She awoke to the sound of footsteps approaching her. She could barely remember what had happened before she passed out but remembered a healer.
“Ah. You’re awake, good. Thought I couldn’t heal you there for a bit. I’m Sherry.” The woman said.
“Am I still at the League?” Gaia asked.
“Yes, you are. Titania brought you here. Do you know why my healing didn’t work as well?” The healer Sherry asked.
“I have an ability that causes healing without poison to not work as well.” She replied as she heard a number of footsteps.
“Is she awake?” Someone called out.
“Yes. You can come in now.” Sherry responded.
She heard a group walk in before a few familiar voices called out. “What did you do to yourself?”
“Well, a lot happened but the most recent wounds were from a stone rank on my last request. From what I could feel it was a Shadow Warrior I think.” Gaia stated to Titania and her group.
The room went silent for a bit.
“You’re still here, right? I can’t see anything so please say something if you’re trying to give me a look or something.” She said to the room.
“Ok. That requires an explanation. You know what, just tell us what’s happened since we last saw you.” John said in his usual gravelly voice.
Gaia went on to explain everything that happened, from her first hunt with Aira to her final exam where she was blinded, and finally finished with her last fight against the Shadow Warrior. She also introduced Liv to the group. They seemed to be apprehensive when they learned Malachite was actually a monster and that she had a new unheard-of monster with her.
“They’re both really good. They won’t hurt anyone unless they try to hurt me. They’re very protective but they’re like my new family.” She finished.
“A lot has happened since we last saw you six months ago.” Francois stated.
“Yeah. I’ll be honest, if it were me, I would have stopped being a hunter as soon as I got hurt as bad as you. I’m surprised you stuck with it.” Jess told her.
“I’m not sure what else I could do besides being a hunter. I don’t have a family here, don’t know what jobs there are, and now can’t see, so I would be more useless than if I leveled my bonds up. I don’t even think someone would hire me.” Gaia stated.
“Fair, but if you want to continue being a hunter I’d suggest trying to find a party. You can hunt basic monsters but won’t level up that way for much longer. With a party you can hunt stone rank monsters easier. In fact, I know someone who’s looking to form one. He’s just recently become a hunter too. I’ll see if I can get him to meet you, if you're interested.” Titania explained.
“I’m not sure how much help I could be but if you don’t think they’d mind. I’ll try.” Gaia responded.
“Alright I’ll try and find out when he can meet. His name’s Ferguson.” She said as she left the room.
Gaia talked to the rest of the group until her stomach rumbled loudly. She was embarrassed but the group laughed and invited her to get some food in the tavern. She agreed after the healer approved. They ate some delicious sandwiches with some kind of meat that tasted similar to pork. It was quite good. She found out it was from a kind of insect monster and almost lost her lunch at that. All in all, though she enjoyed the meal and the company.
Malachite took her towards the counter to collect her rewards from the requests. She was given some spherical objects that felt like stones. She checked them and found them to be stone cores. The amount she got was around fifty stone cores. The original reward was around twenty but was given extra since the last job had a stone rank that wasn’t reported in the request. She was given a small pouch with them which seemed too small to hold fifty of them. It apparently expanded to hold more than it should but only held cores.
Titania came back not long after that and said she had set a time tomorrow around midday for her and Ferguson to meet. She thanked the woman before asking about inns around the town as she’d only stayed at the League and the camp. They helped her find the inn they had been staying at. It was a good inn, as they told her, and they used it whenever they were in town.
It was close to the Leagues building so it was crowded when they arrived. They came into what sounded like a full tavern as there were many conversations and shouts. Gaia shrunk in a bit hearing all the noise but grabbed Malachite and got on his shell so she wouldn’t trip anyone or cause problems.
When she entered on her massive turtle the place went silent. This made Gaia even more anxious, and she curled up on Malachite’s shell. Titania broke the silence.
“What’s the matter? She’s a friend. Go back to your drinking!” She yelled.
They did so soon after. The group approached someone and told her what they wanted.
“Can we get a room for her? She’s blind so a room on the bottom floor would be nice.” Jess asked.
