by Ennki Hakari
Prologue
A vast continent lay off to the south, beyond the South Central Sea.
The expansive continent was largely unexplored by humankind, outside of the outcropping peninsulas the Revlon Empire had colonized along the western coast over six hundred years ago.
After the powerful empire split in two, the Great West Revlon Empire—the successor to the western half of the lands—and its nobility were graced with a multitude of rare spices and crops imported from its colonial towns, villages, and fields, which served as a beachhead to the southern continent.
The largest human settlement on the continent was a port town known as Tagent. At the center of Tagent was an exquisite-looking church with twin spires rising from the roof. Combined with the dormitories and various other buildings, this complex took up a great deal of the town’s available land and served as the central Hilk church on the southern continent. Unlike the austere, white façades seen on churches in the northern continent, this building was constructed of red brick and white mortar, giving it a rather distinguished flair. Were it not for its height and expanse, it would have blended right in with the rest of the town.
The homes built on the church grounds were even more impressive than those of the local magistrate, the man tasked by the emperor himself to oversee the town. Within these grounds stood a three-story building constructed in the same unique, symmetrical style as the church. And inside this building, a boastful-looking man dropped into his chair, sending his large belly jiggling as he settled himself.
The man had been born with a rather imposing frame, and the layers of fat only added to his massive bulk. The sturdily-built chair creaked each time the man shifted his weight. His head was completely bald, with nary a hair sticking out of its slick surface, while his eyes sat widely apart atop puffy cheeks, giving him the appearance of a frog. He narrowed his eyes at the two men kneeling in front of him.
“…and thus, I and my men have been ordered by His Holiness to serve under you, Sir Charros, so that we may assist you in the performance of your duties. We will follow your every command to enact his wishes.” The man dressed in the robes of a Hilk priest smiled warmly up at the large man sitting in front of him, then bowed his head low. The man kneeling silently behind him, dressed all in black, bowed his head as well.
The plump frog-man was himself a pillar of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, one of the seven cardinals. His name was Cardinal Charros Acedia Industria, and he was the highest-ranking Hilk church official on the southern continent.
Charros fixed the black-clad man at the back of the room with a glare and spoke in harsh tones. “Fine, fine. Go ahead and perform your duties, or whatever you have to do, but just get those monsters you brought with you out of my home! It’s going to start smelling something awful in here!” He waved his hand emphatically, gesturing for the two men to leave.
The man in black nodded almost imperceptibly, the long, black tail extending from his lower back rising as if to hide itself from view. The first man, however, showed no fear of the cardinal. He simply continued to smile as he once again bowed low.
Charros snorted, letting out a heavy sigh as he watched the two men leave.
“Gaah! And here I thought I’d finally gotten away from those annoying pests back in the capital. Isn’t that why they gave me free reign in this idyllic little spot of land in the first place? I swear, if they ruin this for me and take all my beloved snacks away, I’ll be livid! Besides, what could His Holiness be thinking? I was supposed to be here for the long run…”
Charros rested his arms on his large belly and propped his chin atop them.
Just then, something came to mind. He slapped his belly and looked up.
“That’s it! We only have ten thousand troops here in the underground garrison, so maybe I can send these newcomers and their hundred or so men off on some errand to keep them bust.”
A smile washed across Charros’s face as he gave voice to his plan. “Not much they can do with a hundred men, anyway! Tagent probably isn’t in any danger yet, and this would hardly be defying the instructions of His Holiness, right? I’m quite the genius, I am!”
He let out an unsettling sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh before sliding out of his chair with an easy grace that belied his bulk. His stomach rippled as his feet hit the ground.
“I don’t want it to look like the church had anything to do with the fall of Tagent, so it would be best to have just a small group of men with me.”
Moments later, a servant found the man in priestly robes standing in front of the large clock built into the compound’s chapel. The servant passed along the instructions he’d been given moments earlier by Cardinal Charros.
“His Holiness only sent us with a hundred or so men. Not only is there little we can do with a force of that size, but it will take us some time to produce results.” Despite his concerns, the gentle smile never left the man’s face. Rather, he seemed almost amused by the situation. “But I understand. First things first, I’ll see if we can scrounge up any other resources.”
The man in the priestly robes turned back and smiled at the beastman standing behind him.
“His Holiness has granted you a great deal of power, no? I expect you’ll prove to be of great assistance.”
The beastman in black took a knee and bowed his head.
Satisfied by this response, the robe-clad man smiled up at the large chapel that towered behind them.
“We mustn’t drag our feet in the face of an order from His Holiness.”
The man’s dark laugh echoed eerily throughout the compound.
Chapter 1:
Off to See the World
A massive forest stretched along the eastern coast of the northern continent, where the land met the South Central Sea. The elves inhabiting these forests had come to live here after fleeing persecution by the humans. Hidden within the trees was a village called Lalatoya.
