“Ah…” The Manager said, leaning back as the newly formed Android System poked at the licorice suspiciously. “This is somewhat entertaining.”
These aren’t poisoned, right? Systie asked, a name she’d taken to for some odd reason.
“Do you think I could even poison you? You’re not even a biological being. You’re just a big ass ball of sentient Mana,” the Manager said, stuffing his face with more popcorn. “Plus, I’m sure you’re more interested in watching your crush ride a dragon while being chased by his childhood friend.”
My what? What does “crush” mean?
The Manager cackled. “Oh sweet, innocent Systie. You’re still too young. You’ll figure it out one day.”
What? I’m millions of times older than you! What could you know that I don’t?! I order you to tell me now!
The Manager grinned, staying silent as Systie complained.
***
“YEE HAW, IDIOTS!” I shouted down to the Valkyries as Mia narrowly dodged a ten foot wide chunk of wall soar at us from below, thrown by Leah. “WHO’S ALL POWERFUL NOW- ACK!”
I grabbed Mia’s horns as she dived, dodging a deathray that blasted at us from below as we shot towards the ground to dodge it.
Mia, at Level 43, was far slower than she was before, but she didn’t seem to care. If anything, it made her try maneuvers that I would never have attempted if I were a Dragon, which said a lot.
As she spiraled downward, I screamed in a very un-manly way, trying not to curse her giggling in my mind. She blasted a bolt of ice to the ground and pulled up as it hit the women below us, freezing a good dozen of them to the ground. However, this gave me a good chance to get a look around our immediate surroundings. There were about a thousand Valkyries, though there may be far more, or far less (I’m not gonna do that type of unrealistic Main Character counting stuff. That’s just strange). And just as Mia’s coil covered it, I saw what looked like a black spot at the ground, though there were Valkyries filing in and out of it.
I sent this vision to Mia and she shifted directions, going directly toward it.
“STOP HIM!” A voice roared, nearly popping my eardrums.
Mia stuttered in mid-air, nearly stopping. Then she roared back in defiance and shot even faster towards the portal, lightning crackling across her body. I turned to see a woman with a bright red greatsword lunging in our direction, moving nearly as fast as Mia. She had a wild look in her eyes as she raced towards us, running away from who I assumed was the Queen.
Eyeing her, I nearly took a dump in my own pants.
Harmony, the Sixth Valkyrie Harbinger - Level 112 | Tier 5
One of the Six Valkyrie Harbingers. She appears to be rash and acts according to instinct instead of reason. However, this doesn’t give you any better chance of beating her. You have very much annoyed her. Chance of Survival : Little to none.
Oh, great heavens. Did Mia accidentally HIT her?
Mia seemed to get the gist of our predicament and whimpered, draining Mana even faster. Without thinking about it, I channeled [Abyss Touch] on her and was pleasantly surprised when the speed buff applied to her. She ignored all the damage she was taking from blasting through Valkyries and went directly through the portal, terror gripping both of us.
~~~
As we exited the portal, Mia kept going full speed through Valkyries, bursting out into an encampment of them.
They’re like god damn ants! I thought.
Mia agreed to this and shot into the air abandoning the encampment and shooting off in a random direction, desperate to get away. For nearly five minutes, we did this until her Mana began to stutter and she nearly reverted to her Humanoid Form in exhaustion. She slowly began to drift to the forest and, once we were twenty feet from the ground, fainted, reverting. I caught her, landed in a roll, and, for the first time, activated my full Avatar.
Power filled every pore of my body and I nearly roared in challenge. Instead of doing that, I channeled [Abyss Touch] and sprinted, weaving through trees and through bushing in our desperate attempt to get away from the killing machine we hoped wasn’t still following us.
Five minutes later, we fell into a cave, many miles away and I blacked out, holding my precious Bond as close as I could to me, shaking in terror, many, many miles away.
***
Harmony hissed under her breath, sitting herself down in front of her sister.
“Every time, I swear,” Girda muttered. “You just cannot help but destroy things.”
Harmony gave the Forth Harbinger a glare. “I was chasing the Abyss Prince and that gods forsaken Dragon. I have no clue how they got away, though they’re probably completely empty on Mana.”
