Authot's Note : Yeah. Its pretty annoying if you read notes from the Author both before and after the chapter. But this part is like the credits after a movie.
Many thanks to my trusty Proofreader Jacob Abraham and advanced birthday wishes~~!! (11/11/97) ?
[David]
"She's late... " I murmured.
"Yes she is..." came the immediate reply.
Right now, we were standing outside the guild, waiting for Arianne. It was 10 minutes past the meeting time . I look around and catch the glances of a few adventurers.
Some of them were checking out Alice. Heck, one of them was even trying to come forward and talk to her. I turn to him and send him a deadly glare. He and his company shrinks in fear and moves away quickly.
Alice noticed this and said,
"You don't have to be so overprotective you know~" and pouted cutely. I couldn't help but break out a small smile when I saw this.
After another 10 minutes~~
"I'm sorry for being late~" Arianne panted. It seems she had overslept. She gave us an apologetic smile, causing me to feel a bit red in the face.
"You were late by 20 minutes, well, whatever. Lets go get ourselves a new job contract." Alice sighed breaking the awkward silence.
"Ah-yes, yes. Let's go. " Arianne exclaimed excitedly.
To be honest, I was excited too. We were forming an official party.
As we marched into the Guild hall, I could feel gazes on us— on me, or to be exact, the bow on my back. It was a rather valuable one. I had wringed out of Petra, earlier in the morning about the different classifications of weapons.
Common< Uncommon< Rare< Epic< Ancient< Celestial.
Yes... my Elder Goblin Bow, being an heirloom wielded by Goblin Lords was naturally classified under the Ancient class. Currently, in the whole Guild, there were only 2 Ancient weapon holders— including me. The other wielder was a Rune ranked adventurer.
We slowly made our way towards the reception and towards a very familiar Trainee.
"Sup? Done with the Guild Cards ?" I asked, flashing Jeslie a winning smile.
"Yes sir. I will bring them to you immediately" she replied flustered, and went towards a locker. After rummaging around for a bit, she brought us our Guild Cards.
Yep. We had been promoted. In fact, we had skipped a few ranks and were now Silver rank adventurers.
Arianne seemed ecstatic about the Rank up and wouldn't stop grinning. Alice too was pretty happy about it. I gave a small chortle on seeing their happy faces.
Suddenly, Arianne came up to the petite beauty and asked excitedy. "Can you give us a Party registration form ?" On seeing her excitement, Jeslie gave a small giggle and handed us a small parchment and a quill.
"Just add a drop of your blood and name the Party and it will officially be registered. "
"A name?" Alice asked
"Well, yes. Every adventurer party needs a name. For instance one of the parties has the name 'Wyvern Slayers'"
"Wow. That's ... fancy." Alice snorted. I silently facepalmed on hearing the name. Our cute redhead mage on the other hand was so excited on hearing the name, that her eyes began to sparkle.
Talk about a weird and fucked up naming sense.
"Alright~ " I interuppted. "You girls decide on a name while I check out a few things"
Both of them nodded happily and moved away to discuss a new name. When they were out of earshot, I turn to Jeslie and asked her,
"So, this party... Wyvern Slayers, *ahem* What is their rank? "
"It's a mixed party of Platinum and Gold rank adventurers headed by a single Mithril ranked adventurer. So the overall rank is estimated to be Platinum." Jeslie replied, giving me a sweet smile.
"And... have they killed any Wyverns?" I asked dryly.
"Well. Yes. Normally it takes 10 Mithril ranked adventurers to subdue a Wyvern but 30 Gold and Platinum rankers can do the same thing."
"Wait. There are 30 people in the party? Just curious, but what's the average level of a Mithril ranker?" I asked dumbly.
" It's pretty high. Around 20 maybe?... Are you okay Sir?"
I must have looked pretty stupid if she had to ask me that question. I admit, I was pretty stupefied.
"Just asking... but what's the average level of a Rune level adventurer?" I asked weakly.
"Well... they are usually above level 50—" she started but I cut her off.
"Ok. That's it... I'm done with this topic." I sighed heavily.
"Oh? Giving up already?" She asked giving me a playful smile.
I started laughing and said with tears in my eyes, "You wish~" causing her to frown in surprise at the unexpected response.
