NOVEL WEB Chapter 106: Strange Purple Creature
Oh, my people! Grow strong! Flourish! Live, because the power God granted us is something beyond what humans can comprehend. Still, I see dishonesty, even if their lives are at our mercy.
The sudden forced invitation took Kai by surprise, and he didn’t have nearly enough time to grab his mask. He stood still, staring at the closed-off window as he waited for the uninvited guest to speak up.
That didn’t take long, as Karfi’s deep voice echoed inside the room. “Sorry to bother you kid, I just wanted to know if you want to be woken up in the morning or at noon? I forgot to ask earlier.”
“That’s alright, I’ll wake up by myself when I’m rested. I hope that won’t bother you.”
“Hah, that’s fine. Have a good rest then!” Karfi said, slamming the door behind him.
Kai let out a light sigh, his racing heart beginning to calm down. Didn’t expect that one for sure…
He flopped on the bed after taking off his cloak, and Onyx’s size returned to normal, barely fitting in the humble room. “I guess you can’t keep up that size for too long, huh? Would have been convenient, now you’ll leave a lot of furs everywhere.”
“Awoowa!” Onyx yelped and playfully bit Kai’s hanging arm before lying on the floor and letting out a heavy snort.
Kai didn’t hesitate to go under the blankets either, however, he couldn’t fall asleep right away, unlike his companion. In the end, he got up and leaned against the bed frame, then pulled out the map Lumiera modified, and clicked his tongue.
The remaining fragments of my soul are in really inconvenient places… but the first one isn’t too far. As for the rest… One is Mnatu, some are in the large forest to the south of Aravia, while some are in the mountains. The rest… to the west. This is inconvenient for me, but the more I remember the better I suppose.
…
Kai and Onyx slept through the entire day, only waking up after the evening had long since passed. Kai’s hair was disheveled and unkempt, his eyes barely opening as he yawned. Getting up, he spent a few minutes waking up, leaning against the bed frame and wall, rubbing his face. Damn, I slept like a log…
Regardless, he jumped out of bed after a few minutes of accepting that he had to eventually leave. He nudged Onyx awake as well, and quickly donned the cloak and mask before making the bed, then left, dragging his feet. Man, waking up after sleeping for so long… it’s different.
Walking out to the front of the house, he saw Karfi and his daughter taking care of the empty bar once again. They mostly sat around, cleaning whatever they could, and for the rest of the time it looked like Tausi was studying, or rather, learning with her father.
Ah, that’s nice, I guess she can’t go to school either… Do they even have schools? I didn’t go to school here, but that’s because… yeah.
“Oh, what are you studying?” He asked, sitting down and laying his tired head on his hand.
“Reading,” Tasui said, her eyes glued to the small paper laid in front of her.
“Haha, yeah, she’s been wanting to learn for a long time so I decided it’s as good a time as any to start,” Karfi added, a melancholic expression manifesting on his face. “Atria was supposed to be doing this, I have no idea what I’m doing. Alas, I can only keep on going… however long that’ll be.” He whispered the last part of his sentence, making sure Tasui couldn't hear him properly.
Kai gazed at the little girl and let out a soft sigh before turning away, preparing to leave. He didn’t say anything on his way out, however, the frail child image remained in his mind as the doors slammed shut.
The same atmosphere greeted him outside - dark, gloomy, eerie, and quiet. Such was the environment at the abandoned outskirts of the city. He took a last look at the bar and walked toward the center, Onyx following closely behind, having returned to his small size. Soon enough, the familiar streets greeted him, and the loud chattering, laughter, and intoxicating smells inundated his senses as he passed through, hurrying toward the guild headquarters.
To no one’s surprise, both the interior and exterior were littered with people - Humans, Mnatu, Elves, even Dwarves and Lizardmen. Some were alone, like Kai, but most of them were in groups of two, three, or even more. Mages, Swordsmen, Archers, all of them wearing bloodied or tattered clothes. Loud laughter echoed in the area, as they discussed and bragged about their adventures during the day.
