Two days since the Sworn attack on the Benbaurg auction. Jazmel found himself in the labyrinth alongside Baek, just the two of them travelling together and Jazmel doing the most to level up and learn his skills better. But this time, Baek was pushing him, tell him when he was not holding his sword well When he extended further in an attack and when he used too much Mana in a skill, something he hadn't really done before but now, now he was mentor to Jazmel .
They had been through another swamp, but luckily no extremely powerful creatures attacked them. nothing Jazmel couldn’t manage on his own, he didn’t gain a single stat, which was how he knew he wasn’t even pushing his abilities.
In three hours they passed through that floor and Jazmel sighed with relief when the gate which was a singular archway opened and revealed another forest, not too different from the Teneriel forest that his friend Sadé was raised.
DING!
The familiar screen appeared, and Jazmel found himself prepared for the notification.
DING!
YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE AUGARCH FOREST!
…
THE HOME OF THE NARIKINA IGNI ELVES!
…
DESPAIR HAS BEFALLEN THE IGNI ELVES!!
SLAVERS HAVE CAPTURED MANY OF THEM!
FREE THE ELVES AND DEFEAT THE SLAVERS!
REWARDS WILL VARY UPON THE RATE OF SUCCESS!
Jazmel scanned the notice screen and after closing it he ventured into the forest. It was quiet, no birds were singing, no animals were calling out to one another. It was eerily silent, and Jazmel wondered if the entire forest was holding its breath before something happened.
Jazmel pushed through and even though the forest was mute, there was still beauty all around him. he had noticed with his time in the Teneriel forest that Mana seemed to be much denser in the forests of the elves and when he had asked Baek about it. Baek had simply said that elves were the children of nature and so were blessed as such.
They pushed through and Jazmel heard the sound of fighting already, then with his keen eyes; the eyes that let him perceive Mana in everything. He could see the different Mana’s focused into skills bouncing around.
He and Baek moved silently through the trees until he was on a hillock above the battle and when Jazmel peered down he saw a young man fighting with a badly wrought dagger before a group of ten slavers. Or so they looked the part, what bothered Jazmel and made him quiver with anger. Was the large wooden cage behind the young man. He was defending whatever was inside. Jazmel didn’t think twice.
Fall of the black raven!
He leapt above them and crashed down into the slavers killing them all.
DING!
X10 SLAVERS KILLED!
+1 STR
“Whoa.” He heard and looking over his shoulder, he could see the young man, who turned out to be a boy was looking at him.
“Who are you?” Jazmel asked him and the boy stood up clearing his throat.
“Leno sir. Seeker tier I.” he said, and Jazmel wondered why he looked at him like that, they couldn’t have been far in age, and yet the boy was talking to him like he was a man.
“Leno, I am Jazmel . I got a quest to free the elves, same as you I take it?” Jazmel asked and the boy nodded.
“Good, I will free the elves and then we can look for the others, why don’t you loot the bodies. You might find something in there for yourself.” Jazmel offered and the boy nodded and rushed forward to loot the corpses. In turn, Jazmel walked past and with a flick of his sword, he cut through the wooden sticks that were barring those inside, there was only one small girl inside. The others had died, starvation and infection. They had kept as far from her as possible, but even Jazmel could tell she was sick. He offered her a hand she looked at it with a fierceness. A feral look, and then she noticed the bodies. “Did you kill them?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. He nodded and she nodded back, she accepted his hand and then slowly stumbled from the cage.
She was thin, sick even. He offered her a stamina potion and a health potion, she accepted them and drank deeply from them both, finishing them and then stretching as they worked over her body. She was still thin, but she was healthier, and she wore scraps of clothing, the tatters of what might have once been a dress.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She moved over to the dead bodies and unceremoniously stripped and then changed into clothes of the smallest man. Using a belt to keep his trousers about her waist. She sheathed a sword on her hip, one across her back and then thinking on it, added a dagger on her belt.
“I have looted them all sir.” The boy Leno said again, and Jazmel laughed. “I am not a sir; I am just Jazmel . I am sure we are the same age anyway.” The boy looked at him with shock and awe.
“I only look bigger because of my tier tribulation. I am not actually that old.” He told the boy and the elven girl listened quite interested.
“What tier are you?” Leno asked him and Jazmel looked at them both before responding.
“Ranker tier I.” Leno gasped and looked down at himself, the girl simply nodded almost business like and continued to take things from the slavers.
“Are you alone?” Jazmel asked Leno and looking around he nodded. “A group of us came, but when they saw that we were outnumbered they ran off, I couldn’t leave her alone. Though I thought there were more alive in the cage.” He confessed and Jazmel listened offering his ear.
“You did well, I respect that you stayed. Now let’s find the others.” He turned to the elven girl, and she was looking at them, waiting.
