Chapter 3 – Another Perspective
*** Back during the morning right after breakfast ***
Peter didn’t want to be an elf. One in the family was already enough, but he didn’t want to be human either, at least not completely human, so he browsed through the races that he could be. Scrolling down the list, one option caught his eye: Half Human, Half Demon. Thus, Peter ended up being a demonic werewolf with the ability to change between a humanoid appearance and a large, demonic wolf.
Naming his avatar ‘Fang’, he kept his normal height and build for his human appearance, the only difference being slightly pointed ears, his raven-black hair seemingly shining, and a personal request to have his eyes all red and sparkle in the night.
It was when the time came to choose his location, did things started to go wrong for him. The only choice he had was Hellfire Island in the Demonic Kingdom. Although he was quite happy, because Paul wouldn’t be able to find him. Peter would have time to level up a little and go rough up his brother.
All these thoughts comforted him, but little did he know, the Demonic Wolf was the weakest among the sentient demon race. They couldn’t use magic, weapons, and were too often lost in their bloodlust to think. Their primary role on the island was to fight in Purgatory, a massive fighting arena of entertainment. This wasn’t even mentioning his half-human side.
Fang was brought into the game, looking around in his werewolf form, amazed by the fact that he couldn’t tell a difference between the game and reality, but before he could comprehend it, several demons appeared before him and knocked him out. They chained him tightly and dragged him into Purgatory.
When he woke up, he was locked in a cell surrounded by all different kinds of demons, each with their unique appearance and ferocious aura. Looking around, he saw two humans cowering in fear before four beasts. Half-demon or not, his heart was kind, so he immediately charged in to help.
“Leave them along if you don’t want to lose an arm or a head!” Sinking into his new persona, he roared, knowing full well that being passive would just get yourself killed in this game. The four beasts turned to face him, assessing him while their gazes were equally as threatening as his own. Beneath their stares, Fang felt small, but held on strong. Under the pressure, he did the only thing he could think of and screamed, but it wasn’t like a normal high-pitched scream. No, it came out as a howl, devoid of all life and able to suck one’s soul right out of their body.
New Skill: Battle Howl
Those weaker than you will flee while the others will feel your will to fight.
Usable while in human form
New Skill: Fighting Spirit
Call on superhuman strength for a time period, brining weaker monsters to their knees with just the force of your gaze alone.
Distribution of stat bonus points to this stat is prohibited. It will rise spontaneously depending on your avatar’s actions. Especially effective after fighting monsters for a long time or confronting monsters higher than your current level.
The four were impressed, not very intimidated by the howl, but they felt that becoming friends with the newcomer might not be a bad idea.
“I am Behemoth.” the leader of the four beasts said, “You have a lot of potential, but that is still just potential. We both know that I can easily kill you. For leaving those two humans alone, you owe me one. Do we have a deal, newbie?”
Fang was tempted to go into battle mode, but despite what everyone thought, he was only a bullhead when he was bored, and that was usually the case in real life, but Road to Power was fun. He didn’t want to die yet, not at level 1.
“Deal, you can call me Fang.”
“Then I’ll see you around, newbie Fang,” He answered will still demeaning him as a newb. With a cruel smile, he added in a low tone, “if you don’t die in the arena first.”
The two humans glanced at him in fear, even if he was their savior, he was still a demon.
“Come closer, I won’t hurt you. It would be wasteful just to kill you after saving you, right?” He flashed a devilish grin.
They seemed to understand the joke and even chuckled sheepishly.
Overcoming his fear, one of the humans introduced himself, “I’m Pyros and this is my brother Elios.” while pointing at the other man as well.”
“Fang, at your service. Excuse my curiosity, both of you, but why are you two in the demon’s territory?”
“We’re from Calmar City. Wizards, trying to bind two demons to our power. Specifically, the two of the six archdukes of Hell. After hearing about their power, we got greedy and tried to summon them. Even though we were successful, they tricked us in return.” He paused to wipe tears that began dripping down his face, giving way to his brother to finish the story, “They brought us here promising unimaginable power, but after arriving, we immediately knew that we were tricked when we fell before this jail cell, but before we could teleport away, they put these magic-inhibiting shackles on us.”
Fang thought for a moment before asking, “Can you teach me the spell?”
Dumbstruck, they stared at him. Eventually, it was Elios who answered his question, “Demon Wolves can’t learn magic…”
“Let me rephrase the question then.”
They both nodded.
“What if I could learn magic, would you teach me the spell?”
“Of course, if you can get us out of here, we would even teach you all our spells, but that’s a big what if because aside from being able to use magic, you must have at least 300 MP to back it up.”
“Hmm.” Fang opened his status window.
Name
Fang
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Primary Class
N/A
Health
100
Mana
100
Level
1
Health Regen/Sec
0.3
Mana Regen/Sec
0.1
Strength
20
Agility
15
Wisdom
5
Intelligence
5
Stamina
15
Vitality
10
Dexterity
5
Elios continued, "To have around 300 MP, your Intelligence and Wisdom also have to be around 35 each. How are you going to level up when every demon here has at least 15 levels more than you?”
But Fang was a practical man. He had an idea hatching in his mind. Looking around, he found that the cell was quite big with a total of 43 demons. Speaking to the brothers again, “What’s the average level here?”
“Maybe around level 21 to 36, I would judge, but if you’re thinking of attacking with your level, you’ll die a dog’s death, or wolf’s death if you prefer.” Elios answered.
Fang didn’t elaborate, only offering a cold smile and whispering, “Let’s talk more tomorrow. I need to sleep.”
