477 My SI Stash #77 - An Inscriptionist's Tale by BANIX (TDG)

-BANIX's MC be always vibing and popping off, I got the notifications on for almost every fics of his~

Synopsis: This world is one where common sense is defied at every waking second, where every single tale of demons and gods are either likely to be real, or had grains of truth in them. This world is one that used to be nothing more than a tale of fiction that he had once read to pass the time. Now, it is his reality, his tale of demons and gods. (Reincarnated OC, slow updates)

Rated: M

Words: 14K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13759594/1/An-Inscriptionist-s-Tale (BANIX)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics/originals mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1-3 (exceptional)

This world is one where common sense is defied at every waking second. This world is one where every single tale of demons and gods are either likely to be real, or had grains of truth in them.

This world is one that used to be nothing more than a tale of fiction that he had once read to pass the time. Now, it is his reality.

Nobody told him that reincarnation was a thing, much less reincarnating into a once fictional world. Nobody told him that he wouldn't be reincarnated into somewhere within Glory City where everything first started. No no no, he is not a damn protagonist with plot armour helping him. Of all places that he could be dropped into it has to be within one of the most cutthroat places on the Divine Continent.

Nether Realm, Blackrock City, Dark Guild. That is where he was from. Why did he say was?

It's simple, he escaped from that hellhole. He has to if he wants to live instead of accepting his fate to die as cannon fodder.

The circumstances of his second birth aside, this world isn't all that bad. Like, sure, it's crazy dangerous out there, especially so if you do not have the needed strength to protect yourself or have any backing to rely upon. Even then, he made do with it. He travelled far and wide, exploring the places that he once read about in a life long past and even more. Adventuring is surprisingly fun once he got used to the nomadic lifestyle. It has a form of allure and excitement that he could not possibly experience back on earth.

He still has no idea which part of the canon storyline he had ended up in because he had fled in the opposite direction of Glory City during his escape from the Nether Realm. He spent years wandering around the Divine Continent until he finally decided it was safe enough to venture near where Glory City and the Nether Realm reside. It's been about seven years since then. He should have more or less faded from the minds of the people back from the Dark Guild. It should be safer now, his enemies should have forgotten about him by now.

Now then, time to see which part of the timeline he had wounded up in.

"Where's that brat?!"

"No idea! Keep searching! We need to find him or the Demon Lord will have our heads on a pike!"

A boy only eight years of age held his breath as the sound of footsteps rushed by him. Worn around his finger is an interspatial ring that he had stolen in his mad quest to escape from here. He is no fool. He knows who the Demon Lord truly is. He had seen how his cultivation techniques worked, he had seen how the Demon Lord sucked the essence out of anyone that caught his eye on a mere whim and like hell he would be a human sacrifice to it.

So, he plotted his escape. However, it is a dangerous world out there. Without any supreme cultivation techniques, items, or backing he wouldn't survive a single day out there. The only thing he has a talent for are inscriptions and that wouldn't do him much good, at least not now. He needs a plan.

His plan did work in the end. He managed to steal the most important looking interspatial ring from the Demon Lord's personal chambers and use his talent over inscriptions to somehow transfer the ownership to him instead, granting him access to everything stored within. Even till now, he's still a little baffled that he actually managed to do that.

He remembered taking his first step out of the underground of the St. Ancestral Mountain Range. He remembered how the wind felt as it brushed against his skin, how the sunlight appeared to his eyes, and how the scent of forest assaulted his nose.

He is free.

This is now his tale of demons and gods.

Chapter 2

The forest around Glory City is teeming with life. There are numerous demon beasts prowling about as well but none of them can harm him, Luo An. Unlike his eight year old self when he first made his great escape from the Dark Guild, he now has the power to protect himself against most threats.

Luo An decided to take a slow walk along the forest, enjoying the sights. He is in no particular rush for anything. He had held off finding out his position relative to the canon timeline for seven years, he can afford holding it off for a few more days if need be.

Although, if he really is born far too early or far too late into the timeline, what should he do? It's not like he plans to do anything drastic to interfere with the plot but things will be less interesting this way. He is indeed curious about the three protagonists that left the deepest impression on him. He kind of forgot about the rest of the side characters after fifteen long years, only having a very vague impression of them.

Nie Li, Ye Ziyun, Xiao Ning Er. Those are the three protags that he still remembered to this day. Are they even born yet? It's a question that he cannot help but wonder from time to time.

He made a stop every now and then when he spotted herbs that caught his eyes. Holy Dark Grass, Spirit Core Grass, Black Pool Grass… even the Misty Leaf Herb! It's a very rare find even if this one is nowhere near maturity. But no matter, he will find a way to allow it to grow to maturity before using it for alchemy. Heh, wonder what the folks back at the Toxic Forest would say if they knew he actually found a Misty Leaf Herb?

Crossing the mountains and descending down it to enter the forest sure did bring back memories during his great escape. Glory City is in view now from where he is standing on the edge of a mountain side with tall trees growing all over it. He still wonders how a forest is able to grow on a mountainside but eh, he had seen weirder things.

