Part 1.
“Tree… Tree… Boulder… Tree… Tree… Aderian Rat! Found another one!” My voice rang out through the woods.
“Your skill really comes in handy, man!” came a burly reply.
Within a matter of seconds, the monster was vanquished, and his corpse lay on the earth.
“Ooh… Level 2!” I exclaimed. I looked up at the tree to examine it, and the image in my mind read, ‘Oak Tree.’
“Underwhelming, but a bit more specific.” I looked down at the ground and picked up a stone at my feet. ‘Flint Stone’ came the image.
“Well, good news Ryoden, my Inspect his level 2, however, it wasn’t much of an improvement.” I started, with my hands in the air.
“It is still a step in the right direction, even if it is only a small one.” He reassured me.
This was the second day in the forest, and I have been using skills whenever I could in an effort to increase their effectiveness. I was currently at level 5 and could definitely feel the effects of my level ups, not just the stats increases but the skill level ups as well. With the new addition of inspect, all my skills were at level 2. My mana consumption from my Matter Mastery abilities had dropped by 2 points as well as a slight reduction in difficulty of more complex items or materials. The benefits from my Party Growth Acceleration had jumped from an additional +1% to mana absorption, to +2% along with a +1 to each stat and +10 to health on level up, to +2 to each stat and + 20 on level up. Skill Steal level 2 was not any change, it still allowed me to take any one skill which was leveled at up to half my current level from a living being, or the right to choose any skill from a being that I defeated. As for Inspect level 2, it added an additional descriptor to whatever it was I viewed.
Regarding the new skills that I have picked up from the rodents, I got Kick level 2, which simply adds more power to my kicks, Greater Gnaw level 2, which… well… I don’t have any intention to use it. I also got Quick Acceleration level 2; it gives me the ability to accelerate my body beyond normal. They are nothing amazing, however, these rodents are not really top of the food chain either. As with most animals in their class, they are simply trying to survive the best that they can.
That night by the fire, the smell of cooked rodent hanging in the air, their tough stringy texture made it a less than appealing meal. I looked up into the night sky to admire that vast beauty of the cosmos once more. Back home, living in a part of Tokyo, the largest city in the world by population, meant that the night sky was actually a tough thing to admire. Due to the light pollution, stars were practically never visible, but here. Here in this new world, we are easily five or six hundred years behind in technology. The night is able to grace us with all of her majesty. Looking up, there are stars, planets, clusters, even nebulae that are visible with the naked eye. However, the greatest thing to grace the night sky would be Uvorian, that gas giant that Uvovia revolves around. Back on Earth, we had our satellite, Luna, which would revolve around us and control the tides, but here, we were the satellite. According to what was told to me, Uvovia has a steady rotation. During the daytime, our side is always facing away, while at night, we are always facing Uvorian. Which is measured out to be exactly twenty-six hours long for one full rotation. And for one week, six days, every other month when we are behind the planet from view of the nearest star.
“If Carl could see this, it would blow his mind.” I thought still transfixed on the other worldly view.
The following morning, while munching on leftover rat meat, we ventured further inside of the forest. What greeted us was a collection of new monsters to fight. We came across three Aderian Dogs. They were large mangey canines, with long snouts full of razor-sharp fangs. Their fur was a thick, dark mangled mess. They had large dark eyes, around the size of a 500-yen coin. Royden mentioned that we were lucky that we came across a small pack, that normal pack sizes were around ten to fifteen wolves and would cover a wide range.
For a two to three fight, things went rather smoothly. The Alpha’s first move was to let out a deafening howl, which caused me to feel rather sluggish. The two other animals then sprang forward toward me, fangs and claws bared to kill. I feel I may have been done in had Royden, who let out his own howl, quickly moved into action. He intercepted one of the wolves, and with an arcing slash, cut its abdomen. This allowed me to jump to the side near him, escaping from the attack on my other flank.
We stood shoulder to shoulder, I had a short sword in each hand, and Royden to my right with his long sword, tip wet with blood. Across from us the three took their position, Alpha in the center and the others on each of his flanks. A stare down ensued, each party looking for the opening for the first move.
