Evan was in the orphanage, in his own room, planning for how to eliminate Josh, having more than two plans would be perfect for such a drastic situation. He knew that he had a short lapse of time to prepare to kill Josh, especially if it was in a noble party. He needed allies, but who would be his allies? Then Noche appeared in front of him and looked happy, or so it seemed as he floated cheerfully around Evan.
“You have allies. No need to consider it further.” Noche calmly said.
“Who?” Evan asked with a raised eyebrow. ‘Does Noche keep some assistants we can use? If so, marvelous of him to lend them to me. It’ll be something to remember, and it will speed up my plans further than he thinks.’ Evan thought to himself.
“The kids of the orphanage.” Noche replied, with a calm tone.
“So I have to ask them to help me in this bloody conspiracy? Do I have to stain those young hands with blood?” Evan asked as he had a grim look on his face. ‘It’s not like I have any morality that forbids me from doing so. But this idea is both dangerous, and unsavory, for me. The kids are weak, but can become forces to be reckoned if they train, and losing them would be devastating. And kids shouldn’t be involved in this sort of mess.’ Evan thought to himself.
“Sooner or later they will be forced to stain their hands at this rate. At least that they do it for a noble purpose. And some even had to already. I mean, Flint most certainly went beyond the spot.” Noche replied calmly.
“Yeah, Flint had to kill Saida by accident. But the elves will ask for his head.” Evan said as he tried to avoid showing his worry. ‘Never expected that a traitor could appear from my own family. I… I never placed any loyalty clause onto them, as I desired them to be free. Was it a mistake? No. It was not a mistake. I do things I desire to do, and taking away the freedom of my children is something I hate to even consider. If they must hate me, so be it. Probably I deserve it if it happens. But in this case, the fault lies in the father of my granddaughter. I’ll dance upon his grave, once I kill him, for all what he has done to my family. Yet something does not fit in this, anything carrying a ball of that size shouldn’t break so easily… Sabotage? It could be. But who? Jia wouldn’t dare do that.’ Evan thought, as worry filled his mind, due to remembering what happened to Saida.
“So he has no other choice than helping you.” Noche said without any sort of emotion in his voice.
“Yes, a good reason to help me. But something tells me that he would aid me anyway. Yet, that makes me feel a bit wrong to have to ask a young person to help me with this.” Evan said as he frowned on the book’s words. ‘Best to focus on the task at hand. That part of sabotage, I need to fully find out all the information. The fault of it falls onto Saida’s father, but that doesn’t mean there are accomplices or opportunists in that mess. And I will learn the truth, one way or another.’ Evan thought to himself.
“Yeah, righteous people are like that. Helping their friends without any care. And you are not that much older, physically speaking.” Noche said, before letting out a chuckle.
“Legias has no other choice, too. Due to his family, but I don't want to lose him…” Evan said as he looked at Noche. ‘And yet here we are considering having his assistance. That does leave a bad taste in my mouth… But he’s a Von Aegilard. One way or another, he’ll have to make his own reputation. Why not start when he’s young, and make sure he’s properly trained? That should allow some sort of speed up. Especially as he’s an elf.’ Evan thought, considering having Legias as a possible successor.
“Indeed. But he'll have to handle stuff too, right? Sooner or later, so better give him some experience now.” Noche said as he floated around Evan.
“But Zerana won't aid me. I don't see her as a girl who would fight for a noble cause, she is too nice. And Vivienne is the wildest card of the year. I do not know her enough to be sure if she will help or not.” Evan said as he scratched the back of his neck. ‘Vivienne is a huge unknown. I don’t exactly know what subspecies she is. But something is nagging me in the brain.’ Evan thought to himself.
“And Rose will aid you. That's a fact.” Noche said, as he seemed to have a rather smug tone about it.
“Because she owes me a great favor?” Evan cluelessly asked.
“Nope. Because you gave her a reason to live. And for that she will aid you.” Noche said as he chuckled at the young dark lord’s blindness towards Rose’s feelings.
“I see... But having Vivienne and Zerana as allies would be great. I must admit that making sure that they do not betray me in the last moment is more important than Josh.” Evan said as he looked at Noche, deciding to ignore the book’s chuckle and smug tone. ‘They have talent, and if such talent is nurtured… They may be worth the effort. Also, I’ll help all the children one way or another… So why not get a benefit out of it?’ Evan thought to himself.
“Indeed. After all, as more carefully you scheme... More unexpected events will happen!” Noche exclaimed, as if to warn Evan to not plan too much.
Evan started laughing at what Noche had said. For him, a plan was made to work well in any case, with several emergency plans. So he shouldn't have any problem dealing with this event, but that didn't mean that everything would work out perfectly.
