Stray Elf: Lost in the System

VII.

It was not long until we reached the rest of the Sarwitz soldiers.

They were left strewn across the fields in pieces, soaking the ground and our boots with rivers of blood. We were told to keep our guard up, but given the state these humans were left in after the cavalry’s pass, it seemed like we did not have to worry about any resistance. So I thought, but a hand wrapped itself around my ankle and made me yelp. This again?

I raised my halberd up and prepared for an ambush, but realized the hand belonged to a demon. He looked up at me with a bewildered eye. The other was missing and his horn was smashed into his skull. He was begging me or wailing in pain, one or the other, as his grip loosened. I smiled at him mirthlessly, then plunged my blade into him.

Number of souls defeated: 76

Huh, so killing an ally also counted towards the level up threshold. This skill only desired the death of others, and I brought it everywhere I went. It dawned on me that I did not feel any discomfort or pain after taking a blow from that Crowned entity. My Status skill put me beyond normal man and my fellow demons, I was sure. Nor did I feel any remorse for killing fifty men. Was I also a demon? Was I a cold hearted killer in my old life? I wondered. Yokgu grunted, seemingly out of approval of my mercy killing, though I secretly did it just to see if my Skill would act upon it.

“Healers are back at the Fort,” he scratched his chin. “You did the right thing. He wouldn’t make it.”

“Hey,” I decided to ask something else that’s been on my mind after some silence. “Some of those humans… They can speak a different language than us, right?”

“A crude one, yes,” he shrugged. “Hardly a language, if you ask me. Too much blah blah blah, and too much fluff! Stuck up creatures.”

“That knight I defeated spoke a phrase I have been hearing a lot,” I tried to mimic the sound of the human, but my mouth could not keep up with it. Yokgu laughed as we trudged along.

“You would make a terrible human,” he joked. I did not know if that was a good thing or not, but shrugged instead.

“For the Goddess Usalah,” someone mused next to us. The mage was behind us. I was glad he lived through the cavalry charge. Yogku stared at him, then looked at me in disbelief.

“Holy shit!” He waved his hands and pointed for Ake’s attention. “Commander, he said something!”

“Hells, orc,” Ake scolded the orc by waving one massive arm at him. “Now we won’t hear from him again in another few months.”

“Of course,” I groaned. “The first human phrase I learned was a religious one.”

A slight chuckle escaped the mage, and I could tell he was glancing at me. The mage was so quiet I hardly had a clue he existed, let alone actually gave him a good look. His robes were clean, red and blue. Perhaps, those colors signified which moon he was attuned to. Reaver, the red moon and Cold, the blue moon. To my surprise, he had one eye creasing the blindfold that covered the top half of his head. A cyclops, huh?

“You and I, Nameless,” the mage spoke again. For a cyclops with a similar build to Yokgu, he certainly had a much more calming voice. “We have much to discuss later.”

“Huh,” I sighed. “Prah. Sah…”

“On your magical energy,” he spoke again quietly under Yokgu’s laughter. That only made me feel embarrassed. I knew nothing of magic in this world, other than it was connected to the moons and their goddesses somehow.

We approached the Damned Army, who hailed us by stomping their flags and feet. I noticed the situation seemed much more relaxed now that most of the humans were wiped out. Ake reported to a certain knight, giving me an opportunity to look around. The Hatred Army stretched all the way to the west along the woods, with siege weapons and walls being built by their slave soldiers. The surviving Tusk Army has joined the Damned Army stationed in the south.

Such formations and massive armies surrounding the city were sure to do a number on its occupants. I narrowed my eyes at the city, noticing a massive statue’s head peeking behind her walls. I presumed it was their Goddess’s statue, reaching up to the sky. As dusk began to fall, the moons began their descent to the world and her hands lined up perfectly with the moon fall.

