《The Shapeshifter》


 1 The Past 1

    CHAPTER 1


    In this vast universe, countless realms, stars, planets and unknowns are what occupies this boundless space. The universe is finite. Resources? Finite. With every life occupying a world, resources will cease to exist. Greedy beings will surely rise on the occasion and so does intelligent ones. Therefore; one must do everything to live, to survive.


    This cannot be said on a certain planet. A planet which is filled with life. A planet which is surrounded by a mystical aura the natives called MAGIC.


    Magic is the foundation of the living beings on Terra. One can say that without magic this Terra would develop, into a different path than what it currently is. Powerful mages arise, technologies built upon the help of magic and even transportation are being aided by it.


    Magic is used in everyday life from washing clothes to building homes. It all took one look for someone to say that the natives of this Terra are being over reliant on magic. Well, that may be because they will never lack magic, or maybe they will.


    With mountains standing tall at their side and back, the City of Asta stood tall. It was no wonder that this city thrives with such a strategical defending site.


    One of the most powerful city in this era of peace, where experts are being nurtured to their full potential and educated to the best of their abilities so that they can make this world a much better place to live.


    Countless structures and houses can be seen on this thriving city. Roads that can fit 20 men standing shoulder to shoulder. Pavements as wide as 2 and a half meters so that families can walk together leisurely, children can run around freely with smiles on their faces and even sidewalk vending are allowed.


    All these citizens are heading towards a spacious plaza.


    This was the day where children aged 10 will be awakened to become a powerful mage. A joyous occasion for every family.


    As people make their way towards the plaza. Voices and promises can be heard coming from the young aspirants who wants to take part of the awakening of the mages.


    "Mom, once I become a mage I will definitely protect everyone." said a young boy while holding his mother''s hand.


    "Brother, I will surely get revenge for everyone in the clan. I will make them pay." said a girl to his brother.


    When suddenly,


    "BOOOOOOOM!!!"


    A terrifyingly loud explosion sounded through the air as a large black hole suddenly appeared in the atmosphere of Terra. The black hole acts as if it''s sucking the air and magic on Terra.


    Everyone in Terra was filled with shock and fear as it appeared.


    As they say, the unknown is to be feared.


    A bunch of black tiny dots or a humanoid species sized 2 meters, some are even 4 meters tall and seldom are 7 meters emerged from the black hole.


    "Oh my God! Demons!" A knowledgeable middle-aged man then shouted.


    "W-what? Demons? They should be on their territory. What are they doing here?"


    "This should be an i-invasion!"


    As if the middle-aged man''s shout was the trigger, everyone soon panicked. Parents guiding their children to safety, lone one''s trying to run for their own lives. All of them scrambling towards any house they can see to hide from these so-called demons.


    Then an old man said in a low voice "Calm down, they aren''t even attacking yet. Maybe there are misunderstandings."


    Weirdly enough, everyone seemed to hear the voice of the old man then calmed down. Shortly after, however, there seems to be another commotion.


    "Hup! hup! hup! It''s getting hard to breathe, what the hell-?" a thin man said with a weak voice.


    "Help! Help! My brother''s not breathing!" cried a little girl.


    As the old man was walking towards the commotion he suddenly exclaimed


    "What the hell? The black hole is sapping this worlds magic!"


    The same thing is currently happening towards every city in Terra. Panic, anger and grief are the most expressed emotion in each inhabitant of Terra.


    ¡­


    On a big gray castle in the city of Asta, people of high rankings and high nobles could be seen running around the corridors, hoping to get an answer from the wisest and most knowledgeable, the king.


    In a throne inside the palace, a handsome man with long black hair who looks to be in his mid-thirties can be seen


    "Ben!" called the king.


    Then an old bald man appeared behind the king.


    "What can I do for you, your Majesty?


    "Tell everyone-" Preventing the king from finishing his words was an explosion coming from the city.


    "BOOOOOOOM!!!"


    "What the hell was that?"


    The king soon ran out of the palace and arrived at a balcony that overlooked the entire city of Asta. What he saw made his jaw drop. Half the city was completely obliterated, only a huge crater remained on the once thriving and powerful city.


    After looking at the aftermath the king murmured to himself


    ''The demons which are inhabiting the secondary plane of this world invades the surface so that they can take control of the planet and all its resources. After 3 millennia, they are finally out of resources. If what the oracle said was correct, then this is bad. Everyone will soon be scrambling for power and supremacy. I''ve waited years for this. Hehe.''


    The King then called out his trusted aide after making careful consideration.


    "Ben! Send out the messenger pigeons. Write ''Threat Level: Extinction''."


    "As you wish your majesty."


    Old Ben quickly replied and did everything he could to finish it fast. After a few minutes, six messenger pigeons were sent out.


    The King then went to his room and entered a secret chamber that only he knows.


    He sat on a chair, took some pieces of paper, grabbed his quill and ink and then he was scribbling words on the paper. He wrote so fast that some words are barely readable. Yet he did not even spare a glance at it, and continued writing.


    As soon as he finished writing, he quickly sealed the paper and wrote ''To Scorpion King''.

 2 The Past 2

    Chapter 2


    Aside from humanity, beasts are also living across Terra. With its five kings ruling over five different territories.


    The Scorpion King, the King of the Sands, its strength and poison made this king rule the desert.


    The megalodon, known as the Shark King is the one of the strongest when it is fighting on the ocean. With its huge body, speed and big maw any creature will surely run from it.


    The Lion King who appeared to be very ordinary, with its majestic golden mane, aside from its size, which is a bit bigger than an ordinary lion, and extreme speed one might mistake it for an ordinary lion.


    Then there are these two mystical and mythical creatures. The Dragon and The Phoenix. Both possesses the power of fire, capable of burning the whole world. The Dragon looks like a very large lizard with wings, a long tail and large claws.


    The Phoenix has only been seen twice after three millennia. First was when every being was made, second was when it appeared with the Dragon King along with five unknown beings when they sealed the Demon King in the underworld.


    A large fiery bird was depicted in the annals of history. Both of these two creatures are rather aloof and arrogant. That''s why nobody can confirm what they truly look like.


    ...


    On a vast desert to the west of Asta, stood a 10-foot-tall humanoid Scorpion that exudes an aura of confidence, arrogance and might.


    Currently, the humanoid scorpion was sweating profusely. The place where the right arm should''ve been, was ripped off of its shoulder. While its left pincer is currently holding onto the neck of a 12-foot muscular demon, with two horns sprouting on the side of its head, large wings, pitch black skin and red eyes.


    Just the sight of it, one might collapse due to its wickedness and evil aura that surrounds it.


    "Hmm¡­ This should be a high ranking general, just a tad less powerful than the king of the underworld. If one general already cost me an arm, I wonder what two can do, three or four. Maybe I will get killed with just only two of them-"


    "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"


    An agonized scream sounded in the air, as a bloody dagger pierced through the heart of the mighty Scorpion King. With the tenacity of the mighty king, it then quickly turned around to see the assassin that just backstabbed him.


    Another demon was what it saw. Only a bit smaller and slimmer than the now dead muscular demon.


    "I should''ve known! Demons never work alone. However, I will still take you down with me!"


    With a shout, the Scorpion King pounced onto its assailant. The demon was unmoved by the suddenness of the attack made by the Scorpion King. It just continued to smile at the king, as if it was mocking it. This further provoked the king. It then held the neck of the demon then asked,


    "Are you not afraid of death? Demon?"


    "Certainly not, I''ve already accomplished my mission. My partner is dead already, I no longer have anything to do in this world."


    "Since you''re going to die anyway, can you satisfy my curiosity?"


    "Since you''re going to die anyway, ask away! Hehehehe."


    Hearing the reply of the demon, it irked the king. It tried to control its anger by snorting coldly at the demon in front of it.


    "Okay then. How many generals are there in your army? How strong is your leader, your king?"


    "That''s an information that should not be leaked out. Oh well, since we''re both gonna die anyways, I don''t mind letting you know of our prowess.


    First of all, there are countless generals in the underworld. My husband can be considered as one of the strongest general while my abilities are only subpar excluding assassination, that is.


    As for our leader, the Demon King. Maybe with the combined powers of the Dragon and the Phoenix can subdue the Demon King momentarily. Unfortunately for you guys, the Dragon and the Phoenix cannot be in one place at the same time."


    "So you know of this information already huh? Then thank you for satisfying, this old one''s curiosity.Now you can go and die!"


    Tightening its grip on the neck of the demon. A cracking sound of bones was heard.


    "Ahhhhhh. With the appearance of the black hole sucking the worlds energy, imbalance was sure to follow. Two of the strongest being appearing at one place at the same time will result to spatial distortions, mini black holes and other natural disasters. This will further damage this Terra."


    ''I should''ve stayed underground; I lost my right arm, a bloody dagger is still pierced through my heart, I cannot even remove it. The others should have fared better than me, for I am the weakest amongst us kings.Fortunately, I gathered a very helpful intel about the strength of the underworld. With how the others do their work, they surely would not spare someone and gather some information. I should let the others know of this.''


    The Scorpion King, with its battered body, walked towards the depths of the desert with two messenger pigeons.


    ¡­


    On an ocean, far north of the City of Asta, a battle has just finished. Four corpses of a 10-foot demon are floating in the water as its black blood polluted the water''s surface. A huge silhouette was retreating to the deep and dark waters.


    The same thing can also be said on a vast expanse of wilderness to the south of Asta. Mangled corpses are strewn on the ground with blood all over it. There stood proudly a Lion with a golden mane which exudes a majestic aura.


    ''Hmph! These weaklings pose no threat to the beings of this world. The others should have fought their share of demons, though I''m afraid the Scorpion King succumbed to his death. With how lazy that guy is, we just lost a king. Hehehehe.''


    As the Lion King stood unmoving, it saw a messenger pigeon flying to it.


    "Hmmmm. Who might this be? The king of the humans already sent a letter an hour ago."


    Opening the letter, the Lion King quietly read its content. Different emotions are expressed by the king with just a letter from the Scorpion King.


    ''So the little scorpion will die soon. Hmph! I must say, he can really gather information from those tight-lipped demon. It seems I have to execute the first part of the plan. Hehehe.''

 3 The Past 3

    Chapter 3


    On a plateau near the northern ocean, stood a temple-looking palace that is heavily guarded by humans and beasts.


    The palace has high ceiling, marbled floors, wide columns and halls big enough to accommodate thousands of people.


    Despite the palace being so massive and heavily guarded, the palace seems devoid of people.


    Meanwhile at the backyard of the massive palace. A meeting between humanity''s and beast''s strongest elites are undergoing its initial stages where both sides will have to report of their findings and data including the number of casualties.


    "The City of Vera suffered tremendous losses against the demons, where only 30 humans survived, and millions died during the attack."


    "The mountains of Hima which housed a number of species also suffered from the attack, with only a third of the population alive. Some even have serious injuries which will then lead to the deaths of a hundred, leaving two hundred of my subjects."


    An old man then started the meeting with his report followed by a Grey Furred Gorilla. Both of their reports resulted to numerous discontent, pity and acceptance.


    Though as the meeting progressed everyone was then shocked by the amount of deaths on each city and mountain with an overall amount of 2 billion.


    "We can still rise and defeat those demons as long as the kings mount a counterattack towards the underworld killing a number of its generals."


    "Indeed. By having the kings counterattack will give us a room to breathe and will help us develop in the future, fighting against these demons."


    While everyone was shocked of the events, talking amongst themselves. The King of the Humans and the Lion King with his human form that is of a handsome middle-aged man, with shoulder length blonde hair were having their own conversation.


    "You should never tell anyone about the death of the Scorpion King or it will be a huge blow to everyone."


    "I know what I''m doing, human. I would never tell them that. But are you sure, by giving them false information about the strength of the demon generals is the right thing to do?"


    "Of course, by letting them know that only kings can kill these demon generals with ease are only half truth. While the truth is, being besieged by five of them is proving to be hard enough."


    "Okay then, you should soon start with announcement."


    After concluding their small talk. The Human King then did a fake cough to get the attention of the elites on the meeting.


    *Cough*


    "As you all know, the kings have been ambushed by at least five demon generals. Fortunately, us kings are capable of fighting and killing them. On the downside, only us, are capable of that. As everyone knows they are capable of destroying us once they adjusted to the influx of magic. So we will strike now, and we will do it fast."


    Everyone quickly agreed, as it was what they originally proposed. Though planning takes time, everyone helped in making the plan as quick and as safe as possible so that the kings can return safely and help in protecting Terra.


    After the conclusion of the meeting, the human king expressed his will to be alone at a near mountain hoping to have a peace of mind. He found a large rock at a cliff of a certain mountain and sat on it.


    Everything that has happened was within this king''s expectation. He worked hard for the past 20 years just to change the outcome of the prophecy.


    He even asked his best friend to infiltrate the ranks of the beasts.


    He gambled at the stake of everything he has.


    His power to rule humanity, his life and even the future of his beloved Terra; only to get a shot at changing this world''s fate.


    ¡­


    Days, weeks and soon, a month has passed as everyone helped in making a portal that is capable of transporting two kings, withstanding a duration of three days.


    Soon, the completion of portal draws near when the water on the ocean exploded as a humanoid-like creature appeared. It has green eyes, gills underneath its eyes, has light blue skin, tall and a muscular frame.


    This was the shark king, a megalodon of the myths.


    "I want to join the expedition!"


    "No!"


    "No!"


    Both kings rejected in unison. They then told the Shark King that someone needs to remain to help and protect the natives of Terra. If all of them went to the Underworld, then what of Terra? What will remain of it?


    Still, the Shark King pleaded and told them that there was still the Dragon and the Phoenix.


    The Lion King responded with a grunt and said, "Who knows if those two are still on Terra."


    After that, the Shark King remained silent, despite being a battle maniac and hot headed, it can only grumpily agree to the request of those two.


    Three days later, only the three kings remained on the island.


    The human can be seen holding on to a normal looking scepter, wearing an outfit of all white. Though the human appeared completely calm on the outside, however he was actually very nervous of what''s about to happen in this suicide mission.


    The human form of the lion king was clothed with an all-black attire with a gold gauntlet embedded with colorful gems. It was looking forward to this attack, since every beast are hot blooded and battle maniac, it cannot mask its eagerness to fight stronger individuals.


    "I will wait here for five days, if you guys aren''t here till then; I will consider you to have perished. Now go! Give those damn demons a punch to their faces. Good luck! I hope you get back in one piece."


    The Shark King bid his friends farewell and good luck as the two entered the portal.

 4 The Past 4

    Chapter 4


    Blood red sky, black soil, withered trees, bones, smog, no living beings and lack of vitality; completely opposite of Terra.


    This was what the Human and Lion King saw after they emerged from the portal. Seeing this, they thought they were just near some cemetery in the Underworld, so they started walking towards the north, where a huge black tower stood proudly.


    Unknown to them, the portal seemed a centimeter smaller than what it was.


    After an hour of walking, what greeted them were a bunch of demon, tens of millions of them.


    They were clearly surprised at the sight of such gathering. Though they were surprised it didn''t induce a tinge of fear on them, on the contrary it gave these two battle maniacs excitement.


    The Human began using his amplifying spells on the Lion King to enhance its speed and stamina.


    [Greater Stamina]


    [Greater Speed Enhancement]


    The Lion King then ran towards the horde of demons, slaughtering left and right.


    He then performed a seemingly normal looking punch, when it was completely thrown out tens of demons died under the might of its fist. While it was killing demons, the Human King didn''t want to get left behind by the Lion King.


    [Meteor Smash]


    He then raised his scepter and bombarded the demons with an Area of Effect magic which immediately killed hundreds of demons.


    The fight continued for a day but no matter how many demons the kings killed, the number of demons doesn''t seem to lessen, on the contrary it increased.


    "Pitiful house cat and human slave, we have already anticipated your arrival. What do you feel seeing this welcoming gift, is it to your liking? You should just accept your deaths."


    A cold, haughty and mocking voice sounded in the air as the kings fought the demons bitterly.


    Hearing this the Lion King didn''t back down.


    "A mere bone general. Talking haughty and mighty. Why don''t you let this house cat have a taste of your feeble bones. Stop hiding behind these canon fodders and come out!"


    "I fear your teeth might shatter, little creature. But these guys are enough, giving you cuts and bruises. Making you tuck your tail between your legs and make a run for your dear life."


    After the bone general or the necromancer said his piece, he casted a spell that made the demons lost of what tiny bit of sanity left on their minds.


    The demons attacked vigorously and courageously even the injured ones are oblivious to their current state and even crawled to fight the kings.


    "Hey Lion, we can''t keep this up much longer. My mana is draining so much faster than we''re killing them. We must go! Now!"


    "Screw it!"


    After making up their minds, the two sprinted towards the portal. With increased fatigue and lack of mana they struggled in going back while fighting against their enemies. It took them five hours of running towards the now small portal. Looking at it, it was getting smaller and smaller.


    Not hesitating any longer, the Lion King jumped towards the portal as he did so, he noticed that the portal was now the size of a human head. When suddenly a hand reached out and pointed to his forehead.


    Loads of information and experiences was forced to his brain. After what seemed to be years of information, the Lion King regained his consciousness and stared at the hand at his forehead.


    Then suddenly, he heard a calm and regretful voice


    "Live on my friend. With the information I gave you, humanity will surely triumph against these bastar-"


    The voice was cut off when the portal suddenly closed leaving behind the right arm of the human king.


    ''I will perfect everything that you have given me. This will be the hope of me and my people.''


    After talking to itself, it looked around to find the Shark King only to find it looking at the sea while eating grapes and laughing. Anger immediately filled the head of the Lion King, a friend of theirs died. Yet this fool, was eating grapes and laughing!? He tried to contain his anger and ignored the shark king that was asking where the human king was.


    "Hoh. So the human is finally dead. We can now proceed to phase 2, I will now open the portal in the deep waters."


    The Lion King smiled as it heard the words of the Shark King, then vanished and appeared at the City of Asta.


    After smirking, the Shark King then dived towards the ocean and not even its silhouette can be seen.


    When both kings were gone, a tiny scorpion can be seen lingering near the portal, diving down towards the earth.


    ...


    A hundred years later


    A haggard-looking middle-aged man with messy golden hair can be seen inside the laboratory sitting on a stool, with a test tube in his hands.


    ''That human really was a genius, I give him that. However, the kingdom of the beasts truly benefited in this one. The humans could''ve posed as a threat to every single being in this Terra should they get their hands on this data. Unfortunately for them, that is but a mere dream.''


    The experiment made by the Human King back then, proposed a theory in which mages could turn into different types of beasts. But what separates them from the norm, is that they are capable of wielding mana and invoking magic even though they turned into another being,


    Beasts are known to have superior physical abilities but limited intelligence. While humans are their complete opposite.


    This was the reason why the Lion King decided to steal the ideas of the Human King.


    The Lion King felt threatened because of it and copied it, so that mana will help the beasts evolve or grow stronger rather than having the ability to cast complex spells.


    After a bit of pondering, the Lion King decided to disclose a bit of the information that he had regarding the evolution of the beasts.


    He first sent it to his accomplice, the Shark King, so that it can spread further and faster. Though he was his friend, the Lion King didn''t give the Shark King the whole data, only its simplified version.


    Everyone has their own little scheme growing in their heads.


    Soon enough, another hundred years have passed.


    Beasts have thrived, they became stronger, much faster and more ferocious than they had been before. Conquering the vast plains of the south turned out to be an easy task for them.


    Demons stabilized their footing, inhabiting the cold mountains of the north. Also destroying the once glorious palace that served as the sign of the unity between man and beasts.


    Humanity''s situation became worse. After the resurgence of the beasts, they were repressed by demons and beasts alike. What should''ve been a 2 vs 1 against the demons now turned to a rumble. Where all sides fight each other.


    A once peaceful and magical planet, was now in utter chaos. This ended the Era of Peace.

 5 Family

    *RIIIINGG*


    Loud ringing resounded in the hallways of a small school in a certain mountain near the city of Asta. This ringing signifies the end of today''s classes.


    An old man on a certain class frowned as he heard the bell ringing. The old man looked like he was struggling to make a decision between continuing his class or ending it. In the end, decided to dismiss it.


    "Now this concludes the World History. You guys sure feel good now, huh? Finally, the boring history class ended. Yay! Tomorrow is the big day for you all. And I won''t be the one to spoil it. So go, have fun!"


    After hearing the remarks of the old man, the energetic young adults were quick on their feet and hastily ran outside the room, leaving behind the old man and a black haired young man who was gazing at the window.


    ''Kids nowadays, really can''t contain their excitement.''


    "Hey kid, the lesson has already finished."


    "Ah-, oh yes. Thank you for your hard work."


    The young man replied absent mindedly as he walked out of the class room.


    ''Hmmm. It''s been 14 years since I''ve been forcibly transmigrated in this world by a goddess named Gaia. She even gifted me a System, that doesn''t even work!''


    The young man was named Alex. He was from a planet called Earth, it was a planet that just ended their warring period; the people from a millenniaago used blade to cut down their opponents and was now using weapons of mass destruction, where a single bomb could kill millions.


    Now in this planet called Terra, it was like of Earth from the past. People still used swords to kill, but the difference was, the natives can use magic.


    A mediocre mage can easily kill a beast or two. While a high mage can kill thousands with a single spell. They were like the walking bombs of Terra.


    Walking his way towards his home, he could see several men of his age gathered around outside the school, talking about their future and ambitions.


    Hearing their small talk, he couldn''t help but think of his own future. When he arrived in this world, all he thought about when he grow up was to go back to Earth. However, that changed when he met his family on this world.


    Upon arriving at his home, he was greeted by a little girl with a head full of black hair that looked to be at the age of 7. She quickly jumped and hugged him. This was his little sister who was very lively and naughty.


    "Brother, mom is cooking chicken for dinner so that you can become a powerful mage in the future!"


    ''W-what? Eating chicken for dinner makes me a mage? Eh?''


    He was dumbfounded when he heard the little girl''s words. But he quickly recovered by gently flicking the little girl''s forehead.


    "Of course! Chicken makes a man a mage!"


    "Ouch! It hurts! Mooooom! Brother flicked me in the foreheaaaaad!"


    His little sister, Mari, cried out to their mother. She seemed hurt with tiny droplets of tears lingering at the end of her eyes, so he tried to hold her head and gently caressed her forehead.


    However, she swiftly ran away from him then turned her head and stuck her tongue out as if to mock him.


    ''This little rabbit really is mischievous. Haha.''


    He quickly made his way to the kitchen where his mother was preparing dinner. As if his mother knew that he was behind her, she quickly scolded him not to hurt his little sister.


    He wanted to explain but decided to lower his head and concede.


    "Mom, will brother be at the ceremony tomorrow?"


    "He is going to represent his academy for the ceremony in this village tomorrow. So, he''ll definitely be here. You should be like your brother, soon he will graduate and become a professional mage."


    "Well that''s a given. When I graduate too, we will move out and live in the city. With the threats of beast invasion every now and then, it''s not safe here anymore."


    Beasts invasion was a common occurence in every village inhabiting the surrounding mountains of the city of Asta.


    It was said that the kings of the past held a grudge against humanity.


    The constant attack of beasts every month weakens the defense of every village. Sooner or later villages will fall, and the last city of humanity will soon to follow.


    That was why the awakening ceremony was always a priority to the humans. As every institute or academy will be sending out their representatives to scout for promising mages.


    Coincidentally, his brother was a prodigy at his school. Therefore he was assigned to scout this village.


    After his father''s death when he was 7, they began to live frugally. With the newborn Mari joining the household, they ate less and less until there was a time that they can only eat at breakfast.


    Yes, they had suffered. But not Mari, as she was still a child.


    His mother used to wash clothes for others, just to keep her family fed. Not until his brother awakened as a mage.


    Once his brother learned a few spells, he immediately went on missions to help the family.


    So that was why eating a chicken for dinner was considered a sumptuos dinner.


    After reminiscing for a while and getting emotional, he went to the bathroom and washed himself.


    As dusk shrouds the world of darkness, Alex, with Mari and his mom, ate their dinner.


    Eating dinner with this family was surely a bliss for Alex. He was originally an orphan on Earth. Never shared the warmth and love a family could offer.


    With Mari eating happily and his mother''s soft laughs from time to time. What else can he do than be strong and protect their smiles?


    When they were done eating, he quickly took the task to wash the dishes, as he knew that his mother was quite tired from work.


    Sitting on his bed, he closed his eyes and started to imagine his fairy tales of what his future would look like: Defeating the Demon King and rescuing the princess was the most awesome thing he could think of.


    With such a clich¨¦d story his life would surely be boring. That was because he could not contain his excitement.


    The Awakening Ceremony will be held tomorrow!

 6 The Awakening

    The roosters crow, as the sun was finally peeking out at the horizon, seemingly blessing the land with its radiance.


    People of different household are preparing their breakfast. The aroma of different food wafts in the


    morning air of the village.


    Waking up their little children was a task they found hard back then. Now however, it was pretty easy waking up these little monkeys.


    Today was the Awakening Ceremony in the village. Everyone wanted to watch ceremony as there will always be a mini tournament to determine the talents of the participants.


    Alex and his mother were currently preparing their breakfast as a series of knocking resounded through the door.


    *Knock Knock Knock*


    Alex quickly went towards the door and opening it. Upon opening the door, he was surprised to see who the visitor was.


    He was a bit taller than Alex, standing tall at about 180 cm, with black hair and eyes and a bit muscular.


    "Brother! You''re back!"


    "Haha. Of course I would be back. It''s your awakening today so I decided to go home."


    After the greeting, both of them sat and waited for their mother to wake up Mari. As soon as they saw Mari rubbing her eyes with her little hands they couldn''t help but smile at how adorable this


    little creature was.


    "Mari."


    "Big Brother!"


    Mari ran towards her brother, Arthur and hugged him. He asked his little sister questions like, how


    was school and if she made friends. Mari boasted that she made new friends and played with them at the school grounds.


    She then complained that his brother, Alex had flicked her forehead so hard. As the subject of complaint, he was yet again scolded. Seeing his little sister laughing at him, he too laughed back.


    The breakfast was a hearty and happy one. Arthur shared the knowledge he learned at his school, he boasted at how he was named as one of the prodigies of the school. He shared the experiences he had when fighting against beasts.


    Of course he didn''t get away from his mother''s scolding. She told him that he should take missions less so as to not get hurt.


    Alex shared his time at school too, just that he knew it would be boring and decided to stop. He talked about the family''s current state. He said things positively and took the roundabout route of explaining their problems so that his little sister would not understand.


    The breakfast continued for a few minutes and ended when Arthur decided to leave early because he needed to greet the representatives from other schools.


    He asked Alex to leave early after finishing up because he knew that the villagers will surely watch. Arthur bid them farewell for now and headed towards the school.


    After seeing his brother out, Alex washed himself clean. He was donned in white shirt and khaki pants, which was his style when he was on Earth.


    When he walked out of his room, he saw his mother and Mari already waiting for him.


    ¡­


    As they were making their way towards the school grounds, Mari couldn''t help but get all jumpy and excited as if she was the one attending the ceremony. She even tripped and didn''t care about the dirt on her knees. She just laughed it off.


    Alex was still wearing his poker face, he didn''t seem to care yet on the inside, he was really excited. He waited for far too long for this.


    By the time they arrived at the school grounds, it was already filled with people. They were given way towards the center only because Alex was participating.


    He sat down on the grass with his classmates. Since they were only in a village, there were only 20 or so hoping to be awakened, yes, Hoping.


    Participating in the Awakening does not mean you will be fully awakened to become a mage. One can be a Warrior, a Knight or an Archer. But that doesn''t satisfy these young adults. They aspire to become a Mage.


    Being a Mage means status and fame and it also brings a lot of money. They didn''t want to be a brute swinging around their swords, firing an arrow that may hit their allies, or being at the very front of a war. Controlling the elementals would surely make them cool.


    Soon enough, an old man walked out and made a silencing gesture towards the crowd. The noise immediately died down as the old man appeared.


    However, the kids were shocked, because the old man was the newly employed teacher yesterday.


    Seeing the shocked faces of the kids, he grinned then laughed at them.


    "Shocking right? Hehe. Jokes aside, we will now proceed with the Awakening Ceremony."


    As soon as he said this several men and women came out and gave them a blue crystal. These people were the representatives of the academies. The kids noticed that the crystal was quite cold when they held it in their hands.


    The old man then explained that these blue crystals were called Mana Crystal.


    These mana crystals can either be a used to recover mana or it induce a person to be awakened.


    The former was only used by the wealthy, while the latter was given to the public. However, several wealthy merchants and nobles who hoarded a huge amount of mana crystals started to nurture their children with mana crystals; helping them to become a mage when they come of age.


    What can others do about it than be envious.


    The representatives who gave out the mana crystals were tasked to help the kids in the awakening. Since the number of participants exceeds theirs. They can only do it twice.


    They sat in front of the participants and asked them to hold the mana crystals with both of their hands, while they too stretched out a hand a place it on top of the crystal.


    Since Alex came almost last, he was place at the second batch.


    The school grounds descended into silence as soon as the awakening started.


    ¡­


    10 minutes have passed and only 3 kids were successful in their awakening. The first one was a boy named Kael, which made the mana crystal into bright red in color in just two minutes.


    This feat shocked everyone because they knew that Arthur, as a prodigy even in the city, only managed to light it up at the 3-minute mark. They knew that this silver-haired kid would surely become famous in the future.


    The second one was a tall and bulky kid that awakened the element of Earth. The third was a girl of the water element. Both of them awakened at the 5th minute.


    It was now the second batch''s turn.


    As Alex was wondering what to do, a shadow covered him. Looking up, he can see his brother smiling at him.


    Arthur sat down and faced Alex. He told Alex not to do anything against a warm flow of energy that will enter his body and asked him to stay still.


    Alex nodded as a response. Arthur then directed the mana from the crystal towards his brother''s body. He noticed that the rate of absorption was very fast and within 10 minutes it will definitely be depleted.


    On Alex''s side however, he was feeling great as streams of warm energy was satisfying his hunger. Which was brought to unknown part of his body and it keeps on eating mana.


    He later saw a forest, just a glimpse of it. However, he felt that he was a tall and sturdy tree, like he was the forest itself. He could feel the surrounding communicating through the roots, like they have their own sentience.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to fully comprehend what he just experienced as it was ended by a continuous beeping on his mind.


    *Beep ¡­ Beep ¡­ Beep*


    [Absorbing Mana ¡­ 50%]


    [70%]


    [90%]


    [99%]


    [100%]


    [Initiating System ¡­]


    *DING*


    [Elemental Affinity Unlocked: Wood]

 7 Round-Robin 1

    "This concludes the Awakening this year."


    The old man looked around and only saw 2 colored mana crystals. Both of it has the same green color which signifies the Wood element.


    Even though both of them had the same element, they were quite different. The first one was a girl that awakened at the 5th minute while the other was the young man he talked to yesterday, the young man barely made it out and awakened at the final minute.


    There was quite a difference in the color of their mana crystals, the girl had a pale green, while the young man had a bright green this shows their talent towards their elemental affinity. The brighter it is, the more talented they are in that element.


    Alex was completely rooted at his place like the tall tree he was. But he was just dumbly, staring ahead.


    ''W-what!? The system awakened!?''


    He had mixed feelings regarding the awakening of the system. At the first few minutes of the awakening, he thought that he wasn''t good enough to be a mage. He didn''t feel like there were some sort of awakening happening inside him.


    He continued to wait until he heard the beeping sound inside his head. Then he caught a glimpse of a forest and felt he was it.


    Finally he heard the old man concluding the awakening.


    "You will be given an hour to familiarize yourself with the spells you have just awakened in."


    They all knew what comes next after an hour. It will be the round-robin tournament. This had always been a part of the tradition; that everyone who had awakened will be sent to compete against each other.


    In this one hour of break, Alex familiarize with the system. He willed for the character information to show up, and it did. He had 3 unassigned stat points and quickly added 1 to INT, 1 to END and 1 to PHY.


    He didn''t want to die early after obtaining the system, so he distributed his stats towards the would-be core of himself.


    [Character Information]


    Name: AlexTitle: Newly AwakenedRace: Human


    Level: 1Class: Mage


    [Personal Attributes]


    HP ¨C70/70 -> 80/80


    MP ¨C 190/190 -> 200/200


    EXP ¨C 0/100%


    STR ¨C 2


    DEX ¨C 4


    INT ¨C 14 -> 15


    END ¨C 2 -> 3


    PHY ¨C 2 -> 3


    Stat Points Available ¨C 0


    [Invariable Attributes]


    CHARM ¨C 2


    LUCK ¨C 1


    PER ¨C 2


    [Skills]


    [Active Skills]


    [Take Root] [Level 1] ¨C Summons any part of tree within a range of 3 meters. Consumes 10 MP. 1 second cooldown.


    [Passive Skills]


    [Iron Will] ¨C Unlocking the invariable attribute of Perseverance/PER.


    [Gaia''s Blessing] ¨C Increases INT by 10 points. Increases INT by another 10 if user is inside a forest.


    Skill Points Available ¨C 0


    ¡­


    Looking at his stats, he didn''t know if it was up to par with the other. But he knew that his INT stat will probably be one of the best among every newly awakened mage.


    Unknowingly to him, there was now an arena in the school grounds. The old man went up the arena and told everyone the rules of the tournament.


    First of all, no one should kill, because humanity really needs a saving right now and can only hope for someone in the younger generation therefore killing was banned.


    No humiliating of opponents. Since they were quite young, kids will definitely be short-tempered and will harbor deep grudges which will then be disastrous.


    This was just a mini tournament in the village so there was really no need for killing and humiliations.


    The first match as between Alex and the bulky Earth Mage, Von. As he was walking towards the arena he heard a familiar ding sound and quickly looked at the interface; It was a Quest!


    *DING*


    [Quests] ¨C Defeat an Earth Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP.


    ¨C Defeat a Water Elemental Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP.


    ¨C Defeat a Wood Elemental Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP.


    ¨C Defeat a Metal Elemental Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP.


    ¨C Defeat a Fire Elemental Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP.


    ¨C Win the Tournament. Reward ¨C 50 EXP and 1 Stat Point.


    ''Woah! QUESTS! EXP! Haha! There is no way I''m going to lose these matches. They''re just kids anyway. And I, played RPGs in the past as a mage. Hopefully I won''t get hit by them.''


    Alex greeted his opponent with a sight bow while placing his left hand above his closed right fist. Von returned the greeting by doing the same.


    They quickly separated 5 meters away from each other. The old man acted as a referee since he was probably the strongest in this village. After confirming that the kids were ready, he started the match.


    Alex quickly rushed towards his opponent because he knew that his skills won''t reach Von.


    Upon seeing Alex rushing towards him, Von stomped the ground and conjured a small boulder, and was hoping to send his opponent flying.


    Alex hastily dodged the boulder as he knew that most mages tend to invoke offensive spells once an opponent rush to them.


    He took the chance to get near when he saw Von''s shocked face. He estimated that Von was already in range of his skill. He activated his skills [Take Root] as a trunk emerged from the ground in front of Von.


    Von reacted quickly and erected an [Earthen Wall] to block the attack. He heard a loud thud and thought he could still win. When he saw roots trying to break apart the wall he frowned.


    He quickly tried to conjure a boulder, timing it when his [Earthen Wall] crumbles but he made the wrong judgement by thinking that his opponent was just behind the root infested wall.


    The next thing he knew was he was flying, and his sides hurt.


    The old man declared as the winner. Alex was smiling from ear to ear, he was really happy. He looked towards his mother and saw her smiling at him and Mari was even waving her tiny fist as a celebration.


    *DING*


    [Quest] ¨C Defeat an Earth Mage. Completed! Reward ¨C 10 EXP Received.


    *DING*


    [User has leveled up]


    He distributed the 3 stat points to his core stats, 1 to INT, 1 to END and another 1 to PHY. (A/N: DJ KHALED!)


    With the free skill point he got upon leveling up, he upgraded his only active skill to level 2 since passive skills cannot be upgraded.


    [Take Root] [Level 2] ¨C Summons any part of tree within a range of 3.5 meters. Consumes 11 MP. 1.2 second cooldown.

 8 Round-Robin 2

    The second match continued with the silver-haired, Kael, against the Water Mage Katari. Everyone thought that Kael, would definitely have a hard time against Katari, since he was of the fire element.


    This thought only remained in their minds for a few seconds when the spells of Katari was evaporated by a simple fireball from Kael.


    Katari casted a [Water Shield] but it was extinguished by a [Fireball].


    As it was her first battle, she panicked when she saw another [Fireball] hurling towards her. Fortunately for her, it was stopped by the old man and declared Kael as the winner.


    Everyone applauded Kael for his dominating win despite his elemental disadvantage.


    The next match proceeded with Von against another Wood Elemental Mage, the twin sister of Katari, Rina.


    Von learned from his mistakes and became more vigilant. In the end he eventually won because of his superior physique against a girl. Yet, it was a hard-fought battle for him.


    Applause and encouragement filled the arena as the two gave a wonderful battle for the villagers.


    In the fourth match, Alex was up against Katari. It was a one-sided battle, because low-leveled Water Mage has low attacking prowess. He completed another quest but was unable to level up. After 2 matches he will definitely level up.


    Kael and Rina were next. Kael won without breaking a sweat, in just two moves he defeated his opponent.


    Alex watched the match intently, for he knew that Kael would definitely be his final opponent. With 2 wins under them, they will surely be in the final match.


    After the match, the old man asked everyone for a 15-minute rest and also to contemplate their previous matches.


    During the break the twins Katari and Rina decided to forfeit their matches. Both of them knew that their individual prowess would only be considered as mediocre. The old man tried to persuade them that, this tournament was only for them to familiarize their skills.


    The twins thought about it for a while, yet their decisions remained the same. The old man could only sigh and reluctantly allow the twins to forfeit.


    Right after, he announced the withdrawal of the twins which caused the villagers to be shocked.


    They can only continue the match. Since Alex and Von fought already, the next match was between Kael and Von. After that would be another break for Kael to rest for a bit.


    This situation was extremely advantageous for Alex, since he would get to fight a mentally exhausted Kael, if he was exhausted.


    The old man talked to Von if he would like to concede, so that they can proceed to the final match. Von shook his head vigorously and said that he would like to know how it feels like to fight a genius.


    The old man called Kael to be on the platform. Von and Kael exchanged their greetings then the match started.


    This time, Von took the lead and tried to fight aggressively.


    He dashed towards Kael and quickly casted [Earthen Wall] between them. Not only did it block the [Fireball] from his opponent, it even served as a dual-edged screen where both of them cannot see each other.


    He gambled that his opponent would be on the side of the wall unmoving. So he decided to run towards the wall and continue his plan.


    As he neared the wall, he quickly dispelled it and conjured a boulder, which was sent flying towards Kael.


    Kael has grown arrogant with his fire power, thinking that all these kid''s spell would explode upon contact with his flames.


    He never looked at them as equals; he looked at them as if they were worlds apart, like heaven and earth.


    Kael dodged to his right but was unfortunate that the boulder hit his left arm and was now numbed. The kid that always had a deadpan expression was now shocked and angry. His handsome face was now distorted and fearsome.


    Upon seeing the change in expression in Kael''s face, the old man who was always relaxed now inched closer towards Von.


    Kael bombarded Von with continuous shot of [Fireball]. Von didn''t want to lose so he conjured another boulder and sent it towards Kael and served as an offense and defense.


    The boulder only managed to block 2 [Fireball]s when it exploded to pieces. The subsequent [Fireball] came after, and Von hurriedly casted [Earthen Wall] to block the incoming attack.


    He could only watch as his [Earthen Wall] turned to ashes. And he was now exposed to the attacks of Kael.


    Fortunately for him he only got hit once and the old man acted and saved him from the bombardment of spells.


    The old man stopped the match and declared that Kael won, to everyone who saw and heard this, it seemed like a d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Earlier, the same thing happened.


    The old man asked Kael to recover his used-up mana. So that he could fight in the match.


    Even though he looked angry before, he was actually level headed the entire time. He knew his limits and sat on a meditative pose to recover his lost mana.


    To everyone who watched the match they could not help but exhale deeply. The match was definitely splendid. Both fighters were like fighting at their peak.


    The reason why Kael won was not because he was level headed, however it was because of his deep mana pool.


    An ordinary newly awakened mage cannot invoke spells continuously. They can only do it at the level of a peak acolyte, if they were talented, or at the level of a professional mage. And not only that, but also his mana seemed to be endless.


    With the talent in both mana and the element of fire, he might be unstoppable with kids his age. He just needed a time to help humanity against their enemies.


    Just this performance alone was enough to make every scout wish to recruit him and promise many benefits.


    Soon enough, the 15-minute break ended, the final battle will commence.


    Everyone was excited to see these two undefeated brats fight it out to see who will be the best in this year''s tournament.

 9 Finale

    "The final match shall commence in a few minutes."


    The old man spoke to the crowd with excitement and fervor in his tone.


    Amidst the crowd of villagers, Arthur was consoling his mother that Alex will be alright. Everybody knows how a mother can be overprotective of their kin.


    "Mom, it''s going to be alright, Alex will definitely be able to protect himself. Not only that, but the old man is also an expert in regards to physical combat class."


    "But what if! What if he wasn''t able to protect Alex?"


    She was protesting with grief in her voice, as if her son would die during the fight.


    "Don''t worry about it mom. I will be watching near the stage, so no matter what happens, I will be able to protect Alex."


    After hearing his son''s words. She quickly calmed down, however there was still a trace of uneasiness on her face.


    "May I call the participants to please come up the stage?"


    The villagers shouted and cheered as the voice of the old man ended.


    As Alex and Kael were going up the stage, they could clearly hear the voices of everyone. Their blood boiled as the crowd cheered and chanted their names.


    "Ka-el! Ka-el! Ka-el!"


    "A-lex! A-lex! A-lex!"


    "Brother! Fighting!"


    Even though everyone was like, screaming for the match to start. Alex could hear a cute voice of a girl, cheering him on. And looking towards the direction of the voice, he could see his little sister, Mari, waving her tiny fists at him. He simply smiled and nodded at her and his mother.


    Upon arriving at the stage, the old man asked them to introduce themselves and greet their opponents.


    Kael, as arrogant he was, started to introduce himself.


    "I am Kael, the future fire king, and will be the savior of humanity!"


    The crowd shouted, hearing Kael''s words. They did not doubt a word the kid said, as they knew he will become someone great in the future.


    "I am Alex, the first Wood Mage that will defeat you!"


    Alex didn''t back down at the arrogant words spoken by Kael. Everyone went crazy at the statement of Alex. This kid that only won and got into the finals by luck, was arrogant and proud. However, they didn''t think much of it because they were clearly young, and just didn''t want to back down against such opponent.


    "The final match! Starts, now!"


    The crowd went into silence as both Alex and Kael just stood at the stage, looking at each other. Kael decided to talk and weaken Alex''s will to fight.


    "You''re no different than them."


    Then he pointed at Von and the others and continued speaking.


    "You! Him! Them! At the end of the day you will all kneel! It has been a nice run for you, to be here before me."


    Kael exuded a majestic aura and arrogance, unbefitting of a 15-year old kid. This made the old man shocked as he only felt this kind of aura emitted by kings. He clearly remembered a similar aura from a man he once belittled that made him tremble and kneel. This was the King''s Aura! However it was clearly a weaker version.


    He wondered if he should report to the King of his recent findings. Maybe he will be given a huge sum of money or he could get back his position in the palace.


    As for everyone present, they were oblivious to what was happening on the stage. They just thought that his words were a bit over than just arrogance.


    Alex simply snorted at his words.


    "Hmph! Do you think you''re some kind of king?!"


    Alex shouted and ran straight to Kael. He was startled as a fireball was nearing his face. He knew for a fact that he cannot dodge this one. So he quickly used his skill to block the incoming fireball.


    His skill immediately exploded upon contact.


    He wasn''t surprised at the strength of the [Fireball], instead it was the speed of it.


    He didn''t have enough time to think as another [Fireball] came his way. He counter attacked with a spell of his own, but was of no threat towards the Fire Mage. He continued his attacks but to no avail. Everything he did was useless, though he only have one spell.


    "Your power is meagre, Alex. Give it up! You''re just like them."


    Kael said while pointing at Von and the others. Then he invoked three continuous [Fireball] towards Alex. Alex summoned a tree to block a [Fireball], dodged the other, however the last one landed on his body.


    He was sent flying near the edge of the stage. His white clothes was now burnt, his khaki pants was now a short pants. He looked quite pitiful now compared to his previous look, he was more like a beggar.


    He looked at the peaceful sky with a bitter smile on his face.


    ''In the end I got defeated by a more talented kid than I am. Maybe I was relying on the system too much.''


    When he said this, his consciousness was starting to fade, the clear sky was getting darker, and ¡­ greener? The blue skies turned to a mountain. Reality and his sub-consciousness were starting to intersect, it keeps on changing the scenery he was seeing really fast.


    Then he arrived at the forest he saw through the awakening.


    Everything he saw was clear. From the towering trees to the smallest of grasses. The forest looked quite ancient, he wondered how this forest survived the passage of time. How were they able to adap-.


    ''That''s it! ADAPT! How was he able to have such firepower? Of course it was through mana. I''m such an idiot sandwich.'' (A/N: GordonR: What are you?!)


    He woke up from his dream and saw a [Fireball] fast approaching.


    "See. I told you, you were weak. Much weaker than the earth guy."


    Alex didn''t have time to refute Kael''s words, he then summoned a tree to lift him high up. The tree soon exploded into pieces. Without a support he fell from the tree.


    As he was falling, he swung his arm and a tree shot out from it and reached towards Kael.


    Kael obviously, dodged the incoming tree and attacked it with a [Fireball] so that Alex will fall again. But he was shocked when he noticed that his spell was only able to make a burnt mark on it. He inspected the tree, and it was much larger than before.


    When he was inspecting it, he didn''t notice that Alex was already above him intending to punch his head.


    And the punch connected! Kael staggered back at the punch and was unable to evade the tree sweeping from his left.


    His left side hurts and his mind was in a mess. But he was able to hear a series of footsteps and a cold voice.


    "After all that talk, and this is what you call POWER? I told you, you''re not some kind of king! You''re just another stone, waiting to be stepped upon by me."


    This words ignited the flames of fury in the eyes of Kael. He didn''t want to be looked down on, he was a genius! Yet, he was going to be defeated by a clown? How laughable.


    He tried standing up, but was unable to. He was exhausted and his body was hurt.


    The old man appeared and abruptly ended the match.


    "This match''s winner is Alex!"


    At his words, the crowd erupted into cheers of happiness; not because of who the winner was, but by the spectacle the two of them showed.


    The old man carried the exhausted Kael towards the infirmary and walked back to the stage.


    "You sure overdid it."


    "I know. I''m sorry. I''ll head to the infirmary after this."


    Alex and the old man were talking in small voice, but it didn''t matter because the villagers were too loud and expressive of their feelings.


    ''It''s good that this kid knows what he has done. Or it will be trouble later on.''


    "The awarding ceremony will be postponed for half an hour."


    *DING*

 10 Rewards 1

    *DING*


    [Quests] ¨C Defeat a Fire Mage. Reward ¨C 10 EXP. Received


    ¨C Win the Tournament. Reward ¨C 50 EXP and 1 Stat Point. Received


    When Alex was descending from the stage, he heard a familiar sound. He checked the status screen and saw that 2 of his quests were done. He quickly received the quest rewards and leveled up.


    Alex was now level 3. He distributed his 4 free stats to DEX, INT, END and PHY. He gained an additional skill point but was unable to level up his only skill, because of the level up requirement.


    [Character Information]


    Name: AlexTitle: Newly AwakenedRace: Human


    Level: 3Class: Mage


    [Personal Attributes]


    HP ¨C100/100


    MP ¨C 220/220


    EXP ¨C 0/100%


    STR ¨C 2


    DEX ¨C 5


    INT ¨C 17


    END ¨C 5


    PHY ¨C 5


    Stat Points Available ¨C 0


    [Invariable Attributes]


    CHARM ¨C 2


    LUCK ¨C 1


    PER ¨C 2


    [Skills]


    [Active Skills]


    [Take Root] [Level 2] ¨C Summons any part of tree within a range of 3.5 meters. Consumes 12 MP. 1.2 seconds cooldown. (Level up requirement: 2 Skill Points, User lvl 3)


    [Passive Skills]


    [Iron Will] ¨C Unlocking the invariable attribute of Perseverance/PER.


    [Gaia''s Blessing] ¨C Increases INT by 10 points. Increases INT by another 10 if user is inside a forest.


    Skill Points Available ¨C 1


    ¡­


    ''Hais. If only I could reduce the cooldown of my skill. Then Acolytes and monsters of the same level will be easy as pie. Professional mages, however, would have a hard time fighting me.''


    This was only a wishful thinking of his because he knew only artifacts are capable of reducing skill''s cooldown and some artifacts are for protection, and some can enhance fighting capabilities.


    He went to the infirmary to check the situation of Kael. Even though he overdid it and knew they would be enemies from now on, they were still of the same village. It was better to be a bit friendlier towards Kael so that their status won''t deteriorate to that of vengeance.


    Upon arriving at the infirmary, which was basically the village''s medical facility, he saw Kael already on his feet, talking to the old man.


    "Hey man. Sorry about earlier. You okay?"


    "Yeah I''m fine. I didn''t know that a wood mage would still pose a threat to me, a fire mage."


    After hearing Kael''s words there was a hint of pride and arrogance contained within, but he decided to just ignore it. Maybe he was still felt bitter after losing. Then he turned his head to look at the old man.


    "So, old man. Since he''s okay can you start giving the rewards?"


    "Hm? Don''t be impatient young man. Let Kael rest a few more minutes, yes?"


    "Okay. I''ll go to my mom first. See yah!"


    He ran out of the infirmary and looked for his mom like a kid lost in a market. Eventually, he found his mom and Mari, talking to his brother while being surrounded by people. Hence, he made his way to his family.


    At the time that he got near, the villagers quickly dispersed as if he was the source of the black plague.


    ''Hmm. Maybe they''re congratulating mom and didn''t want me to hear them or probably they''re just say. Haha!''


    Though he tossed idea away, he was still curious. So he decided to ask his brother about it.


    "What was that?"


    "Something you shouldn''t know."


    Arthur answered with the same tone as his brother, making fun of him. At this, the both of them simply chuckled.


    (A/N: their voice was that of a girl, acting cute. It''s really hard to explain. itried)


    "Hmmm. Okay. Mom! Your son was pretty strong right? Hehe."


    "Yes yes, you did pretty good back there. But remember to always stay humble."


    All mother will surely be proud of their children, no matter winning or losing and will advice their children to be on the right path.


    "Of course mom! Ain''t that right Mari?"


    "Yeah!"


    They talked for quite a bit until Kael and the old man emerged from the infirmary. The village has a healer, so it was no wonder that Kael could recover fast.


    The old man went up the stage to start giving out the rewards for the top three participants.


    "I will now give out the rewards in this year''s tournament. First will be Von. Von come up here and take your reward."


    Von was hesitant to go up because he cannot see any sort of reward from the old man, he seemed empty-handed.


    ''Hmmm. Maybe this old man will instruct someone to bring the rewards? Yes. Maybe that''s it!''


    Still, he went up the stage and waited for the old man give the reward.


    "Kid. You played well and fought hard."


    When the old man was saying this, he waved his hand then a yellow crystal appeared on the old man''s hand.


    Von was awestruck by the spectacle made by the old man. Though he knew that magic was definitely involved, it was still a first for him.


    Seeing the change of expression on Von''s face, the old man just chuckled and explained.