The reason Evan would want Vivienne as an ally was because of her magic. If she could eliminate Josh with her thunder magic, that meant sure death for Josh. But then he truly did not want to stain the hands of such young children with blood for any kind of cause.
“Now you won't be growing weak?” Noche asked, with a worried tone, as he didn’t want to have to inform that the dark lord had become weak-willed.
“No. Just that I don't want them to suffer the same way as I suffered.” Evan said, before taking a deep breath and then sighing. ‘It would be awesome if they didn’t have to suffer that much. No one deserves that sort of suffering.’ Evan thought to himself.
“I see. But we have no better option than them, and sincerely... You need allies as fast as you can gather them. Most dark lords bit the dust because they didn’t make allies.” Noche said calmly.
“I know…” Evan said, as he sighed once more.
“That means that you have to ask them.” Noche said as he went inside Evan’s body.
“Dammit.” Evan cursed his own look as he noticed a sort of weird calmness in the orphanage he had never heard until now.
Meanwhile, the other children were hearing the conversation behind the closed door of Evan’s room. And this roused quite the emotions from the children themselves.
Flint was impressed by the fact that Evan was trying to do all of his plans on his own. Legias was surprised, but then he remembered that his own mother was like that too. Zerana and the other girls did not know what the plan was about but decided to help him.
And so Flint was the first to enter inside the room, as he had heard that the conversation was done and disliked the idea of not supporting a good person like Evan. Only that he entered inside in a brutish way, pushing the door and opening quickly, which made Evan look towards Flint and the other kids.
“I will help you kill anyone. I will not let those rotten bastards to keep causing trouble to the young people!” Flint exclaimed as he looked quite serious.
“So you have been hearing the conversation. You should know better than eavesdropping an old man.” Evan said as he glared at the kids. ‘These kids… I am already feeling proud of their achievements. Or that, or I am getting dull in terms of ensuring that no one is listening. Complacency is a sin, Evan. Don’t lower your guard so easily.’ Evan thought to himself.
“We have to do something if we want to be free when we are older. Count me in. Also, you are not that much older now.” Legias said as he smirked.
“You two are fools. If this fails, you will die. Also, I am way older than you two for sure, at least mentally!” Evan said just before scoffing. ‘And they shouldn’t die, if possible, as they have enough talent to change the world.’ Evan thought to himself.
“And? I am already going to die. The elven king won't let me go so happy. Not after causing Saida's death. Not that the dwarves would let me go so happily, either.” Flint said as he chuckled.
“I am just an elf who will be killed by his father either way. So why not trying hard to get out of the situation?” Legias said as he kept his smirk on his face.
“And the girls are here too. Will you join me or not?” Evan asked as he looked at the girls.
“You need me. Also, I have not a better choice. Even if I am an adventurer, I will not be safe from my family too. But if I am one of the Dark Lord henchmen, I will be safe. At least until a hero kills you, but I am sure that will not happen.” Vivienne said as he smiled at Evan.
“You gave me a chance to live. I will fight for you until I die. At least I owe you that.” Rose said with a determined look.
“If you expect me to be scared of killing... You are wrong. I am not going to be the last of the wolf clan. For that, I need a great position, and you can give it to me. Otherwise, well... At least I did try. But same situation as Vivienne, and I am not one to let my friends down!” Zerana said, before she started laughing softly.
“Okay then, you all are the worst kind of fools. Then our fates are intertwined. If I fail, you all will die. No pressure at all for this old sack of bones!” Evan said, while smirking at the kids, even if he was feeling nervous about it.
“And they saw through your facade of cold guy already. Who would say that you are a good guy after all?” Noche said from within Evan as he cackled.
Evan smiled like a demon, while looking at the kids. Noche’s words did enrage him a bit, since for him being called a good guy was an insult. He knew that he wasn't a good guy, and that he would never be a good guy, but that also meant that he could be the worst kind of demon and do things his own way.
“I am the worst kind of demon, the devil himself. But even the worst kind of demon has a heart. And more when you have a family. Well, the plan is simple. You all have to level up. Level 10 minimum, I can’t believe that not even brats are that high level.” Evan said as he glared at the kids.
“Why?” Flint asked as he tilted his head.
“I have to get you ready to fight against the guard for now. This will be an assassination of a captain of the guard and the candidate named Josh. I will take the two best suited for the mission with me to the party that he will be holding in two days. It’ll be a simple look and go around, but in worst case, you will have to support me.” Evan said as he scratched his neck. ‘If all goes well, it’ll be in and out. Only talk a bit, then poison or assassinate the guy calmly, and then go back to the orphanage. Probably in due time for Lillian’s pastries, and maybe even have a bit of time to tell Grandine about Alex and have her tease them both instead of me. Baton pass from me to them. I am not going to deal with Grandine in a teasing mood once more. I suffered enough when she was a cute and innocent baby girl.’ Evan thought to himself.
