Updated!

Chapter 11: The Remaining

“....a...pple!”

“That’s right!”

‘What is happening right now?’

Just a few hours ago we found ourselves lost in the forest after following Cana’s tracking skills. The masked man somehow appeared behind us and scared all of us. King Asher told me to protect his daughter and what have I done....I’ve gotten all of us captured by this man after being unable to protect Princess Lucy. I remember pulling my sword from the sheath and his little wolf had jumped in front of him. Its eyes had turned a bright yellow and I was frozen in place. I remember not being able to move and all I could see where those bright yellow eyes staring back at me.

‘Ugh, how do I resolve this situation!....though I am unable to accurately explain what I am even seeing. ‘

Originally I thought him to be a monster, but Lori swore her appraisal skill said he was human. He....really appears to be human.

I seriously could hardly sleep through the night as I was unsure what that man would do. But.....he simply held a small child and talked with her until they later dozed off. It was also hard to sleep as throughout the night a small feint light would be pouring out of his hands. I assumed he was doing something to the girl but I couldn't be sure.

The masked man from before is now.....cooking.......and also wearing an apron. A small brown haired demi human is sitting on his shoulder and holding on to his messy white hair, and even helping him to stir the ingredients.....It does have a nice aroma to it though. He has one arm mixing ingredients while the other is wrapped on her leg and a small light is coming from his palms. This image is just shocking to me for some reason.

“Ok....Now, Lily....what’s this?”

“Uhh.....apron right?”

“haha yup! Mom’s teaching you all well.”

“Mmhm...What are you two making?”

“Homemade pancakes..... I even got a makeshift nectar I found off this peculiar flower, I found that it’s quite sweet. It’ll be a good syrup.”

“Seerup?..”

“mmhmm it’s yummy, try some.”

Right now there are several demi humans in the cabin. Other than the man who captured us, Princess Lucy and I are the only humans. They do seem to be quite weary of us both.

Now the little white haired demi human is smiling and wiggling her body around happily....Oh come on is it that good?

I don’t know too many men who have chosen the cooking profession. Every human has the ability to choose a class and a profession. The class is one of the 12 battle type classes, while the professions are a way to earn extra skills and abilities in a particular field. Also it is usually impossible to learn some top tier skills without a profession. He seemed to be quite knowledgeable though.....and oddly good with kids.

“Can I have some?”

“Yah breakfast is ready anyways so everyone come grab a plate.”

This....this is the monster we’ve been searching for this whole time? The man whom the Elliot family has said the Central Continent has sent several high level members from their clan to investigate him. Apparently that crystal image has been duplicated and has been sold to many rich nobleman in the central continent. Though I doubt they would believe me if I told them what I was seeing.

The King said he wasn’t sure if this person is affiliated with any kingdom but, he did say he was probably trying to rescue demi humans....These must be those same demi humans he spoke of… hmm....

Each of them are conversing with one another and seem to be enjoying themselves. While Princess Lucy, myself, Lori, and Cana are still seated on the couch. ‘....now that I think about it for children these demi humans can speak using human speech quite well. Princess Lucy got Cana quite recently and she’s still learning to speak it. We even had a scholar come in to teach her, but human language is difficult for demi humans. In fact those Lycanthia race children’s species language is quite different from ours and I haven’t seen one that speaks so fluently before.

‘Oh...they brought us each a plate full of food....hmmm it does look interesting, it even has sliced pieces of fruit on top of it. Though, I’m anxious just to let Princess Lucy eat this.......that would just be the perfect way kill us wouldn't it, you monster in disguise. I’m on to YOU!’

“MMmm! This is amazing!!!”

‘LUCY!’

“Mm try shome Cashandruh.”

As I picked up the oddly carved wooden fork and took a bite....Ugh......what is this? Damnit it's so good! It even has little pieces of fruit inside of it!

Actually, this is better than what I’ve tasted from the royal chefs in Asher kingdom so this is quite a surprise...’Ugh...he’s looking at me....what do you want?’

“Mmmm, you love demi humans and you’re a great cook, this is amazing!”

Princess Lucy showed her pleasure to the white haired man. She’s quite serious about making this person one of her personal guards as well. But she doesn’t know anything about him. The King has even deemed this person as dangerous.

“Mhmm Vali’s meals are always good!”

“Easy...”

The two wolf demi human children spoke up to Princess Lucy and wagged her tail around the kitchen table.

“I’m impressed how everyone speaks so well too. Did you teach all the kids here to speak human speech as well?”

Princess Lucy then started directing his question to the odd man known as Vali as he gave the small child who was on his shoulders to the fox woman who said her name was Elyria just earlier. He walked over and sat on the small animal skin couch oppositely facing us. I guess he feels this is time to start our chat. We would have tried to speak earlier when everyone woke up but....It was honestly just such an odd situation that we didn’t know how to respond.

“Well, I think my mom can take the credit for that.”

Looking behind him I could see the woman he called his mother was closing her eyes and enjoying the meal he had just prepared for all of us. She and everyone else seem to not be focusing on us anymore and I can’t blame them, I kind of want to take another bite of that. But we need to handle this properly....

“...Yes...I too am quite surprised as human speech can be quite difficult for some demi human children to learn.”

Trying to enter into the conversation I wanted to learn more about this man in the woods.

“Not really....I mean language is honestly just attaching words or structure to latent ability....Children in most cases can actually learn languages much easier as their minds are much more....hmm I guess you can say when they’re learning they mostly think of what’s right in front of them.”

“......”

