The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

  Level: 6

  ==========

  Race: Human

  ==========

  Titles: From the Grave

  ==========

  Strength: (Base 7) +4

  ==========

  110

  ==========

  Agility: (Base 6) +6

  ==========

  60

  ==========

  Stamina: (Base 10) +0

  ==========

  150

  ==========

  Mana: (Base 2) +0

  ==========

  20

  ==========

  Mana Regeneration (Base 1) +10

  2.95/s

  ==========

  Stamina Regeneration: (Base 7) +10

  4.15/s

  ==========

  Erik had continued down his previous path, putting Stamina and Mana Regeneration ahead of all else. Five went into Mana and Stamina Regeneration each, then with three going to Agility and two to Strength.

  As Erik slept, the Mana in the surrounding area was stirred up.

  Rugrat went on alert as he readied his rifle.

  A faint blue gas gathered into a lazy tornado before being drawn in to Erik’s body.

  Rugrat looked at Erik. He could see a faint blue outline in his body. It was like his circulatory system but more rigid. It started at Erik’s wrists, extending up his arm to his back; from there they connected, stretching up to the top of Erik’s skull and then down through his back, tracing down his legs to his ankles.

  After just a few minutes, the wind settled down, the night returning to its normal quiet as Erik continued to sleep, ignorant to what had happened.

  When he woke up for watch, Rugrat told him what had happened.

  Erik also found that there was another screen waiting for him.

  ==========

  You have reached the Vapor stage

  ==========

  1 to Mana Pool

  ==========

  ==========

  Quest: Mana Gathering Cultivation

  ==========

  The path of a Mana Gathering cultivator is not easy. To stand at the top, one must forge their own path forward.

  ==========

  Requirements:

  Reach Mana Mist Level

  ==========

  Rewards:

  2 to Mana pool

  10,000 EXP

  ==========

  Erik used Simple Organic Scan and looked over his body to see what changes had gone on.

  A series of channels ran through his body, linking his Mana gates together. The small channels were filled with a faint blue vapor that contained a powerful presence. He knew that this was Mana; he didn’t know what the significance of it was or why it had changed.

  They ate a boring breakfast of rations, but they were excited. Today they’d be checking out the town on the way to Chonglu City to gain information; the next day, they would be in range of the actual Chonglu City.

  They trekked through the forest. They’d slowly plodded along before but Erik and Rugrat were now jogging through, confident in their new abilities and reaction times.

  They would have been scared to twist their ankles in the past; now they weren’t worried in the slightest.

  Even if they did, they could both heal the injuries.

  They reached a hilly area that allowed them to look over the town.

  It was simply built, with only two or three stone buildings; the majority were wood, or mud-made inside their mud walls.

  Around the small town were rough farmlands. It might look simple but based on the dangerous animals in the area, the little town had needed to fight for its current position.

  Rugrat used his M40 rifle scope while Erik used spotting binoculars.

  There were guards on the walls. They wore rough metal chest plates. The rest of their clothes were heavily padded to blunt any blows that landed on them.

  People came in from the surrounding areas; traders had set up a few stalls inside the town, selling select goods and foodstuffs.

  Erik and Rugrat had been hoping that the town would be a bit bigger. The bigger it was, the easier it was to get lost in. They didn’t want to stick out, just gather information and understand what the Ten Realms was about and complete their quest.

  “Let’s move on,” Erik said. They cleared up their gear and moved on toward Chonglu. It was nearing mid-afternoon when they got into sight of Chonglu. Once again, they set up camp and started observing the city.

  Its walls were made from rock, standing ten feet tall. Their guards didn’t have the lazy air that the town’s guards had. They were alert and focused as they patrolled the walls, or they collected tolls at the gates.

  There was a lot more traffic at the city as well.

  The town served as the lifeblood to the surrounding farmers, but the city was the true gate to higher positions and places.

  In the middle of the city, an obsidian pillar stood one hundred meters tall, much taller than anything around it.

  There were different colored bands ringing it, with the top band being white, the next one gold, two silvers, three copper, and Erik saw two bands that were black.

  Checking their maps against what they were seeing, that obsidian pillar was the location of their quest, the Ten Realms totem.

  There were clear districts in the city and the noise of people going about their business could be heard far and wide.

  The city hosted a population of some ten thousand people. Wood and stone buildings dominated most of the city. There was a trading and warehouse district, a residential district, a crafters sector, and houses for the nobles and ruling family of the city.

  Erik scanned over it all with his binoculars. “Looks like there is a fee at the gate.”

  “We’re going to need something to cover ourselves up. Our clothing and gear looks totally different from theirs,” Rugrat said.

  “You got your woobie?” Erik asked

  “Never leave home without it.”

  “We drop our rucks here, take our personal weapons with us, wear woobies, then we go to a store, get a cloak to hide what we’re wearing,” Erik said.

  “Okay, and I think I have a way for us to get into the city,” Rugrat said, focusing through his scope.

  “Huh?”