“And the rest?” Flint asked once more.
“Well, they will work on backup plans. If all fails, I prefer having someone finishing him off from afar.” Evan said as he smirked. ‘Seeing the situation, might as well consider a few backup plans. Just in case, but you never know when said plans are going to be required.’ Evan thought to himself.
“I see. Good plan, but I am sure you have a lot more of plans ready.” Vivienne said with a smug grin.
“Well, I have to contact someone. You all try to get in the outskirts of the city and kill monsters. Better yet, contact Amelia and tell her that you are my friends and that you would like to do a deal with her. She can get the gates open and you can sell her materials. Also, she’s the granddaughter of an annoying old man… Best to talk with her than with the old man, he’s so damn greedy.” Evan said as he scratched his chin. ‘Azmosdei would have them underpaid, he has no mercy to any sort of child. Probably that’s why Amelia is so much like him… Damnable greedy fox. He is so annoying, I don’t ask for absurd discounts… But damn it! Try to not rip off every single living being in this planet, Woolman!’ Evan thought to himself.
“Money always helps! Well, almost always. I do always forget to fix my boots.” Legias said as he smiled.
“Yes! Which is funny!” Zerana said as she started laughing loudly.
“Do not risk it. From afar, and do not fight things stronger than goblins or slimes.” Evan said as he looked at the kids, pondering several things. ‘They are young, and they only have one life. So can’t make massive power leveling on them. They might die trying that.’ Evan thought to himself.
“I am level 10 already-” Vivienne said as she looked embarrassed.
“Then stay with them, just in case that someone goes after them. You can off a level 45 golem on your own, pretty much it’s either you or me the ones who have to defend them.” Evan said as he shrugged.
“I can add you to the party! I have that power of creating groups of people and share experience.” Zerana said as she smiled.
Evan looked at Zerana with a surprised face, he never would have expected that Zerana could use the party settings, yet he was not going to say no to free experience and quicker leveling up.
“Great thing! It would allow you all to level faster.” Evan said as he smiled. ‘And this way, I don’t have to be worried about you trying to catch me doing some negotiations with Alex.’ Evan thought to himself.
Evan smiled and left the orphanage, leaving the kids behind to deal with their part of the plan. He had to find that guy Alex and that meant a lot of trouble for him, as he would have to catch his attention first and then negotiate with him. Depending on how Alex truly was, it would be a problem in the long term that would require some modifications on his plans.
As Evan walked across the streets, he saw a paperboy who wouldn’t be older than him physically running across the streets and giving newspapers to the citizens that walked on the streets only to get paid a few bronze coins.
Thanks to Noche’s information, he had understood how much that amounted to, which didn’t make him any happier. As the ten or twelve bronze coins the boy had acquired were like a twelfth part of the taxes of one person in Elstivia, but would be far less than due to the newspaper cut and the consequent costs of the person, and Evan simply sighed as he moved along.
“Good choice. It’s not like you have a fortune, and you can’t save him alone. Well, to be fair, you are not a hero.” Noche said to Evan through telepathy.
“Shut it, book. You have spoken way too much about that. I know you are testing me, to check if I am a good dark lord or a failed one. But I am just a villain, who does things just because of their own pleasure or displeasure-” Evan replied, through the telepathic connection, clearly angered by Noche’s words.
As Evan and Noche talked to each other while people passed near them, the young dark lord noticed that no one was picking up their conversation. This was a good way to ensure that no spy could catch the telepathy, and confirm if telepathy was a safe method of contact if used properly, which Evan decided to use to its fullest extent.
“I am just trying to understand what kind of person you are. I have seen many people over my years, even dark lord, who grasp any faint glimmer of hope. Kind-hearted fools who get deceived, tricked, betrayed… Blinded by the light they see, they stumble as they search for an answer that can save everyone. Driven to their deaths, by either the things they uncover or by their own madness after learning things they shouldn’t have. But even then, they remember their motivation: Saving everyone or just fulfill their own desire. One way or another, they end up paying too much for it. Either due to their boundless compassion, or the price they paid.” Noche said through telepathy, with a curious tone.
“And what kind of person you are?” Evan asked through the telepathic line made by Noche, still angry by Noche’s words, choosing that his curiosity was more important than his anger.
“In my case, I am truly unbound. I just follow Namika’s duty, and enjoy my eternal life as a book. That said, no one can foretell the consequences of both your action or lack of action. In my case, I just do as I must and know that probably it’ll be a rinse and repeat. Help the dark lord, watch them die, and once more. But it’s all I know, and pretty much I don’t have a way out of it.” Noche replied with telepathy.