‘Ok......so the monster in the mask seems to be quite intelligent. Perhaps he was once a high noble or son of a scholar?....I was honestly expecting something much different when meeting the person who slaughtered all those men like a beast.....I honestly didn’t even think Cana could find him! I mean....how could a little girl track down what the kingdoms highest advisors could not? ......Though I knew he was actually human, I didn't think someone with abilities like that would act this way.'

“Sorry....I’ve been doing that a lot lately. I just remember things I’ve read so easily now and I forgot it can get annoying to some....Now....anyways....why are you all here?”

As he questioned us I noticed some of the others in the cabin took notice to our conversation. I’m sure they were quite curious as to why humans had come here as well. Though they all seemed quite content when Vali said he would handle it when they woke him up this morning.

“Umm yes, well I was hoping that we might speak about a business arrangement.”

Before I had the opportunity to respond, Princess Lucy had put on her business face and began to speak to the man seated across from us. He didn’t however seem very interested in us, more confused if anything.

“Business huh?”

“Yes....I, Lucy Ash....”

“No need for introductions.....I know who you are...Now what arrangements would Miss Lucy be bringing here for me today?”

‘That was rather rude of him. To interrupt a royalty while they are speaking is highly frowned upon. As much as I want to correct him....we are in his home and as the King said this man doesn’t seem to care for those of titles or rank.’

“Ah..ugh....well, I was hoping we could become friends!”

“.........your business arrangement is to become my friend?”

“Well....yes! I loved your display at the colosseum the other day! It was so heroic and amazing. Any of those bad men who tried to hurt the demi-humans.....BAM!....... were taken care of and I wanted to meet the man who would do such a thing....You see I love demi humans too.”

Princess Lucy began to get theatric like normal while trying to entice this man into joining her house.

“..............”

He appeared to be trying to understand what Princess Lucy was trying to accomplish here today. Maybe she is trying to relate to his nature at caring for demi human children. Princess Lucy isn’t a dumb girl and she can honestly see that this man seems to enjoy taking care of people like what we’ve just seen.

“Ah....well I would love for you to become one of my personal knights. I would obviously award you with lots of gold and even a title.”

“......I don’t really have need for gold or a title. So....sorry Miss Lucy.”

“Wa...wait! Surely we can work something out. I mean ......I can help you.”

“Help me ?”

“Ah you see. After your displays at the coliseum, I know there are many who started looking for the white masked man. I do not know whether it is to attain you as a powerful ally or to destroy you. I know those at Aldain seemed quite angry with you for destroying their most wide source of income.....Well as a princess you becoming my knight you could move all your mother and demi humans into the castle town with me. All of you will be treated kindly and we would get to laugh and play all the time. ”

“..........”

He still seemed not so convinced with Princess Lucy’s proposal. Well he did just kill those wearing the same crest as me. He must still be thinking if we are truly his allies or not.

“Yes and also....I also dislike how demi humans are treated in this world. Cana and Lori are both amazing! All other demi humans I’ve seen are so fascinating I don’t know why the kingdoms treat them so poorly. But maybe with you, the two of us might be able to change that......what do ya think?”

“Hmmm......you’re not lying are you?”

“Ugh...no of course not. We came here with just us 4 to prove to you we don’t mean any harm to you or your family. We just wanted to become friends.....honest.”

“.....Then why are there currently multiple parties of people currently approaching this cabin?”

“Eh....ah....what do you mean?”

“I’m not sure if they’re human or even if they know there is a cabin here. But there seems to be quite a number of people getting closer to this cabin........Are they from your kingdom Miss Lucy?”

“N....no....I said we came here alone, honest.”

‘Oh no...What is happening right now. His eyes are starting to glare at us, and now after his announcement everyone in the cabin has stopped eating and is now paying attention to what was just said. I....what should I do to rectify this!’

“I’ll be right back everyone just finish breakfast.”

“Vali....!”

The small child who was earlier sitting on his shoulder and his mother seemed to not want him to leave.

“No worries.....Just seeing what all this is about, shouldn’t take long.”

He then put on his white mask and walked outside. He’s still wearing his apron from cooking a meal. Does he plan on fighting like that?

I quickly followed after him as if these people who are close by happen to be from our kingdom this will not make anything better. After watching how easily he matched up against those who stepped to him before, the King of Aldain and even prince Dominic seem to think that if we just overwhelm him with numbers or a surprise attack that it would be enough to take this individual down......but now I’m not so sure…

'Vali apparently has an ability to sense those getting closer to him. He’s clearly well-educated and even though his attitude is so nonchalant about what is happening, he doesn’t seem to see this situation as threatening.'

Following behind him we walked out towards the lush forest. The sun had only risen just a few hours ago. I wasn’t sure how long we were walking for or how far he seemed to think these parties were at. Vali didn’t walk very fast though or even try to hide behind cover while he was searching.

‘Is.....is he planning on taking me out to some place and kill me?......He did seem weary of us.....Ugh...I really, really don’t want to fight this person........ But as a Knight I cannot allow anything to happen to Princess Lucy....I have to ask him.’

I began to take out my sword quietly while following after Vali and he then immediately stopped.

‘Oh no.....could he hear me?’

“......Those individuals I spoke of are just beyond these trees........Are they from your kingdom?”

He turned his head to the side and I realized he was then telling the truth all along. I could hear the feint sounds of men talking to one another.

Peeking from behind a large tree, I could see a large assortment of men in shiny armor with blue capes and some mage type men in dark black clothing. They seemed to be men from the Aldain Kingdom and the insignia on the mages appears to be from the Elliot family.