“Yeah, yeah - I encountered something weird today, some kind of green humanoids. They didn’t speak or anything, just hissed and left. I’ve never seen them before.”
Kai happened to overhear a conversation between two groups, and he raised an eyebrow behind his mask as he recalled the creature he had seen so many months ago. Sounds exactly like what Frank and his group hunted… it looked like a goblin if anything, but these people don’t know of it. Weird…
However, he didn’t pay it much attention, after all in his mind goblins were a common occurrence in fantasy novels. As he reached the large staircase, he spotted a figure with the corner of his eye - beautiful locks of blond hair that disappeared into the crowd as he turned to take a better look. Was that… Nah, no way. He shrugged it off and walked toward Wildfire’s zone, its tables, and area more crowded than the night before. They must be really popular.
It didn’t take long for him to spot the beautiful receptionist and examiner he saw yesterday, and his eyes brightened as he approached the counter. He didn’t wait for her to raise the ground this time, doing it himself instead, which took her by surprise. She took a step back, her confused vision sparkling upon seeing Kai’s fox mask.
“Oh, it’s you, young adventurer. My colleagues waited for you all day, yet here you are at night again. If this keeps up one may think you’re a vampire, fufu.” She quipped, turning away and looking through countless drawers. Luckily, Kai’s panicked, reddened face couldn’t be seen through the mask, or she didn’t have any such magic, otherwise, he’d be in some trouble.
He cleared his throat and laughed awkwardly, “That’d be preposterous, how could a vampire even approach Aravia undetected?”
The receptionist - Anna as Raymond called her, placed a thick, laminated card before Kai, and said. “Who knows? I’ve heard rumors of wanted posters being spread all around the country, and what’s more, issued by the Vampire King himself… someone must have pissed him off. Anyway, here’s your card.”
Kai gulped and held back a nervous laugh, picking up the card and inspecting it.
<
Age: 11
Nationality: Human
Magician Type: Mage
Rank: One Star
Elements: Light, Fire
Guild Rank: Novice
Pet(s): Yes Name: Onyx Race: High Wolf
Appearance: “xx xx x x” >>
Ichor… That’s a nice name, I wonder where I heard it. He stowed it away in his ring and turned toward Anna, who looked at him with a customer service expression. She also handed him the guild rules and its system, saying. “Just as a heads up, to rank up you need both to have been with us for at least three months and to have accumulated enough merit points. For more details please look at the Guild Rules.”
“Hmm, alright.” Kai nodded and undid the spell after saying goodbye. He looked for a nearby empty seat, which he found after looking for about five minutes, and opened the rule book she had handed him.
“Let’s see…”
<<....
From Lowest to Highest, the ranks are as follows, together with their equivalence in strength. This also roughly estimated the strength of a mage compared to a body mage, or cultivator. Please note that if you have a higher Guild Rank than your Mage Rank, that is because the evaluator deemed you strong enough. Ranks are divided into groups.
Group Mor:
Trainee: Rank OneMage or Rank Three Cultivator - 0 Merit Points, 101 Gold(Sign Up Fee)
Novice: Rank Two Mage or Rank Five Cultivator - 500 Merit Points, 0 Gold
Acolyte: Rank Three Mage or Rank Five Cultivator - 1000 Merit Points, 0 Gold
Group Inger:
Journeyman: Rank Four Mage or Rank Six Cultivator - 5000 Merit Points, 500 Gold
Fellow: Rank Five Mage or Rank Seven Cultivator - 7500 Merit Points, 500 Gold
Sub-Master: Rank Six Mage or Rank Seven Cultivator - 10,000 Merit Points, 1000 Gold
Group Zmeu:
Master: Rank Seven Mage or Rank Eight Cultivator - 15 000 Merit Points, 2000 Gold
Grandmaster: Rank Eight Mage or Rank Eight Cultivator - 30 000 Merit Points, 5000 Gold
Primar: Rank Nine Mage or Rank Nine Cultivator - 50 000 Merit Points, 10 000 Gold
Therefore please, take care to earn a lot of merit points. Merit points can be earned by completing Guild issued tasks; Outside Requests; Working for the guild, and other miscellaneous activities such as: Selling weapons to the guild; Selling meats, pelts, and other animal-procured items directly to the guild; Selling magic crystals; Selling potions; And the list goes on.>>
As Kai read through the booklet, his eyes shot toward the bulletin boards stretching across the area. So that’s where the queue- I mean, tasks are. Interesting, I’m guessing that’s where I’ll go for combat-related missions.
