《Atonement of an Immortal》Chapter 8: Travels - 2
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Paul Miller was one of the four active perfect realm experts of humans. He was also the head of the Miller family. The Miller family also had a Duke in Atrexia court but the position was held by Paul's nephew. But, since Paul was the patriarch of the family and had great cultivation, his influence was unrivalled, matching the emperor and the other perfect realm expert in the kingdom - Remur Joss. In the Atrexia court, there were 8 Dukes - they came from the Ragebergs, the Bimbletons, the Windsors, the Millers, the Josses, the Lorances, the Gregories and the Zenids - the eight Dukedoms. Of these 8, the Millers, the Josses and the Zenids along with the royal Atrexias were the four most ancient and prominent families in the human race. These were also the four surviving first-generation families of the race - established tens of thousands of years ago. Thus, their contributions and power in the race were also the greatest. The Zenids did not manage to produce a perfect realm expert in their recent generations and their ancestor was already reaching the end of his life and currently in hibernation. Thus, their power had reduced in recent years.
Paul Miller was exactly the person accompanying Michael on this trip. He nad heard a lot about the kid from his nephew, who seemed to think that Michael had a great chance to even reach the immortal realm. Thus, it could be said that he was looking forward to meeting the kid.
When Paul first saw Michael, he was earnestly surprised. He had never heard of such a young kid with such high cultivation - even in the naturally talented elves. After meeting Michael, he thought that his position as crown prince was well deserved. After he talked with the boy, he found the kid was very polite and innocent. He did not seem to have any hidden motives or arrogance but a great desire to grow to be a powerhouse. This made him like Michael more and more. During the journey, he usually found Michael cultivating earnestly most of the time. He saw the rumoured blessing - the inhuman efficiency of the boy's refinement of energy. Also, Michael's efforts warmed up the heart of this ancestor of the human race evoking a protective feeling for the child. He was already holding expectations for Michael to grow up. Kids like Michael were the future of the race and he would gladly give up his own life to protect the future!
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Many kids ranging from the age of 9 to 14 years of age were part of the caravan. Most of these kids came from commoners but were sponsored by one or the other noble family. Commoners did not have the resources to practice cultivation. The resources were monopolized by the nobles of the kingdom. But, the nobles would recruit children and adults from commoners in exchange for resources. When the children developed, they would repay these families by joining them as guards or army soldiers. The commoner families in the territory of a noble family would send their children willingly. After all, every parent wanted their child to be strong in Aterna. The difference in strength led to a fundamental difference in wealth and status! Currently, about 300 children were making their way to the tower as part of the caravan. Of these children, there were a few sponsored by the Rageberg family as well, but Michael did not know who.
Of this group, there were around 30 noble descendants who would be taking the test to enter the tower as a student. As these kids were spoiled by their parents, they were haughty and some would treat the commoner kids as slaves while the better ones would treat them as subordinates. While there were guards with the caravan, they would turn a blind eye to these happenings. After all, these kids would be their future employers.
Michael naturally saw all this due to his All Seeing Eyes even when he hardly interacted with the other children. While he felt unsettled by this behaviour, he did not take action. Looking at such scenes made him remember his behaviour in his past life that could be said to be a thousand times worse than what was happening right now. Michael knew himself the best. He was a spoiled brat who was just a blight on society. Power in his hands had done more harm than good. Thus, he would not righteously stop this childish bullying. He knew that the future of the plane would be embroiled in war. Those who were not determined to become strong before that time would all die off.
The noble children came from different houses of different ranks. Not all these houses had an amicable relationship. They were divided into three groups - led by Samuel Joss, Azeer Zenid and Mark Gregory. The four ancient families had a love-hate relationship among them and a strong sense of rivalry. Samual Joss and Azeer Zenid were rivals in this youngest generation. They were both 13 years old and in the late knight realm. Azeer was under much more pressure as he knew that the Zenid family ancestor did not have much more lifespan left. Mark Gregory, though not from the ancient families, was also a prodigy. He was only 12 years old and had reached the late knight realm. He considered himself a rival of the other two while the other two did not put him much into their eyes!
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It was natural for them to do so - the reason being family background. While Azeer and Samual came from perfect realm family, the Gregory family only had a single saint. In their later years, this gap would be impossible to overcome. After all, both their families had sufficient resources and experiences to groom perfect realm experts while this was not so for Mark.
Michael was considered an exception by all the kids. All nobles knew that the talent and influence of crown prince could not be matched by mere themselves. Michael was the official crown prince of the race. Even the emperor would have to give him face! This was the reason that the nobles did not place him as a competition target. That would be asking for a beating and would be very ashamed as Michael was many years younger than them. Thus they all treated Michael respectfully but with some distance. Michael did not mind this - he was more comfortable cultivating. He would need every bit of power he could gather in the future.
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After the caravan had travelled for around a month, the kids were all bored. So, they would come up with different games to sate their boredom. One such game was the fighting competition. In this game, each night the nobles would organize fights between the commoners. The commoners would represent different nobles. The nobles would then bet on the fights while the commoners who won would be rewarded by their masters. This game was something that settled the hierarchy between the children. The three groups tried to get supremacy in this locally organized competition. This was a childish competition but taken seriously by the kids. Michael was not much interested in these things. As the fights were usually between commoners and their levels were only at-max mid knight realm - quite weak for Michael's standards.