“Sounds sad. Not that I care, after all: You might find a good dark lord and maybe get a good rest. And I feel like you are enjoying the effort you put it.” Evan said, through the connection between him and the grimoire.
“I will never understand what drives you, it seems. What made you accept the deal? Is it your thirst for knowledge? Responsibility? Petty revenge?” Noche said, using the connection he had made with Evan with a spell.
“Hm. Who knows?” Evan answered, through telepathy, with a question.
“You shoulder a task far beyond yourself. Saving those kids from their fate, by taking over Elstivia. Had it been you with the godslayer abilities, I would consider it below you… But like this? You are too weak for this.” Noche said, through the connection.
“Stop me if you have heard this bit. But haven’t you seen a task that seemed far beyond yourself, and found out later on that you measured up to it? Sometimes, we consider some things as far more difficult as they seem. In my case, I choose to at least tackle the challenge.” Evan said, using the mental connection.
“Even Namika despairs over this challenge. You have to admit that this task is beyond you in your state.” Noche retorted through telepathy.
“If that’s so, I will hold my wretched soul in this body until the end and face said end.” Evan retorted back, as he let out a chuckle through telepathy.
“Why?” Noche simply asked, through the connection.
“It’s about the journey, not the destination. Why should I take the easy way out, when the answer is a boring ending? Denying the deal was just that, after all: You can’t do much if you are dead. I just do as I desire. Only that my desires right now seem heroic. It annoys me that kids like them have to risk their lives, to avoid slavery, while kings feast and enjoy a culturally diverse life between bed, restaurants, opera, and a library. If you are going to rule, at least do everyone a bloody favor: Be responsible and competent. While nobles and kings are considered the best of the best here, they are as incompetent as they are irresponsible. Or so I have seen so far, I’d be glad to be mistaken, since that would be an interesting outcome. One which would teach me something. But going straight to the point: I hate corruption, and the rulers here either are too incompetent or are too corrupt. Maybe both, but well: The journey will deliver the answers I seek.” Evan replied, as he explained through telepathy, Noche’s question.
“Yeah, but you are being too competent for this country. You are putting too much effort into this, and not into leveling up.” Noche retorted, through telepathy.
“If I am to openly hate those incompetent rulers, might as well show the people that I can do so much better. They can choose so much better, and they don’t realize it. Also, they could select something so much worse, let’s be honest there. Something in this country is broken, and I must pick it up. If I, with a few days around, can notice that… The question should be: Why isn’t others noticing that or attacking the king? Or is it that they are attacking the king, but he has something that surpasses all might you can muster through levels and manpower? I can always level up later, but only I can worm my way into the country’s pillars when the king is focused on other matters and not the rise of a powerful spellcaster.” Evan explained, through telepathy, with a calm tone in his voice.
“Huh, so in the end… You just plan on doing it in the most pragmatic way, but picking the hardest path. In order to reach the ending you desire. Hm, for now: I will just keep my eye on you.” Noche said
Evan simply shrugged and kept walking to find the guard headquarters, as he had gotten lost again because his depth perception made him miscalculate the location of the guard headquarters.
***
In the city of Aeia, the city known as the land of fortune-telling, there was a small ship that traveled through Lake Aeinas in direction to a small island located in the most forgotten side of the lake. As in the lake forgotten side, there was a very small island with a bridge that connected it to the land which held a very small village filled with people wearing all robes made of mystical silks that covered their entire bodies and wooden sandals.
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Azmosdei had managed to walk out of the capital, and decided to go to that village to ask for answers behind the actions of the practitioners that tried to stop him from leaving the castle. But going through the bridge would prove impossible, as countless knights and soldiers were stationed there for their first assignment in order to protect the village in case of invasion, as the lake was located relatively near the border with Krebs.
While Azmosdei was considered a sage, even he was forbidden from setting foot on the island. So he had to get a bunch of smugglers, crazy enough ones, to try to smuggle anything inside the hidden village that didn’t appear in the maps and pay them enough to carry him alongside some goods to the secret village.
But what Azmosdei never expected was to find a ship that would carry all sorts of food and materials to that hidden village each month, without fail, and would be able to carry very important VIPs inside the village itself.
That said, the problem came with convincing the captain of said ship to smuggle him inside the village, but in the end he was allowed to go inside the hidden village after paying an exorbitant amount of money.
It turned out that the village elder herself had contacted the captain of the ship a few weeks prior, to ask for new villagers that could handle woodcutting and trading for the village to grow inside itself as a sort of hidden trading hub for nobility to abuse and acquire bigger profits out of David’s eyes. And so, Azmosdei could easily convince the captain to let him inside the ship, but he would never believe what he would see.
