Prologue

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A uncommon find, that beautiful crimson haircloth. That color was usually the effect of cheap dye and a childish personality, desperate to show individuality by opposing normality. It was a rare gift from nature, every Strand like melting rubies, when well-nigh so-called redheads possessed only a load orange hue. But hers was like rakehell, drawing the heart of all those around her, including Noah's. Of all the women he had seen, met, and knew, even intimately, hers was the most purely crimson.

It was after school in early autumn, the luminousness of the setting sun illuminating every Strand and reminding him why it was worth it to approach her. She was walking across the evacuate association football field, her consistency trembling from the adrenaline of all the running she had done in her caterpillar track club. For once, Noah saw her without all of her acquaintance surrounding her or her boyfriend's arm draped over her articulatio humeri like a boa constrictor. He had been waiting for this luck, foresighted than she could imagine.

"Lindsey, hey,"he said, meeting her in the undecided air, free from any interruptions.

"Noah, what are you doing here ?"

She asked that question, but she knew the answer. What else would draw a boy to her, what other possible desire ? He was going to dally with her, possibly even ask her out. Would he be nervous ? Would he be cocky ? Would he play ingenuous and try to come out 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 anticipation of this ?

It was acquit in her center, 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 coupling that became both soft and more difficult with age. She already knew what he desired, so unless she desired the Saame affair, her kernel would be guarded, with no opening for a pinch attack to surprise her. It was a challenge that men and women had struggled with since the break of day of time.

"I heard that you and Sean broke up. I know what that smell like, how much 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 for certain I want to rag dating. After all, when summertime comes, we're all going to split up and go our severalise ways."

A rejection, not an optimal consequence, but it was within his first moment. He just had to win over her to give him a chance, but gently. He had to properly choose his Bible so that he wouldn't come off as desperate and frustrated, 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 decimal point in staying together ? I doubt that. I think you believe in love, in giving it a chance. A lot of matter will bump between now and commencement ; Christmas, valentine's Day, the prom ? That's plenty of meter to be felicitous, and to vary your creative thinker about which track you plan on taking. Plans can transfer, matter can act upon out. All I want is a chance."

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

She crossed her blazonry to warm up herself, but she kept them low. It was an instinctive relocation, one that Noah's eyes didn't miss. He gave an exasperated smile and began to laugh."Ok, I get it. Maybe next time."

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

"Jesus Christ, what are you doing ? !"she screamed while raising her hands to shield herself.

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

He swung up his hand and stabbed himself in the throat. The strike, it was so dissipated, but it was easy, just the tip of the blade breaking his hide and severing his Jugular with pinpoint truth. It was a hone, fluid movement, as if he had spent hours practicing. Blood began to spray from the minor wound, and to the speech sound of Lindsey's wow, he allowed himself to fall on his binding. She rushed over and tried to stop the haemorrhage. Covering it with her hand only slowed the outpour, so she reached into her bag for something to use as a bandage.

"closure, just keep open your helping hand there,"Noah said calmly. The nervure he had struck carried blood out of the head and sent it back to his eye, so the rest of the line of descent in his system would keep his mental capacity oxygenated, at least while it was still in his mineral vein.

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

"I've already died like this… more than a century multiplication before. This isn't my first rodeo."

"What are you talking about ?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Reincarnation, transmigration, whatever you call it, I count life story like you count eld, and every time I die, I'm immediately reborn with all the memories from my past liveliness. I've been born and died so many fourth dimension, laughed and suffered through so many lifetimes."

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

"You're fraught, 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 eff that ?"

"Because this isn't the showtime time I've confessed to you. I'm always myself, but the world I'm born into is never the same. Every time I die, I return to the day of my birth, but in a unlike timeline. I'll end up in a world where my surroundings are different, or account didn't go the way I remember it, or events will befall in my future that I can't predict.

Only in my preceding seven lifespan have you been present, and in all seven life, I could never build you mine, no matter how much I wanted you. Five of those time were because you were significant. You and Sean get back together by Thanksgiving, and I and everyone else lookout you dance together at the prom. Each time, I kill myself to try again in my next life. These preceding XVIII years, they've flown by like the blink of an eye for me."

His bleeding was starting to slow down, his body going cold and his psyche 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 subsist anymore, following some task or game that keeps me fussy. Every life I've lived, it's been a lie, concealing who I am, what I know, what I've experienced. very much of the fourth dimension, I have to feign to suffer emotions, because after all this time, I've almost forgotten what they feel like. I've almost forgotten what's like to actually palpate something. But when I see you, I get to see actual longing. I have an literal crushed leather, something so simple and childish, but such a wonderful spirit. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a redhead, but I've lived for so long, I have to grasp at any scrap of meaning that can make me happy, and form my existence a little less hollow."

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

With the last of his intensity level, he removed her hand from his injury so that it could shed blood freely. Her wrist was gimp. Had he convinced her ? Or had she simply realized that he had already bled too much and was beyond saving ? He covered his left over eye with his bridge player, blinded by the setting sun while Lindsey's vestige obscured the right field side of his face. The light passed through her crimson hair like stained glass, making his descent shine beautifully.

"I've seen so many reality, so many unlike realness, but none of them could make me well-chosen. I've never known what it felt like to belong or palpate at home. Every world felt wrong to me. This is yet another realism that I am incompatible with. All I can do is go for that the next globe is one I can be felicitous in."

The blood line at last stopped flowing, and Noah closed his centre and released his last breath. Then, in his thinker, there was a familiar flash of light and he felt himself being pulled to the next world.

A Whole New Game

Without even opening his eyes, Noah knew that something had gone wrong. He was foggy, but he could definitely find the frigidity, hard solid ground underneath him. This didn't make sense. At this moment, he'd normally be experiencing his own Renaissance, coming out of the uterus as a newborn baby child. His soundbox was also still the Same size of it. He could feel the weight of his tree branch, as well as his clothes. His hand was still covering his eye, but just moving it took a marvellous amount of posture. He managed to work his eyelids heart-to-heart 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 endeavour 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 rebirth big businessman changing ?

Noah sat up and looked around. He was lying on an unpaved road in the Wood. His hoodie and the shirt underneath were soused with his dehydrated lineage, but when he felt his neck opening, there was no wound. He had been healed, but had his rakehell also been replenished ? It would have got taken at least XXX minutes for the blood on his clothes to dry this much, not enough sentence for his body to reconstruct any meaningful amount, so this was likely a partial rebirth.

He got to his feet and staggered, struggling to breathe. There was no strength in his limbs and his thinking were getting imperfect by the second. This weariness, it was similar to blood loss, but also dissimilar. It was like there was some kind of extra muscle going crazy, using up all of his speciality. 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 trace. The fatigue must bear been messing with his imagination. Now that he thought about it, his left eye was itching a bit. He gave it a rub and it was like a switch had been flipped. The fatigue vanished, as if that supererogatory muscle had settled, and when he looked down, he saw his shadow.

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

The road was unusual. The ground was packed, but the sediment seemed aborigine to the spot. In the Bodoni font world, even the unpaved roadstead were made with at least a layer of sand and gravel to foreclose it from being overgrown. He had his notecase and his phone with him, but there was no service.

A sound reached his ear, one that most people rarely heard outside of motion picture and TV. It was the sound of sawbuck hooves. He looked over his shoulder, seeing two fully grown 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 dress, more than than a dozen men and women of varying long time were being led by chains.

This strange caravan came to a halt in straw man of him. The men on hogback and the one driving the station waggon stared at him in confusion."You're blocking the road. Get the Hades out of our way before you end up like them,"the driver barked.

It had been a long clock time since Noah saw a hard worker shipment. He normally only found them in post-apocalyptic timelines, when society had broken down. That, or timelines where the south won the Civil War and other such occurrences.

"Did you get word me ? Get out of the way !"

"foreman, flavor at all of the profligate he's covered in,"one of the men on horseback said.

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

"I don't think he understands us. He's got some weird clothes. He might be the son of some baronial,"the other equestrian said.

Their weapon system, they had sheathed blade but no polarity of any guns. So, this was an era before gunpowder was invented. Medieval ? It sure seemed like it.

"If he's a nobleman, we can ransom him back, and if not, he looks healthy and strong enough to sell for a sound toll. Chain him up with the others."

One of the men got off his gymnastic horse and approached Noah with a length of rope. None of them were aware that he still had his knife on him. As the man reached out to catch his hands, Noah slashed him across the throat. It wasn't the speck jab like he had given himself early, this was a bloody smile stretching from ear to ear. It had been a farseeing clock time since he had last killed mortal, but it was something he was very well-practiced in.

A fountain of blood line sprayed Forth and Noah threw his knife at the wagon driver, catching him in the chest. Before his low gear victim could drop to his articulatio genus, Noah ripped his blade from its case and charged towards the other horseback rider, already drawing his own blade to avenge his coworker. The pharynx was out of range, so Noah deflected the oncoming approach and went for a stab in the side of the gut and up into the right lung.

"ball of fire !"

There was a newsbreak of spark in his peripheral vision, coming from the old man. Noah's instincts made him jerk back as a flare shot through the air, missing his face by an inch. It struck a nearby tree and exploded, spraying fire in all directions like a Molotov Cocktail. Noah looked back at the old man, one hired hand outstretched while the other covered the shot wound in his dresser from Noah's knife. He wasn't holding a flash gun or any other sort of twist that would explicate what had just happened.

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

"Fireball !"the old man shouted again.

Just like before, a sphere of condensed flames formed in his hand, about the size of melon, and guesswork at Noah with tremendous amphetamine. Noah dodged and rushed in to shut the distance. The first fireball had forced him to let go of his brand and the s had forced him back before he could seize the second man's. He'd have to finish this with his bare hands.

The cavalry were all throwing tantrums in fear from the fighting, but the old man continued to launch those mysterious flare pass. Noah circled around the buck, jumped, and tackled the man. There was no clumsy fumbling for control, Noah simply began beating him with his fist. His current dead body hadn't been trained for combat, but he kept it sizeable and strong and experience how a good deal force he had muster up with each punch. profligate started spraying with the one-third punch, the old man unable to fight back and soon blacking out. Noah promptly retrieved his return tongue and finished him off.

Noah took his meter to catch his breathing time while he wiped off the blade, folded it up, and stored it in his air pocket. He took those few moments to squelch his botheration. He was used to being reborn as a child after every death and considered those too soon years to be his vacation between each new spirit, time to properly put away of old memories, catalogue useful noesis, and mentally deal with any loose ends. No one depended on him and he usually had a parent or caregiver to withdraw care of him, giving him time to lie his mind. Now he had jump right back into a survival outlook and starting time from scratch in a world with all new rules.

Those ball of fire the old man had launched, that was undoubtedly magic, something that he thought only existed in fantasy history. He had never seen magic before, not in any of the timelines he had already lived in. Until now, he had operated under the belief of the Multiverse Theory, which stated that there was a timeline for every possible subatomic event. Was it really possible for magic to exist in the multiverse ? What did this timeline have that all the former one lacked ?

The old man would get been a worthful rootage of data, but with his foot soldier now dead, he would never willingly tell Noah anything. It wouldn't be worth the clock time and trouble to interrogate him in this spot. Oh well, the answers would come in fourth dimension, and Noah had learned how to be patient.

He turned his aid 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 monastic order to free the striver or anything like that. As far as they knew, he was about to vote down them all or just pick out them all and sell them himself. Each of them was a variable, 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 hard worker trader had spoken with an accent that he had never heard before, but it was English, though they probably didn't call it that. These slaves must also speak 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 affirmative."Are there any among you who are familiar with this area ?"None of them answered.

Possessing knowledge could either make them valuable or a liability. They didn't want to let on themselves unless they knew what awaited them. Noah sighed and returned to the old man, patting him down until he found an atomic number 26 key, likely going to all of their shoe collar.

He held up the key for all the slaves to see."I need one of you to guide me to a safe area with a germ of fresh water and off the road where I won't be seen. Whoever volunteers will get their apprehension removed and can tantalise in the Big Dipper. Once I'm brought to a suitable placement, you will all will be set free."Six slaves raised their spring manus."You,"Noah said.

He had ***********ed a teenage girl that looked to be around his age. She was dirty and ill-fed, but looked healthy enough to be useful to him, and he could certainly overpower her if she tried to shit him. It was hard to estimate her show in this DoS. She had a pitiful facial expression permanently etched into her boldness, like a basset blackguard. If he cleaned her up, she might be a literal cutie, but right now she was so pestiferous that he couldn't even tell her born hair color.

"What is your figure ?"

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

"Do what I say, Tin, and you'll earn your freedom. Go against me and I'll kill you."He unlocked her metal collar but left her carpus bound."Now help me consider caution of these bodies."

Noah searched the corpses of the three slave traders, taking everything of value. Along with their swords, he got a twosome dagger, some cord, and three makeshift wallets. They were snake pelt with stacks of bronze coins inside, tied to their belts. It was a clever concept.

"Tin, is there any danger of wild animals in these Grant Wood ? Anything that I should worry about ?"

"Monsters will surely be drawn by the flavour of origin here. It would be best if we moved on now."

Noah huffed in pain in the ass. Great, now he had monsters to concern about. This certainly was a world unlike any he had seen before. This ruined his programme of taking the corpses with him. He was sure he could find a use or two for them, as well as take their clothes and anything else of value on their someone when there was to a greater extent prison term. He also didn't want to allow any evidence of what he had done.

"Very well. Remove the clothes from the consistency and put them in the wagon."

She wordlessly obeyed, proceeding to strip the stiff without any smidgeon of unease or discomfort. about girls her age would be too squeamish to do anything like this. As she worked, Noah searched the wagon and found a sail bag, smelling too rancid to be used for food. He soaked it with a wineskin, and while it wasn't ideal, it was good enough for him to use to put out the ardor that the old man had started. He and Tin completed their project, leaving three raw bodies on the road and a few char trees. Noah retrieved one of the steel, just a bum machete, but sharp enough to get the job done. He showed no uncomfortableness in decapitating the bodies and storing the capitulum in the canvas bag.

"Drag these bodies into the woods, out of flock from the road. That should sate any fauna that search this area."

There was no telling what the time value of these slave trader were. If they were even slightly important to person, their disappearance might head to an investigation. Three nude, headless bodies that were devoured by monsters wouldn't leave any evidence. They couldn't even be identified. On the former hand, if they were crook, then Noah might be able to use their discerp straits as ratification of their deaths and collect a bounty. He had been in a lot of bad situations 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 front line of the wagon and Tin joined him. The two excess sawhorse were tethered to the sides of the wagon and would keep an eye on along. Noah cracked the reins and the horses pulling the wagon began moving forward.

"There is a suited place several sea mile down this road. I will present you where."

"Until we get there, I have questions that I need answered. Where am I ? What nation is this ?"

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

"How large is Uther ? How practically of the continent does it exact up ?"

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

Her solution was to be expected, though. A slave educated in geography would be an unusual breakthrough. It would be near if he could get his hired hand on a decent map, though in this era, that was probably a lot to ask for. In a world with witching and monsters, there was no telling what the planet's topography looked like, even the arrangement of the continents. He had traveled late ground numerous times, but much of his experience was now obsolete.

"Relax, I'm not going to hit you for not knowing something. Just keep answering my interrogative sentence as best as you can. Uther, is it a rich commonwealth ?"

"I… don't know for sure. Perhaps there is riches in the 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 king or queen ?"

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

"What do they use for currency ?"

"metal coins, like atomic number 47 and gold."

Noah retrieved one of the snakeskin coin purses and emptied it out onto the tail between them. It was about a dozen bronze coins and a few atomic number 47. The other two could be expected to reserve a similar amount.

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

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

‘ Well, that's a lower thought.'“ What time of year is it currently ?"

"Mid spring."

That was good for Noah. In Holy Order to get a bridgehead in this new world, he'd need ample sentence with the luck of survival at its in high spirits. Winter would hamper his mobility, possible legal action, and make life a lot harder. Had he appeared in this world a few calendar month earlier, he could easily stop dead to last before reaching civilization.

"You spoke before of monsters. What should I be cautious of in this timber ?"

"The biggest danger is the brute. They travel in packs and kill whatever they see. There are also bears, large wanderer that hide in tunnel, and goblins."

monster spiders and hobgoblin ? This creation was getting more grotesque by the second.

"Tell me about the goblins."

"They are small, only about the size of children, and maybe as smart. They have weapon system and often ambush travelers."

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

"That was magic."

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

"It is the boon of the God, letting people call down God Almighty payback upon their enemies. It can produce fire, controller water supply, make you stronger, and do all kinds of thing. There many different kinds of wizard drug user. I've heard of some of them ; mages, hero, warriors, shamans, but I don't know much about what they can do."

"What kind was the old man ?"

"A mage, I think."

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

"I don't know."

That was a trouble. If it was an ability passed down from parent to child, then he was screwed. His glitchy reincarnation left him with the regular gene of his lowest parents. If thaumaturgy wasn't something he could learn or gain, life would get exponentially harder. Then there was the mentioning of gods. He had spent several life-time searching for signs of the being of God, some presence of deity that might excuse his cosmos, but he always came up short. However, in a man where magic existed, perhaps divinity might as well.

As they continued through the woods, Noah thought about the hard worker walking behind the wagon. Letting them go might be a liability. They knew he had killed three slave trader, they knew where he would set up encampment. The striver monger mistook him for the son of a noble, so if the hard worker went into some town and started blabbing about him and what he had done, people might number after him. Perhaps it would be amend to chuck out of all of them ? No, the chances of him managing to 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 trouble.

‘ To reckon my acedia would indemnify for my withered conscience…'

They were passing by a hill with tree blocking a great deal of the scene, but all of the horses flicked their ear to it. Noah didn't miss that tick 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 Hill, spotting a tail moving between the hills. It had been a long meter since he had go used a bow. It was one of his by-line about four or five lifetimes ago. This was nothing like the modern curtain call he was used to handling, but when he let the arrow slip liberate, it shot between the tree diagram and found its sign. Noah didn't see what he hit, but there was a scream 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 goblins you mentioned."This was getting dangerous."You stay here,"he told Tin. He brought the estate car to a stop and went back with his tongue and the key. He cut the slave'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 fetch up his sentence. Good, that would make him to a lesser extent of a sitting duck, and they'd draw the attention of anything that might desire a piece of him. He returned to the driver's bum and turned to Tin, holding up one of the coin purses.

"Get me to that secure office and this is yours."

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

The timberland thinned a lit, the trees spreading out far enough for the beach waggon to go off the road and head towards the phone of running body of water. They arrived at a clearing where a low waterfall thumped on exposed rock. It was isolated, just the post Noah needed. There was even a cave behind the waterfall where he could make camp. However, they were not the only denizen.

"Tin, what the hell on earth is that ?"he asked, looking at the wight sliding across the ground. At first, he thought it was giant bullet, the wight about the size of it of a beer keg, but he then realized it was semitransparent. There were four of them.

"That is a goo. They like damp places. Their underside are like elephantine oral fissure, devouring whatever they crawl over. Their trunk are covered with a thin peel, and if you tear it, its insides pour out and change the shape of its body."

"Are they dangerous ?"

"Yes. Anything that their undersides touch will melt, same with anything you stab them with. The bigger 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 gook hadn't noticed them yet, so Noah took aim with the bow at the nearest one. It was hard telling the front from the back of these affair, but he spotted something floating inside, suspended, an apple-sized goon of solid tissue paper. He released the bolt, missing the creature's Einstein by several inches. It rumbled in annoyance and its gelatinous inside spilled out of the wound like a runny nose. Upon contact lens with the air, the viscera began to congeal and develop a bed of skin. It formed an filename extension of itself, like a 2d empennage, now searching for what had injured it.

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

Already, the arrow was halfway dissolved. That thing was like a giant moving stomach. He would experience preferred to take on tending of these goliath from a distance, but he didn't have enough arrows to throw away. It would also get dismal soon, and he didn't want to try and look for another berth.

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

He got up from the wagon and approached the waterfall with one of the slave trader'swords in his hand. It was the worst of the two, useful at least for experimentation. He approached the slime, already back to fully health after being shot with the arrow. It didn't appear to have very skilful imaginativeness, didn't even appear to give eyes. He picked up a Lucy Stone from the brook and threw it, sending it bouncing a few understructure away. It pounced on the Rock with surprise swiftness, smothering it with its body and absorbing it. So, these things could jump. If it could see, it was probably short-ranged, based on movement, or more in all probability it could sense shakiness in the ground.

He took another careen and threw it at the gunk, this time hitting it. The rock ripped through its fragile skin and its guts spilled out. The blow stunned it just long enough for Noah to sprint over and cleave through its brain. As quickly as he attacked, he darted back. He had learned through numerous function to always await an enemy to get back up. Plus, he wanted to stave off getting sprayed with any guts.

Despite his concern, it was a clean kill. The monster, originally a nauseating yellowness, turned gray, and its exposed insides began to smoke and dissolve. Unfortunately, skunk was also coming from his sword. This really was a nasty acid. Noah wiped the blade off on the Gunter Wilhelm Grass and then rinsed it in the river to clean it. It had undergone severe corrosion. Hopefully it would endure until he killed them all.

One matter made him happy, though. When he killed the goo, Numbers didn't appear in the air, displaying experience level earned. He started having concerns as soon as that first fireball was launched at him, and when Tin said it was a slime ; he thought he had been reincarnated into some kind of RPG world. If at any level, she used the word ‘ level ’, he would have permanently lost the ability to go on a straight face and take anything seriously.

Anyway, back to killing.

He repeated his strategy with the other three goo. A fist sized rock 'n' roll thrown with sufficient speed and accuracy could thrust the monsters and stun them long enough to deliver a fatal work stoppage. After the third goop, his sword broke in half, the end completely melting off. There was one slime left, but it would be tricky. It was slithering around behind the waterfall, unaware of what had happened to the others. The oscillation of the water would probably disguise Noah's movements, but he didn't want to take the chance.

He crept behind the falls and threw another stone, striking the slime near the brain. Its consistency curled up like a bullet sprinkled with Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and Noah rushed over. This time, he thrust the broken blade straight in. He managed to stab the brainiac, but the sword slipped right into its physical structure. Noah pulled away before his inertia could send his hand plunging into the acidic muck, but respective cliff splashed him and he could finger his hide dissolving. He thrust his hired hand into the falls and steadied his breathing as the botheration faded. That was too close for comfort. He'd have to come up with another way to blockade those things if he encountered them again.

The surface area had been secured, now to set up ingroup. He stepped out from behind the waterfall, and to his surprise, he saw Tin standing by the beach waggon, 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 be intimate how to be free."

"I gave you money. rent it to the nearest town and buy yourself something to eat and some new apparel. Look for anyone who will hire you, hopefully offering room and board in exchange. From there, start your new life."

"Is that an rules of order ?"

"No, it's advice. You don't have to charter edict from me, I'm not your master. I hired you to be my usher, you got your money, and our contract is thoroughgoing. Now we part ways."She continued to endure there, looking like a puppy in the rainfall."You can sustain one of the horses. 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 person now."

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

Noah retrieved his bow and an arrow and took aim at her."parting now, or I'll putting to death you and use your corpse for decoy to catch my dinner."

There was a glimmer in her eyes."If I can be utile 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 female child was destitute than he would have liked, but her obsequiousness made her more trustworthy than anyone he could anticipate to find in this humanity. Maybe it would be good to induce an additional twosome of hands to facilitate him, at to the lowest degree until he got out of this timberland. Besides, it wasn't like this was the offset time he had owned a striver. There were many dark timelines when he followed the rule of ‘ when in Italian capital, do as the Romans.'

"Fine, I'll be your sea captain. What skills do you hold ?"

"I can count to one hundred, I can write some, and I can run to livestock and do work bailiwick, as well as perform house chores. I am also very experienced in pleasing men, so I can service you whenever you desire."She bowed her school principal as she spoke, not seeing Noah raise his eyebrows at her last sentence.

Depressing as her words were, he wasn't one to sour down an offer for sex from someone so willing. On the other hand, nothing about her current appearance stoked his libido. He was standing xx invertebrate foot away and could smell her like it was twenty column inch. Sitting next to her in the black Maria 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. You said you can run to livestock, counterbalance ? Then I'll leave the sawhorse to you. Get them watered and fed and then take out these beat gunk. I imagine they've lost their acidity in death."

Tin obediently went to work while Noah gathered all of the chain and collars that had been used to leave the hard worker. There was also plenty of rope in suit any of their binds broke during transport. Noah snapped the shoe collar off the chains and used them as pound to relegate the watery link and split the string into multiple short segment. He split the roach into dilutant strands and set up a border around the campground, then hung the neckband and chain of mountains on it like Xmas ornaments. Any intruder that tried to enter would hit the tripwire and the jingling irons and arrest would give them away. And in case they were set off by the wind, the horses would be the second business of spotting. If they started acting up, then a terror was nearby.

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

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

Noah set out into the woods with his lone sword and a satchel the old man had been carrying. He didn't want to stray far from pack, but he had to suss out out the arena and make sure there weren't any imminent dangers. One thing he was especially cautious of were the giant wanderer that Tin had mentioned. She said they hid in burrow, so he kept a closelipped eye on his ground, avoiding any suspicious expanse that could be a potential ambuscade. Webbing on the ground was a tattletale sign, cogent evidence that he wasn't the only one using tripwires to detect enemies.

The showtime thing he did was gather pine boughs from around the site, accumulating a large bundle that they would use for bedding material and making frequent trips back to the encampment. Then he gathered all of the firewood he could carry, but focused only on particular trees. This world was very different to the one he was used to, but most of the trees appeared to be the same. He also filled his sac and the satchel with medicinal industrial plant and even some edible mushroom-shaped cloud. In every life, her determine and relearned survival science to keep the information branded into his head, so even if had forgotten their gens, he still recognized herbaceous plant that could be useful. As he moved, he had a potent flavor 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, prominent than any he had ever seen. His olfactory organ led him to it, the Friedrich August Wolf reeking of death and rot. The essence was well beyond eating and its fur and bones weren't worth the endeavour to harvest, especially with all the maggots and fly, but there was something that he could definitely clear use of.

The sun was starting to set by the prison term he was done, but there was still plenty he wanted to do. Luckily, dinner was already taken care of. The hard worker traders had packed enough food for themselves and their load. It was hard bread and desiccated centre, something that Noah's spoiled taste buds would not appreciate, but he'd seen enough hard multiplication to get it on how to be grateful.

Before doing anything else, he removed his hoodie and t-shirt. He had kept them on as an sum up stratum of protection in vitrine anything attacked him, but the blood had hardened into a hard crust and he was glad to be capable to finally charter them off. Had he known he would transmigrate like this, he would have gone home and just hung himself, preferably with his air pocket stuffed with useful tools. He laid out his shirt and hoodie under the falls, directing the spray right onto the stemma blot. He pinned them down with Lucy Stone so that they wouldn't be washed away.

He noticed Tin watching him like a curious feline. She had never seen muscles like his before. To survive in the countryside, men required majuscule strength to farm and fight and muscle mass naturally accumulated. Noah's appeared more defined, like he had focused on improving the timbre of his muscular tissue instead of just chasing after the faint definition of strength.

"Tin, fill 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 wearing apparel you removed from those slave monger. It may be low-quality, but whether we use them or trade them, it would be best if we can at least remove the stink."

Tin removed her attire, though it was more like a raggedy potato sack with holes cut for her brain and arms and a strip of cloth for a belt. She was malnourished and scrawny, but he just had to round off her up a little.

With the stopping point of the light, he searched the river for stones. He'd test their hardness, striking them against the back of his sword. Once he started getting sparks, he returned to the riverbank and gathered up some spunk. He ground some dry birch barque into a ok junk and struck the rock against his sword over it. It took respective endeavour, but some sparks landed in the debris and it went up like gasoline. From there, he built up a flame on the riverbank with all of the birch rod wood he had gathered. By the light of the flaming, he started digging a hole using his sword and a alloy skillet he found in the wagon.

"Master, please allow me to do that instead,"Tin said.

"No, what I need you to do is startle collecting stiff from the river. If you dig under the silt, you'll find it. throw a big pile of it here next to me."

The two of them continued to work, with Noah expanding the pit and Tin gathering the clay. Once he was done, he smoothed out the sides of the pit and then began slathering on the the Great Compromiser that Tin had gathered. He used the leftover cadaver to make some cups and bowls and put them in the fire to bake. He built a second fervor, this time putting it in the pit. It was with a subdued wood. He didn't even need to see Tin's face to smell out the peculiarity within her.

"I'm making a wash basin. 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 dirt clod. In realness, it was a lump of animate being fat. He had gathered it from the carcass of the dead brute, rolled it into a ball, and packed it with a casing of filth to keep it from making a mess when he carried it. It cleaned it off and put it in the alloy frying pan, then set it over the fire.

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

Despite her poor lifestyle, her teeth were in skilful experimental condition. She grew up in a worldly concern without processed intellectual nourishment, simoleons, or chemical, 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 buck hitched to a Tree, nibbling on the pile of pasture that Tin had gathered for it. He cut a lock of its long pilus, washed it in the river, and returned to the campfire, where he braided several strands into a strong train of thought. He made a secondly and turned to Tin.

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

She mirrored the action to the best of her abilities, and while she did that, he looked at the skillet, now with a puddle of melted fat. He gathered some white ash tree from the flaming and mixed it in, as well as some water.

"Now I'm going to show you how to make up soap."utmost, he added a handful of ground-up true pine needles and started stirring the motley together.

"soap ?"

"You've never heard of it ?"

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

"It's been a prospicient time since I did this. If I had fourth dimension and proper shaft, I could make something of a much eminent caliber, but this should get the job done."He set the frypan back on the fire so that the water could be boiled away."Have you gotten every tooth ?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then take in a mouthful of this."From next to the fervor, there was also a cup made, of all affair, tin. It was full of urine brought to a simmer, with solid ground charcoal and pine tree needles mixed in. He let it chill and then handed it to her."You said you could count, right ? Well swirl this around your mouth and start numeration. Once you reach one hundred, swallow it."

She took a mouthful and handed it back to him so he could finish it off. With that taken upkeep of, Noah took the skillet off the flame and examined his soap. It certainly would never sell in a food market computer memory, but it would get the job done tonight. Next, he turned his attention to the wash river basin and the withered firing. The remains 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 basin as you can, then clean it in the river and use it to fill up the washstand with water."

As Tin went to work, Noah started on his own task. Like her, he went to river, but started collecting Edward Durell Stone. He'd bring them back and put them in the campfire to heat up. By the clip Tin had finished with her job, the rocks were all sufficiently hot, and using joystick to wield them, he moved them into the basin until it had reached the utter bath temperature. It was still ashy from the flack, but that wasn't a problem.

The reason why he had used different ardor for the washstand and soap was because of one of the lead chemicals, lye. Despite being a caustic substance, it was required for making goop. It was collected from the ashes of hardwood, like birch. He had used a softer wood in the fervour to indurate the sides of the catchment basin so any leftover ash tree wouldn't turn the water too alkaline.

"All right, now to test it."

Noah stripped down to couple Tin and grabbed a firearm of fabric from the wagon to use as a face cloth. He got it wet in the basinful, rubbed some of the easy lay on it, and, satisfied with how it lathered, started wiping off the sudor that had accumulated since his comer to this world.

Tin held a piece of soap in her handwriting, staring at it with extensive eyes."It smells… perfumed !"

She mimicked Noah, using a stopgap washcloth and the goop to scrub herself raw. She was unrestrained, leaving no blot untouched. The two of them cleansed their cutis, lathering themselves up and then rinsing in the river to keep the bath water clean. With the shit removed, much was revealed to Noah. Neither of them said anything about the countless scar, bruise, and brands that covered Tin's eubstance. Finally, he had her lie on her book binding and lowered her caput into the washbasin, then scrubbed her haircloth with the max until the bathwater turned as black as ink. She sat up and ring the water out of her hair as he stood up and stretched.

"Huh, so you're a blond. I honestly couldn't severalize your natural color. You were so marked-up that I wasn't sure if the drapes matched the carpet."She didn't say anything back, just crouched by the basin, holding herself. delay, she was trembling."Tin ?"

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

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

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

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

He leaned down, lifted her Kuki-Chin, and left a soft osculation upon her sassing. She shivered from that ghost, gentler than any other in her lifetime. She took the opening move, kissing him in tax return while her tongue slipped into his mouth. As they swapped saliva, she reached out and began caressing his manhood, erect and throbbing. She had been eyeing it since the moment he stripped down, her mind buzzing with all of the ways she would delight him.

When Noah finally pulled his lips from hers, she knew what he wanted and was tidal bore to provide it. She leaned in, his cock disappearing into her mouth, only to reappear with a glistening level of spit. Tin wasn't shy in the least, she put all of her skills to work. She deepthroated him to make herself gag and salivate, then would use her hired man to work the diaphysis while she slurped on his head like a lollipop. Despite her joy at being so clean just a bit ago, she was certainly making a raft, her face covered in tongue with big foamy drops dribbling onto her breasts.

Noah rested his hand on her head and groaned."I'm gladiola I decided to retain you."

She released his prick, gasping for air with her eye full phase of the moon of joy."Am I doing good ?"

"You're magnificent, Tin."

She went back at it, this prison term with a different target area in brain. While she jacked him off, she sucked vehemently on his jewels, rolling them around in her oral fissure and balancing them on her tongue. She switched between her proficiency with masterful skill, giving Noah no prison term to brace himself. He didn't even need tell her when he was going to cum, she could tell just by his breathing and the way his muscles twitched. She swallowed his manhood like a voracious beast, her face pressed to his belly as he swirled around inside her throat.

Several thick honey oil were pumped directly into her tum, a salty afters after her repast. Tin fell back, once again gasping for air."victor,"she panted,"please don't hold back. Use my body however you wish."

"You've done well in pleasing me, but has anyone ever took the clip to give 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 gentle handgrip to keep her still, while he free hand slipped between her branch and reached her honeypot.

"You're so wet. To think you took so much 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 touch sensation of Noah's finger touching her to the highest degree secret, sensible sphere, they made her tingle and gasp. There was strong suit in his fingerbreadth, but his movements weren't rough or clumsy. Rather, she sensed that his experience surpassed her own.

His finger's breadth penetrated her, making her moan in a way she thought she never again could. His flack was relentless, probing every sensitive spot like an assassin striking her pressure distributor point. She was a slender young lady, body fat being a luxury for a slave, but her flesh rippled from the vibe drumming from her ass. She could feel the free weight of her breasts with every motility, and the audio he was making, the auditory sensation he was forcing her body to stimulate, the squelching of sonant, wet flesh, it was like she was experiencing this all for the first time.

The pleasure was beyond words, she wanted it to go on forever, but her physical structure wouldn't obey her program line. Her musculus spasmed without pause like she was being tickled. She inadvertently tried to pull away, her body wanting to protect itself from these sensory faculty it couldn't contain, but Noah's bobby pin on her throat remained firm. This position, what he was doing to her, it was so strange. She felt almost like an animal, like livestock, and Noah was the farmer, preparing her for breeding with some unusual husbandry technique. Ironically, that wasn't far from the truth.

She cried out, coming rushing through her like a flash deluge, but Noah didn't stop, even as she became limp. He continued mercilessly finger-blasting her, while his other hand released her throat and he forced his fingers into her sass. She sucked on them like they had a honey glaze. They were her lifeline, all that was keeping her conscious. The movements of her tongue and rim, the shaking of her throat as she slurped up the flavor of his fingertips ; if she didn't work with all her might, the almost cruel ravishment of orgasm would rob her of all thought and suppress her mind.

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

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

She reached out to him, her tight-fitting arm coiling around his cervix to rend him in."lord, claim me,"she begged.

By the Light Within of the campfire, he penetrated her, just as numerous men had done before, but none of them made Tin spirit like this. His lips joined hers, a passionate but gentle osculation, while in comparison, his thrusts, so fasting and forceful, made her cry out to the wizard overhead.

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culture

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The rising sun shining in his eyes awoke Noah from his rest. It was not a deep quietus, due to his current circumstances, but he at least felt rested. It was his kickoff dawn in this new mankind. He and Tin were lying on a pile of pine boughs, keeping them off the land and insulated, and wrapped in the canvas wagon covering fire, which they were using as both a tarpaulin and a blanket. The freed slave was snuggled up tightly against him, both for warmness, and out of philia. The term"freed slave"fit her ironically, as Noah had given her freedom, but she chose to remain his striver anyway.

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

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

It was a parky break of the day, so the showtime thing Noah did was build up a flaming while Tin collected their clothes from the waterfall. They had been set under the spray to be washed, and after a nighttime under the hammer water system, they were clean as could be reasonably expected. They were hung up to dry around the firing, while Noah and Tin had breakfast. net nighttime, Noah had made some cups and bowls using the the Great Compromiser that Tin gathered and left them in the fire to bake overnight. Now, he was using them to seethe water and crap pine needle tea.

"What do you want to do, passkey ? I can run you to townspeople if you like."

"How long would it adopt to get there ?"

"Another two or three days."

Noah weighed his options. This wasn't an optimum situation."No, we'll stay here for another day. We have a defensible place here, but if we return to the road, we'll be like sitting ducks. While I have faith in my fighting abilities, I can't defend myself, you, and the horses. Let's try to meliorate 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 hold seen some ooze moving about. They're usually minor, right ? Not big like the ones I killed yesterday ?"

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

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

"What's lye ?"

"It's the stuff in ash that I used to puddle that soap go Nox. It's a very nasty chemical. I'm going to get gathering Wood. I want you to bail out the bathwater from the basin and fill again it. Rain H2O would be outflank, but river water will give to do. Then submit the Harlan Stone and put them back in the fire. You remember what to do if something onslaught ?"

"stroke sawhorse dung and holler for you ?"

"Right."

Noah departed, heading back into the wood. Just like the day before, he was gathering hardwood from birch, oak, and maple tree diagram. He moved cautiously, hearing movement all around him. He also returned to certain domain he had visited before, with prey on his mind. He came across a daub he had just yesterday done his best to avoid. There was spider silk on the ground, and nearby, an obvious trapdoor. Noah put a large marijuana cigarette on his foot and readied his bow, taking aim. He kicked the stick over by the trapdoor, and instantly a spider flare-up out to seize what it thought was its repast. The thing was huge, almost five feet in diameter.

Noah released his arrow, striking one of its optic and leaving it screeching in pain. Before it could duck back into its pickle, he shot another arrow, this one drilling through its skull and ending its life-time. While it was still fresh, Noah rushed over, pulled out the second arrow, and thrust his fingers into the hole. He stirred his fingers around in the spider's brain, causing its ramification, now curled up into a fist, to start spasming. While not familiar with spider anatomy specifically, he was tickling what he hoped to be the cerebellum.

"Come on, where are you… Ah !"He found the conjuration patch, as the all body convulsed and the abdomen started expelling silk at a unrestrained rate, like he was squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Het got to his pes and dragged the spider with him, laying out the silk so that it wouldn't joystick to itself. He had come up with this idea on a impulse and was overjoyed to see it work. When rate of flow of silk stopped, he removed his finger's breadth."That's right, ladies, I am just that good."

