1 Prologue and New Realm
Prologue
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For the past 30 years there has been mass disappearances on Earth. Coincidentally, they all happened every 3 years, which is exactly 10 times for the past 30 years.
If it was a normal case of kidnapping or even abduction, even if it was enmasse, it wouldnt have been so strange, but the weird thing is, the people started to fade into a small shiny globe made of energy which shot into the skies.
It would be easy to call it a scam or fake, but no one thought so after a government official disappeared the same way while being interviewed.
Every time it happened, it would be the same, a few milion people disappearing. For the past 30 years, the Earth has fallen into chaos. Nobody knows when they will be next, nobody knows what will happen after they are gone and the unknown has always been the biggest fear of humanity.
Crime rates have risen, vandalism, rape...the whole world is shocked, confused and has long since started falling in ruins.
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On a small island, a young lad was holding a sword, not a wooden sword as some people might expect, but a real, very sharp sword in the form of a katana. The lad looked at most 12 years old. His face red as a tomato ,altough immature, if he was to be placed in a circle of kids of the same age, he would definetely stand out. His small hands were full of blisters, repeating the same swordplay without end under the watch of the elder.
The boys eyes were resolute and ferocious, like a tiger that got it's food stolen right underneath it's nose. It seemed like the sun and the pain from his hands did not affect him at all, actually, it made his heart burn like a fiery ocean of fire, ready to fight the whole world.
997! 998! 999! 1000!
After the boy reached his 1000th swing, the sword fell down from his hands before burying itself in the ground, while the boy was gasping for air as if he had been submerged underwater for a very long time.
"Lan!" The elders rough voice could be heard, using a very harsh tone to get the boys attention
"Your parents have disappeared 6 years ago! Ever since then, everyday, you are in this forgotten island, in seclusion, training and training and training. Do you hate me?!?" Said the elder looking at the boys face
The boy, without the slightest hesitation, replied in a cold tone that would never match a 12 year old kid.
"Yes! I hate you! I want back home, with my friends!! I don't want to train like this, i want none of this! I just want to be normal, i only want to see my parents.. why can't i meet my mother?! my father!! Grandpa, please, let me meet them! I know they are not dead...they can't be! If you want me to go to that New Realm place you always tell me about, i will go, but please..let me meet them once more! Please, grandpa!"
"Lan, i have already told you, your parents are gone. I am the only family you have left, for now. Once i am gone, you will be all alone. You will soon be summoned to the New Realm, never forget what i taught you! You mustn't die early ,like your parents! Never understimate anyone!"
Sadly, the boys face has already been stained by tears, sobbing loudly. The fact that his parents are gone and the harsh training he has suffered for the past 6 years would be enough to drive a mature adult crazy, especially a young kid.
*Sigh* the elder sighed softly before pointing his finger at Lan, who immediatly fell on the floor, unconscious as if he has been given a shock.
Steangely , the elders expression did not change at all, as if he was not moved at all by the boys words or the fact that he fainted. He looked at the sky, as if remniscing the old days like an old man and sighed. Pulling out a platinum card out of his pocket, he pointed it at the little boy and the card started to shine in a rainbow like color before burying itself on his body.
A small pop could be heard and a blue panel appeared in front of the elders face.
"The Legacy Class "Valiant Knight" has been succesfully transferred. Because you are not in the New Realm,we cannot use skill points. In accordance with the rules, we shall use your lifeforce as payment.
Bippp- Payment complete. Since the card's requirments are higher than the useable lifeforce you have left, your life force will be slowly extinguished. You are given 1 minute to live before your soul will enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Bipp-59,58,57..
A small sigh could be heard from the elder followed by his soft voice filled with sorrow yet peace at the same time..
"Oh Lan...your parents are already gone..those old fools..sigh, i hope you will do better up there like i taught you so far...if you are a little bit soft...you will die...like your parents. Don't disappoint me...its time to join those old fools in the underworld.. i hope this platinum card can help you, this is the last gift that i can give you before i am gone" - the voice faded slowly, before only an echo could be heard. The elder's body started to blur into transparency and slowly disappearing into nothingness.
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On the floor where Lan was sitting unconscious, a small stream of tears apeared on his eyes... before a robotic voice could be heard and a blue panel appeared in front of him.
The Legacy Class "Valiant Knight" has been learned. Your class has been changed successfuly. You will gain the two main skills of the Valiant Knight Class.