    "This crystal is called the Earth Crystal. Using this will increase your affinity of the earth element. Your earth spells will be more powerful, and you will be more proficient with it."


    Several scouts were shocked by the gift the old man was giving towards the young earth mage.


    An elemental crystal was very expensive and rare. Even for those wealthy merchants, it will prove to be hard obtaining one. Only those with power and status would be able to acquire it.


    Different thought emerged in the minds of the scouts.


    ''Woah! He should''ve gotten it when he was younger.''


    ''Maybe this old man took a liking to this kid and decided to make an investment.''


    The old man ignored the gasps of the young scouts as he gave the crystal to Von.


    "This will help you greatly in your early years as a mage. Do not disappoint me young Von."


    "Yes! Thank you very much!"


    Von was very happy with the reward he got that there were tears threatening to fall on his face. Everyone could see the happiness in his innocent face.


    "Kael, why don''t you come up here and receive your reward."

 11 Rewards 2

    "Kael, why don''t you come up here and take your rewards."


    Kael walked up the stage with pride and arrogance on his face. It seemed that he had forgotten that he just lost against a Wood Mage with a low combat power.


    Anyone can forget their animosity towards someone when presented a reward such as an elemental crystal.


    A mortal with an elemental crystal can sell it to an auction house with great reputation so as to not get duped. After selling the elemental crystal, they can live a carefree and wealthy life as a mortal.


    Those that will buy an elemental crystal will surely have power, status and wealth. They will use it to nurture either their child or will be using on a young elite.


    When a young mage uses an elemental crystal, not only will they have a good head start against other mages of their age, but also will have a greater or sturdier foundation in the future when they become a professional mage.


    The old man waved his hand again and a fiery red crystal was soon held by his hand.


    "This is a Fire Crystal. You already know what it is, so I will be explaining how to use it. Here you go."


    He gave the fire crystal to Kael and started to talk about how to use it.


    "To use it, you have to move your mana and circulate it towards the crystal. Know how mana flows in it and familiarize the feeling then absorb it. And, that''s it!"


    "That''s it? That easy?"


    When the old man heard Kael''s response, he chuckled and smirked.


    ''If this kid knew that using an elemental crystal will be very hard without help, then he would surely get angry at me. Hahaha! Hmmm. I have to help little Von later on.''


    "Yes, that easy."


    "Okay then, I will start using it now!"


    "Hold it young man! Don''t you want your second reward? Now that I think about it, I don''t know what to give you. What do you want?"


    "Something that increases my strength of my spells."


    "Hmmm. I think I got the one for you."


    The old man waved his hand and a ring emerged from it. It has a little red gem on it which probably signifies that it was an artifact of the fire element.


    "This ring is only a low-grade artifact, but it is ranked at the top. It slightly increases the power of your fire spells and lessens the mana used in casting fire spells."


    Kael was astounded at what benefits the ring could give him. He was baffled that such an item was of the low grade-artifact.


    "How was this ring a low-grade?"


    "It was originally a mid-grade artifact. However, it wasn''t able to escape the erosion of time, and will only continue to degrade if left unused."


    After receiving his reward, Kael went down the stage with a contented look on his face. Alex looked at Kael and chuckled lightly, he was careful not to get caught by Kael or they would definitely become enemies again.


    "Alex come here!"


    Alex was quick on his feet and walked up the stage, he was clearly happy and excited of what he would receive from the old man.


    "Could everyone give a round of applause for this year''s champion?"


    At the old man''s words, the villagers clapped their hands together and once again congratulated Alex.


    "Since you are this year''s champion I will give you 3 rewards. First will be the Wood Crystal."


    As the old man was saying this he gave the wood crystal to Alex.


    "As for the other two, it will be your choice. Just ask me and don''t hesitate."


    Alex''s quick response surprised the old man.


    "I want another elemental crystal. But it is of the Earth Element."


    "Woah! Hey kid, don''t bite off more than you can chew, do you think I''m growing elemental crystal or something? But where will you use it?"


    "I will give it to my brother!"


    Before he went up the stage, he asked his brother if he had used an elemental crystal in the past. Arthur said no, because it was too much of a luxury for him to have that kind of item.


    This gave Alex the idea of asking for another elemental crystal from the old man.


    "Be sure that your brother will use it. If I found out that you sold it, then I will slap the back of your head! Hehe."


    "Of course! For the third item. Hmmm. Do you have something that can help mitigate fire spells?"


    "Oh! A defensive equipment quite unusual for a kid to ask for it. Kids your age always wanted to be on the offensive."


    "Well, I value my life. And a fire mage will be a huge threat against me."


    The old man looked as if he was pondering, so Alex waited for a few seconds.


    "It''s okay if you don''t have it. I''m very happy with the rewards already."


    "No! How can that be? I already have something for you."


    The next thing that Alex saw was that the old man was holding to a tattered maroon colored cape.


    "Woah! It''s so cool! With how I look right now (he had tattered clothes) and this maroon cape, I totally look like a beggar."


    "What?! Did I hear it correctly? You don''t want this cape? It protects you from the environmental heat and from fire spells. What a shame that I have to use this as rag."


    Alex was obviously joking when he said those words, and the old man knew it so he played along. When Alex heard what the old man said he looked at him and thought that he wasn''t joking. So he quickly snatched the cape from the old man.


    "Such a fine cape. Will only be treated as a rag by an old man."


    He held it in his arms and caressed it, like it was some kind of pet.


    "Hahaha! But are you not disappointed? This only a low-grade artifact."


    "As long as it helps me. It is good enough."


    The awakening ceremony has finally concluded. The rewards were already given. The villagers talked about the tournament for the entire day. They were clearly happy seeing such sights, even though they were happy, there were traces of envy and regret on their faces.


    They were once a teen. Hoping to wield magic.


    As for Alex and the others, they quickly went home. Probably excited to use the elemental crystal that was given to them.

 12 Elemental Crystal 1

    After the ceremony everyone went and minded their own business. As for Alex they went straight to their house.


    His mother went to the kitchen to prepare their food, to celebrate Alex''s victory in the tournament.


    Alex then ran to the bathroom to wash himself clean of the dusts that had accumulated on his body during the fights.


    A few minutes later, he went to his room and wore a new pair of clothes. Even though he liked the white shirt and khaki pants attire, he still had to ''let them go''. Even as a rag, it wouldn''t be of much help. He could only throw the clothes away reluctantly.


    As a straight A student he was on the past; after every class, he would read and remember everything that was taught to them. So he applied the same thing after he sat on his bed.


    He tried to recall every bit of the scene that happened, from his fight with Von to the fight of the others and lastly, to his fight against Kael.


    When he fought against Von, it felt quite good as a newbie mage. But he only won because of playing too much computer games in his past life. If it weren''t for that, then maybe he would perform poorly against his opponent.


    That was because when he tried competitive gaming as a mage, he would always be cussed and blamed for his poor performance and lack of information about the game.


    Since then, he became addicted to the game. He often played the game with his friends, but mostly his brother, who was a paladin. Together, they played every day and even skipped classes just to play the game.


    Now that he has a new brother, he will make sure to not leave him behind because he knew that with the system, he will surely be able to rise really fast.


    ''Ahhh. Let''s stop thinking of the future, and start dealing with the present.''


    Before he went out of his room, he grabbed the worn-out cape that he got as a reward.


    It was comfortable to wear actually, it was fluffy and silky, and he would really like to use this as a quilt.


    He couldn''t focus when he was on his room, so decided to go out. He sat cross legged in the backyard even though it was hot for others, it wasn''t for him.


    He tried to recall everything again, as his mind was distracted of different thoughts earlier.


    He soon remembered the fight of the others. How Kael outclassed everyone with just his magical talent. That was the thing that he couldn''t do because of being over reliant on the system. He knew that he should''ve played and practiced with the spells himself.


    When he thought of that, he tried to replicate what Kael did and tried to input more mana towards his spell.


    He concentrated really hard, raised his right hand and invoked the spell [Take Root]. As soon as he finished invoking the spell, he was pushed backwards and flew for 5 meters.


    ''Wadohek!''


    Alex loudly exclaimed. He wasn''t sure what happened, but when he casted the spell with his right hand, he was thrusted far back. Good thing that he aimed it slightly lower or he would have ended up with not just scratches from the ground but a lump and badly shaken head.


    He wanted to experiment on it again and again, since there was a saying that constant practice makes it perfect.


    "What? What is wadohek?"


    He was surprised at the familiar voice. It was his brother, Arthur. He looked around and found that Arthur was on his right, sitting at the grass near the door entrance to the house. He was wondering if his brother saw everything that he did.


    "How long have you been there?" he asked.


    "I was here like, after we got home? Did you not see me?"


    Arthur answered with an incredulous look, not really believing that his brother did not see him.


    "No." Alex flatly answered.


    "Anyways, let''s eat. Mom''s been calling us for 3 minutes already."


    "Really?"


    "Really. Now wash your hands and go in. You don''t want mom to be angry."


    Alex acceded to his brother''s order and washed his hands clean of filth and dirt. Then he went in and sat and waited for the food to be served.


    Mari, as the youngest was always tasked to pray before eating. So after Mari thanked God for the blessings they received, they started eating their dinner.


    Even though they talked about it in the awarding ceremony, they still discussed the matches held in the morning.


    Arthur did not comment on the fights, though he could''ve given his brother a tip or two, he didn''t. It was better for someone to learn by themselves than teaching someone everything they knew.


    ''Things should be comprehended by oneself'' Arthur thought.


    Eating always makes one happy. With a happy mood, Alex went to his room and fiddled with the Wood Crystal he got earlier.


    He removed his shirt and sat cross legged on his bed. He brought out his maroon cape and wrapped it around his body. He did it at the thought that it will probably help him meditate much faster.


    He meditated for two hours straight which was very surprising for him. In the past he only meditated for about 30 minutes and gave up.


    Now however, there was a clear jump in his time of meditation. He attributed it with the awakening of his mana.


    He went out of his room (with the cape still on him) and looked if everyone was asleep. After checking out the house, he went back to his room quietly.


    He didn''t want to be disturbed once he started using the elemental crystal. Then he brought out the Wood Crystal, that lightens the room with a green glow amidst the dark night.


    Looking at it, it brought a smile to his face.

 13 Elemental Crystal 2

    The light emitted by the Wood Crystal shone on his face and enveloped his room amidst the dark of the night. Its light was warm and not blinding to the eyes.


    Alex marveled at the sight. It clearly didn''t emit any light earlier. So he took another look at it, in this darkness and the light the Wood Crystal, he could now see it clearly.


    This elemental crystal has something like fine strands of hair on it, coiling at its base and spreading out at the end. Like a little plant about to bloom its flowers.


    Alex thought that maybe these hair-like lines on the crystal are the ''mana channels'' of this crystal.


    He concentrated and let mana flow through his body as if familiarizing himself with his own mana and their pathways. After doing this for a couple of minutes, he started channeling his mana into the Wood Crystal.


    He first started at the base of its ''hair''. Bit by bit, he slowly ''entered'' a ''hair''. It was a tedious task and took him 10 minutes, just to enter a tip of the ''hair''.


    Alex slowed the flow of mana of the hair to get a feel of it. It felt quite weird for him using his mana to travel around this single hair. in fact, there wasn''t anything special with this crystal. At least that''s what he thought.


    He wanted to absorb the mana that was on this strand of hair, but quickly decided against it since he hasn''t gone to the other strands yet.


    It took him some time to move around the strands, and finally he''s at the last one, the 10th strand.


    Like what he did in all other strands, he gently let his mana roam. He opened his eyes and looked at its green glow, he cannot see his own mana in the crystal, but he can feel it. It gave him a familiar feeling, like a ¡­ forest.


    ''Again?''


    An ancient looking forest entered his whole vision.


    ''What the f?''


    It was the same forest he saw during the awakening and when he got almost knocked out by Kael.


    This ancient forest still gives him a feeling of sentience, a feeling of ¡­ life. But when he looked around, this feeling of life was very faint. The forest that has life lacks it.


    ''It doesn''t have any inhabitants. No animals, no creatures, nothing. Aside from me, that is.''


    There was a weird look on his face when he was looking around the forest.


    He tried using his mana to check on some trees, but what he got was refusal. He cannot check them, or they won''t let him.


    ''Then why the hell am I in here?''


    He continued looking around and found a black stone. The inexistent sun shone its brilliance towards this stone, that was why he found it.


    Upon closer look, it was like a pitch-black cocoon with gold linings on it. Its gold linings gave its position away, even though it was carefully hidden.


    He tried imbuing his own mana to the cocoon, and what he did was a success. Though this cocoon was crazily sucking his mana from his body. Like a man, finding an oasis in the middle of the desert and drinking it dry of water.


    As he was about to lose his consciousness, the connection between him and the cocoon was suddenly cut.


    Alex let out a breath of relief. If it continued on sucking his mana, then his vitality would take a toll on it.


    ''Good thing this little butterfly stopped. Or I would''ve killed it myself.''


    Of course Alex was just spouting some bull, he didn''t have the heart to kill a small butterfly. He won''t let such a cute creature meet its demise earlier on and not even reaching its peak of life. He wasn''t like that.


    ''What if I was forcefully pushed out of here and when I come back, I can''t find this little creature anymore? Heck, I don''t even know when I will be able to come back here.''


    When he thought of this, he immediately used his mana to make some markings on the trees that surrounds the cocoon. Unfortunately for him, with his almost non-existent mana, he wasn''t able to leave a scratch on it.


    His mind moved fast, and he started searching for rocks. It didn''t take him long to find one and again, tried to carve something on the tree to leave a mark. But it was no good either.


    ''Is this really a rock? This is the first time I ever saw such a stupid rock! Even a chalk leaves behind dusts! Yet this rock! Does! Nothing!''


    With his eyes turning red from anger, he pulled his hair as if he was going mad and cursed at the rock, the trees and the forest for a few minutes then finally stopped.


    He took deep breaths to stabilize himself. After calming down, he realized that he was the one that is stupid and not the rock. He lamented his own stupidity and collected a number of rocks before stacking them on each other.


    He was satisfied with the results. He made it look like a little temple with the cocoon at the center of the rocks. Like a temple for a god.


    Right now wasn''t the time to feel smug. He quickly sat cross-legged in front of the little temple and attempted to feel the mana in this forest.


    He guessed it right, this ancient was really abundant of mana. Unlike the world outside which has a near chaotic state of mana due to the upheaval of the demons.


    Alex was feeling ecstatic with his recent discovery, so he hurriedly tried to absorb the mana. His face was soon covered by a dejected expression as he realized he cannot absorb anything.


    "This forest, really! First you didn''t let me check the trees, that was okay. Then you sucked me off of my mana, that too was okay, since I might have helped a little creature. And then the bloody stone! GAH! And finally! You didn''t even let me recover my lost mana! WHAT THE HELL?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME, FOREST!?"


    He shouted and complained at the forest, he didn''t care if he was being too loud, because he knew he was alone in this forest aside from the little cocoon.


    Everything was just unacceptable!


    But what he got as a reply was complete silence.


    "F*CK!"


    Since he got nothing as a reply, he cursed out loud again.


    Unexpectedly, after cursing, his eyes blurred, and he found himself sitting in his bed.


    "Fuuuuuuu-"


    He wanted to shout but stopped himself halfway because the people of the village might wake up.

 14 The Lizard and Flies

    After being forcefully expelled from the ancient forest, Alex caught himself staring at his reflection in the mirror.


    What he saw was an Alex, with a disheveled hair and red eyes that seemingly able to spit fire out. When he saw what state he was in, he took a one deep breath and tried to calm down.


    Alex looked at his hand and found the Wood Crystal in his grasp.


    ''In the end, I wasn''t able to obtain anything from it. Though it still looked unused.''


    He sighed and threw the Wood Crystal towards his right where his desk was. It produced a soft thud as it crashed on the wooden desk.


    ''Thud!''


    In this darkness the warm glow of the Wood Crystal made him sleepy.


    Not long after, he eventually succumbed to his sleepiness. It was a very exhausting day for a 15-year-old kid like him.


    As he was wandering inside the land of dreams, he was being constantly harassed by flies.


    ''Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!''


    The flies kept on buzzing ¡­ and flying ¡­ and buzzing and flying, like whatevery fly does. It often lands on his body to lay its eggs on him, as it continuously rubs its hands, as if a villain comically thought of a scheme against the hero.


    Alex''s once calmed mind was starting to erupt into a fiery rage again. He flailed his hands to try and drive away those pesky flies. However, the flies still kept on pestering him.


    He forcibly woke himself up and sat straight. His face was pale, and his forehead was filled with beads of cold sweat.


    "What a weird nightmare that was."


    Just as he was about to go back to sleep, he heard a familiar and vexing sound.


    ''Buzz!''


    His eyes turned round and seethed with rage. He turned his head towards the direction of the buzz and found that there was a black lizard, glowing in green light surrounded by a bunch of flies.


    "What type of lizard is this?"


    That was the question that he asked himself with his fuzzy and hatred filled head.


    He carefully inspected this ''new type'' of lizard. It was black, its eyes emitted a green light, so was its mouth and it was a chubby, which made it look cute and hideous at the same time.


    It was just there, unmoving, like it was dead, like having a belly full of ¡­ food. Hmmm... Green belly? WOOD CRYSTAL!


    "HOW DARE YOU LITTLE CHAP! YOU DARE GOBBLE UP MY WOOD CRYSTAL!?"


    He flew into rage, gritted his teeth and scolded the dead lizard. He raised his hand high and delivered a hand chop aiming for the edge of the crystal inside the lizard.


    ''Hah!''


    ''Thud!''


    His hand descended and cut the tail of the dead lizard.


    Fortunately, the Wood Crystal was hit and was sent flying to a book. It would''ve been worse if he was able to get the crystal out.


    Alex imagined himself, holding such a creature with his own two hands.


    He stood up and retrieved the crystal. The once smooth and cold crystal was now slimy and warm. He immediately wiped it clean with the end of his bed sheet.


    Now though, it wasn''t slimy anymore, yet it was still warm due to being inside the body of the lizard for an unknown amount of time.


    He held the wood crystal in his hands and laid down on the bed. He closed his tired eyes and smiled, but soon his smile froze.


    ''Cock-a-doodle-do!''


    He shut his eyes tightly and prayed towards every God that he knew of.


    "Dear Lord, please spare my pitiful ears from the roosters! I am very tired. Please let me sleep!"


    He sobbed with fake tears as he prayed.


    ''Knock! Knock! Knock!''


    "Alex. Wake up!"


    A gentle voice entered his ears. It was his mom. He lamented at his fate and stood up.


    "Yes, mom. I''m up." He answered in a lackadaisical manner.


    "Okay. Go wake your brother too. The both of you are descending mountain today and scout around for beasts. So let me make breakfast for you two. Lest you be grumpy and less energetic."


    "Yes. Ah!? Descending the mountains? When was that decided? How come you only told this to me?"


    "Calm down young man. Go ask Arthur about it. He said that it was a little test for you."


    Alex rushed to his brother''s room. He needed explanation. If he knew about this sooner, then he should''ve slept earlier.


    When he got in, his brother, Arthur, was looking at him with a frowning face.


    "Where''s your manners?"


    "Uh, sorry? Look, mom said we were descending the mountains. Is that right?"


    "Indeed. Just a little test to see if you are capable of fighting against beasts."


    "You should''ve told me yesterday!"


    "Hehe."


    Arthur grinned when saw the look on Alex''s face, it was worth it, angering Alex.


    Alex rolled his eyes and got out of the room. Arthur soon followed and joined everyone in the table and ate their breakfast.


    After eating, Alex only washed his face and stood at the door with his brother.


    Their mom saw them out and told them to be extra careful since the sun has yet to rise and beasts are still active.


    "Of course mom! We''ll be extra careful. I''m already as strong as a professional mage, so there''s no need to worry!"


    Arthur, as the older brother, will surely protect his little brother. He wasn''t complacent at the fact that he was strong. In fact, he was always cautious.


    They started walking to the village''s entrance. Arthur broke the silence and gave his very first advice to Alex.


    "First, when you encounter beasts, it''s better to overestimate it and underestimate yourself. Second, do not panic and assess its strengths and weaknesses. Third, always look at the surroundings, as if you are being paranoid. Lastly, control your temper."

 15 Fighting Against Beasts 1

    Alex took in the advice his brother gave him as it will be very beneficial in the future.


    Even though the sun was not up yet, they could see several villagers doing early morning stretches and some are preparing to hunt for some fish and game.


    The villagers who saw them, waved their hands either to greet them or to see them off.


    Alex was wondering why every single villager they met was greeting them. In the past it wasn''t like this.


    Every time he went out the village early morning, these villagers were the biggest of snobs there ever was.


    ''Maybe it was because of the fight yesterday. Yeah, probably is.''


    When Arthur saw Alex''s face, like he understood something. He chuckled and said


    "Want to know why the villagers are greeting us?"


    "I already know."


    "You don''t. Haha."


    "Was it not because of the fight yesterday?"


    "Silly. It''s not. The villagers aren''t cavemen. They too, had their fair share of experiences. I just told the old man of our little test today. And maybe he told everyone of it."


    "Okay."


    Alex pondered it over and realized that he underestimated the villagers.


    He double checked the things that he brought because if he forgot something, he can just ran back and take it. His bag was strapped on his caped back. In it were a bunch of materials; rope, match, a pair of knives and the accidentally stuffed in the Wood Crystal.


    He wasn''t sure why he brought the crystal, he just did. Maybe he just had a sort of connection to it, could even be a lucky charm or he just didn''t want another lizard swallowing the whole crystal. Who knows?


    Once they were done checking their things. They exited the village and entered the sea of trees.


    Outside a village will always be the domain of the beasts, though only a kilometer away from the village.Unless humanity decides to expand their territory and provoke the beast kings, they can only hide in their domain.


    Alex could not help but recall of the story told to them by the old man.


    ¡­


    In the past after the demons arrived, humanity had several small cities or bases. It was because of the three kings that emerged in that era.


    The three kings were actually three brothers. They helped humanity stabilize their standing in this Terra, of chaotic times, where demons, beasts and humanity are fighting for supremacy.


    They created three big cities that formed a triangle. The eldest named his city as the City of Sherwood, just because it was surrounded by forests. As the strongest, he built his city at the north of Azta, where he knew the Shark King was.


    The second brother''s dream was to see the phoenix and the dragon. So he built the city of Ember at the east of Azta where the two myths were ''often'' sighted and so he guarded the unknown lands of the east.


    The youngest of the three, was unambitious so he settled down at the city of Azta.


    After a few years, the eldest and the second brother was assassinated. It was said that the assailant was the Scorpion King, because of the tiny bump on their necks that oozes poison.


    The youngest was clearly angered by the assassin. Yet, was unable to do anything with his meagre strength. So he decided to hide himself and entered seclusion and broke into the ranks of an Emperor, which was a level higher than a King.


    Even when he became an Emperor, he still did nothing to avenge his brothers. Deep in his heart, the youngest knew that with the combined prowess of the three beast kings he will be unable to defeat them.


    The youngest tried a different approach and decided to nurture youngsters that might be able to be a king in the future.


    In today''s time, the old emperor was nowhere to be seen. Only a single king remained and protected the last three cities of humanity.


    ¡­


    ''That story really was the best. The old man even said that the three brothers were a man of good luck. They rose from being a mortal into a king with just a fortuitous encounter.''


    ''I hope I encounter something like that too. Hehe.''


    The brothers, Arthur and Alex walked the path that was clearly trodden by the villagers. This served as the only road used by the villagers to go south.


    They continued down the trail and finally stopped at the end of it after an hour of walking.


    The sun was already above the horizon when they arrived.


    What greeted them were obviously, trees. When they entered the forest, both of them turned vigilant.


    In this unknown territory, they should really be careful. They soon found their first prey, a wild boar. It was nothing special really, it was only a bit bigger than a normal boar.


    Arthur let his brother fight the boar. Though he knew that it would be easy.


    Alex stood 3 meters behind the boar. His hands were shaking as he stood behind it, not because of fear, but excitement.


    ''Finally! A fight with a beast! Hehehe.''


    Alex had been waiting for this since he was brought to this world. He rubbed his hands and pressed them on the ground.


    The ground below the wild boar started breaking, and a trunk emerged from it. The unsuspecting boar oinked and squealed as it was launched up in the air.


    ''Thud!''


    It fell to the ground and a cloud of dust covered its body.


    Alex, focused on the dust because he knew that beasts knew, with their instinct, when is the right time to attack.


    He waited for some time to let the cloud of dust subside. What emerged from it was the wild boar, lying down.


    ''Oink!''


    It oinked cutely and looked at him, as if asking Alex to spare its life. To make it more unbelievable for him, there were even boar tears in its beady eyes. Its front leg, looks like it was broken.


    ''It was very weird for a wild boar oink cutely and have tear-stained eyes. It''s like it has intelligence.''


    "See what I did? I defeated it with just one attack!"


    Alex boasted, as he went to his brother''s side.


    "No. You did not defeat it."


    "What do you mean no?" Alex protested.


    "Kill it! It will definitely kill you if you don''t kill it."


    "Why would I kill it?! Look at its eyes, it''s clearly different than other beasts."


    "Different? How so?"


    Alex toned down his voice, afraid that someone would hear him.


    "It looks intelligent to me."


    "Intelligent? Hmmm. Okay, I''ll kill it myself."


    As Arthur was nearing the wild boar, it grunted and charged towards him.


    It was all within Arthur''s expectations. He pressed his hands on the floor and made a wall of earth.


    The charging wild boar crashed its body on it. Its physical strength wasn''t able to destroy the wall, much less crack it.


    Arthur look at Alex with a face that says ''I told you so'', Alex just shrugged his shoulders as a reply to his brother.


    While the boar was still dizzy from its impact with the wall, Arthur used an Acolyte level spell [Earth Spike] and killed the wild boar with it.


    The body of the boar was soaked by its own blood and was drowning of it.


    After Alex saw his brother killed the boar without flinching he walked closer to him.


    "What shall we do with its carcass? Should we eat its meat?"


    "No. We''ll be using it as a bait. The scent of blood carried by the morning air will surely be enough to lure a beast."


    As he said this, the wind blew hard on the forest. The chilly morning air was now mixed with the smell of blood.


    ''Roar!''

 16 Fighting Against Beasts 2

    ''Roar! Roar!''


    Twenty seconds haven''t even passed when two roars sounded from different directions.


    "I guess we''re lucky. We got ourselves two beasts." Arthur said after hearing the roars.


    Alex wasn''t sure if his brother was happy or he was just being sarcastic. So he just nodded at his brother''s words.


    As they waited for the beasts to come, a tiny silhouette dashed towards the body of the dead boar. The brothers saw it and watched the carcass intently to see what the black shadow was.


    They could see the carcass shaking and attributed it to the black shadow. However, their gazes landed on the two beasts that emerged.


    The first one was a Warthog the size of an adult lion. Warthogs were born with great physical strength. Their huge tusks are their main weapon and they can be pretty fast too when they are charging at their enemy.


    The other beast was a Silverback Gorilla. Silverback Gorillas are tough to fight against. With its speed, power and defense, they should already have a king by now but it was still a wonder that they have none.


    Arthur was shocked when he saw these beasts. Just by seeing their sizes, they were clearly in the ranks of the Acolyte.


    Not just that, but a Warthog wasn''t supposed to be in here. So as the Silverback Gorilla, that should be deep in this forest with its troop. Troop?


    Arthur''s eyes rounded at the thought of this. He looked at Alex to warn him about the trouble that might fall on them upon killing the Silverback Gorilla, but the latter already dashed towards the Warthog.


    ''Haaaa! I already told him to control his emotions. I''ll just scold him later.''


    Arthur wasn''t afraid even if a troop of Silverback Gorilla came. He was just worried that his brother may not be able to keep up with the fight. He ran in the direction of the Silverback Gorilla to get its attention away from Alex.


    He didn''t want to kill the gorilla to provoke the ire of its troop. So he decided to prolong the fight and watched Alex''s instead.


    Alex dashed towards the Warthog, knowing that his brother will hold off the Silverback Gorilla and wait for him to finish up.


    He wanted to finish the fight quick, so he initiated the attack as soon as he got in range.


    Summoning a trunk from beneath the target has always been his favorite move. But it wasn''t effective on an opponent with ''beastly'' instincts.


    The Warthog charged at him and the 4 meter distance was closed in the blink of an eye.


    Alex was unable to use his spell to block the Warthog, as it charged to him abruptly. He can only tumble and dodge awkwardly as he made preparation to launch a counterattack.


    He went for the same move he did earlier and summoned another trunk beneath the beast.


    Unfortunately, things didn''t go as he expected it to be. The Warthog was only lifted above the ground halfway.


    Since his strategy didn''t work for the second time, he won''t try for another. So he decided to change it by placing his back against a tree and using it as cushion.


    Though it wasn''t ideal to close his eyes during a battle, he did so just to concentrate. He imbued a large amount of mana in his right hand and thought of the trial he made in their backyard.


    When he opened his eyes there was only a 2 meter gap between them. There wasn''t any trace of fear in his face, instead there was a smile on it.


    ''I won the gamble. Hehe.''


    A huge trunk appeared in front of him and was aimed at the beast. With the appearance of the trunk, the Warthog was unable to evade the attack. The momentum of charging forward doubled the damage from the impact and made the Warthog faint.


    Even though he won the fight, his back was hurting from the force.


    "Brother, I don''t think I can fight that big guy right now, my back really hurts. You can take care of him for me."


    "I wasn''t holding this guy off for you. I just wanted you to finish your fight so that we can quickly get out of here."


    "Why is that?"


    "Silverback Gorillas travel in troops and I am sure that they are near us. So I must not slay this gorilla."


    "Okay, so what should we do about the Warthog?"


    "There should be a beast core inside its head and it can be sold for some gold."


    "Then you go and kill it."


    "No, you go kill it. I''m currently hold off this gorilla."


    Alex cannot argue back. He knew that soon, he would have to kill these beasts. And he cannot be a coward at that time.


    As he drew near the fainted Warthog, the black shadow that was inside the carcass of the boar darted out of it and rushed to the Warthog and landed on his head.


    Upon closer look, Alex noticed that it was very familiar. It was the ''dead'' lizard in his room!


    He was shocked by the sudden appearance of this lizard. He was sure that it was the same lizard, although it was a bit bigger now, it still had the chopped off tail that was now growing back.


    "Hi little lizard. Uhm. Sorry about what I did last night. Could you move one sec? I just needed to kill it."


    Arthur had a weird look on his face when he saw his brother talking to a tiny lizard. What made it look even weirder was that the lizard tilted its head and moved away.


    Then he saw his brother close his eyes and smashed a trunk on its head, turning it to a meat paste. It was quite a scene. Where brain matters, blood, teeth and tusks where left behind. One that he should not have looked at.


    "What the hell was that?" Arthur asked Alex.


    "What the hell was what? Oh I just closed my eyes and smashed, I''m not even looking at it until now."


    "Not that! Did you just actually talked to the lizard?"


    "I just¡­ did."


    After that the little lizard jumped to his shoulder and gave him pulsating black rock.


    *DING*


    *The Black Lizard is submitting itself to you. Will you accept Y/N?"


    The familiar dinging sounded in his once again, what came with it was a sentence that was very unfamiliar for him.


    ''I think it''s better to receive something like this. But if I accept, will I still be able to get something in the future? Let''s leave that to the future me.''


    He accepted its submission, thinking that he gained a Black Lizard as pet. However, the Black Lizard vanished in his left shoulder.


    ''What? How can it disappear just like th-''


    His thoughts were cut short by a gust of warm wind.


    It was not normal to have winds like that, he knew it even though he hadn''t ventured this far out.


    The brothers looked at the direction of where the wind came from. It was from the village!

 17 Beast Horde

    The brothers looked at the direction of the village and what should''ve been a clear sky was littered with dark clouds looming up above.


    It was like the eye of the storm started forming in the village''s sky.


    ''Roar!''


    They quickly looked behind them as they were shocked by the loud roar coming from the forest. Both of them knew that the owner of the roar were leagues above them.


    After the loud roar they could hear the rustling of the leaves, twigs breaking apart and the sound of beasts approaching.


    "Brother, let''s go back. I think they are going to the village." Alex was obviously anxious when he looked at the numerous beasts.


    It was a first for both of them to encounter such a scene. As the older brother, Arthur appeared calm to appease his brother.


    "I don''t think we should go back. If we go back now, the beasts will be alerted and we might get caught up on an impasse."


    As he said this, he knocked hard on the gorilla''s head, causing it to lose its consciousness.


    Alex mulled over his brother''s words. But they were running short of time. He was still agitated, however, he had to come up with something.


    "Let''s just hide somewhere." Alex suggested. Since they cannot go back or fight, hiding will be their best choice.


    "I think I there''s a river a minute away from here. We could probably hide there." Arthur who was more experienced than Alex knew, that they cannot escape the senses of the beasts; therefore, they could only hide in the waters and hope that it would be clear of danger.


    The duo ran fast and in no time, they dove down into the ice cold river.


    They could not see any living creature in the water and thought that it was because of the temperature of it.


    Minutes have passed and the beast horde still hasn''t finished marching towards the village. They can only peek their heads out from time to time to breathe.


    What they did not know was that, there are currently a school of fish in the deep, preying on them. Creeping closer and closer towards their food.


    They swam again to the surface to breathe and it was their 30th time doing that. It means that they have been in the river for a quarter of an hour.


    Their stamina is running low, it''ll probably be their last and they had to get out of the water, hoping that they won''t run into trouble.


    Just as they swam downwards, they could see many tiny eyeballs looking at them. And it sent a chill down their spine in this cold water.


    They quickly climbed out of the river out of fear towards the fishes. Unfortunately for them, a troop of Silverback Gorillas were looking at them.


    "Alex, Run!"


    Arthur reacted fast and erected a wall of earth to block the vision of the Silverback Gorillas, then went after Alex. It bought them time, but clearly wasn''t enough. However Arthur''s goal was to separate themselves from other beasts.


    "Brother, only the gorillas are chasing after us. Should we fight now?" Alex, as the one in front looked behind to check the situation.


    "Not yet. We''re still close from the beast horde. Just a bit more."


    Not long later, Alex tripped himself because of exhaustion.


    "My feet''s giving up on me. We have to fight now or we''ll probably their dinner!"


    Alex leaned on a tree as he stood.


    "Those that gets past me will be yours. At that time, be sure to kill them."


    Arthur''s voice turned serious, it was the first time he heard him be so cold and distant. So Alex, straightened his posture and watched intently as his brother fought against seven Silverback Gorillas.


    Alex knew that his brother will be pressured by their numbers so he attacked two Silverback Gorillas to ease the pressure off his brother.


    He didn''t want to attract two Silverback Gorillas, because of his brother''s orders. However, he was fortunate enough to provoke three of the gorillas.


    ''Oh come on! You were clearly not hurt by my attack.''


    "I''ll kill these four quickly. Just hold on for a bit." Arthur saw what his brother did and didn''t miss the opportunity to slay the four gorillas.


    Alex aimed his hand half a meter away from his feet and casted his spell. He was quickly propelled backwards far faster than him running.


    It was because of the sudden inspiration during his fight against Kael. It was fast, however, it drains mana faster.


    He was being chased, and he tried to buy some time for Arthur.


    During his first ascent, a smile crept up his face. He was exhilarated by the feeling of being in the air. Even though he already did that before, he wasn''t really paying attention.


    Now, he was preparing for a problem during his descent. The timing of using the spell to thrust him forward again.


    He imitated the posture of the iconic super hero from Marble. The Metal Man. The Metal Man was able to fly across the skies by placing his hands on his side with palms pointing at the floor.


    When he was descending, he used his spell and hit the ground. After the spell landed, his body was thoroughly shaken in mid-air. His spell turned into glittering lights as he was hurt by the backlash. His body was unable to support his tricks.


    ''Thud!''


    ''Cough! Cough!''


    Alex fell to the ground and was coughing blood really hard, this was a first for him. So he cannot tolerate the pain from the backlash.


    Fortunately, he bought half a minute''s worth of time for his brother to wrap things up.


    Arthur, who had just finished up killing the four gorillas saw what happened to Alex. He dashed towards Alex and used [Earth Wall] to block the attack of the leading gorilla.


    He summoned an [Earth Spike] at the wall and succeeded on killing the attacker.


    But the remaining two gorillas split. One went for Arthur and the other went to the injured Alex.


    He was still 5 meters away from Alex while the gorillas can close in 5 meters in a second.


    Alex who was still on a fit of coughing was watching everything play in front of him.


    With his consciousness growing faint, his hearing was affected and his vision was blurred. Yet, he could still make the outline of his brother and the gorillas.


    ''Haaaa. I shouldn''t have experimented on a time like this. They said that a man bursts his potential through tough times. Haha! Yet it seems like I''ll be running out of it real soon.''


    He watched as the gorilla prepares to throw a punch at him and he thought that maybe the maroon cape will be able to mitigate a bit of physical damage.


    ''Haha! You will not be able to kill me big ape.'' He smirked when he recalled that the cape was an artifact. So he tilted his body to let his back receive the damage.


    Everything happened really fast. When he was tilting his body, he saw his brother and gave him a smile of assurance. Then the next second, he was blown away by the huge fist of the gorilla.


    "No!"


    An enraged and agonized howl resounded in the forest.

 18 Raging Tempest 1

    "No!"


    The loud howl reverberated in the beast-filled forest, attracting quite a number of it.


    Arthur''s mind was in a mess. He was rooted in place looking like he lost his soul. His eyes began tearing up when his brain kept on repeating the scene of his brother smiling at him and being sent flying defenselessly.


    ''Whoosh!''


    It began as a whispering in the air, then the wind started gusting through the leaves of the trees.


    ''Pitter-patter''


    The sound of drizzle soon followed, as the rain poured down on the forest.


    This woke Arthur up as he lifted his head and gazed at the dark clouds above. He then closed his eyes letting the rain fall in his face.


    If someone was to observe carefully, they would see tears leaking at the edge of his eyes.


    ''I shouldn''t have been overconfident. I should have helped him when those three came rushing towards him!''


    ''I could''ve endured a punch or two. He''s only 15 damn it!''


    Even though thoughts filled his head, he was still wary of the surroundings. He heard faint footsteps coming towards him amidst the downpour.


    He opened his misty eyes just in time for the gorilla to grab his neck and lift him up the ground.


    He looked at its face and saw it looking back at him. It had a disgusting smile on its face that expresses mockery.


    "Are you mocking me, you damned ape?"


    Arthur asked the gorilla in a condescending manner, as if it was very normal for a man to talk to a beast.


    ''Grunt!''


    The Silverback Gorilla grunted as an answer to Arthur''s question.


    Arthur''s eyes dilated at the gorilla''s answer. He was just casually making fun of himself and the gorilla. Now that he chanced upon a closer look, this Silverback Gorilla was bigger and smarter than the others he just killed.


    Its silver fur was also growing in its forearms and its neck


    He remembered that this gorilla instructed the other one to block him.


    It clearly underwent evolution. Although it wasn''t completely evolved, an evolved still has the strength of a professional Mage, it might be even stronger and has certain resistance to magic due to the usage of mana to temper its body.


    [Earth Spike!]


    The earth spike was conjured from his hand. He thrusted his hands as fast as he could during the conjuration, hoping that the gorilla would be caught off guard.


    Unfortunately for him, the gorilla was guarded with such an attack and crushed the Earth Spike with its metal-like hands.


    He knew that casting a spell without direct contact with the earth would prove to be weak. It was the law of the elements.


    He could''ve used more mana to empower the spell but was afraid that the beast would notice the disturbance of mana since it was familiar with mana.


    His actions seemed to have provoked the beast as it looked at him with rage in its eyes.


    ''Even though it is slightly intelligent, a beast is still a beast.''


    The Silverback Gorilla closed its fist and punched him that sent him flying.


    After landing on the muddy ground, he coughed hard and spat out blood.


    "Why does this rain won''t f*cking stop?!"


    Arthur saw the gorilla pick something on the ground and threw it upwards to him. He saw earlier that the gorilla was angry at him. Now, it acted like it was toying with him. He wondered what the thing was and was then struck by a rock on his head.


    "Why does every f*cking thing falls to the earth?! Do you think it''s some kind of f*cking magnet?! F*ck gravity!" He cursed and complained to the gorilla. His head was bleeding as blood falls on the side of his face.


    Arthur was angry at everything. He was angry at the gorilla, the rain, the rock and he was angry at himself, mostly self-mockery.


    He was tearing up again as he lamented at his fate. He promised his mom that they would be back safe. Yet he was unable to protect his brother! And now, a gorilla was looking at him with pitiful eyes.


    "If you wanted to fall down, then I''ll f*cking help you!" Arthur was enraged by the rain, he hated being soaked in water with his clothes on. Especially when he was wearing socks.


    Arthur expended a large amount of mana to increase the thickness of the ground. He wasn''t really sure what he was doing. It just came to him naturally, then the rain around them started falling faster.


    One thing was for sure, and that the volume of the raindrops didn''t increase, it just fell faster.


    He felt an unfamiliar aura when he was adjusting the structure of the ground. With every thickness he added to the ground, he felt an increase in the ''quantity'' of this aura.


    He tried copying the aura and released it with the use of his earth-attributed mana.


    What he produced shocked him greatly. He emitted a type of pressure that makes people kneel or make them fall flat on the surface.


    ''This is a Domain! A Domain of the Kings!'' Arthur was thoroughly shocked as he learned himself a domain. As the owner of the Domain, he knew that only he, can feel it.


    What came after was a surge of mana. The increased flow of mana in his body came in as another shock for him.


    "Mage! Finally!" His eyes lit up as he broke through the ranks of a Mage. Although currently, not a professional one at that.


    The benefits he received when he broke through was only an increase to size of his mana pool and its quality. It was now like a real mana ''pool''.


    Since when he was an Acolyte, his mana ''pool'' was more like a gas. Now, it was completely liquid. Fitting to be called a mana pool.


    Arthur dashed towards the gorilla, with his new-found strength.


    The unsuspecting gorilla had been staring at him for the past minute. Like ''This dumb human was on the verge of crying. Did it finally accept death?''


    ''Snort!'' The gorilla snorted and used its arms to charge faster at Arthur.


    While both them were about to engage in combat, they were unable to notice the tiny scorpions emerging from the ground.


    The scorpions gently lifted Alex up and marched away peacefully.

 19 Raging Tempest 2

    Arthur ran towards the gorilla as fast as he can, so that he can initiate an attack against the gorilla. However he miscalculated the speed of the gorilla. Even though he had experienced fighting against most kinds of beasts, it was still a first for him to fight on the level of a Mage.


    During his thoughts of miscalculation, the Silverback Gorilla seized the chance of his inattentiveness and raised an arm to deliver a deadly blow on the tiny human.


    ''Whoosh!''


    Arthur was quickly returned to reality when he felt a strong wind coming towards him. When he looked up, what greeted him was the huge fist that was fast approaching his body.


    He tumbled to the side to the dodge the attack, but his body was unable to keep up with the gorilla''s attack. As a result, his shoulder was hit by the fist. Fortunately for him, it only grazed by or it would''ve been disastrous.


    Even though his shoulder was only grazed, he could still feel the fiery sensation in his skin, as if it was being burnt.


    ''F*ck! Why did I not use a spell? That was dumb of me!''He couldn''t help but curse at himself for still being inexperience at that moment. He shouldn''t have let his mind wander in the first place or more likely, his mind shouldn''t have lagged.


    Another attack was already coming towards him and this time, he executed his defense well.


    ''After I block this gorilla''s attack, I will quickly launch a counterattack.''


    [Earth Wall!]


    A sturdy-looking wall stood in between Arthur and the Silverback Gorilla. It was just in time to block the gorilla''s punch.


    ''Crash!''


    The gorilla''s fist shattered the earthen wall, but it bought enough time for Arthur. Not only did it hinder the beast''s sight, its attack was also stopped after shattering the wall.


    [Earth Spike!]


    The ground beneath the gorilla''s limbs started breaking and a deadly spike emerges as it threatens to pierce through its body.


    It easily evaded the spike by using the forward momentum when it punched the earthen wall and was brought closer towards its opponent. Arthur''s eyes widened in shock as he came face to face with the beast.


    He was unable to do anything since he had just finished casting a spell. He was sent flying by a single punch from the gorilla.


    As he lay on the cold muddy ground, he thought of a few things that occurred during the short exchange between him and the Silverback Gorilla.


    ''In the end I shouldn''t have been arrogant. I merely touched the edges of a domain. With my recent breakthrough, I thought that I would be on par or even stronger than this ape. Haha! How foolish of me!''


    "Hahaha! Get ready for round 2, you dumb ape! For my ¡­ brother?" Just as he was about to stand up, he glanced at the spot where his brother was and found nothing.


    Even though he was engaged in the fight, he was constantly paying attention to the surroundings. He knew that there were beasts coming towards them. As he looked around, he could see eyes of different beasts on the bushes or some behind a tree. He could even hear their faint roars.


    "D-did your friends, t-took my brother?" Arthur asked in a trembling voice. His face turned pale and the tears in his eyes welled up. He didn''t really need to ask that question, for he himself, knew the answer.


    There were no other beings near them aside from the beasts.


    The Silverback Gorilla hooted like an owl and laughed like a human as an answer to Arthur''s question. It was certainly an intelligent being.


    "N-no, y-you didn''t! No! You Didn''t!" It started as a murmur then he began to scream, howling madly like a crazed wolf. His face contorted with rage, the tears that settled in his eyes began to fall. Even when rain was falling, anyone would be able to see the tears in his face.


    Arthur''s mind was in chaos. First, his brother was hit by a deadly blow and now he was missing.


    The mana in his body surged like crazy and he unconsciously activated his domain and emitted a more terrifying pressure than he exhibited earlier. The cold atmosphere brought by the rain turned a bit colder as the rage in Arthur''s face changed into one without emotion.


    His aura and indifference made the normal beasts tremble, including the fierce beast Silverback Gorilla. Arthur walked step by step towards the gorilla and a gauntlet made of earth started forming in his hands.


    (A/N: Fierce Beasts are Mage-level beasts, since there should be a ranking system for beasts.)


    Every step was filled with momentum as it resonated with the heartbeat of the gorilla. Its instincts were telling it that the human before it was dangerous. It ignored its instincts and stood its ground. It remembered that it beat the human twice before, so it felt that it would still triumph.


    Unfortunately, its intelligence became its downfall.


    "I WILL KILL YOU ALL." A cold voice resounded in the ears of the beasts.


    Arthur ran forward and so did the gorilla. He was already calculating in his mind before the fight and as soon as he saw the gorilla drawing near, he swung his right arm and delivered a punch towards the side of the gorilla.


    The punch was well-timed, and it hit the gorilla just as its foot landed on the ground. It did not expect that the human would engage in close combat with it.


    Its massive body only moved for a meter and soon another punch was launched at its chest. Since it wasn''t even able to stabilize its footing, the gorilla fell to the ground. Arthur summoned a huge boulder and it fell on the body of the beast.


    "Not so tough now huh?"


    He walked towards the gorilla and the gauntlet in his hand change into what looked like a half part of a lance. He pierced the left shoulder of the gorilla and rotated it again and again and separated it from its body.


    "Hehe. With your useless right arm and inexistent left arm, let''s see how arrogant you are!"


    The ''lance'' that was wrapped in his hands crumbled and revealed his bare hands. He clenched his fists tightly and began to punch the face of the gorilla.


    Arthur was really angry, and the only way to vent out his frustration was through punching the face of the gorilla.


    "Piece. Of. Sh*t!" With every punch, the gorilla would scream. The barrage of punches continued for an unknown amount of time and Arthur only stopped when he could hear nothing from the beast. He looked at where its face should''ve been and only saw blood and brain matters, with broken bones scattered to the side.


    "Ahhhh. It sure feels good to do things yourself than with spells. As for you guys. Hmph!" He looked around and saw the beasts lurking in the shadows.


    He stood up and prepared to rush towards the nearest beast.

 20 Raging Tempest 3

    Arthur''s blood was boiling in excitement as he rushed towards the nearest beast.


    It was a black wolf. He wouldn''t have been able to see it if it didn''t come out of its hiding place.


    Arthur formed a lance in his right arm as he ran. Just when he was about in range, the black wolf that was observing him, leaped forward with its gaping maw.


    He simply snorted and pierced through the whole body of the wolf through its mouth. He could kill any of these normal beasts easily, but if there were any fierce beast then he would probably make a run for it.


    The death of the wolf stirred the fear in the beasts eyes. However, it also pushed them to work together and kill the human en masse.


    Arthur shook his arms to let the body of the wolf fall off. He watched as the beasts draw near. He had to be vigilant, he cannot be careless in this fight even though they are only normal beasts.


    ''The first thing to do in a fight against a mob, is to don''t get yourself surrounded.'' He muttered under his breath as his eyes continually observes everything.


    During his second year in the academy their class participated on a trip to a forest to the west of the city Azta.


    It was the forest often used by some academies as it was in between the city of Azta and Ember. Which made the beasts in it much weaker.


    During the trip, Arthur would often find himself surrounded by a bunch of beasts. His teacher pitied him and gave him an obvious advice.


    ''To attack the weakest point and not get caught up in a fight.''


    He first attacked a lynx. Although it looked fast and strong, it seemed to be distracted; like it was afraid of him. So he quickly took the opportunity and summoned an earth spike and pierced a hole in its belly.


    The other beasts stopped and hesitated to attack, yet they bared their fangs at Arthur, showing him that they would retaliate once he made a move on them. The smaller beasts, like the red-eyed rabbits scampered away from its death. While the stronger one''s continued their way towards him.


    It was good news for him, since fighting against smaller numbers was much easier. Although some beasts stopped and did not attack him, he would still kill them later on.


    Killing them is equivalent to saving a life, so he would not miss this opportunity to slaughter them. Not to mention that Alex''s current location was unknown.


    He looked at the beasts before him. There were three hyenas and a bear. His eyes trembled with fear. This big brown bear would already be on par with weaker fierce beasts, even though it wasn''t one yet.


    While the three hyenas were what he feared the most. They are almost impeccable with their teamwork; their speed wasn''t something to scoff at either. The good thing was, there were only three of them.


    The first one to arrive was the big bear, it ran towards him on four limbs and it wanted crush Arthur with its huge body.


    When Arthur saw this, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry; this bear was just too dumb!


    [Earth Spike!]


    He simply waved his hand and timed it when the bear was nearing him. Bears run fast, but they aren''t agile enough to evade an attack below them.


    Just like that, he killed the ''almighty'' bear. Indeed, with its body it was on par with fierce beasts, however its intelligence lagged behind.


    Now Arthur turned his attention to the three hyenas.


    They were cautiously moving towards him, trying to encircle him slowly. They are communicating with each other, as if they were laughing at their prey; mocking them.


    It would''ve been terrifying for other people if they got surrounded by laughing hyenas in this rain-filled forest.


    Arthur''s mind was calm, his mind was still filled with hatred and excitement. His excitement came from learning a spell along with the domain. It was Conjuration! It came naturally to him when he made the gauntlets and the lance.


    It was a high tiered spell that only an Archmage and above can make. It would be very hard for mages and even high mages to bend magic according to their will. That''s why they needed incantations to form most spells.


    Arthur crouched on the muddy ground and placed his palm on top of it. He closed his eyes and willed for something strong, something sharp. Unlike the lance, he wanted to use something like a ¡­ sword!


    He opened his eyes and made a grasping motion from the ground and a Stone Sword appeared! It was unlike the earthy, grainy gauntlet or lance. It was made of Stone!


