NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: A Great Day.
Tarion
Just before breakfast, A duke gamed.
"It's enough." Yuran flew beside me, flickering beside a notification.
DEATH(S): 2189
I turned it off and proceeded down to the pit where the beast growled, laughing at my every attempt.
A solid hand held me back. "There is only so much the mind can take." Yuran's face, wrecked with guilt and pity, was pissing me off. Where was the anger you had for me during the harsh training sessions?
"Then why does this feel easy?" I shoved the digital phantom away. But a wall crushed my nose. I pushed, struck and cut it. Nothing makes a dent. I sighed.
"Haru… Let me in."
Butterflies appeared and merged to construct a beautiful form. Wearing a hanfu, Haru and Yuran looked more like a loving couple.
"Right now she sleeps. Unaware that you stayed back to play." Haru tilted her head. "Do you want your little secret to come out?"
"Haru, you wouldn't-"
"Disappoint her and you will feel guilt larger than you feel right now."
I lifted my head high in shame, eye tight with guilt. I gave up.
"You're right… always." I turned back, making a walk back in embarrassment, and Yuran called to me with arms folded.
"I told you. Demons are beyond human skill. In my time, they were still heavily neutered by the heaven demon, stealing most of their energy, and I barely managed to beat them."
"Then what can I do?"
"Climb the levels. Live the story. Become his weapon."
"I will try…" I said, but climbing the levels made me queasy in a way that was indescribable. I felt repelled like a magnet of the same pole. I could not bring anyone else in, like a regular simulation. For the first time in a while, I felt alone. "Tomorrow…"
I woke up still thinking I was dreaming as a gorgeous woman hugged me under the covers. Bacon and egg scent in the air. Pancakes dripped with syrup entered the room on my butler's trolley.
"Happy Birthday, Tarion." My friend said with a cheery smile.
Midday.
Former Wolfburn barrack.
A twirl and slash at my right side tested the build of a wooden sword. A simple swing pushed away the snow that had grown overnight. Around me, hundreds stared in awe of me. Some were from regiments I recognised, but most of these men were from the Wolfburn lot. Former soldiers and city guards of Wolfburn who survived the ghoulification, which we later found out was caused by tainted food. Mercenaries managed to escape the curse due to the Wolfburn commanders being stingy with rations. These men here survived war and the shitty food, meaning they were a cut above the rest. And seeing their own duke throw away their comrades' lives and still not match up to me, they were easily convinced into my ranks. But things haven't stayed rosy. The occasional spat still occurs, dumb spats between competitive men. 2 months into my stay, and it's starting to piss me off. I need them all to be one. And fear is one way to get that.
"You, you, you and… you," I said, picking two seventh and two eighth circles from the adoring crowd. All captains of the newly formed Maize Guard. Readying themselves with wooden swords, two short-haired men look to the two braided Osberg men pensively.
Tsk…
"Hey! Eyes front and to your fucking enemy! Anytime unalert is a moment wasted and an increased chance of losing your damned life. ON GUARD!"
"YES, YOU GRAC-"
I swerved my body to the left, dodging a stabbing weapon. A slash from low torn through the short-haired maize guard's mana armour like a knife on an apple crumble. Wind blew from the tip of my blade, shoving the braided man back to the group of amazed soldiers.
"I practice what I preach."
A flash step strike on a forming fireball spell bounced away an arm.
"Your mana transfer rate is too slow." The point of my sword knocked out a Vioden seventh on the china with an upward slice, and the crowd wooed.
"Make sure you take an appropriate distance from your target if elemental attacks are needed." I heard feet shuffle. Turning on Lifesight, I sensed two eights finally working in tandem. The Vioden threw away his sword, revealing blazing palms. The braided transplant asked for a round wooden shield from the audience. Fastening his shield, the man of Osberg made me proud with his quick guarding of his weak points. I smiled.
"Great… Entertain me for a bit."
With great effort, a wave of fire, aided by wind, was fired at my back. The Osberg guard leapt forward with shield up, protected with layers of thick mana shields, and he barrelled towards like a bullet train.
My Qi resonated.
A tap of my right heel summoned a 7-foot-wide and high wall at my back. As I felt the heat, my guard pulsed mana from his boot for a charged jump.
"Looking to trap me…" A twist of the wrist turned my wooden over the braided eighth's shield. He anticipated, knocking my sword up. I quickly readjust, bringing my sword down with a great slash, but the Osbergian adeptly evaded. My sword chased him to my right, and he guarded with a shield alight with mana. Air exploded at our collision; however, the eighth circle endured with a wince.
