, you go to heaven or hell when you die. None of the scriptures mention anything about reincarnation.


    Naturally I was careful to not mention to anyone outside my family, but since they already knew, I brought it up occasionally. Especially when it came to how the statues looked.


    ¡°Right now? The other villagers were hoping we could finish the statue for Lorose this week. John says the Holy Ranta Theocracy waged war on us again. They want ask him to end this war quickly.¡±


    Unlike other countries that declared war when they had an advantage and a casus belli, the Ranta Theocracy did it whenever and on whoever Lorose tells them to. And their wars don¡¯t end without his permission. Unfortunately they seem to have his favor and almost always profit in the end.


    ¡°Can I at least make a replacement for the one another kid ruined?¡± When it hit me, the head broke clean off. I considered using it as a dullahan¡¯s horse, but I figured it was old enough that the legs would probably go soon as well.


    ¡°Sure, but be quick about it. Lorose¡¯s statue is a lot more detailed than some of the previous ones.¡± His statues were based on the statues found in the real church in Derton, my uncle¡¯s city. And his was that of a huge knight equipped with an ornate sword and shield and intricate armor.


    With his permission, I immediately got to work.


    ? ? ?


    The next Sunday after praying, I didn¡¯t even bother trying to convince the other kids to play with Lucy. Instead, we played together and listened to Betty¡¯s stories from then on.


    Unfortunately the bullying got worse after Lucy started going through puberty prematurely. It was rumored that Luslo¡¯s blessing caused this, so they thought she used some forbidden magic to charm me. It was the only explanation they could come with for why I¡¯d spend so much time with her.


    I went through the same thing as her a year after she did, but the changes to my body weren¡¯t nearly as dramatic as hers, so it went largely ignored.


    When I showed her the horse I carved out for her, she tried to reject it.


    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s not like I really wanted a toy,¡± she said as she stared at it.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that. I made it just for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? T-Thank you.¡± She lifted her head up and looked me straight in the eye for the first time since the previous week.


    ¡°Yeah, so lets paint it. What¡¯s your favorite color?¡± We had a lot of left over hand-made paints from when we painted the statues. Fortunately none of the statues had any purple in their designs.


    She took a moment to think before answering.


    ¡°Red.¡±

 1.3 Leaving for Derton

    In my 8th year as Lief, my family and a handful of other villagers gathered together at the entrance to our village. Winter had just ended, but it was still too cold to work the land, so it was the perfect time to take a short trip to the city. That year¡¯s visit to Derton was my 3rd since being born. It was also my father¡¯s last.


    My entire family woke early that morning, even before the sun could rise, and prayed for an extra half hour to the statues father built. Naturally we couldn¡¯t bring the statues with us on our journey, so we were extra pious that day to compensate.


    Gorro, God of Protection, received the majority of our prayers that morning, as we asked that he watch over us and our home on our week-long journey. His statue was that of a large man, welding even larger tower shields in each hand. In reality, he was more like a strange, giant turtle, but with no head or tail and 8 shielded legs. And in the center of each shield was a metallic eye as big as my fist.


    After that we packed our travel supplies on the cart Hufflehoof pulled, and met up with the rest of our party at the village entrance. Every year our village would do this. Instead of risking traveling alone, it was much safer to travel as a large group.


    The roads became increasingly dangerous as the war dragged on. More and more people became bandits as the Holy Ranta Theocracy slowly consumed the Thearyn Kingdom.


    Even without the growing threat of bandits, we had to be wary of the vicious monsters lurking in the woods. So our village would pool together our meager savings to hire adventurers to guide and protect us once a year.


    There was just 1 problem¡­


    ¡°Where the hell are those damn adventurers?¡± Micheal shouted as he took a swig from his wineskin.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably still asleep. They were up all night¡­ preparing,¡± Tom, the village head, said hesitantly as he glanced at the children. He was there to see us off.


    ¡°Huh? Sleeping? We¡¯re not paying them to sleep! Go and wake their lazy asses up Lucy!¡± You could tell from his breathe that it wasn¡¯t water in his wineskin.


    ¡°O-Okay dad,¡± she said as she looked at me nervously.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I go with you?¡± I suggested. She could barely handle being around the other kids; I doubt she had the courage to wake party of adventurers.


    ¡°You need to stop babying her kid. Anyone can tell from looking at her that she¡¯s already a young women, ready for marriage. Don¡¯t pretend you haven¡¯t noticed; I see the way you look at her. It¡¯s about time for her to get hitched and move away already.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just 9,¡± my father said. ¡°I¡¯m sure Luslo wouldn¡¯t permit marriage at such a young age.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Luslo is probably the one who made her this way. She¡¯d better approve. Getting her out of the house earlier is the only reason why I¡¯m willing to pay the church¡¯s outrageous examination fees.¡±


    He was referring to the small ¡°donation¡± required by the church to confirm people¡¯s blessings. The amount asked for varied depending on your income. Lowly peasants like us normally paid enough to feed themselves for a week, whereas nobility could pay up to 50x more in the end.


    ¡°Its not a fee; its a donation. The church needs it to survive, and without a detergent, people would swarm them everyday requesting confirmations.¡± Henry parroted the church¡¯s official reason for asking for a donation. Of course he and mother went with us; neither one of them would ever miss an opportunity to pray at a real church.


    The church¡¯s survival aside, the deterrent was apparently a real reason. Hundreds of years ago, the service was completely free of charge, and the church was flooded with requests. A person could be blessed anytime in their life, not just when they¡¯re born. In addition, there¡¯s no indication when you¡¯re blessed. Unlike when Lirt blessed my soul, blessing a body is a completely painless experience. So people without blessings would visit the church whenever they could hoping for a change in status.


    ¡°Call it what you want,¡± Micheal said, taking another swig. ¡°Either way, in this case, it¡¯s an overpriced service where they¡¯re going to tell me what I already know. But unless I get it confirmed, I can¡¯t say she¡¯s blessed without becoming a heretic.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning on doing with her after that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you kid? Don¡¯t tell me you want her for yourself? The point is to get her far away, not next door. That reminds me, what are you still doing here Lucy? Go get those damn adventurers already!¡±


    ¡°Yes daddy!¡± She nearly tripped as she scrambled back towards the village.


    I glared at Micheal briefly before chasing after her. We were headed towards Tom¡¯s house, where the adventurers were staying. I could tell something was on her mind, so I tried to cheer her up.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t let what he said get you down. He was completely wrong to say that.¡±


    ¡°Was he wrong?¡± she asked without looking at me.


    ¡°Of course! You¡¯re still far too young to get married, even if Luslo approves.¡±


    ¡°Not that,¡± she said as she looked down. ¡°Do you look at me like that? Do you want me all for yourself?¡± She was practically whispering at that point.


    I turned away in shame even though she couldn¡¯t see me. Truth was, as a boy going through puberty, I was very attracted to her. It couldn¡¯t be helped. We spent a lot of time together and were very close. In fact, when her body started changing, I was the first person she came to.


    But I didn¡¯t want to risk ruining our friendship by confessing, especially since I was her only friend. It would have gotten incredibly awkward if she didn¡¯t feel the same way, so I tried to avoid the question instead.


    ¡°Ah, sorry, I couldn¡¯t hear you. Did you say something? The wind is pretty loud today.¡±


    ¡°I sai-¡± After a moment of hesitation, she rose her voice and faced me directly to ask again, but I cut her off before she could.


    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re almost there. Don¡¯t let the adventurers intimidate you too much when we meet them okay?¡± We were actually still 2 minutes away, so I quickened my pace to end the conversation even a second earlier.


    ¡°Okay Lief.¡± She was visibly depressed, but I didn¡¯t know what else to say. The rest of the way was walked in silence.


    ? ? ?


    When we arrived I tried to knock on the door, but before I could, it swung open and we were greeted by Betty.


    ¡°Good morning! If it isn¡¯t Lief and Lucy. I thought I wouldn¡¯t see you two again for another week. Shouldn¡¯t you have left for the city by now?¡±


    ¡°Good morning grandma,¡± Lucy said. She had no trouble talking to her grandmother; we spent enough time listening to her stories together that she was one of the few people Lucy could naturally talk to.


    ¡°Good morning Betty. We were supposed to leave at sunrise, but the adventurers haven¡¯t shown up yet. Are they still inside?¡±


    ¡°Please Lief, how many times do I have to tell you, call me grandma as well. As for the adventurers, I thought they left this morning. I haven¡¯t heard a peep from them since last night. They were pretty loud though, it was hard to get any sleep.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa thought they might still be sleeping. Can you go wake them up for us?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°I wish I could, but I¡¯m already late as it is. I heard Stacy¡¯s water just broke; I¡¯m on my way there now to help her deliver. But they¡¯re staying in the guest room. You two know the way don¡¯t you?¡±


    Stacy was another farmer¡¯s wife who moved in 1 year prior. After losing her home in the war, she moved from place to place for a few years. Unfortunately, the war seemed to follow her everywhere she went. Tired of traveling, she finally decided to settle down here and marry one our neighbor''s sons.


    ¡°Yes Betty. Give Stacy our best wishes when you see her.¡± I said. It didn¡¯t feel right to call her grandma since we weren¡¯t actually related.


    ¡°Again with the Betty. If I¡¯m not imagining things, I really will be your grandma in a few years anyways. But I really must go. Have a safe journey you two!¡± Betty gave her goodbyes as she hurried away.


    ¡°Bye grandma!¡± Lucy said as she pulled me inside the house. ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t want to keep dad waiting any longer.¡±


    We went down the hall towards the guest room. It was actually the biggest and most well outfitted room in the entire village, though that wasn¡¯t saying much. It may have been rare for guests to come to our village, but there was 1 significantly important person that came every year ¨C the tax collector. To make his visit as pleasant as possible, Tom spared no expense furnishing the room.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It had a proper bed with cotton sheets and fur blankets, a fireplace, and even a candle-lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling.


    Commoners usually couldn¡¯t afford a bed even without the sheets and blankets, and most fireplaces were exclusively found in the living room, as normal families simply couldn¡¯t afford to fuel multiple fireplaces. And a chandelier in a plebeian''s house was practically unheard of. Candles were expensive, and a chandelier required multiple to be burned.


    To this day I¡¯m still not sure how they were able to afford those luxuries. I asked Betty about it once, but she just laughed it off, telling me there¡¯s no need to worry about it. Lucy didn¡¯t know anymore than I did.


