Chapter 9

My Transformation

(that time I was lost in the ruins of an underground city PART 3)

I stood staring at the statue for several minutes just before rechecking my stats. I had the feeling I leveled up when I hit the water and I was write. Killing the Arachnid had earned me some experience and practicing my magic had finally opened up my mana.

Name: Kai

Race: Krsnik

Level: 2

100 / 100 HP

0 / 100 Armor

100/ 100 Mana

Class: Shaman

Reputation: Explorer

Guild: Haven

Title: None

Skills:

Mana Regeneration

Shape Shifting

Fire Bolt (this includes sub-skills Fire Ball and Fire Sniping)

Strength: 5

Agility: 3

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 7

It would be awhile before I leveled up my Strength, Agility, and Endurance, probably my intelligence as well but I still had hidden passive skills I knew would help me grow. Those three skills would increase with age. Considering the average adult had their abilities rated around 7-9 I was already excelling. Ajax was a prodigy, I’m sure his strength and endurance were higher than mine but Pan’s abilities were probably averaging around 3 or 4 tops. My intelligence was remarkable, probably because I still had all the memories of my past life.

Along with the carvings on the wall I began to understand what this place was, what it use to be. During my time as an adventurer it wasn’t uncommon for cults to worship dragons and demons, the promise of ultimate power, eternal life, they all wanted different things but they were all bad. This particular dragon sat just below the one I killed.

It was called the ‘Chernobog’, also known as the horned dark god. It was considered an S-Rank monster, the kind it took an army to kill. How it died or even if it had died was still a mystery. My biggest fear right now was that it was creeping behind a corner.

Along the walls there were several torches that we lit to light up the room. Alongside them were images of humans worshipping the Chernobog as well as other monsters such as vampires, doomsday hounds, and smaller dragons bowing before it.

“Kai, I think we should keep going this way,” Ajax said, breaking my concentration. I was trying hard to remember if I had heard anything about this dragon in my past life. Though nothing came to mind.

“Why?” I asked.

“I can feel a wind, its warm, like the forest outside Haven,” he answered.

“Outside Haven?” I asked. I had never been on the outside, unless you count the safe house of my birth.

“Yeah, my father took me when I turned seven,” Ajax began, he continued, “it was completely wild, we had to set up snares when we made camp, he showed me how to fish, hunt, and we told stories around a fire. There were others with us, including your dad, he told the best stories.”

“You went outside the wall with my dad?!” I said, I was both jealous and curious. My father had never once even mentioned taking me outside the walls, I had no idea that other kids had gone.

“Your dad told us this story about a how he fought a vampire king on the outskirts of the island, they had sailed in and your father snuck aboard and set bombs on their ships. After they exploded Thomas fought the vampire king with a sword and even the Kudlak came and watched, running away after Thomas decapitated the king,” Ajax spoke with such excitement, he acted like he was there.

“I wish I had heard that story from my father,” I said with a frown.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Ajax began.

“It’s ok. When he’s home we spent time together mostly training. I’m not that great with a sword,” I started, realizing that I shouldn’t say that aloud in front of Pan.

“You did good with a dagger,” Ajax assured me.

I smiled, he was right. Maybe I was getting better.

“Look,” Pan pointed. There was a suit of armor, empty, laying on the ground next to a rusted sword and shield.

“Maybe I can help you,” Ajax smiled.

He walked over and picked up the sword and shield. Both looked ancient but they weren’t completely falling apart. A good forgemaster probably could restore both in less than a days work. Ajax examined both items as if he was an expert, I knew better, but little Pan was impressed.

“Here,” he tossed me the sword. I caught it by the handle, only slightly dropping it. It weighed less than the sword I trained with at home.

Holding up the shield Ajax motioned for me to attack him. I did. Slamming the sword against his shield as he countered and knocked the sword out of my hand.

“Your too tense,” he said.

“I’m not tense,” I picked up the sword. Was I? I didn’t feel like I was tense, holding a sword in my old life had been as natural as eating or sleeping, but now, holding a sword felt awkward.

“Not your grip, your muscles. Its a light sword, you need to be flexible. You need to loosen your wrists when you swing. Its not a club,” Ajax said.

I listened and tried to relax my mind and muscles as I attacked him again. This time I hit the center of the shield and knocked him back.

“Again,” he demanded. I swung again, hitting more to the left. Following it with another strike on the right side. Each time Ajax took a step back allowing me to step forward and attack. We repeated the training until his arm was too worn to hold the shield.

“Be really nice if you could shape shift back into a deer and carry our stuff,” he groaned.

“Before we leave we should double back and collect some water,” I said.

“That water might be radiated,” Ajax noted.

“If it was we’d be sick,” I tried to assure him, truth was I didn’t know. I never even thought about us getting radiation sickness but the lizard seemed fine, no two heads or extra feet.

“Stay here and wait for me,” I told him. I took the canteen he had in his backpack and began trekking back through the darkness with Gob resting on my shoulder.

On the other end of the bank the lizard stood sleeping. I had taken the sword and shield with me. I felt like a real adventurer again. Not that I had any plans of disturbing the beast after they settled down and rested on a full stomach. That would be crazy.

The weapons seemed like they were Elven, most elven weapons were light. That or some human forgemaster had copied their techniques. Still, I had yet to meet any elves in person in Haven. I’d have to ask what happened to them, why there were none in our community once I was safe.

Gob jumped down from my shoulder and began to drink from the edge of the bank. Filling the canteen I stared at the lizard sleeping. It looked gentle, its large body heaving up and down. Its throat was wider than usual. It had eaten its fill of arachnids and saved us in the process.

Staring down at my reflection, the fire dancing in the palm of my hand I realized that my eyes had turned silver, my deer ears were gone, replaced once again by my human ears, but I also had animal ears growing from the top of my head. I had thought my hearing seemed stronger in this cave.

Reaching upwards I felt them. Soft, like wolf’s fur. They looked like wolf ears. Gray, similar to my mothers when she transformed. Without seeing them I never would have known they were there. Ajax and Pan probably assumed I knew. Made sense now why Ajax kept asking if I could transform back into a deer.

“Wish moms could see this,” I smiled, the canteen was full and I turned to make my way back. Bowing my head to the lizard in thanks.

I was halfway back to my friends when I heard Pan scream.