Note- This chapter includes pointless violent deaths, torture, scenes of cruelty, and massacres. I highly doubt that will deter anyone reading this but if you don't like any of that stuff, skip down to the part after this line appears

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Chapter 10 Last days of Yarsan Pt3

Torres took a seat and said, "You made me a lot of money just now. You see everybody bets on their favorites and no one bet on you. When I was told some unknown kid with the rank of officer had entered my tournament I decided to have a look. I must admit I just barely recognized you in that outfit. So, what brings you to my casino?"

Crane asked, "Your casino?"

"Ah of course, I have yet to properly introduce myself, I am Torres Roricas, owner of the finest gambling establishment of all the cities of Kallamore, the Grand Yarsan Casino."

Crane nodded in understanding. The feeling he got when he last saw this man was likely from the fact that this guy was basically the head of the criminal underworld of Yarsan. This however worked in Crane's favor. "I see, well I came here for something and if you are the man in charge, I think we can make a deal."

Torres put on a fake smile and said, "You came here to make a deal with me? Hmm, well first I'd like to know how you got here. You see this is the kind of place you don't get into by chance. If you got here then someone told you how to get here."

Torres would not believe that Crane had read about it in secret documents that no one should be able to look at so Crane had to come up with a reasonable lie. "You know Geoffry Xander Cornilius Koritan right? I was apart of the team that collected the Queen Grass Beetle larva. During the mission he was like an older brother to me, so we became pretty close while Levi helped me get stronger. Before we parted Geoffry told me about the Nightmare games and the casino entrance outside the west wall of Yarsan. This is actually my first time here. This place is amazing."

The story was not totally unbelievable, if Geoffry's dislike of people older than him was known, then the fact that Crane was younger than his would give credibility to the story as long as Torres didn't know the little nobleman well. Even if he did, only Geoffry or Levi himself could refute the claim. Torres would likely check it out later, but by the it would be too late.

Torres said, "Really? You went into the heart of the Digger's Depths to get that thing?"

Crane corrected, "Burrower's depths sir. I even got a knife from the body of the queen after Levi killed it."

Torres's eyes widened a bit. "Show me this knife."

Crane calmly took it out and handed it to Torres. He stared at it for a while and said, "This knife was my father's. He was killed down there when I was a child."

Crane saw an opportunity, "Is that so, I have no great attachment to that blade. Please take it as a token of goodwill."

Torres pocketed the blade. This was a big score for Crane, besides gaining favor from Torres this also confirmed he had truly been in that quest which made his story more believable.

Torres started up again, "You are an interesting person. First you help me at the library, you spare my brother's life and actually teach him some humility in the tournament, you skillfully take out two incredible opponents almost instantly, and now you return to me a memento of my father. You say you can down here for something. Tell me what it is."

Crane had gained a lot of favor but it still wouldn't be enough to get the man to agree to letting Crane do what he needed to do. He had to build up to it first.

"I want to work for you. I have skills no one who works for you possess."

Torres seemed amused that Crane could do something no one else who worked for him could do, but he played along. "Truly? What is this great talent you possess?"

Crane took a deep breath before revealing the skill that would give him access to the area he needed to be.

"Alchemy. I can create potions of a high quality."

Torres's poker face slipped for a moment revealing sincere surprise before returning to normal. The craft guild's monopoly on alchemists was supreme. Torres asked, "How did you acquire the skill, you are too young to be allowed to join the Craft guild."

"An old witch doctor on the Senbain mountains. He is over two hundred years old and practically predates the guild. However I will not tell you his location, for the same reason you would not tell people where you get your own resources."

Torres's face hardened for a moment at Crane's implication. "And what resources do you refer too?"

"You know what I speak of, it is the reason I have come, I wish to experiment on the uses of Ekril blood in alchemy."

Crane had officially crossed the point of no return, whether or not he could leave that room alive depended heavily on what happened next.

Torres slowly said,"Where did you come by this information?"

Crane had to convince him that he found out that Torres had a supply of Ekril blood in a way that didn't threaten him "The witch doctor told me. He lives in the mountains searching for them to extract their blood and study it. He told me of its uses and I put it together after thinking about the only question Geoffry wouldn't tell me the answer to, how would he get the adult Queen Grass Beetle to listen to him."

Torres looked fairly pensive. Crane was pretty good at coming up with believable lies.

Ekril blood had two known uses, the Ekril blood shaman could use it to invoke magic without mana and apparently, the Ekril Beast Masters could use it to tame monsters. According to the ancient documents stored in the restricted section, the people who first encountered the Ekril 600 years prior captured some and extracted their blood. Although they could not use magic with it, they could gain the temporary loyalty of monsters by feeding them Ekril blood. After that discovery they started to capture Ekril for experiments and blood draining. The remaining Ekril would send their warriors to Yarsan to fight and bring back their stolen loved ones. A group of wicked politicians used this against the high magician family and ordered the capture of more and more Ekril over the years. Due to the Ekril's resistance against magic, the wicked group successfully used the Ekril to get the royal family to re-instate the army and after two hundred years, the head of that group at the time, Joul Rotan, used to army to take control of Yarsan. Even now Ekril are kidnapped from their homes to provoke them to attack Yarsan to keep the military in power. The captured Ekril are harvested for blood and the blood is used to tame monsters to fight each other or other people at the underground Colosseum in what is known as, the Nightmare Games.