    It was like the heavens shined upon him and the hyena''s leap was timed when he opened his eyes. He forcefully swung the stone sword upward and cleaved the hyena into two!


    The other hyena that was already on his side, was on the same predicament as he brought down the stone sword. The hyena tried to stop its momentum and evade but was unable to, as the sword chopped its neck off of its body.


    The hyena that should''ve been the last to attack, turned tail and ran. Arthur saw this and extended his arm and opened his palm as if he was stopping someone. Then a wall of earth blocked the path of the hyena.


    He ran towards it and simply stabbed its head. It didn''t even put up a fight.


    "It''s your turn!" He made a creepy smile at the beasts that haven''t fled yet.


    Arthur ran madly, afraid that the beasts would quickly flee from him.


    What the beasts saw was a crazed man coming towards them. It sent a shiver down their spines and they quickly scattered.


    "F*ck! Don''t you run away from me!"


    Beasts are physically superior than human. So he wasn''t able to catch up and kill any other beast.


    He stopped and panted heavily. He regretted that he wasn''t fast enough, that he wasn''t strong enough and wasn''t able to kill more beast.


    Tears kept falling down his face, he was really spent; exhausted and was mentally tired. He heard the shrieks and cries of beasts being slaughtered and he cared less of it. The noise from the rain and cries of the beasts turned faint in his ears. His eyes turned blurry from tears and his was soon engulfed in darkness.


    He soon lost his consciousness.


    A sigh sounded in the bloodied forest and the old man came out behind the trees.


    "Haaaaa. I was a bit late, but I still made it. Hehe. Hmmmm? Where''s the other boy?" The old man looked around and only found Arthur lying on the ground.


    "That damned Chimera! I would''ve arrived much earlier! Now, it''s not safe here. Better get going." He shook his blood-stained hand as he carried Arthur on his shoulder and ran away.


    "Roar!"


    "Roar!"


    A deafening roar, echoed from the inner part of the forest, followed by another roar that was only a bit ''gentler'' than it.


    The old man shivered and ran as fast as he could towards the direction of the village.

 21 New Beginning 1

    It was late in the evening when Arthur woke up. He struggled out of bed with his aching body and later sat on it.


    Looking at the boundless dark sky filled with glimmering stars, sadness washed through him. His eyes turned blurry and tears fell down his face.


    He stared at the night sky for ten whole minutes and the serenity was broken by the sound of faint weeping. Even though it was barely perceptible, it still entered the ears of Arthur.


    Arthur wiped the tears off his face. He quietly opened the door of his room by a tiny bit, just enough for his eyes to see outside the room.


    The orange light emanated by the flickering flames of the candle light entered his vision. Arthur saw his mother sitting on a chair by the table, quietly wiping her tears.


    Her mother seemed to have noticed the slight movement of the door, as she pulled out another chair and waved at him, beckoning him to sit with her.


    Arthur walked towards her mother and sat on the chair with a guilty look on his face. He wanted to talk but nothing''s coming out of his slightly opened mouth. Only the faint sound of breathing could be heard.


    Just when a word barely came out, his voice cracked, and his eyes started watering again, he cannot stop them from falling off. Now that he was with his mother, he bawled saying, "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I wasn''t able to protect him."


    "Shhhh. Shhhh. It''s okay, everything''s going to be okay. It''s not your fault." Her mother consoled him, put him to her embrace and patted the back of his head. There were tears too, forming on her mother''s eyes but he was incapable to see it.


    "But, but¡ª" Arthur tried to explain everything to her mother but forming a word was already proving to be difficult for him.


    "It''s okay, it''s okay. Take a deep breath and tell me the whole story." As a mother, it pained her seeing her son like this. She didn''t want for guilt to devour her son, she didn''t want him to go down the wrong path.


    Arthur took a deep breath and looked at his mother. Her mother was a beauty, ever since he was young, she was praised as the most beautiful in the village. The villagers respected her for raising her children by herself when she became a widow.


    However that all changed when he awakened as prodigy. He worked hard at school and often went out to kill some beasts and sell its body to those that needed it.


    Arthur looked into his mother''s eyes. They were black, just like his, but it was now watery due to tearing up. It broke his heart when he saw his mother''s tears. He swore in his heart that there wouldn''t be any tears falling off of those eyes.


    So he took another deep breath and told her what had happened.


    "So he disappeared right when you started battling the fierce beast?" his mother asked.


    "Yes. I guess it was those beasts that took him. Maybe under the order of a dire beast or even a void beast."


    "That''s unusual. Beasts mostly kill humans, unless they have some use to them. Good thing is, Alex should still be alive."


    Arthur''s mind was in a mess. He thought that Alex might''ve been used as a sacrificial or a nourishment to their youngling just like what they said when he was still a kid. But now he knew, that it was only to scare children like him.


    "Hey mom, what happened earlier at the village? There was like a storm just above the village. The beasts were maddened by its appearance."


    "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. That kid, Kael, evolved his fire element into lightning; that was why there was that storm-like scene."


    Arthur knew that talented kids like that would probably be taught by an Archmage of their element. Archmages were next in line to become a King.


    As for Kael, he would definitely be sent to the city of Ember to study. Fortune really fell on the lap of the gifted.


    He was neither jealous nor bitter by that fact; he also had his own fortune, so he decided to train very hard starting right now. He stood up from his seat and his eyes glinted a strange light.


    "Don''t train tonight. Your body''s still recovering from exhaustion." Her mother knew what he was up to, so she quickly advised him. She wasn''t sure about the gleam in Arthur''s eyes and attributed it to the candlelight.


    "Okay. Goodnight mom." Arthur went back to his room and sat on the bed. He recalled the spells he used and how he felt when he used them. He closed his eyes and felt the mana coursing through his body.


    He imagined the Domain he emitted and willed for it to come out, yet he failed. He pondered what he was missing, it was the emotion. He was very angry at that time and thought that he was a higher being than those animals.


    He mimicked those emotions, even his expressions turned frosty. There was like a rumbling that set off on his body and a huge amount of mana was used. He was successful on using his Domain.


    Then he got off his bed and knelt on one knee. He closed his eyes and thought of the stone sword. He conjured it pretty easily however, he felt like something was missing in it. He should probably visit the library or the smith shop for inspiration.


    Unknown to him, his mother who was preparing to sleep opened her eyes for a second and closed it again.


    The old man inside the village had just finished helping Von use the elemental crystal and on his way back when he felt a domineering aura. He jumped on a nearby house and landed quietly on its roof.


    He surveyed the whole village and searched for the aura but he was too late he only knew its general direction.


    ''Hmmmm. Maybe the madam unintentionally released her domain.''


    On another part of the village, a silver-haired young man was currently packing his belongings.


    "Tomorrow, I would be on my way to the city of Ember. Escorted by high mages and will be the taught by the Archmage of Fire himself. Let''s see if you could defeat me by then Alex."


    ¡­


    On a distant desert. Where only beasts capable of surviving the extreme hot during the day and cold during the night. There was a huge palace, hidden beneath the sands.


    The palace that should''ve looked grand and majestic was now devoid of life. It was unable to escape the passage of time and was buried by the sand. However it wasn''t really filled with sand, there was like an invisible force that was keeping them away from it.


    Inside the palace, it was filled with lots of scorpions. There was a 10-foot humanoid scorpion, slouching on a throne. Before him, was a human boy draped with a tattered maroon cape.


    The boy started twitching like he was about to wake up from a nightmare. He jolted to a sitting position, his head was filled with beads of sweat and his back was soaked by sweat as well.


    He lifted his head and saw a 10-foot tall humanoid scorpion looking at him in the eye.


    ''What kind of monstrosity is this?!''

 22 Inheritance 1

    The monstorosity in front of him was a 10-foot tall humanoid scorpion.


    Its body was pitch black which made it harder to look at whether it was day or night. Its arms were big and bulky, with its gigantic pincer; it looked incredibly menacing.


    However, its other arm was nowhere to be seen. Looking at it, it seems like it was chopped off by a sword or something similar to it.


    Alex''s mind was telling him to quickly look away and just as he was about to bow his head down, he saw a blade of what looks to be a black dagger, embedded on the creature''s chest.


    ''What? This big guy''s dead?'' His expression changed from dread to relief.


    He wiped the sweat on his face, yet for some reason, he still felt like someone was looking at him.


    Alex wanted to look around, however his neck stiffened as an intense pain came from it.


    "You shouldn''t move yourself too much. You barely survived that punch from the gorilla." He heard a voice that was of a man on his mid thirties, it was like the voice of a friendly neighbor.


    The voice echoed in the hall, so it was very hard for Alex to pinpoint its origin.


    "Uh- okay? W-wait! Barely? I barely survived that punch? Pffft. Look at me, I''m all good! I''m not injured at all." He wanted to flex his muscles to show that he was alright, but to his horror he was unable to move.


    He could only sit still and wait for the other''s reply.


    "Not injured huh? Why don''t you try moving your neck and see if it would go limp or something." Alex''s eyes grew larger and he didn''t dare to move an inch or muscle, lest his neck would really go limp.


    "You wouldn''t last for a day. So zip it and hear me out." The voice continued.


    "The injury in your body is severe, many internal bleedings. Even some of bones in your rib cage has disintegrated. Your neck''s barely holding on." The voice talked to him like a doctor that just finished his check up.


    "Then why am I not feeling pain?" Alex wondered of this since the voice said that he barely survived. Aside from the pain in his neck, no pain emerged from his body.


    "That. Hmmm. I actually encountered such a thing in the past."


    "You were gravely injured too?"


    "No. Not that. But I too, was sent here by the Goddess." The voice stopped echoing in the halls and sounded right in front of Alex.


    Alex, whose mind was jumbled by the sudden revelation of the voice, did not notice this change.


    "W-what? What are you talking about?" It was his greates secret since he came to this world. He wouldn''t dare revealing such a secret to anyone.


    "You and I both know what I''m talking about. The System! The power of the Goddess still resides on it, preventing ''us'' from dying tragically!"


    "Why did she do that? Wasn''t it a gift? Wait! Isn''t it supposed to be good? Not feeling a thing at all, when you die?"


    "It definitely isn''t a good thing. It''s like you wouldn''t know the feeling of death yourself. like they say, there''s a first to everything."


    "You''re right, it makes us feel more like not human." Alex ''nodded'' his unmoving head.


    "Hey kid, look at me. Do I look like a human to you?" This time, Alex clearly heard the voice infront of him. He moved his eyes just enough to see the entity infront of him, smirking.


    "What!? You''re not dead? Moreover, why are you dressed up as a humanoid scorpion! You''re creeping me out!"


    "No. I am not dressed up as a scorpion. Haha. Jokes aside, hear me out, for real." The ''scorpion man'' seriously said.


    Alex exaggeratingly closed his mouth to show his willingness to listen to the ''scorpion man''.


    "First of all, I''m a human from Earth. I was diagnosed with cancer and the doctor told me that I wouldn''t live past 18 years old. As a kid back then, I wasted my life on computer games to overcome the sadness that I felt.


    "I played hours of any game that I fancy. However, I also watched myself grew weaker day by day. I actually prayed and asked the Gods to help me.


    "My head shined like a sun and I didn''t give a damn about it. I just continued on praying everyday. When I woke up I thank God everything.


    "I did not lament on the fact that I was going to die. On the evening I prayed for help. Even though I already accepted my fate, I still didn''t wish to die and leave everyone behind crying.


    "Until one night, a white being showed up on the bedside. At first I thought that she was a ghost or something, then she told me that she was a God.


    "I didn''t suspect that she was pranking me. She had that ''holy'' aura on her and had that benevolent look on her face, you could easily tell that she was a being, higher than a human.


    "So as a kid, I thanked her arrival and asked her to cure me of my cancer. However, she only asked me ''What do you think about living in another world?''


    " I immediately accepted, because at least, I already have certainty for a chance to live again. But it was hard for me to leave my loving parent behind.


    "Yet she told me that when I come back to Earth again, I would already be healthy and only a year or so may have passed. It was really a good deal, so I accepted it.


    "Fast forward by a few years, I met a very talented man. Even when I have the system, I barely kept up with him. You might know him as the King of the Humans back when the demons arrived.


    "We became friends and both of us are the elites of the human race. We made a deal. Theone who gets the ''tails'' side of the coin would be watching the beasts and limit their growth.


    "Guess what? I got tails! We experimented for years to turn myself into a spy and became like this." He lifted his left arm as if showing what he currently looks like.


    "Then I became the Scorpion King that dealt with the dark side of both humanity and beasts. Ah- no, not king, emperor. Scorpion Emperor."


    "Now. I will give you an opportunity of a lifetime. Do you want to grow stronger? Regardless whether you turn into a scorpion like me?"

 23 Inheritance 2

    "Do you want to become stronger?" The Scorpion Emperor asked again.


    Alex''s mind was in a mess. There are things that he wanted to know as the bits and pieces of history was added.


    "Wait. Can I ask you many questions first?" He had been wanting to ask questions ever since the scorpion man told him his story.


    "Okay. Just ask me anything, slowly. Remember, slowly." The Scorpion Emperor answered as if he was expecting Alex to ask a bunch of questions.


    "First of all, did you really kill two of the three Kings of Humanity?" Alex wanted to know the answer to this question first, since he really liked the story of the three mortal brothers suddenly becoming Kings.


    "Yes. Those two were corrupted beings. The older one slaved women, and used them for himself after, he would discard them or kill them. While the younger one was mad to the bones. He had been experimenting on live humans to achieve genetic mutations."


    "Then how did you become like that? Didn''t you and the former King ''experimented''?"


    "Yes we experimented, but it was of pure theory and test tubes and other apparatus."


    "By Emperor, do you mean above King stage Emperor? Are you not a King anymore?"


    "I broke through, dozens of years ago." The Scorpion Emperor said cooly as if it was a matter of fact.


    "Woah! Then why aren''t you removing that dagger?"


    "Oh this? Once I remove it, I would die."


    "Then ho-"


    "System." Alex''s words was cut short by the response of the Emperor.


    "How are you supposed to make me stronger? You''re not the only one who has a system remember?"


    "Indeed. You and I ''both'' have a system." The emperor emphasized the word ''both'' when he spoke.


    "Are you going to seize my system?" Alex asked. Once his system is taken, he would be saying goodbye to become a mage. He can only swing his sword like some kind of brute.


    "Hehe."


    When Alex heard that laugh, it sent a shiver down his spine, as the hair in his body stood up.


    It was like the laughter of a psychopath. His body trembled uncontrollably and his face paled.


    "Hahaha!" This laugh was different than the previous one. He looked at the Emperor and saw that its pincer was holding into its tummy. Its back was also arched like shrimp.


    "Haha. I was just messing with you. Look at you! You were so scared, haha."


    "Not cool!" Alex retorted. For a second, he really thought that his life would be over. He didn''t know that this guy was such a prankster.


    "The dagger! Hey! Stop moving!" Alex quickly shouted as he noticed black blood and red blood coming out of the pierced area.


    "You''re such a girl. Don''t worry about it. As for my question, do still want to become stronger?" The Emperor still asked Alex the same question. Although his voice seemed to have soften by a bit.


    "Of course I want to be strong!" Who wouldn''t want to be strong in this era.


    "Good answer. No matter what happens don''t pass out. You hear me?"


    "Yes sir, I do hear you." Alex looked into the eyes of the Emperor and noticed that it looked to be watery, like it was about to cry. He shrugged it off and thought that maybe he hasn''t adjusted to the darkness yet.


    (A/N: Since the palace was underground, where were the lights.)


    The Emperor stood up from his throne and walked towards him. He was awed by the majestic aura that swept towards him.


    He took the handle of the dagger from his back and removed it easily. However his body collaped and he was now kneeling in front of Alex.


    "Why?" Alex looked at the Emperor. He recalled that the emperor told him that he would die once he removed the dagger. Yet now, why was he looking for death?


    "I already lived long enough. I cannot remember the faces of my family from neither Earth nor Terra. I am tired, too tired. That''s why when I chanced upon you, I felt happy."


    The Emperor whilst saying that, used his left pincer to grab his own heart out from his body.


    "I hope that this dagger, will you help you in the future as well." He cut his own heart by a third and stabbed it with the dagger. He then crushed his own heart and muttered words that Alex cannot understand.


    Soon, the heart turned into countless sands and entered the orifices of Alex.


    "Be careful of this dagger, it''s pretty poisonous, though I refined it for your use. It''s poisonous enough to kill a poisonous creature like me. Haha. Now, I give you, my inheritance!"


    The Emperor that should''ve been dead when he removed his own heart was still able to talk. Just before his words ended, his body shrunk and his human form was revealed.


    Before his face was completely returned to that of a human, he gave Alex the most kind-hearted smile he could do.


    Alex, on the hand, cannot hear a single word that the Emperor has said as his orifices are being invaded by the sands.


    However he was not dumb enough to not know what that smile meant.


    He also flashed a smile. A smile that contained gratitude and a hint of sorrow. His eyes were unable to hold the tears from falling as he watched the Emperor''s body slumped down on the ground.

 24 Upgrade?

    *DING*


    In the cold and dark palace, Alex, whose orifices are currently being ''besieged'' by the sands, heard the familiar Ding amidst the pain that he was currently experiencing.


    It was like his only salvation from the excruciating pain. He clearly remembered the Scorpion Emperor saying ''it prevents us from dying horribly''.


    Yet what was he feeling now? Maybe it was just because he wasn''t really dying. Then he read the notification that was on his sight.


    *Influx of mana detected. Absorb Y/N?*


    Since the Emperor has sacrificed himself for Alex, it would be too much of a waste if he died in vain. So he could only grit his teeth and accept the mana.


    As soon as he accepted, another unimaginable pain assaulted him. It was quite different though, as the pain came entirely from his mana pool!


    The pain felt like his body was bloating and was continuing to expand until sooner or later, it would probably explode.


    *DING*


    *Foreign System Detected! Absorb Y/N?*


    Another dinging sound was heard in his head as the System asked another question.


    ''The Scorpion Emperor''s System! So he was planning to merge both our System to strengthen it?''


    Accepting another System just to enhance his'' was a no-brainer for Alex.


    ''Now I can reach the apex pretty fas- Fuuuu-!''


    This time, the pain came directly from his head. His head was beating in sync with his heart.


    It was like being stomped by an angry stallion during every beat. He didn''t know if the pain would turn him into a ''no-brainer''.


    Alex didn''t know whether his mind will collapse first or his body. It was looking ''good'' for him though, as he was still able to think.


    Minutes passed and the sweat on his body were like being squeezed out of it. It wouldn''t take long for it to accumulate and turn into a puddle.


    An hour has already passed and the pain seemed to increase ever so slightly.


    Soon, four hours have passed and the pain became unbearable that Alex would soon pass out.


    On the fifth hour, his eyes grew heavy and he felt like submitting himself to death. His mouth had already been oozing with blood for quite some time now because he had been gritting his teeth for five whole hours!


    Alex closed his eyes hoping for the pain to stop. He really cannot take it anymore. He just wanted to rest.


    The next thing he saw was the ancient forest.


    This was already the third time he was seeing it, yet it felt quite different each time.


    ''Everything looks life they were watered daily. They were so lush and healthy like it was supplied with energy. Energy?'' Alex thought hard and was standing still at the forest.


    ''So the mana from the Elemental Core and the Scorpion Emperor goes here? I don''t understand. It seems like a separate dimension from the system.''


    ''Maybe my body was only absorbing the excess mana and everything was transported here. Yeah, that should be it.''


    ''Then what''s the use of the Elemental Crystal if I won''t be able to benefit from it? Will I be stuck at the level of a beginner mage forever?''


    ''Haaaa. I should leave this problem for the future me. I''m still too dumb right now. Once I get into the academy I would bury myself with books. Haha.''


    Since he had nothing to do, he strolled around the forest and found changes on the ''temple'' of the cocoon.


    He quickly ran towards it and did not notice the addition of another black cocoon just a meter away from first cocoon.


    The first thing he did was to sit down and look intently at the trembling cocoon. The creature inside the cocoon seemed to be struggling out of it.


    Like what he did the last time he was here, he fed it his own mana, since he knew that he was still bloated from absorbing too much mana.


    Alex reached out his hands towards the cocoon and sent a stream of mana out of his palms. At first, the creature was very docile and accepted all his mana.


    "Rest first little one. Break free from that cocoon once you regain your strength." He whispered as if giving the creature his blessing.


    He continuously sent out mana for a minute when the cocoon started trembling furiously.


    ''Something''s coming out of it!'' Alex''s eyes lit up. He was very excited as it was his first time seeing something give birth to life.


    ''Not actually giving birth to life, but life evolving. Wait what am I thinking about?'' He shook his head to try and dismiss the thought he had just then.


    Faint cracking sounds could be heard as the lower part of the cocoon opened. Then the creature came out of it.


    "A Gecko? How can a freaking gecko came out of a cocoon!? Ahhhh! My head hurts!" He clutched his head like a madman. He wasn''t really expecting a gecko. He thought that since it was a cocoon, it should''ve been a butterfly or other of its kind.


    Alex looked at the gecko once more. ''Wait a minute. This gecko looks like the one that ate my crystal! However this one is a bit bigger and a lot cuter now.''


    The gecko he was looking at was still pitch black and there were now golden spots on it. Its length was the same as Alex''s forearm.


    As if he was sharing his own thoughts with the gecko, it smiled at him to show its affection.


    "Awwww. How cute!" He rushed towards the gecko and held it in his hands. He really wanted to hug it but he was afraid that he would squish it. He was only able to use his finger to stroke its head.


    ''Hmmm. What are these tiny bumps?'' When his fingers touched the head of the gecko, he felt tiny bumps on it.


    Alex dismissed the thought regarding the bumps on its head. He then held the gecko with both hands like a toy and startes twirling around like a little kid.


    Before he got dizzy, he calmed himself. He knew he got too excited open seeing such a cute creature.


    When he was twirling around, he finally noticed the other cocoon that was lingering a meter away from the gecko''s.

 25 Upgrade? 2

    "Why didn''t I notice this cocoon earlier? It''s clearly much bigger than the gecko''s."


    This black cocoon that he was referring to, was almost as big as a watermelon. It should''ve been way easier to see than the small ones.


    When Alex got close to the cocoon, he sat down infront of it, extended his hands and sent a stream of mana from his palms.


    He was incredibly generous with the mana and sent continuous stream of it in a much bigger quantity than he did with the gecko.


    "Mana''s the least of my worries. I hope you can grow fast so that someone could accompany the gecko."


    The gecko was by his side, looking at the cocoon.


    Hours passed and his legs were going numb. He tried standing up, but the creature inside was greedily devouring his mana. It might have turned bad for it if he suddenly cut the connection.


    It didn''t take long for the cocoon to start trembling. First, it started as a slight vibration then it began shaking.


    Alex''s eyes lit up with joy. He stopped limiting the output of mana and sent out gushes of mana towards it. As he sent out mana, it didn''t stop trembling like the gecko''s.


    Cracks started forming on the surface of the cocoon. Black lights emerged on the cracks and then pieces of the cocoon began falling off.


    Soon, the creature got out the shell. It was a Scorpion! Its size was the same as a house cat. It too, was pitch black. It was bulky and had large pincers.


    ''I feel like I''ve seen this scorpion somewhere?'' Alex thought, he really felt like the scorpion was very familiar.


    "That''s right, the Scorpion Emperor! It''s just that it''s not humanoid. Woah!" he thought aloud. It really shocked him. Not only did he obtain a large amount of mana, and probably a System upgrade, he also got another beast in this ancient forest.


    He looked at the scorpion intently, checking out what it would do next. It wasn''t really cute like the gecko so he wouldn''t ''hug'' it.


    The scorpion looked around, as if it was familiarizing itself with its surroundings. Thenit nibbled the cocoon! After finishing a piece, it quickly went to the next piece.


    When the gecko saw the scorpion eating its cocoon. It actually ran towards its own cocoon and started eating it.


    "What the fu-? Why did you guys started eating your cocoons?" Alex wondered why these creatures would eat their cocoon.


    When Alex shook off the confusion and shock that he felt, the beasts already finished eating their cocoons in a matter of seconds.


    "How the fu- is that possible? You were only nibbling it, so you guys should''ve taken more time to eat those! Man! You guys must''ve been famished in your past lives."


    He sighed and went to pick the scorpion. In his past life, whenever he saw a scorpion he would ran far from it. He had always hated arachnids since when he was a child.


    Not atually hated, rather he was afraid of it. It has many eyes and legs, and has poison too. It gives him enough reason to stay from them.


    Today, he steeled himself picked it up. It was rather light to hold, unlike what he thought. He looked at it, and it looked back at him.


    ''How good could it be if I become stronger like you? I could''ve helped my brother back then.'' he flashed a regretful and envious smile at the scorpion.


    (A/N: Alex was thinking about the Scorpion Emperor.


    Just as he was about to put down the scorpion he heard a dinging sound in his mind.


    *DING*


    *Mind Connection Established. Would you like to turn into the Emperor Scorpion. Y/N?*


    "Woah! I can do that? They why didn''t it happen when I held the gecko? Hmmm. Anyway, it should be pretty cool to turn into a scorpion. I wonder how it feels like."


    He accepted it. Then the view he had with the world changed, as if he was drunk. His vision went up and down and he felt like he was falling with his back against the ground.


    *DUNG!*


    (A/N:Yes DUNG. Not the one you know as Dung. But sfxDUNG.)


    *ERROR 404 NOT FOUND!*


    *ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!*


    *REVERTING BACK TO HUMAN FORM!*


    *3, 2 ,1!*


    *SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN*


    Everything happened way too fast for Alex to cope up with all that happened. The vision he had earlier made him nauseous. Then there was sound in his head and an error occured on the system.


    He wasn''t able to process the events and forced out of the scorpion form, forced out of the ancient forest and came back to the real world.


    "That forest was the Syst- Arrrrrghhh!" he scremed painfully as he was assaulted by the pain which he had forgotten for quite some time now.


    The shock the pain brought was unimaginable. His skin started tearing, as what should''ve been sweat was now blood, started oozing out.


    His orifices; his mouth, nose and ears were all bleeding. His senses weren''t functioning. He was unable to feel anything. It was like his soul was on a different vessel.


    As blood flows out of his body, his bones started shattering one by one and the pain was more than enough to make him pass out.


    After an unknown amount of time, Alex, who was in the darkness, he was able to feel the numbness of his entire body. He was like in a dream feeling a miniscule amount of pain every second, forcing him to wake up.


    His eyes suddenly opened although his body felt weak, he was feeling strong.


    (A/N: It was contradicting, however it was only in his thought that he was strong.)


    The strength that he was feeling made him think that he was able to break a rock with a single punch.


    He was a bit muddle-headed so he continued to lie on the ground. Drowning in his own blood.

 26 Wandering 1

    After recollecting himself, Alex stood up, though a bit shaky. He looked around and was finally able to see inside this dark palace.


    ''I seem to have gained a better sight and the feeling of power that I felt before was real.'' he said as he closed his fist.


    He stood on a boxing stance and began shadow boxing.


    The corpse of the Scorpion Emperor that should''ve been in front of him was now gone. There was only a trace, or an outline left behind by the body.


    The dagger was also left behind. Its edge was dried with blood. It originally wasn''t supposed to be stained, however the poison and the passage of time has affected the blood to coagulate in it.


    The coagulated blood made the once beautiful dagger look like a rusted one that came from the junk.


    He took the dagger and gripped its hilt. It was supposed to be a dagger, but to him, that was like half the size of the Emperor, it was like a short sword.


    The scene of the Emperor cutting his own heart and stabbing the dagger in it emerged.


    ''He said he refined it for me. I wonder what that refined means.'' Alex wondered. He wasn''t really ''educated'' with regards to things in magic. That was why he needed to attend an academy so that he wouldn''t be bullied by kids his age and he could gobble up all the knowledge in the library.


    ''Let''s wander around the palace first, maybe the Scorpion Emperor left something for me. Hehe.'' Wandering inside this big palace, he didn''t think like he would get lost, he just has to trace his steps back and find another path again.


    He held on to the dagger because he didn''t have a sheath for it. It wasn''t like he was afraid that there would be dangers inside this palace.


    After he got out of the throne room, he picked a side then walked along the corridor. His steps reverberated in the silent palace, so if any other being was present, he would be able to hear it and locate it.


    It didn''t take long for him to see a room. No, many rooms actually. He then entered the nearest one.


    He was surprised at how spacious the room was. It was like the living quarters of the King. His eyes sparkled in excitement. He dashed towards the desk and looked for something valuable. The desks were clean; there was nothing in it.


    However, that didn''t stop his ardor of finding items of the Emperor. He looked through the drawer, dressers, bed and under the bed. He almost turned the whole room upside down but was disappointed with the lack of rare items in the room.


    He bowed his head and dejectedly walked out of the room and closed its door. When he raised his head, his zeal that was supposedly gone was replenished!


    ''Haha! There are still many rooms! Better not let those items accumulate dusts.'' With his new-found strength went through every single room until he reached a dead end. After pillaging 16 rooms, he was only able to find two ''rare'' items.


    The first one was a brooch. It''s color was silver and probably was made of silver. It was shaped like a leaf, so he took fancy of it since he was a wood mage. Not just that, but now, he had something that will hold and close the tattered maroon cape. He finally wouldn''t look like a kid with a tied quilt on his neck.


    He adjusted the cape and attached the brooch on the middle below his neck.


    The last one that he got was a pair of black leathered bracers. He was already wearing it; however he hadn''t tried to place the dagger in it. Now that he finished looking at the rooms, he was finally able to see if it fits.


    He inserted the dagger on the bracer''s sheath and an unimaginable scene occurred. The dagger that was bigger than the bracers shrank and fit itself on it!


    "Woah! It does that? Cool! I better inspect it in the future." He moved his arms around and walked back the same way he came from. He decided to check the other side, since he found something on the rooms, he might as well check the others.


    Alex felt awkward with the dagger on top of his left forearm. He thought that it would probably be a hindrance, so he turned the bracer so that the dagger was below his forearm. It looked funny though, the top side of the left bracer was the side with strings while his right arm had the dagger side.


    However he did not mind it, as the looks will not determine one''s strength.


    He arrived at the throne room very fast and continued walking down the corridor. This side was very weird, the carpet was like concealing the sound of his footsteps. This made him alert and at the same time scared. What''s more scary than exploring the unknown?


    Five minutes have already passed and he wasn''t able to find anything. No doors, no stairs, nothing; there only the two walls. Nevertheless, he still continued marching forward.


    It wasn''t long before he reached a dead end.


    ''Gurgle, Gurgle'' his stomach sounded like a beast demanding for food. "How long have I been here. Ahhhh. I''m hungry! I think I can still persist for a few hours. I should check the throne room again and see if I forgot something, then I should find a way out."


    He could only sigh at his fate. He wasn''t able to know the time because the palace was beneath the sands. He wasn''t able to know for how long he has been staying in this place because he passed out twice. Walking to quickly find something to eat, he arrived at the throne room.


    Looking around the throne, he was able to see his final loot. It glinted with a red light that was coming from a gem on the butt of a hilt. It was a Sword.

 27 Wandering 2

    Alex quickly moved towards the sword that stood on the side of the throne.


    He wasn''t able to notice it earlier and was only able to see it when it shone with red light as if it was beckoning him to take it.


    Alex, of course, would be shameless and took it.


    "This feels quite nice. It''s not heavy and it''s not light either. Just perfect for me. Though I don''t know if I''ll be able to use this in the future, as I already wield the power of magic. Now let''s see what it looks inside."


    He unsheathed the sword and placed the butt of the hilt on top of his palm and the tip of the sword on the other. He inspected the sword intently.


    It really looked normal. Aside from the red gem that was embedded on the butt of the hilt, it didn''t look anything special at all.


    He sheathed the sword and held it with his hands below the cross guard.


    ''I really should get going. I don''t want to die unknown to the world.'' the rumbling of his stomach earlier really scared him. He was really hungry. It was still a wonder for him why he wasn''t feeling thirsty.


    He did a last round check on the whole throne room before deciding to find the exit of this palace.


    Before he could even turn around, he felt a slight disturbance in the air. It was very faint, however it was still perceptible. He tried locating where the wind was coming from and noticed a banner, behind the throne was slightly moving.


    When he reached the banner, he lifted it up to see what was behind it. What entered his eyes was a stairway that leads upwards.


    ''So that''s why I wasn''t able to find any stairs. It was hidden here!'' His eyes lit up as he dashed towards the top.


    The top of the stairway was blocked by an unknown object and the air from outside was rushing towards the gaps and entering the palace.


    Alex pushed the ''door'' open and got out of the tiny hole that leads towards the palace.


    As soon as he climbed out, an intense amount of sand assaulted him.


    ''Sandstorm! Damn it! Why did I even go out?!'' he cursed and tried to go back to the hole he had emerged.


    ''What the fu-? Where''d it go?'' Just as he turned around, everything seemed as if it was a mirage. The hole was gone and so was the sandstorm.


    Looking around, he found no trace of the sandstorm. Everything was as still as a rock.


    He tried digging in the sand, but it was useless. Everytime he dug a handful of sand, it quickly came back, as if filling itself again.


    "What the hell was that? And how would I know where I am? I don''t even know which direction is which. I should probably stay here for a while."


    He gazed at the sun and noticed that it was high up. He won''t know what time it was and which direction he should take.


    He could only wait for the sun to ''move''.


    ''Since the desert was to the west of Azta, I should aim for the east. Good thing I have this tattered cape or I would have sweat buckets already.''


    The tattered maroon cape that he received was a defensive cloth against fire mages and it was also resistant to heat. So he would probably last for quite some time under the scorching heat of the sun.


    After two hours of waiting, he could finally see the ''movement'' of the sun. It was already slightly tilted and was easily distinguished.


    Alex only thought of walking, he didn''t dare to run around the desert, lest he would get exhausted quickly.


    His eyes were wandering as he walked. Looking out for an oasis. It was okay for him to be hungry, but not thirsty.


    Everything in sight were sand dunes. Sometimes he would see dead trees. Therefore he tried moving towards them hoping he would find water.


    He moved ever so slowly that the sand has ''set foot'' in his boots.


    Everytime his feet touches the sand, it quickly sinks in and stops. The fine grains of sand were so soft, that they parted whenever he takes a step and then surrounds it. That''s why he was moving slowly. He wasn''t used to be in the sands.


    Before dusk devours the whole sky, he was able to find an oasis. He only saw it atop a sand dune and it was quite a walk away from where he stood.


    He slowly made his way towards the oasis.


    By the time he arrived, the sun has already set and the chilly wind of the night swooshes at the lonely desert.


    The oasis was pretty much bleak. There were not many plants or trees. He tried touching the water with his dagger to see if there were any problems with it. Then he scooped handful of water and tasted it.


    The water was a bit sweet, unlike any other water he had drank before.


    After filling his tummy with water, he walked towards a nearby tree and sat with his back leaning on the tree trunk.


    The night in the desert was starting to get cold. Gazing up at the night sky, he saw a bunch of stars lighting up the dark night and he also gxnoticed that there was a fruit blocking his line of sight!


    "What the fruit are you doing in there?!" the tranquility of the night was broken by him.


    It caused him to stand up. He hasn''t been able to eat and was quite hungry. So this fruit would become his meal tonight.


    Patting his sand-filled butt. Alex tried climbing the tree, but didn''t succeed. The trunk was very slippery, before he could even climb for half a meter, he was already sliding downwards.


    He didn''t want things to go this way; he was eager to take the fruit from the tree.


    He removed the dagger from his bracers and unsheathed the sword in his hand. He plunged the dagger into the trunk but an unimaginable scene happened right in front of his eyes.


    The dagger that was on the trunk, was being pushed back and after only a second, the dagger fell to the ground.


    It was a weird tree, on a weird place, with weird abilities.


    Alex can do nothing about it. He picked up the dagger and laid down on the sand.


    ''Why didn''t I use my magic? Yaaaaawwwnnn. Let''s do it later.'' Covering his body with the cape, he watched the fruit until his vision descended into the land of dreams.

 28 Gaias Gem 1

    The wind blows the leaves of the trees and causes them to rustle. Those rustling sounds were making the night at this desolate desert serene.


    Below a tree was Alex. He fell asleep when he was looking at a fruit. It quickly sent him into sleeping, as if the fruit had the power to affect his consciousness.


    It was late at night in the desert when a fragrant smell wafted around the oasis. The aroma was that of mixed berries.


    Soon, the smell was already spreading beyondthe oasis.


    The night, where animals were either asleep or still hunting were roused by the scent that was coming from the oasis.


    It didn''t matter whether they were near or ten kilometers away. The fragrance alone, was enough to keep them moving towards its source.


    On the other hand, the fruit that was hanging on a branch of the tree was swinging; like it was struggling out of the tree.


    The truth was, the fruit was burgeoning. It was becoming bigger and was developing faster. Its previous yellow color was now turning green. It wont be long until it reaches its peak.


    Alex was still sleeping below the tree. He was sleeping like a deadman, with his hands entwined.


    He dreamt of many things even though he was only sleeping for a while.


    The dreams were like nightmares for him. In the dream, there were two tunnels. One was white and the other was black. As a human being, he was afraid of the unknown, so he walked towards the white one.


    After a bit of walking, he emerged on the other side but everything was black. He looked back and saw the white tunnel and walked towards it hastily. When he arrived everything was already black.


    His mind was in a mess. He wasn''t able to comprehend anything that was happening. He ran around aimlessly hoping to break out of this ''cage''.


    (A/N: This may seem a bit rubbish to you all. But this dream really happened. And we''ll get to the explaining eventually.)


    In the oasis, Alex looked like he was struggling from the invisible ropes binding him. As if God wanted to help him, his head was struck by an object. It bounced towards his chest then finally landing in his hands.


    When Alex felt the object land on his head, his mind was jolted. When it hit his chest he was unable to react and was only able to catch it when it was about to land in his ''fruit maker''.


    ''Finally. Haaaaa. Wait. What the hell is this?'' he sighed and looked at the fruit in his hands. It was emerald green in color. Its shape was like that of a dragon fruit from Earth.


    ''Growl!'' At this time, low growling sounds could be heard around the oasis. The eyes of these beasts were everywhere.


    They were like the glowing balls of death!


    His body was rooted in place. Being eyed and surrounded by innumerable beasts caused him to tremble in fear. He wasn''t expecting such a crowd of beasts after waking up from a nightmare.


    He could see the beasts inching closer and closer to him. From the tiniest of rats, to foxes, snakes, camels and even vultures on top of a tree. There was even a monstrosity hiding in the back, so he wasn''t sure what beast it was.


    As for the scorpions, they didn''t dare to go near Alex. It was like they were forbidden to come even close to him.


    When the beasts was almost a meter a way from him. He heard a snort and the crowd of beast parted, to give way to a beast.


    Alex heard loud stomps coming towards him. Every stomp echoed in his body, building up terror in his very soul. This caused him to bow his head and shut his eyes tightly. He didn''t want to see how he die.


    "Look up, human."There was a deep voice that sounded in the oasis. It didn''t contain any threats or aggressiveness in it. In fact, the voice even contained goodwill in it, yet it was commanding.


    Alex opened his eyes and slowly looked up. It was a White Rhino. He was flabbergasted by its mere presence alone. His gaze was unmoving, this creature wasn''t like the Scorpion Emperor that looked like he would kill someone.It looked holy and majestic!


    "Have you had enough? So human, the fruit that you have in your hand is called ''Gaia''s Gem''. Since you got it first, you should it eat now while I''m still here or these guys will take that from you." the White Rhino suddenly spoke, causing Alex to jolt back.


    "Then wouldn''t you take this from me?" he was a bit scared, since this White Rhino was leagues above him he could even die from its wheeze.


    "What do you think I am, human? I''m not like you humans, that covets others'' treasures and I''m not like the beasts you have in mind. I''m already a Void Beast which is equivalent to you, humans'' Archmage rank." the White Rhino replied seemingly offended by his words.


    His eyes widened in shock, ''This being is an Archmage!? Holy! Oh shoot, did I anger it?''.


    "Ah um- I''m so sorry, I didn''t know there are beasts like you." Alex hastily replied. The White Rhino stared into his eyes and said "Are you mocking my intelligence?"


    "Ah! No, no, no, no! I am not mocking you." his voice was trembling yet it got louder. So the White Rhino looked at him again. "Okay, I''m sorry. I''m going to eat this fruit now."


    He quickly held the fruit up and was about to bite it when he was stopped by the White Rhino. "What are you doing?"


    "I''m going to eat it." Alex said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    "I know that you''re going to eat it, you idiot! That''s not how you eat it. You have to peel it first." the White Rhino was clearly annoyed by Alex. The latter scratched his head in embarrassment and peeled the fruit slowly.


    Light was escaping in the gaps of the fruit. Green light blinded his eyes for a second, then a green bead came out. It was soft to touch, like a marshmallow and there were tiny yellow dots on it.


    ''So this is why it was called Gaia''s Gem. It''s so beautiful.''


    "It''s good to eat now, right?" he asked. Since he didn''t have any knowledge of this fruit. He only knew that it looked good and smelled good.


    "Well, of course. Just remember to chew and swallow. Be careful not to get choked by it." the White Rhino said. It''s eyes was slowly closing, it looked like it was scheming something; it was like it was happy.


    Alex''s eyes widened in horror, the fruit was already in his mouth. He could only watch as the White Rhino laugh at him.

 29 Gaias Gem 2

    When Alex opened his eyes, all that he could see was darkness. He could feel the fine sand in his hand as he tried sitting up.


    However, his body was feeling weak. His arms gave out and he was once again lying on the ground.


    ''What the hell happened?'' his mind was still jumbled. He had no idea what had happened, nor who he was to be exact. It was like he had an amnesia.


    "Hahahahaha!" a loud hearty laugh entered his still numbed ears. It was a booming deep voice that he felt familar with.


    "Was the gem so bitter that you passed out? Hahahaha!" he heard the voice again. It was as if it was talking to him. He felt curious so he tried communicating with the voice.


    "Uh- Are you perhaps talking to me?" Alex asked.


    "Well obviously. Do I talk to myself then? Or maybe with these stupid beasts?" the voice replied, clearly annoyed by his question.


    ''What the hell is he talking about? Beasts?'' he tried looking around but his body was prohibiting him from moving. He tried moving his eyes around, as that was the best he could do for now.


    He saw vague shapes of animals surrounding him. Their lantern like eyes gazing at him. Naturally, he shuddered.


    Then his eyes landed on a towering figure in front of him. It was a white rhino! It looked at him and smirked. "Hey human are you alright?" it said.


    His mouth was agape. How was he supposed to process an animal, a rhino to be exact, speaking to him?


    This reaction was obviously caught by the rhino. "Hey! Can you not remember me? You were like talking to me before you passed out." the White Rhino said.


    ''It seems to be worried about me. Wait? I talked to it earlier? Before I passed out?'' Alex wondered. "Did I really talked to you before? And uh- I can''t remember you, nor who I am. I remember nothing at all."


    ''Oh sh*t! Good thing I didn''t stole the gem.'' the White Rhino muttered under its breath.


    "Okay. The thing is. You ate something called ''Gaia''s Gem. It''s supposed to give you unknown benefits despite it being very very bitter. Now, I don''t think you obtained a benefit. You even lost your memory."


    "Then how am I supposed to get my memory back?" Alex asked in a quivering tone. Not knowing anything at all scared him.


    "Let''s just start with what''s your name. Think carefully." the White Rhino said calmly. It was like it knew how to get his memory back.


    "Hmmm. I think my name is... Alex. Yes, it should be Alex. No doubt about it." After thinking for a few minutes, he finally got a name. It just emerged in his mind when he tried thinking of his name.


    "Nice. That''s a good start. At least you now know your name. Next should be; why are you deep in this desert?"


    "Hmmm. I- arghhh!" when he tried thinking why he was here in the desert, nothing came to mind. Then a sudden flood of memory came washing over him.


    He clutched his head and wailed madly. The veins on his forehead were showing, his head was completely red like a tomato.


    "Stay calm. The pain will soon pass. Just hold on." the White Rhino was very calm. Alex even suspected that the White Rhino had experienced the same thing that he was going through right now.


    Soon, the pain vanished instantly. Alex, who was still lying down on the sand immediately stood up, as if the was the hottest thing in the world. His face has a look of bewilderment in it. He spotted the White Rhino in front of him and his bewilderment turned into anger.


    "Are you okay n-" the White Rhino wasn''t able to finish his words when he was lashed out by a string of words.


    "What f*cking bead was that! It was like removing the contents of a medicine capsule then placed directly in my f*cking tongue!"


    "You look okay to me."


    "What okay!? I almost lost my whole memory! F*ck! Why are you even so f*cking calm!?"


    "Kek. Hahahahaha!" the White Rhino burst into a fit of laughter after hearing Alex. It was laughing so hard that there were even tears forming in its eyes.


    "To be a honest, I was actually the guardian of this oasis or to be exact, I''m the guardian of Gaia''s Gem." the White Rhino said truthfully.


    "Was that a thing that your past generations did too?"


    "No. Actually it was my father''s fault that we''re guarding it now. He saw the Scorpion King heavily injured and thought that he would be able to obtain it''s core to enter the King stage. When he launched a sneak attack, the Scorpion King slapped him mercilessly. Since then my father was unable to advance from the Void stage.


    "The Scorpion King was benevolent and saw my father''s state. He took me here and let me eat the gem. I experienced the same thing as you did earlier.


    "After that he ordered me to guard this oasis. He also tasked me that when someone accidentally arrives during the ripening of the fruit, I was supposed to give it to them.


    "After 500 years have passed, the fruit was already nearing its peak when you showed up and tried taking it. I observed you for a while and decided not to interfere with fate.


    "So, did you obtain something great?" The White Rhino asked after telling his story.


    It was actually a fortune for the White Rhino to be forced to guard the oasis. Their entire bloodline was only capable of letting them step into the high mage class or become a dire beast.


    Now, it was already a Void Beast! A step away from becoming a King class beast!

 30 Experience 1

    "What were my gains?" Alex asked the White Rhino. It wasn''t a question that was directed towards the rhino.


    It was for himself.


    "I seemed to have forgotte-" his voice stopped and his eyes were looking at the rhino as if the rhino was a magnum opus.


    Another memory, forcefully resurfaced itself in his brain. Luckily, the emergence of the new memory didn''t bring him pain or he would''ve become crazy.


    Alex, who''s mind was already in another world, subconsciously sat down. The memory was already playing inside his head like a movie.


    The White Rhino, who saw him sat down without a word, knew what Alex was going through.


    It was a sudden comprehension! Or if he was lucky enough he might attain self-realization!


    ...


    I was forcefully brought back to the nightmare. I woke up to a cold dark ground. It was the same nightmare, yet a different one. It wasn''t a tunnel, this time it was room.


    I stood up, thinking that the color of the surroundings would probably change from black to white, then white to black.


    It proved me wrong. Nothing changed. I waited for hours outside those rooms. From hours turned to days. I knew I won''t be able to wait that long.


    So curiosity lead me near the rooms. I thought of the nightmare, ''days'' ago; where no matter what I do, I would not arrive to wherever I wanted to.


    Sitting cross legged in front of the rooms, I contemplated whether I should go inside one of the rooms.


    Considering what I had experienced, I slowly went inside the dark room, hoping that it would change into the white one. It was very creepy to walk inside the dark room. It was very cold and there were even times where the wind blew and I shivered.


    I waited for quite a while, however nothing seems to be happening. It terrified me, being alone in this cold and dark place, that is.


    So I closed my eyes and distracted myself by thinking of some hero fight scenes from the middle ages.


    (A/N: This was what I usually think when I''m not able to fall asleep. Hehe)


    I imagined myself, a 15 year old kid, holding a sword and watched from afar, as my village was robbed by bandits.


    It was a scene where I should emerge as the hero and saves the village from the bad guys.


    I watched as they slaughter the villagers. It was a massacre! I watched as they took away girls of my age and even those who were younger than I am!


    My eyes started to turn watery, as I hold back my tears from falling. I was filled with anger, hate and helplessness.


    It was too realistic, everything was just life like. This scene was too much for me. I didn''t even know why my thoughts wandered this far. I closed my eyes and opened them again to remove myself of this ''dream''.


    To my horror, I can still see the bandits as they knocked out and tied those helpless girls. Some of those that haven''t been knocked were bawling, crying and begging for forgiveness.


    Then the bandits marched out of the village, towards their lair as if nothing happened. ''They''ll probably going to spot me'', so I ran as fast as I could, aimlessly.


    The darkness blanketed the skies and thunders were rumbling up above. ''It would probably rain later'', I thought.


    I just finished resting and I tried whatever ways that I could think of to wake up from this ''dream'', but it seemed like my reality has changed for now.


    ''I could only play this little game that I have given myself.''


    I walked for a bit and saw hoof prints on the ground. It was easy to spot because the prints seemed new and it was a bit deeper than normal, meaning that they were carrying twice of their normal weight.


    There were only hoof prints and no trace of wheels. Therefore, it shouldn''t be the fat merchants. It could only be those damned bandits!


    I trudged towards the path of the prints. My legs were still quivering even though I already rested for half an hour.


    The trodden path was a bit uneven, so my foot sometimes slips and bend. So I stopped as I reached a clearing to get myself a breather.


    Then I suddenly heard the sound of horses neighing. I quickly ducked to the nearest shrubberies to hide myself; afraid that I arrived at the bandits lair and they would discover me.


    I tried to locate where the sound came from and saw that the horses were left a few meters away from the cave. I sighed a breath of relief as I inched closer, ever so slowly, towards the cave''s entrance.


    With a pitter-patter, the sound of rain hitting the ground echoed.


    ''It would be hard for me if I get soaked by the rain.''


    The sound of men laughing entered my ears. I could hear the moans of several girls and some of their cries. Anger bubbled inside me as I heard their begging.


    I arrived inside and could finally see something!


    I watched as men take their share of women. I saw men whipping the girls'' fragile back for being disobedient. I saw them do ''it'' forcefully with those girls.


    My heart broke when I saw those girls begging for those maniacs to stop.


    I could only watch those scenes as fear took over my body and my feet was deeply rooted to the ground.


    ''I could only watch! Ever since the beginning, I could only f*cking watch! Damn it!''


    I couldn''t do anything! I''m a coward! I was afraid of killing people and also afraid of people killing me.


    However, was watching the only thing I should be doing? I looked down and saw my hands turn white as I gripped my sword tightly.


    ''What if these things happened to my loved ones? Will I only watch as these bastards play with them?''


    No! No! Just the thought of it caused me to shake uncontrollably.


    They''re just beasts in human form!


    "F*ck you all! Burn in hell!" I bellowed as I ran towards the busy bandits. However, the sound of the rain masked my aggrieved voice. There were about 30 of them and more than half were naked.


    This was my f*cking chance! Either I die or they f*cking do!


    When I got near the first bandit, he was still looking at me incredulously. Maybe he was belittling me, but that was none of my f*cking concern!


    I thrusted the sword straight into his open mouth and pierced. I swung the sword sideways to make sure the man died. Then the man''s body slumped down lifelessly into the ground with his eyes still open.


    ''It was my first time killing a human being, but so f*cking what?! These f*ckers deserved death!''


    I looked around to find the nearest bandit and noticed that only a few of them were looking at me. Some were still busy with their own ''agenda''.


    I grinned towards my next prey and ran quickly. I did a simple, but swift swing, then his head was already separated from his body.


    Before his body could even touch the ground, I already killed another bandit that had his back on me.


    Thinking of running? Kek. Haha!


    The last bandit who saw me, suddenly screamed when my sword was about to kill him.


