Hello, I'm writing a fanfiction called "Rise of the Shadow Walker" which is based off of a mobile game I'm playing these days called Book of Heroes. You can also read this story at http://royalroadl.com/fiction/10871 Synopsis: Like most heroes of legends, ours came from humble origins. In the backwater village of Glenfort, John was simply a part-time cook working for Innkeeper Colette at the Mucky Duck Inn, serving her patrons day and night. But as our story begins, a terrible evil has descended onto John's peaceful village. By the day's end, John would leave behind these humble beginnings and embark on a journey into the fabled pages of the Book of Heroes.... Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mature Table of Contents Spoiler: Part 1: Humble Beginnings Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1 - The Thief in the Cellar Spoiler In a small peaceful village known as Glenfort Village, the people were busy going about their daily lives. The farmers were harvesting crops for sell and for the winter, the kids were playing with each other by the green pasture near the well, and the adventurers were hunting in the forests. Life at this village was very routine. There was practically little to no change. Amidst the quiet life, sounds of laughter could be heard particularly in one of the buildings. This building was known as the Mucky Duck Inn, owned by the beautiful innkeeper - Miss Colette. If a person was to entire the inn, they would be immediately overwhelmed with the mellow sight of happiness. Everyone in the inn enjoyed the drinks...the food...and the social interactions between the villagers and the adventurers. The second thing one would take notice would be the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Complementing with the sounds of frying and cooking, one could just imagine how tasty the food that's being prepared would be. "A plate of lamb roast and fried vegetables, done!" A deep voice called out from within the kitchen followed by the ding of a bell. "Coming!" A middle-aged woman replied as she walked towards the counter where a hot, steaming plate of food was placed just recently by the cook. The woman had long faded purple hair with light purple eyes and a black eyepatch covering her left eye. She wore a slim, purple dress with a black pearl necklace wrapped around her neck. The woman scooped up the plate and headed towards one of the tables. "Here's your food sir." "Thanks Miss Colette." The patron responded as he took a sniff. "Mmm, smells delicious as always." "Naturally! The food created by our two chefs are the best in this village." Colette smiled. "Miss Colette! When will our plate be done?" Another table of patrons asked as they stared at the food. "In a minute! Please be patient dear customers." Colette replied as she walked towards the kitchen counter once more. "John! You finished with the next plate?" In the kitchen, there were two men toiling away. One was a gray bearded old man with long hair pulled back into a ponytail. He had a jolly face and a healthy expression. Next to him was a young man, roughly in his late twenties. This man had short black hair with broad shoulders. He had a long stern face with silvery eyes. His powerful built made him look more like a blacksmith apprentice than a cook. The man had on an apron strapped around his brown shirt and gray pants. This young man was John. "Done!" John replied as he lifted the frying pan over a plate and poured the contents onto the plate. His boots made a shuffling sound as he walked towards the counter and handed the plate of food to Colette. "Thanks!" Colette grabbed the plate and hurried over to the table. John stared at the merry customers enjoying the food that he and the head chef had made. A rare smile surfaced before quickly disappearing into the depths of mysteriousness. Although he lived in this village for over two decades, he did not feel at home. He was thankful to the village chief for taking him, an orphan of unknown origins, in and feeding him. He was thankful for Miss Colette for providing him a roof over his head. However, he felt that his destiny was somewhere else...somewhere out there. So, he began working as a part-time cook at the Mucky Duck Inn and for ten years, he was able to save up five gold coins. Just a little bit more and he would be able to begin his journey. When the head chef shook him back to reality, they continued to cook. Finally, their shift was over and the kitchen closed for the night. The head chef went home to his family while John stayed at the inn. Like every night, he had to clean the inn's dining room and kitchen before he could go home. Suddenly, as John was throwing away the garbage outside, an angry shout came from inside and heavy stomps could be heard. John opened the door and peered inside. The noise was coming from the kitchen! Could it be those goddamn thieves again? John grabbed the broom by the doorstep and hurried inside. He walked towards the kitchen and cautiously peeked inside through the cracks of the open doorway. There was Miss Colette. She was angry at something and in her hand, there was a frying pan. John pushed open the door, notifying Colette of his presence. He asked. "What's wrong Miss Colette?" "Ah! Can you believe this John?" First we get thieves in the larders stealing our food, and now they've made off with my silver flask! If there's one thing I don't like, it's thievery in my inn." Colette raged, her eyes blazing with anger. Miss Colette's silver flask was something very important to her. It was the only thing that she had from her father to remember him by. "Is there anything I can do to help?" "Hmm, glad you ask. Here, take this frying pan and go down into the cellars. Make sure to put a stop to them bastards!" John gaped at the frying pan in Colette's hands. "Why frying pan? Why not something like a broom or the kitchen knife?" "Or you serious? I'm not gonna taint that knife with human blood. Besides, that flimsy broom? What if it breaks during the fight? This frying pan is sturdy and packs a punch. It's perfect as a weapon. Now, take this and go." Colette thrust the frying pan into John's hands and pushed him towards the cellar. "Alright." John took the frying pan from Miss Colette and headed towards the cellars. He slowly ventured down. The Mucky Duck cellars was a dank and musty place filled with vermin of all sorts. There had been sightings of bugs and rodents, but the thought of a human down here...now that was frightening. John held the frying pan close and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim room. As he edged deeper into the cellars, he suddenly noticed a scurrying figure rush past him. John frowned at the sight. The figure was small...almost the size of a little child. Could that child be the thief? "Hello? Anyone there?" John called out. "Come out wherever you are. I won't hurt you." HISS! John turned around towards the sound and saw something that almost made him drop his frying pan. It was a rat-like creature. This...monster was standing on both feet at a height of somewhere between two to three feet. It wore tattered clothes and its beady red eyes glowed in the darkness. A silver flask was dangling on its belt. So this little bastard was the thief! When their eyes met, the rat-like creature assumed an offensive stance. It clearly did not have kind intentions. Knowing that a battle was inevitable, John raised up the frying pan in his hand and charged at the rat monster. SMACK! John was able to land a swift and powerful hit, battering the creature and severely injuring it. As blood gushed out from its head, it howled in anger before darting to his left and taking a huge bite off of his left leg. Pain surged through his body. As he grit through the agony, he raised his frying pan once more and brought it down hard on the rat-like creature's head, smashing it in and killing the monster once and for all. John checked his wound and found that there was no foam. Thank goodness this damned monster wasn't rabid. Nevertheless, he was bleeding and would require some medical assistance soon. John bent down and yanked at the silver flask from the corpse. A few coins fell out as he did so. John reached over and picked up the coins...it was forty-four silver coins! Nice! As John prepared to leave, he took one last glance at the creature he had killed. Though he won the battle, deep down he knew that this victory was likely to be short-lived. What was this creature? Was there more of them? What do they want? Would they attack the village? These questions popped into his head but there was no answers to found. John shook his head as he hoped that such things won't come again. However, little did he know, the answers to his question would arrive sooner than anyone in Glenfort would have liked.
Chapter 2 - Choosing a Path Spoiler "Good job, John! You managed to find my silver flask. Did you get the thieves?" Colette asked as he saw John walk out of the cellars, her silver flask in his hand. "Yea, though...." John hesitated as he handed the silver flask and frying pan back to Colette. "What is it?" "The thief was a rat-like monster walking on two feet and even wearing clothes. It was very strange. Do you know what it was?" "Rat-like creatures?! Oh no...." "So you do know. Tell me." "John...that creature you saw must be a variation of beastmen. These creatures are descendants of demons...monsters. Now that you know the existence of these nonhuman monsters, what will you do now?" "M-Me?" "John, I know...I know that you do not feel at home here...that you want to find your destiny out there." "How do you know?" "You think I didn't know about the money you so bitterly saved? That's enough for you to buy the basic equipment needed for venturing outside of the village." "T-That's true." "John, I know you feel that your journey lies elsewhere. I won't object to your decision. I guess it's finally time for you to hang up your frying pan." "Miss Colette...what about your inn?" "Don't worry. We still have the head chef. He'll manage...if not, we can always find another helper." "But...." "Go! Life has limited opportunities. Don't miss out on this chance." "T-Thank you so much." "Here, take these silver coins. It's what you earned this week. You should head over to the Training Hall to speak with head trainer Daedalus. He'll know what to do once he sees you." "Mr. Daedalus? What do you mean by that?" "Well, you see, since the day you were accepted into this village, Daedalus believed that you possessed the innate skills necessary to defend our village from evil...to one day become a hero." "A-A hero?" "Yes. Now that the time has come, you should go to the Training Hall and choose your path. Daedalus will be able to help you from there. Got it?" "Yes." John agreed as he prepared to head out. "Wait, what are you doing? You know the Training Hall isn't open at this hour." Colette reached out and grabbed John. "Ahaha, I forgot...hehe." "Come, let me bandage your wounds. Then, you can go get some sleep and visit Daedalus early in the morning tomorrow." "Okay." After John had his wound cleaned and bandaged, he headed home. He laid in his small bed as he waited for sleep to take over. He thought about the occurrence and the information about the beastmen. He always thought that there was more to the world than what they had here in the village. Now that the path appeared in front of him, he was more than willing to walk down it. Pretty soon, his eyes grew heavy and his breathing stabilized. .......... John's eyes flashed open as he heard the first cries of the rooster and the first rays of sunlight peeked through the window. John quickly got dressed and grabbed a few necessities for the journey. Once John walked downstairs, he was greeted by Colette who handed him a bag of food. "Good luck, John, and do remember to stop by once in a while." Colette waved as John walked out the door. "Don't worry, I will." John waved back. The young man left the inn and headed to the Training Hall situated to the southeast. After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at the entrance of the building. Beside the Training Hall was a straw scarecrow with a wooden sword attached to one arm and a target tied to the other arm. John opened the door and walked in. The inside of the Training Hall...was empty and a bit dusty as well. It was as if no one had used this building for a long time. "Hello? Is anyone here? My name is John...Miss Colette sent me." "Miss Colette sent you eh?" Someone asked from behind John. John turned around abruptly and saw an old man with long faded brown hair and a stern face. He had accentuated eyebrows and a full beard and mustache. The old man did not show any signs of age as he displayed a powerful and energetic aura. He was wearing the leather armor that the patrol guards generally wore. "Are you Mr. Daedalus?" "Yes I am. You said you're name was John? I remember you. So, you come to become a warrior?" "Yes. Miss Colette told me to come and choose a path." "Good! Here's a list of paths you can choose from. Read through them and decide which one would be a best fit for you. Once you are finished, come and speak with me. I'll be outside repairing the right wall." Daedalus left once he handed the list of paths to the young man. John looked over the list of paths and read each description. There were six different paths - the strong Justicar, the swift Shadow Walker, the wise War Mage, the fierce Frost Knight, the mighty Flame Warden, and the deadly Inquisitor. The Justicar was a prestigious order of warriors from Roheim with a strong devotion towards the god of light. Members of this order were imbued with spiritual energy that allowed them to be the most suitable in combating the forces of darkness. The Shadow Walkers were fleet-footed rogues that specialized in swift strikes and evading enemy attacks. Their vast array of infiltration tools allowed them to easily slow, stun, and confuse enemies. The War Mages of Elstrid were devoted to using powers of the elements to bring order from chaos. These powerful people used both ice and fire to lay waste to their foes as fast as possible. In ancient times, the Frost Knights of the Vale served a mighty dragon. Because of their servitude, the dragon gave them the powers they have now. With their mastery of ice and cold, they now guard the lands of Glenfort from the forces of evil. The Flame Wardens were a secret order of warrior rangers that patrol the borders of Dragonmoor. These warriors were not only well adapted to combat, but also well versed in the ways of pyromancy. Finally, the Inquisitors of Nithus were among the most powerful mages of the lands. Being masters of the natural world, the Inquisitors can use deadly poisons and spiritual powers to destroy their foes. After reading through the descriptions, John pondered for a while before making his decision. Ever since he was little, he was always a bit dumb. Though he can read and write, anything more complicated than that was well...too complicated. Thus, learning magic or any form of spiritual power was out of the question which meant the paths Justicar, War Mage, Frost Knight, Flame Warden, and Inquisitor were not suitable paths he should take. All that's left was the path of the Shadow Walkers. And that was what John had decided to take. Once he made his decision, John left the list on the counter and walked out of the Training Hall. He circled around the building and saw Daedalus just making some finishing touches to a newly repaired wall. When the head trainer saw John, his face lit up with a smile as he asked the young man what path he had decided to take. When John told him that he had decided to follow the path of the Shadow Walker, the old warrior frowned. However, he quickly smiled once more and told John to follow him back to the Training Hall to begin some basic training. Weeks later.... From sunrise to sunset, Daedalus taught John many things about the Shadow Walkers and their ancient ways. The old warrior tried his utmost to prepare the young hero for his journeys throughout the realm. Yet, before the training could be completed, rumors began to sweep across the lands. More of the rat-like creatures had appeared and were attacking farmers outside of the village, burning crops and laying waste wherever they went. It seemed that John's newly learned skills would be put to the test sooner than Daedalus had anticipated.
Chapter 3 - New Equipment Spoiler "Your Shadow Walker training has progressed very well, John. As Miss Colette told you the day you left the inn, I have seen great potential in you. I believe that with this training, you will be able to help protect this village from the evils that have recently approached it. Our enemies have encircled us from all sides. Take your skills and knowledge and wipe them all out." Daedalus told his apprentice one day. "Thank you for your training sir. I will take the skill I learned - Piercing Strike - and defeat all of the rat-like creatures that plagued our village. "Good! I like your train of thought. Here, take this pack of small healing potions. They will help you during battle." John reached out and grabbed the small bag. Inside were five small bottles of blood-red liquid. This liquid must be the healing potions. Hopefully it doesn't taste like blood.... Once he saw John store the pouch in a safe place, Daedalus told the young man that he should go visit Majerio's Shop and buy the basic equipment bundle for Shadow Walkers. After accepting the task, John left the Training Hall and headed towards the shop, which was located some distance away. Upon arriving at the shop, a man greeted him with enthusiasm. "Welcome! My name is Majerio. How may I help you?" The man greeted as he rubbed his hands. John gazed at the man, taking note of his unusual appearance. Everything about this man was small. The man was short and skinny. He had short black hair with two white locks at the front and beady black eyes. He had a small beard and a thin mustache. The shopkeeper wore a red flamboyant shirt with skinny brown pants. Laced at his neck was a thin, golden necklace chain. "Good day Mr. Majerio, Daedalus sent me." John curtly responded as he admired the equipment in the store. "Please, just call me Majerio." The shopkeeper raised his hand, "You said Daedalus sent you?" "Yes." "I see. What path did you choose?" "The path of the Shadow Walkers." "Shadow Walkers eh? That's rare." "Is it really?" "Yea, didn't Daedalus tell you?" "No." John shook his head. "Of course he didn't." Majerio muttered before glancing at John, a mischievous smile played along his lips. "I'm more surprised that he was okay with your choice." "What do you mean?" "Daedalus is a warrior with a righteous heart. He doesn't like underhanded tricks and attacks...something that Shadow Walkers are renown for." "Oh." John recalled seeing Daedalus frown when he had told the old warrior his choice of profession. "Anyways, since you're a greenhorn, I'm guessing you can't afford any of the more expensive bundles right?" John looked at the prices of the other bundles and paled at the sight of their prices. He nodded palely, bringing a laugh from Majerio. The shopkeeper patted him on the back and told him that there were no worries. Soon enough, he will earn enough money from killing monsters and finishing quests to pay for them. Afterwards, Majerio entered the storage room and walked out with a bundle. It was the Shadow Walker basic bundle which costs five pieces of gold. John reached for his money pouch and pulled out his entire life savings. After the transaction, Majerio showed John a booth where he can change into the new equipment. While in the booth, John tentatively opened the bundle. There were five Tier One items. There was a rusted steel sword, an old dagger, a Glenfort shirt, a pair of Glenfort handwraps, and a pair of Glenfort pants. Both the rusted steel sword and the old dagger came with their respective sheaths. The Glenfort shirt was basically a patched, long-sleeved gray shirt coupled with a thin, leather chest armor. The Glenfort handwraps were basically thin strips of unused leather sewn together. The Glenfort pants was blue in color and provided somewhat better protection than his tattered pants. The rusted steel sword, though chipped, was sharp enough to cut through flesh and hide...same thing with the old dagger. John grimaced at the quality of his weapons...five gold coins...ten years of part-time work...all gone and all he got was such shitty equipment. Nevertheless, shitty or not, they still provided some protection and attack power - much better than what he had before. With a sigh, John quickly put the new equipment on and walked out of the booth. "Well, it looks very fitting!" Majerio complimented as he saw John in his new equipment. "Thank you." John thanked the shopkeeper once more before heading back to the Training Hall. "You've arrived just in time! As I had suspected from your descriptions weeks ago, these rat-like creatures that were invading our village were indeed an ancient race known as the Rath'een." Daedalus informed as he saw John ambling in to the building in his new equipment. "Rath'een?" "Yea, I haven't seen them since my adventuring days long ago. I've battled many terrible creatures, but the Rath'een were something else entirely." Daedalus replied as he packed some things in a bag. "Regardless, I've just received reports that they're mounting an attack on our village soon and it's high time you put your skills to the test." "Okay! What should I do? How should I help?" Daedalus glanced at John and continued. "Here is the plan. I will manage our defenses outside the village, but I need you to stay here. These Rath'een bastards are diggers, and I fear that some of them might try to burrow their way up from underground and surprise us." "Okay. I'll do my best!" John saluted. "For now, search the village for any signs of Rath'een scum." "Alright." "Oh, that's right. Come to the back room. There's some final preparations that needs to be done." "What is it?" John asked as he followed his teacher to the back room. He had trained under Daedalus for many weeks, but this was the first time he was allowed to enter the back room. As soon as he entered, he noticed a small table. On the table was a weirdly shaped bottle containing what looks to be a glowing golden fluid. A small thin needle was placed next to the bottle. Other than those items, there were six pictures of the first hero of each path. "What are these for?" John asked as he picked up the bottle of golden fluid. Surprisingly, the bottle was heavy. "This is the Divine Ink. I will tattoo the sacred mark of the Shadow Walkers on your chest." Daedalus replied. "With the sacred mark, it will not only identify you as a Shadow Walker, but will also give you the benefit of seeing how much health and what level you and your opponents have. In addition, you will also see how much damage you and your opponents do as well. These blessings will help you keep track of yourself during battles so that you don't overdo yourself and die." "Is that so? Those are some amazing blessings. Are they only for Shadow Walkers?" "No...these blessings are the same for each path." "Oh." "Well, don't just stand there. Take off your shirt so I can begin the marking." Daedalus urged as he grabbed the needle and dipped it into the bottle. Hours later.... The tattoo was completed. A flash of light shone in John's mind as a refreshing sensation surged around in his head. He blinked a few times and suddenly saw his health. He had 250 health points. His level was obviously the first level. John looked towards Daedalus and was stunned at what he saw. Both level and health points displayed ???...what does that mean? "Why does it say ??? for your level and your health points?" "Ah, that is because my level is insanely higher than yours. And because you can't see my level, you will naturally be unable to see my health points as well. But don't worry, as long as you keep leveling, you will one day be able to see my level." Daedalus laughed. "I see." "Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's go."
