The beast’s form emerged in my vision.
I squinted. What the bloody hell is that?
A tall bird—almost like an ostrich—ran towards us. It was easily eight feet tall, probably pushing nine, and was completely black other than the line of white that circled around the base of its neck.
I focused on its features and activated my Analyze skill.
DING!
Race
Storm Ostrich
Level
43
Storm Ostrich? I blinked. And at a high level, too.
The beast was a mere five yards from us, now. The trees ahead came crashing down and we scampered out of the way. Luna instantly shot to the ostrich and swung at its neck, but the creature quickly turned around, opening its mouth. A blast of water surged out, sending the elf flying into the trunk of a tree.
Damn, so that’s what the “storm” is for. I moved forward. The neck was the easy weak point—a large target, and relatively simple to cut into.
Valentine thrust her hands into the air.
“Don’t cast an attack spell!” I yelled. “Agility boost and a bright flash.”
She nodded and her lips moved. A white glow emerged around me, and an intense light burst through a second later. The ostrich screeched and thrashed around. It ran into a tree and cracked the trunk with one blow.
Damn it. It’s too strong. I wasn’t going to be able to take it down. I needed to plan for multiple strikes. With my Emperor’s Eye skill, I caught Luna getting up in the corner of my vision.
“Valentine, give Luna an agility boost,” I said. “Luna, I’ll give you a distraction. Strike its neck.”
We all moved at once. I saw the white glow around Luna, and held my daggers up above me. I threw them hard at the beast—even though they weren’t really throwing knives. One harmlessly hit the ostrich’s side, but the other slashed into its short wings. It turned to me, and its mouth opened. A sprinkle of water shone in front of its mouth. Its water blast was ready. I could almost feel the flow rush onto me.
“Bad birdie!” Luna spun her double-blade at an insane speed, and it went clean through the ostrich’s neck. The head flew through the air, thudded into a tree trunk, and dropped back to the ground. The ostrich’s body collapsed, and silence deafened my ears.
We’d won.
Just like that.
DING!
Congratulations! Your party has defeated:
Storm Ostrich (Lv. 39)!
That bird is always a weird one. But hey, you took it down in a flash, and someone else slit the throat this time. That counts as some kind of progress. Right? Reward: 13000 XP
Yes, I chuckled. Someone else slit a throat for once.
DING!
Congratulations! Your level has increased!
Level 20!
Great job! You’ve not only surpassed the level the Henway twins were at when you left, but you got there by having someone else slit a throat for you. Outsourcing is not always the best option, but looks like the elf is a keeper. You gain 4 stat points to spend on your skills. You also gain a 25% advancement to the skill of your choice.
I dismissed the screens. Outsourcing. I chuckled. I like to slit throats myself, thank you.
I looked at the elf. She stood above the fallen ostrich and stared at it. “Yes, we can cook it for dinner,” I said.
Luna look at me, and her eyes gleamed. “Steamed buns?”
***
“What is it with her and the steamed buns?”
We trod through the forest. The sun was setting now, and so we only had a few more minutes before everything turned pitch black. Only a few minutes left to find any good herbs that might be useful later on.
“I don’t know why she’s obsessed with them,” Stan said. His voice was softer than usual, and he’d gone back to holding his blanket instead of tying it around his neck. I frowned. Maybe the knot just came out.
We stepped through a few trees and scanned the bushes around them. I used my Herb Lore skill a few times, but didn’t find anything valuable.
“Oh, look.” Stan pointed to a bush a little further ahead. It was a normal one, but each leaf had a white streak passing through the middle. I strode to it and plucked a stalk off.
DING!
You have found a new plant.
White-Striped Wild Spinach!
A plant with an odd white stripe down its middle. It is said people who ingest it will heal faster. As long as you can get past its terribly bitter taste, that is. Would you like to transfer this item to your Item Inventory?
Yes
No
“Ah, I’ve heard of this before,” I said. “It increases health regeneration by a little, doesn’t it?”
Stan nodded. “The purple-striped variety of this increases Stamina Regeneration. If this white one is close by, that might be too.”
I smiled. “I didn’t know you had this much of an interest in herbs.”
“The man I’ve lived with since I was a little boy … he was an alchemist.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t know there was an alchemist in the city,” I said. “Maybe if we go back, I can meet him sometime.”
The little vampire looked at me, and then down at the plants.
I blinked. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s dead.”
Ah. I kept silent.
“He took me in when I was just a little kid. He’d known what kind of monster I was, and still protected me all along. But once he was gone, it took the Knights only a few weeks to find me. I can’t even use the Dark Arts and they convicted me for doing exactly that.”
He knelt and touched a plant, but his hands were shaking.
“You know. That battle back there? The three of you worked so well together, and yet I’m this piece that just can’t seem to fit anywhere.” He wiped his eyes. “Maybe it would be better if I could use the Dart Arts. At least I’d be good for something.”