    His shrill of a scream echoed on the cave. Then again, only a few was attracted by the scream. It should be because of the rain or maybe the others would think that it was a girl''s scream.


    Hehe.


    I beheaded him straight away and his ''ear-piercing'' scream stopped. I could only behead these beasts as that was the easiest that I could do.


    ''I''m pretty sure that I would be missing their vitals if I ever aimed on them. So I could only stick to beheading people.''


    The massacre began ages ago and I was already on the depths of the cave. The smell of blood wafted in the air. Some of it came from my blood soaked body and some came from the dead ones.


    I smiled gleefully towards the remaining three bandits. Of those three people, two were carrying crossbows and the other had a sword.


    It was obvious who would win this showdown. It''s gonna be me!


    I could see their legs tremble in fear as I inched closer to them. A crossbow bolt flew towards me, but I easily deflected it with my sword.


    Honestly, I flinched when I saw the bolt flying towards me. However, I was already in the ''zone'', from killing those beasts. So deflecting the bolt wasn''t mere luck. Hehe.


    (A/N: To those who doesn''t know of ''The Zone''It''s like the adrenaline rush where you could do impossible things. Or you could just watch Kuroko''s basketball.)


    The two crossbow men were clearly afraid of me, as bolt after bolt were sent flying. Only a few came directly my way and the others missed.


    Then a scarred bald man shouted towards one of them and took the crossbow for himself.


    I watched as the bald man sent three bolts towards me in a matter of seconds. I got too full of myself and was only able to deflect a bolt.


    I couldn''t dodge and was helplessly pierced by the bolts. One landed on my chest and the other on my shoulder.


    It hurts so bad that I felt like crying. Not only that, but I was also having trouble breathing.


    This wasn''t the time for this. I could see those five men rushing towards me. Instead of beingafraid, I even sighed a breath of relief.


    I thought that I would become a porcupine soon, lucky me, they ran out of bolts. Haha!


    I prepared and saw that someone was running at his top speed and would definitely arrive in front of me in no time.


    This guy looked like he was bedazzling someone; probably their leader.


    The guy jumped towards me with his hands high up, intending to cut me down in one move.


    I couldn''t help but laugh at him. This guy was too much of a newbie than I am. I sidestepped his attack and pierced the side of his neck precisely.


    Then I saw a silhouette at the end of my vision. I baited him into thinking that my I hard trouble getting my sword out.


    And it worked! Baiting someone that has his mind on a mess was very simple. In a one swift motion, I beheaded my attacker.


    I looked in front me and the bald man was nowhere to be seen. Then I looked at the entrance of the cave and saw the baldy running for his life.


    Then again, I could only watch as the leader of the bandits get away from me.


    Before I could even get in this cave, I was already exhausted. With all those fighting that I did earlier, it burnt every energy in me. I also have bolts in my body too.


    I lowered my head and then my legs finally gave out. The impact of me hitting the ground was so painful and blood flowed from my chest and shoulder.


    I was now kneeling on the ground.


    I looked around and found the girls looking at me fearfully. I flashed them a sorry smile and told them they were now free.


    They were still huddled together and unmoving. I couldn''t care less. I already did my best to save them.


    At this moment a shrill cry echoed inside the cave. As curious as I was, I cannot even lift my head up anymore.


    Then the sound of men marching entered my ears. I bet they''re wearing heavy armors. Should be a cavalry.


    The sound of their footsteps became louder and louder, then a metal boots entered my vision.


    "Were you the one that killed them?" a righteous voice sounded.


    With a hoarse voice I answered truthfully "Yes. Are you going to kill me too? For killing them?"


    "No. On the contrary, would you like to join the army?"


    It was a question that I could not answer, as everything descended into darkness and I passed out.

 31 Experience 2

    Experience (2)


    ''This feeling ¡­'' My hands are currently in contact with a loose and powdery substance. It was like the feeling of ¡­ sand!


    My eyes that were closed was forced open. I quickly jumped up to stand. Ever since I''ve arrived on the desert, I''ve been passing out most of the time. I was very happy that I could finally free myself, off of the killings. I actually don''t like to hurt anyone, much less kill someone. I was never a violent person back on Earth or even on Terra.


    The scenes from yesterday suddenly emerged in my mind. From the time that I did my first kill unto the last. I saw men die by my hands, I saw them beg for mercy; to spare them. However, I mercilessly beheaded them without even sparing a glance.


    The feeling of my sword slicing past their necks was an unpleasant experience. At first, I could feel the sword slicing easily through their flesh, then I met a bit of resistance when it hit the bone. It was like an amateur, peeling an avocado, they would even cut the seed.


    A weird feeling was building up inside of me and my stomach was churning. Then I barfed. How nice!


    Vomiting in the middle of the desert. I did great. I looked around to search for water in the oasis, but reality struck me hard. I am not yet back in the real world. With widened eyes a man came to me and asked if I was okay.


    I tilted my head, dumbfounded at what the man has asked. I wanted to ask him back ''Do I look okay to you?'' However, I''m not in any position to say words like those. This man was clearly stronger than me.


    I simply asked back if he has any water. Then he turned around to get me some. Not long later, he passed me a canteen filled with water. I used some to gargle then drank a bit. I passed the canteen back to him and thanked him, however, he quickly rejected and gave me back the canteen.


    I was actually taken aback by his rejection and then I realized something, so I smirked at first, then laughed out loud, attracting the attention of the surrounding people. How disgusting of me. I shook my head and laughed it off, I was embarrassed.


    I was quite puzzled; how can we be in the desert when we were just in the mountains yesterday. The question bugged me, so I asked the man about it.


    I was astounded when I learned that the man, I was currently talking to, was the captain of the cavalry. When he heard my question, his jovial mood suddenly turned sour. He said that he has received an intel that there were currently enemies lying in ambush few miles away from the bandit''s lair.


    The captain didn''t believe it at first, so he sent his fastest scout on foot to see whether or not there were really enemies. They waited for half an hour, yet the scout still hasn''t returned. So the captain ordered his men to prepare to move out at moment''s notice. The captain gave another quarter of an hour and the scout was a no show.


    So he ordered his men to hastily retreat and they took the long route that leads to their kingdom. And that long route, was this desert. Resources may have been scarce in the desert but it was not filled with much danger. However, if they were stubborn and arrogant, and decided to face off the enemies; they would face utter annihilation.


    And that''s how they arrived at the desert.


    It was a good thing that they have found an oasis after they entered the desert or it would''ve been disastrous for us. I noticed that this cavalry brought the women from the cave. I couldn''t help but smile at the thought that there are more good guys than bad guys.


    ¡­


    We have already stayed in the oasis for a night. I could see the sun peeking at the horizon, it brought a humid morning air, different than the one I was used to. Just as the cavalry were packing their stuffs there were slight tremors underground. I wasn''t the only one that noticed this, all the cavalrymen too.


    I took my sword and removed it from its sheathe. My eyes are running around the surrounding and I was ready to defend against a sneak attack. I saw that every single one of them has already drawn out their weapons whether it be spears, lances, long swords and shields they were prepared. The only thing they aren''t wearing was their heavy armors.


    It wasn''t long before a huge desert centipede emerged! It was about 5 meters long. When I saw it, deep fear was permeating inside my body. I immediately knew that this fear, was from being stared at by a natural predator.


    For the first time, I wasn''t deeply rooted by fear. So I was slowly moving my feet back, afraid that the desert centipede would notice me retreating. To my luck, someone actually initiated an attack against the desert centipede.


    It was the captain of the cavalry! He was holding a huge lance and a shield and he gave off a domineering aura that even caused me to take a step back. I knew for a fact that this battle would be difficult for the cavalry. So I went out of their way and watched from a safe distance.


    With my current abilities with the sword, I would only be a hindrance and liability to them. It would be best not to cause any troubles. It was a battle between a 30 cavalrymen vs a giant desert centipede. At first the battle was on a deadlock, both sides seemed to have the same firepower.


    Not until one man gets suddenly caught by a leg. The centipede quickly took the opportunity and coiled around the man then it bit off the mans head. I was naturally shocked when I saw it kill the man in a single breath.


    The balance was quickly broken by a single death on the cavalrymen. Even though it was only a single casualty, it was what I was seeing right now. They are getting obliterated by the beast. And they are ¡­ getting closer to me?!


    What the hell did I do? I quickly motioned the women behind me to retreat. However, all of them were crying. They barely escaped a calamity last night and now they had to face another. Nonetheless, I have to save them. So I turned around and shouted at them, though it felt unpleasant, that was the only thing I could do.


    Then I saw black silhouettes passed me. Sh*t! I turned back and saw three men were currently holding off the giant centipede. They won''t be able to hold them long enough! I glanced at the girls behind me and they were already sitting on the horses with the other cavalrymen.


    F*ck! I couldn''t help but curse at the current situation. The others ditched their companions and scampered around like little children running towards the horses.


    I watched as the giant desert centipede slowly made its way towards me. I''m not gonna lie, I was really scared coming face to face with this centipede. I was feeling a familiar aura coming from it, but I just don''t know where I''ve felt it before. It doesn''t really matter to me as I''m about to die now.


    Hopefully, once I die in here, I will wake back up at the real world. So I gave the centipede my most dazzling smile. The centipede just stood in front of me, looking at me and doing nothing. Even though I''ve accepted that I was about to die, I was still afraid of dying.


    My palms were starting to moisten up, my knees are getting weak, yet I have to show this centipede that I wasn''t afraid of it. Then something boggling happened, the body of the centipede looked as if something was about to come out of it.


    Its body was continuously expanding and then it suddenly shrinks, every happened so fast that after a second, the giant centipede suddenly became an old man. The old man was wearing a beige colored ancient attire that doesn''t suit well with his white hair. It made him look very ¡­ ancient.


    I was like, what kind of sorcery is this? How can centipede turn into a man? Then I suddenly recalled the history lessons I learned back at the village. So he''s at the king stage already, then why did he prolong the fight with the cavalrymen?


    "Boy. Why are you in your human form?" an ancient voice sounded, as the old man talked. I was baffled by his sudden question and replied, "I beg your pardon?"


    The old man chuckled and said, "I said, why are you in your human form? Do you not like your beast form?"


    I really didn''t understand what the old man was saying, so I didn''t nod my head like any idiot would do and told him that he should''ve been mistaken and got the wrong person. He laughed at me and looked at me like he knew my secrets then he smiled and said, "If that''s what you like then fine by me. I just want to remind you that humans are treacherous creatures. When you''re with other human you have to raise your guard up all the time."


    I was like, what is wrong with this old man? He must''ve caught my expression and immediately told me what the cavalrymen did earlier. Yeah, I was mad, but at least they saved those girls. And the fact that this old man was such a strong being was unknown to us earlier.


    "Where are you going lad?" he asked. Since the old man didn''t want to harm me, I told him where I was going, "To the nearest human city. Do you know which direction it is?"


    "Okay let''s go east! I''ll be accompanying you in your journey towards humanity''s kingdom! But why are you going there?"


    "To learn the way of the sword!" I proclaimed. I actually tried to use mana when I was resting yesterday, however, I find them to be chaotic and scarce.So I''ve decided to use the sword while I''m currently in here.


    Since in the real world, I already have a ''good'' sword and I just don''t know how to wield them. The sword that I got from the Scorpion Emperor''s Palace should be good, since it was kept in good shape by the late emperor.


    Just before we set off towards the east, I was assaulted by a sudden dizziness and it came from nowhere.


    Then a thought suddenly emerged in my head. ''Since I was brought here, in the desert, I''ve been fainting most of time. Hah. I really need to get out of this desert. Not only here, in the real world too.''


    Soon my vision turned black.

 32 Experience 3

    I should have known.


    I thought I was finally gonna be back in the real world. That time when I passed out at the desert, I really thought that I would be back. But no, I''m still here. I don''t even know what my purpose is.


    Now the old man, upon knowing what my real intention was, brought me towards a forest.


    He said that real battle will help me make my own style or what he liked to call - a Sword Art!


    Then he said that most humans are dumb. I was offended because I am human. However, I wanted to keep my mouth shut. Yet I still asked why, I was hoping that I would learn something from him.


    "Ah. Humans are dumb because they keep on learning techniques that was already learned by others. They''re not trying to discover or learn things by themselves. One shouldn''t learn the path of their ancestors, they should make their own!"


    "I am not saying that learning from others is bad,but techniques are tailor-made for the creator, not for others. It differs from person to person. Everything a technique has, are from the creators'' body, mind and soul."


    My mind was too young for that, though I understood some of it. Even though I transmigrated, I am still inexperienced. I guess I really am a human.


    (A/N: Hehe)


    ...


    The forest was very quiet. Everything was lush and verdant, however, I am not seeing any other animals other than the small ones like the squirrels and rabbits.


    Yeah, this is life. Walking inside a peaceful forest. Savoring the fresh air, enjoying the sceneries and hearing the sound of birds chirping on the trees.


    Haha, I''m only thinking like this because I finally got out of the desert. The scorching heat of the desert, the grainy sands in my soles and there were even humongous desert animals. But all of them were prolly scared by the old man.


    Now that I think about it, I haven''t known what rank the old man''s at.


    "Hey old man!What rank are you at?" it might''ve sounded disrespectful for a bit, but the old man wanted me to call him ''old man''. He said he didn''t want to get too attached.


    "What rank I am? Hmmm. I''m probably the strongest in Terra right now." and that''s what the old man said. I asked for his rank, yet he told me he was the strongest; great!


    Wait! The strongest on Terra? I''m still on Terra? What the hell? I hurriedly hid the shock in my face but the old man has sharp eyes; yeah I know, he''s the strongest. I rolled my eyes thinking about this.


    "Hmmm? Are you not convinced that I''m the strongest? There aren''t any worthy opponents nearby so I can''t show you anything right now." the old man raised his eyebrows and looked at me. And I''m like ''oh thank God he got it wrong!''


    The small chat ended there. However I really didn''t want to be silent during this trip, so I kept on talking. "Old man! Why aren''t there any beast nearby?"


    "Hmmm. Because all of them are in the same place." the way the old man talks, was like his mind was always occupied by something. His answers are always puzzling, like if I asked him ''what is 2+2?'' then his answer would be ''Hmmm. It should be higher than 2''.


    However, he doesn''t seem to mind that I''m always talking. Though his answers are a bit cryptic. At least I''m learning something; only sometimes though.


    Then we have arrived!


    There was this tall gloomy structure right in front of me. It was black and is seemingly out of place with this happy forest. The eerie vibe that I got was only a passing feeling.


    "What is this?" I asked. Such a tall structure and looked to be constructed with pure concrete, I don''t know if it''s concrete but it looks like it.


    "What, you say? Hmmm. It''s a dungeon. A low level one at that. It''s where all the beasts are."


    "So I just go in and kill them all?"


    "Yes and No. See those kids there at the entrance? You''ll be teaming up with them and try your best not to die." it doesn''t sound like a low level dungeon to me. If it was low leveled then this should be a bit easy.


    "Okay. Now go and meet your team. Ask them if you could join them. I will wait here until you finished the dungeon."


    "Got it!"


    I ran up to ''kids'' near the dungeon''s entrance. And asked them if I could join their group. I was accepted instantly like they have been waiting for me the whole day and then we walked inside the dungeon.


    Of course I tried looking back to tell the old man everything was good, however I didn''t see him.


    Before proceeding deeper the group introduced themselves to me.


    First it was a cheerful looking guy with glasses. He was our team''s archer and the mind of the group or what he calls himself as the team''s captain.


    Then there was a girl holding a pair of daggers. She''s probably the scout; the nimblest and fastest.


    Next was a long-haired man with a spear. He can be considered handsome, but not as handsome as me. Hehe.


    Lastly, the guy with the shield. Nothing remarkable, really. He looks really mediocre, like me. Haha. Though his face looks familiar. I can''t seem to recall where I saw him.


    We slowly made our way in the tunnel, looking out for dangers that might suddenly pop out.


    When I asked the team if they have gone into dungeons before, they said no; this was their first time!


    After walking for a bit, we heard a sound of metal clanking at the end of the tunnel. First it was very faint, then it became loud like there were tens of metal clanking.


    We were quite a distance away from the end of the tunnel when a silhouette of a ''kid'' blocked it. It wasn''t just a ''kid'', there were lots of them.


    As we drew near, I could finally see their appearances. They have green skin, big eyes and long nails. They were like green little trolls ¨C no, they are goblins!


    "Oh sh*t! Goblins! Be careful not to get surrounded. They attack in groups!" Glasses told us what we should be doing and told us their strengths and weaknesses like a real captain of the group.


    This was my first time engaging a fight against a goblin. It was definitely a weird experience fighting someone who''s way smaller than me.


    I focused on using the sword to kill the goblins. I never liked to be on the defensive, so I continuously swung my sword towards these goblins.


    They have shorter reach than me so each time I swung my sword, I took a step back. Whenever I did that was the time I could take glimpse of my team''s prowess.


    Glasses, who was the team captain was helping the team with his arrows. Everytime a goblin was to take an action on a blindspot of someone, an arrow quickly follows.


    The girl with the daggers was killing a bit slowly as she can only fight a single goblin everytime. She was fast and careful not to get surrounded.


    The handsome spear guy was at the frontline proving that he was the best in the group. He have been killing the goblins with every swing of his spear. It didn''t matter if they hit the shaft or the tip, they still ended up dead.


    The man of shield who was also at the frontline was holding down a lot of goblins. Fortunately, he was getting help from Glasses, which lessens the pressure. He also has a short sword to help reduce the enemies'' numbers.


    As for me. I was still doing the ''hit-and-run''. I was conserving my energy for the boss battle, because the old man said that there was a floor guardian here.


    The next thing I knew was we killed every single goblin in the tunnel. It was finally the time to enter the room beyond this tunnel. Only after we take a rest, that is.


    As the team captain, Glasses initiated the conversation. He talked about the team''s shortcomings during the fight with the mobs.


    Then he talked about the plan against the floor''s guardian. If it was taller than 7 feet, then we quickly run, if it wasn''t, then we fight.


    He assigned us tasks that we should follow later on. After that, we all stood up and walked towards the room.


    The room was quite spacious like a hall. It didn''t have anything aside from the four big columns that supports the ceiling.


    On the other end of the room was a huge throne. And sitting on it was a humanoid pig with bloody tusks beside its snout. It was as tall as the spear guy, which was the tallest, so it''s still feasible.


    Upon seeing us, the pig-man emitted an angry roar. Then it stood on four legs and started charging at us at full speed.


    Man of shield quickly moved to the front and decided to block the pig-man''s charge with his wooden shield.


    When it was about three meters away from the shield bearer, it suddenly leaped and took something from its back.


    It unsheathed a huge blade!


    Everything happened too fast, I was about to warn the shield bearer, however the pig-man swung its blade towards the man.


    The man raised his wooden shield in an attempt to block the unstoppable momentum of the blade.


    I already imagined the pitiful scene of the shield bearer flying across the room and being stuck on the wall with his shield shattering into pieces.


    The scene that I imagined was different than what was currently happening. The shield bearer that took the all-out attack of the pig-man only slid for five meters before stopping.


    Although he was hit, he wasn''t injured. Maybe his arm was numbed by the impact, but that was it.


    As the captain, Glasses took the opportunity and shot an arrow aiming at the eye of the pig-man. Then he bellowed "Attack!"


    "Roar!" the pig-man roared in anger, as its right eye was pierced by an arrow.


    The first to attack was the spear guy, he tried to attack the pig-man''s neck but it was blocked by its blade. Even though its other eye was blinded its reflexes were still a bit fast.


    But not fast enough! I was already on its back and cut the back of its knees.


    I actually wanted to kill it by targeting its nape, but its sheathe was blocking its neck. Even if I swung my sword aiming at the side of it, my sword would only be met by the sheathe. That''s how long its blade was.


    As I cut through the back of its knees, I felt no resistance at all.


    It fell down and was on a kneeling position, yet it still wanted to attack.


    The girl with the daggers was supposed to attack it in its blind spot, but she ran straight towards the pig-man intending to take the kill!


    It was such a foolish move, underestimating the floor''s guardian. The pig-man grinned when it saw its prey running towards it. It lured the girl by pretending that its hand lost its grip on its blade.


    The girl''s eyes lit up, she was still inexperienced so she didn''t know the danger that she was in.


    When she arrived at the range of the blade the pig-man immediately moved and swung the blade towards the girl.


    The girl was rooted in fear and watched as the blade about to slice her body.


    At this moment, a silhouette of man appeared beside her and blocked the blade. Though the attack was powerful, it wasn''t strong enough to send them flying.


    Glasses, was unable to fire an arrow as the two was blocking his view of the pig-man. Before he could even look at me and the spear guy, I already arrived at the side of the pig-man.


    The pig-man was about to attack the girl with its left hand, but I was fast enough to cut its arm off. As for the spear guy, he saw the opening and drilled a hole on the pig-man''s temple.

 33 Experience 4

    Ah, that felt good.Though I didn''t get the kill, so what? At least we won, a fast one at that.


    "We did good!" Glasses said while walker over to us. He was our archer so he was quite a distance away from us. It was silent in the room so his voice was heard without any problem.


    "No, we did not." a cold voice resounded in the room. It was the Shield Bearer''s voice.


    What is wrong with this guy? Have we not killed the guardian without any deaths? Hmmm. He must be discontented with Daggers.


    "What?" it seems like Shield Bearer hit the mark, as Daggers quickly responded seemingly angry with his question.


    This should be entertaining.


    "What, what? Are you really that dumb? You could''ve died there, you know?" he said.


    "Then what''s your role then? You, bearing a shield should be blocking their attacks! You actually did good! Yet you''re dissatisfied with me!?" the girl yelled at him.


    "Yes indeed. I block attacks. But I cannot be blocking their attacks for you every time. You''re lucky that guy was fast enough to chop off its arm or you could be saying goodbye to your dear life right now."


    "A team should be helping each other right? Then it''s normal for him to help me."


    "Yes, but don''t expect us to save your little arse all the time. You were given a job, you do it!You''re going to get us killed." the Shield Bearer said. He turned around and started for something valuable from the pig-man''s body.


    "She''ll do better next time." Spear Guy quickly added, while looking sternly at Daggers.


    Well that didn''t end the way I expected it to be. I thought it would be a fiery verbal exchange between the two. I guessed wrong.


    After checking the body of the pig-man, there weren''t any valuables in him. There were only his big blade and his two tusks. The blade''s actual value couldn''t be determined by Glasses, so they had to bring it back to their clan and let someone appraise it for them.


    As for the tusks, it could be sold to alchemists or blacksmiths. It could be either crafted as a dagger or be ground into powder.


    The Shield Bearer then cut off the pig-man''s head using his shortsword to let their elders know that they have finished their mission.


    Glasses decided to end the dungeon exploring for now, so that two of our team members would calm down. He then told us that the exploration will continue in the morn. So we headed towards the exit and I bade them farewell for now.


    I headed towards the opposite direction that my team took, because I haven''t really seen the old man.


    The sun was about to set and I arrived at a river. I felt solemness and calmness watching the river become orange due to the sunlight. So I sat beneath a tree and enjoyed the serenity.


    I closed my eyes and imagined happy things, but what enters my mind was killing; endless killing.


    What the hell?


    I tried closing my eyes again, but that was the only thing I was seeing. What else can I do? I watched it and let it finish on its own, but it didn''t. It kept on replaying, like the scene was stuck on replay.


    I lamented on the fact that I could do nothing about it. Then the old man''s voice whispered in my ears.


    "Only through real battles can you learn your own Sword Art!" the voice was carried away by the passing wind and quickly vanished.


    I opened my eyes to search for the old man and I knew it already; he wasn''t there. So I closed my eyes again, but the old man''s voice still kept echoing in my ears.


    I looked intently on my battles and one thing that I noticed was that, I can''t recall most of the things that happened. Even though I just watched the scenes for more than ten times now, everything was unfamiliar.


    It was like, I wasn''t the one doing those cruel things. It was as if I was mad!


    Okay, enough of this!


    I opened my eyes and found that the sun was already rising.


    I tried standing up but my legs quickly gave out and I collapsed to the ground. Ah! My leg is numb! Even my butt is numb! Hahaha!


    I stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes to let my blood circulate once more. I did a couple of stretches then I jumped on the cold river.


    It was the best feeling. I swam for a bit as a morning exercise. After that I got out and look for some food to eat. My stomach was growling, but there''s no food that I can see. The fishes could be eaten, but I didn''t know how to light a fire.


    Ah! I''m incompetent!


    The sun was already above the horizon, so it should probably be 8 already. There was nothing on me aside from my sword, so I quickly set off towards the dungeon entrance.


    When I almost reach the entrance, I already saw my team walking towards me. They came early, hmmm, they should be thinking of reaching the last floor today. Since this was a low leveled dungeon, it only has three floors.


    Everything could be finished today if we are fast.


    We quickly greeted each other and went in.


    Today, it was those goblins again. Blocking our way towards the floor''s guardian.


    As I was killing the goblins, I was struck by a sudden flash of inspiration. What if I let a bit of madness in me when I''m killing these goblins?


    I smirked at the idea and retreated behind my team. I told everyone that I''m going to try something and they agreed as long as I do it quickly.


    When I got to the back of the group, I imagined the feeling of anger that I felt on the bandit''s lair. Every single emotion, from helplessness, to guilt then into anger! I let it all out.


    Once I opened my eyes, I could feel my left eye''s lower eyelid twitching, as my eyes was getting clouded by anger.


    I immediately rushed back towards the goblin and swung my sword. I was just casually swinging my sword, left and right, with no finesse at all like some kind of brute.


    What should''ve been a tedious task was done in minutes because of me.


    "You didn''t have to kill them all. You should''ve left some for us. Now we''re going to face the guardian without any proper warmup. Ah" the Spear Guy said during our rest.


    I admitted that it was kind of selfish of me earlier, so I apologized to them. It won''t hurt me apologizing, so why not.


    I actually got a bit of benefit earlier. When I was killing the goblins, I tried thinking rationally and controlled my body a few times and it ended up as a success.


    One thing that I noticed was, I wasn''t that tired killing the goblins than I killed the bandits.


    Maybe it was me controlling the madness within me or maybe I just learned some tricks in using a sword. Plus I''m not thinking twice when killing creatures. Maybe that''s a good thing, maybe not; who knows?


    We moved out and arrived at the room beyond the tunnel. We immediately noticed that, the floor guardian, was the same as yesterday! Though this one''s skin was a bit darker than yesterday''s, so I told my team to be careful.


    The team quickly slayed the pig-man just like what we did yesterday, but without any frontal assault from Daggers and we killed it by numbers.


    This floor''s guardian wasn''t really a challenge, so the team walked straight ahead towards the stairs.


    We now have to kill skeletons! As if we could kill Skeletons. Maybe separating their body parts would do.


    Human skeletons, dressed with worn-out cloth armor, bucklers, swords and even bow and arrows was what blocks our path.


    This should be easy.


    Since this was my first time fighting them, of course I underestimated them. No, not just me. We all did.


    The melees in our team rushed in, we swung our weapons and was met with white hard bones.


    That was stupid of me actually, to aim on the middle of their bones. I swung my sword, hoping that it would decapitate its head, but damn it, it got stucked.


    I tried retrieving my sword, but the skeleton''s sword was already raised up high intending to chop me, so I dodged right away.


    After I dodged, I grasped the sword''s hilt then made a quick pull and kick. It worked!


    I sent the skeleton flying towards another one and I got by sword back! As the skeleton crashed to another skeleton. I noticed something.


    I sheathed my sword and went to pick up a bone. The bone was long enough to be considered as a shortsword.


    Again, I did my thing, which was swinging the weapon in my hand. Maybe if the opponent was somewhat bigger then I would attempt to thrust or pierce them, but for now, swinging it is.


    When my team saw that I was ''slaughtering'' skeletons with my bone club, they learned from me and took one for themselves.


    It was much easier than the goblins, to be honest. But if it wasn''t for the bone clubs, this would''ve been a real headache.


    My team cleared some space to rest. Then Glasses took out some food from his backpack. It was food!


    The food was great, like it was made by their mom. Yeah, that''s how it tasted. Felt like I was home.


    Oh how I miss mom''s cooking.


    Come to think of it. I can''t remember anyone from Earth! I frowned and started thinking.


    Hmmm. I thought hard, trying to remember their faces. I could feel the veins in my forehead bulging, as my face was starting to get hot.


    No! No! No! No! No! This can''t be happening! No! I know their faces. I think I''m still hungry. Yeah, I should be hungry. I definitely know what they look like. I just need some food to eat.


    I searched for food to satisfy my ''hunger''. I found nothing. I looked at my teammates.


    Wait, what!? I''m not that kind of guy. Pfff. Who would do that kind of thing? I quickly looked away and my eyes landed on the entrance to the room. Maybe there''s something I could eat inside the room.


    I crept towards the entrance when I felt someone poking my back. I turned around and saw that it was Shield Bearer.


    "What are you doing?" he coldly said.


    Man, does this guy have any friends at all? The way he speaks is so irritating, it was filled with arrogance. Or at least that was how I perceived it to be, and I didn''t like it.


    "What does it have to do with you?" I snapped. I said it so loud, that everyone heard me and looked at us as if there was a fight brewing between us.


    "Oh sh*t. I''m sorry I lost my cool.We should be going now, let''s go." I hastily apologized to Shield Bearer and beckoned everyone that we should be moving towards the room.


    Glasses then said, "Okay, everyone do their roles and this one will be a piece of cake."

 34 Experience 5

    I was the nearest to the entrance, so I was the one too see what was inside.


    Nothing new.


    It looked the same as the first floor boss'' room. A spacious room with four pillars. There was also a throne and sitting on it was a tall creature.


    It was a humanoid horse!


    Its legs was still that of a horse, yet its arms was like that of a man. I only said that it was humanoid becaue of its arms. It looked just like a horse that stood on its two legs. Oh! and it also has its pants on. But man, it has a hell of an eight-pack abs. Incredibly ripped, damn.


    It stood on its two feet and glared at us with its red eyes.


    Its mere appearance caused a slight tremor in my head, but that was it. It also has a similar aura to the Scorpion Emperor.


    Both have viciousness and killing intent radiating in their body. Yet, its aura was still weaker than the Emperor.


    I seem to have forgotten something. Hmmm.


    "Ah!" an shrill scream echoed in the room.


    That was what I forgot. I was able to cope with its aura because I was exposed to it because of the late Emperor and the old man. I forgot that my team may not have experienced this kind of thing.


    I turned around and saw that Daggers was on sitting on the floor, screaming. Suddenly, a black shadow entered my eyes.


    Oh sh*t!


    The humanoid horse arrived in front of Daggers. She was clearly terror-stricken by the appearance of the creature and was unable to move.


    The horse-man clenched its right hand tightly and was in the act of punching Daggers. What can I do? I was at the very front of the group and I also let my guard down by turning my back towards the enemy.


    I can''t let her die! If she dies, all of us follows. There was a bubby feeling inside me that struggles to get out. Before I knew it, I was already running towards the fiend.


    I was only able to run halfway when I saw its fist descending. F*ck!


    The sound of its fist landing on her body and breaking her bones wasn''t heard. I only heard a loud ''thud''.


    It hit something different?


    My eyes lit up as I knew who saved this damsel again. The Shield Bearer!


    This guy''s really good. Even I could tell that he would have a bright future. I smirked then continued running towards the horse-man again.


    The opportunity to attack was quickly taken by Glasses. He shot an arrow towards the horse-man and swiftly nocked another for three continuous shots.


    The horse-man busily deflected the arrows and this bought enough time for Shield Bearer and Spear Guy to take action.


    Shield Bearer quickly carried Daggers away from the fight and hastily ran back to the fight. As for Shield Guy, he immediately pierced its thigh. I even observed that he did a brutal twist and pull.


    This guy was actually smart. He didn''t aim for its neck which was obviously high up or its sides that could be protected really fast by its elbows.


    Instead, he attacked its thighs, injuring it quite badly. Therefore removing its advantage of speed against us and also reducing its agilty. Quite a good move.


    Everything happened in two breaths of time and I was already three meters away from its back.


    It howled in agony when its thighs was injured by Spear Guy. It glared at Spear Guy as it was about to eat him. It then raised its arm to deliver a punch. However, Spear Guy only smiled. He even looked as if he was containing his laughter. (A/N: I imagined Thor, smiling at Hulk. [Thor: Ragnarok] Haha!)


    When I saw Spear Guy smiling at it, even I wanted to punch his face.


    "You''re dead, Horsey! Hahahaha!" at last, Spear Guy was unable to contain his laughter and laughed out loud.


    The horse-man actually stopped. I think it understood Spear Guy!


    It removed its gaze away from Spear Guy, when a sword was inches away from its heart. The Shield Bearer again! However, the horse-man made a futile attempt to smack the sword away. It avoided its death, but it was still pierced on its shoulder.


    This time, Spear Guy, once again attacked. But it was on the exposed side of the horse-man. His spear entered its rib cage.


    And again, the horse-man howled in agony. It wasn''t the end of the barrage of attacks from the team.


    Glasses let loose a salvo of arrows towards its huge chest. I also saw Daggers enter the fray. However, she only started running and I, already jumped, when I was only a meter away from the fiend.


    I did the strongest swing of my life!


    Ah! I miscalculated!


    Only by a bit though. My sword only passed through its flesh. I originally intended to severe its head, but that''s okay. I''m not alone anyways.


    As the fastest on our group, Daggers already arrived and stabbed its heart. Only a single stab was unable to quell her anger. So she stabbed non-stop on its heart and soon made a mess of its chest.


    The horse-man was already dead, but Daggers was still madly stabbing.


    Oh man, this girl is quite brutal.


    A hand reached out to her shoulders and tapped her. Shield Bearer stopped her from any more stabbing, lest it would affect her state of mind in the future.


    Just thinking of what her future would''ve looked like sent a shiver down my spine.


    After stopping her, Daggers'' shoulders were trembling; she was crying.


    Poor girl, must''ve been a frightening experience for her. Shield Bearer quickly moved her away from the mangled corpse.


    This guy, really! I can''t help but sigh.


    I thought he was concerned for her or something. Unexpectedly, he checked the corpse for any valuable loot. Ah!


    "In the end there wasn''t anything to loot. Its heart, that should''ve been its treasure was chopped into minced meat." as the one who checked the corpse for loot, Shield Bearer stated his findings.


    Now that I think about it, Shield Bearer was always the one checking for loots. Maybe he''s the most knowledgeable among the group with regards to this matter. Or maybe he''s in a tough spot and is in real need of money.


    Well after this exploring, he would surely be rewarded by his clan. Good for him.


    "Ah- it''s okay. We could still bring its corpse to the elders of the clan or we could sell it to the alchemists." Glasses said.


    Shield Bearer looked like he still wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Shield Guy, "Indeed it''s okay. At least we killed it with teamwork and none of us was injured."


    Shield Bearer simply snorted and sat down.


    Seeing that Shield Bearer wanted to rest and out of consideration for Daggers, he allowed the team to rest for a while.


    Since I almost did nothing, I immediately sat down and started recalling what transpired.


    I closed my eyes and thought of ways to improve myself.


    Time passed and the silence was broken by a series of footsteps. Naturally, it attracted the groups attention. One by one our eyes opened to see who was walking.


    Daggers was walking towards Shield Bearer.


    Heh. Is she going to thank him?


    "Um- thank you for saving me. Again. If it wasn''t for you, Ah-i would''ve been seriously injured b-both times. Or worse, I could''ve d-died. S-so, thank you, again." Daggers was stuttering almost every sentence, which made her look cute.


    As for Shield Bearer, he was acting as if he was sleeping or his ears weren''t working.


    Caught in awkward situation, Daggers bowed deeply and ran away like a frightened rabbit.


    I couldn''t help but smile. Ah! These two. Maybe I should help Daggers, hehe. Shield Bearer, you shouldn''t play hard-to-get in front of such a beauty.


    I looked away from Shield Bearer and found that Glasses was looking at me. He did an exaggerated wink at me and obviously, I knew what it meant. So I copied him and did an exaggerated wink.


    Haha!


    Shield Guy was only smirking at us from where he sat.


    "Okay guys. It''s time to move out! Next destination: the tunnel upstairs!"


    Everyone stood up and prepared for the next fight while walking towards the stairs.


    It was a spiral staircase and was a bit narrow which made us climb up one by one. It was unlike the stairs from floor one to floor two that looked very normal and was able to fit us all.


    I''m having a bad feeling about this. Ever since I saw that dark-skinned pig-man from floor one, I''ve been having this uneasiness pop out from time to time.


    I''m to tell Glasses once we arrive at the top. Maybe he would consider my request of giving this up. Or maybe I shouldn''t. I don''t want to be held in contempt by my teammates.


    I should just keep my mouth shut and tell them to be extra careful.


    After our ascent, we were greeted nothingness. There wasn''t anything. However, it still made me uncomfortable.


    I immediately stopped and voiced out my complaint so that everyone in the group could hear me, and they too, could share their thoughts.


    "Indeed, this is strange. Even the elders told us that before every room, there would be monsters defending the tunnel." Spear Guy said.


    "Although it is indeed strange, we''re already in the last floor of this dungeon and beyond this tunnel is the final guardian of this dungeon. And after that, we would be rewarded by the clan! They might even accept us as disciples and be nurtured! Imagine what would our lives be!?" Glasses said.


    As the captain, he really had his voice in the team. His words made the others think twice. They were obviously moved by his speech.


    Spear Guy and Daggers didn''t think for long and quickly agreed with Glasses. They were tempted by the rewards they would be receiving. I could do nothing but follow them. Since we''re already here, why not see it out to the end.


    Even though our team agreed to fighting the final boss, we still kept our guard up while slowly making our way towards the room.


    Finally, we arrived safely. It didn''t look like ''the room'' I was expecting it to be. Instead, it was huge rectangular shaped hall. There were ten pillars in total, five on each sides. In the middle, there was a red carpet starting from the entrance of the hall to the very end, which was where the throne was located.


    Sitting highly on the throne was a young man, probably similar age as us. The young man was as tall as me, which is considered to be of normal height. His face though, was quite handsome and I think I''ve seen his face somewhere.


    The group slowly walked towards the young man and we were prepared for an ambush. None of us thinks that the young man before us would be the final boss. Instead, we see him more as a dungeon keeper.


    When were finally below the steps towards the throne, the young man stood up and his body was beginning to enlarge as tiny insect legs were sprouting on his sides. Then, it greeted us.


    "Welcome Humans, to your, DEATHS!"

 35 Final Boss 1

    "Welcome, to your, DEATHS!"


    The young man transformed into a giant desert centipede!


    My body shook in horror, as I once again, saw the desert centipede. The old man''s centipede! So that''s why he looked familiar. He was the old man!


    Or at least that''s what I thought until Daggers screamed. "No! No! You can''t be alive! You''re already dead! I killed you!"


    She stared in horror at the centipede before us. Then another voice sounded and it was Glasses. I turned to see why did he suddenly screamed.


    Glasses was frantically waving hands in the air.


    What is this guy doing?


    "No! Don''t take away my sight! Anything but that! Please!" he was crying non-stop, pleading to give him back his sight.


    This is incredible, even Spear Guy was crying for another mirror. Haha. This guy should be crying because of his face.


    Uh- what the hell? Why am I taking joy in other''s misfortune. I shook my head to clear myself of such disgusting thoughts.


    Shield Bearer was looking at me as if nothing happened to him. Seeing that I was looking at him, he tilted his head towards the young man turned centipede.


    Everyone should be seeing or experiencing their fears right now.


    I don''t know if he was seeing the same thing as I did. I don''t really know what the enemy''s real form is, so it''s better to be careful.


    I dashed towards Spear Guy since he was the one closest to me and he will be very helpful when holding the enemy off, until I snap the others back to reality.


    Spear Guy was pretty much dazed and confused at this point. I think he was past the point where he cried about his appearance and should now be thinking rationally.


    All he needed was a slight push from a teammate.


    That''s what I did. I literally pushed him, then told him that everything was an illusion and there was still the enemy stalking us. Most of all, I told him that his appearance didn''t change.


    His eyes that looked lost earlier, was now brimming with life.


    The desert centipede turned back into a young man when it saw me, waking up Spear Guy. I was placed myself behind Spear Guy, so that I would notice whenever the young man tries to make a move on us.


    He creepily smiled as he dashed towards me, but before he even got near me, he was intercepted by my trusted buddy: Shield Bearer.


    This guy is a really good team player. If we''re able to work together for years, then maybe we would be undefeatable; invincible in the world. Haha. I''m really thinking too highly of myself, but that''s a bit better than undervaluing my abilities.


    The young man sent a strong punch towards Shield Bearer and he was able to push him back for a few meters. This rendered him aghast! Even I was astounded by the power behind that punch. It was a seemingly ordinary punch that even I thought was weak.


    Now this, is what a final boss should be!


    It incited the young blood inside of me and awakened my belligerence. Too bad though, I still have to wake Glasses and Daggers.


    I then told Spear Guy to help Shield Bearer hold off the enemy. If they could suppress it, then they should. I''m not really optimistic that they could kill the young man. He looked pretty intelligent to me.


    Spear Guy headed towards the fight, while I went towards Daggers. This poor girl, earlier she was terrified by the horse-man, now she looked spiritless. I don''t know what she saw, but according to what she said earlier, she already killed it. Maybe she saw the horse-man. Hahaha.


    Hmmm. I don''t know if I should pity her, or those horses that she would be encountering in the future.


    She got back to reality quite fast, but it will take her a bit of time to recover. So I let her sat on the floor to recollect herself. Next, I went to Glasses.


    He was kneeling on the floor, crying. I didn''t know what to do, so I asked him if he was okay. He was obviously crying, what a dumb question. Of course, he was not okay. Still, it''s better to ask. I might be of some help.


    "I''m alright, I can see clearly now. I was scared to death when my vision turned black. I didn''t know what I was gonna do. Hah. I''m gonna kill that f*cker!"


    I was like, Woah, calm down. He cannot fight with anger in his mind. Although it''s going to be helpful at times, it''s not always going to work. I asked Glasses to watch over Daggers, while I, join the fight! Hehe.


    Before I joined the battle, they were in a stalemate. Now that I am fighting alongside Shield Bearer and Spear Guy, the battle quickly shifted in our favor. We were suppressing him!


    An arrow flew and distracted the young man by a second and I took the chance to wound him. The young man was quick to react and managed to evade my attack, but not completely. I was able to graze his shoulder and the sleeve of his shirt was now laced with blood.


    He glared at me and retreated hastily.


    "Play time''s over." he coldly said.


    I was looking forward to see its true form. I was already thinking of animals that are fast and strong at the same time. I have no idea why I thought of animals first, but I still continued guessing.


    The young man''s black hair turned red and his body was shrinking! I didn''t know that final bosses would shrink. I thought all of them would turn red and big.


    (A/N: Like passing a certain threshold, they would turn red and big, the RED in this one implies that the boss would be really angry and Big = Strong.)


    The young man turned into a small, red, bat-like creature. I didn''t know where its hair has gone to, but it was now bald and have two horns on its forehead. Its skin was red, it also has wings and a barbed tail.


    When I saw that it has wings, I subconsciously looked towards Glasses. Good thing we have an archer, or it would be troublesome fighting this guy above.


    "You will all die! Hehehehe." This thing was really freaking me out. The way it smiles and talks made me quiver in fear. (A/N: If you guys know Veigar from League of Legends, it would surely sound like him.)


    It magically disappeared right before our eyes. The next thing I knew, my back was hurting so much and I was already flying. I was able to see the shocked faces of my teammates and saw their widely opened mouths as they watched me get fly into the distance.


    "One down. Four to go!"


    It ran towards Spear Guy and closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Spear Guy was unable to react on as he was still in shock by the teleportation of the creature. He was only able to raise his spear to block the attack.


    The punch landed on the spear, but it didn''t even hinder the fist from hitting his body and he was struck flying towards Glasses.


    It didn''t waste any time as it headed towards Daggers that was still sitting on the ground. If it was speed, then I say Shield Bearer should be faster than Daggers. Yet, the creature''s speed was clearly on par with Shield Bearer and he knew he was being played by it. So he madly ran towards Glasses, which will surely be the next target after Daggers.


    Before he could even get to Glasses, Daggers was already kicked flying by the creature. Glasses caught Daggers and along with the injured Spear Guy, they madly dashed towards the stairs.


    "What the f*ck are you guys doing!? If we can just work together then we can kill this damned beast!" Shield Bearer ran to the group while convincing them.


    Unfortunately for him, the creature stands in his way.


    "You f*ckers! Traitorous cowards! Once I kill this a**hole, I''m coming for you all!" Shield Bearer declared. This was the first time I saw him this angry, even his body was shaking uncontrollably.


    It was smiling at him, almost as if mocking him. "This is what humans are. They betray their own kind. Just quickly accept your death and everything will be fine. Or. I will make you a deal. Serve me and I will give you unimaginable power to exact your vengeance."


    "No! Don''t listen to it! He''s messing with your mind!" I shouted.


    "The both of you can serve me, and I shall bestow great powers unto you. I can see that both of you have great potential, so why not just accept the deal, humans."


    Shield Bearer''s shaking body suddenly stopped after hearing the proposition of the creature. "Me? Serve you? Go to f*cking hell!"


    He wanted to attack the creature with his shield, but the creature suddenly used magic. Fire magic! It was directed at Shield Bearer''s shield, it was like it was intending to shatter his shield and at the same time destroy his confidence.


    I won''t let that happen.


    I ran at my top speed even though I was injured, just to lessen the pressure on Shield Bearer so that he could attack. At this time, it redirected the flame and aimed towards me. I subconsciously waved my hand and willed for a tree trunk to appear. I clearly forgot that mana was chaotic in this world.


    Unexpectedly, I was able to block the fire and I also summoned a trunk. I used magic! My eyes lit up as I can finally fight to the best of my abilities. It''s been a long time since I had used magic.


    Hell yeah!


    Time for the counterattack!

 36 Final Boss 2

    It was a timely block.


    I was really taken aback when the fire went my way and in panic, I raised my left hand.


    Ah, what a good thing to happen.


    Everything that I did, obviously didn''t went unnoticed. It can be said that all three of us have different expressions on our faces when I block the enemy''s attack. I was really delighted to be able to use magic.


    Shield Bearer''s face was one of pure shock. I bet he cannot believe that I could wield magic. Hehehe. As for the freak with wings, its face looked extremely unwell.


    "You''ve hidden yourself very well, magician. You''ve given me quite a shock. Unfortunately, your power is meager. It is not enough to defeat me." the creature snorted.


    "I''ve hidden myself well? What are you talking about?" I didn''t really mind his words. I know for myself, that I''m still too weak. However, its words cannot stop the fire that was already lit inside our hearts.


    With an unstoppable speed, Shield Bearer rammed into the creature with the shield in his left hand. Now that was a good shield bash. The shield bash''s power was incredible. If it hit other creatures or maybe a human, it would''ve been catastrophic. It might leave them bleed internally or they could straight out die.


    As for this little freak, its head was already struck by the shield. Yet its head was only knocked back. Shield Bearer''s shield bash looked very strong, but not strong enough to push the enemy back! Shield Bearer was very confident with his attack. After his attack landed, he waited for a bit and took a step back to see the damage that he did towards the creature.


    I could tell that Shield Bearer''s face rarely shows his expression. Since coming into this dungeon, I only saw him get angry and shocked.


    When he took a step back, he was still maintaining a deadpan of a face. He was neither shocked nor disappointed, it''s as if he had expected that before he even made his move.


    Me? I was like an angry monkey throwing a fit of rage against the ground. I was nothing like these two pros fighting. Their skills and powers looked pretty even to me. Although Shield Bearer doesn''t wield magic, he was able to fight with it toe to toe.


    As much as I wanted to watch their fight, l didn''t want to be left out. I also wanted to become strong, like them. Viewing myself with them, I pale in comparison. Even Spear Guy was much better than me.


    I think they forgot that I am still here. Hah, perks of being weak. Always being looked down.


    With that in my mind, I slowly walked towards them. I situated myself on the blind spot of the creature.


    At this time, Shield Bearer''s sword was already broken into two by a casual chop by the enemy. So he was now fighting with a shield on his left and with his bare right hand.


    Although the fight was a bit faster than how I usually fight, my eyes could still keep with the pace. As for my mind, I don''t know yet.


    The fight wasn''t really chaotic and the fighters aren''t all over the place. Like they were on their own ring.


    I didn''t know if the Shield Bearer saw me or not, but I think he deliberately left an opening.


    "Petty tricks, human." the creature seized the opening and punched him. Shield Bearer blocked the punch with his shield and slid a meter away from his original position. While I, took the opportunity to attack it.


    I used my magic to attack its wide open back. As if it has an eye on its back, it used its ''flamethrower'' to burn my attack inch by inch.


    The Shield Bearer didn''t waste his chance to attack and did another shield bash. Although he was lacking in momentum, he was still able to disrupt its fire magic.


    The enemy staggered for a bit after his magic was disrupted. It was angry after being interrupted and sent out a punch towards Shield Bearer. It was another fast exchange of an attack and block.


    After my attack was decimated, of course I would get angry. I furiously threw my sword towards it, I really hoped to hit its head on my first try but it easily avoided it.


    It suddenly towards me and grinned like some kind of maniac.


    The way it grinned at me was very strange, like there was some sort of meaning in it. I''m going to be its next target! It would definitely ignore the Shield Bearer and rush towards me!


    Oh Sh*t!


    During all of this, the sword that was flew past the creature, was suddenly grabbed by the Shield Bearer!


    He did a quick and decisive overhead chop towards the creature, slicing the side of its neck towards the mid section of its body. It was only inches away from being completely sundered!


    "Yes!" I shouted and celebrated by punching the air in front of me.


    Shield Bearer slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. He was clearly exhausted by the intense exchange with the creature. I wasn''t even able to celebrate the win with the Shield Bearer when its body suddenly reconnected itself almost in the blink of an eye!


    "Now, you''ve really angered me! A Great Imp like me, suffering at the hands of mere mortals? This won''t do. Both of you should just die!" the Great Imp bellowed its resentment to us. Its pride was hurt after being forced into using its instant regeneration.


    It was now fuming in anger, its previously red skin was turning a bit darker in the shade of purple. The tiny horns in its head was enlarging, and so was its body; it now stood taller than me by a feet. Dark smoke was surrounding its body as it gently floated in the air like some kind of Demonic God.


    Although both of us were dumbfounded, the Shield Bearer quickly retreated towards my side while I tried to disrupt whatever kind of sorcery it was going through.


    I waved my right hand upward, as a trunk soared into the air, targeting the Great Imp. It was stopped as it reached the outer part of the black smoke. As it hit the cloud of smoke, I could see it burning in deep, purple flames! I could even feel something wrecking inside my body, as my spell was simultaneously being devoured by the purple flame!


    The pain that I was feeling made me flinch. It scared the hell out of me. So I hastily terminated the connection between me and my spell and the burning sensation was quick to subside.


    Soon, the Great Imp could be clearly seen hovering five feet in the air. The black smoke that surrounds its was now a purple flame.


    Did it evolve or something?


    "Hahahahaha! I shall thank you, humans, for helping me attain my second evolution! As a thanks, I would be gifting both of you a swift death!" its previous childish voice from its former body, which was tiny, was now loud and dignified.


    "Ha! You think you''re strong now? Watch as we beat the sh*t out of you!" it sounds pretty courageous right? Of course I was only putting up a front. I don''t know whether I would live or die after this fight. Imagine, this guy was almost invincible from the start ''til now and then he got even stronger by achieving an evolution.


    "Ohohoh. We''ll see." the Great Imp simply smirked at my response.


