THE FIRST DUNGEON
Michael looked at the people that started to appear in the center of the town. Michael had wandered through a few streets as he was contemplating the curse he had just gotten from Plutys. This was worse than just plain enmity. People Michael loved, people he had come to know and respect and care for. These people now have the option to give their life for him. ‘Why’ Michael thought. ‘Why this one curse? I could handle being half-dead for all eternity. I could handle a curse that twisted my limbs and crippled me. Why did you have to target everyone else?’ Plutys either didn’t hear Michael or just ignored his cries.
Michael’s feet took him towards the center of the town. He was actually supposed to go the North-Eastern gate and meet up with Liera to start his journey. She and his mother had gone out early in the morning to buy provisions that would last to the next town over, Kiryun, and Liera was supposed to guard it all until Michael came to her. Instead, Michael had gone the opposite direction to the center.
Then Janira spoke to the world and the ‘Otherworlders’ came.
They didn’t make a very impressive sight. Michael really didn’t know what to expect but he had some musings of ‘Large impressive men dressed in expensive armor and rushing off to battle Dragons and the like’. Instead the group he saw were normal looking and dressed in very cheap linen clothing and too weak shoes. Each had a bag on their back and were looking at their surroundings as if at a dream.
Michael didn’t care what they were really doing. He was too busy concentrating on his Curse and failed to notice that ‘Stealth’ was on Passive mode when he stopped a few paces from the group. Then he noticed a commotion.
A thin man had appeared in the growing crowd and he immediately set off to one of the city watch that was posted to help citizens. There were about 8 of the watch in the center, 2 more than there would be usually, so Michael attributed it all to the Church of Information’s influence. Michael noticed a few of the Watch were just apprentices between the age of 14-16 and decided that they were being used to increase the Watch’s numbers at the time.
The thin man had started to ‘demand’ information from a grizzly guard which made Michael frown. Each of the demands could easily be answered but the man had the bearing of a Noble. With no obvious wealth though the obvious discourse would be...yep the man got punched. He even seemed surprise. The Guard had restrained himself greatly…
Everyone was told that the newcomers would have the starting stats and skills of a newborn. Michael didn’t know the exact stats a baby would have but somewhere along 5-10 of each stat seemed to right. Michael didn’t know how they would grow but he decided that they would have a very harsh beginning.
Michael turned his eyes away from the rude ‘Otherworlder’ and continued his musings of the Curse. Michael tried to find loopholes so he opened his stats to see what really changed.
“Show Status.”
StatusNameMichaelAge20Level3ClassH. Champion of LotLFame326Infamy0TitleStudent Under The GodsWorld Rankingn/aGuildHistorical SocietyFree Stat Points0Health3600 + 700Mana3220 + 1100Stamina3210 + 900Stored Rage108Strength(278)/2Dexterity(224)/2Vitality(360)/2Intelligence(302 + 20)/2Wisdom(300 + 20)/2Mana Control160Luck(139)/2Agility(251)/2Concentration(509)/2Willpower(177)/2Charisma(140)/2Presence(150 + 20)/2[p=left]Special skills.
+30% more damage against wolves and wolf subspecies.
Mana Recovery rate is increased by 1.5x its base rate.
Gravity exerts an extra 385% force on you.
Movements are restrained.
Due to a large ratio difference between (Health/10) and Vitality, you are more susceptible to damage and illnesses.
Due to a large ratio difference between (Mana/10) and Intelligence you are more susceptible to magical accidents and mana damaging spells.
Due to Wisdom being the same as Mana Control it will take 10 minutes before Mana Recovery will start. ‘Focused Mana Regeneration’ will speed up this process.
You have the ‘Blessing of the Wolfblood’.
You have the ‘Blessing of Janira’.
You have the ‘Curse of Plutys’.[/p]
Michael didn’t think the curse on his stats was incredibly bad but he also decided that he never really knew how his stats would work against monsters. Serena and his father both controlled their abilities in order to not overwhelm Michael so he knew that he was weaker than both of them. Liera would team up with one of the two combat teachers and he decided that she was either weaker than him or better when fighting solo. He would need to test her when -.
Michael cut off his line of thought when one of the ‘Otherworlders’ started to approach him. Michael noted that the man was one of the more early ones and that he seemed to have been shocked from the world around him. The man was rather big. Michael knew stats didn’t affect physical attributes but he couldn’t help but notice the tight muscles and confidence the man exuded. His beard also gave a boost to that. Michael had started to shave when he was 13 and it was a daily ritual for him...but he did think a beard made a man looked better. His musings were cut short after the man stopped before him. Shockingly the man bent at the waist.