He then began rubbing crap into the silk like he had with the animate being fat he had collected the previous day, something to keep it from sticking to anything. It was respectable dense production line, and strong as well. following, he started gathering up the older, thinner webbing it had used for its den. It was already dried out and had lost much of its stickiness, so it was prepare to be collected.

He returned to the camp, carrying the spider with him as well. He was sure he could recollect up something to do with his corpse, maybe use it like a scarecrow to ward off hob or something. When he arrived, Tin had completed her task and stared in amazement at the dead spider.

Noah walked over to the wagon and pulled out a minor wooden barrel. It had originally been filled with salinity, which the slave monger used to keep up their food, but now there wasn't much left. What remained, Noah poured into some of his clay jars. He then hung the wanderer to drain its blood into the barrel. There wasn't much, and it had begun to congeal immediately after death, but that just made it sticky like sirup. He swirled it around the inside of the drum, covering every inch, and then filled it up halfway with some of the apply ash tree from the birch attack yesterday. He didn't touch the ash with his manpower, and upon closing the barrel, he shook it up. Once completed, the interior of the barrel was coated with thick layer of ash.

Putting it aside, Noah began moving hot stones from the fervour and putting them into the basin, bringing the water to a boil. Then, he started shoveling birch ashes until it filled up half the drainage basin. For the next one-half hr, Noah would swap out gem, making certain the urine was always boiling. Soon a film began to determine on top of the water. It was liquid lye, rising from the ash. Noah harvested it from the surface, thrifty not to touch it, and put it in the skillet on the firing to boil away the moisture.

"Ok, I'm going to go back and get more firewood. I want you to observe swapping out the Oliver Stone so that the water system 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 allude you. The falls and the river are keeping the air moving in one focal point. You want to stick upwind so that you don't breathe in any of the fumes. You got that ?"

"Yes, Master."

And that was how they spent the intact break of day and much of the afternoon. They kept burning birch tree wood, and once the basin stopped producing lye, they would swap in refreshing ash and resume harvesting. Between collecting firewood and tending to the fire, Noah created more pottery with the river clay and baked it in the fire. The skillet was routinely filled with the lye commixture, and once the body of water evaporated away, Noah would kowtow the lye into one of his clay jars. It was the middle of the good afternoon when he declared that they had collected enough.

"Now to examine it."With his tongue, he collected a pocket-sized bump and put it on his arm. He could feel it burning his skin like an aching sunburn. Had he taken his prison term with this, it would have been burning a crater into his skin, but in this shell, quantity was better than quality.

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

"Thank you, Master,"she replied with what he assumed to be a rare smile.

"Let's eat some lunch and then move on to the future step."

They moved away from the fire, sick of its heat, and ate by the waterfall. While chewing on tough jerked meat, Noah studied the horses. They weren't tied to any tree, 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 intellectual nourishment by tomorrow. They'd have to travel on by then.

"Master, if my may ask, how do you know how to do these thing ? I've never seen anyone fight like you do, at least not someone your age, and you have the attainment of an alchemist. What kind of education have you done ?"

"An alchemist ? I sort of like the sound of that. Let's just say that I have a lot of liveliness experience. I've lived through good times and bad. Anyway, we should propel on to the future stage. I'm going to go along the river and catch pocket-size slimes. I want you to find the corpses of the big guck 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 barrel he had tinkered with early and filled it with body of water, then began walking through the river, searching the banks. It was only up to his knee, and there were wad of boastfully boulders for slimes to shroud by. On his hands, he wore some rough leather gloves that one of the slave traders had been wearing. The slimes he found were usually about the sizing of his clenched fist, and with big maintenance, he'd blame them up and put them in the barrel.

The H2O in the barrel, thanks to the ash, had a raised pH story. The slimes were acidulent, but their pH stratum wasn't very low. The alkalinity of the piss and the ashes kept them from melting through the face of the barrel. He also tossed in some food to proceed them from starving. Hopefully they'd still be able to endure it. If they were all still alive by the next good morning, his plan was a success.

When he returned to the inner circle, Tin had gathered up the peel of the utterly gook from the day before.

"I'm sorry, professional, but the skins are too fragile for any variety of use."Noah put down the gun barrel and examined the slough skin. It was crinkly and soft, a far cry from any variety of leather, more like a ophidian's shed skin.

"No, they're perfective, just what I wanted."He handed her one of the daggers the slave monger had carried."Here, start carving them up into squares, about as long as your deal. You know how big, right wing ?"

She nodded and went to knead. While she did that, Noah collected more retentive hair from the sawbuck. He took the squares that Tin cut up and used them to wrap up small piles of lye, then tied them shut with the horse whisker. The slime skin, despite its fragility, still maintained many of its feature. guck were like living acid, so they had to be able to contain their pH floor. Their hide not only kept their intestine in, it kept basic substances out, center like lye, making it gross for holding it.

With their combined efforts, they were able to create just over thirty lye packs, plus another 20 filled with alkaline ashes.

"Ok, let's trial one of these out."Noah took one of the extra squares, filled it with ashes, tied it off, and threw it at a nearby boulder. The gook tegument held together while being handled and thrown, but upon striking a hard airfoil, it burst assailable and sprayed its contents in all directions."perfect !"

"So we're going to flip these affair ?"Tin asked.

"That's right. This lye isn't very firm, so it doesn't do much to skin, but if it gets into your eyes or you breathe it in, you'll go down. All we have to do is hit our enemy in the fount and they won't stand a chance. Now, I know we're both tired, but we still have a few hr of day left. Let's work on a couple other elbow room to better our situation, and tomorrow, we'll chief for the nearest town."

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

They departed the following morning at dawn, wanting to get an early start. They were traveling at a faster pace than before, mainly because there were no longer striver in tow. The two horses the traders had ridden were no longer walking alongside the black Maria, but were now helping to pull it. With the spider silk Noah had collected and wood from the forest, he managed to produce extra harnesses so that they were leading. The Equus caballus moved in a steady trot, nothing compared to the cars from Noah's previous liveliness, but fast enough to possibly outrun an untrained man.

For Noah, this was a scene he was comrade in. He had fought in legion state of war and seen countless post-apocalyptic humanity, living through one lawless hellscape after another. He was intimate with the need to grow eyes in the book binding of his head, to expect enemies at all times.

"Master !"Tin exclaimed.

"Yeah, I see them."

Swarming from the side were a pack of wolves, each one almost as large as the sawhorse 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. Most of these arrows, he had made himself. He had to rush them, so they weren't his honest work, but they got the job done for short-range encounters.

The woman chaser dodged the arrows as they charged, but it managed to spook them into moving around back to attack from the rear. Noah climbed into the wagon and stared them down through the open back. Changing their fire angle had momentarily slowed them down, but they'd catch up in seconds and flank them. Noah tossed a parcel of branches and greens out of the binding of the wagon, but they were Sir Thomas More than they appeared. It was actually a net with thorny bushes and bristles woven in. The net was dragged behind the coaster wagon, and the wolves that stepped on it cried out as their paw were spiked with penetrating seed pods. Those who were injured gave up the chase, while the rest of the camp learned and split up to invalidate the net.

Before they could get out his thought, Noah opened up the barrel of slimes and began throwing them. Even if the small animal didn't make a place hit, they exploded like water supply balloons. The acid splashed on the wolves, who instinctively knew that slimes were to be avoided. The pack realized that this prey wasn't worth all of the trouble and gave up. One threat had been neutralized, giving them time to take a breather, but it didn't end there.

Bears and other afforest beasts would pop up every now and then and take to be dispatched by arrow. The midget dash couldn't do much damage, but the pain would urinate the savage reevaluate whether or not to bear on attacking. Any demon he managed to kill, he would glean for parts. With Tin controlling the buck, he would work in the Plough, removing skin, teeth, organs, and anything that looked valuable or useful. Every now and then, they'd even stop so that he could collect medicinal plant life and mushrooms. But the more he fought, the more Noah realized how unprepared his body was for all this. He was goodly and strong, and had life of combat experience, but his hands hadn't built up a level of callus that a native of these lands would hold. Every time he gripped his sword, he could feel blisters forming on his palm.

Then, in the afternoon, the side by side challenge revealed itself. In the distance, a tree lay across the road. A passenger on horseback might be able to jump off it, but never a waggon like this. Whether or not it had fallen naturally, Noah knew who would use this opportunity.

"Tin, stop the wagon."They came to stop a hundred yards from the tree."Turn the cavalry around. If I die, ride back the way we came. check at the waterfall until someone uses this road and then traveling with them."

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

"I've handled worse."

He got off the wagon with his sword in script, and on his arm, a shield made from the carapace of the spider he had killed. He was wearing one of the slave dealer'coats, the unaired he could get to leather armor, and he also had his satchel, filled with lye packet. Rather than come near the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, he dove into the woods. If there were any hob in hiding, he'd flank them. As he approached the roadblock, he spotted them, hiding behind the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. They were the size of tiddler, but with come out stomachs and greenness cutis. Their ears and nose were pointed, their faces boilersuit barely even humanoid. They were armed with blade and bow, likely stolen from slain travelers.

He closed in on the first one, his footsteps giving him away and causing it to screech in alarm. Noah dispatched it with a jive of his sword, overpowering its attempt to parry and lopping off the top of its skull. The others, alarmed by the last of their comrade, turned their tending to Noah and attacked. They launched their arrows, albeit with shoddy aim, but it forced Noah to duck for masking. He pulled out one of his lye ingroup, focused on a goblin with a bow, and threw it like a baseball. The small pack nailed it between the eyes and exploded. The goblin took an natural breath in, and then immediately screamed in excruciation. Not only were its sinuses and lungs filled with lye, but it had gotten into his eyes, leaving it blinded.

The way it shrieked was nix less than unnerving. It was like a infant call, it racked the mind and made even Noah squeamish. The hob, hearing those screams, became frightened. This was a cruel world, and bread and butter in the Sir Henry Wood, every day was a blooming fight for survival. But none of them had suffered or seen someone suffer a flesh wound and wee that form of haphazardness.

Noah gave them no prison term to accumulate their braveness. He dealt with the other goblin archers the Saami way, leaving them howling in suffering. With their long-range blast neutralized, he closed in. The remaining goblins tried to put up a fight, but he slaughtered them with gruesome nag and stabs. His wanderer shield fractured whenever he blocked a swing music, but it held together long enough to vote out them all. These goblins probably ambushed their prey, catching them by surprise to make up for their weak body, but once they lost that reward, they were easy to toss away of.

He was closing in on the end one, slightly declamatory than the others and armed with a club. It growled and made a wide vacillation. Noah didn't try to hinder and maltreat back out of the monster's compass, then swung down his blade and cleaved the goblin's mind open. To his uncomfortableness, stemma splattered across his side and got into his eye. He rubbed it out until he could see, then nearly staggered, hit with a sudden fatigue.

"What the fuck ? That fight must have taken to a greater extent out of me than I thought."He pushed through the sudden weight and returned to the route. It was exhausting work, but he moved the Tree out of the way."Tin, come on through !"

The wagon approached and stopped where the tree had lain, but there was a flavour of confusion on Tin's cheek."lord, where are you ?"

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

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

Noah couldn't understand. He was standing right in front of the gymnastic horse. He walked over and grabbed her arm."Tin, I'm standing right 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 wish to know. Was something affecting her imagination ? Maybe she had been hit with some sort of goblin flak, or it was an illness, either a disease or some kind of poisonous substance from something in the timberland.

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

"It's ok, I can see everything clearly ! But I can't see you !"Was he the problem ? He could see himself just fine. Damn it, his eye was still itching from the blood. He rubbed it with his palm and Tin gave another yelp of surprise."schoolmaster, 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 last time he felt it was when he first woke up in this world. 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 melt off air !"

That fatigue, he was feeling it again. He stepped back and began kicking around leaves and shit."Can you see this ?"

"See what ?"

Well, that answered that query. For some reason, the tiredness seemed to compound when he did that. He rubbed his eye again, and from the feeling on Tin's nerve, she appeared to be capable 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 divergence in the route ?"

"No."He covered his eye once more, and she nodded her brain."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, sort of like flipping a page. Master… I think you're using magic !"

"conjuration ? No, that doesn't make sense. My parents were normal, I haven't even studied any variety of magic."

"That's the only affair it can be. But I've never heard of illusion that could make mass disappear like that."

"I'm not disappearing, I think I'm becoming invisible. It's… an illusion. I'm creating an illusion that makes me invisible… and when I alter something around me, it expands the illusion to hide the change 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 endure moments with Lindsey. He had covered his left eye because the sun was blinding him, and he woke up in this world in that Same emplacement. His glitchy reincarnation, it hadn't just preserved his body at this age, it gave him some kind of magic. Maybe it was the magic itself that caused the error, the magic present in this new world.

"Tin, do they have any kind of word for the vim 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 here and now he attempted it, he fell to his knees, 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 turning invisible. But something clearly happened, or at least, tried to happen. I have a unlike spell in each eye, but not enough mana to use the second one. It must be like a muscle. I have to take it to increase my stamina.

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

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

The following day, while Tin took town the tripwires set around their makeshift camp, Noah was officious experimenting with his magic. He had come across a giant spider, draining the blood from a captured rabbit. As he approached, Noah covered his eye and cast his conjuring trick. His ft on the underbrush, it should induce given him away, but the spider didn't seem to notice. He decided to stool more noise, picking up a joystick and snapping it, but still, the wanderer didn't seem to find.

"Over here."

Finally, the spider spun around, its black eyes searching for the reservoir of the noise. It seemed that his illusion also concealed sounds, but not his voice. Maybe because he intended for his voice to be heard ? He had been casting his spell on and off since he discovered it, to try and get a better flavor of his mana. He couldn't properly tenseness himself since he needed to redeem his strength for when he needed it, but he was starting to sense the flow.

He drew his sword, a new one. After the engagement with the goblin, he had taken their weapons, and despite being slightly rusty due to inadequate care, they were gamy calibre than the cheap machete that Noah had been using until now. He now carried a Medieval-style longsword, a short blade, and his knife. He came up with arrangement with opinion 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 George Walker Bush. The spider didn't see or hear anything. Noah could feel it, his mana flowing through his steel towards the Vannevar Bush, enveloping it in the illusion. He focused on the vigor running through his arm and tried to slow the flow, to keep back it from moving beyond his sword. It was exceedingly difficult, like trying to deform a sinew he had never used before. It reminded of him of all the days he spent as a newborn baby, when his muscle tissue paper was just slightly sturdy than gelatin. He tempered his breathing, driving out all distractions from his idea, and soon, he could feel the flow of his mana, like he had grabbed a hold of it.

He pulled it back, leaving the brand enveloped, but this time, when he rustled the bush, the spider raised his movement legs and bared its Fang, believing an animate being to be causing the noise. Noah slowly approached and tapped one of the wanderer's raised wooden leg with his sword. It hissed in Erinyes and swung at something it could not see. The illusion could block off audio from reaching his enemy, but it couldn't erase the sense of cutaneous senses, so he couldn't just turn invisible and stab someone without them feeling it.

There was something else he noticed. When he was invisible, he could smell out the mana in others. Tin had very little, likely a sign that she had no affinity for magic, probably a cause why she ended up a slave. The giant had even less, but not all of them. Lone wolves without packs and many wanderer, they seemed to be shrouded in mana. He didn't get the printing that they could use magic, more like it clung to them, like an odor. What made them so special ?

This was just another interrogative that Noah chalked up to something he'd learn later. For now, he should just extend utilizing his magic to its full potentiality. The wanderer had its guard duty raised, but couldn't sense the mien of anyone or anything nearby, so it could do aught to end Noah from ending its life. He harvested what he needed from the body and then returned to camp.

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

It was a odoriferous relief to Noah and Tin when they finally left the forest. After two solar day of repeated ambushes by vulture and goblins, the sea of trees that flanked them on either face were replaced with unfold pastures, fields where sodbuster and their slave were planting crops. The road became more unvarying, receiving more sustenance due to the growth in traffic. In the distance, they saw the town, Clive, as Tin called it. It was surrounded by a log fence to sustain the monsters out. It reminded him of the colonial village museum from his fifth-grade playing field trip-up. The creek from their falls bivouac joined into the river that flowed beside the town.

safety device in cheap leather armor with a few metallic element shell were manning the logic gate, and they stopped Noah and Tin as they approached. One of them looked over the horses and the patrol 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 sentry duty 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 time to Medieval Europe. bucolic walked the muddy road, street vendors tried to sell their merchandise, and the air stank beyond all de***********ion. The buildings were brick and wood, only a few of them more than two stories, with their Windows using stuporous methamphetamine hydrochloride.

"What do we do now ?"Tin asked.

"We're going to trade this wagon, everything in it, and the horses. That sentry duty recognized them, so others may as well. Plus, I can protect a raft of coins break than this load of hide. We can just buy replacements if we need them."They rode past a beggar prevarication in the street and Noah brought the horses to a stop."You there, where can I determine a weapon dealer ?"

The bearded man pointed a trembling digit to the east. Noah didn't thank him, but tossed him a atomic number 29 coin. They turned down one of the eastern streets and a sign caught Noah's eye. It had an incus with two crossed swords in front of it like a summit. They stopped the coaster wagon outside and Noah disembarked.

"Look after the station wagon. This place is probably crawling with stealer, 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 headland from the door opening and closing. This store was made of brick in order to lessen the fire danger due to the forge in backward. numerous artillery were put on video display, from sword to halberds. Back in his previous lives, Noah could have bought a Damascus blade online for $ 60 that would put these to shame, but these would suffice.

He also paid aid to the prices in order to see out the pace of conversion for money. The numbers were drawn a bit differently from past worlds, but they appeared to take the same values. From what he could secern, ten copper coins equaled a bronze, ten bronze equaled a silver, and ten silver for a gold. The metric scaling made it easiest for Noah to compare them to US dollar, but from what era ? There was a wooing of armor selling for two gold coins, about two thousand dollar mark. But was that two thousand dollar back in the Old Mae West ? Or was that two thousand one dollar bill in the twenty-first hundred, after More than a one C twelvemonth of inflation ? He couldn't even tell whether the Price were commodity or not. This was either all swell equipment at a high Leontyne Price or garbage sold to beginners and cheapskate, or even just junk the possessor was asking the moon for to try and rip Noah off.

A man appeared from a back elbow room and stood behind a counter. He was a great bear of a man, yellowish brown and dirty from a life spent standing over an anvil. Seeing Noah's New dress, uneasiness crossed his aspect."Can I avail you ?"

"Do you buy arm as well as sell them ?"

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

"Perfect."Noah returned to the Dipper outside and retrieved an armful of weapon system looted from dead goblin. He stepped back inside and laid them out on the store counter."What can I get for all of these ?"

There were four short blade, two longswords, six daggers, three spears, and an axe. The blacksmith raised his eyebrows in mild surprise at the size of the haul, but otherwise maintained a poker face for the sake of business. He examined each weapon, making exaggerated oink and sigh over every scrap and sign of rust.

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

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

"That's ridiculous. My merchandise hasn't been dragged through the Sir Henry Joseph Wood. Yours has. I'll have to pass all night polishing and sharpening these to realize them suitable of being put on display. Two silver."

"leave of absence them as is and then chalk down the damage. You can sell them to some freshman warriors as training gear. Six silver."

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

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

"You think you're the alone one selling weapons by the arm-load ? wad of adventurers come in here to underprice what they found in some goblin tunnel. Scavenged brand are hardly rarefied on the market. Two silver medal and seven bronze. That's like last offer."

‘ So, ‘ explorer'is a condition used here. It probably applies to monster hunters and the like.'“ How about this : my axe, plus two obelisk, in central for that nicer axe up on the bulwark ? Everything else, you buy at half for what you're selling their twin for. That's ten bronze for the short swords, another ten for the farseeing swords, four and one-half bronze for the daggers, and another four and half for the spears. That's in good order around three silver."

The blacksmith gave a miff. Three silver, such a beat, totally routine. It was five bronze above what he could get if he sold the artillery for half price, but his inner-perfectionist didn't want to refine it with a modest payment. Had Noah planned that from the beginning ? 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 hands and Noah received the three coins and the axe."I also have another thing outside that you might be worry in. Follow me."He led the blacksmith out into the street and showed him the tripwire roll in the back of the wagon.

"What is it ?"

"A tripwire system, offering a hundred K of protection. Any demon that touches it makes the metal alarms jingle. It's so loud that even the all in can see it. I'll trade it for three bronze and the small cuticle you had in the corner. It's got to be worth that in material alone."

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

The deal was struck and Noah and Tin set off with a a good deal lighter wagon. The axe Noah had gotten was a bombastic one, perfect for chopping both tree diagram and ogre. The shield he now wore on his arm was only around the size of it of a dinner party plate, but that worked for him. It was warm enough to block a stroke from a sword and it wouldn't hamper his cause. The tripwire was a bit painful to lose, but once they sold the wagon, they would possess ended up carrying it with them.

With guidance from many of the townsfolk, they sold and traded their wares. The blacksmith wouldn't buy the bows, but Noah found another artillery dealer who allowed him to trade up to a much effective composition and a quiver of good-quality pointer. After that, the medicative herbs and mushrooms were bought by an herbalist, the wolf pelts went to a leatherworker in exchange for some armor and a strong backpack, and the clothes and pocketbook were traded at the garment store for some new outfit and a second backpack. Due to the Wyrd looks he was getting, Noah was cognizant that his modern clothes made him remain firm out. They were too worthful to get rid of or betray, so he simply packed them away and donned the apparel of the countryside.

He ditched the severed fountainhead of the striver traders into someone's pig pen and the hog went to town. From asking around, it seemed that the Garrow fellow he killed wasn't the desire malefactor he had hoped for. It was a ignominy there was no bounty to collect, especially after three 24-hour interval of putting up with the smell of those heads.

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

The possessor of an adventurer's shop yelped in bother from the lye touching his skin. He sold traveling and survival of the fittest gear mechanism, such as rope, standard candle, dried rations, and other curios to serve travelers go the beasts dwelling outside man's domain. Now he was buying the last of Noah's catch, including the clay of several spiders and the barrelful of slimes. A exam had been necessary to convince him of the lye's ability.

"So ? What do you cerebrate ? Seven bronze and everything's yours."

"I can do five bronze, but only because you actually have living goo. 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 res publica and one of the domain. 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."

"Four bronze and you won't have to cope 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 horses had already been exchanged for some lovely atomic number 79 coins, so now they lived carrying everything they owned. Tin was in a in force mood, now wearing proper clothes and footwear. She looked nada like the slave fille that Noah had met when he first came to this existence. One might wait at her and not even believe 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 engaged inside, the air stinking of pipe smoke, ale, and poor hygienics, and the floor creaking under countless yoke of shifting boots. The air hostess, a gravid woman looking like she birthed tike by the bedding material, greeted them at the door from behind a front man desk.

"Are you here to eat or to slumber ?"she asked.

"Both. What are your rates ?"

"quintet pig coins a night for one room. For ten, you also get firewood, a hot bath, and two square repast a day for one person."

Noah counted up the coins for him and Tin and stacked them on the tabular array."We'll consider the full software package for three nights."

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

Noah led Tin through the crowd of sottish 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 apparel made of either wool, linen paper, or animal hide. Any cleaning woman were either traveller huddled together, or courtesans sitting across the lap covering of their drunk node and laughing at every bad jape as they waited for the alcohol to carry its bell.

Noah and Tin found a pocket-sized mesa near the hearth and took their seats with Noah warning Tin to put her bag directly under the mesa.

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

"Is something wrong, Master ?"

"No, everything is fine. I rather like the atm here, the smell of it."

He had seen good deal of towns that been knocked out of the New age in his former lives, usually due to some kind of apocalyptic event or because it was in a third-world rural area, but none of them had the Medieval Europe aura like in fantasy books and movies. For all of his lifespan experience, this was something he was glad to finally be capable to cross off his list.

"So we're going to stay here for three Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ? Then what ?"

"I'm not sure yet. I don't have enough data. I want to know more about this country, about the other country. I want to see what I can seduce of myself and what will contribute me the best luck of endurance. But for now, I want to rest up for a few daylight and memorize 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 bon ton. The map of the Algata province showed the towns around Clive, as well as vague rivers and stack, but there was no scale for referencing distance and none of the roadstead were labeled. The national map was no right, but it did name the bigger Ithiel Town and the Washington of Uther near the southern coast. It was hard to fix the size of it of the country, but it was probably somewhere between England and Texas.

Right now, what he needed to ferment on was a backstory. True, this was not a country with an educated world, but Noah was still illiterate of the acculturation and lifestyle, something that would need years to get up on. If he claimed to be from somewhere but failed to answer a query that any aboriginal would recognize, it would make him face suspicious. In his past life story, his backstory would generate 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 world. He had been forced to obscure in early countries and call for on new indistinguishability in past lives, but this was a whole new ballgame.

The stewardess arrived with wooden trays and beer soft touch. The house special was a bowl of meat and vegetable 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 inspector would react to seeing the kitchen and how the food was prepared, but after three days 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."headmaster, is it really ok for me to eat this ? I need only scraps to survive. master key doesn't pauperism to be so generous in buying me such marvellous food."

"You've done everything I've told you to do and have yet to disappoint me. You deserve to eat proper meals. Besides, I need you impregnable and healthy so you can continue to assist me."

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

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

The room they were renting was awfully complete, just a bed with some fidgety mantle and a hearth. There was also a table with a lone standard candle and a pitcher of water system. Firewood had already been delivered. As Tin lit the standard candle, Noah began moving around the room, knocking on the walls, storey, and cap, searching for any hidden doors or peepholes. For all he knew, there could be people watching them, waiting for them to decrease asleep and then rob them, or unsound. He once made the misunderstanding of spending the night in a backwoods motel that was run by a serial killer. The flat tyre within walking space should have warned him, but he refused to consider the cliché.

"You get a fire started while I look around. Don't open the travelling bag or let out any of your belongings until I get back, and prompt the bed against the door."

He was sure for the to the highest degree function that no one was listening or watching them at the moment, but that might be temporary. He wanted to check the inn itself. But on the off luck that mortal was managing to fend off his detection, he didn't want to activate his magic. He left the room and locked the door behind him. There were rooms on either side and across the hall, but they would come in later. He went downstairs, maneuvering through the gang and stepping alfresco into the dreary street. The Ithiel Town was clearing out, everyone head home or to whatever spot they slept on.

Noah walked down the street, and as planned, he sensed a tail behind him. He stepped behind the nearby bungler workshop and laid in postponement. His pursuer, knife in hand, entered the bowling alley. He never even saw Noah, certainly didn't see his hand aiming for his go's Malus pumila. A solid reversal ripped the air from the man's lungs and sent him to his articulatio genus, unable to even scream in excruciation. 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 bear noticed you, so that means you didn't see me with Garrow's wagon and horses. Either someone who did see me put you up to this, or you're just going after me because I look like an easy Deutschmark. So, which is it ?"

"Eat hoot, you damn kid !"the man gargled. He tried to free himself from the choke coil hold, but Noah just tightened his hold. 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 find the sword threatening to pierce the peel of his lower lid."If you want to salvage yourself, start talking. I can pee-pee you beg for your life and then beg for end in a matter of seconds."

"This is just what I do, punk rock ! I wait for objet d'art of tear apart playing explorer to make a amiss turn and then I take everything that they have !"

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

"I don't need help."

Noah put his knife away."Clearly, you do."For the abbreviated moment, the man felt Noah's cargo hold on him loosen, thinking he was going to be let go. Instead, Noah grabbed his caput and snapped his neck.

Noah searched the corpse for anything of value and dumped it in the river beside the village. He then returned to the inn and searched the outside. He had measured the distance from the window to the corners of his elbow room, and, assuming that all the suite were the Lapp size and Same configuration, there didn't appear to be any false walls that soul could blot out in.

With his delusion still combat-ready, he went inside the inn and maneuvered through the crew, this prison term putting all of his elbow grease into not bumping up against anyone. He checked the heaviness of the floor and ceiling of each level and found no anomalies. His mana was starting to run out, so he had to travel rapidly with the last stone's throw. He returned to the floor of his room and listened to the surrounding doors.

Behind the door across the Marguerite Radclyffe Hall, he could see two female adventurer talking, making architectural plan for the keep up day. In the room to the left hand of his, he could listen a man sharpening his blade. The room to the right was silent. From his sack, Noah drew a duration of wire. It was originally function of the handle of one of the steel he had sold, but he took it before taking it out of the wagon. Lockpicking had been a skill of his various lifetimes 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 relax. He returned to the doorway of his elbow room."Tin, it's me,"he said while knocking.

He could hear the bed, used as a barricade, being moved aside, and Tin opened the room access."Is everything ok ?"

"Yeah, I think we're safe."

They both stepped into the room and released their held hint upon the door closing. Finally, they could let down their sentry go, at least for the most part.

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

On the board with the lone candle, he spread out the coins from their sales. There was a cracking telephone number of ash gray coins, flock of bronze, and several copper color, as well as some gold."With all of this, we can stick 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 wallets, as bait or a decoy against pickpocket. The third wallet held the bronze coins and hung around Tin's neck. As the for the ash gray and gold coins, Tin worked with Noah beside the fire to blot out them in his clothes and possessions, such as the lining of his jacket crown and the straps of his backpack.

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

Noah let her in and she placed a wooden tub on the story, filled with steam clean body of water and some tabloid. In this domain, it seemed like outside of swimming, the only if way to keep even remotely clean was with a simple wash drawing cloth. Noah tipped her and she departed.

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

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

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

There was a despairing shimmer in her heart."Something which I beg your forgiveness for. I must depict my gratitude for your kindness."

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

She embraced him from tail end."It is my duty to service my maestro. Please, appropriate me to go on not disappointing you."

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

She made a small noise of backup, almost like a hybridization between a jape and a gasp."Please exact a seat."

Noah sat on the fundament of the bed and Tin retrieved some of their remnant liquid ecstasy, then brought to tub adjacent him. She kneeled before him and wetted the presence of her body with one of the rags, then with the soap, lathering up her breast and between her thighs. He could tell she was excited. Despite her perpetually poker-faced grimace, he could see the pocket-sized curling of her mouth, the shimmer in her eyes, signs of joy. It was an dry combining ; she, having never known pleasure from contact with a man, and he, so benumbed that touch with a adult female was one of the last few things that could sacrifice him pleasure.

She began by taking one of the washcloths and scrubbing Noah's legs, trying to hit the sweat and grime from their days in the woods. Then, her breathing would deepen, and she'd beginning rubbing her chest up against him, grinding against him like a ecdysiast pole. Her knocker were far from copious, due to her harsh life and short dieting, but what softness there was, she used to please Noah. She made sure he felt every cubic centimeter of fat, as if the batch of her breasts equaled her loyalty.

She washed off the Georgia home boy and then got on the bed to repeat the appendage on his arms. Her efforts gave him an amused smile. With her inner thigh nice and sudsy, she'd straddle his workforce, letting him cup her muliebrity in his medallion and sense how wet she was. She was beginning to pant and whimper, her lecherousness building up in her. Her excited breaths in his ears 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 musical theme you came up for me ?"

"This is new. I've never felt so much gratitude to my skipper before."

She moved behind him and scrubbed his dorsum, 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 learn every detail. She started rubbing against him with more force and jacking him off. Despite Noah being on the receiving end, Tin's efforts were making her breathe heavily with an aroused whimper passing her lips. The feel of her breasts on his dorsum and her masterful stroking were also getting to Noah. Even with all of his sexual experience, he always enjoyed a petty foreplay.

He didn't bother trying to resist and simply ejaculated, while behind him, Tin shuddered as if having a culmination of her own. She greedily licked his cum off her hands and then got off the bed, kneeling before him once again. Her regard, full of boozy lust, was glued to his semi-flaccid humanness in the consequence of its eruption.

"Master, you're so dirty. Let me clean you."

She began sucking on his extremity with godly dedication. Every drop curtain of cum, she slurped off while savoring the sense of taste of his sweat. Like the other night, she paid attention to his balls, either massaging them while his putz plunged into the deepness 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 striver both to him and to her desires."Yes, master copy. My body feeling so much 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 inner flesh without any resistance. There was no hesitation in any of Tin's drift, she didn't need to adjust her position or let her torso become accustomed to the feeling of being penetrated. As soon as she was down to the base, she began bouncing on his hammer at full moon speed.

Noah laid back with his custody gripping her ass. The effort she was putting in was commendable, she was fucking him like a pornstar. Her moans of bliss, she didn't bother trying to hide them. She let her voice ring out, escaping their elbow room 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 less inscrutable. She was putting all of her strength into keeping up this rhythm method, dropping all her weighting onto Noah's lap so that he could truly explore her body. She couldn't allow him to maintain himself. There were no battleground to run, no stock to take tutelage of. She couldn't competitiveness, couldn't hunt, couldn't do anything to repay her captain for the forgivingness he had shown her. All she could do was bid her body for his delectation, to turn over him something to unleash his desires on.

But her effectiveness was fading fast. Despite her travail, Noah wasn't giving in. In fact, he decided to fight back. He retrieved one of the damp washcloth and wiped the soap off her titty, making her nipple become put up. He then sat up and began running his knife and lips across her skin, kissing her areola and sucking on their peaks. He often pulled his lip away to join with hers, kissing her with accomplishment she could only prognosticate art. Rather than letting her continue bounce, he implemented his own proficiency. Cupping her mean ass in his hired man, he began gyrating her rosehip in one direction while he moved in the opposite direction. Now, instead of doing foresighted, deep slash, his cock was stirring up the depths of her womanhood like he was whisking some scrambled orchis.

The threefold fire, they were more than Tin could brook."master copy ! Ah ! Master !"she moaned.

She held onto his articulatio humeri as a wave of climaxes rushed through her, soaking Noah's lap in her stimulation. Noah fell back, this sentence while pulling Tin down with him. Tin, lying across his bureau, was given no time to lie. He lifted her hips up and began bucking his own, driving up into her at maximum speed and depth. His assault on her, there was no cruelty to it, but it was so strong that Tin wondered if she had done something to enrage him. She felt no pain, but if any former man tried to do this, she would be suffering beyond words. It was his skill and experience, she could feel it with every move he made. He knew exactly what to do to not cause any scathe, despite the intensity itself leaving her on the wand of blacking out.

"sea captain, it feels too estimable ! You're going to break me !"

"cargo deck on, I'm almost there."

She held onto him for dear animation, as if a tornado had ripped off the ceiling of the inn and was threatening to pull her up into the sky. Soon, the tempest passed, and Tin felt that net poking and Noah emptying himself into her. The sense datum of her master's seeded player flooding her woman, the heating plant of it inside her, it made her moan a 1 crystal-clear musical note, like a raspberry call. Then, she collapsed on top of him, using the lowest of her speciality to run kisses across his breast.

"passe-partout, when you wanted to know the region and me and some other slaves raised out hands… thank you for choosing me."Noah didn't say anything. He knew that this was a office that one couldn't simply respond with ‘ you're receive ’. Yet after so many life, he still didn't know what the proper 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 time of the succeeding day found Noah roaming the village. Before he made any conclusion, he wanted to know what this town had to pop the question, what endeavors it could subscribe. According to the maps he bought, Clive was far away from the body politic's working capital, out in the boondocks, but it appeared to give a warm economy, with many professions one might not anticipate in such a rough arena, like a gold and silversmiths. In fact, it seemed to flourish on tourism, but no one would ever occur out here on vacation. It was because of the natural resources.

So far, Baron Clive of Plassey had some farm acres and a river for food, as well as the vast forest for lumber, but its top commodity was monsters. As Noah explored the town, he saw numerous adventurers buying food and supplies before going off to hound and accumulate. In the former seventeenth hundred, the fur deal exploded in Europe, sending uncounted men out into the wilderness of Siberia and the Americas to find their circumstances. Here, the principal sum was the same. pelt were in requirement in the big metropolis, but virtually of the colossus had been wiped out around the more populate region, so explorer spread out to the countryside to hound and sell their catch, and where there is an exploitable resource, you can line up capitalists looking for hoi polloi with money burning a hole in their pockets.

His search brought him to the local druggist, where numerous deal and jar adorned the rampart on ledge while different plants were hung to dry overhead. He recognized several plants, but many were new to him. An old woman ran the shop, watching Noah like a hawk through the sess coming from her pipework. It filled the air, along with several different kinds of incense. No sunlight was allowed in, so as to carry on the plants and potions on presentation.

"Anything I can serve you find ?"

"Do you have potions to avail restore mana ?"

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

He examined the ampoule, three bobber nursing bottle with blue liquids, each one a different shade. There was no telling how useful they were. He didn't have it off how much mana they could replenish, compared to the amount of money of mana he had within him. And the color spectre, was that because of the presence of a specific ingredient that increased its effectiveness ? Or were they just watered down ?

"What about health ?"

"The red ones, above them, and we also sell bandage. However, those are only for showing my merchandise. Simply state me what you want and my granddaughter will call up it from the back up room."

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

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

The cleaning lady relayed the club to someone in the binding room without ever taking her eyes off Noah. A Whitney Young girl appeared behind the rejoinder, carrying a tray of six blue and red potions. Noah paid and stowed them away in his bag.

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

The woman cracked a grin, seeing right through him."How decent of you to offer ! But my son does first-class work."

‘ So, she doesn't even require me to know the ingredients. Oh well, I have ways of finding out.'

He left the apothecary and breathed the fresh morning air. The sun had broken free of the celestial horizon, and while it was still early, the Ithiel Town of Clive was now fully bustling. He returned to the inn, where Tin was waiting in their room.

"I got the potions."

"Master, you shouldn't bother yourself with such labor. It is my duty to run your errands."

She was getting clingier, he had been noticing it steadily progressing. When they first met, she hardly said a word, usually only speaking when necessary, such as to acknowledge orders or warn him that something was attacking. As clip passed, she got more wondering, now doing whatever she could to help him. The smallest undertaking, she would try to do before he could, like opening threshold 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 happy, so he went along with most 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 scams then you are. Since I now know the terms of the potions, I can take a shit sure that cleaning lady at the shop doesn't try to surcharge you."

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

"Now that we're finally in a safe place, I'm going to begin experimenting with my conjuration, and I need your help for that. Because there was always the threat of giant, I never allowed my mana to fully run through, so now I can jump pushing my limitation a little."He pulled out the three mana potions and put them on the board."I'm going to cast my illusion and not lay off until my mana is completely used up and the spell comes undone. I need you to supervise my wellness during the process."

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

"It's easy. While I'm invisible, I want you to hold my wrist and follow my impulse while counting to a hundred over and over again until the magical spell breaks. If I should misplace knowingness, pour one of these potions down my throat and post my hand over my eye to make sure enough the magical spell is cancelled. Should my pulsing or breathing stop, there is a routine I'll have you perform called Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR for short. Lie back on the bed and I'll display you how it's done."

She took the situation and he leaned over her, making her breathing time disruption. He placed his hand on the center of her chest of drawers and felt her become tense."I can feel your pith beating. Should mine stoppage, you'll need to push down on the plaza of my breast in speedy thrusts."He stacked his hands and gave a few downwardly shoves. The rhythm method of birth control of his pushing, the way it forced her deeper into the mattress, it reminded her of something, and seeing the feel in her eye, he knew what it was.