    I approached the hand-carved door and knocked twice. There was no answer.


    ¡°Hello? Is anyone in there?¡± I asked. I tried knocking again but only heard silence in return. Fearing the worst I told Lucy to take a step back.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go in, Lucy. Take a step back; we don¡¯t know whats in there,¡± I said. I may have sounded paranoid, but there were several creatures in this world known to kill people in the dead of night. Betty said they were pretty loud the night before, so I thought maybe what she heard was them struggling against a monster.


    She followed my directions, but stayed in eyesight. I would preferred if she just waited outside, but I knew she wouldn¡¯t leave me alone in a potentially dangerous situation. After I gathered my courage I slowly opened the door.


    The room was a complete mess. There were signs of struggle everywhere; most of the furniture was knocked over and scratch marks could be found all over the place. I couldn¡¯t see any obvious blood, but a strange smell unknown to me at the time permeated the room. The bed was out of position, and something large was clearly under the fur blanket.


    Fearing the worst I grabbed a nearby long sword with my right hand and blanket with my left. I gulped once and ripped it off with all my strength. What I found shocked me so much I dropped the sword and let out a scream.


    ¡°Whats wrong?¡± Lucy yelled as she ran into the room.


    When she saw what was on the bed, she screamed, ¡°NOOO! Don¡¯t look Lief!¡± and hastily covered my eyes.


    But it was too late. Thanks to Lirt¡¯s blessing, the adventurer¡¯s naked bodies were permanently etched into my memory.


    For example, even now I can perfectly recall the blond one¡¯s voluptuous body. The way her butt was sticking out because her long legs were wrapped around the man¡¯s body. And how her large breasts were pressed up against his back. Unlike Nilhs, when I looked at her I felt the very opposite of disgust.


    The muscular man, on the other hand, was tightly hugging the dark haired girl. His bulging arms looked strong enough to crush her in his grasp, but she didn¡¯t seem to be in any discomfort. He was easily the tallest man I¡¯d ever seen up until then, and other parts of him were also impressively sized. Quite frankly, I was jealous.


    The girl he was hugging was also hugging him back. She was much shorter than the blond, only about as tall as I was at the time. But she was still clearly an adult, despite her small breasts. Her slim, well-toned body stirred when we screamed.


    ¡°SORRYSORRYSORRY!¡± Lucy yelled as she forcefully dragged me out of the room and slammed the door shut.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s already morning. Sorry we¡¯re late, give us a minute to get dressed okay?¡± a feminine voice called out from the other side of the door.


    ¡°T-t-t-t-take all time you need!¡± Lucy yelled as she pushed me into the living room.


    ¡°D-did you see it Lief?¡± Lucy asked while we were waiting. ¡°Did you see those girls naked?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah¡± I awkwardly replied. There was no point denying it.


    ¡°Which one did you like more?¡± She leaned in close and looked into my eyes intently, as if it was the most important question in the world. Now that I think about it, she had a crazy look in her eyes, but my mind was too disarrayed to notice back then.


    ¡°Wait, what? Why?¡±


    ¡°No deflecting! You¡¯re not getting out of answering this time,¡± she said as she grabbed my head with both hands to keep me from looking away.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re both equally charming,¡± came a deep, masculine voice from the hallway. 4 people were standing there, fully clothed this time. I recognized the 3 people from earlier, but the 4th was a complete stranger.


    He was medium height and skinny; if he had any muscles, they weren¡¯t visible under his thin leather armor. His dead eyes didn¡¯t project a sense of confidence at all. On his hip was the long sword I dropped earlier. Compared to his other companions he didn¡¯t look very reliable.


    He wasn¡¯t the owner of the voice from earlier of course. That honor belonged to the tall, muscular man sandwiched by the two beautiful girls.


    ¡°But men have their preferences don¡¯t they?¡± he teased me. ¡°If you had to pick one, who would it be? Don¡¯t be shy. The one on the left with the huge boobs is Daniella, and the girl with the deadpan expression is Lyndis, though we call her Lynn.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what do you think Lief?¡± Lucy relentlessly followed up. It was surprising to see her behaving so aggressively, especially since it was in the company of complete strangers. It seemed like I really wasn¡¯t going to get out of answering, so I took a closer look at the two of them.


    Daniella¡¯s golden blond hair flowed all the way down to her hips. Her lake-blue eyes and kind smile were both very inviting, and the way she blushed made me want to protect her. In her hands was a long, wooden staff with a clear orb adorned at the top. She wore a fancy, but thin robe that did nothing to hide her sensual curves. When I looked at her I couldn¡¯t help but picture her naked body and look away embarrassingly.


    When I me Lynn¡¯s eyes, she seemed sad for a moment. Her facial expression never changed, but that¡¯s the feeling I got. Because I was captivated by her blood-red eyes, we spent a moment staring at each other before she turned away and covered herself with her hood.


    On her back was a bow and quiver full of arrows, and at the back of her slender hips was a sheath holding two short swords penetrating either end. Her form-fitting garb was entirely composed of dark, neutral colors, which contrasted greatly with her pale skin.


    Compared to our sun-kissed skin, hers made me think she¡¯s never been outside. Her breasts may have been small, but even when I pictured her naked I didn¡¯t feel compelled to avert my gaze. If anything, I wanted to take a closer look.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put so much pressure on him,¡± she tried ending the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m sure his answer is Daniella anyways, just like everyone else.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true at all!¡± I passionately refuted her. She looked confused for a moment before returning to her deadpan face.


    ¡°So you like small boobs,¡± Lucy dejectedly whispered as she pushed down on her own growing chest.


    ¡°No! Big boobs are good too! Ah! What am I even saying?¡± I tried to think of a way to end things before it got even more out of hand, but the tall man wouldn¡¯t let me.


    ¡°Hahaha, you see that Dani? Looks like you got another one under your spell. Too bad kid, she¡¯s already mine. We¡¯re already married you know? Came back in 5-10 years and you can go for Lyndis though.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? No, it¡¯s not li-¡±


    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m Godfrey, leader of the silver ranked adventurer party, Ascension. Sorry to keep you waiting; we were pretty exhausted from all the exercise last night,¡± he said while giving me a knowing wink.


    Unlike the other man, he projected a strong, dependable aura. Thick, leather armor covered the areas not protected by plate mail. On his left arm was a steel round shield, and on his back was a heavy war hammer. If it was anyone else I would have questioned how they managed to equip it all, but on him it seemed completely natural.


    ¡°Hmp. You 3 were humping like rabbits while I was busy getting everything ready. Don¡¯t try dress it up any other way,¡± the 4th wheel said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that Raphael,¡± Godfrey said as he slapped on him on the back. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t affect his posture at all. ¡°Let¡¯s head out while we talk, shall we? I don¡¯t want to keep the others waiting any longer than we have to.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, Right this way,¡± I said as I lead them out the door.


    ¡°By the way, why doesn¡¯t this village have an inn?¡± Raphael asked Lucy. They were standing in the back of the group. Usually she would be right by my side, but she was too lost in thought to notice how far apart we were.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, umm, sorry. We don¡¯t get enough visitors to have an inn,¡± she meekly answered.


    ¡°Past here there¡¯s nothing but forests, swamps and the mountains,¡± I added. ¡°We¡¯re not rich enough to make the trip worth it for merchants, so the only people that normally come here are tax collectors and lost adventurers.¡±


    ¡°Well it was really inconvenient having to share a room with these 3. I had to wait outside until they were done,¡± he grumbled.


    Speaking of which, Daniella and Lynn were whispering amongst themselves a little ahead of them, and Godfrey was walking side by side with me.


    He wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, leaned in and said in a low voice, ¡°So? Aren¡¯t you going to ask?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°No need to hold back,¡± he smirked, ¡°You want to know about those two don¡¯t you? I can tell by the way you keep looking back at them. Before you ask, Dani¡¯s boobs really are as soft as they look.¡± He did a squeezing motion with his right hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± I quickly refuted him. I didn¡¯t want there to be any misunderstandings. ¡°It¡¯s just, you follow the Heavenly Laws don¡¯t you?¡±


    Every god had at least 1 rule in place, and those who break those rules are considered heretics. These rules were called the Heavenly Laws and were separate from the country¡¯s laws, though most of the heavily religious countries included them in their own.


    ¡°Of course! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to risk becoming the church¡¯s slave for not following some simple rules.¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t Luslo forbid sleeping with anyone you¡¯re not married to? It didn¡¯t sound like Lynn is your wife,¡± I said. It was rare for a person in the Thearyn Kingdom to have multiple marriage partners as monogamy was nationally practiced, but that wasn¡¯t the case in some other countries.


    In the Holy Ranta Theocracy for example, you could have several wives and husbands depending on your blessings. But adventurers didn¡¯t exist there, so I assumed Ascension was a local party.


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what this is about. Let me give you some useful advice kid. What¡¯s forbidden isn¡¯t sleeping together, it¡¯s sex. And there are plenty of things a man and woman can do that isn¡¯t sex. Keep that in mind; you¡¯ll have a lot more fun that way.¡±


    ¡°Oh, uh, thanks,¡± I replied awkwardly. On the way back I kept glancing back towards the girls wondering what those things could have been; it didn¡¯t go unnoticed.


    ? ? ?


    By the time we got back the sun was already high in the sky.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time! What took you so damn long?¡± Micheal asked.


    ¡°Calm down old man.¡± Godfrey¡¯s smile never faltered. ¡°And hour or two won¡¯t make that much of a difference in the long run. We can easily make up for it over the next 3 days.¡±


    ¡°O-old man? I¡¯m not even a grandfather yet! You should show some respect to your clients. I¡¯ve half a mind to fire you and find some harder working adventurers instead!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your choice,¡± Raphael said, ¡°but good luck finding another party willing to escort this large a party for so little pay.¡±


    There were 18 people headed to the city that year, and we each only put up a couple iron coins.


    ¡°Tsk. Well you better do a better job guarding us while we¡¯re out on the road.¡±


    ¡°Of course old man! We¡¯re very good at our jobs. If we weren¡¯t, we wouldn¡¯t be Silver Ranked.¡±


    There were 7 adventurer ranks in this world; from weakest to strongest it went Bronze, Iron, Steel, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond. Those inexperienced with combat started out at Bronze and could easily promote to Iron by simply completing a set number of requests. But from Steel onwards you had to pass a fairly difficult test. Most adventurers never make it into Steel, let alone Silver.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me saying this, I hope last night wasn¡¯t representative of how you act on the job. The woods can be dangerous at night,¡± Tom interjected from the side.


