Reborn 10 - Demonic Valor

by D. W. Jackson

  First Ash was forced to spar with Tolarea and Gena. Once he was finished sparing Ash helped Li cook the meal for the entire group. As Li moved from pot to pot stirring and checking the fire she had an almost angelic smile on her face which Ash couldn’t help but find captivating.

  After the meal Ash helped Celina and Seia wash the dishes then spent a few moments with each of his other wives. Though all he did was simple things they all seemed to enjoy the time he spent with them.

  When it came to sleep they set up a watch rotation. Ash had wanted to take his turn but he the idea was completely denied by everyone. Ash didn’t know why but he hated being told what he could or couldn’t do and hated even more being protected. Before it hadn’t really been that apparent but now it seemed to shine through like a beacon on a clear night.

  Ash knew that it was something that he was going to have to get used to but he wasn’t sure if he could. Sighing Ash pulled the thick comforter over his shoulders and closed his eyes.

  Ever since coming to this world Ash had wanted to explore it but things kept getting in the way. As long as he had been here the only time he had left the duchy was when he went to the demon kingdom. Though it was not under the best of circumstances he was still getting to see a little bit more of the world so Ash couldn’t help but get a little excited.

  Thanks to the building dreams in his mind Ash had a hard time falling asleep so he was still wide awake when he felt something warm slip under the covers and press against his back. Turning slightly Ash found himself staring in the eyes of Li who was quietly looking back at him with a worried tremble in her eyes.

  “My lord,” Li said her voice so weak that Ash had to strain to hear it even though she was only a few inches away from him.

  “I told you to call me Ash when we are alone,” Ash said in a slightly rebuking yet teasing tone. When Li nodded her head but didn’t say anything Ash couldn’t help but feel as if something was bothering her. “Is something on your mind?” Ash asked once the silence had become too overbearing.

  “I don’t think you should meet with the human king,” Li said her voice firmer than he had ever heard it before. “Any of the clan heads or nobles from your human wives lands could perform the same task.”

  “That is true,” Ash admitted. “But I don’t think the king would be able to handle meeting a full demon,” Ash said with a slight chuckle when he tried to imagine the look on the unknown king’s face if he had sent Tolarea’s father to meet with him. Also only a few of the nobles can really be trusted once they get out of eyesight and there is no telling what the clan leaders might door say that could unnecessarily offend. I want to stop the war with the least amount of life lost while retaining the Hawkwing lands independence.”

  “I understand,” Li said though her voice still had a hint of defiance to it. Li seldom talked and when she did it was kept very short but Ash was starting to understand her from the small movements she made whenever something was on her mind.

  Leaning down Ash kissed Li lightly on the forehead in a reassuring manner. “Everything will be fine,” Ash said pulling LI tight into his chest. “I have you and the others here to protect me don’t I. Not to mention the human king would be foolish to start a war with the demon kingdom. We have six time the forces and each one our men are worth three of his.”

  “Then why don’t you just take over his lands?” Li asked softly.

  “I want the demons to renter the world,” Ash said since the thought had crossed his own mind. He hated the way the humans nobles treated the other races. It pulled at his every fiber but he knew that destroying them wouldn’t solve anything. “If we start that with such a war then the other kingdoms might rise up and join together and the end would be fatal for everyone involved.”

  Li nodded her head but she didn’t look convinced of Ash’s words. Giving her a light kiss again Ash pulled her close and closed his eyes.

  10-12

  Over the next three weeks Ash and the others were able to travel without trouble. Ash had been able to raise his dimension door two levels. With each level the distance he could travel increased but the cost increased with the distance. The largest problem that Ash found with the new ability was that he had to be able to see where he was going to travel there. It would also work if he could envision it clearly so he had been working on it by closing his eyes each time he activated the ability.

