“haaaa....” – Riot
A white smoke came out from his mouth, indicating that cold season is coming. With a lot incident happening yesterday, he could only release a long sigh as he couldn’t start building his house. He ate the delicious apple that was just freshly plucked from the tree absentmindedly, while sighing again.
“What’s wrong?” – Viria
A lively fairy asked him, concerned that something was bothering him. She was happily sitting at Riot’s shoulder when she heard him sigh.
Riot turned his head to see the girl. A humanoid creature, just as tall as his hand with crumpled wings coming from her back. If just looking at her as she is, she looked like a girl that was still in her early twenties. She had a long purplish blonde hair gently swaying from her back. A gentle violet light – which she calls ‘aura’ – was cover her body, indicating that she had strong affinity with magic.
~what wrong she says... gurl is you dense?!~
“Ah nah, it’s nothing... a lot things just happened yesterday that I forgot to start on my project. But with the goblins gone and with you guys helping me in my garden, I could now start earlier with a lot of spare hours.” – Riot
He answered wryly as he heard Glendell’s comment. He looked at the other fairies happily tending his garden, from watering to harvesting; they all had big smiles on their face. Even though the apples were much heavier than them, they carried it easily as if it was nothing. Not only that, the produce was bigger and tastier.
But the problem was the crop. It wasn’t like the produce was smaller because there were fairies also eating it; in fact Riot was happy that the fairies help him reducing the waste in food. But the problem was what he saw this morning, the produce tripled. Countless of apples can be seen hanging from the branches, the bananas were also bigger and heavier – which was amazing that the tree didn’t break – and even his potato’s yield was so much that he had a problem where he would stash them.
“H-hey, how did this happen? There’s a lot more produce than what I made yesterday or the days when I hadn’t met you guys. Did you do something?” – Riot
“Huh? We’re Garden Fairies remember? You have a wonderful garden here! It is livelier than we had in Osteria and your plants have such strong vitality that they’re happily bearing fruits everyday! I haven’t seen any of these floras in any place that we had gone and they are much yummier!” – Viria
‘Garden Fairies huh... they’re much stronger than they look...’
Riot recall yesterday’s event when he went outside of the cave...
----------------------------------------
“Wa-wait Mister!” – Viria
Riot stepped outside of the cave and stopped when he heard the fairy called out to him. The cool breeze welcomed him as he stepped out the hot cave, making his mood somewhat lighter. He turned to the entrance of the cave and saw the fairies flying out of it, but was shocked when he saw Viria was being carried by her mother. The all stopped no; hover, right before him so that all of them were on his eye level.
“What's wrong with your wings?” – Riot
“...” – Viria
“The Goblin King damaged her wings. It would take a while for it to recover.” – Fairy Mom
Her mother answered for her, as she was having a hard time to answer him. She went in front of the group, leaving her daughter in the care of the other fairies.
‘She’s must be the leader of this group of fairies. I must say, they all look really beautiful right?’
~while I do agree with master, with them being beautiful. But I must correct you; they are what you call pixies. Can’t you tell from their look?~
‘Huh? The hell are you talking about? Pixies have no wings and they are a bunch of mischievous creatures. Clearly they are fairies.’
~pixies!~ ‘fairies!’
As the two were bantering on and on whether the group in front of them was either a pixie or a fairy, the leader thought that Riot was displeased with them as he didn’t utter any words. The group was flustered as he remained silent and they didn’t know what to do. But their leader quickly followed up in order for the conversation to flow.
“I-I’m sorry, where are my manners. My name is Hadia, the leader of this Garden – “
~pixies!~ ’fairies!’
“ – Fairies.”
‘Yes!!!’ ~Nooooooooooooooo!~
“ The one that you saved was my rude daughter Viria. May I ask for our saviour’s name?” – Hadia
“Mom! I wasn’t rude! I just forgot to give mister my name. Hmmp!” – Viria
Viria interjects to her mother casual jab at her, clearly displeased by it. The other fairies just smiled by the Mother-child banter that just naturally happened even they’ve just gotten out from their near demise. They waited for Riot to tell his name to them as they were all eager to learn it.
“Oh right... Uhmmm... I go by the name Marcus Salazar. Close friends call me Marc while most people know me as Riot. Well, ‘most people’ are already dead or gone so yeah... what can I help you with?” – Riot
Sadness could be seen from his eyes, but he was wearing his mask so they didn’t notice the sudden change of his emotion. He was still speaking clearly as he finished his sentence, knowing that the fairies are clearly asking for aid.
“Marcus Salazar is it? Can I call you Lord Marc?” – Hadia
“Marc’s just fine.” – Riot
“Then Marc, even though we owe you our lives but with what happened to my people, there is nothing that we can give to you as a mean of thanks.” – Hadia
“It’s fine. I’m just sorry for the fact that I didn’t kill the goblins much sooner.” – Riot
They were surprised at what he said, from what they’ve understood; he was most likely visiting this place frequently and had the power to stop it but didn’t. Doubts begin to form on Hadia’s head when she heard what she said.