<< To accept a task>> He continued reading, <
If you successfully turn in a task, you will be awarded Merit Points based on the task(s) you completed. In addition, if you decide to sell the extra parts of what you acquired to the guild, you will be paid in Merit Points or Coins, depending on the payment method you choose. Please note that the Merit Points or Currency will be awarded based on quantity and quality, after subtracting the manpower, if required.>>
Wow, they cover all bases huh? Well, better for me I suppose. He thought, closing the booklet and walking toward the bulletin boards, where most people are usually gathered. These boards were tall, and stretched across the entire guild zone, having tasks on either side, some even overlapping each other. That’s… a lot. Kai easily snuck through the gaps, due to his size, and looked through the tasks at his eye level… as there were none below.
<
Amount: One Hundred Grams
Required Rank: Novice and Above
Reward: 10 merit points
Client: Menahem Pharmacy
TOIDN: 11250643>>
Ah, a classic. Let’s see, Moonpetal - A delicate herb with silver-white petals that grow in open areas of the forest, blooms during the night, and reflects the moonlight. It is used as an ingredient in calming teas, helping relieve anxiety and aid with insomnia. It is a fairly rare plant but can be artificially cultivated under the right conditions.
He recalled the information Aina made him remember about countless medicinal plants, hoping that it would someday be of use. And she was right… I know exactly how to locate these things, however, it’s tricky because they are usually guarded by… Horned Pigs. Kai let out a sigh, wondering why they just didn’t name them hogs and be done with it.
He placed the task within his ring, and looked for more, hoping to find something with a better reward. Ten merit points are really little, compared to how many I need to pay if I want to advance.
After looking for about ten minutes, he ended up with three additional tasks, plus the one he had already taken. A content smile creased his lips as he walked toward Anna, the receptionist. There was a small queue, however, it disappeared just as quickly as it had formed, and it wasn’t long before he had to raise the ground again.
<
Amount: Twenty Kilograms(Excluding Bones)
Required Rank: Novice and Above
Reward: 200 merit points
Client: Menahem Butchery
TOIDN: 10965680>>
<
Amount: Five Hundred Strands
Required Rank: Novice and Above
Reward: 300 merit points
Client: Menahem Pharmacy
TOIDN: 13592647>>
<
Amount: Ten pieces
Required Rank: Novice and Above
Reward: 50 merit points
Client: Menahem Wand Shop
TOIDN: 18239116>>
“I’d like to accept these four tasks, please.” He said, without wasting a breath, and laid down the pages he acquired.
“Alright, let’s see… mhm, it seems good. I’ve already registered them under your name, so please feel free to complete and turn them in whenever it’s convenient.”
“Already? That was way too fast!” He exclaimed, gathering his tasks.
“Well, we are trained to work fast, and we have a very good memory so things like these are second nature, like breathing. Now please excuse me, but there’s a line forming behind you.” She explained with an amicable smile.
“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Kai excused himself, dispelling the spell and hurrying away. His blazing face soon met the night’s chilly wind, and his embarrassment quickly disappeared. Fuck me that was awkward.
He hurried toward the city’s gate, Onyx following closely behind, his tail pointing at the sky. It didn’t take long for Kai to arrive, and he quickly presented his Guild ID to the guards, which quickly let him pass through the opened gate. Countless adventurers passed by every day and every night, so the gates remained open for most of the day, with the guards only doing some random checkups to new faces or people they didn’t recognize.
