Sup my homies and bros or gals(Impossible), thank you for reading this chapter and I think most of you are skipping the intro and so I'll just say what you guys might be thinking.
"Bla bla bla, bla bla bla :D" - how the viewers view how the author talks
Anyhow enjoy reading >_>
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Nyorin's POV
It has been two weeks since we traveled and was heading much more to the direction south-east.
Each day the weather tends to get much more colder which would cause no problem to me as I'm used to it, but for Laura and Jentun it would.
In winter, the sun tends to stay at its longest but when in turns night, it would be unbearable.
Authors notes: The weather system in this novel is sometimes switched around compared to our world but only in some parts.
There was a ravine not so far from us and was so close to a lake which caused the making of a waterfall flowing down the crater.
You could hear birds migrating on the sky while heading the opposite direction as to where we are headed.
Even though we ventured far, it seems like it would take some time before we could encounter any towns.
The sky was covered with dark grey clouds while blocking most of the sunlight from the sun but still manages to keep the place lit enough for us to see.
There were no mountains to hinder our movement which was quite lucky for us.
My legs has been feeling sore but it didn't hinder my thoughts of moving forwards as I might to anything to see him again...
I rubbed away the sweat from my fore head with the small piece of cloth which was kept in my bag.
Laura doesn't have that much stamina and so when she looks like she was about to fall down from exhaustion, I would carry her on my back.
Normally Jentun is supposed to be the one that carries her but I think he has his own things to worry about as his out of breath while looking only downwards at the ground.
It was really generous of Laura to be saying that to let her go of her even though she is quite light weighted and so I replied telling that her weight is not a problem at all.
I always thought of Laura as some sort of sister of mine while being my only best friend.
Though the closer we get, the more we argue about silly things but eventually make up somehow.
Jentun was nothing but the silent type as he reads books which made me curious on what is it about and when I looked, it was something related to encryptions and ways to decipher.
The road we were walking on slowly starts to fade away leaving only a grass path with small rubbles of stone hinting that it's still the pathway.
Trees were not seen anymore the more we travel which kind of made me sad as I really loved the scenery of them bundling up, maybe it's because it reminds me of the time I spent with Saladin and Muzaik.
Oh how I missed both of them so much...
Food was mostly cooked by me as I learned some tricks from Saladin, as he thought me on how to hunt, skin, gut and cook creatures with ease..
Sometimes I wonder if I should move on about his death but I just shake that thought away while even slapping myself if I were to thought that again.
Every time Jentun tries to talk, it's always questions related about his father death and nothing else.
He looks like the type of person who is completely serious most of time while doesn't really care about the people on his surroundings.
I have been wondering why he didn't meet or say by with his girlfriend back then?, who knows maybe he doesn't want to see her again.
The time passes really slowly during traveling, which gave me the thought on how long would it take till we reach our destination..
Eventually after some time, we finally managed to find a small village which was covered with concrete walls.
We were basically looking at it, on top of a hill which the village just lies on the valley.
Our food ingredients was running low, Laura's aura cannot sustain anymore constant use of ice magic to create water supply by melting them and especially the most important factor is that our lack of sleep was causing problems.
The gates of the village were made of red bricks that looked quite old but still is looking firmly strong.
Patterns were decorated around it, showing mostly the symbols of suns and stars.
There were sharp rails on top of the walls which in my view made the walls look impenetrable.
The village was not so large but still can contain at least around four hundred people or more..., my counting skills are bad just so that you know.
There was something about this place that gives a weird sense of familiarity but that feeling just vanished the next moment as if I never had that thought.
Strange..., ever since Saladin died, I have been having weird dreams.. that are like reality and in one of them he appeared for a short moment.
It might be a way of warning me to stop my attempt on reviving him...
Anyhow, we decided to enter the village after getting down from the hill which was quite the hustle as the slope was steep.
The valley was quite grassy and felt comfortable every time we walk on it.
If you are wondering on what happened to Laura then she is sleeping silently on my back as I was carrying and her drowsiness was due to her constant refusal on me carrying.
Jentun was still reading his book even when we were going down the hill...
Though we should be lucky as to how no monsters attacked us during our travels but I attacked them instead for food.
There were four guards guarding the gate, all wearing the same armor which consist of iron chain mail, helmets that covers their full head, iron plate leggings, red cape with fur beside their neck side colored orange and off course their brown boots.
