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Chapter 1
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I stared at the silver skeleton in blank amazement. I glanced at the two others, and noticed that they were around the same age as me: 16. I then thought about the many questions I had:
Why am I here?
Why am I not dead?
Where am I?
Did the Death God think my crime was unforgivable?
We sat emotionless on the pitch black floor, as the Death God Nex continued, "Children of the old world, welcome to my abyss. I am sure you have many questions, but worry not. I have called you all here for a single purpose: to control the expansion of the Light. All three of you have done so-called 'unforgivable deeds,' but I believe that experience is necessary to carry out my mission. With that said, you MUST be able to have the conviction to kill, of course, when it is necessary. All of you that don't think you are able to carry this out, leave the room."
The skeleton muttered his last words with disgust. A door in pure white appeared out of nowhere in front of us. The man on the far right shivered, sweat, and stared at the door, as if expecting something to occur. The woman next to me didn't flinch. She turned to look at me, curious of what my decision would be.
I returned her stare, and said, "I'm staying."
She replied with, "Of course, I will as well."
We both looked at the man on the far right. He got up, glanced at the skeleton and said, "I'm sorry. I cannot help you. I lived a life that I am not proud of, but I don't wish to keep killing."
He turned to look at us, gently said, "Good luck you two," and walked through the colorless door.
The skeleton eyed the man as he left, and explained with a grin, "Hmph. One less shouldn't damage the plan. Don't worry. Ok. You two will be sent to the world of Arcadia. It is a growing world, so don't expect too much. There are a total of 6 races. Elves, Dark Elves, Demons, Humans, Dwarves, and Beasts. Every race has an affinity with either Light or Dark. It is possible to switch one's affinity, but it is very difficult. Dark Elves, Beasts, and Demons are your friends, since they share the affinity of the Dark. The other three are Light, but I'm sure you don't care about that. I have chosen you two to spawn as demons."
"Please let me be half human," I interjected with a pleading face.
"I as well," the woman followed.
"Why, if I may ask?" the skeleton questioned, as he stroked his non-existent beard.
"It is said that one must be close to your enemy to deal the most damage. Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer," I explained, and continued, "I plan to take the humans out from within their own society."
"I see. I will try to do so. Leaving that aside, let me inform you of your mission. You are to destroy the hidden weapon of destruction that the bearers of Light are building. The Church of the Light God Lux, has already summoned their heroes. In Arcadia, the Dark's influence is decreasing. The beasts, the largest of the Dark-affinity population, are being enslaved and forced to convert into Light. The Dark controls about 15% of the continent of Altino now. Oh, and there is only one continent on the world of Arcadia, and it is Altino. It is divided into sects based on the power of the noble families that own the land. "
"I understand Death God Nex," I said as I stood up. I continued, "Where will we be summoned to?"
"Anxious are you? No, it seems like you can't wait.. to kill? Good. It looks like I have chosen correctly. You two will be summoned together randomly. I am sorry I cannot help my own heroes. This is the best information I can give: DO NOT BE CAPTURED. There is a high possibility you will be lynched. I cannot keep you here any longer. I am sorry, good luck, and goodbye."
The skeleton appeared to be panicking, he hurriedly looked around and frequently took glances at a space behind his back.
Suddenly, as I was slowly loosing consciousness, I noticed a large white crack in the black box that we were confined in. The Death God turned, and unsheathed his flying sword.
The Death God excitedly shouted, "Hahahahahaaaaa! You finally show your face, Light God.. Today is the day I ...."
The scene in front of me soon disappeared, and I couldn't decipher his last words. I suddenly felt myself getting lighter.
Before I could tell, I woke up. I immediately opened my eyes, to see four skeletons kneeling down in front of me.
I faintly heard one of them say, "Wellllcome, my lorrrd. I am suuure you you talked to Death God Nexxx..."
I noticed that I was summoned in a dense forest, filled with huge trees that were at least 400 feet tall, and it was in the morning. I slowly looked around for the female that was with me in the black room. When I found that she wasn't summoned with me, I sighed.
Thanks to my benefactor, and savior, Death God Nex for giving me a second chance, but d*mn. These skeletons will hinder my mission. I will dispose of them later. I will go get some food and water, I thought as I dragged myself towards the river. When I got to the river, I was taken aback at how I looked. The reflection of the clear river showed me my face, but instead with long, navy-blue hair, heterochromia eyes, and longer ears. I took a look at myself, and I noticed that I looked physically fit.
My eyes are disturbing. I look too evil to get close to humans, I thought as I looked into my black eyes, that had a burst of red in the iris.
I quickly took a sip of water from the river, and hunted a rabbit. After finishing my meal, I headed back towards the summoning circle that the skeletons made with the bones of recently deceased humans. I examined the summoning circle.
I shot a glance at the skeletons, and calmly said, "Where is the closest town? Do you have a weapon for me? and did you scout the area to look for any humans?"
