4 December Year 2367
Tefler stepped into the room and found his master looking at a screen. Numerous shuttles were displayed on the screen. Telfer thought he heard something along the lines of "Which one should I buy?" Daimon looked up upon hearing Telfer's entry and closed the screen hastily. He coughed before solemnly speaking.
"We are going to continue sparring today. Follow me."
Daimon stroked his beard as he slumped against the chair. Telfer looked at his master curiously. He had said they were sparring yet he was still on the chair. Daimon stretched and cracked his knuckles. However, instead of stepping into the ring, he started walking towards the entrance. Telfer followed behind his master and wondered what was going on. They had arrived at the red gate of the Thunder Pavilion. A ghoul appeared before them. His horns were extremely short but unlike Telfer's horns which were dull, the horns glinted and ended with a point. A black plague mask covered his face. Besides the difference in rank, the military uniform he wore was similar to the one Sheryl was wearing. The ghoul bowed and clasped his shoulders.
"Greetings, I am Darius of the Intelligence Division of the Ghoul Legion. I presume you must be Daimon of the Thunder Pavilion. And the one behind you should be your disciple Timothy. After seeing your discple's display on the Duelling Arena the other day, the Ghoul Legion decided to recruit Timothy. Please step aside."
The ghoul stood up and walked towards Telfer. Suddenly, a tremendous bloodlust spilled forth from Daimon. The ghoul paused for a moment before putting his hand on Telfer's shoulder.
"Oh ho, just because you are someone of the Black Crows, you think you can walk in and take MY DISCPLE? Too think the Ghoul Legion are so bold. Agvak wasted his time on a bunch of bloody fools."
Daimon grasped Darius's hand firmly and hissed. Darius turned towards Daimon and spoke.
"Elder should know about the situation. To beat someone above you by 2 levels is an amazing feat and the Ghoul Legion must recruit this person."
Darius turned back to Telfer and prepared to walk off with him. Telfer looked back to his master.
"A duel. If he crushes you, you can't recruit my discple anymore."
The bloodlust around Daimon exploded and Telfer froze up. Darius, however was unaffected and turned his head around. Underneath the mask, a chilling glare shot out. A laugh rang out.
"Crush me, a fourth level? Very well, I agree."
Daimon turned around and headed down the stairs. Sandwiched in between the 2 of them, Telfer kept quiet and descended down the stairs. However, instead of going to the usual room to spar, Daimon opened the doors to a massive room. Telfer covered his eyes as bright light entered his eyes. At the centre of the room was a raised circular platform that was surrounded by a moat. Within the moat were countless crocodiles who jumped and snapped their jaws. Telfer shuddered as he took in the view.
"I haven't opened this room in a while. Make sure to not fall in or there will be nothing left of you."
Daimon stepped onto the centre of the stage and placed his hands behind his back. Darius hopped onto one side of the stage. He raised his head and beckoned for Telfer to enter as well. Telfer checked his status.
Status Window Name: Telfer Berkley Age: 12 Race: Ghoul Gender: Male Stats Health: 130/130 (60/60) Heath regen.: 11/min (20/min) Energy: 75/75 (100/100) Energy Regen.: 4/min (8/ min) Mana: 40/40 (40/40) Mana Regen.: 2/min Strength: 6.5 (8) Agility: 7 (10) Dexterity: 6.5 (8) Stamina: 8 (10) Intelligence: 8 (5) Wisdom: 8 (4) Skills
Ghoul:
Mass Transfer
Immortal Guard
Magic Spells:
Poison Hand (Poison Magic)
Cloak (Illusion Magic)
Self created skills:
Yama's Strike
"I'm all healed up. A 4th level? Doable." Telfer thought inwardly and took a deep breath. He stepped onto the stage and took his stance in front of Darius. Telfer could feel Darius glaring at him under the mask. Daimon looked at the 2 of them in the eye and said.
"The fight will go on until someone surrenders. If there is nothing else, BEGIN!"