They have a crest in the middle of their torso on the chain mail which depict of a sun with stars surrounding it.
It looked like they are wielding a shield on their left while having a spear which is made of steel on their right hand.
When we get closer to them, they pointed out their spears towards us and one of the guards asked
"Who might thee be to enter?!" - Guard
Jentun stepped forward and took out an emblem from his pocket and showed it to the guards while making a yawn.
The guards glanced on the emblem and didn't speak no further while instead they told us that we may enter.
They moved away from the gate which made a clear path towards the village.
Though it was quite cool on how the guards move in rhythm while moving away.
One thing that made me curious was how that emblem is all it takes to persuade those guards even though it clearly looked nothing but a bronze badge with the pattern of a wyvern curling a sword which is clearly really old.
Jentun talked with one of the guards about something while having a serious look until he joins us again.
He then gave me 20 deras and told that we will meet again after two days at the same spot until then we will give a halt to our travel.
Before he leaves us, I tried asking on where he is going and then he replied by saying that there is going to be an invasion from Valdraxian which is headed towards the most far south land which has the most mixed race settlement and so he decided to know more about it by searching for information.
'Valdraxian?' - My thoughts
I didn't know what he meant by Valdraxian and what does he mean by the invasion?
While I was searching for an inn, that thought kept on being stuck in my head.
Oh how life seems dim without Saladin, I should really stop talking about him as it may make me sound desperate...
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Saladin's POV
It has been more than a week since Sherah saved almost my life from that rod I was carrying.
That rod was kept on my room and I'm never going to over use it again.
One thing for sure is that Sherah did it with her instincts only or maybe... something else.
There was something that changed in me ever since I started doing that soul tearing.
Speaking of soul tearing, Vearli visited again at night and made the ritual for me to tear my soul in half and mend it together once again.
To tell the truth, I tried escaping by opening the door of my room but it was locked and Vearli was just staring at my scared face while placing her hand on her face as a sign indicating that I'm idiotic.
I'll basically try explain while imagining again on what happened that they when Vearli visited my room once again.
It was at the middle of the night, where everyone was sleeping except both me and Vearli who took out a chalk from her sleeves.
Vearli made a circle on the floor with a chalk and in the middle she drew a pentagon which surrounded a star.
Blood was needed which she told me and so she bit my finger and dropped the small ounce of blood to the chalk drawing which made it glow in red hue.
She let go of her fang like teeth from my finger while licking the remaining blood on my finger which made me blush for some reason while feeling flustered.
Vearli then told me good luck while blowing an air kiss towards me which made me confused until I felt something weird coursing through my veins...
Instantly I felt death in me and my sight was making everything turn black and white including Vearli.
I could feel blood coming out from my eyes as it flows down my cheeks though they were colored black.
The pain was something unworldly which could make any man screech of agony while begging to stop the suffering.
If you want to know on how bad the pain was, then just imagine all of your skin getting ripped of and you are placed on a hot acid bath while you body feels like tearing to half.
My scream was so loud that I think that it will make everyone in the inn notice my agony.
It was hard to open my eyes but when I actually did, I noticed that my body was being covered with all those black withering flowers while Vearli watches me carefully.
It was horrid as it felt like my body being thorn in half from head to toe.
I told her to stop the ritual while I agonize and more bloody tears come from my eyes, she did nothing but looked at me with a sullen look but tried making a grin.
After a while of agonizing, the pain slowly subsides as I can feel my body getting synthesized once again.
When the pain completely disappears, I fall down to the ground and started breathing heavily while rubbing of the bloody tears from my eyes.
I puked blood from my mouth which kept on leaking out.
There was one thing to say about this pain, 'It was hellish.'
Vearli came towards me and bend down to look onto my face who she did to ask if it was fun while making an expression with her face that is literally asking me to punch her.
She then told me
"How was it?, it looked like it hurts for you" - Vearli
Vearli then brought her face close to my ears and whispers
"This was an only glimpse of hell, so make sure you keep your soul cleansed and not dirtied with sins or you might experience something like that for eternity but in a far more worser way" - Vearli
Before I could say anything else, she vanished while leaving me with the voice of her giggle echo the room.
That is basically what happened during my soul tearing.