This particular morning, the village was still enshrouded in mist, with few signs of life moving about. At the center of Lalatoya stood the home of the village elder, though it looked nothing like what one might normally imagine a home to be. The building consisted of a massive wooden pillar with expansive leaves sprouting out the top. Multiple windows had been carved along its outer perimeter, each one neatly fitted with a pane of glass. The entire house was made of a single, massive tree trunk and blended easily into the idyllic village scene that sprawled around it. It was like something out of a fairytale.
My eyes opened, and I sat up with a start. I’d been sleeping in a bed in one of the rooms of the elder’s house.
I readjusted the traditional elven attire that I’d worn to bed in an effort to hide my skeletal frame, and glanced toward the mirror in the corner of the room. A skeleton with a blue flame—a soul, perhaps—flickering deep within its darkened eye sockets stared back at me.
Even though this was the same body I’d been in since I’d first appeared in this world, I still wasn’t used to it, or entirely convinced that it was really me. I moved awkwardly on the bed as I watched the figure in the mirror copy my every move.
I reached for the waterskin next to my pillow and took a swig of the hot spring water—which was, of course, no longer hot at this point—downing it in one gulp.
A moment later, my body began to change.
The curse-nullifying effects of the water I’d taken from the spring at the base of the Lord Crown began transforming my body before my very eyes. The eerie-looking skeleton in the mirror was replaced with an unshaven, brown-skinned man. He had long, black hair, deep red eyes, and appeared to be in his mid-thirties. His pointed ears made it obvious that he wasn’t h
uman.
I rolled my shoulders to loosen them up and get used to my fleshy body once again.
“Well, everything seems all right.”
I slowly stood up in the dimly lit room.
The lump of fur snoring peacefully on the bed wagged its tail in response to the bed moving.
“Still sleeping, huh, Ponta?”
Ponta usually woke before me and spent mornings investigating the room, but it looked like I was the first out of bed today.
Standing at about sixty centimeters, Ponta had the face of a fox, but it also had a thin membrane that ran between its front and hind legs, giving it the appearance of a Japanese flying squirrel. It had been my faithful travel companion ever since I saved it from some poachers. Its back was a dark green, the color of grass, while the fur that ran along its belly and halfway down its tail was white.
I ran my hand through its soft, fluffy fur. This elicited a contented growl, though Ponta showed no signs of waking up.
I looked at the full set of gleaming silver armor that I wore to cover up my skeleton body and the large, two-handed sword next to it. I briefly considered changing into it before deciding to leave the room as-is.
In this world, people got up with the sun, so the village was mostly silent during predawn hours. The only sounds were the occasional bird call and my own footsteps as I padded along the wooden floors.
I made my way down to the second floor and looked in on the dining room, only to find it empty as well.
“Guess I woke up a bit too early.”
I scratched the back of my head as I glanced at the still-cold furnace. Suddenly, I heard a voice call out from behind me.
“My, you’re up awfully early today, Arc.”
I turned toward the source of the voice. In front of me stood a young-looking dark elf—easily identifiable by her amethyst-colored skin, snow-white hair tied and draped over one shoulder, golden eyes, and pointed ears.
The woman had her arms crossed, propping up her bountiful chest, as she eyed me with a questioning gaze.
“Aah, Miss Glenys.” The wife of Lalatoya’s village elder, Glenys now acted as the head of the village in his absence.
“I’m still getting used to your new appearance, so I was taken aback to see a stranger wandering around my home.” Glenys offered up a light chuckle. Under normal circumstances, a skeleton should have been a far more terrifying sight, but she was used to seeing me that way.
Glenys turned the conversation back to the subject at hand. “So, why are you up so early?”
“Ah, that. I was wondering about the matter we discussed earlier…about me boarding a merchant vessel from Landfrea down to the southern continent. Has word come back on if I can go? It’s constantly on my mind. I woke up thinking about it…”
Glenys gave me a slightly exasperated look and shrugged. “You must know that we wouldn’t hear back so soon, right? I just sent the request out yesterday. Why are you so interested in going to the southern continent, anyway?”
I averted my gaze in embarrassment, feeling like an elementary school student who’d woken up too early out of excitement for an upcoming field trip. Instead, I looked out the kitchen window. The morning sun had just started to peek through the trees and was now burning off the mist, bringing the surrounding village into view.
Another woman’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned my gaze away from the scene outside and looked toward the source.
The woman rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she walked into the dining room was the spitting image of Glenys. She let out a large yawn. “Good mor… who’s that? Arc, is that you? Wow, you’re up early today.” She was taken aback for a moment at the sight of my body before remembering who I was.
She had the same amethyst skin and golden eyes as her exasperated mother, Glenys, though she wore her snow-white hair straight down her back. Ariane Glenys Maple was a soldier of the city of Maple, the capital of the elven homeland here in the Great Canada Forest. She’d been an immense help to me ever since I arrived in this world.
I greeted the sleepy woman. “Good morning, Miss Ariane.”