Chapter 4 - Rath'een Invasion I Spoiler The two men headed out, one went towards the outskirts of the village to fight off the Rath'een army while the other visited each building within the village to check if there were any signs of Rath'een infiltration. As John searched each building, he heard a scream nearby. Could there be a monster attack? He looked around, straining his ears for the location of the screams. They were coming from Gibbons's House! John unsheathed his weapons and rushed over to the house. When he got there, the young man almost retched. What lay before his eyes was old man Gibbons - the last known surviving member of the Gibbons family, his body torn apart as innards poured out. A fresh blood trail led from the body to the house. John carefully approached the house and found that the door was open. The blood trail led inside. The young man pushed open the door, wincing at the creaking sounds that the old door made. He paused for a moment and scanned his surroundings...no movements. Raising his weapons in a defensive stance, John entered the house. He carefully checked the living room and the kitchen...nothing so far. Next, he walked towards the pantry. Suddenly, he heard a rustling behind him. With well trained reflexes, John turned towards the sound and thrust his sword forwards. This sharp attack was known as Piercing Strike - one of the skills he had learned from Daedalus. The attack pierced through the Rath'een's side, dealing forty-two damage and dropping the monster's health by almost half. However, unexpectedly, the weakened rat was somehow able to unleash a counterattack. With a chomp, it left a bleeding mark on John's arm, plummeting his health by thirty-four. Though the damage wasn't severe compared to his 250 total health points, it was still painful. Out of anger, John kicked the Rath'een back and knocked it onto the ground. Without giving it any time to recover, the young warrior rushed forward and chopped with his sword. The sword connected with the rat-like creature's shoulder, cutting deep into its body for thirty-two damage. Then, as a follow-up, John slashed the Rath'een's throat with his dagger doing a thirteen critical hit. Blood squirted out from both wounds as the Rath'een grabbed its throat in an attempt to close the wound and prevent any leakage. It staggered a couple of times but did not fall down. Tough little bastard. John raised his sword up once more and beheaded the Rath'een, its head flew up and tumbled onto the ground some distance away. As the corpse collapsed, the young man bent over and rummaged through the corpse's belongings. Lucky! He had found sixty silver coins. John glanced at his injured leg and noticed that the bite was shallow. He reached into his bag and grabbed some bandages, water, and alcohol. He poured the water onto the wound to wash away the blood and filth. Next, he poured the alcohol onto the wound to disinfect it. Finally, he wrapped the bandages around his injury. After tightening the knot, he tested his leg. Good...some light discomfort but that's all. This injury won't impede him as he searched for more Rath'een. After patching himself up, John continued to search the first floor. Suddenly, he heard a loud crash and a piercing shriek followed by some shuffling upstairs. There was another person here! John rushed up immediately and headed towards the noise. He kicked open the door and saw a Rath'een trying to rape a girl. The Rath'een before him looked different from the one he killed downstairs. This one, though a level two as well, stood at three feet tall with a beefier body. It was a Rath'een Brawler! This Rath'een had on a broken, leather chest armor with wrist wraps and ankle bandages. A long bandana was tied to its head which offered little protection. When it heard John enter, it quickly pulled up its green pants and raised its guard up. The young girl had fainted on the ground, her clothes ripped. Anger swelled up in John's heart and he unleashed that anger through a fierce Piercing Strike towards the enemy. The sword pierced through, dealing forty-two damage. As he pulled back his sword, the Rath'een Brawler howled in pain and fury and swiped at him with his claws. Five scratch marks appeared on John's sword arm. John sliced up with his old dagger, causing a shallow wound to appear on the Rath'een's face. As the brawler grabbed his face in pain, the young warrior slashed with his sword, cutting through bone and nearly splitting the Rath'een Brawler in half from shoulder to waist. However, he did not stop there. With a spin, he brought the sword down once more and completely split the monster in half. The Rath'een Brawler keeled over, the two pieces completely separated from each other as blood and bile escaped from the wounds. John kicked the corpse a bit and used his foot to lift aside the Rath'een's clothes. A glint of silver caused John to reach over and rummage through the clothes. As he withdrew from the clothes, his hand was holding a small pouch. He glanced inside and weighed the bag in his hand. About ninety silver...nice! After killing the two Rath'een warriors, John ignored the collapsed girl and continued searching the area. He did not want to be ambushed while taking care of the girl. Once you checked that there was no more Rath'een scum inside the house, he made his way back to the girl. When he reached the room, he saw that the girl was awake. The young girl was in her late teens or early twenties. She was staring blankly at the Rath'een corpse, her arms gathering what wass left of her clothes. The young girl screamed and scrambled to a corner when she saw John walk in. John held up his hands to show that he did not mean any harm. "Calm down lady...I don't mean you any harm. My name is John. Tell me, what is your name?" The young girl stared at him a few more times before shakily mumbled her name, "Ellen...." "Ellen, that's a nice name." John replied as he crouched down so that they saw each other eye-to-eye. "Why are you here? How are you related to old man Gibbons?" "Grandpappy? You know Grandpappy? Where is he?" Ellen's eyes lit up when John asked her about old man Gibbons, which made what John was about to say next much harder. "That.... I'm sorry." Seeing John shake his head and sigh, Ellen figured out what had happened. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she began to softly sob. Ellen didn't understand why this had happened. She just wanted to visit her grandpappy who she only saw a few times. They were happily living together these past few days...but now, this happened. Why? Why? Why? John reached over slowly and patted Ellen's head. He reached into his bag and pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants and gave it to Ellen. He told her that he will check the perimeter of the house to see if there was any more Rath'een intruders around and that she should quickly get dressed and meet him outside. John told her that he will take her to see someone who will take care of her. Once he got her to agree, John stood up and left the house. He walked around the perimeter of the house and searched for any clues of possible Rath'een infiltration. Luckily, there wasn't. He found the hole where the two Rath'een warriors had emerged from and covered it up. As he was just finishing with his patrol, he heard some soft footsteps behind him. He reeled around and pointed his sword at the source. It turned out to be Ellen. She shrank in fright at the sight of his sword. Realizing the situation, John retracted the sword and muttered a word of apology. Then, he led Miss Ellen to Mucky Duck Inn and asked Miss Colette to help her out. After finishing the business with Ellen, John continued to look around for any more Rath'een intruders. As he made his way north, he noticed that a man was running towards him from a distance. Upon closer look, John realized that it was the smithy. The young warrior rushed out to meet the middle-aged man. "Hold! What seems to be the problem?" John called out. "M-Monsters! They have taken over my forge! I managed to escape. Please help!" The smithy pleaded when he saw John's equipment and guessed that he was a warrior. "Fine, lead the way." John and the smithy rushed back to the forge. Upon reaching the location, John was able to see a Rath'een through the open door. The young Shadow Walker held his hand up and gestured for the smithy to wait outside while he took a look inside. Then, he unsheathed his sword and dagger and tiptoed in. Step by step he edged closer to the Rath'een, who was digging through some supplies. SHIING! John's dagger pierced through the air, creating a sharp sound, and made its way towards the Rath'een's head. He hoped for an instant kill. However, fate decided otherwise. Just then, the rat-like creature bent down to grab something causing John's dagger to miss. The Rath'een felt the air fluctuate above him and instinctively rolled forward. It spun around and hissed at the young warrior as if it was rude of him to attack without warning. Because John had anticipated a direct hit, he had unleashed his full force on the dagger attack. Having missed, the momentum of the attack caused the young man to stumble. This was a mistake due to inexperience and it cost him the first attack. The Rath'een jumped forward onto his arm and bit it. John winced at the pain but luckily most of the damage was absorbed by the handwraps. He fiercely shook his arm and flung the rat-like monster off of him. John pierced his sword and unleashed a deadly Piercing Strike that penetrated through the Rath'een. His opponent gasped in pain and collapsed onto the ground. The body twitched a little before stopping. Whew! Killed it! John walked towards the body and bent down to search its clothes for anything useful. Suddenly, the Rath'een opened its eyes and pounced on top of John who reflexively raised his right arm to block. The Rath'een bit at the arm as if its life depended on it. The young man roared in anger and pushed the rat-like creature into a wall, causing it loosened its bite. With its mouth open in agony, John struck with his steel sword and split the little bastard's head in half. John wiped his brow and noticed the pouch in his hand. He had taken it from the Rath'een but wasn't able to notice it due to the sudden attack. He looked through the contents and saw that there were only three pieces of silver. Wow! What a poor scamp! Maybe there's more RICHER Rath'een elsewhere in the forge. However, just as he was about to search the forge, a roar exploded out from behind him. John turned around and saw a Rath'een Brawler bending over the Rath'een he just killed. It was...crying? Could they have been friends? Family? When the Rath'een Brawler saw him, it roared once more and wildly charged at him. On reflex, John brought up his sword and defended himself. He thrust the sword forward and dealt a forty-four damage Piercing Strike into the monster's shoulder. The width of his sword was slightly larger than the monster's shoulder and with the Piercing Strike, the young man sliced off the Rath'een Brawler's arm. The rat-like monster reeled back in pain as it grabbed its bloodied stump. John rushed towards the Rath'een Brawler and slashed with his sword, a deep wound appeared on its chest. As it staggered back a couple of steps, a dagger appeared out of nowhere and pierced its right eye. The Rath'een Brawler shrieked in fury and sharply twisted its body. Its long powerful tail flew past it and slammed itself into John's body. The strong Tail Whip from the monster knocked the wind out of John, causing him to lose his grip on the dagger and sending him flying into a chair. John spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly checked his health points...ugh! That last attack did forty-two damage. Good thing he still had about fifty percent left. John struggled to his feet and cautiously looked at the enemy. Lady Luck must be on his side. The Rath'een Brawler laid on the ground, barely breathing. It seemed the last attack used up all of his strength. John walked up to the monster and raised the steel sword up with both hands. THUNK! The steel sword beheaded the Rath'een Brawler and embedded itself slightly into the ground. John reached over and pulled his dagger out of the corpse's head. After wiping the blood away, he glanced around and searched for any other Rath'een invaders. When there weren't any more, he sheathed his dagger and walked back to the Rath'een Brawler. He bent down and inspected the body, looting it of its material possessions. There were a little over a hundred pieces of silver. Adding the coins to his ever-expanding money bag, John retrieved his sword and stepped out of the forge. "I-Is it done?" The smithy asked as he saw John walk towards him. "Yes. I couldn't find the hole that the little bastards crawled out of though. If you do, just fill it up." John nodded. "Okay. Thank you so much!" "No problem." John waved the smithy farewell and proceeded to search the other buildings for any Rath'een intrusions. Along the way, he conducted some simple disinfection and bandaging. After he finished searching the village once, he headed back to the Training Hall. As he approached the Training Hall, he saw Daedalus outside with a bag over his shoulder. "How's your patrolling? I see you're all scratched up, did you kill any Rath'een scum?" Daedalus waved at John as soon as he saw the young Shadow Walker. "Yes sir. I've killed a couple of Rath'eens and Rath'een Brawlers. What about the situation outside?" "Good job on clearing out those Rath'een bastards, John. As for the situation outside, it's getting worse. Though we managed to take out several groups of Rath'een warriors, there were still more groups than one can count. In addition, we had lost a couple of people. Did anyone die here?" "Yes...." "What? What happened?" "Old man Gibbons...when I got there, he was already...." John responded, "But I was able to save his granddaughter." "Old man Gibbons died eh?" Daedalus sighed. "That's regrettable. At least you saved his granddaughter. When this is over, I'll make sure to give him and the others a proper burial." "But well done John. You managed to fight off a couple of Rath'een intruders and gained some valuable experience. Congratulations. You even leveled up." "Thank you sir." John saluted. It was true that he had leveled up. He realized it while he was bandaging himself. His health had also increased significantly. "Here's five gold coins. You should go to the Glenfort Temple and buy an elixir. Though the Temple's elixirs may cost gold coins, they will bestow you incredible benefits. Go buy one quickly and return here as quickly as you can." "Thank you sir. What will you do next?" "I don't know young lad. The way those groups of Rath'een bastards were moving...I will not deign to imagine that they have a plan beyond pure destruction. These advances do seem to indicate greater leadership in the ranks. Before the situation gets any worse, I'm going to gather help from the adventurers."
Chapter 5 - Rath'een Invasion II Spoiler "Alright, that's the plan. Go to the Temple now so that you can come back as soon as possible." Daedalus continued as he urged John to leave immediately. John saluted once more before heading northeast to the Glenfort Temple. After a couple of minutes of running, he arrived at the Temple. From the distance, he could see a figure surrounded by a group of kneeling villagers. That must be the priestess - Allegra. As he neared the priestess, he could make out her appearance. She had long black hair with green eyes and healthy cheeks. She looked no older than thirty but displayed an aura of wisdom and elegance. She wore the typical priestess clothes - a silver robe - and a golden wreath on her head. The priestess turned towards him when she heard his footsteps. "Welcome to the Temple! Oh my, you're injured. Come and let me heal you." "Thank you." John bowed. After the priestess healed him, she held out her hand. John stared at the hand, unsure of what she wanted. The priestess glanced at him and stomped her feet. "Ahem...money." "What? That healing wasn't free?" "You serious? How do you think I pay for food? That healing magic took a lot out of me. The least you could do is compensate me." "O-Okay...okay. How much?" "Not much, 100 pieces of silver." "A hundred?! Sounds reasonable." John exclaimed before nodding his head in agreement. The price seems expensive to any ordinary folk, but for someone like him...each time he defeat an enemy, he would earn more than a hundred silver coins on average...it was nothing. John reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of a hundred silver coins. He tossed the bag towards the priestess. "Thank you! My name is Allegra, what's yours?" A beam of light flashed on the priestess's lips. "John. I was sent here by Daedalus to buy an elixir." "An elixir eh? Come in, come in. I got many types of elixirs. Which one do you want?" Allegra replied as she led John into the Temple. To the far corner of the Temple, there was a small shop with a few elixirs on display. John looked at the elixirs on display. They were the Elixir of Fortune, the Elixir of Stamina, the Elixir of Power, the Elixir of Protection, the Elixir of Speed, the Elixir of Wisdom, the Elixir of Vitality, and the Elixir of Battle. These elixirs on display were the standard elixir for each type. Naturally, there was a "greater" version, but those versions were incredibly expensive. Beside the elixirs was a manual that described the usage of each elixir and their price. After careful consideration, John decided to buy the Elixir of Speed. This elixir would increase his attack speed by fifteen percent for seven days, which was really helpful given that there were many monsters to be dealt with in the near future. Once he spent the five gold coins for the Elixir of Speed, John headed back to the Training Hall. There he saw Daedalus all prepared to leave for battle. When the head trainer saw John, he asked if the young man was able to purchase an elixir. As soon as John showed Daedalus the elixir he bought, the old warrior told him to consume it immediately, which he complied. "Good work, John! Now that you've taken the elixir, you'll be able to tackle on the next task I will be handing to you." "I'm ready whenever. What will my next task be?" "While you were out, I had received new reports from my scouts - the Rath'een are planning another incursion into our village, this time by burrowing into the old well on the edge of the town. This well is a vital part of everyday life in Glenfort Village and for it to be desecrated by those Rath'een bastards would prove demoralizing to the villagers. We must protect it at all costs." "Protect the well? Got it, how hard can it be?" "Very hard. I received more reports that stated that the Rath'een force coming up through the well is being led by a powerful Rath'een Warlock - a very dangerous creature, well attuned to the magic arts." "A warlock? Something like a mini-boss monster?" "That's right. That's why I had you buy an elixir. But even so, if you meet this warlock, run. I heard from my scouts that this warlock is different from other warlocks in terms of attack power and vitality. Anyways, I have assembled a group of my finest warriors and they're on their way to the well. Once everyone has arrived, we will venture into the well to stop the Rath'een squadron before they can enter the village. You should come with us." "Alright. When do we leave?" "Now." "Okay, let's go then." "Oh, by the way, here's a few containers of poison. This poison is a special type of neurotoxin. Apply it to your dagger before each attack and it'll provide you with a neurotoxic attack that does small amounts of damage over time. The Shadow Walkers has always liked to use this type of attack and in the past, they had termed this attack the Neurotoxin Stab." "Thank you sir. I will use it wisely." As they walked towards the old well, they met with a couple of warriors heading in the same direction. Soon, there were about twenty warriors including John following behind Daedalus. Once they reached the old well, they immediately saw a couple of Rath'een warriors scurrying out of a large hole. The warriors quickly took action and after a few seconds, they were able to stealthily and brutally dismember the enemies. The warriors scanned the surroundings and looked down at the hole, making sure that there were no more Rath'een bastards in sight. Once they confirmed that every place was clear, Daedalus gave the signal to descend to the bottom of the hole. At the bottom, there was a large tunnel connecting to god knows where. Everyone lit up their own torches as they entered the dark tunnel. The twisting Rath'een-made tunnels quickly enveloped the group of warriors within an oppressive darkness, barely hiding the Rath'een menace that lay just beyond their torchlight. One by one, the warriors began to disappear, as if the darkness itself was swallowing them whole. After turning a corner, John realized that Daedalus's group had completely disappeared! A piercing shriek carried through the tunnels at that moment, and the Rath'een army began their attack. Sounds of fighting and injuries could be heard echoing in the dark tunnels, barely clear enough for others to sense their location. John, having no where else to go, decided to walk towards the source of the sounds. As the sounds grew louder, a Rath'een Brawler appeared out of nowhere and lunged at the young warrior. John rolled to the side and threw his torch at the Rath'een. As the Rath'een Brawler dodged the torch, John quickly lathered his dagger with the neurotoxin. Then, with a stab, he pierced the Rath'een Brawler and left a sizable wound on its side, green liquid mixing with the monster's blood. The Neurotoxin Stab skill did a whopping thirty-two damage plus poison. The sensation of blood mixing with poison must have been so uncomfortable that the Rath'een Brawler forgot about John for a moment as it tried to rub the poison out of its system. This was enough time for John to thrust out his steel sword and unleashed a Piercing Strike through one of the monster's lungs. The rat-like creature countered by swiping its paws at him. Unfortunately, its attack was shallow and only did less than a tenth of John's total health. As the Rath'een Brawler struggled to breathe, what with one of its lungs destroyed, it did not notice the incoming sword as its head was subsequently beheaded. John searched through the body's clothes and found fifty-seven pieces of silver as well as a small healing potion. The young Shadow Walker strolled towards the torch that was, thankfully, still lit and picked it up. He placed the burning torch on top of the corpse and burned it. The fire from the burning corpse provided a larger range of visibility allowing John to see a doorway in the distance, which led down another pathway. John glanced at the new pathway and felt an intense aura coming from within it. This must be where the leader was! At first, John wanted to find the others before taking on the Rath'een Warlock. However, he felt that he was ready. Even though Daedalus warned him about the prowess of the warlock, how hard could it really be? As John walked along the new pathway, he met another Rath'een Brawler. This Rath'een Brawler was eating something that looked like a human skull and only noticed John when he thrust out his poisoned dagger, doing a sizable thirty-one damage. The poison fluid flowed within the Rath'een Brawler's veins causing it to curl up in pain. As the Rath'een bastard laid on the ground twitching, John laid down the torch and pierced his sword into its throat, nailing it to the ground. The rat-like monster struggled roughly and managed to whip its tail into the young man's side. John felt his strength leave him as he tumbled into the wall. Luckily, the sword was still embedded in the Rath'een Brawler's throat. The young Shadow Walker breathed a sigh of relief and rested for a bit. He waited for a few minutes, hoping that the Rath'een bled to death. However, he had underestimated the tenacity of these monsters. Even after struggling for the past few minutes, the Rath'een Brawler still had enough energy to twitch and gargle...could be cursing but since its throat was mangled, all that was heard was rough gargling. Anyways, John decided that he couldn't wait for the monster to die from blood loss and prepared to end it quick. Waiting for the right moment when the monster stopped struggling for a bit, John rushed in and made a grab for the sword. As soon as he pulled it out, the Rath'een Brawler made a feeble swipe but that attack was knocked aside with a stroke of John's dagger. Next, John swung the bloodied sword towards the monster, preparing to end its life once and for all. However, with a stroke of luck, the Rath'een Brawler managed to roll out of the way. A smirk of defiance appeared on the Rath'een's toothy mouth. Annoyed with that smirk, John threw his dagger. With a swoosh, the dagger penetrated the Rath'een Brawler and brought a load of pain to it. Then, the young man stomped at the monster, kicking it flat on the ground. He raised the sword in the air and glared at the monster. Their eyes met. John could see the fear in its eyes. The Rath'een Brawler was practically pleading for its life. But, John could not give out any compassion for the beastman. He averted his eyes and plunged the sword down, beheading the rat-like creature. After killing the Rath'een Brawler, John searched the corpse's clothing and found forty-four silver coins. The young man touched the corpse with his torch, burning the corpse and further illuminating the tunnel. As he made his way deeper into the tunnel, he could hear more shouts and sword clashes echoing on all sides. Daedalus and the others must be in another tunnel next to his! For all he knows, maybe they're taking on the warlock right now. John took a couple of more steps forward and found a doorway. He walked in and froze in shock.
Chapter 6 - Corrupted Rath'een Warlock Spoiler He saw a back...the back of a tall Rath'een...taller than any other Rath'een he had seen so far. The rat-like monster had pallid skin with bones tied to its tail. It kept coughing periodically as it stirred something in a large black cauldron, a gouged eyeball twiddling in one of its hands. This...different Rath'een wore a dirtied white shirt with brown shorts and a tattered red cloak. As the Rath'een moved about, John was able to see a couple of green bottles hanging on its belt. "I've been expecting you." "What? You can speak? No, wait...you've been expecting me?" John blurted out in surprise and confusion. Who was this Rath'een and why was it waiting for him? No...wait. The things in this room...could it be this Rath'een was the warlock?! "You're the warlock!" "Hahaha, you are right! I am the Rath'een Warlock! I-!" A series of coughing and hacking erupted from within the Rath'een Warlock and a mouthful of blood leaked out of its covered mouth. "Damn it! This sickness...this corruption...bah!" "What do you want? Why are you attacking our village?" "Well, there's no reason I'll tell you the big boss's plans. However, I, on the other hand, did come here with an objective." "What? What could we possibly have that you want?" "Your Temple...your Temple has the means to end my corruption!" "Our Temple! You don't mean...the Greater Elixir of Vitality!" "Haha, no...not something as weak as that. I'm referring to the Divine Elixir of Vitality. There's only one of its kind in the entire Glenfort...and I want it!" "No! I cannot allow you to do that." "Why? Can't you even grant me that one wish? I thought you humans were supposed to be compassionate. Could it be because of my race? You humans are also known to be racists." "That's not it. If you had approached us peacefully and asked for healing, we would have helped but instead, you launched an attack on us. Do you think we'd let you go?" "If I approached your village unarmed, can you guarantee that the patrol guards won't attack me upon sight? Can you?!" "T-That...no I-I can't." "No, you can't! Enough talking, go and die!" The Corrupted Rath'een Warlock threw the eyeball at John, hoping to distract him and charged towards the young Shadow Walker. However, it seemed that John was thinking the same despicable strategy as he threw the torch at the Rath'een. The torch scraped past the warlock, igniting its cloak on fire. The warlock dropped to the ground and rolled around, trying to put out the fire. In the meantime, John had lathered a good layer of neurotoxin on his dagger and stabbed forth his dagger. Seeing the incoming dagger, the Rath'een Warlock rolled to the side and only suffered a small scrape. Some of the poison entered through the wound but it seemed that the Rath'een Warlock had some poison resistance and the attack proved ineffective. John thrust out his sword and pierced one of the warlock's legs, essentially disabling the warlock. The Corrupted Rath'een Warlock grunted in pain and raised its hand towards John. Bluish white mana gathered around its hand and after accumulating to a certain extent, the Rath'een Warlock fired the attack at John. This ice-type magic was known as Frostbite. Not only did it slow the young Shadow Walker down, it had also dealt sixteen ice damage. Because John could not cure the Frostbite immediately, it would continue to damage him overtime. The young warrior gritted through the freezing cold and unleashed a sword and dagger combo. However, due to the slow debuff, his sword attack missed. Luckily, he decided to throw his dagger which managed to penetrate the warlock in its shoulder. As if it couldn't feel any pain, the Rath'een Warlock grabbed the dagger and pulled it out of its shoulder. It tossed the dagger over its shoulder, far away from John. Then, the Corrupted Rath'een Warlock quickly gathered more ice mana into its hands and fired it at John. The blast of coldness and icicles smashed into him, wounds formed and blood froze. John was knocked back by the force of the attack and barreled into a stone table. That attack just did a whole sixty points of damage! Not to mention the collateral damage.... Anyways, John scrambled to his feet and almost tripped due to a wave of dizziness surging to his head. As he stabilized himself, he glanced over at the rat monster. It seemed that the monster is preparing for another Cold Blast attack. John fumbled forward and tried to stop the completion of the spell, but it seemed that he won't be able to make it. With no other choice left, he jumped forward and drove the sword into the warlock's chest. Once the Piercing Strike connected, John rolled away from the warlock and picked up his dagger. He lathered on a layer of neurotoxin and lunged at the Corrupted Rath'een Warlock. "Kuuaaa!" The Rath'een shrieked as the Neurotoxin Stab penetrated its back. Once the attack landed, John extracted both his weapons and rolled to the side, putting some distance away from the rat monster. He glanced at the monster and notice that it had curled on its side, unmoving. Is it dead? He was about to check when a wave of ice damage spurted out, causing him to wince in pain and lightheadedness. He shook himself a bit and felt some relief as the pain subsided. He walked towards the Rath'een and pierced it with his sword. Turned out the Rath'een was still alive as it roared in pain and fury, one of its claws scratching towards him. John swiped with his dagger and knocked the paw away. Suddenly, a bluish white glow shot towards him, sending him flying back once more. A number of more wounds appeared on his body. Luckily, the freezing power of the Cold Blast froze his blood, preventing him from bleeding out profusely. John lumbered forward and unleashed another fierce Piercing Strike, nailing the tenacious bastard into the ground. Another wave of ice damage assailed him, causing him to waver. But he grit through the dizziness and attacked with another Neurotoxin Stab. As he extracted both of his weapons, another wave of ice damage overwhelmed him. He grabbed his head as his eyes glossed over. A Cold Blast bombarded into him, flipping him a couple of times in the air. Not even giving him a chance to regroup, yet another wave of ice damage washed over him. His head was in a confused state...his body won't listen to him...and that bastard was still alive. John stabbed his sword into his leg, unleashing a surge of pain over him. Thankfully, the pain overwhelmed the coldness and he was able to regain some sense of alertness. He glanced at the Corrupted Rath'een Warlock. It was still alive...barely. That last Cold Blast must have used every bit of its mana. The young Shadow Walker walked towards the warlock, each step felt like a hundred pounds were tied to his legs. Slowly but surely, he arrived in front of the warlock. It glanced up towards him and muttered, "Kill me. End my misery." John raised his sword up and swung it into the Rath'een's head. THUNK! The sword embedded in the Rath'een's head but somehow it was still alive. So, the young warrior slashed out with his dagger. The dagger penetrated through the eye and dug its way into the brain. Then, John pulled out the sword and held it above the rat-like monster's neck, making sure the width of the sword lined up with the width of the neck. With one last strike, he pierced the neck and beheaded the Corrupted Rath'een Warlock. Finally, the bastard was dead. But, he was on the verge of dying as well. Or so he thought. As he tried to focus on his health to see exactly how much he had left, he realized that he had leveled up! He was now level three! With his increase in level, his health had also increased and with this increase, he was out of the red. John sighed a deep sigh of relief, knowing that he won't be dying anytime soon. Suddenly, sounds came from the doorway. John glanced in the direction and prayed. Please don't be a Rath'een! And the gods above must have answered his prayers. The source of the sounds were Daedalus and the others! They had fought their way through a hundred Rath'eens and made their way here. When they saw the beheaded warlock, they cheered. Daedalus rushed over to John and checked his injuries. He reached in his pouch and fed the young warrior a potion. Soon, his body warmed up and the debuffs were removed. Daedalus then bandaged the injuries and held John up. "Excellet work, John! When I saw that you had been separated from the rest of us, I had expected the worst. It seems that my fears were unfounded! Congratulations John on defeating the warlock. You've done well!" Daedalus praised. "We found a treasure chest over here, come and get your share." An adventurer called out as a group of them carried a large treasure chest towards them. Daedalus walked forward and opened the chest. There were a large amount of silver coins inside. He quickly divided the money and gave each of adventurers a share. Next, he handed a pouch containing 1066 pieces of silver to John. "Here, you deserved it." Daedalus replied before helping John walk. "Come, let's get out of here. We need to get you to the temple and heal those wounds." Along the way to the exit, Daedalus continued his conversation with John, "Unfortunately, the Rath'een will only return in greater numbers, and our baron, Lord Vander, has taken most of his soldiers with him on an ill-timed hunting trip to the north. If we're going to stop these attacks, we'll need to do it ourselves." "How will we do that?" John asked after a few seconds of thought. "The only way we're going to stop those Rath'een from entering our village is to bring their tunnels right down over their heads. Majerio can make us an explosive, but he needs some spider silk from the Fallow Fields in the Glenfort Plains to make the fuse. Once you've healed up, go to the Fallow Fields and find some spider silk. When you find some spider silk, go see Majerio in his shop and he'll tell you what to do next." "You mean I can go outside?" "Of course. You've proven yourself to be capable. After all, you were able to defeat that Rath'een Warlock. Not many able warriors can do that, especially if they were by themselves. You can say you're now a full-fledged adventurer!" "Don't worry! I won't let you down!" "That's good. Hey, there's the exit!" .......... Once they were out, John had regained some of his body functions and was able to walk by himself. He bid Daedalus and the others farewell as the group went their separate ways to prepare for the many more battles to come. John, on the other hand, decided to travel towards the Glenfort Temple in order to heal his body and wash away his fatigue. Upon arriving, he was greeted by Allegra. "Welcome John. How are you? Oh, you're injured! Come, let me heal you." John kneeled before the priestess who placed her hands over his head. A warm and bright light washed over him, clearing away his fatigue and healing his wounds. After a couple of minutes, the light dimmed to a stop. Allegra wiped her brow of sweat and held out her hand, a happy smile playing on her lips that betrayed her intentions. John reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch of silver coins. He handed it to the priestess whose smile beamed a bit brighter. John got up from his kneeling position and prepared to leave when he felt his sleeve being tugged. The young Shadow Walker turned around and saw Allegra standing beside him. "Is there something you need?" John raised the question as he raised an eyebrow towards her. "I need your help. Please, will you hear me out?" Allegra gave her best puppy eyes. "What is it? If it's within my capabilities, I will definitely help you out." "Thank you for hearing me out, John. Glenfort is dreadfully short on kindhearted Shadow Walkers as of late." The priestess bowed in gratitude, "Recently, some goblins have stolen a shipment of materials we required in order to concoct our elixirs. They were last spotted making camp along the river outside of town. Do you think you can help me get those materials back?" "What were the materials that were stolen?" Allegra brought out two shards of varying appearance and held them up for John to see. "This one here is a crystal shard and this one is a raw diamond. The items that were stolen were three crystal shards and one raw diamond." "What? Four items?" "Don't underestimate those four items. Just those four can allow us to make tens of elixirs." "Really? I-I see." "Please help me get those back." "No problem, leave it to me."