However Ekril blood had not been experimented on by an alchemist before. The only alchemists were in the Craft Guild and if they hired an alchemist and he found a incredible use for Ekril blood, the Guild would begin collecting it as well, meaning that Torres would lose the monopoly over it. The possibility that Crane could discover a hidden use that Torres would have sole rights to was tempting.

Torres said, "If you want to experiment on Ekril blood I am going to need compensation. Here is my deal. You will fight in the tournaments for me and draw the crowds like the man you turned into a popsicle had. For as long as you do I will provide you wilt Ekril blood. You will perform your experiments here. A suitable lab will be provided. Any additional equipment, materials, or ingredients you need will be provided for. You will also be given room and board, and free meals for as long as you do well in the tournaments."

The deal was made to seem like it gave Crane everything but it was mainly in the interests of Torres. Should Crane's research never bare fruit, the commission he makes Torres for drawing crowds at the tournaments will more than make up for any costs. At the same time it prevented Crane from ever leaving, it would make Crane work till he died. However none of that mattered. Crane needed access to one area and this deal would give it to him. The details of what happened after that were irrelevant.

"Your offer is most generous. I will gladly accept under two conditions."

Torres raised his eyebrows a bit in interest and said, "Do tell."

"When not working or fighting I would like a free pass to the nightmare games, and I would like to see the blood harvesting for myself. Just like how one picks an herb from the ground determines the quality, how the blood is extracted may affect the blood itself. If the process is consistent then I will only need to see it once, but I will need to see it before I begin my research."

Torres seemed to think about it for a while and said, "And how does watching the games help your research?"

Crane smiled, "It probably won't, but I love a good show."

Torres barked out a good laugh and said, "I'll give you access to the VIP section, you can go there for free whenever you want, but if you want to watch the extraction, I'll need to add one more condition. Ordyn here," he motioned to one of the two level 200+ knights that took Crane there, "will be your escort for as long as your here. He has access to that area so he can take you there, but only once. Do we have a deal?"

Crane smiled like the way he thought a naive kid who didn't know he was getting the short end of the stick would smile and shook Torres's hand.

Torres said, "It will take some time before your lab is ready, Ordyn, please take Crane to the VIP section."

The armored knight nodded and motioned for Crane to come with him. Crane thanked Torres again before leaving and caught a glimpse of his devil's smile, though the man didn't catch the same smile on Crane.

Ordyn lead Crane through the casino, pass the tournament entrance, down another hall to a large pair of red doors. In the hallway beyond it were paintings of various monsters and gladiators fighting them. As well as many scenes of the gladiators after they fell.

-I'm right behind you man. Say the word and I'll take care of this guy.

Crane stopped to look at one of the more horrific paintings in the hall and moved his head just barely to the side to catch a glimpse of Tensford in the hall. Crane asked Ordyn, "For regular seats, how much is a ticket?"

The big knight looked down at Crane and said, "150 gold. Average bet on outcome is the same."

Crane raised his hand in a gesture that looked like he was admiring the grotesque painting and touched the Reply icon in front of him.

-Not yet, if you stole enough, then get in and wait for my signal. After that you can tail me.

-Ok, careful in there, gone too far to turn back now.

Crane turned and headed for the opening with a ticket counter in front. Ordyn said the the man, "VIP," and passed him with Crane in tow. Beyond the entrance was a large room with counter to place bets, a board with betting odds, and three stairways that lead left, right, and straight behind the betting booth. Ordyn walked up to the man at the booth and said again, "VIP." The man nodded and Ordyn went around the stall and motioned for Crane to follow him. Up the stairs the path split with one pair of stairs going down and the other up. They took the upper path that lead to a rectangular room with an opening at the side to look out and several comfortable chairs. Crane looked out the porthole to see the arena and the stadium chairs . The entire space was a large cavern with many lights hanging from the ceiling to make the arena beneath it as bright as possible. The arena was about three times larger than a basketball court and and was set at least thirty feet into the ground from the closest seating which looked over the pit and extended about twenty rows out, enough room to comfortably seat a couple thousand. The stands were about a quarter full and the ring had five people fighting three mountain trolls. Trolls fight best in a group so those people were just there to be slaughtered. Crane pretended to smile while looking at one troll tear the leg of a person it caught off and asked Ordyn, "Where do you get people to fight?"