  The first day Ash had tried to activated the ability without looking where he was going the obsidian door appeared then large cracks appeared on its surface before it shattered like an overheated piece of glass. It took three days before Ash could use the ability with a 50% success rate without looking directly as he designated target. After a little over a week he could now do it with a 90% chance of success.

  Ash also worked on leveling his new port ability at night before sleeping. At first he tried to use it to move his sword but just like with the dimension door ability it activated draining his MP but the sword never appeared. When he couldn’t move the sword Ash tried something smaller and soon learned that the biggest thing that he could move was something the size of a small dagger.

  Though he didn’t use it as much Ash was able to raise port to its second level. Once it reached level 2 not only did the distance raise slightly it also allowed him to teleport something slightly larger though it only upgraded from a small dagger to one with a slightly larger blade. Still it gave him hope that once it was a high enough level he could port his sword which was his ultimate goal.

  Other than training his abilities Ash spent time with his wives. When he had been in the demon kingdom he had been with them almost all day every day but he hadn’t really spent any quality time with them just sitting and talking since most of it was spent within the depths of one labyrinth after another.

  Ash still couldn’t say that he truly loved any of them like he did Emelia but he knew that if any of them were to disappear he would feel the loss. He didn’t know why but this made him happy as it was a sign that they were becoming people he considered true friends.

  Though since they were on the road he couldn’t do anything that normally happened between married couple but each night one of them would sleep next to him enjoying his embrace while talking late into the night before sleeping.

  In the three weeks they had left the lands of the previous Hawkwing duchy and already at the edge of another. So far there had been no attacks. Not even the normal thieves that prayed on travelers appeared but that was most likely do to the fact they were so heavily armed.

  Tonight was only the fourth night that they had the chance to sleep in a decent in. There had been more chances to sleep within the confines of an inn but they looked so run down that Ash was afraid that he would spent most the night fighting off bugs that lived in the bed he had opted for them to sleep under the stars.

  Tonight they were in a fairly large border town and since money was not a problem Ash picked the largest inn that he could find. The room he was currently in was only slightly smaller than the room that Emelia stayed in within her own manor and the bed was so large that Ash and four of his wives could sleep comfortable. It was even long enough that Tolarea could fully stretch out on it.

  Though they were in a city Ash didn’t feel very comfortable since everyone openly started at him and his escorts. There was a decent number of people with demon blood in the world but it had been a long time since full blood demons had been seen in the outside world. With ten full blood demons walking opening they were bound to draw more than a few stares.

  Since it was one of the few chances that Ash had to rest in an inn Ash took the chance to pull out some blanks pieces of parchment and started to write down all his abilities. The more he looked at the more he noticed that he had neglected many of them that could be used.

  Ash sighed and looked out the window as he started to think of what would happen in the future.

  Notes

  Notes

  Name: Ash

  Leve
l: 41

  Experience needed for next level: 1,541,452

  Race: Human/Demon 70/30

  Occupation: intermediate gambler

  Title: First Knight

  Blessings: Blessing of the reaper

  HP: 1400/1400

  MP 1320/1320

  SP 267/267

  Strength: 79 (+10) (+2) (+1) (+10) (+10) (+194)

  Vitality: 82 (+3) (+202)

  Agility: 56 (+10) (+5) (+132)

  Stamina 77 (+5) (+191)

  Spirit 38 (+10) (+97)

  Intelligence: 67 (+175)

  Endurance: 40 (+10) (+1) (+2) (+10) (+102)

  Luck: 232 (+999) (+1)

  (Special stats)

  Hardness: 1

  Soul MP: 920

  Sun Mana: 131

  Abilities

  Passive:

  Devil’s Luck: 500% bonus to luck.

  Fleet foot: +10 to agility. Max

  Wolf eyes: See in the dark. Level Max

  Mining: Ability to use a pick to extract ore from hidden locations. Able to tell where mining locations are located. Level 2- 23%

  Poison resistance: level 2-81%: 10% poison resistance.

  Grave domain: Damage resistance to whole body with the exception of the head increased by 10%.