Chapter 7 - Fallow Fields Spoiler The Glenfort Plains was a large land mass located south of the village. The plains consisted of sizable field known as the Fallow Fields, a dirt road that connected the village with the western forests, and a long flowing river known as the Glenfort River which ended with a large waterfall that led to the Cursed Quarry. John recalled the tasks Daedalus and Allegra asked him to do. He had to go to the Fallow Fields to collect some spider silk for Majerio's explosives and the Glenfort River to retrieve the stolen materials from the goblins. Since the Fallow Fields was closer to the village, John decided to head over there first. In the past, the Fallow Fields was a flourishing plot of farming land that produced a large percentage of the crops that the villagers in the Glenfort Village sold for profit. However, now, a group of bandits - vagabonds who were too lazy to find honest jobs and murderers who enjoyed killing - had taken over these fields, driving out all of the farmers and any adventurers who were hired to take them down. Now the fields were plagued with bandits and beasts. And so, after an hour of hiking, John arrived at the borders of the Fallow Fields. The land, once flourished with numerous types of crops, now home to many types of weeds and plain grass. John surveyed his surroundings and saw a figure far out in the distance. The figure was a human. Now, in this place known as the Fallow Fields, the only humans out here could only be bandits. John unsheathed his two weapons and stealthily neared the Bandit, carefully making sure that he didn't make any sounds. Just as he was within attack range, he heard a loud crunch. John froze and looked down. He had stepped on a stray twig! John peered at the bandit in front of him hoping that he didn't notice...but unfortunately, he did. The Bandit, as soon as he heard the crunching sound, turned around immediately with his cutlass in his right hand. As the two humans looked at each other face to face, John was able to clearly see the appearance of the Bandit. The Bandit had red hair with a red bandana masking the lower half of his face. The human before him wore a green and white shirt with brown pants and dark leather boots. His face showed an expression of surprise when he saw John. This was the chance that the young Shadow Walker needed. John thrust forth his sword and pierced it into the Bandit's side, causing the injured man to reel back and tumble onto the ground. John could see that he had dealt more than fifty percent of the Bandit's health. The young warrior raised his sword once more to unleash a sword and dagger combo, however, the enemy before him took out a ball-shaped object made of what looked like gray-colored paper. The Bandit threw it onto the ground hard causing the ball to explode as smoke flew out and enveloped the area. Taken by surprise, John inhaled some of the smoke and uncontrollably coughed a couple of times. After a few seconds, he regained his posture as he held his breath waved the smoke away. The Bandit must have used this item to vanish from John's view, either to run away or to sneak attack him. Suddenly, John heard a rustling sound coming from behind him. He immediately turned around and swung his sword. SLICE! His sword made contact with flesh but the enemy wasn't the bandit from earlier...it was someone else. The new enemy, who had jumped back just in time to avoid a deeper cut, was an older man with white hair and a full white beard. The man was skinny with well-toned muscles. He had on a leather chest armor which covered a red A-shirt. This bandit wore purplish-gray pants and metallic kneeguards. He had a curved blade in his right and a curved dagger in his left. To avoid confusion, John decided to term him as a Bandit Swordsman. The Bandit Swordsman eyed John carefully. The last attack from John nearly killed him, which put some fear in him and discouraged him from charging in again. The Bandit Swordsman circled the young Shadow Walker before suddenly calling out to someone. Could it be the other bandit? John turned around and held his sword up to block any incoming attack. However, none came...or at least none came from his front. A sharp pain erupted from his back. That bastard had just tricked him and slashed his back! Fury swelled up from within John as he spun around and tried to unleash a Piercing Strike towards the Bandit Swordsman. However, another sharp pain coursed through him, this time coming from his right side. How did that happen? This time, John only turned around halfway. It turned out the first bandit did not run away after vanishing. Instead, he had hidden from view and sneak-attacked when John's guard was down. John roared in anger and recklessly charged towards the Bandit. He brought up his sword and pierced into the Bandit's chest, penetrating his heart...or at least it would have happened if not for his two bleeding and aching wounds. As he tried to complete his attack, the pain shot forth in doubles and snatched his strength away. Without his strength, his sword arm fell to his side. At this moment, John could hear another swinging sound coming from behind him, he turned around and saw the Bandit Swordsman swing his sword straight for him. John reflexively stepped back and avoided a serious injury. He winced in pain since even though he avoided the serious injury, he did not avoid the shallow one. John knew that he needed to attack too. He can't just stand there and become these two bandits' punching bag. He eyed the two opponents and cautiously backed away from them. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw the Bandit rushed towards him. John grunted through his pain and threw the dagger towards the Bandit. The surprised Bandit tried to dodge the dagger throw but was struck nonetheless. The dagger embedded itself deep in the Bandit's shoulder causing him to stagger a couple of steps back. The Bandit reached over and tried to pull the dagger out...but that was as far as he got. The scenes changed abruptly for the Bandit. Hmm? Why was he staring at his feet? Or rather...why was his feet on the side? And the answers to those questions will never be answered by the Bandit himself. Naturally, this was because he was dead. While the Bandit was focused on pulling the dagger out of his shoulder, John had used the momentum from spinning to generate enough force and swung his sword towards the Bandit. The force of the spin transferred into the force of John's sword attack and with one clean swipe, he beheaded the Bandit. "Sonny!" The Bandit Swordsman screamed in pain and anger. "So that was your son, eh?" John muttered, "Well, you'll be reunited with him soon." As if the Bandit Swordsman had heard John's mumblings, he cursed the young Shadow Walker to go to hell and rushed towards the young warrior with his sword raised high in order to execute a powerful strike. But, John did not give that chance to the bandit. Swiftly, the young man used all of his remaining strength to thrust the sword towards the old bandit. The sword pierced into the reckless bandit, puncturing one of his lungs, and caused the bandit to miss his slash. The Bandit Swordsman grabbed onto the blade of the steel sword and pulled it off of him. He flung the sword away even though it was still in John's hands. But John...clever, clever John...he had anticipated the Bandit Swordsman's move and used the momentum of the flinging to swing the steel sword in a full circle straight for the bandit's neck. With a mighty slash, the Bandit Swordsman's head rolled to the ground. After the battle, John immediately fell on his butt. He was, as the locals described it, "dead tired". John reached into his bag and pulled out a small healing potion. He took a sip, tentative of its taste. Having found the taste to be a bit sour like unripe fruit, the young warrior downed the potion and waited for the effects to occur. And the wait wasn't long. Soon after John drank the small healing potion, a hot feeling spread throughout his body and he could feel the wounds on his back start to close. Soon after, he was back to full health with a few minor scars. With these miraculous drinks in his bag, John felt more at ease as he continued searching for more bandits. After looting the bodies, the young Shadow Walker headed deeper to the heart of the fields. "Oh?" John mused as he saw another Bandit Swordsman. The bandit was busy pissing on a tree, his weapon leaning next to the tree. The young Shadow Walker held up his sword and carefully approached the enemy. John charged at the bandit once he was just a few meters away. The continuous rustling of the grass startled the bandit causing him to wet his pants. He tried to turn around to see who it was but John did not give him a chance as the young warrior lunged forward and gave a powerful kick to the bandit's ass. The Bandit Swordsman crashed into the tree and screamed in pain as his genitals bruised from the force of the kick. The bandit pushed himself from the tree and grabbed his sword. Just as he was about to turn, he was pierced in the back by John. The Piercing Strike penetrated through the Bandit Swordsman and exited his gut. The bandit glanced at the sword poking out of his stomach and spurted out a mouthful of blood. John pulled out the sword causing the man to fall to his knees. The Bandit Swordsman roared in anger and struggled to stand. The young Shadow Walker frowned and slashed with his steel sword. A slash mark welled up from where John's weapon had ran across. The Bandit Swordsman roared once more as he leaned on the tree for support. He did not fall down again. The bandit turned around and pressed his back on the tree. He held up his sword and swung it down as hard as he could. John tried to deflect the sword attack with his dagger, but the sudden burst of power from the bandit caused the sword to break through the dagger's defenses and embedded deep in John's shoulder. John winced in pain and dropped the dagger in his hand. As the bandit began pulling the sword out of John's shoulder, the young Shadow Walker reached up and grasped onto the sword with his right hand. No matter how hard the bandit tried to pull his sword away, John won't let go. Without his weapon, the Bandit Swordsman was full of openings. John raised his steel sword and chopped at the bandit, ending the poor old man's life quickly. As the bandit slumped lifelessly to the ground, John grabbed the sword in his shoulder with both hands and pulled it out. He tossed the bloodied sword to the ground and drank another potion of healing. Afterwards, he looted the body for anything valuable. "Whew! These bandits are so poor!" John lamented as he pulled out less than a hundred silver from the Bandit Swordsman. Suddenly, he froze. Someone...something was snarling behind him! John slowly turned around and saw a Feral Wolf! Why was it here? Could it have been attracted by the smell of blood? The wolf had dirty silver fur with glowing yellow eyes and large sharp canines. Its body was bent and its ears folded back. It seemed as if the wolf was afraid of something. Was it scared of John's killing aura that leaked out after he killed the Bandit Swordsman? The young Shadow Walker reached out his hand and tried to calm the wolf down, however, that did not go as planned. Because of John's open hand, the Feral Wolf mistook the fingers as fangs bearing towards it and lunged to attack. The Feral Wolf nipped John's hand causing him to jerk back. Swearing at his bad luck, John pierced his sword towards the Feral Wolf and stabbed into its side. The wounded wolf yelped before taking another bite at the young warrior's bitten hand. John clenched his wounded hand and punched the wolf square in the jaw, knocking it back. Then, he mercilessly hacked at the wolf and cut off its head. After killing the wolf, John heard some voices nearby. More bandits! From the sound of those voices it seemed that the enemies were moving closer to his position. John retrieved his weapons and quickly found some tall grass to hide behind. Soon, two Bandit Swordsmen came by. They were discussing something about how their boss had wanted to send some elites to attack the village to the north of them...wait! The village to the north...isn't that Glenfort Village?! John tried to listen to some more but couldn't because the two bandits saw the corpses. "Holy shit, look at that big wolf! Who could have killed it?" One of the Bandit Swordsmen - Bandit A, as John nicknamed in his mind - exclaimed as he spotted the beheaded Feral Wolf. "You're right! Such a waste though. The pelt is badly damaged and you won't be able to sell it for a good price." The other bandit - Bandit B - mused. As they walked towards the Feral Wolf, Bandit A exclaimed once more. "Hey...isn't that Gerald?!" "What? You're right. Gerald's dead! Do you think it was this wolf that done him in? Like they killed each other?" Bandit B responded as he knelt before the corpse and checked the body. "How can that be? With Gerald's capabilities, I'd be surprised if he didn't piss in his pants and faint." "Hahaha...but then...who killed Gerald?" "Look at his wounds. All blade marks. Could there be an intruder?" "If that's the case, then we need to report this to the boss immediately!" The two bandits quickly stood up and dashed past John's hiding place. It was at this moment that John emerged from his hiding place and gave a swift kick at Bandit B, knocking him tumbling to the ground. Before Bandit A could respond, John unleashed a sharp Piercing Strike into Bandit A's stomach and slit his throat. Then, the young warrior pulled out the sword and swung his dagger upwards, causing a long bloody tear to appear. John didn't stop his attacks there as he spun around and, using the momentum of the spin, chopped the bandit's head clean off. All of this happened in just a couple of seconds. John quickly glanced up and found that Bandit B had already made a run for it. The young Shadow Walker couldn't let the bandit go. If the bandit was to report back to their boss about him...then the consequences could be dire. John hoisted his sword and, after taking a couple of steps towards the bandit, launched the sword forward like a spear. The sword pierced into the Bandit Swordsman. The force of the attack knocked the bandit down. The young warrior rushed towards the collapsed bandit and swept his foot into the bandit's gut. John reached over and pulled out the sword. The bandit arched his back in pain, just enough to reveal his front to John who then threw his dagger at the enemy. The dagger struck into the Bandit Swordsman's shoulder knocking him onto his back. In a fit of desperation, the Bandit Swordsman swung his sword and managed to slice open John's leg. The young warrior grunted in slight discomfort. Using both hands, he swung his sword up and cut off the bandit's arm. The Bandit Swordsman howled in pain as he tried to madly ward off his opponent with the dagger in his remaining hand. John stepped back and waited for the wounded man to tire out. After a few minutes, the Bandit Swordsman laid on the floor, barely breathing as blood continued to flow from his wounds. The bandit's eyes were hazy as he saw a blurry figure walk up to him. The blurry figure raised something in the air and then...blackness. After beheading the bandit, John retrieved his dagger and bandaged his wounds. It was unfortunate, but he had realized too late that he had only one more healing potion left. He still needed to go to Glenfort River, so he decided not to drink the last potion until he had no other choice. Once his wounds were bandaged and blood stopped flowing, he crouched down and looted the bodies for any silver. That was when he pulled out something strange. It was elliptical and sticky. What was this weird object? John pressed the object between his fingers and...pop! A thick sticky gooiness spurted out all over John's fingers. Ugh! What was this shit? It even smells! Strange...this looked like yolk of some sort. Could this be an egg? But whose egg was this? Suddenly, a hiss emitted from behind him. John turned around and held his sword up. There, in front of him, was a large spider...larger than that of a full-grown dog. The gray spider had blood red eyes and large red fangs dripping with what looked to be poison. John guessed that the spider may have a high resistance to poison as well, which meant that Neurotoxin Stab would be ineffective to use. This spider, known as the Plains Spider, was staring at his right hand. At first, John thought it was just looking at him and its eyes just happened to be staring at his hand. However, when John moved his hand back and forth, the spider was following the hand's movements. John couldn't help but wonder why was that. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. The egg! That must have been a Plains Spider egg! No wonder! The Plains Spider was staring at his hand and hissing up a storm. This spider clearly had no intentions of letting him go. So, John had to take the initiative and land the first hit. He lunged towards the spider, startling it and pierced the spider with his steel sword. However, who would have thought that the spider had a really tough exoskeleton as the sword was only able to open up the tough shell and leave a shallow wound. The spider hissed with anger and squirted out a long stream of spider silk at John's feet. The sticky web made it hard for John to move. However, the spider had underestimated the swiftness of a Shadow Walker. Even with the slow debuff of the Web Trap, John was able to quickly deal a powerful strike to the Plains Spider's open wound. This time, John was able to cut deep and nearly split the spider in half. The Plains Spider hissed a couple of times before teetering to the ground. After the spider died, John cut himself loose and approached the spider. With a few stabs of his dagger, he opened up the spider's body and removed the spider sac which was used to produce spider silk. Having completed his objective, John did not hesitate to leave the area. He did not want to know what would happen when the other bandits found out about the dead bandits. John quickly left the fields and headed over to the river to search for the goblins and retrieve the stolen materials.
Chapter 8 - Glenfort River Spoiler Glenfort River...this tiny river has been essential to the development of Glenfort Village for generations as it flowed through the village from the western forests. There were many dangers that came to the river, attracted by its pure waters. As John neared the river, he saw three goblins and a Plains Spider camping near the river. What a strange sight! How was it that a Plains Spider was able to rest peacefully beside those goblins? Could it be that the goblins have somehow tamed the large spider? John scanned the belongings of the goblins and wondered if they were the ones who stole the materials of the temple. But, he couldn't see any crates of any sort just small boxes. John didn't want to find unnecessary trouble and decided to search elsewhere. However, it was just at that moment that he mentally face-palmed himself. Why was he looking for a crate? The missing materials were only four medium-sized items, which could be fitted within a couple of small boxes...small boxes! That's it! John turned around and saw the four small boxes lying at the feet of one of the goblins. Those must be the stolen materials! These goblins must be the thieves. John scanned the goblin camp once again, rubbing his chin as he began brainstorming a plan. This was the first time he was going to fight against goblins so he didn't want to recklessly charge in without testing out these green monsters' battle strength. After some careful thought, John decided to cause a distraction and try to draw one or two of the goblins out. He bent down and used the tall grass to partially mask his presence. Then, he circled around the camp and hid behind a large tree. Now, it was time for the distraction. John scanned around the vicinity of the tree and picked up a small rock. John tossed the rock up a few times to test the weight and nodded with satisfaction. The rock was just the right size to throw. Then, he looked at the goblin camp and tried to gauge the distance between the tree and the camp. With a hoist, he launched the rock over his shoulder and quickly hid from sight. The rock soared in the air with a perfect arc and smashed right into the campfire. Sparks flew out and scattered around the camp causing the goblins to scramble to their feet. Shouts of rage erupted as one of the goblins told the other two goblins to go check out the cause of the disruption. The two goblins picked up their weapons and made their way towards the tree that John was hiding behind. John also drew his weapons in preparation. He held his dagger up and tried to track the two goblins' movements through the reflection of the dagger. The goblins were about four feet tall with pointy ears and hunchbacks. One of the goblins had on leather armor with some chains wrapped around it at certain areas and it held a small bone club. The other goblin had on a grayish blue shirt and pants with a black belt tied to its waist. In its hand was a crude dagger. Judging by the way this goblin moves coupled with the mouth cover, John could guess that the goblin must be of the thief profession. Both goblins were wearing simple cloth caps. While John was tracking the Goblin Thief with his dagger, he suddenly realized that he had lost track of the other goblin! Where was that green bastard? Suddenly a screech came from his left. John spun around just in time to see a bone club come flying towards his face. John jerked his head to a hard right, nearly twisted his own neck but was lucky enough to dodge the direct hit. However, though the direct hit missed, the indirect hit landed. The bone club bonked on John's shoulder, quickly forming a bruise. John had expected his shoulder to dislocate. Fortunately, the Goblin wasn't strong enough. So this was the strength of a goblin? Hmph, I worried for nothing. John thrust out his sword and pierced the goblin in the leg. Why the leg? Well, the goblin managed to jump back and avoided a fatal blow. Fast little buggers, but not fast enough. John lunged forward once more and swiped his dagger, however, his attack was cut short as a sharp pain erupted on his back. Shit! He had forgotten about the Goblin Thief! He can't falter here. He gritted through the pain and continued his attack on the Goblin before him. The dagger scraped past the enemy's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. John rushed towards the Goblin and kneed it in its head. A sharp crack erupted on contact and the Goblin collapsed onto the ground, its lower jaw unhinged from the attack. The Goblin struggled to its feet and upon seeing John lunge towards it, it swung out its club and landed a lucky hit on the young Shadow Walker's shin. John winced at the blunt attack and kicked the club away. Then, with a Piercing Strike, he killed the Goblin. Quickly, he turned around towards the Goblin Thief only to be met with another cut. Luckily, the dagger was crude and relatively dull so the wound wasn't serious. John roundhouse kicked the goblin and then punched it in the nose. Green blood gushed out from its nose as a wave of dizziness began to set in. As the Goblin Thief shook its head to awaken its senses, John thrust his sword forward and pierced through the goblin's chest. The Goblin Thief roared in pain and lashed out with its dagger. Another cut appeared on John's chest. Ignoring the wound, John raised his dagger and plunged it into the goblin's eye, piercing through and into the brain. After a brief struggle, the Goblin Thief died. John gave the goblin a kick forcing the body off of his two weapons. John quickly peered from the tree towards the goblin at the camp. Whew...luckily that goblin didn't notice a thing. John sighed as he wiped some sweat from his brow. After taking a few more breaths to calm his nerves, John rushed forward and charged towards the Goblin. He used his favorite starting move and pierced the Goblin in the throat. As he withdrew the sword for another attack, he heard a hissing sound and his feet suddenly stopped moving. Shit! The Plains Spider! A club came crashing towards him soon after. Luckily the Goblin was shorter than him by a lot and could not reach his head. However, the Goblin still tried and the club smashed into John's collar. John hammered the Goblin with a fierce punch and sliced open both of its eyes. The Goblin grasped its mangled eyes and collapsed onto the ground. Seemed the Goblin was out of commission for now. "Whew, now this damned Web Trap!" John muttered, he bent down to cut the spider silk and felt something brush past his head. The Plains Spider had taken advantage of John's inattentiveness and pounced at him. However, luckily, John bent down at the right moment and dodged the attack. John saw the spider hiss, its fangs baring. The Plains Spider charged towards him once more. The young Shadow Walker quickly cut apart the Web Trap as he kept his eyes on the spider. There was too many spider silk, John couldn't finish cutting himself free in time. The spider pounced and the young man could do nothing but bring up his left arm to block. The fangs sank in just as John cut the last strings of the web, freeing him from the trap. Before the spider could inject any poison in its bite, John slashed out with his dagger and wounded the spider. Then, he continued the attacks with a firm kick, knocking the spider high in the air. As the spider fell down, John lashed out with another dagger attack. But the nimble spider grazed past the dagger and bit into John's right arm. The young warrior roared as he flung the spider off of his arm and pierced the spider through its wound, pinning it to the ground. The Plains Spider struggled as it tried to free itself. While it was struggling, John picked up his dagger and approached the Goblin. He nudged the body with his foot and deduced that the Goblin was dead. With a sigh of relief, John sat down by the fire and began checking on his wounds. Just a couple of bruises and scratches. The only problem was the cut on his back. John glanced at his health and saw that he was down to less than a hundred health points. The young warrior grimaced and reached into his bag. He pulled out his last small healing potion and downed the tangy fluid. Seconds later, his wounds healed and his fatigue relieved. He, then, bent down and began searching the Goblin for any money and was able to uncover three hundred pieces of silver. Then, he searched the four small boxes and nodded with contentment. As he had guessed, the boxes contained the stolen materials. John grabbed the four boxes and stored them in his knapsack. Then, he walked towards the dead spider and pulled out his sword. He cleaned his weapons of any blood and fluid before sheathing them and putting them away. Now, it was finally time for him to head back to the village to submit the completed quests and restock on small health potions.