“... is that right? Marc, I know that this is asking a lot from our saviour, but can we at least see our benefactor’s face?” – Hadia
‘?’
~let them see master, I want to see how they would react seeing a demon... fufufu... maybe they can answer our question with this demon problem.~
“...alright, but let me tell you something first. No matter what you see, I am telling you that I am 100% (~92%~) human.” – Riot
‘huh? What did you just say? 92%?’
~Because you’re a sadistic master...~
“ ?. Of course you are. With your build, either you’re a big boned elf or a human. You're also not a demon as you don’t have any horns sticking out from your forehead.” – Viria
Viria innocently respond to what Riot said, but the others were on guard making him smile wryly. He then to proceed slowly removing his mask; It was a lot of hassle, as there were zippers and clips to take off. When he successfully removed all the locks that secured his mask, he pulled it off and smiled at them.
“Well? How do I look?”
~Let me hear ya scream!!!!~
All fairies opened their eyes wide as they looked at their saviour’s face. Some thought that he had an ugly scar, which was why he was wearing it. Others thought that it was a device that helped him communicate with them, which was proven wrong right away when he talked to them fluently in the fairy tongue when he took off the mask.
They saw the features in his face. His eyes were sharp, as if a great eagle was looking at its prey. His braided beard was so long that it reached his chest as if saying that he was proud of it. Long bridge nose which can make females feel envy when they saw it. All of it can be seen in any human that they’ve had encountered; all except for one thing. What made them shaken was the colour of his hair. His long hair was the colour the moonless night, even his eyes and beard were of the same colour. No human or any other race has that colour; nobody even dared painted their hair with that colour as it is a taboo for all races. Because that was the indication that one was of the notorious demon clan.
“N-No w-w-way!” – Fairy 1
“I-I can’t move!” – Fairy 2
“Oh Goddess Sylph! What have we done to anger you so much?!” – Fairy 3
~yep, as I've thought...~
All fairies fell slowly to the ground as they were weakening by fear. Some tried to run but their legs won’t respond. Others cursed their gods for the unlucky things that happened to them. But two of those fairies still had light in their eyes. It was Hadia and her daughter, Viria.
Hadia was on guard, as she was giving Riot a sharp look. While Viria was just looking at his hair in amazement which made Riot think that the girl was either brave or stupid. Riot slowly raised his hands in defeat as he saw all their reactions.
“This always happened when I let people see my face; I’ve been labelled as a demon without even telling me the reason why. From what I can see, you know the answer. Could you enlighten me?” – Riot
“Marcus Salazar! Leave us! Don’t dare to attack us from behind!” – Hadia
“M-mom!!” –Viria
Riot looked at Hadia as she shouted his name. There was a strange colour mixing with her pink eyes. Her daughter was surprised at why her mother would use a hypnotizing spell that would instantly be effective if one looks in her eyes. She tried stopping her mother, but it was already too late as Riot was already looking in her eyes.
‘Hoh... hypnotic magic huh...’
~and here I thought we could finally see some new magic. Her spell is instantaneous but it is much weaker than Magnus...~
‘Yeah, I was curious on what she would do. She has a very good person as she didn’t order me to kill myself.’
~looks like saving her race, she doesn’t want to kill her saviour.~
“Be Quiet Viria! I won’t kill him, I will give you time to escape while I hold him off.” – Hadia
Glendell was right on target, as Hadia only intends to stop Riot to let her race escape. She may sacrifice herself in this situation but she couldn’t kill their benefactor even when he was a demon. She was angry at herself as she instantly used her magic at him even when he just saved them.
“No mom! Stop it! He’s not a demon! He’s human! He has no horns and I can’t feel any magic inside his body!” – Viria
“That’s what I just said, no horns... *sigh* looks like you’re wasting my time. I’ll leave you be.” – Riot
Viria desperately tried to stop her mother. But she was surprised as he also chimed in the conversation. Not only she, but all the fairies were surprised as he wasn’t affected by the hypnotism. No one has ever escaped or broke this spell before so all they could do was look astonished at the figure right before them.
“H-how?! No, Wait! Wait please!” – Viria
As Riot was leaving the little fairies, Viria desperately called him to stop. Annoyed by his time being wasted, he looked back at them smiling, but everyone can see that he was already irritated.
“What is it?” – Riot
“Y-You want to know the answer as why you were called a demon right? I can tell you but on one condition!” – Viria
“Viria! Stop this instant” – Hadia
“Hoooh... so what’s your condition?” – Riot
Viria didn’t think Riot would agree right away with her as he was asking her condition. She was rattled as she didn’t know on how to say her condition. He was clearly waiting on her with amuse face, making her puff her small cheeks.
“No! Before I tell you with the condition, answer my questions first! I-is that alright?” – Viria
Hadia only put a palm on her face as she shakes her head; clearly she was not happy with how her daughter handles a negotiation. She and her kin only kept quiet as they too want to know what Riot was. He broke from her spell easily and wasn’t even angry at them. He only told them that they were wasting his time and was suppose to leave without harming them.
