Fighting God

Chapter 11 - New Life

Days passed and Aldred enjoyed every bit of his new life with the other kids...his brothers and sisters. In the mornings, he would wake up and help around with some chores before breakfast. Food was delicious. Jake was right...Uncle Ralph was a good cook. After breakfast, he was tasked to play with and take care of Vicky and Tristan. Aldred adored the two young children. Now, although the two kids were close to his age, Aldred did not feel that that was the case. Since he was, after all, reborn and had previous memories, this meant that his mentality was like an adult in his early thirties. Aldred would spend most of his mornings reading to Vicky and Tristan stories of famous mages as well as princesses and heroes. After a delicious lunch, he would continue to play with Vicky and Tristan as well as with the other kids.

During his interactions with the others, Aldred learned some more about them. Jake wanted to become a tailor. His designs were comparably fashionable and even Big Sis Caroline had complimented about his artistic talents. Robbie and Shelly both had talent in cooking. Robbie wanted to open up his own restaurant and Shelly wanted to become a baker. Currently, they're learning more about cooking from Uncle Ralph. Will adored Dave and wanted to follow his footsteps as a blacksmith. Tommy and Yela loved reading and writing. Tommy wanted to become a teacher so he can teach other children like how Big Sis Caroline taught him, while Yela wanted to become a scribe. Pammy was learning how to fight from Uncle Raph. She wanted to become a warrior once she grew up. Lastly, although Kally hasn't decided on a future yet, she had shown talent in drawing. Maybe she will become a painter.

Hearing about all these dreams, Aldred truly wished for their success. Living with a kind Saintess will undoubtedly allow such dreams to come true. However, Aldred couldn't help but feel a bit...unsettled as if something bad was occurring but he couldn't explain why. Shrugging it off as paranoia, Aldred continued on with his daily routine. As evening passed and dinner came, Uncle Ralph cooked up whatever he and the others wanted to eat. After the meal, Uncle Ralph would give them some candy for dessert like he would do so after every dinner. The first time Aldred saw the candy, he thought that the candy strangely looked like a pill from his past world, however, after sampling it, Aldred revealed a smile - so sweet and creamy with a hint of bitterness that complemented well with the other tastes. Aldred didn't hold back and popped the whole thing into his mouth. The sugary sweet candy melted in his mouth causing him to feel somewhat energetic.

"Haha, is this your first time eating candy Aldred?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" Aldred asked in surprise.

"Look how energetic you are. This is what Uncle Ralph calls a sugar high."

"Really? It doesn't feel like a bad thing."

"Of course not. Haha."

The number of days he spent living in his new home turned into weeks, which turned into a month. Finally, the day has arrived...Jake finally turned 12 years old. After a birthday celebration, Big Sis Caroline came in a carriage to pick Jake up. It was time to for her to take Jake outside to experience the real world. While she waited in the carriage, Jake said his goodbyes.

"Don't worry guys. In five years, I'll learn my trade and become a tailor. At that time, I'll come back and see you guys. I'll make you all kinds of pretty clothes." Jake replied as he comforted the younger crying children. Then, he turned towards the older children. "You guys will have your time soon as well, make sure to visit me when you arrive."

"We understand." Everyone responded, some sobbing and some quietly nodded.

Jake reached over and grabbed his bag. Then, he walked to where Big Sis Caroline was waiting. Once Jake got on the carriage, they departed.

Aldred turns to the sad kids and comforted, "Don't worry guys. We'll see Jake soon. Five years will go by quickly."

..........

Two years later....

..........

Two years had passed since Jake left. During this time, Shelly, Robbie, and Yela had all reached twelve and left with Big Sis Caroline to learn a trade. Everyone had grown in the last two years. Aldred, now almost 8 years old, had found some interest working in the garden taking care of the vegetables and helping out Uncle Ralph. The other children had also grown. Pammy was now 11 and even more active. She never stopped aiming to become a strong warrior and was now strong enough to become a Novice 4th Stage. Will and Tommy were both 10 now and their rowdiness had increased. Both had started taking interest in Kally and would constantly vie for her attention.

As for Kally, her shyness had increased proportionally with her artistic abilities. Often times, it would be hard to talk to her and she would only respond using a notebook. Vicky and Tristan, having spent the most time with Aldred, continued to adore him. The adoration that Vicky showed had reached a point where Vicky proclaimed that she wanted to marry Aldred once they become adults. Aldred, however, could only laugh embarrassingly and dismiss it as childish nonsense. As for Tristan, he won't stop calling Aldred 'Big Bro' even though Aldred wasn't the oldest. In addition, little Tristan was curious of everything. Every time he sees Aldred, he would ask him a lot of questions.

In these past two years, Aldred didn't stop cultivating the Earth God Cultivation Technique. The two years of stance and movement training allowed his body to become strong and tough as well as flexible and fast. The Qi in his veins that he had gathered through breathing and meditation had accumulated almost to its full capacity and allowed him to break through to the Qi Gathering 3rd Stage. One more breakthrough and he will be able to form his own Qi...his inner Qi. The magic books he read in the library did not help much. Aldred decided that he needed to create his own techniques otherwise he would not be able to progress. Soon, winter will come once again. Usually, at that time, Big Sis Caroline would venture into the basement to check on the preserved meat and vegetables. Although Aldred had some initial suspicions the first winter he stayed at the house, they were dismissed when he saw Big Sis Caroline go into the basement only to come out later with a basket full of preserved meat and vegetables.

When he smelled some of the meat that was put in a cooking pot, it clearly smelled like mutton. In his past life, he had fought with a cannibal before. On a whim, he asked the cannibal what human flesh tasted like and the answer he got was a mixture of pork and veal with a sweet aftertaste...then he killed that son of bitch. Anyways, since the meat from the basement was clearly mutton and when he asked Uncle Ralph what the meat was, the answer confirmed it as well. Maybe the basement is really a storage of preserved meat and vegetables. Maybe he was just too paranoid. So, Aldred had dismissed that thought and continued on with the happy life.

And so days went by until one day...it was Pammy's birthday. She had become 12 years old. Being a Novice 5th Stage warrior, she was allowed to work under a city guard as an assistant. Everybody prepared for the birthday. Aldred tended the vegetables and selected some fresh produce. Kally drew a portrait of Pammy in a valiant pose. Will made Pammy a wooden mace with pieces of metal protruding from one end. Tommy wrote a poem to celebrate Pammy's birthday. And Vicky sang some cheerful tunes while dancing with Tristan. Everyone enjoyed the celebration - the food was delicious and the atmosphere was lively...even Big Sis Caroline was there for the celebration. When the party quieted down, everyone went to sleep. Although today was a day full of happiness, tomorrow there will be sorrow...it would be Pammy's last day to be with the other kids.

..........

Tomorrow came and everybody got up early to say their goodbyes with Pammy. As usual, there were lots of tears, lots of comforting, and promises of coming back to see them. Pammy got on the carriage with Big Sis Caroline and they departed for the city. After seeing the carriage gradually become smaller and smaller, Tommy told everyone to go back inside. After comforting each other some more, they continued on with their daily routines. Hours later, Aldred finished his chores and went into the study room to read. Bored with all the books in the room, Tristan, who followed Aldred into the library, wanted to play with Aldred but Aldred told him that he was busy and that Tristan should play by himself for today. Dejected, Tristan agreed not to bother his Big Bro and headed outside. Maybe there would be something interesting outside.

While outside, Tristan decided to go exploring. Even though he had explored the place many, many times, he would still search around in hopes of finding something interesting to satiate his curiosity. Suddenly, he heard a noise...it was at the side of the house where the basement was. Curious, Tristan tip-toed towards the corner of the house and peeked at where the basement was located. What he saw surprised him...Big Sis Caroline came out from the basement. What was she doing there?

"Hey Big Sis Caroline! What you doing?" Tristan happily pounced towards the Saintess.

"Whaa! Tristan! You scared me." Big Sis Caroline sighed as she placed a hand over her chest.

"Are you checking up on the preserved food?" Tristan asked.

"Preserved food?"

"Yea, the preserved food in the basement."

"Ah...yes...the food is preserved very well. Now, time to head back inside okay?"

"Big Sis Caroline...what's that?" Tristan asked as he pointed at a piece of wood with pieces of metal on it lying near the basement door.

Big Sis Caroline paled when she saw the object. Thinking quickly, she turned towards Tristan with a smile. "Tristan sweety, do you want to go on a trip with me to the city? There's a lot of cool things there."

"Really?! Will I see Jake and the others?"

"Ah...yes...yes you will."

"Okay! Let me call the others."

"NO!...I mean, it's just between you and me."

"Between me and you?"

"Yes."

"Umm...okay! Let's go!" Tristan exclaimed as he held hands with Big Sis Caroline and headed towards the carriage outside the gates.

 

Chapter 12 - Guilt

"Hey Aldred...have you seen Tristan?" Vicky asked worriedly as she came into the study room.

"No...is something wrong?" Aldred inquired.

"I can't seem to find him anywhere." Vicky panicked. "He's not in the house or in the backyard where he normally goes to play."

"What?! This is a serious matter."

"W-what should we do?"

"Let's call everyone to search. I'll notify Uncle Ralph."

"Ok."

Aldred got up from his seat and hurried to the garden where Uncle Ralph is usually found at. Vicky went to the play room to look for the others. As Aldred approached the garden, he sees that Big Sis Caroline was also there. Strange...why did she come back? Did she forget something?

"Big Sis Caroline! Uncle Ralph!"

"Hmm? Is there a problem Aldred?" Big Sis Caroline said as she flashed one of her charming smiles.

"It's Tristan...Tristan has disappeared!"

"What? What happened?" Uncle Ralph asked as he stood up from the garden.

"Earlier this morning, Tristan asked me to play with him but I was busy reading so I told him to play by himself...and...and now he's gone." Aldred responded as a drop of cold sweat slid down his back. What would he do if something happened to Tristan? It was practically his fault for not playing with Tristan and watching over him.

"That's a big problem. Quick, let's go search for him." Big Sis Caroline urged.

So, the three rushed to the front of the house where they met up with the rest of the children. After gathering, Big Sis Caroline assigned each person a different location to look for. After an hour of searching around in the house as well as a hundred radius around the house, the group came back together to report.

"Did you guys find anything?" Uncle Ralph asked.

"No." Everyone else shook their heads dejectedly.

"Think...did anyone see him before he disappeared?" Aldred asked.

"No...." The children said.

"Hmm...I did see Tristan head to the river to play...." Big Sis Caroline replied. "You don't think he fell into the waters do you?!"

"Oh no!" Vicky cried as she ran towards the river, followed by everyone else.

..........

Minutes later....

..........

"Tristan! Tristan! Where are you Tristan!" Vicky cried out when she neared the river. Scrambling around, she looked around the nearby bushes for traces of Tristan. Once everyone else caught up, they began searching the vicinity as well. Still no traces....

"Tristan is a curious child by nature...could he have headed towards the cave?" Big Sis Caroline said after some thought.

"No! That...that can't be." Tommy paled as he thought of something.

"What is it? Do you know something?" Aldred asked.

"Tristan...last time we were here...he...he was curious...he wanted to go to the cave. But I didn't let him...no matter how much he begged." Tommy grimaced.

"Don't tell me...." Aldred muttered as he ran towards the cave. Everyone looked at each other anxiously before following after.

When Aldred approached the cave...he saw something on the ground. It was a shoe...Tristan's shoe. A terrible gut feeling ate at him. He approached the shoe and picked it up. There were some bloodstains mixed with some kind of grime on the heel of the shoe. Looking towards the entrance of the cave, he saw something...a thin...frail...arm....

"Did you find him Aldred?" Vicky ran forward as she looked around the cave.