    ¡°Hahaha don¡¯t worry gramps. Adventurers know better than anyone how dangerous the woods can be at night. We¡¯ll stay vigil. Don¡¯t want to die in the middle of no where after all.¡±


    After that everyone introduced themselves and got into formation. Godfrey took the lead, Daniella was in the center with the other villagers, and Raphael covered the rear. Lynn was in charge of scouting ahead.


    With that we finally left for Derton.

 1.4 Goblins

    Godfrey stayed jovial after we set off, but quickly changed his attitude when we approached the edge of our village¡¯s divine protection, which was marked by a thick rope surrounding the it.


    It¡¯s said that Gorro uses his power to keep human settlements safe from monsters. It was still physically possible for monsters to enter this area of protection, but they instinctively stay away for whatever reason. The only exceptions are tamed and unique monsters, though both are pretty rare.


    Unfortunately our village¡¯s population was small enough that the village¡¯s wooden fence was still visible when we reached the border.


    Before crossing over it Godfrey turned to us and asked in a serious tone, ¡°Who here has been to Derton before?¡±


    About half of us raised our hands. Lucy wasn¡¯t one of them probably because she hasn¡¯t been back since she was born.


    ¡°Alright. Those of you who haven¡¯t gather round.¡± He effortlessly broke off a branch from a nearby tree and started drawing a rough map in the ground. ¡°This tiny dot is where we are, and that big circle is Derton. The left side of this Y connecting the two is the river we¡¯ll follow to get there. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just go straight to Derton through the woods?¡± one of the other kids asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be faster?¡±


    ¡°True, it would probably just take 2 days instead of 3. But beyond this point,¡± he warned as he tugged on the rope, ¡°we have monsters to worry about. We had to fight a couple of goblins to get here and saw signs that there¡¯s something else nearby. But the river is wide enough to keep away monsters on the other side and shallow enough not to house anything too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re afraid of a couple of goblins?¡± Micheal snicked. ¡°Some adventurers you are.¡±


    ¡°Even I could kill a goblin,¡± Elliot boasted. Though I¡¯m not sure where he got his confidence from since he¡¯s never even fought one before. Every previous time we went to town everyone just hid behind the adventurers whenever we were attacked.


    ¡°Really? I guess if you get attacked then you won¡¯t need our help then?¡± Raphael replied before Godfrey could. He was suddenly standing behind Elliot without anyone noticing. ¡°Since goblins aren¡¯t a threat to you two maybe you¡¯d like to try going through the woods alone?¡±


    Micheal didn¡¯t have a response to that. He just looked away while taking a sip from his wineskin so Raphael looked to Elliot for an answer.


    ¡°D-Don¡¯t be stupid! I have to stay here and defend my family since you guys are so scared!¡± he yelled in a fluster.


    ¡°That¡¯s right tough guy. So just get in line and let us cowards handle everything.¡± Raphael turned away and slunk back to the rear again.


    I¡¯m not sure if Daniella was trying to diffuse the tension in the air or if she just couldn¡¯t hold back anymore but that¡¯s when she chose to strike.


    Up until then she¡¯d been pretty reserved, going out of her way to hide her beautiful face under her hood and letting her husband answer all the questions. But for whatever reason that¡¯s when she decided to reveal her true personality.


    She removed her hood and very casually pressed herself up against Elliot, wrapping his right arm in between her ample breasts.


    ¡°You¡¯ll protect me too won¡¯t you?¡± she asked with upturned eyes.


    ¡°But...but that¡¯s your job isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Thanks to his elitist attitude he wasn¡¯t very popular with the opposite sex, despite his handsome face and noble lineage. So it was a bit of a shock for all us to see such a captivating woman throw herself at him.


    ¡°A big, strong man like you wouldn¡¯t leave a helpless girl like me to those monsters would you?¡± She ran her fingers up his chest and coiled herself around him even tighter.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you silv-¡±


    ¡°Can you imagine what those filthy goblins would do to me? After they push me down and rip off all my clothes...you¡¯ll spare me from such a fate won¡¯t you?¡±


    Several audible gulps could be heard from the crowd. Elliot couldn¡¯t see it but he was attracting the jealous gaze of every unmarried ¨C and some married ¨C man there.


    After a moment of silence Elliot managed to get his mind together and come up with a response.


    ¡°I could do that. You¡¯ll have to stick close to me though, for your protection,¡± he said as he put his arm around her waist.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t leave your side.¡±


    For a moment it seemed like she only had eyes for Elliot as she brought her face closer to his, but then she suddenly turned away and addressed the rest of the men there.


    ¡°You boys will all keep me safe too won¡¯t you?¡± she asked, battering her eyelashes.


    The hostility in their eyes was instantly replaced with lust as they hurried to answer her.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°You can stay by my side!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll won¡¯t let anything happen to you Daniella!¡±


    Even Henry couldn¡¯t help but join in. My father on the hand just scoffed at the situation. Mother was the only women for him. Speaking who whom, she payed little attention to what was happening and was praying as usual.


    I thought Godfrey would have been furious seeing his wife flirt so blatantly with another man but to my surprise he just ignored it as if it was normal.


    ¡°If there¡¯s no more questions then lets get going. Keep the chatter to a minimum. Everything¡¯s coming out of hibernation this time of year so they¡¯re hungry. We don¡¯t want to draw any more attention than we have to.¡±


    ? ? ?


    Despite his warning the first day was surprisingly uneventful as far as combat goes. On my first two trips to Derton we were attacked within half an hour of crossing the border so it was nice change. It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t encounter any monsters ¨C they were just already dead when we did.


    But the fact that they were corpses didn¡¯t make them any less frightening, especially for the children in the group.


    Just 10 minutes after crossing the border Lucy tugged on my sleeve and pointed towards the woods.


    ¡°What are those Lief?¡± she asked.


    I took a closer look and saw 3 small creatures laying naked in the woods. Their dirty green skin ruled out the possibility of them being human. But even if their skin was a normal color they were far too ugly to be mistaken for anything other than the most common monsters.


    ¡°Goblins!¡± I yelled. ¡°Godfrey, there are goblins over there!¡±


    ¡°What? Miss Daniella get back! We got this.¡±


    The boys who were so busy flirting with her instantly formed a human wall around her. Micheal also grabbed Lucy¡¯s arm and dragged her behind them. I myself hid behind our cart with my mother who was, once again, praying.


    ¡°Everyone quiet down!¡± Godfrey roared. ¡°Stop freaking out over a couple of corpses. See? There¡¯s nothing to panic about.¡±


    He walked over to them and grabbed a pair of goblins by their heads and tossed them our way. When one of them landed in front of the other men they all took a deep breath and stepped back. But after Elliot poked it with a stick and confirmed it was really dead they sighed in relief.


    Daniella started praising them for their bravery but I tuned that noise out and focused on the goblin that ended up in front of me instead.


    It was my first time being so close to a monster so I was able to make out details I didn¡¯t notice before. Upon closer inspection it was obviously dead. It¡¯s left arm was nearly torn off by what appeared to be a large bite mark and a pool of blue blood was oozing out of it¡¯s wounds. It must have died recently for it to still be bleeding so much.


    It¡¯s hands only had 4 fingers but more notably it had several strands of silver fur under it¡¯s dirty nails.


    Even though it was a completely different species I could tell it¡¯s last expression was one of shock and fear. It¡¯s mouth was agape baring it¡¯s pointed, stained teeth. But more significantly it¡¯s eyes were wide open, revealing it¡¯s red iris ¨C the same red of Lyn¡¯s eyes.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Hey Lief, you¡¯ll protect me from those things right?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Of course. But lets hope it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡±


    If I ever had to fight then that likely meant that our guides were defeated. And we were definitely not qualified to fight anything that could beat silver ranked adventurers.


    Even though I probably already had Lorose¡¯s blessing I didn¡¯t know how to use it. And more importantly I was completely unarmed had 0 combat experience up to that point.


    I couldn¡¯t even tell the goblins were dead at first from a couple feet away, so I wondered how Godfrey could knew they were already corpses from where he was. If it turned out he didn¡¯t notice them before Lucy then it would have been cause for concern.


    The way that goblin was killed bothered me too so I decided to ask him about it before we continued.


    ¡°Not to be rude but you did know that the goblins were there and already dead right?¡±


    ¡°Obviously. Don¡¯t underestimate a silver ranked kid.¡± He seemed particularly proud of his rank because he kept bringing it up as a testament to his skill.


    ¡°But how? Even if you saw them you couldn¡¯t have known they weren¡¯t laying there waiting to ambush us.¡±


    ¡°Easy. Lynn is the scouting ahead, and she wouldn¡¯t leave any goblins alive. And if she did come across something she couldn¡¯t handle alone we would have gotten a warning.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying she killed all of these? But some of them were clearly attacked by something not human.¡±


    I immediately threw out the idea that she could have inflicted those wounds. If she was a beastkin it would have made sense since they have the ability to transform into various animals, but she lacked the distinct furry ears and tail that all beastkin possess.


    If I¡¯d met her the same way everyone else did then I could have assumed that she just hid them under her cloak, but that morning proved that there was nothing to hide.


    However Godfrey just evaded my question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it kid. What¡¯s important is that they¡¯re dead.¡±


    Before I could follow up with another question he turned away addressed the rest of the crowd.


    ¡°Everyone done gawking?¡± Godfrey asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot of time to make up for.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. And who¡¯s fault is that?¡± Micheal muttered under his breath.


    If I could hear him then there¡¯s no way Godfrey didn¡¯t, but he chose to just ignore it and move on.


    ? ? ?


    After that we passed by several more groups of dead goblins without incident. It should have bothered me more that there were so many more than my previous two trips to Derton but I was too distracted trying to solve the mystery of how they died. It wasn¡¯t until the next day that I got my answer.


    Oddly enough they were killed in a variety of ways. Most had a single hole shot through their head or had their throats slit. I could easily accept that Daniella killed those with her bow or a knife.


    But others had the same bite marks as the goblin I inspected earlier. They were either torn limb from limb or had large slabs of meat missing from their necks. Their corpses were especially bloody and we all took care to avoid stepping on them.


