Prologue

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A rare breakthrough, that beautiful violent hair. That people of colour was usually the result of sleazy dye and a childish personality, desperate to demonstrate individuality by opposing normality. It was a rare gift from nature, every strand like melting ruby, when to the highest degree alleged Aythya americana possessed only a diluted orange hue. But hers was like blood, drawing the center of all those around her, including Noah's. Of all the cleaning lady he had seen, met, and knew, even intimately, hers was the most purely crimson.

It was after school in early autumn, the light of the setting sun illuminating every strand and reminding him why it was worth it to approach her. She was walking across the discharge soccer champaign, her torso trembling from the adrenaline of all the running she had done in her runway club. For once, Noah saw her without all of her champion surrounding her or her boyfriend's arm draped over her berm like a boa constrictor. He had been waiting for this fortune, longer than she could envisage.

"Lindsey, hey,"he said, meeting her in the give air, detached from any interruptions.

"Noah, what are you doing here ?"

She asked that question, but she knew the result. What else would delineate a boy to her, what other possible desire ? He was going to play with her, possibly even ask her out. Would he be nervous ? Would he be cocky ? Would he play innocent and try to originate with some small talk, or would he get straight to the point ? Had he planned this ? Had he been waiting ? They had been friends since she transferred in their Sophomore year. Had that just been in prevision of this ?

It was clear in her eye, that his purpose had been seen through, but it didn't dissuade him. Rather, it was something that always amused him, the paradox of human being coupling that became both easier and more difficult with age. She already knew what he desired, so unless she desired the same thing, her heart would be guarded, with no opening for a sneak plan of attack to storm her. It was a challenge that men and cleaning lady had struggled with since the dawn of time.

"I heard that you and Sean broke up. I know what that feels like, how often it hurts, so I'm sorry. But if it's not too soon, I wanted to ask if you'd like to go out with me this weekend ?"

"Sorry, but since we're graduating soon, I'm not sure I want to bother geological dating. After all, when summertime comes, we're all going to divide up and go our fork ways."

A rejection, not an optimal outcome, but it was within his expectations. He just had to convince her to give him a chance, but gently. He had to properly choose his quarrel so that he wouldn't come off as desperate and cross, but not try to ham it up by turning it into a sonnet like an out-of-touch nerd.

"Is that why you two broke up ? Because you didn't see a detail in staying together ? I doubt that. I think you believe in making love, in giving it a chance. A lot of things will encounter between now and graduation ; Xmas, valentine's Day, the promenade ? That's mountain of meter to be happy, and to change your mind about which path you plan on taking. Plans can change, matter can work out. All I want is a chance."

"Sorry, but I'm just not interested in dating, and I'm too meddling anyway. Besides, I like you only as a friend."

She crossed her branch to warm herself, but she kept them low. It was an instinctive move, one that Noah's centre didn't young woman. He gave an aggravate smile and began to express joy."Ok, I get it. Maybe next time."

Lindsey, wanting this conversation to be over, walked past him, but beneath his continuing laughter, she heard something, a metallic click, and it chilled her rakehell. She spun around and saw the knife in Noah's hand.

"Christ Christ, what are you doing ? !"she screamed while raising her mitt to harbor herself.

"Don't worry. This isn't for you."

He swung up his script and stabbed himself in the pharynx. The strike, it was so fast, but it was gentle, just the tip of the blade breaking his peel and severing his jugular with speck accuracy. It was a perfect tense, fluent campaign, as if he had spent hours practicing. Blood began to spray from the belittled lesion, and to the auditory sensation of Lindsey's scream, he allowed himself to fall on his back. She rushed over and tried to stop the bleeding. Covering it with her hand only slowed the outpour, so she reached into her bag for something to use as a bandage.

"check, just continue your hand there,"Noah said calmly. The vein he had struck carried blood out of the nous and sent it back to his heart, so the rest of the blood in his system would continue his brain oxygenated, at least while it was still in his veins.

"You're fucking crazy ! I'm not going to let you die like this !"

"I've already died like this… more than a hundred times before. This isn't my number 1 rodeo."

"What are you talking about ?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. rebirth, transmigration, whatever you call it, I count animation like you count years, and every prison term I die, I'm immediately reborn with all the memories from my retiring life-time. I've been born and died so many clock time, laughed and suffered through so many lifetimes."

"That's just blood red ink talking. Hang on !"She tried to pull out her telephone, but Noah grabbed it with surprising strength.

"You're pregnant, aren't you ? Sean freaked out after you told him and that's why you broke up."

Her face became as pale as his."How could you possibly know that ?"

"Because this isn't the inaugural time I've confessed to you. I'm always myself, but the world I'm born into is never the Saami. Every time I die, I return to the day of my parentage, but in a dissimilar timeline. I'll end up in a humans where my environment are different, or history didn't go the way I remember it, or events will happen in my future tense that I can't predict.

Only in my by seven life have you been present, and in all seven lifetimes, I could never make you mine, no matter how much I wanted you. Five of those times were because you were pregnant. You and Sean get back together by Thanksgiving Day, and I and everyone else sentry you dance together at the promenade. Each time, I kill myself to try again in my next life. These past 18 years, they've flown by like the blink of an eye for me."

His hemorrhage was starting to slow, his torso going cold and his judgment getting foggy.

"Why me ? Why would you keep going after me ? Why am I worth killing yourself over ?"

"It's the only way I can live anymore, following some undertaking or biz that keeps me meddling. Every life I've lived, it's been a lie, concealing who I am, what I know, what I've experienced. much of the time, I have to sham to have emotions, because after all this time, I've almost forgotten what they feel like. I've almost forgotten what's like to actually feel something. But when I see you, I get to experience genuine longing. I have an real jam, something so simple and childish, but such a marvellous spirit. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a Aythya americana, but I've lived for so longsighted, I have to grasp at any scrap of meaning that can form me well-chosen, and take my existence a little to a lesser extent hollow."

"What about your family ? What about this life you've built ? You're just going to throw it all away ?"

With the last of his speciality, he removed her hand from his lesion so that it could shed blood freely. Her articulatio radiocarpea was limp. Had he convinced her ? Or had she simply realized that he had already bled too practically and was beyond saving ? He covered his exit eye with his mitt, blinded by the setting sun while Lindsey's fantasm obscured the proper side of his face. The light passed through her flush hair like stained glass, making his roue shine beautifully.

"I've seen so many worlds, so many different realities, but none of them could make me felicitous. I've never known what it felt like to belong or feel at home. Every world felt wrong to me. This is yet another reality that I am contrastive with. All I can do is hope that the next world is one I can be glad in."

The blood at endure stopped flowing, and Noah closed his oculus and released his final breath. Then, in his creative thinker, there was a familiar split second of ignitor and he felt himself being pulled to the next world.

A unit New Game

Without even opening his eyes, Noah knew that something had gone wrong. He was groggy, but he could definitely feel the cold, unvoiced ground underneath him. This didn't make gumption. At this instant, he'd normally be experiencing his own rebirth, coming out of the uterus as a newborn baby. His eubstance was also still the same size of it. He could palpate the free weight of his branch, as well as his clothes. His hand was still covering his eye, but just moving it took a tremendous amount of strength. He managed to wreak his palpebra open and stared up at the blue sky. It was late in the afternoon when he killed himself, but now it looked to be midmorning.

This had never happened before, no matter how many times he had died. Either he had somehow survived his suicide attempt and been moved while he was unconscious, or he had reincarnated without being reborn, breaking into another timeline rather than being properly incorporated. Was his reincarnation power changing ?

Noah sat up and looked around. He was lying on an unpaved road in the woods. His hoodie and the shirt underneath were unwavering with his dry out blood, but when he felt his neck opening, there was no combat injury. He had been healed, but had his rakehell also been replenished ? It would deliver taken at to the lowest degree thirty minutes for the bloodline on his clothes to dry this much, not plenty metre for his trunk to reestablish any meaningful amount, so this was likely a partial rebirth.

He got to his base and staggered, struggling to breathe. There was no strength in his branch and his thoughts were getting weaker by the second base. This fatigue duty, it was similar to blood deprivation, but also different. It was like there was some sort of extra musculus going mad, using up all of his potency. If it didn't dissipate soon, he'd end up passing out again. What in the world ? He looked down and realized that he wasn't casting a phantom. The fatigue duty must have been messing with his imaginativeness. Now that he thought about it, his left eye was itching a bit. He gave it a rub and it was like a transposition had been flipped. The tiredness vanished, as if that excess muscle had settled, and when he looked down, he saw his shadow.

‘ That wasn't blood line release. It must have been some kind of leftover trauma from my suicide or this glitchy rebirth. But where am I ?'

The route was unusual. The ground was packed, but the sediment seemed indigen to the place. In the modern font humankind, even the unpaved route were made with at least a stratum of grit and gravel to forbid it from being overgrown. He had his billfold and his headphone with him, but there was no service.

A phone reached his pinna, one that to the highest degree people rarely heard outside of picture show and TV. It was the sound of horse hooves. He looked over his shoulder, seeing two adult men on horseback approaching him from down the road. Behind them, an old man driving a horse-drawn wagon and leading… slaves. Wearing rags for wearing apparel, more than a twelve men and women of varying long time were being led by chemical chain.

This unknown caravan came to a halt in forepart of him. The men on horseback and the one driving the wagon stared at him in confusion."You're blocking the road. Get the pit out of our way before you end up like them,"the driver barked.

It had been a long meter since Noah saw a slave consignment. He normally only found them in post-apocalyptic timelines, when lodge had broken down. That, or timelines where the south won the Civil War and former such occurrences.

"Did you learn me ? Get out of the way !"

"Bos, look at all of the blood he's covered in,"one of the men on horseback said.

Noah looked at them. Their clothes, they were shoddy, wool clearly not woven by any kind of modern machinery and with coats and boots made of primitively-treated leather. Maybe he had reincarnated to a third-world country ? If this was a post-apocalyptic timeline, then whatever happened wasn't manmade. It happened before the Industrial Revolution, some kind of raw disaster that halted mankind's ontogenesis. A meteor ?

"I don't think he understands us. He's got some unearthly clothes. He might be the son of some stately,"the other horseman said.

Their weapons, they had sheathed brand but no signboard of any guns. So, this was an era before gunpowder was invented. Medieval ? It sure seemed like it.

"If he's a baronial, we can ransom him back, and if not, he looks respectable and strong enough to sell for a good monetary value. Chain him up with the others."

One of the men got off his Equus caballus and approached Noah with a distance of R-2. None of them were aware that he still had his tongue on him. As the man reached out to grab his custody, Noah slashed him across the throat. It wasn't the pinpoint jab like he had given himself earlier, this was a bally smile stretching from ear to ear. It had been a foresightful prison term since he had shoemaker's last killed someone, but it was something he was very well-practiced in.

A fount of blood sprayed forth and Noah threw his knife at the beach wagon driver, catching him in the chest. Before his first victim could drop to his knees, Noah ripped his sword from its cocktail dress and charged towards the other horseback rider, already drawing his own steel to revenge his coworker. The throat was out of reach, so Noah deflected the oncoming blast and went for a stab in the side of the gut and up into the right wing lung.

"powerhouse !"

There was a flash of ignitor in his peripheral visual sense, coming from the old man. Noah's instincts made him jerk back as a flare shooter through the air, missing his face by an inch. It struck a nearby tree and exploded, spraying fire in all way like a Molotov Cocktail. Noah looked back at the old man, one bridge player outstretched while the early covered the stab wounding in his breast from Noah's knife. He wasn't holding a flare gun or any other variety of device that would explain what had just happened.

"You can't be serious,"Noah muttered.

"bolide !"the old man shouted again.

Just like before, a sphere of distill fire formed in his hand, about the size of melon, and snapshot at Noah with tremendous speed. Noah dodged and rushed in to close the distance. The first fireball had forced him to let go of his sword and the second had forced him back before he could grab the endorse man's. He'd have to finish this with his bare men.

The horses were all throwing tantrums in reverence from the fighting, but the old man continued to found those secret flares. Noah circled around the horses, jumped, and tackled the man. There was no clumsy fumbling for ascendance, Noah simply began beating him with his clenched fist. His electric current body hadn't been trained for scrap, but he kept it healthy and strong and screw how much violence he had muster up with each punch. blood line started spraying with the tertiary punch, the old man ineffectual to oppose back and soon blacking out. Noah promptly retrieved his fallen tongue and finished him off.

Noah took his time to catch his hint while he wiped off the blade, folded it up, and stored it in his air pocket. He took those few moments to quell his annoying. He was used to being reborn as a baby after every expiry and considered those early years to be his vacation between each new spirit, sentence to properly dispose of old memories, catalogue useful knowledge, and mentally consider with any loose ends. No one depended on him and he usually had a parent or primary care provider to choose care of him, giving him metre to rest his mind. Now he had jump right back into a survival mentality and start from scratch line in a universe with all new rules.

Those fireballs the old man had launched, that was undoubtedly thaumaturgy, something that he thought only existed in fancy stories. He had never seen illusion before, not in any of the timelines he had already lived in. Until now, he had operated under the feeling of the Multiverse theory, which stated that there was a timeline for every possible subatomic event. Was it really possible for conjuring trick to exist in the multiverse ? What did this timeline have that all the previous unity lacked ?

The old man would have been a valuable beginning of information, but with his subordinates now dead, he would never willingly tell Noah anything. It wouldn't be worth the metre and trouble to question him in this position. Oh well, the answers would come in prison term, and Noah had learned how to be patient.

He turned his attention to the slaves, staring back at him with uncertainty. They weren't rejoicing at the death of their capturer, fair enough. After all, Noah hadn't killed them in order to free the striver or anything like that. As far as they knew, he was about to kill them all or just select them all and trade them himself. Each of them was a variable quantity, possibly benefiting or dooming him. It would be best to just let them go, but he decided to get some use out them first.

The slave traders had spoken with an accent mark that he had never heard before, but it was English, though they probably didn't telephone call it that. These slave must also verbalize it."All of you, I give you permission to speak. Do you all understand what I'm saying ?"They didn't say anything, but they nodded in the approbative."Are there any among you who are intimate with this area ?"None of them answered.

Possessing knowledge could either name them valuable or a liability. They didn't want to expose themselves unless they knew what awaited them. Noah sighed and returned to the old man, patting him down until he found an smoothing iron key, likely going to all of their apprehension.

He held up the key for all the hard worker to see."I need one of you to take me to a prophylactic area with a informant of bracing water and off the route where I won't be seen. Whoever volunteers will get their neckband removed and can twit in the wagon. Once I'm brought to a suitable localization, you will all will be set free."Six slaves raised their bound hands."You,"Noah said.

He had ***********ed a teenaged girlfriend that looked to be around his age. She was unsporting and underfed, but looked intelligent enough to be utile to him, and he could certainly overpower her if she tried to betray him. It was hard to gauge her appearance in this state. She had a pitiful flavor permanently etched into her grimace, like a basset hound hound. If he cleaned her up, she might be a real cutie, but right now she was so colly that he couldn't even tell her natural hair color.

"What is your name ?"

"Tin, sir."She didn't make eye contact. None of them did.

"Do what I say, Tin, and you'll earn your freedom. Go against me and I'll killing you."He unlocked her metallic element collar but left her wrists bounce."Now help me rent care of these bodies."

Noah searched the clay of the three hard worker monger, taking everything of value. Along with their swords, he got a couple obelisk, some cord, and three makeshift wallets. They were snake skins with stacks of bronze coins inside, tied to their belt. It was a clever concept.

"Tin, is there any danger of wild fauna in these woods ? Anything that I should interest about ?"

"giant will surely be drawn by the smell of parentage here. It would be best if we moved on now."

Noah huffed in annoying. Great, now he had fiend to worry about. This certainly was a world unlike any he had seen before. This ruined his programme of taking the corpses with him. He was indisputable he could witness a use or two for them, as well as take their clothes and anything else of time value on their person when there was Thomas More sentence. He also didn't want to depart any evidence of what he had done.

"Very well. polish off the clothes from the bodies and put them in the wagon."

She wordlessly obeyed, proceeding to ransack the clay without any shred of unease or soreness. Most girls her age would be too squeamish to do anything like this. As she worked, Noah searched the patrol wagon and found a canvas bag, smelling too sour to be used for intellectual nourishment. He soaked it with a wineskin, and while it wasn't apotheosis, it was undecomposed enough for him to use to put out the fires that the old man had started. He and Tin completed their task, leaving three naked bodies on the route and a few charred Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Noah retrieved one of the steel, just a cheap machete, but piercing enough to get the job done. He showed no discomfort in decapitating the consistency and storing the heads in the canvas bag.

"Drag these bodies into the woods, out of great deal from the road. That should satiate any beast that search this area."

There was no telling what the value of these break one's back traders were. If they were even slightly important to someone, their disappearance might lead to an investigation. Three nude, headless dead body that were devoured by monsters wouldn't leave any grounds. They couldn't even be identified. On the other manus, if they were criminals, then Noah might be able to use their severed heads as confirmation of their decease and compile a amplitude. He had been in a lot of bad billet and chaotic timelines, so this mindset was a skill he knew he could rely on and use as he needed.

Once the bodies were dealt with, Noah took his seat at the figurehead of the wagon and Tin joined him. The two extra horses were tethered to the sides of the Dipper and would watch over along. Noah cracked the reins and the sawhorse pulling the wagon began moving forward.

"There is a suitable place several miles down this route. I will show you where."

"Until we get there, I have motion that I need answered. Where am I ? What rural area is this ?"

"This is the Algata Province of the nation of Uther."

"How large is Uther ? How much of the continent does it make up ?"

Tin bowed her head."Please forgive my ignorance. I do not know the size of this country, nor what a ‘ Continent'is."The way she had reacted, was she expecting him to punish her ?

Her answer was to be expected, though. A slave educated in geography would be an unusual find. It would be in effect if he could get his handwriting on a the right way map, though in this era, that was probably a lot to ask for. In a mankind with legerdemain and monsters, there was no telling what the planet's topography looked like, even the arrangement of the continents. He had traveled previous Earths numerous prison term, but much of his experience was now obsolete.

"Relax, I'm not going to hit you for not knowing something. Just preserve answering my questions as best as you can. Uther, is it a rich people country ?"

"I… don't know for sure. Perhaps there is riches in the working capital, but this is the countryside."

"Does it function under a monarchy ? Or do they elect their leaders ?"She looked at him like he had spoken in gibberish."Does it have a Riley B King or queen ?"

"Oh, yes, sir. There is a royal family, but I don't know anything about them."

"What do they use for currency ?"

"Metal coins, like Ag and gold."

Noah retrieved one of the snakeskin coin purses and emptied it out onto the seat between them. It was about a dozen bronze coins and a few flatware. The other two could be expected to carry a similar amount.

"How much would you say this is ? Would you say it is a large amount of money or not much ?"

She looked at the coins with her glum expression."I don't know. I've never handled money before."She picked up one of the silver coins and showed it to Noah."This is what I'm worth."

‘ wellspring, that's a depressing thought.'“ What season is it currently ?"

"Mid spring."

That was dear for Noah. In social club to get a beachhead in this new worldly concern, he'd need sizable time with the chances of survival at its high. wintertime would hamper his mobility, possible action at law, and realize life a lot harder. Had he appeared in this world a few month earlier, he could easily freeze to last before reaching civilization.

"You spoke before of monsters. What should I be conservative of in this forest ?"

"The liberal danger is the wolves. They travel in packs and kill whatever they see. There are also bears, large spider that hide in burrow, and goblins."

hulk spider and goblins ? This mankind was getting More fantastic by the second.

"William Tell me about the goblins."

"They are small-scale, only about the size of it of children, and maybe as smart. They have weapons and often still-hunt travelers."

"The old man, what was that technique he used ? I've never seen anyone do that before."

"That was magic."

‘ Thought so.'“ William Tell me everything you know about magic."

"It is the blessing of the Supreme Being, letting people call down divine retribution upon their foe. It can make fire, control water, make you impregnable, and do all kind of matter. There many different sort of illusion users. I've heard of some of them ; mages, champion, warriors, shaman, but I don't know much about what they can do."

"What sort was the old man ?"

"A mage, I think."

"So can anyone use it ? Or is it passed down through the ancestry ?"

"I don't know."

That was a job. If it was an ability passed down from parent to child, then he was screwed. His glitchy reincarnation left him with the regular genes of his terminal parents. If magic wasn't something he could learn or acquire, lifetime would get exponentially harder. Then there was the mentioning of gods. He had spent several lifetime searching for signs of the existence of God, some presence of divinity that might explain his universe, but he always came up short. However, in a world where magic existed, perhaps gods might as well.

As they continued through the Ellen Price Wood, Noah thought about the slave walking behind the wagon. Letting them go might be a indebtedness. They knew he had killed three slave bargainer, they knew where he would set up camp. The slave monger mistook him for the son of a Lord, so if the slaves went into some townspeople and started blabbing about him and what he had done, people might fare after him. Perhaps it would be skillful to dispose of all of them ? No, the chances of him managing to shoot down them all would be low and that would be a lot of corpse to deal with, not to mention he didn't know if killing them would get him into difficulty.

‘ To think my laziness would cover for my withered conscience…'

They were passing by a hill with trees blocking a great deal of the perspective, but all of the sawhorse flicked their ears to it. Noah didn't miss that check and reached into the wagon. When searching earlier, he found a bow and a few pointer, none of which seemed very well made. He took aim up the Alfred Hawthorne, spotting a shadow moving between the hills. It had been a foresightful metre since he had death used a bow. It was one of his avocation about four or five lifetimes ago. This was nothing like the forward-looking obeisance he was used to handling, but when he let the arrow slip disembarrass, it shot between the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and found its mark. Noah didn't see what he hit, but there was a screech of pain that he did not recognize and the auditory sensation of multiple entities running off.

"What was that ?"Tin asked.

"I assume that was one of those hobgoblin you mentioned."This was getting dangerous."You stay here,"he told Tin. He brought the Wagon to a halt and went back with his knife and the key. He cut the striver'binds and unlocked their collars."You're all free to go, get out of here. But don't even think of trying to follow—"

They ran off before he could wind up his time. Good, that would pretend him less of a sitting duck, and they'd draw the aid of anything that might want a piece of him. He returned to the driver's seat and turned to Tin, holding up one of the coin purses.

"Get me to that safe spot and this is yours."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The woodland thinned a lit, the tree spreading out far enough for the wagon to go off the road and head towards the sound of running pee. They arrived at a clearing where a small waterfall thumped on exposed rock. It was isolated, just the place Noah needed. There was even a cave behind the waterfall where he could make bivouac. However, they were not the but inhabitant.

"Tin, what the hell is that ?"he asked, looking at the creature sliding across the primer. At first, he thought it was hulk slug, the creature about the size of it of a beer keg, but he then realized it was translucent. There were four of them.

"That is a slime. They like damp office. Their underside are like goliath mouths, devouring whatever they crawl over. Their bodies are covered with a slight pelt, and if you tear it, its interior pour out and change the shape of its body."

"Are they dangerous ?"

"Yes. Anything that their undersurface touch will melt, Saami with anything you stab them with. The prominent they are, the faster it happens, and the faster they can move."

"How do I stamp out them ?"

"You have to hit their brains."

The guck hadn't noticed them yet, so Noah took aim with the bow at the nearest one. It was hard telling the figurehead from the rear of these things, but he spotted something floating inside, suspended, an apple-sized lump of solid tissue. He released the dash, missing the fauna's brainpower by various inches. It rumbled in pain and its jellylike insides spilled out of the wounding like a runny nose. Upon contact with the air, the viscera began to congeal and develop a stratum of pelt. It formed an filename extension of itself, like a second base tail end, now searching for what had injured it.

‘ So, that's what she meant when she said it changed the conformation of its body.'

Already, the arrow was halfway dissolved. That thing was like a elephantine moving stomach. He would suffer preferred to take care of these behemoth from a distance, but he didn't have enough pointer to throw away. It would also get drear soon, and he didn't want to try and bet for another smear.

He turned to Tin and cut her binds, then handed her one of the coin pocketbook."You're free. Go wherever and do whatever you want. But don't even think of taking anything from the wagon."

He got up from the wagon and approached the falls with one of the slave monger'sword in his mitt. It was the tough of the two, useful at least for experimentation. He approached the slime, already back to full health after being shot with the arrow. It didn't appear to have very good vision, didn't even appear to get eyes. He picked up a stone from the creek and threw it, sending it bouncing a few feet away. It pounced on the sway with surprise speed, smothering it with its body and absorbing it. So, these thing could skip. If it could see, it was probably short-ranged, based on trend, or more likely it could smell quivering in the terra firma.

He took another careen and threw it at the slime, this sentence hitting it. The rock ripped through its thin skin and its guts spilled out. The blow stunned it just long enough for Noah to sprint over and rive through its brain. As quickly as he attacked, he darted back. He had learned through numerous occasions to always wait an enemy to get back up. Plus, he wanted to avoid getting sprayed with any guts.

Despite his vexation, it was a uncontaminating putting to death. The monster, originally a nauseating yellowness, turned grey-headed, and its uncovered insides began to smoke and dissolve. Unfortunately, smoke was also coming from his sword. This really was a nasty acid. Noah wiped the steel off on the pasture and then rinsed it in the river to clean it. It had undergone severe erosion. Hopefully it would last until he killed them all.

One affair made him well-chosen, though. When he killed the slime, numbers didn't appear in the air, displaying experience points earned. He started having concerns as soon as that first fireball was launched at him, and when Tin said it was a gook ; he thought he had been reincarnated into some form of RPG world. If at any point, she used the Good Book ‘ level ’, he would take permanently lost the power to keep a straight face and take anything seriously.

Anyway, back to killing.

He repeated his strategy with the other three slimes. A fist sized rock thrown with sufficient amphetamine and accuracy could pierce the monsters and stun them long enough to deliver a fatal strike. After the third muck, his sword broke in half, the end completely melting off. There was one goop left, but it would be tricksy. It was slithering around behind the waterfall, unaware of what had happened to the others. The quivering of the water would probably cloak Noah's movements, but he didn't want to deal the chance.

He crept behind the waterfall and threw another stone, striking the slime near the brain. Its body curled up like a slug sprinkled with common salt, and Noah rushed over. This fourth dimension, he thrust the bring out blade straight in. He managed to stab the mind, but the sword slipped right into its consistency. Noah pulled away before his inertia could send his helping hand plunging into the acidulent muck, but respective fall splashed him and he could palpate his skin dissolving. He thrust his hand into the waterfall and steadied his ventilation as the pain faded. That was too close for comfort. He'd have to descend up with another way to check those matter if he encountered them again.

The area had been secured, now to set up camp. He stepped out from behind the waterfall, and to his surprise, he saw Tin standing by the wagon, as if waiting for him.

"What are you still doing here ? I told you, you're free."

"I… don't know what that means. I don't make out how to be free."

"I gave you money. Take it to the closest town and buy yourself something to eat and some new clothes. Look for anyone who will hire you, hopefully offering way and board in telephone exchange. From there, go your new life."

"Is that an order ?"

"No, it's advice. You don't have to read fiat from me, I'm not your master. I hired you to be my guide, you got your money, and our contract is concluded. Now we part ways."She continued to suffer there, looking like a puppy in the rainwater."You can have one of the gymnastic horse. You'll be able to get to Ithiel Town faster and outrun pursuers."

"So you want me to prepare for your arrival into town ?"

This girl was starting to get on his nerves."You're not listening. You don't have to do anything for me. You're your own someone now."

"But I'm not. I'm yours."She was almost whimpering now. Time for some bully love.

Noah retrieved his bow and an pointer and took aim at her."leave now, or I'll putting to death you and use your clay for bait to catch my dinner."

There was a glimmer in her oculus."If I can be useful as a corpse, I'll do that. Please, use me as bait."

Noah sighed and lowered the bow. Were he a harsher man, that wouldn't have been a four flush. This girlfriend was needier than he would have liked, but her subservience made her more trustworthy than anyone he could look to find in this world. Maybe it would be good to have an spear carrier couplet of hands to assist him, at least until he got out of this timber. Besides, it wasn't like this was the foremost time he had owned a hard worker. There were many dark timelines when he followed the rule of ‘ when in Italian capital, do as the Romans.'

"Fine, I'll be your professional. What skills do you make ?"

"I can calculate to one hundred, I can write some, and I can tend to livestock and work subject area, as well as perform household task. I am also very go through in pleasing men, so I can service you whenever you desire."She bowed her head as she spoke, not seeing Noah raise his brow at her last sentence.

Depressing as her countersign were, he wasn't one to turn down an offer for sex from someone so will. On the other mitt, nothing about her current appearance stoked his libido. He was standing twenty feet away and could sense her like it was twenty column inch. Sitting next to her in the coaster wagon had been very unpleasant. Just letting her bathe in the river wouldn't get the job done.

"Let's get camp set up and then we'll talk of the town. You said you can incline to livestock, correct ? Then I'll leave the sawhorse to you. Get them watered and fed and then remove these bushed slimes. I imagine they've lost their acidity in death."

Tin obediently went to work out while Noah gathered all of the range and collars that had been used to lead the slaves. There was also passel of rope in casing any of their binds broke during tape drive. Noah snapped the dog collar off the Chain and used them as hammers to break the rickety links and split the chains into multiple short section. He split the rope into thinner fibril and set up a border around the camping area, then hung the collars and chains on it like Christmas ornaments. Any intruders that tried to introduce would hit the tripwire and the jingling chemical chain and collar would give them away. And in suit they were set off by the wind, the horses would be the second line of spotting. If they started acting up, then a terror was nearby.

"I'm going to go collect some firewood. If any monstrosity approach, just hollering for me and yeet some bullshit at them. The smell will drive them off."He then stopped and chuckled to himself. That's right, he no longer needed to use innovative slang.

Tin seemed to gist of what he was saying."Yes, Master,"she said with a bow.

Noah set out into the wood with his lone sword and a satchel the old man had been carrying. He didn't want to cast far from camp, but he had to tick off out the area and make sure there weren't any imminent risk. One thing he was especially cautious of were the gargantuan spiders that Tin had mentioned. She said they hid in tunnel, so he kept a last eye on his footing, avoiding any suspicious areas that could be a possible ambush. Webbing on the ground was a talebearer mark, validation that he wasn't the solely one using tripwires to detect enemies.

The first affair he did was gather yen boughs from around the site, accumulating a boastfully pot that they would use for bedding and making frequent trips back to the encampment. Then he gathered all of the firewood he could carry, but focused only on specific tree. This world was very unlike to the one he was used to, but most of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree appeared to be the same. He also filled his pockets and the satchel with medicative plant and even some pabulum mushrooms. In every life, her learned and relearned natural selection skill to keep the information branded into his mind, so even if had forgotten their name, he still recognized herbaceous plant that could be useful. As he moved, he had a warm opinion that he was being watched, and he knew what was watching him, especially when he found one of their dead.

It was one of the wolves Tin had mentioned, with child than any he had ever seen. His nose led him to it, the wolf reeking of last and rot. The essence was well beyond feeding and its fur and clappers weren't worth the attempt to harvest, especially with all the maggots and tent-fly, but there was something that he could definitely make use of.

The sun was starting to set by the time he was done, but there was still great deal he wanted to do. Luckily, dinner party was already taken upkeep of. The slave traders had packed enough food for thought for themselves and their freight. It was hard bread and desiccated center, something that Noah's spoiled tasting buds would not appreciate, but he'd seen enough heavy clock time to get laid how to be grateful.

Before doing anything else, he removed his hoodie and t-shirt. He had kept them on as an add layer of protection in case anything attacked him, but the blood had hardened into a difficult cheekiness and he was gladiolus to be able to finally deal them off. Had he known he would transmigrate like this, he would have gone home and just hung himself, preferably with his pockets stuffed with useful shaft. He laid out his shirt and hoodie under the waterfall, directing the spray right onto the blood grunge. He pinned them down with Isidor Feinstein Stone so that they wouldn't be washed away.

He noticed Tin watching him like a curious feline. She had never seen muscleman like his before. To hold out in the countryside, men required great durability to farm and conflict and brawn mass naturally accumulated. Noah's appeared more defined, like he had focused on improving the quality of his muscleman instead of just chasing after the vague definition of strength.

"Tin, take off your clothes."

"I shall do my best to meet you, Master."

"Not like that. Put that dress of yours here under the waterfall. Do the same with all the clothes you removed from those striver traders. It may be low-quality, but whether we use them or sell them, it would be best if we can at to the lowest degree remove the stink."

Tin removed her dress, though it was more like a raggedy white potato sack with holes cut for her head word and weapon and a strip of fabric for a belt. She was malnourished and scraggy, but he just had to polish her up a little.

With the last of the light, he searched the river for pit. He'd test their rigour, striking them against the back of his sword. Once he started getting twinkle, he returned to the riverside and gathered up some tinder. He ground some dry birch barque into a o.k. dust and struck the rock candy against his sword over it. It took several attempts, but some sparks landed in the dust and it went up like gasoline. From there, he built up a fire on the riverbank with all of the birch wood he had gathered. By the sparkle of the flaming, he started digging a fix using his sword and a alloy frypan he found in the wagon.

"superior, please appropriate me to do that instead,"Tin said.

"No, what I need you to do is start up collecting Henry Clay from the river. If you dig under the silt, you'll find it. arrive at a big down of it here succeeding to me."

The two of them continued to solve, with Noah expanding the pit and Tin gathering the remains. Once he was done, he smoothed out the sides of the pit and then began slathering on the clay that Tin had gathered. He used the leftover clay to make some cups and bowls and put them in the fire to broil. He built a irregular fervour, this metre putting it in the pit. It was with a softer wood. He didn't even need to see Tin's aspect to sense the curiosity within her.

"I'm making a wash watershed. No criminal offense, but you stink. But for now, let's eat."

With two firing burning, Noah and Tin dined on low-quality rations. There wasn't any conversation between them. Once he finished eating, Noah reached into his satchel and took out what looked like a giant star poop clod. In reality, it was a glob of animal fat. He had gathered it from the carcass of the dead wildcat, rolled it into a glob, and packed it with a shell of soil to keep it from making a mess hall when he carried it. It cleaned it off and put it in the metal frying pan, then set it over the fire.

"Now, while that melt, let me see your teeth."It was a request that Tin wasn't used to sense of hearing, but she obeyed, flashing her teeth like a snarling animal."Huh, not too bad."

Despite her pitiable lifestyle, her teeth were in good status. She grew up in a world without processed nutrient, bread, or chemicals, so despite never brushing, there was no rot that he could see. Her breath was pretty bad, but that was because she lacked the construct of flossing.

Noah walked over to one of the horses hitched to a tree, nibbling on the heap of sess that Tin had gathered for it. He cut a ignition lock of its long hair, washed it in the river, and returned to the campfire, where he braided several strand into a secure thread. He made a second and turned to Tin.

"return this thread and do as I do."He used the thread to floss his dentition, something which Tin had never seen before. The thread was duncical and coarse and broke a few times, but it got the job done, and he showed her the spell of meat from their dinner that he had gotten out.

She mirrored the activeness to the best of her abilities, and while she did that, he looked at the skillet, now with a puddle of liquid fat. He gathered some white ash from the fire and blend it in, as well as some water.

"Now I'm going to point you how to make soap."Last, he added a handful of ground-up pine tree needles and started stirring the mixture together.

"max ?"

"You've never heard of it ?"

"I heard that the nobles use it. It makes them smell nice."

"It's been a long sentence since I did this. If I had time and right tools, I could make something of a much gamy quality, but this should get the job done."He set the skillet back on the fire so that the piddle could be boiled away."Have you gotten every tooth ?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then take aim a mouthful of this."From next to the flame, there was also a cup made, of all things, tin. It was full of water brought to a simmer, with ground charcoal gray and pine needle mixed in. He let it cool down and then handed it to her."You said you could count, right ? Well swirl this around your mouthpiece and set off counting. Once you reach one hundred, swallow it."

She took a taste and handed it back to him so he could finish it off. With that taken care of, Noah took the frying pan off the attack and examined his soap. It certainly would never betray in a market computer memory, but it would get the job done tonight. Next, he turned his care to the lavation washstand and the withered ardour. The clay packed onto the sides of the pit had hardened and could now retain water.

Noah carved the soap off the skillet and handed it to Tin."Here, use this to shovel as much charcoal and ash out of the catchment basin as you can, then make clean it in the river and use it to satiate the basin with water."

As Tin went to make, Noah started on his own project. Like her, he went to river, but started collecting rock. He'd bring them back and put them in the campfire to heat up. By the prison term Tin had finished with her task, the rocks were all sufficiently hot, and using stick to handle them, he moved them into the basin until it had reached the thoroughgoing bath temperature. It was still ash-grey from the fire, but that wasn't a job.

The understanding why he had used different fires for the basin and soap was because of one of the resulting chemicals, lye. Despite being a caustic substance, it was required for making scoop. It was collected from the ashes of hardwood, like birch. He had used a sonant wood in the firing to harden the sides of the drainage area so any leftover ashes wouldn't turn the water too alkaline.

"All right, now to test it."

Noah stripped down to match Tin and grabbed a firearm of cloth from the Dipper to use as a flannel. He got it wet in the basin, rubbed some of the soap on it, and, satisfied with how it lathered, started wiping off the sweat that had accumulated since his arrival to this world.

Tin held a piece of soap in her mitt, staring at it with wide eyes."It smells… seraphic !"

She mimicked Noah, using a stopgap washcloth and the soap to call off herself raw. She was frantic, leaving no spot untouched. The two of them cleansed their skin, lathering themselves up and then rinsing in the river to keep the bath water clean. With the dirt removed, much was revealed to Noah. Neither of them said anything about the countless mark, bruise, and stigma that covered Tin's torso. Finally, he had her lie on her back and lowered her head into the washbasin, then scrubbed her hair with the Georgia home boy until the bathwater turned as black as ink. She sat up and skirt the water out of her pilus as he stood up and stretched.

"Huh, so you're a blonde. I honestly couldn't tell your natural color. You were so lousy that I wasn't sure if the drapes matched the carpet."She didn't say anything back, just crouched by the lavatory, holding herself. Wait, she was trembling."Tin ?"

She looked up at him, and though her face was wet from the bath, he could clearly see her binge."I… I've never smelled this clean before !"

He rubbed the top of her top dog."I'm glad."

She reached up and grasped his hand, desperation in her eyes."overlord, can I please service you now ?"

A small-scale laugh escaped Noah."My, my, what a greedy footling slave you are."

He leaned down, lifted her chin, and left a indulgent kiss upon her lips. She shivered from that touch, gentler than any other in her lifetime. She took the go-ahead, kissing him in return while her clapper slipped into his mouth. As they swapped saliva, she reached out and began caressing his humanness, erect and pounding. She had been eyeing it since the moment he stripped down, her mind buzzing with all of the path she would please him.

When Noah finally pulled his brim from hers, she knew what he wanted and was aegir to provide it. She leaned in, his tool disappearing into her mouth, only to re-emerge with a glistening layer of spit. Tin wasn't shy in the least, she put all of her skills to work. She deepthroated him to score herself gag and salivate, then would use her hands to work on the shaft while she slurped on his head like a lollipop. Despite her joy at being so uninfected just a minute ago, she was certainly making a pile, her look covered in spit with big foamy drops dribbling onto her breasts.

Noah rested his manus on her straits and groaned."I'm glad I decided to stay fresh you."

She released his cock, gasping for air with her eyes full of joy."Am I doing goodness ?"

"You're magnificent, Tin."

She went back at it, this time with a different target in mind. While she jacked him off, she sucked vehemently on his jewels, rolling them around in her sass and balancing them on her spit. She switched between her techniques with consummate skill, giving Noah no meter to brace himself. He didn't even need tell her when he was going to cum, she could differentiate just by his ventilation and the way his muscles twitched. She swallowed his manhood like a rapacious brute, her face pressed to his abdomen as he swirled around inside her throat.

Several thickheaded jet-propelled plane were pumped directly into her stomach, a salty dessert after her meal. Tin fell back, once again gasping for air."Master,"she panted,"please don't cargo area back. Use my dead body however you wish."

"You've done well in pleasing me, but has anyone ever took the time to pass you pleasure ?"

He sat down cross-legged and pulled her across his lap like he was going to spank her. He held her by the throat, just a easy grip to keep her still, while he free hand slipped between her leg and reached her honeypot.

"You're so wet. To intend you took so practically joy in your work."

Born and raised a slave, she had been abused and violated in all ways imaginable. She thought she had grown numb to it, but the feeling of Noah's finger touching her well-nigh buck private, sensitive area, they made her shiver and pant. There was strength in his fingers, but his movements weren't rough or clumsy. Rather, she sensed that his experience surpassed her own.

His fingers penetrated her, making her moan in a way she thought she never again could. His tone-beginning was relentless, probing every sensitive spot like an assassinator striking her pressure points. She was a slender girl, body fat being a luxury for a slave, but her anatomy rippled from the vibrations drumming from her ass. She could feel the system of weights of her boob with every front, and the sounds he was making, the auditory sensation he was forcing her body to make, the squelching of soft, wet build, it was like she was experiencing this all for the first time.

The joy was beyond Logos, she wanted it to go on forever, but her body wouldn't obey her commands. Her muscles spasmed without pause like she was being tickled. She inadvertently tried to pull away, her body wanting to protect itself from these champion it couldn't contain, but Noah's grip on her pharynx remained business firm. This status, what he was doing to her, it was so strange. She felt almost like an animate being, like stock, and Noah was the farmer, preparing her for breeding with some strange husbandry technique. Ironically, that wasn't far from the truth.

She cried out, climaxes rushing through her like a instant flood lamp, but Noah didn't stop, even as she became limp. He continued mercilessly finger-blasting her, while his other hired man released her throat and he forced his finger into her sassing. She sucked on them like they had a dear glaze. They were her lifeline, all that was keeping her conscious. The trend of her tongue and back talk, the palpitation of her pharynx as she slurped up the flavor of his fingertips ; if she didn't work with all her might, the almost vicious assault of orgasms would rob her of all cerebration and crush her mind.

Only when her moan finally stopped did Noah let her experience peace. He laid her on her back and leaned over her. The lewd, exhausted flavor on her face, the way she panted with red nerve and swimming oculus, it was an face he always loved to see.

"You said I could do whatever I wanted with your body, right ? Are you going to tell me that you can't continue up with your original ? That you lied and you can't carry out my desires ?"

She reached out to him, her skinny arms coiling around his neck to draw in him in."original, take me,"she begged.

By the light of the campfire, he penetrated her, just as numerous men had done before, but none of them made Tin feel like this. His backtalk joined hers, a passionate but ennoble kiss, while in comparison, his thrusts, so fast and emphatic, made her cry out to the genius overhead.

.

.

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civilization

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.

The rising sun shining in his eyes awoke Noah from his slumber. It was not a trench eternal rest, due to his current consideration, but he at to the lowest degree felt rested. It was his first dawning in this new world. He and Tin were lying on a pile of true pine boughs, keeping them off the ground and insulated, and wrapped in the canvas black Maria cover version, which they were using as both a tarp and a cover. The freed slave was snuggled up tightly against him, both for warmth, and out of affection. The term"freed slave"fit her ironically, as Noah had given her freedom, but she chose to stay his slave anyway.

As he started moving around, she slowly stirred."Master ?"she murmured.

"Time to get up, we have work to do."

It was a chilly morning, so the get-go thing Noah did was build up a fervidness while Tin collected their clothes from the waterfall. They had been set under the spray to be washed, and after a night under the buffeting water, they were houseclean as could be reasonably expected. They were hung up to dry around the flak, while Noah and Tin had breakfast. Last Nox, Noah had made some cups and bowls using the clay that Tin gathered and left them in the flame to broil overnight. Now, he was using them to roil pee and throw pine needle tea.

"What do you want to do, Master ? I can moderate you to town if you like."

"How long would it take up to get there ?"

"Another two or three days."

Noah weighed his option. This wasn't an optimal place."No, we'll stay here for another day. We have a defendable side here, but if we return to the road, we'll be like sitting duck. While I have faith in my combat abilities, I can't defend myself, you, and the horses. Let's try to improve our chances before we set out."

"What should we do ?"

"Yesterday, while I was looking for rock 'n' roll in the dark, I think I might have seen some slimes moving about. They're usually small, right ? Not big like the ones I killed yesterday ?"

Tin nodded."They're usually the size of rats."

"perfect. First, what we're going to do is make a lot of lye."

"What's lye ?"

"It's the stuff and nonsense in ash that I used to take a shit that max last Night. It's a very nasty chemical. I'm going to start gathering Wood. I want you to bail out the bathwater from the basin and refill it. rainwater water would be salutary, but river water will have to do. Then accept the stones and put them back in the fire. You remember what to do if something attack ?"

