Reborn 1-5

by D. W. Jackson

  “Then I hope you find that person,” Ash replied sincerely.

  Emelia let out a heavy sigh, but didn’t say anything more as the food had started being delivered. The meal itself was passed mostly in silence, but as soon as it was finished Ash was taken to the study.

  While Emelia was looking over this year’s crop reports, Ash had picked up a history book. This particular one was about a war that had happened more than three hundred years before. Ash was amazed at the age of some of the books that Emelia had, as some were more than seven hundred years old. If you compared this worlds written history to his previous one, it would have left the previous shamed.

  This particular war was not between nations, but was the last war between the humans and demons. It seemed that the demons had a large country and mostly kept to themselves, but three hundred years ago they invaded the human continent. At that time the human kingdoms banded together and pushed back the invaders.

  After they had beat back the hordes of demons, the humans tried to enter the demon continent through the small pass in the Galien Mountains. No matter how hard the humans tried, each expedition ended in failure so instead they used magic to cause and avalanche that closed the borders between the two continents. Without the aid of the ground bound forces, the demons fighting power decreased dramatically. Every now and then flying demons still crossed over or emerged from labyrinths that were said to connect deep underground to the very birthplace of the demons. It was for those very reasons that people such as him, while rare, were not unheard of.

  While he read, Emelia tended to lay on the couch while using his shoulder as a pillow. Tonight she smelled of lilacs and roses, making it a bit distracting when was trying to read, but now he was used to it. Without lamps, the room was lit by large candles that gave off a fragrant scent that was very soothing.

  Shaking his head, Ash tried to clear his mind as his eyes started to feel heavy. “I think I should get some sleep,” Ash said with a yawn. When he didn’t get a reply he turned his head to notice that Emelia head was nestled against his shoulder while the papers in her hands were slipping to the ground.

  Smiling, Ash lifted Emelia from the couch and using his foot lightly tapped on the door. At the sound, one of the maids opened the door and seeing the young miss in his arms, she gave a wry smile. As he carried Emelia up the stairs, the maid who had opened the door followed him while being joined by a number of others.

  Ash felt slightly embarrassed about all the eyes on him, but with his hands full he needed the maids help to open the doors. Once he entered the duchess’s room, Ash couldn’t help but smile at the large bed as he remembered the time he had shared it during the Earl’s visit.

  Looking at the bed, Ash waited for the covers to be pulled back, but noticed that the maids had stopped outside the door to the room and were looking in on him with keen eyes. After he beckoned them with a few whispers, one of the maids entered the room and pulled back the thick cover allowing Ash to place Emelia on the bed.

  After placing Emelia on the bed and covering her up, Ash turned to leave but was stopped when his tunic caught on something. Turning his head he noticed that Emelia was holding tight to his clothes. “You’re awake aren’t you?” Ash asked, trying to hold back a smile.

  “No,” Emelia said without opening her eyes.

  “How long?” Ash asked as he tried to pry her death hold from his clothes.

  “Not long…Since you picked me up,” Emelia admitted with a flushed face.

  “I need to go to sleep myself so if you could let go,” Ash said after trying unsuccessfully to pry her hands loose.

  “Not without a kiss,” She said as her face turned an even darker shade of red.

  Rolling his eyes, Ash leaned down to place a light kiss on Emelia’s lips. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done it a number of times when he was playing her fiancé. As soon as their lips touched, Emelia let go of his shirt and instead grabbed him around the neck and pulled him in tight as her tongue darted inside his mouth.

  Ash was so shocked by her move that he didn’t even have a chance to fight against it before he was let go and he slumped to the ground, finding no more strength in his legs. “Thank you for the meal,” Emelia said with a sultry laugh that didn’t suit her demure appearance or young age.

  From the doorway of the room, Ash heard a faint murmur of giggles and turned to see it filled with maids all trying to look. His face burning hot, Ash quickly jumped to his feet and raced from the room while trying to hide his embarrassment.