    After he was done speaking, he disappeared in an instant. The pretentious smile on my face was quickly turned into a frown as I watch him disappear.


    I know where he is. Behind!


    I hurriedly ducked, not just to avoid the possible attack behind me, but to also use my spell. I planted my hands on the ground as towering trunk appeared behind us. I don''t know how much mana I used on that one, but its probably a huge amount that is enough to protect both of us in a moment.


    The next thing I heard was a loud sound and pieces of the tree trunk came flying with me? Why the hell would it want to deal with me? Is it because I''m weak and I''ll be a hindrance once their fight started? Thoughts came rushing in my head as I was flying away.


    "Ahhhhhhhh!" My head hurts really really bad. I couldn''t help but scream at the intense agony that I was feeling.

 37 Final Boss 3

    Memories were flooding into my brain.


    At this moment, my mind was wandering elsewhere. I knew that I was in a life and death battle with someone a moment ago, but everything seems blurry.


    There were faint sounds of dull thuds entering my ears. It seems that there really is an on-going battle.


    I could vaguely guess that I landed pretty hard, considering that I was in a crater. Although my body was numbed, I wasn''t robbed of my senses. Then darkness was slowly starting to fill up my entire vision, as I stared at the dome-like ceiling blankly.


    I was completely engrossed with the memories. My memories, of when I was on Earth.


    I don''t really know if this was my real memory or not. I knew for sure that I am a human of Earth, but that was all I knew.


    Living on Terra for fifteen years, I already had the mind of an eighteen year old man when I ''came out'' into this place. Learning so much from such a ''young age'' filled my head with so much knowledge.


    Naturally I shouldn''t have forgotten my life on Earth. Adding my experiences on Earth to the years that I have on Terra, it only sums up to more or less thirty three years.


    The memories were both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. I knew for sure that the Great Imp can mess with my mind. It already did the same thing to the group earlier. But now it seems that it was solely casted to me. So it can probably do this much.


    There were tons of memories and I wasn''t able to completely process everything. There were still the Shield Bearer holding off the Great Imp, I cannot let him wait for so long.


    Then suddenly, a memory regarding my family back on Earth floated in my thoughts. I was intrigued and did a quick check. Although I think that I''m still inside the spell of the Great Imp, everything was just so real.


    I don''t care anymore! No matter how long it would take me, I need to see this now. This felt really important for me.


    It wasn''t really hard to stimulate the memoriesin my brain.


    In the memory, I had a good-looking father. He was probably in his forties. Next was my mother, she was really beautiful considering her age to be the same as my father. However the passage of time affected her face and traces of wrinkles could be seen.


    I also have a little sister and a younger brother! It''s like on Terra where I have two siblings, but an older brother instead of a younger brother.


    My little sister has her similarities with Mari in the way that they act. Both of them are like cute little bunnies hopping around the house and they looked to be of the same age. If fate allows it, then I hope they would meet. They could be the best of friends.


    Next was my younger brother. Upon seeing his face, I was dumbstrucked!


    This!


    He looks like the Shield Bearer! So that''s why he looked overly familiar! They have the same face, body build, everything!


    However his personality, doesn''t seem to be the same as my brother''s. My brother''s not cold, he''s definitely a happy and cheerful person. If both of them were seen together, people would think that they are twins.


    Since he looks just like my brother from Earth, I''ll be sure to protect him. I tried breaking out of the spell that was casted on me and it proved to be easy.


    I''m already back in the dungeon.


    My ears were ringing and I could feel my body regaining its strength as my consciousness started returning to me.


    The moment that I regained my senses, a pain that came from the back of my head emerged and it caused me to flinch.


    Was I struck here? I wondered as I touched the back of my head to check if I was injured in any way. I took back my hand and found that there were neither bumps nor blood from my head.


    Hmmm. None? Then good for me.


    I sat down and looked around the room, I could see many small craters, fresh blood, cracked floor, burnt ground and some broken pillars.


    I think the only place that hasn''t been damaged was the throne. Everything was in a mess, like it was some kind of warzone.


    The Great Imp and Shield Bearer were currently fighting near me, like only a few meters away from me. They were currently on a standoff, both of them just looked at each other.


    I couldn''t really see Shield Bearer''s face as his back was facing me. As for the Great Imp, it was smiling mischievously or more like a triumphant smile.


    Come to think of it, the only place that hasn''t been damaged was the throne and the area around me!


    That was aside from the mini crater I was in of course.


    Has he been protecting me all this time? He was fighting here, while I was indulging myself in the memories made by the spell!


    This is unforgivable! I need to help him now!


    I tried forcing myself to stand up, but even my arms are shivering from only helping me stand.


    No! This won''t do!


    "Hoh! You''re quite fast in breaking away from my spell! Most people would''ve been in coma for a few days or so. Yet you''re quite remarkable."


    "What magic did you cast?" I asked. I was only trying to buy some time for Shield Bearer by asking this question.


    "What magic, you say? Hmmm. I only opened up a sealed memory in your brain. Hehe. If I recall correctly, most sealed memories are unpleasant ones. Hehe. Did you have a good time?"


    What!? So there''s a chance that this Shield Bearer is my brother? Considering that I was summoned to Terra, was he summoned somewhere too?


    No, no, no! He may look like my brother but he''s completely different from him.


    Seeing my sour expression, the Great Imp followed and said "You think you''re clever enough and brought your precious friend some time? Hahaha! Humans are really idiots! You didn''t brought him time, but you made his body lax! And you know what that means? That means death!"


    Upon hearing this, both me and the Shield Bearer flinched.


    Did it saw Shield Bearer become lax or did it guess? I think it knew.


    I watched in horror as I it leaped towards Shield Bearer with its right hand raised up high! Its speed wasn''t really fast at this point. As I was able to see its claws emerging as its hand was going down.


    Shield Bearer looked at me meaningfully then smiled. I knew that smile! He''s my brother, Victor!


    I was snapped out of my thoughts as there was a clear sound of metal breaking. I saw its hand cleaving the indestructible shield of my brother into two.


    It then used its left hand and held unto Victor''s neck and pulled him up the ground. "You did good kid, but not good enough!" After saying his piece, he mercilessly slammed my brother into the ground!


    He continuously slammed him as if my brother was some kind of broken toy. My brother wasn''t really able to do a thing. He has overexerted his strength trying to protect me.


    No! No! This can''t be happening! I don''t care if this is all under the effect of Gaia''s fruit or something!


    Stop! Please don''t hurt him anymore! He''s not even fighting back! Please!


    I called out to the Great Imp and he stopped for a second and looked at me.


    "With your words alone? You think that, will make me stop!? Huh!?" the Great Imp uttered in a mocking and arrogant tone as it continued to slam my brother.


    My eyes became blurry and I know that it was because of the formation of tears.


    No! Please! Stop! I whimpered.


    Move! I gotta move! I used my hand and slammed it against my thighs as if doing this would empower me to move.


    Unfortunately, I really can''t.


    I started shivering non-stop. I could feel my left eye''s lower eyelid twitching in sync with my shivers.


    No! No! No! No! No! Ahhhhhhhhh! I bellowed madly!


    Out of nowhere, strength seemed to be fueling me as I stood up. I stared murderously at the Great Imp. As my vision was starting to go red and I could clearly see much more, like there was another eye above my head floating in the void. My control over my body seemed to be weakening.


    I don''t know if it was just me or the room temperature has suddenly gone down. I could clearly see the Great Imp trembling. And then I spoke in a very low and cold tone that I never knew that I can.


    "You think you''re strong enough slamming my brother mercilessly? You better open your f*cking eyes as I shatter your limbs to smithereens!"

 38 Final Boss 4

    The bottled up anger from helplessly watching my brother getting pummeled to the ground was giving me a strange and newfound strength.


    I could feel it!


    I slowly walked towards them as I saw my sword on the ground lying on the side of my Brother. When I finally arrived, I slowly bended my body as I tried to reach for the sword.


    The openings that I left when I was picking the sword was intentional. I was luring the Great Imp to attack me so that I could end all of this quickly, that was but a wishful thinking on my part.


    The Great Imp stood still on his spot and didn''t move an inch even though I left holes. I was wondering why the Great Imp didn''t move, when it suddenly spoke.


    "Now that you''ve picked up a weapon, we should start a real battle. I was really disappointed by your friend. I thought he was really strong, but for almost an hour, all he did was defend. He wasn''t even fighting back even when talked trash. It wasn''t really entertaining."


    What did it say? An hour? My brother''s been protecting me for an hour!?


    "F*ck you too." I really didn''t know why I said those words but it unintentionally came out of me.


    Then I started running madly towards him. When I was halfway through, I used my spell with left hand as the tree trunk propelled me forward at a speed much faster than I ran.


    I immediately canceled my spell before half a meter away from the Great Imp. Then I made it look like I was swinging my sword to attack him.


    "Hah! Full of openings!" The Great Imp shouted jubilantly. Its claws glimmered as it thrusted its hand forward to pierce me. There was an unknown liquid in its claws, but I didn''t know what it was as the color of my vision was red.


    I smirked when I saw it so full of itself. I already planned everything beforehand.Before it could even thrust its arms, my bended knees straightened and then my feet touched the ground.


    As its hand arrived, I was already ducking and its arm passed over my head. It wasn''t able to entirely change the trajectory of the attack and can only make it slightly lower.


    With a wide open enemy to hit, I will take this chance to make it suffer! The sword that was rested on my left shoulder when I lured it into my act, was still there.


    I did a half moon swing and its arm was chopped off. The arm fell on me and the Great Imp reflexively pulled its inextistent ''arm'' back.


    "Ahhhhh! You piece of sh*t! I''m going to rip you to shreds!" the Great Imp bellowed in anger. Its other hand that was stopping the blood on the chopped arm, summoned a purplish flame.


    ''Sizzle!''


    The flame burned the arm, as the sound of flesh sizzling entered my ears.


    Hmmm. Why is not regenerating its own arm? Was regenerating a one time use or regenerating has such a terrible price on it? Either way, everything is looking good for me.


    I didn''t know why but I suddenly lost control of my body. Although earlier, I could still control it, now my control over my body was gone.


    What the hell!? No!


    It was as if my soul was pushed out of my body and I saw it rushing towards the Great Imp.


    While holding the sword, my body did a swift thrust aiming towards the chest area where the heart should be.


    No! If it dies again maybe it will instantly regenerate and that is no good! Aim for the shoulder!


    Since I had no control over my body, I could only watch as the sword pierce through the shoulder of the Great Imp!


    I was astounded! The sword was obviously aimed towards the the Great Imp''s heart! Even though the Great Imp dodged, how was it able to pierce its shoulder? Was all of it a coincidence? Or was it calculated?


    No, I''m not buying it.


    Having the Great Imp''s arm pierced, it jumped back with the assistance of its wings. I saw its other arm fell limp as it no longer holding its bloodied arm.


    Yeah, this is how it should be. Next, I should be aiming for its legs. I once again tried my theory if could command my body.


    I didn''t know for sure, but my body dashed towards the Great Imp. Although its arms was no longer a threat, it still has its fire, legs and wings.


    W-wait wings? Why didn''t it use its wings to evade earlier? Was it overconfident?


    I saw the Great Imp opening its mouth. A fire attack? Evade! I commanded inside my head. Before the fire inside its mouth could fly out.


    My body waved my left arm and suddenly ducked. Then a thick root shot out just in time to block the fire attack. No, not block the fire attack, but to counterattack!


    I was rendered aghast. But the fireball!


    Ha! I sighed a breath of relief as my body wasn''t hurt in the slightest, because it already ducked and did a quick tumble to the front.


    Wow! I didn''t know I could do that! Ah- no, I just didn''t have the opportunity to.


    When my body stood up, the counterattack arrived. It pierced through the left side of the demon! And a sudden gushing stream of blood came out of its chest.


    No! You''re going to kill it! It was too late. The Great Imp should be using its instant regeneration.


    Haaaa.


    I lamented at the fact that I have to start fighting the Great Imp all over again. I didn''t have enough stamina or skill to fight such a creature. I know where my weakness lies. I know it damn well than anybody.


    I guess we''re really dying today. I wanted to look at Victor but my vision was still fixated on the Great Imp. I could see its body kneeling on the ground still twitching.


    My body walked towards the Great Imp and summoned a branch with leaves on it. Then it took out all the leaves and stuffed it inside the hole of the Great Imp''s chest. I watched as the blood miraculously stopped gushing out!


    What!? Those leaves can heal?


    It mercilessly kicked the Imp and its body was now lying on the ground.


    "No! No! Don''t do this! I''ll grant you anything! Everything! Ahhhh!"


    My hand turned the sword, pointing towards the ground. It pierced the Great Imp''s thigh and kept on rocking it back and forth. It looked as if it was trying to remove its thighs from its body!


    "No! No! No! Please! Ahhhhhhh!" the ''not so'' Great Imp kep begging for mercy. I wanted to stop my body from hurting it anymore.


    I cannot do such a thing. Torturing an enemy when it couldn''t even fight anymore was a no-no for me.


    Finally, colors were starting fill my sight. It was no longer all-red. Haaaa. I sighed.


    It''s a good thing that I could now control my body. I slumped down on the ground as the injuries and exhaustion finally kicked in.


    I could only lie down, but it does put a smile on my face. Everything was now finished! We cleared the dungeon and defeated the fire-wielding Great Imp!


    Not bad for beginners like us, I guess. Not to mention, there were only two of us.


    I could hear the sound of footsteps walking towards me. So I called out to him.


    "You did a great job, Victor!" I said. Although I was exhausted, I could still talk.


    The footsteps stopped and I heard a chuckle. I bet he was shocked that I knew his name. Haha.


    "Yeah, you too brother!" He said.


    My eyes went wide. Brother!? He''s really my brother!


    "You''re really Victor!? From Earth?" I asked.


    "Uhhh- Yes? Why are you so shocked brother? Didn''t you send me here?"


    "I did?"


    "Yeah, one day you came running towards me and said something mysteriously. ''You have to protect the tree'', that''s what you said."


    "Ah- yes." I absent mindedly answered. I have no idea what he was talking about, but oh well.


    "Brother, I have to tell you something. I- No you dont!"


    I saw Victor jumping towards me hurriedly. Then I saw a flash of light chopping off my brother''s right arm and entering the left side of his chest!


    "Noooooooo!" I bellowed.

 39 Victor? 1

    No!


    My mind was in a mess. After all the ups and downs, this is what I get?


    It''s not fair! Damn it! It''s not fair!!!


    I stubbornly sat up, despite all the injuries and exhaustion. Crawling hurriedly towards my brother to check if he''s still alive. Well he should be.


    No, he''s still alive. I keep on convincing myself, thinking that he''s alive. As if doing this would keep me sane. I was hoping for a miracle to happen. No matter the cost, I''ll save him.


    I reached for his neck to see if there was a pulse and positioned my ear next to his nose to hear if he was still breathing. Blood was pouring out of his chest and on his right arm too.


    Thank God that he''s alive, or I don''t know what I would do. He said that I brought him here for something, yet I would be the one killing him.


    His right forearm was now gone and he only has his left remaining. As for the grave wound on his chest... I have to think of something.


    Right! My eyes lit up and I kept on thinking along the lines of ''anything that will help my brother'' while I summoned a tree branch with leaves on it.


    I imitated the one that my body did when it was against the Great Imp, when it summoned a branch and stuffed the leaves directly on wound.


    "Ahhhh!" Victor screamed in pain, as I still kept on stuffing leaves on his chest. After seeing that the blood has stopped pouring out of his body, I turned to look at the Great Imp that was kneeling not far away.


    I stood up without moving my gaze away from it. Walking ever so slowly towards the Great Imp, my heart was feeling endless hate and deep anguish.


    "How dare you b*st*rd!" When I was facing it, I ferociously slapped the Great Imp''s face.


    "Kek." as a response to the slap, the Great Imp simply smirked and looked at me with scorn.


    My vision started turning red, I really didn''t care anymore. F*ck this Imp!


    "Ahhhh!" with an enraged howl I removed the final limb that was supporting the Great Imp.


    ''Swooosh!''


    I kept on swinging my sword, slicing the Great Imp''s body. But I was really careful not to hit its vital spots or hit it deep in its flesh.


    "Hahahaha! Look at you human, oh how pitiful have you become."the Great Imp''s mere words exasperated me. Even though I was slicing its skin every second, it still continues to infuriate me.


    "F*ck you, you f*cking ape!" I still tried to control myself not to kill the Great Imp. I don''t want it to die just yet.


    "Hahahahahaha! You think you''re so strong huh? Human! Let the three of us perish together!" with a mad glee on its face, its body was beginning to inflate.


    "What are you trying to do!?" I asked it. I was really panicking at this point as I could sense a great danger coming from its bloated appearance.


    "Run!" a weak voice entered my ears. It was Victor''s!


    "It''s self *cough* destructing! *cough cough*" it broke my heart seeing my brother like this.


    "No, I''m not going to run. If you die, I die! We die as brothers!" it''s not like I can run away carrying Victor, but I really can''t run anymore. I walked towards Victor in due haste and kneeled beside him.


    I closed my eyes and willed for all the mana in my body to conjure into the thickest trunk I have ever summoned in my entire life. I stuck close into the trunk and gently leaned on it, while hugging my dear brother to protect him from any harm in case my spell isn''t capable of sheltering us.


    It was my final struggle. Whether we live or die, depends on this.


    ''BOOM!''


    An earth-shattering boom resounded in the whole dungeon. Swathes of dark purple flame engulfed the entire floor. We weren''t an exception to those flames. I quickly changed spots with Victor when I saw the flames coming near us.


    I placed his face near my chest so that it wouldn''t get burnt. Then I hugged him once again.


    "This is the least what elder brother can do for you." I whispered the words next to his hear and gently smiled, for I knew that this would be the end of me.


    "Live on." I said. When I said those words, I could feel Victor quivering on my embrace. Hmmm. He''s not unconscious? Too bad.


    "Sorry." I said while removing my hand that was clutching his head and did a quick chop towards the lower back of his neck. I could then feel his body softening. It was a success, I made him unconscious. It''s better for him to be asleep than to feel the torture of being burnt alive.


    I lost all hope and I could even feel the ground shaking as the dark purple flames engulfed the both of us.


    "Ahhhhh!" the dark purple flames was crawling on my skin. I tightly shut of my eyes to protect it from being burnt.


    There was a searing pain coming from all over my body. It was hard to describe the pain that I was going through. It was like someone was flaying my skin inch by inch. The flamea were piercing my flesh thoroughly.


    I wanted to cry but no tears was coming out of it.


    After an unknown time has passed, I was still clinging to my dear life. The pain of being burned alive has numbed me and at the same time, it caused me unimaginable pain. I could only grit my teeth and persevere.


    I originally thought that I could calmly face death. But when death was in front of me, killing me ever so slowly, I began to cower in terror.


    I didn''t want to die. Please! Anyone! Help! I hugged my brother tightly. The pain was just overbearing. I can''t take it anymore. I''m going to die!


    ...


    ''Sizzle! Sizzle!''


    The dark purple flame that burned the entire third floor was instantly extinguished by an unknown force.


    ''Hiss! Hiss!''


    The extinguished flames made the whole room hot and steamy.


    Victor, who had just woken up, gazed at the catastrophic scene. He immediately covered his nose to prevent himself from suffocating.


    He could feel his body hurting all over. There were even searing pain on his sides.


    Since he had just woken up, his mind was still fuzzy and he was tried sorting out the events that transpired in his mind. It didn''t take him long to recall a few things.


    ''Oh sh*t! Brother! Where is he?'' he panicked. He remembered that his brother was protecting him when he heard a loud explosion. Then suddenly, everything went black.


    Before he could even look around, he already saw something. There was a burnt black body in front of him. Then his eyes turnes misty and he cried.


    "Brother! No! Ahhhhhh!" he cried in anguish. This was scene was a torment for him. All the pain that he was feeling, was moved to the back of his mind.


    "Someone help! Please!" it was but a futile attempt of asking for help. Victor knew for himself that there were no other beings here aside from him and the Great Imp!


    ''The Great Imp!'' his eyes lit up and a crazy idea surged in his mind. He turned around and saw that there really was the Great Imp. More importantly, it was still alive and healthy!


    ''What! Didn''t it self-destruct? How can it still be alive!? No way!'' despair filled the once hopeful face of Victor as he gazed at the murderous eyes of the Great Imp.


    "Shocked aren''t you? Even I didn''t expect two puny humans, able to kill me twice." it said while raising two of its fingers.


    "Both of you are dead anyways. I''ll just give you both a quick death as gift for killing me twice." it continued.


    "Can you heal my brother? Please! I can be your slave for life! Please spare him." Victor suddenly asked. Hoping that this Great Imp could heal his brother. Since the Great Imp could heal itself, then it should be able to heal his brother.


    "That''s quite bold of you to ask your enemy to heal your brother. Are you mad or something? Even I wouldn''t ask my enemies for either help or forgiveness." the Great Imp said. It continued to gaze at Victor''s eyes.


    "Hey kid, I could heal him. But you have to pay a terrible price. Do you want to take a gamble?"


    "Yes!" Victor answered happily, seeing that the Great Imp was moved by his undying will and maybe a bit of madness.


    "Hahahahaha! You don''t fail to amuse me human. I can never heal your brother, moreover, I would want to see you die!" the Great Imp said. It used its wings fly at a terrifying speed towards him.


    Victor could only resign to his fate and made a pitiful smile.


    "Hahahah- huk!" When the Great Imp''s claws was about to reach him. The Great Imp''s mad laughter was stopped.


    Victor looked up and saw that there was someone holding the neck of the Great Imp. He seemed to be an old man, judging by the long white hair he had.


    "Enough with your arrogance, you dirty imp." a deep ancient voice sounded all over the place. It was hard to pinpoint the location of the voice, but Victor knew that it came from the old man.


    "Who are you, you dirty b*st*rd!?" the Great Imp was feeling cocky since it was able to escape two deaths.


    "Hmph. A mere Imp, do you not recognize yourmaster?" the white-haired Old Man snorted. He didn''t really put the Imp in his eyes. To him, such a creature was akin to an ant.


    "Master? What dog fart are you talking about?" although its eyes showed fear, it remained to be unyielding.


    "Dirty creature, I brought you here to train them, not to display your arrogance towards me! You already died twice, to a human at that. Are you not ashamed of yourself?"


    "Kill me then! Haha! I know you wouldn''t kill me. You''ve had your eyes on me since I was young. Hahahahaha." the Great Imp mocked the old man with its words.


    "Hmph! Ignorant fool. Die!" the old man squeezed his hands that was clutching the Great Imp''s neck.


    It wasn''t even able to emit a sound as it died completely without any chance of resurrection.


    "Hey kid, your brother''s on the verge of dying. Close your wide open mouth and come here."


    Victor who was watching the scene, was shocked by the strength of the old man. The old man was definitely a big figure. Why was here?


    "Come here!" Victor subconsciously walked towards the old man. It was a commanding voice, that wasn''t taking no for an answer.


    "I can save your brother''s life, do you want to gamble with yours?"

 40 Victor? 2

    "So kid, do you want to gamble with your life?" the old man asked Victor. He was completely out of it. First, his mind was in a mess; filled with anger, hate and guilt. Now, he felt shock, terror and a hint of reverence.


    This old man was just too strong, to be able to bare-handedly kill the Great Imp that made Victor and Alex dread. Although the old man might have been lucky and killed it easily because it was, maybe, on a weakened state.


    The fact that the old man asked Victor to take a gamble was because the old man had a way of saving his brother. Victor''s eyes lit up in the hopes of saving his older brother.


    "Yes, yes! Anything! I will do anything to save my brother! Please!" he quickly agreed to the old man. He didn''t even think twice about the consequences that may occur later on.


    ''Hmmm? Brother? How can the kid have brother in here? He clearly ate Gaia''s Gem. Oh Yes. I forgot. Maybe he considers him a brother after the life and death battle they''ve been through.


    "I like your resolve, young man. Hmmm. What''s your name?"


    "Victor? But what about my brothe-"


    "Don''t worry about him, we''ll save him later. As for you, do you know the effects of a demon core once absorbed by a human?"


    "D-demon core? That''s a good stuff that could be sold for a high price. Ah, n-no, sorry. I do not know what it does." he flashed an embarassed smile.


    His life was a bit complicated when he came here. He was an orphan inside a small clan. Oftentimes he would go out to look and venture the ''outside world''. Then he would be bullied or beaten up by people from their rival clan, which was stronger than theirs.


    The outcome was easily envisioned. He was always lying on the bed, tending to his own injuries. The thought of fighting back crossed his mind, however he didn''t want to be the reason of his clan''s doom.


    He could only swallow his anger and train. For one day, he would be taking his revenge.


    "What an interesting human. With an age like yours, most people would''ve had the knowledge regarding this." the old man said as he let Victor see the demon core.


    "Anyways, you would be absorbing most of this, so that it wouldn''t be strong enough to destroy your brother''s body."


    "Uhm, can''t you just help him heal. I don''t know what it does, but it looks very harmful."


    "Oho! That''s not how it works, young man. Where did your resolve go? Either you absorb this, or he dies. Choose." The old man then threw the demon core straight into Victor''s hand.


    "You better choose now. Your brother''s not going to wait for you."


    "Uhm. How do I use this thing?"


    ''Smack!''


    "Oh my dear father. Why am I here again?" the old man smacked his face and murmured.


    "Life''s never been good for me. Would you mind helping me out?"


    "Haaaa. Okay then. Close your eyes and imagine an unknown energy on the demon core that you''re holding. Do you feel it?"


    "Yes."


    "Good. Then place it on your chopped off arm and will for the energy to go inside you."


    After the old man spoke a screamed escaped the lips of Victor.


    "Ahhhhhhh!"


    "Don''t worry about it, it''ll pass. Just hold on." the old man tried to calm Victor down. The old man knew just how painful it was for a human to absorb a demon core. In most cases of absorption, humans die almost always.


    This was the reason the old man asked Victor, if he would like to gamble his life to save his brother''s.


    A minute has passed and Victor was barely holding only through the tenacity of his will.


    The demon core in his hand has considerably shrunk and was now a third of its original size.


    The old man quickly waved his hands and demon core flew into his hands. Then he walked leisurely towards the burnt body of Alex.


    He crouched down and sliced open the chest of Alex. The old man placed his bare hands directly in the still beating heart of Alex.


    A warm and chaotic energy was being continuously poured inside the body of Alex.


    ...


    *DING*


    *Huge amount of mana detected.*


    *Absorbing.*


    *System Update... 0%*


    What is this? Am I not dead yet?


    I felt like I was sleeping peacefully and automatically woke up on my own. It was a satisfying sleep to be exact.


    I immediately sat up and inspected my whole body if I was really alive.


    Oh my! I''m still alive. Hahaha! and Naked? I looked down and to my surprise, I was wearing pants?


    How the hell did this happen? Oh wait! I''m back on Earth.


    I looked around in search of my old room, but was disappointed greatly. I didn''t find my old, but an old man. The same old man that transforms into a centipede. Great!


    "Are you awake now? Your so called brother, here is absorbing a huge amount of mana from a demon core. Come, let''s watch and cheer for him."


    I could see my brother, Victor, sitting on the ground screaming in pain.


    "What! Why would you let him do that! That''s dangerous!" I was quickly angered by the words of the old man.


    "He did it himself. To save you." he answered me calmly, like I''m some kind of ant.


    "To save me? Can I do anything for him? Are there any side-effects? You better help him!"


    "Indeed, to save you. No, you can''t do anything. If he''s successful then it will be his fortune, if not... Hmmm. Who knows? As for the side-effects, considering the habits of the little Imp, the absorption may rob of his emotions. No, most of his emotions. There will only be the negative ones."


    Despite being barraged by questions, the old man calmly answered them.


    After an unknown amount of time has passed. Victor, who was sitting on the ground opened his eyes and stood up.


    His right forearm, has now regenerated and he seemed to be a bit taller, and bigger.


    "The demon core wasn''t fully absorbed, it was too much for me." Victor coldly said while showing another core in his right hand.


    "Hmmm. Aren''t you a bit lucky? Well then, I''ll help you with that."


    ''Swooosh!''


    With a wave of a hand, the core and Victor''s broken shield flew into the hands of the old man.


    He placed the core in the middle of the shield and then the shield started pulsing; reconnecting itself!


    "Hahaha! This is your fortune." he threw the shield back to Victor, which the latter caught with the use of his new right hand.


    "As for you. You''ve seen enough. Your fortune ends here."


    *Clap! Clap!*


    That was the last thing I heard and saw. The old man, clapping his hands while facing me. He even has this mischievous smile that I would like to punch.


    Soon enough, I was back to the dark and gloomy room.


    My reality. More like, my imagination.

 41 Tartarus 1

    The dark room.


    It was still as bone-chilling as ever; as dark as pitch and creepy as hell.


    This was already Alex''s second time inside the dark room. Yet, it still give him the creeps, like countless eyes are staring right at him. It was a very weird feeling or he might just be paranoid.


    "Woah! Now that was new! I hope that everything was just made up." he hopes that everything really was a dream. But the scenes were so lifelike, moreover, what did he gain when he ate the fruit? Nothing!


    Fighting experience maybe? But that was like what? Three days worth of fighting? Or maybe there was some sort of message or information at that time.


    "Hmmm. Young man. You have passed my tests. I shall bestow you with something that could either be good or bad." a deep ancient voice entered the ears of Alex.


    "Old Man!" This was the voice of the old centipede back at that world.


    "Now, now. There''s nothing to be excited about, human." the old man said, as if calming a child.


    After calming Alex down, the old man continued, "Okay, so here''s the thing. After eating Gaia''s Gem you were or your soul rather, was brought here in this dreamscape. Am I correct?"


    "Yes. But wha-" Alex answered, he wanted to ask something to the old man but was immediately interrupted.


    "Da da da da. Less talking. Got it?" Alex nodded his head as a sign of understanding. "Good. Then I shall continue."


    (A/N: The old man just interrupted and wanted for Alex to stop talking.)


    "After arriving outside the rooms, you did nothing right? You just waited for nothing. Just nod your head or shake it." Seeing Alex nod his head again like a chicken did the old man continue.


    "After quite some time, you realized that there were only two choices ahead of you. You either choose the black room or the white one. The black room was what you chose, that''s why we''re in here. Can you tell me why did you chose the black room without any hesitation?"


    Hearing that the old man was asking, he didn''t dare to let him wait and told the old man regarding the strange dream before the ripening of the fruit.


    Although Alex cannot see the old man''s face, he knew that the old man would have a frown on his face while thinking deeply at his story.


    A few minutes after Alex narrated his story, the old man spoke again. "It must have been fate''s doing. Well then, I shall continue. Hehe."


    "If you did not choose the black room, then you wouldn''t have met me, instead you would be welcomed by Gaia. She was a renowned Goddess by the people Terra, hence the name of Gaia''s Gem.


    "Aside from that, you have me. I am Tartarus. I don''t have a good reputation here on Terra. My name was always used to threaten kids of the ancient times. Hehe. I was the complete opposite of Gaia. Gaia is just ... wonderful. I cannot really describe her to you.


    "Deemed as the complete opposite of Gaia. I was labeled by the Terrans as some kind of villain, an Evil God and all the negatives that they could think of. Even my magical arts wasn''t spared and was called evil arts.


    "Although it pains me sometimes, being called names by puny mortals. I wasn''t offended and used my powers to kill those who besmirched my name. In fact I accepted it.


    "In every coin there will always be the other side. Good or bad, black or white. Sometimes people would either feed their loved ones the dark truth or a white lie. In the end, all of us makes a choice.


    "The Terrans chose sides, I chose to accept it. You chose the dark room and I chose to reward you. Fate chose you, to be in contact with the Gods. Everyones choices matters, it can either affect you directly or indirectly.


    "Hmmm. By being in contact with the Gods, you met me, here in the dark room. You met the old Chaos or maybe just his magic back in your dreams. As for Gaia, I''m pretty sure you already met her. After hearing your story, this was all that I could think of."


    Even if Alex couldn''t see the old man, he knew that the old man would be smiling from ear to ear right now. "Indeed. I already met Gaia." Alex calmly answered with a smile.


    "Hoh. Don''t tell me anything anymore, that was your lucky encounter. Indeed I am right! Hahaha!" the old man was laughing his heads off like some kind of kid that discovered the taste of a candy.


    "It seems to me like you have gained something from them, so I would be giving you something too." the old man stopped talking and a red ''gas'' was floating all around the room. It was like a source of a dim light. It started off with an insignificant amount then it surrounded the whole room.


    "When you were in the future, you''ve been exposed to madness almost everyday. Like twice in your three days of stay. Anyway, I would grant you the power of Madness." After speaking the red ''gas'' of madness began swirling. All of it was slowly surrounding Alex.


    Alex was quite afraid of this red gas, however he still asked a question to the old man; afraid that he wouldn''t hear him, he shouted.


    "Future? I went to the future!? What are you talking about old man? How can I be on the future!?" the words of the old man frightened him. In the future, his brother, Victor, would also be exposed to such killing and cruelty. That didn''t sound right to him. But then again, Victor said that he was the one who brought him there.


    "Hmmm? You didn''t know that you were sent to the future? How can that be? For generations, those who ate the fruit knows this. How can you not know it?"


    Alex could still hear the old man''s words, but the old man''s voice was being drowned by the surrounding red gas. At this time, his senses were being numbed as if corroding him. The red gas was slowly entering him and his vision was turning red once more.


    "Ahhhhhhhh!" a torturous pain assaulted him as an agonized scream escaped from his lips. Ever since he became a mage or since cominginto contact with the Silverback Gorillas he was always in pain and was constantly passing out too.


    Alex didn''t know if he would last for another tormenting pain like this. It would be nice if he would never feel pain like this anymore.


    Beads of sweat started forming on his forehead as the veins in it bulged. His face was turning red and his breathing became ragged.


    He kept on screaming but his voice turned into hoarse whisper.


    An unknown amount of time passed and the ''torture'' came to a sudden halt, like it was turned off, instantly vanishing into thin air.

 42 Tartarus 2

    When Alex opened his tear-stained eyes, everything was back to normal. No red filled vision, no more red gas; only the pitch black of nothingness.


    His clothes were drenched with sweat and he felt hunger like never before.


    ''It seems like the red gas has sapped me off my strength. I feel feeble and I don''t think I would be able to stand for now.'' He looked down to see his hands and saw what seemed to be the most horrifying thing he had ever seen.


    He became very skinny! Looking at his hands, it''s as if the skin became a very thin cover for his fingers.


    "W-what have you done!?" with a hint of madness and a tinge of fear, he shouted. He was unable to locate the old man, nonetheless he mustered up his courage and yelled in front of him.


    He was not afraid that the old man would become angry. To be exact, he felt nothing. Like complaining to the old man was the natural thing to do, regardless if he was angry or not.


    "I granted you a gift. Wasn''t that what you wanted? Something good?" the old man asked playfully.


    "Well. Yes but, why did you make me into a bag of bones!?" He could not believe that the old man turned him into something akin to a dead man. This was ridiculous!


    He swore to himself that if he was powerful enough in the future, this old man would surely get a good prank from him. He didn''t care if it was a bit childish.


    Upon hearing Alex''s reply, the old man still wanted to tease him a bit but decided against it. Even though he was quite old, playful and powerful, the old man was quite sensible and good-natured.


    "Hahaha. Calm down, young man. This is not a prank, okay? I just readjusted your appearance from the real world to this dreamscape, so that when you go out, you won''t wantonly kill less powerful beings in a fit of anger."


    "This is how I look outside? Why? H-how?" his body trembled when he heard the old man''s voice.


    "You''ve spent almost three days worth of future. Do you think that was without consequences? Nothing is given free in this world kid."


    Alex knew that. In fact he was able to recall a certain anime back on earth about two alchemists. Something about; one cannot gain anything without losing something.


    "What was the consequence of staying in the future for almost three days?" Alex asked fearfully. He wasn''t sure whether it was merely a few years, decades, or even centuries. He didn''t have a mirror to properly guess his age.


    ''Mirrors don''t work with the current me. I''m only a bag of bones, there is nothing to look at. But one thing is for sure. My hair is still black!'' He was sulking over his current situation which made him bow and think things.


    His hair that was always cut short was now long. He touched his chin if there was a beard, but he found nothing.


    ''Maybe only a few years have passed. Or maybe I went back in time! No. That''s dumb.''


    "How many years have passed?" he asked the old man.


    "Since you were only there for two and a half days. Hmmmm. Then just change the days into years and that''s how many years have passed."


    "Two and a half years! So I''m probably 17 now. And all I gained was knowing how to kill?"


    "Hmmm. Remember that I gave you a gift and it is called Madness. I noticed that you were afraid to hurt any beings and it would be your downfall in the future. Madness is a bit complicated for you right now. It is a state of being in a frenzy and you will be unpredictable. Sounds good right?"


    "It sounds good indeed, but was Madness the thing that makes my vision go red?"


    "Yes."


    "But it''s very hard to control! I can only be a spectator at times." Alex complained. The reason that he didn''t complained more about it, was because it helped him kill the Great Imp or rather restrain the it to be exact.


    "That is for you to master in the future. The road to godhood is hard. You would never have it easy."


    "Huh? What are you talking about?" the old man turned into his mysterious mode again.


    ''Godhood? I just wanted to live an ordinary life. Why would I even get dragged into something involving the Gods?'' he didn''t really understand what the old man was saying. So he just shrugged it off as a complete nonsense.


    After hearing no reply from the old man, Alex continued to talk. "Anyways, how do I activate this Madness, you speak of?"


    "Extreme anger, young man. However you should control your anger most of the times so you could direct it towards your enemies, lest you hurt yourself or your allies."


    Alex bowed his head thinking carefully of some things. He wasn''t one to be angered easily, so this Madness wouldn''t be used most of the time. He also thought of abusing Madness by using it always.


    However, it might have side effects that may cause his mind to become twisted and he didn''t want that to happen.


    Then his mind wandered about the things that he might have missed in these two and a half years.


    His mother, along with his brother and little sister should be very worried. He didn''t know when he would be able to return to them.


    " Uhhhm. Is that so? Then, how can I go out of this dreamscape?"


    "You don''t want to accompany this old man anymore? Hmmmm?" the old man said in a regretful tone.


    "I''m sorry but there''s a lot of things I need to do outside."


    "Okay then, just tell me when you are ready and I''ll send you out right away."


    He didn''t forget to say his thanks to the old man before saying that he was ready to be sent out.


    Even though the old man was quite cryptic with his words and playful at times, he was undoubtedly helpful for him.


    "Such a shame that this wasn''t my era. If you weren''t her champion then we would''ve made a good team."


    When he was being sent out, he heard the old man sighing.


    ''Champion? What''s that?'' he didn''t have time to ruminate about it as he was being sent out of the dreamscape.


    With a whoosh, he finally disappeared in the dark room as if blending in the darkness.

 43 Ism Back

    After a moment of dizziness, his closed eyes that was accustomed to darkness was assaulted by a slight pain caused by sunlight.


    Slowly opening his heavy eyelids, he sat down clutching the side of his head. He gazed at the sight around him.


    He was surrounded by countless flowers that sprouted from the sand? Eh? He touched the ground he was sitting and found that it was really sand.


    Then his eyes were attracted by many lush and verdant trees and the pond from where he scooped water from ''a few days'' ago was now almost as big as a lake.


    He was astonished at the fact that this once an oasis, turned into something akin to a paradise in the middle of the desert.


    ''But what happened here? How can there be so many trees in the span of a few years that I''m out?''


    As if knowing what he was thinking, a deep voice bellowed behind him, its voice made him cringe momentarily. "What do we got here? The human has finally awakened."


    He quickly moved forward to distance himself away from the creature behind him. It might have been act to protect himself or he just wanted to get a better look. He was able to see the creature behind him.


    It was the White Rhino! The guardian of this oasis. It still emanated its holy aura; moreover, it seems to have grown far stronger than before and it looked more mature than before.


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    Seeing that it was an acquaintance, Alex asked the White Rhino and looked at it eagerly, "Hmmm. What exactly happened here? How can the oasis have turned into something like this? And you? How did you become so strong in a few years?"


    It was normal for Alex to ask something that made the White Rhino strong in only a few years. Who wouldn''t want to be strong extremely fast?


    "Hoh, slow down kid. I will naturally explain everything to you." it shooked its head when he saw Alex looking at him with intense gaze. It then thought that it would be bothersome explain things to this human.


    "First of all, the oasis became like this, is because of you. Look around you, you''re surrounded by flowers, and flowers are able to grow around you, not in any other part of this oasis."


    "Was it because of the fruit?" The fruit was the only thing he had or ''ate'', that might be able to stimulate the growth of this oasis.


    "You''re not dumb, aren''t you? Indeed, it was because of the fruit. Once you ate Gaia''s Gem and was sent to future, your body that was left here was secreting buckets of sweat and served as a nourishment to the oasis."


    The White Rhino took a deep breath and was about to proceed explaining when Alex beat him to it, "Uhmm, then how did the pond gain a huge amount of water?"


    He furrowed his brows and thought that it was illogical for rain to fill up the tiny pond. The intense sunlight in this desert will evaporate the water quickly. Or maybe something is protecting this land!


    "It seems you have guessed something regarding this oasis. Don''t even thinking about digging the thing up or I will personally kick you out of here." the White Rhino threatened him jokingly. It knew that Alex wouldn''t do such a thing and that was the main reason why he let Alex ate the fruit, he wasn''t greedy.


    Unlike those humans that he met, Alex was more of an innocent and naive kid.


    "This paradise shall prosper for a few decades before turning back into the oasis that it had always been. Then the sacred tree shall bore fruit once more and this cycle shall continue for eternity." the White Rhino smiled and it gazed into the distance as if peeking into the future.


    "I shall continue then. As for how I became this strong- no, actually I was always this strong since a few decades ago. What you saw two years ago, was me, from the past that came to the future by eating the fruit."


    "Anyway, what took you so long? You only need to stay there for one and a half day, any more would become detrimental to your body. Look at you! You''re only left with bones. Didn''t she picked you up after a day''s time?"


    "Ahhh, who is ''she''?"


    "Y''know, the Goddess that presides in the white room."


    "I met no Goddess, only an old man. And I didn''t went inside the white room, I entered the dark one."


    "Whaaaat? How could you enter that dark and vile place?" the White Rhino shouted. ''Did I judge him wrong? No no no no, I can never be wrong. Then why did he enter that place? Did he deliberately acted good to trick me into eating the fruit?'' after murmurring he stole a glance at Alex that was looking at him worryingly.


    "Hey kid. Why did you enter that room?" its deep and cold voice send shivers down his spine. He could feel a murderous intent coming from the White Rhino.


    Before anything happens to him, Alex quickly explained about the strange dream that he had before eating the fruit. Still, the White Rhino looked at him strangely.


    It somewhat believed what he said because it also happened to him before eating the fruit. It thought that it was the only one with the dream. Maybe the Scorpion ''King'' didn''t divulge its own encounter.


    "Ah, sorry ''bout that. Can you tell me what you received? Hehe." it stared at him intensely.


    "Why would I tell you?" Alex smiled at it playfully. He picked up quite a few things from the old man, and it doesn''t seem to hurt anyone.


    "Come on. Pleeeeaaassssee. I''m really curious at what you''ve got in the dark room."


    "No." he flatly refused the White Rhino. He considered Madness as a forbidden trump card that he would only use when needed. As a trump card, he naturally cannot say anything about it.


    Looking at the White Rhino that acted like a kid, grumbling about something.


    ''It''s kind of cute. Haha.'' he chuckled. "Okay okay. I cannot tell you what it is, but it can be used offensively. That''s all I can say."


    "Hmph."


    After a long silence has elapsed, the White Rhino asked "What are you going to do now?"


    "Hmmm. I need to fill my body with meat! I am too thin right now and out of shape. Do you mind if I hunt a few edible animals around here?"


    Even though it was a bit strange of him to ask a beast for permission about killing animals, he still did.


    "Suit yourself. Just clean after you''re done." then the White Rhino walked back to depths of the oasis.

 44 Hunter?

    ''Haaa. In the end I couldn''t hurt a single animal. Everyone''s just docile and tame; I tried raising my sword against one and it immediately lain flat with its tummy on the ground and looked at me with a very scared expression.''


    It happened after he asked the White Rhino for permission to try and hunt animals for food.


    There was this spotted deer, yes, a deer in the desert, that looked very harmless. When he was about to kill it, it showed a human-like frightened expression. In the end he decided against killing the deer.


    Then he tried killing a known ferocious animal, a lone hyena. Though hyenas were known for their teamwork, they are still a fearsome predator amonst the animal kingdom.


    Like earlier, he wasn''t able to kill the hyena. He just kept looking at its cuteness and made no progress.


    "Hmmm. It seems you''re having trouble picking a ''delicacy''. Perhaps you need my help?" the voice of the White Rhino sounded behind him causing the hyena scamper away.


    "Yeah. I actually needed some help. I don''t think I would be able to kill the animals here."


    Even though he killed a Silverback Gorilla back then, and killed humans and humanoid creatures alike; he was just unable to hurt those animals.


    Even if he did ended up killing them, he was unable to flay their skin or hide, nor does he know how to make a fire. He will just ruin everything and killed an innocent animal for nothing.


    He wasn''t equipped with the skills needed to survive alone. He was about to learn everything from his brother, Arthur, when he got separated and was brought to this desert.


    "Hoh. Our dear hunter was unable to score some game?" the White Rhino teased.


    "Oh come on! How can I hunt when I''m this weak?" Alex protested and grinned cheekily. He didn''t want for the White Rhino to continue and tease him all day, so he immediately retorted.


    "Hoh. But you''ve always been this weak. Okay, enough of that. I know that you''re in need of food. I''ll go get it and you can eat your fill later on."


    "But-" before he could even finish his first word, the White Rhino interrupted him and said what Alex wanted to say.


    "But you don''t know how to light a fire, I know. That''s why I''ll be the one in charge of cooking." After saying his piece, the White Rhino turned back and slowly walked away.


    It was already nearing dusk and the White Rhino that has been gone for almost three hours, was still on its journey back to the oasis.


    During this time, Alex was practicing his sword skills. He was only swinging the sword that he got from the Scorpion Emperor''s palace, very slowly. There was no finesse or any whatsoever, they were just slow and casual swings.


    He finally got bored swinging the sword and he could also feel his arms beginning to sore, so he stopped his ''training'' and sat down. As if his eyes were drawn into something, he looked towards the east and saw the enormous silhouette of the White Rhino.


    More importantly, its mouth looked to be holding something. He stood and up to get a better look at it and noticed that it was a pig!


    Heavens! A whole pig! His eyes glimmered even though his back was facing the setting the sun.


    He was famished, really. And he knew that he could eat an entire pig right now!


    A few moments later, the White Rhino arrived before him and removed the pig from its mouth.


    Alex looked at the pig and noticed that it was already dead.


    ''Thank God it''s already dead. Or its agonized squeals will haunt me everyday, for the rest of my life.'' he thanked all the gods that he knew and let out a breath of relief.


    Who would want to hear agonized squeals of a dying creature? They must be mad to endure hearing it.


    His hunger pushed those remorseful thoughts away and looked at the White Rhino expectantly.


    "Hey, watch it! Your drool''s about to fall." it snickered.


    ''Sluurrpp!'' he quickly slurpped to get rid of the drool on his lips.


    "Just cook it already. Pleaaaase!"


    "Alright, alright! Oh right, kid! Help me build a fire pit. One that''s big enough for this pig."


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    "Yes sir!"


    Alex cleared some space and took several rocks and twigs and made a fire pit in a few minutes.


    The pig was then roasted on top of the pit. They waited for a long time and the pig was finally cooked. Alex took a bite and it almost made him cry.


    Not by tears of joy, but real and sad tears! The meat was just too bland! As they say, beggars can''t be choosers. He could only bite and swallow the food hard.


    Noticing the change in Alex''s expression, the White Rhino went towards some trees and picked some fruits.


    "Try these. Just give them a squeeze and direct it at the meat. I bet it''ll be tastier that way." the White Rhino handed him a yellow fruit.


    He accepted it and squeezed them gently. After carefully putting down the fruit, he took a bite and shed tears.


    ''Yes! This is food!''


    As for the White Rhino, it only looked at Alex ravenously eating the food and decided not to eat with him. It wasn''t really hungry and it also didn''t like to eat meat like other animals. It was vegetarian.


    Eating the whole pig took Alex an hour to finish. He walked towards the very big pond and drank mouthfuls of water.


    After that, he slowly walked back to accompany the White Rhino in this chilly and solemn night. Both of them stared at the starry sky and forgot everything as time passed.


    Eventually, the White Rhino broke the silence and asked, "So when will you depart?"


    "Maybe two or three days from now. I need to get back soon. My mom should be worrying." he answered with a smile while still gazing at the stars.


    "Okay, just let me know and I''ll send you to the nearest human village." there was a tinge of sadness in the voice of the White Rhino, however Alex didn''t catch it and simply nodded his head.

 45 Departure

    Three days arrived quickly. It was now time for Alex to continue his journey towards a human settlement.


    In those three days, Alex gained a enormous weight. Although it was said to be enormous, considering his bone-like appearance, his body returned to normal.


    Even though gaining a huge amount of weight seemed impossible in three days, he still did. Coupled with his training, his body was being sculpted to that of a healthy body.


    Before leaving the oasis, he checked all of his treasures; making sure that he didn''t left anything behind.


    The bracers in his forearms and the black ''dagger'' that was long enough to be considered as a short sword. He carefully unsheathed and sheathed the dagger into his left bracer, making sure that it wouldn''t jam when the need arises.


    There was also his tattered maroon cape and the brooch that he picked up along with the bracers.


    Lastly, the sword that he took beside the throne that has a red gem embedded on the butt of the hilt. It doesn''t have any scabbard so he could only hold on to it for now.


    "Did you bring all your equipments? If all is good, then let''s go." asked the White Rhino. It was already waiting for him at the east side of the oasis.


    "Yeah. I haven''t left anything. Let''s go!" Since it was still early in the morning, he jogged towards the White Rhino.


    Once he got near the rhino, he could faintly tell that something seems to be different with the rhino. He just couldn''t tell what it was with their huge level difference.


    "Okay let''s go kid." the White Rhino ignored Alex and slowly walked away heading towards the east. As for Alex, before he could catch up to it, he turned his head and gave a final glance at the oasis that sheltered him for two and a half years.


    ''Oh I will miss this place.'' he muttered and continued to chase after the White Rhino.


    Even though those two and a half years simply felt like a few days, he still cannot hide the fact that this place makes him feel safe and carefree.


    ''I will definitely come back here in the future.''


    Hours passed and the sun finally reached its peak in the sky. Alex was huffing and puffing, sweat soaked his shirt since a few hours ago.


    He was still jogging for the sake of his training.


    "You want to take a rest or should we keep going?"


    "Huff- we, should take a rest." Alex answered.


    Just as he was about to sit down, his eyes turned big as he forgot something, "Hey, do you have any water perhaps? I''m really thirsty."


    "What? Do you think a rhino like me would be carrying a bottle of water? Oh! You forgot to bring one, don''t you? Haha."


    "Hehe." he scratched, clearly he was embarassed. What can he do, his bag was left behind in the southern forest during the attack of the Silverback Apes, he didn''t have anything on him that could serve as a container of water.


    He could''ve asked the White Rhino for it back at the oasis, but he forgot about it because of his excitement to get out of this desert. Alex also thought that this journey would only last for a few hours.


    "Nothing we can do about it. Get on." the White Rhino lowered itself and beckoned him to sit on it.