“Excuse me sir. I was wondering if you could give me any information on how to gain strength and skills in this world. As you can see, I am new, and I fear the laws and needs of this world are different from my own. I beg your assistance.”
With a second bow the man straightened and looked into Michael’s eyes. His low voice seemed sincere to Michael and Michael then noticed the way the man spoke. Then Michael reviewed how he would look to people of other worlds...he nearly flushed at how flashy he probably looked. ‘The man probably thinks I’m a noble...I don’t know if this is good or bad...might as well play along.’ Michael really didn’t wanna ruin an opportunity to practice his atrocious acting skills.
“It seems at least some of you ‘Otherworlders’ possess a modicum of manners. You can gain stats and abilities by training your body under harsh conditions. For skills you may go to the Series buildings around the city. Different Series sections give off different sets of skills. The Series are Crafts, Combat, Stealth, and Healing. Ask around for directions. If you wish to be a merchant you will need to speak to a member of ‘The Merchant’s Society’ guild and ask for an apprenticeship. The Church of Information a few blocks away will also help you in understanding the workings of this world. It is also the place to learn magic.”
MIchael made sure to add some haughtiness to his voice as he spoke. He also quieted down when some of the ‘Otherworlders’ started to approach and eavesdrop. ‘Very rude folks...’
As Michael spoke he recalled his own training and decided to help the politely big man. Michael looked down on his fingers and examined his training rings when he all of a sudden felt it. Weight rushed on top of Michael and the restraints he had on felt incredibly tight to his muscles. Michael could barely breathe as the pressure was several times that of what he did during training. 385% gravity was for 200+ strength and the restraints made the requirements higher. At under 140 strength now he was surprised he managed to walk all the way here without killing himself.
Michael breathed in and focused on his body. He made sure each straining muscle would hold before he reached for the 10% and 25% rings he had on his left hand. He removed them and felt a slight lessening of the pressure. Michael handed the two rings to the man and tried to quickly get away.
“Thes-These are Gravity Rings. Only 10% and 25% but wearing these will help train your strength and vitality. I’m wearing rings that increase gravity by 350% right now so these barely matter. You can have them to train with. If we see each other again I’ll see if you can handle more.”
Michael impatiently watched as the man put the rings on. When the man fell, Michael used ‘IA’ in order to properly catch the man. He also tried to use just a tiny bit of his strength since the man was supposed to be weak. Still…
“Ummm….you damaged me from that squeeze….minus 25 health.”
Michael widened his eyes at the fact. He only had 140 strength and he even lowered that before catching the man. He muttered the words ‘It’s like handling infants’ before again trying to rush away.
“Well, hopefully you have a safe journey. I will need to start heading out on my own.”
“You haven’t gone adventuring yet?”
The other man’s eyes widened and Michael just nodded.
“Yes, I just hit my 20th year so it’s past time I saw the outside in its entirety. Good bye.”
The man seemed even more shocked at Michael’s age but Michael ignored that and turned around. Michael focused on each of his legs and his breathing and pushed himself to walk. When he managed to get of eyesight and into an alley Michael promptly collapsed on the ground and started to gasp for air. The pressure was incredible and Michael doubted he could do much more. He noted that his Stamina was barely at 10% and sighed. He needed to get more used to the situation.
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Michael avoided Liera as he went through the north gate. He encountered a large field filled with bunnies and foxes and even a few wolves in the distance. The coming of the ‘Otherworlders’ created various changes to the world. Michael didn’t search for every single piece of information about what was changed, but he knew that animals and monsters had started to breed and increase their areas like crazy.
Michael barely took two steps from the city before he encountered a pack of rabbits. White and fluffy the rabbits completely ignored Michael and were just hopping around or laying down before the sun. Michael smiled at the peaceful scene...then took out his curved blade and several throwing daggers.
Michael’s curved blade had changed over the years. The first blade he used was the one he had seen in the training room, the one he had a wooden copy of and used for the entirety of his pre-adolescent years. It was a long blade at 90 centimeters and the hilt was quite long too at 30. Slightly curved and very sharp, the blade was used only for slashing and the rare desperate stab or two. The slight curve meant that it could incur great damage when it hit something it couldn’t pierce so Michael mainly took advantage of it’s slashing capabilities.
