Novel A World of Monsters. Chapter 11 is UP!

Spoiler: Chapter 5

Within the Ashram, near the shore of the only lake that existed within, a child was digging up a trench.

The child features were plain with skin dark, hairs black and eyes brown. His height was nothing impressive either and he was clearly short for his age of 12 but perhaps he would grow taller in the future. Mayhap, it would even dissolve the chubbiness in its cheeks and roundness of his belly.

He was dressed in the robes that had once been white. Unfortunately, they no longer retained their original brightness and instead, mud-caked the clothes and the filth had turned it into a murky brown piece.

Beads of sweat dripped down the child’s face while the sweat-soaked robes clung onto his plump body as the boy laboured. His muscles protested the movement and his back told him to rest. All the while, his soft palms sported various burns and calluses from a week of hard work.

The child had a scowl etched onto his chubby face as the shovel bit into the earth once again.

“Oh, this is nice!”

The child stopped mid-strike at the sudden sound and looked up at the newcomer. The boy was light-skinned and a lot thinner than the one who had been digging. His features were sharp with big eyes and a straight nose that made him seem quite elegant.

The newcomer also wore white robes but his robes were much cleaner than the chubby one’s.

“What…” The child put down the shovel and sat down as he panted. “…do you want?”

“Nothing.” The newcomer’s eyes shined as he took in the scenery. The lake, the trees, the plants, the flowers, the birds and the very sound of life made the area seem like a small slice of heavens above. “Can I build here too?”

The chubby boy waved his hand as he struggled to breathe, agreeing with the other boy. The newcomer smiled brightly and almost skipped forward. His eyes then fell on the trench dug by the chubby boy.

“Are you building a big hut? But Guruji said not to do so.” The newcomer frowned as he tilted his head.

“I know,” the chubby boy breathed with difficulty, “now.”

“Tch.” The lighter-skinned child eyed the dark-skinned one. “How many rooms were you making?”

“Three.” The chubby boy made a face. “One for me. One for the kitchen. And one for the toilet.”

“And how many will you make now?” The newcomer’s voice contained an unhidden glee. The dark-skinned boy huffed and put out its tongue at the other boy.

The newcomer giggled. “I just want to make one room.”

“Me too.” The chubby preteen sighed. “But I want it big.”

“Tch!” The other boy clucked his tongue. “Guruji said to make small huts.”

“Well, I am making a big one!” The chubby boy snapped. “I can’t live in a small room. Back home, I had slaves waiting for me all day.”

“You are your only slave here.” The light-skinned boy rolled his eyes. “So, you better plan what you can make.”

“…I know.” The chubby boy sulked.

0.0

“Is it…” The thinner child panted as he fell on his back. “…supposed to be this difficult?”

The chubby boy scoffed. “You have worked for just two days. Stop whining!”

“But it’s so hard!” The light-skinned boy cried out in protest. “My arms hurt! My back hurts! My whole body hurts!”

“Tch.” The rounder boy continued to dig as he looked at the thinner boy shiftily. “Who was it telling me off two days ago? I can’t find him.”

The other boy sat up and glared at the one who continued to dig. “Well, I didn’t know it would be this hard!”

“Did you think it would be easy then? What nonsense.”

The thinner boy glowered. “My dad is the biggest merchant in my city!”

“And mine is the inspector.” The chubbier boy retorted.

“I had slaves doing all this work!” The other child replied hotly and the chubby boy’s mouth fell open in disbelief before he smirked.

“Oh, what was it that you said?” He cleared his throat and made his voice thinner as if mocking the other child. “You are your only slave here. So, you better plan what you can make.”

“Don’t use my words against me!” The light-skinned child snarked. “Come up with your own taunts. You copycat!”

0.0

“What are you doing?” The skinner child asked as he peered curiously as the chubby boy, who had changed the direction of his trench.

The dark-skinned child threw a shifty eye at the other boy and didn’t respond. This caused the light-skinned child to smile in in mischief. “You are making your room smaller, aren’t you?”

The dark boy grunted and threw a fistful of mud at the other boy. “Go away! Don’t you have to complete your own hut?”

The other boy giggled as he moved to dodge the mud but he wasn’t fast enough and the mud hit his robes with a spalt. “Hey!” The boy squawked in indignation.

“Go back to your own plot!” The dark-skinned boy shouted back. “How are you still digging your fist trench? You slowpoke!”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” The other boy’s indignation, from mud being thrown at it, had yet to fade. He bent down and picked up a fistful of mud himself and threw at the fat boy. “You are not my mother!”

“I am not your mother, you little kid!” The boy got splattered with the mud too and threw several fistfuls of mud back. “I am your dad!”

“You!”

“Tch. What will you do?”

What followed after was a mud fight with both the kids throwing mud and clay at each other as they laughed and threw insults. When the mud fight finally ended, the boys were left panting and utterly drenched in clay.

As a result, they spent the rest of the day washing the mud off of their clothes and by the time they were finished, they were so tired and sore that they could do nothing but end their day and fall asleep.

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

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Spoiler: Chapter 6

The caterpillar woke up, as usual, with an intense pressure building up in its backside. With nothing more important to do, the creature completed its morning ritual and made its way to the poisonous tree, to try and level up the only Skill that had yet to increase.

Its Skill [Poison Resistance] had been stuck at Level 5 despite its best efforts. And had the Skill not been its most levelled one, the creature would have already gone mad with impatience and frustration.

The bug pursed its lips. There had been another thing that had been bothering it and that had been the lack of snails in the area. Since its hunt last week, the tiny being had yet to find any more snails to hunt and raise its Level.

As a result, the creature had gained only 4 more Levels in the last 7 days and barely managed to reach Level 65. This proved one thing to the caterpillar; the Level ups due to its Title [Hungry] were decreasing with each Level and the Title could not be relied upon.

Though, this realisation was not particularly new or helpful. The bug had already had an inkling towards it for quite some time. Yet, their confirmation was something that pounded its heart nonetheless as, with each passing day, the creature’s rather short lifespan decreased. And with the passage of another week, its life span had decreased to just 34 days. Almost one-third of its entire lifespan.

Thus, after it had gone through the process of consuming poisoned leaves, and the aftereffects of convulsions and spasms, it did not go back to its original tree to eat. Rather it began searching for snails. It crawled up and down a lot of trees before it finally found what it was looking for. And instead of attacking the shelled creature, the bug laid its trap of venom pit and waited.

Nothing much happened as it waited and munched on the leaves. The [Reincarnated] kept its senses taught and when the snail finally made its way towards the caterpillar, the little being almost jumped in joy.

What followed after had been a death and a few Level ups. And when the caterpillar returned home for the night, it had levelled up to [Level: 70] due to the 5 Levels from the snail. And even though the tiny being had wanted to hunt more of the shelled creatures, it had been unable to find them.

The [Survivor] shook its head to clear it of the useless thoughts and made its way to the tree with bitter leaves once again for the nightly dose of poison. Having eaten more than enough of the poisoned leaves, the creature crawled dow-

Ting.

[Skill [Crawl Lv.3] had levelled up to [Crawl Lv.4]. Your crawl speed has been increased.]
It dismissed the screen and continued on its way down. Reaching the ground, it waited for the poison to hit it. And it continued to wait. It really was taking a little too long. 'Have it become immune to the poi-'

The convolutions hit it then. Though they were weak and lasted just for a few moments. It grinned through the pain and the gasps; all its hard work had finally begun to pay off.

Still grinning, it reached its hideout and began to widen it; it was something that it had to do daily these days. After all, after doing nothing but eating, eating and then some more eating, the creature had increased its size, though it remained tiny nonetheless. Yet this marginal increase in size forced it to increase its hideout at a regular interval.