“I’m not the most patient person.” I spoke aloud. From behind the Alpha came a cylindrical, earthen spike, striking his rear and grabbing the attention from all three. With our opening, and without hesitation, both of us launched forward. We crashed into the two other wolves, I lunged both blades into the neck of the wolf on the left and Roy cleaved his opponent in half when it tried to jump back and escape.
The Alpha, unsure of which direction the attack would come from, hesitated. Using that moment, I launched my foot at its face, quickly augmenting my boots by adding a steel spike in the front. I impaled the beast in the side of the head, then quickly pulled my foot back, planting it back on the ground, and kicking hard with my other leg up, launching the best head up, before stepping down and pushing forward with a new blade, piercing the creatures exposed neck. With a quick twist I could feel the life of the creature vanish, and in response, a power within me grow.
That day we remained busy, we fought against five more Aderian Rats, two things called Melochus, which were essentially large, grey furred, carnivorous bunnies. Their speed and kick strength were monstrous. It required me to use destroy on their fibula, [Creating] breaks to inhibit their movement, even then they still put up a rather resilient fight.
That night at dinner we got a nice break from the rat meat, and partook on rabbit, while Royden ate his fill of the dog. Coming from a place where they were generally pets, something just kind of sat wrong with eating dog since rabbit was available.
“With views like this, it is no wonder that you want me to save this world. It is beautiful.” I thought to myself, staring into the night sky.
“Well… there are more reasons that just that.” Said a laugh in my head.
“Who-the!” I said internally, “That voice!? Vathsvala?” I inquired.
“Bingo! Hehehe… surprised?” She responded. “This isn’t really something that I can do all the time, but I thought I would check in on you.”
“I am not sure how I feel about you being in my head.” I retorted.
“Yeah, there is some pretty grimy stuff in here. I wasn’t aware that you felt that way about me. Hehehe… on is that the…”
“Stop it! I get you can hear my thoughts… but you can see the images too?” I was feeling rather ashamed of myself at this point.
“It’s cool, to be honest, looks kind of interesting. However, I am actually here to see how you are doing.” She continued.
“Well, I am in a forest… killing anything that is aggressive. Figured this would be a good way to start.” I replied.
“Just be careful. That forest is really old, and there have been strange movements in it lately. Something big has been moving around. I would like it if you don’t die before fulfilling your promise to me.” Her voice sounded genuinely worried.
“I told you. Whatever happens, I’ll handle it.” I said reassuringly.
“And I believe you.” She responded warmly. “By the way, can all the women from your world bend that way?” I couldn’t help but blush and begged her not to pry any further. A look over my should revealed that Royden had stopped eating and was just staring with a worried expression.
I struggled with what to say, before just blurting out the truth. “Sorry, having a talk with Vathsvala. She is just checking in on me!” I finished with a reassuring smile, stressing over what he might say.
“The Goddess is giving you an oracle!?” He shot up, startling me.
“That is right, this guy is like über religious.” I thought.
“I wouldn’t say an oracle, more like we are just talking about what has happened and discussing some things.” I replied with a shaky voice. The look on his face was that of a child looking up to their greatest hero, I could tell he wanted to be part of the conversation, but regarding the topic, I would rather have not made an atheist out of him.
The next morning, we got a late start, but traveled in a northwest direction, which was a sharp turn from the easterly direction we had been going, but Royden felt any deeper would likely prove too dangerous.
We walked for maybe three hours without encountering a single creature. It was only around this time we noticed that the air of the forest was completely different, putting both of us on edge. As we creeped slowly through the woods, we came upon the most terrifying this either of has ever seen. There in the clearing stood a large black cat, around four meters in height. It had saucer sized yellow eyes, with black slits running down the middle. An obsidian coat which seemed to suck in all the light around it. Two large pearly white canines jutting out from its upper jaw that was the size of my arm, and a long powerful tail swaying back and forth behind it. It was standing there, staring down at us.