The Elliot family had a lot of ties to the central continent. Even though the Eastern Continent’s kingdoms are still new and unsettled, the Elliot family has been here for almost as long as the royalty here. Not much is known of the Elliot family but what can be sure is that they covet power. They were only at the colosseum that day to see Aldus fight the prince of Aldain. Yet when they watched him and all the others in the coliseum get dealt with so easily they’re interest must have changed to Vali. Though I’m not sure if they want to recruit Vali to their family or the Central Continent, or try to kill him, along with the Aldain kingdom which appears to be all their kingdom is after.

After the destruction of the coliseum and the death of their prince the whole city erupted in rage over the destruction over their most profitable venue. The state of Aldain has already been bad but this just added to the problems altogether. They are out for blood now, and the king has been given strict demands for the head of this masked man named Vali.

“I am the princess of the Asher Kingdom Lucy Asher.......What exactly are you all doing out here?”

‘What.... Princess Lucy?....NO!’

“What....Princess Lucy.....What are you doing in a place like this?”

One of the man in dark robes answered to Princess Lucy stepping out into the open quarry where the men were searching.

“A princess of Asher has just asked you a question.....Speak!”

“......Yes...well....We are currently searching for the masked man from before as per direct orders from the King of Aldain. “

‘He’s lying....The Elliot family does not follow the commands of the Aldain Kingdom. They answer only to an unknown kingdom in the Central Continent. ‘

“Well.....This is a place I come to play with my servants. And you are all trespassing.....please leave.”

“..........”

The men started to look at one another and back at Princess Lucy. I’m sure they didn’t know how to address royalty from another kingdom.

“Hmmm yes....Well, Princess Asher.....these orders come from the King of Aldain himself......as well as I do not believe your family even owns these woods. They are within the kingdom of Aldain’s borders so.......it is you who are trespassing....and where are these servants of yours?”

The man from the Elliot family began to walk closer to Princess Lucy so I had stepped out to show myself.

“I am right here....I am a knight of the kingdom of Asher. I am also the private knight to Princess Lucy.

“Oh...well it is nice to meet you. I am Elija Elliot.....You said you use this area to play with your servants?”

“Yes....what is wrong with that? I like it because it is quiet here.”

“Hmm....yes well. A few men from Prince Dominic have gone missing.......They were told to explore this forest and have yet to return.....That along with a few other tools we have determined the masked man may be in the area.....And you said you use this area to play? For how long?”

“.......”

Both Princess Lucy and I didn’t know how to explain ourselves.

“....Hmmm allow me to rephrase the question Princess Lucy.......have you seen the masked man?”

“N...No!”

“And yet you say you were out here from before using this area to play with your servants? Yet Aldain is quite a ways from here....even further away from Asher kingdom. Interesting that you would find such a secluded forest, I wasn’t aware princesses were allowed to travel so much at your age......”

“.........”

“I’ll ask again.......have you seen the masked man in this forest?”

Seeing the man become more and more serious while gazing at us, I could see those from the Aldain kingdom becoming quite reckless towards his accusations. Apparently they really wanted to find Vali and one even began to put his hand on his sword. Seeing this I reached for my own sword and drew it out and stood in front of Princess Lucy. As I stood there, many men put their hands on their sword handles but none drew their weapon. It was odd as most of the men seemed quite agitated from before yet no one drew their weapon back at me. It must be because drawing your weapon towards a royalty is death in most kingdoms.

The man who was trying to pull out his sword started shaking his arm as he was making an odd face.

“I...I....can’t move...Ughh.”

“Wha....m.. me neither, what’s happening!?”

“”“UGhhhh”””

‘All the men remained motionless and began to shake oddly. Each of them couldn’t appear to lift their weapon or even move....Wait....they appear frozen?’

I turned around and there I see......the small silver haired wolf cub that was with the masked man from before. He is just sitting there and staring back at the men who couldn’t seem to move in retaliation to the odd attack. His eyes glowed yellow and he just sat remaining without taking his eyes off every man in front of him.

“Oh my......Fenrir does seem to have an interesting ability. Even I don’t know how he does that.”

I hear Vali’s voice and then I see his figure walking slowly past me and towards the men.....’...What is he going to do?’

“Now.....I seem to recall you men claiming to have been looking for me.”

Saying this, no one spoke a word as the idea of being frozen in place next to such a dangerous opponent is in all honesty a nightmare on its own. This was not the time to provoke someone with an obvious upper hand.

“Hmmm.....cats got your tongue...or wolf in this case right? "

Vali then turned and looked at the men and no one responded to him. I can't tell if he's trying to tell a joke or not simply because of his mask.

"..Anyways, I believe you all said you were from.......Aldain.... that correct?”

No one replied they just kept moving their eyes from the wolf and himself.

“Hmm......Today has been such an interesting morning. And what exactly does the King of Aldain want from me exactly?’

“Li...listen!!! I am not here for Aldain....I'm a member of the esteemed high noble Elliot family! I have been sent here to require an audience from you, the man in the mask about a meeting with our family!”

“Wha.....you said we were going to kill that bastard Elija!”

“Shut up you idiot! Si...sir Please I wish an audience!”

Since the men couldn't seem to move they all looked back at each other and began to argue. Apparently those from the Elliot family may have wanted to speak with Vali but those from the Aldain kingdom didn’t like hearing that and forgot the situation they were in.

“........Ah...well you see whatever it is you all have to say.....I’m afraid I won’t be hearing any of it today.”

“Uh?”

“Fenrir.....show me that new ability you got from that Fomorian. Since you were greedy and took the only heart that was left.”

Ruf!

‘Huh, what is he talking about?’

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

“WHa!”

