《I Am A Hero: I Believe I Can Fly》Chapter 24
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3.8
Body snatching
Momo-chan opened his eyes, something he hadn’t done in a long time now. He reached up and looked at his hands, or more like Hiro’s hands. Where was the young man? Was he still sleeping, it seemed like it.
The voice sat up groggily, his body never felt more refreshed. Yesterday after returning from witnessing the Edict, Hiro’s body ached quite a bit.
It was too embarrassing to admit but Caron, as eagle eyes as she was, noticed something wrong right away. And so, the healer gave him an ointment to help with the ache and it felt wonderful. So much so that the voice could remember his host drifting away.
Now here they were, neatly tucked in and the ointment all applied somehow. Momo-chan looked at the only other person in the room, Suiren. His face reddened at the implication, he had never felt more self-conscious.
No, it couldn’t be her, she wouldn’t do something like that without an order. That was a relief but also so sad.
Nevertheless, Hiro was still asleep and he had somehow gained control of this body. Perhaps he could take it out for a spin once more. The voice changed into a foreign but familiar attire. A normal business man look, a white shirt and black trouser completed with a plain looking tie.
What a strange feeling, this was the first time Momo-chan had slipped into this outfit and yet it felt like a second skin, the body remembered.
Talk about original attire, Malcolm rarely wore anything new or different. Conrad and Willow looked the same, but who know if they changed their inner layer or not.
Suiren, on the other hand, didn’t touch her komon once. It was brief but a hint of her identity at least, the woman would never pick her original attire. Even though Momo-chan dearly wanted to see her in that again, he never requested it out of respect for her rare instant of self-expression.
Technically he did get to see her like that again as that Roman’s aide. That masked woman, however, didn’t feel like Suiren. They looked the same, they moved the same but Momo-chan could feel nothing thinking back about her.
When Suiren brutalised her lookalike, he was more horrified at the level of violence displayed than the target of that violence. Even though that woman looked just like her…
Anyway, this was no time to dwell on that. Besides, that komon was boring anyway, Momo-chan would rather Suiren wore something that suited her youthful look more, like a furisode perhaps?
Momo-chan made his way downstairs to find the place empty, it was too early. In the silence of dawn, the voice could hear something. A grunting noise, coming from a door he had never gone through before. Although he was sure that it led into the workshop. As he approached, the grunt was getting louder.
“44, 45, 46, …”
Curious, the voice opened the door. Behind it was Caron, doing pulls up with her left hand only.
“… 47, oh good morning Mr. Hiro, 48, 49, 50!”
With that the young woman dropped to the floor, her body exhuming a faint smoke in the cold morning. Wearing only a tank top, Momo-chan could see his host rather muscular arms and physiques. It was actually rather… attractive.
What was he even thinking about now.
“Good morning, Caron-san. Am I interrupting something?”
The young woman looked at him strangely. Had realised that he wasn’t Hiro, just from that? It didn’t seem to be the case though. Caron looked at him and smiles.
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“No, I just finished my morning ritual actually”
“I see”
“I’m going to pick some herbs for breakfast, perhaps you could give me a hand?”
“Of course, it would be my pleasure”
The two went through the glass door into the garden within. A pleasant smell immediately engulfed the voice, it was most soothing. Caron then told him which ones to pick while she watered them all.
“So, do you work out every morning?” Momo-chan asked.
“Yes, it is a habit of mine ever since the Academy”
“Does Owain-san also work out frequently?”
“Oh, Divine, no. You would never see him anywhere near that pull-up bar”
Come to think of it, Hiro did go to the bath once with Owain. That guy was nowhere as built as his fiancé. Momo-chan didn’t want to continue along this line of conversation though. For some reason, he felt rather embarrassed to talk further about physiques.
There was something Caron said that jogged his memory, however.
“This Academy you talked about, it is called Vaswani right?”
“Yes, it is named after the Divine who overseas all of our education”
“Owain-san told me that he used to study there”
“So was I, it was the only higher academic institution after all”
“I see, come to think of it, can I ask something about the Divines?”
“Sure”
“By now, I have heard of Vaswani who, as you said, handles Eden’s education. Then there is Gottfried, Willow’s father, what does he do?”
“Oh, Sir. Von Brandt, he is the leader of the Divines, the one closest to God. He overseas all of Eden’s administration”
“Hm… Yesterday, Victor called out a name in the Edict, was he also a Divine?”
