Dante smiled, as a fox sniffed at the base of the tree. The blood trailing down the bark caught its attention. The bow in his hand tensed to its maximum length, and with a silent snap the arrow pierced the fox in an instant. It drew a yelp as Dante grabbed his knife and plunged down from the tree. Like a bloodthirsty assassin, the knife stabbed onto its neck, driven by pure hatred, rending through its flesh like tofu. In an instant the animal squealed but it was unable to do anything as it died, drawing its final breath.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 3]
Dante smiled wide, though no level up came. It had been some time since he had left his team, and he certainly felt like he was one with the forest now. He could feel it, he was on the verge of leveling up. Though he was disappointed, when he reached level 5 he genuinely believed he’d be as strong as the elf, but he was dead wrong. He couldn’t find a single ability that was like the elf’s railgun, even after fainting from taking the extended list. Alas, all he could do was simply make do with the options that he had.
[Skill — Covert Lethality (Uncommon Passive) — If the enemy is unaware of your presence. Gain 30% bonus damage for the next second after initiating an attack.]
It was his trump card, he still remembered how happy he was upon waking up. It was an uncomfortable sleep, but covered with bushes and riddled with mud he was practically impossible to find. And it had paid off to look at the extended list.
Dante once more got to work, he felt that with this he could catch up to the elf. 30% didn’t seem that great at first, but looking at it as everything simply would take 30% less hits to kill was quite appealing to him. He always felt the effects of the skill when plunging on the foxes. First he cleared the area and walked a ways away before smearing more fox blood on a different tree. He had this Skirmish thing figured out. All of these animals were carnivores, and simply stuck in groups to search for more food, following scent.
He had it figured out.
He climbed the tree and waited at the lowest branch. Minutes passed as there was movement.
He had the tactic to level up figured out.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 2]
[Bonus experience for…
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 4]
[Bonus…
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 3]
Hours had passed, when it finally happened.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 2]
[Level up: You have achieved level 7.]
Dante widely smiled and quickly distributed his points. He had a long grind ahead, but he didn’t mind. The rinse and repeat was a welcome from being constantly scared of things. Even if it was a bit monotone, he had a stream of water nearby, he was living the dream, at least as far as the Skirmish thing was concerned.
He quickly set up camp once more and waited. Minutes passed as Dante leisurely waited, boredom always filled him, but simply thinking about being as strong as the elf kept him awake. He did miss having his phone— well he did have it, it just no longer had charge. He still kept his firearm around in case he found ammunition but it all seemed unlikely. As the hours passed he grew increasingly worried, had he hunted too much? But all his worries eased as the wind blew and along with it came some footsteps.
Though they were different. Heavier? They belonged to an animal, but he didn’t recognize it. Until finally it circled around the tree smelling, it was uncomfortably close to him with its horns. Its huge body gave Dante pause.
[Everwood Moose. Lvl. 5]
The flying moose, he thought. He deliberated for a few minutes on whether to leave it alone as it kept trying to eat the tree. But then he remembered the elf. He couldn’t keep running. Not if he wanted to be like her.
Dante took a deep breath and decided to use his knife and an arrow. If I rob away its vision. He devised a crazy plan in his head, one that was on the brink of insanity, one that wouldn’t have been possible without his skill. He took another breath once more, and finally he decided. Struggle was rewarded.
He was going to struggle.
He was going to be rewarded.
Staring at the Moose for the final time, he gripped his knife and the arrow tighter. Like the elf.
He plunged.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ar’ken paced around, his whole armor clattered with unexplainable anxiety. He was supposed to trust his emperor, his liege, his majesty, but he still shook. He could vividly recall his words, they were fine like silk yet filled with madness— no it was pure wisdom, wisdom that he branded as madness.
There is a Guardian here, I shall go kill it.
He remembered protesting, it was a whole 3 levels higher than his majesty, but no matter what he said, the emperor did not acknowledge it. He simply told everyone to stay put, and that— that made him anxious to no end. What if his majesty died in battle, if he didn’t accompany his planet’s greatest warrior to a battle of the death, how was he supposed to look at himself in the mirror? Ar’ken briefly considered stabbing himself, not because he was worried about his majesty this time around, no.
