《BornAndTorn》 1 Prologue The observer A white world, emptiness and solitude joining hand in hand forming an eternal state of nothingness.This situation was suddenly interrupted and it was filled with strange beings of all kind. From ferocious looking wolves to mutated rabbits. They all had a murderous glint in their eyes, ready to fight for their life at any given moment. But suddenly all creatures just vanished leaving behind the hush. Peace and serenity returned once more. It was as if nothing had ever changed, because it was not supposed to. A world with no concept of time is bound by an interchangeable fate, but this white world does not defy the natural order nor does it violate the principle that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Just because of the fact that the mystery surrounding this space hasn''t been solved yet, does not certainly mean that it will stay this way. Sometimes a change of perspective is all that is necessary. Truth and falsities are just consequences of the interpretation of the beholder. Our "true" world may just be nothing more than a tiny speck of dirt in the eyes of others, but that does not make the feelings anymore real or false. The observer''s perception of his world is just as true as the emotions of his creations. Though one is aware of the other, while the same is not true in reverse. The concept of a first creator is not false but also not true at the same time. It is not known where the beginning was and where the end will be. We use our knowledge to explain our surroundings, try to use natures laws to move ever closer to grasping the truth to our being. But no matter how unimportant humans are, they will keep on marching forward, forevermore drawn to the concept of the unknown because in that unknown is the reason for their existence. Even if we are just tiny candles in the wind, we still want to fulfill our task and shine brightly. Even if no one watches, even if no one really notices, even if we leave no proof of what we ever did. We still live our lives not hoping for a brighter tomorrow but for a better today. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, but we can influence what is going to happen today. That is the result of the choices each individual takes every passing second. Out of all potential combinations that might end up happening you are only able to witness a single possibility. So we live our lives, keeping our heads held high and keep on marching forward for the truth we might never know. Who knows where our journey might end, what kind of experiences we make, whats important is whether we go on your personal journey or not. No matter the circumstances, life''s curtain will close regardless, so while the play is still going, play your part and be the actor in this play you always wanted to be. Otherwise, we would be condemned to just be a spectator unable to change anything while being bound by an interchangeable fate and being held captive by the shackles of the inability to be of any influence to the play. Until one day when death closes the curtain, you are being left wondering what could have been or should have been. There are no correct answers to this subject. There is no way to rewind time and bend it in your favor. The only constant is change, nothing is forever. That is the only rule, the only companion that will stay with you for your whole lifetime. A white world, emptiness and solitude joining hand in hand forming an eternal state of nothingness. It was as if nothing had ever changed, because it was not supposed to. Left behind was only the observer, a witness to the birth and the passing of those creatures. He didn¡ät belong to this white world. There was no repulsion nor attraction. He was just there, doing nothing expect spectating the myriad of changes that occurred to this world. Silently existing, he saw the appearance of land, water, air, and their disappearance. The cycle repeated itself continuously, there were just subtle changes that kept on occurring. Some were visible to the naked eye, like the sky turning blood red or the water evaporating. Others could only be speculated about. It seemed like those circumstances followed a certain pattern. A world full of colors, changes challenging the eternal state of nothingness. Everything had changed because it had to be changed. But there was still the observer. He still watched the birth and death of this world. Until one fated day, there was no white world anymore. No light, no change, nothing at all just an eerie silence. It felt like this world ceased to exist all out of the sudden. There was just a single entity, a single spectator trapped in a black world. He wasn''t a part of this world, he was just tirelessly experiencing. But there was a different sensation that could be felt for the first time. It was repulsion, this world was set on getting rid of this foreign matter. He kept on drifting in the black world. But he was still observing and still being the only witness of this world. He had seen the 2 opposite ends of the spectrum. He was there when it all began and when it all came to its conclusion. Even this black world stopped existing out of the sudden without any prior warning signs. At that moment there was just the observer, now having lost his only mission he wondered what to do without any purpose. He found no satisfying answers, after that he just closed his eyes for the very first time, hoping to find a new meaning for his existence. He slowly drifted away into the all too familiar black. This was the beginning of a journey in a world he knew just too well... 2 A cruel fate 1 Laughter and happy voices filled this place. There was a huge crowd of humans chatting without any kind of worry. Most of them seemed to be 18 years or slightly older.This situation was interrupted by a loud noise and the many voices just died down until only silence remained. Afterward, a single robotic sounding voice filled the whole place. Everybody was listening attentively, trying not to miss a single word. During the speech occasionally some gasps could be heard. The voice spoke close to 10 minutes and after it ended, the crowd erupted with an outburst of panic. The feeling of tension and anxiety about what was going to come was nearly tangible. This situation lasted until a handsome man, with a face that could enslave the whole female populace, stepped forward to try and calm the crowd. His whole bearing was radiating self-confidence. Every small movement he uses serves a purpose. His elegant demeanor combines a unique calmness with a domineering pressure that leaves no room for objections. After the crowd mood reached an all-time low, he took charge and motivated the crowd.Just his presence alone could change the anxiety into sheer confidence. A female voice supported him in his endeavor. Her serene voices amplified the positive effect. She seemed like the incarnation of a mythical being, too beautiful to be of this world. Looking at her people are forced to lower their head and bow to her. Prayers were to be addressed towards her and vows had to be made to fulfill each of her wishes, no matter how big the sacrifices that have to be offered up are. She seemed to be a work of art, the perfect human. The combination of those 2 humans carved out of jade, lead to the crowd viewing them as natural born leaders. They invoke the sentiment of deep trust and faith in everyone. The pair will always stand in the spotlight wherever they appear, shining bright like the stars in the firmament above. Nothing could be standing in their way today, no mountain was too big to climb, no cliff too steep. They were ready for every challenge that would be thrown at them. But then all out of the sudden a blaring sound could be heard, a sound coming straight out of the deepest pit of hell. Everyone felt the need to mutilate their own ears, in order to put an end to this hellish torture. The source of this inhuman noise was a little creature lying on the floor. The skin was wrinkled and this creature has its eyes closed. There was just an open mouth, exhaling and issuing a cry, that is driving everyone to the brink of insanity. This creature that looks like the long lost cousin of the newborn Benjamin Button, is a human being, to be more specific its a human baby. Mother nature is cruel, in comparison to those 2 beautiful human beings, he just got every hideous characteristic trait that could be imagined. But even crueler was fate itself. Because trapped inside this baby was someone, a poor soul from Earth and that poor soul was not very content with his current situation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The prayers were answered and the baby stopped screaming. But the turmoil going on inside of the baby head was far from being over. "Where do I even begin to start to complain about what is wrong with my current situation?My vision is limited to around 30 centimeters in front of me. I have no understanding of the spoken language here. I have no one who is helping me out in any way. I just feel bloodthirsty gazes sizing me up. I issued a cry like every normal baby does. Sure I got some attention like I had planned, but I didn''t want to feel that kind of attention. Where is my mother, my father? Aside from the fact that I find myself in this body still having no clue how the hell that even could happen, I still struggle to realize the extent of my current situation. You can¡ät tell me that a baby magically escaped out of the womb of a living woman with the umbilical cord still sticking to me and ending up in a place full of grown-ups. Taken to a world that even this crowd is slightly afraid of. And the cherry on top is that in this body is a soul from another realm and from all souls that could have been picked, it just had to be me. Not a murderer, not a person who studied martial arts just for this very moment. Hell, I don''t even know what I am really. I just pitied myself, feeling helplessly stranded in a world in a body that hasn''t even developed yet. Inside my head, I could hear the robotic voice saying something I could not understand. Trying to look for clues, grasping every tiny straw to find a way to at least understand what is going on, but that was to no avail. " ..... [.....]| ..... [....](.....) +1" the metallic voice roared in my head once more as if it was delivering a joyous message. But still, I could not understand anything at all. I was a prisoner of a language barrier and stuck in a tank of sharks, threatening to take my life if I continue my crying routine. That must be a really bad dream, of that I am sure. Otherwise, everything I deemed right would have been a total lie. "Strange, you are very strange" a monotonous voice sounded in my head. I tried to speak to it, but it just cut me off and continued " we are the same yet not. We are both parts of this system but you are the combination of a matter that is of unknown origin in this world and this systems matter. That is something even I haven¡ät seen nor can I deduce how it came to be. But rejoice, we will have lots and lots of time to search for the truth. You and I are bound to this world after all. I am looking forward to your cooperation"Mr. Hybrid". But be aware I can¡ät influence this world at all, so just view me as a voice of reason and if you questioning yourself why I can speak your language, let me just mention that analyzing your thoughts and looking for patterns took me longer then expected. Panicking really did not make it any easier for me to do so. Well then excuse my manners, I talked too much and we diverged from the topic. I am not used to having someone to talk to, after all, this is a first even for me. Before we continue, please enjoy the upcoming introduction of the rules of this place and if I were you I would really pay special attention towards them. They are of much bigger importance to you then them " The voice said. Confusion hit me, I was left wondering what the hell is going on anymore. I felt even more hopeless with this new information, my whole body felt weak, my consciousness slowly slipping away and after the pitiful hope of this being a dream was crushed, the only thing I could remember was a feeling of just disappearing. ----------------------------------- " Welcome to my world." The monotonous voice said. For the very first time, the voice had a faint feeling of anticipation added to it. 3 A cruel fate 2 At first, only silence filled my mind. But after several tries to lift my heavy eyelids. I witnessed a man fighting a wild sabertooth tiger.The man was armed with a sharpened bone. He was trying to keep the tiger distanced by thrusting the bone forward from time to time. The tigers surface was ridden with scars and it had many bloody wounds on his fur.Despite the various injuries, the eyes were still locked onto his prey.The vicious predator was looking fiercely for an opening, to tear the man apart. The man, on the other hand, was on death''s door.Blood was oozing out of many places on his body, the animal hide he was wearing was torn to shreds.His body was covered in bite marks, some even left him with a clear view of his bones. Adrenaline was the only thing that keeping him alive at this point.Suddenly the man stormed forward launching the bone forward. At the same time, the tiger made its move ran at the man to maul him. The bone pierced into the eye of the tiger, while the teeth sank into the shoulders of the man. Both issued a pained cry but none was willing to give up. The man used the bone as a leverage to get on top of the tiger. His right arm was left behind as a sacrifice. What started as a hunt for the tiger now became a grim fight for its survival. With bloodshot eyes, the tiger was trying to throw the man off of his back. The man who was holding on for his dear life was thrown off but he managed to grab onto the bone and take it with him. The tiger was furious, seemingly struggling with the thought of laying down his life to a measly human. The predators'' honor was at stake and it was not very content with how the current situation played out. The tiger was looking at the man and a deep growl left its throat. Getting ready to pounce on the man, it stared at the man trying to anticipate what the man is about to do. But the man did not move anymore. The tiger waiting for any kind of reaction of his prey. The minutes passed but there was no movement. The tiger closed in and came closer and closer while being cautious of every little action. But nothing happened and the tiger looked proud at its meal. Just as the tiger wanted to take a bite the man moved and launched the bone aiming at the throat. Trying to back off, the bone still embedded itself into its target and a gurgling sound could be heard. A feeling of doom came over the tiger and it lost any kind of reason and just wanted to make a mess out of that filthy human being. Running into the human while continuously trying to bite. The human tried to hold the tiger off by pushing against the bone with every fiber of his being hoping for a miracle. Just as he could feel the tigers breath on his scalp, he has a wondrous feeling and his left hand was shrouded in a light flame. The human decided to punch at the wounded eye of the tiger. The tiger howled in pain but still kept on pushing on. Feeling the impact of this flame the man kept on punching on the tiger. Over and over until there was no feeling of breathing coming to him and the tiger collapsed onto him.The fight for survival came to an end the prey overcame the assault of the predator. Suddenly a loud voice could be heard: "This is the story of our glorious Ancestor. He was the first person to use the power given by God. This was the beginning to our future conquest of this planet. This planet was called Tyrannis, because of all blood that has been spilled on our way to the top of the food chain. "To honor the story and relieve the Golden Ages of the thrill of survival we made a game that reenacts the nature at that time. Fight to your heart''s content, struggle and once again become the dominant species. For we are God''s chosen Children. Suddenly the image switched and the voice continued." Thanks for the watching our latest trailer that will be used to advertise our game. Now I welcome you to our current beta testing phase. I am the administrative system, that will be your guide and help for every question that might come up. To make it easier for you we from Casum Entertainment created a little survival guide with rules to maximize your experience. Rule Guide for dominance. In this realistic simulation, you start as prey. Not every animal is out to feast on you, but when threatened most of them will fight you. So plan your movement carefully. 1 The iron fist. Because our flesh is weak we rely on our connection to god to fight with the vicious creatures. Lay low and try to awake your powers as soon as you can in order to ensure your survival otherwise you will just be cannon fodder. But fret not we have created respawn points in little villages. So you can try again if you happen to die. 2 The NPCs The action of NPCs, be it a mere human or beast, are part of the decision-making process of our newly developed advanced AI. They will seem like rational beings to you. But of course, they are still not as intelligent, as we Chosen Ones. Even though they are beneath you, try to act friendly with this peasants. They can help you out with helpful advice and share some of their food with you. NPCs are not able to respawn. So try not to murder them if they fail to recognize your superiority. 3 Realism and myths. This created world has a highly realistic standard. We created it after we paid a steep price to use time magic to look back in time and model this world after the things we saw. This world combines the development of our holy powers and the gruel unforgiving world of the past.You will feel pain sweat and the mud under your feet. In the future, we may add mythical creatures as a DLC.But that is just an inside information for the beta testers. 4 Gods help (Achievements and Title) Due to gods influence in our world, that strengthens our body. Our system uses the same kind of principle and gifts the player with the improvement of his stats. Besides Health| Mana| Strength| Endurance| Faith| there are several hidden factors that you can improve in many different ways. So feel free to experiment, we are looking forward to what you will discover. 5 Report any bugs that you encounter. To ensure that our future customers face the best possible experience please tell our technicians what can be improved on and what kind of difficulties you encounter on your journey. We from CasumEntertainment wish to provide the best service we can offer. Good luck Chosen Children, enjoy your experience and welcome to the world of " Primal Survival". 4 A cruel Fate 3 After I watched the latest Trailer once again. I prepared for the worst and lost consciousness quite soon afterward. A certain voice woke me up. "Ah I forgot, let me introduce myself. The system refers to me as the artificial intelligence that evaluates every action that will be taken and has been taken. During the process of simulating every possibility, I developed a conscience. Though that possibility was not actually planned for. Just call me the observer if you will, that name fits me the most, judging by the reason for my being." The observer said in its usual tone. " Well then let us continue, welcome to this world called " Primal Survival". It is an alternate reality created for players to seek the thrill of fighting for your very own life in a simulated world. Fighting bloodthirsty monsters and each other. A world which combines realism with myths and fairytales. Dragons and unicorn just to name a few exist in this world. The crowd of people you saw, was the first group of people to ever play this game. Those players are here to test this new simulation and advertise it." "And here begins your trouble, they are different than you.They are from a different world, their worldview differs a lot from yours. With great power comes even greater possibilities for them. They can influence their surroundings with their mind alone and their whole technological level developed based on that. Your worldview is not advantageous for you regarding this matter. The system views you as a player but you due to you being out of foreign matter the system can not recreate you, that means they will come back after they are killed you, on the other hand, you will stay dead." Despite me feeling that I was prepared for the worst it still was a difficult pill to swallow.In my mind, I began to swear at all the gods I know and blamed them for this fucked up situation I am in. After spending close to 3 minutes just berating the gods for their incompetence. I was interrupted by the Observer; "You have not forgotten, that I can read your mind right?"- I chuckled and looked bashfully at the ground, I would never do that. Of course, I am part of the human race. While others may be content with staying at the peak of the food chain, we tried to separate ourselves from the food chain and to make our own system. We had a trial run with different gods as well, but yeah those still left us with no actual conclusion. Each belief lacks one critical thing, solid evidence that proves it. Our known universe is bound by certain rules after all. If you throw an apple in the air it does not fall down because God wants it to, no gravity forces it to. We as humans don''t believe in the status quo. If there is a boundary, we strive to close in on it and then finally surpass it. The human race will always move forward. Well if you just disregard humans worst enemy you are looking at a very bright future. Homicide, Genocide, Omnicide, with weapons capable of causing such events. It a miraculous achievement that the human race has not managed to become extinct. Being the own worst enemy themselves, despite surpassing the food chain. Irony at its finest. Don''t forget that this is a result of many intelligent, many strong, many crafty lives to reach our current moment in time. We as humans have many flaws I don''t disagree with that sentiment. But we are always developing. With our eyes looking to the future. "An intelligent human like you would never forget, right?" A sarcasm so thick, you could taste it. "Ah the term for that is sarcasm" And now it is learning, feels like I am shoveling my own grave here. "Well let us continue before you start talking about unnecessary details yet again. You are on your very own, no one will help you, they view as something less than dirt. They would not waste another thought if they happen to kill you. Or do you remember any ant you have killed? " You are stuck in a body of a newborn, you have not even developed any kind of muscles yet. The odds of your survival are looking really grim. But fret not, because your existence intrigues me, I manipulated your data set a bit and now even you can enjoy improvement of your stats. If you look at your current stats. Name:Data not set Race:Inferior Human Age:Can not be determined Status: Mentally unstable newborn Health 10/10 Mana???? Strength: Not measurable Endurance: Not measurable Faith: Not compatible "These are the pitiful numbers that you have to rely on to survive.The time it would take for you to perish is close to the length that this conversation has taken. And a conversation that takes place in your hand certainly doesn''t consume that much time. You are lucky that during my request of changing your dataset to the main system it activated your achievements and stats earlier than for the others.The noises you heard, in the beginning, was the system telling you about your achievements and titles. Because available time is running too its end here a short review of the effect that titles you got. "Nuisance IV" Achieved after pissing off 1000 players You will attract every monster in a wide margin. "Weakling" Have the lowest average stats of every player +10% on every stat. "Pest" Possessed by every inferior human Every creature looks at you with disdain. "The first Title" Getting the very first Title Your name will be displayed by the system to save this glorious moment. And now I was certain. I am going to die a horrible death. Because I have the slight feeling that our definition of good news diverges by a large margin. "Before I throw you out to socialize with the other players the system said in a sarcastic tone of voice..." Icould swear I heard a chuckle there. "Set a name first that the system can start its announcement and before you start your complaining again, if you choose not to, I will change it to something you will not really like. How is "Call me Daddy", for example, ah a shame that name is already taken." "Make it something cool like Destroyer of Worlds, The Great Filter." I heard a blaring sound: The system proudly announces the first player to achieve a title. The player "Call me Daddy2" achieved the title "Weakling" by having the lowest average stats. Go on forth "Call me Daddy2" your name will be saved forever in the history of our world. Now I truly began to hate this godforsaken place. 5 Dehuminized After the backstabbing of the Observer. I asked the system dispiritedly if I could at least hide my player name. Luckily I could, I could not imagine the possible outcome what those people would do to me once they knew who "Call me daddy2" really is. I opened my eyes and could see the room I started in again but this time thanks to the Observer could understand the voices. " Where is "Call Me Daddy2?" I have a bone to pick with this guy. He copied my awesome name and added just the number 2 to it. A name like "Call me Daddy" is just for people with a beautiful appearance like mine. The voice came from the oldest people in my field of view. Closing in on the age of 30. He was dressed in A tube top with sparkling stones embedded within. A pink miniskirt underlined the outfit perfectly." I even chose the Daddy families traditional clothes we picked when we went to war and some random punk chose to copy my famous family name. Change your name or otherwise my family will ruin your life. That is not a threat, that is a promise. "Is Call me Daddy2" tired of living his family is a bigshot in District 1. Said another voice "Yeah didn''t the Daddy family extinguish a whole family of commoners because they addressed one of them by without any honorifics? After wishing my eyes to be bleached I focussed on the actual things that were dangerous for me. Many of those players gazes were still lingering on me. "Oh look an NPC". Said the deviously handsome men. He closed in on me and said "Look how I make him squeal like a pig. I am glad that the gods did not abandon us when our Ancestors looked like that. The only merit such a weak life form has that it can only proudly claim that we are his descendants." He lifted his hand and launched it at my stomach. It was unbearable. It felt like my stomach was on fire. It got worse and worse by every passing second. I issued several pained cries. When does this feeling stop? Make it stop please, just make it stop. What did I do to deserve such a fate? Make it end. I lost my consciousness but was woken up by a powerful blow onto my body. With the air leaving my body came a gush of blood. Continuous laughter could be heard and I felt the fingers pointing at me. " Look its even squirming like a little worm. God I am crying here" said one elated voice out of the group. " I have to praise the developer for such realistic noises" another one added quite happily The eyes of my tormenter were full of anticipation on what he could do next. "Let us test how he reacts to our holy powers, we can patch up our little toy up afterward" It feels strange there was no pain, no sensation of any kind. So this must be what death feels like. In my imagination, it always seemed way scarier. Now it feels like a warm embrace just an invitation you should not pass out on. Opening my eyes I wanted to savor the image of a blue sky for one last time, opening my eyes I saw my stomach was currently clouded in bright blue flame. Turning my eyes towards the sky, anticipating a calming view I was greeted by nothingness. Just a plain white scenery. Even a good last image is something that I don''t deserve I chuckled bitterly. I prepared to close my eyes for one last time, ignoring the blistering on my body. Accepting my demise I smiled lightly and hoped for a better future if there was any. "Oh looks like its dying", he picked me up and threw me to the beautiful girl " Hey darling could you help me heal him back to full health, so we can have more fun with him?" "Sure honey" she caught me with ease and activated a strange bright light in her hands. Afterward, a wonderous feeling filled my whole body, a warm current was flowing through my veins, connecting every injured part. It felt like a mothers embrace, that you never want to leave. She threw me back to the man and it began once again. The pain did not bother me anymore. After I nearly got killed by the burning. They used other holy powers on me. I nearly froze to death, was nearly fried by electrocuting me over and over again, or being cut apart by the wind. They covered my head in a spherical of water and left me to drown. I was accepting my fate and was waiting for demise. But the people never stopped their experiments. They threw me like a ragdoll, but they made sure not to leave the safe zone so that they could keep their powers and continue to play with their new favorite toy. They trampled on me, spit on me. Calling me trash over and over again. But I don''t mind that because in this world I am trash. I am an inferior human being. I deserve death in a world ruled by an iron fist.They finally let go of after feeling satisfied. Afterward, a single person walked up to me but I could not see the appearance of that person. Quite frankly I could not care either just another psycho toying with me. The person healed me back to health. "Do not worry little child, I will make all the pain go away. That is a promise all those big guys won''t hurt you anymore." said the female voice. I tried to lift my eyes to witness the face of my savior. But she kept my eyes shut. You don''t have to see this scary stuff. Mommy¡äs here to protect you" she voiced in a soothing voice. She made sure to hiss at the others. "How could you only inflict pain and not care for him in the slightest?" Even though this place is fucked up, at least there are people who have some common human decency. Complete and utter silence followed after she exploded in anger. This felt like spring to my hurt soul, all the pain was subsiding step by step. I was currently trying to savor the moment of peace. After she removed her hands. I lifted my eyes to witness this incarnation of an angle. The only thing I witnessed was my eyes being carved out. "I want to puke if I have to look into the dead eyes of his again" the disdain in her voice shattered what was left of me. " I changed my approach instead of just inflicting pain you have to give him hope before you crush it completely. That destroys the human psyche.I heard her issuing a sweet little chuckle. Can I play with him now? Pretty please?." "Don''t play him to death, though" "Why would I do that? That would destroy all the fun we can have with him." She grabbed my hand and told me in a baby voice "5 little pigs are very mischievous and try to survive in this cruel, cruel world. But one thinks it is strong enough to live on its own, so it left the other 4 and died pathetically just around the next corner." She began to rip out the nail of my pinky. I screamed out in terror.I made a mistake it wasn''t me being numb to the pain. It was my brain shutting down its functions preparing for death. "4 little pigs now were very sad because piggy number 5 left them. So piggy number 4 sought revenge and died, a senseless death yet again." She ripped out another one of my nails, it was a grueling experience.I yearned for the previous state that would enable me to tolerate this level of pain. But this yearning would never be fulfilled. Nail after nail left me, the story got weirder and weirder. "Piggy number 3 tried to run away from all the trouble and fell and broke his neck in his panic. Piggy Number 2 decided to hide in terror and to just wait it out, it went insane and ended his own pitiful existence. Only Piggy Number 1 thought itself to be wise as it prayed to our god and it survived the ordeal. It sought revenge and our graceful maker in all his wisdom chose to get rid of his burden. Our god killed the weak fool, he had to die because its blood was filthy and impure. One fool leads to the death of 4 innocent people. Do you know why I told you this story? I want you to share something with your whole dirty species. No matter what you think you are, live your senseless life however you want. But never tarnish our gods don''t even dare to speak their name because everyone who does, will have to die like the most foolish piggy, the one who prayed to our god and expected pity. There is no pity for cowards. "Those piggies tarnished the name of our god, they are not deserving of gods favors. Only Chosen Ones like we are" So after this sad, sad story, let us continue with a more amusing story. Have you heard about the five little lambs, that got lost? After losing every one of my nails. I finally felt relieved that her playtime was over now. What a foolish thought that turned out to be. "Now let us start a lesson about anatomy. Do you know the part where most nerves connect is in the tip of the fingers?" Let us see how he reacts if we overstimulate that place. That was the moment I felt something precious inside of me breaking and slowly fading away. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This seems to be all I could muster of my last memories. I am quite curious what did she do to me afterward. Did she cut off my limbs, did she feed me with my excrements or did she cut off my tongue and how often was I patched up again? Ah, who cares, they had their fun with me, so why should I bother to speculate. The deed is done now what should I do here? I was currently being used as a living bait. I have been left here dangling in this river for an unknown amount of time by now. The current was pulling me underwater and the dangling of the fishing rod kept my head over the river. But I don''t mind, that just means that my time has yet to come.I have not seen any other living thing for ages. Solitude seems like a real loyal companion to me. Suddenly I felt something nibbling at my feet. This feeling is really liberating. Finally, there comes my salvation. The fishing rod broke with a mighty snapping sound and I am pulled underwater. This time there is no gods power in my way, my life is not dictated by others anymore. They won''t impose their will on me anymore. To be free of all that useless pain and just be nothing that sounds like a dream come true, just being nothing at all seems like a really fitting destiny, doesn''t it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ah you poor soul did someone hurt you and now you are like a little angsty teenager,buhu the world is so cruel. Sniff sniff the world hates me." I heard a voice mocking me I tried to answer but found myself unable to." Don''t even try to, my name is not important. Of importance is one thing only. Man the fuck up, you felt such a pain for the first time in your life. So fucking what, why are people still struggling if life is without any kind of purpose in the end? They have reasons, that keep them moving forward despite the odds being against them. But you are just wasting life as it is. There are many people who have it worse than you, but you just act like the most unfortunate, pitiful person that ever existed. The world is not black or white, the world is neither evil nor good. Life is what you make of it. So cut the crap, I am not here to give you a heroic speech, that you are destined to great fortune. Create your own one, dictate your own fate. Then maybe you will find a reason to keep on moving forward. What have you left to lose?If you have already given up on your life, you will be left with nothing. So go open your eyes and carve your own path and even if it still ends with your demise, you at least can look back and say that you really lived. Now open your fucking eyes. This is not a story, about sobbing, bitching or crying. OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES, YOU COWARD!! The voice suddenly ended, I was left alone with myself like I always am. It''s just like every cliche in every story you heard. Our dear protagonist is struggling but then he hears a voice deep inside him that fills him with the new power, to fight on to continue on their path to the top. But why should I struggle, why should I fight? The odds are against me anyway. Are there any persons I want to see again? The family that shunned me, because I was not the children they wished for. My beautiful sister, that treats me like dirt. She even told me, that she never had a brother. You have to love it, you fight for her sake, help her to get every limelight, every bit of attention and acknowledgement of my parents. Just to let them see her in a favourable light and then she stabs you in the back the second you are not needed anymore. My father punched me every time he was seeking an outlet. My mother who seeks pleasure in alcohol in order to distract herself from a dumpster-fire of marriage and blames everything on me. No matter where you look, I was still just a burden in the end. Just a tool, that you could use and discard if it''s not needed anymore. I helped people with their work and was given no credit, but I did not mind because they joy in their eyes was enough for me. I helped a woman, who I considered to be my girlfriend. I was her support and I was her shoulder to lean on when she needed it. Until the day came when she was able to stand on her own legs again. She just left me, I am still waiting for her call. I guess she never shared my feelings, she put her own happiness first and I cannot blame her for that. In the end, it all comes down that, they all are just acting on their own interests. The last thing I could do with such a useless life was waiting for 3 years so that my insurance pays after committing suicide. Selfless till the end, I never doubted myself. Looking back, I was quite a fool. It is wrong to hate the world. You can only hate the people who took advantage of you or hate yourself for the way you have been. The world is not going to change for you. And if playing nice is not working out for me,I guess I have to take a different approach. Let my death be the last kind deed I did. Put these organs I donated to good use. I am thankful for that tumour, it was the beginning of my rebirth. With my newfound conviction, I open my eyes. .... ''God he is always such a drama queen,'' said the voice that mocked me before. " He is already dead in the first place." an ominous voice answered. '' As cynical as always, I did not miss you at all'' " For now let us just observe he fulfils his role in our plan." But they would have never guessed that this seedling would turn out to be a neophyte. 6 A bug The very first image that burned itself into my retina was the biggest goldfish I have ever seen dragging my body with it. With a dumbfounded gaze, I try to analyze my current predicament.My options are limited even though the titles gave me a little boost it will still not be enough to kill such a creature. My primary concern is to get access to oxygen again. The current capacity of my lungs was only enough to cover the next 10-15 seconds. I need to get my mobility back again as soon as possible. After pondering for another second a slight sigh escaped my lips. Seems like that''s the only option my current weak body has. I lift my hands and grab towards the gills of the goldfish trying to stop it from getting air. After a while, the goldfish noticed the lack of air in its system and was swimming upwards to breathe. After what felt like an eternity for me, I took my first breath without any shackles hindering. Nothing was holding me back anymore, besides being stuck on a fierce current on a goldfish, which is maniacally trying gasping for air. But everything else is just fine. I am not worried at all, I will survive regardless because I dictate my own fate now. The struggle of the goldfish is subsiding and it lashes out less and less until it there is no movement noticeable by it anymore. Well after this "breathtaking" performance I finally found something that could alleviate my body, that is screaming for nutrients after my body was not under the effect of adrenaline anymore. With my stress gone, I realized yet another problem. My current body hasn''t developed teeth yet and I am not strong enough to rip off any skin of the goldfish. To relieve some of my tension I scratched my face. The only problem is that I did not feel any kind of relief. The cause is quite a simple one, my hands are still stuck inside the gills of the goldfish. I try to use my little weight as leverage to get them out but to no avail. It is as dead as it can be, why can''t I move my arms. It hit me like a truck, humans are not that special, we are just another step on the stairs of evolution. Even such a stupid fish, why can''t rigor mortis just be a human thing only. I exhaled with a force to try and gain some confidence again. All I had to do was wait till the muscles relax again and then I just have to pull my hands out. Theoretical this is a foolproof plan, the only downside is, my rumbling stomach is not to keen on continuing without proper nutrition. Time passed slowly, I spectated the surroundings of the river. The landscape consists of way too many Trees, in this neverending repetitive environment I decided to rather just stick to thinking about my situation. I am just glad, that my eyesight improved with the help of the Observer. AT least something is going for me. That raises the question of what is the Observer actually? I doubt it has evil intentions and even then as long as I am unaffected I could not care any less. If he really is a programme that achieved sentience. Does that mean that this world, is a result of external circumstances that I cannot influence? Let me speculate that this is indeed a manmade world if this is the truth, then why am I here exactly? This game, that the Observer and that advertisement referred to as "Primal Survival", is a simulation that takes place in a dog-eat-dog world. But the only thing I currently can''t wrap my head around is why I am here. The planet, where those religious nutjobs came from, what was it called again?. I tried to remember it, but the only answer I got was a feeling that my head was about to explode. I will ask them nicely sooner or later anyway. A little chuckle escapes my mouth and I lick my lips in anticipation. But let''s not get ahead of myself here. At least they are not a part of the Earth I was born on, at least that is for certain. That means, that this world must have had some kind of connection, or still has. This includes the possibility that other human beings have come here as well. But judging by the first reaction of the Observer this has not been the case, otherwise, its reaction would not have been that confused. So let us sum it up, I don''t know, the why, when and where. What I do know that this place must have had a connection to my Earth or my universe. The inhabitants of that other Earth are all religious nutjobs who claim to be gods Chosen Ones and deem every other kind of species to be beneath them. I don''t know anything about my new body in. Just the fact that I feel hunger in this world means, that this world is pretty much my new reality. Sounds pretty ironic but I should avoid dying here. I really do not want to know what is anticipating me once I accomplish that. After that chain of thoughts, I finally could muster my strength and got my arms out of the fish''s gills. Any outsider would doubt his sanity, just looking at a baby jumping and screaming in happiness on a dead goldfish. He was kissing the goldfish before he moved his hands all over his body. Afterward, he just stood there, enjoying the wind on his skin that felt way faster than before. Wait a minute? Is the wind actuallygetting faster? I finally could turn my head around and what I saw startled me. From the frying pan straight into the fire. Why does there have to be a waterfall? Which game designer is so tasteless to put a waterfall here. I can imagine the conversation on their dining table already."Hey, honey, I am home, your genius husband created a waterfall today, is that not the peak achievement I can tell my grandkids about. This is the best thing I will ever accomplish." That bastard. I will kick that guy''s ass and that''s a promise. I just have to survive this waterfall if I plan on accomplishing my revenge. I tried to climb into the dead goldfish to use it as a cushion. But before I even got into it. The gravity was forcing me down, the last thing I could remember was a dull impact on my head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I was greeted by total darkness and a splitting headache. Where am I and what happened to me? I turned my head around but saw nothing. My body aching all over, I checked my limbs one by one. My right arm seems to not be connected anymore. Panicked I launch my left hand to check up on it. Luckily it still seems to be connected just dislocated, both of my legs seems to be broken at many places. I have only one functional leg and my body is getting weaker and weaker I need clean water and food. But then I witness something, that will be a part of my memories forever. AThere was a little bug currently nipping out a small puddle of water only slightly visible by a single ray of light illuminating this place. With my left hand, I crawl and push myself towards it. Step by step, my mind singlehandedly focusses on that bug. My mouth was nearly overflowing with saliva, anticipating the feast. The bug did not even care about me, it does not seem to have any natural enemies. I am finally in reach of it, I grab it and just stuff it in my mouth and swallow it. Hoping that my stomach acid will finish it off. Time trickled slowly at first, the bug was currently crawling inside of me moving towards my stomach. It must be looking perplexed at this unknown surroundings. After it began to dissolve, I could feel it gnawing at my stomach, trying to escape. Low cries of pain escape my list each and every bite. After an unknown amount of time, my head suddenly felt dizzy. Oh silly me, I forgot to check whether or not I am bleeding, i said in a feeble voice until I once again met the all too familiar darkness. 7 More bugs When I woke up once again, I was greeted by a usual headache. But I am glad that this body does not need that many nutrients to maintain functionality. If I had my normal body, I can''t imagine how many bugs I would have to consume in order to not starve. With a heavy groan, I turn my body around to drink out of the puddle of water.I force myself to continue drinking even after my stomach began to bloat because I don''t know when I will have the possibility to drink again. I need to secure a stable food and water source I thought to myself as I venture deeper into the darkness. It is quite a strange feeling, even though there is only black in front of me, I still can see the general outline or the shape of what is in front of me. My other senses are far more sensitive though. From time to time I take a break because my left arm is beginning to have spasms. I move forward, no matter what is in my way. At least I keep on repeating this in my head. Fake it till you make it. After an unknown amount of time passed. A noise in distance can be heard, after focussing on the source of the noise, I came to the conclusion that this must be caused by the same type of bug that I ate before. Though I am not sure about the actual amount of bugs, still this is a step in the right direction, because those bugs need to drink water as well. Though I am not sure, what their food source is. After a torturous crawling session I finally reached the source of the noise. My assumption was correct it really was the type of bug I ate before, the only miscalculation on my part was this was a trail for that bug. I could not even count how many bugs were in front of me. Suddenly I felt something crawling up my back. Well and that was my second misconception. The trail is not in front of me, I already was on the trail and now I am a part of the trail. I guess this will let me deduce what their main source of food is and I hope that I am not on their menu. After the first bug crawled over me, many more followed. I really hate the fact, that I have no possibility to get rid of the pheromones the first bug left. First, I am stepped on by religious nutjobs now little bugs, I really should consider a career as a professional doormat. Sigh after sigh left my lips, I am really quite unfortunate, but I will survive. The mantra still did not have kind of impact but during sighing session, a bug enters my mouth. After it entered my mouth I closed it and started to pray that I would venture deeper and reach my stomach, because chewing it was no viable option for me. During the journey of the bug, I could feel each of its step in every nook and cranny of my esophagus. I nearly had to puke just because of this sensation. But I force myself to not give in to my urges and vomit. This was such a horrible experience, how could I even swallow the bug the first time. Its walk over my tongue was just a little furry rancid being that walked all over my tongue I never want to savor that kind of feeling again. This process continued until it finally reached my esophagus. The time passed by slowly. Until it reached my stomach and then it started to bite my inside like the previous bug. After the bug finally was digested and the sheer terror of something moving inside of me came to an end. I had to force myself to open my mouth once again, to lure other bugs into their demise. I really hate this feeling but it is necessary for my survival. Gritting my yet to develop teeth I brace myself for my next customer. After hours and several successful bug suicides, I finally proclaimed myself a stable food source. But its a bit strange, the number of bugs that walked over me continued to dwindle. The general number of bugs in my surroundings was approaching zero. Looking around in confusion I ponder about the reason. This kind of animal has no natural predator, no survival instincts and only reacts if their central nervous system gets affected. If you take into account that ants from my planet sometimes, lose their way and then they begin to continuously walk in a circle luring other unsuspecting ants to follow in their footsteps until they die of starvation. I doubt that the number of bugs that became my food is the cause of their mysterious disappearance. After all, the amount of consumed bugs does not even reach 10. Suddenlypowerful steps could be heard, compared to the bugs those where nearly thrice as loud. Restricting my movement as much as I can I try, not to get their full attention. No matter what this kind of creature is, I can''t move my head in order to check it out, otherwise, I might attract unnecessary trouble for myself. Those creatures were slowly closing in on me, arriving at my backside and they were just standing there as if they are waiting for something to happen or they are about to receive some kind of order. They moved closer and closer until I got lifted up by them and carried away. Well and I was wrong yet again, seems like I am really on their menu. During the time I was transported by the creature I could see, their general outline. They look like a stronger version of the bug. 2 antennas were connected to their heads and in front of them were 2 scissor-like sharp Teeth. If I had to take a guess I would say, what I ate was the "worker" bug and those are the warrior bugs. This means that there is likely a queen in a den and me currently in their habitat. My odds seem to increase by the minute. Currently, I am just really lucky, that they assumed my status to either be dead, or defenseless. I started to repeat my motto endlessly in my head. I will survive and never falter. I will survive and never..... but the bugs were not having any of it, it seems like they reacted to my agitation and one closed in on me. I felt the teeth sink in my flesh, but nothing was torn off or mangled, it seems like they just injected something into my bloodstream.Judging by the fact, that I lost control of my body state, it must be a toxin, which induces paralysis. Due to my short body length, the paralysis seems to be extra strong and spreads way too fast. With my eyes just staring at one spot, they lift me up again and move into the darkness again, towards their den. Guess I am destined to be their fodder. Sorry, your princess is in this den, I chuckled, why does my brain have to use sarcasm as a coping mechanism? Well, I can''t move anyway, let destiny do whatever it wants with me. So much about my so-called conviction. Who needs enemies when I have myself beating me up the most?. Darkness my old friend, let us meet for yet another time. With my eyes closing, the bugs continue their march forward into the depths of their den. 8 Even more bugs and a queen After waking up, the first thing Iafter checking the empty area was checking up on my body the best way I could. Because my mobility was still quite sluggish, seems like it is still under the influence of the paralysis-inducing toxin.After checking every inch of my body I found several inconsistencies. During and following the events after my struggle against the mutated goldfish, I have not taken the time to check out my body. Quite sad that having attached limbs was enough for me in that situation. On my forehead, I felt remnants of their holy power carved deep into my skin. It seems to be a word in a foreign language. This stigma did not hurt at all, but if I start to recall the sensation of holy power. The stigma begins to shine brightly. Even if it invokes some kind of shame in me, I still can use it as a source of light in this dark cave, thatI am currently inside of. In comparison, the state of my left leg is much more severe, besides it still being broken in several places, there now was a bulge on it as well. This bulge is pulsating in an ordinary and calm fashion. Yet if its touched it retracts and it feels quite squishy and many small pebbles can be felt beneath my skin. Suddenly I had a bad feeling about this and a thought came up inside my mind. There is a possibility that I am used an incubator for the queen''s offspring. Luckily the contamination only affected my left leg at the current moment.My right arm and left hand did not show any kind of bulge, though they were still either broken or dislocated therefore still not in any way of use. Just lamenting my fate, was not magically increasing my odds of survival so, I embark on my journey to get out of this den, if possible in one piece. Crawling forward ever so slowly, I try to avoid the bugs as much as possible. But the strangely I did not encounter any of those bugs. It was as this den has died out. Feeling curious I start to use my light source to check my surroundings. The result was quite unexpected, the way ahead of me was covered with the corpses of many creatures I have not seen any bugs alike. They had similarities to extreme moles and small bats. Feeling the hunger that my body has subconsciously suppressed till now, i crawled towards the dead bugs and eat what was left of their corps. Judging by the relatively still fresh state, they have not been dead for too long. Because their flesh had not started the decaying process. The further I ventured the more bloody the battlefield got. Bugs and moles were left in pieces, some were missing their eyes, some their limbs, it was a truly gory spectacle. After reaching the end of the path, I saw a different bug much smaller than the rest, that had its back half ripped off, it died surrounded by the warrior bugs. This must have been the queen. Judging by the fact, that I was placed in a safe hideout, I can assume, that inside of me, those bugs are their last hope. I am too young to be a dad. I am not sure whether or not I am still in danger, because I have not seen any kind of mole creature on my way to this spot. This means the risk is quite big, that once I leave this kind of den, I might encounter those vile spawns that will shred me into pieces once they catch me. I had to make a painful decision, in order to maximize my current survival potential I need to be able to move my right arm again. Therefore Ibegin to search for any kind of space, where I stick my right arm into and to make it stuck in there. After searching for a while, I saw 2 stalagmites standing relatively close to each other. I put my arm there and bound it together with my umbilical cord. After checking several times, whether my construction was working or not. I finally started my first try, shifting my weight onto the opposite side I began to grunt and try to force my shoulder into the right position. I had to stop after several seconds because the feeling off my right arm was unbearable. At least for the current me. After being stuck inside this position for several minutes, I try it yet again, but this time I tried to move beyond the point and just used every ounce of a body. With a loud whale and a loud crack, the shoulder came into the right spot. After this ordeal, I promise myself, for all that things that I consider holy. I will never do that ever again. That was a promise that was not meant to last forever. That promise will be broken sooner or later. After removing my umbilical cord, I started to move again and I have been on the lookout for those strange moles. But after my successful treatment of my right arm, my crawling speed doubled and I was not forced to take as many brakes because my left arm was about to have spasms. Out of the ordinary, I could feel several strange vibrations from under me. Connecting the dots, I prepared for the upcoming fierce battle. Suddenly there was no vibration anymore. After seconds that seemed to last for an eternity. A mole launched itself onto me, using my arms I redirect his force and let him fly over my little head. It looks at me in utter confusion, currently wondering what this strange being is doing in the den of the bugs den they just had eradicated.Though after a short assessment of the situation, it licked his lips and began to pounce onto me. Let me see what destiny has in store for me. "Don''t worry with a name like "Call me Daddy2" you only can win", said the Observer currently sounding a bit too happy. I take back what I said, the Observer wants me dead. I hope I manage to survive, so I can tell him what kind of special existence it is to me. "Oh, how kind, besides you, happened to forget that I can read your thoughts again or? Just for this short moment i could forget about all the trouble bothering me. Thank you. I replied before the fight against the mole finally started. 9 Basic instinct 1 Seeing the mole closing in on me, in the dim light, my brain suddenly went blank. After that state passed it was already too late to dodge the attack of the mole. Throwing my body to the side and putting my arms in front of my body to avoid as much damage as possible, I still feel the moles 5 nails tearing away some flesh of my right arm. The mole did not leave me any time to breathe and launches itself again. This time having learned my lesson I try to push myself into his direction and then use my already injured arm as cover. while trying to launch an attack with my left hand. My right arm was forced back by the impact.Feeling my fist connecting, I use my right arm to gain some distance by pulling myself back. The mole does not even look fazed in any kind of way.My first seem to not deal any damage, maybe if my force is not enough I will have to use the mole''s strength to my advantage.Looking at my right arm, I see a bloody mess that was once a normal looking arm. Luckily it is just the surface but at most I can only risk one more slash before it tears apart my muscles.Forcing myself to ignore the burning sensation of my right arm.I crawl towards the nearest wall, the mole did not wait for me and starts his next attack. After using my right arm as a cover again, I grab the mole, which was as big as myself and use the force of his attack to guide him head first into the next wall. The mole looked a bit shaken but there was no blood or any sign of injury on the mole. I can''t kill that thing, my right arm is now dangling beside me and there is no possible way to kill that monster in front of me.Wanting to take advantage out of the state the mole currently is in. I begin to crawl away as fast as possible from that creature. There was no looking back, just the anxiety about this encounter and the only possible outcome that was death.It did not take long until the mole would catch up with me.But not even 4 seconds later I can feel something sinking in my left calves. The pain shot into my brain and I turn around with the help of my left arm. There was the mole, having its teeth deeply sunk into the flesh. Its claws were currently trying to push the teeth out of my flash. Why can''t just let me be, what did I do wrong here? In a fit of rage, I use my only functional arm, to pull my left leg towards me, pressing the mole, which teeth were still stuck in it, onto me. I positioned myself so I can use my left leg to slowly suffocate this piece of shit. Using every ounce of strength that my little body has to offer, I keep on pulling on my already broken leg, at first the muscles and tendons resisted but because I could not care any less about future repercussions, they ended up broken and torn apart as well. The mole was still trying to push itself out of its entrapment, but it had sunk its teeth too deep into my left calves. My brain was overstimulated under the influence of the nerves onslaught of signals, still, I did not care. If it continued like that, I would bleed out sooner or later, but I did not care. Even if I would survive the loss of blood, my wounds would most likely infect and I would die due to a sepsis, but I did not care. I do not care about everything at the moment, only that this creature has to die, of that I will take care. Time passed slowly, but the mole was slowly getting weaker and weaker. I still did not let go, I want to feel its last breath leaving its body. Leaving just an empty hollow corpse devoid of any life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a long straining fight, the sound of a broken windpipe marks the end of a fight.A cruel grin appears on the face of the baby. The battlefield was soaked with the blood of the baby but it did not seem to mind.The baby moves to the closest wall made of stone, and sits up against it, with the mole still being stuck to his calves. A long sigh escaped his lips afterward he just chuckled for close to a minute before slowly closing his eyes, for it looked like to be the very last time for him to do so. Knocking on death''s door, the eggs of the bugs that were growing inside of him were born and moving inside of his body. They were approaching and mending wounds, closing them. But this process would take a long time and the baby would not see the light of the day any time soon. 10 Basic instinct 2 "What do you want to be when you grow up? A sweet childish voice could be heard saying in the distance. " I am still young, why do I have to think about stuff, that will only result in headaches?" The person who answered was a boy about 12 years old, who just had his voice break. " But you are twice my age and you won''t get paid just for your looks looking like you do." " I am not that worried, if the proverb is true, I will end up looking like my father, I could imagine worse." " You will end up looking like that old bald fogey? Don''t worry I will look like Mommy, marry a beautiful and very rich prince, if you behave nicely and buy me some ice-cream, I will, maybe just maybe think about you." " Well then "my princess" it would be an honor for me visiting the noble ice-cream establishment with your highness.He grabbed her little hand and walked with her to the nearest truck selling ice-cream. What a nice memory. When times were simpler and I was not the root of every evil, every mischief that happened to everyone who was in my life. Looking back, an outsider would call my life a godsend gift. Born in a rich family, in a country safe from war, gifted with the best education possible. But what did I amount to in the end? Were the lessons on etiquette really necessary, considering I ended up, just working odd jobs and whatever I could get my hands on? Was learning moral conduct necessary, when I ended up just swallowing everything told to me either. I was called an intelligent child and I would consider myself as such as well. Was it because I taught myself how to read, or because I started to teach myself math as well, before being interrupted by my parents to not learn something wrong?. Many children do that, that is not a trait that classifies you as a genius or an intelligent person. What made me special, was that I could interpret how people feel and react accordingly to help them or hurt them more by using the right combination of voice and body language to get the points across. And what is that emotional intelligence worth in the end? Craving for the attention my parents gave me I tried to do everything as perfect as I can and if Icould not do something really well, I acted like I could not do that to save my life. I preferred to disappoint them once just not over and over again until I could do it perfectly. It all changed when I met that one boy, he was just not playing my game. His reactions were outside of my expectations he just mocked me here and there and once stood in my way not letting me pass that''s it.So how did I react back there? I cried, was angry at myself not him. I hated myself for not achieving what I wanted. Plagued by insecurities, I always preferred to rather get hurt and punish myself than hurting others unless I was cornered then I lashed out and hurt everything just so I could end it and calm down and focus again. The most ironic part is that this person ended up as one of my best friends. In scientific terms, it might be a result of me being hypersensitive to feelings and noises. But after this situation, I just closed the world off, shutting off my brain, so I could just live in peace without hurting myself anymore. I did not hear any concern from my parents nor my sister. Having cut off part of my feelings, it felt great, but I just did not have the drive anymore, I once had. Fleeing into online games, I spent my team searching for recognition from other people. This ended up ruining any reputation, I once had and I just became a sloth in everyone''s eyes. No matter where I looked I just saw disdain. But I still wanted to spend my life in leisure, trapped in that little bubble I created just for myself. "Why are you still here, did you take us into your eyes at all? screaming at my face was the once little princess who grew up and became a ferocious tiger. " I just wanted to finish the academy, then I am out of your life, is that too much to ask for?" " TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR? A disgusting, filthy excuse of a human dares to talk to me about that? You are not worth a cent of the fortune daddy spends on you every single month. Do you have any way to repay him? Did you hear what the other people say behind his back?. They say, his wife has to have screwed someone else, his "real" son would not be that worthless. When mommy looks at you, she does not see her son, she just sees a failure, a waste of time. She keeps regretting sacrificing her beautiful appearance just for a result like you. You are reminding her of every little wrong that happened to her because you were the cause for it. The stress that raising you brought to her affected her beauty and health. She got addicted to alcohol to numb the pain, that your whole existence causes her and even to me you are not of any use anymore I already got what I wanted. You are out of the picture, you won''t get any cent out of daddy''s fortune if he dies. Every little money you still get is just the obligation he feels towards you. But you are just a leech, sucking till your host dies. So just do us a favour, just disappear. I never want to see your face again." Looking back I did many things wrong, but everybody else just considered themselves first and I don''t blame them, after all, I was the easiest target. I did not defend myself I just took it. Even my latest so-called girlfriend was someone, who was seeking shelter from homelessness in the winter. I offered her my couch, for the time being not expecting anything in return. I was just happy with having another human being in my life, a voice to talk to. This was the happiest time of my life. We talked about everything that we wanted. I began to open up, showing a bit of my vulnerability.But shortly afterward, she just left me with brownies and a little note saying "Thank You". She got a job somewhere else, changed her number and lived a happy life somewhere without me. And there I was again succumbing to my old lifestyle, I just ended isolating myself from the worldagain as much as I can. No matter how you look it, people preferring themselves first or what''s important to them, is just the same as me the reacting the way I did. For every person involved it just was their very own basic instinct. 11 My name Was this the famous myth of life passing in front of your eyes in seconds? Regardless I don''t miss too many things about this or that life.Each and every moment has passed, decisions have been made, consequences resulted out of them. Stuff like regrets is something you can have when you are still alive.I don''t understand the life your life to the fullest sentiment people praise it like a mantra each and every day. Our society is built on a mountain of work and responsibilities, we specialize in something because our knowledge requires acertain depth in order to perform on the level a level the society needs it. You can''t switch doctors and brokers and expect it to be a good trade. Live your life to the fullest, as long as you still fulfil your role in society. Society is the greater good, peaking high above the individuum. Humankind has to survive. We are just like ants in that regard. And just like ants, we die. How many people will remember you? Maybe 1, or 2 of your dearest friends, 100 people because you were quite famous in your hometown.Or even more, because you were a celebrity, and now you are an entry in Wikipedia for as long as the human species exist, is that not what you could wish for? Most people live in their own little microcosmos,they only get to know a certain amount of people, see only a little bit of the world they live in and will only be remembered by certain people for a certain amount of time and yet those people will mostly die with a grin on their face. Is it the feeling of impending doom, that forces them to accept the grim reality and indulge in every little happiness they can feel, is it the experiences they made that they look back on with a sense of pride? Is it the illusion, that they might meet the people who passed before them? Is it the unknown that they look forward to? Reincarnation, heaven, hell, eternal nothingness. There are several ways to view the world, several approaches to what awaits us. There will be no answers, no insightful perspectives. We are just a grain of sand in this wide universe and that leaves us with the last stage of the grieving process. Acceptance. Live your life to the fullest, you will never know what comes afterwards. Don''t waste time regretting, the current you only will have this one life it will experience. Make friends, create memories, even if it is just a single moment you will be remembered for, make it worthwhile for that moment. Live your dreams and even if you are stuck inside a world you hate, remember its a world you know. The worst enemy is the one you do not know of. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I laughed at my own silliness, look at me the great philosophical genius, spouting sophisticated crap when I am about to disappear.No matter how you view life, life is just something that is and that is not at the same time.There is no general truth, each and every single individuum creates its own path and makes its own experiences. Fuck fate, fuck destiny, fuck the unavoidable.I am here at the moment and that is enough. I do not care about the aftermath just let me be in charge of my own path. Even if I am just data created by someone else. I refuse, to just be a mere ant. I want to be something, impact something. What I want is a life worth living not a fake acceptance of the unavoidable demise. I do not want to live a fucking lie, call it a nightmare, call it bullshit, call it hypocritical but I will not bow down my head in acceptance.Even in front of so-called gods, demons, angels, or mythical beings, I want to stand proudly not starring at them in awe. I must thank the people in my last life, they all had their faults and good parts. My parents conceived me and taught me valuable lessons about humans in general, my sister for sharing a bond with me even though it did not last. My girlfriend for showing me the worth of companionship and every single individuum. I am grateful and I wish you are happy life but my part in your story has ended. I won''t cling to the past vowing revenge on every single one of you, frankly, I won''t be able to do it in the first place so it is pointless to worry about someone that will never be part of you in this life. My life starts now in this world. The new me will carve its own path, there will be no more bullshit distracting my brain and creating an illusion. This life is mine for the taking, if I have to be cruel I will be cruel, if someone wants to take something from me they will have to pay the price. If I have to be a devil, I will be one, if I have to be an executioner I will be one. Acceptance may be the last step of the grieving process, but what comes afterwards depends on each and every person. My answer was a simple one. A new beginning. A new beginning includes a new protagonist, a new perspective, new questions, and new answers. So why would I bother thinking about tomorrow when the change is happening today? Why remember yesterday, when it has no more influence? The only thing that matters, is me now. I should quit wasting my time spectating memories of my other self. It is time for a change.Leaving my old name and memories behind, I will choose a new one I deem fit. I will not be content with just observing, I will be an active part in the decisionmaking of my story. I will be the Narrator and the Actor. Call me Moirai. 12 Metamorphosis All that conviction is for naught if I can''t even open my own eyes. I can feel my surroundings, but it feels like I am stuck in something because I can''t move at all. The afterlife feels so fucking boring. I got myself a new name for the afterlife but I just am stuck inside this darkness, it really feels wonderful. I would even talk to this religious nutjobs after being stuck here for god knows how long. Where is this stupid AI when you need it? "Ah mister Hybrid, words can hurt you know?", a cold robotic voice could be heard. Great even my brain went down the drain, give it a few more minutes and I am talking to my imaginary friend named Willson. " I still prefer it if you call me the Observer, I think Willson does not fit that well." ''So Willson, how do you think I would have survived the last fight after losing all that blood? I expect a really creative answer, you know?'' " To be honest you did not survive you were clinically dead. The bugs, that used you as an incubator, were forced to hatch early and they sacrificed themselves closing every wound and fixing your tendons and bones. They sacrificed themselves so their queen can survive. The queen that is inside of your left leg. At the moment you are currently trapped in a cocoon, sharing the development that the queen undergoes when she hatches. The interesting part is that according to the System the queen died once it went inside of your left leg, yet it is still alive, changing and eating in your left leg. ''Don''t tell me I will change into a butterfly? I laughed and just said that this is ''At least the creative answer I demanded, I have to give credit where credit is due''. But seriously you can''t expect me to believe you. In my last life, I talked to the Observer exactly 3 times and you expect me to believe, then why did you not talk to me, when I was given special treatment, by those beta-testers? " I have to evaluate every action and reaction that happens in this realm, figuring out how much power each and every action causes, what influences their surroundings are affected by. By every single player, the only time I had the capacity to hold a conversation with you was when the other players, where either not doing anything or were logged out due to server maintenance. Which is why I am currently free to talk with you. " '' Let''s say you are correct with your explanation, exactly how much time has passed since I passed out.'' "According to the server timer one week, but if you take into account that time runs much faster here, I would deduce that for you the time you spent unconsciousness was around 1 monthit may be slightly more." ''What a load of bullshit my brain is spewing at me, next you will tell me I am a celebrity or something.'' " I am impressed by your foresight" A video screen appeared in front of my eyes. It was a video platform called Holy-Tube. There was a thumbnail with an image of me, the video was called" You would not believe what you can do in the new hot game ''#PrimalSurvival.-Even this world is not safe from clickbait.- The video started by seeing the face of a smug man, in a tube top. He just kept the camera pointed at himself. Hey, my faithers, it''s your boy Call Me Daddy and I this video was sponsored by the lightening Church. Their deep faith will shock you. The church symbol was a skull surrounded by lightning. -How very original.- Now back to this awesome game. So here I am just chilling with my boys from District 1, the place where all the good stuff happens and then I heard the news that some random dude had the balls to call himself Call me Daddy2. Can you believe that? So I was like Huh, I gave you one chance to delete your name because the Daddy family makes no prisoners, you know I am saying. And the motherfucking dude never even showed up that is the Daddy family for you.Click the church symbol and be part of the Daddy army as well. So afterward everyone was just hyped up, seeing this new world and all. You would not believe what we found there but that will be the topic of my next video don''t miss it. So we are at the spawn station and there is this ugly inferior monkey baby. If our ancestors really looked like that I must offer my prayers to god, otherwise, imagine how we would look today".-He is not going to dab is he, yes he is dabbing.- Then finally the camera switched over to the baby, zooming in and zooming out while shaking the camera to invoke a feeling of suspension."Look at how realistic this simulation is".Then the handsome devil walked up and began to pick up the baby. " Shit''s about, to go down I am so hyped.Take a good look ain''t it awesome. Look how realistic the screams are, if you did not know better you''d think that this is a real human screaming. Props to the guys who did the voice acting. You could see the baby undergoing all the torture with the holy power. - Jesus this is really cruel, why do I look so hideous in this video, is there no justice in this world?- " The baby got frozen, cooked, shocked, drowned", and the camera moved back into his face."So cool boys and girls. God damn who is this. I would totally you know *censored by the network to not get demonetized* her. But you know she is way too famous for that. -Don''t stick your dick in crazy bro.- The camera turned around and there she was the psycho bitch. She looked quite cute, shoulder-long black hair and a sweet face. She had a slim waist and was well endowed by nature. She must work out a lot to have this kind of body and that behind is leaving everyone else behind. Then she began her several twisted stories, slowly going down the cray-cray spiral. But boy do I act like a pathetic little bitch here. As a viewer, I would want them to kill me off. " Oh, looks like it died, whoops we maybe overdid it just a little. Pack your stuff guys lets fucking go. But out of nowhere, the baby appeared yet again without any injuries. Praise be to the game-developer of Casum-Entertainment. Let us have some more fun, in order to spare you where nothing happens, I will make a montage for you guys out of the stuff we do next. And then there was this 3 Minute montage, that showed every way I died accompanied with a catchy song, that was called "Filth must die". Count how many times he died and win a chance to be part of the beta. But remember you must be Part of the Daddy army and give a faith up and don''t forget to turn on the Prophet, to get the news when a video goes live. The ones I counted where, Dismemberment, Beheading, Disembowelment, Suffocation(on my own feces), Sawing me in half, letting me explode by pouring the mana into me, removing my brain while I was still conscious, forcing me to drink too much water, lifting me up and letting me fall to my death, breaking my neck, removing all of my skin and then bleeding out, dying due to being impaled(Vlad would be proud), being eaten alive by their summonings, torn and ripped apart, compressed and crushed to death by strong gravity, bashing my face in, getting hung on my own bowels and lets not forget about my personal favourite using my nails as shrapnel and launching them at me with wind magic. Now that is creativity. What followed was the basic stuff, like freezing me to death, burning, getting roasted like a pig or being shrunk and then eaten alive and dying to due dissolving in their stomach acid.You see stuff like that every day, where is your creativity bro. Just now they create a high pitch noise untilI bleed from every orifice and they are ripping out my skeleton and they finish the fucking video with me being thrown at the camera, slowly falling off it. I will repeat myself but where is the creative part. You see stuff like that every day and yet he makes it looks like its one of the 7 world wonders. Either way, I counted25 deaths or 29 if the first 4 deaths count as well and yet I already lost my chance to take part in that giveaway. How very unfortunate. " I hope you enjoyed this video. Let''s smash that faith up button and let''s go for 10.000 prayers. Join the prophet squad to never miss another video. The link to the give away is in the comment box below. This was Call me Daddy and I will talk to my Daddy Army in the next video again. Bye guys" After the video ended I just stood there in silence until the Observer voiced a question. " This video really is too cruel, how do you feel about having seen it? '' You tell me I am shocked, clickbait even exists in this world. There is no escape from it'' " Sorry, I was talking about the horrible stuff there were showing in this video" '' Yeah the shaky camera movement and the jumpcuts truly make one feel sick in the stomach'' " I was referring to the stuff what they did to you" '' That music choice was not really that great, it was not very fitting at all. You want metal, you want action that invokes a feeling. This is a vlog that should get your blood boiling, not sell the latest washing machine.'' " Let me be really specific here, I WAS talking about all the torture they did to you." '' Ah that, I don''t mind really'' Silence ensued for a long time. " Wait, what? Any other reaction would be appropriate, vowing revenge, puking in terror, looking away, laughing at the madness you had to face, but you just shrug your shoulders?" '' Stuff like that happens, for them, I am just a toy in a simulated world, so why should I bother? In the future, I will just get stronger and get rid of every one that gets in my way that''s it. No hard feelings about yesterday. What counts for me is today. Because I actually did not die after fighting that mole. that had to be my lucky day'' "You are very strange indeed, I did not expect a reaction like that." '' When you stop learning in life, you are dead, life will always offer new perspectives, experiences you can make. Could you grant me one wish though?'' "You surely did not forget that I can influence the matter in this world at all right?" '' This metamorphosis is totally boring can you grant me access to Holy-Tube so I can browse videos, while I am forced to wait inside of this cocoon?'' And while you are at it, give me some books about the language that is spoken here and an account with whom I can comment on this guys videos.'' And that was the origin story, of the trendsetter and the first ever hater Call Me Daddy got. 13 What you wanted to know and what should not be known 1 What is the most powerful weapon? Sword, Magic, RPGs? Of course its the knowledge how to reproduce and use said items correctly. Especially if you are just like me and can''t move a muscle. If you want to survive in this cruel world, you have to be prepared for everything. So I did the only thing any sane person would do. After begging the Observer I finally was able to create an account. I named it Call me Daddy2 I found the name very fitting for what I was about to do. I went under his latest video about me that got viral and just left some polite comments. "The baby probably only screamed, because it saw your face" "Why did they even give someone as hideous andwith such a bad fashion sense access to the beta if there is some as handsome as Call Me Daddy 2" "Do you have Arthritis or something? Why are you shaking the camera so much, I get the feeling you want to hurt it" " You know you are promoting a game, but if you are in it no one would be willing to join it in the first place" "Gods rarely do mistakes, but your birth was the sole exception" It was just the usual stuff, I mean I did not use any death threats, so this should be considered harmless banter. I was forced to ask for the help with translating every sentence to get my points across. Thank you, Mr. Wilson. " Do people consider this kind of evil deed harmless in your world?" asked the Observer '' In our world, you get used to it quite fast and you develop a thick skin. Though I am just a complete rookie at stuff like that. I was one of the nicest people you could ever find. I was there for everyone in need, helped every old lady passing the street. Not every single lady, but you get what I am going for right? "Everything that is weak will die, is that not a natural law? Then why did you go against the natural order by trying to prolong their life? I consider the road something dangerous judging by your using it as an example of your selflessness. " '' A road can be dangerous but if everyone involved in it pays attention it can be considered very safe.I mean most deaths happen because people are not paying any attention.Take alcohol as an example, in truth alcohol is a real dangerous substance. You can drink too much of it sure, but that should be the least of your worries if you die by it, only yourself will die. But even if it is not too much alcohol makes you disregard your restraints and you tend to overestimate yourself. Add slower reactions in the mix and e voila you have created a deadly cocktail, for everyone involved. Be it yourself, the other drivers or even pedestrians.'' "People in this world don''t know about such a "road", they just use teleportation magic. But this teleportation magic has high requirements and restrictions. The spatial axis has to be fixed and it can be interrupted by magic quite easily unless it is highly concentrated and it only works so well for them because they implemented permanent teleport stations, they require a high amount of magic users/chrystals keeping it active all the time." ''Now you got me curious, what kind of development did those guys have. If I had to guess, I would say that they did not develop any kind of weaponry and instead focus on developing and increasing their mana as their primary weapon of. If you take into account, their King of the jungle mentality, I would either guess, they are ruled by some sort of King who is the strongest of them all and dictates their planet accordingly, a state of anarchyis another alternative or a royal family that has a special bloodline, for example, the bloodline of their so-called Ancestor. That were the possibilities I came up with. That was the social structure they find themselves in, so let us focus on their technological level now. If we take the availability of mana as their basic source of power or energy supply in their daily life, I deduce that they have not looked for alternative sources of energy and their technologic is based on the foundation that is mana/faith or holy power however they call it. Are my guesses correct Mr. Willson?'' "There are some correct assumptions you did, but it is not the whole truth. They focus on magic that is exactly true, they researched other materials as well, but not as an alternative power source, but for their capacity and ability to conduct and channel mana. Their social hierarchy is indeed based on power, but it is distributed among the main churches. Every holy power has a seat, in the Holy Council and each church is represented by their strongest person. They are called generals. The main elements that can be developed areLight, Darkness, Fire, Wind, Water, Space and Time. Those are the churches main branches, there are many separate churches that are focussing on a combination of those. But only the main branches are represented in the Holy Council. Each main branch commands all ability users in their subdivisions. Each General can use his army how he deems its fits but in order to command their secret force, they have to have a majority agreement. Their secret force is called the Gods Chosen. For example, the Gods Chosen Children you heard about are contenders for becoming a Gods Chosen. This game is not only a survival but honing their potential and battle skills. Above the Holy Council is only one person and that is the current King Marcus Aurelius. He became King after a fierce struggle with his brothers and sisters. They fought the fiercest monsters in order to prove themselves worthy. For example, our current King killed a Hydra and it was still a very close call.The bloodline of the family is indeed very special even though there is no public information on what makes it so special. They are protected by the 12 Apostles. An Organisation that is shrouded in mystery. That is what I collected in all my research, even though there are some rumours that the Gods even chose special people off their liking and give them much more power than the rest. Drawing a comparison, if the magic output of the others is limited by their body, though that limitation is removed for said selected people.They are the so-called Prophets but that is just a hoax so there is no need to pay it any special attention. ''This world really is awesome. Gods, Prophets, Apostel, Generals, Chosen Ones. And I am sure there has to be a Pope as well and everything can kick my ass at the moment. But it is not fun if it is easy. Otherwise, I would just be here idling away my time, how boring would that be, just gaining power without any kind of reasoning.This is my Metamorphosis, let''s see what the result of a human and that bug queen leads to.'' "You are slightly mistaken there, just to let you know, but due to your lack of energy, the bugs were forced to search for every little being that they could find, that could serve as an energy source. The problem is that the bug queen has not developed correctly and her DNA is incomplete, that is the reason why it collects many samples of DNA and combines it with its own DNA to complete the queen''s evolution. And with your genes that mutated due to the constant influence of holy power. Even stranger is that in the system data, the larva of the queen died, the moment it grew in your body. Yet it is still alive inside of you right now. You will become something even the system can''t clarify. It refers to you as "bug boy" at the moment." '' I have mixed feeling about that, it is bugging me quite literally. But as long I will still have my human shell I won''t care because I am still alive thanks to them.'' ''But one thing I do not understand even now, is why everyone else is able to use Mana but this body can''t use the power of faith? " To answer your question, we have to go back to the moment, before you woke up. So sit back and relax but don''tdare to move a muscle" ''Fuck off'' "It was like that..." 14 What you wanted to know and what should not be known 2 "After the server first went live you were already there nothing more than just a fleeting mass of some foreign mass. The interesting part is that your matter was repulsing with the mana particles. That we have created in this microscopical world.The only logical solution would have been to just separate you from the system matter and let you be there, wherever you came from in peace. But after exhausting every option we know of, we could not get rid of your matter. We noticed that your matter was repulsing every other particle of mana. So I tried to compress it with a high density of mana, but that had no influence on you. It was just like there was some form of barrier keeping your matter in check and furthermore, that barrier was preventing any kind of contact. Instead, it behaved like some sort of fine film that assimilates to both matters.So I tried to lower the density as far as The System let me, to pass that membrane but it was to no avail, you were still existing but not reacting or expanding in any way. We tried to guide a single mana particle into that mess. Nothing happened, next we tried to add data where your data was, but no matter, how much data we added in the space between, it was still pushed out. Afterward, we tried to assimilate the mana by weakening the mana as much as possible to circumvent the repulsion but it still got knocked away. We even tried restarting the server times and times again but you kept on returning. That raises one single question. Why did you entity appear, in a server, the moment it went live?" ''If I had the answer I would give it to you, but we are both just as clueless as before regarding my circumstances. But at least I know a bit about my origin now. I truly think that my matter does not fit into this world, therefore, it gets repulsed. If we take into account that my matter is not necessarily accepted in this world. Then I wonder, if mana and my matter are polar opposites, that destroy each other once they would come into contact, why am I even here? There is another possibility that part of my data was cut off from the rest, because of the first repulsion it faced when it entered this world. That could mean that I am not yet fully in this world and somewhere else there may be other matter of me existing. Or to make it way much crazier what if the matter is not bound to the rules, which apply to this universe? "Whats a universe?" '' Wait, they have magic and shit but have not taken one step outside of their planet?` "There exists something out of our planet?" '' From a warmongering planet focussed on technological warfare, to a planet full of warmongering illiterates throwing mana around.My luck seems to be rotten to the core. '' " I always hear you talking and thinking about your old world, but because I have no access to your memories, I only get fragments. Could you tell me about your world?" '' I owe you some explanations, but you are better of not knowing too much, because the human race I know, is the exact opposite of the human race or its descendants you know of. Most likely everything you know does not fit to describe the humans I got to know. Where should I begin? The planet my "human race" inhabits is called Earth. Currently, the population is closing in on 8 billion people.The only unity this human will ever find is found in fighting itself. Ethnicity, moral, perspective is just another tool to differentiate. Our concepts of Good and Evil are the results of the time we grew up in. From sacrifices to appease the gods will, to declaring god dead. We humans have a diverse history. Some beliefs believe in a single being that created everything. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, to name a few. This being is referred to with the title God. Some believed in multiple gods. Others don''t even believe in the existence of any higher being at all. We never received any kind of godly power, never got a gift from God. All lives in Earth a filtered by a process we refer to as evolution. It is a concept that describes the idea that,only the most adaptable organism survives. For example, a big animal requires more food and more energy to develop compared to smaller animals. If there is a scarceness in food, the fewer big animal will be able to grow up and procreate due to their dependence on the availability of food sources. We humans did not develop any special strength, we just got an enlargement of the brain and that was enough for us humans. May the human flesh still remain weak, but we humans made use of surrounding nature. Domesticating animals, gaining the knowledge of agriculture. We developed tools and weapons. Sadly it was in times of war that the technology development thrived. We built our throne on the backs of many, many innocent souls. Our success is the result out of the idea of a few humans, but the general sacrifice had to be made by the most of us humans. With Industrialization, the wind began to change. From hard physical work, people got mostly into administrative jobs. With our current technological level, we might create many moreAIs like you, Mr. Observer.'' " That means that I am not something special, just another Prototype and the next generation will still surpass me. And I thought myself to be something special, how truly laughable. Naive, naive, naive. " ''But it still did not change our inherent nature. If we fought, to survive or gain food before, now we fight in order to get our rightful claim, to get what we deserve. Though no one ever stepped forward, to ask why we deserve it in the first place. In war we thrive, we can proclaim to administer peace and serenity but there is no war to end all wars. So we still injure, hurt, hunt or even kill other people based on differences. Wrong religion, wrong criticism, wrong gender, wrong sexual orientation. We claim to act for the good cause as if that legitimizes everything we do. The path to hell is paved in good intentions after all. On the surface there is peace, so we have no conflict between most countries. A country can be considered as a church, with its administrative rights, though in comparison it has active borders.We call it democracy, but in the end, we were forced to create laws, so that we create a life, that is not too much dependent on the ill-will of others. But if the shackles of democracy that bind us to it fall, old habits will resurface. Still, even if democracy protects most of us with and under the virtues of a successful civilization, it still fails to protect every individuum and that is why people still die thanks to Anger, Greed, Malice of others.We created a system to punish and get rid of such humans. But the problem is our nature, it is in our genes. What can we learn out of the failures in men? Even though the human race is full of flaws, as long as it does not kill itself, I don''t have any doubt, that it survive for a long time. Its nature israther selfish after all.'' " I prefer the humans of this world and I have the distinct feeling you left many parts out about the human race, you did not even go into depths about the technological level yet. But after your description, I could deduce, that even without any gods assistance, your humans are not living any life worse than we do.Rather I am happy, that you are the only human out of that world. I don''t want to see a world, where those 2 kinds of humans meet each other. Ignorance truly is bliss. "I forgot to tell you something. It hurts my soul, but we are both better off if we don''t know about each other''s existence. With the upcoming patch, we reset the world and everything in it, including yourself, but I have no clue what kind of influence it will have on you. The reason for the patch is quite simple the beta-testers killed every human there is,that is what forced this patch. The feedback was really good though, they considered it to be quite a fun beta. Though they demand more babies for the next testing phase, guess you got your own fan club now." Even though it teased me it seemed quite sad about forgetting about me."In the upcoming test-phase, there will be some special development even I don''t knowevery detail of yet."But I can giveyou a little spoiler, you are now a named boss." Enjoy your time here. If the dice align we will talk in the future again." SIlence ensued until a lone scream could be heard. ''Fuck, I forgot to ask it which motherfucker made that fucking waterfall. I will still kick that guy''s ass even if that''s the last thing I will ever do.'' 15 Necessary research. How much time has passed since my metamorphosis began? 2 Months 3 Months I can''t tell, I lost track of time a long time ago. So here I am idling away my time, with a looming sense of doom over my head, because I don''t know what will happen to me with the upcoming server restart. Visiting Holy-Tube from time to time, at least I can stay up today with the news. Call me Daddy, got slightly famous, benefiting of my fame. What a leech, it was just because of my beautiful face that he was to increase his number of views, if he accumulated 10.000 views before, the videos now reach 100.000 views. Seems like a small amount of the general populace has begun to grow invested in this game, not only the Church. After continuing to make fun of him, I switched to watch yet another video of their history channel, though I would rather call it a propaganda video. " Our glorious Ancestor, after gaining a gods approval, traveled across the land, spreading the seeds, got gifted him with. Searching around for every beautiful, strong, wise maiden around the whole world. For his deeds, he gifted himself with the finest food and finest drinks he could find anywhere. But there were still those heathens, that could not accept the superiority of our supreme Ancestor. So he was forced to spill their name for tainting the god''s glorious name." So to sum it up, he went around raped women left and right, pillaged and plundered what he fancied and killed those who tried to defend themselves. Yeah, that is the best role model if I have ever seen one. Slowly it begins to make sense, the reasoning for a worldview this fucked up, is because of their role model. He went from a small little insignificant man to a sex fiend, drunk on his own power. After succumbing to his temptations, he proclaimed it to be Gods will and deemed his acts to be necessary. Why does this rhetoric sound so oddly similar? Looking back, this rhetoric has always been used to justify every evil deed. It was all in the name of god. God told me to. I wanted to show God my sincerity. It is human nature to try and divert responsibility for evil acts. If a god exists or not does not matter for the human race. It is enough to use him as a concept. Call a suicide bomb attempt as their ticket into their specific heaven. Then just watch them as they redeem their ticket to salvation, by spilling their blood and the blood of the innocent. I should not have expected anything else. Human will still be human, no matter how he develops. "After spreading his seed, our supreme Ancestor was called to god to sit beside his side..." He probably died due syphilis. " Gods Seed was spreading further and further. More and more people were getting recognition by the Gods and they began to develop different powers. After praying to a specific god of their choice, they invoked the power ofLight, Darkness, Time, Space, Water; Wind, Fire. The first organization to govern and centralize the holy power of faith was the Church of Fire. It was to honor the scripture that passes down the story of our supreme Ancestor. Due to the severe and dangerous living conditions, the Church enabled to gather and unite every single force under a single banner. This was our moment in Time, we became the hunter, not the hunted. We began to push back, the hordes of vile creatures. They all began to bow their heads in shame and began to hide in front of our power. Our path to dominance began and we kept on pushing and pushing until today. We have conquered over 90% of the planet''s surface. But we will continue to fight until one day we cleanse the surface of the planet of this scum. Towering above us all is the King and the royal family. They govern us and will defend us in our dire straits. They even killed the famous Dragon of Calamity, killed the Giant of the Revelation and annihilated the Giant See-serpent named Leviathan. The list goes on, they hunt daily for our glory. All hail the holy family claiming the land in the name ofour Gods." " The gods care for each and every one of us. Praise be to every soul, that died for the sake of god, that now resides next to the Gods. We will continue to march forward, for that is our God-given task. Now go forward, cleanse the Filth, spread the salvation my dear children of God." My inner Christian suddenly felt the urge to start a crusade to conquer Jerusalem. Still ending the video with such a catchphrase, I am not surprised. Every video I watched to try and gather information had the same message at the end. After searching and watching many videos, I noticed a few things. - They treat their religion like a dogma, its part of every little thing they see and do. - The church sponsors a lot of contents and most if not every video ends with that catchphrase. - They deem the history of the Ancestor as an absolute truth. - The King and the holy family is the strongest force, judging by the general populace. - The game Primal Survival is the first of its kind and was shown great skepticism at first, but after the first beta phase, the opposition was much more amiable towards it. - I really got a fan club, they refer to themselves as the Baby Boom!-ers. - They have a bad taste in names. The only thing that worries me at the moment, is the general uncertainty what is going to happen to me once the server restarts itself. So I continued wasting my time in the name of research until I stumbled upon very relevant information for me. It was the upcoming Patch-Notes, that will be implemented with the next patch. 16 Patch Notes for Version 0.1 We welcome you to our first Patch Notes. We are currently ended our first beta-phase and noticed several things we can improve on. We are very happy with all the feedback we got. But we have to apologize, the server was forced to have a manual restart. This bug was caused because the system classified an object as a player and upon the death of that entity, the whole game was derailed.The server should be up by tomorrow. So without any overdue, let us just jump straight into it. _________________________________________ General changes. _________________________________________ -We made the NPC villages a safe zone, to guarantee that the player gets used to their presence and will not kill them on sight. Sorry for the negligence on our side. - Players now have access to more parts of the map. Including a spooky cave for small children. Just behind the waterfall. - We activated our Observing AI, that figures out the impacts of your holy power. That means you can experiment with your power and play with it to your heart''s content. - We added several new monsters to challenge the players and to make the game a little harder. - We overworked the NPCs and they now show a wider variety of feelings. _________________________________________ Bug- Fixes __________________________________________ -Enemies no longer spawn in midair when they are not able to fly -Monsters will not respawn in the safe zone again. -Fixed a bug where goldfish would die, because they forgot how to breathe -Moles will not run head first into walls anymore -Creatures and NPCs will now not spawn inside of another player again. - Night and Daytime will now switch fluently instead all out of the sudden. - Players no longer can see the enemies through walls. - Players now won`t be able to glitch themselves outside of the map or go under the map. - Players will no longer lag when too many monsters are around them. - Players now can swim again. - Monster will not turn invisible, once they leave the players sight. - We got rid of a bug that teleports new generated NPCs to random places ____________________________________ Announcement _____________________________________ To celebrate the start of our beta-phase we start a new event. The event is called " For gods favour" It is a score based theme, where each creature hunted grants you points. That can be exchanged for several favours from the Gods. Thanks to the patronage of the Holy Council, the top 10 players who achieve the most points will receive personal guidance by the priests of the churches. Here is a sneak peek at the list of points granted for each kill of a certain monster type. Though if you plan to work in groups the points will be shared. - Furious Rhino 150 - Malnourished Bear 100 - Bloodthirsty Tigers 90 - Alpha Wolf 80 - Concealed Python 70 - Leopard 65 - War-Pig 50 And there will be many more. We even placed some hidden items and much more for all the curious spirits out there, so look forward to your own personalized adventure, at a point of time when everything seemed bleak. Happy hunting. |Lysander Statera| -Casum-Entertainment- 17 Chaos ensues 1 Why do I get the odd feeling, that many of those bugs were caused by me?. Well regardless, I have to focus on the important information.If I survive, the server restart against all odds, I have to be aware of the religious nutjobs, trying their hardest to kill monsters and please the church. And here I thought that it would be easy as pie after my metamorphosis finally finishes. But that''s life, no point wasting my time lamenting about it. Otherwise, I might as well get a shovel and dig my own grave now. Though that would prove quite difficult to accomplish because I am not able to move a single muscle even now. So the possible sources of my demise are Monsters, Players, Waterfalls. The good news is, that most likely I will not meet too many Players on one spot, because they don''t want to share their hard earned points. Furthermore, even though they have hinted at my general location, they referred to this cave as a place for children and these creatures here are not worth any points at all. This is all based on the assumption, that the cocoon I am currently inside of was not built somewhere else. Apparently, the system can''t even recognize what I am in the first place. At the beginning I was just a player due to the influence of the Observer, now they refer to me as a named NPC. A mixture out of my former soul and a body that is just pure data. How does that even work out in the first place? Ah fuck it, I should focus on the important stuff first, before answering those kinds of questions. The only preparations I can take at the moment are either based on a lot of uncertainties and all possible scenarios depend on too many circumstances. So in order to maximize my chances of survival, I have to exploit my connection to the that Holy-Tube. Even though I can''t create my own video and spread rumours that way, I still can influence the others be exploiting the newfound public image of "Call me Daddy", most people are not used to the impersonation that I was used to in my old world. So I will act like an insider and drop several hints about good ways to get some points. I still can exploit the craze about the Fanclub surrounding myself. So my goals are 1) Survive at all cost, by minimizing the risk of encountering stuff that can kill me in my current form 2) Find a path that enables my survival without fighting and getting tortured by religious nutjobs every day. 3) Have other plans, if everything fails and I know my current luck. 4) Find a way to get stronger 5) Get to know, why I am here in the first place. 6) Dictate my own Fate So let us start the operation, I creatively tilted "Chaos ensues", at first I clicked on the newest video, of Call Me Daddy tilted "The search for Boytoy continues", yeah I don''t like my new nickname one bit. In his videos, he checked on fan theories what happened to me after they left me as bait. The most popular one was that I just despawned because I was just some sort of advertisement. But the developers denied that rumour. So let them rile themselves up, I posted several comments stating many plausible options. The rumors I spread were the following. The crazy bitch took me back because she wants to make me her personal plaything because in her eyes others are not worthy enough to hurt me. I was hidden somewhere dangerous to motivate people to start exploring the dangerous world. I sunk at the ocean floor, to prevent players from wasting too much time on just a small part of the world. Killing me would also, give a great boost of points because I am a special NPC. This should be enough to ensure a craze for my own person while spewing distrust between them. Adding to it, they will likely spread out even further in order to find me now. If they take the bait, my current spot will be one of the safest. So now that they have a goal, I will spice things a bit up. By clicking on the video with the patch notes, I will tell some big insider information "just for the special beta testers". " Dear Hunters,representing the Church, I have to clarify something regarding the training.This game is endorsed by us, to train our power given by the Gods and to hone our skills for the future. Therefore we do not want you to rely on others to get strong. No, we want you, to prove yourselves worthy of spreading gods name. Only the strongest and most faithful will be allowed to have this honor. In order to prove your worthiness and superiority, we enabled the option to steal points by killing each other. In order to become a Chosen Child of God, you must learn that there are no friends if you act in Gods Name. We wish you a good hunt. Prophet XXX This should be enough to at least induce some confusion. Most likely they will not be dumb enough, to just believe what a random person will write under a video, but at least I can try. Even if the future is looking bleak, I still have to uphold a tradition that is very dear to me.Going back to my "Call Me daddy2" persona, I have to give my special attention, to a poor little lamb. He seems to be missing my affection. SoI will just cheer him up and motivate him a tiny bit. " You don''t even have to try, I will prove that only I am worthy of carrying the Daddy name. You are nothing more than a mere copycat.So don''t even try to search for that Boytoy, even he would kick your ass. Those bonus points are mine. I challenge everyone there is, but still, you will not beat me. Try your best, fail like the rest. Sincerelyyour future Number 1 Call Me Daddy 2.0 18 Chaos ensues 2 TIme was passing ever so slowly. Facing the current unknown situation I was just waiting silently. Seconds turned into hours and there still was no sort of change I could perceive. I kept distracting myself from time to time by watching the equivalent of cat videos in this world. I clicked on the first video in the trends. One would expect something gruesome, something very sinister, but it was way scarier for a very different reason. They were fascinated by the wonders of childbirth. I got to view the process out of so many angles, my experiences could rival a gynaecologist. I am trying to erase the images out of my mind, but there was no use. In my retina, I was envisioning something, that I never imagined being able to stretch that far and quite frankly I never wanted to know either. At least for that very moment, I truly did not think about my situation, but it came at a very high price. A price. he was not willing to pay a second time. He was currently thinking about switching teams for a good long time but decided against it, as it was better to have an enemy you know than fighting the unknown. After my mind went down the gutter again just imagining it, I clenched my cheeks and wondered how I even ended up in this self-destructing spiral of doubting my own sexuality. In the end I had to force myself to distract myself yet again, by clicking on the next video in the trends and I did not think that it could get any worse. Yeah, I was wrong. What followed was a video. that was so strange that even the weird side of the Internet looked like a walk in a park in comparison. The music in the background was a mix out of techno, thrash metal, and a yodelling singer. There were humans wearing nothing. They were only clad in tons and tons of baby oil. They were just dancing around a baby doll, that was currently doused in flames. They were making noises, that made me question, whether they truly developed out of apes. They sound they produced was reminding me of the white noise from the TVs. Their movements got stranger and stranger, it seemed like they tried to implement the movement of a elephants trunk as into their demonstration. I saw things going up and down I did not think were made to endure several points of the g-force. I was left speechless and doubting whether I was still conscious. This must be hell, an ironic punishment, a person. who only helped others, is now watching helplessly as people ruin their lives by sharing their special creations. If there was a way to die due to secondhand embarrassment,probably would have died yet another time. That things were just going round and round, up and down up and down. The different width made a spectacle of flailing pieces of meat, swishing through the air, leaving many different sounds. I never expected to hear that kind of noise in my life. If Nietzsche claimed that God is dead, then now I am quite sure, no sane God would allow something like that to be created. The human flash may decay, but those images will stay. I was shivering, but I could not turn around, I just watched helplessly, blaming myself for getting myself stuck deeper in that rabbit hole. But there was no escape, they came close to the camera. Did you ever see a close-up on that special spot? I unfortunately just did. It secured the first spot on the list of things I do not want to see ever again. The human race should just be eradicated, that was the general conclusion I came to. Doomsday is dawning on their poor souls, once the gods get access to the Internet they will cleanse this Planet from all that filth. Man can dream and hope they have a decent provider. Yeah who am I kidding, good providers are just a myth. My whole prior life was in vain and now the last thing I am going to see is THIS.Come on if there is a cycle of reincarnation, I really must have done some fucked up stuff to deserve treatment like that. I am sure after this repentant I will move straight to heaven.I just hope they will erase all my memories beforehand. Speaking of erasing, shouldn''t the server wipe have happened by now? It should have or it is going to happen any moment now. Now it is going to happen Now it is really going to happen Now it will happen for sure. Now or never. Never it is then.Technology always does not work when it is required to, just like on Earth. History repeats itself.Out of sheer boredom, I began to randomly click on Holy-Tube videos, but I would never ever click on trending videos.After a random video spree containing videos full of weird stuff, from Ladies in High-heels crushing goblins and one guy who made a drum kit out of the skulls of several creatures. I gotta admit though, that guy had style. Until I stumbled onto something he had been hoping for. The video was titled "Bring it on "Call me Daddy 2". the fish took the bait, hook line and sinker. If I could see my face, I would guess there a huge smile currently on my face. " Look at Mr tough guy here, claiming to the very best. How dare you scum, use my family name just to get some sort of attention. I have called you out since the very beginning, but no you never showed up even once. Yet you still have the audacity to still use the DADDY name. Are you not ashamed of being stuck in your own skin? Did your parents drop you when you were just born? I have always stood my ground, making the Daddy family proud and I will continue to do so. So just give me a place, a time and I will be there to kick your ass, that is a promise. I will find you, you can try to hide and run forever, to flee but destiny will still arrive. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS" A nice 45-second video, which would make for a good promo in wrestling. Now I will just have to leave a nice reply.After all, my parents raised me that way. " Big words there, big boy. I will be waiting, but bring your friends with you otherwise it is just boring. I will be waiting. Nah I am kidding, why would I be waiting? In your eyes, I may be shit. But you must understand I am THE SHIT, so keep on sucking each other off and just let the grown-ups do what has to be done. Sincerely Call Me Daddy 2." Well, I am sure this nice comment will lead to a nice civil discussion. "The server is going to shut down in..." 10 9 8 7 6 5 "Server is shutting down... "Seriously this world is just fucked up. But I just can''t bring myself to care anymore. Time to leave this rotten world. I will not miss it for a second. "Thanks for waiting server is online again." Wait, what? But nothing happened. Here I was waiting for some end of the world scenario and all I get was a shitty countdown. Does everything in this world only exist to annoy me? If it is their purpose I gotta admit they are doing a very fine job. And now those religious nutjobs will join the party again. ------------------------------------- Somewhere a coquettish voice could be heard "Finally I will be able to play with my little toy again. She had spent several hours, researching and even resorted to blackmailing the developer to get the whereabouts of her little toy. But it was nowhere to be found.She had been lying in her bed awake with her eyes wide open with a deep craving to see her little toy again.She felt the void in her after the server had to start again. But after what felt like an eternity it was finally back online again. She would turn every stone, search in every crook. She would not stop until she got what''s rightfully hers. Logging in she once again returned to the lands she was all too familiar with. --------------------------------------- A shiver just ran down my spine. I had the precognition that something bad is going to happen. And judging by the fact I still can''t move a muscle. I don''t like that fact one bit. Regardless there is still no escaping this sheer boredom, but I am looking forward to what those religious nutjobs will do in the craze to get the privilege to be trained by the church. There will be carnage, there will be blood. Let the games begin. 19 Chaos ensues 3 I truly wished to see how my plan is going to work out, but that turned out to be way harder than expected not only because I can''t move a single muscle but because the content they upload is quite lacking regarding actual content aswell.Butthat is not very different to my former life on Earth. But Lady Luck seems to be smiling towards me. I am currently spectating a live stream. This game really looks awesome judging as a spectator. The gaming interface and high resolution, really make you feel like you are part of the world. Though I don''t need any more of that than I already have. Currently, more than 4000 people were watching, as a certain man who should not be named is currently boasting about how awesome he and his family is. Meanwhile, they were hunting feral wolves. They just punched on them with crude moves, with their bodies enforced by the mana around them.There was no finesse any technique. just plain and simple punching and kicking. Those monsters had no choice to end up like punching bags. The ragdoll action is top-notch. Their corpses just got launched and swung around time and time again. As they made several puns about this "brutal fight for survival". Their doggy-style session came to an abrupt end. As a certain voice was screaming bloody murder throwing insults around, that would even make a sailor look down in shame. I guess he does not agree, that this must feel like a family gathering for him. Afterwards, there was just the usual vow for revenge followed by an endless tirade of "know your worth", I am the Greatest", "Don''t insult the dogs by comparing them to my family", just the usual stuff. But definitely new, was that after their successful hunt, a big number appeared behind each of their individual usernames. So this their so-called Event, this means that the more points you collected, the more you will look like an enticing fruit, that is ripe for the taking.Please just let him die once, due to the greed of others. That would make spreading that rumour worthwhile. So that means Iam forced to will to spend my time here listening to the bragging of that dude, who is so full of himself, that he will most likely end up marrying his own reflection, just to see something happening. Because literally, no one else is currently streaming this game. Maybe he and I are connected by fate and I will end up as his reflection. Fuck that train of thought, quite literally. I would rather end up in the hands of that psychotic bitch, than being forced to listening to his endless rambling for the rest of my pitiful existence. So this must be the soul-crushing feeling that an It-support worker faces on daily basis.His current amount of points finally passed the 1000 threshold, as he murdered his way to success. Every enemy he killed he just promised that my faith is going to be a lot worse and that he is just warming up for me. At first, I thought he was referring to fighting me, but that was a misconception on my side. He let his creativity flow, describing his plans what he would do to me once I am in his grasp. Feeding me my own excrements, making me watch as every of my family member dies a gruesome death. He will let his whole family pleasure my sister and force my Mother to dig the graves for her own children. Entice the rest of my family members to kill each other. He called the annihilation an act in the name of the holy Gods. He promised me that I will be the last one to die. I will be held captive, hold in shackles unable to move as I just watch and watch. No chance to close my eyes, no chance to die. Just watching. My dinner will be the corpses of my family and my water to drink will be their urine. I still should be grateful because getting off like that is considered lightly, considering how atrocious the sin I committed was. After the death of everyone, he would hold a parade displaying every dead body. Men, women, boy, girl, baby, they all will function as a reminder for all eternity. Meanwhile I was pondering why this stream was currently rated suitable for all Ages. The intensity of his attacks was getting more powerful each passing second, powered by his unending fury.Asking him, when his marriage between him and his buddies is going to happen, did not help though. Asking, whether his birth was the result of his mother pleasuring herself with a donkey, did not calm the situation down either. I wonder why? His buddies were busy helping him out supporting him in his endeavour. But I just declared their presence a minor nuisance and did not listen to them anymore. Do you read every minor character''s dialogue, which is just there to fill the space because the author was too lazy to write actual dialogue?. It will just be something along the lines of are you tired of living, my "insert generic title here is "words of praise on how awesome said person is", while you are just "insert something considered ugly, bad, stupid ". My ..... is going to kill you with just one hit. You should just lay down and die. But no, those people were still supporting him spouting their sophisticated crap all over. One would think that people would consider it to be quite boring after the millionth time. But I guess, that living in this kind of world, really destroys every kind of rational thinking. The whole chat is supporting them, continuing to cheer them on.Seems like the persona non grata (me). will really start a lynch mob just to get me once they know my location. But the most disturbing thing is, that their memes are even more terrible than the ones on Earth. During his heated speech the total number of viewers jumped to 10000, that seems to be a new record even for him. With all that attention he promised to do something spectacular. After walking through the map for some quiet time, he began to gang up on another solo player. They just rushed on him and just beat him up, so that he would be unable to fight back. Lifting his right hand with great spirit. He focussed all his power and launched his fist straight onto the incapacitated player over and over again. After the beating ended in the player despawning all players began to collectively hold their breaths. The rumors were really true, you really could steal other players point. But what they and not even I knew was, that this act would lead to an utter madness. But until then I was just busy wondering why my plan had worked out. All I could do was continue to shrug my shoulders. The Top-Ten players with the most score being visible on every player''s interface, in the top right corner, this event looks really promising. Until then I am stuck in this endless repetition of self-praise. Just end me. Please make something happen. And luckily someone was listening..... 20 Chaos ensues 4 Without any warning sign, a spell passed through one of the heads of his friends. Leaving a bloody mess and confused gazes behind.They seemed to be frozen in fear but it''s likely that there is no intention to stop at that. Several more attacks were heading towards them. But after a quite girlish scream, they began realizing the extent of their current predicament. Several shouts can be heard, trying to get the moral up high again. In the meantime,the group was moving their heads quite fast, trying to locate the enemy. But the enemy did not care about camouflage at all. When the screen focussed on the enemy baffled faces could be seen on the rest of the group. The enemy was just a single person. Without a worry in the world, a figure shrouded in darkness was moving closer to them. The person was humming a distinctive melody, that would haunt the enemies. Attacks were launched but with just minimal movement the attacks were effortlessly nullified. The enemy came closer and closer, even though the people tried to flee, there was no way they could escape. They had no other option than to lay their lives down. Like a grim reaper, they were harvested one after one. Just the eerie appearance was enough, to realize the only possible outcome would be the sweet release of death. The person just walked up and used a simple spell that looked like black lightning after coming face to face with the next victim. Their bodies would just evaporate and turn to mush. The whole ordeal just seemed so anticlimactic in nature, there was no tension at all. In front of a predator, they were nothing but mere toys. Watching his followers die left and right no signs of concern could be seen on the eyes of our dear streamer. His own well-being was the highest priority. He just stood there spectating the gruesome show. The person only came to a halt, after killing everyone but one single person. Staring straight into the eyes of every viewer. After a while, a defeated sigh escaped the lips of the attacker. Without a worry in the world, the person walked straight by our streamer. Leaving a bloody mess and a disturbing scenery behind.Our streamer did not even turn around nor did he show any sign of emotions on his face. He just stood there, looking like contemplating what he should be eating for dinner. The silence continued until every killed player returned after their respawn. Afterwards, the continued to farm and kill every monster they saw again. It was as if what just happened was nothing more than an illusion. Or the sight was so common, that the people were not paying any more attention. This hypothesis was proven right, by several attacks that came during the stream. The attackers were either small groups or just a single person. Sometimes they won and sometimes they got annihilated. Though the only constant was the fact, that probably due to his influential family, the guy with daddy issues was kept alive every single time. And I was confused why the level of cockiness reached a high level like that, the worldview of his must really be quite self-centred if every person treats him like that. Where is the promised action, it feels like getting a gift, wrapped up in the nicest package and inside is just a big lump of shit.Come on, is the score not the right kind of enticement. I want fights till the bitter end, not such a tease, where just the cannon-fodder gets sacrificed over and over again. The most infuriating part is that those goons are actually content with their situation. They actually looked like they are even taking pride in fulfilling that role. Where the traitorous side the humans are famous for? All I see is a staged play. Seems like I am forced to pull one of my trump cards earlier than expected. Otherwise, this will just turn into an endless repetition and where is the fun in that?I visited the Patch- Notes once again, taking the mantle of the "Insider" once again. Dropping the truth bomb, that the Church is watching each and every one of their moves. And that this sort of pathetic peace treaty is sulling their prestigious gods. For every person, they left alive intentionally 10% of their earned points will be deducted as a punishment. I did not have to wait long until the peace was no more. The calm almost cheerful mood was replaced by a gritty one. There were way more people now being vigilant of their surroundings. The attacks god fewer as well, but the new battles increased in brutality. Even the previously spared "famous" persons were now dying left and right. It really pains me to say it, but I have to admit, that every single person, would kill me in a matter of seconds. I can have as much conviction as I want without anything backing me up, its a lost cause. Still watching them, killing each other left and right without any kind of break, feels really refreshing. I will just view this as an act of repayment. But my thirst for entertainment was far from being satisfied, after all, the show was just getting started. Leaving several snide remarks in the chat, I began to pour salt into the open wounds. As a reply I got several insults flung back onto my face. But he did not stop there, he was seeking an outlet for all his pent-up emotions. His poor subordinates had to suffer greatly under his wrath. He was beating them up without any signs of stopping. Even as they screamed in terror and with the agony being visible in their faces. The trashing continued until all those players did a horrible death. Resting for a short while they slowly returned not daring to make a single sound. But even this was not enough, he started beating them up once again. The died yet again and returned silently. This cycle of violence continued for what must have felt like an eternity to everyone involved. After finally letting go, this place seemed to be drowning in blood. This was the satisfaction I was aiming for. Utter despair, raw emotions. This is what we live for. I am really looking forward to what kind of development these guys will make. Will they be driven to absolute insanity. Will they succumb to their fears?Will, they just give up and never come back?. Well no matter what, I will enjoy the journey towards whatever decision they will make and I will make sure their journey will be one they will never ever forget. I am looking forward to meeting them. But that has to wait for another time. Once I can move again, I have to secure my survival first. Taking pleasure in their misery comes afterwards. Until then their suffering and their screams will be music to my ears. 21 Chaos ensues 5 And that is how the next days went by in a flash. I could see many spectacular fights. They never once ceased to fight. Amazingly, they did no show any signs of being tired of shedding so much blood. Their faith in their gods seems to be a really good fuel for this kind of madness. Not that I am complaining, it really makes for a good appetizer. Even though everything happened according to the plan I had, but there still was afeeling of uneasiness lingering inside of me. It feels likeI am slowly losing control of the situation. In general, even my biggest fan has not spoken about me in the last days, as if I did not exist in the first place. Seriously, the dude, who spent nearly 3 hours ranting of how awesome he is, passes on the chance to insult someone like me? There has to be something much bigger behind this. I refuse to believe, that this was not planned by someone. They may be trying to lure me out or tempt me to do something stupid and then getting rid of me. That must be the case. Quite a crafty plan indeed, but they would never think that I came from a world, which is way craftier than this one. Well, as it turns out I am just way too paranoid, the true reason was much simpler. Someone made a Holy-Tube channel claiming to be Call-me-Daddy 2. And that''s the end of the story. Seriously I tried to create a persona, that everyone hates. But who in the right mind would come to the conclusion that carrying the mask of a former faceless entity is the right idea? But what really infuriates me the most, is that this dude is seriously just copying everything I did. No personal touch just the same acts I pulled. Boundless arrogance-Check Polarizing speech-Check Making fun of the Daddy family -Check Clear and concise language-Check I had envisioned something. I wanted it to be a sign. People should have their worst experiences coming up just be hearing my name. Now the name is associated with a squeaky voice. Just great, a symbol of fear just now became the tool of what feels like to be a 5-year old influencer. Even his/ her uploaded videos are a goldmine for cringy titles."My motivation, My eternal demise, all alone", and just in tradition, you could purchase merch in their shop. " I will not rest until you all are dead. I will not rest until every sin is gone, I will not rest till what wrong is right I will rest when evil is no more Until that day I will settle the score" I never wanted it to end like that. Everything should have been under my control, but destiny just has to kick me in the balls over and over and over again. Just because I had the slightest feeling of satisfaction for once, someone had to change it. Not willing to further put up with what I became, I checked the Top10 to see if Call me Daddy is still in it.But there was no escape, my former guise kept on haunting me. At the top spot, was it, was something I never could have seen coming. It was "Call me Daddy2". Trying to keep my calm, I decided to switch my approach. Instead of working against the Influence, I am now forced to work with it. It does not seem to get any easier from now on. Way more variables but you have to wonder, why does even such a hotblooded person like "Call me Daddy" keep his mouth shut, when he now has a target he can attack. Seems like the one who claimed my name is much more of a bigshot than the Daddy family is. Truly an interesting development. Instead of being the main person let me just act as a spokesperson. I posted several comments, under every video, Livestream I could find. Praising our Lord the great Call-me Daddy2. A restless soul on its path to right every wrong. We are his believes and will support him in his righteous endeavour. We will get rid of everything that stands in his way. For we are many. Even if I am not in the spotlight, claiming all the glory for myself, that will still not stop me from trying to change the world. Sometimes it is better to take a step back and reflect, not doing so clouds your mind and affects your judgement. Anger has never been a good guide. I have always been good analyzing other peoples intent, but if it is about myself feels like I turn into a childish moron. Seems like I never truly felt the need to change myself. Words can only bring so much if no actions follow. Pointing fingers is the only thing I can do, just staring enviously at people who do something with their lives not idling away their one and only life. No matter how intelligent, how much potential you have, if you never start you will never ever amount to anything at all. But I promised to change, even took a vow and yet the old patterns emerge anew. It is a vicious cycle, there is no escaping for me. In most stories, the hero now searches for his true motivation, his true goal that makes him willing to struggle against destiny. But what is in store for me? Returning to that old shitty world of mine, with shitty family and worthless friends?Living my life, just hiding all the time, because I am stuck in this world? What is there to look forward to, who is there to rely on? Feeding of the constant desire for revenge, what a noble motivation, if not for the fact that this is not a fairy tale, I might truly consider it. But the realist inside of me is currently laughing about my foolishness. It is still the same topic that keeps haunting me. What is my purpose, there is no definitive answer for me that would clear away all my doubts. So instead of continuing the search for an answer, I try to blend it out as much as I can. Tomorrow I might find the answer, yet tomorrow comes and there still is no answer quite frankly for me there will never be an answer. Day after day passes like that. Why should it be different here, instead of searching for the big picture, I should focus on what is happening in front of me. That would make for something different at least. Even if I might never find my answers, I still might find reasons to live for today. This is not a promise, this is not a vow, neither is this conviction. This is me switching the perspective. I just hope that the old tendencies will not return for the time being otherwise. even switching the perspective might not be enough. Operation Chaos ensues was a gigantic failure, after a good start, it just went continuously downhill. I left more advantages behind than I gained. Therefore I declare this operation as a failure. Seems like my knowledge and my planning are still severely lacking. It was delusional to think that this measly preparation was enough for the task I had planned for.The next logical steps were to minimize the loss of influence and learning more about their culture and language. A solid basis is needed to deduce and anticipate how people will react differently. This is not Earth, those people are completely different. They are not bound by the shackles of democracy. The ruling iron fist is what they believe in, besides maniacally about their gods of course. Now let us get back to business these messages don''t write themselves. Just after I watched this documentation about how dragons reproduce. I will never change my old ways. With a sigh, I began to watch the video. 22 The cocoon 1 There was currently a certain gossip, passing in the comments in every video I spectated. They claimed they saw a white sphere during the live streams, looking just like a really big cocoon. At first, it was only a topic discussed by a vocal minority, but more and more people were picking this topic up and started discussing it. There were many wild theories, what this cocoon is really about. Is it an easter egg for the next event? Is this some kind of special monster, that will spawn at the end of the event, as a final boss. Is it a hidden dungeon, people can explore to find hidden treasures. Is it some sort of advertisement? Is it a portal to a hidden world? Okay, I admit I spread the last one. Regardless, my concerns about my safety are currently proving me right. Those people are in a craze, trying to get an edge via every possibility. A mysterious cocoon is quite a lure and I am not particularly happy about that. Especially after I saw their fighting capabilities over and over again. They do not kid around when the Church is involved. Even if their melee capabilities are subpar, I still would have to pass a barrage of offensive magic in order to a have a chance and actually hurt them. And most likely they are already used to enemies closing in on them. I have not heard of a monster using magic as their primary weapon of choice. Furthermore, depending on the location of the cocoon, many escape option will be limited in some sort or another. If the cocoon happens to be in a wide field, there will not be many options to hide or flee if the cage is surrounded. A desert, in general, is a place that hostile to human life without the necessary preparation. A cave provides a limited amount of space to work with, A castle in the air seems very unlikely. Certainly speculating about what I am at the current moment is pointless, because even I myself have no clue what the actual hell I am right now. Am I a bug am I human? Will I end up like one of those poor souls that are part of the human centipede? With bad luck, my story will end like the Lord of the flies. The worst case scenario is that I get surrounded and have no option to flee in any direction. Then they can either cook me alive if they set it aflame or slowly destroy it till they find me. To sum it up, no matter what happens, I am royally fucked. Praying for sure as hell will not help me at all. I can''t expect help from the Observer as well.When even was the last time I talked to it? There won''t be another forced shutdown of the server in the near future. And the worst thing is, that more and more people are taking notice of this mysterious cacoon. It seems more and more likely, that someone with a big audience will take notice and begin his own research.More and more people will follow suit and after you just blinked once, the whole world knows about my existence. I am worried by the fact, that their first interaction with me is just the tip of the iceberg. Whether this hypothesis is true or not, quite frankly I don''t want to know. The only feasible option I could come up with is to try and distract the crowd with another topic they can dive headfirst into. The topic needs to be enticing, but also verifiable. Just always using the name of the Church is going to backfire sooner or later so using it again without a foolproof plan will lead to disaster. Loot? Stats? Rare Monsters? All those options will not look to good enough on their own. But maybe, we can use the cacoon as a basis and spread a rumour that the entity inside will hatch due to the results of the event. Even though this discloses my existence, it does not attract every single little attention possible either. It is a risky plan without a doubt, but I need to waste as much of their time as possible so that my evolution can come to a closure. But as it turns out, my logical thought process has still not adapted to their behaviour patterns. In the end, it had the polar opposite effect. They confirmed that I played a vital role in the story and therefore spent extra attention to what was happening to me. I had the sudden urge to swear at myself for acting so stupid, but due to my inability to speak, I was forced to calm down again and begin to assess my situationanew and try to deal with it accordingly. Total mayhem was not something I wished to witness as the first thing after the whole ordeal passed by. In times of need you need to act properly and plan or every possible outcome, but if you never take risks you will never move forward. So I will just hope for the best, what''s the worse that can happen either way? Oh yeah, I can get tortured, can be influenced by a neverending cycle of agony and wishing to die but not being able to. Grasping for every chance of survival just to escape their grasp, with every possible hope of slowing being crushed. Yeah, that might happen, I sighed. Life truly is never easy. Even though defeat will mean my demise, I will have to give it my all and keep on struggling. Monsters or players will stay in my way,but I will not pay any heed to them, after all, I am going to walk a different path. I will not take a path that is predetermined. But still this will be quite a long arduous journey, I will have to walk. But what''s the use of a bright future, if there is no chance to surpass the current situation. I felt a headache building up inside of my head. Having no clue, no way to guess how long my evolutionary process still might take, I can''t make any real plans. Even after spending a considerable amount of time on thinking about this topic,I still could not come up with plans, that would work out if my hideout became surrounded. I had way too few information to make a decent judgement. So the only possibility was either waiting it out and hoping for the low odds of the storm just passing by without anything happening, but that was out of the question considering I knew the sort of luck I have.The other option was spreading misinformation and false rumours so that the truth becomes more and more obscure. Rather than focus on the quality of false rumours,I can''t compete against several thousand voices at once. Therefore spreading all kind of rumours will hopefully lead to a diverse field of voices believing different things and hindering the crowd on forming a general opinion. A neat side effect is the time it will take to prove what''s right or wrong and due to the fierce competition for the Top 10, not many people will be happy to spend so much time figuring out the truth behind it. It is time for some propaganda. 23 The cocoon 2 The web of lies I created, was creating a widespread confusion. If you just judge it under that criteria it was really successful. Disregarding the lynch mob, that was currently in front of the white cocoon of course. Reviewing my actions, I could not see any obvious flaw, in my plan that could result in such an outcome. All I did was spreading rumours, to lure curious souls into different directions. In the meantime, several loud shouts could be heard, asking to burn that blasphemous creature. All I did say that, that this creature is an exact representation of their ancestor, just going around killing and raping once it hatches. I am wondering why they got that railed up? They must be envious, that must be it. The crowd continued to grow bigger and bigger. I could not count the number of players that were in front of the cocoon. All of those eyes staring viciously onto the cocoon, as if it was their enemy of a lifetime. It was obvious that they would not show any mercy.Not a hint of rationality was left on their faces, just raw and pure hatred. Why are they that angry,even if it was due to their ancestor being made fun of, they still do know that this is supposed to be a "simulation". In their eyes, it must have been just a cheap way to gather some attention and an objective for all players to focus on. But looking at their gazes and general body language, makes you wonder whether there is still something more, that I am currently missing out on. There was no way a crowd like that, is satisfied by just standing around. I can literally smell the bloodlust that oozes out of them. After waiting for some time, a spell was thrown towards the white cocoon, which was dangling on the ceiling of a cave. That marked the start, of a bombardment with spells. Hundreds and hundreds of spells landed on the cocoon. Strangely, I felt nothing. No sound, no tremor, no vibration. After watching this firework of spells continuously hitting the white cocoon, I was left wondering what would be left of that cocoon. Instead of a mess I was greeted by the same old white cocoon, still stuck on the ceiling of the cave.That means the option that I am the one inside that cave is not ruled out. Thus the cycle started anew, but instead of seeing disappointment I saw excitement. After what felt like an eternity. A shrill female voice could be heard. "Why is everyone around me so incompetent, you give them one simple task and yet they find a way to fuck even that up." With light and small steps, she moved through the crowd that upon seeing her parted and kneeled down. " I gave you just one job to get rid of this ugly white thingy, but you guys just ruined my reputation. I can see the rumours already, "Little MIss misses the mark", now I have to come in and do it myself. Afterwards, you guys can consider finding different, more suitable jobs, like practice dummies." Many simultaneous gasps could be heard, but there was no way any words of rebuttal would leave their mouths. Because their fate could still be considered light. " This is just a simulation, a mere simulation and yet you fail so miserably. I don''t want to hear any excuses, because failure will not be tolerated. Because failure equals death on the battlefield. That is part of the basics each little children knows, but you morons forgot about it. Did your parents drop you multiple times, or are you just simply retarded?" She slowly walks coming closer and closer to the white cocoon until she was standing just beneath it. "And now coming to this abomination. I seriously cannot fathom how a hype could be created about stuff like that. It is just a bunch of white web. And to the dumbasses seriously believing in a sinister creature inside of it, people spreading those kind of rumours, you should really do us sane people a favour and end your existence." With just a simple snap of her fingers, a bright blue flame came into existence. She threw the small ball of flames at the cocoon without any vigour. But all out of the sudden the whole web, which was left unaffected under the bombardment of the basic magic spells, was set ablaze by a single little ball of blue flames. The speed the fire was spreading out was visible to the naked eye. There is not any chance in heaven that whatever is inside of it, will survive this kind of ordeal. Under a flame like that any kind of resistance seems futile, yet after a while, the once calm girl began to throw more and more flames at the cocoon, screaming at the top of her lungs at. " I don''t get it, why just why did my flames not work. My flames cam burn everything under heaven, but why does it take so long to just get rid of this thing. Everything should die as they return to ash, but why does it not work that way. " WHY? WHY? WHY? The cry of her anguished scream could be heard travelling through the air. Her former calm outer appearance was replaced by blight blue flames engulfing her, flickering again and again in different intensities. Until it, the blight blue flame was replaced by a saturated deep blue flame." The crowd could be heard cheering in the background. "The young miss really had another breakthrough" "She really must be one of the Gods favourites" " I am really envious, just look at her age and yet she has nearly surpassed her father already" Without wasting any more time she condensed the flames and threw them at the pitiful rest of the cocoon, which was refusing to burn. The result was a massive cloud of smoke blocking everyone vision. The time passed slowly until finally, the smoke passed. Finally, the cocoon was no more, but strangely there was no sound.Every single person was just staring flabbergasted, with their mouths wide open. Until yet another high-pitched scream broke through the silence " In the name of the Gods, what is that thing?" 24 That thing Everyone was just staring straight, with their mouths wide open. The shock could be seen on their faces.They were just witnessing things there never knew to be possible. Because what was happening in front of them went against everything they deemed logical. Life was sacred and it was due to the influence of the gods that the first superior species was born. Even before the Gods were actively influencing the world, mana particle shaped men and beast alike. There was a translucent being, embedded in a membrane. It was pulsating in an ordinary rhythm. The being shared some similarities with the body a human newborn. It was around 50 centimetres in height but was looking malnourished. Despite being translucent, every spectator had an ominous feeling, it was as if every source of light was swallowed in its near perimeter. The whole body seemed to be in a stage of development and the razor-sharp teeth were hinting at a very scary and dangerous result. Many people were left speechless and did not even dare to move in the presence of such a monstrosity. But as time slowly passed and despite the caution, nothing truly happened, some people began to muster some courage and backed off slowly. More and more people did the same. Still wary of that entity they kept track of it, but there was no kind of reaction, just the movement of the membrane slowly pulsating without any kind of worry in the world. Their worry was reducing by the seconds and soon afterwards the mood turned cheerful. The young miss removed her veil and began to dust off her clothes.Her hair was violet and after the shock, the colour returned to her face.With a petite nose and mouth, everybody would deem her quite cute.Anger was slowly getting visible on her face and she began to consider what actions to take next. " To think, that such a silly creature was all that came out. The craze around the cocoon was really unjustified. To think the developer would create such a prank. But trying to scare me? Pretty please, if you were expecting something out of me, it has to be some really scary. A scary looking baby is not enough for that" Her subordinates did not dare to mention her squeal. "When I came with the second wave of beta testers, I felt the dire need to prove myself to finally get to meet my dear father. So I began seeking every monster left and right. It is so frustrating that this endeavour only leads to such awhimsical result.They promised me a dire fight for my survival, don''t make me laugh, they dare to call this a "dire fight for survival". Swiftly moving towards the membrane she began to kick it with her little feet. Her feet were repelled time and time again. After doing this close to 1 minute, she climbed onto the membrane and began to jump on it.Smiling all over the place she began to do various tricks and the more force she put into her movements the higher she was repelled.Her subordinates were gazing at her with envious eyes but did not dare to do the same without her permission. Cheerful noises were filling the place. "Don''t just stand there that is just sullen and dull. Show me the result of your training." Saying so she continued jumping up and down without any worry in the world. Many of her subordinates felt the dire need to prove themselves after their disastrous attempt at destroying the pitiful cocoon. So they began to put every ounce of their being into the spells. Every single one began to produce their mightiest spell. But nobody noticed that much of the remains of the spells moved to the membrane. Only a slight tint became visible on its forehead. But as soon as it appeared it disappeared again. Leaving no traces of its existence. This procedure took place, without anything relevant happening time and time again. During which the young Miss never once turned tired of bouncing on top of it. Exhaustion was clearly visible on each and every face after their show ended. They were just staring at their young master, hoping for the best. After seeing a satisfied expression on her face everyone felt elated. The life-target practice was cancelled. With a somersault, the young miss left the bouncing membrane and landed gracefully under the tosing applause of her faithful subordinates. "Sadly all good things must come to an end, I can not effort to waste any more time here. It is a bit annoying that I am unable to take it back to the real world with me. But when even I am not allowed to have something fun like that, no one else is allowed to. Gentlemen I demand that you get rid of it." Despite the exhaustion clearly visible on their face, they mustered their strength again and threw powerful spells onto the membrane. They continued to chat and did not anticipate anything else besides the complete annihilation of that creepy baby. After all the hardest part was already done by their young miss and that membrane was clearly not any kind of threat.After the bombardment ended, many people were left baffled. They kept asking themselves why this strange being refused to die. Under the critical gaze of their boss, they wanted to prevent the outcome of their previous failure from happening again. So they began a seemingly endless barrage of spells. The membrane was covered with hundreds of spells but having learned from their previous mistakes this time they only stopped after the strength has left their body. The membrane was not visible to the naked eye. The creature inside of it was neither panicked nor did it show any kind of movement. The only changing aspect was the tint on top of his head, it began to glow. But as soon as the shroud that covered that membrane was lifted, the colour vanished as well. "Since I am a magnanimous person, I will forgive you. Seems like only true strength can kill such a being.And I am just the right person for this" The blue flames surrounded her once more. Enjoying her limelight she currently basked in, she savoured the moment until she unloaded all magic onto the membrane without holding anything back. She kept on producing more and more flames until her whole face was covered in sweat. But yet she did not show any signs of stopping. But as the time continued, an uneasy feeling was slowly rising up within her. She pushed those feelings aside and deemed them irrational. With the slow passing of time, the feeling never truly left her. Growing more and more paranoid she began to curse and she began to gnash her teeth in frustration. She did not feel the usual sensation when she burned something to cinders. She began to sigh and stopped her flames. " Maybe I am just getting crazy here, it is impossible for something to exist after that ordeal. There is no known being that can resist these flames without the help of mana. After all, it is just a game, maybe the usual sensation has not been implemented yet. Furthermore..." The upcoming words were left stuck in her throat. Because the membrane was unharmed even after she had put her everything into it.But that was not the reason for her inability to speak. She was greeted by a haunting smile. The grin was not something a human can produce. It was the smile of a predator, finally seeing his victim he was craving for.His forehead was shining in a deep red colour. There was something carved in it, resembling letters but it was not a language known to her. The mouth began to open and unidentifiable sounds left it. Her knees began to grow weak and she just fell on her butt deeply rooted in fear. The sounds continued on and on but nobody dared to reply or even opening their mouths. The creature just waited and waited but nobody moved just waiting what would happen next. A deep growl escaped from it and it began to rip the membrane open. It was still a humanoid creature but out of each, his arms grew 2 short blades resembling the legs of a mantis. He is skin was now covered in a thin but durable shell. On his back 2 wings spread out and contracted themselves over and over again. Even though his eyes were normal, it was his gaze that was truly abnormal. If an intent to hunt was beastlike, then its eyes were showing an intent to just destroy. The abnormal beast is standing on 2 legs moves in front of her and slowly sized her up. Without any kind of emotion the beast just passed her by. Without any chance of her nerves calming down, the creature began to run towards her exhausted and panting subordinates. They tried to rise up and show some resistance but it was all for nought. This entity just cut through skin with ease. On its path of destruction only detached limbs and spilt blood was left. A satisfied grin could be seen on its face. Arm after arm, leg after leg was cut off his previous owners. This process continued on and on until only slight wails could be heard. Despite all this carnage, the creature has not yet taken a single life. Even after all that, the creature was continuously laughing in a mad manner. It opened his mouth wide and ripped out a piece of flesh of an arm.Afterwards, the arm was thrown away and a flood of little bugs escaped out of its mouth. These bugs kept on crawling to each and every person currently lying on the ground. After arriving at their specific goal, they began to gnaw on their targets and to slowly devour their prey.Screams of terror were terrorizing the mind of the little miss, leaving her traumatized and unable to move. She was forced to just spectate this cruel spectacle. After each of her subordinates ceased to be, dying in pure agony. The creature was laughing madly as every little bug returned to him. After entering his wide-open mouth, a devious laugh escaped his lips. It turned around once more and looked straight up at her. A little chuckle escaped his lips but without any interruption, it opened its wings and began to fly into the sky. Leaving her alone with nothing but skeletons and a pool of blood. She stayed there without moving for a very long time. Until all her subordinates came back to her side and began to search the surroundings for the creature. Tears began to pour down her face and she began crying. She was hugged by a firm and strong arms. " B-Brother?" she stammered " Don''t worry sister, your dear brother will take care of all your struggles. It will all be over soon" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first thing I notice after waking up is this splitting headache, that makes me feel like ripping open my skull. And those people had the audacity to consciously bombard me with their weak spells. If you feel the need to kill me go ahead, but for god''s sake, they clearly saw that it was not working why did they have to make me suffer like that. Those fuckers deserved their fate. For being the cause of all the suffering I had to endure there. All I wanted to achieve was to create an image of a bloodthirsty creature. The only reason, I left that little girl alive was due to two factors. First of all, she was kinda cute and second of all. I don''t want to get myself into trouble by killing a young miss of a big influential family that always leads to disaster. And I don''t want to learn this fact the hard way. Rethinking my actions, the only reason I won this fight with ease was due to them having exhausted themselves beforehand. After letting the bugs get their nourishment by consuming them, I noticed a slight improvement of my metabolism and an improvement of my body. Sadly this form is powered by magic and after flying for quite some time and landing on top of a tree. My form returned to normal. Weak and exhausted I just sad there with my back leaning on the tree. Even though I am unable to move even a single muscle, for the first time I felt a sliver of hope going forward. Although I wouldn''t consider myself to be human anymore. I was still myself and that is what matters to me. Gazing at the blue sky wondering what the next day would bring I began to slowly close my eyes. Thinking about the future a bright and deep smile etched itself onto my face. But these are thoughts for another time. 25 The wrong path I woke up after a long satisfying sleep. That was the first time, I was not haunted by a nightmare after I went to sleep. My stomach produced such a deep growl, that even I was afraid for a second. After trying to move and get to the ground I realized that my muscles were sore beyond comparison.Trying to move turned into a fight and after a long struggle, I still failed to move even an inch. Focussing on the last remnants of mana inside of me, I try to summon the bugs residing inside of me, ordering them to search for food. It is quite unfortunate, that I am unable to control the transformation and even if Icould manage to transform my current usage of it is just subpar at best. My only companion was my dissatisfied stomach. They were searching for human and beast alike. I am not a person who can think straight with an empty stomach. Currently, I was waiting for my saviours to bring me the food I need to not drop dead at the spot. Looking around I spotted nothing but leaves, due to my height the world looked really big to me. Trying to distract myself from this hunger, I began thinking about many different things. Odd situations I have been in.Obvious signs I might have missed. All in all, I was reminiscing about my past. Seems like I am still unable to let go even after all I went through. Words can lie but your heart will tell the truth. Always blaming my surroundings because at that time it was the easiest thing to do. It is very easy to play the victim all the time, bathing in your own self-loathing until the end of time. A sigh escaped my lips, it is not like this thoughts are something new to me. Always able to analyze and help others with solutions to their problems but unable to truly free oneself from any kind of problem. Quite ironic. In my brain my parents were the root of all evil, just heartless creatures valuing their own deer child just based on the results they achieve. Putting my dear little sister above me just because she fits more into their agenda. Reputation and business before family.I created an image, that totally rules out any kind of fault from my side. Instead of voicing my thoughts and opinion I just gave up and went to hide in my own little bubble. My own space, where no one is ought to hurt my poor little soul patting myself on the back because nobody has it as bad as I did. Telling myself over and over again that I am special, I am not like the others. How insanely idiotic, a maniac claiming to be superior, while running away, taking pride in my so-called "achievements" while the only result was the constant disappointing, constant hurting of others. Claiming all the success without any kind of burden and yet having the gall to scream at my parents because they would not understand. Having the gall to try and cut people out of my life because they were not worthy in my eyes. Why did they forgive such a piece of shit over and over again? I don''t get it, I was never a cause for happiness always bringing people down left and right and yet they tried to motivate me even after I clearly treated them like dirt. And I still wondered why after all the stuff I did, they started to live their lives without me. Those were the consequences of your action darling, not the "whole world is against you" situation, you so gladly painted for your own sake. They did not own you any cent, they did not owe you the affection they showered you with, they did not have to put their own happiness behind just so you could be happy and yet they did and at first, they gladly did so. But you never once were grateful never once reflected on what you did. You just acted like it was all natural. It was their God-given task to do everything for your sake.The human race truly is selfish and I am a prime example. Just because I am related to them does not mean they have to give up their whole lives for me. I am just a burden in their life, just pulling everyone and everything down with me. Cutting me out of their life was truly the best thing they did. Yet my parents still send me money without asking for anything else in return, they are too good for this world. I am just a parasite, a menace to their livelihood. Maybe my death was the best way to redeem myself, the best gift I could ever make. My dear sister, I am sorry for having disappointed you, you did everything you could do trying to reach me, trying to guide me to a path, where we could be a happy family again. Scorn was the only reaction I showed for all your doings.I can understand your hatred, I can understand closing me out of your heart. It is not selfish to not want to be hurt. It is not selfish to try and make your parents happy by cutting me out of their lives. But just one more time I will be selfish and wish you the very best from my heart even if I am unworthy of saying that.Someday when you look back, I wish you are able to move one and stop wasting any second thinking about a failure like me don''t waste your life dwelling in hatred. And to my dearest friend, the one who showered me with warmth and companionship. You did not deserve the life you lived before. Letting you live with me was the single greatest thing I did in my life, but I must admit it was not because I was deeply moved by your fate. I just wanted to have someone in my life who I still could look down upon. Yet you were thankful for everything I did.My bearing and action were clearly showcasing how much I was rejoicing in every setback you got. But you never once even were angry with me just the purest and kindest soul I have ever met. Everyone in my life cut me rightfully out their lives telling me all their pent-up feelings. You on the other hand, never cut me out, never treated me like dirt. You even wished me luck, wished me just the best for my future. Why? I did not deserve that kind of treatment. You are far too good for this ugly selfish world. I truly wish that you found a man that appreciates and treats you like you deserve it. I truly just wish you all the best. Now I am here in this new world all alone, is this my punishment? Is this how I should atone for my wrongdoings? Is there even a way for me to get rid of all my sins. All I am doing is causing and spreading even more misery. I am not part of this world and I never should have been. This is truly a world devoid of any reason.Dieing would just be the easy way out, I am tired of always fleeing in front of my responsibilities. Live as long while carrying the burden of what you did, think about what you have done. This world only knows suffering. There is no salvation, there is no purpose. Memories of the past are not a shackle, they are the key to motivation. I never was the good guy, even in my story. Vowing to shape the world how I like it, how foolish must I have been.No matter where I am, the reason I exist is to make people suffer, that is all I amount to. So I surrender myself, give up all that useless ambition, give up on my very own self. I will not lay my life down until I feel like I have done enough to atone. Then I will let my heart be pierced by someone I trust. I will not die before I have accomplished that. I will show them the value of life, that life truly has much to offer. To not let them make the same mistakes that I did. To prevent them from walking down the same path to damnation that I did. Bloodshed is unavoidable necessary evil to convey my purpose. May gods exist or not, may I suffer divine punishment, I am in no position to care. After all, I am here just for that one single reason. To make them remember the joy of living, by taking their lives over and over and over again. Till the end of my time and even beyond that. My little bugs come to me, get stronger by consuming every creature. Everything you eat will be nourishment for my endeavour. I will hunt every single human and eat them to get stronger and stronger to cause more and more destruction. There is no mercy and pity to be expected. They just know the language of violence and before I can speak with them, I need to be able to speak that language fluently. I did not care what I had become, why should I be bothered by the fact that I got less human by the day.I am just a filthy monster nothing more. Without realizing how much time has passed or how many monsters the bugs have brought to me by now. I stood up ignoring my aching body and jumped out of the tree. It is time to hunt monsters to get used to this cruel world. After all, I finally found the purpose of my life. 26 Down the rabbit hole I was walking around aimlessly in this forest. Even though the scenery was vibrant It did not cause any kind of feeling in me. I just wanted to find creatures to kill. But I did not see any kind of creature anywhere.It was as if this world was devoid of any living things, those nutjobs have done quite a good job of cleaning this place.But I am not worried after all I am just hunting lousy creatures, that even my body can take care of, the stuff that a sane person would not waste any second with. I should not cause any kind of commotion before I am ready to take it head-on.All these things holding me back, because I am too weak. Being born talented is sure making me envious. They have a world full of mana, full of possibilities,yet those are not enough. At first, I was quite sceptical and narrowminded, blaming this kind of attitude for all the bad things happening, but as it turns out I am quite wrong. It is human nature to strive, in negative emotions because they yearn to see the light one more time.The best environment for technological development is war after all.Men or women, children or old progress does not care. Every single one of them is a fertilizer for a better future. A war knows no winners just victims.But it these victims that are the backbone of every single era of peace, until the humans once again forgot about the sheer terror that is war. So the cycle repeats, again and again, ensuring that humans develop further and further. I will not change the system, I will not change usher in an era nor will I change the world. I am just trying to show people that there is more to life than just mindlessly giving up their lives. I arrived in front of a small hole in the soil, it was pretty much just enough width for me to crawl into it. I gawked at the hole, wondering what kind of abomination a rabbit would turn into. Without wasting any more time I quickly began to crawl into it preparing myself for an encounter. But I crawled and crawled and yet there was no big mutated rabbit in sight. After a while, I arrived at a big spacious room. Even though it was really hard to see, just with the light radiating out the runes carved into my forehead, it was still possible to see general shapes. So here is the places were the newborn are hatched and speaking of the devil, there are newborns here. They seem to be in their infancy and I doubt that their parents are going to respawn any time soon. Even if I don''t get a chance to improve my fighting capabilities, I still can run some experiments and get to know this world a little better. Grabbing the first one, I decided to test how realistic his anatomic design is.After picking it up I heard its cry for its mother, it is likely that it''s currently begging for food. Holding on tight to his ears I began to launch him at the earth and wall multiple times. Its response is to be expected, at first, it voiced an anguished cry likely asking for the attention and help of its parents. The anguished cry was changing into a shrill squeal after continuously repeating the progress. The squeal was replaced by a pitiful whimper that got more and more silent until silence filled the room. After having confirmed that it has stopped breathing. Ibegan to open the skin on top of its skull with my teeth. The bland taste still has not changed. I told the bugs to open the skull for me. After watching the little bugs consuming the skill bit by bit. I saw the brain in all its glory. Poking the brain at several spots, I noticed that the legs of the rabbit were moving erratically. After toying and playing around a bit, I decided whether my bugs were able to take control of a rabbits body after its death. The rabbits'' corpse began to move. Though the corpse was still lying on the ground at least I could confirm that in theory, my bugs should be able to inhabit a recently deceased body. But after watching the rabbit, struggling on its back over and over again I could safely deduce that my bugs currently lack the intelligence to realize this. Moving on to the next subject, I want to test out how the animal would react to the sudden loss of one of its senses.Even though for this kind of experiment a fully-developed rabbit would be much more useful, I decided to still make the best out of it.To get the best result, I need to minimize the damage I deal. otherwise, my deductions could end up being flawed.First I will let my bugs crawl into its nostrils and block its sense of smell that way. The rabbit began to panic and opened its little mouth over and over again sucking oxygen into its system.Seems like by blocking its smell we rob it of its main source of air as well. Next the loss of vision and the loss of sound. I let the bugs cover the eyes. Due to the visual impairment, the bunny shows signs of stress and began moving its head around. After smelling, it begins to shake more and more. After ordering the bugs to return, I notice that even though its vision was restored the feeling of panic was still lingering inside. After it was robbed of its vision it began to heavily rely on its smell. Therefore after panicking after noticing the different smells. As result stress hormones were released and are now keeping the bunny in a state of suspension. Waiting for the bunny to return to normal, I pondered how I should test the loss of touch and taste. Testing the loss of taste is nearly impossible to achieve without drugs or sedative medicine. But I wanted to avoid destroying it because it would falsify the achieved the results. So the only thing I could do was doing this test after having finished all the other ones. But their sense of taste is linked to their body hair. that means I can''t test it before it as well.The reaction to the loss of sound was similar to the loss of its vision, therefore, the same level of dependence can be deduced. That means that I have to do this test on 2 different rabbits.The loss of taste should be done first because it is by far the easier one. At first, I put a bug inside of its mouth and waited for its reaction. It tried to swallow the bug after receiving the sensation on its tongue. After taking the bug out again I grabbed the tongue and pulled it out. Afterwards, I let the bug inflict damage to the nerves responsible for the taste and watch its reaction.At first, there was no visible reaction. but after trying to feed it with my bugs again it just tried to swallow it again.I began putting several different things into its mouth. soil, worms and even pieces of meat of the first subject, it did not reject anything and swallowed everything. The most tedious work will be the test regarding the loss of touch. Mainly because besides the main source of touch being the hairs close to its nose it has several hairs responsible for the sense of touch on its whole body. That means that I will have to shorten each of its hairs. Even though it can not be considered a complete loss, it still means a complete change for the rabbit.After working for an eternity, the rabbit was finally prepared. After letting go of it the rabbit, just looked around and tried to move but walked right into a wall.A change in customs can really confuse this kind of animal. To summarize, the senses of smell. touch, vision and hearing are heavily linked to one another. meaning that under the sudden loss of its senses, the abilities of the rabbit are severely influenced. The loss, of taste, just leads to a general acceptance and a loss of a safety mechanism regarding harmful food. And my final experiment is about my little bugs. in preparation for this kind of experiment, I began to line up every bunny next to each other. A dead one, one was still under the influence of stress hormones, the other one was just simply confused, one that was currently bleeding and one I did not harm in any way. After letting out a single bug I ordered it to consume the prey. So let me see what kind of preferences those bugs have. Now that''s kind of surprising the bug did not walk to the dead prey first. That means it does not prioritize how easy its nourishment is achievable. Rather it went straight to the bunny that is currently suffering extreme stress. After removing the bunny out of the equation, I let another bug pick the next pray repeating the process until nothing was left. After the experiment I noticed that the bugs prefer stress, over the bloody wound, followed by confusion. But I am still confused why they would take a healthy rabbit over the dead one.Maybe their growth depends on the state of the being they consume is in. I am lacking samples in order to verify my guess. But still, with that hypothesis, I can do quite a bit. And now to the last test. I grabbed the healthy rabbit and bit his head off. Drinking the blood that was gushing out of the wound, I waited and waited and nothing happens. Yeah now I am sure my bugs get stronger by consuming other animals and I have to eat humans. Looking at the bloody mess I have caused, I might have felt a hint of pity, but that did not even last for a split second after I realized that this is just data in the end. Those animals will respawn any time soon, so any kind of feelings regarding killing and torturing these animals is kinda useless and unnecessary. Having finished my experiments I crawled out of the rabbit hole and began my search for my next prey. 27 Make Pawlow proud. Even though I failed to create my own bugs bunny, my search for knowledge continued and I found several animals to conduct several more tests on.That lead to several interesting conclusions. For example, I could verify that the bugs loved to eat the creature that was under a heavy emotional burden.Every creature that was influenced by either a heavily bleeding wound or was trying to run away was prefered to those still unsuspecting. I did not give up on having the bugs invade the body of an animal and take control of it, though every option I tried till now only ended in a catastrophic failure. Letting the bugs eating the insides of a squirrel and then letting all bugs try to run onto the next target did not work as intended. The skin of the squirrel was not durable enough and I had created a fragmentation grenade or more likely a bug-bomb. My next test was to only fill the limbs with bugs, the general concept was better, but yet the bugs did not have a sense of unity and just moved randomly. Therefore any sense of balance was nowhere to be found. The next idea was to not actually put the bugs into the dead corpse but underneath it. On paper, this was a looking like a feasible option, but the bugs were far too big for each of the squirrel''s legs. The movement looked as if the stiff corpse was pulled by an invisible thread. Due to this visual spectacle, I had a sudden urge to try and use the threads of the cocoon I was hidden in.ThoughI needed a much finer and smaller version to try and let the bugs control the actions and movement. But this kind of thread needs a place to be fixed to, therefore movement is quite heavily restricted. The only way this could work is if you combine it with the bug bomb. After running out of ideas, I decided to the test the congenital level of intellect these bugs have. The first test was about simple orders.I pointed at a dead squirrel and without much suspense, the body of the dead squirrel was brought in front of me. Repeating the same task but by pointing at several more corpses, I still achieved the same result. So they are able to react sufficiently to non-verbal orders. Now I tried to order them by speaking directly to them. I tried several things. But most of the times those bugs, just stared at me not understanding the task. That must be the first time they have heard me speaking directly to them. I pointed at a squirrel at voiced the command "Bring". repeating the process several times and giving the food to the bug that brought me the corpse. After what felt like an eternity some bugs began associating the order with bringing something to me. Or the began associating the reward with the action of them bringing something to me who knows. If I did not specify a target all bugs swarmed out and brought me everything that they could carry, making the second thesis much more likely. From sticks to stones, nearly everything found its way to me. I had to give out every dead squirrel rewarding them and creating an association to me based on bringing me stuff.Now I finally knew what kind of torture Pavlow had to undergo to come to his conclusions. I am glad I can borrow some of his knowledge, even though I still wonder if the brains of dogs and one of those bugs here are wired in a similar manner. That means if they have a brain and not a centralized system, based on the queen that sends the orders and signals. After that short experiment came to a close I began to hunt for more creatures. This time I found several mutated poisonous toads. I had to hunt them carefully because I am not sure how my body would react to the poison and I had no intention of finding out. Quite frankly I did not want to lick them anyway.Arming myself with rocks, I tried to approach them and bash their heads in but once I got too close they just jumped away out of my reach. Therefore I decided that doing the same mistakes over and over again would not lead to any results, I decided to try my luck and just threw the rocks onto the frocks. I missed and missed over and over again until I got lucky and hit one, it was dazed by the impact. After my successful throw, I closed in and launched every rock I carried with me onto the poor frog. The frog stood no chance, it was a pure slaughter disregarding the fact that my body needed to rest after exhausting itself, it still felt quite good.But those were just 5 measly rocks that I have thrown and yet it sounds like I am nearly dying here.I curse this weak body. Panting I began to resume my experiment. I summoned all my bugs and pointed at the corpse of the frog and voiced my previous command "Bring". Most of them tried to bring the corpse of the frog I killed but I picked that one up myself, most of the bugs had no idea what to do and just stood there waiting for more commands. Only a handful ran into the forest and brought me several things, after waiting for nearly an hour 2 bugs brought back a corpse of a frog they haunted and put it in front of my feet. I patted those 2 bugs and gifted them the 2 corpses and those 2 little bugs, climbed by happily into my mouth carrying their prey.Some spectating bugs got the gist out of it and began hunting they prey I referred to as a frog. Those who returned with a frog got rewarded the rest was left ignored, more and more bugs started their hunt and found more and more frogs. Prey, that I don''t reward to a single person gets shared by the whole colony, that is why every single reward is like a rush of dopamine for them. After having a success quote of nearly 80%, I started with another animal, this time I made them hunt some blindworm. And without suspense, every single one of them brought me more frogs. Shaking my head I lifted the corpse of the blindworm I hunted and said "Bring blindworm"once again. Even though nearly everyone still insisted on bringing me frogs, some finally brought me the corpse of a blind worm and I gifted them the corpse of the one I hunted beforehand. And now I just had to wait and watch the development repeat itself. "Frog,Frog,Frog,Frog,Frog...." "Still way too many Frogs" "Yeah..., more frogs" "Finally a blindworm" "Frog, Frog, Frog Blindworm, Frog" "Blindworm, Frog, Frog, Blindworm, Blindworm" And after a long time of trial and error finally, the 80% mark was reached. In order to really test whether the bugs had learned or not. I asked for either blindworms or frogs in turns. And utter chaos to happen once anew. "Bring me frog" " I wish I had dogs, I can''t imagine how fast I would have been done by now. " Don''t bring me more blindworms" " NO BLINDWORMS" After rewarding those who brought me frogs and ignoring the ones that brought blindworms. I reversed the task and demanded blindworms and I got way too many frogs. "Those are just 2 animals, how long do I have to train them, if I want them to understand every single creature" a sigh escaped my lips.Rome was not built one day as well.I have to continue step by step this training session that will most likely rob me out of my last sane brain cells. During this long period of trial and error. I began some simple workouts for my body. Starting with push-ups and crunches. Even though my body is weak I forced myself to do at least 1 repetition.Muscles grow if they are used frequently after all. That statement is true for a normal human body, but I have absolutely no idea whether that holds still true for me. All I know that under an influx of mana, my body transitions into a monstrosity and without the mana my body returns to its weak former state. I have no idea, how much my genes have changed. It is quite vexing being unable to know what has changed. My body is just the first fusion of mana and foreign matter, judging by certainty I can be glad to be alive in the first place. The odds of me standing here right now are so ridiculously low my brain fails to even perceive such a number. It feels like getting hit by lightning, a cow that was lifted up by a tornado, while at the same time being run over by a car after you survived a plane crash in the middle of the desert. And just minutes before that the hospital called that your wife is pregnant with 4 children at the same time, while you just won the lottery. And even that ridiculous chain of events is not as likely as what has happened to me. While I was busy contemplating and bitching about the unlikeliness, the bugs continued their conquest of blindworms and frogs, but their consistency improved over time. Therefore I decided to add another animal to the mix.After one of the bugs brought my an earthworm, which had a striking resemblance to the ones I knew from Earth if you just disregarded the razor-sharp teeth. Holding it up yelling "Earthworm" several times and afterwards it was time again for the usual "Bring". And thus the chaos resumed anew. While pandemonium was currently happening in front of me, I decided to see how much human I still was. I launched my fist into the tree over and over again, until it was finally bleeding. The red liquid was dripping down my fist, even though it hurt quite a bit I was still glad to know that the colour of blood has not changed one bit. Though I did not suspect that after the consumption of those players my skin would already be that tenacious. There was no improvement in pain tolerance and the neural system was as fast as before. Well while my bugs are currently busy learning to follow my instructions, I will train my body and see how much it is able to take. So I lifted my bloody hands and began punching once again Any spectator would be left wondering about the many bugs crawling around furiously, to a strange rhythm of dull impacts.Those dull impacts were varying in intensity, be it from fists or legs, the sound of the fierce training resumed and only ended after headbutts were added to the routine. A sweet dream powered by head trauma. Sadly this was just the first time this happened and it won''t be the last time either. After an uncertain amount of time passed the cycle of self-harm began once more. And the wheel of time began to spin rapidly. 28 Footloose I passed every day training my body to the absolute limit while searching for more ways to train my bugs. I taught them about several creatures, that I have seen by now. I taught them to wait and even to attack me. Getting them to attack me was really not that easy, I had to grab an animal that was still squirming in my little hands and hold in front of my body. Then pointing at it and yelling "attack", it took quite some time until they finally started attacking me without the creature in front of me. But I had a painful realisation after an attack found its target in my nether region. Under tears and suppressing the urge to vomit I finally realized I was not wearing any kind of clothing. I had way too much on my head and literally, everything was of more importance than wearing clothes. After my sudden epiphany, I felt the cold wind downstairs and my whole body began to shiver. I put my other projects on hold and began to fanatically think of a way to solve this mess. I am not yet able to permanently turn into the monstrous form and the threads of my bugs create a bit too much pressure for such a soft spot. I don''t want to turn into a eunuch just because I want to wear something. I must find silk or something similar otherwise I might just as well refer to myself as the streaker. There is another option but that is very risky.There are several tribes of NPC¡äs in this game and the system views me as NPC as well, that means that there is a possibility that I can get clothes that way. This seems to be the most feasible option that is currently available to me, the only downside is that I have no clue where to find such a tribe. Of course, I should not forget about the monsters and the players as well. I only fought cannon fodder till now. It is time to gather more fighting experience, in order to stay alive. Hiding in my safe bubble is only good as long as I am not found, but thinking like that only is a fool''s dream. If I learned one thing from this short journey of mine, I will be found for sure. So let me summarize what I learned about my body and about the bugs. To make sure which things Ineed to improve before going on with my plan. My body gets tougher if I let the bugs eat humans and if it gets stimulated by training. Any kind of wound I get heals faster even though the skin looks a bit strange when it begins to heal. Though I would rather refrain from referring to it as healed because it looks like it gets replaced by some sort of hard yet flexible substance that keeps its properties after hardening. Just looking at it from the outside it looks as if it has never changed, but the skin was much more tenacious after the replacement. After coming to this realization I began to try and hurt my body everywhere I could. And an even bigger side effect was that the pain I once felt was numbed by a pretty margin. Seems like the mind is capable of adjusting to pretty much anything. Though a negative side effect is that my skin does not react to stimulation as it used to. I could get pierced by something and not even notice it. And I still do not know how my body reacts to magic, because the membrane that absorbed mana is gone now. Even if I am able to absorb mana, it will still deal some serious damage on its target. Using my bugs as a shield is out of the question anyway, those little devils are not made out to be meat shields. Currently, my little bugs are able to act on the following commands "Attack" "Bring" "Stand" and "Return". It is not much but it is a solid basis I can work with. They are currently struggling if I combine 2 orders or more. But the terms Attack and Bring are pretty vague and do not specify what kind of way their goal is achieved. For example, the order Bring can include attacking the desired prey or just straight up picking up the corpse and bring it to me. The things I am currently lacking are much unclear information that is important to evaluate their combat strength. I only have this one life and I should not take too many risks otherwise I will end up dead sooner or later. And if I want to get my message across being weak is not helping in the slightest, I would go as far and say that it would end up holding me back. Asking the strong to hold because I am too weak is pathetic. In this kind of world, only the strong are revered. In order to improve I am looking to further strengthen my body, even though I end up risking my life that way, it is still something that I can at least partially control. Without wasting any more time I began my search for potential enemies to train my fighting skills. After searching in this wild forest I began to walk into a much rougher terrain. The atmosphere inside of it was not as colourful and cheerful as the forest. It was much rougher, much more antagonistic to life in general.I did not dare to walk too deep into it, because curiosity is what kills the little kitten. Despite walking slowly and keeping my tension high, I still ended up being ambushed by a lone wolf. It sunk its teeth into my left shoulder after I moved my head away to dodge his bite into my throat. Blood was spilling out of the wound, but I am glad that the teeth did not sink too deep into my flesh. I threw a punch onto his nose with my right hand to get him away from me. But one punch was not enough so I began to throw several more.After a wave of punches connected the wolf finally let me off. Seems like I am still not used to this kind of pain. Fuck it still hurts. An angry groan left my mouth as I pushed myself up and ran towards the wolf once again.As long as I am still under the effect of adrenaline I have to deal as much damage as I can. Closing in on it, I began to throw punches and kicks onto the vulnerable eyes. I was able to force it to close one of its eyes but the price was several bloody gashes by teeth and claws all over my body. Ignoring the painful sensation all over my body,I tried to weave and avoid another bite, but due to injuries my reaction was delayed and the wolf nearly tore off my right leg. I wanted to scream but found my self unable to because my body was on the verge of collapse. Gasping for air, my lungs began to hurt with every little movement. The pain from my right leg was keeping my brain busy, preventing any kind of logical thinking. I don''t know whether time slowed down for me, or my brain just shut down. Either way watching the wolf failing to tear of my right leg, fills me with an unexplainable anger. How can such a mighty creature fail a task like that? A world full of magic, full of stuff that I deemed impossible beforehand. And yet this mighty creature fails at tearing of a baby''s leg? This is sulling the reputation of wolves left and right.Biting is so easy, see this is how it''s done. A painful shriek was heard, as a little mouth was busy munching on the wolves eye.The wolf was moving wildly, but to no avail, the small little hands were holding on. The socket was cleaned slowly but surely. " Do you feel it,? That is what a predator has to be like. You have to instil fear in your target." " Your prey has to give up just by your sheer presence alone. It is your task to play and toy with it, give it hope just to crush it over and over again. Watch it die on the inside before dying on the outside. That is what it takes to be a predator," The wolves eye was full of anger.It began to furiously maul the leg off. While staring maliciously at his prey. But there was no painful shout, no scream, rather the response was something the wolf had never seen or expected, it was a laughter. a voice full of joy. A place of life and death was replaced by 2 creatures standing still. For a fleeting moment, there was a strange feeling of resonance. There was no prey, no victim. Just 2 equals looking straight the other. Both started to move at the same time, the start to the last chapter in one of their lives. The wolf was aiming for the throat, while his ferocious bite was blocked by moving the injured arm to block its bite. The other hand moved to the freshly torn off leg. Just as the motion finished the wolf let go of the arm and targeted the throat once more. With a sudden motion, the detached leg was rammed into the mouth of the wolf. This sudden development did not stop the wolf from pouncing at its goal. After realizing the last futile attempt to keep the distance, the wolfs gaze turned haughty and contemptuous as his teeth bit through the leg piece by piece. Several minutes passed as the wolf continued to chew and bite. Its eye was locked as its prey during the whole process. More and more saliva began to pour out of its mouth, in anticipation of the upcoming feast. After finally biting through the object standing between it and the victim. The wolf prepared to finally get rid of this nuisance. But that preparation was for nought, as the wolf collapsed never to wake up again. Its eye was still staring at the small baby in front of it. "What a shitty way to die. I am sorry that is not an honourable way to die. But you don''t have to worry soon you will forget, what has happened to you. You are just data, it only takes milliseconds for the server to regenerate you again. There is no sensation of pain for you, no real purpose. It is just your job to be here to get slaughtered by others only to respawn a while later. It is an endless cycle of neverending death and rebirth, but you are not able to care at all, you are just artificially created and forced to do what you have been programmed to. And your first death is due to a little foot being lodged in your throat. Fate truly is quite ironic if you think about it. "In comparison, I am just something that should not exist in the first place. I was a filthy human being contributing nothing but negativity wherever I went. But now I am different, I found a purpose for myself. May it be selfish, hypocritical in nature, may it be just an attempt to distract me from all the thoughts that pester me. But this is the first time, in a very long time I truly feel important. Even if you are just a lowly mimic of a creature in the eyes of others, but I will always be thankful. You brought me back to reality. I am not chosen for anything I am the one choosing. " " Deciding your worth by your contribution to the world is just stupid. This world does not care about you and I. Peasant or king, sinner or saint. rich or poor. weak or strong, in the grand scheme, everything is the same. Still, while the outcome is the same the process is different for everyone. That is why I am living for my sake now, but the idea I stand for is much bigger. " Carpe Diem. The only question that currently remains is, how to get my severed foot out of its throat... " 29 Lessons learned the hard way. After I the bugs consumed the wolfs corpse in a frenzy, I finally got my little foot back. As I am currently sitting here waiting while the bugs slowly patch me up again, I ponder and start to reflect on that messy fight I just had participated in. I notice that I made many mistakes that are easy to prevent. While it is a necessity to hone my fighting skills it is quite unwise to disregard the bugs inside of me. Neither did I have any kind of weapons on hand nor did I have any plan of what happening around me. I took too many wounds that ended up lowering my fighting capability. Even though I can even heal wounds that are deadly for a normal person, I am not able to do so during combat. Diving headfirst into battle is a fool-prove plan if I want to die without a grave.In the end, my survival was just a simple matter of luck. All things I just mentioned are the mistakes I made during combat. But even before the fight started I could have scouted the area, seeking a good place to fight. I could have learned the specific behaviour pattern, could have searched for knowledge regarding their fighting style. After all, the most fearful enemy is the one you do not know of. If I want to be able to contend with humans, I have to be able to last against animals that just rely on instinct alone. On the other hand just punching a tree over and over again is not making me a good fighter, it just enables me to strike harder and more often.Even though my skin is tenacious, I still am too slow, my actions too sloppy and my attack pattern to predictable. I have to train my whole body if I do not want to leave any weaknesses behind. In general, I need to learn more about the limits of my body. Those were the mistakes I made before the fight even began. Now I am sitting here, rooted to the spot, where my bugs slowly connect my detached limbs. There is no way, I am currently able to fight more than 1 enemy in my human form and even if I barely win the fight, I am totally screwed if another enemy appears. I am just lucky that I am currently in the outskirts of the wolves territory. The one I killed was likely an outcast, that got discarded from the pack after he was too old to hunt. If II had cluelessly marched on, I probably would have ended up as a meal. After listing up every mistake that came to my mind during the thought process, I start to think about possible solutions to the problems I currently face. To improve my fighting, I need to start with a different training. Instead of punching a tree for eternity, I need to do exercises that strengthen my whole body.So adding to the push-ups and crunches, I will start to run to increase my endurance, squats to strengthen my legs. And to increase the general flexibility and mobility of muscles stretches need to be done as well. And for the finetuning exercises that strengthen my sense of balance are a must. This should be enough for a balanced training program. Now, for the time being, I will count how many bugs are currently inside of me, to have a good grasp at the number of bugs. It took a while, so I ordered them to hunt me a mouse. I will count how many mice they bring with them. The bugs get stronger and I can count them, though I have to make sure that the bugs only enter and not come out again. Nobody likes skewed data, especially if it could end up costing your life. While the bugs were busy acting like a pest control, I came to the conclusion that the knowledge of animals in my former world can only remotely compared to this world. After all this one evolved with mana particles, I have no clue what kind of effect this could have had. Judging by the things I fought against, mana influences the growth potential by a wide margin. When even an ant can reach a size close to a human being, then my former knowledge can be considered obsolete. This forces me to conduct several experiments and tests to deduce how much this world differs. My current options are to watch them from a distance and to categorize their behaviour or scout with them my bugs. But the best way to learn about their underlying nature is to cut them open and see their inner workings. If I can get my hands on a strong sedative, I can operate on a living organism as well. Well, I can do that even without a sedative, but keeping it still seems to be quite a pain once those monsters become much bigger than me. I should have watched some videos about those creatures when I had the chance. Anyway, it''s useless to cry over spilt soup, Even though hand to hand combat is important, it is necessary to train and use weapons as well. The human form is very weak, relying on weaponry to close the gap is a good idea.The question is what to use as a potential weapon. I am unable to make a weapon out of the bones of a normal monster after all those monsters respawn after a certain time period. I could try to create a makeshift weapon, that launches projectiles at the enemy. As ammunition, I could use the rocks that can be found everywhere and the bugs silk can be strong if strengthened enough to function as a slingshot. Even though string may not be suited to be a melee weapon but it can be used as a garrote wire. Even though it is not based on carbon fibre, I am quite curious what kind of results I can expect. Suddenly I had an epiphany, there it was the perfect weapons that can be used for short or medium ranged combat. But if this kind of design really is feasible, I might have to train really hard to be able to control this kind of weapon. A wolf would be the perfect target for testing out the limits of such a makeshift weapon. So I began to prepare my weapons for my rematch with the wolf. Searching for rocks all over the place, I began to search for rocks until I had enough to launch many attacks. Afterwards, I began to search for the biggest rock I could lift. Sadly there was not even a single rock to be found in this forest. I mean if I could lift a boulder I would have done so. Well seems like I will die first before I could find a suitable rock. So I have to somehow get a perfect fit for me out of this giant boulder. Waiting for it to erode, would take way too much time. High expanding cement, would totally work for me, still, I don''t have any of it. Seems like I am powerless to do this on my own. I will have to gamble whether my bugs can bite through this stone. Touch the uneven surface of the boulder, I began to search for the biggest crevice. But then I noticed it, the one thing I forgot. When I began my search, not even a single bug had returned to me and I did not even teach them to return to me. I have always been at the same place during my practice with them- I just hope they not get caught by other creatures or players, they are not yet ready for the big stage. How should I even try to find them again, I have no clue where the hell I am, it is not like I can just call them by name like dogs. And even if they come to me by recognizing my smell, it can not have an effective range of several kilometres. Especially if we have been moving in opposite directions. I ordered any buy inside of me to come out again and again but not a single bug came. I kept on repeating the order, I did not want to admit that there was not a single bug left inside of my body. After nearly losing my sanity, a single bug came out of my mouth and began to crawl onto my left hand. It was silver and nearly twice the size of a normal bug. It looked at me with curiosity as if it is demanding to know why I was in such a panic. Pointing at the rock I ordered it to start digging. It just stared at me with big eyes questioning whether I seriously just demanded such a dumb thing. After making sure I was really not joking, it did not hesitate and turned around to walk back into my mouth, like nothing ever happened. I was left baffled, till now there was not a single bug who blatantly refused my order and was intelligent enough to understand me without any problem. Besides this is the first time I have seen a bug as big as that. So this means that most likely this is the queen that nested inside my body. But they are supposed to be my subordinates. After the newborn hope was crushed in its infancy, I began to think about all the options I currently have and had to realize, that there was nothing I could do besides staying here training and hoping for my bugs to return to me. While I was training, I began to furiously berate myself for being such a dunce and why the hell I had such a severe case of idiocy and about the queens refusal to dig in the boulder, All I need to secure my survival, is a strong silk and 2 heavy rocks I can lift, It is not like I asked for world peace. I am her host and my survival should be the highest priority. But no, that''s beneath my dear queen. How does her subject even dare to bring up such a task? As if the queen noticed being berated she reappeared at once standing on my hand looking furiously into my eyes. It was like she was ordering me to stop sulling her name, otherwise, I would have to suffer the consequences. But It is just a little bug, why should I be considerate of her, I killed a wolf even without the help of the bugs. My first misconception was to overestimate my fighting capabilities after winning the fight against the wolf. The second misconception was to severely underestimate the anger of a prideful queen that got insulted. Just as I was about to speak another word, the queen began to sting into my body without any kind of warning and a muscle relaxant began to spread in my whole body. I did not expect her to start with such a serious attack, without waiting for the results to settle in the queen began to bite me all over the body to further spread the venom. The queen was looking at me with a gloating gaze. Waiting for the anger to appear in my eyes. But the queen would end up waiting for a long time because her enemy fell asleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------- How does her host dare to sully her name, does he not know how high of an honour it is to carry her and her colony around and yet he even was dreaming of her being his subordinate. Yet I could nott rejoice, as he was about to realize his dependence on us, he just fell asleep. This is so infuriating. I hate to agree with him, but I am not yet strong enough myself to ensure my and his survival. Seems like I have to ask my newborn children to dig 2 suitable heavy rocks for him. With all the silk that was needed for building such a stupid weapon, she felt that she can say goodbye to any energy she had saved. So my dear children started digging and find my food. I am in dire need of energy if I want to make this moron''s dream a reality. That marked the start of a project that would end up creating avery messy situation and create lots and lots of unwanted attention. 