It was one of the moons that lacked color. A colorless moon fall seemingly did not make anyone’s magic stronger, along the shattered White Moon of House Folly. It being destroyed in the sky while still maintaining its orbit perplexed me, but since it was magic I disregarded anything fitting it in reality. It seemed as if reality forgave magic for bringing in physical things like fire and water from nothing. Using magical energy seemed to not have any negative consequences if one did not overextend themselves.

I avoided the mage, since thinking about magic gave me a headache, but he was meditating anyways. For a siege, there seemed to be nothing happening. Were we merely setting up a blockade and cutting off supplies? The ocean’s salt could be felt in the air, and the Demon’s Abyssal Army was waging war somewhere else. I shook my head. Attrition was not an option.

So I said that, but a week has passed.

I marched by with two logs on my shoulders, while the slave soldiers gawked. My desire to take breaks has evaporated over the week due to multiple incidents, so I went back to building these shoddy villages. The pile I had given them was considerably larger than the one they started with, but I had nothing better to do. The orders were to wait, while Ake argued with the higher officers over the crushing of the Presha army. Or was it Perra? The arguments ended when Ake cleaved an official in half and our pay was promptly received.

Might is right, in Demon civilization such troubled circumstances can be resolved with trial by combat. I supposed some of those trials just so happened to be more spontaneous than others as I watched them carry out the pieces of the officer who offended Commander Ake in sacks. It was not like we had anything to spend it on. Merchants were not coming around this part of the country anytime soon, which was why we were constructing these temporary towns to bring them in. The healers were busy, so luckily I did not have to see Nanishtar anywhere.

“Get back to work,” I told the slave soldiers.

They immediately scrambled back to action. There were several mining crews dispatched at other sites, providing rocks and other materials for the siege weapons. More importantly, the tunnels created were paramount to the enemy walls’ collapse while magic and the rocks were used to crush humans. Yokgu laughed at my strictness, but I felt like another soldier in charge would have killed a few of them to prove some kind of point. They were humans, stranger looking creatures and beast people, swept up in the war. It appeared that Demons did not want to destroy all humans and other races until they ran out of purpose, though even that was unclear.

The Ack’Sa was a mysterious Demon King.

Our wide spread construction must have been unnerving, but I began to notice other strange buildings dotting along the plains closer to the city’s walls. One appeared to be a large stage, and the others were ritual sites. I rolled my eyes after the cyclops explained what they were. Rituals only added to the list of magic I could not understand. The christening of new Demon Lords who used summoning magic, however, was a simple concept to understand. Reach in the infernal and pluck a demon out of it to boss around. All this in broad daylight, but another week has gone by and no word on anything happening.

I sat with the goblin Gruu, who suspiciously no longer had any of his massive wagons. He gave me a wink as a response to my questions on the missing ogres. He threw the wooden bowl in the campfire and grumbled out his complaints.

“Those bloody human sellers better show up with some kind of alchohol, I tell you,” he slapped his knees. “Soup ain’t right without it. War, isn’t ain’t good without it.”

Drinking on the job? I chuckled. Not a chance for me.

“What’s on your mind, Nameless?” Gruu eyed me suspiciously. “You never smile like that.”

Oh, did it escape? I felt embarrassed. Smiling was a bad thing for someone like me. Gruu belched out something so fierce the campfire waned, and smacked his knees again. Despite the goblin’s terrible manners, he never once laughed at my smile. Or tried anything else. It was rare enough that I took my helmet off anyways. He pointed at me, then at the sky-reaching statue in the city.

“Well, I’ll put ya in a downer mood, Nameless,” the goblin croaked. “Intelligence is runnin’ amok with their mouths. Heroes are afoot. Human ones, armed with Unique Skills.”

I looked at Gruu and raised an eyebrow. The one hero I knew anything about was because of that city we visited before our invasion began. St. Kueyo, the woman who stopped an army before the Hells rose. A Unique Skill, however, was simultaneously both a new and old concept to me. I believed my Status Skill was unique only to me, allowing me to outpace even tough enemies that could easily kill units by themselves. I gasped, realizing that if these Heroes had skills like mine, they must be extremely dangerous.