After the hideout had been hollowed out enough, the creature settled down in the tiny hole, which had been its shelter here since soon after it had been reborn. Smiling it decided to use [Survive] instead of [Moulting]. After all, even after all these days [Moulting] was leading at Level 3 while [Survive] trailed at Level 1. 'Survive.'

Ting.

[Skill [Survive Lv.1] has levelled up to [Survive Lv.2]. HP Limit has been increased by 1. Current Time Limit: 1 minute. Current HP Limit: 2 HP]
It checked its Status and its HP had been reduced by a solid 40 points, leaving it at [HP: 35/75]. The tiny bug smiled. For some reason, the ever-increasing value of the sacrifice gave it a strange sense of accomplishment. Even the Level up notifications and the value of its HP did not give it such joy.

Perhaps its was the fact that it could afford to lose such huge amounts of HP that gave it the giddy feeling. After all, only a few months earlier, such a loss of HP would have left it gasping in horror and awaiting death.

With a content smile, the creature dismissed the notification and went to sleep.

0.0

The caterpillar scowled as it fruitlessly crawled up and down another tree, looking for the ever so elusive snails. It had been its 7th tree just today and it had yet to find a single snail.

Not that it had had much success in the past 2 weeks. The single snail that it had hunted almost 2 weeks ago had been the only snail that it found and since then, it had not found even a single one. Thus, in the 14 days since, the bug had only gained 5 Levels to reach Level 75.

5 Levels in 14 days.

And it had just 20 days left to gain 25 more Levels.

The creature had begun to lose its already fragile mind.

Never had the little caterpillar felt so desperate in its life. Not even when it had been hiding from the bird, soon after it had been reborn. At least at the time, the creature could have done something. And it had done something. But at this time, the bug could do absolute jack shit.

The desperation added fuel to the fire that was the war going on within its mind. It tilted the war in favour of the one rather than the other but the creature remained unbothered. It remained ignorant. In its ignorance, it continued to search.

But by the time the sunlight began to dim, the creature had to stop its search and return if it wanted to be in its hideout by the time darkness consumed the light and night arose anew.

Arriving at the hideout, the creature expanded its tiny hole to fit its ever-increasing size. Just because it had been searching for the snails, doesn’t mean it had stopped eating. After all, the bug had the Title [Hungry]. It could never stop eating.

0.0

A mere 14 were left of its lifespan.

76 days had passed by since its rebirth.

And the creature had begun to stare at death once again.

It had a mere 14 days left to earn 23 more levels as it had gained merely 2 levels in the last week. With each day that passed, the creature grew more and more desperate. The more desperate it grew, the more its mind frayed and the more the war tilted.

And now that the bug had reached the twilight days of its lifespan, its body had begun to show its age. It had slowed down, despite the increase in Levels and Skill Levels. It took more energy for the [Survivor] to move while tiring it out quicker.

It had been sleeping a lot more too. And now that the weather had begun to change as it grew colder, the creature felt the shackles of age and death tightening even more.

0.0

The caterpillar stared at the overcast sky. It stared at the dark clouds. And it slowly crawled down another tree. Another day, another tree, another failure.

Just 10 days were left now. 10 days to live and 10 days to die. It sighed and began its journey to return to its hideo-

Ting.

[Skill [Crawl Lv.4] has levelled up to [Crawl Lv.5]. Crawling speed has been increased.]
The caterpillar sighed. Even the Skill Level up notifications, that had been the sight of joy once, brought the creature no joy anymore. Instead, the notification seemed to mock it these days, despite no change in its wordings. ‘How has my speed increased? Hasn’t it decreased instead?’

Ting.

[The Skill [Crawl] has reached the Level limit of your current Vessel. Evolve further to increase the Level limit of your Skills. Current Skill Level limit: Level 5]
‘…’

The creature’s eyes widened.

‘…’

Its pupils widened.

‘…’

Its mouth fell open but nary a sound escaped.

Just what was it reading? There was a Level cap for Skills related to evolution? ‘Does that mean…’

The tiny creature's heart sank and an all-consuming hollowness filled its heart. Its blood pumped faster but the creature didn’t seem to notice. Its body twitched but the creature didn’t notice. Its mind frayed like a ball of string unravelling. ‘Doesn’t that mean…’

‘…’

The creature’s fragile mind reached an edge and war within its mind began to reach a crescendo. Meanwhile, it laughed.

For more than half of its new life, the creature had been torturing itself by poison. Twice a day. Everyday. Just to increase the Level of its Skill, [Poison Resistance]. And all this time, the Skill had not levelled it up even once.

‘Now I know why!’ It continued to laugh.

The war intensified.

The Skill, [Poison Resistance], was its highest Levelled skill. It had always been its highest levelled Skill. It had been like that since it had received it when it had been born. It had always been at Level 5.

And the creature had been trying to increase its Level. ‘Obviously! I couldn’t have done it!’

The war intensified.

It had been going through hell and back for this. It had suffered so much for this. It had gone through so much for this. ‘It was all for nothing.’

The war intensified.

All that effort, for nothing. All that pain, for nothing. All that agony, for nothing.

Half of its life, for nothing. ‘Is everything that I do, for nothing?’

The war intensified.

At that moment, the sky that had been overcast all morning roared.

THHHHNNNDDDDDRRRRRR

The rumble of the clouds brought some sense of sanity to the creature and it resumed its march back home. It was halfway through the route when it started raining and the creature hurriedly climbed up the nearest tree to seek shelter.

It could no longer go back home. Not with the rain and mud blocking its path.

The caterpillar sighed and the sigh seems to contain exhaustion. Exhaustion from having died. Exhaustion from having been reborn. Exhaustion from the near-death experiences. Exhaustion from the constant hunger. The [Survivor] was tired. Its body was failing. Its time was running out. And it could do nothing about anything.

The caterpillar, for the first time, felt the twilight, that its body had already reached. It stared at the falling rain for a moment before it dug into the bark of the tree to make a temporary shelter for the night.

As the creature fell asleep, it gave no thought to the rain.

But if the creature had been a poetic Mortal, it would have felt that even the sky shared its sorrow and cried for it. However, the creature was not a poetic Mortal but an Immortal and the sky would not cry for a bug. The weather had begun changing and monsoon had just been announcing its arrival. The rain had been just another natural phenomenon.

0.0

The next day the caterpillar woke up to the beautiful sight of a refreshed forest. The rain had washed away all the layers of accumulated dust. As a result, the colours seemed brighter and the air fresher.

The sight had been beautiful but it didn’t evoke any joy in the creature for what it saw was not beauty but the end of summer and its life.

That is until it saw something.

The creature’s eyes widened and its heart raced in excitement. The lethargy, that had seemed to be encompassing it, for the past few weeks, dissipated and new energy almost seemed to flow in its body.

The creature had spotted snails. And not one but multiple.

It seemed that the snails were creatures that thrived only in monsoon. The ones that it had encountered before, had been the ones that had come out rather early. And this had also been the reason that the caterpillar had not been able to find any more snails. They all had been waiting for the monsoon and the rain. But now that the rain had heralded the arrival of monsoon, the snails had begun to come out.

The creature laughed and the defeat, that had begun to spread its root within the bug’s heart, died an early death.

In that moment, another thing happened. The war that had been reaching its crescendo, slowed down. The intensity of the war suffered a blowback and things began to mellow. But the creature knew nothing about it and remained unbothered. It remained ignorant.

What followed the blooming joy within the caterpillar’s heart had been nothing but ambushes, traps and deaths. Snails after snails were baited by the tiny bug and drowned within the venom pools. One after another, snails died until the caterpillar reached Level 100 within a single day.

Ting.

[You have Levelled Up! Level up bonus of +1 HP granted.]
With the death of the last snail, the goal of the caterpillar had been achieved. Yet, out of habit, the tiny being crawled into the venom puddle and bit into the carcass of the dead snail. The bug then dragged the snail over to the edge of the branch and threw it down.

