The First had one last task: What to do with these two insignificant creatures which had Awakened the First?
* * *
The golden light slowly faded.
As sight returned to the two men, they found themselves floating inside test tubes.
A golden ball floated in front of them. "Why have you disturbed the final resting place of the Divine Sun God, Ra?" a metallic voice asked.
Kanorell answered immediately. "A thousand pardons. We were unaware that we were disturbing the tomb of Ra."
A red beam of light lashed out and struck the old man in the chest. "Ra will not tolerate lies."
Kanorell clawed at his chest. He was in great pain. His heart had been crushed. He was dying. The man's horrified eyes rested on Schmendrick and then the spark of life departed from them. His body leaned forward inside the tube. He was dead.
Schmendrick's emotional wall immediately went up. He was calm. He was emotionless. He was undaunted.
The golden ball turned its attention to the boy. "Ra will now examine you. Rejoice, for you have captivated his interest. You may still live."
The captive smelled a minty odor entering his tube. His eyes lost focus and his muscles relaxed. He slowly fell asleep.
* * *
Jason ran out of the house.
"Stop!" a man yelled out.
When Jason continued to run, shots began to ring. "Ack!" he yelled out in pain. He felt something burning in his lower left back. But the teenager refused to stop. These men had killed his mother and his grandpa. He was next on their hitlist.
Somehow, Jason managed to run into a parking lot. He ran behind a car. He hoped the men would stop chasing him. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed when he heard steps entering the lot. It was early evening. The store had closed for the night.
Jason tried to leave the parking lot but suddenly one of the mobsters stepped directly into his path.
The man fired his gun.
Jason felt a sharp pain in his head and then he saw black.
* * *
Schmendrick slowly opened his eyes. Again, he was floating on air. But this time, he was not inside the test tube. In front of him was a small speck of golden light.
"I have seen, through your memories, what the Reborn has done with my planet. I do not approve." The voice was an adult male.
"Who are you?" the teenager asked.
The light glowed. "I am your master. I am Ra the Sun God."
"What do you plan to do?" the boy asked. He pointedly refused to call the light his "master." Maniacal laughter invaded his ears.
"I will destroy Rezdi City and its heathens," Ra revealed.
"No, you can't do that!" Schmendrick argued back.
"Oh?" the speck of light was amused. "Why would you defend them when they have hunted you down like a rabid dog? Why would you still remain loyal to the system and its foolish Reborn collaborators?"
The teenager looked at the ball with determination. "What you say is true. The system in control of Rezdi City and the Recovered Land are not friends of the Reborn. My wish is to push for change and to allow the Reborn to seize control of their own destinies. Free of the influence of the system. I refuse to kill the Reborn simply because they won't follow you as their God," Schmendrick replied.
"Foolish boy! You have no choice! You will serve me!" the speck yelled.
A golden light enveloped Schmendrick and an intense pain wrecked his body, forcing the boy to his knees.
After what seemed like an eternity, the light released its grip on the boy's body. The golden light slowly took shape. It expanded vertically until a doppelganger of Schmendrick, but with golden skin, appeared before the original. "I have copied your DNA and created a human vessel for my essence. However, I'm a merciful God. I have granted your secret desire: To become a Gifted. I also distributed your experience points for encounters you have overcome while in The Shar. Please check your menu, my child."
Schmendrick slowly rose to his feet. He called up the menu screen:
Name: Schmendrick
Physical: 140
Mental: 200
Vitality: 200
Aether: 100
Level: 20(!), 140 attribute points available
Experience: 47,750/51,000
Class: Assassin
Skills: Dodge, Ambidextrous, Devil's Luck, Undaunted, Killer Instinct
Power: Aether Steal
He was shocked at discovering that he had earned 22,000 experience points while living in The Shar! He quickly distributed his attribute points, adding 60 to Physical and the rest to Aether. He had a total of 200 in Physical and 180 in Aether. "What does Aether Steal do?" he asked.