“How long had it been there? Was it waiting for us? What should we do? What can we do?” Thoughts swept through my mind with lighting speed. I looked over at Royden, he had his blade in both hands and had taken a wide heavy stance and was staring down his new opponent.
“Well… I guess there is no choice.” I prepared my blades and took up a fluid stance at his side, ready to move at any opening.
“Can we win?” I asked.
“Not likely.” He responded.
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Part 2.
All she could feel was the uncomfortable pressure built up in her chest from the constant motion of the horse’s gait. She didn’t quite know how long she had been riding the beast, slung over like a piece of luggage, but it was beginning to feel unbearable. She slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the light. By the brightness it had to be around mid-day.
As her senses returned the first thing, she noticed was an awful stench coming down wind. Looking to her right, she saw hanging from the saddle of the next mount was the head of one of her protectors. Kenzō was a wolfman, and one of the best fighters back home, he was a gentle and honorable man. He didn’t enjoy fighting and only did so when necessary, but had once held great status as a military leader. For him to end up like so was beyond cruel. She wanted to cry out but knew that doing so would only lead to her captors becoming violent or worse, enthralled. These were obviously sick and twisted men who enjoyed doing cruel things to simple and kind people. Any noise from her would be an invitation, and it was something she definitely didn’t want to advertise.
Looking behind the troop all she could see was a vast plain that sprawled further than the eye could see, even with her keen eyes. In the distance on the other side of the road, East by the Sun’s position, she could see tall mountains, the same mountains that she could see from her window back at her old hut. Now though, she was close enough to notice a forest that spread out from them. I looked like an old forest, even from here she could tell how dense it was. Even the outermost trees were thick and mangled, it was a rather uncomfortable feeling to think about being in those woods and immediately rejected it as part of any sort of escape plan.
She panned her gaze back over the landscape one more time and concluded that escape was impossible, at least for now. The horses would beat her in any foot race, and with nothing but a open plain on one side, and a forest which reeked of death on the other, she would just have to bide her time. The only problem being how much time did she have exactly? How long had she been asleep? How far had they traveled? Where are they going? The last two questions honestly were inconsequential, considering this was a foreign land to her, and she had no knowledge of its geography.
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She gave an internal sigh, before looking back toward the front. Seeing her friend’s head rock back and forth with the movement of the horse made her nearly cry out again, but she did her best to fight back the tears and clenched her jaw tight. She would make these men pay, she would make the person responsible for all of this, for the deaths of the only two people in this world she had left, pay dearly.
She was so focused internally that she didn’t notice the man sitting on the horse in across from her watching her with a giant grin on his face. He reached out, and caressed her face, wearing a disgusting smile and licking his lips. All of a sudden, his face changed to disappointment and a sharp thud was felt on the back of her head. As she faded to black, in the distance she could hear what sounded like the roar of a giant beast.
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Part 3.
It was a soft breeze that fluttered about the room, and the sound of soft breathing that greeted me when he awoke. After a quick adjustment of my eyes, I scanned my surroundings. I found myself inside a rather comfortable room, not too lavishly furnished, but more than any commoner could afford to decorate, or so I had assumed. The bed was down, soft like what you would imagine a cloud to feel like, and the sheets were pristine white.
Turning my head in the other direction, I traced the soft breathing sound to a rather unlikely culprit. There, in a wooden chair, softly snoring at my bedside was none other than the Princess. This was my first really good look at her. She was as beautiful as any of the fairy tale princesses you saw in movies or read about in books. She had long blond hair which in this case was done up in a sort of half do with bun. She wore a white gown with simple floral embroidery. She had a silver necklace around her neck, which held an oval shaped locket. Her arms were bear, showing her soft pale skin, which did not have a single blemish. Her wrists were adorned with silver bracelets that were both simple and ornate at the same time. In her lap sat a leather-bound book. Its spine was void of any markings, but it was rather thick, something that looked to be for an advance reader, someone may years her senior.