Crunch!

It winced at the sound and turned to look down. There it saw the snail carcass, burying a scorpion under it. The scorpion, though having taken a great deal of damage, was still very much alive.

The caterpillar prayed that the fanged creature wouldn't look up and think that the caterpillar was the one who had attacked it. The tiny bug knew that it could not take down a scorpion as a Caterpillar. Not after it had seen the last scorpion shrug off its venom like mild spice.

Fortunately for the caterpillar, the scorpion did not seem to be sapient, or intelligent for that matter, as it attacked the dead snail with its stinger in retaliation. The dumb creature thought that the dead snail had attacked it.

The caterpillar sighed in relief.

The scorpion, with great difficulty, managed to throw the snail shell off of it before it began to chomp down on the snail with gusto. 'Is this the same scorpion that had eaten the previously poisoned snail?'

It sure looked the same as it devoured the snail.

The caterpillar scowled. 'Fuck you too buddy!'

Ting.

[You have reached Level 100. Do you want to Evolve now?]
[Yes]      [No]
The caterpillar’s heartbeat hastened and its breaths shortened. It stared at the screen with its eyes wide and mouth opened. 'Finally! Yes! I can evolve!'

Apparently, the creature’s mental shout of joy had been considered as agreement by the System as a new notification appeared. But the creature hastily dismissed it.

Ting.

[You can evolve later by selecting the 'Evolve' option from your Status window.]
It was not that the creature did not want to evolve, no, that was not that case. Far from it. But the creature, currently, was out in the open where any passing bird could gobble it up for a light snack. Thus, is postponed its evolution until it had found a suitable safe place.

Though, that was easier said than done. Now that it had rained, its old home would have been flooded since it was, literally, a hole in the ground. And the creature could only make a hideout in the trees since only there could it remain safe from water in case it rained again.

But trees were no place of safety as both, snails and birds, would target them to look for food.

The creature frowned. It was, at that moment, feeling homeless for the first time since its rebirth. It turned around to look at the shelter it had made for the night; it was but a hole in the tree and an idea formed in its mind.

The caterpillar marched within its shelter began to dig deeper and wider while keeping the mouth of the opening small. It made the shelter at least 5 times larger than its body as it needed a lot of space for the second step of its plan. It took the creature an entire day to dig the hole deep and wide enough. And with that done, it crawled down to execute the second part of its plan.

Once on the ground, the caterpillar bit down on the wet mud and carried a mouthful of mud back to its shelter before spitting it out within the hole. The creature repeated the process for 2 entire days to collect enough mud for what it needed. Meanwhile, whenever it felt that the mud had begun to dry out a bit, it used its Skill [Venom Creation] to moisten the mud right back up.

It was not the amount of mud needed that caused the caterpillar to take 2 whole days. Rather, it had been its slow speed and easily tired aged body.

Once the mud had been collected, the creature began to seal up the entrance of its shelter with the venom laced mud. It took quite some time for the creature to accomplish the task but it was still completed within a day.

Thus, it was on the 84th day since its birth, and only 6 days before its lifespan ended, the [Reincarnated] finally felt prepared to evolve and called up its Status.

[Unnamed] [Skills] [Spells] [Dharma] [Evolve]
The creature trembled as it focused on the option, [Evolve].

Ting.

[Do you want to evolve now?]
[Yes]       [No]
Grinning, it focused on [Yes].

Ting.

[Choose your form.]
[Butterfly Lv.1: Inherited form.]
[Moth Lv.1: Variant. Granted due to your unorthodox methods.]
It read both the options and frowned. ‘What does it mean by “unorthodox methods”?’

‘Eh? The only thing that I can think of is the usage of traps to kill the snails? There is nothing else. If that is the case, then was I not supposed to be capable of killing them at all? Huh. And is that why I was given such a hefty experience?'

‘So, does this also mean that I was supposed to evolve into a butterfly? What-No.’ The creature frowned as it processed the information. 'No, sir. I am not choosing to be a butterfly. Moth it is.'

Ting.

[You have chosen Moth as your evolution. Are you sure?]
[Yes]       [No]
Ting.

[Evolution will begin now. Time Remaining: 30 days.]
Before it could even dismiss the screen, an overbearing urge to spit hit the creature. It straightened itself up and stood up on its hind legs as its mouth came down and spat something that began solidifying as soon as it left its mouth.

The creature watched in horrified fascination as its body began to spin a cocoon around itself, transforming it into a pupa. ‘What am it doing? And why am I doing this?' But more importantly, how was the creature doing it? It did not have any skill relat-

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

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0.0

Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Unnamed

Race: Immortal

Species: Insect

Vessel: Caterpillar

Level: 100

HP: 105/105   MP: -

HPR: 11/Day   MPR: -

Lifespan: 6 days

Titles

[Reincarnated] [Hungry] [Survivor]

Skills

[Crawl Lv.5] [Moulting Lv.3] [Poison Resistance Lv.5] [Venom Creation Lv.4] [Pain Resistance Lv.4] [Survive Lv.2]

[EVOLVE]

 

Spoiler: Chapter 7

With the last batch that had just left, now there remained less than half of the original number of children in the Ashram. Many had left after the first week itself; the life of the ascetic had proven itself too austere for the hopefuls that had been too young.

But that was the way for those that walked down this path.

This reduction in numbers was nothing new and also nothing final. The journey had just begun and it will leave behind many in the dust. Though with the end of the initial month, the phase meant for easing the children into their new life had ended, and now the true journey would finally begin.

0.0

Kiran was standing alongside the remaining children as they waited for their teacher to begin the lesson.

While the boy was still short for his age, a month of back-breaking labour had been good for the boy, though not too much.

His multiple chins had reduced by quite a few and the chubbiness of his cheeks had lessened. His body seemed to have become a lot less round after the month and his features had sharpened.

Though the sun had not been so good for his skin and his dark skin had darkened further.

He, like everyone around him, was dressed in white robes and, despite his plain face, he looked quite adorable in the way that only children could as the bright colour of his clothes contrasted with his skin.

The boy had completed his shack, like all the others that were standing alongside him. And even though he had to abandon the bigger shack, and had to build a much smaller one, the boy had been quite happy with it.

But that joy could no longer be seen now.

Standing with the rest of the disciples, the absence of those that had left was easily felt. There was less noise, less chatter, fewer people and less joy. Everything was just...less. After all, amongst those that had left, there had been many that had been their friends.

Even the sole friend that Kiran had made had left. The thin and light-skinned boy had left along with the others in the last batch as he had been unable to complete his hut by the end of the month.

And though the boy could have stayed further and studied while he completed the hut alongside it, the thin boy had chosen not to do so. Yet, Kiran could not blame the boy.

The other boy had already been thin when he had arrived at Ashram, and the back-breaking labour of the month had caused the boy to lose even more weight, leaving the child gaunt and bony.

And at the same time, his light skin hadn’t been able to withstand the harsh sunlight and had flaked and burned.

Kiran had not tried to convince his friend to stay back but he had almost cried at the other boy’s decision to leave. And he hadn’t been the only one that had been left teary-eyed.

The constantly increasing number, of children leaving the Ashram, had left the group scared as the tentative friendships they had made, were broken and shattered under the strain. And even if these children were to meet again in the distant future, their lives would still be worlds apart.

“Good job everyone!” The teacher’s deep voice broke Kiran out of his flunk. “You all have done excellent work. You have proven that your will is strong and your reflection deep.”

“Now you will take your first step on this journey.” The teacher continued. “And that first step for that is for you all to earn the Class, [Shishya].”

“However, before I tell you all about it, let me introduce myself.” The man smiled genially. “I am Guru Pranay. You can address me as Guruji or Acharya Ji and as nothing else. I will not tell you my Class and my Level as it is irrelevant to you now.”