“Mhm. Doesn’t matter. We were supposed to have a diplomatic meeting. But you just couldn’t wait for me to come. You had to destroy things. Then you ran away and ripped open the entire encampment trying to find something that wasn’t there.”
Harmony ignored her, muttering under her breath. This girl, Girda thought, shaking her head. I need some sort of leash on this animal. And, if we weren’t part of the Valkyries, that leash would probably be a boyfriend. Yes, I’d do that to her if I had the chance.
Girda loved her sister, she really did. But when her sister did things like this, it was increasingly difficult to do so. Her sister didn’t think with her head whatsoever, she just did. She’d ruined multiple missions and gotten nearly a thousand Valkyries killed this time around. The Prince was the least of her worries though. He could be easily dealt with. The problem was the Queen of the Abyss. Harmony had, of course, pissed her off, something Harmony was good at doing.
Girda stood up. “I have to make a report of our failure, so you better stay here, else I’ll emphasize how much of the failure was your fault.”
Harmony grunted in response, falling onto her bed and ignoring her sister.
Oh, Harmony, what am I going to do with you?
~~~
“...So Harmony ruined things again?” Reiden yelled through the chat. “You’re kidding me!”
Girda cringed. This was going about as she expected. “Yep. She did.”
“I SPENT NEARLY TWENTY-TWO HOURS-”
Muting Reiden, Girda sighed. This wasn’t the first time that Reiden had been completely taken aback by Harmony’s complete lack of sense and certainly wasn’t the last. Reiden, their master strategist, was relatively low-Level, the lowest of the Harbingers at Level 89, but she had proved her worth over the past two hundred years (Those aging pills did wonders; she was actually quite happy that some random man had invented them).
Testing if Reiden had calmed down, she unmuted her.
“-DERSTAND HOW MUCH WORK-”
Nope.
***
Mia shook me awake, filled with worry. I groaned and cracked open an eye to look at her. She was curled up next to me while we laid in my sleeping bag, which she seemed to have grabbed after looking through my memories, something I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with yet.
“Hey, Mia.” I said, pulling her a little closer. She clung to my shirt and nuzzled her head into me, warbling quietly. “What’s up?”
She ignored me, just happy I was awake. Sighing, I attempted to send her comforting emotions, which she accepted without resistance. She quickly fell asleep, snoring lightly. Sighing, I looked over to our Statuses.
Status
Name : Jason Andromeda (Bonded)
Level 45 | Tier 3
Race : Voidborn Abyssal
Health : 84160/84160 (4208 Health/Min | 70.13/s)
Mana : 84160/84160 (6312 Mana/Min | 105.2/s)
Class : Voidborn Abyssal Prince I (Unique)
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Bond : Miana ???
Stats
Strength : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Dexterity : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Endurance : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Vitality : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Mana : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Intelligence : 526 (Base : 263 Effectiveness : 200%)
Free Points : 24
Titles : The Top of Humanity…?, Abyss Enhanced, One Tier Ahead!, Speedrunner
Skills : All Seeing Eye of the Abyss - Level 17 | Tier 0, Abyss Touch - Level 31 | Tier 1, Void Armor - Level 28 | Tier 1, Wreath of Destruction - Level 27 | Tier 1, Void Manipulation - Level 12 | Tier 0, Avatar of Destruction - Tier 3
Growth Item Creation Uses : 1
Bond : Status
Name : Miana ??? (Bonded)
Level 45 | Tier 3
Race : Lightning-Ice Draconic Serpent (Humanoid Form)
Health : 134656/134656 (6733 Health/Min | 112.31/s)
Mana : 67328/67328 (5050 Mana/Min | 84.16/s)
Bond : Jason Andromeda
Stats
Strength : 421
Dexterity : 421
Endurance : 842 (Base : 421 Effectiveness : 200%)
Vitality : 842 (Base : 421 Effectiveness : 200%)
Mana : 421
Intelligence : 421
Titles : Unique Bond
Skills : Lightning Manipulation - Level 33 | Tier 1, Ice Manipulation - Level 40 | Tier 1, Electrical Freeze - Level 30 | Tier 1, Domain of Ice and Lightning - Level 25 | Tier 1, Draconic Form - Tier 3
Evolution Level : I
Ooh, that’s starting to get long, I thought, shaking my head.