“... okay. But only if you also answer my questions too?” – Riot
“Deal!” – Viria
~what an idiotic girl...~
All the fairies lowered their heads on how Viria answered right away without thinking. They didn’t interrupt the two as there were no intentions of harm from the opposite party.
“...Deal, I’ll let you ask first your series of question then you’ll answer mine okay? So begin.” – Riot
“R-right! Uhmmmm... Are you really a human?” – Viria
“Yes. Next?” – Riot
“T-then you said earlier that you could’ve had killed the goblins earlier. Then why didn’t you?” – Viria
“Sharp girl... it was because I am also living in this forest. I’m helping, in my way, with this forest. The goblins lived here first so I had no right to chase them away from this land. But lately, they were growing larger and larger, destroying this forest; so I had to eliminate them, which was today. Done?” – Riot
“You're living in the Forest? Alone?” – Viria
They were surprised as to why he was living in the forest. Humans tend to flock together as they were stronger in numbers. It hard to live alone in a forest filled with dangerous creatures, as there was no help if they would attack you suddenly.
“Yes and... physically yes.”
~well excuse me for not having a body...~
“Then lastly... Are you the one that was said that a demon appeared in the battlefield eight months ago and killed all the people?”
“I killed all the people?! No way! I wouldn’t survive in that chaotic war myself! I was somehow drag into the middle of it and tried to escape. I only killed the people who barricaded my escape. So I only killed two people. No wait, there that archer and the other orc, so four. No, there was also those cavalry... so around ten-ish?” –Riot
“Ten-ish?” – Viria
“You said it was your last but yeah, it more or below ten. I couldn’t remember it; I only killed them because they wouldn’t listen to words. And after that I escaped to this forest and there you go, I’m living here.” – Riot
“Thank you... so what’s your question? I may not answer it all as I might not know it, so is it okay for my kin to answer them?” – Viria
“They are more than welcome.” – Riot
Riot smiled as she honoured her word. Not only that, she would let her kinsmen answer some questions, only if she didn’t know it; which made Riot respect them, as they didn’t object.
“Well then, do you know the name of this forest?” – Riot
“Eh? You're living here but you didn’t know it?!” – Viria
All fairies were surprised when he asked his question. They thought that he would ask them about the hypnotic spell that was used on him. They were not ready to his first question as all of them had a stupid look on their faces.
“My turn to question, remember?” – Riot
“Ah right! I’m sorry... the name of this forest is Hervantle Forest, one of the most dangerous forest of the Jörterra continent.” – Viria
“Next, why were you captured?”
“T-that is...” – Viria
“Let me handle that one...” – Hadia
It seems that they were a peaceful race as their only concerned was flora of the land. They had no offensive abilities as their magic’s can only do hypnotism and reflect lights, which can hide them from anyone that wish to harm them.
They lived with a group of elves that lives in a forest, which serves as an outpost, which was near a human settlement. Their task there, so that they can live peacefully with the elves, was the production of foods from the flora. They had no qualms with it, as they enjoyed caring for the forest.
But all those elves there were the bad crop from the elven army as they harass them daily. They made fun of them, even to the point some of the fairies would get hurt. But they didn’t mind it, as it would only increase the antagonism of the elves on them.
One day, one of the elves draws his arrow on a human hunter who was in their forest, saying that the forest was the elves’ territory. The human left peacefully without any word, but the elf let loose his arrow and hit the back of the man. They all laughed as the man ran away from them heavily bleeding. But that was their mistake, as the man was the father-in-law of the head of that human settlement.
The human army retaliated by burning the forest. The elves escaped, panicking that they would get burned and left the Fairies undefended. Luckily, one of the soldiers saw them and was hypnotized to let them escape from the inclusion of the forest. But unluckily, they were captured by the goblin using a special kind of metal that negates magic. They were given to the Goblin King as it was believed that eating fairies would increase one’s magic power.
“Seriously?” – Riot
“Yes, that was why the Goblin King was so powerful. But somehow you just took him with a one blow from your strange pistol...” – Hadia
‘Well that was a peacemaker shot to its face, which has high penetrating and explosive power.’
“I got lucky... next is... hmmm... why do you think that I was a demon?”
Hadia smiled, knowing full well that only a fool would answer that. Seeing that, Riot needs to fulfil the Viria’s condition first. All the fairies smiled as they saw that he tried to trick them by answering that question.
“Fufu... you know I wo –“ – Hadia
“Oh that’s easy; it’s the colour of your hair. Only demons had that kind special characteristic. No other living race can produce that kind of colour. But yours much shinier than theirs.” – Viria
But Hadia forget that she gave birth to an airheaded child. Their faces hardened to the point it looked like a statue, forgetting to cover her mouth. Naturally, Riot smiled as he knew the girl would answer it.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
~Check and mate. They never thought that Viria girl would absentmindedly answer it... Fufufu.. truly a natural airhead!~
“Thank you for your honest answer. Now I’m done with my enquiries.” – Riot
“You’re welcome! Now, you first need to do my condition so that I can tell you... eh?” – Viria
......