A large dark shadow began to cover the ground where the men where as well as towering past them.

After seeing the shock in the faces of those who were looking behind me, I unreadily turned my head to what was there.....

Sitting in the same place as the small silver wolf dog was at before. Was now a large....no....giant black furred wolf. It still shared the same bright yellow eyes and remained motionless as it still stared quite intently at the surrounding men.

“.....Sorry but I can’t let anyone affiliated with your kingdom know of the whereabouts of my home.......you understand.”

Snap!

Vali snapped his fingers and the dark wolf began to lick his lips...and let out a tremendous echoed howl.

ROOOOoooooooUUUUUGHHHHH!!!!!

BAM!

The dark oversized wolf that was taller than the surrounding trees jumped towards the men and then began a massacre...I had thought the masked man from before was violent but this....

“Oh my Guhhh!”

“RUN!”

The dark wolf would slash with his large paws at some of the armed men and would leave only the lower half remaining. The upper half of the armored man from Aldain was cleaved in my direction and large tears through the man’s armor and body has turned his upper half into ribbons. I looked up and saw that the large group of men were mercilessly being eaten with no way of fighting back. Some gained the ability to bring out their swords but seemed to do no damage to the dark furred wolf.

“AVALANCHEEE STORmuAaaaghghhg!!”

The man Elija Elliot began to cast some area of effect magic when Fenrir wrapped his fangs over the Elliot clan members head and tore it off.....It was a slaughter.

Within maybe the span of a minute. Everyone that was just standing before us were now brutally torn to peices. The bright green grass was now soaked with a dark red stain from all the victims’ blood that had just been slain...so easily?

“Wow...so that’s the ability you got? I swear Loki makes such weird things....”

The large black furred wolf shrunk down to its original size and ran towards Vali. He was still wearing a mask as he began to pet the silver wolf he called Fenrir. The once grotesque and bloodthirsty atmosphere from before has now vanished form the small wolf cub’s eyes and even began to lay on its back to get scratched by his master.

“........”

Princess Lucy and myself were awestruck at what we just saw. 'That.....little dog could do this?....Vali isn’t the monster, this is the monster! Fenrir does seem to have been trained by this person.....What have we gotten ourselves into? I don't even know where to begin to explain this to King Asher.....Ughhhh'

“Now.....Though I’m not sure if I’m up for being a Knight, I do believe we might be able to help one another Miss Lucy.”

“He...help?”

“Yes....I’d like you to give a message to your father for me. I’d also like you and your family to look quite extensively into the Aldain Kingdom.....Noble families, the royalty, the citizens and their businesses, I want to know everything about how that kingdom works.”

“And you have a message for my father?”

“Yes...I’m sure he’ll listen to it so don’t worry. This isn’t the first time we’ve spoken, him and I.”

“....When did you speak to the King?”

I had to interrupt as the King had not said any of this to me.

“Oh just in passing. I may have mentioned something to him when we briefly met in a dungeon.....or well, that colosseum. “

“Daddy....I mean Father never told me of such things.”

“Yah I don’t doubt that. I may have scared him a bit with my displays and simply gave him a warning is all.......And it’s about time he paid up a bit for not killing him.”

“And if I do this........you’ll become my very own knight?!”

“.....I doubt I could really pull off the whole Knight thing, but let’s just say this will further our relations a bit.”

“....Hmmm Ok! I accept! All I know is Aldain is a dirty Kingdom and daddy always said if the current king didn’t beat a dungeon he wouldn’t have owned rights to that area. I’ll have father look into Aldain and even deliver a message for you. How do we meet again!”

“Well, you do know where we live so....I can hopefully trust you not to say much about it, I’ll give you the details of our next meeting in a moment. I wish to convey something to you Mizz Lucy. Though I may see a difference in Aldain from this so called Asher kingdom.......If I come to find the same filth in Asher, its fate will be the same as Aldain’s.”

“What do you mean of this? Are you threatening the Kingdom of Asher?”

I blurted out my dissatisfaction....All we have done to Vali is search him out and proposed he join our kingdoms guard. He claims our kingdom is the same as that horrid city?

“I mean that you Ashers’ may not be so innocent......You remember that small girl who was helping me cook this morning?”

“Ah right the demi human. She looked to be quite happy, you must treat them all very well!”

Princess Lucy answered Vali’s question and tried to flatter him at the same time. She sure is clever.

“Yes.....Well her name is Ari. I didn’t introduce you to anyone as I was still curious about each of you......Ari can’t talk fluently quite yet but she has learned quite a lot. We talk every day and I’ve learned quite a lot about her. Though she was never really sure where she was throughout her life as a slave.....she did remember a name that those around her spoke about often. She didn’t know if it was a place, person, or thing, she just heard it used frequently...........That word was Asher.”

Saying this he then glared back at Princess Lucy as if demanding an answer.

“Well...Though slavery exists in our kingdom.....they....they have rights in Asher kingdom and harming a slave is prohibited.”

“Is it.......Though you both couldn’t see it she had horrible scars covering her entire body......Someone in the Asher kingdom had been doing horrible things to her and other slaves for years.......I’m not saying you or your family is to blame ..........But I am saying that as a princess of Asher, perhaps you could look into this."

‘Could.....that be true? I mean some mistreatments of demi humans could get by sure, to say that it was done to be comparable to Aldain......If this is true it would make sense why he’s been so weary of us from the beginning.

“Well....I promise we didn’t know anything about it. I promise to look into this as well though. But how do you know that it was something that didn't happen in Aldain?”

“I know......The reason I never let you say your name in front of them is because the name “Asher” still makes Ari shake a little...........So I would like you to look into your own kingdom’s faults as well Miss Lucy......Or I will.”

