《Adventures on Planet Gana》Chapter 11. A Saint's Return
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"Henry, you are up early." His two friends Noah and Aster came over to his town for a visit. The annual exams were right around the corner and Henry hadn't been able to return to school since the arrival of outherworlders. His leave has long since expired.
"It's good to see you guys again. I've been missing you two since I got back here." Henry invited the two inside and introduced them to his parents.
"We need to leave soon. The annual exams are held today evening. There have been a few changes due to these otherworlders." Noah and Aster settled in after greeting Henry's parents.
"You look a lot more refreshed now. So did you breakthrough?" Henry asked looking at the pleasant attitude of Noah who used to be all gloomy.
"Yes, your potion helped. I reached the prophet tier after you left but it looks like you became a Saint now." Noah was extremely pleased with his progress.
"I was stuck at the peak for a few days. You seem to have grown a lot stronger too." Henry turned toward Aster.
"Not as strong as you," Aster said looking almost envious at the talent that Henry possessed. "And here I thought that I almost caught up with you." 'You can compare yourself with me.' Henry thought.
"Let it be, we can't compare ourselves with him. He's a monster. Besides, we have to prepare for the test. This year, we have to go hunting. The Kingdom's found a new continent in the eastern seas and the test involves hunting high tier monsters in this new continent." (Noah)
"Henry, We hope you will come with us," Noah asked with an almost pleasing voice. "Sure", said Henry. "Why don't we talk about it later."
"You kids are going hunting." Henry's mom said from behind as she came in with food. She had been busy cooking for the three. It was almost breakfast time. "Henry, I'm afraid we can't wait to eat. We are already late. If we don't leave now, we will probably be thrown out. We came since Miss Silvy couldn't get a hold of you."
"Sorry, mom. I have to go. Hopefully, I'll get there on time. Don't worry about the food. I'll eat on the way." Henry, without touching the food, rushed out with the other two.
"Kids these days, they don't even have time to eat." Henry's mom said looking at the two who followed Henry out. "Hmm, I'll just eat it then."
The three walked out of town and asked the Dark Elf, Ren, to teleport them over to the school campus. The assembly was already underway when they got back.
"Why is it so crowded here?" Henry asked.
"Do you think we alone are doing the test? That's not happening. The Royal Academy and other top schools are also on their way. There's a huge teleportation circle outside the royal palace. We will be taking a teleportation portal over to the new continent." Explained Aster.
"First year's, this way please." They heard the voice of Miss Silvy over the crowd.
"Oh Henry, you could make it in time. I tried to contact you. But you are out of reach. What happened?" Said Miss Silvy to her beloved student with a smile. "Nevermind that, make sure you get the highest numbers alright. We are counting on you".
"We will try our best, Miss Silvy," Henry said. Alice was operating the teleportation circle as always. After everyone got in range, she activated the portal and everyone vanished from the school campus. The Royal city's training grounds became extremely populated ever since otherworlders arrived. Countless players were practising their swordplay and magic in the training yard.
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Henry and the rest teleported over to this place. "All right everyone, we need to get to the Royal Academy. Now. Follow me." Alice said loud enough for all her students to hear. They soon joined other schools as if a progression was heading towards the Royal Academy.
The place was huge. The Royal Academy was famed for its massive size and the rumours held true as it had enough space to contain the students from all the 30 participating schools. However, since the otherworlders had arrived, some of the bottom tier schools had already lost their influence. No one in the native lands could keep up with the outherworlders talents and were slowly thrown out. It became impossible to survive without at least the talent of a prophet tier.
His Majesty, the King arrived and gave a short speech on the importance of the upcoming continent. The rules of the competition were simple. Whoever caught or killed the most monsters would win. Killing each other was forbidden, but stealing was fine. The stronger the monster the better the points received.
'Master,' Ren said, 'I won't be able to follow you. The distance is too far. If I do, I will expose myself.'
"It's alright. Just take care of my family. Make sure they're safe.'
His Majesty, The King just finished his speech and the Chief Minister got up. Everyone was ready to teleport over to the new continent.
"I hope all of you already. The competition starts from the moment you reach the new continent. Be safe. We will teleport every one of you to different parts of the New World. Make sure your team holds hands so that you won't get separated during the teleportation.
Henry felt the space around him become empty as he travelled through the void. In the split second, he appeared on a terrain that was too unfamiliar to him. Right next to him Aster and Noah appeared. The terrain around them was completely different from what they had expected.
