(Author: Hello! Aeron has successfully killed the griffon, Tulaga. He and Junghwa rest and join the others in Union Station. What will happen now? What are the two races the Destruction Dragon talked about? Enjoy.)
----------Chapter 6: Two Choices and Resolution-----------------
"Good morning," Aeron smiled as Junghwa opened her eyes as they lay naked on the mat.
"Yeah," she said, snuggling against him.
After a moment, they washed off and changed in the nearby houses. She wore a simple, coffee brown sleeveless and white pants as Aeron found some dark grey slim jeans and a white V-neck shirt. After finding new clothes, they equipped their armor and items and left Little Tokyo.
"What?" Aeron asked as they leisurely walked toward Union Station as the blood golem killed all the goblins on their path. "They don't give me any experience. Being at Division 2, I can tell when I gain experience.
Aeron and Junghwa knew he was not lying as they could now see balls of black light enter their bodies when they killed. However, the system said that any kills below the Division they were at would only send white balls into their bodies that did not give any experience. The monsters still dropped items, but they were useless as Division 2 players could earn 6 stats per level and the Division 2 items gave more stats and better effects.
"What do you think happens when we leave the city? Will there be more ruined cities and zombies?" she asked.
"Ah. Well, I interrogated a goblin before rescuing you and obtaining the hidden quest to kill the griffon. The goblin told me that there are very few cities like this one. Most likely, we will enter land and terrain similar to the world that fused with this Alternate Earth," Aeron answered as he admired her chest and held her hand. "What did that fairy tell you? The dragon I met said there would be two races on the outskirts of the city. Probably scouts at the end of the tunnel."
"I was told that there was a portal leading out the city a few yards in the tunnel toward Hollywood Station from Union Station. She said this city was isolated from the world and powerful races until the ten day deadline was up," Junghwa answered as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"More powerful races....," Aeron brooded as they saw a parking lot full of dead goblins, more than the ones he left behind a few days prior. Tiny black flames danced on his fingertips as he had the golem lead the way.
"It's about time," James said as he saw Aeron and Junghwa come down the escalator.
"Damn, she's hot," Frankie said as he saw Junghwa and noticed her head on Aeron's shoulder. "Yup, resting. I called it."
"This is Eddy, my brother," Aeron said as he introduced Junghwa to everyone and they all added each other to their friend list as Aeron trusted her. Eddy was like their leader and Aeron was the backbone they could rely on if things got from bad to worse. Their situation would always be bad as they were stuck in Alternate Earth.
"Where's the chief?" Aeron asked.
"Right here," Frankie said, patting a two foot head with his foot as he leaned back on the bench. "Goblins look real nice when you cut off the head."
"He got shot with many arrows when we trained in Olvera Street," Eddy explained. "He found a cool skill, but it wasn't magic."
"He's still going on about that?" Aeron sighed. "What was it?"
"It was a tier 3 skill: Lightning Lariat. Costs 10 SP and 5 MP, or 2 stamina and 1 spirit. Your speed increases by ten for three seconds as you stretch out your arm and bash the biceps into the neck of the enemy. If they still have their head on their shoulders, they are paralyzed for three seconds. I got it as I needed a skill to use in a pinch," Jean answered.
"He doesn't want to be a warrior mage," James said. "He's still my best bud, but there is no doubt he is jealous of me. You didn't find a skill did you?"
"On the way here, a zombie my golem killed dropped one," Aeron shrugged, taking out a black book. "Tier 3 skill: Sonic Wind. Costs 10 MP per crescent blade created with no cast time. Maximum of five. It's more suited for close to medium range, but Frankie has Rocket Punch. Not really a pure mage's spell..."
"I'll take it!" Frankie said, running to Aeron with a huge grin on his face. "I'm gonna pick a pure mage class anyway. This will be a huge one as there is no cast time."
'HAHAHA. Take it," Aeron said, giving ownership of the skill book to him.
"I would give you something, but only black dragon coins and skill books can be given. Even in death, it's still only that," Frankie said, feeling troubled as he took it.
"It's okay. I have enough coins," Aeron laughed as Eddy, Jean and Junghwa rolled their eyes, knowing he had more than enough coins. "My level is 12 and I want a cool melee skill. I'll take a tier 7 or above enchantment and magic spell though. However, no one's seen a tier 7 skill."
"12?" everyone cried as they were all level 9. For some reason, they struggled to break to the next Division.
"I'm level 10," Junghwa said, all of them staring at her in shock as well.