“I am going to free my people; I do not need your help, but I welcome it if you offer it freely.” She said and Jazmel noticed that she was still on the guard about them. as she said this, Baek appeared, descending from the hillock and he landed softly near Jazmel .
“There is a temple a few miles to the north of here, they seem to have the other elves and a few seekers strung up there. The slavers are seekers too, but the leader is a ranker, tier II.” He offered and Jazmel thanked him for his reconnaissance.
“We will head to the temple.” He turned and Leno was ready, the piece of iron he was holding still firmly in his hand.
“I am going to run there; I hope you all have the stats to keep up. But I will slow down for you to get as much rest as you can. It would be better if you kept pushing yourself though. You need to expand your limits and to do that, you need to push your body.” Jazmel explained. Baek hid a smile and Jazmel rolled his eyes, knowing that he was watching his leadership skills.
They took off and Jazmel led them, running towards the north and trying to keep it at a fair pace for the young man and the elven girl he was with.
Jazmel ran and pushed them both, the elven girl could keep up. She hadn't offered her name or anything, but she seemed focused on not looking weak before Jazmel and Leno. In truth it was Leno who was struggling the most, his stats were bad. Jazmel could tell just by the way he moved, he hadn't tried to balance them at all and even now, he was not able to push and strengthen himself.
They ran like that for two hours, stopping and starting and when they reached near the temple. Only Jazmel and Baek were fine, the girl was simply leaning over a little and trying to catch her breath. While Leno was lying flat out on his back, inhaling air like a vacuum and his chest was moving with the effort of it.
“We will rest and then enter; you guys will free those who have been caught and I will deal with the slavers. I will keep them focused and they will not have a time to watch or worry about those they have tried to enslave.” Leno and the girl simply nodded but Jazmel could tell they were both worried. He gave them a stamina potion each.
“Let’s move.” He said after letting them rest for half an hour. He then left them to make their own way into the temple and he simply walked the path up through the doors and into the courtyard which was filled with slavers, he and Baek simply looked around and he drew his sword, Nozarashi and waited.
“What are you doing here?!” one of them called at him, a mug of rum in his hand and clearly drunk.
“Are you a slaver?” Jazmel asked, the man looked around and shrugged.
“If you are looking for work, we got the job done here already mate. Move on mate -” Before he could even continue Jazmel cut him down, a slash and the man died at once.
+1 STR
“Hey what are you doing!” another man rushed at him, Jazmel cut through him, then they rushed him. but they were weaker than him. he barely needed to use skills.
+1 DEX
Three rushed him, he pulled Daishinkan out and using both blades. He cut through them all, the numbers meant nothing. They were weaker than him and after hearing Mary, Tango and Baek explaining how great the strength difference was from Seeker to Ranker. He was feeling the difference immensely.
Bestial barrage!
A swathe of blackened Mana smashed the defence Jazmel threw up, blocking it with his swords and body.
“Why the hell are you killing my men!” a rough looking older man with a scraggly beard and a large great axe in his hands. He wasn’t particularly big; he wasn’t even that much stronger than Jazmel . But there were still others gathering, he could feel their Mana rippling at the recesses of his keen senses.
“Will you try and stop me then?” Jazmel asked succinctly and the man raised his axe in a charge and rushed him. Jazmel danced into his reach, and they fought, neither of them getting any grounds or advantage. The man was experienced with his axe, he struck when he could and deflected or countered Jazmel where he could.
Axe breaker!
He slammed the haft down and tried to break the defence Jazmel had built from a sturdy guard. But Jazmel was stronger than a normal tier I. his stats and tempered body had changed the condition of his limits.
Cleave!
Jazmel met him with one of his skills and the man was buffeted by the skill, he blocked with his axe head. But he lost ground, having been pushed back and Jazmel licked his lips as he leapt in.
Fall of the black raven!
He dove in and swinging his blade, he knocked the axe from the head slavers grip. The skill always added strength to his strike and as the man flailed, trying to grab his axe again. Jazmel brought his other sword down with nothing but sheer animosity.
Lacerate!
He cut the man and to his surprise a bubble of Mana tried to deflect his attack. an amulet he hadn't noticed around the man’s neck stopped the strike for a moment, but as the skill was a two-strike attack. the second burst the bubble and cut the man down.
“impossible.” His final words as his own blood wet his lips.
DING!
UNKNOWN RANKER TIER II KILLED!
+2 DEX
+1 AGL
+1 PER
Jazmel watched the body for a moment, as the leader died and then he looked up and noticed the slavers looking at him. then they broke off and ran, sprinting into the woods and out of the temple from whatever way they could. He thought about killing them, but he had spilt a great deal of blood already.
“Hey!” he heard and looking over he saw the girl waving at him from a small doorway and hurrying him over with a wave of her arm. He ran to her, to see what had happened.