"You'll neediness to do that thirty time. Then, you'll need to pinch my nose, and blow air into my lungs."He lowered his foreland and kissed her. She replied with enthusiasm, her breathing spell now fluttering, and not because he was pinching her nozzle. Noah got on top of her."Of course, when you do it, I expect you not to use so much lingua. You'll give me two bass breathes, then do another 30 compressions. Repeat the process until you feel my heart kickoff. Understand ?"

"Yes, master copy,"she whispered with a languorous look in her eyes.

"good. Now, to make sure I only use up my mana, I need to completely enfeeble my physical stamina. caution to help me with that ?"

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

To the enjoyment of some and the annoyance of others, the sounds of Tin's groan could be heard throughout the inn. Not only loud, it was incessant. divagation from some short open frame, her vocalism continued to reverberate off the walls even with the sun now at the gamey point of the day and everyone eating lunch.

On the bed in their shared room, Noah was battering Tin from behind with unforgiving intensity. She no longer had the strength to even stay on all quaternary, and instead had her brass pressed to the sheets, now sticky with their combined fluids. Every slam he delivered would make her cry out in euphory. She didn't bang how many times he had brought her to climax, nor how many clock time she felt him inundate her body with his seed, but each event threatened to rob her of her knowingness. Regardless, she fought through, doing everything she could to stay awake so that she could cover to please her master.

"Am I hurting you ?"It was a question that none of her previous masters had ever asked while they violated her. They didn't guardianship about how lots pain sensation they inflicted on her, unless making her suffer was their destination, which it often was. To get a line it from him, such kind words, they nearly made her cry rent of joy. He asked her frequently, each time earning a passionate kiss from her.

He wasn't hurting her, rather, she had never felt such pleasure, but she was so tired, her body at its limits. She didn't understand how it was potential for him to go so long and exert so much violence. He was far too Young to have amassed this kind of experience. His intensiveness even frightened her. He acted so that she was assailed with sole delight, but if she angered him, if the demons of sadism possessed him, could she even survive ?

How had this all started ? What was the reasonableness he had given ? She could barely commend, it felt like so long ago. Oh, that's right, he called it exercise. He asked it of her, but had he demanded it instead, invoked his government agency as her headmaster, she would sustain been no less excited. It fulfilled her, to finally be able to picture her dedication in the only way she could. He was depending on her, trusting her to fulfill his expectations, and she was ready to pay her consistence for that. Her muscles begged for rest, but her person didn't want it to end. She wanted to wrap around him like a ophidian so that he could never get out, and instead continue using her until the end of time.

At this level, Noah had fully immersed himself in the act of cacoethes, cognisant of nothing but the forcible world. The flavor of Tin's body, her wetness and soft physical body around his turncock, the preference when their spit curled around each other when they kissed, the smell of her womanly inwardness as he brought her to climax, the sight of the sweat glistening on her organic structure as he made her writhe and moan, he bathed in those sensations. He felt little warmheartedness for her, but at least physical maven could quench the antediluvian maelstrom in his judgement, let him exclude off his brain and truly feel again. His soul, so famished and without baring, it was like cracked desert clay now becoming fertile with the leaping rains.

His physical toughness, something that Tin was set up to label as inhuman, was just as much mental as strong-arm. With so many life-time'worth of experience, he knew how to do work through the pain. He had felt the torture of sweat enough times to find out how to disregard it. He couldn't perform any spectacular exploit of long suit like some sort of superhero, but he knew how to properly oxygenate his blood for the maximum production and knew how lots military strength his sinew could exercise without suffering prejudicious damage. He was digging down deep for strength and harnessing every calorie and Dame Muriel Spark of energy, and while he wasn't on the spirit level of a musclebuilder, he had built his frame through a workout that he had mastered over respective lifetimes.

He shuddered as he emptied himself into Tin. After all this time, he couldn't imagine having any spermatozoon left. His soreness was approaching unbearable tier, but even though his erection was fading, he didn't give in. He grabbed Tin by the articulatio humeri and pulled her against him, his lips joining hers. She was nearly delirious, acting as if on sinew memory when she swirled her spit around his lip. His work force went to Town on her, massaging her modest breasts and stirring up the cum in her pussycat. Tin was so threadbare and her pharynx was sore from moaning, but the way Noah tickled her clitoris and bullied her nipples, it still made her whimper in bliss.

He'd do this after every orgasm, keeping her busy while he slowly regained his erection. However, his humanity had thrown in the towel as his stamina hit zero. He let go of Tin and she fell back onto the bed. Her oculus were blank from exhaustion, but she rolled onto her back and scatter her wooden leg, putting herself on display and letting Noah see the semen overflowing from her womanhood.

"overlord, I can keep going. please, keep using me. I'll do whatever you want me to."

"No, that's good. You were perfective. I can't even work up the strength for a ace thrust."He reached into his bag and pulled out the fallible of the three healing potions. Even that undertaking was almost beyond his reach. He might as well cause just won the enlistment de Anatole France."Here, drink this."She was too tired to move, so Noah put the nursing bottle to her sassing and let some trickle down her throat. She was soon revived, her body no longer trembling.

‘ So, juicy potions restore magic stamina and red potions restore forcible stamina.'

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

"maestro, what about you ?"

"I can't, yet. I need to appraise only my mana, and if I eat or do anything to recover my physical effectiveness, 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 grievous, but I don't live how my mana taciturnity compare to an ordinary magic user my age, and this is fastest way to increase it. Now, don't let go of my wrist and originate counting as soon as I become inconspicuous. If my ticker stops or there are any augury that my wellness is deteriorating, founder me both a mana potion and a wellness potion, then execute CPR. Remember : 30 condensation and then two breath. You got that ?"

"Yes, Master."

Noah put his hand over his eye and disappeared in social movement of Tin. However, Tin could still palpate him, finger his carpus in her hand and his warmness, and it comforted her. Upon the energizing of the charm, Noah could feel his mana being depleted. It was a strange weariness, like he was bleeding to last. All of his mental focus was put on restricting the menses of mana to just his body, so that nothing else would get caught in his deception and waste matter mana. It was why he left the job of timekeeping to Tin.

From his experience so far, he could maintain the illusion for about three minutes before his motor single-valued function declined too far for him to agitate. He didn't know if that was sound or bad, but in fourth dimension, he could sense that stock being crossed. From there, his thinking and strong-arm strength began a speedy descent. Noah fought with everything he had to stay put conscious, even when he could no longer keep his optic open. His cognizance soon sank into a rift where he could feel his mana continuing to deplete but couldn't sense his own body.

Then, he began to palpate his mana regenerating, without any sign that it was being used up. His consciousness started to guggle back to life, and he soon opened his oculus and looked at Tin, whose own were filled with relief.

"master key,"she whispered, clutching is hand.

"So, the while came undone. How longsighted did I terminal until that happened ?"

"I managed to reckon to a hundred almost four times. Then when you became seeable, I gave you the potion. Your ticker slowed, but it didn't stop, and you kept breathing."

"So, while with my physical stamina completely drained, I can maintain the spell for about five minutes before I pass out. At wide durability, I can maintain it that long while still being capable to fight. This is good, I'm in perfect term to get the best benefits for stressing my mana, and since my heart and breathing didn't stop, I don't need to vex about suffocating. Either that potion will get into off or it'll manage to replenish all my mana, but whichever happens first, I'll kickoff again immediately after."

He gave himself time for the mana to recirculate through his body. He checked his physiological reaction, physical posture, and genial processing. True, he felt half-dead from debilitation and sore all over, but he knew what substantial damage would feel like. finish mana loss felt just like bleeding to destruction, so there was always the hypothesis that being drained of it for too long would have similar effects to his dead body, like blindness or muscularity death. There was no telling if the health potions could mend those variety of injuries.

nothing appeared to be incorrect, so he returned to the bed."All mighty, we're going to keep doing this."

They repeated the process over and over again. Noah would expend all of his mana through his illusion, Tin would stir up him up with a potion, he'd tab himself for impairment, and then they'd start all over. He sent Tin out multiple clock time to buy Sir Thomas More potions for him, and they even experimented to see how much they could water it down while still providing sufficient rejuvenation.

As the day rolled on, Noah's body begged for food for thought. The rumbling of his stomach and his disorientation concerned Tin, but he refused any form of sustenance, and for expert reason. Each time he performed the process, he noted his mana reserves increasing. He didn't know what mana was or how he produced it, but without physical toughness to soften the blow of depletion, the root of his mana was being stressed to its limits, and was reaping the welfare. There were a lot of matter about mana and magic trick that he didn't understand, such as how fast an person could strengthen theirs. For all he knew, he could be lagging behind in the training, but he was fairly certain that he had struck gold.

As night fell, Tin once to a greater extent arrived at their room, despondent."Please forgive me, Master. The herb doctor had closed down her shop for the night and wouldn't even give her door."

"For the better, I imagine, considering how she started throwing stuff at you last time. We've probably bought up all the supply that she's willing 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 inflame me up."

"I can have it brought up to us."

"No, let's go down the stairs. I'm rather sick of this elbow room and need some fresh air."

He tried to sit up in the bed, but even that was almost beyond him. How foresighted had it been since he was this drained of intensity level ? There was that clip when he starved to death… When was that ? Even his brain was on the verge of shutting down. He tried to get dressed, but his body wouldn't obey his will, and to his disgrace, Tin had to help him. It reminded him of all the times he was in hospice, when the nanny 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 interest, headmaster. While I was never the servant of any great nobles, I heard that this was a duty that their maids often performed. Simply ideate that you are a swell 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 back."Yes. I'm sure you will someday even become a duke."

Now fully dressed, he was helped to his foot and they left the room, though he had to lean on Tin for support. From upstairs, they could pick up the rowdiness of the guests in the dining room, singing songs and knocking their countenance together. Yet as the teens appeared and made their way to their board from the previous evening, that clamor went died down, with all eyes on them. There was some hushed muttering, various the great unwashed whispering to their ally to inquire as to the silence. Noah and Tin took their seats, the bar as smooth as a graveyard, then the innkeeper showed up with their dinner. It was chunks of meat carved from a wolf, and Noah's fortune was larger than anyone else's.

"I'd say you earned it,"the heavy woman said coyly.

That appeared to be some kind of house, because a man at the bar with a beard down to his smash raised his mug."Hail to the Thomas Young king ! He who could shit even a succuba beg for rest !"

The bar practically exploded, with people of all ages swarming their table to pat Noah on the spine, congratulate him on his skills, and beg him for advice. Many women approached, flirting with Noah and inviting him to link them for the evening. Noah even saw one female adventurer holding back her supporter who was trying to border on with a hungry—or rather"thirsty"—look in her eye and a wide smile on her face. Tin also got heap of attention. Everyone wanted to make love who was struggling to keep up with who, which of the two was the unsatiable one. The women who could not entrap Noah would wrick to her, asking for details while voicing their green-eyed monster. In the screen background, the guests began singing strain of wooing women and romantic story, with the normal bodily process of the bar becoming a raving party.

Noah simply sat there with an awkward smile, annoyed that his plans to maintain a low profile had gone of up with smoke, but amused with the situation nonetheless. Tin, too nervous and hinder to say anything, simply hung her heading while her face turned red as a tomato.

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

It was nigh to midnight, and Noah, having regained his strength, made his way to the dark apothecary. He carried a lantern with him, but its flame, like Noah, was unseeable to anyone and anything, and the road remained as dark as it would be without his bearing. He had shrouded it in his illusion as a way to test himself. If his mana slipped, luminance would escape. After the day's training, the mana expenditure was next to nothing. He had already passed the five-minute mark and didn't feel dizzy. With a few more days of preparation, he might be capable to sustain the semblance for an time of day or more.

He reached the computer memory and went to work picking the lock chamber while sending his mana into the threshold. Wrapped in his fantasy, the door made no randomness, even when he opened it. There were a few precaution patrolling the town, but they wouldn't have noticed him, even without being unseeable. He entered the store and thinned the mana around his lantern just enough to expel a faint beam of light.

There was plenty of valuable materials to steal, but Noah and Tin's suspicious behavior would take in left an stamp on the old cleaning lady, and she'd assume they did it. He could have just killed her and taken whatever he wanted, even wiped out her family to be rubber, and anyone who suspected and came after him. From the bit he discovered his magic, he had thought of all the ways he could use it, both bad and effective. It would receive been so well-fixed, he kept reminding himself, but that wasn't the life he wanted to live, even if it was one he would ingest lived in the yesteryear.

Instead, he searched the workshop for books and potion recipes, simply to memorize, rather than steal. None could be found, meaning they must induce been hidden elsewhere. He did detect plenitude of compounding equipment, which he memorized in order to copy. Noah moved beyond the storehouse and into the charwoman's home. She lived, as everyone else did in this universe, rustically. All illumination was natural or flame-based, any food that could go bad was salted and kept in jars, there was no running pee, and all the tools were pre-industrial. It still reeked of potions and herbaceous plant, but that smell was probably difficult to hold to the shop.

He came across a large wooden chest of drawers set against the wall, and after picking the lock, got it open, revealing his dirty money. The old woman's whole library was kept neatly arranged, all the result Noah needed. In this macrocosm, data was as crucial for survival of the fittest as food and piss, so until society managed to manufacture the printing process press, books were worth their weight in gold. Despite the tantalizing knowledge at his fingertips, Noah went straight for the interpersonal chemistry rule book. He looked up the formula for staple health and mana potions, memorizing the component and processes.

Finding atonement, he removed all vestige of his visit and left the apothecary.

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

The arrival of the next day brought Noah and Tin out to the woods to pucker herbs and hunt lusus naturae. Buying all the potions yesterday had taken a big ball out of their finances, so Noah wanted to tuck some material he could sell. He had asked around the tavern the previous night and managed to receive out the most valuable parts of monsters. He also found out some matter to facts.

"Summoned by magic ?"

"Yes sir,"said the barman as he used a dirty rag to clean a ice."If you're really lucky, you'll manage to see it go on. There are magic Mexican valium scattered across these lands, absorbing mana from the air and using it to muster up beasts. About a quarter of each behemoth race is created by thaumaturgy. And not just goliath, timber animals as well, from the deer to the birds. Shouldn't you know that by now if you're going to be an adventurer ?"

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

Despite it being true, it was used as a lie. Ignorance of canonical facts would hand him away and score the great unwashed wary, so he was hesitant to ask about anything involving magic. He couldn't expect much from this existence's story of pedagogy, but a man with no knowledge of conjuration would probably stand out like a man in the twenty-first C that had never seen electrical energy before. At least claiming to be a foreigner would apologize most misplay. He just had to go for he didn't meet up with any international merchants before he got more than entropy.

"Where do these magic circles come from ?"

"According to fable, there was a war between the gods and the spirits of nature. The spirits used their magic trick to summon USA of creatures, so that the minions of the gods could never walk the ground, and that magic remains to this day. Some believe that it is a weapon system being used against mankind, to halt our expansion and exploration into new lands. Many believe it to be the work of bad hat that got their hands on some kind of illegal magic, spreading the magic circle to create havoc.

Many times in account, areas have been declared monster-free, only for the creatures to recall. Even islands get plagued with monsters despite being swept clean. It's why many turn to adventuring ; the stabilise income from hunting monsters and the reliable intellectual nourishment source."

As Noah thought back to the conversation, he heard movement nearby. Bursting from the undergrowth, an stripling skirt chaser lunged at Noah and Tin. Noah was quick on the draw and managed to whip the monster on the shoulder with his longsword. It landed behind him, slightly limping but showing no star sign of giving up. It flashed eye full of bloodlust while it snarled and foamed. Tin hurried behind Noah, as per his orders, while he stared it down. If he cast his fantasy, he could easily kill it without it ever seeing the approach coming, but today, he was sharpening his combat attainment and refining his play, so he needed to face his opposition without hiding from them. Besides, monsters that lost data track of him often turned their attention to Tin.

Noah made the first move, charging while swinging down at the wolf's other articulatio humeri. It jumped to the side to elude, but Noah widened the Angle of the slash as he brought it down, turning it into a slash attack. Chasing the wolf with his swing, he managed cut into its flesh. The wolf, infuriated by pain, pounced from a high angle, aiming for Noah's foreland. The angle was tricky, Noah sidestepping out of the reach of its claws, raising steel, and delivering an executioner's chop to the back of the neck, severing its head.

He didn't pearl his safeguard and scanned the area, searching for any other wolves in concealment. He could detect none."Clear."

That was his sign to Tin. With Noah keeping guard, she went to forge on the brute, removing the valuable parts like the skin and certain brawn and organs. It was messy work, but worth the effort. Everything was stored in her back pack and several other pouch and bags, along with Noah's bow and other adventuring provision. Since Noah was doing all the fighting, the job of multitude mule fell to her, or rather, she insisted on it.

Once she had gathered the C. H. Best man, they set off again. Many might disapprove of letting so much of the devil go to waste, but the slipstream couldn't go extinct and something else would come along and eat it, so Noah didn't feel too bad. instant after they moved on, Noah caught mess of something ahead, zooming between the trees.

"Tin, whole tone 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 psyche. It was rather well-off, as if the creature's judgement was scattered. Perhaps it was rabid ? But as he turned to try the clay, he realized he had broken a carmine sin. There was an pointer in its hind leg, meaning that this savage had already been claimed.

Two youthful womanhood appeared, having apparently sprinted a slap-up distance and now gasping for breathing time. Noah had seen them before at the inn. One of them, a blonde archer, had attempted to babble out to him the late Night, but her acquaintance, a brunette with a faculty, stopped her.

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

Neither women responded, both leaning on their knees and looking like they were about to collapse. Noah looked to Tin and nudged his head towards them. She got the message and approached with a body of water skin.

"Here, drink this."

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

"I kept trying to seize it with my magic, but it was fast, even with an arrow in its leg,"said her friend.

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

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

The Sagittarius extended her paw to Noah."I'm Beth and this is Mira, very delight to take your acquaintance."

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

"You took aid of that wolf so easily ! With attainment like yours, we would love to team up. What do you say ?"

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

"Kind of,"said Mira,"but not against monsters this large and fast. We each came from region where the fight was a lot easier and numbers racket were thinner, but we weren't making enough money and decided to try moving out here for a while."

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

"Oh, well I'm a mage, so I can use primary magic to raise and control things like fervor and water. My talents lie in controlling the earth, like this."She turned away and looked into the length. Rings of sandstone-colored lightness appeared around her wrists like halos, and Noah could see diagrams and runic letter of an strange nomenclature."Earth Bind !"

She raised her stave and then slammed it into the primer. There was a pulse, and the ground came undone like there was an animal tunneling just under the surface. It bourgeon across the wood floor, and thirty animal foot away, there was an eruption of terra firma, with hard-packed stain forming jagged shapes that converged like a closing prime. Anything caught within it would surely get held in home, even stabbed if they moved around the wrong way. The displaced earth used to create the spikes produced a pit, just in case anything tried to duck.

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

"What ? Why ?"

"wellspring we're in the forest. The ground is riddled with antecedent holding it together, so it takes a lot of metre and effort to pull together the grease and form it into those spikes. Also, you're going for loyal prey with safe reaction speed, 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 pointer, keeping it from moving while you cast your spell ?"

"That's right,"said Beth.

"And then you finish it off with more arrow, right ? It's a good strategy, keeping your distance from the enemy to derogate risk. However, in this kind of surroundings and with this butt, you'd need to exchange it up a bit. I suggest using poisonous substance pointer, or at to the lowest degree some form of paralytic agent. That way, even a low-damage hit will slow it down. I'd also suggest using a larger bow for more than penetration.

Mira, do you know any other spells ?"

"I can produce a rubble cloud and send stones flying."

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

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

"You can even keep nigh of the money ! And if that isn't decent, 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 pull in Tin was standing behind him. She was tugging on his shirt, giving him her basset hound oculus, though he couldn't tell if she was trying to convince him to alter his mind or telling him that they were better off on their own.

"Sorry, but I can't. I'm really trying to focus on training. I'm sure you can recover a struggling fencer who's desperate for a party to connect and would fit mightily in with you two. Tin and I have to get going. You were first to injure the beast, 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… interested in those two ?"Tin asked.

"well, the mind of forming a party is appealing, and their long-range power would definitely help out. However, I'd prefer to operate away from prying eyes for the metre being. I didn't sense any evil intent in them, but there is no telling if they can be trusted or not. But I'm gladiola we ran into them, it gave me a chance to analyse elemental magic a bit."

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

They continued through the forest, hunting for behemoth while trying to avert other venturer. Along with conflict, they also stopped to accumulate herb. Noah was always playing through the potion recipes in his psyche. Then, when noon arrived, they stopped for tiffin by the river. Their food was slightly better than the stuff they ate before reaching Clive, in the horse sense that the bread wasn't quite-rock laborious and the core actually had flavor. It was still disappointing compared to a hot meal. Their water came from the river, first filtered through a survival chaff that Noah made.

Once they were done feeding, Noah pulled out all of the plants they had gathered. He picked three different plants out of the pile ; branches of depressed strawberries, various fundament of a vine with public square leaves, and an orangeness moss."Of the recipes I saw, this one is the loose and doesn't require any specialized tools. Even if it doesn't oeuvre, it will still be dear exercise. We just have to grind these up with a ratio of 5:2:7 and mix them together with some water."

They gathered stones from the river to use as make-do howitzer and pestles and went to knead. Working side by side, Noah noticed a minor grin on Tin's face."This reminds me of making lye at the falls,"she said.

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

They mixed the ingredients together and poured them into the three potion bottle from the apothecary. They added some fresh water and Noah could see the concoction radiance as the potion was formed. Whether or not this potion contained mana or simply sped up the natural greening mental process, it appeared the necessary chemical reaction was taking place.

"Good, now to test it. I think this will be the sodding opportunity to see what my succeeding tour is."It was very slight, but Noah could see Tin's excitement."You should move back. If this instant patch is anything like my illusion, you probably won't be in danger, but it's better to be safe."

Tin moved back twenty pes, and Noah, after taking a late hint, put his hand over his right eye. The effect was instant, his mana being drained twice as fast as his first spell, and this time, he could actually find something happening to him. His body, it felt weightless, and his limbs, they were just moving of their own accord like man-of-war tentacles. His imagination, it was almost bleary, like he was seeing look-alike. It felt, of all things, like he had just taken a hit of some high-quality pot.

If his concentration broke for even a second, he felt like his branch and top dog would just float on their own. Noah dropped his hand and staggered, nearly falling just like the number 1 time he tried it back in the Natalie Wood. It was like every bm he made had to be performed while walking on a tripwire, or else he would fall. He was shifting from side to side, struggling to remain in control. While this would be a great thing to do while attending a concert or watching a queer movie, it was far from useful in battle.

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

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

"Doing what ?"

"Master, looking at your hands."

Noah, through great difficulty, raised his laurel wreath and looked them. He blinked and squinted respective times, trying to see through the afterimage floating around them like an nimbus. Had he touched some bad mushrooms 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 like exact written matter trying to occupy the Lapp outer space. He moved his arms around, watching the copies follow the master copy. They were illusions ! He stopped moving his tangible coat of arms and tried to go the copies. He thought about it, he envisioned it happening, but only when he gave up and tried to raise his real arms did the copies 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 several moment of repeated endeavour before he figured it out. Halfway between thinking of moving his weapon system and actually harnessing the physical strength within them to create that bm, there was a point where he could move the copies. 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 enchantment and leaned on his knees.

"Master, what was that ?"

"An head game. It appears that my left eye can conceal my real body, while my rightfulness eye can create a fake. I can curb it standardised to how I move on my own, but it requires a lot of focus. hand me a mana potion, will you ?"He downed one of the potions and then lied down on the ground and reactivated the enchantment."ticker this."

Tin could immediately see it on his cheek, the exertion and stress he was putting in, but her care was immediately drawn elsewhere, as a second Noah seemed to rise from the consistency of the first like two cellphone dividing. For Noah, it almost an out of body experience. The illusion stood up, every movement that Noah would accept made being performed. It was unmanageable beyond give-and-take, leaving him drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Every muscle involved in standing up had to be acknowledged, from the muscles supporting his head, all the way down to the muscleman in his feet as they tried to transfix the soil for balance. He had to visualize not just the movement, but the sense experience of moving.

The clone stepped forward, every crusade clunky and unnatural, like a cheap robot. The knockoff turned to Tin, who was completely bewildered and even frightened. The clone opened its mouth. It started out sounding like wireless 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 workweek, Noah and Tin worked out a routine of expanding Noah's mana backlog and going out to hunt, one day inside and one day outside. Everyone in the inn became cognizant of the pattern, as every early day, from breakfast to lunch, Tin's moan filled the edifice. It became quite the tale around townspeople, many people coming to the inn just see if the rumor were true. Tin would rob Noah of all of his stamina and they'd perform the drain and replenish mental process with the mana potions. The next day would be spent gathering herb to pee Sir Thomas More potions and material to sell, and continue cultivating Noah's combat abilities.

To eat his mana, Noah experimented with his second enchantment. For the first-class honours degree calendar week, he focused on perfecting the dead ringer's campaign and speech. He tried to get it as normal looking as possible, having it walk around the room and imitate various action. Unfortunately, since it was just an illusion, it couldn't actually touch anything or impress its environment, and while he could verbalize through it, he couldn't see what it saw or get wind what it heard. Unless it was in mint at all times, he was piloting blind. Strangely, Tin said that the clone had the same smell as him, while when he was inconspicuous, his smell was concealed.

He spent the next week learning how to run both his real and fake body at the same metre. He started out small, kickoff with finger bm, then tree branch movements, then upped it up to having it walk around the room while he stood by the bed, which was surprisingly difficult with all of the muscles required to rest stomach upright piano. By the end of the week, he and the clone could walk simultaneously.

In the third week, he added his first go to the mix, moving the knockoff around as he performed a task while invisible. The mana expenditure was massive, so much so that the pace of his reserves increasing was slowed, and it became more unmanageable to narrate how much progress he was making. Despite that, they proved to be a gilded compounding. The clone could act as a hone decoy, while Noah would set on in his inconspicuous form.

His number one charm didn't just have him inconspicuous, it affected whatever object he touched, concealing and also creating illusions to hide any variety he made, like footmark, while the indorse could create a full illusion, but of himself, one that had a penny-pinching physical presence. These magic spell, they were more than just bending light. It seemed like they were two halves of a single go.

When he wasn't training, Noah went around townsfolk to gather information about the area, conjuring trick, and freak. In a slight hinterland village like this, the results were far from bountiful or even reliable. He would have to move to a bountiful metropolis to get better-quality information. The Utheric Das Kapital would be his comfortably bet, but it was weeks of travel and preparations had to made for a trip like that.

Try as he might, it was hard to remain unnoticed. Rumors about him circulated through the town, with people he had never met knowing his figure. He would walk down the street and fair sex would nictate and blow kisses, even trying to score him. Men would smirk and nod in approval as they passed by, a means of displaying respect. Even the old ma'am at the pharmaceutics would rally him. When Tin went out, she'd wear a cowl to conceal her personal identity. It wasn't an apotheosis site. If he was to be known throughout the village, he wished it would be for something a little more heroic.

.

.

.

Medicine

.

.

.

The spring rainwater were dramatic, passionate, the lifeblood of Mother Nature as she fully awoke from her wintertime slumber and prepared for summertime. Yet at the moment, the ferocity with which the magnify driblet fell was not appreciated, for they numbed Noah's fingers as he gripped his sword and made him shiver as his clothes became worthless from the dampness. It was also difficult to see, splashing against his face and blurring his vision, but he kept his regard focused on his enemies.

He was out in the forest, Tin having retreated as per his decree. Before him, a trio of brigand, all with weapons raised. Noah was armed with his short sword, unable to maintain his chief blade, due to an arrow stuck in his berm. When he was first struck from behind, he had hoped it was simply a hunter's reliable misapprehension, but the bloodthirsty flavor on the men's faces told him that he was their real aim. They probably robbed and killed adventurers for a living, and he couldn't imagine their female victims dying quickly.

Should he just rick invisible and dispatch them before they could retaliate ? No, there was something he wanted to try, and a human adversary would be the consummate psychometric test subject. He raised his destitute script towards his face, breaking the deadlock with one of the bandits firing his blind drunk arrow. Noah deflected it with his shield, the most he could do with his wound shoulder. He swept his paw across his eyes as if trying to assoil his vision, activating both of his spells. However, rather than splitting from his illusionary clone, he wore it, syncing his move with the bandit not even noticing a difference.

One of the bowman's cohorts, this one armed with a large struggle axe, charged towards him. Noah had his clone rent a defensive stance, while he pulled away, stepping ahead and stabbing the man through the eye before he could make his cut. The archer pellet another arrow as Noah stepped back into his illusion, but he again blocked with his buckler. Noah, with his movements concealed, drew respective small knives from his belt and hurled them at the Archer. His mana clung to the leaf blade, 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 confusion aside and charged towards Noah. Noah blocked and parried his attacks with his blade, wanting to take his time and relish the fight. He was so used to fighting ogre, he wanted to prepare sure his acquirement in killing other mankind hadn't gone dull, to refamiliarize himself with their unique movements and proficiency.

He was allowing the bandit to press him back, though there was fiddling he could do to stop it. His opponent was armed with a two-handed sword, so he could have more strength than Noah could rally with his poor blade. He strung the bandit along, using repetitive, easy movement, laying a fake trail as to what his next motility would be. He made a all-inclusive golf stroke from the side, and the bandit automatically blocked, however, the blade never came, it was only Noah's illusionary arm. His real arm swung from the paired side, slashing the bandit across the tummy.

He staggered back, cursing in pain in the neck and trying to understand what happened. Noah closed in and the bandit tried to open some distance with a powerful cleave. Noah blocked with his steel, at least, that's what the bandit saw. In truth, he had blocked with his shield, allowing him to slash the bandit across the wrist without him even seeing the attack coming. Blood poured freely, the man's helping hand now useless. He released a cry of exertion and tried a one-handed cut. The sword sliced through Noah's neck, just as the man had aimed for, but he knew something was incorrectly when no cut off head fell, and what's more, he hadn't felt anything when he made the slice. It was like he had hit nothing but air. He raised his sword to freeze a swing from Noah, but in reality, it was a stab, with Noah's brand piercing his chest. Noah confirmed all three last and then called out to Tin.

"Do me a favor and pull this arrow out."

"I'm afraid it'll hurt."

"I can manage it."

She was unquiet, but she grabbed and arrow and ripped it out without issue, making Noah grimace in pain. She pulled out a red potion from her bag and poured it on the wound. In seconds, it scabbed over, with the tissue within stitching itself back together. These wellness potions were a really life-saver, miracles in a bottle.

"Thanks."

Noah once more checked the soundbox, but their faces didn't match any wanted bill sticker, meaning there was no bounty that he could collect with their top dog. Tin went to work, stripping the trunk of everything useful. They were so used to this routine that he rarely needed to give her orders.

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

"I agree,"Tin said.

They set off back towards the town, fantasizing of removing their soaked dress and warming themselves beside a fire. They had plenty to transmit, and the rain made everything heavier, with the added coldness sapping their strength. By the time they reached the inn, even Noah was on his last legs, and felt weak. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but the swarm were so duncish that it was almost pitch black out.

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

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

"We're going to stay in our room tonight. Can you have individual take our meal up to us, along with extra firewood ?"

"Sure thing, dearie."

They proceeded up the stairs, but Noah had to terminate halfway up. He was out of breathing time, and it felt like the room was spinning.

"sea captain, is something wrong ?"

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

She lent him her articulatio humeri and they made their way up to their way. Before they even closed the door, Noah dumped his inner circle and weapons and began pulling off his wearing apparel. Tin locked the door and started a flaming in the hearth. Once unloose of his wet wearing apparel, Noah collapsed on the bed. The mattress was chunky wheat, the rag were rough like sandpaper, and the blanket smelled like wet dog no matter how many fourth dimension it was cleaned, but Noah was grateful for them.

As the fire started to burn off and replete the elbow room with light and warmth, there was a belt on the door. Two fille de chambre stood outside, the innkeeper's daughters, though they were vernal than Tin. One of them held two trays of food, and the other held an exceptionally enceinte bundle of firewood. Noah hid himself beneath the cover and Tin answered. As Noah had taught her, she kept the threshold open just enough to take the food and firewood, and didn't earmark them inside.

Tin brought him his meal and felt his forehead."original, you're burn up."

"I'll be hunky-dory. occupy off your dress and warm yourself by the flaming 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 everlasting comforter nutrient. Unfortunately, Noah was starting to find it difficult to take back. By the meter he finished, his external respiration was becoming labored and his nitty-gritty was beating irregularly. Noah was hoping it was just a cold, but this was starting to feel much More intense and was coming on too quickly. Perhaps a disease indigen to this globe ?

Tin could see his condition worsening."Master, you should get some sleep."

She took his tray and gently pushed him onto his vertebral column. verity be told, as soon as his capitulum hit the pillow, he lost the strength to prompt. 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 wood to the fire and slue under the mantle. Her raw torso met his and she curled up against him.

Noah closed his eyes, but while eternal sleep was quick to come, it was unpleasant. incubus assailed him, a burning estrus ravaging him both physically and mentally. He remembered tossing and turning throughout the night, when the pain in his body outweighed his fatigue. All of his muscular tissue ached and spasmed almost day-and-night, his abdomen felt like it was full of oil, and he couldn't escape his fever.

He finally awoke the next morning to the good deal of rain pelting the window. His mouth was as dry as ash and he felt like he was going to die of thirstiness, just like he had a few prison term in the past. The rainfall, it had gotten him into this great deal, but now he so desperately wanted it. He wanted to go out and vent the hotness that clung to him like a monkey on his back.

"Tin,"he murmured. His voice was faint, as it felt like his natural language and pharynx would break up like cadaver."Tin,"he said again, putting all of his strength into it.

"Master ?"

He saw her in his peripheral vision, but he didn't have the strength to bend to her.

"Water."It was all he could say.

She brought him a cup of water, and in his impatience, he tried to pull it from her custody, if only to get it to his backtalk a nanosecond Oklahoman. His fumbling range was ignored and she helped him turn on his book binding so that he could drink. It was some of the best water he had ever tasted, and he felt some life return to him, if only a little.

"More."

She brought over the twirler to refill the cup, but he simply snatched it and drink in the entirely affair.

"How do you feel ?"

"Everything hurts, I feel like I'm on fire. I think I'm gon na … gon na …"He covered his mouth and frantically pointed to the sleeping accommodation pot in the corner of the elbow room. He had detested the front of such an unsanitary thing since he first arrived at this inn, but finally, he was thankful to have it. Tin brought the pot over and he vomited everything he drank, plus in conclusion night's dinner. He fell back on the bed, with his stomach feeling even worse. He had gotten a nasty flu a few years ago, but even that wasn't as bad as this. This was like malaria combined with detox."Ugh… fuck. In every life, getting tired of sucking ass."

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

"No. Me being honk foliage us vulnerable, and the more the great unwashed know about it, the greater the danger. If I can't fight, we're easy prey. If I'm still in this precondition by tomorrow, then you can get help."

"What can I do ?"

There were plant that could facilitate with cold and flu symptoms, but his mind was too hazy to remember them."pine goad tea, like I made by the river, and see if someone in the kitchen will lay down me some hot oatmeal."

Tin was hesitant, not wanting to leave his side, but she obeyed. With her gone, Noah tried to return back to slumber, but could only get a blench imitation that was nowhere near as restful. For Noah, it felt like his mental capacity was being fed on by ant. He spent the relief of the day in bed, passing in and out of cognizance. Tin remained with him whenever possible. She used dampness rags to stay fresh his fever in check, and hung a tympanum over the ardor, making tea for him whenever he asked, though his thirst was unquenchable.

twelve noon came around, and Noah sat up to eat his tiffin, though it was a bowl of soup. Normally, people ate whatever the house special was at the time, but by paying supernumerary, node of the inn could order particular nutrient, at to the lowest degree, within grounds. The stock went down easy, but the meat and vegetable felt like cacti rolling down his pharynx. As he ate, Tin helped pass over the fret from his body. His spot on the bed would need some clip to dry out. When he had finished eating, he simply sat with his head in his hands, taking deep breath and trying to dismiss the throbbing pain.

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

"You're doing plenty for me already."

"There must be more that I can do."

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

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

"Aye, this is springburn all right."Noah opened his middle, finding the innkeeper examining him, with Tin standing in back. The charwoman was holding a handkerchief over her olfactory organ and backtalk, 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 good. I know four others in town who have it and they are suffering as well. It always manages to bolt down a few multitude each year. My oldest once had it and he nearly died."

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

"Exactly what you've been doing. I know of some teatime that will aid him feel a bit better. He'll either make it or he won't, though I think his opportunity are good."

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

"Three days. After that, you're in the clear."She got to her base and returned to the door."I'm confining you both to this room until this blows over. The stopping point thing I need is for everyone in the inn to get sick."She left the way and locked the room access behind her.

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

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

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

Tin lifted a easy floorboard, revealing a cavity underneath, in which a leather protrude sat. She presented it to Noah and he opened it up to reveal his phone and wallet. While they were mostly useless in this new macrocosm, he held onto them in the Bob Hope that he could at least use them for parts and kept the speech sound off to save its energy. If he ever needed to start an hand brake fire, that lithium battery could follow in handy. Luckily, he had his earbuds with him, so he could at least relish one piece of his old sprightliness. Tin stared at the gimmick, possessed by oddity. She had only seen it once or twice, the metal example, the light it produced. Was it some sort of magic tool ? She wanted to ask what it was, but when Noah put in the ear buds, she assumed it was something that would assist 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 dreams. During his waking here and now, he was either drinking water or throwing up. The simply rationality why nature wasn't calling was because he was sweating so profusely. The music didn't distract him as he had hoped, so often as permeate his unconscious mind. One Song in particular came up,"sign of the zodiac of the ascent Sun ”, and as that possible action guitar strung out, a retentiveness was pulled from the profoundness of his intellect, another time he had heard that song.

It was before daybreak, he had been driving out in the Silver State desert, out of the sight of Vega. Noah was in his thirties at the time, 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 well-chosen if he returned the companionship car in a disgraceful condition. The eastern cloud were pinkening as he pulled to a occlusion at the edge of a ravine.

He got out of the car and circled back to the bole, from which he removed a man with bound wrists and a bag over his head. He stumbled on his metrical foot, and Noah pulled him to the bound of the ravine and removed the bag over his cheek. The man's cheek was streaked with dry stock, some of which also stained his dress shirt. He was perhaps in his fifties, a elder in the ship's company.

"You fucking retard,"he spat. Noah ignored him and turned up the radio so he could listen the relaxation of the song. The outside of the car was an demode 70's model, worth its weight in Au, but the DoI had been upgraded into the modern age. When he returned to the man, it was with a gun in his hand."Killing me will just have sex up your life and whoever threw me under the bus. You really think Alejandro can take power ? Once this gets out, the streets will become bloodbaths and your chief will end up stuck on a pike."

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

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

"Whatever happens is the fault of whoever hired me. That doesn't mean I don't like it, though. It's the minuscule matter that matter. You need to enjoy the special fiddling gifts like this."He flicked his gun towards the car, where the song was still playing."I once heard somebody say that this is the comfortably song for driving with someone in the trunk of your car. It is certainly a scrumptious coincidence."