"I think you all have to be chosen by a god in this world, not a false god. I'm only guessing as Junghwa and I are at Division 2 and are champions of different gods. Most likely, you escape the city and become level 10 anyway. It said to reach level ten and escape the city. It didn't say as you escape the city or that you have to reach it before," Aeron said, the faces of the others relieved.
"Let's go then. I'm done with zombies and goblins," Jean said, holding Eddy's hand as she was the first to go into the train tunnel.
"I can't wait to pick my class," Frankie said, excited as he bolted after them.
"You have it tough," Cindy said and James could only shrug as the others followed the trio down the tunnel. A white light appeared and zoomed toward them, engulfing them in its light faster than they could react.
"Don't go into the light at the end of the tunnel. Ha! I ain't dead today!" Frankie roared as they appeared in a grass plain with a mountain range to their left and a immeasurable forest to their right.
System AnnouncementCompleted: Goblin Control.
You have escaped the city within ten days and figured out the loophole that escaping at level 9 was permissible. Other exits had been discovered but you all killed the guardians and their false god! You must now choose which race to live amongst. Choose wisely as choices are irreversible.
Awards
+1 level
+1 Division 2 armor (given by the race selected.)
+1 free item upgrade
Aeron Ao's Energy Shield is upgraded.
Shield Effect:+ 3 to all stats. +5 Resilience. +10 Hostility now optional. +10% Lightning Resistance.
System AnnouncementAeron Ao is promoted to level 13
+6 stats are awarded.
"+2 to agility, stamina, and spirit," Aeron said and noticed a dazed look on everyone's face but Junghwa. "Huh? What's going on?"
"They're being chosen," Junghwa answered as she joined him and looked around. "We have company. The system says some of their levels are too high to evaluate. I also think we are different than them as we came from another dimension, not the same one. Still, those high level ones ,that can't be calculated, can't be underestimated."
"Yeah. Best to act cautious. They should be friendly but we should mind our manners if they are so strong," Aeron agreed. As the others returned and celebrated, they stopped as they saw two forces waiting on them, Aeron and Junghwa telling them to be silent.
One was a cavalry of orcs. They were dark grey and black skinned humanoids at ten feet in height. Each of them had muscular physiques and rode on giant hyenas. Each orc wore black armor and carried two-handed weapons of all kinds. Goblins were also among them, many of them staring at the other forces. The other side was a small army of elves and dwarves. The elves wore shining gold armor, their bows in their hands, as they glared at the orcs and goblins. The dwarves were only four and a half feet tall at most with large black, brown, or red beards. Many of them held two-handed war hammers or a mace and shield combination.
'So the dwarves managed to escape and live with the elves. How does it feel to lose your ancestral homelands?" the orc chief, a black crown on his head, laughed. "Your women scream as we fucked and killed them. The good ones still believe you'll save them.
"Bastards!" one of the dwarves cried, many of them stomping their feet in outrage.
"What's the matter, dwarf? You need to know their children will either be born as an orc or goblin. No matter what species we fuck, the results is the same. One of your wives' kids may be among us now. You never know. After all, I'm the son of the elf empress,"
One elf aimed his arrow and said, "Jukalso erewa guola."
"You're no uncle of mine? Oh, it seems we have an amazing guest with us, boys. A grandson of the former empress. What a touching reunion. My heart feels so moved. I almost thought I had a heart for those weak shits. Almost," the orc chief mocked. "I may not look like you, but I am faster and stronger than any orc because I am half of what you are. Those humans belong to us. Leave and we will let you leave with your tails between your legs. Ask the dwarves. We could have wiped them out but their ancestors gave up their shitty pride and crawled beneath our legs to live. I hear they got a nice whiff of orc ass as our ancestors farted as they crawled."
"I did hear that story chief," one of the orcs said, the orcs and goblins roaring with laughter as the faces of the dwarves grew dark.
"How about that pretty one there," one of the goblins said, pointing at Jean and Junghwa. "I like them. Especially that red head. She's got a cute face. That busty one too. Ah, to get between those legs or chest is fine."
"HAHAHA! I'll give that to after I'm done with---" the orc chief said as a bang was heard. The orcs, goblins, elves, and dwarves were silent as they saw the head of the orc explode as its body got sent back. They looked at the humans and saw a cold look in Aeron's eyes as he pointed the Bone Dragon Pistol at them.
"Like hell you will," Aeron growled. "I think we made our choice."