My White qi shield protects me from three fire lances. "Quick thinking," I said, smiling.
I put back 10 points into every attribute.
A posture shift and an arm moved slightly, the Osbergian's shield shattered, blowing the man to the far ends of the barracks. A tether snuck near to the Viodian, shoving him with a blast of air into the crowd.
"Pass. Anymore warriors!?" I shout to the shocked crowd. No man dared to come out.
"First to strike me gets free ale for a year."
The horde burst into action at the chance of saving the coin.
An hour of practice passed. Groaning soldiers lay on the barracks' sandy floor.
I guess they didn't want free ale that badly.
I heard whispering, quiet and chilling. Charles is using them more and more for his daily activities. I am happy that he feels freer to show his real self. But I worried that at this rate. I would see less of my good friend.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Lifesight allowed me to see his apparition just slightly. Like a smudge watercolour painting, they bobbed up and in excitement in and out of existence.
Mage's here… Castle…
I bowed my head to the invisible fellow before is flew into the distance.
"Alright, men! Get to the showers. You lot stink!" They laughed as they groaned from tired muscles. I point to two men who stood strong. The mana burned bright and vibrant still.
"Meet Sir Kurt tomorrow." They drop to their knee, grinning at each other.
"YES, YOUR GRACE." They exchanged glances again. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUR GRACE!"
I burst out laughing. "No contact, no free ale. Stop smooching ass AND GO SHOWER!"
I pat my good friend's shoulder before entering my new office. Fashioned with garish trimmings, I was too lazy to remove; I barely used it. But it had quite a sophisticated set of runes imbued onto it for when privacy is most needed. And anything with the mage was no one else's business.
Letting my butler in, I closed the door. A friendly face greeted me, but I sensed something in the Tower master's expression that told me he brought not-so-good news.
The tower master's eyes scan the large man next to me. "Trusted?"
Charles looked at me with narrowing eyes. "Yes," I replied.
"Mm. Okay. I bring news, you grace." The tower master looked at my empty chair
"Shit… that bad…" I take a seat on the hard chair.
"Depends on how you view it, Your grace." The tower master cleared his throat as he glanced at my friend again. "Shall I recap?"
I nodded.
"Seekers were sent out to the location of the cages."
"Cages?" Kurt asked?
"Listen." I motioned the towermaster to continue.
"Spectral readings were out of the charts, as you said. But unfortunate issues have come afoot." A little wiggle of his fantastical staff out of the lord of the Rings lit a holographic map. "Here is an up-to-date map." He pointed between the border of the Vioden and the capital. "The seeker team here dealt with the most ambushes from rogue mages. Four of our mages lost their lives…"
"I should have been there."
"No! No… We underestimated an enemy and paid the price…" The mage tapped the hologram showing a map of the battle. "The battle was one of attrition, and it was we who lasted the longest. Thanks to your… crystals."
"He knows that too."
"And the obelisk?"
"He is my fucking butler, want me to lie every time I go train? Plus, his little helpers are the reason I can send my crystal to you so fast. So what's the prison B's situation?"
"The most stable of the lot." The Towermaster answered. "Surveillance is secure, and yet no ambushes. From a research standpoint, everything is at a standstill. Without an exorbitant amount of holy power, we have no chance of sealing it, only slowing down."
"By how much?" I asked.
"Around twenty-five per cent of its normal rate of destruction."
"Mmmm… Not that bad. I will see if I can send you the crystal you need aptly."
"Wait, your grace. Until you hear more."
I sat back on the chair. "Go on…"
"Leaving Prison C in the north till last, Prison C to I seemed to have…umm…disappeared."
I felt like I was hit by a cricket bat.
"R-r-reapeat that…"
"Prison D to I. All six prison signatures disappeared. Not even a trace of human life remained in the areas."
I saw Charles betray his worry for me through his strict posture. "Teleported?"
The mage nodded. "But it should be impossible. These prisons aren't just a cage; they're between realms, inaccessible by normal means. It is as physical as ether. To teleport all six would take an absurd amount of time or a crazy otherworldly talent not seen since the ages of the gods."
My fist thundered through the desk, splinters bouncing off Charles's and the Mage's shields.
"Vel," I growled.
"Can't be!" Said Charles. "He was insinerated by Vanessa, wasn't he?"