“Yeah, I got one room empty. Will she be needing food for the turtle?” The man asked.
“If you don’t mind. He’ll just eat a salad. One like you would give to people with dinner should be enough. I should be able to cover it all.” Gaia explained.
“Well, one night is three stone cores. Food will be two more so five in total.” He responded.
“Okay. I can cover that.” She said as she pulled out five stone cores and put them out in the direction she’d heard his voice.
She felt a hand take the cores and place a crystal in their stead.
“You’re in the last room on the left back here.” He said as the group led her to the room.
She arrived at the door and nearly walked into it before she stopped. She fumbled with the crystal before opening the door and creating webs to get a feel for where stuff was in the room. It was bigger than she had expected and was nearly a fifteen-foot cube. There was a large bed in the corner with a trunk at its foot, and a large wardrobe on the right side of the room. She liked it and went to sit on the bed. It was marvelous and much more comfortable than anything she’d slept in since arriving in this world.
“Thank you!” she called at the doorway hoping the innkeeper had heard her.
She stayed in her room for the rest of the night and the innkeeper brought some food for her and malachite soon after she got settled in the room. Titania and the group let her be for the night and they agreed to have breakfast the next morning. Sitting in the room she finally had some time to think about some of the stuff that had happened since arriving in this world. Since day one she had been running from one thing to the next. She got Malachite, focused on researching and leveling up for six months, and ended up blind.
She started reminiscing about her life on earth and how it was easier. She was missing the normalcy she had there. She hadn’t been particularly good at anything and didn’t like her job but loved her family. She wondered what they thought happened to her, and if she would or could ever see them again. She just wanted to be able to be around them again. She genuinely hoped she could get home someday but didn’t want to stay there. She didn’t think they’d believe that she was who she claimed.
These thoughts whirled in her head for most of the night until she fell asleep. She had a dream about her family and slept peacefully. She woke up to Malachite nudging her.
“Hey big guy. Morning Liv. Did you two sleep well?” she asked him.
“Yep. I shrunk. Also cuddled.” He responded.
“No sleep. No need.” Liv responded.
Gaia thought about it and realized that made sense. She was made of living webs and was likely closer to a golem type monster. These were well known for not needing rest or sleep as they didn’t have any organic components. She thought about when Liv took the fruit and likely just shredded it to get the mana from it. Golems and constructs depended on mana to run and only stopped running when they didn’t have mana, or their core was destroyed.
She thought about that and asked Liv. “Liv do you have a core?”
“Yes. Part me. Part you.” She sent an image of the Living Silk armors tattoo.
“Does that mean I act as part of your core? I know we’re bonded and even through spirit so, does that mean that if one of us dies we both do?” Gaia questioned.
“Yes. No” Both responded.
“You die, we die. We die, you live” They responded together.
“So, if I die, we all do but if one of you two dies I’m not effected?” She asked, horrified.
“Yes.” They said.
Gaia thought about it and hated that idea. She’d come to love these two creatures. They were her family in this world and refused to allow them to die just to save her. They would all live together no matter what. That was her conviction.
She thought about ways to make sure she could keep them all alive but was interrupted by Malachite nuzzling her and letting her know it was time for breakfast. They walked out with him once again leading her. She could smell the food partway down the hall and it was mouthwatering. She smelled eggs, potatoes and sausage. It reminded her of the breakfasts her dad would make for her family.
When they got to the inns main room they went to a table where she heard Titania and Francois talking.
“What’s the plan for the next few days?” Francois asked.
“I was thinking we take a break and help Gaia out. Freya told me she was looking for a crafter that could make a seat for Malachite’s shell. So, what do you guys think?” Titania asked.
“Sounds fine to me. We haven’t had a break from hunting in over a week.” John responded heartily.
“I’ll use the time to research some new magic.” Jess said.
“Sounds good.” Titania agreed.
“Oh, hey Gaia. Come sit down.” She said.