When Cider had become Michael’s teacher he introduced several other curved blades to him. Several were quite oddly shaped and there even one that ended in a large half-moon. Most of them were very uncomfortable to use but some were rather good. In the end Michael ended up with a curved blade with a rather unique hand-guard. The blade itself was fixed at 70 centimeters and was ornately crafted and the hilt at only 15 for a one handed use. The guard was very uncommon. Starting from between the blade and the hilt the guard was large and circular and was made to keep the hand from slipping and cutting itself on the blade, something Michael’s first blade had lacked. The stranger part was the area around the sharp side of the blade. It was lengthened and then curved down before being attached at the end of the hilt and this created a strong guard to protect his hand from being cut from opponents.
Michael had learned to create every single blade and armor Cider knew, even if the quality wasn’t exactly the same as his teacher's. The uniqueness of each blade and piece of armor was the main reason for his quick Blacksmith skill training. Most Blacksmiths focused on one type of blade in order to master the creation of it or they focused on a specific type of armor. Some did spread their training to encompass many different kinds of equipment but they couldn’t learn much from their single-minded teachers.
Anyways, Michael took out his weapons and prepared to fight. He felt rather slow still but tried to ignore it and concentrate on the fight. Michael threw a few daggers into the crowds of rabbits and then proceeded to chop the bunnies that came towards him. Each of his daggers killed several bunnies before hitting the ground while sweeps of his blade killed them in droves. Michael frowned.
Bunny killing...seemed to be rather easy. Michael concluded that bunnies were awful to test since they didn’t team up or fight back at all. Michael walked past the field of lifeless bunnies and proceeded to the foxes. The bunny mess would clean up in a few days.
Foxes. Sleek and colorful the foxes didn’t seem to notice Michael. They actually eyed the bunnies with greedy eyes but each of the foxes had already eaten their fill. Even a few hundred foxes couldn’t dent the bunny colony. Michael threw one of his retrieved daggers at a fox and watched it die. This alerted the closest of the foxes. Several stood up and charged Michael. They were of the ‘hit first and wonder later’ faction it seemed and Michael mowed them down with little guilt. This time he felt a little better since the animals actually attacked him back. Each sweep of his blade still killed several foxes however and soon he was in the middle of a circle of red corpses.
Michael noticed that the rest of the foxes had backed away from him now. They had witnessed his prowess and none wished to die quickly when they didn’t have to. Michael also decided to ignore the rest of the foxes since he wanted better targets. He barely noticed the lessening pressure from his restraints and rings.
Michael approached the wolf pack. He couldn’t see a large Wolf Leader and decided that the Leader had gone to protect its territory from another wolf pack. It didn’t take all of the fighting wolves as several medium sized ones stood up at Michael’s approach. They charged when they saw the flash of steel from his weapons.
This time Michael felt his blood boil as he readied himself. Wolves were one of the most dangerous animals to fight, especially when they do so in a group and Michael had no backup.
The first wolf launched itself at Michael’s legs, hoping to bring him down. Michael hopped a bit to dodge the bite and then swung his sword down on the passing wolf. The damage seemed quite high as the wolf didn’t get back up and Michael had to deal with another charging wolf. Michael threw a dagger into the mouth of the charging wolf and when he finally landed he was met with a three-pronged attack from the rest. He didn’t think he could defend from the different positions so Michael ran forward to charge the group in front of him. His blade flashed several times before he managed to break through and turn around. Eight wolves were left and were charging at him in a group and Michael concentrated deeply. Michael’s vision then merged with a different look.
Brown and Black blobs of color half-replaced the charging wolves. The ground beneath his feet was a dark green from the grass and a light green from the slight Mana the grass gave off. Focusing harder Michael could see the slight blue of the air around him. Michael concentrated on the air and threw it at the wolves. Michael contained the air in a spiral and noticed that wolves being lifted off the ground. Michael then concentrated on the air and threw out a different part of the air that had a slightly green tinge. What he needed was a pure type of air. He wasn’t finished as he took several dry pieces of grass he found, pieces with a slightly red tinge, and rubbed them together quickly to ignite the tornado. The inferno that was created consumed the wolves inside.
What Michael had done was collect and gather a great amount of air. He then used the air to create a cyclone with the wolves at the center which simultaneously stopping their charge. He then concentrated on the aspects of the air and took out the unwanted parts of it. Nitrogen was mainly taken out and replaced by greater amounts of oxygen. The almost pure oxygen was then ignited by the quickly rubbing a small bundle of dried grass within itself. It didn’t take much ignition to create the fire storm. All of this was done in less than 10 seconds with the help of actively using ‘IA’.