As the old sage entered inside the village, he saw that the entirety of the village had all of its footpaths were made of polished quartz tiles, and its pavement made of an amber layer. The footpaths themselves had a massive array of black steel lampposts with golden floral engravings alongside an amethyst mana gem that gave a bright purple light when the lampposts were on.
The buildings themselves were made of the most refined and white stones of the entire country, with golden windows that had stained-glass, and were made to show a sort of refinement all over the city.
But the most amazing place in the entire village itself was the massive spire of at least 140 floors that laid in the middle of the village itself, as it was a skyscraper with a spiral look that looked like a unicorn’s horn. The skyscraper itself was made of steel, but seemed like the interior had tatami mat flooring as far as Azmosdei could see due to the fact that there were two royal guards in front of the entrance, checking the identification of anyone who was going to enter inside the spire.
‘So even getting inside the skyscraper is going to be a work of art. Goddamnit, what are you hiding here, David!? And why are you so interested in hiding this village!?’ Azmosdei thought, as he felt that this village wasn’t special enough to hide it so much.
As Azmosdei started thinking in what sort of chaos he would have to provoke, in order to force the royal guards to move, one of the royal guards walked towards him with a worried look. This made the sage look worried, as he got ready to cast a spell and run away if it seemed like the guard would catch him on the spot.
“Sir, prophet Naliala is asking for you. She said that you would be the one who would save this island.” The royal guard said, with fear in his voice, as he looked at Azmosdei.
“So, can I see her now?” Azmosdei asked with a courteous smile. ‘So this is what you were hiding, David! The prophets and oracles the country captures are sent here, while you only allow your allies to come here and see the future! Well, surprise, you young stupid fool! I am going to see one of them!’ Azmosdei thought to himself, trying to hold back his excitement.
As Azmosdei was being guided by the royal guard, he saw that almost no one that wasn’t heavily armored was inside the skyscraper. It seemed like few would ever get a chance to visit the prophets and oracles that lived in the skyscraper, and that fewer would be able to get to the top of said building.
The interior of the building was unique, as Azmosdei could notice clearly as he was asked to use a pair of wooden sandals instead of the footwear he was wearing, since it had tatami mat flooring alongside sliding doors for each room in the entire building. The walls of the building were made of stone, which had all iron plates that indicated the name and rank of each oracle and prophet that lived in the skyscraper.
Azmosdei walked, as he followed the guard through the entire massive skyscraper, until he arrived to the last floor of the spire that had a massive entrance comprised by two sliding doors connected to each other and a massive plate added above that said: ‘Prophet Naliala, greatest among all prophets and oracles, meeting room.’.
“Huh, quite big on that ego, or she lives in that room too?” Azmosdei said as he looked at the massive door, as it opened slowly, showcasing merely a meeting room with a half-sphere shape.
The meeting room had the same flooring as the rest of the skyscraper, the roof was made of metal and had an obtuse angle due to the spire’s tip, and inside it there were a few cushions, a small wooden table with a circular shape, and a massive amount of bookshelves filled to the brim with all sorts of books on the walls unless for a very small window added in the northern side of the room.
Sitting in a seiza position, a young girl with snow-white skin, slightly wavy long blue hair, blue eyes, glossy red lips, red eyeliner and blush looked at Azmosdei with a soft smile. This girl was wearing a pure white kimono, as if she seemed like a ghost, with no pattern or any sort of accessory.
“Prophet Naliala, I suppose.” Azmosdei said as he sat down on one of the cushions without caring on which position he would end up. ‘She looks really pure and cute. Is it some sort of strategy to distract and convince those that speak to the prophets? Interesting strategy if it is.’ Azmosdei thought to himself, considering the strategy of using charm to distract and convince targets.
“Yes, I saw that you’d seek me out one way or another. And there’s no way that the royal guard could stop you from entering this room to seek answers. In fact, the worst case scenario would be that we stopped you. After all, the only one who can stop the Epitaph of Black is you. The rest of the prophecy has happened already, and once your part is completed… Elstivia will be doomed to fall at the hands of the worst fiend alive, and your granddaughter’s life will be forfeited.” Naliala said as she kept her soft smile on her face.
“Epitaph of Black? What is that?” Azmosdei asked as he glared at the prophet. ‘It’s my first time dealing with prophets and their prophecies. Maybe they are interesting sources of information. We never had one amongst the godslayers, nor in Dawn World. And they’ve been kept very secret even now.’ Azmosdei thought to himself, pondering over the utility of prophets and oracles.
“The last prophecy given to us by the prophet Aeinas, as he used all of his remaining lifeforce at the age of 100 years old to see into the distant future. The king of prophets. And the one who made this island, for all prophets and oracles to be kept inside. Alongside it, Aeinas left us a sphere. A sphere that would react to the ones that would trigger the prophecy. Once, I carried it to the castle of Crelens and it reacted to prince Edward. I warned the former king of the epitaph’s terrible prophecy, but I was kicked out of the castle.” Naliala said, with her soft smile, as she kept an eye on Azmosdei’s reaction.
