My eyes settled upon the form of a lithe, curt looking girl, probably in her late teen years, looking semi-worried. Her eyes were wide and she stared up into my pupils. I saw fear in her eyes for a moment before she shook her head. Gesturing to her throat, she spoke.

"Kylte?" "Water?" I paused and looked back at D'rte, who was standing just out of sight from the door. He shook his head and made a wave gesture before coming to the door. His face was no longer flushed and he looked around the crack of the door.

"Dapö omol avemäpa." "We outside eat." Looking up at D'rte, the girl was confused - I suppose bewildered was the better term, but a moment later and her face ran scarlet after seeing his bare arms and shoulders. She might have gathered what had happened and even I felt a little embarrassed once it was obvious for others to tell what transpired. She nodded and scurried off down the hall towards the entrance. For my sanity, I hope she doesn't tell people what happened.

D'rte and I talked for a while after that, not about any one thing in particular, but we talked. Finally, though, D'rte couldn't stay longer and hugged me before he left the room with his armour now on him again. His shirt was very big compared to the one I'd been given before, and much larger than anything else I'd worn casually. It felt like a heavy sweater was weighing me down as it tried falling. Eventually, I tied a knot on the back of my collar, with a lot of effort and determination, and tucked it into my pants. Pulling my boots up and over the trouser legs, tying them properly, and then putting on my chestpiece and everything else, I was now fully dressed once more.

I felt restrained in them, but it was better than walking around naked. Taking a deep breath, I reached my hands towards my shields and made a tugging motion, sending them flying into place on my wrists. It was so strange that I could so easily get used to this over a couple of weeks. I guess humans do adapt quickly, don't they? Chuckling to that thought, I walked down the hallway to the training area.

Maybe I'd see one of those magic-boyos who helped with the pain when I was screaming my lungs out. Shuddering at the memory of the pain, I brought a hand up to my face, just below an eye. I never wanted to experience that kind of pain again. Wandering over to the stairs, walking down slowly as to not trip, then into the WTFITPSBR. A truly witty name. I heard the chitter-chatter of the other people in the room, as well as the clashing of metal on metal and wood on wood. It seemed there were those practising with both wood and metal weapons against each other... wasn't that dangerous? Oh well, I suppose if they know what to do and when to stop they should be fine and it's not my place to intervene.

When I took a few more steps, I heard the room quiet down some and people who were resting looked over to me. Some in confusion, some in worry and recognition, and some in... disgust? There were, unsurprisingly, few women in here. I didn't expect women fighters to be common occurrences, but if people could fight, they could fight. Magic was the area where most of the women I saw were a part of, or, I think they were magic users. Two of them had books at their waists, and another had a staff with a dagger at their hip. If I knew anything about magic in this world it was that some of it relied on books and likely paper and that was it.

A strange system, but okay.

I ignored almost everything else, too much talking in a language I barely understood all turned into garbled noise. I walked over to the training areas for the assumed melee fighters and squat down as I watched.

Two people in the middle of a bout with metal swords were exchanging blows left and right. I let my shields rest off of my arms and on the floor as I watched intently. I decided to use the Combat Sense skill I had because it was so low level and I hadn't used it since the fight with those scum of the earth bandits.

All of a sudden, a symbol flashed in my eyes and everything became so vivid and slow. The sweat underneath the two fighters clothes, the exact trajectory of their swords, and how, in a paused world, I saw everything. I saw the man on the left losing miserably. The blade would strike at his wrist and their sword would drop to the floor. He would be fine but a fist would be swung in anger...

It last a few more seconds before the world returned to normal. My eyes shook. This wasn't how it worked before - last time it just helped me avoid getting my head lobbed off by those bandits. What changed?

The man on the right's sword hit the other one's wrist. Clutching his hand, the other would apologize before he noticed the fist flying towards him. By the time he'd begun winding up for his swing, I had already leapt forward, low to the ground and propelling myself with my shields until I skid to a stop and took his punch to my forehead.

Metal gauntlet met hard cranium and there was a rattle in my skull. I felt a warmth roll down my forehead, over my nose, before a drop... dripip sound played. My eyes shakily stared at the man whose punch I'd stood in front of and he recoiled.

Maybe I wasn't in my right mind, or it was adrenaline or he really fucked me up, but something inside of me clicked.

