!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis & Mytsy who not only both pred it but improved this ch's quality greatly please rep them ^^!!!
Also Special Thanks to all those donors, i'm sorry i forgot to thank you, but thank for supporting SR!
Hello! hopefully everyone had a good christmas and before the new year happens and i gorge myself with food, it's time for SR’s release!.
i wanted to give a big thanks to those who pmed me with synopsis suggestions, i went over all 70+ pms and i'm sorry i couldn't pm thanks to you all it would be very very tedious *shivers* but as some of you have seen i picked one and i wanted to thank FlameRaptor for he's synopsis.
i wanted to say although a syno is never permanent it's good to update it once in awhile and not keep it stale.
i hope you all enjoyed the character illustrations i posted last chapter. so now in any case enjoy Spectrals 100th chapter!! wow though 100 chapters. i can't believe it's been that long already, i need to figure out a way to make things count.
thank you for all you're support for sr. it's a tough road towards the top 10# and even now the rating is struggling but we are still going strong which is evidence that i'm doing something right.
thank you guys for all this :) please enjoy V4: Ch 100 Torrent.
Quick reminder if you find anything wrong with this post, please don't spam comments about it, one person is good enough to tell me :) i read all the comments.
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Kael rushed over and glanced from the tree line, making sure not to expose himself. He spotted a line of carriages where a battle was currently underway, with several armored people fending off what seemed to be a bandit ambush.
Spotting a group of old and young children huddling up in the corner, Kael saw one of the bandits charging towards them with a savage look on his face, as if he was born to spill their blood.
“You bastard, keep away!” A middle aged man wearing simple chain and plate armor roared as he charged towards the bandit who approached the young and old. But he didn't get far before his path was blocked by the bandit’s comrades who snickered and laughed.
Kael’s eyes narrowed and it had only taken a second before he dashed out of the tree line, rushing past them while hitting the bandits hard enough to knock them out or stun them. It happened so quickly, that a bandit who was elsewhere, sneaked up and reached the unarmed children and old people, raising his sword to kill one.
But before he could bring his blade down, a wind blew past and his eyes rolled back before he fell down unconscious. Behind him, a robed young boy glanced at the unarmed individuals before sighing in relief that he had made it in time.
Looks of shock and awe were plastered on everyone's faces as a dozen bandits seemed to have fallen unconscious, leaving only a few that weren't in Kael’s way fleeing with terror, leaving their comrades behind.
The middle aged man, however, was skilled enough to barely spot Kael’s blurry figure that had rushed through and dealt with all the bandits. He quickly made his way towards Kael and spoke, “Young Expert, thank you... truly. I thank you for saving my small trade convoy. If it weren't for you, I'm sure we would have lost many lives today...”
The man spoke as Kael glanced at him. He could tell the man was sweating nervously, having prior to this not known what to do. “It's fine. Thankfully. I made it in time, hah.” Kael gave a proud smile.
Several hours later. the small convoy had left and found a hidden clearing, far from where the bandits attacked. They had wanted to kill the bandits, but Kael had already told them it was not necessary.
They felt Kael’s words weighed a lot. They thought he was a young genius from a wealthy background who was training in the wilderness, so no one dared go against his words. In fact, they were quite happy with him. Especially the younger children, who saw him as a hero.
“Master Kael, although you are quite powerful and must have a strong background, are you headed somewhere? Surely there aren't any wild beasts in this forest for you to train yourself with. Is there another reason?” The man asked curiously, hoping to establish a bit of friendship with someone of power.
Kael smiled and laughed happily. “Actually, you're right Jarid. I'm heading towards the Northern continent. My master has sent me to meet with some people.”
Jarid, the middle aged man who Kael had found was the leader of this trade convoy, that more or less was always on the move with their families to make a living, suddenly spoke.