  Ash ran straight to his room and almost jumped through the door closing it so fast behind him that it caused the vase on the nightstand to shake.

  “Master is something wrong?” Yuki, who was sitting on the bed waiting on him while tending to her own gear, asked.

  “N-nothing,” Ash muttered as he removed his own gear from his inventory and started to work on it. Thanks to the salt water on the tenth floor, Ash had to thoroughly clean his gear each night or it would start to deteriorate at a fast pace. Using a thick cloth and oil, Ash started wiping down the sword, starting at the tip of the blade. Before he had cleaned half of it, Ash’s eyes had grown heavy and he was fast asleep. Smiling, Yuki carefully pulled the covers out from under him and covered him up while taking over his duties to clean his gear.

  4-4

  The next morning Ash woke early when a sharp pain ran through his left arm. Turning his head he noticed a small lump under the sheets. Lifting up the cover, he saw a little red haired girl clinging to his arm while using it as a pillow. As Ash tried to move his fingers, a tingling of pain shot through his arm and hand.

  As he tried to move his arm, Yuki started to stir as her eyes fluttered open. “Ning master,” Yuki said as she sleepily sat up.

  “Yuki, how many times have I told you to sleep in your own room?” Ash asked as he rubbed his arm trying to get the blood flowing once again.

  “UUeeee…But master is warm and smells good,” Yuki said pouting.

  “It isn’t proper for a young lady to sleep in the same bed with a man,” Ash said frowning.

  “But Yuki isn’t a young lady, she is a slave,” Yuki said with an innocent smile on her face. “If only master would be a little more loving.”

  “I think I am loving enough,” Ash replied as he started to strap on his armor. “What more could you want?”

  “Ummmm…Well master could hug Yuki more…And a kiss…And let Yuki sit on his lap, or and let Yuki smell him whenever she wants, and maybe a baby. Owwwwwww.”

  Yuki started to complain as Ash brought his knuckles down on the top of her head. “A little girl shouldn’t be thinking about some of those things.

  Yuki rubbed her head while pouting. Seeing the look on her face, Ash felt a twinge of sympathy. Picking up Yuki from the bed he gave her a hug.

  “Hehe,” Yuki laughed and kissed Ash on the cheek. “Hey now, don’t get too excited,” Ash said setting Yuki down on the ground, but he couldn’t get mad when he saw the large smile on her face.

  As soon as Yuki’s feet touched the floor, she rushed for the door to the room and disappeared while laughing. “Like mother like daughter,” Ash said laughing. Both looked younger than their age and they seemed to switch between acting like a child and adult whenever it suited them.

  Once he was fully dressed, Ash grabbed a quick bite to eat from the kitchen then moved outside to start his daily practice. It was still early so Zelan was still doing his own practice while Shina was most likely sleeping. With a little extra time, Ash started going through his own katas since it had been awhile. Even though it had been weeks since he had done one of the katas, they still came naturally to him as breathing.

  Ash tried to think back to when he had first used a sword. It had felt heavy and odd in his hand. If his current self was to see the old him fighting, he wouldn’t be able to help but feel pity. Learning in this world was different than in his other world, though there was still such a thing as talent. Everyone was born with an
innate talent and those tended to color that persons whole world.

  A person with an innate ability for cooking would learn skills linked with cooking far easier than for those with a sword. That said, there were still people who tried to move outside what life had given them, but few of those ever made a name for themselves.

  Ash was an abnormality when compared to others. His innate skill was not based on anything, it was like a blank slate that covered everything. That said, he could learn quickly thanks to his intelligence, but the only skills he could learn were those that fell under the gambler occupation and for that he needed a master. He had thought about going to the guild to look for one, but with Zelan teaching him he didn’t have the time for another master at the moment.

  After Zelan had finished his forms and Shina arrived, Ash started his practice. Ash didn’t pay much attention to anything other than dodging the attacks. It was this reason that he didn’t notice until the attacks stopped that someone had interrupted his practice.