Michael approved of his magic but noticed that it was much more difficult to control and create. Extracting the unusable parts of air was more difficult and his ‘Fire Tornado’ was also much weaker than it should have been. He attributed this to his Curse. Then he looked at his Mana.
Michael gaped at his Mana. He had over 4000 and ‘Fire Tornado’ was only supposed to use up 500 Mana max. Instead he had less than 60% of his Mana left and it wasn’t recovering due to his low Wisdom.
‘Dammit. This is worse than I thought.’
Michael needed to change his style of fighting to compensate for his worsening stats. He decided to finally meet up with Liera in order to get their journey on the way since he couldn’t do anything at the moment. Then Michael noticed that he had accumulated a few new information boxes and focused on them. It seemed some of them were even from during the Ceremony much earlier.
Erlinium Family Necklace[p=left]Unique.
Durability: Infinite.
A beautiful necklace displaying the sign of the Erlinium High-Family, the Golden Hawk. Only worn by members of the Erlinium High-Family or by loyal people related to the family.[/p]
Millenium Chain Mail.[p=left]Rare
Durability: 500/500
Defense: 67
A chainmail made by an ancient Blacksmith using only the purest Mithril, this chainmail was forged under the fires of a helpful Fire Drake. It was then further enhanced by several High Magus’ who gave it several enchantments. The enchantments have mostly worn away during the ages but several properties still resonate within this valuable piece of armor.
Can only be worn by someone with at least an Expert ranking in ‘Blacksmithing’.
Can block magical attacks up to a certain level.
Can return a magical attack that is the opposite of the attack used.
Can block damage to a certain degree.[/p]
Hiliernt’s Thigh Bone[p=left]Rare
Durability: 89/100
Damage: 1-2
A thigh bone from the ancient demon Hiliernt, this thigh bone has kept the unique and strange property of the demon renowned for it’s teleporting.
Can be used to teleport a short distance.
Location is Random. Can be fixed by using a spell.
Location cannot be within an object.[/p]
Warded Box[p=left]Rare
Durability: 4000/4000
A powerfully enchanted box made to block damage and spells. The insides are also enchanted to prevent items from breaking inside. There are more enchantments but they are too numerous to find out.
Can block magic from going inside or outside the box. Does not affect connections from ‘Michael Kane’, Owner of the box.
Blocks 90% of all incoming physical damage to the box.
Blocks 99% of all incoming magical damage to the box.
Can only place a few items inside.[/p]
Call Orb[p=left]Artifact
Durability: Infinite
Used in ancient times for instant communication, this artifact has been around for hundreds of thousands of years. The knowledge of creating this artifact has been lost.
Vocal commands will activate it.
Locked to the essence of ‘Michael Kane’.[/p]
You have gained +1 Willpower
You have gained +1 Strength
You have killed 300 bunnies in less than 35 seconds. Leveled up x4.
You have gained +1 Dexterity
You have killed 13 foxes in 10 seconds. Leveled up x6.
You have gained +1 Agility
You have gained +1 Strength
Wolves targeted. Damage increases by 30%.
You have gained +1 Agility
You have gained +1 Concentration
You have gained +1 Strength
You have gained +1 Vitality
You have gained +3 Wisdom
You have killed 14 Wolves. Leveled up x8.
Michael liked the extra information on the gifts he was given and was rather happy at the carnage he had done and the stats he had gained from it. Michael opened up his status screen and distributed the stats into Strength, Agility, and Wisdom. The restrictions he had seemed to help increase his stats by a lot and the high level spells also increased Wisdom. Since he used a greater level of understanding that doesn’t match his stats it was probably inevitable.
Michael then decided to check out his new skills.
“Show ‘High Champion’s Combat Mastery’. Show ‘Focused Defence’. Show ‘Focused Health Regeneration’. Show ‘Focused Mana Regeneration’. Show ‘Focused Stamina Recovery’. Show ‘Ironbark Skin’.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
High Champion’s Combat Mastery. Expert level 5. (12%) Passive Skill[p=left]A combat style unique to the High Champion of Divinity.
All weapons do 15% more damage for every level of ‘High Champion’s Combat Mastery’.
Stats are increased by 1% of their base for every 3 levels of Beginner, 2 levels of Intermediate, and 1 level of Expert ‘High Champion’s Combat Mastery’ and will only be active during battle.
Critical hits power increases by 1% for every 2 levels of ‘High Champion’s Combat Mastery’.
Critical hit chance is gone. Critical hits depend on skill with the blade.