I let out a quiet breath before slowly and carefully attempting to adjust myself to a sitting position on the bed. When I was comfortable, a gave one more look around the room, and admired the décor. I confirmed it was more lavish than I had previously thought. Rich Mahogany like wood chairs and a table big enough for six. There were two large sofas in the distance next to a lit fireplace, with red fabric cushions and elaborate molding down the sides. A bookshelf sat against the wall behind one, and two cabinets mirrored it on the opposite side of the room. Behind where the princess softly snored was a small door that no doubt led to a closet, and next to it was another cabinet providing more storage. On one side of the bed was a chest of drawers and to my right a nightstand, on which sat a candle stick and a solid gold ring.
I reached over picking up the ring, on the inside of the band was inscribed the words, ‘Life may be short, but our love is eternal.’ It was my wedding band, my wife and I had duplicate ones made, each inscribed with that phrase. Since coming here and being in this new body it didn’t really fit my hand, so I had been keeping it in my pocket. I could have adjusted the size with my powers, but it didn’t feel right, so I tucked it away for safe keeping. While my attention was focused on the memento in my hand, I hadn’t noticed that the other person in the room was now awake, at least not until I felt the weight of her slamming against my back, her arms wrapping around my neck, and a soft cushion sensation pressed against my back.
“I was so worried! I thought that you would never wake up!” she exclaimed while tightening her grip around my neck. “When they brought you in, you were covered in blood, and no matter what we did, no one could wake you. Then, when they inspected your body, no one could find any cuts to explain the blood.” She finished.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the subtle shakiness in her voice. I couldn’t quite grasp what this was. It wasn’t like we had a close relationship.
After my rather interesting introduction to the Prince’s court, and successive duel against Sir Royden. I was taken into the Royal quarters where our conversation became much more pleasant. The topic still revolved around saving the world from the Demon Lord, which would be just as stressful as it sounds, but there was no longer a need for a show of authority and defiance on our parts.
We discussed more intimate matters, such as my abilities, my time spent with the Gods and Goddesses, my personal history and the fact that, as for all I that I know, I will be stuck in this world for good. When asked what kind of compensation I would like to have for completing my task, I simply asked him to continue with his advancement of his states Magic Academy, and that I would explain all of it to him later.
The entire time we had been sitting there talking, the young princess had been watching me intently, and when a moment did present itself would ask more questions about my old world, my life and my family. Of course, in an effort to not be rude to my hosts, I answered all of her questions with a smile on my face. In return, her face and eyes lit up like the star on the Rockefeller tree. This kind of conversation continued between us for a length of time, until finally dinner was called, and we washed then finally rested for the night.
Though the way she was reacting now, made it seem like I had been some long lover who had just barely made it back from the war. “I’m okay… though you may just strangle me to death with your grip.” I coughed. She quickly recoiled back into her chair.
“Excuse me. I am sorry. It is just… when I awoke and say you moving, I was so glad that I couldn’t contain myself.” she said apologetically. “I was so frightened when you weren’t moving, no matter what anyone did… no matter what I did… you didn’t stir.” She continued, tears welling in her eyes.
“It’s okay. I’m okay.” I said, reaching over and whipping away the water from her eyes. “See… nothing wrong. I was just really tired I guess.” I added, flexing an arm, and holding onto my bicep with the opposite hand.
“Are you sure?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “I should call the physician so he can examine you.”
“Nah. I already took a quick look at my stats. I promise! I am in tip top shape. In fact, I am doing better than ever before!” I said enthusiastically. It wasn’t a lie, remembering the last time I had looked over my own stats, I had been level 5 after all the fights with the monsters in the forest. This time however, I was level 19. The dramatic growth was surprising, but I couldn’t quite understand how it had happened. I sat there in bed and thought hard about what felt a lot longer than it likely was. “Ah…” I said, with an awkward lurching motion that started from my gut.
“What is it Mr. Alex?” she asked.
“Just Alex is fine, I never got used to the mister part.” I responded. “Also… I remember what happened to me and Sir Royden in the forest.”
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Part 4.
“So, what kind of plan do you have then?” I asked.
