In the Elven kingdom holding the name, Moonray. Under the roof of the castle of King Erlan, in a large, well lit and well furnished large round room that resembles a shell-colored dome. The Elven king Erlan sat on a wooden, neatly designed chair in front of a pale white wood round table, with a symbol of an azure crescent moon drawn on top of it. Four more chairs surrounded the table occupied by other elves.
"Now that everyone is present we shall begin the high elven council. With your Grace's approval, we will start with the kingdom's Goldguard. Lord Hubyr?" the speaker was a female who stood next to King Erlan with crimson hair neatly braided, reaching her waist. Pupils of jade jewels decorated her beautiful face, that would drive men to wage wars.
Her body fared no less in comparison. As her silver dress complimented her hourglass figure, it revealed a hint of cleavage as well as a glimpse of her thighs, showing her glossy white skin. Syndra serves as the King's assistant and adviser, carrying his commands should he be absent on other matters. King Erland stroke his silky black beard passively before his other hand waved in approval, to which the farthest chair from his right backed away.
Lord Hubyr, the Elven kingdom's Goldguard. Left in charge of financial matters, income, and protection of its The kingdom's banks. His appearance leaned towards the chubby side, not that he ever bothered to hide it, and his sun-reflecting bold head and bushy brows made him seem more human than elven if it wasn't for his leaf-shaped ears.
After struggling to leave his chair and retrieving a book from the table, he starts reading its contents. " Your grace. The profit gained from the trading of herbs and medicine is high in demand recently due to the increase of adventurers from the other races in general, as well as enchanted staves for the humans, and beverages for the dwarves. Though income from lumber has declined slightly, I'm afraid. So I would recommend we halt on processing wood till the need for them arises again."
"approved" The elven king nodded, allowing the Goldguard to sit back again. As on cue, a skinny elf with a long gray beard sitting between Hubyr and the king rose. Grand Master Artesian Volodar holds the knowledge of all elven professions and history in his library if not in his head. Bestowed upon him the responsibility to care for the assignments of his kind and to ensure the advancement of their education. As well as the maintenance of the kingdom and its branches.
"Your grace. As all of you know, the new season for the academy will be starting soon, and new students are arriving as well. Therefore the staff might be shorthanded due to the significant amount of enrollments received already. No doubt more are bustling in as we speak. So with your Grace's permission, I would be leaving shortly in hopes of speeding the process at the Four heavens Academy."
"Granted. your presence there will help greatly in finding new candidates as well I reckon?" The King spoke in a slightly intrigued voice. "oh indeed, your Grace. They are of utmost importance, and I will do my best to recruit any candidates of high quality. Any Adepts we scout will be prioritized, and a great asset to any of our guilds." Volodar bowed again, fixing his round glasses before perching back in his chair.
Next to stand was a well-built gray-skinned elf with bronze eyes. Even his heavy black armor bent in agony under the pressure of his muscle, and the single long scar left on the right side of his face added to his masculine appearance. The only somewhat gentle aspect of his look is the silky white hair barely reaching the end of his shoulders.
"Other than the Trolls raid a few days ago, nothing of importance had occurred this week, your grace." Ascal. Given the title of the King's blade, thanks to his strength in battle. Tasked with protecting the king and all the Elven kingdom and left in command of all its military forces. Whoever poses a threat to his kingdom or king is to be dealt with immediately. He is also known to be a man of few words.
The last to stand was an elf wearing an elegant green attire etched with gold vines. His hair a waterfall of gold, with a face so bright and unsullied that it makes one mistake him for a lady. Lord Zaos, The watcher of the elven kingdom. No gossip would cross the walls of the elven kingdom without him being the first to know, not to mention the spies he has placed in other kingdoms, awarding him the nickname, Whisper's melody.