    It looks like he would be having a free ride. "Uhm- where should I hold? I might fall off once you move."


    "Don''t worry about it, you won''t fall."


    "So how long would it take to reach this human settlement that you speak of?"


    "An hour or so maybe."


    "Maybe?"


    "Yeah, if we''re lucky and don''t encounter other beasts then we''ll get there in an hour. However, if there are beasts, then I would like to ask you to slay them for me. Because there was this agreement that was made by the three kings a long time ago. Something about not killing those beasts who have gained sentience."


    "Eh? I can only handle some low level beasts. Let''s just hope that there wouldn''t be any fierce beasts or stronger."


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    ''Rumble! Rumble!''


    ''Eh? How could I feel something coming from underground? Heck, why would I even feel something beneath the sands when I''m atop the rhino?''


    ''This feeling.''he could clearly remember what this rumble means. He quickly tossed those thoughts into the back of his head.


    "Something''s coming out of the ground!" Alex shouted towards the rhino, seemingly afraid ofwhat follows.


    It played out exactly what he had imagined. A large hole would emerge from the sands and a big creature would come out of it.


    Except that this time, it wasn''t a large desert centipede.


    What came out was a big, reddish-brown horse. Although it is big, it is still relatively slender considering its size. Its rib cage was outlined and muscles were well-defined on its limbs. It looked pretty deprived of water.


    Every time the horse exhales, one could see smoke coming out of its nose, like the ripples of sand once blown by the wind.


    "Hoh, here comes a challenger. And it looks pretty strong too." Alex didn''t even know what just happened.


    In only a second or two of inattentiveness, his feet was already on the sand and the White Rhino has already retreated in a sand dune quite a distance from him.


    "This shall serve as your first battle after you received this so called Madness that you spoke of. Use it and I might be able to guide you." there was confidence in its voice signifying that it indeed has the skill to help him.


    The White Rhino wasn''t privy to this skill of his. It would probably be good for him if he could use it without any repercussions.


    However, it was not so easy to trigger and use it. A condition has to be met; and that is extreme anger.


    Alex was rarely angry. He''s a happy and bright person. Not counting those days that he was sent to the future, it could only be counted on one hand.


    It was the time that they were struggling for food and was very poor. He had to suffer seeing his mother sacrificing herself for them.


    He had to bear them almost every day, for a year. He even went as far as begging their neighbors for food, just so that he could let his mother and little sister eat.


    Recalling those painful memories, his body started trembling, as his eyes started to moisten and his pupils began to change in the shade of red. His entire vision then descended into blood red.


    A bloodthirsty aura was suddenly released!


    It was really a tragic event and he didn''t want that to happen ever again. He needed to become strong enough to survive, and the first thing that stands in his way, was this Fierce Beast.


    A beast of the Mage rank!

 46 Rampage!

    The sound of wind that calmly echoes in his ears brings peace to this forsaken land. The ripples in the sand that the wind makes, causes tension in his hate-filled eyes.


    As he was slowly raising his right arm that held the sword, the foe in his sight entered a mad dash towards him while neighing in an aggrieved sound.


    It was fast, but wasn''t fast enough. Unlike the Great Imp that he fought before, this reddish brown horse seemed to be a tier lower than it.


    The mad horse entered his range of attack but he instinctively dodged to side. Alex, whose state of mind was in a mess, only wants to destroy this beast in front of him.


    He wanted to chop this creature into pieces just so he could prove that no matter the strength or tier of his opponent, he would be able to kill them.


    Contrary to his expectation or his will, his body tumbled to dodge the rampaging dash of the horse.


    Just as he was wondering why his body dodged, his right arm thrusted and pierced the sword into its thigh.


    The horse was clearly in pain, as it neighed loudly and immediate ran a few meters away from him.


    Its previous black eyes was now turning into the shade of red. Its abdomen was lighting up in a color akin to a lava as it bulged slightly while its eyes looked at him in anger.


    ''An elemental attack? Dodge!''


    It was already too late for him to dodge as the attack hurled towards him in a big area. Although his body was moved only by instinct and was able to detect the danger of that attack, it still wouldn''t be able to dodge because of his physique.


    Therefore the only thing that his body could do was to let his backside, or rather, let the cape take the brunt of the attack.


    The cape was given to him as the reward for winning the tournament at the village. It was able to negate some fire damage and protects the wearer from the surrounding heat.


    The attack landed on his back and he was sent flying. Seeing that its attack landed on the human, it snorted disdainfully at Alex. Thinking that he was only a weak human.


    His eyes full of hatred was glaring at the horse that disdained him. Its act simply ignited the rage that was boiling in him when he was hit by its attack. Then Alex shouted, "You''re dead meat horsey!"


    It was a wonder for Alex how his body was able to speak what was on his mind. Anyway, the thought was quickly tossed to the back of his mind.


    He broke into a mad rush and in no time, he was already near the desert horse. When he was almost in range for attacking, the desert horse finally made its move.


    Its eyes once again, turned into red, its abdomen was slighlty bulging and turned into the color of lava. This was a clear indication that was going to attack using the same spell again.


    ''Kek. Naive. You''re still an animal after all.'' Alex smirked when he saw its action.


    It was a foolish mistake to use the same attack in a row, especially if one was fighting a human.


    It was either arrogant or fool.


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    When the White Rhino, who was watching from afar saw the desert horse''s action. It shook its head in disapproval.


    "This horse is simply arrogant, sigh." it thought that the desert horse should prove to be a somewhat, worthy opponent for Alex and would force his potential.


    "In the end, it only has a mind of a teen." as a King Beast, the White Rhino also experienced being a fierce beast. Back then it was very arrogant and it became a known bully in this desert.


    Luckily for the White Rhino, its father, a Void Beast, heard about it being incomparbly arrogant and taught it a lesson. Then forced it to guard the oasis along with its father.


    "Good old times, sigh." it once again gazed at the fight.


    Before the desert horse could even launch its attack. A sword came swooshing down towards its throat, and with a splurt, blood gushed out of the gaps while the sword was embedded on it.


    "Too much arrogance for a beast as strong as you, eh?" Alex calmly walked towards the desert horse and the color of his eyes was slowly receding back to its natural black color.


    The desert horse was still standing proudly, even though it has a mortal injury that might take its life at any time.


    It looked into the Alex''s eyes and snorted. It''s as if it was saying that: "Just kill me if you dare, human."


    As the person being stared at by the creature, Alex knew, simply by just staring at it what it meant.


    "Why wouldn''t I dare to kill you? Hehe. I''ve survived the attack and almost killed a being a tier higher than you. I must say that you''re incredibly weak compared to others."


    As a fierce beast, it was already capable of understanding the language of the humans but wasn''t capable of speaking it.


    It tried neighing but the only sound that came out was the gurgling of blood that was accumulated in its mouth.


    With its eyes filled with desperation and hate, it didn''t think twice anymore.


    Its abdomen was enlarging at a faster rate than when it was casting its spell.


    "Oh sh*t! You crazy motherf!"


    Its abdomen has already ballooned and was on a shade of orange and red. It looked like a tiny sun was being born in its very stomach.


    The White Rhino, who was leisurely watching the fight was rendered aghast. When it heard Alex it legs almost moved to save him. However it quickly saw the joy in his face while shouting those words.


    ''BOOOOOOOM!''


    A loud boom resonated across the desert as a small mushroom cloud appeared in the sky.

 47 Solved?

    A silhouette could be seen standing inside the cloud of dust. It was the shaky figure of Alex.


    When he saw that the fierce beast was about to self destruct, he already had ample preparations inside his head. By ample, it means it was almost none and he mostly relied on luck and instinct.


    At that time, he unsheathed the dagger in his bracers and threw it in the beast''s abdomen where all its energy was going chaotic.


    By doing that, it hastened the process of destruction and at the same time, stopping it from doing more damage.


    He wasn''t afraid of the dagger nor the sword''s destruction for they were given to him by the Scorpion Emperor.


    After he threw the dagger, he immediately turned around to let the cape do its job of mitigating the fire damage caused by the explosion.


    As the cloud of dust settled, there were still parts of the horse''s body strewn on the ground.


    Alex''s face was filled with grains of sand. He was coughing out blood and sand, however there was this look on his face that says he wants more.


    "Cough! Cough!", after a fit of coughing, he yelled: "Not enough! More! More!"


    The White Rhino, who was previously at a very far distance away from Alex, now stood near him as it looked at this madman and shook its head as a sign of disapproval.


    ''This skill''s really troublesome. It almost corrupts the mind into a bloodthirsty one, I think, it only affects the mind when it''s activated and not alters the mind after. But I have no proof of that.''


    At this time Alex''s displeased voice entered its ear. "Why not? Look at how easy I''ve killed it?"


    ''Easy?Hmph! You almost lost your little life fighting one Desert Horse.''


    "Okay, but this is the last time." the White Rhino sighed. It was crucial for the White Rhino to see the effects of Madness once more. Since it''s for Alex''s future use of the skill, one more use wouldn''t hurt.


    "Haha. That''s more like it!" Alex said with a crazed laugh.


    The White Rhino rolled its eyes and stomped its foot lightly.


    ''Rumble! Rumble!''


    As if responding to the light stomp of the White Rhino, an earthquake seemed to occur beneath the sands.


    The sand began to part as the White Rhino retreated to a far away sand dune and concealed ita aura.


    Noticing the anomaly, Alex quickly searched for his sword and dagger and turned to look fervently at the hole.


    Two Desert Horses emerged out of it. It immediately spotted the human that was holding a weapon in a menacing way. It didn''t want to lose on the staring contest and glared at Alex with its red eyes.


    Seeing that these beasts glared at him, he grinned mockingly at them and gestured towards the strewn body parts of the dead Desert Horse.


    This simple action instantly provoked the young minds of the horses.


    "Snort!"


    "Neigh!"


    One of the Desert Horses dashed towards Alex and with a side step, he nimbly dodged the charging horse.


    He wanted to throw his dagger towards the beast, but a fire attack was hurling towards him, threatening to obliterate his very existence.


    ''BAM!''


    His back was once again hit by an elemental attack. Even though he had the tattered cape to mitigate some damage that might have been inflicted.


    Alex tried to command his body to dodge the incoming attack, but was ignored and he was now sent flying.


    What could he possibly do? The skill hightens his pain tolerance and limits his control over his body.


    Alex sighed, he didn''t want to die but his body, no, the skill was stopping from gaining control. Just when he wanted to continue watching, his eyes lit up and saw that his body was flying towards the previous Desert Horse!


    The horse was dumbfounded by the turn of events. It didn''t expect for Alex to be hit by his brethren''s attack. Just by the dodge Alex made earlier, it deduced Alex won''t get hit by such an attack.


    The Desert Horse raised its head to look at the sun then concentrated its mana on its abdomen and prepared to take down the flying Alex.


    He didn''t miss this opportunity to throw a sword towards its wide open neck. Before the sword could even reach its target, the Desert Horse lowered its head and aimed at him.


    It was at this moment that the sword, which was supposed to pierce the neck of the horse, ended up inside its mouth instead.


    With a splat! Blood painted the sand and the horse''s red eyes angrily glared at him. Soon, its body dropped on the ground and died.


    While the other Desert Horse was shocked that its comrade died with its help. It didn''t think twice and returned from whence it came.


    Alex immediately collapsed on the ground. The accumulation of his injuries assaulted him. Enduring a detonation of a beast core and a direct attack of a fierce beast. His body was beyond exhaustion.


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    If it wasn''t for the little bit of constitution points that he added back then, he would definitely be gravely injured right now.


    His red colored vision was now receding back to its natural state. He couldn''t move an inch and was only gazing into the blue sky.


    Then the White Rhino appeared. It was looking at him with a strange gaze.


    ''Hmmm? Is that pity? Is it pitying me? Well I don''t care, as long as it helps me solve this problem then all is good.''


    "Hey kid, I''m running out of time. So I''ll make this quick. First of all, the use of this skill of your doesn''t have any after effects. It does not corrupt your mind after using it. Secondly, it will be hard for you to control this skill to stop. That''s why you would need something with an emotional value, that would remind you to keep your sanity. Preferably a bracelet with a bell or something."


    Having said those words, its face soured then it relayed a message to him using its mana.


    ''We''re being watched. Remember, don''t rely on that skill too much.''


    "Hehe! Farewell human. I await your growth." it said in a dignified and threatening way.


    It turned around and slowly walked into the distance. Leaving Alex all alone in this desert.


    Finally, he was unable to withstand the pain any longer and his vision, once again descended into darkness.

 48 Meanwhile...

    A messenger pigeon was flying amidst the clouds above the City of Ember.


    It safely entered a window of a mansion and landed on the arm of a young man with silver hair.


    "Oh. You must be tired."


    He gently rubbed the head of the pigeon and took some pieces of bread and fed it to the bird. He then slowly removed the letter that was dangling on its feet and quietly read its content.


    ''It''s been more than two years now and he still hasn''t come back? That''s weird. Master said that he would probably return within three years. What else. Hmmm? The Chimera was outside the village for an unknown reason!? I need to tell this to Master.''


    He threw the letter to the ground and quickly went to find his master.


    The letter slowly fell and one could see who the sender was.


    -From your Best Friend, Von.


    Meanwhile...


    "Roar!" "Roar!"


    Threatening roars resounded outside a village at the southern part of Azta.


    "It has been like this for a few days now!" a frustrated voice of young man was heard.


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    "We are powerless against these beasts, my child. All we can do is endure." an old man replied.


    "But our food is running out. I-"


    "The army should be arriving today. If it wasn''t for our messages being intercepted, then everything wouldn''t have turned out like this."


    The beasts have been rallying outside the village for three days now and the villagers still didn''t know what caused it. Every naughty little kid were questioned by their parents. Not a single soul was spared by the questions.


    Meanwhile, on Alex''s house.


    "Baa! Baa!"


    "Don''t run! Hahaha!"


    A white little sheep was running around the small house. Chasing behind it was a girl that seemed to be at the age of 9, with long black hair. It is like they were playing tag, with the girl playing only as ''it''.


    "Mari. The food''s already on the table." a gentle voice called out to the girl who was chasing the little sheep.


    "Baa! Baa!"


    "Coming!"


    The two stopped playing around. A very distinct sound of a bell was heard when Mari ran into the dining area.


    ''Ding-a-ling!''


    It was at this moment that an earth-shaking roar reverberated outside the village.


    "Roar!"


    "Mari! Take Luna and come with me. Quick!"


    Mari could see the change in expression on her mother''s face and quickly did as she was told. Ever since she knew of his brother''s disappearance, she had been crying all week long. She didn''t believe that her brother was dead, but not seeing for almost two years made her think otherwise.


    Her mom, she was different. She only cried for a night and acted as if everything was fine. She even brought her Luna, the sheep.


    As they reach the backyard, they could hear the villagers crying for help and could see everyone running around.


    Both of them looked at the village''s entrance and saw a humongous with the head of a Lion and a Goat. Its tail could also be seen waggling behind it.


    ''The Chimera!''


    "Come on. Let''s go to the village head." The duo ran in the direction of the village head''s house as fast as they could.


    When they saw the old man, there were already tons of people with him. Although the old man was a high mage, he could easily tell that the chimera way stronger than him.


    "GIVE ME BACK MY CHILD!!! MY PATIENCE IS LIMITED!" the Chimera roared.


    "I''m telling you, your child''s not here!" shouted the old man. It has been asking the old man about its child for the last three days.


    "How dare you lie to me, human! Do you think I could not sense my own kin inside your village! Now that I''ve become a Void Beast, let''s see if anyone of you could block me!"


    "W-what!?" the old man flinched when he heard what the Chimera said. A Void Beast was much stronger than a normal Archmage.


    The only thing that protects the village wasn''t its puny fences as a defense, nor was his meager strength that was below it. It was the treaty between beasts and humans. Even though mankind only has one King left, the three renowned King Beasts were wary of him for unknown reasons. So they didn''t want other beasts to openly provoke humans as a precaution.


    Now it seems that this treaty will soon be broken by a Chimera searching for its kin.


    "I''ve had enough! I''ll just take my child then!" the Chimera was planning to act. It was already commendable of it to wait outside the village for a few days rather than forcefully taking its child. However it cannot bear the fact that its child was abducted from it during its birth.


    "Baa! Baa!"


    Luna, the sheep that was on Mari''s embrace suddenly struggled and landed on the ground.


    "Baa! Baa!"


    "What!?" the Chimera was actually happy to see it child. However, the sheep''s ''words'' further enraged the Chimera when it heard its child siding with the humans.


    As it was about to enter the village, it suddenly raised its head and looked into the distance.


    A ball of fire was quickly approaching from the distant sky.


    It wasn''t long before the ball of fire neared and landed in front of the village head.


    An old man with long white beard and long white hair emerged from the ball of fire. He first looked at the people behind him to see if there were any acquaintance and he found someone.


    "Oh Ben! You''re here!" he immediately greeted the village head.


    "Yes, yes. Now could you help us? We''re in the middle of something here."


    "It''s alright, it''s alright." as he was saying this, his eyes was attracted to a certain someone and was startled.


    He then turned his attention towards the Chimera outside the village. He smiled brightly and said, "What did I miss?"

 49 No Fight?

    "Just give me back my child and I''ll walk away." the Chimera declared.


    "It looks to me that you are trying to destroy this village and massacre my people."


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    "GIVE. ME. MY. CHILD!" Everyone felt a chill down their spine when the Chimera uttered those words. It was the words of a desperate mother trying to get her child back.


    Almost everyone was daunted except for the old man with long white hair. He looked around and said, "Well. I am not seeing anyone of your kind in this village."


    "That little sheep right there is of my blood."


    "Baa! Baa!"


    "Oh, this one? Are you kidding me? You don''t really look alike." the old man had an unbelieving expression plastered on his face.


    "Alright, I''ve had enough. The blood of your lowly race shall be spilt in this land." The Chimera looked behind and let out a furious roar. It then triggered the roar of the other beasts, as all of them charged into the village.


    "The only blood that will dye this land will be yours!" At the old man''s roar, he muttered a few words to himself and once again turned himself into a human fireball and charged head-on into the group of charging beasts.


    The Chimera simply snorted and stayed at the back watching the scene unfold. While the villagers were shocked by old man''s action.


    It was actually quite idiotic for a Mage to meet the fearsome beasts head-on. Even if the old man was an Archmage, his body still could not handle their barrage of attacks. Unless they are adept at close combat, which is really not a Mage''s specialty.


    After the old man arrived at the center of the horde, his body was seen and he was no longer engulfed in flames. His mutterings or incantations finally stopped and simply knelt on the ground and placed both of his palms on it.


    Although his actions may seem slow, it was actually fast and graceful, like he had done this for a while now.


    When his palms touched the ground, the earth seemed to soften as its color turned reddish.


    The legs of the land beasts was being devoured by the lava-like ground and roars of anguish was heard all over the village.


    Their cries for help, cries for mercy seemed to be wanting for the pain to stop. Although most of it were simply roars, it was a spectacular sight. The arrogant beasts were now dying one by one. Well, that is for the humans.


    On the other hand, the Chimera''s lion and goat face seemed to be frowning.


    "Are you going to stay there and continue sending your beasts into their deaths? Or would you rather fight?"


    ''Since it has come to this, I shall not let their deaths be in vain. Wait! No no no no! This twat is trying to provoke my pride.'' The Chimera appeared hesitant.


    "Why are you taking so long to decide?"


    ''Indeed. What the kings said was true. Humans really are great schemers. I think I''ll capture one someday.''


    The kings told everyone that was a Void Beast or had the potential to become one, to be cautious towards the humans. They even said not to befriend one for it might be the cause of their own demise.


    As a Dire Beast at that time and one who has great potential at that, the Chimera was naturally invited to such meeting. Therefore it gained access to such an information.


    Although humans and beasts became mortal enemies, there were still a few of them who interact with one another. The King Beasts did not intervene to such acts and only said that time will tell that the human would betray them.


    The beasts that died was set as an example for their fellow beasts.


    The fact that the King Beasts were able to trick the Human King back then was deemed as a huge achievement for them.


    Only time would make the beasts knowledgeable.


    ''I''ve only lived for 200 years and already am a Void Beast. They probably won''t hurt my child. I shouldn''t throw both our lives away and take a step back.'' The Chimera turned its back and was about to leave when a threatening voice stopped it in its track.


    "Hmmm? Should I kill this little sheep?" the voice of the long haired old man was full of mockery.


    "Baa! Baa!"


    The Chimera looked at the sheep retreating to the back of a small human. Then it looked at the old man and spoke in a cold voice, "Don''t your dare."


    It slowly walked away with its entourage and receded into the forest.


    "Well I did not expect it to have such temperament. Surprisingly, it did not took the bait."


    When the old man arrived earlier, he already noticed that there was another Archmage hiding. So he intentionally provoked the Chimera and deal with this future king.


    An Archmage really wasn''t really on par with a Void Beast. The best that he could do was stall it if he focused solely on defense and counter attack, but he can never defeat it. If it was any other Archmage then they could only defend, but the old man had been an Archmage for many years and definitely have the capability to fight back.


    Things might change if there was another Archmage concealed within the area. The power of two Archmages could contend with a peak level Void Beast. What can a newly promoted Void Beast do?


    He wouldn''t have been that arrogant if it wasn''t the other Archmage.


    ''Ahhhhh. It''s good to be arrogant once in a while.''


    "Take good care of that sheep, little girl. Oh right. Ben, there seems to be a problem in Azta, don''t expect the army to help you right now." the old man smiled and prepared to leave.


    "Thank you for helping. I owe you one. Wait. Did the kid asked you for help?"


    "Go ask him yourself when you guys meet. Hahaha." with a laugh, the old man took off with his ball of fire.

 50 Poda Tribe

    On some random village, Alex, who has previously fainted was slowly waking up. His closed eyes, opened wide. His subconscious thought that he was still in the desert, though it wasn''t hot enough to scald.


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    He tried standing up from where he currently lay, but he was too weak to do such a simple task. With a dull thud he fell to the wooden floor.


    It looked to have shaken his head by a bit. He was now able to calmly check his surroundings. ''Where am I?'' was what he thought.


    ''What happened? It seems that I have lost consciousness in the desert and someone brought me here, in this hous-''


    *Creak*


    The creaking sound of wood was heard and was soon followed by a series of footsteps.


    Alex tried taking out the dagger that was sheathed on the bracer in his arms, yet his eyes shook in horror as he just found out that his weapons were missing. Even his favorite cape was taken away from him.


    ''Sh*t!''


    Since he was unable to stand up anyway, he just sat on the floor and looked at the door with fearful eyes.


    ''Calm down, calm down!'' every single one of those thuds resonated with his beating heart making him unable to calm down. Cold sweats started forming in his forehead and with a bang, the door opened up.


    A big baldie entered the room.


    It was a baldie with a menacing tied goatee. Along with his tall and muscular appearance, he was like some kind of right hand man in an underworld gang.


    "Are you okay?" with a deep voice, the baldie asked.


    "Yeah. I''m just a little weak right now, that''s why I fell." his voice that was supposed to be shaky as a sign of fear was calm. Unlike everything that he was feeling inside, he looks normal on the outside.


    "I know you want to know where this is. You''re in the tribe of Poda."


    "And where''s that?"


    "We''re situated at the far west of Sherwood. Let''s go and have a meal. I suppose you''ve already adjusted with your current state and you''re able to walk on your own."


    ''I think I could only follow this baldie for now. Although having a weapon for self defense is a must, I should first assess the situation and hope that they are good people.''


    Thinking of this, he slowly followed after the big baldie. Even though he was saved at the desert, he couldn''t help but be threatened by how the man looks. It was quite absurd to think that someone helped him for some purposes like slavery or something.


    When he got out of the room, a fragrant smell assaulted his nose. It was the scent of food cooked to perfection. Or maybe he was just hungry. Anyways, there he was standing outside the room, staring in front.


    At the dining table, he could see a woman and a teen about two years younger than him sitting there, waiting for them.


    Although he was weak and famished, Alex slowly walked towards the sink, opened the faucet and washed his hands. After doing so, he sat across the big baldie, with the woman to his right and their son to his left.


    It was a happy meal but wasn''t really a ''happy meal'', but a bucket-full of fried chicken, now that is happy!


    It was like any other family during this meal time, parents asking about their son''s progress in school. Then they asked Alex where he''s from, which he answered truthfully.


    ''They seem to be good people.'' he smiled while answering some of their questions.


    Despite being very careful earlier about not trusting people so easily, he wasn''t able to lie. It just wasn''t him. Since they were good to him then he shall treat them the same.


    After they''ve asked him, he also asked about this place and also how he would be able to go back to Azta.


    There were quite a few things he learned about the Poda Tribe, they are farmers. As a farmer, most of them are uneducated; struggling to earn every penny that they could.


    One day, a tribesman that was exiled returned and taught everyone some fighting skills either to defend themselves against beasts and bandits or to hunt the beasts.


    Ever since that day, the farmers continued to prosper. Not wealthy with money, but with food. Being the farthest tribe in Sherwood, they had trouble buying and selling stuffs. So instead of using swords and spears, they became proficient with their sickles, shovel and even rakes.


    Then he knew that his way back home would take a very long time.


    "Oh! Then what about magic? Someone should be a mage here right?" after learning of their unique ways, Alex immediately asked about magic.


    Since he was here anyway, it wouldn''t hurt asking a mage to teach him how to properly use magic. But then he saw a frown on the baldie''s face.


    "You see. Mages aren''t doing well here. They aren''t welcomed in Sherwood."

 51 A Normal Day at the Tribe

    "Mages don''t have a good time here in Sherwood."


    ''What? It was ridiculous! Mages should be treated good by the citizens of this country. How come they are shoved away by them.


    Mages are versatile during war, they can fight enemies up close, they can be a support or they can straight-out destroy a huge area.


    During this era where demons and beasts are salivating over the humans, shouldn''t they get every bit of strength to fight against the invaders?


    "Are you serious?" disbelief was etched on Alex''s face as he questioned the baldie.


    Seeing the face of Alex, the baldie quickly said, "Oh! It seems that you misunderstood. Mages here in Sherwood are sent out either towards the City of Ember or City of Azta."


    "But you said that they aren''t welcome here."


    "I did? They''re not welcome here because Sherwood doesn''t specialize in magic. Who wouldn''t want Mages protecting their city."


    "Look at you Reynard, even we would misunderstand you." said Reynard''s wife.


    "Hahaha. I am still trying to learn how to normally hold a conversation."


    Alex''s mind was already wandering at this point. He was scared of the thought that maybe the mages here were tied and were burned or stoned to death, like the legends on earth.


    "Oh, right! Where did you guys hide my equipments? My weapons?" When he asked, the faces of the baldie and the young man soured.


    Unlike what he had expected, the first one to talk was neither the baldie nor the kid, it was the woman on the table.


    "What!? Why are there weapons in the house!" she suddenly started shouting while glaring at the big baldie.


    The baldie quickly defended, "Uh, well, it looked pretty important to him so I hid it in the cabinet."


    "Hmph!" she harrumphed coldly and slowly made her way towards the kitchen sink.


    ''What?'' he didn''t expect that such a simple question would lead to this.


    Seeing the worry-filled face of Alex, the young man quickly said, "Ahh, don''t worry about it. Something happened to mom when she was young which made her somewhat afraid of weapons." He explained it like it was something normal.


    "S-still, I should apologize."


    "Nah, man. We should let them talk, while I show you around the tribe." then he shouted "Dad! I''m gonna show him around first."


    "Alright! But don''t be late for dinner."


    The duo went past the door when the young man stopped and said, "I''m Rezhul by the way." Rezhul then held out his right hand towards him.


    "I''m Alex." he answered as he clasped the other man''s hand and shook it. He wasn''t really able to introduce himself to the family earlier and instead brought them a bit of a problem.


    They then started walking around the village. The tribe seems capable of self-sustaining as Rezhul the facilities in the village. There was a school either for scholars or for warriors.


    The school for scholars only lets them learn basic knowledge, so that they can catch up with the rich people in the city of Sherwood. It lets them learn how to act proper amongst people and increases their abilities to think.


    While the school for warriors develops the core foundation a warrior or a mage before teaching the warriors the advanced methods and sending out the mages.


    All of the tribesmen knows farming so they don''t really lack rice, but they do lack meat by a bit. So some of them visits the neighboring tribes or villages that are somewhat abundant in meats to trade.


    Even though the tribe was surrounded by forest, animals and beasts doesn''t wander around the area.


    After asking Rezhul of the weird event about the lack of beasts in the area. The answer that he got was that his tribesmen where hunting the whole area for food, even when they do not lack meat at that time. Greed got into their heads and the intelligent creatures avoided the forest.


    ''Hmmm. That was unlucky. I thought something precious was forcing the beast out of here.''


    "So when do I get to have my equipments back?" Alex suddenly asked.


    "If I''m not wrong then you''ll get them this evening. Why do you ask?"


    "I just don''t feel safe without them. I get a bit fidgety inside."


    "Yeah, that happened to me once. Oh right, there was also two beast cores near you when you passed out. They were rocks that was the color of fire with a bit of yellow veins on it."


    Alex was suprised, he didn''t think that he would get something as valuable as a beast core.


    ''Maybe it was the white rhino that gave me those cores. I''ll be sure to repay him someday. Hmmm. I haven''t really progressed regarding me, being a mage. I haven''t meditated nor used magic aside from when I ''went'' to the future.''


    He doesn''t really know if he''s able to absorb the beast cores. He only knew that he could absorb an elemental crystal with wood element. But didn''t know if he could absorb beast cores.


    ''Anyways, lets just leave it for later.''


    "Are you a scholar or a warrior?" Alex couldn''t help but ask, even though Rezhul almost literally said that he was a warrior, he just wanted a clarification.


    "Well, I actually wanted to become a scholar when I was young, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Me and my friends were actually abducted by thieves who demanded for ransom. We were beaten up so bad that we couldn''t walk nor talk. If it wasn''t for my dad and the others, I don''t know what would happen to everyone."


    "That... I''m sorry."


    "Yeah, no. It''s okay. Hahaha." Rezhul laughed it off as if it didn''t matter. But Alex could feel a bit of his emotion; both his anger and sadness.


    "What weapons do you actually use?" Alex asked another question to rid themselves of such atmosphere.


    "Since you already knew that my tribe''s using unique weapons, I am adept at using a sickle and I also practiced throwing knives." Rezhul said proudly, he was confident that if he were to face outsiders like Alex, he thought he wouldn''t lose.


    They were actually being trained against the weapons of warriors, such as swords and spears. With the advantage of their enemies not familiar with their weapons. They would also tend to underestimate the farm tools that they use.


    "Can we have a sparring match? Maybe tomorrow?" Alex asked.


    Since Rezhul was using a sickle as a weapon, with its short-range and the throwing knives, Alex thought that he wanted to be an assassin.


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    Although it would be a bit of a disadvantage when an assassin is fighting head-on, he didn''t think much about it. Rezhul had a proper training, while he only knew how to swing his sword.


    It isn''t bad to learn something from time to time.


    "Yeah sure!" Rezhul answered enthusiastically while grinning and he also thought that Alex was underestimating him because of his weapon choice. Then tomorrow he would show him what he''s capable of.


    When they entered the village, it was already nearing dusk. The sunset was dyeing the village in orange and the people were going from outside the village are returning.


    As they entered the house, food was already being served on the dining table. Dinner was the same as lunch, the woman also seemed to calm down and Alex also said his apologies.


    After dinner, the big baldie handed Alex his equipments along with the two beast cores. Immediately after his hands touched the beast cores, he heard the familiar ding once more.


    *DING!*


    *Desert Horse Beast Core detected, would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    Alex''s hand trembled and his mind blanked for a second before smiling widely. He quickly thanked the big baldie and ran off towards the room that was given to him.


    The notification of the system still lingers in Alex''s eyes. He sat cross-legged and thought, ''Yes!''.

 52 Early Morning

    *DING*


    *Desert Horse Beast Core detected. Would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    The moment that it showed up on his eyes again, he immediately thought of absorbing it. Soon, a surge of warm and a chaotic-like stream of energy entered his body.


    It was like having small insects continuously nibbling at his veins. It felt a bit funny at first, then it became an itch and then his whole body started hurting like there were cuts on him.


    A few hours have passed and Alex can be seen sprawled on the bed still writhing in pain with his back soaked with sweat.


    *Absorbing completed!*


    *System Update 38%*


    ''Huff! That seriously didn''t feel good. Unlike when I absorbed the Elemental Crystal back then, this hurts like hell.''


    With heavy breaths, he tried composing himself as he sat cross legged.


    ''Hmmm, 38%? That was fast for only one beast core. I''ll try to use the other one. Hehehe.'' With a crazed laugh, he reached for the other beast core that on the edge of his bed along with his equipments.


    As he held it in his hands, the notification from the system appeared once more and came another round of absorbing. The process of absorbing was still the same and the pain was actually much worse.


    ''Why did it hurt so much?'' He wanted to curse, but he thought that he had gained benefits so he didn''t dwell too much on it. He simply attributed it to his foolishness of absorbing the cores without rest.


    *System Update 43%*


    ''What happened? Only an increase of 5 percent? That''s not right.''


    He reviewed all the things that he absorbed until now. First was the ''sands'' that he got from the late Emperor which made his system to go into an update. Next was the Gaia''s Gem that was very bitter and caused him to be sent to the future. Then lastly, was these two beast cores that wasn''t really different and overflowing in mana.


    What Alex didn''t know was that he absorbed a bit of the Imp''s demon core when he was rendered unconscious.


    "Eh, maybe it was the bitter fruit back then." he murmurred.


    ''Sniff Sniff!''


    "What''s that terrible smell?"


    ''Sniff Sniff!''


    After sniffing for quite some time, he cannot find the source of the putrid smell. So he decided to sleep, for he had to spar against Rezhul in the afternoon. It was then that he noticed black spots all over his body. Whether be it on his clothes or his skin, it was everywhere.


    He raised his right hand and touched his cheek, only to be met by many small and sticky liquid.


    ''Ahhhhhh! My face!'' he screamed internally and ran towards the bathroom.


    "You''re up? Oh, congratulations!" a voice made him stop in his tracks.


    Looking towards where the voice came from, the Big Baldie was holding a cup of warm something, probably a cocoa.


    "Ah! Yes, thank you!" he thanked the Big Baldie even though he did not know what was there to congratulate. Then he continued to ran towards the bathroom.


    "Heh. Kids." the Big Baldie muttered while shaking his head. His eyes sparkled with nostalgia.


    Quickly looking at himself in the mirror, there were tiny black spots all over his face. With the use of mana, the darkness inside was not able to obstruct his sight.


    Even though he wasn''t good looking, still, it was his face that was laced with an unknown substance.


    He opened the faucet and washed his face, but most of the spots still remained. Then he realized that the sticky liquid was quite stubborn.


    Alex locked the door and opened the light before jumping into the tub that was being filled with warm water.


    An hour of rubbing was what he needed. Changing the water a few times was quite a task. So he did not waste his time and used the shower.


    After rubbing himself clean, he soaked himself of the warm water. He was very tired and he could feel every inch of his body becoming light.


    Just as he was about to enter the dreamland, he forced himself awake and stood up. He stretched his body and it was then his eyes widened in horror.


    "Sh*t! I forgot to bring a towel or my clothes!"


    He glanced upon the dirty clothes that he used, "I cannot use those."


    "Uncle!" he called.


    "You forgot to bring a towel?" the Big Baldie chuckled.


    "Yes."


    When he got back to his room, wore some clothes and prepared himself to sleep, the Big Baldie''s voice sounded outside his room, "You should go outside and exercise or train your sword skills. Don''t let your breakthrough turn into a waste." Then the sound of footsteps grew faint.


    The Big Baldie sounded sincere, so even though he was tired he still went outside. There he saw the big man doing something that looks to be boxing.


    "I heard from my son that you will spar later this day?"


    "Yes."


    "You had any formal training with the sword?" the Big Baldie asked while continuing with his exercise.


    "No." then he retells his story to him. As he didn''t know any formal exercise or anything with regards to swordplay, he could only watch him do some series of punches.


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    "Okay then. I am going to teach you some exercises. Although you''re not of the tribe, these simple exercises can be passed to you."


    The Big Baldie taught him the movements. At first glance, he thought that it was only punching the air. He did not know that he needed to utilize most of his muscles in order to get the most benefits.


    The movements were interchanging. At one moment it was slow, then it was fast and then there was a sudden stop. It was a set of movements that was easy to memorize but hard to master.


    At the crack of dawn, Alex''s body was covered in sweat, his body had become very stiff and was very hard to move.


    He was tired and needed some rest.

 53 The Heretics

    ''Knock! Knock! Knock!''


    A series of loud rhythmic knocks echoed outside the bedroom door. It wasn''t the kind of sound that would irritate ones ear and make others go ape mad, but it was gentle like a parent waking up their child.


    Even then, Alex, who was asleep suddenly opened his eyes as if he woke up from a terrible nightmare. His bones creaked as he slowly sat down. The muscles on his body was in pain, it was like the exercise from before was his first after decades of doing nothing.


    "Hey kid, the spar would commence in an hour. It''s already 11 in the morning. You better move that muscle of yours."


    Just from the voice alone, he knew it was the Big Baldie. It must be because he haven''t really communicated with the other tribe members.


    "Alright. Thank you!" was what Alex answered.


    ''Oh man. I have to win this one. Rezhul is younger than me by two years, it would''ve been a joke if I lost.''


    He could definitely win if he used his magic. Then again, what''s the point of it being a spar against a weapon user?


    Still, Rezhul received proper training from his tribe while he had none.


    ''Maybe if I lost the Big Baldie would teach me something aside from the exercise, since


    it worked pretty well. So should I win or should I lose?''


    While he was pondering about the match, he stood up lazily and looked for his equipments.


    First was his favorite low-grade defensive artifact, the maroon cape along with the brooch from the sand palace. Next was the bracers; where the said poisonous dagger was sheathed. The Emperor said it was already refined for his use, so the poison could probably be triggered only by him. Unless he had to, he decided against using it.


    Then there was also that normal looking sword with the red gem that he took from the palace, so it might be of some value.


    After making sure that he''s fully equipped, he walked out of his room and saw the Big Baldie waiting for him at the front door.


    "You aren''t gonna shower or do some ritual stuff before you fight?"


    "I''m good. Besides, rituals were like hundreds of years ago. Let''s go!" with a happy mood, he went out of the house before the Big Baldie.


    "Woah! Slow down, champ. Let me lead the way."


    When they got out of the tribe, they move through a forked path and entered a clearing. In there, Alex could see tens of humans or rather, the tribesmen. He could see some of the people that he passed by yesterday.


    As they got closer to the said venue, Alex could hear voices as if it was whispering something next to his ear.


    The moment the Big Baldie and him got into a certain range from those people, as if it was scripted, all of those people looked their way.


    A chill ran down his spine as he mumbled, ''That is creepy. Like those in the... movies?''


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    Upon noticing that Alex stopped, the Big Baldie held his wrist tightly and slowly moved back until their vision of the clearing was blocked by the trees.


    "Who are they?" Alex asked softly. The image of those people looking at him kept on popping up in his head.


    "Those guys. They''re of the tribe, but they follow a some unknown deity. We''re lucky that we did not interrupt them." the Big Baldie said with a slight frown on his face.


    The Big Baldie led him once more, and moved around those heretics. Then they finally saw a small crowd of teenagers.


    "There they are!", someone exclaimed.


    The Big Baldie proudly introduced the teenagers to Alex. "These guys are going to be the future hunters and warriors of the Poda Tribe. Although some of them are lacking in skills, they will compensate it with observation and experience."


    Some laughed and some nodded, but they cannot argue the fact that they are indeed lacking.


    Alex and Rezhul was given a minute or two to organize their thoughts and check their equipments. Even if it was only a spar, they should still focus and take the fight seriously since there were also the others who would like to learn from them.


    ''I thought there would only be three of us here today. I guess I really cannot lose.'' he sighed. He didn''t think that there would be others watching the fight and was actually preparing a dramatic loss. Upon seeing the crowd, he decided not to lose because he was afraid of becoming a laughing stock.


    But that was not the only reason he had to win the match, what made him steel himself was the heretics.


    His skin crawls whenever the scene of the heretics emerges inside his head. That''s why he didn''t want them to see him as a pushover. Even if he couldn''t see them, he thinks that some might be watching their movements. He has watched enough movies to know what they can do.


    Alex hurriedly suppressed the fear accumulating inside him and closed his eyes to focus.


    "You two, come over here." The booming voice of the Big Baldie woke him up from his stupor and immediately stood up.


    "Okay, so the rules are simple. No poking of the eyes, as much as possible aim away from the neck and no low blows. Understood?"


    "Yes!" Both of them answered.


    "You may start!"

 54 Spar

    "Please." Rezhul started with the greeting and cupped his fists towards Alex.


    "Right. Please!" He hastily returned the greeting as if he forgot his manners.


    The two separated and made a five meter gap away from each other. After arriving at their location, both of them slowly assumed their stance.


    Rezhul took up a rather lax stance. By raising both sickles in his hands, it made the others look at him as if he was being serious about the fight. But to an expert like his father, the Big Baldie, he could clearly see the lackadaisical attitude hidden beneath Rezhul''s facade.


    ''Looking down at an untrained opponent like this is really bad. Once he lost, I will teach him the right way to fight an enemy.'' the Big Baldie sighed. At the end of the day, his son was still too young.


    He didn''t know if Rezhul was able to hide it clearly from Alex or it would be a sign of being disrespectful.


    Even if someone was not well trained to take up a sword or any other weapon, one should never underestimate anyone.


    On the other hand, Alex, who was looking at Rezhul was not able to realize all of this. This was the first time that he will be fighting against a human using a sword. So he didn''t really know about those stances.


    Breathing deeply, an unknown feeling welled up inside of him. The once pitch black eyes turned into a darker shade of brown, the change was miniscule that even the Big Baldie was unable to notice.


    Along with the change in his eyes, from a rather open and newbie-like stance, he unconsciously changed it to another.


    He slightly positioned his body facing the left and slowly raised his right hand to his left chest. His closed his left hand and moved it towards the back of his hip.


    With his chin tilted upwards, he exuded an air of superiority in front of his enemy.


    The Big Baldie clearly felt the sudden change in him. He had a sudden urge to replace his son in the spar, but immediately stopped and reminded himself that he was only a judge and his strength was leagues above Alex.


    As for Rezhul, he only perceived bits of it and just shrugged it off. In his mind, he was superior than Alex due to him training when he was past ten years of age, which made him ahead of Alex by a few years of training.


    He lowered his arms, realizing that he was still too far from his opponent.


    ''I''ve gotten excited. I cannot wait any longer.''


    He smiled while he walked towards Alex casually, while the latter was unmoving and still like a sword.


    Alex was observing the enemy moving closer towards him. His face was void of any emotion.


    When Rezhul was about two meters away from him, he swiftly stabbed with his sword. The move was quick, accurate and well-timed.


    As the sword inched closer towards Rezhul''s chest. He instinctively dodged towards his right. By then, his left shoulder was grazed by the sword.


    Rezhul saw the chance for a counterattack when Alex beat him to it.


    When he moved to dodge the attack, Alex already swung his sword after the stab.


    Before the move was executed, a thought sprouted in his head and predicted that his enemy would counter the swing. He used his right foot to jump backwards while performing the swing.


    He was indeed right. Rezhul raised his left sickle to parry the swinging sword and it was successful. But when he counterattacked Alex, he has already retreated out of his range.


    Therefore, he hit nothing but air.


    ''What is with this kid?!'' the exchange earlier rendered him aghast. Despite him being younger by two years, he still thinks of Alex as a kid.


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    He should''ve had a hundred percent chance of hitting him during that parry but was unable to.


    He could''ve won that trade; on the contrary, it was him who got his shoulder bleeding from a slight cut.


    That''s when he heard the crowd of teenagers getting hyped up by the short exchange of the two. He gritted his teeth thinking that it was humiliating.


    "Ohhhh!"


    "Brother Rezhul, fighting!"


    Gasps of amazement and cheering escaped the mouths of the youths.


    To the side, the Big Baldie was also impressed, though only by a bit. ''This kid, really. He was aiming for the kill even though this was just a spar. I believe he isn''t capable of stopping the momentum of those attacks himself.''


    The Big Baldie was also thinking about what had transpired earlier. With the use of collision of weapons, he was able to use the sickle as some sort foothold to make his body retreat faster.


    That move was something that a young man without training cannot do. He could only hope for Rezhul to force out the skills of Alex.


    After dodging the attack, Alex quickly got back to his stance.


    ''What?! I didn''t know I could that?'' While he was still questioning himself, Rezhul who felt humiliated rushed towards him in anger.


    His expression was still that of seriousness as he looked at Rezhul, until something caught his eyes from the distance.


    Silhouettes started emerging from behind the trees and was looking at them.


    His whole body trembled by what he saw, but then his vision was blocked by a jumping Rezhul, ready to cut him in half.


    The glint in his eyes died down as he quickly snapped back to reality and hurriedly raised his sword rather clumsily, in order to protect his head.


    As the two sickles hit the sword, his right arm was overpowered by the attack. Fortunately, he was successful in blocking it. But the onslaught was just starting.


    He kept on defending the attacks, but he cannot block them all. Cuts were starting to accumulate in his body as his blood was flowing out of it.


    ''No! This can''t continue. Focus! Focus! Damned heretics! I can''t focus! Ah-'' it was then that he received a kick to the gut by Rezhul.


    He was sent flying and lying down on the ground holding his stomach. It didn''t hurt that much, but it still made him cough.


    ''What is happening?'' the Big Baldie thought. ''Surely he isn''t just that. Hmmm. He keeps on looking towards that side-. This bastards! Why are they here now?'' as he looked to the side, he saw the heretics poking their heads out of the trees seemingly interested in the spar of some children.


    ''So that''s why he was being beaten. He was afraid of them.'' with a bit of an observation, he came into the conclusion of Alex''s sudden weakness.


    "Alex, do you accept defeat?" Rezhul said.

 55 Do You Accept Defeat?

    "Alex, do you accept defeat?"


    Although it was such a simple question, it seemed hard for Alex to answer it. Not to mention that he finally felt that undisguised arrogance and contempt in those words. He wasn''t even hurt.


    ''Sigh. If only I wasn''t afraid of those heretics. Then this kid wouldn''t be looking down on me. But what if I showed them my strength by a bit and still hide the fact that I can wield magic?''


    Thinking this, Alex brewed a plan in his head while smirking. This time, he triggered [Madness] with just a slight change of his emotion. The irises in both of his pupils was turning into the shade of red.


    While breathing heavily, he was slowly standing up, acting that he was badly hurt from a mere kick.


    The acting paid off, as Rezhul bought this simple act and thought that his opponent must have been hurt.


    "Still not surrendering huh?" Even though Rezhul acted haughty, he was still maintaining his vigilance.


    A simple kick might hurt his opponent, but not by much. He could only try to belittle Alex just to boost his self-confidence.


    In reality, the attack that Alex performed at the beginning gave him a scare. So he wanted him to lose his composure and expose more flaws. That''s the time he would defeat him in a more dominating fashion in front of his tribesmen.


    Unfortunately for him, the tactic that he was currently executing wasn''t really that effective to Alex. On the contrary, if Rezhul continued to provoke Alex, then he might not get off with just a few scratches.


    Rezhul swiftly ran towards Alex who was still standing up using his four limbs. He wanted to deliver a devastating kick to Alex''s belly.


    Just when Alex was about to be hit by the kick, he used his four limbs to jump away from the kick. When he regained his balance, he stared at Rezhul with apathetic eyes.


    Rezhul was terrified by Alex''s appearance. Those red eyes that was looking right at him and the face that was filled with anger. Which made him pause and unconsciously took a step back.


    ''W-what!? The color of his eyes changed!''


    A second has just passed and Alex suddenly pounced at him. Doing a simple thrust that was aimed at his heart.


    He tried to deflect the sword to the right, but realized that the weight and force that was contained on the attack was much stronger than that of the previous attack. He felt that something hit his shoulder. He knew he was hit, but he still couldn''t believe that a sword was stabbed in his shoulder.


    Before he could process all of that, Alex removed his grip on the sword and swung his right elbow aiming at Rezhul''s face. Caught off guard, the latter was hit on his cheek and tried to slash Alex''s cheek with his sickle.


    Alex still wasn''t finished with his attack and immediately crouched down to avoid the slash and elbowed the upper part of Rezhul''s epigastric region.


    (A/N: I forgot/don''t know what it is called, so that''s the most accurate that I could describe.)


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    After being hit, Rezhul fell down to the ground clutching his stomach while gastric fluids were continuously flowing out of his mouth.


    "Rezhul, do you accept defeat?" as those words entered Rezhul''s ears. He felt anger building up inside him. It was the exact same words that he said to Alex. What can he do? He was a sore loser, but he clearly lost the spar so he could only accept his loss and nodded his head.


    When he saw Alex with that indifferent attitude he laughed inside. ''You think you''re so strong just because you won huh? Let''s see how strong you are later on. Hehehe.''


    What he didn''t know was that Alex was observing the changes in his expression that he was unable to mask. This gave Alex a really bad feeling. First was the heretics and now he thinks that he has attracted the animosity of the kid or maybe something deeper than that.


    ''I need to get out of here. The sooner the better.'', he was thinking of leaving the Poda Tribe tomorrow morning and then find shelter somewhere and ask for directions just not from the tribesmen.


    ''But really, I was able to control [Madness] much better when I was not that much angry. Also, I didn''t feel that tired. What a progress.'', That was indeed the case, though there were some pros and cons in doing that.


    When he was using [Madness] earlier, he didn''t feel that much strength coursing through his body. Unlike when he was using it at full power, even though he cannot command his body to do things, he was still able to feel the power inside him and his combat prowess was much higher. But there was also a downside to that; after using the skill, his body becomes incredible weak and vulnerable to the simplest of attacks.


    ''Yeah, I should be wary of using it next time. I sure hope that the heretics were able to realize that I can fend for myself against them.'' That was the plan that he concocted. He planned to make the heretics hesitate and buy himself some precious time to get out of the tribe, while also achieving a win in his first spar using a sword.


    He finally heaved a sigh of relief as the redness in his was receding back to its original color. He then picked up his sword and helped Rezhul stand up.


    It was at this time that the Big Baldie and the crowd of teenagers flocked towards them.


    "What a great spar that was!"


    "Yeah! Yeah! Both of you were so good!"


    The teenagers were the first to talk and congratulated the both of them for such a great fight.


    Then the Big Baldie spoke grimly, "Sigh, seems like you overdid it. You should be wary of the severity of your attacks Alex. You could''ve gravely injured my son, it was just a spar! Just look at his shoulder. We should go back and get him treated."


    "Don''t worry old man, it was just a slight poke. Just a shallow wound." Alex replied.


    Looking over at the wound, the Big Baldie said, "Oh! Still, we should go back and get yourselves checked. You guys should then take a rest."


    "Let''s go!"

 56 Do You Want To Fight?

    The afternoon air gives the scent of the trees and the leaves and also the earthy smell of the soil, just like your typical forest. The warmth the sun gives off acts as if it was encouraging the crowd to lie down and rest.


    As a gale forced a group of humans to close their eyes.


    "What a nice weather. It makes you want to sleep here on a hammock." One of the youngsters cannot help but exclaim.


    "A nice weather indeed. But we have to go back to the tribe to check if Rezhul sustained any internal injury."


    As the two youngsters kept on talking. The others were still enjoying the forest. Even though the forest was just outside the village, they were acting as if it was their first.


    Amidst the laughter of the teenagers, Alex, who won the spar, didn''t really feel the glory of winning. Rather than smiling, his face kept a frown and a fearful demeanor.