  Spider senses: able to detect prey that is up to three levels higher within a 200 foot radius. Able to sense hostile intent within a 100 foot radius. Level max%.

  [Fire resistance: 15% fire resistance. Level 3-32%.]

  [Natural armor (small). When fighting your skin acts as a natural armor blocking 10% of physical damage. Level: max.]

  [Frost resistance: 10% resistance to frost damage. Level 2-47%.]

  [Yeti strength: +10 to strength. Level Max%.]

  [Electric resistance. 5% resistance to energy attacks. Level 1-87%.]

  [Water glide. When moving in water it flows naturally around you decreasing water resistance by 25%. Level max.]

  [Cloak of shadows: When in a dark area cloak of shadows wraps you in shadows making it harder for you to be detected.]

  Dragon sight: You can see the magical flow of items and creatures

  [Reaper’s sight: people who have received the ire of the goddess will now appear with a small sickle above their head.]

  [Reaper’s soul: after killing a person who has been marked by the goddess you will absorb a portion of their soul and receive any abilities they possess.]

  [Earth affinity- cost of using earth related skills will be reduced by 14% and power of earth related skills will be boosted 7%. Level 3-96%.]

  [Mental resist- 5% bonus when attacked by a mental attack. Level 1-48%]

  [Iron stomach: for each ounce of iron you eat your strength will raise by 1 but at the same time your intelligence will be reduced by 1.]

  [Fire Affinity - cost of using fire related skills and abilities will be reduced by 10% and power of fire related skills and abilities will be boosted 5%. Level 1-73%.]

  [Blood drain- ability to absorb 1% of a person’s experience by drinking their blood after their death.]

  [Heart of stone: slowly absorbs the essence of the earth into your blood strengthening the body over time. Level max.]

  [Diamond soul: Ability to convert MP into Soul MP. Ratio 100/1. Level 1-76%]

  [Poison affinity: cost of using poison related skills and abilities will be reduced by 10% and power of fire related skills and abilities will be boosted 5%. Level 1-98%.]

  [Ogre’s strength: +.1% to strength. Level- Max.]

  [Blood strengthening- cost 10 vitality: gain 1 point in hardness. Level 1-0%.]

  [Light shield. Cost ***Sun mana. Blocks attacks using the power of light energies.]

  [Sun mana. For every one hour spent under the sun gain 1 sun mana.]

  [Echo location: advanced hearing that allows you to the placement of people and items even in total darkness. Level max.]

  [Darkness resistance: 5% reduction in damage from any sources using the darkness element. Level 1-30%.]

  [Darkness affinity: cost of using darkness attribute skills or abilities will be reduced by 10%. Level 1-23%.]

  [Dark soul: turn 100HP into soul MP.]

  [Bolstered resilience- increase damage resistance by 5%. Level 1-33%.]

  Active:

  Demon Absorption: Cost 25MP: Absorb defeated enemies to obtain skills. Level 4- 53%

  Bash: Cost 1SP - Slam into enemies with your body to do X10 damage. Level Max%

  Rabbit Punch: Cost 1Sp- Using feet or hands quickly lash out with a lighting quick attack. Level max.

  Stab: Cost 5 SP- Thrust forward with weapon (sword, spear.) level 3-8%

  Poison spit: Cost 5MP. Level Max%: Spit a corrosive poison that sticks to enemy doing 5 damage a second for ten seconds.

  Analyze ability. Cost 5MP: Ability to see opponents name, level and skill as long as they are no more than 5 levels above you. Level max.

  [Poison: cost 10MP- ability to make a small amount of toxin that paralyzes. Can be placed on weapons.]

  [Sticky thread: cost 15MP- shoot out a stream of sticky thread to trap opponents.]

  Stealth: Cost 20 MP. Erase your presence from enemies any movement cancels the ability.

  [Fire ball: cost 10MP. Create two ball’s of fire and throw it at an enemy. Level 3-15%.]