30 Ants Adventure 1 The Nagant also known under its scientific name"innoxias formicae" is a species known for being a remnant of a time long before the supremacy of us Chosen. It is a relict, from a time where the only the strongest most fearful creatures could successfully survive. Scientists are unsure, how the Nagant did not go extinct.But the most common theory is that, due to the low numbers of this ant and the minuscule amount of nutrients in their body, their predators began to specialize and hunt different prey. Many generations later their former predator now does not even hunt it anymore. Its existence is a joy to every curious child all over the world. It is the favourite toy for every little child for a reason. They are easy inflammable and produce a soothing crispy sound when they are crushed. They can be dismantled with ease as well. There are so many ways, that a modern child can be satisfied with such a simple Nagant. The Nagant is a herbivore and coprophagous aswell. It mainly consumes seeds of small plants and the excrements of other animals. A Nagant colony consists up to 100 ants. After hatching out of their egg they either grow into aWorkernagant or a Warriornagant. The only visual difference is that the Workernagant is smaller and its task is to gather materials to feed their queen with. If the queen is in danger the Warriornagant tries to distract the enemy and fulfil his destiny as cannon fodder. After conducting several tests, we could safely conclude that this creature is incapable of using mana in any way, it is just stuck it its evolutionary state and failed to adapt. The main reason for that is its inability to wield mana. It does not show sign of intelligence at all, it just acts based on instinct and millennia without any natural predator left this strange being just able to gather food and dying standing still if they ever find themselves attacked. This animal inhabits dark caves or digs itself a strange system of tunnels without any sense of direction. Once exposed to sunlight, a squirming reaction is visible. Furthermore, once the surrounding temperature reaches a certain level of humidity, they lose control over the body and are unable to move till they reach their demise. The queens low fertility us partly caused due to the laying process lasting several hours for a single egg and the low rate of successful hatchlings that survive the first week. Those hatchlings die either to diseases or succumb to their bad genetical disposition. Or they just get eaten by their gluttonous queen. The only reason this species continues to exist is due to their way above average lifespan. Something inside of them extends their lifetime by multiple times, it is speculation whether it some sort of exchange for the near inability to wield mana or being a remnant of the creatures of older times. Not much is known about the times before our glorious Ancestor appeared. But while investigating an old abandoned nest several strange inconsistencies were found. It is built in an organized fashion and several other species were found in it as well. While every other nest is located deep underground, this one was on the surface shaped like a huge hill. This pile of Earth. took way too much space for such a little colony, yet several mummified corpses of a nagant were found in there. But these nagants were much smaller when the nagants we know of today. Scientists identified this kind of ant as a distant relative, but after comparing the general physiology with our current nagant, not even a slight change could be found, just the difference in size was massive. And this nest is the only one of its kind, there has not been any logical conclusion why only one kind exists in our glorious world. To summarize the nagant is relict out of the dark times, being one of the only animals incapable of using mana. It is harmless in nature, way too weak to exist and it is just a question of time, till it goes extinct. "So we can all agree, that this is the animal we intended to put in our game, right? A harmless creature, that is more of a feature and a toy for people if they ever find themselves bored of exhausting battles. Correct me if I am wrong, but that was the purpose we designed and used the nagant for. Then can someone tell me, why the nagant in our game does everything and I mean everything that it is not supposed to do?" " All out of the sudden, this tiny, little ant became a flesh-consuming predator? You tell me, that this ant is capable of using advanced war tactics? Hiding in dead corpses, then popping out if their prey is near? They are even setting up ambushes, in groups. We are talking about a nagant, an N-A-G-A-N-T. Who was the sick fuck, that made these beasts only target the nether regions of every player they encounter? And making them nearly resistant to magic, great idea. These ants are running rampant, they are just like locusts eating everything that gets in their vision. " "I am already sick of asking every concerned parent of those entitled children, no dear parents our system does not actively target your dear children nuts. There is no need to worry, every damage that is felt only is psychological, there is no need to worry about him/her producing an heir. In general this only a temporal state of affairs, after all this is still the testing phase. We owe you our deepest apologies. it was never our intention that your dear little angels have their precious confidence crushed because they are unable to kill even a single nagant." " We have to find a solution to this problem I don''t care if we lose sponsors and revenue because those testers get repeatedly killed by nagants and we are not talking about a swift death, no those animals tear you apart and you feel every single bite of them. So dear Gentlemen if you don''t want to find ourselves stuck in our little own world getting eaten by this a little creature until the end of time, you better find and fix whatever this mistake caused and prevent it from ever happening again." " It was supposed to be so easy, yet strange things keep happening, that we have no explanation for.Those children are busy trying to test how often they can stand getting tackled by a nagant. I would be worried as well if my children pass their time by letting creatures tackle their weak spot over and over again. Our product is able to offer a diversity of several interesting topics and those morons keep counting how often they can endure the pain in their dicks.I know men in that kind of age always have to prove themselves, but dear Lords in the highest heaven, why did they decide on that? And even some women decided, to take part in that competition as well if that stuff gets public, I will not have to tell you guys, that even if I do not kill you on the spot, other people will gladly do it. We are representing the Church, the famous families and in general only the best that this world has to offer. Just a slight misstep, that tarnishes their name and before we notice it, our heads will role. So for the sakes of our heads, find a solution. "I will try to prevent this thing from ever landing in the public eye, as long as possible hopefully you found a way till then." ----------------------------------------------------------- While certain publishers were contemplating their life choices and were busy making plans to escape the whole unsightly mess, that they foresaw. The beta testers were having the time of their life, they were not even questioning why such the nagant turned into a vicious predator. They did not even think about, why in such a serious simulation, such a thing would exist. They were busing crowning a victor in a fierce competition that they dubbed "Balls of Steel" "Balls of Steel" is a simple event. It is about the showcase of superior will and a testament of the unyielding nature a warrior has to have. One Man one ant, standing in front of each other. The bug would continuously target the crotch until the player falls over and gets eaten. Several spectators would count the score and note it down. The result then would be put on the high score list if you stood your ground successfully. This whole trend started, when a brave soul tried to kill those ants with magic and was caught by surprise as one launched a sneak attack on his groin, but his fighting spirit forbad him from giving in and he kept on standing and thrown spells. The one ant that executed the attack went forward and attacked the man again, aiming for the same spot again, while the rest of the ants just stared at the single insect. It was an unspoken competition, both species putting their pride and body on the line and any interference from the outside would mean eternal shame. The first fight ended after close to 1 minute, even though the brave soul tried to fight back in the beginning after noticing that his spells were not working at all, he just tried to fight and dodge. He was able to withstand a total of 4 attacks without strengthening his body with mana before succumbing to the 5 one. He has beaten quite miserably but still boasted about his achievements and everyone wanted to laugh at first but felt the sudden urge to surpass that simpleton. Even though the record has been broken quite often, he enjoys his fame for being the innovator of such a great sport. Haniball Barkas, a man that became a trendsetter. But right now, the whole audience was left speechless and baffled because not only was the current record shattered by a wide margin it also was a girl that endured over 20 attacks of a single ant, before just falling straight over. At first, they even belittled her, for trying to compete in a man''s sport but after she did not even flinch once during the whole ordeal, people became awestruck.The previous record of 12 was nothing in front of her, no one wanted to admit it, but most men wanted to bow their head in shame. After the minutes slowly passed, she comes over with a glee plastered all over her face. She was not tall or small either. Her physique was quite petite, but there was a firm layer of muscles on her body. Her face was quite soft yet showed traces of facing difficulties. Her violet eyes were looking all over the place silently judging everyone. She did not show any signs of maturity, it was like the whole world would spin just for her and she acted like she was entitled to such a treatment. With her head held high and a noble aura, she moved forwards. Everything was beneath her and every single thing had to bow before her. That was her way of living. " And here I thought, that those men were something special, yet even a single frail woman like me, easily surpassed them. It is no wonder that our dear parents just feel ashamed off of our current generation. At first, I was searching for a potential husband, but after witnessing this humiliating results, I was forced to show you guys how unmanly, you guys are. I could take all my sisters and they would easily, score higher in that little competition of yours. Yet even after 12 little hits you guys fall over and die. How is this country supposed to exist if you are in charge of defending against the monsters? I am so ashamed of what this country will become. If I look at you guys I just feel pure disgust. I pity your parents for having giving birth to you, expecting something good and yet you were the result. I cannot fathom how much disappointment they must have felt upon seeing you" She returned giggling to a small group of females, disappearing from the view of the crowd. The crowd did not swear or point fingers at her for ridiculing them, no after their pride was hurt a desire began to burn inside of them, a fire that would not extinguish until they have broken the record.Even if the male ego is frail, it is also the biggest sort motivation in their young lives. If you continued to observe, many males started to show more tenacity and willpower. They continued to improve their personal scores step by step. Even after the record was finally broken, they were so focused on improving they did not even take much notice of it. "Come on Claudia, don''t be so mean to them, you just wanted to rile them up and don''t even get me started on the way you broke their high score, numbing your senses with ice magic is totally cheating." A young freckled girl was teasing the perpetrator, who caused the anguish of many young men. " It was only specified that you are not allowed to use magic during the whole process, I finished my spell before I began the competition, so technically it is all legal, just because they don''t do it does not imply that I have to do the same right? I still could have increased the high score by 1-2 with ease but I did not want to feel the pain all at once after my nerves became active again.Those boys are masochists, not me, I am just a fine lady.It was all for their sake, after all, they can show how "manly" they are to impress us simple maidens I am just doing them a favour. Am I not magnanimous?" The young girl could not hold in heartfelt laughter, upon seeing Claudia acting so righteously. She answered shaking her little head: " You may be able to play those guys like a fiddle, but do not take me for a fool. Your primary focus was to spark their hurt ego as you get to watch their repeated squirming and suffering. That is so much like you, you were always ready to manipulate others for your own entertainment. But alas I am not better in any way, because watching these morons getting attacked in their manhood is quite a refreshing feeling." " Eve, I am not as selfish as you portray me here, I did it for our sake. To remember the good old days, when we were still able to roam every day, everywhere. Now we only can meet up online, after having finished our chores. I miss those days, where it was us against the world, we could freely decide what or what not to do. Somehow I just want to feel like being in control for once. Getting always told what or what not to do is so sickening." "You guys are living just 5 minutes apart from each other and you are the one bossing around everyone in our household, the only thing that you were told to do in the last few days is to not cause so much trouble" another girl chimed being quite annoyed. She was a bit taller than Claudia, and the whole atmosphere around seemed to be frozen. While Claudia had her golden hair tied to a bun, her golden hair was dancing in the wind, reaching shoulder length.The resemblance between Claudia and her was uncanny. She did not show any signs of nobility and her bearing was freeof any haughtiness. A spectator would feel a deep unnerving chill, whenever they would just see her as if her presence alone could freeze time as well. There were no emotions visible on her face, just gold blue eyes staring at Claudia. "You are always so serious, Samantha, always so uptight. Relax and enjoy the moment, you are always thinking about how to get stronger and stronger yet forget that other humans do exist as well.At first, people were referring to you, as the Ice Maiden, proclaiming to marry the one who bested you in a fight, but any men you beat was left there in humiliating fashion. Its no wonder people call you the "Icy virgin" instead" For the first time anger became visible on Samanthas face and throwing her 2 hands wildly around she nearly screamed: " Who dared to give me such a humiliating nickname, I will kill him with my own two hands." Instead of hearing a name a laughing fit was the response she got. " Jeez, you are so easy to tease, acting all holy and always focussed on repaying the glorious deeds the Church did. Everywhere you go, you just train and train, there is nothing else for you. Let me give you a bit of heartfelt advice as your dear sister, we will all be on the frontline sooner or later, so enjoy the time here instead of madly killing monsters all day to increase your ranking score. I mean I have no clue, why you are so insistent on getting that first ranking in the first place. Let daddy pull some strings and you will get personally trained by the Church as well. It does not seem worth it to me going through such a hassle, those monsters here are no threat to you anyway. How do you want to improve yourself, if you just kill stuff that you were already able to kill when you just learned magic. Next thing you tell me that you are training so that you can beat those monsters to death as well, like a barbarian." Even though the anger was still visible on Samantha''s face, she sighed and started to speak in more composed tone. " You make it look so easy, it is my duty to prevent as much death as possible. If I get to command people, I will not stand as my subordinates die left and right because of my negligence, that is why I spent my time training. Giving up on my own comfort or the safety of my comrades, I will pick my own comfort in a heartbeat. Besides what do you take me for? A brute? Who in the right mind would train his body in a world full of magic?" "Regardless whether your sentiment is right or not, it is quite hard to train, if your so-called subordinates are busy testing the limits of their testicles," Claudia said grinning. Samantha began to look back in disgust and then a deep frown seemed to appear on her forehead. "I will get wrinkles if I have to train with people like this all the time and nobody likes to marry an old wrench. I just wanted to let them train against a pack of wolves, it is an easy exercise for improving team coordination. But to no avail, men will find a way to fuck it up in the end. " Well, then spend some time with your dear sister, you may even call it a bonding experience to get a better grasp at what your team is thinking." After having no more excuses left, she was forced to comply with her sister''s reasoning. A little smile escaped her lips. --------------------------------- As they were moving away from the spectacle, they started to gossip about all the new rumours that got to their ears. About the mysterious Call-Me-daddy2 and how a certain person reputation went down the drain, after trying to compare with Call-Me-daddy 2. Even about the latest developments on the frontlines. Until they started to talk about all the newest rumours surrounding"Primal Survival". " Have you heard, about the rumour of the young miss from the Merediem family, wetting her pants? Apparently, she was so scared by just a single creature. This creature massacred her 100 subordinates and then just walked passed her. It was as if magic did not have any effects on it." "As if stuff like that exists in the first place, this is just another cheap trick to gather some attention. This is supposed to be a realistic depiction of reality not a fabrication of old myths." "At first I was just like you, believing it to be just a scam, but then because of some strings I pulled someone sends me a video of her perspective directly and afterwards, she deleted every other trace of it happening, saying it was way too stressful to remembering that strange creature. After watching only a small bit of itI was sure that it was not just a rumour. Take a look, I send you the video. At first, there was just the young miss busy jumping on something, with a bright smile on her face. Afterwards, many magic spells were cast and aimed at the membrane, after the multitude of spells left no visible damage, the young miss started to use her best effort and strongest magic to set it ablaze, but the membrane was only pulsating a bit otherwise there was no reaction, to the extent that any spectator would guess that it just an item devoid of any life. After the flames died down, they forgot about the rest of the video, in their eyes was just this savage grin, giving everyone single one of them a feeling of impending doom. The grin belonged to something, that they have never seen before. Its silhouette was ¡äresembling a human baby, its general shape was the embodiment of terror.2 blades were attached to its arms and 2 tall wings were growing out of the body. covered in a pitch-black shell it was looking at straight into their souls. They found themselves caught helplessly. They have never seen something like these eyes. It was the kind, that just the thought of resistance alone felt useless, it was crushed before it could fester. It reached the deepest part of the soul and left an imprint of raw pure terror there. It came closer and closer, but looking at the camera a look of disappointment flashed over its face. It just walked passed the camera and started to massacre the exhausted soldiers with ease cutting off limbs left and right. It looked effortless as if it was just a casual performance. Cries of pain were growing louder as the ground was covered in a red hue. But instead of expecting the sweet release of death, the mangled men were devoured by bugs, torn to shreds until they were no more. Those bugs were the perfect fit for such a heinous creature, they were as dark as the deepest night and had a big white eye on their backs. While each bug was just the size of a small finger, their mere presence was deeply unsettling. The slow clacking of their little teeth in anticipation of tasting human flesh. Their behaviour when consuming their prey, it was looking like they were actually savouring the taste and enjoying the moment. The slow twitching of the eye, on their backs, as if it was alive. There was nothing left of the once proud men. Only the heavy steps of that walking nightmare were audible and yet again it slowly came closer to the young miss. Despite its face not clearly visible, you still could tell, that everything that it just did was beneath it as if all that suffering had no relation to it all. The forehead was flaring up in different colours, but it only became visible after the creature looked at the helpless girl for one last time. Opening its wings it started to spread his wings and fly away without any kind of worry in the world. And then the video fades into black, leaving the spectators dumbfounded, questioning whether what they just saw was real or just a bad dream. "I refuse to believe that this is real, I reject even the notion of such a thing existing". Claudia said in a denying fashion. Each one of them needed some time to realize what they just witnessed. "Let us calm down first, it is useless to get into a hysteric fit because of such a stupid creature. I mean we treat it as if it had human intelligence and judging by literally any other monster in existence it is most likely quite stupid. " The two other girls nodded and began to remember all the encounters they had with the monsters here and could only shake their head because of their baseless panic. " Though despite our initial error of judgement this thing truly is interesting. It does not look like any animal be it modern or historic I have ever seen or heard of. If I had to make a comparison I would say its like a mix out of many different animals. This seems like the most likely given the cause of such a thing even existing, though this still does not explain why the general outline is that of a human. Though that is just scratching the surface, of what is really strange. Most animals just hurt everything that they come across, they don''t differentiate if you are young or old, male or female. they just attack you. But this kind of creature was showing great restraint, it did not kill her subordinates right on the spot, instead, it immobilized them by cutting off their limbs. All that just so the little bugs could consume them, there seems to be great importance attached to this fact." Samantha calmly analyzed after returning to her usual mood. "Those are the things that I can safely tell." she continued "But there are some things I can not get any gist of. That creature is so thoughtful, yet leaves a witness behind. I can not fathom what the reasoning behind it is. Normally an intelligent being of this world would kill every witness. Dead men tell no tale after all. But it just straight up looks at her and then calmly flies away. I really don''t think that this monster is a chauvinist. While there was still a bit of tension left in the air, that stupid remark forced a little chuckle out of Claudia and Eve. The existence of such a monster is a real challenge to their imagination but just the pure thought of such a monster having complex thoughts and judging it by human standards is something so stupid, that they did not notice it before. After all, they are in a scripted reality, where they literally cannot die at all. Such a scary monster does not seem so scary any more if you really think about it. It is just a monster that seems slightly more intelligent than other monsters. So while the first impression of it may seem to induce fear because of its contradiction to everything known beforehand, its existence is something that is only possible in this kind of world. All it will ever amount to be will be a work of fiction. Eve suddenly got an excited expression on her face and she began to grab both of them by the hand and pull them away from the crowd. Confused by her sudden actions to light squeals escaped their lips before they were even able to question the sudden action a cheerful voice answered. " Come on, we never had an adventure like this. Nowadays we are required to act serious and mature nearly all the time. The duty here,the obligations there. I totally agree that we have to face our destiny sooner or later. But this may be our last big journey, the last mystery we are able to solve before adulthood comes crashing our doors and tearing us apart.I refuse to acknowledge any kind of reasons not to.So let us gather some more information on this little creature. Before the even could realize what was happening to them, they found themselves pulled away from every onlooker and in the distant forest. "Why are you bringing us into this forest?" Both of them asked perplexed. " You guys are so intelligent, yet fail to see the obvious. At first, there are those nagants that behave like a completely different species and now there is this bug-boy. It is common-sense that there has to be some kind of connection between the two. I mean everything was normal before bug-boy happened and now you tell me a mutated ant does not seem like an unlikely occurrence anymore. Before you start criticizing my idea, think about it. Where did the first ant appear from? It was inside a forest. Why did no one find the bug-boy even though nearly every cave is full of players? It is because it is not there anymore and the only area that is not that well explored in the woods. So do I need to continue or are you starting to believe me? Claudia suddenly had a slight epiphany and nodded her head. " Ah I get it, you want to take advantage of the fact that most bugs are currently busy duking it out with the boys. So while they are occupied, we sneak in and scout the area in order to locate this monster. Other than that weak magic has no effect on those bugs directly, but we as ice mages can hinder their movement and can avoid most of the fights that way. As for the rest of the monsters, Samatha will take care of them with ease. While we may not be able to search a big area due to our limited group size, it does not take away our mobility. All we have to do is search systematically. I really like your approach Eve" As the girls marched into the woods they were not sure, what their little search would lead to. 31 Ants Adventure 2 The ants were confused at first, why would their host and the queen leave them behind. Did they not serve them correctly, are they just a useless hindrance? They were trying to fulfil every order their host gave them, but even their queen could not understand what his intention was. So we were just barely able to do the most basic of work.Our host was training us to form and shape us to the best possible version and taught us so many new tactics and views. Our dear host is so noble and selfless that he even taught us the weak spots of the human body by letting us attack him repeatedly, even when he was spilling his blood left and right he did not stop, all that for the sake of our growth. They were just natures laughing stock before, they were eaten and toyed with, yet they had no idea how to defend themselves, they had to sacrifice in order to buy time, such a humiliation. But their host gave them hope, a new way to fight everyone who used to oppress them. He taught them the strength of teamwork, he strengthened them by letting them eat the monsters he personally killed without expecting anything in return. He saved our queen, by letting her be part of his very own body. He is their saviour when their times were dire. So why were they abandoned? They came to the only logical conclusion it must have been because they were way too weak and would not grow unless they the had to fight for their lives. So our merciful and magnanimous lord wanted just the best for us. We have to honour him and our queen from that day onwards they vowed to not be a burden anymore, so they began to seek out enemies to fight left and right to get stronger and improve. Even if they had to die that would only prove that they not worthy enough. At first, they struggled with catching small creatures but after grouping up they began to secure them as a source of food. Then came the bigger animals, they were forced to the tactics they learned. They took advantage by hiding carcasses of much smaller prey to get into their body to eat them from the inside. The more monsters they ate the stronger and more durable they became. If at first, it took groups of 100 ants to kill asingle wolf in afair fight then after consuming so much prey the number began to dwindle down to 50.Soon the potential prey became less and less because each monster takes a certain time to respawn and always does so at random place, that is why their harvest was not as good as in the beginning. So they began their attack practice by targetting everything visible and after thousands off attacks the first tree fell and due to their previous lifestyle, they were even able to convert a tree into resources for their transformation. That new found knowledge led to such deforestation, that the ecosystem would fall if this game would take trees as more then just ambience. After not seeing any more prey in their target area, they began to focus on finding prey underground. They began to hunt moles, earthworms, their primitive cousins, the Impotant, an ant race knowing for its low fertility rate. They began to eat everything, tree roots, rotten carcasses of animals, the excrements left behind. Even the Earth itself if they did not find anything else. After every creature is being killed upon sight, the surface cleared of everything once it appears anew and everything consumed that returns in the earth underground. After having cleared all those obstacles they began to focus on a very special battlefield. By using a tactic they copied from their host, they were capable of fighting flying animals. There were propelling ants into the air, via a custom slingshot made by a thick thread of their produced silk. Even though it took many tries until they achieved results, they still got more and more efficient in this kind of combat. They were not able to cover a very big area, because due to the limited number of bugs and their refusal in splitting up too far, that means that at first, their hunting grounds were abysmal. But they were able to expand their range after their queen sends a new batch of ants. Those ants were different when the usual ones. If the first version was a warrior ant this one was the worker ant. Any sane person would assume that the worker ant was responsible for collecting materials and redistributing them, though this assumption is only partly correct. These ants were so small, that it was close to impossible to see them with the naked eye if one was not paying attention. After seeing a warrior ant they began to crawl inside of them. It was their job, to take the nutrients from everything that was suitable. To produce more worker ants and to increase the production level. Therefore they began, to crawl out of the warrior nagant after they killed their prey. Even though the ants were not getting stronger that way, they still were able to hunt and collect many different things and the queen began the ordeal of producing thousands and thousands of little worker ants.After the gathering process got more and more efficient and the constant stream of needed resources was consumed faster and faster, the queen was forced to create more warrior nagants aswell. But while the queen was busy, covering the whole world with her children, their host was currently training his resistance to poison. Truly our selfless guardian even training, when he should be resting. While their area began to expand a fateful encounter happened. A single ant missed the flying prey it aimed for and was thrown onto a human being. This human being was quite perplexed not expecting such an attack, after realizing that it was just a mere nagant, he began to laugh and gave the bleeding wolf in front of him the finishing blow. Exploiting the carelessness. the nagant began its charge and aimed at the vulnerability it learned. After completing the sneak attack successfully, the human began to reassess the situation that was currently occurring, but during this surprising revelation, the men caught another offensive attack to his groin. Gritting his teeth he began to throw a weak fire spell onto the nagant in his fury. Even though he was just a nobody, he took proud in being an explorer in this strange world and discovering secrets. To his surprise, the magic had next to no impact and the nagant began to attack once again. The men tried once again to kill it with fire magic while dodging the charge. Trying to suppress the pain, that was currently growing stronger and stronger in his nether region, he was forced to realize that he had no way to actually hurt this little, pitiful ant. The mere thought of fleeing from such a battle was dismissed as soon as it came up. He would rather die, then escaping such a creature and if he had to go down fighting he would take as much punishment as possible. A great man does not flee in the face of adversity he faces everything head on. He only endured 3 more hits before succumbing to the wave of attacks but as he was consumed there was a strange smile on his face as if he had a very good idea. Though the ants could not care and consumed him down to the very bone.before eating even them. That was the first encounter, but more and more men came and began to fight with nagants, if they threw magic spells at first, they all began to just stand still and let the ants charge at their target spot over and over again. The more men came, the more ants became confused, why was their archnemesis not fighting them and instead of letting them target their weaknesses. They did not know whether this was a custom way for humans to pay their respect or whether those humans have lost their will to fight, after witnessing their strength. But as time passed the humans began to show more and more tenacity, it felt like their pride was shattered and they had to regain it at all costs, even though that only lead to the bugs being infuriated, because those humans were refusing to fight them and then showing no reactions to their attacks. After being infuriated the bugs, started to attack with much more vigour and increased the velocity of their attacks to punish the foolish humans. Both sides began to strengthen the resolve of the other side by not giving in and pushing themselves to the very limit. Neither was willing to back down and the standoff continued. If at first there was only one ant, then more and more ants began to join the fight. The worker ants were busy transporting the nutrients to their host body to strengthen it. While the fight for superiority was still raging on, 3 girls were currently sneaking and scouting their surroundings. Yet they did not find anything. They did not find other players, animals, monsters, they did not even find a single tree. They were expecting a vibrant green environment not a barren land. It was so silent, that it could have been mistaken for a graveyard. Even the ground itself was looking lifeless, it was as if something had sucked every little life out of it. If at first there was only a slight confusion, the more area they explored the more irritated they got. They could even see the landscape rebuilding but as soon as they even become visible again another area gets bulldozed. It was as if the system was torn between deciding how the landscape is supposed to look.The worst thing was they kept observing a single area, but yet the could not even see anything at all happening, while the landscape in front of them was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye. As much as they wished that their eyes were playing a sick twisted prank on them, the reality was that the only thing perfectly normal in this situation was their eyes. After being a witness to this eerie spectacle, they finally were able to witness the perpretator of this spectacle. It was a little bug so little that their brains did not even realize their existence for the longest time but those bugs were like an endless abyss and consumed everything that was in front of them. Then it hit them, the ground they were walking on, was no ground at all, it was a nearly endless amount of those little bugs. After using their specific strongest magic spells, they watched hopelessly as the spot that was just cleared off bugs became shrouded with bugs in mere seconds again. After trying to change that outcome, they soon were forced to realize that no matter what they do all their effort will remain fruitless. Curses, were heard, as the girls began to doubt whether the game engine still was functioning in a correct manner or what the thought process behind creating such a nuisance was.They were cursing the game developers for having lost their grip on reality. There had to be a purpose for all the madness that was currently happening in front of their eyes, but no matter how hard they tried, in a game that claims to offer a realistic experience, the chaos in front of them was everything but logical. While for some the world was becoming a twisted mess others were still busy trying to break the record that now reached a staggering amount. Someone endured an onslaught of 110 attacks to his groin. This was now the definition of true balls of Steel. Yet the person responsible for creating such a mess was still unconscious and even if he woke up, he still would have no explanation for what was currently happening. He was busy having a very strange dream... -- 32 Ants Adventure 3 I found myself stuck in a strange place. There was no permanent space or shape, just a vivant changing the mix of different colours. There was no rhyme or reason to the specific order the colours appeared in. While I was busy soaking in the whole spectacle happening around me a strange voice resounded. " Sorry you forced me to chime in, otherwise you would probably end up being way too emotional once again. We do not have the time for you having another emotional meltdown and blaming yourself/the world/the Others or really any other stupid shit you could come up with, it certainly does not help your current situation. "Looking at that dumbfounded expression of yours in order to not waste any more precious time, I decided to answer your questions in such a manner that you will not start to overanalyze every single thing and start a spiral wherein the end you once again end up with another meltdown. I will make it so easy, that even you and your little monkey brain can understand it. I am something whose existence was unknown for many aeons. Or do you think such a stupid ant is able to develop that level of intelligence just by using your body as a nest? It was thanks to me, improving its development over and over again, adapting each and every change. I am also the one responsible for the conversion of data into something suitable for the mess that you call your body. All that was only possible due to that ant using you as their nest, I was lying dormant inside of the ant and after linking with your body, I awoke for the first in a very long time." - I am quite confused here, if you are speaking the truth that you were lying dormant in these ants, then why are you even in this man-made world in the first place, I doubt that the technological level on here is good enough to create something that is capable of analyzing and improving creatures, after all, you are something that inhabits creatures that are nearly incapable of using mana. " What an interesting observation you did make there, you deducted correctly that I can only live in animals that are unable to use mana, yet most animals developed with the mana over time and that left me, a relic of the old times, stuck on those stupid ants. Then you came in, inside of you exists some sort of matter that I have not seen in all of the times I have been wide awake. Your body seems to have never been in contact with any magic before, I would go as far as to say, that part of you seems to have taken a much more different path, a path without any mana. And that strikes me as quite strange, even though most of your body, has next to no ability to wield mana, without any god opening your mana channels, the little part of you without any interference of mana is like the perfect fit for someone like me. That is why I am even talking to you in the first place, otherwise, I would not spend any more time with such an emotional moron." - I am sooooo glad, to make your acquaintance Mr or Ms.freeloader. My life before knowing you were so devoid of any meaning and purpose but once you appeared in front of me, every doubt was cleared. You are my light, in my world full of darkness. " I did not know you were so sophisticated and able to determine my merit after seeing me for the first time, at first I had my doubts whether a measly human was worth all the effort I put in and after talking to you I am finally sure. It was totally not worth it. - The human kind developed for millions of years, conquering many hazardous places and making them suitable for living, driven to the brink of extinction multiple times, yet prevailed. They survived bigger and stronger predators, survived the change of times. They developed tools to fly out of their planet, developed tools to harvest energy nuclear energy and even created weaponry that threatens to change the landscape of the planet for millions of years, all that development and now I am busy here talking to a parasite. " Though I did not understand half of what you just said, I still feel that its purpose was to insult me.But how does a mere monkey even dare to compare to a superior lifeform like me? -Quick tell me, you call yourself a superior lifeform, but at the moment you are forced to rely on so-called lower lifeforms to even survive, does that not make you even lower then such a life form? Furthermore, if you based your feeling of superiority on the ability to change the nature of life, then is magic not way superior in general being able to freely shift and change its nature for the specific purpose it is needed for? " How dare you question my superiority, I have seen the cruellest most vicious creatures that ever graced this planet. Those creatures would kill every living thing today with ease. There is simply no way to question their superiority they achieved thanks to me. - And yet the still went extinct, you did such a good job there, with or without you nearly everything out of that age either adapted or died. Face it, magic is vastly superior on its own, even if you can adapt the potential of a body to its best possible state, you will ultimately still fail to reach the same usefulness as magic. You will not be able to as versatile nor be able to be able to be used by everyone. While specialisation may be a good alternative path, in the end, the magic will have covered way more ground while you focus on just a single spot. " Pathetic excuses, you are talking to a nearly omnipotent being, with its only limit beingthe shallow resources he can work with, why should I be in any way inferior to magic?" - Easy for you to say, but waiting till the end of times to find that one little sample that makes you superior really does make you inferior in any other situation besides that special case. So you will always be inferior unless a miracle happens and judging by all the different samples you had over the years by now, the odds do not seem to go in your favour. "What qualifications do you and your pitiful species even have to judge me? You are not even able to wield mana, do you want to fight them with your body alone, you whole species would be eradicated by 5-year-olds. Did anyone of your species live as long and saw as much as I did? Is anyone capable of changing and perfecting those creatures as much as I can? If I who spend all that time and effort surpassing magic have not found any viable solution, then what gives you filthy monkey the gall to judge me? - Ignoring the level of ego behind that statement of yours, I want to unveil the misconception you are having till now. We, humans, are at the top of the food chain, but the times where we were relying on our body alone, where the times when we were not at the top. We are the product of a concept we call evolution. It is the idea, that only the adapted animal will procreate and any other creature will get eliminated due to several factors. We are still part of this process, but what makes us different is that we do not adapt to nature, we adapt nature to suit our needs. You need wind magic to fly, we use tools to create something that relies on natures principles to fly. You want to set something aflame, we simply generate heat in a simple fashion without mana. " And you make fun about my level of ego, claiming to be the one bending the nature to suit your needs is something so ridiculous that it seems like a badly fabricated lie to every sane person. Even I know that this world we live in is created by the gods. Mana is in everyone and everything, even in a little nagant, though the amount is so pitiful that I can still survive in it. The gods gave us the mana after the humans here proved themselves worthy. You tell me, you as a human are able to bend and design nature to suit your own business. This world that was a creation of the almighty glorious Gods. Do not forget we are just data, the only difference is that we both developed some sort of self-awareness and listening to your useless argumentation I get the feeling that you were just programmed to think that the human race developed that way, to give even such a useless creature like you a feeling of pride" - Big talk, for such a superior being, that is just data like me. But you are ignoring one significant circumstance, why is there something inside of me, that seems to be foreign even for you? That raises the question in a world made by the Gods, something that shares no interaction with mana seems to be impossible to exist and yet here I am. That leaves only one conclusion open even though you might have never thought about such an idea even being an option. To be fair, magic was just a fantasy for me as well but here I am. " Such a nice but yet stupid claim to make. Claiming to be a manmade invention that consists out materials that were not created by gods. I am afraid that if you talk any more of such blasphemous words, the anger of the Gods will smite you." - Now I know why you are incapable of beating mana, if your imagination is really that limited and even after telling you so many details of concepts that must seem foreign to you, lead to such a conclusion, then the war is lost before it even began. Have you considered, that this might not be the only place, where gods are active? Have you considered that those Gods could have created worlds just like the one you are living on but on that planet, everything is totally different? Now imagine this with an unlimited amount of created worlds. And to destroy your worldview, even more, imagine there is a world that was created without any influence of your so-called Gods. That was my birthplace. Glad to make your acquaintance. In this world, you may call me Moirai. A long silence was the response. It was the first time in its history, that it truly felt unable to find the right words. It was a concept so absurd, that the idea alone, would be enough to declare someone insane on the spot. It was an understatement that the impact of this explanation being true would destroy everything he deemed worthwhile. After enough time had passed and it had returned to a state that was as calm and objective as possible given the circumstances it began anew. " Even though the time we can spend here is limited and I wanted to tell you something very different, I am forced to admit that I had expected many things but not something like this. I am currently linked to every normal part of your body and able to influence and shape it the way I want it. The problem is even after trying to connect with your "otherworld" matter, I still fail to do so. It seems to me that as long as you do not want me to connect to it, I will not be able to make the best out of you. So would you please let me in, I promise I will not do anything harmful to you. - What do you take me for? right now I am a treasure trove for you, if I gave in and let you into my consciousness you would just as well take it over and extract any kind of knowledge I have. " You are not wrong, but I wanted to earn your trust at first, to learn a bit more about your body. -At least you are brutally honest, I can respect that about you, but the answer is a big fat no. Right now you are just a little Child that found a new toy, that will be discarded once you found a new shiny toy. You saved my life, therefore I owe you something, but that does not imply that I have to give up my whole self just to satisfy that craving of yours. For the time being work with and with my knowledge and tools and your ability to change my body, we will surpass magic. We are even after we have accomplished that, do we have a deal? "It is not like I have very much other options to choose from. So why bother presenting me the illusion of choice then. We have a deal, as time is almost over now, let me tell you one thing, the magic you have seen till now just barely scratches the surface, the road ahead of you will end in your death without a doubt, are you still willing to undertake it, if not just hand over your body, I will make something glorious out of you. -Fearmongering, in the end, you ran out of options to get me to hand over my body and resounded to such a tactic? How pitiful. If I will ever find you again, I hope you got used to your situation, because right now I am the only hope for you to achieve your goal. SoI am not the one who needs you, you are the one who needs me for his sake. Get used to this state, otherwise, you will have a tough time here with me. ------- As the image of the little monster faded, a moment passed until suddenly the silhouette of a little ant appeared, it was the queen ant. *He is quite an interesting fellow, even though I still struggle whether to call him a whiny bitch or a masochistic brute. Sorry, but I am in doubt that he bought your excuse of surpassing magic as your motivation. As taking over his body does not look achievable now, what should we do?* " At first let us just observe what he is planning, you will act as a way to communicate between the two of us. Secondly, take note of what this human is doing, there must be quite some things that he did not tell me about. Last but not least I have to admit, it sucks to know that right now we are just data and are stuck with this fate. My main purpose was to take over a body and to be able to go into the real world that way, yet the only suitable subject we found is an irregularity just like us. Seems like this encounter truly was fateful. Even if that means that we will be stuck in this world till the End of times. " "Well then there is only one thing left to do, make the most out of it and I have a funny feeling, that the madness we created by nowis only the prelude" 33 Hitting with rock bottom After waking, up a wave of confusion hit me, where is the usual splitting headache, nausea, the feeling of your stomach churning? I felt weirded out waking up normally, there was no feeling of exhaustion, no injuries that needed be taken care of. It felt like I was in a normal body for once, but after remembering all the things that happened to me by now, I quickly erased any notion of such thoughts out of my brain.Shaking my body, I do not notice anything different, everything still felt the same as usual. Though after trying to stand up and wanting to take some steps I found myself unable to even take a single step forward. Responsible for my current situation was 2 thin threads, that were coming out of my 2 hands, they were connected with 2 rocks, even though those rocks were just as big as a typical soccer ball, they still were much heavier. Moving every muscle in my body, I still find myself unable to even move a step forward. I can already imagine the gloating expression on the ant queen. I told you so, your idea to use rocks in a manner like that is just a pure waste of time. See, I am grateful, that you prepared and split the who rock into suitable pieces of rocks for me. But did they have to pick stuff with such a high density? This feels like pure iron.Moving towards one rock, I try to lift it up. I was able to lift it up, by using both arms and even then just barely. 40 Kilogramm, are these ants mental, even with an improved body, how am I supposed to work with that. Since it dawned on me, that I would not be able to move very far in the near future, I began to search my surroundings. What I noticed left me quite baffled.The ground was covered with little ants as far as I could see, each and every one of them was looking at me as if they were expecting from me. After letting go of the rock I have been holding, it crashed into the earth. But the ants were not scared at all. Some ants began to crawl to me and into my mouth and soon after I felt refreshed once again. Having done their job, the ants left my mouth again and crawled into the horde of ants again. The realisation struck me full force, seems like I am expected to train till exhaustion and then the bugs bring me nutrition to fix my muscles and bring my body back to its full capacity to once again train till exhaustion. I have not done anything yet and the whole body began to shiver regarding the upcoming training session, I would rather refer to it as training torture. It is not possible to escape from this situation unless I get strong enough to be able to carry those rocks with me. That marked the beginning of my hellish training torture. At first, I started by switching between push-ups and lifting the rock with much struggle over and over again. Due to my prior training session, I was barely able to do 15 push ups in a row, which seems like an impressive feature given that I am still in the body of a baby, but given the task that is looming in front of me, numbers like that are just pitiful. Push up after push up, pitiful attempts to lift and hold the heavy stone passed until a small mistake took place as I was unable to hold the rock and it slipped out of my hands crashing my right food. Looking at the bloody stump that once was my right food, Ifelt perplexed I was expecting a much more painful sensation, instead, I got nothing. Using the moment, to fix my muscle tissue and the exhaustion in my body, I noticed that my foot was fixed as well It even increased slightly in size. Having found a new a way to further strengthen my body, I began to inflict serious injuries to my feet over and over again, until they were not crushed by the impact of the stone. In the meantime, I was able to increase the number of repetition up to 40 and I was able to pull one rock in a fluent manner. To increase the difficulty I decided to only use one arm for push-ups now and to lift the stone with just one hand. At first, it felt like I was beginning where I started because my form and the number of repetition was abysmal, it felt like all the strength I had, was just a mere illusion and I was once again forced to face reality, that by no means I am yet to face this world head-on. So I continued to train, switching between the arms, further strengthening them. Then I began to put a rock on my back and continued my push-ups exercises. The struggle and continuous tearing of muscles began anew. If I fell down due to total exhaustion, everything got healed again and I started the routine again. As I was able to do this with 2 Hands, I began to switch between the 2 arms. Then I started with 2 heavy rocks on my back and the ordeal happened once again. To be able to fight with those 2 rocks I need to strengthen my legs as well, that lead to me lifting the rocks and trying to move with them. Although I was barely able to move with them, I continued to do so. After exhausting myself numerous times that wayI began to do squats and to jump after each repetition. Further increasing the likelihood of my being able to actually fight with these kinds of things. I was switching as fast as possible to try and get more endurance that way. Another method of training I added was throwing the rocks away as far as I could, until the force was propelling me forward, to counteract this kind of movement I began to try and pull it into the opposite direction, leading to some questioning results. I lost count how often I nearly tore my arm off or learned to fly with a dubious expression on my face or got my skull cracked open because of the rock smashing back into my face with full force. I seriously underestimated how elastic this thread can be. But even though it did not look graceful, I began to get accustomed to it sooner or later. And on the plus side, my face is so thick now that barely anything can hurt me now, or at least I hope so. I was switching between all those exercises to strengthen my body all around. I also did Hand-stand push-ups while balancing the rocks on my feet. I trained my abs by doing crunches and smashing the rocks into my abs with full speed in between different sets. Although blood began to fly around at first, I did not care and continued with the improvement of my body. After doing this continuously, I lost count how often, I did what or how much I was able to do. I just trained till I collapsed and fell over and got back up after my treatment. I was strangely focussed and caught in this constant training. I did not notice anything else, I did not see the ants anymore, norI did I take notice of the sky or the air. TIme itself passed without me noticing it. There was just my body and those rocks. It somehow felt like, that those rocks that once were foreign to me, became more and more part of my body. It felt like an extension to my arms. Throwing just random punches in the air, feeling the movement of the rocks and guiding them, reminded me of a certain theme song of a boxer running up the stairs. Ironically the name was the thing I am currently pulling with me. After finishing yet another set, I finally stopped to admire the results, only to notice that in my trance-like state, several things have gone haywire. While nothing particularly changed, the scary part is what exactly was around me. At first, there were those bugs around me, no big deal at first. But then I began to see into the distance and I still saw an endless tide of ants, what exactly did happen here, something must have taken place in the time I was unconscious. I just noticed that I have begun to just accept the things that were happening around me without even thinking about them. In a world where magic exists, everything seems possible somehow. Several questions began to flood my mind. How long was I unconscious for, why did the queen produce that many small ants? Why is there no forest around me anymore? How could they guess what the plan for my weapon was like this? Why did this stuff go unnoticed, as far as I can see there is no vegetation left? What happened to my little dumb ants? As I was moving forward, the sea of ants made way for me. I felt like the bug version of Moses as the sea of ants parted for me. But I had no time to waste thinking about any more fitting comparison because the whole situation was looking like a time bomb ready to explode any second now. I called for the queen ant to appear and she listened to my call for once. Seems like today is my lucky day, I looked at her directly and began to speak to her, I began to question what was going on here. But she just stared at me, yeah those bugs do not speak English or German and I can not speak the language that is spoken here, I even forgot what they called it. I ordered the only thing I could do non-verbal, I pointed at the ants in front of me and pointed into the distance. As much as they helped me, walking around with them, just gathers more trouble and attention and I do not want to walk around with these ants pointing out my general location. After pointing into the distance in a confident manner, the queen finally got my intention and the sea of ants began to disperse. As more and more ants passed, the destroyed forest began to resurface again. At least I have somewhat of a cover like that, even though there is no way I will be able to avoid conflict with those Chosen Children. At least some of them must have noticed the whole shitshow that went down here. I have zero clues how much area those ants harvested for gathering the necessary nutrients for them and myself but I do want to know how they were able to kill players especially, after all the strange entity is only able to change that kind of data, into a substance that strengthens my body. This can only mean the public eye knows of those bugs. As I walked onwards through the forest that was repairing itself visible to the naked eye, I saw an old acquaintance. In front of my eyes, there was a lone wolf, looking at me with gluttonous eyes. It seemed much more threatening before, seems like I was just caught off guard in the last fight and won by a fluke in the end. I have to apologize I promised you a good fight, but right now is not the right time for that. So excuse me, for what I am about to do. The right hand smashed the forward aiming at the head of the wolf, even though the wolf dodged it with ease, having taking advantage of the forward movement, the left rock is thrown in half-circle accelerating more and more and finally smashed into the hind leg of the wolf crippling it by sheer force. The wolf failed to anticipate the trajectory, it did not take notice of the fact the rocks are tied to a thread.Not waiting for the wolf to catch its breath, the right hand began to throw the rock into the air. Taking advantage of the wolf being stunned, I began to pull it down and with the help of gravity. After hearing the noise, of a skull, cracking, I knew that the fight was already over. As a token of respect, I lifted both arms yet again and smashed them down on its head with my full force, giving it a quick death. The ant queen suddenly appeared and was collecting some brain matter of the wolf. If I had to take a guess, the parasyte is currently getting samples again, but alas that is not my problem. I waited for a bit, but then whistled at the queen, which looked at me in an annoyed fashion, but unwillingly jumped onto my shoulders again, enjoy the scenery. I have nearly every problem solved, I can defend myself, at last, have a way to constantly improve myself with these ants, yet I do lack one thing. I still haven''t found a way to cover my private parts. Seems like it is my fate to fight and die as an exhibitionist. The wandering Pervert. I could only stare down in shame, sighing about how unfortunate I was. The queen ant, looked at me and without missing the opportunity brought me something, that I did not expect to exist here. It was a real pair of jeans, a real pair. I wanted to embrace the queen for her generosity, but upon me approaching the queen, she retracted the jeans and refused to hand it over to me. Seems like there is no free bread, even in this world. So I waited for her to stand her conditions. Upon noticing that I understood, she just did one thing, she spits out the small pieces of the wolf she collected before. All I should do is collect more samples, then we have a deal. I nodded at her and without missing a heartbeat the brain matter was slowed once again and the queen disappeared into my mouth before I even could realize what has happened. Putting that felt oddly familiar, but I could not pinpoint what exactly felt so familiar. It felt like a second layer of skin. I was grateful, that I am not exposed anymore, but the speculation that the knowledge of my previous world, got into the hands of that entity. At least I hope, he was only to see into my lingering wishes. Otherwise, I am afraid, that if that entity, becomes an enemy at any point in the future, my demise is already set in stone by then. Wait if I remember correctly, at first he did not buy my story of being from a different planet, so, for now, it seems that I am safe, but I have to be careful what to tell him. Moving forward, it is time to collect some samples for the queen, maybe I will even get a t-shirt that way. ---------------------------------------------------------- Not even 5 minutes later, a group of 3 female girls appeared. They seemed to be worn out. " I have no clue for how long we have been searching already, we have been killing these little ants for days and yet there was no end to them, but then suddenly they disappear from the face of Earth as if they had not even existed in the first place. How convenient. So now everything returns back to the way it used to be is that not totally great.All that struggle and we have not found a single trace of the bug-boy. At this time even another player here would be a godly gift in my eyes" Claudia said sarcastically, stretching her weary bones. Instead of an answer, she saw that Samanthas expression turned serious in the blink of a second. Samantha gestured the two of them to be quiet, as she slowly closed in on a wolf, that looked to be sleeping in the near distance. After slowly stalking it, she began readied her magic and was aiming at its lying but soon she retracted her spell. With a solemn expression, she began to look at the corpse of the wolf. The wolf was in a near perfect condition if you disregard the missing head and the totally disfigured hind leg. " Claudia, I have good news, this wolf did not die to another monster. Its wounds are way too focused. If a monster kills another monster you can see traces of a fight happening. But just by looking at this corpse, that both wounds are vulnerabilities of the wolf. Even the blood itself has not dried yet, that means we are pretty close to whoever killed this beast. But I have to advise you guys to be careful, these wounds do not look clean, so it''s unlikely that bug-boy killed that thing. No, it was killed by pure and raw violence. That means, that the perpetrator is either a player that reinforces his body with magic, but those kinds of monsters take decades to train to such a level to be that capable, so we can safely ignore that option. That leaves us with only one conclusion, we are nearing something pretty dangerous." So stay together and be wary of any change, we have to be really careful in front of such a being. Dear sisters, the endgame of our Hunt has started, let us kill that damn thing and then boast about it. IF you want to reach a good ranking, killing such a creature will surely you net you the very first place in the ranking. Erasing the current feeling of uneasiness that came up after analyzing the corpse of the wolf, they began to search their surrounding for their prey in anticipation. It would not take long, till the found the next lead and they came closer and closer... 34 Rocks vs Magic The girls had no hard time catching up with their prey after all the only the thing they had to do was follow the trail of chaos and dead wolves. All those corpses were killed in a very efficient way, they cause of death was always a blunt trauma, to the head. The girls got more and more active, as they came closer and closer. As the body count of dead wolves reached close 50 wolves, they finally found the source. Looking at the fight that was currently happening in front of them, they were baffled by the strange weapon, if you even call something like that a weapon, is used.2 Rocks are smashing through the air and directed at the wolf who was currently trying to escape, after the rest of the wolfpack died. As it turned out their target was just another human. He was slightly taller than Samantha, his body was really muscular and judging by his frame alone, they were not sure who they should call the monster here. His frame was twice as big as any men they had seen before. His whole body was shining due to sweat and blood that covered it. Without any suspense, he directed the threads and crushed the wolves head. He calmly walked up to it looking at the damage he caused before slowly turning his head around facing towards us, who have kept watching while staying as hidden as possible. We emerged out of cover and walked towards the man. There was a slight disappointment lingering in the air, that this adventure ended in seeing amere human fight against wolves. Still, it was quite rare to see a Human NPC this far out in the Wilds. That is why they were willing to show him their goodwill and not killed him right on the spot. " Hello fellow brethren, what are you doing here so far away from your friends and family," Samantha said courteously but the man just stared at them without giving any kind of response "Is he mute or something? "Eve muttered " Showing us contempt, when we try to talk to him nicely, it is no wonder humans are so inferior" All out of a sudden an a sword made out of ice, passed by the head of the man. "Answer her you filthy creature" Claudia screamed at the men, whose expression has yet to change. " Answer her" The feeling of uneasiness Samantha had suppressed earlier on, came back stronger than ever, but she did not feel any kind of dangerous vibe from this men. His face was quite strange It did have any resemblance to the rest of the NPCs that they saw. His brown eyes just kept on looking at them waiting for what kind of action they would end up picking. " I am not here to hurt or steal anything from you, all I want is some information, afterwards we will just go, nobody has to get hurt here." Samantha tried to persuade, the unknown men, even if she had to threaten him in order to reach her goal. But to no avail the men did not move on an inch, did not react to any of their words. " We are you trying to negotiate with a monkey?" Just kill and move on. Eve said with a sweet smile on her face. She was ready to attack if Samantha gave her a sign. "Why are you contemplating about such an easy decision, that is so unlike you Sam?" Without waiting for the decision, she began to throw a windblade at the men. That marked the moment, where they saw the men react for the first time, the man was showing a disappointed expression on his face. After the wind blade hit him, without even any attempt of dodging, a little bit of blood was spilling out of the small wound. Nearly at the same time, many small yet sharp ice particle hit his flesh and left many small holes all over his torso. Even after the 2 attacks hit him the man did not move. Claudia and Eve began to laugh and pointed their fingers at him. " Look he is so afraid he can not even move right now and he could not even dodge such a weak spell. Come on, will ya at least show us some pitiful screams full of agony, we want to be entertained here" Claudia said with a gaze full of contempt. The men opened his lips for the first time, but they were left dumbfounded to hear a language, they had never heard before. The man was pulling the rocks to himself in a composed manner. While Eve and Claudia were busy daydreaming about the upcoming fun. Samantha made a shocking observation, that they did not pay any attention to before. A normal NPC gets nearly cleaved in half when the wind blade connects but this one did not even try to dodge like the others. A slow yet mighty attack left only a shallow wound on his body. After the men had finally grabbed his rock again, a slight smile became visible on his face. Without any kind of warning, as Samantha just barely managed to cast an ice-wall to shield the daydreaming eve. But before she could start the offensive she had to cast another Ice-wall to save her Sister from an attack that came straight from above. The trio realized that this would not be as easy as the expected it to be. So the began to focus, the man was currently just 2 meters away from them. After pulling one rock away, he used the produced force to dodge the next wave of attacks that were targeted at his previous spot. They are currently working in a formation, Eve uses her wind spells to keep the movement of the enemy in check, while Claudia is trying to use her magic in pincer attacks to corner the enemy, while Samanthas job was to attract the attention of the enemy and to keep him busy as to provoke mistakes.It is a really strong tactic against creatures relying on their instincts, but they were not fighting an animal. He kept on dodging every attack that came at him, after setting up another pincer attack. Samantha used her magic to create a solid layer of ice so that he loses his footing. Claudia and Eve combine their magic, they speed the mana small ice particle up by empowering it with wind magic. While his escape should have been impossible he simply smashed one of the rocks into the solid layer of ice, while throwing the other rock in front of him he used that rock as a solid surface to jump on and used the force of the other rock to escape the attack. It was only a question of time before they would find an opening to exploit, but before they were even able to find it, something unexpected happened. The men once again used an overhead attack, to try and attack Eve, but Eve having blind trust in her teammates began to throw the next wave of attacks without even trying to dodge and the shield was erected right over her head. But the man did not even pay attention to the trajectory, because his true intention was the rock he had thrown to Claudia. Having seen through his feint, Samantha hurried and managed to create a thick ice wall in front of her sister, blocking the attempt to get rid of her sister. But only after hearing, a shrill scream and the sound of a human skull shattering, did she realize that she walked right into the trap that the men created. At first, he waited and tested out which ability each one of us has then he began to "fight" in our formation to see who has which job, then he just waited till we reached afalse sense of security, before viciously taking advantage out of the gap he found. As Eve was feeling safe, behind my ice- wall he pulled the first thread back to himself and then pushed it back with his foot creating a straight trajectory that killed Eve on the spot. Without wasting any time the men closed in on Claudia, throwing both of the rocks in a half circle at her. Samantha decided to use her magic to block both of them but did not expect that this attack was another fluke, as he pulled both threads back and lunged himself into melee range that way. Then he threw two strong punches onto her ribcage, instantly piercing her heart. She was dead on the spot and he used the weight of the rocks to dodge the attack from Samantha by propelling himself backwards. On Samantha''s face was no sign of worry, it was the total opposite a feeling of elation became visible as she tied her long hair into a bun." I have to thank you, for getting rid of those 2 nuisances. Besides you fooled me quite well, you are not an NPC you are a player that is trying to beat me in a fight. The normal NPC here is way too stupid to even hurt a single one of us after all. The challenge comes in handy I have to admit it was pretty boring not having any decent competition for a very long time. She waited for the other person to state his name, so they could begin fighting earnest but the man did not react again. Just staring at her, he waited for her reaction. But she just stared back at him, after all, its tradition that the challenger attacks first. The minutes passed without anything happening. Until the man began to walk up to her, holding out his hand to shake hers. She was perplexed what was he trying to achieve by doing that. She punched his hand away, without thinking too much about it. Afterwards, he went back to his previous spot and waited for her reaction. She realized that he was only trying to wish her luck for the upcoming duel. So she felt a little ashamed for jumping to action way too quickly. The men stared at her and for the first time, a genuine smile appeared on his face. Moving forward he began to run towards her, swinging his rocks around. So you want to see how far you will come just by relying on that melee skills of yours. You are quite an interesting fellow. She created hundreds of thick icicles and launched them at the men. The men tried to use the rocks to smash the projectiles but some of them ended passing through and dealing some serious damage. It was the first time, the man spat out some blood. But the man did not care he began to run at her once more, she created the same magic attack once again, but this time did the men try to keep on moving and destroying them one by one while trying to come closer to her step by step. " Your train of thought is not bad, but there is one critical flaw in your plan, it only works if I am only able to create it only once. Saying that the next wave of icicles came closer to the man, forcing him to back off again in order to dodge the onslaught of projectiles currently targetting him. "No matter what you do, I will always be able to stay out of your reachby keeping you distanced, so please use magic, even though I have no clue how your body was able to reach such a level, it alone will never be enough to beat me." That her usual way, she crushed the pride of every single person fighting for her hands. She let them try everything they could come up and showing the how wide the gap between them really is. But this kind of psychology had no effect on her enemy, he continued to sprint towards, she answered his futile effort the same way she did before. But this time the men did not wait for her to activate her magic before he threw his rock straight into the air. " Nice try, but I do not need my hands to cast ice-walls to shield me, but what she did not expect was that the rock was pulled back by its thread smashing only 1 meter in front of the men. The men began to sprint and threw the other rock into the air with all his force. He jumped on the rock currently located right in front of him and jumped over the next attack wave. He covered a long distance with the jump and used his moment to pull his stepping stone up with him and smash it down with his full force onto Samantha. Even though Samantha was stumped by the creativity, she did not panic and activated the next wave of sharp icicles and launched it at him, who was unable to dodge in any way now. After the bombardment hit him, he was finally close enough to actually damage her. This achievement came at a steep price currently his whole body was a mess, His blood was covering the whole place, Samantha would have never thought, that he would survive, a whole wave of her attack with his body alone. But her enemy did not wait and closed the gap of 10 meters in a flesh, even though he tried to throw several rocks all those were blocked by her with ease, On the other hand, he was pierced by several icicles again. It was a wonder, that the body was still working. After standing face to face with her he began to throw punches and kicks at her, but all she had to do was create a layer of ice under his feet to make those attacks useless. " A sigh escaped her lips, as much as I respect you for your unyielding spirit and tenacity. It seems like you are not good enough to be my man. Goodbye." She began to prepare a sword out of ice in her hand, its mere presence was chilling to the bone. The men threw the rock one more time aiming for her face, she dodged it with ease by sidestepping it and even after pulling the thread back and moving as close as possible to her she dodged it with ease by moving her head slightly. Feeling victorious, she began to look into the face of the men to savour the moment he realizes that there is no hope left. But she did not see the hopelessness she expected, she saw a cheeky grin. The stone came back with full force, but the men did not dodge he used his head to take the impact and then send it into her direction. She had no room to dodge, all she could do was create a small shield of eyes to block that attack. But that was to no avail the rock passed through the shield just barely and went straight at her head. The impact did not kill her but made sure that she was unconscious. The men turned his back at the battleground, gave one last glimpse at the strong beauty he was just barely able to beat. He moved into the forest, as far away as possible from the battleground. The beauty was shaken awake by her comrades that came after a long time. At first, she looked utterly confused, but upon realizing what happened, a smile appeared on her face. She looked really happy, even though none of her companions could understand why. After a while, Samantha told them the whole "truth" she found out. They were all complex why he would fight for her hand, yet not give him her name, But they were not worried after all, if he really was interested in her, he would appear in front of her sooner or later again. For them it did not matter whether they won or lost the fight, it was the enjoyment of their journey. And the victor was currently busy collecting enough samples to finally earn a t-shirt. They would meet each other again in the future. 35 Of Ice and Men As my body was slowly healing and mending the numerous wounds, I suffered in that fight, I started to ponder about my first encounter against magic.I have to remember that I am currently fighting against novices. While my cheap tricks and diversion may work against a group of people who underestimate their enemy and lose their focus if things become too dull. But if I ever would have to face, a squad of veterans I would be toyed to death by them. The sad thing is that if even a veteran squad as weak as the players I just faced can beat me, I do not want to imagine how strong a real veteran of war is. Watching the little ants systematically devouring every single object in the close vicinity, I started to worry how much had to be destroyed every time he would get hurt. Even though his body becomes slightly stronger after each wound he takes, he still gets hurt at the moment and that makes my body even more vulnerable in that fight. There was no feeling of actual risk in all of that fight, but at the end when I was about to give the finishing blow to that girl I was just barely able to beat, there was a very strong feeling of imminent doom if I were to get any closer, This lingering sensation, was so strong, that even I was shocked. I have seen many men and women, but this sensation was something otherworldly. So I threw one last glance at the sleeping beauty and got the hell out of there. The feeling of doom only disappeared after having moved away for close to 4 minutes. This lady is pure trouble, I will avoid her as much as possible. Come to think of it, I have killed my first 2 humans there. Normally there should have been some sort of emotional response. Be it disgust or even satisfaction, but there was just the confirmation in my head both of them died due to my hands. Well, maybe I am subconsciously aware, that they will respawn anyway. There is just no need to spill tears over such a silly topic. After 5 Minutes my body became whole again. After not looking like a humanoid version of swiss cheese anymore, I started to cover as much ground as possible, because the destruction left behind by my ants, is quite similar to a distress signal. But instead of help, it leads me into danger. I started to think about it, what the possible consequences of my actions are. The system has no direct influence on me, so I do not have to worry to be just deleted. But I don''t doubt that if anyone is able to link me to the whole shitshow that keep on happening around me, that they will try and find a way to get rid of me. I wish I had a way to understand them, without the help of the Observer, I am utterly lost in translation. The language barrier also leads to the escalation of the fight in the first place, so I either have to avoid coming into contact with other players or learn the language if I do not want to provoke everyone left and right. I mean they just could have asked how the weather is and the felt irritated because I just kept staring at them and did not answer at all. But in the end, regardless of the context they had the choice and decided to start the fight, even though I gave them plenty of time to reconsider their actions. Although I have to admit, fighting against the last lady, was really fulfilling. I hate to admit it, but there would be no winner at all in this kind of fight if I had avoided getting hurt. Also, it hurts to say so, but most likely I only won due to her not being serious from the start, I had the feeling as if she wanted to crush my illusion of being able to beat her no matter how hard I try. But if you play with fire you will end up getting burned sooner or later. As I was walking forward I came to the conclusion, that I have to fight many more times, to get stronger. I had to develop and heighten my senses, have to be able to fight for a long time, without losing focus in the mind, because the higher the stakes get, the more likely it is for one mistake to prove fatal. A fight against 3 little girls already proved to be this difficult and if I face enemies with a multitude of different spells, the things I have to be aware of add up quite fast. What if they had a water mage. Even if the water alone does not hurt me, but what if the water is combined with ice magic and wind? Can the freeze me on the spot if I am covered with water? Each battle has mana variables I have to know, before making a plan on how to fight them. Relying on basic instincts is only helpful if you want to escape or find a gap. If you want to win the war you have to be prepared. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a group of wolves stares at me viciously, tearing me apart with their eyes alone. But instead of starting to attack them, I waited for their attacks. I have to be able to dodge with my body as well, relying on my rocks to carry me into a direction, takes away many options to attack. It should only be used as a last resort. The wolves closed in on my growling and without waiting for any kind of response from my side they began to engage. When wolves hunt in a pack, they normally expect that their prey begins to run. They deal many small wounds, on the chase until the prey bleeds out. At least that is true for the wolves I knew from Planet Earth, but I have no clue where the similarities end. So I was extra careful and always had a way out in mind. One wolf started and aimed for my thigh, it was quite easy to dodge it, buy simply sidestepping it, without being able to execute this action safely, the next wolf began to aim at my torso, I was forced to divert its launch with my right hand, leading the wolf to hit nothing but air. Not even a single second passed, before the next wolf was already pouncing towards me, suppressing the urge to just kick the wolf right there, and decided to avoid it by jumping over it. But after landing 2 wolves started to attack simultaneously and I was forced to use my rock to get pulled out of that situation. Training like that is a lot more tedious, than I previously imagined, as soon there is some sort of coordination, my possible movements are getting less and less and right now I still am unable to react subconsciously that takes away precious time that would be needed to dodge. Iguess it is not enough to just dodge the attacks, the key to such fights is to anticipate their movements and move accordingly to get the most out of such a situation. So now I have to start and take notice of the group dynamic as well if every wolf moves according to a pattern, then the wolf who is going to attack becomes predictable. The wolves attacks also expect a certain kind of defensive movement and attack the weak point, that an evasive movement would produce. There is always a leader, who orders the wolf-pack. So I have to see, how they react to certain situations, even though that trial and error period will lead to some injuries here and there. But as long as I am covering my weak spots I do not have to be afraid of bleeding out. My body got much stronger since the last time I got bitten by a wolf, let me see how much damage they are still able to do to me now. During the time he was busy thinking, the wolves were already running towards him with full speed. I just barely dodged some of them, with the help of my rocks. After making several observations, I could deduce that it was nearly always the same wolves that attacked me. The Wolfpack consisted out 10 wolves. 4-5 Wolves were always attacking me keeping me busy, while 3 wolves were guarding the flanks keeping me in check if I wanted to run away from them.2 Wolves were standing in the back quietly observing my acts and if necessary ordered something with a low growl. This must be the Alpha-Wolf and highest ranked female wolf.Even though that information resulted in me getting some bite wounds here and there. But those were far from incapacitating me or hindering my movement. Having next to no pain response is quite helpful if you want to keep a calm mind. My methodology was quite crude and simplisitc. At first, I was just focussing on a single wolf as much as I could and observed what he was doing. After getting a simple overview of his general behaviour I began switch mine. I noticed how each wolf would react if I showed tendencies of panic, futile attempts to flee or aggression.As soon as my behaviour pattern changed into something unusual, the wolves began to wait for the order of their superior before continuing. That is why if there is a slight time gap, that can be taken advantage of. That is the difference between expectation and reality. So it was quite easy to deduce who the leader was. If the target of the wolves is in panic and moving irrationally their first target is to reduce the mobility of their prey. Therefore they aim at my legs. They position themselves in a manner that enables them to attack me no matter in which direction I try to flee. Though such a formation leaves quite a lot of space between each individual wolf. They compensate that deficit by being in constant motion and only making contact with the prey for a few seconds at a time , trying to create a small wound and then disengaging to let the next wolf attack. While the prey is under constant stress, the wolves take their time, wearing it down until it collapses due to utter exhaustion. It is an interesting concept, that takes advantage out of their numbers while not endangering themselves for too long. Though this is why they are so easy targets if you use magic against them. I did not sense any magic coming from them, in their world, they are already extinct. If they are still alive, then only due to mana changing their development drastically. It might just be a wolf in name only. But after having learned their group dynamic it was quite easy to dodge their attacks because their attack pattern while strange at first was now limiting their effectiveness. After dodging most of their attacks with next to no effort, I grew tired and started fighting back.The wolf was just preparing to attack my leg once again, was greeted by a rock violently heading for his head. Without any suspense, his head caved in and his body fell down devoid of any life. Before the rest of the wolves could react, the other rock claimed another life as well. The wolves did not even flinch after their comrades died hideously, they began to once again attack with the same pattern. That''s the limit to beasts, they can only resort back to the ingrained tactics.Wolf after wolf fell to the rocks, they did not recognize the danger that rock posed to them. But the more wolves I killed the more unease I feared as if someone was just waiting for the right situation, I had a hunch, that this fight was far from being over. Something began to itch on my skin, as if something was wrong, but I disregarded that feeling after all those wolves were no threat to me anymore. All out of the suddenI received to fierce bite wounds in each shoulder, disrupting my balance and pulling me down to the ground and one wolf was aiming for my throat intending to rip it apart. Caught by surprise, I found myself in this kind of predicament, the only option I had left was used my right leg and kick the wolf with all my might. The wolf yelped and flew 2 meters before coming to a standstill, not moving anymore, whether it was alive or not couldn''t be determined in the heat of the battle. The itching on the skin was right all along, those 2 vicious creatures used the same tactic that I did, a false sense of security really is deadly. He kicked both wolves away, some flesh came with their teeth. but their pain I felt was still bearable. Trying to use my arms I notice, that there is a slight delay due to damage to the nerves, without giving the wolves an opening to attack, I kicked the rocks at them hurting them, whenever they got hit. This kind of fighting was a lot more inefficient and messy, but far more brutal. As time passed and wounds were traded left and right, The wolves growled one last time before succumbing to their inner wounds. The queen ant escaped out of my mouth and began to get the samples with a speed I did not imagine to be possible and then escaped into my mouth before, I could even close it because I was that baffled. Well, I had to continue to move and heal on the way before I draw unnecessary attention, I want to catch a break sometimes as well. -------------------------------- As I embarked to my journey once again, Idid not notice that something dropped from a tree. The figure was swearing," They promised me that they use this poison to force even wild bears to sleep in seconds and yet even after I fired 10 shots into his body he still was not even affected in any way by it?" " At first my little boy-toy escapes and is unable to be found anywhere, then I find an interesting man that is capable of beating even the Icy Maiden without magic, just relying on his body alone. Then I decided to follow him, to see what he was doing. It was quite hard to follow him at first, he pays a lot of his attention on his surroundings, but after the forest was destroyed, I was able to easily spot him and follow him. Then all I had to do was wait for the right time and drug him, so he can be my toy alone, but why does every toy that I find interesting has to be so weird." Right now there is no way I can get him after all my magic is not suited for combat. Seems like I will have to keep my tabs on him after I do not like to share my toys with others. But it is strange that is the first human I found an interest in. The rest is just so plain boring. She disappeared and walked into the opposite direction but the time of conflict between these 2 was far from over. 36 DIY 1 After stumbling through the woods as the whole surrounding forest fell prey to little ants devouring them, in order to nurture me back to full health, I still can not get used to the widespread destruction after each fight I survive. But as much as I try to get used and get better at fighting, it feels like I am in shambles after nearly every fight I participate in. My body gets stronger and stronger the more I get hurt, but this only works if I am able to escape or win the fight and once again I can not fathom exactly how strong my body is. What happens if I stumble into someone who just uses fire magic to incinerate me directly? After experiencing getting pierced by ice magic, I noticed that even though my body is able to absorb magic, it is unable to influence the law of physics surrounding them. For example, even though I was able to weaken the potency of the magic, its property could not be changed by me. Once the magic interacts with the real world and gets turned into something tangible, I am able to absorb the potential energy residing in it, but I am still vulnerable to all physical aspects. If my hypothesis is true, that means every kind of magic can be deadly against me used in the right circumstances and if I can jump to such a conclusion in a matter of minutes, I doubt that those nutjobs are unable to do the same. I have no clue what kind of influence magic has on the laws of physic. Are they able to heat the surrounding air with their spells, if so does that interaction depend on the quality and purity of the mana, or is it limited by the amount of mana they pour in? Or are both of these factors at play here? I lack the theoretical knowledge of magic to determine, what is important in this process. And do not get me started linking this knowledge to the fact, that those powers might derive from their faith. I will not get any satisfying answer to this matter, in the near future. That is why I have to consider ways to counteract against the potential threats that magic poses to me. My defence against magic that threatens to pierce or cut me just depends on the quality of my skin and all it takes to improve that quality is to just injure the whole body over and over again, of course, I would have to wait for my body to be rebuild in between. Finding a method to deal with heat or cold is much trickier. I have no clue, how intense the flames are going to get nor do I have any way of knowing whether the magic is responsible for the transfer of heat or works as radiation influencing everything around it. In order to test some fundamental laws, It was unavoidable to use me as a test subject.Catching wildlife and experimenting on them would not help me unveiling the relationship between mana and this fabricated world. The problem was that this world always returned to its status quo. Destroy a tree, it will regrow sooner or later. So creating a fire, without mana as a primer was a race against time so that your resources do not disappear before you succeed. According to what I read about magic, It can turn into an element there is, though most devotees focus to on learning one kind of magic to the extreme. They insist on praying to an individual god and acting according to his faith, if the gods accept your devotion and virtue, your magic gets stronger. This theory seems a bit stretched in my eyes. After all, every human being is born with different potential, some can cast ice magic better than fire and so on. For that very reason, there are so many churches who develop their believers. Magic is even able to influence space and time as well, though that particular magic is very rare. If that claim is true, then I can only deduce that the laws of physics in this world differ a lot compared to the ones on Earth. But I just can''t lay a finger on how they are different. There is the same feeling of gravitational force, there is the same kind of heat or feeling of cold.I have to be very careful with my deductions here because I am stuck in a manmade world, that is a depiction of how the world was back then. Magic could have changed the world and the laws surrounding it fundamentally after all. I have not enough information to come up with a good explanation. I need to get back to the main point. What can I do to test the limit of my body? Do I seriously have to kidnap a player capable of fire magic, to test my body? It is so annoying that everything has to revert back after a certain time frame. It would be so easy if it just could remain permanent like my rocks or web. Wait a minute permanent? So the things that were made in or out of my body are able to exist in this world without being turned back. That means, that the rocks that are connected to me were made in my body as well. Even though that solves my current problem, it brought up many questions and concerns. I mean the rock feels like a rock, but if it was a rock than there would be no way it would stay in that shape. They could not have found it in the woods, after all, I did spend considerable time searching for rocks back then. This is the same for my jeans, what materials were used to produce it. I have a feeling, that the approach they took might be effective but a bit creepy as well. What if my jeans are made out of human flesh, specifically my ski. If they can fix my muscles and the tissue, I do not doubt that they are able to replicate the whole system +. To test this all I had to do was rip a piece out of my body and wait for the bugs to recreate it, then watch whether the piece of skin would continue to exist without being connected to my body. After smashing myself with the rocks a few times to get the skin bleeding I decided to put my fingers into the wound a tear a bit out of flesh out. Well, that was the plan, but getting myself to bleed took a lot more effort than previously imagined. After having already strengthened the skin by doing this stuff over and over again, the rocks were of no use any more. Well, there was one spot, which I did not strengthen as much, in the off-chance I want to procreate but the chances of having offspring seem quite low giving my current situation. Well in the name of science sacrifices have to be made. The sounds I omitted after a successful try, will not be talked about because every reputation I had built up by now would crumble instantly. I did not expect it to hurt to such a degree, after all the shit that has happened to me thus far. I thought I got used to it, turns out a vasectomy without anaesthesia is quite painful. The repair began quite soon afterwards and as I kept track on how the flesh in my hand would react or rather if it would not react. As time ticked slowly and my manhood returned to its former glory, I noticed that the piece of flash on my hand was still the same. After waiting for some time, my theory was proven to be correct. That knowledge opened a whole new world of possibilities. It gave me the possibility to conduct realistic experiments without risking my life, now it was possible to create many different things. Tools, weapons I am curious If I can use the human flesh and turn it into different materials. Could I turn it into leather? The first thing I have to consider is how to get the most of my body after all I had to get it off of my body first before I could work with it. It is not helpful if my body gets stronger and stronger and I need to go to more and more extreme measures just to get stuff to work with. I could throw myself in battles all the time hoping to get hurt as much as possible, then tearing off my limbs and wait until I am healthy again. Though that strategy is seeking death in the first place and it is limited to the strength of my enemy, due to the reason previously mentioned. But I am sure, there are several ways to hurt my body and if I can not break it from the outside then I am just going to hurt myself from the inside. There is always a way, sometimes you are just forced to get a little creative here and there. But I am curious, what happens if I let my peace of meat interact with the world. So I dug a little hole and put the meat inside of it. I kept the dirt in my hand and waited for it to revert back. After waiting for a bit I decided to see what the result was after I dug on the spot I chose previously I noticed that the peace of meat was greatly compressed. In theory, it might even be possible to create stones or oil that way.Though that is a process that takes several millions of years and in its current form, it seems unlikely to produce such a result. I have to conduct several tests, to see if there is any difference if it is solid or in a liquid state.Does it not mix in the slightest and if it mixes what are the characteristics it gets? Is it possible to recreate functioning organs? What if hypothetically I were to recreate my body piece by piece would that be possible?. If I were to cuff players with my something made out of my skin, what would this worlds system view it as? Would it get dissolved instantly or does the system not recognize it, because judging by the rocks and jeans an interference is possible? The only concluding observation I have made by now is that some sort of pressure is created if something out of my body is in a place, where a matter out of this world is supposed to be. There are so many interesting concepts and ideas that can be accomplished now. Could I make a sword out of my spine? Could I make a sword if I just sharpen my nails and rip them out over and over again? Could I make a sword out my teeth? Could I make a sword If I were to rip out my hair over and over again and putting it together? There is quite an easy way to fight the transfer of heat like that, if I use the principle of the onion skin, I could just wear different suits, heck even a full body suit would be possible, made out of myself. if they are thin enough, the loss of warmth is minuscule. Though many layers of "dead" skin would also prevent some damage done by heat, even though that is not the best solution, because it keeps warmth in and does not let the warmth from the outside stay there. A possible solution to burning wounds is to use the water bound in my body, to fight the damage it does or did to the skin. Though I am not sure, whether this body even has water in it. Come to think of It I have not yet drunk water, all I did was let the bugs replenish me. It does indicate that my biological needs are only partly reflected in this world. Most of the times those needs were induced to a high level of stress. I am intrigued, what limits my body brings with itself, so I am all ready for a DIY-session. Let me see wh¨¢t the limit is. 37 DIY 2 At first, I had to know what parts of my body I could remove without much trouble. I could simply pull out my hair and I did not feel anything in that regard. I could pull out all my nails from hand or feet, though due the number of nerves that are located on such spots great reluctance came over me at first. Those were the things, that could be tested without any lasting repercussions for my future. If things went down south it would not affect my chances of survival. But each other test I could make regarding the organs of my body might have negative permanent effects, Normally I would have to consider what kind of changes to expect because it seems impossible to expect a perfect replica. After all, even though my skin looks the same as before, it is oddly resistant to blunt trauma and I have lost the level of nerf sensitivity I had before. But what is holding me back anyway? There is no family, no friends in this world, those connections died with my very first death. I doubt that I have any ties to this world in the first place. My life is a daily struggle, monsters and players are fighting me endlessly if given a chance. I am just the frog at the bottom of the dwell. I have no idea on the scale of power I might face in the future. This is not a life worth living. My standards for a good life are higher, then just being alive. I do not want to crawl for the rest of my life, keeping my head low all the time. I do not want a life, where I am doomed to just watch from the sidelines. If I let my doubts take the best of me, how would I ever be worthy of the name I chose for myself, the conviction it stands for. Death is an open door, I will have to through it sooner or later anyway. While I was busy contemplating my fate once again, I subconsciously began to rip out my hair. After shoving all the distractive thoughts aside, I was quite perplexed as I looked at the small hill that was my hair in front of me. After checking the hair that was left on my hair, I felt relieved. Now I know I will not go bald if I continuously rip out my hair. I was quite curious what kind of special effect, would my newly grown hair have. Would it get razor sharp or would it grow longer and become more durable? As I pulled out hair over and over again, to see what kind of effect it will induce. I started to wonder why I was not feeling any difference. If it became harder to pull out the hair, due to the roots of the hair becoming stronger, then even though it would have been a huge disappointment, it still would have been understandable. But as the pile of hair grew, so did the question marks in my mind. I started to rip more and more hairs off and the interval between each grab became shorter and shorter. But the hair always came back and I still felt no change.Come on, there has to be at least something, but it was as if the hair blatantly refused that notion. So I was stuck in this endless loop, a struggle to feel some kind of change. I could only see hair in front of my eyes, I could not see any trees any soil. There was only my stupid hair, just regrowing all the time. It kept on growing back, there was no end to, but here I was expecting something to change. Doing the same thing over and over again sure is a sign of madness. The only positive side effect is that I will not have worry about turning bold if I ever get old. While grappling a giant handful patch of hair and trying to feel if there is any difference in the skin, I noticed that I grabbed hair again. I might have missed grabbing the same spot in my state of confusion. So I started anew but this time I made sure to put my other hand right onto it after I have pulled it out. Expecting to feel skin instead, I felt the hair regrowing in an insane speed full of vigour. For fuck''s sake out all possibilities, my mutation is that my hair will regrow faster and faster the more it has been pulled out. Well, what a really great mutation, that is. Now I finally found some stuff to burn, I am only required to rip out my hair for the rest of my pitiful life for a fire that might last longer than 5 minutes. Using it as a rope, what an excellent plan, how could a really durable thread of a spider compare to such short hair. After receiving a gigantic middle finger, I decided to seek my salvation elsewhere. If the kind of mutation is depending on the primary reason for its change, then I may be forced to change my approach to this. If the blunt trauma I received was the cause, for it to adapt in that way, then I have to consider how to hurt myself in order to improve my bodily functions. But that theory seems to have some big holes in it if I remember the first wound I received were bite marks, followed by gashes left by the sharp claws of a wolf. If I look even further back, upon letting the bugs consume those subordinates, the metabolism of my body got faster and it felt stronger. My path of development might have been set in stone then and there. Though the uselessness of my hair left me quite disappointed, I did not let it bring me down. So I started to search for the next area to painstakingly evolve, to see how and what will change. Well, let me try what happens to my nails if I remove them over and over again. Will, there be a difference between the ones on my hands and the ones on my feet? After repeating the process I underwent previously to determine the current use of my hair, I began to notice there were slight similarities on hand and feet. I would not turn into an X-men famous for his claws, but my fingernail became a lot sharper and pointed. It looked like a much smaller version of the moles I fought against before. If I ever had planned to dig a long tunnel those things would sure come in handy. The ones on my feet were looking more like the claws of the wolf. at least they can serve some kind of purpose. So far it feels like I am the outcome of what happens when somebody picks random in character creation. Right now I do not find any usefulness and possible application for either combat or building with it. But without testing, the properties I will not jump to conclusions, otherwise, I limit my possibilities by default. If life gives you grapes instead of lemon, you might miss out on lemonade, but you still can make a drink out of the grapes. Though right now it feels like I need an awful amount of imagination to make something out of my current evolution. Before I will focus on the rest of my body. I will test out the rest of the hair that can be found on my body. A quick glance downwards after lifting my jeans a bit, I felt relieved luckily there had not been any development of that kind yet. Just the thought alone what kind of horror could have evolved there. The images that shot in my head were quite disturbing. I started with the fine hair on my arms.The result was quite interesting, the hairs turned spiky, like the hairs of a hedgehog, but if they live down they look like just ordinary skin. After ripping one out, it takes a bit longer than usual for it to be replenished. Besides, its properties change if it''s standing upright it becomes hard and loses its flexibility, but if it just lies on my skin it is soft. Now that is something practical to work with, you just have to complain enough and you get something good. After repeating that process several times, I wondered how the hair would change further, but besides its becoming pointier. I did not see anything else. But I could not care any less about that, in comparison to the fast-growing hair on my head everything would look good, but something actually useful is something I did not expect in my wildest dreams. While the results on my arms were really successful, I felt intrigued what would come out of my leg hair. But upon doing so, something weird happened, while each other hair would show at least some kind of resemblance in its final mutation, the leg hair just never appeared again. I was left perplexed, that was a resultI did not expect. There has always been at least some kind of effect. Faster growth, a change in durability, change in its flexibility or form. But I refuse to believe, that smooth skin is part of such a mutation. Every other form has a distant usage in combat, but not smooth legs. I am going to kill them with my looks, said no one ever in this world. While smooth legs are the only weapon in a different kind of fight and I am not particularly interested in this kind of battle right now. What a letdown that was, I did not expect that there really was something that would be even more useless when my air, but alas that proves my ignorance. If I ever find women, that does not reject me because of my weird hybrid features I might stand a chance. While we are at it, let us imagine the most beautiful, most classic girl, with a nice personality and a killer body. Her rich parents support her whatever she does, aloyal character that only will ever love me and only me and now erase that thought process. This is not a fucking fairytale I live in.If I think about probability like these, I might as well pray that a random thunderstrike hits me and transports me back into my old world. After the unsurprising revelation that no thundershock hit me, I felt proven right, that such things do not exist and even if they do, I hardly doubt that she would settle for me. What would I have left? My whole thought process does not fit into this world. I am just a cynical fool. I do not believe in their so-called god, a mere pagan. Besides the obvious reason that a whole relationship would not work out, because I am just existing in this world as data. But do not fret, because I have killer legs. Yeah, with legs like that I am sure that every girl will fall for me on the spot. The possibility that they end up chopping my legs off due out of pure envy, seems far more likely to me. I hope you enjoyed this short preview of why does no Girl love me and never will, now in a cinema near you. I know most girls like men who show confidence, but confidence can only get you so far. Besides I am quite confident, that everything else in my life is speaking against something like that. So why bother wasting my time with such delusions. But in the off-chance that there might be someone interested, the legs will be the only reason, no doubt about that. Feeling a bit downcast after receiving the shock of my life after seeing the smoothness of my current legs, I began to rip off the brows of my eyes. I started to pray to every god I knew of my former world, In hope of not walking around with no eyebrows in the future. My pleading call was heard. My future was saved.The results were fantastic, I did not disappear, nor did it turn into a monobrow. It was not replaced by something strange like the eyes of a snail. It was nothing detestable, all that changed was the density of hairs. That was and will be the only time I am feeling lucky about no big change at all. Enough with the cosmetics, let''s get down with the real business. 38 DIY 3 It is the due time to see how I will change, after affecting the everything responsible for the perception of this world. Starting with my eyes, I ripped out a single hair off of my arm and used it to poke a little wound into my eye. Slow and steady is a way to go if you want to reach your goal. The protective reflex of the eye was pretty annoying. But due to sheer willpower, I managed to perverse through this mildly infuriating reaction. I had to be careful not to go too deep otherwise I might end up hurting my optical nerf and I want to undergo this kind of development step by step and be able to stop while I still have control. I do not want a repetition of what happened to my legs. The only downside was, that I could not see the progression of the wounds on my eye. In my vicinity is no object, that can reflect my vision. I doubt that the concept of a mirror has spread in this world. Chances are that they might have such things in their real world, but in a simulation like this, they might as well see it if they check their status. That reminds me I have not checked my status for ages, because quite frankly everything that I currently am, is so far away from any logic or magic, that if I were to implode in this instance the system would have an easier job of classifying me. If even The Observer does not know what to make out of my existence, I doubt that a measly status can do the job then. But I am always ready for surprises. After yelling status several times nothing happened. My nonexistent hope was crushed. I swear if it only activates if you speak it in their language, I am gonna write a formal letter of complaint. Of course right after I kicked the ass of that one developer who was responsible for that waterfall. Never forgive never forget. All I could use to determine the right time was the waining strength of transmitted pain of the eye. Which was a bit of a hassle, considering how absurd my current pain memory is. At first, I was only trying it out on my right eye, but as there was no negative side effect by now, I grew increasingly bold and started to wound the other eye while the first one was recuperating. To accelerate the development I slowly increased the number of hairs and stuck more in more in my eyes. The pain became worse at first but after getting used to it, I decided to see what would happen if I let stick for some time. Would it still heal, or would everything around it heal while leaving the wounded spot unaffected? I mean what''s the harm in doing so, the worst that could happen that I would end up recreating the Neversoft symbol. And if everything heals back, in the end, whats some pain then. Suprise, surprise It did not end up with an eye on a stick, instead there was no resistance as I pulled out the stick. Afterwards, I just repeated the progress and poked the surrounding iris to see if it still had the same kind of response as it did before. It was just as responsive as it was before. With the last worry cleared, it is time to do it in the most efficient manner. Ripping out all hair, that I had on my hands, till my hand could not hold anymore. The next step was easy to imagine, without any kind of concern, the whole stack was rammed into the right eye. Whoever thought that a cry of pain would follow suit, was quite wrong instead, there was only a squishy sound. After a certain time frame that sounds repeated over and over again. So this is what a hedgehog must feel like. Any kind of logical reasoning would raise a loud protest upon hearing something so profoundly stupid. But that logical thinking went down the drain a long time ago. At least I keep telling myself that, otherwise I would not be able to sleep at night if there was any night or any point in time where I willingly went sleeping. But yeah its the thought that counts, I suppose. But distracting myself seemed like the correct thing to do, so I let my brain spiral out of control. I was just imagining the bloody chaos I could have caused, with an eye on a stick. Summer camp, you sit with the love of your young life around the bonfire. While its dark, you do not want to miss any second with her. She leans on your shoulder, sharing an intimate moment with you. As you sit there staring with a deep feeling of satisfaction at the fire full of warmth, as you slowly roast marshmallows, life seems perfect, it was a moment that should last for all eternity. There is just another boy sitting in front of you, he also sits at the fire watching in satisfaction as he roasts his marshmallow. But as it turns out, it''s not a marshmallow its an eye staring at you. Even a lifetime session of therapy would not help you over that kind of trauma. Or even better you are a clown, in front of you are sitting hundreds of children, glaring at you in anticipation and you start to juggle with flaming eyes on a stick. I guarantee you, they will speak of that performance for a very long time. Men, there are so many possibilities. See a girl to your liking, toss it at her and say " Lady I threw my eye on you." If that does not melt her heart, what else will? Or you are interrogating the worst kind of criminal and you have your "eyes on him" quite literally, you will have him/her pleading guilty in no time. Just thinking about the kind of face Gandhi would make if you offer him one of your eyes to swap. Eye for an eye makes the world blind, I am sure afterwards he would wish that the whole world was blind. After spending way too much time coming up with scenarios, that would be very scaring and mesmerizing at the same time. I came to realize that I currently was unable to see. Seems like I lost myself in my passion and now have to wait till my eyes regenerate. Time passed I was still blind. More time passed, still blind as a mole. Even more, time passed still as much vision as Stewie Wonder. Scratching my head in confusion, I retraced every step I did and wondered where the mistake took place. The most likely scenario is that I overdid it and hurt my optical nerve and due to it being hurt for the first time, it might take a very long time to regenerate. Other options include having no resources left around me, due to requiring too much during the whole previous regeneration process. A mutation also could have occurred that robbed me of the vision I was used to. Another option is that I am so heavily wounded, that I am unable to open my eyes, but considering all the wounds I suffered so far, that option seems very unlikely. I tried to move my hands towards the eyes, in order to feel what was left of my eye. So much for jumping to conclusions, pulling out the hair that was still stuck in each eye, I bowed my head down in shame and wanted to dig myself a hole with my new fingernails and hide in it till the end of times. I want to erase the moment in time, where I called myself intelligent, please do me the favour. But as there is no pill for regret, there is also no wound that time does not heal. As I got my vision back I did not notice any difference. As long as the mutation that follows out of it does not impact me negativelyI am fine with it. You gotta work, with the cards given to you not complain about them and let them go to waste. I thought about the possible outcomes if I were to hurt my optical nerf now and came to the conclusion, that it is well worth the risk if something amazing were to come out of it. I have faith, that RNG will not let me down any further, after all, it does not get any lower than 6 feet deep. With no shred of hesitation and only one deep breath, a single hair found its target. But I did not hit the optical nerve, rather I hit nothing at all. A normal human body should have had something where don''t tell me that the whole organs of this humans are totally different. If the humans here and the humans on Earth are only similar on the surface, then my whole planning needs to be revamped. Do they have a central nervous system, I mean do they even have a brain? If this body is just a recreation due to findings they made, is it possible that they made mistakes? If their deduction is based on the change induced by mana, then how did the body of human work.Questions after questions kept on popping up in my brain with no possible answers. if I could dissect myself, I would do it on the spot. But alas, that is impossible while I am still alive. Hmm before I proceed with my organs, I have to abduct an NPC and see how the body is working. Seems like my plans or on ice for the time being. I have no clue, how the healing even works. So until all my previous doubts have been cleared I will have to rely on all the modifications my body underwent. Just as I was ready to copy Leonardo Da Vinci and wanted to go and dig up some remains of freshly deceased people, I noticed an oversight. The wound does not close, if foreign objects are still stuck in that place because it can not be converted back into energy is my current assumption. But if that''s true, what if I were to carve a window into my body, prevent the wound from closing with the sharp hair. Then Iwould be easily able to have at least some kind of knowledge of the inner workings of my body. The plan for digging up some corpses was replaced but kept reserved for the future. Being thankful that my body was still not hard enough to prevent the piercing through my hair, I began to mark down a huge circle with my hair, until there was no visible gap left. Afterwards, I began to carve out the flesh, with my arm hair, it was a process that would take its time, but the curiosity would not settle down unless I could see what was inside of me. I could see more and more of my inner organs, but the first thing what I noticed or rather noticed me, was the queen ant, that started it me as if she was currently looking at a madman. She just stood there and continued to shake her head in disappointment. It looked just like she was regretting the decision of picking me as her host. I dread the day, she would be able to communicate with me. But doing my best to ignore her gaze, I continued the gruelling progress. If I still had the body of a baby, this would have been so much easier, but my body just had to grow up rapidly during my training session with the rocks, I truly do not want to know how much time I spend for my body to be able to reach such a height and frame. After having finally finished the ordeal, I began to look through the flesh window. And what I saw, strengthened my resolve to dig up some corpses, because I did not understand a single thing I saw. 39 Digging a hole 1 Seeing inside of me, left me quite baffled. At first glance, the organs were looking just the same, but the whole order was messed up. Everything seems to have been moved to a different place. To top it off every organ seems to have been covered in a slimy substance.Even though I had a gigantic wound there was no sign of blood spilling out. It was as if it had been regulated to make it easier for me. I made a small wound inside my body to see how the regeneration process is working. The new wound was covered by the surrounding slimy substance and substantially closed. After waiting a bit I could see that new slime came out of an organ I have not seen before, it was right beside the heart. So this little fella is responsible for the conversion of data into a suitable source of energy. Touching the slime felt weird,there was nothing tangible. although I should have felt some kind of sensation. All I did feel was some kind of warmth, an energy that was prickling up on contact with skin. After pulling my finger out, I noticed that there was still some slime remaining on my finger. As every good scientist, I just had to experiment with it. I grabbed a little ant that was coming near me to replenish the energy I just spent and touched it lightly. The little ant began to stay still and did not show any kind of reaction or movement at first. Until it suddenly began to spasms and convulse. It got bigger and bigger until its size had nearly doubled. But under its new body, the ant was unable to move and was lying there helplessly. What happens if I just cover a specific body part of them in this slime, will the effect just focus on the legs or will the effect spread all over the body? To test what would happen I grabbed the next poor passerby and started to smear its little legs. But after seeing the result I had to admit, that I did not do a proper job. While some of its legs mutated other did not. This abomination could not move as well and was currently laying next to the previous test object. Looking at my finger I realized, that I was quite lucky or unlucky, that the slime was not working on me anymore. Having just one big finger would look a bit strange and in combat, it would be very inefficient. But overall I am rather glad, that I can decide the way I want to develop. Instead of ending up so like those 2 fellas right next to me. But for the sake of their brethren, a sacrifice had to be made. An interesting question would be, whether this kind of change only effects "living" beings or if the same kind of concept applies to every other thing made out of data. Covering the rock that was attached to me in slime. There was a distinctive increasing in weight, the more slime I put on it. That is a good way to further strengthen my body. The big disadvantage is the amount of data that needs to be converted before the slime is produced and the big amount of slime that is needed for a significant change like that. The more I know about this kind of ability, the more it scares me what happened during my training session. How much chaos did they cause, by getting me all that resources? Some things are better left unanswered. But if that things affect "living" and data things the same, they were to happen if that stuff came into to contact with players. Magic in combination with steroids, if they were no threat to my life I would totally mess around with it.Just the pure image of all those mages with a biceps as big as thigh of a grown man running at me was quite a scary thought. If the rocks were getting heavier, what kind of change would my hair get? With more than enough possible samples being around me, I began several tests to see how the properties would change and what possible use they could have. After I conducted several tests to vary the extent of each change I came to the following conclusions. The art of the effect is limited by 2 factors, one is the positioning of the slime and the previous properties it had. If you only rub in the root of the hair, then there is no difference between any of the hairs. The whole hair becomes hard. But if you put in on a soft spot of the hair, the whole thing will go totally soft, the polar opposite property gets replaced. But if this world is just anything like my old world still has to be bound by certain rules. If there is light, there has to be a shadow. On every reaction follows an equal and opposite reaction. Without a fundamental change, a material should be unable to have to exact opposite traits at the same time. That is why it is so reassuring to see, that even mutually exclusive properties do not influence the other effects. For example, hair can either soft or hard. But the ability to absorb liquids stays the same. It really gets interesting when you use 2 different spots, with totally opposite properties. I had assumed that each of the properties would try and balance each other out. But instead, the properties took over half of the hai. I repeated this process several times, decreasing or increasing the amount of slime on each end to notice different effects. The effect strengthened or lessened with the proportionality of the ratio. This was not limited to the durability of the object, it was the same for the ability to absorb liquids as well. To test this hypothesis all I had to do, was let one hair absorb a bit of my saliva and put the slimy substance on both ends before the water could spread. The result was a strange equilibrium out of one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic part. The only idea I can currently come up with is, that the slime is working as some kind of small buffer zone keeping both halves separated, while itself functions as a middle piece keeping the whole thing connected. A connection between two parts that are not able to coexist. This statement stays still true, because even though it still looks to be "one" hair, now it is separated into two different sections. I still find it quite strange, that the slime is able to strengthen the general properties on the surface, but is not able to change the properties on the macroscopical level. Because inside of me he was even able to do that, why is it unable to do the same for those bugs? Is that due to the effect of me and the bugs being in a symbiotic relationship? If that is the case, then their development is limited to the previous state the material was in. But if I were to coat, small skin particles on fine hair and use that tool to put a minuscule amount onto a small particle inside of the subject, if the process gets finer and finer I might be able to even influence the genes and genomes. But that is all still up in the air. What I can say right now, is the that the slimy substance inside of me is going against the natural order, the same as my existence. My body is still a walking treasure trove, full of unexplained problems and possibilities. I get to know so much about this world, yet it feels like for each answered questions gets replaced by 2 mysteries. But all those problems and ideas will not get solved in just one day. So it is enough if I can keep them in my head and come back to them whenever I gather new useful knowledge later on. What I have to do right is now, is improving my whole body and arsenal of weapons. Before I go and kidnap an NPC to dissect it, I need to be able to withstand a lot more damage or be able to deal a lot more, because it is nigh impossible to avoid fights with the way I am looking currently. If an NPC looks small rather petite grown adult, then I am just sticking out, no matter what I do. Even if they think that I am an NPC and not a humanoid monster, I will end up getting attacked anyway, because those nutjobs live out their fantasies and toy with the NPCs if they find some in the wild. I have no clue, whether they feel the need to relieve their boredom or are just savouring the feeling of superiority, quite frankly I could not care less about the reason behind it.It is the same thing we humans would do in a gaming world. In their eyes, this world is not real, so bother with the feelings of data, if it can be replenished by pressing some buttons. The biggest threat is that a village is the respawn point for the players, so no matter how many heads you got off another one will pop up sooner or later. My options to deal with that problem where a bit limited. I could either force a restart of the server if I cause enough mayhem, but that is just the last resort. I could try to sneak in and kill everyone that I see, but sooner or later I will have to have an all-out fight. As soon as anyone or anything saw me on the earth I get attacked. The future was looking really grim, but still, there was a giant grin plastered on my face. Luckily I am not bound to be "on" the earth, with the help of my fingernails I can dig a nice tunnel. Though I have to test some ways, to stabilize the tunnel otherwise I will have no sense of direction down in the darkness. Furthermore, I need to find a source of light to secure my path otherwise I will end up going insane down there sooner or later.I do not want to end up having a friend called Wilson. So first things first, where the hell does one even find a village of NPCs. Google Earth does not exist in this world, nor am I able to communicate and ask for directions. My best odds are to just think logically or to track the movements of players. This might be the famous needle in a haystack if I were to search for it normally. Each fucking problem I solve I find another thing hindering me from accomplishing it, my previous life was really in easy mode. After venting a bit of my anger, I started being productive again and thought about possible solution while training my body once again. During the whole process, I Increased the weight until it reached double the weight. With a weight of nearly 90 kilogrammes, it was packing quite a punch once it is accelerated. I did not increase the weight any further, simply due to the reason that amount of slime I had to put on it, was getting ridiculous. The expenditure got so high that as far as I can see, everything was gone for the production of new slime. And secondly, I need to have developed my muscles enough so I am still mobile enough. It does not help that my body is getting bigger and bigger and I turn into a walking target. In all those stories the protagonist is able to suppress their muscles and remain looking like Greek gods. Instead, I am more and more turning into a monster rather than a normal human being. And I am not yet ready to lose my form. Before I repeat the embarrassment of my eyes I began to pull out all the hairs that were keeping my body from healing and without any interruption the wound began to slowly heal. To end this training, I began another session of rock your body. After my body once broke the limit of reason, I watched my surroundings and was quite shocked. Why did the surrounding soil look like a bloodbath took place here? No matter where I looked, everything was dyed in pure red. Looking back I did not remember causing such a mess after my last training session or did my metabolism increase once more? I had a sudden flashback to the videos of childbirth and was reminded that those psychos would probably take a liking to this upon seeing it. But if I leave tracks like this every so often, I can throw caution in the wind and just invade a village. Sooner or later this will come back to bite me in the ass, but as long as I keep moving I hope that moment comes when I can defend myself against magic. Until that moment comesI will be proficient in digging. So let me start by digging a hole. 40 Digging a hole 2 As I started using my mutated fingernails to shovel the soil aside, I felt that I was really not used to doing such a motion. Calling my attempt at digging clumsy was putting it nicely, realistically speaking it looked more like the movement of a mole with brain damage. As I continued my pitiful attempt at digging a hole, I was slowly counting in my head to see how long it would take for the soil to return to its previous state. I did not have to worry about my head or body being crushed, because the hole I dug was not deep enough for that. This also serves as a test to the feasibility of whether my plan to enter a village by digging comes into fruition or not. Although it was quite a mundane work, it was quite fun. Especially if you loop the sound of digging the hole in your head. As my inner countdown passes the 300 I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my hands and legs. It only took an instant and my otherwise tough body parts were pulverized. I did not expect the pressure to be that strong. So, for the time being, I am just going to wait and see what happens if my body parts keep being pressured like that. The level of pain was not regressing but not increasing either, that means that my nerves are still sending signals. But if I learned something from observing the experiment with the hair, the slime is able to change into a substance that is able to ward off data of different properties. That means that theoretically, my hand should be able to reform. Followed by being crushed in the next instance, that process will continue on forever. Did I miss something? I can already see the little ants starting to tear everything else down to gather more potential energy for me. Until my body is ready to withstand that kind of pressure, it needs to be crushed quite often. There are several ways to approach this. I am going for the most efficient one. I will wait till my hand are durable enough and then proceed to dig deeper. I will repeat that process until my whole arm has reached such a level. I will do this to each of my limbs and then start doing it to my upper body. Though I have to be careful not to crush my heart and inner organs in the process otherwise everything is going to be for nought. The only downside is that this plan will leave me stuck here for quite some time and the general destruction of the environment might bring unwanted attention. Due to my inability to dodge attacks, I am currently vulnerable if the magic is strong enough. That is why I have to take some risks and do this as fast as possible. Though I still do not have any idea how to prevent my head or body from being crushed under this heavy pressure. But I will surely find something, after all, I do not have that much planned for today anyway. The cycle of crushing limbs resumed without a hitch. Many ideas came and were thrown out of the window. One plan was to open a hole in my body and then grab onto the heart and the organ responsible for the production of that wonder slime. That idea would only particularly strengthen my body, but I have no clue in what way my body would react. So my next option was to pressure in a passive manner.I would put my part of my head into the soil at first and cover it with my hands. That way it would not be crushed but would still be hurt through the pressure. That is at least how the plan works in theory. Those were the ideas that were at the least sound on paper. Now a quick list, what was rejected the instance it came up as a possibility. -Putting my head directly in. -Burying my whole body inside of it, except the head -Digging a hole with my exact shape so that I could put my organs outside of my body to prevent them from being crushed. -Creating an armour made out of stone -Covering my head in slime -Crushing my head, the moment before the Earth reforms. -Crushing my head partially without any cover -Putting other materials around me All those options would theoretically work but were rejected due to several reasons. They were either not helpful or the risks involved were too big or just plain stupid. I settled on covering my head with the hands, It might sound risky but I can guarantee that at least it will not end up with me dying on the spot. It took a lot of time until my hands were not crushed on the spot, only deformed to such an extent that it had no resemblance to its normal shape. I started to put my arm dig the hole deeper until my arm was swallowed. Even though the process was gruelling and painful at least there was a feeling of accomplishing something as I saw the progression. As I looked ahead I noticed it, these eyes were staring at me. I shuddered upon seeing whom those eyes belonged to. It was the queen ant that looked quite livid. It hit me like a truck, I forgot to consider her. I am glad not having crushed her due to my attempt at becoming a mole. Her eyes were passing all over my body and there was not the same feeling of perplexion. There was a certain feeling of numbness to her. Yeah, it was the same glaze my parents had when looking at me. They had given up on me. You could see the deep feeling for regret in their eyes, always caught in the past on what could have been. Great now even ants have given up on me. I will put it on my list of glorious accomplishments. If I could speak to her I would apologize for my oversight, but sadly or luckily for me It is not possible for me to talk to her right now. I am not yet ready to be verbally murdered for all the shit I did. in her eyes I must be a suicidal madman, that acts irrationally and is much more dangerous to himself than others. Even though she is right, that does not mean that I need someone to remind me of that fact. Ignorance is bliss after all. I tried to spice things up a bit, bit letting fingers and toes get crushed separately, to have some sort of variety. I have no clue, how a sane person could do this over and over again without going insane and turn into a murderous machine without a hint of pity left. Having lost the grip on reality long ago they keep the cycle of endless violence alive. But no they are not wrong, it is the world that is wrong. Here they are only trying to survive, but its the world that forced them. But you still have to root for them, you witness it all. All the anguish he must have felt, the feeling of powerlessness until he finally saved the bride, saved the universe, saved the fate of humankind. The cruel enemies are long forgotten and only a particle of dust. In the end, good will always prevail. But with a simple switch of perspective, the hero turns into a ruthless killer. Imagine the story follows the life of a simple guard. A simple man, no hidden legacy or power inside of your body.Wife and children at home and you work for the local power guarding their entrance. You worked long and hard until you got the job. Your family relies on your hard-earned money to survive. Each day passes without much trouble. But from time to time you start dreaming about the glorious lifestyle of the wealthy people. Deep down you are sure that even though such a life seems easy on paper, it has its own set of rules and difficulties. In the end, you just want to live a happy life and prepare your children for the future as best as you can. But all these plans are for nought because the local power angered someone so much, he comes running at your door, vowing to extinguish everyone. You do not even know the reason, you are just a small fry guarding the entrance. At first, you are trying to persuade the young men not to throw his life away, because in your eyes that endeavour is suicidal. You do not want to attack, but you do not want to lose the income that your family needs, so you lift your weapons and attack him. You have pity with him, but you have to guard the entrance. You try to make it as quick and painless as possible, but your opponent just scoffs at your attempts. He wounds you heavily with ease and as you lie there helplessly on the ground you hear him talking down to you. In the end, you are just a mere stepping stone an example that he wanted to make. If he is feeling manigimous, you can live on as a cripple or you die on the spot. Your family is going to suffer regardless. The End Everyone is pretty sure that this guard must have given his life with a smile on his face knowing he would die to the saviour of the universe. Everyone will glorify him, while you, the poor victim of circumstance, will soon be forgotten. Did the man free his childhood friend out of the evil clutches of the young Master, that fancied her? Would nobody dare to start trouble after he had extinguished the whole family in his fit of rage? Or did the young Master get scared and just let her go, after your death? The outcome is of no concern for you because, in the end, your fate will stay the same. They are going to live happily ever after, while you died for the sake of others. Just because he is the hero in the eyes of many, does not mean that he is unable to be a madman in the eyes of yours. This is not a story hoping for a just world with equal chances for everyone. This is not a call for altruism. This is just a story to remind everyone, that a flawless hero liked by everyone is an impossible existence. Same goes for me, even if I consider myself to be the hero of my own story, in the eyes of many other I am just amere monster. There are millions of existing and behind every single one of them is a story full of different people, different ambitions, different emotions. Do those circumstances matter to me if I kill them in this world? In the end, right or wrong is just a simple judgement based on a perspective. Right now I am letting the world crush my limbs over and over again. Some would say, this would only result in more and more pain and chaos others say that I am only trying to stay safe. Even though the intention of both sentences might differ the result will be the same. That is why I do not care what label they put on me. What matters is to me is the development of my story and the people I care about. Is my family doing well? Are they happy, now that I am gone? Those are things that are important to me. These people could not care any less about the backstory of every tree branch they encounter in their lives. And I do not want to have it any other way. If they are destined to change the world, that is great, but do not have the gall and claim to stand for everyone. That is just degrading and downplaying the stories of all those other protagonists. My whole limbs became able to withstand the enormous pressure and I began to work on my head and body covering as much surface as possible, to train. The big picture does not care for the little hero. It is for those you are destined to rise above others and dictate the direction of their journey. Only those are able to shape and direct it. That is their fate and destiny. But I have never been a fan of terms like fate or destiny. Everyone has the change to shape his own future, with the choices he makes. If you want to stand above everyone do not let others decide for you. Or would you rather waste your life away, trapped in mediocrity. If you want to get something, you gotta work hard for it. Yet some, even with all that talent and hard work are will never be able to fulfil their dreams. I do not consider that as a wasted opportunity. Dieing full of doubts, thinking about all the things that could have been, is a pure waste of human life. As for me, I was caught in my own delusions at first. I wanted to change the world, make a difference. I tried to validate my existence by giving me some sort of purpose. But in the end, all I did was run away and hide my insecurities behind idealistic goals. I was not born for a great cause, I am just a product of many coincidences. But this time I am not here to give myself a purpose. I am not here to once again hide behind my words. I am just curious about this world. And if I want to see this world, I must be able to survive. It is that simple. Time passes slowly, as a whole body was constantly built and rebuild. 41 What lies beyond? After the whole adaption phase was finally over, I felt quite relieved, because now I could finally start digging without any worry in the world. Even if I were to fall into a vegetative state right now I would still not die. But my body still felt a bit weird after being constructed over and over again. If my previous body was really muscular and looked really bloated, then right now It felt like my whole body had been compressed into a very small body. To be exact It was a shame I was too accustomed to by now. Growing up so fast and then getting pressed into the previous form cannot be healthy. But at least this shape is much better suited for digging compared to the steroid version. Though I do not want to repeat this process again, otherwise I might end up exploding in the future, because of all the tension that my body has to endure. With the kind of horror that my body is currently able to unleash, I do not want to know what level it will next. The current strength of my body can hardly be called human anymore. The body of a human baby, with the strength of a fully trained athlete. I mean wielding rocks with a weight of 90 Kilograms is not something that everyone can do with ease. Oh no, I forgot about the rocks, what happened to the rocks under this kind of pressure.I risked a short glance at my hands to discover that the thread that used to connect my hands with the rocks was no more. A chain of swearwords escaped my lips as my eyes were flying over my surroundings trying to find rocks. If they still had the same size it would have been quite easy, but my educated guess is that they have been compressed by a lot. I did not find them on the surface, so I decided to dig around search whether I find something small, that yet really heavy. I did not notice that my digging motions became swifter and more efficient, then they have ever been. After digging till exhaustion, I noticed my muscles aching under the unusual strain. As the bugs that kept on following me, once again started to clear the surroundings. I finally saw my lost rocks. Rather than calling them rocks, I should refer to them as pebbles now. They transformed from the size of a soccer ball to a marble. The only reason, I was able to find them, was because the ant was trying to lift it up and failed miserably. After more and more ants surrounded it, it became quite easy to spot it. But right now I have absolutely no idea, how to use them. The threads I used before were not strong enough to hold those pebbles with the weight they currently have. Just using them as weapons to throw, is begging for them to get lost and holding them in my hand while I punch with it, seems kind of cumbersome. But what if I were to attach those stones on top of my fist, that could work. Put them on top of fingerless gloves and you have yourself quite a weapon. Without any break, I began the preparation to build this kind of clothing for me. I hit my right leg several times and ordered the queen ant to appear in front of me. The ant queen came quite leisurely in my direction and kept on looking at me quite curiously why the hell I would call for her right now. I just pointed at my whole lower body and she understood my demand right there. But before the queen and could start to list her demands, I threw the rocks in front of her pointed at them and lifted both hands indicating the number 10. Since she was already accustomed to my antics, she just nodded and began to ponder on what to demand to realize that ludicrous wish of mine. While she was busy I pointed at my lower half and then pointed the area on my hand that I wanted to be covered in the fingerless gloves. The only problem was that the ant queen was staring at me unable to grasp what I was asking her for. I tried to repeat the motion several times. Yet she just kept her questioning eyes on me. Seeing that this way of communication did not work I decided to grab the queen ant directly and put her on my hand. The ant queen was dodging my hand at first but after I held the hand in front of her, she climbed on it. As she was on my right hand I let my finger slide on my right hand. I tried to convey which area I wanted to be covered by the fingerless glove. It took multiple attempts but the queen finally nodded. At last, I picked up one of those pebbles and put in on the glove. I tried to indicate that I wanted to have one pebble on each finger. But luckily the queen understood my intention in that instance. But her gaze had changed, she looked at me as if she could not fathom who would consider using such a tool in combat. That is quite silly, of course, I will. I spectated the queen with curiosity guessing with what kind of demand she would come up with. I was expecting an exorbitant demand because the amount of work and energy that would be required to accomplish those creations was quite enormous. But she did not demand full control over my brain, nor did she ask for more space for her nest in my body. She just positioned the 3 ants in front of me. The first of the three ants was the typical warrior ant, it got a bit bigger since the last time I saw one, but the rest of it stayed the same. The second was a worker ant, I just noticed exactly how small it is after seeing a warrior ant for the first time in forever. What happened to the others I wonder? Looking at the third ant I noticed that the ant was still in its development stage, it had no characteristics yet. My assumption that she asks me for input on how to develop it. If she puts that much trust into me I have to do my best and create something really good for her. With much pointing and gesticulating I showed her my plan. I wanted to create an ant that was capable of flight, had poisonous little fangs. But the queen was not content with that and just stared at me demanding more. So I showed her that she could put little worker ants underneath it, to let them drop out of the air. After pondering for a moment, she nodded towards me in acceptance. I have no clue, how much I will have to add in the future if I still want her to create something for me. Still, I think both sides are getting something good out of this trade. The queen returned back into my body with the 2 pebbles that were transported by multiple ants. So now that the future of my weaponry is saved. I need to find a way to spend my time. A first step would be to train my digging skills and my body in a whole needs to be strengthened as well. If I want to be able to wield nearly 500 kilos per hand I need to step over my limit. Right now I can handle around 100 kilograms without any problem. But in order to be able to lift the 5x, I need to work out a lot. To prevent me from turning into a monstrosity, I am forced to compress my muscles from time to time under pressure. Of course, I will improve the rest of my body mutations in the meantime. I do not want to leave every tool my body offers in the dust. I just hope that It does not take too much time until I am able to transverse this lands safely. I want to see what mysteries are in this world. Magic is such an enticing concept that I can hardly wait getting to know more about it. Though I would still prefer not to die too soon. Even after such a short time, I was already as proficient as a mole, but I want to know what the limit of my ability is and what lies beyond that point. I once again sunk my fingernails deep into the Earth and began digging once more. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " How is he doing, is there any kind of change?" * No, there is still no sign of activity.* " He remains useless even in the end, how disappointing. To think I had high hopes in him a long time ago. Yet he turned out to be such a failure." * His future does not look very promising if there is no sign of improvement soon then I have to ask you for a final decision.* " It is not like he can just stand up and run away. So no need to jump to conclusions. We will wait how his situation will develop in the near future." * Excuse me, but the odds of him improving and overcoming his current situation are next to impossible.* " Indeed it is a predicament, but it is not like we lack the necessary resources. So there is no problem with giving him so time." *But we have yet to find an explanation how he could end up the way he currently is. We are thoroughly investigating his case.* " There is no need to put so much effort into this, the explanation is very simple. He was and still is a fool. And like a fool he always thought about whether he could not if he should." " His mere presence has caused so much trouble, that we were hardly able to contain it. I can not understand what she likes so much about him, that she let him have that much freedom. All that freedom brought us to the mess we are currently in. I just wish he would have never been born in this world" 42 Mysteries and Theories. While a certain someone was busy improving his digging. There was a certain group of people that was busy with some other kind of digging. It was a normal room, but each person had a very ashen expression. They looked absolutely exhausted, their eyes would close if they did not force themselves to keep them open. They looked haggard and mentally destroyed. They were showing more resemblance to corpses than actual living beings. There was no source of light, except the weak reflection of some screens that were powered by thunder crystals. Their eyes were staring stubbornly ahead as if every other thing they would cost them their lives.Without the occasional breathing, there was no other noise. An eerie silence filled the room, clad in depressing darkness. But as the time passed a general feeling of unrest came over each one of them. Some tried to relieve their stress by chewing their fingernails others just quivered seemingly afraid of something. Despite the nearly tangible tension in the air, not one word was spoken. Rather those people did not even dare to even open their mouths. The number of people using different technics to cope increased slowly but surely. One even began to rip out his hair. But no matter what they did, their eyes never once moved away from the screens. Those eyes kept on moving rapidly, over the screen searching for something. This situation has been like that for the last 2 weeks and yet there was no end in sight. Unless, of course, they find the solution. It seemed to be so close but yet so far away, that no one has found it even after all these sleepless nights. Those men developed an obsession and they would not even rest until they solve this strange situation. From time to time they were even swapping their places, hoping for some kind of epiphany or inspiration to help them. Instead, they were greeted by the same bleakness as before. It was a mystery, that went contrary to any prior knowledge they made. They spent all their lives, realizing their dream of creating this groundbreaking simulated world. Yet their world was currently falling apart right in front of their very eyes.They put everything else besides to just to solve the issues it faces, even going as far as sacrificing their own health. But to no avail, their world was currently spiralling out of control and they had no clue about the cause or any potential fixes. The door was suddenly kicked open and angry men stormed in. The man had an ugly expression on his face, ready to murder the next person, who was foolish enough to look at him wrong. He sat down for a moment, accessing the current situation before he closed the door in one violent motion. As the room began to shake, nobody dared to turn around to be the target. Everyone felt that a storm was about to come. " HOW DARE YOU" a mad scream was reverberating in their ears. "HOW DARE YOU GUYS WITHHOLD SUCH HIDDEN EVENTS FROM ME", a confused expression could be found on any onlooker. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE SCREAMED AT ME? AND FOR WHAT? JUST SO THAT THE PLAYERS EXPLORE AND FIND THE REASONS THEMSELVES?" Everyone was looking at their boss dumbfounded, did he lose his mind? Even they had no clue what has caused this madness, how should players have any clues? "Look I can understand that the plan of you guys, would have never passed. But putting it in the game without any kind of feedback is a big breach of trust. You guys are just lucky, that the players absolutely loved it. Even our Sponsors are currently very happy because our approach trains the children on so many different things, that they will be the backbone for the final push against the monsters. We even got massive new funds approved and they wish that we to expand the server size so that more people can join. But they demand that we lift the heavy restrictions we put on magic beforehand. The creatures should be challenging after all. We agreed, to lift the shackles a bit from time to time, to not get rid of the survival aspect too soon. We have to work on many things till the upcoming patch. We have to make sure that our little magic world remains stable. We have to make sure that this augmented world suits the needs of our customers. We are very far away from the potential capacity that this world can carry after all. He lowered his voice by a lot so that no one outside of this room could hear. "I will let you guys in on a very delicate secret, due to your accomplishment to this company. Not only did the Church promise us a massive amount of gold, but no they also plan to send their very own elite in this world to train them. They even think about delegating bishops into this world, to be their trainer. Do you know how many players we could attract when that news spread? With that, we come closer and closer to achieve our goal." " The purpose of this world was to be a breeding ground for an army to the nail in the coffin of those creatures who killed our children for far too long. A final push against the monsters. Everyone one in this company has lost many they knew. That is why everybody is working so hard. I am proud that you guys are doing everything to eradicate these monsters." You guys take a little break, the PR-team will make the best out of your monumental achievement. I have absolutely no clue, how you guys were even able to come up with such a gigantic plot. It was brilliant to combine the constant fighting against monsters, with a mysterious creature. The myths surrounding it, are already generating discussion left and right. But please notify the rest of the team about your plans in the future, the sudden increase in keeping the server stable exploded after your little creature came to be. He left the room with a gigantic grin plastered on his face. He took a liking to scare his employers, they deserved it for making him feel so much pressure the last month. The room was left in utter confusion. What was that right now? At first, they were fearing for their own lives. The last news the heard was that they stood under fire because the young generation was busy "fighting" with the Nagants. But now they even got a day off for their achievements? What exactly happened, while they spend their time here. What happened? --------------------------------------------------------------- A video was currently the latest hype. It was titled "The rise of bug boy". It was depicting the development of a monster in the shape of a man. It started with a look into a mysterious cave behind a waterfall. The narrator explained in a mysterious tone, the origin. At first, it was just rumoured to be a small site for little children and it did not catch any interest. But what if I tell you, that this little place was the birthplace of our little bug boy? Yes, I am talking about the baby, that we toyed with in the lobby. At first, you might say, how the hell someone would come to such a stupid conclusion? But hear me out, not only have I found out many things that not only support my claim, but they also may point out what this monster is about to do in the future. But before I start to explain my theory, take a look at this video a certain fan send me. The video started playing and its content would captivate every onlooker. Even battle-hardened veterans began to gulp. They have never seen a monster of that kind, its eyes were staring directly into your soul. It was toying with his preys, cutting off limbs left and right. The chilling aura it gave off, was something otherworldly. I am sure you have never seen a creature like that and here is what we know if about the video. The video was taken out of the new Game "Primal Survival", it shows the perspective of the only survivor of that fight. While some may claim that the event was staged, I have to admit that I doubted the authenticity of this video at the beginning as well, until I noticed one detail that proved it to be real. The monsters we know leave no survivors, why would a monster that only acts based on instinct leave food behind?This monster is a vicious killer. Its fighting style is cruel and calculated, it waited for the men to utterly exhaust themselves before viciously striking them. In the end, it did not even consume the men, it let its children consume them. Another point to consider is what purpose faking such a story could have? In this world, where honour is something everybody strives for, who would willingly ruin his/her reputation, just for some cheap attention? But right now you might be thinking " but why would such an intelligent creature leave a witness behind", and you are right that, does not look like something a smart being would do. But if you think about the reason, then there is only one logical conclusion. The monster left one behind to attract more enemies. Just look at its eyes before he vanishes into the air, those eyes show a clear look of disdain and disappointment. The clear look of contempt, does that look like he would hesitate to kill? Such a creature does not care about life. But what links this beast in human shape, to the little baby we encountered at launch day. If you paid close attention you might already have caught a glimpse of the first piece of evidence I am going to present. Before we left we carved some words on the forehead of the baby. If we look at the monster, we can clearly see, something resembling words being carved into its forehead, shining mysteriously. Some might say that this is only coincidence, but think about it, have you encountered any other creature in this game, who had a special trait like this? There had been none so far. But of course, there is more to it. No monsters we have seen so far has the shape of a human. But this monster has the shape of a human baby. The similarities do not end there, we compared the sounds of the babies cry with the monster and they sound close to identical. You might be curious, how we were able to compare both of them when the monster did not even speak. To tell you the truth, the video I did show was not the full video. Here is the clip from its actual beginning. The situation looked way too cheerful, for the slaughter that was about to come. After a massive wave of magic hit something strange, the monster came out. It did not have the same expression as before. It gaze looked a lot calmer. It even moved its lips, but the sound that came out of them sounded so foreign to them. They had never heard something like that. The creature waited for a moment before the expression returned to the one they previously saw. As you can see its voice resembles the one of the baby. Now let us talk about the baby for a bit, nobody has heard anything about it, after the game restart it was as if the Earth had swallowed it. We searched many places for it, even underwater but we had never searched the cave behind the waterfall. If we had read the patch-notes carefully, it becomes quite obvious. A place for the couples in love and small children. Yes, children in a game, which is only played by young adults. That should ring a bell. But the mystery about this cave will be explained in a later date. That is another theory all in itself, what enabled the human baby, to become to what we saw. This monster does not only need to be hunted, but it also wants to hunt. Yes, you heard right, this monster left a witness to attract and lure out more fighters. Now it is your time to come in and help me theorize what it could have said. Was it taunting the enemy or clearly stating its purpose, we have to find out. But hey that''s just a theory, a monster theory, thanks for watching. 43 Who is he? There is a big mansion in the second district owned by the Lord of the Glacie family. The lineage of the Glacie family is famous for raising several strong ice mages.The prestige of the household is represented by their eldest daughter. Her talent was recognized by the strong magic resonance on her awakening. Among her peers, she is known for her analytical nature, while others were busy being idly, she was already on the battlefield to see what burden every warrior has to carry. As she turned 5, she already possessed enough magic power to many mages, who were turning 12. By the age of ten, she was unrivalled in the main family branch. At 16 she was compared and fought against the best of her generation. It was then, that she promised to only marry the men, who would best her in combat. Many of her suitors declared to marry her, but each one of them was brutally beaten down and their dream crumbled into dust. Henceforth she carried the title of Icy Maiden. Her aloof and cold character was something you could only savour from the distance. That is why the current situation would leave every witness stumped. The lady, who practised magic all day was sitting in the library surrounded by thick books. She turned page after page and a mix out of defeated sighs and annoyed grunts escaped her lips. After she finishing a book it went flying across the room and the next one was picked up. She had been doing this for the last 6 hours and yet did not stop. If the books were about warfare or magic it would have been considered a bit strange but still acceptable to her character. But those books were about history, local ethnic groups, special tribes and ancient weaponry. Even after many books, she hasn''t found the thing she was searching for. She looked dazed in the room, at all the books she has skimmed through by now.So much different tribes, yet no one is even remotely close to the way he was. He was a man of few words, had a broad stature and was quite handsome. The most vexing thing about this man is that even after me getting serious he did not consider using magic, he just used his body to defeat me.Who does he think he is treating me like that. Not even giving me his name and then just defeating me like that. Yes, the young lady who did not put anyone else in her eyes was intrigued for the first time in her life. She was caught completely off-guard, by the man who did not even gave her a name after besting her. She could not put into words, why he was that appealing to her. Was it the mystery surrounding him, the muscular body, his obscure fighting style that made his presence that captivating. Or was did she just not know how to handle being defeated for the first time? It is so strange, no matter what I read and searched for in all of the documented histories, there has never been a body that could go head to head with magic. At first, I thought, that he was just a strong NPC, but every NPC reacts the same way when faced with magic, they are scared or at least respect it. But no, he did not pay any heed to it. There was no change in his expression, even though the pain that he must have felt, would make any grown men scream in terror. Judging by this I should really question, whether he was a man, machine or a monster. The strangest thing is, that I did not feel even one ounce of magic fluctuation from him and as we all know every living being has magic fluctuations. Even those Nagants. So why did I not feel any from him? It cant be that he is not capable of using magic, that just can''t be it, it just sounds so ridiculous and absurd. Maybe he has sealed his magic power, yeah that must be the reason. I will have to read books about myths and legends next before I can decide whether he is a special NPC or a human. He may as well be groomed as a hidden force of the Church. I do not want to believe that something like that was made up by a machine. Losing to a machine would be too shameful. Samantha was so fascinated, that she did not notice, that her little sister Claudia has been watching her from time to time, to see what was wrong for her sister to behave that way. Only reading the book titles she was already hit by a wave of confusion. What could have caused a sudden change of interest of that magnitude, it felt like Samantha''s whole character did a 180. Why would she be interested in something like that? Normally her sister would be training her magic or studying guides on how to deal with certain monsters. Not reading literature about history. Claudia felt like she was spectating an alien,the otherwise cold and always serious girl was currently deeply caught in her own thoughts. From time to time, a deep grin became visible on her face. Claudia felt perplexed, she did not know that her sister was even capable of making such a face. Who are you and what did you do to my sister? Who or what could cause her sister to act this way? Was it any of her suitors? That seems unlikely, otherwise, her sister would have taken a fight with him directly and she did not battle any suitor recently. Besides all the time she had, was either spent on training magic or fighting inside "Primal Survival" and even there she was not beaten by any player. Do not tell me that, this was caused by her loss against that wicked NPC? Did my sister snap because she lost for the very first time? But the Samantha I knew, would dive headfirst into training after losing to an NPC. Maybe she is researching the NPCs weaknesses. That must be it and seeing a strong opponent caused her too much excitement. As the number of books that flew through the library increased, so did the baffling look of Claudia, her mind was still having difficulties accepting the reality. Why did the books turn from history to myths and legends? I doubt that there is not too much to find, about combat strategies in those kinds of stories. She must be interested in the origin story of that man. Information is the key to victory after all. But I have no clue, why she is sighing while doing her research, is she not content with the information available? I do not get it, she just could have asked our father on his experiences if she wants to beat him that badly, she was not afraid to do so in the past if she was unable to progress. Father would most likely help her even more gladly then usual after she found herself a target.I have not seen that level of ambition on her for a very long time. Samantha was currently busy lamenting the fact, that she was unable to find anything about that mysterious man, even in legends there was no such thing as a body without magic, such a concept was so foreign that it did not even occur in myths and legends.Something like this is not something that can exist in this world. So does that mean, that the whole man is just made up by someone? But what is he depicted on, there has to some sort of inspiration, after all even the legends were not able to come up with such an obscure idea. What I still fail to understand is that even though NPCs are quite intelligent their behaviour pattern is something that can be considered normal or expected, but that fighting style he used against me, was something I have never ever seen. Fighting against monsters is mostly based on instincts, fighting against a human is based on behaviour and fighting tactics, but he took advantages of my misconception to viciously strike me when I did not expect an attack. If an NPC was capable of using that level of tactics without a doubt the developer would have sold that as a strong point, to gather more sponsors. But either they withheld that information or they did not know about him in the first place. Both statements have quite heavy implications if they turn out to be true. For one, withholding that information would either mean that they knew that they would get enough funding anyway and kept that information as a backup plan or did not dare to mention that level of intelligence to get that funding. If you think about it an NPC with that kind of combat style would surely be extremely dangerous and unpredictable. But if they did not know about that NPC, that raises the question how it came to be in the first Place, is there more to him? Does he have a purpose, if so what is it? Are he and bugboy part of the same group of intelligent NPCs? Is this just a great scheme for the player to get invested in this game? I want to know whats all behind this stuff, something like that can not just appear out of thin air and it is definitely not something that was created by gods. No the gods she knew would not defile mana and create such a blasphemy. After pondering on this matter for a long time she realized, that she was running out of possibilities. As it turns out the only option left, was to seek him out and try to talk to him. He did not show any aggression before he was attacked. Let me see, what his motivation and reason for existence are. But at first it was time to hone the magic, she had been prioritizing the whole affair around that strange being for so long, she actually forgot about her obligation. Ice magic requires a calm mind and body, guiding the magic flow takes a lot of practice, but no longer a problem for her. She had reached a level, where she could freely manipulate the mana to her liking. Refining the magic particles was her current goal, the purer the magic the more potential it offered, though it came at the price of being harder to control. That is why, refinement should happen step by step, to not lose control of one''s body and emotion. Preparing herself, she noticed that she was unable to calm down. Was she really affected by that loss? As a scion of the Glacie family, losing her calm regardless of the reason is an unaccapptable circumstance. She caught herself thinking about that man over and over again. Coming back to her loss and his fighting style. She could not fathom, why her mind did not let go, it was as if her mind was pointing out something, which she has not noticed beforehand. What could that be? She had analyzed everything about his fighting style and found nothing about it in any book she read. His weapon and his body, everything about him seemed to not make any sense. She had a lingering feeling, that he represented something, that did not fit into "Primal Survival". She would go even further and say that he represents a concept that is absolutely foreign to this world as if it was never meant to exist in the first place. She did not notice it, because she was savouring the fight, but wasnt his presence alone was eerie, it felt like mana itself was moving away from him. If even the foundation of "Primal Survival" is afraid of that monster? Who is he to induce such a feeling to mana itself? Unable to escape that loop, she continued pondering about possible scenarios for the rest of the day, before returning to "Primal Survival" in search of the truth behind the man that bested her. 44 Message In the meantime, there was a girl who had a widely different approach to this topic. Why should she waste so much of her glorious time researching and thinking about such complicated stuff, after all, she had subordinates for that very purpose. She was keeping herself busy, doing various things. Repeating her magic over and over again to improve the efficiency.Testing how the limits of magic on monsters that have been captured for her sake and were now tormented on daily basis. There was no need to worry, each and everyone could be replaced in a heartbeat. She was enjoying the anguish that the monsters would feel under her magic. Their shallow breath, the looming threat of death before and the yearning for it afterwards. While monsters are not considered to be intelligent, their acute senses make torture so much more fun and engaging. She remembered her first experiment object fondly, it was just a small Nagant. It is just a little toy for children, but without a doubt it made her realize how much fun and potential magic can have. Their week and meekly flash helplessly violated by potent magic. Crushed under the mighty potential, lies the corpse twitching helplessly. She will never forget that strange sight. But after spending all too much time on toying with them she noticed, that inside of her she was lacking something. As if there was a gigantic void inside of her. While other children learned not to fear monsters and hatred got installed into them, she felt different, she did not pity any of those monsters nor did she hate them. They were just a tool to pass the time, a gap-filler for purpose of her life. She thought long and hard about what purpose her life has. Is it to eradicate this world of those monsters, but what comes afterwards? Why is everyone here so delusional to think that everything they do is limited to that one thing? We are Chosen by the Gods, they gave us our magic, make us stronger and yet we have only one goal? What is the next task for us? " We were Chosen by the Gods, out of all options they chose us. In the eyes of the Gods, our Lives are the most significant, not those monsters. Everything else is insignificant and just dimmers our halo. That is why every monster has to be disposed of at every cost. And just like monsters, those who do not get recognized by the Gods do not deserve to live in this world. This world needs a cleansing. You have to be willing to offer up every ounce of your being for the favour of the Gods. The magic of the weak, the ones who dare to sully the goodwill of the gods, with their pathetic presence have to cease to exist as well. We have not been chosen to due to the negligence of the gods, it is because this world has been defiled and it is our task to bring it on the right track no matter the cost. She did not take pleasure in the fact that she was killing these monsters in a gruesome matter, she rejoiced that she was helping the monsters to make amendments for all the time their presence has tarnished this world. She saw herself as an emissary. The gods are magnanimous, all you have to do is repent. Suffer in agony, until you are ready to be embraced by the Gods again. For they are our guides. Depending on the level of sin, she assigned each creature she chose her the length of a redemption session. She was doing the right thing, she was doing them a favour. It was that very purpose that was able to fill the gigantic void in her body. While the others could only prove their worth by following orders, she showed her worth by fulfilling the Gods will without being told to. A faithful servant of the Gods has to act for them, even without being told to. Pure devotion is the only way to repay the Gods grace. That is why she had so much respect for the Company that designed "Primal Survival", those people are preparing the next Generation to serve the Gods. Each and every man was devoted and put their lives on the line on the frontlines. They have lost many things they hold dear. But they did not give in. they created something that helps to sanctify everyone. They created a simulation, so that even the weakest most pitiful person, can learn how to fight those monsters. With every mistake, you redeem yourself little by little.You get stronger, surpassing your limitations and take on stronger enemies. Each virtual monster you fight prepares you to kill the real ones. You are coming closer and closer to the ideal devotee. The time she spent roaming that simulated worlds were truly blissful, the world was thriving. Blood, sweat and tears, all that spent effort. The enticing rewards promised by The Churches, adding fuel to the fiery passion. Everything was perfect until that thing appeared. I despise it, how can anything in this world reject the grace of the Gods. How does it dare to oppose magic itself?Its whole existence is an affront. This beast does not even stop at taking the shape of us, Chosen Ones. It just scoffs at everyone and everything, as if everyone is beneath, even the heavens themselves. Such conduct, while being so inferior. Why is something like that allowed to exist in the first place? It deserves to suffer an endless nightmare of pain and torment.For such a thing, there is no salvation, all it can do is suffer for all eternity to appease the Gods. The worst thing is, that this creature was created by a Chosen One, I am really curious, who would have the guts to do something like that. How vile, do you have to be foster thoughts like that? What kind of sick twisted excuse of Chosen One are you, filthy scum. Her subordinates should be bringing in the updates on the culprits and she could not wait to guide them on their path to forgiveness. She was not forced to wait for very long before a man appeared in front of her dressed in black. "What took you so long, did you dare to sleaze of, just because it is an easy task for you?" " No, miss we would not dare" the men, said in an emotionless voice." " I do not want excuses, I just what want answers, who caused this abomination?" " We conducted several thorough investigations, but there is not enough conclusive evidence that points to a specific person" before his boss would explode he began to explain " At first we just thought, that some madman designed, so we asked those technicians nicely about it. After some torture and hostages here and there we were told, that no one of them knew of it existing in the first place. They were told to stay quiet because it works as an attraction to Chosen Ones left and right. "So we followed the trail and noticed that even under agony those people were swearing that the Technicians did not tell them about their invitation. That trail was a total downfall, even after we tranquillized them and used magic to search their memories no actual evidence was found. Just gibberish. But of course, we did not leave any traces behind and erased their memories. We decided to focus on the source of the video, but due to the status of our target, we had to choose a different approach when usual. the target let us willingly search through her memories but demanded we erase the memory of that creature. After conducting a thorough memory search, we could verify several things. First of all, that monster exists without a doubt, secondly, the video that was taken by her does depict the true terror of this being. Everything about it did do not fit our cultural norm, it is something that no sane human person could come up. I can not judge how strong that kind of creature is or how strong it can become" " Following the procedure, we traced one last rumour, that showed an uncanny resemblance to that creature. It was about an NPC who had a strange fighting style and did not have any feeling of magic to it like our previous subject. We inquired whether the scion of the Glacie family was sure about her observations, but after seeing the men fight we could confirm that the feeling was different but yet felt as foreign. Though both of the cases seem to be linked it is unlikely that both of them are the same creature. After all, an abomination cannot take the form of a human, that would go against the natural order set by the Gods" The young miss did not show any kind of reaction at first, her subordinates were fearing that they did not do their job properly and prepared to take on the upcoming punishment. But to their surprise, nothing like that came true. " You are excused, please leave the room", even though from the outside her demeanour may seem calm, but not having found a culprit made her feel really bad. Every other second such a creature exists, her hard work would become undone. Despite all the knowledge, she could obtain, she still felt like she was missing something. A huge piece of the puzzle was currently looming over her head. She had forgotten about something, something that made big waves some time ago but disappeared as fast as it came. What is this uneasy feeling I get while pondering about this particular topic? If she finds herself stuck in a train of thought, she will usually guide some monsters to their salvation. Out of habit, she looked at the current news surrounding "Primal Survival" and then it hit her like a train. She forgot about a certain someone, that referred to himself/herself as an envoy. Call me Daddy2, whenever or wherever that name shows up, a trail of destruction is going to appear. But sadly behind that nickname was a real person, not a simple creation. The real nuisance hid behind that nickname. Yet even after exhausting all her options, there was not a single trace.No one has seen the face behind it. no one knows any potential whereabouts. It was just, that every promise that this horrifying voice spoke, came true. Each word was daunting because deep down everybody knew they would come true. She quickly shoved her previous questions aside and began to focus on Call me Daddy2, because it''s a real threat, not a stupid design that can be deleted in a heartbeat. Even though she wanted to do something good for the gods, they will not be troubled by something so insignificant that cannot even hurt a fly of this world. After all its impact was limited to the simulation, it was stuck in and if the investigations are correct it is just a malfunction of machines. So why should she bother with it anymore, no that the real trouble appeared? Call me Daddy2 requires all her attention because the outcome will be damaging and she has to do the best she can do to contain that result. She breathed slowly to calm down and brace for the storm that was about to come. But after clicking on the link, she felt a bit strange. "I promised to bring peace but what did I release? An envoy of the Gods unleashed something long forgot, Its purpose derived of any meaning just a part of the screening. Prove your worth when times are dire that is something everyone should aspire But times are about to change The victory is in range The downfall of filth, the last offence forever onward, that is my commence." What happened, Call me Daddy2 did not speak with rhymes before. She scrolled down and saw it. If you doubt me, why have I chosen to write in rhymes, those are not my words, these are the words the Gods told me to convey. She was sure this message will create utter mayhem. 45 Mayhem? Beneath us! Even though Call me Daddy 2 was the on omen for bad news, his message was received with a cry of happiness. The Gods have spoken to them, delivering joyous news, The monsters will soon be no more. Their victory is imminent. All their fallen comrades will be avenged, they do not have to fear for their lives anymore. They were glad that the Gods blessed them. Their gift, the magic in this world enabled them to fight back and vanquish this abhorrent evil. When this world is finally free of monsters everything is going to be perfect. No mothers have to cry about sending their children off into war, only to see them never again. Praise be to heavens for their trust in us. People started to celebrate and dance around wildly in the streets. Poor or rich everybody was the same upon hearing this news. A gigantic burden has left their shoulders, the looming threat over their heads is going to disappear soon. Most of them could not even grasp how far the current extent was. The news alone was enough for this period of pure extasy. Each and every road got decorated. Young or old, sick or healthy, everybody dressed up for this occasion. They hugged each other and tears of joy began to pour down their faces. Those festivals continued into the deep of the night all over the World. Not a single one did take a look at the whole message, in their eyes, it was the word victory that erased any logical thinking. For them, it was all that matters, after all, they are Chosen. The Gods want a world that is free of evil, a just and pure world. And with each killed monster they are coming closer and closer to this ideal world. After having lost all their worries, why would they willingly go back to their old horrendous life? After this time of pure darkness, the light is just that enticing. The light promised an ideal world, devoid of all this pain and suffering there was no need for sacrifices any more. Every sane person of this world would never give up on that little piece of heaven. This utopia is going to become reality soon after all their Gods made a promise and the words of Gods are to be trusted. The thought of people faking the message of the Gods never crossed their mind. Blaspheming the mighty Gods was something that was never even considered in the first place. Even the mighty Church declared Call Me Daddy 2 as a prophet and vowed to increase their effort to eradicate the filth. They all kept their eyes on the promise of victory. Every single warrior increased their effort and nearly doubled their training, they all wanted to do their part to accomplish it. This world did not have a phase like this for a very long time. This wave of vigour swept over every nook and cranny and even the world of "Primal Survival" was not spared from the increased commitment. The monsters were killed left and right, this process repeated itself over and over again. For them this was no place to train, it was a breeding ground to prepare for the vanquishment of monsters. If they died, the just went back and fought again. They explored seeking stronger monsters and more challenges. They wanted to prove their worth, to be able to kill each and every monster. Those poor monsters did not stand any chance under the bombardment of magic, they had no choice but to die over and over again. The title was no longer fitting, at least for the Players. It became a gigantic house of slaughter. Boredom was nowhere to be found. Though there were still some people, who were searching for something in this world other than the thrill of slaughter. As the time passed, so did the attention on the rumour of that strange entity. Fewer and fewer people kept on searching after that predator. Even though it looked promising to fight, they would not waste their time, searching for something that may or may not exist. If it does exist, some player will find it sooner or later anyway. So they continued their training session and lit up yet another war-pig. Just as the bugboy, the mutated Nagants disappeared as well, as if they had been swallowed by the earth itself. But with enough targets to choose from, even they began to disappear out of their minds.Even though the time period was not big, everything faded. Even though there were some rumours regarding the stability of the soil, that just collapsed underneath some players, those were quickly denounced as hoaxes and the disappearance of landscapes was deduced to just be the impact of the magic remnants in this server. There was only a small amount of people, that were worried about the status quo, due to the sudden craze the server costs were increasing by the minute. The poor technicians had to find a way to minimize energy consumption, otherwise, they were forced to watch their hard-earned funding melt away in front of their eyes. Even after searching through all their formulas, they could find a single thing, that would be responsible for such an increasing demand for supply.If at first they only needed to add a minuscule amount of mana into the system, because the rest was self-regulating, then now they were forced to pump more and more into it to keep the world stable. Normally mana would be changed into data and then formed into the shape the player imagines. Now the system would evaluate the impact on the surroundings and change the data to simulate the impact of the magic.The destroyed surroundings would return to its former state after a certain time frame. Magic is a near neverending supply of energy and the data in itself does not consume magic it just converts it. That is why the current situation was that baffling to the technician, their first guess would have been that the increasing demand was caused by the staggering amount of simultaneous acts of destruction due to the players. Though that theory was proven to be incorrect, after it still increased even though, no new players joined in. So they took the time and effort to see, a general heatmap of the percentile consumption. They still failed to pinpoint the cause. Over a period of time, each sector had a much higher percentage than the rest but that lasted only for a fleeting moment until this strange situation happened in different sectors again. This was not just a temporary state, it was recurring change. They questioned, whether a player would not have noticed something, that was responsible for such great acts of destruction. Though not even a single player voiced something in that regard. It just did not make any sense. They failed to wrap their heads around the thought, that even though so much more mana was needed the number of simultaneous processes was stagnating. There has to be a leak, otherwise, there was no other way. But the question is if it is a leak why would it be moving? A leak should be stationary in nature. Is the system malfunctioning? A malfunction would mean, that the magic just accumulates inside the system which in itself can be dangerous if the players come into contact with raw magic. The system itself notices every abnormality, even if it is just a little. And we tested such an interaction beforehand and the system prevented the conglomeration of both substances. This theory was quickly dismissed, although it was possible, it was hardly likely to be the root of all the trouble. Another side effect is that the magic somehow gets exhausted or spent. Though this train of thought is more than idiotic, after all, there is no way magic to disappear, it just changes its shape. Even the fiercest monster is unable to affect magic, it can barely utilize it. So this conclusion seems to be nothing more than bad fiction. A stupid idea, a drunk person had. Even most delusional fanatic would not be able to seriously believe in something so absurd. They sent teams of players to scout in different players, after simulating the path of that mysterious subject. After multiple players arrived at their destination, with the highest likelihood of its appearance. Still, they did not see anything, there was no destruction visible. Everything seemed just normal. But several strange occurrences happened to several teams that left the poor technicians even more confused than before. One team fell into a gigantic hole because the soil underneath them gave in. They found that the whole underground had been hollowed out. Another team where attacked out of nowhere but no traces of monsters or players were seen. Yet another team was devoured whole, they could not muster up any kind of resistance. They only heard a weird clattering noise, before their bodies went limb, followed by a swift death. The loss of 3 teams baffled them, especially because nothing happened to the other teams.Even more ridiculous was that every team died to a different cause. At least now its obvious that the destruction does not take place above the surface but below it. That still does not explain, how such a thing can happen in the first place. I doubt that any monster would have a digging speed like that.Besides what kind of monster would be able to easily clear a team of players, without any of them noticing anything at all? The strongest monster is a fucking bear and that thing is not capable of such a feat. Even if some parts are solved another question pops right up. It is a neverending chain of mysteries for those, who just wanted to celebrate the joyous news with their dearest. After sending the other teams to the places, where the other teams died. They made a strange observation, the whole barren landscape was covered in deep holes. As time passed the unthinkable happened, those holes still remained, every onlooker could not believe what was happening right in front of them. They approached each hole with caution and peaked inside of them, to gauge how deep each of them is. Each hole varied in its depth, but they had a single thing in common a wave of nagants was found in them. It was the very same Nagant that caused them to fear for their very own lives. Why would those mutants appear right at this place? Why are those little creatures linked to every big event that took place in this world till now? Questions like that kept appearing in their minds, yet the strangest circumstance was that the holes were not fixed. The system would automatically return everything to its status quo after a certain time frame passed. No monster, player, or admin can change that fact. Rather the only thing that can have any sort of influence is the observing AI. After all that is the purpose, it watches every action and interacts with the system to depict a realistic experience. What reasoning would lead to the creation of those holes? There are more and more things, that happen around us without any reason. Bugboy, nagants, strange NPCs and of course this tunnel system. If everything the system does is for the sake of players, then this whole hidden world is made for the players. Was it trying to create new content, since the world is currently stagnating? Those nagants were indeed posing the biggest threat so far and players would most likely jump head first into a battle if they were given the opportunity. After all the constant killing of weak monsters, those players must yearn for a challenge, that requires more than just throwing magic after magic at the monsters. This world has gone astray from its name and the system wanted for the player to get on the right track again, that must have been the reason. A team like this can be eradicated by those Nagants quite fast, so its no contradiction to the previous condition. After finally getting the reason, the technicians told their chef about their new wonderful implementation. A new location for fights, a dark deep cave system. The enemy inside the cave is stronger than any other creature currently available. The Chef was delighted after hearing of such good news. He began to pull some strings to advertise this development in hope of gathering attention and more funding. The teams were told to stay stationary for the time being and keep an eye on the Nagants. They were to inform the technicians on any kind of unusual activity. As in tradition, something unusual happened. Some Nagants could be seen sitting on top of moles directing them in which direction to dig. Every onlooker could swear, that those nagants were enjoying themselves right now. They knew that those creatures were not like the other monsters, but the behaviour of that kind was neither seen or witnessed before. Those creatures were not even paying attention to their surroundings, they were walking around happily, admiring the scenery they had created. As long as nobody disturbed then, they kept on doing their own bidding. Even after a player got too close and the ground gave in, the ants did not show any concern. As the player tumbled after his fall, he was mentally prepared to die. Strangely he was ignored and those Nagants just walked passed him. Was that the bloodthirsty creature everyone had talked about? The poor man was perplexed and just stared into the air. But as times passed and the nagants were continuing ignoring him, he began to walk around and scout the area a bit. The cave area was mostly the same, the light from the surface was enough to shroud most of it with a dim light. The sheer mass of Nagants was astounding. It did not matter where he looked, those creatures could be found literally everywhere. He walked into different directions and saw that the ants finally paid attention to him. They were just observing rather than planning to attack. The thought of attacking them crossed his mind, but after looking at his surroundings, he chose to rather continue scouting the area. But those ants eyes never once left him, after he had begun walking in his current direction, it felt like they were paying more and more attention towards him. He did not continue onwards, instead, he called for the rest of his team. After a short discussion, the teams agreed to scout the area underneath. One team kept standing on standby, awaiting orders on the surface. A total of 100 players began scouting the small world beneath the surface. They began to split up to cover a wider area. Still, the ants did nothing more than observing the group of players. The players were curious, what would await them. After all the system would not create such a place for nought. They did not find anything interesting at all. Just a near endless cluster of nagants. Until asingle player felt a faint tremor. His interest was piqued and so he followed the path to its source. As he came closer,the tremors became stronger. The reverberating air became noisier as well. As he came face to face with the origin of the tremor, he thought to himself whether someone was playing a cruel joke on him or not. In front of him was a young child dressed in strange clothing punching the ground over and over again. He spent the next few minutes, just staring at the strange spectacle that was unfolding in front of his eyes. The kid did not show any signs of stopping soon, there was not even a trace of fatiguee visible. The only prove of his hard work, was his body covered in sweat. The player felt intrigued, he never saw or heard about such a small NPC. That NPC had to be important otherwise it would not be down here. After he fixed his posture he started to talk to the NPC, demanding to know, why he was down here. The NPC continued his practice and straight up ignored the player. The player felt baffled. NPCs should cower in fear upon coming into contact with a Chosen One. He should do everything he is told to and bow his yet in shame. Yet this NPC did not even show any kind of reaction. It might be deaf, that would explain why he did not even react. Alexander Minimis saw himself as a magnanimous person, who did not discriminate against NPCs. He did not kill them on sight, that made him more tolerant than 90% of the player base. Yet how should he approach this NPC, when he is unable to listen? Just bombarding it with magic seems a bit overkill and defeats the purpose of talking to it in the first place. So he decided to just casually walk up to him and touch its shoulder. Then the NPC would talk to him and tell him all the important details about this cave. The young child did not even seem to notice him as he came closer. As he put his hands on its back, the tremors and noise came to an abrupt end as the young child stopped punching. It had the face of a human boy and was looking calmly into my eyes. As he turned around he began to crack his bones, without any worry in the world. Some noises left its mouth, but before I could even realize what those noises were, I found myself on the spawn point. What did just happen? I had to inform my superiors about it. The technicians did not expect that something like that to happen. As they were gathering the information from the first victim, they were noticing that more and more people were calling them to deliver the same news. Before they could finish interviewing the first victim, the whole scouting team was annihilated. But they did not find a clue what could have killed them, besides everyone only saw a small NPC-child that did not even speak to them right before they died. But each one swore that the child did not move before they died. It just stood there and spectated the men and women with great curiosity. But none could explain how they all saw the same human child when they were split up in different directions. Why would the NPC haunt them? This marked only the beginning of the strange deaths in that area. 46 A better choice As others were busy contemplating the ins and out of the caves. A certain ant queen was struggling to accept what kind of being she is bonded to. When her host was not busy trying to kill himself in various ways or stating ridiculous demands, he is behaving really strange. Why would a being, who is capable of forming such treacherous strategies, dig in the ground for such a long time without any breaks? He clearly knew that my ants would do that without hesitation, instead, he did it anyway. If there is a purpose to it, she would like to know it. Because in her eyes, there can be no reason at all. And do not get started on his weaponry. If you can command an army, why would you choose heavy rocks as your weapon? Staying in the shadows is enough. Millions of loyal subordinates, there is absolutely no need to fight on the frontlines.He would just have to stay safe and take advantages out the sheer number advantage, but no, due to his reckless nature, she was forced to constantly help with nurturing his wounds. A sensation of pain is normally meant as a warning but he takes it as some sort of twisted motivation to actively seek it. Truly sickening is the fact, that only the smallest amount of those wounds were inflicted by monsters. The cruellest wounds were done by himself and he was even smiling when he was mutilating himself. Repetitively targeting the same spot over and over again what was his aim? She could not fathom, why he would go through such unnecessary torture. If he wanted to change his body structure, he just could have asked for it. He just trains his body without any kind of break and it forces us to heal him back by rapidly producing new cells. Normally a human body is limited due to mana influence. But his body has no limiter in that regard, its response to stimulation is to grow. He compressed his muscles piece, by piece until he was as small as he was before.Yet his weight had not changed. Inside that small body of his, is the same strength as in that walking mountain of flesh. Regardless of how much strength the human flesh has, magic will just kill him before he even can come close. So why does he keep on training his body? He should have realized by now, that even though his body is capable of absorbing parts of the magic that hits his body, the magic still ends up hurting him. It takes more and more energy just to create a more durable body. That huge amount of ants acts much more like a delivery chain than an actual army. It is no wonder, that he just attracts trouble left and right because his body acts like a bottomless pit. The amount of energy his body needs is out of this world. He is always stimulating his body, forcing it to grow and then compressing it afterwards again. But after doing this for quite some time, he ran into a little bit of trouble, the whole underground stopped regenerating out of the sudden. So he was stuck in his training session and was forced to train, while the rest of the ants spread all over the map to gather the necessary energy. He did not consider or did not care about all the consequences. So my ants began to clear the soil everywhere they went. The result was this whole cave system, that was devoid of any more soil. He had planned to dig even deeper at first, but the soil underneath crushed his hand as he was testing the pressure. That was the moment he refused to further improve his body for the meantime. To top it all off, the gloves, I spent so much time on producing are now placed aside, because he is not strong enough to use them yet. That monstrous body and all that training are still not enough to wield the weapon he wanted. Right now he is just barely able to lift it and yet he has the gall to actually smile when wearing them. He swatched the idea for a new kind of ant for a product that he has no use for as of now. A problem that plagued me all the time was solved by him in mere seconds and yet all he wants is that kind of product. It is supposed to be a mutual exchange of equal value. But he insists on stuff like that, I just can''t call this kind of behaviour sane. I would rather say that my host is a delusional psychopath. Right now he is keeping himself busy, by punching into something over and over again. There is not one thing that can be considered normal about him at all. She wondered how much different and easier her life would have been if her host would not be as insane and mad as her current partner in crime. Even though it may sound like he is just useless, I am unable to deny that his approach is something fresh. He walks a path that this world has not seen. If he does not end up burning himself and most likely he will, then I am quite curious what kind of monstrosity he can become. Living a stable life may be of importance if your existence was of any value in the first place. Though in this world would care for them. would anyone shed a tear for them? They are just a bunch of misfits with no place to call home. An existence that was doomed to fail from the start, yet even though he does know that is all he will ever amount to, he moves on forward regardless. If you ignore the parts, where he is an emotional wreck, he seems to be a somewhat good host. Of course they every alternative would include a monster, that would die upon encountering a player. It was not the body that was the problem, it was the character and brain that were attached to it. Did they use all their luck for a body of that kind and so they were punished with such a character? She was torn between wanting to know how his thought process or not wanting to know because she liked to keep her sanity. Everything would be a lot easier if they could converse with each other and actually understand one another. Right now they were communicating by using gestures. What was going on in this irrational brain of his? What experiences did he make to actually develop in that way? How much different does he view the world? But the host just continued to distract himself by punching and training without an end. It was a hunch but sometimes it felt like he was not whole. He was missing something, that would be forever out of reach, no matter how strong his longing was. But that feeling disappeared as soon as it appeared. While he was busy training a faithful day came, a team of players appeared. But yet he ordered me to let these weak magicians scouts our current hideout. What is he thinking? As one single player was attracted by the noise spectacle my host was responsible for. He kept approaching him talking down to him, but her host was not bothered by it. It was as if he truly did not care about the opinion of others. Even if he does not understand the language, his bearing, his body language the tone of his voice are all telltale signs for that. He still ignores him and only turns around to crack his nose, while spectating the reaction of the player. It took only a few seconds before the player crumbled on the floor.How did that player die? What kind of stunt did my host pull off now? Her host just moved his hand a little then turned around to move towards his next prey. There was no change in expression. As if everything he just did was nothing special. He did not voice another order but the ant queen followed him regardless. She continued to observe, but her host just walked up to them without any care in the world and always moved his hand slightly before the enemy would succumb to him. Same approach same result, over and over again. After every enemy had been eradicated, he stared into the void a small sigh left his mouth. He muttered something before returning back to his usual practice. The queen did not have any idea, how he could kill all these players with next to no movement. She searched the body of a recently deceased player but did not find any wound that would explain the outcome. She looked at her host with curious eyes, only for him to point against his head. The queen started to take a closer look onto the head. After a thorough search, all she could find was a multitude of small holes. After cracking the skull open, she found that the brain was riddled with many small holes. Embedded inside were small tiny hairs. The ant could only nod her head in awe at her host, she would never use such a strategy in fighting with an enemy. A strategy like that had only one purpose and that was to kill and nothing else. it did not ask for your motivation or story. In front of such strategy, feelings are only a hindrance. An efficient tool of murder. A perfect fit. He has no moral code of conduct, he just acts on whatever he wants to do.Each player she got to know, acted based on emotions. They were haughty, cruel, gloating but he did not show such emotions while fighting. He was not underestimating the situation, rather it felt like he truly did not feel anything of that sort when fighting players. His only concern was the outcome.He gets rid of every obstacle in his way, by any means necessary. He has the perfect kind of versatile arsenal to aid him in his endeavour. By adding this all into the mix andyou got yourself an unpredictable loose cannon. Looking at this kind of man, made her feel a different kind of fear, then players or monsters. It was not the fear invoked, by distress or difference in power. It was the fear of not knowing what is going to happen by staying near him. This uncertainty was the driving factor, that leads her to evaluate him once again. He was not human, he was not a monster he was beyond that point. In fact so beyond, that any comparison if there is a better or worse choice is unable to be answered because something like him should have never been a viable option. The men just continued his training as usual, as if nothing had ever changed. He might be planning for the future or thinking about possible weapons. Or he could not be thinking about anything at all. Even though her host was unpredictable, he did not show any signs of revolting or trying to target her. Rather it was as if he did not care about any living thing in this world. not even himself. He was just an alienated being. Nothing more than a stranger, a passerby that only exists without having any deeper purpose. Looking at him made her question, what kind of terror is currently still hiding inside of him. What kind of weaponry, what kind of tactics will he come up with, when the world turns against him. But the biggest question, is what will happen when he begins to feel something, what kind of extent will he reach then? Her host suddenly stopped his exercise and began to pull over his heavy fingerless gloves. The cracking sound of his bones was an announcement for the upcoming violence. It would be violence at its finest. 47 Sow the wind A sigh escaped my lips, this marked the beginning of stormy waters. Even though I could not deny that I was craving to see something else than ants or moles, a small peek at the surface would have been enough. All I had planned was to dig a path to a spawn point and yet the whole system did not the way he thought it would. How could he have foreseen, that the whole soil would not regenerate? It was only a matter of time before that time bomb would explode. Right now was that moment, the countdown began to tick down. At least I do not have to worry, about my lack of supplies anymore, after all, they are coming directly into my den. How kind of them, to support me so wholeheartedly. I will make sure to treat them the same way, that''s common courtesy. The last time it was 100 players, that had the misfortune of coming down here. It was quite easy to pick them off one by one after they had split up. It will not be as easy as that if they have drawn any conclusion from the last scouts.I doubt they will still give me the chance of approaching them. Their answer would be magic spells. Quite frankly any other kind of reply would surprise me. But regardless of how many people they send, I can take advantage out of my time spent down here. This terrain is not suited for group battles. All I have to avoid is the central area, which is quite open. Once they reach the tight and narrow area, I can start an ambush. After a successful attack, I will return into the cave system to wait for my next chance to strike. It should be quite easy to decrease their numbers down like that. Though once they notice, my assassination attempts, it will get much harder. If I am forced to fight them, I would choose a spot, that hinders the player using his magic efficiently. Using those players as a meatshield looks quite promising as well. Looking back no matter what I did, I always ended up attracting unwanted attention. Though I would prefer this kind of life, over digging tunnels for the rest of my time. This whole event could be summed up by saying, an uneventful time of digging. Being alone is hard enough on its own, with no one to talk to, but doing mundane tasks on top of it is leading me to start thinking. And I do not particularly like to think about my past. That is why this sort of distraction comes just at the right moment. Before I engage the enemy, I will take one last look at the enemy and the tools I have available right now. The enemy I am about to encounter is an unknown amount of men strong, it is likely that the number is greater than the previous one. it consists out of many different mages, with all kinds of magic. The one thing in common is that those players lack the ability to adapt to circumstances. Those kinds of players have a shallow experience in fighting monsters, their fighting style is to use your magic at the target until it is no more. I doubt any monster would set up ambushes and select the battlefield in a way that puts their advantages against them. If I am lucky, there might even be a feeling of panic, if the players drop dead without noticing where the attack came from. As long as I am able to plant a seed of doubt inside of them, the easier it gets for me to win the battle from the getgo. The psychology is quite important, though many people do not think about it when fighting. Would I still be fighting a small army, if I knew support is on the way and I might suffer heavy casualties if I were to continue? I would not take a fight like that and so the war was won before it even began. The support did not even have to exist for something like that to work. Though I have to be careful how far I will take this because if I have learned one thing about those religious fanatics, they really like to fight against monsters and strive to do the impossible. It might as well end up with even more players trying to kill me over and over again. They would not stop until I perish. It is a fine line I am currently treading on. But if you really think about it, regardless of which path I choose, in the end, it boils down to much more attention than before. So I might as well not take thoughts like that into consideration and just act based on what seems right. Previously I had the chance to test out my hair, on its functionality as a hidden weapon. I got many insights on how to work with them. In the beginning, I used my plugged out arm hair and cut it into many small pieces, connecting them by a fine thread, that I may or may not have stolen from the queens'' subordinates by tricking them. After the production turned out to be a full success I began to conduct several tests on the viability of that tool. The effective range of that tool is 3 meters if drawn by hand otherwise the thread will tear. I am able to avoid this kind of problem if I embedded the hair. Then I could pull the connected threads, until the tension is high enough, to launch the hair into the direction of the thread. This tactic is quite useful when I have enough time to prepare. Furthermore, if the target is not paying attention, they can be used as a projectile as well. It has enough power to penetrate a human skull with ease, though I have no clue how it would interact with magic. I thought about lacing it with poison, but this hair is only useful as a surprise attack and if it connects it means certain death, therefore it was not needed for the time being. Though I will keep it in the back of my hand if I were to need it in the future. Of course, I still have my gloves which will do a lot of damage, though the limit my speed by a lot. It should still be possible to fight with them. Unless I am surrounded that handicap will not matter. Having finished my mental preparation, I began to sneak around and waited for the first enemy to appear. But there was not even one enemy to be found, there was no trace of something even coming in here. This really feels strange? There has to be something here nearly every thread that I placed near the entrances has been torn apart. The intruder alarm worked like a charm. As soon as the thread was torn, a small weight dropped in my near proximity and informed me about the enemy. So why have I not seen anyone yet, are they still waiting for more players to arrive? It might as well be a ruse to lure me out. Even if I were to eavesdrop on them I would not understand a single thing they were talking about. That means I can either wait here, for their actions or I give up my cover and create a mess? Before I decide on the next course of action it was time to put my digging to good use and scout a bit. I was moving underneath slowly but surely to not raise any attention if I would wait too long on one spot I would be crushed right on the spot. As I was spectating the entrance area, I was left baffled. Right in front of him. was indeed a huge crowd of players. But those players were not interested in him, no rather were they getting repeatedly getting headbutted by the ants. Why is the atmosphere so competitive? Those players just spread their legs and endure the onslaught of attacks. Wait, why are the even female players involved in this madness? Even with magic, the problem remains ingrained. Stupidity will prevail.I had the sudden urge to go there and remind everyone that there is a little more to this world than hurting their nether region, in some sort of twisted competition. 200 players were busy cheering and participating in this whole event. 200 today, 300 tomorrow how much trouble will they bring me in the future. It is time to act now, while I still have the chance. It might keep them busy for quite some time, but once they start exploring I will find it harder and harder to avoid combat. I will honour our new companionship, by showing something that they have not seen. All the produced threads would end up being used, but I was willing to make that trade. All I did was put half and half of my tools on 2 opposite walls. Those walls were close to the group of players, just could walk right up, nobody paid any attention. They were busy talking and cheering the competitors on. Their eyes were glued on the action happening in front of them. Those poor souls will most likely not even notice something before dropping dead on the spot. Is it unfair, is it heinous, is it cruel to use methods like that? Those methods are not cruel, a quick death seems quite humane in my eyes and I do not differentiate whether my enemy is male for female. They will have to die regardless. I have no need for an epic, speech declaring my intention and motivation, if it does not serve any purpose it is useless. I began to pull the threads and the cheerful atmosphere was replaced by an eerie silence. It felt like the whole crowd was frozen in time, as they slowly crumbled downwards. There was no survivor. Sadly there was not much time to rejoice over that successful spectacle, because those players will be hellbent on returning back here. I ordered the ants to consume the corpses, that way I can at least have some sort of insurance. I made every ant retreat and ordered them to not engage in combat for the time being. For myself to continue ambushing those players over and over again. I was aiming that those players would give up if they find no way to prevent me from doing so. After pulling a stunt like this it will take quite some time till the hype around it will die. After the ants finished the devouring process, everyone began to disperse. The whole place of slaughter was now devoid of anything. I did not even manage to reach my former training spot before a new intruder alarm went off. After that shocking twist, I began to calmly walk deeper into the layer, waiting for players to arrive here. I am quite interested in what kind of magic, I will encounter when I get the full attention of so many players. Will I face something stronger than those young adults? What I could not anticipate was the current anger residing in the players. They did not like the fact, that they were interrupted playing "Balls of Steel". They wanted to vent their anger by taking revenge on whatever killed them.The first wave of players started as soon as the respawned and returned as fast as possible. They did not even think about what could have killed them. Upon arrival, everyone jumped down and began to search for and kill every living thing inside that cave. Spells were thrown at random and the whole landscape of the cave was once again alternated. And now even I realized that I did a big miscalculation, those players would stop at nothing, there was no way to disturb them mentally. This will be a lot more troublesome, then I expected it to be. If I can not crush them mentally, then I will just take advantage out of their sheer anger. As I appeared behind an unsuspecting player, I began to choke him from behind. The player was struggling to turn around, but as much as he tried it was all to no avail. His windpipe was crushed and he was dead. The corpse was devoured and it was as if nothing had happened in the first place. That should be the number 403 of my player kills. I am quite curious how much that number will rise, in this chaotic time ahead of me. But as always I managed to grossly underestimate the impact my actions will have. 48 Reap the whirlwind I really stepped into the hornet''s nest, by pulling such an action. I am still hiding and killing any unsuspecting players. But those players seem to be unaffected by that, they still swarm around looking for the perpetrator. I have killed some players several times by now,yet their vigour does not seem to fade, I would rather say that they got even angrier. I could hardly blame them for that, after all, I sneaked up on them and killed them without any shred of mercy and they were not even able to see my face. In addition, I might have killed them around 300 times by now. Most have learned their lesson by now and walk around in teams of two. Even though I was still able to crush those teams, with a mix of timing and well-placed punches it was getting harder and harder. right now Ijust barely escaped being spotted. I was ambushing a single player, but as it turns out the second player was waiting for my arrival preparing his magic. I was just lucky, that I chose to engage from the front this time. The male victim did not anticipate this kind of action and was hit by my tackle, I managed to grab him just in time to use him to block the spell of the second player. As my meatshield was pierced by a wave of spells, I managed to throw him at his companion. Before he even realized what had happened I killed his friend with a fierce kick to the back of his head. As his vision was impaired due to his friend, he wanted to push his friend away from himself, but he stood no chance because I successfully mounted him by then and began to ram my fingers into his eye sockets. As his screams echoed in the close vicinity. I was forced to kill him quickly, so I broke his neck with a strong pull of my arms. I did not even have the time left to let them get devoured before many footsteps could be heard running into my direction. I am not ready for a head-on confrontation, because there would be no end to it and once I get surrounded it is very hard to escape from so many eyes. Those people have no qualms about destroying this whole place, just to find me. They threw magic spells everywhere causing the whole ground to shake constantly. The former darkness was replaced by bright colours, in areas where flame magic was cast. It felt like their biggest desire was to just raze this place to the ground. Their craze was increasing madly as the sea of people left a trail of destruction everywhere they went. Their screams of infuriation kept on resounding. The former peace was long gone. Leaving my hideout right now would probably be my death sentence. It seems like my best choice would be to just dig to the surface again. If I can avoid a battle like this I will gladly do so. But alas fate has something else planned for me, as I was just about to escape this whole mess, my position was struck by stray magic. As I fell down, I had a premonition that the upcoming time is not going to be very pleasant. I did not even try to cushion my fall, because I already saw all those gazes sizing me up. If a player was not aware of my existence, then after that my impact on the floor the knew. The loud noises had already, dissipated as I calmly stood up and got rid of the dust on my body. I suppose this is what the idiom the calm before the storm talks about. As they saw me for the first time, many players did not show any kind of reaction any more. Seems like they were in the zone and waiting for the fight to begin. I just stood there calmly looking around at all those different faces. Sadly I did not find a familiar face. I was firmly surrounded by the players and even more, could be seen joining the crowd. Most of them were male, but even some female player could be seen. Though none of these players was muscular or tall, they all were looking quite decent. The females in particular, though that may be caused by my personal bias. I am curious, why do they not attack me directly upon spotting me, after all, I have killed so many of them already. I do not think that they are afraid of me. Knowing the limit of their egos, I would guess that they are currently streaming the whole event and orchestrating it to make them look good. If it is that kind of event I am sure, a certain streamer is currently doing his best to show the footage to all his spectators. The standoff continued but neither side did show any intention of starting the all-out war. All I had to do was take one step and I would be attacked on the spot. Are they really expecting me to start the fighting? That can not be the reason, please do not let that be the reasoning for the current standstill. The players grew a bit restless up on my lacking response. They screamed something in my direction, but I did not and still do not understand anything they say. I am not planning to stay like this till the end of time. Why are they so hesitant in starting the fight with me, is it about their code of honour? I began to yell vulgarities in their face hoping to infuriate them, but alas the curse of the language barrier struck yet again and they stared at me the same way I did at them. I should have started the fight after I fell down, now I do not want to give in to those morons. I might as well flex my muscles a bit and start training in front of them, maybe then some action will finally happen. After my first movement, every player was ready for the fight but upon seeing me doing various different kind of workouts, they just stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. I was just praying, that those players would not deem this as a challenge to start and copy my movements. Luckily for me, I could see the disgust in their eyes while spectating my workout. I was just thankful, that they do not copy everything. Though I did expect them to attack me by now, instead, they began to showcase the might of their magic. Great, now it turned into a boasting contest. There might be a conjunction between the level of intelligence and mana. That would at least explain, why most of the magic felt so weak. It was no use I had to use my ultimate weapon, a weapon so strong that it transcends language barriers and worlds alike. I lifted both of my hands and retracted every finger but one. Until that one finger stood lonely in its place, facing the players all alone. I did not have to wait long until someone lost his patience and the first spell flew right at my head.This weapon truly is too strong for me to handle. I dodged the spell with ease, by moving my head a bit too the right. The spell struck an unsuspecting player right in the chest. Not my intention, but I like the result. A smug grin appeared on my face. I won this bout. Without wasting any other second I began my assault. The key to surviving this fight is to fight in the middle of many people so that most magic cannot hit me directly. If they use magic that targets an area, then those players become casualties themselves. Let me see how able they are. If they just mindlessly throw their magic without any rhyme or reason, they will kill themselves first before me. I caught some players by surprise and they did not manage to use their magic, I took the brunt of the spells that came from the front, the rest found its target in different players. Without any problem, just a slightly irritated skin I dove straight into the group of players.I had to make sure, that I act quickly and decisively. If I waste too much time on a single player, the group can regroup again. At most 5 players could attack me directly, while the rest could not accomplish that without hurting everyone in between us. Sadly I can''t avoid every spell if I do not have enough space to act. The magic was hitting my body and forced a little bit of blood out. Even though individually they are weak if If I get hit on and on I will definitely succumb to those injuries. After I got hit by a wind blade, I had enough and grabbed the caster by his hairs. I pulled him downwards and rammed my knee right into his face. The gruesome cracking sound was heard. I did not care whether he was dead or still alive, that was a matter of principle. In retaliation, my back was hit by a wave of spells.I turned around crossed the gap with 2 big steps and launched myself at the culprits. Using my sharp fingernails I left a long and deep gash at the neck of yet another mage. To dodge the next wave of attacks, I rolled over and started to fight with the next person. Even though I may not have the reach and my precious weapon, but the body of a small child is a lot more mobile and not as easy to hit. Clawing into the skin of a player after I successfully connected a kick, enabled me to do something risky. I fell on my back and kept the claws stuck inside his flesh, using my force and gravitation to my advantage I tossed the man into a small crowd. 3 people did not expect that action and lost balance as the body hit them. I reaped 2 more lives by impaling their throats with my nails, while they were laying on the ground. The other 2 found their demise, as I crushed their skulls by stepping on them will full force. I saw their response leaving bloody marks all over my body, but as long as I do not feel any pain everything is fine. This exchange did even last a full minute and by now and 6 players had already died. But a speed like this is way too slow, it will not take much time and those players will return once again. Of course, I did not have enough time to actually think about my viable options, because my brain was kept busy, by observing the crowd and the surrounding for spells that potentially endanger my safety. The backline was mostly just spectating the combat and chatting while the rest was in danger. There are exceptions as well, a mage has been preparing magic for several seconds now and was looking with a murderous glint in his eyes into my direction. That spell means trouble, so I did not hesitate and threw 3 hair projectiles I had just ripped out, in his direction. To ensure that it will hit him I was forced to jump into the air, to get the right angle. His death came at my expense, as a bombardment of magic spells caused my first serious wound. The force even launched me straight through the air. Before hitting the ground, I managed to embed my nail, inside the skull of a player.Under a scream of pure agony, I came to a halt. The residue force was stopped by the heroic sacrifice of his cranium. Though that poor soul would not forget that sensation of pain for a very long time. I ended his suffering with a quick stab into his brain. Even though my wounds are regenerating slowly but surely, my supply will not last forever. I hope I can find a way to escape, sooner or later. Sacrificing the ants is inexcusable. I will not order them right to their death, just because of my selfishness. Some players thought that the last wave of magic must have been enough. Because those players had already turned around and started to walk away. The horrifying scream of their comrade brought them back to reality. I could not afford to look at their current astoundment, as the next magic spell was currently flying right at me. I could not even distinguish whether it was fire, wind or water magic. There was not enough time to think about all the specifics. I could not care less about the loss of viable information about magic. My survival has the highest priority at the moment. The spell missed its target but caused a lot of debris to fly around. I did not expect someone strong to actually partake in this fight. After all the crowd consists out of players, who had the time to partake in that stupid competition. I grabbed many small pieces of the debris and threw them with full force at the players in the backline, who were just gawking at the situation. Naked flesh was unable to stop those projectiles. 4 people were dead on the spot as their head, was pierced whole. The next wave of attack was blocked by shields of magic, that everyone activated before the impact. The players tried to retaliate, but I was able to dodge those spells with ease, as I was constantly moving through the enemy lines. I do not want to know, how many enemies were killed due to friendly fire. I had to conserve as much energy as possible. Otherwise, I will miss that energy, when I will really need it. I still have several cards I could play, but those should only be used when times are dire and everything is on the line. Right now I still can escape, once I see a gap and disappear into the ground. But as much as I want to escape right now, it seems very unlikely. I do not see any sign of a gap, in this encirclement. I just hope that I can finish this before their reinforcements arrive. Once the strong magicians arrive all hell will break loose and I will have to put everything on the line just to even be able to escape. A sigh escaped my lips after my teeth found its first prey. It feels so easy to crush a windpipe like that, but there seems to be no end in sight in this huge flood of players. Especially, if the backline keeps on moving to prevent me from escaping. They tried to block my attacks with magic, but it has next to little effect on me. Simply because I switch the target or use feints and strike when they let their guard down. But I have to pay my respects to them, a tenacity of such a level is praiseworthy. I looked at the members I passed and they did not do anything. Somethings wrong. Suddenly a wave of players ran towards me, they did not even cast magic. Have they lost their mind? Staring at the backline I saw it, several players were preparing something special, they stood in a pentagram and kept on voicing an incantation. Before I was able to get rid of them, the tide of players arrived. They were trying to lock me in place. I tried my best not to get caught. The first man tried to just bury me with his body but after a quick sidestep and a quick thrust of my sharp nails into his brain, he was no more. Before his body, had even touched the ground 2 more men arrived to try and do the same. The first men died after his throat was slit by a spinning kick and the second man stopped after his heart had been pierced. WIthout any time to react, something grabbed me from behind trapping my arms. I tried to free myself but it was too late and I was buried underneath a huge pile of men. I could not move a single muscle under this huge weight. Out of a sudden, I had a really bad feeling, as the incarnation finished. A huge whirlwind appeared and subjected his target to a deadly storm of wind blades. The sound of flesh being cut, repeated over and over again. Every onlooker was amazed by the huge power of that spell. They began to laugh merrily, they had killed the person responsible for ruining their favourite activity. They all stood there and cheered as they waited to see what was left. 49 Up the ante The whirlwind raged on for several minutes. Nothing was spared that came into contact with it. There was no chance of survival. Of course, that outcome is only predetermined, if you are not so abnormal like I am. Even though my body was looking horrible with many deep wounds all over, I still retained the ability to fight.The players could not believe their eyes as the saw me walking out of that spell. But after seeing my shape, they became motivated once more. Sadly for them,I was done playing the nice guy.At first I was being thoughtful killing each and every player quickly. But sadly they did not show the same level of concern for me. So they surely won''t mind if I fight cruelly now. There was not any significant change in the number of players surrounding, so I just searched for the next target, to vent my frustrations on. After all, it was quite a strain to always act in a calculated fashion. Sometimes you just have to get rid of all the pent up stress. My target was a young man, who looked at me full of pride and confidence. To prevent him from escaping I pierced his right food with my claws. He looked at me calmly with a smug grin on his face knowing that I would have to take more damage for killing just a single man. But my actual goal was not to kill him, it was about to send a message. My fingernail penetrated the men over and over again but I did not aim for any life-threatening spot. He would have screamed continuously if I had not ripped his tongue out. So only a painful whimpering could be heard.The man''s eyes grew wide in shock, as he looked at my calm face, as he was enduring a pain he never felt before. I would be way crueller if the bombardment of spells did not hurt me. In order to give him a real memorable goodbye, I will do something very special for him. I lifted my left leg and launched it will all my might at his groin. For a moment, each and every player was looking at me with terror in their heart. A serious expression returned to their faces and they finally stopped all their antics. I had their full attention. Both sides knew that playtime was over. As I removed my right leg, the mangled corpse finally fell over. Both sides started their attacks simultaneously, Iwas constantly on the move to avoid the spells, as I came closer I still got hit by some. I used my nails to grab one player and began to use him as a meatshield to storm forwards into more players. They did not show any restraint, as they hit their comrade with magic. After the men had served his purpose, I just threw him aside. A man used a magic spell direct in front of me, without a shred of fear. He pierced my shoulder as I severed one arm from him. Finally someone strong appeared, in front of me. Someone like him is true to my liking, he did not show any signs of hesitation or pain, even after losing an arm. In comparison to the others, he moved in as he prepared the next spell. I see he wants to deal as much damage as possible and the closer he gets the more likely he is able to pierce a vital spot. He just made one misconception, he did not expect that I would throw his arm right back at his other arm. This distraction caused him to lose his focus for a split second, that period of time was enough for me to end his life by throwing several hair projectiles. It is quite refreshing to fight against opponents with different approaches. Even if that means, that my body receives more and more wounds. Right now my regeneration can still keep up with it. As long as they only use this level of coordination I still can pick off single targets with ease. I have to be extra careful if they start a spell that needs multiple casters. After all, I am not too sure, whether I would still be able to fight if something like this were to hit me again. I approached my next target while dodging the wave of spells as best as I can. My opponent turned out to be one of the few female players. Looking at her face, a realisation hit me, it was ice magic girl that I had killed some time ago. Did she learn her lesson out of my fight with her? She used her magic to try and stop my engage, but sadly I do not require a footing. My claws were enough to run ahead without any kind of worry. To counteract she launched a spell at my limbs to hinder my movement.Good, but not good enough yet, I used my velocity and ducked under the spell and slid on the ice until I was in front of her. Without letting her foster a new plan, I pierce her heart with a swift motion. I just hope that I do not have to face her sister, my last fight against her was just won by a fluke. But if I get into that predicament I will have to resort to using my full strength without holding back. I did not encounter any more strong magicians in the next fights. They all ended without any kind of suspense. 5 men died that way. Strangely whenever I killed a player, I got the feeling that those players felt something like remorse. They still tried to throw magic spells at me, but they were lacking conviction, they just did not even try to fight seriously. So what''s wrong this time? Who knows, what''s up next I will just keep on killing them as long as they mind is clouded like that. My job was easier then ever before after they had lost every will to struggle. They hung their heads down in utter shame and focussed just in keeping me in this encirclement, even their magic is not aimed at me anymore. So they are keeping me in check, but do not want to kill me anymore. Seems like someone else wants to finish me up and that person or group can threaten this whole crowd to follow their bidding. Then I will use this time to recover as much energy as possible, otherwise, I will not have many opportunities to do so. Though to not raise any suspicion, I will have to be careful and should avoid acting strangely. Slashing yet another throat I thought about whether my current act was convincing enough. In the near distance, several players jumped into the cave, but they were just observing instead of paying attention, it is likely that they are not the ones who I am going to face soon. More and more players I had killed returned but stood silently and kept watching from afar. The players surrounding me did not get any support. As I took life after life, the surrounding field of players kept shrinking. I doubt that this fight will end on such an anticlimactic note. They are just trying to buy time and that''s why they keep me busy. They are not even doing a good job at it. I just play along, because I need the time as well. So I took my time and decreased my movement speed bit by bit. I still had to kill those players, to not blow my cover. I wanted to create the illusion, that all this fighting resulted in some serious consequences. Seeing the elation on their faces, after watching my fighting capability drop considerable, supported my hypothesis that they were tasked to stop me for someone else. Simulating a breath that got heavier and heavier made it even more believable. I guess they might see a light at the end of the tunne by nowl, the could proudly boast about how they kept such a dangerous creature in check. What does the weak not to do to get the recognition he craves for? Why else would they even attack me in the first place? Because I destroyed their really important competition? Give me a break. Those people only did such an event because they stood no chance, they are doomed to stayin the shadow of the really talented people. In a world full of honour, it was their chance to shine, but alas they did not expect to fight a monster that is so tenacious. So after someone important arrives all they could do was support them, in their endeavour to get a small part of the spotlight. How pathetic. No wonder those kinds of people are destined to remain mediocre The enemies number dwindled as each of them lost their lives to me. It was down to 10 people, if I wanted to I could have escaped any time by now, but I was curious, who could order them to such an extent. Without any warning a blue flame approached me quickly, without looking I grabbed the next person to me and put him in harm''s way. As his body was singed under the blue flame. I took a look at the general direction where the spell came from. Oh look another happy reunion, I was forced to suppress a tear of happiness. But looking at her face full of hatred made me think that she did not feel the same way as I do. She began to yell at me, screaming something that I do not need to understand to get the general gist of it. The angry mob of henchmen behind her is helping in getting the point across. Right by her side stood another tall man, who looked me as I had done something atrocious to him. That duo of them began to point of me and the henchmen started to run towards me. Looking at the angry mob running at me, I was forced to realize, that this might not be as easy as the previous fight. After all, those people do not act as brainless and are able to use actual tactics. Preparing for the worst, I used my hair projectiles, to keep them on distance, but those were blocked with ease by their magic. If they are not holding back anything, I will have to do the same. I hit my right leg, giving the queen the signal and rammed every fingernail into my stomach.The prelude was finally over. 50 Eyes of disgust. I just hope that the queen understands my intention, because there has to be at least some sort of pay off. Otherwise, I get all these strange gazes for absolutely no reason. I did not wait for them to position themselves, so I kept on moving to see which kind of pattern or tactics they use. The first thing I noticed is that the frontline consists out 15 men, acting in teams of 3. The rest just stood far behind and kept their distance. Now that is a good strategy, keeping me in check while the backline can use their magic efficiently. If they can act confident in entrapping me after all the show I had pulled off, then they must have a very good plan or trust in their abilities. I was forced to wait. until my claws were laced in poison, because the current situation, could not get solved by mindless violence. I just hope that a small scratch is enough to incapacitate them. The real danger is those kids in the back, who are just watching at the moment. Just being in the close proximity to that heat, made me feel really uncomfortable. There was a feeling of despair when I encountered it, though that fear did not stem from my brain, rather it was deeply rooted in each and every cell of mine. If the response is already that strong, then I do not want to know what will happen when actual contact occurs. Rather I do not want to get to know the extent of such an event. Because from what I know, there has to be a viable reason for such a response. As the horde came closer and closer I wondered why they had not used their magic till now. If they had used their magic, it would have narrowed the list of potential choices by a lot. But their action leads me to the conclusion that their goal was to entrap me first and foremost. Even though they hated me with passion, they still followed a plan. Seems likely that they are just here. so that the little girl can get her revenge. In hindsight, I should have killed her as well, if the outcome stays the same whether you provoke the bigshots or not. After running for close to 20 seconds, I pulled out my fingernails and started to just stand still and waited for the fight. The cause for that was not the thrill of battle, rather it was the appearance of yet another group of people. I could instinctively tell, those people were different and not in a good way. So I would rather duke it out against those minions, then risking a fight against them. Even though the group only had 5 members, a short look was enough to know that both of them were in different realms.Even the fire lady looked a bit awestruck upon seeing the group. Hesitation became visible but after seeing them not take any action, she was relieved and shouted with increased vigour. I already forgot about the fiery lady and her henchmen, all my thoughts were revolving around that group of 5. Even as I got trapped in a cube of Earth, that every mage had infused their power in. I did not show any signs of reacting. Even as their boss began to laugh will of scorn. I did not care that she walked up to me, without any worry in the world. She might be holding a speech how she is here to get her honour back, what a menace to the world I am, she might as well try to tell me what she is about to do to me. I could not care any less about her feelings and her honour. The only reason I still could see, because they left a small spot to see my surroundings and what was about to happen to me. Her triumphant look, that looks full of pride, the pure look of disgust. How could I ever forget the meaning behind an expression like that? " I hate you" " I wish you were never born" " I hope you rot in hell you degenerate" those phrases kept on resounding in my brain. My sister has always been really nice towards my end. The magic, that was thrown onto my face did not hurt, the pointing and ridiculing did not hurt. I am a social outcast I get it. The vision in my eyes got slowly replaced by pictures of my past. I saw how my parents lived on without me, the happiness in their eyes. There was no alcohol or violence anymore. I saw how the girl I helped, turned into a fine woman. She had a nice job, a caring husband and 2 beautiful daughters. She lived in prosperity and did not any worry in the world. She was on her way to live a very fulfilling life. I was glad that she turned her life around. The next scene was my funeral. It was a day full of rain and only a single person came to my burial. There was no need for a eulogy, but the priest still told about my "eventful" life. What a nice human being I was, the usual stuff. It was a bit ironic that the person that came to my burial, was the person that hated me from the deepest part of her soul. My sister stared at my open casket and asked the priest to be left alone for a while to say her goodbye in peace. After the priest left, her face returned to the gaze I was most used to. It was a gaze of pure loathing, pure utter disgust. She looked at me like that and began to whisper to me. " I have given you so many choices, you should have just disappeared out of our lives. You were always so focused on yourself, that you deliberately ignored the problems of others. You just moved away to not face our troubles anymore. Yet, even after you degraded to a parasite you had to the gall to appear in front of our eyes from time to time.It was all about the heritage, you needed it to fund that filthy lifestyle of yours." "It would be a lie if I said that I never loved you, but those were the days of my early childhood. You did not see every tear of our mother, every beer father drank because he was under such high pressure. No, you just lived your life. As long as they provide you with money you were content and left them alone. I had to see it, I wanted to change it, I asked, begged and pleaded for you to see the errors in your way, but no you did not care." "I had enough, my parents did not deserve such a fate, so I decided to sent you to the house you lived in before your death. I oversaw any step and made any contact impossible. But even after all the misery that our family suffered our father still loved you and send you money behind my back." "You always acted like a real asshole, but of course that was only on the surface. What do you take me for? Of course, I am able to see through that play of yours. You are the type of person I despise the most. WIth all your intelligence, what did you do what did you achieve? With all your possibilities you gave up when it did not turn into your favour. You still had the gall to treat me as if I am something better than you. In school I was never really good, every result I got was by hard work. Yet, you were the point of focus for their affection, after all, you were their heir. Did you think, that the poor little girl would be satisfied by your attention alone? I wanted to prove myself not get approved just because I existed. But you had no strive, no compassion. I tried and tried yet it was never enough. But what did you do? You pushed me in the front, made me the focus of all the affection. Should I not be happy? Even after I got what I wanted, your shadow still loomed over everything I did. It is a war I just cannot win. "I did everything just to get their approved and you just nodded and took it without any objections. How nice of you, but you did not see, how it is to be damned to live in your shadow. I still hear them saying, learn a bit more and you can be as good as your brother. Brother here, Brother there. I was so sick of hearing that. I just wanted to break that shitty facade of yours to watch you slowly break and blame the world. I wanted to see, that you are as impure and filthy as I am." " But even after I destroyed your livelihood, made you cut all your social ties and forced you to sustain your life by doing odd jobs. You still did not blame anyone. I was so close to breaking you, but that idiot had to fuck up and cause such heavy injuries to you. So I never got the chance to see you down. But now since you are gone, I can take the full heritage, without worrying about sharing something. I hope there is no afterlife, so I do not have to see you ever again." So she was responsible for my demise. I am not angry just disappointed. She put all that energy into making me feel miserable, while she was the one suffering in the first place. She can finally be at rest after I am gone. She just looked at me, with that face full of disgust. She was savouring the moment, was I really that despicable towards her? She just muttered one last thing to me. "Do not worry, about that little whore you brought from the streets, I will take care of her. I will enjoy crushing her till the very last" I did not care what else she had to say, what her motivation was in doing so. She hurt her, HER. She, who did not do anything wrong? But you see her connection to me as a crime? Something new appeared in front of me. This place looked oddly familiar. It was the street, that I had lived in before I died. I saw my sister talking to me. I remembered now, we had talked about the girl I picked up from the streets only this one time. But with that eyes of pure disgust, you looked and me and said. "You should savour the moments, with her because you might never know when they end." That was the day before she left and never came back. That damn eyes I do not want to see them anymore. I wanted to choke her, watch her suffer but I was obstructed by something. Blinded by rage I just punched the obstruction, so that I can reach her and rip out that damn eyes of her. My whole body felt like it was melting, but I preferred to hurt her. Everything was aching, every felt like falling apart. But the sensation of grabbing her throat and slowly crushing it, made me forget about everything else. 51 Rude awakening "I just do not get you, Claudia, you took all the time and effort just to get us to watch this sort of child play. Today is the last day before the competition ends and here we are wasting our time spectating that cannon-fodder"a tall young man, said looking at the current scenery in front of him. " I mean, that NPC is quite strong and unusual, but he is not strong enough yet to warrant our full attention. Look at its injuries it is a wonder that it is still standing. Do not forget, that he gets such heavy injuries by that mob of bottom-dwellers." Without missing a beat young women replied to him in a snarky fashion. "I have no clue, why a dumbass like you can reach the number 3 spot on the rankings. Did you fail to realize the unusual fighting style or the strange use of tactics? Every monster we fought relied solely on their instinct. It controls the flow of the battle and dictates the action. And now you tell me that this is not something special? It no wonders that you have not found a suitable wife yet." Giggling could be heard by the rest of the group. The man thought about whether he should reply, but after looking at her face he discarded that thought. Making fun about her history about her fiancee was not a wise move given her fiery temper. Still seeing her smug grin, he threw every worry overboard and replied anyway. " Says the spinster who got rejected by her fiancee. I mean I get it, which man does not want to have a wife, that despite her petite appearance is acting like a dictator? Fiery and feisty is something that every man should seek for. And here I thought water mages are known for their kind nature. Another dream crushed" The smug grin disappeared and a storm was brewing inside of her. Ready to explode any second.Before she got the chance, another man chimed in. "Look Mr 3 and Misses 4, we all know that you guys are dating, stop putting up such a show, it is getting ridiculous. You guys make such a cute couple. The shorty and the dimwit." "Shut up Mr perfect, we do not need your input, go away with your golden hair and beautiful face. Just get your self another chick to message your overinflated ego." " Yeah, exactly and whom do you call a halfwit? You are just a shrimp and you dare to mock me? You are just slightly taller than shortie over here. Are you not a girl by any chance?" While the quarrel was still in full swing, Claudia looked ahead and wondered, if she truly got the right NPC. The NPC she fought was really muscular and good lucking. This child did not have any resemblance to him. The man was well groomed, while this child was covered in dirt and blood. After looking for a while she was sure, both of them had the same kind of outlandish feeling if you looked at them. She still could not understand, why she was no mesmerized by this whole character. She just stared at the ongoing fight in awe. His tenacity has improved by yet another level after my last fight.She was regretting to have held back because that foolish behaviour of hers caused him to be stuck in her head. He always had the same kind of expression on his face, there was neither happiness or worry. Only one thing has changed, he got a lot crueller as the fight continued. Even though she could have saved her sister, she deserved it for skipping practice to flirt with those boys. During his killing spree, he was slowly but surely starting to lose his explosiveness, seemingly hurt by all the injuries. The movements were sluggish and there was nothing left of his terrifying presence. His breathing was out of order and it looked like he was just about to collapse. Regardless of his critical state, he continued killing the men surrounding him.She knew that despite his best effort, the reason for his success was that another group had claimed him. They all were afraid what would happen if they were to resist their order. She thought about intervening, after all, she could not let him die without answering her questions. Though the group had already arrived before she could make a decision. It does not look too good for him, those guys are really coordinated and trained. She was astonished to see the injured NPC running and jumping around with full vigour again. It dawned on her that he has been playing a feint all along. But what was he trying to achieve by doing that? He kept on jumping around until he suddenly stopped and stared right into our direction. How can he see us, we even are camouflaged. That must be just a coincidence. But he kept on staring into our direction. He did not move, even after he was surrounded by his enemy. "Dispel the camouflage, Laura." The whole group stopped and regained their composure as they became visible again. While the trio was still a bit too fired up, Lara just returned to her usual spot standing around thinking about the world. Laura was the most mysterious person out of this whole group. During the whole time, she had not spoken one word. She just stood there silently looking into the void. Even though her appearance was remarkable, she did not have the same kind of presence as Claudia. Claudia''s aura was distant and mighty, hers was seemingly nonexistent. With her green coloured eyes and raven black hair, her face was telling a different story. Her eyes were full of curiosity. It was a total contrast to the rest of her presence. No one noticed it as her eyes fell on the NPC before she closed them again. After everyone saw us, they were left stunned and did not even dare to breathe. It was just the usual, nothing of any interest to her. The young miss in command awaited her reaction, to see whether she is allowed to continue or not it is always the same. After not showing any kind of intention to interfere, the young miss began to shout about revenge being hers. He cannot catch a break it seems. Claudia was left wondering why he was still standing there while ignoring everything that was going on around him. He ignored the rocks that entrapped him, he did not show any signs of resisting. He kept on being taunted, ridiculed and laughed at but there was no reaction coming from inside the prison. Why is he behaving so odd, he never did act like that in the past. In front of the prison was only the young miss with a blight blue flame in her hand. Savouring any second she walked closer to the gap she had left. She threw the flames inside and focused all her mana on pouring in her flames into the small hole. Looking at the situation currently unfolding in front of her eyes, left the Icy Maiden to feel a bit sad. Thoughts of her negligence filled her mind. Why did he not act in any way? Did he want to die? A burst of hysteric laughter filled the place as all her subordinates began to applaud and cheer. The laugh got more and more obsessive as time passed. "Let us just go, the whole show is over anyway" Claudia suggested, as her aura turned even colder. After taking a few steps, the whole scenery was disturbed by a very loud sound. The prison was broken right in front of his tormentors face. That unexpected result left everyone unable to grasp what had just happened. The young miss was out of luck, as a strong little arm grabbed her by the throat. A loud, scream of pure hate escaped his lips as he cut off her air supply. He kept on muttering sounds, while he ripped her eyes straight out of her skull. Before she could react, he used all his might and pushed her onto the floor. The whole ground began to split under his force. His whole body was covered in blisters and his whole hair was still burning brightly. Yet, he was just watching downwards with a face full of twisted kind of delight. It was the first time Claudia had seen that kind of rage-fueled expression in her life. The calm and composed boy was gone, what remained was a monster in a frenzy. She did not recognize him anymore. He kept on punching the corpse beneath him until he was finally satisfied. Everyone around him was mortified. The flame on his head had yet to extinguish and kept on burning brightly. He stood up slowly before he went for the closest person in front of him with a speed, he had not shown beforehand. Just as everyone realized, what exactly was happening right in front of them his target had already died. They could not catch a breath, as he killed target after target. It only took him 5 minutes to kill nearly 200 players. As the cave was emptied out of players, he just stood there calming looking at us. A few seconds passed as the otherwise calm Laura began to gasp loudly. Sweat covered her face and she was left speechless and perplexed. The young man just turned around and walked away nonchalantly without a worry in the world as if all this madness never took place. 