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lightnovelfreedotcom-blog · 7 years ago

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Novel Minutes before sunset chapter 38

The science table was ice cold against my burning cheek and thundering forehead. I hadn’t been able to sleep all night, not after what happened to me, not after Shoman left. My eyes were sore and puffy, my cheeks blotchy and red, and I knew Crystal and Robb were worried. They’d realized something was wrong the minute they saw me in class, and they hadn’t stopped trying to talk to me since I walked in the door. It’d only been two minutes, and class hadn’t even started, but I felt as if they’d been interrogating me all day. “Are you sick?” Crystal asked. I feel sick. I shook my head. “Did you get in another fight with your parents?” Robb joined in. “I hate that.” They don’t even know what I am. I shook my head again. “Did—” “Nothing happened,” I said, glaring before I realized I was doing it. They jumped, and Robb whistled low. “We didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, and I bit my lip to keep myself from yelling at the only people I had left in my social life. Shoman was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. He hadn’t even told me why, and all I wanted to do was understand. “I’m sorry,” I managed, and Crystal leaned against my seat. “I know what will make you feel better,” she said, winking her dark eyes. “Dress shopping.” Robb groaned. “Come on, Crystal,” he said. “Not now.” “Actually,” I said, lifting my face. “I might be up for that.” Anything to distract me. Robb raised his brow. “Jess really is upset.” Crystal nodded. “I know.” “I can hear you,” I said, and Robb cracked a smile. “Just have fun tonight,” he said, standing as the warning bell rang. Students rushed in, and Crystal stood, readying to go to their table. “We will,” she said, practically bouncing around. “I’m bringing friends by the way,” Robb said. “To prom, I mean.” Crystal smacked his arm. “You promised you wouldn’t this year.” “It’s just Zac,” he said, stepping out of her arm’s reach. “And Linda.” She cocked her hip and raised her brow. “Linda?” “What?” He put his hands in front of him. “You like her.” “Says who?” she asked, and the two continued to bicker as they went to their table and sat down. I sighed and drowned them out. I did not need more drama in my life. “Hey, Jessica,” Eric said, slowly taking his seat. He was further away than usual. I stared at him. “Hey.” Clearing his throat, he pushed his backpack beneath his seat.

Hachinan tte, sore wa nai deshou!

He adjusted his headphones, took them off, and put them back on again. Then, he sighed and laid his hands on the table. What was wrong with him? “You look tired,” he said, and his green eyes flickered beneath the fluorescent lights. He did too. I shrugged. “I’d rather not talk about it.” “Why not?” “Because of your witty remarks,” I said, and his brow rose. “Boy problems?” he asked, and I tensed. How’d he know? Crystal and Robb couldn’t even tell. His lips pulled into a smile, but then it faded. “Don’t act so surprised, Jessica,” he said, unable to meet my eyes. “I’ve gotten to know you pretty well this semester.” “Not that well,” I grumbled, and he whispered beneath his breath. I couldn’t hear him, but the sinking expression on his face hinted to his thoughts. He believed he had. “You haven’t,” I said, and he leaned back. “But I can read body language,” he said, louder this time. His eyes flickered over my curling hands. “You really should be careful about that; you might give something away.” I glared. “To who? You?” “I’m not trying to upset you,” he said, repeating exactly what Robb had said moments before. Maybe I was being too sensitive. “I’m just saying that you might want to be careful. You wouldn’t want to expose yourself to people you don’t trust.” He was lecturing me, but I’d heard the lecture before. From Shoman. I folded my arms and crossed my legs. “Don’t trust anyone, no matter how close you are to anyone.” His brow furrowed. “What makes you say that?” “My problem.” He paled, but placed his cheek on his hand. He hadn’t moved fast enough to hide his expression. “You know, Jessica,” he spoke against his palm. “I’m sure that whatever is going on between your guy and you, he has reasons for it,” he said. “It’ll work out.” “What makes you say that?” I asked, using his words against him, and his shoulders rose in a half-shrug. “Because everyone hopes for the same thing,” he said. “A happy ending.” His hand dropped, and he managed a smile. “I’m a Welborn. I know these things.” I nodded, unsure of how to respond. I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn’t. He was right. It was only hard to believe. Shoman cared about me, and I knew it. But he left me, and I didn’t know about that. I opened my mouth to respond, but the teacher walked in and shushed the class. I kept my mouth shut as she began, and Eric didn’t attempt a conversation again. Class seemed to end in a matter of minutes, and he left without a word. I lingered in my seat, watched him leave, and waited until Crystal bounced to my side. “Let’s just leave,” she said, pulling me out of the seat. “Skipping will do you some good.” I nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are.” She beamed. “Then let’s go,” she said, and I strode out with her, willing to leave the day behind me. *** The shopping went great. If you consider sheer torture great. Crystal had me trying on hundreds of dresses before I could protest. I wasn’t even able to look in the mirror. She’d judged all of them the second I’d come out of the dressing room. “No” became a word I heard so much that it lost its meaning. She’d say it, hang the dress back up, and return with another one. The process repeated for three hours until she found the one. According to her, it was perfect, but I still didn’t see it. I didn’t care enough to argue either, so I bought it, and she drove me home. I opened the front door, attempting to bolt upstairs, but my mother was in her usual place—the kitchen—and she appeared before I could make it. “How’d the shopping go, Jessie?” she asked, and I peered through the banister. “Good.” She beamed, and she flipped her blonde hair. “That’s great. Did you have fun?” I tried not to roll my eyes. “Tons.” “When can we see your dress?” she asked.

A step into the past

My father shouted from the kitchen, “Does it cover your knees?” “Oh, shush,” my mother said, rolling her eyes. I wished I hadn’t held back. She smiled at me. “Ignore him. Are you going to try it on for us?” “On prom night,” I said, and her smile faltered. “Oh.” I sighed, gripping the banister as I stepped up a stair. “I’m really tired, Mom,” I said. “I just want to go to bed, but I’ll show you tomorrow. Okay?” She nodded, but she forced a smile that reminded me of bad Botox. “Good night, Jessie. I love you.” “Love you, too,” I said, running away as quickly as I could manage. When I got into my bedroom, I shut the door behind me and locked it, leaning against the wood for support. My legs were shaking, and I knew it was from Shoman’s medicine. It felt like it weakened everything inside of me when, in reality, it was healing me. I was only glad my outer cuts had healed. Explaining those injuries would’ve been impossible. I had to talk to Shoman again. Throwing my dress over my computer chair, I groaned and collapsed on my bed. The mattress creaked against the old frame, and I twisted around, laying my head down. Beneath my pillow, a paper crinkled, and I pulled it out. I’d left the article about my parents’ car wreck there, and now it was wrinkled. The edge was torn, and my eyes watered.