I stood beside him, but didn’t look at his face. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Stan,” I said. “This world is unfair. There is no proper gauge for what a person’s worth is in this world. We set standards on our own, and we judge people based on it. Do you really think a system like that is ever without its flaws?”
He stood silent.
“You’re not a fighter. You’re an alchemist,” I said. “Why are you judging yourself as a fighter, then? That’s like saying Luna is useless because she can’t brew a single potion. That doesn’t seem fair to her, or to anyone else.”
Stan wiped his eyes. “Do you think I belong here, Levi?” His voice cracked. “Or am I just useless baggage?”
“You’re useful, Stan.” I smiled. “More than you know.”
***
I sat beneath a large tree. Luna and Stan were huddled up on the one opposite to me, with Stan’s blanket covering them both.
“You seem troubled,” a voice whispered. Valentine sat down next to me. “You don’t have to keep watch alone, you know.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Helps me … think about things.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And there’s a lot to think about?”
I smiled. “There always is.”
“So,” she said. “I know we had that falling out before and—”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t have to go assuming the worst of you from the get-go.”
“It was framed that way.” She eased her back against the tree trunk. “There’s no helping it.”
“I guess.”
The leaves rustled over us as a strand of wind passed through. Valentine looked up. “Do you know why I want that relic, Levi?”
“Fame?”
She smiled. “All the nobles, as well as the king, sincerely think that the princess needs to be protected. They think I’m a precious flower that can’t even be touched.”
I chuckled.
“Right?!” she said, and then hushed down her voice. “Right?”
“So your father is
the man you’re trying to prove something to?”
She nodded. “If I don’t, then when I go back … I’ll have to live in that hell again.”
“You’ll get to the relic, don’t worry.”
“I hope so.” She looked at me. “What are you searching for the relic for? You said you’d been hunting after it for years. That seems like an odd thing for someone to do throughout their teenage years.”
I smiled. “It is an odd thing.” I shifted, and then eased my muscles, relaxing them all. “I guess I’m similar to you,” I said. “I have something I need to prove to someone, that I’m not backing down from, no matter what.”
“I see.”
“Although, if I don’t get it, I’m going to go back to a hellish life, too.”
Valentine looked around us. “You know, in my book of Eternals, there’s a line that the Death Lord supposedly said. ‘Hell isn’t a place you go to. It is something you craft out of your own ill-will’.”
I chuckled. “Dark. Maybe I’m rubbing off on you.”
“Of course it’s dark,” she said. “I actually liked reading about the Death Lord. The other Eternals in my book were so … unrealistic. A man who helps everyone, who serves their needs, who has the brightest smile anyone has ever seen. That sounds less like a man and more like a tool.”
“Most people are like that. Or, at least, they’d like to think they’re like that.”
“There were a few Eternals that interested me, though—the Phantom Lord, the Dark Lord—but the Death Lord was … intriguing, to say the least. Of course, when I read about them all at first, I found them despicable people, and I still think that what they did to the world was beyond unacceptable. But what they said … that was different. I can’t help but feel intrigued by their words.”
“You’re probably looking into it too much,” I said. “You need a break.”
“Did I ever tell you?” She looked at me. “The book of Eternals I have is a special edition. My grandfather got it from a neighbouring king a very, very long time ago.”
“What’s so special about it?”
She smiled. “It has illustrated images of a few Eternals, and the people who served them.”
My eyes widened.
She looked into my gaze, with a stare that pierced my mind. “They say the eyes never change.” Her voice was soft.
My chest thumped. “Valentine, I—”
“Levi, you're the Death Lord’s commander, aren't you?”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Horace sighed. “What do I do today?” he mumbled.
Boredom was eating away at him. He snapped his fingers, and large, circular feed emerged before him. He swiped his finger sideways through the air and the image changed. He saw a young man with silver hair and silver eyes, running down a mountain.
“Ugh,” he mumbled. “It isn’t time to mess with him yet.
He moved his finger again and the image changed. A young woman with long, dark hair and thin red lips stood in a field of black grass. A golden object swung through the air, and a dark, chaotic gale surged out from behind her.
“Definitely can’t meddle there,” he sighed.
He moved his hand a couple of times, and different images flashed through the circular outline.
“There!” He pinched his fingers together and the rotating scenes fixed onto one feed—a young man charging out of what seemed to be the burning remains of some kind of camp.
Interesting. Why was this on his feed?
He thought for a while, but he couldn’t figure it out. He tried thinking of the last time he’d seen this boy, but he couldn’t remember that either. He frowned. Surely, he couldn’t have put a feed on his list randomly without watching it before—could he have?
This wasn’t even the random list. It was the one he knew would keep him entertained when he needed it most.
“I wonder how many years it has been since I added him in.” He gazed at the black-haired boy.
For a second, the being looked right into the feed, and Horace caught a glimpse of his eyes—of the storming violet that raged within them.
Laughter echoed from his lips. “It’s you,” he hissed. “I remember now.”
