She waved away the green soul bar, setting it to zero.
"This ends the tutorial. I'll still be around for any questions on skills or anything I feel you need to know, but you will have to start figuring out things on your own. That's the best way to get stronger, you know!"
Some fireworks that blossomed into green screaming skulls shot up into the air and the fairy dissipated, leaving me alone in the quiet darkness of the cave.
I took a few minutes to psych myself up again and walked out of the cave into the brightness outside. For some reason, I felt as if something was tugging at me to go in a certain direction. It was just nice to be out of the cave!
Huh, it's still sunny out here. I doubt this is still the same day, considering all that has happened. Maybe I've been here for a few days, maybe a week.
I looked around. I was in the mountains, surrounded by a peppering of mighty evergreen trees. I inhaled deeply and looked up to the sky. I felt a thud, then pain. I looked down. Huh, when did I get the ability to grow branches? Wait, no this is definitely an arrow. When did I get the ability to grow arrows? Shit! There's an arrow sticking out of my stomach. I felt another thud, this time in my neck.
My mind reeled. What if this unseen attacker hit my core? Should I charge them? No, the arrows came from different directions. Should I run back into the cave? No, that would only stall for time, and they would just camp here and wait, or maybe even gather together and invade, blocking me in.
So I did the only thing I could think of. I held a hand up into the air in a mimic of death and fell on my back with an exaggerated scream.
Chapter 5: Corruption — Thadeus
"Sir, I've brought your ale."
The man placed it on the table and scurried off without waiting for a reply.
I may have gone overboard with my display the other day, but it's important that they fear me — though to be honest it's not like I didn't enjoy it. Hearing her screams, feeling her spirit break under me as her blood ran down my thighs.
I was always the Duke's best torturer.
Unlike the others, I always got results, though it was true that by the end they would agree to anything whether it was true or not. Thinking back on it, a shiver of pleasure ran down my spine. I licked my lips thinking about it.
My name is Thadeus Roangard. I am a noble from one of the oldest houses in Theross. Our standing with the king is less than favorable, however, and I am the fourth son, so I was given to the clergy along with a sizable donation when I turned twelve as a gesture to improve my family's standing with the church.
My family had long been known as followers of Rosereth. The problem was that the King was a devout follower of Therossa. After a time, I realized a funny thing about the churches: the stories were all the same, and the descriptions of events were mostly the same. The key difference was that Rosereth was depicted as an elven maiden, and Therossa was a human angel. So long ears or wings, human or not — that was it. The King felt that humans should worship humans, despite the fact that he himself was rumored to have some elven blood in his ancestry, affording him an impressive magical strength.
My time at the church would be the worst time of my existence. I was stripped of my title and rights to my ancestral home. I was made to serve the priests in every way. I was whipped for any mistake, no matter how small. I was used in ways that I will never forgive them for and forced to warm their beds, as they were not allowed to take wives.
The head priest, Barneth, was the worst. Simply warming his bed wasn't enough for him; he was too old and twisted for that. Over time he had developed a certain cruelty that he had nurtured in private rooms at late hours. He would bind me with rough rope and beat me to the precipice of death, only to heal my wounds like it never happened and send me on my way with a warm smile.
I learned to heal from him. His lessons were worked into my body, and my soul still bears the scars.
What had my parents expected? They must have known that I would not be treated kindly as a former follower of Rosereth.
In just four years, Barneth had lost interest in me, sending me to the Duke. The kingdom was in turmoil at the time, and the King had suspected that his brother may have plans to usurp him. The Duke had many enemies and spies that he needed answers from. I was all too happy to get them.
How I enjoyed my work. Men, women, and children, no matter who, no matter how young or old, I would take them apart piece by piece until the answers flowed as freely as their blood.
In just a few years, my infamy with the public had grown as the families of my victims saw the state their loved ones were in during their trial. But the Duke was overjoyed. Now people weren't just afraid of the convictions in court — they were afraid of even becoming suspects.
Soon, the gold offered for becoming a spy could not match the terror of getting caught. The Duke faced no open opposition and was given the right to govern his Duchy without the King's interference. A quiet time came over the Duchy and there was no longer much work for me. Most people who were arrested for a crime would plead guilty before interrogation. They feared the torture more than the swift death granted by the headsman.
The Duke now only had one problem: his son Roswelt. Roswelt had a bit of a rebellious streak and hated his father. He loved his uncle, however, since most of his early childhood had been spent with the King in the capital itself. He was made a ward to deter his father from carrying out any schemes.
The Duke only got him back when his opponents had a change of heart. It was likely related to having family in the Duchy who were just one false accusation away from a fate far worse than death.
The Duke's son would send letters to the king describing the meetings and goings-on within the Duchy. Of course, none of them ever left, and a false reply was given back, thanking him for his reports.