Telfer leapt back immediately as Darius lunged forward. Telfer looked around. Darius had completely disappeared from his line of sight. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over Telfer. Telfer looked up and was greeted with Darius stamping his foot straight down. Telfer stepped to the side as a crater formed beneath Darius. Telfer activated Mass Transfer and swung his fist at Darius's head.
"Roaring Fist!"
Darius threw his own punch at Telfer. The two fists collided. However, Telfer was flung back towards the edge of the stage. As Telfer was finding his balance, Darius rushed at him. A leg shot at Telfer's ankles in an effort to throw him over.
"Mass Transfer!"
Telfer jumped up into the air and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The last strike had been too close. Fortunately, the sparring with Daimon had improved his spatial awareness. Darius looked at Telfer soaring through the air and followed his position on the ground.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Cloak."
Telfer disappeared into thin air and Darius could only look around continuously. Telfer landed on the ground softly and circled Darius. Suddenly, Darius whipped his head in Telfer's direction and swept his leg at Telfer. The foot missed Telfer by a hair and Telfer breathed a sigh of relief. But not for long. The leg came back up and formed an arc as it stomped down. "Now!" Telfer grabbed the foot and pulled.
"Ah!"
Darius was helplessly slammed into the ground and a sharp pain shot up from his ankle. Telfer cranked the ankle as much as he could. Suddenly, a foot slammed into Telfer's face, separating Telfer and Darius.
*Snap*
The foot under Telfer's arm went limp and blue blood poured out of it like a fountain. For some reason, the blood seemed to sting when Telfer touched it. "He's trained in Poison Body?" Telfer gritted his teeth and threw the ankle away. Opposite him, Darius looked at the blood pouring out of his leg. The bone had been snapped off due to the twisting and kicking. Pieces of pulled skin clung onto the end of the leg where the foot was.
"Hmph, to think I was forced to this point by a newborn. Time to end this."
A lump of flesh erupted from Darius's leg and molded itself into a foot. Suddenly, Darius's entire body started expanding. The muscles became more defined as veins popped underneath them. The horns on his head which were originally short shot of his head and grew to at least half as long as Telfer's body. The mask fell away to reveal a scarred face and bloodshot eyes. Darius snarled and leapt towards Telfer. "Shit, what is this increase?" Telfer activated Mass Transfer and stepped back. Unfortunately, one of the horns punctured Telfer's body, leaving a bloody trail as Darius dragged it across his body. Blood started gushing out of Telfer's body. Telfer clutched his waist as his intestines spilled out. The flesh started regenerating but the intestines continued to spill out. Telfer's face went pale and his vision blurred."Fuck, I'm actually going to die here." Telfer thought inwardly as he pulled at his intestines on the ground. Darius raised his arm and shot towards Telfer. A sea of red filled Telfer's vision and Telfer lost control of his body.
"Host will enter a comatose state if more damage is taken."
Darius was already in front of Telfer. The arm flew towards Telfer's heart, threatening to dig it out.
"GOTCHA BITCH!"
Telfer activated Cloak and leapt over Darius. Darius was stunned for a moment as his hand hit nothing. Suddenly, the intestines on the ground shot behind him and a leg stomped him at the back of his knees. Darius kneeled on the ground as Telfer yanked the intestines on his neck. Blood spurted out of Telfer's wound as he tightened his hold on the intestines. Darius grappled at the intestines in desperation but the intestines held strong. Darius roared beneath him and jumped up. Telfer was now underneath Darius as they fell to the ground. Telfer scrambled up onto Darius but he found himself below again as Darius spun his body around. An arm shot out towards him.
"IMMORTAL GUARD!"
Telfer's face hardened as the arm slammed into him, sparying blue blood everywhere. Some of the blood landed onto Darius's face, causing him to be blinded.
"POISON HAND!"
Telfer stabbed at Darius's eyes with his hand doused in poison. Darius screamed out in agony beneath him. However, the arms did not stop coming. Darius rained blow after blow on Telfer. Immortal Guard could only block half of them, and cuts and wounds appeared all over Telfer's body. Telfer flew into the air along with the intestines. Darius felt the hold around his neck tighten. Telfer grinned as he yanked the intestines, causing Darius's face to turn white. Telfer smiled as he looked at Darius beneath him.