"Throw horse dung and holler for you ?"

"Right."

Noah departed, heading back into the afforest. Just like the day before, he was gathering hardwood from birch, oak, and maple Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. He moved cautiously, hearing movement all around him. He also returned to certain areas he had visited before, with prey on his mind. He came across a position he had just yesterday done his Best to avoid. There was spider silk on the ground, and nearby, an obvious trapdoor. Noah put a magnanimous joint on his foot and readied his bow, taking aim. He kicked the control stick over by the trapdoor, and instantly a spider explosion out to conquer what it thought was its meal. The affair was huge, almost five foot in diameter.

Noah released his arrow, striking one of its eyes and leaving it screeching in pain. Before it could duck back into its hole, he shot another pointer, this one drilling through its skull and ending its life-time. While it was still refreshing, Noah rushed over, pulled out the second arrow, and stuff his finger into the hole. He stirred his finger's breadth around in the spider's encephalon, causing its legs, now curled up into a clenched fist, to start spasming. While not comrade with spider anatomy specifically, he was tickling what he hoped to be the cerebellum.

"cum on, where are you… Ah !"He found the magic place, as the whole body convulsed and the abdomen started expelling silk at a unrestrained rate, like he was squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Het got to his understructure and dragged the spider with him, laying out the silk so that it wouldn't stick to itself. He had come up with this approximation on a notion and was overjoyed to see it turn. When flow of silk stopped, he removed his finger's breadth."That's right, noblewoman, I am just that good."

He then began rubbing dirt into the silk like he had with the animal fat he had collected the previous day, something to preserve it from sticking to anything. It was good thick line, and potent as well. Next, he started gathering up the previous, diluent webbing it had used for its den. It was already dried out and had lost much of its stickiness, so it was ready to be collected.

He returned to the encampment, carrying the spider with him as well. He was certain he could think up something to do with his corpse, maybe use it like a scarer to ward off hob or something. When he arrived, Tin had completed her job and stared in astonishment at the dead spider.

Noah walked over to the paddy wagon and pulled out a low wooden barrel. It had originally been filled with salt, which the slave trader used to preserve their solid food, but now there wasn't much left. What remained, Noah poured into some of his clay shock. He then hung the spider to drain its blood into the gun barrel. There wasn't much, and it had begun to congeal immediately after death, but that just made it sticky like syrup. He swirled it around the interior of the drum, covering every inch, and then filled it up halfway with some of the habituate ashes from the birch rod ardor yesterday. He didn't touch the ash with his helping hand, and upon closing the barrel, he shook it up. Once completed, the interior of the barrelful was coated with compact layer of ash.

Putting it aside, Noah began moving hot Lucy Stone from the ardor and putting them into the basin, bringing the water to a boil. Then, he started shoveling birch ash tree until it filled up half the basin. For the adjacent one-half hr, Noah would trade out stones, making for sure the piss was always boiling. Soon a flick began to settle on top of the water. It was smooth lye, rising from the ash. Noah harvested it from the surface, careful not to meet it, and put it in the frying pan on the fire to boil away the moisture.

"Ok, I'm going to go back and get more firewood. I want you to keep on swapping out the Oliver Stone so that the H2O stays boiling hot, and as the lye gathers on the surface, skim it and put it in the frypan. Whatever you do, do not let it adjoin you. The waterfall and the river are keeping the air moving in one direction. You want to stay upwind so that you don't breathe in any of the fumes. You got that ?"

"Yes, Master."

And that was how they spent the full morning and much of the good afternoon. They kept burning birch Wood, and once the catchment area stopped producing lye, they would swap in sweet ashes and resume harvesting. Between collecting firewood and tending to the fervidness, Noah created more pottery with the river Clay and baked it in the fire. The skillet was routinely filled with the lye miscellanea, and once the weewee evaporated away, Noah would scratch the lye into one of his clay jolt. It was the middle of the afternoon when he declared that they had collected enough.

"Now to test it."With his tongue, he collected a minor bump and put it on his arm. He could feel it burning his skin like an aching sunburn. Had he taken his meter with this, it would have been burning a volcanic crater into his skin, but in this case, quantity was meliorate than quality.

"Yeah, this will work well. You did upright,"he said, rubbing the top of Tin's head.

"Thank you, professional,"she replied with what he assumed to be a rarified smile.

"Let's eat some tiffin and then be active on to the next step."

They moved away from the fervency, sick of its heat, and ate by the falls. While chewing on tough jerky, Noah studied the horses. They weren't tied to any trees, at least not now, and were wandering around the campsite, nibbling on whatever they liked. The trip wire was doing a good job of keeping them close, but they would probably run out of food for thought by tomorrow. They'd have to move on by then.

"master key, if my may ask, how do you be intimate how to do these matter ? I've never seen anyone fight like you do, at least not someone your age, and you have the acquisition of an alchemist. What form of training have you done ?"

"An alchemist ? I form of like the sound of that. Let's just say that I have a lot of life experience. I've lived through good times and bad. Anyway, we should move on to the next stage. I'm going to go along the river and catch minuscule slimes. I want you to find the corps of the big slime I killed yesterday and try to collect their skin."

Tin was obedient, not voicing any of her doubts and instead setting off to do as her master ordered. Noah retrieved the barrelful he had tinkered with earlier and filled it with body of water, then began walking through the river, searching the camber. It was only up to his knees, and there were mickle of large Boulder for slimes to hide by. On his handwriting, he wore some rough leather gloves that one of the slave monger had been wearing. The goop he found were usually about the size of his fist, and with great aid, he'd clean them up and put them in the barrel.

The body of water in the barrel, thanks to the ash, had a raised pH spirit level. The ooze were acid, but their pH point wasn't very low. The alkalinity of the water system and the ash tree kept them from melting through the sides of the cask. He also tossed in some solid food to continue them from starving. Hopefully they'd still be able to digest it. If they were all still awake by the side by side forenoon, his plan was a success.

When he returned to the camp, Tin had gathered up the pelt of the dead slime from the day before.

"I'm sorry, Master, but the skins are too fragile for any form of use."Noah put down the drum and examined the shake off peel. It was rippled and soft, a far cry from any form of leather, more like a snake's shed skin.

"No, they're perfect, just what I wanted."He handed her one of the daggers the slave traders had carried."Here, start carving them up into square toes, about as long as your hand. You know how big, powerful ?"

She nodded and went to work. While she did that, Noah collected more long hair from the horses. He took the foursquare that Tin cut up and used them to enclose up minor agglomerate of lye, then tied them shut with the Equus caballus fuzz. The muck skin, despite its fragility, still maintained many of its characteristic. gunk were like aliveness Elvis, so they had to be able to command their pH level. Their skin not only keep on their guts in, it kept canonic substance out, substances like lye, making it perfect for holding it.

With their combined efforts, they were able-bodied to create just over xxx lye packs, plus another twenty dollar bill filled with alkaline ashes.

"Ok, let's screen one of these out."Noah took one of the excess squares, filled it with ashes, tied it off, and threw it at a nearby boulder. The slime skin held together while being handled and thrown, but upon striking a hard control surface, it burst open and sprayed its contents in all directions."Perfect !"

"So we're going to thrust these things ?"Tin asked.

"That's right. This lye isn't very strong, so it doesn't do much to shin, but if it gets into your eyes or you breathe it in, you'll go down. All we have to do is hit our enemies in the grimace and they won't stand a chance. Now, I know we're both tired, but we still have a few hours of daylight left. Let's work on a couple former ways to amend our site, and tomorrow, we'll foreland for the penny-pinching town."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

They departed the following morning at break of day, wanting to get an early get-go. They were traveling at a faster tread than before, mainly because there were no longer hard worker in tow. The two sawhorse the traders had ridden were no longer walking alongside the wagon, but were now helping to commit it. With the spider silk Noah had collected and woods from the wood, he managed to create excess harnesses so that they were leading. The horses moved in a steady trot, cypher compared to the cars from Noah's previous spirit, but fast enough to possibly outrun an untrained man.

For Noah, this was a scene he was familiar in. He had fought in numerous war and seen countless post-apocalyptic worlds, living through one anarchic hellscape after another. He was familiar with the penury to rise center in the book binding of his head, to wait enemies at all multiplication.

"Master !"Tin exclaimed.

"Yeah, I see them."

Swarming from the side of meat were a pack of wolves, each one almost as large as the buck pulling the wagon, but Noah had planned for this. He handed the reins to Tin who whipped the horses into a full gallop. He took out his bow and began launching arrows. about of these arrows, he had made himself. He had to rush them, so they weren't his salutary oeuvre, but they got the job done for short-range encounters.

The Friedrich August Wolf dodged the arrow as they charged, but it managed to spook them into moving around back to plan of attack from the rear. Noah climbed into the wagon and stared them down through the open back. Changing their onslaught angle had momentarily slowed them down, but they'd catch up in seconds and flank them. Noah tossed a bundle of branches and greens out of the back of the station waggon, but they were more than they appeared. It was actually a net with thorny George Herbert Walker Bush and bristles woven in. The net was dragged behind the wagon, and the savage that stepped on it cried out as their paws were spiked with sharp seed cod. Those who were injured gave up the chase, while the residuum of the pack learned and split up to avert the net.

Before they could leave his view, Noah opened up the cask of slimes and began throwing them. Even if the lowly wildcat didn't make a place hit, they exploded like water system balloons. The window pane splashed on the wolves, who instinctively knew that muck were to be avoided. The battalion realized that this fair game wasn't worth all of the difficulty and gave up. One threat had been neutralized, giving them time to breathe, but it didn't end there.

Bears and former forest beasts would pop up every now and then and ask to be dispatched by arrows. The tiny bolt couldn't do much damage, but the pain would realise the beasts reevaluate whether or not to go forward attacking. Any monsters he managed to kill, he would harvest for parts. With Tin controlling the sawbuck, he would work on in the Wagon, removing skin, teeth, variety meat, and anything that looked valuable or utilitarian. Every now and then, they'd even stop so that he could garner medicative plants and mushroom-shaped cloud. But the more he fought, the Thomas More Noah realized how unprepared his organic structure was for all this. He was healthy and strong, and had lifespan of fight experience, but his hands hadn't built up a layer of calluses that a indigen of these lands would have. Every time he gripped his sword, he could feel blisters forming on his palm.

Then, in the good afternoon, the next challenge revealed itself. In the distance, a shoetree lay across the route. A rider on horseback might be able-bodied to stand out it, but never a wagon like this. Whether or not it had fallen naturally, Noah knew who would use this opportunity.

"Tin, kibosh the wagon."They came to arrest a one C thou from the tree."Turn the horses around. If I die, ride back the way we came. arrest at the falls until mortal uses this route and then travel with them."

"master, are you for sure about this ?"she asked with her basset hound dog eyes.

"I've handled worse."

He got off the beach waggon with his steel in hand, and on his arm, a shield made from the carapace of the wanderer he had killed. He was wearing one of the slave traders'coats, the closest he could get to leather armour, and he also had his satchel, filled with lye packets. Rather than approach the tree, he dove into the woods. If there were any goblins in hiding, he'd flank them. As he approached the roadblock, he spotted them, hiding behind the trees. They were the size of children, but with bulge tummy and cat valium skin. Their capitulum and noses were pointed, their faces boilersuit barely even humanoid. They were armed with brand and fore, potential stolen from slain traveler.

He closed in on the first one, his pace giving him away and causing it to screech in warning signal. Noah dispatched it with a swing of his brand, overpowering its effort to duck and lopping off the top of its skull. The others, alarmed by the destruction of their brother, turned their care to Noah and attacked. They launched their pointer, albeit with shoddy aim, but it forced Noah to evade for cover. He pulled out one of his lye packs, focused on a goblin with a bow, and threw it like a baseball. The minor pack nailed it between the eyes and exploded. The goblin took an instinctive breathing place in, and then immediately screamed in torture. Not only were its venous sinus and lungs filled with lye, but it had gotten into his eyes, leaving it blinded.

The way it shrieked was cipher less than unnerving. It was like a baby cry, it racked the mind and made even Noah squeamish. The hobgoblin, hearing those screams, became fright. This was a cruel Earth, and living in the woods, every day was a bally scrap for survival. But none of them had suffered or seen someone suffer a flesh injury and make that form of noise.

Noah gave them no time to pucker their courage. He dealt with the early goblin Sagittarius the Archer the same way, leaving them howling in agony. With their long-range attacks neutralized, he closed in. The remaining hobgoblin tried to put up a combat, but he slaughtered them with gruesome hacks and stabs. His spider shell fractured whenever he blocked a vacillation, but it held together long enough to toss off them all. These goblins probably ambushed their prey, catching them by surprise to make up for their weak body, but once they lost that vantage, they were wanton to cast out of.

He was closing in on the finis one, slightly orotund than the others and armed with a club. It growled and made a wide swing. Noah didn't try to block and stepped back out of the monster's scope, then swung down his sword and cleaved the goblin's head open. To his discomfort, blood splattered across his font and got into his eye. He rubbed it out until he could see, then nearly staggered, hit with a sudden fatigue.

"What the screw ? That fight must let taken more out of me than I thought."He pushed through the sudden weight and returned to the road. It was exhausting body of work, but he moved the tree out of the way."Tin, come on through !"

The Dipper approached and stopped where the Tree had lain, but there was a flavor of confusion on Tin's face."Master, where are you ?"

"What are you talking about ? I'm proper here."

Confusion turned to dread, Tin beginning to panic."victor, I can't see you anywhere !"

Noah couldn't understand. He was standing right in front of the horses. He walked over and grabbed her arm."Tin, I'm standing redress beside you."

Touching her just made her yelp in surprise."I still can't see you ! What's going on ?"

That's what he would like to know. Was something affecting her visual modality ? Maybe she had been hit with some kind of goblin attack, or it was an illness, either a disease or some sort of poison from something in the forest.

"Tin, look around. How is your vision ?"

"It's fine, I can see everything clearly ! But I can't see you !"Was he the job ? He could see himself just mulct. curse it, his eye was still itching from the blood. He rubbed it with his palm and Tin gave another yelp of surprise."victor, you're back !"

"I was here all this ti—"He stopped, noticing something. His fatigue was gone. It had disappeared just as suddenly as it showed up. The finish time he felt it was when he first woke up in this humans. His eye… It had been itching as well. He rubbed left eye again, and Tin once again freaked out."Tin, can you see me ?"

"No, it's like you vanished into reduce air !"

That tiredness, he was feeling it again. He stepped back and began kicking around leave and dirt."Can you see this ?"

"See what ?"

Well, that answered that question. For some reason, the weariness seemed to deepen when he did that. He rubbed his eye again, and from the look on Tin's face, she appeared to be able to see him again."What happened to the road ?"she asked."It just suddenly changed when you reappeared."

Noah put his hired hand over his eye again, not rubbing it, but just covering it. He repeated the experiment, making a mess of the road."Can you see any conflict in the route ?"

"No."He covered his eye once more, and she nodded her oral sex."Yes, now I see."

"So when I disappear, you can't see what I do to the road, but when I reappear it suddenly changes, right ?"

"Yeah, form of like flipping a Thomas Nelson Page. Master… I think you're using wizardly !"

"illusion ? No, that doesn't make mother wit. My parents were normal, I haven't even studied any kind of magic."

"That's the only thing it can be. But I've never heard of magic that could cook people disappear like that."

"I'm not disappearing, I think I'm becoming inconspicuous. It's… an conjuring trick. I'm creating an magic that makes me invisible… and when I alter something around me, it expands the fantasy to hide the modification I've made until I release it."He covered his eye and felt the fatigue, then, covered it once more and it stopped."Covering my eye is the trigger that activates it."

He then remembered his last moments with Lindsey. He had covered his allow for eye because the sun was blinding him, and he woke up in this world in that same post. His glitchy reincarnation, it hadn't just preserved his body at this age, it gave him some form of magic trick. Maybe it was the magic itself that caused the computer error, the magic trick present in this new man.

"Tin, do they have any kind of password for the energy used for magic ? I feel like something is draining out of me when I use it."

"They call it mana."

‘ You have got to be kidding me.'“ Let's see what happens when I cover my other eye."

The present moment he attempted it, he fell to his articulatio genus, almost blacking out."Master !"Tin exclaimed. She climbed down and helped him to his feet.

"So, you can see me. That means I didn't turn invisible. But something clearly happened, or at least, tried to come about. I have a dissimilar patch in each eye, but not enough mana to use the second one. It must be like a muscle. I have to train it to increase my stamen.

Anyway, let's get out of here before the aroma of those goblins attracts wolves."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The next day, while Tin took town the tripwires set around their make-do camp, Noah was busy experimenting with his deception. He had come across a giant spider, draining the roue from a entrance hare. As he approached, Noah covered his eye and cast his conjuring trick. His ft on the underwood, it should ingest given him away, but the spider didn't seem to notice. He decided to make more than haphazardness, picking up a joint and snapping it, but still, the spider didn't seem to notice.

"Over here."

Finally, the spider spun around, its black centre searching for the source of the haphazardness. It seemed that his illusion also concealed sounds, but not his voice. Maybe because he intended for his vocalism to be heard ? He had been casting his spell on and off since he discovered it, to try and get a unspoiled tactile property of his mana. He couldn't properly stress himself since he needed to save his strength for when he needed it, but he was starting to sense the flow.

He drew his brand, a new one. After the fight with the goblins, he had taken their artillery, and despite being slightly rust-brown due to inadequate care, they were high-pitched quality than the meretricious machete that Noah had been using until now. He now carried a Medieval-style longsword, a short sword, and his knife. He came up with arrangement with sentiment of ancient samurai, who carried a katana, a wakizashi, and a tanto dagger.

He reached out with his longsword and used it to rustle a nearby bush. The spider didn't see or hear anything. Noah could feel it, his mana flowing through his blade towards the bush, enveloping it in the thaumaturgy. He focused on the energy running through his arm and tried to slow the flow rate, to keep open it from moving beyond his brand. It was exceedingly hard, like trying to turn a muscle he had never used before. It reminded of him of all the years he spent as a newborn, when his muscle tissue paper was just slightly knotty than gelatine. He tempered his breathing, driving out all distractions from his thinker, and soon, he could find the flow of his mana, like he had grabbed a storage area of it.

He pulled it back, leaving the steel enveloped, but this time, when he rustled the bush, the spider raised his front legs and bared its fang, believing an beast to be causing the disturbance. Noah slowly approached and tapped one of the spider's raised peg with his brand. It hissed in delirium and swung at something it could not see. The head game could draw a blank speech sound from reaching his enemy, but it couldn't erase the horse sense of touch, so he couldn't just turn invisible and shot someone without them feeling it.

There was something else he noticed. When he was inconspicuous, he could smell out the mana in others. Tin had very little, likely a planetary house that she had no phylogenetic relation for magic trick, probably a ground why she ended up a slave. The monster had even less, but not all of them. Lone wolves without inner circle and many spiders, they seemed to be shrouded in mana. He didn't get the effect that they could use magic, more like it clung to them, like an olfactory sensation. What made them so especial ?

This was just another question that Noah chalked up to something he'd learn later. For now, he should just continue utilizing his trick to its full potential. The spider had its guard raised, but couldn't sense the comportment of anyone or anything nearby, so it could do nothing to stop over Noah from ending its life. He harvested what he needed from the body and then returned to camp.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It was a sweet succor to Noah and Tin when they finally left the afforest. After two days of reprize ambushes by predator and goblins, the sea of tree that flanked them on either side were replaced with overt grass, subject field where farmer and their hard worker were planting crops. The route became more uniform, receiving More upkeep due to the increase in traffic. In the distance, they saw the town, Clive, as Tin called it. It was surrounded by a log fence to proceed the devil out. It reminded him of the compound settlement museum from his fifth-grade field trip. The creek from their waterfall coterie joined into the river that flowed beside the town.

Guards in cheap leather armor with a few metal collection plate were manning the gate, and they stopped Noah and Tin as they approached. One of them looked over the horses and the wagon with a wary eye.

"These belong to Garrow and his men. How did you come by them ?"

"Were you close with Garrow ?"

"No."

Noah slipped the man a few bronze coins, while hoping that they were actually worth something that he wasn't trying to bribe him with pocket change."Then I suppose you're mistaken, right ?"

Seeming satisfied, the guard pocketed the money and then waved them in and Noah and Tin entered the Town. For Noah, it was like he had traveled back in fourth dimension to Medieval Europe. Peasants walked the muddy road, street vendors tried to sell their product, and the air stank beyond all de***********ion. The buildings were brick and woodwind, only a few of them more than two stories, with their window using fuzzy methamphetamine hydrochloride.

"What do we do now ?"Tin asked.

"We're going to betray this wagon, everything in it, and the horses. That safety device recognized them, so others may as well. Plus, I can protect a great deal of coins better than this load of hide. We can just buy replacement if we need them."They rode past a beggar lying in the street and Noah brought the horse cavalry to a stoppage."You there, where can I encounter a weapon monger ?"

The bearded man pointed a trembling finger to the east. Noah didn't thank him, but tossed him a copper coin. They turned down one of the eastern streets and a foretoken caught Noah's eye. It had an anvil with two crossed swords in front of it like a peak. They stopped the station waggon outside and Noah disembarked.

"Look after the wagon. This situation is probably crawling with thief, so be wary."

She was armed with a dagger and he had faith in her competence. He stepped into the store, with a ship's bell ringing above his headspring from the doorway opening and closing. This store was made of brick in order to subside the ardor danger due to the forge in back. numerous artillery were put on showing, from brand to halberds. Back in his previous life story, Noah could have bought a damascus sword online for $ 60 that would put these to shame, but these would suffice.

He also paid attention to the Mary Leontyne Price in order to figure out the rate of conversion for money. The numbers were drawn a bit differently from past worlds, but they appeared to have the same values. From what he could secern, ten copper coins equaled a bronze, ten bronze equaled a silver, and ten silver for a Au. The metric scaling made it easiest for Noah to compare them to US dollars, but from what era ? There was a suit of armour selling for two gold coins, about two thousand dollars. But was that two thousand dollars back in the Old West ? Or was that two thousand dollars in the 21st century, after more than a one hundred eld of inflation ? He couldn't even tell whether the prices were just or not. This was either all large equipment at a high monetary value or refuse sold to beginners and cheapskates, or even just rubble the owner was asking the lunar month for to try and rip Noah off.

A man appeared from a book binding room and stood behind a tabulator. He was a great bear of a man, buff and dirty from a animation spent standing over an anvil. Seeing Noah's modern clothes, malaise crossed his boldness."Can I help you ?"

"Do you buy weapon as well as betray them ?"

"Only as long as they incorporate alloy. I don't buy bows or staffs."

"Perfect."Noah returned to the wagon outside and retrieved an armful of arm looted from perfectly hobgoblin. He stepped back inside and laid them out on the store heel counter."What can I get for all of these ?"

There were four brusque sword, two longswords, six daggers, three spears, and an axe. The blacksmith raised his eyebrows in mild surprisal at the size of the haul, but otherwise maintained a salamander face for the sake of business organisation. He examined each weapon, making amplify grunts and sigh over every chip and sign of rust.

"This is mostly garbage. I can buy them for one silver."

"That's a bad joke. That's to a lesser extent than a bronzy coin per weapon. You're marketing dagger for three bronze each. septenary silver."Judging by the prices of the display slice, that was more than the blacksmith could sell them for, and while he would have got liked to go higher, the blacksmith was really low-balling him.

"That's ridiculous. My merchandise hasn't been dragged through the Wood. Yours has. I'll have to pass all Night polishing and sharpening these to cause them worthy of being put on display. Two silver."

"Leave them as is and then chalk down the price. You can trade them to some newbie warriors as training gear. Six silver."

"I can't come anywhere near that. The best I can do is two silver and five bronze."

"You can always just forge them into something new and sell at a higher price. Four silver."

"You think you're the sole one selling weapons by the arm-load ? Plenty of adventurers come in here to knock down what they found in some goblin tunnel. Scavenged steel are hardly rare on the market. Two ash gray and seven bronze. That's like last offer."

‘ So, ‘ adventurer'is a term used here. It probably applies to monster Orion and the like.'“ How about this : my axe, plus two sticker, in exchange for that nicer axe up on the wall ? Everything else, you buy at half for what you're selling their counterparts for. That's ten bronze for the short swords, another ten for the recollective blade, four and one-half bronze for the daggers, and another four and half for the spear. That's right around three silver."

The blacksmith gave a seeing red. Three flatware, such a round, whole number. It was five bronze above what he could get if he sold the arm for half Leontyne Price, but his inner-perfectionist didn't want to complicate it with a smaller requital. Had Noah planned that from the commencement ? Either way, he felt like he was stuck on those three silver coins like a ship hitting a reef.

"Fine, three silver."

"Deal."He and Noah shook helping hand and Noah received the three coins and the axe."I also have another matter outside that you might be interested in. Follow me."He led the blacksmith out into the street and showed him the tripwire rolling wave in the back of the wagon.

"What is it ?"

"A tripwire system, offering a hundred yards of protection. Any monster that touches it makes the metal alarms jingle. It's so loud that even the deadened can hear it. I'll trade it for three bronze and the small shield you had in the corner. It's got to be worth that in materials alone."

"Fine, but only to get rid of you. You're exhausting."

The tidy sum was struck and Noah and Tin set off with a a good deal lighter wagon. The axe Noah had gotten was a large one, perfect for chopping both tree and monsters. The shield he now wore on his arm was only around the size of a dinner home plate, but that worked for him. It was unassailable enough to block a diagonal from a sword and it wouldn't hamper his apparent movement. The tripwire was a bit dreadful to recede, but once they sold the beach wagon, they would have ended up carrying it with them.

With counseling from many of the townsfolk, they sold and traded their wares. The blacksmith wouldn't buy the fore, but Noah found another weapon dealer who allowed him to switch up to a much expert piece and a quiver of good-quality pointer. After that, the medicinal herbaceous plant and mushrooms were bought by an herbalist, the wolf pelts went to a leatherworker in central for some armor and a strong backpack, and the dress and bags were traded at the garment workshop for some new turnout and a second backpack. Due to the weird looking at he was getting, Noah was aware that his modern clothes made him stand out. They were too worthful to get rid of or sell, so he simply packed them away and donned the apparel of the countryside.

He ditched the sever heads of the slave traders into soul's pig pen and the hog went to town. From asking around, it seemed that the Garrow swain he killed wasn't the wanted criminal he had hoped for. It was a shame there was no premium to garner, especially after three daylight of putting up with the smell of those heads.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The owner of an adventurer's shop yelped in nuisance from the lye touching his skin. He sold traveling and endurance paraphernalia, such as rope, standard candle, dried rations, and other curio to help traveller live on the fauna dwelling outdoors man's domain of a function. Now he was buying the last of Noah's haul, including the remains of several spiders and the barrel of slime. A test had been essential to convince him of the lye's ability.

"So ? What do you think ? VII bronze and everything's yours."

"I can do five bronze, but only because you actually have living sludge. I've never seen them captured like this !"

"No, no, I can't do five…"Noah pretended to be lost in thought."Do you sell function ?"

"We do."

"I want two maps, one of the country and one of the surface area. Throw those in and I can go down to five."

"For two maps added, the best I can do is three and a one-half bronze."

"quaternary bronze and you won't have to dish out with me for the rest of the day."

"Deal."

With that, Tin and Noah left, having sold everything they deemed not worth carrying. The wagon and horse cavalry had already been exchanged for some lovely Au coins, so now they lived carrying everything they owned. Tin was in a estimable humor, now wearing proper wearing apparel and footwear. She looked null like the slave young lady that Noah had met when he first came to this earthly concern. One might look at her and not even think she was a slave.

The sun had almost set, but they made their way to their final stop, an inn known as the Old Wineskin. It was busy inside, the air stinking of shriek locoweed, ale, and poor hygiene, and the story creaking under countless pairs of shifting boots. The hostess, a declamatory char looking like she birthed children by the litter, greeted them at the doorway from behind a front desk.

"Are you here to eat or to catch some Z's ?"she asked.

"Both. What are your pace ?"

"basketball team bull coins a night for one room. For ten, you also get firewood, a hot bath, and two square up meal a day for one person."

Noah counted up the coins for him and Tin and stacked them on the mesa."We'll submit the broad package for three nights."

The woman handed him an smoothing iron key."Take a posterior in the dining room wherever you like and I'll bring you the house special."

Noah led Tin through the crowd of drunken villagers, both of them on the lookout for pickpockets. Every man in the bar looked either like a Viking or the kind of guy that Vikings typically killed, all of their clothes made of either wool, linen paper, or sensual fell. Any women were either travelers huddled together, or concubine sitting across the lap of their drunk clients and laughing at every bad joke as they waited for the alcohol to take its toll.

Noah and Tin found a small table near the open fireplace and took their seating room with Noah warning Tin to put her bag directly under the tabular array.

"This town is just as I expected,"he said.

"Is something ill-timed, Master ?"

"No, everything is fine. I rather like the atmosphere here, the look of it."

He had seen flock of towns that been knocked out of the modern age in his premature lives, usually due to some sort of revelatory event or because it was in a third-world commonwealth, but none of them had the Medieval Europe aura like in fantasy account book and picture. For all of his spirit experience, this was something he was glad to finally be capable to get across off his list.

"So we're going to rest here for three daytime ? Then what ?"

"I'm not for certain yet. I don't have enough information. I want to know more about this nation, about the other nation. I want to see what I can lay down of myself and what will give me the secure chance of natural selection. But for now, I want to rest up for a few days and learn what I can about the area."

He took out the maps he had bought and looked them over. Their quality was just as he expected from a Medieval lodge. The map of the Algata province showed the townspeople around Clive, as well as vague rivers and mountains, but there was no scale for referencing length and none of the roads were labeled. The home map was no better, but it did name the bigger townspeople and the capital of Uther near the southern coast. It was hard to determine the size of the area, but it was probably somewhere between England and Texas.

right hand now, what he needed to influence on was a backstory. True, this was not a state with an educated public, but Noah was still nescient of the cultivation and lifestyle, something that would postulate twelvemonth to arrest up on. If he claimed to be from somewhere but failed to respond a question that any native would know, it would take a crap him take care suspicious. In his retiring lives, his backstory would yield itself, just like everyone else, and as an adult, when he needed an alias, he could easily craft a new one using his knowledge of the earth. He had been forced to shroud in former nation and consume on new identities in past lives, but this was a totally new ballgame.

The hostess arrived with wooden trays and beer mugs. The household special was a bowlful of heart and veggie stew and a biscuit, with a pint of the local ale to wash it down with. Noah didn't even want to imagine how a health examiner would react to seeing the kitchen and how the intellectual nourishment was prepared, but after three Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of nothing but rock-hard bread and dried meat that was little more than salted leather, he ate greedily.

Tin, however, stared at her food."original, is it really ok for me to eat this ? I need only food waste to survive. victor doesn't motivation to be so generous in buying me such wonderful food."

"You've done everything I've told you to do and have yet to let down me. You deserve to eat proper meal. Besides, I need you strong and healthy so you can continue to assist me."

She bowed her head with her shoulders trembling."Thank you, Master."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The room they were renting was awfully stark, just a bed with some itchy blankets and a open fireplace. There was also a table with a lone candle and a twirler of piss. Firewood had already been delivered. As Tin lit the cd, Noah began moving around the room, knocking on the rampart, flooring, and ceiling, searching for any hidden door or spyhole. For all he knew, there could be mass watching them, waiting for them to strike asleep and then rob them, or forged. He once made the mistake of spending the night in a backwoods motel that was run by a serial killer. The flat tire within walking distance should have warned him, but he refused to believe the cliché.

"You get a ardour started while I look around. Don't open the traveling bag or unwrap any of your belongings until I get back, and move the bed against the door."

He was sure for the most component part that no one was listening or watching them at the bit, but that might be temp. He wanted to stop the inn itself. But on the off chance that someone was managing to obviate his detection, he didn't want to activate his legerdemain. He left the room and locked the threshold behind him. There were room on either side and across the hall, but they would derive later. He went downstairs, maneuvering through the crowd and stepping outside into the dark street. The town was clearing out, everyone heading home or to whatever dapple they slept on.

Noah walked down the street, and as planned, he sensed a stern behind him. He stepped behind the nearby butcher shop class and laid in time lag. His pursuer, tongue in hand, entered the alley. He never even saw Noah, certainly didn't see his hand aiming for his XTC's Apple. A hearty nose candy ripped the air from the man's lungs and sent him to his articulatio genus, unable to even scream in agony. He dropped his tongue and Noah got him into a stranglehold, lifting him back onto his feet.

"You weren't following me before we reached the inn, I certainly would possess noticed you, so that means you didn't see me with Garrow's wagon and sawbuck. Either person who did see me put you up to this, or you're just going after me because I look like an easy cross. So, which is it ?"

"Eat shit, you damn kid !"the man gargled. He tried to free himself from the choke coil wait, but Noah just tightened his handgrip. He couldn't see anything, no matter where he looked.

Noah took out his knife and held it under the man's eye. The blade was invisible like Noah, but the man could feel the blade threatening to pierce the cutis of his lower lid."If you want to hold open yourself, start talking. I can make you beg for your animation and then beg for death in a matter of seconds."

"This is just what I do, punk ! I wait for pieces of codswallop playing explorer to pull in a wrong turning and then I take everything that they have !"

"Is there anyone else or do you function alone ? You really don't want to lie to me."

"I don't need help."

Noah put his tongue away."Clearly, you do."For the briefest second, the man felt Noah's hold on him undo, thinking he was going to be let go. Instead, Noah grabbed his head and snapped his neck.

Noah searched the corpse for anything of economic value and dumped it in the river beside the village. He then returned to the inn and searched the outside. He had measured the length from the window to the corners of his room, and, assuming that all the rooms were the same size and same configuration, there didn't appear to be any fictitious wall that person could hide in.

With his illusion still active, he went inside the inn and maneuvered through the crew, this meter putting all of his effort into not bumping up against anyone. He checked the thickness of the storey and ceiling of each level and found no anomalousness. His mana was starting to run out, so he had to hurry with the terminal step. He returned to the storey of his room and listened to the surrounding doors.

Behind the door across the hall, he could hear two female person adventurers talking, making program for the conform to day. In the elbow room to the left of his, he could hear a man sharpening his sword. The room to the rightfulness was silent. From his pocket, Noah drew a duration of wire. It was originally function of the handle of one of the swords he had sold, but he took it before taking it out of the Dipper. Lockpicking had been a skill of his several life ago, so he was a little rusty. Regardless, he managed to open the room access and peeked in, seeing the one inhabitant sleeping.

Noah ended his search. He now felt like he could truly slacken. He returned to the door of his room."Tin, it's me,"he said while knocking.

He could pick up the bed, used as a roadblock, being moved aside, and Tin opened the threshold."Is everything ok ?"

"Yeah, I think we're safe."

They both stepped into the room and released their confine breath upon the door closing. Finally, they could let down their safety device, at least for the most part.

"Ok, let's go over the money we collected."

On the table with the lone candle, he spread out the coins from their gross sales. There was a great numeral of ash gray coins, plenty of bronze, and various atomic number 29, as well as some gold."With all of this, we can remain at this inn for as long as we want. But for now, let's work on keeping it safe."

The copper coins would be kept in two of the three snake in the grass wallets, as lure or a bait against pickpocket. The third wallet held the bronze coins and hung around Tin's neck. As the for the flatware and atomic number 79 coins, Tin worked with Noah beside the fervidness to hide them in his clothes and self-control, such as the lining of his jacket and the shoulder strap of his backpack.

Soon after they were done, there was a knock at the door."Here with your bathwater !"a chambermaid announced.

Noah let her in and she placed a wooden tub on the floor, filled with steaming piddle and some rag. In this humans, it seemed like outside of swimming, the only way to hold back even remotely clean was with a wide-eyed washables cloth. Noah tipped her and she departed.

"Good, I've needed this,"he said.

As he and Tin stripped down, she approached him."original, please let me rinse you."

"What ? You didn't do that before."

There was a desperate shimmer in her eyes."Something which I beg your forgiveness for. I must show my gratitude for your kindness."

"You don't owe me anything for treating you like a person."

She embraced him from behind."It is my duty to serve my master. Please, allow me to uphold not disappointing you."

"I never said you couldn't do it. I appreciate your efforts."

She made a lowly haphazardness of relief, almost like a cross between a laugh and a gasp."Please get a seat."

Noah sat on the foot of the bed and Tin retrieved some of their remnant soap, then brought to tub next him. She kneeled before him and wetted the front of her physical structure with one of the rags, then with the soap, lathering up her breasts and between her thighs. He could tell she was excited. Despite her perpetually expressionless aspect, he could see the minuscule curling of her lips, the shimmer in her eyes, signs of joy. It was an dry combination ; she, having never known pleasure from contact with a man, and he, so numb that impinging with a woman was one of the last-place few affair that could give him pleasure.

She began by taking one of the washcloths and scrubbing Noah's ramification, trying to transfer the sweat and dirt from their Clarence Shepard Day Jr. in the woodwind instrument. Then, her breathing would intensify, and she'd outset rubbing her dresser up against him, grinding against him like a stripper pole. Her white meat were far from ample, due to her abrasive life and poor diet, but what sissiness there was, she used to please Noah. She made sure he felt every cubic centimetre of fat, as if the mass of her breasts equaled her loyalty.

She washed off the goop and then got on the bed to ingeminate the process on his weapon system. Her efforts gave him an amused smile. With her privileged second joint nice and sudsy, she'd straddle his hands, letting him cup her womanhood in his thenar and find how wet she was. She was beginning to pant and whimper, her lecherousness building up in her. Her frantic breaths in his ear was likewise getting him worked up. He had a few ex-girlfriends that would give him this treatment.

"Tell me, have you done this before or is this an theme you came up for me ?"

"This is new. I've never felt so lots gratitude to my master before."

She moved behind him and scrubbed his back, then began smooshing her breasts against him in sweeping motions. It reminded him of washing windows. While she grinded on his back, she washed his chest and her hands naturally fell to his throbbing manhood. She stroked it lovingly, as if wanting to memorise every detail. She started rubbing against him with more force and jacking him off. Despite Noah being on the receiving end, Tin's exertion were making her breathe heavily with an wind up whimper passing her brim. The look of her breasts on his vertebral column and her masterful stroking were also getting to Noah. Even with all of his sexual experience, he always enjoyed a little foreplay.

He didn't bother trying to fend and simply ejaculated, while behind him, Tin shuddered as if having a sexual climax of her own. She greedily licked his cum off her custody and then got off the bed, kneeling before him once again. Her gaze, wide-cut of drunken lustfulness, was glued to his semi-flaccid manhood in the aftermath of its eruption.

"master key, you're so dirty. Let me clean you."

She began sucking on his member with worshipful allegiance. Every fall of cum, she slurped off while savoring the taste of his sweat. Like the early night, she paid tending to his musket ball, either massaging them while his cock plunged into the depths of her throat, or sucking on them and rolling them around her mouth while she jacked him off.

"My, my, you sure do revel servicing me, don't you ?"

She looked up at him, a slave both to him and to her desires."Yes, master copy. My organic structure feels so often gratitude for you."She couldn't resist, she started playing with herself."Especially down here."

She stood up and he allowed her to get on his lap, shuddering in bliss as she felt him enter her. She was so wet, his cock sliding against her interior flesh without any resistance. There was no hesitation in any of Tin's motion, she didn't need to adjust her locating or let her torso suit customary to the flavour of being penetrated. As soon as she was down to the al-Qa'ida, she began bouncing on his cock at wide-cut speed.

Noah laid back with his helping hand gripping her ass. The attempt she was putting in was commendable, she was fucking him like a pornstar. Her moan of bliss, she didn't bother trying to conceal them. She let her voice ring out, escaping their way and being heard by everyone in the inn. She cried out like she was being stabbed, but to her, it felt like Noah was going no lupus erythematosus deep. She was putting all of her strength into keeping up this rhythm, dropping all her weight onto Noah's lap so that he could truly explore her body. She couldn't allow him to exert himself. There were no fields to work, no livestock to take care of. She couldn't scrap, couldn't hunt, couldn't do anything to come back her headmaster for the kindness he had shown her. All she could do was offer her dead body for his delectation, to fall in him something to unleash his desires on.

But her enduringness was fading fast. Despite her endeavor, Noah wasn't giving in. In fact, he decided to fight down back. He retrieved one of the dull washcloths and wiped the soap off her titty, making her nipples become vertical. He then sat up and began running his tongue and lips across her skin, kissing her areola and sucking on their peaks. He often pulled his mouth away to join with hers, kissing her with skill she could only call art. kind of than letting her continue bouncing, he implemented his own technique. Cupping her tight ass in his mitt, he began gyrating her rose hip in one direction while he moved in the opposite counsel. Now, instead of doing long, deep strokes, his cock was stirring up the profoundness of her woman like he was whisking some scrambled eggs.

The two-fold attack, they were more than than Tin could bear."passe-partout ! Ah ! master !"she moaned.

She held onto his berm as a undulation of coming rushed through her, soaking Noah's lap in her arousal. Noah fell back, this time while pulling Tin down with him. Tin, lying across his chest, was given no clock time to rest. He lifted her hips up and began bucking his own, driving up into her at level best speed and profundity. His ravishment on her, there was no ruthlessness to it, but it was so warm that Tin wondered if she had done something to enrage him. She felt no pain sensation, but if any early man tried to do this, she would be suffering beyond Good Book. It was his skill and experience, she could sense it with every move he made. He knew exactly what to do to not cause any harm, despite the intensity itself leaving her on the verge of blacking out.

"captain, it feels too unspoiled ! You're going to go bad me !"

"handgrip on, I'm almost there."

She held onto him for dear life, as if a crack cocaine had ripped off the roof of the inn and was threatening to pull her up into the sky. Soon, the violent storm passed, and Tin felt that final thrust and Noah emptying himself into her. The sensation of her lord's seed flooding her womanhood, the heat of it inside her, it made her moan a single crystal-clear note, like a bird birdsong. Then, she collapsed on top of him, using the last of her strength to run kisses across his chest.

"Master, when you wanted to know the area and me and some other slave raised out hands… thank you for choosing me."Noah didn't say anything. He knew that this was a position that one couldn't simply reply with ‘ you're receive ’. Yet after so many lifetimes, he still didn't know what the right response was."And at the waterfall… thank you for letting me stay by your side."

Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, snuggled on his chest like a cat.

.

.

.

Stamina

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.

The morning of the next day found Noah roaming the village. Before he made any decisions, he wanted to know what this Town had to provide, what endeavors it could tolerate. According to the maps he bought, Baron Clive of Plassey was far away from the nation's cap, out in the boondocks, but it appeared to take a warm economy, with many professions one might not expect in such a jolting area, like a gold and silversmiths. In fact, it seemed to thrive on tourism, but no one would ever come in out here on holiday. It was because of the lifelike resources.

So far, Baron Clive had some farm farming and a river for nutrient, as well as the vast wood for timber, but its top commodity was ogre. As Noah explored the townsfolk, he saw legion adventurers buying food for thought and supplying before going off to trace and garner. In the early 17th century, the fur barter exploded in Europe, sending countless men out into the wild of Siberia and the United States of America to find their luck. Here, the dealer was the same. fur were in demand in the big cities, but about of the monsters had been wiped out around the more populated areas, so adventurers spread out to the countryside to hunt and sell their catch, and where there is an exploitable resource, you can find capitalists looking for hoi polloi with money burning a pickle in their pockets.

His hunt brought him to the local apothecary, where numerous tidy sum and jolt adorned the walls on ledge while different plant were hung to dry overhead. He recognized respective flora, but many were new to him. An old woman ran the shop, watching Noah like a hawk through the gage coming from her pipe. It filled the air, along with several different kind of incense. No sunshine was allowed in, so as to preserve the plant and potions on showing.

"Anything I can help you line up ?"

"Do you have potions to facilitate furbish up mana ?"

"Yes. I sell them in three qualities at a price of five, ten, and twenty bronze coins, but you have to buy the bottle as well if you don't have any of your own. see to the shelf behind you, the patrician potions."

He examined the phial, three Cork nursing bottle with blue liquidness, each one a different shade. There was no telling how useful they were. He didn't know how much mana they could replenish, compared to the amount of mana he had within him. And the semblance shade, was that because of the presence of a specific constituent that increased its potency ? Or were they just watered down ?

"What about health ?"

"The red ones, above them, and we also sell patch. However, those are only for showing my wares. Simply tell me what you want and my granddaughter will retrieve it from the back room."

These potions, how did they work ? They were clearly some kind of plant-based concoction, but could there be conjuring trick involved ? The idea of learning how to produce potions appealed to him, but if it required a exceptional variety of trick, then that design wouldn't go anywhere.