"Avuama Eke?" "Continue?" I asked, my face curling up into a smile as my eyes narrowed and my eyes twitched. My blood rolled down over my lips and I licked it up like it was a delicacy. I pushed my head forward when he pulled his hand back slightly. "You angry look... continue." "Ubu mesliv pitea... Avuama Eke." He took a step back. I took one forward. "Come on... Krovi!" "Let us fight honorably!" I took a step back, finally, and raised my shields.

There was a gentle warmth swimming over my back and up over my shoulders. I wanted to shiver but I resisted. My eyes felt hot as I stared at the man in front of me. There was something inside of me yelling that he'd done horrible things before, my eyes wandered over him and my face contorted into joy behind a shield hiding the lower part of my face.

I chuckled as a small list appeared in the corner of my vision.

JUDGE ATTAINING EVIDENCE

VERDICT ACHIEVED: GUILTY, VARIANT 2

Crimes Commited:

DOMESTIC ABUSE, TWO CASES (WIFE, CHILD)

FILICIDE

MURDER, TWO CASES (ADULT, CHILD)

RAPE

"Ahh... I see... wife-beater, child killer, rapist... you're an overall terrible man, aren't you? I get it I get it... that's why this skill is worded how it is..." I lowered my shields to reveal my face, and it was no longer smiling. My eyes burned with the fury of an unjust system, allowing this man to walk free despite his crimes. Was he never caught? Was he let go? I don't know... but I know I'm right in that he needs to be punished.

The man looked at my face and narrowed his eyes. He picked up his sword and spoke.

"Aruä... mifaokaruy-tevos, bebenuy zhefovfi." He spoke many words I did not know, one of them was familiar to me though: Aruä... It sounded pretty, but I think it was an insult. He took slow, steady steps toward me. But then I took one step forward and began to dance in joy.

Ahh... I thought, I get to punish, break, and maim the unjust criminal before me... And then both my shields and I began to spin.

I felt like I had become a forest in a storm. My arms flowed through the air like the wind causes a tree to rock, slapping against his armour and striking him like the rain striking against the dirt. My feet moved like the little animals running along the floor for shelter from the pouring rain: rapid, determined, and smooth.

His sword tried to reach me, but I stepped to the side and spun. The blunt face of my shield cracked his armour with ease as I raised a foot and kicked his side like a bolt of lightning hits a shrub.

He became angry. His sword glowed a bright white, but it was useless. A single man cannot beat nature, and I proved my point as I lifted a foot like a tree uprooted, slamming it into his chin as he fell back. I was refreshed.

My blood still dripped onto the floor from my head and I suddenly came back to my senses.

"Wait what..." I looked around in confusion before I looked down and "Jesus-!" The man on the ground had his armour almost broken to pieces. Dents in the chestpiece were everywhere, and considering his suit was completely metal, unlike mine which was mostly leather, I was kind of scared. What happened... what came over me just now... I had too many thoughts and I took a step back.

"I..." In the centre of my vision was a red panel of information which was already a bad omen just from what I knew. "I didn't shut my eyes yet..."

The Being Which Should Not Exist

Has Taken A Further Interest In You.

Beware, Marked One, It Desires A

Change In You

Deny Or Embrace Its Power At The

Cost Of Your Self

"Ah... ahhh...." I wanted to scream, but it was choked it back. I just wanted to train my skills... why did this happen? Was it because I had sex with D'rte? What was it that made me act out like... that? That wasn't me, it wasn't... "Ahhh-" I felt the vomit build up as the sensation of my body not being mine permeated through me once again. I covered my mouth.

The acidic taste on my tongue was revolting. Taking a step back, a hand was placed on my shoulder and I flinched. I looked at who it belonged to and it seemed to be the man I'd taken the place of. He gave me a slight nod of his head and pointed a thumb over to a door D'rte never mentioned, but it looked like a well-kept area.

"Damabte?" "Food?" I looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant, before it clicked.

"Ah-" A weak smile spread on my lips, and I held my forehead with a hand. "Vimiv" Thankfully, he wasn't dense enough to not notice my predicament and yelled off to the side with a laugh.