The place was a paradise for monsters. Although most of them were just mortal, the monsters were powerful nonetheless. It seems that most of the place was inhabited by monsters due to the lack of humans.
"We should first try looking for a water source. I think there will be a lot of monsters nearby. If you could teleport up and check around. It would be great." Henry said, taking the lead.
Noah as a spatial mage could hover himself in the air for a few seconds. He immediately teleported up. After a few short seconds, he came back on the ground.
"Doesn't seem to be too much of an issue here. There is a river flowing down at the bottom of the mountain region. The terrain is rough."
"We will head over then. Maybe we will find a few monsters along the way." (Henry)
As if their prayer got answered, they heard the sound of a beast stomping on the floor. The floor shook, and a few trees were uprooted. The roar of a behemoth monster was strong enough to shatter the eardrums of a normal mortal. In front of them was a huge elephant that was eight metres tall.
"Don't interfere, it's mine," Aster said, showing her frustration. It seemed to be a lower prophet tier monster.
"It's fine. I'm pretty sure you can handle it." Henry let Aster kill the beast. Her frigid fire was overpowering when it came to a fight with single element monsters.
"See, that was hardly any work," stated Aster. "Either way, it's one prophet tier Monster for us." Aster collected the carcasses of the monster and stored it in her spatial ring.
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Old ruins started appearing as they started walking down towards the river.
"Are you sure there are no humans on this continent? It pretty much looks like the work of humans." Noah showed sine worry. It wasn't appropriate to hunt in someone else's territory.
"The claw marks are old and shallow. Whoever attacked this place has long gone."
"There doesn't seem to be any monsters in the area. What did we do now? If this goes on we will fall behind." (Noah)
"Falling behind others? Are you kidding me? I doubt there is anyone stronger than Henry on the continent right now." Aster said looking at Henry.
"Can't you just scan the area for a few strong monsters?" Aster said in a mocking tone.
"Sure thing, madam." Henry reciprocated.
His radar had already found a few monsters around the place. Unlike before, these were all mortals.
"What do we do now? There are only mortals in the area. Should we go hunt them? (Henry)
"It's all right. Let's take them, it's better than doing nothing."
So, the mountain region was wiped of any monsters that one could find.
"How many did we get so far?" Henry asked Aster who was keeping count.
"It's just a bunch of lower prophet tier monsters. And heaps of mortal monsters. It's not worth a lot. We should check out some other regions soon." Aster said, almost disturbed.
"Noah, can teleport us to a different region?"
"It shouldn't be too hard. Where do you want to go? North, South, East, West?" (Noah)
"Let's hit the North. Try to make sure we are along the riverside. I think most of the monsters will prefer to live along the riverside."
"What if we find some settlements?"
"What about it? We are here to kill monsters, not people. We will try and ignore them. If they were to interfere, we can just teleport away."
*****
"Stop," Henry screamed. "There's something ahead and it's strong." All the flares had gone off on his radar. It had to be an amazing monster. Its stealth was impressive as the radar didn't pick up anything for so long.
"Wait. I know what it is. It's a freaking White Tiger. And those things are supposed to be extinct." (Noah)
"There's no way you're telling me there's a White Tiger still alive on this continent." (Aster)
"What else could that be?" Noah screamed.
"Well, it's an unexplored continent. I suppose they didn't expect such creatures in this place" Henry said.
"What do we do now?" Aster asked. "It's got to be at least at the late prophet tier stage. White Tiger's possess both Fire and Ice elements, just like me. They are deviant monsters."
The White tiger screamed and pounced at them. Unlike the normal tigers, the scream wasn't a roar, but rather it was soft and pleasing to the ears. Henry shouted and stretched out his hands, casting fireballs towards the tiger.
"What the hell? Don't you know any other spells? I just said they are fire type monsters. Fire doesn't affect them that much. Idiot." (Aster)
"Spatial rift." Noah tried to distract the tiger trying to give Henry and Aster some breathing room.
"That thing is too strong. You guys better walk away from this one. Let me deal with it." Henry said, taking out the sword that was on his storage rung imbuing it with earth magic. Noah looked at the sword surprised.
"It's earth magic. I don't think you have the ability, do you?" Henry said, understanding what Noah's eyes meant.
Seeing a blade cutting through the white tiger's tail Noah let out a yelp. It was extremely pleasing to the eye. Henry's skill wasn't half baked either. Close combat was a speciality of Henry's with him being a beastman.
"Okay, that thing is pacing. You guys better start attacking it faster," Henry said.