“You get it now,” Gruu growled and waved an arm back to the city. “They possess Skills and magic far beyond an army’s worth. And if they’re in there, that Goddess’s statue will protect them.”

I suspected as much. The night grew colder and I was left on patrol to think about Heroes. That statue seemed much more important to destroy now than ever before these Heroes arrived. I thought it was just a religious thing, but Goddesses and magic was real in this world. I should not take that lightly. An enemy with a Power or a Spirit skill could be defeated, I believed, but a Unique skill possesses the advantage of being unknown. In a fight, unpredictability could easily turn the tables in favor for the loser during a battle. It would be even worse if those Skills were empowered by the Goddess of Man herself. I wondered if that powerful Skill that adventurer Skill Holder used on me back in the woods was a Unique one.

The next day, however, the Horn Bearers sounded their call. The Tusks assembled, and we were headed to the site of the big stage that was built a couple of weeks ago.

“Heard there were surrender talks with the humans a few hours ago,” Yokgu told me as we marched along. The line of soldiers were vast, stretching as far as I could see. The stage, however, was calling for us this time.

As we stood atop of the stage, I could tell trouble was afoot when both the Damned soldiers and Hatred soldiers were gathered around. I squinted at the city, which had human guards along its walls witnessing us come up on stage. I steeled myself for whatever may happen next, but still found myself woefully unprepared at the sight of Vastil and the General from St. Kueyo greeted us with sinister smiles.

I gulped underneath my helmet, but noticed that no alerts appeared in my status skill. Why did I get such a nervous feeling around that General? He must be an extremely powerful man if I sensed this. We slowly approached and lined up as soldiers in the presence of a General. Why did this feel like a procession? Vastil marched ahead of the General and unrolled a scroll. No horns? I wondered.

“Bring General Tulroz the Nameless!”

The Nameless? That was me! I had no choice, and I frantically checked my alerts for any sign of danger. There was still nothing warning me of what was to come. I stepped forward and saluted. I have never been front and center like this. Vastil took his helmet off and approached me with that evil smile of his.

“Kneel,” he commanded. Am I going to die?

Heavy boots stepped closer to me and I was instantly struck with a vision from months ago. Were those the same boots I heard crunching towards me in that snow storm? Who was this man? Immediately, red runes started forming a circle around me and the horns started their chorus.

“You’ve grown so well, Child,” the General declared proudly. The runes began to glow with hellish complexity, eventually filling the circle with rings and inner layers of even more writings. This magic was going to hurt, I grit my teeth so hard I barely heard his declaration. “I name thee, Champion!”

A roar of approval erupted amongst the soldiers including my fellow Tusks, and the runes beneath me ignited, cracking and releasing their fiery magic. The noise was loud enough, but the pain searing my insides proved to be a match as I was engulfed in the flames. Why must I always be the unlucky one?

Strangely, I suddenly felt unusually lighter and my armor was intact. The pain evaporated. There was not even a burn on my skin as the flames died down. General Tulroz raised a single hand, and the crowds silenced.

“Hail our new Champion!” He chuckled. “I expect great things from you tomorrow. For a great duel against their champion and you starts the seige tomorrow.”

Vastil clapped with the crowds as well, but it seemed like he was taking pleasure in the pain I received during this so-called Champion ritual. I cursed my luck Stat. It was dragging me further into the Hells. This ritual would strike fear in the humans in their city, as a newly risen Champion was created right before their eyes in order to answer their conditions. The only question was left for me to think over: Who was the Crowned Champion of the Humans I will face tomorrow? I was not sure if I would be able to defeat a Hero, I worried, as Yokgu punched me in the shoulder in his way of approval.

Later, I inspected myself near the river, I noticed the blazing runes that were inflicted upon me still crawled along the skin of my arms. I felt like a light stick. This was not good. Checking my Status showed no changes to my level up objective, but my INT stat seemed to be raised to E from F. If INT stood for Intelligence, I wondered how much smarter I could be now that it was apparently improved. I certainly didn’t feel smarter.