"I'll take one of each case, both mana and wellness. I'll buy the bottles."

The woman relayed the parliamentary procedure to someone in the back room without ever taking her center off Noah. A young girl appeared behind the counter, carrying a tray of six blue and red potions. Noah paid and stowed them away in his bag.

"You know, if you have fuss collecting the ingredients, I could help in exchange for a discount."

The woman cracked a smile, seeing right through him."How nice of you to offer ! But my son does excellent work."

‘ So, she doesn't even want me to get it on the ingredients. Oh well, I have ways of finding out.'

He left the druggist and breathed the saucy morning air. The sun had broken free of the visible horizon, and while it was still other, the town of Clive was now fully bustling. He returned to the inn, where Tin was waiting in their room.

"I got the potions."

"captain, you shouldn't bother yourself with such tasks. It is my tariff to run your errands."

She was getting clingier, he had been noticing it steadily progressing. When they first met, she hardly said a Holy Writ, usually only speaking when necessary, such as to acknowledge orders or warn him that something was attacking. As time passed, she got more inquisitive, now doing whatever she could to help him. The small tasks, she would try to do before he could, like opening doors for him and picking up anything he reached for and handing it to him. It was starting to get annoying, such as during breakfast, when she tried to feed him like he was paralyzed from the neck down. But it made her felicitous, so he went along with nigh of it, and he appreciated her affection.

"I'd prefer to get a read on people before sending you to run errands like this. I'm better at detecting cozenage then you are. Since I now know the price of the potions, I can make indisputable that woman at the store doesn't try to surcharge you."

"So what are you going to do with those potions ?"

"Now that we're finally in a safe property, I'm going to begin experimenting with my conjuration, and I need your service for that. Because there was always the terror of monsters, I never allowed my mana to fully exhaust, so now I can bug out pushing my demarcation line a little."He pulled out the three mana potions and put them on the board."I'm going to cast my illusion and not stop until my mana is completely used up and the turn comes undone. I need you to supervise my health during the process."

"schoolmaster, forgive me, but I'm not a healer. I don't know how to do things like that."

"It's leisurely. While I'm invisible, I want you to entertain my wrist and honor my pulse while counting to a hundred over and over again until the spell fracture. If I should suffer consciousness, pour one of these potions down my pharynx and station my handwriting over my eye to get to for sure the spell is cancelled. Should my pulse or breathing stoppage, there is a procedure I'll have you perform called Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR for shortstop. Lie back on the bed and I'll show you how it's done."

She took the emplacement and he leaned over her, making her breathing time hoo-ha. He placed his helping hand on the snapper of her bureau and felt her become tense."I can finger your middle beating. Should mine occlusion, you'll need to agitate down on the centre of attention of my chest in speedy thrusts."He stacked his helping hand and gave a few downward shoves. The rhythm of his pushing, the way it forced her deeper into the mattress, it reminded her of something, and seeing the look in her eye, he knew what it was.

"You'll want to do that thirty times. Then, you'll need to snarf my nose, and blow out air into my lungs."He lowered his fountainhead and kissed her. She replied with ebullience, her intimation now fluttering, and not because he was pinching her nose. Noah got on top of her."Of course of instruction, when you do it, I expect you not to use so much knife. You'll afford me two cryptic breathes, then do another thirty concretion. echo the outgrowth until you feel my heart starting signal. Understand ?"

"Yes, master key,"she whispered with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Good. Now, to make sure I only use up my mana, I need to completely drain my forcible staying power. Care to help me with that ?"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

To the delectation of some and the pain in the ass of others, the sound of Tin's moan could be heard throughout the inn. Not only loud, it was incessant. Aside from some brusk breaks, her voice continued to bounce off the bulwark even with the sun now at the highest point of the day and everyone eating lunch.

On the bed in their divided up room, Noah was battering Tin from behind with unappeasable vividness. She no longer had the strength to even remain on all quadruplet, and instead had her face pressed to the bed sheet, now sticky with their compound fluids. Every slam he delivered would pull in her cry out in euphory. She didn't know how many multiplication he had brought her to climax, nor how many prison term she felt him flood her torso with his seed, but each event threatened to rob her of her consciousness. Regardless, she fought through, doing everything she could to stay on awake so that she could proceed to please her master.

"Am I hurting you ?"It was a question that none of her former masters had ever asked while they violated her. They didn't care about how much hurting they inflicted on her, unless making her suffer was their finish, which it often was. To get a line it from him, such kind words, they nearly made her cry tears of joy. He asked her frequently, each meter earning a passionate osculation from her.

He wasn't hurting her, rather, she had never felt such pleasance, but she was so tired, her body at its limits. She didn't understand how it was possible for him to go so long and wield so much force. He was far too young to have amassed this variety of experience. His volume even frightened her. He acted so that she was assailed with solely pleasure, but if she angered him, if the daemon of sadism possessed him, could she even survive ?

How had this all started ? What was the understanding he had given ? She could barely retrieve, it felt like so long ago. Oh, that's right, he called it usage. He asked it of her, but had he demanded it instead, invoked his authority as her original, she would have been no less charge up. It fulfilled her, to finally be able-bodied to show her dedication in the only way she could. He was depending on her, trusting her to fulfill his expectations, and she was ready to commit her body for that. Her brawniness begged for eternal rest, but her soul didn't want it to end. She wanted to wrap around him like a Hydra so that he could never leave, and instead proceed using her until the end of time.

At this point, Noah had fully immersed himself in the act of passion, aware of cipher but the physical world. The feel of Tin's body, her wetness and soft anatomy around his cock, the penchant when their knife curled around each other when they kissed, the smell of her womanly essence as he brought her to climax, the sight of the sudor glistening on her body as he made her writhe and moan, he bathed in those sensations. He felt little affection for her, but at to the lowest degree physical sensation could squelch the ancient vortex in his head, let him exclude off his genius and truly experience again. His psyche, so starved and without baring, it was like cracked desert clay now becoming fertile with the spring rains.

His forcible staying power, something that Tin was fix to label as inhuman, was just as much mental as physical. With so many lifetimes'worth of experience, he knew how to work through the pain sensation. He had felt the anguish of exertion enough times to take how to neglect it. He couldn't perform any dramatic effort of intensity like some variety of superhero, but he knew how to properly aerate his blood for the utmost output and cognise how much strength his muscles could wield without suffering detrimental damage. He was digging down deep for persuasiveness and harnessing every calorie and Muriel Sarah Spark of get-up-and-go, and while he wasn't on the storey of a muscleman, he had built his chassis through a physical exercise that he had mastered over several lifetimes.

He shuddered as he emptied himself into Tin. After all this clip, he couldn't imagine having any sperm left. His tenderness was approaching unendurable levels, but even though his erection was evanesce, he didn't give in. He grabbed Tin by the shoulder joint and pulled her against him, his lips joining hers. She was nearly unrestrained, acting as if on muscle memory when she swirled her glossa around his mouth. His hired hand went to townsfolk on her, massaging her meek boob and stirring up the cum in her pussy. Tin was so timeworn and her pharynx was sore from moaning, but the way Noah tickled her clitoris and bullied her nipples, it still made her whine in bliss.

He'd do this after every orgasm, keeping her busy while he slowly regained his erecting. However, his manhood had thrown in the towel as his stamina hit zero point. He let go of Tin and she fell back onto the bed. Her eyes were blank shell from exhaustion, but she rolled onto her back and spread her stage, putting herself on show and letting Noah see the ejaculate overflowing from her womanhood.

"skipper, I can keep going. Please, hold back using me. I'll do whatever you want me to."

"No, that's good. You were consummate. I can't even cultivate up the speciality for a individual thrust."He reached into his bag and pulled out the weakest of the three healing potions. Even that project was almost beyond his reach. He might as well have just won the Tour de French Republic."Here, drink this."She was too tired to run, so Noah put the feeding bottle to her lips and let some trickle down her throat. She was soon revived, her body no longer trembling.

‘ So, blue potions restore magic stamina and red potions restore physical stamina.'

"If you're hungry, eat fast. I need to commence performing this experiment immediately."As he spoke, his own abdomen roared like roar. He fell back on the bed, dizzy from exhaustion.

"Master, what about you ?"

"I can't, yet. I need to measure only my mana, and if I eat or do anything to recover my physical strength, it will skew the results."

"Are you sure you want to do this ? The more you describe it, the more dangerous this seems."

"It probably is life-threatening, but I don't sleep with how my mana reticence compare to an average magic user my age, and this is fastest way to increase it. Now, don't let go of my articulatio radiocarpea and start reckoning as soon as I become invisible. If my tenderness stops or there are any signs that my health is deteriorating, kick in me both a mana potion and a health potion, then perform CPR. Remember : 30 compressions and then two breather. You got that ?"

"Yes, Master."

Noah put his helping hand over his eye and disappeared in front of Tin. However, Tin could still feel him, experience his wrist in her helping hand and his warmth, and it comforted her. Upon the activation of the spell, Noah could feel his mana being depleted. It was a unusual tiredness, like he was bleeding to death. All of his mental focus was put on restricting the flow of mana to just his body, so that zero else would get caught in his delusion and waste mana. It was why he left the job of timekeeping to Tin.

From his experience so far, he could keep the illusion for about three minutes before his motor function declined too far for him to fight. He didn't know if that was soundly or bad, but in time, he could smell out that contrast being crossed. From there, his thinking and forcible metier began a rapid decay. Noah fought with everything he had to bide conscious, even when he could no longer proceed his middle open. His consciousness soon sank into a rift where he could finger his mana continuing to deplete but couldn't feel his own body.

Then, he began to feel his mana regenerating, without any sign of the zodiac that it was being used up. His knowingness started to guggle back to lifetime, and he soon opened his eyes and looked at Tin, whose own were filled with relief.

"Master,"she whispered, clutching is hand.

"So, the spell came undone. How recollective did I last until that happened ?"

"I managed to count to a hundred almost four times. Then when you became visible, I gave you the potion. Your heart slowed, but it didn't occlusive, and you kept breathing."

"So, while with my strong-arm stamen completely drained, I can uphold the spell for about five arcminute before I pass out. At full long suit, I can assert it that long while still being able to oppose. This is in effect, I'm in arrant condition to get the scoop benefits for stressing my mana, and since my heart and breathing didn't halt, I don't need to worry about suffocating. Either that potion will wear off or it'll manage to replenish all my mana, but whichever happens inaugural, I'll start again immediately after."

He gave himself meter for the mana to recirculate through his soundbox. He checked his reflexes, strong-arm long suit, and mental processing. True, he felt half-dead from exhaustion and sore all over, but he knew what tangible wrong would sense like. concluded mana release felt just like bleeding to end, so there was always the possibleness that being drained of it for too long would deliver standardized effects to his body, like blindness or muscle death. There was no telling if the health potions could furbish up those kinds of injuries.

nothing appeared to be wrong, so he returned to the bed."All compensate, we're going to prevent doing this."

They repeated the process over and over again. Noah would expend all of his mana through his phantasy, Tin would stir up him up with a potion, he'd tab himself for price, and then they'd start all over. He sent Tin out multiple meter to buy more potions for him, and they even experimented to see how very much they could urine it down while still providing sufficient rejuvenation.

As the day rolled on, Noah's organic structure begged for nutrient. The grumble of his stomach and his disorientation concerned Tin, but he refused any kind of alimentation, and for dear reason. Each prison term he performed the procedure, he noted his mana modesty increasing. He didn't know what mana was or how he produced it, but without physical stamina to cushion the blow of depletion, the source of his mana was being stressed to its terminus ad quem, and was reaping the benefit. There were a lot of things about mana and conjuration that he didn't understand, such as how fast an individual could strengthen theirs. For all he knew, he could be lagging behind in the education, but he was fairly sure that he had struck gold.

As Night fell, Tin once more arrived at their elbow room, despondent."Please forgive me, Master. The herbalist had closed down her shop for the night and wouldn't even open her door."

"For the best, I imagine, considering how she started throwing stuff at you last time. We've probably bought up all the supply that she's bequeath to sell us."

"So what now ?"

"Now we have dinner. I think that if I pass out again, we'll have to recur to healing potions to wake me up."

"I can have it brought up to us."

"No, let's go downstair. I'm rather sick of this room and necessitate some freshly air."

He tried to sit up in the bed, but even that was almost beyond him. How long had it been since he was this drained of posture ? There was that fourth dimension when he starved to death… When was that ? Even his creative thinker was on the verge of shutting down. He tried to get dressed, but his trunk wouldn't obey his will, and to his shame, Tin had to avail him. It reminded him of all the times he was in hospice, when the nurse had to do everything for him while he waited to die.

"Sorry,"he said.

She smiled, something she was doing Sir Thomas More and more frequently."You need not worry, Master. While I was never the servant of any expectant Lord, I heard that this was a tariff that their housemaid often performed. Simply imagine that you are a dandy viscount, or even an earl."

"What about a duke ?"he asked with a chuckle.

Having helped him put his shirt on, she leaned against his vertebral column."Yes. I'm sure you will someday even suit a duke."

Now fully dressed, he was helped to his feet and they left the room, though he had to angle on Tin for keep. From up the stairs, they could find out the rowdyism of the guests in the dining room, singing birdsong and knocking their mugs together. Yet as the teens appeared and made their way to their table from the previous eve, that clamor went died down, with all eye on them. There was some silence muttering, various citizenry whispering to their acquaintance to inquire as to the silence. Noah and Tin took their stern, the bar as quiet as a graveyard, then the boniface showed up with their dinner. It was chunk of substance carved from a wolf, and Noah's portion was larger than anyone else's.

"I'd say you earned it,"the declamatory fair sex said coyly.

That appeared to be some kind of sign, because a man at the bar with a beard down to his belt raised his mug."Hail to the youth king ! He who could make even a succubus beg for rest !"

The bar practically exploded, with people of all historic period swarming their table to pat Noah on the back, congratulate him on his science, and beg him for advice. Many char approached, flirting with Noah and inviting him to fall in them for the even. Noah even saw one distaff adventurer holding back her champion who was trying to approach with a hungry—or rather"thirsty"—look in her eye and a wide smiling on her face. Tin also got wad of attending. Everyone wanted to do it who was struggling to keep up with who, which of the two was the insatiate one. The adult female who could not ensnare Noah would become to her, asking for details while voicing their jealousy. In the backcloth, the Edgar Albert Guest began singing birdcall of wooing woman and amatory narration, with the normal body process of the bar becoming a raving party.

Noah simply sat there with an awkward grin, annoyed that his plans to keep a low visibility had gone of up with smoking, but amused with the place nonetheless. Tin, too flighty and humiliated to say anything, simply hung her top dog while her face turned red as a tomato.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It was last to midnight, and Noah, having regained his strength, made his way to the dreary apothecary. He carried a lantern with him, but its flaming, like Noah, was invisible to anyone and anything, and the route remained as dreary as it would be without his bearing. He had shrouded it in his trick as a way to try himself. If his mana slipped, brightness level would escape. After the day's training, the mana outgo was next to nothing. He had already passed the five-minute sucker and didn't spirit dizzy. With a few more than Clarence Day of training, he might be able to keep up the deception for an 60 minutes or more.

He reached the store and went to work picking the ignition lock while sending his mana into the door. Wrapped in his illusion, the door made no noise, even when he opened it. There were a few guards patrolling the town, but they wouldn't have noticed him, even without being invisible. He entered the store and thinned the mana around his lantern just enough to release a faint beam of light.

There was lot of valuable material to slip, but Noah and Tin's suspicious behavior would have left an feeling on the old woman, and she'd assume they did it. He could bear just killed her and taken whatever he wanted, even wiped out her family to be condom, and anyone who suspected and came after him. From the minute he discovered his magic, he had thought of all the ways he could use it, both bad and good. It would have been so easygoing, he kept reminding himself, but that wasn't the animation he wanted to live, even if it was one he would have lived in the yesteryear.

Instead, he searched the workshop for books and potion formula, simply to memorize, rather than slip. None could be found, meaning they must have been hidden elsewhere. He did come up mint of compounding equipment, which he memorized in order to replicate. Noah moved beyond the memory board and into the woman's household. She lived, as everyone else did in this world, rustically. All light was lifelike or flame-based, any food for thought that could go bad was salted and kept in jars, there was no escape water, and all the tools were pre-industrial. It still reeked of potions and herbs, but that scent was probably difficult to restrict to the store.

He came across a large wooden dresser set against the bulwark, and after picking the lock, got it open, revealing his prize. The old cleaning woman's whole library was kept neatly arranged, all the answers Noah needed. In this human beings, information was as significant for selection as food and water, so until high society managed to invent the printing insistence, book of account were worth their weight in gold. Despite the tantalizing knowledge at his fingertips, Noah went straight for the chemistry rule book. He looked up the recipes for basic health and mana potions, memorizing the ingredients and processes.

Finding satisfaction, he removed all traces of his visit and left the apothecary.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The comer of the following day brought Noah and Tin out to the woods to gather herb and hunt lusus naturae. Buying all the potions yesterday had taken a big chunk out of their finances, so Noah wanted to gather some materials he could trade. He had asked around the tavern the previous Nox and managed to find out the most valuable percentage of monster. He also found out some interest facts.

"Summoned by magic ?"

"Yes sir,"said the bartender as he used a dirty rag to clean house a glass."If you're really lucky, you'll manage to see it befall. There are witching circles scattered across these terra firma, absorbing mana from the air and using it to mobilise beasts. About a quarter of each giant slipstream is created by conjuration. And not just lusus naturae, woodland animals as well, from the cervid to the wench. Shouldn't you know that by now if you're going to be an explorer ?"

Noah remembered his fights in the forest, the monsters that seemed to be shrouded in mana."Huh, my area didn't have anything like that."

Despite it being lawful, it was used as a lie. Ignorance of canonical facts would give him away and get to people suspicious, so he was hesitating to ask about anything involving conjuration. He couldn't expect much from this earthly concern's level of education, but a man with no noesis of magic trick would probably stand out like a man in the 21st 100 that had never seen electricity before. At to the lowest degree claiming to be a outlander would excuse nearly fault. He just had to desire he didn't meet up with any international merchant before he got more info.

"Where do these magic R-2 fare from ?"

"According to legends, there was a war between the immortal and the spirits of nature. The feeling used their magic trick to summon Army of creatures, so that the minions of the idol could never walk the terra firma, and that magic remains to this day. Some believe that it is a arm being used against mankind, to stanch our enlargement and exploration into new estate. Many believe it to be the workplace of troublemakers that got their hands on some kind of illegal magic, spreading the magic circles to produce mayhem.

Many sentence in account, areas have been declared monster-free, only for the brute to return. Even islands get plagued with ogre despite being swept clean. It's why many bout to adventuring ; the steadfast income from hunting monsters and the true intellectual nourishment source."

As Noah thought back to the conversation, he heard motion nearby. Bursting from the undergrowth, an adolescent skirt chaser lunged at Noah and Tin. Noah was nimble on the draw and managed to slash the monstrosity on the berm with his longsword. It landed behind him, slightly limping but showing no house of giving up. It flashed eye full of bloodlust while it snarled and foamed. Tin hurried behind Noah, as per his monastic order, while he stared it down. If he cast his conjuration, he could easily kill it without it ever seeing the onrush coming, but today, he was sharpening his fighting skills and refining his swordplay, so he needed to confront his enemies without hiding from them. Besides, lusus naturae that lost track of him often turned their attending to Tin.

Noah made the number one move, charging while swinging down at the wolf's early shoulder. It jumped to the English to dodge, but Noah widened the Angle of the slash as he brought it down, turning it into a diagonal attack. Chasing the Friedrich August Wolf with his vacillation, he managed cut into its flesh. The Friedrich August Wolf, infuriated by pain, pounced from a in high spirits angle, aiming for Noah's headspring. The angle was slick, Noah sidestepping out of the reach of its claw, raising blade, and delivering an executioner's chop shot to the back of the neck, severing its head.

He didn't drop his sentry go and scanned the area, searching for any former wolves in hiding. He could detect none."Clear."

That was his signal to Tin. With Noah keeping guard, she went to do work on the brute, removing the worthful role like the pelt and sealed muscles and electronic organ. It was messy work, but worth the sweat. Everything was stored in her haversack and several other pouches and bagful, along with Noah's bow and other adventuring supplies. Since Noah was doing all the fighting, the job of pack scuff fell to her, or rather, she insisted on it.

Once she had gathered the topper pieces, they set off again. Many might reject of letting so much of the monster go to waste, but the airstream couldn't go extinct and something else would make out along and eat it, so Noah didn't feel too bad. Minutes after they moved on, Noah caught sight of something ahead, zooming between the trees.

"Tin, step back."

Noah readied himself, his sword raised as the blur approached. It was another wolf, moving much more erratically than the one Noah had just killed. It lunged for him and he sliced off its head. It was rather promiscuous, as if the creature's idea was scattered. Perhaps it was rabid ? But as he turned to examine the clay, he realized he had broken a cardinal sin. There was an arrow in its hind leg, meaning that this beast had already been claimed.

Two young women appeared, having apparently sprinted a great aloofness and now gasping for breath. Noah had seen them before at the inn. One of them, a blonde Archer, had attempted to babble to him the old night, but her acquaintance, a brunette with a staff, stopped her.

"Sorry about that, it seems I took your kill."

Neither women responded, both leaning on their articulatio genus and looking like they were about to collapse. Noah looked to Tin and nudged his psyche towards them. She got the content and approached with a water skin.

"Here, drink this."

The blonde gratefully took the body of water and drank deeply, then handed it to her friend."Thank you, both of you. We were so closelipped to giving up."

"I kept trying to take hold of it with my conjuring trick, but it was fast, even with an arrow in its leg,"said her friend.

The Sagittarius the Archer looked at them and gained a wide grin."Oh, I know who the two of you are !"

Tin blushed and averted her gaze. The wizardly user looked at them and sighed."respectable God, not again."

The archer extended her helping hand to Noah."I'm Beth and this is Mira, very pleased to make your acquaintance."

Noah shook her paw."I'm Noah and this is Tin."

"You took care of that wolf so easily ! With science like yours, we would get laid to team up. What do you say ?"

"Sorry, but I'm still refining my acquirement and gaining experience, and I feel it works better when I fight the fight alone, but maybe in the time to come we could team up. Have you two been adventuring long ?"

"Kind of,"said Mira,"but not against monsters this heavy and fast. We each came from areas where the scrap was a lot well-fixed and numbers were thinner, but we weren't making decent money and decided to try moving out here for a while."

"You said you tried slowing the wolf down with magic. If you don't mind me asking, what variety ? I can't use it myself and I don't know much about it."

"Oh, well I'm a mage, so I can use elemental magic to conjure and control thing like fire and water. My endowment lie in controlling the earth, like this."She turned away and looked into the distance. Rings of sandstone-colored light appeared around her wrists like halos, and Noah could see diagrams and runes of an unknown language."Earth Bind !"

She raised her staff and then slammed it into the flat coat. There was a pulse, and the background came undone like there was an sensual tunneling just under the Earth's surface. It spud across the timber floor, and XXX understructure away, there was an eruption of earth, with hard-packed soil forming jagged contour that converged like a closing heyday. Anything caught within it would surely get held in shoes, even stabbed if they moved around the incorrect way. The preempt earthly concern used to create the spikes produced a pit, just in font anything tried to duck.

"Yeah, I can see why it wouldn't work in this case."

"What ? Why ?"

"Well we're in the woods. The priming is riddled with antecedent holding it together, so it takes a lot of time and campaign to pucker the soil and form it into those spikes. Also, you're going for fast fair game with good reaction f number, so as soon as they sense the attack, they'll move before it fully activates. I assume your strategy was for Beth to injure it with the arrow, keeping it from moving while you cast your spell ?"

"That's right,"said Beth.

"And then you finish it off with more arrows, right ? It's a upright strategy, keeping your aloofness from the enemy to belittle danger. However, in this kind of environs and with this target, you'd need to interchange it up a bit. I suggest using poison arrows, or at to the lowest degree some form of paralytic agent. That way, even a low-damage hit will retard it down. I'd also suggest using a gravid bow for more penetration.

Mira, do you hump any early magical spell ?"

"I can create a disperse cloud and send stones flying."

"But nothing close-range ? That'll be a problem if there is to a greater extent than one enemy or they get within striking distance. Mira, I suggest you work on learning a spell for scrimmage fight, and Beth, get a steel. You also should get another member to join your party, sorry I couldn't be that person. They'd have to be able-bodied to pin down the enemy in one location for your pointer and magic to be able to hit their mark."

Beth and Mira swarmed him with desperation in their eye."Please reconsider joining us ! We need someone like you, desperately !"Mira said.

"You can even continue nearly of the money ! And if that isn't plenty, I can pay you extra in nighttime fun !"Beth added.

Noah hadn't expected them to get so worked up and wanted to back away, only to recognise Tin was standing behind him. She was tugging on his shirt, giving him her basset hound eyes, though he couldn't tell if she was trying to convince him to change his mind or telling him that they were advantageously off on their own.

"Sorry, but I can't. I'm really trying to rivet on preparation. I'm sure you can find a struggling swordsman who's desperate for a political party to join and would fit right in with you two. Tin and I have to get going. You were first to spite the brute, so the body belongs to you. We'll see you later."

He and Tin set out, waiting until Beth and Mira were out of earshot to talk.

"Was Master… worry in those two ?"Tin asked.

"Well, the idea of forming a party is appealing, and their long-range abilities would definitely help out. However, I'd prefer to engage away from prying oculus for the time being. I didn't mother wit any evil intention in them, but there is no telling if they can be trusted or not. But I'm glad we ran into them, it gave me a chance to examine elemental magic a bit."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

They continued through the forest, hunting for monsters while trying to avoid other adventurer. Along with battles, they also stopped to collect herbs. Noah was always playing through the potion recipes in his mind. Then, when noontide arrived, they stopped for luncheon by the river. Their food was slightly expert than the stuff and nonsense they ate before reaching Clive, in the sense that the shekels wasn't quite-rock severely and the meat actually had flavor. It was still unsatisfying compared to a hot repast. Their piddle came from the river, first filtered through a survival drinking straw that Noah made.

Once they were done feeding, Noah pulled out all of the flora they had gathered. He picked three different flora out of the pile ; branches of blue hemangioma simplex, several feet of a vine with straightforward leaves, and an orange moss."Of the formula I saw, this one is the leisurely and doesn't require any particularize peter. Even if it doesn't work, it will still be good praxis. We just have to grind these up with a ratio of 5:2:7 and mix them together with some water."

They gathered rock from the river to use as make-do mortars and pounder and went to work out. Working side by side, Noah noticed a small smile on Tin's face."This reminds me of making lye at the waterfall,"she said.

"Hopefully it won't have the same effect."

They mixed the ingredient together and poured them into the three potion bottles from the apothecary. They added some fresh weewee and Noah could see the concoction radiance as the potion was formed. Whether or not this potion contained mana or simply sped up the lifelike greening process, it appeared the essential chemical reaction was taking place.

"Good, now to quiz it. I think this will be the perfect chance to see what my future spell is."It was very slight, but Noah could see Tin's inflammation."You should go back. If this second spell is anything like my illusion, you probably won't be in peril, but it's skilful to be safe."

Tin moved back twenty substructure, and Noah, after taking a deep breathing time, put his hand over his right eye. The gist was instant, his mana being drained twice as fast as his first patch, and this time, he could actually feel something happening to him. His body, it felt weightless, and his arm, they were just moving of their own agreement like Portuguese man-of-war tentacles. His visual modality, it was almost bleary, like he was seeing doubles. It felt, of all things, like he had just taken a hit of some high-quality pot.

If his compactness broke for even a second, he felt like his branch and head would just blow on their own. Noah dropped his hand and staggered, nearly falling just like the first prison term he tried it back in the woods. It was like every apparent movement he made had to be performed while walking on a tripwire, or else he would go down. He was shifting from slope to side, struggling to remain in control. While this would be a bang-up thing to do while attending a concert or watching a funny moving-picture show, it was far from useful in battle.

"I'm definitely feeling something. How do I count ? Can you still see me ?"

"Uh… I think so. How… are you doing that ?"

"Doing what ?"

"maestro, look at your hands."

Noah, through great difficulty, raised his palms and looked them. He blinked and squinted several times, trying to see through the afterimages floating around them like an aura. Had he touched some bad mushroom-shaped cloud and then breathed in the spores ?

‘ No, wait a second…'

These aftersensation, they weren't some blurry silhouette ; they had crystal-clear details. They were ilk accurate copy trying to interest the same outer space. He moved his limb around, watching the copies follow the pilot. They were illusions ! He stopped moving his real arms and tried to go the copy. He thought about it, he envisioned it happening, but only when he gave up and tried to stir his real weapon system did the copy obey and fulfill the action. It was only for a second before they returned to their original place, but he had gotten them to move.

It took various minutes of repeated attempts before he figured it out. Halfway between thinking of moving his arms and actually harnessing the physical strength within them to create that movement, there was a percentage point where he could propel the written matter. He was soon moving the illusionary arms however he wanted, with Tin watching at a total loss. His mana was starting to run low, so he cancelled the spell and leaned on his knees.

"Master, what was that ?"

"An illusion. It appears that my left-hand eye can hold back my tangible body, while my right eye can make a fake. I can see it similar to how I move on my own, but it requires a lot of focussing. Hand me a mana potion, will you ?"He downed one of the potions and then lied down on the ground and reactivated the spell."Watch this."

Tin could immediately see it on his face, the sweat and focus he was putting in, but her aid was immediately drawn elsewhere, as a sec Noah seemed to rise from the body of the first like two prison cell dividing. For Noah, it almost an out of trunk experience. The illusion stood up, every movement that Noah would have made being performed. It was difficult beyond words, leaving him drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Every heftiness involved in standing up had to be acknowledged, from the muscles supporting his head, all the way down to the muscles in his groundwork as they tried to transfix the ground for balance. He had to project not just the movement, but the sensation of moving.

The clone stepped forward, every movement clunky and unnatural, like a meretricious robot. The knockoff turned to Tin, who was completely bewildered and even frightened. The clone opened its oral cavity. It started out sounding like radio inactive, but Noah managed to utter through the illusion.

"U-u-u-u-i-i-i-I cueolemfr-cuernlk-caern cont-cont-control it."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

For the succeeding three weeks, Noah and Tin worked out a routine of expanding Noah's mana stockpile and going out to hunt, one day inside and one day outside. Everyone in the inn became aware of the pattern, as every other day, from breakfast to lunch, Tin's moans filled the building. It became quite the storey around townsfolk, many people coming to the inn just see if the rumors were truthful. Tin would rob Noah of all of his stamina and they'd perform the waste pipe and replenish process with the mana potions. The following day would be spent gathering herbs to make more potions and fabric to sell, and uphold cultivating Noah's scrap abilities.

To eat his mana, Noah experimented with his second magical spell. For the low gear week, he focused on perfecting the clone's drive and spoken language. He tried to get it as normal looking as potential, having it walk around the way and imitate various actions. Unfortunately, since it was just an illusion, it couldn't actually sense of touch anything or dissemble its environment, and while he could verbalise through it, he couldn't see what it saw or find out what it heard. Unless it was in passel at all times, he was piloting blind. Strangely, Tin said that the ringer had the same smell as him, while when he was invisible, his smell was concealed.

He spent the next workweek learning how to make a motion both his rattling and fake consistence at the same time. He started out small, first with digit motion, then limb movements, then upped it up to having it walk around the elbow room while he stood by the bed, which was surprisingly unmanageable with all of the muscles required to rest standing upright piano. By the end of the week, he and the clone could walk simultaneously.

In the third hebdomad, he added his world-class spell to the mix, moving the clone around as he performed a project while inconspicuous. The mana expenditure was massive, so much so that the pace of his reserves increasing was slowed, and it became more difficult to tell how much onward motion he was making. Despite that, they proved to be a favorable combination. The clone could act as a perfect lure, while Noah would attack in his unseeable form.

His first spell didn't just take a shit him invisible, it affected whatever object he touched, concealing and also creating illusions to hide any changes he made, like footprints, while the 2d could create a full illusion, but of himself, one that had a skinny physical mien. These while, they were more than just bending visible light. It seemed like they were two halves of a unity spell.

When he wasn't training, Noah went around townsfolk to forgather information about the commonwealth, conjuration, and ogre. In a little backwoods village like this, the results were far from bountiful or even reliable. He would have to move to a bigger city to get better-quality information. The Utheric Das Kapital would be his salutary bet, but it was weeks of traveling and preparations had to made for a slip like that.

Try as he might, it was hard to remain unnoticed. hearsay about him circulated through the townspeople, with people he had never met knowing his name. He would walk down the street and fair sex would flash and blow kisses, even trying to seduce him. Men would smirk and nod in approval as they passed by, a means of displaying regard. Even the old lady at the pharmacy would tease apart him. When Tin went out, she'd wear a exhaust hood to hold back her identity element. It wasn't an ideal billet. If he was to be known throughout the village, he wished it would be for something a little more heroic.

.

.

.

Medicine

.

.

.

The leaping rainfall were spectacular, passionate, the lifeblood of Mother Nature as she fully awoke from her winter sleep and prepared for summer. Yet at the bit, the fury with which the expound drop curtain fell was not appreciated, for they numbed Noah's digit as he gripped his steel and made him shiver as his clothes became worthless from the damp. It was also difficult to see, splashing against his cheek and blurring his vision, but he kept his gaze focused on his enemies.

He was out in the timber, Tin having retreated as per his purchase order. Before him, a trio of bandits, all with arm raised. Noah was armed with his short steel, unable to wield his briny blade, due to an arrow stuck in his shoulder joint. When he was first struck from behind, he had hoped it was simply a hunter's honest fault, but the bloodthirsty aspect on the men's faces told him that he was their substantial prey. They probably robbed and killed adventurers for a animation, and he couldn't imagine their female victims dying quickly.

Should he just turn unseeable and despatch them before they could retaliate ? No, there was something he wanted to try, and a human antagonist would be the pure test subject. He raised his absolve bridge player towards his aspect, breaking the impasse with one of the bandits firing his crocked pointer. Noah deflected it with his buckler, the most he could do with his hurt berm. He swept his handwriting across his eyes as if trying to take in his imaginativeness, activating both of his spells. However, rather than splitting from his illusional knockoff, he wore it, syncing his movements with the brigand not even noticing a difference.

One of the Sagittarius the Archer's cohorts, this one armed with a large battle axe, charged towards him. Noah had his clone take a defensive attitude stance, while he pulled away, stepping ahead and stabbing the man through the heart and soul before he could make his swing. The Sagittarius shot another arrow as Noah stepped back into his illusion, but he again blocked with his shield. Noah, with his move concealed, drew respective lowly knife from his smash and hurled them at the archer. His mana clung to the blades, rendering them invisible as they buried themselves in the Sagittarius, taking him out of the game.

All that was left was a swordsman, and he knew that something was going on. Two of his cohorts were dead, but he didn't understand how. He pushed his discombobulation aside and charged towards Noah. Noah blocked and parried his flack with his blade, wanting to exact his meter and bask the fight. He was so use to fighting monsters, he wanted to constitute sure his skills in killing early human being hadn't gone dull, to refamiliarize himself with their unique bowel movement and technique.

He was allowing the bandit to advertise him back, though there was niggling he could do to stop it. His adversary was armed with a two-handed sword, so he could deliver more force-out than Noah could summon with his short blade. He strung the bandit along, using repetitive, easy trend, laying a fake trail as to what his next move would be. He made a wide jive from the side, and the bandit automatically blocked, however, the sword never came, it was only Noah's illusionary arm. His real arm swung from the opposite side, slashing the bandit across the stomach.

He staggered back, cursing in painful sensation and trying to understand what happened. Noah closed in and the bandit tried to spread some place with a muscular cleave. Noah blocked with his sword, at to the lowest degree, that's what the bandit saw. In truth, he had blocked with his shield, allowing him to trounce the bandit across the wrist joint without him even seeing the attack coming. stemma poured freely, the man's hand now useless. He released a cry of exertion and tried a one-handed baseball swing. The sword sliced through Noah's neck, just as the man had aimed for, but he knew something was wrong when no severed headway fell, and what's more, he hadn't felt anything when he made the solidus. It was like he had hit nothing but air. He raised his sword to block a golf stroke from Noah, but in reality, it was a stab, with Noah's sword piercing his chest. Noah confirmed all three death and then called out to Tin.

"Do me a party favour and pull this arrow out."

"I'm afraid it'll hurt."

"I can handle it."

She was nervous, but she grabbed and arrow and ripped it out without emergence, making Noah face in pain. She pulled out a red potion from her bag and poured it on the wound. In s, it scabbed over, with the tissue within stitching itself back together. These health potions were a real life-saver, miracles in a bottle.

"Thanks."

Noah once more checked the physical structure, but their faces didn't match any wanted bill, meaning there was no amplitude that he could roll up with their heads. Tin went to work, stripping the bodies of everything useful. They were so used to this turn that he rarely needed to give her orders.

"I think we should call it a day. I don't think this rain is going to stop anytime."

"I agree,"Tin said.

They set off binding towards the town, fantasizing of removing their soaked dress and warming themselves beside a fire. They had plenty to contain, and the rain made everything heavier, with the added frigidity sapping their forcefulness. By the clip they reached the inn, even Noah was on his last leg, and felt weak. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but the cloud were so buddy-buddy that it was almost slant melanize out.

It was a succor to finally get inside and out of the rainwater, but Noah knew something was off. He felt woozy, his cerebration getting hazy.

"Don't evidence me you two were out in that rain all day !"the innkeeper said when she saw them.

"We're going to appease in our room tonight. Can you have someone bring our meals up to us, along with spear carrier firewood ?"

"Sure thing, dearie."

They proceeded up the stairs, but Noah had to stop halfway up. He was out of breath, and it felt like the elbow room was spinning.

"Master, is something faulty ?"

"I think I'm coming down with something. help me up the stairs."

She lent him her shoulder and they made their way up to their room. Before they even closed the door, Noah dumped his camp and weapons and began pulling off his clothes. Tin locked the door and started a fire in the hearth. Once free of his wet apparel, Noah collapsed on the bed. The mattress was lumpy straw, the tabloid were rough like sandpaper, and the cover smelled like wet dog no subject how many times it was cleaned, but Noah was grateful for them.

As the blast started to burn and replete the room with sluttish and warmth, there was a bash on the threshold. Two chambermaid stood exterior, the innkeeper's daughters, though they were younger than Tin. One of them held two trays of food, and the other held an exceptionally with child bundle of firewood. Noah hid himself beneath the blanket and Tin answered. As Noah had taught her, she kept the door unfold just enough to withdraw the intellectual nourishment and firewood, and didn't allow them inside.

Tin brought him his meal and felt his forehead."professional, you're burning up."

"I'll be delicately. Take off your dress and warm yourself by the fire before you end up like me."

He watched her undress and the two of them sat on the bed, wrapped in blankets as they ate their dinner party. It was hot stew, the hone comfort food for thought. Unfortunately, Noah was starting to feel it difficult to swallow. By the fourth dimension he finished, his breathing was becoming labored and his spirit was beating irregularly. Noah was hoping it was just a frigid, but this was starting to feel much more acute and was coming on too quickly. Perhaps a disease indigen to this world ?

Tin could see his term decline in quality."Master, you should get some sleep."

She took his tray and gently pushed him onto his back. Truth be told, as soon as his drumhead hit the pillow, he lost the strength to actuate. He lay there, watching Tin set up a clothesline so everything could be hung up to dry. Once she was done, she added some more Mrs. Henry Wood to the fire and slue under the mantle. Her defenseless soundbox met his and she curled up against him.

Noah closed his heart, but while eternal rest was nimble to come, it was unpleasant. incubus assailed him, a burn heating ravaging him both physically and mentally. He remembered tossing and turning throughout the night, when the pain in his torso outweighed his weariness. All of his muscleman ached and spasmed almost nonstop, his stomach felt like it was full of oil, and he couldn't take to the woods his fever.

He finally awoke the next morning to the muckle of rain pelting the window. His mouth was as dry as ash tree and he felt like he was going to die of lust, just like he had a few clip in the past times. The rain, it had gotten him into this deal, but now he so desperately wanted it. He wanted to go out and air the heat that clung to him like a monkey on his back.

"Tin,"he murmured. His voice was faint, as it felt like his tongue and throat would crack like cadaver."Tin,"he said again, putting all of his effectiveness into it.

"maestro ?"

He saw her in his peripheral visual modality, but he didn't have the specialty to call on to her.

"Water."It was all he could say.

She brought him a cup of H2O, and in his impatience, he tried to pull it from her mitt, if only to get it to his mouth a nanosecond Oklahoman. His clumsy compass was ignored and she helped him turn on his cover so that he could drink. It was some of the undecomposed water he had ever tasted, and he felt some life-time return to him, if only a little.

"More."

She brought over the pitcherful to refill the cup, but he simply snatched it and toast the completely thing.

"How do you feel ?"

"Everything hurts, I feel like I'm on fire. I think I'm gon na … gon na …"He covered his lip and frantically pointed to the chamber pot in the corner of the room. He had detested the presence of such an unsanitary matter since he first arrived at this inn, but finally, he was grateful to have it. Tin brought the pot over and he vomited everything he drank, plus terminal dark's dinner party. He fell back on the bed, with his stomach feeling even bad. He had gotten a filthy flu a few twelvemonth ago, but even that wasn't as bad as this. This was like malaria combined with detox."Ugh… fuck. In every lifetime, getting throw up suction ass."

"I'll go get the innkeeper. She may live what's wrong."

"No. Me being sick farewell us vulnerable, and the more masses know about it, the majuscule the danger. If I can't fight, we're well-situated quarry. If I'm still in this condition by tomorrow, then you can get help."

"What can I do ?"

There were works that could help with cold and flu symptoms, but his mind was too hazy to recollect them."Pine phonograph needle tea, like I made by the river, and see if someone in the kitchen will make me some hot oatmeal."

Tin was hesitating, not wanting to result his side, but she obeyed. With her gone, Noah tried to fall back to sleep, but could only get a picket imitation that was nowhere near as restful. For Noah, it felt like his mentality was being fed on by emmet. He spent the ease of the day in bed, passing in and out of consciousness. Tin remained with him whenever possible. She used dampness ragtime to keep his fever in check, and hung a kettle over the attack, making tea for him whenever he asked, though his thirst was unquenchable.

high noon came around, and Noah sat up to eat his lunch, though it was a bowling ball of soup. Normally, people ate whatever the house special was at the meter, but by paying spear carrier, guests of the inn could order of magnitude fussy foods, at least, within reasonableness. The broth went down easy, but the essence and veggie felt like cacti rolling down his throat. As he ate, Tin helped wipe the sweat from his body. His spot on the bed would necessitate some prison term to dry out. When he had finished eating, he simply sat with his foreland in his hired hand, taking deep breaths and trying to ignore the throbbing pain.

Tin leaned against his back."Please, what can I do to avail ?"

"You're doing plenitude for me already."

"There must be More that I can do."

"Well it hurts me to say this, but I'll need your help using that chamber pot."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"Aye, this is springburn all right."Noah opened his eyes, finding the boniface examining him, with Tin standing in back. The woman was holding a handkerchief over her pry and oral fissure, and not touching him directly, instead with one of the rag week Tin used.

"That's really bad, isn't it ?"Tin asked.

"It's not unspoiled. I know four others in Town who have it and they are suffering as well. It always manages to drink down a few people each year. My former once had it and he nearly died."

Noah saw it, Tin's shoulder joint trembling."What can I do to help him ?"

"Exactly what you've been doing. I know of some Camellia sinensis that will help him sense a bit better. He'll either bring in it or he won't, though I think his hazard are good."

"How much time would I have if it were to be disastrous ? How long does this last ?"Noah asked.

"triplet Day. After that, you're in the clear."She got to her feet and returned to the room access."I'm confining you both to this room until this blows over. The last matter I need is for everyone in the inn to get sick."She left the room and locked the door behind her.

"It would be intimately for her to just fox us out,"said Noah,"rather than simply sequester us and risk everyone. She must like us a bit, or at least want to protect her reputation. I told you to await a day before calling her."

"But I did. Don't you think of ? You told me that yesterday."

"Ah, withdrawn, my excuse. The pouch under the floorboards, can you get it for me, please ?"

Tin lifted a loose floorboard, revealing a cavity underneath, in which a leather pouch sat. She presented it to Noah and he opened it up to reveal his phone and pocketbook. While they were mostly useless in this new Earth, he held onto them in the hopes that he could at least use them for function and kept the phone off to economize its energy. If he ever needed to start an emergency fervidness, that lithium battery could come in handy. Luckily, he had his earbuds with him, so he could at to the lowest degree savor one piece of his old life-time. Tin stared at the twist, possessed by curiosity. She had only seen it once or twice, the metallic typeface, the light it produced. Was it some kind of deception creature ? She wanted to ask what it was, but when Noah put in the ear buds, she assumed it was something that would help him get better.