Glenys clapped her hands together as if she’d just remembered something.
“It’ll be a while before we hear back on whether you have permission to board a ship departing from Landfrea, so why don’t you two train while I make breakfast?” She looked over toward Ariane and smiled.
I nodded in agreement and turned toward Ariane. “I would be honored to have you as a sparring partner.”
I was now in the body of the avatar I’d played back in the game, and had all of the skills and abilities that came with it. However, I lacked the ever-important fighting prowess and still moved clumsily in combat. Whenever I sparred against the immensely skilled Glenys, she was able to take me out in a matter of moments.
Put in racing terms, power and speed might help you break out of the pack, but it’s all for naught if you can’t turn. To be fair, there were very few people in this world who could fight at Glenys’s level. However, it was still in my best interest to learn how to fight properly.
Ariane ran her fingers through her mussy hair and let out a sigh. “Fine, fine. But I don’t want to work up a sweat or anything, so let’s just keep this simple, okay, Arc?”
She gestured toward me and walked out of the dining room. I turned to the kitchen and waved at Glenys, who was smiling ear to ear, before following after Ariane.
We exited out the back of the large tree house and into the yard. Ariane and I both armed ourselves with wooden training swords and faced off against each other.
As a soldier of Maple, Ariane’s skills in swordsmanship were way out of my league, making me far from an ideal sparring partner for her. However, when I was pitted against a sword master like Glenys, the match always ended mere moments after it began. It was hardly what one could call a training session. I wasn’t yet at a level where I could learn much through training with Glenys, so I would need to start with Ariane.
I readjusted my hold on the training sword, let out a yell, and swung it at Ariane. Without the massive armor weighing me down, I felt like I was able to move a lot faster than usual, though Ariane was still able to deftly dodge my blade and land a blow on me.
“Nng!”
I twisted with the blow and aimed another strike, but she met it with a parry before falling back.
She had no intention of letting an opportunity go to waste.
Ariane closed the distance and launched into a series of strikes, her movements nearly imperceptible.
“Gyaugh?!”
My body instinctively lurched backward in response.
I hadn’t intended to dive so far backward, but when I readjusted my grip on the wooden sword and turned back toward Ariane, I saw that there was now three meters’ distance between us.
Ariane frowned, the annoyance clear on her face. She let her blade drop slightly.
“C’mon, Arc. We can’t spar if you’re just going to run away that dramatically.”
“I’m sorry, I just kinda…” I tried to offer an apology, though I, too, was a bit surprised by my reaction.
I brought my sword back up, and Ariane came rushing toward me.
My body moved instinctively to meet Ariane’s strikes with my own wooden blade, though I overdid it on the fourth strike and lost my balance, allowing her to land a blow on my side.
“Oof!”
Ariane looked perplexed as she fixed her eyes on me. “You’re usually able to move with more precision than this. Why are your movements so exaggerated today?”
I wasn’t intentionally doing anything different, though I did feel a bit stiffer than usual. We continued to spar for several more rounds, but it wasn’t until the effects of the hot spring’s waters wore off and I returned to my skeleton form that Ariane praised me for having better control over my movement.
She rested her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Well, you’ve turned back, and don’t seem to be on the top of your game anywa
y, so why don’t we call it a day?”
I shook my head. “Just one more round, Miss Ariane. Please?”
“Fine, fine.” Ariane opened up some distance between us and readied her blade.
Even though nothing had changed since the last bout, I felt confident this time. I looked down at the skeletal hand holding the wooden training sword.
“Incoming!”
I let out a yell as I closed the distance between us. Ariane coolly deflected the blow with the side of her blade before twisting it around to turn the tip of her sword toward me, trying to find an opening.
I calmly blocked her first strike and then another, deftly evading her while opening up some distance between us in an attempt to draw her in.
But Ariane knew what I was trying to do and didn’t fall for it. She grinned as we faced each other, blades locked. “Well, you’re definitely doing better.”
“Nnng…”
As we stood at a deadlock, I heard Glenys call out to us from the second-story window.
“Breakfast is ready!”
“Okaaaay!” Ariane responded.
I stretched out and watched Ariane head back into the house before swinging my wooden sword through the air a few more times, recreating the match in my head. I let out a sigh as I muttered to myself, “Well, that pretty much settles it…”
When the spring water turned me back to my elven form, it also brought my emotions back with it, making me much more sensitive to my opponents’ attacks and the pain they might cause. These emotions made me stiffer in my movements and more exaggerated in my attempts to defend myself.
Looking at it that way, it all made sense.
While I was in my skeleton form, my emotions were largely suppressed, and I was able to respond more thoughtfully to incoming attacks. As long as I remained a skeleton while in combat, I’d be able to deal with threats easily. But I’d also never grow that way.
If I intended to spend more time in my elven form, I would need to continue practicing. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time before I met my match.
“Hmph, this is all a lot harder than I thought it would be.”