“Hmm, the Northern continent. I have heard it is quite a dangerous place, but surely, with your strength, it should be easy. I have an idea! The trade city of Lumis is on the way to the Northern port city, would you be willing to join our convoy and travel with us? It would be quite fun.”
Kael smiled softly and shook his head. “I would love to, but I have only just arrived in this forest. I would like a bit more time to get used to the terrain and train myself with it. My master is quite picky with how I learn, so I can only take the initiative and prepare myself the best I can. I'm in no rush to reach the North, but when I reach the trade city we can surely meet up again.” Kael spoke with a soft smile.
Jarid nodded and didn't press the issue further, but asked Kael to spend the night; to which he agreed. Later that night when everything was unpacked and Kael had confirmed there was no threat in the area, he found a tree nearby the campsite and leaned against it before looking up into the sky, barely able to see the stars through the canopy.
“Master, I truly owe you my life. You gave me a chance when no one else valued me. I will use my power the best I can for our people and those who need it-”
Suddenly a soft voice called out. “Umm...excuse me?” Hearing the confused voice, Kael blinked and turned to look. He spotted a young boy and girl around his age. He smiled warmly and waved. “Heya.” He tried to seem friendly.
The girl walked over and sat beside him before gazing up like he was a second ago. “Hmm, I don't see anything...” She spoke while the boy kept his position, as if he was nervous.
Kael looked at the girl, confused. “Hm? What do you mean?” Kael spoke, and the girl replied. “A moment ago you were looking up. Didn't you see something?”
Kael’s face turned a soft red from embarrassment as he laughed to himself and spoke. “I was just thinking about how interesting the night sky looks filled with stars.”
The girl laughed and looked at Kael as if he was someone she had never met before. She grinned and stuck out her hand for a handshake. She spoke. “I'm Helia, nice to meet you. And thank you for saving me and my brother, Surun.”
Kael glanced at Helia, who seemed like a tomboy despite the plain, grass colored dress she wore. In fact, as he reached over and shook Helia’s hand, he looked at Surun as she mentioned him, and he seemed more shy and nervous like a girl would be. These two were truly weird, Kael had thought.
Later that night they began to converse. They had learned Kael’s name, and he had told him stories of his adventures. Leaving the sensitive details out, of course. Kael learned that Helia and Surun were both Jarid’s children after he came over to check on the situation.
Kael also learned that Surun’s nervousness and shyness came because Surun dreamt of one day becoming a powerful warrior that would pull his family through hardship. He was shy and nervous because he had hoped Helia could convince Kael to teach him a thing or two, as he had instantly seen Kael as an idol.
The more they conversed, the more they got used to each other. Kael admired them greatly. They didn't seem poor or rich, but Kael felt this lifestyle was a choice they wanted, being able to travel regardless of the danger.
The three were sitting against a large tree in an open area not too far from the main camp. They played around for a bit, and in their hearts as well as Kael’s they were still children.
“I hope tonight never ends…” Helia spoke as she sighed warmly, gazing up at the night sky and admiring the stars like Kael had before. Surun laughed and spoke. “Sis, everyone else but us is asleep. I'm surprised father let us stay up this late… but I guess I agree. Tonight was really awesome.” Surun agreed with her.
Kael listened to the two. He remembered his older brother and sister and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. They were always focused on impressing their father and advancing themselves, trying to act more mature than they actually were.
“Yeah… tonight really is nice… after I'm done training myself in this terrain we can surely meet up in the trade city to do this again,” Helia huffed. “Hmph! We’ll keep you to your word!”
As the three continued to talk, Helia and Surun fell asleep, and their father and mother came to retrieve them. “Thank you, Young Master. My children are not usually this open and excited, so it's rare for me to see their innocent looks.”
“You're welcome.” He said, not knowing what else to say. Soon, night left and morning came. Of course, everyone was eating breakfast and packing up. Kael had already finished and was getting ready to leave, with everyone bidding him farewell.