Their jailor came with food and passed on a small piece of information to Fang, “You there. Your fight’s in three days. Prepare well, or you’ll die.” Laughing, the jailor walked away.
The three of them ate in silence after hearing the jailor, the mood slightly heavy. Right before sleeping, Fang asked the brothers again, “Will you teach me?”
This time, it was Pyros who answered, “If you meet the requirements, we’ll teach you all we know, starting with the Teleportation spell.”
Hearing this, Fang smiled and went to sleep.
Escape from Hellfire Island
Quest Requirements: Save the brothers and help them escape.
Reward: Teleportation Spell
Time limit: Three days
Obviously, he didn’t sleep at all, instead quickly acting on his plan. He waited for everyone in the cell to fall asleep and went about his bloody business, ripping throat after throat. Biting the neck of every demon, they had no time to scream or alert the others. Within just one night, a level 1 killed 43 higher-level demons. Of course, Fang was quite happy.
You have earned a title: The Reaper.
Killing 43 of your kin without remorse, your bloodlust reaches the heavens.
After his killing spree, he leveled up sixteen times, now at level seventeen and was given eighty stat points to use.
Quite happy with the result of his night of hard work, this time, he went to sleep for real.
The next morning, Pyros woke Fang up, a worried expression on his face. The group of three was the only ones in the cell.
“Fang, wake up, quickly. Something’s wrong here. We’re alone, all the other demons are gone.”
Fang yawned, all his sharp, serrated teeth showing causing Pyros to back away from him.
“I’m awake, I’m awake, but why are you so upset? You went to sleep surrounded by demons and now you wake up with the demons nowhere to be found. Shouldn’t this be like heaven for you?”
“If I knew what caused them to disappear, it would be heaven, but they don’t just vanish in a puff of smoke. I fear for our lives. You’re a demon, you can survive here, but without our magic, we’re doomed.” Pyros was getting agitated again.
This man is too prone to panic, Fang thought.
Elios, on the other hand, wasn’t the kind to waste time, “Did you find a way to learn magic? You don’t seem surprised at our current situation. I can only guess that this was all your doing.”
Reverting to his human form, Fang startled the brothers. They couldn’t utter a word. This was a first, Demonic Werewolves were unheard of.
“By the Gods, how did you do that? Can you teach me?” Elios spoke all in one breath.
“I’m afraid it can’t be taught. Look.”
Stats Window
Name
Fang
Title
The Reaper
Level
17
Health
427
Mana
520
Strength
25
Agility
25
Wisdom
35
Intelligence
35
Looking at Fang’s stats, Elios gasped, "All this in one night? You really are amazingly insane. "
Quest completed
You met the requirements to receive the reward.
Reward: Teleportation Spell
New Skills
Magic Mastery
Increase damage done by magic
Increase speed of casting spell
Teleportation
Enables you to teleport to the place that you or a party member thinks about.
Fang was checking his stats and skills when he heard the jailor coming. He quickly reverted to his demonic form. The jailor didn’t act surprised when he saw that only the three of them were left. His eyes lingered on Fang, sizing him up. The moment didn’t last, shrugging and game them food without uttering a word. Walking away from the cell, he paused, looking at Fang again and saying with a cruel smile, “You’re one unlucky wolf, my friend. A duke got bored and he wants to fight a wolf in the arena. Seeing that you’re the only one left, I would say you will fight sooner than planned. Tomorrow, you’ll be Asmodeus’s opponent.”
The jailor quietly chuckled while leaving. Fang looked at the expressions on his companions’ faces. From their looks, he knew that he would be done for if he fought. At first, he wanted to fight to gain more experience, but now, that idea wasn’t so appealing anymore.
“Who’s Asmodeus?” He asked Elios.
“You don’t know who Asmodeus is? He’s the Devourer of Flesh, the Scourge of Punishment, the Reaper of Souls, and that’s just to name a few of his titles. He’s like a walking recycle bin. There’s nothing of you that he won’t digest. He’s also the one who brought us here. We should’ve known better than to trust ‘He Who Breathes Lies’.” There was only despair on his face.
Fang looked at his expression and laughed, “Don’t worry my friend. We’re leaving here right now. I’ll come back later to face this Asmodeus, but now I need to prepare myself.”
Assuming human form, he grabbed their shoulders, “Teleport to Pyros’ Manor.”
In an instant, a tall mansion stood before them. Pyros and Elios fell down crying. They never expected to be able to escape from Purgatory. His voice full of relief, Pyros thanked Fang, “Please come back in three months. By then, we’ll be free from these shackles and be able to teach you. If you can’t wait, you can always visit the Magician’s Guild.”
Elios followed. Collecting himself, he placed a silver ring and a map in Fang’s hand, “This map will take you to the Hunter’s Guild. There, ask to speak to Lucian and show him the ring. He can help you in a way that we brothers can’t. In three months, you can come here.”
Together they thanked Fang once more and left together into their manor.
Fang started walking, admiring his surroundings. It was different from Hellfire Island. It was more colorful and vibrant. This place felt good without a lingering aura of evil everywhere. For the first time since entering the game, he heard birds.
At the same time as Paul, almost like telepathic communication between twins, Fang thought, It’s probably almost time for dinner. I should log out.
Walking out of his capsule, he was just in time to see Paul coming in. He was right, dinner was ready.
During the dinner, their father talked again about his passion for martial arts moves seen in old Chinese movies. Knowing his brother, Peter knew he would try to use it on Road to Power. It would be fun to see. He was curious to know how things went for Paul, but he didn’t want to reveal his own story yet, so he kept quiet. When dinner was over, he went back to his room, ready to play all night.