Aldred tried to cover Vicky from seeing what he had just saw but he was too late. Vicky saw the arm and screamed. The shock was too much and she fainted into Aldred's arms. The rest of the group came as well. Kally screamed in horror and sadness as well but she was strong enough to stay conscious. Tears formed as she ran and hugged Big Sis Caroline. Will and Tommy both shuddered with sorrow as tears began to well up from their eyes. The sight of the torn off arm was too much for the two boys and they vomited soon after.

Uncle Ralph ran towards the cave and picked up the arm carefully. He looking inside the cave and motioned to Big Sis Caroline. She comforted Kally for a bit before approaching the cave. Minutes later, Uncle Ralph came out with a bundle. Big Sis Caroline looked at the children and sighed, her head bowed. Aldred stared at the bundle...he knew what was inside. Guilt raged in his heart...if...if only he had played with Tristan...if only he had watched over him...if only.... Tears welled up in his eyes as he continued to stare blankly at the bundle. His eyes moved towards the arm and noticed...it was dried up.... What kind of demonic beast could make an arm dry up as if devoid of any liquid?

Uncle Ralph told everyone to go back to the house for now. He will prepare for the funeral soon. After some more consoling, the children headed home. Aldred carried the weak and still unconscious Vicky, his mind still tormented with guilt...his heart pained with sorrow.

 

...

 

Lol aren't you in the 7th grade or something? This is not for u to read

 

*Feels Cursed*...You know I was in fifth grade when I started reading novels...Maybe?

 

Chapter 13 - Training: Fist of the Elusive Mole Part 1

It was a week after Tristan's funeral. The kids all seem to be quieter than usual, especially Vicky. Vicky grew up with Tristan...they shared everything and they played together the most. Vicky treats Tristan as her real brother. Ever since Tristan died, Vicky was a whole level less energetic. Her eyes would stare blankly and her mind would wander elsewhere. But at least she still continued on living and did not have any thoughts of suicide. Aldred, on the other hand, was worse. In addition to staring vacantly, he barely ate and moved. Everything, from the books in the library to the toys in the play room, served as a painful remainder of Tristan. Aldred would lock himself in his room for days on end.

Initially, he had blamed Uncle Ralph and Big Sis Caroline. Why didn't they kill the demonic beast? Why did they have to seal it? But the answer he got, he knew too well. The demonic beast was a peak Adult Tier 8. Given Uncle Ralph's abilities back then as a Meister 2nd Stage coupled with Big Sis Caroline's abilities back then as a peak Grand Magus 5th Stage, they were only able to severely wound it but were not able to kill it. So, they had to seal it...however, it cost them greatly - a whole level of their stages was lost. Now Uncle Ralph is stuck at Meister 1st Stage and Big Sis Caroline is at Grand Magus 4th Stage. These types of incidences have also occurred in Aldred's past world where beasts that were stronger and harder to kill would be sealed instead.

Aldred, however, did not believe that the weakened beast could still not be killed. After all, a sealed demonic beast could not heal itself unless there was outside interference. Coupled with the fact that both Uncle Ralph and Big Sis Caroline had spent years recuperating from their wounds. The only answer is that the demonic beast, though weakened, was still to strong for the two adults. This led Aldred to infer that the demonic beast must be around an early Adult Tier 7 now. Then...that means in order for him to kill the beast and get revenge for Tristan, he must reach at least Core Expanding 1st Stage.

Aldred realized what he must do. To protect those near him, he must grow stronger...he must train. Aldred spent most of his days cultivating. He needed to break through to Qi Forming quickly. The fastest way...and the most unorthodox way...was to lie on the ground for as long as possible each day while absorbing the Earth's Qi directly to all parts of his body. Though he was cultivating, to the others, it looked like he was just lazing about on the ground. Aldred would position himself like a corpse - palms open and facing up towards the sky, feet pointing up as well - and start meditating while regulating his breathing. He would visualize in his mind the Earth's Qi flowing into his body and circulating in his veins. After spending an hour in this position, he would switch to the fetal position on his right side for an hour. Then, he would lie on his stomach - chin resting on the ground, face facing forward, feet pointing towards each other, and palms open and facing the ground. He would lie in this position for an hour as well before switching to the fetal position on his left side for an hour. This process would repeat itself over and over again most of each day. If it was like before, someone would come over and ask him to do his chores...but ever since the death, they just let him be.

Day in and day out, Aldred would cultivate on the ground until finally, he was able to achieve 'One With Earth' - a status or level of cultivation that allowed Aldred to become one with the ground, camouflaging him and making it harder for both people and beasts to spot him. At night he would look at the stars while lightly sleeping. In this world, the stars were nothing more than balls of excess energy that the elemental highgods released during their lifetime. However, in Aldred's past world, the stars were thought to be the souls of the dead as they flicker and watch over their beloved ones. The constellations were souls of powerful beasts and heroic humans who placed their legacies in the stars. That was why there were many powerful cultivation techniques that were developed after analyzing and receiving the legacies of the constellations. Anyways, although Aldred knows that Tristan's soul was not in the stars watching over him, he still liked...wanted to think that way. He looked up in the sky and saw a flickering brownish-yellow star...almost as if playful...could it be...Tristan?

From that day on, Aldred would constantly watch the stars...especially the flickering brownish-yellow star that he had referred to as Tristan's soul. With each passing day, his spirit calmed down as he watched Tristan play. This was good for Aldred's cultivation as a calm spirit will induce faster and richer Qi absorption. As the nights continue like this, the mornings were different. Sometime ago, while Aldred was meditating on his stomach, he would sense the earthworms squirming in the dirt. It's amazing how fast the earthworms could dig through the dirt. He enjoyed watching the worms move...another thing to get his mind off of the death.

This continued for weeks now. One day, as Aldred was watching the earthworms move in the dirt, he suddenly sensed a creature speedily approach the earthworms. With a swoosh, the creature attacked the earthworms and ate them. This shocked Aldred. What creature could be faster than earthworms in their territory? Aldred waited for the creature to near the surface of the ground. The creature dug around in the earth for a bit more until it aimed towards the surface. Just as its head popped out from the ground, Aldred reacted. He reached forward and grabbed the creature...it...it was a mole! Aldred observed the amusing little creature as it struggled for freedom. With a smile, he laid it back on the ground and it immediately dove into the earth. What a strange yet fascinating creature.

After a few hours, the mole came back. The mole did not sense Aldred as he had become one with the earth. Aldred watched as the mole went about its business hunting and eating earthworms. Suddenly, another creature...a snake...slithered along and lunged at the mole. However, the mole had extremely quick reflexes and was able to dodge the attack. It circled around the snake and struck with its sharp claws. The snake withdrew from the incoming attack and then lunged forward with its fangs out. The mole retreated and while it was retreating, it swiped away the snake's attack with its claws. Then, it jumped to the side and bit the snake - tearing off a chunk of flesh in the process. The mole ran circles around the snake in order to confuse the enemy. To make matters worse, the mole would sometimes dive into the ground and emerge from another location. This caused panic to rise in the snake. As the snake tried to retreat, its back was exposed. The mole jumped out of the ground and pierced the snake from behind. After an intense struggle, the snake finally died - its neck torn bloodied by the mole's teeth, its back scratched to pieces by the mole's claws.

What a powerful and ferocious fighting style! Aldred's eyes glistened with excitement as he watched the mole fight. He thought that this style really was without equal. As the days go by and Aldred saw more of how the mole fought off other moles and other predators, he began to imitate the way the mole fights. Because a mole's paws rarely grip together, its claws are always pointed outwards. It slashes and swipes with its claws and occasionally tear a chunk off with its teeth. As Aldred continued to imitate the mole, he wondered about how the mole was able to quickly sense danger...aren't moles nearly blind? Could it be...moles can sense the energy of its enemies?

Aldred focused his senses on the mole to see if his conjecture was correct. A thin, sliver of Qi enveloped the mole like sensitive armor and a clump of Qi clustered at the nose. Disturbances around the mole activates the Qi armor allowing the mole to react. The Qi on the nose helped the mole sense movements and smell its prey or enemies as well as detect light. Overall, the mole used Qi to sense enemies, claws and teeth to fight off enemies, and speed to evade attacks. Aldred continued to imitate the mole's movements until he had a general idea. Aldred would have continued observing the mole, but one day, while Aldred was busily watching the mole, Uncle Ralph approached him and asked what was so interesting. When he saw the mole, he immediately killed it.

"What? NO! Why did you do that?" Aldred cried out in shock and anger.

"Moles are pests that will damage the earth. Not to mention, they eat our vegetables." Uncle Ralph responded with a stern face.

"But...." Aldred wanted to protest but he too knew that moles were considered as pests even back in his previous world.

"There isn't anything interesting about moles except that they have a paralyzing toxin in their saliva which they would use on prey and predators. Other than that, they were no more but pests of the earth. There was an origin story involving how moles came into existence. The first moles were created by the Earth Highgod Teryan as servants to help with his landscaping. However, the moles were made with all the characteristics of earth, that included unwavering, solitude, and domineering. Because of these characteristics, the moles were hard to get along with and caused a lot of destruction. Teryan finally put an end to the first moles by wiping them from existence. Their descendants lost their eyesight and were forced to live most of their lives beneath the earth. Because the moles today were like the first moles and caused damage to the earth, we Earth Mages take it upon ourselves to get rid of these pests whenever we see them."

"But you didn't have to kill it!"

"Doesn't matter. Even Big Sis Caroline would kill it if she sees one."

"Why would Big Sis Caroline care?"

"Well, she is a Dual-Affinity of Water and Earth so she has some duty as an Earth Mage to defend the earth and destroy pests."

"That...."

"But anyways, you shouldn't spend your days like this...at least do something productive. Alright?"

"O-okay...."

"Anyways, it's almost dinner, come inside soon." Uncle Ralph said as he walked inside.

Aldred sighed at the dead mole in front of him. He picked up the bloody corpse and buried it. Even though there was little to no interaction between the two, Aldred, at least, felt grateful for the mole for allowing him the chance to witness such a domineering fighting style. He decided to modify and refine the general movements he had imitated in order to create a Fist Technique. He would call it...the Fist of the Elusive Mole.

 

Chapter 14 - Training: Fist of the Elusive Mole Part 2

And so, Aldred began conditioning his body in order to fully utilize the Fist of the Elusive Mole. There were many methods to temper and condition the body, but it all came down to which body parts were important and which training methods benefited the most for the Fist Technique. Naturally, one wouldn't train their legs for a fist technique and vice versa. So, what was needed for the new Fist Technique that Aldred was striving to perfect? Well, it was a known fact that moles depended a lot on their powerful claws - they needed them for digging and for fending off against predators and other moles - as well as their speed which they needed in order to evade attacks and travel quickly underground.

Thus, Aldred began training his hands, wrists, and especially his fingers. There were two parts that he needed to train for - the first was the strength of his hands, wrists, and fingers and the second was the speed of the movements of his arms and hands. He needed strength in order to dig through earth, sand, and rocks as well as for defense and attack. He needed speed in order to quickly maneuver in the ground as well as on the surface. So, in order for Aldred to train these two aspects, he devised a few plans.

There was an age old method for tempering and conditioning one's hands, wrists, and fingers - the old sand in the bucket method. However, Aldred did not believe his hands could initially handle the roughness of the sand. So, he decided to start easy...with water. Filling a barrel with water, he positioned himself near the opening of the barrel. Bending his knees so that he was in a horse stance, he began thrusting his open-palmed hands and into the water over and over again. After one or two hours of continuous thrusting, he could feel the fruits of the training. His wrists, fingers, and palms felt sore but that's just how the body signals to the brain that the affected parts were being strengthened.