Chapter 9 - Rath'een Invasion III Part 1 Spoiler At Majerio's Shop.... ....... "You've arrived just in time, my friend. Daedalus wanted you to head right back to the Training Hall as soon as you returned." Majerio exclaimed when he saw John enter his shop. "Oh, you have the spider silk? Give it to me, I'll get right to mixing that explosive powder for you. As soon as it's done, I'll have it delivered to the Training Hall." "Okay. You said Daedalus was looking for me? Do you know what about?" John asked as he handed the sac of spider silk to Majerio. "I don't know much but he did say it was an emergency." "I see, thank you for the heads up." John bid Majerio farewell and headed to the Training Hall. Once he arrived at the Training Hall, he noticed a group of people standing outside and talking amongst themselves. They casually threw him a curious glance before continuing their conversations. Unsure of what was going on, John reached for the door and pushed it open. Daedalus, upon seeing John, rushed forward with arms raised and clasped his hands on John's shoulders, a grin on his face. "Thank the Realms you've returned, John!" The old head trainer laughed heartily. "I need your help. The Rath'een army is leading another attack on our village and this time, they've doubled their forces! While I lead the charge against their main forces, I need you to check on the villagers once again to make sure that they are all right and to kill any Rath'een bastards that managed to dig their way into the village. You must protect our people, no matter the cost!" "No worries Daedalus. You can count on me! It's just another patrol." John replied as he puffed his chest with confidence. "Don't be overconfident!" Daedalus frowned when he heard John's boast. "Carelessness feeds on overconfidence." "S-Sorry, it won't happen again." "Good...that's good. You should go to the Temple and buy some healing potions first. It's always better safe than sorry." "That's what I had intended." John bid Daedalus farewell and good luck as he trekked towards the temple. As soon as he arrived, Allegra rushed out to greet him. When John held up the four small boxes, the priestess thanked him profusely. "You have helped the Temple, and we do not allow a good deed go unrewarded. Here are some silver and some healing potions." Allegra smiled as she gave John a small bag. "If we require your services once more, we hope you are able to assist." "As long as it's within my power, then I will be able to help." John promised. "Thank you so m-!" "Help! Help us!" A couple of voices shouted outside. "What happened?" Allegra and John looked at each other in bafflement. The two hurried out of the Temple and saw a group of people both elderly and young. They were rambling something about rat monsters attacking their homes. Allegra rushed to the group and tried to calm them down. After a few attempts, she was able to bring about some order. John walked up to one of the older men and asked what was going on. "Old man Godwin! What's wrong?" "Ah, John! I heard you became an adventurer. P-Please help us out!" The old man of the Godwin household grabbed John's hands and pleaded. "Take it easy, tell me what happened?" "W-We were just minding our own business w-when a hole appeared from our backyard and four giant rat-like m-monsters climbed out. They were so frightening. They wouldn't stop s-smashing at the doors. We...managed to escape through the front door...but our house...." "Rat-like monsters? Could they be Rath'een?" "I don't know about this Rath'een you speak of but those monsters have occupied our home. Please help us." A middle-aged man asked as he hugged a pale, elderly woman. This was old man Godwin's eldest son and the elderly woman was most likely old man Godwin's wife. "Don't worry. I'll do what I can. However...if they are in the house, things may get messy." "No worries. We don't have anything in value." "No!" The elderly woman suddenly exclaimed. "Grandma's vase!" "Ah yes, I nearly forgot." The son smacked his head as he proceeded to describe the vase. After John memorized the details, he hurried towards the family's home. The Godwins lived in a house to the west of the Temple, next to a couple of trees and just across the road. It only took John a few minutes to get there. Upon arriving, he could hear a couple of crashes and shuffling noises in the house. He rushed towards the house and hid below a broken window. Slowly, the young man raised his head and peered through the window. He immediately ducked his head as soon as he saw a Rath'een ambling about in the room. Did he get caught? Seconds passed until John stuck his head out once more. Good! It seemed the Rath'een didn't see him. He saw the Rath'een walk out of the room and entered the room on the opposite side of the hallway. After brushing away some broken glass, John vaulted over the window and quietly entered the room. He scanned around before tiptoeing towards the doorway. John unsheathed his dagger and held it in front of him, using the blade as a mirror. "Hmm, the Rath'een is still in the room across from here. There doesn't seem to be anyone else on this floor. Didn't old man Godwin say there were four? Maybe the other three are upstairs." Since there doesn't seem to be anyone else on the first floor besides the Rath'een in the adjacent room, John decided to take it out first. He withdrew his steel sword and rose to a standing position. Step by step he inched his way towards the room. Suddenly, the Rath'een appeared before him. The shock of seeing someone caused both John and the Rath'een to froze. But John had expected the monster while it had not expected him, allowing the young Shadow Walker to recover from shock earlier. John kicked the Rath'een back and struck with a Piercing Strike. The Rath'een grunted and staggered back until it fell to the ground. John rushed into the room and stomped hard on the Rath'een's wound causing it to squeal. Unexpectedly, John saw from the corner of his eye...another Rath'een! Shit! There was another Rath'een in the room! And a Rath'een Brawler at that! The Rath'een Brawler lunged towards him with its fists raised. It let out a powerful straight, aiming at John's head. John crouched down and avoided the attack. He brought his dagger in a sweeping motion and slit the Rath'een's throat. In one continuous movement, John rolled towards the Rath'een Brawler and drove his sword at the enemy. The rat monster punched the sword's spine, deflecting its path. He opened its left fist and tried to scratch John with its claws. However, John leaned back just barely avoiding the attack. As if expecting it, the Rath'een Brawler whipped its tail into John, dealing a whopping forty-two damage. John coughed out some blood as his chest began to bruise and swell. He must have suffered some internal damage from that attack! As the tail shot at him once again, John thrust out his sword and pierced the tail, nailing it into the ground. The Rath'een Brawler roared as it tried to pull its tail out. Seeing that its actions were futile, it focused its attention on John. With a few random swipes, it was able to land a lucky hit on John. The young Shadow Walker roared in anger and fiercely kicked the Rath'een Brawler, causing its tail to split into two due to the force. Not giving the rat any time to recover, John threw his dagger, which embedded itself into the Rath'een Brawler's chest. Then, John whirled around and swung his sword with all his might. After beheading the Rath'een Brawler, John quickly looted the bodies and hid behind the door. The fighting and the screams had most definitely drawn attention from the other Rath'een bastards. Sure enough, loud stomps could be heard coming from the second floor as they rushed down the stairs and approached the room. John used his dagger once more as a mirror in order to confirm what the enemies were. Turns out there was a Rath'een Brawler followed by a Rath'een Warlock. John held his sword and prepared himself. As soon as the Rath'een Brawler enters the room, John will activate his strongest skill - the Piercing Strike. STOMP! STOMP! STOMP! John could see the shadow approaching nearer and nearer. His adrenaline increasing with each stomp. The Rath'een Brawler roared out as it entered the room. It scanned the room for the enemy only to see John at the corner of its eye. It was too late to dodge! The Rath'een Brawler could only raise its arms up as John's Piercing Strike drove itself deeply, penetrating flesh and organs. It was a critical hit! The Rath'een Brawler's health points decreased by more than two thirds. As John pulled out the sword and prepared for another attack, a cold blast enveloped him, causing slowness and freezing. The Rath'een Warlock had just unleashed Frostbite on him. However, luckily, part of the ice attack had also landed on the Rath'een Brawler. The rat monster had just punched out but, due to the slow debuff, it missed. This allowed John to kick the Rath'een Brawler back and sliced its head off with his sword. Suddenly, John heard some mumbling and the air surrounding him began to fluctuate. That warlock was about to cast another spell! John spun around and rolled to the side. While in mid-roll, he accurately threw his dagger towards the Rath'een Warlock, wounding it and managing to stop its chant. The warlock wrenched the dagger from its arm and tossed it down the hall. It glared at John and reached out with its hand, grabbing a hold of the nearest item...a vase. Vase! That was the vase that the Godwins had described! John stared in horror as the Rath'een Warlock picked up the vase and fiercely threw it at him. John reached over and grabbed vase, letting the momentum of the vase carry him backwards. The young warrior skidded to the ground as he hugged the vase, careful not to break it. John looked up and saw that the Rath'een Warlock had continued its chant. This surprised John. To think interrupting a magic chant won't cause the caster to restart the chant. John quickly stood up and placed the vase on a nearby pedestal. He raised his sword and rushed towards the warlock. However, he was too late. The Rath'een Warlock finished its chant and unleashed a Cold Blast at John, knocking him back. Not only that, but the continuous ice damage received from the Frostbite earlier activated and John suffered another loss of health. The young Shadow Walker gritted his teeth and shook himself. After regaining some senses, he hoisted his sword and launched it. The steel sword flew through the air like a lightning bolt and pierced the Rath'een monster. John hopped forward and rushed towards the warlock. He was just about to grab the embedded sword when another wave of ice damage erupted and spread throughout his body, causing him to wince and falter. But, John was tough. He had only faltered for a second before reaching over and grabbing a hold of the sword. He feverishly glared at the Rath'een Warlock and saw fear in its eyes. John ripped out the sword and, with a spin, appeared behind the enemy. He reached over with his sword and sliced the bastard's throat nearly in half. As the body teetered about and seemed to be falling towards him, John harshly kicked it away. However, that's when he saw it...the vase! The Rath'een corpse tumbled into the pedestal where the vase was placed on, causing the Godwin family's treasure to tip over the edge of the podium. Oh no! John rushed forward as fast as he could and dove.... .......... "The house has been cleared, old man Godwin, you can go home now." John replied as he arrived at the Temple. "Really? Thank you so much!" The old man expressed his gratitude. "Yes. Though the only problem is the mess...." "No problem, we'll take care of it. Thank you again, John." The other Godwins also thanked and praised John's abilities. The old woman grabbed his hand and asked about the vase. John seriously looked at her, causing her to have different thoughts. But then, John flashed a rare smile and brought out the vase from his bag. He was able to save it from falling to pieces. It was close...but he was lucky. The old woman hugged the vase and thanked John once more. Soon afterward, John escorted the Godwin family home. Once they reached their house, John bid them farewell and continued his search for any more Rath'een intrusions.
Chapter 10 - Rath'een Invasion III Part 2 Spoiler After combing through most of the other houses, John heard a loud crash from the house next to the inn. It was the house of the Bower family. As the young warrior neared the house, he was able to hear screams of both human and Rath'een. From what he could make of the words, it seemed that the Bower family has been trapped in their home by a group of Rath'een monsters! John knew that he needed to stop those bastards before it was too late! John ran towards the front of the house and found out that the door was open. He peeked inside and saw that the interior of the Bower's home had been completely torn apart - valuables strewn on the floor, tables and furniture overturned, and a layer of ice along the far wall suggesting that a Rath'een Warlock was behind the attack. John entered the house cautiously, his weapons drawn and held at the ready. Further inside, John could hear the Rath'een attackers threatening the Bower family. John stepped forward and challenged the cowardly beasts, giving the Bower family just enough time to escape from their home. The Rath'een advanced on the young Shadow Walker, and the battle began! John thrust forth with his sword but the Rath'een in front of him rolled forward, dodging his attack and taking a bite out of his leg. He grunted in pain and raised his other leg. With a fierce stomp, he pounded the Rath'een and knocked the wind out of it. The Rath'een spat out, just enough time for John to withdraw his wounded leg. He raised up his sword in order strike but suddenly see another Rath'een lunge towards him from the side. John raised his other hand and tried to block any incoming attack. He winced as the Rath'een bit into his arm. John viciously shook his arm and kicked the Rath'een off of him. The first Rath'een pounced towards him once it caught its breath, almost catching John by surprise but luckily John was expecting it. Those cowardly beasts were renown for their sneak attacks and backstabs. After all, it was in their nature. John punched out and broke a couple of the Rath'een's teeth. As the rat monster staggered back from the force of the attack, John held his sword and ran the beast through. However, the Rath'een grabbed a hold of John and took a bite at his shoulder. One bite he could deal with, but when the other Rath'een jumped on his back and bit his other shoulder, John roared with pain. He sprung back and crashed the Rath'een on his back into a wall, driving the bastard off of him. Then, he twisted the sword and sent another round of pain into the Rath'een in front of him. The monster yelped in pain and let go of his shoulder. Using all his strength, John forced the sword up. Coupled with the weight of the Rath'een pressing down on the sword, he was able to lengthen the wound. After a few seconds or so, as if some limit was broken, John slashed the sword out from the Rath'een's shoulder. The nearly halved monster collapsed to the ground, dead upon landing. John glanced at the monster, pieces of bone and organs strewn near and around the wound. Whew, that was tough! John almost dropped his guard when he remembered that there was still another enemy. He quickly turned around and saw the remaining Rath'een lunge at him. He threw his dagger towards the charging Rath'een in an attempt to slow it down, however, even with the dagger hilt deep in its shoulder, the Rath'een did not stop its charge. It pounced on John and gnawed on his arm dealing thirty-two points of damage. The young Shadow Walker grimaced at the pain and threw the Rath'een off of his arm. As the rat monster scrambled to its feet, John held up his sword and ran the bastard through. He continued his charge, carrying the bastard along, and pinned it to a wall. The Rath'een raised its hand in an attempt to claw at John's face, but John grabbed a hold of the arm, ripped the dagger out from the Rath'een's shoulder, and nailed the hand into the wall. It was time to deal the finishing move. John pulled out the sword and unleashed a spinning attack. With such a sharp slash, both the raised arm and the head of the Rath'een separated from the body. After killing both enemies, John sighed in relief and slumped against the wall. He winced in pain as he fumbled for a healing potion in his bag. With a flick of his head, he downed the sour liquid. Seconds later, his wounds were healed and his stamina renewed. John knew that his fight had most likely reached the ears of the other Rath'een monsters upstairs. With no time to waste, John rushed up the stairs and searched the rooms. When he reached the master room, he saw two Rath'een bastards. One was the warlock and the other was a Rath'een Brawler. The warlock seemed to be edging closer to the window. Suddenly, the Rath'een Warlock screeched some commands and crashed through the window. That bastard was trying to escape! John took a few steps towards the window but was stopped by the Rath'een Brawler. It seemed the enemy before him was bent on buying the warlock time to escape. In a fit of bloodlust, John rushed towards the Rath'een Brawler and thrust out his sword with a powerful Piercing Strike. He smashed into the rat monster and the two crashed into the broken window. The two warriors landed on the ground with John on top and his sword still in the Rath'een Brawler. The Rath'een Brawler spat out a mouthful of blood and swiped its claws at John, knocking him back. The tough bastard scrambled to its feet and pulled the sword out of its body. It tossed the sword away and glared at John. As expected of a level four Rath'een Brawler...even with one lung destroyed, its toughness was on a whole new level. John rushed towards the monster and unleashed a fierce flying drop kick. The Rath'een Brawler stepped to the side and dodged the kick. John flipped over and landed on all fours. He craned his neck and glanced up at the monster. John lifted his dagger and pounced at the Rath'een Brawler. The rat monster's tail shot forth and whipped John to the side. Luckily, at that instance, the young man was able to leave a small wound on the Rath'een Brawler's tail. John tumbled into the ground and rolled a couple of times. He climbed up on one knee and noticed his sword lying within hand's reach. As the Rath'een Brawler rubbed its wound, John picked up his sword and sprinted forth. He launched a Piercing Strike once more and punctured the monster's other lung. With both lungs damaged, the Rath'een Brawler began to have trouble breathing. It gasped for breath as it grabbed its throat. John clenched his right fist and jabbed the monster in the face. The Rath'een Brawler collapsed onto the ground as it gasped for air. After struggling a couple of times, its eyes rolled over and it died from asphyxiation. John looked up from his victory and saw that the Rath'een Warlock had already escaped into the hole it emerged from. The young Shadow Walker rushed towards the tunnel but the coward had closed off the tunnel. John showed a face of displeasure but quickly forgotten the escapee as he completely covered the hole with dirt. Then, he looted the bodies and removed them from the house. He lit the corpses on fire and burned them to ashes. As John healed his wounds, he realized that he had leveled up once again. Now, as a level four, his health points had increased to 630. John smiled at his achievement. Afterwards, he searched for the Bower family and told them that their house was in the clear. Then, he escorted the family back to their house. Once they thanked him for his help, John headed towards Gibbons's House. No one was there, not even a Rath'een. Seemed like Ellen was still with Miss Colette and had not come back recently. Maybe it's all for the better. After all, Ellen lost someone important to her here and it would be best if she was to distance herself from this place in order to cope with any trauma she may have gotten over the incident. After he finished checking the other houses around Gibbons's House, he headed towards the Coliseum. That's when he noticed a small house next to the Coliseum. Loud noises were coming from that house and last he knew, that house was owned by Aylwin - an old scholar and good friend of Daedalus's. John rushed towards that house and saw that the front door was open. There was a pungent rusty smell permeating from within the house. John had a bad premonition. He crept inside and looked around. He peeked into some rooms and saw that each room was ransacked, stuff lying on the ground in a mess and a filthy smell lingered in the air. John knew the smell all too well...Rath'een! CRASH! The sound came from down the hall! John hurried towards the source of the sound. It was coming from behind the door at the end of the hallway. The door was partly open and John was able to peek inside. John noticed Aylwin lying very still on the dusty wooden floor. Scattered around him were shredded books, a smashed crystal ball, and the four Rath'een that had slain him. Furious, the young Shadow Walker flung open the door and stepped forward to challenge the Rath'een bastards. "You killed Aylwin!?" The Rath'een hissed in surprise at the intrusion. One of them shouted as they began to advance on the young hero, teeth and claws bared for battle. "Kill the meddler!" John dashed towards the nearest Rath'een enemy, a level four warlock, and attacked with a Piercing Strike. Without stopping his charge, the young Shadow Walker used the Rath'een Warlock as a meat shield and barreled his way past the other three Rath'een warriors. Suddenly, John felt his body freeze over. This bastard had hit him with a point-blank Cold Blast! Luckily, it was a feeble one. If it had been a full-powered Cold Blast, he would have suffered a fatal injury. John grabbed a hold of his sword with both hands and glanced over his shoulders towards the other three Rath'een monsters. The three monsters laid on the ground dazed from being tackled. Swiftly, John pulled out the sword and immediately spun around with a diagonal slash at the Rath'een Warlock. Then, with a kick, John booted the warlock to a wall. The young Shadow Walker ended the Rath'een's life with a fierce Piercing Strike to the heart. All this had happened in a matter of seconds and none of the other Rath'een warriors had the time to react. Comparing all three of their levels to that of the dead warlock, John could guess how inexperienced the three Rath'een warriors were. As the Rath'een warriors slowly reacted, John rushed towards the Rath'een on the left and unleashed his most used skill - Piercing Strike. However, the Rath'een was trembling with fear and stumbled back, luckily dodging the attack. Lucky for it but not for John. The Rath'een in the middle pounced on him and bit into his shoulder, while the Rath'een Brawler on the right reached out and punched John in the head. A ringing, buzzing sound erupted in John's head as his eyes began to blur. The Rath'een on the left scrambled back on its feet and leaped forward to bite but fortunately, it miscalculated the distance as John stepped back and shook his head to clear away his senses. With a fiery glint in his eyes, he shrugged the Rath'een on top of him off and kicked the Rath'een in front of him back. Then, he threw his dagger into the Rath'een's throat, the force sending the monster back and embedding itself in a wall. As the Rath'een struggled to set itself free, John thrust out his sword and killed it. He pulled out his sword and turned to the others. Seeing the Rath'een Brawler charge towards him, he raised his weapons up and readied himself to meet the charge; however, pain suddenly shot up in his leg. The Rath'een that he shrugged off of him had clamped onto his leg and refused to let go. That momentary distraction cost him a swipe to the head. Once again, his head began to buzz and his eyes blurred. John stomped at the Rath'een below him but the stubborn bastard held on...even when John kicked it in the gut. If not for the situation at hand, John could have commented the admirable willpower of the Rath'een. Suddenly, a long thick tail smashed forth, knocking John onto the ground. The Rath'een Brawler's tail swayed around a bit before shooting towards him once more. John stabbed into the Rath'een on his leg, finally forcing its mouth open. Then, the young Shadow Walker rolled backwards and dodged the fierce Tail Whip. John took out his dagger and quickly applied a layer of neurotoxin. He glared at the Rath'een Brawler and sneered. The young Shadow Walker leaped forth and charged, his sword raised and aimed for the Rath'een Brawler's heart. The monster had seen John start off with a Piercing Strike three times in a row and had assumed that the young man would use Piercing Strike against it as well. So when it saw John charge at it with his sword raised, the Rath'een Brawler flipped back a couple of times. At a distance away, it smirked at John. But then, its body shook. Pain surged through its body. It looked down at the source of the pain and saw...a dagger...John's dagger! John had feinted with the sword and threw his dagger instead. The dagger punctured through the Rath'een Brawler and the neurotoxin quickly spread. The Rath'een Brawler's legs began to weaken and it took a few steps to stabilize itself. It looked up in shock at the human who did the attack...and saw that John was gone! John had taken advantage of the Rath'een Brawler's distraction and snuck up behind it. With a large swing, he beheaded the Rath'een Brawler. John reached into his bag and pulled out a healing potion. While he drank the potion, he searched the Rath'een invaders for silver. He was already used to looting so he didn't think much about it as he rummaged through the corpses. Even though looting was an unfavorable behavior, he needed the silver to pay for better equipment and more potions. After all, nothing was free. Once he healed up, he dragged the Rath'een corpses out of the house and burned them. Then, he buried old man Aylwin in the backyard and erected a wooden tablet to identify the dead. Afterwards, he finished his patrol around the village and headed back to the Training Hall. Along the way, he met Daedalus who just got back from the war outside of the village.