“Young Master Kael, please visit us in Lumis. You can find us at the trade district. We have some family there, so just ask around for me.” Jarid spoke while people were leaving. “Kael, you need to teach me some battle techniques and stuff and help me get into an academy. Maybe one day I'll even rival you, bwahaha!” Surun laughed out; to which his sister Helia came over and bonked him on the head.
Just as everyone was tending to their own things, Jarid had been called over to help, as well as Surun was taken away by his mother. She was the smart one who knew that the atmosphere around her daughter Helia was different around Kael.
Kael had thought nothing of it and was ready to leave after saying his goodbyes. “Kael!” Helia called out as he took a step away. “Oh, Helia, what's wrong?”
Helia walked over and reached to her neck before removing a necklace. A small, spherical rock had been carved and embedded with a small blue gem, and what seemed like a perfect black sphere in the middle of it. She moved to hand it to Kael.
“Helia, this…” He spoke, but was cut off by her. “You have to promise to one day meet with us again at the trade city. When that time comes, you can give this back.“ She grinned.
Kael blinked and smiled. “Heh… I guess this is to force me to keep that promise.” At these words, the two laughed and Helia continued. “Kael, promise me?”
Kael was somewhat taken aback. He had hardly known this girl for a day, and yet she acted as if she was truly attached to him. Someone like him, who was still immature, could only see it as friendship. But this wasn't something he hated. He felt happy about it, because growing up, he had never truly had any friends.
Kael nodded. “I promise, Helia. Next time we meet, you, your brother and I can explore.” This was enough for Helia to sigh in relief and nod.
Kael smiled and soon waved as the two bid farewell. Of course, Kael would travel with them, but he couldn't tell them that the true reason he wanted to stay was that he wanted to find the bandit hideout and be rid of them. He was sure they were somewhere nearby, and he was doing this to protect those who would suffer fates worse than death.
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It had been two days since Kael and the convoy parted. Kael was sighing as he rested on a boulder with a large, three meter long, one meter high tiger-like creature’s corpse beside it. He hadn't found any sign of the bandits, and was a bit disheartened. He had discovered a wild tiger that wasn't anything special and was quite common in this forest. Of course, it had attacked him when he had been seated, and he quickly dealt with it.
“Maybe they were scared off? I'll just hope they are gone for good.” Kael spoke to himself before gazing at the creature's corpse and leaving to let the other wild animals eat it. He was not in the mood to eat, nor did he think the meat tasted good.
Kael decided he would head to the trade city to keep his promise. The necklace around his neck was somewhat tight, but still swayed with Kael’s movements. Kael had a look of happiness on his face. He truly felt over the moon, being able to make some friends that didn't look down on him. “Wait till Master hears about this, hehehe” Kael excitedly thought.
After traveling for half a day, night fell. He had made sure to retrace his steps from where he and the caravan had met before going in the direction he was sure they left towards. After another half day of traveling, the sun was starting to rise.
With each passing moment, Kael grew more excited. He went as far as contemplating stalling his trip to the North to enjoy time with his friends, but when he reached a clearing, he froze and his heart stopped for a moment.
He spotted the wreckage and ruins of several carriages, as well as broken crates and dried blood. He could see several corpses which were already rotting. Kael’s whole body shook with fear and nervousness.
He rushed over like a bolt of lightning and gazed around. His face turned pale and rigid. The corpses were deformed and mangled, as well as partially eaten, but the clothes dyed with dried blood were still recognizable.
“No...no no NO!” Kael held his head as he took several steps back, his eyes widening. Several thoughts ran through his head as his heart began beating quickly. He gazed around and spotted tracks that were barely fresh. He widened his stance before using immense strength, kicking off the ground with enough pressure to crack and split the ground underneath him.
He wanted to quickly see what had happened, what was going on and if the others were okay. Rushing there had only taken twenty minutes. He had lost the tracks, and it was now that he envied Avrin’s augmentation ability. It was not something he had at the moment, nor in his Draconian form.