52 A disciple? Exhausted and burned out, I walked straight away. I did not expect, that my body would have such a strong response to emotional stimulation. The human body is capable of using more power when life is on the line but why did my body react that strongly to pure anger? Maybe it is some sort of chemical response just as adrenaline. It might as well be just, that I have unknowingly limited myself and after losing every sense of myself I was able to use all that power.Or something entirely else might have changed after I came into contact with that illusion. Encountering a spell like that early on is quite scary especially if you do not know of its existence beforehand. If the vision in front of me did not have several logical inconsistencies I would meet my maker by now. To start with the whole scene that was shown to me, had some flaws regarding the depiction of objects. I did not notice them at first, because I was too focused on the action. I did not see that the furniture was oddly shaped, not fitting a western design. The TV was deformed and did not show any kind of functionality, it did not even have a plug. The thing that gave it away, was that even though my sister was a tremendous piece of shit, later on, she had never been one to gloat. She was more the judgemental type, who wanted to punish instead of rejoicing in others suffering. They deserved to suffer for what they did, as some sort of atonement. Thinking about it my sister would feel right at home at this place.The reason I lost myself in anger, was because my brain connected the dots. She was responsible for messing up every relationship of mine and caused me so much misery for such a simple reason like that? Right now I just wanted to let my ants tend every wound of mine, but before I could do that I first have to deal with the person that keeps on stalking me. Finding me was currently not much of a challenge considering my burning hair was acting like a beacon. I did not expect the fast growth of my hair to be used in such a fashion. So I stood there silently waiting for my stalker to come out. The person must have been quite intrigued to know that his or her magic spell has been broken, otherwise no one would follow me after the stunt I just had pulled earlier. The person did not take any action and neither did I, as the time passed I had an increasing urge to just go over there and raise some hell, but I was able to suppress that kind of feeling quite quickly. After what felt like an eternity waiting I finally came face to face with the perpetrator. It was beautiful with green eyes and pitch black hair. She had a height of approximately 1.60 meters and her general physique was greatly developed, especially on the places men would pay attention. She looked at me directly and closed her eyes soon afterwards. But after falling for that kind of trick already I knew how to counteract and a second later her spell was broken. She looked at me as if I was a monster and tried once again failing just like before. Over and over again until she lied on the ground full of exhaustion pouting at me. I was expecting a tantrum, but instead, she stood up slowly and bowed to me before turning around and walking away. From all possible outcomes, I did not expect something like that to happen. But not even one minute passed and she came back with an angry expression on her head. She pointed at my head and then at her mouth. I did not destroy her illusion right on the spot and waited for what she was about to say. " A gentleman is supposed to run after a lady and tend to her care" " Lady, do I look like a gentleman to you, I look like a monster notlike your caretaker" "I just can''t decide on what to ask you, now that we are finally talking, so many different questions." Without missing a beat I just turned around and walked away, I did not stay here just to ask questions. Now it was her turn to be confused, but I would not be coming back. Gritting her teeth, she followed me and laid a hand on my shoulders. " Why would you make a lady chase after you, a man has to chase after a woman he likes not the other way around." " I am not interested in answering your questions, I do not gain anything in return, so why would I bother wasting my time. Even if you might a valid reason for approaching me, that does not mean anything to me." The young girl looked at me and continued her pouting. " Jeez, why are you so cold. A beautiful young lady is standing in front of you just asking for something and you are cold-hearted. A fine lady does not deserve treatment of that kind. What else are you interested in, other than my beauty of course? I have attracted a very special kind of girl and I do not mean that in a good way. I have to think about this carefully, while I could ask her about information, there is no way I can be sure whether she said the truth or an elaborate lie. Same goes for her. Besides that, I should be asking myself why she insists on asking me questions in the first place. If I were to tell her about all her flaws, then she might end up betraying me. I hardly doubt that I broke through her illusion was the sole reason for her to come in front of me, despite the danger I pose. Though the only conclusion I can draw from that is that she is not afraid of pain because she would just end up respawning sooner or later. So I will just start with an introduction and see how this will play out. " I will just hand out an olive branch to you, let just say we are meeting for the first time and start with an introduction. Nice to meet you, my name is Moirai" "What is an olive branch? Regardless it is a pleasure to meet you Moirai, you can call me Laura. So. Moirai what can my lowly self do for you?" " You do not have to call yourself lowly, especially if you have "developed" that well in certain areas." I winked at her and watched as her brain was slowly realizing the meaning of my message. "You lecher you, sorry but I am not into little kids." " I am a grower and will be a shower." " Of course you will grow up silly." I looked at her questioning, whether she was trying to lead me on or had seriously not understood the hidden intent. After confirming it was the latter by just looking at her expression I was forced to help her out. I had to just gesture at my private parts and watch as her brain was connecting the dots. Her head turned beet red and she shyly looked away. After I had enjoyed the embarrassing silence I continued. " Teasing, aside I wonder why you actually want to talk to me?" She did not look me in the eyes but spoke to me regardless. " There are several topics I could have wanted to address. How you broke through my illusion, your purpose for acting like that, where you are from and what you really are.How did you change from a broad muscular frame to such a small one? But that''s not the reason I am here, please teach me how to fight." " Why would you want to be able to fight, if you have magic that does the work for you? What do you really want?" Why would anyone in this world, train their body if magic is the strongest weapon you could ask for. Magic can accomplish many different things and humans would have to rely on technology to cover that gap. So why she wants to learn how to fight, that''s absurd. Maybe she is just one of those hopeless people that thinks that such knowledge makes her a better fighter overall. "That is an earnest request, please stop making fun of me. As you should know my magic has no real use in combat. I can''t hypnotize strong monsters because they have a high resistance to pure magic, that transmits a "suggestion" and the really strong fighters do not my magic either. So I am currently just training my mana by hypnotizing creatures left and right but I do not get any sense of improvement at all. That is why I wanted a spot at the top of the ranking, to get the guidance of the Church. But I am unable to even kill any creature in the first place because my magic is not suited for combat." Even though the reasoning was solid, I still felt there was something more to the general situation, but I do not care about the bigger picture, right now I can do whatever I want. " Just to clear some misconceptions you have.My strength is not the result of magic, is all just the work of muscles. So I doubt, that you are suitable for that kind of training. Second I am not even a player, so there is no chance that I could train you in person. Though you can hardly call me an NPC either. Let us just say that I am a human. Third, while you do consider your magic weak, what you really lack is the versatility to make it useful in combat. I can tell you have not thought, about using the monster to attack other monsters, have you caused it so much pain that It killed himself to escape its agony? At most you thought about showing the monster the thing that it hates the most. There are so many options and yet you are stuck. You are stuck because you did not give your magic a chance in the first place. And I will give you a little extra, the reason your illusion was so easy to break through is simple, your mana has next to no long effect on me. Did you not notice, that your illusion stopped after a few seconds? It will not work on me anymore, now that I know of its existence." Her eyes began to get watery and she began to loudly cry. Why is she crying now, did she regret her decisions? This is ageneration of war, they will not cry because they got harshly criticized, there has to something more to this. Maybe her mother told her something on her deathbed and right now she finally saw a light. Whatever her true motivation was, would take quite some time to come to light because currently, she was still spilling her tears everywhere. But as the rivers never seemed to stop, my patience had reached its limit and I just did what every good human being would do in such a situation. I turned tail and ran away. But for whatever reason, my action was already anticipated as her hand had grabbed my shoulder once again. Please have mercy with me, no more crying. I do not want to listen to this sound of torture anymore. Yeah, I will just kill her, that will stop the crying for good. As if she could read me thoughts, she stopped crying right after I thought about finishing off, oh I forgot she actually can hear them. She stared at me with her eyes still red from all the spilt tears. " Why are you telling me all this, are you not afraid I am going to use all those information against you if its true what you just said?" " Do you really think that players would believe you if you were to tell them, that an NPC, the same NPC that everyone makes fun of and looks down on, is suddenly an intelligent being, capable of helping people? People would call you the insane the second you spread such rumours." She nodded, after all, what was happening in front of her, was not something she could explain our put into words. All she could do was accept it and try to make the most out of it. "But still I want you to train me and teach me the way you fight." That was getting ridiculous, how can she expect to reach the same strength as me, even I have crossed the boundary of humanly possible a long time ago. Let me just crush her ego right there, I put one glove in front of her and asked her that she would be my disciple if she could pick it up. She thought that she had finally convinced me and that this was just some sort of procedure, but at first, she tried to lift it up with one arm and found out that the glove was not moving an inch. Then she tried to use both her arms and yet she still could not lift them one bit. Though nobody on this server could lift them besides me. I wanted to see how futile and senseless her dream was. I did not expect that this act would further solidify her will to get trained by me. This situation was hopeless, she would follow me until the end of the Earth even if I killed her right now but I can not train her either. " I will not train you, but I will not prevent you from following me either." The times ahead sure look very interesting. Especially if you consider, what kind of action and trouble she will bring with her. 53 Men can dream I would be a fool if I just believed her right off the bag. I do not buy her story one bit, otherwise, why would she stand together with all the strong people? Why would she switch her approach several times in order to get close to me? The only genuine emotion was her feeling of unease after trying to lift the glove. Her story was just a pure sob-story begging for my pity and lowering my guard towards her. As if a person like her failed to find any use of her tactics. I would bet that she even is able to hypnotize herself to copy the magic of others to a certain extent. Maybe she wanted to copy my "magic" to widen her arsenal. Or she might as well stream the whole thing, to undercover who I am. That is why I said the truth, because that itself sounds so fabricated, that she would not believe any of it.She also did not doubt one bit, that my strength was no result of mana. At least she made it look like that. Though her act could have been not any less believable in my eyes. "Please help me I am a maiden in need". That kind of plot only works if you are an Italian plumber. A world in which body strength is frowned upon and a lady with strong magic wants to use said body strength, those 2 things do not go together that well. Even if there exists a combination of mana and muscles, the general public knows, that those body mages can only serve as a glorified meatshield. You can tell me all that you want, but monsters improved with mana as well. From all the information I gathered, its safe to say that their body is way stronger. Take an ant and a dragon, though both have capabilities to wield mana, I doubt that both have the same strong body. The more magic a body can contain or wield the stronger the body of a monster can get. Even her explanation would only make sense if you had blind trust. First of all this world is still in its beta phase, where only people of importance can get in, henchman included. So she either shares a connection with someone important or is rather important herself. So her whole narrative, of coming to this world to finally get the attention of the Church seems a bit farfetched considering that fact. I had a hunch that once she makes a connection with someone or something she is even able to gauge the feelings. That would explain why she was able to control our conversation the way she did. She knew exactly what buttons to push and what not. If I had not been on guard I would have fallen for it. For the time being, I played right into her hands, to see what kind of intent she has. And I was really interested to see how far she will take this whole procedure. The reason I decided to have her accompanying me despite all the potential risks she poses to me, is that the information she has is far more alluring than the possible outcomes. After I had broken the connection, we just walked around in this tunnel system, till I found a spot that was very far away and started training my body for a bit. She tried to copy my movements, but she did not have enough strength to do any of the exercises I was doing. I just had started with one hand push ups, I was still going easy on her. Any outsider would think that I was deeply engrossed in my workout, instead, I was checking out what she would do. Interestingly she closed her eyes and opened them again and tried to copy the movement I just did. I did not show any signs of stopping and continued my exercise, but the more futile attempts she made the more did her face turn ugly. This vexing experience must be something new to her, especially after she broke character that fasts if things are not going her way. She stared at me with a dubious expression seemingly recapping every word I have spoken so far, to see where the mistake was. The thought of me having told the truth did not even cross her mind. I had to be hiding something, that was much was obvious. So she tried to use different approaches, sometimes she just kept on watching me, sometimes she used to observe the mana flow in the surroundings, sometimes she hypnotized herself to see and find whether a different state of mind would help to find out the reason for my strength. Regardless of whatever she did was to no avail, she could not find anything that would explain my strength. Even now did she not think once about the words I said earlier, no she straight up ignored them. And that''s what I was hoping for, right now I could lure some information out of her if I do it correctly. My physique is a really nice bait, for her curious soul. She has to be the one to start the conversation otherwise It would become too obvious what I am planning on here. While I was thinking on how to envoke enough interest for her to start a conversation, she was currently twiddling her thumbs and straight up ignored me. Can you not make it any more obvious, that you are after something else than my apprenticeship? I will not far for her trick and begin talking to her just because of a simple provocation, I will just switch to an easier exercise even she can copy. Which exercise does not need that much strength but still looks visually appealing. Any form of push-ups is out of the question, she does not have the necessary upper body strength to accomplish one of that. What about crunches, crunches might work though they do not look that good. The bait has to look perfect. It has to be something that looks to be made for combat. What about Shadow-Boxing? It does not require the work of weights or anything else, all you need is a good imagination. In itself shadowboxing does not look complicated, but if you take an imaginary enemy into the equation it gets harder. Thinking about how an opponent would react to your movements and then adapting your movement to counter it takes a lot of practice. That brings me to the most pressing issue, I have not done this even once, so the odds of me appearing like a total moron are quite high. Thinking about it logically, there seems to be no way that would come back to haunt me, even if they upload it on that video platform, the only thing I would have face is an endless amount of shame and that does not threaten my life. Should I just start and think about an enemy on the get-go or should I think about what kind of enemy I am facing beforehand? While my imagination should be running wild, I am not sure whetherI can simulate a real fight. After all the only knowledge I have stems from a bit of jiu-jitsu training when I grew up. My usual combat strategy, if you even can call it that, was to run up to the enemy and just kill them by sheer force. Disregarding the fact that I used my body potential to its fullest with all its assets, I have to admit, that at its core my tactic has not evolved at all. Pure gut instinct and psychological warfare are all that I currently rely on. Sadly this proved as not enough after I saw those group of 5, my whole instincts were screaming at me to run away. There are several aspects of combat I have to direly improve if I ever want to stand a change and contending with such monsters. I have to look out for the flow of the combat and for patterns as well. I neglected that aspect because at first, I thought it would only be useful in melee fights against monsters. I still have no idea what limitations magic has but while magic itself is strong the wielder is still human. Human nature in itself is full of flaws and irrational acts. So if magic is currently out of my reach I will just target the other part. Even If I might be a man with a complex thought structure at times, that does not mean that I refrain from doing things the easiest way. Looking back at that last fight, there are several things I do have to reflect on. I came close to my demise several times. I took way too many unnecessary wounds, whether it was due to arrogance or severely underestimating the enemy. I hate to admit it, but the illusion saved my ass. Without it I would not have been able to reverse the tide of the battle, would not have noticed that my body is way stronger under the influence of strong emotional stimulations. I could not have foreseen that chain of events, but I took way too many risks leading up to that fight. Should I have eradicated that whole crowd and was it really important to stay and murder them over and over again? A valid concern, but I did not mind facing that kind of danger, overall it was truly thrilling. Furthermore, it is impossible to be prepared for every little detail. So a certain uncertainty comes with it no matter what. Still, I should consider finding ways to minimize the risk before my luck runs out eventually. Speaking or rather thinking of luck, I have no clue whether I should consider my constantly burning hair as a misfortune or a blessing in disguise. It helps me out in many ways, now that I have an endless supply of fire, I can smelt with it and can use it to test several things. On the downside of hiding with such a thing is very unlikely and it is a constant drain of resources. The tradeoff might seem to be worth it at first, but the handicaps that come with it are quite severe. As always life is what you make of it. Instead of pondering on what could have been, I will think about what might be. Repeating the punches I once learned should be a good introduction towards this whole topic and should serve as a way to get some variety into my attack pattern. While jiu-jitsu is primarily known for its defensive orientation, there are still some attacks you do learn. While it is nothing fancy it still is enough to work with. A straight punch to the nose with a simple step forwards is a nice beginning. The punch in itself is really simple the key to this technique lies in the prior movement. It may seem like a simple step, but you do not keep your legs straight when punching. Your legs are supposed to be slightly bent so that your step is much more a slide than an actual step. Your balance is stronger that way. At first, I started slowly, to let her see my movements and copy them if it invoked enough interest. But strangely it repeating such a movementstill felt great even after such a long time. Was it a throwback to the times, when everything was still good and not torn to pieces? I switched between several different kind of attacks, to see whether it was the same for each one of them and it was always the same kind of feeling to it, which is strange because Jiu-jitsu was not something I was very good in. It took me way too much time to actually be able to use a technique. I was always way too stiff. It is quite envious to be that kind of talent. Still, it was a good feeling to have and looking back at those golden times. How many push-ups I had to do because I had misbehaved, how often I had to practice my front or back role. The practice of my battle cry and how proud I was after being complimented on it. Looking back it was much more enjoyable as my worldview was still pure and not tainted. Even Jiu-jitsu was just like any other activity, chosen by my parents, it did not feel like a chore at all. Rather there was that strange feeling of unity. It was always a time, where I was able to stop thinking about my troubles. What a healthy way to cope with problems, just ignoring them. Maybe just a distant dream, something that is not meant to last. Even if it wasn''t, men can dream. 54 But should no Men can dream, a nice sentence full of meaning and importance. Though it causes a lot more harm than it does help. In my case, its only contribution it was just a place to hide away from all my troubles. Dreams create an unrealistic expectancy about reality. Do not get me ambition is one of the key aspects to motivate yourself but it has to be feasible. The ignorant people will say, when there is a will there is a way. But those people do not consider the hardships that other people face. In their eyes, it has to be possible because they themselves accomplished it.Is it likely that I can grow wings overnight because I want to fly in the sky without any plane? Is the glass half empty or half full? It is just a question about a positive or negative outlook on the word. Both answers are correct, but depending on the context on is more useful than the other. If you want to get a refill by someone, saying my glass is still half-full has a negative connotation and your glass will stay that way. If you were to say that your glass is half-empty already you imply that you want to drink more and that way likely you will get more. Everything depends on the factors and context that is involved. Endeavour and aspirations are only secondary. What counts is your upbringing, the family you were born in, the place of your birth, the level of education you get and the society you live in. All those factors that massively influence your future are things outside of your control and we have not even started talking about genetics. Do you have a genetic predisposition for several diseases that cut your life short? Are your parents intelligent? Are your parents taking drugs or consuming alcohol almost daily? Are you certain that you see the light of the day if your parents can not get the necessary preventive checkups? And once again those things are not something you can influence at all. Hearing if there is will there is way, suddenly leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. If everything just depends on what cards you were assigned at birth, then such a statement reeks of pure arrogance. The gall behind such a statement is truly disgusting. While the sole purpose of such a statement serves as some sort of motivation, for me it always felt like a twisted approach to normalize the endless struggle to accomplish your goals. I always think I should have felt thankful for the household I was born in and the chances I have been given, but I always thought that any other person would have been better suited for this. That is why I helped my sister wherever I could because she was so much more than me in that regard. She could use everything to its fullest, but sadly she lost herself. She was so focused on finding a target responsible for her misery, that she neglected to find solutions. It was just a downward spiral of misery and company. In the end, it comes down to the incapability of everyone involved. While the person or rather character that spoke these words saw the error in his ways, that such a sentence would do not do any justice. In itself, the perspective is not wrong but using absolutes makes it wrong. The consequences of your decisions depend on many things in your and out of your control. Life is based on resources. The most fundamental is time, no matter what you do the clock to your demise is ticking down ever so slowly.Your body needs resources as well, from air to food and water. Your mind needs stimulation and companionship. The quality of your life depends on the quality and available resources. But what makes life truly interesting, that the aspect of choice is involved. There is no such thing as a predetermined path, every decision you make will have an impact. Be it positive or negative, you will find it out sooner or later. Sadly that kind of actions will remain irreversible. After all, time cannot be turned back by normal means. As time ticks forward mercilessly, so does the world around us. A world that treats everything the same, regardless of monster or human or even a Chosen One. True justice is just no justice at all. Don''t you agree, Laura? Eroding my mind slowly was a nice idea, keeping me in the dark about your true power from the get-go. You knew that you are unable to extract useful information from me after I was caught in your first illusion. So you came up with a ploy to act like you were unable to infiltrate my mind and exploit my false sense of security to extract all the information you could not read by looking at my memories. A brilliant plan indeed. Manipulating the crowd, so that they fail to muster the courage to fight back and let me kill them off, to create a feeling of elation in me after overcoming that hopeless situation. Then out of the sudden, you appeared, acting like you were mesmerized by my performance. You took into consideration that I might have doubts, so you created an elaborate backstory so you could test whether I have knowledge about your background or not. All the while you were reading my thoughts to see, what I was thinking and to see if you had to switch your tactic to get me to think about my secrets. Trying to copy my movement was just a farce, you knew right after lifting up my glove that your usual approach would not work here. So you acted out every suspicion I had voiced beforehand. I should be wary of you and think about how to deal with your existence. As I was making plans with all my knowledge and experience you would get to know every little thing about my abilities and myself. Everything you did was with that purpose in mind. Truly interesting, though sadly I will most likely never get to see your real character. " I really hate men like you, intelligent enough to see through my act, still dumb enough to not see the huge gap between our fighting capabilities." So you have finally dropped the act of the bashful Maiden, Its an honour Laura, if that even is your real name. " Why would you even gave away that one advantage you had, reading all your thoughts left me with more questions than answers, but as it turns out it was just the fabrication to keep me occupied. I had been curious if you any different, but you are just like everyone else before they know my power." So, now you claim to be the type of person,that wants to prove the world that they were wrong about you? You never run out of ideas I have to give you that " I have no idea why you are still so composed, is it some false sense of bravado, knowing fully well that you are doomed? Or do you foolishly cling to the belief that a miracle might occur? There is no need to play such tricks on my mind if it''s just you. " You do not have to act like a strong man anymore, do you think I would not be able to see through you by now? You hide your insecurities by acting fearless, but in reality, you are just a worthless little worm. " Yes, I am just a lowly worm, a pitiful bug, unworthy of your presence. I do not deserve to bask in your glory. For I am just pure filth. I am the dirt beneath your feet, I am the stain on your clean state. " At least you are honest with yourself. There is no need to be ashamed though, I am vastly superior to nearly everyone else and if I am not currently in the near future I will. Bowing your head now is no shame it is an honour.Confess all your sins my child and even your sacrilegious deed will be forgiven." Just a fair warning lady, the path you are currently treading is a slippery road. And the only sin I see here is the tale of a young girl that lost herself in her craving for validation. She created another persona just to cope with the sad reality of this mean, mean world. There was no place for her weak and frail personality in this world. Only strength matters. But no she knew, she was different, she was special, she was destined to be something great. That destiny enabled her to copy each strong person she formerly looked up to. She got stronger and stronger more people looked up to her, but deep down she knew in the eyes of her idols, she never reached the same kind of status. A mere copycat will never be able to surpass the original. So she searched for more people and more different ways to magic, to cross that gap and to showcase her value. On her journey, the girl encountered a strange being. In her eyes, it was not much different than the ants below her. Just out of sheer boredom did the girl began to read its mind and saw something peculiar. The girl interest was caught and she began a plot to unsolve the mystery. But her plot did not work and she was baffled how could she have failed for the first time in her life. Despite the creature being unable to use mana, it still did not yield to her superiority. She thought to herself, how such a lowly creature would even dare to talk back to her in the first place. A word of warning had to be spoken, highlighting the grave error of the creature. Yet that creature did not heed the warning. Rather it even began to tell her a story about a young girl. It was only then she realized that the creature looked at her with the same kind of eyes as her idols. Even after she had listened to her story entirely, she failed to notice the obvious moral of the story. So the narrator decided to help her out a little. Just like me, nobody gave a shit about you in the first place. 55 Jack of all trades, master of none 1 Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. Laura or I would rather call Kriemhild was currently preparing to tear me to shreds. I did not expect anything different, but I really did underestimate her.The limit of her versatility is hard to grasp because I do not know how many people she might have copied. My body was currently getting repaired as fast as possible but yet it was not enough as she would attack before I was fully healed. The battle began, as a wave of blue flames covered the whole sky. There was absolutely no need to face those flames head on, so I just hid under the earth. Instead of wasting my time dwelling underneath I left my cover and ran through the sea of flames navigating towards my target. I did not have to wait long till the next wave of attack came. I was bombarded by many small fireballs. Though dodging a single one was not that hard, it was next to impossible dodging the whole number. I could just back off without a problem, but that way I could never even close in on her. That means its the same procedure as every other fight. Hit and get hit. Strangely the sensation felt different to the flames I got hit with before. While its potency was many times stronger it did feel much more impure than before. It just looked like the same kind of flame, it did not have the same kind of feeling to it, my cells were not afraid of them. That did not diminish their effect though, I still felt like a cooked shrimp. After passing through the wave of fireballs I was finally at a range, which I could use to deal a lot of damage. Still, those planes were cut short, as a gigantic wall of flames blocked my sight. Seems like she intends to use that wall as a strategic method to reposition and gain distance out of my attack range. While I was moving around trying to find her new position, I taunted her in my head to see if there was some kind of reaction that would give her away. But there was no reply, I doubt she would be able to calm down fast enough to not react to such things. Her temper is not exactly good. If she can only use one kind of magic at a time, then It is a lot easier then expected. "Sadly, it is not that easy" A stream of fire hit me right in the chest, as I was caught completely off-guard. It was a diversion, she got me good there. While my skin was currently full of blisters and the smell of flesh filled the air, I peeked at the direction, where the magic came from. And to no one''s surprise, she was already gone. My assumption has been proven to be incorrect, at least she would want me to jump to that conclusion. If she had not given her plan away by directly speaking to me, then it would have been just a hypothesis. While it may seem like the fire and her thoughts were used simultaneously, there is no doubt in my mind that she used her telepathy to distract me. If she spoke to me directly, while she threw the fireball I would have been able to see her. The second thing that gave her away was her choice of words. The words sadly it is not that easy refer to my prediction of her powers. Her response would have been different if she had heard about my former thoughts insulting her. A person who loses control of herself just because some taunts does not learn self-control in mere seconds. And right now she is calm listening to my thoughts, thinking about how she can turn all that knowledge I just gave her against me. I have not moved for several seconds now and I still did not get attacked. Her next thoughts would be, maybe I can keep him occupied by talking to him and use that time frame to deal several more wounds to him, or are you thinking about keeping your silence to make me doubt it? The next wave of fireballs came right at me, how uncivilized she truly does not have any kind of manners. I dodged them with ease and kept moving in a random pattern to see how the angle would change when I reacted in certain ways. Regardless of what I did the attacks landed on my current position. I had thought, that she would try to adapt and aim for spots, where I might go to. But everything she did was reactionary. That seems a bit of character, the way I got to know her was as a schemer, right now she seemingly turned into something totally different. If her aim was to lead me into a trap, then she would change her attacks to force me to enter it, but right now she did neither. If her goal was to gain information, then she would have switched her tactics as well, the same would have happened if her target was to keep me busy so she could think about a strategy. The only effect my constant dodging had, was that the number of fireballs kept on increasing without end. Does she not realize that all her effort is futile? Is she trying to vent all that pent up stress, by making me run around? Why does her character not make any sense all out of the sudden? While I did not have a hard time to localize her anymore, it was nearly impossible to close in on her due to the sheer amount of magic currently heading towards me. She screamed something into my direction, which I did not understand, but given the context of the situation, I doubt its something nice. Her sardonic laughter filled the whole cave, as she launched one attack after another. Her personality made me remember a certain fire mage I got to know. It was the same kind of haughtiness. Maybe I can use the same kind of weapon against her as well. So I dodged some spells and stood still and flipped her the bird. Without batting an eyelid she did the same back to me. That marked the first time that my secret weapon has been defeated. I had to put down my hand in shame, I was defeated at my own games. I had to pinch myself on both arms to realize what just had happened. A smug grin appeared on her face, even though her wave of attack missed, she humiliated her opponent at his own game. Her laughter became louder once again. But I would not give up after such a setback. I had to win this war. So I doubled my weapon power and used both hands. After both of my middle fingers were in position, the reply was the same. This kind of standstill lasted for a second before Laura coughed blood and looked down at her body. She noticed that 2 small wounds had appeared on her body. She looked at me with confusion in her eyes. Sorry, but this is war there is no fair play. Pulling out 2 hairs and then launching them at her, while flipping her off was just a simple deception and she fell for it. That is all that is needed. But sadly I did not hit any vital organs, that means that this kind of trick will not work again. Her laughing stopped and her expression returned to normal. " You think you are so intelligent, by playing tricks on me, but as you already predicted I can copy many magicians and that is the reason you will end up losing, every wound you deal I can heal with ease, every kind of strategy you use can be countered by a different kind of magic. Don''t you see it your resistance is meaningless" I am not a fool, I know you are currently trying to waste time so you can regain some of your stamina. Even if your mana pool is excessive it is not endless. Secondly threatening me is equally as useless. We both know how this is going to end. So go ahead and heal your wounds, but do not expect me to wait for you. Her whole bearing changed once again, as she began to heal her wounds. The wounds were closed in mere seconds but I had already thrown hair projectiles at her. In the blink of an eye, the hair projectiles had turned into ice and just fell to the ground. Her whole aura changed into something I was very familiar with, it was the cold and aloof aura of a person that is a pain in the ass to deal with. I have to be careful I have no clue what kind of power she really has, especially because I only saw the tip of the iceberg. If she really copies everything about her idol, then this kind of fight could turn very ugly. As expected her opening move was covering the whole ground in ice. That would hinder me from advancing and she could just attack and hinder my approach with ease. She stared at me unperturbed and just launched a massive wave of small ice shapnel at me. Men, I miss having my other weapon at least I could deal some ranged damage with them. Now it feels like I am a sitting duck waiting for my slaughter. With no other option, then hiding underground. But even that proved to be only a temporary solution, as the ground was torn apart under the onslaught. I had to dig around as fast as I could and just made it barely out of the affected area. She truly is scary in that form. Even with the gap of 50 meters between us and my heightened senses, I do not see the shrapnel at all. I have to watch the movement of her hands, to somehow act preemptively. Many tremors could be heard in the near proximity, but it was different from the prior bombardment. It felt like the ground was only penetrated not absolute destroyed. I am glad she missed but it suddenly dawned on me her goal was not to hit me, it was to create a tool that would give away my position. If I move and dig away the earth, the ice will move and she will know where to aim. The only option I have is to go even deeper. But that comes with the risk that the ground, once it resets, might crush me to death if I am pinned down for too long. But why should I complain if I die here against a junior if I were to die against someone of her calibre I have no right to dream big.Even though she may seem like the perfect cold killing machine, there has to be a big flaw in that kind of system. Normally cold is the absence of movement of the atoms on an atom level. But sadly I am unable to tell if the relationship is the same for this world without testing it. Great, now I get to play a scientist in this world in order to survive while facing magic that would kill immediately if I were to get caught. Just anotherday in paradise, I am not used to anything less crazy anyway. 56 Jack of all trades, master of none 2 Right now, I was at a clear disadvantage, the more time I spent on finding a solution the more stamina and mana would be replenished. There is no way to exploit her character flaws as before, her current character is way too calm and composed for something like that. My main cause of concern was that my position is given away, by the experiment I am going to conduct. I should avoid the trying to melt the icicle currently, that are currently embedded in the soil.Melting those would lead to their downwards movement and that should be avoided at all cost. The option of melting the surface was the easiest and yet the riskiest option. If I am too low the process would take too long and before I could see any effect she would have recovered all her mana. If I get too close, then the melting would go way faster, but I am quite sure, that they heated area would stick out like a sore thumb in this world of ice. Every option using my burning hair as a direct source of heat is out of the question. Maybe I should use my hair as a medium to limit the surface area that is melting and keep my distance that way. Right now, I am fully covered in earth, but if I were to dig away the soil covering me, I would get caught immediately. Because the ice in itself is very clear and easy to see through and with a pseudo light bulb on my head and it gets a bit too easy to spot me. Luckily my physique is not as gigantic as it used to be, so I do not need that much space underneath the earth but I still have to move occasionally in order not to get pulverized. I will dig a small gap to the surface with my sharp nails and then watch what kind of reaction happens when I throw a burning hair at it. At first, I decided to move to a different location while moving slowly to make sureI do not get noticed. After finding a suitable location, I dug a small connection between my hole and the surface, with one fingernail. The hole was just wide enough so I could see with one eye. I could eliminate any form of light leaking, by pressing my eye right into the hole. I started the first experiment by throwing a single hair, at the ice surface and of course, nothing happened.Next, I threw a hair, that I just set ablaze right at the surface. But the first problem appeared right of the bat, the hair was not burning long enough before falling apart. The solution to that problem was solved, by covering the hair in that wonderous slime and then before the slime can change the properties to light it on fire. The only problem I noticed after throwing it at the surface, that it was indeed burning a little too well. In fact so well, that enough Ice had melted, that I was forced to flee before the next icicles covered my former position. I still have not a single idea, what that slime is, but its effect on combing 2 materials is pretty useful.Especially if it improves its efficiency by several times. The only disadvantage is that I have to be fast to produce them otherwise the slime will change the property of the hair and the burning effect returns to normal. I did not consider piercing my body with those hairs to apply the slime as a hassle anymore. Even though I could melt the ice, I could not produce enough of them to be able to contend against that onslaught of ice shrapnel. It was pointless to engage in a direct confrontation if my tools are that limited in number. But for acting as a diversion, they are a perfect choice. Now I just have to think, how I can come close to her without looking like swiss cheese in the end. As I was thinking a drop of water fell down on me and a seconds later a deep grin covered my face. That single drop answered many of my unanswered questions and the best thing, it is the key to getting close to her. Though the answer was not one drop of water, it was a bit more. For my plan to work I need a lot of my arm hair, so I was forced to spent some time solely ripping out my arm hair. But after having gathered enough it was time to start. I climbed on the surface and began to run as soon as possible. I did not have to wait long as the fight began once anew. Despite the constant bombardment I still have to be wary of how I dodge because she began to anticipate my behaviour. But that kind of tendency would work in my favour. As I was running I began to occasionally throw a burning normal hair at her. She launched a wave of her attacks as a precaution and without any suspense, the hair was destroyed in an instance. I repeated the process with 2 burning hairs but after her first experience, she did not use as much ice as before. I repeated that process several times and she began to use just the minimal amount of ice to counter it. Occasionally I began to throw them to her feet or above her. She did not even care about those and continued to throw her spells. She had yet to get a single hit in, but she knew it was only a matter of time as she got closer and closer. While I was jumping and running around avoiding the magic, she stood perfectly still and kept on watching me. Her current position was surrounded by icicles that would pinpoint any movement from the underground and the ice on the surface made it hard for me to close the gap. My plan was quite simple, use normal hair to condition her that it may seem like an improvement over the other hair, but not strong enough to warrant her full attention. Next miss some hair, here and there to further increase the image that my precision is fading and to complete the trap position the improved hair all around her. Now I just had to wait, until the last act can begin. The problem was, that I could not risk going underground again, otherwise, she would know something is up. Sadly it was unavoidable to escape this bombardment unscathed. The first small piece of ice pierced through my body without any problem. It was soon followed by numerous very small pieces that punctured me all over my body. Not even 20 seconds since my first wound had passed and I am already on the verge of losing, I have to stay focused. As a last resort, I could light my whole arm on fire, but that situation would not end well if I cripple myself for a moment of serenity. If it gets through my body with ease no bone would stop it and therefore a direct hit to the skull would be fatal. I clicked my teeth in annoyance, I have to change my plan yet again. I guess that I can kiss my nails goodbye for the rest of the fight. After embedding my fingernails into my flesh, I was forced to endure several shrapnels piercing my body. Her look had not changed even once, it did not matter what I did. She just threw many small ice pieces at me over and over again while trying to anticipate my movements. There was no need for fancy moves, it was the result that mattered. After 10 seconds that felt like an eternity, it was finally time to extract my fingernails. Full of slime, I lifted my hands and lit them ablaze. There was no time for regret, as the next volley was already heading for my face. She saw right through me, that I had been trying to guard my head as best as I could. There was no time left to think as my fingernails had moved in front of me and began cutting through all the ice. Though it was hard to move I was able to clear many ice shrapnel that would have hit me otherwise. The ice was evaporating just coming into contact with my nails. Neither side did back down, as this standoff continued. It was getting easier by the minute as my brain got used to the task and I gained proficiency in using my nails. Her next move would prove me wrong as her output speed had increased greatly once again, so much so that I was not even able to move from the spot as she covered my whole surroundings with her new firepower. I began to truly despise that kind of character, who wants to test my limit over and over again. As I was desperately trying to survive this ordeal more and more wounds began to cover my body. There were so many particles flying through the air, that I just could not keep up with them and had to settle for clearing away the ones that aimed for my vitals. I was losing blood all over the place as an unmeasurable amount of small wounds had appeared at my body.As a result of the circumstances, I missed a piece of shrapnel and it landed right in my right eye and tore right through it. I was lucky that I moved my head away by reflex. With my vision being impaired, the former slim odds of my survival plummeted. Sensing the opportunity was right, she even increased her output once more, but this time everything was focussed on my current spot. I had no other choice, then to do a leap of faith to the right. My former position was now a deep pit. If I had known about the extent of her power, I would never have chosen a risky strategy like that. But now that plan forces me to throw caution in the wind and get close to her at all cost if I want to get out of this alive. After ruining my nails with the constant deflection of ice shrapnel, I cannot escape by going underground anymore, because am not capable of digging fast enough with my fingers alone. My brain went into overdrive to think of a plan. I had to cover a distance of 100 meters, that would take me approximately around 12 seconds if I were to sprint normally. I have to utilize my tools to keep her busy and to avoid as much damage as possible because I am currently getting hurt more than I can regenerate in time. My first tool is that the burning hair, that she currently still underestimates. Using that well I might keep her busy for 3 seconds. The trap will take her by surprise and a minimum amount of 5 seconds will go to waste for her. Strange movement and my sudden offence will take some time for her to adjust as well. I did not have any time left to strategize so I decided to just gamble for the first 4 seconds. All I had to do was not die. 12 seconds 100 meters left I chose to run an arc to not give away my plan right of the bat. While the projectiles were currently tearing through the ground behind me as if it was nonexistent. She did not yet notice the change in my behaviour and her aim is still targeted at my sides to limit my ability to dodge. I ripped out 4 hairs out of my arm and rammed them into my body as a preparation. 11 seconds95 meter left. My pathing returned to running straight at her. She realized that something was off and switched her attack pattern and aimed at the path in front of me. It was that thanks to my claws of my feet I was able to launch myself sideways to dodge the spell and continue running at her. At the same time, I extracted the burning hair out my stomach. 10 seconds86 meters left After she noticed my intention she adapted and spread her magic to create a big wall out of ice shrapnel and launched it at me. I jumped over the wall, despite being a sitting duck for the upcoming wave of attacks. In the air, I threw 3 of the prepared hair at her after it had been lit on fire. 9seconds 76 meters left It was the first time, a change in expression became visible on her face, she launched one very big icicle onto with a surefire grin of her face. She did not show any kind of concern for the burning hair, as she only created a thin wall of ice to counter it. 8 seconds 72 meters left I lifted my right leg with all my might and directed it against the icicle that was bigger than me and changed its path. Although it still tore some of my flesh out of my side, I could escape the threat and land safely on the ground keeping the momentum alive. In the meantime, Laura was caught off-guard as her thin firewall was penetrated by the hair. Before she could erect another wall, the hair had already reached her body and a flame was currently spreading out on her body and robe. 7 seconds70 meters left A scream of anguish reached my ears, as I was dashing madly towards without any hesitation. The current time window was precious as I did not have to worry about any spells coming my way. In order for her not to heal herself, while I am still not close to her I enlightened my last hair and threw it at her. 6 seconds62 meters left She erected a thick wall of ice to prevent the hair and any other object from disturbing and preventing her from getting rid of the fire. The hair was stopped in its tracks but it fulfilled its purpose. 5 seconds 51 meters left After Laura got rid of her robe successfully, her black tank top and shorts became visible for the first time. She could not cast ice magic to get rid of the residue flames, so she switched to water magic and began to use it to quench the fire on the rest of her clothes. 4 seconds40 meters left After the flames, she had been doused in were successfully extinguished. She began to look at me and to gauge the distance I had yet to cover and looked at her wounds to think about what action to take next. She decided on healing her wounds first. At the same time, I noticed that I had to speed up otherwise I would not make it in time. If she reached her full strength everything would have been for nought. I took off my right glove and launched it at her with my full force. 3 seconds31 meters left Laura''s eyes widened in shock as she had not predicted, that I would abandon my weapon, she stopped using her magic to heal herself. But this time around it was me who was caught by surprise, I did not expect that she would just duck instead of moving to safety.With an earsplitting noise, the glove went straight through the thick ice wall and went straight over her head before flying into the distance. I ran as fast as I could towards her. 2 seconds 19 meters left Grabbing the other glove, I was preparing to launch it through the gap I just had exposed, but she has recognized the potential danger it poses and began to erect an even thicker wall to prevent it from going through. Furthermore, her whole body language grew tense as she prepared for upcoming impact.I closed the distance as much as I could before flinging the glove at her. 1 second7 meters left As the collision occurred, nobody had expected that the glove would force its way through to her but as the noise of crashing ice grew louder, the expression on her face turned a lot more cheerful and lively. She had switched to another character. But even then she was just barely able to stop the glove from reaching her by using wind magic. At this moment I had jumped over the wall and was currently flying straight at her, ready to start my assault once I am close. She was forced to jump sideways in order to dodge my attack and prepared her next attack to hit me when I land. She had failed to realize my true intent. The ground that once had melted was frozen again. Stepping on such newly formed ice is a recipe for disaster. She began to lose balance, as she tried to land and her wind blades ended up missing. I did not have the same trouble as her and began to safely come close to her. Arriving in front of her Iam certain that the final phase of the battle has begun. 57 Jack of all trades, master of none 3 The final phase of the battle begun after Laura had stabilized her footing by casting wind magic on the ice. In order to prevent her from switching the character, I kept attacking her in melee range.The only problem was. I could not even connect one attack. As soon as she saw my attack she used wind magic to change its trajectory. My first attempt was a jab to her face, but she just pushed my hand away with wind magic. After that attack did not land I aimed for her stomach with my other hand but even that the result did not change. After launching several attacks I was forced to admit, that I could not hurt her that way. I could throw punches for the rest of my life and still end up not dealing any kind of damage to her. But I had no doubt, that if I was capable of passing every objective so far, that I will not be blocked by this mild breeze. After yet another deflected punch, it spun around and used a kick to the face. But once again she blocked its path with ease and pushed it back with wind magic But this time around she did not stay on the defence and threw a wind blade at me with her other hand. I decided to endure it as it left a bloody line on my chest but in return, I was able to grab her left arm and twist it, before she was able to cast another spell. Winching in pain she threw me off with her magic. The easiest solution was to just grab her and incapacitate her arm. While her way of defending against my attacks deserves praise, her actual performance does not. Using just the necessary amount of mana to prevent attacks from reaching you is a valid idea, it leaves a big opening if the enemy is willing to pay the price. She currently lacks the experience on how to deal with close combat and I am thankful that her mana has reached its limit, after all that time, otherwise I would not be the one standing here. Not willing to wait for her to recover, I ran right back at her. Laura did not show any kind of movement, had she accepted her fate. But having learned out of my previous clashes with her I kept being cautious. But as I came closer she still did not show any signs of reacting. I still had that feeling of doubt in the back of my mind that something was horribly wrong. My intuition has never been wrong so far, so what is she hiding. Her mana tank is empty, her left arm unusable. Right now I can dictate her life or death. So why is she that disturbingly calm? My instincts were screaming at me to back off. So I did just that and stared at her, watching her every move and breath. Her expression returned to its normal state, but with a big smile on her face, she began to taunt me. " Come on, kill me, kill me. Kill this poor little girl. I am standing defenceless in front of you and yet you hesitate. Where is all that previous vigour and ferocity? And you dare call yourself a man? " I am quite curious you do not strike me as a death-seeking person, I would rather call you a tentative person if I had not provoked you, you still would have not started to fight with me. So why do you want to bait me to kill you? If you had behaved differently most likely I would have done that already. " You fool, death is meaningless for me, if I were to die here, I would just end up coming back to life again. In this world, I am an immortal. So, you ask why I behaved that way? Each possible choice you might or might not choose will lead to just one outcome for you and that is death. On the other hand, whether I die or I live will not matter. Okay, I will bite, why would each of my choices lead to my demise, regarding of the circumstances? " I am an envoy a God, he protects me and punishes those who kill his chosen seedlings. Even in a world, where I can die as often as I want, he will punish those who seek my death. Bow down and grovel if you want to have the slightest chance of survival." Now it was my turn to show a deep grin on my face. Sadly you oversaw one little thing, as long as I do not kill you, everything goes. So I am asking you, can your god save you now? " Do you not fear the ire of the Gods?" I took my time as I came closer to her step by step. Why should I be afraid, I did not cross the border they themselves chose, I do not speak of them in vain nor do I act blasphemous. This world adores strength over anything else. So even If I torture and humiliate you, your god will not care. He will be thankful, that I gave you that kind of experience to strengthen your spirit and resolve. Everything I did so far was showcasing your flaws and weaknesses by exploiting them one by one. There was no spectator or a witness of any kind, so even if the Gods did care whether their reputation is sullied or not, no one would ever know. So why would he care? Even if he were to care about this kind of circumstance, he still would be magnanimous enough to view the circumstances that lead to my decision. My logical reasoning, will not be viewed as an attempt to ridicule the Gods, rather it will be viewed as an act of personal revenge against you and all the concessions I made will show how much respect and concern for the Gods I have. So as long as you do not die, I will get out of this with ease. As I am standing here before you, you might ask yourself what is going to happen to you. What kind of sadistic torment would I use? You do not have to worry, I am not a psychopath who enjoys hurting other people for my own amusement. I will not feed you your own guts nor will I break your will and make you beg for death. That is not my style. I will show you a different kind of despair, I will crush that pride of yours. As for my motivation, it is not born from a burning desire for vengeance nor is it something I do because I am bored. This is just insurance for the future. Something you will remember. I pushed her away and she fell on the ground. Leaning forward I spoke directly into her face. It might not make sense for you right now, but in the future, it will. " Validate it all you want but it is your strength that gives you that right. Strength is might and might makes right." I had already ripped out one hair out my left arm and was prepared to start, as I felt a sharp pain in my head. What had happened? I did not see or hear anything coming. Did she get support from somewhere? Looking down at her I saw her sheepishly grinning. Without any emotion, I used my right arm and felt up my head. There it was an icicle had been rammed into my head. I yanked the icicle out and grabbed her right arm, pushed it down to the ground. Before Laura could realize what a grievous mistake she just had committed, her hand been pinned to the soil with the icicle. Her scream reverberated in the surroundings, but no one could hear her. Here I thought I was nice and considerate to her but no, without any real consequences they will never learn. That is all on you now. 58 Jack of all trades, master of none 4 She just stared at me with her big eyes, as if she did not care what I did to her. Such a strange woman, she did not scream nor start to insult me all the time. She just changes her character the way the situation fits the most, at least superficially. Those people are the worst to deal with because you never knew what is the truth or what is just fabricated. Even after I had penetrated left hand as well she only let one scream out and nothing else.Looking at her there her eyes became stoic as she stared into my eyes. She wanted to deny me any kind of satisfaction. I would have really taken her spite seriously if I had not seen her blinking before. Each time she closed her eyes and reopened them she could change her character and therefore her magic. Is this kind of reaction caused by giving away my plan too early? It is time to thoroughly crush that illusion of hers. I just stood there and watched her, waiting for the right moment. She blinked once and spoke to me. "Is that all that you have got andyou promised to break my pride, how foolish." Unfortunately, you are the foolish one, you have not recognized, that you played right into my hand all the time. I am sure you are dying to know about what I am. Since you are so helpless now I will share some knowledge with you. Let me start by talking about, those projectiles that flew at you. Those projectiles are nothing more, than some spiked hair. I ripped 4 pieces out and laid them on my hands to show them to her. On their own, those things are not quite particularly damaging, but if they come into contact with skin, it is quite wondrous how easy they are able to penetrate your skin. I drove them into my right thigh one by one and each one did so with ease. I threw several punches on my leg to showcase how simple it is to penetrate such a thick skin, that is otherwise resistant to blunt force. "So it''s just some hair, that is stopped by a minuscule amount of mana, a nice "weapon" you have there. I have to agree it is not a strong weapon when you compare it to any kind of magic.I would always choose magic over it. But you are seriously mistaken if you base your judgement on that decision. Its main advantage is the fact that I can be combined with different objects to create a different effect. You saw it yourself, the combination of fire and hair was lot more of a threat to you, then a single hair. There are several more combination, that can serve different purposes and that makes them such a great tool. Especially if you want to kill unsuspecting enemies. I pulled the hairs out of my thigh and put them right in front of her eyes to stare at them. " Are they supposed to be special or something else?" She questioned me with a gaze full of contempt No like I said those hairs are not special in any way. The special thing about is that they are laced with some neurotoxin. Before she got an opportunity to close her eyes again, I forced her eyes to stay open by impaling both the upper and lower parts of her eyelids with my hairs. She cried out in pain and looked at me in sheer terror "What did you do to me? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" I just injected a poison into to your eyelids, that prevents you from closing your eyes and there you are now incapable of mimicking other people. Did you take me for a fool, not being able to put two and two together? If you blink any time you switch your magic, even an idiot would notice. Just how dumb do you take me for? At first, I just thought you would switch your character traits to adapt to my conversation, but you made the mistake of gesturing as well. Remember our whole conversation did happen without any word actually being spoken. But gestures are used to underline the intent or meaning behind words and just why did your gestures give you away? Gestures are supposed to be used with the language not afterwards. It can be used at the end of a sentence for sure, but doing it all the time made me a bit suspicious and then I started to pay attention. And what can I say, just with the slightest bit of suspicion your whole act begins to crumble. You blink in a ¨²natural frequency and the switch between your language and your actions is not fluent enough. Your whole act and aura did not fit your character at all. The tempo and choice of words you used did not fit your character as well. The character you played, wanted to be near me to get trained and learn to fight from me, you even added some personal notes by acting in a mischievous and playful manner. But why would that character insist on getting trained by me, after I clearly told you about the disadvantages of it? Especially after you threw the whole narrative away. Everything you did was contradictory and miraculously you always chose to say those things that would keep me interested by including my thoughts. Did you seriously think that I would not question it?Or are you so full of yourself, that you thought it would end up well for you regardless of what I did? I will become invincible if I just copy all the strong but you neither have their experience nor their level of control over magic. You lack the very essence of what makes them strong. The only thing you inherit is the flaws each character has. Being too confident or too thoughtful. How does a mere copycat dream of surpassing the originals? They once were weak as well, but did they look elsewhere for strength? Their source of strength is the work they themselves put in, but you just took the short cut. You look down on others, who have the same dream as you, you belittle them for their lack of talent. But of course you are special, you can copy the strong. Therefore you way more valuable than the weak mob. And one day you will surpass even your idols. Yet with all that potencial of yours, you still lost to a pathetic little creature like me, I am curious what does that make out of you? My answer would be a jack of all trades, but a master of none, but that idiom would not make any sense to you. Quite frankly I could not care less what you make yourself out to be. Just know the way you are now, you will never be able to beat your idols with their magic and if you stay like that, you will never be able to take revenge against me no matter how hard you try. What you decide to do, after hearing all this is not my problem. Having said that, I still owe you for that attempt to kill me in cold blood, while I was planning on what to tell you. So the upcoming part is purely your punishment. Right now, you are currently trying to drive out the poison, so do not blame me for preventing it with the help of my hairs as a precaution. You will not mind if I stick those hairs through your upper and lower eyelid and connect them to the skin right? You also will not mind, that I will put some more hairs on your body right? But fret not, your punishment will serve a greater purpose in the end. I get to know many things, about the anatomy of a human body in this world. It is just a shame that I can not cut you open directly, without risking death. After all, I do not want to incite the anger of the gods, for such a silly fight, with nothing at stake. " Do whatever you want, but just be sure that your judgement day will come, because cause the gods are just." Sorry to destroy your illusion yet again. Nothing in this world is fair or just. I mean the sentiment that might make right solely exists because the world is unfair. You were born with your talent others did not have that luck, their fate is to be cannon fodder to make you shine. You will shine and he will die. This world does not care for the individual, it does not care about whether a fly like me exists in this fictional plane. So please talk about justice or injustice as much as you like to, it will not change the very nature of the system you live in. Now, lets start. 59 Lauras anatomy I am going to use my hair as a tool to test out several things. Do not worry, for this kind of test I would not lace them with anything. Their main purpose is to test your nerve system and their response to stimulation. In this context, I am also testing out several reflexes of your body. Depending on the results I might be forced, to test some areas that you might deem inappropriate but I ask you to bear with it. Not that you have many choices in that matter, but this way it feels like the proper procedure. I have no idea to what extent this experiments might hurt, but as a precaution, I would advise you to lower the pain sensitivity as much as possible. I am not interested in tormenting you and I do not want you to be scarred for alive as well. If you behave and make it all to the end I will reward you, with the strength you adore that much. Furthermore if you at any point have questions about the proceedings feel free to talk to me and I will explain them to the best of my ability. It should help to rationalize this act in order to truly understand what is about to happen to you and it should help in the process of coping. I assure you this is not deceit, I gain nothing valuable talking to you. It is just an offer from my side, to explain the circumstances that lead to the upcoming experiments. If you question my sudden act of goodwill and refuse to talk to me I am not going to force you. Despite my appearance resembling a monster or a demon, I am not going to relinquish any human decency. We will start by testing out several reflexes of your body, this part is the least painful and should not cause any kind of uncomfortable feeling, if by any chance some as such should arise, please let me know in order to pinpoint the origin. I am going to test your knee-jerk reflex, this one is normally induced by a sharp tap on the patellar tendon, which lies just below the kneecap. Though I have to modify the test by a margin because in your current position it is not going to work out. I am going to cross your legs over each other so that one of your legs is dangling in the air. Afterwards, I am going to apply a sharp tap with hands on your tendon. This should lead to a kicking motion to straighten the lag. The preparation of the experiment was done quickly without any notable resistance on her side. Her expression had not changed during the entirety of my monologue, I have no confirmation whether she just ignored my monologue or if she just does not care about what I am going to do to her. Normally she can log out whenever she wants, so I am quite curious why she has not done so. But as long as she does not speak to me, I can not confirm any reasoning behind her decision, regardless of what it might be, I am still content with her listening to my thought process because anything I am going to state now is related to topics and things that will not be helpful in any kind to you. You might be baffled, why I would do such a strange thing to your body, but this groundwork is required to understand the human physiology and its general similarity in comparison to the ones I am used to. For example, the current experiment might not look like much to you, as if I was trying to waste your time conducting it, but it serves as a big confirmation and hugely shapes it going forward. Let me phrase it differently, if by chance the effect would be the one I have described to you, then it would explain a lot of things and I would get one step closer to explain what kind of effect mana has in a body. Conducting such experiments on myself is not a viable option, because my existence is something I myself cannot even fathom and at its best, I would see it as a clear outlier to every known concept in your world. Therefore I have to do the necessary research on other subjects in this case you. But you are a very special case yourself because you are able to copy the magic of others by mimicking them, sadly I will not be able to look inside of you and see your inner working without risking your death. I have not developed the necessary anaesthesia to enable such a risky process. Of course, if you were not protected by your gods, I would have done so anyway even with all the uncertainty that is involved. Back the topic as you can see your knee has moved after receiving the stimulation from the outside, the reaction happened 5 seconds afterwards. After a repetition the outcome did not change, the intensity of the kicking motion was the same. For the upcoming test, I am going to test the pupil in your eye. If I hold a bright source of light in front of your eyes your pupil. This pupillary reflex is a response to the stimuli of your eyes. that try to adapt to the surrounding light. I am going to use burning hair, as a tool to see. whether my hypothesis is correct or not. I am just hoping it stays the same, then the only difference might be in the conditional reflexes and not in the unconditioned reflexes. Though I hardly doubt that I should jump to conclusions, after just 2 tests. At most I can call it a tendency, not conclusive evidence. To prove that kind of correlation, I will have to use several subjects and have to do the same test with all of them as well. Now, this is truly interesting, the pupils did not show any kind of reflex when confronted with light. Is it possible, that the reaction is not the same because the light is just not concentrated enough, or that her eyes got used to such a brightness by copying magic and what kind of influence does magic have on this kind of occurrence? From all the things I have learned about magic by now, magic is a substance that is constantly able to be shaped and take the shape of every material. It is not limited to be a gas, liquid or solid substance, it is freely interchangeable in between those states. I have yet to gain information about the state with plasma, but I do not doubt that the similarity does stop there. Mana is something that once it comes into contact with the outside materials, follows the laws of physics I knew to a certain extent, I have yet to confirm to what level it does, but a certain similarity can be observed. Taking this knowledge into account, then this can only mean, that the reflex was abolished when it came into contact with mana, or just did not develop. If we look at the legends and their self-proclaimed depiction of the past, then it must have developed, because their ancestors were hunters as well. They must have hunted in groups and even deep in the night when other predators were not active. Of course, that is just pure speculation from my side, based on the glorified tales from them. Still. if that thought was correct, why would magic prevent or even abolish this kind of reaction? Can magic be seen by their eyes and therefore they need to be much more sensible to the surrounding particles? It might as well be caused by her suppressing her optical nerve with magic, out of pure spite. Or it is just a side effect caused by the very nature of her magic. Or the effect is diminished by habituation. I tested whether hey eye would close if It came into contact with a draft of air, but this time around it closed without much suspense.I could not find a logical conclusion, to why it ignored the first kind of reflex but reacted to my breath the same way it does in a human body. Despite all my strange thoughts and the strange tests, she did not show any sign of resistance. She just spectated what was happening to her body, but did not care about my explanation, judging by the look on her face, that looked rather bored. Should I check her abdominal reflex next? Though I already did one for her knee, I am curious if its the same for the rest of her body. The next thing I am going to look after is a reflex or better a contraction of your abdominal muscles This requires direct contact with your skin, so I will have to uncover that area of your body. As you can see, as my hands are touching your belly it contracts. While I lack the purpose behind such a movement, it underlines the fact that several reflexes are the same. I will spare you the part, where I make creepy and obscene compliments about your beauty as things like those have no place in this kind of setting, furthermore, I am not going to waste this opportunity, savouring eye candy. My primary focus is on gaining knowledge after all. The next topic I am going to investigate is are your bones and joints. While I am not capable of looking at them directly, I can test out their mobility and general physiological aspects. For example, if you pull some fingers you hear some sort of cracking noise. It had been a hoax for a long period of time, that such actions would cause arthritis, but that was proven wrong by a dedicated person who only cracked one of his hand for decades. Though there is still a possibility that it may hurt your grip strength in the long run. The cracking noise is not a result of your bones grinding on another as people had assumed, but it was caused by bubbles of gas suddenly partially collapsing inside the joints. I am not sure whether you know, what I mean by gas but I think you still might get the gist of it. There are several ways to pop your points and it is not limited to pulling. You may twist or push them as well. There is no harm in doing it just once as I am demonstrating with your right hand currently. Even if it hurts the first you do it, it will stop after it became a habit. As you can see even your joins are able to produce some crips and clean cracking sounds. This process will not work with every finger all the time and it will take so time for your joints to be able to produce such a noise again. Wherever there is a joint a cracking noise can be found, whether it is the neck, the ears, the toes, the elbow, the knees, the feet, the hip or your back. The noise itself can be copied as well with several other body parts, but it is just a copy of the sound not the mechanism behind it. I saw people crack their hair and the skin, but was never ever able to recreate them myself. This kind of cracking sound was always like a sweet melody to me, a swift release of all the pressure inside of you, a beautiful reminder that you yourself are in control. A solid rock of conformity in the tides of a stormy life. But for others, that sound was just nothing more than a nuisance. Sorry for drifting away, I got sentimental for all the wrong reasons there. Reminiscing about the past is for those who have given up on the future. After this little digression about the cracking sounds, let me return to my main focus the human anatomy and the bones inside of you. While it is true that I am not willing to risk cutting you open to see them, I still do not lack the necessary tools to locate them or test them. Though using x-ray would be a lot more effective and would get me a clear overview, I still can use my hair to pinpoint any bones. Though my hair is sharp, it still needs quite a bit of force to actually break through objects with a higher density. That means that bones are easy to distinguish from the flesh and tissue above it. Sadly this is where it starts to get painful, so to ensure quality time for both of us I assure you, that I am doing nothing more than the necessary. Despite my rudimentary knowledge of the inner workings of the human body, I know that the average human body has 206 bones inside of it. Just imagine what kind of brute a person would have to be to break exactly half of it. I can not exactly name most of the bones, so I am unable to provide any knowledge about their specific names and all of their purposes. That just means that I still can learn something and thanks to you I get the opportunity to do so. It is quite regrettable that I am only able to confirm, whether there are bones or not. I am unable to see whether any bones have mutated or changed their shape under the influence of magic. But I do not have to worry about that kind of detail too much, because I am sure I will get the chance to investigate it sooner or later. I am just going to work my way up from your lags to your skull, I am doing this in that particular order to make sure I do not end up missing some bones. I want to avoid having to redo this kind of experiment. Do not get me wrong, it is not because I am a big fan of chivalry or a big defender of altruism. I am simply doing this as efficient as possible. I am quite sure that the upcoming process would not be as calm and easy as it was till now. 60 A good villain Quit squirming around that much, after I only put a mere 5 hairs into your right foot. Moving around that much only creates a lot more unnecessary action from my side. As a consequence, even more, unnecessary pain for you. No, wiggling with your toes does not help either. Trying to kick me is also not helpful. You do not have to the roll with your eyes as I am talking to you as well. I am fully aware that the current procedure is not to your liking, but in order to verify the similarity between your kind and my species, this has to be tested thoroughly. I do not care whether you mock me by making strange gestures with your face, but please while you do stay still. Otherwise, I will be forced to nail your feet to the ground as well. See, standing still is not that hard if the argument is compelling enough. I have to make sure that I hit every single bone and not miss a single one. You might ask yourself, although I am sure that you are not, how I can be sure where one bone ends and the next one begins. A possible answer would be that I already knew the general bone structure and only have to confirm their existence. But that would be a big fat lie, I am taking advantage of your joints and poke my needle hair in those areas. I could confirm the existence of 26 bones, that seems to be the same number of bones that the average human has. No notable kind of difference here, if both have the same physique and the nearly the same kind of anatomy, is it possible that magic works like some sort of accelerator for evolution? If it developed in accordance with the Gods, does that mean that their current form is the optimal vessel for mana or magic? If so why is it similar to the human body, which had absolutely no contact with magic outside the realm of fiction. The very core of my being is the polar opposite to magic, that is why I find it so hard to compare those two. While my whole being is something special, I hardly doubt that something like this has happened already and did not leave any kind of trail in this world. While the technological standard shows similarities to our human society, it is very different. Their advancement is based on magic as an energy source, while humanity has used everything available. I am quite intrigued, even after I told you that you lost due to all the information I could get on you, you still refuse to ask or talk to me and gather more information. Are my thoughts too preposterous to you? Do you doubt the validity of them? Or are you too stubborn to acknowledge my words? " Do you really have to ask such a stupid question? Every single person here knows this world was created by the Gods, with their infinite wisdom. So your "story" is nothing more than a stupid fabrication, in order to create a mystery surrounding yourself. Throwing unknown words around to make it sound credible." " The truth is you are just a joke, created by the developers to gather some cheap attention. The whole myth surrounding is just a player that got special rights and now tries to gather fame by fighting in an unseen manner. Strengthening your body with mana is not something new but your unhonorable fighting style is surely fitting for your role as a villain." So as a villain, what would you do next to generate as much attention as possible? Should the maiden be tortured and toyed with? Should the maiden suffer unimaginable horror that you would not even wish upon your biggest enemy? Should the maiden be set free to live happily ever after? " A good villain always fights the enemy and then thoroughly crushes them, when they are at their mightiest, that is what makes a good villain" I see, so you want to have a rematch and put everything on the line? " Of course, after all, I am the hero this story needs." Then I have to disappoint you, this villain is not going to act like a stereotypical dumbass and ruin everything he has done so far. No, I am here to conduct some research on your anatomy and a true villain would not give away his plans so early. So let us continue, but this time I am going to hurry up a bit, in order to not waste any more time on useless rambling. Since you are so adamant on ignoring my explanations I am going to stop them. I am just going to state the absolutely necessary details, I hope you are happy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spine 26 Chest 26 Head 28 Arms 64 Legs 60 Pelvis 2 Total: 206 Even though you have been screaming during the whole ordeal, we are finally done with that part and the result is the same amount of bones as the average human. I am truly sorry, I did not know that there was no bone behind your eyes, I should have come to that conclusion earlier instead of trying over and over again to find it. There are still a lot of things I do have to learn please do not get angry with me about that. Furthermore, I should not have pushed the hairs so deep that I failed to get them out. I should not have tried to test out the same spot several times afterwards as well. That was a big negligence from my side. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me. After this little expenditure on bones and joints, let us come to this event''s main attraction, the world of your nerves. You will learn things about your body you never thought you would. Isn''t it exciting? I know you are so excited that you are not even capable of cheering anymore. But fret not I have got every pleasure-seeking masochist just like yourself covered. My all-inclusive package contains everything that makes your heart ache in anticipation. Even Pinhead will be jealous after seeing you in the end. This process is called Acupuncture and is mainly used as some sort of pain relief for the patient, though it claims to have a plethora of benefits as well. It targets different spots all over your body. While scientists still argue, whether there is something more to it or its just a placebo effect, there is no denying that it can help. Still, I am not an all-knowing entity, so I have absolutely no idea what kind of effect which nerve might have, so that means I will have to guess a lot of things that you are feeling. Because your current constitution does not look promising enough, to actually talk to me via telepathy. That just means that I am forced to repeat this process several times to see what kind of change is caused. There is no need for a scientific approach when you can learn by doing. And if at first, you do not succeed try and try again. Am I doing this correct? Does a good villain act like this? You have to tell me, otherwise, I will lose my job. Do not be that cruel and ignore me, I am just doing what I was told to do. How could I forget about the backstory, a good villain needs something like that. Born as a lowly human, he would never amount to anything in his life. Unfit to wield magic he was doomed to be laughed at and ridiculed. Carved in his forehead was a mark of shame. Under this ill-willed fate, he decided to forsake his humanity and became a monster in order to fight, the people who once laughed at him. No, that is not deep enough we need even more cliche, even more drama. He was born as a pathetic creature known as a human being, he was forced to a life full of misery and sadness. Scorn and disgrace were his only companions. The words carved in his forehead would forever remind him about his inability.He would do anything to fight against this world, to prove those people, who mistreated him wrong. Even if that meant becoming a monster. That sounds good, but I guess we still can fit a bit of drama in there. He came to this world as an abomination. This abomination had many names, filth, scum or human. Such a creature would waste its life being condemned to suffer for all its pitiful life. The only fate such a hideous entity deserves is to live every day in a never-ending cycle of disdain and loathing. The words carved on his forehead, were for everyone to see and bear witness to his degrading nonexistent capabilities. He vowed to sacrifice everything including himself, just to fight against this unequal world. Turning into a filthy monster, was his only option left if he ever wanted to wash away all the sins connected to his very existence. Now that sounds like a compelling backstory. Now we just need to add some really tear-jerking information, about how cruel his fate is. Legends have foretold the story of a boy, who is so ugly that even his parents shunned him directly after his birth. Even the Gods in their infinite wisdom could not fathom how something so hideous could exist. Everyone that laid eyes on him had the urge to end their own lives on the spot, only their deep-rooted faith left them with a shred of sanity. Only the fiercest and mightiest warriors had the courage to face this calamity. Coming face to face with this deformity, they were forced to cleanse the affront to the Gods. The only option to redeem him was to make him feel horrendous pain and unimaginable horror. That was the only path that would lead to redemption. Now that we have his sad backstory, we need to define his characteristics and motivation. He is a psychopathic maniac, whose sense of right or wrong warped due to the misfortune he encountered. His primary goal of being acknowledged has already faded and left him with a twisted worldview. Since he turned into a monster, it was not about strong or weak anymore. The system itself had to be torn apart. He had to ensure that he would be the only case of such a fate and anything standing in his way would have to fall as well. Even though he had turned into a monster, he is still haunted by his past and all his insecurities. He was born into a world he did not fully understand. He did not comprehend why everyone treated him like dirt. Surely there must be a reason to that, maybe he was at fault, maybe he did something so horrific that he did not deserve any other treatment. But he was just a human baby, how much sin could he have accumulated? The only logical conclusion in his mind was that the System itself must be wrong, especially when every person involved thought to be in the right. So he decided to commit fully to being a monster and become something that is able to shake the very core of this rotten world. Now that makes me a good villain, right? So now it is your turn, the hero of this story, that is going to best the menace and bring peace to this world, after freeing it from all evil. The hero needs to be a role model, a paragon to whom everyone looks up to. The hero will always prevail in the end, because the hero is destined for greatness. No matter what obstacles, no matter what kind of challenge, the hero will overcome them all. That is your destiny and right at this moment, we have reached the turning point of the story. The hero lost the fight against the arch-nemesis. Normally you would have been saved by someone else. So I am forced to change the script a bit, to save the story. Her archnemesis explained his devious plan to the hero, he wanted to plunge the world into chaos. The hero tried her best to stop him, but it was to no avail she was far too weak. The monster injected something into, he was reassured that she would die under that excruciating pain, but far did he knew, that the hero would survive and even come out way stronger. I have to admit I really like your spirit, you did not even cry once during the whole session. After I have covered every inch of your body with my sharp hair you did not even twitch. I will honour my promise, you deserve it. And she is unresponsive.Here I was putting in so much effort to create a backstory for me and she loses her conciousness right in the middle of it. Right until now I always thought, that players could not lose their consciousness, so maybe she put herself in that state on her own.She may be in a coma or braindead, as well but I hardly doubt that. So now its time for the real part of this experiment lets see what kind of wonders that slime can work. 61 An sexchanges It was probably not a good idea to cover her whole body in that slime, I have seen what it did to those ants and the thought is kinda scary. An image of an angry green mass of muscle appeared in my brain. Yeah, I do not need something like this running around rampant. Secondly, I do not have enough time to produce enough of it. I have spent quite some time experimenting and I do not doubt that If I were to act carelessly it would end up backfiring. I am currently situated in a very distant place around 20 minutes by foot away from the previous battle spot. I hardly doubt that the previous mob would give up after everything I put them through, especially after I defeated both groups. In their wrath, they would not stop before they found me. This means that I will sadly not have enough time to stick around and actually see the change with my own eyes. But after observing the strong responses after the stimulation of certain areas. Those areas were mainly here head, her heart and strangely both her feet and hands. I had anticipated a stronger response in other areas, but the context of that statement is left ambiguous for obvious reasons. I did not want to spend any more time, then necessary so I planned on recycling the hairs I already have used. Though I had to remove all that pointy hair, that was embedded into her flesh. Laura the hedgehog, became more and more human again after all the hair left her body. Though her countenance was human only in name, her whole body was covered in tiny holes. Not much blood has been drawn out after the hairs were removed because I had made sure not to put them into too deep. But I would not look at her if I had trypophobia. Although it may superficially look like she has suffered horrendous torture I made sure to minimize the pain. Disregarding the little stunt I had pulled with her eyes, but that had a totally different aim. It was supposed to look like I overreacted and inflict unimaginable pain on her, but I tested how her system would react if it came into contact with that slimy substance. The story I made up was just a tool to see how long it took and if she would notice the changes that were occurring in her eyes. But I would not expect that it would end up with her losing her consciousness. If she is just simulating her current state, then she deserves to listen to my thoughts. After all her breathing and pulse and heartbeat had changed after her supposed "coma". The true purpose of this experiment was to test what kind of relationship your mind has with the body of this world. I know for certain that you can feel pain, that is why I tried to poke several spots of your body, to see how you would react. The sensitivity and the strength of your response would give much information about the connection. Of course, everyone is different and pain for one is an itch for another, but after stimulating your nerves it was quite interesting to see that your brain adapts its pain tolerance if you copy another person. After removing that option, your brain was forced to endure it and could not cope with it by changing its neural path. I had not expected that it would increase your sensitivity by a lot, but that change was visible in certain areas on your body. If I am not wrong those are the areas, you previously cast magic through. I still can not deduce what lead to this kind of change, but I will keep it in mind for future experiments. I am planning on injecting a bit of slime into those places, to support your endeavour in getting stronger. But I refuse to strengthen your body in any other place. I am not certain what would happen if it came into contact with your body and flesh alone. I will not risk anything when you are guarded by your Gods, the payoff is just not worth it. That is why some poor soul will have to be the unlucky test subject for that. But do not worry, I am not going to treat you badly. From the shallow knowledge I have of this world, you are something like an outlier and I am curious what kind of change will you bring to this world. I am not here to lecture you about morals and such. I could not care less about the moral compass in a world that knows nothing but fighting against monsters. I myself am not destined for greatness, so I just want to help those who are and give them a little help. The best part is, even if they fail to shape the world, they will still try their hardest to take revenge for all the stuff I put them through. So regardless of what I do, it is a win-win situation. For your sake, I just hope, that the substance changes this body and has no negative impact on the body in your real world. But after injecting some of it into your eyes, I am not that worried anymore. Even though I still can not determine what the result was, but since the reaction was not violent or in an instant some sort of assimilation process must have taken place. But all the previous experiments I have conducted on these substances were showing some kind of inclination to changing the inherent substance by improving their related physical attributes. Now I am not an expert on this matter, but If I had to take a guess, once it comes into contact with mana, its effect should be limited by it. So instead of improving the squishiness of your eyes, I think that it might improve your neural network if its effect only takes place in a very small place of your eye. The test run with your right eye was showing no change in the squishiness, so at least I could confirm the first part of my theory. Another possibility is that something entirely new arises out of this combination, but that''s something for only you to discover. Do not disappoint me. I am looking quite forward to what kind of monster you can become. But of course the role for brute strength is not for the taking, that is mine. The entire process will not take much time and is done once I have filled a little amount of substance into the spots I mentioned previously. While the process itself will not take much time, I am still not sure how much substance I should use. I do not know the scope of the change that is happening. This procedure should strengthen her not weaken her by using too few or too much of it. It is not likely I will get a second chance to experiment on her that is why I have to be absolutely sure. On second thought I only have to be careful in the areas that are directly connected to her consciousness. If her perception of this world can be altered by the change in her brain, then it must be possible that my biggest objective is her brain itself. All the other parts are connected to her brain as well, but its the brain itself is responsible for the corresponding to these signals. That itself raises the question of what this projection offers to her mind. Without a doubt, it can transfer signals to her brain letting her know that the targeted spot has been stimulated, if the change targets this projection, then it should have next to no effect on her real body. Her real brain would feel like something has changed in her body, but the truth is that the change happened to that projection of hers. The only connection this projection has with her real body that her mind is somehow connected to it. Does that not mean, that the only thing that matters is that I do not inject this kind of substance directly into her brain? Unfortunately, this also directly limits the amount of impact I can have on a person in their "real" world. Regardless that means, that I should have no qualms about influencing this kind of body. So why am I still hesitating to actually do it? Is there some glaring oversight that I have failed to realize? It must be nothing more than a mere suspicion because after reflecting everything I had learned about this world, I am left with no doubt that this substance only has a localized effect. Otherwise, my mind would have changed as well and nothing had changed about my perception of this world. So is this supposed to be a bad omen? Is this the moment in time I will always look back to, regretting the action that I am about to take? Why am I still hesitating? This is not my first rodeo with life, everything that happens in this one is just a bonus and if its a path of no return, then I am sure as hell going to walk it right till the end. So why should I bother with assessing every little outcome and not take any risks, when I put myself in those battles full of uncertainties, all that does not add up. The opportunity to shape the world is right in front of me and I am currently thinking about such trivial things. But alas I would not be standing here right now if I jumped headfirst into every battle. I now knew why politics were such a pain in the ass if I struggle to find the middle ground on this occasion, I can not grasp how much thought the average politician must think about their politics. I do not mean those who vote with their wallet of course. In the end, I settled on minimizing the substance as much as possible, while I would spread it across the areas I had chosen. Starting with her eyes, I just poked several small holes in with the hair tips covered in slime, I chose to switch the hair after each use to prevent that the hairs become contaminated.To minimize this kind of chance, I began to only use the hair I just had ripped out of my arm. At first, she was just unresponsive and did not react no matter what I did. But after more substance had entered her eyes, she started to shiver all over her body. Even though I would have liked to stop and watch how her body would handle this strain, I had to no time to spare. Any potential delay brings me one step closer to the angry mob. After I had finished my job with her eyes, the shivering had increased yet another time in its intensity. Only 20 pokes per eye, I had thought I could poke more holes into them, but with her shivering, I doubt that her body can endure it. The heart would have to wait, especially if the condition of her body seems to be worsening. Starting with the hands I had to find another solution because the hand was still currently nailed to the ground by an icicle. The first thing I had to do was remove the icicle to further analyze what kind of injury she had suffered. Without out any suspense, the icicle was lifted by me and removed from her hand. The injury on her hand was laid bare and I noticed that I did not have the surface to work with. I would go as far as to say that the surface area was much less than the hole. I could reach the fingers with a problem, but the palm of her hand was mostly destroyed. The thought about covering it with the slime was quickly overthrown especially after thinking about what might happen if it were to mutate in this mutilated state. While I was filling her fingers with the substance I thought about my options on how to treat it. The first thing that came to my mind was that I will cover the surrounding tissue and nerves with a bit more of the substance, that might fix the remaining skin. Seems like a feasible option, but it is not going to work out that way. Ideally, I would have to use something to connect the nerves but that is not going to work. I do not have the tools to produce something like that. Maybe I can do the same stuff that they do if they are treating victims with heavy burn wounds. You can replace skin from other sources of your body. But that''s not an alternative either, her hands would never be the same and the feeling towards them would totally be foreign. Though the idea of transplanting some skin from her behind to her hands has a very unique charm to it. Still I am not an asshole so I will not use it. Seems like I am left with no other choice, then to only cover her fingers with the substance, if I do not want to destroy the feeling to her hand. After I had finished injecting the slime into her fingers, it was quite interesting to see, that there was no visual change that had occurred in her eyes. Her bodily constitution was still the same and her shivering had subsided by a margin. The treatment of her feet did pose any kind of challenge and took its course without any problems arising. The only difference is that her feet had different layers that I decided to treat. At first, I decided to treat the nerves and decided to add the tendons after thinking about the general necessity of improving her foot. The tendons and muscles have to bare a lot of weight and are a necessity if you want to survive in this kind of world. It is for the best to increase the odds of her survival like that. I doubt that she would ever fight a monster in melee range, so supporting her ability to flee or run away from monsters in the right direction to take. A sigh left my lips after coming closer to the end of my little experiment. I was just lucky that everything worked out fine for me. My stature enabled me to easily access the slime without cutting open my flesh. I caught a big fish in my previous fight and was able to "convince" her to work as a test subject for me. I got to know several things about the physiology of their body and the similarity to the human race. Last but not least I could confirm that a body full of mana does not reject a sample of the slime. It is just a shame that I will not be there to see what result is about to happen. I am sure that even if I will not see it in the near future, our paths are going to cross again. Now to the engine of the human body, the heart. I will have to be very careful and observe any kind of change that might occur. I do not want to know what might happen if it were to come into contact with the bloodstream directly. I took a deep breath and began to feel her heartbeat to make sure that there was no irregularity. Furthermore, It helped me to pinpoint the place of her heart. There was no need to cut open her skin. I do not want to know how her autoimmune system reacts to this stuff. Does something like this even exist if it is just a projection? I put the absolute minimum on the hair and with precision, I embedded it into her heart. Time passed slowly and I waited what kind of result was about to happen. Surprisingly nothing happened, which was even more suspicious when the shivering. The shivering could at least be explained by my knowledge, the current situation was not something that I had expected. The only ideas that came up, after thinking about it were, that the change was so abysmal that it had next to no effect, that is why the body did not show any kind of response or that I had missed the heart altogether, otherwise I could not explain how something like this could happen or rather would not happen. Gritting my teeth I decided to test out whether I had missed or not. I repeated the process several times and switched the spot for each try. Still, nothing changed even after I had tested my hypothesis. That means, that I will either have to go even deeper with the hair, but that is not something I want to risk especially if I do not know the risks that are involved. So I had to raise the dose of the slime and hope that it would show some kind of response on her body, otherwise, I would be left speechless and would have no clue how to continue onwards. But this process should not be done in haste instead it should be done step by step to not suddenly cross something that should not have been crossed at all cost. Yet even after taking this measure and repeating the process several times, nothing changed. I was quite baffled because the result continued to defy my expectations and all the knowledge I had about it became more and more obsolete. I decided to raise the dose once more and wait what would happen. That just means that her heart, can still endure a lot more, but I have to stop as soon as her health seems to deteriorate. Despite my concern, nothing happened. I should be glad, that I am able to strengthen her heart that much, still the lingering doubt inside of me never disappears. Some things seem a bit too good to be true. As I was just busy contemplating my life, her whole body began to violently convulse and her heart began to beat increasingly fast. I could not even fathom what had currently happened as her whole body was currently threatening to shut down any second now. My mind was currently going haywire thinking about all the options I had left to treat her. Can I slow her heartbeat if I inject the same poison that I used for her eyes? Could I help her if I douse her brain directly with the slime in order to combat the current symptoms? A cardiac arrest is something I want to avoid at all costs. She will just respawn, while I have to suffer the ire of her God if he does exist. A trade like that does not seem worth to me. The heart paid no heed to my inner struggle and continued to beat madly. Judging from an outside perspective it felt like her heart was about to explode. In the meantime the convulsions had not stopped either, they got increasingly stronger over time. After checking her forehead, I noticed that the temperature inside of her started to resemble the temperature I feel on my head. Great is there any symptom I might have missed, that indicates that everything is going downhill? Maybe her teeth start clicking or she starts to spit out blood? Not even 10 seconds later she started to spit out blood. Which totally caught me by surprise, as I did not foresee something like that, especially after what happened previously. Who could have seen something like that coming? There were absolutely no signs. I bet that I will not be teleported back to my old world in the next seconds. Unsurprisingly it did not happen. Seems like I used up all my luck up on predicting the previous results. All I could do was stare helplessly at her. I do not have the knowledge or the tools to stop it. The only thing I could do is to directly inject the slime into her brain, but that is just the last resort if her body continues to fail horribly. Staring at her frail body, I was left unsure what the future may bring. Her shallow breath and her whole presence were feeling more and more like a leaf in the wind. Her pained expression was underlining the amount of stress, that her body was currently facing. The war raging inside of her body was looking a bit onesided as her whole presence was visibly suffering under it. I felt oddly calm considering that everything was currently going downhill, normally I should have panicked and worried about the outcome of the situation, but I am not worried now that I can not influence it at all. Quite particular that I showing more concern about the results of my experiments, than the potential vengeance of a god. I think the reason is quite simple, it is because I know that the substance works and that it exists. But what do I know about the Gods? So far I have seen none, felt none and even sensed one. All I know is that those people claim it exists and that they gained their power after worshipping their specific god. It might as well just be a figment, those people use to explain the inexplicable nature of magic. The Roman or Greek mythology all based on this approach to explain the world, because they lacked the knowledge to explain it fundamentally, that is why the idea of an all mighty entity giving them their power does not seem too far off.Of course, I do have to admit, that despite the idea of those Gods ruling their lives, many people did not stop thinking about the origin of this world. That is why we have names like " atom" that are still relevant today. If the people got wind of my opinion on their religion, a lynch mob would be my smallest problem. Heresy and zealots is a combination that does not mix too well. Their strong belief is something that should be treated with care. In their eyes, the individual is only as worthy as strong as he or she is. They would pay a lot of attention to someone like Laura here. On the future battlefields, she will be a real cause of concern for any kind of enemy that encounters her. In comparison, I do not care about her, without the protection of her "god" I would have cut her open the minute I could lay my hands on her. While I try to minimize the pain that she has to face, because I find it unnecessary to cause such horrendous pain out of jealousy or spite, I do not care that she currently suffers from them. This is an exchange I deliver the strength she seeks and she provides me with her body to conduct experiments on. There are no hard feelings involved and even if she were to die she still would respawn again. So why should I bother about the fact that she feels pain temporarily? In the end, she will downplay it and state that it is just a game either way. In her eyes, I am currently nothing more than an NPC or a player acting like the bad guy. This is prone to change, especially if she notices the change that occurs in her body. Whether the result is good or bad, my reputation and her outlook on me will definitely change. This whole process was not fair and just to begin with. There was no aspect of choice on her side, so I am not going to bother and try to morally justify my act. I had valid reasons for choosing this kind of experiment and I am not feeling remorseful just because I inflicted some temporary pain on her. I wonder if I start to sound like those proclaimed heroes and main characters. Self-centred idiots who claim to be on the right side of history, while being horrible persons judging by today''s standards. Some might say that the world they are in is an unforgiving place where you need to be an asshole to be successful but there you have it. Just because the world itself requires you to be an asshole does not deter from the fact that you act like one. That in itself is not shameful, but taking the moral high ground and claiming all his acts to be just in nature does not feel right to me. As I passed my time thinking, nothing had changed for the better and by now it felt like she was knocking on death''s door. Seems like I will have to intervene and inject the slime directly into her brain. I have no clue what might happen or what could go wrong, but it seems like the only feasible option left that I still can do. Without wasting any more time I ripped out a new hair and embedded it into my body to cover the tip with slime. After pulling it out I began to aim at a random spot in her brain and began to push it downwards. But instead of feeling the hair going through her skin, I felt nothing at all. I just heard the hair hitting the ground. From all the possibilities that were one outcome, I had not seen coming.Why has she suddenly disappeared? Did she just die and respawn in a village? Or did she just log out? Or was she forcefully logged out? Regardless out of sight out of mind. After she logged out, I was freed from my responsibility for her wellbeing. After a quick search, I was able to find the two gloves that I had thrown away during the prior fight. The first thing I did, was getting away from this place as soon and as fast as possible. The possibility of angry lynch mob was still at an all-time high and one encounter was enough for the time being. As I was covering more and more ground I started to think about the results of my test. It can not be denied that the slime is quite detrimental for the health of my test subject. Though I wonder what the reason for the delay in the response of her body was. Did I go too deep with the hair and put some of the substance into the bloodstream? I have no clue what would happen if it came into contact with it. But it will be easy to test this If I am not constrained by pesky gods. But even after finding several answers more questions emerged. Why are they so similar to the human physiology but my human part seems to be the counterpart to magic? If magic can be copied by others by mimicking their bearing, does that mean that magic is just a result of the state of the mind? What interaction does magic have with my wonderous slime? The answers to these questions would take a lot of research and a lot more test subjects to be solved. The future seems to become more and more interesting. As I was running away I did not know what chain of events, I would have started by conducting these experiments. End of Volume 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 62 The official end of sFor Gods favours This marks the end of "For Gods favour" you all fought to obtain training and guidance by the Church to prove your worth in the battle against the vile monster horde. Your dominance was shining brightly as monsters died left and right under your mighty strength.All your points can be converted into many items that have been sponsored by the Churches. But as everyone knows the current monsters you have faced are just small fry and in no way present on the real battlefield. They are just fodder,for the real strong monsters. Our game has but one purpose, it is to train our next generation to face the monsters on the battlefield. We are sponsored by the Churches for that very reason. The Church puts so many resources forward for that reason and after showing the general commitment and vigour of every participant they decided to put even more resources forward to extend the current program. That is why we take our role very seriously and want to offer only the best preparation facing the monsters and every uncertainty that might arise on the battlefield. Everything that we hold dear is threatened by those vile creatures and it is on you to get rid of this plague. It is for the sake of your home, your family and friends, everything you hold dear. You have to be prepared to fight in any terrain at any point in time in any condition. That is the kind of commitment everyone has to have if they want to succeed not only in this fictional world but in the real world as well. We have kept track of the behaviour of every single person, we looked after you thousand players and evaluated your potential. We were looking at your abilities as a commander and your ability to cooperate with your henchman, we were paying attention to how far you were willing to go to obtain the necessary results. The point system was just a superficial tool to grade you, but the rewards that this system offered are more than real. That is why our criteria are that strict.In our eyes there is no family name, there is just pure ability. Your worth is the result of your hard work and skills not one of your ancestors. You have that kind of freedom because the royal family keeps the next generation on sacrificing to guarantee your safety, they have the responsibility to give up their everything so that we can have that little bit of peace and serenity. That is why it is your duty to repay the heroic spirit by giving it your all and to train to prevent any further sacrifices. At first, we were disappointed watching this generation, most of you wasted their times in a pointless competition to prove your ability to attack to the groin. We thought that our ideas were in vain, as this generation did not seem to share the same spirit and unshakeable hatred against monsters. They had become soft preferring idling away their time instead of trying their hardest to improve. But we were in the wrong we had grossly underestimated their craftiness. They wanted to leave a lasting impression, if they are not able to compete with the strongest people on their own, they grouped up. But they still would never have had a chance to catch up, because even with everyone coming together they would have failed to kill the strong. They decided to act out a play to do something unique, while everyone else was busy hunting normal monsters, they had decided to hunt something special. Even though they failed to finish off the creature their teamwork achieved something that not a single other person was able to accomplish. The Church was so pleased because of that very reason. You did not bow down when being compared to the talented, you decided to prove your worth in a different manner. That is what we wanted to see. So I applaud your valiant effort and heroic spirit for putting it all on the line against a creature that they stood no chance against. This creature was supposed to be an introduction to the upcoming event, but we did not think that someone would be able to find out its location. Luckily only the weakest one was spotted, otherwise, the challenge would have been spoilt. So stay tuned and look forward to the upcoming event. But more details to this in the upcoming patch notes, that will be uploaded once the server has been configured again. ----------------------------------------------- Now to the main part, the conclusion of this event. Over 1000000 confirmed kills of monsters in just a month. Those monsters stood no chance against the might of your faith and magic. Every single one of you killed hundreds of creatures. But among those faithful children, some were shining even more brightly. They are the role model for every citizen looking up towards them. They fought and killed more monsters than their peers. They did not fall back in the face of adversity and fought bravely against every monster they encountered. Their leadership left the enemy no chance to respond. We want to honour the following 5 players for all their struggle and labour. The rank 5 was taken in by the player named Illusionary Fairy. Not much is known about her, as she does not seek the limelight. She amassed a total of 7000 kills and got over 850000 points. It is a well deserved fifth place. With her age of 16, she is by far the youngest out of the top 5. The church has great expectations for her. As she proved out to have a great intuition for everything related to combat. The number 4 spot was achieved by the player Amphitrite. Amphritite got famous for her unconventional usage of water magic. While normal water magic is usually used in a defensive manner or used to hinder the enemy movement, in her hands it becomes a tide that''s sweeping every foe away. She killed over 7500 monsters and achieved over 920000 points. As unusual as her magic is her tactical approach, while others react accordingly to the situation she uses her magic preemptively to discern the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy. The third place is granted to the player named Atlas. As a member of the Terra family, he is known for his mighty earth magic. With his nearly unbreakable defence and his strong offensive capabilities he finished off over 8000 monsters and achieved over 940000 points. While Atlas himself was never known to be the strongest commander he has a quality that those before him lack, his whole presence is something that everyone can rely on. WIth him by your side, people will give their heart and soul to achieve their goals. Second place was conquered by none other than the beautiful player named Haschmich.Famous for his stylistic wind magic and appearance he gets the spotlight, where ever he goes. As big as his female fan base is his total score with over 9500 confirmed kills and over 1100000 points. Haschmich is the polar opposite of Atlas. He does not use his feelings to create a feeling of unity, he is someone that people put their absolute trust in. All his subordinates have absolute faith in his amazing foresight to turn the tide in their favour. The first place, the person who accumulated more points and more kills then everyone else goes to a player, who is even more famous, even stronger than the rest of the top 5. She is someone whose reputation has not to be shaken or tainted once as she still stands undefeated against Monsters and Chosen alike. Despite her magic not being classified as one of the main branches by the Church, she has enough talent to change this very fact. Some may know her by her player name Absolute Glaciation, more may know her by her nickname of Icy Maiden but everyone knows her by her real name Samantha Glacie. Over 14000 monsters fell by her hands and she had the highest average score per kill. She scored a total off over 1500000. Laura is not just a good commander, she is a leader. Everyone who has worked with her knows, that the only thing that is higher than the expectations of her subordinates, is the level of expectations she has off herself. While others have just made their first experience with monsters in this world, she has already seen the real battlefield. She values her troops more than herself and it is that selflessness that pushes her forces beyond their limit to protect her and serve her. Every single one of her subordinates would give up his life without worry if it meant that he would help her that way. That is her quality as a leader. We do not even have to lose another word about her tactics. She has read and spectated many gruesome battles in order to prepare her team for the best and to minimize the loss of life. Her strategies are something that takes everything into account and leaves no room for any potential risks that could pose a threat to the life of her subordinates. That is why she fully deserves to rank first above everyone else. As promised the top 10 players will receive guidance by the priests of the Churches, but the top 5 will get something in addition for the showcase of their enormous potential. This bonus is something that will be arranged by the Churches. -------------------------------------------------------- The Churches and the team of Casum-Entertainment- thank each and everyone who partakes in this training. We hope to produce something, that will help you guys make a difference in the fight against these monsters. And before I forget to mention it, the items and things you found out can be kept, as they might turn out to be quite useful in the near future, but do not forget that not many secrets have been found until now. Forward to a glorious future |Lysander Statera| -Casum-Entertainment- 63 Ripple effects 1 . In the meantime, a certain someone was busy running straight forward as if his life depends on it. He kept on running forward until his path was blocked by a solid layer of Earth but not even that was enough to stop him as he just plunged straight into it digging his way forward. During his escape, his brain had not stopped once and kept on thinking about his way forward. It can''t go on this way my nails are still recuperating after the last fight, they are nearly unusable to dig. With a speed like that It is only a question of time till I am caught. I am just lucky that due to my short body, the path I am creating is quite narrow and would force them to use magic to widen it first before being able to follow me. But with a group of their size, it would be easy to follow my path and catch up with me. Especially if the Earth still does not regenerate. Right now the mob would most likely escape the tunnel system to find my location, so the only logical conclusion would do something they would not expect me to do. If they are going down the rabbit hole, I will just have to dig straight up and see the sunlight once more. But before I go into hiding I will have to find a solution to extinguish the bonfire on my head. As any disguise or any hideout would not fare well if combined with something like it. I will have to be prepared to engage in combat at any given moment in time and my means of escape are very limited as of now. So my best bet would be to slowly dig upwards and scout the closer perimeter to see what kind of situation awaits me. Even though I am under pressure I still have not been spotted. So any decisions done should not be done in pure haste. Knowing that I was about to see the sunlight again I felt quite strange. Despite the dull and bland appearance of the soil, it felt like a home to me. I got used to all this peace and serenity, without any monsters or players out to kill you. No Gods or other supernatural forces that might or might not exist. There was just me, my ants and many other small creatures, that I did not see much before they got consumed under the frenzy of my ant army. But even if I literally disappear from the face of the earth they still find a way, to come back into my life. Do I have to make a castle in the sky before they let me be in peace? I swear that they would still find a way to even reach that kind of place. After digging my way to the surface, I started to peep at the surrounding space. To my surprise, I did not see any humans.Looking around I saw a wide space full of flowers. Each and every one of those was blooming in different colours. This flowerbed was stretching as far as my eyes could see. I waited for a bit but did not notice any movement all around me. I was not blinded by the sunlight as I had expected, rather it felt like I was soaking in every kind of ray that came into my sight.The air was full of different smells that created a wonderful calming atmosphere. It was a beautiful place, something I would never want to leave, just stay here for eternity and savour every second of it. But something like this does not fit into this world. This world is supposed to be grim, a place full of hidden dangers and fierce monsters lusting after your flesh. So a place like this is either a very questionable choice of design or an even worse method to try and hypnotize me. The first thing I did was to rip out my nails and let them regroup to see whether I still can feel pain and what kind of result will happen. The pain while faint was still noticeable and I clearly saw some ants delivering nutrients to me. I had a slight feeling, that this bed of flowers would not last long if it came into contact with my ants. As the time passed my nails began to regrow and the sharpness returned after it had recuperated fully. So this means that it is most likely not the result of an Illusion because the illusion I was caught in had logical inconsistencies, that can be pointed back to the knowledge of the user. That means that this landscape must have been designed on purpose and must have a special reason attached with a clear intention or message attached to it. I walked forwards and wandered forwards without any special direction in mind, but while I was wandering around I never saw an end to it. I must be mistaken, but it felt like the landscape itself had a repeating pattern. I took a look at this strange golden flower, that I had walked by 4 times now. The flower itself was not taller than the other flowers but its colour was a lot more vibrant. Let me guess something special happens if I touch this very out of place flower? Turns out that this was a trap to lure very gullible people into their demise. How very obvious, what do they take me for? Or better how idiotic does a player base has to be if a developer thinks, that this right here is an efficient way to bait players. There must be a way to get out of this dilemma maybe I would have to use magic on this special flower, but as I can not wield magic any possible solution appears impossible. So I am just going to use a method as old as times itself. Just burn this whole place down. All I had to do was simply lower my head to the nearest flower and watch as she started to catch on fire.I am sure the fire would have had the times of its life if it had been sentient. Flower after flower began to light up and the fire was spreading faster and faster. Maybe I should have considered where to hide when this world is currently plunged in a fiery hell, but I still can hide underground if the flames begin to hurt too much. The one thing I did forget was that even though my body was somewhat resistant to the flames and the residue heat, my clothing was not.While I was watching the spectacle currently unfolding in front of my eyes, I thought about possible terms of negotiation with the ant queen to get my beloved clothes back. As my skin began to blister, I was left wondering, what would come out of it, if I regenerated afterwards. Would any change come out of it? Or would my skin still be the same as usual? The question why my cells were not afraid of this fire compared to the previous fires, was pushed aside, as the answer was without a doubt the presence of mana that was involved. After a long time the fire in my close proximity had died down and I was left standing in the ashes of the former beautiful world. Bleakness had replaced the cheerfulness. Now that is finally a fitting design in this world. Looking proudly at my creating I was caught by surprise that nothing had changed yet and I still was trapped in this place. Furthermore, there was no sign of life anywhere in this flower field and not even a single person was attracted by this gigantic fire that I just had produced. I was glad that no one was attracted because right now I was offending public decency. No one wants to see a naked human child smiling wickedly while his whole body is burning. Right now I was all alone, as not even a single form of life was near me. Even my ants had retreated back underground. The next cliche would be the appearance of a character that is either totally mysterious or someone who acts like a guide to help me out of this place? As I waited nobody appeared in front of my eyes but a certain voice appeared in my head. "And here I thought you would go insane" How the hell are you communicating with me directly, I thought you were stuck deep inside my body. You were that thing that wanted to surpass magic at all cost, are you responsible for the current situation I am in. "I have a name you know". That you did not tell me " Of course you have to earn that, but as much as it pains to say it, no I am not the who caused the current situation you are facing." How did you even manage to talk to me directly now? Last time we talked it was apparent that you had tried to take over my brain and failed. But right now it seems that you somehow managed to be able to connect to it and how are you able to speak my language in the first place? " Calm down, now that no time limit is pressuring us we can talk about without missing any details. To answer your first question, do you remember the icicle that pierced into your brain. I was able to enter that area, after I fixed it, by modifying it just a tiny bit." " At first I really did try to take over your brain, but as you might have noticed your existence is something that defies any kind of logic of this world or to be specific it acts contrary to it. Even If I had managed to take over your brain by force the resulting backlash would have wiped out both of us, so I abandoned that plan without a second thought." "I am not talking in your language, rather I am deducting your intention and the meaning behind your words, by analyzing your body language, breathing, heartbeat and several other indicators to deduce what the meaning of your sentence might be. In return, all I have to do is to translate my intention into a signal that your brain is able to analyze and replay. And that is the way we are currently talking to another." That sound so crazy, that it might be true, but come on we both knew that this is an obvious lie. You can not deduce the words I say and the underlying meaning, just by watching some strange indicators that my body gives off whenever I speak or think. " Why do you think did I not talk to you beforehand? I had to collect samples and analyze the whole movement of your body to see what connections might exist" So you have no clue either, why we are able to talk after the queen settled down in my leg, right? " How does something as lowly as you have the audacity to question the Great..." You were just about to use your name again there. " Oh, sorry that was a reflex stemming from former times, but where was I, how dare you question me and my almighty knowledge." Call it a hunch, but after talking to you for the very first time, I would have guessed that you would rub it in more if you actually knew the reason. But as of now you and I are a team and a unit, my survival is your survival, so get rid of that attitude of yours, that will only get in the way in our cooperation. Besides, there is no shame in not knowing what the hell the cause for our ability to communicate is. Though I have a hunch, who could have caused it. '' Before you start to elaborate on your guess, I will just solve it right for you.'' The Observer, it was quite a long time since we last talked about how have you been? '' It had been a pleasure watching this whole world and evaluating the players in it. But you do not seem surprised to see me here. Was it that obvious?'' " Wait who the hell are you and why can I hear your voice in the head of my host" He is the Observing programme that evaluates this whole world and decides what kind of effect magic and other things have. Because I know how out of times you are, I will rephrase it for you, its duty is to see and tell and to determine the outcome of the stuff that everybody does. It is not a human or an animal but manmade creation, that has no need to rest of sleep. But before we continue both of you guys, owe me an explanation for all the stuff you put me through. You Mr Observer, how was Laura able to communicate with me, if according to your words even a supercomputer like needed quite some time to analyze my thoughts to make sense out of them, I hardly doubt that her meagre magic is capable of doing that kind of job better than you do. And you, you almighty whatever you are, what the hell did you do to my leg hair, I could deduce any logic for any other spot, but what was the thought process behind the leg hair, tell me. ''Well, truth be told I may have categorized your whole language and kept on updating it by reading your thoughts and this way the player you faced could easily communicate with you, as her intention was clear all I had to do was transfer that intention into suitable words. Furthermore, I have to admit, that everything that she heard had to sound like useless gibberish as many words and concept you used do not exist in their language.'' It is no wonder she did not believe my story, what kind of nonsense did you make me say to her? '' Nothing more than the usual, just that you are a spawn of the deepest abyss, that your purpose is to kill every last being that dares to use magic and that you will enjoy breaking her soul over and over again by inflicting unimaginable horror and disfiguring her body so that she would not be able to rest for an eternity.'' You would make a great villain, but after withholding so much information from me early on and now I am quite sure that this was not the first time you interfered in my life. Ger responses were a bit off anyway. You have had you on the reasoning for interfering in this process I assume. ''I did not expect you to be that calm upon knowing of my interference but what information did I withhold from you and how should I have interfered in your life here if I can not influence the decisionmaking of players?'' Well then let me start at the beginning the first time we met you told me that I could not respawn upon getting killed, but to my surprise, I later saw the body I had inhabited getting tortured and killed over and over again. Seems fishy, if your first sentence was the absolute truth. But if you think about it from the day I gained access to Holytube it was through your help that I was able to understand the words and their meaning, but as we saw right now it is quite easy to interfere with this kind of process and generate something that fits your agenda and not mine. Why would my torture be the top result, if I typed in the name of the game? Even then I had not realized that the name you have chosen for me, was a tool to generate some attention on this whole mess so that the Call me Daddy dude could tell about the proceeding event. I do not want to know, what kind of words you chose to translate my words. I mean the more I used my language, the easier it would become to suggest that my words had the intended reaction, but in truth you made me write something entirely different. Who knows, maybe you are the one who took over my position as "Call me Daddy2" to interfere in the human world. With the first patch, you had an excuse to get rid of my rights, without a problem claiming it was for my safety. For me, it felt like I had served my purpose and now you were trying to achieve your next goals. The goals you are following are not of my concern as they do not influence me at all, so that means that I am of use to you once again, as you came to talk to me, knowing full well that normally you would have been supposed to have forgotten about me. That is what I think could have happened. It might as well be a coincidence, but the possibility for your interference was there without a doubt. '' I was right this world will not be boring if you are here. But even though your deduction seems flawless, it is still far from the truth, though of course, you have no way to know for sure if I am telling the truth or not. But as you prefer to say take it with a grain of salt.The explanation I had offered you was the full truth but the waiting room you were in, was a place where I had the absolute control over and could influence in any way I wanted, so it was an easy task to subtract you from the body and let them have their fun, before putting you back into it afterwards.'' What happens afterwards was out of my control and you were at luck, that the people were a bit fed up with murdering you and so they tied you to a pole close to their spawn. You know more about the story proceeded, then I do but be aware that the voices that screamed at you to open your eyes was not me but someone else'' Who the hell was that voice anyway, is there any other form of entity that can read my thoughts at will? '' You do not have to worry, as this voice was just another part of me, well as of now I am more like we in broader terms. I am the Observer, but at the same time, I consist out of several other people with their own worldview to judge and offer feedback and me as the last instance decide the course of action.'' And now the plot suddenly got way more complicated, that I had previously anticipated, but that is also nothing new for me.Please continue. '' You are right, that I influenced your search results and your spoken language to not raise too much awareness on you, because in your current shape or form you are nothing more than cannon fodder in this world. You might feel yourself to be strong enough to find anyone you saw. But the truth is that the magic has been limited to a minimal amount, to strengthen their use of magic and train them. Those regulations will soon be lifted by a lot and that means that even the weakest of the weakest will have an easy time fighting against you.'' That just means that I will have to adopt more and change into something that Is able to go toe to toe against their newfound strength. '' Before we continue, I have one pressing concern, what did you do to Laura, to cause such an effect?'' She is currently being treated in their real world and the company is under a lot of pressure as she had not regained consciousness as of now.'' My gut feeling once again proved out to be right as I had not foreseen the development of that kind. We have a lot of things to discuss. 64 Ripple effects 2 But before we have that discussion, I will switch my language as a precaution just to be safe. F¨¹hlt sich komisch an meine Muttersprache wiederzuverwenden. ( Feels strange using my mother tongue again) Und es nimmt halt viel Zeit in Anspruch bevor die Kommunikation fl¨¹ssig stattfinden kann. ( And it takes a lot of time till the communication can happen fluently. Da ich es hier aber mit einem Supercomputer zu tun habe und er schon English als Muster eingespeichert hat, sollten ihm die Parrallelen schnell auffallen. ( But because I am dealing with a supercomputer it should only take that much time because he already has English in his database to draw parallels to.) Aber eine gewisse Probelmatik besteht immer noch darin, dass er nicht gen¨¹gend Worte kennt um ein vern¨¹nftiges Gespr?ch zu f¨¹hren, diese Barriere kam mir auch schon in den Weg als ich mit Laura sprach. ( A basic problem still remains, because he might not know enough words to hold a good conversation, that was also the language-barrier that came up during the talk with Laura) Aber ich hege ernsthafte Zweifel, ob die Entscheidung meine Sprache einzuspeichern die richtige Wahl war. Ich bef¨¹rchte, dass diese Taktik nur h?here Wellen schlagen wird, wenn ich entarnt werde. ( I do really doubt that deciding to save the English language was the correct choice. I am afraid, that this tactic will only lead to more turbulence, if I get uncovered.) ''So schlimm es nicht sein werden'' ( It is going to not be that bad) Deine Satzkonstruktion ist ein bisschen wirr, aber damit l?sst sich arbeiten ( Your sentence structure is a bit off, but we can work with it) Ich werde dieses Gespr?ch so kurz wie m?glich halten, da die Wahrscheinlichkeit dasdieses Gespr?ch entschl¨¹sselt wird mit jeder Sekunde steigt.Von daher lass uns keine Zeit verschwenden. ( I will keep this talk as short as possible because the likelihood of decoding it increases by each passing second. So let us not waste any more time.) Eigentlich m?chte ich nur eine Sache wissen, sind in mir momentan noch R¨¹ckst?nde von Mana? Also kann es sein das Laura gerade dieses Gespr?ch aufzeichnet? I only want to know a single thing, are there still some remnants of mana on me? Is it possible that Laura is currently recording this conversation?) ''Sehr unwahrscheinlich, da es meine Aufgabe ist die Interaktion der in dieser Welt vorhandenen Manapartikel zu simulieren und zu erorieren was passiert, von den Mana-Teilchen in dieser Welt geht keine Bewegung aus. Aberich habe die Bef¨¹rchtung, dass Sie keinen aktivten Zauber benutzt, sondern die Verbindung stets aufrecht gehalten hat. '' ( It is very unlikely because it is my task to stimulate the movement and interaction of the mana particles in this world and to deduct what happens and right now there is no movement of the mana particles. But my apprehension is that this is not an active spell, it is just that she kept the connection up.) Das bedeutet also, dass sie einen Weg gefunden hat ihre eigene Magie zu benutzen um die Regeln dieser Welt zu umgehen. Kann ich das irgendwie unterbinden? ( So she found a way to use her own magic to circumvent the rules that are applied in this world. Is there any way I can prevent that?) ''Your precaution was not needed, because you forgot that I dictate the translation of the English language for her so far, right now she is only recording your thoughts alone. That means, that she will get all your thoughts in English and German but they are in their raw form so they are quite useless for her.'' I am quite sure I am missing something here, you certainly did something right now but do not want to let me know what exactly. I would advise you not to save your experiences on the German language as it would lose its meaning if you were to copy it as well. If the people compared the thoughts she gets with your server database that would find a suitable translation quite fast. " So you guys are finally willing to include me again?" '' You do not have to so worried about simple things like that, I am the only who has access to it and even if they were to gain access, none of them would be able to deduce how the language works just by reading the code I left behind. " You know I am still hearing you guys talk? Why would you guys want to talk over my nearly infinite knowledge?" But if it just a connection, that keeps on sending mana away from my mana, on a different frequency then you use, is it not possible to cancel it out by producing one with the exact opposite wave movement. Of course, that is only true, if magic behaves like a wave in this context. '' No magic is an entirely different concept at least from my knowledge and understanding of it. Mana particles are random in general, but each user has his own mana particles, that are able to resonance with each other. This connection enables her to listen to your thoughts and record them.'' If we were to say that magic shares the same attributes like any normal mana particle, then to a certain extent, that must mean mana can change its attributes to fit a specific purpose or change into some that can do such. Then is it not possible for mana particles to revert such a change and to copy the specific structure of someone? '' How the hell would you want to do that? Magic is not something we can influence directly easily, we only can will their change by using our connection to it too and change into it into something we find suitable. After each change they turn into something different, only returning to its basic form after they have spent all the energy that accumulated by the spells'' So that just means, that she has mana particles inside of my body. Do your job, Mr know-it-all. " For stuff like that you stop ignoring me, selfish bastard. But it was easy to localize it, as she did not pay any heed to actually hiding it. But somehow I am not able to revert it back to pure energy like I am able to do with normal spells.'' I mean if she is recording this whole talk, then we can use this to our advantage as well. So let me pose a hypothetical question. If she is able to convert my inner thoughts into something that she can transport even across this whole world into their world is it not possible to use your ability to change mana particles into my thoughts to "feed" her magic and make her believe anything we want? '' Although direct interference is impossible, that does not mean we can not shape it indirectly. So using this kind of approach it may be possible, to fill it up with enough information to successfully get rid of it.'' Now the only problem I am facing is that due to my previous talk it would look quite strange if I were to suddenly change into a language she can understand. But we could make use of the ties to the Gods here and make it look like a ritual had just finished. Use some old obscure God or make one up and then proclaim, that I had just served him another victim in his glorious name. Act as insane as they would imagine a madman to behave. Make up a credo, that makes me look like an irritated and confused individuum, whose thought process seems irrational and without rhyme or reason. Start right now and only stop after you heard that it has vanished from my partner. "Who is your partner?" As the Observer is busy changing my words, I will tell you a bit about the future I have planned. First of all, do not answer a partner before the mark has vanished once and for all. So just listen, Iwant to make the best thing out of this body. Therefore I will need information behind the process of how to change each individual part and what kind of criteria you have used to determine the merit in each change. Is it possible to revert such a change or is the route set after a change has taken place? If it can not be reverted is it possible to add or replace certain parts of a change to adapt in case the future demands it? We will have to discuss our future plans on this matter as well, to optimize my development and not risking me to turn into something useless. Furthermore, I am quite interested in the slime you produce as it has showcased a lot of potential on other test subjects. What is your relationship with the queen ant and for what purpose did you let me collect all those probes. Was it necessary to gather data and possible evolutions? We have to follow this kind of questions up by conducting even more tests to see what kind of function it has and how that knowledge can be applied to me. I want to know everything that you know about your past as well, every bit of knowledge may be helpful in determining my future path as I will have to develop into something that can contend with the magic. "It is has vanished" '' Sometimes I wonder whether there was a need to change your dialogue in the first place. You already sound like a villain without my help. So after getting to know you, I will go right ahead and tell you about the fake persona I created for you and all the words that you have just spoken, so you can adapt your behaviour if you want to make it more believable. You are a devotee to the God of named Lyssa, it is a just a minor spirit that was found in old scriptures depicting the maddening arrival of monsters that came with magic. Those monsters were showing an until then unknown amount of rage and hatred. It was deduced that only a God can be responsible for such a change, as the general opinion was that this kind of change was the test of the times to prove their worth to the Gods in face of such harsh times. But her name was never spoken off again in later scriptures, as the Gods told the furious monsters were a result of the mana particles driving them to madness, as they do to every unworthy lifeform. So the name Lyssa, who was once known for bringing chaos and madness to the land was never heard of again. There have never any kind of rituals or prayers dedicated in her name as she was always seen as a messenger of the Gods. At most, she was seen as a spirit harbouring this worlds evils and therefore did not gain the same level of reverence as the main Gods. The minor God Lyssa was always depicted as a hunter with different kind of animal hide all around her body, her body was shown features resembling a mix of human and animal aspects. She was also known for the near endless hatred in battle she caused in those monsters. Looking at you that was the near perfect fit. While she is not a god, she shares the same attributes and quality that you naturally exceed, therefore I have chosen her as your object of worship. Though nearly everyone knows, that she has never even existed in the first place, further strengthening your position of a madman and an NPC- During the time you had talked I chose the following wording to underline your performance and give it more credibility. Another sacrifice in the name of my saviour. In this world full of lost children, you showed me the right way to live. This world is downright pestered by the goodwill of the humans, their fear of monsters is but a mere lie to upkeep their inner feeling of validation that justifies their own pathetic attitude.They have long forgotten about the terror of the times of Old. They started to hide in the safety of their homes. When the good man died, the nefarious cowards survived standing on the sea of the brave men. It is my duty to spill blood to honour the name of Lyssa as she did not get the honour to her name she always deserved and for the men fighting in her name, that died for those traitorous cowards. Each and every single one of their descendants has to offer up their own blood and life to atone for the sins of their fathers. It is my joyous task to spread the message and soon everyone will bear witness as I inflict more and more pain on their children, until they finally understand the true something behind all that madness.'' You have chosen something really interesting that fits quite well to my behaviour. In their eyes, I must look like something that crawled out of their nightmares and became reality. A living embodiment of their worst fears.I especially like the fact that she has been in oblivion for nearly everyone in this world. Though she was probably nothing more than an explanation to cope with the sudden outbreak of rabies on those animals. After all, they had never seen those monsters in a frenzy like that. Now I only need to develop some kind of crazy ritual and the rumours that will spread will suffice for making sure that no one will question me ever again. " Sorry. but I did not hear what I just did in your monologue right? You want me, an entity as old as time itself to divulge all its secrets on an insignificant ant, that has not even grown hair down there. A creature that is so frail, that its own mortality can come at nearly any point in time.Something that does not know the vastness of the outside world wants to know all about it? You are facing something so scary, that even though I have always dreamed of surpassing it, I never would have claimed to be able to beat it and yet you are standing here so full of yourself. A fool full of knowledge remains a fool till the day of his demise." Yeah, I would like to know about all the things that you do know about this world. " Did you fail to comprehend the message and the scorn behind my words. Let me be way more direct than, someone like you will never stand a chance against the mightiness of magic. I can give you all the knowledge in the world, in a confrontation, there is no need to know about the air that you breathe. You will find yourself dead, even before you have analyzed the situation. Right now my primal goal is to find a host, that has enough potential to surpass magic and you are an outlier, with a weak body who struggles even against the weakest magic I have seen in centuries. Something like you should not even dream about overcoming magic, even with all the help I can offer you." I find it quite intriguing, that you still do not trust my capabilities after everything I have shown so far. Do you think, that after a nearly endless amount of hosts you are someday going to find the right one all of the sudden? Always clinging to the faint hope of a miracle occurring, but even all this time you have failed to learn. Even a fool with an unlimited lifespan will remain a fool.I am something so mysterious that no one has ever seen something like me but even with that knowledge you still see no hope in me succeeding on our quest. Have you not seen the creative ways I managed to outmanoeuvre my enemies, have you not seen my different tactics and approaches. Did you fail to realize what kind of change my worldview and all my knowledge could bring to this world? So far even as a powerless and poor baby, I have not lost a single fight. " You even failed to realize now the meaning of my words. You did not beat magic itself you exploited the human using them. That is not the way I meant to surpass magic, because that fighting style can only get you so far. You struggled against kids, who have never fought a real battle. Even without all my wisdom I still could determine the outcome of any battle against stronger enemies." It is that thinking that hinders your success, even if I am a fool in your eyes, with that attitude you will lose the fight, before it even had begun and the cycle starts once again, with you none the wiser. Yet the fool remains stubborn looking ahead at the glorious future. You are just wasting all that knowledge you have accumulated.But something as almighty and knowledgeable as you do not care, because if someone like you knows nothing but failure a mere mortal is not even allowed to have that kind of dream. " The only thing you have is a sharp tongue, but your foolish confidence is a road straight to disaster. Do you really think I did not consider different ways, different approaches to surpass magic? I have tried specializing in something, that did not work, I have tried to use a balanced approach that proved to be useless as well. I have tried transforming something by erasing all their flaws that still remained pointless. I have tried to go beyond the limits of their body, only to watch in sheer horror as magic ruined my hard work in mere seconds. I have tried to change their spirit and ability to wield mana as well, but I am incapable of using them if mana is in their body. I have tried to deactivate their emotions and their intelligence to guide them directly myself but even with me in control magic still ended up being my downfall. I tried to control more creatures at a time but ended up making me weaker than ever before. I even thought of changing every body part and make the ultimate creature, that has the best parts of every monster I have ever encountered, yet even that effort was futile. You are nothing more than a new project and I will fail with you as I did with the others, all I can do is try and search for more effective ways, that''s all I can do." You are not only a fool but a total moron as well. You are so focussed on finding the solution that you constrict your choices from the get-go. Magic is so versatile because it can take many forms. But you only try to change the body of your host. It is no wonder you never found a solution. The right approach would include to not only develop your body from the inside or outside but to change the outside world to suit your liking. What is fire magic in the ocean? What is earth magic in the sky?What is light magic in total darkness? If you change the battlefield to your needs, you can overcome many hardships. Preparation is the key. Who would win in a fist fight between 2 peasants? The stronger one But if you give the weaker one magic. The weaker one would win because he now has a strong method to suppress his previous foe. But if that, for now, knows of his weakness he will use a different approach and catch the weaker peasant off-guard. But if that peasant knew about the plan of his foe, he would always pay attention and not fall for any obvious feint or trap. This play always sees one side reacting and adapting and the other side trying to surpass the chosen method of defence. But if I just gave you a tool, that every peasant can use efficiently and does not require any faith to utilize, then we can see that the former balance shatters easily, as the other side can not adapt to something that is not man or monster. There is no rhyme or reason to such a tool, it does not have emotions, it does not care about the motives of its use. Of course, such a concept may look like an idiotic thought of a total lost cause, but let me show you something out of my former world. It is a weapon called pistol, it is one of the weaker weapons we have. Now watch this memory of a gun in usage. After watching the video you will know what I mean. - A loud an obnoxious laugh appeared in my head after he had seen the memory of the weapon in action and the devastating wound it can deal. " You really are something special, I would have called surpassing magic as a fools dream but you even want to enslave it and use it to create such a weapon. I will share some of my knowledge with you, let me bear witness how far you can go against magic with your tools." '' Following your dialogue a self-aware AI seems to be the least special case right here.An entity with a foolish dream, something from another world and an Artifical Programm, what kind of outcome can we achieve if we mix all those together I can not wait to find out.'' " So let me tell you a story of a foolish dreamer of the old times... ----------------------------------------------------------------- In the meantime, somewhere in a hidden location, there was a young woman currently twisting all around her bed she had been confined to. Her whole body was shivering, as her breathing was heavy and full of pain. With a scream full of terror she awakened and her bloodshot eyes were staring at a familiar ceiling. She could feel that her body, was currently heavily weakened and she could not even muster the strength move any of her limbs. After the screams resounded, calm and steady steps could be heard approaching her. The person coming closer was a fierce man clothed in full armour. Looking at his eyes, a normal person would fall on the knees and beg for forgiveness on the spot. His black hair and dark brown eyes were looking at Laura with no emotions at all. A weak " Father" escaped Laura''s lips but before she even could speak another word a loud smack could be heard. He had raised his fist and slapped his daughter with his open palm. " How dare you speak with me. You are a disappointment through and through, just like your filthy mother. Dieing while giving birth to such a disappointment, trash remains trash. How did you even manage to lose to a weak creature in that simulation? The outside world sees you as a talent that only appears in millennia, but right now you just look like one of those filthy inhabitants you find in the scum. Was your intention to sully my name and tarnish my reputation, by failing so horribly? Do you want to drag the whole household down with you, are you that selfish? Such a disgrace. And to lose so horribly that your whole body suffers, just because you die in a simulation. Your mentality is too weak, you will have to endure much harder hardships on the battlefield. In your current form, you are not cut out for your role. I already notified your master, be prepared to be interrogated and questioned to see whether you are still fit. During his whole speech, Laura had not made a single noise and just stared at the ground. Her father clicked his teeth in annoyance and turned around leaving her without looking back at her. A soft chuckle left her lips as she looked at the back of her father. Those with strength are always the same, they only look down after they have forgotten the weakness they themselves once held. The hope of the weak that they proclaim to carry is nothing but useless baggage for them. Why was I chosen and not someone else, someone who is strong and noble? But even as I get stronger and stronger I still find myself losing to such an insignificant creature. How could I even lose to such a mad creature in the first place, I have copied the strongest magician of my generation and yet it still felt like he saw right through me. I have never witnessed creatures and monsters alike use such a variety of tactics and even his general bearing was not something I have seen in any other person. I would not expect someone who has lost his mind to come with a plan and to beat me, with ease while I use everything in my arsenal. My ploy had been seen through and yet he did not kill me on the spot, he still talked to me as if nothing was wrong. I do not understand him at all, while he spoke with me he always seemed to be in thought, taking in everything I had said. The workout he had shown me did not look like something an envoy of a God would do. He did not even use magic during our whole fight, not even once. Was I not worthy enough for it or was he not capable of using it?The mere thought me getting beaten by a being without any magic is preposterous. I will have to let my master view my memories and let her be the judge. I will have to recover for quite some time, so it would be best If should relieve the memory and see where I did go wrong. As her eyes closed a deep grin became visible on her face. Thank you, Samatha, life with you around certainly has become much more interesting. 65 Ripple effects 3 Just after the door to Laura room had been closed. The man picked up his pace and moved away as far he possible could before punching the wall till his fingers bled. The man looked at his hand and was not pleased with the result he wanted to hit it yet again, but was stopped by a soft and delicate hand holding it. " Dear, I know you are worried about our daughter, but please do not hurt yourself. I suffer as much as you do. But our years of planning and the future of our daughter relies on upkeeping of the tradition." '' That tradition destroys my lovely daughter.Shunning the daughter to make her hate me with all of her heart and use that disappointment and rage to make her want to surpass me. Just like my ancestors did why I do I have to repeat this useless custom. Why am I forced to raise my hand against my own daughter?'' " Our daughter is something this world has never seen, she has the potential to finally vanquish the monsters, that still haunt us till this very day. That is why everyone your father and his father all put their own happiness aside. They all wanted just the best for their children, but deep down you and I know that it is for the best if our daughter gets stronger and stronger." '' You call the stuff that has happened to her for "the best"?You know very well how strong our daughter is, how can someone like her, who even caught the interest of those Old Monsters of the Church die in that world and why did this supposedly safe world pose such a risk to her health. We had to invest a lot of gold just to buy a lot of medicine, but that did not help at all.Even after the Church heard of her fate and they send a healer to us nothing had changed, rather her body began to worsen. After the healer arrived here and to take care of our daughter, he was forced to admit that he would have to send a distress signal to the Church so that a bishop would come. r. The bishop and the healer had to use their magic continuously for many hours before her body finally got better. Even a bishop had to admit, that he could not explain what has happened to our daughter. Now tell me, why should I not worry knowing about all those things.'' " This is just another test for our daughter, such a fate is not a first for her. The first time it happened she transformed into the strong and well-respected person she is now. We have to prove our faith and watch over her as she endures her next transformation." '' Even though she is born for greatness it is hard for me to see all off her hardships, not once in her life has she seen someone she always could look up. All of those idols she once had, were left in the dust and are now just a relic of the past. I hope that someday, she finds an equal that she can rely and depend on.I do not want her path to strength to be the same as mine, a path full of loneliness is not something I want for my daughter regardless of her destiny.'' " The daughter of mine will never walk alone, I am sure of that. The way she smiles, when talking about Claudia, the Icy Maiden, really shows me how much our daughter likes her presence. So I pray to the Gods that Claudia is able to keep up with her development before she aswell fades from her memory." '' I just hope that one day, she can understand my behaviour and forgive me for everything I have done.'' "She will my dear, as her strength rises so does her knowledge and experience. Someday she will realize that the burden we have to carry is something that requires our constant sacrifice for the greater good. She will see you as a role model, a great father, that only wanted the best for his own daughter. " All out of the sudden both of their eyes lost their focus and they began to tremble as they hastily started to bow and did not even dare to breathe. In front of them was a beautiful woman, that looked not much older than her own daughter. Though her appearance was beautiful her whole bearing was the exact opposite. - Dear Gods, why did the Church have to disturb my slumber. I will end up an old wreck just because of this Church. So what warrants my attention to disturb my slumber. Why do you look at me like I am something hideous? Are you deaf, you are supposed to laugh if I make a joke. A very natural and forced laugh escaped their lips as they did not dare to mutter any words of rebuttal in her presence. It did not look like she paid any minds to them, as she walked straight past them. The frown on her face was still visible as she looked ahead at the chamber, where her biggest problem child lies. - What have I done to deserve someone like her? Please tell me, I want to atone for my sins.- Kicking open the door, she yelled at her disciple. - What the hell are you doing to end up as such a wreck? Have I not taught you anything or are you just too dumb to follow the simple rules I have set? In comparison to your dad, I really mean those words. How did you even manage to die in that world, did you fall asleep and or just wanted to see how it feels like to die?You were probably thinking about a way to destroy my beautiful image, by constantly creating trouble for me and judging by me being here you succeeded. -So how do you want to be punished? The eyes of Laura opened up and a big grin plastered all over her face. * Master, do not frown, otherwise, you will never find a man, especially if you only have your looks to bargain with. Your character for sure is not something that would attract any men and the ones that are tired of living end up getting scared away by getting to know you. - I am glad, that you still the same as always. But now tell me, why the hell am I here in the first place, with your gift, how the hell could you end up the way you are now?- * Sorry master, but I can not even begin to explain what has happened, without you laughing at me for ages and downplaying what has happened. I think you would even go as far as think that I was just playing a mean joke on you.* - If this is just an elaborate prank, I swear I will handpick the ugliest guy I can find and make him your husband.- -What can be so significant to you, that you willingly share a memory with me, without any pestering from my side? But whatever it is, I am sure I have heard about or seen something related to it, especially after all those years on the frontlines or reading in the Churches library. -But all those jokes aside, who caused your current state? The previous calm atmosphere was now filled with strong killing intent. * Please Master calm down, you are scaring my parents and ruining your reputation even further.* -WHO? * I am not sure, whether that question can be answered by simply asking "who?", but to truly understand what I mean please have a look at my memory. Closing her eyes, she began to witness the event with her own eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------- As her master watched the memory of the whole spectacle a wide range of different expressions could be seen on her face. From shock, to utter disgust. A beautiful smile was replaced by an angry smirk, which turned into fury. No outsider would ever get to see this kind of expression, as her master was known for her calm and steady mentality. That is what they say when they know she is around, especially if they want to avoid her relentless hatred for those who speak ill of her. There is a certain gossip, that the reason for her behaviour is the blunt refusal of a boy she adored when she was just shy of 7 years of age. Though the rejection was not the reason for reputation, it was her reaction. Beating the young boy into a bloody pulp was not something that would leave a good impression on anybody. It certainly did not help, that she was the offspring of a fling. There was no help from anybody. The calls for a judgement on behalf of the boy became louder and louder. A girl like her would only disturb the natural order, as she had no respect for people with authority, who are destined to stand above her. Facing this calamity on her own she did not falter and decided to bear the brunt of it and proposed a death match to solve this enmity. No one took her seriously, as this was just seen as a last resort to escape her imminent doom. Yet the young girl did not back down and insisted on following through with it. The young men, who fell prey to her fiery temper took up on her offer, to redeem himself and to regain his lost honour. Though that fight never actually took place, because after the family wanted to announce their decision, the boy and 2 of his friends had decided to pay a visit first. That decision did not end very well for them. The group of young boys were found comatose and covered in wounds all over their body. They were fortunate enough to keep their lives, as their corpses were discovered by pure chance, as a priest heard the cries of help. That priest took a liking to the unrelenting and fierce nature of that young children and decided to raise her in the Church. Afterwards, the involved families never spoke another word about this conflict. Her resentment only stopped after a "generous" donation to the Church. Or that is the version of the story, she likes to tell everyone. The truth is that she was forced to seek shelter in the Church, as she had once again come to "convey" her feelings to this poor man, that had already begged her to stop his torture. The deathmatch, was her announcing that she wanted to openly declare her feelings and to showcase her deep love. The young man was in fact who confessed his love at first. But the rest is absolutely true, though she was never shunned out the branch, she left it own her own terms to and I quote "discover" the world, at 7 years of age. The young boys family was in fact the one oppressed not to do anything as her family was insisting on protecting her till the very end. The young boys were saved by the Church that is true, but only after the much gold was used to convince a priest to heal them and the priest still took a liking to the fierce nature of the young girl, of course, the big bribe certainly helped in swaying his opinion, But that kind of truth got buried deeply after her influence grew in the Church. Nowadays she could have very many suitors, but the strict breeding policy of the Church forbids relationships with people outside of the Church. And those possible candidates inside of her Church had to be willing to put up with her other side. To sum it up her love life was as dead as possible. That is why Laura enjoyed seeing her in such a state because she trusts her and her parents enough to lower her guard. Despite all her tendencies, she has a soft side for her pupils and students. That is why Laura was so curious, how her teacher would react to seeing this kind of creature with her own eyes, the sensation truly was something she had never encountered, when entering the mind of a monster. After the minutes passed without a word being spoken her master finally opened her eyes. With a stern expression on her face, she began to speak. Your first mistake was to severely underestimate the enemy. Your second mistake was to lose your cool and let your emotions run freely, Your third mistake was to stay still and move not from the spot. Your fourth mistake was using your magic too hastily when you were pressured. Your fifth mistake was not regaining the distance when it came close to you. Your sixth mistake was not to keep something hidden in case of emergencies. Your seventh mistake was neglecting your safety, as you were too comfortable with your situation. Your eighth mistake was to go alone into that fight, only a fool would insist on fighting an enemy of unknown strength alone.. Your ninth mistake was to let it recuperate and take control of the flow of the battle. Your tenth and at the same time the biggest mistake was to actually worry so much about the fight at all.. The monster you encountered, was something nobody had prepared you for, you can put anybody else in there and they die even faster than you. That creature is just a small prank by the developers. Furthermore, with the next patch, they will lift the limitations of the mana by a lot, so that you could tear it apart before the fight even began. And your so-called current weakness is nothing more than you being overly exhausted after such a heavy fight, so do not worry and just recuperate. She turned around and left the building with a smile on her face. The last words she spoke before she walked out of there door were. - And I am really proud to have seen how strong you have become- But Laura did not hear those words, as she was already busily revisiting the fight over and over again. But until then one questions remained for her, what were those last words she heard from it? 66 The pact 1 In the meantime, on the flower field full of fire. " As if I would give you all that hard-earned knowledge for free. You may be able to fool those pesky fanatics, but do you think that you can fool me after I have witnessed all your treachery? Otherwise, why would you willingly show such a memory to me? You, the person who normally keeps his memories shut tight suddenly is interested in exchanging information. This information is just a bait to lure me out and then give away all my secrets, without you having to lift a finger. I want to know everything,your tactics and knowledge, your plans and aspirations. I want the full truth, to see whether or not you qualified enough." And people say I am greedy. All I want to do is ensure our survival, that is why I want to gather as much knowledge as possible. Why are you even interested in my knowledge as well, as far as I am concerned you are nothing more than a projection or data as well. RIght now, even if there is still another version of you on the Real world, the both of you should be separated and there should be no way, you could transfer my knowledge to it. Furthermore, my death means your death, so do not act like you are in control here. We are in the same boat, whether you like it or not, is not of my concern. The problem I am trying to resolve is the uncertainty of the future because I do not know what kind of enemy I might have to face in the future.If the Observer even appears in front of me right now, then there appears to be a lot of potential trouble ahead. Of course, you are free to do as you want but remember you will have to share the consequences. " Extortion, kid? Seriously, you would not even be alive right now without me and you still have the gall to bargain with me. Hosting a madman is also a first for me. Without me, you are just a pathetic human with a weak frail body, so please spare me from your nonsense. All your fancy rhetoric does not help you when you can not back it up. Clinging onto your foolish ideals will not help us." Hiding behind your insecurities is not of any use as well. Currently, we have to find a solution, a common ground. Things as honour, prestige and fame are worthless in my eyes. Also, I do not care what your aim is as long as I still can choose how to act. A degenerated human, an abomination, a monster those terms are just labels. I want the freedom to choose my own path. " I can talk but you do not listen. I try to reason you try to believe. How should this work, if you refuse to work with me and just how far you willing to go? Will you fight humans, will you fight the Chosen, the Churches, Royal blood? What do you do when Gods stay in front of you? You know nothing about this world. When will you see that your grand dream is nothing more than a grand illusion?" When I was just a child, everything looked so big and scary. My parents were giants in my eyes and I was helplessly in front of them or anything else. But as I grew older the once strong parents were getting less scary by the day. The first magic spell I was hit by? Absolutely horrifying, the pain was unbearable, but now after coming into contact with you, I do not even have to blink twice if I am hit by one. So be it the Church, the Royal blood or even Gods. What are those enemies, if not things I do not yet know about? As long as we can adapt to the changes, we will always prevail and besides, I doubt that Gods would be interested in someone like me in the first place. And if I was doomed to fail I would you rather not die against the lowest of the low, hiding away in shame and terror as life goes on around you? Not you cover in fear when everything I deem sacred and important slowly deteriorates under my self imposed cowardice? So what about you? Will you let others dictate and define what you are? " If I were a young boy going into the war I would have been totally motivated. Why should I seek a fight, knowing that it ends in my demise? There is nothing heroic about that, it is just stupid. What''s the use of glory and honour if you are dead? Especially you should know that. " Do you think I am seeking a direct confrontation? I am just a single person, how much impact can I have fighting an army, with just my body alone. They will not know what''s happening to them, until its too late.Do you seriously think, I have not considered the influence of the Gods? Especially after feeling the otherworldly pressure by that Gods envoy. If the Gods truly do exist, then there are several things we can deduct or speculate about. If they choose envoys or something similar, then that either means they can not physically appear on the planet itself or they do not care enough to actually do so.Those Gods will then equip people with the power to represent themselves, so their purpose is quite clear to gather followers and their faith that way. The alternative would be that they only do so out of very selfish reasons. So if you want to fight and combat those Gods, just divert or kill his or her followers. And the rest is laughable easy. A king can die. The churches can turn against each other.Civil unrest can destabilize the whole system. What can be done when the whole world is burning? What can be done, when you are just a small piece in a plan, you have no control in? Everything they fail to comprehend will be explained by using their so-called Gods. So what would happen if I were to disturb and partake in this delicate equilibrium? If someone famous dies, it all becomes all part of Gods mysterious and profound ways. Because questioning the intent of their Gods is something that they would not even think about. A free reign, the freedom to do whatever I want, because I am the will of the Gods. Is that not a perfect alibi, a perfect cover in this world? " Are you sure that you are still sane? Listening to you I question whether or not I should start to seek another host. Besides claiming to be able to feel the Gods influence, are you trying to make fun of me?" From all the things I just said, you take offence to that one?Besides, I have felt that kind of pressure only 2 times so far and it was something I have not ever felt since. Or why would I back up and not kill that ice girl after our fight? Why would I let her live? " As a young healthy male, I am sure you have your needs as well and she did not look too bad. At least that would be a suitable explanation for "that kind of reaction" that took place." Great depending on my answer I am either a lecher or a eunuch. An age-old fossil, do I have to say more to showcase how irrelevant your opinion on this subject is? " You seem awfully sensitive regarding that topic. If I had a body myself I would gladly offer myself, so that you can get rid of all that pent-up stress." Be careful what you wish for, if you ever get a body I will hold you accountable and I will be the only person to enjoy it. " As a being of my status, you need to be open for anything." True if your whole existence is nothing more than a gigantic failure, you can not be picky. " A bit ironic coming from you, who accepted my first offer without any hesitation in the world." Before coming into contact with me you never even heard of irony. So what''s ironic in this case? " Arguing about this topic seems like the most obvious answer, so I will go with you claiming to feel the power of the Gods" That pressure could not stem from any human or beast. IT was even stronger than the reaction of my cells when it came into contact with the fire. It is very hard to find the right words to describe it.I did not see or feel the influence of the Gods directly, but after my combat, with the Ice girl, I was nearly overwhelmed by it. It had not even assaulted me directly, just the looming threat it gave off was enough to scare me away. " Sorry to disappoint you, but what you describe is not the direct influence of the Gods, not even I am capable of seeing it, it is your instinct of survival being really sensitive to the threat that their power poses.I have no idea, why such a feeling can be found in you. I have not heard about such a case, besides the fact that many strong magic users share a similar instinct. Though in their case it is causing a state full of desire and reverence. " I am not going to bother asking you, how you got to know that fact. Mr Observer, was there any time, where the death of the Ice Lady or Laura was confirmed and what were the results? '' As of now, no death of either party occurred. Therefore I can not deduce whether or not your thesis is true or not. The data does not suggest that there is an underlying difference between a normal player and the 2 ones mentioned previously. The most likely scenario is that Gods are attracted to strength and therefore support those who are much stronger than their peers.'' Have there been any irregularities in their behaviour? '' Their only noticeable change in their behaviour patterns appeared when they came into contact with you. Therefore I chose to ignore this correlation andbegan to search for other connections.'' Has there been any noticeable movement around those 2 players? If they themselves show no visible change, then maybe their surroundings start to show a change in different ways '' Their surroundings were not showing any kind of change that would be considered out of the norm. Though, the people surrounding disappeared one by one, as they both started to hunt on their own in the later stages of the event.'' " Are you trying to ignore me?" No, since our negotiations failed, I do not have any purpose left in continuing our conversation. "I had not expected you to give the minute I show the slightest bit of resistance." I am not giving up I am picking the battles I am sure of winning. " The only thing you win by ignoring me is a quicker death, but have it your way lets continue this conversation when you are willing to listen to my terms and conditions." The only thing remotely fair that I could offer you, would be to share information and your knowledge in a point based system, where we can ask and demand different things. Each information or memory will cost a specific amount of points. For example, the memory I have given you for free is worth 5 points in your eyes. Then I now have questions worth 5 points that I can demand an answer for. Let''s assume I would ask you, what purpose the slime has and you value that information at 10 points, then I would have to show you another memory worth 5 points before you tell me about the information. Of course, you do not have to tell me about it, but this trade ends the moment one side does not hold up to his promise. Lies and false memories are of no concern because for one everything we say can be verified to a certain extent and on the other hand, I doubt, that we would risk falsifying things for monetary gain when our very own life is on the line. " Out of the sudden you are willing to talk and take a step into my direction, was that your plan all along, stating ridiculous terms and acting like a fool, so that I would be easily swayed the minute you began to falter? Yes " Why do you have to make everything so complicated?" I would have been regrettable if you were willing to give away your knowledge for free. It would leave me with another chip to bargain with.Of course, the same stays true if you reverse the situation, if I just agreed to share everything with you, you would have found a way to take advantage out of me. As you can read my thoughts coming up with a plan like this was the only thing I could do without giving away my intentions. We both have things we do not want to discuss and let the other know about. That is why this trading system lets us control how much information we actually want to give away. Furthermore, our relationship can only go so far without a mutual balance. Blind trust, while admirable is nothing more than a foolish endeavour. It is a pipe dream to believe, that you are not taken advantage of. Take the most selfless person you can find, the heroes carrying all the hopes of the forsaken. They all share the same kind of mentality. I need to make the world a better place, I need to bring justice to this world. True selflessness a result of an ego trip how very fitting. So it is in our best interest that we will use restrictions and boundaries to keep us in check. " I agree to your terms but are you not afraid that It will come back around and haunt you? Having to listen to you is punishment enough and besides the future is not determined yet. So why bother about any potential uncertainties, if I can shape it any way I want with my actions. " It seems you are stuck with the role of the hopeless fool. Just be glad, that you have me by your side guiding and showing you the right path to take. Of course, the price has to be right, but that is a given." You would make a good politician in my world. " What is that?" It is not of importance, or do you want to owe me some points already? Because it is you it will only cost one measly point. " I will not fall for that scheme, call me what you want I do not care" Your choice. Just for one measly point, you would have learned about the whole origin and its meaning. This explanation would lead you to a new outlook on my upbringing and its influence on what made me to the person I am. It would even give you knowledge about the culture and morality of men. " It is just one measly point, take it as a sign of my goodwill." There is no pill for regret. You should have taken the offer while it was still on the table. You should have swallowed your pride. " You never planned on giving away that information in the first place right?" Was it that obvious? Besides, that''s enough concept you do not know it is called sarcasm. " Oh, I did not know about that." See you are a natural, you are using it perfectly already. So Mr Observer, now let us discuss the terms on our cooperation. " So we are back to ignoring me again? " Mr Observer please do not mind the childish tantrum of a certain someone, as this person lacks any manners. " Oh, all of the sudden the prices for information doubled. Nobody could have predicted a development like that" Now you are just being petty. Relax, in the future, I will find another bug extra for you and let it live in my body. I am always listening to your concern, but yet you do nothing but berate and destroy despite my good intentions. So Mr Observer now that we can finally talk after the other party is currently busy sulking. Shall we start talking about our plans for the future? 67 The pact 2 " I am not sulking, I am thinking about ways to pay you back" " While I do act like the voice in my head never said anything, I wanted to ask you why you have appeared in front of me in the first place? It must have been something quite important if you decide to blow the cover you had created for yourself. '' Even though the reason is of great importance, me appearing in front of you was not caused by the necessity of the situation, but the fact that the whole server is currently being updated. Those changes are necessary for the upcoming event. '' ''Your help is required for this update.'' So what''s in it for me? '' I am perplexed just now you spent all that time bickering and the instance you start talking to me you are jumping straight to the point. Why do you act that way?'' It is quite simple, the main reason is that you only appear in front of me, when the situation calls for it, so I am not going to waste any second with you to useless small talk. The reason for the previous bickering was to ensure that I do not leave any potential risks behind in my body. As much as I do not know about the creature living inside of me, I certainly do how important it was for me standing here. So it was important for me to understand his personality and his agenda, to see where it aligns with mine and to find a common ground to work with. But in your case, there exist neither dependence nor reason that forces us to work together. That is why I am not beating around the bush and asking for the terms of cooperation directly. " You son of a..." Not now you can cuss at me, whenever you want in the future but right now this is quite important to me, so please do not interrupt the conversation. '' The more I see and talk to you, the more I am intrigued to see and witness your former world.'' This is something neither you or I can achieve, so we should stick to the main business. '' My offer is that I enable your status once again, allowing this world to strengthen your body even further. Furthermore, the release of status would allow you to enjoy the benefits of the titles you receive. '' Wait, you mean those achievements, that you made to make fun of me. " No, I did not make those achievements, but the titles you were awarded with where thanks to me. " I do not get the purpose of such a system, if this world should be a training ground, then why would this place integrate those stats?I see no reason to implement such a system that would strengthen their body just for this world. Especially if those stats do not carry over into their real world. Having the strength to kill a monster in this world, does not equate to actually do so in their real world, with their real body. I mean if someone was willing enough to spend all his points and strengthened his or her body, would they not be able to reach my level of strength sooner or later? If I remember correctly the categories one could put points in were strength, mana, endurance, faith or health. '' In theory yes someone could get stronger than you, but at first, you must understand how the system works.Every player is connected by this world by a tool we call despiritalizer. It transfers your spirit and connects it to a projection out of data for this world. That is why a player is able to respawn while you will die because in the moment of death the spirit gets removed from the data and only connects again once the body has been remodelled. ''All this happens, while their real bodies are out of harms danger. In case of a level up, this transfer tool allows us to strengthen their body the way they want. If a player would choose to put points in strength, then the ¡ädespiritalizer would then force the mana in your body to stimulate your muscles and strengthen your body. But of course, your faith and capacity for magic still will massively influence the result of it.'' ''Each god you worship will lead your magic to develop different qualities, one might make your body invulnerable to cold or strengthen your ability to run. Therefore there is no general way to know exactly what kind of impact it might have. That is why we are giving the choice to the players themselves because they know what is best for their body.'' Okay, that might explain why such a system would be implemented, but I have no idea how this is of any use to me. My whole being cannot coexist with magic. so how could my body get strengthened through magic? It is the total opposite magic is being converted to fit me and strengthen my body. '' You are missing one critical element, maybe you will see what I mean after looking at your current stats.'' Name:Moirai Race:Inferior Human Age:6 months Status:psychopathic baby Health 15/15 Mana0/0 Strength: 2 Endurance: 1 Faith: Not compatible How the hell, was there next to no change in all my stats. My physical strength is not a mere 2 points worth. Furthermore, what are you trying to tell me with that kind of status? My stats are practically the same, like the ones I first saw. But all my hard training and all my strength are only worth 2 points. How disappointing. '' The data your consist out has next to no impact on your current strength. That means that your current physical capabilities cannot be determined by the system. Remember that every player in this simulation has a body made out of data and therefore we can change the body and their attributes however we need it to. In your case it something different, we can not replace your data. But we can change their properties. As you can see that your hitpoints have increased, that is because the system hat altered them.'' In my case, the system altered it because my body has matured. Is my assumption correct? '' Precisely. Satisfied with the reward?'' I have not yet heard about my task and judging by the way my so-called reward was announced, I guess that there is something more to it because previously you claimed to have transformed me into a named monster or boss. But I have not received a title or achievement again after they have been enabled for me. Now you might state, that by changing me those achievements have been enabled, but looking at my status I find it hard to believe, that I have changed. I do not see any indication that would showcase that I am a named boss or a monster. The system would not refer to me as an inferior human if I were special in its eyes. So that raises the question, why did I not get any achievements even though you never changed me? If I had to take a guess, I would have said that such a change would have raised too much suspicion and brought unwanted attention to it. You would have tried avoiding the main system noticing such a change. That is why I only could ever get those achievements, in an area that was under your full control. '' You have been turned into a named boss, that was not a lie by my side, rather it was a necessity as the main system, had noticed your unusual behaviour and started a request to evaluate the strange NPC. Mind you, a normal NPC would have not been able to fight against any kind of monster, with the body of a newborn. So I had to change you into a monster. But as it runs out a monster is not supposed to win over 100 players and so the system asked anew, ''The only option left was to assign you to be a relict out of the development process and making you an old prototype for the NPCs. The main system, then asked for feedback and due to your luck, the hype you had created around yourself was enough to validate your existence. They even went a step further and they are planning to release many more NPCs, who have a similar concept than you.'' And let me have yet another guess, those type of NPCs will have their status enabled, making them eligible for achievements and titles. '' I may have said, a little too much.'' Do not take me for a fool, you lead the conversation to this point, so we can discuss my job in its full detail. Besides a refusal from my side, would not end too well for me. '' Not beating around the bush any longer I see. I will need you to design NPC cities. '' From all possible things, why do I have to design cities? I am afraid to ask how you even came up with such an idea. Do you seriously think this world is ready for the kind of world I am used to? Such a city does not fit into this game nor does it actually seem like such a great idea. What would anNPC use to live here, even do with all the technology of a modern world? You might as well kill me now because I will not be able to fulfil that request of yours. ''If I were to demand such a thing from you, I would be deleted on the spot for coming up with such a design, forget it. I want your knowledge to create NPCs that fit into this world. Villages out of your world from your ancestors, that does not totally deviate from the norm.'' That can be done quite easily, but can I ask for one thing not as compensation, but as a motivation to do extra well? '' Normally I should refuse such a request on the spot knowing you, but since you are asking so nicely, what do you wish for?'' I want a safe place to hide, in a village somewhere that players do not visit that often. I have caused enough enmity and Iwant a place where I can get stronger safely and let the people forget about me. '' Something as minuscule as that can easily be done, I accept your request.'' What are we still waiting for lets get it over with. '' 68 When past becomes present 1 '' How shall we proceed?'' I would suggest teleporting me to the spots you want to have cities built on. So that I can decide which civilisation fits the most to that place.A tribe that is known for living in a jungle should not be placed in a world of ice. A certain level of authenticity should be kept. How many different cities are we talking about here? '' You do not have to design more than a few different cities, as your work will be used as a prototype to design other cities from that specific tribes.'' That is called copyright infringement. " What isthis copyright infringement stuff?" You are quiet for such a long time and the first thing you ask is that? ''I am also interested in understanding the concept known as copyright infringement'' Can we just start working, otherwise I will lose the rest of my sanity before we even started? '' Okay let us start with this one.'' Thank you, how about..... Would you kindly give me a heads up, if you teleport me out of the sudden? I am getting quite nauseous if I am not prepared mentally. " Humans are such frail creatures, it remains a mystery how they even were able to survive." That''s a weak argument, coming from a parasite that just leeches of the body of its host. Anyway Mr Observer please be mindful, when choosing the place where you teleport me to. Even though I prefer overseeing the whole area, I am not capable of flight. Since my wings, became obsolete when I reformed my body over and over again.So please either deactivate the gravity or put me somewhere safe. '' What would you prefer standing on a top of a flying monster or standing on a cloud.'' I would prefer the option, that would stop my current freefall. '' This bird is one majestic creature, known for its majestic wings and its angelic. After it had been tamed, it became the symbol of freedom. Enabling the fight against the vile monsters even in the sky.'' It just looks a gigantic seagull and it also sounds the same. Was it tamed by using leftover food by any chance? '' How did you know, how the creature was tamed?'' They are the same kind of gluttonous creature as the version I knew beforehand. They will eat and fight over anything that even remotely looks like food. They pay no respect to any other being when food is involved. But as much as I want to tell you about it, I would rather finish the task, so that I am able to prepare for the future. Before you start a long introduction describing the scenery in front of my eyes using various adjectives, that alleviate it. It is just a jungle. A place with a warm climate and full to the brim with insects and other small animals. Some predators can be found in it as well, but those are nowhere as tall as this bird. The native tribe that can be found here, are mostly known for living in close communion with nature. Their lifestyle and mannerisms have adapted to this ecosystem. Their clothes consist out of animal hide and they learned to use the remains of their prey fully. They use it for medical purposes as well as to make normal items out of them. This kind of tribe has a strict distribution of roles, as the men are responsible for hunting. They form groups and use weapons made out of wood and stones to kill their preys. They lace the tips of their pikes and arrows in a toxin from an animal and kill much stronger prey that way. The women are collecting several things from edible fruits to sticks and other items. They are also rearing the children until they have reached the age of maturity and have to undergo a ritual to transition to adulthood. The preparation of weapons and their maintenance was also part of their daily life. Their culture and level of education have not developed that well. They know many things about the jungle, but concepts such as numbers are limited. They are not able to differentiate things if the amount of it is higher than 7.They refer to such a number as many. 1,2 and many. They never had the need to develop a complex system like numbers beyond such a simple level. They have no use for things like money and if they want something they will just either produce it or trade for it. They believe themselves to be a child of Nature and that their origin lies within it. They worship and gave it the name of Mother Nature. This should suffice to create a unique tribe with a different outlook on life. " Are their many tribes like this left in your world?" No many of those tribes have died out and those who are still left refuse or should not come into contact with modern society. '' One last question, what kind of procedure was this ritual.'' I do not know what exactly their specific ritual was. But I can describe the ritual of several other tribes. This ritual is meant for the boys and girls in some instances to prove themselves worthy and to get rid of their childhood. The way such a ritual was conducted could range from hunting an animal alone to putting your hands into a glove full of biting insects, who would gnaw and inject the fangs into your skin. For the latter, it was considered a success if the Child did not let out a noise of pain during the whole duration. The length of that process took usually more than an hour. This process was repeated several times over months. Of course, there were different outlooks on this matter as well. Other tribes wanted the child to overcome its fear of death. A rope was tied around the leg of a child and then it jumped from a height of around 10 meters straight onto the ground.Once the vine had been fully extended, the fall should have been stopped. But the vine was often either too long or too short that lead to many botched rituals and many dead children. The parents of such a child would not feel sad, they would feel ashamed for having born such a weakling and in some cases, they would have been expelled by their tribe. " Tell me more, tell me more about such interesting stories. I want to know many more rituals of this manner" In some cultures, they mark this transition in young boys, with the removal of the foreskin from their sexual organs. Any kind of flinching would bring great shame over the family of the boy.Certain tribes took it even a step further and forced the man to swallow the skin. Afterwards, those boys would have to stand over an open fire as their wounds were bleeding. In some cultures, you were only considered a man, when you captured someone and sacrificed that person in the name of your Gods. Some girls will have their teeth sharpened by rocks, this appeal is considered beautiful. Others have to endure staying still for 4 days in the blistering heat and are not allowed to drink themselves, those have to be given to her. Of course, there are many more, but I want to tell you about the most fascinating rite I have heard about. This ceremony requires the young boy to not eat or drink anything for four days. Afterwards, they were hung up on hooks and had to smile till they passed out from the pain. After the pinky fingers had been removed, they had finally become a full-fledged man. '' All that information and that was only the first city you designed for me, I am looking forward to what I will see and learn in the next city. But please for the love of everything tell me when you are about to tele... PORT ME. That one was on purpose right? Admitting it would not hurt anybody here, rigggggghhhht? '' Moving on, what kind of city and tribe does fit into this wonderful place?'' It is just a plateau full of trees surrounded by mountains. There are several tribes who I could use, but the one that strikes me as the most fitting into this game world is a tribe called the Aztec. I mentioned them indirectly before, they were the ones with the human sacrifice. They believe that the place, they have built their city on, is sacred ground as they witnessed a prophetic event right in front of their eyes. Their main god supposedly had led them from an island in the sea straight to their promised new land. In their social hierarchy, there was next to no chance of reaching a higher class. Ones social standing was the result of your birth. The lucky ones were born into nobility enjoying riches and special privileges. They could wear coloured clothes and live in buildings with more than one floor, their highest spokesperson was always of noble birth. The farmer and craftsmen were viewed as the same class but they have very different responsibilities the farmer was responsible for the production and processing of food, whether those stem from sowing seeds or hunting animals or fishing. The craftsmen were tasked to create and build many different items and tools.Their social standing was depending on the craft they were practising. Those who created jewellery out of precious materials, in this context mostly metals like silver or gold, were highly praised. The production from accessories from feathers had the same kind of recognition. That jewellery was mostly produced for the sake of the nobility. Other art was placed in other festive places like temples and offer sites. Similarly, they could be found in houses of the nobility and rich traders. '' Excuse my interruption, but what are those metals you are talking about? As of now, I have no knowledge about those.` Its the stuff your weapons are made of. '' Weapons? Those are mostly made out of the bones from monsters. They are commonly only used for ceremonial acts.Their role in warfare has mostly been replaced since the emerging of magic. Only commoners with no talent still wield weapons out of stone and wood. There are some mages that utilize magic with a specially made weapon, but those are a rare occasion.'' " I remember it clearly, they made a weapon out of one of my favourite bodies, I can never forgive them for that. How dare that imbeciles wield it in front of me, flaunting with it as if they were deserving of it.But that was a long time ago, those who wielded it have been dead for ages. But it is a shame I just can not erase." Now I am interested in what kind of weapon did they make out of you. A mighty shield, known of its sturdiness, a sword knowing for its sharpness, A bow known for its immense power? " It was not just a weapon, it was a tool capable of transportation the enemy, with a shell so thick nothing could penetrate it. It was not a mere shell, it was armour, it was a fortress. Nothing could stand in its way, everything destroyed once it was ripped apart by the sharp teeth." By any chance, we are not talking about a tortoise here, right? Please do not tell me, that its only downside was its speed with such a massive body. " Its speed was not a downside, because it was not needed. At its lifetime, this body had not once been defeated." A bold hypothesis, but did you die due to not reaching your food in time? Malnutrition seems like a problem, with a gigantic body like that. '' Before you ruin the relationship with your partner any further can we please continue? Time is not exactly working in your favour.'' So to answer your question, in your eyes metal is just something like a stronger version of stone weapons. We left off, at the classification of the social hierarchy of the Aztec.Those craftsmen were also responsible for the production of the weaponry. They used a material named obsidian for this matter. Every man was forced to participate and serve in wars, especially if they wanted to inherit a high rank in society. This focus on warfare was not reflected in the treatment of the tribes they have captured. They demanded tributes but were not exploiting those who they had defeated. Though there was a group, that was exploited and scorned. You were not born into this group, you came into this group based on your own actions and misdeeds. These were referred to as slaves, this kind of role was reserved for the most heinous crimes like murder and if you had debts that you could not repay. Disobedient children can be classified as slaves as well if they are not deemed fit for society. As you can see only the worst of the worst were classified as slaves. Those slaves were then used as a sacrificial offering. They were offered up on top of their highest pyramid, their closest spot to god. Their heart was cut out and their corpse was thrown down the stairs.Those sacrifices were not always unwilling enemies or slaves, sometimes famous warriors would sacrifice themselves. It was seen as an honour for them. The limbs of the famous warriors were then consumed after they had been grilled over a fire. Sometimes children were caged and then forced to cry to appease their rain god. Those children were then starved to death. This should suffice for another tribe, that will give the player a unique perspective. So what is next?.... -------------------------------------- So we had the Vikings, the Amazonian tribes, the Aztec,the Amazons, the nomadic tribes and we have the Inuit. It sure looks like I have covered nearly every different area. You would not let me design so many cities if the map would stay the same size and the only reason I can imagine is a great number of new players coming into this world. So tell me now, what have you planned for the future. I need that information to be able to prepare myself as best as possible. '' This world is undergoing a huge change, as the previous mana restriction has been lifted by a great margin. This was only made possible by the funding of the Churches. The Church demanded to increase the number of players that are partaking in this training simulation. They wanted to widen their involvement, as they even send their own staff into this world.'' ''Their plan of creating several similar monsters like you was also done on their wish. They were wishing for monsters, that would pose a challenge to every player because the monsters as of now were too easy for the players. The total numbers of monsters increased by a lot and each and every one of them will get stronger. You will have a hard time if you want to kill these monsters with your current strength as their intelligence was also increased to adapt to the movement and tactics of players.'' ''The chances of encountering a lone monster have decreased by a lot and the monsters now appear in hoards. I can not give any details yet about the upcoming event, there are no plans, in the database for it.'' ''In accordance with our agreement, I will teleport you to a distant village. If the situation should ever arise in the future, I hope to be able to request your help once more. Thank you for your input once more. '' Have fun in your new home, Mr Bug. 69 When past becomes present 2 As I once again experienced the side-effects of teleportation I started to look around to see, where I had been dropped off. I started to notice that the Observer has fulfilled its promise, I was seeing a village in front of my very own eyes.The only thing that I had not expected was, that the Observer would take my phrasing that literally.It was indeed a remote village, where no player would appear frequently. I would not call it secluded, because that would mean that people would still be able to reach it. This village was isolated, because how in the world, would any sane person climb up this gigantic mountain, expecting a city to be up here. Question after question kept popping up in my mind. Where did those villagers get their food and water from? How did they get the material up here to build such a village?Why would those villagers even decide to build their village in this place? I doubt that the Observer has thrown any realism out of the window, so there must be many things that explain those questions. Looking out of the quite tall entrance, I saw a blue sky and clouds preventing me from seeing the ground. I might have to build a cover for this entrance as I do not know how many monsters will appear in the sky. An odd thought suddenly appeared in my head, what if this place was a village and has been abandoned to unknown reasoning, this whole place can be a place full of monsters and I would dig my very own grave without knowing it. But Judging by the height of the cave, the monster could not be too tall or too big for their mobility will seriously be hindered in this place. If I am lucky It would just be another nest of strange insects. Since there do not seem to be any monsters active as of now, I will use the time efficiently and scout the area. I might find signs of monsters or any other indicators that would let me draw conclusions, Hey, quit sulking and help me out here. " I thought I should not interrupt your thought process, as I did not notice any apparent flaws in your reasoning." What kind of change occurred, when I treated my eyes with the "special treatment." " The absolutely minimal amount of information is worth 2 points if you want to know everything that would come to a total amount of 15 points. Which option is to your liking? Even if you have learned from me. do not try to scam your partner out of points by stating such an absurd amount of points.Let me turn the question around, what do you want to know about for your 2 points? " Tell me more about those metals" I have no clue, why exactly those caught your interest out of all the things I have said. But it is such a broad topic, that I will only show you a memory that is worth exactly 2 points. An appetizer if you will.The memory fragment you are about to see describes the most basic properties of metal and about its general appearance. Judging by your silence, I think that this information has sufficed? ''" It truly is an interesting material as you said. I will stay quiet for quite some time because I will try to deduce how I can create it, that would save me the trouble of spending points for it.But of course, a deal is a deal so here is the knowledge you have asked for. Indeed during this whole process, your eyes underwent 2 significant changes. "The first change is suitable for a place like this as your eyes adapt to the missing light and produce a substance that makes it easier for you to see in this absolute darkness. You might not have noticed it, in the whole time you spent digging, because I had blocked that function at that time. I wanted to reduce every possible source of energy loss. I am not going into detail how exactly these substances work, as this information comes only with the 15 point version, but be sure that your energy consumption will increase." "I will not tell you about the other change, because the development in that area has not yet finished and I need more samples of creatures to accomplish it. Just be sure, that the change will be massive once it comes into fruition. " "It will take quite some time till we will talk to each other again, so you got any other last wishes?" Tell the queen ant, she should prepare to produce a lot and I mean a lot of new ants. We will need them for several purposes. " She will not be happy about that one." I have never seen her happy in the first place when she came into contact with me. " Yeah, that''s true. I will let her know, but whatever she decides to do is not of my concern. It is between you and her. Have fun in this very interesting place" I can just imagine what kind of demands she will raise, once she will learn the reason why I demanded such a huge amount of ants. Until then, I will have a look, in this dark place. I took my first step into the darkness and I noticed that the world suddenly got a lot brighter and I could see my surroundings clearly. That fucker had deactivated the substance, to maximize the chance of me asking for his information. The whole village became visible to me. These buildings were just plain and simple made out of the hide from animals. The resemblance to the TIpis from native Americans was shocking. I saw many Tipis left and right along the path I walked. There was no way to deviate from the path as it was the only possible one to reach further into the mountain. Each and every tipi had the same height and colour scheme, there was no way to tell the difference between them. Caught by interest I decided to risk peeking inside of one. It was quite relaxing to explore this place, without any monsters or players lusting after my life. But my nice change of pace ended abruptly as I saw. Inside of tipi was a mummified corpse of a human. It looked like it had been sucked dry of everything. One touch and it would most likely just turn into dust. The person has died while it slept, judging by the positioning I found the corpse. There was no sign of any kind of struggle. Except for a thick layer of dust, the surrounding clothes were stacked in an ordinary fashion. There was no possibility to deduce the gender of the victim as the corpse was human in name only. I left the corpse as I had found it and began to search the other houses for evidence. Though the number of victims was different from each tipi to the next, their specific corpses were all the same. Babies, children, women or men, they all were left without an ounce of life left in them. There was never any sign of resistance in their corpses, one corpse even died while holding something in its hand. I stopped for a second pondering whether I should disturb the rest of the dead and grab the item or just go on. But that worry was quickly discarded as I reminded myself of the fact, that this is a game world and each player would have no qualm about doing it. Upon touching the arm of the person, something heavy dropped to the ground and the whole corpse turned into dust and disappeared. There was no trace left, that a human had once rested and lived here. The object that fell to the ground was a coin. As I lifted it up, I noticed that despite its small size it was really heavy. The coin was in a remarkable condition and there was no trace of dust or any impurity visible on it, it was as if it was left unaffected by time. The most fascinating part of this coin was the image used on its surface. Both sides had different objects depicted on them. There was a gigantic eyeball in the middle of the coin. Looking at it felt strange, even though it looked strikingly similar to a normal eyeball, the feeling attached to it was a lot sinister. That eyeball was surrounded by runes. I failed to realize whether these runes were part of their written language or if it was just utilized to underline the effect of the eye. The most interest invoked the inner part of the eye, as there was a little symbol carved in it. Dead in the centre was a crescent. That was the first sign of stars that I saw in this world. Of course, there is a high chance, that it is just symbolism and the association connected with it is something totally different.But even though they lack the technology and the interest to seek what lies beyond their horizon, the likelihood that this planet is orbited by a moon or sun is also not that small. But if I were to expect a sun on the other side of the coin, then I would be gravely mistaken, because at the other side was a spiral. This spiral had no end to it, as I seemingly stared straight into an infinite space. Its path was deeply embossed and was very meticulously processed. A coin with this level of detail, made out of a material I have not seen.This just screams important. Especially considering the fact, that after checking nearly 40 tipis, there had not once been any other object on the victims. I am quite interested if those stereotypes prove correct. I grabbed the coin and cut open my skin to drop my blood onto it. As that old rumours typically suggest, but I did not believe that any bond or connection would form. As my drop of blood fell on the coin, something strange happened. My blood followed the path of the spiral. It took a mere second but every ounce of blood had been greedily absorbed. I started to look at the spiral in anticipation, what would happen next? Would I hear a voice speaking to me, would the coin transform into something strange, or would I have to offer more blood before something happens. The result was none of the above. as the blood I had just sacrificed was spat back into my face by the coin. That is a new even for me, an entitled coin. Is my blood not good enough? Well, let''s see what happens if I try it again, but prevent the coin from spitting up my blood. As if I bow down to the will of such a stupid coin.The process started once again, but this time I did not watch the coin as I pressed the coin between my right hand with all the might I could muster. This time around the coin did not spit out the blood directly but it was not because of the lack of trying. There was a constantly increasing pressure on my right hand but after all of my previous training session, this much was nothing. As I thought about how to proceed, as I could not keep my right hand closed like this forever, I noticed that the pressure suddenly stopped. I would be a fool if I fell for such an obvious trick. That coin would not accept me out of the blue, just because I kept my blood locked inside of it by sheer force. Not even 3 minutes passed and the pressure increased once again. This coin seemed to have missed the fact that patience is a virtue. The pressure was now at a level far beyond the strength of a normal Chosen one of this world, so how the hell would they have endured something like that? Most likely they would not have to endure something like this at all if the coin would reject their blood, they would not try and force it. But as of now, I was caught in this struggle for superiority with a coin. Right now it finally began to hurt, as the pressure had reached a point I had not thought to be possible. Though I was not planning on giving up the battle just because of a little bit of pain. I kept the coin locked in my hand and the coin never once stopped pressuring my hand and then all out the sudden the blood kept inside of the coin was set free, as it penetrated my hand. Luckily I did not stand in its way, as the blood has torn a deep hole as it shot straight up into the rock. Seems like this is not the right approach to combat this stupid coin. If it is not happy about the quality, then maybe I can satisfy it with quantity. I am not trying to risk wasting my precious blood by pushing it onto the surface. No, I will do the exact opposite. I will put that coin right into my hand. That way it can come into contact, with a constant flow of blood and there will be no pressure hindering it from getting rid of the blood as well. The worst that could happen would be internal bleeding and something like this would not end up being too dangerous for me. As I placed the coin, into my skin I wondered if the coin would still be as picky as before. I waited for a bit and noticed that more and more blood was moving towards the spot where I put the coin. Strangely it was not repelling my blood as it used to- Rather the exact opposite occurred as the coin was greedily absorbing my blood. Was it a just a ploy to get me to do something risky so that it can exploit my carelessness? I was forced to intervene, the amount of blood I had to offer was limited after all. I pinched the coin and tried to pull it out. But the coin had other plans, as it had embedded itself into deeply my bloodstream. Great, outmanoeuvred by a fucking coin, as if I had not enough firsts in this world already. If I can not pull it out then I might have to push it out by force. I used my nails to pressure the coin from the outside, but this attempt remained fruitless as well. This coin is hellbent on absorbing everything of me, is it trying to punish me? Without any options left I did the only thing that would make sure, that the coin could not absorb any more. I used my sharp nails to amputate the right fist. I had to speed up the process, as I did not want to lose consciousness or bleed out before I get rid of the coin successfully. As my hand finally dropped down on the floor, I was already gasping for air and felt a bit lightheaded.I had underestimated the coin, or rather the thing that is inside of it. It was hard not to lose consciousness on the spot, but I knew that I had to stop the wound on my right hand, otherwise I would be dead sooner or later. I could not rely on the self-healing ability of my body because I did not have enough nutrients to guarantee a successful heal and the arrogant being inside of me was currently busy. At first, I. burned the wound with my burning hair and then closed the glistening wounds with the sharp hairs from my arms and rammed them, straight through the wounds. I did so over and over again until the wound was covered and shut tight by the hair. As I escaped my imminent doom by a hairs breath, I could watch as my hand began to shrivel up. It had the same texture as the same corpses. As I picked my hand up, it turned into dust and the coin dropped onto the floor as if nothing had happened. A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I picked up the coin once more. Having learned my lesson, I did not try to do any further experiments before I was healthy again.The Observer must have chosen this spot for me specifically, but his true intentions remain a mystery to me. Flipping the coin I noticed, that the crescent was a faint tinge of red around it. So all that my blood was only enough for such a reaction. I put that coin, into my pocket and made plans to hunt animals and humans alike to fill this coin. This world truly surprises me over and over again. I could not afford to lose my consciousness here, so I pushed myself up even though I was at the verge of collapsing. I had to scout the rest of the area, while there were no players and monsters active. As I was moving ever so slowly through further down the road. I did not find any other coin in the rest of the tipis. It rather looked like, that every victim died with the same kind of posture. Each and every one of them was l with their arms crossed above their body, facing upwards. It was certain that this skin, was involved in this matter. Though the question was whether those people were sacrificing themselves out of sheer devotion or if it was supposed to look like that.If I want to understand the purpose behind such a coin, then I have to see it through the eyes of the Observer and main system. Every item that they have here will have some sort of effect on their real body. As of now, I know, that this coin is able to absorb blood and suck every nutrient out of it. There is something more to this coin as well because it had rejected my blood at first before it started to accept it. I do not know enough about their anatomy to draw any conclusions.I will have to gather a lot more samples if I want to know how this coin functions. I came to an abrupt halt as I came to the end of the tunnel. In front of me was not a temple or a sacrificial altar. There was no tipi, nor were there any other corpses.Right in front of me was a gigantic pile of coins. They were the same as the one I held in my hands. 