"David~~" a voice called out from behind me. I turn around and come face to face with a beaming redheaded beauty and a similarly hyped up blond beauty.
"Decide on a name?" I asked her.
"Mmm~" she replied happily.
"Well? Don't keep me in the dark, tell me the name." I chuckled.
Both the girls exchanged glances and giggled befor saying,
""Wandering Souls""
"Wha—?" I was so dumbfounded, I couldn't even speak.
Wow... These girls have zero naming sense and what the heck is with that name? Does somebody here have Peter Pan syndrome?
I just sighed dejectedly and went with the flow. I filled out the parchment. Of course I was the leader. I mean... it obviously makes more sense if I'm the leader... right?
Thus, our Silver ranked Party was formed.
However, there was something I did not expect. A Mithril ranker had come over and was now facing me. Behind him stood an assortment of adventurers of different ranks, all glaring down at me.
The Mithril ranker broke the silence,
"Hello, my fellow adventurers. My name is Pyros and it's my pleasure and honor to meet beautiful ladies like you."
Wow. Spoken like a real Ladykiller. Yes. It was plain fucking obvious. His introduction was not directed at me , but rather at the two beauties standing behind me. Alice frowned in distaste and Arianne glanced around nervously.
Judging by their reactions, they were not interested in Pyros, not in the slightest.
Wait... Pyros. Oh, now I remember. Oho~
"Why don't you join my party? It's a pretty high ranked one." he said, grinning from ear to ear.
I snorted and he glared at me.
"I'm sorry Kyros, but these girls are in a party with me." I interject.
"It's Pyros, you damned commoner!"
"Sure Lyros~~. Now if there's nothing else, we would like to pick out a job and leave already" I said menacingly.
"Tch. " Pyros clicked his tongue in distaste and went away giving me one last glare. Something told me he wasn't done yet. Best to leave before he returned.
.
.
.
Half an hour later, the 'Wandering Souls' were on their first mission. It was a bounty mission. We were supposed to rout out a group of bandits, about 15 of them and bring back the leader, dead or alive. However, since this was a bounty mission, instead of reporting back to the Guild, we would have to turn it in at the nearest Guard booth.
We were now delving deeper and deeper into the Northern forest, killing off any random monster that happened to cross our paths.
"Say, David... I was wondering, what are your real levels?" Arianne asked me, trying to make conversation.
I chewed my lip as I pondered the question. Well she would be working with us for quite a while so... I guess it would be better to be truthful once in a while. I looked over at Alice who nodded her head affirmatively.
I shrugged and scratching the back of my head, I said,
"I'm 56 and Alice is 54"
Arianne stopped in her tracks and stared at us with her mouth agape as if trying to process what she had just heard.
"What? How? When?—" and assaulted us with a flurry of questions. I just ignored her outright and let Alice deal with her.
My Detect soon sensed multiple enemies in front of us. I did a head count. There were exactly 15 of them with the most powerful seeming one being a massive guy with a battleaxe while the others were equipped with swords and bows. I held up my hand, signalling them to remain silent. They huddled close to me and I explained the situation to them.
We slowly planned our ambush against them. It was the usial plan but this time, I was to be the diversion . I slowly entered the clearing. There was no doubt, these were the bandits we were searching for. All of them had a black skull tattoo on their arms .
Bandit 1: "Aaah? Who the fuck are you?"
"I'm just an adventurer." I said as bluntly as I could.
Bandit 2:"Haha! A puny adventurer dares come into the terriitory of us Black Skull bandits? You must have a death wish boy"
The surrounding bandits started laughing.
Wow... that was so third rate, it feels like I'm in a manga or something.
The chief like person stepped forward with a grin and said "We could let you go... but you should leave all your valuables here else I wont be able to guarantee your life."
I snorted in response.
A vein bulged on his forehead and he screamed,
"Get him boys!!" And all the bandits charged me.
.
.
.
After a while, I and my sister were standing over the corpse of the bandits, leaving only the Bandit Chief alive. Alice's face was covered in blood while I was relatively clean.
How she was able to kill without throwing up, I don't know. It could be because of her Patron. Not that I was any different. Arianne soon hurried over to heal us . She was pale and was slightly heaving, indicating that she had been throwing up.
I looked at her and asked, " Changed your mind about partying with us?"