I caught a glimpse of my elven face, a so-called Nameless face, in the reflection of the river waters under the moonlight. I could be beautiful if I was not covered in dirt and blood all the time. My hair was tangled down to the roots, probably covered by all kinds of disgusting fluids and matted beyond what the river waters could help with.

I sighed. I covered myself up which hid the glowing runes, thankfully, so I returned and collapsed inside my hut. This place has become a fully built village, complete with merchants, captured humans growing crops for us and the slave soldiers built free housing for us. Despite not being in combat for awhile, I still could fall asleep easily, preferring the floor instead of the shoddy bed they had in this place. There was no use worrying about who my opponent was. I will survive this trial or die trying.

CON: E

STR: B

DEX: B

INT: E (+1 Bonus Grade)

STA: D

Luck: N/A

The morning light struck me earlier than I would like, as we woke to the horns. I cracked my neck, only to realize my skin still glowed from those runes. I groaned and threw on my armor. We assembled and prepared to move out where the Commander had told us.

“It’s time!” Yokgu beat his chest. Samuel looked at him oddly, but then looked at me.

“Are you really going to duel someone?” He asked me.

“I guess so,” I shrugged. “Since I’m a so-called Champion.”

“Don’t you think we’re a little too close to the walls?” Silmil narrowed her eyes at the human soldiers carefully holding their bows. Caspan simply grunted, while I felt even more nervous. Were humans of this world bound by such honor and traditions? Still, both the Demon armies have been gathered here for quite some time without any arrows or magic fired. Our war machines were lined up against the walls to the west of here, while we were here at the south. It seemed if war broke out now, we were at an overwhelming advantage. The mines were nearly complete the last time I checked, although that must have been months ago. Sieges were this long, huh?

Regardless of the outcome of this duel, it seemed the Demons were bent on not playing fair. A grim smile curled my lips, but luckily my helmet covered it. There was no longer time to chat, as hands guided me to stand before the massive gate and await my opponent. That damn General and Knight, I cursed both as the nervousness overtook me. They wanted to weaken our unit by taking me out of their statistics. Too bad for them, I scoffed.

There were many prepared to strike, but no arrows were released. Suddenly, the gates opened with a chorus of war cries from the humans. The groaning of the metal gate and crashing of the drawbridge revealed a wagon almost as large as the ones Gruu traveled with slowly rolling its way towards our designated dueling spot.

The wagon suddenly burst from the back, and a giant of a man lept out with a roar almost as loud as the orc’s. The statue’s outstretched hand pointing to the moon glowed a blazing red— and so did he. Was this mountain truly human? He wore little armor, and looked more like a gladiator to me.

Something was not adding up.

The man was much taller than I was and more powerful than the average soldier. Judging how he wielded those twin axes, I could tell this was going to be a difficult fight. If he had a skill, I imagined it would have to be a Power Body skill. He sized me up and let out a guttural growl. I realized that he had fur wrapping around his ears and a brutal tail protruded from his waist. This ugly bastard was half a beast man!

“You’re just a beast,” I told him, assuming a defensive stance with my halberd. He was not even a Crowned entity. I received a growl, but it seemed the man understood me. “This City pretends to bless you with that Statue’s might and promise you freedom, but our armies surround you while your people die out in the jungles.”

“One swing!” The man roared in response. He could understand me, but only seemed to have one volume level to his voice. He bellowed and stamped his feet, preparing to charge. “All it shall take to destroy you, demon!”

Is he even listening? I guessed not.

His body glowed white, making my predictions on his skills come true, but something dangerous happened afterwards. As the red moon dipped beneath the grey morning clouds, the massive statue began to glow red. He began to gain strength under the aura. A morning moon fall? Or perhaps it was a Divine blessing? Our armies were letting out war cries as he charged. The duel was on!