Ordyn gave one of the most sinister smiles Crane had ever seen and said, "People who barrow from the casino and lose it gambling have a debt that cannot be paid back. They are offered a chance to wipe their debt clean if they can survive one round. Occasionally we get a volunteer and if he survives, he gets paid to return. Sometimes the monster's owners request a match between their beasts to see who's better. The tickets to such events are usually sold out." Crane had to fake interest in watching the trolls throw the people around like rag dolls before their head popped like red paint filled balloons. Had he not trained his emotions in the training hall he would've shuddered at the nightmarish sight, giving away his true disposition. After the last man stopped twitching, Crane asked, "When is the next blood collection?"

Ordyn said, "It collected when needed, there no scheduled time. You wanna look now?"

Craned feigned excitement and smiled, "Yes please." Ordyn lead Crane down the stairs but where the path split between going down to the entrance and going down another path, Ordyn lead Crane down the other. Crane walked behind Ordyn so he did see Crane move his hands to open the whisper menu to Tensford.

-It's time. Behind the betting booth is a flight of stairs that leads up then splits up and down. Take the down path and be quite about it. Ill tell you the securities I see here as I pass them. Can you get past the bet taker without killing him? Doing so would set off alarms too early

-Hehe, you know how you said you would owe me one for getting those books?

-Yea

-Let me have that berserker poison and we'll call it even

-That's fine but I can't get it to you

-No sweet, I stole of off you while escorting you back to the rotunda.

Crane checked his inventory, not just to see if Tensford was telling the truth, but to make sure he had all his other items like the +2 skill sword mastery ring. It was all there except for the potion.

-Tensford, never do that again.

-Haha, yea... Anyways I can coat a knife in it and prick someone while passing right?

-Hmm a prick wouldn't make them kill anyone, just get angry and violent

-Good to know, so if I pricked a dozen or so people it would make quite the scene don't you think? enough to draw someone away from there post?

-Good thinking, but go easy, I said we don't want to sound alarms

-Ok, see you soon

Ordyn lead Crane down stairs pass a room with two guards on either side of a door, and further down. After Crane judged they were beneath the floor of the arena, the path leveled out to a chamber filled with horrible sounds of monsters roaring and others screaming. Ordyn lead in to the left path to a long row of cages. Dozens of Ekril, maybe a hundred were bound tightly to racks and several of them had another person inside. Ordyn stopped at at man walking down the hall and said, "Helkin, this kid wants to see and extraction, got any that are ready?"

The extractor said, "Why sure, we always got a couple ready to donate. Hehehe."

Not even bothering to look around, the man took out his key and opened the closest door to an Ekril that began screaming in anger when he saw his door opened. The extractor applied an herb to the Ekril's bound arm and said, "This is for disinfectant. Before we started doing this, many of these guys died of infection." It was difficult to hear the man talk through the Ekril's yelling and screaming. The man put an empty glass jar, about the size of a jelly jar, beneath a metal rod that lead up to the Ekril's arm. The man the picked up a knife that was laying on the ground and a device that looked like two combs stuck together. He deeply cut the Ekril's arm, letting out another round of screaming, and put the comb like device inside the cut and spread it, letting out another round of screams. Blood from the open wound poured out and down the arm to the metal rod when it flowed into the glass jar. when it was almost full the man removed the device keeping to wound open and put some herbs on it which would stop the bleeding. After the last drop hit the jar it was capped and taken. Crane was sure if he did not hurl because he had trained himself or if you can't throw up in RR, but either way it was good that he didn't because it would give him away as a sympathizer. Crane put on a fake smile and avoided eye contract with screaming Ekril, Ordyn noticed his smile and said, "Maybe when you're older you can do the extraction yourself, haha ha."

Crane whispered to Tensford.

-Where are you know?

-Filling my pockets at the vault

-Vault?

-That room you told me you passed with the two guards. The only room that would have guards in a section that is already restricted is the vault

-You kill the guards?

-They never saw me coming

Crane had to remember that Tensford fought as much as he had in the dungeon and was a higher level than he was from the start.

-Ok, stay inside till we get there, when you see my escort, attack, and at that moment I'll strike from behind.

-Does he really need to be tag teamed?

-He's at least a level 200 Kallamore Knight

-Hmm, better safe than sorry I suppose

Ordyn lead Crane back up the stairs, but when they reached the door that previously had two guards, the guards were missing and the door was slightly ajar. Ordyn said, "Stand back," motioning for Crane to stay on the stairs while Ordyn investigated. Crane gave his best fake 'I'm worried, I don't know what is going on' face to convince Ordyn he had nothing to do with it. The knight bought it and turned to open the door. The moment he did, Tensford shot out at him from the darkness but Ordyn parried the attack. In the moment before Tensford attacked, Crane took his Majestic stance with a powerful intention to cut the knight in front of him into ten thousand pieces. 101! When Ordyn parried Tensford's surprise attack, Crane used flurry on a single point on Ordyn's back, the space between his upper armor and lower armor. Crane had practiced this with the bugs long before but only recently could he manage a single point flurry attack.

Critical Hit!

Critical Hit!

Ordyn barely winced at receiving critical hits to the back, but that single moment was all Tensford needed to give a barrage of his own hits. Ordyn jumped forward at Tensford who smoothly dodged to the side but now the pair were both in front of him.