She looked at me for a second and then hardened her face with resolve and deftly said, "Nope. I just need to get used to this."
I smiled at her words and tied up the remaining bandit while she went off to heal Alice.
Soon we were hauling his sorry ass to the Imperial Guard Office.
We were welcomed with surprised faces and soon the bounty was settled.
As I was recieving the reward from the Officer in charge, I asked him,
"Do you by any chance, know an Imperial soldier by the name of Octavius?"
The officer gasped and asked me urgently, shaking me by the shoulder, " Do you know about his whereabouts? Where is he? "
I averted my gaze and said softly" I'm sorry but he's dead."
"Oh..." he sighed dejectedly and his shoulders slumped visibly.
I brought out the locket I took from his body and gave it to him. He gave me an understanding look and went back to his post. Hopefully, the locket would reach his family.
We went back to the Guild and turned in our Job Contract. This time, it wasn't Jeslie, but rather Erin who greeted us. She updated our Guild Cards and gave it back to us.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Soon, we parted ways and were walking towards the Bear Shack when I felt a foreboding chill run down my spine. My Detect skill had activated. The enemy numbered only one.
"Alice. You go back before me. I need to take care of a few tbings." I said with a dry smile.
"Uhn~~" she nodded happily and raced towards the inn.
I watched as her figure slowly receded from my vision.
"I know you're there so stop hiding and come out now."
"As expected of a rising star I guess" (???). I couldn't see his face, but I could ascertain one thing. He was a Platinum.
"What do you want?"
"Oh. I dont want anything but it seems that our boss has taken a bit of a liking to your weapon" (???).
"Oh? This baby? " I asked innocently, slowly cuddling my bow.
"Today. Midnight. Meet us at the docks. The boss is even willing to buy the weapon off you" he snorted.
"Okay... I dont want to get hurt by your ferocious boss" I said with a small smile as I turned around and headed towards the inn, leaving the man frowning.
.
.
.
As always Galvin was extravagant with his meals. After a hearty conversation we were back in our room. I was fiddling with my Defender when Alice suddenly faced me with a serious expression.
"What is it?"
" Brother, You're hiding something aren't you?"
"Nope. I'm not"
"You're lying. I know it ."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." I muttered.
" I don't think you know this, but whenever you lie, your brow twitches."
I was speechless for a minute.
"Nope. Still not lying".
She then pulled the dirtiest trick in the book on me.
"I hate you brother! Why do you keep hiding things from me? You're horrible! I hate you. " and started crying.
I scratched my head awkwardly and sighed.
"Okay... I get it. Here you go. Just dont hate me." I sighed as I showed her my Status Window.
A mix of emotions flooded her face as I showed her my Status Window.
Status Window
Name: David Walker
Race: Human
Title: Beserker, Death Angel
Level: 56
Godly Profession: Envoy of Death
Patron : Thanatos
Health : 14570
Mana: 10530
Str: 982
Dex: 960
Int: 780
Wis: 758
Luck: 20
Agi: 530
Vit: 600
"Why is your Int suddenly so high? And what's with these stats? Is this normal? And why do we have different Patrons " she asked wide-eyed.
"To be honest... I dont know. I dont know anything"
"Why did you hide this?" She asked softly .
" I don't know... I was just scared I guess" I replied in a shaky voice.
"There's nothing to be scared of, you know... I'll be there to support you even if the whole world turns your enemy." She said, embracing me in her soft arms.
"Well, let's sleep now." I said, smiling weakly. Alice nooded and jumped jnto her bed. I turned out the lights and called out my skill list softly.
Skill List
Bow Mastery ( Active, Intermediate Lv 7)
Dagger Mastery ( Active, Beginner Lv 5)
Defender Mastery ( Active, Beginner Lv 3)
Sword Mastery ( Active, Intermediate Lv 1)
Observe ( Active&Passive , Advanced Lv 1)
Detect ( Active&Passive, Intermediate 6)
Fletching ( Active, Intermediate Lv 4)
Smithing ( Active, Intermediate Lv 6)
Double Shot ( Intermediate Lv 8)
Snipe ( Intermediate Lv 8)
Step ( Advanced Lv 1)
Exploding Arrow ( Beginner Lv 4)
Mana Arrow ( Beginner Lv 2)
Profession Skills
Dark Dimension ( Beginner Lv 1)
Devour ( Beginner Lv 1)
Bloodlust ( Beginner Lv 1)
I was curious about these new Profession based skills, so I checked them out , one by one.