Roswelt would do anything he could to attempt to undermine his father's position and generally made a fool of himself in the attempt. I once had started a rumor that he was overly fond of the drink and would spout half-truths in high-class whorehouses.
Most recently, Roswelt had been trying to undermine his father's future prospects by marrying a commoner, all to avoid a political marriage that could strengthen the Duchy and place one of the Duke's supporters in his bed to control him. Of course, failing that, should a son be produced, an accident could be arranged for Roswelt, and the Duke's line would be secured.
No woman in the Duchy would ever consider marrying Roswelt after the first few were accused of being spies and tortured publicly. The rest would simply avoid him by any means necessary.
Finally, Roswelt had gone to the merchant guild and placed an announcement offering that any beautiful young maiden could come from outside the Duchy and be considered a candidate to be his wife after a courtship period to establish trust.
He also offered to pay the wedding dowry simply for making the trip. He likely did this for two reasons: first because of the risk involved, and second because he was spending his father's money hand over fist this way. A contract with the merchant guild had been struck, and the Duke could not decline it without losing some social status by seeming financially weak or even looking as though he was severely hurting trade within the Duchy, as the merchant guild controlled all the importing and exporting of goods with their contacts and supply lines.
The Duke had a simple plan. He recruited a former general of the conquered Garanth Empire who had no love for the king and could at any time raise a group of street scum, deserters, and cutthroats. I was to act as his pet healer and go by the name 'Thads' so as to keep any connection to the Duke a secret.
He ordered us south, our only goal to stop the girls and recover Roswelt's dowries. All but thirty percent went back to the Duke, as I am in charge of divvying out the coin.
Anyone who argues gets my special treatment. The girls are just the perks, to be shared however I deem fit after I am done.
I make a public showing of my skills then turn them over to be used
by the men. I keep one alive only until we get the next one.
The men remain complacent, having seen a live showing of what fate awaits them should they argue or get any ideas about mutiny or desertion. Of course, the truly dark-hearted ones get their thirsts sated while at the same time keeping the worst of their urges under control.
To decrease the possibility of a girl getting through, and to increase the length of my assignment and my number of victims, I had come up with an idea. First, I would have all the coachmen in the area who weren't on retainer with the merchant guild spread rumors about Roswelt's cruelty and murderous lust. Then they were to inform the girls that they could escape their terrible fate with a little silver to boot.
The coachman was then to take the girls directly to our main camp and drop them off, silver in hand.
By doing this, the coachmen would halve their trips and get more weight in their coin pouches.
When I got there after reclaiming the Duke's coin from the merchant carriages, I would be the girls’ white knight, taking their coin and granting them safety — for all of two minutes before reducing them to sobbing lumps of meat.
This last coachman had been doing this for us a long time. I guess there was something different about this girl, something that made him want to save her.
That fool. I always plan for every contingency.
The main road had deep trenches dug into it, guiding anything with wheels to the side at a sharp angle.
The merchants and villagers who would go through this part regularly got only an unpleasant set of bumps, maybe a broken wheel or injured horse. But if you happened to go at full speed, the horses and carriages would almost certainly topple, and our archers would then make short work of them. Any fools just traveling at full speed were simply robbed for extra profits and, most importantly, killed for fun.
"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but she's in pretty bad shape right now. I may have gone too far this time." A cutthroat had approached me, still tying his pants, his hands dripping blood onto the ground.
I smiled. How long had it been since I used a resurrection spell? Killing her a few times might make me feel a little better after trudging up old memories.
Chapter 6: Soul Steal — John
I lay there, hoping my Oscar-worthy death performance had achieved the desired effect. My heart beat furiously in my chest, but I mentally stopped it. It was a strange thing to do, but it felt natural. Basically I was switching modes from the living to the undead. It had only been a short while, but I felt like it had been a lifetime.
I eventually heard shuffling from the bushes.
A loud shrill voice called out, "I think this thing dead!"
Another slightly deeper voice called out, "You sure? This thing look tough!"
The first voice replied, "You heard scream; this thing not move in while, either."
"Yeah, this thing look like it not breathe now,” the second voice said, now sounding closer.
"You think this was ‘cause of big screaming howls from cave all day?" the first voice said, now just a few feet away.
"Maybe thing sick. Look at skin,” the second voice said standing over me.
"It stink! Smell like death. We no eat," the first voice said, now also standing over me.
It was a strange language, mainly composed of chirps and growls, almost all vowels except for the occasional B, G, or K sound. Yep, this was definitely Goblin. Could they really be goblins? I was about to meet a fantasy creature for the first time! True, I would be murdering them, but it was my first step to a fantasy confrontation in a new world!
"What rags those? Glow green, we no touch," the second voice said.
"Look at pants. Pants not bad," the first voice said as if swallowing.
"Pants look stupid. Pants too big. Why you always take pants?" the second voice said with a touch of suspicion.
"Me like pants. What you have ‘gainst pants?" said the first voice defensively.