The tiger let out a scream and pounced onto Henry's neck. A few ice spikes emerge from the ground trying to penetrate Henry's foot.
"Firewall."
Henry immediately cast a firewall, trying to reduce the numbing effect on his foot. At the same time, a few more shallow wounds appeared on the tiger's skin.
"Aster, Focus now," Henry said, getting ready to attack it with everything he had.
After a hard-fought battle, Henry and the two finally killed the White Tiger.
"You were the one asking for stronger monsters, Aster." Aster sent staring daggers at Noah hearing him tease her.
"No one said it's your fault. Get up, Henry. We need to leave this place before more powerful monster come over."
*****
When the kingdom's royal mages scanned the entire continent for monsters, they forgot to include those that had stealth abilities.
"What do we do now?" Asked one of the magisters under the king. "What if there are ones more powerful, more so than which we had already seen. From the looks of it, there are a few."
"What can we do? The bracelets can't be triggered right away. We can only hope that the kids are smart enough to avoid powerful ones."
*****
Back in the forest on the new continent.
"Do you hear that?" Henry asked, suddenly stopping perking his ears to listen closely. "I think I hear water dripping."
Henry slowly approached the sound. It was a cave hidden well under the overgrowth.
"You think it's safe?" (Noah)
"No, we aren't here for a picnic now are we?" (Aster)
"What are the chances we would run into another monster that strong? It's alright Noah. Deviant monsters are supposed to be extremely rare." (Henry)
"And yet we run into one. That too one that's supposed to be extinct." (Noah)
"Let's head in."
The three walked into the cave. They certainly felt a nostalgic feeling as when they visited the Covenant Hall. "It is a hidden cave. Maybe we could find some treasures inside." (Aster)
"Are you sure we want to explore the place?" (Noah)
"Why not, why do we have to lose. Let's go anyway." (Aster)
"What if there is another monster like the last one inside?" (Noah)
"We can always run away." (Henry)
"Yeah, right." (Noah)
Henry took the lead as they entered the cave. The deeper they walked in, the wider the cave became, and soon they reached a place that was wide enough for a soccer game.
"It looks like some people used to live here." (Henry)
"There's a very high chance they're hiding from us. Be careful." Aster said.
"Anyone Home?" Henry shouted and the voice reverberated inside.
Nothing.
"If there is anyone they are bound to come out by now."
"Alright Henry, do you want us to shout too?"
"No, I don't think that would work. Besides, the place was abandoned. Do you want to go check it out?"
"There must be a reason why they abandoned the place." (Noah)
"Well it's probably a monster hunting them, or they all just died." (Aster)
"What if it's something stronger than a white tiger in here?"
"Well, then we can just leave it at bad luck." (Aster)
"What's wrong?" Henry asked, shaking Noah who was suddenly silent and looked at the spot he was staring at. And there it was. A large snake. It had emerald eyes and was sleeping comfortably with its eyes half-open after a good breakfast.
"Okay, well guess that the humans went into its belly. Should we kill it now?"
"Yes, it's free points. Besides, it's going to be slow now." Aster walked over and cast a frigid fireball at the snake.
'When did she get this powerful? These guys are going to kill me.' Seeing how easily Aster was able to suck the life out of the emerald eyed snake, Henry thought to himself.
"Guys, there is a chest here," Aster said after storing away the corpse.
"It could be a trap." The gamer in Henry suddenly warned as the two suddenly looked at him puzzled. "Fine. Just be careful."
'Could this be a dungeon?' Henry thought. 'First a game and now a new continent. Are they planning to introduce a new update? Well, I guess I should probably expect a new system quest coming soon.'
Noah and Aster opened the chest and found a few coins inside.
"Henry, it's just a bunch of coins. Could you check if you have seen these before?" Aster handed the coins over to Henry.
Seeing the unique design of the coins Henry's eyes lit up. "These are the ruler's coins. How many did you find?"
Seeing the excitement in Henry's eyes, the two could tell they must be costly. "Just ten. What are they exactly?"
"It's the coin used amongst those at the ruler tier and above. They are worth at least a couple of thousand elemental crystals each."
"I see. It's only worth a few thousand crystals. Are you kidding me? That's enough crystals to last a lifetime." (Aster)
"If there isn't anything else then let's leave. There are only a few more minutes left for the exam. We will just hunt a few mortal monsters along the river till it's time."
The test was to last for six hours.
The red light emitted by their bracelets signified that the time was almost up.