"O...oh. I a..am sorry milord, I only know that the closest village is northward," the skeletons said simultaneously.
I must look quite frightening, I surmised.
I unsheathed the longsword of the skeleton closest to me, and massacred them all with one quick side swipe.
I grinned, and thought aloud, "This body is comfortable. It is much stronger than my past self.."
I ran as fast as I can towards the closest village. When I reached the marketplace, I walked around looking for an adventurer's building.
In my past life, adventurers were looked down upon.. I wonder what the situation is here.
I spotted a building that was surrounded by people with all kinds of weapons and armor. The moment I entered, I felt the stare of over 2,000 people upon me. I hastily looked at the ones that eyed me with hate. I slowly walked up to the counter and said, "Miss, I'm here to become an adventurer."
She was profusely sweating, and said, "O..oh ye...yes. I will immediately get you the adventurer's status tag."
The lady immediately left, and came back a minute later.
Hmm.. I can properly understand and speak this unruly language..
"Here is the status tag. It uses magic in order to tell you things such as the strength, intelligence, and affinity the user has. It cannot be seen by anyone other than yourself, unless you permit someone else to take a look. To take a look at your status, just think 'status' and it will appear in front of you. There are 5 levels of rank in the adventurer's guild. It goes from the highest, A, to the bottom, E. A..and everyone starts at E.. so..sorry, " she hurriedly explained.
Hmph. I don't think I need to remember these things. I am only here for two things, to destroy the weapon of Light, and exterminate the human race. Speaking of extermination, I need a plan... , I thought, as I smiled.
I took a look at the tag and then glanced in the direction of the desk lady. I noticed that she was shaking, and had a look of fear in her eyes. I disregarded it, and headed outside with my newly acquired status tag hanging around my neck.
I thought 'status' and a window appeared in front of me.
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Name: Roran Nex
Age: 16 Years
Level: 1
Class: Death God's Advocate (lvl 1)
Titles: Jaas Village's Demon
Rank: E
HP: 150
MP: 10
Strength: 100
Endurance: 50
Vitality: 50
Intelligence: 60
Agility: 60
Skills:
Active Perception (lvl 1) -- Can inspect items/living things to extract basic, known information from them. User must be touching the object.
Blessing of Death God Nex (lvl 1) -- Can reach an 'enraged' state at the cost of 100 HP. (Enraged) = 10% boost to all stats.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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I read through the information, and thought, Jaas Village Demon? I already have a title? Anyway, these skills are useful. I should head out to see some quests. I need enough money to stay at an inn, buy food and a slave. I can't join a party and I can't trust anyone.
I headed towards the quest board that was outside the Village Jaas's Adventurer's Guild, and found a request for 30 rabbit pelts in exchange for 50 coppers.
As far as I remember, in my past life, the exchange rate should be 100 coppers = 1 silver and 100 silvers = 1 gold..
I reminisced about the past, but came to my senses a second later. I noticed 3 men behind me. They repeatedly shot glances towards me, even though it looked as if they were just conversing. After discovering them, I walked towards the center of the marketplace to disguise myself among the crowd.
Sh*t I'm going to have problems now.. I'm causing a commotion even though I haven't done anything wrong. I must take care of this problem once I return.
I scowled at the thought, and left towards the forest. I crafted 60 rabbit traps around the locations I spotted paw prints. I left to try to hunt bigger game to satisfy my hunger. So far, I am only carrying black robes (which I am wearing right now), a bag, and a simple longsword.
After I personally hunted a rabbit to eat, I roasted it under a fire, like I did to the mother bear.
I decided not to remember my past, I told myself, So I should work towards my ambition, rather than wasting time reminiscing.
I faintly laughed at my own stupidity, and after eating, went to check on the rabbit traps. It has been around four hours, so I expected to catch a few. I saw that I caught 10, and after skinning them, I nodded off. When I woke up, I collected the rest of the pelts, and left to collect my reward. The same men I ran away from started trailing me again. Once I entered the guild, everything went quiet, and I received even more scornful stares, enough to make me uncomfortable. I carefully walked towards the counter lady. I handed her the pelts, and without a word, she handed me a silver coin.
I need to be cautious, since I only have basic stats, I thought, as sweat slowly dripped down my forehead.
I can only take, at most, 3 people at once. The group of three that are trailing me must have figured this out, since it looked like there were 10 more people with them. I can't kill anyone yet, since I won't be able to fit into their society, and I won't be able to purchase any goods.
I quickly walked towards the exit, when a few men stopped me. As I was around 5' 10" in this new body, the tall, burly men looked down at me. I smiled, and thought, You can get muscles that big?
The man in front of me started to get pissed. He crossed his arms and said, "Why are you smiling DEMON? I'm going to eradicate you now, so no hard feelings."