“Of course, he is responsible for coordinating most of our infrastructure. All of the Divine could create an Edict but this land is actually in his land. And so, it was his words that was issued”
“Then who is the final Divine, I have never heard of him?”
“Oh, his name is Silas Greaves the Peacekeeper, I am surprised no one told you about him”
How come this particular Divine had a title? Momo-chan had no idea. Caron continues.
“So what does he do?”
“Well, Divine Greaves the Peacekeeper is the one who wrote the most popular book series in all of Eden!”
Firstly, that was too long of a way to refer to someone. Secondly, something was seriously wrong about this role compared to the others. Still, Caron seemed to be most enthusiastic talking about him.
“He wrote so many stories but my favourite is definitely his only current long-running series, Far West. It’s about his time as a bounty hunter before coming to this world! Come to think of it, maybe you have heard of his exploits!”
“Perhaps, I don’t really recognise that name though. You said he was a bounty hunter?”
“Yes, the best one that ever graced the Wild West. He took down dangerous outlaws like Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid and many more!”
“I have only heard of the last name. Although to be honest, I am not knowledgeable about that period. It was another continent”
Heck, Momo-chan didn’t even remember where did he hear about Billy the Kid even. But still, it was the first time he saw Caron this enthusiastic about something. She looked just like the other townsfolk now, fangirling.
The young woman continued with her watering.
“Can I ask you something?” She said.
“What is it?”
“Who are you?”
Hiro: {So she found out, good job, Momo-chan}
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Momo-chan: [Wait, you are awake?]
Hiro: {Of course, I don’t even think one of us could sleep while the other is awake even}
Momo-chan: [Then why did you keep quiet?]
Hiro: {I just wanted to see what you would do, turn out that means exposing your identity}
Ah, Momo-chan needed to address that quickly. But he had been silent for a while and that was as good as an straight admission.
“How… do you even know?”
“Mind telling me who are you first?”
Momo-chan: [What do I even do now!]
Hiro: {Just be truthful}
“This may sound strange… but Hiro but from a few years back. I share this body with the current Hiro, he… let me use the body for now…”
“I see” Caron seemed to believe it strangely enough.
“Then would you tell me how did you realise I am not the Hiro you know?”
“If you want to. But first, what should I call you?”
“Um, Momo-chan” Somehow he had come to expected that as his name here.
“Well then Momo-chan, your way of speaking is a bit different but that isn’t much. You also stand taller though, Hiro hunches slightly. But the most telling is your attire”
“What about it?”
“Even though Suiren fixed the shirt it and I washed them all, he never touched it. Or more like, he deliberately avoids it”
“So you called me out with just that?”
“Well, it was just a small hunch of mine, turned out it was true. Anyway, can you wash those herbs with the pipe over there?”
“Of course”
Momo-chan scurried away. Caron didn’t mind the fact that he was effectively a stranger. To be fair, they did accepted Hiro and Suiren quite easily but still. Perhaps there was more to this hunch of her…
___
Momo-chan and Caron returned to the living room just in time to answer someone knocking on the door. It was Malcolm and Conrad, who had come over. Ever since the battle with the Roman, they had been having meals here.
“Huh, you are awake?” Mused Malcolm.
“Is it that surprising”
“Well, I have never seen you this early before, that’s all. Although to be fair, the people here don’t seem to be the early type”
Momo-chan took a peek outside and saw that the street was completely deserted.
“There really is no one outside” The voice commented out loud.
“Well, your princess is probably practicing at the courtyard”
“Wait, she is?”
Malcolm just shrugged his shoulders, Caron answers instead.
“Willow did tell me that she usually trains around this time”
“Huh, I kind of want to see that”
“Then go, I am sure that she would love to see you there”
After some hesitation, Momo-chan decided to go and said hello to Willow. Malcolm and Conrad followed him for some reason. When asked, the youth just said that he wanted to ‘take a stroll’ anyway.
The three arrived at the courtyard near the Pryce’s house. In the empty foggy open, there was only Willow, practicing with her blade.
Her slashes were strong and precise, her footwork was quick and nimble. Momo-chan couldn’t help but be impressed. Willow concentration was so strong that she didn’t even notice her audiences.
Not wanting to distract her, Momo-chan clapped slightly.
“Whoa”
“You are impressed with that?” Said Malcolm.
