Rayne
Page 17
The first came in with a high swing at him while the second was using a side sweep toward him. This scenario offered few options, so he sidestepped the downward slash and stepped directly into the sideways slash from the second man. He caught this blade in his Swordbreaker and used the momentum of the edge to twist the knife and quickly ripped it out of his hand. His Stiletto dagger came around in a quick motion and stabbed the man under his left armpit and directly into his heart. The man crumpled to the ground.
You have successfully Parried Bandit Guard (2) (Level 15).
You have dealt 250 damage to Bandit Guard (2) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Heart Strike).
Bandit Guard (2) (Level 15) has died.
The first Bandit was closing on him after recovering from his missed swing, but to his dismay, the initial guards were charging him from behind. His smoke bomb was wearing off and dissipating, so their visibility was quickly returning. There wasn’t much room on either side of him to work, and his space to move was rapidly shrinking along with his window of time. His mana was low because he had been burning it in bursts to increase his movement and swing speed using his Air Magic. As much as he didn’t want to, it was time for him to activate his hidden ability.
Are you ready for blood? Rayne asked the voice in his head.
Always. Was the response he received.
Rayne focused on the ability and triggered it. Black smoke started to flow from his clothing and poured out of the sleeves of his shirt and wrapped around his hands. Another cloud of the black smoke poured from the bottom of his pants and shrouded his feet while a final mask of smoke billowed from the neck of his shirt to fill his hood and obscure his face. The smoke covering his face had jagged blue, glowing representations for his eyes and mouth.
You have activated Shadow Form. Your movement and attack speed has been increased by 40%. Enemies find it 50% more difficult to target you accurately.
Rayne felt a smile come to his face, and the gruesome blue visage mirrored a jagged smile on the smoke. The Bandit Guard in front of him stepped back in fear with despair on his face. Rayne dashed in and smashed his Swordbreaker into the man’s neck and punched his dagger into the man’s chest with a heavy thud. The man crumpled to the ground and was out of the fight.
You have dealt 100 damage to Bandit Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Swordbreaker (Critical Strike).
You have dealt 150 Damage to Bandit Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Heart Strike).
Bandit Guard (1) (Level 15) has died.
Rayne turned to face the remaining two City Guards. Their faces quickly morphed into shocked fear as they saw what he had become. Rayne couldn’t hesitate any longer since his ability was short-lived, so he dashed forward. His enhanced speed allowed him to almost run circles around the men, so he punched two quick strikes into the first guard. One in his side and the second in his back and directly into his lung. With momentum still on his side, he ducked under the second guard’s swing and stabbed the stiletto dagger into the man’s armpit to watch both guards fall to the ground.
You have dealt 100 damage to City Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Strike).
You have dealt 75 damage to City Guard (1) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Critical Strike).
You have dealt 200 damage to City Guard (2) (Level 15) with Iron Stiletto Dagger (Heart Strike).
City Guard (1) (Level 15) has died (x2).
Rayne let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and surveyed the room. There was absolute quiet everywhere, and he heard no cries of alarm. Before he could start checking the men, he fell to a knee. The shadow energy fled back into him, and with it came the standard debuff he received when he was forced to use that ability.
You have been inflicted with Soul Weakness. Your health and mana regen rates have been decreased by 40% for the next hour.
Damn that debuff hurt. Rayne thought to himself. He couldn’t afford to sit around and do nothing, though, so he quickly set to work checking each of the men. The two Bandit Guards were about the same as the previous one and each hand a few coppers on them. Each of the City Guards was carrying one silver, though. That alone would make this trip worth it. That was more money than Rayne had seen in months.
There wasn’t any time to worry about hiding these bodies, so he finished searching the two City Guards and was disappointed that neither had a key to the treasury. It didn’t surprise him too much. These men all worked for criminals, so why would you ever try to trust them with access.
He approached the door and smiled when he saw the lock. It was pretty standard and was obviously not designed as much of a deterrent. He pulled out his slim pieces of metal and set to work, manipulating the tiny pins inside the device. After a few minutes, he heard the satisfying click and opened the door.
Rayne entered the room with a massive grin on his face at his apparent triumph, but after a moment of looking around, it quickly morphed to confusion. The room was almost bare, with many parts of it covered in cobwebs and looking abandoned. How could the treasury be this barren? The Lord here hadn’t been doing anything but hoard his wealth… unless it was all a hoax, and they really didn’t have resources anymore. It would make sense with the absolute lack of food and production in the cities. You couldn’t make money with no trade goods to buy and sell. The town was as destitute as the people that inhabited it, and it was all the fault of the incompetent fools who were in charge.
Rayne looked crestfallen as he scanned the room. Instead of being set for life, he ended up almost empty-handed. Sure he had two silvers to his name now, but those wouldn’t last very long. To top that off, his body count from this adventure would make him a heavily hunted target if they found out who was responsible. His previous escapades hadn’t caused any lasting attention to him since no one knew exactly who he was.