He was incapable of following his majesty into battle, he was simply too useless in his eyes. That’s why he had told his whole squad to wait for him, that’s why he simply made them stand by as he front-lined all by himself. Ar’ken knew they would simply be cannon fodder against that beast, and he lamented his impotence. He wholeheartedly wished to be of a greater usage to his emperor, but he never thought this place would be so dangerous. He should’ve trained harder, tried harder, he should’ve trained till his lungs bled!
Ar’ken despaired. He felt a hand from one of his squad members on his shoulder, or rather he simply felt the pressure on his armor, but he simply shook it off and kept staring at the ground. He had failed his emperor, and due to this his majesty was forced to fight all alone. His hand drifted to the sword, as he finally thought about it, his majesty had no uses for him. But as soon as he started, he stopped. It would be better if he acted as a shield.
He took a step, and at that moment, the ground trembled. The solid rocks they stood on cracked, a signal that everything was coming to an end. His majesty was in danger. His heart trembled, if he didn’t disobey orders now he’d regret it for the rest of his life. With a steel like will, he straightened himself and looked at the cave at the base of the rock.
“We are going in,” he commanded.
“But—
“We must go out with him!” Ar’ken finalized with a frenzied shout.
Every single member of his squad shook but they all nodded. Yes, their purpose was to serve that man and his great ambition. They all marched down the hellhole, the light snuffed and was replaced by a blue hue. The tunnel shook and rocks fell, but their wills remained steady and calm. The deeper they went the more trembling they heard, the explosions and eventually they saw stardust, or what seemed like the cosmic dust of the sky. It glittered with fluorescent light, but when it rubbed on a surface it would seemingly erase it.
Avoiding it they reached the bottom where a thick cloud of stars blocked their way, barely able to see through it all they were able to see was dancing shadow, and then there was a primal scream, deep and full of anger, and what came after were shrieks and neighs. The cave shook and pounded as if something kept hammering against it. The screams of anger continued as the neighs grew progressively weaker.
The azure background glittered with all the strength, and the battle seemed to run its end. Ar’ken deliberated on whether to go on a suicidal mission to cross the thick cloud. If he crossed it and was incapacitated; how would he serve as a shield if that happened? It was a hard choice but eventually he took a step forward.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!” A primal bellow shook the cave. And with that, silence.
Ar’ken grew stiff from it but marched forward. The dust scraped against his armor— doing absolutely nothing. Ar’ken was confused but continued forward and so did his team. As they passed the cloud and reached the azure cave, they saw the corpse of the beast. Its head split open as if it was carved by a spoon. Brain matter dripped onto the ground, and long gashes ran through its neck all the way to its back. Atop of it breathing heavily stood a man, his robes were gone and his skin was a mix of blue and red muscle.
Ar’ken shook from the sight. “Your majesty,” he creaked.
The emperor turned to him, his face darkened by the bright azure background, two golden eyes stared right at his soul. His horns adorned his head like a crown, and even though he was profusely bleeding his back was straight as a spear. He expected to be admonished, but instead the emperor smiled. His pearly whites showing along with fangs.
“Ar’ken, great you’re here.” He grasped the air. “Unfortunately this fight was harder than anticipated. I will task you to recruit people.”
“Recruit people?” His heart skipped a beat, were they not enough?
His majesty nodded. “Yes, people. There should be intelligent species from another planet, as I am sure you know. Find them and recruit them under our banner. The empire of Arkaram is eternal.” He grinned before sitting down atop the giant beast, his smile never fading.
At that moment one of its horns fell off and crashed against the ground, stardust billowed around them glittering in different shades of blue.
“I want to submit this planet under a single banner. I require your help for that.” He produced a small blue gem on his hand. “And this shall assist you.”
The shiny gem was tossed towards him. Ar’ken caught it with interest as he inspected it, as per his emperor’s training.
[E ranked Prophecy: Dreamer of the Immaterial. 1d 23h 57m.]
He stared at it with confusion, as he racked his brains only to remember very vague things about the emperor. Dreams of the stars. Prophecies. The path to power was being granted to him. As such, his breath quickened, but the emperor saw it coming for he simply nodded.
“This is my will.”
Ar’ken heavily bowed. “I will follow you till I draw my last breath!”
He didn’t know if the emperor regarded him or not, but with a new task at hand he bid his leave along with his squad. Leaving the emperor basking on his victory.
Everything will be under the empire. Recruiting or conquering. It would all fall.