Chapter 11 - Goblin Bounty Spoiler "Aylwin is dead?" Daedalus exclaimed when John told him about the situation in the village. "Nobody deserves such a fate...the poor soul. Sadly, this is but a taste of things to come in these lands should the Rath'een be allowed to survive. Between the Rath'een attacks and further reports of the goblins mobilizing to the southeast, our troubles are only beginning." Daedalus sighed and looked at the Training Hall in the distance. He glanced at John and continued, "It seemed you have leveled up once more. That's good to know. Come, let me teach you a few more things while we still have the time." "Okay. I need all the skills I can get." And so, John trained under Daedalus for a couple of days. During that training session, Daedalus described the importance of speed for Shadow Walkers and helped John increase his swiftness. With an increase in quickness, John's movement speed, attack speed, and reflexes have all increased as well. In addition, Daedalus helped John increase his mastery over the basic attacks so that the young Shadow Walker would make less inexperienced mistakes like he had in his previous battles. After spending a few days on training, Daedalus presented John with a barbed net. The barbed net was dipped with a type of weak poison that would whet away the vitality of its prisoner. The skill needed to use this equipment was known as Ensnare, which was a valuable asset to a Shadow Walker's repertoire. After John learned Ensnare, news of the Rath'een resurfaced and Daedalus had to leave for the frontlines once again, leaving John with a new skill but no mastery over it. Before he left, Daedalus told John to go visit Colette and see if she had a task or two for him to do. John agreed and headed towards the inn. It had been days since he last saw Miss Colette. He wondered how she was doing these days. As he arrived at the inn, he noticed that there was a board posted outside by the door. There were a number of papers pinned onto the board. As John curiously scanned over the papers, he realized that they were all bounties...tasks commissioned by the villagers and other adventurers. A bounty caught his eye. It was offered by Daedalus. The task was to defeat five goblins and bring back their ears as proof of kill. There have been reports of goblin sightings in the Glenfort Plains to the southwest of the village. Apparently, with Daedalus and his forces fighting off the Rath'een army in the outskirts of the village, he was worried about how the goblins in the Glenfort Plains have been getting a bit too close to the village. Daedalus wanted anyone, who was available, to go and slay five goblins in order to remind those dirty bastards to keep their distance away from the village. The task seemed relatively easy. John ripped off the bounty from the board and walked into the inn. "Welcome! Oh, it's you!" A sweet voice chirped. John looked up from the bounty and saw Ellen. "Oh, Ellen, how are you?" "Good! Thanks to Colette, I was able to find some part-time work here." Ellen smiled. "Who's at the door, Ellen?" Colette called out from behind the counter as she stared at some papers. "Miss Colette! It's me, John! I've come to visit." John strode towards the counter with a chuckle. "Ah, John! It's been a while. How you been? How's your training?" Colette grinned as she walked out from behind the counter to greet John. "Good, training's good. I've learned a lot. What about you? How've you been? How's the chef? Is cooking without me too much of a burden for him?" "Nah, the cooking thing wasn't nearly so tough on the head chef as I thought it would be!" Colette shook her head as she pointed towards the kitchen, "He's doing fine by himself." "That's good." "Besides, even when the nights get busy and the head chef needed help with the kitchen, I would roll up my sleeves and help around." "With your cooking? Really?" "What about my cooking?" "N-Nothing...nothing. So anything going on around here?" "Ah, yes...now that you mention it, I do have a problem I could use some help with." "What is it?" "For some reason, this nearby goblin tribe had taken such a liking to this stew I made that they kept sacking my basement looking for leftovers. I hired some locals to fend them off but they needed all the help they can get." "Goblins eh? So, you need my help too?" "Yea, these Gobblin' Goblins - as I nicknamed them - needed to be taught a lesson! They're located outside to the east of the village. The locals are grouping up outside right this moment. Head over there and join a group of adventurers and fight those goblins off!" "Alright! You can count on me." "That's good. Thank you, John, for your help." "No problem. You've helped me plenty in the past. It's natural for me to repay your kindness." After accepting Colette's task, John headed out the door. Before he took on the innkeeper's task, John wanted to first familiarize himself with his new skills in battle. Thus, he decided to leave the village and look for some enemies to fight. As he headed towards the Glenfort Plains, John decided to go to Glenfort River and kill off a few goblins in order to get used to using the Ensnare skill as well as to complete the bounty he had just taken. Upon arrival, he scoured the surrounding area and strangely enough...couldn't find a single goblin. Glenfort River was known to have quite a few goblins, but why was empty now? Where have all the goblins gone to? John decided to walk south along the river in order to see if he could encounter some goblins. After walking for half an hour, he finally spotted an encampment. The camp was fortified with a large wooden fence along with two lookout towers by the entranceway. Whose campgrounds was this? The size of this camp...it could house a small army! John stealthily approached the camp's entrance and noticed that the lookout towers were empty. The young Shadow Walker peeked past the entrance and was struck in the nose with a sharp stench, causing him to reel back in disgust. This smell! It was familiar but different from that of a Rath'een. It...it's goblin! This encampment was a goblin camp! John observed the goblin camp and saw that there weren't any guards patrolling around. In fact, there wasn't a lot of noise bustling within the camp. That's strange. Goblins were a noisy bunch. So, where have all the goblins gone too? John silently crept inside and peered inside each tent. After finding three empty tents, John thought that the place was truly void of goblins...that was until he saw an open tent. Inside, there were two Goblin Thieves rummaging through a couple of large crates. John scurried over and hid behind the flaps of the tent. The goblins were talking...something about how the goblin army had headed over to the Fallow Fields and were currently fighting the bandits there. And then the conversation switched over to how they should hurry up and take as much as they can hold and then meet up with the others. Well...it seemed these Goblin Thieves had deserted from the army and were trying to run off with some valuables. Wait! Others? Shit, there was more than just these two? John quickly looked around him and saw no one. Luckily for him, the other thieves must have been busy stealing things from other tents. John decided he should take care of these two Goblin Thieves first before looking for the others. Carefully, so to not make any noise, he unraveled his barbed net and aimed at one of the goblins. With a swing of his arm, John tossed the net towards the goblin. However, he had misjudged the distance and the net fell heavily on the ground. The thud startled the goblins as they sheepishly spun around and fumbled for their weapons. John lunged forward with his sword and unleashed a Piercing Strike onto the closest Goblin Thief. The goblin staggered backwards as it grasped its bloody chest. Both Goblin Thieves quickly threw down a smoke bomb each and vanished from sight. Or at least one of them succeeded in disappearing. The wounded goblin's blood gave away its position. John swung his sword towards the spot with the largest pool of blood and felt his attack connect. Blood sprayed out as the sword attack revealed a cleaved Goblin Thief, its eyes faded in hopelessness. As the corpse plopped onto the ground, John turned around and inspected his surroundings. Where could that other goblin be? He knew that he could not trust his eyes when dealing with vanished opponents, so he could only rely on his other senses. John sniffed the air. Since goblins were filthy creatures that emit a rather distinct smell. By sniffing the air around him, John was able to quickly determine that the Goblin Thief was not in front of him but rather somewhere behind him. However, he could not just swing around and wave his sword randomly. He did not know exactly how far the goblin was away from him and if he was to swing blindly and miss, then he would be wide open for a counterattack. John steeled his nerves and pretended to look around in front of him. As he faced the front, he strained his ears to listen to any movements from the back. Without warning, a whooshing sound approached John at a fast speed. John dropped on one knee and felt the air slice apart above him. Having dodged the attack, John was able to discern, with some certainty, the distance between him and the Goblin Thief. He turned around and slashed his sword forward, tearing flesh and drawing blood. The Goblin Thief revealed itself as it screamed in pain. Fearing that the shout had alerted the other goblins, John rushed forward and clamped its mouth shut. With one fell swoop, he beheaded the Goblin Thief. Ignoring the bodies, he rushed out and hid to the side of the tent. Seconds later, two more Goblin Thieves made their way to the tent. So close! Any second later and he would have been caught. As the goblins entered the tent, they saw the bodies of their dead comrades. The Goblin Thieves roared in anger as they vengefully searched around for the murderer. All of a sudden, John rushed out from his hiding spot and attacked the nearest Goblin Thief. He launched his barbed net once more and was able to successfully ensnare the little green monster. John crashed into the ensnared goblin and punctured one of its lungs. The Goblin Thief gasped for air as it tried to free itself from the net. However, it did not have the chance. John swung his sword down and halved the goblin from shoulder to waist. Quickly, he glanced towards the other Goblin Thief and stabbed with his dagger. The goblin countered with an attack of its own. Both attacks landed and the force of each attack knocked the respective warrior back a couple of steps. John checked his wound and sighed with relief. Shallow. However, when he eyed the wound on the Goblin Thief, he gnashed his teeth. Shallow! John grimaced. He could just imagine that the Goblin Thief was thinking of the same thing. Both warriors lunged at each other once more. John with his Piercing Strike while the Goblin Thief with another cut from its dagger. Once again, both attacks landed simultaneously. But this time, while the Goblin Thief dealt another shallow hit, John's Piercing Strike was able to do a critical against the goblin's defenses. Ignoring the superficial wounds, the young Shadow Walker rushed forward once again and launched a mighty knee attack. His knee smashed firmly into the Goblin Thief and broke a couple of its ribs. As the Goblin Thief collapsed onto the ground, John reached forward and slit the goblin's throat. Having killed both Goblin Thieves, the young Shadow Walker paused as he panted heavily and listened for any more goblins. Doesn't seem like it. John rummaged around the tent and looted the corpses, obtaining 500 pieces of silver. He reached over with his dagger and cut off the goblins' ears. Then, he took out a piece of cloth and wrapped up the bloody ears. As he was busy with the process, he suddenly heard some footsteps. John scampered up and hid behind one of the crates. He peeked out just in time to see a Goblin Thief walk in. The Goblin Thief froze in mid-sentence and quickly threw down a smoke bomb. However, the goblin was too hasty. Before the smoke stabilized, the Goblin Thief had begun to move. John could see the fluctuations of the smoke as the goblin walked through it. The young Shadow Walker leaped out and thrust his sword towards the goblin. However, little did he know, there was another enemy in the midst. It was a Plains Spider...a tamed pet of the Goblin Thief. The spider monster unleashed a Web Trap, which covered John's arm and caused his attack speed to decrease. Seeing that his Piercing Strike had failed because of the webbing, he lashed out with his other hand and punched the handle of the sword. The sword flew over and pierced the Goblin Thief, revealing its location to John. The goblin staggered a couple of steps and threw its dagger at the young Shadow Walker. John was just about to dodge the dagger when a excruciating pain erupted on his leg. The goddamn spider had bit him! Because of this little distraction, the flying dagger was able to find its mark. As John spat out a mouth full of blood, he reached over and kicked the spider away. Then, he grabbed a hold of the dagger protruding from his gut and pulled it out. John rushed towards the goblin and executed a flying kick. His foot landing on the sword handle and the overwhelming force of his kick smashed the embedded sword completely through the Goblin Thief. The goblin spewed out some blood as it slowly gaped at the hole in its chest. It looked up at John for a few seconds before collapsing, lifeless and empty. John quickly threw the dagger in his hand at the Plains Spider who was about to pounce on him once more and rolled towards his sword. He pulled out the rusty steel sword and unleashed a Piercing Strike at the Plains Spider. The spider suffered a critical blow and lost over three-fourths of its health. As John withdrew his sword for a second attack, the Plains Spider countered with an all out bite. The young Shadow Walker grunted in pain as his arm swelled up in size. A wave of dizziness rushed through his head as he stumbled and held onto a crate. Damn! He had been poisoned. John feverishly glared at the dying spider and ended its suffering with a stomp to the head. After killing the spider, John immediately reached into his bag and pulled out two potions. One was a small healing potion while the other potion was light-blue in color and had a glistening sparkle about it. This potion was known as the cleansing potion and it could remove up to three negative status effects including poison. John uncorked the glass bottle and brought the container to his lips. He tilted his head back and downed the cleansing potion in one quick motion. John's eyes bulged as he nearly spat out the drink. Unlike the tangy taste of the small health potion, the cleansing potion tasted unlike anything he has every experienced. It was bitter, salty, and...dry. It took all of his willpower to stomach the disgusting liquid. After the poisonous status effect was removed, John quickly drank the small healing potion. As he healed up, John sliced off the last Goblin Thief's ears and wrapped them up with the others. Then, he looted the body and found a couple of silver as well as a small healing potion. After checking the tent once more, he left and entered another tent. Since he was here, he might as well rob the goblin camp of its valuables. Half an hour later, John left the goblin camp with a full bag. He had stolen...collected over a thousand silver coins and a number of potions. Before the goblin army returned, John hurried back to the village. Upon arriving, he immediately made his way to the inn. The bounty said that he could submit the completion to Colette and receive the offered rewards from her. When he handed over the proof of completion to Colette, the innkeeper congratulated him and handed him a bag of fifteen small wooden squares with an H symbol carved in the middle. "What is this?" John took out one of the wooden squares and scrutinized it. Colette smiled and explained that those wooden squares were known as Hero Tokens. Each token was worth ten Hero Points. Thus, the fifteen Hero Tokens totaled to 150 Hero Points. As for the uses...John could trade these Hero Tokens for Tomes from the Training Hall, which can permanently increase his capabilities. When John heard that he could raise his stats without training, he thanked Colette for the Hero Tokens and left the inn. At first, he thought about going to the Training Hall to buy some Tomes, but then he realized that Daedalus was still fighting in the outskirts of the village and won't be back for a while. Thus, John decided to head over to the goblin raid expedition and join a group. After searching for a while, he found a group of five who were still looking for members. As they introduced to one another, the leader of the group - a level 5 War Mage by the name of Robert - told John that they will wait for an hour more, to see if anyone else wanted to join, before beginning the raid.
Chapter 12 - Raiding the Gobblin' Goblins Spoiler Soon, an hour went by and two more adventurers decided to join John's group. With two members short of a full party, the eight adventurers entered the tunnels that lead to the group of Gobblin' Goblins. According to the leader of the group, since the main tunnel splitted off into many smaller sub-tunnels, they should separate and follow their own paths. Each member should spend an hour in the tunnels and kill as many goblins as they can. Once the hour was up, they would meet back at the entrance. Everyone agreed to the idea after all, since goblins were easy to defeat, the members of the group thought that they should separate in order to maximize the number of kills against the Gobblin' Goblins. When John asked why it mattered to tally who killed the most, he was told that he could earn Squire's Valor depending on the number of kills which can then be used to obtain certain sigils in Majerio's shop. Now that everyone was caught up to speed about the group's plans for the raid, they set out to each their own chosen paths. John decided to take the tunnel in the middle. The tunnel was rather wide, at least enough for the sword-wielding Shadow Walker to swing his sword around. The only problem was the height. Reaching up to just a head higher than John, jumping in the tunnel might prove to be a problem. After walking for a while, he heard a noise...something like a shuffling of feet in front of him. The path was dark and the torch could only illuminate a couple of meters. John knew that, although he could not see the enemy, the enemy could definitely see him...or at least his torch light. So, John decided to use that fact in order to cause a misdirection. Carefully, he walked next to one side of the tunnel and found a soft patch of earth on the wall. He stabbed the torch into the soft patch of the wall and retreated from the light. John waited and waited until a figure appeared next to the torch. It was a Goblin Thief! The goblin seemed to be confused as if it was wondering where John went. At this moment, John raised his sword and lunged towards the Goblin Thief. With a thrust of his sword, he punctured the goblin in the side, causing it to squeal in pain. It reeled back and threw down a smoke bomb. However, its blood gave away its position. John lifted up his leg and whipped out a roundhouse kick to the goblin's chin. The goblin collapsed in a daze and struggled to swing its dagger around. John viciously stabbed forth with his dagger and gauged out one of the goblin's eyes. However, a random dagger strike from the Goblin Thief slashed open a deep wound on his arm. John dropped his dagger as he winced in pain and discomfort. He hefted up his sword and stabbed once more, this time puncturing one of the goblin's lungs. Then, he stomped his foot on the goblin, crushing its throat. The Goblin Thief writhed for a few seconds as it tried to breathe, before dying from suffocation. As blood flowed from the corpse, John searched through the goblin's possessions and looted a couple of silver. Once he cleaned his weapons and grabbed his torch, John continued onwards. During his journey through the tunnel, he met some more goblins. However, these goblins were different from the goblin he had killed earlier or the goblins he had encountered in the Glenfort River. These goblins had a more...greedier glint in their eyes. Like they saw John as a treasure and not as an enemy. John knew those looks as he too had shown similar gazes towards his enemies. The young Shadow Walker decided to nickname them Greedy Goblins and Greedy Goblin Thieves. So far, he had encountered the Greedy Goblins three times and the Greedy Goblin Thieves one time. With each successful victory, John was able to raise his Squire's Valor and rack up a good amount of silver and experience. After half an hour, the young Shadow Walker had defeated one Goblin Thief, three Greedy Goblins, and one Greedy Goblin Thief which gave a grand total of five goblins killed. Through these battles, John had increased his mastery over the sword. In addition, in this dark tunnel with only a torch for illumination, the young Shadow Walker was able to sharpen his other senses. Overall, this raid was considered good training for John. Anyways, after looting his recent kill and lighting the corpse on fire, the young Shadow Walker decided to stop and take a small break. He tried to sit by the fire for better illumination and some warmth from the cold tunnel, but the stench of burning goblin nearly knocked him out. With a handkerchief tied around his mouth and nose, John scooted some distance away from the fire and began repairing his weapons. After cutting through bone and staining with blood, the weapons have chipped and rusted even more than what they were originally when he first bought them. If John didn't learn the essential field maintenance skills from Daedalus, his weapons would have long become unusable. And so, as John sharpened his weapons with a sharpening stone, he suddenly heard a muffled sound. John lifted his head up in alertness. Was that shouting? There it goes again! At first John thought that the sound was nothing significant, however, having heard it once more, he was convinced that the sound was shouting. There were people nearby! John quickly packed up his belongings and scurried towards the sound. In a matter of minutes, John was able to see light at the end of the tunnel. As he drew nearer, the shouts became louder and he was able to make out some familiar voices. His party must be just ahead. John unsheathed his weapons and rushed into the light...and into a cavern! It seemed that the tunnels he and his party chose had led them to this large room. John scanned his surroundings and saw that the rest of his party were already engaged in combat with a large number of goblins. The green enemies outnumbered them 20 to 1. Without a moment of hesitation, the young Shadow Walker joined in the fight. He pounced on an unsuspecting Greedy Goblin and beheaded the monster before it could even register what had happened. After killing the goblin, John continued as he lunged at another Greedy Goblin with a fierce Piercing Strike. However, this goblin had noticed him and was somewhat prepared for his attack. Nevertheless, the steel sword shot forth and pierced into the goblin's shoulder, dealing more than a third of its health. The angry Greedy Goblin roared in pain and swung his club. The blunt weapon landed on John's shoulder and caused him to wince in pain. In retaliation, John lashed out his leg and smashed the goblin square in the jaw. The Greedy Goblin flew backwards a good meter or so before crashing into another goblin. With a flick of his wrist, John threw his dagger at the collapsed goblin which embedded itself deep into the Greedy Goblin's head. The goblin opened its mouth to screech in pain, however, before any sound escaped, John had rushed over and beheaded the goblin. SWOOSH! When the young Shadow Walker detected the sound of slicing air, he immediately jerked his head back. Luckily, he was able to avoid a fatal knife attack from the goblin that he knocked the Greedy Goblin into. John wasn't able to get a clear view of the goblin as it immediately threw down a smoke bomb and vanished from sight. Nevertheless, judging from the weapon used and the smoke bomb, he was able to deduce that his next opponent was a Greedy Goblin Thief. John carefully scanned his surroundings for the goblin and saw a drop of blood appear in the middle of the air before falling onto the ground. This allowed him to find out where the Greedy Goblin Thief was. Tracking the movement of the blood and the position from which the drops land on the ground, John was able to quickly determine the position of the vanished enemy. With a powerful slash, he cut down towards the air in front of him. A scream of pain could be heard as the enemy reappeared. While the Greedy Goblin Thief grabbed its bloody chest with one hand, it started to recklessly swing its sword around with its other hand. Unfortunately for it, John was not as inexperienced as he once was. Seeing the Greedy Goblin Thief flail its weapon around, the young Shadow Walker hopped back a couple of feet and threw his dagger towards the goblin. With a wet thud, the thrown dagger embedded itself into the goblin's neck. The Greedy Goblin Thief backed away as blood welled up in its throat. In a last ditch attempt, it unexpectedly threw its weapon at John and ran away. The young Shadow Walker barely dodged the blade in time, taking only a small scratch to his face. As blood trickled down his cheek, John pursued the retreating goblin and launched his sword at it. The sword pierced into the goblin and pinned it into the ground. John reached over and grabbed for the sword but quickly rolled to the side as a fireball raged into where he was standing. John looked up towards the source of the magic attack and saw Robert. "Hey! Watch where you're blasting that!" The War Mage scratched his head and bowed slightly in apology. But it was that moment of distraction that caused Robert to suffer a deep slash wound. As the War Mage collapsed, his back revealing a deep wound, John grabbed his weapons and rushed to Robert's aid. The Greedy Goblin Thief that wounded the War Mage raised its blade up for the