Disappointing that people drop their projects a few months after starting them, I've read a slew of interesting fictions that I later find dropped at an average of 15 chapters. I should probably comment and encourage them..

Wonder if the author of 'Change: New World' will continue his story after his ban expires.

Secondly, going to start coloring in the windows. Such as having the damage dealt = red, poison = green, status effects = yellow. You get the idea.

Lastly, in the name of speed this chapter was granted nothing in the way of PR!

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I felt rather hot, hot and sticky as I walked back to Lily with my arms swinging loose by my sides and a wide grin on my face. I had a absolutely marvelous time, and the way Lily and Kane would treat me afterwards barely dimmed my enthusiasm.

Kneeling by Lily's armor, I lightly spoke to her.

"You ok in there?"

It took a few seconds, but I finally heard her whisper a reply. "Yes"

"You want to go back now?" I asked with concern

Her voice quavered as she rasped a dry reply "Yes"

"Alright then, want me to carry you back or would you like to get out now?"

She was silent for a few seconds, until finally she quietly spoke "Carry me back".

Discarding the enchantments on her armor, I cleaned up the scattered bits of flesh on her armor before applying more enchants and lifting her easily. Floating ahead of me, we began to make our way back to the city.

As we left the battlefield, Kane approached us with his face pale and drawn. "I'll push her" he muttered with his eyes looking to the ground, unwilling to face me.

"As you wish" I easily spoke as I stepped to the side.

Kane paused for a second, then took his shirt off and handed it to me. "Cover yourself" he muttered as he averted his eyes. Oh. My clothes hid nothing, wonder how much Kane saw.

Taking his shirt, I thanked him as I wrapped it about my hips before shortly removing what tatters remained of my shirt. I wasn't going to look like a war refugee.

Kane took a moment to buff the armor in places I'd missed before he began to push her. He swallowed a few times as we walked, half opening his mouth as he turned to speak to me. But whatever he wanted to say was never said.

There were crowds watching us, but they were quiet. They didn't draw near us and the road emptied as we moved through. It wasn't until we approached the city that people began to draw near, crowds gathering as the uninformed saw us.

The guards at the city gate looked at me with interest, their eyes looking towards the blood soaked armor in reverence. But they didn't say a word, instead silently watching as we passed by with faces drawn taut. The atmosphere was tense as they stood there helplessly, armor with splatters of blood and my own body crusted in red.

We moved to the Inn where Kane began to take the trouble of cleaning off Lily's armor. Before he started however, he quietly told me "You should probably clean up" as he drew a bucket of water from a pump.

My skin remained a tinge of red, unblemished with no scars.

My clothing changed I leaned against a wall as I watched Kane slowly help Lily out of the armor. Her clothes were soaked in sweat and her face was drawn absolutely white. She glanced towards me, but looked away as she was assisted slowly into the inn on shaky legs.

When I checked, it seemed Kane wasn't the one who would be taking care of her, but apparently he hired a maid. A shame really, I'd wondered how far he would take it.

With nothing to do, I waited for Lily in the inn's dining room with my back against the wall as I stole an entire bench for myself. Nobody complained, the innkeeper looked fugitively at me but despite his expressions didn't do anything.

Kane also waited with me, but he sat on the opposite side of the room where he faced the hallway as he waited for the maid's return. Why didn't they sort out proper lodgings rather than this inn?

Finally the maid come out and glanced towards me and Kane. She hesitated as I watched her, her body half turning towards me in perhaps fear before she finally walked to Kane and spoke a few words.

Licking his dry lips, Kane thanked her as he stood up and strode towards the hallway in the direction of Lily's room. I followed silently behind, hopefully she was able to move around. I didn't care for more stone throwing training. She'd probably have something interesting to do.

Kane could feel my presence behind him, I could tell. His shoulders shuddered as my gaze settled on his neck, my feet silently walking behind his as I walked in leather shoes.

Knocking on Lily's door, he waited until he heard her say "Enter" before opening it and moving inside. He pointedly closed the door behind him.

Ah, another boring wait.

They talked for close to half an hour before Kane finally came out, his complexion looked remarkably better already. He still didn't meet my eyes as he spoke.

"Princess Lily will be resting for the next few hours, I'll be standing watch. You don't need to do anything and can take the time off"

He swallowed before he said the next words "Please don't cause trouble". He attempted to look at me in the eyes for a second, before his gaze switched back to the ground.