The only proof I had of them was practically ruined, and I only had myself to blame. What was wrong with me? The wreck, although I’d been a part of it, hadn’t seemed real until I was flooded with emotions. I’d lost them—my beautiful family—and I’d lost Shoman and the Dark with him. Everything I was born with was gone, even though I was still alive. It didn’t feel right. Without the only connection I had, I felt incomplete. I felt—abandoned—and I suddenly understood what Shoman meant about the Dark never accepting me. I didn’t know enough to stand on my own. I couldn’t defend myself. I had known that the second Fudicia—whoever she was—appeared in front of us, ready to kill. I’d seen the commitment of danger in her eyes. She was dark—darker than the Dark could be—yet she was in the Light. The archetypal beliefs embedded in my everyday life, in literature and movies, were flipped, and my life was altered. It’d never be the same, and my parents’ article proved it. I flipped it over and slammed it next to my pillow. I refused to look at it. Not tonight. I couldn’t stand it. They’d betrayed me, not by death, but in death. They knew I was a shade, because they had to be shades if they birthed me. Yet they hadn’t protected me with a will. They hadn’t even bothered giving me godparents, a family within the Dark. Even I realized, they had been fleeing, because we would’ve been ostracized by the Dark anyway. I would’ve never known, and they knew all along. How could they do this? I hated them. No. I didn’t understand them. But I wanted to. During shopping, I’d finally managed to mention them to Crystal. I didn’t want to, but she’d kept pestering me about my depression, and I needed an excuse. I would’ve told her eventually. Wouldn’t I? I didn’t know the answer to that, but it didn’t matter. Crystal was too young to remember anything. When they died, she was a baby, too. At most, she said she’d ask her mother, but I sort of hoped she wouldn’t and would at the same time. I couldn’t even tell what I was feeling, let alone cope with it. I flipped the article over, but I didn’t look at it. Instead, I closed my eyes and attempted to force my tears back. But I couldn’t. They came, and my chest heaved, sour and tight, until exhaustion took over, and I drifted away.

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lightnovelfreedotcom-blog · 7 years ago

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Chapter 37 light novel Minutes before sunset

I dragged a warm washcloth across her torn skin before tucking the covers beneath her. She didn’t keep her bedroom as clean as I did, which wasn’t surprising. I was only glad that I hadn’t tripped over anything when I transported inside. The last thing I needed was her parents catching a shade in their daughter’s bedroom. They didn’t even know what a shade was. She’d told me that much. I wiped the blood and dirt from her face, and then I stood up from her bed and walked into the bathroom. I rinsed the washcloth off and returned to her side, avoiding my reflection at all costs. I knew what I’d see, a mangled mess of bloody failure. It’d only be a matter of time before my father or Camille realized I hadn’t returned at the normal time. I’d get caught—again. But I couldn’t just leave. She needed my help; she was hurt. The first thing I checked was the spell embedded into her neck. It was burnt and spreading, and so was mine, but I wouldn’t use my remedy on me. It was hers as soon as she woke up. I ran my fingers along her wrist, and she shuddered, her eyes flicking open. They were no longer purple. Her gaze fluttered over me, but her brow furrowed. “Shoman?” Then she looked around, and her demeanor flipped. She shot up and covered her face with her hands.

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“I know who you are, no matter if you cover your face now or not,” I said, and she scooted against the wall. She couldn’t even sit up without support. Her face was so pale. “But—you can’t know.” Her lip quivered. “You’re not supposed to know.” “It’s done, Jessica,” I said, forcing a smile. “I won’t tell. Your secret is safe.” She shook her head and brought her knees up to her chin, hugging her legs as she had so many times before. How had I not realized who she was? Jessica did everything that the nameless shade had done. Because they were the same person. I still couldn’t believe it, even with her in front of me. She swallowed and tapped her nails against her kneecap. “You know my name,” she said, and I nodded. Could she figure out who I was? I didn’t know. “I can’t tell you mine.” “I know.” My jaw locked. It was the only way I could keep myself from speaking. I wanted her to know. “What happened?” she whispered, and I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about it. We’d almost been killed, and it was my fault. If Fudicia hadn’t thought Abby was the third descendant, Jessica would be dead, and it’d be my fault. It was always my fault. It always had been. “Come here,” I said, patting the edge of the bed next to me, and she leaned forward. I reached into my collar and pulled off my necklace, allowing my tree pendant to swing between us. “I need you to drink this.” She blinked. “Drink it?” I twisted the top and pulled down the stump.

The black liquid waved inside the branches. “It’s a remedy,” I said, handed it to her. “You were poisoned.” A gasp escaped her lips. “What do you mean?” “Just drink it.” She pressed it to her mouth and tipped it back. Her neck moved, and she cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. She coughed and handed the necklace back to me. “That’s disgusting.” “It’s medicine; what’d you expect?” I said, draping the jewelry over my neck. As long as the leather was visible, Camille wouldn’t know I’d used it. She shook her head again. “That’s the worst tasting medicine I’ve ever had.” “And it’s saving your life.” Jessica bit her lip. “It’s that bad?” I nodded, and she grabbed my hand. I knew I had to pull away, but I couldn’t. “What about you?” she asked, and I shrugged. I’d been attacked too, but she didn’t have to know. I could handle the pain. I’d been trained to. She shifted. “Thank you, Shoman.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t deserve the praise. I stood up, moving away from her, and her bed creaked as she attempted to move. “You won’t be able to use your powers for a long time,” I said, briefly turning back. “The poison attacks your powers, so that medicine prevents the transition.

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” Her mouth opened. “How will I see you?” “You won’t.” “But—” “Jessica,” I sighed and leaned against her window. This was everything I’d ever dreaded. “I’m leaving,” I said. “And I’m not coming back.” Removing myself was the only way she could be safe. “Don’t come looking for me either.” “What?” Her voice quavered, and she stepped off her bed. She trembled, and I caught her before she fell. Her body was too weak to stand. I sat her down and tried to move back, but she dug her nails in my arm, grasping me. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, and I was unable to look away. Her eyes were watering, and I was breaking. “I can’t be with you anymore,” I said, and her grip tightened. “Shoman.” She wasn’t letting go. “You can’t do this. You don’t mean it.” Apparently, she was talented at telling if someone was lying to her. I forced myself to look away. “I do.” “Is it because I’m Jessica?” No. “Don’t change,” I said, and I forced my body to compress into shadows. She grasped the air as I dissipated. “Don’t leave me,” she said, and then I was gone. She was safe.

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lightnovelfreedotcom-blog · 7 years ago

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Read Chapter Three Danger Zone

“Great, first we’ve got earthquakes, and now there are people who actually believe a creature’s loose in the subway,” Madison scoffed. “And you’re not helping, rookie, bringing up that nonsense about tentacles.” The words of Reena’s partner fell on deaf ears. The young officer was lost in a whirlwind of fantastical thoughts. “Why would this—thing—whatever it is, steal a train car and drilling equipment?” Madison rolled her eyes and continued to walk deeper into the darkened corridor. They had left Barrick back at the tunnel entrance. The man was reluctance to join them and claimed he needed to return to supervising his engineers—clearly an excuse. Without a new AT drill, there was little work that could be done. Reena remained as close to Madison as possible. Most of the overhead lights had long since burned out, leaving their flashlights as the sole source of illumination. Though the luminous beams provided some aid, they were far from adequate to combat the overwhelming darkness. “Yikes!” Reena cried, tripping. She hobbled along on one leg, regaining her footing before she lost complete balance. “What was that?” Madison came to an abrupt halt, aiming her flashlight at the ground where her partner had just stumbled. Large misshapen indentations marred the dirt, causing uneven footing where the two officers were standing. She crouched down, examining the ground. “What’d you find?” Reena asked. Madison lifted her wrist to eye level and tapped a button on her I.DAC, activating the voice comm feature on the device. “Database inquiry, do we have AT drill schematics on file?” All was silent for a moment as the I.DAC linked with the police department’s relay satellite. “Confirmed,” a soft female voice escaped from the wristlet’s miniature speaker. A blue LED blinked to life on the I.DAC and a beam of light shot into the air, displaying a holographic display of an AT drill. Madison examined the drill for a moment and then ran her fingers along the pockmarked dirt. “The AT drill was dragged through here.” “How can you tell?” “See for yourself,” Madison jutted her chin in the hologram’s direction, “the AT drill moves via rubberized treads.” Reena leaned in, looking the image over. “Yeah, just like a tank!” “Exactly, and these indentations on the ground were made by those treads.” “Hold it; you said the drill was dragged...” “Sideways,” Madison added, deactivating her I.DAC. “There was no way the drill was driven through here, that’s for certain.” Reen tried to mentally put all the pieces of the puzzle together, but she was at a loss. “But what could drag it, and where would they take it?