Next, he took a break from body training and started cultivating the Earth God Cultivation Technique. He started meditating and absorbing the Qi from the soil. He regulated his breathing with each absorption of Qi and visualized how the Qi was being absorbed and circulated within his body. After about an hour of this, he stretched his muscles by doing stances and basic movements. Then, Aldred started doing some push-ups as well as pull-ups. Starting easy, he would only attempt to finish twenty of each. Naturally, the repetitions increased by 20 after each week. Afterwards, he would clench and unclench his fists a few hundred times. All this in a morning's worth of training.

During the afternoon, he'll continue his training by doing some more stances and basic movements before starting on some speed- and stamina-increasing exercises...in other words, he started running. First, he would sprint a couple of short distances for about 100 repetitions. Then, he would add weights of around 10 kilograms to his body and started long-distance running for an hour or so. After completing these exercises, he would meditate to regain some energy and decrease fatigue. Then, he would begin training the speed of his arms, wrists, and fingers.

Aldred used another age old method to train the speed of his arms, wrists, and fingers - the boiling water method. Taking out a pot of water and bringing it to a boil, he dropped a few pieces of metal into the boiling water. Then, he quickly snatched the pieces out of the pot. Obviously, it was initially hard to even take one piece of metal out without feeling the pain of scalding water. But with practice and time, Aldred was able to take all the pieces of metal out of the boiling water without hurting himself.

This training goes on for a month before he increased the level of difficulty. This time, instead of using water for the strength training, he used a bucket of millet. He would thrust his hands all the way into the millet and out over and over again for an hour. The initial few hundred thrusts were the most painful. For a body that had never experienced such tempering, it was natural for the skin of the hands to tear away and leave a bloody mess. Gritting through the pain, he would continue training. But this time, he would only thrust his fingers in for an hour. Afterwards, he would grab handfuls of millet over and over again.

The cultivation continues as normal. However, push-ups and pull-ups increased in difficulty as well. Push-ups went from hand push-ups to five-finger push-ups. Pull-ups changed into pulling on a rope up a tree. Nothing much changed with the speed training for the arms, wrists, and fingers - he still used boiling water...but instead of clear water, he used murky water so that it would be harder to locate the metal pieces.

After a month of using millet, he switched to sand. The training was the same as with the millet. Five-finger push-ups became four-finger push-ups. Pulling on a rope up a tree became pulling a rope up a mountain. Hot murky water became hot ash. Weights for running increased as well. With each passing month, the four-finger push-ups became three-finger...two-finger...and finally one-finger push-ups. Pulling on a rope up a mountain became mountain climbing using both legs and hands, which became mountain climbing using only hands. The barrel of sand became a barrel of mud....a barrel of earth... a barrel of rocks...a barrel of crystal and metal ores. The hot ash switches to hot coal and then fire. Weights for running kept increasing until it reached 70 kilograms. The training started in the beginning of winter and finally ended at the beginning of autumn of the next year.

After so many months of training, he had tempered, conditioned, and strengthened his hands, wrists, and fingers so much that he could pierce through solid rock like butter. He could run hard all day without breaking a sweat. He could run very fast as well and the speed of his arms were blurrily fast. His arms were strengthened to a degree that he could climb up mountains with ease.

During these types of training, Aldred did not forget to cultivate the Earth God Cultivation Technique and after a few months of cultivation, he was finally able to break through to the Qi Forming Stage. Now, Aldred can generate his own Qi. Forming one's Qi was also a form of body refining and tempering. Qi was energy and energy was needed to power the movements of one's body as well as toughen the natural defenses of the body. By having the ability to generate Qi, Aldred can generate energy and thus have the necessary amount of power he needed to execute certain movements and attacks. After a year's worth of cultivation, Aldred had made a few more breakthroughs and was able to become Qi Forming 3rd Stage.

Aldred needed one more breakthrough in order to become Core Condensing Stage. At Core Condensing, he will be able to condense all the Qi he had gathered into a ball-shaped gassy-like Qi cluster. This cluster, after solidifying, will be shaped into a core...a dantian of some shape. The shape of the dantian will depend on his inner self. Once his core was formed, he would be able to envelop certain parts of his body with Qi...something like Qi armor In addition, he would be able to envelop objects he was holding with Qi as well, for instance enveloping Qi on a sword to make it sharper. With this goal in mind, Aldred continuing training.

During the days of his training, he was able to clear and calm his mind. He did a lot of thinking...some things just didn't make sense. Why was Big Sis Caroline at the house so early? Didn't she take Pammy to the city? By carriage, for a round trip, it would still take at least a day of traveling. If she saw Tristan travel to the direction of the cave...then, that would mean she was already back at the house! Less than two hours had passed since Tristan left the study room! This...was suspicious. Also...why were there blood and grime on the heel of Tristan's shoe? It...it's as if Tristan...was dragged.... Also, where's the grime? When he ran towards the cave, there was no grime anywhere on the ground. If the beast was truly sealed...why would Tristan's shoe be so far away from the cave? If the beast was truly sealed deep inside the cave, how would we be able to see Tristan's arm near the entrance of the cave? How did Uncle Ralph and Big Sis Caroline discover the body so fast? In fact...why was the body in a bundle? Both Uncle Ralph and Big Sis Caroline didn't bring any cloth-like material into the cave.... This...it can't be....

Aldred made a conclusion...but he didn't have any hard evidence. He can't just accuse Big Sis Caroline and Uncle Ralph or warn the other kids since the kids all adore them. If it was between them and him, the kids would trust them. There's only one way to find out...he needed to go to the cave and see for himself whether the beast really killed Tristan or not. The next day, he got up early and headed towards the cave on the pretense that he was going to the river to wash clothes.

..........

A year ago....

..........

"You were too careless." Uncle Ralph reproached.

"No worries, the kids don't suspect a thing." Big Sis Caroline replied.

"Hmph! I won't be so sure. The drastic measures you took were too contradicting. Why would you leave the arm out near the entrance of the cave? Why would there be a shoe out there as well?"

"I was in a hurry when the shoe fell off. And who knew the arm would crumble so easily."

"Hmph! You're lucky the kids were stupid. If they could put two and two together, our plans would be exposed immediately."

"Ha! Even if they found out, so what? With our ranks, we can just kill them off, no trouble at all." Big Sis Caroline scoffed.

"You're right...let's just hope so." Uncle Ralph sighed as he looked out the window.

 

Chapter 15 - Truth and Plans

As Aldred trekked through the forest towards the cave where the demonic beast was sealed, he kept thinking about all the occurrences that had happened in the past few years. The breakthroughs in cultivation that he had experienced had helped clear and sharpen his mind. He thought about the children who left for the city once they turned 12 years old. Judging from the reactions of the children he knew personally, they all promised to be back after five years of training...so...how come he hasn't seen anyone who left five years ago come back to visit? Now that he thought about it...why do the children leave when they turned 12? Why 12? Shouldn't it be more reasonable for the children to leave once they turned 15, since that was the age when people can be officially referred to as adults in this world?

If Aldred was to assume Big Sis Caroline and Uncle Ralph to be evil, why did they need 12 years old children? Where do they take them? To slavery? No, that can't be. Why would Big Sis Caroline spend massive amounts of money to buy children from slavery just to sell them later? There had to be another purpose...what could it be? Nevertheless, everything will be answered once he entered the cave. Aldred looked up from his thoughts and found himself at the front entrance of the cave. The place had been tidied most likely by Uncle Ralph. Aldred took a deep breath, readied himself, and stepped in.

Using a makeshift torch, he wandered deep into the cave. If Tristan's body was discovered near the entrance of the cave, then the demonic beast must have attacked him near the entrance...however, there was no signs of struggle...or anything for that matter. In fact, how can the demonic beast attack if it was sealed? Using his sensitivity to Qi and energy, he began to feel his way around the darkness for anything he could have missed with his eyes. However, the only thing he felt was a small and feeble energy pulsating further into the cave. That must be the demonic beast. Such a weak pulse...yet why was it kept alive? For what purpose?

As he continued deeper into the cave, he saw a light in the far distance. There must be an opening! Aldred hurried his steps and rushed towards the opening...to step into a wide clearing. There...in the center of the clearing...was a huge light yellow crystal-like structure. At the center of the crystal-like structure, Aldred was able to make out what looks to be a blurred figure. Could this be the sealed demonic beast? Aldred descended the sloped path towards the crystal structure to get a closer look. D-did it just move? It...seemed to be twitching...nah, it's just snoring. Aldred knocked on the structure waking the demonic beast.

"Hnngh! Hmm? Back already? Didn't you get your last dose of my poison last year?" The demonic beast sneered.

"Poison?" Aldred asked, a little surprised that the demonic beast could talk but given how beasts in his old world could speak the human language and transform into human form once they were strong or old enough, then it seemed not as surprising here.

"Oh-ho! You...you're not that bitch. Although your image is blurry...but you're significantly shorter than that bitch."

"You mean Saintess Caroline?"

"Ha! Saintess? More like Demoness."

"D-demoness?"

"You don't know? Want to know why she had me locked up in here instead of killing me?"

"Why?"

"Because of my poison. My poison can paralyze any living creature and preserve them but not potent enough to kill."

"So...that's why you mentioned about the poison earlier. What did Caroline need your poison for?"

"Who knows." The demonic beast shrugged. "But one thing I can say is that whatever she's using my poison for, it's making her appear younger than her actual age."

"What? How can you tell? The structure between us blurs our appearances and-!"

"She sounded younger."

"Ah...how old is she?"

"I'm not sure but when she sealed me, she was in her late twenties. Now...it's been roughly 30 years."

*GASP!* Aldred gasped in shock.

"So, I'm guessing from your reaction, she hasn't aged a bit?"

"Eternal youth...there were many theories on making eternal youth possible. However...the only one that required 12 year old children...is the...is the bathing and consumption of the blood of pre-teen children! The closer the children were to become teens, the better the efficacy!"

"Ho! Eternal youth eh? Then, why need my poison?"

"I'm guessing to paralyze and preserve the children." Aldred muttered as he gritted his teeth and seethed in anger. "That bitch killed my friends...my family. I will have my revenge!"

"Haha! Kid, you got courage. I like it. How about a deal?"

"A deal? I thought demonic beasts were stubborn and prideful by birth and doesn't make deals?"

"Well, I'm bored. Plus...we have a common enemy. That bitch had been extracting my poison as well as my life for thirty years now. I need compensation for this matter."

"Makes sense. Go on, what is the deal? I'm listening."

"Free me. Free me from this seal, and I'll help you fight off that bitch and her lackey."

"What makes you believe I would trust you? What if you decided to run off once you were freed?"

"How dare you! I, Skaal, am not a coward."

"Hmph! Then, what if you attack me once I had my back turned?"

"Are you stupid? Didn't I say that I am not a coward?"

"Ah...yeah you did...haha."

"So, deal or no deal?"

"I still don't know if I can trust you. I heard that you demonic beasts are cunning and devious creatures."

"Then, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm, let's sign a blood contract. If either one of us opposes the agreement, then he will be crippled for life."

"Harsh...but for my revenge...I agree." The demonic beast sighed, "Wait...from what I can sense of you, you don't have an affinity."

"Yes, I am a No-Affinity. Would this affect the blood contract?"

"Yes, we need to use magic while declaring the contract. If you're a No-Affinity, then I'm afraid we can't do it."

"What about if we declared the contract using the Language of the Beasts?"

"What?! You can speak in the tongue of the Beasts?"

"Yes. Not as fluent but if you tell me the contents of the contract in the language, I can repeat it."

"Amazing...never have I ever heard of a human speak our language. You are indeed an interesting one. The contents are as follows...."

After the demonic beast finished speaking the contents of the contract in the Language of the Beasts, he spat out a few drops of blood. The blood seeped out of the crystal structure and flowed towards Aldred. Aldred too spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood of the demonic beast and the blood of Aldred merged together and glowed.