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"Damn fucking good choice," a dwarf wearing black metal armor roared as he brandished his war hammer. "Let's kill the orc bastards and feed their heads to our pigs! We got three cities under the mountain left. Let them taste dwarven steel up their asses! Let's give then a good hammering and mace to the face!"
"Open fire and cover the dwarves while the human heroes retreat," the elven prince ordered, his waist long, blonde hair flying as multiple arrows were shot beside him.
"Run for it!" Eddy cried as Aeron shot three goblins and an orc. He fired at the chief but the chief unexpectedly caught the bullet, incinerating it with red lightning in his hand.
"Now that's too scary! He fucking caught a bullet!" Frankie said as he and James quickly followed Eddy and Jean.
"We need to go," Junghwa said, pulling Aeron as he glared at the orc chief.
"Alright," Aeron said, activating his energy shield as he blocked some arrows while putting his pistol away.
"What do we do? Do we just let them get away?" a goblin asked.
"It doesn't matter. We captured a two heroes already and have already given them to one of the nine kings. There are other exits from that isolated city and we can capture the cowards in hiding when it appears. Some of them are sure to not turn into those undead. Let the dwarves and elves keep them. We have better things to do," the chief orc spat and his men retreated.
"Do not give chase, friends. We have taken enough lives today," the elf prince said and turned to Aeron and the others. "On behalf of my people and that of the dwarves, thank you for coming with us. Those orcs value only power, lust, and wealth. They are a blight on this land that only became more dangerous when our world and the human world merged."
"Do you know what happened to the original humans of that other world?" James asked.
"Most were killed. A few have survived and made dome cities to protect themselves. However, they have become a scattered and divided race. You are heroes from another version of what they call Earth. Some of this alternate Earth still remains but most of the planet is similar to my own with many parts unaffected by the fusion of worlds," the prince said. "I'm afraid the gods of this world, the true ones, cannot permit you to freely align yourselves with us both. My people, the elves of the forest, desire peace and will shed as much blood to defend our land. The dwarves fight the orcs, goblins, and other creatures to reclaim that which had been lost to their ancestors. The gods said we are to give you a specific armor they gave us and said you would receive something they called a passive ability. I'm sure you know what that means. My name is Prince Malacene. You are most welcome among my people."
"The name's Legion Commander Duba of Royal House of Augor," the black armored dwarf said. "I'm the grandson of the dwarf king, Duren of Augor. You're welcome to join us and kill our enemies. We are a violent race to our enemies and will not stop at nothing to take back our cities and lands. Take your time and decide among your own. You have made the first choice: choosing a side. Now you must choose which race and what kind of life you want to live. Let us know your decision. Remember, this is your life. Your choice."
"What do you want to do?" Eddy asked as the dwarves and elves gave them some space.
"I'm going to join the elves. I'm sure the classes they give us will contain some higher skilled mages," Frankie said.
"I'll be going with him," James said. "I want to learn more about magic and don't want to wait for a skill book to appear."
"I'll be going with them," Cindy said. "I...I don't want to fight anymore than I have to."
"I'll go where Aeron goes," Junghwa said, Aeron nodding as they locked hands.
"And where will you go, big bro?" Eddy asked him.
"I'll be going with the dwarves. To survive, we need power and more experience fighting the enemy. Go with the elves. You can train there without worry," Aeron said, Jean silently thanking him with a nod and a smile.
"But we'll be apart," Eddy said.
"We are on each other's friend list. Go with the others. We will see each other again. The two races are allies," Aeron assured him as he patted his shoulder.
"I...I.....al..alright," Eddy said as he stared at Jean, knowing she didn't want to kill in the first place. "I'll go with the elves. Please be careful, Aeron. More careful than usual."
"Alright. Don't cry," Aeron said as he hugged his brother. Even though they weren't related by blood. They were as close as real brothers could be. "Take care of him, Jean."
"I will," she nodded quickly, hugging him quickly and pushed Eddy to join the others as they had already started walking with tears going down their faces as they couldn't bear to say goodbye.
"It was a tough choice for you all," the dwarf commander said as he saw Aeron and Junghwa approach him and his men. "It doesn't get any easier. Some people you meet might very well die in their next battle. Are you prepared for that mental strife?"
"My brother will live and I am not alone," Aeron said, Junghwa nodding as the golem stood behind them. Aeron didn't notice it but it was seven feet tall now, not including the blood diamond spikes on its back.