Oukoku e tsuzuku michi

Didn’t Barrick say that the tunnel entrances were shut down?” Madison shook her head. “I don’t know how they took it but, according to the city records Hardiman showed us, these tunnels connect to several unexplored catacombs. That might answer where it went.” “C-catacombs?” “More like pockets of sunken earth deep below the subway, leftovers from the Kurtow Quake twenty years ago.” “Do you really think that’s where the subway car’s been stashed? Can these catacombs be that big?” “No clue,” Madison admitted, “but at least we’ve got a lead. All we have to do now is follow the trail and—” A mechanical howl pierced the tunnel, loud enough that the very subway itself seemed to shake. Dust rolled off the ceiling as Reena covered her ears, cringing at the high-pitched noise that sounded worse than fingernails digging into a chalkboard. Madison leapt to her feet and charged in the direction of the strange wail, her flashlight guiding her steps. “Get moving, rookie!” “W-wait,” Reena cried out, “that’s probably not a good idea! We don’t even know who—or what—we’re dealing with!” Despite voicing her objection, she still followed after her partner. Her headlong charge into danger was less an act of bravery and more a concern that she’d be left behind, after all, Madison wasn’t the type to wait around or, as some might argue, think things entirely through. Just as Reena was about to catch up to Madison, something long and silver lashed out from the darkness, coiling itself around the rookie officer’s bare leg. She jerked back, shocked by its cold, metallic touch. She gasped, the hair on the back of her neck rising. It was too dark to get a clear view of what had grabbed her, but before she could direct her flashlight to the source, it wrenched her off balance. Reena crashed to the ground with a loud thud, her knees and ample chest absorbing the impact. Her flashlight went airborne, bounced off the nearby wall, and hit the ground, spinning in circles before its beam settled on Reena’s lower body. The officer looked down to her leg, eyes widening in horror. A tentacle! The pervert on the train hadn’t been imagining things. A long, chrome tentacle held Reena’s thigh in its tight, slithering grasp. The limb was reaching out from the surrounding blackness. Whatever it was attached to could not be seen in the shadowy recesses of the tunnel. The tendril pulled at Reena’s leg, dragging her across the rugged ground with ease. Every second brought her closer to the pitch black darkness from which the tentacle had emerged from. She shrieked as loud as she could. Ahead, Madison skidded to a stop, the heels of her boots digging into the dirt. She spun around, her Halvok 99 already free from its holster. “The hell?!” she gasped, trying to make sense of the situation. “M-Madison! I c-could really use some h-help!” The silver-haired officer rushed over, she seized hold of the tentacle that bound Reena’s leg and tried to pry the limb off. The tendril froze, discontinuing its effort to drag the young officer away, but its grip on her remained firm. “Wh-what is it?” Reena yelped. “Whatever it is, damn thing’s strong!” Madison hissed, realizing that there was little chance of unfastening the tentacle’s grip with her hands alone. She hammered the butt of her gun against the limb’s chrome plating, but it amounted to nothing. “Shit,” Madison muttered, turning to the section of tentacle that stretched into the nearby darkness. She raised her firearm, aiming at the shadow-clad segment and fired several times. The bullets struck the limb’s metal surface, causing a shower of sparks to detonate on each impact. Something small whizzed by Madison’s face, then another struck the ground near her foot. “Whoa!” Reena yelped, a bullet striking the dirt inches from her head. Madison ceased firing, her finger jerking away from the trigger. The bullets were ricocheting! “This damn thing’s bulletproof?” Before she could make another move, a second tentacle emerged from where the first had appeared. With blazing speed, it whipped through the air, wrapping around Madison’s upper body. Lifting the officer off her feet, the metal limb squeezed her torso like a snake would, right before suffocating its prey. The tentacle’s strength was more than Madison could bear. Even as she pounded her fist against the attacking appendage, all the air began to escape her lungs. It raised her up further, bringing her head close to the tunnel’s ceiling, just feet away from a dim overhead bulb. “Madison!” Reena called out, still on the ground and at the mercy of the tentacle binding her leg. “Are you okay?”

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“No!” “Wh-what should I do?” “S-stay down!” Madison choked out. The tentacle proceeded to constrict around her chest. She slung her head back in pain and felt her hair brush up against the tunnel’s ceiling. Her eyes darted upwards in response. Along the ceiling was an intricate network of rusted piping. The nearby bulb illuminated a half-faded warning label along one of the pipe’s corroded exteriors: Liquid Nitrogen. The pipe was several feet away and she was well aware what it meant if the cryogenic fluid made any contact with her skin. But her options were limited and part of the tentacle was closer to the pipe than she was. Something had to be done fast or else she’d be crushed to death and, likely, the rookie soon after… Madison pointed her Halvok at the pipe and squeezed the trigger. A bullet tore through its intended target, rupturing the pipe. A burst of liquid nitrogen spat forth, splashing over the tentacle. With one swift, violent motion, the limb recoiled, loosened its grip on the officer, and launched her through the air. “Ugh!” Madison hit the ground hard, but still managed to roll onto her back after impact. The tentacle had inadvertently tossed her away from the hazardous liquid’s reach. Gun still in hand she raised it toward the tentacle. The segment that had come in contact with the liquid nitrogen was freezing over, leaving its chrome exterior glossy with ice. Aiming at the frozen portion, Madison fired. The bullet hit home, shattering the area touched by the fluid as if it were made of glass. A fraction of severed tentacle spiraled down to the dirt. It writhed on the ground, twitching and squirming like an earthworm until one final spasm left it motionless. A mechanical roar echoed along the tunnel. Madison couldn’t help but think it sounded like an animal retching in agony. The tendril around Reena’s leg slackened and then, in one blinding motion, released her and retreated back into the darkness. The second, damaged tentacle, followed suite. Madison was already back up and hurrying over to Reena’s side. She grabbed the rookie’s elbow and pulled her to her feet. “You okay?” “Yeah,” Reena nodded, wincing from the pain in her leg where the limb had seized her. “And you?” “Fine. Can you walk?” “Wait—you’re not still thinking of go after that thing?” Madison removed the flashlight from her belt and shined it over to where the tentacles had fled. “I’m not going back without finding out what—” Reena could feel the ground vibrating under her feet. “Oh no…” “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Madison felt it too. She knew what was coming. “Something tells me,” Reena muttered, “an old subway tunnel is probably a really bad place to be during an earthquake.” A chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling, landing right before Madison’s feet. Another followed, then another, each piece larger than the last. “We have to get out of here!” Reena yelled over the loud rumble of the shaking tunnel. Madison glanced above her partner, sighting a portion of the ceiling preparing to collapse. “Son of a—!” She hurled herself in Reena’s direction, tackling the girl to the dirt just as the ceiling caved in, smashing the ground where she stood only a moment ago. “Th-thanks!” Reena stammered. Large segments of concrete fell into the tunnel, completely blocking the path to where the tentacles had escaped. Madison helped Reena to her feet, but even standing was a challenge as the subway continued to quake around them. “This place’s going to be a death trap in a few—” Madison hadn’t finished her sentence before the trembling stopped. The tunnel had once again become still. “Did it really stop, or…?” Reena scratched her head. Madison gritted her teeth at the sight of the blocked passageway. There was no longer any chance of following their tentacled attacker anymore. “Convenient time for that little tremor, don’t you think?” “You think that…” Reena paused before saying the word, “…monster...was responsible for the earthquakes?” “Some monster,” Madison scoffed, walking over to the severed tentacle that rested lifeless on the ground. She gave it a push with her boot. The limb was about two feet in length and looked like the arm of an octopus—a metal octopus. Reena crouched down to get a better look. The tentacle didn’t just have a metallic exterior, but it appeared completely mechanized within. From what she could tell, its insides were packed with electrical components and intricate servos. The only hint of life came from several detached cords that were still sparking. “What kind of robot is this?” “I know just the person who’d be able to tell us.” Madison picked up the damaged limb. It was lighter than she had expected. “And, more importantly, tell us who made it.