"You two will pay for this."

The stairway was long and from within the vault his cries for reinforcements would not be heard, so he had to kill them both on his own

Crane moved forward to take the front and Tensford moved to the side. The knight dashed at Crane and drew down his sword with an power break. Instead of taking the attack with his sword he only pretended to, at the moment of contact he let the weight of the sword fall through his own while controlling the movement of the weight with his shoulder, directing it down to his side. Fighting for hours and days against a hard light rapier that he had to break without breaking his own sword taught him many useful tricks for taking power attacks. The knight let out a small shocked expression, though Crane was not sure if it was from that miracle parry, or because Tensford closed the ten foot gap between them in an instant and struck Ordyn's back. Ordyn twisted to the side to try and strike behind him but Tensford was already gone by then. Crane taking the front while Tensford used hit and away tactics was something they had honed over the weeks they were in the dungeon. However their opponents were spirits that could only be defeated in a specific manner or not at all. The knight was powerful but the true strength of a knight was fighting one on one, fighting while riding a horse, or fighting in a large group. Alone against Tensford and Crane who fought like lightning and the wind, the knight could only delay the inevitable. Ordyn put his back against the wall to prevent them from surrounding him. Crane lifted the tip of his sword and wrote the rune Thurisaz. The knight had seen Crane's fight in the tournament so he jumped to the side right before lightning struck where he had just stood. Tensford predicted it and intercepted Ordyn mid jump and gave a slash beneath his arm.

Tensford yelled, "It's bleeding."

Tensford had gotten a message after the strike which informed him of his opponent's state. Bleeding implied that a major area had been struck and the Knight would now slowly lose health until he treated it or died.

The look in the knight's eyes told Crane what he was going to do so Crane took his majestic stance in preparation. As predicted the Knight came at Crane with a barrage of sword strikes which were countered with Crane's stance enhanced twelve forms skill. The knight had two options now that he was bleeding, kill one as fast as he could so he could more easily deal with the other, or run. As a knight his honor couldn't let him run, literally, his actually Stat honor could lower if he ran from a battle. Which left him with killing one of them quickly and among the two, Crane had showed a willingness to take attacks and fight with honor. Crane however had different ideas, Crane fought without forcefully attacking. This meant the knight could not attack openings made when Crane attacked. The knight tried to make openings in Crane's swordplay by varying the strength of his own attacks to cause Crane to misguess the amount of strength he needed to parry, but when the Knight used too little Crane would push the knight's sword back and give him a good slash before returning to the defensive position. Such tricks were common when he fought against the light spirit and Crane could now comprehend the proper choice to attack or parry the instant his sword made contact. As the pair's sword's danced together and the Knight bleed out, Tensford was attacking his back in unpredictable patterns. More than twice the Knight had tried to predict Tensford's attack and turned to cut him through, but each time Tensford gave up on the attack before he came within the knight's range, and each time he turned his back on Crane he received a single point parry attack to the back. The knight had a skill that allowed him to know Tensford's position without seeing him, but Tensford used it against him, making him turn his back on Crane who would then attack without mercy.

Tensford delivered a final strike and Ordyn fell and vanished, dropping a key ring and a pair of boots.

You have leveled Up!

Infamy rises by 20 point. (+20 INFM)

Crane picked up the key but didn't bother collecting the loot, it was something that they agreed to without saying anything but after they split the dungeon's treasure, Crane agreed that Tensford could collect any and all treasure he saw fit to.

That being said, now that he was in the vault where the casino kept all of it's money, Crane walked over to a pile and started collecting. Tensford said nothing but the pair didn't leave that room till it was bone dry. Crane secretly believed there was still money piled up when he got there because Tensford had left it for him, the thief had been in the vault for a while before hand, and Crane could not even guess how much he accumulated.

The pair left the vault and Crane lead them down the stairs to where the Ekril were stored.

-Tensford, you see someone, you walked up to him like you belong here and kill him, no questions asked.

Although they were next to each other Crane did not want to be overheard. Tensford nodded. The first person they came across was the extractor Crane had met earlier. Crane put his arm out and said to him, "Excuse me, have you seen Ordyn?"

The man walked up to Crane and was about to answer when Crane said, "Thurisaz."

Lightning struck him just as Tensford ran up to the stunned man and stabbed him in the heart.

He vanished and dropped another ring of keys.

The Ekril who surrounded them became silent. It just so happened that the one Crane had seen earlier was next to him. Crane opened the door to the Ekril who looked both fearful and interested. Crane took one pair of keys and put it in the Ekril's hand and held it there. "My name is Crane. Today, you and all your kind will leave this place. You understand me?"

All races in Royal Road spoke the same language, but whether or not the one could still speak after what he had been through was a mystery.

The Ekril looked at Crane with a fire in his eyes and said, "Release my bonds."

Crane did so, the Ekril dropped to the ground. Crane took out a potion from his inventory and handed it to the Ekril. He waved it away and said, "I will recover, the restraints, covered in poison, weakens us."