    Stranger still, some of them were burnt to a crisp. Their blackened skin was still smoking when we got there but there was so sign of anything else around. Unfortunately they gave off a putrid stench bad enough to take away everyone¡¯s appetites so we decided to skip lunch that day and kept walking.


    Meanwhile seemingly nothing could stop Daniella from flirting with her reverse harem.


    Unable to hold back my curiosity anymore I walked up to our guide and asked him what¡¯s been on my mind.


    ¡°Hey Godfrey, doesn¡¯t that bother you?¡± I pointed behind us at Daniella, who was whispering sweet nothings into my brother¡¯s ear at the moment. She treated everyone equal until she learned that our uncle was the duke of Derton. After that she seemed much more focused on him.


    ¡°You¡¯re just full of questions aren¡¯t you kid? But what are you talking about?¡± He genuinely didn¡¯t seem to know.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t tell? No matter how you look at it she¡¯s flirting with everyone there.¡± Even as a child I could recognize flirting when it was that obvious.


    ¡°So what?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Let her have her fun.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t she your wife?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how other families worked, but in our village at least married couples loved each other and probably wouldn¡¯t like seeing their spouse flirting with others.


    ¡°Shh. They don¡¯t need to know that.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you jealous? She seems to really like them.¡±


    ¡°Why would I be jealous? At the end of the day the only one she can really be with is me. Besides, it¡¯s not like we married each other out of love.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why did you two get married then?¡± Lucy suddenly injected. She asked even before I could so she must have been really curious.


    He sighed.


    ¡°Right, I forgot you two probably lived in this tight knit village your whole life. Alright kids, lets see how simple I can make this. Being an adventurer is a dangerous job. You could lose your life at any time. Even now we could suddenly be attacked and killed by dragons.¡±


    I thought he was being a bit dramatic but I was able to follow him up to that point.


    ¡°But Luslo forbids sex with anyone you¡¯re not married to. Get where I¡¯m going with this?¡±


    ¡°No...¡± Lucy and I both replied at the same time. Now that I¡¯m an adult the connection seemed obvious, but back then I couldn¡¯t see how the two were related.


    ¡°Listen, nobody wants to die a virgin. So some people with high-risk jobs like soldiers get married to whoever¡¯s around of convenience.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± I personally would have preferred to marry someone I loved at the time, but his reasoning did make sense.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ So adventurers marry people in the same party?¡± Lucy seemed particularly interested in that point.


    ¡°Not all of them. Lynn and Raphael haven¡¯t gotten hitched for example. But that¡¯s probably because I¡¯m man enough for both her and Dani.¡± He flashed us a wide smile as he flexed his muscles for everyone to see. Though he never took his eyes off the path throughout the entire conversation.


    ¡°Or maybe I¡¯m just not driven by lust like the three of you.¡± Raphael¡¯s ghastly voice suddenly came from behind us.


    ¡°Speak the devil, what are you doing here? Did something happen in the rear?¡± Godfrey asked.


    ¡°Yeah, one of the girls sprained her ankle. We could put her on one of the carts but some of the kids are getting tired and sun¡¯s going to set soon.¡±


    ¡°Good point. Might as well set up camp then. The spot we found on the way here should be fine. Can you ask Lynn to check it¡¯s still safe?¡±


    ¡°Already did. There were some more goblins there but she should be done clearing them out by the time we get there.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± He turned to address the rest of the group. ¡°Listen up everyone, we¡¯re going to set up camp pretty soon. It¡¯s a little bit into the woods so make sure you don¡¯t get lost. If you do just find a place to hide and don¡¯t make a sound. One of us will come and get you.¡±


    ? ? ?


    After that we marched uphill til we got to a large clearing the in woods. Fortunately no one got lost on the way. Unfortunately many of villagers were hesitant to spend the night there. Even I didn¡¯t think it was good idea.


    The trees weren¡¯t cut; they were violently knocked down by something big. There were giant claw marks everywhere and huge footprints leading deeper into the woods. The dozen recently deceased goblins scattered about didn¡¯t help.


    ¡°Hey, is it really okay to stay here?¡± Micheal asked. He was holding Lucy back, not letting her step foot into the clearing til he knew it was safe.


    Many other villagers voiced similar concerns.


    ¡°Yeah, what if whatever caused all this comes back?¡±


    ¡°Or more goblins come?¡±


    ¡°Everyone relax. We wouldn¡¯t stay here ourselves if didn¡¯t think it was safe.¡± Godfrey reassured everyone. ¡°Whatever did this hasn¡¯t been here for at least a week. Last time we were here the tracks were already a few days old. And even if it does come back I¡¯m confident we can drive it off again.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the brave, strong men of this village aren¡¯t scared of a couple of goblins are they?¡± Daniella asked as she stroked one of their biceps. That was enough to win over most of the men at least.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark now to find somewhere else anyways. You¡¯re free to try your luck out there instead of here with us though.¡± Raphael said as he pointed into the darkness. That convinced everyone else.


    Once the goblin corpses were disposed of everyone set up their tents and campfires. We were all especially hungry since we¡¯ve been marching all day and skipped lunch. We only packed jerky and hard bread for the journey but our guides were kind enough to share some of their dinner with everyone else.


    Lynn came back while we were in the middle of setting up with a couple of rabbits, so Daniella turned it into a stew. Although it would be more accurate to say that the ingredients were just tossed into a pot of boiling water.


    Lynn didn¡¯t eat dinner with us by the way. She left right after dropping off the meat.


    The taste was by no means good though it was better than what most of us brought for the trip. Plus it was free so we had no right to complain. But of course one person did.


    ¡°You call this food?¡± Micheal grumbled as he picked at his stew. ¡°If this is how you normally cook then I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve survived this long.¡±


    ¡°What? You insulting Miss Daniella¡¯s cooking?¡± one of the men shouted.


    ¡°We let you get away with a lot of shit over the years but this is unacceptable!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I doubt you could do better out here in the wilds, even with your divine blessing!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it magically makes food taste better,¡± Micheal said. ¡°Anyone can cook as well as I if they practiced. But what you did was an insult to the art form! Even my little girl can cook better than this.¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to make everyone happy with my cooking,¡± Daniella cried. The men immediately switched from yelling at Micheal to comforting her.


    Her husband didn¡¯t join in though. He was much more interested in Micheal¡¯s blessing.


    ¡°A blessing related to cooking? You can¡¯t be talking about Bulltong could you?¡± he asked. ¡°Why are you living in a village in the middle of no where? You¡¯re way too important to just leave alone.¡±


    ¡°Is daddy an important person?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Of course! Bulltong is the God of Wine and Cuisine you know? It¡¯s one of the rarest blessings in the world. They¡¯re the only ones who can use preservation magic. Shouldn¡¯t you be working for a lord somewhere?¡±


    As you can imagine this is a big deal, especially in the middle of a war like we were. Being able to preserve food easily meant your armies could march farther and enjoy better tasting food while they¡¯re doing it.


    It was possible to freeze food, but people who could use freezing magic were almost just as rare. Plus summers in the Thearyn Kingdom are particularly humid and most people would rather use that magic to keep themselves comfortable.


    ¡°¡­Those days are behind me. Now I¡¯m just a simple baker.¡± Micheal didn¡¯t seem fond of talking about the past.


    ¡°Well I¡¯d invite you to join us, but I don¡¯t think we could handle anyone even grumpier than Raphael,¡± Godfrey joked.


    Once we were done eating the day was finally over. Like the other villagers my family and I all stayed in one tent (that¡¯s one tent per family), but the adventurers all split up. Daniella stayed in the center while Godfrey slept at the edge of the clearing ¨C where the giant tracks were leading to. I¡¯m not sure where Raphael and Lynn ended up.


    We weren¡¯t expected to keep watch of course, so I slept trough the night.


    Godfrey took first watch, followed by Lynn, Raphael then Daniella. Thankfully we weren¡¯t attacked in the middle of the night. Or at least if we were it didn¡¯t cause any damage.


    If only the rest of the journey was so peaceful.

 1.5 Monsters

    When I woke at the break of dawn I noticed that Elliot was missing. We all had to get up early if we were going to make it to Derton on time, but as a farmer¡¯s son I was used to it. Elliot was never one to wake before the rest of the family though, despite being the eldest son.


    I was about to start panicking when I heard laughter coming from outside the tent. I peeked outside to see where it was coming from and I found him ¨C along with half the other men ¨C chatting with Daniella around the campfire.


    ¡°Oh, is it morning already? I didn¡¯t even notice.¡± he said when he saw me. He was stirring a pot of leftovers from the night before over the fire.


    ¡°Yeah. What are you all doing up so early?¡± It wasn¡¯t exactly a bad thing, but it was strange.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d help Miss Daniella keep watch since she¡¯d probably be lonely all by herself, but everyone else seemed to have the same idea. I got up first though,¡± he boasted. Despite missing out on 1/4th of their sleep none of them looked tired.


    ¡°It¡¯s been fun, but we should start waking everyone else up and getting ready to go,¡± she said. ¡°After we eat we¡¯ll be on the road for the rest of the day again. I¡¯ll be counting on you boys today too okay?¡±


    They enthusiastically yelled in agreement as they scrambled back into their own tents. She walked over to Godfrey who was sleeping out in the open in his armor. Since Elliot was going to get our family up I figured I should wake up Lucy and Micheal.


    I thought neither one of them was used to waking that early as they weren¡¯t farmers. But I was wrong; it didn¡¯t occur to me that baking bread takes time and effort.


    ¡°Oi! Are you two awake?¡± I yelled from outside their tent.


    ¡°Ah! Leif?¡± A muffled voice came from within. It quickly opened and Lucy popped her head out. ¡°G-Good morning! Do you want to come in?¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not really necessary. I just wanted to get you two up. Why are you already awake? Do you normally get up this early?¡±


    ¡°Sometimes. Daddy says I have to learn to cook if I¡¯m going to find a good husband so I¡¯m the one who bakes the bread every other morning.¡±


    She was still holding the tent open so I could see Micheal sleeping inside. He was curled up into a ball, tightly clutching an empty bottle of alcohol.


    ¡°Tsk. That stupid old drunk. I bet he just wants an excuse to sleep in. You don¡¯t have to do it if you don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re planning on taking over his bakery when you get older right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I want to do it. Anyways, can you help me pack up the tent? I don¡¯t think Daddy will be able to do it in this state.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but shouldn¡¯t we get him up first?¡± I had the urge to kick him awake but Lucy probably wouldn¡¯t have appreciated that very much.