Silence envelopes the place, as all the fairies and even Riot looked at Viria with blank eyes. Viria herself just noticed her mistake as she trembles and looked at everybody for help.
“Eh?... Eh?... g-guys?” – Viria
The fairies turned their heads away from Viria slowly as tears were forming in their eyes.
“Eh?!... M-mom? Mom?!” – Viria
“Beloved husband, I tried my best... I tried but *Sobs*” – Hadia
Hadia looked at the sky doing a monologue to his departed husband as tears fell uncontrollably on her face. She looked like she has given up on something gods knows what.
Viria, with teary face, looked to Riot as she didn’t know what to do. She was on the verge of crying as she was clearly asking for help. Riot smiled at her as he was having fun on what just happened.
~...sadist~
“*Sigh*... so, what is your condition?”
When Glendell commented on how she treated the girl, Riot sighed and kneeled down and asked the girl on what she wanted. The other party was shocked on why Riot would do it, as clearly he had everything that he wanted to know for free. They would’ve understand that Riot would just walk away from them instead of doing the condition but they had never expected that he would still honour it.
Viria was most surprised as her mouth was still open from what Riot had done.
“Well? I took a liking to your race because you’re funny. So what do you want me to do?” – Riot
‘Brave and peaceful, willing to sacrifice themselves just to save their family... just like her...’
Viria jumped at an amazing speed to his face, hugging him as she started to cry. He waited for her to stop and places her in the palm of his hand and asked again.
“So? Is it helping you out of here? Or maybe sending you to a new elven territory?” – Riot
“Actually... I want to see your home.” – Viria
‘Eh?’
~Eh?~
“””””Eh?””””” – Fairies
She smiled cheerfully, as all the others were shocked at what she said. Even Riot and Glendell didn’t expect that to come out from her mouth. He was okay on helping them out on finding some new elves – as he also want to see one – to live with. But he was never ready on letting them see his home, as they would know where to find him if they decided to let the elves attack him.
~I’m not sure if she’s an airhead or clever...~
“What’s wrong Marc? I thought you would honour our agreement?” – Viria
All of the fairies smiled as they somehow knew what Viria was thinking and was also looking at Riot. Viria looked at Riot innocently, but her eyes show some mischievousness in it.
‘Damn... They also have this playfulness, just like her.’
~Oh Snap! They played you good son! Never thought they could outsmart you...~
‘Well, at least they won’t betray me for the time being, seeing I save them.’
“*Sigh*... Okay, it is a thirty minutes walking distance from here. Shall we go?” – Riot
“Yes! Could you carry me?” – Viria
Riot put Viria on his shoulders as they were walking through the trees. They passed through countless of dead goblins that was scattered near the cave. An orange light was floating besides Riot’s face; it was a male fairy that had orange buzzed cut hair. It was looking at his face as if he was some kind of an exotic creature.
“Varu! Stop looking at him like his some kind of a bizarre creature!” – Viria
‘...bizarre?’ ~fufufu...~
“Hehe! Sorry sis! Hey mister did you beat them all by yourself?!” – Varu
The fairy was now in front of his face, eyes glittering with expectations. Riot was having difficulty on how to deal with him, as he was in front of him making it harder to walk forward unless he answer him. The other fairies were also quiet as they also want to know.
“...Yes, I was lucky as they were stupid and had the jump on them.”
“Ohhh!! So cool! You’re so cool bro!” – Varu
‘...bro?’ ~fufufu...~
Varu was flying around Riot’s head as he was so elated for some reason. Viria was scolding him while he just ignored her and kept on flying around his head. The other fairies were just laughing at the scene while Riot just ignored them.
~master, those bodies might rot and would destroy the land. Why don’t you let the cats clean them up?~
‘Is it their turn? Well, this is their last goblin feast so let’s let them be... ’
“Ow!” - Varu
Riot suddenly stopped, making Varu bump into his head. The others also stopped as they were curious as to why he stopped.
“Marc? Why did we stop?” – Hadia
“Oh! We’re here? Where’s your home?” – Viria
(There’s a limit on how dense you could be!) – Everyone
“No dunderbrain! Bro has a reason to why he would stop, right bro?” – Varu
“Ah... yeah, I just need to clean this mess first. A lot of decaying bodies would harm the land, so they need to be tidied up first.” – Riot
“But won’t that take up time? It would be moonrise when you would’ve finished that up.” – Hadia
“Don’t worry... I’ve got the right tool for the job.” – Riot
*Whistle!!!*
A long, loud whistle was released from his mouth, making the fairies cover their ears. After he stopped his whistling, he smiled and was looking to the trees further past them. The fairies opened their ears and were waiting for something to happen. A minute of long silence happened but there no change in the scenery. Varu asked, as his curiosity won him over.