"Your grace. A new chime has reached my ears, which I do feel worth mentioning. A strong magical pulse had been detected in Wispwood forest by a nearby post" seeing no reaction was triggered by the others, Zaos paused before continuing, "which is about two days march away" suddenly, everyone tensed with shock and horror. As if waiting for that exact reaction The watcher strolled to a nearby table, pouring himself a beverage from the small collection placed on it.
"The soldiers sharing your concerns, arrived there sometime later investigating the woods, and they found a mountain of goblin corpses scattered around" Volodar stood abruptly, as beads formed on his forehead as he demanded,"was there any corruption!?" The watcher replied as he walked back to his seat, "rest assured Lord Volodar, no corruption was detected.." The Artesian fell back to his chair in relief as if a mountain was lifted off of him, as did the others.
"..But what they found was a boy among the bodies." Zaos kept standing, enjoying the attention he received from the others as he proceeded speaking "A human boy who apparently was the cause of the dead goblins, and he even managed to heavily wound one of the soldiers despite the fact that he was unconscious." Ascal grew grim as he uttered one word, "A spy?"
Lord Zaos finally sat down having his fill being the center of attention. "I'm afraid I cannot confirm nor deny it, but last I heard, he had been held captive at that post. I do believe the boy holds the answers to what exactly happened that day, but I need Lord Ascal's help in bringing the boy to our kingdom for questioning" apparently intrigued The king's blade replies "I will send two of my best to escort him here."
-------------------------------
Quest completed
You have completed two weeks' worth of training under the guidance of Garrik.
Rewards
200 EXP.
(Heart of a Hellbat).
"-I guess this should do it for now-" Damian thought as he stood up, sweat barely noticeable from his well-toned bare upper body. "that would be all for today, now both of you get some rest, the carnival begins tomorrow," Garrik said with a passive voice, as he sat at the edge of the arena's ring. Teran retired on the sands gasping for air after a fierce duel between him and Damian, feeling that he himself was barely keeping up.
Damian left the ring without a word, standing next to the old elf. "with this, your training should be over but are you certain about just fighting Teran, I could have found a more suitable training partner" Garrik whispered, making sure his voice wouldn't reach Teran's ears. Damian simply nodded before wandering off.
The next day signaled the dawn of the Flesh Carnival. The first match was about to begin, and the training round arena was cleared till only sand remained. The stone seats escalating outwards from the edged ring of the arena filled to the brim with roaring prisoners and guards armed to the teeth scattered in the mix of the crowd to prevent any disturbance should things get out of hand.
A tall and skinny elf prisoner with silky smooth blonde hair stood in the center of the ring, and he grinned widely, revealing two missing teeth. "WELCOME ALL PRISONERS, THE OLD AND THE NEW TO YET ANOTHER TOURNAMENT" he paraded on the sands to the rain of cheers from the enthusiastic crowd with enjoyment. "I AM YOUR ONE AND ONLY SPEAKER AND REFEREE, FLINT..." he took a quick theatric bow absorbing more cries from the crowd showing his history in this prison as a speaker.
Flint sprung back up before continuing his well-rehearsed speech. "..AND I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME OUR WARDEN TO THE FIRST DAY OF THIS CARNIVAL OF THE FLESH" he pointed at a chamber protruding from the top edge of one of the walls giving it the perfect view of the arena, occupied by the warden. The prisoners applauded even stronger fearing punishment from the Warden and praying for his good mood, to which he pleasantly nodded.
Another individual entered the chamber, exchanging slight bows with Sargon. "Oh Lord Cluym, I'm pleased you made it, and just in time for the first match. Please, have a seat" the warden smiled eagerly as he offered the seat next to him to a girlish looking male elf. "Thank you, Lord Sargon, and congratulations on your promotion. I'm glad that the higher-ups have finally recognized your efforts" Cluym responded innocently "same goes for your promotion as well. I do hope the prisoners do not cause as much trouble to you as they caused me" The warden jested.