“Yes, what about it!”
“Nothing, it is impressive. It’s just that all her moves weren’t all that useful”
The youth was no doubt referring to that time when Willow practically incapacitated herself. It was all so chaotic that Hiro didn’t notice it but Momo-chan had all the time in the world to see. The girl’s face at that moment was of pure pain, of frustration.
He could remember when she told them that she would try her best together with Hiro, when she was beaming with such pride and confident.
Now, hearing Malcolm’s mockery made his blood boils. But the voice tried to keep his calm.
“She is just inexperience, that’s all”
“And?”
“And she will get better after more encounters!”
Apparently, that was very amusing for Malcolm who tried to hold back a chuckle. That didn’t escape Momo-chan’s eyes of course.
“What’s so funny about that” About slandering one’s effort like that.
“Everything, Mr. Hiro, everything you said couldn’t be more wrong”
“What?”
“Get better? What a joke”
“Just get to the point”
“Mr. Hiro, can you see the weapon that girl is holding, it’s a longsword. And as you have no doubt notice, all of our pursuers had quite lethal weaponry. Just look at your ‘Suiren’”
“What about them”
“Mr. Hiro, that girl was incredibly lucky to have survive that. What happens next won’t be fist fight, if the princess isn’t experience by then she will die. There is no room for improvement”
“Uh…”
“But still, that isn’t exactly her fault” The youth mused.
“What?” Momo-chan was taken back by Malcolm sudden change of tone, the youth sounded almost understanding.
“It is her trainer’s responsibility to provide her with experience. Of course, after encounters one would improve but she is too green to even survive, much less learn”
Come to think of it, Willow was trained by her father, the Divine Gottfried, the leader of the Divines even. If what Malcolm said was the truth, then did that mean he wasn’t serious about training her?
And as strange as this may be to Momo-chan but he couldn’t help but believed in Malcolm’s words this time. He lasted quite a good while against that Roman, the youth was definitely more experienced than him or even Hiro for that matter.
Malcolm was impressive, but there was still someone else he could ask, someone better.
Momo-chan turned to Conrad.
“Conrad-san, can I ask you something”
After a painful silence, the man finally replied “Yes” nervously.
“Seeing this… I don’t know it’s not much to go on but what do you think about Willow’s technique?”
“This is more than enough” Conrad replied was of a normal conversation’s speed, this surprised both Momo-chan and Malcolm. The man continued “It is very precise but lacklustre”
“Maybe you can clarify on that” Momo-chan asked.
“All of her repeated movements are precisely the same, which required a great deal of precision. But her grip, stance, the way she holds her sword, her movements, all of them are unpolished. If all of them are improved, she can shave off a second of a swing”
“But wouldn’t that get better with practice, she would be more efficient over time, right?”
“No, she must have had plenty of practices to be this precise. Those are on the teacher”
“…”
“Don’t take me wrong, her level is higher than most. But from what we have encountered, this won’t do at all”
“You are talkative all of a sudden”
Malcolm commented and Conrad didn’t say anything at all. Or at least, not at that moment. After some more silence, the man finally replied.
“Sorry”
Why did he even have to apologise for that! Conrad seemed to shrink, he just stood there clicking his finger in that same tune.
Momo-chan didn’t know what to do. He wanted to help Willow but how? While the voice was lost, his host had an idea. Hiro spoke again.
Hiro: {Momo-chan, can I borrow the body back for bit?}
Momo-chan: [Of course, it’s yours… What are you going to do?]
Hiro:{Oh, I’m just going to ask Malcolm a favour}
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The Unnoticed Dungeon
A newly formed dungeon core awakes with no memory of who or what he was. In fact, he just found out that he died. He has no idea or when or how he came to pass, and now finds himself being forced to start all over as a dungeon core. Worse yet, he isn't even your average run of the mill dungeon. No, the Overseers, whoever they are, have designated him to be an experimental core. This means he doesn't have to play by all the rules, the bad news is that if the core oversteps his boundaries as a dungeon core too far he's more than dead; he's erased. Now he has to struggle to figure out what kind of dungeon he wants to be, all the while very aware that he can't play it safe. The overseers don't want safe, they want lines redrawn and limits reset. The question is, can he do it and survive? He asks, because he overstepped before he even made it to his new world.