kill. However, it was not successful as John tackled the goblin, knocking it away from the wounded man. A loud crack could be heard as both man and monster crashed into the ground. Luckily, it was the goblin who had broken its bone and not the young Shadow Walker. Seeing the goblin writhe in pain, John glanced behind him to check up on Robert. It seemed that the wounded War Mage had drank a healing potion as he was back on his feet in a matter of seconds. John turned towards the injured goblin and ended its miserable life with a swift slash to the neck. Then, he surveyed the ongoing battle and attempted to determine whether he and his party could win against the numbers. Currently, while the goblins had lost over 40 of their numbers, there were no casualties within his group. Naturally, the members of the raiding group were of higher level than John and they could each take on three to four goblins at a time with no problem, making them feel dependable. John smiled with confidence knowing that he can freely attack the goblins without worry about whether or not an enemy would attack him from behind. The young Shadow Walker sneered towards a Greedy Goblin Thief in front of him and charged. The startled goblin reached into its pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. However, before the goblin could throw the smoke bomb, John had already thrust out his sword. With a ripping slash, he hacked off the goblin's arm. The Greedy Goblin Thief roared and swung its blade towards its enemy; however, John wasn't there. Having guessed what the goblin would do next, the young Shadow Walker decisively rolled to the side of the goblin. Upon rising from his tumble, John slashed up and nearly split the green monster in half. After killing the Greedy Goblin Thief, he set his eyes on another enemy. It was another Greedy Goblin Thief. John dashed towards it with his blade raised when...pain...searing pain. A stray ice spell accidentally smashed into him, rapidly freezing his side and causing severe frostbite. This attack was Icy Grasp - one of the War Mage's Tier One skills! Luckily, the attack skimmed him...if it had hit him directly, he would be encased in ice. John winced in pain as he looked sorrowfully towards the caster. It was a female War Mage who went by the name of Karen. She had seen her ice attack hit John and was looking very sorry about it. She kept bowing her head in apology and didn't pay attention to the battles around her. John suddenly caught sight of a Greedy Goblin sneaking up on her. With its club raised, the goblin swung at the unsuspecting girl. John winced in pain as he threw his dagger towards the goblin. Karen, thinking that John was angry at her and threw the dagger at her as payback, screamed in fright and squatted down with her eyes closed. Only when she had heard a thud following by a screech did she opened her eyes. She saw a goblin behind her, John's dagger sticking out of its head. She had mistaken John. The female War Mage glanced towards the young Shadow Walker appreciatively and reached over to retrieve the dagger. As soon as John threw the dagger, he could feel his side split open from the excessive movement and blood began to leak out. He reached into his bag and quickly drank an small health potion. Immediately after he finished the potion, the Greedy Goblin Thief in front of him had scrambled to its feet and cowardly ran away. John grunted in disgust and hurled the empty potion bottle at the goblin. The glass bottle shattered upon impact and the pieces embedded themselves into the goblin. The projectile had slowed down the goblin slightly, bringing John enough time to catch up. The young Shadow Walker appeared before the goblin and kicked it between its legs. Squelching sounds were heard as the goblin widened its eyes in pain before fainting from shock. The young Shadow Walker walked up to the unconscious goblin and pierced its heart. While he was wiping his sword, he heard a scuffle behind him. John turned around and hacked with his sword only to see Karen. The young Shadow Walker nearly strained himself trying to stop his swing. He glanced at the young War Mage and asked her what she wanted. Karen timidly bowed her head and apologized for the earlier accident. Then, she handed John his dagger back and hurried off to rejoin the battle. John gazed at the retreating figure and shrugged with indifference. What he didn't realize was that Karen had already formed a certain type of emotion towards him that could later on evolve into something more intimate...that was if he played his cards right. But this type of future seemed grim for the clueless young Shadow Walker as he rushed off towards a Greedy Goblin. The Greedy Goblin before him was currently prying away a dagger from the corpse of a Greedy Goblin Thief and did not realize until it was too late that John was aiming for it. With a fierce thrust, John unleashed his main attack - Piercing Strike - and punctured the goblin's heart. As the goblin shivered before becoming motionless, John kicked the Greedy Goblin off of his sword. While he wiped away the blood from his sword, the young Shadow Walker looked behind him at the raging battle and searched for the next opponent. Suddenly, an intense pain erupted from his thigh. He glanced down and gaped with shock. The Greedy Goblin...it wasn't dead? How can that be? John had penetrated the goblin's chest and punctured its heart. How can it still move? Was this some sort of magic? As the goblin slashed with its dagger, John realized that it wasn't the time to ponder on such things and raised his dagger up to parry the attack. The young Shadow Walker did not want to waste any more time and decided to end it. He swiftly brought up his sword and, with a mighty stroke, beheaded the goblin. Once he killed the monster, curiosity overtook him and he approached the green corpse for a closer look. After analyzing and dissecting the goblin, he realized that its heart was on the opposite side. This was a rare case of Dextrocardia - something that would happen to one person for every million. To think that even a goblin could suffer such a heart condition. With his curiosity satisfied, John did not dwell on the matter any longer and headed towards the frontlines of the battle. The young Shadow Walker pounced straight forward with his sword held like a lance and speared an unsuspecting Greedy Goblin. The sword pierced into the goblin's chest and dealt a critical of 97 damage. Not wanting to make the same mistake even though the chances of another Dextrocardia were slim, John withdrew the sword and spun around. The momentum of his spin doubled the power behind his swing as he cleanly beheaded the goblin, cutting through bone and all. The young Shadow Walker continued to fight and the enemies continued to diminish. After roughly ten to fifteen minutes later, the goblins have been nearly wiped out. There were still about 12 goblins left including a powerful level 6 Greedy Goblin Warlock. As for his party, three members - a Justicar and two Frost Knights - had retreated due to severe wounds and lack of small healing potions. Robert had retreated as well in order to check up on the three wounded adventurers. The rest of the group - John, Karen, Newman the Inquisitor, and Granger the Flame Warden - remained to take care of the remaining enemies. Karen and Newman decided to handle the warlock and three of the Greedy Goblins. The rest were split between John and Granger. The young Shadow Walker nodded in agreement with the decision and rushed towards one of the goblins - a Greedy Goblin Thief. Unfortunately, the goblin saw through his ambush and screeched for help. Soon, another two Greedy Goblin Thieves ran to its aid. John looked to Granger for help but luck was not on his side. The Flame Warden was surrounded by five Greedy Goblins and thus couldn't spare any energy to aid John. The young Shadow Walker grimaced slightly as he circled towards the nearest Greedy Goblin Thief. He swiftly slashed out his sword but was parried. It seemed that this level 5 Greedy Goblin Thief was battle-hardened. It won't be simple to defeat this type of enemy. Suddenly, two puffs sounded out as a thick smoke surrounded John. He rubbed his teary eyes and coughed a couple of times. In the moment of distraction, the disappeared goblins took this chance to launch a counterattack. Although John could not see the incoming attacks, the months of training he had accumulated with Daedalus coupled with the experience he obtained through battling allowed him to roughly sensed that something dangerous was coming towards his way. John reacted on his hunch and rolled forward, dodging both knife attacks. As soon as he completed his roll, instinct took over once again and he quickly reacted against another knife attack. This time the attack came from the level 5 Greedy Goblin Thief in front of him. John rolled to the right and scrambled to his feet. The young Shadow Walker lunged forward without giving the Greedy Goblin Thief any time to pull back. SWING! The sword attack would have been fierce if not for the fact that John swung from an unstable position. Nevertheless, he was able to hack off the Greedy Goblin Thief's extended arm. John raised his sword up once more for another slash when he saw two glints of light flashing at the corner of his eye. The young Shadow Walker rolled behind the wounded Greedy Goblin Thief and grabbed it by the neck. With a grunt, John lifted up the goblin and hurled it towards the two flickers. The goblin crashed into the owners of the two glimmers of light and knocked both of them out. The wounded goblin shrieked with pain and revealed two knives embedded into its body. Using this instant of diversion, John lunged forward and thrust out his sword. "Piercing Strike!" John roared as he saw his sword slid into the goblin. The goblin struggled for a few seconds before limping on the sword. The weight of the corpse forced John to lower his sword. As the goblin slid off the blade, John glanced at the two dazed Greedy Goblin Thieves. They seemed to still be in a dazed state but there were signs of movement from the goblins as if they were struggling to regain their senses. Not wanting to give them the chance to recover, John lunged at the two Greedy Goblin Thieves and beheaded them. After making short work of the two Greedy Goblin Thieves, John looked over to where the others were. Karen and Newman have already killed off the small fries and were currently barbecuing the Greedy Goblin Warlock. The young Shadow Walker turned his gaze to Granger who seemed to be holding up well against the Greedy Goblins. All of a sudden, John furrowed his eyebrows. While Granger was distracted with the four Greedy Goblins in front of her, she did not notice the Greedy Goblin sneaking up from behind. John reached into his knapsack and pulled out a barbed net. With an accurate throw, he ensnared the goblin, knocking it to the ground and trapping it in place. Granger heard the thudding noise behind her and quickly turned her head for a glance. When she saw the entrapped goblin, she nodded in appreciation before refocusing on her opponents. As she forcefully pushed the Greedy Goblins away from the netted goblin, John rushed towards the goblin and unleashed a Piercing Strike through one of the holes. Unfortunately, he was unable to deal a fatal attack. As John pulled out the sword from the screaming goblin, it suddenly thrust out its club and bonked the young Shadow Walker in the knee with an attack of its own. John winced in slight discomfort and pierced his sword once again. This time, he was able to puncture the enemy's throat. With a sharp wrench, John killed the Greedy Goblin. Afterwards, he unraveled the corpse and retrieved the barbed net. Carefully, he wrapped up the net and stored it into his bag. John looked up and surveyed the situation at hand. The War Mage - Robert - had returned from healing the three wounded members of the group and was currently helping Granger finish off the four Greedy Goblins. Karen and Newman had just about finished with the Greedy Goblin Warlock as well. Once all of the goblins in the area were killed, the party began looting the corpses and searching the area for any treasure. A total of roughly 10,000 silver coins were either found or looted. As per agreement with the dividing of loot, if the team were to encounter a situation that required all members to participate, each adventurer would get an equal share of the accumulated treasure. Thus, from the 10,000 silver coins, John received a little more than 1,300 coins. Once they finished dividing the loot, they headed towards the entrance of the tunnels. It was time to leave. The party headed to the inn to report back to Colette of their successes. Upon arrival, Colette greeted the tired adventurers with a bright smile and a tray of cold ale. "Great work, you guys! Thanks for the help. Hopefully those goblins will stop raiding my larder and cutting into my profits! With those bastards gone, the customers will start coming back in no time." John and the others each received a tankard of ale and drank the contents deeply. With a loud "puuaahh," Robert saluted, "You're welcome Colette. It's the least we can do in return for the great food you provided us these past few days. If you have any other grievances, just say the word and we'll come to your aid." "Haha, that's good to hear. I do have some information to tell you. Be on the lookout for blue banners flying in the skies in different locations of the continent. They are recruiting spots for raids nearby like the one you did for the Gobblin' Goblins raid. You can assist the other adventurers and earn Valor in order to purchase new and better equipment. Different levels of Valor will be earned with respect to different levels of difficulty." "Really? That's great. Thanks for the information!" Karen cheerfully beamed with a frothy mustache on her lip. When she realized it, she wiped her mouth in embarrassment and shyly stole a glance towards John. However, she was a bit disappointed when she saw that the young Shadow Walker wasn't paying attention to her. "Yea." Colette affirmed as she retrieve the empty tankards and handed out a bag to each of the adventurers, "Here's your payment - 5 gold coins, 600 silver coins, and 1 medium energy potion." Once the group had drunk the ale and received the payment, they left the building. At the entrance of the inn, the group bid their farewells and walked their separate paths. Newman, Granger, and three others decided to head north as there were news of recruitment for a raid against a Rath'een base. Robert and Karen, as it turned out, were fraternal twins who took up adventuring to pay for their sick mother's medication bills. They quickly said their goodbyes to John as well and headed home. Once he bid the others goodbye, the young Shadow Walker decided to visit the Training Hall.
Chapter 13 - Preparations Spoiler "Oh? John, it seems you have leveled up once more! Congratulations! From now on, you can be considered a true adventurer - a Journeyman of the Realm!" Daedalus praised upon seeing John. The young man looked up in surprise and quickly checked his status. Indeed, it was as his old mentor had said. He had leveled up to level 5. However, what caught his eye was not the fact that he had leveled up, but rather that there was a new slot under his name. It read: Title(s) - Goblin Killer, Journeyman of the Realm. John scratched his head as he viewed the new text in wonder. "Daedalus, what is this 'Title' below my name mean?" "Oh, 'Title' is a form of identification that displays the achievement or achievements you have accomplished. For instance, the Journeyman of the Realm title can only be granted to those who have reached level 5." "I see. Then, what does this Goblin Killer Title mean?" "What?! You have another Title already?" "Yea...." "Amazing. Oh, yes...Goblin Killer...this Title is usually granted to someone who has killed over twenty-five goblins. I heard from Colette that you went on a raid against some goblins. I bet that's where you earned your Title." "I see. Are there any benefits for receiving these Titles?" "Other than recognition...not much. Oh, you do receive some silver and Hero Tokens, but the amount isn't significant. By the way, for the two Titles you earned, here are 350 silver coins and 35 Hero Tokens." "Ah, thanks." "Well, don't feel bad. Fame is also an important aspect of an adventurer's life." John nodded his head before asking Daedalus if there were any new skills he could learn since he had leveled up. The old trainer patted the young man's back and told him that although there were no new skills to be learned, he could spare a few days to train John and help him sharpen his skills and senses. Though John's mastery over his skills had somewhat saturated over the course of his battles, any increase no matter how small was still considered a valuable increase. And so, the young Shadow Walker agreed to his old mentor's proposal and followed him to the sparring yard. Like always, they would first spar with each other in order for Daedalus to get a good impression of John's strengths and weaknesses as those were subject to change after each battle John had gone through. "Good! Good!" The old trainer praised once he saw John's attentiveness during battle as well as his heightened reflexes and usage of the Ensnare skill. "Your senses are impressive! If I did not know that you were only a level 5, I would have thought that you were around level 7!" "Thank you for the compliment." "Your reflexes and your attentiveness during the fight were well honed...different from last time's spar. Was this the result of the raid?" As soon as John heard this comment, he immediately thought back to the female War Mage who had accidentally wounded him with a stray Icy Grasp. He thought about the clumsy cuteness the young girl had displayed while she apologized to him. A smile danced along his lips. "What are you grinning about?" Daedalus broke John's daze. "Ah, yea, I had to avoid a couple of stray attacks." "Really? Yea, you'll experience these kind of things during team or group battles. Anyhow, I think I know what to improve." The old trainer pointed out John's shortcomings and where to develop. Then, he told the young man what he needed to do in order to advance his physical prowess and eliminate those shortcomings. Daedalus finished his lecture by handing over a list of exercises John should do in order to improve his fitness. "Do these exercises for a few days and make sure you don't overexert yourself, okay?" "Yes sir." "Oh, by the way, can you visit Majerio and ask him if the explosives are completed?" "Majerio? Explosives? No problem, I'll head over there now." "Alright, thanks." .......... "Welcome to Majerio's Shop...oh it's you." the skinny shop owner beamed professionally when he heard the bell ring from the door. "What? Am I not welcome?" John stopped abruptly, his brows shook slightly. "No, that's not what I mean. What can I help you today?" "How are the explosives? You finished making them yet?" "Soon. I'll be finished in a day or two. Don't worry about it. I'll send them over to Daedalus the second they're done." "Okay." "Oh, I heard you went raiding. How did it go?" "It went well, which reminds me...can I look at your sigils? I want to know if I have enough Squire's Valor." John pulled out an oval-shaped copper token engraved with a flowery pattern. "Sure, follow me." Majerio strolled deeper into the shop and approached a small counter. He opened the lid of the counter and pulled out a box. "This here are all the sigils that require Squire's Valor. They are known as Squire's Sigils and can permanently increase your stamina by 2." "Can I buy more than one?" "No, once you buy one, that's it. There won't be anymore beneficial increases if you buy another. It would just be a waste of Valor." "Okay." John peered into the box and gasped at the price. "300 Squire's Valor!? I only have 20. How many more raids must I complete in order to reach 300? You sure this is a good price?" "Yea, remember you'll be permanently increasing your stamina by 2. This is a good deal in any one's opinion." "Hmm...if you say so." "Naturally. You looking to buy anything today?" John paused for a bit before making up his mind. "Let me look at some new armor." "Okay, follow me. Since you have leveled up to level 5, you are now able to purchase Tier Two equipment. These are the armor under the Acolyte set. You can check out the obvious increases in Defense with respect to the armor under the Glenfort set." John reached over and picked up an Acolyte Mask. The hard, tough leather helmet seemed to provide better resistance against attacks compared to the flimsy Glenfort Helm he was currently wearing...an increase of 8 Defense points to be exact. Now 8 points of Defense doesn't seem to be much, but one should know that each point increase in Defense was equivalent to 5 points increase in Health. In other words, an increase in 8 Defense points was equal to an increase in 40 Health points! As the young Shadow Walker examined the equipment, he suddenly gasped at the price. 933 silver coins! That was more than eight times the price of the Tier One helmet! John checked the prices of the other Acolyte armor and couldn't help but sigh at the expensive prices. An Acolyte Cuirass costs 1866 silver, a pair of Acolyte Gloves costs 746 silver, a pair of Acolyte Leggings costs 1306 silver, a pair of Acolyte Shoes costs 746 silver, and an Acolyte Cape costs 1119 silver. Each of these Tier Two equipment were 8-10 times that of Tier One. John glanced at the helmet in his hands once more and pondered about whether or not he should buy the helmet. He checked the amount of silver coins in his possession and confirmed that he had a little less than 6000 silver coins. Not enough to buy the whole Acolyte set, but enough to buy most of the armor. What should he buy? The leg armor and the chest armor were a given as John had suffered many attacks in those areas. But what about the others? Just with the leg armor and the chest armor would cost more than half of his savings. Should he give up on armor and buy Tier Two Weapons instead? After some careful consideration, he decided to keep using his Tier One Weapons and buy all of the Acolyte armor except for the cape. Currently, John considered the cape to be useless and feared that it would prove to be a hindrance in battle. And so, with around 400 silver coins left in his pocket, John headed to the Temple in his new outfit. .......... "Hello John, it's been a while. How have you been? How's the war?" Allegra asked while she healed a couple of wounded villagers. "Good, good. Soon, we will deal a huge blow to the Rath'een army." The young Shadow Walker smiled as he held up his hand, indicating that he wanted 5 small healing potions. The priestess smiled and motioned for him to wait outside while she entered the Temple to retrieve the potions. Quite a few minutes later, longer than what should be needed, Allegra walked out with a slight frown. "Is something wrong? Did you run out of potions?" John asked worriedly. These five potions were vital for his upcoming ventures into the tunnels. "No, sorry for my look. Here are your potions." Allegra shook her head and handed the five potions over to John. However, her frown continued to persist while she stared into the distance as if deeply thinking about a problem. "...gra...legra...Allegra...Allegra!" "Hmm? Huh? What?" "How much for these?" "Ah, sorry. Um, 375 silver." "Okay, here." The young man reached into his bag and counted out three pouches of 100 silver and a pouch of 75 silver coins. As he looked at the priestess, he asked her if there were anything troubling her. Allegra broke out of her daze and grabbed the money. "Oh, it's just that...it's just that.... Ah! Can you help me?" "Sure! I mentioned this earlier but if you have some trouble and it's within my power, I will definitely help you." "Great!" "So, what's the trouble?" "It's about the materials you brought over last time...." "What? Was there something missing?" "Eh? No! Heavens no! You did a splendid job bringing them back...it's just...it's just that even with those materials, we're still running short on some basic ingredients to create our elixirs." "I see. Must be hard on you." "Yea, keeping the Temple up and running can be a difficult endeavor. Thank you for helping us before." "No problem. Speak. What do you need me to do?" Allegra straightened her back and eloquently proclaimed. "Should you find yourself in The Pit within the Cursed Quarry, we - the Temple - would be most appreciative if you could find us five Savage Wolf fangs." "Was it necessary to talk like that?" John chuckled when he saw Allegra's actions. The priestess blushed, "What do you mean? Of course I should act more professionally when giving out quests." "Haha, but yea.... Anyways, Savage Wolf...fangs? What do you need animal teeth for? What potion would these be used for?" "That...trade secret." Allegra beamed secretively and stuck her tongue out at John. "You...fine, I won't delve deeper. Is that all you need?" "Yes." "How pressing of an issue is this? I'm not sure if I'll be going to the Cursed Quarry anytime soon." "Oh, not pressing at all. We do need it by the end of this year however. Don't worry about it. Take your time." "Then, wait for me. I'll be sure to send some when I given the chance." John bid the priestess farewell and headed back to the Training Hall. Once he arrived, the young man told his mentor that the explosives will be completed and delivered to the Training Hall in a couple of days. After reporting the situation, John headed home. It had been a few months since he last returned to his house. He tiredly changed into something comfortable and quickly whipped up a sumptuous dinner - three cheese and sausage sandwiches and a pot of warm chicken vegetable broth. It has been a while since he last indulged himself with a full meal. After eating, he collapsed onto his soft bed and fell asleep. As he drifted towards the dream world, an unsettling feeling ached at the back of his mind. But, John ignored that feeling as fatigue overwhelmed him and he finally fell asleep. Whatever that bad feeling was, John will never find out until he felt it once more, but he won't be sure when that will happen.