Gaia sat down at their table and Liv once again used her webs to raise the writing of the menu which her screens translated for her. She ordered the items to make what she remembered her dad calling ‘Dad’s Breakfast.” When it arrived, it smelled even better than earlier. She cut and mixed it all together and ate with gusto. The taste was slightly off from what she remembered but didn’t know if they had a spice similar to red peppers yet.
They chatted as they ate. It was a nice feeling that she liked. It made her think of her family again but enjoyed the company immensely. After finishing the meal, the group left the inn and Jess stayed behind to study magic. They walked around town and introduced Gaia to a few crafters they knew but the ones she really liked were a husband-and-wife duo.
They were a tailor and enchanter respectively. The man was called Will, and his wife was Summer. He worked with fabrics, and she worked with mana to imbue different effects on items. They were extremely kind. They agreed to make a seat for Malachite’s shell. Malachite complained as they took measurements.
Gaia had an idea and asked Liv if the webs she could make were permanent. She said yes as they stayed even when monsters dissolved. She explained that they stayed by absorbing small amounts of the ambient mana. She asked Liv to make as much as she could. She didn’t trust her own as they had her Spiritual Toxin imbued in them and didn’t want to hurt Malachite when she came to a shocking realization. She was bound to her bonds through their spirit and finally asked a question she hadn’t thought about.
“Are you two effected by my Toxic spirit ability?” She asked.
“No. Our mana poison too.”. They responded.
She thought about that for a minute before checking if her webs stayed using ambient mana too. They did. She could feel some mana being pulled from around her to the webs in her hands.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Can you handle some poisonous webs to make the seat and maybe something he could use to hit enemies with?” She asked hesitantly.
“It’s definitely an odd request. Can I see what they are?” Will asked.
She moved the web in her hand in the direction of his voice. It took him a moment to respond. “Yeah, I can make the seat from this. Can even make it able to work with him to change into spikes if you want it. I’ll need some extra cores for that work though as it’s already imbued with an attribute, and we’ll need to add his mana into it.” Motioning to Malachite.
“That should be fine but how much will it be in total, how long do you need the webs, and how long do you think it’ll take?” Gaia asked.
“Should be about a hundred stone cores in total, and about a few hundred feet as we’ll need to weave it. As for how long my best guess is about a few weeks.” He stated.
“Can I pay part now and the rest when it’s done?” She asked.
“Normally I’d say no but with these guys with ya, I’ll agree.” He replied.
Gaia breathed a sigh of relief as she put forty cores on the counter in front of her and started creating webs. When she finished, she prepared to go hunting but remembered the meeting Titania set up.
“Do we still have enough time to get to where the meeting is?” She asked.
“Barely. I didn’t expect to spend so long here. He’ll meet us at the tavern in the League. We can make it if we leave now.” Titania responded.
They started to head towards the League building. They ran and Malachite had a hard time keeping up with Titania as they ran through the city to get there. He was slightly miffed as he wanted to be faster. They made it there just before the meeting time and went to the tavern section.
They waited a few minutes before Gaia heard some heavy footsteps running towards them.
“Hey, Nia... Is this… The person… You wanted me to meet?” A man asked through heavy breathes.
“Yes, she is and you’re late, Ferg.” Titania replied.
“Sorry, got stopped by Mom and Dad before I could leave. I only got away by promising to bring you back for dinner sis.” Ferguson replied.
“Wait, Ferguson is your brother?” Gaia asked.
“Yep. He’s my little brother. You should introduce yourself Ferg.” She replied happily.
“Alright. I’m Ferguson. I’m a Bowman. I can deal a lot of damage but, I can’t really take any.” He said.
Gaia turned in his direction and spoke. “I’m Gaia. I’m a tamer, this big guy here is Malachite, and this little mass is Liv. I can’t deal damage outside of maybe some poison. Also, I won’t be much help in general since I’m blind, but they can pick up my slack”
“No problem. Nia told me about that. Do you mind doing a lower rank request for a trial so we can figure out each other’s fighting style?” Ferguson asked.
“I don’t mind but like I said, I don’t do much damage if any. It’s really these two that do so.” She replied.