Well that was some days before and I could already tell the difference of my personality changing back as I don't get angry anymore, except if I see Sherah.
Speaking of Sherah, well it looks like we stopped talking ever since that day.
It might look childish but I think it is for the best.
While I say this stuff to you, I was walking towards the inn after looking through the hunter guild on this town if there were anything good to earn money but sadly there was not.
The streets were getting crowded for some reason which didn't heed my train of thoughts.
My thoughts kept on rambling about Sherah while I walk and avoid hitting people.
'Though there was one problem and that was the way how Sherah looks at me...' - My thoughts
Her looks were always sad every time she tries to glance at me while she thinks I'm not looking at her.
I got to admit ever since she revealed her true hair color, she looks... kind of beautiful though she doesn't use any make up which made me think on how she would look with some on but I quickly tried canceling that thought from my head as I don't know why I'm even thinking about that.
Kioni even told me before to talk to her about it which I kept refusing until today I decided to say something to her.
This past days I have been doing nothing but checking around if there was a way of faster travel.
One thing for sure is that there are some methods but it would cost lots.
I think you already know the reason why I can't even purchase a single horse, yes that's right I wasted all my cash on Sherah's treatment...
That ungrateful bitch didn't even thank me.., though it's supposed to be I who thanks her...
Adventurer guilds were not in this town which was quite unusual.
There were no maps sold around here which was understandable as they are rarely even seen.
I finally reached my destination and so the the inn's name on a banner not so far from me.
I'm currently outside the inn wondering as to why people are leaving in bulks while flooding the streets with faces mixed with fear and panic.
There were flocks of humanity flooding out of the town entrance while panicking at the same time.
I went and asked one of the guards who was leading individuals out the entrance in an order fashion.
He turned to avert his eyes towards my presence and told me that there is an invasion really near which is heading towards this village.
I tried asking for more information but then the whole place darkened as if the sun was being blocked by something.
Everyone stopped and looked up on the thing which is making the place dark including me.
It was something weird, as a non colored rainbow was covering the sun while making my thoughts filled with misery the more I look at it
All this things was happening out of no where even though I thought today I could at least earn more cash so that we can get the hell out of here.
Suddenly I saw something flying towards the entrance of the gate from the sky and when I looked closely, it was a boulder covered in flames.
Everyone tried running away after the sight of the huge boulder, but was too late as the entrance got hit by it causing an explosion that is really huge.
The explosion caused a large sum of the crowd to get obliterated and the noise it created forced me to cover my ears.
My body didn't move at all as I watch families get destroyed while kids getting engulfed by the flame caused from the fire.
There was no time for me to grieve on the deaths I witnessed as I need to do something about what is happening on the place.
When I tried looking around, I saw a familiar hair colored person who was taking out rocks hastily.
I noticed that it was Sherah who was there helping out people who are getting stuck by the rubbles created from the explosion.
There was no point to idle by and so I decided to help Sherah out.
She noticed my presence but just ignored it and continued moving away debris to free a young boy.
I helped her which caused the problem to be solved quickly due to my strength.
The boy was hurt badly and had a scorched skin on his leg which made the sadness expression appear in Sherah's eyes.
She got up while holding onto the boy and decided to run away from the fire getting close to us but before she did, Sherah told me 'Thanks'.
I didn't want to get scorched so I decided to move away from that place after saving some guys getting stuck due to a pillar blocking their path.
There was a big problem at hand and that was to warn Kioni on what is happening as she might still be at the inn.
Though I expect her to already know due to the loud explosions but just in case I'll check for her.
I ran towards the inn while noticing that the door was already opened and then when I entered the inn, someone jumped at me while holding tightly.
When I looked, Kioni was the one who hugged me while tears flow from her eyes.
No matter how much I think about it, how special was I to her?
There was no one inside the inn which tells me that every one evacuated.
It must have been hard to be pretending that she doesn't know me but in reality she shares some sort of tie which I still don't know.
I then slowly pushed her away from me by holding onto both her shoulders and then I told Kioni to follow me carefully while making sure she looks into my serious eyes.
Large boulders were hitting the village violently and making debris of houses scatter everywhere wildly.
People are getting killed left and right while houses turns to nothing but rubbles.
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Kioni asked me on what is going on, which made me reply back to her stating that I don't really know.