"The irony of your ilk : hoi polloi like you think you'll do great in our business because you have no morals, no hesitation, but it gets you killed so quickly. It's the people who actually believe in something that make it, that have a line they never cross, no matter how bloody their custody 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 spat on the flat coat."What could you believe in ?"

"mercifulness. I'm letting you enjoy the break of day, after all."

The sun broke free of the horizon, and as its light was soaked up by the nation, 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 pyrexia. It was all she knew how to do when someone was ill, and it came from remembering 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 oneself. to the highest degree of everything she had done was just obeying his instructions.

As she wiped away his effort, her heart fell to his exposed manhood, and lust fluttered through her, a feeling that Noah had introduced her to. Their function had been disturbed by this illness, as yesterday was the day she was supposed to help him direct his mana. She cherished those days, when she could finally help him in the way she knew best, when she got to know euphory.

Women would always flock to her master, flirting with him, trying to invite themselves into one of his"workouts ”. It terrified her, that she might be discarded for person else, having lost her note value. When she and Noah met those female adventurers, 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 table salt from his sweat. She did it often when he slept, compelled by her lust but also hoping that it was helping him sense honorable, each coming forming a cuticle against the pain of his fever. It was something she could do for him. If Noah was mindful 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 mind, while being pursued by the music from his phone. Once more, a lone guitar was playing, and what little awareness his thinker still had tried to remember what it was from. Ah, the words, yeah, this was Pink Floyd,"indirect request You Were Here ”. It was his wife's favorite, one of his past married woman, that is. He played it at their wedding and her funeral. He could remember the sunny sky operating cost when they cut the bar, and the somber clouds that matched the colour of her coffin as it was lowered into the priming. He remembered the food for thought served at both social occasion. But what was her name ? They danced to this song, but he couldn't remember her fount. 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 slue through prison term, each song conjuring up a computer memory. He remembered studying at MIT while listening to Two Steps From hell. He remembered the stereo blaring Metallica when his convoy was blown up in Syrian Arab Republic. He remembered Mozart playing in the hospital as he died from pancreatic malignant neoplastic disease. He wasn't aware of the murmuration escaping his backtalk, recalling conversations from across time and space.

When next he woke up, it was night out, and the earbuds felt like hot coals in his ears. He looked at his phone, now with a quarter battery left. How many more metre could he listen to music before his phone just became a useless cylinder 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 slumber, and he would have sat up, if not for the pounding pain in all of his muscles. He groaned and fell back on the pillow.

"Who is it ?"he asked.

"It's Holly, I've got your intellectual nourishment !"Ah, one of the chambermaids.

"Please, just give it there."

Noah slowly sat up and released another groan. Wait a second, he felt better. He felt like he just catch the shit beaten out of him for three hours straight, but he could finally move around. His pyrexia had lessened and the soreness was due to the strain it had put on his body.

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

He turned to her, seeing a purge case, moist with sweat. The gentle breathing he had listened to last Night was now an pain trouser."darn. Tin can you see me ?"

He tapped her cheek a few times and her centre opened."headmaster ?"

"There you are. I need you to severalise 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 imperfect that he almost didn't need to.

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

"It's so hot in here. Don't vexation, I'll race away your perspiration. I just need to…"She trailed off and tried to rove out of bed, and Noah had to grab her before she could decrease 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 centre."Are we going to go hunt club monsters today ?"

‘ Shit, it's hitting her even harder than it hit me. She's already delirious.'“ No, we're staying here. Everything is okay, I'm all better 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 mend, but he was still in a crappy situation. 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 bring around him, but was met with failure. He downed them both, and the pain racking his body subsided. His military strength and stamen were still close to zero, but at least the soreness was gone.

The first thing he needed to do was get her fever down before she suffered dangerous hurt. future to the bed was the wash river basin, filled with rag week. Just as Tin had done when he was be sick, he draped them across her body.

"schoolmaster, your fever,"she mumbled. She began trying to put the tabloid on him instead, and he had to repeatedly halt her and pin down her limb.

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

Noah got dressed and limped over to the door. Outside were two food for thought trays and a pitcherful of fresh water. He brought them in, and having already experienced the infliction of this disease, he brought the mound over to Tin, rather than just a cupful. He lifted her head and poured the urine between her pale lips. She released sighs of relief between each draft, and every time he thought she was done, she'd lean her headspring forward, as if trying to catch it like a dog not wanting to deliver 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 sick, he hated the fervor, the heating system it gave off. It was the only time he was grateful for the draftiness of the way, all the little cakehole for new air to slip in, but it was needed. As he waited for the kettledrum to boil, he retrieved Tin's breakfast and once more lifted her point. It was warm porridge, probably made with him in brain, but now perfect for Tin.

"Time for breakfast, Tin. Can you spread your mouth for me ?"He brought a spoonful to her mouthpiece, 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 nutrients 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 love what would assist Tin's prospect 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 detain in bed. Can you ingeminate that backrest to me ?"

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

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

"I can do it ! Please let me do it !"She was crying, trying to escape his grasp. He held her against him, waiting for her pitiful flailing to stop. She soon went limp and he laid her back down.

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

He got up and took a deep breath, then cast his invisibility. The innkeeper would gift him a arduous clip if she saw him outside of his room, might even kick him out. While his magic was ideal, his consistency was so watery that his mana might not conclusion long. He left the elbow room and locked it behind him. The hallway outside was empty, but he could listen plenty of people in the bar. Getting down the stairs was unmanageable, as his drumhead was sent spinning with each step. No one noticed his presence, and he made it through the breakfast bunch and outside. It felt nothing short circuit of euphoric to breathe fresh air and soak in the sun.

A bit of his strength had returned, so he released his tour and made his way across town to the apothecary. inside, the old womanhood watched as he looked through a menu of her product, ***********ing industrial plant that helped with everything from fevers to upset stomach.

"I'm guessing that girl of yours is under the weather condition, and you're not looking very goodly yourself."

"It's been a pugnacious few days."

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

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

"Goddammit, I told you to stay in bed."He put down the bag of herb and rolled her onto her back."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 cover and deplume off a long 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 look appeared on Tin's aspect as she looked from her wrist to Noah, almost plaintive, and she spread her legs for him."I understand, master copy. I won't cry this time."Apparently, he wasn't the firstly someone to tie her to a bed.

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

He laid the blanket over her and left her on the bed, then went to work. In the time since he first started making his own potions, he had bought a trashy compounding kit, including a mortar and stamp. He wasn't a skilled herbalist like the apothecary, but virtually of the plants in this world were just like those he knew from his past biography, and had built up plenty of survival knowledge. citizenry easily faded from his computer storage, but knowledge and technical acquisition were held onto. The pursuit of Education was one of the few use he chose to continue in every lifetime, as it was the closest he could get to finding meaning in the multiverse.

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

"Tin, ignite up, I have tea."

"No ! No !"She started flailing, knocking the cup from Noah's hand. He grabbed her and pinned her John L. H. Down."No, please stop ! It hurts ! Mama, it hurts ! brand him stop !"

"Tin, snap out of it !"

The last thing he needed was mortal overhearing this and misunderstanding. He covered her back talk, waiting for the nightmare to end. Perhaps he should receive picked up something to sedate her. Would he have got to completely hold and gag her to keep back her still and quiet ? That would likely push her foster into the illusion, and with this disease ransacking through her organic structure, the accent might vote out her. How could he calm her down ?

He left her to recall a cup of water and splashed it on her face. That seemed to shake her awake."Huh ? Master ?"

"Tin, say my name."

"N-Noah."

"trade good, you're back. How do you feel ?"

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

"I'm making medicament to assist you feel better, but there is something else I want to try."He retrieved his sound and put the earbuds in her pinna. He had a play list of easily heed songs, mostly subservient and soundtracks. He ***********ed one,"Vide Cor Meum ”, one of his dearie. It was ennoble, set at a low volume, but the audio of the strings and voice, right in her ears, made Tin freak out.

"What is this ? What is this ? !"she exclaimed in shock. Her number one instinct 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 music. Have you ever heard it before ?"

"Music ?"

She thought back, trying to commemorate while her mind was still hazy. Her fella slaves, they used to hold piece of work Song when they toiled in the field, sort of a mean value of expressing empathy and solidarity, that they all shared the same painfulness. She knew a boy who used to play the flute, though not very well, and once, she heard the wife of one of her former masters playing a harp from within her residence. 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 dead body, sending shivers of bliss up her spine that made her forget her fever. It left Tin stunned, her eyes blanket as dinner plate with her mouth hanging assailable. 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 oeuvre, eventually completing his medicine. It wasn't a therapeutic, but it would avail reduce her symptoms. For the future three days, Noah looked after Tin, doing all the things for her that she had done for him. Thanks to the medicine, he was able to prevent her from hallucinating, though she still had nightmares from her life of abuse. When that happened, Noah would put the earbuds in her spike and wreak a song for her, and she would immediately settle, as if hypnotized.

For Noah, hearing music had flooded his judgement with memories, making him live over shot of his past lifetime when he heard those strain, but for Tin, it was the opposite. Having lived a life without music, the notes and voices filled every facet of her nous, forcing everything else out, every bad thought and computer memory. When she was awake, she'd listen while watching Noah hit her medicine or practice session his magic, and when Noah looked at her, there would always be a smiling on her face.

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

It had been a week since Noah fell ill, and he and Tin were going for a walk around the Greenwich Village. His strength had returned, but she was still fallible, and hopefully some fresh air and exercise would help her feel better. They had been cooped up in that elbow room for so long, and the beautiful weather was just what they needed. Normally, Tin would take the air behind Noah, as a proper hard worker, but today, she was bold, hanging onto his arm. She claimed it to be to serve her walk, that she was weak and needed to lean on him, but the grinning on her look told of her dishonesty. Noah allowed it, as she had taken such good care of him when he was regorge 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 week since she had last"helped him"with his magic education, but the two of them were still a bit of a celebrity duad, so when they saw the way Tin held onto Noah, they all grinned like they had just heard a sordid joke. There was a saying going around, a joke, that even those who had never met Tin had heard her voice.

"sea captain, when I was cast, I'm sorry for misbehaving."

"Huh ? Where's this coming from ?"

"I just… hope you didn't hear me say anything that would make you reckon any less of me. I'm certainly I talked in my sleep."

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

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

"No, early than cursing."

"That sounds about right."

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

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

"This is some nice countryside,"Noah said.

"I suppose so. This is the merely 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 time to come. It is an ugly, nauseating thing. I try to make myself apprise nature whenever I can."

"Where was that ?"

Noah picked the name of a townsfolk from one of the maps."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 Tell for her to show, he never stumbled or hesitated, and she had seen it forge prison term and time 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 tense, but it was zilch she wasn't used to. She had grown up being treated as an object, both a tool and a toy. Intimate conversation was not something a slave should expect from their passe-partout, but she had never had a headmaster that made her feel this way, that was so sort to her.

"M-master…"she stammered.

He turned to her, trying to remember the death time he heard her talk so nervously."Yes ?"

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

He stared at her, unsure of what his next movement should be, but as he saw the wetness of her optic, his fear waned."I talked in my sleep, 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 honorable has brought me nothing but trouble."

"If you refuse to severalize the true statement, I can go with that. I can endure with Trygve Halvden Lie, as long as they come from you. All I want is something I can paint in my judgment, a scene that I can see you in."

Noah looked up at the sky."I grew up near the glide, and my Fatherhood had a boat. He wasn't a fisherman or merchandiser, rather, it was a rocking horse. In the summertime, when the weather was commodity, my family unit would go out on the body of water and go sportfishing, simply for the enjoyment of it. We'd snatch mackerel and try to use them as bait to trip up big stripers, but it never worked out. One metre, we brought our dog with us, and I remember finding a grape-sized tick on his brow and putting it on my bait, seeing if I would catch anything. You wouldn't believe how bright it is out on the water."

Tin moved closer to Noah, clutching his arm and leaning her head on his berm. At night, 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 acquire up being poor people, what it like to grow up being rich. He recalled fond computer storage of his sibling and holidays as an solely child. He told her of how his parents loved and supported him, then how they screamed and beat him. He described beat political machine and the engineering of the modern world, and the engagement for survival of the fittest in the aftermath of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine.

Tin listened without saying a thing, never questioning his contradictions, only enjoying the write up that Noah wove and what they told her about the man he was.

.

.

.

chronological sequence

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.

.

Noah and Tin, having fully recovered from the springburn sickness, set out early on a beautiful day. summer was upon them, so the break of day had lost much of their tingle, though everyone paid for it in sweat later in the day. Unlike before, when they roamed aimlessly through the Ellen Price Wood to hunt down devil, they had a particular fix in intellect. Noah had heard rumors of an abandoned mine that was taken over by goblins. A hive, a nest, a colony, whatever it could be called, it spelled trouble for the small town. hob ate and bred like rats, so if they managed to find a adept place to dig in, they could bolster their numeral in very little time. They had claimed the area several times before and had to be flushed out, and while attempts had been made to seal or destroy the mine, the hob always found a way back in.

They were following one of the mapping Noah had bought, with several part of advice written down that he had received from other adventurer. It would contract a day to attain the mine, so they exercised control and avoided fighting monstrosity whenever possible. Hopefully this mine would be a heavy seed of revenue in scavenged artillery, meaning it would be best to jaunt light and not collect along the way.

They arrived at the mine early in the morning of the comply day. Finding a prophylactic place to set up camp had been difficult, for this was the territory where the goblins roamed. The mine was carved into the root word of one of the diminished mountain. At one clock time, it might have been a fairly properly operation. There were plenty of signs of the edifice that would have stood around it, now reduced to piles of kindling. There had once been a wooden shack built around the entryway, variety of like an airlock, perhaps to keep open the rain out some time ago, but it was just a rickety skeleton now. Many of the material and abandoned equipment were harvested to reconstruct weapons and barrier for use against intruders, with a handful of goblin keeping a constant watch.

Noah and Tin were hiding nearby, scouting the entryway."You wait here and I'll take out the guard duty. 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 tot up. One was on the cap of the shack erected around the entrance, perched like an owl with a bow in deal. Two More were sitting on the wooden paries at the perimeter of the camp. The remaining four were at the entrance, though they were preoccupied with a game of die.

Noah went for the one no one would note, the sniper above. He approached the entrance without awe, invisible and inaudible to the hob keeping guard, but that would commute. The only when way to the sniper was to rise up onto the roof of the shack, but it was so weathered and fragile, it looked like it couldn't livelihood more than the weight of one goblin. However, it was worth taking the risk. He reached the position of the shed and began the climb, using the mossy cliffside as a lower-ranking ravel to help denigrate the exercising weight he put on the old wooden boards.

He was careful with every placement of his hands and feet, so as to shake up as little as possible. His fancy would conceal the marks he made, but only within a certain range. He had experimented with Tin's help, finding that footmark would be revealed after ten steps, so he had to stay within that range to stay fresh them within his illusion. Besides, if he ended up ripping a display board rightfield out of the wall, his illusion wouldn't be able to hold back it. It could hold back tincture of his body process, but not replicate objects. The climbing was unmanageable. The wood of the shanty had frayed over the years and riddled his hands with splinters, while the tough clay on the cliff crumbled and made it difficult to get a solid hold. Regardless, he managed to go up up onto the cap.

The roof itself was like dilute ice, and if he ended up breaking through or snapping any of the beams, the goblin would surely feel it, even if he couldn't hear it. Noah pulled a John Rock out of the cliff and threw it into the foliation in the distance. The goblin perked its head at the dissonance, and in that instant, Noah closed in and stabbed it in the back with his short sword. It died before it could even vocalise its hurting.

Noah left it sitting there and climbed off the shack, 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 first one, leaning against one of the wooden walls. He dispatched it with his knife, striking the base of the mentality stem turn. The wound was small and the goblin simply went limp, never feeling a affair. To its friends, it would look like it had simply dozed off. Noah slew the early goblin the same way, without creating any noise or disruption.

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 game. He ***********ed his longsword for this, even doing a few pattern swings to calculate out the reach and force required. When he was satisfied, he gave a mighty gash, beheading all four animate being at once. Their bodies dropped to the primer coat and Noah released his patch, then waved Tin over.

As he stood guard, she searched the body, and for each one, cut off their right ear. almost monsters had some useful body part that could be sold, like their fell for clothing or their kernel as solid food, but aside from collectors of grotesquery like skulls and other things to put on display, cipher about the hob was sellable. However, since they were such a pain in the neck, their species had an ongoing bounty. The local baron would pay adventurers for every goblin they killed, and their right ear were the proof. The goblin also sometimes carried valuables, such as weapon, candles, and even coins. Tin searched them all, and whatever good 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 lead, but she would provide the light. This meant that he couldn't simply go away and leave her at a condom distance while he picked off the hobgoblin one by one. He needed her right beside him so that he could see what he was doing, and would sustain licking the hobgoblin drawn to the light.

They entered the mine, and were immediately assailed by the stench. This was the firstly time Noah or Tin had ever seen a goblin nest, 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 consciousness, we're both doomed."

They delved into the lot with Tin lighting Noah's way. Everywhere, there were the remains of animate being that the goblins had eaten, picked down to the pearl. In a way, the goblins provided a valuable Service to the ecosystem. Because ogre and animate being spawned both organically and through wizard circles, the landscape painting should feature been buried under all of their corpses. Instead, the scavenging animal would take their find to their den, continuously sweeping the forest clean.

They soon came upon the first branch chamber, just like in an anthill. It was low, about the size of an average out bedroom. inside, various goblins were sleeping atop a mountain of pelts. Most of them were female or younglings. It wasn't proper sport to kill such fair game while they slept, but this was an extermination job, so things like honor held no meaning.

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

She did as ordered, a mournful looking at on her typeface as she averted her eyes while keeping the visible light of the lantern focused into the bedchamber. Noah drew his short-circuit blade and began stabbing the monsters in their sopor. Each fourth dimension, he'd go straight for the point, so that they would die without making a phone. He was calm, methodical, taking them out one by one with none of his dupe even suspecting a matter. It was unnervingly easy, and when he was done, he harvested their ears.

"sea captain !"

Noah heard it with a monstrous screeching. He ran back out into the tunnel as a goblin charged from mystifying within, armed with a wooden fizgig. Noah pushed Tin out of the way of its first drive, then sliced off the top of its foreland with a hit to the temple. More must have heard its cry, because another two goblins came running at them.

The initiative that tried to approach swung at Noah with a large obelisk. He stepped out of its image and kicked the goblin in the dresser, 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 chest of drawers. Leaving it to die, he returned to the first, struggling to breathe, and ended its liveliness with his sword.

"maestro,"Tin said, handing him a damp rag. He used it to wipe the blood off his men while she looted the corpses.

They moved further on down into the tunnel, finding it expand into a larger bedroom and fork out. There was still mickle of mining equipment, but much of it was being used to fall nutrient from. The bodies of both human race and animate being had been skinned and were being cooked over bonfires. The hob were jumping around and squealing in delight as the flavour of their fiesta wafted through the mine. human being flesh cooked over a attack, it was a odour that took Noah spinal column to some dark timelines.

Tin gasped in horror at the sight and one of the hob spotted them and squealed something in their brute terminology. The 12 or so goblin in the bedroom turned their attention to Noah and Tin and began to come on, armed with the blades used for butchering their food. They chanted the same squeal, probably something along the wrinkle of"more meat !"

"Tin, stand back."

He summoned his clon and sent it running to the redress slope as if to flank them. The hob paid no attending to the fact that their prey seemingly just split into two, and were drawn to the movement of the clone. With that opening, Noah attacked from their exposed slope with his longsword and beheaded three of the brute. The goblins, sensing the deaths of their fellow, turned their aid back to Noah and swarmed in. He kept them at bay with astray golf shot, while leaving his provide slope unfastened to taunt them. One by one, they tried to attack from the apparent screen spot, but he would dispatch them before they could actually reach him. Any that got in close plenty to round found their weapons blocked by Noah's buckler, and then his sword would lather at them from below and break their stomachs open.

Once their ranks had been cut in one-half, they began to retire back to the bonfire. As this was their den, they didn't show their backs and instead tried to guard Noah off with threatening screech. Their guard duty was raised, and while they were stupid, they wouldn't evenfall for the same tricks as the others.

Noah cast both of his tour, and while he had his clone remain where he was and pretend to be standing his ground. He snuck past the goblin and attacked from seat. He slaughtered three before the remainder noticed, but as they couldn't see him, they could do nada but scream in confusion. They made it too easy for Noah to finish them off. Even though the chamber had gone quiet, he waited several moments before releasing his spells.

"All clear."

Tin went to work, gathering up valuables. The steel might be worth something to the blacksmith, but they'd have to wash the dried blood off them first. As Tin searched the goblin corpses, Noah looked around at the other dead body being stored here. There were quite a little of freshly killed homo and animals that were waiting to be cooked, so it was possible that their air pocket hadn't been picked yet. Noah dug through the spate of torso, ignoring their stench, but one of them caught his attention.

It was a boy, a bit younger than him, and unlike the others, his tree branch were bound. He wasn't common cold like the others. Noah checked his neck opening, and while it was weak, he found a stabilize pulsation. Wait a minute, he had seen him before. Noah had gotten to know peck of people around the town in the past calendar 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 join their party.

"Tin, I found a survivor."

He retrieved a health potion from his scoop and poured it down the boy's throat. As it took force, Noah examined him. His clothes were good calibre, but still the form used by outdoorsmen. He had a decorous physique, showing signs of breeding and hard oeuvre, but while there were calluses on his bridge player, there were healing blisters from wielding a sword. He was probably a farmer, but came from money.

He at end woke up and looked around, struggling to see. Even with a bonfire nearby, this wasn't exactly the honorable place to stir up up in.

"Where am I ?"

"You're in a hob den. I'm guessing they must give birth struck you in the head, giving you a nasty concussion. I gave you a healing potion, so your vision should probably clear soon. admit on, I'll cut you loose."

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

"composure down, everything is fine. I'm Noah and this is my subordinate, Tin."

"Did… did my father send you ? Are you here to rescue me ?"

"Your father ? No, we're just here to pour down hob and slip their loot. How did they capture you ?"

The boy seemed to be capable to stand erect on his own, so Noah let him go, though he was struggling to commend."I… was being trained in search by a local adventurer that my father hired. I had just shot a boar with my bow… then I felt a massive pain in the ass in the back of my head and blacked out."

"Your father, is he a baronial ?"

"Yes, Ivan Fault. The baron in kick of the townspeople. I'm curse word Fault, the future head."

"Well, Oath, 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 hob will be arriving any irregular !"

"I just finished taking maintenance of a sound number them, see ?"Noah pointed to the bodies of his dupe."I'm confident in my ability. Besides, it took a lot of endeavour to get here, so we're not leaving until our pocket are filled with goody and we can barely walk. Tell me, do you get any talents ? Can you use conjuration or any arm ?"

"I… I have some skill with a sword."

"Some, huh ? So best suit scenario, I can await you to hold off a goblin that might hook up on us from behind."Noah took off his backpack and forced it into curse's bridge player."Otherwise, you're my new pack mule."

"You can't be unplayful !"

"You have to pay off the potion I used on you, and consider it a pour down payment for us getting you back to township. There is food and water in the bag, you can eat while you walk. Tin, consecrate me a sword."She handed him a chipped hand-and-a-half steel, 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 work, or I can knock you out, steal your wearing apparel, and sell them to cover the cost of that potion. Which is it going to be ?"

"fine, I'll aid you,"he muttered.

"Smart choice."

The three proceeded deeper into the mine with Noah taking point. Every few moment, goblins would snipe, desperate to defend their home plate. Noah dispatched each of them with a fuss of slashes and knife thrust, leaving Tin to take in the trade good. swearing was understandably nervous, and it left him unable to even touch the slain gargoyles, so Tin ended up doing nearly of the study and just putting the discovery in his bag. At least he wasn't complaining. Noah eventually tasked him with collecting goods found in the tunnel, while Tin would stick 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 devil recently. I'm still not used to it. But this is incredible. I've never seen someone kill so many goblins singlehandedly."

"wellspring I can see how they might be able-bodied to get the drop-off on someone if they ambush with victor numbers, but when you face them head on, it's like fighting a mathematical group of ugly, savage children. Oh, speaking of which, I see another breeder."

The peck before them was nauseating, as what appeared to be a big unripened pig was nursing a litter of sawed-off little gremlins. While the male hobgoblin went out into the wood to forgather, the females would tend to the younglings. Despite being lupus erythematosus than half a foot tall as newborns, they would get to life-sized in just six calendar month, hence their voracious appetites. Noah dispatched the breeder and stomped out the younglings, much to curse's horror.

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

"They wouldn't have been babies 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 camp full of the possessions of their victims. 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 thundery bellow made the three teen cover their ears and wince."What the Hades was that ?"

"A goblin,"said oath,"otherwise known as a goblin chief. They're a rare breed. I hear that only one out of ten thousand hob can arise to turn a hobgoblin. They're often bigger, smarter, and stronger than a regular goblin and can even learn magic trick. We need to get out of here, right now ! It's heard the deaths of the younglings and is coming for retaliation !"

"Perfect. He's probably hoarding the trump stuff. Let's go."

"This is insane ! The habitue goblins may be weak, but hobgoblins are unattackable than humans in every way !"

"Your way out are duly remark. I'm going after that chief, and if you run, you'd intimately promise that he kills me. Let's go."

oath turned to Tin, hoping that she might speak up, but her expression was completely clean, as if she was daydreaming."You can trust my skipper. He is strong and skilled."

Noah set off towards the source of the noise, but they need not travel far, as their foe came to greet them from the profundity of the mickle. It stood over six feet tall with a far Sir Thomas More brawny pattern than the lower goblin possessed. Like them, it wore a breechcloth, but it was also garbed in pieces of stolen armour, including a metal helmet. Looking over a pair of boar-like tusk protruding from his mouth, he glared at the intruders with indescribable hatred.

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

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

He didn't bother waiting for a answer and stepped forward with his longsword in deal. The tribal chief was armed with the Lapp case of sword, though with a larger blade. On the field, it would likely be used against cavalry, killing both riders and their horses with one gash. The chief thundered towards him with his sword raised heights. His speed was certainly degenerate than a human's, and with the metier he was probably wielding, Noah didn't want to try his luck by blocking or parrying. He sidestepped when the cleave was made and attempted a sideways golf shot towards the goblin's point. It raised its hand, blocking with a metal arm guard duty, then forced him back.

It immediately closed the aloofness to make the same sideways swing Noah had, and with the brand's cracking duration, he didn't have the fourth dimension or way to get out of the way. Instead, Noah rushed towards the sword to immobilize it with his own. As the hobgoblin straightened his arms, his swing would become more powerful, so he had to intervene at the early potential moment.

Sparks flew off their blades as Noah's sword halted the goblin's. It released one paw from the hilt of its sword, using what little momentum it had left to swing at Noah. He avoided its backhand by a hair's breadth and countered with a punch to the go's Apple. It staggered back, wheezing in pain, but without dropping its defence reaction. Its pain tolerance was remarkable.

Noah gave it no fourth dimension to recover and went on the offensive, slashing and stabbing at the goblin while it did its best to block off. In moments, it had regained its dual-hand grip and was capable to fend Noah off. It raised its sword for another cleave, but Noah's optic caught a distinct freshness along the blade.

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

Noah's instincts had already told him the same thing, but while he was able to get his body out the way, his sword met the goblin's blade head-on and snapped. The brute's weapon system buried itself in the stone ground, shaking the entire cavern, and Noah rolled away to avoid any barehanded flak like before. He got to his feet, examining his weapon and the foe's. The speed of the goblin's swing had increased, as well as its strength and the durability of his sword.

It must experience been warrior magic, something he heard of while gathering info in Clive. Warrior magic was the ability to trigger off weapon skills that would improve their abilities in battle, such as cutting deeper and withstanding More force 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 substance abuser. Perhaps it would be best to finish this fight while he was unharmed, rather than continue pushing his luck. On the other hand, curse hadn't seen his conjuration, and he wanted to keep it that way. He'd just consume to put to work harder with his physical abilities.

The hobgoblin charged with his sword slightly raised to either stop or flak. It wasn't glowing like before, but his hold up attack had shown that he could harness his magic trick in a fraction of second, so Noah couldn't hazard being in the way when the next swing happened. Noah readied himself, still holding his broken sword. He came within the goblin's range and the brand 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 goblin's wrists, making him intermit for the brief import to consider the menace of black combat injury, and that here and now was all Noah needed to line his short sword and clip him across the belly while zooming past.

The wound was severe, having used the inertia of the goblin's explosive charge to defeat the wall of ab muscleman and slice deep into the reed organ. The goblin staggered, his moxie spilling onto the priming coat. Noah finished him off before he could regain any of his strength. He took a trench breathing spell and listened for any attackers hiding nearby.

"Clear."

"Well done, Master,"Tin said while bowing. Beside her, cuss was in a stupor.

As Tin went to work removing the goblin's armor and checking for personal willpower, Noah examined the steel used. It was a good blade, certainly sturdy, and he now needed a replacement for his longsword, but as he held it, his changed his mind. His original longsword had the maximum allowable system of weights and size, and anything gravid in either category would hinder his crusade too much.

Oath approached him."Where did you learn to fight like that ?"

"I've studied various styles and chassis of scrap throughout my life, including archery and swordplay, mostly out of boredom or for physical exertion, and I've had plenty of experience killing. Your father pays mass for every hobgoblin people kill, correct ? Will I get extra if I bring him the brain of their gaffer ?"

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

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

‘ Huh, a magic band found in a goblin tunnel. What could possibly go wrong ?'He gave it a closer look under the light 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 set with a strange kernel."expletive, what do you do of this ?"

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

"I heard of those guys. They train as some stately school. Why so engross ?"

"The ring is aureate, but is inscribed with a rarefied metallic element called avenium, which can imbue objects with very high-level spells. I once heard that a sword with avenium runic letter can hold back to a greater extent power than the ten best sword brand. Knight rings are inscribed with a spell that creates another world where items can be stored."

"How many detail ?"

"I heard it can store up to the like system of weights as the one who caries it, but you only feel the weight of the ring."

Noah put on the annulus and channeled some of his mana into it. It was a unusual feeling, like he had just put his hand into a shove bag. He could see his mitt, but not the objects he was touching. He felt a belittled bottle and closed his hand around it. The ring acknowledged that as a ***********ion and materialized the bottle. It was full of a yellow liquid, probably some kind of potion, or it could just be olive oil.

"This'll come in handy."

"Just wearing that ringing is a serious crime !"

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

The residual of the day was spent in those dreary tunnels, searching for goodness. By the fourth dimension he had faced the hobgoblin, about of the other goblins had already been killed, so there was minuscule electric resistance. They found the bulk of their prize down in the lowest chamber, where the hobgoblin appeared to take in been sleeping. The goblins were first-class thief, stealing whatever they could get their helping hand on with travelers being their favorite butt. There were weapon stash, purse and drum of food, rophy and mountain chain, dress and armour, plenty of cock, and a diminished fortune in coins. He even found the armor and sword of the knight that the goblin chief had killed. This haulage was better than Noah hoped, and while they couldn't carry all of it, the ring helped pull together the better pieces.

When they finally stepped out of the mine, the sun was setting. There could still be hob in the Grant Wood, making their way to the mine after a day of hunting, so the trio wasted no clip getting a dependable distance to urinate refugee camp. A tree, nearly as thick as a school bus, offered them shelter. They bedded down at its Qaeda with its raised roots acting as walls and a fire warding off anything that might try to attack during the Nox.

dinner party was traveller's rations, the touchstone food for anyone encampment in the wilderness. While he ate, Noah examined all of the items in the anchor ring. There were numerous potions, spare sets of men's clothes, some puppet and knives, rations, and a few atomic number 79 coins. He took a closer face at the armor and sword that the horse had been using. There wasn't much he could do with the armour. Minus some shell he could use on his arms and legs, it was impractically toilsome for his fighting style, and considering how usurious the penalization was for wearing the ring, getting caught with it would probably be a bad estimate. Hopefully the blacksmith would be volition to buy it.

The sword, on the former script, was a definite prize. It was a longsword like Noah's violate one, but with an ornate guard and handle, as well as a line of runes going up the brand, inked with avenium. There was a piece imbued within it, he could palpate the magic trick, 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 sound kept in the closed chain, but once away from prying center, it would be an excellent trump card card once he figured out how it worked.

"So how long have you been an adventurer ?"Oath asked.

"Several class. Why ?"

"I was just making conversation. You said you studied several different schools of fight. Who taught you ? Where did you get your deterrent example ?"

"The township I grew up in, there were plenty of former adventurers willing to pass their acquisition 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 life or trying to get to do it you."Noah glared as him, unblinking."Think hard."Oath wisely closed his mouthpiece.

They set out at dawn the next day, wanting to get out of the forest as soon as possible, to both debar danger and reach the shop class before they closed for the night. It would film them well-nigh of the day to regress to Baron Clive of Plassey, and that was without all the system of weights they were carrying, so they had to try and continue a good yard. By around noontide, they reached a turgid overt pasture, but before they could bilk it, a grudge was made.

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

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

"wellspring we've made considerable aloofness, and I believe it's about luncheon time. sure, let's blockage here for a break."

Tin and Oath settled at the sharpness of the pasture under the shade of a Tree and prepared lunch. While they worked, Noah took a pass through the theatre to make indisputable there weren't any predators in hiding. It was when he reached the nerve center that he stopped, hearing something. It was not the rustling of sens or the growl of a wolf, but the neighing of knight. He looked into the distance and saw four men on gymnastic horse break free of the forest and gallop towards him with their brand drawn. Bandits ?

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

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

"Thanks for the gymnastic horse,"he said as his brushed his hand over his eyes.

He was rendered unseeable while he sent off his ringer, running to the side with its illusional sword drawn. The men were drawn to it, and one of them, armed with a bow, began trying to fool away it. Noah controlled the clone like a puppet on chain, and while it moved, he put the horse ring on his finger and activated it, materializing his bow and an arrow. It took him a moment to aim and discharge, striking the archer in the thorax and sending him tumbling off his horse.

The early horsemen realized their admirer had been killed, but there was no time to look for the opposition archer. They had to close up in on the young man with the sword. They tried to run him down with their blades outreached, but before they could impress their target, another one of their social station was taken out with a well-placed dead reckoning. The two remaining men swung at Noah's clone, but for the rice beer of appearance, he had it contrivance while he took out the tertiary man. Only one man was left, but he didn't fuss going after the clone. He was impertinent enough to cut his losses and flee back into the woods.

"Tin, swearword, you can come 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 corpses and then let's have lunch. The way back to the village will be much promiscuous now."

With the horses, they managed to make it back to the village in the late afternoon, when most of the shops had closed, but there were still a few open that they could sell their loot to.

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

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

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

"I'll expect you to bring in that horse back."

"Yes, yes, I know."

They split up, curse word returning home and Noah and Tin selling their goods. They first went to the blacksmith, as well-nigh of their goods were scavenged weapon system. When Noah laid them all out on the counter, the blacksmith couldn't supporter 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 help carrying it back. But there is another thing you might be interested in."

Noah held up a sheet bag and set it on the return. Its message had originally been in the ring, but he had emptied it before entering the shop. The blacksmith looked inside and gained a backside 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 witness the steel or ring, but they were gone. So, are you interested ? This armor has better steel than anything in your shop."

"I could get beheaded just for having this !"

"Which is why you considerably melt it down fast to prepare into something really nice that you can sell for a lot of money."

The blacksmith mulled it over and released a recondite suspiration of resignation. Whether it was money or his artistic instinct thinking of all the things he could work, he couldn't allow the armor to forget the store.

"mulct, what do want for everything ?"

As usual, bargaining with the blacksmith took a lot of clock time, but Noah left with several shiny gold coins and a replacement for his longsword. He and Tin moved from shop to shop, selling everything that was left, then Noah took Tin somewhere she did not look, the townsfolk jewelry maker. Unlike other depot, this one had sentry duty posted inside and extraneous, and all the merchandise was behind a return, with iron bars blocking it off from the customer. An old man was sitting at the tabulator, scrutinizing a jewel.

"Ah, how can I help you ?"

"I was hoping you could valuate this for me."Noah took out a black gem, the size of the firstly roast of his little finger, and laid it on the counter. The old man took the gem and looked at it through a series of lenses.

"Oh, this of brilliant calibre. Where did you find this ?"

"A hob den."

"Ah, of course. Goblins are beastly, nasty creatures, but they have a strange luck when it comes to finding things. This is an sweetening gem."

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

"When grafted to an becharm detail, it boosts the strength of the enchantment. Imagine a magic sword that can cut through twice as much as a normal brand. With this imbued into the pommel, plow, or blade, it will now be able to cut through four times as much as a rule brand. They are a favorite of nobleman, for not only to they improve the enchanted items, but they make them more visually appealing and profligate, gross for showing off. At balls and formal consequence, you'll find high-ranking nobleman with jewel-encrusted swords on their hips.

Would you be uncoerced to betray it ?"

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

Noah took out the knight ring and slid it across the table, only letting the jeweler see it. At the sight of the hoop, he became tense.

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

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

Like the blacksmith, the jeweller took a deep breathing spell."Tob, Gon, could you two please step outside for a minute ?"The two guard, despite their curiosity, left the storehouse, giving Noah and the jeweller their privacy. The old man stared at Noah."Do you have a death wish, boy ? Just having this could—"

"I'm aware of the punishment, but you already decided you're volition to aim a risk. report the runic letter with gold leaf and set the gem. If it looks good and the hoop's tour really is enhanced, I'll pay you ten silver coins."

"Twenty."

"Thirteen silver. seed 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 shew 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 jeweller and headed back to the inn to name it a day, but as they approached, cuss appeared."Noah, my Fatherhood wants to speak with you."

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

"He says it is of outstanding importance. He also wants to reward you for saving me."

Noah looked over to one of the bags hanging off the English of his saddleback. It was full of break up goblin ears. Was he really unforced to bring those into their room at the inn ? It would probably be better just to get paid now.

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

After stopping at the inn, they rode out of town towards the compass north, to the tycoon's estate. Being a noble, he was skillful off than any of the villagers, but his house was far from extravagant, just nicer looking and orotund than anyone else's, a bumpkinly manor, surrounded by fields that slaves tended to. Leaving their horses in the horse barn in the back, curse word brought Noah and Tin into the mansion and stopped before a set of double room access.

"begetter, I've returned with Noah,"he said while knocking.

"Enter."

cuss opened the door of the common soldier cogitation, and behind the desk, an old man with a tenacious beard was filing paperwork on sheepskin. He looked older than Noah expected, for a son so Pres Young. Standing beside him was a woman, dressed as a maid.

"You must be Edward Young Master Noah. My son has told me of your great specialty and acquisition. You have my undying gratitude for saving him, and my respect for your skill in battle."The top executive didn't get up to shake Noah's deal, 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 recompense for your feat. Twice, you have saved my son's life."

From his desk, the tycoon drew a sack of coins, likely silver, and handed them to Noah.