"I, Skaal, will uphold this blood contract...." Skaal began the contract.

"I, Aldred, will uphold this blood contract...." Aldred began as well.

"...and if I violate the conditions of the contract, let the Heavens strike me and cripple me for life." The two finished.

Once the contract was complete, the ball of mixed blood glowed brighter before condensing and shrinking until it became a drop. The condensed drop split in two and separated - one went into the middle of Aldred's forehead and the other went towards the demonic beast.

"Now that the contract is settled, hurry and free me." The demonic beast urged.

"Fine, fine...so...how do I do it?"

"See those words at the top of this crystal structure?"

"Hmm...oh I see it." Aldred replied after looking around at the top of the crystal structure. The words were roughly scribbled and looked to be an Earth-type sealing formation. Aldred had read something similar in the library back at the house. "I read about this type of formation. It extracts the vitality of whatever it seals and uses the extracted life essence to replenish and repair the words from smudging and wear."

"So you know...then, you also know what to do."

"Yes. Hang on a minute." Aldred replied as he scrambled up a slope to a higher level. Looking around, he walked towards the path closest to the crystal structure. With a leap, he landed on the structure. Since he had strengthened his arms and grip with daily mountain climbing, he was able to scale the structure with ease. He scrambled up towards the place where the words were and dug out a chunk of the words, thus disrupting the sealing formation and dispersed the formation. As the formation dissipated, Aldred expertly landed on the ground without a sound.

"That's done, now let's move out." Aldred as he looked up. "Hmm?"

The demonic beast...looked like...a scorpion! A giant 20 meters long scorpion from claws to tail. The scorpion beast was of a dark brown color with light, pale green spots. Its tail had a sharp, blade-like end. This scorpion...he knew what type of beast it was. It was of the Giant Scorpion family...of the Earth Scorpion genus...of the Razortail species. Since the demonic beast had poison as one of its skill set, then the demonic beast must be a mutant version...Toxic Razortail.

"What are you looking at?" Skaal snapped.

"Toxic Razortail?" Aldred inquired.

"Yea...and? What about it?"

"But your poison isn't toxic...."

"Hmph! I've been weakened so naturally my poison decreased in potency as well."

"Oh."

"Well, enough of that. Let's go. I want to taste that sweet revenge."

 

Fucking knew there was some fishy shit here

 

Chapter 16 - Poisoned

"Skaal, the way you look now is too conspicuous. Is there a way to change your form?" Aldred said as they approach near the entrance of the cave.

"Hmm, you're right. Me walking around in this gigantic form will certainly attract a lot of unwanted attention...especially if we're trying to kill someone." Skaal mused. "I know just the form."

Skaal suddenly glowed a bit before shrinking considerably into a 5 cm long small scorpion. Skaal scurried up Aldred's leg and hid in his right pants pocket. Aldred looked at the scorpion with surprise.

"How did you do that?" Aldred asked. How can such a giant creature become such a small creature? Where did all the mass go? If it was condensing, then the small scorpion would weigh as much as a giant scorpion but he felt as light as a feather. So what happened?

"Haha. This is actually a secret amongst us demonic beasts. We have always shown you humans our giant forms. However, after reaching a certain age or a certain strength, we can change into other forms. There are actually seven forms a demonic beast can change into. They are small beast form, giant beast form, demonbeast form, godbeast form, human form, spirit form, and the extremely rare weapon form."

"Weapon form?"

"Yes, if a demonic beast and another being shared an everlasting strong bond between each other, the demonic beast can become a weapon to be used by the other being. It's a form of trust...to put one's life in the hands of others so to speak."

"So...what forms do you have?"

"So far, I can only transform into small beast form, giant beast form, and demonbeast form."

"I see. Anyways, once we get there, what should our course of action be?"

"Naturally, we kill them."

"I know that, but how? I'm only a Warrior 2nd Stage, but Caroline is a Grand Magus 4th Stage and Ralph is a Meister 1st Stage. What stage are you at?"

"Kuuu...I'm at peak Adolescent Tier 6...."

"See, both of us together won't be even considered as a threat to them."

"Hmm...if you can make them consume my poison, then even if they are Meister 2nd Stage, they would be paralyzed and defenseless for a few minutes...plenty of time to finish them off."

"Okay, we'll attack during dinner. I heard Caroline will be visiting us during that time. She will definitely stay for dinner."

The two hurried home just in time. Caroline was already there. She stood next to Ralph and helped him apply some finishing touches to the food. Then, Caroline and Ralph brought the dishes to the dining table.

"Dinner time! Kids, come and eat!" Caroline shouted. The children came rushing towards the table, each child sparkled with excitement and happiness.

"Mmm, smells good! Did you help too Big Sis Caroline?" Tommy asked as he stared at the food and wiped some drool from his mouth.

"Yes! I personally made some of the dishes. Be sure to try them out."

"Okay!" The children replied.

"Hmm, where's Aldred...oh, there you are. Come, sit down and try my roast beef."

"Okay." Aldred replied as he walked past the table. He reached towards the teapot and poured two cups of tea. With a sleight of hand, he also managed to slip a few drops of Skaal's poison into the cups. Then, he brought the cups over and sat them down next to Caroline and Ralph. "Here, you've worked hard. Have some tea."

"My, how thoughtful of you Aldred. Come, sit down and eat the food while it's hot." Caroline smiled as she sat Aldred down. Aldred looked at the roast beef across the table and reached for his fork, his nose tingled at the wonderful scent. The other kids were already devouring the delicious food.

As Aldred reached for a slice of roast beef, he glanced at Ralph and Caroline. "You guys aren't eating?"

"Don't worry, there's more. We just like watching you eat." Ralph replied as he pointed to the closed pots and pans on the stove.

"Okay, well drink the tea while it's still hot." Aldred said as he took a bite of the juicy slab of roasted meat. While Aldred was chewing on his piece of roast beef, he kept glancing at Caroline and Ralph. Caroline's charming smile seemed...off...almost eerie-like. Aldred kept glancing at the tea as well. Ralph already downed his cup but why hasn't Caroline touched it? Does she suspect something?

Suddenly, Will started groaning as he reached for his stomach. Then, Vicky and Tommy groaned as well. Kally's face paled as she immediately fainted. Afterwards, Will, Vicky, and Tommy also fainted. Aldred looked around the table in surprise and panic.

"W-what happened? Why did they fain-?" Aldred began but he too felt a sharp pain twisting around in his stomach. Groaning, Aldred started sweating...this feeling...poison?! Aldred glared at Caroline who was still smiling as he collapsed from his chair. As Aldred fell into unconsciousness, the smile imprinted in his mind...that eerie...creepy smile....

 

Chapter 17 - Anger

*GASP!*

Aldred's eyes fluttered open as he jerked awake. He stared groggily at the dimly-lit room. Where was he? A horrible stench of preservation and blood tickled his nose. This place...could it be...the basement? He tried to move but realized that he was tied to a chair. The bindings weren't particularly strong but now wasn't the time to rip away the ropes. He needed to make sure of his situation.

"I see you're awake." A charming voice exclaimed.

Aldred turned his head towards the sound of the voice and blurrily saw a figure. As both his mind and his eyes cleared, he saw Caroline and Ralph standing before him. "H-how?"

"How what? How I wasn't poisoned by your tea? Or how we found out about your plans?" Ralph sneered.

Seeing Aldred's silence, Caroline smiled, "What you don't know is that Ralph isn't just an Earth Mage...he is a Dual-Affinity with Earth and Poison Affinity. So, that weak poison you slipped in our tea had no effect on Ralph. Even I would have no problem since I've developed some resistance to it as well."

"Damn it!" Aldred gritted. "Then, how did you find out about my plans?"

"We didn't." Ralph replied. "But, we figured something was wrong when you spent an entire day by the river washing clothes that should only need at most an hour to do."

"That's right. And so, I urged Ralph to check out on you." Caroline continued. "When he arrived, lo and behold...you weren't there."

"So I pieced the information together and guessed that you were at the cave. I headed towards the cave and what do I see? Your footprints." Ralph replied.

"Shit." Aldred muttered. He should have covered his tracks, but he was too agitated about what he would find while in the cave. "Where's the others? What did you do to them?"

"Haha...why don't you take a look yourself?" Ralph chuckled as he turned Aldred around.

The sight before Aldred was...traumatizing...unsightly...devastating. If Aldred did not have past experiences of massacres and tortures, he would have been unable to stomach the sight. Bodies were naked and hung on meat hooks...all children...all dried up...all preserved. Each body had large puncture wounds at the arms and legs. Each body was drained of blood. Most of the bodies had their stomach slashed and organs removed. There were three bodies that seemed to still be dripping some blood, their organs intact. Upon closer inspection...they were the bodies of Will, Tommy, and Kally. Tear stains streaked their faces...their last moments must have been in disbelief and shock. Aldred screamed in anger as he clenched his fists until they bled. He wanted to tear away from his bonds and lunge at the two devils but he knew he was not their opponent. Charging recklessly was just throwing his life away.

"Why did you do this to them?"

"For health and beauty of course. How else can I be this young?" Caroline replied as if it was common knowledge.

"For health and beauty? Can't be...the blood?!"

"Yes! There are many safe and harmless ways to maintain my beauty and voluptuous body but those take too long to be effective. However, one quick and easy way was to wash my body with the blood of young children. The closer to a teenager, the more effective and potent the effects of the blood."

"Then, why must you desecrate the bodies by removing their organs!?"

"Don't you know? Organ powder made from children works wonders on your health...especially when fighting against aging. Hahaha!"

"Why are they preserved? Why couldn't you just bury them once you were done? Couldn't you at least do that?"

"Why should I? Besides...human flesh makes good fertilizer.... Why else do you think the vegetables were grown so big and rich in flavor?"

"You demon!" Aldred cried out as his stomach flipped and he vomit all over the ground. He spat out the remains of the vomit from his mouth before glaring at Caroline. "Where's Vicky?"

"Right here." Ralph replied as he revealed a chair behind him. There sat Vicky. She was barely conscious and her body was paralyzed by Skaal's poison. Four large needles connected to tubes that all converge to a large barrel were pierced into her arms and legs. Tears and snot streaked her face. Although she was paralyzed, but her eyes still moved and she could see what was going on. Her ears could still hear so she had heard everything that was said.

"Vicky! Vicky! Can you hear me? Don't die Vicky!" Aldred shouted as he saw the sorry state. This was the only friend he had left from the ten children he first met. He must save her. Suddenly, something stirred within his pants pocket. It was Skaal. Skaal whispered softly to Aldred. He told him to try and get Ralph and Caroline to turn their backs to him even if it's just a few seconds.

"Just a few more minutes and her blood will be drained completely." Caroline said as she approached Vicky and lifted her face to check up on her. They're both in front of Aldred...it's now or never.

"What's that brown and green scorpion over there?" Aldred spoke as he looked at the wall past the two devils.

"What?" Ralph exclaimed as he turned towards the direction Aldred was looking at.

"Impossible, did the demonic beast escape?!" Caroline proclaimed as she turned towards the direction as well.

But nothing was to be seen. Realizing that they were tricked, they turned around in anger, only to be met with Aldred who had torn off the ropes and lunged at their backs. As Aldred rushed towards Ralph, he threw Skaal towards Caroline. Since Ralph was immune to Skaal's poison, then the obvious attack arrangement would be for him to attack Ralph while Skaal aimed at Caroline. Though there was a significant difference in ranks, Aldred had hoped that the surprise attack would make up for it.