It is best if we don't go through the entrance as the people there were getting massacred by something.
The sight was devastating, houses destroyed, screams everywhere, mothers and their children hiding in shelters and so many other things.
Guards were heading towards the entrance while being armed with swords, spears and shields.
'The fuck is happening?' - My thoughts
I was running towards the opposite direction of the entrance to the town while also slowing down a bit so that Kioni can catch up.
While running, I noticed that the place was like a ghost town in which everyone has died.
There was one thing in front of my sight and that was of a man and woman side by side with cloaks.
Their cloaks were really similar to Sherah's one while also having an emblem on it which is exactly like Muzaik's emblem.
Both of them looked to be around their 30's, both have grey hair and black eyes which match with their black bows which they are carrying.
I didn't know why are people like them here but I knew by the loading of their towards us that they want us dead.
Before I had time to push Kioni to dodge the arrows which they placed on their bow and were going to shoot us, the arrows missed us completely as if we were not the targets the whole time and hits a creature which was exactly behind us who was wielding a dagger.
If they hadn't shot the arrow, we could have gotten wounded from that creature behind us.
We came closer to them and gave our thanks which they shrugged off our gratitude and moved forwards towards the entrance though I warned them about what is happening but they ignored it.
There was a shelter nearby which was having the boy that Sherah saved in it who was sitting and having a sullen face while looking downwards.
The shelter was a abandon food store which was also a pub at the same time.
Kioni sat beside him on what seemed to be a chair and then I asked the boy on what happened to the girl who saved him after I sat on a chair also.
He then pointed towards the entrance and told me that Sherah gone fighting a monster who tried hurting them as he explains more stating that his mother got captured which made Sherah gone back to find her.
I sighed deeply while not caring about the mayhem happening in the town.
There were explosions and screams echoing through the pub which made my bones shiver as to why I'm not caring at all.
The boy then asked me if I were going to help Sherah but I just replied by telling him that she can do it by herself.
'I'm such an asshole, thought I think it's the right decision... or is it..' - My thoughts
His face was sad and his eyes were teary and then he told me that Sherah was hurt all over before she dropped him here while having his eyes filled with tears.
When he mentioned that she was hurt, there was something wrong getting into me as if my body wants to move by itself and go to the direction where Sherah is.
Though I don't understand as to why I didn't caught the presence of Sherah if she were returning back to the entrance...
I remembered on how she acted towards me which was quite annoying but I got to admit it was fun at some times.
There was times where I would save her and she would return the favor which kind of change the way I view her.
Though I can't get over the hatred of her trying to assassinate me before but now I can tell that I should just place that like water under bridge.
My mind has settle and so before I stood up, I made a deep sigh while patting the head of the boy.
I then told Kioni that I'm going to look for Sherah, this made her smile and told me to be careful which I nodded while saying the same thing back to her.
The spear on my behind which I strapped long ago has been pulled out by me which turned my right arm covered with patterns of wilting flower once again.
before I left, I told the boy to tell me his name and so he replied by saying
"Mikael" - Boy
There was one thing I needed to say to Mikael and that was protecting Kioni which he replied while rubbing away his tears.
He might be a boy but he is still a man, though I think I should not have said that as Kioni was yelling at me stating that she can take care of herself.
I'm not saying that females are weak...
Anyhow let's change the topic as I was dashing through the dark cobblestoned streets while noises of explosion go through my ears.
I then ran towards the entrance while preparing my spear in case anything will come towards me.
The more closer I get towards my destination, the more I can hear battles getting conducted.
Finally I managed to reached to where I wanted and when I looked around, I saw Sherah getting beaten up by a humanoid monster.
It was nothing compared to any creature I saw as it has the closest similarities to a human body.
Creatures body structure was that of a female while covered with scales entirely except for the head.
The face of the creature was beautifully alluring similar to a blue haired lady at her 20's with red eyes which inside reside a black slit on it.
Her (the creature) body was covered by normal clothes, her feet was that of a lizard while having a small tail similar to a cat.
I didn't want to idle by and so I decided to charge towards the creature which made her notice my presence and dodge the lunged attack I performed but even if she dodged, it was enough to prevent the attack landing on Sherah who was wounded on her right shoulder.