  “Looks like some people who don’t have actual coins use a barter system. We’ll trade that monster core in for some change, so we at least have some local currency,” Rugrat said.

  “What do you think that they’ll trade with us?”

  “You got some jerky and nuts? A bag of that should be good.”

  “I’ll get it together. You keep an eye out.” Erik shifted to back where their packs were.

  “On it,” Rugrat said, not looking away as he continued to scan the city. His eyes could pick up a lot more than Erik’s and he had training that made him much better than Erik was at scoping out a city.

  Erik got together a few small bags of meat and nuts. He looked over at Rugrat lying on the hill and the city beyond. Just a few weeks ago, he had been moping around in a hospital when Rugrat came around to kick his ass and pull him out of his funk.

  Since then, Erik had turned his situation around. It had gone past in a whirlwind. He pressed his lips together as he took in a big breath. If not for Rugrat, he didn’t want to think on what kind of situation he might be in.

  He held up his hand, letting Mana seep out from his channels and appear as a mist in his hand. “Magic, huh? Let’s see what other secrets you’re hiding, Ten Realms.” A smile crept onto his face, a dense look in his eyes as they focused on that totem.

  ***

  The next day, they were wearing their poncho liners, hiding their gear underneath. They had hidden the rest of their gear and had left their helmets with it all, so they wouldn’t stick out, or at least stick out less.

  They headed down toward the mai
n road leading to the city. They walked up it toward the city, their hands on their weapons under the poncho liners.

  People looked at them, assessing whether they were a threat or not. Not many people moved close to them.

  Erik and Rugrat listened to their conversations. It looked as if everyone spoke English. They didn’t question it as they reached the line moving through the gates.

  There were people of all kinds of backgrounds: mercenaries for trading groups, traders, farmers with goods to sell, or young people looking for a better life in the city.

  Chapter: Chonglu City

  “Get out of the way for Young Master Silaz!” a voice yelled.

  People hurriedly moved out of the way. Erik and Rugrat moved as well. They looked as a group of ten armored knights giving off a dangerous pressure charged forward. They rode what looked to be horses, but they were much stronger, their hooves like thunder as small dents were seen in the road.

  Behind the guards, there was a carriage pulled by two horses. It was covered with ornate metalwork and had an emblem on it.

  Four more knights on horses followed the carriage as it thundered toward the gates. The city guards moved out of the way with a dark expression on their faces as the carriage rushed through. They didn’t do or say anything as they moved back into place after the last horse had passed.

  “That must be the young master of the Silaz house. I heard that they are a great trading family dealing in monster cores and metals!” one of the people in the line said.

  “Monster cores? Aren’t those things only too rare? One must kill a beast that is level three or higher to get even a chance of finding one,” another replied.

  “The Beast Mountains are only four days’ travel,” the first person said.

  The second person scoffed. “Beast Mountains? That place is better to be called a burial mound of experts. Many people go there looking for fortune, only to be turned to bones!”

  A third person interjected. “The Beast Mountains might be a place of great danger, but it’s also a place where one can find many natural treasures. Not only monster cores—there are the different ingredients that they might be watching over. The stronger beasts can have their skin turned into armor, their bones refined into Alchemy concoctions and weapons. Even eating high-level beast meat can increase one’s Experience!”

  “Do you think that it would be as easy as just walking into the Beast Mountains? There is a reason that the Silaz family and not the people who go to Beast Mountains are one of the strongest families in Chonglu City.” The second person spoke up again, halting his words, clearly not willing to waste them on these two fools.

  Erik cleared his throat, turning to one of the people beside him. “Are the Silaz family that powerful?” he asked, his stomach tight as he readied himself to run.

  The woman frowned and let out a snort. “They are one of the three dragons, other than Lord Chonglu himself. Only the other two families Xun and Chung can keep them in check.”

  Erik nodded as if in agreement. Inside, that tension was dissipating. It looked as if did everyone speak English; he might have a different accent, but people didn’t find it too unfamiliar.

  They moved with the line to the front of the gates, where a guard waited for them.

  “Three coppers,” the man said lazily.

  “We don’t have the coppers unfortunately, but we were hoping that these meats and nuts would be enough?” Erik said as Rugrat held out a few bags of bags and nuts.

  The guard looked over the bags. He frowned and then grabbed one of the nuts, chewing on it. His eyes went wide.

  He looked around to see whether anyone was listening in as he asked in a low voice,

  “Is this covered in salt?”

  “Some of them are,” Erik said slowly, remembering that back in history, salt was worth more than gold for its usefulness.

  The guard quickly waved his hand; the bag of jerky and nuts disappeared as six coppers appeared in his hand and went into the collection box next to him.

  Erik and Rugrat’s eyes were focused on the man’s hand where a simple ring was. They could swear that the bag had disappeared into that ring.

  “Please have a good visit to Chonglu City,” the guard said respectfully, cupping his hands and bowing slightly.

  Erik and Rugrat and gave him the same gesture back.