"I do have my way with people. Still, a helping hand from the Crimson warden is highly appreciated" the Caramel haired elf jested as well. Still, it was rewarded with a chilling glare from Sargon, forcing him to shudder "m-my apologies Lord Sargon. It was a poor choice of words, calling you by that name" the young Lord apologized swiftly, hoping that he didn't ruin his newfound relationship with Sargon. "No harm was done, Lord Cluym. Sargon is fine since you will be the new warden. I will be giving you a few pointers while we enjoy the fight..." The Warden started debriefing Cluym as they watched the show.
"AND NOW BOYS AND MEN ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FLESH CARNIVAL!" the crowd howled and roared, drowning the ring, yet Flint looked displeased. "TSK TSK TSK... I DID NOT HEAR YOU ENOUGH, SO LET US TRY THIS AGAIN... ARE YOU READY FOR SOME... FLESH CARNIVAAAAL!!!" an ear-deafening hurricane of shouts caused a tremor in the arena, much to Flint's liking as he coned his ears embracing the voices as if listening to a lullaby.
"THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO HEAR... NOW LET THE CARNAGE BEGIN!!.. for our first fight. Let us welcome the human who everyone knows about by now, DAAAAMIAN!!" amongst the boos of the crowd, a steel gate opens, and Damian emerges from the darkness. Wearing a piece of cloth around his waist and straps of belts around his torso, giving him a gladiator look as he held a sword and a metal shield.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"and our next fighter is an expert in tearing his opponent's limb from limb, HAAAAAAAAAAEMIR!!" boos turned to cheers in a matter of seconds, as Haemir entered the arena wearing a similar outfit while carrying a shield and dragging a wooden stick connected to a spiked metal ball the size of a man's head by a chain as long as he is.
Haemir's bulged rugged body was obviously meant for strength and not speed, Damian jumped to that conclusion even before he -Scanned- him. his short spiky hair and goatee made little effort to cover the scorch mark masking half of his face. Flint stood in the center of the ring acting as a referee for the match with a grin. "ALRIGHT LISTEN EVERYONE THESE ARE THE RULES OF THIS MATCH AND OTHERS TO COME.."
"RULE NUMBER ONE EVERYTHING GOES FROM CHEAP SHOTS TO SEVERING LIMBS" Flint rose one hand in the air, pointing one finger up. "RULE NUMBER TWO. THE FIGHT ENDS WHEN ONE OF THE TWO FIGHTERS EITHER DIES OR SURRENDERS" another finger rose "RULE NUMBER THREE, SHOULD A FIGHTER VENTURE OUTSIDE OF THE RING HE WILL BE DISQUALIFIED AND KILLED" and another.
"AND LASTLY RULE NUMBER FOUR" the fourth jumping inline "TO SURRENDER YOU MUST TOUCH THE GATE YOUR OPPONENT CAME FROM, USING ANY PART OF YOUR BODY." after he concluded his explanation of the rules, Flint strolled to an open gate, leading him to small chamber giving him a slightly better view of the arena. "AND NOW WITHOUT FURTHER LATENCY. FIIIIGHT!!!" the crowd bolt into a thundering cheer filled with excitement.
"-this one seems slow. It could be why he got a flail with a long chain to counter mobile or ranged opponents. His strength is not so bad either but with a shield. I can take him on as long as I block that morning star-" Damian thought as they both slowly closed the gap between them. Haemir began swinging his flail above his head with his eyes glued to Damian's every motion, gauging the distance for an opportunity to strike.
The moment Damian stepped into his range, the flail shot to the boy's right side aiming for his head. "-that length still gives you a major disadvantage. once I block the hit it'll be useless for a few seconds-" Damian rose his shield preparing for the incoming metal block "-just enough for me to end this fight-" just before the morning star connected, a distorted smile appeared on Haemir's face.
-75 HP
Ringing sank into Damian's ear, and he found himself kneeling on the ground with his left arm numbed and shaking "-what the fuck just happened?-" The boy quickly aimed his gaze at his opponent but was greeted by an incoming morning star heading now to his right side. With no time to waste, he parried it as he jumped away, slowly he balanced himself as he kept his eyes on Haemir. "-what did the fucker do to... oh wait-" everything came to place just from that one strike.