Sherah was shocked as to why I'm here and protecting her, she then told me to run away which I ignored her causing her face to get sullen while being mixed with anger.
The creature then spoke while staring at my spear
"How is a mortal like you wielding something like that?, answer me!" - Creature
This creatures never do know the rules in combat, so I should teach her that you must never ask questions during a fight.
When she was going to say the same sentence again due to how I made a gesture of not knowing what she is saying, I charged towards her with my spear aiming for her head which caught her in surprise and was to late to dodge as I managed to graze her cheeks by my spear which turned a fragment to dust.
She was surprised as to what I attempted on her and punched my face which sent me flying and land next to Sherah.
I then told Sherah that I'm going to rest for a bit so keep the creature company for now.
The creatures nails extended while turning really sharp and walked towards us while having a pissed off attitude.
She was not the only monster around here as I managed to find the woman and man who had the same hair color killing off small orc like creatures with their arrows being shot from their bows.
They were on the roof of the inn we stayed at most of this past week while having expressions of boredom.
I could hear the sigh made from Sherah as she grasps her sword tightly and then gone fighting the creature.
Sherah doesn't have her bow with her but she still has a sword which she used to fend of the creature but struggles...
I tried standing up but my body was still shaking from the shock of the punch on my face.
There was one thing I know and that was my spear is able to obliterate mostly any armor and turn them to dust.
Slashes were heard while swings are made horizontally and vertically in all places by Sherah which were easily deflected from the extended nails of the creature though it kind of baffled me as to how strong are those nails are?!
At this moment, I could see the full potential of Sherah's blade techniques while still thinking on how did I managed to beat her in the first place... oh wait.. I forgot I groped her *ahem, I think you know what I mean.
The creature pulled out her tongue which was really long and wrapped it around the neck of Sherah's which was disgusting but still caused suffocation.
I didn't want to watch only and so I ran towards them and used my spear to try poke the tongue of the creature.
Though it didn't managed to hit, it was enough to let the creatures tongue to retract back to her mouth as she fears losing it.
She then told me
"Quite the feisty human..." - Creature
Sherah was in the ground on her knees who was breathing heavily from her neck getting chocked before.
She didn't give us time to relax and came charging towards me while aiming for my neck with her sharpened long nails.
I used my spear to block her claw like hands but it didn't stop her from hurting my left hand with her nails.
There was no point for me to keep on blocking and so I kicked her on the stomach causing some distance to be covered between us.
My kicks are supposed to be not taken lightly as they may break bones if contacted with full force.
The creature hissed at me while retracting her nails back to normal which made me wonder as to why did she do that.
Sherah got up and was using my shoulder to support her to get up which kind of made me annoyed as she was making sure to hurt me in the process but I brushed it away.
Something was making the creature smirk as she pulls out a sword with a sheath covering it.
The creature then unsheathes the sword revealing a long bronze worn out destroyed sword and started laughing while pulling out her tongue.
Me and Sherah looked at each other while having dumbfounded face as to why is the creature laughing if she has a shitty sword like that!
I then told Sherah
"Even your bad sword is better than hers" - Me
Sherah looked at me, and made an irritated look while being pissed but stopped averting her eyes towards me after the creature started talking.
"Humans, you are lucky to not only meet one of the 10 draxian captains but also see one of their most prized weapons!" - Creature
I face palmed myself inside my thoughts as to why is she addressing herself in the middle of combat..., while also revealing that she is a captain..., what's next her back story?
There was no reason to not fight her as she looks determined that she would beat as with that shitty sword of hers.
Sherah then gone slicing the air while charging towards her.
Before the creature could tell her name, she was slashed on the arm by the vertical swing of Sherah.
The creature backed away from Sherah while she looks on her wound that Sherah conflicted on her regenerate quickly.
She(the creature) then looked at us and told
"What's up with you interrupting my sentences!" - Creature
Sherah looks annoyed and swung her sword on the creature horizontally but then something unexpected happened.
Sherah's sword was cut in half after just one block of the creature's sword which burst me into laughter.
I then told Sherah that her sword is shit while humilating her in the MIDDLE OF COMBAT.
She threw her sword away but I could have sworn that she was aiming for my head.
Sherah then picked up a sword from a dead guard just beside her and used it to swung towards the creature.