“What are we doing bro?” – Varu
“Just wait and see... oh! Never mind, they're here!” – Riot
“Kyaahhhh!!!” – Viria
Out of the shadows of the trees, one by one, large cats slowly walked towards Riot. They had silvery furs, with light blue stripes across the body, enhancing their majestic beautify. Long sharp fangs coming out from their mouths, making them more dangerous than a normal tiger. It was the same species of monsters who tried to kill him in his first night in the forest.
The fairies were scared as they all hid behind Riot. They knew those animals and saw them destroy several villages. They were strong individually but in packs, they were almost invincible as it would take an army just to drive them out. The alpha looked at Viria as she was hiding behind Riot’s beard, but decided to ignore it and went to proceed walking to Riot.
Riot pats its head as it came near him and pointed at the dead bodies. Seeing the food that awaits, it went along with its pack to the goblins. They were eating it happily, as their tails were waving indicating their mood.
“Well then, let’s proceed.” – Riot
“Wa-wait!” – Hadia
Now all fairies were now in front of his face, blocking his path. They were all scared, seeing a pack of those monsters walking past through them. They clearly want answers with that one, thought Riot.
“How in Sylph’s name did you tame those Snow Ligers?! They don’t listen to anybody, and attacks those who trespass their land ruthlessly!” – Hadia
“Ah, so their names are Snow Ligers huh... well it fits them perfectly.”
Riot nods in satisfaction as he saw the Ligers eating the corpses on the ground.
“You didn’t even know that?!” – Hadia
“Bro is so awesome!” – Varu
“No... I’m ignorant to this forest’s namesake so I don’t know every creatures name here. And I didn’t tame them; we’re more likely neighbours in this forest. At first they attacked me relentlessly as I tried to cross their territory but now, I’ve somehow got my message through them and gave them food. Now can we walk? You can ask me question while we’re walking.” – Riot
The fairies asked questions every time they saw dangerous animals that would meekly go to Riot. They thought the monsters would attack them but it would just watch them curiously or just ignore the fairies. Varu was getting more thrilled every time a new monster would appear, as it wouldn’t harm them. Hadia was busy stopping Varu from going near the every monster they met. While Viria, who was lately quiet, was napping on the makeshift nest on Riot’s beard.
“You are so awesome bro! You are like Ahmid! He’s a forest god who protects all things, flora and fauna, in his dominion. To think we thought you were a demon, it’s a good thing that Viria has good instinct and trusted you. She has the sharpest instinct in our race, sharper than a Muk Wolf!” – Varu
“H-hey! I’m not some animal you know! Hmmph!” – Viria
Both Fairies and Riot laughed at her when she woke up from just hearing an insult, indicating she really had sharp instinct. She hid inside his beard, embarrassed from what just happened. Making them laugh even louder.
“This is the best! We met with bro and the monsters here won’t attack us, how peaceful is our future! Hope you be kind with us as your new neighbour! Magnificent bro!
~looks like awesome boy knows other words beside awesome... fufufu... wait, what?~
“What did you just say now? Neighbours?”
Riot stopped from his tracks as he looked at Varu. The other fairies just smiled wryly as if they were caught from a prank. He looked at them and turned to Hadia, who was their leader.
“Well, we were observing you when we were walking. How you treat the floras and faunas in this forest, we were now sure that you weren't lying about being a demon. As no demon would care this much for small lives like the plants you avoided to step. I’m sorry about what happened before, as we were pushed to the edge by what has happened to us. I’ll take all the responsibilities from the action I’ve made, so please don’t chase us out of this forest.” – Hadia
~fufufu, they don’t know that you’re willing to burn a forest just to eliminate a target.~
‘Well, I have no intention in burning this area and that was in the past. You should have the same opinion as me when I say that this place is really peaceful, right?’
~Yeah~
Hadia desperately bowed her head as she was asking for permission to live in this forest. Riot looked at all the other fairies and they were also bowing. Even Viria was bowing, which was a surprised as she had understood for once.
“But what about the elves? Won’t they be looking for you guys?” – Riot
“The elves abandoned us as we are useless except for food making. Even the gods left us when we desperately pleaded for their help. No one but you answered to our prayers, the so called ‘demon in the battlefield’. We won’t be a hindrance to your quiet life. We can stay a little further from you so that you can still enjoy your privacy. So please? Don’t chase us out of here.” – Viria
Viria pleaded with tears in her eyes, as she looked at Riot, seriously trying to hold it back from falling. The other Fairies were already crying, moved from the situation where Viria is pleading for the survival of her race. Even Varu was helplessly crying.
“Well this is not my forest, so you have every much right as me living here. And even I get lonely with no one to talk to...” – Riot
~ah... master is just treating me like a wind... oh woe is me!~
All the fairies flied with joy as Riot accepted their suggestion on living in the forest. The future for them was bleak but with Riot coming to their life, it gave them new hope and a new future to look forward to. Riot walked with them past the clearing towards his home.
----------------------------------------
“Marc?.. Marc!.. Marcus!” – Hadia
“Huh? Ah Hadia, good morning.” – Riot
“Fufu... Good morning, I was calling you for a while now as you were staring of in space. What were you thinking about?” – Hadia
The Silver fairy landed on the other side of Riot’s shoulder, also looking rather worried for him. He smiled wryly as it has been becoming a habit of his being quiet as he had no one to talk to for eight months.