Crane would not have much time once this started so he had to confirm some things. "There are powerful monsters kept not far from here, I intend to release them to cause enough chaos to get you all out of here. Can you tame them if I brought them to you?"

The Ekril looked up at Crane and said, "Why are you helping us?"

Crane looked him in the eyes and said, "This place you have been kept is filled with monsters, and I don't mean the ones you can tame, The people here are of the blackest hearts. But not all people are like that, I am one from the city above who learned of your pain, and did everything I could to come to this hell to bring you back to the light. After all your people are out of these cages, I will lead you to an exit outside the walls of the city."

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The Ekril looked down and said, "Is there an exit that leads inside the walls?"

Crane understood his intentions, "Yes, there is."

"Leading my people outside will make them easy targets, a diversion must occur within to give them a chance. I will not allow them to be recaptured."

"I understand. My comrade will lead your people to the wall exit and wait for my signal. I will lead who wish to the center of the city."

The Ekril tightened his grip on the keys in his hand and said, "I will take you to Xix."

The Ekril got up and walked to the first door he could and released the Ekril there, he then left and started to unlock each cage he passed, Crane used his second pair of keys to do like wise. He stopped at a cage, unlocked it, put the keys on the ground, and lead Crane inside. The first Ekril that was released started to release others from the unlocked cages. The ekril inside this cage was larger than the others, older, the fur patterns on it were very detailed. the younger Ekril undid it bounds and kneeled before it. They said nothing but Crane had been under the impression that he just could not hear them, like a party chat Crane was not apart of. The old Ekril got up, seeming to have recovered quicker than the others and said, "I am Xix. Come here."

Crane came over to the Ekril who grabbed his wrist and squeezed it lightly.

After a moment he said, "It is true, you mean us no harm."

Crane said, "How can you tell, you read my mind?"

"No, your mana flow. If you were hostile to us then when grabbed your mana would reveal it. But you see us the same way you would anyone else, a simple yet remarkable thing for your kind."

Many Ekril were now free and freeing others, while some crowded around Xix's cell, watching the old Ekril analyze Crane.

He released Crane and said, "So what do you have in mind for my kind young one?"

"First I need an answer, if I bring your people to the monsters stored here, can you tame them?"

"A simple thing."

"Ok, the plan is to get you all out."

Xix seemed to chuckle a bit and said, "Sounds like a plan."

Crane smiled and lead all the Ekril that could walk to the the other side of the basement where the monsters were kept in unique cages. Crane gave the key ring to Xix who went to open a cage of mountain Trolls. The cage was around a spiked pit with the trolls in the center on a raised platform. This setup was likely to prevent the trolls from banging on the cage bars. The top of the cage had a thick rope and a closed porthole that likely lead up to the arena. The cage was not built to allow them to leave through the door. Xix scratched himself, drawing blood, and flicked it over the spike pit and mumbled something. Large rock pillars erupted from the spike pit, breaking through the spikes and giving the trolls something to stand on near the gate. The door was still too small for the trolls so they started smashing the gates with their fists. The noise they made echoed through the tunnels, alerting anyone who didn't already know that something was wrong. As each troll smashed against the gates, Xix expertly tossed a few drops of blood in each's mouth and muttered again. After that the monsters stopped yelling and started smashing efficiently, in unison. The gates eventually broke, releasing a dozen mountain trolls who then ran out and started breaking other cages. Crane walked back to the entrance to find Tensford and many Ekril fighting soldiers and Guards who had come down. Crane stepped to the side of the action and used rune sword, Isa, to send a wave of frost at the soldiers and guards. It slowed them noticeably, cutting their reaction speed enough to give Tensford's Ekril battalion the advantage to wipe out the guards. After a few more waves that were frosted and defeated, Xix arrived with many Ekril and every monster in the arena. Xix ordered the trolls to clear the way to the casino and walked up to Crane.

"First we take our revenge on the monsters up there. Then we release the beasts in the center of the city. Then you lead us to the outside of the walls."

It seemed that the Xix was told everything by the other Ekril and made up a plan with it.

"That sounds fine."

Crane had his regrets but it was not something that could be avoided. This plan allowed for the safe escape of every Ekril, without sacrificing any for the distraction plan.

Crane ran up the stairs to see monsters fighting knights, barbarians, and thieves. Crane and Tensford both ran up to the people fighting a group of Terror Birds pretending they were about to offer assistance, only to slash them in the back. One bird took the opportunity to bite of the head of the guard Crane had slashed, the same guard he had passed by on his way to the colesseum. After the guards were dead the birds moved onto the next groups. Crane and Tensford smiled at each other, the monsters considered the pair their allies.

Crane ran through the hall from the coleseum to the casino. When he passed the red doors he found that everyone was still gambling and having fun. None of the guards that had seen the Ekril or monsters had made it out to tell the tale and sound the alarms. Crane had not expected this, so he tried to think what was the best course of action.