The man was so angry, he forgot the fact that we were still standing inside the guild. I responded, "Sir, we are still standing inside the building. I also suggest that you calm down, since I am not a Demon, but an unlucky human. The demons from the north experimented on me, and I ended up looking like this. I am sorry for troubling you.."
I made the most sorry face I could, despite the fact that it hurt my pride, since my brother so kindly taught me that surviving is better than keeping one's pride.
The man looked at me with an untrusting face, and responded, "That is probably a lie, since you look like a demon, you can't possibly be human. That is enough reason to kill you."
Suddenly, we heard a booming voice from the back of the room, "LET HIM GO. WITHOUT TRUST, A GUILD CANNOT FUNCTION. HE JOINED THE GUILD WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS, AND LOOK, HE SPEAKS THE HUMAN LANGUAGE, ISN'T THAT ENOUGH TO TELL THAT HE IS TELLING THE TRUTH?"
I turned to see that the man speaking was an old man, who spoke as if he had a lot of influence over the guild. I glanced at the burly man behind me, and saw that he lost all anger on his face. I took a deep breath, and turned back to talk to him.
"Are you ok now? I honestly didn't mean to hurt you. I am sorry," I said as I lightly bowed with a hand on my chest.
"No, it is my fault. I apologize, I failed to see that you speak our language, unlike those demons," he scowled at the last word he said, and continued, "Come, I shall pay for a drink."
Feeling that I couldn't decline, I followed him to the bar, and the guild became loud again.
After sharing a drink with him, I left to sell the remaining rabbit meat that I was carrying with me in the bag. I asked the first merchant I saw, "Oi, merchant, will you buy the rabbit meat I have for 2 silvers?"
He immediately declined,"No, sorry sir, I cannot do that. I can do 1 silver. How about it?"
I followed with, "Are you sure?" and eyed him with the most frightful face I had.
"I c..can wo..rk out a d....d...eal.. I'll pay! Just leave now.."
After procuring 2 more silvers with "persuasion," I carried my 3 silvers and headed towards the slave market. I had already decided that I wanted a female slave, since I didn't want to be close (emotionally) to a man after seeing my brother.
I headed down an alley and walked down the stairs and knocked on the door. A man opened the door, and I entered to see a room filled with people examining slaves locked up in many cages. A slave merchant walked up to me, and said,"Sir, would you like to buy a slave? The lowest price starts at 5 silver coins!"
"Show me your cheapest female slaves, the ones less than 5 coins," I asked with an emotionless face.
"Are you sure? Those slaves aren't good 'quality,' for a man such as yourself, I would recommend this elf, with high magic affinity, and can speak all languages! Only for the price of 200 gold! "
I declined, "No, show me what I asked for."
I followed the merchant down to an isle where there was no one but us. He introduced the three slaves that were present.
"This is Tama, she is a beast-girl (bunny) with big breasts, at age 14, no 'experience,' all our girls are clean. While this seems just fine, she has severe burns on her feet from a fire, which makes it difficult for her to walk from time to time. 5 silvers. "
The way he describes them disgusts me.. I scowled at him, and said, "Just show me the others."
"Oo..ok. I will continue. Next is a 15 year old half-beast (wolf), named Evie. She doesn't have large breasts, or anything desirable on her. Not only that, while she has no scars on her body, her mind is a different story. She always seems far away, and doesn't talk much. Let me tell you, she has excellent reflexes and strength, just as a beast should have. 2 silvers. Last but not least, an elf named Celea. She has a nice figure, at age 16, but she is blind in one eye and almost blind in the other, making her useless at the things the elves excel at: archery and physical prowess. She is only good for using magic. 1 silver. "
The merchant finished explaining the situation of the three girls, and I contemplated the pros and cons of having each of them with me.
Tama won't bring me profit, let alone fight when I want her to. Evie seems ok, but it will take time to get to understand her situation. Lastly, the elf is good, but she can't see, so how will she cast her magic? I've narrowed it down to Evie, or Celea. Hmm.. why don't I just buy both?
I made my decision, and I said, "I'll buy the elf and the half-beast, thanks," I said as I handed the 3 silver coins to him.
He unchained the shackles on their necks and arms, and walked them over to me, saying, "This is your new master, girls."
Celea looked at me with cold eyes and said, "Thank you for buying me master. I hope to serve you well," while Evie didn't even glance. Evie stood emotionless, with empty eyes staring at the ground.
I surmised, I must break her. Even if she resents me. She cannot be useless when I have paid 2 silvers for her, 1 more than the magic-casting Celea.
The merchant left the collar on the girls, drew their blood, and performed a ritual. A minute later, a red glow emitted from their chests, and it was branded with the name: Roran.
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Author: Sorry I don't know how to make tables!! I'm new to Royal Road, so I'll do my best. Thanks for reading, and please comment on what you think about the story so far! I appreciate the support.
Again, if you spot any mistakes, comment on it!
See you next time!
Next: Chapter 2 - Evie and Celea