“Though,” The man smiled mischievously, “if you can earn your Class, you can come and ask me.”

“Now, there are many similar ‘student’ natured classes but you are not here for those. You are here to study under the [Brahmin]s, the [Muni]s and the [Hrishi]s. You are here to learn from us and walk down a path that best suits you. [Shishya] will allow that to happen.”

“While the other Classes promise power and glory, that is also their trap. They would lock you into set progressions and not allow you to grow as you would want. Rather, they would force you to grow in a manner that they’d dictate. They would not allow your curiosity to grow and they would not allow your full potential to manifest.”

“The Class [Shishya], however, will allow you to pave your own path.” He paused for a moment. “And if you happen to walk an already paved path, you’d find that your skills would be deeper and your spells stronger. It is for this reason that your parents have sent you here. To be better and to be yourself.”

“Though, nothing in this world is as easy as it seems. If this Class were so great, why wouldn’t the world strive for it? Why won’t the nobles and the kings fight for it?” The man paused and surveyed the students. “Can anyone answer?”

None even whispered a word as they evaded eye contact, wishing to be left alone in the anonymity.

“Hmm? No one?” The man prompted again and a girl hesitatingly raised her hand. “Yes, you. Go ahead.”

“Umm…Be-because they have better Classes.” The girl swallowed and the man laughed.

“Indeed!” The man agreed as he laughed. “While [Shishya] is a great Class to possess for a commoner, the arduous lifestyle that it forces upon its followers is not favoured by the elites. But if it were just that, then too this Class would be much more desirable than it is now. Can anyone tell me why?

The students frowned before the same girl as before raised her hand once again. “I-it is because [Shishya] regresses.”

A murmur erupted within the students as they processed what the girl said. Some students audibly scoffed while others rolled their eyes.

“Don’t just say anything!”

“Keep quiet if you don’t know the answer!”

“This is what happens when you try to show off.”

“A half fill jug just splashes out water.”

Some students doubted the girl and looked at her as if she had grown a third head. While others simply disbelieved her and didn’t give her a second thought.

Though their reactions were different, all of them were in agreement that what the girl had just said, had been utter and pure nonsense. A Class that regresses? How could such an absurd thing be?

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

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Spoiler: Spoiler
Brahmin: The priest/teaching Caste in Hinduism. The literal meaning is a person who is learned.

Muni & Hrishi: Ascetic sages that lived austere lives in Hindu Mythology. Even Gods bowed to them with respect.

 

Synopsis updated, please have a look!

 

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Spoiler: Chapter 8

The creature woke up, once again, confined and confused. It felt restricted as if there existed walls pressing down on its flesh from all sides. The confusion lasted for but a moment, but in that single moment, the [Survivor]’s heart began to race and panic to start knocking at its sanity.

Yet, a moment was all it took to settle down as it remembered its last awake moments. ‘30 days.’

The creature, though, certainly, did not feel as if it had been 30 days since it had last been awake. Its last awake memories had been of a body that had been failing. It had felt sore and tired. Its flesh had lacked strength and its entire body had been just so slow.

Yet, now, even though it had yet to break out of its cocoon, the creature could practically feel the difference. What had once been sore muscles had been replaced by a new one that felt taught. The body that had once been failing, felt good as new and the flesh that had once lacked power, was almost bursting with energy.

The creature tried to move and heard cracks resounding all around. It stretched its body and the first rays of dim light pierced the empty darkness. It flared its limbs as it exercised its newfound strength and the cocoon fell apart, revealing the moth within.

The moth was a third of a mortal’s finger in size and it seemed a little unordinary. Its body was covered in soft white fur-like hair and had 2 antennas popping out of its head. Its beady dark eyes seem to mirror the darkness of the very night. Its multiple legs seemed to be too thin and weak to support its weight, yet, they held the creature up just the same.

Despite having quite a few new body parts, the [Reincarnated] felt quite peculiar towards the folded set of wings on its back. As despite never having had wings in any of its lives before, the creature did not feel unused to them. Instead, the usage of wings and the resulting flight seemed to be almost instinctual; almost akin to moving just another limb.

The moth tried to flex its wings and the translucent wings spread out in glory. The thin veins zig-zagged across the papery wings, creating a beautiful sight. The bug gave the wings a practice flap and felt its light body rise up in the air a bit. Hurriedly, the creature stopped.

Though, at that moment, a slew of notifications popped up.

Ting.

[Evolution complete. You have evolved into a White Furred Moth.]
Ting.

[Evolution bonus of 15 HP has been added to your total Health Points. You have been completely healed.]
Ting.

[Level up bonus had increased to +2 HP per Level.]
Ting.

[Your HP regeneration rate has been increased to [11 + Level/10]. Rounded down.]
Ting.

[Vessel Title, [Hungry], lost.]
Ting.

[Skill [Flight Lv.5] granted.]
Ting.

[Skill [Night Vision Lv.1] granted.]
Ting.

[Skill [Sense Lv.1] granted.]
Ting.

[Level limit on Skills has been raised to Level 10. Evolve further to raise the Level Limit again.]
Ting.

[Skill [Poison Resistance Lv.5] has levelled up to [Poison Resistance Lv.6]. Continuous damage caused by poison has been decreased by the 6 points.]
Ting.

[Skill [Poison Resistance Lv.6] has levelled up to [Poison Resistance Lv.7]. Continuous damage caused by poison has been decreased by the 7 points.]
Ting.

[Skill [Poison Resistance Lv.7] has levelled up to [Poison Resistance Lv.8]. Continuous damage caused by poison has been decreased by the 8 points.]
Ting.

[Poison mastered. Hallucination effect added to the venom.]
The creature gaped with its mouth open for a moment before it laughed. Though this time, for the first time in its new life, actual sound escaped its mouth and it jumped in surprise at the sudden sound. It looked around its hideout for a moment before realising that there was no intruder and the sudden sound had been the sound of its own laughter.

The shook its head at the ridiculousness of it all before it began going through its notifications. The creature laughed at the loss of the Title [Hungry]. That was news that the moth would have celebrated no matter what. The constant feeling of pure and untameable hunger, that the Title had forced upon it, had been a special of kind misery.

The Skills [Flight] was pretty straight forward. Though it started at Level 5, much like [Poison Resistance] had. The creature scowled at the memory of its failed efforts.

Ting.

[Ability to ease the flight of a creature. Prerequisite: Wings]
It was the other two that had something more than what the creature had expected.

Ting.

[The ability to see during the night.]
Ting.

[Ability to momentarily enhance the antennas and sense the subtle scent in the surrounding. Cost of the Skill depends on the Level of the Skill. Current cost: 10 Mana/min. Prerequisite: Antenna.]
Despite the somewhat unexpected additions, the Skills were pretty straight forward. And given their utility, the creature thought for a moment to Level them up, much like it had done for [Moulting] and [Survive]. Though that thought gave it pause and it scowled again as the memory of the Level limit, refused to be forgotten.

At that moment, it was the next notification that gave it some respite, as it increased its Level Limit to 10. However, it was the notification after that one that truly began healing the nearly broken mind of the White Furred Moth.

The increase in three Levels at once, which proved to the creature that all its suffering, its pain, its agony, its torment and its torture for weeks and weeks on end, had not been for nothing. That its efforts had not been for nothing. And somehow, it also assured the creature that its very existence too wasn’t for nothing.

The moth breathed deeply and shuddered. It remained in that motionless state for a few moments before summoning its Status.

Name: Unnamed

Race: Immortal

Species: Insect

Vessel: White Furred Moth

Level: 1

HP: 121/121   MP: -

HPR: 11/Day  MPR: -

Lifespan: 240 days

Titles

[Reincarnated] [Survivor]

Skills

[Crawl Lv.5] [Flight Lv.5] [Moulting Lv.3] [Night Vision Lv.1] [Pain Resistance Lv.4] [Poison Resistance Lv.8] [Sense Lv.1] [Survive Lv.2] [Venom Creation Lv.4]

The first thing that the new moth looked for in its Status was its lifespan.