8 311Aethernea
[Best Fantasy Story Winner at Wattpad Fiction Awards 2016] ? Adventure ? Mystery ? Humor ? Romance ? Systematic, almost scientific Magic ? Strategy in Fights ? Character Development Gallery | Wikia | Official Site | Patreon | Facebook | Twitter ————————————————————————————————————- Summary ————————————————————————————————————- In a world where everyone can use magic, where treasure hunters, alchemists, and warlocks are common professions, and where mage duels are the most popular form of entertainment, Kiel is a "non-mage" - a person who doesn't have the aptitude to use magic on regular basis - until he meets Elaru - a spell breaker of mysterious origin, wielder of the fabled 'Aethernea of Sight' - eyes that can see magic, who claims she can give him the power to become the greatest mage world of Halnea has ever seen. Coerced into binding his soul to hers, Kiel finds himself pulled into a web of secrets, where one wrong step could end in his untimely demise. Who, or what is Elaru Wayvin really? What is her relation to the ruling 15 noble mage families? What is the source of The Ink - a mysterious plague spreading through the continent? What is the Aetherneal bond between them and what has it turned them into? What is the truth behind gods and divine magic? Why has the third race of Halnea - the Ascended, mysteriously disappeared, and what is the connection between the remaining two races? In the search for truth, Kiel and Elaru enroll at the most prestigious University of Magic. Yet, between awkward social events, falling in love, thrilling competitions, blood curling battles, irritating peers, and damnable love rivals, there is little time for studying. And as if avoiding sinister plots from all sides wasn't difficult enough, their new detestable mentor takes them on a voyage into the uncharted forbidden zone filled with unspeakable secrets, ancient riddles, man-eating monsters, and deadly traps. A quest that just might end up changing the fate of the entire world. ————————————————————————————————————- What do readers say about it? ————————————————————————————————————- "Aethernea is my absolute favorite read on wattpad, I love it as much as I love Harry Potter and The Mortal Instruments. You have such an amazing way to make the words flow and unbelievable descriptions. Unique characters and a great story line. All the small clues and mystery in the humor and fantasy just makes the book perfect in my opinion. I read all chapters in two days! Less than 48 hours even! I'm REALLY looking forward to the next update, the world of Aethernea is so deep and well thought out, it's beautiful and magical. God I can't believe how creative you are, so many small details with so many families and stories everywhere. Purely fantastical, I admire you." - astro-logical from Wattpad "I love love love Aethernea so much! It is amazing how you created this new world with different creatures, magics, looks, illnesses, and evil! I was blown away by your explanation of the Mana pools and how to weave magic! Simply stunning really! You are one of my favorite authors and Wattpad and I am so glad I stumbled upon Aethernea because it is worth all of my time reading!" - Adriana_V_Blade from Wattpad "I absolutely am loving Aethernea so far. I am certain you belong in the ranks among J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Suzane Collinings, and many more great and wonderful authors. You opened up a whole new world for me, which only a few great authors have accomplished. While it's true I am pulled into each and every book, few are able to capture me to the point of inescapability. Though, somehow, you have managed this feat. I thank you for this and more! You are a wonderful author and can't wait for more to come!" - daughterofpercabeth7 from Wattpad "WOW! just caught Aethernea in gravity tales! Just when I was getting tired of most xianxia novels this appears and completely blows my mind! I really like the depth and the humorous touch you give the characters and it seems you have the storyline well thought out since you are always hinting about things in the past and the future. It has been such an enjoyable experience that I couldn't stop reading, finishing it in just one day and laughing my way through most of the episodes. But what keeps me so excited for what's coming is the magic system and the professions of the world you are creating.The magic mechanics have such a huge potential! They are simple but at the same time they open so many possibilities. Even though we still only understand the basics of transmutation and augmentation, I expect them to enable fights where there is need of quick thinking and skill, and not just brainless overpower of every opponent. In a way this makes me reminiscent about The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson, which are one of my favorite series ever. The thing that sets Mistborn apart from any other series is that the mechanics are so well thought out that they could be used to create a super cool triple A video game and I cannot help but hope Aethernea reaches the same level or even surpass it. I really think it has that potential. Really hope this series gets the attention it deserves. As for me, Thursdays and Sundays just got a whole more exciting! =)" - AlexMLion "Your writing is fantastic and riveting, the chapters and character flow so smooth, and it captivates the reader with the many twist and turns that tricks one mind into thinking this is about to happen, when suddenly the exact opposite happens. You truly are in inspirational writer with a brilliant mind that can see and put words into chapters and into this one truly awesome book. Thank you!" - AshleyStaar from Wattpad "I loved this story, such detailed description and accurate words, both Kiel and Elaru completely caught my attention, your writing style is just beautiful and the plot is astounding and it's just the first episode! This kind of fantasy stories are my favourite, it has a lot of magic in it, rivalry and sense of humour." - BlackWhiteD from Wattpad