I looked down to Mia, and sighed. Oh, well. I should get ready to go.
However, I realized there wasn’t much to pack. I lifted Mia into my arms, slid out the sleeping bag, put the bag into my Bag and walked over to the front of the cave we’d run into. The first thing I saw was the sun. Nearly tearing up at the yellow sun, I smiled as wide as I could.
“Sunlight…” I whispered. “Never knew how much I’d miss you after not seeing you. There’s probably some god of suns but just cause I haven’t seen the sun in a while doesn’t mean I’m gonna pray to you.”
***
The God of Suns sighed. “Damn. I wanted an Abyssal follower for once,” he muttered.
***
I then looked over to the green trees.
“Mother Nature must love this planet. There’s actually non-artificial trees and grass,” I muttered, my smile waning slightly as I felt as if someone’s attention had just landed on me.
***
Mother Nature did, in fact, like this planet, she thought, watching the Abyssal closely.
***
“Hm. I feel like I’m getting the attention of gods by just standing here,” I said aloud. “Well, let’s get their attention by walking then. Much more interesting.”
I walked through the forest with Mia in my arms, moving branches out my way and hopping over bushes. For a good thirty minutes, I walked, completely silent as I thought of what was happening.
So we’re finally out of the Abyss. It’s just Mia and me against the world, I thought, pulling my hood over my horns carefully. Now, we need a plan. A good one at that. Let’s think. So first of all, we need to find somewhere that will be able to house us. Someone who doesn’t discriminate. And maybe, if there’s such a thing, find a Guild that we can join to earn money. Our funds may not last for long. We have to lay low for a while. Then-
I froze as I heard rustling in the nearby bushes and then a curse. Without thinking, I jumped up and onto a nearby tree as footsteps approached us. Looking down, I saw a man running through below us, running away from a group of Unirabbits that didn’t look happy with him.
Sighing, I sent a sheet of Void down, snuffing out the lives of twenty low-Level bunnies. Jumping off the tree, I continued onward before the man could find me, not willing to have a run in with someone already.
I rubbed Mia between the horns and she rubbed her cheek against me, sighing contentedly. I made a small smile and kissed her forehead.
“To our new life, Mia,” I whispered.
~~~
As we continued through the forest, I continued to make plans until I got a Quest.
New Quest!
Society is Real!
You have escaped the Abyss after many hardships and trials. Now, you must make a life for yourself and your Bond while hiding from the Valkyries. You’ve come up with what you think is a solid plan and will attempt to take it upon yourself to complete it.
Requirements :
Find a place you can stay
Join a non-discriminating Guild
Earn enough money to support both you and your beloved Bond
Stay undetected by the Valkyries
Reach your Class Upgrade
Rewards :
+ Copper Chest
Quest Update
Good enough.
Mia gave me a questioning look as she ate her bear meat at a questioningly fast pace in very large amounts. I gave her the exact expression back as she stuffed more food into her mouth. I shook my head and patted her head, letting her eat a little bit more before standing up and lifting her into my arms, putting the rest of the food into our Bag.
“Let’s keep it up,” I told her as she chewed on the last of her meat. “We still need to find civilization.”
Mia yipped and pulled herself onto my shoulders, grabbing my horns for balance. Patting her hand, I snuffed out our fire and let her pull my hood over my horns before continuing on.
At some point, it’d become harder for Mia to look through my memories and she had to put all of her focus on just looking at recent memories. I assumed that before, when we Bonded, our minds had their walls broken down, allowing us to look into one another’s memories far easier. However, now, those walls were being rebuilt, making it harder to do that. I was okay with that, but Mia sometimes found it frustrating that she couldn’t understand me better.
I looked ahead, letting Mia sit on top of me. We walked for a bit, stopping only to get some water from a pond.
For nearly an hour, I just walked through the forest, happy to see the green once again. Then there was a yell in the distance.
“HAHA!”
I blinked, confused. I felt Mia look down at me, sharing my confusion.