Heavily sighing, I turned and began to walk away. Kane stood behind me watching my back as I left. It seemed I had truly alienated him this time.

Leaving the inn I ignored the huge crowd of spectators as I puzzled on what to do. Finally I decided to pay Oliver a visit, he'll love me.

Oliver didn't love me, instead throwing the bag of coins at me that he had prepared already. So I was back to nothing to do, nobody to entertain me. I can always practice magic again.

As I thought my legs moved me back to the inn where I walked back upstairs. Kane was at the end of the hallway, a view to all the ongoings outside Lily's door. I ignored him as I entered my room and lay back on my bed. Hmm, magic. Had enough of Gravity Magic, perhaps I could play with Light Magic.

I already had a few ideas for the colored light, and if it was possible for me to get the light into a stable configuration, then I could create illusions and perhaps.. Even a proper disguise.

Playing with the Light Mana, the time seemed to fly by as I heard Lily's door open and them both leave, flickers of colored light emitting from my fingers as I attempted to create the goal I desired. This wasn't as easy as it sounded, for some reason whenever I attempt to create a spell of my own I had a stupidly hard time making the spell work well enough for my ability to recognise it.

The Light Beam for instance, it took me over a week of failed castings before I could cast the spell. And yet, it took me seconds when I was 'tutored' by Saul. Obvious enough answer, but very irritating. My gamer ability would vastly increase the speed I learned a new skill or spell if I was being taught.

It was when I was lying back on my pillow of clothes that I realized I hadn't spent my stat points yet. Sitting upright, I grinned as I summoned open my menu. Time to find out if anything happens when my stats reach 100.

Raising INT to 99, I hesitated for only a second before I pressed my finger to the screen once more. 100 INT. Or not.

Stat INT cannot be raised

You have reached the limit as the race human

I smiled bitterly. Of course. Lying back on my back I scowled, gazing upwards at the window that floated in the air. Of course it would do that, why on earth would it let me become powerful?

I knew I was strong already, but not at the level I desired to be. I could also predict a race change in the future, for why else would I be see this limitation.

A few deep breaths later, I finally moved my finger to LUK

Stat LUK cannot be raised

This stat cannot be invested in

Ah yes, that one stat that raises the slowest. Why would I be allowed to raise it with the stats gained from levelups.

My mood was darkened and sour as I lay on my bed, staring upwards at the insolent screen. Finally I sunk my points into AGI.

NameJonathan CliffTitlesGamer, PawnLevel25 [6%]Health780/780Stamina1002/1002Mana863/880Balance23,055 CoinsVIT69STR90END95AGI57DEX34INT99WIS88LUK23

Skills

Gamer lv.9 [41%]

Cooking lv.24 [43%]

Clubs lv.42 [32%]

Shock Resistance lv.27 [89%]

Reading lv.20 [79%]

Storytelling lv.12 [55%]

Meditation lv.79 [21%]

Crafting

Woodworking lv.1 [96%]

Banker lv.13 [63%]

Negotiation lv.6 [29%]

Gravity Mastery lv.61 [7%]

Formless Magic Mastery lv.32 [52%]

Light Mastery lv.54 [69%]

Mana Channelling lv.68 [68%]

Torchlight lv.19 [72%]

Gravity Cloak lv.64 [84%]

Gravity Well lv.10 [32%]

Lightball lv.6 [9%]

Rift Creation lv.1 [0%]

Light Beam lv.35 [5%]

Throwing lv.18 [32%]

Spears lv.4 [67%]

My mood was darkened and depressed as I closed my eyes, taking a nap for what seemed like seconds.. Before I heard pounding on my door. "Jon!" Kane yelled desperately.

Reluctantly I got up and walked to the door, just as it snapped open and Kane shoved Lily inside. His expression was fearful as he slammed it shut and grabbed his sword from his bed before facing the door again. Interestingly enough, his fearful expression wasn't directed to me.

Lily was still aware of my presence however, she sat on a bed away from me in rich clothing benefiting a party with Kane himself dressed fancily in deeply dyed clothing with a sharp cut.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my mood still sour from earlier.

"Assassins!" Kane snapped, voice laced with anger.

I snorted. Of course. What could be more expected. If you can't kill them on the battlefield, kill them when they are unguarded!

"Its not damn funny! You say you have to protect her, so protect her!" Kane snapped as he stood facing the door with sword drawn, waiting for the next assassin to barge in.

I didn't react to his anger, instead mildly saying "I didn't find it funny. But I don't think they'll attack here"

"Why not" he growled angrily.