“Sorry about that. I was just worrying on what to do with the excess foods we have. The farm animals can’t eat all of it, they might rot and it would be a waste.” – Riot
“Oh you don’t have to worry about that. When we, garden fairies, plucked them out, we put spells from them that won’t let them rot if they are still within the forest’s dominion. But once you take them out here, they would start to aged normally. This was why the elves wanted us, helping them with the upcoming war” – Hadia
~ohh... so the forest is now our personal refrigerator, nice.~
Hadia’s mood darkens when she talked about the war. Riot didn’t care about the war and just let the topic slide as he too knows the experience in that field.
“Then the problem now is what do we do with the excess? It would pile up and that would be really bad if we die being squashed by it.” – Riot
“Well, how about selling them in the near settlement?” – Viria
The girl chimes in with a sudden proposal. Riot thought about her suggestion and it was actually pretty good. He can save up the produce and go to the nearest settlement and sell it all.
“Oh yeah, you can also learn about the human’s culture and can do some trading. ‘Hitting two fairies with one stone’ as they would say.” – Hadia
“...Yeah, I think I would do that. But I have to make a cart for it; well I can just make it the night before leaving the forest. We’ll sell them once a week so that they wouldn’t be curious as to where we took it. I need to have someone with me who knows the way of the human culture. By any chance, do you know Hadia?” – Riot
“I’m sorry Marc, all I know is hearsay from the elves. The only option you have is...” – Hadia
“Master, I’ve return.” - ???
A deep voiced gently greeted Riot. Riot looked at his back and saw a human bowing down to him. He had some scratches from his hands while holding some large eggs.
“Welcome back. You know, you don’t have to bow every time you talk to me, Aaron.” – Riot
~no matter how many times we verify, he really looks just like him.~
‘...yeah...’
Riot smiled when he told Aaron about that. It was quite awkward for him as he saw a familiar man bowing to him. Riot tried appealing a number of times but Aaron wouldn’t budge about it.
“That’s unthinkable for someone like the useless me would do.” – Aaron
~oh, he would wince from this if he ever saw this scene!~
“Meet me halfway, how about placing your right hand to your chest and do a slight bow. That is how we greet someone with high respect.” – Riot
“I can do that.” – Aaron
“Good, now you can put those eggs in the tent. And come back to me so that we can do our morning exercise.” – Riot
Aaron smiled and bows like how a European butler would bow and left walking to Riot’s tent. Riot tried to leave the fairies at the table of the garden to do some light exercise with Aaron. But they would just follow him, as the two have already finished tending his garden.
“Hey, let me join your exercise! I’m pretty good at it!” – Viria
“I think it would be very dangerous for you, as both of us would spar.” – Riot
“Do you really do that with him every day? Who would’ve thought that skeleton would turn back to a human when you accepted its fidelity.” – Hadia
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Hadia looked at him with amazement when she remembers the scene where the skeleton was waiting for Riot at his place. They were first scared of it, but Riot just walks towards it without any fear. He had an annoyed look at his face, thinking that more and more situation arise in just a day. And night was already slowly creeping its way in the area.
The skeleton saw him and slowly walks towards Riot. When they met halfway, Riot was already readying himself for a fight. But the skeleton kneeled in front of Riot, made him taken aback for the sudden action. There was never a time that the skeleton did that, so Riot was weary of what it would do.
“Ma-master... Accept... m-my... loyal...ty... I will... fo..llow... y-you... till my... bo..dy shatters..” – Skeleton
It was having a hard time talking, seeing that it was a pile of bones. But from what he heard, it wants to serve him. The fairies were in awe as they had witness a monster wanting to form a pact willingly.
“Marcus! This is the first time that a monster willingly wants to serve somebody. Normally, you need to beat it to submission and force it to form a contract with you. But this Skeletal Knight kneeled to without any fuss; not only that, it’s a unique one as it can talk.” – Hadia
“Not only is it much stronger than an elite human knight, they say that it needs a platoon of knights and magician to beat it. Will you accept him?” – Viria
“Do it bro! Do it!” – Varu
The fairies were excited, hoping Riot would accept the pact. But he himself didn’t want to do it as he has no need for a monster following him around all day. If it could do labour, he would accept it as he needs hands in his farm. He was on his way on declining it, but was stopped by Glendell’s voice.
~accept it master, I want to try something...~
‘What is it? And I have no clue on how to do this magic contract stuff.’
~just ask the fairies. That skeleton might help us learn the writings of the human. It can teach us a lot of things if you accept the contract.~
‘And how would a skeleton teach us all of this?’
~just leave it to me, okay? Now hurry up and form the contract.~
He asked the fairies on how to begin the contract, which surprised them as it was the basic of the basics. Hadia taught him that it was just simply dropping the master’s blood to the monster’s forehead.