His will seemed strong as he said that to us. He didn’t falter either. His blue eyes only showed bitterness. I then agreed to look into Vali's accusations.

“.....Ok. I understand, I’ll personally look into that for you...... May I ask...., you said the same fate as Aldain’s earlier what did you mean?”

“Yes......sometime soon the entire kingdom of Aldain will fall to ruin."

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Vali’s POV

Man this has just been the weirdest day. Currently I’m wandering through the woods back to that hidden dungeon in the Jheroki Mountains. I have Hlökk on my shoulder and I’ve told her roughly what all has happened, though there’s a lot to take in.

Waking up this morning, I realized for the first time in my life.....I over slept. I was making sure those 4 girls didn’t try anything and somehow dozed off while me and Ari were talking.

I woke up with Lily, Noah, Lucy and her servants all staring at me and Ari intently as I opened my eyes.

Apparently they were scared when seeing Lucy and her knight.....think she said her name was Cassandra, lying on the couch this morning. Whenever they went to come grab me they all saw me and Ari resting.

After waking up to their odd looks, I decided since it was late, I’d cook for everyone. I’ve had a lot of fun trying out new recipes in this world and getting to see the inhabitants here react to our world’s food. I’m not sure but I think the slaves have started to come around to speaking with me. I’m not sure if this is due to Ari’s influence or just that there’s other humans they don’t know nearby so they all were quite close to me this morning. Noah still gives me those same looks but he’s oddly alert this morning.

Lily however after noticing I was cooking decided to come watch again. Since this was always my time to relax when cooking, I guess they thought what I was doing was fun

Though Ari and Lily seemed to be very interested in it. Ari would sit on my shoulder and I’d help them learn about what everything is while we prepared our meal. My mother who had fallen asleep with Ari last night was still asleep.

‘This world really is amazing. Everything you do can in some way be thrown into these strange statistics of a person’s status that everyone who lives in this world has.’

In this world I believe that there are multiple ways to be considered strong. In the game many complained it was all about your level, while some said the level of your skills were more important. Honestly in this world everything you do with enough work or practice can have significant changes on your stats. As long as you work hard and constantly train in something, you will get better.

As I cooked and helped teach the kids what each item was, I’d also use this time to heal Ari. She sat up on my shoulders and would hold my hair while I kept my free arm resting on her tiny legs so she wouldn’t fall over. I would activate Freya’s Soul recovery through my hands while preparing the meal. Though her external wounds are practically non-existent to her old self, after advancing Freya’s Soul Recovery to Intermediate 4, I found that I may be able to heal wounds that are unseen. It said that Freya’s Soul Recovery is a skill that doesn’t only heal physical wounds, but also one’s own soul. This skill, I believe may have the ability to heal unseen wounds.....maybe those of a broken heart. It sounds lame but maybe this world and magic can have something that makes this exist.

It’s hard to say what exactly the skill does yet but I know the importance of raising this skill. I can’t reattach lost limbs yet or cure a disease. But in this world....all effort are recorded. Freya’s Soul Recovery not only can heal myself but others as well, using it repeatedly on Ari has helped me build up the skill quite quickly. I’m not sure how fast regular people increase their skills though.....hmm though maybe in time I can see just how fast the growth of these kids have with requiring or using skills.

“...Vali....What’s that light?”

“Oh...just working on my other skills Lily.”

I then put my hand on her head and activated Freya’s Soul Recovery through my fingers onto her silver hair. Her wolflike ears began to twitch and she made a slight moan when the light passed over her.

“Mmm....that feels good!”

She looked up at me and I lifted her up onto the counter to let her get a better view of the food. She seemed much less weary of me than she was before. When we were in Aldain she was quite attached to me, but after being with her brother she has gotten slightly more cautious of me over the last few days. I think due to seeing my interactions with Ari that has lessoned her caution some.

They both helped make food with me and then Lily and Ari wanted to wake mom up. Noah continued staring back at this scene like it was crazy.

“Come on Ari, let’s go wake up Elyria!”

“Ok!”

Lily got down from the counter and reached up to be given Ari. I let Lily hold Ari and they both went off into my mother’s bedroom and returned a few minutes later.

I told everyone I’d explain everything later and asked them just to enjoy breakfast. My mom who was originally uncomfortable with seeing strangers in her home, I guess lost out to her hunger and the scent of the breakfast feast we had prepared. Apparently increasing your cooking skill brings out more flavor from the food you create per mastery, so your food naturally will just taste better. It also helps you to work with other foods and brings out more affects from the nutrients I hear. Well along with raising my skill, the fresh ingredients, and my unique recipes, the food we created always had an intense flavor to it.

“Mmmm! This is even better than what mom made huh Noah?!”

“....It is pretty good.”

Lily and Noah would both continue to talk with their mouths full and eyes closed. I guess I need to help teach them proper manners later on too. My mom would take small bites and feed Ari while also sitting with them at the kitchen table. They both stayed quiet though and enjoyed the meal.

I eventually made a plate for the 4 girls who I had found in the woods the night before and let them join in the meal too, but I wanted to use this time to figure out who they were exactly.

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As Hlökk and I kept talking about the information I received from Lucy, we both continued towards the dungeon I had found the day before. I told her about the people who I found apparently living in this dungeon. They had stated their families had been trapped in this dungeon for centuries and when I told her the name she didn’t know how to respond. Apparently Balor was an old Dark God that was believed to have died back in the old war of the gods.