"YAMA'S STRIKE!"
Telfer pulled Darius towards him with his intestines. The intestines exploded due to the increase in pressure. Telfer ignored the wave of pain and pushed his arm towards Darius's exposed neck.
"Telfer wins."
An arm pushed Telfer's arm to the side, causing it to hit the ground as Telfer fell unconscious. Daimon looked at Darius and Telfer before sighing and putting them both on his shoulders, disappearing to some other part of the Thunder Pavilion.
5 December Year 2367
Telfer woke up in a container. He was soaking in a green fluid. Darius was beside him in another container. They were both in what looked like a medical bay. Telfer slumped back into the container and checked his status.
Status Window Name: Telfer Berkley Age: 12 Race: Ghoul Gender: Male Stats Health: 20/130 (60/60) Heath regen.: 13/min (22/min) Energy: 10/75 (100/100) Energy Regen.: 5/min (10/ min) Mana: 13/40 (40/40) Mana Regen.: 2/min (2/ min) Strength: 7 (9) Agility: 7 (10) Dexterity: 7 (9) Stamina: 10 (12) Intelligence: 8 (5) Wisdom: 8 (4) Skills
Ghoul:
Mass Transfer
Immortal Guard
Magic Spells:
Poison Hand (Poison Magic)
Cloak (Illusion Magic)
Self created skills:
Yama's Strike
The last fight had boosted his stats and allowed him to grow even more. Just then, Daimon walked into the room. He sat on the floor and observed the 2 of them. Darius was stirring as well. Daimon walked over to the containers that held both of them and twisted a similar knob on both. The green fluid was flushed out and replaced by a golden fluid. Telfer could feel that his strength was returning to him rapidly as compared to when the green fluid was used. After around 5 minutes, Telfer was ejected out of the container. Darius was already standing there, looking at him coldly. A table and some chairs appeared in the medical room and Daimon invited Telfer and Darius to sit down before walking out. Daimon returned with a few plates of magical beast meat. His master beckoned for both of them to eat while taking a seat. The 3 of them ate silently.
"Bladeteeth Crocodiles. That's really expensive."
Darius picked up the meat and commented before eating it. Daimon looked at Darius silently and asked.
"Do you guys still have them?"
Darius put down the meat in his hand and frowned.
"Yes, the commander is currently using the lord's gauntlets. Your discple is pretty good. I accept this loss. From now on, the Ghoul Legion will not recruit him anymore, but he can still join the Ghoul Legion of his own will. We will gladly accept him."
Darius swallowed the pieces of meat one after another while Daimon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Telfer ate the meat as he looked at the both of them.
"That's good. You guys already lost the sword. If you lost the gauntlets as well, I will personally end all of your lives."
Daimon flicked the piece of meat while Darius ate the meat without any response. Darius polished his plate off and stood up.
"Thank you for treating me. You have raised your discple really well, to be able to beat a 4th level, it is a great pity that we are unable to recruit him. As for the sword, we will get it back." Darius walked out of the room and disappeared. Telfer looked at his master and asked quietly.
"Master, who is Darius referring to? It couldn't possibly be..."
"Yes. I should tell you since you are Agvak's successor. There were 3 parts to Agvak's inheritance, the will which is the box, the gauntlets, which the Ghoul Legion keeps and the sword, which is lost. Those fools lost it in the fires of war. So technically, your inheritance is not complete."
Daimon sighed and rubbed his forehead. Suddenly, Telfer slapped his forehead as he realized something. His master looked at him questioningly.
"Master, I actually have this in my possession, we could have just chased him out."
Telfer pulled Sheryl's insignia out before his master. His master frowned and took the insignia from him to inspect it.
"Oh wow, it's real. Where did you get it? But it wouldn't have worked anyway. You could chase them away this time, but they will send more and more. They really want talent this badly. They would also ask you why you have this. I'm going to keep this. The more important thing is, Timothy, you are going to go out and train tomorrow."