Part1

Blood. The horrid smell of a warm red pool. Complimented by the scent of the wet stone floor. It only made the dark shade of the room they were in feel all the more ominous.

The whimpering of the unfortunate young boy whose leg had been bitten off was horrifying to bear witness to. His older brother was holding his hand next to him.

He could not help but fear for the boy's life even with the first aid given to him.

The rumbling earth and muffled cries beyond the stone walls served as a constant reminder that their safety was yet to be determined.

He recalls the vigor with which the demonic beast had made its way for them. It was as if it was offended by their very attempt to flee from it as it grabbed on to the younger brother.

It happily tore away his leg and was ready to make the rest of him a tragic memory before the local guard pushed it off.

"Back then if only I had…"

If only he had tightly held onto him as they fled. Perhaps the younger boy would not have fallen behind and been caught by the beast.

The screams still haunt his mind and the regret fuels it further.

"Pray. Child. Pray that the gods may deliver him. Pray that they deliver all of us from this horror." The voice of an esteemed elder gave him his words of wisdom.

The elder reassured him that the gods were with them as the rest of the villagers near him began chanting and praying for the gods to come to their aid.

And yet the boy could not help but wonder. As the tremors grew ever closer. As the war cries grew into screams. He could not help but think…

"If the gods truly stood by us. They would not have let things come to this. Their 'vessels' would not have been so incapable of protecting the village walls."

These were the thoughts the boy was plagued with in his frustration and yet…

"Someone. Anyone. Just end this nightmare…"

He could not help but seek salvation.

Suddenly, the large doors to their hallowed shelter burst open. Rather they were blasted open by the mangled corpse that fell to the ground in front of them.

In the raised dust clouds, images of crimson glowing spheres were followed by the silhouettes of ecstatic predators and their equally excited demonic beast.

This was not the end the boy had hoped for but it was the one he had received.

Part 2

The river Tana, a water body that extends over 700km in length, meandering through Vutenia's northern provinces. From the far west, it cuts through the land until finally draining its waters into the great Eastern Ocean.

Along the path of this river lies Gedi city. It was one of the eastern most settlements before reaching Vutenia's coastline. A massive metropolis whose splendor and size nearly rivaled that of Momba City, Vutenia's capital.

It served as home to one of the three great libraries of Vutenia as well as the northern headquarters for the Ministry of Knowledge. It was also home to the largest academic center in all of Vutenia. This was the National Academy of Vutenia or better known by the people as simply 'The Academy'.

A massive center of learning responsible for training not just the potential shamans of Vutenia but also future soldiers of the Royal Army. It covered nearly a third of the city's surface area and was its most prominent feature. The construction of this center was one of the greatest endeavors of engineering and architecture.

"National Academy. Those gates are as imposing as ever. If I wasn't in such a hurry, I might have dropped in and paid a visit to my old teachers." Oraki thought as he gazed at one of the 8m tall gates of his old school.

"I had quite the set of misadventures there. It truly is nostalgic." He thought with a gentle smile.

"Hrrrppphhhhh! Hrpppppppphhhh!! Hrrppph!" The incessant cries of a certain divine beast disrupted his pleasant thoughts of the past.

"Don't worry. I'm well aware that we need to hurry." Oraki reassured the war rhino that had reluctantly decided to carry the young shaman for the duration of the journey.

"You're one to talk considering I had to spend extra time explaining your existence to the port officials."

The beast's impulsive decision to follow him on this journey had made Oraki pay an extra fee for bringing such a large beast and nearly endangering the vessel itself. It was an unusual case for someone to carry an entire War Rhino onto a boat and resolving it took longer than he wished it did.

As payment for all the trouble he had gone through, Oraki convinced the beast to let him ride it.

"Also, what do you mean by 'Stop lovingly looking back at your failures'? I'll have you know that I was totally adept at my studies and pretty popular too. Don't look down on me."

"Hrppphh! Hrrrrpppphhhh." The tone of the beast was like that of a skeptic child.

"I'm one of 'those' kind of parents? In the first place, I don't even have a child so I wouldn't know what you're talking about."

"HrrpppphhhHrrpppphhh…Hrpppphhhhh!!" For some reason, the beast was far more dramatic as she threw her next insult at the young shaman.