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lightnovelfreedotcom-blog · 7 years ago

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Chapter 10 Light Novel Alter World

The altar melee was a piece of cake. With the regularity of a grinder, my pet kept working on whatever gnolls happened to be around. At a certain point, his health dropped to 90% only to restore gradually back to his signature 100%. The Head Shaman, the local mini boss, cast a bit of rather useless magic, clouding my bear in blue smoke and piercing him with bolts of purple lightning. The fire show came to an abrupt end when Teddy finished with the last defender and turned his attention to the shaman himself. After a dozen hits, another level 17 corpse lay sprawled on the floor. Ding! 15! Six levels in an hour and a half. Awesome. I frisked the corpses piled about and bent over the shaman, curious. A heavy bronze key and a little silver ring. I thought first that it was the quest key which opened one of the cages. It wasn't. Apparently, it opened the squeaky door that led to the dungeon's second level. The ring was a different story. Lore Ring Item Class: Uncommon Durability: 20/20 Effect: +3 to Intellect Nice. I tried it on, and the mana bar jumped up thirty percent. I glanced at the clock. Only three minutes left until the mobs respawned. I gave it some thought and decided to stay for a new mop-up. I had to admit I liked the ring so much I could use another dozen. I jumped up onto the altar and froze in the lotus pose, watching the show. Teddy won again, 9:0. The loot surprised me. No key this time. Either it didn't drop twice or it was rare loot to begin with. In the latter case, the key could be of some value so I could try to get some money back for it. The ring I did get, albeit different. Gold sapphire ring Item class: Common Durability: 20/20 Effect: none. Just a pretty trinket. I raised the ring up to my eyes. Nice one. I threw it into my bag adding it to a handful of other jewelry. I could sell it or give it to the girls I'd met—their numbers steadily growing, luckily for me as I was already itching for it. Especially because most females here looked like Barbies on steroids, covered with token amounts of lace, transparent silk and some jewelry. The sight of slim Elven maidens doing their corpse runs like some bikini beach joggers, was too much for any red-blooded male. Damn those art designers. A plague on both their houses. The sex question was more than resolvable here. You could give in to temptation in your own house or in somebody else's with the hostess' consent. Brothels were another answer to it. All in all, sexual activities in virtual reality were more than popular. Before the arrival of the FIVR, a quarter of all Internet traffic had been porn. Now imagine, instead of two-dimensional pics and dubious-quality videos, the ability to experience a more than real gratification with the most beautiful of all Internet girls. This was one of the cornerstones of the FIVR success. Sex, entertainment and adrenaline, multiplied by one's superiority complex, all in one unique product. Mind boggling. I shouldn't have thought about girls. I shook my head dispersing the unwanted images and had another swig of herbal tea sending my thanks to the Three Little Pigs' innkeeper. Then I turned the key in the heavy carved door. A wide staircase led down, lined with smoky torches. "Hummungus, come, pup. Be quiet." History repeated itself. Here, mobs were juicier, level 18 and above, growing stronger as we approached the third underground floor. After half an hour, I received a new message. Congratulations! You've received Achievement: Immortal. You've stayed alive for ten subsequent levels! Reward: +500 to Fame Fame Alert! Your Fame has exceeded 1000 points! You've reached Fame level 1: "People are talking about you". Friendly faction vendors might surprise you with lower prices. You will also gain access to some secret quests.