His despair was climbing when he thought he saw something shimmer in the room's corner. He approached it carefully and discovered a small piece of paper sticking out of a crack in a wooden shelf. There was no way for him to describe the feeling he got from this paper other than it felt like it was here just for him. He opened up the letter, and his eyes grew wide at the contents.
Valiant Rayne,
I am sorry you had to make your way into this fight and receive, what seems like, no reward. I promise you that your prize will be much more fabulous than you know. I have a higher purpose for you, and there is a friend of mine who will need your help, although he may not know it yet. Your ability to pass this test proves you are worthy of this quest.
I can only promise your life will be changed forever if you heed my words. Please gather as many trustworthy people as you can who are not affiliated with the local lords or gangs and escort them to Alem’s Crossing. The new mayor there is causing quite a stir, and I think you will get along nicely. I am proud of you for holding on in the circumstances you have been through, but I pray you to heed my words and make the journey. It will be the best option for you and your sister.
With Love,
The Goddess Lianna
Rayne’s jaw almost hit the floor. He wouldn’t even entertain the words at all if his sister hadn’t been mentioned. It was his mission in life to protect his sister, so much so that there wasn’t a soul here who even knew the two of them were related. There was no doubt this was a mandate from a Goddess. The name Lianna was familiar to him. It had been mentioned before, and he vaguely recalled that she was a popular Goddess during the time of the Firebrands. He also remembered it from some of the discussions amongst the Shadows of the Flame. What in the world was happening here? Before his train of thought made it much farther, an unexpected notification appeared.
A New Start
Requirements: Hidden
Rewards: 15,000 experience, 2,500 skill experience.
Description: The Goddess Lianna has tasked you with escorting the citizens who are tired of the oppressive lords to Alem’s Crossing. Completing this quest will offer gr
eat rewards. Your experience bonus will be increased based on the number of people delivered on the journey.
● <10 people - Base experience
● 10-20 people - 10% experience bonus
● 21-30 people - 25% experience bonus
● Over 31 people - 40% experience bonus
Do you wish to accept this quest? Y/N
Damn, Rayne thought. He had never seen an Epic level quest before. Scalable rewards were also uncommon in quests, and he had never even heard of a quest that offered unassigned skill points to use. That quickly quelled his doubt about this mission. He promptly accepted the quest and decided he needed to get about his business. Getting out of here should be quick, and he could quietly search the city for people to join him. The promise of something better would typically have been scoffed at as hearsay, but with the situation as dire as it was now, many would follow him. It would take him close to three weeks to get to the small village of Alem’s Crossing, but he would be happy to make the trip if it meant a better life for his sister. His resolve hardened, and he decided he would leave first thing in the morning before the manhunt for the murders got too bad. That would give him the rest of the day to scout for potential travelers to join him.
Rayne quickly took off through the manor and made his way back to the city proper. It would take some work, but he was more determined than ever to make this successful.
Rayne’s story resumes in Soul Bond (Book 2 of The Dimensional Wars).
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Rayne. I wrote this character into book 2 of The Dimensional Wars and liked him so much that I thought his story needed to be told. This project was also a chance for me to participate in NaNoWriMo and allowed me to complete the challenge. I thank all my fans who have been with me on this journey. I am hard at work on book 2. If you want to stay up to date on the series, feel free to join me on the website of the Facebook page. You can also subscribe to the mailing list on the website for updates.
As always, if you enjoyed the book, please leave a review on whatever site you prefer. Reviews are a fantastic way to help support my books and feel free to spread the word yourself.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either the products of the Author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Final Stat Sheet
Name: Rayne
Level: 16
Age: 15
Race: Human
HP: 270/270
MP: 160/160
Stamina: 270/270
Strength: 15
Agility: 28
Intellect: 7
Wisdom: 2
Endurance: 21
Charisma: 12
Luck: 10
Experience: 500/24000
Skills (125% boost to any skill for level up)
Combat Skills:
Block: 3 (420/1000)
Distract: 4 (900/1400)
Dual Wield: 8 (1200/3800)
Identify: 5 (500/1900)
Light Armor: 2 (400/750)
Parry: 8 (1440/3800)
Small Blades: 9 (2005/4600)
Stealth: 9 (3070/4600)
- Detect Hidden: 6 (250/2500)
- Shadowcraft: 3 (800/1000)
Swords: 2 (635/750)
Traps: 3 (400/1000)
- Disarm Trap: 3 (400/1000)
Unarmed: 4 (1205/1400)
Wall Running: 4 (120/1400)
Magic Skills:
Air Magic: 1 (000/500)
Professions:
Alchemy: 10 (3400/6000)
Barter: 2 (500/750)
Cooking: 4 (800/1400)
Farming: 3 (550/1000)
Firemaking: 7 (2300/3200)
Herbalism: 14 (4800/11000)