Inside a small fortress surrounded and hidden by vegetation near a small mountain not too far from Kael’s location, several of the survivors from the convoy were held in cages like animals, huddled together.
“Hah, Big Brother, we sure struck gold. I'm sure we can sell some of these for a decent amount. Especially the young ones.” A muscular bandit covered with fur spoke to a skinny, bald headed man with scars all over his face, wearing scraps of leather and fur while holding a half broken iron cup that he drank wine from. “You got that right! Tonight, drink and eat as much as you want! These guys had a ton of supplies, haha. Let some of the women out, maybe they can dance for us.”
Hearing this, the females held in the cells cringed before one spoke out. “You vile worm, attacking us in an ambush. Have you no human decency?!” She spoke in a tone that made it seem like she wanted to vomit just by talking to this man.
The bandits, amounting to a few dozen, all laughed at the skinny bandit leader being reprimanded. This annoyed him, as he threw the cup towards the woman’s cell. The woman happened to be Helia and Surun’s mother, “You whore! You think I'm a vile worm? Tonight, when I'm done with you, I'll show you just how vile I can be! Actually, why wait? Bring this bitch out, I want to cut her tongue off!”
The big muscular bandit grinned as he walked towards the cell. The prisoners began to shrink back, except the woman, who gazed in fear but still held his gaze. As the man reached over to grab her, a figure rushed over to his hand and bit down incredibly hard, enough to make the man bleed and screech in pain.
He stumbled back and fell on his ass as he wailed, “AH!! She bit me! The whore bit me!! I'm gonna die!!” This caused the bandits, who were half drunk, to burst out laughing again, some unable to take it and falling down.
“If you dare touch my mother, I'll kill you!” An angry voice called out. It was Helia, who was in front of her worried mother, who smiled warmly at her for being so courageous. Surun, who was in the next cell, was grinning as he held the bars of the cage, truly happy that his sister had fought back.
“You fucking brat!” The muscular man, who had managed to stand up while holding his bleeding finger, called out, his eyes turning red from anger.
He wanted to rush over, but a voice called out. “Enough. This kid has guts, haha. I know you, you're the little brat that came rushing over after I cut off your old man’s right arm. Poor bastard never saw it coming from behind, pfft.” He tried to control himself, but he ended up snickering.
“Shut up…” She grumbled in fury, her fists clenched. The bandit leader snickered before standing up to speak. “Tell you what… come up and shake my hand, I promise, if you do, I'll release you.” The girl’s expression flickered. She was small and naive, she would never have thought this was a trick.
The cage was left open from the previous man, yet she didn't dare step out. “Helia, stay… don't trust him...” Her mother called out to her, before Helia turned back and spoke in a whisper, “Mother… if I can free myself, I can go get help…”
With a scrap of hope, it was enough to even move her mother, who still held onto her daughter's hand, not budging, as if instinct told her to not let go. But Helia forced her hand out and walked over towards the bandit leader. Helia’s mother wanted to rush out, but a nearby bandit quickly shut the cage with a smirk.
Helia carefully walked over, and the bandit leader extended his left hand out with his right hand behind his back, giving a dirty, smug smile. Helia cautiously walked up the wooden steps and almost barfed at the smell of dirt and alcohol, but she kept an eye out, as everything was dead quiet.
She had an incredibly bad feeling about it, and stopped midway from reaching his hand. “Huh? What's wrong? Don't tell me you’d hate to be free? Hahaha” The bandit leader taunted before Helia growled and reached over, grabbing onto his grimy hand tightly.
The bandit leader spoke. “See? That wasn't so hard...” Helia quickly spoke. “There. We shook hands, I'm free now.” The bandit chuckled and soon tightened his grip of her hand. ”Of course you are.”
Minutes before this occurred, Kael had spotted several bandits hauling what appeared to be a few crates and items that were no doubt from the caravan which that they hadn't looted yet.
