(Luca)
When Braden and I reach our home, the scary guy's reading a really, really big book. It's like he doesn't even notice us. It's not the one he's usually making notes in and stuff, that one's for Goblins. We only make it a few feet in before the scary guy is suddenly in front of us.
No way he's moving fast, he's definitely teleporting.
He looks extremely concerned, and his hands are all over me.
"Are you okay?" They're poking my cheeks. "What happened?" Now they're feeling my ribs. "How did you get hurt?"
How did he know about me getting hurt? Shouldn't he know how if someone told him?
"We were training," Braden crosses his arms. "How did you know Luca got hurt?"
"Because his Health is at 20 instead of 10, dumbass," the scary guy snaps. "And since Novice doesn't increase Health, that's a clear sign that he's been hurt, even if he'd managed to gain a Level, which he didn't. And you weren't supposed to train like that while you were gone."
"Oh, like you wouldn't have yelled at us for not keeping up with your training if we didn't!" Braden snaps back.
"I wouldn't have!" The scary guy exclaims. "The whole purpose of the individual training was so that you two could do more with your Classes and learn new things! Not to keep up with the physical training that I have in addition to your Classes! Please tell me you at least learned something and trained with your magic!"
"I killed two goblins," Braden puffs his chest out. "And I learned a new Skill! And Luca learned two more Skills!"
"Really?" The scary guy gives me a curious look. "Has your Experience raised at all?"
I look down, and I guess that's all the answer he needs. Suddenly, I hear Braden yelping.
"What was that for?"
"Luca, heal Braden."
I stare at the scary guy in shock. Why did he just tell me to heal my broth-did he stab my brother? With what looks like a basic training knife?
"Heal him, before he heals naturally," the scary guy tells me, so I hold my hands over Braden's wound and use Heal. "Good job. I found out that it's perfectly normal for someone with your unique circumstances to take awhile to Level, Luca. However, I found out other information regarding your slow going. Healing me won't actually do much for your Experience. From now on, you'll use Heal on me to train your Mana in the mornings, and on Braden in the afternoons to try for Experience. Also, I'll try to talk a friend into coming as well. The more people you're healing who are closer to you, the easier it'll be for you to start growing your Experience."
I'm confused.
"Did you learn anything?" Braden asks. "Or was this training not for you, too?"
"It was," the scary says as his knife vanishes. The one in his hand, not the one on his hip. "My training got cut short, though."
"Why?" Stop being a brat, Braden. He already doesn't like you. "You can cut yours short, but we can't cut ours short?"
"I'm a Dark Knight," the scary guy states. "Training for us puts our lives on the line, and… something happened that put my life in actual danger. Due to that, my training had to be cut short."
I know he's putting on a tough-guy act, but I can tell there's something that's making him sad. What happened? Did someone die? Why does talking about his life being in danger this time make him sad?
"What is it, Aurum?"
Huh? What does that mean? I've never heard 'aurum' before, what's that?
I realize that the scary guy's looking behind us, and turn to face… a boy around the scary guy's age, who has golden hair… and golden dog ears and a fluffy, golden dog tail. He has blue eyes, and is dressed in blue and white, and is barefoot. He's wearing a pair of white and blue gloves, and has a cool hat on his head. It has holes for his ears.
He's like the monkey boy I saw! Only he's a dog boy instead! I wasn't hallucinating!
"You're thinking too fast," the scary guy tells the dog boy. "I can't understand you… oh. Well, remind Nathan that you need to eat. Also, I'm pretty sure he'll let you visit your brother, he's a bit busy right now. Just… stare longingly at the stove? That's what Gold did, though it was more like intently, and because he was trying to figure out how he was supposed to cook without food. No, he just wanted to make breakfast. Anyway, I think Gold and them are… cooking."
The way the scary guy says that… do I want to know what he means?
The dog boy grins, then nods, pulls off his gloves, tucks them into his belt, then takes off, running on his hands and feet.
"That's Aurum," the scary guy tells us. "He lives across the street. I'm surprised he showed himself, he's usually shy, just like his master, WHO NEEDS TO REMEMBER TO BUY FOOD FOR HIS SERVANT, ESPECIALLY BEFORE HE LEAVES TO GO HELP THE OTHERS WITH THE FIGHT IN KAELMAR!"