“Move fast and stay alive.” He shot back. His focus was entirely on the large dark beast on the opposite side of the clearing. I felt like his statements were more orders he was giving to me, rather than a plan we were both going to be following. His stance was wide and solid, it was obvious from anyone that had done any studying in an form of martial arts, if was a guarded defensive stance and not one made for quick agile movements.
“So… you want me to run and you are thinking about sacrificing yourself to make it happen.” I questioned him.
“If needed. That is why they sent me. If only one walks out of this forest, I has to be you.” He responded. “I am replaceable by any number of other warriors in my lords employ. You… you are once in a lifetime summon who has to save us all.” He said, with a big bright smile.
“Hmm… first, your smile is dumb. Two, and I can’t believe I am actually saying this, if I can’t save you, how can I even bother assuming that I can actually save this world.” The fact that those words actually escaped my lips made me want to hurl. “Fuck it. This oversized house cat will be my first real challenge. I am not dying here, I have my goal, and I will go through anyone that even dare to get in my way!” I said, my voice booming through the clearing.
As if in response to my provocation, he let out a loud roar, one that I could swear could be heard for miles away. It then contracted its muscles and prepared to make its move.
With my eyes hyper focused on our opponent in front of us, I spoke to Royden. “Whatever you do, keep moving in this fight. He is faster and more agile than us, but we will be dead in an instant if we stop moving. We won’t have time to coordinate during this fight. We will have to use all of our previous experience and intuition in this fight. Do whatever you think is best to do.” My entire demeanor had changed. My voice was that of death, cold, calculating and unforgiving, void of any and all emotion. “Last of all, don’t die.” With that, I slowly sauntered up in the direction of my opponent.
It didn’t take long for Royden to join us, but there was definitely a pause, as he took a moment to process what had just transpired. Though, soon enough, he joined me. The air around us was heavy, and our focus was intense. We were men who were ready to do one of two things. Kill or be killed. We either walked away from this, or we didn’t, but we had hardened ourselves for both.
While the conflict had started the moment both parties had made notice of each other, the fight started the moment the overgrown feline launched itself at me. I let it in, and when it grew close enough, a thick steel plate met its face, providing us with the moment of hesitation we needed for us to move on each of the creature’s flanks. It then attempted to jump back to reposition itself, but I let out a loud roar of [Intimidation], and the creature became noticeably sluggish, but was still faster and more agile than either of us.
Royden jumped in, brandishing his sword with a large downward swing. It was too big and slow of a motion, and the cat launched a paw at him. He was quick enough to alter his attack into an awkward guard that saved his being sliced up. Though with the awkward stance and the force of the creature’s blow, he took a noticeable hit, but managed to shake it off.
With him focused in Roy’s direction, I launched forward with a heavy right cross. At the start of my attack, I [Created] gloves with steel plates over the knuckles, and just before the connection, they had finished. It gave out a low growl from the hit, implying that it did do some damage, however it felt rather lackluster. I quickly jumped back, avoiding a swipe of its large paw. With that, the opening was done, we had tested each other’s resolve and power, and the real fight could begin.
We circled the beast together in a counterclockwise motion. Roy positioned himself at the front and I was at the rear. [Manipulating] the knuckles on my glove from sheets into thick jagged spikes, I kept focus on its tail, waiting for even the smallest opening to present itself. Roy shot forward first, going directly for the beast’s face with his sword, using that as pretext I also made my move, heading for the creature’s left hind leg. Immobilizing an opponent was a sound strategy in any fight, whether it was between two people, or two countries. It responded in kind, with attacks from its left paw in a sweeping motion at Royden, who then had to re adjust to block. Also, a swipe from its heavy tail which came at a blistering speed toward my head. I lifted my arms to guard, but the force was so great that it knocked me to the side and shattered both bones in my left forearm.
After having swatted both opponents back, he let out another roar, this time even louder than the last. I could feel an incredible force being pushed down on me, forcing me to the ground. I chose not to fight against it and instead focused on trying to repair the bones in my arm. From my spot in the dirt I could see Royden though, one knee on the ground, and the other pressed against the flat of his blade, using it to keep himself mostly upright, yet still that appeared to be a struggle.