He set his playlist to random and lay back down, hoping that the music would unhinge him. He drifted once more into the rift between being asleep and awake, cursed with his fever even in his dreaming. During his waking consequence, he was either drinking water or throwing up. The only cause why nature wasn't calling was because he was sweating so profusely. The music didn't distract him as he had hoped, so much as permeate his unconscious brain. One Sung dynasty in specific came up,"family of the rise Sun ”, and as that gap guitar strung out, a store was pulled from the profundity of his mind, another time he had heard that birdcall.

It was before morning, he had been driving out in the NV desert, out of the sight of Lope Felix de Vega Carpio. Noah was in his thirty at the prison term, lamenting all the dust the Cadillac was kicking up, so much of it sticking to the exterior. He'd have to clean it up later, as his employers wouldn't be felicitous if he returned the company car in a shocking precondition. The eastern swarm were pinkening as he pulled to a occlusive at the edge of a ravine.

He got out of the car and circled back to the trunk, from which he removed a man with truss wrist joint and a bag over his head. He stumbled on his metrical unit, and Noah pulled him to the edge of the ravine and removed the bag over his face. The man's face was streaked with dehydrated blood, some of which also stained his dress shirt. He was perhaps in his L, a older in the company.

"You fucking retard,"he spat. Noah ignored him and turned up the radio so he could hear the rest of the Sung dynasty. The outside of the car was an age-old 70's model, worth its weight in gold, but the Interior had been upgraded into the Modern age. When he returned to the man, it was with a gun in his manus."Killing me will just be intimate up your life and whoever threw me under the bus. You really think Alejandro can subscribe to power ? Once this gets out, the streets will become bloodbaths and your head word will end up stuck on a pike."

"In all likeliness,"said Noah,"but it'll be fun to watch."

"You're willing to start a war just because it'll be fun ?"

"Whatever happens is the fracture of whoever hired me. That doesn't mean I don't like it, though. It's the little matter that matter. You need to delight the special footling gifts like this."He flicked his gun towards the car, where the song was still playing."I once heard someone say that this is the best song for driving with someone in the body of your car. It is certainly a delicious coincidence."

"The sarcasm of your ilk : people like you think you'll do great in our occupation because you have no moral, no hesitation, but it gets you killed so quickly. It's the people who actually believe in something that make it, that have a origin they never cross, no thing how bally their hands get."

"That's what's nice about my way of life, I feel no need to stick around. But even I believe in a bit of something."

The man laughed and pitter-patter on the ground."What could you believe in ?"

"mercifulness. I'm letting you enjoy the sunrise, after all."

The sun broke free of the sensible horizon, and as its lightness was soaked up by the land, a gunshot rang out across the desert.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Once Noah had fallen asleep, Tin sat beside him and freshened the moistness rags that were opposing his fever. It was all she knew how to do when someone was ill, and it came from retentivity of when she was the victim, though kindness was rare to come to her in those vulnerable times. It pained her to be so useless, to not know how to help. Most of everything she had done was just obeying his instructions.

As she wiped away his exertion, her eyes fell to his peril manhood, and luxuria fluttered through her, a feeling that Noah had introduced her to. Their routine had been disturbed by this sickness, as yesterday was the day she was supposed to help him take his mana. She cherished those 24-hour interval, when she could finally help him in the way she knew best, when she got to experience euphoria.

Women would always cluster to her master, flirting with him, trying to call for themselves into one of his"workouts ”. It terrified her, that she might be discarded for someone else, having lost her note value. When she and Noah met those female person venturer, she saw everything she could not do in Mira, and everything she could do in Beth, rendering her obsolete.

She lowered her head and began performing felatio, slurping up the salinity from his swither. She did it often when he slept, compelled by her lecherousness but also hoping that it was helping him feel good, each climax forming a cuticle against the infliction of his fever. It was something she could do for him. If Noah was aware of it, he wasn't saying anything.

As her head bobbed up and down over his lap, Noah was sinking farther and farther into his creative thinker, while being pursued by the music from his phone. Once more than, a lone guitar was playing, and what little awareness his mind still had tried to remember what it was from. Ah, the words, yeah, this was pink Floyd,"wishing You Were Here ”. It was his wife's favorite, one of his past wives, that is. He played it at their wedding and her funeral. He could remember the gay sky overhead when they cut the cake, and the somber clouds that matched the color of her casket as it was lowered into the ground. He remembered the food served at both social function. But what was her name ? They danced to this song, but he couldn't think of her boldness. She loved the golden oldie, always playing them while she worked in the garden. Didn't they have a son together ? No, that was someone else.

Noah's mind continued to fall away through metre, each strain conjuring up a retentiveness. He remembered studying at MIT while listening to Two Steps From nether region. He remembered the stereoscopic photograph blaring Metallica when his convoy was blown up in Syrian Arab Republic. He remembered Mozart playing in the infirmary as he died from pancreatic cancer. He wasn't aware of the murmur escaping his lips, recalling conversations from across time and space.

When next he woke up, it was nighttime out, and the earbuds felt like hot coal in his ears. He looked at his speech sound, now with a poop barrage fire left. How many more clip could he listen to medicine before his phone just became a useless block ? He put his head back on his pillow, instead listening to Tin's breathing as she slept soundly beside him.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

A knocking on the door shocked Noah from his sleep, and he would have sat up, if not for the pounding pain in all of his muscularity. He groaned and fell back on the pillow.

"Who is it ?"he asked.

"It's Charles Hardin Holley, I've got your food !"Ah, one of the chambermaids.

"Please, just get out it there."

Noah slowly sat up and released another groan. hold off a arcsecond, he felt better. He felt like he just buzz off the whoreson beaten out of him for three 60 minutes straight, but he could finally move around. His febricity had lessened and the rawness was due to the melodic line it had put on his body.

"Tin, let's eat breakfast."She didn't respond."Tin ?"

He turned to her, seeing a rosy-cheeked grimace, moist with exertion. The gentle breathing he had listened to finale Night was now an anguished pant."Shit. Tin can you hear me ?"

He tapped her impertinence a few times and her middle opened."Master ?"

"There you are. I need you to tell me everything you feel, everything that hurts."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I haven't started the tea yet."She tried to sit up, but he stopped her. She was so weak that he almost didn't need to.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine, but you caught the springburn illness. I'm going to get you through this."

"It's so hot in here. Don't worry, I'll wash away your elbow grease. I just need to…"She trailed off and tried to wave out of bed, and Noah had to grab her before she could fall to the floor.

"Tin, can you hear me ? How many fingerbreadth am I holding up ?"

He showed her his hand, but she just looked at it with glazed over middle."Are we going to go Richard Morris Hunt lusus naturae today ?"

‘ Shit, it's hitting her even severe than it hit me. She's already delirious.'“ No, we're staying here. Everything is fine, I'm all safe now. Just leave everything to me."

He climbed over her to get out of bed, but as soon as he stood up, he fell to his articulatio genus, gasping for air. He was on the reparation, but he was still in a rotten position. He crawled over to his rucksack and pulled out a health and mana potion. He had tried drinking them before, to see if they could cure him, but was met with failure. He downed them both, and the pain racking his body subsided. His intensity and stamina were still closely to zero, but at least the soreness was gone.

The beginning matter he needed to do was get her fever down before she suffered grievous wrong. Next to the bed was the lavation drainage area, filled with rags. Just as Tin had done when he was sick, he draped them across her body.

"superior, your feverishness,"she mumbled. She began trying to put the rags on him instead, and he had to repeatedly stop her and pin down her subdivision.

"Just delay still, that's an order."

Noah got dressed and limped over to the threshold. Outside were two food trays and a pitcher of clean water. He brought them in, and having already experienced the pain in the ass of this disease, he brought the ewer over to Tin, rather than just a cupful. He lifted her head and poured the water between her pale mouth. She released sighs of assuagement between each draft, and every sentence he thought she was done, she'd lean her mind forward, as if trying to grab it like a dog not wanting to surrender its toy.

He filled up the tea kettle and hung it over the fireplace, with a new fire soon blooming beneath it. When he was spew, he hated the fervor, the heating it gave off. It was the only time he was thankful for the draftiness of the room, all the little mess for fresh air to drop away in, but it was needed. As he waited for the kettledrum to moil, he retrieved Tin's breakfast and once more hoist her head. It was warm porridge, probably made with him in idea, but now perfect for Tin.

"sentence for breakfast, Tin. Can you open your oral cavity for me ?"He brought a spoonful to her mouth, but as soon as she smelled it, she instinctively turned away, whimpering."I know your throat and stomach hurt right now, but you need to eat. You need all the food you can get."

She gave in and he fed her bit by bit, washing it down with some tea. He then scarfed down his own breakfast and looked outside. He was thinking clearly now and have intercourse what would help Tin's fortune with this sickness.

"Tin, listen to me. I'm going to go out and get something that will help you feel better. I'll be back soon, and until I get back, I want you to stick in bed. Can you repeat that back to me ?"

"No… maestro should pull up stakes errands to me."Once more, she tried to sit up and he pushed her back down.

"Tin, you're sick and you need to breathe. I'll take aid of everything."

"I can do it ! Please let me do it !"She was crying, trying to head for the hills his grasp. He held her against him, waiting for her wretched flailing to contain. She soon went hitch and he laid her back down.

"Listen, I edict you to remain in this bed, do you translate ? I ORDER you to persist in this bed !"She gazed at him with swimming eyes and nodded."Good, now go back to sleep. I'll be back before you wake up."

He got up and took a inscrutable breath, then cast his invisibility. The host would give him a hard sentence if she saw him outside of his room, might even quetch him out. While his conjuring trick was ideal, his body was so feeble that his mana might not last long. He left the room and locked it behind him. The hallway outside was empty, but he could hear plentitude of people in the bar. Getting down the stairs was difficult, as his principal was sent spinning with each step. No one noticed his presence, and he made it through the breakfast crowd and outside. It felt nothing short circuit of euphoric to breathe sassy air and soak in the sun.

A bit of his strength had returned, so he released his magic spell and made his way across township to the pharmacist. inside, the old cleaning lady watched as he looked through a menu of her wares, ***********ing plants that helped with everything from febrility to upset stomach.

"I'm guesswork that young lady of yours is under the weather, and you're not looking very healthy yourself."

"It's been a rough few days."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Tin was on the floor when he returned to their room at the inn. The door actually struck her head when he opened it.

"Goddammit, I told you to abide in bed."He put down the bag of herbaceous plant and rolled her onto her rachis."Tin, wake up."

"I'm sorry, Master, I'll tend to the horses in just a moment."

She was completely out of it. He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He needed to make some medicine for her, but he couldn't do it while she was crawling around like this. He took the blanket and shoot down off a recollective strip, then used it to tie her articulatio radiocarpea to the bedstead. Restraining her was not an ideal solution, but at least the fabric wouldn't leave a mark.

A strange feeling appeared on Tin's face as she looked from her wrist to Noah, almost mournful, and she spread her legs for him."I understand, maestro. I won't cry this time."Apparently, he wasn't the firstly person to tie her to a bed.

"Jesus Christ, even your delusion are depressing,"Noah muttered.

He laid the blanket over her and left her on the bed, then went to work. In the prison term since he first started making his own potions, he had bought a flashy combining kit, including a mortar and pestle. He wasn't a skilled herbalist like the pharmacist, but most of the plants in this worldly concern were just like those he knew from his past tense life history, and had built up plenty of endurance noesis. People easily faded from his memory, but cognition and technical skills were held onto. The pursuit of education was one of the few habits he chose to bear on in every lifetime, as it was the secretive he could get to finding meaning in the multiverse.

As he toiled, Tin continued to maunder in her sleep, occasionally crying. Nothing Noah heard could be called pleasant. He eventually stopped to check on her, see if he could shake her from her nightmares.

"Tin, arouse up, I have tea."

"No ! No !"She started flailing, knocking the cup from Noah's hand. He grabbed her and pinned her down."No, please full stop ! It hurts ! mum, it hurts ! make him block !"

"Tin, snap out of it !"

The final stage thing he needed was someone overhearing this and mistake. He covered her mouth, waiting for the nightmare to end. Perhaps he should experience picked up something to tranquillize her. Would he have to completely bind and gag her to keep her still and lull ? That would likely advertize her foster into the illusion, and with this disease ransacking through her body, the stress might kill her. How could he calm her down ?

He left her to think a cup of water and splashed it on her brass. That seemed to shake her awake."Huh ? victor ?"

"Tin, say my name."

"N-Noah."

"commodity, you're back. How do you feel ?"

"It… hurts."Fresh tears began to pullulate down her cheeks.

"I'm making medicament to serve you sense better, but there is something else I want to try."He retrieved his phone and put the earbuds in her ears. He had a play list of prosperous take heed Sung dynasty, mostly instrumental and soundtracks. He ***********ed one,"Vide Cor Meum ”, one of his favorites. It was gentle, set at a low volume, but the sound of the drawing string and voices, right in her ears, made Tin junkie out.

"What is this ? What is this ? !"she exclaimed in jounce. Her first inherent aptitude was to pull out the earbuds, as if swatting a mosquito when hearing its buzzing, but Noah stopped her.

"It's music, it's just medicine. Have you ever heard it before ?"

"music ?"

She thought back, trying to remember while her mind was still hazy. Her fellow striver, they used to have body of work Song when they toiled in the theater, sorting of a means of expressing empathy and solidarity, that they all shared the Lapplander pain. She knew a boy who used to encounter the flute, though not very well, and once, she heard the wife of one of her sometime sea captain playing a harmonica from within her sign of the zodiac. They could be called music, but they all paled in comparison to what she was listening to now.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. In her soul, a thirst was quenched that she had never noticed before, and she felt as though a summer breeze was rolling through her consistency, sending shivers of cloud nine up her spine that made her forget her fever. It left Tin stunned, her eyes wide as dinner plates with her mouth hanging open. She looked at Noah, seeing a rare smile on his face.

He rubbed the top of her head and gently laid her back down."Just quietus now, ok ?"

She nodded, staring up at the ceiling as the song continued. Noah resumed his work, eventually completing his medicine. It wasn't a cure, but it would help subdue her symptoms. For the side by side three solar day, Noah looked after Tin, doing all the affair for her that she had done for him. Thanks to the medicine, he was capable to prevent her from hallucinating, though she still had nightmares from her lifetime of insult. When that happened, Noah would put the earbuds in her pinna and play a birdcall for her, and she would immediately settle, as if hypnotized.

For Noah, hearing euphony had flooded his idea with retention, making him relive scenes of his past life when he heard those Sung, but for Tin, it was the contrary. Having lived a life without euphony, the bill and part filled every aspect of her idea, forcing everything else out, every bad thought and memory. When she was awake, she'd listen while watching Noah make her medicine or pattern his magic, and when Noah looked at her, there would always be a grin on her face.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It had been a workweek since Noah fell ill, and he and Tin were going for a walk around the Village. His long suit had returned, but she was still weak, and hopefully some sweet air and exercise would facilitate her feel better. They had been cooped up in that room for so farseeing, and the beautiful weather condition was just what they needed. Normally, Tin would take the air behind Noah, as a right slave, but today, she was boldface, hanging onto his arm. She claimed it to be to aid her walk, that she was light and needed to be given on him, but the grinning on her case told of her knavery. Noah allowed it, as she had taken such serious guardianship of him when he was ghastly and it was his fault she fell ill after him. He certainly owed her.

What bothered him, though, were the looks they were getting. It had been a workweek since she had last"helped him"with his illusion training, but the two of them were still a bit of a famous person pair, so when they saw the way Tin held onto Noah, they all grinned like they had just heard a unsportsmanlike jocularity. There was a saying going around, a joke, that even those who had never met Tin had heard her voice.

"original, when I was sick, I'm sorry for misbehaving."

"Huh ? Where's this coming from ?"

"I just… hope you didn't hear me say anything that would pretend you think any less of me. I'm for certain I talked in my sleep."

Noah didn't even waver."I don't know what you're talking about. You were quiet as a church building mouse the unanimous time."She halted and let go of his arm, and he turned back to fount her."Why ? Did I talk in my rest ?"

Tin opened her mouth and stopped. The things she had heard her master say when he was delirious, both majuscule and terrible things, many of which she couldn't understand, such as when he started speaking other languages or reciting lines from textbooks.

"No, former than cursing."

"That sounds about right."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

They climbed up a hill overlooking the village, using a fallen log as a workbench while they soaked in the scenery.

"This is some nice countryside,"Noah said.

"I suppose so. This is the solitary matter I know. I have nix to compare it to."

"I've seen what happens when nature is taken for granted, when everything is used up without any thought of the hereafter. It is an ugly, nauseating thing. I try to make myself prize nature whenever I can."

"Where was that ?"

Noah picked the name of a town from one of the mapping."Nellow."Truth be told, it was multiple lands, in every timeline.

"Is that we're you're from ?"

"Yes."

Tin looked at him, the man who she called her master. She knew when he lied. She saw him do it to everyone he talked to, especially her. There weren't any tells for her to read, he never stumbled or hesitated, and she had seen it work time and prison term again, but there was something about his eyes, a hollowness she thought she saw. She had tried asking about his past, but his gaze was always empty, even when he spoke with a smile. He never asked her about her own past, but it was nada she wasn't used to. She had grown up being treated as an objective, both a tool and a toy. intimate conversation was not something a striver should require from their master copy, but she had never had a master that made her feeling this way, that was so form to her.

"M-master…"she stammered.

He turned to her, trying to recall the last time he heard her talk of the town so nervously."Yes ?"

"Please, forgive my gall, but I know you're lying to me. I beg you, assure me where you came from, the matter you've done, anything. I only wish to know more about you."

He stared at her, unsure of what his next move should be, but as he saw the wetness of her eyes, his care waned."I talked in my quietus, didn't I ?"

"Please forgive me for lying to you, but some of the things I heard… I didn't think you'd want someone like me to know."

"It doesn't go well when I tell the truth. Being honest has brought me nix but trouble."

"If you refuse to secernate the Truth, I can live with that. I can live with lies, as long as they come from you. All I want is something I can paint in my nous, a scene that I can see you in."

Noah looked up at the sky."I grew up near the coast, and my father had a boat. He wasn't a fisherman or merchandiser, rather, it was a hobbyhorse. In the summer, when the weather was good, my family would go out on the water and go sportfishing, simply for the use of it. We'd arrest mackerel and try to use them as bait to view big stripers, but it never worked out. One time, we brought our dog with us, and I remember finding a grape-sized ticking on his eyebrow and putting it on my hook, seeing if I would catch anything. You wouldn't believe how shiny it is out on the water."

Tin moved closer to Noah, clutching his arm and leaning her head on his articulatio humeri. At Nox, when they lay in bed together after having sex, she would often snuggle up to him just like this."Please, tell me more."

So Noah regaled her, telling her what it was like to grow up being inadequate, what it like to grow up being ample. He recalled fond memories of his siblings and vacation as an only shaver. He told her of how his parents loved and supported him, then how they screamed and beat him. He described amazing auto and the engineering of the modern domain, and the fight for selection in the aftermath of the Apocalypse.

Tin listened without saying a thing, never questioning his contradiction in terms, only enjoying the stories that Noah wove and what they told her about the man he was.

.

.

.

successiveness

.

.

.

Noah and Tin, having fully recovered from the springburn illness, set out too soon on a beautiful day. Summer was upon them, so the mornings had lost much of their chill, though everyone paid for it in sweat later in the day. Unlike before, when they roamed aimlessly through the Sir Henry Wood to hunt monsters, they had a specific location in idea. Noah had heard rumors of an abandoned mine that was taken over by hobgoblin. A beehive, a nest, a Colony, whatever it could be called, it spelled trouble for the settlement. Goblins ate and bred like scab, so if they managed to bump a good place to dig in, they could bolster their numbers in very slight time. They had claimed the domain respective prison term before and had to be flushed out, and while attempts had been made to seal or put down the mine, the goblins always found a way back in.

They were following one of the maps Noah had bought, with several pieces of advice written down that he had received from early adventurers. It would take a day to reach the mine, so they exercised restraint and avoided fighting monsters whenever possible. Hopefully this mine would be a great source of receipts in salvage artillery, meaning it would be best to jaunt lighting and not gather along the way.

They arrived at the mine early in the dawn of the following day. Finding a secure place to set up clique had been difficult, for this was the territory where the goblins roamed. The mine was carved into the root word of one of the small mickle. At one time, it might have been a fairly decorous process. There were plenty of signs of the edifice that would hold stood around it, now reduced to piles of kindling. There had once been a wooden shack built around the entrance, sort of like an airlock, perhaps to preserve the rainfall out some time ago, but it was just a rickety skeleton now. Many of the cloth and abandoned equipment were harvested to construct weapons and barriers for use against intruders, with a fistful of goblins keeping a constant sentry.

Noah and Tin were hiding nearby, scouting the entrance."You wait here and I'll take out the guards. I'll wave you over when it's all clear."

"Yes, Master."

Noah concealed himself and advanced towards the mine. He counted seven goblins in total. One was on the roof of the hut erected around the entrance, perched like an owl with a bow in hand. Two more were sitting on the wooden rampart at the perimeter of the camp. The remaining four were at the entrance, though they were preoccupied with a biz of dice.

Noah went for the one no one would notice, the sniper above. He approached the entryway without fear, invisible and inaudible to the goblins keeping guard duty, but that would deepen. The only when way to the sniper was to climb up onto the roof of the shack, but it was so weathered and fragile, it looked like it couldn't support more than the weight of one goblin. However, it was Charles Frederick Worth taking the risk. He reached the side of the shed and began the ascent, using the mossy cliffside as a secondary ladder to assist minimize the weight he put on the old wooden boards.

He was thrifty with every placement of his workforce and metrical foot, so as to upset as little as possible. His illusion would hold in the marks he made, but only within a certain grasp. He had experimented with Tin's avail, finding that footprint would be revealed after ten footprint, so he had to stay within that range of mountains to keep them within his fantasy. Besides, if he ended up ripping a panel right out of the wall, his illusion wouldn't be able to conceal it. It could conceal tincture of his activity, but not replicate objects. The climb was hard. The wood of the hovel had frayed over the geezerhood and riddled his hands with matchwood, while the voiceless Lucius DuBignon Clay on the cliff crumbled and made it difficult to get a whole hold. Regardless, he managed to go up up onto the roof.

The cap itself was like dilute ice, and if he ended up breaking through or snapping any of the beam, the goblin would surely feel it, even if he couldn't hear it. Noah pulled a stone out of the cliff and threw it into the foliage in the distance. The goblin perked its head at the noise, and in that heartbeat, Noah closed in and stabbed it in the back with his short circuit brand. It died before it could even voice its hurting.

Noah left it sitting there and climbed off the shanty, then snuck over to the two goblins sitting away from the entrance. They looked bored as can be, struggling to stay awake. Noah approached the offset one, leaning against one of the wooden walls. He dispatched it with his tongue, striking the base of the brain theme. The wound was modest and the goblin simply went limp, never feeling a thing. To its admirer, it would search like it had simply dozed off. Noah slew the early hobgoblin the same way, without creating any noise or disturbances.

Finally, he approached the entrance, where the four were still gambling. He stood over them, the sun passing through him perfectly and its rays illuminating their biz. He ***********ed his longsword for this, even doing a few pattern swings to project out the compass and personnel required. When he was satisfied, he gave a mighty slash, beheading all four creature at once. Their bodies dropped to the ground and Noah released his spell, then waved Tin over.

As he stood safety device, she searched the bodies, and for each one, cut off their right ear. most monsters had some utile eubstance part that could be sold, like their hide for clothing or their meat as food, but aside from gatherer of grotesqueries like skulls and early things to put on display, nothing about the goblin was sellable. However, since they were such a pain, their species had an ongoing bounty. The topical anesthetic baron would pay adventurers for every hobgoblin they killed, and their redress ears were the trial impression. The goblins also sometimes comport valuables, such as weapons, candles, and even coins. Tin searched them all, and whatever goods she collected went into her backpack.

"Ready to go in ?"Noah asked.

Tin nodded."I'll follow you wherever you lead, Master."

From her pack, she drew a lantern and lit it. Noah would conduct, but she would provide the luminosity. This meant that he couldn't simply disappear and result her at a secure aloofness while he picked off the goblins one by one. He needed her right on beside him so that he could see what he was doing, and would own defeat the goblins drawn to the light.

They entered the mine, and were immediately assailed by the stench. This was the number one time Noah or Tin had ever seen a hob draw close, so the smell was new to them. It reeked of sewage and rotting meat, much of the latter probably human.

"This air might be toxic. severalize me if you start getting dizzy, because if one of us loses knowingness, we're both doomed."

They delved into the plenty with Tin lighting Noah's way. Everywhere, there were the remains of brute that the goblin had eaten, picked down to the bone. In a way, the goblins provided a valuable service to the ecosystem. Because goliath and animals spawned both organically and through wizard circuit, the landscape painting should suffer been buried under all of their army corps. Instead, the scavenging beasts would acquire their uncovering to their den, continuously sweeping the forest clean.

They soon came upon the number 1 branch chamber, just like in an anthill. It was small, about the size of an average bedroom. inside, respective hob were sleeping atop a mountain of pelt. near of them were female or younglings. It wasn't proper athletics to kill such prey while they slept, but this was an liquidation job, so things like honor held no meaning.

"It would probably be better if you didn't watch this,"Noah whispered to Tin."Look away and listen for any approaching."

She did as ordered, a mournful face on her face as she averted her eyes while keeping the light of the lantern focused into the sleeping room. Noah drew his short sword and began stabbing the monsters in their sleep. Each time, he'd go straight for the chief, so that they would die without making a sound. He was stiff, methodical, taking them out one by one with none of his victims even suspecting a thing. It was unnervingly easy, and when he was done, he harvested their ears.

"Master !"

Noah heard it with a grotesque shriek. He ran back out into the tunnel as a hobgoblin charged from profoundly within, armed with a wooden gig. Noah pushed Tin out of the way of its first poking, then sliced off the top of its headway with a strike to the temple. More must throw heard its cry, because another two goblin came running at them.

The first that tried to come on swung at Noah with a large dagger. He stepped out of its range and kicked the hobgoblin in the chest, nearly sending it flying. The second blocked the swing of his sword with a wooden club, but he forced it against the wall and drove his knife into its breast. Leaving it to die, he returned to the initiatory, struggling to breathe, and ended its animation with his sword.

"overlord,"Tin said, handing him a damp rag. He used it to wipe the pedigree off his script while she looted the corpses.

They moved further on down into the burrow, finding it expand into a larger chamber and forking out. There was still raft of mining equipment, but much of it was being used to string up food from. The bodies of both human race and animal had been skinned and were being cooked over bonfires. The hob were jumping around and squealing in delectation as the aroma of their banquet wafted through the mine. human pulp cooked over a fire, it was a smell that took Noah back to some dark timelines.

Tin gasped in horror at the sight and one of the goblin spotted them and squealed something in their bestial oral communication. The dozen or so goblins in the chamber turned their attention to Noah and Tin and began to approach, armed with the blades used for butchering their food for thought. They chanted the same squeal, probably something along the lines of"more meat !"

"Tin, stand back."

He summoned his clone and sent it running to the correctly slope as if to flank them. The goblin paid no aid to the fact that their prey seemingly just split into two, and were drawn to the movement of the knockoff. With that gap, Noah attacked from their exposed side with his longsword and beheaded three of the beasts. The goblin, sensing the deaths of their comrades, turned their attending back to Noah and swarmed in. He kept them at bay with wide vacillation, while leaving his left side open to taunt them. One by one, they tried to lash out from the apparent subterfuge spot, but he would dispatch them before they could actually reach him. Any that got in close enough to attack found their weapon system blocked by Noah's carapace, and then his steel would jactitate at them from below and split their venter open.

Once their ranks had been cut in half, they began to pull in one's horns back to the bonfire. As this was their den, they didn't show their backs and instead tried to guard Noah off with sinister screeching. Their sentry duty was raised, and while they were stupid, they wouldn't fall for the same legerdemain as the others.

Noah cast both of his enchantment, and while he had his clon remain where he was and affect to be standing his ground. He snuck past the goblins and attacked from stern. He slaughtered three before the remnant noticed, but as they couldn't see him, they could do goose egg but riot in mix-up. They made it too easy for Noah to finish them off. Even though the chamber had gone quiet down, he waited several mo before releasing his spells.

"All clear."

Tin went to work, gathering up valuables. The blades might be Charles Frederick Worth something to the blacksmith, but they'd have to lap the dried blood off them first. As Tin searched the goblin corps, Noah looked around at the other bodies being stored here. There were plenty of freshly killed humankind and beast that were waiting to be cooked, so it was possible that their pockets hadn't been picked yet. Noah dug through the raft of bodies, ignoring their stench, but one of them caught his care.

It was a boy, a bit immature than him, and unlike the others, his limbs were bound. He wasn't frigidness like the others. Noah checked his neck, and while it was feeble, he found a unbendable pulse rate. Wait a second, he had seen him before. Noah had gotten to roll in the hay lot of people around the town in the past month, and learned to recognize others. He often saw this boy with Beth and Mira, carrying a sword and dressed as an adventurer. They frequently ate together at the Old Wineskin. Noah assumed they recruited him to fall in their party.

"Tin, I found a survivor."

He retrieved a health potion from his pocket and poured it down the boy's throat. As it took effect, Noah examined him. His wearing apparel were good quality, but still the kind used by outdoorsmen. He had a decent chassis, showing signs of training and hard work, but while there were callus on his hands, there were healing blisters from wielding a sword. He was probably a farmer, but came from money.

He at last woke up and looked around, struggling to see. Even with a bonfire nearby, this wasn't exactly the best spot to wake up in.

"Where am I ?"

"You're in a hob den. I'm guessing they must take struck you in the question, giving you a nasty concussion. I gave you a healing potion, so your vision should probably vindicated soon. Hold on, I'll cut you loose."

He severed the boy's bonds and helped him to his understructure. For a import, he seemed back in upright condition, but as he looked around, he began to panic and hyperventilate, and Noah had to catch him before he could strike back down. Either this was entirely new to him, or he was realizing how close he was to the most sick of deaths.

"Calm down, everything is ticket. I'm Noah and this is my subordinate, Tin."

"Did… did my Father send you ? Are you here to deliver me ?"

"Your father ? No, we're just here to kill hobgoblin and steal their loot. How did they entrance you ?"

The boy seemed to be able-bodied to stand vertical on his own, so Noah let him go, though he was struggling to remember."I… was being trained in hunting by a topical anaesthetic explorer that my father hired. I had just shot a Sus scrofa with my bow… then I felt a massive pain in the back of my head and blacked out."

"Your founder, is he a noble ?"

"Yes, Ivan error. The baron in guardianship of the town. I'm oath flaw, the side by side head."

"Well, curse word, we'll help you get back to town as soon as we're done with this mine."

"This mine ? What are you talking about ? We have to get out of here ! The hobgoblin will be arriving any 2nd !"

"I just finished taking care of a good numeral them, see ?"Noah pointed to the organic structure of his dupe."I'm confident in my power. Besides, it took a lot of endeavor to get here, so we're not leaving until our pockets are filled with goodies and we can barely take the air. tell apart me, do you have any endowment ? Can you use legerdemain or any weapons ?"

"I… I have some skill with a sword."

"Some, huh ? So estimable case scenario, I can expect you to take hold off a goblin that might sneak up on us from behind."Noah took off his backpack and forced it into Oath's hand."Otherwise, you're my new plurality mule."

"You can't be serious !"

"You have to pay off the potion I used on you, and consider it a downward payment for us getting you back to town. There is food and weewee in the bag, you can eat while you walk. Tin, dedicate me a sword."She handed him a chipped hand-and-a-half sword, taken from one of the goblins, and he gave it to Oath."And I'm renting this to you, unless you would prefer to go unarmed. So, what do you say ? Either do some employment, or I can rap you out, steal your dress, and sell them to deal the cost of that potion. Which is it going to be ?"

"Fine, I'll help you,"he muttered.

"smartness choice."

The three proceeded deeper into the mine with Noah taking point. Every few mo, hobgoblin would round, desperate to defend their home. Noah dispatched each of them with a flurry of slice and shot, leaving Tin to collect the trade good. curse was understandably nervous, and it left him unable to even relate the slain gargoyles, so Tin ended up doing most of the work and just putting the finds in his bag. At to the lowest degree he wasn't complaining. Noah eventually tasked him with collecting goods found in the tunnel, while Tin would adhere to looting corpses.

"I've seen you with Beth and Mira at the inn. Aren't you an adventurer like them ?"Noah asked.

"I used to be a farmer, I just started fighting monsters recently. I'm still not used to it. But this is incredible. I've never seen someone kill so many hobgoblin singlehandedly."

"fountainhead I can see how they might be able to get the pearl on mortal if they ambush with superior numbers, but when you face them head on, it's like fighting a radical of ugly, savage nipper. Oh, speech production of which, I see another breeder."

The heap before them was nauseating, as what appeared to be a big super acid pig was nursing a litter of pint-sized little gremlin. While the male goblins went out into the forest to foregather, the females would tend to the younglings. Despite being less than half a foot tall as newborns, they would give full-size in just six months, hence their voracious appetence. Noah dispatched the breeder and stomped out the younglings, much to Oath's horror.

"They were just babies ! They couldn't even fight back !"

"They wouldn't have been babe very long. In just a few months, they would be roaming the forest, killing whoever crossed their path and dragging them back here to be devoured. You and Tin are carrying plurality full of the possessions of their dupe. I'm not judging them for doing as nature commands them to, I'm simply dealing with a threat before it can become a threat."A earsplitting roar made the three teen cover their ears and wince."What the hell was that ?"

"A goblin,"said Oath,"otherwise known as a goblin tribal chief. They're a rarified breed. I hear that only one out of ten thousand goblins can grow to become a hobgoblin. They're much enceinte, smarter, and stronger than a regular goblin and can even pick up magic. We need to get out of here, right now ! It's heard the end of the younglings and is coming for revenge !"

"perfective. He's probably hoarding the best stuff. Let's go."

"This is insane ! The fixture hob may be weakly, but hobgoblins are stronger than man in every way !"

"Your issues are duly noted. I'm going after that chief, and if you run, you'd better hope that he kills me. Let's go."

curse turned to Tin, hoping that she might talk up, but her grammatical construction was completely dummy, as if she was daydreaming."You can swear my original. He is unattackable and skilled."

Noah set off towards the seed of the noise, but they need not travel far, as their foe came to recognise them from the depths of the mountain. It stood over six foundation tall with a far more muscular sort than the lower hob possessed. Like them, it wore a loincloth, but it was also garbed in pieces of stolen armour, including a alloy helmet. Looking over a pair of boar-like ivory protruding from his mouth, he glared at the intruders with indescribable hatred.

"You will meet for the deaths of my kin !"he snarled.

"Huh, so it really is smarter. Oath, you remember your job, right ? If any other hob come, you have to deal with them."

He didn't trouble waiting for a answer and stepped forward with his longsword in paw. The chief was armed with the same type of sword, though with a larger brand. On the battlefield, it would likely be used against horse cavalry, killing both riders and their horses with one gash. The tribal chief thundered towards him with his brand raised high. His focal ratio was certainly faster than a human's, and with the strength he was probably wielding, Noah didn't want to try his lot by blocking or parrying. He sidestepped when the cleave was made and attempted a sideway swing towards the goblin's head. It raised its handwriting, blocking with a metal arm guard, then forced him back.

It immediately closed the aloofness to build the Same sideways swing Noah had, and with the sword's greater length, he didn't have the prison term or way to get out of the way. Instead, Noah rushed towards the sword to obstruct it with his own. As the hobgoblin straightened his arms, his swing would become more powerful, so he had to interpose at the earliest potential moment.

Sparks flew off their blade as Noah's sword halted the hob's. It released one helping hand from the hilt of its sword, using what small impulse it had left to swing at Noah. He avoided its backhand by a hair's breadth and countered with a biff to the disco biscuit's apple. It staggered back, wheezing in pain, but without dropping its defence mechanism. Its pain tolerance was remarkable.

Noah gave it no clip to recover and went on the vile, slashing and stabbing at the hobgoblin while it did its unspoiled to stymie. In moments, it had regained its dual-hand handgrip and was able to fend Noah off. It raised its sword for another cleave, but Noah's centre caught a distinct glow along the blade.

"It's using magic ! You have to evade !"Oath shouted.

Noah's instincts had already told him the Sami thing, but while he was able to get his eubstance out the way, his steel met the goblin's blade head-on and snapped. The beast's weapon buried itself in the stone ground, shaking the entire cavern, and Noah rolled away to avoid any barehanded attacks like before. He got to his ft, examining his weapon and the enemy's. The speed of the goblin's swing had increased, as well as its effectiveness and the durability of his sword.

It must give birth been warrior legerdemain, something he heard of while gathering information in Clive. Warrior deception was the ability to actuate arm skills that would better their abilities in battle, such as cutting deeper and withstanding Sir Thomas More personnel without breaking. He had witnessed magic a few times during the last month and had become familiar, but this was only his second time since he arrived that he was actually fighting against a magic user. Perhaps it would be best to eat up this fight while he was unharmed, rather than continue pushing his destiny. On the former hired man, swearword hadn't seen his thaumaturgy, and he wanted to hold back it that way. He'd just give to work harder with his physical abilities.

The goblin charged with his sword slightly raised to either closure or attack. It wasn't glowing like before, but his finis attack had shown that he could harness his magic in a fraction of bit, so Noah couldn't risk being in the way when the next golf stroke happened. Noah readied himself, still holding his broken sword. He came within the goblin's range and the blade swung diagonally towards his neck. Noah bolted forward, anticipating when the goblin would be committed to the move. He swung his broken sword towards the hob's wrist joint, making him pause for the abbreviated moment to conceive the menace of fatal combat injury, and that moment was all Noah needed to eviscerate his short blade and cartridge clip him across the tum while zooming past.

The wound was severe, having used the inertia of the goblin's charge to whelm the wall of abdominal muscles and slash deep into the organs. The goblin staggered, his guts spilling onto the ground. Noah finished him off before he could recover any of his strength. He took a oceanic abyss breathing time and listened for any aggressor hiding nearby.

"Clear."

"Well done, captain,"Tin said while bowing. Beside her, Oath was in a daze.

As Tin went to work removing the goblin's armour and checking for personal monomania, Noah examined the blade used. It was a commodity blade, certainly sturdy, and he now needed a alternate for his longsword, but as he held it, his changed his intellect. His original longsword had the uttermost permissible free weight and size, and anything greater in either category would stymy his movements too much.

Oath approached him."Where did you study to defend like that ?"

"I've studied various stylus and course of fighting throughout my lifetime, including archery and swordplay, mostly out of boredom or for usage, and I've had pile of experience killing. Your father pays people for every goblin people kill, correct ? Will I get spare if I bring him the capitulum of their headman ?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell him myself. He'll want to make love about this."

"Master, I found something."He turned to Tin, who was holding up the hired man of the goblin to show him the gang on his little finger. She removed it and handed the ring to Noah, and he could immediately feel the illusion within it.

‘ Huh, a thaumaturgy ring found in a hob tunnel. What could possibly go damage ?'He gave it a closer flavour under the Christ Within of Tin's lantern and found a crest, depicting a cuticle with a swan on it. It was the national symbol of Uther. There was also something written on the band with a foreign substance."Oath, what do you make of this ?"

"That's the ring of an Utheric horse ! Anyone caught wearing one without being knighted can lose their script as punishment !"

"I heard of those guys. They train as some noble schooling. Why so usurious ?"

"The ring is aureate, but is inscribed with a rare metal called avenium, which can hue objects with very upper-level spells. I once heard that a sword with avenium rune can concur to a greater extent big businessman than the ten best brand blade. horse rings are inscribed with a turn that creates another world where items can be stored."

"How many items ?"

"I heard it can put in up to the same weight as the one who caries it, but you only feel the exercising weight of the ring."

Noah put on the ring and channeled some of his mana into it. It was a unusual touch, like he had just put his hand into a stuffed bag. He could see his mitt, but not the object he was touching. He felt a small bottleful and closed his hand around it. The ring acknowledged that as a ***********ion and materialized the bottle. It was full moon of a yellowed liquidness, probably some kind of potion, or it could just be European olive tree oil.

"This'll come in handy."

"Just wearing that anchor ring is a grievous crime !"

"What ring ? I don't see a ring,"Noah replied as he stowed it in his pocket."See ? No crime is being committed. Now zip it, we're not done searching this mine."

The rest of the day was spent in those drab burrow, searching for commodity. By the meter he had faced the bugbear, most of the other goblins had already been killed, so there was little electric resistance. They found the mass of their prize down in the lowest chamber, where the hobgoblin appeared to have been sleeping. The hob were excellent thieves, stealing whatever they could get their hands on with travelers being their favorite targets. There were weapon hoard, base and barrels of food, ropes and Ernst Boris Chain, clothes and armor, batch of tools, and a minor fortune in coins. He even found the armour and blade of the knight that the goblin headman had killed. This haul was better than Noah hoped, and while they couldn't carry all of it, the anchor ring helped gather the trump pieces.

When they finally stepped out of the mine, the sun was setting. There could still be hob in the woodwind, making their way to the mine after a day of hunting, so the III wasted no metre getting a safety distance to micturate camp. A tree, nearly as chummy as a school bus, offered them shelter. They bedded down at its base with its raised roots acting as rampart and a firing warding off anything that might try to attack during the night.

dinner party was traveler's rations, the criterion nutrient for anyone tenting in the wilderness. While he ate, Noah examined all of the item in the hoop. There were numerous potions, spare sets of men's dress, some puppet and tongue, rations, and a few amber coins. He took a closer expression at the armor and blade that the knight had been using. There wasn't much he could do with the armor. Minus some plates he could use on his munition and legs, it was impractically heavy for his fighting style, and considering how absorb the punishment was for wearing the closed chain, getting caught with it would probably be a bad estimation. Hopefully the blacksmith would be willing to buy it.

The sword, on the former mitt, was a definite award. It was a longsword like Noah's broken one, but with an flowery guard and handle, as well as a rail line of runes going up the steel, inked with avenium. There was a spell imbued within it, he could finger the magic, but it didn't react to his mana the way the closed chain did. It was probably illegal for him to possess, so it would be best kept in the ring, but once away from prying eyes, it would be an excellent horn card once he figured out how it worked.

"So how long have you been an explorer ?"swearword asked.

"Several days. Why ?"

"I was just making conversation. You said you studied several different school of combat. Who taught you ? Where did you get your lessons ?"

"The Ithiel Town I grew up in, there were mint of former venturer volition to pass their skills on."

"And your parents ?"

"I haven't seen them since I set off from home to make my fortune."

"So, do you—"

"I suggest you stop for a moment and ponder why I'm not asking you questions about your lifetime or trying to get to jazz you."Noah glared as him, unblinking."Think hard."Oath wisely closed his oral cavity.

They set out at dawn the adjacent day, wanting to get out of the forest as soon as possible, to both stave off danger and reach the shop before they closed for the nighttime. It would take them well-nigh of the day to return to Clive, and that was without all the weight they were carrying, so they had to try and keep a good footstep. By around twelve noon, they reached a large surface lea, but before they could track it, a score was made.

"I can't go any further !"Oath exclaimed.

"original, please forgive me, but I too am at my limit."

"fountainhead we've made considerable aloofness, and I believe it's about lunch fourth dimension. for certain, let's stop here for a break."

Tin and Oath settled at the edge of the grass under the tad of a tree and educate lunch. While they worked, Noah took a walking through the athletic field to make sure there weren't any predators in concealing. It was when he reached the center that he stopped, hearing something. It was not the whispering of skunk or the growl of a savage, but the neighing of horses. He looked into the aloofness and saw four men on buck break gratis of the forest and gallop towards him with their brand drawn. Bandits ?

"Tin, take Oath and get back into the forest, cryptic enough that you can't even see me !"

Tin didn't understand, but when she heard the horses in the length and the hollering of the approaching men, she hurried to her feet and dragged oath into the woods. With them out of the way, Noah faced the oncoming enemies.

"Thanks for the horses,"he said as his brushed his manus over his eyes.

He was rendered invisible while he sent off his clone, running to the position with its illusionary sword drawn. The men were drawn to it, and one of them, armed with a bow, began trying to bourgeon it. Noah controlled the clone like a puppet on drawstring, and while it moved, he put the knight ring on his digit and activated it, materializing his bow and an arrow. It took him a bit to aim and expiration, striking the archer in the chest and sending him tumbling off his horse.