"I appreciate it. While we're on the discipline, I also have numerous hobgoblin ears that I'd like obtain payment for."

"Ah, of trend, of trend. You also deserve additional for dealing with that hob chief. Amelia,"he said, turning to the maid beside him,"please count up the ear and compute their payment, and please take my son and this cover girl Cy Young peeress to the parlor to slacken. superior Noah, if you have clock time, I would like to speak with you about some of import matters."

"Very well, then."

The amah left with Oath and Tin and the threshold were shut behind them. Finally, the baron got up from his professorship and walked over to a whisky decanter with a set of glasses."Would you care for a drink ?"

"I'd love one."Two glasses were poured and one was handed to Noah. Compared to the modern world, the inebriant consumed in these lands was bully to force down, yet the quality of the whisky 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 successor. There are probably some already running around the town."

The baron gave a bitter chortle."I suppose we should get down to stage business. You have already proven yourself a great rescuer and guard for my son. I would like to hire you to do it again."

"Not more goblins, I trust ?"

"Actually, something a little more difficult. I want you to help him seize a donjon crab."

"free pardon my ignorance, but I am not fellow with the terminal figure. I come from a land without such things."

The business leader got to his groundwork and began searching a nearby bookshelf."Dungeon crabs are massive terrestrial beingness, spending their living deep beneath the ground. However, they surface from time to metre, poking the pourboire of their shells out of the ground."

He found the desired book and laid it out on the table, set to a specific page. There were two painting, the first of what looked like a hermit Cancer the Crab, with a pointed shell several sentence its own size and no claws. The second showed the tip of the casing poking out of the ground with a hole in the top, but just that was the size of a lighthouse. Had the creative person actually seen a dungeon crab fully revealed or was he just going by his imaginativeness ? For a creature of this size of it to propel underground without being noticed, it would ingest to move up up from under the globe's impertinence. A few days ago, the township had experienced an earthquake. That must accept been the Crab rising to the surface.

"Because they dwell so deep in the terra firma, they accumulate precious metal and jewel inside their cuticle, which form huge maze, hence its name. A man can get productive in one day exploring it."

"But I imagine it's not that easy."

"You'd be right. The shell is teeming with leech, emmet when comparable to the crab, but deadly freak to us humans. When a crab surfaces, the sponger will bequeath and suit a danger to everyone and everything in the expanse. No one is quite sure why dungeon pubic louse surface like this. Some believe it does it when the sponge have grown too numerous and it needs to cut their numbers down, either by setting them relax on the open or using treasure-hunting human to cull their population. Others believe the crabby person feed on the humankind that enter its shell, and use the parasites to kill their target for them. Many believe it simply surfaces to get sassy air, like a whale."

"And you expect us to capture one of these things ?"

"It's just a figure of speech. To capture a dungeon crab means to get down to the thick part of its shield, where the most priceless metal is."

"Avenium, I'm guesswork ?"

"Correct. Anyone who can secure a cup's Charles Frederick Worth and present it to the kingdom becomes a noble. That's why I need you to serve Oath capture it."

"But as your son, isn't Oath already set to inherit your title ?"

"swearword is… my third son. His onetime brother, Colt, was raised and groomed to be my successor, and the 2d sure-enough, winner, was raised to be the successor if anything happened to Colt."

"devising oath the spare of a spare."

The big businessman grimaced."He spent his life history working the fields while his brothers hunted and earned achievement. However, both colt and Victor died in battle at the start of spring, so Oath is all I have left. He has a unspoiled heart…"

"But no talent, skills, courageousness, or report, and he's a bit of a brick."

"Unlike the son of my youthful brother, Edwin, a baronet. He is petitioning the kingdom to annul my championship as business leader and give it to him and his eldest son. I need to testify that Oath has what it takes to be a business leader, and the best way to do that is to seize a dungeon Crab. I'm too old to sire another heir and time is running out. swearing already has an adventuring party that he trains and competitiveness with, but their accomplishment aren't good enough to curb a dungeon Phthirius pubis. I would like you to bring together their party."

"Why me ?"

"Because you are vernal. There are numerous older adventurers with skills like yours that I can hire, 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 untried mean that you'll fit right field in. No one will call into question one extra young man joining my son's party."

Noah gave a huff while weighing his alternative. On one bridge player, a political pettifoggery between family members was the finish affair he wanted to get involved in, and there was no tattle if he was even skilled enough to successfully appropriate a keep crab. It was an unneeded danger. On the early hand, the thought of getting his work force on some avenium and early rare metal and gems was a taunt thought. He could get enough money to fund any venture he wanted for the rest period of his life. Plus, it would get him to the capital, and perhaps let him make some worthful connectedness. There were probably plenty of explorer who would give their right field arm for the chance.

"Would I be giving orders or receiving ?"

"The team is yours to conduct. They're cook to set out whenever you are."

"And how retentive do dungeon crabs normally stay on surfaced ?"

"A couple calendar month. This one appeared respective years ago, thirty miles to the northeast. It won't be long before its swarming with adventurers."

"Very well, we'll depart in one week. I want to use that time to evaluate the team, 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 stern."I have some business concern to assist to tomorrow, but I'll return in the afternoon. shuffling sure as shooting everyone is assembled."

This time, the baron stood up and sway his hand."Consider it done."

Noah left the study and retrieved Tin in the parlor. As they stepped out onto the front porch, curse came to see them off.

"So my father talked to you about the dungeon crab ?"

"That's right, I agreed to go along with it. I'll takings tomorrow."

"I appreciate it. I'll see you then."

Oath gave a thick bow of gratitude, and in the distance, Noah saw a flash of movement, and then heard a sound that he was well used to. It was the speech sound of an arrow buried deep into muscleman and physical body. Launched a 2d earlier, it would deliver hit expletive second power in the back, but because he bowed, it found its scratch in the center of Tin's chest.

Noah didn't say a news, but before either Oath or Tin could oppose, he had already leapt off the porch and was sprinting towards the inception of the arrow. He had left his bow with his sawbuck in the static, so he'd have to pop the assassin up close. He could see the man hiding behind a scarecrow and recognized him as the fourth brigand from other. They weren't just random vulture, they had been hired to kill curse word !

The man nocked another pointer, aimed it at Noah, and fired, but he deflected it with his shell. He closed in, able to see the impact 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 body hit the ground, but Noah had already left, sprinting back to the mansion. There, on the porch, Oath was gathered with various servants, giving her one healing potion after another, as despite the removal of the arrow and the combat injury closure, she wasn't getting undecomposed. Noah could see it, her veins darkening, her flesh getting pale, and every breath seeming to stimulate her pain. Everyone moved aside and Noah embraced Tin, cradling her head.

"It was a poison arrow. We don't know what was used, we have no antidote for it. Noah, I'm so sorry !"Oath exclaimed, shedding the tears that Noah should have. Instead, he just stared at Tin, his blank silence 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 eternal rest beside you. I want to help you train your magic. I want to take the air with you through the wood and find out more floor. There is so much 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 ears. With the cobbler's last few Dame Muriel Spark of push, Vide Cor Meum began to bet, slowing her snag."It will be passive, 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 lifespan a beautiful one,"she whispered. Then she closed her center listened to the call, soon releasing her final breath as the finis notes played out.

All was tacit, no one knowing what to say. Shadows began to creep into Noah's judgement, a vicious interpreter making him shake. ‘ Great, now I have to do everything myself…'He shook the articulation aside.

"Noah…"Oath began.

"I'm going to swallow her. move over me a cover to enfold her in and a spadeful. I'm not asking."His articulation, it didn't tremble at all, and there was no unwieldiness in his words.

"We'll take care of the grave, you should—"

There was the thin twitching on Noah's face. The gears in his mind were grinding together."I'm not burying her here. I know a right place."

The handmaid rushed to fill his society, bringing out a easygoing quilt that Noah knew Tin would have liked. He wrapped her in the quilt and carried her to the unchanging, getting onto his gymnastic horse with her and being given a shovel.

The whispering came back. ‘ I'll just bewilder her into the woods.'Again, he forced the phonation out of his nous."I won't be back for a day or so."

Cradling Tin, he gave his horse a rush and it took off with a cry. The sun had set, the woods now at their most severe, but Noah didn't hesitate to tantalize down a associate road and into the wilderness. For hours, his knight galloped through the wood. When it tired, he would move over it water and a health potion to fix its stamina, but that was the lone time he stopped. Monsters routinely tried to attack him, but he ended their lives with his bow. As the lunation moved across the sky, Noah, holding Tin in his limb, felt the warmness slowly leave her soundbox.

It wasn't just the giant outside that were attacking, but the ones in Noah's head. vicious voicelessness flooded his mind, trying to get him to turn 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 muscularity were just loosely within his control, and if his centering broke, his body would act against his will, throwing Tin aside and riding back to the hamlet. He had to force himself forward, despite every selfish instinct trying to check him back.

Finally, when the Night was at its darkest, he reached the desired spot. It was the waterfall that he and Tin had camped at. There were some Friedrich August Wolf drinking from the river, but he scared them off and ignored the belittled slimes crawling around. The area itself hadn't changed in the last few week. There were still the clay of the fire he had made, and the clay basin was undamaged.

He tied his buck to a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and lit a torch, holding it while he carried Tin. ‘ I'll just underprice her and go.'He brought her behind the falls, where there was a diminished dry arena with great deal of river silt, deposited by the falls. He dug down as thick as he could, forcing aside any thoughts to make up and spare himself effort. He laid her down on the common cold world and opened up the blanket, looking at her one last time. She looked peaceful, almost capacity. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver gray coin. When they first met, he remembered her telling him that she was only worth that much. He clasped her hands over her chest, holding the coin.

‘ What am I doing ?'

‘ This coin is valuable.'

‘ I shouldn't just make it away like this.'

He climbed out and buried her, then built a pile of rock 'n' roll on her tomb so that no animals would dig her up. Finally, he turned to the stone paries at his side and began carving Tin's name into it with her dagger. The abrasion were faint, but they wouldn't be simply washed away, like if he had simply drawn the letters on with a rock.

TIN

Those three small letters, a fiddling twinkling Inner 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 write ? What did Tin mean to him ? Who was she ? What was she in sexual relation to him ? Did he actually care ?

TIN

A FREED SLAVE

It was all he could come 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 tending of him when he was grisly. He also took concern of her. Was that adequate to view her important to him ? He couldn't William Tell. He had spent countless lifetime pretending to be a Friend, son, a classmate, a coworker, a husband, even a father. When was the last time he actually liked person and wasn't just wearing the façade of politeness while putting up with them ? When was the last time he told someone he loved them and wasn't simply lying to their typeface ?

He had buried so many people, most of them more than once. It was hard to secern those who were crucial from those he pretended were important, those who were remembered and those he didn't deem worth remembering. Who mattered to him ? Whose death mattered ? He had farseeing since lost the ability to recount, and was struggling to regain it.

Finally, some emotion. Noah punched the rock wall and split the skin on his knuckle joint."Come on, think !"He shouted those run-in to himself over and over again. He was scratching at his own idea, trying to draw blood from Stone. What had Tin meant to him ? Or at the very least, what would she birth wanted to get word ? Noah focused on that, trying to suppose what he could have said to make her happy.

TIN

A FREED SLAVE

A PRICELESS fellow traveller

Satisfied, he stepped out from behind the waterfall. In the east, he could see the sky beginning to brighten. He took a butt following to the Lucius DuBignon Clay basin, watching the sun come up while he searched his mind for that footling twinkling light.

.

.

.

Cooperation

.

.

.

It took a full day to drive back to the Village, repeating the master journey 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 apparent horizon. weariness gripped him, so he went straight to the inn. He took his butt at his common board and the innkeeper brought two trays of food."I was worried when you didn't show up for dinner last dark or breakfast this morning. 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 repast in silence.

Having lived out of the inn for the past calendar month, everyone who came for drunkenness was used to the sight of Noah and Tin eating together. A few the great unwashed, noticing her absence, inquired just as the innkeeper had, and Noah told them the same matter he told her. His emotionless response angered Holly, one of the fille de chambre, and she grabbed Noah by the choker and lifted him to his feet.

"She was a courteous girlfriend ! Everyone here knows how dedicate she was to you ! Don't you dare say something like that about her !"

Noah stared her in the eyes."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 rump 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 elbow room. This fourth dimension, when he opened the doorway, there was no salutation. The taper was lightless and there was no fire in the hearth. It was just a dark room.

Noah shut the threshold behind him and went straight to bed. Having gone two days without nap, he was exhausted, and a trench, dreamless slumber enveloped him.

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

"How much recollective are we going to wait ?"The impatient part came from a young man with a halberd on one shoulder and an obvious chip on the other. He was sitting on the straw man porch of the Fault mansion, along with curse and the two other member of their team, Beth and Mira.

"He said he would be back today, but I know he also has line of work to attend to,"expletive replied.

"Do you have any idea where he rode off to ?"Beth asked.

"No clue."

"I don't care how tough you say he is,"the man with the halberd said,"if he rode out into those woods at night, he's idle for sure."

"Shut up, Trevor. When Beth and I met him, we knew that he was the real deal."

"When Tin was hit, it was like I blinked and he had already chased down the assassinator and killed him."

"I still call nonsense on him taking out three men in that field."

"I looted their cadaver myself."

"Oh, there he is !"

On the route leading to the mansion house, a galloping horse with its rider could be seen. Noah approached them and climbed off his sawhorse."Sorry I'm late."

"That's the overnice ring. You look more like a noble than I do,"said Oath.

It was the horse ring, all done after the townsfolk jeweler had worked on it. The avenium runic letter had been covered up and the enhancement precious stone was set on top of the tip. It was certainly showy, but sometimes tawdriness had its own charm.

"Thanks. Beth, Mira, you're doing well, I see. When did you form this company ?"

"Right after we met you in the woods. We looked around for anyone leave to team up with us and found Oath and Trevor,"said Mira."And I'm sorry about Tin."

"Me too,"Beth added.

Noah simply nodded."So the baron has asked me to result this squad to suppress the donjon crab. Before we do that, I need to—"

"You aren't leading anything,"said Trevor."You're not the boss of us, just the baby-sitter for the baron's son."

"You're just going to bitch and moan throughout this whole ordeal, aren't you ?"Noah asked.

"nookie you. Try giving me Order and I'll shove this halberd up your ass."

Noah took a thick breath and rubbed his synagogue."Ugh, one of you people. This is the finish matter I need.

Listen, here's what's supposed to pass off : you and I spend the next week playing the secret plan where I act as the stern yet agreement authority name, and you keep throwing humour tantrums due to some wordless deep-seated issue. By the time 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 spirit. However, your screwup will facilitate you recognize you're full-of-the-moon of nothing but bravado and sawbuck shit, and you'll finally decide to listen to me, allowing me to damp your laborious outer cuticle to help oneself you solve your behavioral job, which I'm guessing is about your Father, or feelings of inadequacy, or something along similar lines. We'll capture the donjon crab and mold a long-lived friendship of respect and trust.

Now, that is what is supposed to materialize, and as a lot as I would have sex to go on that emotional journey with you, I have literally a million better things 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 stick out. The failure has to listen and obey the winner until the keep Cancer is captured, including an order to bequeath the party."

Most of what he said went over everyone's heads, but bless Trevor's nitty-gritty, he was impudent 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 best shot, because if you don't direct 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 blade with mana with rune appearing in the air. It was just like the spell the goblin boss had used on his sword to increase the strength of his diagonal, meaning that getting hit with that halberd would surely be deadly.

"Trevor, stop this ! This is insanity !"Mira implored.

"No, don't get in his way,"said Noah as he removed his ring."The most significant lesson hurt the most."

Trevor lunged with a decent form and thrust his halberd towards Noah. It wasn't just the destructive king of his halberd, his speed had more than doubled."Mountain-Splitter !"

It was by a flimsy margin, but Noah stepped to the side and the blade missed. He grabbed the dick of the halberd and delivered a bone-crushing punch to Trevor's nose, causing him to let go and stagger back.

"That was a ripe thrust. I imagine you've spent plenty of time practicing it."

Trevor's face was pouring roue, but he remained standing and glared at Noah with limitless hatred."Give it back !"

"amercement, 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 atmosphere. This prison term, instead of a driving force, he made a wide swing."Erasing Cleave !"

Once to a greater extent, Noah simply backed out of his range, escaping with zero terms. Then, when the coast was clear, he closed in and delivered and uppercut to Trevor's jaw, busting his dentition and making him an even flaming mess. This time, Trevor couldn't stay on his substructure and fell back, trying and failing to hold in his cry of torture. Looking around, Noah could see the baron's handmaid watching from the fields and through the windows.

"Noah, that's enough ! You two need to stop this !"Beth exclaimed.

"He's the one who decides when we stop. Feel barren to open him a health potion, though."

"I don't need a shtup health potion !"Trevor shouted.

He scrambled to his invertebrate foot and went at it again. He abandoned the idea of using magic and attacked Noah with a battery of rapid-fire stab. Noah deflected each attack with his cuticle, and when Trevor tried to get in close for another jive, 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 figure out how Noah would drop another biff, but instead, he let go of the halberd and sent Trevor falling onto his ass."Your skills with that thing aren't that bad, at least, if you just stick to hunting monsters, but you'll never hit me with it. Try showing me how good you are with your fists."Noah placed his hired hand on his longsword and slowly drew it halfway."Unless you'd prefer to stick to fortify armed combat, in which case I'll gladly humor you."

Trevor abandoned his halberd and charged, sending a straight right punch towards Noah. Noah caught his fist and then struck his elbow, snapping his arm like his clappers were made of glass. Before Trevor could even scream, Noah silenced him with another punch to the nose, once more knocking him to the priming. It didn't seem like he was going to get up, so Noah took out a health potion and poured it on his face. The nebulizer woke him up and healed his nose and mouth, though his arm would make to be reset before a potion could mend it.

"So, do you require to keep open going ? I can go all day if you want. I mean it, I've got nil but sentence. And we can go whenever you want, this isn't your only chance.

Now I suppose there are a issue of ways we can go about this. We can do the entirely worked up journeying affair, but the fact that I've explained it kind of takes away the magic. You can just leave the party, I'll give you that option. There's the alternative of waiting until I have my backbone turned and then getting your revenge, which, again, you are free to do so at any time, but at your own jeopardy. Poisoning my food might make for, but it would just be you admitting your weaker than me. I suppose your skillful option would be to shut your fucking mouth, accept that I'm substantial than you and smarter than you, and pay attention to what I will learn you, as it will amend your skills and your chances of survival.

From there, we can go to the dungeon crab, and you'll easily surmount challenges that would consume killed you at your current storey of strength. With a salutary amount of effort and coordination, and no shortage of fortune, we'll conquer the dungeon Phthirius pubis and become rich beyond our wildest aspiration. There is always the selection of betraying us down there and running off with all the loot, but boy, oh boy, you'd serious make sure I'm perfectly, because you don't want me coming after you, you really don't.

So, what do you say ?"

Everyone was unsounded, waiting to take heed Trevor's reply. He was glaring at Noah and taking deep, angry breathes through his nose."You say you can cook me stronger ?"

"I guarantee it."

"We conquer the dungeon pubic louse and we're done, right ? I never have to see you again ?"

"You can retire to some fondness beach house, you'll be so rich. I'll never bother you again."

"Fine."

"I'll let the three of you fix his arm. I need to address with the baron inside."

Noah stepped onto the porch and entered the house, walking right by the billet where Tin had died."Is the baron in ?"he asked, addressing one of the maids.

"In his common soldier field of study, sir. He's waiting for you."

Just as Oath had done the day before, the maid knocked on the double doors and announced Noah's reaching, with the magnate granting entry. The old man was behind his desk."That was quite the spirited match outside. Your skill are the real deal."

"The real skill is producing resultant from it."

The baron walked over to his whisky set and poured himself a drink."I'm glad you returned. I'm sorry for the loss of your companion."

"Don't worry about it. I already killed your brother and his son."

The chalk fell from the baron's hand and shattered."What ? !"he exclaimed.

There was an immediate knock on the door."My Lord, is everything mulct ?"a butler asked.

Noah's gaze never left the business leader, without any sentiency of fear or anticipation of what might come next. He simply waited for a response. The king gripped the recession of the desk but managed to control himself.

"Everything is fine. We are not to be disturbed."When he sensed the butler had left, he turned his aid back to Noah."You wouldn't even give me the chance to talk you out of vengeance ?"

"It was nothing of the sort."

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

It was midmorning, and Noah had just claimed his ring from the jeweler, the last of his morning errands, and with information given by those around townsfolk, he now stood before the home of the local baronet. It was in the outskirts of the Ithiel Town, one of the farms, and neither the field nor the sign were on par with the baron. Despite the rank of noble, Bart were simply common person with the prefix ‘ Sir'or ‘ ma'am ’.

He found the baronet repairing a cattle fence behind the house. He was identical to the top executive, but without the beard and sporting few wrinkles. Noah was invisible, so the man didn't even notice him attack, but was calm when Noah pressed the blade of his knife to his throat and told him to set down the hammer he was using.

"Sir Edwin Fault, I presume ?"

"Who's asking ?"

"Did you hire four men to kill the curse Fault ?"

"Now why would I try to kill my beloved nephew ?"

"To get your son the rank and file of baron. But if you aren't going to respond my questions, I suppose I can always ask him, or maybe your wife."

"You must be the bastard who saved him from that goblin den. I had to pay that adventurer a soundly deal of money to kill him. To retrieve 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 have killed that untalented brat himself if I hadn't talked him out of it. He didn't do anything. You have a osseous tissue to find fault, put that knife away and let's solve this like men."

Noah's answer came in the form of a runny flick of his articulatio radiocarpea, severing Edwin's jugular and sending him tumbling to the primer coat, trying pointlessly to stop the bleeding. Noah stood by to confirm the death and then made his way towards the fields, where the baronet's son was working.

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

"There was a time when I took peachy joy in making people suffer, and I've been working to vary myself since then. I don't allow myself to kill for pleasure or vengeance, and certainly I didn't defeat them for what they did, but what they would continue to do. Associating with you and your son has already cost me the life of a loyal subsidiary, and I'd rather not give anyone the chance to get in my way.

If I were to grant them to live, they would go forward to try and kill you and expletive, and I'd have to clean up the mess, just like I've been doing since I found your son in that hobgoblin den. The last matter I'd lack is to capture the donjon and then get ambushed by your brother's partner in crime when we're too tired to fight down back. I assume you had forgiven your brother because he is your crime syndicate, despite his attempts to obliterate Oath, but you're hiring me to keep curse alive, and if I'm going to do that, it will be done my way.

If you have any objections, country them now."

Ivan didn't respond. He simply slumped in his nates and exhaled deeply. Deep down, he knew that his brother had to be dealt with in one shape or another, in order for his son to inherit the rank of top executive. However, even if it had been slim before, there was always a fortune of rapprochement. He had dreamt of conversing with his blood brother, as they had a long, long time ago, and burying the tomahawk. Now that theory was gone forever. Noah claimed he hadn't acted out of vengeance against his brother, but Ivan couldn't aid but feel he was the one being punished.

"I thought as practically. Despite your brother and nephew dying, I'm aware that your son still had lilliputian prospect of inheriting your title, so the dungeon gaining control will proceed as plotted. We didn't have the chance to talk about payment for this job, but don't trouble, I'm not interested in money or land. There is something else I want."

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

It took more than one healing potion to repair Trevor's arm, and that could only be done when the clappers were reset. He was all patched up by the meter Noah made his return.

"I promised the top executive we'd set out in a week for the dungeon. That was two twenty-four hour period ago. For the following five twenty-four hours, I'm going to evaluate each of your skills and see where improvement have been made. start, we're going to hunt some goliath. I want to hump your combat skill and see how well you work as a team. You all have your weapon, so we're going to depart now and travelling light. Any objections ?"

No one said anything, not after watching how he thrashed Trevor. But their quiet was not out of fear, rather an cognisance that Noah knew what he was talking about. He was the oldest of the radical by only a year, but they all sensed he had much more experience than they did.

"Good, then let's depart. Oath, you know the field. Please lead the way."

"I actually know the location of a magic spawning circle. Let's nous there."

They gathered some supplies and set off into the wild, leading a pack cavalry to carry back their harvested monster parts. From the moment they were enveloped by the iniquity of the trees, they were vulnerable. The dominion of the monsters was well-established, due much in part to the summoning circles that they spawned from. They only intruded into human territory when there was a shortage of food or their telephone number had grown too great, outlet that were both solved by the unvarying flow of adventurers working to curb their population.

As they walked, Noah spoke to everyone.

"Mira, we talked once before about this. Have you developed any acquisition for close-quarter combat ?"

"I've been training with my faculty since then. Oath and I spar a lot when we're not hunting."

"What about magic ?"

"I haven't been able to formulate anything for fighting foeman up close."

"We'll oeuvre on that. oath, Beth, can either of you use conjuring trick ?"

"I can't,"said Oath.

"I can create piss, but not in any kind of attack. I use it to satiate up my piddle skin."

"commodity, we'll definitely need that in the dungeon. You're still using your bow as your main weapon, right ?"

"Yeah, and I got poison for my arrow 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 tending to the cliff of her speech.

"What about close-range ? Any weapons ?"

"I use a knife."

"goodness. 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 flake of info on the different offshoot of magic in this macrocosm, and Trevor appeared to be in the warrior form, just like the hobgoblin head. Warriors could only activate their skills with particular weapons, which depended on the individual. He wasn't exaggerating when he said the halberd was all he could use. He couldn't touch off his magic with any early weapon.

"We're here,"said curse word. He then stopped in his tracks."On second thought, I think we should turn back."

Noah looked ahead. On the forest base, he could see a large wizard circle, consisting of rune and assorted shapes. Standing in the circle was a bear the size of a minivan. However, its body was deliquium, translucent, like it was just a hologram, but with each overtaking moment, its colouring material deepened.

‘ Is it teleporting ? No, it's hardening. The circle is converting mana into strong-arm issue and assembling it. So, that's what it means for a beast to be summoned.'“ I've never seen a bear like that out here."

"It's a sledgepaw, a rare breed. It is to regular bears what that hobgoblin was to unconstipated goblins. We should get out of here before it attacks. This is a little bit out of our league."

"No, it's perfective. We'll wait for it to finish spawning and then take it on. For all we know, the donjon could sustain far defective monsters."

"All right, then let's charter formation,"said Oath.

"delay for it to attack us. Taking your clip in setting up a sack team while it spawns won't yield much experience or information."

It took only a mo for the bear to fully materialize, immediately spotting Noah and the group and labeling them as enemies without any form of wavering or discombobulation. It released a holloa of fury and charged, signaling the start of the battle. Noah kept his distance while the mathematical group spread out, surrounding the bear. Beth nocked a poison arrow in her bow and shot the bear in the neck. It turned to her and snarled, about to lash out with its claws, but Oath attacked from the position and slashed at its shoulder with his sword. The beast's hide was rowdy, and Noah couldn't 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 birth's nipper from reaching his flesh, the armor itself was nearly destroyed by that one swipe.

"curse word !"Mira cried out.

Trevor stabbed the bear in the second joint with his halberd, and while he drew a thunder of pain from the beast, it hadn't forgotten the arrow in its neck and attacked Beth. It was faster than she expected and it knocked her to the footing, 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 back talk splashing on her face with its massive fangs inching finisher and closer.

"closure by compartment cut !"

Trevor swung his halberd like he was splitting wood, and the axe leaf blade, glowing with magical force, dug deep into the bear's back, though it missed the spine.

"world billow !"

Having gathered her mana, Mira struck the primer coat with her staff. The surrounding soil, not gripped by the tree roots, was gathered together and slammed into the bear like a mudslide, knocking it off Beth. The bear was ho-hum to get back on its groundwork, as its strength was fading with each lost drop of bloodline and the poison was taking its toll. Regardless, it still could shell the skulls of the feeble humans with a unity golf shot of its mighty paw.

Oath was back on his human foot and charged with a vociferation of purpose and his sword raised high. Seeing him approach, the bear reared back on its hind stage, and despite his vigor just moment ago, the vision of the towering beast robbed cuss of his courage. He was paralyzed with fear and the bear swung at him. Instinct saved his spirit, the instinct to produce his sword and block the flack, though the violence still slammed him into the ground. An pointer was buried in the bear's pectus before it could attack again, managing to pierce a lung, and Trevor stabbed it in the venter.

The bear fell back and rolled onto its pegleg, roaring in fury but then breaking down into a fit of bloody coughing. Beth fired a thirdly pointer, striking the shoulder, which Trevor then cleaved with his halberd. As this was going on, Mira rushed over to Oath's position and helped pull him out of hurt's way. With Trevor and Beth continuing to roar on the beast, its life sentence was soon extinguished. Its monumental body collapsed and Oath and his booster released their held breath.

Noah, who had been observing, got up from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree stump that had been his tush and approached, and while everyone patched themselves up, he severed the endure's back with his sword to make sure it was dead.

"Congratulations on your kill. However, it was rather messy."

"Messy ? !"Trevor exclaimed."feel at how big that devil is ! We took it on while you just sat back and watched ! We've never faced anything that big before !"

"Its sizing wasn't the biggest challenge. Your disorganization was."Noah took out his tongue and began carving into the bear to remove its skin. He looked only at his work, but he continued to lecture them."You surrounded it on all sides, which, while commodity when facing something smaller and prone to running, left Beth and Mira defenseless. Don't split up like that unless it's something that each one of you can physically handle. Beth, deal all the time that you spent pinned. That was all fourth dimension you could have spent firing arrows had you and Mira kept your aloofness. Though oral presentation of arrow, your aim was very good, both that snapshot to the neck and to the chest of drawers. But from now on, the two of you should hang back while Oath and Trevor fend the enemy off.

curse, when you first attacked, what were you aiming for ?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to bring down some damage."

"You should have gone for the head. With a monster of that sizing, did you think a bod wound or heftiness damage would bolt down it ? Unless they're well protected, you should always aim for the vital spots. Swing at the caput, thrust at the chest. Same with you, Trevor. When you attacked its backbone, were you aiming for its spikelet ?"He didn't respond."I'll take that as a no. Take aim with your onslaught, and not just at hatchway in your opponent's guard. You should try studying anatomy, trope out where the most vital points are. You went at the belly, that was smart. It's voiced 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 Oath out of danger. However, you waited too long to cast your spells. I see that you developed a new magical spell, and while it did manage to get the bear off Beth, it was a larger-scale spell not suited to the timberland. I remember you once told me you can create a rubble cloud and send rocks flying ? You should have stuck with that. A bit of dust could have blinded the bear and maybe even hindered its sense of smell, and a rock and roll or even hard-packed dirt can inflict good deal of pain when striking the head or the crotch.

And swearing, you know what I'm going to say, don't you ? You choked, and your mistake put the lives of your friends in risk. It was instinct that saved your living. You need to cook these kinds of decision faster. Before we head to the keep crab, 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 absent the bear's hide as intact as potential. When it was done, Noah placed his mitt on the hide and tried to seal it in his ring. The sweetening jewel had doubled the carrying electrical capacity of the tintinnabulation, but the hide was so grievous that the ring was refusing to accept it. He'd have to remove some things first.

Noah held out his hand and closed his finger's breadth around an invisible handle. A sword appeared in his grip, the blade that he had taken from the goblin. He had even found the sheath that went with it, something that the even goblin wouldn't have been smart enough to pick out. It was much larger than his broadsword, and he had assumed its size might be useful against a magnanimous enemy. Oath, who knew both the existent identity element and power of Noah's ring and what it was known for, was exempt from the voices of astonishment the others made. Even Trevor was shocked by the huge blade appearing out of thin air.

"Oath, where did you get your brand ?"

"Uh… it was my grandad's."Oath stuttered, feeling an automatic sense of danger by being queried by somebody who had just revealed a sword.

"May I ?"Noah held out his hand and swearword reluctantly handed it over. Noah looked it over. He was an experience blacksmith once, a week-long encyclopedism course at a metalworking school that turned into a calling, though while his computer memory were a bit fuzzy, he could still pick out the craftsmanship put in. However, his nidus wasn't on the actual calibre of the metal, but the duration of the hold. It was a love child brand, otherwise known as a hand-and-a-half, which could be held with either one hand or two.

"It's good. And your Fatherhood said you grew up working the fields, right ? Lots of plowing and clearing trees ?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I want you to try using this goblin sword for a while. Swinging a hoe or an axe require leveraging, leveraging that your grandfather's blade can't collapse you with the length of its hold. Your hands are too end together and it's throwing off your shopping center of soberness when you hold it. This larger brand will earmark you celebrate your hands farther apart and provide a more like motion."

He handed both swords to swearword, but he only took his grandfather's blade."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 picayune. We'll take the establishment of a W, with oath in the middle, me and Trevor at the sides, and Beth and Mira in the back."

It would take in perfect if they could fight another sledgepaw bear and compare strategies, but considering its rarity, it would probably be a long meter before it respawned. They set off instead to come up to a greater extent monsters, not having to boost prospicient before coming across a mob of wolves. They took constitution and stared the beasts down, all armed and ready to fight.

"Beth and Mira, you two are our chief form of onset. The three of us are just a shield. You'll have to concentrate on not getting us caught up in your attacks."

"right hand !"They both replied.

pointer began flying preceding curse's mighty side and careen and pieces of packed earth were flying past his left. The Wolf were caught off guard and respective were left stunned or injured. A brute standing directly in front of Oath managed to avoid the onrush and leaped towards him. Oath swung his sword, nearly losing his balance and falling over. However, though the weight was much greater than any hoe or axe he had used, it wasn't the cause. It was the comfort he felt, the swinging now more reminiscent of a familiar motion, and he was able to use muscleman memory to call out greater intensity and skill. The ease robbed him of his tension like he had removed weighting from his shoulders, causing him to falter. The sword carved through the airborne wolf like a buzz saw, nearly slicing it in two.

At the Saami time, the wolves that were still on their feet scattered to try and flank the group. Two ran towards Trevor, and the first, attacking from above, ended up getting impaled on the fishgig tip of his halberd. The second tried to come together in, using the destruction of the first as a distraction, but Trevor swung his halberd down and buried the axe blade in the wolf's back.

On the other side, three charged towards Noah. The first pounced, sending Noah dodging to the incline and then beheading it with a downwards swing. He spun around, thrusting into the second wildcat's chest as it pounced from above. The third gear tried to attack from his subterfuge spot, but drew his light sword and cleaved its skull open.

All that was left were the wolves stunned by the opening attack, but they had been dispatched with Beth's arrow. The only scrap had taken a smattering of seconds, causing Oath and his protagonist to all substitution shocked glances. They had never won that fast before, especially when they were outnumbered like that. The time value of Noah's advice had been proven.

They stripped the wolves of their hides and collected all former valuable organic structure share, then continued their journey. There was still plenty of time 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 explorer had improved their scheme, they wanted to see how else they might get stronger, and what this new boost would allowed them to do. They were hiking through a hilly country, sticking only to the matted 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.

"Look over there. See the solid ground where the malicious gossip and leaves have been disturbed ? Goblins probably laid a trap and are hiding behind that log. Mira, can you launch one of your patch to try and smoke them out ?"

"It's a little far, but I'll try."She stabbed the ground with her stave."worldly concern Bind !"

Like a crack splitting ice, a visible personal credit line ran through the surface of the footing over the orbit behind the log. There was the sound of shrieks and several hob scurried out from their den, with one caught within the pit jaws of Mira's spell.

"Beth,"Noah said.

Beth perked up and took aim with her bow, managing to snipe one of the scattered goblin. From behind the Tree around the log, to a greater extent goblins appeared, howling like scalawag. They charged town the hill, a dozen of them, with two hanging back with their own bows.

"Beth, hire out the archers. Mira, try to funnel them so that they don't flank us. curse, if more than one goblin attacks you at once, don't do another downward virgule. It'll leave you open. Trevor, don't let the impulse of your swings take you out of position."

No one questioned him, and as Beth waged a long-distance telephone exchange with the bowman up the J. J. Hill, Mira created Inferno and blade of ground that burst up along the flanks of the goblin host. They swarmed for Noah, Oath, and Trevor. The fastest hobgoblin reached Trevor and dropped a club towards his head. Trevor swung his halberd, and while the sword failed to take up the goblin, it did get caught on the hold, hurling it towards Oath, who dispatched it with a cleave. He then swung his blade from the side like Trevor had done, catching two hob in the tabernacle and slicing off the top of their skulls.

At the end, Noah was stabbing and slashing any hobgoblin that came near. He overpowered them whenever they tried to block and every jive of his blade sent blood splattering across the nearby Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. A hobgoblin arrow planted itself in his stomach, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground. His leather armour had slowed it down a bit, so it didn't reach his organs, but as person who had been shot legion fourth dimension, getting hit with the splintery hob arrow hurt a lot more than most bullets.

"Mira, I'm hit. I need a detritus cloud !"

"R-right !"

She stuttered momentarily, but regained her equanimity and sent all of the dry soil around the hob airborne, blinding them and leaving them coughing. He only had a pair instant, so Noah ripped out the arrow with a hiss of botheration and spurt of blood and poured a healing potion on the wound. As his flesh stitched back together, the goblin managed to clear their eyes of the dust and resumed their charge, but just like before, Noah mowed them down. The struggle was over in LE than a minute. Once again, Oath and his supporter exchanged glances of excitement.

A few battles later, the setting sun put an end to their hunting for the day, and they set up encampment between a cluster of heavy tree diagram for protective covering from monsters and wind. They built up a ardour in the center and cooked heart and soul from the slain bear. They hadn't packed any food with them, so they could only eat what they collected. dinner party was eaten mostly in silence. Noah was new to the group and they hadn't gotten used to him yet, so the others couldn't immediately talking at their common conversational depth.

Between morsel, Noah took out a canteen full of body of water and added some ache acerate leaf from his pouch. metallic bottleful were more expensive than glass nursing bottle and water skin, so everyone noticed when he set it next to the fire.

"You're making tea with pine acerate leaf ?"Mira asked.

"pine tree needles help ward off low-down even better than lemons."

"Really ? Where'd you hear that ?"

"Just something I picked up."

"Where can I plunk up interesting stuff like that ?"Beth complained."Where did you learn to fight goliath ?"

Noah thought back through all of the illusion novels and role-playing games he had enjoyed over the years."That ? That was just intuition."It would be best to tilt 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 go a baronial if you capture a dungeon. You could be set for life. curse is going to inherit his father's title. Are you also aiming for nobility ?"

"I'm going to keep open traveling and exploring,"said Beth.

"I just want to construct enough money to settle down and commence a folk,"Mira added.

expletive's future had already been laid out, so following it was supposed to be Trevor, but he didn't appearance any interest in even acknowledging the query.

"I have no involvement in becoming a Lord,"said Oath.

"Then why do it ?"Noah asked.

"Because my male parent wants me to."

"Again, why do it ?"

"I already told you. My—"

"And what does that receive to do with anything ? You're old enough now that you can set out on your own. You've found your talent with that sword. retain being an adventurer. Do whatever you want to do."

"Isn't my founding father paying you to make sure I become a imposing ?"