Time to move on.

Deciding that he should maybe pick up his pace, Luo An started to walk a little faster. It wouldn't be long before he reaches the fabled Glory City, the place where everything first started.

He's excited.

He ended up partaking in an impromptu alchemy challenge right in the middle of the forest. Yes, you heard that right. In the middle of a forest.

All because of him being unable to control his stupid mouth when he first saw how that lady is performing alchemy. If the folks back from the Toxic Forest saw how she performed alchemy she would be a laughing stock. Compared to his unimpressed scoff, the treatment he gave her was a lot more lenient.

Of course, the lady ended up taking offense to his dismissive behaviour and challenged him to a battle of alchemy to nurse her wounded pride. Needless to say, the end result was that her already wounded pride got wounded even further. One does not simply challenge someone who had learnt alchemy from the people of the Toxic Forest to an alchemy battle.

"H-How?! Who are you?!"

"None of your business." Luo An replied lazily as he stored his alchemy equipment back into his interspatial ring now that their purpose is done. He walked on ahead, giving the woman another lazy wave without looking back at her.

"See you when I see you."

"Hold it!" The woman all but demanded as she ran up to him and blocked his way forward. She gulped nervously before blurting out her next words.

"Teach me!"

"Wha?"

"T-Teach me!" She repeated her words once again, this time with much more determination.

"No way." Luo An brushed her off as he moved past her to continue walking forward. "Why would I waste my time-"

"I-I will be a good student!"

"Pass. I don't want to be a teacher."

"I-I am the director of the Alchemy Association of Glory City! I'm sure I can be of use!"

That made Luo An take a pause in his steps. Director of the Alchemy Association? That sure does ring more than a few bells in his head. This woman has to be relevant to the plot somehow, right?

He turned around to take another look at her, this time with a more appraising eye. She is a damn good catch and easy on the eyes as far as appearance goes. Curvaceous and voluptuous body with big, soft breasts. Long silky dark purple hair with a slight wave to it. All in all a woman that he wouldn't mind staring at all day long if staring at her isn't an act labelled as a creepy one.

However, that is not what he is looking for. He had seen many beautiful women during his second life, each more otherworldly than the first. What he's looking for are signs that might provide him clues to help him deduce if she is indeed a canon character.

"If you are a director of an Alchemy Association, I cannot bring myself to imagine what the alchemy standards are like in Glory City."

The woman's facial expression turned into a slightly shocked one.

"Wait, you are not from Glory City?"

"Duh. I thought that much was obvious?"

"There are other settlements other than Glory City?"

"Definitely."

"All the more reason for you to teach me!" The woman is near hysterics at this point. "It's like you said, if even my alchemy skills as a director pales so much in comparison to someone who comes from outside the city… My pride as an alchemist would not be able to take it! I have to learn everything I can to improve Glory City's alchemy standards!"

Luo An scratched the back of his head in slight frustration. Damn, this is turning into a headache.

Then again, she could probably help him pull some strings in Glory City if she is indeed director of Glory City's Alchemy Association. That will undeniably be useful.

"Fine, we got a deal. As long as you are not lying about the fact that you are the director of the Alchemy Association."

"You mixed it wrongly, brat!"

"I'm sure I followed every single step you had written down to the letter."

"You added too much Poison Newt Venom!"

"I added only this much! Just as you said!"

"You fool! It's three drops too many!"

"Wha- Who on earth can tell it's three drops too many in the first place?!"

"Every alchemist worth their salt would be able to! Listen here, little An. We alchemists of the Toxic Forest are very particular about the details when it comes to alchemy. Every single ingredient that we add, it must be exact. Down to the quantity, weight, and even the number of drops of any liquid agent that we add in, you hear me? Sometimes, a single drop is what differentiates an excellent product from a mediocre one. This is the kind of science we are dealing with right here."

"Just admit that you are just being anal-"

"Get to work, brat!"

"Ow! Stop hitting me- OW!"

Chapter 3

The arrangement he struck with her has a few terms and conditions.

One, she is to tell nobody of his existence no matter who they may be. Two, he only teaches three days a week. Three, he gets to choose what to teach her. Four, she finds him a quiet place to stay within Glory City where he can temporarily stay undisturbed. Five, he gets to leave the city whenever he wants.

Luo An doesn't want his appearance to create a huge uproar within Glory City because as far as he could remember about canon, people of Glory City believed that they are the only ones left in the Divine Continent. Having an outsider coming into the city from someplace which they had never heard before and had travelled across the vast continent will create a commotion in Glory City as huge as aliens visiting the earth. This is something Luo An wants to very much avoid.

Thankfully, the woman who Luo An now knows goes by the name of Yang Xin, had very readily agreed to his conditions. She had prepared for him an assuming house by the edge of the city like he asked. It is located in an area where not many people pass by and if anyone asks, Luo An will simply claim that he had moved over from the other end of the city. Glory City is huge, being made up of two major cities and six towns. It is a plausible excuse.