Crane smiled, took in a deep breathe and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the casino. Special announcement! As a one time treat to the people here, The Colesseum is holding a Special Event, a show unlike anything you've ever seen. And as a one time treat, Tickets Are FREE! But Seats Available are First Come First Serve!!"

Crane was still wearing the outfit made for him at the Dark Djinns, so he looked fancy enough to be believable. He didn't catch where the movement started, but slowly people started moving to the red door. Then faster, and faster, running through to the end. By the time those noblemen dressed in their finest looking clothes came through the other side of that hall, the people behind the would be pushing forward too much for them to run back. Crane dashed to the elevators at the far end on the casino. He calmly walked up to each one and cut the cables. When the men asked what he was doing, Crane pointed his sword at them and said, "Run."

Infamy rises by 5 point. (+5 INFM)

Since killing Ordyn, Crane's infamy was slowly rising. By the end of the day, it would be higher than his fame. Crane walked back to the casino to hear screams and shouts of the fearful. A pair of mountain trolls had broken through the crowd and now headed for Crane. When they got close to him they did nothing, but as Crane moved, they moved. It seemed that Xix had ordered them to protect Crane. However now his side was known. A group of guards saw Crane and the trolls blocking the path to the elevators and rushed for him. Crane motioned for the trolls to stand back for a while. Crane walked to the rushing group and the trolls stayed behind. About ten feet in front of the trolls Crane performed noble step and waited for the group. Five soldiers who seemed to run faster after they saw the trolls would not be fighting ran up to Crane as he used rune sword Isa to send a ice wave at the unsuspecting group who ran too fast to stop themselves from running right into it. Crane dashed to the frost covered soldiers and started twelve forms. With their frosted bodies slowing them down they could not attack properly as a team, Crane had not trouble fighting them. Crane fought while moving to the side of the group causing the others to have to go around the man at the end, but by that time Crane had already delivered the final blow to him and moved on. Crane destroyed the group in two minutes and called the trolls to move onto the next one. People were now running from the colesseum towards the elevators only to stop when they saw the trolls. Crane walked to the side and they ran around him, they were being chased by a dozen or so Grass beetle soldiers slowly moving towards them. Crane and the trolls walked by the group and by the beetles who did nothing. Crane watched the beetles go into the elevator rooms as he heard dozens of people screaming in terror. From a door in the casino emerged Torres and his brother. Crane pointed at the pair, signally the trolls to attack. They tried to re-enter the door, but it seemed that it was closed by people from the other side. The duelist took out both his swords and tried to defend himself, but his brother did not help, the duelist was grabbed from both directions by the pair of four armed trolls and slowly stretched. Meanwhile Torres was banging on the door, screaming to be let back in. The duelist let out a final scream before he and his limbs went in separate directions. The trolls the tried to grab Torres but he ducked and weaved away from their fists. They formed a wall that he could not pass and Crane was coming from the other side.

Torres turned to Crane and yelled, "Why have you done this!"

Crane smiled and said, "I came down here with the sole purpose of doing this."

Torres replied in a panicked voice, "I'll give you anything, anything, just let me go!"

Crane said, "I'm not sure you have enough, a thief I know came across a vault with a large amount of gold inside. The vault in question is now empty.

Torres's face seemed to burn red, both angry and disparate at the same time.

Crane motioned for the Trolls to kill him. Crane could take care of it himself, but he thought that having the man killed by the beasts he imprisoned who were controlled by the Ekril he took blood from had a great symmetry that appealed to him. With a few cries of, "WAIT, WAIT," the trolls surrounded him and proceeded to smash him to pieces. Before he was dead, one of the trolls picked him up and the other one bit his head off. Torres dissolved and the Trolls returned to Crane who ordered them to smash open the locked door. Crane did not enter it, but the screaming of the people inside got the attention of a tri of Terror birds who ran to the door. Crane and the trolls proceeded to smash every door inside the place. A group of Ekril and terror birds was now following him, entering each room and killing each and every person without mercy.

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After about an hour and an half, the screams could no longer be heard. Just the sounds of monsters and Ekril looking for survivors. Crane found Xix and said, "So how was your day?"

Xix looked up to the roof of the casino and said, "Productive."

"I haven't heard a scream for a while, its time to get some sun."

"Hmm, these two exits you spoke of, why have they not been found? This place has been searched well."

Crane nodded, "The one that leads to the center of the city was sealed off. We can unseal it easy enough. The way to the side of the city is actually back beneath the colesseum. That route is used to bring the monsters inside."

Crane took out the old map of the tunnels beneath Yarsan and started drawing from his head the layout of the casino over it. The map revealed the tunnel's location to be on the other side of a wall inside a room. Xix brought the trolls to open up the doorway so that even the Queen Grass Beetle could enter. Xix put his hand on the wall for a while before saying, "Indeed, this passage will do nicely."

One of the other Ekril stepped forward and the others parted from the back as the giant lobster like Queen Grass Beetle came forward and started slowly digging through the wall. After it broke through it started to pick up the pace, the passage was already there but it widened the passage immensely to allow all the other beasts through.