Why did the scary guy raise his voice while staring down the street?
"There we go," the scary guy says, then looks at us as we turn back to him. "You two can go take your baths, you stink. I'll get started on dinner."
"What… was with his ears and tail?" Braden asks. "I haven't seen someone like him before."
I have. The monkey boy.
"Aurum's a beastborn," the scary guy tells us. "Of the dog variety. There are four types: dog, wolf, monkey, and cat. Other than Gold, Aurum's brother, they don't have Access to the System."
"Why?" Braden asks.
"It's a long story," the scary guy answers. "And the reason Gold has Access is because I negotiated with Big S for him to be connected to it. He's a Dark Knight, and he helps out here sometimes, so you'll probably see him from time to time. He's currently… doing other stuff, so it might be awhile before you meet him."
He's a Dark Knight, too? Is he as scary as you, then?
"Now go take a bath, you two," the scary guy makes a face. "You really do stink."
Braden glares at him, but leads me to the bath. We strip down and scrub, then soak in the bath. Once we can smell the scary guy's cooking, we get out and dry off, then quickly dress because it's cold out here.
We sit at the table just as the scary guy's putting the food down. There's a turkey, a salad, some rolls, what he calls a fruit pizza, and a pumpkin pie. The fruit pizza has some sort of chocolate sauce drizzled over it.
After dinner, the scary guy has Braden and me play with marbles a bit while he does the dishes, then he makes Braden and me play Go Fish. I beat Braden five out of five games, then the scary guy collects our cards and sends us to bed.
In the morning, the scary guy wakes us as usual, then runs us through our exercises. As usual, I get exhausted after a bit and need to rest. He doesn't let Braden rest unless my brother really can't continue, and the scary guy always knows when he's lying about it, too.
The scary guy is really, really scary.
Everything feels like normal until lunchtime. We're out in the fields with the scary guy killing all the Chocolate Slimes that spawn while we're here while making Braden kill Level 2 and Level 3 Slimes. Braden is protesting, saying he's a big boy and can handle goblins, that he managed to kill two of them, but the scary guy refuses, saying he won't let Braden kill them until my brother's at least Level 5.
They argue a lot, but Braden does what the scary guy says anyway.
Then, after lunch, the scary guy starts concentrating hard on something while staring up at the sky, his gaze distant… then violet. His eyes turn purple. They're only that way for a few moments, but when it fades… he's panicking.
"Braden, Luca!" He says, suddenly holding the two of us.
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Before we can protest, everything's a blur. What's going on? Are we under attack? The colors are changing, but I can't really make it out. Within a couple of minutes, it all ends, and I find us at our home, Zack looking panicked.
"You guys stay here," he drops us onto the ground. "Under no circumstances are you to leave the house! Stay here!"
He turns and disappears.
What… what just happened? Why did he look so scared?
"Who does he think he is?" Braden demands to know.
----------------------------------------
(Zack)
I reach the Dark Temple in record time. There are a few weaker Dark Knights there, ones who don't meet the Level 150 minimum for the battle in Kaelmar. I locate one of the guys.
"You have wings, right?" I ask.
"Yeah," he answers. "Why?"
"Strip your tunic and summon them," I order. "Strap me to you with Binding Darkness so I don't fidget myself off of you, then get flying! We need to get to Kaelmar! Now!"
"What's going on?" He asks.
"NOW!" I yell, startling him and the other two Dark Knights in here. "Just… we have to get going, okay?"
He nods, then does as I say, the two of us heading outside before he uses Binding Darkness to strap me to him, the way Nik does. Not exactly the same, but I'm guess it's his first time.
I'd use Demon Form for that, but that's costly in Mana for just a few minutes. He'll fly slower than me, probably, but also be able to fly for longer without having to stop. We'll reach Kaelmar faster this way.
Within half an hour, we're at Kaelmar's ruined gate. The encampment is empty save the weaker adventurers who stayed behind and their beastborn slaves. The Dark Knight lands us just outside, though we can hear the sounds of battle going on within.
I move my sword to my hip as I shed my chestplate and tunic.
"What are you-"
"Demon Form!" I trigger it, feeling my body shift.