Chapter 14 - Enemies in the Tunnels Spoiler After a few days of training and relaxing at home, John had almost reverted back to his normal life as a villager. However, that short period of peace was interrupted as he received a package and a message from his master. The young man held the letter in his hands and read the contents. John, we cannot wait a moment longer. The Rath'een army will relentlessly continue their attacks unless we can cripple their path into the village, and the only way we'll be able to do that is by destroying their tunnels once and for all. Majerio had just finished creating the explosives. There are four of them in the package. It is time to act. I will take my warriors outside the village and create a diversion - it should give you just enough time to get into the tunnels, set the explosives, and escape. Be careful, John, and good luck! - Daedalus John trembled slightly when he finished. The explosives were finished. It was time to set off. Without a word, he quickly packed some necessities along with the packaged explosives into his bag and equipped his armor. He pulled out his weapons to check their conditions before nodding in satisfaction. With the sword sheathed at his side and the dagger hidden behind his back, John hurried towards the designated area - the Deep Rath'een Tunnels. .......... *COUGH* *COUGH* "What is that smell? Ugh!" John grimaced as he entered the main tunnel and was immediately assaulted by a horrendous stench. A lingering putrid odor, caused by the mixture of sweat and excrement exuded by the number of Rath'een warriors that had passed through the tunnels, filled the place. Not to mention, the natural heat of the earth had accentuated the smell to whole new level. This stink was so terrible that even a Rath'een would grimace from a whiff. It had been only a few minutes since John had entered the Deep Rath'een Tunnels, yet he felt that he had suffocated to death a couple of times. After a few more minutes, he finally could not stand the reeking odor. Immediately, John turned tail and bolted out of the tunnel. As he collapsed in front of the entrance, he greedily gulped down some fresh air. When his senses recovered, John realized that he must reenter. Just thinking about that caused him to shudder. The young Shadow Walker did not want to enter once again, however, he knew that he had a mission to accomplish and everyone fighting outside the village was depending on the task completion. John swallowed hard and steeled his mind. He reached into his bag and pulled out a handkerchief. After wetting it with some water, he tied the cloth around his face. He had heard that a wet cloth could be used to block out smoke from being inhaled. Could this method also be used for smells? Well, he'll find out soon enough. With a deep breath, he ventured into the tunnel once more. Not even a minute has passed before John dove out of the tunnel, his eyes bulged as he struggled to rip away the cloth. Once he successfully pulled the wet cloth down, he coughed fiercely and gasped for air. The wet cloth method did not help at all. After his breath stabilized, John collapsed on the ground and laid there with a sulking expression. What can he do now? The odor was too powerful to resist. Just a whiff of it could make his head spin in agony as if he was poisoned...wait...poisoned? That's it! John reached into his bag and pulled out a potion. The potion contained a light blue liquid with a viscosity like water. This potion was known as a Cleansing Potion. He had bought one just in case as he heard that the potion could remove up to three negative buffs. Should he drench the cloth with the potion so that it would act as a filter? But what if it doesn't work? After all, this cost as much as a full heal from Allegra. Should he risk it...or.... "No...there's nothing else I can do. Daedalus and the rest are waiting for my success. I must do this. I must risk it!" John crumbled up the handkerchief and emptied the potion onto the cloth. Once the liquid had evenly spread throughout the fabric, the young Shadow Walker tied it over his face. He glanced at the tunnel entrance once more and entered. John walked for a while and thought that there wasn't anything wrong. However, it was then that he realized that he was holding his breath. He clenched his jaws and inhaled. Oh! There was no smell! It worked! The potion had cleansed the smell. John laughed as his motivation increased. He unsheathed his sword, held up his torch, and confidently explored the tunnel. .......... A few days ago.... "So what do we have to do once Majerio completed the explosives?" John asked Daedalus one day while they were sparring. "One of my scouts came back from the tunnels with information that the main tunnel connects to a large cavern which leads to three other smaller tunnels. Once Majerio finished making the bombs, we need to set them in each of the three tunnels and blow them up." The old trainer replied as he dodged a swing from John's wooden sword. "I see." "Oh, and make sure you save some explosives for the main tunnel as well. We don't want to leave that open." "Okay." "Don't forget. There may be some Rath'een guards patrolling in those tunnels. Do not let your guard down...like here!" Daedalus swept his training sword at John's legs, intending on tripping him. However, John deftly reacted to the attack with a kick. As he kicked the sword away, he spun around and held his sword at his master's neck. "I know. I won't do something inexperienced like that." "Good. Good! Well done." .......... Currently.... John was standing at the end of the main tunnel. The information Daedalus received from his scouts were correct. At the end of the tunnel, a relatively large cavern with stalactites at random points on the ceiling displayed before him. At the opposite end of the cavern were three tunnels, each lit up with torches. All he had to do was simply walk to the tunnels and set up the explosives. Easy, right? Well, it would have been if not for the Rath'een warriors on guard. There were five Rath'een enemies resting near a tent - one Rath'een Warlock, one Rath'een Brawler, and three normal Rath'een warriors. Judging by their auras, it seemed that the Rath'een Warlock was the strongest of the bunch with a level of four while the rest are at level 3. In the past, John would recklessly charge at the five enemies but now he had more experience. Now, he knew that it would be foolish and dangerous of him to charge against these opponents. Thus, John decided to wait. Sooner or later, some of these enemies might leave and the remaining warriors would be just enough for him to handle. And so, he put out his torch so to prevent the enemies from detecting him and waited. Around half an hour later, two of the normal Rath'een warriors deviated from the rest and headed towards the middle tunnel while the Rath'een Warlock entered the tent. Upon seeing this change, John raised his alertness and drew out his dagger. He slowly crept towards the tent from behind and stabbed open a small hole. He peered inside and saw that the Rath'een Warlock had fell asleep. This was a good chance. With the Rath'een Warlock's guard lowered, John will be able to quickly kill it. He tiptoed to the side of the tent and peered at the remaining two enemies. They had their backs turned towards the tent. As for the other two normal Rath'een warriors, it seemed that they had already entered the middle tunnel. With such luck on his side, John did not waste this chance. He quickly sneaked to the entrance of the tent and slipped in. As he entered through the flaps of the tent, he glanced at the enemies outside once more before turning around. "Good. It's still asleep. Hehe, this bastard won't know what hit him." John spun his sword around so that tip was pointed at the sleeping Rath'een Warlock. He held onto the sword with both hands in order to steady himself. With a glint in his eye, the young warrior plunged his sword into the Rath'een Warlock, dealing a Piercing Strike worth almost half of its health. The enemy screamed as blood squirted out from its wound. The Rath'een Warlock, even though it was in pain, was still able to concentrate enough to fire a Frostbite at its attacker. Luckily, John saw the attack coming and back flipped out of the way. The ice magic attack blasted out of the tent. While the Rath'een Warlock struggled to its feet, John lunged forward with a sharp kick to the face. As the Rath'een jerked its head back and revealed its neck, the young Shadow Walker dashed in front of the enemy and pulled out his knife. With a swift slash, the Rath'een Warlock collapsed onto the ground, blood pouring out of a gaping wound. John did not waste any time as he pulled out his sword from the corpse and spun around, just in time to meet the charging tackle of the Rath'een Brawler. Having heard the screams of the Rath'een Warlock coupled with the Frostbite that came flying out from the top of the tent, both Rath'een guards understood what was happening. There was an intruder in their midst! The Rath'een Brawler dashed into the tent and saw John slice open the Rath'een Warlock. Anger flared in its eyes as it charged towards the young Shadow Walker with its hands raised, intending to tackle. However, the Rath'een Brawler underestimated John's reaction speed as the young warrior spun around and leaped forward. The young Shadow Walker hopped onto the diving Rath'een Brawler and, using its face as a stepping stone, flipped over to the normal Rath'een warrior by the tent's entrance. The young man pierced his sword towards the surprised Rath'een, dealing 71 damage points. Before the Rath'een warrior could scream in pain, John whipped out his knife and tore away its throat. As the Rath'een warrior crumbled, a whooshing sound alerted the young man. He reflexively brought up his arms to block and was blown out of the tent by a powerful Tail Whip. As John flew in the air, he expertly twisted his body so that he would land on his feet. Using the momentum of the unstable landing, the young warrior lunged forward with a fierce Piercing Strike. The Rath'een Brawler held up one of its arms to guard and swung its other arm with a hook. Both warriors' attacks landed in a fierce display of cross counter. The brutal Swipe stunned John, causing him to lose his grip on his sword. The young Shadow Walker staggered back and shook himself awake. He looked up just in time to see the Rath'een Brawler pull out the embedded sword and threw it at him. The young warrior flung himself to the ground, barely dodging the flying blade. While on the ground, he launched himself forward and headbutted the Rath'een Brawler in the stomach. As the Rath'een keeled over, John kneed it in its face, blowing its head back with such force that a sharp crack could be heard. The Rath'een Brawler spewed out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground, its neck clearly snapped into pieces. John sighed with exhaustion after murdering the three enemies. The young man swiftly searched through the bodies and looted anything valuable and easy to carry. As he pocketed the valuables, he recalled about the two Rath'een warriors who left earlier and wondered if they were back or not. John peeked out through the tent and when he didn't see anyone, he pushed the flaps away and stepped out. Those two normal Rath'een soldiers must have went to get reinforcements. They will be back for sure. John decided that he should enter the middle tunnel and intercept them before they could call on any support. With his next course of action confirmed, John rushed into the middle tunnel. Luckily, the tunnel was well lit so he did not have to bring his own torch. It would be terrible if the Rath'een warriors turned around and saw the flickering movements of his torch. Anyways, as John sped through the tunnel, he noticed some faint noises. It was Ratspeak - the common language of the Rath'een Horde. He must be close! John quickly decelerated to a slow pace so that the enemies could not detect his footsteps. As he approached the sound, he caught sight of the two enemies before him. They were leisurely walking with their weapons sheathed and their heads facing forward. The Rath'een warriors would sometimes face each other when speaking but they never bothered to turn around. When John noticed this behavior, he began to gradually creep up on the two unsuspecting enemies. "Chiezit Sef, wii (1)? One of the Rath'een complained as it spat out a blob of mucus. "Sswu kii. Zhe ki-ang (2)." The other Rath'een warned as it looked at its companion disapprovingly. "P-Ppu (3)...." "Hisswu, szze Sef (4). Sef chii kii (5)." "Keh (6). Szze (7)! Kii chim (8)." "Shh! Siiiii (9)?" The Rath'een warriors suddenly stopped as they heard a distinct shuffling behind them. Their hands reached for their weapons as they slowly pulled out their knives. Immediately, they spun around and screeched an ear-piercing warcry. Their knives shot forth towards the source of the sound. But their enemy, John, was prepared. He had already thrust his sword towards the closest Rath'een. Due to the differences in weapon length, the young Shadow Walker was able to land a Piercing Strike first and critically wound the Rath'een warrior. The level 3 Rath'een clutched its bloody injury and collapsed dead. John let go of his sword and swung his knife upwards, clashing into the incoming knife and parrying it away. The Rath'een, upon seeing its attack fail, threw its knife at John and charged. It latched itself on John's shoulders and aimed at his neck with a fierce Bite. However, John had expected this move the moment it climbed on top of him. He raised his arm up and blocked the bite with his armguard. As the rat bastard held on with its teeth, the young warrior grabbed the Rath'een by its clothes and flung it over his shoulder. The Rath'een warrior crashed into the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood and spittle. The heavy toss had managed to damage some of its internal organs. With its vitality diminished, the Rath'een struggled to its feet. However, John tripped it with a leg sweep and straddled on top of the Rath'een. He cracked his knuckles a few times as he grinned menacingly at the rat beastman. With fists raised, the young Shadow Walker began pummeling. Tens of punches later, John grabbed the half-conscious Rath'een by the neck and placed it under a chokehold. As the Rath'een warrior struggled to breathe, John tightened his grip and twisted sharply. A resounding crack echoed within the tunnel. With a sharp turn, John had broken the Rath'een's neck. The Rath'een warrior flailed for a couple of seconds before going limp. Only after John had made sure that the enemy in his arms was truly dead did he release his hold. The young warrior retrieved his weapons and looted the corpses. Once he pocketed a pouch of money, he headed back to where he came from. It was time to blow up the tunnels. He cannot waste any more time as time was of the essence. John exited out of the middle tunnel and began installing the explosives at the entrances of the three tunnels. Minutes later, he stood at the opposite end of the large cavern, a yarn connected to the explosives at his feet. He walked up to a lit torch and borrowed some fire. John approached the yarn on the floor and bent down to light it up. Suddenly, a loud earth-shaking roar of anger erupted from within the tunnels. John looked up in surprise as he saw a huge Rath'een barrel out of the middle tunnel. The man-sized Rath'een warrior glared at John with its angry red eyes and bellowed in awkward human tongue, "Despicable human! Die!" Footnotes: 1) Escort Boss, why 2) We low ones. No complain 3) B-But 4) Slow, anger boss 5) Boss kill we 6) Kuh 7) Anger 8) We dirt 9) What was that/What/Hmmm
Chapter 15 - Enraged Rath'een Berserker Spoiler John glared at the enraged Rath'een before him. This new enemy looked different from all the other Rath'een warriors he had encountered thus far. The Rath'een was at least five feet tall with a burly and powerful built. On its body are blue tribal tattoos that gave a certain shamanistic aura about it. John couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the sight of the tattoos as if the markings were making the Rath'een seem more dangerous than it already was. What was noticeable about this Rath'een that differed from the other Rath'een warriors was that this Rath'een had long sharp protruding fangs and blood red eyes. It was as if this Rath'een had gone berserk. The Rath'een glared at the young Shadow Walker and snorted, "Tsil-es zuhnk (1)! For killing my brethren, you will die!" The enraged Rath'een rushed towards John. It raised its two-handed bloodied stone axe and beheaded the young warrior...or so it thought. John dodged the horizontal sweep by a hairbreadth and tumbled back in order to put some distance between them. As he got up, he threw a barbed net at the level 5 Rath'een, ensnaring it in its place. However, the berserker forcefully tore the net off of it despite the stinging pain from the poisoned barbs. It shook its head fiercely as foam frothed from its mouth. It seemed as if the paralyzing poison had angered it further. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker bellowed some curses in Ratspeak and barreled its way towards the crouched Shadow Walker. Seeing the charging monster, John reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of caltrops. He had prepared a small container of these hidden weapons beforehand as experience showed him that most of his enemies loved charging towards him. The young warrior tossed the caltrops in front of him and stepped back with his weapons ready. The berserker dashed through the spikes and collapsed. Severe biting pain pierced through its feet, weakening its legs and causing it to lose its balance. As the Rath'een Berserker collapsed, John lunged with his sword like a spear and dealt a piercing 72 damage to it. However, when he checked the monster's health status, he saw that his most powerful strike could only bring down a small percentage. When John pulled out his sword, he could see that the wound was shallow as a small trickle of blood flowed from the opening. This new type of enemy was really tough. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker roared a deep warcry and swung its axe at John. Luckily, the nimble Shadow Walker rolled to the side and dodged the attack. As he stood up, he suddenly winced in slight discomfort. He reached behind his back and felt a wetness. He was cut...even though he thought he had avoided the attack, he was still cut. Too terrifying! John turned around to face the Rath'een Berserker. With agility that only Shadow Walkers can have, he flung his dagger at the large monster. The enraged beast crouched immediately, barely dodging the knife. It smirked upon seeing John's failed attack, however, its face fell soon after. John did not depend on his knife to hit. After all, it was only a feint. The real attack came after. While the ratbeast dodged the first attack, John had already appeared in front of it with his leg raised. With a powerful low kick, John blew away the Rath'een's jaw. As its head jolted back, the young Shadow Walker brought down his leg to finish with a swift heel kick. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker screamed in pain as its dislocated jaw dangled about, spittle and blood flew out of its mouth. It shakily grabbed its jaw and with a fierce jerk, snapped it back in place. The berserker spat out a glob of blood, "Bastard! Once I get my paws on you...." "Haha! That's IF you get your hands on me." John interrupted with cold mirth. "YOU!" The Enraged Rath'een Berserker rushed towards John once more and swung its bloodied axe. As John elegantly hopped back, the monster suddenly let go of its axe. The large stone axe flew at the young Shadow Walker and smashed into his chest. Blood spurted out of his mouth as John tumbled backwards. The large monster sneered, "Ha! Two can play that game. Just because you can throw your weapon, doesn't mean I couldn't." Without another word, the Rath'een pounced at John with its claws out. John struggled to his feet as he pushed the heavy axe off of him, but his legs won't budge. Instinctively, he adjusted his sword so that it pointed down and placed its flat side on his arm to serve as a narrow but sturdy shield. He raised his arm up and met the Rath'een's maul. The fierce attack blew back John, causing him to tumble into an earthen wall. John's arm numbed but luckily, with the protection of the sword, it was not broken. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker sneered as he retrieved his stone axe. He slowly lumbered towards the collapsed Shadow Walker. "Any last words before you die?" John haplessly looked at the monster glaring down at him. Suddenly, he glanced behind the Rath'een. His face lit up with surprise which quickly changed to joy. The Rath'een Berserker saw John's change in expressions and paused. It couldn't help but think that there was someone behind it. Could it be backup? It spun around quickly and lashed out a fierce axe attack...and missed! Or rather, there was no one behind it in the first place! "You tricked me!" The Enraged Rath'een Berserker roared as it faced John...only to find him disappeared. It frantically glanced about, trying to locate the missing human. Unfortunately for it, its senses were clouded due to its enraged status so it could not track John down by smell. "Where are you! Come out, you cowardly zuhnk!" "Right here!" John appeared behind the rat-like monster and kicked it between its legs. As the Rath'een clutched its jewels and fell on its knees, the young man wrapped one of his barbed nets around the monster's neck. John planted one foot on the Rath'een Berserker's back and pulled the net back with all of his might. The Rath'een monster struggled to break free. It flung its axe back, nearly decapitating John. However, John dodged the stray axe throw. Who would have known, however, that when John was dodging the axe, he accidentally loosened his grip on the net. This allowed his enemy to reach back and smacked heavily at John's arm. John grunted after losing 58 health points but he did not let go. Instead, he pulled back even more fiercely. The poisonous barbs dug into the Rath'een's skin, puncturing it and spreading the poison throughout the body. As the poison began to weaken the Enraged Rath'een Berserker's power, the monstrous beast rammed back. The two warriors crashed onto the ground, one on top of the other. John coughed heavily as the large Rath'een Berserker landed on top of him; his fractured ribs shattered into pieces. "G-Get off!" John kicked the Rath'een Berserker off of him and proceeded to stab it with his sword. Despite the pain in his sides, John was still able to deal a critical hit on the enemy. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker reared back and pulled the sword out from its chest. It seemed that John had missed the heart by a centimeter. The monster grunted in discomfort and threw the sword to the side. It lunged at John but the young man quickly rolled to the side. Despite the pain, he struggled to his feet and stepped back a couple of times. From the corner of his eye, he could see the stone axe lying by some loose stones. John scrambled at the stone axe and tried to lift up the axe. However, he did not expect it to be so heavy. Instead, he scooped up a couple of the nearby stones. With a painful crouch, he positioned himself towards the Rath'een Berserker. Judging by its bulging veins and foaming mouth, the monster had long reached the limit of its rage meter. Anything could offset it. John checked the five stones in his hand and chucked one at the beast. The stone smashed into its body, but it didn't seem to affect the monster. So, John hurled another. This time, he aimed at the Rath'een Berserker's eyes. PAK! A direct hit. The Enraged Rath'een Berserker roared in fury and blindly charged towards John. The young Shadow Walker threw the remaining stones in his hand, egging the monster onwards. Just as it reached within range, John pulled out a handful of caltrops and scattered them before the monster. However, the raging beast did not slow down one bit. John quickly thought up a solution. He reached into his bag and pulled out the last barbed net he had prepared. With an expert toss, he flung the net at the Rath'een Berserker's legs like a bola trap. Success! The net entangled the monster's legs, causing it to stumble. As the Enraged Rath'een Berserker fell, John heaved the stone axe up. The rat-like monster smashed into the sharp axe, its head split wide open. Even with such a wound, the Enraged Rath'een Berserker was still moving. With its strong vitality, it struggled fervently. But, in the end, its vitality flowed along with its blood and the Enraged Rath'een Berserker was no more. After killing the monster, John collapsed onto the floor. He willed his mind awake as he grabbed a healing potion and drank its contents. These healing potions live up to their reputation as John's wounds began to heal. Even the severe wounds like his broken ribs healed within the time it takes to chug a glass of cold ale. Once his wounds closed up and his bones fixed back in place, John retrieved his weapons and began looting the corpse. "Nice! 918 silver coins...eh? What's this?" As John pocketed the silver coins, a glimmer shone at the corner of his eye. There, in the gaping Rath'een's head, was a small marble nestled between some brain tissue. John reached in and plucked the marble out, wiping away the blood and gore. Upon closer inspection, the red marble glistened with some kind of aura. What could this be? He couldn't recall reading anything about this nor has he ever heard anyone mention it before. Maybe Daedalus knows. He'll ask the old man once he returns. With a shrug, he placed the marble in his pouch along with his silver coins. Now that John had finished looting the corpse, he stood up and checked the explosives one last time. Then, he lit the yarn and rushed out of the cavern. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Three consecutive explosions could be heard behind John as he dashed through the tunnels. It seemed like the explosives were successfully ignited. John stopped midway and placed the last set of explosives. He stretched out the yarn and ignited it at a safe distance. Then, he hurried out the exit. Upon reaching the exit, a heavy explosion shook the tunnels. John stumbled out just in time as piles upon piles of rubble collapsed, blocking the entrance forever. John barely escaped from the tunnels before Majerio's explosives were set alight - the ensuing explosions signaling to all in Glenfort that the mission into the Rath'een tunnels had been a resounding success. With the tunnels now blocked off, the invasion finally seemed to be over. Yet John knew better than to celebrate - these Rath'een didn't seem the type to give up that easily. John dusted himself and, with one last glance at the ruined tunnels, left for the village. Upon arriving at the village's entrance, he met Daedalus along with a few veteran adventurers. Daedalus glanced at John with a nod of satisfaction. "It seemed like you completed your mission without any problems." John giggled softly and muttered that it wasn't that easy. "There were some complications, but everything worked out in my favor." "Good! Those Rath'een bastards won't be coming back into Glenfort anytime soon. Excellent work, John! Here's your reward." Daedalus tossed over a small pouch that contained five gold coins and 600 pieces of silver. "Now, before your training continues, your old friend and mentor at the inn asked me to send you over. Now, don't be fooled by her innkeeper persona. She was and is still actually an experienced Justicar of the highest order. You would be wise to listen to her words." "Alright. Ah, yes. I do have a question though." John replied as he proceeded to describe the events that took place in the cavern. "So, you met an Enraged Rath'een Berserker, eh? Now, Rath'een Berserkers in general are tough. I can't imagine what an Enraged Rath'een Berserker would be like. For you to actually defeat one, is a great feat indeed. You mentioned that you found something ball-shaped in the Rath'een's brain?" "Yea. What is this?" John pulled out the reddish marble and handed it over. Daedalus gingerly received the object and peered at it studiously. "As I thought...this is an energy core." "Energy core?" "Yea. Energy cores are the source of energy within a powerful beast, in this case, the Enraged Rath'een Berserker. They're similar to magic cores except energy cores generate profound energy and strength while magic cores generate magic." "What are its uses?" "Hmmm, I don't know. You may want to ask Allegra or Majerio about that. Maybe they know." "Oh, okay. Thanks!" "No problem." "Then...farewell?" "Ah! I do have a task for you, if your interested." "Oh? What is it?" "Nothing too difficult. We know that our enemies do not come in waves - they are a flood threatening to drown all that we know. To stand strong before them, we must be tireless! Sigils from Majerio's Shop will increase your energy and stamina, letting you fight longer." "Sigils? The ones that cost Valor instead of silver?" "It seems you already know about Valor." Daedalus laughed, "That's good. Then, I don't need to explain it to you." "I know I can earn Valor through fighting raids. What else can I do to earn Valor?" John asked as he glanced at the adventurers standing after Daedalus. "Hmm, given your current capabilities, apart from raids, you can also earn Valor by fighting with guilds." "I see. That makes sense." "Yea, well, make sure you get one and only one. They don't stack effects so getting more than one of the same kind is both useless and a waste of Valor." "Okay, no problem. I won't make that mistake." "Fantastic! Anyways, I got to head back to the frontlines after I restock on necessities. You head over to the inn as soon as possible, okay?" "Alright." Footnotes: 1) Tail-less scum
Chapter 16 - Bandit Quests Spoiler Before anything, John decided to head home first and take a well-deserved bath. After killing monsters in a dark and smelly tunnel for a good portion of the day, the young Shadow Walker was covered with blood, gore, and grime. Upon thinking about the warmth of the bath, John couldn't help but skip along the path. Minutes later, he arrived home. With a kick and a flip, he undressed and scurried to his bathtub. John reached over to the side and pulled a lever. Water began to flow out of a metal container and into the bathtub. As the fireplace beneath the tub began to lit up, John took some time to check himself in the mirror. His body was well-proportioned with honed muscles and tanned skin. Battle scars littered throughout his body, but he did not mind. After all, scars gained in battles could be considered as medals of honor in Glenfort. No one would feel embarrassed about their medals. Even so, John couldn't help but glance at the newly formed scar on his forehead. He received it when he was blown away by the Enraged Rath'een Berserker's axe throw. His forehead accidentally scraped against the rocky wall, causing a laceration. Though the healing potion healed the wound, it was not powerful enough to erase the scar. Now, John didn't mind displaying his other scars...but the one on his forehead, he just couldn't help but sigh. Who would like someone with a scar on his or her face? Before all of this had started, his unblemished face could swoon a number of village girls. But now? Now, he would be lucky if he could still be able to flirt with one. The young Shadow Walker shook his head to clear his mind and felt the air around him warm up. He turned towards the bathtub and saw that the water had reached to a boil. Quickly, he put out the fire and waited for the water to cool down a bit. He swished his hand along the water and confirmed that the water was suitable for bathing. Slowly, he eased himself in and with a blissful release, he enveloped himself in the hot water, washing away his fatigue and pains. .......... After John finished bathing and grabbed a bite to eat, he made his way to the Mucky Duck Inn where Miss Colette was waiting for him. As he approached the inn, though it was late evening, he could still hear the raucous sounds of customers merrily enjoying their late dinners and upbeat music playing in the background. Suddenly, the wooden door of the old inn cracked open allowing just enough room for John to walk through. Crreeeaaakk.... The sound of the rusty hinges echoed throughout the inn causing a number of diners to turn and look. When they saw a familiar face, some turned back to their food while others hollered a greeting. "Hey, John, how're you doing? Is adventuring going well for you?" A gray-beard old man tipped his hat and roared cheerfully. "Adventuring is fine." John smiled as he gave a slight bow in respect towards the elder. "And hello to you too, Mister Jacob. How's your music business?" The old man that greeted John was Jacob Collins or Mister Jacob as everyone called him due to his profession. This elder had traveled the continent as a bard, playing and learning heroic songs. After spending nearly twenty years wandering about, he had finally settled down in Glenfort Village, making a business of teaching music to a couple of children. Nowadays, besides teaching, he would spend most of his time playing music to liven up the inn in exchange for hearty meals. "It's good...it's good. When will you come back and cook for us again? We miss your cooking." Mister Jacob questioned as he glanced about for support. "Here, here! I agree. Come cook for us instead of adventuring. It's too dangerous out there!" Another person chimed in agreement. "Maybe another time. When some things settled down, I'll make sure to come and cook for you guys." John laughed as he walked towards the counter. "Really?" Mister Jacob asked, hope filled his eyes. "Then, I'll wait for that day." John approached the counter and greeted his previous employer. Innkeeper Colette gave him a toothy grin and remarked. "You're back. I heard your task was successful." "Yea." "That's good. Keep up the good work." "Thanks. Daedalus said you wanted to see me?" "Ah, yes. I got a task for you." "What is it?" The innkeeper twirled her hair for a bit before asking, "Well, first off. How's your training coming along?" "Um...good? Why are you asking me that?" "There's a reason. During your training, did Daedalus ever tell you anything about feats of heroism?" "Feats of heroism? No...." "That forgetful old man...." Colette muttered under her breath. "Well, that's the reason why I asked you to come here. You see, feats are considered special goals that only adventurers like you can complete." "Special goals that only adventurers can complete?" John repeated quietly to himself in disbelief. "Yes. Complete a feat and you can earn Hero Tokens which you can use for training to improve your combat prowess." "Really? So, does that mean you have a feat for me?" "Haha, you're quick on the uptake. It's true, I do have a feat for you. I want you to complete the 'Bandit Killer' feat for me as you're out and about running errands for Daedalus. This task is very simple and shouldn't be a problem for someone of your prowess." "Is that so? Okay, I'll do it." "Great!" Colette flashed a bright smile once more. "Oh, I see you have equipped yourself with Tier Two armor. But your weapons are still Tier One." "Yea, I didn't have enough money to buy Tier Two weapons at the time. But, now I do." "That's good. You should buy them before you take on the feat. Also, I advise you to buy the cape as well." "Why the cape? Won't it affect my movements if I wore one?" "It's logical to think that...but the Tier Two cape is no ordinary cape. It can magically boost the user's defense by 37 points. Not to mention, the cape is woven with a special type of cloth that can be used to block certain projectiles." "Really?" "Yes! Don't worry about the maneuverability. You can just ask Daedalus for help. He'll teach you how to fight with a cape." "That's true. I'll take your word for it." "Naturally. I'm always right." "Haha." .......... "Hey, Daedalus! You in?" John called out as he pushed open the doors to the Training Hall. A voice responded from behind the building, "Over here!" John circled around the Training Hall and found his old master polishing a set of armor. When Daedalus heard John approach, he set the armor aside and looked up. "You're here. Is there something you need? More training, perhaps?" "Yes. I thought about buying a cape for extra defense but I found that wearing a cape could hinder my movements. I heard from Miss Colette that you may have a solution for my problem." "With a cape, eh? Hmm...indeed I do." "That's great! Will you teach me?" "Sure. But, first, you got to buy yourself a cape. Once you do that, then we can talk." "Alright." John nodded as he rubbed the scar on his forehead. "By the way, I learned about feats from Miss Colette." "Did you now? That's good. I was going to if she hadn't told you about it. And? Did she give you a feat to do?" "Yeah. She gave me the 'Bandit Killer' feat." "Oh? 'Bandit Killer'? Hmmm," The old trainer rubbed his beard as he thought about something, "speaking of bandits, I got a few tasks for you as well." "Please tell." "So, I've recently gotten word from the local baron, Lord Vander, that the bandits outside of town are stepping up their attacks on his farmers. I wager if his taxes weren't so outrageous, the bandit problem here in Glenfort wouldn't exist. Regardless, we cannot abide by lawlessness in our lands, and Lord Vander will not accept insubordination. I heard those bandits are all superstitious and carry around lucky coins. If you can bring five of those bandit coins back as proof, I believe Lord Vander will be satisfied and convinced that the problem has been dealt with." "I heard about this! When I was in the Fallow Fields previously, I overheard some bandits discussing about attacking our village." "What?! And you didn't think about reporting this to me?" "Ehm...I-I forgot." John bowed in embarrassment. As he looked up again, John received a sudden knock to the head. The young man rubbed his head in pain while Daedalus sighed in disappointment. "Can't be helped. What's passed is passed. All th-...." Before Daedalus could finish his sentence, he halted. His face paled as he thought of something. John peered at the old trainer curiously. "Is something wrong?" "Now that I think about it...recently, we've had some issues with locals in the village getting attacked by a group of people dressed up like castle guards. At first, I suspect it to be Lord Vander's doing. But now that I thought about it some more, that may not be the case. Lord Vander may not be the kindest baron in the land, but I doubt he'd stoop that low." "So, you think it's the bandits?" "Yea. John, do me a favor. While you're in the village, keep an eye out for them. From past reports, they usually appear near local businesses." "Will do." "And remember, if you overhear anything, please make sure to report it to me as soon as possible. Okay?" "O-Okay."