Xix said, "It is time to go."

Crane lead Xix and the other Ekril from the casino back to the red door. The monsters however stayed and were gathered around the hole the Queen grass beetle was digging. Down the stairs back to the cages, Crane lead them to the back of the hallway to a cage that was empty since before they got there. Crane went to the side of the cage and pulled a lever, it opened the back of the cage that lead up a long, wide hallway.

Infamy rises by 400 point. (+400 INFM)

Crane guessed at that moment the beetle had broken through the ground and the army of monsters behind it started to kill people. The tunnel opened to the central ring close to the church of Agni. The thick walls between the central ring and the residential district would prevent the monsters from getting there and the military base was close enough to wipe out the monsters before the fortress faced massive causalities.

Crane opened the gates and lead the Ekril up the long ramp that extended past the city gates. There were some guards but the Ekril warriors killed them with weapons they took from the casino guards they killed. The tunnel lead to a giant door where Crane motioned to Xix to have everyone stay a few hundred feet behind. Crane walked up to and opened the door. The Ekril were blinded, and would have been worse had Crane not stopped them a fair distance from the door. After about ten minutes the Ekril could see again and they ran out of the tunnel into the light.

Quest Complete: Free the Ekril

You have leveled Up!

You have leveled Up!

You have leveled Up!

You have leveled Up!

You have leveled Up!

Crane had received a unknown rank Quest when he first read about the plight of the Ekril from a book in the restricted section. Before leaving, Xix walked up to Crane and said, "You have done more than we could ever repay and have asked nothing in return. Please, let me give you something. It is all that I can give, but I want to give it to you."

The quest spoke of an unknown reward but Crane was not sure what it would be. "If you wish to give me something, I will not reject it."

Xix took out a bottle he had picked up earlier and a knife. He sat down and began to chant. As soon as he started the Ekril around him froze in place in shock when they saw what he was doing, but they did not say a word. He held out his left hand over the open bottle and hand the knife in his right. Slowly the light brown fur on his body turned lighter and lighter, turning grey. The hair furthest from his left hand turned grey the fastest and his chest shoulder and forearm turned much slower, his hand remained brown. It was like the color was draining away from his body into his hand, and when his hand had the only brown fur left, the color slowly drained away, until only his index finger remained brown. Xix then slowly moved the knife to his finger and cut it deeply. Blood dripped out into the bottle, as with each drop, the finger became lighter and lighter, as did the rest of his body, turning from grey to white. When his finger turned completely white as well, he removed it and collapsed in exhaustion. The Ekril around Crane didn't say a word. Xix got up again and gave the bottle to Crane. "Please drink this." A round of gasps resounded from the Ekril. Crane didn't think there was anything to lose so he drank the blood. It tasted the the most bitter of medicines but Crane was able to finish the whole bottle.

You drank Ekril Elder's life Blood

Increase mana 1000

+10 all stats

Resistance to all magic increased by 20%

Tamed beasts become more loyal to you

Crane was speechless. There was no way a potion like this could exist. Xix very slowly got to his feet and said, "Goodbye Crane, may good fortune follow you where ever you go."

As he walked away, another Ekril walked up to Crane, it was the one he had first released. "Crane. There is something you should know. Xix was an Elder Chieftain. His blood was from the highest linage, it could both tame the beasts and be used for the blood magics. What Xix has done is separated the power within his blood from his body and concentrate it to pass it on. This was done to him by the chieftain who came before him and now he has it done to you. Now that Xix has passed on to you he will never perform blood magic or tame beasts again." The Ekril made sure he saw the comprehension in Crane's eyes before leaving with the rest of his people. Crane opened his stats and skills window to see how it looked after the battles and the blood. "Show Stats and skills."

Avatar- Crane.Alignment- NeutralLevel 146Class- Rune MasterTitle- NoneFame- 260 Infamy 560Health- 5921Mana- 8320Strength- 343+20Agility- 355+20Wisdom- 143+20Intellect- 178+20Vitality- 105+20Luck- 45+20Leadership 28+20Finesse- XX+20Fighting Spirit- 180+20Perseverance 231+20Endurance- 227+20Attack- 270Defense- 109Magic ResistancesFire-43%Water-37%Earth-35%Black Magic-41%Ice-39%Wind-35%Lightning-30%Light-55%+ All stats are added 20

+ While using a sword you receive +25% bonus to Attack

+ 25% Maximum Mana

+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.

+ Can learn skills that use the stat finesse

+ Can learn and use rune magic.

+ Can harness true power of runes to increase variety of effects when used.

+ As a Rune Master, you understand that all magic originates from runes, Enables you to learn modern magic spells based on your level in Rune Mastery.

Skills WindowIdentification [8] 30%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.

Mana Cost: 30Sword Mastery Intermediate [4] 38%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords.

+210% ATK +50% ATK SPD while using a sword.Twelve Forms Intermediate [3] 43%: Increases attack power and speed of attack while fighting using the twelve forms.