    ¡°He¡¯ll probably just get in the way if we do. It¡¯ll be better this way, trust me.¡± She smiled.


    We spent the next 15 minutes packing everything up together. Surprisingly it was put together extremely well. I watched Micheal assemble it the night before so I thought it would be haphazardly done.


    But the stakes were nailed deep into the earth, and the ropes were strung tight so it took longer than I wanted to dissemble it. Everyone else finished in a third of the time we did. The fact that Micheal didn¡¯t stir while we were doing it was impressive.


    Once we were done it was time to wake him up.


    ¡°You might want to take a step back,¡± she warned. I didn¡¯t see why but did so anyways. She filled a cup with water and walked over to him. I thought she was going to give it to him to help recover from his hangover, but instead she dumped it all over his head and lept backwards.


    ¡°Rah!¡± He yelled as he jumped up, waving his bottle around. ¡°Who¡¯s there? I ain¡¯t got nothing worth stealing, so just leave if you know what¡¯s good for you!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just me Daddy,¡± Lucy said. ¡°We¡¯re going to Derton remember? It¡¯s time to get going now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± he said as he rubbed his eyes and looked around. ¡°But why¡¯s stuff all packed? Did you do this Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± she nodded. ¡°And Leif helped out.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You better not have tried anything while I asleep kid.¡± He staggered towards me, probably not still fully awake. He might have just been hungover, but he was talking too loudly for that.


    ¡°He¡¯s a nice guy Daddy! Why can¡¯t you just accept that?¡±


    ¡°Please, I know what these ¡®nice guys¡¯ are really like. They pre-¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Raphael groaned. ¡°We¡¯ve waited long enough for you three. We¡¯re leaving now, with or without you. If you¡¯re coming then start walking already. If not then have fun in the woods without us.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What about breakfast?¡± Micheal asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s all gone. You should be happy; we saved you the trouble of eating something you hate so much.¡± Elliot was still mad about him criticizing Daniella¡¯s cooking.


    ¡°You asshole! What about my little girl? You really going to steal her food?¡± he yelled as he grabbed Elliot by his collar.


    Even when traveling he tried to dress nice, and that morning he was wearing his finest clothes. They were all hand-me-downs from our uncle.


    ¡°Get your hands off me you pleb! It was never your food to start with.¡±


    Elliot shoved him away but ended up ripping his shirt in the process. After letting out a not-so-manly shriek he tried to punch Micheal but Godfrey caught it before the blow could land.


    ¡°Shut it, both of you! It¡¯s my job to keep you guys safe, so don¡¯t do anything to make my job harder.¡±


    He then tossed Elliot back where the others were waiting ¨C watching us. He was screaming when he landed on his face so he got a mouth full of dirt.


    ¡°Do you need a hand too old man? Or do you think you can get in line all by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Hmp. I can take care of myself.¡± Micheal finally grabbed his stuff and join up with the others.


    After that Godfrey gave similar warnings as the day before and we walked to the river to follow it downstream again.


    ? ? ?


    The march started off just like the previous one for the most part. We took the same formation and the boys still crowded around Daniella. Lynn was no where to be seen. Every once in a while Godfrey would have to stop the party to move a fallen tree out of the way but that didn¡¯t take long.


    And I would wonder how the dead goblins in our path met their doom, which was happening more frequently than the day before. Their bodies were even showing up every 5-10 minutes for a while.


    Things finally took a violent turn around noon.


    We hadn¡¯t seen a goblin for about half an hour at that point and there was a nice clearing just off the path. Since we were making good progress ¨C already having made up for all the lost time til then ¨C we decided to take a small lunch break.


    There was no need to set up camp again or build a fire so it was expected to be a short break. But while we were in the middle of eating a distinct howl came from the woods.


    ¡°What was that?¡± one of the hunters asked. ¡°The wolves round here don¡¯t sound like that.¡±


    ¡°Everyone get close!¡± Daniella yelled as she started to carve a large circle into the ground with her staff. ¡°We¡¯re about to be under attack!¡±


    We all dropped what we were doing and hurried to get as close to her as they could. Fortunately we all managed to fit inside the circle ¨C horses included ¨C but just barely.


    But when nothing happened for a few minutes some of us started wondering if we were really under attack.


    ¡°Is something really coming Miss Daniella?¡± Elliot asked. He¡¯d already changed his shirt by then by the way.


    ¡°No doubt about it. That howl means something¡¯s coming that Lynn can¡¯t handle by herself. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be safe as long as you don¡¯t leave my side.¡± Once we were actually under attack she dropped her facade of being a helpless girl who needed the men¡¯s protection.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we run back to the river then? Worst case scenario we can dive in and swim downstream to get away.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± Raphael said. He and Godfrey were positioning themselves a fair distance from us on opposite directions. ¡°It¡¯ll be much harder to guard you while we¡¯re on the move, and even harder to fight back in the river if we¡¯re not in a boat. There was only 1 howl so what¡¯s coming shouldn¡¯t be anything we can¡¯t handle.¡±


    ¡°But -¡± Right when Micheal was going to say something we finally saw them.


    Goblins. At least 30 of them were surrounding us. They came from the woods, laughing as if they¡¯d already won.


    ¡°Kekeke¡±


    The annoying sound came from all around us. Even their voice was disgusting.


    Unlike the ones we¡¯ve seen up to that point these goblins were armed ¨C most with simple wooden clubs and others with knives and swords. Some even wore leather armor that was too big for their scrawny bodies.


    ¡°Everyone stay inside the circle!¡± Daniella reminded us again. ¡°No matter what happens don¡¯t leave it!¡±


    ¡°We heard you! Just shut up and kill them already!¡± Micheal shouted.


    The goblins started by walking towards us slowly, but once they were halfway there they began to sprint. And each one that left the woods revealed another one behind them. But once they were within arm¡¯s reach Godfrey striked.


    He lifted his hammer high in the air and slammed it down hard, shaking the very earth beneath us. The villagers and goblins all lost their balance and fell to the ground.


    After that the massacre began.


    Godfrey swung his hammer over and over, sending 2-3 goblins flying with each swing. They in turn crashed into other goblins and splattered into a mass of green and blue goop. Some of them managed to land a couple hits on him before he knocked them away but he didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    Raphael, on the other hand, quickly sliced and stabbed any goblins that got near him with his sword. No goblins could even try to attack him for they were either literally disarmed or killed before they could.


    It¡¯s not like his movements were too quick to see. They were just so skillful that the untrained goblins stood no chance. Even though I was a complete amateur back then I could tell there were no wasted movements.


    But even those two weren¡¯t enough to keep the goblins away from us when they were coming from every direction. Especially since once they realized they stood no chance against those two the goblins decided to rush at us instead.


    Godfrey slammed the ground again to try to make them fall but this time he didn¡¯t have the element of surprise. It slowed some of them down but it couldn¡¯t halt their advance completely.


    ¡°Stay back Miss Daniella! I¡¯ll take care of this filth!¡± Elliot yelled as he ran towards the nearest one with a pitchfork. I suspect he was trying to make up for that morning¡¯s embarrassment but he just looked ridiculous compared to our guides.


    ¡°Get back! I can¡¯t protect you that far away!¡± she shouted.


    But he wouldn¡¯t listen. Though to his credit he did manage to stab one in the chest.


    ¡°See? I told you I could do it!¡± he yelled. ¡°If Godfrey can do it so can I!¡±


    However the other goblins weren¡¯t far behind.


    He tried pulling out the pitchfork but it was stuck.


    ¡°Just leave it behind and run back here!¡±


    But he either didn¡¯t hear her or was too panicked to think clearly because he kept trying to pry it loose.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Stupid kid.¡± Just when the goblins lept at him Raphael spoke.


    Then time stopped.


    ? ? ?


    The goblins that were trying to kill Elliot were suspended in midair. Their swords were all pointed at him, just seconds away from taking his life. All three of them were wearing armor unlike the one he stabbed, so even if he managed to get the pitchfork out he probably couldn¡¯t fight them off.


    But they didn¡¯t move. No, they couldn¡¯t move. Neither could anyone else including myself.


    My eyes were fixed looking at Elliot, though I could see some of what was happening through my peripheral vision. I couldn¡¯t breathe either but strangely I didn¡¯t suffocate.


    But because time had stopped I was able to clearly see three arrows flying straight towards the goblins that I didn¡¯t notice before. They were coming from behind me so I couldn¡¯t see who fired them, but Daniella was only armed with a staff so it must have been Lynn.


    That gave me hope for a second but then I realized something. Even if they killed the goblins in time Elliot would probably still be stabbed due to their forward momentum.


    Then I saw movement in the corner of my eye.


    Raphael appeared, leisurely walking towards them. Along the way he started talking to himself as if he was sure no one could hear him.


    ¡°This is why I hate escort quests. Daniella always leads the men on and some idiot thinks he has to man up to protect her. And then it¡¯s to me to save that idiot¡¯s life. What a pain.¡±


    That¡¯s when I realized how quiet it all was. Even compared to the goblin¡¯s screeching this silence was somehow unsettling. If it wasn¡¯t for his voice I would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d gone deaf for a moment. But because it was so quiet I could hear Raphael¡¯s every word despite it being no more than a mutter.


    ¡°I wish I could just let him die but then we wouldn¡¯t get paid as much, and it¡¯ll be bad for our reputation which Godfrey is so proud of.¡±


    He circled around them to examine the situation.


    ¡°Well, how am I going to make this look natural this time? They¡¯re already in mid-air so I can¡¯t make it look like they tripped. Lynn¡¯s arrows are definitely going kill them, but chances are he¡¯ll still die.¡±


    Then he took a closer look at the pitchfork.


    ¡°This is old. Probably being taken to town for repairs. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the handle broke, especially considering how hard he¡¯s pulling on it. But after that¡­¡±


    After looking up at the sky he smiled. Unfortunately I couldn¡¯t see what was up there, but from it¡¯s shadow I could tell it was something big.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯ll probably work. Good thing Lynn was already on the way otherwise it would have been much more suspicious. Took her long enough though. Did she run into something else on the way back?¡±


    Raphael looked behind me towards where the arrows should have came from but his expression didn¡¯t change, so I¡¯m assuming he didn¡¯t see anything surprising.