Dante smiled, as a fox sniffed at the base of the tree. The blood trailing down the bark caught its attention. The bow in his hand tensed to its maximum length, and with a silent snap the arrow pierced the fox in an instant. It drew a yelp as Dante grabbed his knife and plunged down from the tree. Like a bloodthirsty assassin, the knife stabbed onto its neck, driven by pure hatred, rending through its flesh like tofu. In an instant the animal squealed but it was unable to do anything as it died, drawing its final breath.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 3]
Dante smiled wide, though no level up came. It had been some time since he had left his team, and he certainly felt like he was one with the forest now. He could feel it, he was on the verge of leveling up. Though he was disappointed, when he reached level 5 he genuinely believed he’d be as strong as the elf, but he was dead wrong. He couldn’t find a single ability that was like the elf’s railgun, even after fainting from taking the extended list. Alas, all he could do was simply make do with the options that he had.
[Skill — Covert Lethality (Uncommon Passive) — If the enemy is unaware of your presence. Gain 30% bonus damage for the next second after initiating an attack.]
It was his trump card, he still remembered how happy he was upon waking up. It was an uncomfortable sleep, but covered with bushes and riddled with mud he was practically impossible to find. And it had paid off to look at the extended list.
Dante once more got to work, he felt that with this he could catch up to the elf. 30% didn’t seem that great at first, but looking at it as everything simply would take 30% less hits to kill was quite appealing to him. He always felt the effects of the skill when plunging on the foxes. First he cleared the area and walked a ways away before smearing more fox blood on a different tree. He had this Skirmish thing figured out. All of these animals were carnivores, and simply stuck in groups to search for more food, following scent.
He had it figured out.
He climbed the tree and waited at the lowest branch. Minutes passed as there was movement.
He had the tactic to level up figured out.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 2]
[Bonus experience for…
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 4]
[Bonus…
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 3]
Hours had passed, when it finally happened.
[Bonus experience for killing a being of a higher order.]
[You have killed: (E) Loa Vulpe. Lvl. 2]
[Level up: You have achieved level 7.]
Dante widely smiled and quickly distributed his points. He had a long grind ahead, but he didn’t mind. The rinse and repeat was a welcome from being constantly scared of things. Even if it was a bit monotone, he had a stream of water nearby, he was living the dream, at least as far as the Skirmish thing was concerned.
He quickly set up camp once more and waited. Minutes passed as Dante leisurely waited, boredom always filled him, but simply thinking about being as strong as the elf kept him awake. He did miss having his phone— well he did have it, it just no longer had charge. He still kept his firearm around in case he found ammunition but it all seemed unlikely. As the hours passed he grew increasingly worried, had he hunted too much? But all his worries eased as the wind blew and along with it came some footsteps.
Though they were different. Heavier? They belonged to an animal, but he didn’t recognize it. Until finally it circled around the tree smelling, it was uncomfortably close to him with its horns. Its huge body gave Dante pause.
[Everwood Moose. Lvl. 5]
The flying moose, he thought. He deliberated for a few minutes on whether to leave it alone as it kept trying to eat the tree. But then he remembered the elf. He couldn’t keep running. Not if he wanted to be like her.
Dante took a deep breath and decided to use his knife and an arrow. If I rob away its vision. He devised a crazy plan in his head, one that was on the brink of insanity, one that wouldn’t have been possible without his skill. He took another breath once more, and finally he decided. Struggle was rewarded.
He was going to struggle.
He was going to be rewarded.
Staring at the Moose for the final time, he gripped his knife and the arrow tighter. Like the elf.
He plunged.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ar’ken paced around, his whole armor clattered with unexplainable anxiety. He was supposed to trust his emperor, his liege, his majesty, but he still shook. He could vividly recall his words, they were fine like silk yet filled with madness— no it was pure wisdom, wisdom that he branded as madness.
There is a Guardian here, I shall go kill it.
He remembered protesting, it was a whole 3 levels higher than his majesty, but no matter what he said, the emperor did not acknowledge it. He simply told everyone to stay put, and that— that made him anxious to no end. What if his majesty died in battle, if he didn’t accompany his planet’s greatest warrior to a battle of the death, how was he supposed to look at himself in the mirror? Ar’ken briefly considered stabbing himself, not because he was worried about his majesty this time around, no.