He cuts his thumb and went near the still kneeling skeleton. The fairies were keenly watching on what would happen, as they were time and time again being kept surprised at what Riot do; from killing a Goblin King with one hit to taming all the creatures in the forest. They thought something would when he makes a monster contract with the skeleton, so all them were surrounds him.
When he place his thumb on the forehead of the skeleton, a purple light came out of its body; indicating that it accepted the blood. As Hadia said that when the purple light dies, the contract would be complete.
~Marty’s Wish!~
But while in the middle of the ritual, Glendell incanted – from what Riot could understand – a spell. White light flowed out from his body and gently mixed with the skeleton’s purple light.
“Wow!” – Fairies
‘What just happened?’
The entire fairies saw the light expand in to the sky. It stayed there for a minute, lighting the whole forest, letting all creatures saw it. As the light descended, it slowly encircled the skeleton’s figure, covering him from head to toe.
~I thought it would not work, but it is a success! That was a ‘Miracle Spell’; I have somehow known how to use it when the skeleton offers to serve you; like it unlocked the condition to know the spell. It offers one wish to a loyal ‘servant’, or believer if you will, when they prove that they would never betray you, through thick and thin. Let’s see when its wish would be granted. Fufufu...~
‘How would we know when they prove that they've already cleared that condition?’
~don’t know... but we will know once they’ve made the wish. Because they would bear the mark of Master’s insignia .~
‘Insignia? You mean the “Seventh Star”? I haven’t been wearing that mark since... well, ages...’
~I still don’t know the reason why, but it’s a very nice mark. Both good and evil would fear that mark in your young days. And the new generation of heroes dreamt of it, hoping you pass the mark to one of them.~
‘They should’ve asked for it. I would’ve given it to the first one who would’ve asked.’
~They were scared of you, you know. And when you retired, you hid from the radar and the only one that can find you was Titus and Akira Onee-sama... Oh? Looks like the ritual’s finish.~
“Oh!! Marcus! Look! Look!” – Viria
Forgetting that Viria was still on his beard, she pulls it hard as she points on the figure emerging from the dying light. It stands up unsteadily, as if it were a drunken man trying to stand after having a long drink. As the light died out, the figure of the skeleton was now clear.
“Ooooo!!!” – Varu
“H-how the? What the?” – Hadia
“I’m surprise that I’m not surprised anymore. Hehehe” – Viria
“?!!” – Riot
~...not only did he astonishingly cleared the condition right away; he even made the wish the next breath. But what’s more surprising is that –~
‘That’s him right?! How the hell? What could this possibly mean?!’
Riot’s mind was in shambles as the skeleton was now a male human. He had a long green hair that reaches the lower part of his back. His face was clear of any bones and was replaced with a handsome face. As he was a skeleton, he was completely naked; making his toned muscles exposed for everybody to see. There was also a mark, coming out on his right hand which indicates that the wish was finished; the mark was a four-pointed compass like star which forms the shape of a cross and had a corona encircling it.
~that’ him but also not him at the same time...~
But even though the man was young, and had somewhat the same age as him, Riot can only see the face of a particular immortal middle-age man from his memories. The young man before him was a head taller like the middle-aged man, and even had the same mannerism as he was fiddling his fingers in his right arm – indicating that he was nervous.
‘... Titus...’
Titus aka Magnus, the Grandmaster of Spells. He was definitely his spitting image; his walking pattern was also the same when he walked towards Riot again; As Riot observed even the smallest details from everybody, when he had nothing to do.
“Master, I thank you for accepting this one’s desire to serve you. Not only did you accept it, you also gave me, an undeserving one, a gift. A wish that I can follow master would go without giving you a hard time; a gift of flesh.” – Naked man
He then bowed again, making Riot leave his trip from memory lane. Riot was perplexed because not once did Titus bowed to him, making this scene somewhat of an uncomfortable experience for him. He took a cloak from the magic pouch and draped it all over the naked man’s body.
“Stop bowing. If it’s okay with you I rather not you bow to me, ever.” – Riot
“I impossibly cannot do that. That would be rude to as you are my master.” – Man/Titus
“Okay, let’s talk about that later. Could you tell me your name?” – Riot
“I have already thrown my name when I gave up being human. I asked master to give me one.” – Man
“...Ti – no, How about Aaron?” – Riot
~...Aaron, really? Stop giving lame name... just stahp!~
“Thank you for the wonderful name! I will cherish it till my dying day!” – Aaron
‘He likes it!’
~...he’s just force to say that...~
The fairies circled Aaron; as they were curious on how could a contract make something like a skeleton turn to a living being. Aaron just looked at them while they were circling him as it was his first time seeing fairies.
*Clap!**Clap!*
“Okay, let’s break it up. Let’s finish this when we get near my home. I can’t wait for you guys anymore as I’m starving.” – Riot
“What for supper?” – Viria
Riot walked ahead without waiting for them to respond. The time was already wasted enough that he didn’t touch his afternoon project. He walks towards to his garden, to get some ingredients and snacks for later.