  “Are you mister Ash?” A man in his early forties with a balding head and thin mustache asked.

  “That would be me,” Ash said, stepping down from the log and using it as a seat to catch his breath. “Can I help you with something?”

  “I hope so,” the man said, his face retaining its deep scowl. “My son has taken a liking to one of your slaves. I had promised him that on his advancement to the third class, I would buy him a slave. Yesterday when he came home, he was very distraught saying that not only did you refuse to sell the young slave, but that you also insulted him.”

  “I don’t know if I insulted him, but I did refuse to sell my slave,” Ash said while Shina brought him a glass of cool water.

  “Could you perhaps change your decision? I would be more than willing to pay you far more than her normal value,” the man said while pulling out a small bag of coins.

  “As I told your son, I will not sell Yuki nor any of my slaves for any amount of gold,” Ash said, hoping to get the discussion over with quickly.

  “Just because you have the lady Hawkwing behind you doesn’t mean that you can simply ignore proper etiquette. Just sell me the young lass and save us both a lot of unneeded trouble,” the man said, the anger clear in his voice.

  “I am not doing this out of any sort of spite, but I cannot and will not sell Yuki,” Ash declared.

  “I see, that is unfortunate,” the man said, shaking his head and then he let out a high pitched whistle and another nine men walked through the gate of the manor. “I did my research before coming here. I can’t kill you since you have a relationship with the duchess, but you are still a gambler. You can’t refuse a challenge as long as the terms are fair,” the man added with an evil half-moon smile.

  The leader of the six people that had entered the garden was an older man with a silver gambler’s badge. The other five were a mix of one copper and four iron ranked gamblers. “Kiddo since you are also a member of the gambler’s guild, why don’t you just sell the slave to me? No reason to risk everything you own for a piece of trash is there?”

  Ash immediately took a disliking to the older man and his attitude. “Old man, why don’t you go back home before you break a hip?”

  “You little punk,” the elder said while gripping a long cane. “Guess someone needs to teach you how to respect your elders.”

  “Nathan, as the highest ranked iron gambler, I task you with making the challenge,” the elder said as a stout man in his early twenties stepped forward.

  “I, Nathan Oxford, challenge you to a gambler’s game. With an added bet on the line that should you lose, you will hand over the ownership rights to the slave named Yuki. If I should lose, then I will hand over ten gold coins.”

  The air shimmered in front of Ash and then without being given the choice, he found himself looking at a table and chairs made of magical essence. He had wanted to decline, but there was no chance to do so. As he thought about it, Ash remembered a part in the gambler’s handbook. “A gambler cannot decline a fair challenge.”

  Ash took his seat opposite the other man and suppressed a laugh. Unless the other man had been the same luck as him it was almost impossible for him to win. It was like getting free stat points. Ash felt slightly bad about taking the man’s points, but it only lasted for a moment. This man had been hired to take Yuki away from him as if she were nothing more than an object.

  As the five cards appeared in front of him, Ash smiled as he counted the chips on his right side. There was only 182 chips. Ash alone had over 230 stats points. That meant that he had more than the other man. The other man’s eyes widened and Ash could tell that he had come to the same conclusion. “Master,” the man said looking over at the old man with a slightly frightened look on his face.

  “Stop whining like a child,” the man rebuked him. “If you lose, you might as well sell yourself into slavery because you will no longer be allowed as my apprentice.”

  Seeing the man’s face, Ash felt slightly bad but he shook it away. He was challenged so he had the first bet. He could take the nice approach and bet low so that the other man wouldn’t lose everything, but he was sure that if it was turned around the man in front of him would deprive him of everything he could. As he thought that Ash pushed all 183 chips across the table.

  Seeing the large stack of chips Nathan’s faced turned a pale white. “Little punk, do you not have any shame toward your guild mates?” the old man asked white spitting.