As Skaal was thrown towards Caroline, his stinger was readied as venom dripped from the end. Caroline's back was still turned towards him. It was just as he was very close to Caroline's head when she turned around. With a stab, the stinger pierced into the demoness's face. The success was short as he felt the wind knocked out of him. He flew across the room and came to a skidding, painful halt. Caroline screamed in agony and fury as she grabbed her face. It was swollen black with poison and spread all across her right side of her face. Lacerations appeared on the skin causing her to look very ugly. The paralysis affected her movements a bit as she collapsed to the ground.

While that occurred, Aldred was dealing with Ralph. His hand formed into a claw and aimed at Ralph's back. Sensing something wrong, Ralph immediately turned around. Seeing Aldred lunging towards him arms raised, Ralph immediately cast Earth Armor and raised his guards. A thick layer of earth enveloped Ralph's arms as the attack connected. Even though Ralph had his defenses up, he was still blown away by the attack. His Earth Armor crumbled and his arms bled as five holes appeared. Surprised showed on his face...he did not know that Aldred could bring about so much piercing power. He crashed into a wall and crumbled to the ground.

Aldred looked at the fallen and unmoving figure. He assumed that Ralph was unconscious. Turning towards Caroline, he saw that the demoness was still clutching her face. She seems to be preoccupied with her wound. Aldred quickly ran to Vicky's side. There was no more time to lose. Any longer and Vicky would die. Aldred removed the needles and bound the wounds.

"Vicky, are you alright? Stay awake! I'll get you out of here soon. Stay awake Vicky! Vicky!" Aldred cried out.

Vicky opened her eyes, her breathing faint and labored. "A-alderd...it s-seems I w-won't b-be able t-to be y-your w-wife any-anymore...."

"Vicky, what are you saying? You won't die. We'll survive this. When we leave this place, I'll take care of you. We will grow up together and grow old together. Stay with me Vicky! Vicky!"

"I'm t-tired...want t-to sleep...s-so tired."

"Don't sleep Vicky! Keep talking! Stay awake Vicky! Don't fall asleep!"

"O-okay Aldred. I'll tr-."

Vicky began to reply...but her eyes suddenly widened. A faint but clear thud was heard. A needle made of earth protruded from below her ribs...it had pierced her kidney and liver. Blood trickled out of her mouth and her eyes dulled. She stared at Aldred and tried to say something, but there was too much blood in her mouth. Then, her eyes rolled and she exhaled...a long, long exhale.

"V-vicky? Vicky? Vicky?! VICKY!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Aldred screamed in sorrow and grief. Vicky had breathed her last. Aldred trembled in grief as his mind went blank.

"Caroline! Stop fretting. This kid is strong. His blood is guaranteed to have immense benefits. Help me take him down." Ralph replied as he scrambled back up.

"Help yourself! Bastard, can't you see me in pain! Aarrghh! My face!" Caroline screamed hysterically.

"Hmph! Useless. That bitch is dead kid, it's your turn now."

"...vicky..." Aldred mumbled.

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"I SAID HER NAME IS VICKY YOU BASTARD!!!" Aldred screamed as his anger reached its peak. His killing intent unleashed itself and his aura burst outwards.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!!* *BOOM!!!*

Three booms sounded out, surprising Ralph. In his anger, Aldred had broken through into the Core Condensing 1st Stage.

 

Chapter 18 - First Kill

"What happened?!" Ralph shouted as he peered at Aldred. The young boy suddenly burst forth an immense amount of power and killing intent. A thin layer of some unknown gas-like substance enveloped around the young boy. What could this be? It's clearly not mana...is this a new magic? No, the boy is a No-Affinity. It's impossible for him to use magic...so then, what is this?

Aldred stared at his hands...at the Qi that enveloped his hands as well as the rest of his body. He had finally reached Core Condensing. With this new boost in power, he can finally use the Fist of the Elusive Mole in its complete form. Now why could he not previously? Because, the Fist of the Elusive Mole not only allows one to fight like a mole, but also to move like a mole...meaning submerging underground. With his core condensed and formed, he can now envelope Qi around his body like a Qi Armor of sort. Though it is not a complete or true Qi Armor, it can still allow him to move underground without worry of suffocation or harm.

Aldred looked up at his enemies and snarled, "You bastards are dead meat."

"Haha. All bark, no bite...just like the bitch you are." Ralph laughed evilly.

"Fucker!" Aldred roared as he charged towards Ralph once again. Ralph laughed once more before jumping backwards. He crouched and placed his hand on the ground. Activating Earth Wall, he blocked the incoming attack.

Aldred sneered as he tore through the thick Earth Wall like paper. The wall did not slow down his charge at all. Ralph fired a few shots of Earth Needles at Aldred - the same Earth Needle that killed Vicky. Aldred dodged the needles and dove into the ground. While underneath the earth, Aldred tunneled through the ground expertly and quickly with his powerful hands. Above the surface, Ralph panicked as he gaped at how the young boy, he had underestimated, disappeared into the ground. What sort of ability was this? Did the young boy realize that he couldn't defeat him and decided to escape instead? No...that can't be the case. This guy had such killing intent...it must be that he was hiding beneath the earth, waiting for a chance to strike. Ralph looked around trying to figure where his opponent will emerge from next.

Suddenly, Aldred emerged silently from the ground behind Ralph and slashed his hand at Ralph. Ralph caught sight of Aldred at the corner of his eye and dove forward in an attempt to avoid the incoming attack. However, he realized too late and four lacerations appeared on his back. Although the wounds weren't deep, but it still hurt a lot. Ralph grunted and turned around...only to see Aldred diving into the ground again.

While this was occurring, Caroline finally stabilized herself and stopped the spread of the poison in her face. However, her face had distorted into an ugly visage and she looked more like a demon now. She scanned the room and saw the battle between Ralph and Aldred. She was stunned at how the young boy was able to force Ralph on the defense. Caroline rushed towards Ralph to help but she was stopped by a murderous aura that suffocated her. She turned around and saw Skaal...in his giant beast form.

"Bitch! Where do you thing you're looking at? I'm your opponent!" Skaal growled.

"Hmph! You're only a Tier 6. You think you can defeat me?"

"We'll see." Skaal smiled. When Caroline saw that smile, she shivered.... Does he have something up his sleeve?

Caroline readied herself. She activated an Earth Wall to cover herself from Skaal's view. Skaal jumped over the wall but was met with a Water Blast. The Water Blast smashed into Skaal's body, sending him flying backwards. However, water-type attacks weren't as effective towards earth-type creatures so other than having the wind knocked out of him, Skaal wasn't hurt from the attack. Skaal scrambled back to his feet, but his smile was still on his face.

Caroline narrowed her eyes when she saw the smile. "What are you smiling at? You can't even harm me. Prepare to die."

Caroline rushed forward, raised her hand, and threw a couple of Water Balls mixed with Earth Needles at Skaal. Skaal skillfully dodged the attacks. Some of the attacks hit but Skaal gritted his teeth and powered through the attacks, his smile never faltering. At this time, Caroline was feeling irked. Why was this damned beast still smiling? What...! Caroline stumbled suddenly. She stopped moving and grimaced. Why does she feel weak all of a sudden? Her vision blurred and focused and blurred again.

"This...p-poison?! Impossible! I should at least have some resistance to your poison!" Caroline panicked.

"Haha, not all of them. The poison I showed you back then wasn't even 40% of my total prowess. What you just experienced was my poisonous gas. Odorless, tasteless, slow-acting but extremely potent...you won't know what hit you until it's too late. Now you know who is stronger. Go die bitch!" Skaal roared as he rushed towards Caroline. Caroline could not do anything as she was powerless and paralyzed. Skaal quickly approached the woman and pierced her abdomen with his stinger. He pumped in a full dose of his poison at full power. Stepping back, he watched the changes that occurred soon after.

Caroline, though paralyzed, was still conscious. She could feel everything that occurred including the pain of the stab and the feeling as the poison coursed through her veins. Suddenly, she felt her skin burn as if she was lit on fire. Her skin started itching as if thousands of ants were scurrying about on her. Her body began to change colors. It changed from red to yellow to green to blue to white and finally to black. Caroline could feel her body start to expand. She could even see her stomach bulge at an incredible pace. The last thing she saw was her eyelids expanding and covering her eyes. Pain started shooting forward in her body. She tried to scream in agony but her throat swelled up and forced down any sounds that tried to escape. Caroline's body continued to expand until...*CRACK!* *SNAP!* *CRACK!!* *POP!!* *BOOM!!!*

She exploded. Guts, blood, and pieces of flesh flew everywhere. Even Ralph's back was splashed with some of her blood and flesh. Ralph turned around and saw the horrendous sight. He grimaced but this was not the time to worry about a dead person. With Caroline gone, now it was only him versus Aldred and the Toxic Razortail. Skaal rushed towards Aldred and stood beside him. Aldred looked at Skaal and then looked at the mess he had caused. He gave the Razortail a nod of approval and then continued to observe Ralph. All that's left was the Meister 1st Stage. Unless there was a miracle, it would be near impossible to defeat this enemy...even with the both of them. Skaal charged towards Ralph, his claws raised. Aldred dove into the ground and tunneled towards the enemy. Ralph looked at the incoming attacks and prepared himself.

 

Chapter 19 - Losing An Arm

"Earth Giant Stomp!" Ralph roared as he struck out with his right foot. The ground that was hit shook and cracks appeared as the earth split apart. The rumbling caused Aldred to stumble. With the ground split, it was difficult for him to maneuver underground.

Aldred continue to rush towards Ralph as he slashed here and there. The disadvantage of his Fist Techniques was that it was new...there were no special attack moves as he had not invented or perfected any yet. As Skaal rushed in high and pierced with his tail, Aldred attacked from below as he tried to decapitate Ralph's legs.

Ralph dodged the low attack from Aldred and jumped high in the air. He had experienced Aldred's claw attacks earlier and its prowess so he felt a little threatened towards the young boy than towards the Razortail. While in the air, he looked towards Skaal and raised his right arm. "Stone Skin! Earth Enforcement! Rock Armor!"

After consecutively casting the three Earth-type spells, his arm turned a gray, rock-like texture. Earth formed on his arm as well, giving it a brown hue. Then, small rocks gathered at his arm, forming a layer of rock armor. Ralph met Skaal's stinger attack with his right fist.

*BOOM!*

As the collision occurred, pieces of rock flew outwards. The strength of Skaal's attack, though powerful, could only penetrate through past the second layer of defense. The Stone Skin was cracked...but it was still able to block the stinger. Ralph sneered as he saw Skaal's surprise. Having his attack blocked, Skaal was completely defenseless at that moment. Ralph knocked Skaal away with a roundhouse kick and activated another Earth-type spell.

"Quicksand!" Ralph roared causing the ground where Skaal collapsed at to suddenly become fluid-like. No matter how much Skaal struggled, he would sink even farther. Skaal had a dejected look on his face. Is he going to die? He's still too weak to break free by himself and Aldred...why would that young child help him? Skaal's distrust of humans was still lingering. After all, demonic beasts and humans have a long history of hate and slaughter. Though they were fighting together, this was just a temporary truce. The young boy had no reason to help him.

Seeing that the Razortail was immobilized, Ralph turned his attention towards Aldred. Aldred lunged towards Ralph with his claws out. He enveloped his Qi around his whole body in order to provide some sort of protection. Aldred started slashing all over the place in a random fashion as he tried to get a few strikes in. Ralph dodged the attacks and sneered at the young boy's useless attacks.

"Hmph! All you know how to do is swing your arms around aimlessly. There's no way you can hit me with just that! Plus, with the ground split, your movements are cut by half."

"Shit...he's right...what can I do?" Aldred muttered as he cursed inward.