Increased chances to Debuff opponents depending on weapon used.[/p]
Focused Defence. Passive skill[p=left]By concentrating deeply and entering a trance like state you can ignore incoming damage and pain. The body obeys you more completely and strikes hit more accurately. Breaking concentration however can leave you in a ‘Confused’ state for a period of time.
Take only 50% of incoming damage.
Pain level is reduced to 50%.
Movement is 10% smoother.
Accuracy increases by 10%.
2% chance to enter a ‘Confused’ state after stopping this skill[/p]
Focused Health Regeneration. Passive skill[p=left]Meditation by focusing on a specific idea will increase Health Regeneration by 200%. Due to low Concentration this effect is cut down to 100%.[/p]
Focused Mana Regeneration. Passive skill[p=left]Meditation by focusing on a specific idea will increase Mana Regeneration by 150%. Due to low Concentration this effect is cut down to 50%.[/p]
Focused Stamina Recovery. Passive skill[p=left]Meditation by focusing on a specific idea will increase Stamina Regeneration by 400% and decrease Stamina Consumption by 20%. Due to low Concentration this effect is cut down to 200% and 5% respectively.[/p]
Ironbark Skin. Beginner level 1. (0%). Active skill[p=left]Your skin takes on the makeup of the tough elements. Due to affinity your skin will become more tree-like, reducing damage from the Winds and Water elements but increasing damage from Fire-based ones.
Uses up 100 mana to activate, then 10 mana upkeep per second. Due to low Vitality this effect costs 150 mana to activate and 20 mana upkeep instead. Defensive properties stay the same.
Blocks 60% more damage from physical attacks.
Blocks 40% more damage from wind-based attacks.
Blocks 20% more damage and heals you for 3% of your HP if hit by water-based attacks.
Fire-based attacks deal 70% more damage. Increased chances of catching on fire.[/p]
Everything was basically what Michael had expected of them. Then Michael decided to see how much ‘Rage Release’ had changed.
“Show ‘Rage Release’.”
Rage Release. Beginner level 4 (87%)[p=left]Your rage from the past returns in a burst of power. Release your bottled up feelings and allow it to wash over you and dye the battlefield in the colour of Rage.
Using the skill normally will permanently consume the ‘Stored Rage’ stat. Every 11 seconds of use will take up 1 ‘Stored Rage’ stat. Normal skill will boost all stats by 10%. Every 3 levels of ‘Rage Release’ will increase time for each ‘Stored Rage’.
Increasing the usage and stat increase will consume more of the ‘Stored Rage’ stat. Overuse will cause you to go Berserk.
Berserk:
‘Stored Rage’ will not decrease but you will not be able to differentiate between friend or foe.
Strength increases as damage taken increases.
Health is recovered at triple rate.
Cannot be debuffed in this state.
Cannot be healed in this state.
Due to your concentration being your highest stat you have a 50% chance of staying sane while under the influence of ‘Berserk’. This will not increase or decrease if Concentration level changes. If a new stat becomes more dominant the properties of this skill will change as well.[/p]
Michael gaped at his ‘Rage Release’. Although it wasn’t a big change it did have the effect of changing his view of it. Berserk status wasn’t a comfortable buff to have since the 1 debuff associated with it was incredibly dangerous during group battles. ‘But a 50% chance to stay sane while still having the buffs of it…’ Michael really did need to find out if it was useful or not. Michael decided to formulate some new combat systems - since the ones he already had required higher stats - as he walked back towards the city.
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Liera was waiting for Michael to appear. She had heard the spookily loud voice of the Information Goddess earlier and she really didn’t want to stay in the city and meet any of the ‘Otherworlders’. She didn’t know anything about them and wanted nothing to do with them. She wanted to avoid trouble but she had an itch under her ear that usually meant trouble was going to come. She was sitting beside the North-Eastern gate and had 2 large packs on either side of her, one for her and for Michael. In her pouch was the ‘Silven Plant’ she was temporarily in charge for and the pouch itself was given a minor and temporary enchantment. She was seething at how late Michael was becoming…
Liera still had a few reservations about Michael. She did accept his strength as one capable of guarding the ‘Silven Plant’ but she was quite wary of his unknown personality. The two only had meetings that involved wooden blades and flying fists so she didn’t know her travelling companion a lot. His mother had said quite a bit though…
Celia Kane was a high ranking member of the Lady of the Land’s sect among the Humans. Liera was told at least that much and she caught a glimpse of her power when she was first ushered into her office. A user of Green Magic, Celia was incredibly close to the Goddess so Liera had a sort of expectation of the older woman.