"Holy Blessing has been acquired as a part of the Valiant Knight Class. Allows the user to bless and purify a demonic beast and bestow the holy rights upon it. Once the demonic beast has been purified, it shall follow you forever, becoming your companion that will fight together with you with an undying soul. If the beast is killed in battle, it will take 24 hours to be able to be resummoned. Only one beast can be accepted as a companion and you are not allowed to contract or summon other beasts."
"Soul Weapon has been acquired as a part of the Valiant Knight Class. Allows the user to create a weapon made of spiritual power that will be forever engraved on your soul. After the weapon has been succesfully created, it shall forever remain your weapon. You are not allowed to learn attack based skills for other weapons than the one you created using this skill. The weapon will grow along with the user."
l
--Bip
"Welcome to the New Realm, you will be teleported in 10,9,8....3..2..1..0. Teleportation succesful."
Lan's body started to fade before only a small ball of light was left in it's place which immediatly shot into the skies. If one looked at the current situation on Earth from space, they would see that everywhere on Earth, small balls of lights were flickering through the skies before leaving the atmoshpere and going into the void, turning the darkness into a small path of light, heading into the unknown.
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Chapter 1
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In a very strange forest where towering trees that would need at least five persons to form a circle to barely hold it and the tree crowns rising to the skies, a carriage was slowly making its way toward the inner parts of the forest following a man made route as if it has been used a lot of times in the past. The carriage followed the route as they moved at a slow pace. Beside the carriage was a small group of people in strange looking clothes that didn't match the current Era of Earth at all. Almost everyone of them were wearing leather ragged clothes, except for one person, whom wore a crimson red leather costume as if it had been washed by blood.
The group of people were snickering and drinking booze while laughing very loudly taking glances at the back of the carriage where 4 horses were pulling a slightly bigger jailed carriage, as if it was an enormous cage.
Shockingly, in the cage, were people! People wearing Earthly clothes. Some of them were beaten, while others had minor bruises around their bodies. Some of the women inside, who have always been treated like princesses without ever getting a slap and ever fearing the unknown, were sobbing silently, trying not to piss off the bandits which would result in even more beatings.
In a corner of the carriage, a small boy stood, hugging his knees and looking at the floor while deep in thought, as if he was unconcerned about the current situation.
This boy was Lan. After he fainted last night from exhaustion after the training with his grandpa, he woke up on the cold ground of a forest. Not even a while after he woke up, three men wielding swords came to him speaking in an unknown language. At first, Lan did not understand a word they said, but after a few seconds, the strange language became familiar to him, as if he understood it from instinct and he could speak it like a new baby who got the hang of a language for the first time.
In contrary to other people getting scared and pissing themselves when they meet someone with a sword in their hands, Lan looked at them as if they were retards. It was not that Lan was afraid to fight against the three of them, but first, he has to assess the situation before making a move, so he took a defensive stance to see what they plan to do. Since they didn't attack, he followed them to the carriage where he was pushed inside with a lot of other people.
The carriage was narrow, making the odor of sweat unbearable. Around 15 people were sitting on the rotten wooden floor confused and fearful of the future events they are gonna have to go through in this unknown place. Some of them have already realized that this is no longer Earth, their homeland, and this is an unknown world. Some of the poor women have already formed black circles around their eyes from crying while another woman was hugging her crushed leg, trying to keep her misery inside. Only an inhuman beast could have done such a thing to a poor woman, but sadly, what's good about human nature in a world where the strongest fist rules..?
In the front of the carriage, a middle aged men of about forty years old, with bulging muscles and an ugly face that resembles a person to be destined to be forever alone, spoke in a very humble tone to the crimson clothed person
"Leader, there are 9 women, 5 men and 1 kid. Our boys have been working hard for the past days, let them have their way with the women before we sell them off at the slave market."
The crimson leathered person gave a cold look to the person before replying in a frosty tone which indicated that he's not pleased with the man's suggestion.
"Vice leader! How many times has it happened so far where you abused some of them to death before we even managed to sell them off?"
"Ke ke ke leader, don't worry, this time we'll be a little more careful not to damage our goods."
"Hmph, as if i would believe rotten shits like you! Go and have fun, but know your places! We need the money to improve our items and skills, you don't want to be stuck in this god damned forest lurking around small towns forever, would you? Be careful, those damned beastman are always eyeing us, if we are not careful, we might lose everything before we reach our destination!"
Turning around, the vice leader looked at two of his subordinates before sending them to scout around. A rotten grin formed on his ugly face which made him look like crying before saying "Let's do this!"