  “Thank you for your hospitality.” Erik led Rugrat past the guards and through the city gates into Chonglu City. They had finally arrived.

  People were moving all over the place. Past the entrance square, there were stalls running through the two main gates of the city.

  The smells of food being cooked, sounds of metal being hammered out, and the chatter and liveliness of the city greeted them both as people bartered for better prices or looked to sell what they had, or simply just talked to those they knew.

  “Should we go and see if we can find where that Silaz family does business? We’ll be able to trade our Mana core in there,” Rugrat said.

  “Sure,” Erik said.

  They moved through the city. They got some weird stares as they were in odd-looking clothes. In the city, there was everyone from nobles to farmers and others from countries close and far. They might laugh and joke about their clothes, but they didn’t stand out too much.

  After some inquiries, they learned where the Silaz did their business and the storefront they ran.

  They used their markers to put a marker on the location they had been given.

  They walked through the streets, reaching the store without much trouble. They were just moving to a counter when there was a commotion at the front of the store. Rugrat glanced over it as Erik moved to the man at the counter.

  “Hello, I was wondering if I could sell this.” Erik held out the monster core that they had gained from the ape.

  The man took the core from them, looking at them both before he pulled out a monocle and looked at the monster core closer. There was lettering around the monocle and a faint blue crystal that glowed slightly.

  “Earth Rank low grade, Earth attribute, from a silver rendall ape. I can give you two silver,” the man said.

  “Young Master Silaz is so dominating. I heard that you went to the Beast Mountains yourself to collect monster cores!” a woman said in a flattering voice.

  A young man laughed down her comment, clearly enjoying it but wishing to appear more mature. The other ladies around him thinned their eyes at the one who had spoken.

  “It was a tough trip, but I have found I am interested in settling down more,” Silaz said, hinting to the ladies, whose eyes turned red.

  “You must be tired, Young Master Silaz. I know a few massage techniques to help you relax,” another one of the women flirted.

  “Massages? I know the perfect place to have a private meal, without so many voices,” another shot back.

  “I’ll take it,” Erik said to the man behind the counter, seeing it all and not caring about it.

  The man quickly pulled out two silver coins and passed it to Erik. The monster core disappeared behind the counter.

  “Thank you for doing business with Silaz’s trading house,” the man said with a warm smile.

  “Have a good day,” Erik said with a quick smile as he and Rugrat moved toward the door.

  A guard moved toward them, looking at them with fierce eyes, as if warning not to get close to the young master, who was only slowly walking into the store, blocking the entrance.

  Erik and Rugrat paid little attention to him.

  “Does he need fifty feet to walk in the door?” Rugrat sighed as they were just about out of the store.

  “You two there.” Young Master Silaz’s voice cut through the store as Erik and Rugrat were about to step out of the store.

  The guards at the entrance closed their halberds, stopping Erik and Rugrat from exiting.

  Erik and Rugrat looked at each other.

  Rugrat had a big smi
le on his face as he moved toward the two with halberds.

  “Hello, boys. How’s it going? I hope you don’t mind if I stand here. Some lovely weather we’re having here—you know, blue skies, clouds, sense of bloodshed in the air.” Rugrat laughed a little bit.

  Erik looked back into the store, his hand on his personal weapon hidden underneath his woobie.

  “I have never seen people like you before. You must not be from around here,” Silaz said, lazily looking at the rings on his hand indifferently.

  Erik didn’t say anything. Instead, his eyes were bored. He had been yelled at by some of the hardest men he knew; he’d lived in life-and-death scenarios. Having some rich kid posing and trying to seem powerful in front of him wasn’t a big deal.

  I’ve heard that red with a side of brains is really in this season for interior decorating. Erik even started to imagine how he would paint the area behind the little upstart.

  The little idiot didn’t have any idea of what was going on in Erik’s mind.

  “Those clothes—I’ve taken an interest in them.” The boy waved at Erik and Rugrat’s woobies.

  “That’s nice. Don’t swing that way, though. Thought you liked women?” Erik asked with a confused face, his eyes looking at the women around him as if he were confused.

  Rugrat laughed as the guards’ faces darkened and Young Master Silaz’s expression stilled before a dense smile appeared on his lips.

  “I’ve never met someone as daring as you two. Here I was, merely wanting to gain some souvenirs from foreign trash, but looks like trash doesn’t know its position!”

  With his words, the guards moved forward slightly, ready to attack.

  Erik looked to Rugrat with a questioning look.

  “Don’t look at me. Looks like his head’s so far up his ass, he came full circle.” Rugrat shrugged.

  “Didn’t think of that.” Erik nodded as if the world’s secrets had been revealed to him.

  “You!” Young Master Silaz’s face twisted in fury.

  Just as he opened his mouth again, there was a deep laugh from the street as the two guards who were blocking the gate opened their halberds.

  A man wearing well-maintained armor entered the store with a smile on his face. But his eyes held none of the warmth on his face.