However whenever the two were alone she was told many private secrets about Michael. This lowered Liera’s evaluation of Michael while also re-creating the view of Celia; from powerful Green-Singer to doting mother. Stuff Liera didn’t want to know at all was stuffed into her mind. When he started walking, his first words, the time he stopped wetting his bed, when he could start feeding himself. Actually all of that stuff was basically finished during his infancy year which had created some concern for Celia.
What Liera had come to understand from her interactions with Celia was her new side-job. This came after Celia started to speak about what she expected from Michael’s future wife and then the cold fury she expressed when she imagined him being taken by a ‘trollop’. Liera didn’t understand the meaning but the next words cut the thought out of her head.
“Sigh I fear for the boy’s future you know Liera. Still I know that you will be there to keep him away from anyone that is going to take advantage of him, right? You will keep him from a woman’s dirty hands, yes?”
Celia’s tone had grown cold at the last part and Liera had no choice but to nod in agreement. She was then taught everything that Celia wanted a wife to know, saying that Liera would be able to test any woman she met and see if Michael would be in good hands. Liera later noticed that Celia had no fear of Liera falling for Michael. There were barely any stories of Fey-Human relationships...but even she was told a few when she was just a cub with her pack... Liera decided not to tell Celia that information…
Whenever she could, Liera tried to examine Michael. She did this under the assumption that a woman she approved of will want some basic information of Michael’s childhood. She tracked his growth and training through the years but all from a far distance or in the corner of her eye. Michael didn’t seem to notice so she did this for quite a long time.
Liera didn’t understand Michael. He did everything he was told, which would seem like a good thing but it depended on what he actually did. She once witnessed him tied up and hanging from a tree. A bonfire was created below him and he needed to somehow escape from it or be roasted alive. Michael didn’t complain before or after the ‘training’. Liera decided that there was something wrong with Michael’s head and pitied the woman that would fall for him.
Actually Michael had concentrated at a memory of being cold and succeeded due to the high stat. He didn’t complain since he actually gained a few Concentration stats along with the Vitality and Wisdom stats from the ‘training’.
Liera snapped out of her reverie when a few drably dressed men appeared in front of her.
“Hey Peter, check out the hot chick. She seems all alone and in need of our company...”
“My name is Ballista in this game. You are right though. Didn’t expect to meet such a cute NPC just a few hours after playing.”
“Hey girl, wanna come with us? You can experience the body of real men.”
The men in front of Liera seemed to be quite attractive to the eyes of Humans. Each had delicate features and protruding muscles that they seemed to flash every once in a while. Some even looked down on themselves in glee before directing their attention back at Liera.
Each of these men had a few common thoughts in their minds. They had each created good-looking characters and the goal was to create a harem in this Virtual Reality world. What they didn’t fix was their personalities.
“Come on girl. We can give you a good time. Don’t be shy.”
“Are you waiting for someone? Could they be girls? Are they as pretty as you? Introduce us to them.”
The 6 men started to crowd closer to Liera. The guards posted at the gates and several passing townsfolks started to frown in worry. The guards had noticed the coming ‘Otherworlders’ and had straightened at their posts, wanting to show off their discipline and refined look. What they did not expect was to see them start to harass a young women. And so blatantly in the middle of the street. The closest guard started to draw his sword. Then a CRACK echoed across the clearing.
“Ah-ARHGHHHHH”
Liera had enough of the dirty stares and comments from the men. These men may have looked a little good, but each of them gave off an aura that screamed ‘CREEP’ and Liera knew she was the target. She was trying to ignore them, but when one of them started to reach out towards Liera, she snapped.
Liera quickly ducked under the hand and got close to the man. Since the stats between them was incredibly high, the men and onlookers just saw Liera disappear. Liera then raised a foot and strengthened it before smashing it down on the knee of the man. She aimed at an angle so the knee gave way smoothly and the crack that accompanied it made Liera smile. On a side note, just the difference in stats would have been enough for Liera to break his knees, she didn’t even need to kick at an angle to do so.
The man fell to the ground in tears and his hands had started to flail in the direction of the injury. Liera ignored the man and moved on to his companions since she still had some pent up anger that didn’t dissipate. ‘This wouldn’t have happened if Michael had got here on time...’ Definitely misplaced anger.
The other men were shocked at what had happened. Each of them had fervently believed that they were suave and smooth in how they were about to pick up the girl. They each had a high confidence that a new body would give them easy chances at getting girlfriends. Liera proceeded to destroy that image.