‘240 days.’ The three-digit number written there, caused the creature to smile. And for the first time in a while, it felt a bit settled down. For even though the life span was not much, it had increased considerably from its previous one and this increase gave the bug a bit of hope.

The second thing that the creature searched for was its MP. It had, after all, been a sorcerer in its last life and magic had been a large part of it. The moth scowled at the blank space for its MP. It seemed that the creature still hadn’t been granted access to its magic.

'This will not do.' The bug decided as it focused on the option of MP.

Ting.

[Mana Points unavailable. Your species doesn't have access to Magic.]
'Fuck. You.' The white moth’s face twisted. ‘I have had enough of this crippled existence.'

The creature felt that it had no excuse for not having its magic back, now that it had ample time to live and was not busy just surviving its day to day struggle. ‘If I can survive in this world as a mere caterpillar, I can definitely do so a moth.’

And despite the fact that it had been reincarnated and had an entirely different body than before, the creature felt it could get its magic back. 'Souls are the source of one's magic; not the body. And as I have been reincarnated, I still have my soul! Very. Much. So!'

After all, its civilization in the bug’s last birth had been researching the source of magic and the being had been a part of that research. Though not particularly high up in the hierarchy, it was high enough to know the basics of the research. 'I see no reason why I shouldn't have my magic back. I. Should. Have. Access. To. Magic!’

Thus, the war that had mellowed out, raged once again. It began to intensify and both the sides began ripping each other apart without the care of the consequences. As a result, the creature’s mind once again began to fray and unravel.

Meanwhile, the moth closed its eyes and focused inwards. It took a deep breath in and slowly, ever so slowly, let it out. 'If this world is not going to give me my magic back, then it will take it back myself.'

Once again, the bug took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. And with each breath, the creature tried to rid itself of negative emotions and thoughts.

It tried to let out its frustration, its irritation and its anger. It had been irritated and frustrated with itself, for not having its magic. It had been angry for being eliminated like an insect through divine punishment. This was the first side of the war. This faction was the result of the interaction between the soul and the instinct of the body. This interaction had created an Ego that should have ruled this Vessel that had originally been a caterpillar and was now a Moth.

This first side in the war was, thus, this Ego of the Immortal that desired magic because it was its and nothing else mattered to it.

And then there was the sorrow, the mourning, the heartache, the sadness and the grief. The sorrow that the creature possessed was for its own death. The mourning was for the death of its loved ones. The heartache was for the death of its family. The sadness was for the death of its country. And the grief for the death of its Gods. This was the second side of the war.

It was the result of the interaction between the soul and the instincts of the previous birth as a mortal. The Ego thus formed had not only lived but it had also experienced an entire life and then it had died. This Ego, that should have ceased to exist but lived due to meddling of an Existence, was the unnatural oddity.

This second side in the war, within the creature’s mind, was thus this Ego of the Mortal that desired to keep its humanity intact above all else. It sought to grieve for those that had passed and those that it had loved.

As the two sides clashed, the war between the Mortal Ego and the Immortal Ego once again reached a crescendo as the slaughter resumed. The creature, meanwhile, breathed but the breathing did not help.

Not.

One.

Bit.

It could not let go.

The two sides warred.

So, it took another breath in, taking it in as deep as it could, till its tiny chest started to ache and lungs began to burn. And then it sluggishly began letting the breath out. It let out the breath so slowly, that its body fought it to let the breath leave faster.

It repeated the process again and again; unwilling to be defeated. However, at the same time, it was unwilling to let go of its emotions. It struggled against its emotions, against its stubbornness and against itself. It still wasn't willing to give up against either of its opponents.

It continued to struggle against them with all its might.

The two sides continued to war.

It felt like it was being pulled in opposite directions. One direction led it to its magic but this direction sacrificed its heartache and its pain. The other direction led it to its grief and sorrow but it sacrificed its magic. The first direction demanded it to move forward as it let go of its emotions while the second direction required it to stop immediately in its path as it let go of its magic.

'No, I can't.'

'I just can't.'

The Mortal and the Immortal Egos warred and the creature’s mind continued to unravel like a ball of string in free fall. The more they fought, the more it frayed. The more it frayed, the more fragile it became.

‘I.’

‘Can't!’

‘Let!’

‘GO!’

The struggle continued and each side continued to pull the creature in their respective directions while it tried to pull them both to itself. 'It isn't working. It isn't working! It isn't working! But I can't give up! No! Not now. Not ever!'

The war continued endlessly.

It tried to ignore the struggle; it really did. But that was not an option.

Whenever it began to get used to the conflicting pulls, the two contradictory forces reminded it of their existence by trying to overwhelm the little moth, trying to rip it apart. It felt itself being stretched to the limits of its sanity and then beyond.

Its sanity ripped.

Its mind cracked.

It wasn't sure if it was the same creature anymore.

'I-

can't-

take-

it!’

The war reached its peak.

And then there was no coming back for the creature.

The war had been won.

The war had been lost.

It was just too much for a mere moth. Its yearnings were ripping it apart. Bit by bit, they ripped it apart. Little by Little, they ripped it apart. Fibre by fibre, they ripped it apart. Essence by essence, they ripped it apart. Part by part, they ripped it apart.

And by holding onto them, the creature refused to do anything about it.

But then, at that moment, it lost.

The creature lost.

It let go.

It had to.

Or be destroyed.

So, the creature let go.

The Mortal Ego lost the war.

The creature had let go of its sorrow. It let go of its grief. It let go of its loss. And it let go of its pain, its agony, its torment, its heartache and, in that moment that seemed to stretch for eternity, the creature let go of its last life. ‘I-I am…sorry.’

It had sacrificed its last life for its magic. ‘I am sorry.’

From this moment onwards, there would be no heartache within the creature for the death that had descended on its people. From this moment onwards, there would be no joy from the moments of happiness that it had lived in its past life.

The Immortal Ego had won the war.

From this moment onwards, its past life was not its. Its past memories were not its. Its past relationships were not its. Its past Gods were not its. Its past lessons were not its. Its teachings were not its. And its past morals were not its. They remained there, in the back of its mind. But they were not its. They were hers.

But she had died.

She was no more.

She had left behind her memories but those memories were incomplete and frayed as the consequence of the war that had raged within its mind. They were fragments and pieces. And they would remain that way, never to be whole again. Rather, as time would let its rot set in, the rot would wither away the fragments that remained until they turned into nothing but dust and sand.

For now, however, they remained within the creature’s mind but they were not the creature’s, for they were hers.

Was the creature still the same that it had been when it had begun this struggle? Was it the same being that had deigned both its memories and magic of similar importance?

No.

This was not that being. For that creature was no more. It had died.

But it mattered not. Because it was at this time, that the moment which had stretched for an eternity, ended without warning. And with the end of the eternal moment, the creature felt warmth from somewhere far away.

It was its magic, the moth knew, it just knew. It wasn't anything else. How could it not be? The creature had been yearning for it for so long. And it could feel the magic. It was calling the creature, asking the moth to come to grasp it, embrace it; to make the magic its.

The magic drew near, the moth felt it come near. Slowly and steadily it was coming near the bug. It knew. The creature focused on the magic and pulled. And the magic was pulled. Towards it. And the creature drifted.

The creature continued to drift and so did its magic. They were close, very close. The moth could almost feel the magic, touching it, embracing it. The creature embraced it bac-

It couldn't embrace it.

It couldn't hold it.

The creature still had a yearning and those yearnings were holding it back, pulling it again from a different side. These remnant yearnings were the ones that its subconscious mind held onto. These remnants were pulling at its hands. 'How have I not noticed them!?’

