Reincarnation_RPG

by Erik Colombe

  “No, you brought it up. This is my fault. Everyone’s dead. I could have left you to be part of the pile of the dead, but we had a deal. If you want out just say it!”

  “You got me killed,” Saarka yelled.

  “And I brought you back.”

  “Look around, all these bodies, they’re dead because of you and I’m supposed to be grateful you picked me? That you liked me best? You killed them; you killed me!”

  “You’re alive now. Why do you care so much?”

  “I felt the life drain from my body. I was dead, my soul was ripped from the afterlife and stuffed back into my body like it was a cheap whore. Are souls that cheap to you?” Saarka stammered.

  “You whiny bitch. Who cares, as long as you’re alive? What the fuck do you want from me?” John yelled.

  “You were supposed to be the hero alright! This wasn’t supposed to happen. This isn’t how the stories go.”

  “We’re not in a story. I never claimed to be a hero. I’m fighting to stay alive and it’s hard enough just to keep idiots around me from tripping to death. How am I supposed to save everyone?” John yelled back at her.

  “You have the ability. I’ve seen it. If you just cared for a single person in your life who wasn’t you, you could have prevented this,” she said.

  “That’s your own childish dream. I just want to go home. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I never pretended to be anything other than what I am.”

  “You sack of shit, you get people killed for no other reason than it helps you get closer to your goal. A goal you’re blindly following like a little boy looking for his mama’s tit. Maybe you’re stuck here John, stuck with the rest of us; it’ll just be time before you’re dead at the top of the pile of people who followed you. People who got close or were in your way. Go home John! Leave while we pick up the victims of your selfish ineptitude. I don’t want to know you. I don’t want to be near you in case you push me in front of the next arrow aimed at you, or decide you liked someone more and save them while I lie on the ground waiting to be buried,” Saarka said.

  “Fine! I never planned to drag you out here. You begged to come. I don’t need you; any of you,” John shouted and walked away from her, making his way out of the town.

  Mihel followed behind him.

  “You’re both just angry; you need to sleep on it. This wasn’t your fault. I saw the fight, you did everything you could. You warned us before it started. She’ll see reason. John, you don’t have to leave it like this.”

  John didn’t look at Mihel; he didn’t want Mihel to see the tears that were gathering in his eyes.

  “No. She’s right. This was my fault and I couldn’t care less. Be well Mihel,” John said and he walked out of Fort Light, out of the city and out of their lives with only one destination in mind. The Capital.

  Reincarnation:RPG Part Four

  By Erik Colombe

  Part 4

  John walked down a dirt path, his mind clouded with guilt, and the screams of people he had tried to help rang in his ears. His footsteps crunched against the loose dirt, and it started to grate on his ears. He turned and strayed from the well-worn dirt road and took to the forest. His footsteps became louder with the snapping of branches underfoot, and the thick tree limbs pushed against him trying to prevent him from traveling further. They were an annoyance, and he picked up his pace, breaking into a light jog. The branches broke when they touched him; the holes and divots in the ground tried to grab his legs and twist his ankle, but they were left wanting as John moved through the forest with unnatural speed and footing.

  He broke into a sprint.

  No one’s chasing you, a tiny voice in the back of his mind said.

  John cast haste on himself, allowing him to run faster.

  The people who want you dead are dead.

  He sprinted for miles through the thick forest. Branches swiped at his legs, stung his faced and bruised his arms, but he didn’t slow.

  No one knows where you are or where you’re going.

  He came across a ravine and used God Step to jump over it on compressed air pockets without pause. The mana cost was so mild John didn’t bother paying attention to the notification as it popped up in the corner of his vision.

  And face it; no one wants anything to do with you.

  John kept using his God Step to jump higher and higher. Soon, he was above the tree line; he kept running and sprinting on the air, climbing higher as he did until the only things next to him were birds. He jumped down and let go of the compressed air he was running on. He plummeted face first towards the earth.

  John felt the thrill of weightlessness for several seconds before he started to feel a tightening in his gut as the ground rushed up to meet him. He pushed out both hands in front of him and fed mana into them in the form of fire. He increased the supply he fed to his hands but closed them slightly, creating a funnel for the mana to be transformed. The fire faded from red to blue to white as it grew hotter and more intense from his hands. He felt a tinge of fear as he didn’t slow at first, but as the mana forced its way out of him like a rocket’s thruster, he felt his body’s inertia slow, and he only hit the ground like a fifty-pound bag of bricks.

  John laid on his back for a while until he realized he was staring unyieldingly at the sky. He blinked a few times to get his mind running again. He stood up and laughed manically at the sky, raising his hands in the air, triumphant. It felt good to laugh. It had felt good to stretch his magic muscle. He had been hiding who he was in this world, trying to stay quiet and out of the way, not anymore.

  He didn’t know how long it would take to reach the Capital. In his video game, you had to visit four temples of the elements in a convoluted pattern, and then you would take a magical bird to the final boss. The boss he could never beat and had caused him to chug health potion after health potion trying to stave off death, but now that boss had been dead for hundreds of years. Ryan and Mike feared the Capital, but if his ticket home was there, he wasn’t going to let their fear stop him.