However he did not let up his continuous barrages. It was true that the ground was split into uneven pieces, it had only meant that he could not dive below. However, with the training he did while cultivating the Earth God Cultivation Technique, his balance was top tier. He could still maintain his speed even on such rough and uneven ground. Using his fastest speed, Aldred instantly appeared at the enemy's side and he thrust his arm out with his hand like a spear. Ralph narrowed his eyes before forcefully rolling to the side. He luckily escaped a mortal wound, but his side still ached as three shallow holes appeared below his ribs. So close! Any slower and he would have been pierced through.

"FUCK! You bastard! Earth Shackles!" Ralph roared as vine-like earth rose up from beneath Aldred and bound him in place. "Hmph! Go die! Rock Crush!"

Hundreds of large rocks flew towards Aldred from all directions crushing him. Whew! Ralph thought. Finally got rid of this nuisance. When Ralph turned around to face Skaal, he noticed a slight disturbance in the rock pile. Upon closer look, he saw the pile tremble. Suddenly, the rocks flew outward as Aldred freed himself from the encasing. Aldred tore away the Earth Shackles and stepped forward.

"Impossible! How did you survive?!"

Aldred chuckled. If it wasn't for his Qi Armor, he would have been severely injured. It was extremely fortunate of him to break through to Core Condensing. But no time to think, he immediately dodged to the right as a Poison Arrow flew towards where his head was.

"DIE! Earth Needle! Poison Arrow! Toxic Shrapnel!" Ralph screamed as he continuously fired different attacks...just how much mana does this guy have?

While Ralph was focusing on Aldred who was skillfully avoiding all his projectiles, Skaal crept behind Ralph. Suddenly, Skaal lunged at Ralph with his left claw and grabbed a hold of him. Skaal's pincer dug deep into Ralph causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

"H-how?!" Ralph stuttered...how did the Razortail escape from the quicksand?

"Hmph! With my intellect and power, it was simple for me to escape." Skaal arrogantly replied. He too was surprised at his strength. He did not know that in his act of desperation and willpower, he would be able to brute-force his way out of the trap.

"Brag...keep bragging!" Ralph grunted but he groaned in pain as Skaal squeezed harder. Ralph channeled some of his mana to his sides and formed an incomplete Earth Armor. With some breathing room available, Ralph raised up an Earth Wall from below Skaal. The wall shot up, slamming the Razortail upwards and knocking the wind out of him. Skaal grunted...he's been having his breath knocked out from him so many times today...was this a sign? Or pure unluckiness? During this development, the scorpion dropped Ralph from his grasp. Skaal collapsed onto the ground, his mind stunned to confusion.

"Ooooo...look at all them...pretty little female Razortails...dancing around me...." Skaal tried to speak as his mind continued to daze.

Ralph turned towards Aldred and deflected the young boy's arm. Then, he smashed his fist - enhanced with Earth Enhancement - into the boy's stomach, sending him flying backwards.

"I need to take out that scorpion first!" He muttered. He turned back towards Skaal again and raised his arm upwards. "Stone Blade!"

A giant Stone Blade formed from above his raised palm. He looked at the unmoving scorpion once more before bringing his arm down. The giant stone blade dropped down along with his arm and towards the direction of the Razortail. Skaal so the incoming stone blade and grimaced. He didn't want to die as there were still many regrets. He closed his eyes and awaited his death...but none came...only a feeling of his body being pushed. Skaal opened his eyes and saw...the young boy...Aldred.... He had pushed him out of harm's way. But, in exchange for saving his life, the young boy...had lost his left arm.

"You...!" Skaal was stunned.

 

OH MA GERD

 

Chapter 20 - Brothers by Bonds

Aldred stood up from where he was sent flying. He looked up at Ralph and saw him form a giant stone blade above his head. NO! That bastard was going to kill Skaal! He willed himself to stand and rushed towards Skaal. As he approached the Razortail, he realized he could not reach Skaal in time. He jumped forward with his left arm raised. Arriving near the Razortail, he pushed the demonic beast out of harm's way with his arm. At the same time, the stone blade fell...and decapitated his left arm. Aldred gritted in pain as he grasped his bloody stump while collapsed on the floor. He channeled some of his Qi and stopped the bleeding.

Skaal saw the wounded boy and was astonished. "You...! Why did you help me?"

Aldred looked at Skaal and gave a wry smile, "We may not be friends...we may not be family...but...we are comrade-in-arms. Though we humans have our differences with you demonic beasts...you are still my ally...naturally...I should look out for you.... I'm sure you would do the same for me."

When Skaal heard his reply, he was silent. What did he just hear? He still couldn't wrap his head around why Aldred had did what he done. This...boy...comrades? Does he really trust me that much? W-would I do the same for him? Maybe not in the past.... Maybe....

"Haha! Your stupidity knows no bounds! For a vile demonic beast, you even sacrificed your arm. Haha!" Ralph laughed. He raised his hand once more and shouted, "Toxic Swamp!"

The ground below Aldred immediately became damp with a shade of dark green. Potent acid pooled in the marsh. Aldred jumped backwards to evade but some of the acid splashed onto his legs. Aldred screamed in pain as the drops of acid ate through his flesh. Aldred tumbled backwards and fell on the ground, his legs throbbing. He quickly scrambled away. If only he had some ranged skills...or at least a weapon. Spotting some fist-sized rocks nearby, he pounced towards them. Picking one up, he launched the rock at Ralph as soon as he turned around.

The rock flew at breathtaking speed. This was due to the unnatural arm and wrist strength Aldred had developed over the months of intensive training. However, even though the rock flew towards its target at an incredible speed, there was not much in terms of accuracy. Naturally there was no accuracy...after all, Aldred did not train his current body for ranged attacks.

"Hmph! Futile! Although you got some speed, but you can't even hit shit with that!" Ralph scoffed as he dodged the rock. "Let me show you how to throw rocks...Meteor Shower!"

As Ralph began casting the spell, large rocks floated high into the air. Ralph pointed towards the young boy and the rocks soared towards his target. Though the speed was not to par with the speed that Aldred threw, however, the accuracy was ten times better. The huge number of rocks flew towards Aldred in a fashion similar to that of a meteor shower. Aldred saw the incoming attack and started moving right away. However, even with his speed and quick reflexes, he was only able to dodge most of the attacks. This was due to the ongoing pain and initial loss of blood from his wounds and his severed arm. Suffering under these restrictions, it was obvious Aldred could not perform at his best.

Out of the hundreds of rocks, ten smashed into Aldred. There were ten purple bruises all over his body...but strangely not anywhere else...did that bastard aimed for his body on purpose? Aldred cringed...one...no, two ribs were broken. As he tried to catch his breath, Ralph fired a few more Earth Needles. Aldred dove head first and rolled out of the way, however, because of the pain, he wasn't quick enough as one of the needles grazed him. A wide gash formed as blood welled up from the opening. He was in a precarious situation...was he going to die? Aldred coughed up blood as he shakily tried to get up.

"You still trying to fight? You are no match for me. Just die already." Ralph mocked.

"Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me."

"Haha, wishful thinking. Stone Javelin!" Ralph shouted as he fired a larger version of the Earth Needle. The stone javelin approached Aldred who could not move. He was too tired and too injured, his body littered with bruises and bloodied wounds. Death was impending and Aldred could do nothing to prevent it. He saw the attack come...everything moved in slow motion. The stone javelin was less than 10 feet away. Suddenly, a brown blur dashed past the javelin and appeared in front of Aldred. It was Skaal. Skaal knocked Aldred over and covered him with his body. The stone javelin pierced the Razortail's body but fortunately missed the vital organs. Skaal, in his pain, partially collapsed onto Aldred, their blood and wounds mingled with each other.

"W-why did you do this?" Aldred asked.

"Why did you save me?" Skaal replied.

"Because...we're comrades...allies."

"Exactly...because we're comrades...brothers."

To demonic beasts, loyalty and trust were valuable characteristics. Demonic beasts hate being betrayed. They were extremely loyal to those that they placed their trust in. Naturally, humans had never experienced this aspect of demonic beasts because of the innate hatred between the two species. When Aldred first saved Skaal from Ralph's attack, this action stunned Skaal as it was not a normal human thing to do. But Skaal did not know that Aldred was not a normal human. He did not know that the young child was a reincarnated mortal of another world.

The words that Aldred responded sparked something in Skaal. Comrades...in the human continent, comrades meant allies - temporary teammates...however, in the beast lands, comrades meant brothers - permanent friends...allies forever. The word 'comrade' was used interchangeably with 'brother'. The word 'brother' was used strictly for someone that one would place their complete trust in. Even though the meanings were different, nevertheless Skaal still felt the trustworthiness that Aldred displayed. When Skaal saw the young boy cornered by Ralph's attacks, he rushed forward to help. Though the time he and the boy knew each other was short, he had developed a sense of reliance and conviction with the boy after observing the boy's positive attitude towards him.

As Skaal leaned gently on Aldred, his green blood trickled into Aldred's wounds and the boy's red blood smudged into his wounds. Suddenly, a glow emitted on the duo. Skaal recognized this occurrence...this...this was the Ritual of Brotherhood. The glow covered the two completely causing Skaal and Aldred to close their eyes from the blinding light. When they reopened their eyes, they found themselves in a land filled with lush grasslands, a bright sky, and beautiful nature.

"Where are we? What happened to my wounds?" Aldred exclaimed as he looked around. His wounds had disappeared but his arm was still missing.

"We...we are in the Ritual of Brotherhood. This place is...was what the world once looked like many eons ago." Skaal replied as he also looked around dazed. How was this possible? The Ritual of Brotherhood should be strictly accessible to demonic beasts...but Aldred was a human?

"Ritual of Brotherhood?"

"Yes. I've heard of it from my family. Come, we need to walk forward. The beginning and end of this ritual should be somewhere nearby."

Aldred nodded as he followed Skaal. He was curious of his predicament. The two walked for what seemed like an hour before finding themselves in front of a temple. The temple was large with seven pillars engraved with the Seven Primordial Godbeasts - Nalia the Abomination, Oceanas the Vast, Orin the Free, Arthro the Terror, Lusca the Soft, Echino the Immortal, and Nelid the Helpful. These seven primordial godbeasts were the predecessors of all demonic beasts in existence.

Legend has it that the Seven were the ones who first performed Form Change and each represented one of the Form Changes that they specialized in. Nalia represented Demonbeast Form, Oceanas represented Godbeast Form, Orin represented Human Form, Arthro represented Weapon Form, Lusca represented Giant Beast Form, Echino represented Spirit Form, and Nelid represented Small Beast Form. As Skaal described the history of the Seven who paved the way for demonic beasts to thrive as well as the wars that they fought with the demons and the humans, the two entered the temple halls. When they approached a set of stairs, a thunderous voice resounded in the near empty halls.

"Welcome to the Temple of the Seven Primordial Beasts! You, who had passed the trials of friendship and loyalty, have been granted the eminent honor of Brotherhood! Please step forward!"

The two looked at each other before climbing up the steps towards the ritual table that was set up before them. The ritual table had a incense pot wit three sticks of incense placed inside - upright and lit. A bowl of some strange blue liquid rested in the middle of the table. Behind the table sat a large statue of the Seven Primordial Beasts. Somehow, they knew what must be done and what must be said. This ritual of brotherhood was a ritual of blood. The two dripped a few drops of their blood onto the bowl. The blood mixed with the blue liquid and became a golden color. To have a golden color represented their trust towards each other. They were comrades...allies...brothers. The golden liquid split into two and each portion floated towards Aldred and Skaal. The two each grabbed an incense stick and held it in front of them in respect towards the Seven Primordial Beasts.

"I, Aldred/Skaal, a human/demonic beast, have come together as brothers...." The two began their oath. ".... From this day forward, we are family. Our bonds formed from blood and trust. May the Seven Primordial Beasts witness our brotherhood and strike me dead if I dare betray the other."