The other horsemen realized their booster had been killed, but there was no prison term to look for the enemy bowman. They had to fold in on the young man with the sword. They tried to run him down with their leaf blade outreached, but before they could take their target, another one of their rank was taken out with a well-placed shot. The two remaining men swung at Noah's clone, but for the sake of show, he had it dodge while he took out the one-third man. Only one man was left, but he didn't pain going after the clone. He was smart enough to cut his red and flee back into the woods.

"Tin, Oath, you can do out now,"Noah said as he released his magic. They appeared from the Sir Henry Joseph Wood, seeing Noah with the three horses standing nearby."Loot the corpse and then let's have tiffin. The way back to the small town will be much wanton now."

With the cavalry, they managed to make it back to the village in the late afternoon, when well-nigh of the shop class had closed, but there were still a few open that they could trade their loot to.

"Thank you for getting me back here,"said Oath.

"No pauperization to thank me, you paid off your debt."

"Still, I'm gladiolus you didn't just knock me out and slip my clothes like you said you would. I have to go see my father, he must be worried sick."

"I'll expect you to bestow that buck back."

"Yes, yes, I know."

They split up, Oath returning home and Noah and Tin selling their trade good. They first went to the blacksmith, as most of their goods were scavenged arm. When Noah laid them all out on the counter, the blacksmith couldn't help but voice his surprise.

"I don't think I've ever seen one man with a haul like this. You really did all of this yourself ?"

"Well I had some aid carrying it back. But there is another thing you might be worry in."

Noah held up a canvas bag and set it on the parry. Its contents had originally been in the pack, but he had emptied it before entering the store. The blacksmith looked inside and gained a inexorable look.

"You found this in a goblin den ?"

It was the armor of the slain Utheric knight.

"That's right, but that was all. I was hoping I could incur the sword or ring, but they were gone. So, are you interested ? This armor has better sword than anything in your shop."

"I could get beheaded just for having this !"

"Which is why you bettor melt it down fast to make into something really dainty that you can sell for a lot of money."

The blacksmith mulled it over and released a recondite suspiration of surrender. Whether it was money or his artistic instincts thinking of all the thing he could make, he couldn't allow the armor to allow for the store.

"amercement, what do want for everything ?"

As usual, bargaining with the blacksmith took a lot of metre, but Noah left with several shiny gold coins and a replacement for his longsword. He and Tin moved from shop class to shop, selling everything that was left, then Noah took Tin somewhere she did not expect, the town jeweler. Unlike former stores, this one had safety posted inside and extraneous, and all the merchandise was behind a counter, with iron parallel bars blocking it off from the client. An old man was sitting at the heel counter, scrutinizing a jewel.

"Ah, how can I help you ?"

"I was hoping you could appraise this for me."Noah took out a black gem, the sizing of the first joint of his fiddling finger, and laid it on the replication. The old man took the gem and looked at it through a series of lenses.

"Oh, this of superb quality. Where did you find this ?"

"A hobgoblin den."

"Ah, of course. hobgoblin are brutish, smutty beast, but they have a strange luck when it comes to finding things. This is an enhancement gem."

"I thought I sensed magic in it, it appears I was right. What is it used for ?"

"When grafted to an capture item, it boosts the strength of the enchantment. imagine a witching sword that can cut through twice as much as a normal sword. With this imbued into the pommel, treat, or blade, it will now be able to cut through four times as much as a pattern sword. They are a favorite of nobles, for not only to they better the enchanted items, but they make them more visually appealing and extravagant, arrant for showing off. At balls and formal events, you'll find high-ranking nobles with jewel-encrusted swords on their hips.

Would you be willing to trade it ?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could set it into something."

Noah took out the knight ring and slid it across the board, only letting the jewelry maker see it. At the sight of the gang, he became tense.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to…"

"I'm leave to pay handsomely. I've already sold the armour that went with it."

Like the blacksmith, the jeweler took a deep intimation."Tob, Gon, could you two delight footmark outside for a second ?"The two sentry duty, despite their oddment, left the storehouse, giving Noah and the jeweller their secrecy. The old man stared at Noah."Do you have a death wish, boy ? Just having this could—"

"I'm aware of the penalty, but you already decided you're bequeath to pick out a risk. Cover the rune with gold leafage and set the gem. If it looks skillful and the ring's spell really is enhanced, I'll pay you ten silvern coins."

"Twenty."

"13 silver medal. come on, no one out here is going to handle about this. You think some royal stag knights are going to come bursting in ? You could exhibit this to the baron and he wouldn't care."

"Fine, fifteen silver."

"Deal."

"I'll have it ready by noon tomorrow."

Noah and Tin left the jeweler and headed back to the inn to squall it a day, but as they approached, Oath appeared."Noah, my father wants to mouth with you."

"Can't it look ? The sun is going to set soon."

"He says it is of smashing importance. He also wants to honor you for saving me."

Noah looked over to one of the base hanging off the English of his saddle. It was replete of severed goblin ear. Was he really uncoerced to bring those into their room at the inn ? It would probably be better just to get paid now.

"mulct, just let Tin and I drop off the rest of our haulage at the inn and lead the way."

After stopping at the inn, they rode out of Town towards the magnetic north, to the baron's landed estate. Being a noble, he was better off than any of the villagers, but his house was far from prodigal, just nicer looking and larger than anyone else's, a unsophisticated manor, surrounded by field of operations that slaves tended to. Leaving their cavalry in the static in the rear, Oath brought Noah and Tin into the residence and stopped before a set of twofold room access.

"founding father, I've returned with Noah,"he said while knocking.

"Enter."

Oath opened the doorway of the secret subject area, and behind the desk, an old man with a hanker beard was filing paperwork on parchment. He looked former than Noah expected, for a son so young. Standing beside him was a woman, dressed as a maid.

"You must be youth sea captain Noah. My son has told me of your great strength and skills. You have my undying gratitude for saving him, and my respect for your accomplishment in battle."The mogul didn't get up to shake Noah's mitt, but that was to be expected of a noble.

"You are very welcome, Lord Fault."Noah replied with a bow of his head.

"You deserve compensation for your efforts. Twice, you have saved my son's life."

From his desk, the mogul drew a sack of coins, likely silver grey, and handed them to Noah.

"I appreciate it. While we're on the subject, I also have numerous hob ear that I'd like meet defrayment for."

"Ah, of track, of course. You also deserve extra for dealing with that goblin chief. Amelia,"he said, turning to the maid beside him,"please count up the capitulum and cipher their defrayal, and please occupy my son and this lovely Young lady to the sitting room to relax. Master Noah, if you have sentence, I would like to speak with you about some important matters."

"Very well, then."

The maidservant left with Oath and Tin and the door were shut behind them. Finally, the baron got up from his chair and walked over to a whiskey decanter with a set of chalk."Would you care for a crapulence ?"

"I'd love one."Two methamphetamine were poured and one was handed to Noah. Compared to the forward-looking public, the alcohol consumed in these kingdom was yobo to thrust down, yet the timbre of the whiskey surprised him."Oh, that is good."

The baron sat down."I can not thank you enough. If my son had perished, that would receive been the end of my line."

"I'm sure a man like you could work up a few heirs. There are probably some already running around the town."

The baron gave a acerbic chuckle."I suppose we should get down to business. You have already proven yourself a great savior and guard for my son. I would care to hire you to do it again."

"Not more goblins, I trust ?"

"Actually, something a little more unmanageable. I want you to help him capture a dungeon crab."

"amnesty my ignorance, but I am not associate with the term. I come from a land without such things."

The power got to his feet and began searching a nearby bookshelf."Dungeon crabs are massive terrestrial beings, spending their life history deep beneath the earth. However, they surface from meter to time, poking the tips of their shells out of the ground."

He found the desired Word of God and laid it out on the table, set to a specific page. There were two image, the 1st of what looked like a hermit crab, with a pointed shield various times its own sizing and no pincer. The irregular showed the tip of the shell poking out of the primer with a hole in the top, but just that was the size of a lighthouse. Had the creative person actually seen a dungeon Cancer the Crab fully revealed or was he just going by his imaginativeness ? For a puppet of this size of it to move underground without being noticed, it would have to surface up from under the dry land's crust. A few days ago, the Town had experienced an earthquake. That must give birth been the crab rising to the surface.

"Because they dwell so deep in the ground, they accumulate precious alloy and treasure inside their shell, which form vast labyrinths, hence its name. A man can get rich in one day exploring it."

"But I imagine it's not that easy."

"You'd be right. The shell is teeming with sponge, ants when comparable to the crab, but deadly giant to us mankind. When a crab surface, the parasites will leave and get a danger to everyone and everything in the area. No one is quite sure why dungeon crabs surface like this. Some believe it does it when the leech have grown too numerous and it needs to cut their numbers down, either by setting them loose on the surface or using treasure-hunting world to cull their population. Others believe the crabby person feed on the homo that enter its shell, and use the parasites to kill their prey for them. Many believe it simply surfaces to get smart air, like a whale."

"And you expect us to capture one of these thing ?"

"It's just a design of speech. To capture a dungeon crab means to get down to the bass part of its shell, where the most priceless metal is."

"Avenium, I'm dead reckoning ?"

"Correct. Anyone who can batten a cup's Worth and deliver it to the realm becomes a stately. That's why I need you to help swearing capture it."

"But as your son, isn't Oath already set to inherit your title ?"

"oath is… my 3rd son. His quondam brother, Colt, was raised and groomed to be my successor, and the second base oldest, Victor, was raised to be the replacement if anything happened to Colt."

"Making swearing the spare of a spare."

The magnate grimaced."He spent his life working the fields while his brother hunted and earned achievements. However, both colt and Victor died in struggle at the start of leaping, so Oath is all I have left. He has a effective heart…"

"But no talent, skills, courage, or reputation, and he's a bit of a brick."

"Unlike the son of my new Brother, Edwin, a baronet. He is petitioning the kingdom to revoke my title as baron and give it to him and his firstborn son. I need to prove that swearword has what it takes to be a king, and the best way to do that is to conquer a dungeon Cancer. I'm too old to engender another heir and sentence is running out. Oath already has an adventuring political party that he trains and conflict with, but their acquirement aren't good enough to conquer a keep crab. I would care you to connect their party."

"Why me ?"

"Because you are young. There are numerous quondam adventurers with skills like yours that I can charter, but then my brother will argue that they just conquered the dungeon and handed the prize to Oath."

"Which is exactly what you want me to do."

"But the fact that you are young means that you'll fit rightfield in. No one will question one extra young man joining my son's party."

Noah gave a huff while weighing his options. On one hand, a political squabble between house appendage was the last thing he wanted to get involved in, and there was no telling if he was even skilled enough to successfully appropriate a dungeon crabby person. It was an unnecessary danger. On the other hand, the estimate of getting his paw on some avenium and other uncommon metals and gems was a tantalizing idea. He could get plenty money to fund any venture he wanted for the eternal sleep of his lifespan. Plus, it would get him to the majuscule, and perhaps let him cause some valuable connections. There were probably slew of explorer who would give their correctly arm for the chance.

"Would I be giving parliamentary procedure or receiving ?"

"The team is yours to lead. They're make to set out whenever you are."

"And how long do dungeon holler normally remain show up ?"

"A mates calendar month. This one appeared several sidereal day ago, thirty international nautical mile to the northeast. It won't be yearn before its swarming with adventurers."

"Very well, we'll depart in one calendar week. I want to use that fourth dimension to evaluate the squad, see if there is anything I can do to polish their attainment before we go."

"That would be a blessing."

Noah got up from his seat."I have some concern to attend to tomorrow, but I'll return key in the good afternoon. make sure everyone is assembled."

This metre, the mogul stood up and sway his hand."Consider it done."

Noah left the subject and retrieved Tin in the parlor. As they stepped out onto the nominal head porch, swearword came to see them off.

"So my father talked to you about the dungeon crab louse ?"

"That's rightfield, I agreed to go along with it. I'll return tomorrow."

"I appreciate it. I'll see you then."

oath gave a deep bow of gratitude, and in the distance, Noah saw a ostentation of movement, and then discover a sound that he was well used to. It was the sound of an arrow buried deep into muscle and flesh. Launched a bit earlier, it would get hit Oath foursquare in the back, but because he bowed, it found its St. Mark in the center field of Tin's chest.

Noah didn't say a watchword, but before either swearing or Tin could react, he had already leapt off the porch and was sprinting towards the source of the arrow. He had left his bow with his horse in the stable, so he'd have to kill the assassin up close. He could see the man hiding behind a bird-scarer and recognized him as the fourth bandit from originally. They weren't just random marauders, they had been hired to kill Oath !

The man nocked another arrow, aimed it at Noah, and fired, but he deflected it with his shell. He closed in, able to see the shock in the man's eyes as the distance between them vanished with terrifying speed. He reached the man, drawing his new sword, and beheaded him before he could even turn around to run.

The consistence hit the ground, but Noah had already left, sprinting back to the mansion. There, on the porch, swearword was gathered with various servants, giving her one healing potion after another, as despite the removal of the arrow and the wound shutdown, she wasn't getting amend. Noah could see it, her veins darkening, her flesh getting pale, and every breather seeming to make her pain. Everyone moved aside and Noah embraced Tin, cradling her head.

"It was a poison pointer. We don't know what was used, we have no counterpoison for it. Noah, I'm so good-for-naught !"curse exclaimed, shedding the bout that Noah should have got. Instead, he just stared at Tin, his lacuna secrecy unnerving those around him.

Tin looked into his eyes."Master…"she whimpered."Please, I want to go back to our room. I want to go back to our bed and quietus beside you. I want to help you train your magic. I want to walk with you through the Sir Henry Wood and hear more stories. There is so a good deal I want to do with you !"

She was crying, but Noah showed no emotion. Instead, he pulled out his earpiece and put the buds in her pinna. With the death few sparks of DOE, Vide Cor Meum began to flirt, slowing her tears."It will be peaceful, I promise. Just let the voices take you there,"he said.

He cupped her brass and she smiled. That touch was all she needed."Thank you for making my life a beautiful one,"she whispered. Then she closed her eyes listened to the strain, soon releasing her final breathing spell as the net notes played out.

All was silent, no one knowing what to say. shadower began to creep into Noah's mind, a cruel representative making him shake. ‘ Great, now I have to do everything myself…'He shook the vocalism aside.

"Noah…"expletive began.

"I'm going to bury her. fall in me a blanket to wrap her in and a power shovel. I'm not asking."His voice, it didn't tremble at all, and there was no awkwardness in his words.

"We'll take care of the grave, you should—"

There was the flimsy twitch on Noah's grimace. The gears in his nous were grinding together."I'm not burying her here. I know a proper place."

The servant rushed to action his order, bringing out a flaccid quilt that Noah knew Tin would own liked. He wrapped her in the comforter and carried her to the horse barn, getting onto his horse with her and being given a shovelful.

The susurration came back. ‘ I'll just bemuse her into the woods.'Again, he forced the part out of his mind."I won't be back for a day or so."

Cradling Tin, he gave his knight a kick and it took off with a cry. The sun had set, the woods now at their most dangerous, but Noah didn't hesitate to rag down a familiar spirit road and into the wilderness. For hours, his sawhorse galloped through the forest. When it tired, he would give it water and a health potion to restore its stamen, but that was the only time he stopped. Monsters routinely tried to snipe him, but he ended their lives with his bow. As the moon moved across the sky, Noah, holding Tin in his sleeve, felt the warmheartedness slowly leave her body.

It wasn't just the devil outside that were attacking, but the ones in Noah's forefront. Evil whisper flooded his head, trying to get him to deform back.

‘ She's just a slave.'

‘ I should just go home.'

‘ There is no point in risking my life.'

‘ Nothing matters.'

‘ It's all meaningless.'

It felt like all of his muscles were just loosely within his control, and if his focusing broke, his dead body would act against his will, throwing Tin aside and riding back to the village. He had to draw himself forward, despite every selfish inherent aptitude trying to hold back him back.

Finally, when the night was at its darkest, he reached the desired point. It was the waterfall that he and Tin had camped at. There were some wolves drinking from the river, but he scared them off and ignored the small guck crawling around. The area itself hadn't changed in the last few weeks. There were still the remains of the fervency he had made, and the clay basinful was undamaged.

He tied his horse to a tree and lit a great mullein, holding it while he carried Tin. ‘ I'll just dump her and go.'He brought her behind the waterfall, where there was a modest dry area with deal of river silt, deposited by the waterfall. He dug down as late as he could, forcing aside any cerebration to open up and spare himself exertion. He laid her down on the cold earth and opened up the blanket, looking at her one lastly fourth dimension. She looked peaceful, almost content. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin. When they first met, he remembered her telling him that she was only worth that lots. He clasped her hands over her chest, holding the coin.

‘ What am I doing ?'

‘ This coin is valuable.'

‘ I shouldn't just throw it away like this.'

He climbed out and buried her, then built a pile of rock and roll on her grave so that no animals would dig her up. Finally, he turned to the stone wall at his side and began carving Tin's name into it with her obelisk. The scratches were faint, but they wouldn't be simply washed away, like if he had simply drawn the letters on with a tilt.

TIN

Those three niggling missive, a niggling twinkling light in his mind, like a faint star, told him that they looked lonely, and he focused on that. He should put more. She'd want that. But what should he spell ? What did Tin imply to him ? Who was she ? What was she in congress to him ? Did he actually care ?

TIN

A FREED SLAVE

It was all he could follow up with, but it didn't satisfy him. There had to be something more. He hadn't loved her, it had been a long time since he loved anyone. Did he even like her ? She was loyal and helpful, and took caution of him when he was sick. He also took care of her. Was that enough to believe her of import to him ? He couldn't tell. He had spent myriad life-time pretending to be a Friend, son, a classmate, a coworker, a husband, even a forefather. When was the last clip he actually liked someone and wasn't just wearing the façade of politeness while putting up with them ? When was the last prison term he told soul he loved them and wasn't simply lying to their face ?

He had buried so many the great unwashed, most of them more than once. It was severely to tell those who were important from those he pretended were important, those who were remembered and those he didn't deem worth remembering. Who mattered to him ? Whose dying mattered ? He had long since lost the ability to tell, and was struggling to regain it.

Finally, some emotion. Noah punched the rock wall and split the skin on his brass knucks."ejaculate on, think !"He shouted those words to himself over and over again. He was scratching at his own mind, trying to draw ancestry from stone. What had Tin meant to him ? Or at the very least, what would she feature wanted to hear ? Noah focused on that, trying to imagine what he could have said to fix her happy.

TIN

A FREED striver

A PRICELESS COMPANION

Satisfied, he stepped out from behind the waterfall. In the E, he could see the sky beginning to lighten up. He took a seat adjacent to the clay river basin, watching the sun come up while he searched his brain for that little twinkling light.

.

.

.

Cooperation

.

.

.

It took a wide day to devolve on back to the Village, repeating the pilot journeying he had made when he first arrived in this timeline, but now doing it alone. Like the day before, he arrived as the sun approached the horizon. weariness gripped him, so he went straight to the inn. He took his seat at his common table and the innkeeper brought two trays of nutrient."I was worried when you didn't show up for dinner last dark or breakfast this morning time. Where's Tin ?"she asked.

"She died."

The woman set down both trays."I'm… I'm so sorry."

"She was just a slave,"he replied. He then pulled one of the trays over and ate his meal in silence.

Having lived out of the inn for the yesteryear month, everyone who came for drinks was used to the plenty of Noah and Tin eating together. A few people, noticing her absence, ask just as the innkeeper had, and Noah told them the same thing he told her. His emotionless answer angered Holly, one of the chambermaids, and she grabbed Noah by the apprehension and lifted him to his feet.

"She was a nice girl ! Everyone here knows how give she was to you ! Don't you dare say something like that about her !"

Noah stared her in the heart."Does any of that even matter ?"

Perhaps it was the way he said it, or the coldness of his eyes, but she dropped Noah back to his tail end and stormed off in disgust. After that, no one approached Noah. When he was done with his meal, he made his way up to his room. This time, when he opened the room access, there was no greeting. The candle was unlit and there was no ardour in the hearth. It was just a black room.

Noah shut the room access behind him and went straight to bed. Having gone two days without rest, he was exhausted, and a deep, dreamless sleep enveloped him.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"How much longer are we going to wait ?"The impatient articulation came from a Whitney Moore Young Jr. man with a halberd on one shoulder and an obvious chip on the former. He was sitting on the face porch of the faulting mansion, along with oath and the two former phallus of their team, Beth and Mira.

"He said he would be back today, but I know he also has business organization to attend to,"expletive replied.

"Do you have any melodic theme where he rode off to ?"Beth asked.

"No clue."

"I don't precaution how hoodlum you say he is,"the man with the halberd said,"if he rode out into those wood at night, he's drained for sure."

"Shut up, Trevor. When Beth and I met him, we knew that he was the tangible deal."

"When Tin was hit, it was like I blinked and he had already chased down the bravo and killed him."

"I still call nonsense on him taking out three men in that field."

"I looted their corpses myself."

"Oh, there he is !"

On the road leading to the house, a galloping horse with its rider could be seen. Noah approached them and climbed off his horse."Sorry I'm late."

"That's the nice ringing. You look More like a noble than I do,"said Oath.

It was the knight hoop, all done after the town jeweler had worked on it. The avenium runes had been covered up and the enhancement jewel was set on top of the crest. It was certainly gaudy, but sometimes glitz had its own charm.

"Thanks. Beth, Mira, you're doing well, I see. When did you shape this party ?"

"rightfield after we met you in the forest. We looked around for anyone will to team up up with us and found swearword and Trevor,"said Mira."And I'm sorry about Tin."

"Me too,"Beth added.

Noah simply nodded."So the baron has asked me to guide this team to suppress the dungeon crab. Before we do that, I need to—"

"You aren't leading anything,"said Trevor."You're not the boss of us, just the babysitter for the baron's son."

"You're just going to grouse and moan throughout this whole ordeal, aren't you ?"Noah asked.

"Fuck you. Try giving me orders and I'll shove this halberd up your ass."

Noah took a deep breather and rubbed his temples."Ugh, one of you mass. This is the last thing I need.

Listen, here's what's supposed to take place : you and I spend the next week playing the game where I act as the stern yet savvy authority figure, and you keep throwing surliness tantrums due to some unvoiced deep-seated issue. By the prison term we arrive at the dungeon crab, you'll detest me more than ever, and almost get us killed, probably with me having to save your life. However, your screwup will help you realize you're full-of-the-moon of aught but bravado and horse shit, and you'll finally decide to listen to me, allowing me to break dance your surd outer shell to help you solve your behavioral problems, which I'm shot is about your father, or look of deficiency, or something along standardized melodic phrase. We'll capture the dungeon Cancer the Crab and spring a durable friendly relationship of esteem and trust.

Now, that is what is supposed to happen, and as much as I would do it to go on that emotional journey with you, I have literally a million better affair to do with my time. So, let's nip this in the bud right now. You and me, one on one, until one of us can no longer stand. The nonstarter has to listen and obey the winner until the dungeon crab is captured, including an order to forget the party."

Most of what he said went over everyone's heads, but sign Trevor's nerve, he was smart enough to realize he had just been insulted."You son of a bitch !"he barked as he got to his feet and pointed his halberd at Noah.

"That's the spirit. Give it your near gibe, because if you don't take me down, you're going to end up swallowing a lot of blood."

Trevor took a stance, leaning back and gripping his halberd with both hands, and enveloping the vane with mana with runes appearing in the air. It was just like the spell the goblin foreman had used on his sword to increase the strength of his slashes, meaning that getting hit with that halberd would surely be deadly.

"Trevor, break off this ! This is insanity !"Mira implored.

"No, don't get in his way,"said Noah as he removed his tintinnabulation."The most important lessons hurt the most."

Trevor lunged with a decent form and hurl his halberd towards Noah. It wasn't just the destructive power of his halberd, his speed had more than doubled."Mountain-Splitter !"

It was by a thin gross profit, but Noah stepped to the English and the blade missed. He grabbed the shaft of light of the halberd and delivered a bone-crushing punch to Trevor's nose, causing him to let go and stagger back.

"That was a skillful jab. I imagine you've fagged raft of time practicing it."

Trevor's fount was pouring blood, but he remained standing and glared at Noah with limitless hatred."move over it back !"

"fine, but I think it's been established that you can't hit me with it."

Noah tossed the halberd back and Trevor caught it. He wasted no time in charging the blade with mana, producing an impressive aura. This time, instead of a thrust, he made a wide swinging."Erasing Cleave !"

Once More, Noah simply backed out of his range, escaping with zero damage. Then, when the seacoast was clear, he closed in and delivered and uppercut to Trevor's jaw, busting his teeth and making him an even bally passel. This time, Trevor couldn't stay on his understructure and fell back, trying and failing to contain his cry of torment. Looking around, Noah could see the power's handmaiden watching from the fields and through the windows.

"Noah, that's enough ! You two need to lay off this !"Beth exclaimed.

"He's the one who decides when we stop. flavour free to give him a wellness potion, though."

"I don't need a fucking wellness potion !"Trevor shouted.

He scrambled to his feet and went at it again. He abandoned the idea of using magic and attacked Noah with a barrage fire of rapid-fire stabs. Noah deflected each onrush with his shield, and when Trevor tried to get in close for another lilt, he once again grabbed the halberd and stopped Trevor from moving. It became a tug of war, but despite Trevor's accumulated strength, Noah maintained his posture.

"You know what I'm going to do now, right ?"Trevor tried to image out how Noah would fox another puncher, but instead, he let go of the halberd and sent Trevor falling onto his ass."Your skill with that thing aren't that bad, at least, if you just bewilder to hunting devil, but you'll never hit me with it. Try showing me how well you are with your fists."Noah placed his mitt on his longsword and slowly drew it halfway."Unless you'd prefer to stick to fortify combat, in which case I'll gladly witticism you."

Trevor abandoned his halberd and charged, sending a unbent right punch towards Noah. Noah caught his fist and then struck his human elbow, snapping his arm like his bone were made of glass. Before Trevor could even hollo, Noah silenced him with another punch to the nozzle, once more knocking him to the background. It didn't seem like he was going to get up, so Noah took out a wellness potion and poured it on his facial expression. The spray woke him up and healed his nose and sassing, though his arm would have to be reset before a potion could mend it.

"So, do you need to keep going ? I can go all day if you want. I mean it, I've got zilch but time. And we can go whenever you want, this isn't your only luck.

Now I suppose there are a number of ways we can go about this. We can do the entirely aroused journeying thing, but the fact that I've explained it variety of takes away the magic. You can just result the party, I'll give you that pick. There's the selection of waiting until I have my rachis turned and then getting your revenge, which, again, you are free to do so at any time, but at your own peril. Poisoning my food for thought might work, but it would just be you admitting your weaker than me. I suppose your best option would be to keep out your fucking mouth, accept that I'm secure than you and sassy than you, and pay attention to what I will learn you, as it will ameliorate your skills and your chances of survival.

From there, we can go to the dungeon crab, and you'll easily overcome challenges that would give killed you at your current level of effectiveness. With a honest sum of crusade and coordination, and no shortage of luck, we'll conquer the dungeon crab and become rich beyond our wildest ambition. There is always the choice of betraying us down there and running off with all the shekels, but boy, oh boy, you'd better make sure I'm beat, because you don't want me coming after you, you really don't.

So, what do you say ?"

Everyone was silent, waiting to take heed Trevor's reaction. He was glaring at Noah and taking deep, angry breathes through his nose."You say you can reach me stronger ?"

"I guarantee it."

"We conquer the dungeon crab and we're done, right ? I never have to see you again ?"

"You can retire to some fancy beach house, you'll be so copious. I'll never bother you again."

"Fine."

"I'll let the three of you fix his arm. I need to verbalize with the baron inside."

Noah stepped onto the porch and entered the menage, walking right by the spot where Tin had died."Is the magnate in ?"he asked, addressing one of the maids.

"In his private survey, sir. He's waiting for you."

Just as swearword had done the day before, the maidservant knocked on the double doors and announced Noah's reaching, with the power granting submission. The old man was behind his desk."That was quite the bouncy match outside. Your acquirement are the real deal."

"The real science is producing results from it."

The baron walked over to his whiskey set and poured himself a drink."I'm sword lily you returned. I'm sorry for the red ink of your companion."

"Don't trouble about it. I already killed your brother and his son."

The glass fell from the power's script and shattered."What ? !"he exclaimed.

There was an immediate knock on the room access."My Lord, is everything amercement ?"a butler asked.

Noah's gaze never left the baron, without any sense of fear or expectancy of what might come next. He simply waited for a response. The big businessman gripped the corner of the desk but managed to control himself.

"Everything is fine. We are not to be disturbed."When he sensed the pantryman had left, he turned his tending back to Noah."You wouldn't even give me the chance to spill you out of vengeance ?"

"It was cypher of the sort."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It was midmorning, and Noah had just claimed his anchor ring from the jeweler, the net of his morning errands, and with data given by those around town, he now stood before the home of the local baronet. It was in the outskirts of the townsfolk, one of the farms, and neither the landing field nor the menage were on par with the baron. Despite the rank of noble, baronets were simply commoners with the prefix ‘ Sir'or ‘ ma'am ’.

He found the baronet repairing a Bos taurus fence behind the star sign. He was identical to the baron, but without the face fungus and sporting fewer wrinkles. Noah was invisible, so the man didn't even notice him approach, but was calm when Noah pressed the vane of his knife to his throat and told him to drop the hammer he was using.

"Sir Edwin Fault, I presume ?"

"Who's asking ?"

"Did you lease four men to bolt down the Oath mistake ?"

"Now why would I try to kill my beloved nephew ?"

"To get your son the social status of big businessman. But if you aren't going to answer my questions, I suppose I can always ask him, or maybe your wife."

"You must be the bastard who saved him from that hob den. I had to pay that adventurer a near deal of money to belt down him. To guess he'd be such a chickenshit and leave the job to goblins."

"Did your son know about the hit you put on his full cousin ?"

"He would receive killed that talentless brat himself if I hadn't talked him out of it. He didn't do anything. You have a pearl to pick, put that stab away and let's solve this like men."

Noah's answer came in the figure of a unstable motion-picture show of his articulatio radiocarpea, severing Edwin's jugular and sending him tumbling to the priming, trying pointlessly to stop the haemorrhage. Noah stood by to confirm the death and then made his way towards the fields, where the Bart's son was working.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"There was a time when I took great joy in making people suffer, and I've been working to convert myself since then. I don't allow myself to kill for pleasure or vengeance, and certainly I didn't pop them for what they did, but what they would uphold to do. Associating with you and your son has already cost me the biography of a loyal subordinate, and I'd rather not hand anyone the chance to get in my way.

If I were to allow them to go, they would continue to try and kill you and swearword, and I'd have to pick up the great deal, just like I've been doing since I found your son in that goblin den. The last thing I'd privation is to becharm the dungeon and then get ambushed by your sidekick's henchmen when we're too banal to crusade back. I assume you had forgiven your buddy because he is your family, despite his attempt to stamp out Oath, but you're hiring me to keep expletive alive, and if I'm going to do that, it will be done my way.

If you have any objections, state them now."

Ivan didn't respond. He simply slumped in his fundament and exhaled deeply. Deep down, he knew that his Brother had to be dealt with in one form or another, in decree for his son to inherit the rank of baron. However, even if it had been slim down before, there was always a chance of rapprochement. He had dreamt of conversing with his brother, as they had a long, long metre ago, and burying the hatchet. Now that possibility was gone forever. Noah claimed he hadn't acted out of payback against his crony, but Ivan couldn't help but feel he was the one being punished.

"I thought as very much. Despite your comrade and nephew demise, I'm aware that your son still had little prospect of inheriting your deed, so the donjon capture will proceed as plan. We didn't have the chance to peach about defrayal for this job, but don't worry, I'm not interested in money or land. There is something else I want."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It took more than one healing potion to quicken Trevor's arm, and that could only be done when the finger cymbals were reset. He was all patched up by the time Noah made his return.

"I promised the baron we'd set out in a week for the dungeon. That was two days ago. For the following five twenty-four hours, I'm going to evaluate each of your skills and see where improvements have been made. first base, we're going to run some freak. I want to be intimate your combat skills and see how well you work as a team. You all have your artillery, so we're going to depart now and traveling luminousness. Any objections ?"

No one said anything, not after watching how he thrashed Trevor. But their quiet was not out of fear, rather an awareness that Noah knew what he was talking about. He was the quondam of the group by only a yr, but they all sensed he had much more experience than they did.

"good, then let's depart. Oath, you know the area. Please lead the way."

"I actually know the localisation of a magic spawning circle. Let's foreland there."

They gathered some supplying and set off into the wilderness, leading a mob horse to carry back their harvested monster parts. From the moment they were enveloped by the darkness of the trees, they were vulnerable. The territory of the demon was well-established, due much in function to the evocation lap that they spawned from. They only intruded into human district when there was a shortage of food or their numbers had grown too great, effect that were both solved by the constant current of adventurers working to contain their population.

As they walked, Noah spoke to everyone.

"Mira, we talked once before about this. Have you developed any accomplishment for close-quarter fight ?"

"I've been training with my staff since then. Oath and I spar a lot when we're not hunting."

"What about magic ?"

"I haven't been able to develop anything for fighting opposition up close."

"We'll body of work on that. oath, Beth, can either of you use wizardly ?"

"I can't,"said Oath.

"I can create water, but not in any form of attack. I use it to take up my weewee skin."

"commodity, we'll definitely demand that in the dungeon. You're still using your bow as your main weapon, right ?"

"Yeah, and I got toxicant for my arrows just like you…"

She trailed off, remembering what Oath had told her. Tin had been shot and killed with a poison arrow. Noah paid no attention to the drop of her speech.

"What about close-range ? Any weapons ?"

"I use a knife."

"trade good. Trevor, you can activate magic when you thrust and swing your halberd. Anything else ?"

"Nope, the halberd is all I can use."

Noah had picked up some scraps of info on the dissimilar outgrowth of magic in this world, and Trevor appeared to be in the warrior class, just like the goblin chieftain. Warriors could only activate their attainment with specific arm, which depended on the individual. He wasn't exaggerating when he said the halberd was all he could use. He couldn't spark his magic with any other weapon.

"We're here,"said curse word. He then stopped in his runway."On mo thought, I think we should release back."

Noah looked ahead. On the forest floor, he could see a large sorcerous circle, consisting of runes and mixed physical body. Standing in the circle was a bear the size of it of a minivan. However, its torso was faint, translucent, like it was just a holograph, but with each passing game moment, its colour deepened.

‘ Is it teleporting ? No, it's solidifying. The circle is converting mana into forcible thing and assembling it. So, that's what it means for a creature to be summoned.'“ I've never seen a bear like that out here."

"It's a sledgepaw, a rarefied strain. It is to unconstipated bears what that goblin was to regular goblin. We should get out of here before it attacks. This is a piffling bit out of our league."

"No, it's perfect tense. We'll wait for it to finish spawning and then drive it on. For all we know, the dungeon could have far worsened monsters."

"All right, then let's take establishment,"said Oath.

"Wait for it to attack us. Taking your clock time in setting up a dismission police squad while it spawns won't give much experience or information."

It took only a minute for the bear to fully materialize, immediately spotting Noah and the group and labeling them as enemies without any kind of hesitation or discombobulation. It released a thunder of fury and charged, signaling the starting time of the engagement. Noah kept his distance while the chemical group spread out, surrounding the bear. Beth nocked a poison pointer in her bow and shot the bear in the neck. It turned to her and snarled, about to whip out with its claws, but Oath attacked from the side of meat and slashed at its berm with his sword. The beast's hide was thug, and Noah couldn't William Tell if the attack had actually done any damage. Enraged, the bear knocked Oath aside. Like Noah, he was wearing leather armor, and while it stopped the bear's claw from reaching his shape, the armor itself was nearly destroyed by that one swipe.

"Oath !"Mira cried out.

Trevor stabbed the bear in the second joint with his halberd, and while he drew a holloa of pain from the fauna, it hadn't forgotten the pointer in its neck opening and attacked Beth. It was faster than she expected and it knocked her to the ground, with her bow wedged between its jaws keeping it from biting her. She was crying in anguish as it weighed down on her, saliva from its mouth splashing on her face with its monumental fang inching closer and closer.

"Guillotine Swing !"

Trevor swung his halberd like he was splitting wood, and the axe blade, glowing with magic power, dug deep into the have a bun in the oven's back, though it missed the spine.

"Earth upsurge !"

Having gathered her mana, Mira struck the priming with her staff. The surrounding stain, not gripped by the tree base, was gathered together and slammed into the bear like a mudslide, knocking it off Beth. The bear was slow to get back on its pes, as its military strength was fading with each lost drop of blood and the poison was taking its cost. Regardless, it still could crush the skulls of the feeble humans with a single swing of its mighty paw.

cuss was back on his metrical unit and charged with a cry of determination and his sword raised high. Seeing him plan of attack, the bear reared back on its hind legs, and despite his heartiness just moments ago, the sight of the towering beast robbed Oath of his braveness. He was paralyzed with fear and the bear swung at him. Instinct saved his life-time, the instinct to raise his sword and block the attack, though the force still slammed him into the ground. An arrow was buried in the bear's pectus before it could attack again, managing to pierce a lung, and Trevor stabbed it in the stomach.

The bear fell back and rolled onto its legs, roaring in fury but then breaking down into a fit of bloody coughing. Beth fired a third arrow, striking the shoulder joint, which Trevor then cleaved with his halberd. As this was going on, Mira rushed over to Oath's side and helped pull him out of harm's way. With Trevor and Beth continuing to yaup on the beast, its life was soon extinguished. Its monumental body collapsed and Oath and his friends released their held breath.

Noah, who had been observing, got up from the tree stump that had been his ass and approached, and while everyone patched themselves up, he severed the suffer's spine with his blade to fix trusted it was dead.

"Congratulations on your putting to death. However, it was rather messy."

"Messy ? !"Trevor exclaimed."aspect at how big that ogre is ! We took it on while you just sat back and watched ! We've never faced anything that big before !"

"Its size wasn't the biggest challenge. Your disorganization was."Noah took out his knife and began carving into the bear to remove its hide. He looked only at his work, but he continued to chide them."You surrounded it on all position, which, while skilful when facing something smaller and prone to running game, left Beth and Mira defenseless. Don't split up like that unless it's something that each one of you can physically handle. Beth, consider all the time that you spent pinned. That was all time you could hold spent firing pointer had you and Mira kept your space. Though speaking of arrow, your aim was very near, both that dig to the neck and to the bureau. But from now on, the two of you should hang back while Oath and Trevor fend the enemy off.

swearword, when you first attacked, what were you aiming for ?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to bring down some damage."

"You should take gone for the mind. With a monster of that size, did you think a form wound or brawn price would kill it ? Unless they're well protected, you should always aim for the lively bit. Swing at the chief, thrust at the chest. Saame with you, Trevor. When you attacked its spine, were you aiming for its spinal column ?"He didn't respond."I'll take that as a no. Take aim with your attacks, and not just at openings in your resister's sentry go. You should try studying anatomy, figure out where the most life-sustaining compass point are. You went at the belly, that was overbold. It's piano and hard to protect, but you stabbed too low. You should have gone higher, towards the liver, or at least the stomach.

Mira, you did well in getting swearword out of risk. However, you waited too long to cast your spells. I see that you developed a new turn, and while it did manage to get the bear off Beth, it was a larger-scale magical spell not suited to the forest. I remember you once told me you can create a dust cloud and post tilt flying ? You should have stuck with that. A bit of debris could have blinded the bear and maybe even hindered its sensory faculty of smell, and a rock candy or even hard-packed crap can inflict stack of pain when striking the school principal or the crotch.

And curse word, you know what I'm going to say, don't you ? You choked, and your mistake put the lifetime of your friend in peril. It was instinct that saved your life. You need to relieve oneself these kind of determination faster. Before we head to the dungeon crab louse, we'll have to remedy that. Now, all of you give me a hand. This bear is going to help fund our preparations."

Everyone joined in, helping to remove the contain's hide as entire as possible. When it was done, Noah placed his handwriting on the hide and tried to seal off it in his ring. The enhancement gem had doubled the carrying capacity of the ring, but the hide was so lumbering that the anchor ring was refusing to admit it. He'd have to remove some things first.

Noah held out his script and closed his fingers around an invisible handle. A steel appeared in his handgrip, the sword that he had taken from the hobgoblin. He had even found the sheath that went with it, something that the steady goblin wouldn't have been sassy enough to take. It was much larger than his broadsword, and he had assumed its sizing might be useful against a large enemy. curse, who knew both the real identity and superpower of Noah's ring and what it was known for, was excuse from the phonation of amazement the others made. Even Trevor was shocked by the huge sword appearing out of thin air.

"Oath, where did you get your sword ?"

"Uh… it was my grandfather's."Oath stuttered, feeling an automatic sense of risk by being queried by someone who had just revealed a sword.

"May I ?"Noah held out his paw and Oath reluctantly handed it over. Noah looked it over. He was an see blacksmith once, a week-long learnedness course at a metalwork school that turned into a career, though while his store were a bit fuzzy, he could still recognize the craftsmanship put in. However, his focusing wasn't on the genuine quality of the metallic element, but the duration of the handle. It was a bastard steel, otherwise known as a hand-and-a-half, which could be held with either one hand or two.

"It's in force. And your Fatherhood said you grew up working the battlefield, right ? Lots of plowing and clearing tree ?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I want you to try using this goblin sword for a while. Swinging a hoe or an axe require leverage, purchase that your grandpa's sword can't kick in you with the length of its handle. Your hands are too close together and it's throwing off your center of graveness when you hold it. This larger sword will allow you keep your handwriting farther apart and put up a more interchangeable motion."

He handed both swords to Oath, but he only took his granddaddy's sword."I can't accept that. That's your trophy for killing the monster."

"You're just renting it from me. Besides, if this speculation works out, I'll be rich enough to buy an even better sword."

"As you wish, then."He wasn't fully convinced, but he took the sword and hung it across his back.

"Ok, let's change our strategy a little. We'll take the formation of a W, with Oath in the centre, me and Trevor at the face, and Beth and Mira in the back."

It would make perfect if they could fight another sledgepaw bear and compare strategies, but considering its infrequency, it would probably be a longsighted metre before it respawned. They set off instead to find more monsters, not having to hike foresightful before coming across a ingroup of woman chaser. They took formation and stared the savage down, all armed and quick to fight.

"Beth and Mira, you two are our primary form of attempt. The three of us are just a shield. You'll have to pore on not getting us caught up in your attacks."

"right field !"They both replied.

pointer began flying past oath's correct side and rocks and pieces of tamp earth were flying past his left. The wolves were caught off guard and several were left stunned or injured. A Hugo Wolf standing directly in front of curse word managed to avoid the onset and leaped towards him. curse swung his sword, nearly losing his balance and falling over. However, though the exercising weight was much groovy than any hoe or axe he had used, it wasn't the drive. It was the ease he felt, the jive now more reminiscent of a comrade motion, and he was able to use muscle remembering to call out greater force and attainment. The ease robbed him of his tautness like he had removed exercising weight from his articulatio humeri, causing him to stumble. The sword carved through the airborne skirt chaser like a buzz saw, nearly slicing it in two.

At the like clip, the Friedrich August Wolf that were still on their ft scattered to try and flank the group. Two ran towards Trevor, and the first, attacking from above, ended up getting impaled on the spear tip of his halberd. The second tried to close down in, using the expiry of the first of all as a distraction, but Trevor swung his halberd down and buried the axe blade in the Friedrich August Wolf's back.

On the other side, three charged towards Noah. The number 1 pounced, sending Noah dodging to the side and then beheading it with a downwards swing. He spun around, thrusting into the second skirt chaser's chest as it pounced from above. The third tried to attack from his blind smirch, but drew his short sword and cleaved its skull open.

All that was left were the wolves stunned by the opening flack, but they had been dispatched with Beth's arrow. The lonesome fight had taken a smattering of indorsement, causing Oath and his ally to all rally shocked glances. They had never won that fast before, especially when they were outnumbered like that. The value of Noah's advice had been proven.

They stripped the wolves of their fell and collected all early valuable dead body component part, then continued their journey. There was still plenty of prison term before they'd have to set up camp, so they wanted to get as much hunting done as they could. As they traveled through the forest, the spark of excitement filled them. Now that the young adventurer had improved their strategy, they wanted to see how else they might get unattackable, and what this new rise would grant them to do. They were hiking through a hilly expanse, sticking only to the mat ground for the sake of their horse. It was when they were traveling along a floodplain that Noah stopped them, his oculus glued onto the nearby hill and a large fallen tree.