Finding himself in the first, under the cover of the shadows and the night, Kai took off his mask and placed it within his ring. “I can finally breathe properly.” He said with a sigh. Similarly, Onyx undid his spell and grew back to the towering height he had before. He shook his fur and stretched, letting out a content sound as he ran circles around Kai.
“Ha, it must feel good to be able to move in your own body. I’m sorry boy, but if people recognize what you are I’m afraid life will become more complicated.”
“Aworf!” Onyx barked as if to say ‘I understand.” and licked his companion’s face a few times, dampening it with saliva.
“Well, I guess I should have kept the mask on-” He chuckled, quickly drying himself off with a cloth he pulled out from his ring. Onyx scoffed and ran ahead of him, sniffing the fresh, untainted air.
Kai followed behind, not daring to slow down, and his eyes were on the lookout for places with abundant moonlight. Their muffled footsteps echoed in the night, accompanied by the occasional crackling branch and rustling bush. I guess most animals are sleeping right now, hidden away. He thought, crouching and signaling Onyx to trail behind him. He parted a bush with both hands and looked through the creak, a soft smile creasing his lips. Except these guys…
Before him, a patch of Moonpetals bloomed under a strong ray of light, and surrounding them was a herd of Horned Pigs, about a dozen in number, adults, and piglets included. <
He inhaled deeply and pulled out his wand, donned in fire crystals, and prepared a basic fireball with a mumbled chant. He took in a deep breath and aimed at the Horned Pigs. Please forgive me, little ones. Nine small fires appeared in front of him, which instantly shot toward nine of the twelve Horned Pigs. It hit them straight on the side before they could even see what happened, penetrating their thick fur and skin and burning their vital organs.
Loud screeches of pain and panic resounded in the eerie quiet of the forest, with the rest of the Horned Pigs scrambling and running around, not giving a second thought to the Moonpetal they guarded so dearly. Onyx jumped out from the bushes, and went after the healthy, unscathed Horned Pigs, and immediately arrived before one of them.
He instantly sunk his teeth into its neck, killing it with one strike. Before its corpse even managed to fall on the ground, he was already in front of another, and the other. He quickly took care of the wounded ones as well and helped Kai bring them all into a pile.
Kai looked at the almost intact corpses with a bit of pity, however it quickly faded away as he pulled all of them into the ring given to him by Aina. Traces of their existence, safe for the trails of blood and footsteps they left behind, completely disappeared. “It's almost full, luckily the rest of the tasks don’t require so much space.” He knelt, laying a large cloth on the grass, and carefully pulled the flowers from their roots. Of course, he couldn’t do it perfectly, and some parts of the flower broke, reducing its quality.
Picking up an entire patch of flowers was unwise and wasteful, as they didn’t retain their medicinal properties for very long after being severed from the ground. Kai gathered a third from the patch, took some seeds, and planted them back into the ground. Afterward, he rolled up the cloth and placed it in his storage ring.
“Well, looks like we are done here boy, we just need some spirit vines now, and some antlers. Neither are difficult, so we can take our time.” He stood up with a sigh and looked up, inhaling sharply and enduring the burning sensation on his pale face. And, after looking away, the small wounds healed as quickly as they appeared.
Turning, he walked away from the flower patch, leaves rustling as he passed through a thick bush.
A purple shadow flashed past the corner of his eye, and he immediately turned, unsure of what the thing could be. He dashed toward its location, leaves rustling as he jumped over back to the flower patch, only to see a small, purple humanoid kneel and lick the bloodied grass. Kai’s pupils immediately constricted, and his heart raced as the creature let out a sharp hiss. The sound inundated his ears, creating a headache that spread throughout his skull. His hand flew to his head, blocking out the sound the best he could, however, it didn’t seem to be enough.
Onyx didn’t fare much better either, and his heightened sense made it even worse for him, as he almost rolled on the ground due to the pain.
The purple creature rose to its feet and rushed toward Kai, baring its sharp teeth as he jumped, and shot like an arrow toward Kai’s mid-section.
A low grunt of pain escaped his body as the thing dug its teeth into his flesh, penetrating past the armor he wore underneath.