"Since your Class is a specialized form of Thief, I gave you something appropriate. You have the ability to drain Aether and steal other Gifted's magic ability and use it. You can drain the city of all the Aether stored at the Charging Station. The Gifted within your presence risk having their powers stolen by you. I can't wait to bring you to Rezdi City and watch the havoc you will create for those fools." An evil laugh escaped from Ra's mouth. "You are now the most powerful Reborn in the Sanctum. And you belong to me," Ra smiled.
Schmendrick slowly shook his head. "I can't help you destroy Rezdi City. Countless innocent Reborn will die."
Ra giggled maliciously. "Again, you assume that you have a choice." The human vessel raised his right hand.
Before the unwilling servant could dodge, a beam of golden light engulfed Schmendrick and he lost consciousness.
3.10 - The End
When Schmendrick opened his eyes, he found himself inside a bubble. Even worse, he was being carried across the sea! The teenager pulled out his dagger and stabbed the bubble. However, the surface was impenetrable; he couldn't even scratch its surface. "Fuck!" he yelled in frustration and kicked the bubble.
Suddenly, his golden doppelganger floated down to his eye level. "No dream this time?" Ra smirked.
The teenager scowled. "Where are we?" he demanded to know.
The human vessel offered an evil smile. "You're going home. My servant is carrying you across the sea. I wouldn't want you to swim across. Flying is a much nicer method of travel," he grinned.
Schmendrick looked up and saw that he was being carried by a giant scarab beetle with golden wings. He scowled again. "What if I use my Aether Steal right now?" he suggested.
Ra tilted his moment to consider the scenario. "Well, you could kill my beetle if your bloodlust demands it," he shrugged. "But I can fly the rest of the way and drag you along. The end result will be the same."
"And if I use my magic on you?" the human challenged him.
The doppelganger burst into laughter. "I am Ra, the Sun God. You will run out of Aether long before you could make a dent in my Aether-pool. If you attempt to drain me, your body will burst from trying to hold my infinite energy."
"If I'm dead, then I won't participate in your evil plan to destroy Rezdi City," Schmendrick replied calmly.
"Oh, but I can resurrect you as many times as you commit suicide, my servant," the God taunted him and laughed again.
The prisoner could only glare at him. "Why are you taking me with you?"
"Schmendrick, or should I call you Jason?" Ra asked. Seeing no response, the doppelganger continued. "You are my first servant. Therefore, it is fitting that you shall witness my triumph against the heathens. If you defy my command to attack the city because you are squeamish about going up against the Reborn, I shall allow you to remain on the sideline. This time. Once your precious Rezdi City is crushed, you will help me build a new kingdom on top of the ruins of the city."
Schmendrick decided to conserve his energy and wait for his opportunity to turn on the tables on this doppelganger. He sat on the ground and closed his eyes. He will know when the battle in the city begins.
Seeing no reaction from his servant, the human vessel of Ra returned to his seat atop his giant scarab beetle. The beetle arrived at the Reborn's settlement at noon, ju
st as the God had planned. "We're here, Schmendrick," Ra said cheerfully.
The prisoner immediately opened his eyes and stood up. It was just as the doppelganger said. They were standing right over Rezdi City. Where are the planes to defend the city? Suddenly, he saw them. There was a squadron of four planes approaching their position!
"I see the Reborn have fliers. What a nice surprise," Ra said nonchalantly. He raised his left hand. The sunlight concentrated through his hand like a lens and a powerful laser beam struck one of the planes, causing it to explode!
The remaining planes started firing their mounted guns at him. But the bullets were burned by a golden light before they reached him. The planes flew by him and started to turn around.
However, Ra directed more lasers at the planes and destroyed them! The God looked around and confirmed that nothing else was approaching his position. He raised both hands and concentrated. A golden portal formed in front of him. A giant scorpion came out of the portal and fell! *BOOM* It crashed into Rezdi City, causing the very earth to tremble!