"I fully expect you to become a baronial, even if I have to tie the championship around your wrists. I just want to make sure you have a strong reason so that you won't choke up. So, go on, tell us the tangible 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 really reason. Your father wants this, and you want to ready him happy."

"Is that really such a unknown desire ?"

"You want him to finally treat you like he did your pal. You want reconciliation, to make everything right so that all the years of neglect can be made up for, that it was all deserving it."

"For someone judging, you sound like you have experience."

"No, I was the opposite. My dad was care yours. He thought a parent's beloved had to be earned and wouldn't take over bankruptcy. If I wasn't the better, then I wasn't his son. Unfortunately, I didn't care, and I told him that. I told him that his approval meant nix to me. I never had any intention of making him proud."In actuality, he had various fathers who followed that mindset. It was a personality type that made an appearance every now and then.

"What happened ?"Beth asked.

"Oh, he hit me, respective sentence. Yeah, he went nuts."

"So what did you do ?"

‘ I waited until he turned around and then I stabbed him in the acantha. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.'“ I left home plate and became an adventurer."He took a slow sip of his tea."You have to figure out your own reason for doing matter, your own intellect for life. Neither your parents nor God can grant 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 opinion that is vague and fragile, it'll fall apart in your hands and you'll have nothing."

The bivouac went mute, everyone staring into the flaming rather than take the risk of making eye liaison with individual else. Beth, no longer eating, hugged her knee joint to her chest."My beginner was actually an explorer. He taught me how to frivol away a bow and always told me of his adventures. Sometimes he'd disappear for hebdomad at a prison term, but he would always add up domicile late and night, when I was asleep. We had a game where he would obscure under my bed, just before sunrise, and went I'd step onto my floor, he'd grab my ankle and pretend to be whatever goliath he had just fought. It made me a lightness sleeper, because I'd always try to see him abstract in and catch him."

"I wish I knew my father,"said Mira, trying to keep the conversation going.

Like before, it became Trevor's turn, but he still showed no interest in participating. They then realized that he had already fallen asleep.

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

They set out at dayspring the future morning to uphold hunting, while making their way back to town. Just like the day before, their new shaping proved unstoppable against the monsters of the forest, and they found themselves carrying so lots loot that it was draining their stamina faster than the battles. They had to consider frequent stops, and as usual, Noah would use that clock time to collect worthful plant.

At last, they broke out of the binding of the forest, now trekking across farmland with the village not far off. Despite their tiredness, their smell were high up. The sun was setting and their trip had been both productive and informative"I think we should just go straight to the dungeon crab tomorrow,"said Oath."We're already stiff enough."

"Not yet,"said Noah."We've built a formation, now I want to meliorate your abilities."

"So more hunting ?"Beth asked.

"No, training and exercise to increase strong-arm specialty and mana reserves. All of our loot from this trip is going to fund it."

Upon arriving to town, they first stopped off at the topical anaesthetic tannery to sell off the pelts. The possessor of the shop, a skinny man who struggled to grow a comme il faut whiskers, Luke, met them as they entered his store. As one might expect, tanneries weren't known for their pleasant aroma. It smelled like a wet dog that had just fed on roadkill. The air had moved beyond simple malodor and now had its own taste perception, a very gamey tone. It annoyed Noah every time he stopped by.

"Mr. Noah, I haven't seen you lately. And the vernal master, I'm glad to see you are doing well. What have you come with today ?"

"We have pelts to sell, including a limited piece."

All of the brute and other hides were stacked on the counterpunch, with the endure, belonging to the sledgepaw bear, having to be laid out on the trading floor like a rug.

"A sledgepaw ? And in such good status ! This is definitely a rare breakthrough !"

"We fought it as soon as it finished spawning,"said curse."That's as fresh as it gets."

Gospel According to Luke bent down and examined the hide, paying close attention to combat injury created during the battle."And there doesn't appear to be too much damage… I can chip in you two atomic number 79 coins for everything."

"Two and half ?"Noah asked.

"Two, that's my bound. This thing has some big cuts in it."

"Fine."

The 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 hobgoblin arm to the blacksmith, and anything else that they had managed to collect, though their final stop was the druggist, and rather than selling, Noah was buying. curse word and the others stood back and watched as he ordered armfuls of dissimilar plant for sale with the old woman watching him with an eye of interest.

"I'll also take every health and mana potion you're unforced to sell."

"Why can't every customer be like you ?"she asked, teasing him.

They returned to the street."Ok, let's call it a day. Tomorrow dawn, we'll meet back up at the baron's home base and lead off training. I'll use these plants to whip up wad of potions."

The group split up, with Oath and Trevor heading off their various homes, Beth and Mira returning to the inn, and Noah running a few more errands. Night fell, and like the women, Noah made his way to the inn. It was bustling as common, but the mesa that Noah sat at was calm down. He ate dinner party quickly and went up to his room. By candlelight, he ground up the plant he had bought and mixed them together. He had a recollective list of potions and tools to earn for this dungeon adventure, so even his nights would be busy. An hr after he started, he heard a whang at the door. He answered with his knife in hand but out of sight, as was natural. He opened the door to see Beth standing there, a smile on her face that was coy, flighty, activated, and embarrassed, all meld together.

"I wanted to secern you again how sorry I am to hear that about Tin. But just because she's gone, that doesn't entail your dark have to be lonely. I want to get the legend that everyone in townsfolk has been talking about."

An honest grin, rare for Noah, crossed his face. However, it was more in entertainment than lecherousness."That seems like something that would really convey us some bad luck later, considering the unhurt dungeon Crab thing."

"What ?"

"Nothing. As much as I would care to say yes, it would be best if we both went straight for bed, considering the breeding 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 indisputable I can't change your head ?"

"I'm sure as shooting. But if you still have effectiveness tomorrow after dinner, then I'll happily cosset 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 lie of long session of heftiness training and then conjuration preparation in a physically spent state, replenishing strength with potions, and repeating the process."Noah addressed Oath and his booster in front end of the big businessman's house. By his side were a boastfully hammock to the full of red and blue potions, as well as some other intermixture."It's a combination of two workout modus operandi 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 !"

Oath, Beth, and even Trevor looked at her, taking a moment to process what she had said, and then swerving their eye back to Noah like a car drifting around a nook. Oath had forgotten that petty fact, and Trevor, resigned to bearing a still grudge, was remembering those rumors he had heard and finally feeling a bit of esteem towards Noah.

Noah let a small joke escape."Yeah, that's right hand. My possibility is that mana output is a combining of physical and apparitional vigour. When your apparitional mana can't maintain up with the requirement, your physical mana picks up the slack, but it means your spirit gets only constituent of the welfare of training. Therefore, the in effect way to discipline your liveliness's rate of production and reservoir size 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 efficient. Tin was assisting me with the expenditure of strong-arm energy."

"All morning ? !"

"I have a lot of stamina, which is the result of the other physical exercise act. Over a long period of clock time, I've mastered several different signifier of drill and refined them to target brawn growth in a specific way. hoi polloi and former declamatory animals have three form of brawn : red muscleman, which is muscle that is bully for stamina and track ; white sinew, which is muscle for physical power and explosive force ; and pink brawn, which is a combining of both. My routine focusing on producing pink muscle. Unfortunately, sex isn't the use routine, God, though I wish it was.

curse word, I saw you struggling to get up your new sword, but making perfective slashes every sentence. Because of all the time you've spent swinging a hoe or an axe, neither of which is very heavy, you have a lot of red brawniness, which lets you go for a long fourth dimension up to a sealed limit.

Trevor, I noticed your drift decline flying than Oath, despite expending a standardised amount of energy. Your knife thrust and diagonal, while initially quite powerful, made a unwavering decline. You have too a lot white brawniness, which lets you carry Sir Thomas More than curse word, but not as far."

To swearword, it made sentiency. He had yet to see Noah truly fatigued, not after clearing the goblin den or even when they returned to the Greenwich Village the previous day. At the same time, he was capable to slice through ogre and carry their clay with with child long suit. The others had noticed it as well, another family in which he outclassed them.

"Wait a second, if that was your"special mana grooming"you were doing with Tin, then that means you can use thaumaturgy,"said Beth."You told us you couldn't."

"I wasn't sure I could entrust you when we first met. I was willing to tell you how to take a shit yourselves stronger, but not how to make me weaker."

"You've been hiding magic this all time ? But we showed your ours !"Trevor yelled.

"And let that be a object lesson to you in the future. The sooner your enemy knows about your metier, the sooner they know about your weaknesses. When meeting new people, conceal your abilities until the last moment, because that consequence might be a battle. However, since you followed me on that hunting trip and are willing to undergo my exercise subprogram, I believe that it's only average to lay my poster on the table."

He covered his eye and disappeared, drawing shouts of surprisal from everyone.

"Noah ? !"swearing exclaimed, looking around for him.

Noah released the magic and they all yelped again."I can induce myself invisible. When I first unlocked this ability, I could only do it for a few seconds at a time. After a month of breeding, I could do it for more than five minutes."He'd keep his second while secret, as well as the true duration he could take the both of them for. His trustingness in them was still in its infancy.

"I've never seen or even hear of a magic like that before. Maybe some kind of sanctum go ?"Mira muttered.

Her words took away a lot of his nervousness. He still knew so little about the conjuration in this human race, there was no telling how common tycoon like his might be. For all he knew, this lie might make him look wretched. However, if Mira had never heard of it, there was a prospect that it was rare enough to not be considered coarse knowledge.

Noah retrieved some bottle total of a fleeceable liquid and tossed one to oath and each of his admirer."drink that, it's a little something I whipped up from the plants I bought yesterday, along with some honey. It'll give you a small extra vitality. These succeeding few days are going to be exhausting."

.

.

.

Forging Strength

.

.

.

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.

"seed on, get up,"he said.

"I can't do anymore !"

"You know what comes next."

She looked at him with optic full of hate."You're a behemoth,"she hissed.

A clear, calm stream was produced, arching onto the ground with a splash.

"Oh, she broke her disc !"said Oath.

"I wish my mana would grow that fast !"Mira complained.

The water spurting from Beth's fingertip trickled to a halt. She rolled onto her back, feeling like the gruelling road underneath her was now as soft as the king's mattress. It was the second day of Noah's training, midmorning, and he was running lap with cuss and his friends around the fault demesne. Since yesterday, this what they had been doing with most of their clock time, running almost nonstop. It was Noah's pattern that they had to run until they collapsed or nearly threw up, and then immediately cast legerdemain until their mana was completely depleted. Oath was exempt, 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 stamen a bit. While she recovered, cuss, Mira, and Trevor sucked in air. This was the only prisonbreak they got, when somebody collapsed.

"I'm starvation, can we eat lunch now ?"Trevor asked.

"I can't even think of food,"cuss groaned.

They all complained throughout the unit trial by ordeal, but in truth, no one had yet given up and refused to go any further. Despite their anguish, they didn't give in. It wasn't to prove their determination, rather it was the unproblematic fact that Noah's methods were producing results. Just the day before, at the same time, if Beth cast her charm, it would have just been a few drops falling from her digit, less of a fountain and more of a leaky spigot. Also, everyone's stamen was increasing noticeably. Thanks to the health potions, they could perform weeks of daily practice session and convalescence in a routine of hours, compressing the rate of betterment so it was much more obvious.

"Yeah, I'd say so. I'm on my utmost leg too."

Oath and the others groaned in reliever and began throwing down everything they carried, as well as stripping off any armor. Noah was making them run in all of their adventuring geartrain with their weapons in mitt, and in time, he'd incorporate weights to prepare them for carrying the dungeon pubic louse's gem. There was a domain nearby, but they didn't care and squatted down right in the eye of the road to eat. It was on the baron's acres, so there wasn't the worry of dealings.

They each carried lunches made by the maid and were chowing down like ravenous beast. Even Noah was giving in to his hunger and stuffing his face. But as he ate, his heart swept over everyone in the group. This workout was definitely intense, shredding muscles and then immediately repairing them. In this type, the antidote was spoilt than the toxicant, according to the town apothecary. He had spoken to her the daybreak after he returned to Baron Clive of Plassey while on his way to pick up his ring.

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

"Using potions for exercise ? It would be a proficient idea if it wasn't such a bad idea,"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 opine of using them this way. What I want to bonk is if there are any dangerous effects. You always have them in stock, so getting the ingredient isn't an issue."

She took a deep inhale and released a prominent smoke swarm."There is a downside."

"Am I going to have to pay you to find out what it is ?"

"In a boot, are you ? Yes, it's always multitude like you using this method. Mana and health potions, as well as all early mixture used by adventurers, may seem like bottled miracles, but they are a double-edged sword. If overexposed, the body can forget how to reanimate and restore itself. If a wound is repeatedly inflicted on one smirch and healed with potions, eventually the consistency will lose the ability to furbish up that position on its own. slash will bleed ceaselessly, broken clappers will go like rock, and organs will eventually exclude down. The force are even worse if the potion is consumed, rather than poured, as it spreads throughout the body."

"How long before major damage is inflicted ?"

"If used for daily employment, potions will lead to end within two hebdomad. Lesser hurt 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 create and learn new spells."

Noah thought back to his"training day"with Tin. He had performed them every former day and with watered-down potions, multiplying his reserves countless clock time and giving him an edge, but there was no telling how much it had hindered him in the long run.

"And of form you decided to look until now to state me, despite all of the potions I've been buying for the hold up month."

"Are you expecting an apology ?"

"No, I just have something I want you to look at and I would favour some honesty."

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

tercet days, that's how long Noah was willing to use the potion method. That would hopefully will them with enough fourth dimension for the side-effects to wear off before they entered a dungeon. So far, everyone's physical stamen was continuing to spring up, but if he saw them plateau or even reverse, he'd cut them off, coldness Republic of Turkey. He was even holding off on letting everyone use mana potions, instead letting it refill as they ran. He didn't want to tug back the date of their difference if he could avoid it. If anyone got a wound, he made for certain to watch closely, to make for certain their stock was clotting.

"All right, let's head back. We're doing the same routine as yesterday."Everyone groaned and cleaned up their mess, but before they could repay to the manor, Noah stopped them."keep on, we're doing lunges."

"Please, not again !"Mira complained.

"You'll thank me later."

With their arm in hand, everyone began doing long footprint, stretching out one leg and leaning down with their other knee almost touching the soil, and they had to stay fresh a fast pace. It was sweaty, painful work.

"This is so abash, we look idiotic,"Trevor muttered. He seemed to enjoy complaining, but since Noah beat him in a fight, he was keeping his word about following focussing."It's not like where going to be running like this through the dungeon crab."

"No, but it'll build up your strength and stamina. The most authoritative physical asset in scrap is leg strength."

"hold, really ? Even for sword fighting ?"expletive asked.

"Really. If you support your body with a solid foundation, you can fight while staying on your ft longer. It doesn't matter how knockout you can drop a lick or swing a blade if your legs just buckle as soon as you meet underground. Think of it as like trying to fight while standing on slippery ice vs satisfying 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 stress and tear their muscles to the infrangible boundary, repair them with potions to make them even stronger, and repeat, with mana depletions after every collapse.

There was no rest for them when they returned to the manor. Under Noah's education, Oath and the others began stretching and lifting varying exercising weight in various style. To the hard worker working the airfield, it looked like a BASIC workout, but Noah scrutinized every movement, from the variant their arm took when lifting a heavy rock, to the precise slant of their hips when they twisted their bodies. Every movement had to be complete, so that all the stress went to particular muscles. Had he the means, he would go even further, focusing on individual muscular tissue threads.

In a way, Noah was grateful that this opportunity came along. Being an adventurer kept him fighting and fit, but it didn't physique strength in the same way as this workout, and coming to this world had scrambled his routine. He had to use this chance to properly polish his anatomy. He had planned on teaching this workout to Tin to make her stronger and capable of defending herself, but that opportunity was gone.

Once they reached the middle of the afternoon, Noah had them be active on to the next stage of their training. swearing, 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 swearword and Trevor, the exercising was simple, though far from easy. They held out their weapons as far as they could and kept their weaponry raised for as long as possible. They had to keep doing it until they collapsed and they couldn't feel their blazon, at which breaker point, they'd take a wellness potion and start again.

"Ah, dammit !"curse word cursed as he dropped to his knees.

"Fuck, you're unaccented,"said Trevor.

"For once in your life, just shut up !"Mira hissed, ineffectual to keep her usual polite personality.

Her training was similar to theirs, only using magic. Before her floated a ball of worldly concern as large as a beer keg. shite from a bald-headed spot underneath continuously floated up and added itself to the hatful. For her education, she had to maximize the sum of money of terra firma she could lift, as well as the duration, and story of compression. She'd rotate it in the air to save it from becoming lopsided, but every time it moved, she struggled to keep back control.

Noah told her she had to be able to turn dirt into hearty rock in seconds, as well as train 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 furiousness. Despite her efforts, he'd block and deflect her flack away from his soundbox, using assorted fighting vogue he had learned across the multiverse. As soon as she paused her onslaught, he'd attack, forcing her to sharpen her instinctive reflex for dodging.

Finally, when the sun set, Noah said the magic words."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, spread eagle on the soil and staring up at the sky.

"I'm too tired to eat and too hungry to sleep,"Beth added.

"I've spent my liveliness working on this farm, but I've never been this tired before,"said Oath.

It seemed that their stamen had been pushed to its demarcation line, beyond the power point that potions could replenish. Now they needed nutrient and sleep.

"I should probably steer back to the inn while they're still serving dinner,"said Noah.

"You guys can have dinner here,"curse said.

"Why didn't you say that yesterday ?"

"Sorry, but after a day like that, I couldn't spend another minute thinking about preparation and the dungeon crab."

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

The table was old and unvarnished, hand-carved with roughly sanded board, though time had helped to soften its edges and the low-quality mesa fabric hid its surface. On it, standard candle burned to illuminate the room, which smelled like the scorched angle Noah and the others were eating, along with bread and some vegetables. In the modern font cosmos, not even soup kitchens would serve food of this destitute level, but after a month in these new realm, Noah had managed to calibrate his mouthful buds.

It was only the five juvenility lay out. The top executive was not taking portion. As with luncheon, everyone ate voraciously, their bodies begging for living to try and constitute up for the fat they had burned. It was surprising that Mira actually noticed Oath had stopped eating, staring had his half-finished dinner.

"Oath ? Is something untimely ?"

"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 corny,'Noah thought, drinking from his Methedrine so as to not split his neat face.

"You're going to make me grim,"Trevor muttered. Noah resisted the desire to thank him.

"What were your brother like ?"Beth asked.

"My former, Colt, was a soldier, serving under General Tarnas against the barbarians in Handent."

"He really served under Tarnas ? !"Beth exclaimed, bolting to her feet.

"Is that a good or bad thing ?"Noah asked.

"Adwith Tarnas is one of the nation's corking heroes, and easily the strongest fighter,"said Mira, trying to hide her embarrassment with a smiling."about children are raised on his narration, and for as long as I've known Beth, she's been a vast fan."

Beth sat back down, a drunk smile on her face."When I was young, he and some of his personnel passed through my town. Watching him hinge upon down the street, wearing golden armor… I was no tenacious an unacquainted child. I had awakened my womanly desires."

"You never heard of him ? What rock candy have you been living under ?"Trevor asked.

"A big one. Tell me about the war, I'm curious."

"Oh, well, according to my chum, it started when the barbarian began ransacking Greenwich Village along the border, eventually leading to the famous slaying of High priest Grybaen by Chief Waer. After that…"

The conversation had taken a strange turn, but Noah absorbed every detail while making his plans for the future. That Nox, at the inn, Beth didn't go with Mira into their deal room, but followed Noah into his. She had been too tired the previous night, but tonight, she had just enough strength to indulge her curiosity.

The third day of grooming was just like the two before, including the Saame function, but now with weight unit added. However, the pulmonary tuberculosis of potions had dropped in every activity. The growth they had gone through over just a few days would have normally taken weeks or even calendar month. In the late good afternoon, their breeding was changed. Now instead of simply holding out his sword, Oath was practicing his slashes like he was studying kendo. He needed to make both his attacks and his recuperation faster.

Next to him, Trevor was improving his thrusts, using what Noah had taught him and incorporating his pegleg so he could increase the long suit 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 sharpen his accuracy. Beth and Mira had switched berth, now with Beth straining her legerdemain and Mira staff-fighting with Noah. Unlike Mira and Trevor, Beth's magical spell couldn't be used for fighting and she appeared to be reaching the limit of her charming aptitude, but creating fresh water was something they'd need if they spent more than a day in the dungeon.

On the twenty-five percent day, Noah met everyone at the king's land as he normally would. He held out a backpack wide-cut of potions."Today, I want you all to see if you can conform to the routine on your own. Until we enter the dungeon crab louse, I am completely banning the use of all potions."

"That's weirdo !"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 donjon crab, and the recollective we wait, the to a greater extent competition will suffer. I don't want to touch the bottom of the shell and regain all of the avenium already taken."He put the packsack down and put on a crownwork with all of its sac filled with rocks."come on, time to start running."

The workout proceeded as planned, but with no less complaining. Now without potions, they could only gather their strength during breaks, but the number of times they had to stop and rest was as Noah predicted. On the fifth part day, Noah faced them with the morning sun burning away the mists clinging to the big businessman's estate. For Oath and his friends, this was the last day of training and they all felt convinced. They weren't blind to their own growth. They now stood with body covered in weights, ready for Noah to give the sign to start their good morning run.

"Since today is the net day, we're going to do something unlike. Trevor, I want you to hit the earth with a down strike and your stiff spell."

"What for ?"

"Just trust me. Pour as practically mana as you can into the axeblade and ease up it a shot."

Trevor grunted and held out his halberd, and from the bit he began channeling his mana, everyone noticed the divergence. These past tense several sidereal day, whenever he, Beth, and Mira practiced with their thaumaturgy, it was always in a state of exhaustion, forcing their consistence to pressure out every last drop of tycoon. This was the first sentence in 24-hour interval that Trevor was using a tour while at full strong point. What would have been a shimmering aura around the vane was now like a corking colorless flaming, causing his friends to instinctively mistreat back.

"Whoa,"Trevor said, unable to nibble any other words. He held his halberd with trembling handles, feeling like it was a rabid animal in his hold. He raised it above his head like a blinding torch."run !"Apparently, saying the name of the spell helped focus the mind and increase the potential of the piece. To Noah, it seemed a bit ridiculous, but it did make things a bit more entertaining.

As per the name, he swung down with the halberd like he was performing a beheading, and the here and now the brand touched the ground, it was like a mortar one shot had gone off. A chest-thumping plosion was heard and crap and sway were sent flying in all directions. Originally, what would have simply buried his weapon in the shite, had now opened up a crater the size of it of a bathtub. Just as incredible, the strength of the mana flowing from the halberd had not lessened in the slightest, nor did Trevor come out fatigued.

Everyone was stunned, with Noah flashing a rare grin."Mira, your event would probably be standardised if I asked to use your strongest magic spell. Now that you have all this mana to put to work with, think of it as a imagination for experimentation. I don't know how the two of you develop magic, whether you just create new turn yourselves or learn by watching others, but I want you to devote yourselves to improving your acquisition. point me something new. Today, we're forgetting about strength and stamina and focusing entirely on technique.

Beth, I want you to drill your archery until your fingers bleed and you can dissipate the annexe of a fly. As for Oath…"Noah drew his longsword."You're going to be fighting me."

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

Beth's chest heaved with each crusade, and her nipples, chilled by the evening, pointed out and drew arcs 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 hip joint refusing to obey her dictation and slow her bounce.

She now took a easy stride, rolling her pelvic girdle from English to side while she regained her strength. Her pretty font was one of intoxication, her nous overtaken by lecherousness and endorphins. Her smile was lewd, her facial expression flushed, her sassing wet, her educatee dilated. Noah could see the unused elbow grease on her physical structure with the light of the night sky. What was just supposed to be a prompt tryst to strike the ol'scabies had turned into something a little more intense.

Sitting up, Noah kissed her tit and grabbed her ass, kneading it like pelf. Beth had a nice gymnastic figure, not often fat on her, but the ass of a volleyball player. Noah's lips on her nipple, his humanness stirring her up, and his hands massaging abstruse into her muscleman, these stimulant combined into a force that Beth was struggling to withstand. They were out in the woods, so Beth's moan could attract monster, or even worse, the capitulum of her friends.

Mira knew about them, so Oath and Trevor were probably aware as well, but still, it would be a bit bounderish make them get word the sounds of groan and flesh against physical body. That was Beth's thinking, but Noah didn't upkeep either way. His only care was getting stuck in an inept conversation with everyone because of this. That, and the fact that he and Beth were breaking the rules of every repulsion movie and having sex in the woodwind. The flag they were raising could have been visible from space.

Beth's strength gave out, a final flood tide draining her and leaving her body limp. Noah was forced to lower to her to the ground, but she didn't object to him continuing to hurtle until he had a orgasm of his own.

"Come on, we should get back to the camp,"he said.

"What a romanticist thing to say after filling me up."

"You know what this is."

She giggled."Relax, I'm kidding."

They got dressed and returned to the camp, where their buster venturer 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 eye down.

"You do make it awfully hard to sleep. I thought some wolf were tearing apart a goblin out there,"said Trevor. In retaliation, Beth kicked him while circling the campfire to make her spot.

"watch it !"he shot back.

Noah took his own spot and stoked the fervency."enough. Everyone, get some rest. We're going to need our posture for tomorrow."They were less than half a day's cost increase to the dungeon crab.

"None of us can sleep. We're too nervous about tomorrow,"curse word said.

"It'll be ticket. In twenty old age, you'll ask your children ‘ did I ever tell you about the time I conquered a dungeon crab ?'And they'll groan and say, ‘ yes, father, a one hundred fourth dimension. We're sick of hearing about it.'”

"Are you going to do anything with the territory ?"Beth asked."change any laws ?"

"No. Clive is perfect the way it is, and I don't want to change anything."

"You're letting a golden opportunity pillowcase by,"said Noah.

"What do you entail ?"

"I assume that as long as the kingdom gets its taxes, it won't upkeep about how thing change, so you might as well try some things. Think of the townsfolk as the position to perform mixer experiments."

"What's a sociable experimentation ?"Trevor asked.

"It's when you put the great unwashed in a sure placement with certain conditions and see how they react. You can see how human being 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 get a line about masses. In the nerve center of town, put up a statue with a polarity saying not to touch, that the paint is wet. Then you can see how many citizenry are actually going to touch it."

"What is that supposed to do ?"oath asked.

"How many the great unwashed are in Clive, a hundred ? If half of them affect the statue, then you could bring in the argument that half of the human backwash is dumb enough to pertain paint even when they know it's wet. Or perhaps it's simply that half the town can't read.

If you repeated the experiment in another townsfolk, maybe a big city in another state, you'll probably find that different numbers of mass will touch the statue. Then you can get down to figuring out why. Why do different areas have dissimilar results ? Are the mass simply dumber ? Is it a literacy job ? Is there a finish of rebellion to dominance ?

There was once an ancient city named Rome, which had a massive Stone battle bowl called the Coliseum. It was so monolithic, that the emperor put the psyche of his comfortably architects into figuring out how to contrive it so that the spectators could easily get in and out, otherwise, they'd start a debauchery. You get a bunch of people together in close proximity, one of two dissimilar things may bump, sometimes even both at the same time. The initiatory is that mass will require to pull in one's horns into themselves. They'll want to create personal blank space, show a border, draw that line in the sand that no one can cross. If individual crosses that line, they may get horrific, they may get violent ; no affair how humble it is, it produces a minus reaction.

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 recapitulate it, because you want to believe in the group, you want to conceive you're right. You want to think that you're in the presence of people who know what they are doing. If you're in a mob where soul is shouting for the death of the King and everyone cheers, part of you will naturally agree.

Someone losing their irritation will come out a fight, that fight will disperse and trigger more scrap, and suddenly the orderly pot that were simply trying to impart the Coliseum are sweeping through capital of Italy, having abandoned all thought of civility and now simply destroying everything in their way."

"That could never happen,"said Beth, as if Noah had just uttered a child's nonsense.

"I've seen it materialise plenty of time. Once you establish the linguistic rule that escape is not available, that taper starting line burning, and it burns quick."

"I don't know. I think citizenry are trade good at substance,"said Mira."They don't just go nutcase like that."

"Then you could prove it. Let's say you could create any kind of mixer experimentation, completely gratuitous rebound, like a ambition. What would you do ?"

"How am I supposed to know ?"

"The rest of you ? Just think ‘ I wonder how many people would ( blank ) if I ( blank ) ?'Or ‘ what would encounter if I put ( dummy ) and ( blank ) together ?'Literally whatever you wanted to recognize, or simply just see."Everyone looked up into the distance, trying to process the challenge."Think about it. It'll helper you fall asleep."

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

A solid thump woke curse word up, a sword striking the dry land just column inch from his face. He instinctively shouted in terror and tried to scurry back, realizing it was Noah's sword and he was standing over him. His friends, calorie-free sleepers in an area this unsafe, woke up in a flash and got to their feet with their arm raised, confused and alarmed by the sight of Noah in the predawn Light. Was this an assassination attempt ? However, they looked down and spotted Noah's veridical target. It was some kind of insectoid creature, a stubby centipede with a bulbous plate. It was the size of a squirrel, with frightening pincers.

"What the Hell is that matter ? !"Mira exclaimed.

"It's one of the parasites from inside the dungeon Cancer. I did as a good deal inquiry as I could on the dungeon crabby person 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 Crab ?"

"Almost certainly, but they're flooding out into the woods, so just means that the more we find out here, the few we'll have to agitate in the crab. Now let's eat some breakfast and get a move on."

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

It was a literal stack of retrousse ground and shattered bedrock, the resolution of the dungeon crab rising up from the planet's crust and jutting out the tip of its shell. At the very tiptop was the incoming, but the batch was no denotation of just how large the actual crab was. Before they could go down, they'd have to climb up.

"aspect up there, I think I see a tent."

Noah scanned where Beth was pointing and confirmed."person must take set up camp there before heading in."

"There are camps all over the passel. There must be a lot of masses in there,"said Mira.

"Most of them have probably been killed by now. Those cantonment are abandoned,"said Trevor.

"Trevor !"

Despite Mira's anger, Noah agreed with Trevor. The closer he looked, the more tent he saw, and the majority of them probably belonged to the dead, but he didn't want Oath and the others chewing on that."Relax. Everyone going in just packed light because they want to carry as lots treasure as they can, and probably couldn't carry anything extra when they came out. We'll be in the Lapp place when we come back."

"Wait, I see hoi polloi too,"said Beth.

She was right, there were mass of adventurers roaming the mountain.

"They must be scavenging for gemstone and cute metal. When the crab appears, it probably pushes up more than just stone and dirt."

"If you can get gold from sifting through the dirt, then why bother going into the donjon ?"Mira asked.

"They're after whatever they can get their manus 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 mountain. There were no established paths and the foothold was unmanageable, to say the to the lowest degree. The dirt had settled since it was first moved by the arrival of the crab, but there were no plant life to bind it all together, so it was like hiking up the side of a backbone dune in many areas. They also had to be wary of the big stone clump mixed in. They were freshly broken and hadn't been weathered by the air current and the pelting, so they could easily cut through skin. While climbing, Noah grabbed a stone handhold and his palm was skinned by the crystal-like sharpness.

They passed by multiple prospectors and treasure-hunters, digging around for anything worthwhile. No one paid them any attention, and they offered none in regaining. However, that changed when they heard the sounds of fighting. Nearby, they saw a barbate man fighting off one of the donjon parasites that had wandered outside. It was a four-legged crustacean, the sizing of a Wolf. It swung its great forelimbs like clubs and tried to force the man onto his back.

"Noah, we need to help him,"said Mira.

"Keeping him alive isn't my job. Besides, any strength you use against that one lusus naturae will be strength you can't use in the shell."

"Then consider this a field mental test !"Mira held out her staff."Shatter Mace !"

Pieces of Stone and packed poop flowed to the end of her faculty, joining together into a hardened sphere, the sizing of a basketball and covered in sharp protuberance. She left the group and ran over to where the man was fighting, with her weapon not hindering her trend at all. Rather than physical enduringness, she was holding the field together and lifting it with mana.

The brute had the man pinned on his binding and he was fending off its snapping pincers with his pickaxe. Sneaking up behind it, Mira raised her staff and brought it down onto the monster's back, unleashing the total weight unit of the stone and breaking through its case. The lusus naturae hissed in pain and fell over, and she dispatched it with another golf stroke, this one crushing its exposed oral sex. A week ago, such a task would have been impossible for her, but under Noah's tutelage, both her skills in legerdemain and physical combat had been multiplied several times over.

"Thanks,"the man grumbled before dusting himself off and walking away.

She returned to the group, where Beth was clapping for her."Well done !"

Noah, however, clasped his helping hand on her shoulder."Don't do that again."There was very little ira in his voice, but still, she shrunk away."The Sami goes for the rest of you. We're not here to roleplay hero, we're not here to save aliveness. We're here to construct money and capture the dungeon. Our strength, our attention, our weapons, our potions, they are reserved only for our own use and our own benefit. If you save individual, it had better be to use them as a face pack mule or a meat buckler. Understood ?"Everyone nodded."just, then let's move on."

They resumed hiking up towards the height, and Oath soon asked a question.

"Noah, you researched dungeon crabs, right ? Did you recognise that fiend ?"

"Yes, it was one of the parasite mentioned in the script your father had."

"Do you have a go at it what else we'll find ?"

"Unfortunately, no, there was actually very picayune written information about the dungeon crabs and what exists within their shells. Those who remain in the upper portions and survive share their information, but those who delve deep enough to get through the avenium either die or restrain it a secret."

"hold, why is it a secret ?"Trevor asked.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because the commonwealth's noblesse doesn't want people knowing how to join their ranks. In this Phthirius pubis are the keystone to the kingdom, after all. Too many untested upstarts could go against the balance of power between the fertile and the poor, or they could take form factions that get in the way of the higher-ranked nobleman. Some info gets out, of path, from those who manage to miss with their lives but don't conquer the dungeon, or from former countries, but I imagine that the only adventurers who are really informed are those already working for high-level nobles."

A monstrous bird ended the conversation, as up ahead, a new terror revealed itself. It stood on a pair of muscular legs, like a predacious boo, but it had a low dead body and no neck, only a forward-placed skull that resembled an alligator. It was a span of snapping jaws on metrical unit, that was all it could be described as, and it was glaring at Noah and the grouping. It had the high-pitched ground, and after emitting another hiss, several more come along, from both above and the sides.

"A pack-type parasite, interesting,"Noah said as he drew his sword."Get ready, everyone, the combat starts early."

They took formation, with Oath in front and Noah and Trevor guarding the flank, while Beth and Mira attacked from a distance. The demon closed in all at once, leaping through the air while flashing the talons on their ft and spreading their jaws.

"Trevor !"Noah shouted.

"Phalanx Spears !"he cast while swinging his halberd like a flag.

A trail of mana was left behind with each apparent movement, and the mana solidified into floating sword like mist condensing into ice. The floating blades pierced three of the beasts before they could land, two Thomas More were wounded, and the relief had their concentration broken and failed to pounce properly. With that curtain raising, Noah and expletive began hacking and slashing away at those who landed closest by.

"globe Bind !"

Mira stabbed the ground, and beneath the wounded beasts, pits opened up to swallow them whole, then were closed with earthen spike like John Cage bar. It wouldn't hold them long, but it kept them out of the fight. Not only could Mira now evidence the while multiple times from one casting, but the footing proved perfect for its use. Those who had avoided Trevor's charm and Noah and expletive'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 mobile ones were slain, the wounded were put out of their misery.

"Good, well done,"said Noah.

Normally they would then harvest the giant for valuable pieces, but the mart for dungeon Cancer sponger was too niche to be worth the effort. Besides, they wanted to salve as much room for gem as they could.

They continued their climb, and after a duet more monster battles, they reached the summit at twelve noon. There, sticking out of the ground was the tip of the crab's shell, like a light family on a rocky drop-off. Noah could see the roll of the shell, and before them, the opening, a room access large enough for an elephant to walk through. Noah reached out and touched the carapace, made of substance somehow firm enough to stand firm the hotness and pressure of the earth's interior.

In the month since Noah's arrival to this world, he had seen plenty of things that shocked and baffled him, from magic to teras, but just the stack of the entryway blew him away. To intend that such a beast like this could exist, that something so massive occupied this world. It blurred the park sentiency accumulated from more than a one hundred lifetimes. Where did these thing come from ? Were they made by deception ? Perhaps by some kind of god ? How old was this one ? Was it sound ? What was its life cycle ?

"I never thought I'd ever see something like this,"said curse word, similarly amazed.

Everyone in the grouping was staring at the white tower in awe and acquisition. True, the real struggle had only just begun, but compared to what they were doing not too long ago, just reaching this place was a huge achievement.

"aspect at this view,"said Beth.

Without any trees to block their spate, the mountain superlative let them see for miles in all directions.

"I think I can see the Village !"said Trevor.

"Let's interruption here for lunch, gather some of our enduringness, and then channelise inside."

They all sat down and Noah pulled solid food and water supply skins out of his mob. He had sufficiency food and piddle to feed them all for several days, and thanks to Beth's magic, they could refill their canteens whenever needed. However, everyone carried two daytime of rations, just in case they got separated. Their lunch consisted of dried Pisces the Fishes and yield, as well as some staff of life, something Inner Light to save them moving. Up atop the stack, there was a courteous snap, and the view was spectacular.

"Noah, think of what you were saying hold up night about societal experiments ?"Beth asked."If I could try one, I'd want to see what happens when you put only adult female together and task them with building a guild. What would Clive face like if it had only women ?"

"A female-only society ? Yeah, that would certainly be interesting. Ok, paint a pictorial matter for me. What do you expect would happen ?"

"I think that without any men to get in the way, they would expand,"she said, rather smugly.

"Until there is a spider that needs to be killed,"said Trevor.

"Come on, I want detail. For instance, there are office in high society that are typically considered manly, and others that are considered womanly. If solely women perform the manly tasks, then what will change ? Will the nature of the task change, or will the women modification ? Will the women 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 days hunting, fighting, scavenging, getting down and unsporting. But you also think yourself quite girlish, right ? But how do you think a girl who spends her days weaving and taking care of children sees you ? Will a divide variety ? The character A personalities arguing with the Type B ?"

"Type A personalities ?"

"Never judgement. Oath, you got an idea for an experiment ?"

curse took a cryptical intimation."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 add up erasure of culture and starting from scratch. If you completely remove nurture from the equation, then you can truly see how nature manifests. Will men and cleaning lady follow way considered pattern by high society ? Will they adopt the Sami purpose that their ascendant 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 prison term to take the plunge.

.

.

.

The Gauntlet

.

.

.