"I hope we have enough monsters to rank in the top." (Henry)
"Well, I doubt anyone would have survived a fight with a white tiger, so we should be at least in the top 3." (Aster)
"Yeah, I hope so too. Let's head back then. Let's stay close to the river for the time being. There should be a lot of mortal monsters there." (Henry)
"Let's see who can get more monsters!" (Noah)
"Oh, Do you want to split up? What if another white tiger appeared?" (Henry)
"Nevermind then. Let's stick closer. The river banks should have enough monsters anyways." (Noah)
The three were kept killing mortal tier monsters until the time was finally up and the three were teleported to the front garden of the royal academy.
*****
"Sorry, My Lord. It didn't work out. The kid didn't eat the food." A man whose entire body was clad in black kneeled in front of a table. The room was dimly lit making it difficult to make out what happened around.
"I shouldn't have expected much from you. After all, when have you ever succeeded?" A husky deep voice came from behind the desk. On the chair behind sat a man who was too short to reach over.
"But something unexpected happened. The kid's mother ate it." The man kneeling didn't raise his head. The silence raised the tension in the room. The short fellow grabbed his chin in deep thought.
"This won't do. You stepped on a snake. It will bite back. I am truly disappointed in you, Caius." The man jumped off the chair and phased through the table arriving in front of the kneeling servant.
"Master, I…"
'Snap!' The air vibrated as the body of the man disintegrated disappearing forever.
"We won't get another chance. He will come for us now." The man muttered, caressing his chin.
*****
'Master, you are finally back. You need to get back to the town as fast as possible.' Ren contacted Henry as soon as he came over.
'What's wrong. What happened?' Henry was about to run over towards Alice when he noticed Miss Silvy rushing towards him.
'Master, someone poisoned your mom's food. I contacted Miss Silvy immediately but she definitely wouldn't be able to hold on.' Before Henry could react, Silvy grabbed hold of Henry and teleported back to the town.
The whole place was in turmoil as countless people both townsmen and players had come over listening to the news. 'I thought I asked you to take care of the family.'
'Sorry Master. The poison was administered through your breakfast. I'm afraid the poison was meant for you.'
On the bed laid his mom, who couldn't move a single muscle. Her veins were bulging and Henry could hear a faint heartbeat.
"She is still alive." Henry became optimistic.
"Yes, for now. But I'm afraid we won't be able to save her. The poison is too powerful." Silvy grabbed Henry's shoulder tight. "You should take some time alone." Silvy left the room along with the others leaving Henry and his father.
The dark elf immediately appeared kneeling before him. Henry's eyes were filled with hate as he looked at Ren. "Tell me, is there no way to save her life?" Henry asked. His voice was hoarse.
"There is but it's not ideal." Ren said hesitating. Henry kept staring so she could only continue. "It's demonising. She would lose her appearance and depending on her willpower she could crumple from the inside. But if she succeeds she will be stronger than she ever was."
"And the chances of success is?"
"Extremely low. There is also the possibility that she could lose her temperament. Demons are usually void of all emotions. Not to mention that demons are a classified threat in the kingdom."
"Enough talking. Do it."
"We will have to leave for the primal altar. I will bring the sacrifices, master."
"What sacrifices?"
"Newborn's blood. The more she drinks, the stronger she gets." Ren kept staring at the eyes of her master that didn't deviate. "Master, she will have to live in the shadows for the rest of eternity, never to appear before the humans again."
"Let's save her first." Henry's eyes drifted towards his father who was sitting in the corner weeping.
"Father, mom will be alright. I promise."
"Go." He said silently.
'Master, I can sense a familiar aura here.'
'Not now. Ren.' Henry's eyes became narrow as his hatred increased.
*****
Meanwhile at the Royal Academy,
"What happened? Where did they rush Henry off to?" Stella saw Miss Silvy picking Henry and leaving immediately. She came over and approached his companions.
"Something happened at his house. We should go visit him after." Noah said and his eyes drifted towards Alice. "We wanted to leave too but someone has to stay back."
The three chatted and soon the results were announced.
"At third place with one low grade prophet monster and 18 mortal monsters, team Gregory from the royal academy."
"At second place with two mid grade prophet monsters and 21 mortal monsters, team Stella from the royal academy."
"At first place with one newborn saint monster, one mid grade prophet monster, two low grade prophet monsters, 12 newborn prophet monsters and 58 mortal monsters, team Henry from the flowing water covenant."
"We request the team leaders to come forward and receive their prizes."