“You -” CRACK “creeps -” CRACK “are so -” CRACK “disgusting and -” CRACK “you should have -” CRACK “left me -” CRACK “ALONE” CRACK
Liera had aimed for different parts of their bodies. She bent and cracked their arms, legs, ribs, shoulders, crushed their hands, and then she proceeded to break the other leg and an arm of the first man. He had actually reached a hand towards her so…
The 6 men were crying on the ground. If the game allowed for a loosing of bowels then the stench would have filled the yard and ruined everyone’s day. Luckily it didn’t and most of the passing people nodded in approval. The guards smiled at the damage Liera had done and decided to take a harder stance against the ‘Otherworlders’. They had had a neutral view of the newcomers but it had slowly turned negative as the guards watched the harassment. They would pass the word and try to immediately stop this from happening again.
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Michael had turned the corner of the street just in time to see Liera crush the hand of an ‘Otherworlder’. She had a dark expression on her face so it didn’t seem that she had done it on a whim. The notable smiles of the onlookers and guards also supported that reasoning. So Michael ignored the sobbing men - he didn’t even avoid them and instead stepped on the leg of one of the men in his way, his gravity enhanced weight crushing the bone - and walked to Liera. Liera noticed him and flushed at the scene she caused but Michael just passed her and took up the larger of the packs.
“Are you ready? Good, we should be on our way. I should apologize for my tardiness but you seemed to have found something to pass the time…”
Liera turned a slightly deeper shade of red at his words and silently followed Michael out of the city.
When the two reached the ‘Forest of Dread’ Michael halted and took out the box his mother gave him.
“This is for the ‘Silven Plant’. It will protect it very well while still allowing me to keep my connection with it. Lets place it inside before continuing.”
Liera nodded at Michael’s words and lifted the pouch from her waist. She noted that her actions earlier had caused a slight tear in the pouch but she didn’t dwell on it as she opened and took out the beautiful and softly glowing plant.
Placing the plant in the box, Michael closed and packed it away. He had shifted his sight to the Mana realm and was glad to note that there was no leakage at all. The connection was also still in place so Michael and Liera walked through the forest.
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Michael didn’t want to really fight so he concentrated and pushed out his Presence. This caused any weaker monsters to run away and thus made their journey rather pleasant. Liera frequently picked up various plants and berries along the way for their meal later and Michael was incredibly happy that he didn’t need to cook. That was one skill he had zero ability for. The foraging being done lessened the use of some of the provisions that had been packed.
For the next few days the two had slowly started their way to the city of Kiryun. It was mainly a combat town and adventurers passed through the town often due to its location. As the only city located at the center of the continent and the main city that roads connected to, it had a large influx of merchants and adventurers making use of the roads.
It was also a desired place because of the powerful new Mercenary guild that had sprung up, the ‘Taskmasters’, people who could be paid to perform duties, as long as the duty was specifically said in the contract. Breaking the contract resulted in being hunted down by an internal force of high ranking and high leveled people who were very good at their job. This lent a sort of legitimacy to the guild and Merchants and Nobles desired the guild’s services greatly. They didn’t only handle expensive jobs and even catered towards lower classed people for lower prices.
Michael and Liera’s final destination was mainly the city of ‘Carihaven’. Liera wasn’t told the city until they had actually travelled some distance but she mainly didn’t care anyways. Michael wished to meet his ‘Guildmaster’ and acquire a few jobs before doing something else. Kiryun was just a stepping stone on the journey there.
On the seventh day of their journey, about 3 days away from Kiryun, Michael and Liera halted in their steps when they heard a scream. They had already been out of the woods after the first 2 days and had been travelling down the paved roads. They were about to enter the gorge that would deposit them at Kiryun when they heard the disturbance. The sides of the gorge had rather steep mountains and it was the one on the south that caught their attention.
Michael and Liera both noted the running figure. A woman, by the wide dress that flew behind her. She was running from a pack of goblins and seemed to not have noticed Michael and Liera yet. Several of the goblins did however and dashed towards them.
Michael told Liera to take care of those while he helped the woman. Michael didn’t have a heroic heart, but neither could he just ignore a woman and let her be killed. Michael knew that Liera could handle a few goblins so he focused his attention at the larger pack.
Michael ran as fast as he could towards the woman. As he approached, Michael switched his sight and locked on the mana of the goblins. After he had done so he estimated how far they would run and then targeted a stretch of land a few paces in front of the running group.