    ¡°Oh well, guess I¡¯ll find out soon enough. Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    He kicked the pitchfork hard enough that I could hear it crack. Then he placed a smooth stone a few feet behind Elliot.


    After walking back to where he came from time resumed.


    ? ? ?


    The arrows immediately pierced the each goblin¡¯s head, but as expected they continued to fall towards him.


    At the same time the pitchfork snapped and Elliot took a step backwards. When he did he slipped on the stone Raphael placed and narrowly avoided being stabbed by the goblin¡¯s weapons. But after falling on his ass seeing what was above him he passed out.


    I probably would have too if I was in his position.


    A green dragon flew down and landed directly on top of him, causing the rest of the villagers to scream. They tried to run away in the opposite direction but there were goblins closing in from that side too.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic everyone! That dragon won¡¯t hurt us.¡± Daniella tried to assure us but those words weren¡¯t very comforting when facing a dragon even as small as that one.


    Even our remote village knew what a dragon was.


    They¡¯re said to be the most dangerous of all monsters, requiring at least several Platinum adventurers to kill the weakest ones. Their scales were harder than steel and their breath hotter than any forge. Plus, unlike humans they can fly, so it¡¯s no wonder that the villagers were so scared.


    But just like she said the dragon ignored us and didn¡¯t even do anything to Elliot. Instead it started spewing fire at the goblins closing in on it. The heat was so intense I could feel it from that far away.


    Then it grabbed Elliot with it¡¯s claws and tossed him back towards us before flying up and raining fire on the rest of the goblins in that direction.


    The others started relax watching it kill those goblins, but then someone reminded them of the goblins coming from behind us.


    ¡°Look out! They¡¯re almost on us,¡± he shouted. He was one of the ones who formed a human wall around her the day before, but that time he ran behind her as quickly as he could.


    ¡°Do something about them! You said we¡¯d be safe in here right?¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond and just focused on the orb on top of her staff until it emitted a pure white light.


    The closest ones lunged at us but they never reached us. It was as if they were repelled by an invisible wall. No matter how much they punched or slashed at us their attacks never connected. But since there were so many of them we were encircled by goblins before long.


    They started climbing on top of each other trying to find an opening in the invisible wall but as it was perfect dome there was none. Eventually they completely blocked out the outside world. No matter where we looked all we could see were goblins.


    In a panic the other villagers and I tried stabbing them with whatever we had on hand but it didn¡¯t much of a difference. There were simply too many of them.


    As the others started begging for Daniella to kill them we heard a roar coming from above. However it was quickly replaced the goblin¡¯s dying screams as dragon-fire burned them all to death.


    But that meant that the fire was coming straight at us too.


    ¡°You said the dragon wouldn¡¯t attack us!¡± the villagers yelled.


    ¡°Quiet down¡­¡± she said as she wiped the sweat from her brow. ¡°This requires a lot of concentration.¡±


    The light from her staff kept getting brighter until we could no longer look directly at it. She was probably increasing the strength of the barrier as even the dragon¡¯s fire failed to reach us.


    For a while everything outside of the barrier was burning hellscape. We rejoiced as we watched the goblins burn to ash, however it was getting hotter and hotter inside the dome. Several of us actually collapsed from the heat, but luckily Daniella wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ? ? ?


    When it was finally over she released the barrier and the stench of burning goblins once again filled the air. No one complained though. We were all busy gasping for air and drinking water. But some of us did end up puking after seeing (and smelling) the results of the battle.


    Thankfully there weren¡¯t anymore live goblins in sight but the landscape was completely changed. The once lush clearing was set aflame. There were several large craters dug into the earth from Godfrey¡¯s hammer and just as many trees knocked over near them.


    The only green remaining were the corpses of the many goblins and the circle of grass beneath our feet.


    Before even that could burn away Daniella¡¯s staff started to glow blue and the clear skies darkened. After a moment it began to rain and the remaining fires were put out.


    Meanwhile the dragon flew over behind us and laid down next to Lynn. She was sitting on huge wolf-like creature. It was at least twice as big as normal wolves though, and it¡¯s fur was silver. It also had 2 large fangs poking out of it¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°What the fuck was all that?¡± Godfrey asked as he approached her. His armor was dyed blue with goblin blood but as far as I could see he was completely uninjured. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen that many goblins since Norton.¡±


    ¡°I found out why we haven¡¯t seen any goblins in a while. There¡¯s a goblin village nearby ¨C or there used to be at least. I had Jade burn it down,¡± she said as she stroked the dragon.


    ¡°So these were it¡¯s former inhabitants? There¡¯s way too many for a village though. If I had to guess we just killed at least 200 goblins.¡±


    I¡¯m not sure how accurate that number was since it was impossible to count them even with my perfect recollection. After all, most of the goblins were nothing but ashes anymore.


    ¡°Well yes and no. Turns out there was more than 1 village ¨C we ended up burning 2 more before a Goblin King showed up,¡± she said as she tossed him 4 disfigured heads. One of them twice the size the others ¨C it¡¯s body must have been bigger than even Godfrey.


    ¡°So that¡¯s when you had Fang warn us we¡¯d be under attack soon?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah. The villages I destroyed were only half full so I figured the rest were out hunting. He also had 4 Goblin Lords with him so there should be at least 2 more villages out there. I¡¯m going to go destroy them now.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± She turned Fang around to head back into the woods but he grabbed her by the arm. ¡°The other villagers are going to start asking questions and it¡¯ll be easier to explain if you¡¯re there.¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Do I have to?¡± she groaned. ¡°You know I don¡¯t like explaining myself to outsiders.¡±


    ¡°Relax, we¡¯ve already shown them that it¡¯s safest to travel with us.¡±


    ¡°¡­Fine. But I¡¯m leaving right after.¡±


    She jumped off Fang and walked him and Jade over to where the villagers were catching their breathe. Some of them took a step back as they approached but no one ran away. They were probably scared of being attacked if they turned their backs to the monsters.


    ¡°Hey, wake everyone up,¡± Raphael said. ¡°We don¡¯t want to have to explain this twice.¡±


    Elliot was still passed out but some of the villagers who collapsed from the heat had already gotten up. The rain helped cool us down considerably.


    I shook him awake, but he started screaming as soon as he opened his eyes.


    ¡°Dragon! Oh gods we¡¯re all going to die! Kill it!¡± he shouted as he ran behind Godfrey. ¡°Kill it plea-¡±


    ¡°Shut up you idiot,¡± Raphael said as he slapped the back of his head. ¡°If it wanted you dead you wouldn¡¯t alive right now.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, you remember Lynn?¡± Godfrey said. ¡°Well she¡¯s a monster tamer, and these are her pets, Fang and Jade.¡±


    They barked and roared when they were introduced, which only scared the villagers more.


    ¡°A monster tamer? That means she has Glynhorn¡¯s blessing right?¡± Henry asked. He and mother were both praying throughout the whole fight and they¡¯d woken up shortly after it started raining.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so she has perfect control over them. Don¡¯t worry, as long as she¡¯s alive they¡¯re on our side.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s Glynhorn?¡± Lucy whispered. I¡¯m not sure what she was doing during all the fighting but she didn¡¯t seem very shaken afterwards.


    ¡°He¡¯s the God of Trails and Tribulation, but more people know him as the God of Monsters. That does explain her red eyes though.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t surprised that she didn¡¯t know who Glynhorn was since we hadn¡¯t made his statue yet. There was no reason to. Gorro is the one we pray to for protection from his monsters after all. Though if we had then it would have just looked like a really big goblin.


    His actual body has more tentacles though. And horns. And two pairs of leathery wings. You get the point.


    ¡°So it really won¡¯t attack me?¡± Elliot whimpered.


    ¡°Yeah, so get off of me already,¡± Godfrey said as he shoved him away. ¡°Only the ladies get to cling onto me that tightly.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Micheal said. ¡°You said her name was Lynn? Would that be short for Lyndis?¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Take off your hood,¡± he commanded. ¡°It¡¯s only a problem if my hunch is right.¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    ¡°Just do it Lynn. They¡¯ll only get more suspicious if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± She slowly removed it.


    Almost everyone gasped. At first I thought it was because she was so attractive but there was clearly fear in their eyes.


    ¡°I knew it,¡± Micheal said. ¡°That black hair means you¡¯ve got Shin¡¯s blessing too. In other words you¡¯re Lyndis, the Reaper.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like that title,¡± she muttered as she pulled the hood back over her head.


    ¡°You know her?¡± Elliot asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve know of her. Back when I lived in Derton I heard all sorts of stories of The Reaper. Blessed by the God of Monsters and cursed by the God of Death. They say that she¡¯s one of the finest adventurers around. Even at the age of 10 she managed to reach Silver rank all by herself.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that good then?¡± I asked. ¡°Having a dragon on our side will make this trip a lot safer.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Safe is the last word I¡¯d use to describe it.¡± Micheal spat. ¡°You see, there¡¯s a reason she had to get to Silver all by herself. It¡¯s because everyone she comes into contact with dies. All her party members, her escort targets, even her own family. Her curse ends up killing them all eventually.¡±


    Her hands were shaking but she didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°That¡¯s obviously not true,¡± Godfrey interjected. ¡°We¡¯ve been partying with her for over a year and I¡¯ve never felt more alive.¡±


    ¡°For now,¡± Micheal sneered. ¡°Who knows what¡¯ll happen down the line? Did you forget those goblins almost killed us all?¡±


    ¡°You were perfectly safe,¡± Daniella replied. ¡°Gorro¡¯s blessing is strong enough in me that my barrier would have lasted long enough for Godfrey and Raphael to kill them all.¡±


    ¡°But then her dragon came and almost burned us alive.¡± He pointed to Jade in disgust. ¡°If you collapsed from the heat to then we wouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡±


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t have happened! I also have Alri¡¯s blessing so I can keep myself cool. And Jade knows how to hold back enough.¡±


    That was holding back? I thought to myself. Even the goblin¡¯s bones were turned to ash. I didn¡¯t know it at the time though but normal goblin bones are actually pretty fragile. Even campfire is hot enough to disintegrate them.


    Alri is the Goddess of Water by the way. Her statue is simply a woman holding a basin of water. But in reality she¡¯s made of water, so she can take any form she wants.