  “Shame?” Ash asked tilting his head. “You came here today to take what is mine by force and now you ask about shame. You are the one who challenged me, so don’t blame me for simply finishing the fight you started.”

  As soon as the chips were placed in the center, the other man’s chips moved on their own to join his. Ash didn’t wait and ran his hands over the cards in front of him and couldn’t help but smile. Four out of the five cards gave him the tingling sensation. He felt the strongest pull from the third card so he flipped it over to display an eight.

  When the eight appeared Ash could hear the other man whimper as his hand hovered over his cards with a look of fear on his face. His hand moved back and forth over the cards for a long time. After what felt like an hour the man turned over the first card and displayed a three.

  “Tring.”

  [Your opponent no longer has any chips in which to gamble with.]

  “Tring.”

  [You have won strength +23. Vitality +28, agility +11, Stamina + 22, spirit +9, Intelligence +23, endurance +13, and luck +53.]

  Ash felt a warm light fill his body as his entire body was filled with energy. At the same time the man on the other end of the table turned white and started to look as if he belonged in a hospital. Before Ash could say anything, a small bag was tossed on the ground at his feet. “It’s the gold you won,” the old man said, his voice much calmer than before. “Boy you have skills and guts. I don’t know a single gambler that would bet that much against someone of the same rank. Why don’t you become one of my disciples? I know a lot of skills that could help you.”

  “Master,” Nathan said in a frail voice.

  “You’re still here boy?” the old man said and the other four members of the group picked up Nathan by his arms and carried him off.

  Ash was surprised by the sudden change in the old man’s attitude. Looking from the old man to Zelan and shook his head. “I can’t at the moment, one master is enough for me.”

  “That is unfortunate,” the man replied. “If you change your mind, you can find me at the capital. Just go to the guild and ask for Mathis.”

  After he spoke, Mathis turned and started to leave the garden when the bald man stepped in front of him. “What are you doing?” the man demanded. “I hired you to get me the slave.”

  “You paid us 10 gold to win the slave. As you just saw we lost,” Mathis said in an unconcerned voice. “Nathan was the highest ranked and best gambler within the novice rank I have and he lost…Badly. The money you offered is gon
e and I have lost a valuable student. Risking anymore would be foolish and while I may like to gamble, I don’t play against a stacked deck.”

  The man was left standing with his mouth open, unable to retort. Once the gamblers had left, he turned back to Ash and gave a snarl. “Boy this isn’t over.” After saying this, the man turned and left the garden.

  “I see,” Zelan said inspecting Ash. “So it was this gambler’s game that allowed you to become so strong. I think I heard my master say something about it before, but it seems to be a dangerous skill. I would suggest you not get too overconfident with it and try to boost yourself with it alone,” Zelan said in a tone that reminded Ash of a teacher giving him a lecture. “But now I can understand why high level gamblers have had stronger abilities than many of their counterparts in history.”

  Ash just nodded his head, but didn’t respond. He liked the boost in stats, but the thought that he would have to take them from others didn’t feel right. So far both times he had taken them were from people that had started the challenge, so he didn’t feel much remorse. With his boosted luck, he was sure that he could beat almost anyone in the game, though he knew there was always a chance of losing. The main thing was that now with his enhanced luck, he was thinking about monster orbs. With a 300 stat in luck, he was able to find orbs from time to time, but now his luck was a total of 619. It had been more than doubled in one moment. “The gods have really blessed me,” Ash said with a hidden smile.

  While he had only played a few games, Ash had read many books and often when one came to another world they were given a cheat ability that gave them an edge over other people. In Ash’s case it was the absorption ability, but he also had the devil’s luck ability as well. The devil’s luck skill was nearly useless outside of the gambler’s profession so it was hard to call it a real cheat. In fact had he not happened to pass by the gambler’s guild while the guild master was outside, he would have chosen a different profession. As Ash thought about it, he figured that in some ways that was luck as well.