"Welcome to the dwarven kingdom. We will take you to see my father, one of the three city lords. He will tell you the options of what the true gods called: classes. The armor will also be bestowed then. Something to do with the magic of the gods and making it appear. I don't know," the Duba laughed. "Let's be off men! We succeeded our mission."
"Yes, commander!" the dwarves said and they marched toward one of three mountains covered in snow, the right half mountains of the mountain range.
"The other half of the mountains and the numerous underground cities past the mountain range will be ours. With dwarven steel and hearts as strong as a dragon, we will. I'm glad you decided to help us. The fighting is tough and you heroes are incredibly more powerful than the humans of this world. With you, we will have a few less casualties," the dwarf sighed as they marched.
System AnnouncementYou have Chosen to Ally with the Dwarves.
Received passive skill: Warrior of Stone
By choosing the dwarves, you obtain a part of the race's capabilities. You have chosen a race active against the cruelties of this world. Your future will be violent, with more blood, death, and sacrifice than you can imagine. You will see the world as it is and shudder before it.
Stamina skills require half the cost.
Immunity to earth magic.
Able to see using vibrations.
5% of enemy damage is returned.
"Wow. Our first passive skills and they're the same," Junghwa said as they rode on ponies, leaning her head on his back as she sat behind him.
"We have two active skills and one passive skill now. Not bad before level 40 and not too fast in obtaining them," Aeron agreed.
"We could have gone with your brother, but I knew you wouldn't want to be with the elves," Junghwa said. "You've fought and killed too much now. Like me, we know we are weak and don't know much about the enemy."
"Girls always pay more attention to detail," Aeron smirked. "Learning magic is nice, but my class might include it anyway and there are no restrictions for class skills. I don't even remember how many days passed since we first started school and came here. It feels so long ago.
The dwarves and Junghwa remained silent as they heard Aeron continue, "Our lives were more peaceful. No one tried to eat us and our teachers were actually there and not missing. You know, I only saw one of our teachers and it was the first zombie I killed. No, maybe she was the second? I had to put down a boy as he bled to death. Could I have saved him? Only if I didn't summon my golem and use all my MP before hand."
"It wasn't your fault," Junghwa said silently. "I also had to out down some of my friends as they did not want to be captured and eaten by the goblins."
"But we didn't have to make those choices. We weren't adults, at least not yet. We were students learning about history, science, math, and other things," Aeron said as he brought out his guitar from his Ring of the Axe King. "I was supposed to enjoy senior year as I already knew how to play the guitar. I managed to save three people from NJROTC, one of them my own brother. I killed and misunderstood a girl as I befriended a backstabber. I...changed. I was also not as daring as I was or we would not have spent the night together."
"You didn't want to..?" she teased, making him laugh.
"Not so soon, no. Otherwise, I would not have been a virgin. It's just, this Alternate Earth took a lot and changed a lot," Aeron said as he played some notes as the pony was being led by the dwarf who rode a little ahead to their right. "I learned to see the real friends from false ones and met you. It wasn't bad, but I never killed before. I even enjoy it sometimes or become indifferent to the weak zombies and goblins. Goblins and zombies outside school aside, the zombies could have been students I knew at school. My chest feels heavy."
"Then you are accepting the fact," Duba said, staring up at the human in sympathy. "I never killed a zombie, but I have killed more than my fair share of zombies and dwarves that betrayed my people for lust, money, and power. It doesn't get easier, but you get used to it. Is it a bad thing? No, because you still feel something. You know it's wrong to enjoy it. That makes you better than most."
"He's right. You're also not alone. You have me and your golem," Junghwa said, tightening her arms around his waist as he stopped playing some chords. "We're still here. That's all that matters. Even when the world seemed to end, you put your brother's safety first on your mind and saved him. You did good by him. You'll also save others when you kill the enemy. We kill because we have to, in order to survive. You never did, but cry now. I won't think any less of you. I love you."
"Thank you," Aeron said as tears fell down while he gazed at the sky. "It'll get better. No matter what happens, I'll protect us both. I'll kill anyone who tries to take what happiness I have left, even if its the entire orc and goblin race."
"What a powerful axe!" the dwarves muttered as Aeron stored his guitar as his Fiend Ghost Axe appeared in his hand. An unknown magic seemed to be contained within the axe. None of them could sense it, but Aeron did and he knew it was the non-elemental magic known as destruction. He rubbed his tears and stared ahead, oblivious to the stares of Junghwa and the dwarves as they stared at the axe.