Chapter 17 - Internal Affairs Once John left the Training Hall, he immediately headed towards Majerio's Shop. He needed to buy the remaining Tier Two equipment before coming back to receive training from Daedalus. As for the Sigils, he remembered that the Squire's Sigil cost exactly three hundred Squire's Valor. As for the number of Valor he has, it was only a little more than a fourth of that total. Because he couldn't join any guilds at the moment, given his lack of reputation and useful connections, John decided to earn his Valor through persistently attending raids that sprung up around the village. DRDRIIINNGGGG! The store's bell rang out as John entered the building. He was greeted by the usual, cheery voice of the store's owner. Upon seeing who it was that had entered his shop, Majerio beamed with pride as he reminded John the efficacy of his explosives. "Haha, okay, okay. Majerio, I know how good your explosives are. I was there to experience it firsthand, remember?" John bantered as he patted Majerio's shoulder. "That's true, that's true. So, what are you here for today? Hmm, judging from your level, you might qualify for Tier Three equipment." "Tier Three?" John grimaced and shook his head. "No, I don't have enough money for that luxury. I'm here to buy the rest of the Tier Two items." "The rest, eh? It seems like you're missing the Tier Two weapons and the cape." "That's right." "Alright! Wait a moment, please." Majerio motioned for John to have a seat before he rushed into his storage room to bring out the three pieces of equipment. While John waited for the shopkeeper to rummage around for the items, the curious young man observed the displays in the store. A glimmer of brightness refracting through a glass panel captured his attention. John stood up from his seat and approached the glass panel. A smidgen of surprise emerged from his eyes as he peered at the source of the glimmer. It was jewelry...row upon row of necklaces and rings. Now, why does an equipment store sell the type of fancy-looking jewelry worn by women? But then again, it did make some sense given that Majerio's little store was the only one in this village. The women here could buy their jewelry from other places, but the cost of importation was nearly double the price - too expensive for an average villager's salary. As John continued to look at the accessories, Majerio appeared before him with the items. "Here they are, sir. One Tier Two offhand weapon, one Tier Two main weapon, and one Tier Two Acolyte Cape. That'll be a grand total of 3,918 pieces of silver." When John heard the price of the three items, he could not help but suck in a gulp of cold air. Expensive! Too expensive! This was nearly eighty percent of his accumulated savings since his last expenditure! As John continued to dwell over the money issue, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "So? Do you still want them or not?" "Want! Definitely want." John reached into his bag and pulled out a large sack. He rummaged through the straw sack and pulled out ten small bags. Just when Majerio was about to comment that those ten small bags did not look to have even half the required amount, John stuffed them into his backpack. With a wry grin, the young Shadow Walker pointed at the straw sack, indicating that it was the payment. A rare merchant's glint flashed through Majerio's eyes as he opened up the sack and peered inside. There were thirty-nine small bags, each with exactly 100 pieces of silver. By the small bags, there were also eighteen pieces of silver, thus giving the grand total of 3,918 silver coins...no more, no less. "Is it the right amount?" John asked as he reached over for his newly bought equipment. "Yes...just enough." "Good. Let me borrow your changing booth." "Sure, right away sir. This way, please." John followed the small shopkeeper towards a changing booth. Upon arriving at the first booth, the store owner pushed aside the curtains to reveal a small room with nothing but a chair and a long mirror. "Here it is. Call me when you're done." "Alright." As soon as Majerio left, John closed the curtains and checked his purchases. First, he lifted up the offhand weapon. It was a long, curved dagger - a dirk made of polished steel. The damage it could do surpassed that of a Tier One by 50%, dealing a range of 10-13 damage. As for the main weapon, it was a long single-edged sword that could be passed off as a saber as well. This weapon was commonly known as a falchion. As John gazed at the powerful weapon, he could not help but feel a certain familiarity towards it. It seemed like he had used something similar a long time ago. What was it called? M-M-Mahet? Makete? Masite? John scratched his head furiously as he tried to remember, but his blurry mind could not seem to recall. The young Shadow Walker shrugged in dismissal. Maybe it would come back to him some other time. For now, he should continue checking the sword. As expected! This falchion was indeed worthy of its tier. The status of the sword described it to be a sturdy weapon with a damage range of 35-43 points. Nodding with satisfaction, thoughts of his decreasing wealth soon left his mind. He resheathed the weapon and placed it on the chair next to the dirk. Next, John picked up the blue cloth cape and shook it a couple of times. He watched as the cape gently unfurled itself, displaying its lengthy splendor. John draped the cape over his shoulders and spun around to see. While John looked at his reflection, he couldn't help but absentmindedly mutter, "Looks good...kinda like a superhero. But I still can't see the use of it in battle." After swirling around a couple of more times, John took off the cape and wrapped it up before placing it back in his knapsack. Then, he grabbed his new weapons and headed out the booth. He called out to Majerio, notifying the storekeeper that he was done, and walked towards the counter. "Satisfied with your purchase?" Majerio smiled as he cleaned some display items. "It's alright." "Anything else you need?" "Yes, I would like to sell my Tier One weapons." "Okay, hand them over and I'll check their quality." "Check...their quality? What do you mean by that?" "Haha, you've used those weapons for quite a long time. They're bound to lose some of their durability and quality. After I finish checking how much damage you've done to the weapons, then I'll calculate a fair price." "Oh." "What? Did you expect me to buy them back at their original price?" "Ah, no...." Majerio laughed once again before turning his focus on the weapons. After a quick once-over followed by a few light knocks and taps, the storekeeper concluded his inspection. "Some damage to the blades. Nicks and cracks along the edges. Severe rusting at both the handle and blade. Overall, that'll be 34 pieces of silver for the sword and 17 silver for the dagger." "What? C-Couldn't you give me a little more?" "A little more? You should understand just by looking at your weapons. Look at those cracks - they're almost split to the core. I could probably break them in half if I applied a bit of force." John wanted to refute some more but after looking at his old weapons and hearing Majerio's reasonable words, he could not help but sigh in agreement. John grabbed the small bag of 51 silver coins and pocketed it. "Anything else?" Majerio questioned again. "No, that'll be all." "Okay, then. Have a nice day." "Thanks. You too." .......... "W-What brings you here, good sirs?" A middle-aged man with thick burly arms asked as he bowed towards the group of patrol guards standing before him. The leader of the guards, a man of tall stature with a scar across his right eye, grunted with displeasure and growled, "We received word of a suspicious individual loitering around your premises. Is there such a thing?" "Suspicious person? N-No! You must be mistaken!" "No? I must be mistaken? How dare you act so arrogant! Men! Search!" As soon as the leader of the guards roared out his command, the four guards under him barged into the forge and began ransacking the place. "Wait! Good sirs, there must be a misunderstanding. Please!" The smithy grabbed a hold of the leader's arm and begged incessantly. The leader humphed and flung his arm out, easily sending the large man flying. He pulled out his sword and slashed at the struggling smithy. "Men! Search! Don't leave anything behind!" .......... John was heading towards the Training Hall after he had bought the rest of the Tier Two equipment. He was testing out his Basic Falchion, swinging it around and trying to get a good feel of the weapon. Suddenly, his sharp nose picked up a vague scent of rust. No...it was not rust...it was blood! Now, usually, this could just be from a recently killed livestock or hunted prey. But with the battles that had taken place these past few weeks, he could not be too sure of such things. Not to mention, the smell was coming from the northeast whereas the hunting usually took place in the south. John rushed towards the smell, hoping that his gut feeling was wrong. As he neared, the smell grew stronger. In addition, sounds of clanging metal could be heard as well. "Not good! This path leads to the forge. Something must be wrong!" John's eyes narrowed as he recalled about the latest issue with bandits. The young Shadow Walker picked up his pace and charged through the muddy road. Upon arriving at the Smithy's Forge, he could not help but gasp in horror. There, on the ground in a dark staining pool of red, laid a motionless middle-aged man. It was the smithy! John rushed to the smithy's side and checked for his breath. "Good, he's still breathing." The young man muttered as he checked the smithy's pulse as well. "His pulse is weak. He won't last long." The Shadow Walker reached into his bag and pulled out a small bottle of healing. He tried to feed it to the unconscious man, but the blood-red liquid would not flow down the smithy's throat. John racked his brains around for a solution and suddenly thought of something. If people could heal just by drinking a healing potion...then, shouldn't they also be able to heal by pouring the potion directly on their wounds? With that thought in mind, John decided to test fate and tried his luck. He gently dribbled a few drops of the healing potion onto the smithy's gaping laceration and waited for any signs of change. And signs there were. Almost immediately, the effects were apparent. The laceration closed up quickly, leaving only a faint scar. Any other bruises on the smithy's body cleared up as well. Seconds later, the middle-aged man woke up. John helped the smithy stand up. "Are you okay?" "Ah...it's you again. Young warrior, please help me! The baron's patrol guards are ransacking my place!" The smithy pleaded after shaking away his haziness. "Patrol guards?" "Yea. There were five of them. One guy had a scar on his face and seemed to be the leader of the group. There were three other guards...oh, and also an archer. They were talking about seeing someone suspicious near my forge and insisted on searching the place." "Patrol guards...are you sure they're the guards of the baron, Lord Vander?" John asked in wonder. How was that possible? Patrol guards usually traveled in groups of ten not five. Not to mention, none of them would carry a bow. Only gate guards had bowmen in their ranks. Something was clearly not right. "Y-Yes...is something wrong?" "I don't know. I'll have to check. You stay here, while I take a look inside. Don't...under any circumstances, do not come in! You hear?" "I-I understand." Once he heard the smithy's affirmation, John barged into the forge with a mighty kick. As soon as he entered, he came face to face with a man. The man had spun around in surprise upon hearing the noise. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, unknowing on what to do. John saw that the clothes the man wore were indeed that of the patrol guards. However, upon closer inspection, he was able to detect a few discrepancies. The armor had slash marks and there were even fresh blood splatters near the openings. In addition, the uniform was clearly a size smaller than the man. Not to mention, John could clearly see the status bar hovering over the man's head. The young Shadow Walker took the initiative and attacked first. He unsheathed his falchion and lunged forward with a powerful Piercing Strike. The sudden attack caught the Level 5 Bandit off guard, but because he could be considered a veteran in fights, the bandit tumbled back and avoided the fatal blow. The bandit scrambled to his feet and clutched his side in expressed agony. John's Piercing Strike, though missed the fatality, had penetrated through the bandit and drew blood. The bandit grunted and threw down a smoke bomb. With literally a puff of smoke, the Level 5 Bandit disappeared from sight. And a good thing it was for John when he landed that first strike. Though the bandit had disappeared from sight, he was unable to disappear from smell nor was he able to vanish his dripping blood from view. With a sniff and a quick glance around the room, John was able to identify the location of the vanished bandit. Unleashing a fierce vertical slash, the young Shadow Walker dismembered one of the bandit's arms. The bandit roared with pain, causing enough commotion to draw in another bandit. John rushed in for the kill with a swipe from his dirk. However, right at the moment of contact, a stinging pain erupted from his chest that caused his hand to falter and eventually miss the beheading. Even so, the young man was able to slit the bastard's throat. As the bandit bled out, John thrust in his falchion and ended the bandit's misery. John had only enough time to take the bandit's money pouch before another bandit walked in to find out what all the ruckus was about. This man clearly matched the smithy's description of the leader - scar across his right eye with a sword in his hand. "Ho...a Level 5 Bandit Swordsman." John spoke his mind. As soon as he heard the Shadow Walker's words, the bandit raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? To actually see my level. You must be an adventurer. And not a rookie at that. Too bad you're wounded. Come! I've just gotten a new sword and I haven't had the chance to test it out yet." "What a coincidence! I got a new sword too!" "Hmph! You want to test it out on me? IN...YOUR...DREAMS!" The Bandit Swordsman roared and unleashed a horizontal sweep at John's neck. Instead of backing away, the young Shadow Walker risked it all and dove forward. With a solid Piercing Strike, John glanced the incoming sword off path and pierced his sword into the bandit's stomach. The bandit grunted in agony. He grabbed onto the falchion, preventing John from pulling out, and forcefully swung his sword down. However, the young Shadow Walker quickly let go of his weapon and rolled out of danger's way. Because the bandit did not expect his attack to miss, the momentum of the swing stumbled him off balance. As he fell back, John rushed in with a stab that could make any assassin blush with embarrassment. Before the Bandit Swordsman could react, the young adventurer leaped back and sent a stunning kick at the bandit. While the bandit saw stars and dancing kittens, John pulled out his sword and stabbed it into the bandit's heart, ending his life instantly. Soon after the kill, John edged towards the entrance of the forging room - one hand on his sword and the other pocketing the money bag he swiped from the dead bandit. He approached near the doorway and, using the reflection of his sword, surveyed the inside of the room. There were two bandits, but no sight of the bowman anywhere. It seemed like the bowman must have walked out through the backdoor to act as a lookout or something. He had to finish this battle quickly before the bowman could be notified. John withdrew his sword and crept past the entrance. CRRAAASSSHH!! CLANK! CLANK! CLAAAANNNNKKK! Fuck! That was the word John could not help but scream deep in his heart. Right at the critical moment, his shit luck had to come barreling away in the form of a waste bucket. The loud commotion immediately notified the two bandits in the room. Without a second thought, they quickly vanished with a puff of smoke. John raised his sword up in high alert as he glanced around the room for any signs of the two enemies. Suddenly, he heard a few faint squishes. He glanced down, and noticed footprints made with the spilled waste. There! The young adventurer thrust out his falchion, dealing his favorite signature move - Piercing Strike. Blood squirted out from his victim and sprayed all over him. Because the attack landed, it disrupted the bandit's stealth and the vanishing effects disappeared. The wounded bandit brought up his weapon and swiped upwards. However, the loss of strength due to blood loss caused the bandit's attack to fall short. John took this chance to quickly finish the enemy off with a slash-kick combo. Without waiting to check whether or not the bandit was dead, John spun around to face the other bandit. Due to the blood spray, the second bandit's stealth was also interrupted. This bandit, though Level 4, was decisive. Just as John was turning around, the bandit had already made the decision to land the first hit. However, what he didn't expect was that the young Shadow Walker had already expected the first attack and had prepared for it beforehand. John swung his dirk up and parried the incoming blade with enough force to knock it out of the bandit's hand. The shocked bandit, now unarmed, could only watch as the young adventurer unleashed another Piercing Strike. The bandit hopped back just at the moment of impact and hollered at the top of his lungs. "Harold! Get in here! Help me out! There's an en-!" Before the bandit could finish calling for reinforcements, John had reached over and slit the bandit's throat. As blood gushed out from the open wound, John stared into the dying man's eyes and grunted, "Too late." The bandit's eyes rolled up as his life flashed before his eyes. He was a sculptor from a nearby village...and a rather well-known one at that. Life was satisfactory until he lost his job due to a slight mishap with a nobleman. He tried to regain his peaceful life by working as a farmer, but the taxes...the goddamn taxes! The taxes set by the baron had bankrupted him, causing him to lose everything. With nothing left, he decided to join the bandits. The bandit life treated him well. Money, booze, women...all for him to take. Recently, he had just captured a lovely young lass. Her voluptuous body mesmerized him the whole night. He could not wait to return and enjoy her some more. But then...the events flashing by stopped. Or rather, there were no more events to be shown...as if that was the end. Realizing this, the bandit remarked. "Ah...it's the end." John stared at the dead bandit and shook his head with a sigh. A life...hard to make, yet easy to destroy. What a pity...what a pity! The young adventurer knelt down beside the bandit and searched for some loot. Upon finding the money bag, his eyes glistened with excitement. Suddenly, an arrow sped into the bag, pinning it into the ground some distance away. John looked up, startled, and saw the Bandit Bowman reload. Before, John gave the bandit time to aim at him, he dove behind the furnace. The Bandit Bowman aimed a shot at the furnace, warning John not to emerge from his spot. He edged closer to the side of the furnace. Once he approached the corner, he quickly sidestepped behind the furnace with his bow aimed for a kill. But no one was there. John had disappeared! No! Rather, the young Shadow Walker had moved around the furnace at the same time the bandit sidestepped behind it. As the Bandit Bowman panicked, John dashed behind the bandit and ran his sword through. The bandit struggled helplessly for a minute or two before he stopped flailing about. The young adventurer kicked the body off his sword and proceeded to loot the other bandits. As he searched through his kills, he heard a slight shuffling sound. John turned around and saw the Bandit Bowman. He wasn't dead yet! He still had enough strength to fire an arrow. The arrow sliced through the air, surprising John who was unable to dodge in time. The arrow punched into John, wounding him. Luckily, the hit had missed his vitals. John grabbed onto the arrow and pulled it out without a grunt. He ran towards the dying bandit and slammed the blackened arrow into the bandit's heart, killing him instantly. John stood up with a sigh. With the last of the bandits killed, he could relax now. There were no worries for surprise attacks. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he leaned on the anvil for a while to catch his breath. The dizziness must have been a result of fatigue. Some rest would patch him up in no time. After regaining his senses, he quickly looted the corpses before heading out to talk with the smithy. "How was it? Did you take care of the situation? I heard some crashes. Did the guards back off?" The smithy bombarded John with questions as he rushed towards the young adventurer with a worried look. "Guards? Those were bandits in disguise. I've taken care of it. You may need to notify the real guards of the situation and to clear away the bodies." John replied as he patted the smithy's shoulder. "Don't worry. If the guards ask, just tell them it was I, John, who did it. They can find me through Daedalus." "Bandits!? How did they get past the patrol guards?" "Didn't you see their disguise? It's obvious they ki-" Before John could finish his sentence, another wave of dizziness crashed into him, sending him spiraling into a world of black. The smithy caught the collapsing young man. A look of alarm fell on his face as he tried to shake the Shadow Walker awake. All John could hear was the faint, incomprehensible sounds of the smithy as he drifted into the darkness.