  John decided to rest for the evening. He had been running without sleep for close to 24 hours, and he needed a clear head for the journey.

  John found a clearing and used his elemental magic to create a campsite. A force of wind meant to send people flying backwards was used to clear the debris lying around. A powerful earth spell meant to make groups of enemies trip and fall was used to level the ground, and a waterjet spell that could cut through steel was used to dig a latrine, while the spell that turned his hands into deadly flamethrowers was used to light a fire in case it got cold. He snuggled against the blankets he held in his inventory and closed his eyes to get some sleep.

  John fell into a heavy dreamless sleep and only woke when the sun had risen high enough above the tree line to peel back his eyelids. He yawned and stretched his arms before looking over his campsite only to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring back at him. He jumped awake and drew his sword against the Rahka that stood on all fours in front of him with a makeshift backpack around its side like it was meant for traveling.

  “You are a hard human to keep up with,” the Rahka said in a low guttural growl.

  “What can I say? I like the occasional magical insane fun run. It’s like cross fit but less dangerous,” John said.

  The Rahka tilted its head, not understanding.

  “What do you want?” John asked, dropping any hint of humor.

  “I have been sent to pay our debt,” the Rahka said.

  “Not following you.”

  “The Rahka were enslaved. You freed us. This demands payment. Since you left without naming payment, the Wise, the ones still alive, chose the payment. As the strongest of the Rahka, I have been chosen to be your payment. I am at your disposal.”

  “That’s nice, but I don’t want anyone’s help, and to be honest, you’ll only slow me down. I freed everyone out of my own selfishness. No one asked me to do it, so a reward is not needed.”

  “I
am payment, not a reward. We hold debt with no one! If a service is provided, payment must be provided. I have been chosen; if you refuse, I will kill myself to seal the debt.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don’t want anything. I don’t plan to hold a debt over your heads, and I don’t need a Rahka following me. I may be going through towns or meeting other people, and a giant wolf is just going to be a headache to explain.”

  “I will not be a burden to my master,” the Rahka growled and stood on its hind legs before letting loose a high-pitched howl.

  John watched as the Rahka’s fur fell off its skin; bones cracked as if they were being broken and reshaped. John could see raw mana rip itself from the Rahka’s body and form a cocoon of light blue magic around it. The process took only seconds, and before John stood a woman, naked, with yellow eyes, who showed wolf’s teeth when she smiled. John adverted his eyes but caught a glimpse of her naked form in the morning light. She was completely hairless from her head to her toes. Her darkly tanned skin was marred with scars that did little to detract from her slender waist, firm breasts, and supple hips.

  “Hey, you mind getting dressed?” John said half-heartedly.

  After several minutes of John averting his gaze while the Rahka dressed herself, she spoke.

  “There, I am blended,” she said.

  John turned to see the Rahka. She was wearing loose fitted leggings with a similar shirt. She was adorned with patches of leather armor that held broken pieces of jagged metal. It looked mean, like staring at it too long would cut you.

  “How did you do that?” John asked, trying to make the situation less awkward.

  “The strongest of my kin can become blended. I am told this used to be something many species could do but have never seen it for myself,” she said. Her voice still held a guttural growl.

  John used his analyze skill on her.

  Name: Rahka (human form)

  Level: 60

  Magic: Transmutation, Animal Ancestor, Retainer’s Bond

  Class: Demi-Human/Animal

  A Rahka who has taken human form. Has the speed, power, and will of a Rahka but gains the ability to use human weapons and can learn human magic.

  “Fine, you can stay if you want, but hear me now, your life is in your own hands. I am not some hero coming to save you.”

  “I am your retainer; my life was forfeit the moment it was given to you. If you wish it, I will lay down my life at your command; such is the payment for the debt we have received.”

  “What’s your name?” John asked.

  “My old name was discarded. I have none.”

  “What am I supposed to call you?”

  “That is for you to decide,” the Rahka said.

  John groaned in frustration.

  “How about Max? Do you have a problem with that name?” John asked. It was the first name he could think of, and it had originally belonged to a girl from his school named Maxine, who was a pain in the ass when you needed to ask her anything, similar to the frustration he felt towards the Rahka.

  “I will take the name with me until my death,” Max said.

  “Great, my name’s John. Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

  “I have not eaten in three days, while I ran trying to catch up to you. However, I can subsist without food for a week and still fight if needed.”

  “Why the hell were you in such a hurry?”

  “I tracked your scent to the town nearest our mountain and saw the destruction that was there. I feared, if I delayed, you would meet your end before the debt could be repaid,” Max said.

  “Do I really seem that bad? Whatever, don’t answer that. We’re going to be heading to the Capital. Ever heard of it?”

  “No.”

  “It used to belong to someone called the Demon King, who supposedly had the power to lock away a god.”

  “And you plan to fight him?” Max asked.

  “No, I’ve been told he’s long dead, and I don’t know if I’m going to find anything more than ruins, but there’s something I want, and it’s likely there. Now I need to relieve myself. Did you bring anything to eat?”

  “No,” Max said without emotion.

  John took a bag out of his inventory and threw it to Max.