“Well, the prince is dead alongside his father and mother. Thank David for that. I suppose I am not required if he’s dead.” Azmosdei said with a scoff. ‘What a shame. The prophecy is a bust already. So they can be taken out if you know enough information and prepare… Quite unreliable, if I must say so myself, as all countries must be using oracles and prophets as they see fit. Only a fool wouldn’t use someone with such abilities for their country. Maybe it’s because there’s so many of them, kept away from the public, that causes the prophecies to be faulty? Like too many observants in one event can lead to different resolutions?’ Azmosdei thought to himself, pondering on the skill trees that allowed to see the future.
“No. That was my mistake. I wanted to prevent it, but in my path to preventing it… I triggered my part and David’s part. We both have played our parts now, so we can’t stop it from our functions. And David was too stupid, I told him to bind and hold down the prince, not to kill him.” Naliala said, showing a very slight frown for a second, only to return to the soft smile right after.
“So the prince’s function was to die, and David’s function was to kill him. Ironically, your action provoked it. Ironically… That means… I see. Evan is involved in this prophecy.” Azmosdei said, as he started connecting the dots. ‘If they saw Evan in their prophecy, that means that the psycho is going to be back and cause some incidents. And knowing him, stopping that psycho will be either impossible or too hard to even try. Should I start considering selling the information of the prophets to Evan? He will most certainly pay me for it, and they spooked the foolish king… If they wake up the dragon, then they shouldn’t cry when said dragon goes wild.’ Azmosdei thought, starting to ponder what to do in order to have the biggest benefit.
“You have to ensure that your granddaughter doesn’t assist him any further. And sell him out to Jia Yeon. He must be executed. The betrayed soul of darkness must never, ever, have a chance to return the debt. Otherwise, darkness will cover the country.” Naliala said with a stern gaze on Azmosdei.
Azmosdei raised an eyebrow, not believing what he was hearing, until he realized that Naliala wasn’t joking. This made the old sage to start laughing loudly, as he summoned a massive black staff that had a sort of golden hammer as the tip of the staff.
“Are you asking me to sell a client, and to assist that slaver’s friend of David? I am not called Woolman amongst the godslayers for nothing. I am the greatest merchant. And for merchants, trust is far more valuable than gold, just like freedom is more valuable than gold for people.” Azmosdei said as he glared at Naliala, considering how would he leave after bashing the girl’s head in for the insolence she had done. ‘This bitch is going too far! First, if I betray my clients… No one will buy from my shops. Maybe some, but probably I’ll lose my business. Second, if Evan catches me… Forget the clients! He’ll burn the shops himself! And then probably rip my head off for the insolence… He dislikes disloyalty, and he’s the first to return tenfold a betrayal.’ Azmosdei thought to himself, as he cursed the prophet’s audacity to be that insolent.
“Once we finish our conversation, you will understand me. Or so I hope, as I can’t see your future.” Naliala said as she smiled.
Azmosdei simply sighed and held back. He was going to hear first what this prophet had to say, and then bash her head in. Or so was what he had planned, but no one knew what Naliala had planned and what could come out of the plan. Nor how it would end up, as no one would have been able to predict Azmosdei’s answer.
Alex Status:
Race: Human
Genre: Male.
Age: 23 years old.
Height: 1 meter and 50 centimeters tall.
Likes: Lillian, strawberries, peaceful days.
Dislikes: Corrupt people, perverted people, and garlic.
Level: 40
STATS (Maximum of 1000):
HP: 40000/40000
MP: 12500/12500
STR: 100
VIT: 300
INT: 50
DEX: 300
AGI: 50
Magic affinity: None.
Skill affinity: Warrior, Enhancer, Soldier, Chef, Aggro Master, Defender, Alchemist, Survivalist,
Titles: Pure man, Most wanted prey of Succubus, Loyal soldier, Captain of the guard candidate.
Job: Guard
Skills:
Warrior (Master):
Knowledge of Swords: Passive. Allows the user to use more efficiently the swords, greatswords and any other kind of weapon.
Warrior's training: Passive. The user uses all the weapons faster and easier.
Increased power: Passive. The user has more strength than most of the people.
Battle senses: Passive. When the user is fighting his body will move automatically to dodge attacks.
Mastery in fighting: Passive. The user is so used to fighting that has a keen sense to fight and can detect ambushes.
Flash strike: Active, 3 MP. The user does a swift strike that is hard to parry.