Immediately, I take off flying. It doesn't take me long to find the scene of the battle. Over six hundred Adventurers, and they're down to half. And I don't just mean because of wounded, the Avatar has killed hundreds of them already. There are a few who are trying to create an opening so everyone else can escape, but the Avatar manages to get into their way, ripping through several of the shields, though a few manage to hold.
"NATHAN! BUFF ME!" I yell.
Nathan Normar has Blessed you with the Blessing of the Crystal! +200% to All Stats -20% to all damage taken Duration: 1 minute 40 seconds
I use that extra speed to the fullest because the avatar immediately changes targets to me, leaping into the air. I twist out of the way, everything moving so much slower around me than I'm used to. I'm three times as fast as my normal use of Demon Form, which is already forty percent faster than my normal speed.
The avatar soars past me, and I fly forward. It twists around, reaching out for me, and I grab its arm, throwing it. The avatar is as fast as I am currently. I swoop down, grateful my expectation worked. I have a little more than three minutes left in Demon Form, which went up a Level during my rampage yesterday. That should be enough time for them to evacuate.
The avatar waits for my attack, and at the last moment, I twist, flying to the side.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" I yell.
There isn't a chance in hell I'm winning in this fight, something that's confirmed when the avatar manages to grab my leg before I can evade it. The thing spins me around, slamming me into a building.
-374 Health
Yeah, I'm not beating this thing. But I'm definitely escaping.
I let out a bellow, a Rage-fueled Roar of Darkness imbued with Intimidate. The avatar falters for a moment, and I kick its hand, freeing myself from its grip. It recovers quickly, and I fly out of its reach again.
Some of the Adventurers are trying to recover bodies during my 'distraction', but they're not going to have enough time.
"GIVE ME YOUR FUCKING MANA POTIONS AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! I'LL MANAGE TO ESCAPE! JUST TRUST ME!"
I twist around, kicking the avatar as it claws my arm. No Blood Scar. He must have hit someone else with it, then. Unless he doesn't need the restriction, or needs Alexander to be awake.
I sense a familiar Sacred Crystal beside me, and Nathan shimmers into existence, holding out a bunch of Mana Potions. Either these are his, or he can steal from Inventories.
"Thanks," I take them and send them into my Inventory. "Can you use Teleport?"
He nods.
"Mind sticking around longer?"
He nods.
"Thanks for that book," I tell him, and he nods. "You know the big spell?"
His eyes light up as he realizes my plan, just in time for us to need to separate to avoid the avatar's next leap. It's focused on me, because I'm the biggest threat in the eyes of Alexander. In the eyes of its true self, the Shadow of Life.
Above all of those Adventurers, I possess the ability to mark the beginning of Alexander's end. My very existence can be a harbinger of the end of the war, and I already meet one of the three criteria necessary for the arrival of the two of who can bring about the end in favor or against.
I play a game of chase with the avatar, which manages to wound me a few more times. Nathan rebuffs me when his Blessing is close to ending. How much Mana does that cost him? Is there a restriction on how many times he can use it? I didn't have time to figure this out.
When it's nearly time for my Demon Form to end, I chug a bunch of Mana Potions, enough that I can cast it again almost immediately. The distraction's working, almost everyone's gone and the avatar hasn't realized what Nathan's doing.
I could do it, too, since I remember the spell, but Nathan has a higher maximum Mana than me, which means he'll recover it faster, even if he's been using a ton for the battle. He'll need less interruptions for Mana Potions as a result.
"RAGING INFERNO!" Nathan suddenly hollers, and I soar straight up, grabbing onto him as the dozens of runes glowing in a ring around him turn from white to crimson.
Then, they explode outwards and downwards, and the avatar roars in rage. Nathan accepts the three last Mana Potions I have from the collection he'd given me, then drains them.
The avatar jumps at us, but it's too late, Nathan's already used Teleport, and we're back in Maelnor, in Teleport Plaza.
A lot of people gasp. Some of the others were teleported back as well, but I guess none are as frightening as someone who looks like a demon?
Nathan pokes my stomach, and I swat his hand away.
"I still have a few seconds left on that Blessing," I tell him. "That's pretty powerful."
He grins at me, then pokes me in the side again before realizing we're surrounded by a lot of people and he's shirtless so that he could fly around with his wings. His face turns crimson, then he vanishes from sight as he runs away.