  “There’s some dried meat, hard cheese, stale bread, and water in that pack. Eat half of it, and I’ll eat the rest when I get back. We’ll be moving fast today, so try to keep up,” John said and left to relieve himself in the woods.

  He summoned some water to splash on his face to try to clear the cobwebs that still hung in his mind. When he got back to Max, he saw the provisions had been split equally, and Max was staring at the food.

  “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you hungry?”

  “I am your retainer. I must wait until you have eaten before I am allowed to eat.”

  “Listen, that might be how it works with Rahka, but you need to think of this relationship in a different way. Like a friendship. A dangerous, the longer you stay with me the sooner you die, friendship. Got it?”

  “No.”

  John rubbed his eyes.

  “Eat your damn food when you’re hungry. Never wait on me, ever.”

  Max hesitantly picked up her portion of food and started to eat with John.

  This is going to be a long day. We need to hurry and get to the Capital, so I can either get home or get killed, because the people here are just torture, John thought as they finished eating.

  When they were done John gave Max the general directions they would be going towards and she nodded. John started with a slow jog through the woods to get his stomach to settle and saw Max keeping pace, which didn’t surprise him since the Rahka were used to the forest. He picked up the pace and went into a flat out run and was surprised to see Max keep up without any exertion on her face.

  Oh yeah, let’s see you keep up with this, John silently challenged.

  He infused his legs with a haste spell and charged through the forest. Max lost ground at John’s new speed, but she quickly regained pace. John looked back and was able to see a faint glow of magic around her legs in the shape of paws.

  John went full out and used his God Step to run over uneven terrain until he was skating on air, and slowly, Max began to fade into the distance. John didn’t slow but kept running, making his way through the forest, and didn’t stop until it was near noon and his mana was starting to run low. He stopped in a clearing and stretched. It took an hour for his mana to regenerate. When it was almost full, Max showed up in the clearing coming to a stop. Her breathing wasn’t ragged, but she obviously could use a break before they continued.

  “Feel free to stretch. We’ll move again after you’re rested,” John said, handing her the refilled water skin he had filled with his elemental magic.

  “I can keep going. You needn’t concern yourself with my health.”

  “I’m not. I just don’t feel like running again. Besides, we’re getting close,” John said, and he knew they would reach the Capital soon based on how much his waypoint moved while they ran. The closer they got, the more it moved with any little change in his direction.

  John hoped they would have run into a town by now or someplace to stock up on food. He was hoping they’d find an item shop like the one from his video game where he could buy upgraded weapons, health potions, and mana potions. Hell, he’d buy the entire inventory, but he knew there was going to be nothing like that. He would be limited to the weapons in his inventory and the magic he received from the game.

  Chapter 2

  By the time the sun was starting to set over the horizon, Max and John had stopped their sprint and had moved into a jog. Max had warned John that she could smell humans nearby, and they had become more cautious. There were no roads or homes that suggested a city or town was nearby. Instead, they found only one worn dirt road that had seemed seldom used. They followed the road from the cover of the forest.

  “I smell something foul,” Max said.

  “What
do you mean? Like something’s dead?”

  “No, like we are entering something’s territory. It smells like disease, a place to avoid.”

  “That sounds about right, considering how everything’s been going so far,” John said, noticing there was a lot less animal life than he had seen before.

  “Let’s take our time. Let me know if you spot anything else out of the ordinary.”

  They made their way carefully to the edge of the forest, and John could see a thick black sea that looked like it was made of tar that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. Nothing grew in the dirt near the Tar Sea; even birds seemed to avoid flying that direction. It seemed to stretch West as far as the eye could see, like a big black boiling sea that smelled like rotting eggs. In front of the sea were guard houses. Shacks that were built on top of poles, giving the person inside of them a view of the horizon, and as John looked, he could barely see another one that was almost over the horizon and out of view. Close to the shack on stilts was a large warehouse type building with armed soldiers carrying swords and bows marching around and changing shift as the night came on.

  It’s not a store, but it’s close enough. John thought as he eyed the warehouse.

  He used his analyze skill on a few of the soldiers and found them to have an average level of 14, while the highest leveled soldier, who seemed to be the commander, at level 23.

  “Hey Max, what are your thoughts on ransacking a military establishment for provisions?”

  “I follow you.”

  “Yeah, but you could sit this one out if you had some kind of moral objection to thievery. I’m giving you that option to turn away and let me handle this.”

  “I follow you.”

  “Alright then, let’s get settle down a little way away and practice. I have a plan, and we’re going to give that camp one hell of a surprise wake up call.”

  It was an hour before sun up. The sky was starting to change its color on the horizon when the attack came. Those that were still awake didn’t know what was happening; they only could hear the shouts of confusion and surprise from outside. Fireballs rained down from the sky, catching everyone’s attention. The guard in the tower rang a large gong to wake everyone out of their sleep. When they ran out, they were assaulted by a moving blur that pushed soldiers over or slashed at their legs, leaving shallow cuts. The soldiers that fell found themselves trying to stand and falling down again. The ground was soaked with an unnatural abundance of water from the night, and the armor the soldiers wore caused them to sink into the mud and topple over themselves.