Oraki took longer than usual to snap back this time.

"…Sh…Shut up!!! I could totally get one if I wanted to. Don't give me that 'Poor Oraki. Can't even get a mate' nonsense. You stupid…"

Suddenly the beast started shaking violently as it tried to throw Oraki off.

"Wait. Hold on!! I'm sorry so stop swaying like that. We're in public!! I won't call you stupid anymore so stop!!"

The rhino let the young shaman off with a light warning.

"It's getting really hard to maintain any form of dignity with this beast."

Unfortunately, for Oraki, any dignity he may have had was lost the moment he chose to engage the beast in conversation.

The nearby pedestrians heading to and from the local market had already noticed the exchange and overheard his remarks of bachelorhood.

Rumors of his misfortune would soon travel quickly among the fastest communication network known to man. Idle housewives.

"Wow. They were totally whispering about me, back there. It's a good thing I'm not wearing my usual clothing. They might just think I'm a regular no name shaman." Oraki thought in desperate but foolish reassurance.

"Oh? Looks like we're finally here."

What stood before Oraki was a compound filled with the chaotic rambles of a rowdy bunch of men and women of nearly all ages.

These weren't your ordinary crowd. They wielded all manner of weapons and tools. They were the adventurers and mercenaries of the Odd Jobs Guild.

The guild building was Gedi's third most famous landmark. It served as one of the 3 main headquarters for its activities in Vutenia. The motto of the guild was 'Anything goes as long as it's legal' and was placed above the entrance of the guild building.

It perfectly captured the kind of varied work they did from providing security for exploration quests to giving extra support to the local armies and even escorting merchants and scholars.

As long as its legal and you paid for it, they would do it. The ultimate freelance dream.

As Oraki made his way into the compound, he had caught the attention of nearly all of the bystanders. Unsurprising, considering the behemoth of a beast he had just brought in with him.

"I'm going to gather some info. Try not to cause any trouble." Oraki gave the divine beast instructions while ignoring the constant whisperings around him.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Hrrppphhh!"

"What do you mean no promises? Honestly…" Oraki went into the building already feeling exhausted.

Part 3

As Oraki made his way to the front desk, he was met with the intense gazes of the denizens within. It seemed the news of the absurd beast he had brought with him had already reached them.

"Uhm. Excuse me…"

"Yes…One …moment please. Arghh!!" A mysterious figure was hunched over and forcing an obscure item into one of the lower shelves. It was likely an item reserved for inspection later on in the day.

"Sorry about that. Now how can I…oh my… Oraki?! It's so good to see you. How are you?", a voluptuous woman a fair bit older than Oraki excitedly greeted the young shaman.

"I've been great. It's good to see you again, Miss Laila."

"Look how big you've gotten. I heard you're a whole High Priest now. To think the little boy that came here for his work study would become such a great man."

"Hey now. I was in my late teens. I wasn't that little."

"Oh please. Compared to an old lady like me you were all such adorable little children. Now, the only one of the four of you that still comes by here is Matuzo."

"You're hardly that old, Miss Laila. If anything, you look great for someone who's…" Oraki suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"Hmmm? What's wrong Oraki?"

"…Where did that poison dagger come from?" Oraki asked while glimpsing a faint red aura emanating from the voluptuous lady.

"I always had it. What do you mean?" Laila said in apparent ignorance.

"…Anyway. It's actually Matuzo that I was looking for. An urgent matter just came up and I need his expertise." Oraki continued while realizing he just narrowly escaped death.

He had forgotten how much of a taboo mentioning an older woman's age can be. Especially Miss Laila's.

"There are times when speaking you're mind just isn't worth it. Definitely." Oraki thought.

"Oh. If it's Matuzo you're looking for then I'm afraid he's already gone for a subjugation quest with a few other parties."

"Subjugation?"

"Yes. It seems a village in Sokoke forest has managed to get invaded by a group of demonic beasts. They suspect a witch cult was involved. There were also sightings of some notorious bandit groups as well."

"That does sound serious."

"The strange thing is that the description of the crest on the bandits' gear match those mostly found in the western provinces. It's rare to see so many of them all the way out here."

"It can't be helped. Things in the far west are less than ideal right now. Even they would be in a tough spot staying in their usual hideouts." Oraki remarked.

