Chp 5 Determination of The Strong

I am a well trained assassin from the big city of Stranten. Stranten was one of the five large cities scattered throughout the continent of Crios. In Stranten making money is easy if you’re in the right business. My line of work is blood. Everything around me is blood. In my time I have been order to kill a lot of different people. I may do things for money, but I’m not heartless.

I was once asked to kill two children. The parents didn’t want their kids around and paid me to do that. I am not the type to kill children so I simply killed the parents. I gave the authorities a note to find the killer and gave a description of myself as vague as possible. I didn’t ever tell the two children why I did it, because I’m not sure they would have believed me. Ever since then I haven’t taken killing jobs because some people are disgusting and I don’t want to deal with them. I went off on my own with the purpose of me leaving to enjoy life. I can’t enjoy life if I have to keep killing people.

I made a promise that I would never selfishly kill again for things like money or pride. I never told the children about that clearly, but not killing people is hard. Some people try my patience and I just want to take them out back and strangle them. I truthfully just want to go out into the forest and live a life of luxury. I would have everything I need there and I’m sure there’s plenty of strong monsters for me to fight there.

My real name is Soren, but I think crow fits me better. There are two things I love in this world. Those two things are sweets and good fights. I love sweets because they are the only thing I can buy that actually makes me happy. I love good fights because killing people gets boring if they don’t fight back. Since I can’t kill unless I absolutely need to, the thrill of a good fight is even more valuable.

I use to belong to a guild called called Dragon’s Fang. This guild has been around for around three hundred years. It first started when a dragon from old was terrorizing a village. A subjugation party came forth and fought it off. After the battle was done the dragon had been wounded and left. The only piece to remember the battle by however was a dragon fang. It became the guild’s icon and that’s what the guild named themselves.

I heard someone slayed a god. That wouldn’t be too difficult if someone had learned magic. I use magic every day. I actually met with my god when I first set off exploring a couple months ago. Apate was the god of trickery and deceit. She first gave me my mark when I set off out of Stranten. A large wall had appeared to me. Curious about whether it happened to be real I touched it. I ended up getting her mark which was mist curled around a mask.

After a brief discussion with her I trained in the forest for two months so I could effectively use my magic well enough to fight. After that any experience I gained using my magic came entirely from battles I got into. I was able to control shadows and darkness along with changing my appearance. The neat thing I learned about the illusions I can cast was that if someone wasn’t strong enough to resist my illusions, they became real. I can also change myself into any animal or monster I want without any consequences too. My favorite form is a crow. I love soaring through the sky and if I need to scout out any place, being a bird is perfect for that. This earned me the nickname Crow.

I pack up the things around my house that I will need such as bread, berries, and my weapons. I have many weapons ranging from spears to shuriken, but I only grab the essentials. I find my way to the two short swords I always use. They are slender, but since they are also made from durable material I have never had to repair them. They never were wrapped with leather so I had done it myself with white cloth scraps and red string. The blades weighed around seven pounds each and were three and a half feet in length.

After I had grabbed my short swords I decided I might also need my twin blade. I also grab my buckler shield in case I run out of magic and need to defend myself. I have all of the weapons I should really ever need so I decide to set off to Barui and check up on my guild. I had other reasons for going there like how they have really awesome sweets. Thinking about it makes me light up with joy. I, however, also had an important mission as well. The chief from Haruna Village hired me to protect a teenager on his way to Barui. I was suppose to make sure he got back to his village as well. Considering the amount the chief payed me I don’t think this will be an easy mission.

I was payed six hundred pecunia just to watch over him. I’m not even sure why they paid me to do the job in particular. I’m a known killer and my services don’t come cheap. I wondered why this kid was so important to the Chief, but he never did say. The Chief from what I could tell was not his father so I don’t understand why he cared so much. Anyways I’m not really supposed to ask questions about my job. I’m just suppose to take the money and do my job.

This kid must be something special if the chief wants him kept alive at the cost he paid me for. I just hope he isn’t a let down. From what I know the kid has blueish green eyes and white hair. He should also be accompanied by a girl with reddish brown hair who is wearing a black cloak and leather armour. The descriptions are vague, but I already have a mental image of what they look like, considering where they were from.

After I step outside into the sunlight I’m ready to set off. I put my gear and armour onto the ground along with my clothes which leaves me naked. I use a shadow spell to put them into a pocket. The spell I am using only works for gear and is really only helpful for objects so I don’t need to carry them.

I start my change into a crow. I feel the feathers grow on my skin, and my mouth contort into a beak. I feel the bending of my bones, and my muscles shrinking inwards. While it is a strange feeling to transform the change itself is not painful. I flap my wings and take off into the air. My body feels light weight as I start soaring through the trees. I gaze down upon the land below me as I raise in height.