After the oath, the golden liquid entered the two's bodies, forming a tattoo-like mark. The black mark looked like scorpion fangs. The mark was located on Skaal's back while the mark on Aldred was located on his face - one fang on each side.

"Congratulations on forming your brotherhood. Your bonds are stronger now...who knows, maybe you can unlock a new Form. Go forth!"

A bright light shone causing the two to close their eyes once more. When they opened their eyes again, they were back - their wounds miraculously healed. Aldred looked to his left, but was slightly disheartened that the arm didn't grow back. He looked up and saw Ralph staring at them in astonishment. To Ralph, the bright light had covered the two initially and then disappeared the next second to reveal the two healed of their injuries. He did not know of the ritual that occurred.

"How did your wounds heal instantly like that?! Was that light a healing spell? Impossible!"

Aldred stood up with Skaal. After the ritual of brotherhood, Skaal felt his power increase...it seemed like he might be able to Form Change! Skaal looked at Aldred and a telepathic conversation was exchanged between the two.

I think I can change into a new form. Skaal said.

Which form? Aldred asked.

It's most likely the weapon form. Remember I am the descendent of Arthro who specialized in Weapon Form? Well, that also goes with his descendants. We are more likely to Weapon Form Change than any of the other special Form Changes. I think I am able to change. Should we try it out?

Alright!

As soon as the conversation was over, Skaal concentrated on himself right away as he gathered his power. He wanted to be helpful to his sworn brother...how can he be helpful? What weapon should he be in order to benefit the most for his brother? Suddenly, his eyes brightened...he had figured out what to become. He turned into a brown blur and flashed towards Aldred.

 

Chapter 21 - Weapon Form

Aldred saw Skaal changed into a brown blur and headed straight for him. The brow blur split into pieces and covered Aldred. When the blur refocused, the Weapon Form was completed. Although the Form Change was known as Weapon Form, however, when Skaal concentrated on what he believed to be the most beneficial to Aldred, he changed into something more than just a weapon...he became armor as well. Was this due to Skaal's wish to be helpful to Aldred? Or was some other factor in play? When the Form Change finished assembling, a surprised Aldred checked on the alterations to his appearance. A gauntlet-like arm was formed at where his left arm used to be. A full-arm gauntlet was formed as well for the right arm. Skaal's smaller pincer acted like an arm guard and positioned on the right arm, the pointed part facing outwards at the elbow. Skaal's larger pincer acted like a shield/arm guard for the left arm with the pointed part facing outwards at the elbow as well.

A hole formed at the end of the shield and a spear like tip protruded from the hole. The gauntlets were a little pointed with dark green spots, which manually produces small doses of paralyzing poison. The scorpion's head formed into a simple helmet and face mask which covered the lower face, with the scorpion's fangs placed at the sides of the helmet. Skaal's body covered Aldred's back, while his legs covered Aldred's front. The appendages of his tail protected Aldred's legs like shin guards.

Aldred looked at his newly formed left arm and clenched his fist. The comfortableness and familiarity felt as if it was his own arm. The pointed parts of the pincers stop at his elbows. He imagined the destruction he could cause whenever he elbowed someone. The pointed spear-like tip coming out of his shield looked to be poisonous. When he clenched his fist, the spear tip extended outwards and when he unclenched his fist, the tip retracted. Aldred looked at Ralph and wanted to test out his new power.

Ralph gaped at the transformation in amazement and disbelief. What happened? How did they merge? Why did they merge? Ralph fired a few Earth Needles at the boy, but the needles were blocked by Aldred's shield. Aldred dove underground and dug towards Ralph. Ralph took a few steps backward to survey the surroundings. He was prepared to counterattack once Aldred emerges. However, contrary to his expectations, Aldred did not emerge anywhere. Instead, his hand burst out from under Ralph and grabbed the Earth Mage's leg, his claws dug into the leg and injected some extremely strong paralyzing poison. Aldred pulled with his strength and pulled Ralph's leg into the ground.

With one leg in the earth, Ralph was at a disadvantage. Coupled with the gradual paralyzing power of the toxin, Ralph could not sustain his consciousness for long. Gritting his teeth, Ralph stabbed his leg to bleed the poison out as well as wake himself with the pain. Then, he loosened the earth with some mana and freed his leg. Ralph was not a healer...that was Caroline, but she was dead. Every wound he takes, he was stuck with it. For the first time during the battle, he felt a bit of fear. Unpredicted movements, paralyzing poison attacks, high-penetrating power attacks, incredible speed, incredible defense...that combination...was dangerous.

Aldred! We must hurry and defeat him. I don't think I can hold onto this form for long. Skaal suddenly notified Aldred as he was savoring the feeling of power.

Is that true? Damn...okay, I understand. Aldred replied.

Aldred looked towards the cautious opponent. He rushed towards Ralph, his left fist clenched and the spear tip protruded from the shield. A green, viscous liquid covered the point. Ralph saw the charging boy and fired some Stone Javelins. Since Earth Needles don't work, he figured that he needed to increase the piercing power. The stone javelins launched towards the charging boy. However, Aldred raised his shield and blocked all the stone javelins without slowing down. As he neared Ralph, he lunged towards Ralph. Ralph smacked his foot on the ground and activated Stone Tower. A stone tower shot up from under Ralph, sending him upwards. Seeing Ralph high up on the stone tower, Aldred unclenched his fist and plunged his hands into the stone tower. With a pull, he split the tower in half.

As the tower crumbled, Ralph lost his balance due to the unstable ground and tumbled off. When he crashed, he quickly scrambled up and searched for the boy. However he could not find Aldred...the boy must have submerged underground again! Ralph scanned the perimeter for any likely spot that the boy may emerge from. Suddenly, the earth in front of him trembled and burst forth. The boy shot from the ground and stabbed with his left fist. Seeing the spear-like tip, Ralph brought his arms up and crossed them in front of him He quickly wrapped Earth Armor around his arms in order to further increase his defense. But the defenses were not enough as the spear tip pierced through the armor and bore a hole into one of Ralph's arms. Ralph screamed in pain as he flew back. He grimaced as he saw the state of his arm...it was nearly blown right off and was just hanging on a tip.

"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, arm for arm." Aldred sneered.

"You bastard! I'll rip you to pieces and feed you to the dogs!" Ralph fumed.

Aldred! Enough talking, time is running out! I can't hold this form any longer. You must finish him of this attack! Skaal urged.

I know! Aldred nodded.

"Haha! Ralph, you don't look so well...let me put you to rest." Aldred shouted as he charged again.

Ralph fired more Earth Needles and Poison Arrows, but Aldred's shield arm deflected them all. Realizing his attacks did not slow Aldred down one bit, he activated Earth Wall and jumped backwards. After putting some distance, Ralph raised his hand for one final powerful attack. He stood there and waited for Aldred to burst through...but nothing....

What happened? Oh no! Ralph realized as he turned around just in time to see Aldred emerge from the ground below.

Aldred had dove into the ground right after Ralph erected the Earth Wall and tunneled his way behind Ralph. He could sense exactly where Ralph stood by the aura the Earth Mage emitted. When Ralph realized what was wrong, it was already too late. Aldred burst out from underneath and slashed with his right arm. The slash connected and dug a huge chunk of flesh. The force of Aldred's slash blew Ralph back as he toppled onto the ground in agony. He skidded a few meters away until he laid, face up and wearily looked at the young boy.

Impossible...that was the word to describe the events that had occurred. How can a boy who was several stages below him be able to push him to this state? His eyes blurred as the pain numbed his mind. On his chest, four claw marks stood out. The attack was incredibly fast...so fast that blood did not well for a good few seconds. Ralph was able to see his ribs and some of his organs. As blood started to form from the wounds, he looked at the approaching boy.

Aldred walked up to Ralph with a grin and prepared for his final attack. Ralph may be tenacious, but he won't survive this next attack. He raised his right hand and, with the intention to behead, slashed down towards Ralph's head. However...time was up...midway through his attack, Skaal's Weapon Form deactivated. Skaal landed beside Aldred, exhausted...and Aldred lost all that boost in power.

When Ralph saw Aldred revert back to his original form, he grinned. If he died, he would bring Aldred with him. As this thought flashed in his mind, his hand touched the ground. He muttered, "Earth Spikes!"

 

Chapter 22 - The Demon Forests

Spikes made of earth shot from below and penetrated...no one. The moment Aldred reverted back to his original state, he knew immediately that Ralph would try to do something. He had formed a layer of Qi Armor surrounding his body that protected him from most of the piercing power of the spikes. Suffering only a few light grazes from the spell, Aldred turned his attention back to Ralph. Ralph was sitting there in disbelief. He had no clue about the wonders and formidability of Qi so he could only gawk in confusion. However, Aldred did not wait any longer. The second he broke away from the spikes, Aldred slashed down with his arm and decapitated Ralph's head into five pieces. A fountain of blood spurted out from the neck and pooled around the headless body.

Whew! Aldred exhaled. Finally...finally killed this bastard. He squatted down and wiped his bloody hand on the corpse's clothes. He turned his head back and looked at the exhausted Razortail.

"How are you holding up?" Aldred asked.

"I'm alright...just need to rest some more." Skaal replied.

"Ok, you rest here. I'm going to take care of a few things."

Aldred got up and walked back into the house. He packed a few necessities and food into a bag before leaving. Once outside, he headed towards the basement. In the basement, he looked at the hanged bodies and grimaced. The sight was still sickening no matter how many times he saw it...this was not a sight to get used to and it would be forever engraved in his mind. With the strength that he had left, he unhooked the bodies and laid them on the ground. Then, he took the lamp that hung on the ceiling and threw the lit candle onto the ground. There were a lot of flammable liquids and materials in the basement so the fire spread quickly. Aldred hurried out the basement and turned around. He watched as the fire in the basement increased in intensity and spread to the rest of the house.

"Rest in peace my friends...my brothers and sisters." Aldred muttered sadly. He wiped his eyes a bit...must have been the dust. Walking towards Ralph's body, he lit it on fire as well. Then, he looked at Skaal. "You still tired?"

"Yea...Weapon Form takes too much mana. I need to hurry and increase my rank if I want to increase my mana capacity and efficiency."

"I'm going to leave this place. If you want, change into Small Beast Form and rest in one of my pockets."

"Ok."

Small Beast Form and Giant Beast Form are the only two forms that did not require the use of mana or stamina, while Spirit Form and Weapon Form required mana. Demonbeast Form, Godbeast Form, and Human Form required stamina. So once Skaal shrunk into a small scorpion, Aldred picked him up and placed him in his right pocket. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Aldred left the premises. After wandered around aimlessly, Aldred asked Skaal about where they should go.

"Where should we go next? I don't have a map, so I'm not sure exactly where my home is." Aldred asked.

"Hmm...you humans are so inconvenient. We demonic beasts can sense our family from large distances away through a form of spiritual and mana connection. How about this, let's go northwest to the Demon Forests. I have family that I'm on good relations with there." Skaal answered.

"The Demon Forests? I heard that place is extremely dangerous. There are many demonic beasts there."

"I know what you're thinking. No worries! Don't forget I'm a demonic beast too. I'll guarantee your safety...most of the time." Skaal replied, but muttered the last part.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That last part...something like 'most of the time' or something like that."

"You must have heard wrong."

"Did I?"

"Yea. Anyways, enough talking, let's get moving. At our pace, we'll reach the borders in a week."

"Alright." Aldred grinned.

 

THIS ENDS ARC I OF THE FIGHTING GOD NOVEL. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY

 

Chapter 23 - Bandits at Fortimer

It has been three days since Aldred left for the Demon Forests. Throughout his journey, he had hardly seen anyone. There were a few ruined villages here and there but judging from the burnt marks and damages, they were not done by demonic beasts...but by something scarier...humans. Bandits have pillaged and murdered through the villages. Aldred was curious...why were the bandits so active. Were they trying to instill fear? Or were they looking for something? Suddenly, Aldred saw smoke in the distance. He quickened his pace. He ran past some trees and into a clearing...to see a burning village. The fire was still burning, meaning the raid was recent. Aldred scanned the vicinity to look for survivors.