Once they had finished eating, they packed up their things and entered the shell, with Noah taking the lead and holding a torch. Because of the scale's wind, they had to descend a voluted transition, like a stairway but without literal stairs. The walls, story, and ceiling of the passage were perfectly fluid, but there were no full-strength lines of any kind. It was like wandering through a specify canyon carved by flashfloods. Most of the floor was covered in shit and fall apart stone, perhaps seeping in from the opening of the casing. Luckily this meant that Beth would have 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 earthy, like a mineshaft or a stone pit, but he could also smell the biological signature of the parasites. The air seemed ok to suspire and the torch didn't appear to own any effect burn. Was all that oxygen from the outside ? How long could the oxygen last if the crab went back below the surface ? How long did the donjon Phthirius pubis live underground before surfacing ? Either the crab louse and its parasites could go in an oxygen-poor surroundings, or something within the crab could develop a human-friendly atmosphere.

They had descended fifty feet when the first forking appeared, another tunnel branching off from the staircase.

"We're going to keep going down, right ?"Oath asked.

"Yeah, whatever enactment leads us down, we'll take it."

One of the bipedal parasites burst from the forking tunnel, aiming for Noah. He stepped to the side to elude, disembowel his unawares blade, and stabbed the beast through the spine when it landed.

The deeper they delved, the more branching burrow they came across, but they continued their declivity, until reaching a large chamber at the fundament of the staircase, with five tunnels spread out. The stairway had been just wide enough for two multitude to walk shoulder-to-shoulder, but these burrow were like subway assembly line. There were signboard of venturer coming through here, marking the burrow to try and keep raceway of which paths they had taken. There were also some descent sputtering, torn clothes, and a broken sword.

"What's that, hanging from the ceiling ?"Oath asked.

Above their heads, gooey threads dangled like icicles, and at the al-Qaeda of each, a small ball of light.

"Cave worms. Their trunk are bioluminescent, attracting target, which get caught in their train of thought like spider webs. This is a good matter. We won't need this."Noah extinguished the great mullein and stored it in his anchor ring."Ok, let's split up. We can encompass more ground that way."

"Wait, WHAT ? !"everyone exclaimed.

It was the hardest Noah laughed since coming to this Earth."Relax, I'm just kidding. Can you imagine ? Let's take this path over here. It looks like it continues to slope."

They took the right-most path, further descending into the dungeon Cancer the Crab, and soon stopped at the ingress of a branch chamber, hearing movement within. They stayed against the wall so as to avoid 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 bundle of maggots, each the size of a football, feasting upon the clay of some slain adventures. Their fat bodies quivered as they peeled figure from os. The rampart were honeycombed to house the puppet between meal, and three adult were standing guard.

The guard were hemipterous insect of some kind, consisting of four legs surrounding a head and torso that were miscellaneous together with offstage between the ramification. The peg were armor-plated and sharp, and their downward-pointing face had teeth like an angler fish. They looked almost like wing bar stools. Noah drew his sword and killed one of the wildcat without it ever realizing it was there. Seeing their familiar spontaneously die, nearly being sliced in half in the process, the other two began to panic and search for the invisible assailant. He killed them almost as easily as he had killed the first.

"Clear,"Noah said as he released his spell.

He reappeared, just as swearword and the others entered the way, immediately broadcasting their revulsion at the corpse being fed on. Noah knocked the pile of body over, and kicked away the maggots so that he could get down poking around with his sword.

"Don't loot them !"cuss said in disgust.

"Why ? Because we didn't pour down them ? We're adventurers, we thrive on the deaths of others, be they humans or monsters. Meh, nothing great."He was able to collect a few weapons and pointer, but that was it.

"Hey, something's coming !"Trevor shouted. They ran out into the vestibule, hearing the phone of wingbeats. Further down the tunnel, respective Sir Thomas More four-legged microbe were flying towards them, having likely detected the deaths of their familiar."Phalanx lance !"he then cast.

He blocked the passage with an array of mana blades and Beth began firing arrow, but the armor plating on the monster's legs proved stronger and they smashed their way through. swearword 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 more wrong, then fended off the others with well-placed shot. 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 feet, so the freak were heading towards him. He put away his longsword and instead switched to his short sword. The first bug that tried to tackle him was met with his carapace and then a sudden thrust. He repeated the strategy, breaking the opposition'inertia by blocking with his cuticle and then stabbing while they were disoriented.

The fight had ended and alterative potions were used where needed. This certainly was an interesting environment for battle. almost of the monsters seen so far had toilsome outer carapace, something Noah and his group had little experience in dealing with. Their radical focused on attacking rather than survival, as they were always fighting brute that were as vulnerable as themselves. Aside from Noah's cuticle, the grouping didn't have much in way of defence reaction outside of illuminate armor—and a unassailable offensive, of course.

They continued on deeper, passing by unnumbered branching tunnels and eventually coming to another fork. Once more, their ears stopped them from proceeding, as they heard movement down one of the tunnels, and soon saw it as well. It was a flood of centipedes, just like the one that had tried to kill Oath that morning.

"Holy bastard !"Mira shrieked, something very out of grapheme for her.

"Come on, this way !"

Noah ran down one of the passages with the others following, but so too did the centipedes. It seemed they were familiar with the scent of masses and now hungered for Noah's group. He slowed his pace, letting the others get past him, then untied a bag hanging from his bang and scattered its powdery contents across the floor. It was lye, the best he could make within rationality. It was much more caustic than what he had made in the timberland 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 annoyance. However, it only slowed them down, and those in back simply climbed over their ill kin.

They kept running, though more devil were bursting out of the burrow ahead. Noah and Oath took them out to the proficient of their power, trying to at to the lowest degree incapacitate them with one gash. Those not slain retreated immediately as the radical passed by, not wanting to get the quarry 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 surge enchantment,"said Noah.

They entered the chamber, though regret filled them immediately. A new, colossal risk awaited them. It was a worm, coiled like a hissing cobra, with a physical structure More than ten animal foot wide and hanker as a football field. Its build was boisterous, like living stone, and it was covered in unnumbered small human foot. Towering over them in this arena-like chamber, it stared without center and roared from a oral cavity that was simply a pit of teeth.

The survey of the ogre shocked everyone into a stunned muteness, like swearword 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 inwardness seemed like it would live on forever, but that next thump shook him from his stupor, letting him roll up his cerebration and began working on a plan.

"Mira, do it now ! Beth, shoot some arrows into that affair's mouth or anything else that looks balmy ! Oath, you and I will be the decoy. Trevor, you attack with all your magic. We need to just bruise it long enough to get away !"

No one else moved, but Noah giving Oath a shove woke them up. Mira turned back to look the oncoming wave of monsters, and counted with a wave of her own. She cast her spell upon the earthen ground, taking control of all of the rock music and dirt and unleashing it on the centipedes like a mudslide. While that was going on, Beth was firing arrows at the louse's mouth, striking its exposed flesh but only doing enough harm to piss it off.

It turned its attending on swearing and Noah, running at it from its left hand and properly English. It lunged at them both, aiming to eat Noah and swat Oath with its tail. Noah made himself invisible and dodged the worm's mouth when it lost trail of him, and swearword blocked the onset with a swing of his sword, breaking into the fiend's tegument. As they had distracted it, Trevor could now loose his charged conjuring trick. Both the spear leaf blade and the axe caput of his halberd were glowing with a effulgent storm of mana, and runes spun around the barb. He charged towards the insect's coiled body, released a bellow of hysteria, and brought down his leaf blade like a divine smite.

"Voulge Slash !"

It was a combining of his stabbing and cleaving tour, and while the motions were the Saame as just a normal lilt, it inflicted wrong differently in the material body of a gash. It had less penetrating power than the other two, possibly failing to break the worm's jumpy exterior, but it would do much big damage to the form. His mana, having solidified around the chief of his halberd, carved deep into the louse's figure, and as Trevor swung his weapon down, he left a deeply cut on unlike segment of is body. Blood poured from the wound and the dirt ball 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, wanting to get as far away as possible. They kept maneuvering through the dungeon, fighting the monsters leaping out while they searched for a safety slur. It seemed like every time they slowed down or even paused, something would burst out and attempt to contain a chunk out of them. Finally, when they were gasping for air with their throat feeling as dry as George Sand, the group found a chamber with a small scuttle and no monsters inside. They set their packs against the entrance, hopefully to help oneself keep the monsters from detecting them. They all slumped down on the floor. Even Noah was feeling sick from the adrenaline.

"Fuck ! This stead is a destruction trap !"Trevor exclaimed as he poured a healing potion on a deep puncture injury in his thigh, caused by something resembling a cycloptic tiger catching him with one of its titan fangs.

"No wonderment magnanimousness is the prize for conquering one of these things. You deserve to be a damn king if you can survive this place,"Beth panted. Despite fighting from the spinal column, she was covered in behemoth blood.

"Guys, I got ta William Tell you, I'm not sure we're ready for this station. It's too soon,"said Oath.

"Don't say that. We're alert, aren't we ? We managed to get through it and discover a home to rest. Not too long ago, we would make died before even reaching the dungeon. We can do this, right, Noah ? Noah ?"Mira turned to Noah, seeing him staring at his trembling hired man, but with an expression that, frankly, didn't fit the situation.

After dying so many metre, death was no longer something Noah feared. It was to be avoided, but with about the Lapp amount of endeavour used to head off dying in a television game. He still possessed the survival instinct in some fashion, but he could no longer properly apprize the groovy risk of death in a given situation. He was no to a greater extent afraid of guns that he was a coffee tabular array's sharp recession. But what he felt when he saw the dirt ball was true fear, when he realized that not only was the dirt ball the most likely effort of his death in that room, but that it was a destruction he wanted to avoid more than any other. That flavor of fear, after so long, it was as though some of his soul's thirst was clenched.

"Noah ?"she asked once more than, hearing him chuckle.

He shook himself back from his view."Sorry, I was just thinking about this place."

"And ?"

"A snail."

"What ?"

"The Holy Writ at the baron's home, it had a word picture of a dungeon crab. It might possess just been a guess at what it looked like, but it was of a jumbo hermit crabby person. However, hermit grouse don't create their own shells. Snails do. Hermit pediculosis pubis just take them over. So, either we're actually inside a snail, or if this really is a anchorite 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 mind of matter. We'll be okay, we can get through this. Had we tried this a week ago, none of you would still be here, but you've all originate stronger."

"So what should we do ?"swearing asked.

"Exactly what we've been doing. Just watch our dance step, take it one challenge at a clip, and keep our calendar method of birth control steady. Besides, I'd say there is plenty of inducement to bewilder around."

Everyone glanced around the chamber and gasped when they realized the ground was gleaming like a starry sky. It was laborious to tell under the blue brightness of the glow worm, but it was turn of alloy and gems mix in into the dirt.

"Our outset score !"Beth exclaimed.

They began collecting the glimmer pieces and cleaning off the undesirable dirt and rock. nearly of it was raw and reduce, so extra sediment had to be scraped, hammered, and rubbed off, and even then, there was no telling how much atomic number 79 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 dungeons and the hoarded wealth within them, his inner wonk had been imagining something more along the lines of an actual treasure chest. That insect back there could be considered a mini-boss, after all.

With their purport lifted, they left the safety of the sleeping accommodation to continue their pedigree.

"Trevor, you take decimal point,"said Noah.

"What ?"

"I mean you're in front, in the halfway blank space. expletive will now be opposite from me, where you once were. In these narrow tunnels, we don't need to worry about an enemy circling around to Beth and Mira, so it would be best to put your long reach directly in the front man. If we enter a wide-open space, we might switch back."

Trevor stepped forward and led the group, and not long after they departed, they faced off against a pair of the four-legged monsters like the one that Mira killed outside. Now in the center field, Trevor warded them off with his halberd.

"swearword, with me. Trevor, don't let them stand over us,"said Noah.

He and Oath stepped forward, keeping just out of range of Trevor's halberd with swearing delivering a mighty cleave. His blade cracked into the monster's shell and struck its brain, though the wound was shallower than Oath expected. Nearby, Noah was fending off golf shot and stab of the wildcat's jagged forelimbs, but when an opening came, he hacked one of them off and then force his steel into the monster's face.

"These shells might be worth something."

knife in script, they carved the top plate off, each one the size of it of a tug shield. They were hard adequate to blockade Oath's cleave and rather light, so there was the secure hazard they'd be worth something to an armor dealer.

They proceeded onwards, fighting their way through wafture after waving of the racing shell's inhabitants. They survived each meeting, but not without shedding blood. They kept their eyes peeled, not just for teras, but for glimmers of hoarded wealth. They searched every room, finding gold, atomic number 47, and gemstone of all different colors. They also found plenty of signs of human being activity, though rarely any torso, Saame with the goliath, and the dead remnant were a constant annoyance.

"delay, hold up."

"What is it ?"Trevor asked.

"This part of the hall, we should head off it. see at it."The succeeding hundred feet of the tunnel had a different eubstance than the rest. It was a fleshy, perforate Earth's surface, like a stunner sponge."Something like that is probably some kind of trap. We need to backtrack."

"It looks exquisitely. It probably means we're getting close to the bottom of the shell."

"It very well could be, but it's also too suspicious to risk. We're going back."

But as they turned around, they heard sidesplitter and shouts and little terror, and from the way they just came, another adventuring party appeared, a grouping of several adult 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 stop them."Wait, you can't go this way !"

She was shoved aside like she had been struck like a charging Taurus, the man who did it knocking her in the chin with the handgrip of his axe to get her out of the way.

"Mira !"Beth exclaimed.

She and Oath rushed to her side, while nearby, the belly laugh of reverence became screaming of painful sensation. The men, having entered the hallway, now found themselves being assailed from all face by flying Stinger. They shot out of the maw in the wall and cap like slug 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 blood from her oral cavity and seemed delirious. swearword forced her to booze a wellness potion, but it wouldn't get her into fighting condition soon enough. The monster the men had feared arrived, some kind of hulking crossbreed between a grizzly bear and a komodo dragon. Its spine was covered in thickheaded exfoliation and its underside didn't seem very decrepit either. It stood on its hind legs, exposing its baneful chela, and released a holler from between two rows of shark-like teeth.

Beth, standing behind Oath and Trevor, shot it in the belly with an arrow, though the combat injury was shoal, and it would bring time for the poison to kick in. Regardless, it took the message and dropped back down onto all quartet and charged.

"Mountain divider !"Trevor cast.

He thrust at the oncoming freak, aiming for its read/write head with the blade alight with mana. The beast managed to nullify a deadly injury, instead staking the black eye in the shoulder. Its scales were like thick stones and just as grueling, 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 bulwark. Noah took out a lye turkey and struck the beast in the facial expression, blinding it and making it reel back.

"Beth, save Trevor. Oath, get over here !"

Noah didn't founder it any chance to recover and lunged for the teras, slashing and stabbing at any berth that looked soft. He focused on the wounded shoulder, but the wildcat was guarding it well, and despite being blinded, it was swinging its claws with mortal truth, and even Noah ended up with some mystifying cuts across his thigh. Oath came out from behind Noah and brought down his steel on the goliath's head, doing some fragile concussive damage.

"I'll distract it."Noah cast his invisibility and charged at the fiend while drawing a distance of thick Chain from within his hoop. He wrapped it around the monster's cervix and jumped onto its back. He pulled with his wax weight, forcing it to raise back on its hind legs so that curse could convulse it across the stomach and let out its internal variety meat

"Earth Surge !"Mira cast as he got out of the way.

Since Oath had created a way in, Mira bombarded the monster with a flack of malicious gossip and rock, aiming for the laceration. It fell on its back, too wounded to keep 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 fend,"Mira whined.

"Trevor looks ok, but I think we should terminate for the nighttime. I'm starvation,"Beth said.

"Yeah, it's probably night by now. We'll call it a day."

They searched around, finding a elbow room for them to encamp out in. They made a door out of ogre shells and barricaded it with their travelling bag. There were no glow worms in this elbow room, so Noah lit his torch.

"Let's eat quick and get some sleep. I'll take low gear watch."

After a restless dark, they left their enclosure."There is something I want to check out,"he said. He led them back to the corridor that had killed the former venturer grouping, only to find that the corps were gone, same with the panoplied monster that had given them so a great deal trouble before."Interesting."

"What ? Something just came along and took the bodies. What's the big batch ?"Trevor asked.

"This hallway probably kills whatever enters it with those spikes. Only something heavily armored like that bear-thing could have gotten to them, but there are no drag marks, no step. Maybe one of those elephantine microbe 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 crab ?"asked Beth."How ?"

"I'm not trusted, but I'd like to figure it when I have the hazard. Let's go."

They set out, continuing their exploration. The ogre outpouring was relentless, a moving ridge emerging every duet of transactions, each one pushing the venturer beyond their terminal point, both from the numbers pool and the force they carried. Everyone received injuries, even Noah. While his invisibility granted him a margin of damage compared to the others, stealing did little against such vast force. There was simply not plenty room to dodge or retire. They were running through their reserves of potions faster than Noah had anticipated, but not beyond his planning, and he still had plenty to take a leak 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. to a greater extent fleshy corridors were appearing, near of them containing some kind of biologic maw like the spikes from before. Wherever this deepest helping of the plate was, it had to be faithful by. Besides, there was also lot of incentive to take the risk. While they did a lot of traveling, much of their clock time was spent gathering treasure. Their gang and pockets were getting heavy with precious gems and ores, and even Noah was dumping stuff out of his ring 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 chain of 30x30ft rooms, each one with a oceanic abyss bowl-like floor.

"Whoa ! Stop !"Noah shouted.

Everyone halted at the ingress to the future room, blocked behind his arms. The floor of the chamber was waist-deep with gloomy H2O, or at to the lowest degree, they hoped it was pee. By now, they had all become a bit paranoid towards the fiend, as well as picked up some of their magic. There could be untold beasts lurking in that water, set to grab them and get behind them under, perhaps injecting them with poisonous substance with phonograph needle dentition or barbellate stingers. But the centipedes were closing in fasting, and there wasn't adequate sentence to turn back to a branch passage.

Noah summoned some food from his ring and sprinkled it across the open of the piddle, and the future few import passed by with excruciating anticipation, but nothing came up to feed, which was good enough for them. Not without grimacing, they stepped down into the swill and waded across. The next room had a pool of water like the first, and the next after that, and the 3rd, and it was taking their toll. Despite all of the running they had done, there was only so much that toughness could do in this kind of physical exertion. However, as he moved through the fifth, Noah noticed something.

It was a bed of earthy oil floating on the water's airfoil. He looked back, seeing the centipedes pursuing them, even swimming like rats. Noah and the others got out, but he turned back with a Flint and tongue. This was something he wanted to annul 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 Dame Muriel Spark that set the pond ablaze, filling the chamber with a wall of fire.

He rejoined the others, passing through several Sir Thomas More rooms and taking multiple turns, but they finally had to throw in the towel and catch their breath and gasped in fill-in that they were no longer being pursued. Even Noah needed quietus, so no one said anything and they all just leaned against their knees, sucking in air with their faces over the surface of the water.

Noah stood up straight, and as he breathed in, the ground disappeared from under everyone's feet. Some sort of organic trap door had opened up beneath them, and the pool of sinister piss became a boom whirlpool. Standing in the center of attention of the way, Noah and Beth dropped helplessly, disappearing down a vast throat. Trevor, oath, and Mira were saved by the hide of their teeth. Trevor's halberd and Mira's faculty had gotten stuck, granting them something to grab onto. They were hanging over the entrance to the pharynx like a bottomless well of sustenance, quivering stone.

Sensing the blockage, the rampart began to close in to try and dislodge them. The three juvenility couldn't help but cry in brat as they struggled to climb up out of the throat. They were drenched in soil, struggling to hold back onto their weapons and get any kind of leverage. They squeezed and clawed their way out, feeling like their fingernails would undress off. Their faces were pressed to the diagonal trading floor, forced to breathe in and try the slop. They reached the side by side room, but despite their exhaustion, they couldn't eternal sleep yet. They could get wind them, the approaching centipedes, having gotten past the fire Noah started.

They forced themselves onto their pes, barely able to stand, but once more having to run. They were in a dire billet, but Noah and Beth were even regretful off. They were forced down a pit of flesh, gasping for air and feeling around for anything they could grab onto to stop themselves. To Noah, it ranked as one of the weird moments in his integral multi-life history. They were soon tossed out, dropping through open air before making a hard landing on what felt like a pile of firewood. It was pitch lightlessness, no cave worms around, and the moment Beth tried to breathe in, her sting lungs cried out in a new anguish. The air was toxic, she could savor it, and every breath hurt. 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 back in self-defense, but it failed to land a hit.

"It's me ! Just breathe !"Noah shouted.

It took effort, but she drew in a deep breath, and at last, it was clear. She drank the percolate air in greedily, while the matter over her mouth was tied around her head. It felt like leather, and it smelled like… charcoal ? I really made her need to sneeze, but even the itchiest breath was worth it.

"Noah ?"

"I'm here, hold on."

There was a twinkle in the dark and a torch was lit, Beth seeing the same device attached to Noah's face.

"What is this ?"she asked.

"A gas masque, something I whipped up. I was worried about the air quality in the dungeon, though I'm not sure how much faith should be put in them. We should get out of here, quick."

Beth looked down and shrieked. The rough Earth's surface they had fallen on was an island of finger cymbals, and just twenty away, the shoring of a moat of breadbasket dose sizzling away. They were standing on the dissolving remains of those who fallen for the like trap.

"Oh God, this isn't happening ! This isn't happening !"Beth cried as she crumbled.

Noah would give chastised her for losing her nerve, but considering the situation, he too was almost ready to snap."We're not dead yet. Here, hold this."He handed her the flannel mullein and looked around. There was a part of the island touching the wall, so the superman was frothing just under his feet.

He leaned over towards the wall and slashed at it with all of his strength, but the sword simply slid off, throwing him off his balance and nearly sending him tumbling. He reformed his foothold, this prison term attempting a stab. Once again, his steel, despite striking the flesh 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 effectiveness. However, he wasn't out of ideas yet.

Sheathing his sword, returned to the heart of the island, then began scooping up armloads of rot-slickened pearl. He piled them against the rampart, 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 connect sinister string to the flames. It came alight, and he forced the package against the wall, pressed with his shield, and backed by the pile of osseous tissue."Ok, back ! binding ! Back !"He coaxed her as far back as he could within the tummy, then conjured up the giant shells they had collected before."Duck down behind this and try to cover your ears !"

They got behind the shield-like carapaces, then an explosion blasted off on the other side of the way like it had been struck by lightning. pot filled the air, and deadly shrapnel sprayed their defenses. Beth released a scream from the monolithic shock, but Noah held her still, and though the torch had gone out, there was now a hole in the side of the venter, from which bioluminescent igniter was pouring in and tolerate acid was pouring out.

They did their best to invalidate getting splashed with acid and climbed out into a new sleeping room."That explosion will suffer drawn monsters. We have to go."

"What about the others ?"

"They're aim for the Saami place we are. We'll meet them there eventually. cum on."

She followed him through the labyrinth, managing to ward off combat and find a elbow room where they could rest. The air was stale and disgusting down in these tunnel, but compared to the fumes of that venter, Noah and Beth removed their masquerade party and felt zero but gratitude and relief 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."

weewee began pouring from her fingertip with the book and intensity of a garden hose. Noah leaned into the spraying, scrubbing off the filth and trying to get everything clean. Beth then took a turn, and they switched back and Forth River until they deemed themselves decent.

"I thought you could only use magic trick to make yourself unseeable. What was that back there ?"Beth asked as they both stripped off their soaking wearing apparel.

Noah, standing with his spinal column to her, rung out his shirt."That was a turkey, made of something called disastrous powder."

Beth peeled over her trousers and the rough, unflattering framework that passed for undergarment at this era."So it was alchemy ?"

"form of, there wasn't any wizardly involved. It's just a powder that reacts violently to fire."Noah shed his own knickers, still slippery with oil.

"So, that matter 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 try out to establish sure I got it right without drawing suspicions."

Beth ignored the shirt she was trying to dry out and turned to Noah."Just where on terra firma do you go to pick up how to fix stuff and nonsense like that ? You said you couldn't find information on the dungeon crabby person, 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 Shirley Temple Black powder to blast apart rock-and-roll and they had to use these masquerade in case they hit a gas pocket."The reply seemed to gruntle her and he bowed down."Can you spray my head again ?"

.

.

.

The storey of Oath

.

.

.

curse, Trevor, and Mira fell to their hands and knees, close to passing out. They had finally managed to get off the centipedes and were now back in a normal corridor. Their strength was next to zero, and Trevor was knocking back potions. Only once all was calm did they finally get back on their feet.

"We need to line up Noah and Beth,"said Oath,"we should—"

A solid fist striking his facial expression both cut him off and sent him falling to the ground. His eyes were rolling like billiard balls, but the auditory sensation of Mira's screaming forced him to focus. Trevor had tackled her and ride a knife into her chest.

"You son of a squawk !"expletive bolted to his feet and attacked Trevor, knocking him off Mira, who was choking on her own blood.

As they fell over into a storm of grappling and whipping, Mira used what little forte she had to retrieve a health potion from her pocket and pour it on the wounding. She passed out, stuck in a airstream between bleeding to death and recovering in time. Nearby, Oath and Trevor had gotten to their feet and were now hurling puncher wildly.

"Trevor, what the blaze are you doing ? !"swearing 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 freeze Trevor's thrust. Despite his speciality, Trevor was able to exercise more continuous force, and the spear tip of the halberd pierced his berm. Oath couldn't contain his cry of anguish 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 better if Mira had followed those two in the pit. I didn't want to have to kill her, but I couldn't risk you two teaming up against me."

"We weren't going to team up against you ! What the ass are you talking about ? !"

"I just didn't want her to intervene when I tried to kill you. It doesn't matter, I'll just tell the others the two of you were both killed by the Lapp monster, if they're even still alive."

Oath struggled to argue with the blade in his berm, but it felt like the wound was just getting bigger and bigger."Why are you doing this ? !"

"I need you out of the way so that I can suit the mogul. I wanted to do it after I got the avenium, but I couldn't let this opportunity slip by."Oath was forced down towards the ground, leaving a trail of blood across the wall."You're the last of the chief Fault family, so once you and your father die, I'll be next in melodic phrase to encounter the title."

"You're another phallus ? But my father said the branch family 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 father and my half-brother. He didn't think it Worth investigating further, to find a bastard like me living in Baron Clive of Plassey. The town will be mine, it should be mine !"

cuss reached around, grabbing a stone on the ground. Fate was kind to him, guiding his stroke and striking Trevor in the eye. He staggered back, bleeding horribly, and cuss wrenched the halberd out of his shoulder and scrambled to his metrical unit. He could barely find his left arm, and he could neither afford a health potion nor properly swing his blade with only one hand. Should he drop his brand and go for a wellness potion ? Abandon it and use his tongue instead ?

Trevor, facing a similar predicament, chose to recall his halberd and stare swearing down with his one expert eye while launching shot. curse word did his outflank to elude the black eye, as he didn't have the strength to do another shoving match. He was losing undercoat, fast.

"So all this time, you were just waiting for a fortune to down me ? From the day we met ? !"

"Not at first, not until you came out to us as the mogul's son, but when I found out about the keep Phthirius pubis, it was staring. I could use you to get the avenium, so no matter what, I'll still become a baronial !"

Oath pulled away and reformed his position, then went on the offensive. His capability for wielding a sword had greatly diminished, but still, he could struggle, and his wide of the mark vacillation forced Trevor to retreat. True, Trevor had the longer reach, but it was much easier for Oath's sword to break his halberd rather than vice versa. expletive pushed him back, trying to get past the vacillation axe blade.

"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 petty mob sepulture plot behind your mansion."

"What could I have possibly done to make you hate me so much ?"

"I just plain don't like you, even before I knew you were the baron's son. I wanted to kick you out of the chemical group. You're too weak to reign these body politic. You can't even use magic."

As Trevor spoke, his blade began to glow with mana, and Oath instinctively stepped back. His sword would likely snap if he tried to block or even deflect an attack like that. This time, when the swing music and stabs came, he only dodged, not letting the two weapon touch.

"All you do is let that chesty prick take care of everything and pass out purchase order. Clive would burn to the ground on the first day if you took over."

expletive swung his sword, just narrowly catching the halberd's irradiation and stopping Trevor long enough to close in. Trevor raised the halberd to barricade, but a cleave of Oath's sword snapped it, leaving a shallow cut across his forehead and chest. He jumped back, now holding an axe in one hired man 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 greatness of the chamber, for this rattling cathedral to be just a modest pocket of this misfortunate labyrinth. Noah, however, felt a spine-chilling excitation. This was no ordinary chamber, as not only was it as orotund as a football stadium, it had a bridge stretching across, perfectly prostrate, and a ceiling with cracking outward-bending arch holding it up. No, they were string, each link the size of an SUV, and encrusted by the shell. So too were there dandy statues adorning the walls, a pantheon of small animate being and great titans, all of them entombed by white, like flies in a spiderweb. The chamber was flooded, hence the nosepiece, but not with H2O. It was a lake of mercury, glistening from some unseen light force beneath its depths. The air above it was filled with fly-like hummingbirds, hanging their read/write head directly down and touching their beaks against the surface as if fishing for something. The hummingbirds didn't seem aggressive, as they paid no posting to the two outsiders.

Noah and Beth crossed the bridge, 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 people know about it ? What happened to this place to end up like this ?'

It was his first metre facing questions like these, for the bearing of deception in this world created uncounted possibilities that he would never have seen in previous humanity. Everything unusual he ever encountered was either manmade or caused by nature, but the comportment of magic trick added all new options, instigating oddity. It could take been done by a completely other species, using power beyond his understanding. It was a new way of thought process, one that invigorated him.

They crossed the room without any fight, entering a dormitory with normal-sized rooms on either English. In these Chambers too, there were structures and shapes encased by the racing shell. Were they hoi polloi ? Furniture ?

"Interesting."

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

cuss and Trevor were locked in combat, struggling to fend off each other's onset. Oath had broken Trevor's halberd in two, taking away his power to use magic, but he still lunged and fight with the remains, granting him two smaller artillery. He would swing the head of his halberd like a hatchet, forcing Oath to forget with his sword, and then use his free hand to attain Oath with the halberd's lance. The reverse were delivered at full-strength and Oath couldn't stop them.

"You don't deserve to get the succeeding baron if this is the best you can do. You must be the weakest of the family."

"Trevor, listen ! Do you really think you can get out of here without my help ? Stop this, and we can both walk out of this dungeon awake ! You can still become a baronial with the avenium !"

"That's not good enough. I want the land that my father couldn't have, the potency. I want to ptyalise on his grave as the undesirable bastard and flaunt the power that he lusted after. I want Clive, and I want to rip it out of your workforce. It's not honorable enough for me to win, you have to lose !"

A memory then flashed through cuss's judgement, and despite the dreaded situation, a chuckle let slip."I remember Noah saying that you were a jerk probably because of something to do with your father. I think he even said you would betray us. It must be embarrassing, to be sized up so easily and hold your true up colouring seen !"

"Shut up ! If he's still active, I'll kill him after I've killed you !"

Trevor charged at Oath, and finally, curse managed to present a wound of his own. He blocked Trevor's threefold attack and pushed forward, his brand slicing Trevor's shoulder joint. Trevor dropped the broken calamus, his arm now slick with blood, though swearword was in the like state, no longer capable to grip his sword with both hands. They stared each other down, picking the minute to run into. Trevor's disclose halberd was lighter and unforesightful than Oath's steel, so it would be well-off to wield, but he wouldn't be able-bodied to block well with it, so he'd have to focalise entirely on offense. For oath, his defensive situation was better, but while he could propel his sword with one arm, his stop number would pale compared to Trevor's and he'd be prosperous to inflict much damage. His outflank bet would be to impede and then try to overpower.

Looking at his first cousin, Oath was reminded of that fit from the field of view, when that group of men attacked him, Noah, and Tin. He had been utterly useless, just pulled into the woodwind instrument while Noah took care of the scourge with ease. But in the week since then, he had trained relentlessly, and now, he could finally champion himself and his blood line, even against his own kin.

"This is your last probability, Trevor,"said curse.

"No, this is—"A cakehole opened up in Trevor's chest with line pouring out.

Noah appeared behind him, his sword seemingly materializing out of reduce air and now wet with gore. The blade had gone straight through Trevor's center, leaving both he and expletive stunned. Trevor tried to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was descent. Noah dropped him to the floor, pulled out his sword, and then pierced the backrest of Trevor's skull for honest measure.

"Stop ! What are you doing ? !"swearword shouted.

"I'm fulfilling my contract. He became an foe, so I dealt with him."

"It wasn't your place to settle he should die ! Trevor wanted to go the next king in my plaza, so it was my responsibility to take him down !"

"What are you talking about ? He wanted to convey your place as Baron Clive's side by side power ?"Noah asked.

"He… he said he was my cousin, an bastard child. He kept it hidden all this time."

"Oh please. His father wasn't ranked high gear enough to cause an"illegitimate shaver ”. Trevor was zilch more than a plebeian illegitimate child. And while I'm sure he had some hard-luck backstory about growing up on the streets that would make us all pity or support him, I'm simply not interested. We don't have time for you two to bond over your daddy issues."

Beth arrived, standing beside him."What's going on ?"Mira was with her, having narrowly recovered and been given a minute potion.

"I can't just lead it this way !"curse word yelled."I can't just walk off without knowing how it would have ended ! If I could have beaten him myself !"

"That's just your pride talking, but pride won't retain you alive in this place. Should I have just sat back and let you stay on your childish squabble ? I was hired to keep you from dying, not assist you satisfy your ego."

"wait, what happened ?"Beth asked."What happened to Trevor ?"

"He tried to kill me and oath,"said Mira.

"You can't be serious ! After all the time we spent together, he just turned on us like that ?"

"It was his architectural plan from the beginning,"swearword muttered."He's my cousin-german, and as soon as he found out we were in competitor for the title of baron, he planned out how to use us and bolt down me."

"We're not going to make it out of here, are we ?"Mira asked.

"We should own turned back when we had the fortune !"Beth tearfully exclaimed, falling to her knees as the pent-up striving finally released itself.

"Crying and worrying about it won't assistant us,"said Noah."Look, we're all exhausted. Beth and I found a room we can take a breather in. Let's set up camp and get our durability back. You three go, I'm going to screen out through Trevor's things."

"Noah, you can't,"said Mira."Trevor may have gone crazy, but it's not properly to just rob his corpse."

"wellspring you can either choose to stop me, or you can go, eat some lunch, and put the unanimous 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 leave you alone here."

"When the epinephrine wears off, you won't be able-bodied to. You'll collapse and I'll have to carry you to the camping area. You're injured, go patch yourself up. I'll be fine."

"I guess you will, won't you ? Nothing ever gets to you,"oath muttered.

"I hear talking when I want to hear tortured footsteps. Go."

expletive limped off after Beth and Mira, and Noah began picking through the treasure that Trevor had gathered, as well as taking tools and supplying that he had been carrying. It had gotten to the point where he really had to be picky about what he could fill with him, as he was reaching the boundary of what he could carry and still proceed effectively.

Once he had collected everything of Worth, he activated his invisibleness and backed off to a safe distance, where he sat down and waited. It happened after only a few minutes, openings in the base appearing like cracks in ice, but the scale wasn't actually breaking. They were crinkle, inconspicuous to the naked eye until they actually opened up, and from within, a green slime appeared. Rather than simply spreading out under the force-out of gravity, it was moving willfully towards Trevor's corpse. It enveloped him, and though Noah could not see it, the body was being disassembled in pieces the size of it of grain of sand. In time, the slime retreated, leaving nothing but some os and scraps of fabric.

‘ So that's how it feeds.'

He went to the camp chamber, where everyone was sitting against different wall. There was a dead look in their heart, exhaustion that was both mental and physical. They had each held a hope deep down that they would ready it out of the keep crab together, all of them, that their party would survive this trial and remain altogether. Trevor was natural and untalkative, but his personnel casualty left a nothingness, and they suddenly felt much weaker without him. But with the truth they were forced to accept, was it really a loss ? After all, he showed no hesitation in trying to remove the people who were thought to be his friends.

"How could he do it ?"Beth asked."How could he lie to us for that long ? guess to be our ally ? All those conflict where we had to look on each other, did that really mean cipher to him ?"

Noah sat down and began unpacking his lunch."You'd be surprise how long you can keep the lies going, how easy it can get."

"wealthy person you lied to us about anything ?"

Noah stared at her, challenging her to accept his answer."deal of things, none of which matter in this situation."He tossed some intellectual nourishment to everyone."Eat up. It doesn't matter if Trevor is dead, it doesn't change our plan."

"No, it changes everything."Beth stood up."We should leave. While we're still active, while we still have supplies and potions, we should leave. We're not prepare for this place. We weren't quick even when we had Trevor. We have plentitude of hoarded wealth, More than enough to hold out happily. Isn't that enough ?"

"It's too late to plough back now, to leave here without the avenium. I'm sure by now we've almost reached the buttocks of the shell."

"What are you really getting out of this ? You're so indisputable we can do this, you keep pushing us forward. What is it that you want so badly as to risk all of our lives ?"

"The same affair as you, an dangerous undertaking. Isn't that what you wanted ?"

"I was wrong, this is too much."Beth gave an indignant sigh."expletive, Mira, you agree with me, right ?"

curse word took a mystifying hint."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 chest of drawers and hid her cheek. Was she refusing to pack function in the conversation or had she simply shut down completely ?

Beth turned back to Noah."We're in over our pass. It was a mistake to come—"

"You're free to pull up stakes whenever you want,"said Noah, cutting her off."I don't expect anything from you. If you want to go back to the Earth's 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 mass scratching an itch."

"fountainhead because of that itch, I'm late."

Mira tensed in shock and curse's eyebrow nearly shot off his typeface, yet Noah didn't even wince."And ?"Beth stammered at his question, not certain how to respond."Again, you knew what the deal was when we started, no attachment. I'm getting that avenium, and there is zero you can say to stop me. You can either leave now and try to make it back out on your own, or you can do with us down to get the avenium and we'll make the trip back together."

"This is an obsession ! I don't know what the top executive 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 grievous bell on the radical. Beth and Mira continued to round from behind Noah and Oath, but the monsters still withstood battery of stones and arrows to try and dip their tooth into something. Normally, Trevor and his halberd could have warded them off, breaking their impulse so that Noah and expletive could go in for the kill, but now, they had to be the main defensive wall and pulley-block everything with their swords.

They battled through the ogre, but took combat injury with each clash. It wasn't just their shaping that had been disturbed ; Noah could see the group morale at the sharpness of an abyss. Noah was so-so, but the others were grappling with desperation. Which hurt more ? Losing a supporter ? Or finding out he was never their Quaker at all ?

At the here and now, they were surrounded by centipedes in a wide-open chamber. Noah, Oath, and Beth were stomping on the footling mongrel as they drew close, while Mira was swinging her staff, equipped with her Shatter Mace spell. She was wild, taking out her strain and defeat on the brute, with her riot of exertion becoming louder with each swing. Rather than helping, the onslaught of teras only seemed to increase her sottish aggressiveness. Beth, on the other helping hand, was acting sluggish, paralyzed by fear and the loss of hope.

As Noah stomped on every centipede that came close, he heard a scream. A few of the beasts had managed to jump up onto Mira and were digging in. Oath rushed over to assist her, but that left two sides of their geological formation unguarded, and the lusus naturae were closing in.

"I have a plan !"Noah said."When the lusus naturae move away, everyone drumhead towards that passage over there !"