Though now he seems to have created a legendary grand dungeon and trapped many people in such a place. He told them that there were a 100 levels and should their people ever make it to the 100th floor, they would receive their freedom. This was told to them centuries ago so the odds are the people I spoke to probably have never seen the outside world. I’m not sure of the life expectancy of some demi humans of this world but I know it isn’t quite like the same ages of the humans in my world.

Though in a world that changes the bodies of those here to even handle the sharpness of a blade with no damage at all. This world honestly just keeps getting bigger.

“So what did you tell the human women?”

“Just that I wanted them to search for some information for me. I want to know more about the kingdoms that control this continent. Who is better than a royalty herself. “

“And you think you can just simply trust her?”

“Eh....well, I don’t necessarily trust her. But for now I need information, on this continent and Aldain. This Lucy person may be able to provide that. “

Hlökk seemed to be slightly against the idea which I don’t blame her. These people are apparently from the Asher kingdom which I’ve only heard of recently. It is also the name that Ari had told me in her talks.

Originally I had planned on just killing them there but the whole kingdom is named Asher....so maybe Lucy and her family isn’t responsible for such unspeakable acts like Aldain. As well as a war with a kingdom right now would be bad.... But I am going to find out regardless. The tragedies I have seen have given me a lot to think about these past few days.....If I plan on finding Kaylan. I need to provide her with a safe place to live. Though I was told she was human by Hlökk, this continent cannot be considered safe.

Murder happens frequently here and if you aren’t strong enough to stop it, this world just tramples all over you. The humans of this world are only united together because they are of the same species, while all the demi-humans who originally lived in this continent are being abused and ripped away from their families.

I’ve already made my bed and I need to lie in it. Hlökk warned me about stepping into that colosseum and I’ve apparently made some enemies. ‘Though I don’t deny what I did was wrong...... maybe I didn’t have to kill all those people...Well not like I can fix that now.’

We finally made it back to the entrance of the dungeon. The white smog was still in place just at the base of the mountain.

“So.....this is where Balor has hidden his dungeon?”

“Yah...apparently Malthiel was the gate keeper to this place?”

Entering into the 52nd floor of the Legendary Grand Dungeon we saw the backdrop of the same orange sky and large moon. The sky and terrain looked nothing like the area surrounding Jheroki Mountains....It was honestly like looking at a completely different world.

I brought Hlökk today because I figured having her see this she would be able to properly ascertain the situation better. After she sees everything she will report back to Loki and maybe we can make a game plan.....’....Honestly, these demi-humans are strong. They’re high level and they are a species without magic and yet they gladly take on giant beasts.....I may need them for what I have planned in the future. Helping them may better my relations with them some.’

“Truly this appears to be quite the dungeon. I can feel that the floors go down quite a ways into middle earth. This is a very large dungeon....”

As Hlökk flapped her purple wings she started to look around the dungeon while still remaining perched on my shoulder.

As we walked for quite a ways into the direction of the walled city from before I remembered how I left this place yesterday......I’m not sure what reaction they’ll give me upon my return.

When I leaped off the great wall towards the bombardments from the giant fomorians I never got to actually see just how large these creatures were. I brought out Abgrund just in case the situation called for it......though Abysmal Mist completely blew away my expectations.

I also found out something interesting about Dark magic in this world. In my old world I actually never understood why Dark was considered an element in RPG games. In this world Light and Darkness are an element, though in mine you can’t equate one without the other. You can never make something essentially more dark, you can only take away more light. In my world darkness doesn’t exist without the absence of light so therefore isn’t really an element to itself at all. Yet in this world......darkness can exist alongside light.

The Abysmal mist are small blots of darkness magic that intertwined with the decaying smog. The Decaying smog has the ability to melt and destroy any organic or inorganic life it touches. Resistances are not easy to raise either.....getting my darkness affinity to 25% gave me the added function of a boost to decaying mist with darkness magic. Though I’m not sure how it was so overpowered yet.

A large black mist that rained down with me in the center, the ground below was blotted out by a large wave of darkness that began to fall. As it touched the black furred Fomorians the moment the mist touched their fur, large portions of the Fomorians began to disappear entirely.

The intense mist was so vast that by the time I landed on the ground below sending shockwaves through the earth......nothing remained. I gained 8 levels after killing them all single handedly and I gained 3 after killing that smog dragon, but I felt I really didn’t get to see just how strong these beasts actually were. They were the giants that pushed the inhabitants of this dungeon almost to extinction. Only bits and pieces of the furred beasts were left and only a small piece of the heart was available for Fenrir to eat.

‘I'm not complaining, with that newly added ability I was able to leave Fenrir at the cabin to protect everyone while Hlökk and I went to investigate the dungeon.’

Everyone wasn’t exactly pleased I was leaving again, I promised I’d be back much sooner than yesterday. Just before leaving with Hlökk however I got a weird vibe I was being followed........It....was Noah?

“I still don’t trust you....but, but I want to learn to fight....To protect Lily! Please.....teach me to fight!”

He had wanted to learn to fight......he said he wanted to protect his sister and since I was going somewhere dangerous I said it was impossible. Though I can’t blame a guy wanting to learn how to protect his sister, I also wanted to learn how quickly some of these children gain abilities compared to myself. I know Loki’s blessing made it quicker for me to acquire skills but how different would it be for anyone else.

I told him to do 2000 punches with each arm in the air and taught him the form. I also made him wear the stones I used to wear and told him several other training methods of mine. Though only a couple. I want to see just how dedicated this little black haired wolf boy can become.

We left while he was doing practice swings in the way I showed him while also guarding his face.

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“Well......here it is.”

“Wow......why would they build a wall that big?”