I smiled. "Because I'm here"

He stood speechless for a second, then he exclaimed with realisation "Oh.." as he finally started to relax.

"So, either of you want to tell me what happened?" I smoothly spoke as I lay back against the wall on the bed.

Kane sat heavily on the same bed as Lily, sitting across from me without a care for the danger he had felt from me earlier. "A man tried to slip a knife in her". Lily's face concerted in a grimace at the way he phased it as Kane continued blissfully unaware.

"We had been attending a small gathering in a local noble's house for reasons beyond your grasp when I saw a man holding his arm weirdly. By the time I noticed he was holding a knife, it was almost too late. I knocked him down of course, but the damn guards were nowhere to be seen. After taking care of him I stood up only to find there was another man creeping up on her. It was only by luck we made it out of there, everyone in that damn building had to have been in on it. Not a single guard to be seen anywhere. Hell, wouldn't be surprised if those assassins were the guards! They were bloody crawling everywhere! What made it worse was I didn't have my sword and could only hope to escape. Damn nobles." he spat.

He hissed with pain with the sudden movement and I realized with surprise that his deep red shirt wasn't all dye, a large patch was blood and some of it still looked fresh.

"So", I smiled. "Should I go look for them?"

"You are not going after them!" Kane snapped before wincing with pain, "We need you here to protect Lily" he continued in a subdued tone.

Sighing heavily, I stared blankly into the air "Great". As a afterthought I quickly *Examine*d Kane and was surprised to see his health had sunk by a third to 70. Just how deep was that wound?

As if reading my mind, Kane spoke "Send someone to fetch a doctor, offer them coins and stress urgency". My respect for him rose a little as I left the room, I wouldn't have been that calm and collected.

I also knew that the way he lost his health, he should be seriously wounded and in extreme pain. I could still operate, but my sense of pain had also been dulled as my END rose.

Seeking out the innkeeper, I ignored the stressed and frightened look on his face as I handed over a handful of coins and stressed the importance for a doctor to be fetched immediately. Quickly looking around for someone to delegate the task to, he met my eyes and shivered before running out the door himself.

I didn't care much for the task, but I didn't want Kane to die.

Returning to the room it seemed like a half hour as Kane wheezed in pain and Lily sat silently in a corner before the doctor finally arrived with a timid tap on the door. Opening the door I could see a man and the innkeeper behind. Quickly confirming the man's profession, I throw a few more coins to the innkeeper before closing the door.

Skipp lv.3 Doctor

Shortly after the doctor stripped off Kane's shirt, Lily decided she didn't want to stay in the room. I followed behind her and sat in the hallway as she entered her own room. Sitting in the hallway, I could hear Kane's hisses of pain as the doctor dressed his wound and the occasional grunt.

At one point, I believed I heard a faint sob from Lily's room, she probably feels guilty about this. But she didn't cry for me did she..

Finally, the doctor finished and left the room. Paying the doctor, I could only wait in the hallway and guard the two rooms.

It was incredibly boring. Spectators gawked at me as they 'walked past' and eventually I took to firing Light Beam at them. In the darkened hallway it was far too bright, blinding and startling them as they recoiled in fright. That entertainment didn't last long before I called up the innkeeper and told him to keep people away, handing him a few more coins as a bribe. They probably bribed him in the first place, the inn certainly couldn't hold that many people.

Night dawned and as the hallway began to darken even further into a pitch black hall I sent up a few Torchlights, colored red, blue and green as my fantasy took me. I did try out a black Torchlight, floating in the air in front of me. But the scene wasn't very visible and interesting stains were outlined on the floor and walls. Not something I wanted to see.

I sat there as the hours passed, the night quiet with everyone in bed. Nobody moved about the inn at this time of night and aside from shuffling occasionally in my position as I grew stiff, the time passed in silence, the occasional creak coming from the other rooms. Yet I didn't dare leave my spot, nor fall into meditation to work on my magic.

It was a light footfall that alerted me of a presence, a foot treading at the time of night where all should be sleeping. I could hear him at the end of the hallway behind the corner, not far at all from the stairs. Hear the creaks of the floorboards as his weight shifted and the rustling of clothing.

Leaning against the wall I breathed lightly as I waited for the would-be assassin to make his first move. We waited for one to make the first move, the assassin unaware I knew of his presence. The night grew still again, but I knew he was still there.

As the Torchlight's slowly began to die, I replaced them but this time they were all colored red. One Torchlight I sent to float in the corner of the hallway, illuminating the assassin as I heard his breath catch. He didn't make another sound after that.