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Not bad at all. My joy was slightly spoiled by the fact that all these achievements were cheats, to a point. Had it not been for my free Teddy ticket, I'd still be a nonentity. I made myself a solemn promise not to think too much of myself and to generally keep a low profile. After a few more minutes, the already level-19 me fought my way to a wide corridor leading to the floor's main hall. There I could fully appreciate the developers' sick sense of humor. The staircase down to the third floor was right opposite the gnolls' barracks. Whether it was AI trying to be funny or this was the basic layout, I didn't know; all I could see was that they were falling in on the drill ground in front of the barracks. A dozen and a half warriors, all my level, plus a level-22 Gnoll Chief and the floor's mini boss, a level 25 Gnoll General. The biggest problem was, they stood shoulder to shoulder. Any party that fought its way down here would have to deal with the entire gang. There simply was no other way. It didn't feel good. Seventeen mobs against a pet, however tough, and I couldn't even interfere for fear of pulling aggro onto myself. My current level was purely nominal: all my skills remained level 5. I was a walking bag with lots of available characteristic points and talents. I still had to get my three talent points from Grym for level 10. And I still had to choose specialization in order to unblock new skill tree branches. My last levels had brought me nine more points which I didn't really want to invest even if I had somewhere in which to invest them. I needed to get a bit of sleep first and think clearly. In other words, my pet was the only real force that counted. I was little more than a walking talking makiwara. I stepped a safe distance back, blessed my pet and, choosing the General as target, pressed 'Attack'. The Gnoll Overseer would be next. I wanted to minimize my pet's exposure to the strongest opponents. Even when still alive, Teddy hadn't been known for good self-preservation skills. He lunged at the opponent with all the enthusiasm of reckless courage. Immediately his life bar began to shrink. It took Hummungus twenty seconds and 15% hits to finally put the General to rest. The Chief took slightly less. And still the gnolls were too many. Way too many. They surrounded Teddy and started pounding his sides and back, nailing him with crits. Soon he had ten opponents and barely half life left. After another minute of melee, the ratio became seven to forty. Three to thirty. Two. One. Done. I breathed a sigh of relief. Good boy! I came over to the bloodied beast and patted his chewed ears. "Way to go, Hummungus. You made your daddy proud." I let Teddy regenerate. We had another three or four minutes before the gnolls respawned. He needed a bit of rest, and it wasn't a problem to mop up the hall again. The mobs would respawn one by one, in the reverse order of their death. Teddy risked virtually nothing against singles. I checked the corpses again collecting the booty. About a gold piece's worth of cash, half a dozen bracelets and a couple Soul Stones. Loot was getting more interesting here, with a variety of steel weapons, armor and chainmail. All had decent defense parameters albeit without any extras. Unfortunately, I had to leave it all lying on the ground: my modest strength didn't allow me to lug around hefty objects. As Murphy's law would have it, I might not be capable of even lifting some of the more promising loot ahead. Talking of the devil. The Gnoll General dropped a sheer treasure: a massive key, a red bracelet of the type I hadn't seen before, and a pair of heavy chainmail gauntlets. I ran a check: Red Bracelet. Serves to identify gnoll elite. Item class: Common Durability: 25/25 Weight: 0.24 lb. Effect: +5 to Armor, +1 to Strength Excellent. I slid the bracelet onto my wrist. If I got another one, I'd wear it on my other arm for some added strength and a bit of armor. Waste not, want not. No point in selling it even, at least until I found an adequate substitute. I weighed the gauntlets in my hand. Chainmail Gauntlets. Crafter unknown. Item Class: Uncommon Durability: 45/45 Weight: 3.3 lb. Effect: +12 to Armor, +3 to Strength Great item. Had to be worth at least ten or twelve gold. In the bag it went. Good job Necros couldn't wear heavy armor, otherwise I'd have to choose whether to sell or keep them. My inner greedy pig stirred happily. Things were looking up. The questions of finding a roof over my head and some daily bread in the shape of a potful of meat and potatoes had ceased to hang over me like some sword of Damocles. Now everything I earned on top I could invest in gear and character growth. Good job, too, considering I'd spent my first day busting my ass, and all I had to show for it had been barely enough for a bed and a meal. "What the &ç@$!" yelled the gnoll who'd respawned first, only an arm's length from me. His heavy saber swooshed over my head. I ducked behind the bear's back just in time. The warrior tried to get to me again. I barely avoided a stab to the face. The pet stepped in and pulled aggro onto himself with a couple of expert hits. Whew. I crawled into a relatively safe corner, waited five seconds and began draining the mob's life. So stupid of me. I'd nearly got myself killed, too busy examining the trophies. By the end of the melee, I calmed down a bit and made a mental note to be more careful in the future. I ended up with level 20 and a lovely pair of hammered steel greaves, with +15 to armor and +4 to strength modifier. Looked like the General only dropped heavy armor. Not my thing. Worth picking up, anyway, even if only to sell it. Pointless hanging about much longer. I still had the dungeon's lower floor to do. Both loot and experience were better there. I allowed the pet a few minutes to regen and walked down the stairs. Here, the rooms didn't resemble dungeons any more. It looked more like a second-rate mansion house. A few bits of furniture stood against the tapestry-lined walls lit by large bowls of burning oil. Who'd have thought the place was that serious. Here, the gnoll warriors were replaced by guards, far more dangerous. Mainly I came across groups of three: two guards plus either a sergeant or a caster. The mobs' levels were predictably higher. The night was going to be anything but relaxed, our little outing quickly turning into an obstacle race. The bear was still capable of handling the trio without much trouble albeit losing one-third life. I really needed to know how to restore his health. Or rather, I was sure that Necros of my level had to have it somewhere but I stuck to my resolution not to fiddle with the stats during the marathon. Really, would I hole up in some dark corner and, brain-dead with fighting, try to solve single-handedly such crucial problems? Not a good idea. A mistake could cost me dearly. So I had to weasel our way out. Bit by bit I managed to use the Deadman's Hand to control one of the guards. In the meantime, Teddy dealt with one or two gnolls depending on how clean the pull was. Then he finished off the one I controlled. A quick meditation, and we moved another hundred feet, heading for the throne hall which housed the juiciest monsters and the sweetest loot. I was also quite worried about the absence of quest keys for the Drow cages. I had to keep going if only to locate the place or the mob who dropped them. In another hour and a half, I did level 24 and received another achievement, for staying alive for fifteen subsequent levels. Another thousand Fame points into the kitty. Then, quite unpredictably, a new message popped up: Congratulations! You've received Achievement: The Untouchable. Your enemies have failed to deal you damage for 5 subsequent levels! Reward: +500 to Fame Apparently, I'd done good. I hadn't made a single mistake. Luck had a lot to do with it, of course. Only they seemed to be sort of generous with their Fame points. If it continued like that, I was going to walk out of the dungeons to a red carpet reception. On we went. Corridors, rooms, halls, gnolls, gnolls and more gnolls. I was already sick to death of their dog chops. Was it my imagination or were they really emitting that canine stench? My eyes ached from the torch flames. Patches of light danced amid shadows and wisps of smoke that clung to the ceiling. My fatigue started to show. I found a safe room, parked Teddy and lay flat for ten minutes or so, relaxing with my eyes shut. Gradually, I felt better. I munched on a totally yummy sandwich washing it down with sweet tea, eternally grateful for the buffs. Teddy refused the food point blank but sniffed the tea with interest. Some funny zombies around... Then I checked my bag to see if I could get rid of a thing or two. The last couple of items had sent me into overload. Seven thousand copper were weighing me down but it would be stupid to leave them, right? Luckily, the third-floor mobs dropped silver. On the bottom of the bag, I discovered a whole mine of Soul Stones. I chose ten or so of the stronger ones and destroyed the rest which gave me a small bag of magic dust—a crafting ingredient meant for alchemists, blacksmiths and the like. That seemed like changing one bunch of trash for another, but it would be a shame to leave it, wouldn't it? By then, the pet had regenerated. I didn't feel that bad, either. Time to go. As it turned out, our safe room was only a few steps away from the throne hall, in some sort of auxiliary corridor. I had a good look around. A long room, brightly lit, with pairs of brutal-looking guards frozen statue-like by the columns that supported the vaulted ceiling. The throne stood against the far wall. On it sat the Gnoll King surrounded by his entourage. They weren't packed too close together. From where I stood I could just about pull two monsters at a time. So we got the show going. Between the two of us, we smoked three pairs of gnolls in less than five minutes. I kept casting Deadman's Hand, controlling one of the guards as Teddy dealt with his partner. My pet killed a mob in thirty seconds, and all that time I kept my target nailed to the ground as it cursed and tried to squirm itself free from the invisible bonds. Then we advanced a little to take over the mopped-up space. One last effort. We only had the King, the Priest and two of the officers left. The officers looked top class. Up to their balls in armor, with double swords on their backs, these level 28 beasts could put up a serious fight. And still I thought they wouldn't be a problem as long as I saved my pet enough life, for we didn't have enough time to meditate. And we still had the dungeon boss to take care of. I started the fight using the same tried and tested scheme by controlling the officer next to me. The mob struggled, helpless, and groaned as he drew his two swords. The second guard swung round and dashed for us. The King and the Priest remained seated, childishly ignoring the danger. This, of course, was only gaming convention. Gnolls' aggro zone didn't exceed seven or eight paces. Once outside it, you could dance and bare your ass in full view of the monster. Having said that, the higher your opponent's level, the more aggressive he became. Some mobs were so amazingly hostile they could sense an enemy miles away, sometimes from the other end of their location. The officers proved stronger than their lower-ranked buddies. They had more life and showered us with hits. Still, the eight-level difference was nothing to sniff at. After another minute plus a bag of nerves and twenty percent off the pet's life, two more corpses were added to the hall's interior design. We took a short break to regen and decide on our tactics. I had no idea about the King's abilities. No good taking the risk pulling aggro onto myself. Should I freeze the Priest so that the pet could attack the King? No good. The Priest was a caster himself. Even tied to a spot, he'd make mincemeat of me. So all I could do, really, was set Teddy on them, then play it by ear. I selected the Priest as target. His being a mage left him with less life. Also, I hoped that I just might disrupt his concentration and stop a couple spells. Just to make life a bit harder for him. Teddy, attack! The moment he crossed the aggro zone's invisible boundary, the King cast some ability that blew away a third of Teddy's life. Immediately, the King started reciting a long spell while the Priest pierced Teddy with a lightning bolt. The pet pounded him back. Twice the Priest failed to cast a new spell until finally he managed to send two curses, one after the other. Then it was my turn to open my eyes wide. The King summoned his pet, a zombie gnoll. Was he a Necro too? Or rather, judging by his heavy armor and the abilities he had, he had to be a Death Knight. I highlighted the zombie. Level 20, too low for a Nec. The King cast another curse and reached for his two-handed sword. For another fifteen seconds the fight could go either way. Then the Priest finally collapsed and we were on the rise. Teddy still had 40% life left when I joined in, casting one Life Absorption after another. Another minute of vigorous fencing, and the hall fell silent. The first couple of guards respawned about a hundred feet away from us. Still, we were relatively safe for a while. The pet needed time to regen, so I was going to do the next round on my own, mopping up the five mobs by the throne. The hall was big and crowded enough for us to pull a guard or two when we needed, as long as we kept an eye on the ticking clock. I crawled out of my corner and, stepping cautiously over the corpses, came up to the pet. He only had about 10% life left and looked it, too. I smoothed out his disheveled fur. "Go take some rest, Ted. Well done." I could use a break, too. My nerves were in shatters. Heaving a sigh of relief, I slumped onto the throne. Comfortable enough. Would be nice to haul it back to my Three Little Pigs room. "Great job, dude," a voice said right over my ear. I jumped. Bug's tiny outline appeared out of thin air. "You asshole!" He gave me a happy grin. "You've nearly scared the pants off me," I continued.