The creature tried to push the remnants away, but they just pulled it back. Harder, each time.

They wouldn't let it embrace its magic.

Its magic continued to drift. It began to drift through the creature.

The bug could feel the warmth slipping past it, passing through it! The little being tried to hold it, it tried. But it still yearned and its yearning held it back. Its emotions were holding it back. They wouldn't let it embrace its magic.

‘I-’

‘…I let go.’

And thus, for the first time since its battle had begun, the creature let it past go. This time, the being had not lost. This time the creature had not sacrificed it. This time the creature had genuinely let it go.

At that moment, the remnant yearnings began dissipating and their hold on the bug loosened. The creature didn’t hesitate. Without even giving its yearnings a second glance, the creature drifted forward and embraced its magic.

The embrace seemed to last for a long moment but it was over in but an instant. And in that instant, a familiar warmth flowed within the creature’s body.

Ting.

[Magic has been unlocked.]
The white moth opened its exhausted eyes and smiled at the notification. It wanted to revel in the feel of its magic but the battle with its own yearnings had sapped all its energy. Thus, the creature postponed everything and slept.

At that moment, if the heavens existed, then this battle between heaven and the creature -that rose to defy it- had been won by the heavens.

0.0

The little white moth woke up to an extreme sense of hunger and, for a moment, the creature thought that it was the effect of the Title [Hungry]. But this was a different kind of burn to the raging inferno that was the hunger of the Title. However, at that moment, the [Survivor] felt a warmth within its body and remembered what had happened the last night. It smiled.

The hunger didn’t let the smile last though and a delicate scent attracted the moth’s attention. The creature followed the tantalizing scent and came to halt before the broken pieces of its cocoon.

The creature frowned a bit and tentatively took a bite. But the piece of cocoon melted in bug’s mouth and left behind a subtle and pleasant taste. Thus, without a second thought, the creature devoured the rest of the cocoon.

Ting.

[You have consumed The Gift.]
Ting.

[You have Levelled Up! The level up bonus of +2 HP +2 MP granted.]
‘Eh?’ The creature looked at the last remaining piece of its cocoon before gulping it down with a shrug. With its hunger sated for the moment, the [Reincarnated] turned to look at the notifications waiting to be addressed.

Ting.

[22 Points of Mana granted.]
‘Eh?’ The creature hesitated for a moment at the random amount of mana but moved without much delay. ‘Random mana is better than no mana.’

Ting.

[Title [Reincarnated] has come into effect.]
The creature’s heart raced. ‘Will I get all my previous magic as skills and spells? Can that even happen?’

Ting.

[Mastery of Spell detected. Race [Immortal] denies access to Spells. Access Denied.]
‘Eh?’

Ting.

[Mastery of Spell detected. Race [Immortal] denies access to Spells. Access Denied.]
‘Eh?’

.

.

.

.

.

‘Eh?’

[Mastery of Spell detected. Race [Immortal] denies access to Spells. Access Denied.]
‘Just…what?’ The white moth stared for a moment more at the long list of spell rejections before hurriedly pulling on its Race to check if what the notifications were correct or not. Sure enough, its Race, [Immortal], blocked access to both Spells and Attributes.

The [Reincarnated] scowled. ‘Fuck. You. You little blue shit!’

Ting.

[Mastery of Skill detected. Skill [Mana Manipulation Lv.1] granted.]
Ting.

[Mastery of Skill detected. Skill [Sense Essence Lv.1] granted.]
The little creature blinked. It had honestly not expected to actually be granted anything after those series of rejections. Pleasantly surprised, the moth quickly pulled up the information on those Skills.

Ting.

[Ability to Sense and Manipulate Mana. Does not grant the ability to manifest the user's mana.]
Ting.

[Allows the user to locate the Essence of an object or creature. The Skill costs mana equal to 5 times the Level of the Skill per minute.]
The creature laughed. Although [Mana Manipulation] was not what it had hoped for, [Sense Essence] more than made up enough for it. With this Skill, the creature could use the skill set that she had possessed in her life.

‘Tch.’ A thought popped up and the creature’s mouth twisted in distaste. ‘All that life lived and I just got 2 Skills. An entire life, summed in just two, Level one, Skills. What a waste.’

As the rather callus thought passed by the creature’s mind, it did not feel even a single tinge of emotion. Such a situation would have been impossible for the creature just a day before.

And it was now possible only because of what the creature had done during the process of gaining magic. The Mortal Ego had lost and had sacrificed itself along with the emotions relating to its last birth. While the remnants of emotions that had been retained by its subconsciousness had been let go by the creature willingly.

As a result, while the experiences of its last birth did exist in fragments and pieces, they were not the creature’s experiences. To the moth, those experiences were like reading an incredibly detailed story and not something it had personally gone through.

It was for this reason that the Skills that it had gained, they all started from Level 1 rather than the actual Level that would have represented the creature’s mastery over the Skill in its past life.

Not that it mattered to the creature. It was now an [Immortal] in all sense of the world and could not relate to Mortal feelings and thinking. It was for this reason that the creature could pass such callus comments. Otherwise, how could someone that thought in the way of mortals -a being that even cried and rejoiced for the fictional characters they read about in the stories- not care about the life story of an actual living being? A being that they had been in their past life?

A Mortal could never.

And this was just one of the many changes that the creature traded for magic.

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

Like it?

Hate it?

Just review and let it know!

Go Review!

Now.

-X-

Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Unnamed

Race: Immortal

Species: Insect

Vessel: White Furred Moth

Level: 2

HP: 124/124 MP: 24/24

HPR: 11 HP/Day MPR: 1 MP/H

Lifespan: 240 days

Titles

[Reincarnated] [Survivor]

Skills

[Crawl Lv.5] [Flight Lv.5] [Mana Manipulation Lv.1] [Moulting Lv.3] [Night Vision Lv.1] [Pain Resistance Lv.4] [Poison Resistance Lv.8] [Sense Lv.1] [Sense Essence Lv.1] [Survive Lv.2] [Venom Creation Lv.4]

 

Please comment below if you are still reading here. I am confused wether I should post more chapters here or not.

Spoiler: Chapter 9

The students frowned before the same girl as before raised her hand once again. “I-it is because [Shishya] regresses.”

.

.

.

At the moment that the chatter became noisy, the air turned heavy as it dropped and the light took a distinct yellow shade. It became difficult to breathe and the very ground seemed to rise up to swallow the students whole.

And then it was gone.

“Good.” The man’s sharp voice cut through the silence left in the wake of the sudden horror that scared the children nearly to their early deaths. “Don’t make me repeat that. It’s not worth the effort to waste it on all of you.”

The students stared at the gaunt man clad in saffron robes and all of them gulped in unison as none spoke.

“In this place, we value knowledge above everything else. So even if you hear something outlandish like what she had said, you must not discard it so. For it may turn out to be true.” The man’s furrowed brows and narrowed eyes dared the students to challenge his words. “And yes, this Class regresses.”

“[Shishya] is not just a Class where you swing a sword to gain Levels. It is not a Class where you shoot arrows aimlessly to get Levels. It is not a Class where merely killing senselessly would earn you Levels. It is like none of those other Classes that you have heard about before.”

“No, this Class is the horse on which you will tread your path. And what a finicky horse it is. If it senses any disingenuity and insincerity, it will throw its rider off without even a second thought.”

He stared down at the students standing before him and observed the state that his earlier display had left them in. They were nervous and scared. Some of them were even trembling in fear.

But the man felt no regret for his actions. His earlier display had been to gain their attention and to impress upon them, the finicky nature of the Class [Shishya]. After all, he had lost count of the number of children that had taken the warning lightly and wandered off their path, never to Level again.

“This Class is like a venomous animal. It should never be spooked, lest you wished to be bitten.”