Ra quickly flew down and landed on the scorpion's head, leaving the scarab beetle in the air with Schmendrick.
Seeing an opportunity to escape, the teenager summoned his magic power to drain all the Aether within the giant beetle.
As the beetle's Aether began to be drained out, the golden shell of the scarab beetle darkened until it turned completely black. The beetle's wings stopped moving and it began to fall. Additionally, the bubble imprisoning Schmendrick vanished!
The teenager grabbed hold of the dead beetle as he began to fall back to earth. He had no idea how he was going to survive this. All he could do now was to hope that his Devil's Luck will work, somehow.
As the ground drew closer and closer, Schmendrick turned his body and caused the dead beetle to be positioned under him. Hopefully, the scarab beetle's body will cushion the fall enough for him to survive. Suddenly, something flew by and pulled him off the beetle! When Schmendrick looked up, he saw long blonde hair framing a familiar face--Yolo!
"Long time no see, Schmendrick," the teenager greeted him with a goofy smile.
"Wow, you're a Gifted," Schmendrick remarked. He was shocked.
"I see you're still getting into trouble," Yolo laughed as he gently set Schmendrick down on the ground.
Before Schmendrick could respond, someone grabbed his right shoulder and turned him around.
"Are you here to attack our city?" Malkus glared.
"Whoa! Schmendrick is one of us. Why would you say that?" Yolo said while standing between the two.
"He came here with the golden boy," Malkus replied. "And if you look closely, you'll see that the guy controlling the giant scorpion IS Schmendrick!"
"Is that so!" someone yelled out. A crowd of Gifted started to gather and surround them. They were very angry at this invasion and their inability to stop the giant scorpion.
Schmendrick held up his hands. "Let me explain. He was inside a sarcophagus of a pyramid I was exploring in The Shar. He copied my DNA. He calls himself Ra, the Sun God. He considers the planet to be his and he does not approve of this city. That's why he's attacking," he quickly explained.
"Release him, Malkus," a male voice ordered.
Malkus turned around and saw that it was Gram, the Intake Administrator for the Recovered Land. "Why should I listen to a Powerless?" he snorted.
Gram smiled.
Suddenly, Malkus felt nauseous and his knees buckled. His hand dropped from Schmendrick's shoulder.
"Dear boy, please address the Priest-King with respect," another man said. It was Odiene, the Headmaster of the Advanced Academy!
The Priest-King turned to face Schmendrick. "Are you here to destroy Rezdi City or to defend it?" he asked solemnly.
"I want to defend Rezdi City. I'm the only one who can," the teenager declared in a loud voice.
"Big talk from a Powerless," someone said.
Schmendrick turned and saw the speaker was Aggen, another kid from his class at The Noob Academy. Schmendrick pointed at the giant scorpion, which was rampaging through the streets of the city despite being attacked with bullets, blades, and magic. "None of you can stop that thing."
"But you can?" Gram asked with knitted brows.
The boy nodded. "As a reward for using my DNA to create his own human vessel, Ra granted me a magic power: Aether Steal. I can drain Aether and I can steal magic power from any Gifted standing near me and use it. If you allow me to drain and steal your power, I can direct all that energy at both the scorpion and the doppelganger and destroy them," he answered.
The Gifted started to back away from him. They were fearful of his incredible magic ability.
Gram looked at him for a moment and finally nodded. "No other Gifted has any magic close to what you can do. I entrust the fate of Rezdi City in your hands." The Priest-King reached out and grabbed the boy's hands. "I'm ordering all Gifted to join hands and allow Schmendrick to drain you."
The crowd reluctantly obeyed.
"I'm going to start draining you now," Schmendrick said softly and closed his eyes. He saw the flow of Aether all around him. He reached out with his mind and latched onto the flow. He greedily drank and drank and drank until not a single drop of Aether was left. His body became lighter and he felt himself floating. Schmendrick opened his eyes and directed his attention to the giant scorpion and its master. He held out his hands with his palms directed at his targets. He released all the Aether within him.