Impact strike: Active, 5 MP. The user does a strike with enough impact to disarm the opponent.
Heavy Slash: Active, 8 MP. The user slashes an enemy with a lot of strength.
Counter Slash: Active, 12 MP. When the user is damaged, this skill can be activated to return a 150% of the damage received. It can be countered back and parried.
Decapitate: Active, 25 MP. Instant death skill that will decapitate a target but can be deflected or stopped with a defensive barrier.
Devastate: Active, 30 MP. A slash that will take out the 90% of the HP of the target but leaves the user exhausted during 30 seconds.
Carving slice: Pinnacle skill. Active, 50 MP. A slash that will pierce any kind of defense and deal heavy damage to the target.
Soldier skills (Master):
Soldier training: Passive. If the user is wielding a sword and a shield, his damage increases a 20% and his defense against physical attacks increases a 10%.
Soldier Experience: Passive. The user can deflect arrows and stop bullets with his shield and due to experience, his body receives a 20% less damage.
Skill Mastery: The user has such a mastery over the skills that the second skill used in a combo has no cost.
Shield Protection: The user can't be affected by debuffs if they are using the shield correctly.
Brutal bash: Active Skill, 20 MP cost. The user bashes someone with his/her shield with such strength that it will stun the enemy for a moment.
Perforating thrust: Active Skill, 50 MP cost. A fast thrust that can perforate any armor and will always deal the damage like if the target did not wear armor. It can be deflected.
Lacerating Slash: Active Skill, 80 MP cost. A slash that will leave a lacerating mark that will bleed. Will pass any kind of defense.
Perfect Defense: Active Skill, 20 MP cost/minute used. While the user activates this skill and holds his shield up, no attack will damage it unless delayed spells like Heart Crush.
Parry: Active Skill, 15 MP cost. The user can activate it when he/she can parry an attack and stun the enemy for a short moment. Any attack on the target after parry will deal an extra 80% damage.
Critical Power: Active Skill, all MP available. When the user has only a 30% of HP, he/she can use all the MP that has to increase his attack a 10% for every 100 of MP available for 5 minutes. Side effects: The user can only hold swords after using it and after those 5 minutes, the user will be stunned for 2 minutes.
Ultimate Shield: Active Skill, 150 MP/minute. Pinnacle skill. The user uses the shield to create a small frontal barrier in front of them to protect those behind them from the effects of delayed spells like Heart Crush.
Enhancer (Master):
Hardened skin: Increases the defense of the user a 50%.
Instant Reflex: The user returns to the attack stance when the enemy throws off-balance him by a previous attack. It can hurt depending on how the user is thrown off-balance.
Magic Soul: The user gains a 50% extra resistance to magic.
Body Enhancement: Active, 1 MP. Increases for a brief period of time (1 minute) all the status a 20%.
Skill Boost: Active, 3 MP. The damage caused by skills is increased a 3% for a long period of time (1 hour).
Evasion enhancement: Active, 5 MP. The user increases his speed when he dodges attacks during a brief period of time.
Improved Body Enhancement: Active, 10 MP. Increases for a long period of time all the status a 20%.
Improved Evasion Enhancement: Active, 25 MP. The user increases his speed when he dodges attacks during a long period of time.
Neural Enhancement: Active, 30 MP. The user makes his brain go faster, obtaining increased attack speed and reflexes.
Battle Aura: Active, 50 MP. The user increases all the power of the muscles and allows the user to imbue the weapon used with magic so not only can be stopped without any kind of mana skills.
Limiter Release: Active, 25 MP/second. Nullifies any limit that the body has, increasing a 90% all Status. But causes pain and overuse will cause the death of the user.
Chef (Master):
Ingredient Knowledge: Passive. Allows the user to recognize several ingredients, and knows which are edible and which aren't.
Utensil Knowledge: Passive. Allows the user to understand what any cooking utensil does.
Mechanical Movement: Passive. The user moves more efficiently while cooking, allowing him/her to be lose less stamina while cooking.
Mental Cooking Training: Passive. The user has more resistance towards mental fatigue, which makes him/her be able to think faster in the recipes.
Cooking: Active, 5 MP. The user can use mana to manipulate several items while cooking, allowing him/her to do several steps at the same time.
Heating Up: Active, 2 MP. The user can use mana to raise the temperature in an oven or an item used for cooking.
Multiple Recipes Progression: Active, 20 MP. The user can do several recipes at the same time, but it's extremely strenuous for the mind.
Detoxification of food: Active, 30 MP. The user can take out the poison in some foods
Proshittua Status
Race: Human.
Gender: Female
Three sizes: 73/55/77
Cup Size: C
Age: 20 years old
Height: 1 meter and 50 centimeters.
Likes: Doing her job, living peacefully, following Naliala’s orders, tricking people into believing she’s Naliala.