Horace gripped the side of his throne, and his armored fingers scratched the tough crystal with a shrill screech. A smirk appeared on his face.
“You have become more interesting now, Levi Ryder.”
***
I blinked. “Valentine, what are you talking about?”
The princess leaned close to me, and her eyes glared into mine. “You heard what I just said.”
“You can’t be serious,” I said. “What do you mean I’m the Death Lord’s commander? Is this all some big joke?”
She looked at me for a second more, and then moved back to where she was. “It’s not a joke.”
“Then what did you mean by it?”
“That books I have,” she began, her voice stern, “said the Death Lord had certain special followers. Commanders, per se. And they were all said to have violet eyes, the same shade as yours.”
“And you think I’m one of these people?”
“I saw the eyes.”
“You keep saying that,” I said. “What does it even mean?’
“The illustrations in that book have faces. I’ve seen the one of the generals said to serve the Death Lord. His eyes are the exact same as yours.”
I scratched my chin. “So you’re saying any guy with my kind of eyes could technically be a general of the Death Lord … even though the Death Lord has been gone for, what, three thousand years or something?”
Her lips parted, but she spoke only a few seconds later. “I’ve never seen anyone with your kind of eyes before.”
“Yes, but you also haven’t visited a lot of places before, either.”
She frowned. “The things you say sound similar to things that would be said by a person following the Death Lord’s ideology.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “People who’ve seen death, or felt its after effects, have that kind of dark ideation. People that have been hurt time and again are going to be dark. You can’t expect me to take everything the world hurls at me and then just be all smiley and warm, can you?”
She stayed silent.
“Look.” I sighed. “This should convince you. Do you really think a kid like me” —I pointed to myself— “A weak kid who got thrashed around all the time—would actually be someone who had lived three thousand years? Do I look like someone who would be chosen by the Death Lord to be his commander?”
“That … uh….” She blinked, and then pouted. A hundred emotions ran across her face in a few seconds, and then she exhaled. “You’re right.” She looked at me. “I guess I was mistaken, then…. I’m sorry about that.”
I shook my head. “You just voiced your concerns. It’s fine.”
Luna shifted in her sleep, and her hand slapped the trunk she was sleeping against. “Steamed buns,” she mumbled.
“I’ll go set her down properly.” Valentine got up. “Her wounds may open up again if she brushes them against something.”
I nodded, and the princess walked away. I rested my head against the tree trunk, looking up at the sky. Stars shone through the gaps in the leaves, but the moon was nowhere in sight. I was never one for pretty scenery, but I looked at the night sky—not for the stars, but for the darkness around them.
I sighed. “That's right, isn't it?” My voice was soft. “A pathetic kid like me could never be one of the Death Lord’s commanders.”
***
I sliced through the creepers in front of me. The strings of greenery fell to the forest floor and we made our way through. So many creeper-curtains, I thought, and cut through another one. It was only a few minutes after sunrise, but we were short on time, so we had to keep moving every second of daylight we had. My eyes, though, were the opposite of sharp, and I could almost feel the bags under them. Shouldn’t have stood watch the whole of last
night, I thought.
I’d rather do that than regret it, though. Who knew what kind of evils lived within this place.
“Levi.” Stan walked up to me with a red flower in his hands. It had full, silky petals, and a sweet scent came from it.
My eyes narrowed. “A Solar Hibiscus?”
He nodded. “It’s a very rare herb,” he said. “My master used to pay thousands of Sol to get these from traveling merchants. It’s funny how there was an actual bush of these back there.”
I looked around at the specks of color in the corners of my vision. “Yeah. This place really is a treasure trove for an alchemist or herbalist.”
A darker curtain of creepers hung from the tree ahead. It was definitely thicker, and went all the way down to the floor. I slashed at it with my dagger, but the weapon bounced off. Damn it. I ran my finger over the blade, checking if it was damaged.
“Luna want to cut!” The elf strode next to me, her weapon already in her hand.
“Fine, you can do it.” I stepped back.
The elf spun her blades, and in an instant, a plethora of cut vines and creepers piled up on the ground. A neatly-cut arch stood in the thick curtain, and Luna stood under it, beaming.
Valentine clapped. “Good job.”
“That’s actually pretty impressive,” I said.
“Luna deserves reward!” the elf said.
I grinned. “We’ll see.”
We walked through the curtains, and from then on, Luna took over all the cutting duty. I was a little reluctant, because she was quite the volatile spirit. There was no telling what she might do, flailing those blades around.
Just trust her, I thought.
“Oooooh.” Luna skipped ahead. “Pretty flower!”
I followed her motion. A sole creeper hung down from the next tree, and a single red rose grew on it. It hadn’t bloomed yet, but its color was striking. My eyes moved down, and then I froze. There were cracks in the ground beneath her, and they didn’t look like normal ones. Those were no natural phenomenon.
Ascend: A World of Ga'em LitRPG (The Chaos Emperor Book 1) Page 23