The tree tops look like waves on a green ocean. I can’t see any animals through the forest tree top. I fly lower towards the trees to check and see if there are any visible animals. I still don’t see any animals. I raise higher again since there is no point in me endangering myself trying to fly through the forest. The wind bristling through my feathers picks up momentarily making it harder to fly forward.

I continue glancing down at the forest admiring it. As I am looking down however I see a large shadow below me on the tree tops. I glance upward and see a larger predator above me. I look up at it to see if it noticed me and sure enough it did. This is going to be troublesome if tries to attack me. I vere off to the right to try and get a better look at the creature following me. The creature looks like a dragon, but it has a few differences in looks. It’s scales are curved in a manner that reflects light. The head on it has four sets of horns atop its head and in its mouth it to has no teeth. The wings are transparent, but still cast a shadow which is strange to me.

It glides over top of me to keep me from seeing its next move. I can’t look up anymore at it since the reflection is blinding me. I dive down towards the forest to gap the distance between us. The creature pursues me as I go down. This is going to suck if it keeps pursuing me I think to myself. I don’t even recall it catching up to me initially. It just appeared out of nowhere.

Stolen story; please report.

I start to have concerns about the creature that is pursuing me. I am just a normal crow in its eyes so why is it trying to follow me. I need to fight back if this thing is going to try and kill me. As I am diving down towards the forest I cut to the left and then prepare to do a quick summon. I summon forth shadows around me and then quick equip my gear. I then use shadow step which is an ability allowing me to teleport using shadows so that I can evade.

I dive to the left and shadow step again. The creature turns around and starts to circle back. I don’t have time to fight this monster so I decide to use an illusion. I summon a large dragon around the creatures equivalent size. It dives straight ahead towards to dragon. The dragon is only an illusion, but it should be able to fight back if this creature thinks it is real. The large creature comes over to the dragon and opens its mouth. It starts absorbing all of the magic I used to create the dragon. The dragon dissolves and I realize I need to get out of here.

I come to the conclusion that creature just seeks out magic for consumption and that’s why it targeted me. I need to get out of here now before it consumes me. I don’t think that this thing can be hurt by magic so I use shadow step to warp down to the forest floor. I then turn off my magic gate when I warp down. The problem with warping to a location I don’t know is I have no idea where I will end up.

When I used my shadow step I ended up skewered to a tree. The branch itself went through my left leg. I use shadow step again to get to the forest floor. My leg hurts and I’m going to have trouble walking, but I’ve got something for this. I lay up against a tree until I’m sure the creature has passed by. I then open my magic gate again and use it to pull out a potion I had gotten from Agate. She had told me it was god tears, and supposedly it has healing properties. I have a full bottle of it since I’ve never had to use it before.

I don’t have time to wait around for my wounds to naturally heal since I’ve got to watch over that kid. I pour a drop on my leg and it completely heals. My magic also feels replenished as well. This stuff works wonders I think to myself. I should be about seven miles away from Haruna Village based off where I am right now. If Maeno has already left the village, provided he has stayed on path, should be there in about an hour. I need to hurry to where he is.

I use a spell to turn myself into a cat along with a shadow spell so that I can move fast without being obscured. I dash forward and the forest around me is a blur as I move. I can’t afford to be slowed down right now since I am still being paid to protect Maeno. However if I use too much magic before I get there It will be all for nothing.

It is risky to move as fast as I am even in my shadow form for the simple reason it burns through my magic quickly. I should be able to catch up with him in about fifteen minutes of running though at my speed. As I run through the forest I also project a barrier within a certain radius that silences all noise around me. I’m burning through a lot of magic I’m going to need to rest once I catch up.

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I finally get to the path Maeno took and see two sets of fresh footprints headed towards Barui. I follow his tracks making sure not to move too fast so that I don’t expend much needed energy. I follow his tracks for awhile, but I need to catch up quicker than this. I use shadow step again and warp to the front gates of Barui. I usually need to avoid warping repeatedly in a row due to magic drain which can make you sick, but that potion I used earlier gave me more than enough energy. I warp on top of Dragon’s Fang since it’s the tallest building in Barui.

As much as I want to go in and check the place out I have a mission that needs to get done first. I have to find Maeno and Ritsuko along with protecting them. On top of the roof I can get a better view, but as a cat I don’t have nearly good enough eyesight to see Maeno or Ritsuko. I change myself into a falcon and then continue to watch from above.

I’m still feeling drained and being on top of this roof isn’t helping either. Since the whole roof is black i’m just absorbing most of the heat. I start sweating after around three minutes up here. I’m limited on magic consumption until I either get sleep or eat a really good meal. I frankly don’t have time for either though. I don’t need any more magic than I already have, but I remember the energy boost I got from the gods tears in case I need more magic. I really want to use another drop in all honesty, but those tears are far too rare for me to be using all the time. I continue to look around for Maeno.