"I suppose so. Although they started causing trouble way earlier than expected if that's the case. We received the request about two days ago."

"That really is early. Strange."

"Truly Strange. Well since you're heading there…I'm sure things will be fine. You could also deal with all the stray demonic beasts that have been popping up along the way." Laila continued as she gave Oraki a bundled booklet with the necessary details.

"Aren't there already a bunch of people headed there on quests?" Oraki said as he skimmed through the booklet.

"To tell you the truth the frequency is way higher than usual. It seems they're also showing up nearly everywhere else. And with a lot of our best going to aid the front lines…we could use the help."

"I guess if I were to run into them, I could take care of them. I'm in a hurry so I won't be able to stay in any one place to wait for them."

"Oh please. If it's you, you'll definitely run into them with your knack for drawing troublesome beasts to you." Laila lightly laughed as she remarked on Oraki's misfortune.

"Please don't jinx me like that…" Oraki said with a troubled look on his face.

Having received the necessary information, Oraki bade the voluptuous lady farewell and headed for his destination.

Part 4

"All right. We're almost on the main road heading to Sokoke Forest. Apparently, there's three different locations along the way that reported demonic beast attacks but the most common occurrences happen during sunset so it should probably be fine. Still. Caution is necessary."

"Hrpphhhhhhhhh?"

"I'm talking to you…you insufferable creature. We need to identify and deal with them as quickly as possible before they get a chance to use their techniques.

They may not usually be as powerful as the ones in the front lines but being careless can still get us hurt and purifying them can still take time if there really is a bunch of them."

"Hrrphhhhhh?" the beast asked inquisitively.

"What I'm getting at is that we need to synchronize our attacks so that we can deal with them without getting in each other's way. It'll make our fights last an even shorter amount of time which is a good thing for bo-"

"Hrrppghhhhh!!!!!" The beast cut off the young shaman's words to issue a word of warning as they begun crossing the bridge to enter the main road.

Two presences began approaching with intense ferocity. One was a behemoth tearing through the foliage of the distant forest and another was an aquatic beast speeding up the 18-meter-wide small river. Its fiery red aura was visible even under the waters.

"Are you being serious right now!? I haven't even entered the main road yet! An Ivory Beast and a King Hippo from the get go!? We're not even anywhere near their local areas!!" Oraki lamented at how astronomically slim the odds of this happening truly were.

As if to make matters worse. There was a caravan of traders and farmers a few dozen meters ahead of Oraki on their way to Gedi.

They were being escorted by a few armed guards but so few a number would have a hard time with just one of these beasts let alone two.

In other words, he had to beat two high level demonic beasts that nearly rival the ones he faced on the way to Tana while also keeping everyone safe before even getting on the road.

With a few mental words of prayer, Oraki switched to Active State as he remarked, "Honestly… Could their timing have been any worse!?"

It seems the shaman of Gesa still had much work to do.

Part 5

"Greetings and Salutations. I do hope everyone is in good spirits." The voice of a 2m tall man asked with a malicious smile.

His arms were laced with dark, crimson shaded markings as he strutted in accompanied by a demonic beast and two other men.

"Give us your women and children!!" the excited voice of the shortest of the bunch continued the initial greeting.

The 2m man proceeded to pound the shorter one into the floor with alarming speed.

"Ow! What was that for, Chief ?!" Despite his head having formed a small crater in the ground, the shorter man seemed barely fazed.

"Shut up!! You're embarrassing me in front of the victims!!" The taller man pointed to the dumbfounded villagers while reprimanding his subordinate.

"Going for the cliché straight away like that... We're high-level bandits now. We've got a reputation to keep." The other subordinate added on.

"Sorry about my excited subordinate here. You've evaded us for quite some time with this clever little shelter of yours."

"To think there would be so many underground chambers in this old shrine of yours. You could make good money bringing tourists down here."

"Speaking of which. We'll be taking some of that as well. But first, we'll be needing some volunteers as meat shiel…I mean…Combat Assistants. Yes. So…"

"Give us your women and children!!"

As they finished announcing their intensions to the cornered villagers, the elder among them lightly smiled.

"I see. So, our polite invaders are celebrating a victory they have yet to gain. That you need hostages proves that the fight is not over." The elder seemed very proud as he said those words.