Dungeon ni deai o motomeru no wa machigatte iru darou ka

"Where've you been, you son of a midget?" Bug sat down comfortably onto the slain King's corpse. "Been to town, sold up, raised sixteen gold, by the way. I can give you half if you want. It's only fair. Thought I'd go back. You think I didn't see you were permanently online? Got some grub on the go in case you're interested." So! The kid was smart, organized and quick to deliver. Cautious, too. And quite prepared to go half in the hope of more profits. Slick operator. "How did you get here through all the doors?" I asked him. Bug produced the bunch of lockpicks and clanged them in the air. "Took me half an hour to open the one on the first floor. The mechanism wasn't too difficult but honestly, I've never really bothered with the skill. The second one I must have gone through right after you. It stood open and all the barracks were empty. But I think I took a wrong turn, so at stealth speed it took me an hour to get out. When I came here you were up to your eyeballs in gnolls. I decided not to distract you." "You did right," I said as I kept replaying one particular thought in my mind. "You can keep the gold. I didn't want it to begin with. I have another offer for you. How would you like to earn a bit of money working as a wardrobe?" "What do you mean?" "Look. I fully intend to stay here for a while. There'll be loads of loot. If you took a dozen pieces of armor and the same in cold steel, that's it, you're in overload. We'll do it differently. We'll put you behind the throne, in this archway here. Then we'll be loading you with everything the gnolls drop. It doesn't matter if you can't move. What's important is that your bag can accommodate anything—this throne if necessary, as long as you don't exceed the 100 slots limit. Is that what your bag is—basic for 100 slots? So we'll stuff it solid. Otherwise, what's the point of going virtual?" The kid still wasn't getting it. Had I overestimated his talents? "And how do you want me to lug this throne back?" "Easy. You'll get a free ride to your spawn point. All you need to do is wait for the mobs to respawn. Then you remove stealth and off home you go. Three hours later, you go to the cemetery to find your grave. It'll be there for a week before it finally decays. In the meantime, you take the items to the store bit by bit. We'll go fifty-fifty, what d'ya think?" Instead of replying, Bug rose and stood in the archway trying to impersonate a wardrobe. He spread his arms wide as if opening the imaginary doors, then opened his mouth—apparently, signifying the top shelf—and mumbled, "All set. Load me up!"

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lightnovelfreedotcom-blog · 7 years ago

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Read A Quest of Heroes Chapter 10

Thor found himself swept up, ushered through the crowd by Reece, the King’s youngest son and his newfound sparring partner. Ever since the jousting match, it had been a blur. Whatever he had done back there, whatever power he had used to stop that spearhead from killing Erec, it had caught the attention of the entire kingdom. The match had been stopped after that, called off by both Kings, and a truce called. Each knight retired to his side, the masses broke up in an agitated stir, and Thor had been taken by the arm and ushered off by Reece. He’d been swept away in a royal entourage, cutting the back way through the masses, Reece tugging at his arm the whole way. Thor was still shaking from the day’s events. He hardly understood what he had just done back there, how it had influenced things. He had just wanted to be anonymous, just another one of the Star martial god technique. He had not wanted to be the center of attention. Worse, he didn’t know where he was being led, if he was going to be punished somehow for interfering. Of course, he had saved Erec’s life—but he had also interfered with a knight’s battle, which was forbidden for a squire. He wasn’t sure if he would be rewarded or rebuked. “How did you do that?” Reece asked, as he yanked him along. Thor followed blindly, trying to process it all himself. As he went, the masses gawked, staring at him as if he were some kind of freak. “I don’t know,” Thor answered truthfully. “I just wanted to help him and…it happened.” Reece shook his head. “You saved Erec’s life. Do you realize that? He is our most famed knight. And you saved him.” Thor felt good as he turned Reece’s words over in his head, felt a wave of relief. He had liked Reece from the moment he’d met him; he had a calming effect, always knowing what to say. As he pondered it, he realized maybe he was not in for punishment after all. Maybe, in some ways, they would view him as a sort of hero. “I didn’t try to do anything,” Thor said. “I just wanted him to live. It was just…natural. It was no big deal.” “No big deal?” Reece echoed. “I couldn’t have done it. None of us could have.” They turned the corner and Thor saw before them the Star martial god technique, sprawled out, reaching high into the sky. It looked monumental. The Star martial god technique stood at attention, lining the cobblestone road leading over the drawbridge, keeping the masses at bay. They stepped aside to allow Reece and Thor past. The two of them followed the road, soldiers on either side, up to the huge arched doors, covered in iron bolts. Four soldiers pulled it open and stepped aside, at attention. Thor could not believe the treatment he was receiving; he felt as if he were a member of the royal family. As they entered the castle, the doors closing behind them, Thor was amazed at the sight before him: the inside was immense, with soaring stone walls a foot thick and vast, open rooms. Before him milled hundreds of members of the royal court, rambling about in an excited stir. He could sense the buzz and excitement in the air, and all eyes turned and looked at him as he entered. He was overwhelmed by the attention. They all huddled close, seemed to gawk as Thor went with Reece down the castle corridors. He had never seen so many people dressed in such finery. He saw dozens of girls of all ages, dressed in elaborate outfits, locking arms and whispering in each other’s ears and giggling at him as he went. He felt self-conscious. He couldn’t tell if they liked him, or if they were making fun of him. He was not used to being the center of attention—much less in a royal court—and hardly knew how to handle himself. “Why are they laughing at me?” he asked Reece. Reece turned and chuckled. “They’re not laughing at you,” he said. “They have taken a liking to you. You’re famous.” “Famous?” he asked, stunned. “What do you mean? I just got here.” Reece laughed and clasped a hand on his shoulder. He was clearly amused by Thor. “Word spreads faster in the royal court than you might imagine. And a newcomer like yourself—well, this does not happen every day.” “Where are we going?” he asked, realizing he was being led somewhere.