Before I can locate Maeno I notice a magic energy spike and I see walls form around the whole city. I look down towards the crowd gathering around the base of the wall. This wall is the same as in Stranten. It is entirely composed of energy and it is not a physical barrier. However it will give people access to magic if they reach out and touch it. I watch the people crowd around the gate and nobody touches it. They all just scream in panic.

I start laughing which comes out as a squawk. I laughed because this is just way too funny. I see two people start pushing through the front of the crowd. I can’t see them very well. When they reach the front of the gate the hesitate for a moment. This is interesting to me because I like seeing what people choose. I have a feeling they will touch the wall. That is to say they will be the first to gain their powers.

I lean forward almost falling off the roof. I flap my wings for a moment and regain my footing. I look at them intently to see if they actually touch it. They take a moment and seem to agree on something and both reach for the wall at the same time. I wait a few seconds and they turn around and whatever was said caused the crowd to go crazy. Both of them decide to leave the area. I pay interest to them since they were the first to touch it. Other people over by the wall continue to bicker until another person touches the wall. After that everyone starts doing it and the magic influence starts spreading.

As they get closer I notice that the two people are Ritsuko and Maeno the people I was assigned to protect. “Well my day is going great” I think to myself. I wait on top of the roof until they decide to leave. They head out through the gate area and I follow behind them. After they get out of the city I shadow step to where they are and follow along behind them. More than anything right now I want to test them. They probably set out this way to train anyways so why not give them a lesson.

The girl is showing limited power right now, but the boy Maeno has considerable power for just awakening. I decide to test Ritsuko’s power really quick which requires me to be alone with her.I will need to put Maeno to sleep. I cast an illusion and summon a snake shadow beast to attack Ritsuko. She seems to be the protective type because she tells Maeno to run.

He starts running away further down the path. I wait till he gets out of distance from my illusion and I shadow step over to him and knock him out with a quick chop in the nape of his neck. I pick him up on my shoulder and carry him over to where Ritsuko is to see how well she faires against my shadow beast. I turn around and walk to the outside of my sphere of influence in the illusion and set Maeno down.

I sit on the ground next to him and watch the fight. Ritsuko dodges its first attack and rolls to the left. This particular shadow beast I summoned was rather strong, but mostly had killer speed. This particular shadow beast that I made was based off of a creature I heard attacked many people in the forest. It was some form of reptile that moved fast and nobody could really give a good description of. Since nobody knew what it looked like I just took a guess and tried to make it look as close as I could imagine.

Ritsuko tests its speed before deciding on a course of action. She throws a rock at the tree. This particular beast did have high speed, but it was also blind. She probably figured that out since it didn’t immediately attack her again. Before the rock hits the ground the serpent swallows it. She notes its speed and makes a careful step to the side. I don’t make it pursue her because I’m curious if she can use her magic or not.

Ritsuko doesn’t use her magic and instead just stands in place. This is going to get boring if I don’t spice things up myself. I cast shadow breathe out of its mouth. She runs two steps and turns back to guard. It was already on her before she turned in time. It smacks her into a bush with full force. She doesn’t seem to handle this well because she doesn’t get back up. She only took one hit from it and no can no longer fight. Since Ritsuko can no longer fight back I just end the fight. I make it get up close to her to scare her a little bit and then have it run away. Once it exists my illusion it disappears.

Ritsuko manages to get out of the bush she was in and starts trying to crawl forward. I’m pretty sure her left arm is broken because she isn’t using it while trying to crawl. She coughs up some blood onto the ground. I feel sorry for the girl, but this should serve as a learning experience that she is weak and needs to get stronger. She seems to be trying to say something, but over here gasping for air nothing comes out. Ritsuko looks around in a daze and then falls asleep.

I walk over to Ritsuko and check her condition after she passes out from blood loss. I look down at her while crouching to check to see how badly she is injured. She has eight broken ribs by the looks of it, a fractured left arm and I’m guessing internal bleeding. I remove her cloak and armour then pull up her shirt to see if she does have internal bleeding. The bruises are rather prominent on her abdomen and rib cage so I wouldn’t be surprised if a rib pierced her lungs.

She is far too weak right now and as she is now she will die if she doesn’t get help. She needs to get stronger so I’m going to train her myself. I also plan to train Maeno as well. However I will only heal Ritsuko’s injuries and train her if she awakens before suffocating on her blood and dying. Ritsuko has around thirty minutes to wake up before she dies. I just hope she is strong like I think she is and she doesn’t let me down.