After what felt like an eternity, the pressure ended, we gained our ability to move. “Roy, jump back.” I yelled across the battlefield. He shook his head, and just barely managed to dodge the jaws of death. “I don’t know what that was, but it is bad. The only saving grace being that it seems that he can not attack while using that ability. Keep focused on something when it happens, so he doesn’t catch you off guard afterwards.” I continued, shooting up from spot on the floor, and circling around the creature to its left side and letting out a loud roar of [Intimidation] of my own.
Royden then attacked again, a slash across the creature’s face. The cut wasn’t deep presa, but any assault on the face can be rattling, regardless of the species. I shot back, defensively, giving a second to rub its face, but quickly returning to a guarded stance.
“Nice job!” I exclaimed. Roy returned with a nod and a small grunt.
With the short lull in the fighting over, he launched himself at Royden, no doubt wanting revenge for the new scare he was sporting. It launched a flurry of attacks, left and right paws, bites and even a few surprises tail swings. Each blow was heavy and aimed to kill. Roy did well blocking, and while his muscles were more than up to the task, his blade proved otherwise. After four or five blocks, it buckled under the pressure of one of the creature’s large paws. The cat then launched a heavy tail swing, slamming the tip right into Roy’s stomach, causing him to bend over. With Royden momentarily paralyzed, the large black carnivore clamped its jaws down on Royden’s right shoulder, and pulled away, ripping his arm free from the body.
There was no scream from Royden’s lips, as the air in his lungs had not replenished from being forcefully expelled by the heavy tail strike. His face went pale instantly, and he sat there on his knees, completely unresponsive to anything around him. With a mouthful of Royden, the creature looked like he was going to finish him off with a large and heavy paw strike, but before it could a heavy hit came from the side of his face, dislocating its jaw and causing the shoulder to drop from its mouth.
Horror was the only word that I could use to describe that situation. I had been in fights before, both official and unofficial, and blood was something that didn’t get to me. Seeing someone’s shoulder ripped off of them was a new one though. Keeping my stomach from expelling its contents was the first challenge, and not buckling to the reality of what I was seeing was the next. Managing to do both, I used the moment where its focus was completely on Royden to launch a heavy salvo of my own.
Compacting the muscles in legs, I used [Jump] and [Quick Acceleration], to launch me forward at a blistering pace. Using the momentum, my hand, now wrapped in jagged steel spikes, met the beast’s jaw. With the collision came a snapping cracking sound, releasing my partner’s limb from its clutches. Using the momentum I still had, I brought my leg up and forward like a whip, [Kicking] the creature whit enough force that it knocked him over on his side.
Choosing to continue with my advantage I forewent going to Royden’s side, and instead renewed my attack. Using my steel covered hands, I struck at the biggest soft spot that was closest to me, its exposed neck was a most appetizing target. I let out one more roar in between strikes [Intimidating] it, trying to keep it as compromised as possible for as long as possible. A torrent of assaults on its neck eventually led to what was once a thick sturdy neck, becoming a mushed soft mess, moving fast taking in as many shallow breaths as it could in an attempt to fill its lungs with air.
I turned and walked back a way, picking up the bent sword from the dirt, and proceeded to shove the sword in, over and over. With one last exhalation the creature went heavy, and I finally felt it was okay to stop. I recoiled my hands and stared at my prey. Forest Queen Sheegara. I stared at it, burning the name into my memory, until I remembered something important.
“Royden!” I yelled. Retrieving his right arm from the dirt and rushed to his side. I put the severed appendage up to the wound and proceeded to [Manipulate] it, reattaching it to its owner. “Come on man, we won, see, the fight is over.” I continued, begging for a response. After a while I was able to let go of the arm, but there was still no response. I had noticed it, long before I had ever let myself realize I did.
Sitting there, across from him, I admitted to myself that he was gone. “See… I told you, I’m not a hero. I told everyone. I couldn’t save one person; how can I bother saving the world?” tears came from my eyes for the first time in.. How long ago was it?
“I think that last time I cried It was…”