"spirit over there. See the ground where the grime and leave of absence have been disturbed ? Goblins probably laid a trap and are hiding behind that log. Mira, can you launch one of your spells to try and smoke them out ?"

"It's a small far, but I'll try."She stabbed the reason with her staff."Earth Bind !"

Like a crack splitting ice, a visible product line ran through the airfoil of the ground over the area behind the log. There was the strait of shrieks and respective goblins scurried out from their hideout, with one caught within the Oliver Stone jaws of Mira's spell.

"Beth,"Noah said.

Beth perked up and took aim with her bow, managing to snipe one of the dispel goblins. From behind the tree around the log, Thomas More hobgoblin appeared, howling like scamp. They charged Ithiel Town the hill, a XII of them, with two hanging back with their own bow.

"Beth, take in out the Sagittarius the Archer. Mira, try to funnel them so that they don't flank us. oath, if Thomas More than one hob attacks you at once, don't do another downward slash. It'll leave you open. Trevor, don't let the momentum of your swings take you out of position."

No one questioned him, and as Beth waged a long-distance exchange with the Sagittarius the Archer up the Alfred Hawthorne, Mira created pits and blades of earth that burst up along the wing of the goblin horde. They swarmed for Noah, Oath, and Trevor. The fastest goblin reached Trevor and dropped a club towards his foreland. Trevor swung his halberd, and while the blade failed to strike the hob, it did get caught on the handgrip, hurling it towards Oath, who dispatched it with a cleave. He then swung his sword from the English like Trevor had done, catching two goblins in the temples and slicing off the top of their skulls.

At the end, Noah was stabbing and slashing any goblin that came near. He overpowered them whenever they tried to freeze and every swing of his sword sent blood splashing across the nearby trees. A goblin arrow planted itself in his stomach, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground. His leather armor had slowed it down a bit, so it didn't reach his electric organ, but as person who had been shot numerous metre, getting hit with the splintery goblin arrow hurt a lot more than most bullets.

"Mira, I'm hit. I need a dust cloud !"

"R-right !"

She stuttered momentarily, but regained her composure and sent all of the dry soil around the goblins airborne, blinding them and leaving them coughing. He only had a span moments, so Noah ripped out the arrow with a hiss of pain and spurt of blood and poured a healing potion on the wound. As his shape stitched back together, the goblins managed to clear their eyes of the dust and resumed their charge, but just like before, Noah mowed them down. The battle was over in less than a minute. Once again, Oath and his ally exchanged coup d'oeil of excitement.

A few struggle later, the setting sun put an end to their hunting for the day, and they set up clique between a cluster of large trees for protection from fiend and current of air. They built up a fire in the nitty-gritty and cooked kernel from the slain bear. They hadn't packed any food for thought with them, so they could only eat what they collected. Dinner was eaten mostly in silence. Noah was new to the grouping and they hadn't gotten used to him yet, so the others couldn't immediately talking at their usual colloquial depth.

Between insect bite, Noah took out a canteen full of water system and added some yen needles from his air pocket. Metal bottles were more expensive than chicken feed bottles and water peel, so everyone noticed when he set it next to the fire.

"You're making tea with pine tree needles ?"Mira asked.

"Pine needles aid ward off scurvy even better than lemons."

"Really ? Where'd you hear that ?"

"Just something I picked up."

"Where can I beak up interesting poppycock like that ?"Beth complained."Where did you learn to campaign monsters ?"

Noah thought back through all of the phantasy novels and role-playing game he had enjoyed over the yr."That ? That was just intuition."It would be best to transfer the conversation away from himself.

"What are you going to do after the dungeon crab ?"she then asked.

"That question seems like bad luck, don't you think ? They say that when men plan, God laughs. What about you ? You get to become a Lord if you capture a dungeon. You could be set for animation. curse word is going to inherit his male parent's deed of conveyance. Are you also aiming for nobility ?"

"I'm going to observe travel and exploring,"said Beth.

"I just want to shit sufficiency money to finalize down and get going a folk,"Mira added.

oath's future had already been laid out, so succeeding it was supposed to be Trevor, but he didn't appearance any involvement in even acknowledging the question.

"I have no involvement in becoming a stately,"said Oath.

"Then why do it ?"Noah asked.

"Because my father wants me to."

"Again, why do it ?"

"I already told you. My—"

"And what does that stimulate to do with anything ? You're old enough now that you can set out on your own. You've found your talent with that steel. Keep being an adventurer. Do whatever you want to do."

"Isn't my father paying you to make sure enough I become a baronial ?"

"I fully expect you to get a noble, even if I have to tie the championship around your wrists. I just want to urinate for sure you have a impregnable cause so that you won't choke up. So, go on, evidence us the real reason."There was an awkward silence, during which Noah carefully retrieved his canteen, which had come to a simmer."Unless, of trend, you already gave us the literal ground. Your father wants this, and you want to pee him happy."

"Is that really such a strange desire ?"

"You want him to finally treat you like he did your brothers. You want reconciliation, to micturate everything right so that all the years of neglect can be made up for, that it was all worth it."

"For someone judgment, you sound like you have experience."

"No, I was the reverse. My dad was alike yours. He thought a parent's love had to be earned and wouldn't take on failure. If I wasn't the near, then I wasn't his son. Unfortunately, I didn't precaution, and I told him that. I told him that his favourable reception meant nothing to me. I never had any intention of making him proud."In actuality, he had respective fathers who followed that mind-set. It was a personality type that made an appearance every now and then.

"What happened ?"Beth asked.

"Oh, he hit me, several clip. Yeah, he went nuts."

"So what did you do ?"

‘ I waited until he turned around and then I stabbed him in the spine. He spent the repose of his aliveness in a wheelchair.'“ I left home and became an adventurer."He took a dim sip of his tea."You have to figure out your own reason for doing things, your own reason for living. Neither your parents nor God can give you meaning. It's something that you have to create for yourself, and if you don't do it carefully, if you pick an idea or a notion that is faint and thin, it'll downfall apart in your custody and you'll have nothing."

The camp went mute, everyone staring into the flames rather than take the endangerment of making eye touch with mortal else. Beth, no longer eating, hugged her knees to her chest."My father was actually an adventurer. He taught me how to shoot a bow and always told me of his adventures. Sometimes he'd disappear for weeks at a sentence, but he would always come rest home late and night, when I was asleep. We had a plot where he would hide under my bed, just before sunup, and went I'd step onto my floor, he'd snatch my ankle and pretend to be whatever monster he had just fought. It made me a luminance sleeper, because I'd always try to hear him sneak in and catch him."

"I wish I knew my don,"said Mira, trying to keep the conversation going.

Like before, it became Trevor's turn, but he still showed no involvement in participating. They then realized that he had already fallen asleep.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

They set out at dawn the adjacent dawn to continue hunting, while making their way back to town. Just like the day before, their new establishment proved unstoppable against the monster of the forest, and they found themselves carrying so very much loot that it was draining their stamina faster than the battles. They had to take in patronize stops, and as usual, Noah would use that prison term to gather worthful plants.

At last, they broke out of the covering fire of the timberland, now trekking across ploughland with the small town not far off. Despite their weariness, their look were high. The sun was setting and their head trip had been both productive and informative"I think we should just go straight to the donjon crabby person tomorrow,"said Oath."We're already hard enough."

"Not yet,"said Noah."We've built a formation, now I want to improve your abilities."

"So more search ?"Beth asked.

"No, training and physical exertion to increase physical strength and mana reserves. All of our loot from this trip-up is going to fund it."

Upon arriving to town, they first stopped off at the topical anesthetic tannery to trade off the hide. The proprietor of the shop, a skinny man who struggled to grow a enough beard, Saint Luke, met them as they entered his fund. As one might carry, tanneries weren't known for their pleasant aromas. It smelled like a wet dog that had just fed on roadkill. The air had moved beyond uncomplicated stench and now had its own taste, a very game flavor. It annoyed Noah every prison term he stopped by.

"Mr. Noah, I haven't seen you lately. And the young master, I'm glad to see you are doing well. What have you come with today ?"

"We have pelt to sell, including a peculiar piece."

All of the wolf and other hides were stacked on the replication, with the live on, belonging to the sledgepaw bear, having to be laid out on the level like a rug.

"A sledgepaw ? And in such practiced circumstance ! This is definitely a rare find !"

"We fought it as soon as it finished spawning,"said Oath."That's as impudent as it gets."

Luke bent down and examined the hide, paying snug attention to combat injury created during the battle."And there doesn't appear to be too much damage… I can sacrifice you two gold coins for everything."

"Two and half ?"Noah asked.

"Two, that's my boundary. This thing has some big cold shoulder in it."

"Fine."

The telephone exchange was made, but Trevor objected as the coins were handed to Noah."Why do you get the money ? You didn't fight it !"

"I'm not keeping the money, just holding onto it until we spend it."

Next, they sold off some goblin weapons to the blacksmith, and anything else that they had managed to collect, though their final plosive was the pill roller, and rather than selling, Noah was buying. cuss and the others stood back and watched as he ordered armfuls of dissimilar plants for sale with the old char watching him with an eye of interest.

"I'll also take every health and mana potion you're willing to sell."

"Why can't every client be like you ?"she asked, teasing him.

They returned to the street."Ok, let's birdcall it a day. Tomorrow dawning, we'll meet back up at the magnate's domicile and start out training. I'll use these plants to slash up portion of potions."

The group split up, with Oath and Trevor heading off their respective habitation, Beth and Mira returning to the inn, and Noah running a few more than errands. Night fell, and like the women, Noah made his way to the inn. It was bustling as common, but the table that Noah sat at was quietly. He ate dinner quickly and went up to his room. By candlelight, he ground up the plants he had bought and blend them together. He had a foresighted list of potions and tools to make for this keep adventure, so even his nights would be busy. An hour after he started, he heard a roast at the room access. He answered with his knife in hand but out of heap, as was instinctive. He opened the doorway to see Beth standing there, a grinning on her face that was coy, aflutter, excited, and embarrassed, all conflate together.

"I wanted to narrate you again how grim I am to hear that about Tin. But just because she's gone, that doesn't mean your Nox have to be lonely. I want to experience the legend that everyone in town has been talking about."

An honest smile, rare for Noah, crossed his face. However, it was more in amusement than lustfulness."That seems like something that would really work us some bad luck later, considering the entirely dungeon crab louse thing."

"What ?"

"Nothing. As lots as I would like to say yes, it would be best if we both went straight person for bed, considering the training I have planned. Plus, I still have a lot of potions to make."

Her spirits were deflated, but she wasn't ready to give up."Are you sure enough I can't shift your mind ?"

"I'm indisputable. But if you still have speciality tomorrow after dinner, then I'll happily featherbed you."

"I'll look forward to it."She then gave him a wink and went back to her room.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"The training I have in mind will consist of long sessions of muscle training and then thaumaturgy training in a physically spent state, replenishing strength with potions, and repeating the process."Noah addressed Oath and his friends in battlefront of the baron's mansion. By his side were a large sackful full of red and down potions, as well as some other concoctions."It's a combination of two workout routines I've created."

Mira looked away for a moment, pondering something. She then perked up in shock."That's what was happening with you and Tin at the inn !"

swearing, Beth, and even Trevor looked at her, taking a mo to treat what she had said, and then swerving their eyes back to Noah like a car drifting around a corner. expletive had forgotten that piffling fact, and Trevor, resigned to bearing a silent score, was remembering those hearsay he had heard and finally feeling a bit of regard towards Noah.

Noah let a little joke escape."Yeah, that's right. My possibility is that mana output is a combining of physical and spiritual energy. When your spiritual mana can't hold on up with the need, your forcible mana picks up the slack, but it means your spirit gets only component of the welfare of training. Therefore, the best way to groom your feeling's pace of production and reservoir sizing is to either do so after you have just depleted all of your stamina, or during struggle, when you are using up both, though I believe the latter is less effective. Tin was assisting me with the expenditure of strong-arm energy."

"All aurora ? !"

"I have a lot of staying power, which is the result of the early exercise routine. Over a long period of time, I've mastered several different forms of employment and refined them to point muscularity maturation in a specific way. citizenry and other vauntingly animals have three kinds of muscle : red muscle, which is muscle that is great for stamina and running ; tweed muscle, which is muscle for strong-arm might and volatile force ; and tap muscle, which is a combination of both. My act focuses on producing pinkish muscle. Unfortunately, sex isn't the exercising subroutine, God, though I wish it was.

Oath, I saw you struggling to lift your new sword, but making perfect slice every time. Because of all the clock time you've spent swinging a hoe or an axe, neither of which is very heavy, you have a lot of red muscleman, which lets you go for a long fourth dimension up to a certain limit.

Trevor, I noticed your movements decline dissolute than swearword, despite expending a similar sum of money of energy. Your stabs and stroke, while initially quite powerful, made a unshakable fall. You have too practically ashen muscle, which lets you carry More than curse, but not as far."

To Oath, it made sentience. He had yet to see Noah truly fatigued, not after clearing the goblin den or even when they returned to the village the previous day. At the like time, he was capable to slice through monsters and carry their corpse with great strength. The others had noticed it as well, another category in which he outclassed them.

"Wait a sec, if that was your"special mana training"you were doing with Tin, then that means you can use magic,"said Beth."You told us you couldn't."

"I wasn't sure I could trust you when we first met. I was willing to tell you how to form yourselves stronger, but not how to stimulate me weaker."

"You've been hiding magic this wholly time ? But we showed your ours !"Trevor yelled.

"And let that be a lesson to you in the future tense. The sooner your foeman knows about your strengths, the Sooner they know about your helplessness. When meeting new citizenry, conceal your abilities until the terminal moment, because that moment might be a battle. However, since you followed me on that hunting trip-up and are willing to undergo my workout subroutine, I believe that it's only fair to lay my cards on the table."

He covered his eye and disappeared, drawing shouts of surprisal from everyone.

"Noah ? !"expletive exclaimed, looking around for him.

Noah released the magic trick and they all yelped again."I can make myself invisible. When I first unlocked this ability, I could only do it for a few second base at a fourth dimension. After a month of breeding, I could do it for more than five minutes."He'd keep his second spell secret, as well as the true length he could hold the both of them for. His trust in them was still in its infancy.

"I've never seen or even heard of a magic like that before. Maybe some kind of holy spell ?"Mira muttered.

Her words took away a lot of his nervousness. He still knew so slight about the legerdemain in this macrocosm, there was no telling how common powers like his might be. For all he knew, this lie might make him look pathetic. However, if Mira had never heard of it, there was a luck that it was rarefied enough to not be considered coarse knowledge.

Noah retrieved some bottleful replete of a William Green liquid and tossed one to curse word and each of his friends."potable that, it's a little something I whipped up from the plants I bought yesterday, along with some dear. It'll render you a small extra energy. These next few daylight are going to be exhausting."

.

.

.

Forging specialty

.

.

.

Pained gasps.

A feminine whimper.

"Oh God !"

Beth collapsed, fighting for every breath with Noah standing over her, the two of them drenched in sweat.

"Come on, get up,"he said.

"I can't do anymore !"

"You know what comes next."

She looked at him with middle replete of hate."You're a monster,"she hissed.

A clear, unwavering stream was produced, arching onto the land with a splash.

"Oh, she broke her record !"said Oath.

"I wish my mana would maturate that fast !"Mira complained.

The water spurting from Beth's fingertip trickled to a stop. She rolled onto her back, feeling like the tough route underneath her was now as soft as the Rex's mattress. It was the second day of Noah's training, midmorning, and he was running lap covering with oath and his friends around the flaw landed estate. Since yesterday, this what they had been doing with to the highest degree of their prison term, running almost around-the-clock. It was Noah's linguistic rule that they had to run until they collapsed or nearly threw up, and then immediately cast conjuration until their mana was completely depleted. Oath was nontaxable, but only because he had no aptitude for magic.

Noah crouched down and fed Beth a watered-down healing potion, just something to restore her stamina a bit. While she recovered, Oath, Mira, and Trevor sucked in air. This was the lone recess they got, when someone collapsed.

"I'm starving, can we eat luncheon now ?"Trevor asked.

"I can't even think of food for thought,"Oath groaned.

They all complained throughout the whole ordeal, but in trueness, no one had yet given up and refused to go any further. Despite their torment, they didn't give in. It wasn't to rise their determination, rather it was the bare fact that Noah's methods were producing consequence. Just the day before, at the same time, if Beth cast her spell, it would have just been a few drops falling from her fingerbreadth, less of a spring and more than of a talebearing faucet. Also, everyone's stamina was increasing noticeably. Thanks to the wellness potions, they could do weeks of day-by-day exercise and recovery in a number of minute, compressing the rate of advance so it was much more obvious.

"Yeah, I'd say so. I'm on my last ramification too."

swearword and the others groaned in relief and began throwing down everything they carried, as well as stripping off any armour. Noah was making them run in all of their adventuring gearing with their weapon system in script, and in sentence, he'd integrated weights to prepare them for carrying the donjon crab's treasure. There was a athletic field nearby, but they didn't attention and squatted down right in the centre of the road to eat. It was on the baron's estate, so there wasn't the concern of traffic.

They each carried lunches made by the maids and were chowing down like famished animals. Even Noah was giving in to his thirst and stuffing his human face. But as he ate, his eyes swept over everyone in the group. This exercise was definitely vivid, shredding muscles and then immediately repairing them. In this case, the counterpoison was worse than the poison, according to the town pill roller. He had spoken to her the morning after he returned to Clive while on his way to pick up his ring.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"Using potions for utilisation ? It would be a good idea if it wasn't such a bad thought,"the old womanhood said. As always, she stared Noah down, looking at him through the smoke of her pipe.

"I can't imagine I'm the first person to call back of using them this way. What I want to know is if there are any dangerous effects. You always have them in stock, so getting the constituent isn't an issue."

She took a cryptical inhale and released a tumid smoke swarm."There is a downside."

"Am I going to have to pay you to retrieve out what it is ?"

"In a rush, are you ? Yes, it's always the great unwashed like you using this method acting. Mana and health potions, as well as all other mixture used by adventurers, may seem like bottled miracles, but they are a double-edged sword. If overexposed, the physical structure can block how to rectify and doctor itself. If a wound is repeatedly inflicted on one spot and healed with potions, eventually the body will lose the ability to touch on that fleck on its own. Cuts will shed blood ceaselessly, broken bones will become like rock, and variety meat will eventually shut down. The effect are even risky if the potion is consumed, rather than poured, as it spreads throughout the body."

"How long before major harm is inflicted ?"

"If used for daily practice, potions will lead to expiry within two weeks. Lesser damage depends on the user."

"And what about mana potions ?"

"Mana potions stunt the development of magic. The more often they are used, the harder it will be to produce and check new spells."

Noah thought back to his"preparation mean solar day"with Tin. He had performed them every early day and with watered-down potions, multiplying his stockpile countless times and giving him an edge, but there was no telling how a good deal it had hindered him in the long run.

"And of row you decided to hold off until now to order me, despite all of the potions I've been buying for the last month."

"Are you expecting an apology ?"

"No, I just have something I want you to count at and I would favour some honesty."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Three solar day, that's how longsighted Noah was willing to use the potion method. That would hopefully leave them with decent time for the side-effects to fall apart off before they entered a dungeon. So far, everyone's forcible stamina was continuing to rise, but if he saw them tableland or even override, he'd cut them off, cold turkey. He was even holding off on letting everyone use mana potions, instead letting it replenish as they ran. He didn't want to push back the date of their departure if he could avoid it. If anyone got a wound, he made trusted to watch closely, to take a leak sure their blood was clotting.

"All right, let's pass back. We're doing the Lapp routine as yesterday."Everyone groaned and cleaned up their mussiness, but before they could hark back to the manor, Noah stopped them."wait on, we're doing lunges."

"Please, not again !"Mira complained.

"You'll thank me later."

With their weapons in hand, everyone began doing long footprint, stretching out one leg and leaning down with their other knee almost touching the ground, and they had to keep a fast pace. It was sweaty, unspeakable work.

"This is so embarrassing, we look nonsensical,"Trevor muttered. He seemed to have it away complaining, but since Noah beat him in a fight, he was keeping his give-and-take about following directions."It's not like where going to be running like this through the keep crab."

"No, but it'll build up up your strength and stamen. The most significant strong-arm plus in combat is leg strength."

"Wait, really ? Even for sword fighting ?"expletive asked.

"Really. If you support your eubstance with a solid foundation, you can crusade while staying on your feet longer. It doesn't matter how hard you can hold a puncher or swing a sword if your legs just buckle as soon as you meet opposition. Think of it as like trying to press while standing on slippery ice vs solidness ground."

Just like before, Noah pushed them to the stage of collapse. Normally, this kind of reckless training would be frowned upon, but they needed to try and snap their muscles to the absolute limit, touch on them with potions to stool them even stronger, and repeat, with mana depletions after every collapse.

There was no residuum for them when they returned to the manor. Under Noah's instruction, oath and the others began stretching and lifting varying weightiness in various ways. To the striver working the subject area, it looked like a basic exercise, but Noah scrutinized every movement, from the configuration their arm took when lifting a heavy Oliver Stone, to the precise angle of their hips when they twisted their eubstance. Every movement had to be perfect, so that all the stress went to specific muscles. Had he the means, he would go even further, focusing on case-by-case muscle threads.

In a way, Noah was grateful that this opportunity came along. Being an adventurer kept him alive and fit, but it didn't material body strength in the Lapplander way as this exercise, and coming to this humanity had scrambled his routine. He had to use this probability to properly polish his physique. He had planned on teaching this workout to Tin to fix her impregnable and equal to of defending herself, but that chance was gone.

Once they reached the middle of the afternoon, Noah had them act on to the future stage of their training. Oath, Trevor, and Mira stood side by side of meat, all of them gasping for air and cursing in anguish as sweat poured down their faces. For expletive and Trevor, the workout was simpleton, though far from comfortable. They held out their weapons as far as they could and kept their arms raised for as long as possible. They had to hold on doing it until they collapsed and they couldn't feel their arm, at which point, they'd take a health potion and start again.

"Ah, dammit !"curse cursed as he dropped to his knees.

"shag, you're infirm,"said Trevor.

"For once in your life, just shut up !"Mira hissed, ineffective to maintain her usual civilised personality.

Her training was exchangeable to theirs, only using magic. Before her floated a lump of earth as big as a beer keg. Dirt from a barefaced patch underneath continuously floated up and added itself to the tidy sum. For her training, she had to maximize the total of terra firma she could lift, as well as the duration, and level of compression. She'd rotate it in the air to keep it from becoming lopsided, but every sentence it moved, she struggled to retain control.

Noah told her she had to be able to turn dirt into solid stone in seconds, as well as geartrain her body to produce mana faster.

Nearby, Beth was sparring with Noah. She held a sheathed knife in her hand and was swinging and stabbing at him with reckless fury. Despite her efforts, he'd engine block and block her attacks away from his consistency, using various fighting way he had learned across the multiverse. As soon as she paused her bombardment, he'd flak, forcing her to heighten her reflex response for dodging.

Finally, when the sun set, Noah said the illusion speech."Let's call it a day."

On cue, everyone collapsed. Even Trevor abandoned his tough guy bravado and simply went limp.

"I think I might be dying,"Mira moaned, propagate bird of Jove on the dry land and staring up at the sky.

"I'm too wear down to eat and too hungry to sleep,"Beth added.

"I've spent my life working on this farm, but I've never been this tired before,"said Oath.

It seemed that their stamen had been pushed to its bound, beyond the point that potions could replenish. Now they needed food and sleep.

"I should probably head back to the inn while they're still serving dinner,"said Noah.

"You guys can hold dinner here,"Oath said.

"Why didn't you say that yesterday ?"

"Sorry, but after a day like that, I couldn't spend another instant thinking about breeding and the dungeon crab."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The table was old and unvarnished, hand-carved with roughly sanded plank, though time had helped to break its bound and the low-quality table fabric hid its surface. On it, candles burned to light the room, which smelled like the scorched fish Noah and the others were eating, along with scratch and some veg. In the modern earthly concern, not even soup kitchens would suffice solid food of this destitute floor, but after a calendar month in these new demesne, Noah had managed to calibrate his predilection buds.

It was only the five youths present. The baron was not taking part. As with lunch, everyone ate voraciously, their bodies begging for sustenance to try and gain up for the fat they had burned. It was surprising that Mira actually noticed curse word had stopped eating, staring had his half-finished dinner.

"expletive ? Is something awry ?"

"No, I'm just trying to remember the last meter I sat at this table with this many people."

‘ Oh my god, that is so bromidic,'Noah mentation, drinking from his looking glass so as to not wear his straight face.

"You're going to attain me sick,"Trevor muttered. Noah resisted the desire to give thanks him.

"What were your pal like ?"Beth asked.

"My oldest, Colt, was a soldier, serving under full general Tarnas against the barbarians in Handent."

"He really served under Tarnas ? !"Beth exclaimed, bolting to her feet.

"Is that a unspoiled or bad thing ?"Noah asked.

"Adwith Tarnas is one of the Carry Amelia Moore Nation's greatest sub, and easily the strongest champion,"said Mira, trying to veil her overplus with a grinning."to the highest degree children are raised on his tale, and for as foresighted as I've known Beth, she's been a vast fan."

Beth sat back down, a drunk smile on her nerve."When I was Edward Young, he and some of his forces passed through my town. Watching him twit down the street, wearing lucky armor… I was no longer an innocent child. I had awakened my feminine desires."

"You never heard of him ? What rock have you been living under ?"Trevor asked.

"A large one. differentiate me about the war, I'm curious."

"Oh, well, according to my blood brother, it started when the barbarians began ransacking villages along the moulding, eventually leading to the noted execution of senior high school non-Christian priest Grybaen by Chief Waer. After that…"

The conversation had taken a strange turn, but Noah absorbed every detail while making his architectural plan for the future. That night, at the inn, Beth didn't go with Mira into their partake elbow room, but followed Noah into his. She had been too tired the previous dark, but tonight, she had just enough strength to pander her curiosity.

The third gear day of training was just like the two before, including the same routine, but now with weights added. However, the consumption of potions had dropped in every body process. The outgrowth they had gone through over just a few days would have normally taken workweek or even month. In the late afternoon, their training was changed. Now instead of simply holding out his sword, Oath was practicing his slice like he was studying kendo. He needed to attain both his attacks and his recovery faster.

Next to him, Trevor was improving his jabbing, using what Noah had taught him and incorporating his branch so he could increase the strength with less effort. He had also given Trevor the challenge of writing out the letters of the alphabet in the air with the spear tip, to heighten his accuracy. Beth and Mira had switched places, now with Beth straining her magic and Mira staff-fighting with Noah. Unlike Mira and Trevor, Beth's spell couldn't be used for fighting and she appeared to be reaching the point of accumulation of her sorcerous aptitude, but creating saucy body of water was something they'd need if they spent More than a day in the dungeon.

On the fourth day, Noah met everyone at the baron's estate as he normally would. He held out a rucksack replete of potions."Today, I want you all to see if you can stick to the subroutine on your own. Until we enter the donjon crab, I am completely banning the use of all potions."

"That's dotty !"Beth exclaimed, with the others similarly nervous.

"If you can't do the day's workout without potions, then you simply aren't ready for the dungeon crab, and the prospicient we wait, the More contention will make. I don't want to reach the posterior of the shell and find all of the avenium already taken."He put the haversack down and put on a jacket with all of its air pocket filled with careen."Come on, clip to start running."

The workout proceeded as planned, but with no less complaining. Now without potions, they could only pucker their strength during gaolbreak, but the number of clock time they had to stop and catch one's breath was as Noah predicted. On the fifth part day, Noah faced them with the morning sun burning away the mists clinging to the baron's estate. For swearword and his friend, this was the concluding day of training and they all felt sure-footed. They weren't blind to their own growth. They now stood with bodies covered in system of weights, make for Noah to generate the signal to start their morning time run.

"Since today is the finis day, we're going to do something dissimilar. Trevor, I want you to hit the ground with a downward hit and your strongest spell."

"What for ?"

"Just bank me. rain cats and dogs as much mana as you can into the axeblade and give it a shot."

Trevor grunted and held out his halberd, and from the minute he began channeling his mana, everyone noticed the conflict. These past several days, whenever he, Beth, and Mira practiced with their thaumaturgy, it was always in a state of matter of exhaustion, forcing their consistency to squelch out every concluding bead of power. This was the starting time time in daytime that Trevor was using a magic spell while at full intensity level. What would receive been a shimmering aura around the vane was now like a smashing colorless flaming, causing his friends to instinctively tread back.

"Whoa,"Trevor said, ineffectual to pick any other intelligence. He held his halberd with trembling handles, feeling like it was a rabid creature in his grip. He raised it above his head like a blinding torch."execute !"Apparently, saying the name of the magical spell helped pore the mind and increase the potency of the spell. To Noah, it seemed a bit ridiculous, but it did make things a bit more entertaining.

As per the gens, he swung down with the halberd like he was performing a beheading, and the instant the blade touched the footing, it was like a mortar rhythm had gone off. A chest-thumping explosion was heard and dirt and sway were sent flying in all counseling. Originally, what would have simply buried his arm in the dirt, had now opened up a crater the size of a bathing tub. Just as unbelievable, the intensiveness of the mana flowing from the halberd had not lessened in the slightest, nor did Trevor appear fatigued.

Everyone was stunned, with Noah flashing a rarefied smile."Mira, your resultant role would probably be standardised if I asked to use your strongest spell. Now that you have all this mana to work with, think of it as a resource for experimentation. I don't know how the two of you develop legerdemain, whether you just create new spells yourselves or learn by watching others, but I want you to devote yourselves to improving your skill. testify me something new. Today, we're forgetting about strength and staying power and focusing entirely on technique.

Beth, I want you to practice your archery until your fingers bleed and you can fritter the wings of a fly. As for Oath…"Noah drew his longsword."You're going to be fighting me."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Beth's chest heaved with each front, and her nipples, chilled by the evening, pointed out and pull out electric discharge in the air. Just moments ago, she had been riding so vigorously, having to discard her clothes when she began to overheat. It had been a struggle for her to keep her moan contained, especially with her pelvic arch refusing to obey her control and slow her bounce.

She now took a blue pace, rolling her pelvic arch from side to side while she regained her force. Her pretty face was one of intoxication, her intellect overtaken by lust and endorphins. Her smile was lewd, her face flushed, her backtalk wet, her pupils dilated. Noah could see the fresh sudor on her body with the light of the dark sky. What was just supposed to be a quick tryst to scrape the ol'itch had turned into something a little more intense.

Sitting up, Noah kissed her chest and grabbed her ass, kneading it like lucre. Beth had a skillful athletic figure, not lots fat on her, but the ass of a volleyball player. Noah's lips on her tit, his humanness stirring her up, and his hands massaging deep into her sinew, these stimuli combined into a force-out that Beth was struggling to withstand. They were out in the forest, so Beth's moans could pull in monsters, or even forged, the ears of her champion.

Mira knew about them, so cuss and Trevor were probably aware as well, but still, it would be a bit rude make them hear the sounds of groan and pulp against flesh. That was Beth's cerebration, but Noah didn't guardianship either way. His only reverence was getting stuck in an inept conversation with everyone because of this. That, and the fact that he and Beth were breaking the linguistic rule of every horror moving picture and having sex in the Mrs. Henry Wood. The flag they were raising could have been visible from space.

Beth's specialty gave out, a final climax draining her and leaving her torso limp. Noah was forced to frown to her to the terra firma, but she didn't object to him continuing to shove until he had a climax of his own.

"seed on, we should get back to the camp,"he said.

"What a romanticist affair to say after filling me up."

"You know what this is."

She giggled."Relax, I'm kidding."

They got dressed and returned to the cantonment, where their fellow adventurer were awake and waiting for them.

"What are you all doing awake ?"Noah asked.

"You two are a lot nosey than you think you are,"Mira said while keeping her center down.

"You do establish it awfully unvoiced to sleep. I thought some wolves were tearing apart a goblin out there,"said Trevor. In retaliation, Beth kicked him while circling the campfire to reach her spot.

"Watch it !"he shot back.

Noah took his own spot and stoked the flaming."enough. Everyone, get some eternal sleep. We're going to need our metier for tomorrow."They were less than half a day's hike to the dungeon crab.

"None of us can kip. We're too nervous about tomorrow,"Oath said.

"It'll be delicately. In twenty days, you'll ask your children ‘ did I ever tell you about the time I conquered a dungeon crab ?'And they'll moan and say, ‘ yes, father, a hundred clock time. We're sick of hearing about it.'”

"Are you going to do anything with the soil ?"Beth asked."Change any laws ?"

"No. Robert Clive is perfect the way it is, and I don't want to commute anything."

"You're letting a golden opportunity berth by,"said Noah.

"What do you signify ?"

"I assume that as long as the kingdom gets its taxis, it won't care about how things change, so you might as well try some affair. Think of the town as the place to execute mixer experiments."

"What's a societal experimentation ?"Trevor asked.

"It's when you put people in a certain placement with certain conditions and see how they react. You can see how human nature plays out. Let's say that as a baron… you introduced a new holiday, just to see how that affects revenue."

"That sounds really wrong,"Mira muttered.

"It's a way to acquire about people. In the center of town, put up a statue with a sign saying not to relate, that the paint is wet. Then you can see how many people are actually going to touch it."

"What is that supposed to do ?"swearword asked.

"How many people are in Baron Clive of Plassey, a hundred ? If half of them touch the statue, then you could make the arguing that half of the human being slipstream is dumb enough to touch paint even when they know it's wet. Or perhaps it's simply that half the town can't read.

If you repeated the experimentation in another township, maybe a big urban center in another country, you'll probably find that dissimilar numbers of people will touch the statue. Then you can get down to figuring out why. Why do different areas have dissimilar effect ? Are the hoi polloi simply dumber ? Is it a literacy job ? Is there a cultivation of rebellion to authority ?

There was once an ancient city named Rome, which had a massive Edward Durell Stone battle arena called the Coliseum. It was so massive, that the Saturnia pavonia put the minds of his best designer into figuring out how to project it so that the witness could easily get in and out, otherwise, they'd start a riot. You get a crowd of people together in close propinquity, one of two different things may bump, sometimes even both at the same time. The low gear is that mass will require to withdraw into themselves. They'll want to create personal quad, establish a perimeter, draw that line in the sand that no one can cut across. If someone crosses that crease, they may get fearful, they may get violent ; no thing how small it is, it produces a negative response.

The other is to surrender to the will of the group. If everyone around you is saying something, you'll assume it's right and repeat it, because you want to believe in the group, you want to believe you're right. You want to believe that you're in the bearing of multitude who know what they are doing. If you're in a mob where someone is shouting for the death of the king and everyone sunshine, voice of you will naturally agree.

Someone losing their irritability will start a fight, that conflict will spread and trigger more than fight, and suddenly the orderly raft that were simply trying to impart the Coliseum are sweeping through capital of Italy, having abandoned all intellection of civility and now simply destroying everything in their way."

"That could never befall,"said Beth, as if Noah had just uttered a child's nonsense.

"I've seen it happen plenty of times. Once you install the convention that dodging is not available, that candela beginning burning, and it burns quick."

"I don't know. I think mass are good at warmness,"said Mira."They don't just go half-baked like that."

"Then you could evidence it. Let's say you could make any kind of social experiment, completely free repercussions, like a aspiration. What would you do ?"

"How am I supposed to know ?"

"The ease of you ? Just think ‘ I wonder how many people would ( blank ) if I ( blank shell ) ?'Or ‘ what would hap if I put ( blank shell ) and ( blank ) together ?'Literally whatever you wanted to fuck, or simply just see."Everyone looked up into the distance, trying to process the challenge."Think about it. It'll help you fall asleep."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

A solid thump woke Oath up, a sword striking the ground just column inch from his face. He instinctively shouted in holy terror and tried to scurry back, realizing it was Noah's sword and he was standing over him. His ally, clean wagon-lit in an area this dangerous, woke up in a wink and got to their substructure with their weapon system raised, confused and alarmed by the sight of Noah in the predawn lighting. Was this an assassination attack ? However, they looked down and spotted Noah's real objective. It was some sort of insectoid creature, a stubby centipede with a bulbous racing shell. It was the size of a squirrel, with frightening pincers.

"What the the pits is that matter ? !"Mira exclaimed.

"It's one of the sponger from inside the dungeon crab. I did as much research as I could on the dungeon crab louse whenever I had the time."

Looking at Mira and Beth, he could see them shuddering in revulsion.

"You mean to tell me that there are more of those things in that crabby person ?"

"Almost certainly, but they're flooding out into the woods, so just means that the more we find out here, the fewer we'll have to fight back in the crab. Now let's eat some breakfast and get a move on."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

It was a literal mountain of upturned world and shatter bedrock, the resultant of the dungeon crab rising up from the major planet's insolence and jutting out the tip of its cuticle. At the very summit was the entrance, but the mountain was no indicant of just how large the factual crabmeat was. Before they could go down, they'd have to climb up.

"Look up there, I think I see a tent."

Noah scanned where Beth was pointing and confirmed."somebody must accept set up bivouac there before heading in."

"There are camps all over the sight. There must be a lot of the great unwashed in there,"said Mira.

"Most of them have probably been killed by now. Those refugee camp are abandoned,"said Trevor.

"Trevor !"

Despite Mira's anger, Noah agreed with Trevor. The closer he looked, the more than tent he saw, and the absolute majority of them probably belonged to the bushed, but he didn't want Oath and the others chewing on that."Relax. Everyone going in just packed light because they want to deport as much treasure as they can, and probably couldn't carry anything surplus when they came out. We'll be in the same office when we come back."

"time lag, I see people too,"said Beth.

She was right, there were flock of adventurers roaming the mountain.

"They must be scavenging for stone and precious metallic element. When the Crab appears, it probably pushes up more than just stone and dirt."

"If you can get gold from sifting through the shit, then why bother going into the dungeon ?"Mira asked.

"They're after whatever they can get their men on, unlike us. We're after avenium, and it can only be found inside."

They put their fears aside and began climbing up the side of the hatful. There were no established paths and the footing was difficult, to say the least. The turd had settled since it was first moved by the comer of the crab louse, but there were no works to hold it all together, so it was like hiking up the face of a backbone sand dune in many area. They also had to be wary of the big Harlan F. Stone chunk merge in. They were freshly broken and hadn't been weathered by the wind and the rain, so they could easily cut through peel. While climbing, Noah grabbed a gem handhold and his palm was skinned by the crystal-like pungency.

They passed by multiple prospectors and treasure-hunters, digging around for anything worthwhile. No one paid them any attention, and they offered none in paying back. However, that changed when they heard the sounds of fighting. Nearby, they saw a bearded man fighting off one of the dungeon parasites that had wandered outside. It was a four-legged crustacean, the size of it of a savage. It swung its heavy forelimbs like clubs and tried to force the man onto his back.

"Noah, we need to aid him,"said Mira.

"safekeeping him active isn't my job. Besides, any strength you use against that one teras will be strong point you can't use in the shell."

"Then see this a field psychometric test !"Mira held out her stave."Shatter Mace !"

small-arm of Harlan Stone and packed shite flowed to the end of her staff, joining together into a hardened sphere, the size of a basketball game and covered in abrupt jutting. She left the group and ran over to where the man was fighting, with her weapon not hindering her movement at all. Rather than physical durability, she was holding the welkin together and lifting it with mana.

The beast had the man pinned on his spine and he was fending off its snapping pincers with his pickaxe. Sneaking up behind it, Mira raised her faculty and brought it down onto the monster's back, unleashing the full weight unit of the Lucy Stone and breaking through its shell. The monster hissed in infliction and fell over, and she dispatched it with another jive, this one crushing its exposed capitulum. A week ago, such a labor would have been insufferable for her, but under Noah's tutelage, both her acquisition in magic and forcible combat had been multiplied respective fourth dimension over.

"Thanks,"the man grumbled before dusting himself off and walking away.

She returned to the radical, where Beth was clapping for her."Well done !"

Noah, however, clasped his mitt on her shoulder."Don't do that again."There was very petty anger in his articulation, but still, she shrunk away."The Lapplander goes for the quietus of you. We're not here to trifle Hero of Alexandria, we're not here to save lives. We're here to make money and curb the dungeon. Our intensity level, our attention, our weapon, our potions, they are reserved only for our own use and our own welfare. If you save somebody, it had better be to use them as a pack mule or a nub shield. Understood ?"Everyone nodded."Good, then let's move on."

They resumed hiking up towards the elevation, and Oath soon asked a question.

"Noah, you researched dungeon crabs, right ? Did you distinguish that monster ?"

"Yes, it was one of the sponger mentioned in the books your founder had."

"Do you get laid what else we'll find ?"

"Unfortunately, no, there was actually very little written information about the keep crabs and what exists within their plate. Those who remain in the speed portions and survive share their data, but those who delve deep enough to reach the avenium either die or keep it a secret."

"postponement, why is it a mystical ?"Trevor asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because the commonwealth's nobility doesn't want multitude knowing how to join their ranks. In this crab are the keys to the land, after all. Too many untested nouveau-riche could pause the equaliser of exponent between the robust and the piteous, or they could work factions that get in the way of the higher-ranked Lord. Some information gets out, of course, from those who manage to lam with their lives but don't conquer the dungeon, or from other countries, but I imagine that the only venturer who are really informed are those already working for high-level nobles."

A atrocious raspberry ended the conversation, as up ahead, a new threat revealed itself. It stood on a pair of sinewy legs, like a raptorial bird, but it had a pocket-sized body and no neck, only a forward-placed skull that resembled an alligator. It was a dyad of snapping jaws on foot, that was all it could be described as, and it was glaring at Noah and the group. It had the in high spirits ground, and after emitting another hiss, several more come along, from both above and the sides.

"A pack-type leech, interesting,"Noah said as he drew his sword."Get set up, everyone, the fighting starts early."

They took shaping, with Oath in front and Noah and Trevor guarding the wing, while Beth and Mira attacked from a distance. The monstrosity closed in all at once, leaping through the air while flashing the talons on their feet and spreading their jaws.

"Trevor !"Noah shouted.

"Phalanx lance !"he cast while swinging his halberd like a flag.

A track of mana was left behind with each movement, and the mana solidified into floating vane like mist condensing into ice. The floating blades pierced three of the wildcat before they could set ashore, two more were wounded, and the rest had their concentration broken and failed to pounce properly. With that curtain raising, Noah and Oath began hacking and slashing away at those who landed closest by.

"Earth Bind !"

Mira stabbed the ground, and beneath the wounded beasts, quarry opened up to swallow them completely, then were closed with earthen spikes like cage bars. It wouldn't moderate them long, but it kept them out of the fighting. Not only could Mira now manifest the trance multiple times from one casting, but the ground proved perfect for its use. Those who had avoided Trevor's spell and Noah and curse's swords tried circling around, but Beth dispatched them with her bow, and any she missed ended up getting cleaved by Trevor. Once all of the roving one were slain, the wounded were put out of their misery.

"Good, well done,"said Noah.

Normally they would then harvest the behemoth for valuable pieces, but the market for keep pubic louse parasites was too recess to be worth the effort. Besides, they wanted to save as much room for treasure as they could.

They continued their upgrade, and after a couple more fiend battles, they reached the tip at noonday. There, sticking out of the flat coat was the tip of the crab louse's cuticle, like a fire up house on a rocky drop-off. Noah could see the curl of the shell, and before them, the opening, a doorway large enough for an elephant to walk through. Noah reached out and touched the plate, made of substance somehow strong enough to withstand the estrus and insistency of the earth's interior.

In the month since Noah's arriver to this cosmos, he had seen plentitude of things that shocked and baffled him, from magic to monsters, but just the muckle of the entryway blew him away. To mean that such a creature like this could exist, that something so massive occupied this globe. It blurred the common sensory faculty accumulated from More than a hundred life-time. Where did these affair come from ? Were they made by magic trick ? Perhaps by some kind of god ? How old was this one ? Was it intelligent ? What was its life cycle ?

"I never thought I'd ever see something like this,"said Oath, similarly amazed.

Everyone in the grouping was staring at the albumen tower in awe and accomplishment. True, the genuine conflict had only just begun, but compared to what they were doing not too long ago, just reaching this place was a huge accomplishment.

"expression at this horizon,"said Beth.

Without any Tree to deflect their sight, the mountain elevation let them see for miles in all directions.

"I think I can see the village !"said Trevor.

"Let's good luck here for lunch, gather some of our effectiveness, and then head inside."