*****
Henry was teleported to a deep forest along with his mom. In front of him laid the demon god's altar. The smell of blood pricked the nose. An aura of looming despair shrouded the place. The altar was a bathtub and the floors were made of marble. Two torches were lit at the head and toe of the tub. To the far outside, on a high chair sat an entity named Death. Countless beetle-like black bugs flew behind him.
Ren approached the entity and fell on her knees. "Demon God's Apostle, I have brought a worthy soul." She said and her forehead touched the floor.
"The sacrifice?" A faint sound emitted from the figure.
Right behind Ren appeared eight other dark elves of which only one Henry knew. In each of their hard were hatchlings of monsters. The aura emitted by these hatchlings was that of a peak grade saint tier. Henry stood silent as he saw the Apostle rise from his chair and drift towards the bathtub.
Ren came over and lifted Henry's Mom and laid her in the tub after removing her gown.
"The blood." The being said as it rose one finger.
Ren lifted one of the hatchlings and slowly cut its throat. Deep red blood flowed into the tub as she continued with the rest of the hatchlings. The aura emitted from the blood was so dense that the newborn saint, Henry, started to feel suffocated.
"Rise anew, the daughter of the fallen." The being said, lifting both its hands to the sky.
The blood in the tub slowly penetrated the skin and slowly the skin turned red. Henry could hear the heart beat faster and a small muffled voice coming out of his mother's throat.
The entity looked at the bathtub one last time and then left back to sit on the chair to rest. In the tub, Henry saw his mother twitching slightly. The blood in the tub was slowly sucked into her skin and once the tub was dry, she sat up. Henry felt the air around his mother change. The aura she emitted was much more superior even compared to the dark elf Ren, who stood beside him.
"A new dawn has come for the netherworld." The entity on the chair said once more before it froze into a statue again.
[Regan #### ########## #### ###### ######## ##### ### ## #######
Title:???
Bloodline: Demon
Tier:???]
"Mom?" Henry said softly looking at the red-skinned lady in front of him. Hearing the voice, her skin morphed into a red dress followed by her skin turning golden brown glowing in the moonlight. Then she looked at the kid standing next to the altar.
"Who are you, weakling?" The lady in the red dress asked, looking at Henry. She got out from the tub and tiptoes towards the kid. Her fingers caressed his chin as she slowly whispered into his ears, "Did you enjoy the view?" A glint of fire appeared in her eyes as she suddenly diverted her eyes to the west. "My lord is calling." She disappeared immediately teleporting away from the altar.
Henry sat down dejected at the edge of the altar on the white marble floor.
"She doesn't remember me anymore."
"The feelings are buried deep inside. It will take some time to trigger them. Master, she will soon come back."
"What if it doesn't come back?"
"Master, Demons are beings void of emotions. That doesn't mean they don't feel anything. It's just that the priorities are different for a newborn demon." Ren stared to the west where the lady took off towards. 'What have you become my lady?'
"What's with the monster hatchlings? I thought we needed human newborns?"
"Human blood is too weak, master. It's not suitable for any rituals. They have always failed." Ren teleported Henry back to the town hall.
'''Ding! Your bloodline has changed. New title accrued. Body strengthening complete.''' A notification went off which Henry didn't notice due to his heavy heart. A few blood-red rings appeared on his budding horn.
Host: Henry
Title: Baron of Fire Canyon Kingdom, Demon Prince.
Major Bloodline: Human(52.5%)
Minor Bloodlines: Bos(22.5%), Demon(25%)
Tier: Ruler.
Nature elements:
Earth (1000/9999),
Fire (1000/9999),
Water (1000/9999),
Wind (1000/9999),
Body: Ruler (1000/9999)
Soul Strength (1000/9999)
Willpower (14/9999)
*****
"Father, mom will be alright now." Henry grabbed his fathers shoulder who was weeping right next to his mother's empty bed.
"Did she lose her soul?" Looking at Henry's face, void of emotions, Flamel asked.
"She will come back. She just needs time to figure herself out. We need to let the public know."
'Master, it's not safe to tell others about this." Ren warned.
'I know.'
Henry grabbed his father and walked out holding him. Outside the front gates, everyone from Miss Silvy, Chieftain Orlac, Anna, Noah, Aster and his soon to be disciple Emmett were all present. With a slight smile, Henry said, "She left for a new life." He turned to look at his father. "Hopefully, we will meet her soon."
The town was in mourning for the few days to follow. No one saw Henry or his father for those few days.
*****
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