Before the others could say anything, Noah drew his knife and slashed his wrist, sending a torrent of profligate pouring onto the footing. Seduced by the smell of parentage, the centipedes turned their aid from Oath and the others and swarmed towards Noah. He took off, sprinting across the field of armoured vertebral column and spindly legs, leading them like the Pied Piper.

The trey didn't hesitate and rushed towards the issue, though looking back to see Noah's situation worsening. Once he saw them reach the doorway, Noah turned around and made himself invisible. The centipedes were understandably confused, as even his odour disappeared. His bloodline, 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 clip he reached the outlet, he had already used a healing potion to restore his wrist.

"Let's go."

The doorway brought them to a voluminous stairway. However, unlike the tight spiral of when they first arrived at the keep, this stairway spun down the walls of a chasm-like chamber like grooves on a drill bit. It was too dark to see the roof or the base of the bedroom, but in the blackness, there was a instant ace, far below their feet when it should receive been above their heads.

"Everyone, be extra careful and footprint quietly. I think we've reached the bottom of the shell."

They proceeded down the staircase, this one having actual steps. The wickedness swallowed them from the lack of cave worms, but Noah lit his torch, easing everyone's care. It when they reached the bottom of the steps that their fears all came rushing back like a flood.

‘ Of line,'Noah thought bitterly.

The tail of the way was occupied by some sort of monumental slumbering demon. This flyer chamber was Sir Thomas More than a 100 feet astray, and the savage 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 torch couldn't provide enough light to properly reveal its show. But in the center of the way was the prize for this journey. The walls and stairway were solid shell, but the floor under the monster was flesh, and in the middle, in a raised basin, was a pond of powdered alloy with a aquamarine gleam. It was avenium, just like on Noah's ring. It was so close, but the risk before them was giving everyone doubts.

swearword stepped forward."I'll go,"he said as quietly as he could.

Noah grasped his shoulder."No, I'm better at stealing, 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 become a noble ! I need to be the one to get the avenium. Let me earn my title."

"None of that thing, not in here. All that is important is getting the job done and getting out of here alert. If you want to do things the"rightfield"way, do it on your own time. I'm going to do thing the fresh way. If this matter so much as twitches, leave me behind and run as fast as you can up the stairs."

Noah didn't wait for him to reply and activated his invisibility. True, this monster slept with its eyes closed, but he couldn't bank discount its sense of smell and hearing. He moved preceding Oath and stepped onto the fleshy primer coat. Whatever this thing was, it had a lot of tentacles, and they were spread everywhere. He stepped lightly, double-checking every spot before putting his weight on it. It was hard, not just on the away, but the interior. Noah had not been capable to bunk the depredation of fatigue duty, and his muscular tissue were becoming unreliable.

For Oath and the others, it was nerve-wracking, as they couldn't see Noah, just the blowtorch he was holding over his headland. Every fourth dimension the light trembled, they imagined him fumbling, stepping on one of the monster's tentacles and waking it up. When the flashlight finally reached the basin, they released their curb hint. It was a satisfying amount of money of avenium, at least two liters of the glistening junk, and it was so fine as well. Perhaps it was expelled from the crab like a splinter, and it would hoard in the basin over time while the pubic louse was underground. ‘ If this ends up like that scene from looter, I'll just wipe out myself here and now.'Noah rested his helping hand atop the avenium and sucked it all into the gang, every grain.

nil happened, there was no response from either the monster or the washstand. Noah waited a few moments to be sure enough, then turned and made the replication journeying back to the stairway. Once he reached expletive, Beth, and Mira, they all resumed ventilation and began the tacit mounting back up the stair. It was when they reached the halfway point that a terrifying roar shook the chamber, and rather than below, it was coming from above. The group looked up in revulsion, seeing a second goliath descending towards them. It appeared to be the same metal money as the first, looking like a colossal social lion with a teeth-filled beak and tentacles growing from across its back that it used like spider legs to help its descent. It was like some kind of Lovecraftian griffon. Just one lilt of its paws would obliterate a sledgepaw bear. Had it also been nesting in this chamber ? Perhaps the mate of the one down below ?

"Beth, withdraw it down !"

"Too late !"

It reached across the bedroom with its tentacles and swung over, its beak wide subject. The grouping scattered, managing to avoid 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 mark and clipped Mira's face, but that was all it took to crush her skull like a Gallagher melon. Oath and Beth, seeing her headless physical structure depression to the storey, were left in stupefied quiet. Noah, already back on his foot, stabbed the beast in the eye, forcing his sword in all the way to the hilt. The wolf howled in pain in the ass and jumped back with his sword pulled from his grip, and it wasn't the only one in agony. oath and Beth now cradled Mira, sobbing and screaming at what was done to her. Beth, Noah could understand, but expletive's reaction stood out.

‘ Goddammit, don't tell me he loved that girl.'“ We got to move ! There is zero we can do for her !"

"No, I can fix this !"Oath sobbed."Give me all the healing potions we have !"

"Her head is gone, she's all in. No potion can fix that."

"Please, don't ask us to get out her,"Beth whimpered.

Another roar echoed through the burrow, this one from below. It seemed the first behemoth had woken up. cuss scrambled to his substructure, not in fear, but furore. He grabbed his sword with weeping streaming down his face.

"I'll pop 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 pharynx and a knee joint to the stomach. Oath collapsed like a sign of the zodiac of cards and Noah grabbed him and hoisted him over his shoulder. He turned to Beth and handed her his bow to supplant hers."Keep those things off our derriere. If you run out of arrows, I'll give you more. Now move !"

They raced up the stairs as fast as they could. Noah was struggling under the effort of hauling Oath and everything they both carried, and he had to hold the blowtorch as well. Ahead of him, Beth was raining arrows down on the two monsters to the substantially of her power. They seemed aware of the poisoned tips and were keeping a safe length, but they were still following them up. They started swinging at Noah and Beth with their tentacles, trying to barricade their path. Beth would slash at them with a knife to make them forswear, but it was just getting worse and worse, as ahead, they could see the centipedes swarming down the staircase, having followed the group down.

"Noah, what do we do ? !"Beth exclaimed.

"Run and fight ! That's all we can do !"

They continued their armorial bearing up the step, stomping on the centipedes and ignoring the tactile property of their pincers digging in and not letting go. Their collation didn't appear poisonous, but they put bullet ants to shame on the pain exfoliation. Not even Noah could uphold a poker expression with them biting down on his legs.

With luck on their side, they escaped the chamber, running down several corridors before arriving at a sleeping accommodation where they could rest. Noah dropped Oath on the footing and began ripping off the centipedes biting his legs. It was foreign for Beth, to see Noah so winded and spite. He collapsed near the wall, downing a healing potion to stop his bleeding. Oath, having regained consciousness, got back to his feet and approached the doorway 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 fauna and lend her home to eat up her."

"It's a devil, it doesn't understand your feelings. If you go swinging at it for revenge, it's just going be glad that its next meal arrived so willingly. Besides, Mira has probably already been devoured."

"Don't say that !"Oath shouted.

"Noah !"Beth added her voice to the outrage.

"You just need to accept it. She's gone, there is nix you can do to avail her. Nothing can be done to commute what happened. I'll say it as harshly as I need to if it gets the subject matter through your heavyset skull."

"What would you have done if it was Tin who died in there instead of Mira ?"

"I would take in left her. I've seen lot of people die. This isn't my first time leading people into combat, and injured party are to be expected."

"So you were just waiting for each of us to die ? !"Beth exclaimed.

"As long as I could satisfy my contract, I was prepared for all potential passing, 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 losses ?"

"Yes, that's right."Noah got to his feet."tone, we've got the avenium, so the difficult part is done. Now we can head up home."

"Two of our friends are dead and we're in the bottom of a dungeon crab ! How is that not the hard persona ? !"Beth screamed at him.

"Because I have an idea on how to get us out of here."He took out a water skin from his backpack and poured in some powderize avenium from within his ring, then shook it up and handed it to Oath."Both of you, plunge this on yourselves. Try not to let any go to waste."

"What will this do ?"cuss asked.

"When I activate my invisibleness, I wrap myself in mana, as well as anything I touch or hold, but for some reason, it won't oeuvre on anything animation. 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 sluttish like a watch crystal, and it manipulates mana the same way. I can't hold my invisibleness to you, but if you're covered with powdery avenium, it may facilitate me conceal you a bit. Try it."

cuss sighed and poured some of the concoction on his head, then went to work rubbing it into his skin and clothes. He handed the rest period to Beth and she did the same. Noah activated his illusion and grasped their hands. The air around them shimmered, their physical structure becoming syncope, like they were shrouded in a hotness haze. They became like mirages of their true selves. oath and Beth voiced their shock as they looked at each former, and the fact that Noah could hear them was concerning. It was a far-cry from Noah completely erasing his presence, but at the very least, it would make them lupus erythematosus 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 swearword couldn't see Noah, but they stared at the space he occupied. He could see it on their faces, the distrust, the defeat, the fear, the sorrow, the enervation. They'd just make to suck it up.

"Let's go, and step lightly."

They left the sleeping room and began their journeying back to the aerofoil. They no longer moved in formation, and they tried to hold back a fast but quiet pace. When demon were nearby, Noah would activate his spell and they'd do their best to obviate detection. It didn't always work. At one peak, they were being pursued by a inner circle 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 slur fighting, the greater the chance More monsters would be drawn.

Noah, pulling Oath and Beth along, activated the while in his right eye.

"What the Hell ? !"Oath said in shock as he watched the dead ringer fall back, while the very Noah was still gripping his hand.

"It's another illusion I can create, just keep moving !"

As they ran, Noah had the clone starting waving his limb and shouting at the approaching monsters, doing whatever he could to draw their care. They passed through the clone in perfect confusion, turned around, and tried again and again. Their center, auricle, and noses were all telling them that prey was standing before them, but no matter how many times they tried to seize with teeth down, their jaws closed around zero 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 talk, keep running instead !"

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

Spring was planting season, so the farms on the Fault acres were in a frenzy. Oath, the mogul's tierce son, was the"lord"of this task. He and the striver spent their days working the fields, though there was little distinction between them. He lived and ate his repast with his founding father and comrade, at to the lowest degree, when they were at home, but his ranking in the family was just a stair above"illegitimate ”. His father lauded all of his kudos on his brothers, with the untried always trying to outgo the one-time and win the estate.

The oldest was a soldier, a squad leader, one step below true horse. He would be gone for month at a prison term, then fall home and brag about the struggle he fought for the nimbus of Uther, and how he bolstered the repute of the Fault household. The middle son was a proud Orion and skilled in thaumaturgy, a endowment he often lorded over the erstwhile brother. He claimed magic to be infinitely victor to swordsmanship, meaning he, the magically-affluent, was the future of the blood. Neither brother liked curse word, simply treated him like one of the servant. He was just another laborer. His father, on the former hand, wasn't cruel like them, but he simply didn't aid beyond parental inherent aptitude. His mother was long gone.

Oath had been outside when he learned of their deaths, but on breakage. Lying on a sun-warmed grassy hill, he watched the clouds crack budget items. As the third son, he was compelled to hold back his psyche down, to focus only on the task in front of him and not rock the sauceboat. Skygazing was the only time he'd break that rule, abandoning the fields to instead rivet on farming his own mind, to forget about his life and responsibilities and try to forecast out what was left.

He knew nothing of the cosmos beyond his home and village, couldn't even read, and most of his socialization came from talking with the slaves during piece of work. They often didn't have a lot to say, but they trusted him enough to let in him in their chit-chat. He wasn't like the baron and his oldest sons ; his feet were more used to the soil of the field than the floor board of the Fault household. Those conversations were the only time he could learn of matter beyond simply swinging a hoe or scythe, to discover that there was more to existence than just crops and farm animal, and when he gazed at the sky, Oath would use that glimmer to try and develop himself, find out who he was. That was the plan, at least, but he was disturbed by one of the amah of the mansion.

"overlord curse word, your father requires your presence immediately."

The lend oneself honorific was just a courtesy acknowledging his line. There was no fair respect in her words.

"Understood."Oath got up and followed her to the theatre, where she led him to his father's report. As he approached, he heard idiotic shouting and things falling over.

inside, the baron, Ivan, was pacing back and Forth, disturbed and drenched in tears. Papers and particular from his desk were scattered across the flooring and he was gripping a whiskey ice with a shaking hand.

"don, what is it ?"

"Oath, Colt and victor have perished."Ivan picked up a letter with a broken wax Navy SEAL."colt was killed in battle on the Petosic Steppes."He threw it aside."And Victor was killed by a bear while hunting. His corpse were found this morning."He emptied his whiskey trash in one gulp and staggered, looking like he was on the verge of collapse.

cuss took a moment to litigate the news show, but there wasn't much to procedure. There was no such thing as sibling love in imposing households."I'm sorry, Father."

The magnate fell back in his president."swearword, you are now my only son. That means that you will inherit my championship when I die, unless my conniving brother manages to steal it !"

"forefather, I can't be a baron !"

"This is not something you can refuse ! I will not allow our family to let nobility chemise from its fingers ! But you're right. The way you are now, the kingdom would be Stephen Samuel Wise to hand it over to Edwin, so we're going to change that. From now on, I am going to sculpt you into a suitable replacement."

After that, everything changed. From the crack of dawn until late at night, Oath was trained in fighting, etiquette, and reading and writing. The peter of the farm were replaced with his grandfather's sword, and hours not spent swinging it were spent hunched over one leger after another, studying by candlelight. None of it stuck. Unlike his brothers, he was born without talent and raised without an education. He couldn't use magic, could barely press, and was about as cultured and learned as the miserable peasant. There was petty hope for him.

One day, he found himself at the Old Wineskin, looking for an adventure job. the great unwashed would post notification, requesting item like valuable plants or monster parts, or job like escorting person through the forest. Helping around town would return him some accomplishment he could use to prove his eligibility for inheriting the Clive barony. He had also heard some weird rumors about the inn, about some crazy couple that had the forte sex conceivable. From sunrise to midday on every former day, anyone in or near the inn would be flushed with embarrassment as they heard a young woman's cries of euphoria, along with the knocking of a bedframe threatening to break apart. However, today, the inn was quiet. The just voice he heard was addressed to him.

"Hey you, by the notice display panel, over here !"

He looked over to the beginning, spotting a board occupied by three spring chicken like himself, a man and two women.

"Me ?"

"Yeah, come up on !"one of the cleaning woman said, a tall and bubbly blonde.

cuss crossed the bar to them."What is this about ?"

"You wouldn't happen to be searching for a company to bring together, are you ?"the other adult female asked, a cute brunet with short hair.

"Oh… uh, yeah, I guess. I haven't been making often headroom on my own."

"fountainhead select a fundament !"

curse word hesitated, feeling the man beside him shooting daggers from his eyes. He was sizing him up, and apparently didn't like what he saw.

"No, alteration of architectural plan, keep moving. We don't need any Sir Thomas More 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 decent in."

"She means you look weak enough that no one better would have invited you to join their groups, and no real venturer would smear their lordliness by joining this gro— Ouch !"Beth had just kicked him under the table.

"You're not allowed to badmouth the group while being a contribution of it,"she scolded.

"Truth be told, none of us are very good, but that just means we should stick together,"said Mira.

swearing finally took a seat and put a deal on the blade hanging from his belt."Ok, trusted, I'll join you guys. My name is oath. I'm actually kind of surprise, I thought this place would be… louder."

"Oh yeah, those stories ? We've actually met them, Noah and Tin, the distich who make all that noise,"said Mira.

Now Trevor seemed occupy."Really ? Were they freaks ?"

"No, normal as can be,"said Beth,"and they're both barely aged than us. You'd never think it when looking at them. The guy is actually really smarting. He gave us a lot of great advice about tactic and deception. We tried to get him to bring together our team, but he wanted to work on his own, him and that slave young lady. God, I envy her."

"settle down, you're so indecent,"Mira said with a sigh. She then turned to Oath."Anyway, welcome to the group !"The smile she flashed at him made his eye flicker in a way it never had before.

For the next few hebdomad, curse and his new friends adventured together, fighting what freak they believed they could beat, but were most often forced to run away and tend to their wound organic structure and bruised ego. But no subject how many times they were beaten, curse word was never dejected, because it was the first clock time he felt truly accepted, and with people his own age, no lupus erythematosus. True, Trevor always gave him the cold shoulder, but Beth kept the liveliness of the group raised, and Mira… she was something else altogether.

She spoke with him, laughed with him, and smiled with him, all moments of confusing bliss that he drank like finely wine. He was drawn to her, pulled by a violence that he could not describe. One day, after they had managed to kill a wolf, and only just barely, he and the others all collapsed from exhaustion. Mira, sitting next to him, ended up placing her handwriting on his. The moment her fingers touched his, it was like inhuman lightning surged through his nerves, a frighteningly sinewy genius, but one that made him feel more live than the engagement just minute before.

Perhaps it was just the adrenaline and the endorphins, but he looked at Mira, and she, realizing the tangency between them, didn't pull away, and instead gazed at him with a shy smile and rose-cheeked impertinence. The get-go time Oath fought a monster, he froze up in terror, and it wasn't the last time his fear got the beneficial of him, but at that moment, he broke through his fear, turning his hand over to hold hers. They gazed at each early, their stomachs filled with more butterfly stroke than a hayfield in summer. That was the moment he realized his spirit for her.

The future day, his Father sat Oath down in the parlor of their menage. With them was a gruff middle-aged venturer with a bow."Oath, no matter what, you must not let anyone outside of your company know this. I've just learned that a keep crab has surfaced nearby."

keep crabs were one of the large anomalies in the world, but their mythology was thin out. They were vague creature, described as living fort that rose up from the ground. Many believed that they were a remnant of the war between the gods and the spirits.

cuss wasn't sure how to respond to the news, so his father continued."Adventurers who manage to appropriate a donjon Cancer the Crab by taking the avenium inside are granted the membership of baron or eminent by the kingdom. If you and your admirer can accomplish this, then there is nothing Edwin can do and my title will be passed on to you without question."

"My friends and I can barely face the monsters in the Wood. We can't handle a donjon crab."

"I am well aware of your weakness when it comes to swordplay. I'm hoping that switching to a unlike weapon will unlock your potential. This man is Sendal, a veteran adventurer and archer. He'll Teach you how to use a bow."

Just looking at Sendal, Oath could tell he wasn't the friendliest guy, but his don wouldn't change his creative thinker. That day, he and the archer rode into the woods to hunt, and that was the terminal thing he remembered. When next he woke up, he was in a goblin tunnel, racked with pain flowing from the spine of his head down to the point of his toes, but it was waning, thanks to the potion he had received.

helping him to his feet was a Whitney Moore Young Jr. man, a bit old than him, with a girl standing behind him. Noah and Tin, he had heard those public figure before. They were the source of the unknown rumors about the Old Wineskin, but more than that, Beth and Mira had vouched for Noah's military strength. expletive was disbelieving, especially when Noah declared that he was going to sack out the goblin den himself, something that was zip short of suicidal. Despite his life being saved, Oath wasn't feeling very grateful, considering he now had to work as Noah's pack mule while he marched to his doom.

But then he saw the results. Noah slaughtered the goblins with ease, never displaying any kind of magic. Oath and his friends had repeatedly tried hunting goblins, nearly dying every time, but they fell like reeds with every swing of Noah's blade. Then, when the goblin top dog revealed itself, Oath got to see lawful swordplay, and the memories of his one-time comrade's skills were painted over by Noah's conflict. Had he and his Quaker attempted this, they would have ended up being cooked and eaten.

During the journey home, they were attacked by bandits. Tin, obeying Noah, pulled swearing into the Sir Henry Joseph Wood before he could even grab his sword. The battle lasted only a hour, leaving Oath in awe when he saw the bodies of the slain bandits. He rode back to Clive with Noah and Tin, and when he arrived back base, his Father-God threw his arms around him, wailing relief to see his son's payoff. It was the first time his father had ever hugged him.

"Father, there is something I need to tell you."They went into his father's subject and closed the threshold 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."

"shucks him ! Edwin must own bribed him to get you out of the mental 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 young than Colt but twice the warrior, and he's already helped my Friend before. He wiped out a huge hob nest himself and even killed a hobgoblin."

Ivan leaned back in his hot seat."If a young man of such skill were to bring together your party, perhaps you might be able-bodied to capture the dungeon crab."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Bring him here. I'll talk to him."

The future matter Oath knew, Tin lay dying, and he watched as Noah slew the attacker. The arrow in Tin's chest, it had been meant for him, he was reminded of it with each pained breath she made. Crushed with guiltiness, he applied every potion in the house, pouring them on her wound and down her throat, but her status didn't improve. As Noah approached, Oath braced himself for the defective. It was Oath's fault that she had died, her life ended because he had been saved, so would Noah demand his life-time as recompense ?

But Noah didn't acknowledge Oath. He simply kneeled down and held Tin. There were no tear, not even a trembling breath. Tin voiced her net auf wiedersehen and closed her eyes, while Noah simply stared at her like a statue. Noah then departed with Tin, riding off to observe a suitable place to bury her. Watching him sit off, oath remembered the smile on Tin's face when she said goodbye, and imagined that spirit on Mira, the pure, honest, intoxicating emotion. He wanted to see her. He had nearly died, and he wanted to pack the risk he never could have if he hadn't been saved.

To his founder's objection, 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 usual board. Never was he so happy to see his friends. He crossed the tavern and took his seat."Hey."

"Your forefather 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 conceive this, but I swear this really happened. That archer knocked me out and handed me over to hobgoblin. I was even taken to their den."

Trevor just scoffed and Beth was likewise disbelieving."I'm actually not that mad, you don't have to make up excuses."

Mira gave him the benefit of the doubt."Really ?"

"Yeah, but I was saved by that Noah guy that you told me about, he and Tin. I watched him clear out an entire mine fully of goblin single-handedly."

"Of course someone like you would need to be saved,"said Trevor.

"An stallion 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 keep crab has appeared nearby."He was lucky that everyone understood that term. He didn't have faith in his ability to explain it. His friends all fell back in their seats.

"You honestly can't be thinking of trying it !"Beth exclaimed."We'd be dead in an hr !"

"Listen, Noah has agreed to get together our team and condition us. With his help, I'm indisputable we can do it."

"We don't need some addict'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 defect, son of Baron Ivan break. I'm his third son but I'm next in line to receive his title."

"Damn it, he's delirious ! Everything he's said so far was a hallucination."

"oath, did you eat some unusual mushrooms in the wood ?"Mira asked with honest concern.

Stared in keep on silence.

"I swear to you, it's true. I'm sure the archer gave me to the goblins to observe me from inheriting the title. When I returned home, that Lapplander archer tried to kill me, but ended up killing Tin instead."

Both Mira and Beth were left in stunned secrecy. While they had only met her once, the news of her death was a shocking nose candy. Her endless moaning had become a degree of pride in the villagers, considering it a valued queerness in the identity of their home, like the drink returning to Capistrano. Besides, they had both seen the love in her eyes.

"Yeah. Noah killed the guy and sit off with Tin to swallow up 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 keep 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 beverage. Let us wallow the safe payoff of our comrade, wassail our approaching success, and mourn a fallen friend !"

curse wanted to express joy, but truth be told, he'd need some limpid courage.

Late into the nighttime, the four explorer splurged on food and drinks, until all was tranquillity and the innkeeper was preparing to come together up the bar. Trevor had gone domicile, Beth was currently passed out, and now it was just Oath and Mira.

"I hope this keep crabmeat matter works out,"said Mira, more than a little tipsy.

"Yeah, and all the wealth from the adventurers 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 mystery. I never liked adventuring, but it was the best way I could make money after my father left. In a way, I'm gladiola I did it, but I just want a squeamish quiet abode life."

"fountainhead I'll become the baron of the town. Maybe you could descend here."Never in a million old age would a sober Oath have the courage 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 plate with you."

Like him, Mira was fueled by liquid courageousness, but she got to her feet with footling grace and dandy courage, and pulled curse word to his."Come on,"she mumbled with an embarrassed smile. They were both more than a little drunk, so they had to help each other up the step, giggling with each step. They reached the doorway to Mira's room, and as she fumbled with the key, Oath leaned in and stole a kiss. It was his low, 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 room access unresolved and stumbled into the room, shutting it behind them. Mira lit a candle and then made herself at home in Oath's embrace. Standing in the middle of the room, they kissed once more, this time able to put their hearts and souls into it.

"Are you quick for this ?"curse asked.

"I think so. Are you ?"

"I'm not certainly. I don't have any experience with being with a woman. I mean… I've seen animals on the farm…"

Mira burst into laugh, which, indorse to her yelling at him, was the absolute last reaction he wanted at a mo like this."Beth has told me how to do it, don't vexation. Now that we've kissed, the next step is we take off our clothes."

curse word was already sporting a woody, and those last four words nearly pushed him over the boundary. He took off his coat, Mira removed her cloak, and for a moment, they paused, feeling the tension as they gripped their shirts, but upon struggling to actually pull them off, they couldn't service but joke. Mira's titty were exposed, and Oath, a swirling pelter of adolescent hormones, was caught like a deer in the headlights. 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 tint them ?"

"I… guess."

She hesitantly lowered her arms, and expletive, with trembling men, began to caress her lowly shelf. That fuzziness, that smoothness, he was drawn to them like sugar. He was clumsy ; not brutish, but his technique was ill-refined, as was to be expected. Regardless, Mira shivered and purred from Oath's touch, afraid of being so vulnerable, both her consistence and her feelings exposed to another for them to do with as they pleased. Perhaps it was the presence of that fear that made it feel so good, the fear of being touched so intimately, interracial with the joy of finding someone whom she wished would do so.

Massaging deep into her pulp and relishing the way her mamilla felt when he toyed with them, expletive, like Mira, was overwhelmed. The opportunity to explore a woman's body like this, to have a go at it it, intimately, it teased his most innate, instinctive peculiarity. He was so excited, trembling like a leaf and notion like he was going to jump out of his skin. It happened before he could do anything about it, he came, having already been pushed over the edge. Flushed with shame, he did his best to try and hide it, but to Mira, it looked like he was just getting impatient.

She lowered her bridge player and pushed off her trousers. swearword didn't immediately react, but that was because he was trying to gather his idea and his strength. When he realized what she had done, he didn't have metre to think, and simply dropped his own pants. This time, it was Mira's turn to stare, as she tried not to think of when their group last fought goblins, most of which weren't wearing anything.

Mira climbed into bed, hiding herself under the cover."Now… you get on top of me… and I think you know where your thing goes."

expletive put out the candle, plunging the way into tot darkness. He meandered his way back to the bed, feeling the covers. His hand found Mira's consistence and he felt her stir like a panicky brute. He slipped under the cover and their naked bodies met, first in the form of an embrace, then in the form of a candy kiss, and finally…

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

Noah, oath, and Beth sprinted up the winding staircase towards the exit of the dungeon crab. They were covered in profligate, elbow grease, and grease, and had countless untreated injuries. Noah's mana was completely drained, and the three of them were running on fume. They couldn't William Tell if the monsters were still chasing them. After all this time, the chorus of roars repeated in the back of their thinker no matter what.

Finally, when their trunk 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 crab's shell, collapsing near the doorway. For the three of them, it was like a religious experience. Beth crumbled, tears pouring down her face, a mix of felicity, misery, succour, and bereavement, and as the sun rose, swearing stared like his soul had left his body, turning him into an hollow husk. As for Noah, he dropped the knight sword he had been using and gripped the solid ground with shaking hands. How long had it been ? How long had it been since he last fought that hard for his life story ? How long had it been since his selection instinct pushed him that far ? No, when it was more than just his survival instinct pushing him ? The fright, the adrenaline, the endorphins, the botheration, they flowed through the folds of his grey matter like a flood across a desert.

"Get up, on your feet."

Noah looked over, seeing swearing standing with his sword pointing at him.

"What the snake pit do you call back you're doing ?"Noah muttered.

"You heard me, get up and face me."

"Oath, you're kidding, right ?"Beth asked.

"No. You and me, Noah, right here, right now."

"You thankless little bratwurst. After all I did for you, you have the nerve to aim 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 father. Now Mira is deadened and I was robbed of my prospect to settle things with Trevor. We never should have gone in there, but you kept pushing us. We never should have let you be a part of our team."

"cuss, it's not his geological fault ! You also wanted to keep going ! Just put your brand down and we can all go home !"

"No ! I have to do this !"

"You're aright,"said Noah, getting to his feet,"you were just a prop, but I'm still under contract and not allowed to kill you. Once we're back and I've start out my payoff, then I'll put you down as strong as you want."

"No ! I'm done listening to you ! From the moment we met, you've run my life. I was supposed to be the one to get hold of the avenium, to seize my own destiny, not let you take it and go for whatever scraps you toss my way ! I couldn't avenge Mira, I couldn't beat Trevor, and I couldn't even conquer the dungeon Cancer the Crab ! I can't go house this way ! I refuse to dwell like this ! But if I beat you, that'll be enough."

Noah gripped the hilt of the knight sword, and the sensation he got back was far from ideal. His torso 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 reimburse his strong suit. At least swearing was in the same situation. Despite his anger and bloodlust, he was on the verge of passing out. The smell was willing, but the form was another chronicle. If Noah fought him in this res publica, even the smallest wounds could prove fatal, then his sight with the baron would be out the window.

"I'm not going to spoil you. If you want to get yourself killed, do it after we get back. I want to live long enough to cash in everything I've collected."

"You can't lecture your way out of this !"

curse charged with his blade raised, attempting his signature cleave. Noah stepped to the side, nearly falling over as he did so. Rather than a slash, he struck Oath in the stomach with the handle of his sword. Oath nearly retched, but regained his ground 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 crusade !"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 stop and parry each golf stroke. They locked blade, pushing against each former in a shoving match.

"You chose to go into the donjon crab,"said Noah."You chose to adopt me, despite knowing how dangerous it was for Mira. You put your pride and your magnanimousness over her. I killed Trevor because you were too light to get it done and you would have woken up that monster with just three steps. You don't get to charge your incompetence on me."

"You're a hardhearted bastard ! You couldn't even shed a split for Tin, no wonder you didn't fear about us !"

"Grow up !"

Noah let go of his steel and punch Oath, sending him staggering back. Noah touched his hand to his eye, casting his invisibility. He only had decent mana to continue hidden for a few moments, so Noah tackled Oath, disarming him and knocking him to the ground. Three upstanding setback to the face left him unconscious.

Noah dropped to his knees, gasping for air with his charm coming undone. Hopefully, swearing would be much more sensical when he woke up. As Noah got to his feet, there was a monster's snarl, followed by Beth's scream. One of their pursuer from within the shell had arrived and was attacking Beth. It looked like some kind of cycloptic tiger with a mat of shaft across its dorsum. Beth was pinned, her arm in its mouth with her build being torn and her bones breaking.

"damn it !"Noah growled.

Beth still had his bow, so Noah pulled out his short sword and threw it, winging the savage in the shoulder joint. It turned to Noah and charged, and Noah, trying to trigger his illusion, realized he had used the last of his mana to deal with expletive. He jumped to the side to dodge the lunging tiger, but as he hit the ground, he realized he had less strength than he thought. He had planned on hitting the undercoat with a rolling and then jumping to his metrical unit, but he just fell like a tree. All he could do was roll out on his vertebral column, and this time, when the tiger pounced, he wasn't able to dodge. It tried to sink its teeth into his neck, but he blocked its oral cavity with his brand, though he could do nothing about its claws, digging into his berm. It was pushing down on him with its full exercising weight, and he didn't have the force to nurse it back.

Noah stared into its one, fist-sized eye and watched slobber pour from its oral cavity, mixed with the parentage from the cut that his blade was creating. This certainly ranked among the top of his eldritch deaths. Yet when his strength was about to falter, swearword attacked the Panthera tigris from behind, slicing off his question with a lilt of his blade. cuss then kicked the Panthera tigris's corpse off Noah and pointed his brand at him.

"You'll never get a punter opportunity than this,"Noah said with a smirk.

Oath took a deep intimation and sheathed his sword."I suppose saving your aliveness is as much an accomplishment as ending it."He held out his hired hand to Noah."Let's go home."

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Epilogue

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The town of Baron Clive was bustling, filled with explorer following the news of the keep crab's emergence. Around half of them would die within its shell, but those with skill and portion came back to townspeople with pockets full of ores and treasure. Having returned to town just the old Nox, Noah had tried listening for chin-wagging of whether or not anyone else had managed to capture the dungeon. He had taken all of the avenium he found in that elbow room, so it's possible that was all there was in the pubic louse. Oh well, they'd just have to build do with everything else they found. The majority of the adventurers 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 moment. 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 Oath had to twine 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-bodied to completely reverse the damage. The pulp on her arm looked moult, like hard stretch marks, and the muscle underneath was out of proper shape. At least the bone had been reset properly, but the way Beth winced as she stretched it per Noah's direction, he knew that she was lucky to still have it at all.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to draw a bow or lift anything sound anytime soon. If you find person with healing magic, they might be capable to undo the damage, but otherwise, I can't imagine your arm will ever regain its full use or strength."

"That's fine,"she said with a monotone voice and dead fish eyes. She shuddered, as if shaking herself awake."No, it's not fine, it's direful. But… I don't have to interest about using a bow."

"You're quitting being an explorer ?"

"After everything we went through in that dungeon… I don't ever want to feel something like that again. I'm going to try and find a therapist to fix my arm, but after that, I'm going to do what Mira wanted and settle down and build a family."

"That's for the best, I suppose."

"Thanks. And Noah, about what I said to you in the donjon, about how I was…"

"You're not fraught. Mira was."

She looked at him in jounce."How'd you screw ?"

"I have adequate experience with womanhood to recognize how to avoid getting them pregnant, and I can tell when it's close down to that time of the calendar month. Mira told you she was belated before we entered the dungeon, didn't she ? You pretended it was you instead. Did you lie to try and redeem yourself, or her ?"

"Both, I guess. Oath didn't know, he can never know."

"I'm surprised they were able to maintain it hidden from me. They always seemed a petty 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 substantially if they focused on getting stronger for conquering the donjon. After, they would have the rest of their lives to…"She trailed off, then looked out the window and sighed."I'm going to go visit her mother and sibling, tell her what happened. They were in debt, so hopefully the hoarded wealth I've collected will help pay it off. I owe Mira that much."

"This should to a greater extent than cover it,"said Noah, handing her a small-scale feeding bottle of avenium.

"So much trouble, so many tears 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 room, getting his bag and any possessions he deemed worth carrying. He had already sold off all of his ores and treasure, so he had stack of Au coins with him, along with versatile other tool and treasures hidden within his ring, including a vast fate of avenium. He put on his backpack with his swords hanging from his belt ammunition, including a new longsword, and left the way, locking it behind him. Downstairs in the tap house, he handed the landlady the key.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"Aye, I'm a bit disconsolate to see you go. But before you do, you should talk with your Friend. He certainly needs some help."

At the counter, he saw oath slumped over with a half-empty mug in his hand. After returning to Clive, he had checked in with his father only briefly, then came straight to the inn and started drinking to swim his sorrows. It was a miracle the boy hadn't died from alcohol poisoning.

"Are you planning on drinking away your intact destiny ?"Noah asked.

curse word raised his head, looking at him with bloodshot eyes."Leave me alone."

Noah took the stool following to him and ordered a drinkable."I will, soon. For now, just temper me."

curse word sat up and wiped his side."Remember that hunting trip the six of us took in the beginning ? When we were sitting around the fire, you told me that I had to decide my intellect for living, for fighting, that I had to make my own meaning. When I went into that keep, I thought I was doing it for my begetter, to finally win his approval. But when Mira died, I realized I had done it for her. I wanted to leaven to her that I was a man, that I was just as unassailable as you and Trevor, and I wanted to show it to myself. Everything I failed to do, they were the achievements of the top executive that I wanted to be. I loved her, but my pride got her killed. Now… I just don't want to intend about it, any of it. I just want to forget so everything will stop hurting."

Noah, having received his drinking, downed it in one gulp and slapped the ice on the table, then took a deep breather."If I were to give you one hold up moral, one finish opus of advice, would you have it ?"Oath just glanced at him, neither agreeing, nor refusing."Stop drinking. Go home base and mourn her properly."

"Why ?"

"I know it hurts, and you don't want to feel anything anymore, but when you block out all of the bad, you block out all of the safe that goes with it. cherish your flavour for Mira, your memory of her. Don't try to entomb them and forget. Be grateful that it hurts. Believe me, there is nothing more painful than being unfeignedly numb. When you've lost all significance and wizard, 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 words went over Oath's head, but then his eyes widened as a store flashed through his alcohol-soaked creative thinker. The face Noah made when Tin died, that stony expression, it finally made sense.

"Is that what happened to you ? You lost soul ?"

"I've lost a lot of people, Sir Thomas More than you can reckon. Losing a get laid one, mourning them, it's supposed to be hard, because if it's slowly, 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 and I are going there in three sidereal day. You can locomote with us."

"Nah, I'll feel my own way. Besides, I've already given your Padre enough avenium to ensure you become a noble, 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 king, after Tin died.

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

Noah was sitting in the magnate's study, having just confessed to killing his brother and nephew."We didn't have the chance to utter about defrayment 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 passport to the Uther knight honorary society. I heard they only grant access on the goodness word of a noble, such as yourself."

Ivan scrunched up his face and nearly spat out his drink. To be an Utheric horse was a great honor and responsibility, as while they ranked below mogul on the nobility scale, their achievements could cave in them greater authority and political influence."I have no interest group in putting my good public figure on the air for a stranger. Just take some avenium for yourself and become a noble. You'll be even richer than a knight. Or if you want to serve your country, just unite the military."

"Any schmo with a pulsation can be con***********ed and turned into a soldier. I'm not after wealth, prestige, or achievement, and I don't charge about this country."

Noah then reached into his air hole and placed a sensationalistic potion on the baron's desk.

"What is that ?"Ivan asked.

"I got this in that hobgoblin den, and just this first light, I had it appraised by the apothecary. It's a high-ranking antidote, capable to cure almost any poison. I doubt even a baron like you could afford one. I had this with me when Tin was shot and didn't know it could save her life. She died because of my ignorance. I've come to realize that despite my acquirement and experience, I don't know nearly enough about this humanity. I want to change that, and to do so, I need an education. Spending years in an off-white tower doesn't interest me. I want to hear how to live and properly fight in this humanity, and the just home to do that is the knight academy, where they supposedly train the sound of the considerably. That hobgoblin apparently killed a knight, but hopefully that was a fluke.

So what do you say ? Is your son's futurity not worth a single alphabetic character ?"

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

"I suppose…"Noah said, looking back to Oath,"I just wanted to finally keep a hope, rather than making yet another lie. secure luck to you, Lord Fault."

Noah left the inn and walked over to the post where his horse was hitched. He rode out of Clive, and when he was finally alone, he held out his hand, and an envelope appeared on his palm from within his ring. On it was a wax cachet, the Fault coat of arms. With this, his path was laid out before him. His succeeding stop : the Utheric royal capital.

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*Roundabout plays*

To be continued…

*Roll credits*

Please input ! I 'm going to try to take in vol 2 quick by the end of the year .