The numbness, the ringing, the sudden rise in temperature, and the smell of singed hair. He had felt all this before when he faced the fire goblin. The mutilated signature on Haemir's face is proof enough, but this elf is not the same. Goblin had to come close enough to use that ability, while Haemir used it from a more extended range. "-I need to close the distance and take him out quickly, or this is gonna end badly for me-"
Damian stood, slowly advancing, while the disfigured elf rotated his weapon above his head like a fan waiting for the time to strike. Moments after, Damian entered the elf's range. The flail charged, aiming at Damian's head again. The boy swiftly ducked and hastily darted to his opponent, leaving the morning star to explode as it touched the sand. In a hurry, Haemir raised his shield anticipating an attack. Damian raised his shield as well when he closed just enough distance, tackling the shield for close-quarter combat.
-Dash-
-72 HP
"seriously!?" Damian hissed as he was pushed back by another explosion, leaving dark lines of smoke to rise from Haemir's shield. "did you think I would make that easy for you?" the mutilated elf spoke with a deep rough voice as he smirked at the boy. "try again human" Haemir yanked the chain as he finished his second sentence, causing the morning star to fling towards Damian. With no escape, the boy covered himself with his shield bracing himself for another explosion with one eye closed.
But all he felt was a small impact, and all he heard was the cling of metal. "-huh?.. was that a dud?-" the boy thought as he rolled away from both Haemir and his weapon's range. The elf pulled his flail, waving it in the air yet again above his head, giving more momentum. Still, this time he grew impatient. Taking a few steps forward and hurling another strike towards Damian, "-could it be he's out of juice, should I block this one to test it... no better not risk it-" the boy dodged with his eyes darting between his opponent and his linked hovering grenade.
Even though the metal block was nowhere near him, it exploded causing the sand to splatter. "-something is off. I need more information, any attack could be an explosive or a dud, but how and when is he doing it? I need to analyze his pattern of attack. Even the dungeon bosses have an attack pattern-" as Damian racked his brain for answers, he kept weaving and dodging. some attacks exploded on impact, and some hit the ground with a mere thud.
"What is that idiot doing!?" Teran fumed as he and old Garrik mingled with the cheering crowd. "apparently, he has not learned a thing from our sparing together." the old elf calmly kept his calculating gaze at the battle when his mouth began to move "I would say he's doing rather well, considering the fact that he has no information on Haemir, and that he's holding back" Teran looked at him with shot up eyebrows almost reaching the top of his forehead "Master did you say he was holding back holding back?"
"Maybe not intentionally, but he is holding back nonetheless." after those words left his lips, a smirk curled underneath his bushy wrinkled face "Haemir is killing him. Why is he holding back?" Teran inquired switching his attention between his mentor and the match. "For a training partner for two weeks, you are doing an awful job reading your opponents" Garrik sighed.
"Damian has managed to keep up with you from day one, and by the fifth day, he has already overgrown you by a large margin, in case you failed to notice." Teran's rage crumbled, and what stood there was only confusion. Slowly he recalled his training with the human boy. "yes. by the time you got up on your feet after every practice, that boy has already left the arena.. do you know why that is little Teran?" Garrik, not even taking his sight off the fight continued his explanation.
"because you get up soaked in your sweat while Damian barely had a drop on him. He's holding back just enough for you to keep up barely, but still making you work for it. To tell the truth, I asked him many times to find another training partner, but each and every time he refused." Garrik grunted with annoyance " When I asked him why is he putting himself at such a disadvantage, do you know what his reply to me was?" by the time this question popped up, Teran was captivated like a child in an aquarium.