    ''I seemed to have provoked a hornet''s nest.''


    He kept on looking back at the trees far behind them and he could still see the silhouettes following their group.


    He glared at them to prove that he ''wasn''t'' scared of them.


    At this instant, the color of his eyes were slowly turning red. He felt that he was no longer fearful of what may come. He was starting to get irritated by their actions, constantly popping out their heads behind the trees.


    ''Ah, I should just kill them.'' A thought suddenly sprang up his mind. A cold and murderous gaze fell on those shadows.


    Just as he was about to take action, another strong gale came by that forced his eyes to close.


    He immediately fought the urge of closing his eyes and opened them, only to see that the beings following them were no longer there.


    The anger that has just started to build up, soon subsided.


    After a few seconds he suddenly asked himself, ''What was I thinking just now? Killing them? Why would I even kill a human when they didn''t do anything to me, other than following?


    ''Oh no! The side effect of using the skill is slowly eroding my mind. I should really just use it in times of need, like the Poisonous Dagger.'' It was only then that dawned on him that in a single day, he used [Madness] twice. No wonder that he suddenly felt a bit bloodthirsty.


    It wasn''t long until they reached the outside of the village.


    There was now a gate made up of big unknown wood, that was sharpened on both ends, looking very ...ancient.


    "Wait! Was this gate here before?", Alex mumbled.


    "This gate was just created today. You see, when I woke up at dawn, I saw almost every hunter of the tribe moving a bunch of tree logs." A teenager close to him heard of what he said and answered his question.


    "Is that so?"


    On the sides of the humongous gate, stood two wooden towers. One cannot help but wonder, in this day and age, who would even use wood as a gate?


    Anyways, wood was nearest and most abundant material that they could. Who was he to judge?


    ''It seems that they''re preparing against some sort of invasion or an attack?''


    It has nothing to do with him anymore, was what he thought. For he would be leaving the tribe at dawn. Unless the attack would take place in the evening, then there was no need for him to fret.


    ''Now the question is, will the Poda tribe lend me a map to help me get back to Azta?''


    He knew that he cannot just blindly head south and hope for a tribe to settle in for a night or two. What he needed was a map to navigate through possible dangerous areas.


    "You guys stay here for a second and I will go check Rezhul with the doctor. After that we will discuss something for the hunting tomorrow."


    The voice just now woke him up from his own little world, arriving inside of what looked to be a clinic.


    The Big Baldie escorted Rezhul to a small room. Since Alex has nothing else to do, he decided to just stay with the group and waited for the Big Baldie to come back.


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    After about half an hour of waiting, the Big Baldie finally came out of the room with a slight smile on his face.


    He then disclosed the details regarding the injuries of Rezhul. He told everyone that it wasn''t a severe one and Rezhul would be able to join them in their hunting tomorrow.


    "About tomorrows activity, like last month, I would still teach you by a bit and rate you based on your performances and improvements.


    The better ones would be awarded with a weapon made from the bones of a Fierce Beast, while those who hasn''t improved much shall be punished according to the tribe''s law."


    As the teenagers heard of the word ''punished'', their faces became filled with fear.


    Alex''s brows creased as he saw their reactions. The fear that was projected in their faces was something that cannot be faked.


    For he has seen an emotion quite like theirs. It was like from the little goblins that he had slain back when he ''dreamt'' of the future.


    "Screeeeeeech!"


    An ear-piercing screech resounded in everyone''s ears, as it continued to echo in the vicinity of the tribe. It was immediately followed by loud chirping sounds.


    "What!?"


    "It''s too early! It''s not even dusk yet."


    "Yeah! They''re breaking their rules!"


    Angry clamor of the tribesmen could be heard outside the clinic.


    Upon hearing the screech, the Big Baldie instructed the youngsters to head back home immediately and told them not to go out unless they were told so.


    "Hey Uncle, what''s going on?", Alex asked.


    "The beasts-, no, the insects are attacking the village."


    "What? Insects? Like big insects or small insects?"


    "Yes. Human sized insects. They are actually way harder to fight than those beasts. They attack everyone madly; disregarding any injuries they take no matter how big or small it was. Unless you chop their heads off, any attacks are almost considered as useless."


    He cannot believe that there were human sized insects. What he was taught at school was there were no insects of this size.


    Alex kept on wondering back then why there were no insect king or higher leveled insects known to humanity. It seems that they were keeping a low profile? Or they are being schemed at, so that they can have limited growth?


    "Seems like this isn''t the first time they are attacking your tribe."


    "Yes. They keep on attacking every month at dusk. Now though, they are a day earlier and it''s not even dusk yet!"


    "Say kid, do you want to fight these monsters with us?" the Big Baldie asked.

 57 Charge!

    "Do you want to fight with us?"


    "Hell yes!" Alex subconsciously blurted out.


    After a seconds of mind buffering, he was shocked to see that the Big Baldie was holding his wrist whilst grinning at him showing his white teeth.


    "Oh no no no! I was just joking! I''m only 17. I''m not even 18 yet." Alex protested.


    "Why? You''re clearly stronger than those brats and let this be a form of baptism by blood for you since you''re turning 18." the Big Baldie said still not letting go of Alex''s wrists and continued to drag him.


    "No! That can wait til'' my birthday!"


    Alex was just making up excuses at this point, he knew that he messed that one up. He was only thinking that maybe, he would be exhausted after defending the tribe and he wouldn''t be able to leave tomorrow.


    He was also afraid that maybe the heretics would scheming behind his back for interrupting their ''thing''.


    As the Big Baldie saw Alex''s face, he couldn''t help but laugh heartily.


    "Hahaha! It seems like you''re troubled by those heretics. Don''t worry about them too much. They aren''t even in here."


    After hearing what the Big Baldie said, he calmed down by a bit.


    ''How would I know that they are not here? What if they''re just not wearing their black robes. Am I just being paranoid?''


    In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and decided to fight with the tribe. However, he needed to hide his cards and keep a low profile whilst watching his surroundings.


    Just when they arrived outside the village, tons of man-sized insects could be seen.


    "Wait, why are we outside?"


    "What? Do you want the village to become the battlefield?"


    He knew he shouldn''t have said that. He could only hung his head low while scratching the back of his head, feeling embarrassed.


    There were hundreds of tribesmen outside the village. Some had paint on their faces while some had none.


    Most of them were wielding machetes, some had axes, sticks, sickles and rakes. However, they have one similar designs. There were weirdly engraved patterns on each and every one of them.


    Looking down at his sword, it was lackluster compared to their weapons. Seeing those engraved patterns, he was actually quite jealous and thought that his sword would look better after being engraved.


    The Big Baldie made his way to the very front of the crowd, while Alex trailed behind him.


    From out of nowhere, the Big Baldie suddenly summoned a pair of axes that fitted perfectly on both of his hands.


    "Eh? How did you do that?" Alex asked in wonder.


    "What do you mean how did I do that? Eh? Why are you here?" Upon hearing someone talking to him, the Big Baldie turned around in great surprise.


    "Wasn''t I supposed to fight with you?"


    "Who said that? Hahahaha! It was just a joke. Who would''ve thought that you have the guts to fight against these insects?" In tough situations like this, the Big Baldie likes to make fun of others in order to hide his nervousness.


    He was afraid that maybe one day, these insects would be the end of their tribe. Since half a year ago, the insects started attacking them for no reason. Each attack was stronger than the last and every time there would be casualties among the tribesmen.


    The Big Baldie tried asking for help from the nearby tribes, but to no avail. Every single one of them has their own excuses. All he wanted was for his tribe to live peacefully. Unfortunately for him, he was born on the wrong era.


    "By the way, I summoned these pair of axes with this." the Big Baldie smiled wildly and showed a ring in his hand while wiggling his fingers, as if a kid showing off his new toy. It was a ring with a purple colored gem and intricate designs.


    "Anyways, since you''re here, just fight to your hearts content. Actually I just wanted to show you how small-scale war looks like."


    That was indeed what the Big Baldie wanted. Since everyone in the tribe has seen this scene many times, they were quite numbed to it already. So he just wanted to expand his horizon by letting him observe such war.


    Now the next thing they had to do was to defend the tribe and fight.


    "My fellow tribesmen, we have to defend our tribe once more. For our brothers, we fight! For glory!"


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    "For glory!!!" Everyone shouted in unison.


    Gazing towards the enemies, there were a bunch of insects that became gigantic. Some of them are especially eye catching. There was a two meter tall Stick Insect and a huge Stag Beetle that was as big as a rhinoceros. Aside from those two that looked to be the ''captains'', the others look like weak mobs. Still, those weak mobs were as large as a normal lion.


    The presence of those two weren''t able to deter the hot-blooded tribesmen, as they charged towards the insects.


    "Charge!"


    The bloody battle against the giant insects soon ensued. The courageous men soon reached their enemies.


    Alex was stunned as he saw his enemy block his sword strike. It was a Praying Mantis nearly as tall as him. He wanted to end the fight by simply chopping the neck of the mantis. Sadly, its scythe-like claws were obstructing him.


    Focusing on what his peripheral vision was showing him, he noticed that he wasn''t the only one whose attack was blocked. The collision of the two sides weren''t as bloody as one expected it to be, as both sides were able to receive the others'' attacks.


    The Praying Mantis was shocked by the human''s weapon. It had prided itself with its claws, it was able to kill and destroy the weapons made by the humans. The human that it was facing should be strong.


    Upon noticing that the human in front of it wasn''t paying much attention to it, the praying became angry. It slightly tilted its claws downward which made the sword slide into the ground and immediately attacked.


    It raised both of its claws and swiftly brought it down, intending to slice off Alex''s arms.


    However, Alex was quick to respond and retaliated by swinging the sword as strong as he could.


    When the sword hit the claws, he immediately jumped to the side and used the collision force to get himself out of danger.


    It was a move that he learned when he entered [Madness] during his fight with Rezhul. Although it wasn''t as fluid as back then, it at least saved his life.


    Now looking at the spot where the claws of the Praying Mantis were embedded, if he didn''t moved to the side then he would have to say goodbye to his left arm.


    It was only on the spur of the moment that he wanted to try the move and it proved to be the right decision.


    After getting out of the Praying Mantis'' range, he was able to conclude that, it had better strength than him and its exoskeleton was pretty tough. It would be a pain to kill this insect.


    He could only try and target its weaknesses like a joint, the eyes, neck or skull.


    It was at this moment that someone or something collided against his back. He wanted to look what it was, and he was able to see the Praying Mantis, within his peripheral vision, rushing to him.


    With a split second decision, he tumbled to the side to evade the charging mantis. He looked towards the Praying Mantis and saw it beheading a tribesmen equipped with an armor.


    The armor wasn''t able to help protect him as it was not covering the neck of the man. Blood showered the mantis and Alex who was nearby.


    The Praying Mantis then proceeded to lick its claws clean of the human blood.


    This scene made Alex tremble down to his core. It was a miscalculation on his part that killed the man.


    Back then when his back hit the man''s armor, he thought that it was the exoskeleton of an insect. Along with the well-timed rush from the Praying Mantis, Alex was forced to dodge to save himself.


    Guilt. It was slowly eating Alex''s heart. It was because of him that a man has died.


    ''I should have stayed behind. I''m still too weak. If only I used everything, he wouldn''t have died. Was what I did wrong? I only intended to save my life, but it was on the price of someone''s life. With my skills I should''ve been able to save both our lives, but, but, but what? It was me who killed him!''


    ''What about his family? Does he have one? They would never be able to see him again. And it was all because of me.''


    Alex was having an internal conflict. It was the vety first time that he saw a human, die. And it was also his first time that he was involved in the death. He was feeling really bad.


    The Praying Mantis looked at Alex who was kneeling on the ground, crying.


    ''Eh? Why is this human crying? Was what I did earlier made it scared that it cried? Kekekekek'' Feeling smug about itself, it screeched loudly at Alex. Then it walked step by step towards its prey.


    Looking at the Praying Mantis that was walking towards him, Alex''s mind went blank and he once more returned to the land of darkness.


    ''Sigh. I knew this would happen'', an aged voice resounded in Alex''s mind but he was already unconscious and was unable to hear it.

 58 Possession

    Having lost the will to fight, Alex collapsed in front of the Praying Mantis. Just as his body was about to fall to the ground, it miraculously stopped mid-air. With his back still bent, ''Alex'' slowly stood up.


    The Praying Mantis was wondering why the human stood up. Wasn''t its will to live crumbled before the almighty Mantis.


    Before it could even rejoice, its scythe-like claws that was on its way to behead the enemy, suddenly didn''t hit its mark.


    The scene of a tear-filled head, flying out of the body; with a blood red fountain spurting out of the neck as a backdrop, didn''t play out as it envisioned.


    What played out was an almost similar scene, but with different body part and blood color.


    Green colored blood sprayed out in front of the young mantis. The claws that it prided so much was chopped off and was now covering its vision.


    Immediately, a sand-like swordlight followed through as it attempted to hit its neck.


    Although its vision was blocked and the mental attack it suffered, it was still able to raise what''s left of its limb and tried to block the attack. (The mental attack here was about how its pride [claws] was crushed [chopped].)


    Arrogant as most fierce beast was, the young Mantis wasn''t part of the ''most''. It still kept its head cool and didn''t succumb to its arrogance.


    The act it made just now saved its life. Although its left limb was obliterated, it was still able to slow the sand-like swordlight. With its tough skin, it was able to receive the attack that was aimed at its neck.


    "Hmm? What a shame."


    A disappointed voice came out from the human in front of it. Even though it only heard the voice, the mantis'' body trembled and it hastily retreated behind the other insects.


    The insects who took the place of the Praying Mantis sneered at its actions. They''ve trained their whole lives just for this day, where they get to kill humans. The orders from the queen cannot be violated! What a weakling!


    A lion-sized Grasshopper took the chance and bolted straight to the young human. When the grasshopper was two meters away from its target, it opened its mouth and was preparing to devour the humans head.


    There was only a meter away between the two when suddenly, the Grasshopper''s eyes widened in horror. With a casual swing from his sword, the young man was able cut the grasshopper into two.


    Green blood dyed the young man''s white shirt as he held the sword and inspected it, not seeming to mind the blood on his body.


    "Yes, this is how it feels! Unfortunately, this will be the last thirty minutes of my life as a human." a sad voice filled with reminiscense came from ''Alex''.


    Although the body was Alex''s, the soul was not his. It was from the Scorpion Emperor. Back when he had given Alex his inheritance, he also imprinted a spell on Alex''s body. It was a [Lifeline] spell; a self-created spell that automatically triggers when the person who had the imprint is unable to fight back and is nearing death''s door.


    The [Lifeline] spell takes a portion of a soul from the Scorpion Emperor and forces Alex into unconsciousness.


    Since the Scorpion Emperor wanted to pass his inheritance to Alex, a portion of his soul was no longer important.


    "But really, I didn''t expect [Lifeline] to be used so soon. How long has it been since I died? Two years? Haha."


    After laughing at himself, the old emperor looked down and caressed the sword in his palm. Faint traces of sand-like aura was emitting from his fingers, as he slowly touched the cold steel. The steel sword seemed to be remembering the aura of its master and was gradually absorbing the aura.


    The slight sheen that was coming out from the sword was gentle and majestic. It wasn''t the kind of aura that one would expect from a sword master.


    The Old Emperor gazed at the enemies. More importantly, it lingered on the mantis that escaped his clutches. He was slightly interested about this mantis, being more talented than the others.


    ''I''m gonna kill you, lest you end up killing my people!''The Old Emperor flashed a mocking grin at the young mantis who was coincidentally looking at him.


    To the Praying Mantis, that smile was as terrifying as a grim reaper''s.


    It had to escape, it was still too young to die.


    It retreated at the direction of the two "leaders" that was watching the bloody fight against the humans.


    The Mantis kept on looking back as witnessed the slaughter being made by the old emperor. It hurried even more as it finally reached its destination.


    However, before it could even stand on the side of the huge Stick Insect, the giant''s arm extended and burrowed just in front of the Mantis.


    It looked coldly at the Mantis and then issued a low screech as if saying "What are you doing here? Get back there and fight!"


    The Mantis felt wronged and let out a low screech of its own. It then walked slowly to the front and acted as if it was being blocked by the other insects.


    It looked back at the giant Stick Insect and noticed that it wasn''t looking at it anymore and slowly inched towards the area where the insects are winning.


    The Old Emperor watched all of this in amusement. ''What a cunning little mantis'' was what he thought.


    There was still about twenty five more minutes before the possession ends. By that time the user, Alex, would be in a weakened due to overexertion of body and soul.


    Twenty five minutes was more than enough to finish all of this, but the Old Emperor decided to slow down with the killings and observed.


    Although the Old Emperor killed dozens of insects in the span of a few minutes, there wasn''t a speck of blood on Alex''s body. There was just sweat on his white shirt and dusts on his pants.


    With too much time in his hands, the Old Emperor decided to inspect Alex''s body so he could help this predecessor of his later on.


    ''Hmm. Seems pretty average, too thin, I can''t even see some muscles! And what''s with this cape? This outfit is weird, uncomfortable and offers no defense! I''m not surprised he triggered [Lifeline] this early!''


    Actually when the Old Emperor was at Alex''s age, he was pretty bulky and muscular. Despite being a mage, he decided to create spells that would be suitable for melee combat as it gave him more excitement when he fights.


    "Oh! There seems to be a decent one amongst these people." The Old Emperor saw the Big Baldie, using his pair of axe to chop the enemies heads one by one. If the Big Baldie continues at its pace, he would definitely face the two giant insects in five minutes.


    Although the he kept on mumbling inaudible words all this time, the insects still kept on rushing at him. The matter of dying didn''t even appear on their heads. All they thought about was that the enemy was already exhausted and with their fighting capability they should be able to finish the human off.


    After another minute of fighting, the corpses of the insects was already piled up behind the Old Emperor. Although fierce beasts may have been a bit dumb, but they''re not that dumb.


    They could also tell the difference in strength between them and the human with the sword. They halted as a start, then slowly backed off from this sword master.


    Upon noticing the cowardice of his brethren, the giant Stick Insect screeched so loud that an ordinary man would have his eardrums bleeding for days.


    The screech was filled with anger and subdued quite a few of the insects and stopped from fleeing. While there were some cowards who fled the scene like what the young Mantis did.


    The Stick Insect has a fiery temper and immediately used a dozen of its arms and killed those deserters.


    Seeing that their comrades died at the hands of their superior, they didn''t hesitate anymore and launched a group attack against the Old Emperor.


    It was better to die trying, than to die without fighting. They knew that whether they face the Old Emperor or the giant Stick Insect, they probably die either way. But fighting against the Old Emperor gave them a glimmer of hope.


    As the insects initiated the attack, some jumped and some rushed; the Old Emperor gathered his sand-like aura at the sword and swung it at the enemies.


    The insects snickered when they saw the Old Emperor swinging his sword, when they were still five meters away from him.


    ''This human is doomed!''


    ''It was a good thing that I''m at the very front, so that I can deliver a death blow.''


    ''The dumb human''s now tired that even his brain went faulty.''


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    The minds of these insects soon froze when they saw a sword light, the shape of a crescent moon rushing towards them at an incredible speed.


    Their minds were fast enough to process the sand-like sword light, but their bodies failed to keep up.


    The bodies of those insects were cut in half as the sword light dissipated into nothingness.


    "What do we have here? A bunch of Beast Cores! Hahaha! Kid you''re gonna make a progress soon!" The Old Emperor laughed loudly and drew quite a bit of an attention from both the insects and the tribesmen.


    "Eh? You still don''t have a Space Ring? How can we keep all of these? Oh oh oh! I know!" The Old Emperor immediately touched the brooch and removed the cape from his back.


    "Oh? This brooch? Is useless!" Even though he said useless, he still kept it on his pants and soon he collected the beast cores from the Fierce Beasts one by one. He cut their bodies once more and dug out their cores.


    He didn''t care about the others looking at him weirdly, he just wanted to collect his spoils of war to help Alex.


    ''Old man! Something''s coming!'' A voice was heard inside the head of the Old Emperor.


    "I know. And it already took the bait. Hehehe. Just watch and learn kid." the Old Emperor muttered.


    The trembling of the earth could not be concealed or maybe the creature didn''t want to make its presence unknown. Soon, a huge shadow covered Alex''s body.

 59 Fighting A Dire Beas

    "The stick has finally presented itself in front of this old dog."


    I could clearly hear my voice saying those words. But there''s just a bit of difference. Like the way it was said had an intensity and majestic flair to it.


    Hopefully, I could also sound like this in the future. It would be good to pressure my enemies.


    As the big shadow loomed over us, my vision moved upward.


    I saw the monstrosity standing at at least two meters tall, with legs as thick as a human''s. Actually it was like a humanoid insect, with myriads of stick limbs and without ears and nose. Or maybe there was, but I just can''t see it.


    It was like a character from a movie back on Earth, which only says three words.


    The stick insect was only a meter away from us. Its limbs were inches away from us. If it was me facing this situation, I would''ve been rooted in terror.


    But no, the Old Emperor was facing all of its pressure. I was just a mere spectator on this one.


    "Hey kid. Did you know that this one''s a Dire Beast? If you see one in the future you better run, because the current you is no match against such insect."


    The Stick Insect looked around, then looked at us as if we were a fool. I could imagine it saying ''Who is this guy talking to?''.


    But when it heard the word ''insect'', the Stick Insect screeched at the top of its lungs.


    Still, the Old Emperor continued to talk, "Not to mention that your system is still inaccessible, you''re just way too weak. Anyway, I''ll show you how hard it is to kill a Dire Beast even with my skills."


    The Stick Insect had already stopped screeching before the Old Emperor finished. Now it was looking at us in rage. It''s chest, if it has one, was heaving up and down. I guess the big guy felt belittled.


    Suddenly, I felt my right arm, which was holding the sword, move. It hit or maybe deflected something that blurred past my eyes.


    Looking at it now, it was actually the limb of the Dire Beast. I cannot help but wonder, how the Old Emperor was even able to perceive that attack. He read it so well that he acted even before the attack was made.


    I shall leave that thought for later as the Old Emperor finally moved.


    He raised his right hand in front of his chest while the sword was pointing upward and other hand was behind his back.


    Wait! I know this stance!


    Houuuu! (SFX: Wind)


    Another blurry limb swiftly entered my eyes and then it suddenly fell.


    Well that was quick. No, seriously, it was really fast that my eyes were almost unable to catch up.


    The Stick Insect was clearly hurt by having one of its myriads of limb chopped off, as it screeched once more.


    I wasn''t really paying attention as to how the Old Emperor did it. But I can always watch it again since there are still more limbs left.


    The Old Emperor swung his sword that was neither fast nor slow. I think it was just a casual swing with the intent to slice the insect''s body.


    Then the sand-like sword light was emitted from the sword once more.


    At almost the exact time the sword was swung, the Dire Beast in front of us actually jumped backwards and unleashed a barrage of attacks. Not only was the attack many, it was also strong and fast.


    With the sword touching the ground, the Old Emperor casually swung the sword once more. Then a barrier made of golden colored sand stopped the attack of the Stick Insect. It wasn''t a full barrier, but a frontal barrier.


    To actually react that fast and counterattack. I gotta give it to the stick.


    But man that shield looked good. While I could only use a tree.


    ''Wait, what? How can the Old Emperor create sand with my mana, while I have Wood affinity? This is really strange. I better ask him later.''


    As the barrier receded, the stick limbs of the enemy also retreated.


    The Old Emperor controlled my body and ran as fast as he could towards the still mid-air enemy. As he stopped, the sand beneath my feet began turning into swords and with a smooth thrust of the sword, the sand swords flew into the air towards the Dire Beast.


    While the Stick Insect used its myriad of stick limbs to protect its vitals from being severely injured.


    Booooom!


    Its body fell down to the ground and produced a mini dust cloud. It was about twenty meters away from us.


    After the dust settled down, we could finally see its miserable state. All of its limbs were now gone and a single leg was what kept it from falling.


    It now really looked like a ''stick'' insect.


    "I have very little mana left. About time I end this." The Old Emperor smirked, or at least that''s how I felt that he did.


    Then he dashed straight at the enemy. Halfway through, I could barely see the Stick Insect smirking, as if it was mocking us. A sense of unease rose inside of me and I immediately warned the old man of this.


    "Old Man, this beast feels strangely dangerous!"


    "I know." The Old Man flashed a meaningful smile and continued onwards.


    I could finally see the reason why the Dire Beast was smirking. It seems like its limbs are ... regenerating? What!? It''s not just simple regeneration, but limb regeneration!


    How ''bout the old man then? He''s running low on mana.


    "It still feels great outsmarting a smartass."


    Then the Old Emperor repeated the same move. He stopped running and casually thrusted his sword. This time however, there were about fifty sand swords fly.


    The regenerated limbs weren''t even able to thwart the advancement of the swords and directly cut the Dire Beast into pieces.


    "It seems like you want to ask me about something. What is it?" the Old Emperor asked while slowly walking towards the corpse of the Stick Insect.


    "Uhmm. How were you able to use your magic with my body? I''m a Wood Mage. How was that even possible?"


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    "You know we both have a system, yes?"


    "Yes, but-"


    "Then you have your answer. You see, the system is in our soul. Since I still have this bit of soul, then I still my system. Even if I have given you my system, I''m still capable of using it.


    "After the system finishes its updates, there will be some nice rewards. Oh and you can have your body back."


    The feeling of regaining my body is so nice. It is so frustrating to be a spectator.


    I look around and saw that there were countless insect beast near me.


    "Do your best, young man." I could hear the voice of the Old Emperor inside my head. It was full of mischief, like a child''s.


    "Aaaahhhhh!" I let out a roar of hopelessness and picked up the shiny brown core of the Stick Insect.


    ''This should shorten the update by a lot.''


    *DING*


    *Stick Insectoid Beast Core detected! Would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    No no no no! Who would absorb that thing right now? I quickly rejected the suggestion of the system.


    What I''m gonna do, is to run.

 60 Wits End

    Hmmm, why are these insects surrounding me? Come to think of it, as a Fierce Beast; their minds are that of a something year old kid. Shouldn''t they be scared of me when I killed their ''commander'', a Dire Beast? Or is it because they know no fear, that they are threatening me?


    They can''t be that intelligent.


    Well, who knows?


    Suddenly, another question popped up inside my head.


    "Hey Old Man, you said the fight with the Stick Insect beast would be hard. How come you ended up being unscathed?"


    "Just because I wasn''t hit, doesn''t mean that the battle wasn''t hard. Look at your mana reservoir, see that? It''s almost drained. And your -."


    Then I was suddenly struck by dizziness for a few seconds and was unable to hear what the Old Emperor has to say. After recovering, I ruminated the course of action that I should be taking. The beasts are getting nearer and nearer.And the first thing that appeared inside my head was to - KILL THEM!


    Yes, I should just kill them all. They are just a bunch of Fierce Beasts anyways. Even with my body alone and a sword in my hand, I can defeat these insects. I can definitely win!


    With my vision narrowing, I looked down at the sword in my hand and without any hesitation, hacked it at the monster in front of me. A warm goo-like thing splashed right at my face.


    Wondering what that thing was, I looked at the beast that I just hacked. It was a mini Stag Beetle. And by mini, I mean not the regular sized Stag Beetle that I often see on Earth, but as large as a dog.


    I was strucked dumb by what I saw. It was because the sword that I used to attack the ''mini'' Stag Beetle was being clenched by its pincers.


    "How?" I muttered. There shouldn''t have been any fierce beasts that was capable of receiving an attack from me. But then it struck me that it was a Stag Beetle and its pincers should be the strongest part of its body. The Beetle should be a defense type of beast.


    I quickly retrieved my sword and it issued the sound of metal scratching against each other.


    As I took my sword back, a feeling of weakness took over my whole body. My arms trembled, as my knees has gone soft.


    I fell down.


    I watched as the beasts flock towards me; threatening me with their weak bodies. I actually think that they are teasing me, thinking I would show them an expression of despair. But I won''t.


    The urge to use my magic surfaced inside my head. It was but an instinct and mana immediately filled my hands.


    From the tiniest bit of mana that was left in my mana reservoir, it was still enough to cast one last tree trunk.


    Fortunately, the palm of my hand wasn''t directly in contact with the ground. Although it took a bit of time to reach the ground, it was but a second, and my body was immediately flung out of the encirclement.


    It was not enough and I was still only behind them. These vicious and mindless beasts only need to turn their bodies and I would surely be surrounded once more.


    The spell was cancelled immediately turning into a glitter of yellowish green dust, and I was flung away from the insects.


    I ran furiously to try and get away from all of them. But to my horror, everywhere I look were beasts.


    ''The Emperor shouldn''t have been that reckless and chased the Mantis this far, no?''


    "Haaaah."


    There was nothing I can do about it. I could only swing my sword and try to cut off their necks.


    Instead of lamenting at the fact that the Old Emperor screwed me over, I put more effort to cut these insects down.


    "Die, die!, die!" With every word spoken, an enemy would fall; staining the earth with their sickening yet colorful blood.


    The insects that were being slain, were luckily the normal beasts. If they were of a higher rank, like the Fierce Beasts, then it would only be the death''s embrace welcoming me. Not the limbs of these foolish creatures.


    ''Eh? No fierce beasts? How could there not be any of them? Have I subconsciously ran to the front of the insect tide?''


    Hope.


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    It gave me an invisible power that strengthened me and gave me the energy to fight my way back towards my allies.


    Advancing ever so slowly, I fought and fought to no end. As seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours; the hope that was kindled, was being threatened of being doused.


    A shadow fleeted at the end of my sight, followed by a searing pain at my back. I knew that my back turned bloody.


    "Ahhhh!"


    As I turned around, I sent out an attack of my own. But the sword was already caught before it even found its target.


    I quickly yanked the sword back and luckily snatched it away due to blood of the insects staining my sword with their filthy blood.


    This time, I get to have a good look at what caught my sword. And to my horror, it was the bloody Beetle!


    I hurriedly turned around and tried to run away, but there was another damned Fierce Beast blocking my way.


    ''What do I do, what do I do?''


    My mind rotated like clockworks in order to survive. I turned and turned looking for a way out, but the pain that was assaulting my back was proving to be rather difficult to cope up with.


    It was then that I saw another ray of hope. The poisonous dagger! It gleamed with a poisonous chilling light, like the sun was shining down right at it causing it to radiate with its own light.


    ''The Old Emperor said that, it was only I, who can use this dagger and told me not to use it unless absolutely necessary.''


    ''I''m already about to die, so does this count as necessary? Haha.'' I smiled an swiftly thrusted it to the Centipede that was blocking my path.


    ''Ting!''


    That wasn''t the sound that I was supposed to hear. That was the sound of metal clashing with another metal! The dagger was deflected with absurd precision by not hitting the edges.


    "Oh crap¡ª!"


    It attacked me using its tail. The weight of the attack nearly destroyed my waist.


    I gripped the dagger tightly, afraid that it would slip from my hand. I was having a hard time standing up while thinking why it didn''t work.


    Was I weak enough that it didn''t even manage to injure my opponent? But the dagger was supposed to be a weapon capable of even killing the Scorpion Emperor. Or was I supposed to insert my mana into it or something? Then I saw the Centipede and the Beetle charging towards me.


    I got into my stance and sheathed the dagger back to my left arm guard. I was aiming for a Quick Draw. It just came to me naturally and thought it was reasonable to use it to end the enemies'' lives in but a single swing.


    Although I didn''t have a skill called Quick Draw, this should be enough to fool these kids that I didn''t have anymore weapons.


    I could feel the mana within me was way too little to use. I need to be focused enough and be precise when to use it.


    The speed of the two wasn''t considered to be fast, yet they already arrived almost a few meters in front of me.


    "DIE!" I put a lot of strength in that single swing, because I knew that my body was beyond exhausted. I''m already very weak.


    I calculated where their faces would be as I swung the dagger and inserted my mana in it.


    ''SPLUUUURRTTT!''


    I felt the warm rain of their blood, drenching me with it.


    Collapsing to the blood-filled ground. I had a smile on my face.


    "Cough! Cough!" I kept on coughing up blood until my head hurts.


    I was able to see the Centipede being sliced in half and the Beetle''s body seemed to be wounded.


    ''Thud!'' A loud thud followed by the cry of the Beetle resounded in the battlefield.


    "Ooooongg!"


    "Oooooonnggg!" Then a much louder and mournful voice echoed.


    But I don''t really care about it that much. Sooner or later, I would become a feast to the insects.


    I don''t want to be eaten alive, but I could not end my life, as my body could no longer move.


    ''THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!''


    I could actually hear my heartbeat slowly thumping. As the energy within me slowly slips away.

 61 Big Battle

    "Slowly thumping. Getting stronger and stronger? Wait, what?"


    That wasn''t the sound that I was supposed to hear. I could even feel the ground tremble. I forced my eyes to open and see what kind of creature it was that was making so much commotion. Only to find a humongous Stag Beetle coming at me.


    ''Why are you coming towards me with such ferocity big guy? Did I kill your kid or something?'' I tried talking, but only gargled blood came out of my mouth; so I just talked inside my head.


    After laughing bitterly inside my head, I finally realized that I indeed killed its kin!


    ''Oh I''m so screwed now!''


    ''Madness! Madness!'' I kept on calling the skill that I have acquired from the Old Man Tartarus. Even though I knew that it needed mana to activate, I still tried. I have to. After all, I might really die if I did nothing. Madness makes my body move on autopilot, if only I could use it at this time then I''ll have a chance at survival.


    There''s no stopping this Big Beetle from turning me into a meat paste.


    "Oi! Don''t you run away from a fight you stupid beetle!" A loud voice interrupted my gloomy thoughts and I could see the Big Baldie catching up to the Stag Beetle. His running speed was even faster than that of the beast''s. His eyes seems to be filled with shock as he saw me on the ground.


    "Oraaaaaaa!" A roar, followed by a blaring swoosh and another sound akin to a crackle of thunder; an axe with an immense sized magically ''boomed'' in front me!


    "Huuuuuuuuup!" With a shout, a ray of sunlight jumped with an unbelievable speed and landed right between me and the Stag Beetle. The Big Baldie looked pleased at himself like a kid fulfilling his dream of a massive entrance. I heaved a euphoric sigh of relief, thinking that I have avoided a disaster.


    "Oi, kid! What are you still doing there? Hurry and get up! Or does lying in a pool of filthy insect blood feel that comfortable?


    ''Oh how I loved to head back, but can''t you see? I can''t move!'' Well of course, that was only in my head so I slowly blinked my eyes like an innocent child.


    "Whatever. It''s good as long as you''re safe." he muttered. I felt touched actually. This big guy with a soft heart, really, I shall pay you back once I become strong. With that in mind, I tried my hardest to focus on the battle that was about to commence before me.


    Witnessing a battle between Big Baldie, whose rank is unknown, against the Stag Beetle that should be a Dire Beast, like the Stick Insect.


    The Big Baldie''s prowess could only be at least as strong as the beetle.


    "Ooooooonggg!" the Dire Beast roared at its enemy. It sounded like a cry, full of anguish at the loss of its kin. Its red eyes glared at me for a second before looking back at the Big Baldie.


    Sensing the battle was about to start, Big Baldie took back his weapon that was embedded on the ground.


    The axe glimmered with light as it was held by the Big Baldie. The weirdly engraved patterns were also emitting a sense of dread and bloodlust. He looked around to assess the enemies that may lay ambush or maybe those that can be a threat.


    But he wasn''t given enough time to do so, as the big beetle started charging at him.


    "Ooooonnnggg!"


    "KILL!"


    The two big guys rushed at each other. As they collided, the pair of axes was stopped by the pair of mandibles.


    "Let go!" Even though the axes weren''t stuck, it was still hard for the Big Baldie to take back his weapon as it looks like their strength was about the same.


    If one weakens out, then they''re surely be the one who gets injures.


    Still, the stalemate didn''t last long. The Big Baldie''s prolonged battle against the other insects made him familiar with these pair of mandibles. Although a bit big, it was still manageable.


    Pulling the axes down, he deftly dodged the incoming attack that was about to crash unto him.


    He hacked and slashed its wings as fast as he could, earning the ire of the big beetle.


    "Ooooooonnggg!"


    "Oh shut up, will you?", he struck harder and harder before the beetle could make its turn.


    Even though it was a bit tough, the wings immediately turned into a mess and unusable.


    With that, its sole means of mobility was incapacitated.


    "Hmph!", he sneered.


    The Big Baldie followed its turn and attacked its hind leg. Damaging a wing was not enough to hamper its movements.


    Therefore the Big Baldie kept on attacking its leg. Unable to do anything against the slippery Baldie, the big beetle roared.


    "Oooooooongggoo!", it was exasperated at this shiny human and called for reinforcements.


    The insects that was originally watching at the sidelines, charged towards the Big Baldie. As the insects swarmed towards him, the Big Beetle retreated.


    It needed time to adjust to its miserable state. Not only that, but it still needs to heal its slightly injured hind leg.


    Looking back at the Big Baldie, bodies of insects were being chopped into halves. With his strength, their carcasses were flying around, strewn around him.


    "Oooooooonnggg!"


    "Ah you''re too noisy. Why don''t you just come here and be killed? Do you want your kind to keep on getting slaughtered?"


    When the Big Baldie heard the Stag Beetle''s cries he taunted it a bit.


    With the Stag Beetle''s Dire Beast rank, its body had been tempered with huge amounts of mana, for a long period of time. Not to mention that it was an insect with incredible body, focusing on healing its slightly injured leg was a piece of cake.


    The Stag Beetle charged at the Big Baldie once more. Even without its wings, it could still move very fast on a straight line. It aimed its mandibles at its opponent hoping to inflict a serious injury.


    The Big Baldie grinned as it watched the Stag Beetle attacking him.


    He crossed his axes downward and waited for the attack to arrive. The pair of axes were now glimmering with red lights.


    If one were to get close to the Big Baldie, then they might feel a high temperature coming out of the axe. It was even emitting tiny flames that rises in the air.


    When it was finally before him, he slashed with all his might to destroy the opponent''s attack.


    "Ooooooonnngg!"


    A heart wrenching roar came out of the Stag Beetle''s mouth as it slid through the bloody battlefield.


    Its huge pair of mandibles were cut cleanly from its body. It kept on shouting its sad cries, but one could also hear a deep seethed anger from it.


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    From having its child killed, to not getting its revenged, to not being able to hit its aggressor and finally being seriously injured. This big beetle has bottled up quite an anger.


    Suddenly, its black beady eyes were turning into gold!


    It only wanted to live a peaceful life on the mountains, but was threatened and forced by the queen. If only it was stronger, none of this would''ve ever happened. If only its body was tougher, then it wouldn''t be in such a poor state.


    Its soul was already hurt and aggrieved.


    There was only one thing that it could do.


    Stake it all!


    "Oooooooonnnngggg!!!"


    The gold transformation that occurred in its eyes was slowly being suffused in the air, covering its whole body. Becoming a beacon of light in this bloody war.


    Wind swept up the whole battlefield and the bright sky was turning black. Thunder started crackling inside the clouds. Followed by the pitter-pattering of the raindrops onto the ground.


    A huge amount of mana was coalescing at its body. Its wretched state was healing at an extremely fast rate.


    Its disabled wing started reconnecting and realigning. The pair of mandibles that were cleanly chopped were regenerating and also turning gold.


    It was mutating. Or to be more accurate, it mutated!

 62 Tables Turning

    The rain continued to fall on the battlefield.


    The dark skies that loomed over turned even darker as it spanned in the large region. Only the flashes of light coming from the rumblings of thunder serves as the light for the poor sighted insects and humans.


    "Ooooooooonngggg!"


    The Golden Beetle wailed all the anger and grievances that was once locked within itself. The wail even sounded stronger than the claps of thunder.


    Its aura was constantly getting stronger as time passes by.


    The tribesmen could clearly feel the foul aura pressuring them. Their faces darkened and put more strength in swinging their weapons in fear.


    While on the other side, the insects were going mad from the mutation of the Golden Beetle. The fear that was slowly reducing their prowess was swept away.


    "This can''t continue." the Big Baldie gritted his teeth.


    He then threw an axe towards the Golden Beetle.


    The axe swooshed towards the Golden Beetle. It was rotating incredibly fast and kept on emitting tounges of fire at first, then it grew to become a flaming wheel aiming at the golden mountain.


    The Golden Beetle was unfazed by the flame wheel and it stood still waiting for the fiery axe to come.


    ''Thwack!''


    One side of the Beetle''s mandibles were cut off, yet the Golden Beetle was unperturbed about such an injury. It wasn''t even enough for it to flinch in pain.


    An injury like this would''ve made it go ham and maybe even runcbefore mutation. But now, it even has the audacity to smirk!


    The Big Baldie even felt proud of himself to inflict such an injury to a mutated Dire Beast. He was feeling happy and was about to rush the Golden Beetle when he heard the creature snort.


    He stopped in his tracks and watched as the Golden Beetle regenerate such an injury at a rate that the eye could see the changes.


    "No, no!"


    Despair was written all-over the Big Baldie and the tribesmen''s faces. While Alex could barely see a thing due to the blood that was on his face and mainly due to pure exhaustion.


    "Huuuuum. Calm down. It''s just another obstacle that should be overcomed. Either I make this battle a stalemate or I lose and everybody dies."


    The Big Baldie took a deep breath and assessed the battlefield.


    The Big Baldie took a hit mentally on the regeneration made by the Golden Beetle. He couldn''t help but tremble when he learned that no matter the injury, the creature could definitely heal itself.


    The only thing that he could do was to stall for time and wait for reinforcements to come, as the mutation was definitely an event that the warriors in the city saw.


    "Oooooonngg!"


    The Golden Stag Beetle roared once more and looked ready to fight. It charged at the Big Baldie using its newly regenerated wings. It arrived at its target after a breath''s worth of time.


    The Big Baldie was shocked awake by the speed that the Golden Beetle showed. Its shadow already loomed before him and it took a swing aiming to destroy the inner organs of the Big Baldie.


    Despite only being awakened in his daze by the enemy, the Big Baldie immediately raised the axe on his left hand and took a defensive stance.


    Unfortunately, it was a mediocre defensive stance as it was hastily put up. The Big Baldie took a hit and his axe was sent flying. He was continuously gurgling and spitting out blood when he tried standing up.


    "Cough! I severely underestimated this beast. Cough!"


    He knew that this beast would pack quite a punch, yet he never thought that this beast would have such an incredible speed. Its speed could even rival those of the Void Beasts that he knew of.


    He once again saw the Golden Beetle flying towards him and dodged to the side. Knowing that he won''t be able to harm the beast with only his bare fist, he immediately ran towards the axe the flew out of his grasp during the collision.


    When he picked up the axe, the beast was already near him and he chopped at the beast.


    The Golden Beetle''s mandibles and the flaming axe collided, yet both of them were only forced a step back! The scene was witnessed by the whole tribesmen and it brought them hope.


    They were naturally observing the battle between the two biggies. So they could act depending on the performance of the two.


    "Let''s go! For glory!"


    The Big Baldie roared at the Golden Beetle''s face with all that he has got. He knew that his kinsmen were watching his fight, and as a leader, he naturally has to rally his troops and increase their morale for battle.


    "For glory!" the Tribesmen followed suit and also bellowed.


    When Alex heard this, he felt that he even had the energy to stand up and fight the creepy creatures. His blood was also boiling, eager to fight his way back. Sadly, he was really out of it. Even the insects were ignoring him as his heartbeat was growing slow, contrary to what he was feeling in his mind.


    The Big Baldie was never the brute that only knows how to swing his axes. Alex felt ashamed, yet he was eager to learn to change his views of people.


    With their newfound strength and increase in morale, the tribesmen were reaping the lives of the insects that only grew to a meter and half. They were just beasts that served as a fodder.


    The threats only came from those fierce beasts that was holding down he stronger ones from the tribe.


    The slaughtering of the beasts were beginning to die down. No matter the morale and their strength, they were still unable to reduce the size of the swarm of insects.


    Due to this, the insects was slowly gaining their ground once more.


    The fight between the Big Baldie and the Golden Stag Beetle continued to be on a stand still. Every collision resulted to a few sparks, white marks and loud thuds.


    ...


    On one of the final Bastions of Humanity.


    The City of Vera


    A muscular middle aged man with white hair were giving out orders towards a couple of people. The scar that runs from his eyebrows towards his cheekbones was fear inducing.


    "Send the 13th infantry division! Listen to the Archmage Micah! His words are mine! Now go, quickly."


    After barking out his orders, the Knights left, leaving the muscled man and another man inside the room. He turned towards the handsome man after the doors have been closed.


    The man looks to be in his early thirthies or late twenties. He has dark blue eyes with the same color as his hair that was reaching his shoulders.


    "Assess the situation first, then act accordingly. Is that what you wanted to say, Geoffrey?", the handsome man said.


    "Ha! You finally learned, Micah!", Geoffrey said.


    "Mages aren''t dumb you know? I shall leave first and deal with this mutant. Let''s hope that this one isn''t a mutant Void Beast or we''ll need more than you and me."


    "Let''s hope so. You be careful out there."


    "Yeah yeah. I''m off."

 63 Once Again, I

    Thousands of Squires were currently assembled at the west gate of the City of Vera. These Squires were listening to the words being said to them by a female Knight who was wearing a full clad armor with a blue comb.


    They were being briefed of the event that occurred earlier. As mutant beasts would pose as a threat for humanity, they were tasked for its subjugation.


    If it were to become a threat in the future, then why does the 13th infantry division the only one getting sent out instead of having all the divisions?


    Most of the manpower were tasked to keep the city safe. As not long ago, villages on the City of Azta''s territory were destroyed by a rampaging Void Beast.


    The higher ups placed the cities on high alert to prevent the beasts from attacking the last three bastions of Terra.


    Due to the invasion of the Demons and the betrayal of the Beasts, the population continued to dwindle down. They still have limited number of people and cannot provide help for expansions.


    When the population reduced, it created tougher and stronger warriors. They were able to cultivate people of higher aptitudes and intelligence.


    Despite being on his thirthies, Micah was able to attain his current rank with the help of a huge amount of resources. Some even say that he would become the youngest King in a mere decade, therefore bolstering the power of humanity once more.


    With the help of Archmage Micah and a dozen of Knights, they are more than enough to tie down a mutated Void Beast and wait for further reinforcement from Geoffrey.


    Every single one of the Squires wore chainmails inside their breastplates as another form of protection. Fully equipping the Squires would''ve costed so much money, yet the City of Vera didn''t care for such expenses.


    After the female Knight was done speaking. She led the other Knights to the front and climbed their war horses. The Squires did the same and awaited for orders.


    "Onwards!", the female Knight hollered.


    ...


    (Not recommended during mealtime :P Hehe)


    Back outside the Poda Village, where the swarm of insects and Poda tribesmen are battling.


    The bloody fight has yet to conclude. The humans have already been exhausted by the numerous weak insects. Although a human could kill on the average of about 50 insects, they were just too many of them.


    Their kill count now exceeded what their abilities and strengths were supposed to show.


    Now, the insects took the chance and are slowly gaining their ground.


    "I''m too exhausted, I can no longer keep up.", said a man who is holding a stick as a weapon.


    "L-let''s just hold on. Incapacitate them, remove their limbs or something." said another man fighting against a cricket.


    "How can I even remove a limb with a stick, Jonathan? Haha."


    "Oh not you Lagos, I''m talking to the others."


    This little conversation made the surrounding tribesmen chuckle. But the insects only need a small opening to destroy the frontline and invade the formation. So they needed this small happiness to calm their strained nerves.


    Just as the others were laughing amongst themselves, a sneaky scythe-like limb emerged out of nowhere and removed the arm of Lagos.


    It was too fast, even with the level of a Squire, he was unable to react and clearly see what has happened.


    If he was able to react, then his trusty stick, made from unknown materials, would''ve blocked the scythe.


    "Ahhhhh!", Lagos screamed.


    Although screams like this are quite common inside the battlefield it still made the others look towards the source of the voice.


    "Lagos!" Everyone shouted. Since they are of the same tribe and of the same team, they naturally are quite close with each other.


    As the one who is nearer to Lagos, Jonathan immediately attacked the cricket heavily to push it backwards.


    The others also did the same, but only inched closer towards each other in order to not break the formation.


    After Jonathan did a sweep, he turned around and ran towards his injured ally.


    "Hold on Lagos!"


    Lagos'' arm was already bleeding heavily, he kept on swinging the stick to fend off his enemy.


    After he swung the stick, Lagos looked at Jonathan who was sprinting towards him. Just in time to see a one armed praying mantis stalking behind his friend.


    "Jonathan, behind you!"


    Lagos'' voice attracted the team once more.


    While Jonathan had a questioning face, he looked behind him, but he wasn''t even able to fully turn when a bloody scythe found its mark on his heart.


    "No, Jonathan!", they screamed.


    The one armed praying mantis held Jonathan''s body, while it''s bloody maw was already munching on his brains. It was slowly retreating backwards whilst eating its prey.


    ''Crunch! Crunch!''


    "Ahhhhhh!!!"


    Lagos screamed and scrambled towards the Praying Mantis, only to find himself bumping face to face with the cricket that Jonathan was holding off earlier.


    "Lagos, get back now!"


    Lagos was already blinded by rage and he kept on beating the cricket with his trusty stick. The rate at which the stick was hitting its target, became faster and faster.


    His astounding strength was able to defeat the cricket in merely two seconds


    "I broke through!", Lagos said.


    His eyes shone brightly. The mana that has already dried up are now constantly supplying him, making his once exhausted body burst with energy.


    He was now a 3rd rank Squire and the breakthrough filled his body with confidence and strength.


    "Hahaha! Why are you running?! Come here!"


    He swatted the body of the Cricket and ran towards the Praying Mantis, who quickly set aside his food and received the attack from Lagos.


    Lagos jumped and smashed at the Praying Mantis. His attack was blocked by the young Mantis, but it didn''t bother him.


    He just broke through, and time would only tell the demise of this creature.


    Although he was really angry, not all of his senses were blinded by rage, yet his brain wasn''t one of them.


    He smiled at the Praying Mantis and looked at its face, only to see it smirking.


    "What-"


    He looked around and saw that he was tightly surrounded by insects.


    Insects everywhere!


    He was unable to see his teammates who he thought was behind him. His eyes that once shone brightly was now filled with horror.


    He didn''t let his emotions (fear) take over him once more.


    "So what? I''ll take you with me!"


    "Sksksksk."


    The one armed man and the one armed praying mantis fought. Strangely though, the surrounding insects were not interfering in the fight.


    Not long after the fight became one sided.


    Lagos'' stick was swatted out of his hands and flew deep in the enemy lines. His remaining arm was sliced off of his body.


    Blood splurted everywhere as the arm rised and fall. While Lagos kneeled, and looked as if he was only waiting for the grim reaper to take his life.


    The praying mantis slowly walked towards the despair filled human. This was what it liked.


    Looking at the faces etched with despair of its opponents.


    Despite cutting off its opponents arms, it still acted warily. Earlier, it was deceived by a young man and have its arm cleaved. Never again shall it happen.


    It wanted to verify that the human was already harmless.


    "Sksksksk!"


    It stood behind Lagos as its bloody maw landed on top of his head. It nibbled away all the life that was seeping out of Lagos, as his body convulsed while being held down by the Praying Mantis.


    ''Crunch! Crunch!''


    Lagos was unable to scream, only soft moans, as his skull was being penetrated by the Praying Mantis'' teeth.


    His body soon lost all of its strength as soon as his brain was being chowed down by the Praying Mantis.


