NOVEL NEXT Extra Chapter: Legends
Every world has stories and legends of its past, and some accounts are more accurate than others. In the world of NewLife, this is one such tale.
A Hero, Forty-Five Years Old, Eleventh Month of 0004
His blade slipped cleanly through the monster’s neck. Of course it would. He was the chosen champion of Summer after all; no mere Griffon could hope to stand up to him when he stood toe to toe with Hell Kings. But he was not here to slay a mere Griffon, after all, why would a champion go out after something a medium dispatch of knights could handle?
No, He was after stronger prey. Rumors had circulated, that a Chimera had appeared here. Legendary monsters in their own right, every single one was different. Nobody knew what caused a Chimera to be born but whenever one appeared, it would cause untold destruction until its weaknesses were ascertained and a team formed to dispatch it. Or, if one of the champions was still around, you could just throw one of them at it.
Then again, the strongest Chimeras were said to rival an Original Sin in power. It was a commonly held belief that Dragons stood at the top of the monster pecking order, but that was incorrect. After all, if you took the base of a Dragon, and added a Cockatrice or Medusa’s petrifying gaze to it, the resulting organism could only be stronger than the original.
That was why, even as one of the four strongest of the races, he was being careful; his foe, should he be unlucky, could be strong enough to mortally wound him. That was why he was being careful. The Griffon spotting him had been unlucky, as the battle had not been silent. After shacking his blade clean of its blood, he touched one hand to the Griffon and mumbled the incantation to a spell. It was rather long, but one of his abilities allowed him to shorten any chant substantially, a few times a day.
A soft orange light enveloped the Griffon’s body and a moment later, it seemed to fold in on itself before vanishing with a soft “pop”. The spell used was [Far Jump], which he used for traveling, or in this case sending the spoils of a quick skirmish back to his men for processing. As one of the spatial spells, it was restricted to those who had the ability to use Divine Element. As a champion, he met that requirement.
Though, an Item Box or Pocket Storage would have been far more convenient, but that damn gamemaster says those are balance breaking.
The man did not particularly like the god who had sent him to this world. Sure, being able to live a second time had been great at first… until he learned that he was a puppet meant to dance a particular tune. But there was nothing he could do about that, his own “cheat” abilities were rather lacking, as he was simply this rounds otherworlder champion. After studying some old documents, he had come to the conclusion that every “round” had at least one otherworlder take on the role of champion. He wasn’t special.
“That’s far enough human, what do you want?”
The man froze. His meandering thoughts had gotten in the way of his concentration and he had missed this person’s appearance. Granted, this was certainly not a human; no human could make it this far into the mountains and be so nonchalant, other than himself. Drawing his sword once again, he took a ready stance.
“You will not fool me with that disguise; what manner of monster are you?”
The figure before him stood nonchalant, completely average in every way. Had he encountered him in a village or town, he would not have given the figure a second glance.
“No dice huh? Well, I guess I’ll have to kill you then.”
That being said, the figure began to morph. His limbs bulked up and grew fur or scales. His fingers became large talons, while dragon wings sprouted from his back. Sharp spines of some beast grew from his neck, while fangs of a serpent sprouted out of his mouth. By the time the transformation had finished, the man had been replaced with an amalgamation of at least fifteen monsters the man could recognize, and several he could not.
“Before we fight, I would give you my name. I am Yuongi, the first Chimera.”
The lone warrior stiffened and prepared himself. The words spoken by his opponent held little meaning for him, but the power radiating out was terrifying to behold.
Forget being an Original Sin, this is comparable to a Hell King.
The trick to beating one of the kings, was to exploit their weaknesses as a team. Wrath favored Blackflame Fire Magic, Lust favored Charms and Water Magic, while Sloth favored avoiding combat entirely. With a Chimera, their very nature precluded this strategy.
There’s little chance I can beat a foe this strong. The best I can do is send a warning to the others, and hopefully hold on long enough for them to arrive.
“[Limit Break]!”
Verbally speaking the name of his Champion’s intrinsic skill was not strictly required, but he felt that it was better that way. At once, his power surged and his status bulged. Of course that wasn’t free. Winter had the reputation of being the cursed champion, [Cold Hearted] had made Luis von Despita quite inhuman in how he approached things. This man was of a different opinion though; sure, winter’s blessing had its downsides. But it didn’t kill you for using it.
The first law of magic was clear; mana could not spring forth from nothing. So what powered [Limit Break]? It was his soul. His own lifeforce would be spent to power up his stats, and the longer he stayed in this state, the greater the strain would be.
Forty-Five years old now, I’ll be in my prime for another five or so before my abilities begin to diminish. That means I can fight at full strength for about a day… Assuming those three leave right after receiving my message… It will take them a week at most.
“Haaa… Well, shall we start this, Yuongi?”
The two monsters, for that was what the man was in his boosted state, closed on each other. Blade locked with talon while adamantine mail deflected spines. Their clash was a flurry of blows before the two leapt back from each other. The man had several small cuts and scrapes dotting his person, but the Chimera was unharmed. Any small injuries were quickly healed by the regeneration of one of his component monsters.
“So it’s like that then after all.” He adopted a defensive stance; the man would buy the time needed, even if it killed him.
The Chimera wanted to end things quickly and reared up on its hind legs. Sucking in air, it prepared to unleash its dragon’s fire. Squaring his jaw but unmoving, Intent to take the attack head-on. The flames leaped from the maw of the beast, and washed around him. Thinking the battle over Yuongi closed his mouth, only to find the man was there, unharmed.
“I never introduced myself, did I?”
Somewhat taken aback, Yuongi watched him warily.
“My name is Ris. No fancy titles or peerage, just Ris. But, I do have one thing going for me; as the Champion of Summer, your flames mean nothing to me. Now, let’s go again.”
“That’s enough. Yuongi, you should not be here, go home.”
At the sound of the second voice, one which clearly knew Ris’ opponent, the champion spun around and sliced at the figure, only to have his sword blocked by a bare hand.
“My apologies for my child’s actions. I will punish him later… For now,” The newcomer, a man in his twenties of average height and build, looked Ris up and down, “For now, Damien Gonzales, we should have a talk about the future. I’d like you to found a village for me.”
Ris narrowed his eyes at the man, “Nobody knows that name in this world, who are you?”
The man bowed his head, “My apologies, I have several names depending on who you ask; Fallen Divine, Traitor God, Thirteenth Prodigal, God of Monsters… You can call me Aaron.”
“The blasphemer who fights against the cycle… Very well, let’s hear what you have to say.” Releasing his [Limit Break], Ris took a seat. While he did not trust this figure completely, he knew that should they come to blows he would without fail, die.
“I am glad you are amenable; at the foot of these mountains is a pass, I want you to found a village there. Life will be hard, and I do not expect it will grow very much at all, but it will prove important for the next cycle.”