“Many before you have fallen and so will many that come after you. Even you yourselves might fall off if you wander off from your path. And once you wander off and fall, you would not find this Class again.”

“Remember my warning for the rest of your lives. Etch them into hearts and carve them into your minds. Do whatever you must to remember this warning.” The saffron-clad man’s voice seemed to echo as he spoke. “But never ever forget them.”

He smiled then and clapped his hands. As a result of those simple actions, the seriousness of the moment broke. The brightness of his face relaxed the children and the very air seemed brighter as a result.

“Now, there are two things that you need to do to earn this Class. The first one is to study diligently.” The man nodded genially. “While the second, and the more important of the two, is that you have to lose all the hair on your head.”

The students stopped chattering for a moment before the noise erupted like ants from an anthill ready to battle. Such was the absurdity of the statement that most wanted to dismiss it the moment they heard it.

But they had just received a lesson in dismissing thing that they knew nothing about and none of them wanted a repeat of the previous situation. Thus, some students frowned while some gossiped in confusion at the declaration.

The man, however, chuckled as he saw the children at least willing to take it into consideration and talk about it. He gave them a few moments to discuss it amongst themselves before he addressed them again. “When I say that you have to lose your hair, I am not talking about shaving your head, of course. What I mean is, through your [Will] and your [Reflection] you have to force your hair to fall off, naturally.”

The girl raised her hand again and at the man’s assent, she asked, “Does it mean something, guruji?”

“Very good.” The man smiled. “Making your hair fall off is not an easy thing to achieve. More often than not, your hair forms a large part of your image in your minds. To dissociate yourself from that image, to leave behind the vanity and to end the attachment from your flesh, is the goal of this exercise.”

Another student, with her face scrunched in confusion, raised her hand and asked, “But...umm guruji, you have hair!”

The man laughed at that. “Yes. I do.” His eyes twinkled in amusement and the girl reddened.

“You will be able to grow your hair back once you have advanced to the next Tier. But why will you be able to do so? This I can’t tell you yet. Knowing that now will only harm your progress.” He turned to look at the other children and asked, “Anything else?”

He waited for a moment and when silence reigned, he continued, “Now, you have a time limit of course. Those whose Dharma is to walk down this path, they will be able to achieve this within a year but those of you, who do not possess enough [Surplus] to walk down this path, you must not give up so easily.”

“Hard work and [Reflection] are more than enough to change one’s [Dharma]. This we realise and appreciate. Hence, those who could not achieve this within a year, you will be given another year to try again.”

“However, if even after another year you are unable to earn this Class, then your Dharma would be truly something else. And you’d have to leave.”

“Though, your time in the Ashram would not have been a waste, even if you’d have to leave. You’d leave this place with riches that even the Kings and the nobles desire most. You’d leave with Rare Attributes.”

“You do not have access to your Status yet, so you can’t actually see it but when you do gain your Status, you will have access to [Reflection] and [Will]. Two of the Rare Attributes.”

“For now, this is all.” The man said as he finished his speech. “I wish all of you my very best on your journey ahead.”

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-

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Spoiler: Chapter 10

Within the infinite and ever-expanding number of Creations, there existed a place, a single place, that was beyond the realm of simple understanding. This place was but a single place, yet it remained and existed within all the Creations, old and new.

This place defied the transcendental walls and connected what was meant to be separated. Yet, at the same time, this place defied the Wills of Worlds and separated what was meant to be connected.

This place, that was but a single place, had boundaries far, wide and blurry. Where it ended and where it began, were answers not easily known. Same was true for the Realities, that had been all made to come together, to be one in this place.

This place -the name of which was known to all the Existences but the Creatures that knew of it were few to none- was vast beyond imagination. Within the boundaries of this place, it was possible for even the Gods to be lost and forgotten.

Within this unending place, existed not the beings of flesh, blood and bones but the very manifestations of the Creation Laws, the Existences called Wills and the various mutated Existences called Gods.

None of these Existences risked moving freely within this place or even dared to think of leaving. Within the boundlessness of this place, the very idea might cause one to be lost and forgotten. And if they dared act, the horror of such a crime had been witnessed not just once.

This place was their home and their prison.

But who created this place and how it came to be? The answers to both these questions were unknown to even the most powerful Existences of the innumerable Creations and the uncountable Realities. For this place had existed since the beginning of the first Reality or perhaps even before that.

Yet, there was just one Existence that knew the answer to these questions and it preferred to keep it the answers unknown. The one Existence to know the truth was the most elusive of all. The one, to know the truth, was one with the domain, The Cyclic Time.

And this place, the truth of which was only known to one, this place was Tilism. The home of the horrors. The prison of the pandemonium.

Within this place, there existed numerous Existences, free yet confined. They could observe the Realities outside this place but they could not manifest there themselves. They were allowed to manipulate their domains but they weren’t allowed to manifest themselves.

These were the rules of Tilism. They were not the Laws. For if they were the Laws, they would manifest and would be defeated. Thus, these were the rules, the enforcement of which had caused the annihilation of civilizations, planets, Creations and Realities.

The hubris of the Gods had been sundered time and time again.

Within this place, and within such conditions, a particular Existence gazed in the distance.

This existence was not a single existence but an entity formed of innumerable lives that existed within it. It was not One but Innumerable. It was a massive and shapeless Existence that could choose the form of different creatures to manifest itself in.

Though, any form that it could manifest in, towered above anything in its vicinity. Such was the immense size of this Existence. And this was true for its current form as well; the form of the tiger that the Existence had manifested in.

But this tiger was not made of flesh, blood and bones. Instead, it was made of trees, plants and creatures, both alive and dead. Its massive eyes were made up of dead and alive trunks and its irises of uncountable flowers.

The Existence’s legs were made of the massive trees and its tail of various creatures. Its body was the canopy of trees that just continued to rise while its stripes were made of the dead and rotting trees and flesh.

The humongous form of the Existence expanded slightly before it contracted and a breath left it as the Existence sighed. Its quest had failed and its relentless pursuit had born no fruit. The creature, that it had reincarnated, had sacrificed itself.

It no longer existed. It was no longer a mortal in an immortal’s body. A unique happenstance that had been its goal. A creature with the cunningness and the adaptability of the week mortals but with the body and the abilities of the immortals.

In its place now existed a true immortal. A creature that was immortal both in body and ego. The creature sighed. It had failed.

0.0

Within the innumerable Creations, there existed Existences that could not be contained within single or even multiple Creations. The enormity of these Existences was to such a degree that the mere manifestations of these Existences would begin the process of shattering that Creation.

For this reason, these Existences remained dispersed in the Essences but that was not enough to prevent the Creations from shattering. Thus, dispersed as their Essence forms were, they still had to be spread across the uncountable Creations and innumerable Realities.

Though, even this was barely enough. The dispersed form of these Existences saturated the Creations and the Realities, old and new. They saturated the Creations and the Realities that were just born and they saturated the Creations and the Realities that had shattered.

This dispersed saturation made these Existences omniscient and omnipotent within the one and all Creations and the Realities. They saw all. They knew all. They manipulated all. Secrets did not exist for them. Even thoughts were a domain that could not escape their grasp.

Such was the power of these Existences. For they were The Eternals. The Original Creations.

They were the keepers of the Creations and they were their guardians too. But what they guarded against was not the good and the evil. Instead, they guarded against the audacity of the mortals and immortals alike. For somethings within the Creations and the Realities were meant to be unknown, but the foolish audacity of mortals knew no bounds.

For this reason, these Original Creations had stepped in more than once, to bring an end to such audacities. And every time they had stepped in, they had shattered Creations and destroyed mortals, immortals and the Gods alike. Nothing had escaped their will that had demanded annihilation.

These Eternals were but the keeper of the Creations. And they were the guardian of Creations only in name. Yet, the destruction of Creations had never been what they had sought. Instead, it had always been but a mere consequence of their actions.