I could notice the smirk appearing at the creatures face and before I knew it, she managed to slice the blade of the sword that Sherah picked up to half again.
This was kind of weird as how does her shitty sword managed to cleanly cut anything.
Sherah backed away and gone near me while panting for breath as she was moving everywhere.
She then told me to not underestimate the sharpness of the creatures sword...
I also got punched in the shoulder which I kind of deserved it as I teased her while she is fighting.
When I looked for the creature she was no where to be seen which made Sherah confused also.
We looked around until we were to late to notice that she was actually on the air jumping while aiming her sword at us in a vertical way.
She was aiming to slice Sherah in half but I expected Sherah to move but her legs are not responding which in the end I had to do something similar to what she did to me before.
I pushed her which made her eyes look at me before falling to the ground and I looked back at her with an empty expression.
Well then..., half of my right arm is gone and I'm their in front of the creature gritting my teethes after agonizing.
The creature sliced of my right hand and everything all the way to the elbow.
Sherah was having eyes covered with nothing but haze as if she has lost something.
I still managed to try strike the creature with my spear which is wielded with my only able to move left arm.
Though the creature backed away.
My right arm was bleeding so badly while it pains so much.
Sherah told me while still on the ground and having lifeless eyes
"Why.." - Sherah
I then looked at her and said
"Similar reason as to what you said before... I don't know why..." - Me
The creature looked at me and was making a grin and saying something like her sword is so sharp that it can cut through anything.
At least I'm not dead as I just blocked with my right arm while dodging barely the slice on my torso.
I dropped my spear and picked up a rock with my right hand and threw it at the creature which obviously she dodged but made her confused.
The purpose was to distract her with the rock as I managed to pierce her body with my spear though it was lucky of me.
Sherah was shocked as to what I pulled off.
The creature was still wondering as to what I have just done.
Though I had a very low chance of hitting her with my spear but still it managed to contact with her body.
The creature's body then turned to dust from head to toe but before she could, she told me
"What the hell was that tactic!" - Creature
She was dumb enough to get fooled by that...
I walked towards the pile of dust on the ground picked up my spear and placed it in my back.
No matter how I touch this spear it never turns any of my body to dust I wonder why.
The creatures sword was still there which gave me an idea and that was using that as my sword instead.
I was acting like a normal guy even though my right arm is bleeding so much.
Though I stopped most the bleeding my tearing some of my shirt to cover the wound for now.
There was something moving in the ash pile which made me curious and so I placed my right hand to check what is inside.
Then I noticed something bit my hand and when I pulled it out, it was a mini version of the creature I fought before...
She looked like at child form while being around the age 11 at the size of nothing more than a spoon...
I could see tears flow down the creature as she notices her body size and gone to her knees on top of my palm.
The creature was crying on my palm basically naked and looking adorable at the same time.
Though she is adorable like this, it doesn't stop the reason for me killing her.
So I pulled out my sear and pointed it towards the creature which made her cry louder while begging at the same time...
I didn't want to kill a small monster child... but she took away my arm...
'Grrr what the fuck I'm supposed to do with this thing!' - My thoughts.
I did something that anyone would think is foolish and that was binding the creature with rope and letting her LIVE.
I placed her inside a jar which was supposed to be for spices and placed the jar inside my bag.
Is this even legal...
There was nothing to do and so I gone towards Sherah who was still at that lifeless mode.
She saw me and then asked
"Why did you save me?" - Sherah
'Is she still worried about that, heck you saved my life before..' - My thoughts
I then replied to her
"I don't know" - Me
She looks at my eyes and her eyes were having tears in them.
To tell the truth I really don't know why did I save her life...
Sherah got up and kept on beating me up while crying and yelling towards me that I'm an idiot.
She even said that why would I sacrifice an arm for her as they can never be healed...
I know..., I know... my arm cannot be healed anymore..
There was no point to look at this this state of Sherah anymore and so I grabbed her chin and made her face look at mine.
I then became serious and yelled at her teary eyes
"THIS MY ARM, AND MY ARM IS NOT AS IMPORTANT THAN YOUR LIFE GOT IT?!" - Me
She was baffled and was speechless from what I told her while tears flow through her cheeks but in much more quantity.
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Well that is all for now, my exams are much more frequent and harder... that is basically the reason for the late releases :C
Thank you for reading! :D