“Alright. Do you want to try a request now?”
“Sure. I don’t mind.” She replied.
“Do you two mind if we tag along? We’ve never actually seen you fight yet.” Titania asked.
“I don’t.” They both responded.
“That’s settled. Go grab a request Ferg.” Titania said.
Gaia heard Ferguson leave and they waited for his return. He came back a few minutes later.
“Here’s the request. It’s for some higher-level goblins.” He said as he put the paper in her hand.
She checked the request with Livs help and a screen appeared moments later.
Request: Kill Goblins (Normal) 0/20
She also checked where the marker was and it didn’t seem to be too far from the city. They quickly left and started towards the quest area. As they walked Gaia explained some of what Malachite and Liv could do while Ferguson explained some of his skills. His class was Bowman which gave him skills that revolved around firing arrows from a distance. He only had one skill which allowed him to use an arrow for a single melee attack that dealt a lot of damage. She also told him about her ability to use poison webs but that it was her only way to damage things as her class was considered a non-combat one.
He was intrigued by that and asked if she wanted to fight the first group of goblins they came across. She agreed to do so, and they soon came to the area where the goblins were reported. She climbed off Malachite and started to make webs and send them out in all directions looking for the goblins. She walked around slowly until she found one around thirty feet to their left. She swiftly wrapped its leg and tripped it while wrapping another web around its face. She pulled it towards them and Liv killed it with poison.
They continued doing so until she had killed five of them. Malachite then ran and killed off a few that were running towards them after she failed to silence one before it fell.
“Not bad. They can deal quite a bit of damage and your poison, while not super harmful, will come in handy in a long fight.” Ferguson told her.
She was ecstatic to hear she’d be useful in a fight. “Thank you. It’s mostly them but I’m glad I’d be able to help.” She replied.
Next it was his turn to fight some of the goblins. She couldn’t see any of what he was doing but within about five minutes he’d swiftly killed as many goblins. When she asked Malachite, he sent her an image of a single arrow hitting the goblins before they died. She was impressed with just the one image, as he’d killed all of them without the entire group running towards them.
Within an hour of arriving at the goblins location they were done with the request. For the last five goblins they’d dealt with them together and found a good idea for how to work together. Then they were heading back to the city. They talked about what they thought they could work on. Then decided to try and hunt some every day for a while before taking a stone ranked request.
They returned to the League and got their reward. It was only four cores, so they divided them and went their separate ways for the night. They took requests every day for the next couple weeks and had found a good groove for hunting with each other. They’d also become true friends during this time as they fought some tough enemies. Liv had even ranked up to Stone rank.
Name – Liv
Race – Living Weave (Stone Shell)
Rank - Stone
Level - 1
Title - Unchosen bond
Skills:
Bind
Poison Shot
Trapped Webs – Creature can create small balls of webs that when touched or hit a surface spread out and create a webbed area. Webbed areas slow enemies within the area.
Abilities:
Web manipulation
Woven Webs – All webs created are strengthened as they are woven together from multiple strands. (Effected by spirit stat)
Strength – 21
Resistance – 21
Recovery – 41
Reflex – 31
Spirit – 210 (Poison)
Tamer Quest: Raise Bond Liv to Stone rank 1/1
Reward: Bonds have increased health.
Gaia was excited to see Liv rank up. When she held Liv afterwards, Liv felt like she was made from a woven silk fabric and had a small stone shell encasing her center and back sections. It was oddly similar to her armor but just in the shape of a spider. Liv had also grown; she now had a leg span of about a foot. She loved it when her bonds got stronger as she worried less about them being hurt. She was ecstatic when she saw the reward as that meant they wouldn’t be as hurt if they got hit through their barriers. That night they celebrated Liv’s rank up. The next day they went hunting as usual. That night when they were going to separate for the night Titania stopped them.
“Do you want to join our family for dinner?” She asked Gaia.
“Are you sure I won’t be a bother?” Gaia asked.
“Not at all. If anything, our parents would want to meet ya.” Ferguson stated.