"We not wear pants! You ever see gob in pants?" the second argued with slight aggravation in its voice.
"I take pants off now." The first voice said, now showing a hint of excitement as if looking forward to something.
"No! You never keep pants after taking off! Me think you have problem!" the second voice shouted.
My pants were pulled down in a swift practiced motion.
"Wow!" the first voice exclaimed excitedly.
"That too big for use! Why you keep looking?" the second voice said with a hint of bitterness.
All this attention to my crotch had an unforeseen effect.
"It getting bigger!" the first voice squealed in delight.
Yeah, this is totally not what I had in mind for my first goblin encounter.
"No! It big enough!" the second voice said with a bit of panic.
I was now at full mast. My heart wasn't beating. Was this the fairy's doing? I would strangle her later! Though it had been some time since I’d gotten laid... What the hell was I thinking?
"You go now, check cave for others! I stay here make sure I, er, you not disturbed," the first voice said, some desperation leaking through.
"Okay! Okay, I go, but first take this as trophy!" the second voice said as I felt a blade on my shaft.
This had gone on long enough. If ever there were a sign I should act now, this was it.
I opened my eyes and grabbed the wrist holding the offending blade and twisted it, breaking it like a couple of dried twigs. I must protect Normal Guy's pride! I heard a scream of sheer shock. I grabbed its throat and squeezed until I felt it give.
"Nooo!" the first voice screamed and dived back while knocking an arrow to a bow.
I threw the now limp body of goblin number two at the first goblin, knocking it over in a crash of limbs. I went to run and promptly tripped on my pants, falling flat on my face and driving both arrows deeper into my flesh.
The goblin quickly retrieved its bow and started backpedaling.
I rose to my feet and performed a mighty bunny hop, landing about a meter away from the terrified goblin. I swiftly swung my weapon, ripping the rag harness, and sloppily decapitated it. The head rolled right in front of me, its eyes looking one last time at my crotch before the light faded from them.
Not what I expected my first battle to be like. I pulled up my pants, awkwardly tucking things away.
I guess goblin number one died doing what it loved.
I pulled out the arrows. Damn, these things hurt — not as much as I thought they would, but that may just be the ghoul parts. Having been formerly undead, they probably weren't the most sensitive. It could also be that I don't feel pain as sharply when I'm in undead mode.
I mentally used Fleshcrafting and focused on mending the damages. After several minutes, I restarted my heart. I sensed I couldn’t stay undead too long or things would start to rot again.
I picked up the two goblin bodies and started walking towards the cave. I think these two were the only ones out here, but you never know when something else may show up.
I entered the cave and carried them to the main chamber so Bob could provide us with a little green light.
I looked them over. It was my first time seeing goblins in the flesh, after all. Truth be told, I felt a little bit bad for killing them, but they had definitely started it.
Goblin two had his head and arm flopped to the side at unnatural angles. I looked closer at the head. He still had a look of extreme terror on his face. His features were what I had expected — long, pointy ears, a long nose, and a mouth filled with jagged, uneven teeth locked in a grimace. He had blotchy, yellow skin. I opened his eyes. Reddish brown. I'm guessing goblins had issues with light sensitivity. They may have been camped out there since night time, as I doubt the sun was pleasant to them. Then again, I was just guessing. Standing up straight, he would be maybe three feet tall. He was skinny with a pot belly indicative of prolonged hunger, long, thin fingers, and large feet.
I looked at goblin one's body. It had t
he same skin color and a similar build. The only difference I noticed was that it seemed to have slightly wider hips, and slightly more meat on its thighs.
I thought back on their conversation. I wonder…
I pulled off both of their loincloths. Yep, goblin one was a gal, but so was goblin number two — wait, nevermind. That poor bastard. I wonder if they were a couple? That might explain some things.
I started to get hard again. What the hell, Normal Guy?! Come to think of it, in all the corpses I've glanced at here, he was one of the only humans that I had seen other than Dipshit, though that part pile was very badly decomposed. Just what the hell had he been doing in goblin territory? I shuddered to think maybe Normal Guy wasn't so normal after all. I saw a mental picture of a middle aged man giving me a thumbs up with an Eric Estrada-esque smile on his face.
But I guess that explains how he likely met his end, as well. Running around a fantasy world trying to hump everything probably wasn't the best survival tactic.
From here on out, Normal Guy will now be known as Perverted Guy, I decided — Pervy Guy for short.
A message flashed in front of my eyes.
Secret Ability Discovered: Perversion.
I mentally clicked it, and it took me to the ability screen.
I worriedly hovered over it.
Perversion: Passive ability.
Perversion is always active and cannot be canceled.
You will have a compulsion to copulate with any viable being or orifice, possibly even suggestive plants or trees.
You will now get erections in even the most stressful of situations.
A Flesh Golem's Ascension Page 4