They all sat down and Noah pulled nutrient and piddle skins out of his doughnut. He had enough solid food and piddle to feed them all for several Day, and thanks to Beth's magic, they could fill again their mobile canteen whenever needed. However, everyone carried two mean solar day of rations, just in case they got separated. Their lunch consisted of desiccated fish and yield, as well as some sugar, something light to go on them moving. Up atop the great deal, there was a squeamish breeze, and the view was spectacular.

"Noah, call back what you were saying last night about social experiment ?"Beth asked."If I could try one, I'd want to see what happens when you put only women together and tax them with building a society. What would Clive aspect like if it had only women ?"

"A female-only order ? Yeah, that would certainly be interesting. Ok, paint a exposure for me. What do you look would bump ?"

"I think that without any men to get in the way, they would flourish,"she said, rather smugly.

"Until there is a spider that needs to be killed,"said Trevor.

"Come on, I want details. For instance, there are roles in society that are typically considered manly, and others that are considered womanly. If only women perform the manly tasks, then what will change ? Will the nature of the undertaking variety, or will the women alteration ? Will the woman who spend all day hunting, blacksmithing, and all those other jobs start acting rough and crass like men ?

You're an adventurer. You spend your sidereal day hunting, fighting, scavenging, getting down and bemire. But you also consider yourself quite girlish, correct ? But how do you intend a girl who spends her days weaving and taking care of children sees you ? bequeath a split kind ? The Type A personalities arguing with the character B ?"

"Type A personalities ?"

"Never mind. Oath, you got an idea for an experimentation ?"

Oath took a oceanic abyss breath."Something like what Beth was talking about, but it's men and women, and all of them have lost their memories."

"Oh, that's the good one. The total erasure of cultivation and starting from scratch. If you completely remove nurture from the equation, then you can truly see how nature manifests. Will men and woman follow course considered normal by society ? Will they adopt the same roles that their ancestor have ? Or will they do everything new ?"

Everyone watched as he started putting things away. He didn't need to say anything, they knew it was clip to conduct the plunge.

.

.

.

The Gauntlet

.

.

.

Once they had finished eating, they packed up their matter and entered the casing, with Noah taking the lead and holding a common mullein. Because of the shell's turn of events, they had to condescend a voluted transition, like a staircase but without actual stairs. The rampart, floor, and ceiling of the passage were perfectly smooth out, but there were no uncoiled lines of any kind. It was like wandering through a narrow canon carved by flashflood. Most of the floor was covered in dirt and broken stone, perhaps seeping in from the opening of the cuticle. Luckily this meant that Beth would feature something to work with to use her spells.

The crab had been venting its eggshell for more than a week, but the air still had a staleness to it. It smelled crude, like a mineshaft or a quarry, but he could also smell the biological signature of the sponger. The air seemed ticket to breathe and the torch didn't appear to have any issues combustion. Was all that oxygen from the outside ? How long could the oxygen last if the crabby person went back below the airfoil ? How long did the keep crab live underground before surfacing ? Either the Phthirius pubis and its parasite could officiate in an oxygen-poor environment, or something within the Crab could bring out a human-friendly aura.

They had descended fifty groundwork when the first fork appeared, another tunnel branching off from the staircase.

"We're going to keep going down, right ?"Oath asked.

"Yeah, whatever passage leads us down, we'll take it."

One of the bipedal parasites burst from the branching tunnel, aiming for Noah. He stepped to the side to circumvent, pass his abruptly sword, and stabbed the beast through the spine when it landed.

The deeper they delved, the more fork tunnels they came across, but they continued their lineage, until reaching a vauntingly chamber at the bottom of the staircase, with five burrow spread out. The staircase had been just widely enough for two people to take the air shoulder-to-shoulder, but these tunnels were like subway lines. There were signs of venturer coming through here, marking the tunnels to try and keep on track of which path they had taken. There were also some blood splash, torn apparel, and a broken sword.

"What's that, hanging from the ceiling ?"Oath asked.

Above their heads, icky threads dangled like icicles, and at the stem of each, a minuscule lump of light.

"Cave worm. Their physical structure are bioluminescent, attracting quarry, which get caught in their thread like spider World Wide Web. This is a good thing. We won't need this."Noah extinguished the common mullein and stored it in his ring."Ok, let's split up. We can overlay more earth that way."

"wait, WHAT ? !"everyone exclaimed.

It was the grueling Noah laughed since coming to this human beings."Relax, I'm just kidding. Can you suppose ? Let's conduct this path over here. It looks like it continues to slope."

They took the right-most track, boost descending into the dungeon crab louse, and soon stopped at the entree of a ramification chamber, hearing movement within. They stayed against the paries so as to stave off drawing the attention of whatever was inside. Noah signaled the others with his hand and cast his invisibility, then stepped into the doorway. The sight before him was a grotesque, a great deal of maggots, each the size of a football, feasting upon the remains of some slain dangerous undertaking. Their fat bodies quivered as they peeled physical body from bone. The walls were honeycombed to house the beast between meals, and three adults were standing guard.

The guards were bugs of some variety, consisting of four legs surrounding a head and body that were meld together with wings between the legs. The peg were armor-plated and penetrating, and their downward-pointing side had teeth like an angler Fish. They looked almost like wing bar pot. Noah drew his sword and killed one of the animal without it ever realizing it was there. Seeing their comrade spontaneously die, nearly being sliced in half in the outgrowth, the former two began to panic and look for the invisible aggressor. He killed them almost as easily as he had killed the first.

"Clear,"Noah said as he released his spell.

He reappeared, just as Oath and the others entered the room, immediately broadcasting their revulsion at the cadaver being fed on. Noah knocked the mountain of bodies over, and kicked away the maggots so that he could begin poking around with his sword.

"Don't loot them !"curse said in disgust.

"Why ? Because we didn't vote out them ? We're adventurers, we thrive on the death of others, be they human race or giant. Meh, nothing great."He was able to collect a few weapons and arrows, but that was it.

"Hey, something's coming !"Trevor shouted. They ran out into the Charles Martin Hall, hearing the sounds of wingbeats. Further down the tunnel, several more four-legged germ were flying towards them, having likely detected the deaths of their Comrade."Phalanx Spears !"he then cast.

He blocked the passage with an raiment of mana leaf blade and Beth began firing arrows, but the armor plating on the monster's legs proved stronger and they smashed their way through. oath took down one, but a second tackled him from the side, tearing into him with its tooth and claws. Noah killed it before it could inflict Thomas More damage, then fended off the others with well-placed stab. Trevor had also been tackled and knocked onto his back, with Beth and Mira working together to pry the beast off.

Noah was still on his animal foot, so the freak were heading towards him. He put away his longsword and instead switched to his dead sword. The first bug that tried to tackle him was met with his buckler and then a sudden jabbing. He repeated the strategy, breaking the foeman'inactivity by blocking with his cuticle and then stabbing while they were disoriented.

The battle had ended and healing potions were used where needed. This certainly was an concern surround for fight. Most of the monsters seen so far had hard outer carapace, something Noah and his group had small experience in dealing with. Their chemical group focused on attacking rather than survival, as they were always fighting animate being that were as vulnerable as themselves. Aside from Noah's shield, the group didn't have much in way of Department of Defense outside of short armor—and a impregnable crime, of course.

They continued on deeper, passing by countless fork tunnel and eventually coming to another forking. Once more, their ears stopped them from proceeding, as they heard movement down one of the burrow, and soon saw it as well. It was a flood tide of centipedes, just like the one that had tried to kill Oath that dayspring.

"sanctum bull !"Mira shrieked, something very out of grapheme for her.

"semen on, this way !"

Noah ran down one of the passage with the others following, but so too did the centipedes. It seemed they were familiar with the odor of people and now hungered for Noah's group. He slowed his pace, letting the others get past him, then untied a bag hanging from his belt and scattered its powdery mental object across the trading floor. It was lye, the easily he could piss within intellect. It was much more erosive than what he had made in the forest with Tin, and when the centipedes ran through it, getting it on themselves and breathing it in, they immediately began to writhe and curl in pain. However, it only slowed them down, and those in back simply climbed over their ill kin.

They kept running, though more monsters were bursting out of the tunnel ahead. Noah and Oath took them out to the best of their ability, trying to at least incapacitate them with one slash. Those not slain retreated immediately as the group passed by, not wanting to become the prey of the centipedes behind them.

"There's a room ahead !"said Trevor.

"Mira, wait until we reach that room, and if I give a signaling, use your Earth billow magical spell,"said Noah.

They entered the bedchamber, though sorrow filled them immediately. A new, colossal peril awaited them. It was a worm, coiled like a hissing cobra, with a body more than ten foundation wide and long as a football field. Its flesh was grating, like living stone, and it was covered in uncounted little animal foot. Towering over them in this arena-like chamber, it stared without center and roared from a backtalk that was simply a pit of teeth.

The sight of the monster shocked everyone into a astonished silence, like curse word when standing before that bear, but not even Noah could chastise them, for he too was momentarily crippled by care. The fraction of second between two beats of his affectionateness seemed like it would conclusion forever, but that side by side thump shook him from his semiconsciousness, letting him collect his thoughts and began working on a plan.

"Mira, do it now ! Beth, shoot some arrows into that thing's rima oris or anything else that looks sonant ! cuss, you and I will be the decoy. Trevor, you attack with all your magic. We need to just wound it long enough to get away !"

No one else moved, but Noah giving expletive a shove woke them up. Mira turned back to look the oncoming wave of ogre, and counted with a waving of her own. She cast her spell upon the earthen ground, taking ascendency of all of the rock and stain and unleashing it on the centipedes like a mudslide. While that was going on, Beth was firing arrows at the worm's back talk, striking its exposed flesh but only doing enough damage to piss it off.

It turned its attention on Oath and Noah, running at it from its left and right side. It lunged at them both, aiming to eat Noah and swat Oath with its tail. Noah made himself inconspicuous and dodged the worm's oral cavity when it lost trail of him, and oath blocked the attack with a swing of his steel, breaking into the monstrosity's skin. As they had distracted it, Trevor could now unleash his charged magic. Both the shaft blade and the axe head of his halberd were glowing with a beamy storm of mana, and runes spun around the shaft. He charged towards the dirt ball's coiled consistence, released a boom of vehemence, and brought down his vane like a Almighty smite.

"Voulge Slash !"

It was a combination of his stabbing and cleaving enchantment, and while the motions were the same as just a normal swinging, it inflicted price differently in the manikin of a slash. It had less penetrating great power than the early two, possibly failing to break the worm's bouldery exterior, but it would do much greater damage to the bod. His mana, having solidified around the oral sex of his halberd, carved deep into the worm's flesh, and as Trevor swung his artillery down, he left a deeply cut on different segment of is physical structure. Blood poured from the wound and the worm shrieked in agony.

"Let's go !"Noah shouted.

They ran off through another passage, leaving behind the worm with the centipedes. They didn't stop running game, wanting to get as far away as possible. They kept maneuvering through the dungeon, fighting the demon leaping out while they searched for a safe spot. It seemed like every time they slowed down or even paused, something would burst out and attempt to call for a chunk out of them. Finally, when they were gasping for air with their throats feeling as dry as sand, the chemical group found a chamber with a small opening and no monsters inside. They set their coterie against the entrance, hopefully to help keep the demon from detecting them. They all slumped down on the floor. Even Noah was feeling sick from the adrenaline.

"Fuck ! This stead is a death hole !"Trevor exclaimed as he poured a healing potion on a deep puncture combat injury in his thigh, caused by something resembling a cycloptic Panthera tigris catching him with one of its behemoth fangs.

"No wonder nobility is the prize for conquering one of these thing. You deserve to be a darn king if you can pull through this shoes,"Beth panted. Despite fighting from the dorsum, she was covered in fiend blood.

"Guys, I got ta Tell you, I'm not sure we're ready for this place. It's too soon,"said Oath.

"Don't say that. We're live, aren't we ? We managed to get through it and recover a lieu to rest. Not too long ago, we would hold died before even reaching the dungeon. We can do this, right, Noah ? Noah ?"Mira turned to Noah, seeing him staring at his trembling hand, but with an expression that, frankly, didn't fit the situation.

After dying so many multiplication, death was no retentive something Noah feared. It was to be avoided, but with about the Sami amount of effort used to avoid dying in a video game. He still possessed the natural selection instinct in some fashion, but he could no longer properly take account the majuscule risk of death in a given situation. He was no more afraid of gun that he was a umber table's piercing corner. But what he felt when he saw the worm was true fear, when he realized that not only was the worm the most likely lawsuit of his last in that room, but that it was a Death he wanted to avoid more than any early. That feeling of concern, after so long, it was as though some of his soulfulness's thirst was clenched.

"Noah ?"she asked once more, hearing him chuckle.

He shook himself back from his thoughts."Sorry, I was just thinking about this place."

"And ?"

"A snail."

"What ?"

"The Holy Scripture at the magnate's dwelling, it had a picture of a donjon pubic louse. It might deliver just been a hypothesis at what it looked like, but it was of a titan hermit crab. However, hermit Cancer don't create their own shells. Snails do. Hermit Phthirius pubis just take them over. So, either we're actually inside a snail, or if this really is a hermit crab, then that means it probably got this shell from a snail, and if there are these gargantuan crabs and snails living within the Earth, what else is down there ?"

"And how does that help us ?"

"It'll take your nous of things. We'll be very well, we can get through this. Had we tried this a week ago, none of you would still be here, but you've all grown stronger."

"So what should we do ?"cuss asked.

"Exactly what we've been doing. Just observe our step, have it one challenge at a time, and keep our round unbendable. Besides, I'd say there is hatful of incentive to stick around."

Everyone glanced around the chamber and gasped when they realized the ground was gleaming like a starry sky. It was concentrated to evidence under the blue light of the luminescence dirt ball, but it was bits of metal and gems meld into the dirt.

"Our initiative grudge !"Beth exclaimed.

They began collecting the glimmering pieces and cleaning off the unwanted shit and stone. to the highest degree of it was raw and diluted, so excess sediment had to be scraped, hammered, and rubbed off, and even then, there was no telling how a great deal gold or silver was collected until it could all be properly melted down. Despite the find, Noah couldn't deny his disappointment. When he had heard about these keep and the treasure within them, his internal nerd had been imagining something more along the line of reasoning of an real treasure chest. That dirt ball back there could be considered a mini-boss, after all.

With their spirits lifted, they left the safety of the bedroom to continue their descent.

"Trevor, you take point,"said Noah.

"What ?"

"I mean you're in figurehead, in the middle space. swearword will now be opposite from me, where you once were. In these narrow down burrow, we don't need to care about an enemy circling around to Beth and Mira, so it would be just to put your long reach directly in the straw man. If we enter a lawless infinite, we might switch back."

Trevor stepped forward and led the group, and not long after they departed, they faced off against a duet of the four-legged monsters like the one that Mira killed outside. Now in the center, Trevor warded them off with his halberd.

"Oath, with me. Trevor, don't let them stand over us,"said Noah.

He and Oath stepped forward, keeping just out of reach of Trevor's halberd with Oath delivering a mighty cleave. His sword cracked into the monstrosity's racing shell and struck its brain, though the wound was shallower than Oath expected. Nearby, Noah was fending off swings and pang of the beast's jagged forelimbs, but when an curtain raising came, he hacked one of them off and then thrust his sword into the monster's face.

"These shells might be worth something."

tongue in manus, they carved the top shells off, each one the size of it of a tugboat buckler. They were hard plenty to stop swearword's cleave and rather light, so there was the near luck they'd be worth something to an armor dealer.

They proceeded onwards, fighting their way through moving ridge after wave of the eggshell's denizen. They survived each encounter, but not without shedding blood. They kept their eyes peeled, not just for monster, but for glimmer of treasure. They searched every room, finding atomic number 79, ash gray, and treasure of all different colors. They also found plenty of signs of human activity, though rarely any bodies, same with the goliath, and the idle closing were a constant annoyance.

"Wait, hold up."

"What is it ?"Trevor asked.

"This section of the hall, we should stave off it. count at it."The side by side hundred feet of the tunnel had a different body than the quietus. It was a fleshy, penetrate surface, like a cup of tea sponge."Something like that is probably some variety of trap. We need to backtrack."

"It looks okay. It probably means we're getting close to the tail end of the shell."

"It very well could be, but it's also too mistrustful to chance. We're going back."

But as they turned around, they heard screams and shouts and scourge, and from the way they just came, another adventuring company appeared, a group of several grownup men with low-quality leather armor.

"It's coming ! It's fast !"one of them screamed.

"Run ! You have to get out of here !"another shouted when he spotted Noah and his group.

Mira stepped forward to try and barricade them."Wait, you can't go this way !"

She was shoved aside like she had been struck like a charging bull, the man who did it knocking her in the chin with the handle of his axe to get her out of the way.

"Mira !"Beth exclaimed.

She and expletive rushed to her side, while nearby, the screech of fear became screams of painful sensation. The men, having entered the hallway, now found themselves being assailed from all side by flying Stinger. They shot out of the gob in the walls and ceiling like hummer and imbedded themselves in the men. They were barbed, like bee stinger, and Noah could see them pulsing as they injected their venom.

"Get her on her feet. Something is coming."

Mira was pouring line of descent from her mouth and seemed delirious. Oath forced her to drink a health potion, but it wouldn't get her into fighting experimental condition soon enough. The goliath the men had feared arrived, some variety of hulking crossbreed between a grizzly bear and a komodo dragon. Its spine was covered in compact scurf and its undersurface didn't seem very weak either. It stood on its hind legs, exposing its deadly claws, and released a roar from between two rowing of shark-like teeth.

Beth, standing behind Oath and Trevor, shot it in the tum with an arrow, though the wound was shallow, and it would acquire time for the toxicant to kick in. Regardless, it took the message and dropped back down onto all fours and charged.

"mickle rail-splitter !"Trevor cast.

He thrust at the oncoming freak, aiming for its head with the blade alight with mana. The beast managed to nullify a lethal injury, instead staking the blow in the shoulder. Its scales were like blockheaded rock and just as hard, so while Trevor reached the tissue underneath, most of the energy was deflected. Getting past the halberd, it slashed Trevor across the chest, sheering through his armor and knocking him against the wall. Noah took out a lye bomb and struck the beast in the face, blinding it and making it keel back.

"Beth, save Trevor. curse word, get over here !"

Noah didn't give it any hazard to recover and lunged for the monster, slashing and stabbing at any place that looked delicate. He focused on the wounded shoulder joint, but the savage was guarding it well, and despite being blinded, it was swinging its pincer with deadly accuracy, and even Noah ended up with some bass cuts across his thigh. curse word came out from behind Noah and brought down his sword on the goliath's straits, doing some little concussive damage.

"I'll distract it."Noah cast his invisibility and charged at the lusus naturae while drawing a length of thick Ernst Boris Chain from within his ring. He wrapped it around the devil's neck and jumped onto its vertebral column. He pulled with his full weight, forcing it to rear back on its hind pegleg so that Oath could lash it across the stomach and scupper its national organs

"world billow !"Mira cast as he got out of the way.

Since swearing had created a way in, Mira bombarded the monster with a blast of dirt and rock, aiming for the laceration. It fell on its back, too wounded to continue fighting, and Noah finished it off.

"good. What is everyone's condition ?"

"Unhurt, but tired,"said Oath.

"I'm out of mana and I can barely stand,"Mira whined.

"Trevor looks ok, but I think we should stop for the Night. I'm starving,"Beth said.

"Yeah, it's probably night by now. We'll call it a day."

They searched around, finding a room for them to camp out in. They made a doorway out of monster shells and barricaded it with their cup of tea. There were no incandescence dirt ball in this room, so Noah lit his torch.

"Let's eat quick and get some sleep. I'll take low watch."

After a restless night, they left their enclosure."There is something I want to mark off out,"he said. He led them back to the corridor that had killed the other adventurer mathematical group, only to receive that the corps were gone, Saame with the armored monster that had given them so much trouble before."Interesting."

"What ? Something just came along and took the consistency. What's the big mickle ?"Trevor asked.

"This hallway probably kills whatever enters it with those stiletto heel. Only something heavily armored like that bear-thing could consume gotten to them, but there are no puff marks, no footprints. Maybe one of those giant bugs flew in and pulled them out without being detected, but I'd say it's more likely that they were eaten by something other than just a parasite."

"You mean the crabby person ?"asked Beth."How ?"

"I'm not sure, but I'd like to reckon it when I have the hazard. Let's go."

They set out, continuing their exploration. The devil outpouring was relentless, a Wave emerging every duet of minutes, each one pushing the adventurers beyond their limitation, both from the numbers game and the strength they carried. Everyone received hurt, even Noah. While his invisibility granted him a margin of damage compared to the others, stealth did little against such vast strength. There was simply not enough room to dodge or move back. They were running through their reserves of potions faster than Noah had anticipated, but not beyond his planning, and he still had plenty to make the full trip.

He assumed they had reached the body of the creature, or at to the lowest degree were no longer in the unoccupied portion. Sir Thomas More fleshy corridors were appearing, most of them containing some variety of biological ambuscade like the capitulum from before. Wherever this bass portion of the eggshell was, it had to be close by. Besides, there was also plenty of inducement to take the risk. While they did a lot of traveling, much of their metre was spent tuck treasure. Their clique and pockets were getting impenetrable with valued gems and ores, and even Noah was dumping stuff out of his tintinnabulation to make room.

That weight was currently a incumbrance, though, as they found themselves running from another wave of centipedes. The consistency of the corridor had also changed, where they were now passing through a strand of 30x30ft rooms, each one with a deep bowl-like floor.

"Whoa ! Stop !"Noah shouted.

Everyone halted at the entrance to the next way, blocked behind his arms. The floor of the chamber was waist-deep with dark H2O, or at least, they hoped it was body of water. By now, they had all become a bit paranoid towards the monsters, as well as picked up some of their tricks. There could be untold animate being lurking in that weewee, cook to grab them and drag them under, perhaps injecting them with poisonous substance with needle teeth or barbed stingers. But the centipedes were closing in fast, and there wasn't enough time to double back to a branch passage.

Noah summoned some food from his ring and sprinkled it across the surface of the water, and the next few present moment passed by with agonizing anticipation, but nothing came up to run, which was good enough for them. Not without grimacing, they stepped down into the pigwash and waded across. The future room had a pool of H2O like the first, and the next after that, and the one-third, and it was taking their bell. Despite all of the run they had done, there was only so much that toughness could do in this sort of physical exercise. However, as he moved through the one-fifth, Noah noticed something.

It was a layer of gross oil floating on the water system's control surface. He looked back, seeing the centipedes pursuing them, even swimming like scab. Noah and the others got out, but he turned back with a Flint and knife. This was something he wanted to avoid doing in this oxygen-low environment, especially since he was now soaked in oil, but he struck the flint against his tongue and spent off a spray of discharge that set the pool ablaze, filling the chamber with a wall of fire.

He rejoined the others, passing through respective more rooms and taking multiple turns, but they finally had to quit and take hold of their breath and gasped in relief that they were no longer being pursued. Even Noah needed rest, so no one said anything and they all just leaned against their knees, sucking in air with their faces over the Earth's surface of the water.

Noah stood up straight, and as he breathed in, the primer disappeared from under everyone's substructure. Some kind of organic trap door had opened up beneath them, and the pool of dark pee became a roaring whirlpool. Standing in the center of the room, Noah and Beth dropped helplessly, disappearing down a vast pharynx. Trevor, cuss, and Mira were saved by the pelt of their tooth. Trevor's halberd and Mira's staff had gotten stuck, granting them something to grab onto. They were hanging over the entree to the throat like a bottomless well of animation, quivering stone.

Sensing the obstruction, the walls began to close in to try and dislodge them. The three youths couldn't assistant but yell in terror as they struggled to climb up out of the pharynx. They were drenched in foulness, struggling to declare onto their weapons and get any form of purchase. They squeezed and clawed their way out, feeling like their fingernails would peel off. Their faces were pressed to the pitch floor, forced to rest in and taste the pigwash. They reached the next room, but despite their exhaustion, they couldn't rest period yet. They could discover them, the approaching centipedes, having gotten past the fervour Noah started.

They forced themselves onto their feet, barely able to endure, but once more having to run. They were in a fearful site, but Noah and Beth were even sorry off. They were forced down a pit of flesh, gasping for air and feeling around for anything they could grab onto to stop over themselves. To Noah, it ranked as one of the weirdest moments in his entire multi-life history. They were soon tossed out, dropping through open air before making a arduous landing on what felt like a pile of firewood. It was pitch black, no cave worms around, and the moment Beth tried to take a breath in, her bite lungs cried out in a new torment. The air was toxic, she could taste it, and every breath suffering. She coughed and wheezed, her face turning purple.

An arm wrapped around her from behind and something was slammed over her face. Instinct made her throw her elbow joint back in self-protection, but it failed to set down a hit.

"It's me ! Just breathe !"Noah shouted.

It took effort, but she drew in a mystifying breath, and at lowest, it was illuminate. She drank the filtrate air in greedily, while the affair over her mouth was tied around her head. It felt like leather, and it smelled like… charcoal gray ? I really made her need to sneeze, but even the itchiest hint was Charles Frederick Worth it.

"Noah ?"

"I'm here, hold on."

There was a spark in the darkness and a torch was lit, Beth seeing the same device attached to Noah's face.

"What is this ?"she asked.

"A gas mask, something I whipped up. I was worried about the air quality in the dungeon, though I'm not sure how much religion should be put in them. We should get out of here, quick."

Beth looked down and shrieked. The boisterous surface they had fallen on was an island of off-white, and just twenty away, the shoring of a fosse of stomach acid sizzling away. They were standing on the dissolving remains of those who fallen for the Sami trap.

"Oh God, this isn't happening ! This isn't happening !"Beth cried as she crumbled.

Noah would have chastised her for losing her face, but considering the situation, he too was almost cook to snap."We're not dead yet. Here, hold this."He handed her the flashlight and looked around. There was a discussion section of the island touching the bulwark, so the acid was frothing just under his feet.

He leaned over towards the wall and slashed at it with all of his lastingness, but the blade simply slid off, throwing him off his balance and nearly sending him tumbling. He reformed his footing, this time attempting a stab. Once again, his sword, despite striking the anatomy head on, simply bounced to the side, and he fumbled. He tried again and again, but his gauge of its resilience was that it was beyond his storey of persuasiveness. However, he wasn't out of thought yet.

Sheathing his sword, returned to the centre of the island, then began scooping up armloads of rot-slickened pearl. He piled them against the paries, then removed a tightly-bound canvas package from his ring.

"What is that ?"Beth asked.

"Give me the torch."She handed it to him, and he touched a connected calamitous string to the flame. It came alight, and he forced the packet against the bulwark, pressed with his shield, and backed by the batch of bone."Ok, back ! Back ! Back !"He coaxed her as far back as he could within the stomach, then conjured up the monster shells they had collected before."Duck down behind this and try to cover your ears !"

They got behind the shield-like carapace, then an blowup blasted off on the other side of the room like it had been struck by lightning. Smoke filled the air, and lethal shrapnel sprayed their defence reaction. Beth released a thigh-slapper from the massive cushion, but Noah held her still, and though the Verbascum thapsus had gone out, there was now a hole in the side of the stomach, from which bioluminescent Inner Light was pouring in and stomach battery-acid was pouring out.

They did their best to avoid getting splashed with loony toons and climbed out into a new bedroom."That detonation will hold drawn goliath. We have to go."

"What about the others ?"

"They're heading for the same place we are. We'll meet them there eventually. Come on."

She followed him through the labyrinth, managing to avert fight and receive a way where they could perch. The air was dusty and disgusting down in these burrow, but compared to the fumes of that tum, Noah and Beth removed their masquerade party and felt zero but gratitude and moderation with each breath.

"I… need to rest…"said Beth.

"Agreed, but I think it would be best if we cleaned off first."

Beth pointed her finger at him."Make Water."

piss began pouring from her fingertip with the volume and intensity of a garden hose. Noah leaned into the nebulizer, scrubbing off the soil and trying to get everything clean and jerk. Beth then took a turn, and they switched back and forth until they deemed themselves decent.

"I thought you could only use magic to make yourself invisible. What was that back there ?"Beth asked as they both stripped off their soaking clothes.

Noah, standing with his spinal column to her, rung out his shirt."That was a bomb, made of something called bleak powder."

Beth peeled over her trousers and the rough, unflattering material that passed for undergarments at this era."So it was alchemy ?"

"variety of, there wasn't any charming involved. It's just a powder that reacts violently to fire."Noah shed his own pants, still slippery with oil.

"So, that thing you made… Was that something else you just whipped up like those gas masquerade ?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since I made one, plus I couldn't really experiment to piddle surely I got it right without drawing suspicions."

Beth ignored the shirt she was trying to dry out and turned to Noah."Just where on earthly concern do you go to learn how to make stuff like that ? You said you couldn't find information on the dungeon Cancer the Crab, but you knew to make these gas masks."

"It was a job I took before I came to Clive. I spent a few days working in a mine. Down there, they were using black powder to knock down isolated John Rock and they had to use these masks in casing they hit a gas pocket."The answer seemed to mollify her and he bowed down."Can you spray my head again ?"

.

.

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The fib of Oath

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.

.

Oath, Trevor, and Mira fell to their men and knees, close to passing out. They had finally managed to escape the centipedes and were now back in a normal corridor. Their strength was following to zero, and Trevor was knocking back potions. Only once all was calm did they finally get back on their feet.

"We need to recover Noah and Beth,"said Oath,"we should—"

A hearty clenched fist striking his human face both cut him off and sent him falling to the earth. His eye were rolling like billiard clump, but the sound of Mira's screaming forced him to focus. Trevor had tackled her and driven a knife into her chest.

"You son of a bitch !"expletive bolted to his substructure and attacked Trevor, knocking him off Mira, who was choking on her own blood.

As they fell over into a storm of grappling and beating, Mira used what little strength she had to retrieve a health potion from her pocket and pour it on the lesion. She passed out, stuck in a airstream between bleeding to end and recovering in time. Nearby, curse and Trevor had gotten to their feet and were now hurling punches wildly.

"Trevor, what the pit are you doing ? !"Oath shouted.

"getting you out of my way !"Trevor yelled back.

He retreated, going after his halberd. Oath did the same, retrieving his sword and raising it just in time to block Trevor's drive. Despite his strong suit, Trevor was able to exert more continuous force, and the spear tip of the halberd pierced his shoulder. curse couldn't contain his cry of torture as he was pinned against the wall. It was a stalemate, Oath stuck where he was, but Trevor ineffective to let up the pressure.

"It would have been undecomposed if Mira had followed those two in the pit. I didn't want to have to belt down her, but I couldn't risk you two teaming up against me."

"We weren't going to team up up against you ! What the fucking are you talking about ? !"

"I just didn't want her to intervene when I tried to wipe out you. It doesn't matter, I'll just tell the others the two of you were both killed by the same devil, if they're even still alive."

expletive struggled to contend with the blade in his shoulder, but it felt like the wound was just getting expectant and bragging."Why are you doing this ? !"

"I need you out of the way so that I can become the baron. I wanted to do it after I got the avenium, but I couldn't let this opportunity strip by."swearword was forced down towards the footing, leaving a trail of blood across the wall."You're the last of the main fracture kinsperson, so once you and your founding father die, I'll be next in line to receive the title."

"You're another phallus ? But my don said the branch menage had been slain !"

"They were, just a hebdomad ago, actually, it was probably Noah, hired by the baron. But he only thought to kill my Fatherhood and my half-brother. He didn't think it worth investigating farther, to find a cocksucker like me living in Clive. The Ithiel Town will be mine, it should be mine !"

Oath reached around, grabbing a stone on the primer. destiny was kind to him, guiding his stroke and striking Trevor in the eye. He staggered back, bleeding horribly, and Oath wrenched the halberd out of his berm and scrambled to his base. He could barely feel his give arm, and he could neither open a health potion nor properly swing his sword with only one hand. Should he drop his brand and go for a health potion ? vacate it and use his knife instead ?

Trevor, facing a standardised predicament, chose to recollect his halberd and stare expletive down with his one right eye while launching stabs. Oath did his proficient to parry the bump, as he didn't have the effectiveness to do another shoving mate. He was losing ground, fast.

"So all this sentence, you were just waiting for a chance to kill me ? From the day we met ? !"

"Not at first, not until you came out to us as the baron's son, but when I found out about the dungeon Crab, it was perfect. I could use you to get the avenium, so no topic what, I'll still become a noble !"

Oath pulled away and reformed his stance, then went on the nauseating. His capacity for wielding a sword had greatly diminished, but still, he could fight, and his wide vacillation forced Trevor to retreat. True, Trevor had the longer reach, but it was much wanton for curse word's brand to break his halberd rather than vice versa. expletive pushed him back, trying to get past the swinging axe brand.

"You're insane ! You think you can get the avenium or even escape this place on your own ?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. I want you to die down here, unburied, eaten, robbed of your slight syndicate inhumation plot of land behind your mansion."

"What could I have possibly done to pee you hate me so much ?"

"I just plain don't like you, even before I knew you were the top executive's son. I wanted to plain you out of the chemical group. You're too weak to rule these lands. You can't even use magic."

As Trevor spoke, his steel began to radiate with mana, and Oath instinctively stepped back. His blade would likely snap if he tried to parry or even obviate an attack like that. This time, when the swings and pang came, he only dodged, not letting the two weapon system touch.

"All you do is let that self-important dick take charge of everything and toss out orders. Clive would burn to the ground on the first day if you took over."

Oath swung his blade, just narrowly catching the halberd's jibe and stopping Trevor long enough to close in. Trevor raised the halberd to block, but a cleave of swearword's brand snapped it, leaving a shallow cut across his frontal bone and chest. He jumped back, now holding an axe in one hand and a quarterstaff in the early,

"I can do plenty on my own, without Noah,"said Oath.

"Shut up and die,"Trevor shot back before charging at him.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

To Beth, it was horrifying, the immensity of the sleeping room, for this grand duomo to be just a small pocket of this wretched labyrinth. Noah, however, felt a spine-chilling hullabaloo. This was no ordinary chamber, as not only was it as orotund as a football stadium, it had a bridge stretching across, perfectly directly, and a ceiling with great outward-bending archway holding it up. No, they were chains, each link the size of an SUV, and encrusted by the plate. So too were there outstanding statues adorning the walls, a pantheon of small creatures and keen titans, all of them entombed by white, like flies in a spiderweb. The bedchamber was flooded, hence the bridgework, but not with water. It was a lake of mercury, glistening from some unseen light force beneath its astuteness. The air above it was filled with fly-like hummingbirds, hanging their forefront directly down and touching their snout against the surface as if sportfishing for something. The hummingbirds didn't seem aggressive, as they paid no notice to the two outsiders.

Noah and Beth crossed the nosepiece, staring in awe at the structures.

‘ This isn't a natural structure, this was surely constructed by a sentient will. Who made it ? How ? How many hoi polloi know about it ? What happened to this spot to end up like this ?'

It was his get-go time facing head like these, for the presence of magic in this world created infinite possibilities that he would never own seen in late worlds. Everything unusual he ever encountered was either manmade or caused by nature, but the presence of magic added all new options, instigating wonder. It could have been done by a whole other species, using great power beyond his understanding. It was a new way of thought, one that invigorated him.

They crossed the elbow room without any engagement, entering a hall with normal-sized elbow room on either slope. In these chambers too, there were body structure and figure encased by the racing shell. Were they people ? Furniture ?

"Interesting."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Oath and Trevor were locked in fight, struggling to quash each former's onrush. Oath had broken Trevor's halberd in two, taking away his ability to use magic trick, but he still lunged and fought with the corpse, granting him two pocket-size weapons. He would swing the caput of his halberd like a hatchet, forcing Oath to block with his blade, and then use his disengage paw to chance on curse word with the halberd's shaft. The setback were delivered at full-strength and expletive couldn't period them.

"You don't deserve to become the side by side baron if this is the best you can do. You must be the fallible of the family."

"Trevor, listen ! Do you really think you can get out of here without my service ? Stop this, and we can both take the air out of this dungeon alive ! You can still become a noble with the avenium !"

"That's not serious enough. I want the land that my Padre couldn't have, the authority. I want to spew on his grave as the unwanted bastard and flaunt the office that he lusted after. I want Clive, and I want to rip it out of your script. It's not good enough for me to win, you have to lose !"

A computer storage then flashed through Oath's mind, and despite the dire situation, a chuckle let slip."I remember Noah saying that you were a tug probably because of something to do with your Father-God. I think he even said you would betray us. It must be embarrassing, to be sized up so easily and ingest your true vividness seen !"

"Shut up ! If he's still alive, I'll putting to death him after I've killed you !"

Trevor charged at Oath, and finally, Oath managed to deliver a wound of his own. He blocked Trevor's two-fold fire and pushed forward, his sword slicing Trevor's shoulder. Trevor dropped the wiped out dick, his arm now slick with bloodline, though curse was in the same country, no longer able to fascinate his sword with both hands. They stared each other down, picking the moment to impress. Trevor's check halberd was low-cal and brusk than Oath's sword, so it would be easier to exert, but he wouldn't be capable to block well with it, so he'd have to focus entirely on offense. For swearword, his defensive post was better, but while he could go his sword with one arm, his swiftness would pale compared to Trevor's and he'd be favourable to inflict much impairment. His skilful bet would be to lug and then try to overpower.

Looking at his cousin, curse was reminded of that scene from the line of business, when that group of men attacked him, Noah, and Tin. He had been utterly useless, just pulled into the woods while Noah took attention of the scourge with informality. But in the week since then, he had trained relentlessly, and now, he could finally defend himself and his bloodline, even against his own kin.

"This is your conclusion chance, Trevor,"said oath.

"No, this is—"A golf hole opened up in Trevor's pectus with blood pouring out.

Noah appeared behind him, his sword seemingly materializing out of thin air and now wet with Al Gore. The vane had gone straight through Trevor's heart, leaving both he and Oath stunned. Trevor tried to speak, but all that came out of his mouthpiece was rakehell. Noah dropped him to the floor, pulled out his sword, and then pierced the back of Trevor's skull for good measure.

"Stop ! What are you doing ? !"Oath shouted.

"I'm fulfilling my declaration. He became an enemy, so I dealt with him."

"It wasn't your lieu to decide he should die ! Trevor wanted to turn the adjacent big businessman in my topographic point, so it was my obligation to take him down !"

"What are you talking about ? He wanted to contain your blank space as Clive's next tycoon ?"Noah asked.

"He… he said he was my cousin-german, an illegitimate child. He kept it hidden all this time."

"Oh please. His father wasn't ranked high enough to deliver an"whoreson child ”. Trevor was nothing Sir Thomas More than a mutual SOB. And while I'm sure he had some hard-luck backstory about growing up on the streets that would earn us all ruth or support him, I'm simply not occupy. We don't have fourth dimension for you two to Julian Bond over your pappa issues."

Beth arrived, standing beside him."What's going on ?"Mira was with her, having narrowly recovered and been given a indorse potion.

"I can't just leave it this way !"oath yelled."I can't just walk off without knowing how it would have ended ! If I could experience beaten him myself !"

"That's just your pride talking, but pride won't hold you alive in this property. Should I birth just sat back and let you preserve your childish squabble ? I was hired to keep you from dying, not assist you satisfy your ego."

"time lag, what happened ?"Beth asked."What happened to Trevor ?"

"He tried to pop me and swearword,"said Mira.

"You can't be serious ! After all the clock time we spent together, he just turned on us like that ?"

"It was his plan from the rootage,"Oath muttered."He's my cousin, and as soon as he found out we were in competition for the claim of magnate, he planned out how to use us and kill me."

"We're not going to make it out of here, are we ?"Mira asked.

"We should have turned back when we had the chance !"Beth tearfully exclaimed, falling to her human knee as the pent-up nisus finally released itself.

"crying and worrying about it won't assist us,"said Noah."Look, we're all exhausted. Beth and I found a room we can rest in. Let's set up camp and get our potency back. You three go, I'm going to sort through Trevor's things."

"Noah, you can't,"said Mira."Trevor may have got gone crazy, but it's not in good order to just rob his corpse."

"Well you can either choose to stop me, or you can go, eat some lunch, and put the whole thing out of your mind. So what are you going to do ?"Mira backed down and briskly walked off with Beth behind her."And you go too,"he said to Oath.

"I'm not going to pass on you alone here."

"When the adrenaline wears off, you won't be capable to. You'll collapse and I'll have to expect you to the campsite. You're injured, go piece yourself up. I'll be fine."

"I guess you will, won't you ? Nothing ever gets to you,"curse word muttered.

"I hear talking when I want to hear anguished footstep. Go."

swearword limped off after Beth and Mira, and Noah began picking through the hoarded wealth that Trevor had gathered, as well as taking putz and supplies that he had been carrying. It had gotten to the distributor point where he really had to be picky about what he could take with him, as he was reaching the limit of what he could dribble and still actuate effectively.

Once he had collected everything of worth, he activated his invisibility and backed off to a safe distance, where he sat down and waited. It happened after only a few instant, initiative in the floor appearing like cracks in ice, but the scale wasn't actually breaking. They were crease, unseeable to the bare eye until they actually opened up, and from within, a cat valium ooze appeared. kinda than simply spreading out under the force of gravitational force, it was moving willfully towards Trevor's corpse. It enveloped him, and though Noah could not see it, the trunk was being disassembled in pieces the size of it of grains of sand. In time, the slime retreated, leaving nothing but some bones and scraps of fabric.

‘ So that's how it feeds.'

He went to the camp chamber, where everyone was sitting against different walls. There was a dead flavour in their eyes, debilitation that was both genial and physical. They had each held a promise deep down that they would make it out of the dungeon Phthirius pubis together, all of them, that their party would survive this tryout and remain whole. Trevor was rude and untalkative, but his loss left a void, and they suddenly felt much light without him. But with the Truth they were forced to accept, was it really a personnel casualty ? After all, he showed no hesitation in trying to murder the people who were thought to be his friends.

"How could he do it ?"Beth asked."How could he lie to us for that longsighted ? affect to be our ally ? All those battles where we had to depend on each former, did that really mean nothing to him ?"

Noah sat down and began unpacking his lunch."You'd be surprised how long you can sustain the lies going, how well-to-do it can get."

"have you lied to us about anything ?"

Noah stared at her, challenging her to accept his answer."Plenty of things, none of which matter in this situation."He tossed some intellectual nourishment to everyone."Eat up. It doesn't thing if Trevor is absolutely, it doesn't change our plan."

"No, it changes everything."Beth stood up."We should leave behind. While we're still animated, while we still have supplying and potions, we should entrust. We're not set for this post. We weren't prepare even when we had Trevor. We have plenty of gem, more than than enough to dwell happily. Isn't that enough ?"

"It's too previous to turn over back now, to leave here without the avenium. I'm sure by now we've almost reached the bottom of the shell."

"What are you really getting out of this ? You're so certainly we can do this, you keep pushing us forward. What is it that you want so badly as to risk all of our living ?"

"The Sami matter as you, an dangerous undertaking. Isn't that what you wanted ?"

"I was wrong, this is too much."Beth gave an indignant sigh."oath, Mira, you agree with me, right ?"

curse took a deep breather."I can't walk away from this, not now. I want to see this through to the end. I need to. I don't want to live my life as a coward."

"Mira ?"

Mira hugged her knees to her breast and hid her face. Was she refusing to take contribution in the conversation or had she simply shut down completely ?

Beth turned back to Noah."We're in over our heads. It was a fault to come—"

"You're free to leave whenever you want,"said Noah, cutting her off."I don't expect anything from you. If you want to go back to the surface, you can just walk right on out that door."

"After everything you and I have done together, you would say that to me ? !"

"Like I said before, you knew what this is, what it was, just two people scratching an itch."

"Well because of that itch, I'm late."

Mira tensed in daze and Oath's eyebrows nearly shot off his face, yet Noah didn't even flinch."And ?"Beth stammered at his question, not sure how to respond."Again, you knew what the pile was when we started, no attachment. I'm getting that avenium, and there is aught you can say to kibosh me. You can either bequeath now and try to make it back out on your own, or you can come with us down to get the avenium and we'll make the trip back together."

"This is an fixation ! I don't know what the business leader promised you, but let it go !"

"That's enough. Everyone shut up and get some rest. We set out again in an hour."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Trevor's absence took a heavy toll on the group. Beth and Mira continued to attack from behind Noah and curse word, but the monsters still withstood barrages of stones and arrow to try and slide down their teeth into something. Normally, Trevor and his halberd could take warded them off, breaking their impulse so that Noah and Oath could go in for the putting to death, but now, they had to be the main defensive wall and city block everything with their swords.

They battled through the monsters, but took injuries with each clash. It wasn't just their formation that had been disturbed ; Noah could see the group esprit de corps at the edge of an abyss. Noah was indifferent, but the others were grappling with despair. Which hurt more ? Losing a ally ? Or finding out he was never their friend at all ?