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At this moment, Lan, who always had his head down, had a resolute look on his tender face.
Looking at the sinister faces of the bandits, Lan has already decided what hes gonna do next.
'According to grandpa, when you are up against a group, its best to pretend to be weak and deal a killing blow right after they make the slightest mistake. You must never be lenient, otherwise, you'll be the one to die or suffer. If you want your freedom, you must have strength! Otherwise you'll end like these aunties, getting taken advantage off and being at someone else's mercy.'
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The bandits rushed to the carriage like a pack of wolves looking at a flock of sheep's and licking their lips to stop the drool from falling. Some of them, already started taking off their pants before rushing inside and pouncing on the poor women.
'Argh, filthy beast take your hands off me! Do you even know who i am? I'm an officials wife, you will not get off easily with this!'
A young woman in her early thirties dressed in costume with an air of superiority as if she held a golden spoon on her mouth since she was born, slapped a bandit who tried to take advantage of her on his face, leaving deep finger imprints as a mark.
'Peng!'
A big slap out of nowhere landed on the womens face, turning her face into a mess. Before she could regain her footing, a hand grabbed her neck and the bandits roar could be heard.
"Slut, where the fuck do you think you are? Do you still think you are on Earth? You are wrong, very wrong. This is the New Realm, where the strongest fist makes the rules! And you? You are only a little filthy slave thats gonna be sold to a brothel or as a personal dog."
The bandit threw the women hard on the carriages floor before the howls of misery of the poor woman could be heard.
Lan, who has always kept quiet, took quick glances at the men around , who were trembling not knowing what to do, to help or to keep quiet and hope they'll be left in peace.
On another side of the carriage, a man who's wife was getting ravaged by these inhumane fiends, tried to stop a bandit,but as a result, he got punched black and white into a pool of blood. After seeing the consequences for not behaving, nobody had another thought to rebel.
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Slowly, in the forest, a big group of creatures could be seen, moving stealthily towards the caravan's. Before the bandits could even notice them, the creature at the front gave a big roar that gave an echo that could turn anyone's hair to stand on ends. Clearly, it was a signal to attack!
*AWOOOOOO*
Followed after were the howls of beasts which resounded in the whole forest, giving an eerie feeling to everyone present. The birds scattered about, and the wild life from the forest ran as if they felt an earthquake that's about to happen.
"It's the damned Beastmen! From the sounds of the howls and screeching noise, it looks like we're encircled. Form defensive formations and let's fight! If we are even a little bit careless, we might all die today." the vice leader was quick to act and immediately gave orders to the bandits
"But sir, what happened to our scouts?! Why haven't they given us any signs of the beastmen?"
"They probably got ambushed and killed off. Dammit, we shall get revenge for our brothers!"
"Revenge! Let's get revenge for our brothers!"
Every single bandit almost instantly stood up and with eyes full of bloodlust, they left the carriage, leaving the poor women who's misery reached the skies, sob in peace.
The bandit who was violating the poor officials wife, nonchalantly stood up, before spitting on the floor and saying words that gave even more despair to the poor woman.
"Slut, i'll be back, you better be obedient otherwise i'll break you like a *** toy"
Just as he turned to look at the floor to look for his rusty sword, he realized that it was gone.
"Which one of you bastards stole my sword? I'll cut your arms off if i find you!"
However, before he could speak another word, a streak of light made it's way towards his neck. A small red line slowly formed around the bandit's neck before blood started to fall like a waterfall and the bandits head went rolling on the floor, landing right beside a poor woman.
"Ah! ah...ah.."
The womens eyes were looking in disbelief at the severed head without being able to say a word before her eyeballs rolled upwards and she fell unconscious on the floor.
Almost at the same time, the other women started screaming like a horde of hyenas before the whole carriage bustled with movement. The men and women ran straight to the exit like a pack of sheep that finally saw an exit from a slaughterhouse.
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On the other side, the situation was far from good for the bandits.
The whole place has been encircled by beastmen warriors and archers. These beastmen had human body but the heads of goats. They made a really strange scene, because the beastmen kept screaming 'Gluglugluglu' out of their mouths. In their hands, different sorts of weapons such as daggers, poor made clubs, rusty swords similar to the one Lan got from the bandit, were used.
Lan looked with keen interest at the beastmen, before a streak of information started to flow inside his mind.