“I’m coming Master!” – Aaron
“Wait for us bro!” – Varu
They quickly followed him as he walked to his garden. As they entered the enclosed place, they quickly saw the vegetation that spread across the area. Lots of unknown floras were spread before their eyes. They Fairies absentmindedly went to each and one of them, which made them quiet for some reason. Even Viria left Riot’s beard and joined with the fairies in gazing the new floras. Aaron also curiously looked at some of the fruits that were hanging in the trees.
“You can eat them if you like. That’s a called a mango and it’s very sweet once you peel its skin and eat it. And you guys can pick what you want, just not the flowers.” – Riot
He saw Aaron particularly eyeing the mango so he grabbed one and tossed it to him. The fairies also pick different fruits that they thought was interesting, tasting them curiously.
“It’s sweet...” – Aaron
“It’s yummy!!” – Varu
“I haven’t taste anything like it!” – Hadia
“*Chomp!**Chomp!**Buuurrp!*” – Viria
All of them, even Aaron, tasted different fruits and veggies that they saw, filling their stomachs to brim. Riot just watched them while he was picking ingredients for his supper. He didn’t mind the noise as he was kind of welcoming it.
The fairies asked if they could stay at his garden, he didn’t mind as they said they would help him tend it. They were happy as Riot just approved it without second thought. They were racing, competing on whom could first pick a dwelling place. He left them be as he went to his tent, accompanied by Aaron, to cook his supper.
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“Well, now that you have a fleshed body, your bones won’t be flying away anymore. But that just gives more places to strike you. Are you not regretting your wish? ” – Riot
“Not in the least. I must thank you for letting me see my face again after a long time...” – Aaron
‘So I’ve found Titus’ parallel person. I wonder if I can find the others also... maybe even Rosaline...’
~...master...~
“Let me tell warn you though, I’ll show you my true powers and defeat you, master.” – Aaron
“Oh?... Cocky aren’t you? I’ve taught you all those moves, skeleton knight. What else are you possibly going to do?” – Riot
“Huh? Who told you I’m a skeleton knight? I’m not one though...” – Aaron
~Oh? Skeleton Fighter maybe? Or a monk?~
“The Fairies told me that you are one though. Can’t blame them with you wearing heavy armour with sword and all.” – Riot
“Hehehe... did they assume my class just by looking? Well can’t be helped as I’ve got no way in restoring my mana. That was why I was using those weapons in order to survive. And thanks to that, I've met master. And with these new body of mine...” – Aaron
*snap!*
Aaron snapped his finger, making a loud noise in the open area. Huge pile of bones erupted at the side of him. The bones slowly formed a skeletal body of a Snow Liger that had a hole between his eye sockets. The Liger roared, making Riot stepped back from the surprise.
‘This is new... no one on Earth could do this, even Titus said that it was a taboo for the price to pay was life of the user.’
~Necromancy, that’s a dark art spell. He’s lucky that the holy spell didn’t smite him. Huh? Is that Monsieur Chat by chance? ~
Riot’s clothing instantly changes to his tactical suit. He held his odachi to his side as he waited for Aaron to attack. More and more Skeletal Ligers rose from the ground, surrounding Riot and Aaron.
“fufu... looks like master is serious, as you are even using a weapon for the first time. I’m happy for that. Let me introduce myself again. I am Aaron, Master Marcus’ loyal devotee, a Skeletal Overlord!” – Aaron
As Aaron finished introducing himself, he let the ligers attack Riot. They pounced on him fast but Riot evaded and slashed the backs of the pouncing ligers. They were cut in half and he proceeded on slashing the other ligers.
“Master’s strong. You easily destroyed them without a sweat...” – Aaron
While he was talking, Riot dashed to him to beat quickly. He was already in front of Aaron, crouching as he intends to do a wide sweep slash.
“But that won’t stop them” – Aaron
‘?!’
Riot ceases his attack and decided to evade the rebuilt liger that attacked from his blind side. The other ligers were restored to their original status and were ready to attack him again. Aaron also drew a sword made from bones on the ground, to join the fray. But with all that, Riot just smiled at him.
Both parties dashed at each other, with each had intent on winning this fight. It draws the attention of the other fairies as the noise was getting louder and louder.
It continued till the sun was already high with one person left standing. The place was filled with broken bones of the dead ligers, making it look like a bone graveyard. The person standing then smiled and offered his hand to the lying person, who was defeated.
“That was great. Not only did you excel on magic, you also are good with close quarter. I was fortunate to defeat you this time, as it would seem you will still grow stronger in the near future.” – Riot
Aaron smiled when he heard his master’s praise to him. He accepted the offered hand and stands up to see what the place had become. He gave it his all, but it still didn’t do much in front of his master.
“Those are kind words I’m lucky to receive. I thought I had you but you manage to elude me and defeated me...” – Aaron
“That was because you let those bones fight freely. If you should have done....”
As they were walking out of the fields, Riot provided him some tips on tactics. The fairies followed, some acting the moves they made in fighting. They were noisy as they went back to the place where they all live.
~looks like everyday would be this noisy huh...~