I held down my fury."When was the last time you saw Vel? Not the creepy stalker, the younger one."
The mage closed his eyes in thought. "Since… Damnation…"
"If they were teleported, could you track them down!?" I asked with my mind running like a busy intersection. I need to keep her safe in case he comes again.
"We did. They all lead to one place…" The mage moved his staff and the map zoomed outward, showing the strange globe we were on, and zoomed back to a strange-looking of continent of peninsulas, great plains and mountains filled with green. Zooming in again to its north, where snow rained at the mountain tops, a civilisation grew strong. Hardship culled the weak, breeding a great clan from the depths of poverty.
"The Divine Cult." I leaned for a closer look at that bastard's sprawling lair on the mountains.
Of course, you wouldn't make it easy for me.
"It seems I will need to do more homework," Charles said as he cleared a broken desk from the way. "Because I am thoroughly confused."
"There is more news." The mage said with a serious face.
Fuck sake! "Prison C, more ambushes?"
"We couldn't get close enough for that to be the problem. The shaved control every around it for 100 miles."
"Can't we convince them of the danger of the curse?"
"A people of unyielding strength, they do not succumb to ghoulification, as you put it. Maybe, they accept that the weak die of it. To them, it is a southern problem to deal with. And with creatures strengthened by the curse, they will get stronger prey to prove their worth. It's a win for them."
"And the Mage is still in control?"
"Sadly," The towermaster answered with sad eyes.
I caught my head in my head, trying to rub the stress from my hair
Osberg fell. It was their negligence that let things go so far… Must I go there in person?
"Are they working with the divine cult?"
"Actually…" The towermaster scratched his greying beard. "There seems to be no information on any rogue mage or summoner activity."
"No qi user?"
"Report says only mana users. All shaved. They are adapting fast because of the mage, but Qi is innate, not produced; maybe if they have had enough time."
"If they did?" Charles asked as a curious qi practitioner.
"If Osberg were like before, they would take over it in a day. Tower master, do you have more news to disappoint me with?"
"Yes! Good news."
Finally! "Go on! Say it!"
"The Shaved issued a warning to us. This was translated. Ahem.'Come close or we with skewer you from tight bumhole to loudmouth.'"
Charles and I stared at each other in revulsion.
"What's the good news?!"
"More was written. They are willing to hand over prison C in exchange for someone"
I stood up at the glimmer of good news, "For who-"
"For me." Kurt unravelled from his Umbra, making himself known to us.
"Whoa!!" the mage screamed, holding his heat tight, he looked to me in guidance."
"Yes." I chuckled and nodded. "Trusted."
"He wants me."
"Who?" I said, eyeing the dagger in his right hand. "Who wants to steal my bodyguard?" My stone guard faltered, his face dropped with sadness as he rubbed his dagger."...My brother."
A rune master
Somewhere in the Liuen Mountains
My door slammed open. The air chilled as he stepped through. Candles puff out while he walked further into my room. A slim hand touched my shoulder, and I dropped my engraver.
"Found you!" He spun me around to see his beautifully pale face. Dressed in intricately woven robes, he smiled invitingly like a snake.
"Oh, I see you're playing with useless toys." The leader said as he bent to inspect my small wooden puppets. With long nails, he fiddled with my puppet's arms. Straight glossy hair flowed down like a pristine black waterfall.
"Not useless."
"Beady eyes look in my mine through his hair, giving me shivers
"Not Useless, Dear Leader. It is how I test runes."
"Test?" He straightened slowly, with unnatural slickness. "Haven't I given the best materials to practice on?"
"Yes," I said, hiding disgust and holding back vomit as I remembered bodies large and small massacred for his pleasure. "They are perfect. But such models tend to be hard to move about."
"I see…" Grabbing my shoulder, my desk disappeared, and I was in a different room full of surgery tools. "That's too bad. I brought new materials in. Prime meat. Matched 92%"
"92%?!" I examined the corpse infected with the curse from head to toe. And someone killed him…
A bloody mess of a dead man lay before me. "It was sad to see such potential wasted. Make him whole, and I will make him live."
"Yes, Dear Leader… May I ask his name?"
"Sentimental? Hahaha! Call him Kellen, if you would like. Good name for a pet," Like whisper, he disappeared, and the body and I are alone.
I bent over the body, opening an eyelid to see his black and red eyes.
I'm sorry, Kellen. The other one hasn't come back into my head yet, so I'll have to improvise.