"I assure you, old man. It's well on its way. We just need to deal with some irrelevant mercenaries that seem to have found their way here. You'll be seeing us for quite some time." The Chief Bandit rebutted the elder's assertions.

"Now then. Up you all go. Women and children to the front. Oh?"

A peculiar figure caught the bandit's gaze.

A boy crouched and on guard trying to conceal something but failing. The crimson trail of blood was plain as day. The cowering child it came from could not be hidden from the eyes of this towering predator.

"Well, this is a problem. I don't want to drag around any dead weight. Do any of you feel like dragging any dead weight?"

"No way."

"Nope."

The three bandits were in agreement on the matter.

"I suppose Magego over here does need something to chew on to keep him sated." The Chief Bandit looked to the drooling 3-metre-tall beast as he said these chilling words.

"The boy seems about the right size. We just have to make him more manageable." The Chief Bandit made his way to the boy while reaching for his dagger.

Suddenly the elder ran between the two parties before giving his voice on the matter.

"Have you no shame!! They have been through enough. Just leave them be!!"

In response to these fervent words, the Chief Bandit smiled before smacking the elder across the floor.

"You seem to have the wrong idea, old man."

He proceeded to kick the elder several times before remarking.

"Don't mistake my politeness for kindness. Even cruelty can have good manners."

"You…won't get away with this." The elder could barely utter those words in the midst of his pain.

"And who will stop me? Look." He pointed to the horribly disfigured form on the ground.

"That mangled corpse over there could easily have slaughtered each and every one of you and yet look at him. Do I really need to tell you who's responsible for the state he's in?"

"The gods will deliver us from you."

"Gods of what? The earth? The sky? Certainly not those of death, I can assure you of that." The taller subordinated added his piece on the matter.

"It doesn't matter which of them you prayed to. They're all as useless as the laws they uphold. In truth, only Shindo's favor is worth anything."

"He cares not for your morals, only strength and conviction."

"And sadly, weaklings like you, don't seem to have much of either."

He kicked the elder a few meters across the room to further cement the matter into everyone's subconscious.

Suddenly, his subordinates cried out to him.

"Chief!!!"

He then felt a biting sensation on his fore arm. It was the older boy having ran at him.

"…Off me." He threw the boy off his arm after a light struggle.

It was then that he noticed the small dagger, the boy had managed to grab. In the next instant, the boy lunged forward to stab the Chief Bandit as he ragefully shouted.

"Leave us alone !!!"

"Nghh!!"

"Chief ?!!!" His subordinates cried out again.

There was a brief silence before the room echoed with laughter.

Less than half of the small dagger had managed to pierce through his burly forearm.

"I stand corrected. One of you seems to have quite some fangs. That rage in your eyes is good. Boy. But you're like a cloud of mist challenging a storm."

Before the boy could register what was happening, he was slammed into the floor.

"Did you think that righteous fury would be enough to change things. Think. Boy."

The young boy was bombarded by all sorts of heavy blows. None of them lethal. All of them painful. This was naturally by design.

As he lay there barely able to move, the Chief Bandit proceeded to head towards his defenseless brother.

The boy wouldn't let him. He mustered one last burst of strength and grabbed onto the leg in front of him.

"Leave…my…brother…"

"I see. No wonder you're so annoying…"

The Chief Bandit shrugged off his hand.

"Hmmm? Passed out, eh? I wasn't really trying to knock you out, though. Just hurt you enough not to bother me. Oh well, guess we have another chew-to…"

Suddenly, a flock of red-eyed crows with whitened bellies stormed into the room and circled the Chief Bandit.

"What is it?"

"Kawww!!(What are you doing? Quit playing around and bring them up here!!!)"

"I get it already. Don't rush me."

"Kawwww!!(Send the village elder to the treasure room entrance. I'll be waiting there.)"

"Yeah. Yeah." The Chief Bandit responded to the birds' instructions as the villagers looked on in bewilderment.

"Let's go. Carry the two runts and bring the old man as well."

"What? Why not just leave the kids here?"

"I just thought of an interesting little game we can play with those annoying 'heroes' from the Odd Jobs Guild."

Things had only just begun for these unfortunate villagers.