An overwhelming white light shot out of his palms and slammed into his targets. They were instantly vaporized. Unfortunately, the energy beam continued its destruction through the city into the sea.
The crowd was astonished by the destructive force this former Powerless had unleashed.
Gram patted Schmendrick on the back. "Well done. Now, please come with me. We have a lot to discuss." The Priest-King led the boy to the nearest teleportation circle, which teleported the two back to the Intake Office in the Recovered Land. "Please have a seat," Gram said as he took his own chair behind his desk. Gram entered the password and logged into the system. "I'm going to reward you 10,000 experience points for saving Rezdi City," he announced and pressed, "Enter."
Schmendrick called up his menu and saw that he gained two levels. He added the 40 attribute points to Aether; it was now at 220. When he was finished, he noticed that Gram was staring at him.
"I need you to go back to The Shar. It is urgent that you seal the pyramid where you found Ra. Your attack only destroyed his mortal vessel. If he comes in contact with another Reborn, he could easily create a new body and then return to destroy Rezdi City again," Gram said. "Also, I ask that you consider not returning to Rezdi City," he added softly and bowed his head.
Schmendrick looked at the Priest-King. A moment later, he understood why. "I'm a threat to the system."
Gram slowly nodded. "The system will try to kill you. They are suspicious of any human they cannot control. It is only a matter of time before the system will send bounty hunters after you," he said sadly.
"And you can't go against the system," Schmendrick added.
"I can be replaced," Gram admitted.
"I'll do it," the teenage boy agreed. There was nothing left in Rezdi City for him. Frankly, he preferred living in The Shar. There was no system to worry about trying to backstab him even though he had saved them all.
"I'll go with him," a female voice said.
The two men turned and saw it was Ava, the secretary, who was standing by the open door.
"Why?" Schmendrick asked.
"I'm sick and tired of the Reborn living here. They are selfish, petty, and narrowminded. You are so different from everyone else here. I respect and admire you. And I've always wanted to explore The Shar," the beautiful woman with purple hair smiled.
"Okay," the teenager smiled back. Her smile was infectious.
"Please go the beach in the Eastern District. They will have a sailboat and supplies ready for you," Gram s
aid. He stood up and offered his hand. "Good luck to you both."
Schmendrick shook his hand. "Thank you."
THE END
Behind the Scenes
In the grand tradition of mangas, this bonus section is a behind the scenes look at the writing process and how certain decisions were made in the process of writing this novel. These decisions will be told as a series of conversations between the writer and the editor. Of course, these conversations are imaginary and all took place inside the author's mind.
* * *
Writer: "The air was cold." Hmm . . . Maybe I should spiff up the beginning of the story.
Editor: Whoa! Big red stop sign! You ain't Robert Jordan!
Writer: But the beginning looks so boring!
Editor: This story is for NaNoWriMo 2017. That's 30 days to write a 50,000 words novel. You're much better off with a KISS.
Writer: KISS?
Editor: *Facepalms* Keep It Simple, Stupid!
* * *
Writer: Maybe we should turn Jason into a serious crime fighter like Batman!
Editor: Can't go there! If the past life of Schmendrick becomes a big side story, you won't finish the novel in 30 days. Besides, you don't want IP lawyers from DC Comics to slap you with a cease-and-desist letter for copyright violation.
* * *
Writer: Do you think the readers noticed the reference to Final Fantasy cactuars?
Editor: Who knows, you old boy? *SHRUGS*
* * *
Writer: What if Schmendrick gets a pet? Maybe a desert iguana that breathes fire? And we could put a collar on it?
Editor: That sounds intriguing.
*The beautiful secretary enters the office and leaves the phone on the writer's desk.*
Secretary: It's from PETA.
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