Kael grinded his teeth before he shot towards them like a bullet, smashing into one and breaking several of his bones, which knocked him into tree, making him fall unconscious or possibly even killed him.
Kael didn't care for the moment, as he reached over to the other bandit, who barely had time to process everything. He screeched and struggled, but Kael grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the ground before pressing his armor covered boot onto his head.
“Where are the people you captured from the caravan?!” The bandit screamed in agony as he began to cry in fear. “D...Don't kill me!... I… I got kids to fee-” Kael was not having any of it, as he knew this was most likely a lie. He was not that dumb, and he pressed a bit harder, causing half the man’s face to sink into the ground.
“Where.are.the.people.you.captured...” He said slowly. The bandit quickly spoke, giving directions and all. Kael gazed carefully at the man before glancing at the other, who was twitching a bit. Kael glanced again at the man as his fist balled up. He wanted to kill him, but he still had his morals.
“Damnit…” With a soft kick, he hit the man’s side and smashed him against a tree, knocking him out before he followed his directions, forgetting to even verify if it was a lie or not.
Rushing over took only a minute. He spotted a well hidden fortress, guarded by several lazy looking bandits. Kael rushed over without even bothering about the element of surprise.
With his speed, he was capable of knocking them all out swiftly before any of them even managed to scream. He then entered the fortress and dashed around before his face twitched a little. He found that the main feature of this fortress was that it was connected to a mine that may or may not have many ways to enter and exit.
“This…” Kael clenched his fists before dashing in. As he rushed through, he knocked out several guards, but was always sure to threaten them and ask for directions. Of course, they would only laugh and say that their comrades would get revenge.
It was then that Kael got a bit more violent from worry and anger, and would usually end up smashing a few against the walls of the mine to rattle their insides. But they would always fall unconscious after spitting out blood.
Kael was always sure to not kill any, despite the urge to do so. It was as if he wanted to prove to his master that he could control himself. It was until Kael found a few wimpy bandit guards that he managed to find a narrow tunnel with an orange flame lighting up the large end. His heart was beating quickly as he rushed over to see if this was where he needed to be.
“I'm… free, so let me g-” Helia, who felt the bandit leader tighten his grip, was stunned as she felt a sharp pain. She looked down and saw a dagger embedded in her chest where her heart was located. Blood began to gush out and paint her clothing red.
“Y-You...” Helia coughed out some blood. She felt her body weaken and the bandit leader spoke. “I'm releasing you… to the afterlife. This is what you get for injuring my little brother…” The bandit who had his hand bitten grinned as he laughed. “Thanks, Big Bro…”
Helia’s mother screamed and shook the bars, while Surun began to cry and shout as he tried to get through, causing the people inside to hold him back so he didn't hurt himself.
Helia’s body slowly fell, revealing a figure at the far entrance gazing blankly at it all. This figure was Kael.
“Uh...Helia…” Kael’s face turned pale and his heart began to beat crazily. Red blood slowly dripped down the sides of his lips before blue blood melded into it, causing it to turn purple. Soon, purple blood began to seep through the edges of his eyes.
“Who the hell…?” The bandit leader spotted Kael, wondering who he was. Suddenly, a jet black Nebula Mist engulfed Kael as the right side of his face disfigured and turned Draconic. The Nebula Mist gushed out like a torrent as he opened his mouth and roared madly. This roar was not something simple. It sounded incredibly ferocious.
Within Laymist, Avrin, who was seated in a meditative position, twitched as he opened his eyes. He felt a shiver as he glanced around the room. “Hmm…? Why did I have a sudden urge to find Kael…?” Avrin was unsure as to what was going on.
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some people said my cliffhangers lately have been non existent so for this one hopefully it has you biting your nails a bit more. :)
i also wanted to tell you guys that i have a long term plot for SR already prepared i hope you can all bare with me and the pacing.