Finally, I spoke. "Are you scared of me?" I asked, uncaring of his answer.

He didn't speak, didn't move and I began to wonder if he was waiting for something. It wasn't until a few minutes later that with a sudden creak of the floorboards he stepped out and with dark gray cloth bound around his body threw two knives at me. One towards my throat and the other at my chest.

The first knife, I easily dodged. But I couldn't get off the ground in time to dodge the second knife and it was with a twinge of pain that it scratched me.

Poison status, -2 HP a second

Expires: 15 seconds

Negligible damage, probably deadly if my END wasn't maxed. And then as the assassin ran towards me with two more knives in his hands, I caught sight his nametag and raised my eyebrows. This was the highest level I had seen yet in this world.

Yuan lv.13 Assassin

By the time the assassin had reached me I was already standing up, I debated opening my inventory but as the assassin whipped his left hand towards my palms I gave up the thought and easily grabbed his wrist. As he tried to yank his arm from my grasp his other hand rose, meaning to stab deep into my arm.

Easily crushing his wrist, he gasped in pain as his right arm swung desperately at me with knifetip glistening with poison. I easily caught that too and squeezed his hand, forcing him to drop the knife.

I released him as he stumbled before easily stepping behind him where I grabbed him into a bearhug, wrapping his arms to the sides. Sensing his imminent defeat, he began to yell and scream like a man processed.. Mindless senseless words, desperately struggling with the strength of a weak kitten as he tried to slam his head backwards into my face.

Then, in the small length of time it took for him to gasp as I drew my grip tighter I heard a faint rattle coming from Lily's room. The shutters on her window were being forced open.

Wrenching my grip tighter, he screamed silently as a small popup appeared in front of my eyes before I released him as he slumped to the ground, still alive.

Bursting through Lily's locked door as I heard Lily begin to scream, I summoned a handful of coins and applied minor mass enchants before hurling them at the shadowy figure approaching the bed.

Nine coins struck his body, bones broke and flesh was ripped as he was sent flying against the wall where the coins deeply lodged themselves with heavy thuds. Blood trickled down his gray clothes as his body fell to the ground lifeless.

EXP +800

I almost felt excited, but the screams of Lily dampened my mood as I looked over to her. Eyes wide and body desperately pressing against the wall as she looked at the assassin's carcass with unrestrained fright.

I stood helpless for a second before I heard Kane's door opening. Quickly stepping inside, he glanced at the dead assassin and quickly moved in front of the body. "Cover it" he hissed towards me as he slowly began to move towards Lily, making soothing sounds.

Whipping out my tent canvas like some magician I covered the body, the ground had began to grow sticky with blood as I delicately summoned up a few Torchlight's to see before being snarled at by Kane.. Oh right.

The rest of the night, both Lily and Kane stayed awake. I could hear Kane quietly comforting her as I sat outside the doorway. When the innkeeper dropped by to inquire about the noise, screaming and new decorations in Lily's room. I soon settled the matter with a bag of coins.

We also had a new captive, gagged and tied with ropes. I sat him next to me out in the hallway as Kane comforted Lily inside the room. A few people tried to intrude, speaking about releasing the man I had pathetically sat next to me. But withdrawing one of the four poisoned knives in the inventory in front of their eyes as I stared menacingly at them sorted it out.

But less than a hour later, a knife sunk into the assassin's throat as he wheezed a final time. I could see a nametag disappearing into the crowd and knew I would never catch up in time, not without leaving Lily unguarded. It was with disgust that I was left sitting next to a dead body. It didn't even fit in my inventory. Eventually I just threw it into Lily's room.

In the morning we left the inn, the innkeeper was more than happy to see us go. Outside the inn was a small two person carriage, the road filled with 'Sjen's Guards' who held back the crowd with weapons drawn threateningly. As Kane and Lily climbed aboard the carriage, I wondered if it was even legal to operate a private army inside the city. Probably not.

Squatting on top of the carriage, I juggled a few pebbles while scanning the crowds for trouble as the carriage moved beneath me. The guards kept the streets cleared as we moved and with no incidents we arrived at a mansion without trouble. Or to be exact, Sjen's mansion. The popup told me so.

You have entered Sjen's Mansion

A man came out, Count Sjen. His profession was Count..