"Well, that happened," I shrug, then look at the crowd. "Give me another minute and a half, and this Skill will fade away."
Then, I chase after Nathan, catching him at his house seconds after Demon Form ends. Boy do I stumble when that ends, my speed slowing back down to its norm. But I catch myself and reach him.
"Nathan, we need to get back to the others."
Next thing I know, I'm being lifted up into the air by a still-invisible healer.
Fifteen minutes later, we reach the crater, where the others, the ones who fled on foot, are gathered. There are around two hundred of them, and several are arguing with the Dark Knights. Something about how we shouldn't have trusted the obvious monster.
"Hey!" I exclaim as Nathan sets me down. "I'm not a monster! I'm just a kid!"
"That's debatable," Nik sighs as he looks at me. "I thought we told you-"
"Yeah, yeah," I roll my eyes. "You guys were getting your asses kicked, Nik. That thing was a lot more powerful than we expected. If it weren't for Demon Form and Nathan's Blessing, you guys would still be dying as it blocked off your escape."
"What was that fire?" Nik asks. "We saw it a few minutes ago, it seemed to just erupt out of nowhere. Before we could fly high enough to investigate, it was gone."
"Runic magic," I answer. "Nathan's found some ancient texts on his journey further in, and one of them contained a spell called 'Raging Inferno'. He used his runes and a ton of Mana Potions to use it."
"Why?" Someone asks. Looks like a regular knight. "What would that do?"
"What was it you guys were trying to do?" I ask. "Back when I kept yelling at you to leave?"
"Wait," he says. "That was you?"
"You don't know me yet, do you?" I ask.
"The bodies," Nik says. "You guys incinerated them."
"The avatar may have rescued some," I shrug. "But Raging Inferno will have destroyed most. I would've cast it myself, since I have a higher affinity for fire than Nathan, but the avatar wanted me dead more than anything. I'm still recovering my Health from its-thanks, Nathan. Anyway, there should be minimum Fallen Adventurers."
"How did you know there were massive losses?" The knight from before asks. "How do we know you don't work for the Shadow of Life?"
"That fucker killed my brother and hit me with the Blood Scar," I growl at him. "There isn't a chance in the Boundary that I'm going to ever work for him. I've never seen you before, how do we know you don't work for him?"
"Calm, Zack," Nik tells me. "You had a vision?"
"I forced one," I pull my tunic out of my Inventory and pull it on. "To see how you guys were doing. Was planning on just watching from afar while training my team, but… it became clear fast how underpowered you guys were when I saw him ripping someone's head off. I knew that Demon Form would put me stronger than you guys without buffs, and that if I was able to get the same buffs or better, I'd probably be able to at least distract him long enough for you guys to flee."
"And you expected Nathan would burn the bodies?"
"I mean, I would've done it, too," I shrug. "It just would've taken me a lot more Mana Potions and damage. I barely even damaged that thing with Nathan's buffs, which were actually a lot more potent than I'd expected. This was a failure, and the bastard's probably going to be happy when he wakes up from his little nap. We just lost three hundred powerful Adventurers. If I remember correctly, there are only around a thousand total Adventurers that powerful. We just lost thirty percent of them."
"Yeah," Nik's expression turns grim. "Our attempt at potentially making things easier for us just crippled us. Badly."
"Yeah," I nod. "I still claim Talorn as my training grounds, but Praevar and the mines are fine, and from what I've heard, the mines even have tougher monsters later on. I think it's best if we start getting weaker people out here and training in those two places. With supervision, of course, so they don't get in over their heads."
"Will somebody tell me what's going on?" The knight snaps.
"Nik, why is he so arrogant he thinks he can interrupt the people the Crystals have literally sanctioned?"
"I'll handle him," Nik tells me. "Where's Luca and Braden?"
"Back home, if they listened," I tell him. "I'm going to head back with the shy munchkin who's slowly sneaking away behind me, I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you knew we'd taken care of all the bodies we could."
"Thanks," Nik says. "Normar, we'll need to talk about something later. War preparations that need changing due to this incident."
Nathan's standing right behind me now, still invisible, and I feel his arms around me, then we're lifting up.
"He says 'yeah, whatever'," I tell Nik. "See you later."