Wandering Beastman, Level 3
A solitary creature that resembles humans. It often joins in big groups with other Wandering Beastman to ambush other creature, but only under the leadership of an Alpha Beastman.
The crimson clothed man gave a snort after seeing the seriousness of the situation, before giving an order to the vice leader.
"Mohn'Kul! Prepare the battle formation, we'll feast on roasted goat heads tonight!"
Without batting an eye, hearing the leader's order, the formations were reinforced even tighter by the bandits, as if they finally saw the light in this critical situation.
"Kyaaaaa!!!"
Before both sides could even start fighting, the seemingly tense but quiet battlefield turned into an uproar with the women and men rushing out of the carriage ,screaming and rushing towards the woods.
"They, they, they are running away!"
"Stop there already! Do you wanna die?!
"Who the heck left the carriage open? How could you guys be so careless?"
Without even turning their heads back, the captives ran in all directions, as if they don't care about the consequences that would happen once they were captured back. Only one word was ringing in every persons mind: "Run!"
*Shu Shu*
A volley of arrows whistled through the air before nailing some of the unlucky men and women to the nearby trees or to the ground, turning them into porcupines.
Looking at the current situation that got out of control, the crimson leathered bandit's expression sank before a frosty look appeared on his face.
"Three of you bastards! Go and capture as many as you can, if you dare to come empty handed, i'll send your heads flying! Damned beastmen, this time you have really infuriated me. If i don't exterminate each and one of you, i shall not be known as the Crimson Bandit!"
A silvery sword appeared in the Crimson Bandit's hands out of nowhere. The sword had an unique luster to it, as if it was a python ready to take a bite of it's enemy. Just by taking a glance at it, one could tell that the sword was not normal.
"Sword Aura!"
A green aura appeared around the sword, making it look like it has been surrounded by a burning green flame.
The Sword Aura was a skill that added the elemental power of a person, boosting its damage, speed, resistance or other different boosts depending on the type of Natural Element the user possesses. In the hands of the Crimson Bandit, the Sword Aura had the green color, which gave an increase to the resistance and an additional 25 kg of weight.
However, to be able to use the sword after it's weight has been increased so much, one must have an enough amount of strength stats.
The Crimson Bandit clearly was not a pushover, since he tackled the biggest group of beastmen before slashing his sword everywhere, slicing some of the unfortunate beastmen in two.
It was like a butcher with a butchering knife in a herd of sheep's, with each swing, taking the life of a beastmen. The fight had almost no suspense to the Crimson Bandit, but for the other bandits, they were slowly being pushed back. A big majority of them even lost their lives from the sneak attacks by the bow wielding beastmen that were hiding in the woods.
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After about 30 minutes of continuous fighting, both sides finally reached a standstill, but with very tragic losses for the both sides. The majority of the bandits have perished, while the continuous attacks of the beastmen finally slowed a bit down. There were still around 10 beastmen hiding in the forest, while only Mohn'Kul, Crimson Bandit and another 2 bandits that were in a very critical situation, survived.
*Glugluglugluglu!*
The strange laughter of the beastmen echoed through the forest, before a slightly bigger beastmen took the lead to leave the forest. If one looked careful at the beastmen, one would realize that it's horns had a shallow blue hue, with small sparks of thunder rolling around them.
Alpha Wandering Beastman. Level 11+
The true leader of the Wandering Beastman. It loves to gather scattered Beastmen and ambush humans.
*Zzzp*
Before the bandits could even react, a thunderbolt ignited out of it's horns, before moving at a speed that was not visible to the naked eye. It's target was one of the injured bandits, who could not dodge in time before getting scorched black.
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After having killed the bandit, Lan decided to stay and watch the bandits fight with the beastmen. Taking cover under the carriage, Lan immediatly hid in a blind spot not visible from any angle.
"Grandpa did say that humans in this world are vicious and everywhere is a fight for survival but i did not expect it to such an extent. It looks like i have to adapt quickly, otherwise it'll be hard to survive."
*Menu!*
With a pop, a blue panel appeared in front of Lan's face, visible only to himself.
Race: Human
Class: Valiant Knight
Level: 1
Strenght: 5
Agility: 5
Wisdom: 5
Luck: 5
Skills: 2
Holy Bestowal
Soul Weapon
"I don't know what my grandpa did to me, but once i meet him again in the future, i better thank that old geezer for these skills. It seems like they will help me in this strange world,but i better not use them carelessly until i learn more about the current situation."
But what Lan didn't know was that his grandpa has already left the living, returning back to the yellow river.