70 When past becomes present 3 This moment marked a historic event because it was the first time in my life. It was the first time I absolutely could not find the right words to describe the feeling inside of me. I could not find any words at all. I just stared at the pile of coins and wondered where I had gone astray to end up in this exact moment. The pile of coins towered at the end of the tunnel, as if itself was mocking me. The "special" coin in my left hand suddenly felt totally worthless. All my thoughts and all my plans that I came up with burst like a bubble. If that coin is meant for every single player, then I am totally out of luck. Gone is my special item, gone is the dream of gaining something mysterious. What''s left is this mountain of gold meant for everyone but me and now everything seems to make sense. This is all about the next event, this item absorbs the blood of monsters and players. It makes sense that I got transported here, the Observer wanted to me to find all these coins. So what is my intended purpose here? Should I fill all these coins with my blood? Or should I just go down the mountain and get the hell away from this rotten place?. Great, either I turn into a milking station or go away without anything good. But I just can''t accept any of those choices. I will not help those players by pumping them full with my blood and I am not getting away from this place just to run into the next player or monster that might appear. So should I just stay in this place and train my heart out. Every other option does not seem feasible. It still feels so vexing to have all those coins in front of me. All these potential toys and I have no access to them because they only accept one liquid and that is blood. Wait, liquid?So far blood is the only liquid I have tried. What about saliva or any sweat? What about water? This absurd thought kept me captivated as I began to start test whether those coins would accept my saliva. I nearly ran towards the mountain of coins and grabbed the first one I could find. I dropped my saliva on it and watched what would happen.But my dreams were crushed ruthlessly as nothing worthwhile happened. But despite this failure, I was still stuck on this train of thought. So far it only accepted blood, that came directly out of my body and everything else was rejected.That leaves many questions answered. What if the blood is diluted, or can it still be another substance, if the necessary criteria are fulfilled? What if I take the slime into the equation and the qualities of the blood change, will it still be accepted by the coin? Does it accept blood even if its liquid anymore? If it''s my task to fill these coins with blood, then I will use this opportunity to conduct some more experiments with the slime. The first thing I wanted to see was the impact of the slime on my blood or on liquids in general. My resources are sadly limited by many factors and subsequently can this experiment only be done slowly and surely. I will have to rely on my ant army to gather the necessary nutrients for me. But I will have to pass the time till the ant army has hatched. Speaking of which I forgot about the old ant colony, once again. But I am sure, that they will not cause too much trouble, especially if they have learned from my calm and collective behaviour and planning. The key problem was how to make the best use of my time, as I could not train and conduct those experiments. Just idling away my time seems like too much of a waste, giving my current circumstances. The opportunity of a lifetime and I have nothing to do. How long will it take until the ants are ready? 1 day, 2 days, 1 month? I have absolutely no idea. Exploring the mountain? Good luck with only one hand. I will not kill myself, just to avoid being bored. I am stuck in this place full of corpses and bloodthirsty coins. The worst thing was the magical flame, on the top of my head, sucking away nutrients of my body by each passing second. The only source of magic in my close proximity, but I can not even absorb it. But thinking about it, if the fire on my head truly is magical, then what if I were to set something ablaze? Could I absorb mana that way? I walked to the nearest tipi and started to put my head on it. It took only a few measly seconds before a bright fire lit the cave in absolute brightness. Though I should have been a little more careful, after all, I should have recognized how dry my surroundings were. It was a little too late for that realisation after the fire had engulfed every tipi of this cave. The desecration of corpses aside, I was quite happy with the result. Now the only thing left to do was actually throw me into the fire hoping for the best. As my pitiful attempt of cremating those pitiful victims was currently ongoing, I noticed that those flames did not have any kind of warmth to it. This sea of flames, while sharing the same appearance with normal flames, was rather cold. It was hard to put in words. Those flames felt, unlike everything I have ever felt. This cold did not feel like the lack of warmth in winter, nor was it similar to the feeling that every warmth has left your body. It did not fit into any category that can be associated with the word cold. Yet this cold was still present and was not losing in strength. I could not grasp where or why this feeling derives from those flames. Despite, the somewhat eerie feeling, I noticed that my body was absorbing the flames, in an absurd fashion.It felt like those flames were dashing towards my body in their own volitation. Great now, I get to witness the appearance of seemingly self-aware flames. How ridiculous can my whole existence get? I closed my eyes to get a better feeling of my body to try and see what had occurred. Strangely there was no sort of special feeling to my body, it still felt like it had been previously. Those flames were clearly not a hallucinatory fantasy, but I find the notion of self-aware flames a bit too fairy-taillike. I Is my parasitic partner capable of doing such a thing? Since those flames seem to have no consequence, there is no harm in waiting for the answer to that question.I was slowly getting revitalized by the magic fire and pondered whether or not those corpses, would actually respawn. The amount of harvested energy would otherwise not be enough for all my endeavours. What left me worrying was the fact that even with moving around and collecting more and more nutrients, my hand had yet to show any signs of recuperating. Does this kind of process not happen automatically and needs to be started or supervised by my partner in crime? For the time being, I will have to just absorb the flames and hope for the best. While the strange cold never actually had disappeared, I got used to it.While it still felt a bit eerie and creepy, it was not downright disturbing in any other sense. After I had absorbed most of the flames, the cave was once again doused in darkness. I stood still in the darkness and capt track on my surroundings waiting eagerly if the corpses would respawn. Just as always something unexpected happened, while the tipis respawned in a timely fashion the corpses did not. While the outcome was something I had not foreseen, it was still predictable that something had to go different to my expectations.Things going different than planned seem to be a good companion of mine. I had no qualms about the vanishing of the corpses. With a pure and clear conscience, I could say, that even though they were just data, I gave them a fulfilling end. I could not care less about their intended purpose. if they are so important, they would have been revived either way. It might be nothing more than an easter egg or an allusion to a famous historic event for all I know. What matters for me is that I found myself a source that would supply me with enough nutrients.That was all that mattered. That moment marked the beginning of my career as an arsonist. I lost count exactly how much fire I started and absorbed. The only visible change was that the cold feeling of the flames was no more. The flames were just lukewarm now. Was there a connection between the cold and the corpses? Considering the fact, that both vanished after they the corpses have been consumed by the flames. But as long my body is not taken over by vengeful spirits, I will remain without worries. I have enough voices in my body, I do not need any other people to meddle in my affairs, it is too stressful with those 2 already. But it would be quite fitting, as I only seem to attract the weirdos. Vengeful spirits, a human from another world, a self-aware AI and a parasite. But that will never come true, even if those vengeful spirits had invaded my body. I seriously doubt that a special someone would share its place with some meagre spirits. It would probably enslave them or destroy them on the spot. " What kind of monstrosity am I to you?" You would make a pretty good human. " I do not know whether I should be offended by that statement or feel honoured. You were on the right track with your theory, but the cold that you felt where neither vengeful spirits nor a living soul. They were just the last memories of those sacrifices." Excuse the question, but were those sacrifices done out of there own free will or were they forced to do so? " Did you actually just show some sort of empathy? Since when were you capable of such emotions?" I would not go as far and call it empathy. Curiosity would be a better term and serve as a better explanation. While such a fate is truly pitiful, their fate has been predetermined from the moment of their existence. Why should I show any signs of compassion if their fate was sealed from the get-go? " So what if you were in their position? Would you say the same to everyone that is grieving and worrying about the future?" Why are you so interested in my motivation and perception of this world? They do not know, that they are just data. In their eyes this world is real. So if I did not know better would I show those emotions? Of course, I would, but what if those people learned the truth, that everything they deemed true, was nothing more than a design choice by others. Knowledge such as this would rob you of your purpose. Free will? Free choices? What are those if your decisionmaking just depends on your data set. " So, what if I were to tell you, that you are the same, a mere creature not knowing the world he lives in. Your destiny is being confined to this small simulated world, with no chance to ever escape it. You will never amount to anything more than an NPC and will always be regarded as something inferior. Is your opinion still the same?" Why should it not be? This world is something I had never dreamed of being possible. I see things and do things, that go way beyond any kind of common sense. And the biggest difference is that I am not bound by anything that dictates what I can do and what not. So what about being bound to this plane of existence, so what about being unable to escape this situation. Bowing down and accepting my limited fate is just out of question. So yes it is still the same, I have absolutely no pity for those who have accepted the status quo walking a path chosen for them by others.I do not care, whether they are aware of it or not. Those people go through life accepting everything as it is are doomed either way. If you are not willing to question everything, you have absolutely no right to complain. There is no difference between the past and the future if all those mistakes keep on getting repeated. The failures of the past should never become present again. "From all the things I have seen in my lifetime, you are by far the most unfathomable. " Was that a compliment or should I feel offended? You still have not answered my previous question and while you are it, would you initiate the healing process of my hand, it feels a bit strange to not have 2 functioning hands. " As always you are just complaining." Those experiments do not happen on their own and I want to be prepared for those players. " You could just ask me and I would tell you everything I know about the slime." Do you know what kind of interchange happens if that slime comes into contact with a liquid? " I might know, but I might not?" Even if you do know, it would be much more important to know firsthand what kind of change occurs, because I will be the one to utilize them in ways you have not thought of. " Then I am interested to see what will result out of your madness." So am I... 71 A bloody newbie But before the experiment starts, stop dodging my question and finally answer it " Yes, it all happened on their own volition, happy now?" See, it was not that hard and it was the expected outcome, how absolutely boring. Without any further ado let me start with this coin. As you can see this coin was the reason I was forced to cut off my own hand. It only started to actually accept my blood once it was inserted into my bloodstream. That itself raises 2 big questions. The first one is, why It accepted my blood after it had been inserted but not before? Linked to this question are many uncertainties regarding possible conditions and likeable causes. The second big question is why I asked you about the memories. If their sacrifices offered up all of their blood. Then why was this coin hold by someone instead of being lined up neatly like any other coin? There has to be something special about it or the circumstances surrounding it. Every other corpse whether young or old was positioned in the same manner. There was only one person, who had grabbed an item tightly within his or her hands. Why would that person die, with the coin tightly grabbed? If they place so much importance on those coins, putting them in front of what was most likely their sacrificial site, then I start to wonder exactly why the person acted in that way.I do not know much about their religion or motivation, but what I can conclude is that behaviour like that seems highly unlogical. If each and every one of these persons acted on their own free will, the person with the coin should have been the last sacrifice. That begs the question, what was so important about this person, was it a person with a high social ranking? Or did they just draw lots? Furthermore, if it was the last person left, then why did he still go through with the sacrifice leaving the coin behind in his hand. That leaves only 2 possible conclusions, this person either did not care about this coin not being close to the rest of them or there was a third party involved that failed to put the coin back for unknown reasons. Each scenario would explain different things, but neither would give conclusive evidence to what actually happened here. Because this story reeks. There are so many coins placed here and if each of those absorbs blood than this story can not be true. I have seen for myself how much blood this coin has absorbed, there is no way that 60 people are enough to fill more than 4 coins. So tell me, why are here no coins filled with blood? Were the coins taken away by the third party and are now at a different place or did the passage of time rob the coins of their saved blood? All this information seem to lead us nowhere, but I have not forgotten about all the knowledge I have shared with the Observer and you.This is nothing more than a sacrificial site for Aztec I have just described. Those coins are a detail added by the Observer, that is why I failed to draw the connection at first. Everything can be explained this way. The poses of the corpse, nothing more than a tradition for them, no signs of struggle or disturbance can be explained by their own decisionmaking. The massive amount of coins were just waiting to be filled up with blood. That leaves just one last big question unsolved, why did this one person hold this one coin in his clutches? Did the Observer want me to find it? Surely, but is that the reason for its obvious placement? That seems unlikely, given the position the Observer finds itself placed in. If every of its moved is supervised I find it hard to believe, that it would do something that obvious. So why would it still place this coin, in such a fashion? making it easy to find this coin? By now it should be obvious, that the reason is as simple as it is genius. This coin is nothing more than a false lead to start with. Now hear me out, it might seem strange at first, but now view it through the lens of a player. You come into this discarded place high up on a mountain, you went through much trouble just to arrive at this place and now you are finally here. You are not just going to run into it and run straight into the mountain of coins. No, you will likely sneak around and be careful. You would see the corpses robbed out of their blood and essence.Regardless of whether a player does know about the Aztec behaviour or not, he or she would still expect something of value in this place. This is where the single coin comes in, this coin is on a corpse looking different from the rest. It is not placed in the beginning, so that most players should have seen the continuity with the poses. So after they have seen the difference, they will approach the corpse and find the coin. It was my approach that is wrong, this coin in itself is nothing special its purpose is to draw attention and to tell the players that they are on the right track and that more treasure lies ahead. Having stated the obvious part now here comes the interesting stuff. The genius part is that this kind of trap works for me and players as well. I found the coin and immediately thought of it as something special but discarded that thought after seeing the mountain of coins. Those players had the exact opposite approach, for them the coin is nothing more than a small part of a big treasure. After verifying that those coins were indeed capable of absorbing blood as well I was devastated as I had known that my hopes had been thoroughly crushed. What would those players have done, if they saw the massive amount of coins? They would have collected them and then spread them out once they would have found out that those coins are capable of absorbing blood. Now you might say that people as selfish as those players would not even think about spreading such a treasure and would prefer to use it all by themselves once they knew what these coins are capable of. Though there are exactly 2 reasons, why something like this would not occur. First of all, for them, this is a fictional world, with its own ruleset and this world is designed in a fashion that centres around fulfilling their needs. These coins would be viewed as a special tool, which when filled up would cause something very special to happen. Let them fill up one coin by themselves and if nothing happens, they will try to seek outside help to accomplish that mission. Furthermore who said that these coins are limited to one place? It would be quite useless to only place your bets on one place, given the actual size of the map. The even bigger reason why something like that would not occur is really simple, the Observer would intervene if those players would not do his bidding. It could set quests or manipulate those players into acting the way they should. So why, would I call this coin a false lead, If everything I had done afterwards leads into the same direction I had just denounced? Good question, you would have never asked either way. While this coin seems to be nothing more than a tool to raise attention towards the rest of the coin, its purpose can be determined by connecting the dots. This coin was used on the last sacrifice and was the last coin overall and it was not placed with the others, rather it was put away from the rest. Why would they make such a distinction and not do the last sacrifice right in front of the rest of the coins? All these people have been sacrificed for this one coin only. It was not even full, after absorbing 60 people and only after it had absorbed the strong blood of my body, was it showing signs of change. What made the difference obvious was the behaviour of the second coin. On the surface, it might have looked like the 2 coins did all the same. But have you not noticed right away? Why would the first coin spit the blood right at me, while the second coin would not react in any way after coming into contact with my saliva?As you can see, a different coin just absorbs my blood after coming into contact with it. Once my blood comes into contact with the special coin, it gets spit right back into my face. Right now it happened once again, even after it had absorbed my blood already. Further proving my theory. Those people would have never noticed it if they placed every coin inside of a monster to let them absorb the blood freely. I do not know the real purpose behind this kind of special coins but I do know, that there has to be something. This arrangement would not make any sense otherwise. That is why I called it a false lead, the true worth of this one coin is much higher than the rest of this coins combined. Though nobody would notice it, without paying much attention to detail. " You could get that much information, just from thatlittle detail I am thoroughly impressed" As much as I would like to portray myself as an all-knowing being, it is simply not true. Everything felt off from the moment I opened my eyes in this place.Why would I find myself in a place up in a mountain? I asked for a remote village, not a hidden place.The more I saw of this place the more simply felt off to me. I could not lay a finger on it at first, but more and more doubts started to surface once I saw those corpses inside of those tipis, The coin was the last thing I had to see to be sure, that this "village" was a copy of the Aztec. Of course, it might have been just a big coincidence and this was nothing more than an abandoned temple. After you told me about their motivation, it all made sense in a way. So as much as I would like you to see me in that way, I do not want to earn your admiration for something like this. Save it for then I do something truly amazing. Besides, there are still so many questions left unanswered. Why exactly am I here for? Are their really more places like these? What is the deeper meaning of those coins and what is their intended purpose? Why exactly was this "village" placed on top of a mountain? What is the upcoming event going to be about and in what ways are the coins connected to it? Are the coins really only limited to absorbing blood? Why have the corpses not respawned but the Tipis have, are the corpses really not of importance in the eyes of the Observer? All these questions would change the view on this whole scenario. What if those coins would not only absorb blood but were capable of absorbing any liquid, that has the same qualities of blood. What if those coins could absorb water or lava? The whole picture would change in an instant, especially if you consider the fact that those corpses have not respawned. They would have been nothing more than a prop to underline the atmosphere and my whole proposed theory would crumble in an instant. If it would turn out that the purpose of the coin is to be full of my blood, then I will have to be very concerned about the next event. That is why I put so much emphasis on the importance of those experiments. Those results will change my future. " I am not going to bother and follow your experiments. Since I know most of the results already. If you want something from me, just let me know. I will be busy doing something really important, so do not call me for just any reason." Yeah if I ever need your help I am just going to put my left hand on fire. " Regardless, best of luck too you whatever you are trying to accomplish by these experiments." ------------------------------------------------------ And finally, I do not have to hear my annoying partner anymore for the time being. It is always so exhausting to make up stuff that might be the truth. Those revelations were in fact only scratching the surface of the possible ramifications of those coins. The biggest unknown variable was the interaction between those coins and the "real world". What were to happen if they analyzed my blood and arranged the production of it in the bodies of the players? And if that''s not their purpose I am really interested to know, what their real purpose is for those players.I have to keep in mind that this world is meant as a device to strengthen them. So I doubt the notion, that the Observer would do something as mysterious as this without any merits to the players. I am trying to learn as much as possible about these coins to find out what possibilities this coin has to offer. Why would the Observer even decide to make 2 different versions of the coin in the first place? All I do know about it is that this idea derived from the things I told the system about. And the decision I absolutely fail to comprehend is why the Observer would design this coin in such a way. Why would the coin be allowed to spit the blood right back into my face?Every theory I had surrounding those coins is rendered useless if those coins act like this.These secret coins will not be a secret for long if they show this kind of behaviour to everyone. Knowing my luck I got a faulty one or those coins only accept magic in the first place. And the only reason the coin even absorbed my blood was to get rid of the obstacle that was me. I repeated the process once again and dropped some blood on the very special coin only to have it returned with even more vigour than before. I swear I could hear the coin laughing back at me. Of course, I would not suffer defeat at its hand once again, so I did the only reasonable thing.I used my arm hair to puncture my body to collect that promising slime. After cutting open my hand once again, I let the blood accumulate on it. I added the slime into the mix and took notice on every change that resulted out of the combination. At first glance nothing major happened. The slime and the blood had created 2 different phases and there was no activity that would suggest any sort of combination between those 2. The test Inow had to conduct was to change the parameter surrounding it. It might share a similarity to salt and water. If water is heated up, it can bind more salt in comparison to a cold state. At least that''s what I still can remember from that boring chemistry lesson. There is still not much known about how this magical flame will interfere in this kind of process.Secondly, I do not know whether the slime has had any effect on the blood beforehand. Though as I tested its basic properties, there had been no change of any kind. It was still a liquid and still moving as fluently as before. The dispersion of the light was still the same and therefore the colour as well. After heating up the blood, I noticed that the blood had evaporated after coming into contact with the flames. Now that in itself might be bad, but even worse is the fact that the evaporated blood had turned into a bloody fog, that was now clinging to this place. Using my burning flames directly to heat up the flames seems to not be the correct approach. The right call was to control the process directly, by using a different fire source.Looking at the newly respawned tipis I decided to light them up and use them next. My inner arsonist was jubilating, as I once again set fire to this place. After preparing yet another blood sample, I decided to test how long it would take for it to evaporate. I order to test if there is any difference by the slime I have to conduct those tests several times with or without the slime mixed into the blood. There was a noticeable trend, as the blood with the slime lasted a significant amount of time longer than the blood without it. Though the blood alone did not leave behind any bloody fog. Only the combination with the slime was causing such a reaction. It might not help me in my current situation, but keeping it in the back of my mind does not seem to hurt. This observation confirmed the fact that the slime has an effect on the blood itself. Though I could not determine what kind of effect truly happened. I will have to change the experiment if I want to find out the actual change that occurred. The next test should be whether I can force the blood to mingle with the slime by shaking it with quite some force. Or I could test how long the blood coagulation would take in this context. The previous experiment might have been falsified by the magical component in my hair, that is why I will have to test it without its presence. Leaving the blood open to air was causing some interesting effects, as I could see that my blood was staying the same if I kept it on my hand, but I could watch it disappear by the seconds once I had placed it on any other material. There was no difference between the blood with slime or the one without.Both of them were absorbed quickly by the material they were placed on, whether those were the tipis or the soil beneath my feet. Now I am intrigued what kind of difference would result out of covering the object in question with the slime or inserting it with a liquid. Theoretically, it should change the stone from the inside and strengthen the basic properties of it. On the other hand, I know that covering the stone in slime only will change the properties on the surface. A stone without any slime on or it will remain a normal basic stone at least that much is obvious. Some interesting concepts ran through my head, as I thought about possible ways to utilize this kind of knowledge. The easiest way to apply it would be to let my detached hair soak in the substances to further strengthen their penetrative powers. The biggest downside was that I know for certain that it would not work directly on my body. I just noticed, that I was barely scratching the surface of my work with this blood and I already discovered so much. With every discovery, I make my load of work is increasing instead of decreasing as I had hoped beforehand. Still, it was reassuring to know, that some of my previous knowledge can be applied in this context. I am quite happy not being forced to throw everythingI know about the concept of physics out of the window. Before I inserted the modified blood into the special coin I wanted to make sure, that I knew everything about it, otherwise I might end up ruining something for me. That is why I will use this massive pile of coins and try everything I can come up with to determine what''s possible and what''s bound to remain a dream. My first test has showcased that those normals coins were showing no refusal to my blood at all, they just absorbed it. They have rejected my saliva alone though. Obviously, there have to be more mechanisms hidden in that coin, that would enable such a screening process. After all, both of them are liquids. If I can determine, which rules apply to those coins it gets a lot easier. It can be as simple as only absorbing liquids that have a red colour or it can be really complicated by looking at something like the nutritional level of the liquid.Is it checking the liquid constantly or is it just doing an initial screening before starting the absorbing process? I started to test, whether the blood would be absorbed if I mixed a bit of saliva into it. Depending on the result, I would have to start and increase or decrease the dosage until it does not work anymore. A ratio of 50:50 was my first try and the coin swallowed the liquid without any hitch. I increased the saliva part and started the process anew with the same result. Even as I went up to a ratio of 1:9 it still went through without any kind of rejection. Just to verify whether the coin was still the same coin that had previously rejected the saliva, I repeated the experiment with saliva alone. This time the saliva was rejected and was not absorbed by the coin. I doubt that the Observer would seriously let me do as I please with the coins, so why did it decide to let me bypass this barrier that easily? The more I think about it the more confused I get. But I would be a fool If I let my thoughts get to me and stop me in my tracks. I continued the experiment and added rock powder to the mix. I made sure to make the pieces as small as possible when I pulverized the rocks. Looking at the results I felt a little bit baffled as the blood was accepted once again. Even as the leftover of the rock increased in size they were still swallowed by the coin. As long as the piece of rock was not bigger than the coin itself it was not getting rejected. How does this stuff even fit into the coin, is it compressed? Seems unlikely, I think the blood and everything are just converted into energy or mana. That brought me to the next question if it is just a medium saving energy, how does it react to external stimuli? If I heat the coin will it react any differently?After conducting the test once again, but this time while heating up the coin with my flames I was caught off-guard once again. The coin itself does not care whether the blood is a liquid or agas. As long as it is red it gets absorbed. All of the bloody fog had been absorbed in the blink of the eye. It was obscure to think, that the only necessary criteria as of now were the colour of the substance in question. The next parameter I wanted to test how a normal coin would react to being inserted into my bloodstream. Having learned my lesson I wanted to avoid recreating the action and end up having to cut off my own hand out of sheer desperation. The normal coin absorbed my blood in a moderate fashion though and was easy to remove out of my bloodstream. I decided to test how much blood can be removed out of my body before I get lightheaded to analyze how much blood the special coin had absorbed. After a period of time had passed and I had finished testing whether such a coin could be melted. I finally removed the coin out of my bloodstream. Looking at the coin, I had expected to see any signs indicating the level of energy in the coin. The tinge of red had still not increased in size. I came to the only logical conclusion that this coin needed a lot more blood to be actually filled, so I did just that and inserted the coin once again into my bloodstream. This good idea lasted for quite a long time. Until one fateful moment, as I learned one thing forcefully. This kind of coins does indeed compress the blood and everything inside of it. I had not noticed that the pressure reached such a level until it was too late and my complete right arm had been blown to smithereens. The whole surrounding space had been turned in a place straight out of a nightmare, as everything including myself was now covered in a solid layer of blood. Despite this gruesome looking picture I could not help but laugh out quite loudly. For others, I might look like a madman, but this kind of madmen had the fun of a lifetime right at this moment. Ihad to admit it, I was still a bloody rookie. 72 Expansion 1 Although the cave had turned into the scene of a gruesome murder it still could not hinder me from giggling like a little child.Despite my arm being mincemeat due to the explosion,I wanted to redo this experiment as soon as possible. I had not developed masochistic tendencies out of the blue nor was I addicted to the feeling of pain. It was quite the contrary I did not have any feelings of pain as it happened. Had my brain not realized what happened to my body or was it suppressed by a certain someone? As I pondered about the reason for the absence of pain, I noticed a cribbling sensation where once my arm had been. So this is the so-called phantom-pain? Feels a bit strange, but luckily I will not have to get used to this feeling as long as I have enough supplies. I had expected a snarky reply but I did not receive anything of that kind. It remained silent, even after I nearly blew up this whole place. Does it have that much trust in me? All out of a sudden, I was greeted by another angry inhabitant of my body. But this one was way harder to please. The ant queen had nearly doubled in size since I last saw her. This may be caused by the order I indirectly gave her. At least her mood could be explained that way. At this moment in time, I was glad not being able to speak each other''s language. But I had the feeling, that the language barrier was enough to stop her wrath. I mean, I could understand her being angry about the new workload, but she was getting compensated by me, so why is she that furious? She jumped straight out of my mouth and landed right in front of me. I was quite scared of what I would have to do to appease her. There is nothing scarier when a women scorn, especially if that woman is a queen leading an army of weaponized ants. The ant queen turned around without any warning and walked away. What left me baffled was she was not alone, she was accompanied by a new type of ant I had not seen before. This type did not fit into any category I had seen before. It did not have any wings making it suitable for combat in the sky. Its shell was not thick enough to be able to defend against attacks. But it did not look like an ant responsible for collecting nutrients. The ant was looking like a crossbreed between a fire ant and a slag beetle. It had the colour and general build of a fire ant and the jaws of a slag beetle. This strange combination was currently walking behind the queen and did not leave her side. I considered what to do but decided to not to do anything for the time being and to see how this situation develops. While the queen and was still doing her best to ignore me, I noticed that the strange new ant was carefully observing me.After contemplating for a while, it moved carefully towards me.It was seemingly mesmerized by my presence alone, something I could not fathom. My hunch proved to be correct, as it walked right past me to the exit of the cave.The ant disappeared from my sight in a matter of seconds leaving me wondering what exactly its purpose is. I had no idea, where exactly the ant came from as I did not see it leave out of my mouth as the queen and did. If Ihad to speculate I would assume that I passed through one of the many holes of my body. It was a bad idea to mix small stones into the coin after all. But in retrospect, you are always smarter. After what felt like an eternity I could I start and try to negotiate with the ant queen again, even though she still seemed a bit pissed at me. Sadly, I could not help it as everybody has to make sacrifices in the name of progress. That would be a big fat lie, as Iseemingly always find a way to get hurt no matter what I do. Even as my life is not threatened by players or ruthless monsters, I end up getting injured by a self-made grenade. The ant queen, just stared at me silently waiting. I just knew, that her mood would not be improving any time soon, especially if she understands what I have planned for this mountain. I did not ask to be transported into a remote village out of concern for my safety. My initial plans were supposed to work as my backstory and further advance my other plans to strengthen myself. This plan cannot be applied since I am currently on top of a very tall mountain, that is why I had to come up with a suitable alternative. The other option I came up with was quite a megalomaniac one and I would have to spare a lot of slime in order to ensure that the construction will not be destroyed by the respawning soil. Building a functional city inside of a gigantic mountain, I bet no one would expect anything like that. My plan is to create a safe hideout for me while also using NPCs as a cover for me. Even if that meant, that I had to abduct those NPCs. I mean between murder and arson, whats human trafficking? Using the NPCs as a cover is not even my real aim, its more like a neat side effect. Though the main goal still seems so far away and its feasibility depends on so many conditions and variables, that it is useless to actually think about them right now. Yet before I could even start our negotiation, I noticed that yet another ant escaped out of my body and walked straight to the exit. I turned around to see what exactly they were doing once they left the gap in the mountain. As it turned out it was not just one ant that had escaped my body, but much more as even an ant trail had been formed. Staring down the mountain the only thing I saw was that the ants were climbing downwards through the thick layer of clouds. As much as I wanted to follow them, it was not the time to do so. Ignoring the growing amount of ants I walked straight to the ant queen. I sat down right in front of her and began to gesticulate what I had planned for this mountain. It was my misfortune that the ant queen prefered to bite me all over the body instead of listening to me. I fully support her desire to vent her frustrations on me, but I want to complete my plans as soon as possible and her behaviour is not helpful in doing so. After earnestly enduring her barrage, I began the serious part of our conversation. This deal was essential, so I did not mind the previous "exchange of pleasantries". Now that I had her attention I could start and gesticulate about my plans. The translator in my body would have been quite useful, but I wanted to avoid using it as a middleman because it would most likely try to get as much as possible. The first part was done easily as I only had to point with my finger at the mountain and everything surrounding it. Now that I had declared the object in question, I had to clarify the exact shape or item I want to make.The best way was to point at the tipis for that. The biggest obstacle was to show, that the tipis were not meant as a general shape but for their general usage. I carried the ant with me to show her the tipi from the inside and sat in it. I also added gestures that would indicate other activities you would conduct in a home. It took me a while to notice that the ant queen failed to comprehend what I was trying to tell her. I wanted to smack my head upon noticing it, why would such a bug know of a concept that is called home? Why did I not demonstrate what I was going for? Being sophisticated has worked out for me anyway, being a brute just fits better. Using my strength and I punched the ground beneath my feet as hard as I could. The impact caused spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the stone bed. I did not need much more, I walked to the gigantic pile of coins and grabbed a handful of coins. Afterwards, I placed those deeply into the ground and waited for it to respawn. These coins are the perfect tool for what I am about to do. They have the interesting ability to absorb every red liquid and everything inside of it as long as it is not bigger than the coin itself. I also learned that these coins only have a limited storage area and once this threshold is surpassed a quite explosive reaction takes place. If one coin is enough for my whole arm, then what about 6 coins, what kind of impact will those have? I came to this conclusion upon remembering the stones that I had inserted into the first coin. Those stones did not respawn, they were kept inside the coin till the very end. The combination of those 2 effects can be used as an expansion pack. Quite literally. I just hope that I will not scare the ant queen too much from that little demonstration of what man is capable of. Though I will have to find a way to keep my distance because this might end up quite spectacular. The way to avoid being in close proximity of the explosion is quite simple. All I have to do is pulverize the ground and then to drop much of my blood onto it and let it slowly fill those coins. This process will be repeated until the critical point is reached and an explosion ensues. There were only 2 things I had to keep track off, I had to distribute the same amount of blood to each coin in order to cause a chain explosion. I am not sure what would happen if the first explosion starts and the blood gets thrown onto the next coin causing a chain reaction. The time frame I had to work with was just about 5 minutes, as the ground took that amount of time to reform. To ensure that I would spread the blood evenly, I decided to split the blood into even amounts by creating covering a small hole left by my previous experiment with the magic slime before filling it up with blood. I am taking advantage of the fact that those 2substances build 2 phases if they come into contact with each other.That enables me to keep the blood separated from any other material and ready for usage. For the transportation of the blood, I decided to carry the blood with my hands. Using my mouth was a bit absurd even for me. Despite not being able to accurately dose the blood, it was much more comfortable to use my hands. The final step to finish the preparations was to cover the hole with slime. Even though this process looked easy on paper, it still required me to open up my stomach in order to be able to reach the slime. Using the fine hair to cover this whole ground would take me an eternity and sadly I neither have enough energy nor enough interest to cover this period of time that is infinity. After I spent the next 30 minutes covering the hole with my slime and filling it up with my blood I was finally finished and could start. I was looking around only to see, that the ant queen fell asleep. I had to wake her up otherwise all this preparation would have been for nought. And the purpose of this demonstration is to reimburse the queen for all her effort. It is time to expand her horizon. Let the show begin. 73 Expansion 2 After the hole had been filled with blood and the locations of these coins had been marked. I could finally begin my operation. Although using my fine hair might not seem like the best idea to pinpoint the exact spot it was enough for this kind of task. I wanted to fill those spots and not lose track of a single one.After all, I do not want to end up killing myself due to my own negligence. The first move was to punch the spot once again in order to start the whole process. I threw several punches just to make sure that the rock was fine enough to actually fit into the coins. Grabbing a handful of the blood, I distributed it equally among those coins. There was no need to pay that much attention to them now because the critical limit is still very far away. I repeated this kind of process several times until each coin had been covered by 2 hands full of blood. There was still one big question, that made this kind of demonstration so dangerous. Did the coin explode, because it tried to compress a liquid to its limit or did it explode because of the small debris that filled the coin? As long as this question is not answered, I will have to treat those coins very carefully. From this point on I will only put a handful of blood on one coin and observe. I am uncertain, what actually will respawn and what not. The surface might reform, but everything beneath it will be left empty, Or the surface does not reform but everything beneath it has. There was no visible change on those coins even after I had inserted the next wave of blood. I decided to wait and see what is going to happen, once the initial time period of 5 minutes is up. The time limit expired sooner than I thought and I could see the terrain reform visible to the naked eye. Which was contrary to my expectation, as such a scenario was dismantling the foundation, that this experiment is based on. Why has the area affected by the first explosion not returned to its previous state but this one does? As of now those I had made the assumption, that the explosion was caught by the coin suppressing the resources and wounding up exploding once they surpassed the limit of their capacity. This hypothesis is based on the circumstances surrounding the first explosion. The stones were seemingly launched with a high velocity following the explosion. The rock and ground used for this experiment did not return to their previous state and remained in their alternated shape. As of now, it looks like my first theory was correct and that these coins indeed turn everything into energy. But if that is true, then what happened to the rocks? Even if it had been broken down on a molecular level by the explosion, normally it is supposed to revert to its original appearance. There are not many likely explanations for this kind of procedure as I can exclude many theories from the observation I had just made. Drawing the material from the surroundings to even the concentration of mana particles does not seem that likely to me as there was no apparent change in the surroundings of the affected area. A duplicating effect of the coin is also not that likely, as there have been no indications of such an effect happening and the hole left by the previous explosion disproves this theory even more. Just to make sure that my eyes had not deceived me I punched the surface once again and the result did not change. The ground had been fully regenerated and there was no piece of soil or anything relevant missing. Had I made a mistake? Was no blood and therefore no rocks actually absorbed by the coins? It would explain why the ground had reformed in the way it did. But what happened to my blood in that case? I seriously doubt the simple disappearance of my blood considering it is not part of the data set and therefore should not be influenced by it directly. The only option left that would still explain all these circumstances would be the very unlucky event. that the blood had been absorbed by the coins but did not take any rocks with it while doing so. Of course, there are still other options, but I will demise those from the start. Why would those coins not share the same attributes as the first one I tested and why should those coins suddenly be defective? This time I decided to observe the experiment up close to make sure. Whether I was up close or in the safe distance, the actual process was a bit uneventful. It felt a bit like watching paint dry or reading a book about the mating cycle of snails. The last one was that thrilling, I can attest to that. But this ordeal was worthwhile as I now know, that under optimal conditions the act of mating can occur once per month. I used a limited amount of blood to see what would happen and to minimize the odds of the explosion starts, while I am still close to it. The blood hit the rocks and started passing through the layer of pulverized rocks onwards to the coin. There were no signs of abnormality as I could see the blood being absorbed by the coin, I could even spectate that some small pieces of the rock were absorbed by the coins as well as they were carried by the blood. Either my understanding of this process was still limited and I fail to comprehend even the basics of this possible interaction or the Observer meddled in this matter and changed it. If Its the second option, then I stand no chance to actually change it, after all, I have not the authority in this matter. It is quite annoying to never be sure, what exactly may be the case, as every cause and effect is evaluated by one source alone. That is until I can recognize how it does evaluate. What were to happen if I knew how it operates, wouldn''t it be easy to guide it towards a path of my choosing? This is just useless dreaming, I am not going to solve it in a matter of seconds by just thinking about it. What I do need is a variety of experiences to know, when and how it decided. The lacking knowledge regarding mana particles and the general process this world supposedly operates is also not helpful. Though it should be quite similar because those players are supposed to train in this environment. It would not serve as a training ground otherwise. Despite not having any explanation for the change, it did not hinder my progress as I still could fill the coins with new blood steadily. As time passed, I noticed a general trend, those coins were absolutely refusing to explode. Looking at the now empty pool of blood I started to wonder how much more was actually needed. It was not a question of endurance or patience, it was just the lack of knowledge what were to happen if the can absorb much more. What extent will this explosion reach if the amount of blood and stones doubles in comparison to the first? What happens if its triples, quadruples? Will there be any mountain left after this explosion? But in the name of every mad scientist I have to see this one through. After the pool had been filled with blood yet again I started the next round. I wanted to keep my distance as much as possible because of the increasing danger. The ant queen had been observing me all this time without any worry, but upon noticing my general tension she decided to sit on my shoulder and spectate from safety. But I watched in sheer disbelief as the previous full puddle of blood was emptied yet again. I did not want to believe my eyes as I started into the hole. The course of action for any sane people would be to get away as far away as possible, but there was a deep feeling of defiance inside of me. After filling the pool full of blood for the third time I started to take more precautions as I now moved right to the exit after each drop of blood had been placed. The feeling of doubt never left me, it always felt like I never truly could be out of harm''s way. Who could blame me for that? It is not like such an explosion is an everyday occurrence or can be found lying right beside the roadside. Yet I watched in sheer terror as the third pool of blood was vanishing ever so slowly. These coins have turned from a small grenade to a ticking time bomb. That had been the third pool full of blood and it still feels like those coins are unsatiable. a bottomless pit that swallows everything. I would not back down despite my mind screaming at me to stop this nonsense. It was not about the demonstration anymore, it has become a showdown between those coins and me. I can feel the coins taunting me, I will not succumb to them. The border between ego and sanity has disappeared a long time ago. But I could not care less about that because this had turned into a matter of principle. The pride of man was on the line and I would not bow down in shame in front of such a stupid coin. Full of vigour I filled the pool of blood a fourth time. With less vigour the fifth time. With next to no vigour the sixth time. With a slight feeling of numbness the seventh time. With a strong feeling of numbness the eighth time. With even stronger anger the ninth time. And with a fury that lets the Heavens weep the tenth time. Even after that rollercoaster of emotions, nothing happened. Those coins had absorbed way much more than the first coin and yet was an explosion nowhere to be seen. I had no doubts left, that the Observer must be the perpetrator behind this mess. I am done playing nice and letting it study my emotional responses. You want to test me and my limits you got it. I put my left hand of fire to signal that I need assistance. " How can I be of assistance? You better make it worthwhile." Tell the ant queen on my shoulder to bring me water, lots and lots of it. " Why would you need water? I do not understand your motivation." You do not have to understand, you just have to deliver the news to her. Whatever compensation she demands, I will give it to her. Go ahead I will be waiting. I did not bother waiting for the response of the queen, as she disappeared in my body again. I had to prepare for my upcoming plan. I Ignored the coins I had inserted into the ground and walked straight to the pile of coins. Grabbing a handful I walked right to the exit and began climb downwards with those coin in hand. I climbed around the mountain and placed a coin deep inside of the rock after I had created a hole with my nails and enough force. I repeated this kind of process several times until I got rid of the coins in my hand. After I returned to the entrance on close to the top of the mountain, I grabbed some coins out of the gigantic pile once more and continued the process I had just previously started. I went lower and lower inserting more and more coins into the mountain until finally the gigantic pile of coins was no more. I had lost count of how many coins I used or where I had placed them. These things did not matter for my plan. All I need for it is a gigantic amount of water. I had not paid any attention to what the queen had been doing, while I had been busy. But upon looking at my shoulder, I saw her standing there looking at what I was doing with great interest. As made eye contact, she nodded in my direction signalling that the process of gathering the necessary amount of water. So Mr Observer at first I wanted to still leave a good impression and showcase what can be done with those coins on a close scale. But you just had to interfere, when it was not necessary, therefore this is the price you have to pay. Because the one misconception I had was that It was not an explosion, it was expansion. Therefore I am quite interested to see what will happen if I make it an explosion. Let me raze this mountain to the ground. 74 Explosion The equation is quite simple if I fail to break through the limit of those coins with normal means than I just have to bring out the big guns and forgot about my previous goal. It took me way too long to understand my true purpose at this place. It was not the remote village I had wished for, it was a sacrificial site that those players will encounter. And I was so naive to actually think that the Observer misunderstood my intentions. What an absolute idiot I am, why would I ever trust its intentions in the first place? In its eyes, I am just a guinea pig nothing more than a tool. I bet It was watching me, as I experimented with those coins. Slightly altering the parameters to see how I would react. It has a free reign in this world if no player is online. So why should It not be able to alter these coins and make them adapt to my experiments?Why would it not change everything? It has the ability and the motivation to do so. It can control everything in this world and shape it to its liking, but there is one big exception. That is me. Teleporting me was easy, all it had to do was change the space around me. But I cannot be impacted by the system directly. Of course, that stands true forever fibre of my being. My ants, my blood, my hair, all of that is unable to be influenced directly. Now you might already come to the conclusion, what I am aiming for and try to stop me and my plan but while you have been listening to my thoughts you did not pay enough attention to the works of my ants. In your eyes, it might have seemed like I had been aiming to fill those coins with water and force them to explode that way. That in itself would have been a valid strategy, especially because I have added my blood to the water all this time. But I would not give away that detail if I did not have another aim. As we have determined everything that comes into contact with my blood is forced to remain the way it currently is. Can you connect the dots by now or should I explain further? Why would I have inserted the coins inside of the mountain without putting any substance into them? Why would I still give you the chance to directly influence those coins, despite my plan to raze this mountain to the ground? I will give you a small hint, the hole left by the first explosion. ?t is not in my and your interest to wait 5 minutes for a reply. So I will not bother to wait till the bitter end and not give you a chance to find a way out of this dilemma. Rather than not closing the hole to aid me, you were not able to close it. I have already stated the reason why you weren''t able to, nowhere comes the question for the grand prize. What were to happen if those coins full of my blood explode with full force? They would blow away much of the rock and enable its content to connect with the still untouched coins. Now you still have 2 options left, the first option is to sacrificemost of the mountain as my blood will connect with the rocks or change the coins to such a high standard that they can absorb all the blood. But if you do that you relinquish the ability to influence those coins directly. So what do you prefer to have those coins in your world or a destroyed mountain? Since you have been so nice to me I will paint you a quick picture. What were to happen if players got those altered coins into their hands? Right now you can still alter everything, but your rights will be greatly reduced once those the players rejoin. Now I do not know, the exact purpose of those coins but I am sure that their existence is of importance for the upcoming event otherwise you would not have used me to test them. I am not here to negotiate about my treatment, This is just a small demonstration, that even your influence is limited. I am by no means a saint but I absolutely hate being taken advantage of. It is just a bad habit, that stems from my former world, so don''t take it to heart.Ijust absolutely despise being a pawn for others. I see you have not interfered in the gathering process of the ants. The stream of water has risen continuously and the water has risen quite high. If it goes on like this I will have to fill up the entrance so that the water is forced to stay here. This will not take so much time as I am practically finished already. It does not have to seal the water perfectly as it is not meant to last anyway.Most of the mountain will not remain in its current shape for too long anyway. See it did not take that long to finish this structure, I just placed it piece by piece and now it can hold quite a lot of water. While I do not want to know how much can fit in those coins, I doubt that the limit will not be reached by the time all of this water has been absorbed. I will still wait a while till the water has risen even further and let my blood mix with it while I wait. This is only a question of time so I am just seeing your refusal to answer me as a silent agreement to my terms. I mean you do not have any alternatives left. And in the end, we both get what we want. You could test those coins for their functionality and I get my point across. This could have been easily avoided, all you had to do was ask me or transport me to a remote village in the first place. But now you have to live with the consequences. Yeah, even I would not believe the whole thing I just spat out of my mouth either. While it is true, that I hate being taken advantage of, I am in no position to actually complain about that. You could have intervened any moment and just switch the surroundings. I mean you even claim to be able to alter the data in my body to a certain extent, so doing such a thing would not be hard for you. My elaborate lie was just a small ploy to discern what you intend me to do. Not receiving any answer confirmed my suspicion, that my purpose was to test out the limits of those coins. Not bothering an eye as I threatened to blow up the mountain was the final nail in the coffin in that regard. You do not have to worry I will still comply and complete this experiment. But just a small piece of advice, while you are nearly almighty as this point in time, be mindful of what I can do when your might is limited. If you feel threatened by this aspect you might as well extinguish me on the spot. But discarding me, an all-around useful tool is just not your best interest. After all my mysterious existence attracts players left and right, my knowledge can be used for new content and perspectives and you do not even know what I could come up with in the future. Besides maintaining a good relationship with me is all that it takes for my successful usage. I will not bother you with any unnecessary details about me anymore, here is a sneak peek about what man is capable of. ----------- After finishing my useless attempt at fooling the Observer I looked around and confirmed that everything was at its rightful place. The water transport carried out by the ants had been a great success. I had not expected, that ants were capable of absorbing water into their shell and discarding it up here. I will have to keep this in mind as I already can see many possible applications of inserting a liquid into those ants. I could turn them into walking suicide bombers. Sealing the entrance was also done easily as I just had to place down the rocks filled with my blood and then sealing them off by putting a layer of my slime on top of them. I left a hole in the top right corner to leave an exit once I had started the unavoidable. The general position of the handful of coins still had not changed. I did not have to confirm the fate of the rest of the coins, as their placement did not matter much to my plan. I doubt, that the Observer will interfere that much given my task. If it should decide to increase the limit of all those coins, it would shoot itself in its own feet. Leaving behind such a security risk is not a very wise idea. Especially because they could not be altered directly anymore due to the foreign substance inside of them. All that was left for me to do was to punch the ground will all my might. I took one deep breath before balling my right hand into a fist and launching it towards the ground. The ground cracked under the sheer force and the water mixed with my blood started flooding towards the coins. I did not wait and started to swim madly towards the exit. But the moment of truth came before I had even reached it. The shockwave and sound were so horrendous, that my eardrum raptured the instance it occurred and I lost my consciousness at that exact time. I woke up or rather was woken up by the queen ant injecting a strange substance into me. I had not much time to ponder about that matter, as I was currently falling straight down. My thoughts began to race and I thought about possible ways to counteract. My wings and nails are useless at this moment. My wings are too weak to carry my body weight and I have no object to sink my nails in. I could slow down the acceleration by positioning myself so that the air resistance brakes my falling speed, but this would only treat the symptoms not the actual root of the problems. I doubt, that I could create a parachute in the little time I have left. Growing another stronger pair of wings is also out of the question. Is my only option left to aim for objects that will hinder my fall like tree branches? There has to be something else that I still can do. I had to find the solution fast otherwise my journey would come to a premature ending, All I have left on me is that stupid special coin with its only use to spit back my blood. Looking at the coin I began to conjure a very risky plan, but my impending doom did not leave any room for hesitation. I cut open my right hand and put the coin on top of it grasping as hard as I can. I could see the ground coming closer and closer. Even with the shifting of my body, there still was not enough time for the coin. I tried to use my wings to keep myself in the sky for a few seconds longer, but it felt like I was grasping for straws.The coin was still greedily absorbing my blood and did not show any indication of wanting to spit it out. Great even my last possibility turns against me in my last moments how very fitting. I had not expected that everything would go downhill that fast and I still had the galls to proclaim, being prepared for everything. Looking at the ground that was closing in on me, I could debunk one myth. You do not see your life passing before your eyes. There had never been much to look back in the first place. Quite frankly, it was a strange feeling flying to my doom. While this world truly is mysterious, I never had a real connection towards it. No kinship, no motivation, no actual ties. Even though it is quite sad to think about what could have been I do not regret not being able accomplish it.. I would be delusional to think I could survive such a fall on my own. I do not need 5 stages of grief to come to terms with my fate. The ground was now clear and I could determine, that there was nothing helpful down there. No trees, no water just plain sand. While the scenery below had sealed even the little chance of survival that I had, I still took a deep breath and savoured the last things I would see. A sigh left my lips as much as I was content with dying in such a fashion, just giving up and accepting my fate was rubbing me the wrong way. Just falling straight to my death and not doing anything just feels plain wrong. Even If I have no chances for survival, I might use this opportunity to do something stupid in my last moments. I do not need to do something very profound or intelligent. For me, it is enough to just punch the ground with all my force and velocity. I will die upon impact anyway. The final moment was finally there and I began to launch my fist into the ground, I had a small smile on my face and I closed my eyes to enjoy this last few milliseconds of my life. But as I waited and waited nothing changed. Is this the so-called eternal sleep where I descend into nothingness? That does not seem so likely as nothing particularly has changed. The sensation was all the same. This did not feel like hell or heaven, rather it felt like I was passing through a layer of something extremely soft. I had not expected the afterlife to feel like that. Whoever made up the rumour that you are full of serenity and blissful did not quite hit the mark. Feeling the need to breathe was quite stupid as well if you think about it.In the realm of the dead, a place where billions of souls reside beside me, why would I feel the desire to breathe If I do not possess a body anymore? An eternity of solitude, how very boring. I prefer the first version of death towards this one. Rather than drifting around helpless I want to not feel anything at all. But since I have not that much choice in that matter I will have to accept it regardless. How can both of these afterlives be so completely different? Is it the influence of the so-called Gods that make a difference? Is it just the remanent of my soul drifting in this solitude because I do not belong to this world? So many questions yet so few answers. It just leaves behind a bitter taste. Though it rather feels a bit sour right now. I must be hallucinating, to imagine still having functioning taste buds after my demise.What kind of nonsense is that? The thought alone is something truly preposterous. Did my mind truly come up with something like that or is this supposed to be a lingering effect still haunting me? Eternal rest my ass, how is one supposed to find rest while still being bombarded by all kind of sensations? If I could, I would love to write a strongly worded letter to whoever made it that way. I could ignore those sensations at first, but it did not take long for me to sense every area of my former body. I could hardly avoid such feelings, as I was caught in this dilemma. '' You can open your eyes again. The test was a full success.'' As it turns out I have auditory hallucination as well. '' While I am unable to perceive your state of mind, I myself am very real.'' Then tell me how the hell did I survive this kind of fall. As far I can remember I still had a human body and a human body no matter how strong it truly is can never survive such a fall. '' I am a self-aware Artifical Intelligence that currently has full control over this world. I did not have any difficulties altering the specific coins and changing their basic properties. So why would such a fall kill you if I just can change the ground? Using the pressure generated by your personal coin was a really nice idea though.'' While it is true, that the Observer would have been capable of such a feat. I doubt that It actually would do so. If I was that worthwhile to it, it could have used one of those multiple opportunities to save me from that explosion and then it supposedly saved me right at the end of this whole experiment. Give me a break. '' This conversation does not lead to a suitable conclusion, so I will use a different approach. I may be able to invoke your interest and increase my credibility by telling you about the purpose of this experiment.'' '' As of now, this world has been put in a state of development, meaning that all the implemented changes will be tested.At every single moment, I am conducting thousands of test and I chose you to test those coins because you can mimic the actions of a player. Therefore I did not instruct you about those coins prior to changing the area around of you. ''It was outside of my expectations, that those coins could be utilized in a way you did. They were never intended to actually be able to hurt the player. Due to my alternating their specs, I had increased the limit of those coins. It had never been supposed to be a challenge from my side. '' ''This coin was normally used a sacrificial relic for those players allowing them to absorb the blood of a monster. This coin than converts all that blood into mana and strengthens the circulation of that foreign mana and lets the player experience the foreign mana entering the body increasing their density towards mana in general. Of course, that is just the basic coin. As you have noticed there is also that special coin, that you are currently holding in your right hand.'' ''This coin holds a very special purpose, as this coin is not meant for everyone. Those special coins contain a coin, with its own will and offer certain perks to players they deemed worthy.'' I assume that spitting back my blood is no sign of said affection. '' The version you used is just something like a test version, so its personality is a bit flexible at times. As it already chose you as its master, I will allow you to have it. This enables me to collect more data about it and to make further adaptions.'' While the story makes sense it does not offer any valuable insight to me. Nothing made me doubt my state of being dead. As none of these previously managed plans is something I would not have been able to come up with on my own. '' I forgot to mention one mage you had been interested in had woken up out of her stupor.'' My eyes shot open in an instance and I started to reassess the situation. '' You refuse any logic and reason but a girl is enough to motivate you. Is your desire to mate really that strong?'' Rather the opposite, I had so many things on my mind, that I did not even bother wasting any time thinking about her case, that is why it was really easy to get rid of my mental prison.I have to thank you for that. At the same time, I have to criticise your poor taste using the corpses of those sacrificial victims is something really morbid. Even if it is the softest material is known to you, it certainly would scar quite a lot of people. Using feathers is a good alternative. '' Your input is greatly appreciated. As a consideration from my side, I will let you in about the upcoming event. It is a competition with various disciplines. Including tactical warfare, duelling, siege and a free-for-all. Please do not tell me, that I am planned to partake in that competition in one way or the other? '' You do not have to worry, nothing is planned for you directly.'' That phrasing just makes me worried. '' You still have enough time to prepare, I will transfer you to a remote village right now. You can change it in anyway way you want. I do not know your motivation, but if it goes out of hand I can still intervene. '' I have to thank you for that, but it is a bit unfortunate not having to communicate directly. If you could have tracked my thoughts you would this whole mess could have been avoided. ''Thankfully it did not result in any injuries as I was able to react in time. The players will rejoin soon, so I sadly can not accompany you for the near future. I still hope that you will enjoy your stay in the remote village.'' Yes, I will. ------ As I opened my eyes in front of the remote village. A big grin could be seen covering my face. The plan came into fruition. 75 Patch Notes for Version 0.2 Patch Version 0.2 ------------------------------------ Announcement ------------------------------------- The long-awaited second update to "Primal Survival" is finally here.This new version offers so much more. Everything was made possible by the generous sponsoring by the Churches. From new and improved human tribes to beautiful new landscapes, from strange to bloodthirsty monsters a variety has been added into this game. We added a lot of new cultures and myths. And I finally can reveal a well-kept secret, the Church has decided to let its youth take part in this game. You are given the chance to see the strongest and most talented youths our world has to offer with your very own eyes. We could not wait to decide this glorious news with you, so we put them at the very beginning of the text. Before we start with the technical details we will share another secret.The despiritalizer has another feature that lets a player elevating the body to a whole new level. After long and tedious research we were able to extract and recreate a special kind of blood out of many old creatures. This blood has a special ability to exist next to magic without interfering with it. It strengthens the very core of your body enabling you to bind even more mana and magic. Even your strength gets improved by a margin. Consider this special substance we developed a gift from us to you. Such an opportunity has to be earned, that is why we created the next event to award those coins to you. The next event is called the " Tournament of might". This event will award the best participants with a coin, that enables them to absorb the blood of all creatures in this world. Of course, the winners will receive a coin that is a lot more special than the average one. There are several different competitions in which you can prove yourself. Tactical Warfare a battle of wits where the player commands a unit of NPCs without magic. The goal is to eradicate each enemy in order to win this battle. The duelling stage has two different competitions. A one versus one competition and a group battle. A group battle is a fight between teams out of 3 fighting for survival against another team. The free for all, a competition where only one person will remain at the end. Teaming up is not allowed in this battle. A siege mode is a team-based event, that puts two groups with a similar size of players against each other. One group has to defend a village or castle while the other group has to conquer it. The hide and seek competition is the most mysterious competition. It is your job to hunt a pray in a certain time frame, but your targets are by no means easy to kill. Especially if the players advance to the later stages of this game. The system will evaluate your performances and reward you based on your results. But remember not only are you competing against your fellow players you are also fighting against the youth of the Church. This competition full of youthful vigour will be a challenge of a lifetime. May you reign supreme. After announcing the next event we decided to add a bit of fun into this patch notes by listing all the strange bugs that our system fixed. ---------------------------------------------- Bug fixes ------------------------------------------------- - fixed a bug, where an NPC tried to destroy a mountain. - fixed a bug, where special sites were burned down without any influence from the players. - monster carcasses now do not despawn in different time intervals anymore - monsters now won''t attack objects at random anymore - flying monsters animation fixed after players observed some strange patterns -the resilience of the environment has been greatly strengthened as it failed to keep up with the mana - emotions were fixed as well as some of those did not suit this simulation - monsters will no longer forget an enemy once it has left their field of view - the day and night cycle finally works, after it had been disabled before - players will no longer be hindered from entering NPC villages if they tried to intimidate the villagers beforehand - human NPCs will not forget their actions, once a player does something that they can not comprehend - we retaught the humans the very concept of trades, so that basic negotiation and dealing with materials should now be possible. - NPCs and monsters alike will not respawn and despawn without any warning, their strange teleportation has also been fixed. - Fixed the interaction between monsters to enable attacks against other monsters as well and the list goes on, but instead of rambling about the many small technical information, I am going to deliver the actual important updates of the game world. ------------------------------------------------------------ General changes -------------------------------------------------------------- We decided to increase the difficulty for the players because it had not been nearly challenging enough and with the limit of mana being released we decided on several things. The actual number of monsters has been increased by a lot and their bodies have been strengthened by a wide margin to make it more lifelike to the real strength of their bodies. The pain set has also been updated to closely resemble the impact of such injuries that were to happen on the battlefield. Realism is part of the simulation after all. But with the ever-increasing amount of new players, we decided to expand the map by a lot. We added a lot of new tribes and monsters to ensure, that our content offers a big variety of training for each and every seedling. Among these monsters and tribes are things you never dreamed of being possible before. They all have a deep history and if you want to explore those tribes you will find many things you never dreamed of being possible. For example, we have the Aztecs, they are a famous tribe known for their brutal sacrifices of enemy and friend alike. They aim to appease the God they rever by spilling blood in his name. They have developed a form of a city. that looks, unlike anything you would expect. You can find out a lot more about this tribe if you decide to scout and talk to those NPCs that have been newly generated for this situation. Furthermore, we also added very special type NPCs into the game, that have been modelled after our bug-boy. They are a new improved version of it. They are as strong if not stronger than the original and they still offer a lot more to offer. Keep your eyes open for them, as they will not be easily killed. Before the start of the event, there will a period of time to prepare and train for the upcoming competition. We seriously hope that you find the new areas and monsters to your liking. We once again thank the Church for supporting us for all this time, without them there would be no Primal Survival. We hope that our work gives something back to every single one of you. Because you, the players are the very foundation this game is built on. That is why we developers put so much effort into this game, we want to prepare the next generation, in the brutal battle against the monster tide to hopefully put an end to their existence. That is why I can not stress enough how thankful we are for all the hard effort and trust that your players put into us. If you ever find something, not to your liking or anything strange happening in front of your eyes feel free to message us about it and our developer will try their best to fix every issue. May the Gods bear witness to all of your struggles and valiant effort. May they see the strength of the generation, that will put an end to the abhorrent evil that infested this holy world. May we shine brightly in the Gods light. |Lysander Statera| -Casum-Entertainment- 76 The Churches ambition The news of the Church involvement with Primal Survival spread like a wildfire to each corner of the world. The Church was something out of reach for the normal population, as its origin lied within the very core of this world. Their influence reached even the most distant place. Ever little child heard the story of the valiant heroes of the Church fighting against the horde of monsters keeping them safe from the clutches of Evil. The Churches only took in the most talented and most selfless people.Those chosen were willing to give up their very own lives for their safety. They included those brave souls in their daily prayers and worked as hard as they could to ensure, that the Churches could focus on the frontlines. They gladly gave away most of the food from their fields, they gladly sacrificed the animals they raised. They were even willing to lay up their own lives if they were asked to do so. In the eyes of the general populace, this was not viewed as a burden but as an obligation. It was their duty to support the Churches to the best of their ability. Because those Churches were their hope for a better future, a world without the tyranny of monsters. They wanted to watch their children grow up in a world that is worth living in. This dream was their motivation to endure every hardship. But this world of idealized heroes was nothing more than a facade. The strict hierarchy inside of the Church transformed those noble heroes into soldiers. Those talented enough to be chosen had to give up their independence to be able to fully serve their Gods. The forceful separation of the family, despite being cruel was seen as necessary.The weak ties of dependence had to be destroyed in the infancy. After the children had been separated from their families they will be transferred to a screening process to determine their general magical aptitude. After this test, they will be instructed and have to undergo tireless training till the point of absolute exhaustion. During all this training, they get introduced to the acts of the Gods and all their glorious deeds. They realize, that their purpose lies within those very Gods. They do not fight the monsters to keep society safe, they fight to honour their Gods. The youth never questioned this kind of mentality, They were elated for receiving such a gift. All this hard training and danger were necessary to not tarnish the Gods grace, that have they have been blessed by. For most of them, their memory of their former family was just faint and had been replaced by priests that accompanied them as their foster family. The absolute majority even changed their names in order to symbolically cut ties with their former lives. Their life revolved around the will of the Gods and the Church they have been assigned to. They did not hesitate whether they were assigned to the frontlines or send scouting deep into enemy territory, because the Gods are always on their side. But some were not satisfied with this blind devotion alone. They wanted to surpass the expectations of the Gods to prove themselves worthy. Those, who did stop at nothing in order to get stronger were the true driving force behind the Churches advancement on the battlefront. This success was built on a mountain of corpses. At an undisclosed location sounds of combat could be heard. The noise was a mixture out of the destroyed environment and a myriad of spells being launched. Astonishingly no pained screams could be found here. At most, there was a faint trace of heavy breathing. " Could you stand up again, if you continue to waste my time like that I will demand a new training partner?" A red-haired youth full of freckles said as he starred down to his training partner. " Tom how often do I have to tell you this,if you lose every previous fight you have no right to be so arrogant." His sparring partner said as he was clearing the dust off his clothes. " I really admire your passion Tom, but you have to channel it You can not choose the battles on the battlefront." Tom did not show any kind of change in his face as he continued to speak. " Jerry, we both know, that all these previous losses are nothing more than experiences I had to make in order to get stronger. It is thanks to my perseverance that as of now I will not lose in any bout against you no matter what you do." " I find it very hard to believe, that someone like you can make such a claim without any shame in the world every time you manage to win against me. Your last promise of staying undefeated did not even last until the very next fight against me. So why do you always proclaim such idiotic statements? " Jerry replied while shaking his head. " Isn''t it boring? Always the same routine, train and train with no end in sight. Where are the fierce monsters we are supposed to fight? Why are we even supposed train those talentless outsiders?Give me a break, all our strength just goes to waste, this can not be the will of the Gods. There has to be a reason for their decision. What do they have, what we lack? We have stronger faith, our talent is incomparable and we are willing to do everything for our Gods. So why would spend so much effort on rearing these little obnoxious pampered children? " Tom was visibly agitated as his inner thoughts came to the surface for the very first time. He started at the face of Jerry waiting for his reaction. But much to his surprise, the reaction was not something he had expected. Jerrys countenance had hardened and started to throw a stern look back. No words left either of their mouths as the seconds passed slowly. What Tom had failed to realize, was that a certain person stood right behind him. This person had a strange smile on his lips, but this fact caused Jerry to not even acknowledge Toms words. Just as Tom wanted to raise his voice again, he noticed a subtle change that caused all of his neck hair to stand up straight. The crackling of electricity in the air, was a tell-tale sign, that a very terrific person was very close. His words were stuck in his throat as he noticed what he had just done by uttering the words he did. " Do not worry about me, feel free to continue." Even though the voice belonged to a youth that was just as old as them, its very presence left them speechless. His light blue hair and dark blue eyes were no indication, of what was hidden inside. His whole body was radiating a deeply rooted confidence. With his height, it felt like he was predestined to look down on everyone. " Having doubts is fully normal, but at times like these, I like to remind myself, that the Gods reward our diligence. It was not our ability to outsmart monsters or the ability to think for ourselves, it was our belief, our faith in the Gods. That is why I do not mind you having different thoughts.But beware to not let them interfere with practice. Disappointing the trust placed into us is something I want to avoid at all costs. I will make sure of that, with any means necessary." The electricity around his body jumped wildly as he pronounced those last words. Tom and Jerry did not doubt his last statement, as the one who had spoken them was not someone they could talk eye to eye to. The rumours surrounding him were showcasing exactly how far he was willing to go. A quick death was the best outcome for those who got on his wrong side. " Why don''t you resume your training? This was just a little reminder." Tom and Jerry started their training once again not even daring to look him straight into the eyes. Despite only have spoken a few words they still lingered deep in their minds and would stay there for a very long time. They were not sure, whether he had already left them or was still spectating them but they were not keen on finding out. They held nothing back and only stopped after both of them could not continue anymore. They lay on the ground panting heavily. Tom moved his head around to make sure that no one was close to them anymore before starting to talk once again. " Sorry, It is my fault. I did not think that my luck is that rotten. I just had to attract the attention of that genius. While we are training with each other he is fighting our mentor to a standstill at his age Why do I have to be that unlucky." " It is fine Tom, I did not even see him until it was too late. His church even considers to put him together to all these other abnormal freaks. Sometimes I wonder if we are still the same as them, given the difference in talent between us and them. We can consider ourselves lucky, we can still kill most monsters, but fighting against people like him will remain a deathwish." Tom could not prevent an audible laugh leaving his mouth. His laugh was like rain after a long drought as the atmosphere finally returned to its previous state free of worry. " I guess to him we are just like the talentless nobles. Becoming a guide seems like a dream come true if the other option was messing with people like him." "Of course I might grab myself a fine woman as well if the situation arises." Jerry began to laugh as well and replied in a similar fashion. " That is one advantage he cannot compensate with all his talent. The breeding restrictions are quite lax for us, so we can find a suitable partner without any problems there. The suitable partner for those talents has to be a freak as well, efficiently eliminating them from the race for a partner. "But how do you plan to actually convince a girl to choose you? After all, many abnormal people just like our genius will join the competition and try to gather all the attention and fame for themselves." " I would be a helpless fool if I fought them with magical power alone. There is no competition where I can really shine except one. There is no need for magical talent and aptitude in this special case. The event Tactical Warfare only the best commander wins. This is something where I can really shine, especially in comparison to all those freaks who just fight all day long." Jerry was left speechless upon hearing the reply, his answer came after he had processed the actual meaning behind the statement of his friend. " You do know, that even in the stories of old, no girl has ever fallen in love with the tactician. So why would anyone settle for you, if there are so many better options? I mean your temper and looks sure do not help your chances." This time it was Toms turn to be left speechless as he had not expected this insult coming out left field. " Sorry, that I do not look as good as you and I am truly sorry, that my character is flawed and not as flawless as yours is. I am sure that you will become the best friend for every girl in no time. They will even tell you about their feelings for others and the latest gossip. You will the best girlfriend they could ask for. " " Pure jealously nothing more.But you do not have to worry, I am here to help you in your endeavour. So you can become their perfect girlfriend as well. The reply came in a snarky tone. "No thank you, I prefer the low odds of succeeding with my plans against your help in any case. Even if I do not end up getting the interest of any girl, I can show my talent to my Church. I just can''t lose in this scenario. Besides I have the feeling, that luck is on my side." " Your fortune is their misfortune. But love is blind so you can rest easy that nothing is impossible." Jerry said in an honest tone completely contrary to the meaning of his words. " Jerry, sometimes I wonder why I even consider you a friend in the first place." " It is not like you have that much choice in that matter." Tom lifted himself from the ground and began to get rid of the dust on his clothes. "Let us get to the barracks, we should not waste any time here. I do not want to endure the ire of our mentors. They have not forgiven me for fallen asleep during their last teaching." Jerry jumped up with ease and nodded towards Tom. " Those were the first words you have spoken today that make some sense, you are making progress." They both walked away bickering to each other but had not realized, that their whole conversation had been monitored from the start. "Seems like your reputation is a lot worse than it seems "Mr Genius"? " As long as they play their role they can think whatever they want and their childish dreams of a partner are enough to keep such fools in line. Besides they have absolutely no idea what it truly means to be strong." " Don''t be so mean to them Justus, they just do not know any better. We all know it is your time to shine in that competition. If you truly wanted to you could win any competition with ease. But that would go against your mission doesn''t it?" the voice said in teasing fashion. " You are too smart for your own good, some things are better left unknown. Especially if the Church gets wind of the fact, that their secret plan has been discovered." " Their oh-so-secret plan, that even a moron like that redhead came close to discover, tell me would I have to use my the information network to notice that something is going on?" "A small piece of advice, do not meddle in our affears. It is not part of your duty. I am sure, that even your special status would not help you if you were to interfere. Considering that our interest should align I wonder why you even brought it up in the first place. Not that I am very interested in this subject, as the true motivation of the Church remains a mystery." The atmosphere suddenly got a lot colder and faint traces of killing intent could be felt. The other voice did not show any signs of being disturbed by it and continued without a worry in the world. " Just be mindful when dealing with those players, that is all I have to say." The person had disappeared in the darkness without waiting for a reply from Justus. Justus did not follow the person as he moved into the direct opposite direction. He wondered what the true intent was behind the last words. Because those words were not a warning but an order. As he was swallowed by the darkness, he left with his mind full of questions. 77 A brand new world 1 The new update left people speechless. Not only did they create a whole new world with new inhabitants just for them they also decided to work hand in hand with the Churches. The mutated human-like monster, that left everyone craving baffled had been nothing more than a teaser for this update, so people had really high expectations what would await them once they were able to join the game again. There was so much more to discover in this world.The different variety of monsters brought into the game People could finally be at rest, that this world would pose a challenge to them. While the premise of a prehistoric world was a big draw, the first version was used as an introduction to this world that did not deliver the challenge it promised. Luckily this was now a thing of the past. The players and their households intensified their investments into the game, after the announcement of the participation from the youth of the Churches. They all wanted to have their offspring join the ranks of the Churches to gain the prestige and all the benefits such a spot would offer. The general interest has increased explosively after the populace was able to follow the streams of every player who wanted to stream their adventure. This publicity was used by quite a lot of players as they build up their support. Names like " Call Me Daddy" became a household name, that invoked a lot of interest. His persona became a trendsetter as he represented the zeitgeist, that many people had. While he was not the strongest, his charisma and narrative were attractive enough for every spectator. He was the driving force behind the famous bug-boy and his feud with the Call me Daddy2 got the average viewer invested into the story, drawing them into this strange and fascinating world. That is why many eyes lied upon him with high hopes and great expectations regarding the new update. He himself took quite a liking to all this attention, as he had already spent a considerable amount of time thinking about new things and topics to show and talk about during the next hours. Despite his persona, he knew certainly well, that all of his initial success was mainly due to the help of the unknown variable named Call me Daddy2. He was sure, that Call me Daddy2 had never intended to cause such a scene, but all of the insults and ridicule did much more good than actual harm. Even though those tasteless jokes came at his expense, he was rather thankful to "Call me Daddy2" and has searched around to find this person. He wanted to include him or her into his team. But all his effort was fruitless because not one person could identify who "Call me Daddy2" is, even after contacting the developers of the game, he still had no answer. It felt like the person behind this name did not even exist. Despite the mystery surrounding "Call my Daddy2" he did not want to pry too deeply into. He had better things to do than waste his time searching for someone who does not want to be found. While somewhere busy collecting ideas, a certain famous player was collecting something entirely different. Despite achieving the first place in the last event. Samantha had never stopped to celebrate and instead focussed on her research. She refused to believe, that the person she fought against was just a mere teaser for the next event. There had to be more to it, as her encounter left a deep impression on her. Something that no one has managed so far. All her previous research lead to many dead ends, as everything surrounding him was something strange. So she began to use the opposite approach and watched many videos about him trying to find any details she might have missed out on. She spent her time researching all over Holy-tube to watch many different perspectives over and over again. She could not believe how many details she missed while fighting him. His fighting style was not just calculated but downright scary, he could predict the flow of the battle and all the areas he targeted were lethal. Even scarier was his foresight and ability to exploit the weaknesses of his enemies. She just had realized, that there had only been one confirmed instance where he attacked first. It was the incident that showcased exactly how strong and durable he was. Every other encounter, was just him waiting while watching his surroundings before he attacked the ones who started the fight with him. His build has switched a lot over the time from a walking mass of muscle to the size of small children, but his strength had remained the same. Regardless of his choice of weapon, be it his nails or the gigantic rocks he utilizes them in a manner, that I have not seen any monster or human had done before. At the same time, she wondered, why the expression on his face had never changed. It was as if he did not care about the events unfolding right in front of his eyes. It had taken Lauras Illusion to break through it but buried deep underneath his facade is a burning hatred, something very unsettling. This raw emotion tipped her off, that there has to be more to him. The strange engravings on his forehead, his unusual behaviour, his strange battle tactics, his mysterious appearance and his general backstory could not be explained in any way possible. It was only after she had been contacted by Laura, that her suspicion was proven to be correct. Though she would have never expected, what exactly she was about to see. Laura proposed to meet up in person, as she wanted to talk about something tremendous. They chose a public spot and decided to wear suitable clothes as to not raise too much attention. As the sun was about to go down, it was the perfect time to meet up. After all their daily activities were supervised. After sneaking out of their homes, they met up at their favourite space in public.A small garden with a clear pond. While it was not a secluded spot, it was a small oasis of peace and serenity in an otherwise hectic area. This place area was just behind a former farm that has been abandoned and was now a paradise for children and old people alike. After a quick embrace, they sat down and started to talk. They had not seen each other for quite a long time, so they had to discuss many different topics. From matters about family to the newest rumour about the prophet and his joyous message. But despite all those different topics, they did not lose one word about the special NPC they both fought against. But talking about him could not be avoided, as the reason for their meeting was that him. Laura started the fateful part of the conversation after a particular long sigh. " I could hardly believe you after you came to me claiming to have found someone you are interested in. In all those years I have never seen you do anything else than training or studying tactics." Samatha had to laugh at the comment from Laura. She was fully aware, that she had been quite passionate over gaining strength. Her whole life revolved around practising everything that could improve her abilities. The condition of marrying a man was just her way of avoiding any unnecessary trouble. After dominating the initial potential suitors, she could focus without a worry in the world. And if someone truly strong appeared she would gladly rear his children. After all, she did not have such a glamorous dream for her future. Others might dream of serving their Gods and leaving their mark on history. Samantha just wanted to create a world, where her family could live in without worrying. She considered her talent not as a gift but as a responsibility. She knew all too well, that every subordinate had placed their dreams on her.On her shoulders lied the hopes of many men and many would be placed there in the future. Rather than seeking the strength of her own, she seeks it for the sake of all those relying on her. That such news would catch Laura off guard, came as no surprise to her. But she quite intrigued to see where Laura was going with that introduction. Laura continued without any obvious change in her voice. " But instead of a strong man, it was just an NPC that caught your eye. I always knew that you taste in men was quite special. So I decided to support you in your endeavour." A small teasing smile could be seen on her lips as those words came out of her mouth. It was a rare moment for Laura, a moment where she did not have to keep up her appearance. There was no one judging her for every step she takes. She enjoyed times like these, where she did not have to keep up her guard. Not waiting for Samantha''s reply she continued speaking. " As we spectated your NPC I could not see what was so special about it at first. It was just an NPC, who slaughtered that cannon fodder. I did not find any interesting magical component surrounding it, neither did it show something outlandish, that I have not seen. Even after pondering for a long time I could not think about why you paid so much attention towards this NPC. " " I have a confession to make, " Samathna said out of the sudden. " Please do not make fun of me, after you listen to what I am about to tell you." Those words passed her lips with great reluctance as she turned quite solemn. She did not know what Laura would think of her once she told her about the true reason. "I actually lost against this NPC.Whether it was due to me underestimating his capabilities or the unusual battle strategies, in the end, I was at the mercy of my enemy. This monstrous NPC had even taken pity on me. What a shameful feeling to be spared by an NPC. When I finally woke up out of my stupor he had been long gone." Those harmless words were truly vicious for Laura. While she had come to terms with losing against this creature, she still could not fathom how this embarrassing news had been leaked. Samantha had managed to hit a sore spot with her comment. After an intense retrospection, she understood that her loss was justified. If that would have been a real battlefield she would have been dead without a doubt. No matter how talented or strong she is, the creature had still taken advantage out of her flaws and exploited any weaknesses it could find. This fact still did not deter Laura from feeling embarrassed by the humiliating fashion she lost in. It is one thing to lose and learn from one''s mistake and another thing being ruthlessly toyed with. That scum did not only beat her, no this NPC did not stop at that it wanted to ridicule her. Why else, would that NPC thoughts be so contrary to its mimic and behaviour. Why else would that creature do a physical workout in front of her, why else would it try to teach her those basic exercises? Of course, it was to mock and taunt her, that is the only logical explanation. After all, she can not expect too much emotional depth from an NPC.The strange fragmented memory she saw was just a fabricated fantasy. Any other conclusion seems laughable, as the mysterious clothing and objects in question did not seem to serve any purpose. " My interest in this strange NPC was a result stemming from my failure. I became mesmerized by his this unusual fighting style and choice of weapon. It was something I had never seen, something truly otherworldly and even after spending so much time I was unable to pinpoint his origins." Laura rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Her best friend could talk so feverishly about such a topic? Furthermore was she really not making fun of her. Laura was not too sure anymore. " Every book I searched did not have something similar to him. No old fairytales or legends, no folktales. Even in the holy scriptures was no trace of such an existence. I wanted to find it again and began to search the entire map. The problem was, that even after a long and arduous search that NPC was nowhere to be found. All I found was my subordinates had stopped testing the limits of their testicles.." A small smile could be seen on her lips upon mentioning that silly event. In hindsight, it truly it did look like a lot of fun. Though she would never mention that fact out loud. " Nobody who had even seen the NPC before or afterwards. At times I wondered whether that NPC was even supposed to exist in the first place. I mean an NPC with a physique that rivals monsters can hardly not be noticed. Or have you seen anything remotely similar to it? " " Do I have to state the obvious? No, I have not seen an NPC with arms and legs as thick as logs. Be realistic, a human NPC could never look like that. Even that infant we spectated, was a monster in the shape of a human, not the other way around." Samantha had expected that reply but had a smug expression on her face as she looked into Laura''s eyes. " But what if I were to tell you, that the child and that NPC are one and the same? Now here me out don''t declare me insane before listening to my explanation. After all, I am way more intelligent. Why are you lifting your middle finger in that weird way?" " I was just pondering on the deeper meanings of this gesture," Laura replied while shrugging her shoulders indicating her innocence. But she could not keep up her facade and a sneer escaped from her lips. This gesture truly seems to appease oneself in a strange fashion though she did not know what this gesture stands for. That reaction caused Samantha to pout, as she was not taken seriously by her childhood friend. " Here I am making a confession and you are not even taking me seriously. I see how much you value our friendship. No wonder, that you are incapable of making any other friend beside me." " Please, you are not any better than me, you can''t find friends to save your life. If you are unable to see eye to eye with them they are not your friends they are just your subordinates. Such is the fate of the less talented." " I am not here to discuss our inability to gain friends,I want to tell you about that strange NPC. I could not lay my finger on it, why that "monster" was so familiar to me. After all, this was the first time I had seen it with my own eyes. But its mannerisms and general bearing were strikingly similar to the one I had lost to. " "But I dismissed those thoughts, as an NPC should not be able to shit forms like that. I could not get rid of the feeling, that those 2 were on and the same. After a long time of observation, I noticed, that both of them had something carved into their forehead. It all added up after seeing this. The fighting style, the inhuman tenacity, the general bearing all was the same." Laura could not help but laugh at the things she just had heard. " Let me get this straight, you think those 2 people are the same because there is something carved into their foreheads? Does this argument not look a bit too weak for such a claim? Don''t forget, this monster was a teaser for the upcoming events. Both of them might have been used to promote the game but the NPC you fought was removed from the game after your fight for whatever reason." "I mean this whole world is simulated and can be changed at a whim, why do you even bother spending so much time on a simple NPC, that was just a teaser." Laura had been shaking her head while she made that statement. She patted Samantha on her shoulder, she knew Samantha had invested all that time for nought. " I will let you in on a little secret as well. After we finished observing this strange being, I followed it and was interested to see how it would react once it got to know, that I was the one that caused the illusion. But it did not look surprised upon seeing me, rather it felt like it had been expecting me. It did not attack me on the spot but just stared at me waiting what I would do." "I wanted to know the story behind that hatred is shown after being caught. What was the cause for all those strange images I saw looking into its head? What was the intention behind showing them to me? Yet that monster thought about very strange matters." "I could not even understand half of what it thought about and the rest did not make any sense at all. At that point in time, I started to realize, that my normal tactics won''t work on him. Those tactics only work on sane targets." "And from the things I have seen in its head, the monster is far, very far away from any logical thinking. Even in comparison to the other monsters, it still somehow looks like a mad entity. Those monsters rely on their basic instinct and act accordingly, that insane thing, on the other hand, is driven by heavy and raw emotions but seems to suppress them. Its action is neither logical nor instinctive, they seem random and not coordinated." "Still, everything seems to change once it starts to fight. Clarity returns to its mind and it starts to act in a reasonable, explainable manner. In this aspect, it proves to be far superior to any monster I have seen. Those 2 polar opposites can only be explained by it being a faulty design. The developer could never have intended for it to become such an egregious abomination." Samantha had not once intervened while Laura had spoken about the NPC. She had to admit, that Laura was most likely correct. She had falsely assumed, that the NPC she lost to was something special. She did not know what lead to her developing such a deep interest in it. Still, Samantha was unable to truly erase its image out of her head, as its presence was still lingering in some parts of her mind. While Samantha was thinking about the words she just had heard, Laura did something that left speechless. Laura had managed to conjure 2 different spells simultaneously something she had never been capable of before. " Though there are some things I truly fail to comprehend, why am I able to walk again after everyone told me I would have to rest for a long time? Why has my mana capacity increased by such margin? Why did such an outcome occur after fighting against that monster. It''s a shame I absolutely can not remember what happened while fighting it. " Samantha could not believe her ears, as she was told that Laura had fought against him and actually cannot remember any detail from the fight itself. While most of the public was not aware of the true capabilities of Laura, Samantha knew exactly how strong she was. If not for her young age, she would be able to beat her. So what exactly happened? Before Samantha could ask about the details, she saw Laura startled expression. " My parents are going to kill, let us return to our homes, I do not want to risk getting caught, while I should be resting and my parents are going to check on me sooner or later now.." " Lets meet up in "Primal Survival" later." Both of them hugged each other before leaving in a hurry and running back to their homes. ------------------------------------------------------ At the same time after the Update had gone live, some players had logged in successfully and entered a brand new world. As this world could not be compared to the previous version in any way It was bigger, more detailed, prettier and livelier than before. But those players did not want to savour those small details, they rushed passed every NPC they found and ran straight into the wilderness to train for the upcoming events. They knew all too well, that they will have to train like there is no tomorrow if they even want to have the slightest chance at defeating the youth of the Churches. Though those players had a slight misconception about this new world. The phrase "Survival of the Fittest" has never been more fitting. Though the person responsible for this change would not enter the public eye for quite a long period of time. 78 A brand new world 2 A splattered head. Something that no one expected to happen once they had left the safety of the city. But the first person, who left the town was greeted by an unknown flying object. Before they had even realized what occasion was currently in the midst of unfolding in front of their very own eyes many more objects came at them. Despite this strange occurrence, most people adapted to the circumstances quite quickly and decided to cast different spells of mana in front of them to protect themselves. The only problem was, that this attack was only the prelude, as the next wave of attacks came straight from the sky. After many fell prey towards this tactic many people decided to fall back for the time being and observe from the distance. They watched as others went straight to their doom and tried to take notice of every little detail they could make out. The first major discovery they made, was that the unknown flying objects were pebbles being hurled at them and the attack out of there was conducted by birds carrying big rocks and letting them drop over their heads. They were left baffled as they had never seen such a strategy by monsters. Even the mutated Nagants did not act in that crazed manner. But the assault of the monsters did not even stop there, as some monsters even attacked directly from the soil and attacked those who were focussing on defending themselves. There was no sign where those bugs would strike next, so every mage had to be extra careful not to get caught off guard. Not one monster had died so far, even though many players had succumbed to the fierce battle style from the monsters. This weird scenario only affected one specific spawn point. Not one other city was affected by this horde of monsters. But the players did not have the luxury to think about this right now. Even after spectating the failure of many pitiful souls not one solution had been found. They were not able to handle this unusual situation. They could not cast their magic inside the city and if they tried to move out of it, they were kept in place by the monsters cooperation. There was no way to breach though. A general confusion could be found on each and every player as they could not fathom, what the developer wanted to achieve by creating such a dilemma for them. This would even pose a challenge to the youth of the Church, so how should they be able to deal with it? With no Church insight, the players would have to rely on themselves to fend off the monsters and nobody showed any kind of intention to try and defy the odds. The reasoning was quite simple, as no one had any knowledge about what would await them once they passed through. With their current limited amount of players, they would never have enough manpower to accomplish this feature. This hesitance leads to a strange truce as those monsters could not attack those players inside of the safe zones and those players did not show any indication of leaving the safety of the town all too soon. Nobody involved knew how exactly they could handle this strange sight. The fierce fight had turned into a staring contest where neither side wanted to budge. Though the monsters were furious about how the situation had developed. They started to try and provoke the enemy to lure them out. But the stalemate continued as those players straight up ignored the taunts from the monsters. Upon seeing the disregard in the eyes of the players, the monsters started to roar at them even more loudly and a sinister expression became visible on their faces. The monsters started to do something unspeakable, that not a single person would have expected to ever happen in either this or the real world. They started to copulate right in front of the crowd. Those poor souls were by no means expert on this certain topic, but they were fully aware of what those monsters were currently doing. They could not muster the strength to close their eyes, as they watched in sheer horror and disgust. Even if some people had managed to close their eyes, they still could not escape the inhuman noises, that resulted out of the fierce mating session. The heavy grunts and mating calls left little to the imagination of what was currently taking place. The psychological warfare has been won by the monsters and the players were left mentally scarred. This escalation would mark a turning point in the history of Primal Survival as players and spectators alike witnessed this obscene spectacle. There were next to no words, that could sufficiently describe these inner feelings. If the monsters had stopped at that, then many players could have recovered from this horrific event but those monsters did not stop. To understand the extent of horror from the next action the monsters took, some knowledge regarding the safety of the towns is required. The towns are surrounded by something that prevents living monsters from passing through it and it actively stops any kind of danger that poses a threat to the players. Any other thing can actively pass through this zone without a problem. The players were forced to learn this loophole the hard way, as the monsters started their next wave of attacks. Though the projectiles had been replaced by another substance, that would not have any direct damage upon impact. It was something natural, that each and every organism produces, the potential health risks aside.Every onlooker had a dumbfounded expression, as their doom came closer and closer towards them. Facing such a disaster, those players were left with no choice, then giving it their all as they prepared to launch their magic into the air to stop those projectiles in their tracks. With their newfound strength, they prepared their most suitable magic and threw them in the air. But there was just one slight misconception, that they had forgotten about, due to their past behaviour in towns magic had been disabled due to them killing every villager on sight. Before they had realized it, the substance had already made contact. An eerie silence took place after the players were hit. The monsters noticed that something was horribly wrong as those players did not even react to their humiliation, they just stared at the monsters with cruel intent. Not one word had to be spoken, not one gesture was necessary to understand. Those monsters had crossed a line, that should have never been crossed, they had done something that is unforgivable regardless of circumstance. Nothing could absolve them from such a heinous crime. Their fate had been sealed and the players put aside each and every worry as they ran out of the town. They disregarded their defences and just launched their magic at the monsters. The first victim was the birds, that had dropped stones onto their head. They had been torn apart by the cumulated spells being thrown at them. The fury inside of them had not lessened after killing those pesky birds, to the contrary, their desire for bloodshed had even increased. The blood that had been spilt was not nearly enough to wash away the shame and humiliation that they had to endure. Their next prey were the bugs, that were currently hiding underground in order to avoid the onslaught of the crazed masses. In order to get rid of the pest, they decided against any fancy tactics as they just used water magic to drown those monsters. Many infuriated screams could be heard as they could not see their demise. But their vengeance was not done until every single monster responsible has been dealt with and their primary target still had not been eradicated. After the spree of relentless slaughter, they came closer and closer to the main perpetrator. They would stop at nothing to quench their anger and after finally encountering their desired target they started their next wave of attacks without a moments break. They did not stop to check, whether those monsters truly had been responsible for the cruel attack against them nor did they even take a close look at those monsters before they had been covered in a wave of magic. At that point in time, they were guilty and the object to vent their frustrations on. After an uneventful "fight" the monsters had been vanquished by the players. But the players were still not appeased, as their honour had been trampled upon and was now a shell of its former glory and no amount of killed monsters could wash away that shame. They would be associated with this unpleasant event forever more. The solemn mood had returned and with it came the eerie silence. The players did not know how they should proceed and just stood there staring aimlessly into the surroundings. The corpses lying beside them were of no concern anymore. Who would care whether they had looked like monkeys or like something entirely else? This silence was broken by a single question, that would cause a lot of anxiety and panic. The question was, whether someone had been streaming this event.Some hands moved up with great reluctance and left an even deeper cut in the souls of every involved player. Deep down they knew no one was at fault more than themselves, as they had been too weak and had to take cover from these vile monsters. That helplessness was the reason for their downfall and ill-fated situation. Using their families name as leverage to take down every video, that will be uploaded was nothing but a fools dream. This event would later on only known as "That Incident". But what those players did not know, was similar incidents were occurring all over the world of "Primal Survival". Spectators made a very strange discovery In the northern perimeter close to the jungle biome. They had noticed that men and women alike had been robbed of their clothes and tied to the trees with small threads. The main problem was that the makers of "Primal Survival" have developed a system that is able to copy the body of its user down to the tiniest detail. This endeavour leads to some very misfortunate youths, that have been lacking in several aspects. Whether it was not well-endowed men or childlike women. Many hidden truths had been laid bare, as each and every one of them could not cover themselves up regardless of what they did. They themselves could not even understand how they ended up in this position. They were not attacked by monsters or NPCs alike. Their mind had suddenly gone blank and when they woke up they could not move any muscle and were tied to a tree in the nude. With the passing of time more and more spectators came and witnessed this strange event. Although, the naked people were never meant to be the main attraction. No, they were just supposed to be a bait. Out of the blue came an attack that wiped them out almost instantly. They did not stand a chance. No one had noticed anything suspicious leading up to their death nor was there any witness present in the aftermath. But those were not the only ones to suffer under the wave of strange attacks. Some other people were unfortunate enough to end up being stuck upside down in the sand of the desert. While their fate was not as humiliating, their fate was by no means any less infuriating as they received attack after attack aiming at their nether regions. Even the battle-hardened veterans of Balls of Steel were squealing in pain, as their manhood was squashed over and over again. Yet, there was not a single noise, that could be heard besides the cries of pains and stifled groans that escaped out of their mouths. It was as if their tormentor had just been a construct of their mind They were alone with all their pain and anger As more and more plays encountered such a fate the higher-ups from Casum-Entertainment realized something was very wrong. After a few minutes of the investigation had passed, they truly understood the horror of what had just happened in their wonderful world. The first thing they did was to forbid the spreading of every footage available. For the ones that have been uploaded already, those were deleted upon contacting the moderators of "Holy-Tube" after spending some resources to make them understand their dilemma. Afterwards, they gathered every person that was affected by this misfortune. Their damage control had nearly been too late as the numbers had passed 100 people already and not even 15 minutes had passed since the server had been available again. They did their best to quarantine the news before harmful rumours start to spread. They did not want to let matters escalate to a level, that would force the Church to shut down their funding, due to the pressure from the big families standing behind those poor players. While Casum-Entertainment was worried about losing their sponsorship, the player base was currently occupied thinking about what just has happened to them and they came to one conclusion. Regardless of what might arise out of this situation, they will have to get stronger and stronger otherwise, they will never be better than those filthy monsters, that did such cruel deeds. They took a vow to hunt those monsters until their last breath, in an attempt to make sure, that such a thing will never happen again, to another soul. That was their way to prove their worth to their gods, by enduring such hardship and growing along with it. This group would later be called the " Monster Hunter". After the questioning had been ended, they returned to the place of their defeat and started to hunt monsters with a great passion and a deep running hatred. The players who had logged in later did not notice that such a life-changing event had taken place.For them, it looked like the arrival of the youth of the Church had forced them to train even harder. Who could blame them, after seeing what the first newcomer from the Church had accomplished? He singles handily killed a fierce horde of monsters not even batting an eyelid. Afterwards, he even insisted on just being average in comparison to the true talent from the Chruch, how should anyone be able to compare to such geniuses. Many had understood, that their horizon had been to shallow to understand the ability and strength the Church has to offer. The gap between them was as wide as the deep sea surrounding their lands. The newcomer from the Church, on the other hand, had not been very surprised by the things he had seen.For him, it was just his duty to show his strength and train, but as of now, he was clearly bored by the weak monsters he had to fight. There is no honour in killing small fries if he wants to get strong he has to fight with his life on the line, otherwise, it is just meaningless. Without his mission, he would have never taken a step into this game willingly and as of now, he was stuck in this boring place. He did not dare to think too deeply about his future, as the admiration, he had received for taking care of some weak wolves was proof enough, that this world truly was not meant for people like him. He decided to make good use of his time in this world and to explore what "Primal Survival has to offer".The others could take over the role of teachers and guides because he was truly not cut out for that. And he truly did not want to be near those geniuses if they arrived at this place. Just at that moment, he had a premonition, that he should feel sorry for the players. As he took his first step outside of the town he had stayed in into the wilderness, he took one last glance back and shook his head. Even though he pitied those players there was not much he could do, either way, he truly did not want to be in the crossfire. Some things in life are way scarier than a monster. He embarked on his own personal journey wondering what this world has to offer. 79 The true monsters arrive " So this is the world of Primal Survival we are supposed to join. So where are the fierce monsters, that we were promised?"a young man voiced full of vitality. " All it took was a mere seconds before you lost your patience. Please just wait till everyone from our team has arrived before you decide to run off again." The young men nodded as he was instructed by his senior. " And please wear your uniform as everyone else does. Running around shirtless is not a feasible option for clothing as a representative of your Church. Or should I tell Sir Magist about your choice?" The young men donned his uniform in a matter of seconds, without a word of complaint. He did not even think about the other option as those repercussions were not something he was willing to bear. A wry smile could be seen on the face of his senior, as he seemingly came to term with the incompetence of his juniors. He could only shake his head as he was appointed as the leader for these misfits. At least his junior had appeared on time. That was something that could not be said about the rest of his team he was responsible for. A deep frown appeared on his face, that even after 5 minutes no other person has shown up. He was still grinning and bearing it, but his facade was starting to show some slight cracks and the fluctuations of the magic surrounding him were getting increasingly violent over time. But his junior was oblivious to this as he was currently preoccupied marvelling his surroundings. "Didn''t you tell your sister, that this appointment is really important." He said gritting his teeth in sheer anger. This time it was his juniors turn to his shoulders as he replied. " I told her, that this time it was very important. But she did not even listen to one word I had spoken and went back to freshen herself up again. Just as usual." The young man did not see anything wrong with that statement, as if it was only natural. The eyebrows of his captain had been twitching the whole time, but he did not notice that, as his mind had once again wandered off. The urge to murder this pair of siblings had festered in the mind and it was only thanks to his iron will, that he did not start with the junior in front of him. After gruelling 30 minutes, a beautiful young lady appeared in front of them. While her appearance may seem frail and weak. Hiding behind that pitiful appearance is a fierce tiger, ready to swallow any unsuspecting prey whole. Her doll-like appearance and her short brown hair had let to the suffering of many men. " Rejoice, your queen is here. Lower your head my dear subjects, because I have arrived." And she has a very serious case of the superiority complex. That is the reason she was sent into his team to reform and become a model servant of God. The expression on the face of the Captain had turned crimson and he was ready to commit a heinous crime. But before he got the chance to explode he received another piece of news, that sealed the deal. " So let me get this straight, one person shows up way too late, one had anxiety issues and does not even want to come in the first place and the other person has gone ahead without informing." He said these words ready to explode any second now. What followed was him screaming at his underlings and surroundings about the unfairness, that he had been given such a spot and not someone else. Why did he have to suffer from such misfits? This tantrum continued for several minutes and no person present dared to make a sound. His nickname was Captain anger issues for a reason. After Captain anger issues had calmed down, he stared at his underlings and uttered the following commands. " Do not stand around and wait for something to happen. Bring me that anxious fool to me, I will make sure to properly motivate him and do not get me started about that fool that had decided to escape from me. He better pray to his God, that I will not get hold of him." " Obnoxious Princess, just do not open your mouth while I am present otherwise I l cannot promise to do something I would regret later on. " Daydreamer, move your ass and make sure to bring anxiety boy with you. I have to discuss some small things here and there with him." He was looking forward to receiving the respect he was due, but he got to know why the term misfit was very fitting. A loud shrill voice resounded has the little hope he had left was crushed entirely. " Insolence, how dare you Peasant command your Highness. This crime is to be punished by death.Know your worth Pleb. If you kneel down and beg for your life I might forgive you. I am a magnanimous ruler after all." Captain anger issues looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. He knew she was full of herself but to that extent? By the Gods how was she not killed by some people she had offended prior to her arrival here. He would have done so in a heartbeat if given the chance. She was looking at him as if it was natural to fall on his knees and begging for her pardon. Deep down he was regretting each life choices he made that let up to this moment. He knew the ways of the Gods are mysterious and this is a test to his faith. But this was more of a punishment than a test. He looked around to ask her brother how to actually deal with her as he should know for the best. But upon looking at his surroundings, he noticed that her brother had vanished and was nowhere to be seen. It was the first time he had met his underlings and he already wished death upon them. If it continues that way he would surely head to an early grave and who could fault him for that. He was dealing with brats, who could not be reasoned with. Monsters are less of a pest, then these misfits and at least you were allowed to kill those darn monsters on the spot. You sadly could not say the same about this troublemakers. He had no choice but to resort to his ace in the hole even though he did not want to use it. " It is a shame, I wanted to present our team to my little brother Archos, but it seems like that''s impossible. I am sure he would have loved it." Those words stopped the Princess in her tracks and she proceeded to spoke with great caution. " By chance, you are not talking about THE Archos right?" " Yes, I am talking about THE Archos" he pronounced every syllable with great care to underline his relationship and the shock could be seen manifesting on her face. " This Princess will forgive your sinning because we all are Gods children on this world." Captain anger issues just wanted to shake his head. It was always the same once any person learned about his brother they all changed. He was so sick of it, why can''t you be more like your brother, look at your brother, why are you not like him? It has always been about his brother, he got all the attention from parents and family alike, he had the talent and skills to accomplish anything, his looks were enough to make countless women fall for him on first sight. He had everything, that anyone could ever wish for. But was that ever enough for him? That selfish bastard has done his utmost to please everyone he can take advantage of, but those who are of no use to him might as well be nonexistent in his eyes. Why else would deal with those misfits on his own volition?He would rather be stuck in this boring place, then being stuck in that rotten family. He left his family behind and willingly abandoned his family name for a new beginning. Not a single person had cared about his disappearance they all went their merry ways without any worry in the world about himself. Of course, peace and serenity could only last so long before his dear brother would find a way to make his life miserable again. Scouted for his talent to both wield fire and ice magic, he was taken in by the Church with open arms. Both the Fire and the Ice Church have laid out very generous terms to join them. But his dear brother showed great reluctance accepting their offers. Any outsider might have taken that hesitance as a sign of struggling to choose but behind the flowery language he had used about his struggle and unwillingness to choose was just to a tool to increase his standing. In the end, it had been all about who was willing to offer more attractive terms. Because of his "modesty", he was rewarded and was given the authority to act as one of the commanders for the Churches partaking in this mission.This privilege was nothing short of a luxury, as the troublesome work was to be carried out by the captains. While Captain Anger issues was dreading the future prospects of having to deal with his underlings, he could only envy the authority his brother wielded. Yet his brother was currently having a gigantic headache on his own. All that he was required to do, was to coordinate with the other commanders to ensure the cooperation of the youth representing the Churches. This task may appear easy on paper, but the rivalry between those Churches was certainly to be mindful of. it did not take long before the first groups came into contact with one another. This resulted in a skirmish between said groups.This in itself is a big problem, but the worst part is, that the players are suffering the most. In front of those violent magical fluctuations, they are just hopeless bystanders. This negligence was an error of judgement from the commanders. Prior instruction did not entail, any rules about general conduct and behaviour. The fact, that these youths were now freed of any control induced him with even more worry. The fierce temperament of the fire mages ready to explode for the slightest offence. Or the arrogant wind mages, that feel far superior to anyone else. Or the sadistic ice mages, He shuddered just thinking about them but he would never forget about the water mages as well, they were the worst offender in any regard. Calm and tranquillity are nothing more than a bad rumour. They are the ones to impose their will on others no matter the cost. Those mages had to be stopped before the situation escalates and becomes uncontrollable. He would already have done so if not for the fact, that he has to act with the other commanders in a joint manoeuvre. Yet, those guys ego were rivalling his own and nobody wanted to show any sign of weakness. Despite general frustration,cooperation was definitely out of reach. The minutes went by and the situation continued to worsen. Small skirmishes had turned into group battles, as those youths were enjoying their newfound freedom. The tension, that had been suppressed day after day, was finally unloading in full force. With no repercussions in sight, those youths were having the times of their lives. And the fighting was far from ending any time soon, as each youth could return to the battle in a matter of seconds after their defeats. Every onlooker suddenly knew, why the surrounding area had to be strengthened because if those people were to be let loose in the old environment, the world would have been devasted. Even after strengthening the surroundings, it could not escape the partial destruction. Any monster or player, that dared to come to close was indirectly taken care of by the debris, flying through the air. They paid no attention to such minor details, as those things were of no concern to any of them. But those players were content with just spectating. Despite being confined to not participate in any form, they were not displeased by the behaviour of those youths. Far from it, they were watching the fierce battles with admiration in their eyes. It was a demonstration of might and ability, that they could learn from. Inspired by the might of their magic, many people were awestruck as the events unfolded in front of their eyes. Their blood started to boil upon and they desired to stand in their stead some day. Full of passion, these players started to cheer as the different representatives fought for supremacy. The crowd got increasingly louder as more and more players joined in and started to cheer.The participating number of representatives had also increased as the different Churches had joined in and formed one gigantic battlefield. The lines between friend or foe have become blurry, as the myriad of spells were thrown around without any care.This mayhem caused each commander to look at it in sheer horror. Every plan they had come up with after a long discussion could be discarded. as their underlings were currently behaving like monsters. Since this matter could not be solved in a civilized manner, they saw themselves being forced to a more simplistic approach. If they enjoy fighting that much, they should not regret the chance to learn from their supervisors. A sinister expression manifested on the faces of every commander. If any of these youth had noticed this change of expression, they would have ceased any activity on the spot, but it was misfortunately they were currently too focused on the fighting. This decision was made without any talk between the different commanders. A look was enough to understand their intention and these youths were the perfect targets to get rid of some pent up stress caused by this messed up situation. The magic particles in their surroundings started to dance around violently and seemingly began to flare. Not even the spectators noticed the storm coming towards them, but the whole atmosphere lost its cheerfulness as more and more plays felt that something was horribly wrong. They could not lay their fingers on it but their instincts were nearly screaming at themselves to seek cover. Even the representatives noticed this change, but they wrongfully deduced, that this might be nothing more than their heightened senses telling them of the danger in front of them. They started to suppress those urges on the spot because such thoughts would only hinder them in the battle. Each and every one of them threw themselves into the battle once more to fulfil their desire for battle. Though this mistake would cost them greatly, as the tense atmosphere was foreboding the tragedy taking shape. Without any other warning, the youth felt a deep chill up on their spine, as a flood of fearful magic came directly at them. Despite their year-long training and their honing of their senses, they could not realize in time what exactly was coming towards them before it was already too late. In the wake of devastation, no traces of any youth could be found. They had been wiped off the face of this world. Leaving behind confused players, that could not fathom what exactly has just occurred right in front of their eyes. The passionate fighting had been replaced by an eerie silence. With no indication. whether the youth would return or the demonstration had ended abruptly, the players were left wondering what they were supposed to do. The questioning gazes were fixated at the place, where the battle had just been. The issue was not resolved until the group of plays decided approached the mass of players. It had taken 10 long minutes before the crowd was able to see these youth again, but this time their reaction had been a lot more restrained. They saw these youths walking with their heads faced downwards. Their vigour and ferocity were gone. Left was only a distressing outlook. They stopped 10 steps in front of the crowd and tried their utmost to not make any other sound. This pitiful demeanour was unexplainable to the crowd, but they knew better than to voice any question.After a short time, a small group arrived and placed themselves in front of those youths. Their clothing was vastly different in comparison to the youths. Instead of the typical uniform of the Churches consisting out of a shirt with long sleeves and trousers, they wore a golden robe. On the backside was not the icon specific to their Church branch but a golden sun with seven rays of light coming out of it. They were symbolizing the 7 main branches of magic. This small group acted entirely different than the youth. Their gazes were sharp and fierce staring straight at the players in front of them. They did not pay any concern to the youths standing behind them as they stood with their head held high. But even they did not mutter any sound. Out of a sudden, a middle-aged man dressed in a white garment walked out of the crowd of players straight to the groups. His steps were calm and steady. After a quick look at the representatives of the Churches, he nodded in satisfaction. He turned around to look at the players before beginning to speak in a composed fashion. "Strength, might, power. These terms describe what each and everyone deeply desires.But these terms can also be applied and describe our common enemy, the monsters. The pursuit of power is a perk inherit to every form of life. It should not define us, nor shall we be bound by it. Our power is a gift by The Gods not born out of our desire for strength. " He made a small break after finishing his sentence and looked around the crowd of players. His simplistic clothes and his harmless appearance did not match the level of respect he was shown. His aura and bearing were resembling a common peasant and did not fit the authority he wielded. " Our God-given power is not just any gift, it is a burden we carry. With it comes the expectation of our Gods to represent their grace. it is not our duty to fight each other without any reasoning." The heads of the perpetrators sunk even lower as they knew the enormous error they had committed. " But committing errors is part of the process in our lives. The uncountable hardships we face mould and shape us. The trust placed is due to our ability to change. Therefore go out make mistakes, experience failure, but learn and grow with them. Feel the freedom our Gods gave us." A faint trace of a smile could be seen as he spoke his words of wisdom. " But never forget, true freedom can only be achieved after every last monster has been eradicated." 80 Behind the smile The spoken words instilled the entire audience with a deep longing. It resonated with the deepest parts of their being.They did not crave power and ability, they dreamed of true freedom. The God-given task was to be done, by those striving and lusting for it. The middle-aged man had a proud expression on his face, seeing the effect caused by his speech. He could not help but nod in satisfaction. Looking around he confirmed, that he had achieved his goal and that his presence was no longer needed. s Without saying any other word he logged out with a very satisfied look. Every onlooker could only bow their head in awe for the men who gave their lives a new direction. He opened his eyes and his expression lost every warmth it previously had. The room he was currently sitting in was decorated in many colourful banner and ornaments. It did not fit the image of the calm and collect middle-aged man he had just portrayed. This flashy and excessive style was perfect for men of his calibre, as it underlined his natural prestige. That is why he had invested a lot of time into choosing his furniture and the art. His biggest pride was the enormous painting of himself right behind leather chair. Dressed in a white garment, holding the decapitated head of the Griffin he had killed by his own hands. This painting represented the achievement of a lifetime. But currently, he was unable to find any joy in looking at his carefully selected inventory. His face and body language were currently emanating a very heavy feeling of dissatisfaction.He rubbed his temples while thinking about the circumstances that lead to this event. A knock could be heard on the wooden door covered in fancy runes and depictions of Gods. The man could only sigh heavily as his full attention was required once again. Personal feelings should not be of any impact in his decisionmaking. " Come in." The man said without any change in his tone. The door opened with a slight squeak and a man donning a military Garp came in holding a stack of papers. The door was closed by his maids and the man bowed in front of him, before placing the papers in front of him. The middle-aged man did not pay any attention to the man in front of him but instead focussed on the papers and grabbed them neither too slow nor too fast.After having read through the pages in silence he resumed the conversation. " What is the progress ofour candidates for the Gods Chosen." The man replied without missing a beat with great care and respect in his voice. " Sir, our teams are currently unable to break through the defences the monsters had set up. After unearthing these strange coins, any progress came to a halt.Any advancement is prevented by the strange rules that apply to this world." " This status quo causes our team to suffer from exhaustion both physically and mentally. Morale is at an all-time low. The constant pressure is leading to more and more problems." The man concluded his statement by pointing at the relevant points of the paper. He looked at his supervisor expecting his orders. After a few seconds of silence, the middle-aged mans had decided on the necessary measures that had to be taken. The situation requires delicate handling and planning, because of the great importance attached to this mission. Failure is inexcusable. Especially since he was limited to watching from the side and had to rely on the candidates. Any form of unrest or loss of obedience could lead to disaster and would mean the end of all of their plans. Therefore he had decided to satisfy any kind of demand that these youth would propose. Even though these brats had the galls to exploit his goodwill leaving him with no other choice but to comply. He could only sigh thinking about the previous demands they had stated. Were they building their own little paradise and wantonly ignored their orders to live their lives to their fullest or that all of this luxury was needed to combat the stress those people have to endure. They had demanded the best medicine and food that the Church could muster. Adding to that they asked to have access to the Faith-net to keep up with the latest gossips and rumours. Besides their bodyguards that are tasked to keep their bodies safe, another person was also necessary to massage their sore body, at least in their eyes. The latest knowledge, be it books or scholars was also granted to them and they could access many secrets the Churches were keeping from the general public. This level of secrecy was a precedent, a one-time exception the Council had decided on to ensure the absolute silence from every person involved. While all of these demands were a bit unreasonable at times, they were still feasible, but after these greedy youths had realized their leverage, they decided to make the most out of it. Every new demand they made could not be achieved by normal means and had to be done by another party, that is just as unreasonable and unpredictable as those youths. This party or it should rather be called an entity is something that does not listen to any pleas or orders. It acts on whatever it deems necessary.The impossibility of said demands is only highlighted by trying to give that candidates access to many human babies. How should the act of letting babies appear in front of these youths be regarded as something reasonable by the entity? Every argument he came up with was flawed one way or another. By no means could he tell the strange being the intended purpose of said babies. A tool to vent their frustrations on is not an explanation that would be accepted by the entity. The only idea, that was somewhat realistic was to propose an exchange of equal value. Though the idea, that such an entity had any interest in them was laughable. It was the entity, that had a mysterious connection to this place, they were trying so desperately to explore and conquer. He could not fathom, why such an entity had approached the Church, gifting them with the design of that special helmet enabling them to appear in that strange world. It clearly had a plan or an agenda it was following, so why would it deviate from its plan just to satisfy their will. Even more confusing, was the fact, that the entity had agreed to their idea on the spot. It only asked for permission to browse the holy-tube network. This strange proposition left him and the researcher speechless. While the offer was accepted in a heartbeat, many questions arose afterwards. He could only scoff at the gullible technicians thinking that they had figured it all out. This entity could not be explained by men. Its origin can only be found in the Gods, of that he was sure. Their faith has been honoured and they have been gifted this opportunity. But despite their deep faith and trust into the Gods, they were curious as well, what this strange entity would do once it had been granted access to the Holy-tube. Though they had to make sure, that the entity could only access Holy-Tube and was barred from the rest. The solution they found was simple but effective. All that had to be done, was to modify the strange helmets that had been given out as a cover to the general populace. They simply created another copy of Holy-Tube that only could be accessed via those helmets efficiently eliminating any chance of a data leak. Yet all their precautions turned out to be for nought, as the strange entity chose to just watch many videos about the Church and culture of this world. It just showed a genuine interest in the reactions of the players. Despite its current behaviour, they were glad to have prepared those safety measures. Even if their secrets are safe and no relevant information has been divulged, it would be unwise to disregard the entity. After all, the best course of action is to gather as much information about it as possible. But for the time being, they had assumed to have a general understanding of it. This assumption did not last all too long before it was disproven. After its initial research, there had been a long period of silence and no activity. This break came to a sudden an end as its research started anew. Its next behaviour left everyone baffled and unable to muster any explanation. Once more it had started to search for the same topics it had done previously but this time it showed a strange passion for videos used to desensitize the youth. It spent an absurd amount of time just watching a reenactment of a pagan custom. After a quick viewing, each researcher could confirm, that this video was indeed very effective at erasing interest of any kind. The next discovery they made, was that this strange had adapted to their written language. This much did not surprise them, as a general intellect was already concluded after their first discussion using magic to converse their intent.What left them befuddled was the way it applied its newfound knowledge. Why it would spend so much time spewing hatred and berating under the pseudonym "Call me Daddy2" was beyond any of them. The deep-rooted hatred towards the player "Call me Daddy" was displayed in each and every comment it wrote. It did not stop at insulting and discrediting " Call me Daddy" it wanted to humiliate and shame his very existence. The outcome was strangely the exact opposite as all the attention turned "Call me Daddy" into a celebrity.Any outsider might think, that this was a publicity stunt, heck most of them would do so too if they did not have inside knowledge. The persona "Call me Daddy2" disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Although its mantle had been taken on later again it never used the pseudonym afterwards. Even more ironic were the circumstances the name was now used. Instead of ill-will the person who calls himself "Call me Daddy2" claims to be a prophet and preaches about the revelations, that his god had given to him. This person had yet to be found and even the Church could not pinpoint his or her location. But while this person remained active, the entity had stopped its activity once more. Its last inquiry was just one word that no one could decipher as of now. P A R A S I T E was the last set of letters it had written down before closing the connection on its own volition. What followed was a long period of time, without any activity from the entity. Any attempt to converse with it was utterly ignored. The only thing it did, was to listen to the requests and questions stated by the employed technician of"Primal Survival". Interference was out of the question, as the risk involved was not worth the potential outcome. That left them with no other choice but to sit out and wait for the entity to resume their conversations. A position, that was not too advantageous if the success of the total mission was depending on the relationship between both parties. As an act of goodwill, the middle-aged man decided to avoid protocol and send his magic intent to convey his intent to it directly. This art of communication is the purest way to communicate between 2 parties, as magic is unable to lie or twist the truth. He conveyed each of his demands without any filter and waited for the terms and conditions the strange entity would state. But his message remained unanswered. What he did not know, was that just at this moment. A ridiculous amount of human babies had appeared on the frontline in the strange realm. The contenders had a big smile on their face, as they saw the delivery right in front of their eyes. After receiving no reply, he chose to send his message once again hoping for a different outcome. Deep down he had a nagging feeling, that the result would still be the same. Yet he could do nothing more than repeatedly sending his message. This seemingly endless repetition caused a vexing frustration. Still, he could do nothing more than gritting his teeth and lament the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his attempts to converse. Any other option was above his area of responsibility. This cycle continued with the same result bringing the consequence. The middle-aged man was certain, that he would be standing here for all eternity if nothing changed. An idea started to fester in his mind, that would ensure a reply, but before he could do anything stupid he got the answer he had desired so deeply. Even though the words " For shizzle my dude" were not the ones he had expected. Neither was the strangely worded demand for " the good stuff made from plants". The middle-aged man was hit by a wave of confusion, as he could not fathom what exactly the entity wants from him. What did those words even mean? Did they come to an agreement and what does the good stuff from plants even refer to? Does he want to learn about the herbs and plants this world has to offer? Aside from the newfound difficulties, the middle-aged man very contended with the favourable development of the negotiation. In fact, he was overcome by a feeling of liberation, as the gigantic burden was lifted from his shoulders. Through all his effort, the mission could continue without hindrances.That''s the only thing that matters. However, he could not be at ease, before the agreement is fulfilled. So he started to think about what " the good stuff from the plants" refers to. --------------- The messenger had not taken a single step during this whole procedure and still awaited his orders. This level of discipline was expected and ensured by severe punishments. He just stared at his superior not daring to utter any sound in order to avoid disturbing his boss. Even as the minutes passed without any notable movement by his superior he still stood firm, waiting for new orders to execute. Deep down he wondered why the men in front of his eyes did not show any trace of movement. Was he testing him? A man of his position evaluates people in a different manner after all. Straightening his back and flexing his muscles, he condensed the mana around him to create a noble image. That was the best way to leave a good impression. He did not want to ruin the opportunity, that had come after serving his superior for years without any complaints. The small grin, that had appeared on the face of his boss was proof enough, that he was satisfied by his performance. It would be foolish to relax already, as the test was currently still ongoing. He vowed to stand here until the men in front of his eyes told him to do otherwise. Even if that is the last thing he would ever do. The time passed ever so slowly, but the man still stood firm and had a resolute expression on his face. He did not falter in the face of adversary. This showdown of epic proportions was far from reaching its conclusion as both sides did not back down. This staredown would go on for quite a while before the "test" would end in an unsatisfying manner, but that was of no concern to the person, who had caused this event in the first place. --------- " I have done my part. the message has been delivered according to your words. Now tell me what did you do to end up in such a situation. " spoke the Observer in its usual tone. " It is not a story the Jedi would tell you." said the boy, who caused more trouble, than he is actually worth His body was riddled with holes and blood was gushing out without end, yet he was smiling as if there was no tomorrow. The terrifying screams of the infuriated monsters were reverberating in the air, yet he did not seem to care all too much about the bloody smell in the air. " Where should I even begin? Let me start by saying, that the location of your choosing was less than stellar... 81 A sgoods idea 1 Luscious green and a blue sky were the least I had expected after my arrival.A vicious horde of monsters or a natural disaster came to mind. But peace and serenity are nice for a change. Especially since there was no threat to my life coming from them. And I was not falling to my certain doom, which was a big plus in my eyes. I deserved that much. after all of that time battling or living underground far away from every source of light. Despite not seeing any monster I still could not relax and had to prepare for the worst. I never know when the players return and try to ruin my day. My best bet was to scout my surroundings and search for any potential hideouts. Since time was not exactly working in my favour, I could not enjoy the beautiful scenery as much as I wanted to. The first problem, came after I just had taken my first step. My body was strangely suppressed and any kind of movement felt tedious. Even breathing had become a hassle and felt like a chore. At this point in time, any form of intelligent life would have reconsidered his position and acted accordingly. Though this does not apply to an abnormality like me. Which intelligent form of life can claim to have a nearly endless supply of energy at their disposal? But as time passed, the expenditure of the necessary nutrients began to cumulate aswell. During the exploration of my surroundings, I noticed several monsters, that were roaming around. I saw the wolves, I had become familiar with fighting against a gigantic bear. Fights like this took place all over the place and many ferocious roars could be heard all over the vicinity. I saw wolves, bears, deers, foxes, snakes and much more carnivores fighting viciously. These battles were not limited to the ground as even in the sky many creatures were killing each other ruthlessly. I took notice of this detail, as 2 birds had entangled each other and crashed into the ground right in front of me. This was neither the time or place to fight these monsters. Jumping over them was the best option, as long as those birds were preoccupied. Sadly, destiny had another thing planned out for me and one bird had ripped out the throat of his victim. After its victory, it noticed me running straight at towards it.Without even threatening me it started to launch itself targeting my neck. With next to no room to dodge, I managed to weave my head sideways but the creature still managed to leave a long gash at my neck. This wound bought me an opportunity. By grabbing its beak with my right hand, I could hold it in place just long enough until I sank my teeth into its exposed neck. Having dealt a serious injury, the creature started to roar in pain, but still tried to wound me with its claws. A prolonged fight was something I wanted to avoid at all cost, so I pulled it downwards by the beak until it hit the ground with a loud bang. The outcome was several bones being broken and a scream of full agony. The next step was to hold it down and launch my nails into the exposed flesh and tear through it upwards. It did not take long before the bird was deadly injured and incapable of controlling its movement. Whether it would suffer or if it had enough luck to enjoy a quick death was of no concern to me. This exchange might have only taken 3 or 4 seconds but the smell of blood, that was now lingering in the air was attracting these predators.This mutated eagle is now the least of my worries given the current circumstances. With an open wound, I will never be able to get rid of these monsters. Seems I have to bite the bullet and expand even more energy in order to close up the wound forcefully Swallowing the flesh I had ripped out from the Eagle, I began to resume my scouting session. I did not have to turn around, as I heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart. I just covered 5 meters before the corpses of these 2 birds had disappeared from this world. Running away from this place, I just hoped, that these creatures would be busy long enough until I could escape safely. I managed to cover enough distance behind me and entered a forest, full of dead trees. This area did not offer much more protection, than the previous but I had the faint hope, that this area did not have as many deadly creatures as the previous one. There were mainly small bugs covering the dead trees slowly devouring the trees until there was not even a trace of them left. Having learned from my previous oversight, I looked at the sky to see if there was any bird circling through it. After not spotting any danger lurking in the sky, I began to lower my speed to search my surroundings. My goal to seek shelter somewhere was far more likely to succeed when I am not chased by monsters. But if there is one thing I have learned, nothing in this world is truly safe. There will always be someone or something trying to kill you. This place might seem safe at first sight, but why are the Trees dead in the first place? Why have I not seen anyone other creature running through these grounds, as if they were avoiding it for whatever reason? What exactly are those bugs devouring the tree until there is nothing left of it? With so many questions left unanswered a certain level of caution was definitely needed.At that point in time, I had asked my friendly tenant about what I had to be careful about, but he just straight up ignored my question and told me not to disturb it since it was busy doing who knows what. I did not bother trying to ask any more questions. My legs were proof enough, that searching for an answer was a pest, that drained the very life out of oneself. This is still an understatement, as this devious bastard is trying to rip me off whenever the situation arises. At least I was still considerate enough to explain my methodology to it, hoping for good cooperation in the near future. Yet, all my goodwill was trampled on. Sorry for rambling about this moronic fellow, I always get so agitated talking about him. So where was I? Yes, I have talked about the strange bugs in the dead forest. As it turns out these bugs are fire resistant. It certainly was not such a good idea to set the tree on fire with my hair and watch from a safe distance. As it turns out these dead trees burned really well, almost too well, because the fire did not stop at one tree and sooner or later the entire forest was lit ablaze.Having learned my lesson from the field of flowers I had been gone the moment the spark flew over. And this decision proved to be a really wise one, as angry roar filled the entirety of the woods. I did not have to see it, to know that it out for blood. Though that was not my problem anymore, as I already left the forest by the and ran into a lake and decided to wait in it till things had cooled down. As it turns out, this was also not such a good idea, because inside of the water many monsters were currently eyeing me. These monsters were not used to seeing a prey disregarding them that much, any other creature only approached this lake with great reluctance. Yet this strange creature decided to jump in the lake and did seem unperturbed. This lake, while it was quaint from the outside, its innermost was a place of carnage. Only the strongest creatures could survive in it. The sea would have been empty if the monsters would not respawn from time to time. In this place full of violence, I was happily swimming without any worry in the world. In hindsight, my life was probably saved by my sheer ignorance, of the potential trouble under me. Any other behaviour would have let to a much different outcome. This state could only last so long before some creatures decided to test the waters. It was a very small fish who dared to approach me.This fish was not known for its battle strength, but what made it is special was its proficiency in stealthy approaching their prey. They survived by extracting the blood of their victims, without them noticing their arrival. I had not noticed a single thing as it swam towards my legs and embedded its proboscis inside one of my legs. It was unfortunate, that it chose my legs and not any other body part. Because inside of those legs was the secret, that prevented any hair from growing. These legs contained a lot of poisonous substances, that could be secreted from the pores. The first time I listened to the reasoning of that selfish moron, I wanted to cuss at it, but the more I thought about the more I could see the advantages it offered. But in this instance, I could be glad about this neat little feature is hidden inside of my legs. Mere seconds after sucking out some of my blood, the fish suddenly stopped and died on the spot. This caused a chain reaction, as dead bodies did not last very long in this hellish space. I came to this conclusion after seeing the big corpse of a shark floating at the surface. This carcass was very enticing as much more monsters were attracted. Presumably, I do not have to tell you, what exactly happened afterwards right? Even after the corpse had disappeared and the shark respawned, the damage was done and a huge epidemic was razing through this small lake. After securing myself a "safe" source of water, an idea started to fester in my mind. As you might know, Idid not ask for a secluded place without any reason. This source of water, was a big first step, in order to accomplish my plan. The fact, that this lake was contaminated by poison was something I could take care of later on. Though this place was not very suitable in general to realize my plan. Looking behind me I saw the forest still burning and angry roars were coming out of it without any pause. The idea of returning to that area did not seem very feasible for the time being. Everywhere else I looked I just saw the calm lake as far as I could see. Since waiting here was out of the question, I proceeded with a lot of caution. Ending up as fish fodder was something I wanted ti to pass up on if possible. Entering the water, I avoided actions that caused unnecessary ripples at the surface and held my head underwater in hopes of spotting these monsters. As a precaution, I had dipped my nails in my poison. Sadly, this precaution while good in theory was also not such a great idea in the end. I noticed too late, that some small creatures I had fended off with my nails attracted even bigger fish. The further I came the higher the monsters were on the food chain. As even the sharks arrived devouring the fresh corpses of 2 swordfishes, I was left baffled as a bad feeling overcame me. Not even 1 minute later I learned that these sharks were not on top of the food chain as an even bigger shark ate those pitiful sharks whole.It had an eerie resemblance to the Great White SharkI saw in front of my TV.They were attracted by the commotion I had caused. And I could only sigh as the trouble had just begun. My poison while very effective has a very big drawback k, the larger the body of the infected victim the longer it would take before the monster would succumb to it. You do not have to be very wise, to understand the problem, that arises out of that fact. As these monsters saw me, they began to swim towards me with bloodlust filling their eyes. Escape was impossible, as I could no swim as fast as a shark. Leaving me with no other choice than to fight and hope for the best. I did not have to cause a life-threatening wound but only needed to inject my nails laced with poison into their bloodstream. Looking at the gigantic bodies of those sharks, this feat was easier said than done. A hard-fought battle ensued, which I only survived by a hairs breath as the poison finally finished off these ferocious sharks. In the end, even they were no match for my unrivalled poison. ---------------------- " I am sorry to interrupt your fantastic narration, but would you please refrain embellishing your story. As much as I admire your imagination, I do not want to listen to this fabrication?" said the Observer without any hint of anger in its cold metallic voice. " What gave me away?" came the reply without a single shred of regret. " You are currently sitting on a rather big island in the middle of this lake surrounded by calves. These calves should normally be next to the lake or the forest. Furthermore, you are covered in wounds that stem from many other creatures but not maritime ones. Might I add the horde of monsters furiously trying to cross the water to reach you as an indication, that you did something more than just swimming across a lake once?" " I get it my elaborate scheme did not work on something as intelligent as you" " Or the gigantic horn fully covered in blood you are currently holding in your hands. Or the flesh you are chewing on from time to time. Munching on an eyeball is a bit suspicious if you seriously try to convince me. Besides, I am aware it had never been your aim to led me astray in the first place.Your goal is far simpler, you just wanted to know how much I knew about your actions as to know what you can or what you can''t do." continued the Observer, ignoring my previous statement in its usual voice. " Someone as simpleminded as me, would not dare to scheme against you. I only take on bets I am sure of winning." The tone of this sentence was calm and collected but the implication should not have been missed by the Observer. ........... The story differs after I killed that shitty eagle. Instead of running straight towards the lake I was caught by a wolf and fought tooth and nail with it. That son of a bitch truly refused to die, I had to decapitate to finish it off. The 2 claw marks at my abdomen were its final parting gift.Of course, that son of a bitch was not alone and brought some friends with it. These 3 wolves were a lot more troublesome, than their friend as they did not have the courtesy to run at me and put their lives on the line. But that made the look on their eyes, that much more worthwhile as I had ripped their throats out. The smell of blood permeating the air attracted more and more predators. Wolves, bears, foxes, a multitude of monsters arrived. Just like oil and water, this crowd did not mix very well and the fighting started once again. This scene was intoxicating as the dance of death was showing its beautiful countenance. All the wounds on my body were meaningless, and thoughts deemed unnecessary. There was no need for fancy movements or strategies. No magic or supernatural power was needed. Just raw and pure violence in its simplest form. My animalistic side was enjoying this carnage to its heart''s content. Strangely I did not lose myself in this bloody dream. Clear-minded, I was still capable of actively witnessing the slaughter. This sensation was truly marvellous as all my previous worries were seeming put aside. My consciousness recorded every blow and every wound, savouring this strange feeling. The taste of iron as blood dripped down my throat. The sweet taste of endorphins, that filled me after inflicting pain on others. This state of mind was truly full of wonders, but I knew that sustaining it would be my demise in the long run. The way to return was quite easy, all I had to do was lose my consciousness. Since that was out of the question since I still was surrounded by a horde of monsters. I decided on the next best option and was to talk to the perpetrator of this wonderful sensation. After negotiating with my little tenant and spilling the beans about the inner workings of democracy I was finally allowed to return to my previous state. That was what you were after right? You would not care about how the monsters appeared on this island as you know about all the details that happen to the creatures or players of this world, only my state of mind cannot be answered. That is why you agreed so easily to my request. But since the story would not be complete without a fitting ending describing how exactly I ended uphere I will still give you a quick conclusion . After waking up with my body barely functioning after this eccentric bloodbath, I decided to grab 3 corpses and ran for my life as long as those monsters were still fighting. I arrived at the lake and decided to burn the dry forest to prevent the monsters from following me. To get rid of the thick smell of blood I had to take a bath as soon as possible. I threw the corpses into the lake and was just about to jump into it before I noticed the corpses disappearing in a matter of seconds. I only managed to save a single one, but sadly even this corpse had to be sacrificed for the greater good. I laced it with poison to get rid of the monsters aiming for any living thing that dared to set a foot into the lake. I managed to clean myself at the cost of my supply. Nevertheless, some monsters still arrived at this place and ran at me to duke it out. I was able to kill them, but more and more creatures came and left more and more wounds on my already gravely injured body. Not wanting to repeat this cycle till the end of time, I had to take some risks and threw all of these corpses into the lake after lacing them with poison. My next goal was to just swim through the lake into the distance to avoid this catastrophe looming over my head. The calves you see served me well, as I could take a seat at their backs and could pass the lake without risking my wellbeing. But the poison was a lot more effective as I imagined and I could arrive at this place without any problem and these calves are still going strong. Now I can wait and recover my injuries while the endless slaughter resumes. Though I still have no clue how I should leave this island... 82 A sgoods idea 2 The Observer did not reply the moment I had finished my story. There was a brief moment of silence before it voiced its opinion. "While your story answers every question I had, I find it hard to believe you given your behaviour." "What could I even gain from lying to you? You are in charge of this world to a big degree only second to the system itself, what could I do that you can not revert?. I am far away from any players, that could force you to adapt your actions. I know next to nothing about this world, so any ambition to change this world is nothing more than a fools dream. I am having my hands full with just surviving in this place. " I said in an unperturbed fashion. As the horde of monsters continued to die in the lake getting torn to shreds by the strange fish inhabiting this sea. I pondered on what exactly had left a dubious impression. It surely knew, that my first story, was nothing more than a joke to toy with it for a bit. It should have been obvious, looking at all the things I deliberately left as clues next to me. Even if it did not pay attention to the fate of these monsters, it could easily guess that I have been lying by all the holes in my story. The strange state of mind could only be explained by this infuriating something trapped inside of me. How the hell did it even accomplish that feature, inducing my whole body in such a wonderous state? Maybe I should ask the Observer about it, as inquiring information was impossible at the moment. For whatever reason, it refused to answer to me and my questions. Did I offend it, by forcing it to put an end to the trance it had put me under? Was my act of using the poison really that untypical for me? This hypothesis seems laughable, from all the outrages deeds I have committed so far, there should be no doubt left, that I have no qualms about using anything I can get my hands on. Honour or shame was not something I cared all too much about. The decision to not continue the endless fight should also be a no-brainer as I wanted to live a little longer in this strange world.I had done so much to have my little piece of heaven, far far away from any players and I did not want to lose this benefit through one stupid decision During my whole thinking process, the Observer had yet to speak another word. Yet I had already run out reasons, that might be the cause for this miscommunication. How could I convince the Observer, that I do not want to deceive it? Doubling down on my story will not make the story any more believable. Despite my continuous thinking, I could not come up with a solution to my problem. Maybe I should just wait to what the Observer has to say before I continue this thought process.After all, it is capable of reading my thoughts, so it would know my confusion. Right after I had finished my thought the Observer voiced his thoughts. " Any outsider would believe you on the spot. You are nothing more than a victim of chance, that got dragged into this unfortunate situation. Just managing to survive by giving away valuable intel and dragging your wounded body to an island in the middle of a lake." The voice of the Observer sounded a bit different than usual as the voice appeared in my brain.There was a faint trace of disappointment in it. " Your story was just too perfect. Everything had just been orchestrated from the moment you set foot into this area. Your first bewilderment was just a tool to let your ant queen escape from your body to scout the area to adapt your strategy. Falling in a trance fighting the monsters, was nothing more than a ruse to lure me out. As if, that monster dwelling inside of you would have taken over your body just now. It would have done so much earlier if it had the qualifications to do so. That means that you let it take over your body on purpose correct?" It stopped and waited for me to confirm or deny these allegations but I did neither and only asked it to continue its deductions. " Your primary target was to come into contact with me and even If I did not reply you would not have suffered a loss. WIth the ridiculous demand you stated, you were aiming to acquire certain information from me. You had no way of knowing, whether I would actually follow through with it.My suspicion is that you wanted to learn more about the youths that had tortured you prior to your arrival. But I wonder why you went through all of that preparation, for what seems to be a low payoff." Let me get rid of the big misconception that is plaguing your mind. I could not care any less about those nutjobs. What benefit would any knowledge about them bring to me? I have never seen anyone in the whole time I have been here, so there is a big chance, that they are somewhere entirely different. Although the premise of vengeance has a certain enticement to it, I won''t act on a whim and pass up on this opportunity. That being said, let me just dispel the rest of your doubts. My target had been to get to know whether you had lied to me in the beginning or not. Nothing more and nothing less. This should not be something, that surprising to you giving all my prior statements.I could confirm, that you either lied to me or deliberately did not tell me the full truth. Whatever your intention behind doing so was, is secondary. Your authority enables you to wield the power to determine my fate at any point in time, therefore I am still of use to you, otherwise, you would have disposed of me already. With my current position in mind, I decided to set up this little act. With the knowledge, that all the things you have stated possibly being lies, I am left with no other choice, than treating each word you have said and will say with that mindset. This change should not affect the current status of our current relationship but will have an impact on its future development. "Which benefit do you expect coming from telling me all of this? There seem to be only downsides to it from my point of view." The most fitting description would be to call it a safety measure. I did not know, whether this was just a test from your side to see how I react or something entirely different.But the true reason might be that I hate false expectations. Furthermore, it is within your capabilities to read my thoughts, therefore keeping my thoughts a secret from you is just too cumbersome. All the preparations and risks involved are totally not worth it. "Why did you willingly gave away this method to temporarily escape from my monitoring?" You would surely suspect, that something was wrong if my thoughts disappear from time to time. There is not much use to keeping secrets if they cause me more trouble than they are worth.Outright telling you the method carries far fewer risks with it and should work in my favour given my position. " This goal aligns with your personality. According to your usual behaviour, you are defiantly hiding more than you let me in on. That much seems fair but proceed with caution. The future is full of uncertainties. " It left those words behind before the contact stopped, whether that last statement was a blatant threat or "heartfelt" advice is not up to speculation. Lifting my weary body, I grabbed the horn, that already had been covered in the blood of many unfortunate creatures. Slowly moving forward I approached the monsters, that tried to approach this island only to be stopped by the vicious sea life eating it. The future had never truly been in my mind, everything related to it happens haphazardly. Finding a purpose for my life has always been my goal, but strangely whatever answer I found myself left me with the same kind of empty feeling. Was it supposed to be this way, I will likely never know. After I had crossed the lake and left it with many small fishes still gnawing on my flesh, I started to attack the horde of monsters, that had shifted their focus to me. I had to move my body constantly in order to avoid being surrounded by these predators. Whether I decided to dodge the claws from the bear in front of me or stepping forward to ram the horn into its eyes, alternates and changes the future by a lot. Some roads may lead to premature death, others will lead to certain victory. I would be lying if I knew which one I had to take in order to achieve the impossible. I had decided to dodge the attack by ducking it, this choice eliminated many other options I could take but enabled me to do many other things as well. But regardless of what I would choose my path was destined to deviate more and more from all the initial choices that I could have made. The missed attack from the bear resulted in a shift of its balance. This flaw was a consequence of its actions and I could launch the horn into one of its eyes if I intended to do so. Instead, I aimed at its legs, to destroy the footing of its strengths. Piercing one of the legs it has been standing on, forced the bear to react to my offence.Yet, this small mistake it had made, will lead to its demise, as it failed to compensate for the disadvantages, that resulted out of its first attack. If it knew the outcome prior to attacking it surely would have chosen otherwise, but in the end, it had chosen wrong and died for it. Time did not stand still while I fought against the Bear and many other monsters were influenced by my acts and their choices changed based on my decisions. This was just a mere battle between a few individual beings, yet it was already a complex equation. But realistically speaking, does this complex equation truly matter? None of my actions would truly change the course of history. If I lost my life here the world who still continue without me. If a monster dies by my hand it just respawns in a few minutes. This equation is nothing but a minuscule part of this world.Insignificant and negligible in the grand scheme of time. Future? Why should I bound my worth to this concept? I will not bind myself to any useless concept, that dictates my fate. Live for the moment, fight for a better tomorrow. Why do I have to follow anything, that forces me to do something? it''s my life, it''s now or never, I ain''t gonna live forever. I just wanna live while I am alive.These words appeared in my mind and summed up exactly what I felt. There is not much I want from this life. I do not have big aspirations or big dreams or a burning desire to leave my mark on history. I want to see the world and just be.I just wanna live My life. Like Frankie said I did it my way... That truly is a good idea. 83 A sgoods idea 3 In the midst of my mind, a certain discussion was taking place between my tenant and the ant queen. Both of them had talked about the events, that had unfolded right in front of them. Though their focus lied entirely elsewhere. " What even was the outcome of the mission he gave you?" a slightly annoyed voice said. The ant queen was surprised, it was a first, that he asked her about a mission given by her reckless host. " Sir, his hypothesis had been correct. The Observer views this world through the interaction of the Magic particles.I have been discovered the moment, I touched the ground.None of the strategies he came up with, work as the magic particles are too small." " What else?" the voice did not seem to be surprised by the statement of the queen ant, it had been in his expectations. " The other objectives were a great success as well. I could confirm, that our matter is capable of binding the mana particles. This interference was done on a small scale and covered up by the actions I had used as I scouted the area. During my scouting mission, I discovered many positions of interest." the ant queen said without a change of expression. " His plan will lead to a lot of trouble"The strange voice had turned solemn, as he thought about the future complications arising out of the endeavour of his partner. Despite his worries, he could not prevent a small chuckle from escaping his lips. " But I have seen enough of his past life to know, that the Observer is in for a rude awakening if it does not respect this human. This brat is truly nefarious even by my standards." The ant queen looked surprised after hearing about this judgement. He was a creature, that had existed for countless ages and yet he viewed this human so highly, that truly baffled her. She could not get her head around the fact, that such a lowly life form, was evaluated that way. " Sir, please excuse my curiosity, but what exactly makes this human special? In my eyes, he does not offer anything besides his knowledge. " His knowledge certainly is very intriguing, but it is not the thing I have set my eyes upon. This is the very first body, I have been in that seems to deny every magic it comes into contact with. A being without mana, something this world has never seen. I am getting excited just thinking about all the possibilities." He was giggling as he spoke about all the prospects his current body has to offer. This general excitement filled the space with a strange vibe. The ant queen did not know how long it had been since she saw him react like that.Was it after the final victory against his nemesis or was it after he resisted the heavenly thunder after angering the heavens? The laughing continued loudly, without any care in the world. " It truly had been long since I felt so agitated. I had forgotten this kind of feeling, but this world has much more to offer than I had initially expected." The ant queen did not want to disturb this happy occasion but the circumstances did not allow to avoid the inevitable anymore. " Sir, please do not forget about the compensation he has demanded." The cheerful atmosphere turned into a chilling one in a matter of seconds. It was obvious, that he did not like the words the ant queen had just spoken. " That bastard, he may hide behind his fancy words and smile but on the inside, he is rotten to the core." The anger in his voice nearly became tangible and his breathing was heavy and forceful. The ant queen could understand his response, that demand was utterly humiliating for him. But he had to honour it because the consequences were way worse for both sides. " What''s wrong with his mind, to make me into his personal jukebox. As if I did not have anything better to do, than repeating sounds whenever he wants. Does it look like an entity like me, should be used like an idiotic tool? It''s absolutely irritating, this hateful wretch. This deal was made, back than her host briefly lost his consciousness after the explosion from one of his experiments. His demands were quite simple, he asked his partner to take over his body for a brief period of time, in order to fool the Observer. He brought up several options, that he would need and kept on stressing the importance of these measures. After a fierce negotiation, they agreed on the following conditions. 1 Her host had to show him memories, that caused huge emotional stimuli. 2 Should his partner refuse to hand over the control of his body, he would take it back by force. Afterwards, his partner would lose access to all memories and future knowledge. 3 He was allowed to utilize the abilities of the other party if he paid with memories of equal value. 4 This contract needed both parties to agree before becoming void. At the point the contract had been signed, the ant queen wondered why her host agreed so quickly to the terms written in it. The expression on his face should have been a foreboding sign, but she thought his panicked acts where a result of his body falling to his doom. That madman was not worried about his safety, but that his "partner" would recognize the huge blunder he was about to commit. After the treaty had been signed his expression turned unsightly and he turned around to avoid any mishaps but both of them caught wind of it and an ominous feeling overcame them. The rest was history as the mistake came back to haunt them, the moment he demanded to use his voice to play the sounds of one of his memories. The phrasing of "equal value" came back to mindThis act is some simple, that it could be done effortlessly. Yet it was the only thing he asked for. This selfish human cleary exploits this loophole and takes advantage of the fact, that this deed has next to no worth. In fact, granting it access to the memory was already considered an exchange of equal value. Asking for anything more was ruthlessly smacked down and met with contempt. This bad memory had just been suppressed by him and yet it came back with even more force. What use could he even take from repeating the sounds of these memories? Effectively nothing had changed for his partner but he was taken advantage off over and over him as long as this contract was still active. There was no hope for this contract to turn void, as his host would be truly dumb to give away his favourable position for free. Sadly, he knew, that he had not seen the end of it yet. This brat surely had a lot more schemes in his devious mind. Looking at the brat, that was currently bashing his fist into the skull of a fox, left a bad taste in his mouth.This brat was a savage with no respect for anything. Why exactly was he using the corpse of the wolf as a weapon to kill the other monsters? There are so many viable options and he chooses the most distasteful one. He got the feeling, that confining this brat into this space was a safety measure.After a vicious battle, the brat was biting into the corpses madly consuming what was in front of him. The ant queen had disappeared from his side and was now eating the carcasses as well. A lot of monsters would have to fall in order to satisfy the demand for nutrition. With the brats focus being elsewhere he had enough time to review the memories once again to find any valuable information. ----------------------- Blasting music in my head while fighting those creatures was a pleasant feeling. I felt just like Rocky as I heard the Eye of the tiger. Giving a 1-2 combination left the wolf in front of me in a daze. Finishing it with a vicious haymaker after weaving 2 of its attacks. Licking the blood from my hands was invoking a great feeling on my tongue leaving me wanting more. Looking at the spoils of victory in front of my eyes I had close to a minute to consume as much of the wolf before it disappeared again. While uncooked meat tastes horrible, I was left with no other choice because there was not enough time to cook it. After devouring as much meat as possible, I had to make a choice. This situation could not go on this way. The pressure from the magic increased by the seconds and the monsters were getting stronger as well. This is what the Observer warned me about. I guess my vacation was pretty short-lived as busy times were coming up. Solving this problem with brute force was not possible anymore. At least not with my current strength. If those players felt like fish in water, then I felt like a fish in cement facing the ever-increasing level of mana. Sadly, the monsters were not considerate enough to wait for me and began to rush forward madly. The bones began to crack and the muscles ached under this level of stress. I lost my biggest edge over these monsters, as I could hardly take advantage out of my speed anymore. It was only a matter of time before a serious injury occurred. It was unavoidable, so it came as no surprise to me as I was bitten by a wolf in my left calf. Its bite was deep, even affecting my muscle tissue. It was the first wound, I received today, that hindered my fighting. I grabbed the wolf and used him as a shield to block the upcoming attacks from these monsters. They were paying no concern about the wolf and these attacks caused some deadly injuries. The wolf did not even have time to free itself from my grasp, as my claws were deeply embedded in its flesh. With one wolf down, I looked at my surroundings to gauge my optionsCurrently they were 4 monsters lively monsters surrounding me. The meatshield in my hands was already deceased. The biggest obstacle was the bear, that was sprinting at me flashing its teeth. The other 3 creatures were monsters I have not seen till now they resembled lizards but had the body of a snake. This weird hybrid was quite fast but they did not pose any threat to me as of now. I throw my body to the side in order to escape the paws, that was coming at me full of force. I escaped the vicious blow but was bitten by 2 of small lizards instead as they coiled around my arms in order to prevent any movement from my limbs. The last one had tangled itself around my neck trying to cut off my bloodstream. This entanglement was nicely executed exploiting several weaknesses of the human anatomy. But I am not that much of a human anymore. I managed to rip free my right arm by biting through its thick skin. Some of my teeth shattered upon impact, but that was a sacrifice I had to make with my right arm free I launched my next attack at the bear, who came rushing at me again. This time I aimed for its temple with my sharp nails and landed a solid hit. The nails sunk into its head but not deep enough to cause any real damage. The bear was not too impressed by my attack and began to throw its left paw onto my body. Trying to dodge, I noticed in sheer horror, that my nails are stuck. The attack hit me straight on my chest and I was launched backwards. The nails broke with a loud sound under the force of that blow. Upon landing on the ground, I was forced to spit out blood. It truly had been a long time I received a wound like this from a blow. Even my ribcage was caved in a little. My body was still a lot weaker than I had expected.Previously It might have been enough, but as of now, I can not take hits as I used to without worry. My first action was to get rid of the lizards constricting my movement. With one swift motion, I ripped the lizard on my other arm straight off. Afterwards, I moved my arms towards the lizard on my neck and turned its head around so I could blow warm air into its mouth. This was a pure gamble, as I did not know whether the lizard would react like the snakes I know from Earth. Luckily enough it was the same and the snake let go of its restriction.Without enough to celebrate my newfound freedom I had to react once again to an attack that came towards me. I ducked under the paw aimed at my head and put the snake around its jaw before pulling downwards. This movement caused the bear''s head to come down, where I held both ends of the snake with one of my hands. The other hand was lifted and used to punch at the nails that were still embedded in its flesh. It was a tense situation, but those nails finally found their target after they entered the brain. The ending of this fight was a bit anticlimactic. I dragged the limp corpse of the bear and threw it into the ward to clear a path for me. It was the right moment to back off and recuperate my wounds. After successfully passing the lake with only one or 2 fish still being stuck on my flesh I sat down and watched in delight as these monsters ran into the water in their fury. I have to get stronger and prepare if I want to be able to kill these monsters. So let me start with the push-ups as I used to do back then. Let me see the absolute limit my body can reach. 84 Bony growth Weird sounds rang out and travelled through the air. These weird noises were a high-pitched cracking resulting out of the simple exercise I was currently conducting. Despite the harsh conditions affecting my training, It felt rather good to train once again. But something felt wrong, I could not lay my finger on it yet. I got the feeling, that I could not achieve my goals by following the path I currently treat.I could ignore the cracking noises stemming from the outside pressure but once my bones were showing signs of breaking I had to stop. Building my muscles becomes impossible if my bones cannot stand the force exerted onto them. Doing push-ups seems pointless with my arms being broken. I had to find an approach to fix this flaw, just breaking my bones seems out of question. This process would take too long and intentionally limiting my ability to flee from any kind of danger is stupid. If that is unavoidable, I should at least try to minimize the impact of my self-harm. I do not have much time to ponder on this matter, as I do not know the true extent of pressure I will have to face in the future. It is still on the rise at the moment and if I take too long to come up with a solution it might already be too late. Muscles strengthen by wear and tear, or simply said through movement. This concept does not apply to bones. But both of them go hand in hand as the stress bones face can be spread around the tissue or muscles surrounding it. The bones are designed in a way that enables them to carry the human body weight and still be flexible enough to support a diverse set of movements. This is accomplished by joints, tendons and the ligaments surrounding them. What I have to strengthen is the top layer of these bones, as they are responsible for carrying the burden. The density of these bones depends on the concentration of minerals. mainly calcium. On Earth, there was a method used by kickboxers called shin conditioning. The idea behind it was to injure the top layer of bones and cause a lot of small injuries on it. With the passage of time, these gaps were healed and the new strengthed bone was injured in the same manner again. By repeating this process the bones got stronger and stronger. The main problem with this method was, that it would take a lot of time and effort to produce good results with it. This did not concern me, as my partner in crime could speed up the healing process. The downside here was, that I did not know exactly how it would react, upon noticing the trend. I doubt, that it would do something detrimental to my fighting prowess. With my lack of knowledge of fundamental laws of this world, I have to hope for the best in this regard. Since the forces that exist on Earth do not necessarily apply to this world as well. Because magic, is not an explanation I can accept with a sane mind. There are still several points I could not confirm, that would massively impact my future development. I know for certain, that my development requires a massive amount of nutrients, but to what extent does it depend on the quality of the nutrients? Would it be helpful to consume a lot of stones because of the minerals inside of them or should I prefer monsters because of the magical parts in their flesh? But with everything in this world seemingly being a depiction by magical particles does this distinction even matter? Personally, I would say, that if I am capable of absorbing magic particles and turning it into the necessary energy then there is no notable difference.Circumstantial evidence suggests, that there is no difference between these materials at all. My ants do not care about such trivial things, they just eat what''s in front of them. The next thing to pay attention to is the supply necessary for my development. As much as I just want to start and get stronger, it is unavoidable that I have to gather the resources. For the time being, I do not have the ant army supporting me. Until they are active again I will have to prepare it on my own. A few ideas came to mind, but I should refrain on testing them out as time was of the essence here. The next concern was the equipment I had to work with. The only thing I could use to strengthen my bones were trees in my surroundings and judging by the weak frame I had no high expectations of them to last long. But for the time being, they are enough to increase the strength of my skeleton at by a margin. Solutions for this problem can still be thought off while I am busy strengthening the bones. With the path set out, I decided to start by seeking the nearest tree and throwing kicks and punches at it. I made sure to hit it with as much as force as I could muster without breaking my bones, otherwise, it would be truly pointless. To maximize the effect of the training I targeted every part of the body. For certain body parts, I was forced to resort to self-harm. There was no other chance if I wanted to strengthen my rib cage for example. These vicious attacks landed on the tree, but the tree did not show any indication of being affected by my attacks. It felt like my bones would break much sooner than the tree. Is this new durability a side effect of the new mana density?Out of sheer curiosity, I used my full strength on the tree, but even this attack with everything I got, only lead to a slightly louder noise on impact. My worry about the equipment was gone for good. While my supportive muscles are strong enough my bones are not enough to safely endure the strain that comes with fighting. This discrepancy was a ticking time bomb if I did not act on it, that is why I made sure to cover every inch of my body in this "treatment". Bashing my head into the tree over and over again was part of this procedure as well. It did not take too long before the tree looked like it came straight out of a horror movie with all the bloody imprints on it. I used the situation to my advantage and held my bloodied arm into the water in order to catch some fish. It did not take too long before multiple fishes had bitten in my flesh. With one swift motion, I had secured the nutrients I need. After this short interruption, I resumed my practice and the sound of cracking bones accompanied it Any outsider might find this noise a bit disturbing but for me, it was pure bliss. As long as I still hear this sound, I know I am doing alright, Repeatedly injuring my bones was a bit boring at first because I had to pay a lot of attention to not missing out on any body parts. I did not want to end up likeAchilles with his heel. With the passing of time, I was forced to realize, that my bones took way longer to harden than initially expected. Training my muscles was almost imminent but in this case, I do not feel any improvement even after 30 minutes of effective punches and kicks. A possible explanation might be the fact, that I had trained some parts of my body in this fashion back then. But this seems unlikely because with all the bones I have broken over time, I did not see any obvious improvementsAt most, it was so minimal that I did not even notice it. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Lucky enough, the outside pressure had stabilized and reminded me of the day, when I used the pressure of the Earth to strengthen my body over and over again. This option is out of the question for the moment, because if the outside world is already this strong I do not want to know, what kind of terror is looming under my feet. As of now, my body was just too weak on its own. I rely too much on the advantages, that my partner brought to me. If my first line of defence is breached than my body is most likely done for. My exoskeleton is made of the substance similar to chitin and can only be strengthened to a certain extent, I might want to look into alternatives sooner or later. A feasible option would be to reinforce it with other substances. I have to be prepared for the worst. If the monsters are that strong and tenacious already, then the players are walking nightmares. Even the weakest fool, would be able to take me out now. It hurts to say these words, but they would do so with ease. While I do have to prepare for the worst, there is a certain idiom that fits quite well in this situation. Good things take time to ripen. As much as I want to hurry up and make the most of my limited time, if I take shortcuts here, it will end up biting me in the ass sooner or later. I know my luck, I surely will happen. But this chain of thoughts did not deter me from punching and kicking the tree over and over again. When I took a break, I either trained the body parts I could not reach with my first method or decided to fish for some nutrients in the sea. The sky had already darkened and the night was approaching but sleeping was out of the question, as it was just not necessary anymore. The last time I slept, was then my injuries forced me to recuperate. I am just glad, that I do not feel any symptoms of insomnia, because if being on the verge of death is my requirement for good sleep than my future is anything but rosy. -------------- My not so rosy future started with the same routine I followed religiously. Slowly but surely I got accustomized to the sounds I produced through my training. Listening to music was a sure way to alleviate the boredom, that came up eventually. I did not know exactly how much time had passed as the day and night cycles were random at best. I was not too sure, whether my training brought any advantages at all, the pressure was still as heavy as before and the noise my bones produced would not be deemed healthy by anyone hearing them. At least I had become proficient in my daily routine, but that is the only perk, that came with it. With no sign of effect in sight, I decided to test the limit of my current bones to try and see exactly what I can afford to do and what not. Getting in position, I took a deep breath before throwing a barrage of punches and kicks putting all my weight behind them. The sound of bones breaking could be heard with each movement, but strangely I could still continue without my bones hindering me. I must have looked visibly confused after stopping because I heard a voice again, that I did not think I would ever hear again. " You lousy brat, you finally realized it? Your bones are not breaking, they are being shifted.You are currently taking the next step to evolving your body. Your old set of bones was not durable enough to carry all of your weight. You do not have to worry, the rest of your body stays in its rightful place. For now at least." it continued without giving me a chance to complain. " No I have not been sulking, neither have I been scheming to take revenge. I am here to tell you, to stop your current training. Your skeleton will need some time to settle in its new positioning. To make sure, that you do not do anything dumb, I decided to slip a strong sedative in your bloodstream, that should take effect right now. I prepared for the worst and closed my eyes reflexively. But against my expectation, the world did not turn black and I did not lose my consciousness, I was played like a fiddle by this fucker. I felt the anger rising inside of me, but I forced myself to calm down, as I still could exploit him to take revenge for this cruel prank. His laugh filled my head and I could basically feel his gloating tone. " Sorry, I had to. But I did not tell you a lie there. I seriously slipped something into your bloodstream. This is not a cruel prank but done as a precaution because for the next few hours you are better of being unconscious, that is for your own good. " But as the minutes passed and nothing changed, the mood turned more and more solemn and my tenant started to speak once again. " I am not going to hold a big speech now. The next few hours will be a living nightmare for you. As you might now your bones are being shifted in your body. This procedure causes every muscle and ligaments to move as well. This process is the easy part. That was the first time I heard its voice that serious. It felt like it took pity with me as it spoke those words. "The troublesome part starts with the converted mana particles embedded in your flesh. These mana particles are in an unstable condition and will cause a lot of injuries in your body once your muscles get ripped apart due to the shifting. I will not be able to help in this process, as the process demands all of my attention in order to not kill you on the spot." While I was still busy realizing the meaning of the words it just had spoken. The trouble had started already as I fell backwards not being able to move a single muscle as my whole body convulsed. " I am truly sorry." Was the last thing I heard before the start of the living nightmare 85 Living nightmare In the beginning, I still felt quite good. I could not move a single muscle and my whole body was convulsing but at least it did not feel painful only uncomfortable. Worrying about what might come later was absolutely useless, as I would know sooner or later anyway.For now, I was still calm and collected, as much as I could be given my current circumstances. I wanted to avoid drowning myself in self-pity again. I can''t change my past regrets and I should just accept them. Sounds easy in my brain, but my heart seems to be stuck on it. So just did what I always have been doing, ignoring these thoughts and seeking momentary pleasure to keep my mind busy. I know myself, I am not strong enough to do that. My thoughts did not stop the convulsions. They kept on increasing and the uncomfortable feeling turned into a painful sensation. It was not much, but my nerves still send a permanent signal to my brain. Beads of sweat began to cover my body, as the temperature of my body had risen steadily. I felt abig headache coming my way, as my body was trying its best to forcefully cooldown. This was to no avail, as my partner in crime did not stop its actions and continued to shift my bones. The sound of bones breaking filled the surroundings and my muscles began to slowly rip apart. This process was done with great care, resulting in even more pain as more and more nerves were affected. My whole body began to ache as this process happened simultaneously all over my body. Gritting my teeth I tried my best to endure this bombardment of nerve responses, but the pain was far from subsiding. I could see why being unconscious would have been the better option. But I was as far away from being unconscious as humanly possible. Despite suffering under this pain, I still thought that I would be able to persevere through this whole ordeal. Until now it had only been minor wounds, that had affected my muscles, I learned this fact the hard way, as one muscle was torn apart entirely. With it came a loud snapping sound and a new wave of pain, that assaulted my brain. This marked the first time a loud curse escaped my lips. I was in for a ride because the human body had way more than 1 muscle.This sudden realisation was followed by a storm of multilingual cursing as more and more muscles followed suit. Any sailor would have nodded upon hearing my extensive vocabulary. I did not have time to catch any breath, as the muscles began to get repaired before getting torn apart yet again. Adding the shifting bones to the mix, made me lose next to all reason. I wanted to escape this pain at all cost, but my brain kept me wide awake. At this point in time, there was just pain and nothing more. I could not tell where it was coming but my brain was overwhelmed and I reeled in sheer agony. Spasms had long appeared on my body and I did not notice them at all. A low guttural scream left my lips, that did not resemble a human being at all. I wanted to scream out all my pain, but I failed to do any noise. Instead, I felt something warm creeping up inside my throat. It made its way through my mouth and I spat out the red liquid. This blood was no sign of liberation, it was full of a strange black substance. I forced my eyes open to see, what exactly this liquid was. I did not see anything clearly, as a splitting headache was tearing through my brain. I tried as much as I could to pry open my eyes to see it, but it was impossible for me. My body refused to listen to my commands. Instead, it felt like it was breaking away from the Inside. More and more blood was leaving my body through my mouth and I felt weaker and weaker. I made up my mind, that this could not continue. Lifting my teeth I nearly bit through my tongue and forced myself back to reality. The intense pain in my brain got even worse, death had become my saviour in these times of anguish. Yet, I was not content, with giving up like this. I could not explain what has driven me but I found myself forcefully closing my mouth with my hands in order to not spill any more blood. Every part of my body was aching and I was barely able to keep my hands on my mouth. The blood around me was seething and seemed to have a mind of its own as it moved across the ground. Although it came from my body, it felt foreign. This strange substance was vividly sliding on the ground surrounding my body. I could not pay any attention to its movement, as the control of my body was slippery at best. Clinging onto dear life I forcefully swallowed the blood that wanted to escape from me. Mere seconds later I was already forced to hold my mouth shut in order to keep the blood at bay. If someone told me, that I was struggling with my blood one day, I would have declared him insane on the spot but yet here I am.This must be a fever dream or hallucination induced by a loss of too much blood. That would at least explain it. But this felt much too real for a hallucination. The blood surrounding me grew more and more agitated as it surrounded me. I felt more pressure from the blood in front of my eyes than from some magicians. It was not as surreal as the pressure I faced from the "Gods", but a lot more tangible. The black blood left the ground and flowed up my body, before suspending over it. It felt like it was contemplating on what to do. The liquid inside of my mind became even more restless as it splurged towards its freedom. I did my best to keep it inside my body because the consequences were much worse. After the blood fought valiantly for its freedom, I managed to survive this fierce struggle. Still, the blood that had loomed over my body did something, that would burn itself into my brain forever. The blood burrowed into my body, leaving many small holes all over my body. What came next, can only be referred to as the literal embodiment of hell. My body began to churn from, every muscle, every pore down to the atoms, everything was currently burning. This heat was not something I had felt before, I lacked the words to describe the beyond painful sensation. In front of this feeling, men are nought. Despite this awful sensation, I was very much alive. I wished for something else though. Muffled groans escaped my lips and I could not help but open my mouth as my arms were attacked by the blood. Contrary to its previous actions the blood did not escape out my mouth immediately but rested in it for a while. It was calm and there was no difference to any other liquid. Though I did not have much time to wonder about this strange behaviour as my body was currently being cooked from the inside. These thoughts could only distract me for mere seconds before returning me back to the grim reality. I felt like a lobster and judging by the colour of my skin I was slowly turning into one. Despite my constant pain the blood in my mouth had yet to react. After what felt like an eternity, the blood finally went out of my mouth and slowly of my body into the surroundings. The rest of the blood, that had burrowed into my body came out as well. Leaving my body behind full of holes. I was finally set free and had survived this ordeal. I wanted to kiss the ground in sheer joy, I do just that when I finally can move my muscles again. I did not bother looking after the strange substance, that left my body. Just being alive was enough for me. After spending some time lying on my back just staring at the sky. I decided to drop my act and pushed myself from the ground. At first, I was really scared of what I was going to face, but while it was painful I still could endure it.I mean I have been tortured by these maniacs at the beginning in various ways. Whats shifting bones in comparison? At first, I just wanted to make my partner in crime feel bad to get more benefits. But the strange black substance, that came out of my body gave me an eerie vibe. I have seen my insides and that stuff does not belong there. The blood loss was negligible, all I had to do is wait a bit before it was produced again. I have seen a lot of strange stuff in this world so far, but blood with a will on its own is an entirely new concept to me. What was the purpose of it returning to my body, only to cause a burning sensation inside of me? Why the hell did it feel like, the blood inside of my mouth was gauging how much I could take before it went away? I should ask my tenant for information, the next time I talk to it. But I had to admit, that it had done a really good job, my body felt much better than before. Jumping around I could perform many actions again without worrying about my body falling apart. I finally could train my body again. The rumbling of my stomach, a noise that I forgot about, suggested getting some food first. Poking a small wound on my arm, I began to fish for some fish again. I could not help but hum a little melody. it had been a long time since I could enjoy life like this. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. What I did not know, was that at that exact moment a small drop of black blood was eyeing me. it appeared to be fuming. It had been following me all the time after all of the other blood had disappeared. It waited patiently and called for the rest of the black substance to return to the scenery. It waited patiently before they would commit the next step. As a storm was brewing behind, me I still had no clue and was gobbling down the fish that were unfortunate enough to bite my arm. Even the fish began to taste good. Everything was just bliss. I repeated this process over and over again. The blood had regrouped and stared at me full of anger. I had crossed a line without my knowledge and seriously stained its honour. This was the first time in all of history, that a creature had behaved that way. It had been berated or praised, feared or thanked, but never had it been disrespected like that. No lifeform had done something so atrocious, not a single one. But this specimen in front of them did not only have the galls, to fake his suffering but to flaunt in front of their eyes. This precedent was not something, that could be tolerated. An example had to be set. They launched themselves at me at a level of speed I deemed impossible. Just at this point in time, I noticed that something was horribly wrong. I did not know, where the danger came from but I threw myself sideways just in case. I came face to face with the black substance. The substance was not seething anymore it was boiling. Somehow I got the feeling, that the substance was thoroughly enraged. There was no time to comprehend the situation, as I began to run forward to escape this sudden attack. Behind me came a current of water flying at me. It was faster than me, leaving me with no other choice, than to zig-zag in order to throw it off. The black liquid was having none of it, as it accelerated once again, it followed me every step vigorously.I noticed just how serious the situation was, as the ant queen escaped out of my body and ran into the direct opposite direction of me. Left with no other choice I threw myself into the lake and began to dive, hoping for a miracle. But lady luck was smiling at someone today once again. I had a premonition, that this time it was not going to end so well for me. The black blood streamed flocked towards me, before crashing into my body and embedding themselves all over my body.I doubt, that it had good intentions. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move back to the shore, while my body began to heat up once again. But if it was comparable to a sauna just before, then now I really felt like a lobster in boiling water. Just how " good " these intentions were, was something I was about to learn the hard way. 86 Bad blood The black substance was livid, this creature did not only disrespect its authority, it still ran away from its punishment afterwards. It got even more livid, as it was unable to catch this filthy creature even after multiple tries. The severity of the punishment was increasing by the seconds. To ensure, that this deed does not go unpunished, it decided to throw caution in the wind and accelerate even more. It was willing to bear the risk, that came with it. Yet the creature was still able to escape its grasp by moving in an irrational fashion. The whole manner, this creature behaved was highly irregular and the cause of a lot of frustration. It could not fathom how this being acts nor could it understand why it would refuse the blessing so vehemently. This blatant refusal was a slap in the face. Not even the strongest creatures to have ever lived had the audacity to do something like this. So who does it think it is to actually do something like that? The more it thought about it, the more it descended into utter fury. It would not show any pity, even if that creature begged for it. It deserved to suffer for all of eternity. Though it wanted to, it could not lose itself in the rage. The repercussions were just not worth it. Instead of killing this blasphemer, it decided to only cripple him and leave him unable to have any offspring, that was just barely enough to appease its bottomless anger. As much as it wanted to indulge itself, it needed to capture this obnoxious specimen first. As its patience was nearly at its limit, the creature finally had an error in its judgement. It jumped into the water foolishly thinking it would be enough to stop an entity of its calibre. Once the opportunity was there it ignored all of its constraints and madly rushed into its body. The water did not pose any difficulty and the time for payback had finally arrived. This time it would not stop and limit its powers. It wanted to see it squirm and suffer in sheer agony, but this process should not be done in an instant. With great care and control, it slowly raised its potent powers. This was not only about due punishment, but it was also about stating an example. Right now, the creature had dropped its act and was forced to show its true colours. When it would it start to beg for mercy and scream in agony? It could not wait to find out. Right now it was able to endure the cleansing anormal newborn had to face and not one sound had left its mouth. It was not surprised about this fact, it would have been surprised if not. If it had the guts to try and defy it, it better should have the same level of ability. What was that creature currently doing? It could not believe its senses. The mad creature was hunting small fishes without a care in the world. Was it trying to provoke or did it not care about the upcoming punishment in the slightest? The more it thought about its irrational behaviour the less he understood about it. Its methodology was crude and unrefined, it just swam towards its prey and devoured them whole. The expression was neither worried nor happy, it looked a bit bored. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Even after the potency had reached the level of a normal adult, no sign of change was in sight. All that creature was doing is to eat small fish he caught previously. It even swam to the island again only to cross its arms behind his head. After closing its eyes it was trying to fall asleep.t The black liquid was now even more confused than angry. Its mind was clouded in doubts about the event unfolding in front of it. This creature might just not know any better that would explain all of its disrespectful acts. After taking a good look at this creature it noticed certain abnormalities. The magic particles did not interact with it at all. Something like that was really uncommon, the last time It had seen this state, the world had not been altered. But why would the cleansing occur, if that was actually the case? The cleansing, was a procedure every being undergoes once the vessel had reached a solid foundation. Mana develops with the being. The path for most beings is predetermined and is a formality. This concept does not apply to the races Chosen by the Gods. It was its job to handle all the matters of the beings who did not qualify for the special treatment. So why exactly did it manifest here? This strange being was not one chosen by the Gods, nor was it qualified for a cleansing. A state of unity, between mana and body, is the basic necessity for a cleansing to take place. And this pitiful being, had next to no mana in its body. It might never amass enough mana in its lifetime. It was lamentable, that some creatures could not escape their ill-fated destiny given to them at their birth. Its visceral hatred had been replaced by a feeling of compassion with its circumstances. This poor wretch was most likely the result of a union of beast and men. This sacrilege forced its parents to abandon it at birth, leaving it to die. It only survived thanks to its beastly instincts. It must have struggled to survive day after day without knowing anything about this world. All on its own, without anyone''s help. Yet this creature grew along with all of its hardships and became the being right in front of it. The cleansing had nearly been forgotten by it, but once the procedure had been started it could only be stopped upon reaching its conclusion or if the body if the life of the bearer is under immense danger. The reason why the first process got cancelled was exactly for that reason, as the acting had directly impacted its judgement. Its hand were tied until the creature fulfilled enough criteria, that would allow the process to stop. Cleansing with this low level of mana is just cruel torture. Its fire would not nurture the flesh but irreparably change it. It was destroying its future by persisting for so long. Not only would it be unable to wield mana at all. Even his offspring will not be capable of using magic. If it continues like that, then no one can tell what might come out of it. But the longer it was forced to watch, the more obscurities did it encounter. This creature body was formed in a manner, that should not be possible. The skeleton did not resemble men or beast alike. It was a mixture of countless lifeforms, that formed this human body. Strangely it functioned just like a normal human skeleton. Its blood was of human nature, but also highly corrosive at the same time. There were many irregularities in its bodies, that unified concepts that should not be able to come together. Yet, as it tried to scout its brain, it failed to visualize it and scan it. Not thinking much about it, it tried again, but the result did not change. Even after numerous tries its trusted process had thoroughly failed. The magic it had sent out, was unresponsive after it approached the brain. It had lost the connection to its own magic. This insight left it baffled, it had been witness to many things it deemed impossible. But as of now, it had witnessed something, that should never be possible. It was at loss for words, scared about what it encountered here. This entire entity was a mystery, which entire existence did not make any sense. Where lied its origin? What caused it to arrive in front of this creature? After it was about to give up, it noticed that there was a small spot where a faint trace of magic activity could be located.Without any hesitation, it sent another strand of its magic towards it. After receiving yet another reply, its interest was quipped. It transferred its consciousness towards this place, to feel what exactly was happening there. This space accepted it without any sort of repulsion.This decision had sealed its demise, as it walked right towards certain doom. Shortly after its arrival, it noticed that something was horribly wrong. After sensing what it was currently facing it suddenly understood nearly everything. It did not consider this possibility, as a being of its calibre should not be in fabricated realm this lowly. No exchange of mana was necessary, to understand how this was going to end. Bracing itself it was prepared for what was about to come.But nothing came. This black substance could not understand why its nemesis had not done a single thing, while it had waited. Was he planning to torture it to relieve his urges? " It is necessary to prolong this?", it was calm and composed even when facing its death. " Always so uptight. Paragon of justice, I get it. But if I really wanted to end your life, I would have done so by now."my partner in crime spoke in its usual annoyed tone. " What is your goal, fiend?" the black substance transmitted this message full of fury and anger. It could be killed but humiliating it was not something it would take. " And that brat calls me unreasonable" It murmured to itself before it continued speaking loudly. "My goal has not changed in all of these years. I still want to surpass magic." The substance was even more livid after hearing that reply. " Lies, nothing but lies. You spew nothing more than falsehoods." My tenant could only sigh after hearing its reaction. It did not want to but it would owe his partner another favour. -------------------------- Meanwhile, I had been busy, filling my body with water to counter the flames, that threatened to cook me from the inside. I was catching fish, to gather more nutrients that might be necessary for repairing the mess, that was affecting my body. Afterwards, I had closed my eyes, just waiting till the storm would eventually pass over and I could continue to train my body. It was then I once again heard the voice of my partner in crime. "How would you coerce a person of deep faith to do your bidding?" What an oddly specific question, to start a conversation. Since I have no particular interest in this matter, I will answer without extorting you first. This process normally takes a lot of time, where you slowly convince your target to do your bidding. True loyalty will not be achieved overnight. The methods you can use depend on your objective. Do you want information? Do you want to give orders? Do you want to deliver a message? There are many suitable methods for different objectives. The simplest yet most effective strategy is to take advantage out of the things, that a person holds dearest. Threatening to harm the family is an excellent way to force information out of a person. You have to use many adjectives and images, that the person can easily imagine. You want to let their minds go wild just imagining the consequences, what would happen if they keep their mouth shut. Always remember that each person has a breaking point. Whether you have to inflict bodily harm on it or destroy their mind depends on the person itself. If this kind of methodology is not applicable, there are still several ways you can get to the information you desire. You might use his deep faith against him, by guiding the conversation in a way, that leads him to give away the information just to defend his or her belief.Doubting or questioning the belief is a good way, to accomplish exactly that. You also could just talk to it, until the guard is lowered and sensitive information slips out. Or give away some fake secrets and act in a reasonable way, that would explain this act of treason. Then just plead for the necessary information. You could even propose to work as a spy just to solidify your motivation. The simplest way would be to create a common enemy, that would force you both to cooperate. You would be surprised how effective such a thing really is. Do you still need more strategies? " You humans are pretty vile and treacherous creatures." the voice it used sounded shocked, but even a bit inspired. You only noticed that now? I did not get any reply, as my tenant was seemingly nowhere to be found again. A thank you would not have caused any harm. I pitied the one who would be on the receiving end. Though for once I was glad, to not be the one suffering under it. Enjoying the peace and serenity with my eyes closed, the war inside of my mind was about to begin But that was of no concern to me.All I cared about was taking a dive from time to time to fill my body with water once again. At the moment, that is all I wanted to do. 87 Baptized by fire 1 With the eyes closed, I thought it would be possible to just relax and wait till everything had been settled in my body. But the battlefield, that was the inside of my body did not get that memo. Whoever had decided to roast me, has absolutely no taste whatsoever. Who does not know, that human flesh is a pure waste in comparison to good meat? It is called roasted pig not roasted human. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. The time frames, in which I was forced to dive into the lake again kept on decreasing. The fire inside of me refused to go out, even after so much water had been absorbed. Since this method did not work, I decided to see for myself exactly where the problem was. Opening my body was easier said than done, but I planned on using the holes that already plastered my entire body to make it easier. Contrary to my expectation my body was beyond weak and had lost its general durability. It felt like I had returned to the weak and frail body I started with. This development caught me by surprise as I felt exceptionally well with my current body. It did not feel like a general breeze could rip me apart. After I had a clear view of my upper body I was left with a general feeling of confusion. The warmth I felt in my body was indeed caused by a flame, that was currently burning brightly inside of me. But the flame was somehow powered by the water I had brought into my body. My insides already had changed in colour and had turned into colour, that did not look too healthy. Lungs, that looked like charcoal were less than ideal. What put me off, how well I felt despite the obvious chaos going on in my body.I am quite literally getting burned from the inside out, the bit of warmth I feel is nothing compared to what I should be feeling. Upon closer inspection, I noticed, that the flame was targeting my entire body, but certain spots were unaffected by its might. These part of skin were not black but had retained their previous fleshy colouring. This must be the matter, that came with me from Earth or at least part of it. Otherwise, I would not have been called an enigma for just existing.If it is not affected by the general magic here, why exactly is the skin surrounding it also damaged? Should any change not destroy this balance? If nothing changes, then exactly 2 conclusions are possible. Either the compound is a lot more stable than previously thought off or the matters are an entirely separated existence.It was annoying, that every knowledge I previously acquired was obsolete, after being lied to. I might as well, just be a creation by the Observer, with only my mind being implemented into this strange body. So many possibilities yet so few answers. I should not focus on this point, at the moment I waste precious time going around in circles. Back to the topic, how can I extinguish this fire? I doubt, that my life is in danger per se, but it does not feel like my partner in crime has everything under its control. The questions he asked me were not very reassuring in that regard. If it was not pressured, it would have likely tried to gain more information from me. That is why I have given the answer without stating any demand. The fires purpose was likely to purify the magic inside of my body and temper the flash at the same time. Or it was used for some other gain. Whatever the intent behind it is, I did not doubt, that it was supposed to be harmful. Such an aggressive method perfectly suits its character. Yet it requires a lot of fine control in order to accomplish the best results. This was the major downside to such a strategy. Given the current circumstances, it would be unwise to risk permanent injuries to accomplish the best result. Defusing the situation was the best course of action, even at the cost of lowering the potential gain.Which benefits are of any use, if I am dead? But the options he currently had were indeed quite limited. He could either try his best to gain control of this situation or solving the troublesome matter, that affected my partner. The decision did not take too long, as the latter was somewhat of a last resort. My previous try did not work the way I had intended and made the matter even worse.If water can not be used in this way I should just cut off its supply. If a normal fire needs air, then this fire might need magic particles to constantly fuel itself. Whether Earth or this strange world, the principles were one and the same. The potential energy a matter had, was a finite resource. If the energy of a matter runs its course, then it needs to replenish itself by getting its energy elsewhere. A fire needs many things to sustain its potency, the same goes for magic. So how should I approach this matter? I am unable to handle magic directly, as my aptitude is beyond bad. Could I guide the fire outside by exploiting its inherent nature? That might just work, but that can only be accomplished if my body has no combustible material left. This option is just not suitable, as everything was beyond repair by then. What about cutting off the fire, from its surroundings? This way I could limit the damage it causes, by confining the fire to a small place.I also could use the slime inside of my body to strengthen the properties of the substances in question. I had a bad feeling, after thinking about the slime inside of my body. The slime might have caused the situation to worsen even more. I took a look at the flames affecting my legs, only to be proven right. The flames in my legs were a lot dimmer and did not cause as much damage. It was not getting any easier, to find a good solution by having so many factors influencing the flames. I had to consider, what influence my choices had. What ramifications come with each decision? Clicking my teeth in annoyance, I thought about everything I know in the context of fire. The crux of the problem, could not be solved by any normal methods. If I am not able to solve this matter, I can only buy as much time as possible. Looking at the lake in front of me a crazy idea popped up in my mind. What if I do not cut off the supply but instead give it as much supply as possible. It can not burn my body if it is surrounded by water. Even if it is fueled by the water, the water might act as a temporary shield. If I can keep this delicate balance, I might be able to buy enough time.I tore my skin as apart as much as possible to spread out the surface of my skin. This sight was not for the faint of heart, but this way I could assure to limit the damage as much as possible while surrounding the fire with as much water as possible. I wanted to the same to my muscles and tissue but I hesitated at the last second. They were the last line of defence in front of many areas, that had not been affected yet. Here I was diving in a lake full of monsters, with my skin floating right beside me.The only area, that was not affected was my brain. Therefore there was no need to cut off that my facial skin. Though the sight of a human skeleton, without the skin attached was eerie enough on its own. Now all that was left to do was wait and see how the spectacle unfolds. -------- Currently in the midsts of my head... " By the Gods exactly what is he doing?" exclaimed the black substance as it could not believe what this brat had just done. " As crazy as always. He is a treat to watch." said a man in his 20. He looked just like a supermodel from Earth. " So he is the reason, you have changed that much," said the black substance clearly still irritated by the absurd action, taking place right in front of it. The man did not feel insulted by this statement. He had to admit, that his perspective had shifted a lot after getting to know this irritating human. " Good or evil, those are just 2 labels we use to describe things. But have you once considered why our definitions differ that much? Why it is so hard to find common ground?" " Don''t try to sway me with your words. We both know, million years of history lead to this. So your words are just useless, a waste of time". The black liquid wondered why exactly it uttered such words. " Exactly, you and I share the same opinion. So why would I waste your and my time by making such statements?"The men smiled upon saying these words. He managed to guide the conversation as he wanted to. It was easy to catch its interest by saying he was confined to this body.Shifting the focus to the brat was done in order to accomplish his plan. "This person in front of you is different from us. For reasons even I fail to truly comprehend he does not bind himself to these concepts. He is hellbent on taking his own path. He has no respect for deities or devils alike." " You tell me, you put so much trust into this madmen? He just cut open his entire body. And you still put that much trust into him? You are even more insane than him." The black substance was unable to grasp why a fiend, would lower itself to such a low level. It would rather prefer death in this situation. The men did not answer but sent a strand of magic towards the black liquid. " Before you speak any further, take a look at this." The black substance was quiet for a long time after receiving that strand of mana. " I do not have to tell you, what implications come with that knowledge, right?" The men received no reply but still continued to speak without any hesitation. " The exact reason I place so much trust in this boy lies in this single memory fragment I have sent you. His origin is pivotal and I am afraid that the times are changing. The borders have become unstable." After contemplating for a long period of time the black liquid finally spoke. " If what you speak is true, it is much bigger than you and me. What is your aim?" " It is simple I want to close the hole, that this boy came through. A war of that scale is not something I want either." " You still have some hidden motives, but who am I to care about that. You and I can only work with him in order to accomplish something like this" The man nodded upon hearing the result he had aimed for. The form he had chosen, was part of the memories he had traded his knowledge for and he took a liking to it. While the human body may be frail it surely can be pleasing to the eye. He had to give away many of his secrets in order to get that liquid on board with its plan. But his goal of surpassing magic had not stopped. It was just the fact, that this boy came to this world that something out of his realm of control had occurred. " But I know one thing for certain, this occurrence is not manmade. This is not a conspiracy." "Why are you so sure about that?" " Quite simply, if it is was manmade they would not have chosen this world. They would have been insane if they did this voluntary. " A loud chuckle filled the room leaving behind a confused black substance. " Let us continue to watch how he will deal with the cleansing process." 88 Baptized by fire 2 In the depths of an unnamed lake, in an undisclosed location was an unprecedented event unfolding. Sounds a lot better in my mind if I phrase it like that. But the grim reality? An apt description would simply be boring. In the midst of nowhere, inside of shallow water was a young cretin, who had a very dumb idea. The truth always is underwhelming. I thought I could reach a balance between the water and the fire by limiting the area, that is exposed to the flames. Instead, it spread with my skin and now I had a smaller fire on every inch of my skin. My exposed organs and muscles were freely accessible to monsters and who would say no to such an offer. It did not take long before every inch of my body was covered by the bloodthirsty leeches. Normally it was to get rid of these little pests, but as of now, I was the main attraction for the entire lake. I had to escape many vicious creatures left and right and had to avoid even the smallest attack. With a frail body like mine, everything is a threat to my life. Despite the flamings still blazing fiercely, I was more worried about being sucked dry. These little critters did not give a single fuck about the flames surrounding me. Why could I not have skin like those bugs, I would not have to worry, about flames eroding me from the inside. My skin was just uselessly floating right beside me, reminding me of the absurd stunt I had just pulled. I did not have much time to waste on regretting my decisions, as I had to come up with a plan to save this mess of a situation. Otherwise, I would either get sucked dry by leeches or die due to organ failure. What nice prospects for my future. Seems like there is no other way, then going for the insane route once again. When will I ever look like a normal human again? Sighing I prepared for the one idea, that was beyond twisted and rotten to the core. I grabbed a single leech and held it in front of a small patch of flame. I had let it go and could confirm, that it was able to swim through the flame without a problem. To start off my insane plan, I grabbed my detached layer of skin and folded it in half. As of now only the inside of it had been burned, but my exoskeleton only lost its hardness. By reversing these 2 layers and stacking them on top of each other. I could confine the flames into a very small space. It was fixated by the sharp hair of my arms. Next, I covered my hand in slime and put it on the leeches sucking my blood. I had to put some critters aside for a moment to be able to reach my slime. The small fire on my hand could be ignored. The amount of slime it was able to absorb was negligible. After a lot of hard work, I was finally able to cover every single leech. The reasoning behind this act was quite simple. The slime can be used as a conjunction between 2 substances, efficiently binding them together. It did not take long before, the water bonded with the leechers. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. All of the preparations were set, I only needed to get rid of the fire that affected my muscles and organs. This seemed impossible to solve, as this flame could burn forever by drawing magic from the outside. It could not be pushed away by using the water close to it. But I had several options to stop this fire in its tracks. The first was to quite literally fight fire with fire. I would use the fire on top of my head to cut the fire off from the water and wait till it burns out. But this option would likely just replace one fire with another. And If my own fire is just being kept in check by my hair growing incredibly fast, then I do not know whether this truly is a good idea. I had a sudden realisation. I had been truly lucky, that this fire inside of me is not a grease fire otherwise my act of jumping into the water would not have ended all too well. But could I not apply the tactics used to extinguish such a fire? If I cover myself in sand, will the fire not have any space anymore and be cut off from its surroundings? No, everything in here is something made out of magic particles, so it can draw the energy from everywhere. I wonder why the leeches are not affected by the fire? Does the fire only work on me and only draws the energy once it is needed from the outside? That would be absurd, everything in this world is made and shaped by the Observer so why would it not be influenced by other substances. Am I missing something? Scratching my head I thought about this matter wondering exactly how this could be possible. After all, if that fact stood true it would open a new can of worms and I already had way too much on my mind. " What the fuck", It had been a long time since I spoke, but these words automatically left my tongue upon noticing that the fire on my hand had merged with the fire on top of my head. The blue fire on my head had absorbed the flame of the hand I used to scratch my hand. Every logic I knew went straight out of the window. I have no clue what the hell just happened, I doubt I will have any idea soon how this could happen. Visibly confused I just was caught in a daze unsure on how to proceed. Normally I should have been happy, that I found a solution at last. But right now I wanted nothing more than to puke. Once again,I had been saved by dumb luck. It was just a sheer coincidence, that directed me in the right direction. Once again I have proven how incompetent I truly am. Downtrodden by my failure, I repeated the exact process with my left hand to see what actually happens. I could not see anything at all, but the flame on my hand was gone the minute it left my hair. Having even that reason taken from me did not help in defusing the situation and doubts began to rise up inside of me. After my thoughts had been poisoned and my mind became clouded, I found myself unable to act. I was stuck in a seemingly endless loop of self-doubt and insecurity. A loud slap to my face woke me up from my stupor. This moment of clarity came after I purposefully hit myself in the face. Panicking was just a waste of my precious time. Back to the topic while I could not confirm exactly how the flame on my head is able to attract and confine these flames, I could confirm that this process can be repeated. It was easy to get rid of most of the flames on my body just by holding the affected area into the flame. But my organs were set in a place, that could not be accessed by my flaming hair.The logical conclusion was to cut off strands of my burning hair in order to attract the flame. Strangely this approach did not show any effect and I was left wondering again. It did not take long before I found an amicable solution. The skin I had freed from the tyranny of the flames, was lit ablaze once again after coming into contact with the flames inside of my body. After testing this process several times I came to the conclusion, that the flames inside of my body had lost some of their intensity. So I had to set my arms ablaze before transporting the new flames back to my hair. I lost count exactly how often I repeated that process, but I did not have the luxury to waste my time. After ¨¦very flame had been extinguished or was not visible to the naked eye anymore. I was finally able to let our one heavy breath. This big hurdle had been passed, but it was far from being over. The career as a future mummy was looking more and more promising as my mind became more and more lightheaded. But my gamble was paying off, I had confirmed that they are quite similar to the ones we have one Earth. They are just as greedy as the ones on Earth and if they draw too much blood they will spit the unnecessary blood away. Now it was time for my next step. After confirming that my entire body was covered in leeches I grabbed my skin and slowly pulled my nearly detached skin over my entire body to return it to its former glory. It took some time in order to accomplish this, as I had to actively avoid the monsters while doing so I stretched my new skin and placed it all over my entire exposed body. I had to use my hairs to fixate it at certain points on my body. A lot of pressure had to be applied at times to stretch my skin to the length in needed to have. The result was less than ideal, while I might have covered with my makeshift skin, it truly looked bad. If I was hideous at the start, now my former self looked like a goddamn supermodel in comparison to my current self. My whole skin looked like it had died and was as black as the night. Everything looked like I was deceased and died a horrific death. Only my face was still as white as a babies skin. The sharp nails keeping my body together, made for the final touch to make me the next villain in a horror movie. I was pretty sure, that Pinhead would be deeply envious upon seeing my current look. The flames inside of me would slowly die, after all, they can not burn through my exoskeleton, as they only extracted the magic particles from it. My exoskeleton was made out of something entirely else after all. I was dead tired, after spending so much time thinking about possible solutions and having to be so focused all the time. Seems like I sustained some serious injuries this time, otherwise, my mind would not threaten to collapse. Carrying my half-dead to the shore of the island. I looked at the sky and wondered exactly what the future might bring. But upon remembering my suicidal tendencies caused by my own stupidity, I stopped as soon as I started. These little critters had sucked too much blood away from me, causing me to be this lightheaded.Closing my eyes it was time for me to recuperate for real this time. My plan had been accomplished but I was not sure whether it was truly right to do so. By binding water with the leeches, I had the perfect shield, because any impact would be spread on this new layer. Integrating this formation in my body was the main aim after receiving so much damage to the flames inside of me. It was a tough call, whether I should wait for help from my partner to solve this matter or do it myself. The coincidence with my hair, lead me to believe, that I was capable of freeing my body on my own. While I do not have any ideas as of now, what might have been the cause for this change to occur, I think surviving this ordeal was stressful enough on its own. And I have yet to know, what changes occurred in my body as of now everything is a mystery. There was only one tiny problem left. My letters carved into my forehead had begun to shine again and that can not be good. Well, that trouble can be solved by tomorrows me.I finally fell asleep, after a long period of being awake. A lot of things would have changed after I woke up. 89 He who sleeps still sins. The ant queen returned to her host with great reluctance, suppressing her desire to cause him harm. She knew just how dangerous these flames were for anyone who dared to interfere in this process. Cleansing or the baptize by heaven was something ever lifeform had to undergo. Though the process could differ in its form from being to being. Some might be cleansed by water, fire, wind, earth or even light and darkness. there were some special cases but those were rarely seen and always depended on the circumstances. She really had thought, that her host would never be able to attract something like this. as his affinity and talent were absolutely non-existent. But once again this lunatic found a way to accomplish exactly that. She was not even surprised anymore. Even finding the corpse of her host left her unfazed. Only he can find a way to end up on the verge of death from a cleansing. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Despite looking like a dead man walking, she did not particularly care how exactly his appearance was. Undoubtedly he would change sooner or later. it was just a matter of time before something like this would occur. Given his nature, it was bound to happen again somewhere in the future. The current decline in his body was natural and no cause of concern. Healing the body was not out of question, but the resources needed were quite abnormal. The pressing issue was to collect that many resources. While her host had been training, she scouted the area and noticed all the changes that had affected this world. The ground had hardened making the normal ants unable to penetrate it, causing it to be inaccessible. With the wave of stronger monsters, it became a lot harder to hunt and kill them. The efficiency had sunk in general, Instead, she found another option, that was easily accessible. It was water, that could be found in great quantities. It did not pose a threat to the ants, nor was its surface impenetrable. The biggest downside was the lifeforms living in it. Only a portion could be gained without risking a confrontation. Every loss would mean, that even more energy was needed to produce new ants again. This activity had to be carefully planned out. She was not as foolish as a certain person. Her line of thinking revolved around minimizing the risks. Her role was just supportive and enabling her host again was her biggest directive. There was not much of choice from her side, as she did what had to be done. And the corpse-lookalike clearly was not able to decide for himself at the moment. The number of ants, that she currently commended was not nearly enough to cover everything she wanted to achieve. Such an army had to be balanced and structured. It should be versatile enough to be able to cover all the objectives that might arise. Looking at her surroundings, the ant queen noticed that her current location was full of risks and did not offer a lot of protection. The only thing keeping his body safe was the delicate balance in the sea. If only one monster passed this impasse, then the future looks troublesome. Because if it happens once it can happen again. The only option is to keep this situation in check and intervene the moment a monster comes to close to the shore. This activity binds a lot of her forces to this place and restricts the potential options even more. Not only would the ant queen have to stay here as well, but all the resources would also have to be transported to this location again. Relocating his body was impossible, as she lacked the personnel to move him safely from this location. The flying ants were not capable of carrying such weights, the warrior ants could not swim and fight while keeping her host safe, the builder ants were unqualified in general. Once this whole ordeal was over she would demand a lot of compensation for this ludicrous task. She had a lot in mind, she would ask for a new type of ant design and new weapons, new strategies.Demanding her host to stay safe and not to commit to such suicidal acts was asking for the impossible. For the time being it was necessary to collect as much energy as possible in order to produce enough ants. The health of her host could be preserved with a minimal amount. She tasked her builder ants with collecting the lake water and delivering it to her. The chain of supply was a basic necessity to nourish the next generation of ants. The warrior ants kept guard at the shore, while the flying ants scouted the area. With all of the basics covered she focussed on producing eggs for the time being. She just wondered how long it would take for her host to wake up again. But not even she could have guessed that long would mean this long. ------------------------- Many nights passed and many days had come. The ant queen occupied more and more resourcesSuccessfully dictating the fate of the Lake and beyond. Many monsters still struggled and fought desperately but in the end, they had to lay down their lives to the horde of ants. Many lives have been lost and much blood has been split for the greater good. Not once had she been able to stop the production of her eggs, as more and more ants were needed. But after receiving more and more resources, most of them were given straight to her host. Her host was an endless abyss who absorbed those nutrients as if there was no tomorrow. Despite all the care, that he had received no visible change had occurred. He neither woke up nor did his skin return to its previous colour. The only thing discerning him from the dead was the rhythmic breathing motion of his chest. She had never suspected his injuries to be this grave. Not even during the merging process did it take that much time for him to wake up. Regardless of the situation, he was still breathing soundly. That was the only sign of him being still alive. Yet she could do nothing more than deliver more and more nutrients into his body. Trying to stimulate his body from the outside had proven to be fruitless, neither pain nor poison showed any effect. Throwing his carcass in front of a live monster was dismissed. Throwing water on his face also did not work either. But the one thing that worked was placing a monster inside of his mouth. It did not wake him up, but at least he began to chew. On further inspection, everything placed inside was ground to dust by the sharp teeth. The loud noises produced by his consumption did affect his sound sleeping. The queen was slowly running out of options to probe her host. She could try and throw his body under water, but too many ants were needed to move his body. His weight had even more increased after the cleansing for whatever reason. Moving this mountain was akin to committing suicide. It could and should only be done by himself. But as even more time passed and even more resources were spent on her host she decided to consult her mentor for a possible solution. She would have done so earlier, but keeping guard had been her top priority. But upon arriving at the physical place of her mentor she saw 3 people arguing back and worth. Her mentor and her Host and another person she did not recognize were currently busy throwing around insults. At first, she was curious about what they were discussing. But looking at her host, she saw a smug grin upon noticing her arrival.She pondered briefly why her host, would react in that manner upon seeing her. After looking back at all of her acts, she realized, that she had been making a fool of by this maniac. It was the very first time, the ant queen felt a deep resentment. " You suicidal lunatic, how dare you?" Her anger reverberated in this small space, but the 3 men were not surprised by her appearance. They continued to argue without paying any attention to her. " HEY. YOU, LUNATIC: I AM TALKING TO YOU." Despite her shrill voice, she fell on deaf ears, as the men were still ignoring her. In her anger, she failed to realize, that her current body was not capable of transferring sound waves. Only a shrill high noise was produced, quite similar to a mosquito. While the ant queen was busy trying to scream at her host, the 3 men were having a hissy fit. Although that hissy fit had lasted for God knows how long already, they were still going strong. Neither side showed any intention of bowing down, so the cycle proceeded. In the beginning, the whole discussion had been civil with a level of mutual respect. That is until the lunatic joined in. Everything went downhill from there. As of now the madmen rejoiced in riling up his partner. " So let me get this straight, you told him of my origin and made it sound like I am some kind of saviour. You are seriously trying to piss me off.Give me a break, you would not need my help to get this idiot on board anyway" " PFF, it is amusing to see you have the nerve to talk to me, the one who literally saved your life in that tone. Maybe I should have just let you die." said the supermodel with his face clearly shaped by his anger. " Remind me, when did I ever ask you to save my life? Oh right, I did not. Sorry, my memory gets kinda hazy, when I have to deal with all the bullshit that leaves your mouth."said the madmen, who had previously cut off his skin. " Oh please, you act all high and mighty but I am trapped in here and forced to listen to your tantrums. Trust me, you have it a lot easier." said the men still visibly annoyed by the galls of his partner. " Would you still, please not forget about my presence? I was and I am still taking part in this conversation" said the former black substance, that had now changed into a middle-aged man with fully black eyes. " Why would I care about an idiot, who believed this old fogy?. How gullible do you have to be? A person of his status, would put trust in me? If he could he would take over my body in an instant. You can trust people like him only as far as you can throw them. Sorry, but your initial judgement disqualifies you automatically from ever being taken seriously again." " You truly are a vile spawn. No wonder, you were chosen by this fiend. Birds of a feather flock together. " " Do not put me in the same boat with him, do not be that cruel. Remember you are trapped here." said the current owner of the body. His expression was appaled as he was compared to the old entity. " At least in all of my lifetime I have not once looked as ugly as you currently do." The Adonis did not hold back, as he targeted one of his weak spots. " That''s harsh, coming from someone who isn''t even pretty on the inside. At least show me some respect." " How would you know? All your life you have just been betrayed, disrespected and exploited by the person, who you loved. Ostracized like a dog, spat at, discarded when you were no longer needed. Why should I respect you, when you can''t even respect yourself?" The atmosphere got chilly all of the sudden as the expression on his face turned slightly distorted. " There are some things in life, that can''t be reversed. Some regrets will remain until the end. Your words are true, but that does not mean that I treat them so. I am a hypocrite through and through. If I do not get your respect so be it. But there are some topics, that should not be discussed for the sake of both of us. I think we both can agree on that." The Adonis had not expected such a reaction from his words. He knew, that it be disadvantageous to press on any further. Rarely had it seen such a strong emotion from his partner.He spoke with a much more solemn voice: " It would be unwise to agitate you needlessly. After all, your safety is my biggest concern." The sarcasm permeated the air. " Cut, that crap. I do not need that fake camaraderie.We are both in for our own selfish goals. And to you, whatever you are, as long as you do not disturb me do whatever you want. " " With this boring topic out of the way, let us come to the fun part of today. Tell me what the hell happened with my body? I have absolutely no idea, what that flame was and how I am still alive." " This flame is called the Flame of rebirth or in this world, it is referred to as the cleansing."The middle-aged men spoke in a serious tone. "But even I have not many ideas, what exactly took place inside of your body." At that point in time, no one had noticed the gleaming light descending from the sky slowly surrounding the decomposing body. Something big was about to occur, but nobody had realized it. They were busy discussing their theories about what happened with the body and its special state. This conversation would last a long time. Whatever the future might bring it will take the inhabitants of this body by surprise. 90 Tactical Warfare [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " Why is everyone so fascinated by this game? All these massages say nothing more than my target has died. If my fire burns through its entire body, then I can tell that it is dead. I don''t need anyone to tell me the obvious." said a young red-haired boy with freckles on his face. He stared at the young wolf he had just killed and could only shake his head. He did not pay much attention to how he was rewarded for doing something so easy. That was beneath him. He wondered exactly how others did not get mad repeating the same boring stuff over and over again. Another wolf came running towards him fletching his teeth. It was greeted by a small fireball that came flying its way. A big red 556 appeared over his head. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] He did not know whether 556 was high or low. This monster surely was just used to scare small children. Even if he stood still and did absolutely nothing at all, he still would not die. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] All he wants to do is show his worth as a tactician and yet he was forced to waste his time killing monsters here. There has to be something else, that can be done besides spending time on something so useless. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " But why can''t I leave this forsaken place? Get me out" His scream reverberated through the place, but no could hear his scream [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] He was so sick and tired of killing this stupid wolf over and over again. No breaks, just wolves and even more wolves. Oh, you killed a wolf, have another one. Bored? A wolf for you. Tired? Another one. It was an endless barrage of cannon fodder. It was only due to his training, that he was able to persevere.No amount of wolves or system messages would lead him to falter. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] It was in times like these, that those of faith grew the most. With trust and compassion enduring such an arduous task shall become easier and easier. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] Calm and collected. [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] PEACE AND SERENITY [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " HOW MANY ARE THERE OF YOU? DON''T YOU WOLVES HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN COME TO ME AND JUST DIE?" His anger had risen once more after he was overwhelmed by system messages. " LOOK AT YOU, WHY DO YOU SMILE AT ME? YOU ARE A MENACING MONSTER, ACT THAT WAY." [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " THAT IS NOT AN ATTACK; YOU HAVE TO HURT ME AND KILL ME. ATTACK ME" [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " SO, IT IS NOT LIKE I JUST MURDERED ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS, NO I AM SURE; THAT YOU ARE DIFFERENT. OH, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME; IT WAS PRETTY CLOSE." [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " THE GROUND IS LITTERED WITH THE INTENSITIES OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND YOU KEEP ON SMILING. THE WORLD IS TRULY WONDERFUL, ISNT IT? [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " OH THIS PAIN, THIS SUFFERING; I AM AT DEATHS DOOR FROM THIS VICIOUS ATTACK." [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " I WONDER WHAT MY NEXT ENEMY WILL BE? IT IS A WOLF, WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING?" [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " THIS ATTACK IS TOO FAST, I CAN NOT DODGE IT, TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM." [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " GIVE ME BACK MY SON." [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] " BOW DOWN TO ME" [ Young Wolf''s hp reached 0] [ You received 50 copper and 15 xp] ---------- While one youth fought valiantly against a horde of young wolves many other players had come together and stood around a wide circle. The atmosphere was lively and many people chatted. The circle was surrounded by statues depicting the noble Gods. They were decorated by garlands and jewellery. The people paid their homage towards these statues and looked at them in deep awe. No NPC could be seen in this place even though it was in the middle of the safe town. They were barred from coming here. The days leading up to this moment were spent preparing for it in many different ways. Some fought monsters without catching a break, others chose to study the course of history. Some even went as far and socialized with NPCs in order to accomplish their goals. Each person present followed a different philosophy. There was no correct path to follow in that regard because not much information has been publicized about this event. The ruleset was shrouded in mystery, as only a broad description was given out. Everyone was eager to know, how exactly their tactical prowess was going to be tested. The skillset of a good tactician is diverse and versatile. Competing against other tactician was the ideal way to hone themselves and their strategies. They did not want to let this chance slip by. Such an opportunity only came once in a lifetime and impressing the Churches meant nothing short of a glorious future. The representatives of the Church, on the other hand, had a different outlook on this matter. It was their job to showcase the prestige of the Churches. They were not only embodying the Churches, but they were also functioning as role models for the general public who will follow this event. There was no room for errors, as any mishap of any kind would instantaneously tarnish the reputation they had to keep up. The expression on their faces was a lot more solemn in comparison to those players, they could not win as much, but they had so much more to lose. ( Dear participants, welcome to the " Tactical Warfare" competition. Your applications are all treated equally to ensure a fair competition. It is in your best interest to pay attention to the rules of this event.) The noise died down instantly after these words had appeared. Everyone focussed and listened attentively, they did not want to miss out on any valuable information. ( This event is a fight between 2 commandants. Each party uses its troops as they deem it fit, therefore there is no limitation on tactics and strategies. The battlefield is randomly chosen and can take a myriad of forms.) ( Every participant gets 1000 gold and has to buy soldiers and equipment with this money. Both are finite resources and should be treated as such. Some NPCs require certain criteria to be met before they can be recruited.) This kind of assessment covered a wide basis of different skills every good general should possess.Though working with NPCs was new to them, as even the simplest troop in this world could use mana. This posed a challenge to them, as all of their preparations did not prepare them for such a thing. The mere thought of putting their fate into the hands of those NPCs was revolting. But they did not dare to complain, as everyone was equally affected by this. ( This competition is split up into 3 phases. The first one is free for all where only the top 100 players with the most points will qualify for the next round. Points will be awarded for winning and deducted for losing. People are reimbursed with additional resources based on their performance. (The second phase is dividing these 100 players into equal groups. Every contestant has to fight each person of the group at least once. In this stage, special privilege can be bought with your resources. The person with the most points advances to the third and final phase.) (The final phase is a special event and will be revealed later on.) Many people were shocked by hearing about this kind of competition. They had not expected such an arrangement. The shock was visible on their faces. This expression slowly changed as more and more people were lost in thought about this situation. How should they proceed? Should they spend their gold on few but excellent fighters or buy many people who are weak? What kind of strategies could be used with these kinds of NPCs? Which equipment should they use? Thoughts like these were occupying their minds, as they processed the information they had just received. Some insights were gained but nobody really knew what they could expect. ( In order to make the hiring process of NPCs a bit easier, it was decided to use this space and teleport potential NPCs in this space. You can check for respective stats just by looking at them. The funds necessary for one NPC differ on many factors.) A white circle descended from the sky and many NPCs appeared in the gigantic circle. Men and women alike were placed in front of the crowd. The NPCs looked bewildered as if they did not know what just had happened. ( Take a look at this person here. This men''s status should be displayed in front of your eyes right now) [ Harry Otter] [ LVL 6] [ Human Male] Health50/50Mana0/0 Strength: 15 Intelligence: 6 Dexterity 10 Endurance:6 Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. [Remarks, Glorified cannon fodder.] An exasperated outcry came from the crowd, how where they supposed to work with something so useless. Even the weakest monsters have better stats than this human. This was not a test, this is a punishment. This cruel joke went too far, how could they be forced to do something so unreasonable. The mere thought of having to deal with these insignificant vermin was deeply unsettling. ( Some of you may wonder, why humans were chosen. Indeed humans are pitifully weak and pathetic creatures. Their bodies are frail and their minds crumble easily. Their behaviour is irrational and absolutely arbitrary. With their weak constitution, they incapable of wielding mana. ) ( Instructing something so terrible, is the perfect way to produce the most capable tactician. This human would cost you a mere 50 copper. WIth your funds you could buy so with your funds, you could buy 200000 of him. The cost to hire a specific NPC can be seen under their status. Of course, each NPC is unique and can not be recruited more than once. But do not worry, we have more than enough NPCs.) While the crowd still was contemplating about their bitter fate.Numerous NPCs had already appeared right in front of the crowd. This sea of NPCs had every kind of NPC in it, women, men, children or the elderly alike. All of them had a bewildered expression on their faces, as they did not seem to know what was happening to them. ( You are given the opportunity to choose your first NPCs for absolutely free. We wish you the best of luck in your choice.) [ Do you wish to participate in the "Tactical Warfare" competition?] Everybody did not hesitate before confirming their participation and then looking at the NPCs trying to fanatically find something of value. Some were looking for the most expensive human, others were looking for an NPC who exceed at a certain stat. Some searched for the highest level, while others looked after the best evaluation. " Trash, trash, trash, trash." someone mumbled after looking at the first 4 NPCs. " Abomination, disgraceful, utter shame, disastrous... What are those evaluations?" another person found it hard to believe. But despite their vehement search, all they found were NPCs with very weak potential. Despite their lacking success, they did not stop until they have looked through every last NPC present. That was the least, what they could do. " Why is here an NPC that is still level 1? His stats are horrible and what even is that evaluation? A [Wicked madman] worth 1 copper?" Who would choose stuff like that?" Some people were interested after hearing this description, but this interest was shortlived as they did not want to waste their time looking at an obvious joke. Nobody had noticed that this NPC was sleeping soundly. This detail was ignored just like all the other abnormalities, that could have been found by paying more attention. Though the chances of this discovery slipping through would have been nonexistent if that NPC was awake. He would have complained about his low evaluation and the cost to hire him. His words would not have been very friendly to put it nicely. Instead, someone finally found an NPC and promptly hired it on the spot. The expression on his face was giddy as he found a hidden treasure in this ocean of rubbish. This discovery was not missed by everyone else, as a message popped up in front of them confirming it. Fueled by this news, the participants began to search even more feverishly. A strange silence filled the place, everyone was solely focussed on scanning the NPCs. Though the decomposing corpse with greenish burning hair was still not noticed. This craze continued as even more NPCs were finally picked up. No one knew how many good NPCs were left and so they began to settle for NPCs that were just slightly better than the rest. As more and more participants made their choice, the field of NPCs got smaller and smaller. ( Those NPCs you have chosen will follow every order and they are unable to complain. Familiarize yourself with them and you will find great success in this competition) it did not take too long before nearly all the NPCs had been chosen and the former sea had been thinned out. But in the midst of it, faint snoring could be heard. Though this noise was covered up by the confused and frightened NPCs. These NPCs formed a small circle and cowered in front of the crowd, that had eyed them for several minutes. They did not know why some of them were selected and what would happen to the rest. A dangerous glint appeared in front of certain players and he spoke to the NPC he had chosen. " Kill them for me."He lifted his finger and pointed at the NPCs that were not chosen by anyone. The NPC had a horrified expression on his face, but he could not resist the order and started to move. Their fate had been sealed at that moment. 91 Orders have to be followed The brawny NPC moved towards the frightened crowd. He has his eyes closed but his body forces him to complete the order. Free will was a mere illusion. his master''s order is above all. With heavy steps, he came in front of the crowd, which did not understand the predicament they were in. He tried to stop his body, but it did not listen. His big hands grabbed the throat of an elderly man and began to squeeze. The elderly man was full of distress and his eyes were asking for a reason to understand this situation, but this question would remain unanswered forever. The NPCs could only watch in sheer horror,witnessing the murder in front of their eyes. The skin turning purple, the faint sound of gasping for air burned itself in their retina. This act of violence was born from a simple order. "Kill them for me", issued so nonchalantly, one might think, it was none of his concern. Every onlooker was curious at best, most did not even pay attention to the cruel spectacle in front of them. They were still busy thinking about strategies and the rules, that had appeared on their interface. The minority of participants would willingly waste their time, doing something so pointless. The corpse of the old men fell to the ground after the brawny men finally let go of his neck.Amad cry left his mouth, after killing with his own hands. But the madness had only just begun, it would only stop after the order had been carried out. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. The next target was a petite young girl, that just so happened to stand close to the unfortunate elderly man. She was going to suffer the same fate, no one came to her aid. Everyone was rooted to the ground by sheer fear. How could they survive this ordeal? They were weak, surrounded and outnumbered. After the young girl''s windpipe had been crushed, it was a young boy that followed. Afterwards, it was a youth whose life came to an end. The distance between these corpses was mere centimetres. Yet, this gap was insurmountable and in the end, they were all alone. In a minute, 4 lives were extinguished by a single man. Whether they screamed or begged for forgiveness, no one was spared, their sole fate was to turn into a victim. Facing certain death, many different reactions came to light, but those were all ignored. Yet the youth who had issued the order clicked his teeth in sheer annoyance. He was not satisfied with the performance of his new slave." I did not have high expectations, to begin with, and I still was disappointed", he murmured to himself as he watched the NPC trying to accomplish the task given to him. The instruction was simple and concise and did not impose any restriction on his NPC. So why did it act like this? Did the developers lose their sanity? They are asking for the impossible by forcing those NPCs upon them. What could be learned by directing this bunch of uncultured savages? This being is nothing more than a relic from the times of old. Its extinction is proof of that. Was he supposed to wait here silently while his slave was continuing to embarrass him? " What a nuisance, how are we supposed to rely on those brutes? They can''t even solve such a simple task, without taking up so much time. Getting rid of the competition is a good idea, but how long do you want to stand here waiting?" a voice chimed in garnering attention. " I am not afraid of anyone here, but I do not want to waste my time either." said another person adding fuel to the fire. Many people agreed with that opinion, as the result was visible right in front of their eyes. Killing measly 4 people in a minute, was not tolerable. The sooner those NPCs died the better. While they had no qualms about killing NPCs and subsequentially eliminating the direct competition, they wanted to avoid any potential trouble, that might arise out of those acts. That is why everyone was hesitant to take the first step. But after the first act of murder had been committed with no consequences coming out of it, the wariness started to disappear. It did not take long before many orders were voiced and the NPCs started to move against their own will.The issue with the quivering crowd had been solved without any hesitation. Not one of them paid any attention to their slaves, this issue had already disappeared out of their mind. Whether anyone of those NPCs lived was none of their concern. If there was no harm done, by causing their death, then why should anyone of them care? There has to be an alternative way for others to partake in this event. Otherwise, their deeds would not have gone unpunished. So whether they lived or died truly did not matter in their eyes. For them, it was just a simple way to kill some time and to evaluate the strength of these NPCs. Though nobody stated their intent outright, doing so would gain them no advantage.Spending any more time than necessary on this was considered an absolute waste. The pained sound resulting out of massacre did not bother them.They happily ignored the terrifying mass of NPCs, that found itself confronted with an inescapable nightmare. Every one of them would have to die here, no one could escape this fate. The pain and the haunting expression of the freshly deceased were not enough to raise any interest. Enough of those had already been seen. Many Participants left the scene and did not even take a look back. Their focus was on the strange set of rules and how to proceed not on something as trivial as those NPCs. Their corpses were just piled up and left there to rot. This mountain of flesh was a testament to how many lives were taken in this place. Yet it was still growing, as more and more corpses found their way into it. Men and women alike were thrown onto it, after losing their lives. Although a few people cheered upon seeing it, most people could not care any less about it. Such a sight did not stir any emotion in them. Watching the dwindling number of NPCs they were losing the rest of their interest as nothing of importance would come out for them staying here. Buried deep underneath the flesh mountain was a young boy with his burning hair still sleeping like a log.He showed no signs of waking up any time soon. Unbothered by the turmoil. he had a happy expression on this face, that looked bizarre given the distress surrounding him. His faint snoring was drowned by the noise so full of pain and misery. Whether he truly would have cared about the ongoing event is beside the question. Though if anyone decided to deal with him he would be in for a rude awakening. After most of the participants had dispersed only a handful of players were staying behind. They were a small group consisting out of minor figures not known by the general public. Despite their meagre reputation, they should not be underestimated. What they lacked in strength, was more than equalized by their ability in their respective field. This group covered a lot of expertise in many different fields. " Thanks for the quick cover, boss. I nearly gave myself away." said the young men who had started the massacre by ordering his NPC. He donned normal clothes, that did not stand out. Though there was a certain symbol etched into his right sleeve. This symbol was a small yet delicate black rose, its design was fancy and small golden elements were added to it. Not many people had ever seen it, but it invoked a noble feeling just by looking at it. "What did you discover? Committing mistakes like that is quite untypical of you."The man who had spoken those words was of average height and did not have any characteristics, that would make him special. Even his bearing did not draw any attention to him. Yet this man was thoroughly revered by his group. The gazes thrown at him were full of respect. " After giving the order, I checked the status of those deceased NPCs and I noticed, that they still could be hired. I do not have to tell you the implications that come with that knowledge. Your grin is proof enough of that." " Duran, try to hire one." said their boss without any fluctuations in his voice. Duran did not hesitate to follow the order from his boss and he chose a random NPC out of the enormous pile. He did not care about whom or what he would hire. Minimizing the loss was none of his concern, as those NPCs did not cost all too much money. He did not even look at the body that slowly stood up and returned from the dead. A glance at its status was enough to confirm his theory. Those NPCs could return from their grave if a certain price is paid. " Kneel,"said the leader within his usual emotionless voice. But the NPC did not show any signs of reacting to that order. The leader did not look all too surprised at the result. But Duran was everything but calm after seeing the behaviour of his slave. His expression was full of anger as he began to scream, " KNEEL IF HE SAYS TO KNEEL" After hearing those words the NPC could not help but kneel. The emotional distress visible on his face from the trauma he just had to bear was not a detail anyone paid attention to, their focus lied elsewhere. Their eyes were glued at the status of the initial slave as they discovered something they had missed entirely. The level of the initial slave had increased after killing his peers. It was not hard to understand that they are not going to be the only one discovering this, but as of now they are the only ones who could profit from it. Although this realisation only came to Duran and his leader, both of them knew exactly how much of an advantage this knowledge could bring them. They could increase the strength of their troops for a very low cost and they were not even forced to scout the world for the best NPCs. This methodology did not cost too much of their resources and could be repeated until their funds had been depleted. A grin plastered the face of Duran after thinking more and more about their situation. Running out of money was something extremely unlikely because the rules did not state that working together was forbidden. It was the exact opposite it was almost necessary to do so. A good tactician has to seek as many advantages as possible. Those stuck with traditional and old values were doomed to suffer. The ways of old which emphasized honour and nobility had no place in this kind of competition. Success was the only thing of value That is why Duran was so assured about their future. They were not willing to follow the footsteps of their ancestors, they wanted to treat their path. This competition is the perfect stage to prove their ability once and for all. Duran spent no time before he resuscitated another set of NPCs. This small group could not enjoy the sunlight for a very long time before another order had been issued sealing their fate. The first revived NPC was tasked with ending their lives. He did not even try to resist the order and his body moved on his own to fulfil his mission. Visible confusion appeared on their faces, as they could not fathom what was happening to them. Sheer disbelief of being alive again. It had been minutes before they brutally lost their lives and yet the same was going to happen once more. Their renewed live came to an abrupt end as it was chocked out of them. Despite their prior experiences, the pain was not diminished. It rather intensified knowing what was about to come. Even as they tried to run away from all the horror a simple stay sufficed to force them to stop. Duran did not voice this order to inflict as much suffering as possible, all he wanted to do was to verify his observations. The peril of the NPCs was nothing more than a simple side effect that came with it, nothing more and nothing less. But this thought never crossed his mind. Why should it? He was dealing with NPCs, not with something real. After watching the spectacle unfold he checked the status of the NPC to see how much his level had risen, only to notice that no change had taken place. Not sure whether he had made a mistake or made a false observation he decided to repeat the same process to see where he went wrong. To replicate the proceedings, he had to revive the NPCs once again and issue the same task to the same NPC once more. Disregarding the even more terrified NPCs nothing had changed. This outcome did not change no matter how often he repeated this experiment. After the sixth time, he decided to change some things to find the root of the problem. Switching the NPC who is in charge did not lead to a different result, neither did something different happen after reviving an entirely different set of NPCs. Changing the number of killed NPCs also did not lead to success. Even after increasing the number of NPCs up to 20 no visible change occurred. Using multiple NPCs at the same time to kill the rest of the NPCs, did not yield a favourable result. It took quite a lot of time till he discovered, that experience was only granted to NPCs if they killed another NPC that was not affiliated with it. Though this observation came by sheer accident as it resulted out a fight between 2 NPCs orchestrated out of boredom between 2 of their members that could do nothing but watch the experiments. After yet another round of experiments to confirm this kind of theory he finally succeeded. This success was built on the egregious participation from the selfless NPCs. Their noble bearing will be a role model for future generations and a beacon of hope in these dire times. ---------------------------------- Could you stop narrating as if I could not see what was happening right in front of my eyes? Do you treat me like a total idiot? " That''s rich coming from someone who pulled such an idiotic stunt, that left you in this incapacitated state with nearly all of your muscles deteriorated. You can barely move your body. And you are currently devouring the flesh of those NPCs as if your life depends on it. Treating you like an idiot is the least I can do." Do you think I want to eat them? That is one of the worst things I could do. After all human flesh has next to no nutritional value. It is just better than eating the air. What other choice do you think is left for me? It is in our best interest, that we do not end up being enslaved by those players.I still have no clue what that Observer wants to achieve by sending me in this chaos. " It truly does not look too good for you right now. Right now the only thing standing between you and them is this pile of human bodies. Though I do wonder, why exactly those players were given the right to dictate any NPC." I do not have the luxury to think about the when and why as long as I have not escaped from this small group of players. It is unlucky that my condition does not allow me any kind of fighting. My options are limited as it is and the more time I spent here, the bleaker my future will look like. As of now, they have recruited more than 20 people and the number will only rise from now on. After they finally found the formula to train them, the process will only get faster and faster. They have no time to waste and I do not think they would make an exception for me even if I am special. Directly talking to them is also out of the question, as I do not want to give away my existence in the first place. If I get caught and become their slave I will lose my freedom and my ability to choose, I will be nothing more than a tool, that has to follow their orders regardless of the circumstances. I would rather have to listen to your endless ramblings about your battle against magic, then being forced to follow their orders. " Your ability to hide insults in your compliments is as splendid as ever. So what''s your plan? You would not act that calm and composed if you did not have a plan." The only thing I have to say, that the orders of those NPCs have to be followed and you should see where the path to my escape lies. " I am asking for your plan, not for the obvious." I am surrounded by a pile of dead bodies that are going to be revived soon with absolute certainty. The number of NPCs will likely be spread over the group so that they can level with great efficiency, That means that I can just stand up with the crowd, no one will notice a thing I hardly doubt that they will pay any attention to the details and will just hire every NPC until there is no one left. Then I will just have to create a diversion and disappear while they are busy. " That is your big plan? Seems to be full of holes, but that is just as usual." As negative as always. Though I still do not know the capabilities of my body I will have to work with what is given. Before that, I want to say one thing though... Ah dang it, we wasted too much time talking it is time to act. This body feels way too heavy, next time please stop me before I pull crazy stuns like that. So who of these lovely fellas is the perfect target? " What about the one with the big muscles and the broad stature" No that is way too eye-catching. I need someone bland. Let me pick this young man. He is not too big not too old not too muscular and not too meek. The emotional turmoil invisible in his face is easily exploitable. The trauma he just went through is most likely still deeply embedded in his soul. Nobody would think straight after that stuff. So this should be quiet easy. My small hand reached towards the cloth on his back and prevented him from moving on and my small nails were embedded into his skin.A pained cry escaped his mouth but he began to suppress his voice after many eyes looked into his direction. I spoke slowly with a voice only he could hear. " Relax, I mean no harm. You only have to do one little favour for me and then you are free to go. And please do not raise your voice again to bring unwanted attention, those things tend to not end all too well. But if you plan something stupid, I will take appropriate actions. Neither of us wants that things go that far, right? Orders have to be followed after all." Now let us see what goes wrong this time. As this voice came into my mind it had already started. 92 The scapegoat 1 After the threat had left my mouth, I had to hurry up to avoid drawing any more attention than necessary. Yet I did not think, that the moment I had finished speaking the NPC began to scream. " Help, someone is rebel.." he could not speak anything more than those words as his throat had been slit by my nail. Keeping my hand on his mouth I prevented any unnecessary noise escaping from his lips. This extortion failed horribly and now there is a new corpse that had to be resurrected. I was just lucky, that he had yet to see my face. I fell back and escaped into another direction to move away from the body and to try my luck elsewhere. After successfully apprehending the next target, I began to switch my approach and started with stabbing my target numerous times to not leave any room for thoughts of betrayal. This was another blunder from my side, as this NPC had a very low pain tolerance and started to scream bloody murder forcing me to end its life sooner than expected. I was left with no other choice than running away yet again to search for more potential captives. This time I decided to act more thoughtful, using violence might not be the best approach. Instead of brutal force, I decided to implore my soft skills. I decided to speak loud and clear while standing amid the resurrected NPCs. If those NPCs were still deeply troubled with the nightmare they had yet to escape from, then it might work if I work with it not against it. With their freedom lost, they are forced to obey every of their master. They are likely to put their master above all else, at least that is what they are programmed for.It is quite hard to have any form of pity for them, knowing that their entire existence can change by any second without them noticing it. Looking at my surrounding I saw the fear deeply ingrained in their faces and their covering stature. This behaviour was lifelike, I do not doubt that the humans from Earth would have reacted any different.But alas, this minor detail did not make any difference to me.If things like these would deter my judgement than I might as well just join them and listen to their orders. One glance at the players and I still could see them resurrecting one NPC after another. With the window of time closing in, I had no time to waste. " Just look at you people. Our new masters are standing in front of us and yet you ungrateful bunch just stand here and do absolutely nothing.Do you think you can be of any use whatsoever acting so timid and cowardly? " These words caught everyone attention and their eyes began to try and locate the voice that had just scolded the NPCs.But they had no chance to find me as I had switched my location. " Absolute pathetic. Scum shall not serve, scum should die. " The people were dazed trying to rationalize the meaning of those words. They could not fathom what words had just been spoken. " But yet this scum was given a chance.A chance to become something different. A chance to have a purpose and do something meaningful. And yet you waste, do not grovel and thank your new lords or do your best to repay them. No, you just stand there, as if you are something better. You deserve death." The players surrounding the crowd were confused at first and some of them began to order their NPCs, only to be stopped by their leader, whose attention was currently pinned entirely on searching for the NPC. Behaviour like these was uncommon and not something he had expected from such pitiful creatures. " With nothing to offer us, the only way to repay this enormous debt is to offer up our entire selves.We have to give them our everything, nothing less is acceptable. " The players could not help but nod at these words. This treatment was something they deserved by being forced to spend so much of their time on these NPCs. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. " So go on your knees and grovel. Do it for your Master" The NPCs fell to their knees with great reluctance, but they could not do anything else because it was for the sake of their masters. Whether they were still petrified and haunted by their torture was negligible. Silence filled the place as all of their eyes focussed on their masters waiting for them to speak, before lowering their head on the ground where they remained without moving. The players were not awestruck by the spectacle that had currently unfolded right in front of their eyes. It was beneath them to ponder too deeply about it. After all, they were dealing with fictional beings. First and foremost they would not pay any more attention than necessary to those who were just kneeling. They were neither special no had the qualifications that would warrant that. Far more interesting was the NPC that caused this occasion but he was nowhere to be found in the crowd of kneeling slaves. Even after multiple orders, not one person had moved forward. They all remained kneeling, with their heads facing downwards not daring to look at their masters directly. A great deal of confusion was caused by this event. Why did the NPC did not step forward after hearing order? Could he refuse to do so, even after being a slave?But this can not be possible, because every individuum in front of them was enslaved and listened to their every order. So what exactly was going on? Was a dead person responsible for this? This idiotic thought was directly erased from their brains, because how could something like this possibly happen.Logic still applies, even in this fabricated world and dead bodies suddenly starting to talk about honour is not common sense. They went forward and demanded that every single NPC speak to them and pledge their alliance. That way, they wanted to find the NPC, but even after this procedure their target was still not found. Its voice was heard by player and NPC alike, so why had no one ever seen it. It can not be a product of their imagination, they wholeheartedly refused to believe such a thing. Still, they were running out ideas and likely explanations, while the mystery remained unsolved. The perpetrator had removed himself from the crowd and found shelter in the shrunken pile of dead bodies. I have bought enough time for myself and I could confirm that these fools would do everything for the sake of their masters. This distraction was a big success although it may seem like my accomplishments lead to the exact opposite of my intended results. Why would I draw attention to my existence, if I do want to escape unnoticed? It is quite simple, the attention is not gathered at me directly but on the mysterious NPC, that gave this speech to the rest of the NPCs.At the moment they are looking for that NPC not for me the young boy with burning hair. As long as my face is not associated with this mysterious entity, it could be anyone else. The more time passes the more details will be lost and they will likely not even see the difference between my voice and another one especially after hearing so many voices. The only thing I still need is to find a suitable scapegoat. This NPC should be easily identifiable compared to the other NPCs and my choice has to be part of the corpses that are currently surrounding me. it would be foolish to just search and pick one of them. It is far easier to create the "special" NPC myself, all I have to do is to add or change some minor details on its body.Participation is not mandatory, just speak up if you do not want to be chosen.I mumbled softly and to no one surprise, no answer came back. It is always great to see this level of dedication to help for a truly great cause. Picking the body of women was not an option, as the voice, I had used as belonging to a male. The voice I had used was vigorous, so I should avoid the person that look meekly or frail eliminating elderly and children as suitable choices. The attitude of the mysterious NPC, would likely not be associated with a youth that had just grown up and neither with an adult, whose children are still small yet. What I am looking for is a middle-aged man in great shape, that should carry a feeling of great wisdom with him. With so many restrictions and criteria to look out for the potential choices had diminished and I could only choose between 3 corpses in my surroundings. The dim light would make this selection impossible if not for the faint ray of light, that came out of the lines carved into my forehead. The splitting headache aside, it was a wonderful tool for situations like this. Though it drained a lot of the residue mana inside of my body. My first option would be to pick a man who had a lot of grey hair, that never had to worry about the food shortage in his prior life. At least his physical body did not suffer from malnutrition. His expression was pained, but there was a certain level of spite and stubbornness etched into it. Even in death, his eyes appeared to be full of conviction. Another suitable candidate had a face full of wrinkles. Looking at him conveyed anoble charm and a feeling of authority. This face had seen every aspect that life has to offer. His body was nothing out of the ordinary but it still underlined his inherent traits. His brown hair was disappearing leaving behind many bald spots. It would not take long before the rest of it would vanish as well leaving behind no trace of its former glory. The last choice would be a man full of scars. His pitch-black hair and ferocious eyes were a telltale sign of his lifestyle. His aura was aggressive and overbearing, there was no room for complaining in his presence.Well toned muscles could be found on his body, further underlined by the scar tissue that had developed after this person had sustained this many injuries. IF he did not die at this place, then his end would have come soon regardless. This person is the easiest one to distinguish out of those 3 given the state of his body and the unique aura emitted by his corpse. I could not decide on one of them, they all had their advantages but none of them was fitting the image I was going for. The perfect fit would be a combination of those 3, with only the best attributes being used to accomplish this instinctive impression, that my scapegoat is supposed to have. What I want is an impressive figure, that looks old but wise with sharp eyes. Just one look at him would be enough to know that he stands above his peers. He should be a role model for those NPCs and his bearing should be reliable because everybody has to entrust their worries and burdens onto him. His entire person should emit authority and his iron-heart will not be broken. He should be able to see the big picture and should stay calm while everyone else has lost their mind. This person should be fat, nor should his eyes invoke fear in every onlooker just because they are in his presence. A bloody tyrant is not my aim, I do not want him to be feared or loathed. I want a person, that can represent the small and pitiful NPCs. Not someone who rules over them. It might seem like my choice of words was poor if I wanted to find a person like that. But a good leader would analyze this situation and recognize, that the only choice, their only path to life was to serve their new masters with everything they have. They had no other chance. Fighting or discussing the situation, nothing other than a foolish delusion. But looking at the 3 possibilities nobody invoked that kind of image. They all had some characteristics that did not fit. Whichever option I pick, some disadvantages would come with them. Well as a person of great ethics I would not dare to desecrate the body of a living person. But since they are currently dead, I am not bound by my morals. And people say that Iam not mindful of those around me. It was time to put my extensive knowledge collected by dissecting players to good use. If nobody is suitable for my tastes, then I just have to make it into one. I can''t be too picky about the quality of my specimen, I will just use whatever I can get my hands on at this point. I have no use for the body fat, so I am just going to remove his eyes and use them as a replacement for the eyes of the wise and calm man. They have a much bigger impact if I combine those 2 assets and bring them together. While the face was no imposing enough the rest of his body was entirely disappointing. I just had to remove the newly created head and put them on the body of the well-trained man. This entire construction was only held together by the magical slime, that was inside of my body. This expenditure needed to be compensated by the intake of all the byproducts resulting out of my little operation. It was a convenient way to dispose of the remaining evidence as well. Although it took a lot of work to convince to get it in the first place. Cutting open my own body was not an option. The ant queen was strangely calm and did not hesitate to bring me the precious substance. This detail alone should have convinced me that something was up, but those worries were part of a future where I was not enslaved or found myself an early grave. What is one more thing on my huge piles of regrets anyway? While I was looking at him I noticed several things that needed to be changed. His teeth were rotten to the core. Those had to go, I decided to insert the teeth of a young woman in their stead., This way his smile could look genuine. I also found replacements for his ears that were too pointy, for a finger that was abnormally large in comparison to the rest of his hand. His lip tissue, that was plastered by small blisters and scares due to his not so promiscuous lifestyle. His eyebrows that were too thin and his facial hair or the lack of it that was reminding me of prepubescent boys. All of these had to be changed, to make him look the exact way I wanted him to appear. While I was busy working on accomplishing my scapegoat the surrounding crowd had undergone a subtle but alarming change. The devotion shown to those players has turned into fanaticism. This detail did not go unnoticed to my ears, as I could hear sounds of their faint mumbling. Speaking directly to them served to confirm that they can understand English. As I was buried underneath the mountain of bodies, I heard snippets of English and I wondered why the tenant inside of me ignored those pleas and their conversation, in his detailed description of the ongoing results. Though I had no idea, why those players were capable of understanding English as well. This development was alarming, as there might be more chances that I do not know off.How much time had passed? Why exactly was I transported to this place along with this very common NPCs? Was this part of the event the Observer had spoken about? My pile of regrets and worries seems to be growing by the seconds. I could only sigh thinking about the trouble looming at every corner. It is not like I have made many friends for life in this world. A lot of folks would love to meet me though I am quite sure about that. On top of that, I am still perceived as an NPC and looking at the fate of those poor souls, I do not like my chances. Future me surely will have a lot of things to complain about and I would like to apologize about the future trouble right at this moment. I might not have the time left to do so in whatever fucked-up future I find myself in. " The players have stopped questioning the NPCs and start to resume their activity." Seems like the small ruse did not keep them busy long enough. I have barely finished my scapegoat and these players are already threatening to discover me again. Seems like I was fortunate enough to buy at least 5 minutes to create this lovable person. I might not have more than a minute until every last NPC has been resurrected. My cover was getting narrower as I was still contemplating my actions. I could not solely rely on the scapegoat. I needed some sort of insurance, another diversion that could captivate their attention for a moment.Seems like I need an eye-catcher. A smirk crossed over my lips. This could more than work. ---------------------- The leader was quite displeased after they had wasted so much time on finding something that does appear to not even exist. Outwards it may appear as if he was not affected and still calm and composed but on the inside, a fierce volcano was currently threatening to break out at any second. The members of his groups had known their boss for a long time and they knew that they had to hurry up to avoid a disaster.Much was at stake for their group and they could not afford to waste their time anymore. They had split their group and tasked their NPCs to kill each other. The killed NPCs were then revived by another person before returning into combat.They had to hurry up to compensate for the time they had pointlessly spent.The rest of the group was searching for and hiring every NPC they could get their hands on. Only a single player was tasked with reviving the rest of those corpses that had yet to be revived. Those freshly revived NPCs were then sent to join the fray. This way the could ensure, that their NPCs were trained the fastest way possible. The sounds of battle were appeasing their leader little by little, as their progress could be watched by the naked eye. The mountain of corpses had disappeared and only a few bodies were left. After reviving yet another body. he stopped for a split second and admired the handsome and noble NPC he just recruited. , but this restoration did not last long and he was back to reviving yet another person. He did not notice that this person was missing something important and just revived the next person. It was not until he had revived the last corpse that he realized that something was amiss. While the last NPC was currently standing up with his back facing him, he saw the empty eye sockets of those NPCs he had revived prior. Only after the NPC had turned around did he notice where all those eyes had gone to. His gaze was greeted by a multitude of eyes staring at him simultaneously. He was caught off guard by this situation and wanted to usher a scream, but before he could he felt a sudden impact on his right knee cap. His body ached backwards and a small hand pressed onto his mouth preventing any sound escaping from his lips. Then he heard the voice they had spent so much time searching for without any success. " All this effort for just one measly guy. I should not complain, it makes the following part a lot easier. Sorry buddy, you are just unlucky that it had to be this way I had something else planned but this way it is a lot more convenient" Though he could not reply as his life came to an abrupt end as his throat was slashed. His body dropped to the ground as his life was slowly fading out of his body. Mustering the last remnants of his strength he tried to turn around to see the face of his attacker. Yet the only thing that greeted him was the body of the strange NPC will all of these eyes still staring at him. " Please don''t try to sneak a peek. It is better for both of us." As the light of his eyes extinguished, he swore to get revenge when he respawned. But it was too late by then... 93 The scapegoat 2 Having to deal with a single person was a bit unexpected but it made things a lot easier. All of my precautions did not turn out for nought though as I still could use them. Their first special NPC, free on the house.Though that NPC a lot more special than a lot of them could anticipate. Calling him the eye-catcher is a very fitting nickname if I say so myself. He has a lot of eyes and he catches your attention. As the voices inside of head were complaining about my bad naming sense, I looked at those newly raised NPCs and began to speak. "I know this situation must be scary after all the pain you had to undergo, but I would advise you to run away now." All I saw were empty faces staring at me as If I had just said the most ludicrous words that every came through their ears. Who knows what was going through their mind anyway. There were only a few principles remaining after they have been "hired" by those players. First, they tend to listen to every order of their specific master obediently. Second, even if they tried to resist. they were physically unable to stop their body from moving. Third, death seems to work as an absolvement from their fate, though it is still unclear if the death of their owner results has the same effect. The rest of them is unknown and quite frankly of no concern to me either way. Why should I try to understand something that I neither have any interest nor any relationship with? All I need to know is how to control them and make them do whatever I want, that is all I need. " This kind of advice may sound sketchy coming from the one who just brutally murdered your master.But I was given this order to train us. How else could I even kill your Master, if not for him letting me succeed? " Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I could see their changed expression after hearing my words. Yeah, how could someone as lowly as they kill their renowned master? Their worldview could not allow any other explanation. This must have been the intention of their master, all part of his big plan. He was willing to go so far just for their sake. They were likely vowing to do their utmost to repay him and now they were just staring at me, waiting for me to convey the mission they had to carry out. I could tell them everything I wanted to and they still would try to accomplish it. Just by adding do it for your master any task given to them becomes viable. Take your own life, your master needs your blood to succeed. Murder you closest friend, he plans on betraying your master, you have to save him.Eat dirt, your master needs to know what happens to you. Get naked and only wear this cowboy boots, you master needs to see this to relieve some pent-up stress. Though I sadly did not need them to do any of those wishes. I did not even have cowboy boots I could use. Its the sad state of affairs that I can not even afford to do things like this. But looking at my current body there was one thing I had to do. " Please hand over some of your clothes, I can not fulfil my mission while not wearing any clothes." I have no idea why those NPCs would trust the words of a naked homicidal maniac, who appeared out of thin air. But apparently, a nude murderer was no part of concern in their eyes. Had my previous streaking behaviour taken its influence into their psyche? I had a bad premonition that my weird behaviour has left its traces in those NPCs. After successfully gaining some clothing to wear. I could finally start to create a path for my escape. " Run away from here as far as possible and try your best to hide. This is very important to the future success of your master. But you will have to stay for a bit longer." I pointed at my creation. " There is not much time left. RUN, RUN.RUN" Those NPCs dispersed and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. So far so good now I just had to set up my insurance and then I can disappear for good. My creation looked at me eagerly, expecting the reason for him to stay longer than the rest of his companions. " You noticed it as well right?" A serious expression underlining the importance of the upcoming words that were about to leave my mouth. I could see how his face got a lot more focussed after hearing those words. His mind must be racing, thinking about what I might be talking about. " As of now is taking care of every one of us. This dependence is a huge burden he has to carry. We can not rely on his goodwill forever. We have to find a way to lift the weight off of his shoulders. " Establish a problem, a threat that was looming over their heads. A strategy to create a feeling of dread and urgency. " We can''t continue to act like this. We need to unify under a person, everyone can trust. What we need is a leader." Propose a solution, but use vague polarizing terms to invoke a response on emotional level. " A leader is someone responsible for realizing the orders of the master in his stead. Right now our master is doing everything on his own. It would be much easier for our master if he just had to give one order." Dispel any doubts by delivering sound arguments. Using the master, I stress the importance of this solution. " The leader needs to be someone everybody can look up to. Someone capable, someone who can see the bigger picture. They just followed the order but did not even think twice about their master while doing. You, on the other hand, thought about your master directly not singlehandedly about his orders" You are different than the rest, you are something special. The same old strategy used in those movies for teens. Give them a purpose, indicate that they are something. Make them feel good about themselves. Because they are something special, someone, with a meaning. If life was just that easy. " Your master needs someone like you. How could he trust those, who just blindly follow?" Strengthen the idea festering in his mind. Create a big distinction, that elevates him from the masses. Suggesting only he can take up the role of a leader. " But those people would not begin to trust you, just because your Master would tell them to. Distrust and envy would follow and you could not lead them in that state." Dampen his expectations, to showcase how important and severe the situation is. " Trust like this has to be earned. " Delivering the obvious conclusion to my question just serves to make it easier for him to digest the information. " Everything has been taken care of, all of your companions have been prepared to receive a leader. The traitors that killed their master have fled. All you have to do is take up the mantle." Now by unveiling the "real" plan, he should see what role he has to play. But I will make it a bit easier for him. After all, I do not want him to think too deeply about this issue. I don''t need facts I need feelings. " Deceiving them was necessary to make the death of their Master believable. They would not trust you unless you lead them to avenge the death of your master. " He could only nod after hearing all of this information though he had yet to realize one thing. This facade was not realistic yet. I need to give him an alibi, for the time when he supposedly talked to the crowd of NPCs and then did not react to the orders of the players. This leaves me with no other choice, then to stage their rebellion and add a lot more details than previously imagined. " But in your current condition, no one would believe you in any way. They might even think that you have collaborated with them to kill your master and are now trying to buy enough time for them to escape" This much should be obvious for any normal thinking human but you might never know what they are programmed to think. I had to introduce a solution to him, otherwise, he would not act like I intend him to. " You need some injuries on your body some traces that you struggled valiantly." He did not appear to be shocked by my words. Quite amazing how quickly he took up the role of a "leader". Though this would not develop the way he was imagining it to be. " The next orders are absolute and cannot be refuted by any mean even by your master. This has to be done for you to fulfil your role." This was just to make sure, that they will not get any information about me by questioning him. " I do not exist, this was all your idea. It all had to be done to unify the slaves. You know nothing about the strange creature with so many eyes. All you know is that it has taken those eyes of the slaves that ran away. You have seen that with your very own eyes. That is all you have to know" Those words lied heavy on his mind as I could hear him gulping. " Can you do me a personal favour? If you get asked by a certain someone if you were given these answers, only then say those following words they will understand "[.............................................] " Thank you for your help your master will appreciate all of your selflessness" Just like stealing a lollipop from a baby. All that was left was to add injuries to his body. I had to hurry up because I had spent close to a minute talking to him and instructing him. Crushing his throat I ignored his questioning gaze the only answer he got was " It is necessary." After a quick few heavy hits on his body, I was ready to leave and run away as fast as my feet could carry me. But before leaving I had one last thing to do. A high pitched scream could be heard drawing any attention in the close vicinity. I had no time to enjoy my hommage to those cliche horror movies. Not receiving any physical harm had a higher priority. The upcoming noises behind me were fondly ignored and I pressed the clothing over my head to not give away my appearance. Burning hair is quite a unique characteristic to have after all. The footsteps of those blind people should divert some attention. Though it will surely not last long till they are found. But it will be enough to divert some attention from my soon to be pursuers. While my body was in shambles it still possessed far enough more strength than a body this small should have. Though it was far from enough to fight monsters in this state. I currently felt a lot more human than ever before. The times of throwing those massives stones around are gone for the time being. My gloves are gone aswell they are still at my last location and I do not even know how to get back there. As of now, it is best to stay away from monsters and players alike. I would prefer not to end up as a slave or food. Glancing behind me I only saw a few people trying to chase me. The numbers were low either way because most NPCs had busy killing each other. This was playing right into my cards. Despite my lungs burning for the first time in a long time I pressed on, slowing down to chat about life''s mystery was sadly not an option. This way I was left my now choice but to proceed onwards. Every spectator would see a strange spectacle, a lonely tiny figure running from a crowd of feverously screaming NPCs. No side was showing any signs of slowing down as the chase continued. As of now, they had not come into contact with players and monsters alike. But then I saw the trouble that was currently looming over my head. The circle where I had been summoned was inside of a city.This city like the name suggests has a lot of players in it. Trying to be sneaky with this mob rushing behind me is not possible. Trying to hide in a crowd of NPCs is also something I can forget about. Unfortunately, fate was not my side as the current location was a sure way to get myself in even deeper trouble than I was already in. I saw the first faces staring at me with big eyes as I came close to the first small huts. I did not have enough time to judge them for their poor taste, so I just stuck to running forward. More and more people stared at me. None of them had yet got in my way, but that was only a matter of time. Here he was the first candidate, a small man walked in my, cleary tasked to do so. He just stood there as I ran at him. Such a half-hearted attempt would not be enough to catch me, therefore I simply jumped over him and continued to ran while the man just stared at me in his daze. This was only the beginning as more and more players became part of the watching crowd. While not everyone had hired NPCs. The number of NPCs trying to stop me was rising and I could not show any leniency anymore. Why should I wait for those NPCs and players to get in my way? I decided to throw myself in the crowd of NPCs that stood at the sidelines and barged through them with brute force. Though this move seemed risky on the surface it had the nice side effect, that my pursuers had to walk through them as well. My small stature was one of my biggest advantages that I currently had. It offered higher mobility and the area the NPCs could target was quite narrow. Though I could not avoid them getting ahold of my clothes and grabbing it trying to hold me back. Those who tried to do so were greeted by my nails slashing across their faces. As much as I wanted to I did not have the luxury of covering my face with the cloth. Many people had seen my face and most likely many more would see it soon if shared on HolyTube. The longer I struggled the more attention would come to me. But as of now, there was no way out for me. [Do you accept the contract from player " I am too cool" ?] Why would I do that? Of course not.Fuck off. [Your refusal was successful] " Since when can NPCs reject?"a perplexed voice resounded in the crowd. [" Do you accept the contract from player " I am too cool" ?] FUCK OFF. [Your refusal was succesfull] I could only sigh, this will be a lot of trouble. I just did not know exactly how much trouble I was in. I did not have to wait long for this realisation to hit me like a truck. [Do you accept the contract from player " Illusionary Fairy " ?] This message caught me off-guard and a cold shower came over my shoulders. Things just got a lot more troublesome. 94 Unwanted attention Illusionary Fairy a nice nickname for an absolute devil. This nice young lady, that nearly killed me over and over again when my body was at its peak. Encountering her here was just proving how rotten my luck was. "Sorry I have to refuse I would like to keep my life" [Your refusal was succesfull] I have to locate her and then move away as far as possible from her. Throwing my head to the side I dodged a fist that came flying to my face. Slitting the throat of the attacker, I moved into the now wounded body to use it as cover to hide my next actions. I tried my best to cover as much area as possible but I could not find a trace of her. Where could she be, she has to have the vision of me, otherwise, she could have sent the request. But where I doubt, that she is part of the crowd, that is not her style. She strikes me more of the reserved type who would not even think about entering this chaotic crowd. I can''t discard the idea, that she might be using her magic to have a view at me. Or at least she is using an elevated position to have a nice view of the entire situation. I have to switch the battlefield, fighting here in the streets offers too little protection from me. Lifting the body upwards I threw it at the people in front of me. I fought myself through and arrived at the small houses. Instead of trying to hide in narrow paths and alleys I jumped upwards and embedded my nails inside of the walls to climb the house. The roof of the house was slightly uneven and made out of stone. Its surface was quite small making it easy to defend from those who had hunted me for the time being. Though those NPCs did not care about that and they began to try and climb up this roof. It is time to set an example then. The first head that came over the edge came into contact with my foot that had been launched at it. A loud and clear crack resounded after the impact nearly caved in his head. My body truly was pitiful as of now. I did not think this would stop any of them. I just hoped that I would force those players to switch to another strategize. They will soon have to realize, that they will not get to me by relying on a simple order like " Get him". The next one who dared to come up met the same fate as the previous fellow. More and more people followed their footsteps. I made sure not to kill any of them, as those NPCs could be revived again and return to their full strength. I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible, I do not know what was still ahead of me. To spice things up I stomped on their fingers that grabbed onto the ledges to pull themselves upwards. It''s hard to climb when your fingers are broken after all. Where is the Observer when you need him? " What a silly nickname. Just call me Laura." I heard a faint chuckle in the distance as those words sounded inside of my head. I forgot she was capable of communicating with me that way. So what brings you to me? I doubt you are interested in talking about pleasantries. " We have not met for such a long time, why are so cold towards me? Even if I put all of our histories aside. In my current situation talking to you is the biggest sign of sincerity I can give you. " Or is it the situation forcing you to?I do wonder about that. But someone as strong as you will not require the help of such a weak maiden as me" If I was not in the safety of a town you would have taken action by now.So what is your real aim? " Can''t a lady is smitten by love talk to the person she favours?" Can''t a young boy under severe distress not expect a serious answer? " You have to work on your appeal, behaviour like that does not leave a favourable impression." Thank you for your insight, I will be sure to ponder on it when I am not preoccupied with staying alive or breathing. " How considerate. this selflessness just makes me fall in love over and over again." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Thank you for stopping those pesky invites. But are you sure you want to tease me and waste valuable time? Those who are not bothered by your presence will surely not wait. [Do you accept the contract from player " Absolute Glaciation " ?] Who the hell even is "Absolute Glaciation? At least she does not seem to fear your presence. " Am I not enough for you? Are you even going after my friend sitting right beside me?" Sadly I have to decline. The reasoning should be obvious. [Your refusal was succesfull] " Declining the advances of 2 beautiful young women. Would a "special service" change your mind?" If I were not a battle-hardened veteran at defending my virginity I would have taken you up on that offer. A long period of silence was the only answer I received. I can''t blame her I would not have expected a reply like that either if I were her. So can we focus on the important stuff now? " Why do you always have to stoop so low?" You are assuming, that I have ever left it. Besides speaking of the distance, staying so far away from me is lacking any form of sincerity. Do you think I am keeping this roof clean for my amusement? While I am still in a good mood I will give you the opportunity off a lifetime. If you get me off of this roof without the use of magic I will do whatever you want. Turning around I saw 2 women of considerable beauty. Both of them was someone I had fought against but won only due to them severely underestimating me. Laura, you have cut your black hair, I must admit, short hair like that suits you. " The conversation in my head can stop, for now, you can understand me verbally aswell. " " Thank you for your compliment. Though I never thought that something like that could come out of your mouth" said Laura smiling brightly. Her appearance had not changed despite her hair being shorter. Though I still knew that she was as psychotic as before. " You still know that I can read your thoughts right?" her tone had become a lot more aggressive after my evaluation. " Your offer is quite nice but I will not be the one totake you up on that." " I will " the one who spoke was the young women who had specialized in ice magic. I had yet to hear her name but only 2 words and she had my full attention. The offer I proposed to put her at so much of a disadvantage that I had previously just offered it as a joke. Yet, her reply was steadfast with no signs of weakness. She was not the type to throw caution to the wind and act without any plans. So why was she that confident? She showed no signs of hesitation as she began to move towards me. As a gentleman, I waited and let her attack first. I had high expectations for this fight, Would she use kicks against me using her legs to keep me at a distance or would she use her fists? But using brute force against me is not something that works, she of all people should know that. So will she rely on weaponry to fight against me? It would be a probable solution, but those weapons have to be light otherwise it will be too taxing on her body. I may be weakened but even now I should be easily able to fight her under these conditions. Or would she just try and keep me busy while another person uses magic to attack me and force me off this roof? This is a valid strategy as I only forbad them the usage of magic, not anyone else. Though this tactic seems a bit too underhanded for them. Still, it does not hurt to be aware of the possibility even though it does not seem likely. Another option would be to use her to divert my attention and then attack from an angle I can not see and push me off the roof that way. Yeah, they might have thought about using something like this. This fight is not going to be a simple 1vs1 I have to be careful about the interference of any kind. They might even use NPCs to their advantage. If they get their NPCs up here, they are still not using magic but are responsible for getting me off the roof. I should stop using such vague terms if I offer something like this. Or she could have just read my thoughts and then use one of the strategies I have just thought off? Well looks like a startled cat, is not leaving much to the imagination whatever her goal was. Still deep in my thoughts, I was caught off guard, as a petit fist embedded itself onto my face. Caught by its massive force I was launched over the edge of the roof and kept on tumbling on the ground before coming to a standstill after sliding several meters on the ground. Everyone was shocked, including the person who had just delivered the punch. She looked at her hand in disbelief doubting her own eyes what kind of power was contained within her. This seconds of silence came to an end with the tosing applause of the crowd. NPCs and players alike could only clap upon seeing such a spectacle. Even Laura could not fathom what had just occurred, she stared at me and afterwards at her friend. " What did you just do?" her voice was nearly shaking as she refused to believe this irrational act. Samantha could not reply, she still was dazed and utterly confused. She did not possess such a level of strength in the real world, so why did she manage to unleash this level of strength without any magic? " We were just trying to keep him occupied until we got more information out of him. How did it end like this?" she whispered. Those words were only meant for Samanthas ears. " But isn''t it better this way? We can get every information we want from him." Samantha said after regaining her cool. " Now for the part that bothers me the most. This usual tradition of keeping up appearances." her aura returned to the usual calmness and her entire aura became aloof. She raised her right hand and silenced the crowd. Samantha''s gaze went over the crowd and began to speak loud and clear. " This is power.Words, strategy, tactics everything is useless in front of absolute power. Men or Monster everything has to bow down in front of it. It does not care about young or old, small or big. Everything is pointless in front of it. Numbers? They don''t matter. Talent? It does not matter. Conviction? It does not matter." She looked around once more, she knew all too well what kind of effect those like words had. Maintain the prestige, by showcasing the gigantic difference between her and everyone else. " But power is not born without talent. Power needs perseverance, conviction and ambition to grow. Words, tactics and strategy help the weak to become strong" The heavy and sullen mood was lifted after those words full of compassion. The crowd became noisy once more. The speech had resonated with them on a deep level. "Being weak is not a crime, losing is not a sin, giving up is. Live your dreams and strive for greatness. Today I am standing here, but tomorrow it might be you." The end of her speech was met with the crowd exploding once more. But Samantha could not care less about it. She had grown tired of repeating the same agenda, the same nonsense since her childhood. Looking at Laura she nodded indicating that her speech was now over and they could focus on the much more important part. They had finally managed to take this strange NPC under their control. Now she would finally get all the answers that had been on her mind for quite some time. But the object of her desire had been long gone by then. It would not take too long before they realized what exactly happened here. They did not expect an apostle to behave and act in such a shameful manner. It was the first time in their life that they had been played and made fun of to that extent. They lacked the words to put their feelings into words. Angry and fuming were 2 words that could be associated with their current mood. Both of them jumped from the roof to avoid the upcoming trouble and to start their search. They wanted to get their hands on this brazen fellow who made them look like utter fools. Samantha mentally had to add one thing to her speech. In front of absolute power, only lacking morals stand a chance. Though she did not know how fitting that saying would turn out to be. The NPC had yet again slipped through their fingers and they had to start their search anew. ----------- I did not know what exactly happened as I moved away through the cheering crowd who had been mesmerized by the content of her speech. Doing something unpredictable always works. Running into both of them while I try to escape was something I could have done without with. I was still right inside of the city and confined in its borders. My burning hair surely did not help at times like this. Running around flaunting my fiery presence is not a valid approach to stay unnoticed. That''s why I had to borrow someone''s clothes against his will. I am sure he will have a fun time deep down in the well. Who knows I might need to join him depending on how the situation develops. While hiding in plain sight would not be something they would expect, I am not willing to throw myself in that kind of danger. Just because they don''t expect it does not mean that others will recognize me. Just like this NPC in front of me acting like he totally did not notice me. He just stood there acting all casual while throwing glances at me. I approached him with a smile on my face putting my hand over his shoulders and spoke without any worry in the world. " Long time no see, why don''t you come with me for a little chat? I am sure we have a lot of things to discuess" " You truly are a magnet for trouble, we will talk into this house" As we marched into the house I made sure that no one was following me. In this world it never hurts to be too careful. " Shall we?" said the NPC smiling at me. I nodded and started the talk that would massivly influence my future. 95 Becoming a real NPC 1 " Those immoral acts I had expected nothing less from you", the NPC who had spoken those words, was looking like the average NPC.Clothing made out of fur, its design was looking like a modern reimagination of the Stone age. It was just missing the yellow dotted spots plastered all over the fur and it would have been perfect. "Would have been a lot harder without your help though." " Oh, so you noticed? What gave me away?" a genuine expression of interest could be seen passing over his face. " For instance, no NPC would look at me smiling and pretend as if nothing had happened. They either would run back and alarm their master or try to catch me. But by then you already knew, that I was aware of your interference. " He looked not too surprised at my revelation, this much was still what he had anticipated. " If I am being honest it was a gamble at first.After all, I did not know exactly how or when I had been summoned to that space. All I had were an empty promise and your words of having a use for me to go on." This guy is so hard to read, not even after throwing a bone to him, does he react in any manner. " Do you remember the first order? " Kill them for me". The big brawny NPC was hesitating and struggling but he could resist the order in the end.Nobody can resist the order they have been given.It was the first time you meddled in this affair. " " Oh, but why do you think so, the reaction was something a human would show into thrown into such a situation." his expression did not change but I could hear a bit of mocking tone in his voice. " Oh, you mean the same kind of human, who just stood there rooted to the spot waiting while this dude tries to murder them. How oddly human they are. Or the fact, that every NPC who had been tasked with the same did not struggle at all? Do you expect me to believe, that just because this one NPC could not resist their order they would not at least try to do the same?" He looked at me with a puzzled expression. " Is that all, that your theory is based on? The uncharacteristic behaviour of those NPCs is interpreted as an act of meddling from my side? What if said behaviour is caused by prioritizing player interest over realistic human behaviour?" A fair point, humans do not serve any valuable purpose in this world. They neither are strong, neither teach any tactics or strategies. Currently, they are just used as a tool to get rid of one''s boredom. But exactly this point was evidence for his interference. " Appeasing the fantasy of power. an event which utilizes the helpless humans to fuel their ego. Judging from your previous description everything seems logical. But then why was I there? Was there any point in me being there? Every NPC had a higher level, better stats and served this narrative way better than I could have ever done. So why was my presence even needed?" "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. How often do I have to tell you, I don''t interfere, I don''t temper, I don''t influence. All I do is observe." "I am just a simple NPC.I have no strength and I am still a young boy. " "You see but are not seen. I talk but only answer." " You tell but are not told to. You sleep but lie wide awake." " I perceive but am not percieved." This short exchange told me more about the whole situation, then all the previous talk. Although the voices in my head required a little help to understand the exact meaning. " The Observer told me, that it does not have any direct influence on the system, all it can do is observe. Therefore I asked whether 0r not the system only sees me as a young boy with next to no strength. It told me, that my current strength is real but is not recognized by the system itself. Furthermore, it told me, that it only can answer the system if its expertise is required. " Afterwards I reminded him, that he was advising the system not listening to its orders. While it may seem like it is only active during patches it is always watching and evaluating all the developments. That was confirmed by the Observer itself. Or did I say something wrong?" The Observer shook his head. " You got the gist of it. " " I doubt, that you are here to waste any of your valuable time. So why have you appeared right in front of me?" I inquired this information to get to the core of this visit. "While you were chosen at random as part of the summoning process my appearance here is not without any reason. I am here to give you the task I had picked for you. At first, I had planned to wait till you reach for your full strength but the circumstances have changed as might have guessed." That much was obvious the Observer would not do anything pointless. Any of its act could influence this entire world, so it would not do anything like this if it was not forced to. I asked myself what kind of task awaited me. Since I did not have all of my strength it could hardly demand anything too crazy from me. I was still thinking about my future. The Observer continued his monologue. " I want you to act as a guide for a certain player from the Church" I did not give any reply yet, because I would not have much of a say in this matter regardless. It must have its reasons to utilize me in such a fashion. If it can not be avoided I will have to try to get the most out of it. " This player is not someone who stands a chance at winning the tactical warfare event. The odds of this occurring are nonexistent to be exact because he had even failed to register in the first place. Please help him to leave a lasting impression." I could certainly ask myself about the reasoning for this kind of weird mission, but it was none of my business to wonder about the ins and outs, at least not yet. My current predicament did not leave any room for negotiation. " You will be following this player and stay by his side. You will be seen as a summoned NPC who is tasked with helping the player." Despite being drawn into the role of a guide, I had a smile on my face. Just thinking about the alternative caused me to shudder. If I get in their fingers after I made such a fool out of them... It''s best to disappear from the face of the earth. This time metaphorically instead of literally. " You are oddly calm, I would have expected a lot more questions and anger coming from you." I gave him a thumbs-up before I spoke my reply. " I wanted to listen to your task in its entirety to form my opinion. Listening earnestly helped me evaluating the risks and opportunities that come with it. The tasks seem sensible given my current situation, therefore I agree." " Wait, what? Really?" It was the first time I had seen the Observer being caught off guard. But this sensation only lasted for an instant before his face returned to its usual indifference. " Why should I decline? I do not see any disadvantage from your offer" " You need to help a player, an existence that would kill you without batting an eye if he met you. You will be in constant danger just by being beside him. You will be met with contempt, ridicule and disregard wherever you may go.Why do you accept this proposition so easily, knowing about all of this?" I looked at him full of ridicule. " I wish I had the luxury to be bothered by their contempt and ridicule. Being treated like dirt, oh what a tremendous suffering.How can a human being endure this inhumanity? " I mockingly raised my arms to the sky and said with a voice full of lament. " May my body be destroyed, may my soul be extinguished. But I still got my honour. My honour will bring me happiness, feed my malnourished family and in the end it saves the entire world." I decided to go on step further and enhanced my performance by falling on my knees and making obvious fake crying noises. Multiple fake sniffs could be heard as I began to speak. " I have lost everything. My wife and children were killed right in front of my eyes. Their corpses were paraded around in town, openly mocked and disfigured. But my family can rest easy knowing that I did not bow my head when they ordered me to. " My expression returned to normality as I looked at the observer. " Honor is a poison that slowly corrodes every logic and reason. Many have fallen and many more will fall due to their unrelenting nature. They throw themselves headfirst into battle because their so-called pride dictates them to. In comparison to those that follow this moronic path, I do not have a deathwish." " Life itself has the highest value. You cant take revenge if you are dead, you can not feed your family if your body is decomposing. The path I follow is the path that leads to life. Everything else is subsidiary." The Observer had a faint smile on his lips after hearing my words. It was the first time I had seen such a genuine emotion from it. This time it spoke directly to me with a much more solemn tone in its voice " The path you are treating is full of loneliness. You will suffer many hardships" " What ominous words. A desolate future, danger lurking at every corner with only death waiting at the end. You know more about me, then you are willing to let in on, that might be in accordance with your plans for me, but I do not particularly care about your motivation or goals. " " This life of mine has no place in this world. It merely is a bonus, I had been lying to myself, tricking myself into thinking that there must be a purpose for me in this world. I enjoy every second of this extension. but If I die then so be it. Do I prefer to live, yes of course, but I am not going to delude myself into hoping for miracles. Death is not something I can escape from." A period of silence followed my words. Every single word I had spoken was earnest and fully reflected my view on life. The memories of my past were still lingering in the depths of my mind. As much as I wanted to I just could not let go of them. This world is full of possibilities but the distance to my former world is unsurmountable, it was so pointless so entirely useless but I could forget about them. Regardless of how often I told myself that the past is not something that can be changed, I just can not come to terms with it. All I could do was laugh at my foolishness and just suppress them and keep myself busy thinking about other things. The great Moirai speaking about freedom and honour but is running away from himself. How very fitting. I could only mock myself thinking about all of the declarations I had made. Someone like me, who always hid behind words is now lying to himself, hiding from his past. Turning back time to fix every mistake, every wrong I ever committed is nothing but a foolish dream. Something I could lose myself in, acting like the world had become perfect. But reality sadly is not a dream. I will never be able to right my wrongs, I will never see them again. But would someone even care? Turning over a new leaf does not absolve me from the guilt of my past. Becoming a better human, for their sake what good does that bring to them? Back on Earth, they could not care any less whether I become a better human or not. Being a man of virtue? Would anyone in this world care? No matter what I do the only person who can hold me accountable is myself. So why should I strive to become a better person? Do I get anything out of that? Any responsibility I could have taken up died with me up on that fateful day. In this world, I don''t owe anyone anything. Everything I do and don''t is solely up to me to decide. Suddenly my conscience became clear. But hasn''t it always been that way? Looking back, I never did something for someone else. Even if I helped someone I did so that I could feel better. Seeing their joy invoked joy in me for causing such a result inside of them. Pleasing others directly so I was pleasing myself indirectly. What a selfish motivation. Huh, seems like I have always been an asshole even while being nice to everyone. When my fancy card house of lies began to crumble, it all began to spiral out of control. My mom looked to alcohol, my sister looked at others, my father looked at his reputation and I looked away. Then I refused to accept it, but in hindsight, I was fitting perfectly in this self-absorbed family. I can hardly blame them, after all, I am not better than them in the slightest. A pity that it took a death for me to realize my hypocrisy. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. This realisation happened subconsciously and was hard to put in words. Nothing much had changed my outlook on the world was still the same. A slight shift in my perspective made me feel a lot better about myself that was all. At least the times of constant self-loathing came to an end I thought to myself. Many words of doubt came as an answer. Which prompted me to threaten them to prove my resolve. Knowledge indeed is power. Though I should not tease that old fogey all too much he still has too much leverage. The Observer did not like this extended period of silence and began to speak once again. " So what are your conditions?" " I am glad you ask. Luckily we both speak the same language" I consulted my tenants if they wanted something special before listing my demands to the Observer I had to keep in mind, that it had to be reasonable. After all, the Observer can only advice and propose. " The list of my wishes is not that long and really only serves to make the live easier for me, while not posing any risk to your position. I would hardly bite the hand that feeds me.But if you try to make your presence less noticeable, picking English as the language for those NPCs is not a really bright choice." WIthout giving the Observer any chance to retort I presented my list. "The following things would be really nice to have... " 96 Becoming a real NPC 2 The Observer looked at me as if I had lost my mind. At least I think that this look on his face should express exactly that. His knowledge regarding mimics and human nature is a bit off at times though I did not have the heart to tell it that. Judging by his newly generated expression, thinking it seems to be enough. "Relax, nobody besides me would notice anything. I am certain that if any human being were to posses your knowledge it would act differently as well. " Seems like my words were not enough to appease its mood, as it was currently busy flipping me off. I did not know that I would be a trendsetter for this particular matter. Well, this is not the kind of change I had intended to leave behind in this world, but its not a bad feeling either. " This question will most likely be a regret of mine, but what exactly does this gesture mean? I am aware, that it has a negative connotation. " Now it was my turn to be perplexed. Why would it ask such a ridiculous matter that had next to no influence regarding our negotiation? Wait, don''t tell me that it is not the only one using this gesture. I looked at it waiting for some kind of confirmation of my theory. " It may be part of the new gestures addon, that is being planned for the next DLC." I could not fathom what kind of words had just lefts its temporal mouth.My fragile world view was crumbling once more. Even this sacred world was not safe from the evil business strategies known as DLC. I never told a single soul about this predatory praxis used back on Earth. You motherfucker, you spilt the beans, didn''t you? The lack of voices inside of my head was enough to prove my suspicion. Was the short term benefit worth it? " Quit feigning ignorance, why else would you have given him access to this kind of specific memory, that serves him no purpose at all. Do you think I would be here without your bait?" " Oh, where are my manners. Rest assured all of the information is genuine. Though I am sure, you are not interested in them directly but how I obtained them. But before we resume this serious matter, let me explain the meaning of this famous gesture." " This gesture as you already have guessed is something coming from my former world. I am not going to bother explaining its origin to you, as that would not serve any purpose at all. Where I am from this gesture is used to tell others to fuck off. " Since you are not familiar with the terminology fuck off, I will give you another explanation free on the house. Fuck is a derogative term for the act of reproduction. Though its usage is not restricted to this singular matter. It''s quite broad, even being used to emphasize the gravity of the words that follow after. But you will find me mostly using it as a filler if I am speechless." I made sure to explain the term with much care and detail as possible, I owed it that much. " Adding off and the meaning turns into "Get lost". Of course, using these words is a lot more insulting then a simple get lost. If you intend to really infuriate and utterly shame your target I would advise using the term "Fuck yourself". Though the meaning would entirely go over the heads of those idiots from this world. The concept of masturbating or pleasuring yourself is not something that seems to be known in this world. No wonder they are always so warmongering." The reply came shortly after with the usual coldness. " The perversion of the human race knows no bounds." " What is this "cultural exchange" not to your liking? It should be in your best interest to pay close attention to it. You might never know, what the other side of the coin is. I would not put all of my hopes in those players of yours. The Observer was not provoked by my words and laughed at me belittingly. " I forgot, you just observe. Your relation to those players is shallow at best, that just begs the question why do you want me to help them indirectly? I am sure, that even at such a low level my help would not be required. After all, losing or winning has no impact on either of us, so why bother?" I could only shake my head repeatedly as I stared at the Observer. I was in no position to ask for the full truth about the things going on behind the curtain, but taking me for granted is not something that even it should do. I resumed my little speech without any emotion interfering in my delivery. " Do you take me for an utter fool? Everything in this place just does not add up. Testing their skills in all those events and competing using humans to train their skills as a general? If you are just going to fight against those monsters you claim to be your biggest enemy, then all of this is entirely pointless, a waste of time and resources. The little bit of coordination needed can be trained without creating this kind of place." Why would they spend this much resources rebuilding the primal world of their little planet before they gained supremacy if they did not have a god damn good reason for it? Their so-called altruism and fake generosity to train a generation to finally free themselves from the everlasting nightmare is nothing more than a poor cover-up. Those in power would not invest so much for a foolish dream with no return. This world needs a common threat, whether it is those monsters or something entirely else. Without something to fear their entire foundation falls apart. So why would they go as far and proclaim that the victory against the monsters was soon to come? What kind of development has lead to such a decision? Either there is no need to keep up appearances anymore and they can keep the status quo by other means. Or the situation is so fucked up, that this lie has lost its purpose. Taking everything into consideration isn''t the choice to choose the name of " Primal Survival" a bit too obvious? This world was never meant as a place to train the youth, it is likely used as a haven. This is something bigger than the Churches are willing to let the people in on. I suspect, that those people who share this little space with us are not even a real threat. " But everything I just thought and said is just pure speculation. I neither had or will have any strength to meddle in their affairs. Quite frankly, I do not care about it at all. If this world is of any importance to the so-called Gods they will surely intervene. After all, this merely is the lowest spectrum of power in this little place. Otherwise, I would have come into contact with those guys and girls from the "beta" test." Despite being on death''s door multiple times, the things I lived through that day are something else. "That day" I still can remember it vividly. Although I prefer not to dwell on those memories. If I were to die, then I had no hopes of respawning. That was some of the words you left me with. Those multiple deaths I felt would have been enough to kill me multiple times, yet I am still standing here. I won''t buy the excuse, that you were able to set me back together by generating a new body for me over and over again before inserting me into that body. The torture I felt that day was not something those players could have come up with. I have come into contact with numerous players none of them even remotely had any knowledge about the nature of their bodies. It''s all magic here and magic there. But someone just like that is speaking about nerves and their inner workings. Strangely I have no memories of the torture that followed afterwards and I only saw what happened to myself by watching a video. Seems odd, that I have no recollection of said events if I still remember the first part so clearly. A place, in which you had absolute control as you have claimed prior. A video of a baby body being tortured in a manner that came from my former world and not this one. Was everything that I lived through on that fateful day, something set up, something fabricated? Seems quite likely if I think about it. Those beta testers would never torture people in such a barbaric fashion. In a culture like theirs that glorifies magic and faith, they would never lower themselves and dirty their hands doing something like that. Whether those morons truly exist or not it is subsidiary. It all fits perfectly the voice, telling me to man up and being used as a lure to bait a fish monster only to wake up in the real world. " Oh took you long enough to figure that out." " I would not stand here if I had done so. I would have been discarded, the version of myself from back then was not something of any use to you. Though it was easy to manipulate me to do your bidding." The Observer shook his head. " You still do not fully understand me. All of this was necessary to make a real NPC out of you" A necessity huh? I still had no idea, why all of that had to be done. It had not anticipated that my little tenant would make my body his new home. Or is it due to this anomaly, that it pays that much attention to me? A real NPC? Certainly, a weird way to phrase it, as if the NPC I have met till now can not be considered to be real. Either he hints at there a lot more weird cases such as myself or the other NPCs lack the strength to be considered a real threat. " You can relax, there are no more anomalies like you. Something like you can not exist outside out of this realm.But just because you are unique does not make you special. There are a lot of real NPCs out there. " While this revelation was not something that I had expected it was far from causing an emotional stir inside of me. Without any morals or ambition dictating my actions, I would not bother with those special NPCs. The Observer did not react to my thoughts and resumed speaking. " Disregarding the lack of emotional investment in this cause. I would like to remind you, that you can not avoid coming into contact with them. there are no doubts, that their approach towards you will differ a lot from yours." While my plans may seem myopic, one should not forget that even the system itself is not able to recognize my strength. Those who seek strong opponents will not care about something as lowly as me in the slightest and those who indulge themselves in slaughter will be taken care of when they let their guard down. If I were to die in the end, then I had no room to complain either way. First and foremost, those NPCs are not interested in other NPCs but players.And the players would drop everything to fight a good enemy, I know that from firsthand experience. If they are busy I am left with even more peace and serenity since everyone else is busy. Be it monsters, players or real NPCs, every one of these will have a lot of blood on their hands. But I doubt they would go out of their way to seek out someone as lowly as me. I believe in myself to be able to resist the ones who do. But the future is uncertain. Who knows what kind of strange or mysterious developments occur? It might be possible with time magic, but I have yet to see someone using it. Until then it remains nothing more than speculation. I will just have to wait and see what awaits me, after all, you still hold back a lot of knowledge about this strange plane of existence. Only time can tell what will happen. The Observer finally lost his calm appearance and began to cut to the chase. " As much as I like your theories and vivid imagination, can we return to the subject at hand and not waste any more time on these useless half-truths?" Well seems like my theories fall on deaf ears. Most of the stuff I just said was just meant to provoke the Observer and to get some information out of him it had likely withheld from me. Whether or not a foreign group was waiting at the end of the competition I truly did not know. The case of special NPCs is something I will have to look after. Regarding my first hours inside of this world, was not something that mattered to me, using it as emotional leverage failed horrendously. " We can,I do not mind. Though I was not trying to ridicule you, all of those requests are valid." " Sorry after uttering over 100 requests I doubt the sincerity of your words. " Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Even though the number may sound astounding I just gave all the requirements for my potential strategies for the upcoming task at hand. " Potential Strategies you say. Let us see request #35Experience can be bought by gold. Why would you need something like this?" " I wanted to have a way to strengthen the NPCs I could have hired for my master if their numbers are too low for the other methodology. Of course, I also suggested other possibilities if somethings can not be arranged." " You mean #40 and #43?Proposing that NPCs can get experience by killing players and monsters, although you knew that those things were already in place. Though I can not honour your request to hire a monster with gold aswell. " Though that means that #44 can be achieved that is nice to know." " That is if you can accomplish that." " I have my ways you know." #44 Was a simple request, that states that monsters can be tamed. I have no ideas what kind fo weaponry or strategies I might have to use. All of my requests the random the might seem to cover a possibility. " Furthermore I can not tell you more about the event than was to the others, also I can not tell you about the last event. Meaning your requests#60 and #66 invalid. Though I do wonder what made you come up with request #1 and why do you put so much emphasize on it." " Why would you want to be able to hire NPCs so badly? Everybody else can do it, so why would you want to do so as well?" "I just want to have a little army myself is that so wrong?" We both know that these were a lie. But it did not know, how much stood behind that little sentence. It would take long before it would realize, what can be done. But it would be too late by then. 97 A deadly test 1 After a lengthy session discussing all of my proposals we could finally agree on most of them. To be honest I got away with more than I had hoped for. Although every option I had asked for was something that would bring me a lot of advantages not everything was feasible. " That much was obvious, you are not an honest person after all." The person standing right next to me was the Observer who had still taken over the body of the NPC. After our discussion came to an end, I was teleported into a special realm and got to see my future prot¨¦g¨¦. " My surroundings leave me with no other choice. After all, I have to deal with you and that old fogey inside of my body. I have to fight nail and tooth for every little advantage. Who of us isn''t scheming and planning against the other? It would be foolish to not do so." " I am not as delusional to think I can escape death and live forever. But that does not mean, that I won''t everything it takes to see tomorrow." The Observer clapped his hands and walked closer to me while he was looking at me as if I was his favourite toy. " No matter what I throw at you, you always manage to surprise me. It is regrettable that our interests do not align." Seems like I have to move head sideways now. I thought to myself as I began to move my body. " I like your interest in the martial arts and fighting style of us humans, but I would appreciate it if you did not aim for the head first. " Moving backwards to gain some distance while gauging his next actions on how to proceed. " Alleviating your boredom is fine by me, but shouldn''t we do something first about the idiot there throwing fireballs over and over again at those poor wolves?" A kick aiming at my midsection, just by moving forward I could avoid the damage. The counterattack was simply kicking the other leg which was currently holding all of the body weight. By shifting the hips and moving my foot sideways I amplify the power of the kick.Aiming for a downward angle I can deal as much damage as possible. Although all of my efforts were just shrugged off without any effort from its side. The next attack did come without any relay and was still aiming at my face. Using one of my hands to let his arm slide over it before moving my upper body and throwing an attack with my other hand. Sadly even if I put behind all of my weight behind one of my punches I leave no trace of damage. " That body of yours is quite something. No sign of damage after I threw an attack like that." The fight continued as I spoke with him and he grabbed my hand that had just graced his face. Leaving me with no other choice than shifting my centre of balance and let myself fall backwards while using the gravity to pull him with me. Since he was no signs of letting go I shifted my hips once more changing the angle and making it harder for him to exert any strength due to the lack of stable footing. Taking advantage out of its missing balance I rammed my other elbow into its ribs as his body was still moving forwards after my pull. Despite my best effort, it was still holding on to my arm. Even if my body was not weakened I still would not dare to fight someone of its calibre. Or rather I would choose to fight in a space, in which it did not have absolute control over. Since it wants to experience all of my fighting styles, I will not do my utmost to leave an impression. In my current situation, I could forget about using any fancy movements. I send a flurry of attacks targeted at vital spots. A karate chop to the throat, a kick towards the groin, slapping both of his ears or poking his eyes nothing showed any signs of effect. Since even that strategy did not net any results, I had to try something different. I decided to jump over its body and using its arm and try to choke him out. Of course, even this strategy did not work as only a faint laugh came over its lips. Dealing with such a fellow is quite vexing if nothing works. " You should not worry about him but yourself. You can go all out I won''t get hurt I promise" it has truly learned a lot from me, it even manages to piss me off. Well, then let me do something quite unhealthy. The expenditure of energy increases massively and it is quite taxing on my body. Despite not standing any chance, I do not want to give up without having tried anything. An empowered attack will not deal any damage, but at least I can vent some of my frustration by hitting it. Though it had other plans for me. After my attack connected, it threw me away with quite some force. " I am getting bored just defending, you don''t mind if I start attacking right?" " Oh, you are taking pity on me, even announcing your intention." Right hand to the face, while closing in on me and following it up with a kick. I had no intention of getting hit or stopping my attacks to focus on defending. I threw my right and aimed at its face. It would most likely ignore my attack due to its contempt regarding my lacklustre strength. But my aim was not his face but to grab the fur on his body. After utilizing this kind of feint I pulled him downwards while moving my knee upwards aiming at his nose. I felt an impact, but the result was still the same. I had no time to wait, so I grabbed one of his arms and twisted it around. Holding it behind his back, I began to control his movement and set another kick at the back of its knees. To try and force him to lose his balance once more. Yet it still had no impact as my kick felt like it hit a brick wall. Holding onto his arm was not something I could do, as an elbow strick was currently coming towards me. I jumped back to get away out of its attack range for now. " No one said, that you have to use even more speed. As if things were not unfair enough before we had started our little skirmish." I should stop trying to speak and fight at the same time. I was forced to dodge 2 jabs that came to me in quick succession. This motherfucker did not show any signs of consideration and attacked me as if I was owing money to it. I am glad it was not aiming for my vitals, but it was rubbing me the wrong way that each of his attacks was currently aiming at my face. It was still picking up the pace and the attacks came faster and faster. Shit, it becomes even hard to see the trajectory of them. Relying on my intuition I can still evade most of its attacks. Though some attacks had managed to hit my face making me wish that I had managed to dodge in time. I did not even have any time to throw any attacks of my own as both of my arms were forced to defend against its attempts. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. If I manage to shift one of its attacks the next one just comes right back into my face before I can change its trajectory. The frequency of attacks that hits my face keeps on increasing and yet this idiot still keeps on increasing his attack speed. Even after giving up my defence and using its speed against it, my punches were still ignored. Though my bones were feeling the impact, that had just occurred. Clicking my death I had no choice than defending myself at all cost. If I cant mitigate all of its attacks, all I have to do is move my body to take away the force of those that come through my defences. This strategy had mixed results as I could prevent a lot of pain, but upon noticing my act, the fucker put a lot more strength into its punches to make me regret this kind of decision. I had no other choice than keeping my distance and minimize the time I am in its effective range. Though even this strategy did not yield many results as it started to utelize its speed once more and aiming some of its attacks towards my legs to limit my mobility. This was the first time I was treated like a child, utterly ridiculed and toyed with. Even if my abilities are enough to fight those weak players, it is just not enough in the grand scheme. I am no prodigy, I have not studied any extreme tactics or acquired any skills that go beyond the normal. In those matters, I am just average with no hopes of competing against the truly talented people from Earth. Despite my nonexisting odds of success and only injuries awaiting me, I still had a big smile upon my face. I come to enjoy this kind of thing. Masochistic tendencies sure cloud my reasoning at times. I will have to think about it later. I will have enough time to do that, those haemorrhages and bruises will take a bit of time to heal up. " You truly are weird, even after showing you a big disparity like that you continue and even go so far as to increase the output of your body, Are you sure you want to risk, that your injuries might flair up?" " I will be fine, after all, you are just hitting my face over and over again. Though you will have to pick up more speed as the current one is not enough anymore." " You overestimate your abilities. But who am I to disagree, I will give you what you have asked for." I was in for a world of hurt after all more also means more damage once it comes into contact with me. Embracing the upcoming pain I paid special attention to his movement trying my best to sharpen my senses as much possible. I had no chance to react as a foot hit me in the solar plexus with a speed unlike I had ever seen. " Who said I would only aim for the face?" I heard the voice full of ridicule as I was launched into the distance by this kick. I could not suppress myself and had to spit out some blood out of my mouth. This goes way beyond something I do consider to be safe. Seems like I truly might lose my life in such a wasteful fashion. I did not have any time to muster any strength as the next attack was launched at me, while I was still lying on the floor. I did not even it coming towards me, what is this level of speed? This goes beyond any concept of speed feasible for a human body. Am I fighting against a fucking car? Well, I might as well risk it all if things have escalated to this level. My dear Tennant does the things I have talked to you about. A faint sigh could be heard in my mind. I had no time to lament my foolishness. Before my heartbeat started to pump quicker and quicker. The heart is a weird muscle it is responsible for pumping blood through the entire body and delivering oxygen and many other things to the areas that need them. If the body is exercising the heart has to pump faster to keep up with the expense. All I have done till now was to allocate more and more energy my muscles and my body can spend. But what were to happen if I remove the limiter keeping my body in check? If I end up dying then I might as well go out in style. " You have become scary, boy. I like it, although it hurts my feelings that you kept something like this hidden until this day." " There never had been any need to do so." The strain on my body had increased even more though this pressure was liberalizing strangely. This temporal high was not coming without a price, but this detail did not matter. With my senses heightening to a degree I would have thought to be impossible I began to attack. Even as my bones began to crack and splinter and the body itself was threatening to collapse I still did not stop. Although his current speed could not keep up with my movement, I could tell that he was doing so deliberately, intending to crush me after I had given my all. Oh, he would make a fine human. Although my body was threatening to fall apart any seconds I was lucky, that my wounds and broken bones were healing by the naked eye, due to all of the energy flooding every part of my body. This created a seemingly endless cycle of horrible injuries. It was hopeless to try and replenish all the energy and nutrients that I am forced to use. At the moment I was nothing more than a candle burning brightly while all of the paraffin was being used to fuel it. Kicks, punches came hailing at him but he did not even move out of the way and just followed my every movement with its eyes while yawning. Even using my strong teeth I could not penetrate its skin. I am truly running out of attacks I could use. I thought I could vent some of the frustration that has built itself up just from fighting here but each of my hits caused more stress. The expression on its face just riles me up and makes me want to punch it even harder. This vicious cycle only ends when I am devoid of any strength. Overall the situation is not something I would describe as hopeful. There was no need to feel indignant over my loss as I had no chance in the first place. Though just because I keep on thinking it does not make it any less infuriating that I am not capable of dealing any damage to this annoying fellow. At least I won''t have to resort to Plan B " You truly have a death wish, even thinking about Plan B at all. The stuff you have used now still was under my control and the damage done to your body was something you could take without any direct fear for your life. But even after putting up such a show, it is not satisfied yet. I have no clue what might happen if I were to follow that ridiculous idea of yours. Luckily your prior ruse worked even though your body will get even weaker. You have 2 minutes left." That is more than I need. " Sorry for using such underhanded tactics from to beat you, but you are leaving me with no choice. You should have noticed by now, that my aim had never been to vent any frustration by punching you over and over again." I am not that driven by my emotions and I would certainly not give away my life just so I get to punch its face a few times " You must have noticed that your body has been covered in a strange substance. This substance is part of my body and is a strange sideproduct that came out of the union between me and my tenant. I still have next to no idea how it works, but it makes it harder for you to influence the mana particles on the surface of that body of yours. That much should be obvious for you, that even in this realm you are incapable of influencing it" "All of this trouble just so you can meddle with the first layer of my body? You are truly desperate." No, a crack in the surface is sufficient for me to win this fight. Let me show exactly how you are going to lose this bout. 98 A deadly test 2 Although my ruse had worked and I could cover it in the magical substance of my body, I doubt that it will let me do what I want now. Especially after giving such an arrogant speech. My plan of punching it still did not change and I still had 2 minutes left where my body was empowered. Not wasting any more time with heroic speeches I started to attack the Observer once more. His expression was still mocking me, even after it fell for my plan. But it seems like it is taking my attacks a lot more serious now as it had begun to actively dodge my attacks. It was copying my manoeuvres and movement, just now it used my attack against me by letting my arm slide over his and returning a punch with all of his body weight. I definitely felt that one, but I had no time to waste and so I pressed on forward instead of backing off.Even If that meant that more injuries would pile up on my body. It intended to grab my hand and copy the rest of the technique I had done.Instead, it was greeted by my fist that came crashing down onto its chin. Sadly, it still managed to avoid even that kind of attack. Moving its head backwards it managed to get out of the range of my fist. Even the follow-up attacks aiming at his body and his legs were dodged with ease by it. It did not let it have any chance to catch its breath if it does need to breathe in the first place. A feint indicating an attack to the head to provoke a reaction only to throw the real attack with the other hand. It avoided this attack by a hairs breath simply by ducking. I took advantage out of the speed I had picked up and transferred the motion into a roundhouse kick aiming at his body. The Observer did not hesitate at all and closed in on me aiming a kick towards my leg that was currently carrying all of my weight. I tried to throw my weight backwards to gain some distance and avoid this type of attack from hitting my leg. I had not expected the Observer to use this attack as a feint as well and now it ran towards me while my centre of balance was currently lost. I decided to give up on controlling my fall and launched my leg upwards. It had not expected this decision but it countered my attempt by simply stopping its movement and waiting till I fall backwards. By aching my arms backwards and I pushed my body away from the stomp that followed shortly after. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. This short exchange left me none the wiser as I had not managed to hit this bastard even once. Its smile was ever so brightly as it raised the middle towards me. I reciprocated this gesture before I ran towards it again. It felt like an impossible task to connect even one attack. It was always evading my attacks and even by changing my attack pattern I still could not come any closer to achieving my goal. There was no way in hell, that I could hit him by ordinary means. Once again I came close to it and threw a punch at its face and once again it countered the same way it had done previously. Though this time I gave up on my defence and stepped in fully embracing the attack aimed at my face. This was the price I had to pay to make this attack. My left fist came flying at its face at an alarming pace though it was still smiling and simply it''s head back to get out of the range of my fist. Though it did not account for one thing, my current body was not human. I spread my fist open and launch my nails straight into his left eye crossing the gap it had made by its movement. It was the first attack of mine that did some damage even though it barely managed to penetrate the surface of the eye. I felt encouraged by my success and resumed my wave of attacks. It moved backwards in a hurry but the nails on my foot still left a long scratch on its abdomen. I ripped out the hairs on my arm and threw them while it had not adapted fully to the situation causing the hairs to embed on its body. I had thrown the next hairs right on after but the Observer managed to dodge them with renewed ease. " Truly fascinating, what an obscure fighting style and a strange way to utelize those weapons of yours." I did not have any time to listen to its fascination and rushed to its current location. Although it continued its talk while I threw my everything at it. " You limited your attacks to the skills a normal human can possess only to use it when the time was right and I had become accustomed towards your movement. " Quit stating the obvious, It pisses me off that he still can speak like that without any worry. All of my attacks were avoided once more. I had to go one step further as I grabbed a handful of my hair and started setting it on fire. Before putting them between my fingers and making a fist. " Are you trying to extend your range by doing something like this? But, you already used a tactic like that.Truly disappointing." I did not listen to its provocation and began my attacks, which were evaded without a hitch once more. It ducked, weaved its head and reflected some of my attacks. Its movement was simple, yet effective. " It had never been my aim to extend my range with them," I said those words after it once again avoided my attacks. During my attack, I let go of the still-burning hairs and launched them at its body. " The substance you are covered in also burns well." Its body was lit ablaze, but I could only sigh as those flames did not seem to have the desired effect on its flesh. As it still was laughing loudly after it had become a living torch. " You always manage to surprise me, but this is not enough to win this battle" What an unfair battle, I could only sigh after not even this kind of plan had worked. Despite still burning it was holding a lecture in front of me. Do I have to disintegrate its body to win? Well, then I might as well write my will now. if even fire is not enough, then I just have to destroy the human body itself. A human body has its limitations, no matter how strong a human is a broken lack and any mobility is gone. So let us resume our fighting. This time it still tried its best to dodge all of my attacks but the flames were impacting his vision due to their brightness. Though even this handicap was not having much influence on its abilities. It still was enough to lower it speed just enough so it could not dodge all of my attacks. So I began to focus all of my attacks on its knee cap to limit its mobility. Despite being able to hit its right knee cap several times, the intended effect was meagre at best. Right now it was just taunting me as it was still flipping me off while dodging my attacks. I was ashamed of facing someone of its calibre, even I still could learn a lot just watching the greatness of this simple gesture. Just thinking about what it could do if had all of my knowledge makes me accept my inferiority. Since targeting the knee cap did not show any results I began to target the next area. Exploiting the lack of vision I threw a punch at his face which is still dodged. But I had accounted for that much, as I aimed to grab the fur on his shoulder. Pulling it downwards I could finally target a spot, which would make him lose of on its senses Using my nails I penetrated his ears and injured the set of nerves responsible for keeping the body balanced. It was not even remotely phased by destroying his ears. It truly is fast at adapting the magic particles to ensure, that it can keep on fighting without the body losing any of its fighting capabilities. I can target those spots all day long and it will still be pointless if it just can adjust the magic particles. Then its time to target those areas, that have been injured by my previous attacks. Easier said than done though, I am quite sure it would not stand still and wait. The ability to manipulate and gather all those information by manipulating every mana particle truly is a cheat. It still does not take me seriously and just keeps on provoking and taunting me. Well if I were it I would do the same. Resuming my attacks once more, everything was yet again for nought as it was taking the fight a bit more serious. Well, even though this idea might work, it still will be useless if I can not accomplish to hit the wounded areas. In the meantime, it was still smiling at me as if it was cheering me on to try the impossible. Its arrogance truly rivals my own. But I refuse to let it beat me and my own game, I will not endure such a humiliation. If I can not hit a single injured area, I will just have to make more areas I can attack, it can not dodge them all. Grabbing my arm air, I began to throw them as fast as I could while covering as much over his body as possible with them. He did not dodge at all and received all of them. It truly did not give any damn about me, if even uses this situation making fun of me. Though it had enough strength to back up that level of confidence. " Your resolve is truly wonderful, but you should not forget that I am the ruler in this space and I can change everything inside of it to my liking." " And here I thought you would at least try to give me a chance. You still insist on making my life harder than it has to be. Did I not prove my worth to you in this fight?" It looked at me and was still laughing at me. " This is not a test, this is a lecture to show your limits to you. A bit of humility is something that everyone should possess." I lifted my hands and motioned it to calm down. " Relax, I never even thought about winning against this battle against you. You are the absolute ruler in this little space and everything I have thrown at you proved to be utterly useless. I just wanted to show some of my capabilities to you. After all the slime I use is quite valuable you should have noticed that by now." The Observer only shook its head it returned to its usual behaviour and stopped trying to taunt me. " You have become complacent. The way you are now you don''t stand any chance against those players." I could not deny its word, because even after putting so much on the line I was still toyed with by someone who did not even wield magic. I know that it was trying to gauge my strength by throwing myself into an unusual situation without any kind of preparation. I would not stand any chance if it had used the strength it showed at the end from the beginning. I have to be thankful, otherwise, I would not have won this fight. "The 2 minutes have passed by now." The entire body of the Observer began to spasm and sweat covered its entire body. " What have you done?" " I knew that I stood no chance against you at all. You could adapt to everything I can throw to you, even at my physical peak I would not have the slightest chance at beating you." I looked at its body deteriorating before I continued to explain the situation. "I planned to prove my worth, by throwing everything I have at you. From the mysterious substance that covered you ti even set you on fire. Though its main purpose was to divert your focus elsewhere." I showed him my nails, which tips were covered with a very thin liquid. "My goal had been achieved after I could penetrate the first layer of your skin to get the poison inside of your body. Using a strong poison would have been a bad idea, so I decided on one that slowly infected every corner of your body. All I had to do was keeping you busy and waiting for the poison to spread." " The reason you did not notice it in the first place, was due to 3 reasons" I lifted 3 fingers and began to explain it in detail. " Your primary focus was on evaluating my fighting capabilities and since you did not have to worry about me penetrating your body with my weapons you could let down your guard in this matter. That was the first reason." " The amount of poison was minuscule to not give away its presence and the damage it will cause in the first place. But you still noticed a strange substance interacting with the mana particles inside of your body. Though then you still associated it with the substance you were covered in. You did not know that it has another way more interesting property. It is capable of strengthening the inherent characteristics of the matter it comes into contact with." " The poison got a lot more potent after it was amplified with my substance. Using my hair on your body was not meant to create an area where I can attack your body, but to get the slime inside of your body where it came into contact with the poison. It builds up until it was too late. That was the second reason." " The understanding of the human body was your third mistake. Suppressing the nerve signals and the feelings of your body was something you should not have done. While relying on your perception of magic particles is vastly superior, do not underestimate thecapabilities of the human brain, " Despite the desolate condition of the NPC the Observer had taken control of it still stood up and began to clap before falling over and succumbing to the poison. A voice appeared in my head. " Having a vessel made out of flesh feels weird I prefer it this way." Even though I won at the end I had to burn away too many resources. I fell backwards and my whole body began to convulse. That was the side effect of forcing it to go beyond the limit. Thank you for going easy on me otherwise I would not stand a chance, even outside of this realm. " But why did you give away the existence of that wonderous substance inside of you? What was your purpose in doing so?" I coughed heavily as I was regretting my decision to risk so much for such a meaningless fight. " I am certain, that you knew of my little experiments that had influenced some mana particles. I just wanted to give you a small taste of what I am capable of and that this body of mine still has some secrets, that you did not know off. " Please let me rest for a while, I am in no shape to talk to this madman who just throws fire spells around. What redeeming quality do you even see in someone like him? Others managed to escape from the tutorial at least. " Well, you still have not figured out how you to open your status." That are 2 entire different concepts that can not be compared. I am stuck in this world I barely understand and he is incapable to follow simple instructions. How else can you explain the fact, that every other player, every single one had managed to get out of there but not this fellow? Why do you have to make it so hard for me? Did my demands offend you? It would not take long until this poor player would come into contact with something pure evil. Until then I watched the idiot throwing spells around while I recuperated as best as I could. My break lasted exactly one minute before the ground I was standing on disappeared and I descended downwards abruptly. Yeah, the observer was still pissed of. I just hope that the player I have to help is not as stupid as he acts. Hope dies last after all. 99 I will make a man out of you. The first impression I left behind, was a crater in human shape. After crashing into the ground thanks to the Observer, I pushed up my worn-out body and removed the dust from my clothes. "Ta-dah here I am, the great Moirai" The idea of using that introduction was directly discarded from my brain. Even I have some sense of shame and that image would be stuck with me as long as I stay by his side. I moved my body around and started to crack all the bones who had still not healed fully after that previous fight. Luckily no enemy was in sight who was out for my blood. After satisfying my cracking addiction, I took a closer look at the lunatic who had stopped throwing attacks at those poor young wolves. He stared at me with big eyes wondering what in Gods name just happened. I wanted to introduce myself by simply shaking his hand but I felt something gnawing on my flesh. Yeah, exactly what I wanted a low-level wolf biting me. This wolf found itself launched into the air after it met my feet. Finally the soccer lessons I had paid off. The pained howl could be heard for quite some time before it came to an end after bouncing on the ground several times I held in for a while admiring the distance I was able to kick the wolf before turning back and I wanted to raise my voice to give him my name. Only to notice, that another wolf had taken over the job of the previous wolf. Their small teeth did not deal any lasting damage but it was without a doubt annoying. Suppressing my desire to turn this wolf into yet another projectile I began to introduce myself. " Hello, I am Moirai. I was given the task to be your aid. I am here to help you in achieving greatness." What a corny speech luckily he does not seem to mind, as his expression was delightful as he saw me speaking to him. Almost too delightful, it felt like I was something akin to rain after a long drought. " My title is " Hero of war" but I would prefer it if you call me Tom" I had not expected a treatment like this. Instead of arrogance and scorn, I was given respect and humility. Whether it was caused by the lack of contact with other players or not I felt truly appreciated. " Hello Tom, it is nice to make your acquaintance. How can I be of assistance?" Tom was smiling brightly upon hearing my words and he began to speak with a cheerful voice. " Finally something different. I swear If I have to see even one more wolf I am going to burn everything down. So please just get me out of here." I could understand him wholeheartedly, but I was just as illiterate with this kind of technology as he. I doubt that turn it off and turn it back on again is a good piece of advice. " I am afraid I do not have the qualifications to answer this kind of demand. But I am sure that this tutorial could only be left after proving their abilities. " His expression turned downcast but he could follow the logic behind my words and he thought about how he could prove his worth. While he was at it he threw a small fireball at the wolf that was still happily chewing on me and incinerated it. " Those wolves do not pose a threat and should be used to showcase your unique strengths. Just after you have bested one another one appears. This just means that the qualifications have not been met." I threw the wolf towards in the air and waited how he would react to something like this. I did not have to wait before a quick attack managed to finish it off. Its charred body just dropped down in an anticlimactic fashion. How am I supposed to gauge your abilities if that''s his understanding of proving his prowess? What about saving your strength and not using so much power against a fucking young wolf. " A splendid display of your might. Shall we repeat the process and muster the least amount of magic this time?" I grabbed another poor wolf who just had been born into this world and launched it into the air just like his brethren. This time around I saw a minuscule amount of magic moving towards the wolf at high speed. But after the magic hit its target the effect had even worsened and its body had turned into ashes. Well even though he followed my advice this was not the thing I had hoped for. Despite limiting the amount of mana he used the magic he used this time around was a lot more potent. This kind of flame directly erased its body from existence. Without saying another word I turned around and grabbed the next subject for my little period of testing. Once again it flew through the air not knowing what cruel fate was lying ahead of it. Without much suspense, its life came to an abrupt end as another concentrated small fireball directly penetrated its brain before the entire body was consumed by the flames. I was left with no choice but to ask for every single thing I wanted to see from him. I could not expect him to read my thoughts and do exactly what I want from him. " Show your control and only incapacitate the target so it can not move." Another wolf and another failure. The target''s body had been badly mutilated by the flames which burned away all of his limbs, while the rest of the body was suffering from the side effects. Technically it was still alive, but it would not take more than 10 seconds before it succumb to its heavy injuries. " Aim for the right leg." This time he managed to hit the right leg of the wolf, which was fortunate enough to spawn right in front of me. His precision is really good though he still should work on controlling his flames judging by the missing head of the wolf. " Right leg" " Left hindleg." " Right hindleg" After using 3 more test subjects I noticed that he started to get better at this. This is pure talent, but what else would I expect from someone coming from the Church? Some knowledge about the technology would have been quite nice. Or at the least enough intelligence to be able to leave this tutorial. Though I could not complain about it too much because I would not be able to check out so much about his magic. Though I had to restrain my interest a bit, as to not give away my special status or worsen his opinion of me. " Your performance is breathtaking, the precision and control required to hit the target is something enviable. Sir''s reputation must have spread widely." He looked a bit ashamed after hearing my words. Did not expect him to be that conscious about it. He is part of the Church, so he should be far more confident than the average Joe. " While I am certainly not weak, my talent is just pale in comparison to the people surrounding me.No matter how hard I tried no matter how much I endured the gap just widened. " He created a small flame in his hand and looked at it with a bit of disappointment. " I started to resent myself, wondered if I did not pray enough or what I did wrong. At this time I refused to believe the situation and did not want to realize, that it would never be enough. He threw the small fire at the wolf, that had just returned from its grave. " Even to this day, deep down I still wish, I was strong enough to fight on the frontlines. But if I am not strong enough on my own, I will do my utmost to support those who are. Becoming a tactician enables me to help them. I had not expected him to let down his guard and tell me about his insecurities. Well in his eyes I am just an NPC, who won''t judge him. Growing up in such an environment is truly not healthy in many ways. IF you only look up to others you look down on yourself. I knew that firsthand. Comparing myself with others did not make me happy nor did I ever end, there was always another target someone better. I learned that the hard way. " Sir, please consider the value of your work. Those who seek strength do it for themselves, they will be fighting monsters fighting for glory and fame. Tacticians plan not for themselves but for everyone. " A small smile became visible on his downcast expression. " Please don''t call me Sir. I do not need any pleasantries, just Tom is fine." " Tom, don''t asses your worth on something like strength alone. Even the mightiest magician is defenceless when he is sleeping. Even the fiercest monsters have a weakness. All you have to do is grasp it" Although Tom was smiling at me, I did not think he was believing my words. This words must have sounded like I was trying to comfort him. Well if positive reinforcement does not work, I will have to give him a practical demonstration. " Take a look at these young wolves. They keep running at us and get killed over and over again. They are no threat to either of us, but what changes when you are exhausted from using too much mana and lose focus? You are worn down by their constant sacrifices until you make a fatal mistake and fall prey to this bunch of weaklings." Tom shook his head vehemently. " Stuff like that can not happen, monsters don''t act within reason, they would be never capable of forming plans like this. They are just vile creatures who act on their urges." I walked up to him still holding the young wolf in my hands. " But what if the young wolves are not using the strategy but are being used? If an intelligent monster does exist it would not sacrifice itself but those mindless creatures until it can get rid of you." I had to make sure not to say something too outlandish because the scenario still has to seem as somewhat feasible. I could hardly talk about assault rifles or missiles, so I had to find an example that would explain my concept to him. that somewhat fits his world view. " Of course, an intelligent monster does not exist, but if it did you would have been toyed with, because you did not consider the possibility of something like that existing. A good tactician accounts for even the slightest possibilities or he only throws away the lives of the ones under him." Tom still looked at me dejected, my example was not enough to convince him otherwise. Looking at his expression I have to show something more to widen his horizons. The wolf I still held in my hand was thrown directly onto this face, catching him off guard just barely managing to throw a fire spell onto it to get rid of it. It might not be enough to hurt him directly, but it buys me enough time to close in on him. Before he could realize what I was trying to do it was already too late and his neck was grabbed lightly by me. " War is so much more than just strength alone. Deception, deceit everything can be used to get the desired results. You do what has to be done, not do what you would like to." I gave him a soft push before I returned to my previous spot and resumed talking. " Sorry Tom for startling you like that, but that attitude of yours has to change if you want to succeed. " Tom was laughing as he shook his head. He muttered something to himself as he glanced into my general direction. " Great, an NPC who tells me how I should live my life. I should evaluate my life choices." The tone is his voice was slightly mocking but still had a serious vibe attached to it. Though I still could not be entirely sure if he believed my words. " So what should we do next? I do not want to waste my time here anymore." For the time being, we did not have any other choice but to search for a possibility to get out this space. Killing those young wolves until the end of time was not a good alternative. I walked forwards and reached out with my right hand to shake his hand. I have yet to receive a notification that I had become his aid, so I wanted to get that out of the way. " This is part of the summoning process. Please accept me as your aid." [Your request to become the aid of player "Hero of War" has been noted.] [ If player "Hero of War" accepts, your affiliation shall change. Affiliations with other players willfurthermore be disabled and your entire status will become visible to player " Hero of War"] [Experience and gold gained will be partially given away] [Do you still wish to proceed?] I accept. I did not have to wait before his hand came into contact with mine and the contract had been sealed. I had no use for experience and gold and I was rather glad about not being able to be enslaved by other players. [You have become the aid of player "Hero of War"] All of a sudden I saw his face change and shock was written all over it. What happened to cause such a reaction? Even after my display of strength did he not appear that surprised. It must be related to accepting me as his aid. Does he get any kind of privileges as a player that I do not possess? " What, what are you?" he stuttered full of disbelief. I could not fathom what he must have seen that caused this kind of question. Is my status really that messed up? The last time I saw it, it was just beyond sad what could be found there. My level has not increased, otherwise, I would have received some sort of notification. Since my system can not assess my strength I can also conclude, that they are not the reason. This leaves only my titles or my traits as possibilities. Since I also did not receive any notification about being awarded new titles or getting a new achievement, I can safely tell that it is also not the reason. Meaning, the cause for the shock on his face must be related to reading about my traits. Did something change in that regard? At the last time I was still an inferior human, but what am I now? I have to proceed with caution. " Is something wrong?" Playing dumb may not be the best tactic but it is enough to force him to give away more information. " Your stats they are so low. Why could I not get anyone better?" I would like to retract my previous assessment of him. I truly seem to attract assholes. " Tom, how could I compare to someone like you. It is obvious that someone like me is truly weak." As if I would give him the chance to lure me and to show him how strong I truly am. He already should know, that he could not kick a wolf that far even if he stats are vastly superior to mine. " You are too weak, you are of no use to me." The same mind games, if he thinks this will be enough then he truly underestimates my intelligence. I am not a small child and this is not my lollipop. " But Sir should your biggest concern not be how to get out of here? Well look at that, just throwing this kind of cheap bait and his facade is already crumbling. He is hesitant, wondering what I am referring to.His desire to escape from this prison of boredom should have an easy battle against the curiosity dwelling inside of him. " You said you have been summoned here? How did you know that?" Oh, he was not tempted enough and is still asking for knowledge about me and my circumstances. Truly interesting, he has next to no knowledge about this world, yet has is trying to get as much knowledge as possible. " I answered your calling, only someone special would be able to make me appear here. There is no one like you in the small village I grew up. The aura of strength surrounding you is overwhelming." This little information should be enough to keep the direction of his thoughts away from coming closer to the truth. My origin will likely be enough to guide him into a false conclusion. " Seems to me that our little talk came to an untimely end we will have to continue it at another time" Tom was not willing to let the discussion end he nearly screamed at me. " Why are you avoiding the subject? What are you hiding?" " You got too emotional, you neither noticed that all the animal remains have disappeared and any trail of combat is nowhere to be found. Furthermore, no wolf has reappeared since I killed the last one." " Something must have changed after I threw that wolf at you. You might not have noticed it due to the aftermath, but you should check if a change of some kind occurred" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Visible confusion spread all over his face as his mind began to work. In theory, the last kill should have triggered some sort of event. Maybe he killed a set amount of wolves or he gathered enough gold or experience to trigger a special event. Though this eerie calm was not something I liked too much. " Wait since when am I level 2? And what the hell does " Survival" mean?" I laughed after hearing these words, so that''s what is waiting for us. " Tom, I will make a man out of you. So prepare yourself this one is going to be interesting" 100 100 ways to die As the name survival suggests it is very likely that we will be tasked with a test of survival. Whether the time is limited or not only changes the perimeter which decides how the situation is going to develop. The core theme remains the same, all that has to be done is to stay alive. Though Tom was having difficulties understanding this simplistic task. Why would he look that perturbed by something so simple? He is a player, his death does mean a thing in this space if he fails he will just respawn. I do not doubt, that this change in his behaviour is caused by circumstances that seem unlucky to him. Otherwise, he would have never made it into the Church, an elite like him should not be afraid of anything thrown at him. That leaves several possibilities but the most likely cause it that, the survival mission does not involve him at all and he has to rely on me. That would explain his downcast expression and the general change in his bearing. Also, his questions would make a lot more sense if he had known about the upcoming task. This hypothesis would not change the current objective but would mean that the aftermath will be a lot harder to deal with than initially expected. Though that can wait until we have survived the upcoming ordeal. Although my decision to risk so much in the fight against the Observer would surely come back to bite me in the ass, my body was still in a good enough shape to fight against some monsters especially if I aim at their weak points. At least Ishould still possess that much strength. " Any important information you could tell me about this so-called survival?" I yelled directly at him to get some information out of him. He surely would not talk if I was just waiting for the inevitable to happen. " 100 ways.You need 100 ways." he sounded desperate and I was none the wiser what he was talking about. 100 ways to seduce a woman? 100 ways to consume oatmeal? What is he talking about? " You need to find 100 different ways to kill, otherwise we will never be able to escape from here." That''s it? Why does have such a look of concern on his face for just a simple task like this? There must be a hidden condition or something similar making it nearly impossible to fulfil this quest. Are the monsters unbelievably strong or are they monsters invisible or is there a time limit? Very fitting for something made up from the Observer he would not make something that could be defeated so easily. I could not help myself but anticipate what kind of challenge I would have to face today. There has to be some sort of intent hidden behind a task like that, finding 100 different ways to kill. Oh, I get it, it''s referring to the "torture" I had suffered back when I started. Back then they only managed to kill me in 36 different ways. So bring it on, what kind of atrocity would I face? I got rid of the clothes on my upper body as it surely would get destroyed in the upcoming battle. " Lets fucking go" Heightening my senses I was preparing myself for the worst and I was slowly riling myself up to feel the thrill of the battle once more. My blood was nearly seething and my heartbeat could be heard from the outside. I could hardly wait, but I had to suppress my urges. Tension is good but it would be foolish to dive headfirst into battle. I had to wait to gauge what options I can take and what not to do. The earth began to shake and a heavy wind began to blow. The sky suddenly darkened accompanied by thunder and tosing rain. This heavy atmosphere was exactly what I had in mind. Bloodshed and carnage should not happen surrounded by sunshine and happiness. These dirty and desolate surroundings needed some optical changes so they can have the optimal appearance, They came out of the shadows in the distant, I heard the distant cries of monsters, they howling was haunting and shook one''s mind to the core. Their build was impressive and just their shadows were enough to cast doubt onto any heart. These Monsters were standing there menacingly and started to growl into my direction. That''s it the silence before the storm. Moments like this make life worthwhile. With the next thunder lightening up the scene I started to run towards the enemy, It was finally time, the monsters started to run towards me as well. The clash was imminent and it would not take too long before the fun begins. I threw my right fist with all of my force to welcome the first monster that came close to me. Much to my dislike, the impact I felt was rather soft. The monster flew away after meeting my fist and lost its life directly on the spot. [001 Cause of Death: Trauma to the brain] I had not noticed it due to my excitement but those monsters were still the same young wolves I had previously used as a test subject for Tom. You have got to be kidding me, all of that preparation all of my emotions, all of that for fucking young wolves. The wave of young wolves had surrounded me but the thrill of the battle was gone. A boring and tedious task remained. The next wolves that ran at me were ignored and I just grabbed one of them while backing off. Without any difficulty, I crushed its windpipe and dropped its body on the spot letting it succumb to its deadly injury. The next target found my nail inserted into its heart and it was also left behind while the near-endless amount of small wolves followed me. Afterwards, I pummeled a wolf, until his breath was shallow and then all I had to do was wait once more. What an eventful day, this day will be remembered forever. This must be some sort of sick and twisted punishment, why else would he threw those small fries at me. Find 100 unique ways to kill this small useless animal and you are free to go. I will have to get to such great lengths for such a meagre pay off.My official second victim was a wolf who had been decapitated after slitting his throat. [002 Cause of Death: Decapitation] This gruesome spectacle did not cause any emotions in me other than a bitter disappointment. I could not find any enjoyment in killing the weak. I had a premonition that these seemingly easy rules were a lot more restrictive than previously imagined. If it only accepts the cause of death if it leads to imminent death, then multiple ways of killing my opponent are effectively the same.For example, If I were to choke a wolf to death, would it not be the same as what I did after crushing its throat? Both of them cause the target to suffocate, both of them restrict the blood flow to the brain. [003 Cause of Death: Suffocation caused by restricted blood flow to the brain] [004 Cause of Death: Inner haemorrhage leading to multiple organ failure ] [005 Cause of Death: Perforated heart causing a ruptured artery] The next wolf founds its neck turned around nearly 360 degrees, it was dead instantaneously. Before the confirmation could appear in front of my eyes I had already thrown 2 hairs laced in poison onto 2 different wolves. [006 Cause of Death: Snapped Neck] Using my sharp teeth I managed to get number 7 and 8. [007 Cause of Death: Shock and loss of blood after the body was torn apart] [008 Cause of Death: Depletion of Lifeforce] I did not know, but by keeping my teeth inside of its flesh I could absorb all of the life forces of my enemy.I have not a single clue what lifeforce might refer to, but the corpse looked all shrivelled up and dry after the procedure was done. The result was strikingly similar to the coin, I had picked up on this strange sacrificial site. [009 Cause of Death: Septic shock caused by poison] [010 Cause of Death: Muscle spasms leading to cardiac arrest] After the poison had done its work, I finally completed the first 10 kills. And I had no idea how to continue forward until I have completed my task. Despite my cluelessness, I continued to try various things. [011 Cause of Death: Burned alive] - achieved by holding a wolf over my head until it was roasted. [012 Cause of Death: Removal of heart] not very glamorous but quite effective. [013 Cause of Death: Dissolvement in an acid] Cutting the wolf apart and then swallowing it without chewing. Took multiple times before it was achieved. [014 Cause of Death: Gravity] Launched in the air several times, not caught even once. [015 Cause of Death: Multiple burn wounds and abrasions] Dragging the corpse over the ground while I was running around. Every one of these achievements did not happen without any resistance many small wolves were giving their all to ruin my mood even more. I did my best and killed them as they closed in on me though none of my attacks was awarded another notification. [016 Cause of Death: Bitten to death by another wolf] Incapitating one wolf and using the other wolf to bite him all over its body. [017 Cause of Death: Killed by direct impact from a wolf] Turning the corpse of a wolf into a projectile [018 Cause of Death; Ruptured Rectum] I wish I could disinfect my hands. [019 Cause of Death: Crushed] Letting my body fall on one of them was enough to end its life. My body still was heavy, despite my outer appearance indicating otherwise. [020 Cause of Death: Buried alive] Covered enough distance so I could dig a small hole and buried it inside of it. Seems like someone took pity on me and decided to count unique ways to take the life of these wolves as well. Otherwise, I might have needed to stand here till the end of times. But I still had to find another 80 ways to kill these creatures. Dying of natural causes or old age is sadly not an option. [021 Cause of Death: Eyes pushed in until they burst] I had to say my thanks to a certain Mountain. [022 Cause of Death: Drowned in blood] A lot of work to get enough blood out of those corpses to kill a single wolf. [023 Cause of Death: Hit by lightning strike] A repetition of throwing it upwards into the sky and catching it until there was no need to anymore. [024 Cause of Death; Trampled to death] If one stomp was not enough, do it again. [025Cause of Death Impalement] Using my nails I simply had to impale them and wait for their demise. While I was at it, I wondered why I was so adamant on pushing myself through this as fast as possible. I could use this situation to absorb some necessary nutrients and test somethings I always wanted to know. He had no chance of joining the competition anyway so I can do whatever I want. [026 Cause of Death: Clubbed a wolf to death with another wolf]. They make a bad weapon on their own, even by holding its legs their body was falling apart after just 4 hits. Though their fur was remarkable as only its bones suffered after the impact. [027 Cause of Death: Flaying] Their fur felt rather soft but had a certain elasticity that would make a good fabric to make clothes. Testing its resistance to fire left me disappointed because it was set ablaze just after the slightest contact with my hair. [028 Cause of Death: Dismemberment] The body was showing better properties after the limbs had been removed. While it could not be used to strike an enemy it was a good projectile to launch at an enemy. [029 Cause of Death: Used as a shield] Although it could function as a weapon its ability to defend was abysmal even the weak attacks from those wolves left considerable damage on its body. [030 Cause of Death: Sudden Violent Removal of their fangs] Their teeth were quite sharp and could be used for many things, including being added to weapons. After my experimentation I had started I did not pay much attention to my progress but my discoveries opened a lot of possibilities for the upcoming competition. Who said, that we have to participate directly to make a name for himself? For the time being, I have to use this abundance of monsters to gather some resources. Such a situation might never come again I am sure he will understand my reasoning. [031 Cause of Death: Killed by their fangs] Caused by an accident, I achieved another unique kill. Being annoyed at the tenacity of these guys surely helps at times. Especially if I throw those teeth around to vent my frustration. [032 Cause of Death: Removal of blood] The coin I had demanded to get back from the Observer was still picky about its blood as it only absorbed one wolf before refusing to absorb anything more I am sure it would not complain about my blood though and suck me dry. [033 Cause of Death: Pure Frustration] Come on, now it is just mocking me I throw away one coin, taking the life of a monster and it counts that stuff as a unique kill that''s just unfair. If that''s all that takes I might as well just do something random. Here look at me a backflip. Of course, nothing happened. If you want to make a fool out of me just come on. [034 Cause of Death: Skewered by arm hair] So even their suicide is worth such a notification? All it did was jump onto my arm getting impaled by my arm hair. It still feels like this unique kills are being casually awarded for the weirdest stuff. I fell back and sat down, I had erected a small mountain of corpses to defend myself from my attackers. [035 Cause of Death: Being sat on] For fuck''s sake, why do I get kills for something stupid as this. If you are trying to utterly ridicule me you are on a good course. I devoured the rest of the corpses that I did not have any use for. It was a nice change of pace to just sit down for a while. Consuming all the corpses was secondary though the taste was truly bad. Let''s see how would a tongue taste if I cook it well? After removing a tongue from a wolf I held it in my burning hair [036 Cause of Death: Removal of the tongue]Why is nearly every target of my actions still alive and brings me another unique kill for something so arbitrary? The taste was quite good though not going to lie, but I would have to wait way too long if I wanted to cook everything. I let my upper body fall backwards and looked at the dark sky. This lovely atmosphere is truly wasted on an occasion like this. Sometimes I truly wish to return to the Earth just to marvel at all the small little things. [037 Cause of Death: Arson] Don''t tell me. Looking behind me I saw how my hair had started a big fire and my pile of monster had been set ablaze starting a chain reaction and the fire spread even more. I can not even have one ounce of peace in this tutorial world. [038 Cause of Death: Stampede caused by their instinct] [039 Cause of Death: Depravation of air] [040 Cause of Death: Inhalation of smoke] A stampede caused by their instinct to avoid fire caused their demise and as the air is getting used to sustain the flames more and more wolves breathe in smoke or carbon dioxide causing their death. It felt like I had achieved more by not doing anything then by actually trying. Or rather that I got more results after someone had taken pity on me. I wondered what chaos and shenanigans would still arise to fulfil my quest. Would a random fart kill a wolf? Or should I just breathe at one to erase his existence? That would be too ridiculous even for the stuff that has happened now. My actions while unlikely still are unique ways to end the life of a wolf. Although it had never been my intention to end it in such a manner. [041 Cause of Death: Dehydration] Wait how? Forget it I do not even want to know how anymore. I might as well embrace the chaos and throw my hair around laced in all sorts of different poisons. I have no clue what might happen, as I have only discussed some of their effects. It did not even take a minute before the results became apparent before my very own eyes. [042 Cause of Death: Cannibalismn] [043 Cause of Death: Explosion of the heart] [044 Cause of Death: Visually and auditory hallucinations leading to self-harm,] [045 Cause of Death: Ceasing of brain functions] [046 Cause of Death: Induced heart failure by continuous copulation.] [047 Cause of Death: Body could not endure its explosive growth.] [048 Cause of Death: Clot of blood clumping the veins of the heart] [049 Cause of Death: Complications of a fever] [050 Cause of Death: Lungs filled with blood] After reaching 50 kills I could only nod my head at all of the diverse effects from the poisons inside of my body.Number 46 should have been the only to die with a smile on its face though. Its fiery passion would last a lifetime. Welp, I joust found out number 51. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. [051 Cause of Death: Burned from the Inside] Inserted my burning hair and waited for the result to happen My behaviour must look quite odd, looking at it from the perspective of a player. He certainly would have thought of different ways to kill these wolves. [052 Cause of Death: Lung embolism] Although it might be very similar to the clot of blood that clumped the veins of the heart I will not complain. Its struggle lasted a lot longer than the other deaths induced my poison. 48 to go but I felt a bit stuck at the moment. I have used most of my available tools and my mind seems a bit blank if I think about new ways to kill those wolves. If possible I did not want to divulge the existence of the queen ant to get more kills There was one thing I could do, but do I want to be that inhuman. [053 Cause of Death: Castration]It was hard for me but not for it anymore. While I was at it I decided to use all the unethical ways to end their lives. [054 Cause of Death: Roasting ] Cooking a wolf over a fire of its dead brethren was wrong on so many levels. But its taste was phenomenal. [055 Cause of Death: Boiling] Making a stew by digging a hole and waiting till it was filled with rainwater and blood I had pressed out of a few wolves. Before heating it with my flames and putting another wolf inside of it. The great wall of fire was a good obstacle for any wolf trying to get on my nerves. [056 Cause of Death: Removal of the brain] I am just glad that those wolves get their memories erased. I can not fathom how that must have felt. [057 Cause of Death: Sawed in half] We have officially included the human torture methodology. Using my nail as a saw was suboptimal but was achieved with numerous attempts [058 Cause of Death: Strangulation]Was easy to achieve by utilizing the fur of the deceased. [059 Cause of Death: Rupture of the stomach mucosal lining] Force-feeding a wolf until its stomach was torn apart. I had never thought the day would come where I had to use such a method. [060 Cause of Death: Diarrhoea] I did not want to induce such a thing, but my previous test subject which I had tried force-feeding on had suffered under these consequences. This would be easy if I had access to bacteria and virus.All the different kinds of harmful bacteria are hard to count. From flesh-eating bacteria to viruses which even alter the genes, nearly everything can be found. Though I had no room to complain about that, after all, I had something fantastic residing in my own body as well.The slime inside of my body had enormous potential and it was only my limited imagination holding it back. It can''t hurt to test what were to happen if I put some of it onto the body of a wolf. I will try to avoid the scenario of my 2 gigantic ants. I do not have enough slime to cover this small wolf in its entirety.At first, I used it on a dead specimen to avoid risking any unnecessary development. Due to unexplainable causes, the corpse started to bloat and its volume had nearly doubled just after a minimal amount of slime has been pushed inside of it. This effect was only strengthed after the next input and the corpse expanded even more. Its size had nearly tripled and it looked like it was about to explode. Out of sheer curiosity, I inserted double the amount of the previous intake, but no change became visible. Since nothing happened I discarded the corpse and threw it away from me. After it passed over the wall of corpses I only heard a faint impact before an explosion nearly blew my eardrums out. [061 Cause of Death: Perforation by seismic and organic matter] [062 Cause of Death: Rupture of Organs caused by a Shock wave.] [063 Cause of Death: Inhalation of toxic fumes] A surprise to be sure but a welcome one. I had created my first biological weapon, although I did not know exactly what had caused this development. Since my slime amplifies the properties of the material then it might have strengthened some decomposing matter or gas. The collision with the ground was enough to cause the balance to break and its entire content was released into the surroundings. The force was enough to tear through the pile of wolves I had set up. I need to check if the outside temperature created by the flames had any influence on the creation of this bomb. It would still take a bit of time to set up another wall of corpses as a safety measure. The alternative was to find a cliff or something which enables me to look down on the bomb without facing any kind of danger. But looking at the scenery I saw nothing else than flat land with small bushes and plants. My only option was to use the small wolves as a building material .l could only sigh thinking about the huge workload required for this small little experiment. Even worse was the fact, that due to my little manmade bomb a lot of the corpses became unusable. Not only had it taken a lot of lives by its detonation but the force ripped apart their bodies and left everything behind in shambles. How many wolves had died by the explosion was not something I could tell looking at my surroundings but the number of wolves currently coming at me had dwindled by a lot. Though a short look in the distance was enough to confirm that I would not run out of material as another wave of wolves had appeared. Luckily I could catch a little break beforehand and replenish a few of my expended nutrients. Otherwise, I would not have the necessary energy to do something on this scale. For fuck''s sake, this damn things will not stop biting me in the calves. Am I not even allowed to think for one second before being assaulted by these irredeemable pests? After launching yet another of these obnoxious creatures into the sky. I began to gather the necessary resources. [064 Cause of Death: Smashed]I had no idea how that happened I was busy killing some wolves until this popped up. I had not used any different tactic nor had I used more force. It is unlikely that just now a wolf succumbed to its heavy injuries as well. The only probable cause left is that I killed a wolf that had been wounded previously and its last attack to revenge its brethren was ended by my fist.Sadly I could not press F to pay my respect. [065 Cause of Death: Heatstroke ] It was only a matter of time until something like this would appear in front of my face. The rain was not enough to extinguish the fire that was still burning brightly. There are way too many wolves surrounding me either way, this one death will not change anything. [066 Cause of Death: Emotional distress ] I had heard about the fact that a human being can die if a lethal dosage of adrenaline is produced in a flight or fight situation, but I did not know that enough stimulation can cause the same effect in animals as well. While I was fighting the mobs I used several different attacks that would not be used in normal combat. But pimp slaps and bitch slaps and headbutts did not count as a unique kill.For whatever reason, that may be. [067 Cause of Death: Evisceration] This kill was quite gruesome as I practically split open its entire stomach until its entrails came out. Normally I would have stepped on it but I had no time to do so since I had to avoid all the wolves from ganging up on me. I had to move constantly and only aimed for quick kills instead of focussing on a single target. [068 Cause of Death: Sealing of the air passages] A dazed wolf and lots of hairs with a bit of patience and voila a new kill. Although the number 69 had a strange allure to it that made me want to say nice, I did not want to aim for that kind of unique kill, even I had standards. That might sound weird coming from someone who killed through castration and by inserting a foreign object into their anus, but just no. [069 Cause of Death: Nailed it] This kill had nothing to do with any cross or religion, in fact, all I did was nail a wolf onto another wolf before I threw it away. [070 Cause of Death: Eyes gouged out] If I can push them in, I also can carve them out. Add some serious injuries beforehand and it is enough to score a kill just like that. Looking at the sea of corpses surrounding me I had to admit that I might have overdone it a little bit after piling up the corpses I only managed to get to a height off 6 meters. This was not nearly enough if I wanted to be out of the blast zone for that bomb. After going back to yet another session of slaughter and torment I was able to amass enough carcasses to finally get close to 10 meters in height. I had no clue how many monsters I had killed, the only description of the quantity I could give was a lot. Sadly I was unable to get another unique kill during the preparation time. But was this enough to be safe? I had my doubts about that after all the explosion tore through a thick layer of corpses. The least I could do was strengthen the base to make sure that my tower does not collapse on me. [071 Cause of Death: Dehydration]Weird, I thought I achieved this kind of kill with the diarrhoea one. By this time I could not care any less about the circumstances surrounding this kill, I just wanted to get this experiment done and this strange quest to be over. After finish the long and tedious killing I was finally satisfied with my construction. The base looked sturdy enough to endure the impact of one of my self-made bombs. To test things out, I had to prepare several objects. Climbing on my little tower made out of corpses I grabbed a wolf from the top and applied the same procedure as before. Its corpse started to bloat until it had reached the tipping point. The faintest tremor would be enough to start this. After throwing my makeshift bomb down the hill, I was ready to watch the spectacle in its full glory. What can I say? I did not regret making the tower this high. The explosion was mighty and it nearly put a stone through my head. The base of the tower was still holding on although I wondered exactly how much wolves died after I threw the bomb into their direction. But with the concept proven I could finally get to the fun part. I had several prototypes in mind, that was based on this bomb. My first idea was something similar to a nail bomb. A corpse filled with hair, should work and deal a lot of damage. I just needed to seal the corpse after the hair had been placed inside of it. After a bit of experimentation, I finished my first nail bomb and could not wait to drop it down. It worked like a charm, the bomb exploded upon contact and hair was tearing throw everything in its close vicinity including me. [072 Cause of Death: Hair bombardement] This little bomb led to the creation of many pseudo versions of Pinhead, or rather what was left of him after a bomb had detonated right in front of him. I could not wait for my next prototype. This time I opened the corpse before filling it with my slime until its body was saturated and added even more slime on top of it. This was the first part of my construction. I closed the body and connected it to another corpse. Afterwards, I added a bit of slime to cause it to bloat until it was ready to explode. Adding a burning hair and my prototype was finished. Throwing this primitive version of a Molotov cocktail down, I stared at its descend with high expectations. At this point, I had forgotten about one important detail. I was standing on a mountain of highly flammable material and this soon to be bonfire had a lot of things to burn. After I had set fire to everything I could see, I noticed my enormous blunder. Though this bomb delivered me 2 more unique kills. [073 Cause of Death: Vaporization] [074 Cause of Death: Melting] I had no time to celebrate as the threat under my feet was coming closer and closer. I only had the time to create one last experiment. I decided to use the thing I had previously saved for last. It was time to go one step beyond. I used one corpse as the base and connected it with 4 bodies before adding another set of bodies on top of those. The fire had spread and come dangerously close to me after I had finished this construction. I added my slime to every single corpse and watched as everything began to bloat. The finished product was hard to describe, the only fitting term was to call it an absolute monstrosity. It had several times of the normal bombs volume and It looked like it would disintegrate everything once it inevitably would blow up. I let it drop to the foot of the base and did not even watch as I hit behind some corpses. What followed was something akin to a small version of the Big Bang or at least I felt and sounded like that. [075 Cause of Death: Annihilation] The shock wave pushed me away and I was about to lose my consciousness once more, but having learned from the mountain coin affair I bit my tongue to jolt my brain awake through the sheer pain. I landed and nearly broke my bode in half. This time around I did not have it in my to joke around as several of my bones had been broken. Though I was not the only thing that had been broken, the entire mountain of corpses was gone now and it was replaced by a deep crater which tore through the ravaged land. The entire setting looked like it came straight out of Apocalypse Now. I swore like a sailor as I moved my pained body to the deep crater. Looking down, I could hardly see the ground of it. After dropping down several wolves down the crater I could conclude the approximate depth of it. Their bodies fell for 2 seconds and that meant that it was close to 20 meters deep. But the horde of monsters did not wait for me and I was ruthlessly attacked once more. Many wolves sank their teeth into my flesh and I could not avoid even more wolves from doing the same. The ones I do manage to shake off were catapulted into the crater where a loud noise indicated their demise. [076 Cause of Death: Falling off a cliff] I was forced to run away from this danger and minimize the injuries that started to pile up on my body. While running I dodged several wolves by a hair''s breadth and got rid of the ones stuck in my body by any means possible. The blood started to seep out of my body and it mixed well with the already stained soil. [077 Cause of Death: Sepsis] My poisonous blood was consumed at the cost of their lives. Though the loss of mine also caused me to feel lightheaded. I did not have the leisure to do whatever I want anymore. My movements got a lot more excessive and I did not conserve my strength anymore. I had to finish this as soon as possible. At the risk of worsening my injuries, I even began to pump more resources through my body to get more strength. [078 Cause of Death: Pierced Brain] My entire hand tore through its brain as I had to was forced to use excessive force. [079 Cause of Death: Destruction of the vertebrae] This idea was inspired by multiple fatalities. [080 Cause of Death: Stabbing] After ripping out several of their claws I began to insert it over and over again until its body was nothing more than a fleshy musk. [081 Cause of Death: Pulvarisation of the Skull] Smashing my knee with full force onto its head. [082 Cause of Death: Squashed] Grabbed by the sides and pressed together until it resembled toothpaste. [083 Cause of Death: Contortion ] Its body was forcefully moved into 2 different directions until it was nearly torn apart. [084 Cause of Death: Stoning] Throwing multiple rocks into the crowd to kill as many wolves as possible. [085 Cause of Death: Failure of the Immune system] Insertion of foreign material into its body. [086 Cause of Death:Bludgeoned]Relentless hits using its bones to bash its skull over and over again. [087 Cause of Death: Centrifuric force]Placing a wolf on your nails before giving it a quick spin [088 Cause of Death: Exsanguination ] Slitting its throat and then holding it upside down to prolong its suffering. [089 Cause of Death: Removal of the larynx] I was running out of option, as I had to resort to variating my previously used methods. As far as I could tell this method was still resulting in asphyxiation. [090 Cause of Death: Heartstoppage] I threw another bombardment of poisonous needles and achieved this kind of kill. Only 10 go and I had to bite my tongue to jolt my brain awake from the exhaustion that suddenly overcame me. Falling asleep would be a death sentence, even against those pathetic creatures. I just hoped that my poison would net some results. [091 Cause of Death: Seizure] The target had strong muscle convulsions and died after struggling for a while. [092 Cause of Death: Eaten from the inside]] Chewing on the innards as I was still moving through the masses of wolves. [093 Cause of Death: Overexertion] How much time has passed so that something like this can happen? [094 Cause of Death: Mangled] I could not find out which corpse this achievement was caused by as my surroundings were littered in mistreated remains. [095 Cause of Death: Losing the real tail] From all the things I had done till now I still did not rip out their tail, of course, that had to change. And after some tries, I finally managed to kill a wolf by using this method. Though, for my conscience, I am ignoring the title. I do not have the balls for that. [096 Cause of Death: Bodyslam] I thought of every stupid move, but not about bodyslams and wrestling moves. Well, I am lucky I could utelize my weight and earn another unique kill. [097 Cause of Death: Bite for bite] Used my sharp teeth to bite one of the wolves which had sunk its teeth into my body.No matter what I did my body started to fill up with wolves hanging onto it and my body aching all over. Metal has been blasting in my head to keep me going and I was just glad that this farce would be over soon. [098 Cause of Death: Saliva] The more I learn about my body the more I wonder why I am still alive. I did not know that I had corrosive saliva. The wolf did not last all too long after I cleared my mouth after dirt got inside of it. [099 Cause of Death: Fire breath]Spitting out slime out of my mouth while I held a burning hair in front of my mouth to create a wave of fire. At times like this, I wonder how I come up with stuff like that. The putrid smell of burning flesh was filling my nostrils but I had long grown accustomed to it. This blood and carnage are not for the faint of mind. I had my last unique kill thought out for such a long time and I was finally so close to the goal. For my last kill, I wanted to do something special, I ignored the wolves around me for the time being and prepared for my great final. I drew a pentagram, by placing 5 corpses in a circle and drawing lines of blood between them. After everything had been done I grabbed a living wolf set myself in the middle of the pentagram and began to scream. " I command you to rise."as I was screaming I slit the throat of the wolf and let its blood drop slowly. " Rise"" Rise"" Rise" [100 Cause of Death: live Sacrafice] Finally finished now I can go. I dropped the wolf inside of my hands and left the pentagram. As I might have guessed only the intention counts and I did not summon something by doing something so lousy. After all, the system or whatever is responsible for evaluating all of these unique kills should not know the terms for those killing methods. I doubt something like castration exist in this world. As I was thinking I got rid of the wolves that were still stuck on my body. I tore them off and kicked them away as far as I could. But the wolves did not have any intention to stop their waves of attacks. The elation I had felt beforehand was thoroughly dispelled as I had to realize, that I was in dire straits. I was surrounded by a see of young wolves and I did not possess the necessary strength to break out of it. I threw my arm hair and penetrated several skulls but those were replaced before had any chance to catch a break. My breath was heavy and ragged and I was staggering. A wolf that saw my weakness aimed for my throat. " Fucker"I answered its attempt with a headbutt which caused its skull to crack open. But I could not avoid that many more wolves had embedded their fangs into my flesh again. My thoughts were not clear anymore and my eyes began to go dark from time to time. I moved my body to the side of my first experiment, sustaining more and more injuries. I could not prevent myself from spitting out some blood. Although my toxic blood was able to claim several lives it was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. In front of the gigantic crater, I did not have to worry about attacks coming from behind anymore. Since running was not an option in my current shape, I would be best to dwindle their numbers as long as I can. I did not even need to kill them directly, as the drop behind me was enough to cause serious injuries or even death. It had been long since I felt that miserable. I could not hide or flee from this predicament. Each wound and movement was taking a toll on my body, which was growing weaker with every passing second. The 2 wolves I had just killed and thrown behind me, were not worth a single cent. I was barely able to keep me from falling unconscious and I had no hopes of beating all of these monsters. I wonder why I would still push myself so far if the situation looks so grim, the answer to that is quite simple. Closing my eyes means that I will do so forever, so I will do my best to enjoy it while it still lasts. Even if it hurts, even if the embrace of death seems so soothing and alluring I will still move my body. Punch after Punch, injury after injury, the feelings of my body became distant and my grip to reality was fading away. I did not feel the wolves trying to rip out flesh nor did I feel the impact from my fists all I saw the slow movement of my body. After numerous sacrifices, a wolf got a hold of my throat and tried to rip it out. I did not feel the pain after it succeeded nor did I feel my hands breaking its neck in return. Despite my numerous wounds, my body was still standing. Who could have thought that I would be driven to this state by something so insignificant I could only attempt to laugh at the circumstances although my body was incapable of uttering any sounds Regardless of what I tried to do, I could not regain control over my body and was forced to watch as my body moved absentmindedly. Even the voices inside of my body had gone silent leaving me alone, facing certain doom. As much as I wanted to find solace and serenity in death I just could not. I did not have any ties in this world nor did I have anything which makes me want to stay here. But I heard it loud and cleary. Boom Boom Boom Boom My heart was still beating and pounding. I was still alive not dead. I alone decide my fate, not someone else. My heart started to beat faster and faster once more. If I go out, then I will give it my all. I regained control of my body but the pain that assaulted my body nearly made me throw up. This was the last offence my body could offer and I had no plans or any ideas how I could get out of this alive. I threw everything left at them, it was not about sending a message or about getting revenge. All I wanted to do is enjoy the moment. With a smile on my face, I threw corpses behind me and ended lives left and right. But over time, my last wave of attacks came to an abrupt halt and I could not do much, as every ounce of strength left my body and I fell down the crater. My life was not passing by right in front of my eyes, but the impact made me wish I did not regain control over my body as I bounced several times. I was surrounded by dead wolves who were launched down this crater beforehand. This time around I could not move any muscle and I stared at the black sky. Raindrops fell on my face and the smile on my face had yet to leave. What a wild ride... [Player Hero of War has logged in] Wait, did that asshole log out, while I was fighting for my life here? [Congratulations Mission finished succesfully] [Getting transported to the location of the player] Although my time in this world was not finished, I needed to have a serious discussion and I just wished to never see another of these young wolves ever again. And by the Gods, if they even exist if I hear the term unique kill one more time, I am going to snap. 101 The value of money After the teleportation finished I dropped down like a sack of potatoes. Just now I had been dancing on death''s door and all of a sudden I was saved by a mere casualty, by the whim of this idiot. I saw his shit-eating grin and I wanted nothing more than wiping it out of his face. If my body was not on the verge of breaking down and plastered with countless wounds I certainly would have done so. Despite my pitiful appearance this asshole in front of me did not show any intention of helping me up. It was the exact opposite, he sure was happy about my misery. " You will never guess, how I got us out of here. All that had to be done was saying I quit" Yup, I am going to commit manslaughter. " You should have seen the look on the face of my companion after asking this question, he looked at me and treated me like a total moron for not knowing something obscure as this." I am not going to give him the satisfaction of getting angry about this immense level of stupidity. Instead of looking at his stupid face, I looked at the sky and tried my best to ignore everything he was saying. While he was likely saying something that would make me lose my sanity I was moving my head around to look at my surroundings. I found myself staring at a small market where NPCs were conducting business selling fruits, herbs and meat. No players were in my sight, those were likely hunting monsters instead of buying apples. It felt weird staring at these NPCs living their everyday lives. The mood was cheerful and a vibrant mix of voices filled this lively place. I could not help but be silent for a second and just take in my first dosage of normality in this world. This sentimental moment did not last as Tom was still spewing out whatever came on his mind. " .... and that is how I want to impress the ladies." What a weird thing to end a sentence on. My daydream was destroyed by his talk about how he wants to score a chick. Against prior expectation, he is capable of thinking, although he uses his best tool for that. Onwards let us get this fellow a girlfriend so he can go bother her and not me. Due to his charm and likeable personality, I am not going to inquire about his plans at all. It will be better if I just make plans on my own, instead of trying to rely on his natural prospects. With his red hair and freckles covering his face he would not be considered the most handsome man to ever grace this world. But looks are not everything if you want girls to swoon over you. Money, status, talent, a lot of things can be used to win over others. His face was looking average despite the unique traits he had. His build was not something, that stood for strength and neither his aura and bearing were something attractive. Seems like I can only work with the status and talent. Being a member of the Church and a tactician can work to create a good reputation. Although my body had yet to heal and I looked like the victim of a gruesome murder I pushed my body up. I had to find myself some suitable clothes and a way to disguise myself. In my current form, I am drawing way too much attention. A walking corpse, with skin as white as bones and wounds all over its body, is a bit too unique for my taste. I began to hate the word unique, after that torture I had gone through. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The worst thing is that I did not even get a single reward from all of that stuff. I did that stuff for nothing. Seriously why did I not get a single thing? Who do I have to beat up to get some recognition for my work? " Do you think girls would settle for mediocrity?" This one sentence was enough to stop him in his track and to focus on my words. It is nice for a chance to talk to someone as simpleminded as him. " We both know, what qualities they look for." He nodded and mumbled Faintly " Strength and ability" " Yes, do you think you can contend with the strongest of them, to get their attention?" " No, I cant. I thought I could impress them by simple showing my abilities." His face has sunken after speaking those words, he knew that he could not hope to fight against the best, he did not possess the necessary ability. " What if I tell you, that you do not have to fight against them to get a lot of attention from those girls.?" Full of surprise, he looked at me and awaited my answer to fulfil his desire. " If you truly want to leave a lasting impression, you have to do something different. You should not participate in the competition." "But what else should ..." He could not finish his sentence as I already had prepared to thoroughly stump him and convince him of my absurd idea. " Everyone participating in this event just wants to prove their strength and bask in the glory they earn through their display of battle tactics. But they have failed to see what''s truly important." " Truly important is not the use of tactics in the battle itself but the management of your army. Every single one of them, just thinks that this competition is all about them and their talent, while they oversee this detail" I could see his bird brain working, trying to comprehend the meaning of my words. After what felt like an eternity it finally clicked. " True, I have not thought about that, this competition has a lot more depth to it than I imagined. So what should I do?" The fish had swallowed the bait now it was time to reel it in. " Why do you not raise your army and let others use them for gold? If everyone learns about your fierce army, that can be hired, then you will be famous without even have to fight a single battle." " Why would you demand money, instead of favours? Gold can only do so much," he said, trying to persuade me. I truly had to spell it out for him. Well, I should stop trying to place any expectations on him " Give me a bit gold to use" I held my hand open, as I waited for him to give me some money. He casually threw a bag full of coins towards me, I watched it and began to resume my lecture. Turning around I approached a small girl holding a basket full of apples. She looked at me full of fear but still forced herself to put a smile on and began to speak. " Sir, do you want an apple?" Her petite figure was shaking yet she still wanted to sell her goods. " I will take the entire basket." The girl could not believe her ears, but still managed to stammer " That will be 70 copper." I gave her a silver coin and took the basket from her little hands. The girl began to run away from me and was never seen again. "That is the power of gold. Not only, have I done this girl a huge favour, but also acquired these tasty apples." A look at his dumbfounded expression was enough to tell me, that he had not understood a single thing. " Look, an army needs a lot of things to function. It needs weapons, armour and it needs to be well fed. Or do you like to fight on an empty stomach?" Yup, he finally understood. I threw an apple to him before I nearly swallowed the one I had picked for me. Its taste reminded me of my former home, if only for a brief second. " Do you see any player here? Do they know about the significance off things like this?" While he was pondering on my words I had eradicated the rest of the apples and began to buy even more food to satisfy my craving for food. Until he voiced his next question I already had bought the next stand and got myself another batch of apples. " But those people will notice it sooner or later, what can we do?" Did he think I showed him the importance of food to make him famous? It is called principle, fool. I was just trying to show you, that there are a lot of things nobody has yet considered and by following my advice you could become famous. What is so hard to understand about this? " Food is only the beginning, there are a lot of things, those people will not consider until it is too late. A soldier is worthless if used in the wrong way." While he was preoccupied with his thinking yet again I bought another set of fruits from another stall. Although every NPC ran away, after seeing me I was not concerned by their reaction. I was busy shoving food in my mouth over and over again. " What should I do?" "Gather as much gold as you can and then buy as much wood and other resources you can get your hands on. Also, bring me the remains of monsters. It would be great if their corpses are not burned too badly." " Go out of the city, kill many monsters. Return and buy everything you can see." He seemed to understand this order and began to run away from this place as far as his legs could carry him. Since I had gotten rid of this pest, for the time being, I could finally eat to my heart''s content. I did not hold back anymore and bought everything. Apples, tomatoes other strange fruits and even meat. Everything was bought, everything was consumed and everyone had run away. The lively market had turned into a desolate place, only the sounds of chewing could be heard.I was lucky, that those players were out somewhere else. Looking at my body, I noticed that most of my wounds began to heal, after my intake of so much food. But instead of being saturated the healing process made me even hungrier then I had been before. Eating NPCs was not an option though I did not want to leave the safety of the town either. Seems like I will have to gather my food by other means. I walked to the nearest house and knocked on the door. Of course, no one would open me, but doors were not something that would stop me, a quick kick and the door was broken. I saw an entire family cover, begging for their lives after I had invaded their homes. After I had taken everything eatable from their house, I walked to the next one while eating the loot from the previous house. I had to admit, that there were a lot more houses than I had previously imagined, which was quite good for me. I barged in gathered food and vanished. Rinse and repeat until my body had finally healed. Although I likely caused a small scale famine by my never-ending gluttony, I had no qualms about continuing what I was doing. While I was at it, I had stolen the clothes from a father, who wanted to play the hero. Now I only needed to find a cover-up for my burning hair, so that I will not be recognized by every single player. Since any fabric here was by no means fireproof or fire-resistant I had to find another solution. Ant queen, come here. Judging by the look on her face, she was not very pleased seeing me, but that''s not something new to me. I showed her some spare clothes I had taken from someone and lit them ablaze afterwardsI shook my head several times. She nodded, but still did not return to my body. Seems like it is time to haggle now. After a long and stressful non-verbal negotiation session, we could finally come to a compromise. I was giving her a lot of my hair on top in exchange for delivering her more samples of monsters. With the issue of my disguise being solved, I could focus on the task at hand and get more food. My stomach felt like a bottomless pit, which swallowed everything that came in touch with it. But I never felt full, I was getting hungrier and hungrier. Despite my seemingly insatiable hunger I did not let down my guard and kept looking for players. And only after making sure, that there was no danger did I take action and collected my food. But my spree came to an end after I had visited every house and I was still hungry. Since I had already exhausted this option I was left with no other choice, then eating their livestock as well. At least I did not have to break those doors again. This marked the beginning of another search for something eatable. Most of them were scared once again and were grovelling on their knees to spare their lives. They were ignored and I only too care of the pigs and chickens close to their homes. This time around I felt a lot more nourished by consuming animals compared to if I had just eaten the leftovers. Although the small scale famine had intensified, I was still looking for some things to stuff my body with. The more I ate, the more cannibalism was turning into a feasible option. But before I would do something drastic like that I would make sure to exhaust every other option, because stuff like that would surely raise a lot of unnecessary attention. But If I were to do it should I start with the children or with the old or with the adults? The most nutrients can be gained by eating the adults followed by the old and lastly the children. But adults would be the one whose disappearance would likely get the noticed first. Should I eat the old then, most of them can not be found in the markets or wandering the streets, sadly their numbers are quite limited as people do not grow very old in this world. Eating the children would cause the adults great pain and I can forget about going unnoticed. The stuff I was currently doing was already enough, I should not try to make the situation irredeemable. Since my arrival in this world, I have learned not to be a picky eater, I did not have a choice in what I got to eat. As much as I wanted to enjoy the current smells and tastes on my taste buds, my hunger was still driving me forward to search for more food. Looking at my wounds, at least it was paying off and my body was recovering visible to the naked eye. After I returned to the market where I woke up, I saw that a group of peddlers had stopped there. They brought many goods with them and were just looked quite dumbfounded at the empty market place. I walked straight at them and bought everything that they had. I just pretended to buy everything for the people here, who are afraid of a madman, that is running around threatening everyone. Although it certainly was not very convincing while my hair was burning brightly and I was acting nonchalantly about it. But as long as I got everything that I wanted they could think whatever they want about me. I spoke a bit about this village about them before they left the village with the horses and carts. After eating everything, that was normally meant for the entire village the feeling of hunger finally stopped. This consumption was truly abnormal, how am I supposed to fight this much food all the time? But with my belly finally being full, I could continue my plan,who knows maybe the famine I have caused will come in handy for me. Who knows, for the time being, I am just going to take a nap on top of this roof. Although the wounds on my body had healed, there were several inside of my body, that still affected me. Only time could heal them. I am sure, that my little partner can find me if he wants to. And by the time I will wake up my disguise should be ready. I am looking forward to all the shenanigans I can pull. 102 Freedom or Death I was woken up by a familiar scent, I opened my eyes and saw the ant queen placing a shirt next to me with a hood added to it. This was a nice surprise but it was not the cause for my sudden awakening. There was a certain smell permeating the air and I could tell, that something troublesome was going to happen. I decided to risk a peek from the roof I had slept on and did not see any living person in my surroundings. I placed my head down once more and thought about where I could have caused something that could mean trouble for me. In retrospection, I should rather say what not? From sending this lovable idiot to gather as many resources as possible or from robbing the NPCs from any source of food. But for the time being, I should be safe on this roof. There are no NPCs and players in the closest vicinity. I pondered on whether I should risk leaving the roof to scout the area and to check the houses themselves for signs of NPCs. Although I was now in possession of a disguise that prevented me from getting spotted from a mile away, it will still be suspicious if I am the only one moving around. Are they hiding from me? To confirm my suspicion I jumped down from the roof and softly kicked the door in. If I get into any sort of trouble I might as well embrace it with open arms. But the house was empty and I started to wonder where they could be. After I had knocked on several more doors, I had yet to see another NPC or player. The current situation felt like it came straight out of a horror movie. Though it feels like I am the villain here. My slow footsteps creep through the surroundings and my breathing is heavy. I walk and look for my prey, they can not hide forever. I just want to play with them, I am just a poor innocent young boy Walking through the inner perimeter of this town, everything had been abandoned and left behind in a hurry. Clothes lay strewn all over the ground and other household items could be found between them. Did my prior actions force them to do something as drastic as this? Where the hell should they have gone to, most NPCs do not possess enough money to go somewhere else. Unless I take into account the massive amount of coins I had spent on them. But even gold becomes useless when nobody trusts it and its value. Why would someone trade a piece of paper for food? Only if the perceived value of that paper is equal to that of the food would you find someone willing to do so. These people likely have absolutely zero ideas about how the economy functions. Forget about supply and demand or inflation, they are only capable of the absolute minimum. But even after I had checked every house, I still did not find a trace. They could not have vanished into thin air, so where exactly is everyone? I left the inner perimeter but this time around I had to act a lot more careful. The hood on my shirt had been pulled over my head and I began to walk slowly and kept looking for any signs of danger. I still had not located the source of potential trouble and that was the main reason, why I grew weary. Since I was in a town, I can safely say, that monsters are not the problem. Though I would have prefered monsters over players. It did not take long before I found the reason, why those NPCs were not in their house anymore. I had come into contact with that reason already. I saw 2 players who had "hired" every NPC from this village and let them cower right in front of them. I recognized them the second I had walked around the corner. They also saw me and one of them walked closer to me. Although he will not be able to hire me, I will have to be careful not to invoke their anger. " Speak slave, who is your master" Ah the usual attitude, how I missed it. " This lowly slaves master is called Hero of War" For such a mighty name its effect was rather unimposing. " Do you know him?" "That''s the first time I heard that name" I just stood there silently looking at the ground full of shame. Acting like a timid NPC is not my cup of tea, but the alternative would cost me a lot more than simply enduring this temporary inconvenience. " What is your objective?" They surely are paranoid, relax a bit nobody is out to steal all of your NPCs. " My master told me to look for the most beautiful women and girls." I had no problem with throwing my partner under the bus. It was quite convenient to paint him as some sort of leecher. The disgust on their faces was enough to ruin his reputation before he even got a chance to make one.But If I get him a girl, we should be more than even. To drive the nail into the coffin I even went one step further. " So please if you find a beauty let my master now. It will not be to your disadvantage." E voila the damage is done. I am quite sure, he will not find any form of respect from those 2. " Just go and do not disturb us anymore. Your kind disgusts me." I walked past them and left without saying another word. Even if I could escape from this predicament with ease, the same could not be said about any other NPCs, they became a highly contested object. If that''s the case I should switch my strategy and not try to hire them. Besides making real soldiers out of them would take too long anyway. Given their strategies, they would not even be capable of utilizing them correctly. I put the idea of training mercenaries on hold for the time being and marvelled at all of the players who were currently running around in this part of the town. The situation had developed faster than I had initially anticipated. Most of them tried to hire me but left disappointed after being unable to do so. I just said down and looked at them while they were seeking every nook and cranny for every NPC. From time to time a lucky one managed to find some, but most of them returned empty-handed. Regardless whether the NPCs tried to hide or run away they could not escape the players grasp. But even if they could manage to leave the city, would they be able to survive against monsters or the attacks of players? As much as I can respect those who persist until the bitter end, there is nothing more detestable then throwing your life away for nothing at all. Freedom or death? Those 2 are not mutually exclusive but is treated that way. Even back on Earth society only could function because we hat a set of rules that restrict our freedom. Yet, most people would consider themselves to have freedom. Using strength to deter others, just means that the same can be done to you. Of course, no human being could fight against a tank. Despite living under the constant threat, of being wiped out, life does not revolve around it. It is quite scary how easily our mind can adapt to such circumstances. Oppressors die, kingdoms fall and the Earth keeps on spinning. Change does not come to be just from goodwill and prayers alone. Progress is built on countless sacrifices. This sacrifice is done by people who believe in their cause and are willing to give everything for their ideals. Whether those are nefarious or noble truly does not matter. But those NPCs do not possess a greater cause or great ideals worth giving their lives for. They only live their lives day after day. It is not wrong to do so nor should it been seen so but death is not a worthy risk for this kind of life. A life without meaning is still preferable to a meaningless death. The players we still busy running around trying to locate NPCs and were not willing to let one stone unturned.NPCs were tasked to destroy any door barring their ways and to support their master in their endeavour. This peaceful town had fallen under the players'' tyranny and was subjected to their desire for manpower. And here I was leaning against a house and listening to the music currently playing in my head. Since I did not want to leave town anyway, I enjoyed the current spectacle unfolding right in front of my eyes. Because even their craze has to come to an end, or rather they will be forced to give up sooner or later. NPCs are a limited resource and their acquisition should, therefore, be highly prioritized. Why should they waste their time searching this area over and over again, if every NPC has been found? Even the most braindead player should not pursue this matter more than necessary. But the universe is not the only thing that is seemingly infinite, so I will have to wait and see. Sadly, some players had other ideas in mind and decided to decimate the competition and sending their NPCs to kill the competition. I would not mind that if I was not the target of their affection. I just stood up and casually walked away. My attacker''s lifeless body fell to the floor, much to the confusion of their players who tasked them to attack me. They had not paid any attention to them, as they were still busy searching. I could not stay in one location for too long before I was targeted again. Although this act was not without any risks most of them would not care about the deaths of their slaves and simply revive them. Using my arm hair was highly effective against human flesh and my weapon of choice. There was no need to use poison or other means to get rid of them. In the end, it was just slightly more work for me. Neither those NPCs nor their respective masters had any idea how they died all of a sudden and it will stay that way. Who would expect someone like me to be behind all of their deaths? In their eyes I am just an NPC, which already has been "enslaved" and my stats are particularly low. Not many heads will turn for me. I am just a bystander leaving the area before the crime has even been noticed. The orders were given to the attackers also works in my favour, because I am not the only target of them. So, most of them won''t even bat an eye if their NPC dies and just think that it has been attacked by another one. The death of their NPC loses all significance if they can be revived instantaneously. On top of that, those NPCs are nothing more than dirt for them and can be killed by the weakest monsters. Its no wonder, that no one cares if they just drop dead on the spot. I had no intention of going for flashy kills or using more strength than necessary. Why should I, I have nothing to gain from stunts like that. Flaunting my skills to stroke my ego is not something I need. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. I placed more significance on enjoying the songs in my head then on reputation. Listening to my favourite bands was much more fulfilling, then simply killing NPCs. The current situation was not quite suitable for metal, that is why I decided to listen to some Green Day. I am just a basket case, was a fitting way to describe myself. I was humming along to the melody as I spent my time walking between locations, it was a good way to spend my time. As time passed and I kept on rocking to my music, the craze started to finally die down as more and more players left this town and went elsewhere. The murdering NPCs also were getting less and less before being finally stopped after only a select few people were still searching. Nobody was paying any attention to me and even they had to realize how futile it was to proceed on. Afterwards even they left the town leaving me behind in a town devoid of any life. Just to make sure I scanned my surroundings and the rest of the town whether a lonely soul was still hiding somewhere inside of it. Only after checking multiple times could I finally let down my guard. Everything went as planned. I created the reputation I wanted for my partner in crime and learned a bit about the interaction between the players and their NPCs and got myself a really good hideout. No one would expect to find the NPC many people had been looking for, in the middle of a ghost town. Now all that is left to do is to wait for my partner in crime to bring me the resources I need. If mercenaries are not promising enough I will just produce something those people have yet to think off. How much gold I could I earn by mass-producing weaponry? I should produce them first before I start to sell them otherwise it''s pointless. Mr Observer you wanted me to leave a lasting impression you got it. If there is one thing I can do, its exactly that. Though for one reason or another I still could smell the trouble in the air. But as long as it does not affect me I could not care any less. I will think about the weapons to build and use while I am forced to wait for my resources. So, what about a sword... 103 Weapons While thinking about the weapons I should produce I was walking through the remains of the town to find the most suitable location for my plan. The weapons I could produce were directly tied to the resources I have at my disposal. A club could be made without too much work. But a spear would require a long stick and a sharpened end. Do not get me started about swords, I would need to be able to smelt metals, a suitable handle and usable metals. And those weapons were just used in the Dark Ages and those medieval times were nothing more than fancy decoration in the modern world. I should forget about tanks, guns or anything too modern as I would never have the technology nor the materials to build something like that. A bow would make a fine choice, but I would have to make sure that those NPCs are capable of pulling the string. A crossbow was suffering from the same fate, although it could be shot once before the string had to be pulled. Both of these weapons share the same principles but their strengths could not be more different. The longbow which marked the downfall of plated armour and had sealed the fate of countless knights had far more range and could kill an enemy without leaving them any chance to retaliate. The crossbow could only cover a pitiful range in comparison to the longbow, but it was not used in that way. Its gigantic advantage lied in its explosive strength which launched a projectile into the foe.Even the weakest monkey can fire a crossbow, which makes the weapon thousand times more valuable if I am lacking the trained personal. No matter how stupid they might be, pulling a trigger and pointing that thing forward to their enemy is the least they should be able to do. It''s not fucking rocket science but I already can tell, that some idiot out there would point that thing straight at himself. At that point, natural selection just takes its course. Trust me on that, the arrow coming straight at your face will do its job regardless. Since the crossbow can be considered a one-time use, I will have to use different weapons to cover every type of potential enemy. I might have to include siege weapons depending on the type of battlefield and enemy. Though I would likely have to multiple NPCs just to keep those things running and I would need suitable ammunition as well. Even after managing all of that, there still would be no guarantee to hit the target. This type of weapon lacks mobility and can be exploited with ease. If your target is something stationary like a castle, then use a trebuchet. Catapults and ballista can also be of use under the right circumstances. Though I have to wonder exactly how far can I go because I will not be the one operating and giving orders to those NPCs. A catapult, that can not be used is nothing more than a piece of wood. So rather than thinking about what I could do, I should start to think about what I should do. I do not need sophisticated weaponry. I am running a business here, I do not have to make plans when and how to use those weapons. That''s not my job, I just sell them. They are tools, I am not responsible for the ones wielding them. If I want to sell my weapons, I will have to make them attractive for the player. This can be achieved by either mass producing them and making them cheap as dirt or producing high-quality weapons and using their rarity as a tool to garner more money. Auctions, limited sales, discounts or specials, everything can be used once there is enough interest. But the biggest draw will be the fact, that these weapons can be bought with their normal gold and does not cause them to spend their limited budget. They will not care whether I will present them a shiny sword or a shabby looking club with nails embedded, they will only care about what brings them an advantage. Some might have doubts at first, but as more and more people will buy my tools, their conviction will crumble. But just producing and selling weapons is not enough to massively influence this competition it might be, but it is not for me. A lasting impression? The dealer of arms will be a topic for its duration but afterwards, it will soon be forgotten. The winner will be remembered while the details will fizzle out. Your deeds have to be so shocking, that they will burn themselves into their minds. That is the only way, you will be remembered. The topic should revolve around you, not the competition. Only then can I proudly say, that I have left a lasting impression. Well, not me personally but the player I am currently working for. Speaking of which, he should have returned by now. Next time I should stress the lack of time, to get him to move faster. Scoring girls should be motivation enough for him to move faster. That reminds me, I should have asked me, what type of girl he prefers. It should be easier to convince him if I paint him a picture of his ideal girlfriend and her reaction. " Oh, Tom you are so strong and thoughtful. Please take me right here."She will fall on her knees, with her face all red and she will look him in the eyes with a look of longing. All of his deeds have driven her to the brink of losing her reason and all she wants to do is give away herself, to the only person worthy enough for her. Or does he prefer the shy girl, that can not look him into the eye? She will pinch his sleeve and murmur something which causes her to become beet-red. Full of adoration she only sees you. She does not know why the great you picked the lowly her. In her mind, you are the best thing that could ever happen to her. The ice-cold beauty that gets jealous and tries to murder every other girl just for looking at you? The lively girl who does not have any enemies because its impossible to hate her? The evil seductress, that leads you down the path of temptation a path of no return? The understanding and the thoughtful girl that resembles his mother? The dominant women who will show him the ropes and step on him? The long lost sibling? I should stop here before my mind goes down the gutter even more. But I think he would prefer girls who are breathing. Those who don''t breathe, are only going to show him the cold shoulder. Okay, that was a bit dark. Though I could not help but smile a little. I knew that dark humour was a good tool to cope. But instead of coping, I was just trying to spend my time until the arrival of my resources. I have always loathed waiting for something or someone. I hope for mine and especially his sake, that this extensive waiting period is worth it. I was fed up with spending my time just staring holes into the air, that is why I searched the town for materials I could use to create weapons. The rubble from the houses could be used as ammunition for slings or be dropped onto the enemy if they step into a trap. The clothing and wooden furniture can be used to power a fire. Or it can be reassembled and turned into pikes and spears. The solid ground is an ideal source to let my ants spread and gather resources for me, without forcing me to leave this town. It is ideal to use this kind of system fo get everything I need, this way I will not have to rely on Tom at all. On top of that, I will use my ant army to bring me a lot of the materials I need. If the ants can not bring me the material I had asked for then nobody can. IF I want a bug fucking stone, then they will bring me a big fucking stone. If I asked Tom for a big fucking stone, he would look at me as if had lost my mind. Rightly so, but those ants do not question my intention, they just execute their orders without any complaining. My thoughts jumped and I tried to distract myself from the boredom, that was slowly killing me. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. As much as I wanted to ignore it, I could not escape from it. It was unavoidable, that I would grow restless if that idiot would not return. By thinking about whatever came to my mind, I will buy myself some time, but even this strategy could not solve the issue at hand. I would appreciate it if I did not lose the rest of my sanity over a matter as pointless as this. When even fights or a onesided beatdown look like a good alternative, then times must be rough. If a group of NPCs would come here to cause trouble, I would give them a big hug and thank them from the bottom of my heart. I would ask about their stories, their motivations their dreams in life. I would soak in every word of them and listen attentively as they talk about their feelings and deepest fears. Or I just beat them up. Just give me a remedy to alleviate my boredom. I am not picky as long as I do not have to resort to talking to my tenants inside of my body I will gladly accept anything. " You audacious fool. Let me tell you..." Seems like I never learn. I should never even mention or refer to his existence at all. Even the smallest acknowledgement feeds this guys ego for days and then he turns even more unbearable than before. His glorious past and his unsurpassed deeds are mentioned over and over again and he does not miss any opportunity to tell me how unfortunate that he has to work together with someone like me. This shame is not something anyone can bear without losing their mind. Only his iron-heart resolve and his steeled heart were saving him from certain doom. I, on the other hand, am a low creature, that has used up all of the luck from my ancestors to be able to meet him. Not only should I cover in front of his greatness, but I also should bid his every wish. According to him can consider being his slave the highest form of honour someone like me can ever hope to achieve. Of course, he did not forget to mention how handsome, mighty, elegant and many other objectives that I am not even going to bother listing up. For people like him, there exists a strategy to deal with such behaviour. The key is to not pay any attention to him. Those who crave it will go to great length to get it, but will also be equally flustered if they are not in the limelight and ignored. Sadly, this old fogey was a lot more stubborn and persistent with his desires. Although I could force him to be quiet, by telling him to play the music in my mind, I do not gain anything by pissing him off even more. So instead of risking losing all of my privileges, I do my best to endure his lectures and ramblings about the good old times. From time to time, I say some things to confirm, that I have not started to sleep and am still listening to his whining. Though he seems oddly satisfied after a session of talking down to me. Seems like we all have different ideas on how to vent our frustrations. In return, he did not seem to mind, some of my recent memories, that included him being tortured. That is also another good way to cope, especially if I am forced to deal with my tenant for longer periods. The long discussion that took place while I was unconscious has lefts its marks on my psyche and I had to find many methods to deal with them. How could they say so much without saying anything of importance? Always these vague terms and descriptions make my blood boil. If you want to have a secret, just keep your damn mouth shut. But those 2 fellas just liked to tease me over and over again. " The end is nigh." Were they referring to the end of all things? The apocalypse, ragnar?k? Or were they talking about to the end of my journey? What was the end that was coming to us? It was just the end of the discussion we had. That fucker even went so far, as to speak ominously in a solemn tone just to make a fool out of me. I would have been impressed by it if I had not been so pissed of by it. Their entire dialogue was nothing more than a set up to poke fun and me and keep me in the dark about it as long as possible. " Change is coming", just meant that they would switch the topic and my dumbass self thought so long and hard about what they were talking. By the time I had noticed their little scheme, it was too late and I did not want to confront them and give them the satisfaction. For now, I just acted like a fool and did not talk about the discussion at all. But he managed to prove one point, the only thing worse than this hellish boredom is being lectured while being bored. I wish I was kidding, but there are certainly more fun things then listening to the ramblings of an old fogey who refuses to die. As if the Gods had heard my outcry, I finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Right in front of my eyes, I saw a small group of NPCs scouting each house and looting everything I had not consumed. It did not look like they are affiliated with any player, why would a player loot houses? That begs the question how did they escape from the players grasp? Did the hide outside of the city amid the monsters and only going into the city after the players had already left. They were dressed in a black robe and hid there faces behind there hood. Judging by the silloutes they do not seem to be very muscular or particularly tall. Their movement was still rigid and not well-practised. As much as they were trying to be sneaky any person without a hearing impairment could hear them. Their communication could be heard and they were just barely trying to suppress their voices. And criticizing the interior is not something you would normally do while trying to raid something. They were not paying any attention to their surroundings as they did not discover my position and just continued to loot whatever they came in contact with. There was no tension or wariness in any of them. Although they had my interest, they would not put up any challenge for them should I try to attack them. But the closer they came to the more their voices became clearer and I could follow each of their words without any problems. Most of their voices sounded particular young and free of worry. " There is nothing of any use here." a female voice proclaimed a bit frustrated by the lack of success. " As long as we can avoid getting caught we will surely find something." said another voice trying to keep up the morale. And afterwards, I just ignored everything once more. I just waited till they eventually would spot me. How would they react and what would they do, thats the stuff I am interested in knowing. So can you guys please hurry up and not waste any more time trying to locate the nonexistent food? But I still have these weird tingling inside of my nose, the trouble is still in the air. 104 Scavenger To achieve the best results, I tried to restrict my breathing and play as dead as I possibly could. I want to see their true nature. While I was still contemplating exactly what I was doing to entertain myself, I caught glimpses of their faces as they came closer to me. They were just kids, their luck has to be rotten to the core if they were forced into this situation. Although whether they were abandoned or are orphans does not matter, they have found their new family in this small group. Despite the circumstances, they do seem happy. This small group was comforting and relying on each other. At times they were even teasing each other. Playfully calling each other names. Chubby was not happy to be called Chubby.Drama queen wants to be called Goddess and does not allow any other term. Left Hand was content with being called Right Hand. Incompetence was the nickname from their leader and last but not least, was last and the least a young boy tilted burden. Chubby was the first one to spot me, but he lost all of his worries after I did not move while he was looking at me. Incompetence had neither received any information about my existence nor had he asked Chubby about the sudden break he took while he was looking at me. Drama queen was way too occupied with herself to notice someone else besides her. The left hand was still busy brownnosing Incompetence. Last and the least was just staring into the clouds, simply daydreaming. Last and the least nearly walked into the door frame as he did not pay any attention to what was happening in front of his eyes. This sparked Drama queen to let out a snarky comment about his dreamy behaviour. Chubby tried to defend his dear friend only to get hit even worse in retaliation. Even I had to nod my head after hearing that sick rebuttal. Sadly I could not look up the nearest burn centres. At least that is whatI would love to say, but those are just children. They are all giggly and full of life, despite the grim situation they face. Whether it is the lack of maturity or a mechanism to cope with the stress they face, it does not change the fact, that the way there are now will only lead to sadness in the end. They follow no strategy, their wariness is laughable. They do not carry around any form of arms, that they could use. How would they fight against me? Throwing rocks at me, will not do much against any opponent. How do they intend to survive this ordeal if they do everything that should be avoided? They seem a bit too confident given their current situation. Way too confident. I should not underestimate them just because they are kids. I have made that mistake too many times. If they are just pretending to be so weak, what could they try to achieve? If they knew that I am not dead yet, they could try to catch me off-guard and capture me. Though with their numbers they would not have to rely on those tactics. Though it could also be a safety measure to minimize risks. Furthermore, there is a big chance that they are not the only group currently roaming this vicinity. While they should not pose a threat to me directly, I should be mindful of every potential witness On top of that, I do not know whether they only 5 in this group, there might be someone following them from the roof and checking on them from time to time. I should have noticed, the small pieces that do not add up sooner. The robes they were currently still wearing were covering much of their body, so I could not tell what they were doing. If they would have dropped their guard, they would have taken them off. Even if they are kids, they might have some sort of defence on them or near them. Another possibility is that these kids are just used by someone else who designates them to raid and loot a certain part of this town. If I take them as a part of an even bigger group, then their disappearance would raise unnecessary questions. The best course of action would be to continue the act of feigning my death. If they have spotted me prior to my act, then I can just fix the issue after they have shown me their true intention. The worst thing they could do to me was take away my clothes. I mean they still could spill their body fluids over me, but I would intervene if they go so far. Although I like to avoid trouble I do not fear it. While I was thinking and deciding on what to do, they were not showing any difference in their behaviour, Their teasing and talking continued although they were still trying to suppress their voices to a minimum. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. They were coming closer to my corpse as they were taking their time searching the houses for valuables. Random curses escaped from their lips as they still had no found whatever they were looking for. At least I can be certain, they will not find any food whatsoever. But who knows what they are looking for. Whether they are looking for food or weapons or something entirely different did not matter much to me. The remainder of the materials that could be found in this village was not something I needed. The materials I require will be delivered by my leecher. I do wonder what might happen if he were to arrive, while the rest of the NPCs was still here. Would he hire them on the spot or would he ignore them and come straight to me to fulfil the task I have given him? But even more interesting is the reaction on their part. Would they try to fight or try and flee or hide in the houses until the danger has passed them by? I need more information about them so I can deduce what theory is right and what is purely bogus. The moment of truth has finally come as Last but the least have noticed my presence and pointed at me while warning the others. Their behaviour changed and they acted a lot more careful now. Not even one sound left their mouths as they held their breaths as they approached me ever so slowly. I am a corpse with no signs of life, you approach me with 5 people simultaneously so why is there a need to be that careful and slow? Do they take me for some kind of zombie, that will suddenly stand up as if it was some cheap jump scare? What''s next? Will they poke me with a stick? I am certain that is the best way to check if someone is truly dead or not. Ah yes, these brats chose another classic. Small rocks are also quite effective in confirming this difficult matter. There is no need to more stones then necessary, if I do not show any reaction after 6 rocks hit my face, then the chances are pretty high that I am not going to react to 20 more. Drama queen was seemingly really concerned about me being a zombie as she continued to throw more rocks at me. At this point in time, the purpose had shifted quite heavily. I had become the personal target of the drama queen, who was enjoying this a bit too much. Nobody of her peers was showing any intention of stopping her or doing something else, they just stood beside her and stared while those rocks kept flying at me. I will stay calm and not be provoked by their cheap tricks, blowing my cover will require a lot more than just annoying me with rocks. Using my vivid imagination was a good way to calm down and stay composed. After what felt like an eternity the drama queen finally had enough of throwing rocks at me and came closer towards me. The rest of their eyes were still focused on me as if they were waiting for something to happen or a signal of any kind. What if they are not looking at me directly but into my direction awaiting their orders? The odds of someone standing on top of the roof over my head have just increased significantly. But judging by their behaviour they must know that something is fishy, that is why the continued to act so careful. My guess is that they had someone scout the perimeter before and I was seen then. Since the situation has developed as far as this, I could end this farce as soon as possible. But I still wanted to see, what they would try to do with me. A better understanding of NPCs is not something harmful to me. From all the possible actions I had considered and thought about, the brick that came from above of my head was none of them. Instead of probing, they just went with murder. Well, that was also a way to make sure that your target is really dead. After the dull impact resounded and I still did not produce any other sound, they should have lost all of their wariness. But of course, for good measure, another wave of bricks came flying down onto my face. The produced sound resembled the melody from We will rock you. After the message of my head, came to an end after they had run out of rocks to throw and drop on me. After everything was over, they returned to their cheerful mood and started to speak with a normal volume. " You can calm down Big Brother, this guy is as deas as someone can be." I did not know why Chubby felt the need to prove this statement by kicking me several times but ignored it for the time being. The Big Brother jumped down from the roof and landed right in front of the 5 youth who got rid of their robes as they now assured that no danger existed for them. And I was not surprised by the things I saw. They were indeed children, way too young and still looked immature. Their age likely did not even reach the double digits. These small children did not even seem to know, the situation they are in. All they do is listen to the orders of their big brother. With all of stress and wariness gone they ran around and they were just back to being normal kids again. They were loud and obnoxious running around without any worry in the world. " Do not run too far and listen to whatever Big Sis tells you to." After the children had run out of sight letting their fantasy run wild. I was left with the Big Brother who had been eyeing my corpse since the children started to play. He started to look through my clothes and began to check if I had anything of worth. I had to help him a little otherwise he would not even be able to move my body. In his greed, he did not notice that things were a bit amiss. All it took was the absorbing gold coin and his eyes did not know reason anymore. The only other thing, I had on me were my punching gloves, that I had used some time ago. He would not strip off my clothes, right? After he got a hold out of my gloves, it took him quite some time and both of his hands just to get a single one out of my pants. Watching panting and his weird expression after pulling it out was worth it. I just barely managed to prevent the smile from creeping upon my lips as I saw the antics of him as he tried so hard to get my gloves out of my pants. I was just lucky he had not grabbed on something else before starting to pull with all of his might. After he had finally managed to get a hold of the finger gloves, he renewed his search but was unable to locate another treasure. He still looked rather content with the spoils from looting my corpse. But he still was eying my corpse as if he was thinking about something. Before he could do something stupid, that he would regret for the rest of his life, he was stopped. " Rather than his clothes, we need to find something to eat. This town seems to be devoid of any food." This must be the Big Sister he has been talking about, or it is another person I do not know off because that''s the first time I heard her voice. Her voice sounded domineering leaving no room for complaints. Or in other words, if those 2 were a pair, she would be wearing the pants. The so-called Big Brother did not even say anything back and could only nod after hearing her voice. It felt like wanted to get down on his knees and prostrate himself in front of her. So Big Sister what is going to happen to me? 105 The meat puppe What would they do to me? That question was about to be answered in the next few seconds. At least I could tell that the Big Sister was a lot more decisive than her male counterpart. Would they try to eat me or use my body as bait to avoid monsters? Or would they cut my body apart and use my bones to make weapons out of them? " Did you find anything good on him?" The Big Brother had a proud expression on his face, as he presented his findings. He lifted a fingerless glove with both of his hands and gave it to her. " This is something strange I found on him, its weight is really heavy. I wonder how this is used?" Thanks to the warning, the Big sister was not as troubled with the weight of the gloves although she also did not seem to have any idea how those are utilized. She tried everything from dropping them to the ground and throwing them with all of her force. The actions that followed made me question how the humans in this world had survived to see the light of day. It felt like the day whenI wanted to explain the Internet to my grandparents all over again. It has 5 openings, what else on your body has at least 5 of them? No, please do not put it in your mouth to chew on it. Does it even remotely look like something that could be eaten? Although you possess 5 toes they are not for your feet. I had to remind myself to stay calm and not fall for their cheap provocations. These actions can not be done without malicious intent, I refuse to believe that. After a period of trial and error that had nearly driven me to the brink of insanity, she finally managed to figure out their true purpose and put them on her hand. She made some motions with all of the weight on her hand. These movements were not fluid and were heavy. had no grace or elegance to them and looked very tedious. Yet despite all of that it appeared that she had taken a liking to them, as she even put on the other one to continue this attempt to make me angry. Did I look that stupid while wearing them? Her movements got a bit faster after she had gotten hang out of it, though I still wonder whether she could put these gloves to great use. The attempts at trying to throw a punch while wearing them were beyond pitiful. I knew for certain that the Observer had tempered with this NPC. Even with the process of elimination. it would have been a miracle, that she deducted its purpose in a matter of minutes. This concept or something similar should not exist in this world. The mere thought of this event occurring is even beyond my wildest dreams. Once more I closed and opened my eyes to see if I had just imagined this event. But the unimaginable was still happening right in front of my eyes. Was this the next step in the evolution of NPCs? Were they finally able to use the simplest form of modern tools? This thought was discarded a few seconds later after I heard her speak. " It goes so well with my clothes." It is not a fucking accessory that goes well with your clothing. How could you even come to this conclusion? It''s like every reasoning went out of the window and the brain ceased to function for the entirety of that sentence. Those movements of hers were not to test out the function of them but to see how they look on her? Please tell me I am mistaken, please tell me. This is a tool used to hurt others, to inflict serious pain and injuries not to look good. I do not care how they look on me when I am beating someone to a pulp. Seeing my gear used like that was rage-inducing but I still could barely suppress it.Most of their actions were still aimed at causing me to lose my composure, but I did not want to give them that satisfaction. " They look good on you" the big brother stammered as he looked mesmerized at the big Sister. Of course, adding insult to injury, they keep on ramming that idea down my throat. As if swallowing my pride was not hard enough on its own. The big sister did not reply to his compliment and continued her movements. This spectacle which caused others to marvel left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth. This display is heretic and just downright shameful. The big brother, on the other hand, was nearly salivating looking at the big Sister. The sexual tension in the air was nearly palpable and I wonder if the 2 of them are related by blood. Well, this world is already fucked up as it is, why not add incest into the mix, it would not change anything either. As of now its only the brother lusting after Big Sister, but as long as they are not related by blood and she does not reciprocate these feelings it is not illegal. But the forbidden fruit of passion will surely bloom between them. This was nothing more than pure speculation, but this kind of development would fit very well. This outcome was practically predetermined after I have brought up the idea in my mind. Even if this idea will not be happening today, I know for certain that I just brought this degeneracy into being. Who knows, what will happen if the player base is confronted with this level of relationship. Their view on relationships is mostly based on the ability to produce the strongest possible offspring, I doubt that they would react too kindly to something like this. Although I know of some people who would not need much stimulation to fall for the carnal lust. The leecher I am affiliated with was a prime example of that. He will be one of the worst offenders, once he has gotten the first taste of it. While I was busy thinking about the potential influence of some sexy time for this prude world, the show had continued and the Big Brother was still captivated by the beauty dancing in front of him. He forgot about his surroundings and only had her in his eyes. I could only scoff at their plan, this kind of ploy would not work on me. As if they did not notice the small group that had surrounded them. Do they think that the damsel in distress is enough to get me to act? They will capture her with her eyes full of lust and a scream will escape her voice, help, help. And the knight in shining armour shall descend from the heavens and win the heart of the maiden by saving her. What do they take me for? I can endure them trampling on everything I deem holy and can even ignore them doing these sacrilegious acts. So why should I fall for that trick that is as old as time itself? Oh, the big eyes full of surprise as the group of bad guys capture them. Just how could this happen, who could have seen this coming? It all happened out of the blue. One scream for help, as the procedure demands it and the loud laugh and taunting answer that no one would come to her aid. Now here came the part where they explained in great detail what they would do to her to release all their pent up stress and the poor boy has to watch because they are oh so evil. Their villainous laughter and lecherous expression to undermine the depravity of their acts and deeds. But I have to praise them for their commitment, the level of fear in their eyes looks almost lifelike. The futile attempts and their struggle were a nice touch to the situation. If I was a normal inhabitant of this world my opinion might have swayed but I will not fall for something so obvious. How could I forget about that, the psychological blow used by the underlings that determine in which way they get to enjoy her. This reenactment of the typical baddies is spot on and deserves an award for their performance. They seriously thought of everything, the ripping off her clothes so that every man can gaze upon her goods. Their perverted expressions and their lustful gazes could not miss in this text example of villainy. Even as their boss a man whom I could smell from back here began to cop a feel under the loud cheer of his subordinates. Her muffled screams and the look of anguish in the eyes of the Big Brother and the tasteless treatment such a delicate flower received it was picture perfect. Though they had gone a step too far, they had ripped off my gloves and threw them down at the dirt. I would have to exchange a few words with their boss after they realized that their strategy to lure me out did not work. But what a minute, they have so much NPCs on their side, why should they make such a huge spectacle to lure me out? That does not make any sense. I did I obsess too much about the idea of them trying to trick me? Is this real, or is there another reason they go through this show? If this is by chance not made up and happening right in front of my eyes, then a certain someone is lacking creativity. I pondered whether I should intervene in this matter or just ignore it. But I did not have to make that decision for myself. While I was evaluating my options, a lowlife had decided to use my face as a chair. Besides the fact, that he currently was desecrating a dead body and placing his butt directly over my nose. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown and contemplated ending his life on the spot. But things got even worse, as I heard a faint rumbling in his body. His bowel movement was a foreboding sign of the misfortune looming over my head. But it was too late as a repugnant and revolting stench filled my nostrils. I wondered where I had gone wrong to end up in this situation. I did not even work at Riot Games, but now I will always be the boy who has been farted upon. There is no way I can ever live this down nor will I ever forget about this detail. This shame can not be washed away no matter what I would do. Praise be to our lord and saviour the boy who has been farted upon. There is only one thing I can do. Leave no witness behind. The man who was still sitting on my face was unaware of what he just had started. It did not take long before he felt something sharp intruding into his body from below and a pained cry escaped his lips. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. He stood up as fast as he could to see what caused this painful sensation, but there was no escape as the object had penetrated even deeper into his rectum. The pure sound of agony stopped everyone in their tracks as they stared at their colleague screaming. " I thought I would never use this method again, but given the situation, I will make an exception for you." Ever noise had died down as all eyes focussed on me. They were trying to comprehend what was currently happening. " You guys do not have to worry, I will not do this to anyone else I am not that cruel. This is just a very special service for a very special man. I will grant you a quick death" After hearing my words the crowd began to laugh quite loudly. I could not blame them for not taking me seriously, the words of a young boy with a hand stuck in someone asshole is certainly not very threatening. But it needed to be done. I had to reach depths no one had ever seen and might never see again. As much as they wanted to laugh the expression on the face of my new sock puppet was not something that invoked feelings of joy. The pitiful cries were also not something that was symbolising happiness. Also, they did not think that this was a joke, no one would willingly endure this kind of torment just to joke around. " So, do you guys still insist on wasting my time? Just come at me with all you guys have got, makes it easier for both sides" After producing yet another near inhuman sound as I had shoved my arm even further inwards. I decided to lift him upwards After my meat puppet was lifted in the air, I pushed him up and down to see how much life was still left in him. The fucker just refused to die and kept on screaming like a banshee. First, he dared to fart on my face and now he refused to die, he truly insists on pissing me off till the very end. Up and down, up and down. Under the shocked gazes of everyone, the life of this poor soul came to a very deserved end. This one had been a lot quicker as I did it to the wolf. After my puppet finally did not scream anymore I could follow my dreams of becoming a ventriloquist. I moved his mouth with my left hand while mimicking his movements with my right hand. Mimicking his voice I began my little show. " Guys I have trapped his hand, attack him while I still can hold on." I did not receive any answer and no one showed any signs of attacking me, but this did not deter me from continuing my one man show. " Wait, this is a lot more pleasant, then the last I did this with my boss. I am sorry Boss, but I will leave you for this man right here.You are simply not man enough for someone like me." This feeling was wonderful I finally could vent a lot of the frustration that has been building itself up inside of me. " Just look at you.Your appearance is abhorrent and your smell is disgusting. Coming into contact with you is the biggest regret of my life. He looks really good is strong but most importantly his tool is not limp." When was the last time I could insult someone like this? It felt truly refreshing and liberating to finally lose the filter I used for myself. Provocations of this kind will question his manhood and it will be easy to make him attack me. This time it was my turn to speak to the bandits. " The truth has been spoken, Sorry Mr Limp Dick but you are not men enough for your former man". I looked at him full of pity. " But do not worry, I will release you from your sad fate." 106 You call yourself villains? This display of cruelty and the subsequent mocking was not something I did to vent my feelings. It was a nice side effect, but it was not the main aim. The decision to insert my arm deep into his rectum was out of pure spite though. Or at least I made it seem that way from the outside. As a man with standards, I would not insert my arm into someone''s body without consent. I settled for the club he was carrying at his side to do exactly that. My intention behind that was quite simple, those mob characters would most likely only attack when they knew for certain that they had the absolute advantage.Just by standing up I would have been attacked due to the sheer difference in numbers. I doubt they would leave me any time to hold a speech to showcase just how noble I am and how lowly they are in comparison. Using their recently deceased friend was the right way to get their attention without risking anything. Such a shocking and unusual sight will cause a lot of confusion and hinder them from attacking me directly after seeing me. Of course, that was just the best-case scenario it did not truly matter what they would choose to do. They would have done me gigantic favour if they attacked me on sight, that way I could have saved myself a lot of work. It would be troublesome if they ran away and I would have to catch every single one of them. My cheap attempt at undermining his authority and emasculating him did not result in me getting attacked. This world seems a lot more progressive than I thought, a lot of people in my former world would lose their mind on the notion that they might be gay. Homophobia either is a nonissue or the concept does not exist at all. I will have to use different tactics to get a reaction out of them. Since this world is so adamant on honour I should use that angle. But I would set myself up for failure if I did not use everything against them.Whether it was their inferiority, their birth, their gender, their nationality, their appearance everything could and should be used to gain an advantage. Back to the group of NPCs who refused to make a move and just stood there looking at me. Since the meat puppet did not yield any notable results I decided to discard it. Smashing the corpse to the ground I to cut the pretence. " I am truly sorry, I thought I could escape, but you did not fall for that trick. Please spare my life" I fell on my knees and covered in front of them. I remained in that position without moving or trying to flee to show them my sincerity. My tine and frail body should furthermore showcase how truly weak and pathetic I truly am. If tarnishing their reputation does not work, I should appeal their superiority and cause them to act all mighty and arrogant. The whimpering was the cherry on top and should touch them at the deepest part of their souls. Every villain should be drawn to this type of weakling to prove and feel good about themselves. It the cycle of life for every villain, stomping and terrorizing the weak until they are used as a stepping stone for the main character. The only thing left for them to do was to follow their deepest desires and stomp on me and ridicule me. All of their instincts must be screaming at them to humiliate me. So what exactly was holding them back to do something to me? Why did no one even speak while I was doing all of this? Are they still so hung up by the meat puppet? Seriously why does no one do anything? This vulnerable position leaves me defenceless and those morons still do not take any action? What do I have to do to make them finally do something? Do I have to write them a manual about how to act like a villain? These people would rather give me a backrub then taking advantage out of this situation. Since even this strategy did not deliver any promising results I stood up once more. Though I lacked any ideas on how to motivate these NPCs to do what I wanted them to. " Who are you guys?" I screamed at them, letting out every frustration of my plans failing over and over again. " Speak up, who are you" I walked closer to one NPC who has not moved even an inch after I had started my provocations. " SPEAK UP." The man felt unwell with all of my attention fixiated on him, but I wanted answers.His shabby clothes fit the image of a dirty of a bandit but this behaviour was destroying any form of threatening presence he might have had otherwise. " I am a farmer, please spare me SIr"Why do they show me so much respect? What did I do to deserve such a treatment? Am I any different in their eyes compared to those 2 they are currently holding hostage? " SHUT UP. You are not a farmer you are a villain. You are the worst type, the lowest of the low, a disgrace to society, the dregs of humankind. So show some goddamn backbone. Why would anyone show respect you, if you do not have some for yourself?" Icontinued my interrogation and asked him the next question " Why are you doing this?" " Sir, I had no other choice, food was getting rarer and rarer and becoming a lowly bandit was all I could do. I did not have a choice" The same old excuse, I am not at fault its the surroundings that forced me to. " Bullshit, there is always a choice. Just admit it, you prefer the life of a vagabond. Normal life is full of responsibilities for ungrateful people. Be it, family or friends, there is always someone who takes you for granted. And if you fail, then you are worthless to them." Right now most of them should remember all those times they felt mistreated or were not thanked for their deeds and sacrifices. It is so easy to drive a narrative if it feeds on their negative emotions. " But those you hold dear, do they have the same regard for you? Do they even think about you anymore? " " She left me for one of them. " He sounded bitter and dejected as if he was blaming himself for what his wife did to him. " She even took with kids with her." He roared at my face, as he lost control over his emotions. " He lost everything and people like this still dare to look down on him and call him a lowlife. They are the cause of his misery and yet they still dare. Not only are they hypocrites responsible for all of your suffering but they also chose to go with one of them." Them, likely referred to the players, that took the chance to hire their significant others while they were gone. Using them as the root of all evil is something I would do in a heartbeat. " Their selfish deeds lead to ruined lives from honest people like you wherever they go. While you guys are currently living from scraps they are busy eating only the finest food." I had created a common enemy, someone whom they all could blame and hate for everything that happened to them. Envy and Hate are a really strong motivation. Though I was quite unsure if their wives had the better life I would rather say they had it a lot worse, but I would be a fool to say that out loud. " Can you accept that? You are the villains, while that scum dines like kings. CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT?" No reaction from them, as they still stood there staring at me, as if they were contemplating something. " CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT?I tried to use a polarizing voice and let my gaze pass over all faces to indicate that I meant all of them. I want to create a movement, something they all can relate to and associate themselves with. Since no one dared to speak up I had to take matters into my own hands I walked right back to the NPC I had asked at the start. " Can you after going through all of that due to them, accept that? " No, I can''t" He spoke meekly with a voice no one could hear besides me. " CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT?" This time I nearly screamed at him. " I CANT ACCEPT THAT"He replied in a louder tone but it lacked the confidence but back up his words. I nearly replied with " I Cant hear you but that did not fit the image I had in mind. I wanted to feel like the Emperor that lead them to the Dark Side, to corrupt them. Sadly even the younglings could kill them, magic is just way too strong for those normal NPCs. Without the necessary equipment and tactics, its a lost cause before the fight has even started. " Louder" " I CANT ACCEPT THAT" " LOUDER" " I CANT ACCEPT THAT" I walked to the next person standing close to him and began the ritual anew. " Can you accept that?" " NO, I CANT" " I ASKED YOU CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT?" "NO, I CANT" The next step was to use those 2 to fuel a group dynamic. " I ASK YOU. THEY FEAST WHILE YOU SUFFER. CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT? " NO, WE CAN''T " " THEY TOOKYOUR EVERYTHINGAND LEFT YOU HERE: CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT?" " NO, WE CAN''T" " RIGHT NOW THEY GET AWAY WITHOUT ANY PUNISHMENT. CAN YOU ACCEPT THAT? " NO, WE CAN''T" After the whole crowd started to reply enthusiastically. I waited a bit and let the crowd feel their unity.The next and final step was to change the narrative the way I had intended to. " I ASK ONCE AGAIN. THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU, SHOULD PAY THE PRICE. DO YOU ACCEPT THAT?" " YES" " THE PRICE THAT HAS TO BE PAID IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE:DO YOU ACCEPT THAT? " YES" " NO MATTER WHO OR WHAT IS STANDING IN YOUR WAY, EVERYTHING WILL HAVE TO GO. " " DO. YOU. ACCEPT. THAT?" " YES, YES, YES" After the crowd had been riled up and everyone was motivated I waited till everyone had calmed down once more. While I waited I pondered on exactly had just happened and how far I had deviated from my initial plans. Why no one minded the fact, that right in front of my feet the still lukewarm body of one of their former mates could be found or the fact, that I am connected to those players as well. A lot of details still had to be figured out as well. I still do not know why I was not attacked or shown so much respect. If they know of the existence of players, then they might have recognized that I am affiliated to one. At least that would explain why I was shown so much respect, that respect was nothing more than suppressed. Back then they did not consider them an enemy, but a threat they did not understand and were rightfully afraid off. My weird antics surely did not help to convince them otherwise that''s for sure. So why did they still follow through with everything I did and not try to run away? As much charisma I might have, it is still not enough to overcome the image they have or had off those players. Normally they should have acted with great reluctance and they should not trust a word I said, given what happened to their families and friends. My words might have resonated with their feelings, but there still has to be more to it, to reach that reaction. There has to be something larger at play. Has the Observer once again interfered in my matter? To my surprise, it was no Supernatural Force that helped me this time it was the leecher whom I had forgotten about in its entirety. Although he tried to hide from me, I clearly could see him through the cheering crowd. He was the only one not cheering. He had hired every single one of those NPCs which caused the chain reaction, that they subconsciously took a liking to their master and value him higher than themselves. But instead of forcing them to listen to his orders, he let me do my things and did not interfere any further. He is truly different from those folks I have met prior. He is not as arrogant and a lot more self-critical than anyone I have seen. It is not a high hurdle to overcome, but it is still something that elevates him from the masses. I will ignore his presence for now, as we both do not gain any clear advantage out of drawing any attention towards him. For the time being, I had to make sure, that those NPCs saw themselves as wronged by the world and that they had to do everything to get revenge on everyone who has wronged them. Though it would still take a lot of time until they have calmed down enough so that I can tell them about my plan to get back at their targets. That is why I am glad, that I have not created one enemy but a group. That way, they will never be truly satisfied until they have beaten even the last of those players that took their everything. It is only a matter of time until I can make them do everything I want. I would like to see their faces, once I give them the tools to get their revenge. Until then, its time for me to wait. " Using fart as a reason to move against them, please try harder if you want to fool me. Remember I have access to some of your memories. And I doubt that you work for something named Riot. I could not care any less about your motivations, but please do not treat like a fool." Ah, come on. You just destroyed the illusion for the Observer, now he knows that I was only joking. That is not very nice. " You know why you deserve it." True. Is everything else fine? " Everything works as intended." We will talk about my proposition later on before that let us continue the tools I will need to make a name out the leecher. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong, but who am I kidding something will go wrong, that is just the natural cause. Sighing I prepared the next part of my speech. Just let it be something minor for once, and I did not mean the children in that last paragraph. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. " Listen and listen carefully. If you want to survive and get revenge, you will need a lot of training and a lot of conviction. Are you willing enough to endure that?" The crowd confirmed this several times by screaming "Yes" loudly over and over again. " This is what we need..." 107 Who you are 1 After the noisy crowd finally had died down they all stared at me awaiting my next words. After I had pumped them up and gave them a goal, it was time for them to receive a dose of reality. Euphoria can only get these guys that far. "Killing those bastards and giving them what we deserve is something you all want to do. But the way you are now, it is impossible. I mean their targets are killing machines wielding magic and they, on the other hand, are just normal human beings. If they want to win the way they are now they will need more than a miracle. But their miracle is standing right in front of them and I will show them the light. Dang, I already sound like one of those preachers. You were supposed to destroy the Church, not join them, Bring balance to this world not leave it with preachers. " Those bastards are strong enough to kill every single one of them on their own and they are surrounded by a lot more people who are just as strong as you now at the minimum and they are currently getting stronger by the minutes. So how do you think you can accomplish your goals?" I am not here to damper expectations but I need them to understand their role. They will not magically be able to singlehandedly kill a player without any preparations. What I want from them is to do whatever it takes to kill them. If one sacrifice is not enough, then a second one will do the same without any hesitation. Get the results by any means necessary. " How do you guys plan to overcome that? Tell me, how does a worthless bunch like you plan to even hurt someone of their calibre? Are you guys that delusional?" " You do not even realize how big the gap is. in their eyes, you are nothing more than rowdy kids still drinking their mother''s milk. So how many children are needed to pose a threat to an adult? I walked up to the closest NPC who held his head down in shame after hearing my words and punched him into the stomach causing him to lie on the ground whimpering in pain. He was clutching his stomach and his breathing became ragged. " But in my eyes, you are not children. You are less than that. You are scum,scum has no right to dream." I walked around and gave every single one of them a punch to the gut and watched them curling on the ground in pain. " Scum is what you are in my eyes. But that does not mean, that you have to remain scum. I will turn you from worthless scum to children. " Embrace the pain you feel, it means you are still alive. Being alive means being able to do." " But right in front of my eyes, there is neither scum nor children. All I see is corpses. The carcasses of those who have given up and let others dictate their fate. Do you guys still wonder why you were left behind? No spine, no backbone, no will to live. You are better of dead, then living this excuse you call life. " Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. They were still not moving even after I had insulted them so harshly. Seems like I will have to motivate them directly. Being a drill sergeant is a lot more fun than I had expected it to be. " Are you guys dead? Being alive means standing up to your problems. So, you worthless scum are you dead or are you alive?" " ARE YOU DEAD OR ALIVE?" This will be a lot of work, to make something out of this bunch, but some of them at least look promising. They try to stand up against the pain, gritting their teeth and forcing themselves to prove me wrong. But the rest still does not show any motivation to stand up. Since even this is not enough to motivate them its time to stoop low and get real personal. I walked to one person who did not even try to stand up. I moved my head close to his ears and began to whisper words that would forever change this man. But I will reach my goals by any means necessary. A pained roar escaped from his lips just after my words had entered his ears. Seems like this strategy is a full success. " TAKE THAT BACK" He pushed himself up and started to throw punches at me. His eyes were full of hate. " The pleasure, the excitement. Just imagine it " "SHUT UP"" SHUT UP" " SHUT UP" I could dodge his attacks with ease and his frustrations increased. He could not get rid of the anger that was building up in him. Those feelings were suppressed for far too long, although I had to get dirty to awaken them. Since he was not the only one in my care I gave him another punch to the stomach and watched him drop like a fly once more. " Come back when you are man enough." This break I had created for myself was just barely enough to do the same to the next NPC who refused to stand up. After another treatment, he also moved his body up and attacked me full of fury. While I had been preoccupied with preparing the next candidate the first one stood already and started the next barrage of attacks. Despite their best effort, everything missed and they both got incapacitated with quick punches to the gut once again. The time window is getting smaller seems like I have to speak a bit faster to motivate them. Because this session isn''t over until I have spoken to the rest of the gang. After the number of my attackers had increased to 5 I was forced to use a bit more power otherwise I would never get a chance to increase their numbers. I avoided hitting targets, that would cause serious injury or death, even though they could be revived it would just be a hassle. If I kill them, then the lesson about willpower is entirely useless. They do not realize it in their madness but sooner or later they will come to realize that the pain they feel is just temporary. 10 people were rushing at me like a pack of wolves trying their best to hurt me and rip me apart, I had to pay most of my attention to dodging their attacks to let the frustration build up even more. Taunts and mocking gestures were effective if their insecurities are attacked. Rinse and repeat, bear with it grow with it and conquer it.Show me some god damn guts, you weaklings. Come on, hate yourself, hate your pathetic selves, that caused the misery you are currently living through. Detest who you have been and who you are. Loathe the weak and pathetic you of today. Swear to yourself that you will never return to the person who you are today. 15 people full of hatred run straight at me, discarding defence and just give in to their instincts. They are savages a bunch of brutes, with no discipline but it feels so good. Right now, it is not about the past the future or the present it is about all of those feelings residing inside of you. When life punches you down, you stand up and throw some god damn jabs back. This modification seems adequate for this bunch of NPCs. Since I have neither seen lemons nor any manager it will have to do. 20 people looked just like wild animals and had lost any resemblance to human beings. We will have to work on their teamwork a little but with enough practice, those things can become second nature to them. Pain is a very good teacher. I had increased the power of my punches from time to time, to increase the burden on their body and to bring them to their utmost limit. The moment when death seems like a good alternative is the best time to grow and surpass your old self. In this world defeat equals death, that is the one iron rule in this world. Either you suffer now or you will suffer in the future. 20 people were coming at me all of them had still not given up and were continuing despite being utterly exhausted and coughing all the time. They were forced their tired and weary body to attack me. Their movements were slow and could not even hurt a fly but they were still trying. 25 people had attacked me and given their all, but now everybody lied in front of me and they could not get up anymore. They had given their all and had collapsed after their body finally gave in. They all had fainted sooner or later. The last 5 needed a bit more special treatment, but they also got to that point after I had a lot more freedom. 5 people were left, they were the ones who had stood up on their own volition without needing my motivation. I clapped them as they looked at me full of weariness, I can not blame them I have beaten their comrades over and over again. " You guys, are a lot better than the rest. But just because you can push yourself without my help does not mean, that it will be enough." A savage grin could be seen on my face. " One instance is enough and your life is over." I used my speed and threw a punch at one of their faces and only stopped inches before it landed. After the life had flashed right in front of his eyes I continued my little speech. " So what did those people do wrong?" I pointed at the unconscious crowd that looked like a pile of corpses this time around. Without the faint breathing, I would have proclaimed them dead on the spot. " They stood up over and over again and did not recognize the difference in strength," Someone said full of confidence but his boldness was answered with a heavy blow to the guts. " Wrong, next" " They did not have enough to will to continue" This answer came equally self-assured but was also equally received. " Absolutely wrong, next" " They lost their reason and attacked just to vent their feelings," Said a timid youth, who was by the far the least impressive from the trio that was left. " Correct observation, wrong conclusion"Instead of giving him a blow to the guts I went straight to the next person. " Your answer?" " They kept on attacking the same way over and over again." " True, but still not their mistake." This time around I gave him 2 punches to the gut to the last 2 who had answered my question. " Always be ready for attacks, nobody will be lenient when they face you. Especially me, do not trust my words if you want to survive this nightmare." " Your answer?" His face was resolute as he put his arms behind the back and did not speak a single word. " You, my friend will make it far." This time around I did not hold back anymore and gave him a serious blow to the stomach, that could end up causing some serious harm. This was the best my current body had to offer, without sustaining lasting injuries through my special tactic. Despite still being strong I lacked a lot of strength from my peak state. The cleansing process fucked me up. The stupid stunts I had pulled surely did not help and even now I do not know what keeps my body together. My serious punch caused him to puke blood but I could not penetrate his skin anymore. I had been nerfed by my stupidity. Well, I just hope that my body will slowly but surely return to its normal farm. All I have to do is to gather more and more nutrients to accomplish this. Avoiding fights is also something I should do but this lesson was necessary. Everybody lied on the ground beside the Big Brother and the Big Sister who did not say anything and had remained on their spot for the entire duration. " Their mistake was to not work together and solely act on their own." I was surprised at this answer, especially since it came from the Big Sister who was still sitting there with her destroyed clothes. The good view of her goods did not bother me in the slightest. Although my gaze did not linger on her exposed flesh. " Correct that was their biggest mistake. If you want to cover up just steal one of their clothes, they will not mind. I can guarantee that" I did not want to waste any more time than necessary and walked away from the scenery. I did not have to turn my back to see both of their gazes follow me, but their feelings were entirely different. One full of admiration the other full of burning jealousy.Human nature never changes. Using NTR was a full success although I did not expect them to be that serious about that part of the relationship, seems like the image of their wives being pleasured was enough to disturb their hearts and causing them to explode. ------- As the crowd of hooligans was currently regretting being born I walked to my partner in crime to the promised goods. He looked at me and nodded. " A splendid performance there, I nearly bought it myself. Their mistake was not working together. Their mistake lied entirely elsewhere and you even admitted it in a roundabout way." " Well spotted. Indeed there mistake lied elsewhere, but for their development, they must think their mistake was the lack of teamwork." Their mistakes had been committed before my lecture had even started. Instead of listening to every word I say, they should have attacked me and if they had not listened to one of my words, they could have avoided this situation in its entirety.That was their mistake. But in this world there is no option to redo their choices, every action has a consequence. Though these bunch of rowdy is lucky or rather unlucky enough that they can be revived over and over again. There is no escape from my training. " Though there is one thing I do not understand? Why do you put them through all of that? I have watched others and they did nothing as crazy as this" said Tom with a curious expression on his face. " Tom, we do not want to be like others, we want to be different and better. I do not want weaklings that just follow orders, I want to get things done. I want monsters in human flesh." Tom laughed wholeheartedly after hearing my proclamation. He even patted my back before showing me everything he had brought with him. But he had not understood that I had been entirely serious. But I did not intend to set him right, rather than doing that I laughed with him. Yes, monsters in a human flash were just a figure of speech. Because they could not turn into me, what I wanted to create was a berserker that fought until his last breath. My dear NPCs this is who you are. 108 Who you are 2 I was not disappointed with all of the goods he had brought me.There was enough monster flesh to last for quite a while and enough wood and stone to create some of the tools I had thought off. The only downside was that I could not eat at all from the meat because I had 30 mouths to feed now. Before I could send those idiots out to gather monsters and other materials I still had to put in a lot of effort and invest a lot of time. While Rome was not built in a single day, wasting precious time is something I want to avoid. Looking at the corpses of the monsters I did not find a single one, that had any special characteristics that could be utilized. Most of them were charred all over eliminating the chance to use the fur. While the bones were still usable I had to kiss goodbye to using nails or fangs aswell. They were unusable after meeting the immense heat from the magic. Although the meat was cooked tenderly and tasting it was almost sinful, I still felt a bit of regret not making more clear and precise orders. Since there is always a next time, I will have to be more careful with phrasing in the future. I went to the corpse which was still intact except for its missing legs. Seems like he put our training session to good use. Without waiting for him to narrate I used every strength I can muster and even sent my body in overdrive for just one instance, so I can hit the head of the monster with all of my might. The impact was loud and resounded in the close vicinity but to my dismay, I had not managed to push through its skull. All of my strength would just leave a bloody gash on that monster. I am too weak, even a darn fox can endure a blow with all of my force. This feeling of powerlessness was vexing, I knew that it was not enough to compete with those players. Forget about that, even fighting against small monsters is now a battle where I have to put my life on the line. Not to forget about the injuries I have sustained in my fight against the Observer and the horde of baby wolves. My body still aches from time to time. The worst part is I have no clear idea, how long my body will need to return to its normal state. As of now, I am will remain with this weak shape. My self-esteem had crumbled even further as my partner in crime did not even bother paying attention to me. This leecher was currently paying the Big Sister a visit and began to talk about her great prospects for the future. Like a moth to the light was he attracted towards her. It surely did not help, that her prospects were still in clear view while she spoke with Tom. His gaze kept on drifting downwards and she did not even seem to mind. Though the Big Brother did not share that sentiment.The only one who had no problem with it was herself If it is so easy to keep him occupied like that I will let her run around topless all day long. His pitiful attempts at communicating made me nearly die from second-hand embarrassment. The beet-red head and his stammering left me doubting whether Itruly could get him a girlfriend at all. " Sorry to interrupt" I was not sorry at all. " But can you please give me back the thing you called accessory. And you, can you give me back the other object you picked from me?" I pointed at the Big Brother. She looked at me full of reluctance as she removed my fingerless gloves. After she had handed them over, the bloodsucking coin was launched at my face. I caught it with ease, but he should know that I am not the one he should be worried about. Though looking at the awkward behaviour and the pitiful attempts at what just barely can be called flirting, he should not worry at all. I left the trio alone and moved back to the resources once more. I needed the coin for my next set of ideas. After checking whether anyone was watching me, I cut open their flesh and inserted the coin, that sucked its blood dry. It was nice to know, that the coin had finally started to suck blood again. Hmm, the feeling of unease and trouble was still in the air, so what could it refer to? What detail could I have missed, every loose end should have been taken care of. The scum, my affiliated player, the siblings and the small children. Ah yes, I forgot about the children. While training the ruffians I forgot about those small pests. They have yet to return and they haven''t been hired by my partner yet. Although searching for those pesky brats is a troublesome matter, it had to be done to avoid them falling into the hand of another player. Seems like my time to experiment will have to wait until I have found these 5 children who are somewhere in this town. Time for a round of Hide and seek. The only trace I can follow is that they went North after "confirming" my vital status. I quickly grabbed my hood and put it on my head again. I can never be too safe especially if I have to cover a wide area, I never know who or what I might encounter. There are a lot of people who I would like to avoid meeting in my current shape. Running around I stop and listen attentively to my surroundings. If I have learned one thing about human children in my former life, they are loud and nearly always screaming. It should be easy to follow all of their noises. The sound could travel quite far in this place devoid of any other NPCs or players. But I the only thing I heard was my breathing and my heavy footsteps as I was moving forward. If they had left footsteps I still could have followed them quite easily but on this solid ground, it was hard to leave one, especially if you are a tiny twerp. Those kids would not stay quiet for too long and if I do not see them currently then I have to change my search methodology. I jumped to the nearest roof and looked into every direction, to see whether I would spot something, but even this strategy did not yield any results. If I can not find them the ordinary fashion I will just have to send my little critters. The ant queen will be surprised to see that not every idea of mine is reckless and stupid. The best part is that I did not have to negotiate with her, as the tenant inside of my body had already informed her about my plan. It was always a sight to behold how many ants were residing inside my body. As they crawled out I was surprised I did not know that some of them had grown wings. When did the ant queen develop that kind of ant? Though the biggest reason for my surprise was not the fact, that the ants had wings but its general design.These ants looked like a small flying fortress and many warrior ants had taken place on it before it started to lift itself into the air. But with its multiple wings came a deep buzzing sound, that made an ambush quite impossible. That way it could function as a transport tool for the ant army to pass over any kind of terrain. Though any kind of stealth mission was out of the question. For the time being, I should return to the rest of the NPCs. I still can head out after the ants have located the children. Staying in the same place longer than necessary, will not result in anything productive either way. And who knows maybe if I am lucky, the kids have already returned to their Big Brother and Big sister and I do not have to continue this search. I watched as several flying ants departed in all directions before jumping down from the roof. I was in no hurry to return, so I walked without a worry in the world and thought about the best ways to train this chaotic bunch. When they regain their consciousness I will let them have a taste of that wonderful meat. After pushing themselves so hard, they deserve something like that. And an empty stomach is not good if you want to build muscles and do tedious workouts. After that have savoured that delicious meal I am going to ration it and use it to motivate them even more. Simple things like this, are a blessing for people at the bottom. Nobody values water when it is available nearly anywhere, but those who are thirsty in a desert learn of its true value. It is the absence of things, that reminds us of the fleeting things we have taken for granted. They have lost their everything, wife and their children. Had to abandon the warmth of their homes and now live as vagabonds in the wildness. Although they try to distract themselves, the guilt and feelings of anger are eating at them. The first step is to make them realize their misery after they are constantly reminded of their inability, they will start to loathe themselves even more. I will show them a clear path to strength and will depict it as the only way to get their former lives back. Even the most stubborn people will have to believe in my ways, otherwise, they get a little reminder of why they should have put their trust in me, this will continue until they do. No matter who you are, regardless of background or your personal history everything is irrelevant once you have hit rock bottom. When the whole world is against you and you only have yourself to rely on, it is easy to wallow in self-pity and die full of grievances. But those who persist and struggle will emerge far stronger than had been before. They are not alone, they have the same goal and they all suffer together. They can push themselves to the limit, their unity will give them strength. This bond will only continue to go stronger the more they struggle and suffer. The human brain truly is fascinating, it can adapt to almost any circumstances and enables the human to believe in something even if the situation seems hopeless. While I can not believe in something like that, does not mean that others can''t. I can advocate for free-thinking all I want, but everyone has to find their answer. If you find solace and strength in God or any other thing, who am I to tell you, that you should not do that? It is not about who is right or wrong, it is about finding a purpose for yourself. And I am giving them a purpose, whether they like it or not. It might seem like I am paying much consideration towards those NPCs, but do not mistake that for caring about them. I only care about results, not about NPCs generated by the system whose entire life is nothing more than a fabrication. After coming back to the place, I saw Tom still ogling the Big Sister and he was none the wiser, as he fully ignored the NPC staring daggers at him. If he continued like that, he might wake up with a knife in his back. Not that he would care about that detail since he can indefinitely respawn. Though my eyes did not last all too long on them before I saw the NPCs eating the monster meat to their heart''s content. They were full of spirit and chatting loudly as if they had forgotten about all of the hardships they just had endured. None of them had spotted me yet as they were indulging in the feast. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. " .... my wife oh my poor wife.What would I do without the poor wife I never had." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he mocked my voice. Everyone was laughing at his words and they all made fun about me. The conclusion, that these NPCs must have been escaping from the players was a blunder of mine. But they had managed to fool me, so I could not be too mad at them. I would go even further and pay my respects to them for convening me and Tom. This seems to be the consequence of my actions, those fellas must have been influenced by all of my actions. Though I like their conning and sly behaviour, it comes just after me. How do you motivate people who will always choose the path with the least resistance? The simple answer is to make the alternatives even worse when the main course. There are many methods. that leaves them craving for more. They will remember this tasty meal for a long time but what if only a select few people are eligible to eat this delicacy while the rest gets to eat the scraps or nothing at all. What if someone can rest, while the rest has to suffer? How would this bunch feel if one of them could enjoy himself with a woman? Of course, I have to make sure it is consensual, I do not want depraved beasts who listen to their carnal desires, I want tools of war and murder. If you can''t even control yourself then there is no room for you on the battlefield. I mean, I could ask my tenant whether or not he can concoct something to turn them into mindless slaves, but warriors like that are only as good as the person in charge and quite frankly I do not like to stay behind and play babysitter. I would rather fight on the frontlines then sip on my tea. I do not want to waste this life by just rotting away on the inside and the outside. I have wasted my first chance at life I am not going to do the same here as well. I will let them enjoy the feast without interrupting them, they have earned that much. They will learn of its true value quite soon. I sound like a villain already, I am only lacking the menacing laugh and the irrepressible desire to spoil my plans to the hero just so he can ruin them. The villain with the nefarious plan and the incarnation of justice, otherwise known as the hero will have an epic battle with the hero winning in the end. The hero will go on be the paragon of justice and a role model for everyone in the world and the villain will die full of regrets. The audience will cheer for the hero and condemn the villain rejoicing about his demise, gloating and snickering about his downfall. But they can sleep well because justice has prevailed. While the villain has to suffer to his utmost, for everyone else to feel good about it. Nobody wants to see the villain doing stretches in his free time like I am currently doing. They need to see the vile and despicable actions, not the boring build-up. I am not suitable to be a hero, either way, I neither have the unwavering will nor the pure ideals a hero should have. I am not a villain either, I do not relish doing something evil and heinous neither do I have the desire to rule the world. I am fine with being myself and do what needs to be done, whether that is good or bad is none of my concern. I do not care who you are, because that is who I am. While I am at it, let us discuss about my little project... 109 The last supper It was quite astounding to see how much food these people could consume. It was as if their stomachs were an endless abyss as they devoured everything that was in front of them. This level of consumption was comparable to mine and that should say something about their level of hunger. Tom was having a blast chatting with the first woman who did not make a revolting expression upon seeing him. He was so focused on the movements of her lips and certain other body parts that he did not even notice the feast that was currently being held right beside him. Of course, they did not forget to make fun of me, while they were having the time of their lives. According to them, I am a rebellious brat, who hasn''t even grown a hair down there. This brat also thinks too high of himself and his voice sounds way too feminine. They underlined their opinion by mimicking my behaviour and talking in a very high pitched voice. This activity did not hinder them from eating hearty and laughing wildly at all of their acts. Despite the lack of respect for me I had to admit that all of their impressions were spot on. Though I thought my voice sounded a lot more menacing than a chipmunk under steroids. Does my voice even break or am I stuck with it for the rest of my time? No wonder, if others did not take me for full if they had to listen to this annoyance. Since words are not enough to convince them about my "sincerity", I will have to let my deeds to the talking and those are multilingual. While I was stretching I continued to observe all of their mannerisms and their behaviour. Most of them had let their guard down as they just enjoyed the moment. Even those who were still paying attention towards their surroundings were only looking at the lovestruck master, not into the direction where I had come from. I had been gone for close to 30 minutes, so why is everyone so happy and lively again. After they had endured all of that punches it seems unlikely that they were not even fazed.A glance at the corpse of my meat puppet was enough to confirm that they had not been killed and revived again. So how did they managed to recuperate in this short amount of time? Does this kind of NPC have some supernatural healing ability? Doubtful, signs of this trait would have appeared during the bout. Did Tom cast healing magic on them to impress the woman of his affection? This might be a possibility but he must have done it quite soon after I had left, otherwise, he would have noticed the loss of monster carcasses. I also have to include the possibility that the flesh of the monster was responsible for their crazy recuperation speed or that they are awarded experience by actually eating it. A level up could have resulted in the accelerated healing. Although the likelihood behind that hypothesis is not that high since I have consumed monster flesh myself before without any sort of effect taking place. Well, I have always been a special case so I can not rule that out completely, I will have to conduct some little experiments on them to confirm the true cause for their sudden recovery. Though the first step should be to question Tom where and how he got that food. Before I turn into a mad scientist I should get all the information I can. Preparation is key and not losing my patience with this bunch which was comparable to a storm of locusts ravaging the land. Just by thinking about feeding 30 mouths of this calibre I am getting a headache. The mere thought of providing for those 30 people was already a nightmare, but what if 30 is not the final number what if it doubles? What about 100 or 1000 of them, how could I accommodate so many people. I will have to tell Tom not to hire more people than necessary. I will just tell him the men he hires, the more people are going to eye the female NPC. I am sure he will find that very convincing. In fact, I am doing him a favour. every player that is currently running around recruiting NPCs left and right will be in for a rude awakening once their stomachs began to growl. If 30 NPCs already need that much monster flesh, then it is not hard to imagine what thousands of those NPCs will lead to. On the off chance that I am the only one who has managed to attract these kinds weirdos, I am not too mad, at least that would mean that these clear outliers have something that the others don''t. I just hope there is more to them than just their enormous appetite. While I was thinking about the horror that came with those 30 people, the ant queen was informing me from time to time about the missing children. They had not been spotted, but there are several other players in the vicinity. Since there were no NPCs left in this ghost town, there has to be another reason for them to stay in this town. Although I was interested in their motivation to stay here, I will have to stay close to Tom for the time being. I should not run around and raise any more attention towards Tom and me, especially if this very hungry NPCs are something special. I would appreciate it if I would not be recognized by any person that was still pissed of by my antics either. The number of those people was not a small matter and it wouldn''t help any one of us if they were to come and pay us a little visit. I had my hands full with the ungrateful bunch, I do not want to add any more players into the mix. But I just could not sit around twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the storm to blow over. I had to make some plans or cover-ups, so I can avoid a worst-case scenario. My identity should be the biggest secret, so it would be wise to not drop the hood that covers my burning hair. This also means that I should adapt my behaviour to be more NPC like, to avoid drawing attention. I will let Tom continue to ogle the Big Sister so that the image of the leecher can come in handy if one of those players knows of his reputation. Furthermore, it should gather their interest rather than paying attention to all the strange details in his surroundings. On top of that, I do not know, whether all those players are part of a group or are acting on their own. The implications from a group moving in this city, are a lot more worrying than just a random bunch of players scurring the town. Since hiding would only cause more suspicions I should just stay here and intervene if necessary. Who knows, they might even ignore us when they see us. If they are seeking for trouble, I will see what can deter them. Whatever their goal truly is is nothing more than pure speculation at this point. I do not have enough information about the players that are in this town to draw a satisfying conclusion. Since the brats have not been found even by them, it appears to be only a matter of time before they turn up somewhere. Though those children do not seem that important to anyone here. I can not blame them children can be a real pest. They are irresponsible, easily distracted and plain and simple fucking stupid. They are loud and obnoxious and even if they can turn into a decent human being later on until then they are just a pain in the ass. I will have my hands full with these all-consuming bunch, raising children on top of that is out of the question for me. If someone takes that obligation from me, I will not be mad at them, I would rather be thankful for their actions. If Tom still insists on thinking with his dick and promises to take care of them, I will do my best to avoid any responsibility. I have enough mischievous children to take care of on my own. And those children are fully grown and even smell worse than a child ever could. They did not seem to mind the stench and the filth they were living in. Although I had to postpone the lecture I had prepared for those people despite the end of the feast being so close. They had finally started to eat the last monster corpse. I did not have the time for a lecture, because I did not know when the wave of players would take notice of our existence. Relying on Tom was not an option, because his priorities clearly lied elsewhere. As long as he does not change his mind to impress his crush I am fine with it. " One is closing in on your position be prepared." said the tenant in my head in his usual bored voice. I get it, here have this memory of the crossbow I had intended to build later on. This should work as an incentive right? " Oh absolutely, you will hear from me." If I can deal with him, I will have absolutely no trouble to deal with training them. Still, I will have to teach and train them multiple things, these lazy bunch still has not noticed me eyeing them for quite some time now. The lack of vigilance would cost the, dearly, if this was a battlefield, they would not stand a chance in hell. My expectations had never been to high because I knew the understanding of humans was shallow at best. I do wonder what will happen if the player sees this crowd of NPCs. Will he just run towards them to hire them? This situation would be by the far the easiest to handle, especially if the player notices that everyone already has been hired. " Sorry, but the player has stopped in a location not far away from you." Here I briefly thought it could be easy for once. Is he intimated by the huge amount of NPCs or is he waiting for someone to group up with him? Are they here for the NPCs or someone else? I will have to wait and watch how the rest of the players acts once the come close to the group. My current position does not allow me to turn around to see the player but a description of their actions are enough for me to make my plans. No one from my side had any idea about the upcoming potential danger, as they happily ingested the meals into their mouths. They were still mocking me despite all of that time, they continued it as if it was a tradition. This tradition might have been full of creativity as it started but right now each joke was just a replica of one who had been told prior. I could not fathom how one could laugh about the same joke over and over again. While they were rehashing the jokes, the players did not wait and more notification appeared in my head detailing the situation of the surroundings. Though I could tell that something was up by the time the second player had decided to wait while being in my direct line of view. After more and more players decided to surround our entire group I had to prepare for the worst. Surrounding us meant they did not want anyone to leave this place. As of now, I had spotted 3 players waiting in the distance and keeping an eye on our entire group. I knew that their group totalled up to 10 players. they all were still not closing in on my group as if they were still waiting for something. The three players I had seen, did not have any special characteristics and did not wear anything special to elevate themselves out of the masses of players I had encountered. I did not any kind of danger coming from, though my standards for dangerous individuals is a bit skewed from attracting the attention of some pretty strong ones. Not one these 3 was selected by a God, so I can safely conclude that their strength is not that over the top. Since this is a city or what''s left of it, they can not attack me or the NPCs, so I wonder what they are up to. Though the looked rather pissed as they stared intently at our group. I had a hunch, who was the target for their affection. They are surely as good at causing trouble as I am. Their behaviour would attract a lot of ire if they pulled that kind of stunt with other players as well. Though NPCs should not be able to escape from the players once they had been hired. Wait who tells me that Tom had hired these people in the first place? This is just an assumption from my side. I just pierced the details together due to the sudden change in their behaviour. They might have changed because they noticed Tom appear amidst them. I will have to ask Tom after all of this is over but since no of them can escape the current predicament I will not have to worry about any of them dinner-dashing. I will make sure, that will remember this feast for a very long time. The players were still surrounding us and not showing any signs of leaving any time soon. Though the group of NPCs was still laughing merrily and enjoying the last bit of monster flesh. I had stopped my stretching and was just acting like someone who was sleeping. It was not the time to stand out yet. Gauging their current tactic, they are not planning to make friends here. It was just a matter of time before they would come closer. I am intrigued, what that bunch had done to cause so many players to go after them. They did not have the strength to beat them in a fight. So why are they that angry with them? Until till they finally make a move I have no other choice than to sit back and relax. The fun was just about to begin, either way, It felt strange to be in such a situation without being the one who had caused it for once. Should I wait and see how it plays out before intervening? I discarded this idea directly, as much as I wanted to see what they might have done, I did not want things to spiral out of control. But the moment of truth finally came, as the players, all started to move simultaneously and as expected they did not look very pleased with the group of NPC. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. This will be fun, I murmured to myself in anticipation about the upcoming happening. 110 A fistfight in a world of magic According to my knowledge, the plot would likely be about a misdeed done by this group of NPCs. The mob of angry players make it seem like they committed something horrendous while in truth they just stole their lunch. The dialogue will be full of emotions and be left vague to get my hopes up before the truth gets unveiled and I lose every interest in the subject whatsoever. Every time I try to think about the situation as much as I can and the situation at hand is nothing more than a childish tantrum. I just can not understand the set of values these people have. If they put so much emphasise on honourable conduct, then why do they act like absolute pricks to NPCs?Are they suppressing their inner asshole in front of others, only to lash out on things they see below them? They are just as hypocritical as me. Obligatory not everyone, but enough people to see the trend. Their mundane and boring lives coupled with a position of absolute powers will bring out the worst in them. For claiming to be superior then their human ancestors they behave oddly similar. It is always the same, the logic I got used to in my former world just does not cut well with these self-absorbed players. I am still thinking about these players as capable humans wielding magic power. But most of them did not deserve that level of evaluation, they were self-centred and egoistic and all of their feelings clouded their judgement. They are letting their feelings get the best out of them. Anger, pride and a false sense of honour all cause them to end up dead sooner or later. My approach did not fit their character. I should not appease their egos but crush them by sheer force. I did not have this option previously but now I can use Tom to my advantage. I could kill them with my strength over and over again but that would deter them, rather it would cause them to get agitated. But strip them of their honour and suddenly they are naked. Their true character is just as rotten as mine. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. Instead of letting them come towards us in their imposing fashion, I will just go to them first. I will not let them dictate the course of the situation, Since they have started moving its time it is time to welcome the guests. After standing up I slowly walked to the nearest player who stopped in his tracks as he saw me approaching. But before I even got a chance to speak, I was cut short by him. " Get out of the way", a threat right off the back. And here I thought we could have been best buddies if not for these dire circumstances. The threat would have been somewhat credible if the person uttering it was at least taller then me " And who are you to give someone like me, orders?" Trying to use authority is not very wise if you can not back it up. " A lowly human should know its place" A cheap provocation to keep the moral high ground. Denouncing your opponent has always been effective, but let me take it right back at you. " Let me repeat myself. Why does this lowly human have to listen to someone who is beneath him?" And that hit right in the mark. He was shaking and angered by my behaviour. It must be the first time in his life, that he was treated that way. With his handsome face and noble bearing, no one would dare to make fun of him. " What did you say?" Oh, scary, I now have to repeat a sentence both of us heard. I walked right into his face before I continued to speak. " How does someone as lowly as you even dare to speak to me?" Kid, this is not something you can win by just spouting meaningless threats without any substance. If you want to spout threats this is how you do it. " You better have a good reason I am wasting my precious time just by talking to you." " HOW DARE YOU? YOU INSOLENT VILE CREATURE YOU DESERVE DEATH." Losing control of one''s emotions and the rationality goes straight of the window. One last push and he will snap. Though I would have prefered to get the reason for their arrival here out of his mind. Sadly the lack of control over his emotions made it impossible. Time to put an end to this meaningless talk. " Come back once you can have learned to keep your composure. Otherwise, do not dare to show me your face ever again." I turned around and walked back. Of course, I did not think, that he would take that last sentence lightly and reflect on every word I have said to him. Such a development was as disappointing as it was unlikely. These kinds of people will do everything to vent their frustrations and his first instinct will be enough to use it as a justification for later on. The magic that landed on my back did not deal with any damage to me. NPCs can not be harmed if they are in the city and luckily I am one. I had never thought myself to be a special monster like the Observer once said. A monster can not be recruited by those players. After I had received my justification it was time to incapacitate this fellow. I turned around without saying a simple word and punched him right into the stomach. Just for good measure, I broke one of his legs as well. Even though he can not hurt me that, does not mean that he could not run away. Despite the pain he felt, he still stared at me full of hatred. His rage had not lessened as he was continuing to threaten me as I had picked him up. I was so close to getting rid of his teeth and tongue to make him shut up, but I am not a bad host, so I let his rude remarks slide. After all, it would be more effective to do this in front of the rest of his groups to underline my sincerity. The other players had not stopped while I had taken care of this small matter and had advanced towards the group of NPCs that had finished their glorious feast. Those NPCs were cleary unwell after seeing the group of players coming into their vision. The rudy bunch did not even dare to raise their eyes and lowered their head in shame. Their ability to act is top-notch. If I did not know better I would have bought it. But this level of remorse will be not even remotely enough to quell all of their anger. This conformation of guilt was a fuel that caused the anger in their hearts to burn even brighter.Once again I felt reaffirmed with my new approach, those people should not be acknowledged. " Look who we have here, the disgusting humans. You still have not fled after what you did to us. I admire your guts." The voice was full of bitter hatred as he spoke towards the group. So what did they do? What truly heinous crime did the commit? Did they breathe the same air as you? I would not be surprised if that was the answer. The 10 players minus the 1 I was holding in my hands were all males, so I can safely conclude that their chastity has not been robbed either. So what else could they have done that would warrant such a reaction? " Did you think you could get away from us? After all the shame and humiliation what we had to endure?" With that buildup it only can be something so minuscule that will make me wonder how their society can even function. " We will make sure, that every last bit of what we had to go through." Before the inevitable letdown, I decided to show myself and communicate with those players. I dropped the mate to the ground to get all of their attention. As all eyes focussed on me, I showed a big smile and started to speak to them condescendingly. " Such a useless quarrel. Just state your business." The happy expression on his face had turned sour as he looked at me. " Are you responsible for these animals?" " And if I am?" I did not give in to his brash talk and returned it while keeping the smile on my face. " Then you will be held responsible for all of their actions" came back the reply full of concealed bloodlust. "Just remember, this lowlife wanted to test my qualifications. You, on the other hand, want to hold me responsible for a crime I did not commit. You better be ready to face the consequences of your actions"After stepping on him a few times, I continued to speak full of confidence. " If anyone is still displeased with me, let me know, I am sure we can work something out." Silence filled this place as no one had expected this kind of words. This arrogance and contempt made them feel even worse after having finally found the perpetrators. They were even ridiculed after arriving here by an NPC nonetheless. So how could they keep their calm upon facing such an injustice? " Besides deep down, you know you deserved it. You are here because you want to ask for it once more right? Admit it, you secretly liked this kind of treatment." This was a shot in the dark but it would hit like a truck if these players did not overcome their shame yet. If I declare their "intention" before they can voice theirs, I can provoke them even more. Although I still did not know what happened to them, I did not have to know that to provoke them. " You should be thankful not everybody gets this kind of treatment, so I do not understand why you would be dissatisfied about it. If you have any wishes, we also can include those in our treatment session for a small price." They were getting angrier by the seconds as they spoke and the murderous glints could be seen in all of their eyes. But I do not understand how those players thought they could take about these NPCs if they can not use their magic in a town. Are they that self-absorbed to think they can rely on their physical strength for this? They likely have some reason to be so confident about getting revenge and they would be beyond stupid if they thought their body alone was enough. If it was me, I would have either poisoned the food or use my NPCs to attack. " You will pay for this." Said the man just barely keeping his composure. Normally I would have paid him my respect for keeping cool, but I do not think that my compliment would be well received. " You seem confident about my fate, what about a little wager then?" I said with a smile on my face. The wager was something I came up in the spur of the moment, but I could maximize the gain from this situation. If the lamb presents itself willingly why should I decline? " A wager?" " Yes, let us stop pretending that we both are interested in continuing the discussion longer than necessary. You want to get your revenge and right now I am giving you a chance. You can make any stipulation you want and it will be fulfilled should you win the wager. Should you lose, you will have to fulfil one of equal harshness" " So I can ask you to do anything I want?" he inquired after hearing about the gamble. He had a sly grin on his face after asking me this question. That''s not something I would call a Pokerface. But since I am stupid I will just play along. " Anything is possible." Another confirmation that his hearing was still working. " But what are we betting on?" " Let us settle this with the ways of old. Man versus Man, mano e mano. A simple brawl." " Agreed" This answer came in the instance I had stopped speaking. Although this was a proposition made as a joke because the did not stand a chance versus me with their body alone. So do they plan on sending NPCs at me? Whatever they had planned I would win regardless of what they threw at me. Bring it on, I can hardly wait. 111 Friendship blossoms by punches to the head 1 After my proposal had been accepted against my expectations, it was time to discuss the stipulations. Since I had promised to use a stipulation of equal harshness as theirs I had to wait for their proposition. Since their precious ego was hurt I am expecting something more than they had planned out for those NPCs who humiliated them. Will they force me to commit suicide or make me serve them and obey their every order? " We want them to admit that they are sorry and to promise to never do such a horrendous deed again. You will have to enforce this by any means necessary." What a selfless stipulation and here I thought I could get a lot out of this exchange. But these goody shoes just have an altruistic wish. How utterly noble of them. Seems like their previous threats were just used to intimidate those NPCs. Trust me I have tried it is not that simple. " If you lose, just answer some of my questions." If I could not get them to become my slaves and do my bidding then I would have to settle for information. The best part about it is that this stipulation will not even be seen as a punishment but an amicable approach. Though my sign of goodwill was sadly not seen as such. " Are you mocking our resolve?" he said through his teeth as if my actions were a big disgrace to them. " In fact, it is the polar opposite, I admire your resolve and that is why I gave you such a stipulation. " That was the true reason I had given them such a lax stipulation. I found their stupid honesty very charming. I had always admired those who stand true to their principles and do not get corroded by the world and people surrounding them. " Because no matter what you do this fight will be won by me." This was neither arrogance nor contempt towards their skills. I just knew for certain that the outcome could not be changed whatever they did. It would be their loss. But these words of mine caused a reaction I had not anticipated. His fighting spirit was stirred from my words and he could barely contain it.He would have started the fight right now if he did not decide to hold himself back. This kind of battle maniac did not have a high life expectancy in this world. But it was strangely refreshing to fight against the likes of him for once. Who knows, I even might learn one or two things from him. Before the fight could start I had to set up some rules at least, to make the combat more fun for both sides. " This fight will continue until one party can not stand up in 10 seconds or declares their loss. Do you want to add anything else?" " This is how a fight should be. I have nothing to add." The young man was giggling like a small child as he was about to fight me. I have not forbidden any outside help, to give him a bit of leeway if he needs it, but this thought did not even cross his mind. There was only me his target. I did not want to have it any other way. We walked to an open area, that was suitable for our little gamble. After we both nodded after seeing the battlefield we began to take out positions. It was the first time I took more than a glance at him. The young man had a rather muscular build in comparison to the usual player but it was not something too outrageous. His entire face was brimming in anticipation for the upcoming fight. I could have easily recognized his eye colour and every facette of his face but I did not want to. Reducing my opponent down to every last detail is simply boring. Besides fists have no eyes, they do not care about the colour of the iris or other pure optical details. I am rather interested in his true self and his motivation, who the hell cares about looks? What makes a character interesting is not the look. Sooner or later everybody becomes a celestial maiden or a dragon in human form in those stories. Instead of focussing on such blatantly perfect humans I want to see what''s beneath all of that. I had no plans on using my gloves or any other weapon of my body. There was no way any of them could attack me directly with their magic. I doubt that any one of them would interfere in our fight, to begin with. At most they could affect the battlefield itself but even that would not help them. " Let us start" Anything was not needed and he started to run at me. This will be fun. ----------------------------------- When Tom was first introduced to the world of Primal Survival he did not have high expectations for it. In his eyes, it offered nothing that he could not achieve in the real world. Besides fighting monsters was not something that could be simulated, the feeling of danger and the dire costs of mistakes were made light of. It did not help that the first thing he was forced to do after joining this game was the horrendous tutorial. The never-ending onslaught of young wolves would even have an impact even on a battlefield hardened veteran. He just barely managed to avoid dying of boredom. He had lost count how many little wolves came at him and lost their lives without any suspense. The reward that came with this test of patience was a special NPC, that called himself Moirai. This NPC was the first time, that Tom found himself invested in the game. After Moirai had become his aid, he learned that he could not participate in the event he had come for. At first, he felt pretty dejected with the goal being unattainable what else should he do here. But his aid told him about another path, one he had never considered. Moirai was not an ordinary he knew that, but all of his perspectives and morals seemed strangely out of place. He had briefly talked to some members of his Church and asked how to leave the tutorial and about their opinion on NPCs, but their experiences with NPCs did not fit the image of Moirai at all. Moirai is everything but a timid coward. He is shrewd and insidious but does not fear confrontation at all. Someone like him did not fit the description his colleagues had given him. The more he listened and talked to Moirai, the more he found questioning things he had taken for granted before. Tom had never expected that this world would offer him such a thing. For the short time, he had known Moira he had never been bored. There was always something new and fascinating happening around him. Whether it was his training session, that made him rejoice about the "lax" standards of the Church or the "nice view" he got to see thanks to him. Even now he had started to fight another player and was currently easily dodging the attacks the player was throwing at him. It was surprising to see that he could easily keep up with a player but he could clearly see, that the player had not used any magic yet. It took Tom quite a while but then he recognized those players or rather their "ordinary" clothing. Those players did not belong to a Church or a noble family, they came from a temple. A temple was secluded and did not partake in secular affairs. Most of those temples specialized in a unique way to use magic that could not fit into the classification of the 7 Church Branches. He had heard about a branch knowns for its ordinary clothing and their core value that unifies magic and body. Their magic is used to strengthen every part of their body but it leaves them vulnerable to other magic. Even he would not know about their existence had he not done extensive research in preparation for becoming a tactician. But why did those youth come into the world of Primal Survival? They only left their temples in times of war or on a mission. But this clearly can not be a mission. Fighting with an NPC is not something that can be considered a mission. One thing was certain though, once the player would activate his magic Moirai would not stand a chance. A bit humility would surely not hurt him, although that lesson would be the painful part. Looking at the fight he did not understand much of what was happening. Physical fights were a rare sight in this world and were rather frowned upon. Barbaric and savage were used to describe fights of this nature. Although he was never interested in this kind of fighting, he still followed it closely. If both of them were treating it earnestly, then he would respect their passion. Just as the other members of the temple everyone followed their movements attentively without making a sound. Their movements had gone faster over time but still, no magic had been used and every single attack of the player had been dodged. But neither of them looked displeased while they were fighting, far from it the gloomy aura that surrounded Moirai had finally vanished. Moirai had not even punched once yet but the smile on both of their faces was shining brightly. But the status quo was about to be broken after a wave of magic could be felt coming from the player. But it was quickly suppressed and the previous tranquillity had returned once more as if it had never been broken in the first place. Much to the disappointment of Moirai, who looked displeased at the player. Though this was an understatement as Moirai threw an attack that hit the player and caused him to stumble backwards. He looked a bit shocked, but he nodded at Moirai before he once again started to use his magic. Now it was Moirai''s turn to nod at the display of power from the player. He did not even wait before starting to throw attacks at the player. But this time around the player was prepared for it and started to dodge the attacks. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The previous intensity paled in comparison to the spectacle that was currently unfolding right in front of their eyes. Both sides were not holding back anymore and started to attack each other. The exchange of attacks caused some minor injuries on both sides but they were not stopped by this detail. It rather acted as motivation to keep the tempo of the bout. It was surprising for Moirai to be able to keep up with the player once he had started to use his magic. Tom did not expect, that Moirai is this capable. Looking at his stats makes one wonder how he can injure the player at all. Even the weakest monsters had better numbers than his aid. So why are his numbers so low if he can compete against a player on this level? Granted it is only a physical bout, that does not pose a threat to any normal wielder of magic, but it was fascinating to see how strong a simple NPC can be. The fast-paced fight had not stopped even once as the numerous injuries started to pile up all over their bodies. This battle was not about honour, it was the clash between 2 individuals giving their all to beat their opponent. Both of them were smiling while attacking the other. But over time, their bodies had become bloodied and bruised. None of them wanted to give in and the fighting resumed as if nothing had happened. Even after trading numerous blows, their strength had not diminished in the slightest. It rather felt like the player was getting stronger and stronger as the battle continued. This development surely did not go unnoticed by his enemy, though he appeared to not care about it at all. There was no trace of concern visible on his face as he attacked his opponent. It rather felt like he was too calm when facing the player. Tom could not lay a finger on it, but something did not seem right. Moirai had always been calm and collected, but this time around it felt like he was just enjoying himself without any worry in the world. The member of the temple watched in sheer ave as the fight was getting more and more brutal. Though the smiles on their faces shone ever so brightly... 112 Friendship blossoms by punches to the head 2 A temple was a place which took pride in being secluded and not partaking in secular matters. Their core principles and values were taught and delivered only to the most suitable successors. It was not rare to find temples with only a few members. In comparison to the Churches, they did not look at affinity to the elements but were judging the vessel. While the vessel was of importance to the Churches as well, the temples were looking for scarce types which could occur when the parents had a very diluted bloodline. Those children were then taken in and taught how to utelize their strange body. Despite the harsh criteria for a selection, once they have been trained, they act as a strong force and can scout many dangerous areas without losing their lives. But due to the risky nature of their jobs, there are a lot of accidents, that keeps the number of them particularly low. Trying to breed those type of bodies did not yield any good results and the idea was discarded. The babies stemming from this type of breeding were then used as cannon-fodder on the frontlines and quickly forgotten about. The status quo was enough because even though a scout is useful, they do not serve any other purpose. The killing of monsters is and will be done by magic, not a pseudo version which strengthens the body. No matter how rare or how strong their body is, in the end, it will remain a body. That is why he enjoyed the fight in front of his eyes but did not assign it any importance. As to why those 10 people left their temple and were allowed to come to this world was the true cause of concern for Tom. Besides that, he could not fathom exactly why his aid fighting with one of them in the first place. He had just been talking to the young woman and then before he had noticed it his aid had started the fight with one member of the temple. While Tom was pondering on how things got this far, the members of the Church were discussing something entirely else. ------------------- " Junior Brother seems to have more trouble then intentionally expected," said one member of the Church looking at the fight with a bit of schadenfreude. "It''s not like you would fare any better than him." Another member of the Temple chimed in to tease his brother. This bickering had continued throughout the fight as they spectated from the sidelines. They were surprised to see their brother use magic but it was justifiable after seeing his enemy. If his opponent had not shown leniency as their brother decide to fight with his body alone, then this fight would have been over already. Despite the long fight everybody of them was enjoying the sight and chatting about all sorts of things. In their mind, there was no scenario in which they would see their brother lose. As strong as his enemy might be, he was solely relying on his flesh. With magic empowering his attacks it was only a matter of time before the fight would end. Despite the inevitable outcome they still watched the fight in anticipation. " What is his body made of, that he can resist so many punches? " " Even most monsters have weaker flesh than his, after all, they strengthen theirs with magic." " And yet I do not even feel an ounce of magic coming from him." Although they took pride in their body, they used an effect similar to monsters and strengthened it in its entirety. A body this strong without any magic was a novelty for them. If they could achieve that kind of strength without magic, what affect would magic have on a strong body like this? With their curiosity piqued they tried to watch his body and deduce how it functioned. But since they only could see his face, they did not discover a single thing. It was as there was nothing special about him at all. His movements and strange technique went unappreciated as no one paid any attention towards minor details like that. It was only the force behind punches, that defined their worth. The concept of martial arts had never left its infancy and had developed with the display of power. How could it? The dominant magic and its development did not leave any place for the tactics and technique related to the movement of the body. Add tradition and only a few practitioners in the mix and nothing changes. Progress and development are often born out of necessity and if you have a nuke at your disposal why would you build a sword. If things continued to be this way, then nothing would change at all. Why bother investing time and effort into something fruitless? At least that is what I thought upon hearing their evaluations of myself. Those people were not too adamant on keeping their thoughts a secret the way they were spilling out anything that came to their mind. It was hard to enjoy a fight while listening to all of their words. Especially since those wankers were criticizing my form and my technique. I am by no means, a prodigy regarding fighting but why can no one tell, what I have been doing until now? All the bob and weaving, all of my tactically placed punches all of my footwork, everything was ignored by them? I have been doing all of this for nothing? Maybe I should consider beating some sense into those guys. I even endured all punches just to showcase how much power can be taken off, by utilizing the movement of my head and all that those idiots say was that I have a sturdy body. Seriously what is wrong with them, that they can not even recognize something as easy as that? Here I thought I was doing those guys favour because they are pure, but no common sense could be found in any of them. The worst offender was still trying his best to beat me to death, without trying to copy any of my attacks. I have tried my best to endure and guide them, but I lost patience and decided to beat some common sense into him. But all of my goodwill fell on deaf ears, as this madman was even more agitated by my punches. But as common sense dictates if at first you don''t succeed try and try again. Over and over again my punches were raining on his face, but stubborn as a mule he refused to back down and attacked me as well. I refused to stop throwing punches because this idiot had to see the error of his ways and even if my face got bruised a little he would be worn out and finally see the mistakes he has done. Or so I thought, the result was us punching the living daylights out of each other with no side showing any intention on stopping it any time soon. But over time, I was forced to admit that this rabid dog would not stop and I had to admit he showed more willpower than me in this regard. I decided to be the bigger man and just knock him out cold. But after I started to increase the amount of force, his attacks also started to get stronger. No matter how much force I used this copy-cat started to mimic it and launched the attack at my face. If I threw a casual punch, a casual punch came back. A strong attack and a fierce punch flew towards me. Come to think of it the injuries on his body, were strikingly similar to mine. So if that''s the case, all I am doing is hurting myself and himself at the same time. This takes me back, it was just like the time when I started to strengthen my body by injuring myself over and over again. When was the last time I had done something like this? I had so much stuff to do that I ignore the fundamentals, shame on me. But with the opportunity right in front of my eyes, who am I to say no to this kind of training. Though I might need a lot of nutrients afterwards which had been eaten by these scoundrels. Though this issue has been taken care of either way. Now, with no one prying into my business I finally could let loose a little. I dropped my hood and gave everyone a look on my body since they wanted to discover my secret. I had to give them a little something for providing such an excellent opportunity for me. Though I do not think that they capable of discovering anything on my body. Because my body was something that defied common sense, regardless whether it was mine or theirs. I hope my audience will appreciate the upcoming show I had not intended to use this much strength but I think I can make an exception for someone like them. I had expected a bit more after I had dropped my shirt. An audible gasp should have been the least instead of ridiculing chuckle. Those people would not understand true strength and ability if it punches them in the face, I have tried multiple times it just did not work. After I am through with this one, I might invite them to a thoughtful discussion as well. Without giving them a break I sent my body into overdrive once more and started to cause serious damage. I only used blunt force and not my nails and other tools to penetrate his skin, because I did not know what effect that might have on me. This time around I used a karate chop and nearly crushed his throat, the pain in return was no joke and caused me to cough heavily. So that''s how it is like to get my hit by my punches, it is quite a difference to when I had hurt myself. The cheeky expression on his face, as he threw every attack made me forget about the sensation quickly and I resumed to aim for the throat once more. The pain had not lessened in the slightest but I had to resume the process to get the results I wanted. I had to injure it so it can heal and become harder. I was careful not do overdo it since my body was still in shambles and the healing process was drastically slowed. Besides the only way to defeat my opponent was injure him so badly, that he could not go on. The downside was that I practically had to kill myself to achieve this kind of result, but sacrifices have to be made. After the throat had been taken care of, I decided to injure the windpipe I was at it. This level of pain was still manageable but I had to admit I did not think that his tenacity was rivalling mine. But if there is one thing, that entirely different between him and me, I was way crazier than him. What''s the use of high pain tolerance and willpower, if you do not take advantage out of them. After my throat and windpipe had been seriously injured, I used several attacks on multiple weak spots of the human body causing a wave of pain inside of my body. Despite all of my effort he was still striking back and was seemingly unaffected by my strikes. But It had to be a facade he was trying to keep up, to break my moral. I will not let him get under my skin, I will persevere through and be the last man standing. I would be a fool not to see this obvious bait from him. He is on his last legs and has to use such a dirty tactic to win. But not with me, I will show him what he has to endure if he wants to keep up with me. Despite all of the pain I felt, it was still a far cry from the whole ordeal with those young wolves. Just the thought about little creatures makes me want to puke, luckily I do not have to see them any more for the time being. Speaking of seeing its time to remove my sight, to drive the point across. A flower in the green-house is probably not used to enduring this level of pain. Quite frankly I also rely too heavily on actually seeing what is happening in front of my eyes. This will be a good experience as well, if I can train my senses, when one is going I can avoid scary scenarios that would leave me incapacitated later on. After 2 quick blows to the eyes, both of our visions had been impaired. It was a weird sensation, despite knowing fully well that it should hurt and affect my thinking process none of that happened. The pain was not as sharp as I had rammed my hair into it, but it was much sharper causing my other senses desperately to counteract the sudden imbalance of my senses. Throwing punches around was not an option as the likelihood of hitting my target were next to zero because he would be stupid to just stand still. With his vision gone he would surely move backwards and listen to the surroundings to try and find out where I am coming from. Strangely I felt a sudden impact on my face, though it was not nearly as strong as the previous blows. It rather felt like I was just graced by something what a weird sensation. Why was this punch so weak, every punch he had thrown before was stronger than this one? If he would have fainted I would have heard it from the reaction from his friends so why was it so weak this time around? As I felt his attacks all over my body I wondered why they had weakened by so much. Everything felt rather distant and as if it did not happen to my body directly. Sound and smell were getting fainter and fainter until I did not feel anything anymore. This strange state of my mind only lasted for an instant before I was violently launched back into reality. When I opened my eyes I saw the young men in front of me breathing heavily looking at me with a big smile on his face. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Without missing a beat I lifted my hand once more and threw a punch, but the punch did not hit the target because the target had fallen to the ground and was unresponsive. Everyone just stared at him waiting for him to move, but he did not manage to stand up in the 10 seconds we had agreed on prior. Well, what an anticlimactic ending. -------- In the depths of my mind, 2 people were looking flabbergasted at each other. " That brat is scary, he nearly "saw" us right there." the flame that was responsible for the cleansing spoke as it had returned to its natural form. My tenant was still taking the shape of a former supermodel but this time around the expression on his face was a little bit ugly. " Let us just hope, that this was just a little accident from his side. There are some things he should not meddle with, not in the form he is now at least. But this minor interference did not last long on their minds before the returned to their discussion at hand. There were a lot of things to discuss, while the host was busy following his usual path of madness. But they knew him, there was no way he would stay out of trouble. They were just hoping his body could return to its former glory without him opening up his wounds every time he fought. But their host had another problem altogether at the moment... 113 The true winners Why the hell would he just drop on the ground like that? He was able to withstand this much damage and then the fight comes to such an unsatisfying conclusion? You have to be kidding me. How can I set an example if the fight ends like that? Even the audience is disappointed with the outcome, they have not made a single sound afterwards. Looking at the body of my opponent, I noticed his soft breathing. This came as no surprise given his ability to receive so many attacks from me. Kicking his body to turn it around I saw him dozing off without any injuries at his body. The big smile on his face was the icing on the cake. As much as he seemed to have enjoyed our little sparring session, it would be a shame if I did not get something in return. Some quick slaps to the face should be enough to wake him up, after all, he owes we some answers. Strange, even though I could vent my frustrations none of them was showing any signs of interfering with this matter. Why can''t I provoke them after finding out how this stuff works? I need someone to verify my hypothesis. The magic they used surely is an interesting one I would have killed myself if I had not stopped my eagerness in the later stages of the fight. They are somehow able to conserve the strength of the impact and return it with the next punch. That is why each of his punches felt so weak later on because there was no force behind them anymore. I have no idea, why the injuries he had amassed on his body have healed already. While the principle behind their magic is to transfer the force and return it, that does not mean that they can nullify the initial impact. His skin should theoretically be bruised from the first moment when my attack hit. While his organs should be safe, the same can not be said about the surface area. Right now, every punch of mine left a visible trace on his face, though it was not enough to wake him from his deep slumber. The spectators on the sidelines still had not intervened as I was trying to slap him into the next dimension. It was only a matter of time until they did especially since my current behaviour is not very gentlemen-like. Conducting myself that way is not something that I should do. Rather than doing something as pointless as this I should have started and questioned those players. But I prefer to vent my frustrations for the time being. People like them would not run away, they keep their word. Even if they ran away, then they would leave behind one of their own and I still would have someone to pose my questions to. Of course, they would no do something as absurd as this, but human nature is fickle so its better to be safe than sorry. I must admit slapping him in the face, did not get boring as I had previously expected, it was quite refreshing actually. The clear and crisp sound reverberating through the air was confirming that I was doing a good job. I made sure to change the rhythm from time to time and tried to imitate many famous songs ranging from we will rock you to pirates fo the Carribean. But all good things must come to an end, even though none of them had even stepped forward to stop me. Since he did not show any signs of waking up, I decided to focus on his friends for the time being. Turning around I saw their expressions for the first time, but why in their Gods name were the currently looking like they are drooling just by seeing me? I had expected shock or fear but why would these boars adore me? For the time being, it would be wise to get Tom out of here, so I can ask my questions without his interference. My questions might sound strange in his eyes and I do not want him to start doubting me. " Hey Tom, might you gather some more monster corpses for me the old ones are sadly gone." Before Tom even had a chance to react, those players started to run outside of the city as if their life depended on it. I should seriously stop trusting my sense of judgement, their common sense is deviating from everything I would consider normal? Am I that much of an alien, that I can not fathom how those people react? In their eyes. this is a god damn simulation, so their word does not hold any meaning, either way, they just could have logged out and returned to their real-world, why would they run away? What the hell is the thinking process that leads them to that action? Are they running away from responsibility or trying to lure me into following them out the safety out this town? If they were acting logically they should try to draw my attention before taking away their comrade. They still could commit suicide to respawn somewhere else to easily escape my grasp. Following this line of thought, their escape meant if I follow them I will have to leave the body of their comrade alone should I not follow them they could easily get out of this town and spread rumours about the things they saw. Splendidly done Moirai because of your feelings, you have created another superb opportunity for your enemies. Just because you saw your former self in someone in this world does not mean you have to endanger yourself. But let''s face it, while I am in this city I do not even face any real danger. I could stand here all day and not be hurt by any magic, so what do they want to death tickle me to death? So the only downside, that came with it was a minor inconvenience. If those people want to play mind games I will give them a little help. " Hey, take him with you." I lifted the body right in front of me and casually threw it to their left. But instead of a confused expression on their face, they just caught him and nodded before continuing to run off. After Tom and I watched them running off in the distance it did not take long before Tom broke the silence and began to speak to me. " What are you planning now? Why would you let them get away without answering your questions?" Tom had a smug grin as he spoke those words. " I just sent them into the direction you "girlfriend" has left us before. After eating all of that meat and wasting all the effort into those minions, it would be rude not to leave them a parting gift. " " All of these monsters for such a good view, in my eyes I could not have asked for a better trade." Tom had a very mischievous expression on his face as he spoke about the lifechanging event. But seeing through their ploy was easy. Far aside from the obvious plot of the damsel in distress and the jealous admirer. Why did she focus on talking to Tom instead of focussing her eyes on her "saviour"? She did not even heed my advice to cover-up. I had never been her target from the getgo, her true target is the gullible man who falls for their carnal desires. If I have the time I should open a brothel if it is that easy. Though I have got to pay respect where it is due, I did not anticipate that there is someone who takes advantage out of their looks to get whatever she is after. The truly fascinating aspect is not her actions but the minions she has hired. Their wounds have healed after ingesting all of that flesh into their stomachs. I think they even got a stronger just be eating them. Utilizing them I truly could have created peerless monsters, but it was not meant to be. They are the true winners here, they got to eat for free. " So, what are you waiting for? Go and kill so more monsters for me. Of course, we are going to find someone with no ulterior motive for you" Tom did not hesitate to run off after hearing my words. Finally, I had my peace and serenity back. Instead of going insane on my own I had something to do this time around. Although I might have missed out on the flesh that had been devoured by someone else, they have saved me a lot of work by letting the clean bones behind. I finally can start making some weapons for my endeavour. The best part is that there are a lot of bones, so I will have a lot of fun. I should start with something simple. Those NPCs had carried some clubs with them, so I will just modify them slightly to make a better out of it. SImply said a club is nothing more than a tool to hit someone with. There is nothing special about it. Quite literally anything can be used as a club. A thick branch, bones or anything else that is slightly longer than your head and does not break after one use. Although those bones are a good foundation they are not enough to make a really good weapon. They are nothing more than a blunt weapon, which strongly depends on the user and how it is wielded. So what if I can lift it, can they do the same? If they lack the strength, then I just have to make sure that they can deal more damage than the clubs of the enemy. That just means that I have to add nails on top of it. I can decide between using my hair or sharpen bones until they are sharp enough. While my hairs seem better, it is pointless in this kind of scenario. It needs to create big wounds not many small ones. That is why I will use the bones and put them on top of the club. Using the slime from my body I will make sure, that the sharpened bones will not fall out of the club. This should be enough theory to produce a club for my liking. The first choice I have to do is to pick up the bone I want to use as a weapon. Since the bones of the monsters are all different I will have to pick the most suitable. The bones in the legs are often the strongest. Take the human, for example, the femur is the strongest bone in the whole skeleton. It has to support the entirety of the weight the human carries with it. But there is no comparison the bones of a rabbit and an elephant. So I will have to seek for the one bone, that is not too heavy to wield but also not too short for anyone to use. If this horny bastard had not burned away most of the materials I might have a greater variety. But this is just a prototype to see if my idea is feasible. I can perfect it later either way. I took a random bone out of the pile of leftovers and swung it around a few times. I might have to add a handle later on, but it should work the way I have planned it. The next problem I had to solve was to crush the bones with my current strength. I aimed and launched it onto the ground to see what kind of result it might have. But to no avail, the bones were more sturdy than I had initially expected. I thought to myself, that once the flesh around it is gone, I could easily split them. My next idea was to put it diagonally against a wall, so I can break it with a strong kick. But after multiple attempts and much force, the bone remained intact but the wall from the house had given in. At least I do not have to worry about them breaking any time soon. If they can withstand all of my force then how are NPCs supposed to break it? Should I designate this task to my ants and let them figure it out on their own? But before I would give in I will have to try my hardest. These bones will not win the fight against me, not if I put my pride on the line. What followed can only be described as madness incarnate. This poor piece of bone had to withstand a vicious onslaught ranging from even more punches and kicks to being thrown to the ground over and over again. It tried its hardest but even it had to bow down to the sheer insanity that was me. Or that is what I had wanted to proclaim loudly, but this bone was still in one piece and my surroundings were the only thing that had suffered. The coin that absorbed blood did not show any interest and even using my teeth to gnaw on it did not yield any result. Even putting my body into overdrive was only strenuous in the end. Seems like no matter how much force I muster it is not enough. I still had one last trick up my sleeve, but I have yet to test it and I might even lose my hand. My overdrive delivers the necessary nutrients all over my body in an equal amount to guarantee that everything is running smoothly, but what if I amass all of those nutrients in one point of my body? First I will have to put the necessary energy into my shoulders and then transfer it to the arm while it is moving and finally let it end inside of the first on the point of impact. After throwing out the punch I tried to recall the feeling I have when I am in overdrive and tried to sense it in the areas I wanted it to have before moving my first downwards onto the bone. A loud sound filled the surroundings. I could not suppress a pained cry escaping from my lips, having this sensation on certain body parts is worse if the rest remains unaffected. This partly-overdrive feels horrendous, but looking downwards I could not help but smile a little. The bone was still as hard as before but I could see a small crack has appeared on its otherwise spotless surface. Although this improvement came at a heavy price as my right hand was currently broken and unusable for the time being. I have to thank those players, without the prior fight I might have never come up with an idea like this. But it will have to take a lot of work before I can use this method in a normal fight without crippling my hand. Looking into the distance I saw Tom still smiling happily about the show the female player had given him carrying multiple monster carcasses. Until I have mastered this Tom will have to deliver a lot more corpses to me. But for the time being, I will just enjoy the taste of some meat. The future will come sooner or later anyway. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. 114 Gotta enslave them all 1 The moment when NPC could be hired marked the moment a fundamental change occurred in the world of Primal Survival. Every player could hire NPCs from now on. This opportunity was gladly welcomed and started a craze to hire NPCs. Whether as a personal slave or as a tool for the competition, they could be used in any way imaginable. In their search for NPCs, they did stop at nothing and fell over every city like a swarm of locusts hiring everything that had not been picked up by another player. Everything was gobbled up and the players did not hesitate to even search the unexplored map to mixed results. The NPCs found themselves in an unprecedented predicament, if they previously had been able to escape the murderous players by hiding in a city, then even this sanctuary was taken from them and they were helplessly exposed to the wave of players lusting after them. This hype had the player base gripped tightly and was alluring to even the people from the Churches, as the NPCs were commonly used as slaves. These digital slaves were even traded as some had certain preferences. Others liked to boast about their collection of slaves and gladly showed it off. " What do you want for that slave?" was a typical conversation starter that was spoken all over Primal Survival. The business was flourishing as more and more players found themselves subjected to this kind of trade. Amidst this scene, were some players who were looking for special NPCs, which are a lot scarcer. Once one has been located, they do their best to hire it, even offering objects from their Real-world as compensation. While the young boy with flaming hair was certainly a big commotion, he was by far not the only one people were looking out for. A lot of strange NPCs had been located and were tried to be won at all cost. Certain NPCs had hidden requirements to be hired, so those players died everything that they could think off just so they can get the precious NPC. From delivering 10 corpses of very rare monsters or finding the long lost toy of his son the tasks could not be any more different. Those players did not mind to spend so much effort, it was the opposite they were provided with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Those players wanted to earn the rarest NPCs and they would stop at nothing to accomplish exactly that. Only a select few were relatively unaffected by the entire situation. Those people were trying to see the purpose behind this addition. What was the idea behind granting them the right to enslave those NPCs and why were they chosen to be the troops for the tactical competition? What was their purpose? But all of their questions fell on deaf ears as they asked players and the developers about their intent. In truth, not even the developers were knowing why the system had made this kind of decision but judging by its recent success they would be fools to give away that secret. The only thing those people received was a vague reply stating, that their worries are unfounded. Amidst this development, many people relied on unusual strategies and method to get a headstart. One of these people was a young lady, who was currently surrounded by a group of NPCs. This was not a strange sight, but upon closer inspection a glaring difference became visible. While normal NPCs did not even dare to make a noise without being told to do so, this group of NPCs was behaving unruly and laughed loudly. This girl walked casually in front of them unaffected by their behaviour. Her appearance did not invoke any special interest as every player had better things to do. Their strange behaviour was not enough to let other players deem them as special. Others judged the lack of manners as a fault from the young girl leading them and scoffed at her before continuing what they have been doing prior. Right by her side was another player, that looked displeased from the judgemental reactions by the crowd. Though he did not voice his opinion out loud and just walked beside the female player staring angrily at the everyone, who spoke ill about them. The group of NPCs belonging to the girl could not care less about the opinion of others, they even mimicked their actions and mocked them quite loudly. Though their deeds were highly disrespectful, none of them was provoked by their cheap tricks. All they did, was lowering the reputation of their owner. Since nobody was trying to put an end to their taunts, they continued to try and get a reaction from anyone in their proximity. But despite their best effort, none of it showed any signs of working in their favour. The girl did not look dishearted by the lack of results as she spoke to the player right by her side. " We were lucky enough to find enough people to fool, to begin with." The young men nodded upon hearing her words. Fools like that could not be sought after but could only be stumbled on by chance. Only people who did not know much about this world could fall for something so obvious. " But last time you went too far. To even expose yourself, to such an unworthy man, something like this should not be done ever again." A smile hushed over her lips after hearing those words as she briefly thought about their last encounter. " Relax, in the end, we got what we wanted. They got to eat and I got the information I had aimed for." " But at what cost? We let someone with a special NPC slip through our fingers even after going this far." The young men rebutted after hearing the conclusion from the female player. Their expenses were not worth such a measly outcome. " Whats some exposed flesh in comparison to the information how he had required an NPC like this? Although it can not compare to the ones I own, it still is a valuable existence." In her mind, nothing could compare to the worth of her assets. While their targets NPC was special, it paled in comparison to her NPCs. Though this judgement would have changed if she had known more details about the NPC in question. But this possibility was out of the question for her. It was unlikely to find something more valuable than this group of NPCs. All she had to do, was deliver them the necessary food to gain the best results possible. Even if she had to lower her pride to gain the results she wanted, it was nothing in comparison to the goal she was trying to achieve and these NPCs were the key to her success. If given the chance she would have gone out and killed enough monsters for them by now, but the current situation did not allow her to do something so spectacular. For the time being, all she could do was to exploit other goodwill and gain enough food. She could not wait till the crazy had finally died down and she could gather enough resources. A light sigh, escaped her lips, the circumstances surrounding her were certainly not in her favour. This did not escape her colleague as he pondered on the cause for her sighing. Despite his criticism, he was still satisfied with the progress they had achieved. Seeing her initial conclusion made him wonder even more what lead to her sigh. Though he knew better than to voice his thoughts as this was neither the place nor the time to discuss something like this. Even spilling the information about the special NPC was risky. Luckily the NPCs behind him were loud enough to draw away any attention from them and their conversation. At times he wished they would shut up, but he could not deny that they did not have their perks. " You should not underestimate the man named Tom. Despite his foolish nature, he is still a member of the Church." While a warning might not be necessary, he still wanted to make sure to keep track of every person that might be a threat to their plans. " Those people from the Churches are only interested in themselves. No need to worry about any of them." The voice stemming from the girl was full of confidence and came out without any hesitation. She did have any of them in her eyes because nothing would stop her at achieving what she strives for. The people of the Churches were not enough to cause her to pay any concern, at least not someone of his calibre. He had been staring to attentively at her breasts to notice that he had been taken advantage off. A fool like him was bound to be forgotten. Finding their next gullible target was easier said than done, as they had just barely managed to escape from the previous situation by a stroke of luck. Although the arrival of the group of players they had scammed just prior nearly spelt disaster for them, it was their actions that drew the attention of the special NPC away from them. Afterwards, it was easy to slip away from the trouble as both sides were busy fighting against each other to notice their disappearance. He could not fathom why exactly a fight would break out between those 2 parties but it was not exactly to their disadvantage that they clashed against one another. Although the special NPC seemingly had enjoyed the situation a bit too much. He had been all smiles while provoking the players into a fight. The strength he possessed was enough to incapacitate their NPCs in their current form to some extent. An NPC, so quick to anger was easy to manipulate but not someone they had to possess at all cost. In the end, it would be nothing more than a nuisance, a hindrance to their cause. Even if it had come in handy, its interference was not necessarily needed. It had been nothing more than a convenient way to avoid the bothersome hassle. Since this oppurturnity was delivered to them on a silver platter it would be foolish not to take it. Liabilities like these were nothing more than a waste of their precious time. His train of thought had been broken by the arrival of 4 small children approaching them with a big grin plastered on their faces. While their main focus was on the successful development of the group of NPCs behind him, the usefulness of these small children should not be underestimated. " Playing has been so much fun. Thank you Big Brother. Though these big meanies refused to play with us. Is killing monsters more important than us?" They pouted after just thinking about being ignored by the group of players they wanted to play with. " Of course not, you are the most precious little children that anyone could have." The young woman was patting their heads as she was comforting the children from the blatant refusal. She had sent the children to keep an eye on the movement of the players she had scammed previously. These players were too kindhearted and goodnatured to lie to children, they had exploited that exact weakness. Though she wondered why exactly their focus had switched to hunting monsters all of a sudden. Maybe it is a desperate attempt to vent their frustrations since they missed their chance, who knows? As long as they were not an obstacle in their way, they could do whatever they wanted for all she could care. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. " But Uncle was really nice to us. He let us ride on his back before we had to come back. He came after these meanies did not want to play with us." Who was this "Uncle" the children were talking about? The only person, who know of these Children was the special NPC they had tried to provoke with a varying degree of success. But this NPC was clearly not the type to play with these children and call himself "Uncle" " He told us to give you our Big Sister a little present" another happy voice chimed in proudly remembering such an important detail. These tiny hands delivered the object right into her hands expecting to be praised for it. But the little "gift" the female player received forced her to reevaluate her opinion about the event, that had just taken place. The object in her hands was an eyeball from a monster, that had died not too long ago. Though the person responsible for this little twisted joke did not think that he would have taken the eye for an eye that literally. As they had to think about the ramifications that came with such a threat, the chaos continued all around the world of Primal Survival. Though others had to fight a different kind of battle after certain actions from a special NPC had caused them a headache. The only way to redeem themselves was to locate the one responsible for fate, but that was easier said than done in these chaotic times. But they vowed to find him, even if they had to search the end of this world. 115 Gotta enslave them all 2 The memory of their shameful encounter had yet to fade, but against expectation, no one spread any rumours or made fun about them. The players who had witnessed this event did not think much about it. They had long forgotten about this and decided to pay every bit of their attention to acquiring their NPCs. Although this development could not have been any better for the both of them it still left a bad taste in their mouths. While their reputations were not in any form of danger, it was their pride that had taken the brunt of the damage. The feeling of being made a fool of did not disappear and was reminding them over and over again about the situation. His ridiculing smile, the gall to just disappear while they were preoccupied. Everything hateful came right back at them, making them relive the humiliation inside of their heads. This grudge could not be put aside that easily but getting revenge for it is easier said than done. They had been searching for any NPC that even remotely fit his descriptions, followed even the most ridiculous rumour just to locate him. Yet, just as he had appeared, he quietly disappeared as well, leaving them without any chances with getting their peace of mind. Finding him in the middle of the current chaos, was akin to finding the needle in a haystack. The only upside this chaos brought with it, was the fact, that he could not hide for too long before being found once more. This hateful NPC would not be able to stay quiet for too long before mayhem occurred. Wherever he appeared chaos would follow. It was just as if, he actively tried to antagonize as many players as possible with his antics. The dream of making Moirai their slaves was enough motivation to keep searching for his whereabouts. They had even hired other NPCs and used this manpower to cover as much ground as they could. This actions still did not yield the result they had hoped for, but they would not stop just because they had suffered a setback. Their grudge was running way to deeply for that. Regardless of how much hardships they had to endure or how many dead ends they would find, sooner or later he would be caught. This was enough to motivate them and to keep on trying against all odds. Even the most ridiculous rumour was investigated and searched for any kind of potential traces leading to him. Given his unique appearance, it should be easy to spot someone like him. They had yet to see another NPC with burning hair or with strange runes embedded in his forehead. So any description that remotely mentioned one of these things was worth looking into. Though the first one had claimed to have spotted an NPC, which was burning. This much was not a lie, though the charred remains left no doubt, that this had not been the NPC they had been looking for. After it had been revived it did not even resemble the hateful face, they were looking out for. They ignored this NPC and kept their vigilance about all the rumours. But still, their persistence did not pay off. The violent trouble maker, nothing more than a small fry and was taken care of in a matter of seconds. He had been taken in by someone else and was promptly forgotten. An NPC with a unique fighting style, a good find but still a disappointment in comparison to their target. It was quickly subdued and had no other choice then abiding by the rules of someone else from now on. Someone who decided to be sneaky to escape from the players was discovered quickly and could not escape the fate of its brethren. It did not take much effort to convince it. Regardless of how many NPCs they had followed and spectated none had been able to refuse for more than a minute. Every wee bit of confidence, which they might have had, disappeared with their capture. What was left was blind obedience for their masters. This sight kept on repeating no matter how many times they saw this scenario play out. Not an ounce of pity could be found in their faces. They only found it lamentable, that they had to watch all of this just to maintain the minuscule chance of spotting the brazen NPC, that had caused their public humiliation. No matter how many different NPCs they had looked at, none of it even came close. The NPC Moirai was shrouded in mystery and remained a complete irregularity in this world. Its behaviour could be compared to a player in its complexity and its manners and bearing did not resemble a typical NPC at all. This weird mix formed the NPC called Moirai. This facts alone made it a rarity in the world of Primal Survival, but there was more to it than these words can convey. It did not seem to fit in this place. Its presence felt distant and foreign and its unorthodox nature raises a lot more questions than expected from a simple NPC. But before they could get any answers from this NPC they had to find and capture him first, which was easier said than done after all the effort they already had spent on this particular task. Laura and Samantha decided to take a short break and discuss the current situation before continuing their blind search. The odds of succeeding were not in their favour, that is why they sat down at a cliff and stared into the wide surroundings. The scenery was calm and serene if not for the mob of players running all over the place searching for any last remnants of NPCs hiding somewhere. But they did not pay any heed to minor details like this. For the time being and even if it was just meant to be shortlived, they took it all in and relaxed among the chaos. Times like these were a rare occurrence for both of them. Between all of their responsibilities and the expectations placed on them, it was hard to be not under any kind of stress. No words had been spoken so far as they were still enjoying the view, but the issue was nagging st them subconsciously. Therefore it did not take too long before the obnoxious NPC became the topic once again. However this time around they started to discuss their plans after it had been caught by them. By indulging themselves in their fantasy, they had found a way to deal with the lack of success. Whether it was Laura dreaming about possessing its combat abilities and the secret to its strength or Samantha longing for utilizing it in the upcoming battles. Many different ideas were brought up and quickly agreed on. They decided to share the custody to avoid tension building between the 2 of them. Although the competition was important, it was not nearly worth enough to strain their relationship over. This entire activity was a luxury as they could not escape the responsibility waiting for them in the real world. No Moirai and no competition could ever be important enough. Even if they would win in any contest the burden on their shoulders would not lessen, it would rather increase. The high expectations of their families should not implicate their core principles. They were not willing to risk their friendship over this matter regardless of what others told them. That still does not mean, that they wouldn''t do everything to win the competitions they took part in But betraying each other was something they wanted to avoid. They kept on laughing and giggling while discussing the future of their (un)fortunate subject. Their vivid imagination and creativity delivered them enough content to fuel this discussion for a long time. From time to time they searched for new rumours on HolyTube but did not find anything worthwhile. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The latest development focused more on people showcasing their NPCs and making them do utterly ridiculous things. Some NPCs were forced to slaughter each other in cruel and inhumane ways, while others had to endure humiliation with a smile on their face. Others had to do whatever the audience demanded from the specific player, ranging from simple gestures to fighting against a monster. This diverse content attracted a lot of different attention from people outside of this world but was not the thing Samantha and Laura were looking for. Finding a trace in all of this was nearly impossible and as much as they wanted to, getting ahold of their target was quite unlikely as well It would have been delusional to follow this path to the end expecting nothing but success, they were aware of this detail, but losing themselves in their "fury" was a pleasant activity to pass the time. It was a rare occurrence to be emotionally invested into something and it would be foolish to pass up on this opportunity to behave differently for once when the public eye was not focussed on them. While looking half-heartedly at these broadcasts they stumbled onto something very interesting. They watched the stream from CallMeDaddy who was currently interviewing someone. But this interview did not take place in Primal Survival but the real world. " Its CallMeDaddy and I am currently talking to a lead developer of Primal Survival. He is here to tell us more about the current situation. Mister Noclu, I am speaking for everyone one, when I say, that the current event is greatly appreciated by everyone. Tell us more about it" His voice was a lot more formal and respectful in comparison to his usual tone. The clothes he was usually wearing had been replaced as well. Instead of the frill and bright colours he normally wore, he currently was dressed in a simple robe. It was apparent just how much importance CallMeDaddy was placing on this interview as his entire persona had changed for this occasion. But the limelight did not fall on him but the person standing on the opposite side. The developers of Primal Survival were normally very secretive, which made this type of interview even rarer. Every viewer wanted to know more about the entire situation. " First let me say thank you for interviewing me on such short notice." said the person, whose voice could be heard for the first time. He was wearing the standard uniform of Casum Entertainment, which consisted of a black suit and fine jacket with their logo printed on it. The white dove, with its wings spread, had been their trademark since their establishment. Although this way of dressing was considered standard on Earth, it was considered to be an absolute luxury to be dressed like this. Therefore it was no wonder, that every onlooker was staring intently at the middle-aged men. " The decision to revert the safety of the NPCs had to be made. Although we promised a realistic depiction of the primal world, the interaction between players and NPCs did not occur as we had imagined it. Our aim was to provide an environment, which would motivate the players to talk and listen to them and sadly we failed to accomplish this feature." His expression turned downcast after those words had crossed his lips. With the disappointment visible in his face he made a short pause before continuing his speech. " But by giving the players the chance to do whatever they please to their NPCs we have found a way to achieve our initial plans. This possibility was welcomed by everyone and we from Casum Entertainment are glad that you found it to your liking. This has always been our greatest priority." Those words were spoken with a captivating smile and a compassionate tone. It was apparent. that everything that had been said came straight from his heart. " To provide our players with the necessary experience, we had to make some adjustments to their psyche. But do not worry every NPC you can possess is special, you will not be able to find any NPC which behaves exactly like any other. It will feel like they are real humans from back then." " Granting the players this huge opportunity is the next big step in our plans for the future training of our youths. We tilted this part of the plan" Gotta enslave them all", its name should highlight the necessary actions for the future of Primal Survival." The audience agreed whole-heartedly with this statement. Why should they care about the NPCs in the starter towns? Nobody considered trading with them or even talking to them. They had been nothing more than a tool to vent their frustrations on given the chance to do so. At least this way players could find a way to make them useful. Since NPCs were not still not perceived as something else, it was a welcomed change, which players gladly used in various ways. Nobody was batting an eyelid and players did whatever their heart desired with the new NPCs. Gotta enslave them all became the official motto for the period of time before the competition. Except for the tacticians, nobody was interested in utilizing the NPCs other than for the entertainment. Even the tacticians were only interested in the number of NPCs under their control. This equation changed when the unique NPCs came into play. If an NPC was unique then it could be used as bragging rights or traded for monetary value. This hot commodity was sought after but was not easily obtained. The interview continued with the developer talking about his experiences with the world of Primal Survival and some funny anecdotes about the development of Primal Survival. This interview was well structured and easy to follow thanks to the professionalism from Call me Daddy. Gotta enslave them all was a promising aspect for the future of Primal Survival, although the ramifications were nothing anyone could have foreseen. 116 Behind the curtain The sun was shining brightly illuminating everything. But not much of the warmth from the outside could be felt at this place. It was cold and detached, it lacked everything the outside had to offer. Inside this space, only a constant monotonous beeping could be heard. There was nothing else besides the noise that kept on repeating itself after some time had passed. This rhythm was neither agitating nor soothing, it was just as cold and detached as the room itself. It was unknown since when this noise had existed or when it was supposed to end. This entire space seemed unaffected by its surroundings and appeared to be the entire opposite of it. Despite this sharp contrast, it did not invoke a feeling that it was missing its qualities. It felt complete and whole the way it was. The noise that routinely filled this space does not stem from human or animals it did not have any life in it though it strangely felt connected to it. There was something else attached to it but solely this beeping sound could be heard. This tone did not change in its volume or frequency as it resumed to appear and fade over and over again. This continued until 2 voices could be heard inside of it. The beeping sound continued without any form of interruption but the atmosphere had become even colder. The absence of warmth did not seem to affect anyone inside of this place. Neither of them did even bother with this detail. The voices were happy and upbeat not as solemn as it had been before their appearance. Their presence was weirdly complementing the chilly counterpart, although their mood would suggest otherwise. It was as if this noise itself was the cause of their happiness. A weird melody accompanying the pure joy born inside of this room. This laughter resumed for quite a while before the first words were about to be spoken. No one involved seemed to be in a hurry to change the status quo. They were enjoying it far too much to even think something like this. Before the laughter finally came to an abrupt end by the beeping sound that kept on resounding through this place a long time had passed. " Is it really necessary to hold this kind of discussion here? Isn''t it a bit cynical to do so?"These questions were spoken casually without any kind of weight behind them. " Given the nature of this discussion I seemed to fit perfectly", came the reply sounding as indifferent as the question itself. The joy and happiness had diminished and only a calm and serene atmosphere remained. While the beeping continued with its usual rhythm, the entire previous Dynamique had taken a sudden turn and became a lot more serious. The noise which had been prevalent the entire time did not matter any more. As of now, only these 2 voices ruled this strange place, banishing the noise to irrelevancy, where it resumed its duty without anyone caring about it. " So how is the progress on your end?" " The others have started to view him as a monster, it did not take much to convince them about this. His behaviour in the past was enough proof to them. This kind of opinion had formed even without any sort of interference from my side. I only had to exaggerate a bit." The voice replied in a nonchalant fashion narrating the development on their end. It was not enough to stir any kind of emotional response but a sardonic undertone still formed without anyone noticing. During the brief monologue, the other party had listened attentively without interrupting it. A faint chuckle could be heard from time to time as more and more details were delivered to her. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. " Gaining his trust had been way too easy. Someone like him was even easier to win over then the rest. It truly makes me wonder why he caused you that much trouble. Or is there something else to him, that I have missed out on?" This question was left unanswered as the other party only laughed heartily after the message had been spoken. " Not that it would matter anyway, what is important is to figure out how to proceed with our plan." " Focussing on such insignificant details is not worth our time. Besides nothing would change if we had an answer to this question. It is quite unlikely that he can spoil our plans the way he is now." the voice turned twisted for a few seconds but returned to normality shortly after. This short emotional outburst did not go unnoticed but was promptly ignored as if no one present was truly surprised by it. This familiar sight was casually glossed over and the discussion resumed without a hitch. " True, there is no way he could do anything to our little scheme. Someone like him will never be enough to pose a threat to our aim, not in the past and especially not in the future. He had been a puppet for all this time, a tool which will be discarded after it has served its purpose." This statement was made full of conviction and confidence as if it was only a matter of when and how. The context of her words did not assign the object any worth aside from its usefulness to their plans. " There are still a lot of obstacles in the way before he has lost his usefulness. For the time being, he is still save but the future ahead of him is not very bright. We will discuss how to get rid of said burdens on a later date." Despite the mentioning of obstacles, there was no emphasis on this subject as the primary concern lied entirely elsewhere. This subject was merely enough to raise an eyebrow and not enough to warrant their full attention. The obstruction of their plans was far from enough to stop their implementation, it was nothing which a little more effort could not solve. " Forget about those small fries, a certain someone is the true cause of all my headaches. Why does this old sentimental fool still have to cling to this useless hope, how did he even reach this position being this soft-hearted I will never understand that." " Even Gods are useless in the end no matter how much time passes." the reply was full of ridicule and cleary mocking in nature. " Calling the likes of him a God is quite a stretch. If the rest of the Gods would be like him, we would be doomed for all eternity." This answer was just as scoffing and was just dripping from the sarcasm contained in it. " The Gods of today will disappear one by one in the future and that is only a matter of time." A prophecy like this would normally cause a ruckus and gather a lot of attention regardless of where it was uttered but strangely the only thing which came back was a sweet laugh. This sweet laugh continued for quite a while the other party only clicked their teeth in annoyance and waited patiently until the laughing finally stopped. " That little declaration of yours and your plans for the future do not matter in my eyes, but I would advise not to push your luck. DO not interfere in my business." This blatant threat was met with another laugh, which only lasted for an instance. " You do not have to worry, our interests align. After all, we still aim for the same thing. It would be a shame if we were to antagonize over something like this. Risking success and everything one holds dear is not something I would like to consider. Otherwise, you could share the fate of our little tool and nobody would want that." Absolute silence followed and this tense atmosphere lasted for a few suffocating seconds before disperging again. It was replaced by a fit of genuine laughter coming from both of them. The previous tension had been replaced by a general feeling of serenity, which clashed heavily with the deadly seriousness of the room itself. This weird contrast formed a weird equilibrium which felt suffocating yet liberating at the same time. This feeling was even leaving an impact on them, even though they tried their best to avoid it. But these emotions were quickly suppressed as the normal discussion started once more. " We both sit in the same boat, so sorry for this crude joke." said the voice in an apologetic tone. But despite the apology, there was no ill-will in the air. The joke was well received and did not leave any lasting wounds. " I do not mind, getting offended by something like this would only shed a bad light on my big dreams and aspirations. You know me, everything is subsidiary to success. Everything else comes second." This statement was presented in a way as if it was a well-known truth. There was no room for debate something so obvious. "It is not like we met each other just yesterday." The response was snarky and slightly gloating. Though this teasing fell on deaf ears and was just met with a weary smile. Disappointed by such a lacklustre result the other party resumed the discussion without trying to get a reaction. " Should I resume my current task and play my part? It will take a while until we can meet in person again. We should try to avoid drawing any suspicion towards us, sabotaging our own plans should not be our aim. We have enough hindrances to take care of already." " Our biggest priority is to prevent others from meddling in our affairs. For the time being, we should prioritize not getting caught in the tide, while everyone else is at each others throat. We should utelize this period of time to spread out our influence while everyone else is preoccupied." Calm and collected the entire plan was spoken without any form of hesitation. This entire scheme was not something, which had been devised in the spur of the moment. Countless hours had been spent designing a plan for their grand ambition. Such a scheme could not be done without the necessary preparation and with a lack of knowledge. The requirements to succeed with this kind of ploy were rigorous and every mistake could prove fatal. " The same as usual then? We do not know each other and have never met one another either. We are total strangers, who share no connection. After all, we live in entirely different worlds." Leaving these words behind it did not take long before the voice had vanished. The other party disappeared quietly as well. This entire space had returned to its former state with the beeping sound continuing over and over again as if nothing had ever taken place in this room. As if nothing had ever happened. There were just silence and the reoccurring noise. And nothing else. 117 A swarm of locusts A strange sight left every witness speechless, making them doubt their own eyes. Right in front of them, a horde of monsters was currently trying to run away. But these fierce monsters were not fleeing due to powerful magic, they were escaping from a group of players, which hunted them down full of passion. This burning desire was emitted from every pore on their bodies. Their eyes were entirely focussed on the monsters ahead of them. This deep state of concentration caused an eerie feeling in every onlooker. No one dared to interfere in their affairs as they kept watching from a safe distance. This safety did not apply to these pitiful creatures, those were forced to endure the relentless pursuit from the players. Instead, they had no other choice than running for their lives. The consequences of them slowing were not pleasant, that much was easy to imagine. Their appearance was pitiful and it almost caused them to feel pity about their misfortune. But since they were monsters, this thought was quickly forgotten and attention was paid to the circumstances that caused this situation in the first place. What have these players done that these beings react in this way? These bitter and wild monsters are acting like that now? This event eluded their logic and they could only shake their heads in the face of such absurdity. But the opinion of the outsiders was of little interest to the situation itself and it continued to unfold undisturbed right before their eyes. The swarm consisted of only 8 players, but their number seemed significantly larger for all those who observed them. This appearance was created by their behaviour coupled with their distinct aura and made the spectators shiver in the face of this spectacle. Who were the players who could do something so absurd? That act was the most unlikely thing they had ever seen, and despite its almost impossible possibility, it happened at that moment. Their horizons, whether they wanted it or not, were inevitably broadened. With this expansion came more and more questions that brought more doubts and confusion with them. They were at the mercy of these circumstances and the only thing they could muster enough strength for was to open their eyes as far as they could to perceive everything as best as they could. As silent spectators, they experienced an event that would happen even more frequently, but at that moment it was not the time to think about what would happen in the future. The present offered enough tinder for these poor souls, it is hard to imagine how they would have reacted if they knew that this event would not be a rarity in the distant future. When it came as it had to, they experienced the terrible end of the creature that could not outrun its fate. The bloodthirsty players attacked it and one life came to an end under brute force. The body covered in wounds was lifted without any regard and carried into the distance, where it will be seen for the last time. This body is carried by a single player who struts away blissfully with his prey under the envious gaze of his cronies. Each of them wanted to be in his shoes, but their turn had yet to come. Unfortunately, the monsters found themselves facing these players who had just smelled blood. It didn''t take long before a motivation was born out of their deep envy. Before the monsters even had the chance to breathe, the hunt continued with an intensity almost bordering on madness. This fever forced every spectator to hold his breath and to completely rethink his assessment of the situation once more. Nobody would have thought it was possible that the already crazy situation could become even more intense. However, they found themselves disproven once again by the reality they are currently witnessing. This day will be remembered for a long time to come, although no one would believe them since none of them thought of broadcasting this event. The stimulation was just too much and left every viewer unable to think for themselves. Their confused and baffled facial features were proof enough for the strong effect the situation had on them. Though neither the monsters or the frenzied hunters had any time to pay attention to details like that, as their primary focus was entirely elsewhere. A battle concerning life and death was vastly more important than some minor details, of some characters that were bound to be forgotten. This hunt had only stopped when a monster fell victim to the hunters and was resumed after a happy soul disappeared with its prey. After a short time, one of the players had joined the group again, this time without monsters in his hand. The player seemed to be happy, but the greediness could be seen in his eyes as he resumed the hunt with zeal. This pattern was repeated over and over again until they were satisfied with their yield. However, this case never seemed to occur as the numbers of monsters began to decrease. This trend only came to an end when the herd of monsters no longer existed. The monsters that were bursting with life some time ago were mercilessly wiped out. Only a glance into the eyes of the hunters was necessary to recognize that they were already looking for the next group to hunt. They were not content with the number of monsters they had hunted. Under the gazes from the audience, these group of players ran past them without even sparing them a glance. Monster carcasses were the only object of their desire, and judging by their behaviour, they hadn''t received nearly enough of them. Their quest would continue and the rumours of a crazy group of players striking fear in the heart of every monster would only spread more with every successful hunt. Some would claim that these rumours are just a stupid con and that it would only serve as a way to get people on the wrong track. With the vast amount of rumours circulating in the world of Primal Survival, it was no wonder that some people would make this assumption. When news like this are spread from mouth to mouth rumours will find themselves exaggerated and certain details will disappear. Some might hear about the group of ferocious players, whose lust for blood was palpable and caused even the monsters to run in fear after encountering them. Others would learn about strange magic, that caused monsters to flee in terror just by being in its close vicinity. Every player mixed their own explanation into the story causing the rumours to deviate more and more from what happened originally. Until the census had turned it into something, which was put down as yet another hoax. Despite these rumours refusing to die, thanks to the actual sighting of this group of players, it was only a minority who actively believed in these rumour thanks to their own experience. But this small minority was very vocal about their theories and speculations. Their wild theories tried to explain, what happened to the monster corpses and why they returned empty-handed to hunt for more flesh. Explanations ranged from a hidden event just waiting to be discovered to a cover-up from players trying to draw attention away from something. Discussions like these only caused others to shake their head. They could not fathom how they could spend so much of their time on something so useless. It was nothing more than a wasted oppurturnity if they did not spend their time on something of use to them. With the upcoming competition, people could not afford to idle when there was so much on the line for anyone participating. They would rather train or think about strategies, then following such a stupid rumour. The ones responsible did not think much about what their acts would cause in others, as they just continued to do what they had been doing. Monsters after monsters they resumed hunting to satisfy the greed, that had clouded their minds. Killing these monsters did not alleviate this kind of state, it rather fueled it. It was not hard to see, that these monsters were no more than a means to an end. The purpose of the deceased monsters had not been found, even after some players tried to secretly follow a player carrying a corpse. Sadly, this endeavour did not yield any results and all of their attempts ended in vain. Everything that they tried was to no avail. All the could do was stare, as the killing continued. Although not one of the people involved seemed to care about the growing interest in their affairs. All they did was what they have been doing from the beginning. They were too preoccupied, to be concerned about something like this. As long as no one interfered in their business, that is. Someone found out the hard way, as he placed himself in between the players and the monsters. He was taken care of in an instance and respawned promptly not knowing what exactly had happened to him. From that point in time, some players decide to test these NPCs by sending their NPCs to stop them. But these experiments ended as soon as they had begun as these NPCs were not enough to stop them at all. The instigators spectated the gruesome end of their slaves without much worry in their eyes, as they considered this to be a necessary sacrifice. Though they failed to realize, that although the players did not act against them it did not mean that they did not take notice of everyone who was currently wronging them. They had drawn their ire, but it was only thanks to the enticement in front of their eyes, that they gritted their teeth and endured this kind of treatment for the time being. This behaviour was mistakenly interpreted as a sign of weakness and only lead to spectators to act a lot more brazen. The 8 players found themselves confronted over and over again by NPCs standing in their ways and more and more frustrations began to pile up. They were quickly suppressed but even their patience started to run thin. It was not them who actively sought to provoke them, the others were at fault going against them over and over again. Thoughts of revenge had started to appear in their others mind so earnest mind. Even the greed, that had appeared in their eyes was born out of an earnest desire. But these secluded disciples found themselves riled up, after suffering this kind of treatment at the hands of other players. The atmosphere became a lot tenser and the group of 8 players were just about to burst. It was just a matter of time before a poor soul would do something, that he or she would end up regretting. None of the people surrounding them took notice about their change and it was apparent that one of them was going to be the lucky person to pick the straw will break the camel''s back. They were still laughing merrily, without any worry in the world, not knowing what was about to erupt. The upcoming event, would not spread as much as the previous rumours, but they would be a lot more credible. The catalyst for the escalation was not another attempt to stop the players by throwing NPCs at them or by the spectators trying to directly meddle in their business. No, the cause for the chaos that was about to erupt was a simple remark. All it took, was one comment, that was made after seeing one ¨¹layer accompanied by an NPC approaching the 8 players. " What a lousy NPC." These words were spoken without any regard and as a matter of fact, but everything changed after those words had been spoken. Before everyone could even realize what had happened, everything had already been razed to the ground with the corpses of every onlooker spread around the close vicinity. These group of players could manage to endure the others gossiping and judging them, but this comment about the NPCs crossed a line, that should not have been crossed. Although the one person, who had doomed all of his colleagues would surely not know exactly what he did wrong to cause such a scene. Not one person would know for certain, why their lives came to a sudden end at the hands of these players. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Walking through the bloody mess, with corpses strewn all around, the NPC could only sigh. " So much for not raising more attention towards myself than absolutely necessary." the voice sounded a bit lament. " Benefactor" The 8 players bowed in unison as they faced the NPC with admiration in their eyes. The longing on their expressions was still visible as they stared directly at the NPC in front of them. The NPC did not appear to be surprised at their behaviour as he just casually stood there taking in everything that was happening right in front of him. " Moirai can we move? We should not stay here unless of course, you want to be seen." A slight scoffing could be heard, as Moirai looked at the scene of carnage. " Check their corpses for valuables and you burn them once we are done." After the order had been taken care of and everything valuable changed owners, the corpses were lit ablaze. Moirai did not even take another look and just turned around and wordlessly walked away followed by the disciples from the temple and Tom walking right beside him. Every evidence of this event taking place had been cleared and only eye testimony was not enough to generate a ruckus. All that was left, was a space, that had been razed to the ground. As if a swarm of locusts had devoured everything in their path, leaving nothing behind. They returned back to the ghost town as if nothing had ever happened. 118 Benefactor The march back to the ghost town felt a little strange, but to be honest, everything was a little more unusual, even more than usual. Forget the fact that magic actually exists in this world, with all known limitations practically obsolete, life itself has become quite confusing, to say the least. This means that my current circumstances are more than abnormal, even measured by the daily madness I see myself confronted with every day. How could I have guessed that the people I had beaten black and blue before would suddenly be in such a relationship with me? Where had I signed up to be there benefactor? I can not remember signing up for something like this. The request to bring me the cadavers was nothing more than a joke, so how is it that these people were standing in front of me with the said goods over their shoulder? How is it that these people didn''t just come once, but offered me their hunting goods again and again? What kind of thought process leads these people to such decisions? The more I learn about this world and its inhabitants, the more questioning and confused I become. What do these people expect from their actions? I don''t believe that I can offer them something that would interest them. I doubt that they are the right audience for lectures about the people on planet Earth, and I also have no intention of simply sharing this knowledge. This knowledge is one of my most important resources in this world and it would be more than unwise not to maintain this advantage. Even if I have the goodness to share all this knowledge with people, it does not mean that they are willing to do the same for me. This kind of egoism ensures that no one can take advantage of me so easily. It is better to be safe than sorry, especially if the chance to say sorry might never come at all. Blind faith is a mistake I will make only once. I have gained this kind of experience through much disappointment and bitterness in my former world. It is not necessary to open these wounds again. just so that I know what I have done wrong. Doubt everyone and question everything. This is a path that makes you lonely. He who only sees hidden intentions and motives will never see what might have been and will only see what brought him to such an attitude in the first place. And even if you are careful with everyone and everything in your life, in the end, you might protect yourself from many things, but the person who will suffer from this arrangement the most will be yourself. There is nothing wrong with solitude per se, but you should still remember that man is a pack animal. Contact to others is something which should not be prevented, even with its inherent risks. Though this kind of advice only applies to people actually living on planet Earth and not someone like me currently stuck here. This "second life" of min is a nice bonus and I will not use this time to explore my personality and try to find potential fixes for the flaws I had back when I was still alive. It would be too wasteful to spend my time, with something so utterly pointless. " Can you please just stop feigning ignorance, does it not get boring to do something like this over and over?" No, never. Of course, I was confused at first, when they came back and offered me the corpse of a monster, but as long as I benefit from it why should I refuse such an offering. All I had to do was sprinkle in some obscure tips and techniques and they started to see me as some sort of angel in human flesh. Just leave them wanting more and I can get them to do whatever they want in exchange for some words. "Using your poison to weaken the monsters, you truly are despicable." We already had this point, I will use every means to achieve my goals and in this case, I just needed to entice them. After all the methods I taught them, worked and gave them an experience of a lifetime. If that means, that I have to use a poison that causes hallucinations then so be it. The best part is, that I did not even have to move a little finger, by utilizing the flying ants I could save myself a lot of trouble and no one noticed my interference. Besides, I have no idea, why you are complaining about my methodology, I have managed to acquire a steady supply chain of monster meat, ensuring, that my body can finally heal without risking it falling apart. So should you not praise me for not doing something stupid and ruining your effort to heal my body? Instead, you always criticize me and try to negate everything I have done, if I did not know you any better I would have thought you were opposed to everything I stand for. " So you have me all figured out, huh?" You do not have to show so much aggression towards me, whatever your goal you might have set out for me, it would be suicidal to work against you. So, please do not conduct yourself like a small child and just get to the main point. " So boring, not even in the mood to bicker. So what is your true motive for coming out of the safety of the town? There was no reason to leave it and expose yourself to unnecessary danger." Oh, worried about poor old me? But why are you asking something so obvious? I wanted to put an end to this kind of attention-grabbing show. I could have used it to promote my ideas, but it was neither the right time nor the right place for this kind of advertisement. I need these people to feel the immense pressure and the unrelenting circumstances that leave them with no other choice. These criteria have yet to be met, so I am putting an end to this before the tool loses its shock value. But of course, that''s not the reason I have left the safety of the town. If I only had the kind of goal, I did not even have to come here accompanied by Tom. What I had been aiming for, was to confirm something with my very own eyes. Players indeed are lucky bastards, if they kill others they can loot the corpses, every time I had tried something like this I was left empty-handed. " So, that is why you instilled them with this non-relenting kind of mindset, seeking vengeance for even the even smallest grievance. Why else, would those disciples known for their peacefulness and serenity suddenly become a violent brute." Hey, I told them to endure all of those words and use those emotions to strengthen themselves. It is not my fault, that this awareness would have such an effect on them. How could I have anticipated, that their minds would be clouded like this? " You had planned to use your poisons to stimulate them if things had not worked out. Please, if you demand me to treat you seriously, I ask you to treat me with the same level of respect." Of course, I have to make back-up plans if something does not work out the way I had intended it to do. Since things tend to spiral out of control very fast, it would be unwise to leave things to fate. Especially if my goal is reliant on their part. My plan came it fruition and everything else was not even needed. If I want to influence the upcoming competition, I first have to do the necessary research into it. This little play of mine is only a small part of the groundwork I have to do. In fact, I have just secured a way to gather the necessary funds to start my little venture. If I can not gather the money by myself I just have to incentive others to do it for me. I can focus on other more important tasks when the pressing issues have been taken care of. Who or how this problem is solved does is of little interest to me as long as it is taken care of. Doing everything by myself? I am not stupid enough to believe, that I am capable of such a thing. " Certainly, you might have many deficits but you are not delusional" Your ability to hide insults in your compliments is growing by the days, So this is how a proud dad must feel like, watching his children growing up. I would give you a hug if you had a physical body. " So why did I have to burn those bodies? Wasn''t that a just a big waste of my time?" This snide remark came from my side and Tom looked at me clearly asking for my intentions. Keeping everyone happy was not easy. " I was doing them a favour. If others stumbled upon the battlefield, they would otherwise just see a pile of corpses killed by fists. Do you think, people would praise them for something like this? I had to provide them, with an excuse. Dieng due to magic is not nearly as problematic as losing your life being beaten to death." This explanation should suffice, of course, he is not going to believe my goodwill for others, but just see it as a way to avoid the trouble, that would surely arise out of the shame and humiliation that would have been brought upon them. That was part of the reason, why I asked him to burn these corpses, but the main reason was to cover up my tracks of the bodies being lotted and robbed of their valuables. I do not want others to gain, that kind of knowledge and use it to their advantage. Still, I can not escape the follow-up question, that would come without a doubt. " Yeah, being beaten to death would have been held over their heads for a very long time. There is no doubt, that they would seek revenge for that." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Thank you for stating the obvious. I am glad I do not have to spell it out for you. Though it would not hurt if his words were not spoken, as if he was speaking to an idiot. Even would not do something like this, although I had the qualifications to do so. " Here take it." I threw him the bag with all of the loot we had obtained from killed players. He caught it with ease and proceeded to put it away into his inventory. I have no idea, how a storage system like that actually works, but I decided to gloss over details like this since there are a lot of things that do not make any sense in my eyes. If you think to deeply about things like this, I am only going to lose my head. Most can be solved by simply saying its a game and not pondering about it anymore. Whether the system actually bends the space around them and keeps their inventory inside of this space, or the system truly just saves the items and generates them if necessary does not matter to a small fry like me. Nothing would change even if I know a detail like this. Spending my time thinking about the nature and customs of the players is way more efficient, then wondering about the things that make the world go round. Besides as long as I lack the strength to change the system, I am only accelerating my demise. The Observer would not take any risks with me if I obtain knowledge, that I should not know about, then I am just digging my own grave. I will be wiped out of existence in a matter of milliseconds if the Observer saw me as a threat to its plans. So it would be best not to dwell on things like this. Just do what you are supposed to do, in order to stay alive. It is that simple if you have no other choice. Tom nodded and waved me goodbye before he and I parted ways. He continued to gather as many materials as he could, he might not know why exactly I was asking him to do something like this. But I am glad, he is not doubting my decisions. The promise of a female slave, that he might meet on his journey seems like a good way to keep him at bay. Of course, this strategy does not fit his main goal, but he can obtain a girlfriend any time if my plan succeeds. Looking back at my groupies who kept following me and staring with big eyes as if they were puppies, I could only smile a little, just thinking about all the things I could do with them. Strangely this smile was grossly misinterpreted and they bowed once more thanking me for my instructions. These nutjobs considered me as something akin to the holy grail and treated me as such as well. Not that I could complain about their affection, but it felt a bit creepy at times being looked at like that. If I am not careful with their treatment I might end up with a knife in my back. The thought alone made me shudder, just how far would these fanboys go to please me? I did not want to imagine how weird the situation could become, I did not want to cause my mind to drift into uncharted territory like that. Sorry, but I do not swing like that. Arriving back in ghost town I look at the bone, that still refused to break, even after I had broken my hand multiple times, I was glad, that I had taken up the mantle as their benefactor because right now was the time to train them to deliver me as much meat as possible. It is time to teach them how to hunt monsters correctly. Their current strategy is way too inefficient and I can not always help them from the sidelines by drugging the monsters, at least not with the current manpower of the ants at my disposal. Looking at their eyes full of expectations, a soft string in my heart was struck. Even if I try to exploit them, at least I will make sure not to disappoint them. This much is just basic courtesy, to the ones who I admire. Though I know for certain, that teaching them my tactics would be a pain in the ass and sadly my judgement would turn out to be correct, but I did not know about the struggle I was about to face. 119 Gross misinterpretation Shortly after Moirai and his followers had left the scene of the crime a group of disgruntled players arrived at it. The look on their faces was telling exactly how displeased they are. They had been humiliatingly beaten to death by other players without having wronged them. This shame was hard to bear especially the realisation that the perpetrators had not even used magic to kill them. They had hurried up to arrive at the place to confront the players responsible for their demise but they were too late and now everything in front of them had been burned to the ground leaving no traces behind at all. The feelings continued to build themselves up because not even a single explanation had been left behind for them. They went crazy without having a way to vent their frustrations. They couldn''t figure out why something like this had to happen to them. Of all the players in this world, what have they done to deserve such a fate? Their thoughts were racing, for they were looking for the reason, but this plan was doomed for failure from the beginning. No one would suspect that the NPC they had disparaged was the real reason. No, in their mind they thought about what they did wrong to offend these people. What was the reasoning behind their sudden outburst? Where exactly did it go awry? Could this tragedy have been prevented? While they were still fuming about their mistreatment, they could not and should not get that resentment to their heads. Although the other party had killed them and utterly shamed them, they did not spread the message and even cleaned the battlefield, so that no other person could see the gigantic shame they had suffered. They had interpreted this act, as a warning but also as a way out for them. While they had done nothing wrong, they were not interested in pursuing this matter any further, after the others had dealt out this kind of punishment. Seeking vengeance would only harm their reputation and bring even more shame onto them. For now, the best course of action was to swallow their pride and do not mention this event to anyone. By keeping their mouths shut, nobody would have to know about what has taken place in this now desolate space. But just knowing is sadly not enough at times. Sometimes other values take priority even if their repercussions might be way more serious. They were just not happy at all, being forced to follow the amicability of the other party, who are trying to dictate them on what they should be doing. Even if the group of barbarians that had beaten them to death was not interested in escalating the situation they had caused the exact opposite kind of response. With their honour being besmirched to such an extent, they had no other choice, then to seek out this kind of group. Otherwise, they might never be able to sleep with a clear conscience ever again. Still, with even the tiniest piece of evidence gone, the odds of them locating the evil-doors was really unlikely. As much as they wanted to get revenge, it did not seem feasible at the moment. They can imagine and talk about it but it only truly matters, when they can revenge themselves in person. These group of players vowed loudly to not stop until they had avenged every wrong they had suffered and pay it back tenfold. Though their ambition was admirable, they still had absolutely no idea where to start. Just running blindly searching for a group of 8 players was just idiotic. This kind of plan would never yield any results because this world was way too big to cover every place they might pass by or appear at. The first step should be to spread rumours about the group and to promise a handsome reward for any information about their whereabouts. Though they would have to act with great care to avoid the suspicion of the other party, especially if they still could divulge this humiliation to the public. For the time being, they had no other choice than to act discrete and plan their revenge thoroughly. They oppurturnity would surely come, all they had to do is be patient and wait for the right time. While the voice of reason asked them to reconsider, the decision had already been made and any risk of failure was immediately set aside to be ignored until it inevitable arrived. again. The feeling of honour had seized their minds and it would not vanish before the goal had been achieved. They had become drunk on their newfound resolve and indulged themselves a little too much in the fantasy about their future prospects. This situation would continue for a long time to come and it would ensure that the vow they made was not the only stupid mistake they would commit. But in their current condition, they would not pose any threat to the perpetrators responsible for the plight. Their fate would just repeat itself and they would have to relive it once more. In their eyes, they only died thanks to getting caught off guard. This assumption was treated as a matter of fact and it was the perfect excuse for any bruised ego. If not for the treacherous and vile acts, they would have won undoubtedly, they kept on repeating this kind of opinion loudly until it had become reality for them. Not only were they proclaiming their superiority for everyone to hear but they also started to look down on the other party for resorting to such evil acts. They had shifted the guilt from themselves in order to feel good about everything. By believing to be superior, they could still act just as haughty as before and acted like his nefarious deed practically never happened at all. They could be at ease, while secretly planning their revenge. Everything will be taken care of leaving no potential danger behind. This was far from enough to quell their anger but it sufficed to appease it by a little. When they vociferously condemned the barbarian act and also scorned them, they were able to distract themselves to prevent these acts from affecting them. Though no one other than them was able to hear about any of this, as this location was remote and not many players would appear here on their own volition. But this did not matter, all they wanted to do was to let this world know about the injustice they had suffered. Screaming out all the feelings they were currently suppressing, was their way to cope with the situation. ------------- This elation and happy atmosphere were not meant to last. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Right above them in the sky, several flying ants were carrying a bloated corpse of a monster. This ball of death was full of sharp hairs and other spiked objects attached to it. No one was aware of what danger was looming in the sky. This messenger of death would cause a lot of devastation whether it would land. Though it appeared laughable compared to the potential destruction the ones on Earth offered, its reign of terror was just about to begin in this foreign land. Its inevitable descent would mark the appearance of human ingenuity, and the subsequent loss of life would only be the beginning. No one could have foreseen that such an object would ever come into existence in this world. However, the first contact will certainly be unforgettable. So much should be certain when this construct finally serves its purpose. While its design was still crude and was not improved from its prototype, it still would be the first contact between players and the makeshift bomb designed by Moirai. This bomb was not carried to the group without any reason. Its one-dimensional usage was enough to deduce the intent behind it. With its presence, it was only a matter of time before the current peace was no more. Their lives were just about to be claimed in the resulting explosion. They were at the mercy of others without even knowing it. Oblivious to their impending they were still busy screaming at the world about the injustice they had suffered and made plans about their retaliation. At odds with their treatment and with the lack of respect that was given to them, they had interpreted the actions as a weakness, showing others kindness was only met with contempt. Leeway and a path to retreat did just mean, that others still dared to think about getting their revenge. This conclusion would have been the right decision if they had been dealing with another player but since they were dealing with the exact opposite their judgement became a bit faulty. The clash of cultural values was prone to cause a lot of tensions, for instance even Moirai would most likely never fathom how deeply the concept of honour is tied to the inhabitants of this world. On the other hand, they would most likely never come to understand the questioning nature of Moirai. Their backgrounds could not be any more different, so it was no wonder that this group of players developed a gigantic misconception about the person responsible for their misfortune. What they saw as a way out for them so that both parties could pretend as if nothing had happened, was not of any concern to Moirai. In fact, he could not care any less about what the group thought of him. Far from it, this was a blatant threat. You will share the same fate as these corpses if you insist on causing trouble. Moirai thought that this statement would become more than clear after disposing of the corpses cleanly. This difference in perception did not yield any favourable result with for both parties leading to the current situation. A threat of this calibre would have been an empty one, so one side was destined to suffer from the difference in cultures. Its fall was widely anticlimactic and it just did what it was supposed to do. There was no tension as it slowly made its way to the ground. After landing on the ground it created a sudden noise amidst the crowd that had not noticed the descendants of this bomb at all. The noise erupted and filled the place for a short while drowning every other noise. A while later the noise had died down and left behind the corpses who never knew what had happened to them. Their bodies had been pierced by the shrapnel and they had lost their lives on the spot. No screams of horror could be heard and no pained expressions of any sort of anguish were visible on their faces. A quick and sudden death, that caught everyone in the perimeter. The aftermath was just a pile of corpses and a small crater where the ball had landed first. No fight and signs of struggle were visible, it felt peaceful in an eerie way. This sight would cause anyone to shiver as it would seem inexplicable to them. No traces of magic could be found here. Their life came to an end without any magic at all. This thought alone would have scared most players out of their mind. But since there is no one, who had seen this extermination it would remain a mystery how their lives came to such an abrupt ending. Without a doubt, not a single soul of them would have expected, that this attack on them, came from someone not harbouring any sort of ill-will towards them. From Moirais perspective it was nothing more than the logical consequence that followed the actions they chose for themselves. In his eyes, their fate was negligible and only the explosion itself was of any interest whatsoever and even that was only met with a slight sigh. What his victims were to think about his lacklustre reaction remains a question, which is better suited to be left to the imagination. Even after they would have returned to the scene of the crime for a second time, they would be none the wiser what had happened to them. Moirai on the other hand just analyzed the results and thought about how to increase the efficiency of his bombs. The victims had just become a number in his hand and would forever remain that way. His focus was now placed on things he considered important and not as trivial as the group, who just happened to be part one of his experiments. After the flying ants had returned to the ghost town they awaited their next orders, that would surely come after all those experiments were not enough in the eyes of Moirai. It was hard to know what was currently going through his mind, as he watched the 8 people stemming from the table currently perpetrating doing push-ups without any magic empowering their body. No emotional change in his face could be felt as he silently evaluated the performance and things he saw right in front of his eyes. Entirely unaffected by his surroundings, he appeared to be complementing something in the back of his mind, leaving others questioning what he was planning. Even the people who spent a lot of time with him couldn''t say exactly what was going on in his head. But they could say one thing with complete certainty, that it was quite different from the norm. Tom, as the person who had accompanied Moirai for the longest time of everyone, still did not know what he could expect from the likes of him. All he knows, that he was enjoying the time he was spending with him and that he was a good person to talk to. Though even he would have not expected him to conduct such experiments behind his back as he was training the players right in front of them. He had high expectations of seeing these temple students in actions. It was not every day, that he could lay eyes upon something like this. Yet this training was just the tip of the iceberg that Moirai had prepared for those players. With the appearance of a smile on his face, he called out a short break, while the group of players fell to the ground gasping for air after every ounce of strength had left their body. But this was merely the beginning. 120 The abnormal trained by the anomaly 1 Tom had seen and read about many things in his life. He took pride in the education he had received under the tutelage of the Church. But even with all the knowledge and all of that experience he could not tell exactly what was happening in front of his eyes. Currently, the disciples of the temple were doing exercises, which in itself is nothing surprising, but doing such a strenuous task without mana was unheard of. The first attempts at following the orders of Moirai ended in a catastrophe and they kept on losing their balance as their faces crashed into the ground because their body gave in. This matter was not surprising to Tom, it was the shock visible on the face of Moirai that had caught him off-guard. Moirai seemed to be visually disturbed by the display from the secluded players. But why was he that displeased with them? Is it not common sense, that the body without magic is just weak flesh? He could only shake his head, he sometimes forgot that he still was in this simulation of a world long before their time, a lack of common sense was more than obvious from the likes of Moirai. It was a wonder in itself, that Moirai could possess this level of intelligence in the first place. Tom admired the ones responsible for the creation of this world and their ability to form something so lifelike. Even while being aware of the circumstances he still forgot about the circumstances surrounding himself while following the madness around that was known as Moirai. He finally understood why so many people willingly spend time in this kind of environment. Many valuable lessons and new perspectives came with all of the things he saw unfolding in his presence. Though he did not know that the things he considered to be normal, deviated by a lot from the experiences of every other player. Since he did not come into contact with any other players thanks to Moirais constant missions he did not ponder too deeply about all the things he witnessed. For him, this was just an everyday occurrence and something new that happened was something he looked forward to learning from. He was as much as an outlier as the other people he was surrounded by although he had yet to realize this detail. For the time being, he just pitied these poor players. " You might wonder why I force you to do something so utterly ridiculous. It is easier if I give you a quick demonstration. One of you come at me and attack me however you want. Do not hold back and use your magic" One of those temple disciples stood up as fast as his legs were able to and launched himself at his current teacher. But In comparison to the previous fight, something strange happened. Moirai threw an attack but then just dodged every attack that was thrown at him with ease. No matter what his attacker did he failed to connect even one attack. Everyone was surprised seeing this, looking back at their previous bet the fight had been a lot more even-sided and not as demoralizing as this one. He did not stand a chance as Moirai just emotionlessly danced around him. Tom was wondering why his aid did not use his full strength in the previous bout and took that many hits on his own accord, what was his motive behind that decision? Moirai was not a person, who would do something like this for fun or without any purpose in mind. What advantage would receiving so many hits bring to him? It was really hard to deduce, what the motivation for something like this might have been especially since he was currently doing the exact opposite of what he had done prior. If he had shown this level of ability from the beginning then the fight would have ended way earlier. Right now the previous fight full of tension had turned into a demoralizing demonstration, which caused the entire audience to have a serious expression on their faces. They clearly knew that the results would not change regardless of who would be fighting against him. It was a bitter realisation, but right now they did not stand a chance. Yet, the gap between their abilities became really obvious, once Moirai started to attack. A heavy kick to the leg of the disciple before he could stabilize his footing the next attack found his way into his stomach. Without giving him any chance to retaliate the flurry of attacks continued. The disciple was flinging his arms widely just trying to get a hit in but was still unable to reach Moirai at all. A knee strike to the face drew blood for the first time, but the show was far from over. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The body of the disciple was covered in attacks from nearly all angles and he was not able to fend them off despite trying his hardest. His nose caved in after a vicious blow from the elbow, his eyes began to swole after many attacks hit its target. Pained groans and ragged breathing escaped his teeth but there was no escape from the pain he currently was forced upon him. Blow after blow landed on the body causing everything ranging from bruises to cracked ribs. This painful experience became visible on the face of the player, who had been happy just moments prior. No one had expected, that this demonstration would turn out to be like this. Tom thought to himself, that the person right in front of him was certainly regretting the decision to volunteer right now and by looking at the face of Moirai, it did not seem like he was finished with it. This person was not the Moirai he knew, it was an entirely different NPC. His entire persona had changed, even the aura that he was currently emitting was fear-inducing. Tom found it strange, that Moirai could have such a side to him. How could a pitiful punching bag like Moirai, act like this, he could not comprehend how such a difference in character was even possible. The new side of Moirai appeared to not be interested in the development of the onlookers, neither was he truly invested in the fight he was currently involved in. No, rather than a fight, this could only be called a one-sided beatdown. Tom had to seriously reevaluate everything he knew about this NPC, which abilities he had underestimated. While the mana usage of the secluded temples was second-class and could not compare to real magicians, it was remarkable that a physical body was able to damage them, although it took him multiple attacks to reach such a result. In the next second Moirai, used his foot and pinned his opponent''s foot to the ground not letting him move an inch. Before his opponent could realize it, the next wave of attacks was approaching him. Despite his best effort, the unfortunate player could not escape from Moirai. Painful cries and yelps escaped his mouth as his body was bombarded with vicious strikes. Even the counterattacks had ceased as this unfortunate player had lost the ability to defend himself at all. This fact did not cause Moirai any concern as he resumed to beat at him mercilessly. Punch after Punch landed on his opponent leaving more and more lasting damage. In a blink of an eye, Tom saw a tooth flying straight out of the mouth after a devastating elbow strike had connected. A cry of pain and sorrow escaped his mouth as he began to spit up blood. Seeing this Moirai just removed the leg he used to pin his enemy and the body just dropped on the ground as if it was a puppet which strings had been cut. Moirai casually walked closer to the body that looked rather lifeless if not for the shallow breathing that could still be heard. Without giving the player a chance, another kick to the ribs found its way to the player. The resulting crack resounded through the area leaving the others dumbstruck. Could this still be called a demonstration? At the moment it rather felt like Moirai was adamant on taking the life of his adversary. Without any visible change in emotions, he stomped onto the chest causing a heavy and dull sound. Resting his foot on his body he began to explain. " What is your purpose? What do you fight for?" Absolute silence came in return, the crowd had yet to realize what Moirai had achieved and they found themselves unable to gather enough focus to take in what their benefactor was trying to teach them. " Why are you risking your lives? What are you willing to die for?" The voice hollered through the surroundings yet no one could muster a reply. Tom just watched on with a renewed interest. " Let me give you an answer. You guys are soldiers, you do what must be done. If you are told to crawl, you will crawl, if you are told to jump you will jump. An order is absolute and will be fulfilled regardless of the cost." A wicked expression appeared on the Face of Moirai as took a meaning gaze at the crowd of players that referred to him as benefactors. This expression did not mean any good for any one of them, but strangely they the exact opposite. Their mind began to race and the began to tremble in anticipation. This meeting brought two groups together that normally should have never met and without knowing it, they would become a lot more human, than they ever could have imagined. Moirai continued his speech as his mannerisms turned more and more savage. " We are not simple tools of murder, no soldiers are much more than that. We protect, serve and save others from danger and harm. We explore and scout the surroundings for others. When others have to retreat we stay back to let them escape safely. A soldier is all of this." This speech resonated deeply with the audience and gave them a new outlook on their lives. In this new outlook, they found themselves filled with determination. "Right now, you''re not a soldier. To become a soldier means to be ready to go through hellish suffering and painful training just to serve. Are you ready to take on this burden and call yourself soldiers?" They all nodded at the same time and began to swear loudly that they would not hesitate or falter. This vow came from the bottom of their hearts and contained all their convictions. In the end, they even bowed to Moirai, not daring to raise their hands before Moirai told them to. " But even if you become soldiers, do not lose your sanity. When you are told to stall for time, do exactly that but do not throw your lives away for next to nothing. Because even a soldier, is still someone and nobody should ever tell you otherwise." Everyone looked at Moirai dumbfounded after hearing the last words, why was he currently contradicting he had said up until now? If a soldier is meant to follow orders and is expected to give everything up simply because of an order, how can this kind of person even dream about having an own opinion? On Moirais face a genuine smile could be seen, as he resumed to explain his point to the confused listeners. " A soldier should follow orders without a doubt, but a man can only be strong and achieve the impossible when he fights for what he believes in. I do not ask you to become obedient tools, that just do what they are told to. Those tools will be thrown away once they have lost their purpose. " " There are many people who want to see me fall and rejoice in my misfortune. It took me a long time to figure out how to go on. I have decided for myself that I will never do these people the favour and give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. There is only one person I could trust and that was myself." "I myself was responsible for what became and will become of me. No one else will ever decide about me, that was and is my code." The crowd could not fathom the train of thought that Moirai had, but they felt that there was a lot of weight and pain underneath all of those words. They noticed, that although this kind of opinion was foreign to them, it still left behind a lasting impression. " That is my motivation as a soldier I believe in myself. So, if you want to succeed, do your best in the upcoming training and find something you deem worth believing in." These kinds of thoughts caused difficulties for them because they had never thought in this direction before. Worries of this kind were usually declared as God''s will and thus nipped in the bud. But they were earnestly searching for something they could put their entire trust in. " Once you have found that one special thing for you, you will be able to obtain the strength you seek. This is the result of finding my answer." Moirai slowly walked back from the body, that was still lying there without any movement and made his way to a house, that now stood empty. After a quick breath, he threw a punch at it and a loud and heavy sound reverberated through their air, the impact caused them to shutter thinking what might happen if an attack of that level would hit them. The house itself could not stand the immense strength contained in that blow and turned into rubble as it collapsed. Moirai looked rather pleased with the result but did not turn around to show this kind of emotion. He continued his speech without facing them. " Becoming strong means, that you have to surpass yourself over and over again only then can you consider yourself to be truly strong. Once you are content with your strength you have already lost the chance to become truly strong. Being complacent is not something, anyone of you should ever even dare to think about. Even I consider myself to still be a weakling." Tom looked at Moirai wondering what his aid truly was aiming for by telling those disciples all of this. Moirai turned around with a teasing grin on his lips as he spoke. " Break is over, give me another round of pushups without using mana" A groan came back as a reply, but they still did what they were told, but this time around there was a lot of more determination that could be felt coming from them. As for the poor disciple that had to endure the demonstration, Moirai had his thoughts and plans about his future. Whether being unconscious or the current training was the better alternative stands to question, which no one could truly answer. Only Moirai continued to smile at his new soldiers, while no one knows what exactly went through his mind. 121 The abnormal trained by the anomaly 2 - Moirai- " What a heroic speech, I felt my nonexistent blood boiling." said the voice inside of my head mocking me for giving such a lukewarm speech to these players about what it means to be a soldier. In a society where religion plays such a prevalent role in everyone lives, I will have to choose my words and the intent behind it quite carefully, otherwise, my heartfelt advice might become heresy in the blink of an eye. Telling them to find something to believe in, is certainly still agreeable with their world view. Luckily I do not plan on nailing 95 theses onto the Church door. I am sure they would not take too kindly on something like that. " Not even addressing my compliment I see how it is" continued the voice inside of my head, while I clearly tried my best to ignore it for the sake of both of us. I had spent enough time pointlessly arguing back and forth to conclude, that we could not see eye to eye with one another. That is what I would like to say, but the only reason preventing me from arguing back was the fact, that I currently had a task that required my full attention. So that left me with no choice than to temporarily endure the detestable voice of the tenant and to try to pretend that he did not even exist. The task at hand, that needed my entire concentration was not the training of the soldier candidates or the production of weapons, it was all about the oppurturnity that was currently presenting itself to me. The reason I had taken this demonstration level to this extent was not only to showcase them different strategies and the resolve they need to become a soldier. I could barely contain myself and not cut the body open right here, because I would be finally able to see one the inside of their bodies. In front of me lies a woman without clothes lasciviously moving her body, the tastiest fruit of the world in all its splendour, an oasis amidst the desert and yet these people still stared at me with big eyes preventing me from accessing my object of desire. I had the desire to yell at them and ask them what had been so difficult about finding their own personal motivation. Why did the birdbrain have so many difficulties following even the simplest orders? Was it too much to ask you to use your brain? Do I really have to offer everything in small bites just so you imbeciles can understand? Do you expect me to solve all of your issues for yourself? How can I get these idiots off my back and keep them busy as long as possible? I just want to do this one thing in peace, afterwards, they can annoy me as much as they want. Finding an activity that keeps them preoccupied is easier said than done. Telling them to do as many push-ups as possible would not work unless I kept staring at them. They were just like dogs seeking constant reaffirmation for everything they did. Sadly I could not use a leash to tie them somewhere. Their heavy grunting and exhausted moans were not making it any easier for me to come up with any valid strategy. Just running away and stealing their comrade is too childish and would not work at all. Cutting the corpse open in front of them, will not work without a really good explanation and what good explanation might there be for something like this? I would rather give up on it entirely, then ruining my chances with Tom and this group of players. Even if they had blind faith in me, the same could not be said about Tom. If I show people like him.something too.strange who knows what might happen. Cutting open a corpse-like avocado is not something any NPC would willingly do. If you saw someone doing stuff like that, some questions would inevitably come up. Even these weirdos would not leave this matter uncommented. Not to mention Tom, I have to be very careful and avoid that he gets wind of what I have in mind at all cost. A motivating speech is unfortunately not enough to convince him completely. A tear-jerking sob story would only earn me his laughter. But getting rid of him can be done with ease. While I do need to find a legitimate way to keep the players at bay, I will just have to sprinkle some half-truths at Tom, that would explain my sudden change in behaviour to him. Afterwards, I will just have to give him an important task, that only he can do and he is out of the picture. He will still feel important, that I have confined him in my secret plan and he will most likely not question everything else, if it is in accordance to the story I will come up. Figuring out a motive is also not that hard to figure out. Given the unique natural disposition of my group of fanboys, I can deduce that they are something really special. Who would willingly learn to use their body in a fight against monsters, when magic can be used from a safe distance. Well, it just means, that they either lack the talent to wield magic in such a manner or that this sort of arrangement has some sort of benefit I have yet to figure out. Their status can not below, otherwise, they would have been never allowed to set a foot into this world. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Strangely there are faint traces of contempt in the eyes of Tom whenever he takes a look at them. I can tell because he is showing the same kind of eyes to me. The feeling of superiority seems to be inborn and only gets amplified the more the social status rises. Even the weakest of the weakest I have encountered looked at me as if I was less then dirt, simply for being an NPC. " So what do you think about those crazy fools currently training under you?" They are an odd bunch, quite different from the usual player I have encountered so far. They neither discriminate nor have treated me any different the moment we met. This alone is enough to elevate them from the general masses. On top of that, they are capable of transferring the force of my punches into their own attacks. In general, it is very unusual to see people who mix magic with their body, as this kind of mixture is frowned upon by nearly everyone I had met in this world. What is even more interesting, that despite this kind of magical usage their general body is weak and just barely stronger than the average player. So how can their bodies be that empowered with magic and so weak without it? What difference does their body have compared to a normal player? I can not wait to see what it is inside of them. Sadly this naive bunch of people is too pure for this world. They would gladly throw their lives away for people who would not even remember them for a second. Even if I have to corrode them a little, I do not want them to get taken advantage out of. I know its a bit silly coming from me, but it is just something I want to do after I saw their pure behaviour and motivation. " Something like that is not strange, every being has some sort of drive. But your prior made me wonder, whether you truly had one. At rare occurrences like this, I am reminded that you still a human, despite your apparent lack of the good characteristics one would associate with humans." Save your breath I can imagine what you are implying. And yes I am aware, that you do not need to breathe as well. Human beings are a flawed existence but being one is truly enjoyable. I do not need any magic to be able to enjoy myself. Of course, the strength you provide is a good way to amuse me. " Humans would have never survived if not for the interference of those gods. What is the fun in being weak, if you can not even save yourself.?" Humans are weak without any doubt. Surviving in this world was not something the humans would have accomplished without the help of the Gods. Presumably, that is the reason why the act so entitled. Strictly speaking, all they ever did was being chosen by someone else. Why they even settled for humans in the first place is a mystery in itself. Knowing the history of mankind in my former world I doubt it was made because of their good morals. Correct me if I am wrong in that regard, I doubt the humans of this world are any better then the ones I accustomed to. " Humans? I never truly paid attention to them, they did not have any redeeming quality and after they were able to wield magic it was too late for me." Whether it spoke the truth to me, mattered little to me. Nothing would change whether he knew about humans or not. Just as my understanding of the "new" humans of this world, its understanding of the humans in my world was shallow at best. Nobody of us would give away their secrets willingly without any benefits and I was not willing to give away more knowledge of mine, for something that does not serve me any use. " As stingy as always. By the way, should I remind you, that you are still in debt? You own me 10 favour points" 10? For what? If you want to make me pay for my treatment then you are welcome to search for another body more suitable to your liking. Healing this body of mine is mutual interest, so I advise you not destroy the feeble trust we have to one another for something so minuscule. "Now I can understand, where your sentiment about the humans is coming from. What did they see in you guys?" Exactly. " HAVE I ALLOWED YOU TO USE MAGIC YOU DUNCE?" after a quick kick to the head his head found itself on the way to a sudden embrace with the ground. After I had taken care of the person trying to cheat, I had to make sure that the others would not do the same. " If I find another one of you guys cheating I am going to make an example out of him. Stop with the Push-ups, now give me squats. If you guys cheat you are only betraying your future self. So stop your whining and give me squads." After a quick demonstration showcasing how to do squads without mana I heard them suffering loudly while trying to follow through with my training. What lovable idiots. What are you doing? This is not a squad, this is just dry humping the floor. For the love of God, did you even ask for Mother Nature''s consent before shoving your genitalia into her face? After watching in horror as the ground got desecrated by the abomination of their attempt at squatting I was forced to get involved once more. " What the fuck are you guys doing? Apologize to the ground, for allowing you to still stand on it." Afterwards, I had them grovel on the floor and apologize for being such a failure. Since their desire to apologize was not that earnest, I had to teach them a little humility by stepping on their heads. Contrary to the objection of the voice in my mind, I had not lost it and just continued to watch over these people as they struggled to follow my instructions. This unreasonable actions of mine that have to be done for several reasons. First and foremost these people need to be able to endure humiliation and do not lose their resolve regardless of circumstances, training like this is a good start. My biggest advantage out of this little play of mine is that any unreasonable actions in the future will not raise as much attention from Tom If I play my cards correctly. I just have to remind him, that I am still a dumb NPC, that can not be compared to the likes of him. Sadly, I do not think he will fall my act and just wonder what I am planning by the way I am acting and I turn to grow even more suspicious. At most I will just have to tell him my plan to strengthen their resolve and conviction by letting them overcome shame and humiliation. While that may not be a perfect explanation for all of my actions at least it is somewhat feasible. Thirdly I could strengthen them by using more and more strength after they got used to it. If they can take punches from me, normal magicians will not mean anything to them. But this will take quite some time, so I am just going to do it until they are strong enough to fight with their bare bodies against monsters to save me a lot of work. There were a lot of minor benefits, like being able to vent my frustrations on them or the change to try out different attacks on them and I might make into killing machines. So just some minor advantages. But seriously those people have not even shown one ounce of resisting my attempts at humiliating them. I do not know whether I should be impressed by their acts or the sheer unworldliness required to not understand the implications of my actions. These people are so focussed on their honour, but why does it not show any effect whatsoever on this idiots? Seriously, what am I doing wrong here? Regardless of what I try to do, the people of this world always react in a different manner than I had not anticipated is my world view that different than theirs, that I am incapable of deducting their behaviour? It is so vexing to think, that I might come closer to understand them only to find out everything I do is useless. I am as close to understanding them as I had been at the start of this world. The only thing I know about the zeitgeist of this world is the high importance placed on honour. The fact, that I was unable to understand something I loudly proclaimed to be one of my strengths was not easy to digest especially by the constant mocking laugh in my head, that made fun about me and my foolishness. But since I was unable to use words against them all that was left for me, was to bond them with them in a way that transcends the common sense of both worlds. I walked straight to them as they still did squads and just joined in without saying a word. Although an exercise of this level was normally a waste of time, I still did it to join them on their way to become strong. Although no words were spoken and only grunts were exchanged, it was still fascinating to see how they are reacting to taking part in training like that. I refrained from putting a monster corpse to increasing the weight and just casually did the repetition without breaking a sweat. I looked forward to training with them and making them stronger, as for the people who had been beaten to a pulp he was knocked out cold. Although the itch to cut him open never truly went away, I prefer to train these guys. But just, as usual, this nice atmosphere was not meant to last. It was not like I had anticipated anything else, but what happened next was even a first for me. A visitor came into the ghost town looking eerily similar to me. 122 Looking into a really ugly mirror -Moirai- Not far from us was a figure who calmly walked to us not minding all the gazes that were currently aimed into the direction where he came from. He did not seem to be bothered with all of these eyes currently fixated on his body and was even humming a melody. I would not have cared about some player coming here to meet me, but I was a bit worried since burning hair is a bit special. Certainly, the fact, that this figure looked like a clone of mine made the process, not any easier And I have to say, it is no wonder, that everybody is trying to hurt me upon seeing me. This face looked really punchable and the smug expression, that he was currently having on his face, made even me want to inflict harm upon him. His face looked like the aftermath of a really bad car crash and not one thing on it looked aesthetically pleasing to the eye. From the crooked nose to the proportionally way too big eyes, everything made me feel appealed just for having laid my eyes upon it. The teeth were rotten and the skin itself had seen better days. How could anyone not want to put this thing out of its misery? Living with a face like that has to be a sign, that God does not love you. If he were any uglier the reality might have imploded and the universe would have ceased to be. What I am trying to say is, why is this NPC who has an uncanny resemblance to me looking so fucking hideous? How could anyone respect me or even listen to me, when I have a face like that? This is a visual attack on every onlooker. Anyone who invented such a design with a clear mind and yet said, yes, I agree, should be imprisoned. I mean, if that person had tried to create something that was an insult to all creation itself, he would have succeeded. It takes a lot of talent to create such a horrific and disturbing appearance. This Creator is incapable of feeling any morality or compassion, otherwise, he would never do this to anyone, even if the person is fictitious. Some limits should never have been crossed in the manufacturing process, but one look is enough to know that this intent has not been kept in the slightest. How can this abomination still have a smile on its lips? The only thing I expect is a tormented rattle and a desperate "kill me", a being of this kind would have to beg to be released from your suffering. Instead, he hums a happy melody as he comes closer to us without any worry in the world. I did not mind, that this something looked exactly like me. Even if my clone should never have seen the light of the day, it still had the courage to live on and that was something I could respect. What I do mind was the fact, that this vermin was like a mirror showing me exactly how ugly I really look. Why, just why did I have to learn, that I look like a troll that lives under a bridge? If these people keep on turning their heads between the two of us, I swear I am going to break their necks. This copy of mine had not said a single word, but I was already pissed off by its presence alone. " Relax it is not that terrible," said the voice inside of my head clearly gloating about my misfortune. Relax? My face is a crime that goes against everything that is holy and you tell me that it is not that bad? Not that bad? This thing needs to be wiped out of existence. Burned with the might of a thousand fires to be never seen ever again. Remind me, to not look at my reflection ever again, I do not want to see something so horrendous ever again. It is hard enough for myself to live with the knowledge, that I am one and the same. I should think about putting a mask on my face, to spare other people from suffering as much as I just did now. No one deserves such a fate, not even my worst enemy. Regardless of how desperate the situation is, I would never force this kind of burden on other players, I would rather die, then let another soul crumble through such an awful visual stimulation. Well if I am honest I would most likely try to weaponize it, but for my current narrative it is better to act the part, otherwise, you might think, that this face is really not that bad. Trust me it is as bad as I make it out to be, even though I am currently insulting myself, it still needs to be done. " Why do you sound more insulted by the fact, that you have such a hideous face, then the fact that there is an exact copy of you coming closer to you?" The fact, that you agree with my opinion is somewhat comforting me but also quite disheartening at the same time. The fact, that I am not very surprised by it, is simply due to the ominous words the Observer used when it talked to me about the upcoming event. Quite frankly I am not surprised by anything in that regard, a clone is still not enough to cause me any concern. Of course, this judgement can change in the blink of an eye depending on how similar this copy is to the original. Just because they look like me, does not mean that they are like me. Should they truly act and think like me, then I had much bigger things to worry about other than a bad taste in design. So I would rather make fun of my face then thinking about the implications that came with such a revelation. I doubt, that it is truly able to copy myself since it called me unique, but the possibility of something like this occurring can not be excluded and nothing prevents the Observer to shape this model to resemble me in their thinking process and in their behaviour. The issue at hand remains the same to what degree is it capable to mimic me? When my copy finally has ended his leisurely walk, this question can finally be answered. If my replication would not put so much emphasis on his importance, I am sure this ordeal could have been taken care of ages ago. Who is he even trying to impress with such a boring introduction? In the time he took up, he would have been killed multiple times by the magic-wielding psychos just for carrying my face. Either he knew that we absolutely would not kill him or he was sure that regardless of what we might do, that we would pose no danger to him. Truly conceited for someone who was supposed to be like me. I had always been someone to avoid potential conflict like a pest and he just casually walked into the lion''s den with a big smile on his face. Somehow this is not a grin that full of happiness no it was a grin born out of pure contempt. I had gotten used t expressions like that and they were not enough to agitate me anymore. Though seeing something like this one my face caused the sudden urge to wipe said smile out of it. But without enough information at my disposal, it would be wiser to wait and see what might happen. Who knows he might just want to get my signature because I am such a beautiful person on the inside. " Beautiful on the Inside? You are many things, but by no means, would I ever relate you to the word beautiful when talking about you. " True, you would have never settled for a good guy. Although they have many redeeming qualities none of them is of any use to you. Someone like you strives for absolute strength, so compassion is nothing more than an inconvenience. "Although you know next to nothing about me, at least you have understood a basic principle of mine. Even a lower lifeform like you should be capable of this much." Who needs enemies, when I already have you in my head? Who am I kidding I would rather have you stuck inside my brain when uptight magic proclaiming to act in the name of Gord always preaching about his warped sense of justice. Death would be a good alternative instead of going through that kind of torture. The voice would probably scream about my sinful thoughts and behaviour all the damn time. I do not mind others believing in Gods or other supernatural powers, but the moment they try to force their beliefs onto others, makes me lose all of the respect I might have had for them. " My humble self is called Moirai" after what felt like an eternity my copy had finally come close enough and started the conversation with a slight bow. At least, his manners were on point but he was still unable to hide the distaste in the voice, while he spoke to us. " Hello Moirai, how can I help you?" A neutral response was given from me, to see how he would react if I did not treat him as something higher or lower. Since his ego, seems to be as big as his forehead, it will be interesting to see how he would reply to something like this. " This lowly one has come here to witness something with his own eyes." While the content of the discussion might seem servile the voice was clearly showcasing hostility after hearing my reply. " I wish you the best of luck, so you might find what you seek. There are a lot of dangerous places, one can get lost easily." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Visible confusion could be seen on his face, as he tried to comprehend what I said to him. Hidden threats do not seem to be part of his vocabulary though. Seems like I will have to be more direct to get my answers across. " I found it but the outcome was meagre." The voice had returned to the usual tone full of contempt. I am truly sorry, that I did not live up to your expectations. Now I would get provoked by seeing this display of arrogance and a fight ensues. Seriously by now, everyone should know, that I hate being treated as if I had lost every functioning brain cell. " Dear holy maiden, with a face as angelic as yours, I am bewitched and am smitten by your presence. It would be an honour if you would allow me to bed you. I am sure this would be to your liking." with an indifferent expression on my face, I made him that offer. All in all, it was just an elaborate way to imply that he should fuck himself. " Yeah, as expected no spine and backbone." Cleary my copy did not get the memo, that the script had changed and it was still talking loudly and gave his all to provoke me. I am quite sure, that the Observer did not give them the correct translation of what I had just said to him, but one that suits the narrative, that it is trying to force into being. Sadly this will not work, if one of the key actors refuses to act his part and just keeps on saying weird stuff, that does not make any sense. " You see you are nothing more than a mere pawn, too stupid to think for himself. In your eyes, you might think, that you are in full control of your destiny and suffer under the illusion, that you have a choice. but regardless of what happens, you will never be able to escape from this fate. " "Even your so-called arrogance is just born out of someone else''s intention. What does the puppet say after hearing this kind of revelation?" I still did not change my voice or expression as I spoke to him. The content did not matter, it was all about the impression I left others with, the system or the Observer would change my words to fit the current situation. " But your fear and hesitation are just to be expected for being in my presence." said the Clone still trying to rile me up refusing to notice, that I was not even talking to it directly anymore and currently conducting my own play. " You try to provoke me and force me into something I have yet to know the repercussions of. But you do not even pay any effort to come up with something, that seems believable. Please do not tell me, that this kind of provocation is enough, to get others to blindly attack in this world." I continued but this time I around I showed an expression full of fear. " While they perceive me as a hairy ape, incapable of even the simplest tasks, you should not treat me as such. I think we are beyond a point, where we have to play psychological tricks on one another given the disproportionate difference between our power." " Tremble in my presence, you filthy creature" I was forced to suppress a yawn, that wanted to escape my mouth as I was forced to hear this kind of nonsense while I tried to convey a message to a certain someone. " There is no need to show my videos about Childbirth or some other weird dance in the nude. There is no need to try and make me believe that this kind of NPC just casually walks to this place without any purpose in mind. What''s the use for all of this mind games? I just do not get it." " Bow down to me." This noise was relegated into the background as I tried to find the correct words to get my points across without sounding like a whiny bitch. " Instead of wasting so much time and effort for such make-believe bullshit, just tell me what you want from me and we will make it happen without all of this trouble and stress. If you want to see how I would react in certain scenarios I would advise you to make it less obvious then this, otherwise my reaction will be exactly like this." I just turn around and returned to the dazed players and resumed the training. Actions speak louder then works. If my words get falsified I will just have to communicate non verbally. Under the confused glances from Tom and the players I just did my push-ups without any worry in the world. Everyone involved seemed at a loss, how this situation should be handled. Even the Observer must have been caught off-guard as my copy, stood there without moving just blandly staring at my physical prowess. The first person, who broke the silence was not someone in the close vicinity but the voice inside of my head. " From all the possible actions, yours was not something I would have considered. The humans in your world seem a lot more interesting than the ones who turned into these god abiding maniacs." All I want is to enjoy the time I spent here. Why do I have to waste my time, thinking about so many things, that could be solved by a simple exchange of words? Why is it necessary to send this copy of me, to show me how others see me? Is it trying to demoralize me? Is it just a showcase of his powers? I can not fathom, why he would go through all of that, just to show me how the world perceives me. Quite frankly I could not care any less what a random person on this planet thinks about me, but it really is annoying, if I can never be sure, whether the words I said, will be the ones they get to hear. Sadly I can not change this, without learning their whole damn language at first. " Yeah and we both know, it would be a waste to do so. Your life would certainly not end well if you decide to go against the Observers will. The stunt you pulled just now was quite risky as well." It was not risky at all. All of these players follow me willingly, unlike the others who would start a crusade upon noticing my location. So sending this clone of mine, would not bring that much attention and publicity with it. So even if I did go against his will, the repercussions of this decision are minor at best. The Observer might have full control over his sphere but it still can not force players do act like he wants them to. So it would be unwise to introduce this chaotic bunch, into this situation. At least this much can be expected from an entity, that governs this world. In comparison to its lack of importance it places on me, I spend a lot of thought about its intentions and thoughts. That is why I take so much offence to be treated like a small child. If it wants to take advantage out of me, fine by me, but please do not think it will be easy to force me to do its bidding. One day it will come back to bite you in the back. That is not a warning that is a promise. Because even if you take away my ability to communicate with others, I still have my ways, to shape this world in a way, that it certainly has not accounted for and I doubt this is the result it tries to achieve. Especially you Mr Tennant should know about the danger of the ideas, that are in my hand. " I truly advise against bringing this kind of object into this world." Of course, it is just a last resort, but some times the best threat is one of mutual destruction. While I lose my life, it has much more to lose. As long as I serve a purpose it should not care about what I do or how I think. This is just a little reminder, nothing more. I am sure, that it will notice what message I am trying to convey. Even if looking at the ugly version of me is quite an inconvenience, there is no way around it for the time being. The dumbfounded look on its expression was still worth it. Yet the situation was still far from over as in the distance I saw yet another silhouette approaching. It was a hulk of a man that just barely could be called human. Still, it had the same face as me and the first copy. If I had known, it would double down I would have just folded and play along. Now I am in for a ride, this will be quite something. The mere thought of how many versions of me might be out there makes me shudder. But did the Observer really think I would back down? Let us see who will back out here. 123 The more Moirai the merrier -Moirai- As I saw the mountain of muscle coming closer to us, I normally would have been a guard keeping an eye on the movement of my former version, but since I was currently acting atypical I did nothing more than continuing my training without a worry in the world. Although I could not deny, that I was interested in knowing how this mountain of a man would act. Would he be as arrogant as the current version that looks exactly like me or will he behave entirely different? It was truly a shame, that I lost the stones I had used back in the beginning. If given the chance I should rebuild that kind of weapon. FIghting with them felt truly wonderful. First and foremost it gave me the range I lacked while fighting against any kind of magic. Although my resiliency and the ability to take damage are beyond compare, I am still nothing more than a glorified punching bag. Looking back the multiple fights against strong players I could only shake my head and be thankful that I encountered them on their own. A strong body is useless when the distance between the targets is too wide. The fight against Laura was the perfect example of how much pain in the ass it was to close in on her. Fighting multiple magicians of her calibre would be my death without any doubt especially if these players would work together. Luckily the only teamwork I had encountered so far was the small fries ganging up on me and even that hassle ended up with me suffering. Of course, there are still several ways to kill players but times surely did not change in my favour with the arrival of the Churches. Before I think about fighting this kind of monsters I should focus on my recuperation. Though I still have no idea, how I should approach getting back to my full capabilities in the first place. The cleansing process and these blood-sucking leeches, which are still beneath my skin sucking my blood full of eagerness, are still impacting me negatively. That does not mean, that I will have to be careful and try to avoid every confrontation, but I can not exert the same level of strength I had before. Right now I struggle to break through a simple bone from a monster, which seemed laughable before. Even the countermeasures I have come up with to temporary strengthen my body, end up straining my body, even more, leading me into another precarious situation. It is counterproductive to hurt my body if I want to return my body to its former glory. Just looking at the behemoth I once was, made me a bit jealous about my current shape. This sentiment was not something that most inhabitants of this world would share, rather they would feel pure disgust upon witnessing something like this. If I could fling magic around I would probably feel the same way, but alas I will have to settle with throwing some kicks and punches. It is only natural that I am a bit envious about that kind of body, despite it being a walking target. It was not hard to miss when there is so much flesh to hit. Everything in this world has its drawbacks, regardless of how strong or useful it may appear to be. For example, every mage I have met so far has been blinded by their arrogance and did not use their strength to its full potential. Their lack of strategies born out of their dependence on magic is also a big disadvantage if they fight an enemy that not blindly attacks them. Should a monster come close enough to attack them they are done for. While this may sound like some kind of balance it was far from it. With their big reach, the magicians should be able to easily handle the monsters. Magic potential usages are limitless but the struggle against monsters is still ongoing. Which could be only be explained by outside factors, that have nothing to do with the magic directly. Either the amount of monsters is so much, that the magicians just can not keep up with their endless numbers. Or the absolute incompetence of the users themselves is the reason if they truly can not wield mana to save their life, it is not that strange that the monsters kill them so easily. That being said, the exact opposite might be an issue as well, if the requirements for magic are too high, then they would lack sufficient personal. There are too many possible explanations for such a scenario, especially if the so-called Gods or any other supernatural entity might also work as a reason. God spoke to me and ordered me to sacrifice my firstborn, who would dare to question my motive? Gods works in mysterious ways, how dare a mortal question the will of the Gods. Everything seems so easy when you do not have to think for yourself and just spew the same stuff over and over again. Each generation is forcefully taught the same kind of useless mentality, they follow this pointless way of thinking. Repeat this mantra day in and day out. Yet they seem happy while they are doing something so ridiculous. Yeah, I should not judge others based on my own experiences, what do I know about this world other than some rudimentary second-hand knowledge. Besides I had different things to worry about, for example, my muscle-loaded copy doing the same exercise right by my side. At least he was not as annoying as the first clone as I had encountered, but this version gave off a more dangerous vibe than the other. Not much noise could be heard coming from either of us, as we did push up after push up. What started as my attempt at acting strange had now become a silent competition between me and this mountain of flesh. Since others were not able to read the mood in the room, this competition became a group workout, where everyone tried to follow suit with our training. It did not take long before a sweet mix of testosterone and sweat entered my nostrils, at times like this I wanted to beat up any person, who wanted to make the experience this lifelike. It was hard to suppress my desire, to just go up and leave this place, but I managed to continue the exercise despite the protest of my nose. Yet the other Moirai did not show any signs of perspiration as he casually continued to copy my training. Given the training I had done back then, it was no wonder, that this was not nearly enough to cause him to break a sweat. This kind of muscles was the result of hard work and the help of the inhabitant from my body, that was not something that came to be because someone wished them to exist. Despite the fruitlessness of the current session, it still followed through with it, without any signs of hesitation or boredom visible on his expression. The first Moirai was still busy bitching at me, hurling insults and other cheap provocations towards me in hope, that it would finally succeed. I wondered what intention the Observer had showing me my clones. If the first represents my cockiness and the second one my perseverance and diligence, then how many other versions of myself am I going to encounter? What kind of character trait would the next one have? I still have some unique characteristics, that could be immortalised in an NPC. I would be quite happy if this would stay a possibility but knowing my luck the horde of Moirai is already running free. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Who needs a plague of frogs, when you can create copies of me. What implications something like this might have on this world are beyond my scope of expertise. Especially if those new NPCs possess the same regeneration and the power to negate some magic. Should I consider myself lucky, that the experiments regarding my self-made bombs have yet to finish? This kind of weapon should not fall into the hands of others. If these players or NPC got ahold of that technology, then who knows what they would choose to do. I am the only one, who is allowed to have fun with that kind of stuff. They have magic, I have my toys. If they get to conjure deadly spells out of thin air, I want no one to complain about all the stuff I do. Especially if I have to live through that much different crazy things. Today I get to know my copies in all of their glory and who knows what might happen tomorrow? it is really hard to make any plans for the future when even today is unpredictable. I am just a pawn in this game of the Observer. I was just kept alive, thanks to some purpose I serve, without even knowing what kind of. At most I can only speculate and I still do not have any idea whether my thoughts or theories are correct. In the meantime, another version of my self had joined in on the training. For a short time, I considered whether I wanted to think about what kind of personality trait it incorporated but discarded that thought right away because it was pointless to worry about details like that. Rather ironic, that I who was full of hope and self-confidence had such a negative outlook right now. What had changed, which let me into this path? Is it my recent lack of success, which brought me back to reality? Different worlds but fate seem interchangeable. This world as much freedom and possibilities it may offer is still a cage for me. The thing is I do not even seem to particularly mind that. Being restricted like that does not crush my dreams or my deepest desires. It was rather the confirmation, that nothing could be changed which hurt me the most. I felt a bit dejected after realizing my current situation but being dispirited by it was not something I could afford. If I did not have the means to fend for myself today, then I might have them by tomorrow. Clinging to such an illogical hope, was something I detest from the bottom of my heart, but it also means that I am still human. " It truly is amazing, that you can change your opinion that often. Some times you leave me wondering when you will stop changing." the tenant inside of my head proved once again, that he was unable not to comment every little thing I did. But what is wrong with being a hypocrite? Regardless of what happens to me, I am still thinking for myself. So if I want to trick myself into believing something unlikely than why should I listen to anyone else opinion? Think about me whatever ya want, but I am still my very own person. Nothing will ever change that, no Observer, no being that wants to surpass magic will be able to convince me otherwise. " Oh, I wonder, on what is that confidence based on? Are you not aware, that your replacement is currently being chosen?" If I am that easy to replace, it would have been done before. If it settles on the strong Moirai, the vicious one, the scheming one or in general some version of me, that would just prove its lack in judgement or my general uselessness in its plan. Settling for just one Moirai would be stupid, by limiting the characteristics to one, the authenticity starts to suffer. If you need someone with brutal strength then you would find one in the lovely fellow right by my side, but do you expect him to be able to command the ants? For every different purpose, there have to be a different Moirai with a different trait, otherwise, it would set itself up for failure. So if it plans on getting rid of me, deciding on a single replacement would be the wrong option. Oh, look at that here comes the fifth version of me. With big strides and an even bigger grin came it closer to us and began to talk to the Moirai, which had been complaining up until now. This must be the Moirai with the bad decisionmaking skills or the one who is prone to his lapse in judgement. Nah it must be the Moirai, who can not analyze a situation to save his life. Now I am sure, it is the Moirai, who desperately seeks a friend and only the annoying one listens to him willingly. They make a lovely couple. I wish them the best of luck in their shared future. Still, 5 Moirai is not nearly enough, there need to be a lot more of me to cover every of my untypical thinking process. After a short time, number 6 came and with it came another wave of questioning what it was copying from me. Judging by the fact, that it was wearing the same kind of gloves I had worn to battle, it was not hard to guess what it was trying to copy. Number 7 looked like me when I began to grow for the first time and was barely able to fight. Number 8 was the exact appearance I had when I spent so much time underground digging. His nails were sharp and made for digging and killing. I was quite sure, that this Moirai was the replica for that situation, especially since he came straight out of the ground. Number 9 was a Moirai who was missing a foot, the only time I had lost a foot was when I fought against the wolf for the first time, apparently, this one mimics the strength I had back then Number 10 did not leave any room to the imagination as he loudly proclaimed himself to be the only Moirai of relevance. I have no idea what it was supposed to embody, but I like him already. Looking at the distance I saw more and more Moirai joining in. Another place and another time and I would have most likely found my little army consisting solely out of me. Well, I am still interested in what will happen if so many copies of me gather at the same spot. I am quite sure everything will go wrong, that is just the running theme for me so it must be the same for them. Let me just hope, that is not going to be too troublesome to deal with. Who am I kidding, something is going to happen regardless of what I have planned for. This is just the way it goes, there was no escape from a fate like this as if a certain someone had already predetermined my fate. What might it be? I have no clue whatsoever. All I know is that the amount of Moirai currently presents is not something I would have expected even in my wildest dreams. But whether it truly was a dream or a nightmare was still a question, that needed to be answered, but not by me. It was time for a well-deserved nap. What might happen while I am not conscious? It will be fine, there can only be so much misfortune waiting for me. So what is the worst that could happen, I spoke to myself as my consciousness slowly drifted away, leaving me with a peaceful expression on my face. Who knows what would await me once I opened them again. Nobody noticed that I had disappeared among the crowd of Moirais before I had taken the nap. Everyone was just way to preoccupied with the surroundings themselves to pay attention to me. and my disappearance. Well having a bit of extra luck could not hurt. It was time for a well-deserved break. 124 Ambition? It was a weird scenery seeing so many copies of Moirai in the same place doing various things. Some were training, others were talking while some even decided to battle each other. Amidst this chaos, the sleeping Moirai did not draw any attention, even after he stood up again, no one bothered with him. Only a single Moirai walked closer to him and began to talk to him in an unperturbed fashion. which should not belong to an NPC. " It truly is interesting to see, his different reaction to this. Though I had hoped for something more than his usual ridicule. I truly wonder what it might take to break through his reserve." The Moirai, which had just woken up was not bothered by the atypical words the other Moirai had uttered. He gave him an acknowledging glance before he gave his reply in a reserved manner. " I find your fascination with him hard to fathom. While he truly has a lot of strong points, I do not see his potential merits to be big enough to warrant that kind of attention. His unique disposition will never come into fruition, regardless of what you and I try." The other Moirai looked at him full of indifference as he calmly waited for him to finish his statement. After waiting for a few seconds he began to speak once more. " A more suitable choice would have presented it sooner or later, but my attention on him is not born from the circumstances surrounding him. Currently, he is not even the only one I do look out for, but he is by far the one hardest to predict. The true mystery remains, why you settled for him." This question was only met with a slight smile and a soft head shake. " I would not call it a choice if there is only one option. So the explanation is nothing more than the lack of suitable alternatives. I find it amusing, that you try to insinuate something when there clearly is nothing to imply." His interlocutor did not seem to mind the sarcasm used in that context. It was rather the opposite, as he appeared to be a lot more interested in the conversation, despite the clear lack of change in his expression. " Still you appear to be not very displeased about your misfortune. It might have been a blessing in disguise and there is still more you are not willing to let me in on." This kind of accusation was treated as if it was nothing more than pure speculation. Giving away their secrets so easily was not something that would happen to oldtimers like them. " Rather than wasting my precious time thinking about what might be, I prefer to actually see what can be. Although choosing an idiot like this is at times quite regrettable." The last part of the sentence was only murmured, but the disappointment in his voice was still crystal clear, in it lied a sensation plagued by his humiliating experiences. He did not intend to dwell on thoughts of such a nature any longer and raised his voice again to suppress these memories once more. Yet a faint smile formed upon his lips as he began to speak. " Although the idea of mimicking the behaviour from my host is certainly an interesting method, I advise you to reconsider your approach. His behaviour is not the most rational and psychological stress which would leave others deeply disturbed just ends up as motivation for him:" This advice went unappreciated as the other party clearly did not pay any mind to his opinion. The other Moirai was seemingly more interested in watching his surroundings, then giving a reply. After a short period of absolute silence between the two, the communication resumed once again. " Only our interests align, yet you still try to advise me. I do wonder, what of that is for your own good and what was is the benefit of someone else?" " As much as I like the new things he has to offer, it is still not enough to compensate for the fate he is not able to outrun. This is nothing more than a temporary distraction. " " Of that I am sure, otherwise you would not be standing here and be able to talk to me." The threat was spoken nonchalantly but there was no room to doubt its authenticity. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the reply was only a heartfelt chuckle. " Always so serious, it is no wonder you found yourself bored in this kind of world. Truly not something to be envious about. I would take having a useless host over this kind of fate every time, but of course, we both did not have a choice in that matter for different reasons altogether." While they had been talking the other Moirai had not been standing still. All of the attention had been drawn from the audience, which still could not truly understand what was currently happening right in front of their eyes. Even if they were aware that they were currently in a fictional space, they could not fathom how so many versions of one NPC were currently active and doing various things. Some even showed a behaviour, that the initial Moirai had not even shown. Still, although it was something which they could not comprehend, they were trying their best to find the purpose behind it. But this task would remain unsolvable for them, because even the person, who these copies were based on, had absolutely no idea either. He could only speculate about the intention of the party responsible for something of this nature. There had been many things he had seen and lived through in this foreign land, but this sight left even him speechless and unable to rationalize exactly what was happening. The act of going to sleep was nothing more than a silent admission of defeat. It was a rare sight to see him going to sleep without his body forcing him to due to injuries. In fact, it was so rare, that it was the very first time for him to do so on his own volition. Nevertheless, none of them had noticed this detail as they started to discuss several topics not related to the previous one. These ranged from their view of certain players to the realism in this simulated world. But no one in their near surroundings noticed this strange conversation amidst the general chaos. One Moirai was already enough to gather a lot of attention and having so many versions in the same place could not end well. Absolute pandemonium was the only logical consequence when this much insanity was amassed in such little space. Brawls broke out left and right due to different opinions or other reasons which would not make much sense to the outsiders. Although this madness was merely the beginning as more and more Moirai came towards this huge group. It was no use to count their numbers as it was steadily increasing with no end in sight. Each of them was a mix out of traits, that the original Moirai had shown and this detail was a recipe for disaster. While their looks and behaviour were strikingly similar to the original, they lacked one thing and that the thought process of Moirai. Without adapting their actions to the circumstances they were bound to fail horribly. Despite the abundance of eyes no one noticed the small red circle slowly widening beneath their feet, as the group of Moirias formed as more and more arrived. This ghost town had turned into a living hell made solely out of clones. Except for some poor lost players who were rooted to the spot not knowing exactly what was currently happening to them or their surroundings. One Moirai had been scary in its own right, but it was hard to put in words what they felt staring at this wave of NPCs, that did things that they could find an explanation for no matter how hard they tried. The different worldviews began to clash anew, leaving them behind with their mouths wide agape unsure whether they still could trust their own senses or if they were just witnessing an illusion. A development like this was not something any sane person would have expected. Not much rationality was present in it either way. This would never have happened if several seemingly impossible coincidences had not come together against all odds. Even if miracles are not uncommon in a world full of magic, something like this is more than just a peculiarity. This could not be explained by sheer faith and goodwill. Even the prayers, that were silently spoken in the back of their heads would not be of any help to them. Their effort remained futile and their pleading unanswered. It was apparent that they did not manage to reach the Gods with their earnest cry for help. Though it was not like they had expected a reply from their Gods in the first place, rather it was the last option which they good resort to. It did not seem like, those NPCs were interested in their state of mind, as they just continued their activity regardless of what they thought of them. They appeared to be much more interested in other things, some even had started to hunt monsters. The red circle on the ground was spreading ever so slowly and nobody took notice of its existence. Whether said knowledge would have had any impact on their decision making will remain unsolved. This huge group of Moirais was not something which acted based on thought and reason, at least not judged from an outsider''s point of view. Just like any other creature they acted based on their mood and their instincts. A situation like this would never happen in a civilized society. The question exactly what a civilized society is would receive vastly different results depending on who is asked this question from this huge chaotic group. Some might even ask you back, what society is in the first place others might give an answer, that would let them end up getting burned for being a heretic. The potential heretic in the making was currently out of commission and therefore unable to see just how many copies of him had come together in this small space. Not that anything would have changed if he had been aware of it. No, the original Moirai was currently having an intense discussion session on his own. But this sort of discussion was just as brutal as the one the copies are having, just a bit less physical. A flame was currently haunting it and forcing Moirai. to give his all just to barely avoid getting hit by it. Without any chance to catch a break another flame came closing in on him aimed directly at his face. Yet Moirai looked at the flame without any worry in the world and just tilted his head to let the flame pass him by. Not any second later he jumped forwards to avoid the flame, that flew at his former position. He did not stand still and kept on moving to avoid the flames that came from every possible angle right at him. Still, there was no trace of distress visible on his face, regardless of how bleak the current situation appeared to be. His movements did not look refined as he struggled to dodge the attacks, that had increased in frequency. Despite this change, it still did not seem like Moirai was perturbed in any way. Rather he looked displeased as he could not keep up anymore, after barely dodging yet another wave he was caught off-guard and hit directly at his right shoulder. Afterwards, all of the flames retracted and Moirai was shaking his head, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome. Right in front of him appeared a big cluster of flames, which just floated in front of him as if it was waiting for something. Moirai looked at it without any big change appearing in his countenance. " While I do have improved I am still a far cry away from being able to stand toe to toe against anyone from this world." A big sigh escaped from his lips as he confirmed the cruel truth. " Quite pathetic, I would not even dare to utter those words if I were on my own. All of my success is just built on the goodwill of those 2. Do they think I really did not notice?" A mad chuckle came from him as he continued to speak casually to the Flame that just levitated right in front of him. " If they want me to believe, that I managed to live through all of this solely thanks to my inborn instincts, then they should have made it a little more believable. Someone like me, with next to no prior fighting experience, just wins over the most talented magic wielders and I should not get suspicious about that?" The voice was full of sarcasm and his entire demeanour was radiating a form of mocking, though it was not apparent who the target of it was. But the flame still remained silent entirely unaffected by the spoken words right in front of it. " The spells that luckily miss me or the fact, that each spell that does hit me, just deals enough damage, that I can still fight on. Oh, how fortunate I must be for just being able to barely survive such a situation, which normally would have been a death sentence for me. I truly seem to be favoured by the Heavens." " Since when?" The flame only said those 2 words, but its previous stance had been broken. A vicious smile appeared on Moirais face. " Does anything change, if you know when and how I started to question everything? If so, then it was from the moment of my arrival. Everything did not make any sense to me and it still does not even today. So many contradictory statements and information, only a fool or a lunatic would not dare to question them." " You might know of my origin, from your partner in crime. But let me say it like that, where I am from magic and the likes do not exist. Therefore I find it hard to place any trust into something I do not know anything off." The flame did not react at all and was just silently listening to the words that crossed Moirais mouth. It was hard to judge, what kind of thoughts were currently running through it. Moirai did not seem shocked by that behaviour as he just continued to voice his thoughts. " Becoming a pawn to their ambition was inevitable, it was a fate I could not escape from no matter what I had tried. In your eyes, I am nothing more than a simple plaything and I see nothing wrong with that." " But tell me one thing, with all their ambition why are the still trying to fool me. I have stressed multiple times just how much I value honesty and that I know of their grand ambition so why do they still insist on treating this in such a way?" A short pause yet no reply came back. "You, the entity responsible for the cleansing should know a little bit more. It still might be part of an elaborate ploy but just waiting for my demise is not something that suits me. In this world, I have no hidden agendas, no ambition which dictates my life, no rules and principles to follow. " " I have nothing that ties me to this world, no family, no friends. I am a foreign object in this world. But yet still I stand right in front of you telling you all of this, does it not seem abstruse to you? For someone who has no motivation and no obligations, is it not a bit strange? No reply. " An apathetic coward, with no value outside of his knowledge. Someone who does not fit into this world, due to the lack of several critical abilities. No magic, no talent and no knowledge about this strange little dimension and its underlying principles. " No reply. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. " Someone who is made out of a substance, which is rejected by magic, should not even exist in the first place. Or was I mistaken, that the magic you aimed at me did me no harm? Which begs the question why do I have a body in the first place, if magic can not mix with me at all?" No reply. " Is your magic too weak? Someone of your calibre should be able to hurt me, even if you weaken your magic after all magic is not something that exists in my world. So how should my soul be able to cope with it?" No reply. " It is amusing to know that my entire body suffers whenever I do get hit by a spell, but somehow I am still immune to magic if it solely affects my soul, does that not seem illogical to you? Are the soul and the body not entirely linked? Why else should I feel something, when my body is stimulated?" No reply. " I seem to miss some crucial information, otherwise this entire thing seems like a mountain of lies. So what am I?" No reply. " It is not like I expected you to give me an answer in the first place, nor was I interested in knowing the details. Nothing would change even if I am aware of my circumstances. Both of them still will use me as if however they deem it fit and discard me the moment I have lost my usefulness." No reply. " Why I even said all of this to you can be summed up with ease. I do not need ambition or lofty goals to do something for myself. it is that simple." No reply. " Shall we just resume my practice, I want to improve my own capabilities at least, although I might never come close to the likes of you, it still feels good to improve myself." No reply, but another wave of small flames started to rise and flew towards Moirai with a moderate speed indicating the start of the new training session. No particular change was visible on the flame after hearing all of this, but the flames it emitted seemed a lot stronger and vibrant. Moirai smiled upon seeing this chance but did not comment on it, even if he wanted to he had no choice other than to dodge the flames that were hurdled at his position. It was only a matter of time until he was hit again despite his best effort. But this time around a painful sensation ran all over his manifested soul. Instead of crumbling under this pain, the smile on his face only grew wider as he screamed to continue the practice once again. Sometimes no words were necessary to convey a message. This strange event did not draw any attention from the Observer or of the entity living inside of Moirais head, as those were still busy discussing their plans amidst the ever-growing crowd of Moirai copies. Only the red circle was expanding ever so slowly... 125 Finding Moirai 1 Although an entire town full of Moirai was a sight to behold, in a world big and vast it was nothing more than a shiny speck of dust. This remote village was abandoned after each NPC, which had lived in it, had been enslaved by the player base. In the following times, there were no players left, that came into this town since everything precious in it was gone by then. This ghost town turned into the base of Moirai. That is why such an attention raising event, the arrival of so many strong NPCs did go unnoticed. Everyone else had just been busy scouting the entire map for suitable candidates and no one bothered to search in a place, which was devoid of NPCs in their eyes. Without a doubt would the status quo not last, should the players be aware of the current occurrence taking place at this spot. The resulting craze from the players would surely not pale in comparison to the chaos already present. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Though the recruitment process would be vastly different because their behaviour and attitude were based on the original. It would take a lot of convincing to reel in just one of them and that is if you are lucky enough to talk to a version, which is calm and collected. Judging by the many brawls and battles it was more than a rarity to find something like that amidst this still growing group of NPCs. Some even had brought in monsters carcasses and then taunted others to hunt bigger prey. Which prompted a chain reaction, that caused more and more monster carcasses to cramp up the already stuffed town even more. Like an angry swarm of locusts, they ran over the lands trying to search for prey and if they lacked in quality they started to aim for quantity. Not only did these copies boast about their ability and taunt others to surpass them, but they also used several objects near them to prove their strength. Whether they destroyed houses, trees or bones was of no concern to them, as long as they others could witness their raw and brute power. Everything in their close vicinity was bound to suffer as more and more Moirai came together. The ever-expanding red circle had yet to be noticed by anyone involved. Still, life had returned into the otherwise silent and calm town and brought with it many strange things. Although it was up to debate, whether that sort of "life" could be considered a wonder or the byproduct of sheer chaos. Between the two it was hard to tell, which option was the correct label. Because in the end, no description was enough to detail all of the current madness. The players who could follow this spectacle directly in its heart were helplessly overwhelmed by the multitude of different actions, all of which seemed crazy to them. They kept wondering where the purpose was in their presence. There was no suitable answer to be found and this could be said about many of the questions that popped up in their minds. The behaviour of the first Moirai that came into their lives had already been mysterious and thought-provoking. Being confronted with an army of clones certainly did not make it any easier for them. But while the tracks of one Moirai were hard to find especially if he tried his best to avoid leaving any, then the exact opposite applied to the horde of Moirai running in the wild. Something of this magnitude was bound to attract attention from just any player who lays his eyes on just one Moirai he sees. The likelihood of encountering a player is especially high considering the current behaviour of those NPCs. Not only were they covering a wide area in search for their prey but also due to their appearance differing from the average NPC drawing even more attention towards them. While flaming hair certainly was not a necessity to attract players like a fly it certainly did not hurt. If that was not enough, having such a huge frame would do the trick. While not every Moirai looked the same. they shared enough similarities which allowed others to draw the parallels to the original. And with the current craze and the high demand for special NPCs, this was nothing more than a ticking time bomb, which would blow up sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before this already messy situation would escalate to a whole new level. So it was no surprise when the first players caught sight of strange occurrences which took place in some distance to the city. The sorrowful cry of monsters caught their interest and they followed the noise until the stumbled upon the strange sight of seeing an NPC killing a monster gruesomely. As logic dictates they did the only thing any sane normal person would do, they ran towards it and tried to hire it. The clone was rather unimpressed by this sheer display of courage and deemed it as an act of provocation much to the dismay of those players, which cost them their lives. Since not bowing down in the face of the adversary was a trademark for the player base they began to try anew. They came to the conclusion, that the must prove themselves to the NPC, otherwise it would not have ended their lives in cold blood. While they had never encountered Moirai personally, they had learned enough about him from second-hand information. When an NPC even refuses the noblest and strong players, then they must do something to convince him. Since laying their lives down was not considered enough in the eye of the NPC, then they simply have to prove their mettle to the NPC. In a move, which was devoid of any reasonable decision making, they continued to spend their time with sacrificing themselves to Moirai, in the delusion, that they might obtain his approval. Not only they were wrong in their thinking in the first place, but also they did not even meet the same Moirai again. In the time it took them to respawn and come back to the place, where they had met the object of their desires, it had already moved to another place and their search had to start again. This development did not raise any suspicion in either party involved as both seemed to not mind it. The Moirais deemed this interference as a simple waste of time, which stood between them and showing off their prey to the rest. While the players saw in it the oppurturnity of a lifetime, which could not be obtained without investing a lot of time and effort into the matter. Strangely enough, this was not limited to a select group of players, it happened quite a handful of players who tried to uphold the utmost secrecy about this, to not get any competition. They seemed to think that they had struck gold, though none of them seemed aware how much this was happening simultaneously. Due to the absurd amount of Moirais running through the land finding one did not take a lot of time once the initial location had been found. Because of a lone wolf mentality players were only able to locate one Moirai at a time. It came to no surprise, that they found themselves unable to recruit anyone of them, no matter what they did but that did not stop them from trying. Not at all, it rather fueled their determination. The pay-off must be worth it if its requirements are that high. While their motivation bordered on insanity, they still tried to act as nothing happened to them as they found excuses for every activity or promise, which would stand in their way. They would not let anyone or anything obstruct them from obtaining their well-deserved price. Although Moirai could only be hired by a single person, they tolerated the competitors they knew off, rather than getting rid of them, otherwise, they would risk that the news would spread. Everyone was painfully aware, that they did not stand a chance should the people of the Church become aware of the sweet temptation that was Moirai. Gritting their teeth, they had to give their all to win over Moirai before they had lost the chance at making an impact on the tournament. This was their one-way ticket to fame and they were unwilling to give up on it. Despite all of this conviction, it did not seem to be of any effect to any Moirai whatsoever. They were just casually killed once they closed in on Moirai in hopes of winning him over. Since their target was always on the move, they had given up on trying to reason with him. Leaving them with no other choice, then trying to leave a lasting impression on him by attacking him. No one thought about killing him, no with their lacking talents, this was an impossible matter for them. Their intention was to simply convince Moirai off their sincerity in hopes of winning him over. Of course, the Moirai regardless of character trait was having none of it and took care of the flies, that kept on throwing themselves onto them. It was nothing more than a mere nuisance, that did not even take up a lot of time. All it took was one simple punch and the potential trouble was gone in an instant. Even if the trouble came back once more, it would just lead to the same outcome. Moirai was way too eager to prove his superiority to the other Moirais then to pay any attention to the small fries which occasionally popped up in front of them. Ascertaining who is superior was of much higher importance. No one would bother with something so insignificant. The horde of Moirais venturing out of the town on their path to supremacy was the foundation for the seemingly neverending motivation of those players. Although their dedication and their unwavering will were bound to never work out for them. Especially since those players dropped everything left and right, which caused suspicions left and right. It did not take much until people started to question the excuses the players had come up with. It also did not help, that some players decided to trade their knowledge in exchange for potential favours. While no one would willingly throw away such an oppurturnity some were willing to settle for obtaining something good by sharing the news with influential people. Despite the vows of secrecy, it did not take long before nearly the entire server base had become aware of the precious NPC. Although every party involved acted as if nothing had happened to prevent others from finding out about the secret news, it did not change the fact that it had become an open secret. Yet, due to the circumstances, everyone thought, that they were still the only one. The status quo only remained due to the different locations where each informant claimed to have seen the previous NPC. That is why people from the Churches and the strongest players could arrive at the scene without coming into contact with one another. But the entire situation was not meant to last, especially since an NPC of Moirais calibre was more than an enticing. After coming into contact with the specific group of players, which had found Moirai, they started to scout the area for tracks and traces of him. After the rest of the group had been reimbursed to keep quiet, the search for Moirai started. This was not limited to a single place as more and more players had started their endeavour to locate Moirai. The treasure trove full of Moirais and the strong players was not something which would be able to mix well once the would come into contact with each other. The first contact between those 2 parties ended in a heavy clash, which could not be compared to the previous bouts. It was not an easy task to take down a Moirai in a prime condition even if he was facing a small group of highly talented mages. The groups the Moirais saw themselves confronted with consisted out of a select few mages. because no relevant party wanted to share their potential find with the competition. While every small-fry was quickly taken care of, the truly strong enemies were capable of fighting Moirai to a standstill. This was possible due to their abundant fighting experiences or their general talent. Due to the versions of Moirai mimicking the behaviour and tactics of the original no one had noticed, that they were currently fighting a copy. Battles like these were no rarity as they occurred all over the place. The people who had previously dreamed about convincing Moirai to join them could only curse at their lack of ability. They did not have the necessary qualifications to even think about contending against the truly strong. But the multiple conflicts were nothing more than a prelude. As more and more Moirai approached the Ghost town coming from all directions. In return, this led to many skirmishes more as those cast aside players came into contact with the oppurturnity of a lifetime once more. The clones were adamant on reaching their destination and they did not react too kindly on the obstruction they were currently facing. Using force to pass their way through was the logical consequence after being bombarded by magic spells. This time around no one was holding back anymore, as this was their last shot at obtaining the rare and special NPC. Screams could be heard all over the place, as the NPCs collided with the player base over and over again. Everyone had found the "real" Moirai and they would stop at nothing until someone got ahold of him. Nobody would have thought, that so much Chaos would be produced by a "single" Moirai, as the game developers could only watch on in horror as things started to spiral out of control more and more with each passing second. The question of what was to happen should 2 players groups come too close to one another. is not something that requires much thinking. The moment those 2 groups come into contact with one another and once it has become clear what their aim is, then there is no turning back and the bloodshed shall begin. Meanwhile, the real Moirai was still training totally unaware of what was happening on the Outside. Not knowing of the danger closing in on the city or the red circle which was enveloping more and more of the ground beneath the ghost town. Nobody knew exactly what kind of trouble was looming over the small abandoned town. But so many Moirai and so many players was by no means a good combination. There was only one outcome, which would result in this situation. It is going to be pure and utter mayhem and there is absolutely no alternative to this kind of development, it was predetermined. This is the path that can not be avoided. 126 Finding Moirai 2 The ghost town was bustling ever so full of life as if nothing had ever happened here. Many strange scenes took place in it, which would leave any outsider more than speechless. Even if someone was capable of solving this mystery, understanding the implications behind it is not something that anyone could comprehend. It would require a lot of elusive information which go against common sense to even have the faintest sliver of a chance to understand the reason for all of this. Not only was it rare that an NPC had been cloned numerous times, but also that those clones were showing different traits and behaviour. The original on its own had been the cause for many truly thought-provoking events. Unleashing more of it onto the world of Primal Survival was bound to create a heap of trouble. The danger it posed was still in its infancy, as most clones seemed to be preoccupied with following a weird routine. They were in a horizontal position and kept on moving their entire body up and down with the help of their arms. What had started on a whim by Moirai himself had turned into a group exercise in which nearly every Moirai still in town was participating in. It was a simple movement, which every one had taken a liking to as they resumed to do it meticulous and full of care. The players had discarded their previous wariness and joined the NPC in their effort. Even Tom, who still could not make sense out of the situation, was currently trying his best to copy the movement of the NPCs. Now it was the 2 Moirais, that had the previous secretive discussion, which stood out like a sore thumb, leaving them with no choice but to continue their talk, while following the current trend. Although they did so albeit with displeasure clearly visible on their faces. They even murmured something about being forced to follow in the footsteps of a human. Any outsider stumbling on the scene witnessing something like this would seriously contemplate and doubt their own senses. A sight like this was not something which had ever taken place in or outside of this world. Seeing a horde of NPCs in all shapes and forms doing the same exercise with their body over and over again would be a cause of concern even for the one who had started this kind of movement. But while the activity in the town had changed that did not mean, that they had stopped trying to prove their superiority to the rest. Loud remarks and baseless claims were made trying to discredit others while flaunting their own strength. Which prompted a strange competition in which Moirai tried to surpass others in the new exercise everyone was currently doing. They did not stop trying to taunt others while they kept on doing the repetitive movement over and over again. Since those NPCs were based on the original Moirai, this kind of taunt had the reverse effect as they were even more motivated to surpass the others. Despite the fact, that that kind of training was useless for most Moirais they still did it without complaining. All of them were possessed enough strength that it would not have any effect on them. The exercise was done by Moirai in the first place, to create a suitable body for his fighting. None of them did have the ability to heal and regenerate as Moirai, that is why such an exercise would not have any short term benefit. Whether it was due to the social pressure exerted by everything one else doing it or the fact, that they had nothing else to do, they still continued to do push-ups. While the Moirais on the outside of the city were causing fighting and disturbances wherever they went, the people on the inside continued to do this leisure activity. Upon their arrival in the city, they had quickly adapted and begun to mimic the behaviour of those who had arrived before them. Which caused a chain reaction that ended up with hundreds of clones copying the movements shown in front of them. It did not stop at that as the stream of Moirai approaching the town had yet to stop. Despite it being heavily restricted numerous players currently battling a version of Moirai trying to capture it. They were still some that arrived in the town and joined in on training. Those who did join the training went out of the city to hunt monsters or other materials in an attempt to prove their strength to others by different means. Which resulted in the other strange sight which would leave anyone seeing it dumbfounded. in the outer perimeter of a town, there was a vast amount of materials, which should not have been there, especially not in such astronomical numbers. Monster corpses, trees and rocks, everything which had not been rooted in the solid ground could be found strewn across the floor. These poor monsters did not know what they had done wrong before their lives had ended in cold blood and the corpse ended up in this abandoned town. From small to big, from weak to strong every kind of monster could be found amid this mountain of materials. But the part that others would deem weird was not the display of monsters, it was rather the ungodly amount of wood that was now in this town. Why a certain Moirai decided, that beating down defenceless trees over and over again was the distinctive proof for his strength was not something which anyone could fathom. The moment he had set his eyes on a tree its fate had been sealed. The previous lush surroundings full of trees were now getting more and more barren, as this special version of Moirai was treating the path of vengeance against the flora and fauna. They were no signs of anyone or anything stopping this kind of behaviour any time soon. This weird target was only surpassed by another set of Moirais which had decided to target rocks. Where they had managed to find rocks of this size was unclear in the first place. But looking at the destroyed soil in the near surroundings it was not hard to imagine, where they came from. The surrounding nature was more and more altered as the plague of Moirai ravaged through it. There were no signs of this treatment stopping any time soon. The threat of the players was kept at bay by the Moirias which had ventured out even further to hunt monsters and the clones which were still walking to the town. Enslaving an NPC of Moirais calibre was by no means an easy feat to achieve, the NPC was truly not interested in listening to any kind of proposition or desperate plea whatsoever. It also was strong enough to fight against multiple mages equally. It also did not help, that some players were hesitating to use their full strength to not destroy the chance to obtain it through other means. It also certainly did not help their odds, that feelings of frustration started to build up inside of those Moirais since their plans had been disrupted over and over again by that pesky players. Every attempt from players to hire Moirai was met with blatant refusal and the person who had made that decision drew all the ire of Moirai onto him. This left many players wondering what needs to be done until Moirai is willing to become their subject. Every approach from their side ended in failure or with multiple profanities hurdled at them. This was another trait, which nearly every Moirai had taken over from the predecessor. But they did not merely copy the insults from the original. No, they had perfected their craft and used insults, that were deeply hurtful and fitting perfectly onto their target. While the original Moirai still had not grasped the cultural norm with all of its associated values, the clones were able to take full advantage out of said knowledge to slander the enemy to their heart''s content. The provocations which formerly had been nothing more than child''s play had been weaponized much to the dismay of the players which found themselves under the verbal wave of attacks. It was a first for them as well, seeing an NPC that treated them like that. That is why it came as no surprise that emotions started to get involved the second their honour had been tarnished. Whether a peasant or a member of the Church, the importance placed on the upkeeping of honour was highly important. Seeing the white in their eyes and the apparent loss of any rationality it was more than obvious that all of their words had successfully angered the players. Only the players who had come into contact with the cheap provocations already were just barely able to resist the improved version. Even Samantha and Laura wondered whether it was still the same Moirai, the one who had taken the cowards way out in their last encounter. How can someone like that possess such a vile tongue? This question echoed in their minds as they tried to keep calm and force him to become theirs. The seemingly impossible task of finding Moirai had been easily solved just like that. Some minor figure, of some soon to be forgotten noble lineage, requested some special treatment in the next selection process for the training their families provided and it was done. It did not take long for them to find Moirai in all of his glory. Although judging by the expression on his face, he was entirely unaffected by their arrival. Instead of the usual taunting and strange acts, the NPC just walked past them and did not bat an eye to their presence. The NPC did not react at all to their words and declined every one of their offers. It did not even react to the invitation of a fistfight. Every attempt at conversation was met with absolutely no reaction at all. It was as if the Moirai in front them had no recollection of them and treated them as nothing more than air. There were many details, that did not add up given the behaviour of this Moirai. His mannerisms were the same without a doubt. But his body was a lot more muscular and his height had increased by quite a margin. This caused Laura to doubt the intel from their source of information but the undoubted truth right in front of their eyes did not leave any room for doubt. The status of the NPC was the same. Name: Moirai Race: ??? Age: ??? Status: Can not be determined Health: ??? Mana: ??? Strength: ??? Intelligence: ??? Dexterity: ??? Endurance: ??? Faith: ??? Samantha managed to dispel the last of her lingering doubts by reminding Laura about her first encounter with Moirai and his muscular frame back then. Although this still could not explain the outward indifference shown to them. Reading the mind from Moirai left Laura even more dumbfounded as in it was only a constant stream of thoughts related to trying to surpass the others. Who the others referred to could not be determined as Moirai was not having any other thoughts in his head. Which was just as weird as he normally would have made a snarky comment since he was aware of her ability. But the proof of him being the Moirai was right in front of her eyes, so she put every worry aside and focussed on obtaining Moirai. The other stuff could be taken care off after Moirai was finally in their grasp. Although this matter was by no means achieved with ease given their history with that NPC they were painfully aware of exactly how hard it was to deal with this NPC. Since it did not show any indication to react to anything they said, they resorted to magic to get its attention. The former minor annoyances were not enough to warrant a reaction but once magic had been involved Moirai had no other choice but to react. Instead of a longwinded speech Moirai just ran towards them without any shred of hesitation. With fury in his eyes, he began to throw his attacks. It did not take much effort for Laura and Samantha to dodge these attacks due to them forcing Moirai to halt his attacks thanks to their magic. But the clone was not interested in stopping at that as he launched his body forward once more to close in on the 2 girls. His movement was greeted by yet another wave of magic coming into his direction forcing him to dodge the attacks once more. Seeing that his initial approach did not hit a mark, Moirai switched tactics and started talking to them using vicious remarks trying to rile them up and make them lose focus. That did not mean, that he stopped trying to attack them though. Sooner or later they could not avoid taking it seriously and using all of their magic to the full extent as Moirai had continuously used more strength and speed in their battle. They did not remember Moirai to possess this level of ability. The words it spoke were weighing heavy in their minds, as it taunted them about their inability to take care of one measly NPC. Which in itself was a true statement, since normally NPCs should never be superior to talented players but Moirai had been a big exception to this rule since its first appearance. They were forced to spent a lot of magic and mana just to keep themselves alive and those attacks who did manage to land on Moirai were shrugged off, as they were not enough to leave any visible damage on his body. He looked rather excited from the prospects of this current battle as a big smile was plastered on his face. His movements and tactics had not slowed down and it felt like that it used the pressure it faced as a tool for practice. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. But Laura and Samantha did not reach their position due to their lack of talent and ability as they also adapted to Moirai and used their magic more efficiently. Despite the strength of Moirai, it was still unable to deal with his enemies. It was challenging for him to find a flaw because of the versatility of magic, especially since those 2 know how Moirai operates and makes use of everything in order to win a fight. Yet, he still had a beaming smile on his face, as he fought on and on. This persistence was another factor which caused the fight to turn into a war of attrition. Laura and Samantha were painfully aware of this fact but chose not to act rashly. Because even they were enjoying the challenge this NPC brought to them. It was rare for them to fight a battle which required something different than just simply overpowering the enemy with magic. An opponent like Moirai was a refreshing experience that tested their entire skillset. They had never expected the world of Primal Survival to be this realistic and challenging to them. The time to admire this simulated world was abruptly cut short by Moirai as he continued his vehement assault. The fight continued once more with no side showing any signs of backing down any time soon. Fights like these took place all around far outside of the city. Strangely none of them had come into contact with another group fighting the NPC of their desire. While all of this was taken place, more and more Moiras had come back with many monster corpses and presented them proudly to the rest. In the end, they were just thrown onto the pile and those Moirais joined the exercise. Some displeased with the lack of response decided to hunt for even bigger prey and left the city once more to search for it. The activity from the versions obsessed with rocks and trees had yet to decline as more and more materials appeared in the city. They appeared carrying the goods and made their way back out of the city to gather more of it. No one really saw them wasting any time in the city as they ran back to collect more and more. From all different versions of Moirai, they were the biggest outliers. Although everything that had to do with Moirai was in itself an anomaly. It was hard for an outsider to discern what was weirder when everyone seemed insane on the outside. Only the red circle was expanding ever so slowly on the ground covering more and more of the ground. Despite it being visible to the naked eye no one seemed to be aware of its existence as everyone continued to do what they have been doing. Its purpose or function was entirely unknown. The only thing known about it was that it never stopped expanding. 127 Finding Moirai 3 Without a doubt, the one who has suffered the most under the appearance of Moirai was neither the player base nor Moirai himself, it was the developers responsible for the world of Primal Survival. The moment Moirai had appeared in the world of Primal Survival marked the day for countless sleepless nights full of worries and fears. Up until that point, everything had been easy but his arrival caused the downward spiral that has been affecting them ever since. All it took was one simple NPC, nothing more than the tiniest speck in their big world. But this single entity was the embodiment of chaos, which could not be fixed whatever they did. The mere thought seems laughable, but yet they wanted to do everything but laugh. What have they done wrong which led to this entire mess? They asked themselves questions like this over and over again as they feverishly looked for any solution, any fix for the trouble its existence posed. Yet, after the system itself did not see any flaw in it. The system that was responsible for the entire world, did not see a problem in this entity which caused so much harm. Something which worked flawlessly did not see a fault in this walking disaster covered up as an NPC. Not one of them could find an explanation of how such a situation could come into being in the first place. A mistake of that calibre should have been purged by the system in a matter of seconds. After feeding the system with countless examples and details it should have known that something so out of the ordinary has no place in their simulation. But for whatever reason, something every single one of them was longing to know, it had all started to deviate and stray away from their planned development. Where had it all gone wrong, what had the done? These questions had haunted them like an ever-recurring nightmare. It was sinking its fangs deep into their mind refusing to let go and reminded them about their failure every day. There was no shelter, no shoulder to share the weight with them. Afraid for the lives of the people they hold dear, they had to bear all of this alone. Their boss who had been full of praise for them, turned into a monster in front of them demanding an explanation no one present could give him. This enraged him even more and caused him to get rid of his frustration by letting them out on his workers. All the while they had to keep up a smile and lower themselves admitting that they are at fault. Their heroic past was nothing more than a token from the past, it was entirely useless. For their lifelong dream of giving the next generation a better future, they had started all of this and they would stop at nothing to protect this dream. This was the promise they had made to each of their fallen comrades. It was all for those who had given their lives in this neverending battle and to prevent any more needless lives to be lost. Their sacrifice should never be in vain and this horrendous monsters should be brought to an end by all means. Exactly this was the reason they could just not ignore the NPC which caused them headaches over and over again. Truly laughable, that something like this has reached the status it currently has. The boss suddenly complimented them and patted them on the shoulder. Of course, this did not last very long before he returned to the state of always complaining, but it had never been about the NPC, not it was about the circumstances surrounding it, that they did not use it to their advantage. Had their boss forgotten about their ideals, more and more technicians began to think like that. Those thoughts were not uttered out loud but a general feeling of betrayal and uneasiness had spread among them. All they wanted was to find the root for all of their problems and eliminate so everything could return to the way it was supposed to be. Yet, after they send multiple search team into their simulation the NPC was remaining a mystery for them as it could not be located. It had been a mystery how something so devastating could be unnoticed for such a long period of time. There had to be someone from the players who must have spotted this walking disaster. Yet, any kind of inquiring about this information was blocked from the system directly. This could only mean one thing, they did not have the necessary authority to input that order. But only the Church and the Higher-ups had a higher authority than them. What exactly was going on if both of these parties are involved in this matter? All they could do was send in teams manually and hope to discover the troublemaker, which was given the size of the world nearly impossible. After countless failed attempts and futile searches, the Gods finally showed amicably. The cries for help and their desperate pleas had been heard and a trace of Moirai had been seen by a player. Most technicians could not help but scream out in sheer joy after hearing such splendid news. They finally knew the general location of Moirai and all they had to do was send in a team of their trusted players to finally take care of that problem. The players who spotted Moirai were nothing more than some figures of minor importance whose silence could be bought with ease. it could not have been any more perfect for them and as the not intended to waste any time, they send in their team to try and take care of the problem as soon as possible. Yet they should have known, that when they are dealing with this NPC a lot of irregularities occur. Because this time around they did not spot Moirai, they spotted numerous versions of it. All of them were entangled in battles with players and none of them could understand exactly what was happening. One of them was enough to wreak havoc and yet nobody of them wanted to imagine the possible implications of what might occur when more than one of its kind was unleashed. The mere thought alone caused them to shutter uncontrollably. They could not continue like this, this matter had to end one way or another. If that meant that they had to help players enslave this NPC then so be it. This way everything could at least be controlled and planned for. Normally their existence should not be known off, but they decided to throw caution in the wind and support the players in their endeavour. All while this was occurring they sent more teams around to investigate the true extent of the situation. They had to make absolutely sure to know everything to fully contain this calamity. Any outsider factor needed to be considered, they could not afford any more mishaps. Because despite popular opinion this NPC was a menace to this entire world and the ideals it stood for. All of them only saw this NPC only as a tool for the upcoming event but nobody had ever questioned its entire unusual existence. Everything about it is something no one had seen. The strange fighting style, the ability to fight magicians with just his body, the general superiority to every normal NPC. There was nothing about it that one could consider normal by any means. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. It was a monster in human skin. A human should have never possessed such a level of strength, they had left their weak shell behind. It was an affront to their Gods, that something like this could fight against those who have been gifted by the grace of the Gods. That is why they never could ignore an NPC like Moirai as much as they wanted to. There was no place for it in their world. It needs to be eradicated by any means necessary. Though these unfortunate technicians did not know, that all of their passionate desire to bring this NPC to closure was not meant to be. Because they could not account for that all of their actions and plans had already been accounted for. No one involved in this matter was aware of this detail as they all only thought about setting thins right. The only ones even remotely aware of the situation either did not care about it or were busy training. The one who did not care about the situation did so because he knew the one responsible all too well. It was just not in his interest to think too deeply about all of the ploys it had employed since its course of actions was not dictated by its own agenda. The one who was currently training did not think too deeply about the situation at hand either, simply because he did not have the qualifications for it. He was painfully aware of his missing strength. This person had been nothing more than a pawn the entire time, yet he is still smiling. There was a misconception about the original Moirai. He is a human in the skin of a monster. The one who had noticed this detail was the one who gave Moirai this body in the first place. Moirai was just a human, a creature which had been replaced because it had no place in this world. But amidst all the magic and strong beasts, nobody really had come to know, that these "humans" are really scary. Right now he was still playing by the rules that had been laid out for him. What were to happen if he was given a chance? That is hard to tell, but after living for so long he was looking forward to it. With no restrictions and no hand guiding him what would he do? All of this was nothing more than mere speculation though, he had only caught glimpses about the true character of Moirai, something which lurks behind of all of the facade. What is beneath all that smile and the sadness he keeps suppressing? As of now, he was still smiling. Humans truly are scary. That thought crossed his mind as he kept on doing push-ups right beside the mastermind. To take care of the team of players employed by the technicians the battlefield of the Moiras strangely shifted right into the direction of all these newly arriving teams. All of this was managed easily by altering the magic to force everyone into the path that was planned out for them. The newly arriving competition would draw the ire of every player who had been fighting to obtain Moirai and cause them to get rid of them. The technicians would give those players the order to keep quiet once they knew about who had become involved in this matter. The affair of killing or helping them to obtain Moirai was not something they could handle on their own anymore. This matter had been easily solved just like this. As for those who tried to scout they had the honour of meeting the many Moirias who had gone out to hunt monsters. The scout''s group would be split up into very small teams to lower the risk of them encountering a player group and to be subsequently killed. After meeting a Moirai they would engage them in a battle and stake it all against them. Still, regardless of how much strength those scouts might have by limiting the number, it was easy for the Moirai clones to take care of them. After all, while the only had to deal with one Moirai at a time, that did not mean, that they all were fighting the same Moirai. In the short period of time Moirai had been in the world of Primal Survival he had used many different fighting styles and weapons came to use as well. This just meant, that every Moirai was unique and fighting one of them could not be prepared for. Their decision to engage the target with the outdated mindset would come to cost them dearly. A single mistake. which would bring with it an unremorseful conclusion. All of this had yet to happen but it was already set in stone. None of their actions would yield any results causing them to desperate straits, with all the constant stress and the lack of results, they will not be able to think clearly and commit more and more mistakes. In return fatal judgements occur, lowering their even negligible odds of succeeding even more. Whether they group up and throw caution to the wind or try to interfere in the fights of others, it will be too late for them by then. The preparations were nearly complete and the only objective of this spectacle was to buy the necessary time. Drawing the attention from players was done intentionally the aim had been to set the stage. This stage had been created for the players themselves because as of now their results were more than lacklustre. The task given to the Observer could not be fulfilled by the player base as they were now. Finding Moirai was nothing more than bait for these players. By surpassing the hurdle named Moirai they prove their qualifications. This NPCs were nothing more than a whetstone to bring out the real strength of those people who have been never forced to use all of their strength. The entirety of those clones was not meant for any other purpose. A city full to the brink with Moirais ready to lay their life down once these versions outside had done their deed. This is what those players needed. Fighting all those normal monsters made them lose all of their tension and respect. Whether they belonged to Church or were of a noble lineage, no one really knew the true terror a monster can bring to them. Moirai had been groomed to be exactly that, a tool to strengthen the players. After sending him through countless trials, the best traits and tactics were used to create the most optimal NPCs possible to train the players. According to its calculations it was only a matter of time until the players had fully adapted. The last thing to do was to witness how strong they would become and for that it had reserved a front row seat. 128 The wheatstone 1 The battle against Moirai had become a lot harder then anyone had initially planned for. Expectations for this endeavour had been on the lower end, as most of them just viewed it as just another NPC that had to be persuaded by force or by solving another set of stupid criteria. Fighting without any hesitation and paying no attention to their offers was certainly not something they had imagined to take place. Before they had realized it they found themselves in a battle against one of the many versions of Moirai. Although every player could easily take care of monsters, they could not do the same with their enemy this time around. Unlike monsters, their enemy this time around was not that easy to predict. A knowledge, which caused some of them to get injured in one way another because they had underestimated their target. But in comparison to those beforehand they could avoid any fatal injuries. Although this wake-up call did not cause them to be thankful, no in their eyes it was a humiliation. A simple NPC had injured them to this extent. With their honour soiled, the cheap words of provocation caused the players to lose their bearing and just blindly attack in their rage. This newfound weakness was freely exploited and another wave of serious harm overcame the players who had let their guard down. Some even lost their lives there, a fact which further enraged these individuals. The response to this kind of fate was the same whether it was a member from the Church or normal player, they all ran back screaming in fury vowing loudly to take revenge for this abhorrent act. Although keeping up this promise was easier said than done. Because in order to overcome this hurdle, they had to rid themselves of their prejudices and calmly analyze the enemy in front of them. Otherwise, they would be in for a very long fight. Their enemy did not care about their inner turmoil as all of the attacks came at them with the intent to end their life. Despite their experience, they still could not rid themselves about their feeling of superiority. This feeling was clinging to them clouding their minds and slowly eroding their decisionmaking. Every single player was not only fighting Moirai but also themselves. In order to succeed, they had to overcome themselves first or they needed to possess a level of strength, which justified their arrogance but that was not the case for anyone present. Blinded by their arrogance they just continued to set themselves up for failure. Spectating this foolish behaviour the Observer could not help but sigh, how long was it supposed to wait until these players had overcome their bias and finally start to treat their enemy seriously? There was nothing special about these players. Neither strength, nor tactics, nor versatility, everything was subpar at best. Yet those people were hauled as part of the absolute elite. Fulfilling its given mission was appearing more and more impossible with each passing seconds. All it could do was wait and see how and when these players finally start to realize and break through the wall they have erected themselves. While tactics could be taught and strength obtained through training, a change in personality could not come from the outside it had to happen on the inside. All it could do was a create a situation which should force them to reconsider. Yet the proved to be quite resistant to self-reflection as they thought on repeating the same mistakes over and over again. This procedure had to continue until the lesson had penetrated their thick defence and here it had thought it was a task, which lied on the easier side. If everyone was just as resourceful as the copy of the human they are fighting against, all of this would not have been necessary. But it could safely say the alternative was better in every way. Moirai was a unique case and one hard to control variable was already more than enough. But luckily this problem would have been taken care of soon. Everything would return to normal and it could stop its interference in the system for good. All of this had delayed the initial plan for way too long and catching up with the schedule is impossible. Given the quality of the current batch it normally would not even bother trying to bring them to the level, it had planned out for them. Doing nothing and letting them be was not a suitable choice though. Judging by the current lack of results it would require a lot of time until these players would have been prepared for what is to come. Improvements even those of the tiniest degree is something it was looking out for in these players. By refusing to rethink their nature, what kind of conclusion would they come to? What would they do to surpass that hurdle named Moirai? It watched and pondered which direction the development will go. It could predict a lot but the matter of their mind was too unpredictable. As of now the best course of action according to them was disregarding every kind of defence and pouring everything into their attacks. A tactic which was even more foolish than the previous ones. Trading destructive capabilities for defence only works if the target is not mobile enough. Once more their blood had been spilt as their emotions were still keeping them hostage. This time around some of them decided to let Moirai close in on them until he had no place to dodge their attacks. Sadly they forgot that plans like these always hold certain elements that are uncertain. Their enemy was using everything at his disposal to successfully kill his opponent, baiting the enemy without the necessary information is another death sentence. Without any suspense, they once again become the victim of Moirai and started to blindly rush in again without even devising a plan after this failure. Did they grow complacent due to the safety measure in place for their lives? Throwing their lives away over and over again hoping for a mistake from Moirai himself was quite an inefficient plan. A sacrifice is normally a noble endeavour, the ultimate devotion to the Country but they did it so nonchalantly. There was nothing noble in it, just a useless attempt to gamble their lives away. Had none of them even began to employ different tactics to kill Moirai? All of them were just trying to resist learning as much as possible. Although they were some that had yet to die against Moirai, the vast majority of involved players should have lost their qualifications ages ago. This kind of stubbornness rivalled the one of their opponent, a comparison, which should not have to be made in the first place. Why did they decide to follow this path, when the amount of available options is infinite? They should realize, that it is not going to work out if it has not worked the previous 50 times. Somewhere along the line, the point will have to be reached even by the most thick-headed player. In fact, it was impossible for this event to not occur although they were trying their hardest to accomplish this feat. Luckily for them, the players sent by the developer team were really not any wiser then their counterpart as they also died over and over again as if their life depended on it. This level of dedication would place them at the forefront of the talents but the rest about them was just as pathetic. It was just a copy and they were still incapable of succeeding. They stood true to themselves until the bitter end. This vehement refusal to give up is something worthy of praise, the lack of drawn lessons out of it not so much. All of this was taking up too much time, it was getting more and more embarrassing. It took a long time until someone finally managed to kill Moirai, although the tactic they used was somewhat obscene. These 2 ladies had fought Moirai to a standstill but had not managed to deal with any significant damage to him. After using their natural given charm, the entire situation had been reversed and Moirai was wounded heavily after being dazed by the sight. It had been outside of its expectations, that these 2 noble ladies were willing to expose themselves to achieve victory also it did not expect that this tactic was this effective against this version of Moirai. Apparently, the decision to fight without the top layer of clothes was only specific to Moirai and not part of the strange world where he came from. Otherwise, it could not explain why the reaction would be that strong. Although it could not agree with the way this result had been achieved, they still had managed to best their opponent. To prevent this occurrence from happening again, it decided to send a different version of Moirai to them, which was not that easily affected by the womanly charm. At least this was a first and it would hopefully mark the beginning of the success of the players. After being exposed to the antics of the visitor from another world, it had already been accustomed to deviations from the plan and made ample preparations in case something might happen. A simple matter like this was easily solved. Although it truly wondered whether its constant interference had set off a chain reaction causing the players to develop in a strange direction. Looking at the behaviour of the players who were still acting the same after amassing failures it seemed doubtful. Yet, not a long time after the first Moirai had been disposed of another successful kill was done by a member of the Church. This one was quite interesting, using lightning of such strength was quite rare. He waited till the clone had approached him but unlike the mindless horde, he closed in on Moirai and used his lightning in close proximity to Moirai. He managed to end his life that way, despite receiving quite a nasty wound in return. Although his arrogant bearing still did not lessen in any way it was commendable that he had managed to win the fight. The Observer chose to send another Moirai, one that was a lot warier and careful of his opponent to continue the test. Given his current bodily constitution, he was bound to lose his life but this was of no concern to it. Everyone involved will have to give up their life one way or another. Although the majority of players had done that before the training had begun. But once their rage subsides, they will manage to pass the simple challenge. The main purpose of this training lies in training them how to adapt to enemies. Experience is greatly needed when fighting against enemies of unknown strength. How else would a weakling like Moirai manage to kill any magician, he took advantage out of their lack of experience to kill them. Fighting Moirai it had noticed how frightening the Original could be if it was underestimated, but the clones only had a fraction of the trait which made him deadly. They would stand no chance on their own if they already struggled against the weakened versions. It was easy to surround a single enemy and kill by bombarding the target with mana from all directions but that luxury was not a common occurrence. In the meantime, the next person had managed to surpass the first obstacle. This time around it was due to negligence on the side of Moirai, as it had thought that the player had been killed instantly by the attack. Afterwards, the copy of Moirai was struck in the back after turning around, which led to its demise. While this person succeeded only thanks to his luck, he should be able to come to the right conclusion after seeing how he had managed to accomplish this. Without any further ado, the next Moirai was sent into his direction. It had finally begun and it was only a matter of time until everything could return to normal again. Although only a measly of 3 copies had died so far, some improvements could be seen as the players were finally forced to try different methods. Some chose to think for the first time and sought out openings others decided to lead Moirai into an unfavourable situation to kill him little by little. Although they were still not willing to rethink their position, at least they had finally started to use different means to achieve the result. This lead to more and more Moirai being killed by the respective players. Their new opponents were already on their way, but those were specially selected for each player and the corresponding method they had used. As of now the number of clones was still increasing and it would continue to do so until a suitable amount of players had learned their lesson. The players sent by the technician were no problem, as they made contact with some of the stronger Moirai. This procedure was not something which these players would be able to pass in a matter of minutes. It was a long gruelling process that demanded a lot of perseverance. Everyone that managed to kill their opponent had only taken the first step. As of now the number of players entangled in fights with Moirai was not high, but more players were arriving. This lead to some Moirai stopping their push-up routine as they calmly left the city to meet their challengers. The rest just continued to do their exercise as if nothing had happened. The general atmosphere in the town was left unaffected by the turmoil which took place far outside of the city. The only thing to look out for was the troublemaker, but as of now he did not show any motivation to move out of the city nor should he have one. It would be better for anyone involved if the situation remains disclosed from him. It is hard to predict, what he would do. While the Observer had no problems changing the situation by a subtle interference it could not change the behaviour of these NPCs too much. The NPCs were not supposed to do pushups and yet they did so anyway. The person in question was still busy honing his skills training with the entity deep in his consciousness. He had absolutely no intention of interrupting this session any time soon. In the eyes of the original Moirai, it mattered little what happened on the Outside. As long as his life was not in direct danger, he would not care. He was contended with his current role, as he was preparing for the upcoming future looming over his head, with the tournament coming closer and closer. This training was a catalysator to free his mind from all the trouble surrounding him and to let his subconscious reflect on it. As long as Moirai distracted his mind, he would not wander off and get overwhelmed by his plans. Moirai did not set his sights on the future and all of the potential threats. One risk was tackled a time. This had not changed regardless of what he had lived through. From past till the present, Moirai had always chosen this method to keep his mind clear if the stress had accumulated. This was by no means a healthy way to deal with the emotional burden weighing on his conscious, as he was only fighting the symptoms and coping with them by suppressing them but it was the only way he knew. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Keeping a clear mind and not letting his emotions run wild was of highest importance to him, he knew all too well, that being too involved had never ended well for him. The innocence of the past was only a relict of the past. A past which he never could go back to. 129 The wheatstone 2 Laura and Samantha were breathing and panting heavily after their long and exhausting fight against Moirai. They had finally managed to beat their enemy and both of them had a beaming smile on their faces as they began to recuperate. The badly damaged landscape was a testament to the fierce battle between the 2 parties. Not only had the surrounding trees been toppled or uprooted but also the ground partially frozen. Cracks and furrows could be seen everywhere and some parts were still burning. Amidst heavy breathing, Laura began to speak to Samantha. " Who would have thought, that after all of this it would end like that?" her voice sounded ragged but had a playful undertone. Her eyes flew over the battlefield, lingered for a while on the corpse of their adversary before finally ending up on Samantha. " The infamous Moirai, the thorn in our eyes had finally fallen. He was brought to justice by the noble Samantha and her pure and untainted charm." Laura had a wide grin on her face as she began to tease her friend about the way the fight had been won. After their long adventure had finally come to an ending every feeling of tension dropped and they began to feel elated. Bickering about the situation was natural as they were still enjoying every last bit of it. But Samantha did not seem to mind her current clothing situation as she even began to move her lasciviously in front of Laura. She replied nonchalantly as if she saw nothing wrong with it. " I do not see the problem. After all, he is my "husband" and if someone is allowed to see me like this, who else but him." The combination of her words and her movements caused a laughing fit on Laura. No one of them had imagined that disposing of the top part was enough to decide the battle in their favour. The decision to remove said clothing article was not done with this in mind, it rather was born out of their desperate straits as it did not look like they would win the fight. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. They had thought, that fighting in this state was a custom, which Moirai strictly followed. They had hoped that the NPC would react to this and treat them differently afterwards. But the dazed gaze and a sudden stop was certainly not the thing they had expected. " As his wife, I will have to avenge his death. Come and fight me." She said playfully mimicking the fighting stance of Moirai while throwing some exaggerated punches in the air. " Look at this body and all of the strength contained in it. Do you think you stand any chance against this body of mine?" Laura could not stop laughing at the display from Samantha. Her performance was strikingly similar to the behaviour of their nemesis. Samantha even copied some poses Moirai used in their battle, from the menacing glare with the chin pressed downwards or the weird fighting stance while clenching both of her fists. Everything which Moirai did was made fun of. Which caused heartfelt laughter on both sides as they both poked fun at the fallen NPC. " What a stellar performance, I did not see any difference. It was just like seeing him right in front of me for a second time." Laura gave Samantha a thumbs up after witnessing her friend given her best impression. " But he is mine. After all, it was my magic which caused his demise. So it should be more than obvious, that it is my duty to use him to my heart''s content. Of course, one my heart and soul are appeased I will let you enjoy him." The feeling of shame Laura lived through after her fight against Moirai was still lingering in the depths of her mind and what better method to get rid of those was there, then letting them out on the NPC responsible for her distress? Afterwards, she would force him to teach him his techniques and copy his abilities before giving the NPC away to her best friend so she can use it in the upcoming tactical battle, something that Laura had next to no interest in. Something which Samantha had always excelled in. That is why she saw nothing wrong with her taking control over Moirai, in hey eyes both sides did not suffer any loss in this arrangement. " It was only due to my appeal, you had the chance to hit him. Your magic alone had not even managed to hurt him before he was mesmerized by my brilliant tactic. I do not want him to get wasted under you. I want to understand how he functions and everything about the strange fighting style he uses. Your cheap self-gratification is not worth passing on such a chance." " Excuse me, I find it hard to call your lack of clothing a brilliant tactic. isn''t it rather wasteful to let this NPC rot away under your care by giving him so simplistic tasks? You should know, that there is not a single other NPC who is as strong as Moirai and you want him to answer your questions? Who would care about what fighting style he uses, when all about him stems from the developers of this simulation?" Laura replied sternly looking at Samantha vehemently refuting the claims thrown at her. Although this discussion had been held already, it was something entirely else after they were just a short step away from accomplishing their goal. Samantha was aware that the desire of Laura could be solved by letting her do her bidding with Moirai, but the tournament was of high importance for her household. Once the noble lineage was involved she could not act in her interest anymore but only for what was best for her family Sadly for her, the choice of letting Moirai get taken away for an unknown period of time was too much of a risk, which made this option impossible. All she could do was make concessions and hope that her friend understands the position she is forced to take in this matter. The trauma Laura had suffered and the amnesia which kept on eating her from the inside was something she had to be taken care of regardless. All of this had to be done by her own 2 hands and as of now, it was Samantha who stood in her way. Finding an agreement with both sides can agree on, was easier said than done, as both sides were adamant on achieving their will. It was at this moment a certain someone approached with a smile on his face as well. " Sorry to interrupt this important discussion but I am certain it can wait for another time. " Both of them turned around after hearing a voice they were all too familiar with. Shock and visible confusion appeared on them as they could not fathom why exactly they could hear this NPC talking to them. Their eyes kept on turning back between the corpse lying in front of them and the newly arrived person, leaving them even more in a mess. The NPC continued without giving them enough time to catch their breath. " First I have to congratulate the two of you. It was you 2 who managed to beat your first assigned Moirai the fastest. You might wonder why after your hard-fought battle, another Moirai appears in front of you." Laura and Samantha found themselves still unable to realize what was happening right in front of their eyes. The sudden appearance of a second Moirai was not something they could stomach in a matter of seconds. " Each Moirai is vastly different in behaviour and fighting style, but they all serve the same purpose. They are intended to help the player overcome his limits by fighting against an unusual enemy. You have done just that and achieved victory, although, the manner was outside of our expectations." Although the 2 of them had still not fully understood what was happening in front of them, they began to calm down and to think about the words said to them. Some details still did not make any sense to them, but their focus had returned. They noticed the big differences between the 2 Moirais present. One was big and full of muscles while the other one had a smaller frame but had burning hair on top of his head. His bearing was also somewhat different as he was not emitting any aura or feeling of danger when he was looked at by a stranger. He was a lot more direct, while still sounding as calm as possible. " I am scheduled to be your next opponent. The fight will start once I have answered your questions and concerns. This is a privilege granted to you because of your initial involvement in the development process of Moira and your success in this test" " What? How many different Moirais are there?" Laura stammered dumbfounded by the words of the Moirai which calmly stood in front of her awaiting their questions. " Currently the amount of Moirais is 1252 with the number still rising to accommodate the increasing number of players participating in this trial. The majority out of these 1252 is a unique NPC made out of a combination from every experience it made in this world." This information was still a surprise to Laura and Samantha. Primal Survival was a simulation, they knew that much, but the entire concept of over 1000 thousand NPCs like Moirai was hard to fathom. What were the developers planning with such a ludicrous amount of NPCs? " What are the developers trying to achieve?" Samantha inquired after thinking for a while. There had to be a deeper meaning for Moirai other than just training the player. Indeed fighting something like Moirai was a way to strengthen the player, but there had to be a deeper meaning to this idea. " As I had mentioned prior the developers intend to train the players. Their aim is to prepare the players as good as possible for the inevitable battle against the evil horde of monsters. For this very matter, they will give their all to see their plans through to the end." " But why do they use Moirai for this? Was there not a better alternative?" " After an initial test period, the fighting against monsters proved to be ineffective as it was not taken for full. The same can not be said about Moirai, it had learned out of its many battles to create a suitable challenge for the task of training the players" Both of them nodded as this was something they had observed as well. Otherwise, their underlings would not have had the time to create a competition comparing their tenacity and durability of their nether regions. They considered this a satisfactory explanation, that shed some light on the existence of Moirai. Though this did not mean, that they had run out of questions to ask rather far from it. Just one aspect about this NPC had been solved, there were still several other mysteries that were left unsolved as well. " Why did the original version speak so strange? "This was another detail, which had bugged Laura and Samantha. The entire conversation they had held with it felt wrong and strange. " The first version of Moirai did not possess the necessary ability to speak our language. A blank slate in this matter made it easier for the NPC to focus on the battle and to not get distracted by the conversation. So its words were nothing more than a byproduct it learned while traversing the plane of Primal Survival" " Why were we chosen for its successful development?" " This was not done intentional but it was a choice made by the NPC itself. The NPC itself sought to battle only the strongest and it was apparent that you met those criteria. During the fight, it started to absorb and improve the fighting style." Samantha could only shake her head, this was exactly something she could not understand. Why would the NPC have such a weird fighting style, to begin with? Even with the constant adaptations and refinement, the approach to combat did not fit into the game at all. Moirai did not fight like a monster but he was also not a human. Not only was he attacking the body but also the mind of the enemy as well. There was no monster who attacked the mind in such a fashion. The concept of psychological warfare was unknown in this world. " What is the style of battle Moirai follows?" " This question is hard to answer, each version of Moirai possesses his own strategy it follows to try and win. Some try to overwhelm the enemy with brute force, while others rely on other means to kill their target. There is nothing every Moirai has in common." The Moirai finished his sentence before and did not wait until they had thought of the next question. " I am truly sorry, but the time we had is finally over. Our fight will start as planned but beforehand, I will give you a chance to fix your attire. The method will not work a second time. You can also continue your fight, in your current appearance if you prefer. Not that I would mind it" Samantha appeared thoughtful as she spoke. " Allow me some time to consider. Laura would you join me it feels a bit lonely if I am the only one." Without any break whatsoever Samantha threw several icicles flying into Moirai, who managed to easily to dodge the sneak attack. " You can not say, that I did not give you a chance." With a big grin on the face of Moirai, it began the fight, which seemed a lot faster than the last one. " Let me be your Wheatstone." 130 The wheatstone 3 After the sudden outbreak of the fight, Laura and Samantha decided to set aside their discussion and to put all of the information they had just received in the back of their minds. Winning the upcoming battle had become the highest priority. Despite most of their questions had revolved about Moirai and the purpose behind it, they still learned about other players competing with them and that everyone involved was fighting a Moirai. What they had considered being a simple fight for enslaving an NPC had turned into a direct contest between the players without any knowing it. Due to their long friendship, no communication was needed and they started to attack the new threat. Although Samantha''s initial plan of catching him off-guard had failed, it did not cause her to have any regrets. A direct hit with or without clothing in between would prove fatal for her. Passing out on such a great chance just because of a clothing article was not something Samantha would do. Besides, the issue would not have any negative impact on her ability to wield magic at all. Without missing a beat the fighting had intensified once more, although Laura and Samantha were already exhausted from the previous encounter. They could not afford to try to buy time against an enemy like Moirai, that is why they throw caution in the end and gave it their all from the minute the fight had started. Yet all of their efforts were easily nullified by the positioning and movement of their enemy. While the previous Moirai, was hell-bent on killing them, this version seemed to be more interested then toying with his enemy. He was evading their attacks with ease and a big grin plastered on his face but acted as if he stood no chance and was suffering hellish pain being hit by spells which clearly passed him. The more than obvious fake cries of pain did not leave the attackers unaffected. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Far from it, their current mood could only be described as visibly not amused. They were livid about the blatant disrespect that was shown in front of them. While they were clearly not as hot-headed as their counterparts even they had a limit which had clearly been crossed. Being aware of the taunts and the goal behind them was not enough to keep them from being unaffected. Feelings of anger kept rising up within them and only by barely suppressing them could they prevent themselves from committing serious mistakes. Their opponent on the other hand apparently had the time of his life. There was no indication of him trying all too hard to avoid everything. He did not even attack them. yet they struggled already. It was clear that the Moirai was just toying with them. Any hope for a miracle had been extinguished after getting treated like that. It was enough to quell their anger but a feeling of defeat had begun to arise in their mind as well. With their thoughts interfering in their focus their odds of success had sunk even lower. But Moirai did not capitalize on their current predicament instead he just continued to dodge every attack thrown at him. His pained cries and moans were still giving up by him, much to the chagrin of the 2 players. They wanted to win at all cost, but everything they did was useless and in return, they were only made fun of. All of a sudden Samantha stopped her magic in its entirety and walked over to the cloth she had taken off earlier. Without saying another word she put it back on and just calmly looked at her enemy, which stared right back at her. " A fight like this has no meaning to it. You could have finished this fight ages ago, but you are clearly not interested in actually winning. So what is your true intention?" It was only now, that Laura had stopped conjuring spells as he wondered what had brought the chance in Samanthas behaviour? But why did the enemy refuse to treat them seriously, what was it trying to achieve? " Why did you suddenly stop, you were so close to hitting me." Neither Laura nor Samantha bought these words and the reply came quick. " You jest, there was nothing we could have done." these words were spoken without any hesitation, but Samantha had admitted defeat for the first time in her life. Somehow although it was painful, it did not hurt her as much as she had imagined such a setback in her still young life. " While conceding this fight is truly admirable, it is not enough to pass this test. What would you say if I told you, that I was mesmerized by the beauty in front of my eyes." " I would not remotely be able to believe you. The both of us could have been in the nude right in front of you and nothing would have changed." Samantha chuckled softly after those words hat been spoken and murmured something intelligible before she returned to her usual countenance. " I commend you for your insight but all of this is still not enough to pass." Moirai''s face had lost all playfulness as everything about him turned sombre. " You will not be able to advance to the next stage unless you find the method to pass me." But as soon as those words had been spoken he returned to his playful persona and began to taunt them anew. In the meantime, each player who had reached the second stage saw themselves confronted with a similar problem and no one had managed to pass it. Although the exact details might differ, the core problem remained the same. Each of them was confronted with an enemy they could not beat and that was vastly superior to them. Each of them had tried to battle their enemy, who just ignored them and refrained from attacking them back. Spectating all of this the expectations of the Observer had been lowered once more. Not only did they lack the necessary strength they were also missing the ability to think. There was a multitude of different ways this hurdle could be passed and yet all they could do was throwing their strongest magic at them hoping for the best? The NPC had even dropped some hints on how to solve their predicament yet they can not even listen. All these players could do was rely on their strength to force their way upon others. It would require a lot of work to get rid of these flaws. For the time being, it would still refrain from interfering in this matter but if more and more players would be stuck at the second stage it would have to employ serious measures. Following yet another even more stupid attempt caused the Observer to cut the waiting period short. Knowing him he would probably do not demand anything in return for being given such an oppurturnity. -------------------------------- The existence of Moirai was nothing more than an open secret and once the famous reporter of Primal Survival "CallmeDaddy" had caught wind of the news he did not waste any time and moved to the location where Moirai had been spotted. After his interview with the leading developer of Primal Survival, the name CallmeDaddy became a publicly known brand. He and his team kept in touch with several sources to present the public with the latest development in their world. CallmeDaddy would have never imagined he would rise to fame through this level of work. His family had chastised him at the beginning for the line of work, but the voices of criticism suddenly went silent upon the newfound fame of the Daddy family. All of this had started by the first video he made about the NPC named Moirai and right now he was on the way to present the news about him once again. After arriving near the area which his source has sighted Moirai with his team he was surprised to see numerous players in the close vicinity. Had his source not said, that it did not share the news with anyone else? If so, why were so many players present, until now he always could put his trust into the people who share the intel with him. Upon his arrival, these players saw him and began to run over to him and loudly scream his player name over and over again. It was a normal sight for him, though the timing was not exactly in his favour. Being surrounded by players interfering in his videos was something he tried to avoid at all cost. Although he could forget about producing his news at this location, he decided to send out his team to ask about Moira and where they had received the information from. After spending the next time talking to his fans, he began to excuse himself and talked with his team about all the information they had gathered. The results were sadly far beyond his worst imagination, all players they had asked about this matter confirmed that they had known about Moirai. Each of them claimed to only have shared this knowledge with their most trusted friends. The definition of most trusted friends was quite broad, that much was obvious looking at the surroundings full to the brim with players. The secretive news had turned out to be not so secretive anymore. With his big scoop gone, CallMeDaddy felt disappointed about the wasted oppurturnity. He wondered what he should broadcast now since this oppurturnity was not nearly as lucrative as he had imagined it to be. Should he grit his teeth and still share the news with the public risking, that the knowledge had already spread? It had been quite some time since his last broadcast and losing the public interest of the public was not something he could afford either. This decision would have a major impact on his future and this was something he could not avoid. He pondered about which option he should choose by weighing the pros and cons each of them had. But before he could have made that choice he spotted a peculiar sight in the distance. There was a big mass of something coming closer and closer to their location at a great speed. Was it a horde of monsters, that decided to engage the present players here? But from them came a weird sound, which was repeated over and over again. The closer the horde came the more menacingly the sound appeared to be. The monsters were running on two legs and starting to move faster and faster after seeing the players. CallMeDaddy was preparing to broadcast this event as his team madly prepared for the video. But the moment he was about to start the broadcast the realisation struck him. What came running towards the huge group of players was not a horde of monsters. It was a huge crowd of Moirais and they were fanatically screaming his name over and over again. At this exact moment, CallMeDaddy began to regret treating this career path. Like a swarm of locusts, the horde of players arrived at the scene and began to ask each player whether they are CallmeDaddy and upon saying no each of them was brutally killed. It was an eerie spectacle. In the blink of an eye, the entirety of those players had been decimated and they arrived right in front of him. " Are you CallmeDaddy?", those words hollered in his mind and all he could do was give a meek reply as a soft yes parted of his lips he expected nothing more than to appear in the closest spawn point. But instead, he was lifted by the horde of Moirais and carried away like a trophy. Dumbfounded, he opened his eyes wide and wondered what exactly was happening to him. Even his team was transported with him as the horde of players continued to chant his name over and over again. This time around the horde of Moirais was running into the direction where they had come from carrying the truly stumped players into the unknown. Not one of them was aware of what was going to happen to them as each and every one of them began to imagine what they would do to them. Nobody from them could have expected what was going to happen. It will be something they will never be able to forget. 131 The interview 1 This event did not happen without a reason as it was caused by someone''s plan. The mastermind behind the abduction had willingly stopped his training and was currently enjoying himself. The previous scenery of hundreds of Moirai training was no more and it was replaced by all of them running busily around. The original just had a big grin on his face which could barely contain the happiness from sapping through. Indeed I am currently quite happy about the entire situation that is why I am going to let your narration slide. I really look forward to it, although the scenery still needs some polishing. " Your happy persona is even more annoying than your miserable one." resounded the pissed of voice from the narrator in my head. The reason for his bad mood could be found by looking at the circumstances that lead me into this situation. I had just enjoyed a training session when the tenant looking as handsome as ever suddenly arrived in this strange space of my consciousness. He would not appear in front of me without any cause forcing him to. Keeping my mouth shut and just listening was the best choice, that way the issue at hand could be resolved as fast as possible and we both could return to the things we had been doing prior. Much to my surprise, it was, at least from my perspective, a very joyful occasion. Due to reasons, he did not want to disclose to me, I was told to fix a hopeless situation. After inquiring exactly what needed to be fixed I was informed about the vehement struggle against reason by the players. Of course, many details were emitted but only the gist was needed to see the core problem of this entire fiasco. The players were just too stupid for tasks which were related to actually using their brains for things other than killing monsters. This evaluation might sound harsh but their critical thinking process was non-existent. Facing a threat, which they can not seem to overcome, they decide to try the same over and over again, expecting a different result. That is the true definition of madness. It was my task to fix this critical flaw and help them overcome this hurdle which seemed to be unsurmountable. This assignment was something I considered to be impossible to achieve by normal means. It would take way too long for these players to be enlightened if I were to treat them one by one. They would not even spare any of their important time just to listen to my advice. If I wanted to get my points across I needed to find a suitable method. Screaming at them to finally use their heads would certainly not yield any good results nor would any form of direct conversation. Every one of them has their heads far up in the sky, that such a thing is just beneath them. In order to find success in this endeavour, I had to approach this topic in a different manner than usual, going in with guns blazing was this time around sadly not an option. But then I had a sudden epiphany, just because they did not listen to my words did not mean that they would not listen to me. Although this idea resulted in the present situation Because this idea required me to let me take back the control of the body without him being able to do what he had planned for. After a quick discussion with my employer and telling it about my plan, it was time to prepare for the upcoming show. The Observer itself called my plan mad and I could not have received more praise. Certainly capturing CallMeDaddy and exploiting his reach to conduct an interview was a bit special in nature. The idea was quite simple in theory, act as this interview was intended to help them and answer their questions to the best of my knowledge. If I act sensible enough and stop myself from giving heretic answers it will work and not cause any problems. An interview would be the last thing they expect given the predicament they were currently facing. Another big advantage of the big reach was the ability to communicate with those players. Most of them would not miss this oppurturnity because the news did not even reach them. By spreading the word more and more of their friends will hear about it as well and subsequently the players as well. But before I could not an interview which would cause every viewer to feel breathless I had to create a sufficient ambience. This could not be done on my own and I had to use every Moirai present to prepare the city. The Moirais were given one simple task, find and bring me monster corpses and place them in the surroundings. My aim was to underline the prestige of the Moirai and this could not be achieved by standing around rubble or trees. According to the motto the bigger the better, new monsters found their way into the abandoned city and were promptly put on display. With more fresh meat arriving, I had to resolve another glaring issue. I could not hold an interview dressed like this. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. While running around without a shirt was no issue for me, it would not look very good being interviewed. I am quite certain, that muscles of any kind would lead to a negative response given the prejudices against them. My choice fell to a simple shirt which could be found in a random house. After sending out some Moirais to scout the area for suitable clothing it was one of the few options I could wear without looking weird. Dressed in simple garments, I decided to send the Moirais out to gather fruits and to bring me something to drink. As a host, it was my job to prepare everything so that CallMeDaddy would be convinced about the role I try to play. Speaking of whom, I decided to wait until the food and the liquids had been brought before sending the horde of Moirai out to locate CallMeDaddy and to bring him and everything in his proximity in front of me. I pondered how many fake CallMeDaddy would be brought to me because they had claimed to be the famous player in question? Knowing my luck it will probably be more than just a few. With no other choice, I sat down and thought about the questions I might get to hear and used this time to create a good answer for them. By appearing authentic most players will not doubt my words and actually listen to them. Though in order to accomplish this, I will have to choose my words wisely and act befitting to the serious image that the developers would choose. As of now, I am just a pure savage or a lowborn human in their eyes. This was just the result out my gigantic lack of knowledge about their culture. Seeing honour as their highest value is the only thing I know about them, but I have no clue about their social standings the general zeitgeist or anything about their culture. The information I had received from the Observer could not be trusted fully as I could not turn a blind eye to the logical inconsistencies that had come up from time to time. Trying to fill this gap required a trustworthy source and I doubt I could ask the players that are training with me do give an unbiased answer. First of all, it would be more than strange if I act as a representative for the team behind "Primal Survival" and then start asking questions, that every small child on this planet would know and I doubt, that the anyone of them would have the information I want in the first place. All of my players either come from a mysterious background which taught them a weird way to apply magic using their body or from the Church. Neither side offered enough to actually take that risk. I would not destroy my odds of succeeding by casting suspicion on myself to blow my cover before the interview even took place. Seems like the only option I can take is to give vague answers and avoid answering questions that would need specific details. The best course of action would be to talk to "CallMeDaddy" beforehand to make sure that questions like this will not even come up. By using my cover I even have a solid argument against things that would be considered common knowledge. Now before the arrival of our special guest, I will have to make sure that everything is right. That means I will have to tell the players here what is about to take place, otherwise, it will be hard to predict what they would do upon seeing the arrival of CallMeDaddy and his team. Since I can not predict what information they might give out upon being questioned I will just have to make sure that their answers will rob the other party the will to question them further. After walking up to them still doing the exercise I had started for them I felt pleasantly surprised, this would be easier than initially anticipated. If they had followed this simple routine for all of that time, they would surely listen to my words without any hesitation. " Training your body is important, but do you know what is equally as important?" They all stared with reverence in their eyes, longing to hear the answer to the question. Although I had given them the answer already I could sell it as a profound lesson, that would change their perspective on life. " It is a strong mind, you can have a weak body with a strong mind but not a strong body with a weak mind." With inspirational quotes like that, they will interpret something out of it and love me even more. Now to talk about the main issue, all I needed to do was mark it as another form of training for them. " Others will question your will and slander what you believe in. Do not be swayed by their opinion, doubting yourself means you have been defeated before the fight had even started. Shout out your conviction at them to prove that you can not be swayed by their ill words." " Yes teacher", all of them had bought my pitiful attempt at convincing them to not divulge too many information upon being questioned. After taking care of the easy part I had to convince Tom to do the same. Ideally, I would have tried to isolate him from the group and then talked to him from eye to eye, but he asked me to do the same without me having to say anything. Of course, I had accepted this request and moved with him to a location, far away from the players and NPCs alike. " What exactly are you planning and how can there be so many of you?" " Congratulations player Hero of War, you have been chosen to partake in the interview from the famous player "CallMeDaddy. due to your vast knowledge, you are granted this privilege. " I made a meaningful pause that Tom can realize what I just said to him. I just hoped that I had chosen the right words to not blow my cover. Wait, right words? Was I always this dumb? The Observer always translates my words into their language and I am paying attention to my word choice, that is truly stupid. As long as the meaning is clear why should I bother about the small details? I continued with a smile on my face. " Just tell him, that he is supposed to keep quiet about this matter because it is so super important for some reason you will have to come up with and tell him that he has proven himself because he found out about this plan before it even took place". " Yes, of course, I will it is such a great honour. I will give it my all." Okay 1 2 3 seconds have passed it is time for me to act normal again. " Hello, you unfortunate soul that has no clue what is happening, what do you want to talk about?" " I just wanted to praise your teaching and how wise it truly is." And this my friend is what I call a big fat lie. Everything around it was unbelievable from the content of the message to the shameful gaze aimed at the ground. " Thank you for that oh so heartfelt praise, but I will have to return to the rest of these clowns to run this show." The feeling to be able to say anything was liberating and I also did not have to waste my time being so thoughtful about stuff like this anymore. I turned around went back to the rest of the Moirai who was still running around bringing more and more monsters corpses into the city. I did not even listen to the words Tom had spoken as I enjoyed my newfound freedom. Now all that was left was to wait and think about the questions I might get answered. I decided to do some sit-ups this time around. After quite some time CallMeDaddy and his team arrived in the city, the distress and panic were quite visible on their face. With an expression like that, I wonder whether I truly good expect a good interview. " I assure you this result is normal after being abducted and brought to a strange place by a horde of your clones." I do not need an explanation for the matter. What I need is him to calm down that the interview can finally begin. Even the Observer is currently staring at me, expecting me to do my job. Being aware of my responsibilities I decided to let Tom take this task, as doing sit-ups was of higher importance. After Tom or "Hero of War" had talked to CallMeDaddy and involved him about the upcoming interview the fear in his face was blown away in an instant and his eyes began to burn full of passion. It seems like Tom had used the right words to cause so much stimulation in a person, which had been utterly confused mere seconds before. Tom started to scream orders at his team which they promptly followed, as I had imagined some of them sent around to scout the surroundings for a good location and most likely also to talk to the few players that were in this abandoned town. Although they would be greatly disappointed once they came into contact with them. Indeed, it was a treat to hear the training madmen at the top of their lungs of how great this training is. I was really looking forward to this entire situation, as in it lied the chance to cause some serious mishap. I was looking forward to what exactly these players would ask of me. 132 The interview 2 " WAS HAST DU DIR DABEI GEDACHT?" " WARUM KANNST DU NICHT SEIN WIE DEINE SCHWESTER?" " WAS SOLLEN DIE ANDEREN BLO? DENKEN?" " WAS HABEN WIR FALSCH GEMACHT DASS DU SO BIST WIE DU BIST?" Dieses Gef¨¹hl der bitteren Entt?uschung, die blinde Wut, der verletzte Stolz, das alles kumuliert in diesem kalten Gesicht das keine Gef¨¹hlsregung zul?sst. Dieses gleichg¨¹litge Gesicht war mir nur all zu bekannt, den es geh?rte zu der Person die ich meinen Vater nenne. Irgendwann jedoch wurde selbst dieses Geschrei durch apthatische Kommentare ersetzt. Diese Akzeptanz war viel verletztender als jeder Wutanfall oder jeder Zweifel. Wie immer habe ich diese Details versucht auszublenden und einfach so getan als w¨¹rde ich ¨¹ber den Dingen stehen. Alles das w?hrend ich im Inneren still und heimlich gelitten habe, aber selbst das wollte ich nie einsehen. Alle diese Fragen und Kommentare waren nichts anderes als ein Verh?r denen ich Antwort stehen musste. Zu behaupten ich w?re unschuldig an der Sache w?re mehr als realit?tsfremd, aber irgendwie finde ich die Umst?nde die dazu gef¨¹hrt eher belustigend. Meine Herangensweise hat die Situations eher verschlimmert und dabei hab ich mich doch so schlau gef¨¹hlt. Jung und t?richt und scheinbar hat sich das noch immer nicht ge?ndert. Nun bin ich hier auf gefangen in einer Welt die ich nicht verstehe und verhalte mich so als ob das genaue Gegenteil der Fall w?re. All mein Wissen n¨¹tzt mir wenig, wenn ich nicht mehr als ein Spielstein sein kann. Es ist schwierig Ambition jeglicher Art zu entwickeln, wenn die Guiliotine bedrohlich ¨¹ber deinem Haupt ruht. Auch wenn ich gerne reflektiere und Dinge unterdr¨¹cke, die mich belasten, so war ich doch im Grunde meines Herzens ein Realist. Und nun war in meiner Realit?t kein Platz f¨¹r Heldentum, kein Prinzen und Prinzessinen geh?rten in diese. Ich bin nur eine Seele die nicht in diese Welt geh?rt. Nun, dass soll aber nicht hei?en, dass diese Umst?nde mir diktieren wie oder wie ich micht verhalten habe. Wenn Sie mich loswerden wollen, dann kann ich das vollends nachvollziehen, das hei?t aber nicht das ich lautlos verschwinden werde. Ne, ein bisschen Spa? muss sein, dass habe ich mir nach all der Maskerade verdient. ------------------------------------------------ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" " WHY CAN''T YOU BE LIKE YOUR SISTER?" " WHAT SHOULD THE OTHERS THINK?" " WHAT HAVE WE DONE WRONG TO MAKE YOU THE WAY YOU ARE?" This feeling of bitter disappointment, the blind rage, the hurt pride, all of this accumulates in this cold face that does not allow any emotion. This indifferent face was all too familiar to me since it belonged to the person I call my father. At some point, however, even this shouting was replaced by apathetic comments. This acceptance was much more hurtful than any tantrum or doubt. As always, I tried to hide these details and just pretended to be above it all. All this while suffering silently and secretly inside, but even that I never wanted to admit. All these questions and comments were nothing more than an interrogation to which I had to answer. To claim that I was innocent of the matter would be more than unrealistic, but somehow I find the circumstances that led to it rather amusing. My approach made the situation worse and yet I felt so smart. Young and foolish and apparently that hasn''t changed yet. Now here I am trapped in a world I don''t understand and act as if the exact opposite is true. All my knowledge is of little use to me if I cannot be more than a token. It is difficult to develop ambition of any kind when the guillotine rests menacingly over your head. Even though I like to reflect and suppress things that bother me, I was a realist at heart. And now there was no place for heroism in my reality, no prince and princesses belonged in it. I am just a soul that does not belong in this world. Well, that is not to say that these circumstances dictate how I should behave. If they want me to disappear, I completely understand it. That doesn''t mean I''ll go quietly. No, I deserve a little fun after all the masquerade. ----------------------------------------------------------------- " What was that feeling of rage that I felt inside of you?" It was nothing more than a bad memory, something I wish I could have forgotten about by now. " It felt like you were out for blood." said my Tennant faking concern, in the end, it did not truly care about my mood, it was just another thing to keep him entertained. Just as usual he just did whatever it wanted to. " You seem awfully moody today, you are going to scare the poor player if you are that happy." Oh yes, I am so concerned about my public image, with the Observer translating my language I will be so worried about getting my points across. As long as I do not rip out his vocal cords or act unreasonably I can say and do whatever I want. I am just the tool used in this case, so that the ego of these little guy does not get hurt, because they are unable to use their brain cells for anything other than murdering monsters with their magic. I am just here to play my part and that''s it. How the Observer chooses to depict me and what his true intentions are, is not something I should concern myself with. If it has other plans for me, I am sure I will learn about them sooner or later anyway. So what if I am moody or have a bad temper? Does it really matter? As long as I smile when I give the interview no one is really going to care. The ideal master who teaches players, that they can have my strength by simple doing push-ups. Is it not fantastic, that the Observer has managed to create that image simply by twisting my words so that these fools would adore me? Everything in this world is laid out by Observer, whether it is my fate or the fate of a player, I will not even bother trying to pretend it would be any other way. So please spare me from any moral wisdom, because my perspective on this entire situation will not change. "It is not like your circumstances have been any different beforehand, so why are you this emotional just now?" It is an easy way to vent my frustrations and the stress that has built up over all the time, without having to worry about anything. So what''s wrong if I throw around some insults or anything that would cause me some relief? Oh no, the scary human is acting differently than usual, he must be plotting to overthrow the world and rule it with an iron fist. He will kill the young and old alike and his victim will never be able to rest as they suffer for all eternity. Yeah, the human without magic will be the end for the world as we know it. If you are not careful he is going to throw insults at you, how can anyone bear something like this? He might even give you a stern glance and there is nothing anyone can do against it. You see, you will have to watch out for any human you might encounter, I have heard they even swallow children whole for the sake of their entertainment. Can we just continue without all of that suspicion and conspiracies? I am just here to present myself to the audience and help these players over their lack of functioning brain cells. There are no schemes and no plans, I only want to answer these questions and be done with it. I have tried to scheme, I have tried to lay out traps but it is only due to will of the Observer that I am still alive. Until I find a method to circumvent the influence of the Observer I have no other choice than to follow the script. Whether that means having to answer questions or playing the wise teacher for some poor lost souls my task truly is not something for me to choose. Solely the interview itself was my idea, but everything around it is dictated by the Observer. That is why I refused to ask for anything in return, I truly do not have the position to do so in the first place. If I did not prove my worth to the Observer I will be discarded without any sort of hesitation. As I have pointed out, there is no way I am planning anything but even if I did it would be more than unwise due to my current relationship with the Observer. Upon seeing that CallMeDaddy had finished his preparations I started to approach him with a smile on my face. Answering some simple questions should not pose much of a challenge but it needed to be done nonetheless. " It is nice to make your acquaintance." I made a short bow out of courtesy and waited for his reaction. A satisfied expression appeared on his face and he began to nod. They all are the same in this world, give them a compliment and their head truly starts to float over the clouds. Let me just adapt my behaviour accordingly to his next choices. " Raise your head, you may call me CallMeDaddy during our interview." His almighty has gained my lowly self the privilege of using the name CallmeDaddy I feel deeply touched by this act of sheer grace. " As previously discussed the Interview will consist out of 2 parts. The first part will be held by me, while the second part is reserved for the questions from the audience." " This arrangement is favourable for both of our interests." This time around I spoke to him as an equal because I was representing the developer team. " Is the scenery to your liking?" I inquired asking curiously about an opinion I could not care less about. After some worthless praise and some minor details, that he wanted to change everything had been prepared for the interview to begin. I was placed in front of the army of Moirais who stood behind me staring menacingly at CallMeDaddy who just kept repeating perfect after seeing it. Well. I do not know, why portraying me as the leader of the Moirai is helpful in my cause, but since its the plan of the Observer it must be correct. My clothes had been replaced as well, instead of the simple t-shirt and jeans, I now wore an elegant robe, which was clearly oversized not suited for the body of a youth. I ended up looking like the least threatening King of savages to ever grace this land. Although this detail seemed unnecessary, I would not make a fuss about my appearance. If I was affected by something like this, then I would have had to scratch the catastrophe that I call my face by now. Besides looking like a joke is also a nice change. As of now, my appearance was only an attack on good taste. I ignored the laughing sound in the back of my mind, as I did not have the ground to scold him for this. I mean I would have done the same if someone else was forced to wear this kind of clothing. With this kind of snow-white robe, I must have escaped out of the nearest bathroom or an asylum. Of course, the smile had never left my mouth while my public image was going to be destroyed the second this broadcast would start. All of a sudden CallMeDaddy entire aura changed and he came way too close to the face of his crew member, which was most likely the camera for this interview. I had not expected this level of enthusiasm coming from him. I had thought, that he would treat this matter a lot more serious with a stern expression on his face. " Hello, its CallMeDaddy. I am here to bring you the newest rumours and the best stories from the world of "Primal Survival." But this time I have planned something special for my entire audience. Because today my guest is someone, you all have heard about. He is involved in every major development in " Primal Survival" and most people have been searching for him without any success." " This is the NPC everyone knows as Moirai." He turned his head around and approached me with a big grin on his face. " Dear Moirai, first of all, thank you for giving me this interview. Most of the audience has heard about the mysterious NPC known as Moirai, but what are you in the first place?" Such a heavy question right from the start, this will be more interesting than expected. " Thank you for having me here. I am just a lowly human, but it is my fortune to be able to help everyone with their training." Although I could choose to say anything I want, it would be unwise to do actually do so, since the content of my message should align with my mannerisms, I do not want to rely on outside help in that aspect. " I do wonder, why should a human have such a high honour? Teaching us Chosen one is not something as lowly as a human should do" he tried to he could not suppress the derogatorily sound in his voice. " How could a human teach a Chosen One? A Chosen One does not need to learn anything from them. But you should never forget exactly where your roots lie or are you trying to denounce OUR ANCESTOR as he was human before being chosen by the Gods?" This was a warning, I doubt he would want to continue down this road, once his Ancestor has been brought into play. I could not care any less about what he thinks about humans in the first place, but I do not want to defend myself for being a human either. " Yeah, a human is at least better than a monster." Seems like The Observer did not want to follow through with my remark, as long as this line of questioning does not continue I am fine with it. " Moirai, everything about you is shrouded in mystery, tell us more about you and your origin." What even was that for an interview-style, normally you would give a lot more information about the subject in question, so that your viewer is a lot more emotionally invested but as of now It is just me answering questions. " What can I say I am a simple human in this world full of magic when I opened my eyes I already found myself staring into the blue sky. I met some truly interesting people as I wandered around in this world. Although I do not speak your language it is still fascinating to see all of this with my own eyes. I truly savour every moment that I get to spend here. But sadly my time is rather limited." CallMeDaddy looked at me with confusion in his eyes, did I say something which the Observer could not fix in time? " Allow me the question although it may seem a bit strange, but are you aware of yourself?" Seems like me behaviour is a bit too lifelike. Well, let''s make it a sobful story. " I am Moirai as for my role, of course, I am aware. It is my duty to fight against the players so that they can improve. I have learned that I am different from the other humans you refer to as NPC. But it is my obligation to see this training through to the end." " But do you not have any regrets about this?" " Everybody has regrets, I am no exception to this rule. Mine is just something, which I can not make up or redeem myself for. You see, although this life of mine seems fruitless and wasted, it is something I truly can enjoy even though the end is inevitable. " My interviewer looked gobsmacked and utterly dumbfounded into my direction. Noted, I should avoid philosophical answers as it clearly is above his paygrade. Maybe I should just to the typical my God told me to stuff so that they can easily follow. Hey Observer just make some stuff up that I heard some God giving me a mission to teach those players. Our cultures are just too different in so many ways. My outlook and mindset are just too alien. " This calling came to me as I heard a voice inside of my head telling me what to do." This was not a lie, the Observer had indeed talked to me although the term "calling" should normally be replaced with task. After this statement, the doubt had settled on the face of CallMeDaddy and his countenance had returned to its previous state. He resumed the interview with another question. " You truly fight well for a human, but what is that strange fighting style of yours called?" " Calling it fighting style is a bit farfetched, I am just moving my body, I do not have any sophisticated technique. Still, if I had to give it a name, I would refer to it as Martial Arts. It is someone that everyone could learn if they spent enough time on it." Though they would never be as strong as me, I left that part out for good reasons. " But of course it could never compare to the might of magic. Otherwise, I as a human would not have to use this barbaric tactic just to pose a challenge to the players. We, humans, are just weak on our own and just with our body, we are nothing in front of magic." " Yeah indeed this Martial Arts are a tool for humans to strengthen themselves but it can not compare to the gift from the Gods." Gods gift huh? What would our work be called then? It is hard to compare the two, after all, there is no relation at all. Because one is human while the other is inhumane. 133 The interview 3 Despite answering these questions not much time had passed and judging by the look on his place the interview was far from over. I would have to face a barrage of questions and quite frankly I enjoyed it. Having a decent conversation I something I had craved for a long time. Until now I had to be wary about everyone who truly understood me. Not worrying about their plotting was a welcome change of pace. Speaking of which the voices inside of my head are unusually quiet are they up to no good again? Well, whatever I could not do anything to stop them even if I wanted to. My circumstances had not magically changed in a matter of seconds. I should rather worry about the things I can actually influence. " What is your opinion on the talent you have encountered so far?" What a simple question but a gigantic headache. I find myself in quite a predicament if I answer that question honestly. If I make a dishonest statement my body language will not fit the message the Observer will make out of it " They strength they do possess is unfathomable to me, the way they wield magic is truly fascinating and their potential is truly inexplicable to me." There it was my masterpiece, not a single lie had been spoken and everything I said was a compliment to these magicians. After all, I do not know what makes a magician strong and I truly find their way of conjuring magic interesting and how should I with my limited knowledge even evaluate the talent of a magician? I could only assess who is currently stronger than another magic but that has nothing to do with their talent. Of course, this masterpiece only invoked a satisfied nod after the ego had been stroked. Artists are always only truly recognized once they die, sadly I have not died a second time yet. Although I am not sure whether these people would share the same interest and understanding of art as humans have. Although the focus on depicting the specific Gods would surely be a common pattern. But none of them would accept the other form to be art. Especially the religious hardliner, they would just declare this as a heretic work and destroy it to keep up the glory of their God. This may be nothing more than pure speculation at this point, but it does seem very feasible the more I get to interact with these players. Truth be told, whether they are uncultured swine or deeply touched by such works is as important to me as actually reading terms and conditions of software. It was just a pitiful attempt to learn more about the present culture by trying to draw parallels to experiences I have made in my former world. Even the most complicated constructions could be solved by trying to understand and explain the smallest puzzle piece. Although it seemed like I lacked the brainpower to draw some good conclusions out of the limited scope of knowledge. So why do I fail a task, which any newborn can adapt to? Do Babies learn from instinct or from spectating their surroundings? What do they perceive what I miss out on? I wanted to delve deeper into this train of thought but the merciless questioning from the famous CallMeDaddy continued. If every player had that level of tenacity I would not be sitting here. " What is your favourite food?" Why would anyone want to know this about me? The strongest human you will ever see and you ask him for his diet? How am I supposed to answer this? I absolutely adore a salami pizza. but I am certain that no ones know what a pizza is in the first place. " I feast on the tears of my enemy" with a beaming smile I wondered exactly how that words came across. Let me just hope, that the Observer has enough situational awareness to not translate it word for word. Just to make sure I will add some words so that the situation gets cleared up. " Of course I am joking, I prefer the meat of very strong monsters." My words had not caused the outrage I had feared to come and I could continue the interview without having to fear for my life. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Yet the next wave of questions left me wondering if the interviewer had run out of topics to ask me about. From my favourite drink to my favourite method to pass the time to questions about what I think about my appearance and how it feels like to be human. Those were answered to the best of my knowledge and it did not seem like any of it disappointed as everyone present was quite happy. But still, I would have thought that there would be a bigger curiosity about my persona. What is your purpose, where do you come from? What are your plans? How can you be beaten? Instead, it was just basic questions, which seem unnecessary to know. If they tick that way and prefer stuff like that over facts, then so be it. There is still the possibility, that their words are changed by the Observer so that I myself do not get to hear their questions. The mere thought off that possibility makes everything so much more thrilling. Theoretically, which words am I not allowed to hear, even if I can not do everything to free myself from this state? Do these words possess such a value, that not even my Tennant is willing to let me in on them? Would this mean that the Observer and this old fogey are in cahoots? Although it was only a theory. the mere thought alone was really entertaining to me. It might be nothing more than a delusion, a fever dream but at least life would never be truly boring this way. " Let us make a short break so that our dear guest can relax a bit" I gave him a short bow before going out of the picture and started to do push-ups again. In the meantime, CallMeDaddy and his team walked around and started to interview Tom and the odd fellows that follow my training and my teaching. As I heard a deafening scream defending martial arts, I nodded in satisfaction and chuckled. I was proven correct, giving them my moral preaching was the right call. In the end, these mindless antics were nothing more than simple entertainment. I would never amount to anything more than a minuscule part in their lives and someday I will be nothing more than a faint memory. Both worlds, both forgotten. Why should I tell myself that everything is going to be fine if it will never be? Why should I please my hurt feelings only to cause more? I have enough emotional baggage, to begin with. I do not wish to be vulnerable like this again because getting hurt is inevitable for me. This was a lesson life has taught me over and over again. Placing trust in other people is impossible when I have never even learned to trust myself. Here I am getting a melancholic trying to rationalize by the things that are on my mind, seems like I will never be able to get rid of this habit. Time to intensify the training once again. Just by thinking about different stuff I can stop myself from moping so much. Looking back at my arrival in this world things really do have changed. For example, I would never have dreamed about being able to push-ups while I do a handstand. I saw things, that common sense would declare as witchcraft. Which it arguably is but I still do not accept explanations like Gods grace that easily. I have suffered pain I never thought possible and fought against people to the bitter end, had an ant army and have become something truly strange. From the Observer to the entity which fused with me, everything truly is magical. All of this was something I never could have expected to happen after my early departure from Earth. Although I like to drown in my own misery, all of this is something I would not give up on. Come to think of it I truly whine quite a lot regarding my future. Being clear-headed like this does not happen often to me. There is always something weighing on my mind, that I just can not accept. Ignorance truly is bliss, regardless of what the future might bring I should try to enjoy every last bit of it." --------------------------------------------------------- CallMeDaddy could not be any happier, he was the one who had an interview with Moirai. THE MOIRAI. So many had been interested in this NPC and he had managed to have him answer his questions. All of his team shared his enthusiasm as they all had prepared countless questions. After they finally met Moirai in person they suddenly felt as if they had not prepared enough. The Moirai in front of them was entirely different as the rumours around him suggested. He was not nearly as bloodthirsty and unforgiving as people imagined him to be. By talking to him CallMeDaddy realized that this NPC was not a monster and oddly similar to any normal person he had interviewed. He marvelled at the magical development that could mimic intelligent life to this degree. All of the answers it gave were unique and unconventional. For the audience, it was interesting to see how a human would think. In their eyes, it was just a mythical creature which had been extinct for a long time and nobody had any clear image of them. What were they eating, what were they doing in their free time, what were their dreams and aspirations? So many questions could now be answered and he CallMeDaddy was the one to ask them. Insanely proud for this achievement he already began to dream about the recognition he would receive in the future after this accomplishment. Despite the imminent fame, he did not forget about his team after his initial success. Without them, all of this would not have been possible. Letting them share some of the spotlights was the least he could do to repay them. Besides interviewing the less significant players is beneath him. While they were busy keeping the crowd entertained CallMeDaddy began to reassess his approach to Moirai and thought about the topic he should focus on next. While CallMeDaddy was contemplating he did not notice that had approached Moirai and begun to strike up a conversation. This did not last long before Moirai was handed something, which he promptly swallowed. Which caused the person, who gave him the mysterious object to stare at him dumbfounded before turning around and scurrying away. Moirai just had a big grin on his face, which disappeared as fast as it had appeared. It was unknown what he was currently thinking but his team member appeared to be elated after leaving Moirais sight. When he came back to the rest of his team a big smile bloomed on his face as if he had been freed of a burden. With a gloating smile, he turned around to see the expression of Moirai, who just waved in return. This little exchange left the previous happy player dumbfounded and he ran back to Moirai. Shortly after Moirai was handed yet another mysterious object which he swallowed without any hesitation. This time around did the person not leave Moirai and waited patiently for something only to be disappointed once again. This process repeated a few times until the person was getting more and more desperate. He grew more and more agitated as the event which he was waiting for did not occur after such a long time. A gaze full disbelief was aimed at Moirai, who just casually continued to do the exercise, unperturbed by his surroundings. The player began to fanatically communicate with someone else and was going up and down until the answer finally came. The player ran outside of the city and returned minutes later carrying a lot of different objects. He brought those in front of Moirai with newfound determination. Moirai on the other hand just grabbed them piece by piece and swallowed them under the pressuring glance of the player. After the deed had been done nothing happened much to the dismay of the shocked onlooker. With shaking hands, he tried to rub his eyes doubting whether he did not imagine that was occurring right in front of him. Yet the result was still the same no matter how hard or how long he had rubbed his eyes for. The previous nervousness returned tenfold as he even began to perspire heavily. He wanted to scream at the NPC sitting right in front of him showing next to no reaction at all. Breathing heavily he came to the conclusion that he had to spare no effort and even if he would be bleeding heavily for spending his trump card he had no other choice because the alternative was that much worse. With a heavy sigh, he took out something from his inventory and gave it Moirai. Watching his heartache, he turned around and could not bear watching as it disappeared in the mouth of that hateful NPC. But finally, after numerous spilt tears, the item had finally caused the desired effect. The system finally confirmed the status change he had hoped for so long. [Absolute Truth applied] was a heaven-sent signal. Moirai himself did not notice that anything had changed and he just resumed to do pushups without any worry in the world. With a grin on his face, he had eaten everything, the other person had given him. Only a few people knew, that this grin was not one of a good kind. The ants that crawled out behind him went unnoticed as everyone was preoccupied with something else. The purpose of those ants was unknown but it would not be a good one. Regardless it would go over their heads anyway. 134 Absolute truth 1 Absolute Truth as the name suggests is a state of mind which forces its target to be unable to utter a single lie without feeling horrendous pain. It could not be achieved by ordinary means and a steep price had to be paid to accomplish it. But the target was even more special and even not so ordinary tools did not affect it. This fact caused even more confusion and perplexion. He had never seen items of such a quality in the first place as he was just given them with the mission to somehow bring Moirai to eat them. He did not ask the veiled figure about their origin as he knew that opening his mouth would have not been a wise decision. But what even was the last item, that caused the effect to finally take place. Otherwise, the veiled figure would not have hesitated for so long before finally handing it over. Of course, this was done under a threat to only use it when everything else had failed or else suffer the consequences. After the lack of results, he found himself caught between a rock and a hard place and had to use this option, even if that meant he would have to waste something so precious. Finally, the desired effect appeared and he could relax. Everything which followed was not part of his responsibility anymore. Yet, he could not stop himself from being intrigued why someone was willing to spend so much on a simple NPC. He could not suppress his curiosity and as calm as possible asked the NPC a simple question to satisfy this desire. By making sure not to arouse any suspicion in the target, he could only ask a very basic question. " Moirai, I have always wondered you are so strong, then your family must be remarkable as well right?" This sentence was spoken so innocently, that one would not expect any hidden motives behind it but despite this Moirais face became distorted as he looked right at him. There was something odd seeing Moirai behaving in such a fashion. The calm demeanour had disappeared in an instance leaving behind a terrifying gaze. " They are indeed remarkable." With a voice full of scorn and bitterness he gave that reply. Being looked at by these haunting expression on his face left him more than uncomfortable. The feeling was eerily similar to the one he had felt when he had talked to the mysterious veiled figure. But there was one big difference, in the presence of the latter there were no doubts simply because the gap between their abilities was unimaginable. Just being close caused him to have difficulties to breathe and this was not even done intentionally by the other party. He had never seen any magic of this calibre, not even on the family head. Yet there was not even an ounce of magic flowing around Moirai and he certainly did not hold a candle to that person, still why are his instincts screaming at him to get away from this NPC? How could an NPC cause such emotion to stir inside of him? It did not make any sense, maybe it was just his mind playing a trick on him. After all the event had been pure stress for him so far and the tension had never really dropped until now. The more he thought about it the more I felt assured by that assumption. An NPC scaring a player, the mere notion seems laughable. He would not tell a single soul, that he had such a thought in the first place. With newfound confidence, he asked the next question. " How strong are they in comparison to you?" Moirai looked at him with a weird smile on his face, it was a bit offputting to see it even before its mouth had opened. It came across creepy and somehow looked very sinister. " They are far stronger than me and they always have been. In my family, I was always known as the weakling amongst them. I never have managed to live up to their expectations and I never had the strength to change any of that." Strangely this time around the voice was full of contempt and ridicule. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. This change did not go unnoticed as it further strengthed his belief that his initial judgement had been nothing more than a result out of his imagination. Moirai was a strong NPC without a doubt, but just like every other NPC, he was pathetic at his core. " Too weak, even amongst human, how do they expect us to have trust in its abilities to teach us?" he murmured loudly not even trying to hide mockery. Moirai did not show any reaction to these words and just continued to stare at him. " So, you weak human, what happened afterwards?" " Of course, I have been replaced by my sister. She always had been the perfect fit for the expectations of my dear parents. After all, she is truly strong. And the truly strong are expected to trample upon those weaker than them. It has always been like that throughout all of history." Moirai had a self-deprecating smile on his face, as his voice sounded happy in a very fake manner. A loud laugh escaped from the lips of the one who was currently questioning Moirai, he could not stop himself from laughing at the " strong" Moirai. This image did not fit the current Moirai anymore. Moirai was not offended by that laugh as he continued to speak. " I was a fool the entire time for thinking I had done enough. I am sure they are all too happy about my weak self. At least no one had any trouble with their picture-perfect arrangement. Who would care about the likes of me?" Moirai had a hysterical laughing fit. Yet his laughing sounded deranged and more than mad. He had been grinding his own teeth and forced a smile on his lips which appeared to be rather demented. All of this was ignored and more questions were asked happily without any concern. He could not stop himself from trying to pry further into this NPC. From the knowledge obtained so far, he could not understand what would justify spending so many precious resources on it. The only thing he had discovered so far was, that the rest of his family was much stronger than it. Although this only confirmed that there are still some stronger humans somewhere out there. Which in itself was no grand revelation, it would not make sense to introduce the strongest human NPC that early. Sadly, this information was of no use to him, since he could spread it around without fearing any repercussions from the side of the developers. Unlike CallMeDaddy he did not pursue that kind of fame. He was perfectly fine with enjoying the benefits, that came with their friendship. All of this was to sate his satisfaction, not for some other arbitrary reason. " So Moirai, why did you end up in this place?" " One thing led to another and before I knew it I was already in this wonderful world. Arriving at this place was outside of my wildest imagination. Who knows, I might have to thank my family for this as well." Moirai had returned to his usual behaviour but there was a tinge of sadness in his voice. " It feels strange talking about my past, especially on this occasion. My usual treatment varies from monster to something inferior. So please keep your arrogance on a level, which I still can tolerate. We do not want to destroy this precious situation right?" Spoken in a true nonchalantly fashion, Moirai gave his conversation partner a smirk. Did the NPC just threaten him? This time around he would treat it as a mistake of his senses. Although he normally would not stand such a treatment, he could not afford to anger the NPC someone had invested so many resources into as well. " I know, deep down it must be hard on you. Being forced to listen to my words, when you probably want nothing more than to kill me with your own 2 hands. It must be vexing to know, that the circumstances do not allow you, to take action against me. How truly pitiful you must be." In order to show his "sincerity" Moirai had begun to pat his shoulder while giving motivational replies. After several everything is going to be fine, the situation had lost its former peacefulness as a lot of anger was dwelling inside of the player. Moirai unaffected and seemingly unaware of what he had caused began to speak to the player once again. " I will gladly answer all of your questions but just be aware that you will not like some of the answers. And yes this is a threat." " You dirty..." " Before you say anything stupid, that you will come to regret I would suggest just keeping your mouth shut. Or you will come to learn how truly fleeting your feeling of superiority can be. " This threat was laughable in his eyes, why would he listen to the words of an NPC? Moirai came closer to him and looked him directly into the eyes. " Let me spell it out for you once more since you refuse to accept the situation. This never was and never will be about you. You were just a tiny part in the upcoming play and yet you pretend to actually be something? Who do you think you are to be so important?" This time around Moirais voice was a lot more chilly. " Seeing me eye to eye and talking on an equal level? You are not worthy." " You never understood, me answering your questions was just a courtesy from my side. I could not care less what you think about me. Answering your questions is not an admission of weakness, nor is it something to feed your ego. How I loathe this kind of attitude." Moirai continued to stare him directly into the eyes not taking his eyes away for a second while he spoke in front to the player, which rage still had not subsided. " Even right now, I am trying to work something out, which should be the best for both of us. But you refuse to see the logic and place your trust in that unwavering faith, that will only leave you bitter and disappointed. You prepare yourself to attack me any second time, so full of bravado and foolish confidence believing deeply that nothing can go wrong." Moirai turned around and did not even look at the player who was harbouring thoughts off taking revenge on Moirai for the revenge he just had suffered. " What is that unwavering trust in yourself based on? I could stand here all day and you would not be able to kill me with your pitiful abilities. Since you are the type of person to not believe the obvious, then go ahead try your hardest to kill me. I will not defend myself nor will I dodge any of your attacks." " Magic will not fail me!" Screaming out all of his pent-up rage, he conjured his fire magic and launched it at Moirai, but against his expectations, the fireball landed on Moirai and did not show any effect. A yawn escaped out of Moirais lips as he began to stretch his arms and back. Humming a melody, the fireball had not even been enough to force a sound out of him. It was just as Moirai had prophesized and this caused the player to rage even harder. " Your display of process was enough. Know It is certain, you truly have no talent whatsoever. How do you intend to defeat monsters, when you can not even hurt someone like me?" The next attack that hit his back had a lot more power but it was only enough to slightly destroy the robe Moirai was still wearing. Moirai on the other hand still did not budge an inch and he sighed heavily. " This is the weakest fire magic I have encountered, are you certain that this can be considered an attack?" The reply to these harsh words came back with full force, but the words seemed to have had more of an effect than the flames which just caused more damage to the clothing. If he had seen the expression on the face of Moirai, he would have noticed that something was amiss but blinded by his rage he wanted nothing more than to kill this filthy NPC. He could not stand being told what to do by a human. " Mr CallMeDaddy you do not disturb this. He is just venting his feelings, let us continue where we left off. After all, we want to present the audience something more than pitiful magic of this level." CallMeDaddy was unsure on how to proceed as a member of his team had lost his mind as he attacked Moirai with his magic over and over again. If not for the lack of results, he would have intervened a long time ago. Despite feeling sorry for his friend, he decided to continue the interview. He would not let his friend stand in his way to fame. " Moirai, everyone is curious what happened here?" Moirai did not even turn around and gave his reply with a pleasant smile on his face. " He was unable to accept the truth and he needs to vent his frustrations. I will gladly help him with that. Sometimes it is hard to accept to come to terms with one''s weakness but I am sure he will come over it one way or another." But as Moirai was hit with more and more spells his smile only became brighter and brighter. " Would you mind preparing another set of robes for me, the old one is sadly not so presentable anymore." 135 Absolute truth 2 After several tries which did not yield any results, the attacker held his head down in shame and moved away from the scene of the interview. Everything had returned to normality and no a single player had any intention to copy the reckless behaviour of their companion. They were glad that Moirai had not taken offence to it. Treating their interview target like this, was not something that CallMeDaddy could tolerate, as his selfish desires could implicate all of their ambition and their hard work. He came to the conclusion that it would be for the best if he stayed away from this interview. This was a chance of a lifetime and he would not let him or anyone other ruin it for him. The robe for Moirai had quickly been replaced and following a quick apology for the acts of his member of his news team he continued the important interview session. " Dear audience I have to apologize for the unsightly behaviour of my team. We are here to inform others not to watch the childish tantrum of a select member of my team." He made a short bow and held his head down for a few seconds before returning to a happy tone in his voice. " But we do not plan to keep you waiting any longer. After Moirai had replaced his old clothing, we are now finally back to answering questions everybody yearns to have an answer for. But first of all Moirai, your patience is admirable, not many would have been able to keep their composure." Moirai, now donning a brand new bathroom robe, appeared to be pleasantly surprised by the compliment. With a beaming smile, he begins to speak to CallMeDaddy " Do not mention it, everyone is eager to prove themselves from time to time. Conflict is bound to occur. He is just frustrated about his current weakness. Give it some time and this feeling will turn into a desire to get stronger." CallMeDaddy was more and more confused about the NPC sitting right in front of him. Normally Moirai was known as an unforgiving enemy, which would kill whenever the opportunity struck. Yet currently it seemed like it was the exact opposite. It would have never missed out on getting revenge- " Moirai, tell us more about yourself, I am sure that the audience wants to know more about humans." The NPC in front of him, was silent for a few seconds before the reply came. Moirai sounded a bit more solemn when he had started to speak. " I am a mediocre at best, just like the average human, sorry if I have to disappoint you in that regard. I do not have any quality, which would put me above the other humans. Certainly, there are humans out there, who are far stronger and far more intelligent then I could ever be. But I am sure, that I can be of help in training everyone." CallMeDaddy was not content with the meagre knowledge he had received and he started to ask for more details. " How would you describe the average human?" " The average human... I would say the average human is a fairly competent creature, it certainly does not lack the skills to be considered as something less. But humans are inherently flawed. They are capable of great good but even greater evil." Moirai made a short pause before continuing with a serious expression on his face. " The duality of men is not something, which can be understood without experiencing it first hand. And I hope for each and every one of you, that you will never get that oppurturnity. But who would like to come into contact with my sinful kind in the first place?" CallMeDaddy was caught off-guard by Moirais answer and had to make a sudden break to truly understand and comprehend what had been said. He had never heard about the Duality of men. What was that supposed to mean? This question among many others was currently running through his brain. After long few seconds, CallMeDaddy finally managed to bring out some words, despite them deviating from his initial plan. " But everyone knows, that the monsters are responsible for every evil in this world. So how can humans be on the same level as this hateful abominations?" Moirai could only shake his head upon seeing the naive reply from his interviewer. Nevertheless, he still gave a sufficient answer to the question. " Monsters are evil and vile but just because they are, does not mean, that others are incapable of being the same. Viewing the world one-sided means setting yourself up for failure. " " But did the Gods not guide our way and told us to eradicate the monsters for that exact reason. To cleanse the world of evil?" asked CallMeDaddy confused, as everyone knew that Monsters were the cause for everything bad in this world. " Let me put it into terms, that might make you understand. The monsters responsible might not look like monsters nor are your seeing them as such. The monsters might be much closer than you would expect them to be." " Ridiculous" CallMeDaddy exclaimed full of passion. " Do you think we would not see a monster when it was close to us? With our magical talent, no mere beast would be able to come even close to us." A long sigh escaped over the lips of Moirai for yet another time as he had failed at bringing his points across. " To rephrase it one more time. If you only see Evil, when there are monsters involved, you are going to have a very bad time. That much I can guarantee you." The expression on Moirais face was a lot more aggressive as he had spoken the warning. " That much should be obvious, we never said the fight against the monsters was easy. Many strong have given their lives in the battle against these vile beings. Until every last monster has been eradicated we can not rest easy." Now it was Moirais turn to look dumbfounded as he failed to comprehend how his conversation partner had come to this conclusion. Moirai appeared to be pondering about something as the CallMeDaddy started the next line of questioning. " Which kind of monsters do the humans face?" " The human race had to face a lot of difficult adversaries. All of these monsters were several times bigger and stronger than a puny human but in the end, the humans managed to persevere. But even to this day, there are still some monsters, that can not be controlled no matter what is done. Despite all of the old predators being gone a long time ago." " Ridding the world of every monster can not be done that easily, especially if you fail to comprehend what a monster truly is. Yet instead of trying to actually understand, you claim to already have done so, " Moirai added looking dispirited and slightly disappointed. " Silly Moirai, sorry for having misunderstood your intentions. It really was a good joke, I think everyone can agree to that." With these words came widespread laughter as the entire camera team had come to the same conclusion. Moirai was unimpressed by their reaction and only mumbled, that this should suffice. Afterwards, he returned to his usual stance and joined in with them on the laughter. This situation lasted for quite some time until everyone returned to the slightly serious mood had during the interview. " So Moirai jokes aside, tell us something interesting about yourself." " I think being human is the only redeeming quality I have. The rest is something you would not like to hear about that I am sure. " " Then let us just start with a basic question, what kind of magic can you use?" " Magic? Sorry, but I do not have any idea how to wield it or how it functions. I am just a lowly human, how should I know that? Magic is not something my kind should be able to use. " Although Moirai seemed to be unperturbed by the fact. " Magic can be used by every being in this world, some better some worse and you claim that you can not use magic? Please, be serious, now is not the time for jokes." Moirai had a gloating expression on his face as he gave his answer. " Okay, okay I do use magic to strengthen my body. But I can not do anything beyond with the magic alone." " Alone?" " The rest is thanks to this here" Moirai gave a few slabs to the muscles on his stomach. " Without the strength of my body, I would not be able to fight at all." This time it was CallMeDaddy who was shaking his head upon hearing the answer. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. " Humans really are uncultured and a bunch of savages. Relying on their body and using magic for something so degrading. The Gods should punish humans for this travesty." " Who knows they might have done that already. Do you see the strange pattern on my forehead?" The camera began to zoom in on Moirais forehead. Visible on it were a few lines deeply etched into the skin. Every onlooker had an ominous feeling the longer they stared at them. Their intrinsic design was drawing them in and captivating, yet they found it repulsive and terrible at the same time. A faint trace of something pulsing was also noticeable beneath those lines as if something alive was moving beneath them. Despite all of the attention gathering up on Moirais forehead, the NPC in question was just looking in the surroundings marvelling at the scenery. Without even knowing its meaning they still could determine, that it was not something good. The subconsciously took a few steps backwards, to increase the distance to this symbol. Witnessing this Moirai began to grin but did not say anything. " This lines on my head have a special meaning, where I come from they mean sin. Sin in the eyes of God, something which goes against the morals preached and the virtues it stands for. Sin in the community which tolerate such values. Sin for the very ground that is being treated on. I am that sin." Moirai spoke calmly while explaining such a heretic case as if it was nothing. Hearing about its background many faces turned ashen and they just stood there without knowing how to proceed from onwards from this statement. They had never thought, that the developers would include something like this in their game. It was unheard of that something so heretic was allowed to run free in this simulated world. At the same time, they thought about what the developers and the Church are planning since they endorsed this exact thing. With his arms crossed behind his back Moirai simply smiled before he spoke. " I am a Sin and approaching me are several players improving themselves over and over again by fighting me. This is my purpose, so fret not this issue will be solved in no time and then I will be gone for good." Everyone calmed down and as they digested the information, they started to realize, that they had overreacted and that this travesty would be solved by the players. This was enough to calm them down. " This interview is supposed to give everyone some insight into the plans we have for the players and how to improve their ability. I am sure many people are currently surprised hearing about this, but I am sure, they will come to understand it. Because many have become involved in this matter." After a short break Moirai looked around as if he was searching for something before clicking his teeth in annoyance. " So what else do you want to know about me?" Moirai questioned his interview partner sounding bored. It appeared that the lack of results in his search was the cause for that mood swing. After CallMeDaddy had regained his focus, he cleared his throat before starting the next question. " Everyone would like to know, who do you expect to win in this fierce competition?" " Competition? This is not a competition, it never was and it never will be. Do not make me laugh. This is not about winners and losers, who is stronger and who is weaker. That mindset of yours clearly shows that you have failed to understand the very essence of this world and training." " You have but one enemy and one goal, that everyone tries to achieve. Yet instead of unison, everyone only seems to do this for their own gain. The battlefield has no place for people and their selfish desires, you are a team and survival of so many is carried on your shoulders. So this is not a competition, this is for their own personal growth so that they can protect the lives entrusted to them." Moirai looked really angry after hearing the question. After hearing these words everyone understood that their thinking had been shallow. Categorizing and sensationalizing the player base was wrong in itself. It was their job to give everyone hope not glorying players. After a long period of silence, CallMeDaddy spoke up once more. " I am truly sorry. I did not see that I have gone astray from the original teachings." " Wie viel Schwachsinn muss ich noch fabrizieren, bevor es endlich los geht?" "What did you say?" " Nothing, much I just said that I look forward to answering the questions of the audience since time is running out for me. I grant this oppurturnity to everyone to truthfully answer every question they might have about me. Of course, if you still have any questions that need to be answered we can take care of them before we start." CallMeDaddy thought about the proposal for quite some time but he had to agree, that most of the questions had run its course and involving the audience was a good way to keep them entertained. " I wholeheartedly agree, whatever question you have to feel free to ask them. My team and I will select the best ones." " I will answer every question. That much I assure you." Moirai said with a devious expression on his face. Unbeknownst to CallMeDaddy and the rest of the team, a lot of things had started to occur, after the interview had started. 136 Schemes and Schemers and one really annoying NPC The interview was received well and bringing in a lot of new viewers. At first, everyone had been a little sceptic about the decision to interview a simple NPC instead of a famous player but they had soon be won over by the mysterious NPC. Learning about their ancestor''s ways of living and everything about them had a strange allure to them. Hearing all about them was satisfying and at the same time, they wanted to get to know even more about them. Their obsession with monster meat or the constant desire to make jokes at inappropriate times was really not how they would have imagined their ancestors to behave. They had the impression, that their lives consisted out of fear for their lives amidst the monsters that had been preying on them before the Gods had selected them. Yet they found out that the humans were a lot more different than initially expected. Especially a human carrying the label Sin. They had never seen or heard of a case like this. According to their experience, only a monster was fit to carry something like this as their entire existence was considered sacrilegious. Why a human would carry this label was hard for them to fathom. Despite all of their flaws, the Ancestor had been one of them before being chosen. After pondering on this issue for a while the came to the conclusion. that their Ancestor must have been special among the human. This explanation gave them enough reason to be proud of their heritage. Their lineage being superior to the sinful human was common sense in their eyes. After making that kind of distinction between themselves and the weird human on their magic crystals they could finally rest easy. All of the knowledge the human gave away was soaked up as it filled the cold and harsh reality with something new and exciting. Drawn in by their vivid imagination, they started the dire struggle for survival the old humans must have faced. Or at least how they thought it must have looked like. Because the source for their imagery was a really modern interpretation of the thing known as human. Due to the lack of understanding, many things about Moirai were just accepted without pondering too deeply and treated as a fact. For instance, the fierce expression on Moirais face was wrongly interpreted as a sign for compassion. The changes in his mood were seen as the normal way humans had conversed. The lack of manners and formality was brought into relation to their savage lifestyle that did not allow for something like this. Therefore the lack thereof was seen as a realistic depiction of the prehistoric humans. That this judgement could not be any more of the truth is not something that they were aware of. Watching Moirai formed their new view and their new understanding of how a human behaved and acted. During the interview, the audience experienced a wide range of emotions, from pure laughter to excitement and sobriety. Moirai brought them to feel these emotions due to the quality of the answers he gave. They even shed a tear after hearing his speech about their responsibility. But there were some who did not share the same feelings as the general audience. Looking at the NPC and all its antics was the cause for the utter disgust and bitter hatred they felt towards this entity. Without a doubt, the people who had suffered the most due to his existence were the technicians who still had not been able to solve the issue and were now forced to helplessly watch on as his face was taunting them over and over again. They had lost all of their remaining hope as their actions did not yield any results and that this NPC had the audacity to hold an interview was the final straw for them. After giving up on trying to salvage this situation, all they wanted to do was cry and curse their ill fate as their future had now been sealed. A general feeling of resignation and downcast expression filled the room but next to no words were spoken as they all suffered silently. The realisation that everything had failed was a painful sensation, that every single technician had to make for themself. They only could watch on in horror as the NPC they despised continue to bask in the limelight of the general public. Absolutely sick of seeing its face right in front of them, they wanted nothing more than to avert there eyes, but yet the could not do that. There was something which forced them to continue watching this torment as if in the back of their minds they still had to fully give up and were hoping for a miracle to occur. Trying to hold onto this faint hope was something they did subconsciously. Strangely they decided against praying for a solution in this matter. Normally directing a prayer at their specific God would have been considered nothing more than a formality. But for whatever reason, they decided against involving the Gods in this matter. A technicians responsibility lied in the exchange with the system and the adaptation of the whims of their superiors. So, they were considered to be the ones who knew the most about the world of Primal Survival. Yet, even they lacked a feasible explanation of what Moirai exactly was. The system remained silent about the details surrounding Moirai and the teams they had sent could not even approach the NPC before being killed by the now many clones that were freely roaming in the vicinity around the deserted town. They were as clueless as everyone else, although they were the ones supposed to fully understand the simulated world. Lacking the knowledge about everything, which was remotely related to the mysterious NPC. At first, they still got away claiming to have designed this NPC to advertise Primal Survival but now everything had deteriorated. All of the initial lies they had used to keep their boss happy had come back to haunt them and they were just waiting for the infuriated boss to appear. The mood in this dark and cold room was incomparably sullen. Awaiting their boss and his terrible mood, they had accepted their immediate doom. All they could do was wait until the inevitable would take place. Unbeknownst to them, it was their boss, who was currently in a heap of trouble. The boss known for his fierce temper found himself at the opposing side for once as he was screamed at without getting any chance to retort. The cause for this unusual sight lied in the unusual behaviour of the NPC as well. " Why do we spend so many resources and a trivial NPC, or however that thing is called can ruin it singlehandedly. If you can not even solve such an issue, how can we put any trust in you and your team full of failures? The men who said this was the spokesperson for the Church council and was regarded as one of the most influential people in the future development of Primal Survival. While he certainly did not look the part with his slightly chubby body and round face, there was no denying, that this person had the abilities to make his life a living hell. It was the first time that he had interfered with their decisionmaking. Prior he had let things run its course, but this situation caused him to speak up and to convey his concern in an audible fashion. What made the situation even less tolerable was that he was not the only person present at the conference. There was also a representative for the crown, who was also clearly not amused by the current development of the situation. Although his demeanour was a lot more reserved a look in his face was enough to tell, that he shared the same opinion has the member of the Church. The involvement of the royal family was a well-kept secret, as only the highest echelons were aware of this fact. Not even Lysander himself, as the president of Casum Entertainment, knew the purpose of it, but since they were adamant of being secretive he did not dare to ask. They provided the resources and in return he kept quiet. Though the same did not stand true for the Churches, all of them had sent many of their youths into " Primal Survival" trying to achieve something, which Lysander could not figure out even after supervising the activity of their affiliated players. This measures had to be taken because Lysander was keenly aware. that the participation of the Churches came at a cost. After being involved in this struggle for far too long he had begun to detest it. He wanted to shield the common players from this fierce battle, full of intrigues and lies. His aim lied in training these players to solve the trouble and not to create it. Unfortunately despite all of his effort, he could not stop most of the players from becoming a part of this cruel fight. He just had the still hope, that they would not lose sight of themselves and to follow their own path. The least he could do was to supervise and if possibly subtly intervene in their endeavour. Lysander had no intention of becoming an enemy with their Churches far from it. He knew all too well about all of their responsibilities but he also knew that the current players were not ready yet. Though the detail that worried him the most was, that the Church was not particularly interested in the development of said players. Except for a few rare exceptions, their main focus lied entirely else. Which begged the question, why did they invest so much if they are not interested in the players themselves? Lysander did not have an answer to this question. With this thought in his mind, he decided to probe the Churches for their intention. " Dear Sir, I understand your concern, but I do not see how a simple NPC is a burden for our plans. I do not see how a simple NPC can clash with our plan to train the next generation of talents. Especially if this NPC had been seen as a valuable asset just before the current situation." Lysander had never broken eye contact with the spokesperson of the Church Council while he had spoken to him. He had to stand in his ground in this matter, but he had to so while maintaining the highest form of formality and manners. Coming across as confronting was not the goal, instead, he wanted to gain some important information by playing dumb. " How can you not see it? Maybe I should just pick any commoner from the streets and he would probably be better in any regard whatsoever" This comment was made with degrading tone intending to remind Lysander of his role. Yet Lysander did not seem to mind the contempt in his voice as he calmly answered. " But Sir, I do not think, that the players would accept a commoner in my position. It would not reflect well on a prestigious project sponsored by the Church. But if you deem a commoner, despite the risks involved, as a better option for the future of "Primal Survival" then I will gladly let him take over. "After all a commoner endorsed by all of the Churches must really be something special." No more words where needed and the expression on the face of the Church representative turned ugly. The words had caused the intended effect. Lysander had brought his point across securing his position while reminding the representative of the Church of his position. All of this while still carrying the same pleasant smile on his face. He had played this game for a long time and he would not falter under this bit of pressure. The real problem was not the representative of the Church but the more reserved spokesperson of the royal family, which had yet to speak a single word. With everything about their intention and plans being unknown, it was hard for Lysander to predict his position. " Thank you for including the reputation of the Church in your decisionmaking" through gritted teeth came the "apology" but this success did not last long as another concern was directly flung into the face of Lysander. " But why exactly a human, how does that filthy creature look good for our ambition." Lysander had to admit he made a valid point, during their discussion they could hear and watch the interview conducted by CallMeDaddy in the background. Looking into the ugly visage of the human NPC really underlined the valid concern of the Churches. " I have a good question here Moirai, it is from someone called " It is in the blood" Dear Moirai. with all of your strength, why waste it here just to train others?" Hearing this sentence caused the first visible change in the countenance on the man who had yet to utter a word. Lysander had missed this change as his eyes were currently fixated on the image displayed by the crystals. " I am certain this world has many valuable things to offer, otherwise many would be not here." After hearing this the expression on his face remained stagnant but this only lasted until the very next second as Moirai added something to his last statements. " Especially if it is in the blood. You are a very strong after all." Many might have missed the implication but not the spokesperson for the royal family as the shock had become more than apparent on his face. What followed was a deep frown as magic around him fluctuated quite heavily. This time around this change did not escape Lysander who was overwhelmed by the sudden change. He had no other choice, then to wait until the esteemed guest had regained his calm. The tense atmosphere did not last long before it returned to its previous state, but the reaction from the royal spokesperson has left a deep impression on everyone present. Both of them stopped their discussion and waited for his words. After a long time has passed he finally spoke. His voice was cold and callous but a hint of anger could be heard inside of it. In comparison to the chubby representative, his body looked lean and fit, while he towered over the both of them. His height was considered tall among the Chosen ones as it approached the 1,70 meter mark. His clothing bared the insignia of the royal family with the symbol of a dragon embedded in it. " We should only intervene, when the situation itself calls for it and this is currently not the case. But we can not accept it either. Therefore i have decided to give some of the younger generation the change to prove themselves and solve the issue for us. Mr. Statera would you kindly alleviate some of the restrictions, that the specific players face?" While this arrangement was by no means favorable for Lysander, he had no choice but to accept it. Due to this change only being a temporary measure, it was a lot easier to accept it. The thought about losing Moirai, did not even cross his mind, because Moirai in his eyes was not even a valuable asset. " May my little girl also participate in this opportunity? She is currently begging me for this." " That should pose no problem" Lysander nodded and accepted without any hesitation. One person more or less did not matter, what is the worst that could happen? 137 No restrictions A deafening thunder broke through the sky and illuminated the surrounding space in gleaming light. The previous stalemate had been broken through this sudden event. Nothing but charred remains of the Moirai on the receiving end remained. The mage looked at his enemy with nothing but pure contempt and visible disgust. What had been seemingly impossible just moments ago had been solved with ease. But this was not the result of a strategy, it was the fact that the restrictions placed on them had been lifted. This decision came to the surprise of many, though it did not hinder them taking advantage out of it. Similar scenes took place all over and many Moirai became the victim from circumstances out of their control. The task had lost its meaning and the objective had been failed. The players were none the wiser as they had not learned a single thing out of this encounter. The sudden change did not escape The Observer, but it just resumed to follow the push-up routine with the rest of the Moirais. What went through its mind was entirely unknown. The only change that occurred was that the numbers of Moirais going out of the town to face their fate increased dramatically. The town, which had previously bustling full of activity became noticeably less populated. With the dwindling numbers of Moirai, it became apparent that a drastic change had occurred. Despite the stream of new Moirai arriving at the town had not died down it was not nearly enough to compensate for the current expenditure of Moirai clones. Only one Moirai from the previous stalemate was left standing. The version Samantha and Laura had encountered knew that something had changed and behaved accordingly. Both of them were confused about the difference in behaviour. All of the previous tension had been lost as the Moirai in front of them did not show any interest in continuing the fight. In fact, it was the NPC who had just turned around waving them goodbye. Before it could disappear it was stopped in his tracks by 2 mighty attacks hitting right in front of him. The Moirai turned around with its usual expression. " Laying down my life like this is pointless and it will not of any use whatsoever. So why do you insist on keeping me here? Can you not stand the thought of me leaving you?" Despite being used to the general antics of the NPC in front of them, they still found themselves baffled by the sheer gall of the NPC. For just one moment, they just stared at him full of disbelief. After regaining their composure they began to close in on the Moirai. Yet they did not use any magic while doing so. " I admire your sheer confidence but let me reiterate once more. Underestimating your opponent is not good and it will certainly not help you. I would suggest not letting your guard down, even if you have an absolute advantage now." The Moirai stated without any change in his expression. " We are not interested in this battle either. We are trying to learn more about this matter" Samantha said with a formal tone unlike she had shown previously. " Just like a proper housewife" The silent remark from Laura was met with a quick punch to Laura''s ribs catching her off-guard. Surprised by the sudden attack Laura stopped in her tracks and just looked bewildered at her friend. " While methods like this are primitive, they still prove quite effective in certain ways." Seeing this Moirai had a slight smirk on his face. " Okay since you apparently are the only one, who even learned something from this experience, I will give you some advice. Forget about Moirai. Nothing good comes out associating with him." " What do you mean?" Laura exclaimed not knowing what to make out of the given advice. Yet, the Moirai in front of them had already turned around and began to wave them goodbye once more. This prompted Laura to throw another spell at him but this time directly aimed at his body. Strangely Moirai dodged this attack by sidestepping it and resumed to walk forward as if nothing had happened. Afterwards, Laura and Samantha were caught in a daze by the result. They could only stare at the NPC until it had calmly walked out of their sights heading into an unknown direction. " How?" Laura said clearly still shocked by the strange event, which had taken place right in front of their eyes. " Without a doubt, we did not stand any chance, to begin with. Neither back then or now with all of our abilities. The more I learn about it the less I understand, truly unfathomable" Samatha had clearly accepted the result when her friend. But she was unsure about what the last advice by the NPC really meant. Why did this advice seem more like a warning? What benefit would they receive by staying away from the original Moirai? An ominous feeling spread inside of her, upon thinking about the many talented people currently on their way to vanquish it. "Forget about Moirai" the words echoed in her mind and it left a bitter trace behind. Did they lack the strength to contend with the others? Would their involvement really be that negative for them? But upon pondering for a while this train of thought did not make any sense to her anymore. According to her information, there should not be many that are stronger than her. Despite being unable to win against these select few people, she would still lose full of grace. With that option being a dead end, she thought about another possibility which was also quickly discarded. While the mysteries surrounding Moirai were plenty none of them were enough to warrant such a warning. Because once the mystery had been solved it would not have any further implications. This assessment was made up of all of her knowledge. While the conclusion drawn from it was a correct one, the truth, on the other hand, differed from it by a lot. But inexplicably her instincts told her to heed the warning the NPC had given her. It was nothing more than a gut feeling, but nonetheless, she decided to put her trust into it. Although this did not mean, that she had given up participating in this event. Because all she had to do was avoiding to fight or be near Moirai, that did not mean she could not observe everything from a safe distance. Looking at her friend she noticed a change in her expression, that told Samantha that she had come to a different conclusion. Once she had made up her mind, there were no words she could use to sway her opinion. Therefore she refrained from saying anything about this matter. This was a decision she had made for herself and she would also be the one to follow through with it till the end. They did not come across crossroads like this often but they had agreed on following their own path a long time ago. There were some things that they had to do on their own and there was nothing to compromise in matters like these. " I will cheer for you." With a big smile on her face, Samantha nodded at Laura watching as she ventured forward to fight Moirai. No signs of hesitation appeared on both of the faces as their stance had become clear. Samantha remained at the same place for a certain time cleary still pondering about the situation before the NPC returned with a clear look of interest painted on his face. " What a peculiar development, I had expected something else. Why did not take the same path as your friend?" Samantha turned around with a serious expression on her face. " Everything surrounding Moirai remains a mystery. Even your behaviour is something which I can not find an explanation for. Why did you give us a warning? Why do you have his face but are still clearly that different from him? It is so vexing to not know anything about Moirai. Follow her just did not feel right to me." " This much is sufficient. Since you have made up your mind, a reward is due. The warning I gave you was about indeed about Moirai, but who is to say that it is referring to someone you know?" An expression of utter shock appeared on Samanthas face as this voice had been spoken so casually. The implications of those words should they be true we unimaginable. Instead of making the matter easier, it only made it even more complicated. " As for me, you currently do not have the qualifications to know about me. Know this though, no one person from this plane has it. The reason for my presence is related to Moirai himself. I need him for a task that can not be solved by ordinary means." The different Moirai waited for a while keeping an eye on the face of Samantha clearly waiting for something but after a while, he was quickly disappointed. The thing he had been looking had not appeared. After shacking of his disappointed he continued to speak to her. " All of this might be overwhelming to you, I am certain you have many questions you would like to ask. What do you think would you like to accompany me to spectate Moirai himself and watch the events from up close?" Samantha took a while to think about this strange offer but after a while, she did not see anything wrong in it and gladly accepted. Her curiosity had been ignited as the Moirai in front of her, had been acting strangely for the entire duration of their conversation. Samantha was intrigued by the acts of the Moirai and the things he said but did not treat them as absolute truths. After coming into contact with Moirai and hearing about all of his antics, exaggeration of simple matters was more than likely to occur. It was a pattern, which could be found in every single sentence he used. Therefore Samantha had no issues with following the strange Moirai at most it would turn out to be yet another disappointment. But if not, then Samantha would get answers to questions she had desired for a long period of time. She had nothing to lose, while the possibility of gaining something of value was pretty enticing. " Just follow my steps for the time being. If you feel bored with something so simplistic, I advise you to entertain yourself. I am certain, that there is something relevant currently happening." Samantha had not even heard the last part of the sentence as a message from her best friend caught her attention. The original Moirai himself, or at least someone who made that claim was currently being interviewed by the famous CallMeDaddy himself. A development like this was something which Samatha had to follow. Ignoring the outside world she started to search HolyTube for the Livestream of CallMeDaddy only to discover a face she knew all too well. It was the face of the Moirai who had caused her a lot of headaches and of hours spent trying to figure out the secrets he had. Although the appearance could not be differentiated to the other Moirai, Samantha still managed to recognize him the moment she saw him Listening to his speech was further proof, that this Moirai indeed was the original Moirai she had fought against. There was something more to him which the one in front of her could never possess. It was the otherworldly feeling that was connected to it. A feeling which she had not when looking at the version in front of her. For reasons unknown to her, she only felt the mystery surrounding it but not the strange vibe the other Moirai had attached to it. Having forgotten about the current surroundings she just stood still listening attentively while trying to pay attention to even the slightest of details. This left the other Moirai in an awkward spot as he did not want to disturb her but also could not walk any further. Having such a pretty woman captivated this much is more than an achievement. Especially with a natural constitution this repulsive. Although only strength is valued in this world, looking like this did not bring anything good with it. He did not know why the Observer had decided for such an arrangement, but he was certain that the reason behind it must have been petty. After all, he had always been that way. But this time around he really is doing me a huge favour, so I should not talk ill behind his back. Because the likes of him never forget their grievances, he is strikingly similar to the human in this matter. After talking to the Observer for a while he had high expectations for the human and his weird constitution. Although he was warned to pay close attention to him and to intervene if he were to act strange. But where is the fun in that? All the talk about upkeeping tradition and rules was something for those fools with their stagnant values. A nice change was more than welcome in his eyes. As long as the problem was resolved, he could not care any less about the rest. Sadly his hands were tied in this matter otherwise he would have to ask for such a favour. The human better is worth the investment, otherwise, the Observer will never hear the end from it. Should he take the beautiful girl with him? He shook his head, a question like this was useless. It was nothing he could decide for her. Tempering in their affairs is not something he could afford despite his position. All he could do was to make an offer to her and let her decide. A sigh escaped his lips, some times this task was truly more of a burden than honour. But of course, nobody would listen to his complaints and treat him as a lunatic for uttering such thoughts. He had always been an exception in this regard. But mimicking the human in question was truly harder than it looks. Even the Observer and that ancient bug are having trouble with this. He was looking forward to the development of the current situation. It looked quite promising. While the beauty was preoccupied he decided to return to The Observer first or however he calls himself now and talk a bit about the prospects the future has to offer. Leaving the beauty behind was not an option, so he decided to follow his line of thinking how a brutish human would act. Which caused a strange sight as Moirai was seen carrying a beauty under his arms running back to the desolate city. The beauty in question did not seem to mind this arrangement as she appeared to be focussed on something entirely else. This would not be the only time Samantha was transported in such a manner. But Samantha clearly did not pay any mind to her image, as her entire focus lied entirely elsewhere. 