    ¡°Well there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going anywhere with her,¡± Micheal said. ¡°Her curse will eventually kill us all.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were the superstitious type,¡± Henry said. ¡°Or have you finally found a god you can believe in?¡±


    ¡°¡­Death is nothing to laugh at. It¡¯s already taken my wife. I won¡¯t let it take my only daughter too.¡±


    ¡°Well you don¡¯t have to worry about traveling with me,¡± Lynn said before hopping back onto Fang. ¡°I¡¯m going to go wipe out the rest of the goblin villages now. Assuming nothing this big happens again you shouldn¡¯t see me again until we reach Derton.¡±


    After that she rode back into the woods along with her dragon.


    ? ? ?


    Once we recovered we got back on the road again. Unfortunately we couldn¡¯t finish our lunch but no one had much of an apatite anyways. We were all eager to get a cool drink from the river though.


    I normally stayed near the front of the group with Godfrey so I could get a better view of the scenery. But I remembered that there were things I wanted to talk to Raphael about so I drifted to back of the line.


    Along the way I noticed that Daniella¡¯s reverse harem wasn¡¯t as chatty as usual. Even Elliot wasn¡¯t say much. Perhaps once they realized how useless they¡¯d be in actual combat they stopped trying to show off.


    She didn¡¯t seem very happy about it though and kept trying to get them back in a flirting mood.


    Once I¡¯d reached the back of the pack I decided to start by thanking Raphael for saving my brother.


    ¡°What are you talking about kid?¡± He didn¡¯t even look at me as he said that. ¡°All I did was kill some goblins. It¡¯s Lynn you should be thanking. She killed the goblins who were going after him and her dragon got him out of danger.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you¡¯re the one who set that all up. After you stopped ti-¡±


    But I couldn¡¯t finish my sentence.


    Time had paused again.


    Up until then, even during the fight, he¡¯d looked pretty bored, but for the first time he had a serious expression on his face. He looked straight into my eyes and observed me for a good minute before speaking again.


    ¡°So you can¡¯t move in this state either. But somehow you can remember what¡¯s happening when time stops. You¡¯re a strange one. I¡¯ve never met anyone like you before. Now what should I do with you?¡±


    After taking a moment to think he spoke up again.


    ¡°Alright, listen up kid. I can¡¯t have you telling anyone else about my power. Right now I¡¯m living a care free life where I¡¯m free to do whatever I want. But that¡¯ll all change really fast if anyone found out about this. So you¡¯d better keep your mouth shut got it? If you don¡¯t then you won¡¯t live to regret it. I¡¯m really good at making things look like an accident.¡±


    If I could have gulped at that moment I¡¯m sure I would have.


    ¡°Time¡¯s going to start again soon. Just act natural and don¡¯t finish your sentence.¡±


    He walked back to where he was and posed himself the right way. Then time started again, but I still couldn¡¯t move out of fear.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Leif?¡± Lucy asked ¡°You just stopped all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°N-Nothing. I was just¡­ trying to think of how to thank Lynn. That¡¯s all.¡± It was the best excuse I could come up with off the top of my head.


    ¡°Just saying thank you is fine isn¡¯t it?¡± she pouted. ¡°You weren¡¯t going to do anything special for Raphael after all.¡±


    After that we walked til nightfall and set up camp. Micheal didn¡¯t complain about the rabbit stew this time, and the boys still weren¡¯t in a promiscuous mood so it was much quieter than the first night.


    Then we all went to bed, but I had a hard time falling asleep. A certain thought kept me awake. A man who can shake the earth with his hammer. A woman known as The Reaper who had a pet dragon. Another woman who could stop it¡¯s flames and make it rain. And a man who could stop time and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill me to keep his secrets.


    These adventurers are all monsters.

 1.6 Heretic

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you a guys a little too strong to be just Silver ranked?¡± I asked Godfrey the next morning.


    We¡¯d already eaten breakfast and were on the road again. It was finally the 3rd day and we were expected to reach Derton by nightfall, assuming nothing happened. Of course something did, but fortunately we still made it on time.


    Things were getting back to normal Daniella¡¯s reverse harem too. That didn¡¯t last long, but a good night¡¯s sleep seemed to get them back in the mood. Though none of them woke up early to help her keep watch that morning.


    Elliot still seemed upset though. He never started a conversation and when asked a question he only gave single word replies. It was the most quiet he¡¯s been during our whole trip other than when he was sleeping or passed out.


    ¡°Oh! You¡¯ve got a good eye kid. We¡¯re actually all separately Gold ranked, and Lynn is Platinum,¡± he said as he showed me his 2 dog tags. One was silver and had the word ¡°Ascension¡± etched in it, and the other was gold, engraved with his name, birthday and hometown.


    ¡°Unfortunately the Adventurer¡¯s Guild won¡¯t let our party rank up to Gold because we don¡¯t have enough members.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? I thought all you had to do was pass a test? That¡¯s what the last adventures I traveled with told me at least.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that there is a test, but you need more members the higher rank you are. Silver needs 4, Gold 5, Platinum 6 and Diamond 8. There¡¯s a limit to people¡¯s individual strength after all. Even I couldn¡¯t beat a Gold ranked monster all by myself.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get another member then?¡± Lucy asked. She kept taking the initiative to gather information about being adventurers so I thought she was seriously considering being one in the future.


    ¡°No one else will join us,¡± he sighed. ¡°I¡¯d like to think that it¡¯s because they¡¯re already in their own parties, but really they¡¯re just scared of Lynn to join us.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t they just join for a day and rank up with you then leave?¡± I thought she had a good idea but it turns out the guild had already taken measures against that.


    ¡°Unfortunately whenever people join or leave your party you have to report it to the guild. And if you ever don¡¯t have enough members you automatically rank down. So that won¡¯t work. Maybe its for the best though. This way I won¡¯t have to share Lynn with anyone else, and I don¡¯t think I could handle another woman,¡± he laughed.


    ¡°Is that why you took this quest? Because you can¡¯t take any higher ranked ones?¡± Since we could never paid a lot and I surprised a party that overqualified would take it.


    ¡°No, this is actually a Steel ranked quest. There¡¯s plenty of other Silver quests we could take. If the guild knew about that there were Goblin Lords in these woods we probably would have accepted that too.¡± He said as he pointed to the heads strapped to his back.


    ¡°What about the Goblin King?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Then it would have turned into a Gold Ranked quest and we would have to let someone else take care of it.¡±


    He shrugged.


    ¡°Anyways, the real reason we¡¯re here is to prove to Lynn and the others that she isn¡¯t cursed. If we can get you to Derton and back safely then maybe they¡¯ll stop believing it and we¡¯ll finally get our 5th member. It took me a whole year to convince her though, and she would only accept the easiest escort quest we could find.¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t believe it¡¯s real?¡± I didn¡¯t think he did but I asked to just to make sure.


    ¡°Of course not! If I did then we would have joined some other party by now. Dani and I have gotten plenty of offers after all. Anyways, enough about that. We¡¯re almost at the village of Mornwood.¡±


    We were at the point where our river joined up with the Iron River ¨C the main river running through most of our country.


    The Iron River was named that because it led to almost all the iron mines in Thearyn. It was much bigger than the river we¡¯ve been following, wide enough to for 2 boats to comfortably travel side by side.


    Mornwood was originally built right where the two rivers met, but because that spot was prone to flooding it had be moved slightly closer to Derton. But because of that there was a well-built stone bridge waiting for us at the intersection.


    Godfrey turned and spoke to everyone.


    ¡°Listen up everyone! Once we cross this river we¡¯ll head straight towards Mornwood and get some lunch. Once again if you get separated from the rest of us for some reason just keep heading downstream. But no matter what happens don¡¯t jump into the river. There are worse things than goblins down there.¡±


    ? ? ?


    We traveled over the bridge and left the wild forests behind, replacing them with plains and farmland. Of course as a village less than a day away from Derton it was a lot bigger than ours. But since it was still too cold to plant anything nobody was tending to the fields, giving it an eery abandoned feeling.


    As we approached we heard shouting coming from a watchtower built on the edge of the village.


    ¡°When was that built?¡± I asked, pointing at it. ¡°It wasn¡¯t there the last time we visited Derton.¡±


    ¡°You mean the watchtower? If I recall correctly they put it up about 3 months ago, after we lost Orlan to the theocracy,¡± Godfrey answered. ¡°That was the last city between here and Ranta so they¡¯re strengthening they¡¯re defenses everywhere.¡±


    We were still walking towards the gate ¨C albeit a little more slowly ¨C when we heard an unfamiliar voice.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± it said. It¡¯s owner was too far away for us to see them but it sounded like he was right in front of us. ¡°Drop your weapons and state your business.¡±


    ¡°For us to be able to hear him from so far away, he must have Euthmoar¡¯s blessing,¡± Henry said.


    Euthmoar is the God of Sound and Communication, also known as the Messenger God. He¡¯s the only on who can directly speak to humans and is the one who delivers all the gods¡¯ messages to us. Incidentally his heavenly law forbids intercepting and reading other people¡¯s letters, which is the other reason for his nickname.


    ¡°Meaning he can probably hear us from other there too, so there¡¯s no need to send me as a messenger,¡± Raphael said lazily. He acted like our conversation never happened but hearing his voice behind me still sent shivers up my spine.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, so don¡¯t try anything funny. I can hear every word you say. Now tell me who you are and why you¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the Silver Ranked party Ascension, and we¡¯re escorting these villagers to Derton.¡± Godfrey shouted.


    ¡°Do you have proof? Show me your identification,¡± the voice commanded.


    ¡°What a pain,¡± Raphael grumbled as pulled his from under his leather armor. Like Godfrey he had a silver one with his party name and a gold one with his personal information, though his was missing the birthday and hometown.


    The men got very exciting as they watching Daniella reach down her robe for hers.


    ¡°I only see 3 tags, where¡¯s your 4th member? Did they die on the way here?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s scouting ahead. Can we come in or -¡±


    But before Godfrey could finish his question the owner of the voice started shouting at us.


    ¡°I knew it! You¡¯re with the bandits!¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb. It can¡¯t be a coincidence that you showed up right before they did. Get lost! We already have reinforcements on the way!¡±


    ¡°Godfrey, looks like we got trouble coming from the north,¡± Raphael said as he pointed in the opposite direction of Derton. There were several masked people riding on horses, heading straight towards the village. Most of them wore leather armor, but the two leading the pack had a full set of plate armor.