  [Cone of frost: Cost 15MP: send out a cone of frost freezing everything in its path. Causes 15 frost damage every second for eight seconds. Level 3-53%]

  [Crushing blow: cost 5SP: strike with a hard blow bypassing 55% of opponent’s defense. Level 2-32%]

  [Shock armor: cost 12MP. Covers a small area with electoral energy that will stun an opponent struck with it for two seconds. Level 2-11%.]

  [Shock strike: cost 25MP. Hit an opponent with an energy attack that paralyses the part struck for seven minutes. Level 2-54%.]

  [Pounce: cost 5SP jump straight forward with great speed doing 2x normal damage.]

  [Poison vine whip: cost 40MP. Call a vine dripping with paralyzing poison to strike your opponent. Level 1-99%.]

  [Reaper’s blessing: cost 50MP- bless a weapon or item with the goddess’s power. Lasts for twenty-four hours.]

  [Sharp strike: cost 10SP- strike with a bladed weapon to deal 1.5 the normal damage. Increased chance for a critical strike. Level 1-92%]

  [Fire lance: cost 25MP- casts a long lance of fire. Level 2-18%]

  [Ice spear 15MP- coat a weapon in ice giving it an added ice attribute to its attack. Level 1-72%.]

  [Ice shield 20MP- created a shield of ice that can fend off attacks. Level 1-21%]

  [Lullaby of subduction: cost 20MP- chance to charm an enemy confusing them. A strike releases the confused state. Level 1-21%]

  [Death wail: Cost 40MP- a loud wail that strikes at the mind of them enemy deal direct damage. Damage based off of spirit. Level 1-41%]

  [Shadow whip: cost 20MP, 5SP- attack with a whip made out of pure shadow that will follow the enemy wherever they try to run. Level 3-51%.]

  [Shimmer: cost 10SP- surrounds the body with light making it hard to discern movement.]

  [Shadow armor: Cost 25MP 10SP; creates an armor made of shadows to protect the caster.]

  [Mana manipulation: Cost: 30MP- able to manipulate pure mana and give it form. Level 4-31%]

  [Hide: Cost 10SP- erase your presence.]

  [Boost: Cost 50%SP- Double all stats.]

  [Dark eyes: cost 50MP- strike directly at the soul of the opponent causing them to lose strength and dealing a small amount of damage. Level 1-32%]

  [Flame sword- cost 30MP coat a weapon in flame essence.]

  [Burn out- Turn 10% of your HP into a white hot flame to attack your opponents.]

  [Infuse earth-cost ***- infuse earth with magical energy to strength it. Level 3-42%]

  [Earth essence: cost ***- ability to infuse MP with earth essence. Level 3-27%]

  [Earth shield: Cost 40MP- create a stone shield made of condensed earth. Level 1-34%]

  [Toxin- cost 25MP: spew out a cloud of toxic poiso
n that does 1 damage per second for five minutes. Level 1-88%]

  [Poison control- cost ***: merge poison with mana to use it more freely. Level 2-12%]

  [Secrete- cost ***: create a liquid form of poison that will last until needed. Cost depends on poison made and amount created. Level 2-31%]

  [Hemlock oil- cost 60MP: thin oil that can be used as medicine for swelling and pain when used in very small amounts. Causes complete paralysis when used in a concentrated form. Level 1- 32%.]

  [Sealing poison-cost 60MP 10SP: seals all MP and SP based abilities and skills for 120 seconds. Level 2-6%.]

  [Slash- cost 5SP: create a blade of light that extends the reach of your blade. Level 2-17%.]

  [Sunder- cost 25SP 5MP: hard strike that has a large chance of crushing or cutting through armor. Level 2-46%]

  [Blood strike- cost 40SP 20HP: a fluid strike that ignores all defense to strike directly at an opponent’s heart. Level 2-61%.]

  [Heal: cost 10MP- heal 5HP. Level 1-18%]