“Sure.” Gaia responded quickly. She honestly was happy they would invite her. She’d been by herself, aside from Malachite and now Liv, pretty much since she’d arrived in the world a little over six months ago. She was excited to have a friend.
She hopped on Malachite, and they walked towards the northern section of the city. They walked for around an hour before arriving. She heard a large gate open, and they told her to follow them. She soon smelled a variety of floral scents, and assumed they were in a garden. Malachite sent her an image of long planters with a large variety of flowers. There were a few she recognized like roses and snapdragons but there were more that she didn’t know. Some were similar to the shimmering forest and were blue flowers with pink stems while others were almost transparent.
She enjoyed the image he sent and loved the scents. They continued through the gardens until they arrived at the house. She heard a large door open with a loud bang that scared her. She jumped and fell off Malachite. She quickly got up embarrassed as she heard a man speak.
“Nia, Ferg. You’re home!” He called as he walked to the group.
“Yes dad. We are. We also brought a friend. Do you mind if we come in?” She asked.
“Ah, yes. Fine. This is your friend. What’s your name dear?” Their dad asked.
“I-I’m Gaia.” She stuttered.
“Alrighty. Welcome to our home Gaia. I’m their father Jack Carrelion. Will you be joining us for dinner?”
“Nice to meet you and if I won’t be a bother. Do you mind having Malachite and Liv here?” She asked motioning to her bonds.
‘Not at all. We’re happy to have you all.” He said as they walked in.
She hopped back on Malachite’s shell and followed Mr. Carrelion in. As they walked, she realized the house must be quite large as they’d walked the equivalent of the entire inn she was staying at before reaching the dining room. When the door opened, she was hit by a wave of mouthwatering scents. She could smell a multitude of vegetables, meats, and many others she couldn’t place.
She was led to a seat where Ferguson helped her get comfortable. She found an array of forks, knives and spoons to the sides of her plate and didn’t know why she would need that many for a meal but just ignored them for now. She waited until someone spoke.
“It’s wonderful to have you two home tonight. It’s also wonderful to meet you Gaia. I’m their mother Cayna.” She heard a woman say.
“Nice to meet you too ma’am.” She replied hastily.
“No need to be nervous. Let’s get the meal started. Who wants to do the honors?” Cayna asked.
“I’ll do it.” Titania said.
She then heard what sounded like a prayer but for no deity or being she’d ever heard of before. The deities sounded like they were gods but were simply called the Overseers. There seemed to be quite a few. She didn’t know what they were and decided she’d ask at some point that night.
She then heard multiple footsteps approach and asked her if she wanted this or that. She didn’t know what was happening so Titania helped.
“They’re servants who help serve food.” She explained.
“Um. Why are there servants? I thought this was just a family dinner.”
“Oh. Sorry. I forgot to explain earlier. Our family kinda rules Boundary. Our dad’s the baron. We’re nobles.” Ferguson stated nonchalantly.
Gaia stopped immediately. They were nobles? Why were they Hunters then? Did she do anything wrong since she arrived? As these questions ran through her mind Jack spoke.
“Don’t worry about etiquette or anything we don’t care about it, and we honestly aren’t any different from anyone else. The only reason we’re nobles is because our family is from a long line of high ranked hunters.”
“Oh. Alright.” She stated. She just decided to stop thinking.
She just chose what smelled good from then on whenever they asked if she wanted something. She also heard Malachite snacking on something and guessed they had given him some food while Liv skittered around on Gaia. She seemed to be trying to hide but seemed happy from their bond. She smelled wine in her cup and decided to check something.
“Ah one more thing. Is there an age limit for alcohol or anything?” She asked.
“Yes. It’s Eighteen. That’s when you’re considered an adult and when you can legally become a hunter. I turned eighteen a few days ago.” Ferguson said.
“What if you’re younger than that and registered as a hunter?” She asked sheepishly.
“Never happened before. Why?” Titania asked before stopping for a minute.
“Now that I think about it, how old are you Gaia? I assumed around twenty from how you act.” She asked.