"Ahh! Lepiray! Iqe raeazte sizi!" "Ahh! Lepiray! Fools blood here!" Really? Fool's Blood? I took a... punch... yeah no that's fair. Another person from the opposite end of the room, who I assume was Lepiray - or maybe that was a rank - walked over and placed a hand over his mouth, laughing loudly as he watched my face slowly turn from "Alright" to "I'm going to kick you if you laugh more". He took the hint and cleared his throat, before he raised a hand up to my head and muttered a lot of unknown words before actually touching my head.

The blood that was falling to the floor stopped before it zipped back up into my body. My bloodflow seemingly reversed for a second both in and out of my body and it was very unpleasant. But, eventually, my head was fixed without a scratch and I nodded. "Heshok." "I'm grateful." I told him my thanks before I looked to the first man and pointed to the food room.

He nodded, I nodded, and while Lepiray went his way, me and the other man walked over and in to that other room. Entering I was pleasantly assaulted with various smells. Sweet, pleasant scents, spicy ones, and some others as well that I could tell would taste good.

"Oh- shit.. I forgot-" I turned to him. "Ytrevasa Kiera. Ubu?" "My name is Kiera. You?" I had forgotten to get his name first.

"Ahhh.... Ytrevesmi Volok. Akam." "Ahhh.... My name is Volok. A pleasure." Well that was a curt greeting. Now that we had introduced ourselves, Volok had gestured to a table close to the entrance and I sat down. "Aveua sua?" "Know what to eat? He asked, and I shook my head. I had to think about things while the food was being made, so I basically gave him freedom to get me whatever. He nodded with a small sound before I removed my shields and put them on the table in front of me.

I placed my face in my folded arms as I resisted the urge to cry, wrapping an arm over the back of my head to hide myself further. I was changing. Faster than I think would be normal for everyone else who was brought here. I hate it, this vile sensation of fulfillment that just sits in the pit of my stomach. What bullshit was it, "Deny or embrace its power?" I'll give it my choice right now...

. . . . . .

Are you sure you wish to

deny the power from

A Sleeping God?

Yes, Deny it / No, Embrace it

Obviously, yes.

Choice confirmed:

The Sleeping God's anger is

limitless.

It has begun to stir.

I felt a seething rage building from the emotionless notification box as its texture warped and cascaded down like paint over a canvas until nothing remained.

Fuck you. I thought as I watched the box fade into nothing. Opening my eyes I felt so much better and I took a deep breath. I was pretty confident that if I lived long enough, I'd probably get more notifications about this "Sleeping God". That was not a god, that was an abomination on all senses and dimensions.

My thoughts were pulled away when I felt a hand gently pat at my shoulder. Looking over, I saw Volok, with two trays of food. He set one down next to me as he moved to the other side and sat down as well. Moving my shields to the floor, I looked at what he brought. It looked like a stew with bits and pieces of meat in it, with a particularly appetizing slice slightly draped over the side of the wooden bowl. It smelled heavenly.

I took the spoon on the side and dipped it in. It seemed like clam chowder when I looked at it like this, and bringing it to my lips I took my first bite. It had that pleasant mix of cream and meat, two things that go very well together depending on who, and how, you ask. Heh. Smiling at the taste, I tried to use the meat hanging off the side, dipping it into the stew and then using the spoon to bring it back to my mouth.

"Mmmh~!" it was so good that it was almost impossible to believe. What was the saying... in times of war, humans advance their technology, and in times of peace, their food? Something like that, but oh my god this tastes great. The meat had the perfect tenderness when mixed with the main course, the stew, and not only that, it had this honey-esque flavor coating it, making it slightly sweet. I couldn't tell you how fast I devoured that meal if I had tried. The only way to describe it was as if the deity of food himself had made it himself.

When I came to my senses, I realized I had eaten the entire thing. "Ahh..." I was almost brought to tears when Volok passed his plate over to me. "Are you a saint?" I asked as I looked at him, then his tray, then the untouched meat on the side of the bowl. I swore I would protect this man with my life. I don't care, as long as I got to eat this food, I will protect him with my life - but what if I die... I wouldn't get to eat this anymore. I'll eat first, think later.

And like that, I ate the second bowl, and the second slice of meat with such reverence I vowed to form a religion to this food.

"Ohhhh that hit everything right..." Shivering as I remembered the taste, I never thought I would be this sensitive to it. But it felt.... really fucking good to feel that food land in my stomach. "Yex... dji..." There was no other way to describe that food other than pure magic.