+160% STR +160% AGI

Mana Cost: 20 per secondFlurry [5] 78%: Rapid series of thrusts

7 thrusts per second

Mana Cost: 60 per secondDash [8] 32%: Move a great distance in a single step

Mana Cost: 20Power Lunge [6] 34%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance

Mana Cost: 90Soa's Routine [9] 68%

Majestic Stance- Increases attack strength and speed of techniques performed after stance used

-Attack Str and Spd +90% for 7 techniques after use

Mana Cost: 40

Regal Guard- Increase defense and chance of successful parry after use

-Defense +45 Luck +90

Mana Cost: 60

Noble Step- Increase movement speed to dodge oncoming attack after use

-Movement speed +180% for 6 steps after use

Mana Cost: 30

All effects are multiplied by Finesse stat/92Alchemy [5] 25% Enables you to create quality potions from ingredientsRepair [9] 44% Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Beyond Lv. 10, you can forge new weapons and gears.Throw Intermediate [4] 45% You can throw objects and weapons further and more accuratelyShout Intermediate [2] 55% Increases strength for an instant while shouting.

STR +25% for an instant

Mana Cost: 5Battle Aura [6] 59%

Converts fighting spirit into directed aura based off the user's thought. Power determined by strength of thought, area value determined by Fighting spirit, area position determined by thought itself

Mana Cost: 1 every 5 secondsMedical Botany [1] 0%Rune Sword [3] 41%

Can write Runes with the tip of sword.

Strength of Rune effect multiplied by 98/Finesse stat

Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used

Mana Costs: 5 per secondRune Call [2] 21%

Can use Rune magic by calling out Rune names or sounds

Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used

290% Mana Cost to use Rune EffectRune Smith [3] 11%

Can carve Runes into weapons and armor that grant additional options without decreasing max durability

Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used

For every rune carved, Maximum mana decreases by 50

Mana returns upon item’s destruction

Effect Strength determined by Sculpture masteryRune Write [1] 0%

Can write Runes on talismans

Effect of Rune Determined by intention when used

For every Rune written, Maximum mana decrease by 20

Mana returns upon talisman's use

Effect strength determined by Handicraft skillSculpture Mastery [4] 4%

Enables you to produce complicated works.Handicraft skill [6] 22%

Dexterity Rating. Enhances your craft skills in every field

Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+6% ATK)

Increases attack rower with fists. (+10% ATK)Rune Mastery [2] 77%

Enhances effects of Rune magic and determines spells that can be learned

+4% increase in Rune effect. Can Learn 1-Circle magicRune Magic [2] 43%

Can use learned runes to perform rune based spells and skills

Original Power Determined by wisdom

Thurisaz, th, 3

Mana cost 98

Isa, i, 11

Mana cost 146Forgery [1] 0%

Enables you to make fake items that can pass inspection through Identification

Crane had learned to fight in a way that increased most of his stats. Although it was basic knowledge that casting a spell over and over again would eventually raise your INT stats, now many people put such information into practice as rigorously as Crane had. The biggest increase was his swordmastery, fighting against the hard light weapons without breaking them was pure weapon mastery training and Crane had done it as long as he could have.

Tensford found Crane and said, "Well let's see, trained for a month, broke into palace, stole ancient secrets, killed a nobleman, framed another for the murder, found way to underground city. Killed everything there, looted vault, set Ekril free. Hmm, Is there anything else you wanted to do?"

Crane smiled and said, "Nope, that's it, I'm leaving Yarsan for good now."

"That so, well, I'll see you around."

Tensford motioned with his hands a bit before Crane got the message.

Tensford has left your Party

It was now the promised time and Crane meet the FireCat Kegan at the designated location. Before getting on, Crane imagined himself as death itself, there to kill every living thing in existence. Kegan shuddered in fear for a moment before regaining composure. He could not believe how strong Crane had become. Killing the leader of the Fire cat, Saber was no more than a formality at this point. Kegan knew that he would be loyal to Crane for the rest of his days.

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Do Hyup got out of bed and faced the morning. His extended summer vacation was over, and it was his first day of school. Hyup's school had accelerated classes of which Hyup was apart, instead of being taught the students taught themselves and the more needy were guided by instructors. It was due to this that Hyup was able to have a three month long vacation. Though in royal road, it had been a little over a year. The prior night, Hyup, as his character Crane, had turned Saber into a Popsi-cat and let Kegan have the honor of smashing it. School wouldn't be so bad,After explaining Royal Road to his best friend Yoochun, Hyup knew he would get the game soon, and plenty of guys he knew already had one. Besides, Hyup's school only had a four day school week. His summer vacation had ended but his adventures had only just begun.

Volume 2 Chapter 1 The Goblin City viewtopic.php?f=91&t=740

Chapter 10 part 2 viewtopic.php?f=91&t=633

Total Length of Chapter 10,

55 pages

25359 words

139744 characters

....Should I make the next chapters longer or shorter?