He charged from the wagon and I intended to meet him with my improved strength. Power Halberd, I activated the Skill in my head and I summoned all my strength. He promised this duel will end in a single strike, so I shall provide him the end he deserved. My halberd began to glow its usual white, but then erupted in flames. What in the Hells? I barely had time to look at the fiery thing.

I roared as my weapon carved a scar of fire on the ground as the magic burst uncontrollably from it. His swing would have decimated a regular Damned or Hatred soldier. Hells, even a Tusk would have been annihilated, but it was too slow for me! The beast man showed no fear, even as my weapon tore his neck apart. The halberd’s pointed end snapped off in his neck, glowing as the wound cauterized his neck together and then gradually expanded underneath it before his head burst into flames. “On the ground at others’ feet is where beasts like you belong.”

Number of souls defeated: 77

Far above the burning flesh that used to be the beast man, I heard the thunderous charge of the demon army rushing at the gate. The sacking of the city was to commence before I realized that the beast man was not even a Crowned or even an Elite enemy. Moonwatch was ours, and I’d better capitalize on the initial chaos to acquire a level up.

“To the Statue!” Ake commanded. “Ignore the soldiers.”

“I want blood!” Yokgu let out a maniacal laughter. For an orc, I supposed being holed up for months constructing bases probably was tiresome. The Snakeman groaned, but slithered off to do his own thing. Humans were fleeing from the invading soldiers, but it was too late. I found it disturbing how easy it was to ignore the rising number in my Status’s alerts.

Number of souls defeated: 80

Was apathy worse than hatred in situations like these? I felled the meager resistance at the statue’s site, swallowing the path I took in flames since I did not know how to turn my magic off. I cared not about whatever Divine goddess powered this thing, nor the fleeing human soldiers or civilians. In war time, hearts might as well have been hidden and solid rocks instead of things keeping us alive.

Number of souls defeated: 92

The statue was tied with ropes, and soon to crash into the inlet of ocean water or whoever was under it. We pulled and soon the cracking of stone was heard, only fueling the bloody fervor polluting our ranks. As the statue shattered, so did the moon’s influence. My fires were the first to go, but leaving me with a new alert in my Status skill. The window displaying the number of souls defeated simply vanished. Hopefully the next level up is good, I thought grimly.

Despite the amount of hell raising the joint army brought in the invasion, things died down quickly. This city was huge, and only the main square and the road from the gate to the statue seemed to bear the brunt of our carnage. I was able to sneak away behind some rubble and finally reveal the ill-gotten fruits of my labor. It was over, so I could catch my breath and slack off.

Level Up Achieved. Promote four stats and gain new stat parameters.

Four, as I expected. This brought many options, but I was already prepared to level up. Perhaps, this Unique Skill of mine had already placed me far above the humans. When I was level 1, I could barely do my job without crying beneath my helmet. I sighed, and stared up at the sky. Rain began to sprinkle upon the bloody fields, and the sky began to descend back into grayness. It felt like a presence withdrew itself from Moonwatch.

I am still jealous of the old life I used to live. Whoever I was could be as coldhearted as she wanted, but she never had to kill anyone to live for a stupid skill. Thinking about it immediately rejuvenated me, and brought up the Status window again. I rose the same stats as before, nervous that having A rank in Strength and Dexterity sealed the deal of my career. I could no longer stay quiet in my abilities. I promoted Stamina afterwards for my final stat. Stamina combined with improved Constitution, Strength and Dexterity should prove to be potent. I have not forgotten nearly getting crushed and backstabbed by those stupid higher-ups.

CON: E now upgraded to D

STR: B now upgraded to A

DEX: B now upgraded to A

INT: E (+1 Bonus Grade)

STA: D now upgraded to C

Luck: N/A

Whoever they were, General or Knight or Officers, I clenched my fist and swore I would survive their damn orders no matter how much overtime and work they throw my way. I had this Unique Skill and the power to improve no matter what the cost was. Now, I brought up the next level up objective and my eyes widened.

Level 4. Stat parameters not maximized yet for level up. Defeat three Crowned Entities to acquire enough experience.