By the time I had calmed down, Volok was left holding back his laughter. "Dji? Ahaha - Lam, lam, ytre gi Los-Akis-lomo! Zau?" "Magical? Ahaha - yeah, yeah, this is called 'Bewitchment'! Got it?" It's name made perfect sense now. I was truly bewitched. I nodded in response, lying back and letting my torso hang off the side with a groan.

Giving him a thumbs up, I lied there for a moment before he spoke.

"Gire damabte divimuy? Oaenmäuy polasi defe. Unuz damabte." "You like this food? With me practice tomorrow. More food." So, Volok was a pretty neat guy, probably wanted something out of me, but a good guy so far. Other than the food, he just wanted to practice with me? Seemed like I got a pretty good deal. And after going over everything in my head, it seemed like I had all that I needed for now. Shelter, food thanks to Volok, a job, and then I had D'rte. While I was thinking over everything, Volok was talking about some stuff, a lot of words I didn't know yet, and some others that I inferred.

Overall, he was a pretty good guy from what I gathered. It might have been the fact he looked a bit like my boss from Earth, though. He was cool. I wonder if this world has alcohol... of course it would, why wouldn't it, right?

Looking to my shields on the floor, I flicked my wrist and they were pulled up and onto my arms, as per usual, and I stood up.

"Dewa?" "You going?" I nodded, I'd spent enough time doing nothing today, despite what happened today, I felt energetic, and so I walked. I needed to do something to keep myself sane. What do people usually do in their free time... Drink? Read... READ! That's... not gonna work.

What am I supposed to do in my free time, honestly? Today should be a rest day but I want to do things. I've become a knight haven't I? Or something similar... maybe? I wish D'rte or the Captain were here, at least they could tell me what I needed to do.

I'd been thinking for a while about what I should do, before I ended up in front of my room door. Should I sleep? The idea was tossed away as quickly as it came. No, no. I'll go talk to the Captain. And like that, I went further. It didn't take me as long as I thought it would to get back to the entrance of this underground fort, but I went down the path directly in front of the door, where I think Cap went.

There was a ton of detail carved into these walls, unlike the bland and stale cuboid rooms in the dorm area. Statues of men and women on either side, some with heavier looking armour than others, but they were all carved with immense detail. There were other stone engravings on the ceiling, matching up with the bioluminescent fungi and it looked quite pretty.

Sometimes I had to wonder if I was still dreaming, and this was all a nightmare with little respites between. Maybe I was still in the hospital after being stabbed, or maybe I never was stabbed and I'm just having a long dream.

As I was thinking that, I came to a stop. There was a gate in front of me. A giant stone gate. Why is everything stone? Have some metal every now and again! What are you, Dwarves?

But as I was about to knock on the gate, which probably wouldn't have done anything, it opened and I was met with the sight of the Captain walking out, looking mighty pissed. I stepped off to the side and he just walked past. Maybe... I shouldn't be here.

I just want to do something. Sighing, I was about to just go lie down, but

"Key hraa Mahc Goouire?" How badly did you have to butcher my name for it to come out like that?! I turned into the room and saw two very prim looking people. A man with soft features and a greyish head of hair hair, yet who had obviously seen combat, and a woman with a rather sharp face. it wouldn't be a stretch to call her eagle-eyed either. She looked like she could see into my soul.

Standing in front of the door, I nodded "Zau! Asuve Kiera Macguire." "Yes! I'm Kiera Macguire." and introduced myself. The man and woman looked at one another before nodding, and the woman gestured for me to come closer with her head.

Way to make me nervous. I thought, but entered.

"Vipta... Khöpras gavy vedy-ytoyorai." I quickly raised my hand, next to my face and both peoples eyes opened wide. I... forgot this was a military. I slowly lowered my hand before the man shook his head. "Lokmisvi." I think he told me to continue.

"Xyv suy... yvimaä? No its... xyv suy... azuaä. Xyv varikala?" "I don't know... world? --... don't know information. No knowledge." I stumbled my way through that and could only hope I got something out of it right. The woman pondered before whispering something to the man before he looked to me.

"Oveji?" "Stupid?" I nodded with a flush on my cheek.

"Zau...." "Yes...."

I heard the woman snicker slightly before clearing her throat, the man slightly swat at her head with a sigh before he pondered some more.

This would be a long conversation.