*RUSTLE!* *RUSTLE!*

Aldred turned towards the source of the sounds - a man, blood pouring from his chest...a fatal wound. Aldred rushed towards the dying man and knelt before him. He asked, "What happened? Was it bandits?"

"...no...*cough* *cough*...it...was the Count...of Fortimer...he... *cough* *cough*...they...dressed up as bandits.... *cough* *cough*...I recognized one of them...." The dying man said. He grabbed Aldred's sleeve, his eyes dazed and blurry. "Please...my son...find help...."

With his dying wish, the man breathed his last and died. Aldred sighed, there was nothing much he could do to help. He was after all only one person...and a child at that. Unless...it's true he won't be able to do a lot with his current abilities...but if he were to play it smart...maybe....

What will you do? Skaal asked Aldred. Although he did not trust humans and was disinclined to help them, however, he trusted Aldred and would follow him if he decided to help.

Hmm, I don't know. A Count has his own army of 1,000 soldiers. That's a lot to handle considering it's only you and me. However, who said that we needed to attack head on. We can play it smart. Nevertheless, it's best if we go check out on the situation first before deciding whether or not we should meddle. Aldred mused as he conferred his plans with Skaal.

Okay. As what I remembered before I was sealed, Fortimer Castle was located just a few kilometers west of this village.

Alright, let's go.

The two changed their original destination and headed west. After an hour, they arrived at a small hill. Below the hill was Fortimer Castle. A few hundred houses surrounded the castle and a castle wall encircled the buildings. The guards at the gates were pretty lax and Aldred was able to easily enter without having to provide any form of identification papers. While in the town, Aldred had heard of many praises about how kind and generous the count, who was recently appointed to their place, was. If only those commoners knew the truth. Approaching the castle, Aldred saw that there were some guards on duty. Naturally, they would not let anyone in. So, Aldred told Skaal to infiltrate the castle and find any clues or information.

Skaal, while still in Small Beast Form, crawled out of Aldred's pocket and scurried into the castle. As Skaal was in the castle, Aldred decided to look for an inn to stay for the time being. After searching around and asking for some directions, he finally arrived at a cheap inn - Rabbit's Paw.

*DING!*

The bell rang as Aldred opened the door. A waitress smiled as she rushed towards Aldred. However, she frowned when she saw that Aldred was a child...not to mention, he was missing an arm. Nevertheless, she remembered her job and smiled, "Welcome. Little boy, where are your parents?"

"They have business to attend to in the castle. Mommy told me it was inconvenient for me to be there with them so she told me to get a room at an inn for a few days." Aldred lied in his cutest voice possible. He gagged inwardly as he felt disgusted with his cute act.

"Oh, okay sweetie. Um...do you have money? It is 30 copper coins per room plus meals each day."

"Ah, yes. Here you go." Aldred replied as he took out 1 silver and 50 copper coins. One silver coin equaled 100 copper coins, 1 gold coin equaled 100 silver coins.

"One silver and 50 copper coins, that's five days of room plus meals. Follow me to see the innkeeper." The waitress said as she led Aldred to a counter. Behind the counter stood a middle-aged lady. She looked sturdy with brown curls and a jovial expression. Her body figure, though not voluptuous, was still curvaceous enough to attract a few stares from her lustful male customers.

"What is it Lila?" The innkeeper asked the waitress when she looked up and saw Lila lead Aldred over.

"This young boy wants a room plus meals for five days. Here's the money he had paid." Lila answered as she placed the coins on the table.

"Oh? Where are his parents?"

"He said they had some work at the castle and wanted him to stay at an inn for a few days."

"I see. Well, you are a big boy now aren't you, little one." The innkeeper said as she patted on Aldred's head.

"Ah...don't!" Aldred replied as he pushed the innkeeper's hand away. He was feeling uncomfortable already from acting cute, now being patted was making it worse. So, he had to come up with an excuse. "My daddy says patting on my head hinders my growth."

"Ahaha! Your father's right. Sorry, sorry. My name is Cayla, what's your name?"

"Aldred."

"Fine name, Aldred. Here's your room key, it's upstairs. Do you need help finding it?"

"No thanks, I'll manage."

Aldred waved goodbye to Cayla and Lila who both commented once more on how cute he was. As he walked upstairs and out of sight from the two women, he shuddered a bit and grimaced at how uncomfortable being cute was. Aldred walked down the hallway of the second floor and saw the room number of the room that he was given. Unlocking the door, he entered. The room was pretty nice...it was clean but smelled a bit like alcohol. There was a table, a chair, a candle in a candle holder, and a medium-sized bed. There was also a window that showed a good view of the castle. Aldred put his bag on the floor next to the bed, locked the door, and climbed on the bed. The bed wasn't as soft as the bed at Caroline's house...but it will do. Aldred laid in his bed, tired...and soon fell asleep.

..........

In Fortimer's Castle....

..........

Wow, this place sure is nice.... For someone who was dubbed generous, he sure lavished on himself. Skaal thought as he darted through the halls of the castle. Hmm? What is that?

What caught Skaal's attention was a door at the far end of the hallway that was cracked open with light slipping out. If there's light...then there's people. Skaal quickly dashed towards the opening and peeked inside. An old man of roughly 50 years old was discussing with another man of about 30 years old. The old man had bushy gray hair and an unkempt beard. He had a scar running from the right corner of his mouth all the way to the bottom of his right eye. He was dressed like a bandit...in leather armor and a metal breastplate. The other man was well groomed and carried an air of nobility. He had some loose fitted clothing on...it seemed that he had just woken up. In his hand was a cup of warm tea. This must be the Count. From his expression, Skaal could guess that the Count was not happy with the discussion.

"What do you mean you couldn't find the child? The priests have predicted that a child with the so-called impossible Quadruple-Affinity will appear in this vicinity. That's the whole reason why I chose to become the count of this godforsaken place!" The Count retorted angrily.

"We've searched everywhere but we couldn't find that child. Could it be the child did not awaken yet?"

"That!...That's a possibility...." The Count slouched as he stared at his cup dejectedly.

"What...what will we do with the kids we captured?" The old man asked.

"They're of no use to me, kill them and bury them. Leave no trace that will connect them to me."

"Yes sir!"

"And keep searching! That Quadruple-Affinity will be of great use to me once the child is in my hands. Do not disappoint me again!"

"Y-yes sir!"

And...that's is my cue to leave. Skaal thought as he scurried away quietly.

Before he left the castle, he waited until the old man walked past him. Swiftly, he struck with his tail and pierced the old man's skin. The strike was very fast and very precise that the old man only felt a slight itch of his skin. The old man stopped and bent down to scratch his itch only to further spread the poison. The poison was very weak and wasn't strong enough to kill. The only purpose of the poison was to serve as a marking so that Skaal can track him later on. As the old man scratched his ankle, he did not look down as he was busy pondering about the order the Count had given him. After scratching a few times, the old man got up and continued walking. Skaal also hurried out the castle and headed towards the inn.

 

Chapter 24 - Robbed

I'm back.

Aldred opened his eyes and got up. He rubbed his eyes a bit as he looked at Skaal. "Did you find anything?"

Yes. The Count is connected to the bandit raids. They also kidnapped many children. Skaal answered.

"Slavery?"

No, there were news of a Quadruple-Affinity and the Count wants to take advantage of it.

"Oh...a Quadruple-Affinity...that's rarer than my No-Affinity status. So, where's the Quadruple-Affinity?"

The Count couldn't find one yet. They think the child hasn't awakened yet.

"Oh...so what happens to the other kids? Is he going to kill them?" Aldred asked. Seeing Skaal nod, he muttered. "I thought so."

I marked the bandit leader with my poison. It will be easy for us to track him.

"That's good. Let's get some dinner first."

Aldred opened the door to his room and walked downstairs. Cayla was busy doing some calculations on today's gains and losses and Lila was busy serving hot food to a group of customers. When Lila finished, she saw Aldred walked downstairs. She smiled and walked over to the boy.

"You need something Aldred? You hungry?"

"Food." Aldred nodded. "Extra meat."

"Haha, okay. You're a growing boy. Do you need my help to bring the food to your room?"

"No need."

"Oh...okay."

Aldred smiled his most innocent smile and waited for the cook to make his food. Suddenly, he sensed some killing intent...though small, but was still detectable. He sneakily glanced around and scanned the customers sitting by the tables. There were two burly men close to the door. They wore leather armor and had one-handed axes strapped on their waists. From the corner of Aldred's eye, he could see the two men eyeing him greedily.

Skaal, who was situated in Aldred's right pants pocket, glanced at the two men and grunted. "They probably think you're a rich boy and an easy target. Watch out, they may want to mug you."

"Hmph! They'll soon regret it."

"Here's your food young boy." Lila said as she brought out a platter of food for Aldred. "I've put in some extra meat. It's a bit heavy...are you able to carry it all?"

Aldred saw Lila eye his missing arm and understood her intentions. "Ah, don't worry. I trained myself so I have enough strength to at least lift this much."

"Oh...okay. Well, if you need anything, just tell me."

"Alright."

Aldred brought the food upstairs to his room. Obviously he couldn't finish all this food by himself, however, he's sharing the food with Skaal. After finishing the food, Aldred and Skaal quickly left the inn.

..........

"See. There he is." A man pointed as he looked over a corner towards the young boy that exited the inn.

"You sure he's a rich brat? He's dressed up so poorly." Another man replied.

"Haha, Second Brother, don't worry. You should have seen his coin bag...it was practically full of coins."

"Is that so...yea you're right...this will be easy-pickings. Look at him...he's even missing an arm."

"Exactly, like taking candy from a baby."

"Alright enough talking, let's follow him."

..........

Those two men from earlier are following us. Skaal reported.

"Hmph, time for a little after-dinner exercise." Aldred grinned.

Aldred slowed down his pace and waited for the two men to catch up to him. The two men quickly surround him with their axes drawn. One of the men pointed his axe towards him.

"Give us all your valuables if you want to live." The man snarled.

"Haha, with just you two? You idiots overestimate yourselves."

"What did you call us?!" The other man shouted.

"Hmph! Are you stupid? What can a kid like you d-?"

Aldred dove underground before the man even finished talking. Even though he had only one arm, he was still able to dive underground. Though his digging speed had deceased by more than half, it was still more than enough to deal with these small fries.

"Huh? What happened? Where did that bitch go?"

"First Brother! Look out! Behind you!"

The First Brother turned around at the warning and saw Aldred emerge from the ground. The young boy slashed out with his right arm and left five deep and bloody wounds on the man's chest. The man died in shock and confusion...how did he die...how was this boy so strong?

"First Brother!! Bastard, you'll pay for this!" The remaining man cried out as he lunged towards Aldred with his axe. But he did not go far. His whole body started going numb...what happened? His legs trembled as the strength in his body left him. Dropping his axe, the man fell to his knees. "W-what happened? Did I get poisoned? H-how?"

Seems like Skaal poisoned him while Aldred was handling the other guy. Aldred walked up to man with an eerie smile. "Shouldn't have messed with me."

"S-spare m-me!"

"Ah, I want to...but I can't. Don't want people to know about my abilities. Just blame yourself for messing with the wrong guy." Aldred replied as he thrust his hand into the man's chest and pulled out a still-beating heart.

"Kurgh...urk...haaa....."

Dropping the heart, Aldred stared at the dead man. He knelt down and searched through the two dead men's clothes. After looting the bodies and taking the axes, Aldred said. "Skaal. Let's get going."