“Well, whoever that is sounds like they’re having fun,” I said to her. “Wanna check it out?”
Sending ideas to her was enough to convey my meaning and she sent confirmation. I grinned and ran in the direction of the voice, blurring.
***
“HAHA!” Treia exclaimed, huffing as she stood over the now dead wolf. “I’m Level 4! And Identify! Finally!”
She looked at her stats, giddy.
Status
Name : Treia Kia
Level 4
Race : Human
Health : 60/60 (9 Health/min)
Mana : 80/80 (10 Mana/min)
Class : None
Stats
Strength : 8
Dexterity : 10
Endurance : 6
Vitality : 9
Mana : 8
Intelligence : 10
Free Stats : 6
Titles : Next In Line
Skills : Wind Manipulation - Level 11 | Tier 0, Wind Blade - Level 14 | Tier 0, Identify - Level 1 | Tier 0
“So… two points to Dexterity, and one each to Strength, Vitality, Mana, and Endurance?” she thought aloud. “Yeah… that sounds good.”
For the first time, she felt the rush that one got for allocating stats for the first time. She grinned manically as she sat down. She stretched her arms and let them fall to her side huff.
“My first Levels! I can’t believe it. After nearly six years, I’m finally Leveling,” Treia sighed, her back against a tree. “I mean, I expected that my first Levels would be with someone watching to make sure I didn’t get killed by something too high-Level for me to handle-”
She then froze in place as her necklace grew hot.
Someone just used [Identify] on me.
She stood up and looked around, hand on her sword. “Wh-who’s there?! Show yourself!”
There was a rustling as a young girl fell out of a tree, landing on her bare feet without any sort of discomfort. The little girl was blonde, her hair nearly white with two horns, one light blue and the other yellow growing through it. Her eyes mirrored this, shifting from blue to yellow as she studied Treia. She wore an oversized shirt that was galaxy blue, with white pinpricks like stars. She had pale skin, almost like an Elf. Just looking at her, one would think she was harmless. However, when Triea Identified her…
Identification Failed
Approximate Level : 60-70
Treia froze in horror. How did such a young girl have so many Levels?
“Wha- how do you-”
“Mia, you didn’t have to- ACK!”
Another person crashed through the branches, hitting the ground with a thump, creating a small crater. She couldn’t see much of him through his cloak, but he also had horns, though she couldn’t see what color they were due to the fact that his cloak covered them.
So they may be related.
Then, the little girl then yipped at him. He looked up from his faceplant, frowning at her. “No?”
Treia then tried to [Identify] him.
Identification Failed
Approximate Level : 75-80
Oh my gods, oh my gods, Treia whimpered internally. Why are they here? In such a low-Level area? “I- I- What?” Treia got out.
They didn’t notice her complete terror and instead conversed strangely in a one sided way.
The little girl let out a warbling purr.
“No, I’ve never been here before. I don’t know her,” he responded.
She tilted her head.
“She’s a low-Level Princess in the middle of the forest. She could have ran away from somewhere.”
Light, questioning hiss.
“Yep. We are. Though-”
The young girl then turned to Treia and let out a quick series of hisses and yips. Treia looked at her in confusion. She then looked over to the boy as he shook his head.
“You and food,” he muttered, picking up the little girl and rubbing her head.
He then looked at Treia. “Sorry about my Dragon, she’s a bit of a food addict. Anyways, Your Majesty; what would you be doing out here?”
Treia looked at him in horror. “D-Dragon? But… but…”
He looked down at her with his blue eyes and then, something clicking, he bent down and grabbed Treia’s hand lightly, sending a jolt through her. He lifted her up from the ground (when did she fall?) and onto her feet. When he let go, Treia fought the urge to grab his hand again.
Is he a-
“Wait. I forgot to introduce myself,” he said, his Dragon slapping his forehead before he could. He seemed to roll with it as he cleared his throat. “It’s nice to meet you, Your Highness. I’m Prince Jason Andromeda from a distant Kingdom, though I prefer to be called Jason. This is my Bond, Miana. Could you tell us where the nearest settlement is?”
PRINCE?
Treia then fainted, falling to the ground yet again.