    ¡°I see. This village must have had trouble with them before. No wonder they thought we were with the bandits. Guess we¡¯ll just have to prove them wrong.¡±


    While he was speaking about a fourth of them split off and charged straight at us instead.


    ¡°Raphael and I will fight the main force. Dani, you stay here and take out the rest of them,¡± Godfrey ordered before running towards them. Raphael sighed before following him reluctantly.


    ¡°Is he mad? What good is a shield going to do against all of them? Or is he expecting the dragon to come save us again?¡± Micheal asked, though he stayed awfully close to Daniella.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly; we can¡¯t bring a dragon this close to the city. I¡¯ll be fighting them off this time. I have Alri¡¯s blessing too remember?¡± she said as she drew a large circle in the ground again.


    ¡°Cause it was so useful last time,¡± Micheal grumbled.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t this close to the river back then,¡± she said with a smile.


    When the bandits were a couple seconds away from Godfrey he lept in the air with a roar and slammed his hammer to the ground, shaking the earth again. Though it was too far away to make the villagers fall again, we could still feel it from where we were.


    It wasn¡¯t enough to stop the horses, but it did slow them down enough for him and Raphael to knock two of the bandits off and steal their horses.


    After that they rode towards the main unit, leaving the rest to Daniella.


    The bandits seemed conflicted about whether they should chase after them or keep coming after us, but in the end they chose the second option. But by the time they got to us we were already protected by Daniella¡¯s shield, and this time it had a thick outer layer of water.


    It was flowing from the river behind us, wrapping itself around the dome.


    ¡°Hehe, I think they¡¯re scared of you boss,¡± one of them laughed as they circled around. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can come out there. We¡¯ll make sure you have a really good time.¡±


    ¡°I call dibs on the in the robes,¡± another one sneered.


    ¡°No way! I get her first! I¡¯ll show her how to really use a staff,¡± someone else yelled as they started fighting over Daniella.


    The slashed and poked at the barrier but fortunately their weapons couldn¡¯t get through.


    ¡°Out of the way,¡± the one in steel armor said as he twirled his weapon in the air. ¡°My trusty spear can penetrate any woman¡¯s barriers.¡±


    The other bandits laughed as he rode a fair distance away on his horse. When he was far enough to sprint he turned around and charged straight as us, his spear perpendicular to the ground. Just as he was about to crash into us he thrust it forward. It managed to pierce the layer of water, but it didn¡¯t get any farther than that.


    The other villagers started to get worried when they saw that, but Daniella remained calm.


    ¡°Haha! You see that? Just a little further and we¡¯re good. Another thrust ought to do it!¡± the boss yelled.


    His gang cheered him on, but when he tried to back off to try again he couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°What the? I can¡¯t pull it out!¡±


    ¡°Well now you¡¯re just telling a girl what she wants to hear,¡± Daniella said in the same flirtatious voice she used the other men. ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea though. You didn¡¯t force your way in, I let you through.¡±


    Ice started forming around the tip of the leader¡¯s spear and it quickly crept up towards his arm. The leader immediately let go of it and backed off before it could reach him though.


    ¡°This bitch! She¡¯s tougher than she looks. But it doesn¡¯t seem the rest of them can fight. We just gotta take her out,¡± the leader grumbled. ¡°Then, she¡¯s all mine.¡±


    ¡°Great, you disarmed him. Now what?¡± Micheal asked. He was armed with the a chipped sword a goblin dropped the day before.


    Most of us were in fact. Technically they belonged to our guides, but they let us borrow them until we reached town. It was easier that way they said. After all, they can only carry so much by themselves.


    ¡°Now this!¡± Daniella yelled.


    Tentacles of water sprouted from the shield and knocked the thieves off their horses. When they were down the tentacles dived onto their heads and wouldn¡¯t let go.


    The first to be attacked were the ones who fought over her before the fight started.


    I could see air bubbles quickly leaving their mouths as they grasped and slashed at the tentacles, but their hands and swords went right through them. Their companions tried to help but there was nothing they could do.


    Before long they stopped moving altogether.


    ¡°We need to run boss!¡± one of the minions yelled. ¡°She¡¯s too strong for us!¡±


    ¡°Che. Everyone retreat and meet up with the others! Maybe she¡¯ll change her attitude when we come back with some hostages,¡± he said with a smirk.


    While they were talking the water tentacles were drowning more and more of them. But the ones still standing managed to get back on their horses and started heading back towards the village.


    ¡°Leaving so soon?¡± Daniella asked. ¡°Don¡¯t forget your weapons!¡±


    The tentacles grabbed their fallen weapons and threw them at the thieves in one smooth motion. Each of them screamed in pain as they were stabbed in the back, but most of them managed to stay on their horses.


    ¡°You¡¯re just going to let them go?¡± Micheal asked. ¡°They¡¯ll just come back with more people.¡±


    ¡°Did you already forget? Godfrey and Raphael are there. They¡¯ll get what they deserve.¡±


    ¡°Right. What about them?¡± he pointed at the unconscious bandits. ¡°Are you going to turn them into the city or something? And when are you going to take down this barrier? It¡¯s really cramped in here.¡±


    ¡°Not yet. It¡¯s still too dangerous to let our guard down. They might just be faking. It¡¯s safer to kill them first,¡± she said in a cold tone.


    The ice encasing the bandit leader¡¯s spear melted and a tentacle raised it above the closest one¡¯s body.


    ¡°Wait!¡± I shouted. ¡°You¡¯re going kill a bunch of unarmed men? Aren¡¯t you strong enough to take them into custody?¡±


    She looked at me for a moment before speaking.


    ¡°You said your name is Leif right? Well our quest isn¡¯t to capture bandits. It¡¯s to get you to town safely. I¡¯m not going to risk your lives for a couple of bandits.¡±


    ¡°But ¨C¡±


    Before I could finish my thought the spear plunged down, straight through the bandit¡¯s heart.


    I watched as his body jerked up and started twitching. He choked out of some of the water in his lungs, but it just as quickly filled with blood. His face turned pale as he coughed out more and more blood until, eventually, he died.


    A majority of the kids screamed. As it was most of their first trips to Derton and our village has never been attacked, it was their first time being exposed to such violence.


    They watched the goblins get slaughtered of course, but it¡¯s different when it¡¯s a human.


    Someone threw up. I¡¯m not sure who was the first one, but they started a chain reaction. In such a crowded space everyone could smell it, and it caused others to puke too, myself included.


    ¡°Are you okay Leif?¡± Lucy asked as she knelt down next to me and handed me her wineskin. ¡°Drink some water, it¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I gratefully accepted her offer. I took a large gulp from it and the cool sensation did help a little, but I was still feeling a little nauseous.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Daniella said. ¡°But you might want to turn around for this. It won¡¯t take long.¡±


    Her tentacle pulled the spear out of the corpse and raised it above another one of the bandits. Except that one wasn¡¯t really unconscious.


    As I was turning around he suddenly jumped backwards and spat out the remaining water in his mouth.


    ¡°You bitch, you were really going to kill us all!¡± he yelled. ¡°Even we wouldn¡¯t stoop that low!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still going to,¡± she replied. ¡°The fact that you¡¯re still conscious is proof that you all need to die.¡±


    The spear thrust towards him, but then he shouted for his life.


    ¡°¨C heretic!¡±


    That stopped her attack.


    ¡°¡­What did you say?¡± she asked. The spear was mere inches from his heart, but she didn¡¯t kill him.


    ¡°Hehe. You heard me, I¡¯m a heretic!¡± he smirked. ¡°You know what that means, don¡¯t you? You can¡¯t kill me. Instead you gotta make sure I get to the church safe and sound! Unless you want to be branded a heretic too.¡±


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s a common misconception,¡± she said as she pulled the spear back.


    ¡°What are you ¨C¡±


    Then she sliced off his right arm.


    ¡°AHHHH!¡± He screamed in pain as he clutched opening with his other arm, but then she cut that one off too.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± he yelled when he fell to the ground.


    The tentacles that were attacking him wrapped around his wounds and stopped him from bleeding out.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that I have to take you to the church, but you don¡¯t have safe and sound.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too cruel?¡± I asked. Even the best potion in the world wouldn¡¯t be able to grow his arms back, and no healer would use their blessings on a heretic.


    ¡°For going against the gods he deserves a lot worse,¡± Henry said as he looked down on him. I¡¯d never seen him look at anyone with such contempt until then. ¡°And he¡¯ll get it once we get to Derton.¡±


    ¡°You should count yourself lucky.¡± Daniella said to the bandit. ¡°If we had an empty wagon to transport you on I would have cut off your legs too.¡±


    ¡°¡­Just kill me,¡± he whimpered as he knelt down and laid his head on the floor.


    ¡°We both know I can¡¯t do that. You already declared you¡¯re a heretic. After we drag you back to Derton you¡¯ll be worked to death, despite not having any arms.¡±


    ¡°I was obviously lying!¡± he shouted. His face was a mess of drool and tears. ¡°I was just trying to save my life. But it¡¯s not worth living like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late it take it back now. But, if you want to kill yourself¡­¡± She placed plunged the spear into the ground with the pointy end up. ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop you.¡±


    Stared at it for a few moments before slowly standing up and wobbled over to it.


    ¡°My family lives to the right of the Hogwash Tavern. Tell them¡­tell them I¡¯m sorry for me.¡±


    Then he drove his head through the spear.


    ¡°As if we¡¯d do that idiot,¡± Daniella said.


    She pulled him off the spear with her water tentacles and picked it back up again, positioning it above the next closest bandit.


    ¡°Do you hate heretics that much?¡± I asked. She didn¡¯t seem like a particularly religious person so I didn¡¯t understand why she would go so far.


    ¡°I don¡¯t personally care either way, but I couldn¡¯t risk him attacking us on the rest of the journey. He stayed conscious after my first attack somehow, so he must have some sort of blessing.¡±


    ¡°I was talking about how you refused to deliver his message. Can¡¯t you grant him his dying wish at least?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± she shrugged. ¡°Would you just do what he wants? Someone who wants to hurt you and your family, you¡¯re just going to follow his orders?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    It¡¯s true that he was trying to harm us, I thought. But the way he died was just too cruel. It seemed like the least we could do to make up for it.


    How naive I was back then.


    ¡°Anyways, like I said, you might want to turn around while I finish off the rest of them.¡±