As such, these Eternals remained unmanifested for as long as they could. They remained aloof as long as they could. For their manifestation and their care bode nothing good for any Creation, let alone the pitiful mortals and immortals within.

At this moment, though, all of these unmanifested horrors had focused their attention on the tiny immortal that had just sacrificed itself to gain magic. Such attention, if it was focused even on the Gods and the Wills, their spirits would be sundered and hope extinguished.

But the tiny immortal was creature too weak to even comprehend the death that stared in its face. If an ant was put under a magnifying glass, in the heat of a festering summer and burned, would it know what killed it? The creature was much akin to that ant.

Thus, the creature felt not a single thing out of place as it continued on with its life. Not knowing that its life had been scrutinised by being so powerful that nothing across the infinite Creations and the Realities could challenge them.

At this moment, one of the dispersed horrors began speaking. But to call what happened next, like speaking, was akin to calling the End of a Creation, a hiccup. For when the unmanifested horror spoke, cosmic horrors descended.

As the speech passed through the mortals and the immortals, they morphed and mutated into unspeakable horrors before dying horribly. The planets changed to nothingness and the stars morphed into dust. The comets changed to planets while the blackholes changed their nature and erupted.

This was the unintended consequence of the communication done by just one of the Eternals, The Formless Creation. And all that it had asked had been, “Is this, the Creature?”

Somewhere far away, so far that it was not just in another Creation but in another Reality, another Eternal Existed. It heard the question and it saw the destruction. And it cared for neither as its attention remained focused on a tiny creature.

Yet it nodded its head and as a consequence, time became chaotic. Mortals aged and died while immortals turned back to eggs. Thriving civilizations returned to hunting and gathering while cavemen developed undefeated empires. The Gods turned back to unmutated Wills while the Wills de-manifested.

Planets turned to dust clouds as the time rolled back for them and the stars exploded to become black holes as the time moved forward for them. Somewhere else, civilizations came to an end as they collapsed over time, while elsewhere life blossomed as intelligence was born.

And all this, because of the nod of a single Eternal, The Illusionary Eternal.

In another Reality far away, another Eternal spoke. Its speech travelled and the mortals or immortals, that it passed through, forgot their entire lives and became unresponsive. While the Gods and the Wills, that it passed through, forgot their origins.

But that was not all. As the speech continued to travel, planets forgot their paths and left their orbits while the stars forgot their trajectory as they collided and exploded. Gravity itself forgot what it did and stopped working while the light itself forgot how to travel.

This was the unmitigable consequence of the small communication done by the Eternal, The Forgotten Creation. And all this Eternal had asked had been, “Will it, be enough?”

But before the Illusionary Eternal could even begin to answer, the youngest of them all, spoke from another Reality.

As it spoke and its speech travelled, the mortals and the immortals died en masse. The Gods and the Wills dared not to live and shattered. Civilizations died in a single moment and the continents became bare.

Yet, death did not end. Death continued its naked dance as the cores of the plants cooled down as they died while the stars stopped burning as they welcomed their end. The blackholes collapsed on themselves while the comets dissipated without hesitation.

Such was the unintended horror of the mere speech of the youngest Eternal, The Mutated Creation. And all it had said, had been, “But the process…”

All the cosmic horrors remained quiet as they pondered over the hesitation of their youngest. But this had been something that even The Endless Creation had agreed to and that particular Eternal had come back from its End to do so.

-X-

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Spoiler: Chapter 11

Kiran sat with his legs crossed on a massive platform beneath the shade of the huge Banyan tree#. Though the word, huge, could not be used for the tree when it came to its height or the width. Rather, it could only be used to describe the canopy of the tree that spanned not tens of meters but hundreds.

Huge ranches rose from the trunk of the tree like finger and opened up like palms spread apart. And from those branches rose branches, from which rose branches. But that was not enough, as, from each branch, rope-like structures dropped down to seek the earth and germinate, only to create a new tree.

Kiran twitched as the peace of the shade was broken by the movement of the children that were beginning to file in for their scheduled class. One by one, and sometimes in the groups of two, the children gathered under the tree and soon enough the platform was filled with children.

Kiran blinked as the massive platform was packed with children with no place left to even stand. ‘I thought more than half had already left.’

He turned to his right and blinked again when he saw the girl who was the one sitting next to him.

The girl was tall, or rather she was taller than Kiran. She had long and black hair that was tied in a tri-braid and came down to her waist. Her dark hair contrasted against her light skin. While her brown eye fit rather beautifully with her sharp features.

Kiran recognised her. She was the girl that had answered the questions of Guruji. The recognition surprised him and the thoughts that had formed turned into words and the words escaped his mouth before he could even process the thought. “Eh? Aren’t you the know-it-all girl?”

The girl, who had been observing the children quietly, turned to face the dark-skinned boy with a scowl on her face. “I am not a know-it-all girl. I am just a girl who happens to know it all.”

Kiran was taken aback at the confrontation but then his brain registered what the girl had said and his brows furrowed. “That’s the same thing!”

“No. It isn’t!” The girl rolled her eyes.

“Of course, it is!” The boy was baffled. “How are they even different?!”

“They are different because I said so!” The girl huffed and crossed her arms.

“That does not even make sense!” Kiran snapped back. “Why would something be true just because you said so?!”

“Because I know it all!” She smirked at the boy. “Didn’t you just say that?”

The boy glowered at her but bit back any further remark. He did not like his own words being used against him to prove something that was clearly nonsense. Thus, he glowered at the girl and huffed as he turned away from her.

0.0

“As this is your first class, I should teach you about your Attributes and the other Status related matters.” Guru Pranay unceremoniously began his lecture. “But I will not. You lot are not going to access your Statuses anytime soon and teaching it now would be waste of my time.”

He scanned the nearly hundred students gathered before him. “I do not like wasting time.”

The man then waved his hand and the earth next to the platform raised itself as a tower that reached high above the students. The saffron-clad man then stepped forward and the smooth surface of the tower turned to a step of the stairs.

A step turned into another as the grey-haired moved forward and then into another. The Guru kept moving and the steps kept appearing until the guru reached the top of the tower and sat down with his legs crossed.

“Can anyone hear me?” The man asked but he received no reply. The entire class of the about 100 students had been spellbound by the simple display of magic.

Yet each of his words reached the entire length and breadth of the platform as if the words had not been carried on air but the very mana itself. Which, as it would turn out, was the case as the Guru possessed both the Skill, [Mana Manipulation], and the Spell, [Mana Manifestation] to do it.

“Tch.” The man’s eyebrows furrowed and the light, ever so slightly, took on a yellow tinge while the air, ever so slightly, became heavy. He asked again. “Can everyone hear me?”

The cries of assent were hurried and nervous and the man sighed. “Do not be so easily swayed by the displays of magic you see here. These are nothing but household spells. If it is your Dharma to walk the path of magic, these shall be simple tasks for you.”

As if by magic, the nervousness vanished amongst the children and was replaced by excitement.

The saffron-clad man cleared his throats and the children quietened. “Don’t be too excited though. The path of magic is an uncommon one and not the one that most of you will follow.”

“That does not mean that you will not be able to do magic. You indeed will. It just may be the case that your magic may manifest in forms different than what you would expect.”

A disquiet a spread through the children and the guru let the children grumble with a smile on his face.

When the children finally fell silent, the saffron-clad man spoke again. “My words are not just empty platitudes. Even simple Skills and Spells turn terrifying with high enough Tier. For instance, simple Skills to balance a boat can tame cyclones and tsunamis.”

The children began to murmur again but the man coughed and the children silenced themselves. “The real challenge is to reach that Tier, both in the Class and the Skill. But enough of this now. Let’s move forward with today’s lesson.”

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-