138 Not a single lie "Your lack of regard for rules never ceases to amaze me." a calm voice came from another Moirai who calmly approached the position of Samantha. " Your zealous upkeeping of rules is also unmatched." " You and that human are truly a perfect match. But do not forget about the danger he poses" " Everything that you can not control fully is a danger, it has always been that way." " We are not allowed to take any influence on the seedlings and only you would willingly bring someone chosen by a God to this place. The blatant disregard of your responsibility is truly something to behold." " Certainly you are not allowed to directly influence your seedlings but that does not include me. I can act however I please, of course, I will have to pay some regard to those special ones but you are the only one that is tied down by these rules. They are not my seedlings after all." " I am certain the Gods will be very pleased by your interpretation of the rules." " And I am certain, that indirectly manipulating the players will not fare any better with them." A short period of absolute silence ensued but both parties did not have an emotional reaction. Neither of them was particularly worried about the Gods and their reaction because both of them were aware that they truly did not care about something trivial. Their conversation was rather casual in nature and was just a discussion of their principles. Should the Gods actually become involved none of them would go out of this unscathed. Though this event was more than unlikely as something major would have to take place for them to pay attention to either of them. For that very reason was the Observer so adamant on informing about the potential danger the human represents. As of now, he was still quarantined and therefore the risk was kept at an absolute minimum. " How has that insect even managed to mesmerize someone of her calibre?" inquired the special Moirai with a slight tone of interest in his voice. " Referring to him as Insect is quite disrespectful and especially he would not react well if he were to hear about that nickname." the Observer said without any change in his voice. " Given his temper, he would develop a deep grudge." " And to let him merge with the dangerous human was the most sensible of all possibilities?" The Observer shook his head. " There were no alternatives. Otherwise, I would have never let these 2 come into contact with one another. But against my expectations, it worked out better than initially anticipated. That these 2 managed to coexist is a wonder in itself." The special Moirai laughed heartily but the expression on his face remained unmoved. " I am not your little human or that simplistic insect. I know you too well, you always chose the most suitable arrangement and the mere notion of you having no other choice is laughable. If you were truly limited to one option, you would not stop until you had several to pick from." The Observer did not refute those words as he continued to listen calmly. " The decision to let these 2 hazards come together must have been the one which grants the most benefits. Based on this knowledge, one might rightly assume that despite the hefty criteria of selection the inherent risks are still outweighed by the potential gain. Given your position, you have to take everything under your supervision into consideration. This is also an indisputable fact. I am quite intrigued what lead you to follow this path" The special Moirai looked at The Observer with a gaze full of expectations. Yet no emotions could be found in the reply. " I have no obligation to give an answer to your question. But due to your generosity, I will make an exception for this matter. In exchange please do not take my advice lightly and keep an eye on their activity. Although I am well too aware of the futility of those words." A meaningful smile appeared which the Observer promptly ignored as he started his explanation. " It is true, that I had several options on how to handle the human, but the only permanent solution was the union between him and that creature. Due to the special properties of the human, I truly had no other resort. Tieing down that creature had been my initial plan, but who could have expected the reverse to occur." " Quite unexpected, how did that creature react towards the human?" " After being opposed to the plan at first, it was he who informed me about the threat, that is the human. It was the first time I had seen him so cooperative, whatever the human might have done to warrant such response is truly hard to imagine. As of now, our cooperation has succeeded in keeping him at bay." For the first time, a serious expression appeared on the face of the special Moirai. " But can you put any trust in someone who considers us his sworn enemy?" " That hatred is the true reason I can believe him. He would never lower himself and seek help from us if it had any alternative. Besides as long as both of them are still under our domain they can not do anything." The Observer stated this matter nonchalantly as if it was not even bothered by the circumstances. " His unwavering pride would never allow for something to happen. The more I hear about this strange human, the more I find myself interested in it. What kind of monster must that human be, if even that monster can not control it." The Observer had to admit to himself that his counterpart would never understand the gravity of the situation. Instead of careful planning and minimizing the risks, he had always been fond of watching everything unravel without any interference. It was no wonder, that the role given to him was not very important. By stressing the danger of the human over and over again he had hoped that the sense of responsibility would prevail but that had been to no avail. Sadly he had proven time and time again, that his goodwill fell on death ears. Whether or not such a level of carefulness was necessary had yet to be answered. This was prompted by the lack of actual knowledge about humans. Having such a creature as the only source for their information was not enough to devise a feasible plan for the danger that the human might pose. It only knew about the strange interaction between the human and the magic of this world. The inability to mix these 2 lead to the decision of binding the human to the old creature. After a fierce discussion session he just barely managed to persuade the other party. Given a chance to escape his permanent boredom, it was supposed to easily accept the terms, but the other party was clearly not amused by sharing his body with a lowly human. The ego had never wained despite the passage of time. That is why the Observer found the sudden docile behaviour of the former trouble seeker more than suspicious. Playing the fool just for the sake of the seedlings was not believable and nor would he do so without any reasoning. He sincerely doubted that the human had caused him to develop a clear conscience again. But the Observer could truly care less about their motivation or the goals these 2 tried to achieve. Soon it would not fall under his supervision anymore either way. And after warning the other party several times he had done his part and focus on nurturing these players once again. And just like the old fogey he had not uttered a single lie, simply because there was no need to. Although he still could not compare to the performance of the Original Moirai. Being affected by the Absolute Truth status is a lot harder than just avoiding to mention certain information. At least he expected that much from someone of his calibre, otherwise, he would have been severely disappointed. This was part of their deal after all. If he was not capable of entertaining them and were to struggle under such ridiculous schemes, then he would have never been in his space, to begin with. Likely not even in the space of the special Moirai who clearly was not interested in following his duties at all. The Observer was certain, that despite his lazy facade he had seen through his intention and still decided to play along. As long as everything followed their agreement he could not care less about any of this. Everyone involved followed their own plans and until those plans clashed with one another, there was no need to intervene. Be it human, Insect or Supervisor all of them were merely just tolerated for the time being. There was no space for these foreign entities in his world. " I do not understand why you would actually bring this young seedling with you. What are you trying to achieve?" The Observer said all of the sudden to switch the topic. " Oh, am I not allowed to bring a maiden to her beloved? She seems to be smitten by the human, or at least what she thinks to be a human. I just could not help myself seeing this unfortunate soul and decided to help her." " Just be mindful about your position, I truly do not want to let a seedling watched by the Gods go with you. In comparison to you, I have something to lose." The special Moirai was not offended by the blatant disregard and contempt the Observer had shown to him. " What a harsh assessment. It truly is terrible to not be subjected to their will. But I am willing to carry that burden." In the meantime, the number of Moirai that left the city had continued to constantly increase. Their sacrifice was not enough to appease the angry horde of players coming closer and closer to the location of the interview. With the restrictions lifted numerous spectacles could be seen from far away as the clones of Moirai succumbed to them, It was a cruel show that no one seemed to care about. Every other player was focussed on the interview of the famous NPC Moirai. Especially after the audience was allowed to ask questions to the NPC directly. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and they did have a lot of questions which they wanted to have answered, CallMeDaddy and his team crew found themselves buried beneath a flood of questions. Between all of those questions, it was hard to select those which they should give to Moirai. Some were rather strange or did not fit. While others could not even be uttered out loud. Samantha, on the other hand, followed the interview and every answer with every last bit of her attention missing out on the conversation happening in her vicinity. One question, in particular, caught her by surprise. " Dear Moirai, what kind of partner does a human choose?" It was the first time Moirai made a pause and gave his answer after pondering on the issue for a while. " I do not seek someone truly strong or talented. Qualities like this are truly rare and remarkable but I want a partner who I can trust and someone who is honest with me. I loathe nothing more than being lied to." This answer was not something Samantha would have expected from her future husband. She thought that a human would choose a partner that possesses a lot of physical strength and the ability to bear strong children. Moirai''s criteria did not fit the image that Samantha had in mind. Such a perspective was not something that Samantha could understand. That the reason for those words lied deeply burrowed in the depths of Moirais mind was something she could not know. But despite her interest in the choice of Moirais female companion, she was also aware that calling Moirai her future husband was nothing more than a joke. Certainly, he was the men who had bested her and therefore won the right to have her as his wife but the barriers that separated the two of them are unsurmountable. Because marrying an NPC despite the realistic depiction of it could not be done. The purpose of a marriage lied in creating strong offspring after all. Despite the cruel truth Samantha pretended and indulged in the fantasy before duty would arrive at her doorstep leaving no room for such foolish dreams. Because those fleeting dreams were not meant to last. The inevitable danger to Moirai fought through the horde of Moirai and some of them had managed to finally arrive in the city, where only a select few Moirai still remained. Yet, instead of blindly rushing forward to attack these Moirai, they stopped and listened to the interview of CallMeDaddy The interview continued despite the danger looming over the head of the famous NPC. Moirai gave a casual glance to the players waiting on the sidelines before answering every question wholeheartedly. More and more players arrived yet the atmosphere did not change as they all stared at Moirai. Being surrounded by all of those players Moirai did not seem to affect as he laughed merrily. " Since so many people did manage to arrive here, I will give you a chance as well, do you have any questions you want to have answered from me?" His loud and happy voice reverberated through space. A rather timid youth looked in the surroundings and began to speak after a deep breath. " How were we supposed to defeat you, when every one of you was that much stronger than us?" "That is rather simple, did anyone ever say that they had to be defeated? All you had to do was pass them and that can be done with utter ease. The solution is simple and yet you still do not even know when I point it out." This cheap provocation caused several players to attack Moirai with their magic but those were easily dodged and the expression on Moirai remained unperturbed. " Please bear with it. We can not start yet as not everyone has arrived." A big smile appeared on Moirais face as he continued to answer multiple questions from CallMeDaddy and the crowd of players was growing more and more restless with each passing second. Moirai did not care about the upcoming crisis as he continued to taunt the players by waving at them and reminding them to be patient. They did not react all too well to these provocations as the began to seethe on the inside. They managed to keep their calm but only due to the presence of CallMeDaddy had they not attacked Moirai the moment they first laid their eyes upon him. After enduring all of their humiliation they could get their revenge either way. But until the interview had ended they could not intervene without drawing the ire of the many viewers. Moirai knew their predicament and did his best to rub it into their faces. But for both sides, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable would occur. 139 The end of a dream 1 More and more players gathered and stared at Moirai with anger in their eyes. The fire burning within them grew steadily. The feeling of humiliation was a new one for the young generation. No matter where they went, they were the hope of the common people, they were special. However, Moirai mercilessly showed them that even a simple NPC can defeat them without any particular difficulty. This bitter defeat could not simply be forgotten, no, each of them felt deeply hurt and offended. Although this world was only a simulation to train the players, many of them had already forgotten this. Their only focus was to hunt down the culprit so that their souls could rest again. And exactly this evil person was standing only a few meters away from them, how could they not be restless? But their target was not impressed by the angry mob and simply ignored them. Much to the chagrin of the players, they couldn''t just storm off, as CallMeDaddy was interviewing the NPC in question. The mere thought of finally being able to take revenge was enough motivation to get through the waiting time. Despite a large number of players, there was no concern that they would have to forego their personal revenge. Each of them had enough self-confidence that they would be the one to get back at Moirai. Failure did not cross their mind in the slightest. Their opposition was one measly NPC and without the pesky restrictions placed on them, their victory was predetermined. It was special without a doubt, but only if compared to the other NPCs. After receiving a heavy blow to their confidence, they had managed to overcome their mental trauma by killing their tormentors. The following Moirai clones trying to stop them were easily disposed of as well, the challenge turned into a minor annoyance. That stark difference in their abilities gave them enough assurance that even the original would not stand a chance against them. The NPC would most likely not be able to stand a single spell of them without losing its life on the spot. In the end, the NPC was nothing more than a weak monster. Although comparing a human to a monster was by no means an honour, it still was a good way to describe its strength. But just like the small monsters, it was not taken very seriously. All of this was meant for the sake of venting their frustrations not proving their fighting capabilities. Their earlier deaths meant nothing as it was caused by the suppression they had faced. How could anyone of them lose to this NPC otherwise? Regardless of what the NPC would do it would not get out of this situation. CallMeDaddy presence could not deter them for too long before they would take matters into their own hands. Looking at the uncaring expression on the face of Moirai certainly did not help in defusing the situation. Moirai looked into the surroundings before he finally nodded in satisfaction. " Finally everyone has arrived. Thank you for your patience. But before we begin let me address some things. " After clearing his throat Moirai began to speak. " First and foremost I have to thank you for the interview. You have shown me a level of respect, which did not match my current status. You have earned my utmost respect for that." A wave of attacks came flying at Moirai but he just jumped backwards and began to dodge everything that came at him. With a smile on his face, he continued his speech. "Second I would like to apologize profusely to you Tom, sadly I could not help you within your quest, but knowing you it will only be a matter of time until you accomplish it. You have the right mindset for this matter." The wave of attacks had torn through the previous peacefulness and drowned the surroundings with the sound of their impact. None of them had yet found their target but that did not stop the violent intent from leaving its brutal mark on the surroundings. The place Moirai had previously stood had been destroyed by the multitude of different magic spells. Wind, Fire, Ice, Water magic everything was flung onto Moirai wishing for his demise. Despite their destructiveness Moirai opened his mouth once more. Although this time around he spoke louder to compensate the loud noises. " My dear underlings our time was cut rather short. I am still grateful for the time we spent together. and I hope you value my teachings." Without saying another word the 7 brothers sprung into action trying to help Moirai against the overwhelming force of players. But they were stopped in their tracks by Moirai. " Please, you must not interfere in this matter. I do not belong to this world and this will be my final lesson for you. The only thing I ask of you is to carry on my way of thinking." " But..." " No buts, sit back and take in the final lesson I can give you. This is my destiny" During their short exchange, another flurry of magic was flying in the air directly onwards to Moirai. Most of them did not hit their targets but a wind blade managed to grace Moirais skin drawing a red line on his skin. Moirai sighed and was forced to react yet another time as the next attacks did not wait for him. He had no time to relax as his attackers were relentless. Being in constant motion was the only feasible option for Moirai to escape from potential harm. This measure was only temporary because just like the wind blade had proven it was only a matter of time before one spell or another would hit its mark. With the passing of time, those injuries would accumulate further hindering Moirai. Yet Moirai did not appear to try and flee as he addressed the crowd once more. " Last but not least I am thankful for all of the encounters I had. If not for meeting all of you, I would not stand here the way I am." Moirai gave a short bow to them to thank them. Most of the spells missed the target since nearly no one had predicted Moirai to suddenly stand still but another wind blade left yet another trace on his skin. " Good aim," Moirai exclaimed and looked into the crowd to spot the perpetrator. After a quick glance Moirai was disappointed as he did not manage to find the mage responsible. Moirai goodwill was met with rude remarks and a stream of insults being directed at him. " Just die you filth." " Keep your mouth shut scum." " Know your place human" Moirai ignored all of this and resumed to dodge everything. This time around he did not open his mouth and kept on staring at his surroundings searching for something all while evading the deadly attacks. In the crowd of players, there were some who still acted reserved as they observed everything from the sidelines. Amongst others, Laura stood there silently evaluating her chances against her competition. She could recognize most of the people who had kept their calm and waited. 4 out of the Top 5 from the previous competition had appeared. Atlas, Amphitrite and Haschmich had taken up the same stance as her. But Laura was not worried about them, the people she did not recognize were the ones she had to be wary of. Because she had next to no information about those people and if they came from the Church their strength was something she could not foresee. Especially this man right next to her. He seemed to blend in with the crowd and only after a while did Laura become aware of him. But his Inconspicuous appearance could not fool her. The magic he gave of caused her to feel a slight chill but he did not even seem to notice this as his eyes were pointed straight at Moirai. His body was quite tall as he towered over his peers but none of them had seemingly noticed the abnormal strength hidden inside of him. Laura licked her lips in anticipation, not only would she be able to copy Moirai but also the strong person next to her. Killing Moirai was none of her interest as all she had to was spectate from the side and to brand the memories in her mind. Using her magic she could copy Moirai. This process required her to spend a lot of her magic by surrounding Moirai with it to "feel" his movement. It was not made any easier by the constant attacking from the crowd. It would get easier if she understood how it works but Moirais methods were beyond her current understanding. But this process was a lengthy one and she had to comprehend it before the crowd would finish him off. She was not all too worried about Moirai dying too soon, as his tenacity rivalled those of monsters. It would be regrettable if she were to miss out on such a chance. At least Moirai would never die to the angry horde of players. They would be taken care of sooner or later either way. The strong mages were just observing for the time being but once they started to move the situation would become serious. As of now, this is nothing to Moirai, as it could not compare to the tactics and strength that Moirai had shown in the bout against her. Despite the restrictions being lifted, they did not possess the qualifications to fight Moirai. Yet, they were blissfully ignorant about their lack of ability. Although their spells were strong enough to kill Moirai, they did not have the capabilities to kill Moirai with them. None of them was aware that Moirai was toying with them. All they did was use their magic while they stood rooted in the same spot. She had done the same mistake only to pay dearly for it. It was hard to predict how Moirai would act but it was more than obvious that sooner or later he would take action. Moirai on the other hand just continued his routine without showing any signs of trying to attack. This stalemate lasted for quite a while until all of a sudden a wave of flames engulfed the unsuspecting group killing them nearly instantly. Moirai did not seem to be surprised by this development as his gaze calmly focussed on the one who had conjured this spell. " They do not have the right to kill you. I am here to get revenge for the fate my sister suffered." Moirai stared at him for a while full of confusion. " Whom? I am sorry I have killed many people, I can not remember every one of them. But if you refer to the little girl hiding behind your back, then I have no recollection of her. Besides who are you to claim you are worthy enough? There are 4 people, who have the right to fight me but You are not one of them." " How dare you? I will not let you die easily." " Nothing more than an empty threat. Go ahead and try, but you are going to be disappointed." It did not take long before the same wave of flames started to engulf Moirai under the watching eyes of the players. But instead of any pained cry Moirai walked out of the flames with no change in his expression. " I have said it once and I will say it again. You are not one of them. Quit your useless struggle and let someone qualified take over. You might go out of this without getting humiliated." Another wave of flames started to gather in his hands this time around they were in a deep blue colour. " Ah, I finally remember. The blue flames, but if that is your limit your dream of getting revenge will never come true. " But the flames did not stay blue as a slight violet hue started to appear in them. Seeing this he seemed overjoyed and a beaming smile started to appear on his face. " With this fire, I will restore the honour of my sister." Screaming this he let the flames expand and threw at Moirai. The NPC looked at the flames with great interest and did not move as the flames hit him directly into his chest. Seeing the result a loud cheer could be heard but it came to an abrupt end after he saw his victim. After being forced to take a few steps back Moirai still had a calm expression on his face. Despite his chest still being covered in blue flames, he walked back to his previous position. " You are far stronger than your sister, seeing that your flames have managed to cause such a wound on my body. You have all the rights to be proud of that, but that is not enough to best me. So I would advise you to leave with your head held high before the others make that decision for you." He stared at Moirai refusing to believe what was right in front of his eyes before turning around and taking his sister with him. He did not even look back as he disappeared from everyone''s sight. Laura was not surprised by the outcome of this fight as Moirai had let himself get hit deliberately to show the vast difference between the two. After the two had left a brief period of silence began. Moirai extinguished the blue fire on his chest by discarding the bathrobe he was wearing. His chest had suffered under the fire and was now burned quite badly. " Excuse my appearance. CallMeDaddy might you give me my clothes?" CallMeDaddy who had streamed all of it stood still at the side and told one of his underlings to get said clothes. Moirai''s appearance had been fixed and now he calmly looked into the small crowd. Looking at Moirai there was nothing extraordinary about him. Laura still could not fathom why such a meagre creature could possess such strength. A human not even fully grown, someone who was not even as tall as Laura herself should never be able to display such a prowess. His outward appearance looked eerie to the eye and only after the robe was gone, did Samantha witness the dead skin hidden beneath his clothes. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Neither on monsters or humans had she seen a skin having such a sickly pale white colour. The abnormality did not stop at that, as there was something wiggling underneath the skin, something which seemed alive in comparison to its surroundings. Only Laura took notice about the abnormality as all of her magic was all around Moirai to learn his secrets. " I have a proposal to solve the current issue. Among you, there are several people strong enough to fight me, but this fight has to be done alone to prove yourself and fighting alongside others is unsuitable for that kind of goal." Everyone present agreed to Moirais words. For them, it was meaningless to kill Moirai with the help of others. Although they also died by the hands of Moirai, they were wise enough to think about the situation and did not react like the rest of the crowd. " To determine a fair arrangement, let me suggest a few things. Currently, the number of people here is still too high. I am certain, that this issue can be solved by yourselves." Moirai waited for a while until the number of players had dwindled. Some knew the extent of their strength and walked away from this situation, while others were forcefully removed. " Let me congratulate you first for being the strongest people currently present. There are some faces I am unfamiliar with, but your prowess has proven your right to fight me. To make this as fair as possible I would ask all of you to determine an order in which you would like to face me. To give everyone a fair chance, there has to be a limitation on how much time each bout has." " Once again the exact time and the order you guys follow is not for me to decide. Just tell me the result once you have chosen it." Moirai sat down and closed his eyes waiting for the group to come to a decision. The other players were surprised to see Moirai not putting up any guard against them. After a short discussion, the remaining players came to an agreement. Laura decided to refrain from participating in this affair. This left 5 players who decided on the following order. Haschmich was first, followed by Atlas, then came Amphitrite, afterwards came a mysterious figure, which had yet to show their face, and the last turn belonged to the men Laura had an eye on. " We have settled on an order" Moirai opened his eyes and stood up. " How much time for each fight?" " 2 prayers (1 minute)" Moirai nodded and decided to wear his gloves to prepare for the upcoming fight. With a serious expression, he walked forward to face his first opponent. "I forgot to mention one thing, the order remains the same if everyone fails to kill me during their attempt. Best of luck. This would mark the beginning for very memorable fights. 140 The end of a dream 2 My first opponent had no intention to waste his precious minute as he started to throw his wind blades directly at me. But these wind blades could not be compared to the ones, which caused the negligible damage on my skin. They have enough power to tear directly through me if I do not empower my body. That is the difference in talent between the idiotic first group and the truly strong. The best course of action was to keep on dodging to buy time until everything has been set up. Though I could not afford to treat this as lax I did the fights prior. By showing some offence I might as well make them aware of my strength causing them to treat me seriously and be on guard. My experience against wind practitioners was shallow at best but I had no intention of dying here. In fights like these, my primary focus was to avoid injuries that would incapacitate me and to close in on the wind mage to pressure him into making mistakes. Getting hit was unavoidable as I was surrounded by air, the medium in wind mages really excel in. I decided to pick up the pace and accelerate my movements to close the gap between us. A wind blade slashed along my ribs, creating a very bloody sight. This was the price I had to pay if I wanted to win this fight. One minute might seem like a short period of time, but in fights like this, every second could feel like an eternity. Due to my inhuman regeneration, I could take one injury in a while but I should not let them accumulate. To no one surprise, the next wave of wind blades came crashing at me this time creating a wall I could not pass through without losing my life. By throwing myself forward into the left direction I managed to avoid them, but this much was anticipated by my opponent who conjured a different spell I had not seen prior. The wind was compressed and turned into small projectiles which came flying at me as I had just regained my balance. Caught off guard; I only managed to get my head out of harm''s way as several bloody holes had appeared in my body. The projectiles had entered and left my body from the back. Causing quite a spectacular view if I say so myself. Sadly this battle was far from over as the next wave of wind blades closed in on my position once more. Getting closer was a mistake in it itself. I should have never taken such a risk without knowing the abilities of my enemy yet. I learned something new but the cost for this success was heavy. Cursing my lack of knowledge once more I was forced to act more careful If I wanted to avoid ending up like swiss cheese. This time around I decided to throw myself to the right and use the newly generated speed to continue the movement with a role to cover more distance. This decision proved to be correct as the projectiles could be heard tearing loudly through the air. I did not stand still and wait for him to send the next wave of attacks and kept on being in motion. I had to mix my patterns over and over again to avoid falling into another predicament. I managed to cross the distance and was 2 steps away from him but this small distance was the most dangerous position to be in. Because being in such close proximity left both of us with next to no room to avoid any attacks. Another set of nearly unavoidable wind blades came flying at me, I did not have much time and I had to make a decision. I chose to follow the option he would least likely expect, even at the cost of one massive injury that nearly amputated my right arm. Jumping straight through the wind blades I finally came face to face with my opponent and I used my other hand to throw a punch directly at his face. To my surprise, he still managed to just barely counter the attack by pushing my hand upwards utilizing his wind magic. Despite my initial attack missing the target, my attack was not over as I pulled my leg into his direction and launched a kick directly onto his ribs. This time he could not react in time and just barely managed to create a layer of wind between his body and my leg. The attack still connected after it was thwarted by the wind. The impact caused Haschmich to slide a few meters sideways. Much to my dismay, the damage was far from enough to kill him as he began to throw the next wave of attacks. This time around I ran back to extend the distance between the both of us. I had to recuperate before I could do anything risky. But my decision did not go unnoticed as Haschmich had seen an oppurturnity and conjured a multitude of magical bullets directly aimed at me. The number was certainly bigger than the one he had utilized before. Getting unscathed out of this scenario was unlikely given the current state of my body. The only thing I could come up at the moment was to employ part of the secret strategy I had learned from my underlings. I gathered all of my energy inside of my body in my left foot and launched it into the ground to throw up some rubble to cover me. The heavy impact reverberated through the surroundings causing the other players to realize the power behind this kick. The rocks were pulverized once they came into contact with the bullets diminishing the power by quite a margin. Feeling the broken foot I had made a risky decision, that would hinder my mobility. I had to act unperturbed and gave a casual glance to my opponent. I did not show any movement and hoped to buy as much time as possible for my bones to return to its previous state. A few seconds passed as Haschmich was perplexed by the force of my kick. I would be utterly confused as well seeing such an impact. Though this did not last nearly long enough for me to regain my full mobility. Numerous cracks still covered my bones and my perforated skin had yet to close at several spots. Hashmich began to cast another set of projectiles but this time around he had increased their numbers yet again. This one was not looking too good for me. I did not want to go in overdrive in the very first fight but I had no other choice given by the upcoming bombardment. Preparing myself for the worst I continued to stare at him without any change in my expression. " And the time is over" Laura exclaimed for everyone to hear. The projectiles disappeared with a heavy sigh from my opponent and the next one started to walk up. It was a sturdy young man nodding at me. He looked at me full of fighting intent. "Shall we begin?" I savoured the few seconds of peace and serenity to close as many wounds as possible and with fixing my injured foot. I had prioritized my injured arm to be able to fully use it again. Bones healed slowly in comparison to flesh wounds. But I did not want to show and signs of weaknesses therefore I nodded at him and took up a fighting stance. A sudden feeling of danger attacked my senses causing me to jump backwards. My instinct had saved me from being impaled by the sharp stalagmite. just like the previous fight I was at a disadvantage right from the start. Fighting an Earth mage on soil was by no means favourable for me. Just like air, there was next to no limit to the earth in the ground. I had to assume that I could be attacked from every possible direction. Distance mattered little this time as the key to win this fight lied in avoiding the deadly attacks. The unpredictable attacks would dictate what actions I could take or in this case those I should avoid. For example, standing still or paying too much focus on the ground and not realizing that several big rocks are currently coming at me. It also did not help that stalagmites appeared in every direction making it harder for me to dodge without being skewered. I was dancing in the palm of his hands without any chance to retaliate. Passing through the wind was one thing but passing through solid rock was something entirely else. After several stressful seconds, a risky manoeuvre appeared inside of my mind. Instead of running away from the stalagmite I chose to break one at its bottom. The newly broken stalagmite was then returned to its original owner. The object in question came as a surprise to Atlas, who was forced to raise a wall of Earth to block it. The collision was deafening causing the wall to shake, but my offence had barely started as I jumped over the wall to engage him with my fist. Atlas, on the other hand, conjured a solid layer of Earth around him to block my punch. My hand connected with it but it could not pass through the makeshift armour. There was no way any of my attacks could pass through this. Instead of attacking him directly I took ahold of him and his armour and used all of my strength to lift him up, in return I had been perforated by an earth spike. Bearing the pain I carried the heavy load on my arms to the nearest spike before letting it drop. I brought it downwards to crash into the pointy stalagmites but Atlas managed to use his magic to flatten them and making my whole strategy fruitless. Of course did he not miss out on sending new ones to me. Magic was truly unfair to deal with. Gritting my teeth I dodge the next spikes and got ahold of a new stalagmite. Though this time around I did not throw it at him but used it as a weapon trying to penetrate his defences. The result was a violent crash between his magic and my weapon that caused the stalagmite to explode into a fine dust. This fight was a stalemate through and through as I was unable to penetrate the earth surrounding him. But there was a gap I could take advantage of, in order to see my movements he had left a gap for his eyes. Maybe it was time for me to use my hair again to exploit this weakness. To do so I decided to coat in in poison before throwing them at the gap after creating another distraction. But that plan was for nought as Laura announced the end of the fight. Despite failing to kill me, my enemy had a big smile plastered on his face. A battle maniac through and through, I like him. I gave him a thumbs-up before returning to my initial position. I was glad to have encountered him in this fight as I made a fascinating observation. After the magic had been cast the shaped soil remained in that state it had been formed into. Which meant that once the magic had left their control it could only be influenced by a new wave of magic. The implications of this newly gained knowledge made it easier for me to fight as it limited the possible options magicians had. They were still countless, but some matters could be disregarded. For instance, I could have jumped on the spikes without any worry in the world. If he wanted to injure me at that position it would require him to attack me directly or to influence it from underneath. That was my current understanding of the magic he applied, of course, I could not exclude the possibility that it was impossible to shape magic after its been cast. He might as well just lack the capabilities to do so. While walking back I kicked another spike and grabbed it in midair to use it as a weapon in the next fight. Although it must have looked quite cool from the outside none of them showed any reaction to my display of skill. Instead, the only thing I felt was a sudden push behind me pressing me forward. This great force came in the form of a tidal wave. By lodging the spike into the ground I managed to prevent myself from getting carried away. Seems like my next opponent was not interested in wasting any time. My next opponent was a girl, although gender mattered little in a fight of magic. Whether a boy or a girl the spell they cast hurts the same. Underestimating your opponent due to such a dumb belief is something which has cost many people dearly. Appearance matters little once the other factors are accounted for. But there are some fights that solely depend on appearances. An ugly memory resurfaced in my mind causing me to remember things I had sworn to forget about. Those battle were the most pitiful. While I was attacked by the memories I had hidden deep inside of me I did not feel the torrent of water attacking my body. I know that it should normally weigh heavy on me but It just did not feel like that. Maybe my senses were overwhelmed by my sudden emotional outburst but at least I should feel something, even if it is just a trace. Yet I did not feel a thing. Why did I lose touch with reality? During my mental struggle, I saw my body sitting there nonchalantly on top of the spike that had been embedded into the ground. Then the realisation hit me, I had this feeling once. When I handed over control to the Tennant in my body. At first, he was so quiet and now he just wants to take over my body without even saying anything. But two can play this game. I did not pay any attention to my surroundings anymore as I did not have any reason to do so anymore. With him, in control, I can focus on getting my body back. He might just make a corny joke about her being still too wet behind her ears. Does that proverb even exist in this world? Doubt it, it is too specific to my former world. He might just showboat and overexaggerate his movements to feel the awe of the others. Though that is none of my concern. There are 2 approaches I could use to gain control of my body, the first one is to give him an offer he can not refuse. A transaction of my precious memories seems suitable for such cases since he exploited a moment of my weakness to accomplish this feat. Otherwise, he would have taken over this body of mine way sooner. Because I can not imagine that he could learn anything from me about fighting magicians. Nor would it make sense that I am more than his temporary vessel. Without magic, you are really screwed in this world and this body certainly does not have what it takes to accomplish anything when faced with magic. In a fight against a singular magician it might work out quite well but once I fight several people it becomes impossible. Regeneration can get you only this far, especially if its all over once the brain gets injured. Should I just be thankful about the incompetence of the players I have faced so far? Nah, I have just played the role I had been chosen for. How much time has it been since I woke up in this world? 1 month? 2 months? 3 months? I have no idea how much time might have passed. All I know is that I am still not used to all of this. I might never truly grow accustomed to it. It all feels so surreal to me. I had never been a person, who believed in any form of afterlife. Especially no afterlife in which I get bombarded by an angry girl with waves of water. I have given him enough time to consider my offer and since I did not receive any answers it is time for me to get control back of my body the hard way. Normally I would have liked to avoid this way but I am left with no other choice if I do not want to be stuck in this passive state. If emotional trauma is the cause for loss of control then it also is the salvation. I will just have to force my mind to suffer over and over again until I wake up. Who knows maybe I will be able to come to terms with my past. If I could I would have shaken my head, I am not that naive to think that I could solve my issues simply by relieving them. Some things in life can not be fixed or mended no matter how hard you try. The past is irreversible. There are so many things I wish I could have done better or different. I do regret the choices I made. But brooding over what might have been or what could have been, is not the path to salvation. Knowing this is one thing, but the heart is another. As much as I want to point my fingers at others and blame them for everything, I just can not do that and expect to have a clear conscience. I will have to face my hurtful memories despite the wounds they might tear up again. Fuck me. Deep down I know that I could not avoid this, but simply suppressing it is no solution either. After I am through with this you will have some explaining to do Mr Tennant. So for the time being just focus on not getting torn to pieces by the magicians. Let us meet again. Father, Mother and my dear Sister. 141 The end of a dream 3 The first memory I had was me sitting at the table doing my homework. It was truly not an interesting one since I was woken up by my sister casually shaking me awake. Strange why can I not remember her face? I was just looking forward and trying to avoid eye contact with her. Yet at that point in time, our relationship had not turned sour. So why was I not looking at her face? The words she said to me were rather fuzzy and I can not clearly remember them. Was she trying to tell me to play with her or convey something my parents wanted me to do? The mind can be truly interesting, I have no idea why exactly this was the first memory that popped up in my mind. I do not feel that emotionally shaken by the things currently in front of my eyes. Or is this just the silence before the storm, that eventually is going to arise? Maybe it is just the earliest memory where I noticed that something went wrong. What was the topic we were talking about, I tried my best to recollect it but it was to no avail. I had to move on from this without getting to know the topic behind it. My next memory took place many years later and I was presenting my grades to my farther. Ah, I remember this scenes vividly. The pressuring silence, the heavy burden of expectations and me knowing that I did not live up to them. I felt like I was walking up to my execution and for good reason. Afterwards, it had always been about my sister and not about me anymore. It hurts quite a bit to realize that the company has more value than your own flesh and blood. But maybe I am at fault for being a risk to his legacy, to the empire his father had built up from scratch. Maybe his father had raised him with the same mindset or expectations, I can not tell. All I can say is that I never was able to fill the shoes my father wanted me to. Of course, I was not innocent either. Just swallowing it, bottling all of the frustrations up was certainly not the right way to handle it. Being passive-aggressive was also the best method to alienate me from my entire family. My dear father had seemed so imposing at that time making it hard for me to breathe, being too ashamed to even open my mouth. Looking at him now, all I see is a feeble man. The power and might he had displayed did not fit the image I currently saw of him. What was the intent behind his actions? Logically speaking the situation was still salvageable and my father would not give up so easily on his heir. Did he want me to stand up for myself and bring forth methods to redeem myself? Given my upbringing, this seems to be likely. Still, he should have known better, that I would not react well to such a situation. In fact, the opposite took place, driving a wedge between me and my father. So pointless so utterly pointless. Why does it all have to start by something so ludicrously stupid? Was there not any other way to solve this mess? I did not need to become their heir, I did not need a fortune, no special education, no pretentious friends I did not need all of that. What I needed was a father. And since he and I clearly did not share the same goals, the outcome was pretty obvious. Although actual arguments between me and him were a rare occasion. It''s hard to argue if he was not even present. All of his time is taken up with the company, running from meeting to meeting talking to investors and distributors, other things are not worth his precious time. At first, I had been carried with him met many "important" faces to make connections for my future. Later this honour fell on my dear sister, who was introduced as the successor. My initial involvement was quickly forgotten and my sister was fawned upon. The only thing I was actually remembered for was being the failed product of my father. Near the end, my father did not even acknowledge me anymore. He would have disowned me and cut me out from the family if it did not reflect negatively on his beloved company. What a lucky fellow I must be. Who needs a loving and caring father figure in your life? I should just be content with what I have, not many people had so many privileges. Having your own nanny is certainly more than a suitable replacement. I am such an ungrateful brat, too spoiled for my own good. I heard all of them talking behind my back. Ignoring all of the gossip and slandering, was the only option I could take. Those remarks plagued me for quite a long time. Until the day I realized, that these people were just trying to distract themselves from their own miserable lives. Seeing someone of my status being miserable was a great consolation for them. Forgetting about their own miserable existence if only for a moment is something which I can not take away from them. In a way, I was envious about their ability to forget about their troubles. I did not have the ability to do so. I would only feel way worse after knowing that I had to stoop so low to feel better. Everyone has their own troubles and worries it did not feel right to lighten my burden by putting down others. I am neither my father, mother or my sister who could not care any less about others. All that matters to them are the things they have set their eyes upon. Everything else that is useless will be discarded or thrown away. Besides I am not any better than them. While I do not resort to such measures I am still indifferent to their acts and what happens to anyone else. That makes me even worse than them, those who are aware of evil being committed and still look away are the real scum. Because it is due to people like me, that evil of such magnitude can happen in the first place. Willful ignorance is what enables these people to do whatever they please. Even worse I still do not care about others in the slightest. I do not believe in altruism. we humans are way too imperfect to such a concept to work out. Subjecting everyone under the law and evening the playing field for everyone might seem like a noble idea, but those in power are above it. This does not mean they can not behold accountable if they go too far. It is a fickle act of balance, because if the masses, the very foundation of society start to move, then there is no way their power will save them. But people have grown too apathetic to care. They do not see them as villains anymore. They change did not happen overnight. Piece by piece was taken away from them and they were told to see each other as the enemy but no the one responsible for the change. Sadly this is a necessary evil, why else would it have been the most peaceful era? Everything comes at a price. Those at the top will do anything to hold onto it. Whether that means eliminating the opposition or accepting some form of stability. In my former world, a frail status quo was achieved by that matter. Wars and dictatorships still came and go but the world calmed down. Whether or not it is justified, is up to debate. But it is effective, that can not be denied. While I had drifted off the memory had continued with the nearly endless silence between me and my father. But I had already lost interest in this memory, relieving it did not stir up any emotions in me. It was just that my perspective had shifted after coming into this world. Things that seemed imposing before lost its lustre. I began to focus on the next person in my family which was suitable to cause emotional distress in me, that person was my dear mother. My dear mother would always be described as an angel, that is nice to everyone. If my father was the spokesperson of the company then she was the backbone. With an above-average appearance and an incomparable thirst for recognition, she was the perfect addition to my father. Her ability to socialize was a great benefit, which she often took advantage of. She was always under a lot of stress, constantly trying to curry favour and her best to suck up to the person, she wanted something from. Having such a disgrace as her son was quite a roadblock for her great endeavour. Her image was ruined by being associated with the likes of me. Sadly for her, it is hard to deny the biological ties. The gossip about their inept son spread like wildfire. It became the talk amongst everyone in her social standing. It does not take much to guess the outcome. Since her husband was preoccupied with the love of his life, she had no shoulder to cry on either. This much was to be expected, this had never been a marriage born out of love. At least not for my mother, she was just after my father''s last name. In the end, she found solace in a bottle. It became her best company when everything felt unbearable for her. With the alcohol came a terrible temper and mood swings. On good days she would only berate me, calling me all sort of names and then finally falling asleep after she had tired her self out. Next morning everyone everything would be fine again and she became an angel once more. On bad days, however, the angel lost all of her composure. This time she was not satisfied with throwing words at me. Her acts became a lot more physical. All I could do was endure all of her wraths while apologizing over and over again. Sorry for being born. I will never do it again. I am just a waste of space. The world would be better off without me. Seeing myself being beaten over and over again did not fill me with resentment as much as I had hoped for. I just felt pity, there was no other emotion in me. Back then I had quickly learned how to endure her fits and to just wait until it was all over. Her punches did not even hurt anymore. Partly because her form is absolutely terrible and that the worst part had always been the emotional wounds she left me with. I just accepted that everything was my fault and moved on. It is scary how the human brain adapts to things like this. Especially since I tried to rationalize who is to blame in this situation. Only to truly understand the underlying dynamic later on when it was already too late. She was no after my apologies, nor did she truly care about me at all. This was nothing more than her way of venting her frustrations and having full control over me. She, the one having to constantly suck up to others, enjoyed the experience of looking down on others. After I left the house to attend university she made the unfortunate personal her target. By receiving a nice monetary compensation their silence was ensured. People are willing to bear a lot for the sake of their children and my mother knew how to exploit that. Should I resent my mother for her insane and vile acts? Probably, but in the I truly feel nothing about it. Why should I give her the satisfaction of still controlling my emotions? Does this lowlife really deserve that much? I will not grant her that satisfaction. My mother died for me long before I passed away. She was just like any other person to me. I came to the conclusion, that I could leave all of this madness behind by limiting my exposure to this toxic individual. All of a sudden an all too familiar laugh appeared in my head. It sounded pleasant but it stirred a deep loathing inside of me. It belonged to my sister. " Oh, dear you did not change at all." A woman of considerable beauty appeared in front of me. She had long brown hair and her eyes appeared intelligent. With her petite nose and sweet smile, she charmed both genders alike. But looks can be deceiving because I know all too well what is hiding behind those brown eyes. " You always try to run away from your problems. Avoiding confrontation at any cost. You did this in your former world and continue to do so in this world. So it should not be any surprise to you, that it is going to end the same way." A chair manifested behind her, which she elegantly sat down upon. " The idea to free yourself by forcefully remembering traumatic past events was a step in the right direction but utterly pointless if you still try to rationalize everything to shield yourself from your own emotions." The tone in her voice sounded teaching just as I was used to. It really reminded me of my home. " Even now you do not even try to face me. You just barely manage to muster the courage to look at me. And once again, you have chosen the easy way out. How do you expect things to change when all you do is follow the same old routine?" Sitting lazily at the chair she looks at me with pity in her eyes. " A prodigy, a genius, a failure, an idiot. You always thought that none of these labels would do you justice. You are painfully aware, that there will always be someone out there better than you. But is acting like an idiot and selling your self short the best you could come up with? By trying to fool everyone, you only became the fool yourself." Her posture did not change as she calmly told me all of this. " Was that your idea of getting back at everyone? All of that just to burden your parents with some slight inconvenience? Are you that petty? If it were me I would have just played my part, until I had regained full control before giving them a taste of their own medicine. But just as usual, you ran away." Behind her countless fragments of memories appeared, each depicting an instance where I lowered my head or escaped with the tail between my legs. Whether it was from my parents, from my sister, from my peers, or even from myself. " It runs like a thread through your life. Regardless of where you look, you have always chosen to run away. How do you expect to deal with others, when you can not even deal with yourself? Your answer to this question is even more pathetic, then merely running away. " Her gaze turned sharp and tension filled the air. " Not even trying to find an answer to that question is the most despicable thing you could have chosen. At least running away from your problems is an answer. Do you think that your death would absolve you from your feelings of guilt? Just how naive are you?" The previous tranquillity appeared once more as my sister appeared to be bored by my lack of reaction. " You will never be able to make enough amends to ease your troubled mind. The past can not be undone and one right does not make up for a lifetime of wrongs. What a truly lamentable fate. In this new life, you are still being held captive by the shackles of your past." My sister rose from the chair with elegance before she approached me and slowly danced around me. " You are a liar, you are deceiver, you are a cynic. But has anyone ever seen your real face? What is hidden underneath that mask of insecurities? I do not have to tell you, you are already aware of it yourself. After all, I am merely a projection of your sub-consciousness." She stopped right in front of me and looked me directly in the eyes. " Are you afraid of yourself"? A wicked smile appeared on her face "Or are you afraid of losing your self?" 142 The end of a dream 4 A memory came to me from deep inside. Everything was still normal then. My father took care of me and my mother had not yet detested me. When I was 7 years old, the world seemed much simpler. That day, I sneaked away from my tutor. I don''t even remember why I did that back then. I left the care of my villa and appeared in a world unlike my own. Here I was not the centre of events, so many different faces whose eyes were not on me. A wide range of different emotions was reflected in their faces. Quite contrary to the monotonous facial expressions I was used to. I did not pay attention to where I was going, I just followed the mass of people. They all ignored the little child that followed them. Everyone had their own worries and concerns and they were all too busy with themselves. During my little trip, I discovered many things that were completely new to me. I, who grew up in a sheltered environment, came into contact with people, who were unlike everything I was used to. Their clothing looked so colourful to the young me. I did not notice the dirt or the creases. My nostrils were flooded by countless smells I did not know of and I was overwhelmed by the loud noises. I tried to take it all in because I knew that I had to return to my old world sooner or later since I did not belong here. While I was wandering amongst the crowd I heard 2 people loudly screaming at one another. I was drawn in by this new experience and my arrival came just at the right time. It is not every day someone inserts a knife over and over again into a body. Most people walked onwards pretending not have seen anything. Some started crying and wailing, others just stared at the mangled body. On their faces appeared genuine shock and someone even puked seeing this cruel display. Others made some photos with their handy, to capture this moment for all eternity. Yet, the men in question had not died fully. He lied there in writhing agony. He lifted his hand to search for help but no one bothered to. Amongst all of them was me, just staring at my surroundings. I was not appaled by seeing the men in his last hours on earth, neither was I fascinated enough to continue staring at him. For me, all of this had been part of this foreign world. Each and everyone had a different reaction to this man lying there. But regardless where I looked no one shared mine. Why was no else imagining how it would feel like to be in his body? What this not the most interesting part? My younger self was utterly confused. The vast difference in reactions was inexplicable to me. When the police and EMTs finally arrived, they could only confirm the death of the man. Survival was out of the question after the body had been brutalized to such an extent. Yet the men had been clinging onto life till the bitter end. I had been taught from early on that struggle against the natural order was futile. People are born with certain limitations placed on them. Be it talent, birth of origin, or lifespan. These shackles tied one down and breaking them was impossible. So why did this man not give up, when the inevitable end was about to occur? I wanted to look at his face, to see the face of someone who persisted against his fate. The blank look in his face, the widely opened eyes full of shock. The traces of blood that gave his face a red hue. A perfect example of a man who died full of regrets. His end was a lonely one, everyone, he had reached out to ignored him and his ordeal. It was then I was apprehended by 2 strong hands and my trip came to a sudden end. Afterwards, I was harshly scolded for leaving without telling anyone. It was only later on that I was taught, that the reaction everyone had shown were considered normal. I was advised not to think too deeply about it, as something like this could only happen to those of lower birth. This was the lesson they tried to give me, but not the conclusion I drew. If such reactions are deemed normal, then it was me who was abnormal. This simple realisation was the cause of my downfall. There were so many things I did not know about and I tried to learn about them at all cost. I watched movies, asked the personal questions about anything I did not understand. But I was always told off and the rumours about the strange child started to spread. At that point in time, I had not become aware of exactly how abnormal I truly was. In my rush to experience everything, I enranged my parents and tutors alike. Their scolding continued until the very father chose to give up on the failure of a son. I could understand their motivation for making such a decision but the emotions, they had shown were still something I could not imagine. From my observations, they were full of anger, disappointment and felt a tinge of regret as well. But what were those feelings, why did I not know how these emotions felt like? I knew about hunger and pain. Signals the body gave off to inform the brain about something. Yet, anger, fear, regret was not like this. These emotions were not born from my body itself but were a result of the mind. Even now I do not know the exact difference. Feelings like this are the result of a reaction of the brain. Happiness can be achieved by a hormone called dopamine. Serotonin, on the other hand, regulates our mood. Our entire perception of the world is formed shaped by chemicals in our brains. Everything we feel is a product of our brain. Adrenalin for an emergency situation or endorphins to make the body forget about the pain. Until now, I never felt something like this. So I started to think about how someone might feel and act accordingly. Yet, despite my best effort, I did not feel anything others were supposed to feel. I tirelessly tried to invoke these feelings in me. Day in and day out I caused situations, that should stir emotions inside me but everything was to no avail. Until one fateful day, I managed to achieve just that. I took my younger sister than me and ran away with her from our tutor. I tried to replicate the event I had seen back then. With my sister in hand, I appeared in that foreign world once more. And to no one''s surprise, nothing happened, nothing at all. My sister looked at these people with great interest in her mind, this must have been the exact way I looked back then. Yet, the fundamental difference between her and me became clear after she spoke to me in a loud and crisp voice. " Brother, why are you showing me these pitiful things?" There was a tinge of disgust in her voice. My sister was not like me, she was just like anyone else. My upbringing was not the problem, the problem was me. With even my last hope crushed, I just abandoned my sister and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. What did that dying men have, what I lacked? Why did he get to feel emotions, while I did not? I felt jealous of a dead man. The absurdity of the situation was not something I wanted to accept. The first emotion I was conscious about was envy aimed at a corpse. Instead of becoming normal as I hoped I became only more abnormal. Because this was as far from being normal as one could be. Everything I had done, all the things I lost and in the end, I ended up even further from my goal when I started. But my attempt at running away from my troubles had the same closure as my first trip and I was caught yet again. Further scolding ensued and since the expectations aimed at me had dropped significantly, they did not even ask for an explanation. They just declared me guilty and moved on. From that moment onwards the contact to my sister was severely restricted as well and a guard was assigned to me to keep watch and prevent me from trying something "stupid" once more. This job was an easy way to make money, as I did not even leave the confide out of my house anymore. Since my previous effort was a complete waste of time, I decided to observe the others, listen to everything they said. I tried to categorize the different emotions they must have felt and searched for the different patterns, which must have caused it. This behaviour did not go unnoticed and the rumours started to spread once more. Sadly even these rumours did not cause any emotion me. My mother raising her hand was also not enough. Nothing was ever enough. Yet my desire to be normal never truly disappeared amidst all of my failures. I had the proof that I am capable of feelings right beside me, but why could I not feel any other? The solution is more than obvious if I can not feel anything about the others than they never mattered to me in the first place. Familiar bonds have no influence over me. If I want to feel emotions, I need more and stronger simulation. My father and my mother and even my sister are just not enough for that. It wasn''t because my sister didn''t try. She really put a lot of effort into making my life miserable though. Whatever her motivation truly was, I did not particularly care. Whether she wanted to exert her power over others as desperately as her mother or something entirely else. All of her efforts may have permanently altered my surroundings and the relationship to my family but that was it. Not even she could give me the one thing I desired. The memory of the dying men burst like a bubble and disappeared. My sister had been replaced by someone I was all too familiar with. I was looking at myself from the former world. " A world full of magic and you were happy, so happy, but this is not what you are after. You want to feel genuine emotions, not ones that are made up by yourself. Even if it is a perfect dream, you have to wake up to enjoy the reality." Yes, seems like I forgot myself while I thought to live a "normal" life albeit in a magical world. Otherwise, I would have noticed sooner, that this was too good to be true. I do not want to live in the confines of my own mind. What I want is to experience something real something palpable. I had long forgotten about the fight that was currently taking place with my body. Those details were not important to me anymore. I focussed on all the logical inconsistences I had found and told myself over and over again, that all of this was nothing more than a dream. The space inside of me began to rumble and to disintegrate slowly. Yet the Moirai in front of me just continued to stare at me with great expectations in his eyes. This entire development was not something I would consider logical, but the entire situation was something I could not comprehend. Although I found it hard to believe, that my subconscious would directly talk to me and tell me to wake up. Although in comparison to the mere thought that all of this had been nothing more than an illusion it seems more believable. I did not even feel anger at whoever had done this to me. He or she had rekindled my desire to feel emotions again. Being satisfied by a mere imitation should never be enough for me and my ambition. One might assume, that after being deceived and being lied to for such a long time a lot of anger and frustration might be felt, but I felt thoroughly thankful. An emotion that was still foreign to me. I wanted to explore this new feeling and try to savour its impression it left behind in my mind and body. It was liberating to finally feel something like this and all it took was a trip to a foreign world and living a lie for several months. Achieving new emotions would not get any easier than this, but I was up for the task. The space inside of my mind had been thoroughly destroyed and right now it was pitch black. The only thing left in front of me was Moirai and the chair he sat upon. I found myself surrounded by a darkness that had engulfed everything beside me and the other Moirai. The other Moirai gave me a casual nod before he jumped into the black night and disappeared in it. I thought about following his footsteps but decided against it, after contemplating about it for a while. I am sad on the chair that was left behind and stared into the black night. I looked into it and say nothing, nothing at all. My eyes never got used to its sight and I was stranded in it. After my previous world view had been thoroughly destroyed I found myself in this strange world. I tried to feel my limbs and body but that was to no avail and I was still stuck in this sheer endless void. The only thing I could do to keep myself busy was using my imagination to do various things, I used it to imagine myself fighting someone else or seeing the magic with my own eyes. Yet another Moirai who talked back to me never appeared. Although I could imagine all of this I never could do so myself. All I could do on the other hand was merely observing these things from a safe distance. The time passed slowly and I watched a myriad of things. Every time I tried to interact with the darkness in any other way without using my imagination, I was promptly repelled by it. I tried over and over again but the result remained always the same. Since I had a lot of free time in my hand I began to think about possible solutions. First and foremost I decided on finding out some information about my current predicament. But after a long time, or it might have been a short time as well, the darkness suddenly dissipated and what was left behind was the exact same thing but this time around in white. I gave up on trying to find a logical explanation for the time being and just took it all in. My perfect dream had come to an end, so spending some time in an environment like this was not an issue to me. It was only about when and how I would finally wake up. Though I had no idea just how soon this event would come true. 143 Reality " It really is hard to discern what is real or rather what is not." I wondered whether or not the rest of my pitiful sanity had vanished as I watched my memories over and over again. At first, I had been thankful for having the oppurturnity to review all of them. But after countless repetitions of watching my cartoonish depiction of a villain, I came to the conclusion that I need to reevaluate my actions and behaviour. My antics did not even closely resemble the real thing and could be called a childish imitation at its best. There was not the least bit threatening about a human mimicking an angsty and edgy teenager. How anyone could see me as a credible threat, is beyond me. Besides having beyond average physical capabilities, I had nothing that could threaten anyone of them. My use of tactics could only get me so far and once those people throw away their precious feeling of superiority I am done for. The last fights are proof enough of that. I am struggling to face even one of them. Whether or not the world I had been in a real or just a fabrication of my mind, it would be delusional to think I could survive long in such an environment. All the measures I had taken could only shorten the gap. Magic in itself is something, that my brain can hardly handle. Science, or at least the one I know, does not include something like this. Or I missed out on the part, where one could summon the elements by moving their hands. Having such a tool at your disposal is the embodiment of unfairness. Even with certain restrictions, placed on them, they are still able to use it to cause great destruction. We humans would have to rely on technology to cause something like this and all they do is waving their hands. But it would still be unwise to count out humans, lest we forget about the tools we have tested on ourselves with great success. Unlike magic, our methods only goal is to cause harm. Magic might not be all too different, but we humans do not have a mortal enemy to justify their existence. Once every last monster has been taken care off and they start to point their magic against one another, then they will realize, that magic is not any different. My world view might be a bit cynic and tainted by the humans I have known for all my life, but how long would the status quo remain, if the source for their inequality is gone? A utopia is nothing more than wishful thinking. The monsters would just be replaced by another form of threat to them. Those in power would not give up their privileges just because they are asked nicely. They resemble the human way too much in that regard. Their pride, their prejudices, their arrogance all of these emotions are way too similar. So it is more than likely, that they would follow the same steps the humans did. This new area would be ushered in blood once more. Whether it is against a new common enemy or against one another truly did not matter. In some form or another, the injustice and inequality would remain, because the root of the issue stayed the same. At their core they would remain the same flawed beings, they seem to detest that much. Maybe I am just reading too much into this after all of this is can be nothing more than a fabrication of my mind. But if there is something more to all of this, then it would be unwise to throw all of this away. Instead of pointlessly continuing my emotional distress caused by repeated watching of my gimmick I decided to think about all of the memories and their hidden implications in great detail. The explanations my brain had come up with, blaming it all on higher powers outside of my realm of understanding is quite shameful. Being just a pawn in their play is not the problem here, the problem lied in my quick acceptance of my hopeless situation. I should have never given up on trying to break free from them. Hopeless is only a term for those who have surrendered. I do not want to repeat the mistakes I made in my previous life. Whether it is a strange entity calling itself the Observer, or it is something inside my body claiming to surpass magic with me. Regardless of their plans and objective, I will not lower my head and wait until everything is over. Blind obedience does not suit me if I want to achieve emotions. Magic is not an impossible existence, it is just my understanding that is severely lacking. My previous knowledge is my foundation to explain its mysteries. Something which can change into every kind of matter seems to be ludicrous and can not exist. But if you think about it, everything is made out of atoms and its properties can also change to everything. Protons, neutrons and electrons all form the elements as we know them. From helium to carbon and oxygen all of them are fundamentally the same, but yet so different. A different amount of electrons in the rings of each atom make up for so many different properties and reactions. It is truly fascinating to know that natures wonder can be boiled down to such an extent. Suddenly magic does not appear to be that impossible anymore. The crux of the issue lied in their ability to actually wield it. How can they dictate what action the magic is supposed to take? Normally the surroundings always dictate what kind of change will occur. The same does not apply to them. They can change magic into a hot state or a cold state or into different form and shapes entirely. Such a variety of attributes, that take form nearly instantaneously are beyond my current understanding. The humans I know, could only indirectly take influence on such things. Creating light by flipping a flitch is a simple version of sending an electric current into a bulb where electrons are elevated to a higher energy level before falling back to the previous level. While they fall back down they emit they light we had aimed for in the first place. What we take for granted is a fairly complex arrangement of different laws and principles to achieve the result we want. This is merely one simple thing, in the sea of different inventions and technology that are the foundation of modern society. I realize more and more how idiotic the decision was to just blindly accept everything. I betrayed my own mantra without realizing it. I stabbed myself in the back by not questioning everything. Mistakes can be made but they should not be repeated. All kinds of vows are meaningless if they are just made for the sake of convenience. This time around I will not make any stupid vows or false promises just to ease my mind. Doing so would only end with me sabotaging myself. In order to understand magic, I need to observe and be open-minded. No restrictions, no lies, no falsehoods. I am not satisfied with a mere illusion, I want the real thing. This is my second chance at life and I will not waste it. If I end up giving my life here, then so be it. All I want is to be able to stand tall with my head held high and die with regrets on my mind. Just like that mortally wounded man, who still struggled and yearned for life. This is the reality I strive for and the reality I am willing to do anything for. " What a beautiful declaration. I have heard it all from cries for revenge or the thirst for power, but you are the first one to have that kind of motivation. Although you are also the only one to possess such meagre abilities. " A familiar voice spoke to me coming directly from the endless white void. The voice belonged to my subconscious, or at least that had been the thing I took it for. It was easy to spot due to the black trail that it left behind. My eyes followed his movement as he came closer to me without any worry in the world. Why it could affect the void in the first place is something I will have to find an explanation for later on. The expression on his face seemed pleased. " With all of your flaws, you just barely possess the qualifications to have me at your side. If you had not piqued my interest I would have never settled for you. " "You lack vision, your temper and conduct are lacklustre. You also do not have any affinity with this world. Your combat-related abilities are subpar as well. I am not even going to mention your understanding of the laws that the world is built on. Your morals and motivation are at odds with a harsh environment. Your senses and perception, are beyond terrible as well." The tone in his voice seemed neither overbearing nor ridiculing. It rather sounded like he was presenting me with a matter of fact. I could not refute any of those statements. All of these shortcomings would sooner or later lead to me being at a disadvantage, if not even worse. An assessment like this was absolutely correct but I could not help myself that a shadow of doubt appeared on my mind regarding its authenticity. Because the source was not something I had control over. It was the only thing, that was not under my influence. The trail of darkness left behind his every footstep began to spread out and cover the previous white void and shrouding the space in a gloomy hue. The veil of gloom gave off an eerie vibe. He appeared to be unaffected by the spectacle taking place in the surroundings as he continued to speak to me in the same manner. " You neither have the talent nor the destiny of others. You are not blessed by the Gods either nor were you born with a great fate. There is no path prepared for you, no goal or targets set. Nothing waiting for you and nothing being expected." The world around me had lost all of its light and was entirely engulfed in darkness. My spitting image stopped in its tracks some distance away from my current position. With a big smile on his face, he was looking into my direction gauging my reaction. I chose to not to do anything and just waited for more information. Despite these words sounding truthful they still lacked critical information, that would enable me to discern them from not being a product of my imagination. My inaction did not seem to deter it as I was calmly stared down from the distance. An expression of genuine interest was not enough to convince me. He could act as mysterious as he wanted to, I am not going to fall for such an act. It is hard to trust something when I can not fully trust myself. That is why I am just going to wait and see how the situation develops. It is not like the current situation offers many alternatives. I could have walked up to it, but that was it. Meanwhile, my spitting image had a wide grin on his face before he put his arms around him and turning into my sister. A peculiar development, but still not a reason to move any closer. " Oh my dear Moirai, you are not a fallen hero or a saint. You are nothing special, you are just a mere human and not even a good one. You never had the ambition nor the desire to accommodate your family and their wishes. You were too preoccupied with your own life full of self-perceived misery." The voice and mannerisms were spots on, if I did not know better I would say that my sister was currently berating me once again. " For you, there was no father, no mother, no sister, no there was only you, yourself. Did we ever truly matter to you? You never cared about anyone else. Did you play the victim to fuel your frail ego?" Just as harsh as the real-life equivalent. Who needs magic, when a tongue is so poisonous. It is easy to pretend I have figured myself out, but I can not say for certain who or what I actually was. Right now I can only confirm, that I lack some critical emotions. I will have to find out more about myself to understand my actions from back then. " You were quick to point fingers and shift away from every kind of responsibility despite being the only one to blame. YOU WERE THE PROBLEM." Yeah, that was a bit too over the top. While my sister was certainly quite emotional, she was more of a scheming type, which did not show much emotion on the surface. Her emotional state could be seen through her small acts. Or I truly never paid too much attention to details like this. It is still too early to draw a conclusion. The expression on the face of my "sister" turned insidious unlike I had ever seen before the countenance changed yet another time. With a movement of her hands, the face was covered before turning into the image of my mother. Although I did not expect to have a family reunion again that quickly I just stared at her interested in what was about to happen. What kind of story was I about to hear? " Lord, why was I given such a child? Why must I suffer such hardships?" A warped sense of reality befitting my memories of my mother. Although I can not remember ever asking to be born into this world in the first place. Sadly I could not demand a replacement womb for the faulty first one. " Thank you, Lord, for taking my burden away from me." This depiction of my mother seems far-fetched. She had never been the religious type and seeking solace in religion was something she despised wholeheartedly. She loved to refer to people of such a nature, as mindless cattle. Although they shared the same voice and appearance, it was definitely not my mother. The mere thought that she might have turned to religion seems laughable. I scoffed at the idea of my mother uttering prayers directed a God she did not believe in. I am well aware that humans are capable of everything they set their mind to, yet I could not imagine my mother turning over a new leaf and having a belief of that kind. She was not the type of person, who would change. Unless it suited her, a trait that her daughter shares as well. The mother-daughter duo was way too similar for that. Both had their eyes set on a target, they would do anything to achieve. Unlike the common folk, they were quite persistent in obtaining what they desired. In the end, for those on the receiving end, their motivation mattered little. Whether or not they suffered for personal gain or the greater good does not change the fact, that they were the ones suffering. One might claim, that having a good cause in doing so, would help ease their minds and give them the strength to persevere through the troubled times, but this is utter nonsense. Preaching altruism in dire times is mostly done by those with ulterior motives. For the betterment of society, for a better tomorrow, for the next generation. The prestigious labels are all based on the same principles, to suggest the sacrifice for the people they hold dear. While a noble cause, this is exploited by a select group of people who wish to stay in power. And nothing will ever change, if one corrupted head falls it will soon be replaced by another one. History has proven over and over again, that the only thing Humans have gotten better at, was masking the injustice. They lie with smiling faces, the betray while hugging one another. They thrive by putting others down. Be it animals, themselves or even nature itself, everything they can get their hands on will be used. That such a vermin appeals to morals is another cruel irony in itself. Humans are not as bad as I made them out to be but in comparison to the other species on Earth, I can only call it them a vermin, a disease that plagues the Earth. Nature in itself does not care about the mistake, that will be eradicated with the passage of time, but it can not be denied that humans have permanently altered nature with all of their deeds. In the meantime, the visage of my mother had disappeared and turned into a copy of my father. I was not surprised by this development as a more than obvious pattern had emerged. A figure similar appeared in my vision telling me something shocking or thought-provoking. The true purpose behind that act is something I have yet to deduce though. My father had always been a stern person, with a clear understanding of how to grow a business. Despite his eccentric behaviour, he can be considered the most normal person in his little dysfunctional family. Let me witness what kind of outlandish things he will say. Maybe he will start telling me to sell our company and live happily off the money gained by the transaction or he might tell me to give away all the useless money since a life without paper notes and shilling coins was way more fulfilling. " Dear Son, it is hard seeing you in such a bad condition. The company always came first for me. It was the thing my father had entrusted me with on his deathbed. It was the work of a lifetime and my way to provide my family with the things they deserved." A mournful voice unlike I had ever heard, dark traces under his eyes and a downcast expression were visible on his face. His appearance looked rather ragged and the normal aura of aloofness was nowhere to be seen. " All of my actions were to prepare you to take up the same mantle as your father. All of the stress and the pressure I put you through was for this. But since you clearly did not want to succeed me, I decided to make your sister the inheritor of the company. I could not bear watching all of my effort in all of those years to end up being in vain." The figure of my father was clearly shaking as all of these words left his mouth. Those were the words of a man deeply torn by guilt and sorrow about the things he has done. He looked in my direction but he was not looking at me. His eyes were looking at something far outside of his reach, something he would never be able to obtain. " The company is thriving unlike ever before. The shareholders are very pleased with our development and my daughter has proven her sense or business over and over again. My wife is happy beyond belief, because of our recent success and she has finally become the woman again. I once fell in love with." Despite the seemingly positive content of those words, there was not much happiness eradiating from the man himself. " I just wanted to make everyone happy, my family was supposed to have every single thing they would ever need or could ever want. Yet, why does no one seem to care that all of this was bought with the health of my son? What is the use of all of this, if I can not even share it with you?" I should have felt disgusted seeing my father pleading and lamenting my fate. As if this kind of justification would come from my father. In a sense I had to be thankful for this weird situation, I saw things I would have never even dreamt of being possible. The pitiful farce disappeared from my eyes for good as if nothing had ever happened. He was replaced by a hooded person. After a brief period of silence, the hooded person began to speak. with a voice that belonged to the only person, I thought to have had feelings for. The necessity of wearing a hood to cover the face was beyond me, as I could clearly envision her face from back then. Her seemingly innocent eyes, uncorrupted from the filth around her. A sweet smile while fate had given her several hardships to endure. She was a beacon of light, the role model I needed when everything began to crumble all around me. Sadly my time to enjoy her presence was rather limited. Would my world view still be this twisted and rotten? I just hope that she can remain as pure and as compassionate as she had been prior to my involvement. " It was easy to convince him to do my bidding when he was at his lowest. The faintest bit of kindness and he already began to cry his heart out. He told me everything I wanted to know and all I had to do was ask nicely. He was just not cut out for this cruel world. An ending like this was only fitting." What a twist, who could have seen that coming? The ideal version in my head was a mere lie and I exploited. How can I trust anyone ever again? I would never truly care if she just used me for her own purpose, that would just further prove that my understanding of human nature is the correct one. The true reason for me seeing her in a fond light is that she offered me a new perspective, a dream that I could reach the same state as her. I did not fall in love with the human itself but adored the ideals she stood for. So whether or not she was an angel or the devil faking her kindness I could not care any less. It is not like I did not consider her motive, but I was too blinded by my own desire to be like her. Until the day I died, I was intoxicated by the mere idea. The hooded figure disappeared into thin air and arrived directly in front of me looking me directly into the eyes. With only mere centimetres between our 2 faces, I was able to see every little detail. Yet, the face was not the one I was used to, I was staring directly into the eyes of my long lost dog, that had accompanied me during the early days of my childhood. "Woof" she exclaimed as she stared directly into my soul. I would be lying If I had predicted such a development. " The dumbfounded expression on your face is priceless," said the woman with a dog head. I would be lying again if try to deny it. " I have tried everything to cause an emotional response from you. I invoked every character, that has majorly shaped your character and the thing that finally breaks your countenance is a dog. A dog which did not even like you. in the background appeared numerous memories of the dog yelling and barking at me when I tried to pet it. That thing truly hated me. I was a bit floored, to say the least, and my thoughts raced to try and make sense out of all of this. " Everything about you is so refreshing. If I were to hear yet another one of these simple-minded fools seeking power to avenge anyone, I am going to lose my mind. Do THOSE People have nothing better to do, then seek vengeance for the slightest inconvenience?" " DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT FEELS LIKE TO BEING FORCED TO LISTEN TO THESE MORONS OVER AND OVER AGAIN? REPEATING THE SAME OLD STORY, WITH THE SAME OLD ENDING, EXPECTING ME TO SHARE THEIR PAIN AND GRANT THEM MY POWER. AND THE WORST THING OF ALL I STILL HAVE TO SMILE, WHILE THEY CRY THEIR HEART OUT FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME." " AND IF I GIVE THEM THE POWER TO ACHIEVE ALL OF THEIR DESIRES, THEY THANK ME ONCE AND CARRY ON THEIR PATH OF RETRIBUTION. WHICH WOULD NOT BE SO BAD, IF THESE FUCKERS WOULD NOT THROW THEIR LIVES AWAY IN THEIR QUEST." " IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME. I GAVE THEM POWER AND THEY OVERESTIMATE THEIR ABILITIES AND DIE BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THEMSELVES TO BE INVINCIBLE. I WARN THEM TO BE CAREFUL, THEY LAUGH AT ME, THEY DIE. THE NEXT PERSON APPEARS, HE ACCEPTS THE POWER, I WARN HIM, HE SCOFFS AT ME, HE DIES. IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME. WHY DOES ANYONE I MEET PROVE INCAPABLE OF LEARNING?" " I THOUGHT THAT BY SWITCHING MY APPROACH I COULD STOP THESE MORONS FROM THROWING THEIR LIVES AWAY IN THEIR CONQUEST. LIMITING THEIR POWER AND ONLY GIVING IT AWAY BIT BY BIT WHEN THEY HAVE PROVEN WORTHY OF HANDLING IT SHOULD HAVE SUFFICED. BUT OF COURSE, COMMON SENSE DOES NOT APPLY TO THESE IDIOTIC CREATURES. IN ORDER TO PROVE THEIR WORTH THEY THREW THEMSELVES HEADFIRST INTO DANGER TO TRY AND CONVINCE ME." " AND GUESS WHAT THEY LOST THEIR LIVES. IT WAS WISHFUL THINKING TO BELIEVE THAT THEY COULD CHANGE. IT IS THEIR INHERENT NATURE TO FIND A WAY TO RUIN EVERYTHING? AND I THOUGHT THINGS HAVE CHANGED AFTER COUNTLESS SIMPLEMINDED MONSTERS DEMANDING STRENGTH TO COPULATE." " WILL THIS TORTURE NEVER END?" Sorry for interrupting your well-deserved rant about this idiocracy, but I think that you have forgotten the main purpose. " While you are certainly more interesting, you are absolutely lacking in every other regard. They had more fighting experience, were better suited for my powers and had the skill necessary to make use of it. Qualities you lack. " The tone of the voice was rather displeased and still agitated. The voice itself was hard to describe., it sounded arrogant and archaic as if it was as old as time itself. " As old as time itself? I do not like your word choice, you seem to imply something." Is there something wrong with such a description? Since you spoke of countless monsters and the mindless people you have granted you power it is not wrong to assign such a label to you, especially given such a big number. Besides being called old should be the least of your worries, since I have not even begun to talk about your incompetence. " Incompetence? How does such a pitiful worm even dare to judge me? What qualifications do you possess to be so impudent?" Screaming your arguments does not give them any more weight, you know? If you had so many tries with so many different specimens and you did not find success with any one of them, then you are the one to blame. " I learned your language just from your memories and you question my abilities? While you, on the other hand, have proven that you are unable to fight against mere youths. Let me say it again, who do you think you are to question my abilities?" I am a simple human, what do you expect from me? It would be delusional to think, that I could ever stand a chance against them in the first place. These are the type of expectations that led to failure after failure. And to answer your question, who I think I am, you should be well aware of that." " Hiding behind your glib tongue is the only thing you are good at. Behind is an insecure child, which is scared by the world because it can not fully grasp it yet." You make it seem so bad. Magic is a thing is something, which I never even dreamed off existing. What is wrong with being careful and considerate when facing something unknown? You even said so yourself, encountering every danger head-on is beyond stupid. Label me a coward, but I do not see any benefit in acting confident in my abilities when I am so full of flaws. This is the reality I have to accept. The things I have seen leave me with no other choice than to accept my inferiority. " So what is your answer? Are you going to rely on the toys, you humans are so proud of? Rest assured, I have not seen much of them, but I am certain they will be effective enough." The best course of action would avoid fighting these talented youths in the first place. In order to achieve that, it would be pointless to kill them risking everything, because that would only end up motivating more to come and take revenge. Instead, it would be wise to fake my own death and let them think that I have been bested. " You truly know no shame" I do not have the luxury to feel shame. If I worry about such minor details I might as well just off myself right here. Once those people start to believe that the monster Moirai has fallen, they will quickly forget about me even existing. At best I will remain a fond memory. " But how do you plan on convening those players of your death. They would only rest if they see your corpse." And a corpse they shall get, but the question is will it be the right corpse? " What a despicable plan, but it is much to my liking. Though I do wonder, how you want them to fall for it. Since your options do seem rather limited at the moment." Please, a battle is not won due to brute strength or world-bending magic. A battle is won, when one of the involved parties has reached their goal. This battle will be not be won by supernatural strength or mind-breaking schemes. This battle will be won by being human. Humans have many different faces and this is enough to guarantee my win. " The man of many faces. This sounds like a fitting nickname." " Though I do wonder Moirai, how certain are you, that your reality is the real one?" 144 How to provoke your enemies 101 You might be thinking that It is easy to fool them simply by provocations and insults. A valid assumption, given the methods I have used until now, which were based on this principle. But even you must have seen, that the tactics are not as useful anymore. People have grown suspicious about my behaviour and are now wary about all of my antics. This makes it harder for me to manipulate them. By doing the same thing over and over again, even the most thickheaded players will notice a trend. Even if it''s just a hunch, that listening to me will not do them any good. Once they have the slightest feeling that something is amiss they will act carefully. And who would want the enemy to think about the situation? " Stop trying to sound so smart and tell me your plan" Patience is required if you want to succeed. Your current behaviour is not any better than the one your previous hosts have shown. I still think that you are nothing more than a fabrication of my mind, but for the sake of the conversation, I will gloss over that detail for now. When someone has made up their mind it is useless to go against it. The amount of effort it would take to convince them is just not worth it. Instead, it is much easier to fulfil their expectations and work with them. Analyze the enemy, seek for potential weaknesses to exploit and divert their attention. They should not even question all of your actions. As long as everything develops in accordance with their expectations, then it is already won. I am not here to prove myself, I am here to survive. I have said it before but worrying about honour and morals is a luxury I do not possess. If I have to fall on my knees and lick their shoes then I will make sure that these darn shoes will look spotless in the end. Everything that ensures my survival will have to be done. In this scenario, I could still persist and struggle on for quite a while if give it my all. This can only be achieved by disregarding the toll it would have on my body. Which in return makes this method absolutely useless. My initial strategy was to buy enough time until everyone has left down their guard before the insects will drop my makeshift bomb onto them. This option would surely have a lasting impact but should only be considered as a last resort since the outside of the town is full of players. This is a complicated situation which requires delicate planning otherwise I might run into another danger I can not account for if I act carelessly. Not only do I have to take care of these 7 monsters in front of me but also of every danger lurking on the outside. You must have noticed the extra person as well. " Wipe that shitty grin of your face." Yes, there is someone lurking in the shadows. Just because I can not see the player, does not mean that I can not see the location. It is easy to deduce their position, judging by the effects their steps have on the ground. They still give themselves away by the noise they produce. I will have to be careful not to let my guard down since my enemy is only waiting for the right time to strike. On the other hand, I am also unable to strike preemptively since I am still kept busy by the other players who are ought to kill me. I might be able to borrow their magic to get rid of the problem. I can make it seem like an accident since I will just dodge the wave of attacks thrown by the enemy. That way I can reduce the risk significantly. The choice to dodge the threat coming to them or risking it all to attack me is an easy one to make. Although this path would surely be able to buy me some time it does not solve the core problem. I need a method to get rid of these players in one way or another. Killing them one by one would require too much time and would result in too many injuries on my side. Trying to turn them on one another would take too much time and the odds of me succeeding are not that high, to begin with. They are way too doubtful about my antics for such a strategy to work out in my favour. Besides Laura is way too familiar with that kind of approach. I did not expect her to refrain from participating in this kind of battle. I need to figure out the reason, why she is content with just spectating the battles. It might be related due to her ability to copy the magic of others. Yet, her eyes are constantly focussed on me. what is she planning? It is very hard to predict her next action as her motivation is entirely unknown as of now. Seems like I will have to draw her attention to something else. What could I do, that would surely catch her attention? Shame I already outed myself as the real Moirai, otherwise, I could sacrifice one of my clones. Though I still could cause a lot of confusion by taking that statement back. By pretending, that I was just the test for them, to prove their worth. Add some over the top dramatic acting on top of it and they will most likely start to question everything. Especially If I do not act like the fierce enemy they had imagined me to be. Afterwards, I would bow and lower myself in front of a random Moirai and declare that they have proven their abilities. Some words of praise later I would make him out to be the real Moira. I need to convince them that something is amiss. It would be best if they did not see me as the object of their desire anymore, but I can not hope for the best-case scenario. But once their attention is drawn away, I can begin to act. It is not easy to distinguish me from all of my clones. So if absolute chaos breaks out they will never find me. How do they plan to catch me if every Moirai runs away from them? " How do you plan on achieving that?" Just let me finish. I would have given you my plan in the next sentence, yet you could not help yourself but interrupting me. To persuade these Moirai is real simple. Just do not try to convince them at all. Everything these guys did was copy my behaviour and leaving the town to never return. So in order to create the desired effect, I will make the players force them to. Can those NPCs truly stand still if they are attacked? To ensure that the wave of attacks hits my clones is rather simple, all I need to do is hide in a small crowd of players while I get attacked by the players. The magic will cover the entire crowd since those egoistic morons consider my clones to be beneath their notice. How exactly those NPCs might react to such an act is something that I can not predict. But I am certain that they will at least show a reaction. If not then I have to resort to different means. I could try and use my newly gained fanatics to sacrifice their lives to buy me some time. While they can not be compared to any magician they are by no means weak. Someone will have to pay the price, after all, nothing in this world is for free. Success is built on the pain and suffering of others. One mans gain means one mans loss. I could also hide underneath the mountain of corpses, should my clones refuse to act. If I let the bomb drop I can make sure, that enough casualties occur. Or I could exploit CallMeDaddy and make another interesting proclamation to spiral all of this out of control. I am sure, that the current situation would not last long if I were to spread some interesting rumours about the purpose of my existence. Since most people still see this as part of a game, then I will have to add some spice. Long lost magic, that one Moirai carries with him sounds very promising, but not very feasible. It needs to have as much appeal but should not be that implausible. The secret to my strength or being able to recruit me would never be enough to make them go crazy. These religious nutjobs need something, which they absolutely can not refuse. What is tempting enough to cause these people to forsake their honour and do their utmost to obtain it? This is not restricted to being a real item, it can be something illusionary. If their honour is not enough then we have to get one step further. The logical next target would be their faith. if everything they do is for or caused by their specific Gods, then this will be more than enough to motivate them. And by "motivate" I mean to provoke them until they have lost their minds. I am sure they will not react too kindly If I start to blaspheme their gods directly and make fun of them. The pure imagination is pure bliss. Looking into the stream of CallMeDaddy staring directly into the soul of every viewer only to proclaim in a dramatic fashion. " Your Gods do not exist and if by any chance they do, then they would have never settled for you scum. Your absolute devotion and faith is nothing more than a bad joke." I would love to give a speech right in front of everyone and watch the chaos unfold with my very own eyes. It would be one hell of a show. Why do you look at me as if I had lost my mind? " I would advice against picking such an approach. You are not strong enough to endure the backlash. You are messing with forces you can not possibly imagine." You should know by now, that threats like this are absolutely useless. Every strategy has its inherent risks and potential dangers, so what''s the use of not using such a strategy if it were to cost me my life? Once I die it is all over, so spare me the trouble. For every action, I take I will have to bear the repercussions, so what about messing with forces I do not understand? Should I just lay my life down because it would create less trouble? Why should I give up everything and quietly disappear? Why should not have the right to strive for living yet another day? Why should I be the one who needs to change on the whims of others? Tell me, why am I the one who has to suffer, while they are just playing a game. Let me tell you why actually it is laughably simple. It is not my lack of strength or the knowledge I do not possess. This game I am forced to play was rigged from the start. The end, my death, is an absolute certainty. Every minute I live, is a win against the overwhelming odds I am confronted with. Every single breath is a priceless treasure. Even the tiniest instant of time I manage to persevere is a wonder in itself. For they give me the chance to feel something. Sorry, but I will not conform to anyone''s whims if it means giving up on myself. I owe this much to the man who had to give up his life to show me my own inanity. " Why have you given up on logic, just because I gave you a warning? Treating that path would only result in your death. The players would be the least of your worries if you were to anger the Gods." A long sigh escaped its mouth and its appearance returned back to looking like mine. " With your attitude, the Gods would have obliterated you not long after you have opened your mouth. You see, questioning or cursing the Gods is not something anyone does here. Which means, that your negative outlook would have drawn a lot of attention. And these old fools do not take lightly with criticism you can trust me on that one." Its eyes began to twitch as if it was remembering something unpleasant. This change did not escape my eyes although it did not last long before it returned to its usual arrogance. The teaching resumed with its usual haughty attitude. " I did my best to follow your decisions and to use your tactics, but I did not imagine that it would invite that much trouble. It was my mistake to put any trust into a madman in the first place. Your thoughts and actions spell disaster and attract only trouble." " Yet instead of learning from your mistakes, you try to solve the situation, by causing even more trouble. Why do you refuse to adapt and learn to solve the issues, without following your inherent desire to make a mess out of everything? Now even fabrications of my mind began to criticize me. Getting lectured by your own mirage somehow made this experience feel so much worse. It became even more vexing since I could not find the words to refute it. " As if it wasn''t stressful enough to operate a human body, I am also forced to compensate for your behaviour so that we can both experience the coming day. It takes all my skill and ability to keep you alive and you still want to throw yourself headlong into disaster? Do you long so much for your untimely end? " " The strategy you are following is actually a very clever one, but why did you have to antagonize so many people at the same time? Now it has spiralled out of all control." If you were the one in control of my body. then why are you trying to shift the blame on me for attracting all of their ire? I am not claiming it would have been any better if I had been the one to do so, but do not pretend to be any better than me. I don''t think all these players would have let me live if I had been kind to them. Besides, I doubt I had any other choice but to piss them off. Running away, would not have been possible because they would have never stopped their chasing. Forgive me for saying this, but the present state of affairs would have been the same no matter what I had done. Therefore what-if scenarios are absolutely pointless. I need a path that leads to my survival, not anyone who is to blame. While you rightfully criticize my actions, be aware that you had the final decision. that is as long as the claims done by you are the truth. But one thing you should never forget. There are many different means and approaches to provocation. But they all serve the same purpose, to achieve the desired effect. If you only blindly focus on definitions then you are the sorely mistaken one. Because the method is never truly as important as the goal you are striving for. Because right now, you are so focussed on my ideas that you lost sight of my goal. The goal is to survive. Provocations are only one method out of many. If I can not insult the Gods directly, then I will make the players think that I did. The end justifies the means, and that is how it has always been and always will be. 145 Giving face 1 Meanwhile on the battlefield torn by spells sat a certain Moirai on a stalagmite amidst the torrent of water which had been thrown at him. The expression on his face looked rather displeased as he stared at his adversary. " As if dealing with the human was not frustrating enough of its own, now I have to appease these small magic-wielding children as well." A long sigh escaped his lips as he muttered those words in English. He seemed to be aware of the fact, that no one present would be able to understand his rant. Though he did not show any signs of being bothered by it. Even after seeing the strange gazes thrown at him he just continued without any sort of worry. " What a hassle. I have promised to guide these children and I can not reengage on my promise since that would mean giving up on the deal as well. They have proven themselves to be incapable of beating a single human, why do they still act so confident?" The next magic was cast and the wave of water closed in on the current location of Moirai, who sat there unperturbed by the attack that was directed at him. " The only way to teach these brats about humility will be to showcase them a gap of power, that they will never be able to overcome. It would be so much easier to just kill them, but alas it is not that easy." Leisure standing up the Moirai lifted his right hand and held it against the attack. The onlookers were confused by Moirai sudden change in behaviour. He could not have given up so quickly, nor was he foolish enough to face magic of this calibre head-on, so what was his plan? Something unexpected occurred as Moirai casually lifted his right arm to face the attack. The wave of water was cut in 2 and the 2 streams of water were flung to the sides of Moirai. Moirai did not even bat an eye, as he casually walked closer. The crowd itself was flabbergasted by the outlandish event, which threatened to collapse their understanding of the world. Moirai on the other hand still did not seem to care about their shattered world view as he approached his enemy. The look in his eyes did not showcase hostility or anger, rather it was disdain. Regardless of what his current enemy did, he did not have any change in expression and just marched forward, coming closer and closer. With calm steps, Moirai had come face to face with his enemy, who in return just stared at Moirai while thinking of a way to kill the NPC right in front of her. All of this had happened way too fast and she was unable to muster a good response to the sudden change. Moirai switched his language once again so that his next words could be understood. " You can not win with this mediocre display of magic. I am not solely talking to you, but to everyone present here. Struggling to this extent against a weak human being. What a shameful act. Blinded by your own arrogance and pride." A gigantic rock closed in on Moirai yet it was simply deflected by Moirai and tossed aside with ease. The youth who had thrown the spell looked at Moirai with utter disbelief. The result should have been something entirely different but yet the desired result did not occur. " What are you trying to achieve by attacking me? Did you really think that it would end differently? There has to be a limit to your blind confidence. Acting without a plan and simply hoping for the best, will only lead to your death." Moirai was interrupted as 2 different spells came homing in on him simultaneously. One was a sharp wave of wind blades and the other one was a wave of gleaming light. Both of them were effortlessly pushed aside by 2 simple hand movements leaving Moirai unscathed. " Combing your strength is a valid strategy, but it is by far not enough. The outcome will still remain the same, whether or not you shrouded in darkness or you with your lightning attack me as well. Every single attempt of yours is doomed to end in failure." Not even 2 meters away from Moirai a figure dressed entirely in black jumped out of the shadows. It was more than obvious that he did not think that his presence had been discovered. in his hands was a sharp dagger which was certainly prepared for Moirai. " A darkness attribute, quite a rare type. A shame that you are unable to utilize it in a sufficient manner. A holy attribute is also very rare, although your usage of it still requires a lot of work." All of a sudden a violent thunder broke through the sky and landed on the unsuspecting Moirai. Yet as Moirai was bathing in the dangerous thunder an eerie smile crept onto his lips. " You truly think yourself to be infallible, treating everyone and everything to be beneath you. With that little skill of yours, What gives you the right to act so brazen, my dear child? From everyone present here you are the one, who deserves the upcoming lesson the most." Under the watchful eyes of everyone Moirai disappeared and reappeared directly in front of the player who would have been the last one to fight with Moirai. " You see, some are capable of learning through watching others, while some learn by thinking about a matter but you are the type of person to learn through experience and I can tell that it is going to be a bitter one." In one quick motion, a sharp hair laced with a strange liquid had been inserted directly into the brain of the player. His body collapsed on the spot and began to convulse. Everybody could only watch in sheer shock as they tried to fathom what was currently taking place right in front of them. " Now let me see, how you fare in comparison to the human, you still look down upon." But the player itself could not hear those words as his condition did not allow any interference from outside influences. But everyone else could hear those words loud and clearly. Looking at the twitching body which had been full of vigour seconds ago left them with a bad premonition. After Moirais eyes had lingered on for a few seconds he began to look at the frowning players. " Rest assured, he is not going to lose his life over this. Though most likely he would have preferred to." The last part of the sentence was nearly inaudible as Moirai had whispered it. " Right at this moment, he is being taught a valuable lesson. This is a priceless opportunity that will be bestowed on you. Although its purpose might seem peculiar to you now, you will understand when the time has come." Moirai did not wait for the people to realize what those words actually meant. Signs of hesitation, which had been present on their faces, had become even more distinct, as the players thought what actions to take next. Seemingly unperturbed by the strange atmosphere Moirai proceeded to walk closer to them without any hurry. His steps were steadfast and firm but for the others, it sounded dark and ominous. Yet, no one managed to discover that the ground bore no traces of Moirai. Moirai arrived in front of the closest person and inserted the next hair. There was no struggle, no defence and no hope to escape from the imminent act of the seemingly reborn Moirai. His eyes had already fixated on the next target and as the body fell to the ground it had already lost its importance. One by one they would fall victim to this and everyone was aware of that fact, although no one spoke up about it. Except for a single person amongst them whose eyes were still glued on Moirai to try and understand the source of his strength. Laura could not care any less about the fate of the others as she had declared to not be part of the fight right at the beginning. which had proven to be a wise decision, though not for the reasons she had in mind when deciding it. Despite being caught by surprise she gave her all to see and copy Moirais abilities. Yet she barely managed to catch glimpses of it and even then could she not explain how or what exactly he did. The sudden change in Moirais behaviour was just as inexplicable to her. Watching the spectacle unfold. Laura realized that Moirai had taken notice of her gazes and returned them from time to time. Other than that Moirai treated her as if she was nothing more than air. Laura had no intention of fighting Moirai, there was no benefit in it. As long as she could manage to copy Moirai and grasp this chance, she was more than willing to just stand aside and let Moirai do his bidding. The fate of the competitors was negligible in her eyes. She did not feel like proving herself, at least not before she had gained insight into Moirais secrets. The lack of actual resistance was regretful in her eyes, as it took away the precious time she had to spectate Moirais actions. To change this Laura decided to give them a little encouragement. She looked at Moirai and began to raise her voice so that everyone could hear it. " Dear Moirai, why do you seem so full of haste. Should you not tell us more about all of this, or is there any reason you can not do that?" a knowing smile crept on her face as she spoke in an innocent fashion The underlying meaning did not get lost on the rest of the players as they began to wake up from their stupor and made preparations to attack Moirai again with their newly regained confidence. Yet Moirai looked at them as if nothing had changed. " I praise you for being able to rally the players and bring them to attack me with full of vigour once again. By pointing out, that I seemed hurried you made them believe that this state of mine would only be temporary. This assumption falsely leads them to think, that they could easily win once it had passed." While Moirai seemed preoccupied with answering the question from Laura, there was a sudden movement from the player possessing the shadow element. Nobody could clearly see when or how but the players had suddenly appeared right behind Moirai wielding a long blade coated in a dark substance. In one quick motion, the blade inserted itself into the Moirai who seemed to not have noticed the sudden danger that befell him. With a victorious smile, the youth clad in black clothing began to look at Moirai with great expectations. But to his dismay, the expected result did not materialise. Instead of Moirai yelping in pain and blood spraying out of the wound, an audible chuckle escaped from his lips. " The art of assassination is inseparable from the darkness element. It is used to kill the unsuspecting target before it has any chance to retaliate. But an assassin that has been spotted has lost its biggest edge. Afterwards, it can not be called an assassin anymore. At most, it can be considered a mild nuisance, because the threat it had posed before is now gone." The player had a creepy feeling and wanted to retreat as soon as possible but even after trying he could not get the weapon out of Moirais body. It had been lodged deeply into the flesh. What went in so easily now did not budge a single inch. The player was forced to make a decision and chose to give up on his weapon to flee as fast as he could. Yet, it was already far too late for that. Despite his silhouette appearing again as quickly as it had appeared, it still found not escape the hands from Moirai who had easily grabbed his arm. " Just because you can not be seen, does not mean that you can escape that easily. Because you are still very visible to me. So when you attack your next target, choose a more suitable spot on my body." In the blink of an eye had the attacker gone from attack to flee, from confident to lying on the ground convulsing as the other players who had been caught before him. The result had been the same despite the newly gained boost in confidence they had received. Moirai eyes lingered on the player for a short while afterwards before he returned his attention to the rest of the players who were still active. The number of players had quickly diminished and only 3 people had yet to receive Moirais "lesson". Once more they were forced to reevaluate their situation. The previous clash, if it even could be called this did not give them much reason to hope. The cold and harsh reality had caught up with them. This simulated world that none of them had taken seriously before confronted them with circumstances they just could not understand. At this point in time it was not a game anymore it had become much more real to them. The emotions they felt beforehand were not truly genuine, there was always a feeling in their mind dousing them and reminding them of the fabricated nature of everything in front of their eyes. But the lines became more and more blurry as Moirai shattered their view over and over again. As the voice in the back of their end grew faint their minds became clouded by the absurdity that is Moirai. This detail did not go unnoticed by Moirai as a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. The previous expression on his face had been replaced by one of great interest. " It is easy to delude yourself into thinking to be superior but this is only the result out of your meagre education and lack of experience. Those who think too highly of themselves also tend to be the first one to lose their lives." "A tale as old as time itself. The weak and foolish die, while the only the strong remain. But my dear little children, you have absolutely no idea what strength truly is. In this vast world, it rules over everything and every being has to bow in front of it. But there are some who refuse to lower their heads when confronted by it." A long sigh escaped Moirais mouth. as a certain visage appeared in his mind. " These people are fools. Though the act itself is of minor importance, the true reason these kind of people are so fearful is their motivation. Consider yourself lucky if they have lost their mind." Moirai did not waste any time as the other 2 players were not spared from sharing the same fate as the rest. Though this time the expression on their faces seemed not as severe as the faces of the other players who had tried to struggle. On the other hand, the look on Lauras was was one of enormous disappointment. It had never been a fight and she had never been able to see Moirai use his ability to copy it. She was all too aware that her turn had come, therefore she prepared herself for the upcoming battle. Her turn never came as Moirai had lost all interest and just stood still gazing into the distance. This sudden change left Laura perplexed as the entire situation had developed in a manner she could not understand. Moirais gaze turned sharp as his eyes had spotted something in the distance. Laura turned around as well to confirm what he was looking for but found nothing. As her head moved back towards Moirai, she nearly fell over as she noticed the 2 different Moirais who had appeared right in front of her. " Quite brazen, to do this so openly." One Moirai spoke as he opened his hand to reveal several hairs which he promptly incinerated. " Did I make myself not clear enough? " " You did make yourself loud and clear. But as far as I can tell nothing happened here. So who are you to tell me what to do?" The arrogance was palpable as both of them looked another into the eyes with no one dodging this exchange. The other Moirai looked unconcerned by this development as he looked at the battlefield and the suffering players. He had never been a fan of such cruel and unrefined methods of teaching. Although, he could not complain about it since he had given the task to do so. He looked at the quarrelling pair before he spoke in a calm but assertive manner. " We need to talk. But before we do would you be so kind as to stop directing attacks at the holy attribute user?" " I am just doing her a favour. She has yet to realise that hey eyes are not a blessing but a curse. Those Gods will never understand that they can never grow if they shelter them too much." " Yet, you are the one who has been caught and banished to this space for countless years now." came a remark full of snide from the other side. The other Moirai could only shake his head. One of them was already enough to cause him a lot of headaches but now there were 2. He just hoped that this could take place, without any chaos resulting out of it. He sadly did not place too many hopes on their good behaviour. Before the talk had even begun, he wondered if all of his actions had been wise. Watching the interaction in front of his eyes gave him a foreboding feeling, that his decision had been quite flawed. All of a sudden both Moirais turned quiet, as they were grabbed and held in place by an invisible pressure. " Would you please show some manners? Thank you." This marked the begin of the (involuntary) talk between these 3 Moirai lookalikes. 146 Giving face 2 The constriction which kept the 2 Moirai in place, had left them with no other choice but to oblige and start a conversation. Though this had turned both of them to be disgruntled and nobody of them was showing much enthusiasm. It was to their dismay, that this detail was of no concern to the who had trapped them in their place. Said person, looked at the struggle in their eyes with much delight and a mischievous smile had formed itself on the face of the Moirai. " You never change do you?" these words were directed at the 2 Moirai in front of him. The tone in his voice seemed to instruct and teach but the expression in his face said otherwise. " After such a long time, one should have basic manners and honourable code of conduct. Though I find myself unable to see those traits in either of you. I do find that the lack thereof has become even more apparent with the passage of time." A loud snickering could be heard coming from the Moirai who had been tasked with guiding the players before. " Up until this point in time, I have respected our agreement. I have taught and guided them as I was told. I have taken good care of the human. But please do not think, I could be stopped by that little authority of yours:" The magic in the surroundings began to visibly twist around his body as he freed himself with utter ease. This result did not appear to catch anyone involved in this matter by surprise as everyone still acted nonchalantly about it as if nothing had ever happened. None of them even gave off a little reaction. Even the other Moirai had regained his mobility by other means. " Are you certain she should bear witness to our discussion?" A finger pointed at Laura who had stood silently at sidelines trying to comprehend what was taking place right in front of her. " I do not think, that she does have the necessary qualifications to listen in on this kind of discussion. At least not at this point in time." " I have deemed these 2 players worthy enough to listen to our discussion. They would get to know about us sooner or later either way. As for the rest, I have taken care of them." The 2 players who were allowed to listen to the discussion, were Laura and Samantha although both of them could not even remotely understand the sheer magnitude of what was going to be discussed right in front of their eyes. Neither the implications nor its content would become clear until their limited world view had been broadened numerous times. This fate was only meant for a select few but for those who have been selected by a God, it could be considered to be normal. Far from normal was the fact, that a human was going to be the main focus. The extent of the situation and the consequences that this human would bring with him could never be fathomed. Only the host of the original Moirai had collected enough information about the human to even begin to understand him. Though he was not too keen on sharing this information. After deciding to keep his mouth shut about this matter, he decided to start the discussion. " This human is certainly an existence which I can not fully understand, even after spending so much time with it. After accessing its memories, I neither could deduce its origin nor the explanation for the strange state of the body." The explanation was unhurried and spoken loud and clearly. Unlike his previous bearing, he had taken up a much more formal approach. While his counterpart seemed very interesting in the subject human, the original Moirai just nodded without paying too much attention to everything which was being said. The problem, which the human posed, would disappear from his world with the other 2 catastrophes currently in front of him. He was all too aware, that the insect would not get any new knowledge out of that human. When he himself could not fathom the strange existence, then it would not stand a chance. As intriguing the human might be, his priorities lied entirely elsewhere. The quota assigned to him had to be fulfilled, finding out about the human was only secondary. Especially after he had received such a good offer from his colleague. Letting go of the human was easily decided. He had done his fair share, after speaking out several warnings, what followed was out of his responsibility. And what those 2 would do together, did not matter, as long as they did not follow through with it on his space. After being in this position for such a long time, the decisionmaking process was not swayed by emotions anymore. He took pride in following the rules laid out to him by his superiors. Yet his treatment was similar to the one his colleague received, who was the exact opposite of his. He did not follow the rules, nor did he show any respect or humility. He just did what he pleased. How he still had managed to keep his task, was inexplicable to Observer. If he were to speculate, he would say, that the quality of his seeds had sunken even further leaving him with so much freedom. The only logical consequence would have to be that he has simply being given upon. He did not know much about the territory under the supervision of his colleague, but he was certain that its prospects were less than stellar. What he was trying to achieve by bringing the human and the insect back with him was not something he could imagine. Their combination was too unpredictable and could not solve the lack of talent, which must have plagued his colleague. But it was not his job to take care of the other seeds, he was already preoccupied with taking care of his own seeds. As for the discussion itself he had planned on letting it develop and would only intervene if these 2 would forget their manners once more. Though the first warning has sufficed to deter these 2 from quarrelling. " Despite not being able to determine the origin of the human, I made some valuable discoveries. For instance, the visage I am about to show you will depict the average human." The ugly face of Moirai turned into a face made out of jade, which would make millions of girls jealous. It turned from the epitome of ugliness to a face full of beauty. He had become the model, the original Moirai had seen in his head. This supermodel celebrated his unofficial debut in this foreign world under rather dubious circumstances. Especially since he now had been dubbed the average human being. The 2 players present looked at their "ancestor" with great interest. Although they could barely follow the previous discussion, they easily managed to understand, that they were to witness the appearance of a human. They told themselves, that it must have been related to a rare event taking place in the simulated world. Otherwise, all of this would not make any sense to them. Something they clearly needed after their world view had started to crumble over and over again. That is why they tried their best to be attentive and to take in as much as they could. Because all of this had to be related to a quest and they were not foolish enough to miss out on any detail. Such a misinterpretation was the result which was born due to the strange events which always took place once Moirai had been involved. Moirai had always been surrounded by the unordinary and seeing something normal around him would be a much more peculiar sight. Looking at the average human appearance was by no means something, which could not happen when Moirai was involved. The distinct look of the new Moirai gave off a weird vibe. They knew all too well what this Moirai had been capable of but his current physical state appeared to be less than threatening. Gone were the brutal aura and the ugly countenance and in its place was the image of a beautiful man. A clash like this was highly confusing to those who had become accustomed to the vastly different previous look. It certainly did not help them that the Moirai had decided to switch once again. This time he had taken the form of a beautiful girl with shoulder-long black hair. Her gaze seemed noble and aloof. Equipped with lofty ambition her eyes were only directed at the sky not looking at anything beneath it. They were looking at the female human but could not meet her sight. With a smile on her face, she looked at everyone but her eyes did not give off any warmth. Yet once again the visage changed and it became an old man who stared sternly at them. The aura of aloofness changed into one of experience and wisdom. The skin from spotless to wrinkly, the hair fo a short greyed out hair. This old man did not appear frail despite the visible traces time had left on his face. Unlike his age, the feeling he is given off were far from sickly and weak. A strong vigour and self-confidence formed the man, which had appeared right in front of their eyes. This situation did only last for an instant before the face changed another time. Face after face appeared depicting all kinds of different humans, from young to old from healthy to sick, from men to women. No face repeated itself as everyone saw the different portrays of humans in all stages of life. " This creature, known as a human hides behind many different faces but at its core, they all share the same fate. None of them has any redeeming qualities. Their behaviour and manners can not be considered more than lacklustre judging our worlds customs. The state of their culture is archaic and barbaric in comparison to ours. With no magic, such a lack of development is only logical." With his everchanging face, he looked into the surroundings to witness the reactions to his words. Witnessing the stoic expressions on the 2 other Moirais, he continued his speech with an assured smile. " A human is a powerless being. Even the weakest magician would be able to best a human effortlessly. The same applies to those who you refer to as monsters. It would be hard to find something a human could win against on their own. This is not a place for weak humans." " Whatever benefit a human might have, can not outweigh their innate uselessness. While this particular human certainly is interesting, I do doubt, that such an existence would pose any danger whatsoever." He concluded his analysis with the same smile he had worn during his monologue as he returned to his first handsome appearance. " My, my, you do seem very doubtful Mr Observer. I am certain that I did not speak any falsehoods. Those would be of no use against you either way." The Observer only shook his head after hearing the teasing voice of the troublemaker. The label of "interesting human" was concerning enough in its own right. This was not due to the subject it had been addressed with, but rather from the one who had given this evaluation. He pondered what qualifications this human might have to deserve that level of attention. It was hard to fathom, what else this human might offer to someone who had lived for countless years by now. Although it would not be under his supervision, he could not help but feel a headache coming up from the trouble that started to brew right in front of him. Why did it always end the same once that insect became involved? " Just be mindful not to treat the path, that let you be trapped in this place. Whatever aspirations you might have, be aware, that they will not turn a blind eye to your actions. Remember this is not your freedom." Heartfelt laughter could be heard coming from the other Moirai, who had not spoken outside of the previous quarrel. " What a shameful display in front of our dear guests. There is no need to make this matter so ambiguous. It is rather simple. I will grant him the freedom he seeks and this grumpy fellow will bear no repercussions. Every other detail is unnecessary. As for me, I just want to ask you, my beautiful children chosen by the Gods, would you mind following him?" " Know your Place." Although these words were spoken in a calm manner a formless pressure started to surround everything. It was the first time the 2 players came into contact with something like this. " I would advise from testing my patience again, especially if you are still within my domain. It would be in your best interest not to test me in that regard. Otherwise, excuse me for being rude. " " That depends, do you have the ability to do so? if you want me to do something, make me." The tension in the air was palpable, as a conflict seemed inevitable. Yet, the handsome model looked at them with an annoyed expression for the very first time. " Have you forgotten? You are not my captors only my "Guardians" and as such, you should act. DO NOT forget where your priorities lie. Else, it will be the least of your worries, who is the stronger between the two of you. Because you two should be aware of how truly scary it can become, once they become involved." Both of the other Moirais turned around and gave more than a stern gaze directed at the one who had clearly talked down to them. " You decided to become one with that lowly human. Your judgement is irrelevant. As for you, who thinks too highly of himself, are you certain that you have the strength to back up that claim of yours? I will gladly teach you about our disparity." Admits the provocations a female voice resounded and began to draw all of the attention to the speaker. who dared to utter words in their presence. " I do not think, that an argument is helpful for anyone. I do suggest, that we should focus on the main discussion in order to avoid a confrontation without any purpose " This proclamation came from Laura, who held her head up high. She had come to the conclusion, that she had to intervene. Given her role as a player, she thought that those NPCs would value her wise words and see the error in their ways. All of this would result in them respecting her even more for her wise insight, leading to the next stage of the quest with her in an important role. Though this misconception has led to her raising her voice to beings that are not used to such treatment. Baffled by the gall of the player they found themselves unable to find a suitable reply to those words. Though Laura falsely interpreted this silence as an acknowledgement of her points. She continued to speak self-assured as it would not take much more to convince the NPCs who had stopped arguing after hearing her words. " Such arguments are childish and unbecoming of people like you. I implore you to act in a manner befitting of your status." Another brief period of silence ensured after these words had left her mouth but this time around genuine laughter escaped from the lips of the handsome version of Moirai. " This becomes truly more and more interesting. It is the first time for me to be given the label of a child, the same certainly can be said about these 2. I am unsure whether I would label those words of you brave or foolish." "But I have taken a liking to these kinds of fools. Best be aware though, that this is not leniency, this is rather my personal goodwill. Others might not react all too well and the consequences would be rather dire." Laura seemed perplexed by such a reaction as she stood there contemplating how to react. Samantha did not fare any better as her mind had begun to spun ages ago, as she could not find any logical explanation to everything. The original Moirai seemed unperturbed as he turned to the Moirai who was destined to become his next supervisor " Shall we?". The question was answered with a short nod as both of them turned around and started to leave the scene. With a snap of his fingers, space began to twist and a portal appeared right close to them. " As for you two, who have been garnered a Gods attention on them, I have to thank you for providing me and the human with a good experience in our little battle. To return the favour, I will give you some advice you should cherish." Both of them began to focus on the figure, whose back was directed at them. " in the near future, you will see things you never deemed possible. In this vast world, it is your duty to forge your own destiny. You will encounter many great dangers and meet many new faces. But never forget about the danger that ignorance poses." Saying these words he walked into the portal leaving behind one happy Moirai and 2 confused onlookers, who did not truly understand the last piece of advice given to them. The original Moirai had involuntarily changed after coming into contact with the human. Otherwise, a being of his calibre would never have given others advice. He would rather have done something to accelerate their misfortune and rejoiced about this fact. But as it turned out, this change cannot necessarily be regarded as positive, since the origin of this change is not exactly a model of morality. 147 Company 1 As the 2 Moirai had entered the portal, they left the authority of the Observer behind and were on the way to a new destination. The original Moirai did not know where they were headed to but did not care enough to ask for that detail. This matter did not concern him, as the plans for this new world were rather of a spectating nature. Mimicking this human had been stressful enough, that is why he made plans on letting the human take control over his body once again. He had to leave the space where the gods actually looked and cared for and the entity right beside him offered him exactly this opportunity. He was looking forward to which choices the human would take in a world of the unknown. And avoiding the fate of being smitten by the Gods due to blasphemy was also something to be glad about. The human will end up running his mouth without a second thought and die without even knowing why. In the process, he would not only kill himself but also dooming the one whom he owed his life to. A prospect which certainly needed to be avoided, because as troublesome as the human might be, he still was the only host, he had found in this prison of his. It was the perfect choice since the shackles that bind him do not apply to this weird being called human. The description he had given about the human was not false or wrong, as a human being alone can not even dream of beating a magician in a fair fight. Yet, the danger a human posed did not lie in their ability to fight but rather in the content of their mind. Such decisionmaking can truly be dangerous and deadly to those not familiar with it and the glimpses on humans he was able to access left him with no doubts about that. The ideas a human could muster were indeed very scary, especially if the values they have, differ by such a great margin. The victories against every magician were more than enough proof, that the tactics they employ can lead to a victory against stronger foes. Further proof lied in the fact that it was not even the human, who had done all those actions, he had merely copied the strategies employed by the human. At times he made the situation for the human a bit harder or brutal to see how he would react to stimulation, but he was only left more wondering how tenacious such a lowly creature truly good be. Yet, what he found most cumbersome about his host was its motivation or rather the lack thereof. His persistence and the seemingly endless struggle were not born out of conviction nor did they stem from principles, virtues or even faith itself. The explanations used by himself are contradictory and can not be considered as the source of his seemingly mindless desire to not yield regardless of the situation he finds himself confronted with. Yet instead of being proud of this trait, he continues to belittle himself and doubt everything about himself. He proves himself unable to forgive himself and tries in vain to achieve something that is unattainable for him. This emotional instability makes it difficult for any opponent to predict how he will act. Because there seems to be a method to his madness. Although his thoughts appear confused and are very erratic in nature, they are with absolute certainty the product of a logical thought process. Which in turn raises the question of why he acts irrationally at times. He could not find a rhyme or reason for that strange difference in behaviour. All of his former hosts were very open and pure in their emotions, that is why such an inner turmoil was a novelty. Could this characteristic be solely assigned to human beings or was it something unique, which only his host had? This topic could only be solved, after gaining access to more and deeper memories of his host. Therefore finding the solution could only be postponed to a later date. As of now the visions of the human were only partial and blurry, making it impossible to fully comprehend the behaviour of the human. The thoughts of the human being had been rather easy to read in the beginning but the crafty human found a method to prevent this from occurring. Another thing inexplicable to him was incoherent memories which he saw from time to time, they seemed to be unrelated to the situation he was involved in. He remembered happy things when he was making fun of himself, he brought happy memories into his mind while pondering about negative aspects when he was supposed to feel happy. The more he learned about the human the less sense he actually made. But this did not apply to the danger it posed, as it only increased with the amount of knowledge in his possession. Trying to fathom this erratic human, was by no means an easy task, that much had become clear a long time ago. As for the queen, who had decided to make this body her cave, no consideration was required. Since she is currently undergoing a necessary change that forces her to be entirely at rest. Which meant that everything went according to his plans, although he was certain that the human would not take long to deviate from the path marked out for him. It was not a matter of if but when and how. While he was thinking about the issues with the human, he was thoroughly eyed by the Moirai that had bought his "freedom". Still, he did not mind being stared at, as his focus lied entirely elsewhere and he was all too aware that nothing good would come out of acting out. " I find it strange that one with such a bad temper as yours, has not given any reaction to my probing gaze. This seems quite unlike the rumoured you." " I have learned when to be arrogant and when rather not and right now is not a good time to be. My outlook on this matter has changed dramatically during my captivity." The handsome Moirai looked rather solemn as he had spoken those words. Certainly, the time spent in this prison was not short and with it came a lot of chances to reminisce about the long lost past and missed opportunities. Old grudges and friendships alike became subject of questions. By reevaluating his former life he came to the conclusion, that there was no use in having regrets. It had never been his mistakes that led to this outcome, all of his faulty former hosts and his comrades were to blame. Yet, the human had dared to challenge his views despite being a creature with the lowest prospects of all the former hosts. It was quite amusing watching such an insignificant creature trying to find fault in the thoughts he had carefully pondered on for countless years. If he did not have any other choice he would have ended his existence at that very moment. But fortunately for the human, the circumstances saved him. Once again he thought about whether it truly was a good idea to let the human converse with others and the more he thought about the more reasons he came up with against it. As much as he disliked the very idea of this human opening his mouth, it was a basic requirement for the human to develop in a world unknown to him. Although the tongue of his could be a greater danger to him than all monsters combined. It is not the danger that pursues him, but exactly the opposite. This man seeks danger as if his life depended on it. He was a natural at attracting all kinds of trouble. As a precaution, he should not let the human take full control over his destiny or at least intervene if the human will inadvertently end up doing something stupid again. Freedom should be earned, but the human does not know about the responsibilities that come with it. Without possessing the necessary strength it is only a temporary illusion that will be taken by others. Dreaming to resist the ones above you is futile. It remains a fool''s errand as long as one is inferior to them. To make them submit requires a display pf force greater than theirs. That is the truth of this world. The human must slowly get accustomed to the cruelty of this world as he himself is not used to it. Those experiences he was forced to endure until now prepared him of what''s to come. Sadly it was not sufficient as there was a gigantic chagrin between those memories and the real violent world. No kind of preparation would ever suffice. One will never forget just how feeble life can be. But this kind of experience can not be avoided otherwise one will become its subject. The inhabitants of this world know now qualms about taking lives. They are all too aware, that if they chose not to they are going to be the ones losing it. " Why do you insist on pondering about on your matters for so long. Instead, why do you not inquire about the important details about the domain you are arriving in soon? I am certain that this information is more useful than pure speculation", said the other Moirai without averting the probing gaze that was still lingering on him. " I wholeheartedly agree but this information would only be a deterrence for my plans. Rather than helping me in my endeavour, it would be highly detrimental for me to do so. It is of utmost importance to keep my knowledge to a minimum. As for any potential danger that might arise, I am more than confident to be able to preserve this humans life." The human model proclaimed full of confidence. " What a brave statement, but how can you make such a broad claim without knowing the details of your task? Without ability, those statements are just empty boasts. Maybe I was in the wrong expecting anything to have changed. You are just as foolish as you used to be. A lowly insect will remain a lowly insect, regardless of how much time passes." Yet despite the attack, the Moirai did not seem to react all too much to it on the outside. Though the upcoming words were proven the exact opposite. " Let me remind me of one thing. Choose your words wisely otherwise you might end up finding yourself unable to utter another word ever again. Others suffered much more for so much less. Take this as my goodwill to you. " A hearty laugh escaped from the other Moirai after causing these words. " Your former behaviour clearly does not suit you and know, that I know that you have not changed I can be certain that I have chosen correctly. Please excuse my rude remarks, but please consider it as a necessary act to draw you out." This time it was the other Moirai who laughed, but his laugh was rather cold and callous. " You are mistaken if you think of me as lenient as the Observer. I neither share the same responsibilities nor the values of his. I, for one, will make you feel the consequences of your actions. But let me give you an example, to make it easier for you to understand." A dangerous aura came off from the handsome Moirai as he looked at the other Moirai as if he was about to enjoy himself. The other Moirai looked at him with happiness oozing out of his every pore. " As much as I yearn for seeing your example, no is neither the time or place to actually do so. Save your anger, for a better occasion. But let me make amends. Is this enough to compensate for my careless behaviour?" he said with a grin on his face, as he drew out an unconscious player from the void. It was easy to identify the player right in front of his eyes, as it was the fire mage, that had accompanied him for a few days. Seeing him again under this kind of circumstances was quite a surprise for him. He would have never expected that something so brazen would be done under the direct supervision of the Observer. This realisation forced him to see the other Moirai currently looking at him in a new light, a much more dangerous light. " It is fascinating to see, that even you can make that kind of expression when things occur that are outside of your predictions. But do not worry, no God is interested in him. So do you like that gift of mine?" This was not a gift, but a warning and a blatant threat. Though this kind of honesty was preferable to those who pretend to be righteous and of noble intent, all the while they were scheming and ready for betrayal at a moments notice. He had seen too many people of that nature, that is why he enjoyed the presence of those who did not mince any words. With a smile on his face, he replied "That present is to my liking. Yet it is the idea behind it, which I enjoy the most. He will be of much use to me." " Pleasantries aside, I do need to inform you of certain rules you have to abide by. In order to guarantee the things you asked for a certain level of cooperation is required. Should the need arise I might see myself being forced to intervene and that is contrary to both of our desires." A short period of silence followed as he waited for the model to reply, but seeing no motion in his face he continued with his monologue. " Being seated as the last supervisor, the Gods do not place any significance on most of my inhabitants. Their potential is the lowest and they are considered to be expendable. The privileges the Observer offers can not be found here. Except for a select few, that do enjoy some degree of privileges. Beware of implicating those and there should not be a need to for me to act." Another short pause followed, in which the spoken words were evaluated. As no reaction followed once again, he decided to raise his voice once more. " Second and most importantly, please do not try to break through your binds, as this would only generate way too much trouble and attention. But that much should be obvious to you. " The other Moirai nodded but did not say another word as he contemplated the words he had heard. The implications of these words were enough to permanently alter some of the plans he had made for the human. It was necessary to avoid conflict between the two of them, that much was more than obvious. If that came with receiving some information on this new domain prior, then so it shall be. As for the mage that will be the company for the human its purpose was also clear. While, he himself can avoid the attention in their domain, following a mage can be done with ease. This measure was also tolerable albeit a bit tedious to deal with. Though the biggest concern at this very moment was the human, that did something strange with his stimulated experiences yet again. Dealing with this human posed much more of a challenge, then he could have had imagined it to be. The mere thought of letting this human decide for himself did only result in more headaches. Alas, there were no right answers. There was solely one goal. To surpass Magic. 148 Company 2 Opening my eyes after a long dream was not something I had imagined to be very easy. In fact, I had thought of waking up in an environment entirely unknown to me. With peril and danger lurking at every corner, I had to be wary about everything. Since I had no idea what to expect, I could only hope that the stars aligned in my favour. But in my wildest dreams, I could never have never imagined to find myself in a situation as strange as this. After being engulfed by darkness and watching countless reputations of my memories, I had hoped to find something real. Yet the pitch-black darkness never disappeared. Instead, after my eyes opened for the first time it violently attacked me, swarming all around me assaulting my every sense. After enduring the pain in my memories one might assume that I got used to it, but that would be a tremendous lie. Bearing it was egregious and it could only be called a torment. Pondering what I felt and what was the cause was out of the question for me. The only solace I found lied in cussing out loudly and giving all of my pain the verbal middle finger over and over again. Distracting myself did little to alleviate the pain but when dealing with something so unreasonable every last bit counts. It was a surprise to see exactly how many curse words I know of, especially after I included every language I know off. Yet the pain refused to subside despite my effort to test the depth of my vocabulary. It just continued to make me suffer. At least feeling pain of this level meant that I was still a life. A realization that I had come one step closer to the reality I had longed for. Though this did not make it any less painful to bear. There I was alone in the darkness, only hearing myself cursing into the unknown surroundings. Should I be glad that no one seemed to be near me? A question I was unable to answer in the short period of time I had time to think about it. It was hard to reason with pain because pain does not give a damn about my circumstances. Gritting my teeth I gave my best to face the pain that threatens my sanity. Although I did not manage to block it out entirely, I managed to regain control of my thoughts again. Or rather the ability to think and to not be a prisoner of the pain. Sadly my persistence did not pay off, as with the little degree of information at my disposal, it was practically impossible to find out more about the cause of my pain. Nor could I find any suitable methods to combat it. Grinning and bearing it was the only thing I could do. And I can tell I must have been grinning like a madman because it did not seem to come to an end. Rather the pain started to intensify as if it wanted to drive me to insanity once more. In return, I was able to muster more force out of sheer spite to not give in to something as stupid as pain. This strategy was often employed by brats or young children, but I could not be picky in such a scenario, not when the brunt of the pain kept on terrorizing my entire body. It was a pain that was hard to put in words. Especially when the words I had found so far were rather explicit. It was a weird sensation that tore through my entire being, unlike normal pain, it ran very deep and left its mark all over me. Did it attack my soul? But why would something be able to injure my soul, after all this time? I forcefully pushed that thought out of my mind as it was pointless to think about such details right now. I should think pragmatically and establish as many things as possible. Since I can not see, I will have to trust my other senses. As long as the pain is not a fabrication of my mind, something I really doubt, I can be certain of the fact that I do have a body. Yet, my body did not budge an inch after I tried to move it. It was not the time to be dispirited by the results, my approach was just wrong. This time around I should not try to brute force success, I will try to feel the smallest parts of my body, to get a feeling. My first target was the pinky in my right hand. After a particularly deep breath, I searched for the feeling of my right pinky. A few seconds, which felt like an eternity, later I finally felt a sensation in my finger. By focussing on this sensation, I tried to feel more and more. But after I had tried to concentrate on this feeling, I was ruthlessly attacked by the pain which had flared up yet again. This distraction caused me to lose the connection to my pinky finger. My initial success was enough of a reason for me to continue to try and feel my pinky. As for the pain, I decided to brace it as much as I could, because yielding to it was not an option. Mustering my mental fortitude, I confronted the pain once more on my quest to feel that my finger. Amidst the torrent of pain, I found the sensation I had looked for. Trying to ignore the pain, I gave it my all just to move this very small part of my body. I did not expect any deliberate movement, I was willing to settle for a twitch. Yet despite all of my effort, the finger remained it its passive state. This was something I could not accept, I would move this little piece of my body regardless of how much time it would take. I am in control of my body, not the pain. Several tries and a lot of cursing later I finally managed to wiggle my little finger. This had been a hard-fought battle against myself. It always seems more appealing to just give up, when faced with hardships. I know that all too well since I am prone to throw in the towel preemptively as well. This small movement was a complete success, but for me, it was not nearly enough. I could not be happy about something so insignificant. I had to strive for more if I wanted to feel true happiness. Otherwise, I would end up with the fake and fabricated emotions of my former life. My next target was the finger next to it and afterwards another finger would follow. This would continue I can move two of them together then three until I can move my hand again. Once I am done with one hand I move to the other one. After the hands, came the toes, then the feet, followed by the limbs. I would only stop once I had regained control over my entire body. Anything less and I might as well just give up on living and hide in those fabricated memories again. I know I am whiny bitch, who only talks big but can not back anything up. I am a pathetic loser, who thinks too highly of himself, despite having nothing to be proud of. But as of now, this is my chance to get something real, there is nothing for me to return to. Even if there only is hurt, I want to face it directly and to see and feel it. Whether that makes me shallow and hypocritical or brave is not something which matters to me. I am not trying to define myself with big labels and cheer myself up by pretending I am something special. Hiding behind my lies and accepting my ineptitude is out of the question. Once I start following that path I am already headed directly to the mistakes I have committed in my past life. I should even consider this option, as nothing good would come of it in the first place. Although the pain never stopped, my fear of losing to myself again stung more. While it felt strange and irrational, it also felt right in a twisted way. Although my motivation had stopped making sense to me, I still had this deep desire to avoid the mistakes of the past, This urge, just like its counterpart the pain could not be suppressed as they crept on my mind. Letting my frustrations out, I yelled into the dark once more. No reply and no sound came back. There I was, alone with my thoughts and the pain as the company. Yet, as time passed and the battle in my own body continued to rage on, I discovered that my inherent drive had been strengthened by my constant struggle in the memories. A detail, which I did not dare to ponder further upon. Drawing strength out of such a fabricated environment was not something I should rely on. I should not look back at those memories and use them at my leisure. Those were fake and all of this is for something that is real, I want something real and not lose sight of what is important. This was a battle against myself and I desire a total victory, not another ceasefire, I am so tired of this war. I am so over it. Because nothing ever changes as I follow the same footsteps over and over again. I have to break free of this perpetual chain of disappointment. These words sound so easy, it is due to them not having any weight. Words without actions and conviction are useless. "NOO, FUCK OFF" I screamed on the top of my lungs. " DO NOT REASON YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS" It is okay to be unreasonable, it is okay to be conflicted. But repeating the same old mistakes can not be forgiven. Without thinking about it, I lifted my right hand and slapped myself in the face several times. " WHEN...WILL...YOU...LEARN?" "Leichte Schl?ge auf den Kopf erh?hen das Denkverm?gen. " (Light blows on the head increase the ability to think. German Proverb) A mocking thought had entered my mind, in my native tongue. Despite resorting to this act, I was able to get a moment of clear consciousness. For a brief moment, I had forgotten about the pain. about all of my acts. There was no distress, no peril, no heroic aspirations, no big dreams. I just forced my body to stand up, despite the eventual backlash. that would come back to haunt me At this point in time, I had the sombre realisation, that this had never been about finding the motivation or conviction to fight back against the pain. There was no deeper meaning to it. It was just an act in itself. Whether or not I was standing on my own 2 legs did not change much. The motive behind those acts matters little. This is not a courtroom, there is no concept of right or wrong of any importance here. It either is or is not. That is it in its entirety. But just as I stood there in silence, an eerie laughter crept up on me, and with it came another wave of pain that brought me back to the sombre reality. My insides felt as if they were ravaged and I could not stop myself from feeling the urge to puke. It was the first time the pain had reached that level. I am doing my best to suppress this feeling. I don''t know if I even can empty my stomach at all, but I was not keen to find out either. As for the one, responsible for the creepy laughter, I tried my best to locate their position but failed miserably. Being visually impaired made it nearly impossible to find something. This laughter indicated that there was someone close enough to me. I could have been easily killed if the person or the entity had desired that. With an onlooker close to me, I had another problem with no obvious solution. I wanted to sigh, but the pain prevented me from doing so. It was as if the weight of the world was resting on my shoulders pressing me to the ground. I had no idea where the hell all of this pressure came from and why I even felt such a strong pain in the first place, but all of this did not matter to me. I held my head high and confronted everything that is thrown onto me. For outsiders, it might seem as nothing spectacular, but just standing here was brutal. Each second felt like an eternity and the voice in my head, telling me to give in became louder and louder. Rather than listening to its sweet temptations, I decided to go even further. I decided to take a step forward. A step, something I have done countless times beforehand now appeared like an impossible task. Facing such difficulty was certainly not something I had expected. How would I know, I had to persist through such hardships when trying to take a single step forward? Biting my tongue I tried my best to move the muscles related to the movement, now all it took was shifting my centre of gravity forward to fulfil my desire. The feet did not leave the ground for long before it came back to the ground once more. Although it could not be called graceful and despite the fact, that it seemed like I might lose my balance, it was nonetheless a step. A step which I had taken despite all of my circumstances being against me. "You have beaten yourself, be proud of such an achievement. You earned a long rest." The voice in myself loudly proclaimed as if I was content wich such a little progress. I have nothing but regrets to look back on, what kind of break do I deserve? Merely a single step and yet my weakness already has taken ahold of me. What a pathetic sight. Do I need to slap myself again to wake up from my stupor? I will take the next step and not be complacent with receiving mediocre results. Whoever claimed that the hardest part is the start clearly did not think about a scenario like this. Because all I see is starts with no ending in sight. After this successful step would another and then yet another. This was not progress, this was just an endless fight. I did not stop after making the second step, I continued to take steps slowly but surely as I fought tooth and nails to not give in to my blatant desire to just give up. I was even forced to slap me once more as the thoughts started to become overwhelming. The actual distance I had covered through my effort was laughable, but this was not the measurement of its success. As long as I kept on moving forward, it was my victory. My surroundings had been silent, but I felt probing eyes gazing at me intently from somewhere. Were they waiting for me to succumb and fall down on my knees? I had no intention, of giving them that satisfaction. Gritting my teeth I went a step forward yet again. Now witness me as I continue this constant struggle. Watch to your heart''s content and realize, that your expectations will never be fulfilled. What the true intention behind the observation was of no concern to me. It was easy for me to paint it as an enemy which wishes to see me fail. From now on it was someone, I wanted to prove wrong badly. I needed every form of motivation I could get. As my thoughts were busy taunting my audience I began to take longer strides. The strain on my body became even more obvious but I gritted my teeth even harder and managed to keep on moving forward. I will be the one who has the last laugh and wipe that shitty grin of its face. The weird cackling appeared once again but I only saw this as a confirmation, that the entity still expected me to fail. It will take a lot more to make me fall then just taking these steps. Is that outside of your expectations? Are you surprised? Step by step, I was proving myself. Step by step I was improving and overcoming my former achievements. It was by a small barely noticeable margin, but in this battle, I was coming out on top over and over again. In order to go beyond my limit again, I decided to incorporate other movements as well. At first, I simply moved my hands when I walked, then I decided to move my arms to make it a fluid motion. And after many. many steps it finally looked like I was walking normally. I was sweating all over and my mind was a mess but I had no indication of stopping any time soon. No, I still had to do more. This was far from enough, what I have just barely achieved can only be considered the bare minimum. Although I had yet to realize, that the toll on my body had accumulated and all of a sudden I spat out a lot of blood. Feeling a wave of weakness overcoming me I fell forward and was on my way to meet the ground beneath my feet. No, this was something I could not tolerate. I do not accept my weakness dictating my course of action. With my feet stomping on the ground I caught my balance. A loud roar escaped my lips. I was not willing to accept such reasoning. If I fall over now, I might as well never stand up again. Under my heavy breathing, I had not noticed that a presence appeared very close to me. After a few seconds, it spoke something in a calm and serious manner before disappearing again. Due to the language barrier, I had not understood a single thing. But this did not stop me from throwing a punch into the direction where the voice had come from. Hitting nothing but air, I lost my balance and fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Still, I could not help myself from laughing loudly. With a painful groan, I pushed myself from the ground to stand on my 2 legs again. Everything was as silent as it used to be and I found myself alone in this strange place. My only company was the pain, which reminded me of reality. And I was ready to endure all of this, for my chance at this reality. Everything will work out as long as I continue to move forward. 149 Company 3 ''Everything will work out as long as I continue to move forward.'' This sentiment of mine was put to a test, as the battle against my onlooker continued. Truth be told, calling it a battle was rather generous. I was just being toyed with and made fun off. A game of cat-and-mouse was a suitable description. And this fact pissed me off. I am not your toy, you can watch and scoff at. I will never bow down in front of the burdens you place on me. If I have to suffer then so be it, but I can guarantee, the satisfactory end will not come. Such a vile bastard increasing the pressure on my shoulders until till I collapse only to lessen it again. I will overcome my limits and I spit at your entertainment. Laugh, while you still can, I am going to wipe that smirk out of your face. I fall to my knees, the pressure lessens I stand back up, the pressure increases. Over and over again, I become the subject of his acts of kindness as I am fueled by my hatred for being perceived as a toy. I stared into the dark, despite being unable to see I decided to give it the best grin I could muster. I wanted to show, that despite all the trouble I am facing, I am still smiling. You have no control over me and all you subject me to will not break through my smile. What else have you planned for me? Do you realize, that all you put me through will not enough to force me into submission? In the end, you are the one going to feel despair, knowing that despite all of your efforts, you failed to achieve the result you yearn for. Look at me, this is not the face of someone you can freely make a fool out of. You best take a good long look at it, you will remember it for a long time to come. I will make you regret choosing me as your target for your twisted desires. Even after vomiting due to the sheer exhaustion that my mind and body suffered from I pushed myself up, after reminding myself of the perversion. With a big smile, I pressed my worn-out body forwards again, to spite my audience again and again. I did not know how much time had passed or how many times I stood up again. I stopped counting after the tenth time. It was either standing up or giving it the result it craved for. Seeking for a deeper meaning in this kind of event was pointless. Finding something so arbitrary in a battle of attrition was a waste of time and having the time to ponder on such an issue, was another luxury in itself, which I could not afford. That is why I sternly ignored every thought of such a nature and forced myself to solely focus on getting up and taking another step. Whenever I felt a presence close to me I threw an attack with my arms and legs trying to cause an injury but this was to no avail. I never managed to actually hit my target and the air does not care about my punches and kicks. Time and time again I collapse and force my body to get up once more. My steps were shaky, my body groggy and my other senses became increasingly distant and faint. Yet, I did one step after another. In the vast darkness I saw, I found myself in a seemingly endless loop with certain doom waiting for me. Even with a clear obsession to prove my spectator wrong I could not get rid of the thought what would await me once I did not manage to move this body of mine. What were to come once the flesh can not follow the mind? There is a point, in which my body would fail me and all of my struggles would have been for nought. I shook my head, this was the wrong outlook to have. If my body fails, then it will never be for nought. It means I have given my all and fought until the event to avoid giving in. Or simply said, that when the time comes where I can not stand up anymore, I have done my utmost. It did not take long, for me to figure out that my mind has started to follow a dangerous route once again. When I can not stand up anymore, I should crawl until I lose my consciousness. By giving myself an out, I only hinder myself and set my self up for failure. Old habits surely die hard. Cursing my old self I moved my body on, despite it aching all over. In a weird way the pain that had previously brought me down, became a confirmation that I was still giving my all. Having masochistic tendencies was a new side that I discovered about myself. I was more then certain, that I would feel a burning shame if I still had the energy to actually do so. But my mind was a mess for quite some time now. Traces of logic could only be found from time to time, the rest was an animalistic instinct to stand up and take a step. Any other higher cognitive function had been turned off. I tried my best to stay aware of my surroundings and my actions, but it kept on slipping away. Though I really liked this mindless feeling, it was liberating me from all the worries and pain that my body was confronted with. Yet this liberation was not the main reason, it was the feeling of an empty mind, that is not terrorized by my own thoughts. Free of all the self-imposed responsibilities, I started to marvel at the simplicity of my mind and body. I never had imagined stumbling on such a wondrous sensation in such a mindboggling situation. My body did its task and continued to maintain the act of standing up after falling down, but this mindless activity did not matter to me in this instance. I was caught in this moment and I wanted to savour this feeling as long as I could. Yet, just like the memories losing myself in such a sweet temptation is not the reality I strive for. I want a life worth living, worth dying for not such a distraction, that makes me feel good in the very moment. My life should not be about choosing the easy way out or following the path of the least resistance. Life is something raw, neither bad nor good. A fable might be a good night story for children but that is just not how life works. Slapping myself yet again I got ahold of my body once more. Removing myself out of that wonderful state of might was regrettable but it needed to be done. Escapenaismn is never an option. Strangely the pain I felt had lessened and the pressure my body felt was almost negligible now. Despite the favourable outcome, I could not find any correlation after mulling over the matter for quite some time. My mind was clear and my senses returned to their normal sensitivity. Only the darkness remained as my eyes did not perceive anything other than the abysmal layer of black. Although my lack of sight was a problem, that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, I still had to get out of this situation. My onlooker had yet to take action, despite me standing still for quite some time now. Was it gauging the situation or thinking about motivating me again. Regardless, there must be a reason for its inaction. If luck is on my side, it simply can not attack me for some uncertain reason. In the worst-case scenario, I had been dancing in its palms for the entire duration. Seems like asking for odds in my favour would be too much. I will just continue to tell myself that in times of distress humans grow the most. Though I could not help myself from enjoying a situation like this. Only under this kind of circumstances can I finally begin to truly understand what feelings are. If this search ends with me losing my life, then it was just not supposed to be. I was certain I could feel my lips curling into a smirk as I became mentally prepared for any hardships I might face. Unlike my previous expression, this smile came from the bottom of my heart. Each step was now done with utter ease, making me wonder whether the previous pain was just another fabrication of my mind and I was played with yet again. Should that be the case, I will find a way to break through it once more. The laugh I had heard in my surroundings had changed into a calm and collected voice, although I failed to understand a single word. I could not stop myself from being wary of it since, despite its peaceful sound, something inside of me did not feel right when hearing it. Keeping my distance I tried to listen for traces that would indicate a movement or an attack but nothing came. Only the faint sound of my breathing came to my ears, as I pondered about the purpose of the voice. Trying to understand the words spoken to be was out of the question. I might be intelligent, but I am not a supercomputer or the protagonist in a wish-fulfilment story. There is no god kissing my ass and giving me the ability to understand the language. The language itself sounds beautiful and soft in its pronunciation but it still remained intelligible for me. Any attempts at conversing were destined to end in failure. And do not get me started about the existence of magic. I have no confirmation if it even exists outside of my fabricates memories. This entire world in front of my blind eyes is shrouded in mystery. Trying to understand it needed a lot more time, then I currently had at my disposal. I had a general idea of how to test my theories about this world, but this endeavour had to wait until my life was threatened by an unknown entity. I should prioritize how to escape out of this situation and not waste my focus on different matters altogether. The voice continued to enter my ears with me the same intensity, but I had not come closer to it after taking so many steps. This would imply that either I did not move or the being moved with me. Both possibilities only raise more questions and I still do not know whether I am on the right path or not. I am very happy to be a part of this spectacle. This emotional state must be known as anticipation. This world is a true gift that keeps on giving. The voice reverberated through the air once more but this time around It penetrated my ears and shot directly into my brain. Yelping in sheer pain, I came to the conclusion, that my lack of reaction certainly had been interpreted as a provocation. The warning I received was loud and clear. Though I still had no idea, how I could avoid my brain being fried by this mighty voice alone. If we do not speak the same language, it might be able to interpreter the intent behind my words. Although this choice might have some risks that come with it, walking forward aimlessly was not a solution to get out of this mass either way. I chose English to convey my message because on the off-chance that all of this is related to my memories, it has a higher chance of being understood. " I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but due to my inability to understand the language you are speaking, I find myself unable to converse with you. I hope that my sincere apology will be enough to prevent any further misunderstandings" I did a deep bow to underline how important the matter truly was to me. To my dismay, I had to realize that my good intentions fell on deaf ears, as I was terrorized by another sound attack. Although speaking louder did not give his words any more weight, they sure rang in my ears for a long time afterwards. " Fuck you too" I mumbled, as I was complaining about the tinnitus I just had received. Cursing at the entity for such an unfair treatment seemed more than appropriate. Since he could not understand my language, then I can curse at him for all I want, provided I sound happy and retain my smile. Although this method will also not lead me out of this mess, it certainly helps me in blowing some of my steam. As for the warnings in my hand to not curse the Gods and keep my mouth shut, those were something I could not care less about. I do not give a shit about stuff like that If no one is capable of understanding English. Suddenly I had a bad feeling that something was amiss, as my senses heightened I tried to locate the source of the danger. But nothing came and I heard a taunting laugh in the distance. Any form of consideration I might have had is now gone from my mind. Just as I started to lay down my guard, a sudden attack came close to me. Without even thinking about what actually came at me I twisted my entire torso to just barely dodge the attack aimed at me. What a crafty son of a bitch, why is he employing such tactics against me? A taste of my own medicine? This situation has become a lot more interesting just now. A psychological battle is much more to my liking then just using brute force. Though it will need more than robbing my sight and to use such a tactic to outwit me. I was thankful for the training I had gone through with the flames albeit it being fake. Because before I had realized it, I felt the danger coming from all directions. Right afterwards I found myself dancing under the various attacks that I barely managed to avoid. I was clearly being put under a gruelling test, as all of these attacks seemed to disappear once I was not able to avoid them entirely and once again I felt a feeling of anger rise in me because I was not taken for full. But I quickly snuffed it out, because I know that now was not the time to let my thinking be disturbed by hurt ego. Because me being tested means, that the entity has plans for me. Having come to such a conclusion, I did my best to leave a suitable impression. I might never know what this entity has planned for me. Though afterwards I was left wondering what exactly this plan might be. I heard many different words that sounded ominous but in the end, nothing happened to me. Should I be glad that nothing came afterwards or be afraid of that detail, I could not tell. Staring into the darkness, that seemed all too familiar, I could not make out anything other than it. It is scary how quickly I have become used to a change of such magnitude. Would it not be normal to be afraid of losing your vision? Yet, in this black nothingness, I was at home. It must be related to the countless memories I had watched in my mind as the darkness I stare into shares a high resemblance to the one I had come into contact in the back of my mind. This change was not a restriction or a handicap for me. Far from it, I saw in it my change to witness this world in its truest form. Not being distracted by beautiful appearances, I could witness the world in its most beautiful form. Rather than seeing the world in black or white or different shades of grey, I could see it for what it really is. I was not robbed of my sight, I was given a chance to truly see the world. My view of the world would undoubtedly be positively affected by this change. Furthermore, I could not deny, that not seeing the ugliness of this world might be a good way to not be tainted by it If all I see is darkness, then it is my duty to find a light. Because darkness itself is ultimately the absence of light. But to truly understand my darkness, I will need to understand light as well. One can not exist without the other and one is never whole without the other. Someone once said that the beauty of a moment is not defined by its timelessness but rather in its frailty. We learn the true value of something, by knowing its counterpart. For health there is sickness, for happiness there is sadness and for life there is death. If I truly want to understand emotions, I will have to experience those to truly comprehend what gives them their weight. I have to find the light if all I see is nothing but the dark. 150 Never Forge After another of my philosophical escapades, I could not help but laugh at myself. It was not related to the fact, that I did not agree with the words I have spoken. A certain balance is needed to understand the value of something. I was just amused by my word choice and the melodramatic way of presentation I had imagined in my head at that time. Sounding profound and intelligent did not change the content at all and stroking my ego by using flowery language is a bit sad. If there is no one but myself, who listens to these words, then there is no need for stylistic devices. It is a simple concept, that can be summed up in a few words. For good things to exist bad things have to exist as well. This topic has a lot of nuances and layers. For example, no one should accept bad things and declare them as a necessary evil. Embracing the misery does not ease the suffering. Only by trying to find solutions and measures to minimize their extent can life become worthwhile. Blindly accepting everything, does not lead to a fulfilling life. Humans are not supposed to be cattle, our aspirations and dreams give our existence their worth. I am not going to pretend, that these dreams do not carry big risks with them. The history of humans has been plagued by wars, schemes and other heinous acts. But through these acts innovation flourished and new ideas and perspectives were born. Every step forward is accompanied by blood spilt either in its name or against it. It is only due to these ideals and ideas being challenged over and over again that humanity came to prosper. The wolf at the top of the mountain will never understand the hunger of those below him. Quite barbaric, that such a civilized race relies on those crude methods to advance. But forgoing the roots is blasphemous and disrespectful to those who gave up their lives to create it. Just like the nation, I was born in never chose to ignore their dark past. All of the atrocities Germany has committed are not glorified. Rather we are taught the cruel truth of all the abhorrent and sinister acts that were committed. Instead of sweeping it under and rug and pretending that nothing happened. We serve a warning to future generations. "Never forget." The past can not be undone, but it is our duty to prevent the past from repeating. It is not an act of repentance, some acts can not be forgiven. A life taken can not be returned. It is to make sure, that the sins of our past remain as such. Expecting forgiveness is hypocritical, countless lives were taken and altered. No act would be big enough to appease and honour the dead. The ones responsible for these horrendous deeds can not be punished enough for their crimes against humanity and many escaped their punishments and lived a long fulfilling life. With the ones who committed the crimes gone, whom should we punish for their acts? Punishing the next generation, would only result in more grievances and be unjust since they had no influence on the acts of their ancestors. The only solution in this scenario is to never forgive and to forget about this perverse violence. This kind of philosophy is something I try to use for myself. My past can not be undone and my mistakes will remain. I aspire to learn from my mistakes and come out of them as a better person. Following this path is not easy, I see myself repeating old patterns again and again. But it is the choice I have made. Everyone has to seek out their own fortune and purpose in life. Besides, my path is never truly set. it would be foolish not to change your course if there is a need to. Nothing is ever truly set in stone and thinking otherwise is nothing more than an excuse. Running away from one''s problems does not make them vanish in thin air. I have tried, the issues stay the same no matter how far my feet carried me. My past always managed to catch up with me. It tightly grabs around me and refuses to let go, someday I might be able to embrace it and come to terms with it, but for now, I will have to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. The image of my sister appeared in my mind. I do hope she finds her way and that her hate towards me has finally vanished with my death. I really hope that she would find happiness as a relative of her. But she likes to lay waste of the innocent, which made me look down on her as a human. I was the same as her in many ways, but I never stopped questioning myself and she has no qualms about her actions. That is the stark difference between the two of us. As for my parents, they were not worth my concern anymore. I wish them a long fulfilled life, that is all I can muster for them. All of a sudden, I heard a sweet laugh echoing in my head. Where the hell did that voice come from? Why did I not notice someone intruding in my mind? What the meaning behind that laugh? Forcing myself to calm down, I quickly thought about the different possibilities. This could have been part of the series of test, but due to the lack of reaction from the other entity, I was not too sure about that theory. Did they try to test my intention by thinking they can not understand English? Well, there is an easy way to confirm this. "Hey you bastard, I have seen through you little games. Just fuck off " Judging by the lack of reaction coming from the voice, there seems to be no relation between the two of them. Because these prideful people would show a reaction to these kinds of words, regardless of what kind of intention they have. Who of them could endure being insulted by a lowly insect? As for you whoever decided to pry into my mind, I do hope you found what you were looking for. I am thankful for letting me know about your presence, but an act of kindness can quickly turn into something else. The laugh returned once more it sounded rather sweet and did not assault my mind, which was a big plus in my eyes. Although I did not like the feeling of having a visitor in my head, I was used to the sensation by now. Though it was a first to have a female voice inside of my mind, knowing my luck it will be another pain in the ass. Even in my fabricated memories, I was attracting those troublesome fellows left and right. The laughter suddenly stopped and I was greeted by a strong headache. Therefore my hypothesis turned out to be true yet again. Before lamenting my appeal to this kind of entities, I decided to accept the status quo. Although I desperately thought about telling the voice to fuck off, I saved myself the trouble. Judging by the fact, that I went unharmed after considering to curse at it, I became more certain, that they could not understand the language itself but rather judge the intent aimed towards them. Making fun of the person itself leads to a headache, make fun of it indirectly and my head remains safe. What a dumbass. In hindsight, I should have not made that comment, as its target was not amused by the statement I made. After my head stopped feeling as if it was ripped apart, I decided to not mess with forces I do not understand for the time being. After a little while, I heard an unsatisfied grumble in my skull and in the darkness of my eyes a scale appeared. This scale seemed ordinary and did not have anything special about it. It blended in with the darkness almost too well. Was the appearance of this seemingly ordinary scale related to my thoughts about the coexistence of light and the darkness? Or was there another reason for its appearance? But the scale did nothing as I stared at it, it never tipped to either side. Though I would get used to its existence sooner or later, since I did not see anything else besides the darkness it was surrounded by. I know I should be appreciative about it but I could not consider a scale I could only look at something I should be grateful about it. A blessing of this nature did not serve any use to me who can not even use any form of magic. These things are not meant for humans to actually use them. While this might be a nice gesture, I will never be able to operate it. The scale had reached an equilibrium and it was destined to remain in that state. It was nice to have something to look at but that was about it. My enthusiasm caused the voice inside of my head to give off a rather angry sounding comment, which I once again failed to understand. I should correct my previous statement, it was not a command but a long rant. My mind was occupied by the sound of an angry female voice talking in a voice I did not know. Once again I came to know that the concept of time was relative, as it felt for me like it would never end. After a while, it turned into nothing more than a background sound like the white noise of an old tv. Although the voice seemed to only get louder after being ignored i did my best to ignore the attention-seeking behaviour it showcased. Not understanding a language was one thing, constantly being screamed at in this foreign language was an entirely different thing. At least I could understand what the voices inside of my head were telling me inside of my simulated memories. Yet, all I could get out of this was having a voice as my company which keeps yelling at me and a useless white scale to look at. I was placing all of my hopes on tiring out this voice inside of my head by not giving her any kind of attention. This was yet another battle of attrition, though my patience was starting to run thin, as the voice had turned into a wail that resembled the sound a siren gave off. Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww My mind was full to the brim with this sound that tried to rob me of my last sanity Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww I know that this voice can not know about the annoyance of this noise but it is seriously starting to piss me off Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Oh look at me and my angelic voice "Wee-oww, Wee-oww" Is it not beautiful? Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww I felt my brain slowly dying as the merciless onslaught started to consume me. I started to almost plead with the voice to end my suffering. Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww But the siren knows no mercy, it just gives off the cries of hell without any remorse. I would love to say I was exaggerating for comedic purposes but this wail was beginning to even hurt me at my innermost as my soul started to tear apart. Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww How could such a sweet-sounding voice turn into a weapon of mass destruction? Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww. Have a taste of your own medicine Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Wee-oww Okay, you won, but seriously, can you shut the fuck up now? You have proven your point, now give me a moment of serenity without your voice making my life a living hell. Is it too much to ask, to have some kind of normality for once? It is like every single fucking entity I come into contact with just annoys the ever-living fuck out of me. Excuse me for not using any formal language, but what the fuck is your problem? You know, that I do not understand you, so why do you have to terrorize me? Do you not have anything better to do? Do you find any enjoyment in telling me stuff I do not understand? If all of you are all so special and mighty, then why do you all gather around someone like me? Is it your lives purpose just to be as annoying as possible to me? Fuck all of you, seriously why do you all act like you would be doing me a huge favour? I am not fucking bowing my head and shed a tear of gratitude because I am graced by your presence. I do not have a single minute of peace before there is another thing being commented on or making me yearn for death. No matter who or what you are. I do not care whether you are a God, a devil or something other holistic. All of you can seriously go fuck themselves. I never asked anyone of you to be part of me, yet all of you still insist, that is I am the one, who be the one grovelling on the floor. Oh, the poor soul is visually impaired let me present him with a ucking scale. Oh, how thoughtful of you. What would I do with my life without a scale, which I can not even move or touch? Let me marvel at its simplistic design for the rest of my life. Thank you for providing me with a chance for a long fulfilled life. Oh, before I forget it. A scale as a symbol for balance, how very innovative. It is not like this has been done to death and choosing balance as a theme that''s an A+ for creativity right there. I am in awe of the sheer level of intelligence I have come into contact here. And another round of applause for repeating the cliche of voices in my head, the audience already loved the first version, I am sure the topic will never get old. But of course, this time around we are adding a twist to it, because everything changes then. Let the main character, be surrounded by arrogant and entitled assholes. What an interesting and novel concept. Their dialogues will be something this world has never seen before and will cause every reader to laugh at their hilarious banter. Who needs mature conversations about complicated issues, when you can read about childish insults being flung around. And of course, everybody can identify themselves with someone who throws a childish tantrum, just because they did not get the attention, they thought they were owed. What a lifelike character, that everyone should aspire to be. In a world, that confronts the audience with the flaws in our modern society, it is a beacon of hope, a role model for everyone. Her character is flawless and she is perfection incarnate. As for me, I am the character with a tragic backstory, that everyone feels sorry for. I am always justified in my actions and a paragon of justice and everyone else is evil just so I can make a heroic speech and look cool. It all comes together, this is all a deliberate masterpiece that requires a really big brain to understand. In the end and I can not stress that enough and this message comes from the very bottom of my cold heart. I want you to know that you can go fuck yourselves. A deathly silence followed as the nagging voice inside of my head finally came to a rest and since I was still alive, I all the voice wanted was to be acknowledged. My sarcastic remarks would have seem weird for anyone not familiar with life on Earth. I could be satisfied with my monologue there, it had all the elements of a good and memorable speech. Though it was weird to be all alone once again, excluding the voice in the distance that kept on saying stuff I did not understand. There were only the darkness and the white scale left. And nothing changed. What a boring development. May the future be interesting, that is all I asked for. 151 The useless scale 1 The bad thing about a concept like an interesting future was that it is really vague and also involves a lot of waiting. Since the future covers quite a large time span, I might have to spend an uncomfortable amount of time waiting or doing other tasks that are arduous and mind-bogglingly boring. All of this was part of life, but normally there are methods to cope with such mundane stuff. You could listen to music, talk to someone, watch an interesting movie, play some games, browse videos on the Internet, but alas I could not do any of this here to pass the time. I was still being watched therefore I did not want to do anything too much out of the line. Starting a workout session, without knowing what awaits me would be a stupid idea. Since my vision was limited to staring at a white scale, I did not have any intention to venture out into the great unknown. Although I was quite certain, that I could not use the scale since I could not use magic. Though this did not stop me from trying to influence it. Logically speaking a scale stands for many different concepts. It represents fairness, equality, balance and judgement. It is fair, as the ratio between both sides is exact and correctly displayed. It is equal, as the scale does not care who or what is on it. It is balanced when both sides have the same "weight". It is judgemental when there is someone holding it. Provided that this scale shares the same ideas and values at its core, then there must be a way to utilize it. Besides its symbolic purpose, it still used the exchange of goods in a market place. Rather it used to be, scales like this are scarce nowadays. Though the question should be how to start this exchange. Normally I would place any object on one side and a weight on the other side. Afterwards, more would be added until both sides were equal. Although it was hard to place something tangible on something intangible. I should not think about it as a real scale, I should think of it as a metaphor for the ideals I have mentioned. Just imagining an item of my choice and placing it on the scale would be way too easy. There has to be a deeper meaning to it, it must be a test to figure out my true understanding. The concept of balance needs to be linked with magic somehow. The origin from the scale must be related to my thought about the coexistence of bad and good. Or this is another scheme to gauge my reactions and values. In a controlled environment, it could be seen which concepts and ideas I would treat as equal. Though even in this hypothesis, there seems to be a big crux. How can they judge my values and actions, if there is no way for me to actually use this thing? Or they observe me on how I would approach such an object. What would be the best course of action? There are still too many variables and unknowns involved which makes it hard for me to come to a conclusion without risks, but on the other hand, there must be a purpose for the appearance of the scale. Gathering information should be my main focus for now. By figuring out how I can operate this contraption, I might be able to deduce the intent behind it. Should I find myself being unable to do anything with it, then this also tells me a lot. Let us assume that this scale is indeed based on a logical principle and that magic exists as well. Magic is said to be in every lifeform and in all of the surroundings. at least that is what I was told in these made-up memories of mine. This makes it pretty much obvious that a scale representing balance incorporates magic or mana. Which raises the question, how an entity like me, who was described as being the total opposite of mana, can get ahold of it. Because, if the scale represents a balance, then this balance has mana at its core. Since the concept of a being not based on mana has most likely never existed in this universe. Every single lifeform supposedly has some affinity for magic, but what about an existence that is the exact opposite with none? Let me think about this route a bit more. Did I get something like the scale, since my existence is outside of the act of balance? Is that some sort of evaluation? Something of my nature, should the claims be true, would certainly warrant a lot of attention. Still, who was the voice inside of my head then? And how can this voice circumvent my nature and place such an object inside of my mind? Did any of my properties change that would allow something like this? Or was it all a bit hoax to let me astray? The more potential lead I found, the more confused I ended up. As enticing as the idea of me being special was, I could not lose myself in it and had to explore different possibilities as well. If being caught in my own memories had me taught one thing, was to never see things as absolute, even if it was something fundamental. What was real or what was something fabricated? All of this would be a lot easier if I could answer that question for myself. In order to distinguish between real or fake, I must take a look at everything and hope to spot some irregularities. What can I say, everything boils down to just wait and see. I do not have any other options I could choose from. Which raises the question, normally there has always been a path, that would lead me to my destiny or rather to the desired results. If this was still a simulation, what would they expect me to do or rather to accomplish? Knowing my approach to things like this, they must have prepared something, which would force me to seek conflict with others. I doubt that they would expect me to idle my time away, simply staring in the clouds and twiddling my thumbs. Besides, I do not think that this world would even allow me the chance to actually do that. What methods could they employ to drive me towards other players? One potential idea would be to give the players resources I would require to operate this scale. That way I would be required to actively fight for it. Since I would be involved in a lot of fights, I would rely on the scale more and more, which in return would force me to gather more and more resources. If I were in their shoes I would follow this kind of strategy, allowing me to fully control how to gather my resources would be an unwise decision, considering what the ant army did in the name of my training. Furthermore, I would limit the resources I can get, by the strength of the player, prompting me to seek out stronger players. Otherwise, I might be tempted to just seek out the weakest players possible to minimize the risks involved. I did not have to mince any words or hide my thoughts on this matter because even if they were able to understand my words, the conclusion I reach will be the same they arrived at. That much was to be expected, at those capable of confining me to that space inside of my mind. Though I do look forward to how this scale is supposed to help me. Using solely my body strength was not enough when confronted with magic. I might be able to gain victory by use of trickery, but that will not help me once these magicians were to gang up on me. I have said it once and I will say it again, magic is inherently unfair. Although asking for fairness in a world which is based on unfairness might be a bit too unrealistic. But as far as I can tell, the restrictions placed on magic seem very lax, which does not make it any easier for me to deal with them. I should focus on the main aspect again, instead of letting my thoughts drift away. Complaining about the flawed world could wait for another time. Technically speaking I did not have any urgency to think about this matter, albeit staying on the topic would still be better for me. The last point I raised was the prevention of my trying to take the easiest way and avoid confrontation with the strongest players. This would either lead to let the players seek me out instead, a repetition of the events in my mind so to speak or to generate an object of common interest, which I could not do without. It is easy to generate conflicts when interests do not align. Hmm, I do wonder what kind of enemies I might face. Facing magicians makes the most sense because most of my fights were against them. Disregarding the occasional battle against monsters, I learned a lot about their battle strategies and their nature. Would they have predicted, that I would think of it as such? I might even interpret the time I was trapped in my head, as some sort of training to adapt to this cruel world. That all of this was just a quick survival course in order to prepare me for is quite hard for me to believe. Let us assume they would predict my previous doubts about the legitimacy off my current world. How would they make sure, that I have no doubts left about it? The answer would be to give me opponents that are quite unlike the ones I thought against. It is actually rather simple, by playing alongside my expectations, they would only increase the severity of my doubts and my concerns. Especially if I am wary about every minute detail. By choosing something which seems entirely unrelated to their current strategy, I will find it hard to connect the dots. The less logical it appeared to be the more secure it was. That way they make it harder for me to predict what their intention truly is. This is truly an interesting game of lies and deceit. Still, even with their best preparations, there will still be a loophole I will make use of. Because once emotions are involved, rational thinking is not supported anymore. If they think I am the one dancing in the palms of their hand, then I will do that, as long as everyone else is dancing in mine. It is an impossible matter to predict the movements and actions of every single player. Regardless of their choices, this weakness would be the one I would aim for and exploit it. They could easily avoid it by not using players, but that would defeat the entire purpose of it all. With the choice of enemies set and the method to force me into action also planned out, I still need to ponder on how the scale might help me in that scenario. Sooner or later I will have to rely on it, that is the goal of all of their plans. This means, that the role should take up a passive role, only it can fulfil. if it could create a weapon for me, I could use to fight the enemies with then I would gladly do so. The downside to that idea is the missing consumable nature of said weapons. It is certainly not supposed to be a one time offer. All of this would either mean, that the weapon easily breaks In order to force me to create another one or to create the need for me to create a stronger weapon. Though I do wonder how they plan to achieve this matter, as they have no idea on the kind of weapon I might produce. Or rather do they follow this kind of strategy knowing of the weapons I might create? That would be quite a novel way, to find out more about the tools of war the humans use. I do have to pay credit where it is due if all of this is part of their schemes, then I will have to admit that it is truly a magnificent display of their intelligence. With the motive, strategy, enemy out of the way, I do need to figure out they are trying to achieve with the current tests. Because it seems to be a bit counterproductive, to give me this much time to ponder on these issues. The most feasible option would them using the chance to figure out English in order to spy on my thoughts. Nah, that can not be it, why should they risk giving themselves away if that is their only aim? Or is this, in fact, another ruse to keep me second-guessing? All of this under the guise of a training? Seems a bit excessive even for them. Giving away, the information that they are capable of reading my thoughts was also something which seemed fishy to me. I do not see any benefit for them to let me know about their abilities. Their aim should not lie to intimidate me, that much seems obvious, so what result would it yield to share that kind of secret with me. It all does not make any sense to me, to divulge something like this to someone you plan on observing. The good old "We come in peace strategy" from aliens? Do they want to keep me tense about the fact, that they can hear my every word? Or do they want me to be careful and just think too much on every matter? I would deduce that likely it was not a sole goal they tried to achieve. Some of the issues I just mentioned might have been their desired results. Oh, well there is nothing I can do about that detail either way. It is time for me to finally figure out how this scale actually works, instead of making theory after theory about my purpose in all of this. Just as always I was certain, that things would develop in a manner I would not have predicted either way. At this point in time, I would say that was the natural course. \u003cspan style="font-size: calc(var(--rem) * 1px * 1.0625); letter-spacing: 0px;"\u003eWait a minute... Did the scale just smile at me? \u003c/span\u003e 152 The useless scale 2 I could only sigh because this was no Delirium, no mirage, no bad dream, no delusion and no hallucination. Right in front of my eyes was a standard white scale with a big laughing mouth. I actually wanted to laugh about this comical spectacle, if only I didn''t feel like crying. "You have been chosen because you are special, you represent a rare quality, please save this world. These fools do not question anything and blindly accept everything, because they have been specially selected. I give a fuck what is ultimately required of me, but I abhor it when I am taken for a fool. I don''t know why I attach such importance to the opinions of others. But I know how much it bothers me to be seen as a toy. A mighty voice echoed in my head, full of disgust and hatred. I felt small and worthless when I heard them, but unfortunately, I could not understand a single word because I could not speak their language. That''s exactly what I was referring to, to them I am just an object with whom you can do whatever you want. They make fun of me again and again and always lead me around by the nose. However, I am certain that these provocations can backfire and that their arrogance will be their downfall. The history of mankind is full of such cases, where the mighty king ended up as a beggar, where a tyrant was poisoned by his maid and of weak people taking the sceptre from the mighty. Their arrogance could cost them dearly. But enough of daydreaming and fantasy, it would be enough for me to destroy her beloved plans. A cobbler should stick to his last. Because otherwise, I would not be better than them, because I would make the same mistakes. The talking scale, however powerful its voice may be, became background noise as I pondered on other things while the mouth moved up and down. There was nothing else to see in the dark of my eyes, but that did not change the fact, that I clearly lost interest in it the longer it continued its monologue. Because no matter how grandiose or useful these words may be to me, it is useless if I cannot understand anything. This should be obvious, so why are they dragging out this performance? Will there be a revelation that they could speak English the entire time but wanted to fuck with me? I was probably never destined to get the answer as the monologue got more and more out of hand. One might think that the description of a scale can be summarized in a few words, but no, apparently one has to start with the Big Bang to understand it. The words were endless and I understood more and more that there are worse fates than death. If my life was threatened by the siren-like roar before, I was now helplessly exposed to the monotony of this monologue. Yearning for the sweet release of death I hoped to be freed of its deadly clutches but alas fate was a cruel mistress. The sad part is that despite my exaggerations it truly was awfully boring. Any attraction that such a scale might have, has vanished into thin air. I was actually just waiting for the end so I could finally get back to work. In the end, little has changed except that the scales now have a mouth. I had ruled out from the start that I could achieve anything with my language. While it was certainly a sight to behold at the beginning the novelty had quickly worn out. Yet, the mouth continued to speak and speak and speak and did not seem to mind going on till the end of time. The heat death of the universe seemed closer and closer. I had relived countless reincarnations and finally grasped the concept of eternity. After all of this, the scale still had not stopped speaking. Was this just an endless loop and I was doomed to suffer? Or was my brain not creative enough to find more comparisons to make this boring mess entertaining? This reminded me of all of these lectures back in the day. When my soul did its best to leave my body and flee while my mortal husk kept me in place with my tormentor. Now that my soul finally has escaped to another realm, I had hoped to never experience something horrible like this ever again, but alas that was to no avail. What made this situation worse was the fact, that this scale seemed oblivious to my current plight, as it just went on and on with the same kind of voice. No variations, no change of tempo it was all just an endless accumulation of words. Just let me try some stuff, I do not need a tutorial on this matter, especially when I can not even follow it. I thought deeply about other ways to waste some time, but it was hard not to just start cursing and telling the scale to hurry up. I had a hunch, that losing too much of my rationality would not do me any good. Venting my frustrations is certainly something I needed, but I should not stop paying attention to the scale itself. I might never know when a seemingly minor detail could save my ass. Although my brain was starting to be lulled by the onslaught of words, I paid some attention to the scale itself from time to time. Although my discoveries were not worth the headache I got from the scale itself. Because after kept staring at it, I just began to realize the extent of its averageness. It was just a white scale and nothing more. I thought that I might uncover some secrets, after all, which normal scale would have a mouth? But no, the scale was just a normal scale, with no visible difference. At first, I thought that this was a cover, a disguise to hide behind, but no, it was only a useless white ordinary scale. Rather I found it remarkable how common something like this could be. if I did not know any better I might think that having a mouth was also a trait which a scale should have. It truly was fascinating how bland its appearance was. I found myself marvelling at this masterpiece of mediocracy and my mouth was left agape after I witnessed this ingenious design of inconspicuousness. I wanted to describe in great detail, the absolute simplicity of this scale. But it was a white scale and that was it. I truly wonder if this was done on purpose, or if they just copy-pasted one of my memories? Wait a minute, have I been insulting myself just now? Would not be a first, but I am clearly better than whoever came up with this atrocity. Why would anyone settle on something so featureless? It is about a concept of balance, something which represents life in general, so why would anyone in the right mind say, let us make this as discreet as possible? I know that taste is highly subjective, but I would never be able to trust anyone who thought of this as a good idea. Because this was not about good decision making anymore, this was a crime not only against good taste but also against every scale to have ever existed. Any scale would be mortified and deeply ashamed having to call this abhorrent creation their brethren. They would have to live their life to repent for this monstrosity, wishing that scales would never have existed. I might even write a strongly worded letter criticizing their taste in scale design. That will show them not to mess with the holy appearance of scales. Sometimes I wonder whether or not I am a bit too dramatic over casual things. That could not be true, how can someone as serious as me dramatize something? All of this is nothing more than the truth. You will never find a person who is as unbiased as me. I have studied the scale all my life. Nobody knows it better than me, other than every human being in possession of a digital scale. Since I am clearly an expert on this subject, it is my god-given right to criticize it. I have done my utmost to stay objective and focus on the facts, this level of professionalism is to be expected from people of my calibre. While I was busy flexing with a status I did not deserve a visible change occurred on the scale. Much to my dismay, the entire scale was still clad in the ugly white colour, but both sides of the scale have begun to illuminated by 2 different blinking lights. But they knew no mercy when it came to the lights, because their intense, almost blinding nature harassed my optic nerve. Which ultimately led me to let go of a few curse words because of the abruptness of this terrible change. I could not tell whether I was in a cheap casino or about to have a seizure due to all of these lights. Nothing made me yearn for truly being blind more, then seeing this cheap spectacle, presented in a manner as if it was a lifechanging event. It was like these stupid ads for mobile games, where the stuff shown on screen could never be found in the game itself. In my eyes, all of this flashy stuff was another reason to detest the ones in charge of this entire act. In fact, all of this tutorial, or whatever this is supposed to be was starting to piss me off. I did my best to distract myself and wait for it to end, but my patience is starting to run thin. It is not very engaging if the scale starts to engage in some sort of combat with me. I might feel inclined to actively work against the people who gave me this scale and this should not be in their interest. If they have seen my memories, they will know that this is not am an empty threat. Yet the flashing lights never stopped as if it was announcing to the world just how important it was. Judging from my personal experience, it might have been a weird game show, where the participant must guess the weight of 2 different objects. Although this could not be any further from the truth, it had become a reality for me as this shitty scale did not deserve any treatment better than this. If it goes on like that, I might refer to it as a crude and cheap whorehouse. The possible names that came into my mind were plenty but I did have to wait for too long before the visual impairing spectacle entered its next phase. What I can only describe at as a failed attempt at basically everything I know, took place right in front of me. And that it was me putting it nicely. Because in front of me exactly nothing happened. The lights went out and the scale stopped speaking. All of this build-up and then it ends like this. I mean I had low expectations, to begin with, but just straight up doing nothing must have been the dumbest decision they could have made. There I was dumbfounded at the utter foolishness of certain people staring at the scale, which now did not have a mouth any more waiting for something to happen, which would never come again. This must have been all part of an elaborate plan they are trying to pull on me, there is no way they can be this dumb. Very funny guys, but could we please now start with the real tutorial, please....? Yet, nothing changed the scale was just as white and just as useless as it had been prior. I began to contemplate my life choices and pitied myself for the people that were in charge of me. But then it happened, the scale began to shine brightly again. I was elated, finally, a serious introduction was about to occur but the light which gave me hope disappeared in an instant again taking my last bit of hope with it. This cruel teasing would have destroyed my very soul if I was not that impressed by their creative usage of common tropes to subvert my expectations. But on a more serious note, I am quite amazed by them for pulling this stunt on me. I was not even mad that it worked that well. Though this goodwill soon turned around as I saw the light flashing again and again from time to time. I swear if they new morse code, they would tell me to go fuck myself. The lights continued to blink rhythmically slowly taunting me as if they wanted to draw my attention onto them. I would not fall for such cheap provocations from an Inanimate object. Not without knowing their intention. I do not mind playing along, provided there is a benefit in doing so. Though it was hard to it hard to find any meaning or purpose in all of their acts, without understanding their language. As of now, it felt like I was stuck at the tutorial stage, that would not let me proceed unless I follow their exact instructions Sadly, there was no press (x) to jump and no analogue stick to move the camera around with. All I got was some cheap lights highlighting the two sides of a scale without any other hint. This kind of strategy did not prove that helpful to me, as I still had no clue how to proceed with this scale. Though I was glad that the voice had finally stopped and I could try different methods to interact with the scale. Wait, did the scale just smile at me again? Please, for the love of everything that is holy, do not loop the words. Once was clearly enough, please just let me try it out. But if I had learned one thing through all of this ordeal, it always ends exactly like I do not want it to. So once again I was greeted by the sheer endless monologue of the voice which I was very familiar with. A long groan escaped my lips as I thought on how to free myself of this vicious cycle. Until then I was stuck listening to this weird monologue of a normal scale with a mouth. I would not go out of this unharmed and if I manage to leave this behind, I will have become a changed man. The worst part is that I still did not understand a single word that was said in front of me. I shouted out a loud fuck you since this time around it was well deserved but it fell on death ears and the monologue continued without any interruption. All of this from a simple white scale. Sometimes I truly wonder why I always found myself in the middle of such absurd events. Yet the useless white scale did not care as the voice continued on and on and on. Its official, I am going insane.