“I don’t know either. The Fomorians weren’t anywhere close to the size of this wall but they treated those things like they were apocalyptic to their way of life. I didn’t get too see though.”

Apparently after killing several Fomorians as well as a Smog dragon I got an interesting message when equipping Abgrund.

Abgrund *Fourth Tier 52/100

Celestial Class Weapon

Damage 6,000

Special Optional Abilities:

-Dark Sever

-Wrath of Balor

-200% Rise in all Darkness magic when equipped

*(By feeding your death bringer the blood of a fallen, Blood Wake will then become available)

So the more opponents I kill with this weapon I’ll gain a skill. Apparently that is why Abysmal Mist was a lot stronger that before as just holding it gave a great rise to the skill itself. This really is a cheat weapon from an ominous being.

I remember trying to look for and collect meat from the dead Fomorians but there simply wasn’t much left after activating that skill. Darkness magic just.....erases everything it comes into contact with. With the combination of that skill and holding Abgrund....there wasn’t much of anything left.

I tried to use the Legendary Frost sword to test its sharpness on the Fomorian parts but not even a Legendary weapon can cut these large animals thick fur. It could cut to some part of the meat it just couldn’t dig very deep. The frost sword had 2 skills and a couple interesting attributes but the damage on it was only (+450 - +850). It was nothing compared to Abgrund.....I wanted to learn to use a sword, maybe even from some of those demi humans I saw, but I won’t be able to against these beasts apparently. Not unless I use one of those......weird weapons they used.

They seemed to cut through Fomorians quite easily and even seemed to have been made by the same crystal as my necklace....’...Hmmm’

As we walked closer to the wall, I could see a large amount of individuals in uniform trying to investigate the area around the great wall. Though the wall only had minor damage, the devastation to the terrain and the clean-up of what’s left of the monsters seems to be quite the job. As we got closer someone noticed us.

“Ah...Sir...go get Malfius!”

When we continued forward many of those standing around the black ground and the semi damaged wall. I tried hard not to let the mist touch the wall but some parts of the black stone is missing some chunks off of it.

“Ah...Vali...It’s nice to see you again from yesterday.......I see your wolf isn’t anywhere to be seen today.”

The same demi human man I met after the smog dragon was standing in front of the large wall that could honestly match a sky scraper. He looked around me and seemed pleased that I did not bring Fenrir.

“Ah yah....I decided to bring Hlökk today to see the sites.”

With that his eyes were drawn to Hlökk but she didn’t say anything back....’...I’m not sure if she wants anyone to know she is a Valkyrie just yet.’

“Yes well.....even though you left after making such a display, we’ve all been hard at work trying to repair the wall. Though Malfius is talking to the other leaders. He has instructed me to take you to the grand hall on this floor where you will be meeting with other leaders of the alliance.”

“........The alliance?”

‘This is the first time I’m hearing of this alliance. I know that this White tiger race and Neko race aren’t of the same species but is there really that much infighting between them that they’d need to call themselves the alliance?’

“Yes......it is an alliance between our races to fight against the dangers of this dungeon. Our species didn’t get along well at first and have even take liberties to live exclusively away from others on different floors.....hence the reason Malfius has been busy for most of today collecting all the leaders.”

“.......Is there really that much of a strife between two demi human species?”

“.....there is actually seven races trapped in this dungeon. Anyways....this way sir!”

“Ah....Ya know, I never did get your name.....”

“Its Cam....I am sorry I did not introduce myself sooner. With everything happening I must have forgotten all about it.”

“No need.....wow this is a nice place.”

With that as we were walking into a large stone building. He ushered me into a large room with a round table. It looked like one of those old war rooms you see on TV. The chairs were smooth and looked to be made by the hands of a fine craftsman. The seats had leather cushion and the whole room was a dark and very poorly lit room, until Cam went and lit a few candles around the room.

It looked to be quite the luxurious room from what I’ve seen. This must be where all the leaders gather around.

“So.....how long till Malfius gets here?”

“I’ve sent word to him of your arrival. It shouldn’t be long sir. Shall I get you something to drink while you wait?”

He remained standing near the door with his hands behind his back. He remained standing with proper form like a seasoned veteran would. His back was facing the wall next to the door and he remained in the room while looking back at me.

“Nah, no need.......so you said the seven? What other races did Balor trap in here?”

“......Though there are seven remaining.....there were originally 10 races that Balor had trapped in here centuries ago.”

As I heard this I widened my eyes as this may have been more serious than I originally assumed. I honestly thought it was only the White Tiger race and that blue haired Catlike race.

'........Honestly getting used to all this fantasy and make believe has been tough.....I refuse to wear that black robe with this white hair and large scythe. Now I have a big black wolf that follows me around........I'd look like a goth kid in care bear land.'

“.....Um. What happened to the other 3?”

“.....The humans were the first race to fall in Balor’s grand dungeon. They never made it past floor 2 actually. “

“How did that happen?”

Interrupting him I was curious how the extinction of one particular race can incur in this dungeon in any other way than infighting.

“......the other 9 races had banned together and decided to slaughter them......The human’s at the time were much higher level than the other 9 races. It is told that many of them tried to take control over some of the other races as they saw themselves superior, after the completion of the first floors dungeon boss.......The 9 races turned on the humans....Though the Elkia race did warn them that would be a mistake.”

“Elkia race?”

“.....A race of deer like demi human. They have large white antlers coming out of their head and are usually very intelligent. They were the ones who originally warned that we would need the power of all 10 races to complete this dungeon....but we didn’t listen.”

“And what happened?”