    Although he was already dead and his brain was being nibbled, his body was still convulsing nonstop. This scared the mindless Beasts away, allowing the Fierce Beast, Praying Mantis, to take the body for itself.


    Now that Jonathan and Lagos both died from Praying Mantis, the hole that they left behind weren''t quickly patched up and the stalemate between the insects and the humans have been broken.


    "Oooooooonnnnggg!"


    The Golden Stag Beetle who was constantly eyeing the battle ordered for the insects to charge.


    The fight immediately became bloody and noisy. The insects madly dashed towards the humans, disregarding their lives inflicting whatever wound they could to their enemies.


    The one armed Praying Mantis who was still eating, was being repeatedly bumped by the mad charge of the insects.


    "Sksksksk!!!"


    It angrily complained towards the nearby insects, making the others run around it.


    When suddenly another insect bumped into it, just as it finished eating the whole head.


    "Sksksksk!"


    It slashed its insect ally who bumped against it. The insect was sliced to half and this scared the surrounding insects.


    The Praying Mantis knew that it shouldn''t kill most of its insect ally. Therefore, it decided to back off and dragged Lagos'' body with its mouth and then took Jonathan''s with its remaining arm.


    It retreated far enough that there was just some sounds of fighting and a strangely uncrowded area.


    It didn''t really matter for the young Praying Mantis. All it wanted was to feast on these bodies and rejoin the fight.


    It took the Praying Mantis quite some time to nibble away the body parts of the two human beings. It wasn''t everyday that it was able to eat humans with the rank of a Squire.


    It was quite tasty and nutritious!


    The Praying Mantis stood proudly and happily looked around. It was hoping to score another kill and eat it early, so that it could once again eat when the fight was over.


    As it was looking around, its eyes stopped at a sitting figure that was holding on to a stick. This figure was also looking at it with an unknown expression on its face.


    The staring contest lasted for about five seconds when the Praying Mantis'' eyes lit up and its expression became so happy, that it smiled.


    As for the other guy who was holding the stick. Well, it''s your boy, Alex!


    Just as he saw the bloody smile of the one armed Mantis, his body shivered.


    "Oh sh-!"

 64 Conclusion

    During the whole time that everyone was fighting, Alex was pretending to be dead by the side and was focusing on absorbing mana.


    When he finally regained a bit of strength, he sat down and warily looked at the insects only to notice that they were moving away from him. Although it was weird, he took the chance to recover some more.


    The mana that he regained allowed him to cast a skill or two. He knew that it wasn''t nearly enough to fend off the potential enemies that might attack him.


    That was when he felt a weird gaze from in front of him. It came from a one armed Praying Mantis.


    ...


    ''Crackle! Boom!''


    The sound of thunder once again deafening the ears of the beings amidst the battlefield.


    Lightning hits the ground around the Golden Stag Beetle from time to time. Some even hits its huge body, yet it only left black marks which it later on heals and simply vanishes.


    The lightning strikes poses no threat to the Golden Stag Beetle, yet the same couldn''t be said to the Big Baldie.


    Those ferocious strikes were incredibly fast that no matter how prepared the Big Baldie was, he was still unable to evade the lightnings.


    This became a huge headache to him as those lightning strikes shocks his entire body and numbs his mind. Making him vulnerable to the attacks of the Golden Stag Beetle.


    With his battered body, the Big Baldie assumes a defensive stance and blocked another blow from his enemy. The constant brutal blow was slowly injuring his body.


    "I have to hold on. I have stronger enemies to fight! It is but a mere Dire Beast that got lucky!"


    Muttering his grievances to himself, he continues to defend.


    Cold wind blew at the battlefield and it carried a deep stench of blood.


    "Ah, brings back memories." A man with a dark blue hair said as his hair danced with the wind.


    The handsome man was currently flying in the air, hundreds of meters above the ground. His eyes surveyed the battlefield and finally gazed at the golden beast, fighting against a bald man.


    "So it was just a mutant Dire Beast. Got me worried for nothing. I shall let the Knights help this man get rid of this beast. Then uh, let the Squires to their job "


    Just as Micah was about to head back and rest, the mutated Golden Stag Beetle turned around and ran.


    It ignored the shocked man it was fighting and ran the opposite direction of Micah.


    "Oh, it was able to detect me." From his previously lackadaisical eyes, it turned sharp in no time.


    [Water Prison!]


    He chanted with extreme speed and precision, and was able to lock into the Golden Stag Beetle that was running for its life.


    Although their distance was about a thousand meters apart, he was still able to contain the beast. This was the power of an Archmage!


    Micah intentionally emitted a forceful aura that scared the swarm of insects into a mad scramble for their precious lives.


    "Oh thank God!", Alex breathed heavily. He was glad that things didn''t go bad for him. He was but a newly awakened mage that knows how to swing a sword.


    He knew that it would be a pyrrhic victory to either him or the Praying Mantis, if they were to really fight. Fortunately for both of them, the reinforcements finally arrived and prevented their would-be gruesome battle.


    "Squires, charge! Kill all the insects, leave none alive!" a forceful voice reverberated in the battlefield.


    Soon, countless Squires held their weapons and charged alongside their steeds.


    The Squires yelled and started a bloody slaughter.


    "Ooooonnggg!"


    The sorrowful roar of the Golden Stag Beetle echoed once more. As it was able to push its head above the dark spherical water prison that was encasing it.


    Micah paid it no heed at first and continued to look at the slaughter that the 13th division was committing, but then he noticed that its almost stagnant aura was once more flaring up!


    It was looking for a breakthrough!


    Once it was able to become a Void Beast, no matter if it has just ascended in rank, Micah and others'' only chance is to barrage it with attack until it dies.


    "I shall kill you myself then."


    Micah no longer hesitated and adjusted the spell. It once more covered the head of the Golden Stag Beetle.


    The dark spherical water prison was now becoming smaller. The Golden Stag Beetle was squirming in agony as its body was being squashed by the force made from the Water Prison.


    Its body creaked and the hard exoskeleton was being broken piece by piece. Its regenerative ability was unable to keep up with the damage being dealt to its whole body.


    "Oooooonnggg!!!"


    "Had you not chosen to breakthrough, I would''ve had the Knights fight you to temper themselves. It was unfortunate that you choose wrong."


    The Water Prison alone, would''ve been enough to kill the Golden Stag Beetle, instead Micah was slowly torturing the beast to its death.


    His control over his spell was so precise that he was able to preserve the little life that the beast has.


    Soon, the mutated Golden Stag Beetle finally succumbed to its death. The 13th division was also finishing up the insects that was left.


    The few thousands of insects were killed by the 13th division. The speed at which they exterminated the swarm of insects were less than half the time before they entered the skirmish.


    "Everyone, treat those who are wounded. amongst our ranks. Help in treating the villagers. Move!", the female knight ordered her troops after the last insect was beheaded.


    The Squires helped their fellow soldier first. Those who weren''t injured by much directed their steeds towards the villagers.


    At this time, Alex was already standing and walking around with the help of a stick, searching for his precious cores.


    Every core that he got would hasten the update of the system, if he were able to get enough cores then maybe the system would finish updating once he absorbed all the cores.


    Alex was only able to secure four cores including the Stick Insect core that he had. He was also able to retrieve the sword that once flew out of his hand when he was surrounded by the beasts.


    "Hey kid, are you okay?", a Squire asked him.


    "Ah, no. Can you help me get back into the village."


    "Yeah sure."


    "Thanks."


    When he mounted the warhorse he was able to see the huge corpse of the Golden Stag Beetle flashing then ended up being stored by the dark blue haired Archmage, into a ring.


    Micah noticed Alex looking and flashed him a smile and walked off towards the Knights.

 65 The Treaty

    Once Micah approached the huddled Knights, they made way for the female Knight which immediately ran towards him.


    "War report?", asked Micah inquisitively.


    "There were several casualties on the Poda Tribes'' warriors. Dozens of them are seriously injured, some lost their limbs and mostly mild injuries. As for the 13th division, there are no casualties, nor are there any critically injured. There are only bruises that can be easily treated.", the female Knight said.


    "Well the division was well equipped and we also brought the warhorses this time around. Unlike then, we are able to finish them quickly.", Micah said as he nodded, he stared at the female Knight then added. "Anything else?"


    Being stared at by a handsome man like Micah, the female Knight stammered in her words, "A-ah, t-there should have been another Fierce Beast other than the mutated Golden Stag Beetle. We were only able to notice the signs of battle, yet unable to locate the corpse of the Fierce Beast."


    "Oh. Then this little Poda tribe should have fallen. Someone should have helped in killing that Fierce Beast. Interesting."


    "Indeed. But why did they not help this pitiful tribe? Also the number of the Beasts are able to wipe out the other tribes nearby, why did they only attack this Poda tribe?"


    "You see, we Archmages and Lords are tied by the treaty. We cannot wantonly kill beasts whenever we just felt like killing. Or maybe it was just a very strong Knight or even a genius High Mage. Enough of this. Stabilize the situation before going back. I''m going first."


    Archmage Micah walked away and then slowly flew into the distance until his figure was no longer seen in the sky.


    The female Knight pondered of the words said by the Archmage. There was underlying meaning in his words.


    The fact that only Archmages and Lord ranks are unable to do anything due to the treaty, doesn''t mean the Knights and Squires of the 13th division are tied to the treaty as well.


    The treaty was created when the three Kings of the previous generation of humanity threatened an all-out war against the Beasts. Disregarding the Demons that invaded the land of Terra, they were prepared to perish alongside the traitorous Beasts.


    The Beasts were naturally shaken by the information that they received. This wasn''t good for the Beasts. It usually takes them two to three decades to level up from being a normal animal to become a Beast, then it just gets harder as their rank goes up. The famous Lion King even took about two hundred years to level up from a Void Beast into a King Beast.


    Losing a King Beast, or even a Void Beast, is bad for their overall strength. It would not be good for them once the Demons finally attacked.


    While the humans can also not bear the losses of such strong figures, they can only resort to trickery and deceptions. Which is how the treaty was proposed.


    Yet, beasts are still beasts. They cannot match how cunning humans can be. They thought that with the Lion King''s informations on how to evolve and think more like a human, their level of intelligence are on par with each other.


    Yes, they can indeed have the minds like the humans, but their Beast Kingdom has yet to develop by much. There are no deceits, corruption and betrayal in their so called Kingdom. Everything was suppressed by absolute strength made by the King Beasts.


    While the humans have been outwitting their fellow geniuses in politics and in battles against Mages, Warriors and Beasts. Generations upon generations of in-fighting produced people of Power and Authority, yet without absolute strength.


    Books pertaining deceptions in history and the like could be seen in all of the libraries in each cities, academies or schools.


    Numerous geniuses have fallen through such schemes; unable to live up to their full potential. These schemes were one of the causes in how the strength of humanity continued to dwindle down; until the Demons arrived and the Beasts betrayal.


    Power and Authority was unable to triumph against the absolute strength of the outer threats, such as the Demons and Beasts.


    Now the humans use deceptions and trickery as a way to reclaim the former strength of humanity and fight back against the Demons and Beasts.


    Greed, Power and Authority no longer drives them to use such deceits. What fuels them to strive harder is the threat of extinction.


    The Treaty restricted those of Void Beast, Archmage and Lord ranks and above to move against the young generation of both sides. It also prevented those of the said rank, from fighting against each other.


    The 13th division did what was tasked to them and finally stabilized the situation after a few hours.


    After pondering the words of Archmage Micah for a long time, the female Knight knew what needs to be done and came to a decision.


    She had the other Knights and all the Squires arranged.


    "If the Beasts dared to attack, then why shouldn''t we? We should retaliate! Everyone, move!", the female Knight bellowed.


    "Haha! Nice!"


    "Blood!"


    Different comments from the Squires was heard. The attacks from the Beasts seemed to be a humiliation for them. Now they could finally quench their thirst for the blood of the insects.


    The 13th division quickly set off and proceeded to scour around the Poda Tribe and the surrounding tribes, looking for traces of the insects.


    Once they came into contact with them, immediate execution! This went on for hours, yet they were only able to kill a few hundred of the insects.


    "They seemed to have hidden somewhere?", one Knight said.


    "Indeed. But we have to head back now, we''ve been gone for hours now. I don''t want to be reprimanded by Lord Geoffrey."


    "Pah! Filthy insects! Let''s go!", the female Knight said. The anger and disgust she felt towards the Beasts cannot be hidden by her helmet.


    Thus, the 13th division headed back towards the City of Vera.

 66 The Sunse

    When the Archmage Micah returned to the City of Vera, he quickly went to see Geoffrey.


    "Geoffrey, can you find the other Lords and tell them to come here in an hour? I have important things to discuss.", Micah said in a serious yet pondering tone.


    "It must have felt bad in there, huh?", Geoffrey guessed.


    "Yeah. Things are getting weirder as day goes by."


    "We live in such times. We can do nothing about it. Anything more you want me to say to the other Lords?"


    "Nothing else. I''ll go get the other Archmages, you go get the other Lords. We convene here in an hour."


    "Alright.", as he said that, Geoffrey vanished in front of him. Although normal people might have been unable to see him, Geoffrey just ran incredibly fast. As an Archmage, Micah was able to detect the little tricks Geoffrey displayed.


    "Hmph. Show off. We can''t do anything about it huh?", Micah snorted as he gazed at the ball of fire in the distance while it illuminates the forest that was outside the city; dyeing everything in the shade of red.


    The sky that was once blue and peaceful was turning bloody and dark as the sun sets into the distant desert. Darkness threatens to cover the land and it will soon turn day into night.


    Micah turns his back against the window and walked away while sighing.


    At the same time at the village of the Poda Tribe.


    Every tribesmen that participated in the fight against the insects were being checked.


    Those who were seriously injured has their conditions stabilized by the local healers. They were all given aid from the 13th division Squires which helped in decreasing the tasks for the staffs. The healers were just tasked to check in on them a few more times to make sure everything if was okay.


    As Alex only has bruises and a bunch of cuts, he was among the last batch to receive treatments from the healers. There were only a limited number of staff in the village, so they prioritized in helping those who needed it the most.


    Then a group of people approached the last batch of the slightly injured.


    The healer was an old man who named himself as Gil. The old healer Gil looked like most grandpa, just that he looks wiser and stronger than those his age.


    He has a braided white hair and white beard that covers most of his neck. He has a look that is kind yet strict. Many would think that this old man has gone through a lot in his prime.


    "Are you done looking?", the voice of the old man snaps Alex from his reverie. He looked at Alex with a raised eyebrow.


    "Ah! S-sorry, I''m sorry. It''s just that I was thinking when would I ever have a beard like yours.", caught red handed Alex immediately thinks of a lie.


    "Hmmm. My beard grew when I was 17, so yours might grow soon.", Old Man Gil said, then he added "Or not.", he grins.


    "What!?-"


    Alex slowly bowed his head in acceptance. His current appearance pleased the old man and flashed a triumphant smile as if saying ''That''s what I thought''.


    The Old Man Gil held Alex''s wrist and tried feeling his pulse.


    Alex had a questioning look on his face as the old man was holding his wrist. Old Man Gil would be able to easily tell his condition by looking, yet he tried feeling his pulse? He wanted to stop the old man, but the old man''s grip was firm.


    "Eh!", Old Man Gil exclaimed loudly. "Your body is weird, it''s becoming fragile. It''s indeed much worse than the outside. Have you been using a skill that harms you?"


    Alex was extremely shocked. Then it dawned upon him that this old man was really a healer and was also quite knowledgeable.


    "Yes. It harms me in some way, but I don''t think it harms me as much as you portray it to be.", he replied. He didn''t try to hide it as it was already known by the old man.


    It was just that he didn''t think that his body''s condition would be as worse as the old man says.


    "Hmph. What do you know? I''ve travelled to many places, seen many things. Skills like that will only cause nothing but harm. Listen to me and don''t use it."


    "Okay." In on one ear and out on the other. Although what the old man probably says is true, the skill [Madness] has and will, definitely help him whenever he''s in a pinch.


    Alex can''t just discard a useful skill. It would be a waste to do so.


    "Sigh. Anyway, I''ll ask that bald chief to give you something."


    The old man knew what Alex was thinking and he didn''t try to persuade him. Just a little warning was all that he could say.


    Old Man Gil then raised his palm facing upwards, then conjured a tiny tree. He then plucked all of its leaves and gave it to Alex.


    "Here, just grind it and apply to where it hurts. Come find me if you need more."


    Alex stopped the old man from turning and immediately asked, "Wait, you''re a mage?"


    "And what of it?", Old Man Gil asked back.


    "Why didn''t you try and helped your fellow tribesmen? You could''ve ended the fight with the least amount of casualty!"


    "That is where you are wrong kid, I already helped my tribesmen minimize the losses. You see, there are things people are good at, and you should know yours too, little mage."


    Alex was strucked dumb. He was unable to say anything for a long time. The only thing he saw when he came to, was that the old man has already helped most of the patients.


    He went to the old man and the staffs, said his thanks and bid them farewell.


    Alex walked slowly and set his gaze at the setting sun.


    "I don''t even know what I''m good at. The system is still updating, who knows how long it will take for me to improve. As he said, my body is weak and I''m only strong because of this sword."


    He knew that all those swordplays he exhibited during the spar against Rezhul wasn''t his. Not to mention that he only won by using the skill called [Madness].


    It was like he cheated in a spar of skills.


    "I want to become stronger! But first, I should absorb the cores first and get rid of the update."


    He looked one last time on the sun, smiled and said, "Sunset still makes a person happy despite being sad itself."


    He turned around and moved his weak body with the help of the stick. Then he slowly makes his way towards the Big Baldie''s house.

 67 Gif

    When Alex arrived at the Big Baldie''s house, he saw Reynard''s wife preparing for dinner.


    He greeted her and asked not to be disturbed. Then he slowly made his way towards his room.


    "You don''t want to eat dinner?", Reynard''s wife suddenly asked. She looked quite sad while asking.


    "Ah, no. I''d be out by then." Alex actually planned on not eating, but he knew he had to fill his stomach with food. He was still slightly injured and they had just gone through a fight, plus he was starving.


    He turned around once more and walked to his room.


    Suddenly he remembered that Old Man Gil has magic and Reynard saying something about mages in the past.


    "Mages aren''t welcome here in Sherwood.", he copied the words and even the exaggerated the tone by a bit, that was said to him by Reynard when he first came to the tribe.


    "What a bloody lie.", he grumbled.


    "I''m going to ask him later for that. For now, let''s get rid of the update in this system that I have barely used. Hopefully it''s enough."


    His eyes glimmered as he took out all four of the cores that he was able to stea¡ª secured.


    He held one of he cores and stared at it, waiting for his favourite sound.


    *DING*


    "Hehehehe." Alex laughed creepily like a madman when the familiar sound rang in his ears.


    *Big Black Centipede beast core detected. Would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    ''A black centipede? I think I indeed killed one of those earlier, so this isn''t me stealing. It belongs to me. Yes! Absorb!''


    A warm yet chaotic energy began coursing through his veins. The feeling didn''t last long as it was only a normal beast core.


    He looked at the update bar and noticed that it increased from 43% to 47%.


    "That''s to be expected. Four percent increase for a low leveled fierce beast core."


    As he said that he took another core.


    *DING*


    *Armored Stag Beetle beast core detected. Would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    "Oh. I believe it was the child of that golden giant. This is mine too."


    This time, it was increased by six percent making it 53%. He didn''t waste any time and proceeded to absorb the other core. Which also gave him another five percent increase, bringing it the update to 58%.


    "Finally. I saved the best for last." Alex took out the last core. It was the core of the Stick Insect, which was a Dire Beast.


    *DING*


    *Thousand Armed Stick Devil''s beast core detected. Would you like to absorb? Y/N?*


    "Woah. The name sure sounds terrifying. Wait. Based on its name alone, I think this beast is strong enough to destroy this entire village. Was there a need to deploy tens of thousands of insects and another Dire Beast like that mutated golden giant? Something''s off. Yes."


    This chaotic mana actually felt quite similar to his own mana. The similarity may have caused the absorption to hasten and be more potent.


    It brought the update from 58% to 89%. That was a very huge leap. Considering that the strongest beast core that he absorbed prior to this was the Imp''s half core.


    Exhaling deeply, he sat cross legged and delved deep into his mind.


    He only needed to absorb two or three more beast cores to finish the update. After that, he could attempt to go back to Azta and strengthen himself as he travel.


    ''I think I could try asking the Big Baldie if he has beast cores then¡ª, no, I don''t have money to exchange for it.''


    Removing the thought in his mind, he started reimagining the scenes that occured earlier this day. Then his eyes started to water.


    "That was my fault damn it." he could still remember the death of an ally due to his mistake.


    "My mind is still very weak. I need to be strong be it mentally or physically. I even fell down to my knees in front of a mantis. How laughable." he scoffed.


    He thought of the fight and thought of several things that he could''ve done much better than what he did.


    Several possibilities and scenarios filled his head. His eyes continued to flicker rapidly as if he was reliving the fight once more. He tried to perfect every single scenario until a someone knocked on his door.


    "Alex, dinner''s ready. Mom wants you to come and eat with us." Rezhul''s lazy voice echoed inside his room.


    "Alright. Give me a minute.", Alex replied. "I can conclude that I have a weak mind or probably heart, and that is due to inexperience. I can work on that in the future. The main problem was that old scorpion. I barely got off with my precious life. Hmph. He''s lucky he''s not here."


    Alex tidied his bed and went out of his room.


    What greeted him was the scent of delicious food. Seeing that everyone were waiting for him, he immediately sat and said sorry.


    "Sorry for being late. Thank you for the food."


    As the only son of the family, Rezhul was asked to start a prayer before eating. He protested against yet was unable to win against the silent stare of his mom.


    During their meal, Rezhul said to his father that he thinks that he has already left the other kids far behind in terms of physical strength.


    "You''re my son, of course you would be stronger than them."


    "What I meant was, there was no one for me to fight anymore. When are you going to teach me the manual? I''d like to become a Squire quickly and protect the village."


    "I''m glad that you asked. After eating I''ll be giving you and Alex the Poda Tribe''s Manual."


    "What!?" Alex and Rezhul said at the same time.


    "Yeah, Old Man Gil asked me about the favor and so I will be repaying him. The elders were also not against it, so there''s no need to worry about it."


    "But¡ª"


    "No buts. Eat.", Reynard cut off the words that was Rezhul was about to speak.


    "What is that manual?", Alex was curious and voiced out his thoughts.


    "It''s a manual for the path of becoming a Warrior."


    Alex was shocked. There was one thing on his mind right now, ''But I''m a mage?''


    He cannot be found out that he was a mage. His brother, Arthur, said not to reveal his cards easily. Plus, there was something sketchy happening in this tribe.


    ''I don''t want to be found out.'' That was in his mind the whole dinner.


    ''I have to do something.''

 68 It Talks!

    While the family of three were laughing and enjoying their dinner; Alex was caught in a predicament.


    ''What should I do?''


    He did not know if the manual would turn to be beneficial or become a cause of disaster.


    There is no telling what would happen once he learned the manual in front of Reynard and his son.Should he just refuse? Or was he just being overly anxious?


    ''Let''s not fret too much. What ever will be, will be.'', he took a deep breath.


    "So what do you think Alex?", the Big Baldie''s booming voice woke him up from his thoughts.


    "What do I think? I''m sorry, my mind was wandering about. Could you repeat what you said, please?", Alex asked.


    "So that''s why. I''m planning to teach the manual to both you and Rezhul. And maybe after a week or so of training, we would escort you to the city, while at the same time doing some real life practice. What do you say?"


    "Yeah. Sounds great. It''s perfect."


    "Alright then, finish up your food and we will start after."


    Alex and Rezhul nodded and quickly stuffed as much food as they can in their mouth.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the City of Vera.


    "I have asked for all of you today, to discuss pressing matters.", Micah said as he turned towards the eleven people that was inside the conference room.


    "Is it about the mutant?", asked one of them.


    "Yes, that''s one part of it.", Micah replied.


    He looked at them, took a deep breath and continued. "As you all have witnessed, a mutant has appeared in the ranks of the beasts. This mutant was fast, it is strong, tough and can regenerate at an extremely fast rate. I was able to kill it in 30 seconds."


    "Yeah, so?", a middle aged Archmage asked in a rather unfriendly and aggressive tone.


    "What I''m trying to say is, it can definitely fight against an Archmage once it finishes its mutation. I think it could even kill several Lords in a fight."


    Everyone in the room was astounded.


    "What?"


    "It was just a mere Dire Beast, no?"


    "You are still too young and weak. You just broke through and still needs more time to train. Look at you being so scared by a mere Dire Beast.", the arrogant Archmage snorted.


    "Yeah, or we can fight right now and I can kill you in 30 seconds. How about it old man?", Micah didn''t back down and taunted.


    Before the middle aged Archmage could retort, Geoffrey yelled, "Enough!". Even though Geoffrey isn''t an Archmage, he is talented enough to fight one and not lose. Not to mention that he''s well respected by his peers.


    "Hmph."


    "Continue.", the last Archmage said nonchalanty. It was an old man that aged about 70 - 80 years old.


    There were three Archmages and nine Lords currently in the meeting. As Warriors outnumber the Mages in the current human population, the number of Warrior powerhouse also outnumber the Mages.


    Mages are protected at the back and often relies on slowly increasing their mana in cultivation. They rarely fight at the very front during war.


    That is why many higher ranked mage are on the older side.


    "I say we fight. Have the divisions clean up the whole Sherwood Forest. These beasts are becoming more and more active. If it wasn''t for our intervention, a village would''ve fallen. No, more village could''ve been destroyed.", Micah continued.


    "Are you mad? The cost of such war would be astronomical! We have to feed tens of thousands of people. We have to maintain their weapons at all times.", the angry middle aged Archmage said.


    "As always, there has to be a vote. I vote for war. The beasts has grown increasingly overbearing during the past few years. The data shows it all.", Geoffrey said.


    The voting passed very quickly and the results were 10-2 in favor of going to war against the beasts.


    "Let me remind all of you that we cannot participate in this war, you all know the consequences. I will be reporting this to the two other cities and the kings. Let us start this campaign after the recruitment next year. You are all dismissed.", the old man in his 70''s said.


    He was the oldest and most respected of the bunch, therefore the kings have bestowed to him his current position as the head.


    Once the meeting was done, everybody stood up and went their ways.


    ...


    At the Poda Tribe once more.


    "As I said before, this manual was taught to us by one of the prodigies in the past, it dates back to maybe some centuries ago, maybe a millenia even. I don''t know. So that''s about it. Go back to your rooms and memorize it. Don''t try to practice it just yet as it''s already late.", the Big Baldie Reynard said.


    Reynard has just finished explaining the whole Poda Tribe Manual to Alex and Rezhul.


    Like Rezhul, Alex quickly dashed to his room.


    "Haha. Kids.", Reynard and his wife laughed at the amusing behavior of the two.


    Upon returning to his room, he sat down on the bed and focused his eyes and words started appearing in his vision.


    *DING*


    *[Poda Tribe Body Manual (Passive)] skill detected. Would you wish to learn? Y/N?*


    As the yes and no button continued to flicker in his eyes, he cannot help but remember what happened earlier.


    When the Big Baldie let them read the book. The same words appeared in his eyes. He ignored it and when he gave the book to Rezhul, the words were gone.


    "So does it mean that I can learn skills from books that I didn''t even read? But it only works when I''m holding it. Still, that''s like cheating."


    But when the Big Baldie read it once more and explained everything in detail, the prompt of the system still hasn''t disappeared.


    ''Maybe with the help of the system, I can become a Warrior and a Mage at the same time?'', he thought.


    "Wait! The system is still updating, right? Then how¡ª."


    *Currently at 89% update. Some services are still unavailable.*


    "Holy! It talks! Hey system, do you talk?"


    "..."


    "It doesn''t speak, but it can somehow communicate with me. Let''s not keep this up any longer. Learn!"


    Pain instantly assaulted his body. Due to being always in contact with unbearable pain, Alex has grown somewhat tolerant of such pains.


    He only gritted his teeth and waites for the pain to subside.


    After an hour of suffering, the pain has finally receded. Although Alex was able to tolerate the pain, his body showed signs of being hurt.


    His exposed skin has become red. His shirt and pants were drenched in sweat. Same with his bed sheets.


    He immediately removed the bed sheets and decided to take a short bath when the system prompt showed up again.


    *DING*


    *Due to certain conditions being met, the skill [Poda Tribe Body Manual (Passive)] has changed to [Ancient Tribal Body Strengthening (Passive)] skill!*


    "Ah what?"


    Alex was dumbfounded, this was simply ridiculous! What certain conditions? He doesn''t know anything about thosw conditions at all. This was the first time that he dabbled on the field of body arts.


    "Haha. Kid, I am that certain conditions, hehe.", an old voice resounded in the room.


    Alex''s hairs on his back stood and he looked around anxiously.


    "What are you searching for, its me the Old Scorpion."


    "What? Weren''t you dead already?"


    "You''re wishing me dead already?"


    "Sorry. Anyway, why are you still here, didn''t you say that your time is limited or something."


    "Yeah, I did say those words. Time is the least of my worries right now.", the Old Scorpion Emperor soon began his storytelling.

 69 Free Spiri

    The Old Scorpion started off with introducing himself. Well, at least he tried to.


    The Old Scorpion said that during his days a kid, he obtained a fragment of something when he killed a beast.


    That fragment was like an eye. When he placed it in his palm to get a better look, it started melting and was absorbed by his body.


    Since then, his memory was being removed from him during random times. He doesn''t know what was being taken away from him, but he knows he has lost something.


    After he absorbed it, the system said that it was a fragment of sorts. As for what kind of fragment it was, he forgot.


    With the use of his system and the fragment, he was able to rise up the ranks of a Mage. Because he used to be a hunter from his tribe, he fancied using a sword and fighting close combat.


    As his power grew, his ambitions grew along. His tribe was unable to hold him down and he decided to travel around the continent.


    During the Old Scorpion''s years as a High Mage, he and his best friend researched and experimented on the human body.


    As a freak of a mage who decided to fight up close, he naturally wanted the rid himself of the weak body possessed by Mages.


    Since both of them were geniuses, they were able to create a skill that enables them to acquire an improved bodily strength, like those of the Warriors.


    They eventually created a perfected version and a simplified one.


    They kept the perfected version, and distributed the simplified one to their tribes. The simplified techniques was a bit better than those that the other


    Warriors used.


    The Old Scorpion polished his fighting skills for years and willingly remained stucked at the High Mage rank.


    Once he thought that he could no longer polish his skill, he decided to visit the village that he grew up on, and taught them his skills and the simplified manual for improving the body.


    "Yes. It was this tiny Poda Village that I grew up in. I can''t remember most of the people that I knew. I have lived for far too long than a human could have ever lived.", the Old Scorpion sighed.


    "Still, my experiences; my memories of them was strangely never taken away.", he continued.


    The Old Emperor mentioned the perfected version of the manual.


    The [Ancient Tribal Body Strengthening] may turn out to be, if not the best, then one of the best body strengthening there ever has.


    Since they were only High Mages at that time, they still have certain unlearned knowledges that they were unable to incorporate into the manual.


    That was the reason why it may not be able to be ranked as the best body strengthening manual.


    "About that manual, since you have already learned it, it will generate tribal markings, similar to that of a tattoo. So don''t get freaked out by it.


    He continued that they created the [Ancient Tribal Body Strengthening] to help the Old Emperor integrate into the society of the Beasts.


    With the manual''s help, he was able to triumph against most beast the same rank as his. Therefore obtaining much more resources than his best friend ever had.


    "My time has come boy, I shall be on my way to live as a free spirit.", the Old Emperor abruptly ended his story.


    Of course, Alex didn''t forget to thank the Old Emperor for saving him back then.


    "It''s kinda weird being a spirit. I''m already dead, but it feels like I''m still bursting with life. It''s like I haven''t lived up to my lifespan just yet. We shall meet again boy."


    A breeze moved the curtains aside then the atmosphere turned normal again.


    "Old man are you still here?"


    "..."


    "Good. Whew. Better get me self a nice shower."


    Alex took his towel and proceeded to take a shower.


    He observed the tribal markings in his upper body as he rid himself of the sweat and dirt.


    His shoulders has some sort of a snake''s scale like markings or maybe it was a fish scale? Nonetheless it was a scale.


    There were lines here and there. It was very hard to understand the pattern in which they were drawn. It wasn''t like the Mayan''s tribal markings, it didn''t have the faces or the body of some great figure.


    It was just shapes and patterns.


    "It shouldn''t be seen when I wear my clothes.".


    Alex never had a tattoo in his past life so he doesn''t feel good about others seeing it. It was like trying a new haircut, he didn''t know if it would suit him well.


    "So how do I level up this skill? Do I have skill points or do I have to do it the hard way?"


    Just then, his vision was filled with words and it turned out to be the full [Ancient Tribal Body Strengthening] manual.


    "I guess it''s the hard way."


    He followed the instructions written and practiced for a whole night.


    The manual involved the use of mana as a source of nutrition to feed his body. He could feel that half of his mana was being sent towards the tribal markings in his body.


    It was an arduous process as his mana level was still at the First Stage of Awakening.


    He was unable to progress by much, but it is still better than Rezhul and the others since they don''t have the quantity of mana an Awakened Mage has.


    Ever since the system started updating, he was unable to increase his rank during his late night cultivations. Even then, he never stopped meditating in the hopes that all the mana that he gathered would be returned to him after the update.


    Alex persevered the whole night. He consumed mana like eating peanuts and had to focus on filling it back up to full. And by following the instructions, he was able to level the skill up to 2.


    He felt strength surge through his whole body, he felt like he could destroy everything with a single punch.


    Then an idea came to mind, he tried punching the ground to see just how strong he has become.


    ''Thud!''


    "Yaaaouch!", Alex held his right hand as he tried his best to hold out his tears.


    He looked at his right hand, only to see that some of the skin were peeled off and blood was coming out of it.


    The pain made him realize that the feeling of power after breaking through, was but an illusion made by the sudden increase in strength.

 70 A Morning Stroll

    "The update is still in progress, but can I look at my status though?", he muttured.


    *DING*


    *SYSTEM UPDATE 89%*


    "Hmph. The update better be good."


    It was already deep into the night so he decided to sleep and then wake up early to continue practicing the [Ancient Tribal Body Strengthening].


    Since the skill leveled up, Alex was in a good mood and immediately felt asleep. All the events that occurred left him exhausted. During the intense battle against the beasts and to the practicing of his skill. It took a toll in both his body and mind.


    After about four hours of sleeping, he finally woke up. Although four hours of sleep wasn''t good for most people, he still felt energized as soon as he opened his eyes. He sat by the bed and he started to think of the things that needs to be done during the day.


    By the time he finished his plans, the roosters were already crowing their hearts out.


    "A new day once again."


    With that being said, he stood up and tidied his bed and prepared to take a morning stroll.


    When he got out of his room, he saw the Big Baldie, Reynard, and his Rezhul about to take a step out of the house.


    "Eh, you''re up early aren''t you?", said Reynard.


    "Yep, I was planning to take a morning stroll around the village and look at the scenery before breakfast.", Alex replied.


    "You want to come with us? See, I''m taking the kids out to hunt. They''ll be the tribe''s future huntsmen. It''ll be a problem if they don''t know how to survive in the wild. We would become a laughingstock around all the other tribes in here."


    "Okay then, let me take my stick."


    "Don''t you want to bring your sword?" Rezhul asked.


    "The stick works just fine for now. It''s heavy and can aid me walking." Alex smiled.


    Alex went back to his room and equipped the bracers in both arms. He also took the poisoned knife and hid it in his left bracer. Finally he grabbed the stick and looked at it himself in the mirror.


    "Same old me.", he smiled.


    Sporting a dark blue pants that was lent to him by Rezhul, a white shirt that makes him look clean and somehow presentable and a dark blue cloth slipper like the ones used by martial artists. back on Earth.


    "That stick was Lagos'' right?", Reynard asked.


    "Yeah. His mother approached me when he saw the stick and finally gave it to me when someone told her that Lagos has died. I said I''d take great care of it as a thanks."


    "Hmm. Let''s go.", Reynard nodded.


    Alex actually wanted to wash his face, but it seems that Reynard was in a hurry. He shrugged his shoulder as he knew he took their time when they were waiting for him.


    They walked out of the house and made their way towards the wooden gate of the tribe. Luckily for them the battle yesterday didn''t reach the gate.


    "We were lucky the Golden Stag Beetle mutated, which allowed the 13th division and an Archmage to interfere or we wouldn''t even have kept most of our homes, much less this wooden gate.", Rezhul spoke in a grave tone. The tribe seemed to have suffered greatly because of the insects.


    The reason that the tribe has low population and was unable to prosper was because of the monthly attacks of the insects. Yet it allowed the birth of someone as strong as the Reynard; or the Poda tribe would''ve been annihilated by the swarm of insects.


    When the sitting teenagers finally saw thr group of three walking towards them, they stood up and greeted one another. After greeting Rezhul and Alex; Reynard clapped his hands and took the attention of the teenagers.


    "So today will be the first time you all will hunt. I will rate you all in how you perform and will punish anyone who underperforms. Got it?"


    "Yes, Sir!"


    They nodded their heads as they replied. It was obvious that they are excited for the upcoming hunt.


    "Alex will be joining us today. Some of you should know that he slew quite a few beasts with only strong body and swordplay. You should try to ask him if you have any questions. Now we go."


    Alex didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. He didn''t have a strong body like what Reynard had said. He even hurt his knuckles last night by punching the ground. He also didn''t have that much skill in fighting using a sword, he only knew how to stab, slash and parry; like any brute could.


    Shaking his head, he followed right behind the group as he was walking slowly with the support of the stick.


    The moonlight served as their lanterns as they walked along the path leading towards the north of the village. It would take a few more hours until dawn arrives, so they moved slowly and cautiously.


    He kept on yawning along the way as he didn''t even get to wash his face with cold water. Then his thoughts wandered as they walked for two hours and finally arrived at a waterfall.


    "Leave your bags and other unnecessary things here. We''ll start hunting in a few minutes after you all have warmed up.", Reynard said.


    Alex couldn''t help but recall when his brother Arthur brought him down the village to hunt. The words that Arthur said was still helping him to this day.


    He looked at everyone; from Reynard with his arms crossed, to Rezhul who was taking the lead in the warm up and at the teenagers who were mimicking his movements. He chuckled "This could be fun.", he smiled right after.

 71 Teacher?

    Once everyone was done with their warm-ups. Reynard gathered everyone and made them recall what the do''s and don''ts are.


    "Look for fights when confident."


    "Don''t hesitate to run."


    "Don''t wander too far nor too long inside."


    ...


    With the teens'' eyes trailing on Reynard, he slowly went to Alex who was standing by the side.


    When he got near, he saw Alex trembling ever so slightly. Reynard seemingly ignored it, since the group of teens'' were also having ragged breaths.


    He grabbed Alex''s shoulder as if he was his best bud and said, "Alex here, has survived the days of the scorching sun and biting coldness of the desert at night. He will be helping us with the assessment."


    Before Alex could react, Reynard looked at him then laughed and whispered, "Don''t worry, you''re just going to be a spectator. Since these kids are still somewhat afraid of fighting.", while patting his back.


    Alex shrugged his shoulder in helplessness. ''Seems like they aren''t as barbaric as I thought.''


    "So, ¨Cuh, you do your thing and I''ll be ¨Cuhm by the side whenever you need help.", Alex acquiesced in his proposal and said to the teens.


    "Alright! Take out your weapons and give the medicine kit to us.", Reynard said.


    One of the teens were forced to go back and get the kits and then gave it to Reynard afterwards.


    "Let''s set off."


    The group moved away from the waterfall and slowly went in deeper into the forest.


    The morning fog shrouded their visions and the tall trees blocked what is left on the moonlight. It made it harder for the group to see far ahead.


    After walking for a few minutes, Reynard asked the group to stop.


    "We have our first prey on the north eastern side. Who wants to volunteer to fight the insect?"


    "Insect?", Alex asked.


    "Yes. This part of Sherwood is mostly infested with insects. They are pretty hard to deal with and they reproduce at a dreadful rate.", Reynard begrudgingly said.


    Insects really are a pain to fight against. Their exoskeleton are like shields all over their body and they retained their agility even though they became as big as humans.


    Someone finally mustered up some of their courage and volunteered.


    It was the guy who was forced to get the kit. This time though, he wasn''t forced into fighting, but it was his own initiative.


    ''Quite commendable.'', Alex nodded his head in appreciation.


    Reynard appeared by his side with a smile on his face and said, "I know right."


    Everyone watched as the youth in brown approached the enemy. The insect was similarly approaching the youth and it finally came into view.


    ''Is that an anteater? Wait, no. It''s green.''


    "A Weevil? Kid''s lucky. This insect is mostly a herbivore. They''re also kinda cute.", Reynard said.


    The youth in brown finally raised his weapon as he stood still, staring at the monstrosity before him.


    His weapon of choice was a bigger than average Garden Shears.


    ''One uses Sickles, some uses Rakes and now this guy is using Shears. Seriously, only the Big Baldie has a good weapon.'' Alex kept his thoughts to himself as it seems that Reynard was still able to hear him through his mumblings.


    Seeing the gleaming shears of the youth, the Weevil was taken aback. It was originally walking around looking for some nuts to eat when it saw the humans.


    It planned on sniffing them if they have any corn in their possessions. Yet the kid in front of it, started brandishing his weapons in an attempt to fight it.


    The Weevil turned around and slowly walked away.


    This stunned everyone.


    They didn''t expect the Weevil to turn around and walk away. If it did indeed flee the fight, then it should''ve ran away, not walk away slowly.


    Someone finally chuckled.


    It was obvious that the teens were trying to suppress their laughter.


    Upon hearing this, the youth felt humiliated and anger was filling up his heart and mind. He was staring daggers the bum of the Weevil wishing he could cut off its whole body in half.


    As he was about to run towards the departing Weevil. Someone pat his shoulders. The youth looked menacingly at Alex who was standing behind him.


    "Don''t lose your mind over it. You might have not noticed, but the Weevil moving its head sideways when it was walking away. What do you think that means?"


    "It means that it doesn''t care." The tone of the youth sounded uncaring. It was obvious that he would still rush up towards the Weevil the moment the hand clamping on his shoulders was lifted.


    "No. It is regarding you as a threat. The moment you enter its range, I bet you would be slammed hard by its snout and then you would lose your life in the next second.", Alex said as if he hadn''t noticed the anger in the young man''s voice.


    The words were like a bucket full of cold water poured all over his hot head and he started shivering. The youth was actually quite timid and only mustered up some of his courage to appear capable in front of his peers.


    "Now go ahead and appear as angry as you can. Angry on the heart but cool on the head, alright?" Alex patted the young man''s back as a sign of encouragement.


    He nodded his head and walked towards the Weevil as if he was in a hurry.


    The youth finally noticed that the Weevil was indeed looking at him even though it was walking forward. His body trembled as he realized that he just averted a disaster.


    He made up his mind and ran towards the Weevil.


    As he was about the reach the Weevil, the cunning insect turned around with astounding speed and swung its snout at him.


    But the youth already forged a plan ahead of time and was able to react in time and dodged backwards.


    The swing had great strength but it missed widely turning its head to the other side. This move exposed the side of the green Weevil and the youth took the opportunity.


    He smiled widely and immediately went to cut off the middle leg.


    The shears were sharp yet, the leg was also tough. It took him about three seconds to cut off the leg.


    It was all the time the Weevil needed. Even though one of its leg was cut, it swung its snout at the youth, but was blocked by the shears.


    The force behind the attack, forced the youth to slide back a couple of meters away.


    The youth''s arms were numb and his legs were also trembling. He hadn''t expected the power of the Weevil to be so great.


    The youth was so shocked that he didn''t notice that the enemy was charging right at him.


    "Don''t just stand there. Move!"


    Alex''s voice snapped the youth back into his senses and was only able to raise his weapon to block the attack.


    This time, the youth flew back and slammed hard into a tree.


    The power behind the attack was superb. Taking on the brunt of charging Weevil. It was natural for the youth to slam against a tree.


    Alex looked at the youth and then at Reynard. He noticed that the Big Baldie was looking lackadaisically at the scene.


    He originally wanted to step in, but since Reynard wasn''t doing anything, he wouldn''t intervene. Nonetheless, he still crept a bit closer.


    Looking back at the youth, he noticed that his eyes were shining brightly. It wasn''t the eyes of someone who just received a fatal attack. It was the eyes of someone who doesn''t falter.


    As the Weevil charged once more, the youth positioned the shears at the height of the insect''s head.


    The Weevil was unable to stop in time and the momentum of its charge pushed it forward and its head pierced by the shears of the youth.


    The shears dug deep into its head and its body slammed the youth hard on the tree.


    Blood bursted out of the Weevil''s head, its green blood and brain matter splattered all over the young man''s body.


    As for the young man, his eyes were closed and blood was flowing out of his mouth. His conditions were unknown.


    Reynard appeared beside the corpse of the Weevil and kicked at its side fiercely. Its body flew a meter away along with the shears still stuck on its head.


    The body of the young man fell, but was instantly held by Reynard. He supported the young man and crouched down.


    He then ''magically conjured'' the medicine kit with his space ring and opened it. He took out a bottle and took a green pill then quickly fed it to the youth.


    "I knew that Weevil was up to no good. What a devious insect.", Alex shook his head.


    "We will continue once Zimo wakes up.", Reynard said to the group.


    "What about the corpse?", Alex asked.


    "Let it be. Although it''s edible, its taste is quite foul.", Reynard smiled.


    Noticing that the teens were just standing still without doing anything, Alex said, "Take in what you''ve seen and imagine you were the one fighting against the Weevil. This will make you fight much better in the future."


    This will be a long day.

 72 Run

    They didn''t wait for long as the youth in brown, Zimo, finally opened his eyes.


    "It''s good that you are alive. I will reveal all of your results once everyone is done.", Reynard said passively.


    "The pill that you fed him with, where did you get those?", Alex asked.


    The pill definitely played a huge role in keeping Zimo alive. It must have healed his internal organs at a crazy rate for him to wake up so fast. Getting something like that should be hard and could even be sold for large amounts of gold.


    Having one could definitely be a lifesaver.


    "I got those from old man Gil. He usually concocts some of these when I assess the kids."


    "That is so good. I''ll ask him for one later on."


    "Haha. Good luck with that, kid."


    With that they proceeded the hunt with the Big Baldie, Reynard, leading the way.


    ...


    A couple of hours have passed and most of the kids have finished their tasks and only Rezhul was left.


    Since Rezhul was the best amongst his peers, or maybe the leader of this group of teenagers, he often acted last.


    Although a couple of hours has already gone by, the forest still looks a bit dark. The fog was still keeping their vision somewhat impaired and the supposed sunlight was unable to penetrate the dense leaves of the trees.


    An eerie yet serene atmosphere were portrayed by the environment.


    As they are walking around, Zimo finally got the chance to talk with Alex.


    "U©\uhm, t-thank you for your help earlier. I could''ve ended in a much worse state than I am right now."


    "As long as you are fine.", Alex replied as he looked at the surroundings.


    "About that could you ¨C.", Zimo was cut short of his words when Alex shushed him. He focused on the side and said, "Hey, is it normal if I''ve been seeing a few webs now for the past half an hour?"


    "What webs are you talking about? I am not seeing any webs though.", Reynard said quizzically. He sounded puzzled at Alex''s question


    When he heard Reynard''s answer, he once again focused his eyes to the side and was only able to see fog and tree shapes.


    "Hmmm. Sorry, must''ve been my eyes playing tricks on me. Haha."


    Reynard grunted and continued walking. Nobody said a word during that time as they could feel that Reynard wasn''t in a good mood.


    They have been walking for a long time, yet they still haven''t encountered any beast.


    The naturally timid youth Zimo was forced into silence. Since he was interrupted when he was saying something to Alex, he didn''t try to continue the conversation and swallowed the words that he was about to say.


    They continued to follow Reynard since he was the strongest in the group and he was naturally way more familiar in the forest than anyone of them.


    "I saw one too, and the next thing I knew it was gone!"


    A few of the kids voiced their thoughts as they all stopped dead on their tracks.


    "Dad, what is happening?", Rezhul said.


    He finally couldn''t stand the eerie atmosphere and finally asked Reynard.


    "I don''t know too. Let''s go back for now.", Reynard said grimly.


    Reynard immediately turned and was about to walk back when he saw what was surrounding them.


    The gloomy and foggy forest was now covered in webs. From the grass that they were standing on, to the leaves of the trees. Everything was covered in webs.


    Reynard, as the leader of the group, made a decision and yelled, "Run back now!"


    The yell shook the teens from their trance, but only stood there for a few seconds with askance on their faces.


    Reynard and Alex immediately took off. Before they could even run far, rustling noise came from all around them. It was hard to pinpoint the location, but the sound came from the grass and leaves.


    ''Rustle! Rustle!''


    "What are you doing? Run!", Alex shouted at the rooted teens. Since the creatures were already about to take action, shouting in the middle of the forest was in the least of Alex''s concerns.


    As a timid, yet courageous youth, Zimo was the first to snap back. Zimo ran after Alex, then Rezhul and the others immediately ran after him.


    Alex looked back to see the others following him, but what caught his eyes were the black mass of unknown crawling towards them like a sea of black tsunami.


    "Run run run run! Don''t look back, just run!", he shouted.


    After hearing his words, Reynard turned back and said, "You lead them away, I''ll them off."


    As the strongest in the group, Reynard decided to hold the creatures back in order to guarantee the safety of the kids.


    He took out his twin axes and fire started emitting heat, soon the axes became hot red and he immediately threw them towards the black mass of creature surging to them.


    The pair of axes turned into flaming wheels and flew in an arc. It viciously burnt and destroyed a huge amount of the creatures. The pair of axes soon flew back like a boomerang and dozens of the creatures died along its path.


    The attack made by Reynard killed almost half a thousand of those creatures, but the black mass seemed to be endless. The gap made by the death of the creatures was immediately filled and they came surging once more.


    Reynard gritted his teeth and was about to attack again when he heard footsteps behind him.


    "What?"


    He immediately looked back and was stunned to see the group of teens running back towards him.


    "The path ahead was blocked. We tried breaking through but it''s impossible.", Alex said to Reynard.


    Both of them looked around and saw that there was lesser ''black mass'' on the side. Both nodded at the same and Alex took everyone with him and ran.


    Reynard did not hesitate any longer and unleashed another one of his attacks.


    They kept on running to the path that they have chosen and Reynard kept attacking the ''black mass'' of creatures behind.


    They did this for another hour when they finally stopped at a clearing.


    Reynard asked them to stop since he noticed that the creatures weren''t going anywhere near the clearing.


    It was then that he felt that warmth of the sun, shining down from above.


    "We''re safe.", he finally said.


    Everyone seemingly collapsed one by one and was lying down the grass gasping for air. Even Reynard who is the fittest among them was sitting down huffing and puffing.


    The teens were all huddled up together and were still looking around despite them lying down on their backs. Traces of fear were still etched on their faces, it was obvious that everyone was scared by the attack.


    "I thought we would all die."


    "I thought so too. What were those crazy creatures anyway?"


    With that question, everyone simultaneously looked at the creatures. Everyone were curious what those creepy crawlies were, they attacked with their numbers and were continuously spitting something at them.


    Alex instinctively allowed mana to flow through his eyes. His vision instantly focused and magnified right at the creatures.


    He saw two circular parts of the body, two large eyes in front, the other eyes are on the side of its head and finally he saw their eight hairy legs.


    He swallowed down his own saliva and said, "Spiders."