Michael willed his Green Magic into the ground and sought a few left over bits of plants. Since it was a rocky mountain the amount he found was very small but he did succeed. Michael then softened the Earth around those plants and moved them around in order to form a line where he desired. Then Michael concentrated and ripped apart the water from the air. This was the hardest since he needed a large quantity and he used up half his mana just doing so. With the rest of his mana, Michael forcefully grew the line of plants and fed them the water he had obtained. He hardened the Earth until the woman passed the line, and when she did he poured every last drop of mana into the plants.
A wall of green erupted from the ground and blocked the way of the goblins. Some of the plants even had thorns that grew to incredible proportions and those thorns killed various goblins that ran into it. The leading group was also killed as they were squashed by their running allies behind them. With 3/4s of the goblins down Michael had an easier time finishing them off. He was still dazed after giving so much energy but the plan succeeded and he sat to begin his Meditation. The woman was completely out of his mind for a short while.
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Liera approached later and had a conflicted expression when she saw the carnage Michael had done. She only had to deal with 3 of the goblins yet she was done a long time after Michael. The dead group of goblins around him numbered 23 and Michael himself didn’t seem to care.
Liera then noted that the woman was peering around the plant wall. When the woman saw Liera looking she jumped but then made her way forward. She was very bedraggled but started to straighten as she came closer.
“I...I am Vanessa de Leorn. May I please inquire about your names?”
She spoke in a near-haughty tone but Michael and Liera had already met several self-important nobles before. They didn’t recognize her surname and didn’t bother to respond. Michael was still meditating anyways as Liera continued to stare at the woman. She seemed to shrink a little at the lack of response but continued.
“My adventuring group was examining a recently found cave when we were attacked by Goblins. The group was very expensive to hire so they seemed strong enough to handle it but there were too many Goblins. I was told to run when a member of the expedition died. My father is very influential. He can make it worth your while if you bring me back safely. W-well?”
Her tone faltered at the end when Michael gave a small smile. He had been completely motionless for a long time and Vanessa thought that he didn’t even notice them but in reality Michael noticed everything. Meditating was basically second nature since it was the fastest way to train concentration early on. Michael heard everything she said and a quick change of sight said she really wasn’t very strong. What Michael was very interested in was the Cave she had found.
One of the changes that ‘Otherworlders’ brought was an increased number of monsters. Another change was the creation of cave complexes brought out due to the monster numbers. These caves grew and even accessed various ancient areas that were then looted and added to the monster’s hoard. Adventurers flocked to clear out these ‘Dungeons’ and obtain a vast collection of wealth. Famous and smart people had also created caves a long time ago in order to live the rest of their lives there or create and discover new things in secret. These people were also attacked and then killed by the monsters. These made the crafters and mages interested in caverns to discover hidden secrets and stores of information that they wouldn’t be able to get in the cities.
Michael hoped that one of the quests he could get from his guild would involve a new cave, but this was even better.
“I’m sorry, but we will be going to that cave you were looking through. You should just make your way back yourself. Heres a dagger for protection. Goodbye.”
Michael had gotten up very quickly and spoke his decision to both Liera and Vanessa. Liera’s expression didn’t change since she didn’t care but Vanessa paled. She had given away a secret and she knew she probably couldn’t stop them. Still she tried.
“B-b-but you don’t know where it is. You would be better off leading me towards town. Also the caves are crawling with those goblins. What can the two of you even do?”
“Liera here can trace your tracks back to the cave. And goblins should really be no problem for either of us. Again, Goodbye.”
Michael tossed a dagger to Vanessa before Liera and he dashed off in the direction she ran from. Liera took the lead here since Michael didn’t learn any tracking skills.
Vanessa looked at the running figure of the two and waited till they disappeared. She dropped the dagger to the grown and stood up very straight. Then she smiled and disintegrated on the spot. The next breathe of wind scattered the sand that replaced her.
The good and bad chapter that people hate and like.
The Dungeon!!!
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Phew, this was rather long. I was about to just post this a week later due to all the comments...but even I was disgusted at myself for even thinking it. Not everyone was arguing and some actually like what I did. So here is my 12th chapter and happy 1 week anniversary for the series.
My decision will stand. People want me to take off the Curse. I say not till I, and the story, is ready. My decision may be disliked but I always have reasons for it. I usually have reasons for it. I don't just do things on a whim...I'll stop talking now.
For the people that like OP moments from time-to-time, don't worry he does have those kinds of scenes. He is still rather strong at his level and his personality is rather flexible with ideas.
So...romantic interest...still don't know where I'm going to go with this...please comment suggestions...if I really like it I'll use it...still...