It was after interacting with Yang Xin did Luo An realise that the alchemy standards in Glory City is laughably low. He couldn't really quite remember if that was the case in canon but now that he thinks about it, Nie Li probably had some connections with the Alchemy Association back in canon. Luo An couldn't quite remember.

What he did find out from Yang Xin after innocuously asking about their City Lord Ye Zong is that he does have a daughter by the name of Ye Ziyun, who is supposedly hailed as a prodigy even if she hasn't started lessons at the Holy Orchid Institute yet. The minimum age requirement for entry is at thirteen and from what Yang Xin had revealed, Ye Ziyun is only eleven this year.

Meaning to say, there's still two more years before the start of canon.

Now this puts Luo An in a slight dilemma. While he is interested in seeing how canon unfolds he is not keen on waiting two whole years for it to start. He's not one to stay still at one place. Should he travel elsewhere in the meantime before returning to Glory City, or should he stay here? The relatively low level of cultivation of the average cultivator aside, Glory City is a good place to live. The most prosperous and peaceful human settlement he had ever come across, in fact. Peaceful, prosperous and more importantly, he no longer needs to camp out in the wilderness if he's living here.

Decisions, decisions…

"Instead of dumping all your ingredients within the pot like this you need to extract the essence of the herbs one by one before mixing them together. Here, like this."

Yang Xin proved to be an eager and bright student despite her being much older than Luo An in age. She's twenty three, and Luo An was somewhat surprised when he first learnt of it. People in this world tend to marry young. It can be as early as eleven depending on the place you are looking at. A woman who is still unmarried at twenty three is very often frowned upon and laughed at for being a wrinkly old hag that nobody wants.

Although seeing that Yang Xin is a real beauty, Luo An has a sneaking suspicion that there are other reasons as to why Yang Xin had not found a man to settle down with yet. Oh well, it's none of his business.

"That is all for today's lessons." Luo An declared with a yawn and a casual wave of his hand. At least Yang Xin picks up on the lessons rather quickly, so does not have to re-explain things many times. It sure feels good to have a smart student who knows what she is doing and is humble enough to not mind the fact that her teacher is so many years her junior.

Luo An retrieved several bottles from his interspatial ring and placed it on the table, catching Yang Xin's attention.

"And since you have been such a good student so far, I've generously decided to reward you for your efforts."

"And what may these be?" Yang Xin asked curiously as she opened a bottle to take a whiff, trying to figure out just what these are.

"A concoction made from the mixture of Tiger Gaze Grass and Purple Haze Grass. I felt that you might need it."

"Why me?" Yang Xin pressed on, and Luo An grinned when he knew that Yang Xin had fallen into his trap. How long has it been since he had trolled another human being?

"When you mix Tiger Gaze Grass and Purple Haze Grass together and add to your bathwater, it has an added effect of enhancing a woman's breast size and perkiness, making them look more youthf-"

He saw how Yang Xin's facial expression morphed from confusion, realisation, then into embarrassment before turning into fury. He ducked just in time when Yang Xin threw a book at him.

Too easy to tease.

"Perfect for an old hag like you that hasn't yet found a man. Having bigger perky breasts might help you-"

"LUO AN!"

Luo An had disappeared out of the room by now, his laughter fading away as his presence vanished. She trembled in embarrassed anger, her face a flushing red.

That, that… pervert!

She looked down at her chest and couldn't help but use her hands to feel her breasts. While she never boasts about it, she is proud of her looks and figure. She gave her breasts a light squeeze and is satisfied when it still is as perky and soft as it was in her youth.

She still cannot help but eye the bottles Luo An left for her on the table. A little more enhancement couldn't hurt, right?

That does it. She's taking all of them back with her. It is all for science and research.

Yeah, strictly for science and research.

"What's your name, boy?"

The Demon Lord looked down upon the trembling boy. Never would he expect to encounter a natural born inscriptionist within Blackrock city.

This boy is a genius, an asset. The Dark Guild will benefit with him around.

"D-Don't have one."

The edge of the Demon Lord's lips curved upwards into a slight smirk. Don't have one? No matter.

"Then from today onwards, you are Luo An. You will follow me, you will join my Dark Guild, and you will study inscriptions and use your talents for my sake."

The tone of his voice left no room for discussion and he is sure that the boy has been very clearly made aware of it. He gestured for the boy to come over to his side and was satisfied to see that the boy heeded his command, albeit with obvious reluctance.

Time would prove that he had made the right decisions. Even when the boy is only five years of age, he proved to be able to inscribe high level inscriptions that puts many other so-called expert inscriptionists of Blackrock City to shame. The Dark Guild had gained a valuable asset that day. People often underestimate the worth of inscriptionists, an amateur mistake which the Demon Lord will never commit.

With Luo An around, taking down Glory City is no longer impossible.

It is just a matter of time.