Dislikes: Evan, having to deal with smart individuals, the epitaph of black, anyone who goes against her boss, being out of mana.
Level: 20
STATS:
HP: 20000/20000
MP: 15000/15000
STR: 1
VIT: 100
INT: 100
DEX: 100
AGI: 100
Magic affinity: Basic Magic, Dark Magic, Space Magic, Wind Magic, Water Magic, Ice Magic.
Skill affinity: Oracle, Dopplegänger, Magician, Prophet, Wizard, Mana Wielder, Trickster, Survivalist, Alchemist, Charmer.
Job: Oracle.
Skills:
Doppelgänger (Master):
Copy Eye: The user is better at copying the mannerisms of anyone they see. Also works for copying sword styles, but that just helps with learning the sword style faster.
Voice Modulation: The user can copy any voice they hear, and their hearing becomes better to be enough precise to copy any voice perfectly.
Master of the mental copy: The user is immune to all abilities that affect the mind, and can easily follow the logical paths of the mentality of the target the user is currently copying.
Form Copy: Active, 5 MP/Minute. The user can use mana to create an illusion to copy someone’s form. It’s easily distinguishable for those with enough perception. Can’t change the user’s gender.
Status Copy: Active, 10 MP/Minute. The user can use mana to recreate the status the target has, without increasing or decreasing their status.
Skill Copy: Active, 400 MP. The user can copy one skill they have seen. The skill must be seen in a period of time lesser than five minutes to be copied.
Shape Copy: Active, 15 MP/Minute. The user can use mana to change their body to copy a target. Only copies the target’s shape.
Spell Copy: Active, 400 MP. The user can copy one spell they have seen and understood. The spell must have been seen once, and can always be used if the user truly understood it.
Double Self: Active, 60 MP/Minute. The user can use mana to fully copy a target, even their status. It requires extensive knowledge of the target and their capabilities.
Style Copy: Active, 900 MP. The user can copy fully one style of the target (if they are swordsmanship skill users, practitioner skill users, or the like), and learn it for themselves with no skill cost.
Perfect Copy: Active, 100 MP/Minute. The user can fully copy a target, even their status, and add it all to themselves. But will not work if it endangers the user, and will stop working if it starts hurting the user. Pinnacle skill.
Oracle skills (Master):
Imminent Threat: The user can feel when he/she will be in danger.
Living Paradox: The user gains the ability to see between timelines to survive.
Blink of the future: Active, 5 MP. The user can see a moment of the future while blinking.
Future movement: Active, 25 MP. The user can teleport to where he/she should be in 10 seconds in the future.
Touch of the future: Active, 55 MP. The user can see the future of someone he/she touches up to 10 years of time.
Future Ghost: Active, 75 MP. The user can dissappear for 20 seconds and will appear where he/she should be after those 20 seconds. Pinnacle skill of Oracle
Teleporter (Master):
Mana Brain: The user acquires the capacity to hold a mana brain. The mana brain is an accumulation of mana that acts as a secondary brain of the size of a pea, that is inside the heart. Damage to the mana brain will cause a state of dizziness to the user, but it’ll nullify all the side effects of the mental fatigue as it runs all the subconscious thought. It’s said that the mana brain allows its users to learn twice as fast as they should be able.
Mana Fatigue Resistance: The user is more resistant to the side effects of using too much mana at once, allowing them to recover twice as fast as they should without this passive.
Spatial Resistance: The user is able to nullify teleports that affect them if they don’t want to be teleported.
Expansive Inventory: The inventory is twice as big as it should be.
Space Distortion: Active, 10 MP. The user can use this to nullify space magic that the user detects, as it distorts the space and nullifies the incoming space magic. It can be only activated as a counter.
Space Jump: Active, 5 MP. The user uses mana to jump at the speed of light to a location in a range of 50 meters.
Space Distortion Aura: Active, 15 MP. The user can create an armor that will send away projectiles, and nullify attempts of using space magic on the armor user, to themselves or an ally. This aura armor can only work for ten minutes, and can only nullify up to two space spells and withstand 300 attacks with projectiles.
Space Transaction: Active, 200 MP. The user can do a transaction between themselves or an ally and any space of similar size they have knowledge of. Fair warning: If the user doesn’t calculate well, the target may end up fused to a wall and unable to escape.
Mass Teleport: Active, 3000 MP. A mass teleportation that takes anything in a range of 100 meters, and sends it to another place. Takes both inanimate objects and people, so it’s way more taxing than any other teleport.
Mass Space Transaction: Active, 5000 MP. A mass version of Space Transaction. Exchanges a space of a size equal to a range between 50 meters and 300 meters with another location. Takes everything. Pinnacle skill.