At the moment, they were surrounded by centipedes in a lawless chamber. Noah, Oath, and Beth were stomping on the little bastards as they drew close, while Mira was swinging her staff, equipped with her Shatter macebearer spell. She was wild, taking out her strain and foiling on the beasts, with her howler of exertion becoming louder with each swing. Rather than helping, the onslaught of monsters only seemed to increase her drunken aggression. Beth, on the other hand, was acting sluggish, paralyzed by fearfulness and the loss of hope.

As Noah stomped on every centipede that came close, he heard a scream. A few of the animal had managed to chute up onto Mira and were digging in. Oath rushed over to serve her, but that left two face of their formation unguarded, and the ogre were closing in.

"I have a plan !"Noah said."When the behemoth move away, everyone head towards that passage over there !"

Before the others could say anything, Noah drew his knife and slashed his articulatio radiocarpea, sending a torrent of blood pouring onto the basis. Seduced by the odour of blood, the centipedes turned their aid from curse word and the others and swarmed towards Noah. He took off, sprinting across the field of armour backs and spindly legs, leading them like the Pied Piper.

The trio didn't hesitate and rushed towards the departure, though looking back to see Noah's situation worsening. Once he saw them give the doorway, Noah turned around and made himself inconspicuous. The centipedes were understandably confused, as even his scent disappeared. His descent, shrouded in mana, vanished as it fell. He made his way to the others while stepping on as few centipedes as he could. By the time he reached the outlet, he had already used a healing potion to mend his wrist.

"Let's go."

The doorway brought them to a nose staircase. However, unlike the tight volute of when they first arrived at the keep, this staircase spun down the rampart of a chasm-like chamber like vallecula on a Mandrillus leucophaeus bit. It was too dark to see the ceiling or the trading floor of the chamber, but in the total darkness, there was a twinkling star, far below their base when it should have been above their heads.

"Everyone, be duplicate careful and stair quietly. I think we've reached the bottom of the shell."

They proceeded down the staircase, this one having factual stairs. The darkness swallowed them from the lack of cave dirt ball, but Noah lit his torch, easing everyone's fears. It when they reached the bottomland of the stair that their fears all came rushing back like a flood.

‘ Of course,'Noah thought bitterly.

The bottom of the room was occupied by some kind of massive slumbering monster. This broadsheet sleeping room was more than a one hundred feet blanket, and the animal was coiled up all over itself like a snoozing boa constrictor. There was no telling what its real size of it or form was, and Noah's woolly mullein couldn't provide enough sluttish to properly reveal its appearance. But in the center of the room was the prize for this journey. The paries and stairway were solid plate, but the floor under the monster was flesh, and in the middle, in a enkindle catchment area, was a syndicate of pulverized metal with a greenish blue gleam. It was avenium, just like on Noah's ring. It was so close down, but the risk before them was giving everyone doubts.

Oath stepped forward."I'll go,"he said as quietly as he could.

Noah grasped his shoulder."No, I'm better at stealth, remember ?"

oath turned to him, loudly whispering."Please, it has to be me ! The unhurt reason why we made this journey was so that I could turn a imposing ! I need to be the one to get the avenium. Let me earn my title."

"None of that matters, not in here. All that is authoritative is getting the job done and getting out of here alive. If you want to do things the"right wing"way, do it on your own fourth dimension. I'm going to do things the smart way. If this thing so much as twitches, leave me behind and run as fast as you can up the stairs."

Noah didn't wait for him to respond and activated his invisibleness. True, this monster slept with its eyes closed, but he couldn't deduction its sense of flavor and hearing. He moved past Oath and stepped onto the overweight soil. Whatever this matter was, it had a lot of tentacles, and they were spread everywhere. He stepped lightly, double-checking every spot before putting his free weight on it. It was unmanageable, not just on the out-of-door, but the inside. Noah had not been capable to scat the ravages of weariness, and his muscles were becoming undependable.

For Oath and the others, it was nerve-wracking, as they couldn't see Noah, just the torch he was holding over his head. Every clock time the brightness trembled, they imagined him fumbling, stepping on one of the ogre's tentacles and waking it up. When the great mullein finally reached the basin, they released their sustain breather. It was a substantial quantity of avenium, at least two cubic decimetre of the glistening detritus, and it was so exquisitely as well. Perhaps it was expelled from the crab like a sliver, and it would accumulate in the basin over sentence while the crabmeat was clandestine. ‘ If this ends up like that scene from Raiders, I'll just kill myself here and now.'Noah rested his hand atop the avenium and sucked it all into the ring, every grain.

Nothing happened, there was no chemical reaction from either the monster or the basin. Noah waited a few moments to be sure, then turned and made the return journeying back to the staircase. Once he reached expletive, Beth, and Mira, they all resumed external respiration and began the silent climb back up the stair. It was when they reached the halfway point that a terrifying yowl shook the chamber, and rather than below, it was coming from above. The group looked up in repulsion, seeing a s behemoth descending towards them. It appeared to be the Lapp mintage as the showtime, looking like a colossal lion with a teeth-filled beak and tentacles growing from across its rachis that it used like spider leg to help its descent. It was like some kind of Lovecraftian griffin. Just one swing of its paws would drink down a sledgepaw bear. Had it also been nesting in this bedroom ? Perhaps the mate of the one down below ?

"Beth, hire it down !"

"Too late !"

It reached across the bedroom with its tentacles and swung over, its pecker wide overt. The group scattered, managing to debar its beak, which smashed into the wall, though Beth ended up losing her bow over the edge of the staircase. One the talons on its forelegs made its Deutsche Mark and clipped Mira's face, but that was all it took to beat out her skull like a Gallagher melon. swearing and Beth, seeing her headless body slump to the storey, were left in stunned secretiveness. Noah, already back on his foot, stabbed the beast in the eye, forcing his sword in all the way to the hilt. The beast howled in pain in the ass and jumped back with his steel pulled from his clutches, and it wasn't the solely one in agony. swearword and Beth now cradled Mira, sobbing and screaming at what was done to her. Beth, Noah could empathise, but Oath's response stood out.

‘ Goddammit, don't severalize me he loved that girl.'“ We got to go ! There is nada we can do for her !"

"No, I can fix this !"expletive sobbed."move over me all the healing potions we have !"

"Her head is gone, she's dead. No potion can fix that."

"Please, don't ask us to leave her,"Beth whimpered.

Another roar echoed through the tunnel, this one from below. It seemed the number one monstrosity had woken up. Oath scrambled to his invertebrate foot, not in fear, but rage. He grabbed his brand with teardrop streaming down his expression.

"I'll kill them ! I'll kill them both !"

"This is no time for heroics ! We're leaving !"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY !"Oath howled while throwing a punch.

Noah deflected and countered with a jab to the throat and a articulatio genus to the stomach. Oath collapsed like a family of card and Noah grabbed him and hoisted him over his berm. He turned to Beth and handed her his bow to exchange hers."support those things off our posterior. If you run out of arrows, I'll give you more. Now move !"

They raced up the step as fast as they could. Noah was struggling under the effort of hauling Oath and everything they both carried, and he had to moderate the flashlight as well. Ahead of him, Beth was raining arrows down on the two monsters to the better of her ability. They seemed aware of the poisoned tips and were keeping a safe distance, but they were still following them up. They started swinging at Noah and Beth with their tentacles, trying to block their course. Beth would slash at them with a knife to make them shrink back, but it was just getting worse and worsened, as ahead, they could see the centipedes swarming down the staircase, having followed the radical down.

"Noah, what do we do ? !"Beth exclaimed.

"Run and fight ! That's all we can do !"

They continued their complaint up the stairs, stomping on the centipedes and ignoring the feel of their claw digging in and not letting go. Their pungency didn't appear poisonous, but they put bullet pismire to shame on the painful sensation scale. Not even Noah could maintain a poker fount with them biting down on his legs.

With fate on their incline, they escaped the chamber, running down respective corridors before arriving at a chamber where they could rest. Noah dropped Oath on the ground and began ripping off the centipedes biting his peg. It was unusual for Beth, to see Noah so winded and injured. He collapsed near the wall, downing a healing potion to cease his hemorrhage. swearword, having regained consciousness, got back to his animal foot and approached the room access with his sword.

"Don't even think about it,"said Noah.

"I refuse to leave her body down here. I'm going to get my revenge on that wolf and make for her home to inhume her."

"It's a fiend, it doesn't understand your feelings. If you go swinging at it for revenge, it's just going be glad that its next repast arrived so willingly. Besides, Mira has probably already been devoured."

"Don't say that !"swearing shouted.

"Noah !"Beth added her voice to the outrage.

"You just need to accept it. She's gone, there is nothing you can do to assist her. zero can be done to commute what happened. I'll say it as harshly as I need to if it gets the message through your compact skull."

"What would you have done if it was Tin who died in there instead of Mira ?"

"I would have left her. I've seen plenty of people die. This isn't my first fourth dimension leading people into combat, and fatal accident are to be expected."

"So you were just waiting for each of us to die ? !"Beth exclaimed.

"As long as I could fulfill my contract, I was prepared for all possible exit, though I'm honestly disappoint that you two all came here expecting to do this without losing anyone."

"Is that all we are to you ? Just future losings ?"

"Yes, that's right."Noah got to his feet."flavor, we've got the avenium, so the backbreaking office is done. Now we can manoeuver home."

"Two of our acquaintance are dead and we're in the bottom of a dungeon crab ! How is that not the toilsome part ? !"Beth screamed at him.

"Because I have an idea on how to get us out of here."He took out a weewee skin from his haversack and poured in some powdery avenium from within his ring, then shook it up and handed it to Oath."Both of you, dowse this on yourselves. Try not to let any go to waste."

"What will this do ?"swearword asked.

"When I activate my invisibleness, I wrap myself in mana, as well as anything I touch or hold, but for some reasonableness, it won't work on anything living. The mana just won't stick on, like it's being repelled. However, I did some research on avenium. It is a metal, but it bends light like a crystal, and it manipulates mana the same way. I can't practice my invisibility to you, but if you're covered with powdered avenium, it may help oneself me conceal you a bit. Try it."

expletive sighed and poured some of the confection on his psyche, then went to work rubbing it into his skin and dress. He handed the sleep to Beth and she did the Lapp. Noah activated his magic and grasped their hands. The air around them shimmered, their physical structure becoming faint, like they were shrouded in a heat fog. They became like mirages of their dead on target ego. Oath and Beth voiced their blow as they looked at each other, and the fact that Noah could get a line them was concerning. It was a far-cry from Noah completely erasing his presence, but at the very least, it would make them to a lesser extent noticeable.

"This takes a lot of mana, so I'm going to use it on and off as we go, and we're going to be running. If there is anything you don't want to carry, leave it here now."

Beth and cuss couldn't see Noah, but they stared at the space he occupied. He could see it on their faces, the misgiving, the frustration, the care, the sorrow, the exhaustion. They'd just have to wet-nurse it up.

"Let's go, and step lightly."

They left the chamber and began their journey back to the surface. They no longer moved in organization, and they tried to go on a quick but still tempo. When monsters were nearby, Noah would activate his go and they'd do their skillful to avoid catching. It didn't always work. At one spot, they were being pursued by a pack of the bipedal carnivores like the ones they had faced outside. It was too many for them to take on, and the longer they stayed in one spot fighting, the not bad the chance Sir Thomas More freak would be drawn.

Noah, pulling oath and Beth along, activated the while in his right eye.

"What the netherworld ? !"cuss said in jolt as he watched the ringer crepuscule back, while the material Noah was still gripping his hand.

"It's another trick I can produce, just keep moving !"

As they ran, Noah had the dead ringer jump waving his arms and shouting at the approaching giant, doing whatever he could to sop up their attending. They passed through the clon in utter confusion, turned around, and tried again and again. Their oculus, ear, and nose were all telling them that quarry was standing before them, but no thing how many meter they tried to prick down, their jaws closed around zippo but air. They were so distracted that Noah and the others managed to get away.

"Why didn't you tell us about—"

"Shut up !"Noah barked back."If you can blab out, keep back running instead !"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

springtime was planting season, so the farms on the Fault acres were in a frenzy. Oath, the baron's 3rd son, was the"lord"of this labor. He and the striver spent their days working the subject area, though there was little eminence between them. He lived and ate his meals with his Church Father and brother, at least, when they were at household, but his ranking in the family was just a dance step above"bastard ”. His father lauded all of his praise on his brothers, with the younger always trying to surpass the older and win the estate.

The oldest was a soldier, a squad loss leader, one measure below true knight. He would be gone for months at a time, then revert home and brag about the battle he fought for the gloriole of Uther, and how he bolstered the reputation of the error house. The middle son was a gallant Orion and skilled in deception, a endowment he often lorded over the older brother. He claimed thaumaturgy to be infinitely Superior to swordsmanship, meaning he, the magically-affluent, was the time to come of the blood. Neither comrade liked swearword, simply treated him like one of the servants. He was just another laborer. His forefather, on the former hand, wasn't cruel like them, but he simply didn't care beyond paternal instinct. His female parent was long gone.

expletive had been outside when he learned of their death, but on break. Lying on a sun-warmed grassy Benny Hill, he watched the swarm qualifying overhead. As the one-third son, he was compelled to keep his pass down, to focus only on the labor in front of him and not rock the gravy boat. Skygazing was the simply time he'd open frame that rule, abandoning the subject to instead focus on farming his own head, to leave about his life and responsibilities and try to envision out what was left.

He knew nothing of the humankind beyond his rest home and village, couldn't even read, and most of his socialization came from talking with the slaves during work. They often didn't have lots to say, but they trusted him enough to include him in their gossip. He wasn't like the top executive and his oldest sons ; his feet were more used to the soil of the domain than the floor board of the flaw family. Those conversations were the only fourth dimension he could learn of things beyond simply swinging a hoe or scythe, to key that there was more than to existence than just crops and livestock, and when he gazed at the sky, swearword would use that glimmer to try and modernise himself, find out who he was. That was the program, at least, but he was disturbed by one of the amah of the home.

"captain curse, your beginner requires your presence immediately."

The apply honorific was just a courtesy acknowledging his bloodline. There was no honest respect in her words.

"Understood."Oath got up and followed her to the house, where she led him to his father's study. As he approached, he heard nonsensical yelling and things falling over.

inside, the baron, Ivan, was pacing back and forth, unhinged and drenched in tears. written document and point from his desk were scattered across the floor and he was gripping a whiskey chalk with a shaking hand.

"Church Father, what is it ?"

"curse word, colt and master have perished."Ivan picked up a letter with a broken wax cachet."Colt was killed in battle on the Petosic Steppes."He threw it aside."And victor was killed by a bear while hunting. His remains were found this morning."He emptied his whiskey drinking glass in one gulp and staggered, looking like he was on the verge of collapse.

cuss took a second to treat the news, but there wasn't much to process. There was no such thing as sibling lovemaking in Lord households."I'm sorry, Father."

The baron fell back in his chair."Oath, you are now my simply son. That means that you will inherit my deed when I die, unless my conniving brother manages to steal it !"

"Father, I can't be a magnate !"

"This is not something you can turn away ! I will not allow for our house to let nobleness pillow slip from its finger ! But you're right. The way you are now, the kingdom would be wise to paw it over to Edwin, so we're going to change that. From now on, I am going to sculpture you into a suited replacement."

After that, everything changed. From the crack of dawn until recently at night, curse was trained in combat, etiquette, and reading and written material. The cock of the farm were replaced with his grandfather's sword, and hr not spent swinging it were spent hunched over one Book after another, studying by candlelight. None of it stuck. Unlike his buddy, he was born without talent and raised without an education. He couldn't use magic, could barely defend, and was about as cultured and learned as the grim peasant. There was little hope for him.

One day, he found himself at the Old Wineskin, looking for an run a risk job. mass would put up card, requesting items like valuable plant life or monster piece, or tasks like escorting soul through the forest. Helping around township would give him some accomplishment he could use to prove his eligibility for inheriting the Clive baronetcy. He had also heard some eldritch rumour about the inn, about some looney couple that had the loudest sex conceivable. From break of the day to midday on every other day, anyone in or near the inn would be flushed with plethora as they heard a Pres Young char's outcry of euphoria, along with the knocking of a bedframe threatening to discontinue apart. However, today, the inn was quiet. The only vocalism he heard was addressed to him.

"Hey you, by the notice plug-in, over here !"

He looked over to the source, spotting a tabular array occupied by three youth like himself, a man and two women.

"Me ?"

"Yeah, derive on !"one of the women said, a tall and bubbly blonde.

cuss crossed the bar to them."What is this about ?"

"You wouldn't fall out to be searching for a party to join, are you ?"the other cleaning woman asked, a cute brunette with suddenly hair.

"Oh… uh, yeah, I guess. I haven't been making a great deal headway on my own."

"wellspring ingest a prat !"

Oath hesitated, feeling the man beside him shooting dagger from his eye. He was sizing him up, and apparently didn't like what he saw.

"No, modification of plan, go on moving. We don't need any to a greater extent weaklings in our group."

"Shut up, Trevor,"said the blonde."Ignore him. I'm Beth and this is Mira. We're currently in need of a swordsman in our group, and you look like you would fit right in."

"She means you look weak enough that no one better would accept invited you to conjoin their groups, and no real explorer would sully their dignity by joining this gro— Ouch !"Beth had just kicked him under the table.

"You're not allowed to badmouth the group while being a piece of it,"she scolded.

"Truth be told, none of us are very beneficial, but that just means we should vex together,"said Mira.

Oath finally took a seat and put a hand on the blade hanging from his belt."Ok, sure, I'll join you guys. My name is expletive. I'm actually kind of surprised, I thought this topographic point would be… louder."

"Oh yeah, those narration ? We've actually met them, Noah and Tin, the span who make all that noise,"said Mira.

Now Trevor seemed interested."Really ? Were they freaks ?"

"No, formula as can be,"said Beth,"and they're both barely older than us. You'd never think it when looking at them. The guy is actually really impudent. He gave us a lot of great advice about tactic and magical. We tried to get him to join our team, but he wanted to work on his own, him and that slave young woman. God, I envy her."

"settee down, you're so indecent,"Mira said with a sigh. She then turned to oath."Anyway, welcome to the chemical group !"The grin she flashed at him made his heart flutter in a way it never had before.

For the following few workweek, Oath and his new friends adventured together, fighting what monsters they believed they could puzzle, but were most often forced to run away and tend to their wounded bodies and bruised egotism. But no thing how many times they were beaten, cuss was never dejected, because it was the number 1 metre he felt truly accepted, and with people his own age, no less. True, Trevor always gave him the cold shoulder, but Beth kept the spirit of the group raised, and Mira… she was something else altogether.

She spoke with him, laughed with him, and smiled with him, all minute of confusing bliss that he drank like okay wine-colored. He was drawn to her, pulled by a strength that he could not describe. One day, after they had managed to kill a Hugo Wolf, and only just barely, he and the others all collapsed from exhaustion. Mira, sitting next to him, ended up placing her hand on his. The moment her finger's breadth touched his, it was like stale lightning surged through his mettle, a frighteningly powerful sense impression, but one that made him experience more alive than the battle just second before.

Perhaps it was just the adrenaline and the endorphins, but he looked at Mira, and she, realizing the contact between them, didn't get out away, and instead gazed at him with a shy smile and rosy buttock. The first metre Oath fought a behemoth, he froze up in terror, and it wasn't the last time his reverence got the better of him, but at that moment, he broke through his concern, turning his hand over to book hers. They gazed at each other, their stomachs filled with more butterfly than a hayfield in summertime. That was the moment he realized his feelings for her.

The next day, his sire sat curse down in the sitting room of their home. With them was a gruff middle-aged explorer with a bow."Oath, no matter what, you must not let anyone outside of your political party know this. I've just learned that a dungeon crab has surfaced nearby."

donjon pubic louse were one of the great anomalies in the Earth, but their mythology was thin. They were vague creatures, described as bread and butter fortresses that rose up from the ground. Many believed that they were a remnant of the war between the gods and the emotional state.

Oath wasn't sure how to respond to the news, so his Church Father continued."Adventurers who manage to capture a dungeon crab by taking the avenium inside are granted the rank of baron or mellow by the realm. If you and your friends can accomplish this, then there is cipher Edwin can do and my title of respect will be passed on to you without question."

"My friends and I can barely front the monster in the forest. We can't care a dungeon crab."

"I am well aware of your failing when it comes to swordplay. I'm hoping that switching to a dissimilar weapon will unlock your potential. This man is Sendal, a veteran explorer and archer. He'll teach you how to use a bow."

Just looking at Sendal, swearword could tell he wasn't the friendliest guy, but his male parent wouldn't change his mind. That day, he and the archer rode into the Mrs. Henry Wood to trace, and that was the last thing he remembered. When next he woke up, he was in a hobgoblin tunnel, racked with pain flowing from the spine of his head down to the wind of his toes, but it was waning, thanks to the potion he had received.

Helping him to his feet was a vernal man, a bit previous than him, with a girl standing behind him. Noah and Tin, he had heard those gens before. They were the source of the strange rumour about the Old Wineskin, but more than that, Beth and Mira had vouched for Noah's strength. Oath was skeptical, especially when Noah declared that he was going to assoil out the goblin den himself, something that was zero suddenly of suicidal. Despite his life being saved, Oath wasn't feeling very grateful, considering he now had to cultivate as Noah's plurality mule while he marched to his doom.

But then he saw the results. Noah slaughtered the hob with ease, never displaying any kind of magic. Oath and his ally had repeatedly tried search hobgoblin, nearly dying every sentence, but they fell like reeds with every swing of Noah's brand. Then, when the hobgoblin chief revealed itself, expletive got to see true play, and the memories of his aged brother's skills were painted over by Noah's battle. Had he and his Friend attempted this, they would take ended up being cooked and eaten.

During the journey home, they were attacked by brigand. Tin, obeying Noah, pulled Oath into the woods before he could even grab his blade. The struggle lasted only a mo, leaving swearword in awe when he saw the consistence of the slain bandits. He rode back to Clive with Noah and Tin, and when he arrived back home plate, his father threw his arms around him, wailing rilievo to see his son's return key. It was the low gear sentence his father had ever hugged him.

"Father, there is something I need to distinguish you."They went into his founder's study and closed the room access behind them. Oath, standing while the baron sat, leaned against the desk."The hunter you hired, he knocked me out handed me over to goblins."

"tinker's dam him ! Edwin must have bribed him to get you out of the picture. But if he handed you to goblins, how did you escape ? Did you fight your way out ?"

"No, I was saved by someone, a man named Noah. He's younger than colt but twice the warrior, and he's already helped my friends before. He wiped out a huge goblin nest himself and even killed a hobgoblin."

Ivan leaned back in his chair."If a Danton True Young man of such skill were to join your company, perhaps you might be capable to capture the dungeon crab."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Bring him here. I'll talk to him."

The next matter Oath knew, Tin lay dying, and he watched as Noah slew the aggressor. The arrow in Tin's dresser, it had been meant for him, he was reminded of it with each pained breath she made. Crushed with guilt, he applied every potion in the theatre, pouring them on her wound and down her throat, but her circumstance didn't improve. As Noah approached, Oath braced himself for the worst. It was cuss's demerit that she had died, her life-time ended because he had been saved, so would Noah demand his life as compensation ?

But Noah didn't acknowledge swearing. He simply kneeled down and held Tin. There were no tears, not even a trembling breath. Tin voiced her final examination goodbye and closed her eyes, while Noah simply stared at her like a statue. Noah then departed with Tin, riding off to find a suitable place to bury her. Watching him tantalize off, cuss remembered the smile on Tin's font when she said bye-bye, and imagined that flavour on Mira, the pure, honest, intoxicating emotion. He wanted to see her. He had nearly died, and he wanted to take the endangerment he never could have if he hadn't been saved.

To his Father-God's dissent, he rode out to the Old Wineskin, and as soon as he entered, he heard Mira's voice."Oath !"

There they were, gathered at their common table. Never was he so happy to see his Quaker. He crossed the tap house and took his tooshie."Hey."

"Your Father told us you were out training with an archer,"said Beth."I'm rather insulted you didn't ask me first."

"You guys aren't going to believe this, but I swear this really happened. That archer knocked me out and handed me over to goblins. I was even taken to their den."

Trevor just scoffed and Beth was likewise skeptical."I'm actually not that mad, you don't have to make up excuses."

Mira gave him the benefit of the uncertainty."Really ?"

"Yeah, but I was saved by that Noah guy that you told me about, he and Tin. I watched him clear out an integral mine total of hobgoblin single-handedly."

"Of course soul like you would need to be saved,"said Trevor.

"An full mine ? !"Beth exclaimed as she bolted to her feet.

"We can barely fight a handful of them,"Mira sighed.

"Anyway, listen to this."He leaned in and waved for them to all do the same."A dungeon Cancer the Crab has appeared nearby."He was favourable that everyone understood that term. He didn't have faith in his ability to explain it. His acquaintance all fell back in their seats.

"You honestly can't be thinking of trying it !"Beth exclaimed."We'd be dead in an minute !"

"Listen, Noah has agreed to join our squad and school us. With his supporter, I'm sure we can do it."

"We don't need some gross out's advice,"said Trevor.

"Did I forget to mention that he also killed a hobgoblin ?"

Trevor didn't respond.

"I don't know. I think it's way too early for us. Why ? Are you really that broke ?"asked Mira.

"There is something I haven't told you guys. My full name is Oath Fault, son of Baron Ivan Fault. I'm his third son but I'm following in line to receive his title."

"tinker's damn it, he's delirious ! Everything he's said so far was a hallucination."

"Oath, did you eat some strange mushrooms in the woods ?"Mira asked with fair concern.

Stared in persist in silence.

"I swear to you, it's true. I'm sure the archer gave me to the goblin to hold me from inheriting the statute title. When I returned dwelling, that same archer tried to stamp out me, but ended up killing Tin instead."

Both Mira and Beth were left in stunned quiet. While they had only met her once, the news of her death was a shocking blow. Her interminable moaning had become a full point of pridefulness in the villagers, considering it a valued oddity in the personal identity of their home, like the swallows returning to Capistrano. Besides, they had both seen the love life in her eyes.

"Yeah. Noah killed the guy and rode off with Tin to lay to rest her. He said he would be back the day after tomorrow."

"That's awful,"said Beth.

"Poor Noah,"Mira added.

"I don't think we should have him with us. We can do the dungeon crab ourselves,"said Trevor.

"No, we wouldn't stand a fortune without him. Just talk to him, you'll see."

Beth raised a beer mug."Anyway, I'd say this calls for a drink. Let us exult the rubber replication of our brother, wassail our approaching success, and mourn a fallen friend !"

oath wanted to laugh, but truth be told, he'd require some liquid courage.

Late into the night, the four adventurers splurged on food and drinks, until all was tranquillise and the host was preparing to close up the bar. Trevor had gone domicile, Beth was currently passed out, and now it was just Oath and Mira.

"I hope this dungeon Crab thing works out,"said Mira, more than a little tipsy.

"Yeah, and all the wealth from the explorer is really going to help this village."

"With that money, I can finally pay off my mother's debts."

"You never said your mother was in debt."

Mira giggled."I guess we both kept secrets. I never liked adventuring, but it was the best way I could make money after my father left. In a way, I'm glad I did it, but I just want a Nice quiet home life."

"well I'll become the king of the township. Maybe you could settle here."Never in a million years would a sober Oath have the courageousness to do so, but he reached out and held her hand like he had on that day in the woods."And I could make a home with you."

Like him, Mira was fueled by liquid courage, but she got to her feet with little grace and slap-up bravery, and pulled Oath to his."Come on,"she mumbled with an stymie smile. They were both More than a little drunk, so they had to help each early up the stair, giggling with each measure. They reached the door to Mira's way, and as she fumbled with the key, swearing leaned in and slip a kiss. It was his maiden, as well as hers, and while he got her mostly on the nose, she touched her lips with a smile and a blush.

They got the door open and stumbled into the room, shutting it behind them. Mira lit a standard candle and then made herself at dwelling house in curse word's embracing. Standing in the midsection of the elbow room, they kissed once more, this metre able to put their hearts and souls into it.

"Are you ready for this ?"Oath asked.

"I think so. Are you ?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have any experience with being with a womanhood. I mean… I've seen animals on the farm…"

Mira burst into laugh, which, second to her yelling at him, was the absolute finally chemical reaction he wanted at a moment like this."Beth has told me how to do it, don't worry. Now that we've kissed, the next step is we take off our clothes."

curse word was already sporting a woody, and those final four words nearly pushed him over the edge. He took off his coat, Mira removed her cloak, and for a mo, they paused, feeling the tension as they gripped their shirts, but upon struggling to actually pull them off, they couldn't aid but laugh. Mira's breasts were exposed, and Oath, a swirling downpour of teenager internal secretion, was caught like a deer in the headlight. They… were so… beautiful.

"Don't stare like that,"Mira said, covering herself and looking away in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. Can I… can I touch them ?"

"I… guess."

She hesitantly lowered her weapon, and Oath, with trembling mitt, began to caress her minor shelf. That unmanliness, that smoothness, he was drawn to them like cabbage. He was clumsy ; not brutish, but his technique was ill-refined, as was to be expected. Regardless, Mira shivered and purred from Oath's allude, afraid of being so vulnerable, both her trunk and her tactual sensation exposed to another for them to do with as they pleased. Perhaps it was the presence of that concern that made it sense so ripe, the fear of being touched so intimately, miscellaneous with the joy of finding someone whom she wished would do so.

Massaging deep into her form and relishing the way her mammilla felt when he toyed with them, Oath, like Mira, was overwhelmed. The chance to explore a woman's trunk like this, to be intimate it, intimately, it teased his well-nigh innate, instinctive curiosity. He was so activated, trembling like a leaf and opinion like he was going to start out of his skin. It happened before he could do anything about it, he came, having already been pushed over the boundary. Flushed with shame, he did his best to try and obliterate it, but to Mira, it looked like he was just getting impatient.

She lowered her hands and pushed off her trousers. curse word didn't immediately react, but that was because he was trying to gather his persuasion and his strength. When he realized what she had done, he didn't have time to think, and simply dropped his own trouser. This time, it was Mira's turn to stare, as she tried not to mean of when their grouping stopping point fought goblins, most of which weren't wearing anything.

Mira climbed into bed, hiding herself under the blanket."Now… you get on top of me… and I think you know where your thing goes."

Oath put out the candle, plunging the room into total duskiness. He meandered his way back to the bed, feeling the covering. His hands found Mira's body and he felt her hustle like a frightened animate being. He slipped under the mantle and their naked dead body met, first in the form of an embrace, then in the form of a buss, and finally…

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Noah, Oath, and Beth sprinted up the wind staircase towards the exit of the dungeon Phthirius pubis. They were covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, and had countless untreated injuries. Noah's mana was completely drained, and the three of them were running on exhaust fumes. They couldn't tell if the monsters were still chasing them. After all this time, the refrain of holla repeated in the dorsum of their brain no affair what.

Finally, when their bodies felt like they'd fall apart like sandcastles, they breathed fresh air, and felt the sun shine upon them. They burst out of the top of the pubic louse's shell, collapsing near the doorway. For the three of them, it was like a religious experience. Beth crumbled, binge pouring down her face, a mix of happiness, misery, assuagement, and mourning, and as the sun rose, Oath stared like his person had left his consistence, turning him into an empty shuck. As for Noah, he dropped the knight brand he had been using and gripped the ground with shaking hands. How long had it been ? How long had it been since he last fought that hard for his liveliness ? How long had it been since his survival instinct pushed him that far ? No, when it was more than just his selection instinct pushing him ? The fright, the Adrenalin, the endorphins, the pain, they flowed through the folds of his hoary thing like a flood across a desert.

"Get up, on your feet."

Noah looked over, seeing Oath standing with his sword pointing at him.

"What the netherworld do you intend you're doing ?"Noah muttered.

"You heard me, get up and face up me."

"Oath, you're kidding, right ?"Beth asked.

"No. You and me, Noah, right here, right now."

"You unthankful piffling brat. After all I did for you, you have the nerve to point your sword at me ? The sword I gave you ?"

"You didn't do this for me. I was just a prop in whatever deal you struck with my Padre. Now Mira is dead and I was robbed of my luck to fall thing with Trevor. We never should get gone in there, but you kept pushing us. We never should induce let you be a part of our team."

"Oath, it's not his defect ! You also wanted to continue going ! Just put your sword down and we can all go domicile !"

"No ! I have to do this !"

"You're right on,"said Noah, getting to his human foot,"you were just a prop, but I'm still under contract and not allowed to kill you. Once we're back and I've gotten my reward, then I'll put you down as hard as you want."

"No ! I'm done listening to you ! From the minute we met, you've run my life. I was supposed to be the one to grab the avenium, to assume my own destiny, not let you take it and accept whatever scraps you toss my way ! I couldn't avenge Mira, I couldn't musical rhythm Trevor, and I couldn't even conquer the keep crab ! I can't go rest home this way ! I refuse to live like this ! But if I beat you, that'll be enough."

Noah gripped the hilt of the knight steel, and the sensation he got back was far from ideal. His body was at its limit, he could barely even stand. He was out of potions, they all were, so there was no way he could quickly recoup his strength. At to the lowest degree Oath was in the Same situation. Despite his anger and bloodlust, he was on the verge of passing out. The spirit was unforced, but the flesh was another story. If Noah fought him in this commonwealth, even the pocket-size wounds could evidence fatal, then his deal with the baron would be out the window.

"I'm not going to indulge you. If you want to get yourself killed, do it after we get back. I want to live long enough to John Cash in everything I've collected."

"You can't talk your way out of this !"

curse charged with his sword raised, attempting his signature cleave. Noah stepped to the side, nearly falling over as he did so. Rather than a slash, he struck cuss in the tummy with the handgrip of his sword. Oath nearly retched, but regained his basis and punched Noah. He tried to dodge, but was still grazed and staggered back, drawing his sword completely.

"Stop this, you two don't need to fight !"Beth pleaded.

"Tell him that !"Noah argued.

Oath unleashed a flurry of swings towards Noah, who lacked the agility to get out of the way. Instead, he had to embarrass and parry each swing. They locked blades, pushing against each other in a shoving match.

"You chose to go into the dungeon Cancer the Crab,"said Noah."You chose to survey me, despite knowing how dangerous it was for Mira. You put your pride and your noblesse over her. I killed Trevor because you were too decrepit to get it done and you would hold woken up that freak with just three dance step. You don't get to charge your incompetence on me."

"You're a hardhearted bastard ! You couldn't even shed a rip for Tin, no curiosity you didn't fear about us !"

"Grow up !"

Noah let go of his steel and punched Oath, sending him staggering back. Noah touched his hand to his eye, casting his invisibleness. He only had enough mana to remain blot out for a few here and now, so Noah tackled oath, disarming him and knocking him to the ground. Three solid blows to the face left him unconscious.

Noah dropped to his knees, gasping for air with his spell coming undone. Hopefully, expletive would be much more sensical when he woke up. As Noah got to his substructure, there was a teras's snarl, followed by Beth's scream. One of their chaser from within the case had arrived and was attacking Beth. It looked like some variety of cycloptic tiger with a mat of pinion across its back. Beth was pinned, her arm in its mouth with her anatomy being lacerate and her bones breaking.

"hoot it !"Noah growled.

Beth still had his bow, so Noah pulled out his short sword and threw it, winging the beast in the shoulder. It turned to Noah and charged, and Noah, trying to trigger his magic trick, realized he had used the last of his mana to mete out with oath. He jumped to the slope to dodge the lunging tiger, but as he hit the earth, he realized he had less strength than he thought. He had planned on hitting the primer with a drum roll and then jumping to his feet, but he just fell like a tree. All he could do was roll on his back, and this time, when the tiger pounced, he wasn't able-bodied to hedge. It tried to sink its dentition into his neck, but he blocked its rima oris with his sword, though he could do zippo about its pincer, digging into his berm. It was pushing down on him with its replete weighting, and he didn't have the strength to hold it back.

Noah stared into its one, fist-sized eye and watched slobber pour from its mouth, mixed with the blood from the cuts that his sword was creating. This certainly ranked among the top of his weirdest deaths. Yet when his strength was about to falter, oath attacked the tiger from behind, slicing off his head word with a swing of his sword. curse word then kicked the tiger's corpse off Noah and pointed his sword at him.

"You'll never get a wagerer chance than this,"Noah said with a smirk.

swearword took a deep hint and sheathed his blade."I suppose saving your life is as much an skill as ending it."He held out his hand to Noah."Let's go home."

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Epilogue

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The townsfolk of Baron Clive was bustling, filled with venturer following the newsworthiness of the dungeon crab's emergence. Around half of them would die within its shell, but those with skill and luck came back to town with sac good of ores and stone. Having returned to town just the previous night, Noah had tried listening for gossip of whether or not anyone else had managed to bewitch the donjon. He had taken all of the avenium he found in that elbow room, so it's possible that was all there was in the crabmeat. Oh well, they'd just have to give do with everything else they found. The bulk of the adventurer were smart enough or perhaps not ambitious enough to go very deep into the crab.

But that's not what Noah was focusing on at the second. He was at the inn, sitting on the bed in Beth's room and examining her arm. It had been badly mangled by that tiger and wasn't fully healed. Since they were out of potions at the time, Noah and curse had to wrap it and tend it as best as they could. On the way down from the donjon's incoming, they met an adventurer and bought some healing potions off him. However, they weren't able to completely reverse the damage. The anatomy on her arm looked exuviate, like hard reaching marks, and the muscle underneath was out of right cast. At least the pearl had been reset properly, but the way Beth winced as she stretched it per Noah's educational activity, he knew that she was favorable to still experience it at all.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to draw a bow or airlift anything heavy anytime soon. If you find someone with healing thaumaturgy, they might be capable to undo the equipment casualty, but otherwise, I can't imagine your arm will ever regain its full use or strength."

"That's mulct,"she said with a monotone vocalism and utterly fish eyes. She shuddered, as if shaking herself awake."No, it's not fine, it's terrible. But… I don't have to care about using a bow."

"You're quitting being an adventurer ?"

"After everything we went through in that dungeon… I don't ever want to receive something like that again. I'm going to try and witness a therapist to mend my arm, but after that, I'm going to do what Mira wanted and resolve down and build a family."

"That's for the best, I suppose."

"Thanks. And Noah, about what I said to you in the dungeon, about how I was…"

"You're not fraught. Mira was."

She looked at him in jar."How'd you screw ?"

"I have enough experience with cleaning lady to cognize how to avoid getting them fraught, and I can say when it's close to that time of the month. Mira told you she was former before we entered the dungeon, didn't she ? You pretended it was you instead. Did you lie to try and save yourself, or her ?"

"Both, I guess. Oath didn't know, he can never know."

"I'm surprised they were capable to continue it hidden from me. They always seemed a trivial protective of each early, but I had no idea they were so intimate."

"She told me they were both rummy when it happened, and later told Oath that she thought it would be better if they focused on getting stronger for conquering the donjon. After, they would consume the remainder of their sprightliness to…"She trailed off, then looked out the window and sighed."I'm going to go visit her mother and sib, differentiate her what happened. They were in debt, so hopefully the treasure I've collected will help pay it off. I owe Mira that much."

"This should more than blanket it,"said Noah, handing her a minor bottleful of avenium.

"So much fuss, so many snag over this metal dust,"she muttered, staring at the bottle.

"Take care of yourself,"Noah said before getting up and leaving.

He stopped by his way, getting his bag and any self-will he deemed worth carrying. He had already sold off all of his ores and gems, so he had mint of gold coins with him, along with various former instrument and gem hidden within his ring, including a vast portion of avenium. He put on his backpack with his swords hanging from his belt, including a new longsword, and left the room, locking it behind him. Downstairs in the tavern, he handed the landlady the key.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"Aye, I'm a bit sorry to see you go. But before you do, you should talk with your acquaintance. He certainly needs some help."

At the retort, he saw Oath slumped over with a half-empty mug in his mitt. After returning to Robert Clive, he had checked in with his Father-God only briefly, then came straight to the inn and started drinking to drown his sorrows. It was a miracle the boy hadn't died from alcohol poisoning.

"Are you planning on drinking away your stallion destiny ?"Noah asked.

swearword raised his head, looking at him with bloodshot eyes."leave-taking me alone."

Noah took the stool next to him and ordered a drunkenness."I will, soon. For now, just witticism me."

Oath sat up and wiped his typeface."Remember that hunting trip the six of us took in the starting time ? When we were sitting around the attack, you told me that I had to resolve my reason for aliveness, for fight, that I had to create my own meaning. When I went into that dungeon, I thought I was doing it for my father, to finally win his approving. But when Mira died, I realized I had done it for her. I wanted to raise to her that I was a man, that I was just as hard as you and Trevor, and I wanted to prove it to myself. Everything I failed to do, they were the accomplishment of the big businessman that I wanted to be. I loved her, but my pride got her killed. Now… I just don't want to think about it, any of it. I just want to forget so everything will stop hurting."

Noah, having received his drink, downed it in one gulp and slapped the glass on the mesa, then took a deep breath."If I were to sacrifice you one last lesson, one net firearm of advice, would you contain it ?"Oath just glanced at him, neither agreeing, nor refusing."Stop crapulence. Go home plate and mourn her properly."

"Why ?"

"I know it hurts, and you don't want to finger anything anymore, but when you block out all of the bad, you block out all of the good that goes with it. care for your tactile sensation for Mira, your memories of her. Don't try to forget them and draw a blank. Be grateful that it hurts. consider me, there is nothing more painful than being truly numb. When you've lost all meaning and champion, you end up in a very dark place, where you'll do anything just to feel again, and you never fully come back from that."

For a moment, the parole went over curse's head, but then his eyes widened as a retention flashed through his alcohol-soaked mind. The face Noah made when Tin died, that stony expression, it finally made sense.

"Is that what happened to you ? You lost individual ?"

"I've lost a lot of people, to a greater extent than you can imagine. Losing a make love one, mourning them, it's supposed to be hard, because if it's wanton, you forget how to do it."Noah then got up and shouldered his backpack.

"Where are you going ?"Oath asked.

"I have business in the capital."

"My Father-God and I are going there in three days. You can travel with us."

"Nah, I'll find my own way. Besides, I've already given your forefather decent avenium to guarantee you become a baronial, so there is no point in sticking around here."

"You never told us what he promised you. Why were you so obsessed with conquering the donjon ?"

Noah thought back to the conversation he had with the business leader, after Tin died.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Noah was sitting in the baron's study, having just confessed to killing his blood brother and nephew."We didn't have the chance to let the cat out of the bag about requital for this job, but don't worry, I'm not interested in money or land. There is something else I want."

"Which is ?"

"I want a letter of recommendation to the Uther Knight honorary society. I heard they only grant admittance on the good password of a Lord, such as yourself."

Ivan scrunched up his nerve and nearly spat out his potable. To be an Utheric knight was a keen honor and duty, as while they ranked below barons on the nobility plate, their achievement could give them big office and political influence."I have no interest in putting my good name on the credit line for a stranger. Just use up some avenium for yourself and become a imposing. You'll be even richer than a knight. Or if you want to process your country, just join the military."

"Any schmuck with a heartbeat can be con***********ed and turned into a soldier. I'm not after wealthiness, prestige, or achievement, and I don't care about this country."

Noah then reached into his air hole and placed a icteric potion on the baron's desk.

"What is that ?"Ivan asked.

"I got this in that hob den, and just this morning, I had it appraised by the druggist. It's a high-level antidote, able-bodied to cure almost any poison. I doubt even a baron like you could yield one. I had this with me when Tin was shot and didn't know it could save her sprightliness. She died because of my ignorance. I've come to realize that despite my skills and experience, I don't know nearly enough about this world. I want to interchange that, and to do so, I need an pedagogy. Spending years in an ivory towboat doesn't interest me. I want to learn how to be and properly fight in this universe, and the best place to do that is the knight academy, where they supposedly train the best of the skillful. That hobgoblin apparently killed a horse, but hopefully that was a fluke.

So what do you say ? Is your son's future not worth a single letter ?"

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"I suppose…"Noah said, looking back to Oath,"I just wanted to finally keep a promise, rather than making yet another lie. practiced luck to you, noble Fault."

Noah left the inn and walked over to the Post where his horse was hitched. He rode out of Baron Clive, and when he was finally alone, he held out his hand, and an gasbag appeared on his palm from within his ring. On it was a wax seal of approval, the fracture coat of blazonry. With this, his path was laid out before him. His future occlusion : the Utheric royal stag capital.

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*Roundabout plays*

To be continued…

*Roll credits*

Please comment ! I 'm going to try to experience vol 2 ready by the end of the year .