Paul wanted to see how versed Michael was in fighting. He had heard that the boy excelled in soul battle. Michael's soul cultivation was too high. In fact, his soul power was comparable to Paul's own. If Paul was unprepared, Michael might be able to seriously injure him! Thus, Paul would definitely not ask Michael to fight those kids. Therefore, one night Paul gathered everyone and declared the Michael Fighting Competition. The rules were simple, all challenges were to be issued to Michael. If the challenger was a child - whether noble or commoner, Michael would not use his soul cultivation. If the challenger was one of the guards, Michael could fight without handicaps. Anyone who managed to defeat Michael would receive a precious medicine that could help in any one breakthrough before the saint realm. This meant that even breakthroughs within the emperor realm were possible!
This sent a huge wave of excitement among the crowd. This pill was priceless. These children would sooner or later be able to use it. Even Samuel and Azeer who came from extremely rich families felt that this reward was ludicrous. The guards were even more excited. After all, this kind of pill could never be obtained by commoners. All the people in the caravan had their eyes shining. Michael calmly accepted this test from his senior. After the talk with Mubal, his attitude was already changing. Now, he would never shirk off from a challenge! He had resolved himself to face all that came his way and step on all to reach the heights of power.
With Michael's acceptance, the caravan reached a clearing in the forest. The camps were set and the arena was built. While it was made hastily, it was still sufficient for emperors to fight. As many guards were working, all this happened in a few hours. The people started getting ready for the fighting competition to begin.
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Leaves of Terranthir
DISCONTINUED - I won't be writing more of this fiction. Check out the latest post for a worlbuilding summary / final thoughts. Leaves of Terranthir is a gamelit blend of ARPG, action, fantasy, and slice of life. It's inspired in part by some of my favourite games, borrowing in themes, sense of exploration, and aesthetics from the Soulsborne and soulslike genre, mixed heavily with arpg itemization from Diablo/PoE style games. While many may remember their Soulslike experiences as nothing more than suffering, I personally loved the sense of progression, to prevail over challenges and monsters that seemed impossible to defeat at first. If any of that seems interesting to you, do check out the first chapter and let me know what you think. Cheers, and thanks for reading. Cover by Baconstrap.
8 193The Shadow Domain - A litRPG
Carter Hart receives a pair of glasses which allows him to enter the Virtual fantasy world of Baria. He is pulled into the dark underworld of an MMORPG and has to fight to survive. Literally. On his quest he meets another adventurer named Alora with her own secret, a plot for revenge. Not any revenge, revenge against the elite, for they have taken something that was very precious to her, her hardcore account. Together they venture forth into this magical world, Gnome wizard and Human ranger. But as soon as the son of Elite businessman Chang, finds out about her revenge plot, he sends assassins after her. In real life. This is the start of the Baria tales. The story of how an a-grade student on his way to engineering school in a dystopian world meets a girl from a rich elite background and together they find a way to show the elite how to have humanity again.
8 174Returning to a New Era
“You first caught my attention when you stole the Giant’s Sovereignty. “I took note of your ability when you slew the King of Monsters. “And I found myself in awe after seeing you—” “Can you spare me the monologue? Just get me home, you tentacle porn bastard.” “…Okay.” When one leaves, one must also return; but what if the world you left was different from when you left? This is the story of a Returner’s Return to a New Era. It was Earth, but it seemed more foreign than the otherworld he returned from. I do not own the art on the cover. Schedule for upload: Wednesday and Sunday [Days still not specified]
8 188Reign of Magic
While magic reigns over the world, the ones without powers are destined to die. The lost sons of Atanor are finally found after fourteen years of their disappearance. But with their arrival, starts the mad thirst for blood, revenge and power. The seemingly normal life of the brothers, Alan and Neil shatters when the truth about their birth starts to haunt them in ways they cannot even decipher. Secrets from the past unveil themselves one by one pulling the brothers into a world they never even knew existed. Sorcerers? Weren't they a fantasy?Warriors? Do they still exist?Magic? Is it even possible? While Alan and Neil fight to protect themselves as well as their loved ones, they even have to fight the inner demons that are threatening to pull them towards damnation. Alan and Neil and the land of Atanor where magic prevails. Their fates are entwined and one who is formidable enough will stay strong and survive the chaos.
8 194Child of Fate
The story of when the darkness slowly started to devour the land. Human dying, Animals turned into monsters, and the land lose it ability. When the darkness slowly covering the world, the light would shine and seal the darkness away. Follow the journey of three heroes who have to do this heroic mission, to seal the Darkness. However, their journey is not smooth as they expected. Story of romance, comedy, and trust. They are only a human, where their heart also can be contaminated by the darkness of their desire. When the road to their goal is harsh can they still able to maintain their trust of each other when they have their own problem and ego? Their target was a thousand year monster which sealed by the previous hero, but it also have experience far exceed them. Is the story would repeated with them manage to seal the Darkness or they was the one failing? ______________________________________________________________Guys, this is my new novel project. I planned for oneshot, but somehow it ended in (very) long story... I want to know your opinion and comment, and is it good for me to update it all or make it into parts? Thanks.
8 264فكرة الرواية طلعت بالحمام لحد يستغرب من الي بيقرأه
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