Dark Dimension
Creates a pitch black void space where only the creator can see. Victims are unable to see. All wounds inflicted will regenerate automatically making it ideal for torture and interrogations. In this dimension, every second in Real time will be equivalent to 2 hours in the void.
I smiled dryly and opened my next skill window.
Devour
This skill bestowed upon you by Thanatos enables you to devour the souls of higher levelled opponents and gain the stat difference.
Sweet... I thought, while giggling inwardly.
Bloodlust
This skill allows you to project your killing spirit causing people lower levelled than you to get overwhelmed from your presence.
I still didn't get why my Curse of Wrath skill wasn't showing up in my skill list. Was it a temporary thing?
I looked at Alice's bed to see her sleeping soundly. I checked the clock on the wall. It was nearing midnight. Clocks here weren't accurate. It only showed the hour and not the minutes.
It was about time for my appointment with a certain death seeker.
I opened a window and jumped out, landing as softly as I could. It was pitch dark outside, with the moon being my only source of light. I slowly checked my arrows, belted my defender and slowly made my way towards the docks.
I had activated Detect. I was now at the docks. There were only 5 enemies. I moved to the centre of the docks and called out,
"I know you're here, why don't you come out instead of wasting my time?"
I heard a chuckle and a familiar voice spoke up.
"Should I say.... As expected of the person who took down the Goblin Lord?"
A lanter was lit and my vision cleared. All 5 of them were adventurers and the person leading them was none other than Pyros.
"Well... what do you want?" I asked feigning ignorance.
"We want your bow boy!" One of the adventurers scoffed.
" Nope." I replied, causing the adventurer to swear.
"Now. Now. Lets not fight. I'll even buy it from you for 100 gold. Sound good?" Pyros said, stepping in front of him.
"An Ancient class weapon for 100 gold? How about... No?" I snorted.
"What?! Ancient class? Oho... Change of plans boys, We're killing him and taking the bow." Pyros snarled.
All four adventurers grinned and stepped forward.
Picking a fight with me eh? Big mistake. I smiled widely and nocked an arrow and fired it while using Step.
One of the adventurers fell down from my first arrow and the others circled me, now wary of my mobility skill.
"You look like a tough cookie, but don't worry... after I kill you, I'll be sure to take real good care of your two friends" Pyros chuckled.
I could feel my blood boiling and found it as the perfect time to test my new skill.
I activated Bloodlust and 2 of the adventurers fell down, unable to bear my bloodlust. The last one was trembling in fear. It seemed that my current Bloodlust had a rather small range.
I threw my defender at the trembling warrior and it impaled him in the head. I used Step move towards him and retrieved my defender which came out of his head with a *shlick* sound. In fact, it was rather disgusting, as there were now pieces of gray matter sticking to my defender. I move towards the next adventurer in a flash and drove it through his eye causing him to scream , which I silenced after impaling him a few more times.
The last one was now running away while screaming like a baby. I calmly nocked an arrow and shot him in the neck and he fell down immediately, with his vocal cords destroyed, unable to make a sound and simply gurgled blood till he died slowly and painfully.
I turned towards my last opponent. The famed Mithril ranker, Pyros. He was lying on the floor and trying to crawl away, while looking at me with terrified eyes. I slowly moved towards him and he finally entered the range of my Bloodlust skill.
He had soiled his pants in fear. The sight was hilarious causing me to laugh loudly.
"NOOO!! GO AWAY!! DONT COME ANY CLOSER! MONSTER!!!"
I leaned forward and whispered in his ears " Nobody tries to kill my sister when I'm alive. But because you tried to kill my sweet sister, I'll give you the most exciting experience ever."
I looked at him and gave him a sadistic smile and whispered in his ear,
"Dark Dimension"
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Author's note : Updates will be irregular with each release after 3 or 4 days but the story will continue~~
If you liked the fiction, Rate, Review and follow it maybe?
Leave a comment and give me your thoughts on the new chapter. Pm me if you have any advice or suggestions for me.
KingD out~~