Demon Wang’s Golden Favorite Fei

“My father wants to meet you,” he said, as they turned down a new corridor. Thor swallowed. “Your father? You mean…the King?” Suddenly, he was nervous. “Why would he want to meet me? Are you sure?” Reece laughed. “I am quite sure. Stop being so nervous. It’s just my dad.” “Just your dad?” Thor said with disbelief. “He’s the King!” “He’s not that bad. I have a feeling it will be a happy audience. You saved Erec’s life, after all.” Thor swallowed hard, his palms sweaty, as another large door opened and they entered a vast hall. He looked up in awe at the arched ceiling, covered in an elaborate design and soaring high. The walls were lined with arched stained-glass windows, and if possible, even more people were crammed into this room. There must have been a thousand of them, and the room positively swarmed. Banquet tables stretched across the room as far as the eye could see, people sitting on endlessly long benches, dining. Between these was a narrow aisle with a long, red carpet, leading to a platform on which sat the royal throne. The crowd parted ways as Reece and Thor walked down the carpet toward the King. “And where do you think you’re taking him?” came a hostile, nasally voice. Thor looked up to see a man standing over him, not much older than he was, dressed in a royal garb, clearly a prince, blocking their way and scowling down. “It’s Father’s orders,” Reece snapped back. “Better get out of our way, unless you want to defy them.” The prince stood his ground, frowning, looking as if he’d bitten into something rotten as he examined Thor. Thor did not like him at all. There was something he did not trust about him, with his lean, unkind features and eyes which never stopped darting. “This is not a hall for commoners,” the prince replied. “You should leave the riffraff outside, where it came from.” Thor felt his chest tighten. Clearly this man hated him, and he had no idea why. “Shall I tell Father you said that?” Reece defended, standing his ground. Grudgingly, the prince turned and stormed away. “Who was that?” Thor asked Reece, as they continued walking. “Never mind him,” Reece replied. “He’s just my older brother—or one of them. Gareth. The oldest. Well, not really the oldest—he’s just the oldest legitimate one. Kendrick, who you met on the battleground—he is really the oldest.” “Why does Gareth hate me? I don’t even know him.” “Don’t worry—he doesn’t reserve his hate only for you. He hates everybody. And anyone who gets close to the family, he sees as a threat. Never mind him. He is but one of many.” As they continued walking, Thor felt increasingly grateful to Reece, who, he was realizing, was becoming a true friend. “Why did you stand up for me?” Thor asked, curious. Reece shrugged. “I was ordered to bring you to Father. Besides, you’re my sparring partner. And it’s been a long time since someone came through my age here who I thought could be worthy.” “But what makes me worthy?” Thor asked. “It’s the fighter’s spirit. It cannot be faked.” As they continued to walk down the aisle toward the King, Thor felt as if he’d always known him—it was strange, but in some ways he felt as if Reece were his own brother. He had never had a brother—not a real brother—and it felt good. “My other brothers are not like him, don’t worry,” Reece said as people flocked around them, trying to catch a glimpse of Thor. “My brother Kendrick, the one you met—he’s the best of all. He’s my half-brother, but I consider him a true brother—even more than Gareth. Kendrick is like a second father to me. He will be to you, too, I am sure of it. There is nothing he would not do for me—or for anyone. He is the most loved of our royal family among the people. It is a great loss he is not allowed to become King.” “You said ‘brothers.’ You have another brother, too?” Thor asked. Reece took a deep breath.

“I have one other, yes. We are not that close. Godfrey. Unfortunately, he wastes his days in the alehouse, with the commoners. He’s not a fighter, like us. He’s not interested in it—he’s not interested in anything, really. Except ale—and the ladies.” Suddenly, they stopped short as a girl blocked their way. Thor stood there, transfixed. Perhaps a couple of years older than him, she stared back with blue, almond eyes, perfect skin, and long, strawberry hair. She was dressed in a white satin dress bordered with lace, and her eyes positively glowed, dancing with joy and mischief. She locked her eyes on his and held him completely captivated. He couldn’t move if he wanted to. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. She smiled, displaying perfect white teeth—and as if he weren’t transfixed already, her smile held him there, lit up his heart in a single gesture. He never felt so alive. Thor stood before her, unable to speak. Unable to breathe. It was the first time in his life he’d ever felt this way. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” the girl asked Reece. Her voice went right into Thor—it was even sweeter than her appearance. Reece sighed. “And then there’s my sister,” he said with a smile. “Gwen, this is Thor. Thor, Gwen.” Gwen curtsied. “How do you do?” she asked with a smile. Thor stood there, frozen. Finally, Gwen giggled. “Not so many words at once, please,” she said with a laugh. Thor felt himself redden; he cleared his throat. “I am…I… am…sorry,” he said. “I’m Thor.” Gwen giggled. “I know that already,” she said. She turned to her brother. “My, Reece, your friend certainly has a way with words.” “Father wants to meet him,” he said impatiently. “We are going to be late.” Thor wanted to speak to her, to tell her how beautiful she was, how happy he was to meet her, how grateful he was she had stopped. But his tongue was completely tied. He had never been this nervous in his life. So, instead, all that came out was: “Thank you.” Gwen giggled, laughing harder. “Thank you for what?” she asked. Her eyes lit up. She was enjoying this. Thor felt himself redden again. “Um…I don’t know,” he mumbled. Gwen laughed harder, and Thor felt humiliated. Reece elbowed him, prodding him on, and the two continued to walk. After a few steps, Thor checked back over his shoulder. Gwen still stood there, staring back at him. Thor felt his heart pounding. He wanted to talk to her, to find out everything about her. He was so embarrassed for his loss of words. But he had never been exposed to girls, really, in his small village—and certainly never to one so beautiful. He had never been taught exactly what to say, how to act. “She talks a lot,” Reece said, as they continued, approaching the King. “Never mind her.” “What is her name?” Thor asked. Reece gave him a funny look. “She just told you!” he said with a laugh. “I’m sorry…I…uh…I forgot,” Thor said, embarrassed. “Gwendolyn. But everyone calls her Gwen.” Gwendolyn. Thor turned her name over and over in his mind. Gwendolyn. Gwen. He did not want to let it go. He wanted it to linger in his consciousness. He wondered if he would have a chance to see her again. He guessed probably not, being a commoner. The thought hurt him. The crowd grew quiet as Thor looked up and realized they were now close to the King. King MacGil sat on his throne, dressed in his royal purple mantle, wearing his crown and looking imposing. Reece kneeled before him, and the crowd quieted. Thor followed suit. A silence blanketed the room. The King cleared his throat, a deep, hearty noise. As he spoke, his voice boomed throughout the room. “Thorgrin of the Lowlands of the Southern Province of the Western Kingdom,” he began. “Do you realize that today you interfered with the King’s royal joust?” Thor felt his throat go dry. He hardly knew how to respond; it was not a good way to begin. He wondered if he was going to be punished. “I am sorry, my liege,” he finally said. “I didn’t mean to.” MacGil leaned forward and raised one eyebrow. “You didn’t mean to? Are you saying you didn’t mean to save Erec’s life?” Thor was flustered. He realized he was just making it worse. “No, my liege. I did mean to—” “So then you admit you did mean to interfere?” Thor felt his heart pounding. What could he say? “I am sorry, my liege. I guess I just…wanted to help.” “Wanted to help?” MacGil boomed, then leaned back and roared with laughter. “You wanted to help! Erec! Our greatest and most famed knight!” The room erupted with laughter, and Thor felt his face flush, one too many times for one day. Could he do nothing right here? “Stand and come closer, boy,” MacGil ordered. Thor looked up in surprise to see the King smiling down, studying him, as he stood and approached. “I spot nobility in your face. You are not a common boy. No, not common at all….” MacGil cleared his throat. “Erec is our most loved knight. What you have done today is a great thing. A great thing for us all. As a reward, from this day, I take you in as part of my family, with all the same respects and honors due any of my sons.” The King leaned back and boomed: “Let it be known!” There came a huge cheer and stomping of feet throughout the room. Thor looked around, flustered, unable to process all that was happening to him. Part of the Star martial god technique. It was beyond his wildest dreams. All he had wanted was to be accepted, to be given a spot in the Legion. Now, this. He was so overwhelmed with gratitude, with joy, he hardly knew what to do. Before he could respond, suddenly the room broke into song and dance and feasting, people celebrating all around him. It was mayhem. He looked up at the King, saw the love in his eyes, the adoration and acceptance. He had never felt the love of a father figure in his life. And now here he was, loved not just by a man, but by the King, no less. In one day, his world had changed. He only prayed that all of this was real. * Gwendolyn pushed her way through the crowd, wanting to catch sight of the boy before he was ushered out of the royal court. Thor. Her heart beat faster at the thought of him, and she could not stop turning his name over in her mind. She had been unable to stop thinking about him from the moment she had encountered him. He was younger than her, but not by more than a year or two—and besides, he had an air about him that made him seem older, more mature than the others, more profound. From the moment she had seen him, she felt she had known him. She smiled to herself as she remembered meeting him, how flustered he was. She could see in his eyes that he felt the same way about her. Of course, she did not even know the boy. But she had witnessed what he had done on the jousting lane, had seen what a liking her younger brother had taken to him. She had watched him ever since, sensing there was something special about him, something different from the others. Meeting him had only confirmed it. He was different from all these royal types, from all the people born and bred here. There was something refreshingly genuine about him. He was an outsider. A commoner. But oddly, with a royal bearing. It was as if he were too proud for what he was. Gwen made her way to the upper balcony’s edge and looked down. Below was spread out the royal court, and she caught a last glimpse of Thor as he was ushered out, Reece by his side. They were surely heading to the barracks, to train with the other boys. She felt a pang of regret, already wondering, scheming, how she could arrange to see him again. Gwen had to know more about him. She had to find out. For that, she would have to speak to the one woman who knew everything about anyone and everything going on in the kingdom: her mother. Gwen turned and cut her way back through the crowd, twisting through the back corridors of the castle she knew by heart. Her head spun. It had been a dizzying day. First, the morning’s meeting with her father, his shocking news that he wanted her to rule his kingdom. She was completely caught off guard, had never expected it in a million years. She still could hardly process it now. How could she ever possibly rule a kingdom? She pushed the thought from her mind, hoping that day would never come. After all, her father was healthy and strong, and more than anything, all she wanted was for him to live. To be here with her. To be happy. But she could not push the meeting from her mind. Somewhere in there, lurking, was the seed planted that one day, whenever that day should come, she would be next. She would succeed him. Not any of her brothers. But her. It terrified her; it also gave her a sense of importance, of confidence, unlike any she’d ever had. He had found her fit to rule—her—to be the wisest of them all. She wondered why. It also, in some ways, worried her. She assumed it would stir up a huge amount of resentment and envy—her, a girl, being chosen to rule. Already she could feel Gareth’s envy. And that scared her. She knew her older brother to be terribly manipulative and completely unforgiving. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and she hated the idea of being in his sights. She had tried to talk to him after the meeting, but he would not even look at her. Gwen ran down the spiral staircase, her shoes echoing on the stone. She turned down another corridor, passed through the rear chapel, through another door, past several guards, and entered the private chambers of the castle. She had to speak with her mother, whom she knew would be resting here. Her mother had little tolerance for these long social affairs anymore—she liked to slip out to her private chambers and rest as often as possible. Gwen passed another guard, went down another hall, then finally stopped before the door to her mother’s dressing room. She was about to open it, but stopped. Behind the door, she heard muted voices, their pitch rising, and sensed something wrong. It was her mother, arguing. She listened closely, and heard her father’s voice. They were fighting. But why? Gwen knew she should not be listening—but she could not help herself. She reached out and gently pushed open the heavy oak door, grabbing it by its iron knocker. She opened it just a crack and listened. “He won’t stay in my house,” her mother snapped. “You rush to judgment when you don’t even know the entire story.” “I know the story,” she snapped back. “Enough of it.” Gwen heard venom in her mother’s voice, and was taken aback. She rarely heard her parents fight—just a few times in her life—and had never heard her mother so worked up. She could not understand why. “He will stay in the barracks with the other boys. I do not want him under my roof.