(Flashback)
As Damian left, Teran crumbled to the ground, entering the corridor leading to the mess hall after their usual sparring. He found Garrik meeting him halfway through with an odd face. "something wrong master?" he asked with a curious front. "I was pondering on a few questions and was hoping you would be able to help me acquire answers" without warning the old elf grabbed his cane as he would a sword, leaping towards the boy with stunning speed. Damian jumped backward, dodging the slash. If it weren't for -wild sense- his neck would've been snapped in half.
But another strike pierced the air coming close to crushing his windpipe, thankfully stopping right before touching his skin, leaving the terrified Damian paralyzed against the wall. While Garrik wore eyes filled with killing intent "Why do you refuse to get stronger when it is within your reach?" the old elf spoke calmly, but his eyes harbored a storm. Damian tried to answer, but his lips faltered at first"F-for Teran."
"Teran will do fine on his own without you as he did before you arrived, now answer my question truthfully" Garrik threatened, pressing his cane on the boy's neck. Barely keeping himself from pushing the makeshift stick into Damian's neck. And to that Damian calmy replied after a heavy gulp. "tell me, Master. Have you ever put so much effort into helping someone, only to have them pull the rug right from under you?"
Garrik didn't budge an inch, not certain where this was going. "where I came from I have seen it happen every day. Do you know what happens to them after experiencing such a thing even once?" Damian requested an answer, and Garrik suddenly knew what this boy tried to achieve but pitied his incompetence as a mentor to realize this sooner. his wrath subsided as did his cane, eyes weighed to the ground before he could reply. "they crumble, and seize to trust in themselves, let alone others."
"and coming back from that isn't easy I've been there. I don't want Teran to go through it just so that I could get stronger" Damian brushed his neck hoping to dwindle the pain, yet didn't dare move away from the wall, and angering Garrik more than he is now. The old elf however collectively rested his hands on his cane with a now refreshed expression. "that answers my question" and calmly walked away after uttering these words.
(Flashback ends)
"That human is wise beyond his years and too kind for his well being. He asked me not to tell you any of this unless needed, but for his, yours, and my sake, he needs to get stronger, and swiftly. The problem is that he only trained with you, which means he has little to no experience in handling different types of fighters. If this keeps up, I'm afraid his growth will eventually falter to a halt, or worse, he might end up dead" Garrik ground his teeth in agitation.
As Damian kept jumping around, he lost sight of his surroundings, and his back struck the wall of the ring. Seeking a chance to victory, Haemir sprinted, flinging the morning star, it missed the boy's face by an inch hitting the wall giving him time to dodge to a better location, but even then it did not explode, that's when Damian realized "-that's the pattern... I got your ass now-" the boy thought with a grin pealing on his face.
"you could not get so much as a scratch on me, and yet you smile. Have you lost your mind from all that running around like a scared little rat?" Haemir looked at the boy confused. "oh no, I'm laughing cause I'm about to make you taste your own medicine... come on, let's finish it" Damian spoke as he started walking casually towards the confused elf, who immediately pulled the chains circling it above his head before sending it again to the boy. "you are welcome to try"
Damian waited till it was close enough to strike his head before swiftly ducking and suddenly -Dashed- to Haemir with a menacing look in his eyes. Without delay, the elf yanked his chain, and the morning star propelled itself from its original trajectory, now heading to the back of the boy's head at high speed, while the elf prepared his shield to welcome its victim. But as soon as Damian was about to collide with Haemir, the elf's body froze unwilling to move an inch.
-Terror gaze-
Damian kept running till he passed the frozen elf while whispering in his ear, "good luck." Haemir's eyes widened as he saw his own weapon flying towards him at full speed. "how--" he only managed to get one word out before his head exploded, and his body fell like a puppet that suddenly lost its strings. "not that you can hear me, but you had a habit of winding your flail twice as long before every explosive shot. So I figured I'd use that to my advantage, nothing personal." Damian stood victorious leaving the crown and the speaker speechless.
442 EXP gained
You have reached Level 16
Quest completed
You have won your first match in The Flesh Carnival.
Rewards
500 EXP.
(Mask of The Mimic).