He was incapable of following his majesty into battle, he was simply too useless in his eyes. That’s why he had told his whole squad to wait for him, that’s why he simply made them stand by as he front-lined all by himself. Ar’ken knew they would simply be cannon fodder against that beast, and he lamented his impotence. He wholeheartedly wished to be of a greater usage to his emperor, but he never thought this place would be so dangerous. He should’ve trained harder, tried harder, he should’ve trained till his lungs bled!
Ar’ken despaired. He felt a hand from one of his squad members on his shoulder, or rather he simply felt the pressure on his armor, but he simply shook it off and kept staring at the ground. He had failed his emperor, and due to this his majesty was forced to fight all alone. His hand drifted to the sword, as he finally thought about it, his majesty had no uses for him. But as soon as he started, he stopped. It would be better if he acted as a shield.
He took a step, and at that moment, the ground trembled. The solid rocks they stood on cracked, a signal that everything was coming to an end. His majesty was in danger. His heart trembled, if he didn’t disobey orders now he’d regret it for the rest of his life. With a steel like will, he straightened himself and looked at the cave at the base of the rock.
“We are going in,” he commanded.
“But—
“We must go out with him!” Ar’ken finalized with a frenzied shout.
Every single member of his squad shook but they all nodded. Yes, their purpose was to serve that man and his great ambition. They all marched down the hellhole, the light snuffed and was replaced by a blue hue. The tunnel shook and rocks fell, but their wills remained steady and calm. The deeper they went the more trembling they heard, the explosions and eventually they saw stardust, or what seemed like the cosmic dust of the sky. It glittered with fluorescent light, but when it rubbed on a surface it would seemingly erase it.
Avoiding it they reached the bottom where a thick cloud of stars blocked their way, barely able to see through it all they were able to see was dancing shadow, and then there was a primal scream, deep and full of anger, and what came after were shrieks and neighs. The cave shook and pounded as if something kept hammering against it. The screams of anger continued as the neighs grew progressively weaker.
The azure background glittered with all the strength, and the battle seemed to run its end. Ar’ken deliberated on whether to go on a suicidal mission to cross the thick cloud. If he crossed it and was incapacitated; how would he serve as a shield if that happened? It was a hard choice but eventually he took a step forward.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!” A primal bellow shook the cave. And with that, silence.
Ar’ken grew stiff from it but marched forward. The dust scraped against his armor— doing absolutely nothing. Ar’ken was confused but continued forward and so did his team. As they passed the cloud and reached the azure cave, they saw the corpse of the beast. Its head split open as if it was carved by a spoon. Brain matter dripped onto the ground, and long gashes ran through its neck all the way to its back. Atop of it breathing heavily stood a man, his robes were gone and his skin was a mix of blue and red muscle.
Ar’ken shook from the sight. “Your majesty,” he creaked.
The emperor turned to him, his face darkened by the bright azure background, two golden eyes stared right at his soul. His horns adorned his head like a crown, and even though he was profusely bleeding his back was straight as a spear. He expected to be admonished, but instead the emperor smiled. His pearly whites showing along with fangs.
“Ar’ken, great you’re here.” He grasped the air. “Unfortunately this fight was harder than anticipated. I will task you to recruit people.”
“Recruit people?” His heart skipped a beat, were they not enough?
His majesty nodded. “Yes, people. There should be intelligent species from another planet, as I am sure you know. Find them and recruit them under our banner. The empire of Arkaram is eternal.” He grinned before sitting down atop the giant beast, his smile never fading.
At that moment one of its horns fell off and crashed against the ground, stardust billowed around them glittering in different shades of blue.
“I want to submit this planet under a single banner. I require your help for that.” He produced a small blue gem on his hand. “And this shall assist you.”
The shiny gem was tossed towards him. Ar’ken caught it with interest as he inspected it, as per his emperor’s training.
[E ranked Prophecy: Dreamer of the Immaterial. 1d 23h 57m.]
He stared at it with confusion, as he racked his brains only to remember very vague things about the emperor. Dreams of the stars. Prophecies. The path to power was being granted to him. As such, his breath quickened, but the emperor saw it coming for he simply nodded.
“This is my will.”
Ar’ken heavily bowed. “I will follow you till I draw my last breath!”
He didn’t know if the emperor regarded him or not, but with a new task at hand he bid his leave along with his squad. Leaving the emperor basking on his victory.
Everything will be under the empire. Recruiting or conquering. It would all fall.