‘This is a completely different story than I was just told just yesterday. I wonder what Hlökk is thinking about this.’

“Floor after floor became much more difficult. We lost so many of our own, a generation stopped and it was advised to increase the population, though many of the floors cannot support life well. Some floors are even toxic to some of the races. When the populations grew over the centuries and the levels expanded.....we thought, maybe we could win.”

“But?”

“But......we only were met with more loss. The elven race tended to also stick to themselves. They were the next race to go, in floor 22 their entire race was taken out by a single boss monster......We then lost the Elkia race a few months ago. On floor 47, though........we do not know how they all met their end.”

“What do you mean?”

“......We had just accomplished floor 62 around that time. The Elkia race had lived on floor 47 by themselves. They had a lot of high level members and were masters of light and barrier magic. Though.....somehow.....something happened to them.”

“So your saying after you had pushed past floor 51....somebody killed the entire Elkia race just 4 floors below?”

“......We still do not know the truth of what happened that day.”

“What floors are currently being occupied?”

“...Floor 1, 8,11,20,22, 45, 47 and 52. Some of the races like the Adler race live by themselves in the clouds on floor 22.....They are a bird like species. While some like the Annunake race were nearly wiped out entirely and live on the lower floors. Though the largest population rests on floor 1.”

“Annunake?”

“A legendary White Lycanthia race. A wolf like demi human species.”

‘I think that is what Lilly is.....Lycanthia is a wolf race. Though I don’t know the difference between her and her brother other than their hair color.’

“Yes...they were said to be one of the divine races of demi human once created by the god wolf Amarok. Though their numbers have dwindled greatly after the clash on floor 63......”

“The Fomorian were that tough?”

‘They seemed to have handled them quite handily after they took out those shining swords.’

He then looked back at me seriously and his eyes practically glowed in the darkly lit room.

“Yes.....Other than their ridiculous size, their claws can rip straight through any armor.......they have outstanding healing abilities....Enough that we were unable to properly wound them until the discovery of a particular crystal we found here on floor 52....It burns right through the titans dark fur.....stops their healing abilities quite handily as well....... Though we lost thousands before such a discovery was made. “

There also seems to be a lot going on than just two demi human races facing a bunch of black furred giants. ‘Hmm....I was hoping I could trust these races but that may be more difficult than I originally thought. The only reason I was thinking of assisting these people is that it would further increase relations with them to possibly help me in the future......

“So right now Malfius is traveling to meet every race leader and probably beg them to come to the 51st floor?”

“That is correct.”

“.....Should it take a while?”

“......He went yesterday after speaking with you, even with his speaking skills........it may take some time.”

Hlökk turned her face to look at me as if showing her annoyance towards me. I agree I don’t want to have to wait all day for these people to organize.

“How long do you think it is going to take for these leaders to all come up here?”

“.....That is difficult to answer.”

“Why?”

He began to turn his head to the side trying to think of a way to answer me. He made a puzzled face and then got back into his same composure.

“Though I personally don’t agree to this. Due to your low level.........it is hard to get those to trust your worth in coming up here.”

“..................”

‘What the hell did he just say?....................Ugh, I’m thought as weak by these people......Well that’s depressing. I honestly assumed it was cause I was human or possibly too dangerous to trust. Not because I was too weak?’

I keep forgetting that this world is like a game and level is just something natural people would talk about.

I made a dissatisfied look at him to show my annoyance but he just grinned as if not knowing how to respond.

‘Well there is a shot to my confidence.’

Well this guy is nearly 70 levels higher than me. Though I have no idea what his stats are. Dungeons are supposedly a very dangerous place. A place where you are at your most vulnerable. Your level is revealed to everyone and monsters are twice as strong as the surrounding monsters in the area. Though you can gain high experience and high reward, it is a place where one false move can be fatal.

Hlökk is looking back at me and I think she is trying to smirk....I can’t be sure because she is a bird....she always forgets this.

‘Hmm well they appear to not be able to trust me either. But since this is going to take a while I need to know more about these people before I think of allying with them.’

“Since it is going to take some time I’d love to take a tour around the place.”

“Oh.....ugh....sure I guess that can be alright. Would you like a tour of the city or maybe floor 11 there is beautiful scenery there.”

“Ya know I’m sure all the sites are great, I want to see them all in fact. Let’s start at floor 1.”

“....Umm.....It is not a very habitable place. “

“You yourself said the largest population lived there.”

“Yes...it is the place our ancestors first arrived. Though it is floor 1 in a dungeon. It is a dark and desolate place. Though many live there now.....it is not by choice.”

“......Well let’s start there then.”

‘I need to figure out everything about these people. They said the word sewer dweller, they thought when my ears were torn off that I was someone from floor 1. I would like to see the state of these other races that should be allying together before I put my trust in anyone just yet. This world is a cruel one, but who’s to say those I’m with are allies or not. If these people cannot be trusted, I will not ally myself with them. This alliance isn’t just for me.......this.....all of this.......is for Kaylan.’

In my old world I didn’t take much notice to anyone other than my family. I feel like I never had the time to. Even now all I think of is my family. Though I took my old world for granted, the world I came from at least tried to be just. This one has hardly any law to speak of and those in power simply abuse it.

‘I must find a way to create a small place that is my own in this world. A place where Kaylan, my mother, and hopefully everyone else can live safely. I have apparently already made enemies here and could potentially affect others now......Though I don’t intend to stay here long.....

I can’t remain still in this world. As Loki would say.....The other pieces won’t remain unmoving.’

As he saw my resolve, Hlökk and I continued with Cam to a large platform and descended to floor one.

End of Chapter