“Um. D-don’t freak out or anything but I turned sixteen on the day of the exam at the camp. So, about a month ago.” She stated hesitantly. The room went silent for a beat after that.
“What?” They all exclaimed together.
“Sorry.” Gaia said shrinking into her chair.
“No, it’s not your fault. Why are you alone though?” Jack asked her.
“I’m apparently what you call a lost.” She explained.
They started to ask more questions, but Jack stopped them and said they’d continue after finishing dinner. She was thankful and thought about telling them everything she knew but didn’t know if they’d understand. She also needed to ask them some questions as she still didn’t know much about the way things worked yet.
The dinner was delicious although a bit overwhelming as she felt glances every now and then until they were done eating. She quickly hopped on Malachite’s shell, and they all moved into another room for the discussion.
She started by telling them about what she knew. Which wasn’t much aside from falling from the sky, having screens appear, and having both her race and gender changed. The last was a shock for everyone but Titania. They talked for a minute and decided nothing was wrong with her being a hunter as she didn’t have a background, and it was probably for the best. They also agreed that Ferguson being in her party was a good thing as he would protect her from certain groups which they never named.
She finally got to ask her questions after they finished discussing amongst themselves. Her main questions were about the Overseers as they called them, any other powerful beings, the lost, and bound attributes. They told her what they knew.
The Overseers were the beings that brought everything into being. They were the almighty beings and were above gods. The Overseers governed reality as a whole and didn’t bother in the dealings of singular planets. They governed entire sections of reality. If they appeared in reality themselves the entire section would be warped and destroyed. These beings decided whether new worlds would be created or destroyed.
The gods were beings that ruled over worlds. These were different depending on what world you were in. The portals that were created from high mana concentrations were commonly connections to other worlds. Sometimes, however, they even connected to a completely different dimension. The gods used them to try and bring their influence to these other worlds or dimensions to gain more power. These gods, however, were bound by what their domain was. For example, the god of war had to use a war to influence the new world.
The lost were beings that were brought to this world in order to fulfill a purpose. Most times they were brought by the Overseers of reality to entertain them. They gave them the ability to meet the gods of a world to be chosen by one. Then given power to help them survive and fulfill a purpose in the new world. The Overseers gave the lost some information on the world they entered normally by just giving it to them. Sometimes they changed it to entertain them more.
Bound attributes were as they sounded. Attributes that became bound to one of the stats of a person. These tended to be from the items needed to rank up, but some became bound from spiritual damage, use of spells, or attribute imbued skills. For example, if someone casts a lot of water magic, they will likely gain a bound water attribute. Another is, if someone uses a flame slash skill they’ll likely gain a bound fire attribute. Very few obtained multiple bound attributes due to their own skills attributes and the unpredictable skills they could get. All stats required a bound attribute in order to rank up past stone.
Bound stats were required in order to rank up as a whole. This was because they affected more than just damage type. They allowed the user to gain skills and abilities dealing with the attribute. Someone who had a bound fire and bound water attribute could gain a fire attack and a water barrier. They could even cause new skills to be created. An example is once again a bound fire and water attribute could create a steam ability. They have a massive variety and could even cause useless or detrimental skills and abilities to be gained.
She thought about all of the information she was told but was fixated on one particular part. The part about the lost being given power from a god. She didn’t have any power from a god and wasn’t given any information when she woke up here. She started to get angry at the fact she was thrown here for some being's entertainment, and had her gender changed, likely for the same reason. On top of that, she was tossed aside. They had taken her from everything she knew and for what? Their entertainment? She decided she hated the Overseers and would do what she could to defy them and the gods that had decided she wasn’t worth anything. When she thought about this a screen appeared.
Authority increased.
Title: Unwanted – Holder was unwanted by any god. Holder is given no power from divinity. Has increased resistance to divinity.
Requirement met.
Entity has hatred for the Overseers of Reality.
Entity has hatred for the gods.
Creating New Title.
Title: Blasphemer – Holder has chosen to defy the gods. Holder has chosen to defy the Overseers of Reality. Has increased resistance to Divine and Ethereal Influences.