8 73The Dragon & The Demon
Orenda Nochdifache-Firefist has sucessfully overthrown the Empress Xandra and broken the empire to allow the individual colonies to return to self-rule, as well as abolished the chattle slavery that had plagued the land- earning her the title of "Orenda the Reign Ender". The Knights of Order have officially won the war in a bloody revolution, putting an end to the three centuries of warfare under Xandra's leadership. No longer must people live in fear of Xandra's puppet, The Emerald Knight. But now Orenda must face the realities of her dream- the imaginary princess has become queen. And, she has a deadly secret she must keep in the form of a teenage Urillian boy who is not what he seems. Anilla is still on a never ending quest to find her dragon; her people beleive that every memeber of their tribe is born with a soul bonded dragon that exists somewhere in the world- and Orenda's little secret claims to have seen Anilla's soul before. Could he be the key to ending her quest? This work is a direct sequel to The Crimson Mage, and will obviously contain major spoilers for that work, so it might be a better place to start (though I will warn you that the first chapter of that story may be the worst thing I've ever written. Just power through it or encorage me to put up a second draft). It can be found here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21654/the-crimson-mage/chapter/307763/chapter-1
8 95The Magical Girl Substituting me is...my Uncle?!
Amidst all of the issues that any teenager girl usually has, Aika Tsunaboshi also secretly an Magical Girl. Much likes the ones you would typically see in anime and manga. Except these ones also hunts demons on the side. One day, while fighting against her nemesis, she is forced to make a decision and temporarily transfer her powers to someone in her family. Which according to her partner (AKA Sacred Beast) Nyamo, the Nekomata, was intended to go to her older brother, Akira Tsunaboshi. Who is always mistaken for a girl and barely able to form a full sentence towards strangers, which leaves him prone to many misunderstandings. Akira is already in his third year and everyone in the school still recognizes him as one of the most popular "girls" on the school. Making him quite unapproachable for most students, who thinks Akira lives in a higher place than the rest, rendering him to be quite a loner. However, during the transferring process, Aika got cold feet at the last second and her partner, alongside her magical powers were sent somewhere else. About to be stricken down by her assailant, Aika is saved by a strange fat man. Her savior... just happened to be one of her teachers, Shinjirou Tsunaboshi... and her uncle, who just happened to be passed out drunk in the gym storage nearby. Which she so utterly despises due to his being drunk more often than not, near perpetual state of hangover, his carefree nature, unrensponsible and perverted tendencies that earned him the title "Ero-Sensei" which caused many antics and headaches for Aika to deal with most of her life. The shock of seeing her uncle wearing her uniform, a frilly dress, alongside a set of cat ears, tail and everything made her pass out on the spot. By the time Aika woke up, not only he was casually partying with both her partner Nekomata and the demon, became best friends with them, as well but also convinced the two to form a strange alliance between himself, her demonic nemesis and through Nyamo, sent his unprecedented proposal to Arcadia, the group behind managing and recruiting all Magical Girls. Would Arcadia even consider Shinji's suggestion and his abnormal circumstance? Will Aika be able to handle yet another stress placed on top of her social life? Will Aika's powers ever return to her? Even if it does, will she be able to manage to put up with her troublesome uncle for the sake of justice until then? Only one way to find out!
8 126Hadar #Watty2014
Fina is a Enforcers Daughter, she's been harshly trained by her father all her life. On the night of the change, to which you could find your soul mate- Fina finds hers. He's of course the soon to be Alpha, however he doesn't want her. Its not sweat off Fina's back, she's more worried about her Family finding out then being rejected. Her feet carry her to a deeper part of the forest, one she shouldn't of gone into. When things twist and stories become a reality Fina will have to pick what side she wants to be part of.
8 363Total drama cody x Noah
Thanks for 3k reads💗Btw this book is rlly bad and confusing so sorry if u don't like it
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