Do you understand?” she pressed. “It is a big castle,” her father spat back. “His presence will not be noticed by you.” “I don’t care if it is noticed or not. I don’t want him here. He’s your problem. It was you who chose to bring him in.” “You are not so innocent, either,” her father retorted. She heard footsteps, watched her father strut across the room and out the door on the other side, slamming it behind him so hard that the room shook. Her mother stood alone in the center of the room, and began to cry. Gwen felt terrible. She didn’t know what to do. On one hand, she thought it best to slip away, but on the other, she couldn’t stand the sight of her mother crying, couldn’t stand to leave her there like that. She also, for the life of her, could not understand what they were arguing about. She assumed they were arguing about Thor. But why? Why would her mother even care? Dozens of people lived in the castle. Gwen couldn’t bring herself to just walk away, not with her mother in that state. She had to comfort her. She reached up and gently pushed the door open. It creaked, and her mother wheeled, caught off guard. She scowled at her daughter. “Do you not knock?” she snapped. Gwen could see how upset she was, and felt terrible. “What’s wrong, Mother?” Gwen asked, walking toward her gently. “I don’t mean to pry, but I heard you arguing with Father.” “You are right; you shouldn’t pry,” her mother retorted. Gwen was surprised. Her mother was often a handful, but was rarely like this. The force of her anger made Gwen stop in her tracks a few feet away, unsure. “Is it about the new boy? Thor?” she asked. Her mother turned and looked away, wiping a tear. “I don’t understand,” Gwen pressed. “Why would you care where he stayed?” “My matters are of no concern to you,” she said coldly, clearly wanting to end the matter. “What do you want? Why have you come here?” Gwen was nervous now. She wanted her mother to tell her everything about Thor, but she couldn’t have picked a worse moment. She cleared her throat, hesitant. “I…actually wanted to ask you about him. What do you know of him?” Her mother turned and narrowed her eyes at her, suspicious. “Why?” she asked, with deadly seriousness. Gwen could feel her summing her up, looking right through her, and seeing with her uncanny perception that Gwen liked him. She tried to hide her feelings, but knew it was no use. “I’m just curious,” she said, unconvincingly. Suddenly, the Queen took three steps toward her, grabbed her arms roughly, and stared into her face. “Listen to me,” she hissed. “I’m only going to say this once. Stay away from that boy. Do you hear me? I don’t want you anywhere near him, under any circumstance.” Gwen was horrified. “But why? He’s a hero.” “He is not one of us,” her mother answered. “Despite what your father might think. I want you to keep away from him. Do you hear me? Vow to me. Vow to me right now.” “I will not vow,” Gwen said, yanking her arm away from her mother’s too-strong grip. “He is a commoner, and you are a Princess,” her mother yelled. “You are a Princess. Do you understand? If you go anywhere near him, I will have him exiled from here. Do you understand?” Gwen hardly knew how to respond. She had never seen her mother like this. “Do not tell me what to do, Mother,” she said, finally. Gwen did her best to put on a brave voice, but deep inside she was trembling. She had come here wanting to know everything; now, she felt terrified. She did not understand what was happening. “Do as you wish,” her mother said. “But his fate lies in your hands. Don’t forget it.” With that, her mother turned, strutted from the room, and slammed the door behind her, leaving Gwen all alone in the reverberating silence, her good mood shattered. What could possibly elicit such a strong reaction from her mother and her father? Who was this boy?

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