Sjen lv.4 Count

Greeting us, Lily was calm enough to walk by herself as Kane gingerly walked by her side. I walked behind them, keeping an eye for trouble until Sjen finally stopped at a room and invited her in. As Kane and Lily stepped inside, even the count looked slightly taken aback that Kane stayed with her. But of course, Kane didn't invite me in. "Don't make trouble" were his closing words.

"Mind if I walk about the place?" I politely asked a nervous Sjen who gave his shaky approval.

The rest of the day was boring. I didn't dare move far away or get distracted. I did find a spy amongst the servants, but after some.. questioning.. It wasn't really related to Lily. Still turned her in however, I wasn't going to do myself any favors allowing her to walk and talk.

I spent the night outside their room, I had mentioned it before but I no longer needed to sleep. To entertain myself I flew Torchlight's around myself, when I tried to send them through solid objects their mana was rapidly drained. Eventually I began to experiment with controlling them after having cast them, I had the idea of a thin thread of mana connecting to the spell, but couldn't hold it stable before it was morning.

Breakfast was delivered, and soon maids began to carry buckets of water inside the room. Kane walked out less than a minute after and sat down heavily on the chair where we spent the next hour waiting.. and waiting.. until finally Lily came out refreshed and in a new dress.

I noticed immediately that her attitude towards me had changed, where before she seemed to fear and avoid me now she seemed to tolerate my presence, even if she still avoided making eye contact with me.

Standing in front of us in her fancy dress, she looked sideways before speaking. "We will be attending several meetings today". She waited for Kane to slowly leverage himself out of the chair as he winced in pain before finally standing up. Absentmindedly I noticed he acquired a wooden cane from someplace.

"Are you sure you should be coming?" I asked Kane, mildly worried about his wound. Looking at me with contempt, he spoke down to me with a sneer "You can offer her support?". I dropped the conversation.

The escort outside the door, the guards crawling over the grounds and the large carriage I was for once permitted to enter.. But Kane kicked me out of. Not going to talk about that. Nor will I talk about that assassin amongst the guards who I dispatched on sight, the ensuring trouble and the long ride to each meeting.

The entire day was boring and kind of mind-numbing.

It was useful for information gathering however. When you strip out their dialogue and bargains and the like, they would often talk of the strengths of the other armies, the people who supported those armies. Lily made more than a few deals as the day passed, more invitations flooding in everyday willing to discuss a meeting with her and finance her 'army'.

They did talk about me, but they referred to me as an object. Something that Lily controlled. Lily felt uncomfortable about it everytime it was mentioned and she glanced at me, but she calmed down once she realized I didn't care about it. She made sure to invite me to these meetings, not as a part of it but as one of her guards. Everytime she was invited to eat something or drink, I silently *Identify*d it to catch poisons.

None of the nobles were pleased to have me so close, they were nervous and faces would perspire as I silently leaned against the wall waiting for their discussions to finish. Everytime Lily was done with the meeting, she would normally hand a bag of coins to me. Less than a second later, I would drop the emptied bag on the ground.

Only in one meeting did we encounter trouble, a plate of biscuits laced with some 'Garotte Poison'. As the biscuits were served, silently and arrogantly I took the plate and leaned against the wall and began to munch as I ignored Kane's angry stare. The man we were meeting with was disturbed by my actions, but didn't seem to realize that the biscuits were laced. Doesn't matter really, Kane would be upset if I said something so I'll tell them later.

Poison status, -50 HP every hour

Expires: 2 days

At least the effect didn't stack.

But as I said before, the entire day was boring. I had no interest in the stuff that was going down, and no one would appreciate it if I started playing around or walking the place. Lily wasn't pleased when I later told her about the biscuits, and I began to notice that she was growing comfortable about me. Talking to me in small moments or giving me instructions on how to act before the meetings began.

The next day was a repeat, Ilan's army was often mentioned however. Rumors about him had grown, his reputation was almost as great as mine.. But of course, they would be treating him with respect and adoration, not fear.

Summarized, the rumors would consist of his acquiring a large number of a new ranged weapon which was superior to a bow, a hundred knights, three hundred archers and the rest of the army formed of swordsmen and spearsmen. Basically, his army was as large as he could get it, and they were as fully equipped as he could get them. And of course, the financing for all of this came from his new bride to be. Lily definitely looked unhappy about it.

As dusk fell we returned to the mansion, Lily declined the offer to host a party and a messenger later arrived from Oliver. The next battle was in 3 days, but it remained undecided on who we would be fighting. People were dropping out like flies.

5 armies left, 3 days to go.