Gates of Origination

Though there were a few monsters, the journey to Crey was peaceful since Xul could snipe any monsters with his [Frozen Blood] Skill. Xul had grown accustomed to Kynmi's weight, and he was having fun conversing with Kymil as Lura scolded Arthur for his inappropriate jokes and comments. It was like Xul's earlier loneliness was an illusion as he laughed with a warm feeling in his chest.

Ever since he was a kid, Xul always felt compelled by some invisible force to get stronger, so he never tried to make friends. He always thought that the only friend he would need was a good blade. Now that he was experiencing friendship, however, Xul realized just how wrong he had been. Maybe this was the reason why his father wanted to have peaceful relations with the Mortals.

Now that he had time to think, Xul remembered something important. He used to never forget things, but it seems his memory is failing him due to stress. 'I forgot all about the quest to defeat the Paladin...I better have gotten something good out of that...' Xul thought as he opened up his Status Sheet and began to assign the points he got from the level ups.

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[Name] - Xul, Son of Uzul

[Level] - 31 --> 35

[Age] - 12

[Class] - (N/A) (Eligible for promotion!)

[Race] - Frozen Tundra Orc - (Complete immunity to Frost attribute as well as enhanced tracking skill. Perception +12)

[Titles] - Wolf Slayer (50% more attack power when facing Wolf-Type opponents.)

Strength - 52 --> 63

Agility - 67 --> 73

Stamina - 50 --> 65

(A/N: All right, made it to where the stats below this can't be adjusted and have to be increased by doing things that correlate to them directly.)

Dexterity - 91

Intellect - 101

Perception - 76 (+12)

[Skills]

(A)[Berserker] (Level 3)

(B)[Dispel] (Level 2)

(B)[Resist Charm] (Level 2)

(A)[Frost Immunity] (MAX)

(Gives the user complete immunity to the effects of Light magic, Skills, or Enchantments.) (A/N: I forget a lot of things, don't I? This goes hand-in-hand with his Frozen Tundra lineage, so it's not an unneeded buff or anything, just to make it easy for me.)

(SS)[Frozen Blood] (Level 3)

(B)[Conversion] (Level 4)

(SS)[Intermediate Blacksmithing] (Level 1)

(New!)(F)[Mercy] (Level 1)

(Baptizes all hostiles in a 20m range in holy light before piercing them through the heart with a dagger of light. Though the Skill may be named Mercy, it is anything but merciful. When killed by [Mercy], one is sent to the Underworld to rot for all eternity in righteous flames. Cooldown time: 2-days. Gain immunity to the light attribute.)

(New!)(B)[Light Immunity] (MAX)

(Gives the user complete immunity to the effects of Light magic, Skills, or Enchantments.)

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Xul smiled in surprise as he glanced through his Skills after allotting his stat points, making Kynmi tilt her head to the side before she asked "What're you smiling for...?" in a sleepy voice. Xul nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Kynmi's soft voice next to his rather sensitive ears, but he recovered quickly enough to not cause a scene before clearing his throat and saying "Since I am Monster-Kin, I have this large invisible screen called a "Status Sheet" that directly correlates to my strength, speed, and even Skills."

Kynmi tilted her head again, causing her ears to flop to the side adorably, as a slightly confused expression flashed across her face before disappearing entirely. "Oh well." Kynmi said as she shrugged her shoulders and laid her head against Xul's neck once more. In the distance, a large stone wall could be seen from over the tree tops as they looked down at the scenery from atop a snowy mountain.

"Hey, X, the city of Crey is right down there past the forest!" Kymil said from a bit below where Xul was as he made his way back up the rocky surface of the mountain. Arthur let a wry smile spread across his face as he tapped his staff on the ground, forming large bubbles of air around the party before sending them flying toward Crey at high speeds. Kymil scratched the back of his head with a short laugh before saying "I, uh, forgot you could do that, Arthur...ahaha..."

Arthur just sighed before smiling widely as he yelled "WE'RE HOOOOOOOMEEE!!!" By the time his voice reached the ears below, the party was all ready past the walls and flying toward the massive castle in the center of the city. The guards below stood at attention and saluted as the party passed, mainly because of Arthur, but things would have been different if Xul was visible but, due to Kynmi, they were able to avoid any unnecessary attention.

Arthur led the group of air bubbles toward the top of the castle next to a large balcony overlooking the city. A man with short, spiky blond hair, fiery red eyes, and a large, toothy grin was waiting inside of the doorway that led out toward the balcony. Arthur smiled as he landed the group on the balcony before saying "Father, you will not believe this! Our friend, X, is an Orc that wants peace between Humans and Monster-kin!"

Arthur stepped out of the way to reveal Xul, who was still carrying Kynmi, and the blond man's eyes lit up as he rushed over and shook Xul's hand vigorously. "I am so sorry if my idiot son caused you any trouble! Please, allow me to greet you as equals, and let me offer you a place to sleep! I can tell you all about my ideals and plans to get the world to accept your kind with open arms, much like they did with the Beast-Kin!"

The man's eyes widened as he dropped to one knee with his head bowed and said "My apologies! I forgot to tell you my name in my haste! I am Merlin Swiftfury, as well as the presiding Lord of Crey! Let me gather my finest attendants and have them prepare a feast and bath for all of you." Without waiting for Xul to respond, Merlin got back up to his feet, slapped the back of Arthur's head and told him to be respectful, before running into the large room behind him and through the door and into a long hallway, leaving Xul stunned as the rest laughed awkwardly.

"S-Sorry...My father tends to get a bit excited when he talks to Monster-Kin. Please, don't think of him in a bad manner..." Arthur placed his hands together in a praying gesture before bowing deeply, to which Xul responded, "N-No! It's all right, really! We're friends, and I trust you guys. Though it might not be completely, we can build our relations by helping each other when we need it. I think your father could be a kind man that truly wants to help me and my kind, though I'll have to see his resolve with my own two eyes."

Arthur smiled and bowed even deeper as he practically yelled "Thank you!" in a voice that clearly conveyed his happiness. Xul didn't blame him, for Arthur had almost lost his friends, and his own life, when they encountered the Paladin from the Church of Insanity. Thinking back to that day, Xul's chest began to throb painfully, almost like it remembered the large hole that the Paladin had ripped through it.

Kynmi yawned from Xul's shoulder and began to stretch her stiff back while Xul was carrying her, prompting Lura to walk over and say "Come on, Kyn, let's get you to your room..." When Lura tried to grab Kynmi's shoulders, however, the Beast Woman began to growl softly as she turned her gaze toward the Elf. Lura scoffed and delivered a vicious chop toward Kynmi's head, causing the woman to release a startled yelp as Lura snatched her off of Xul and dragged her toward the door that Merlin had left through.

Kynmi knew that she had no chance of escaping Lura when she was like this, so the only thing she could do was hold her arms out and try to reach for Xul, though he was all ready several meters away. Seeing this, Xul sighed and suppressed a laugh before saying "Don't worry. After I discuss a few things with Arthur and his father, I'll stop by and check on you..." Though Xul would have preferred to be training his Skills or forging, he now had friends that he needed to take care of as well.

No sooner than when Lura and Kynmi left, Merlin had appeared once again; this time with several maids and butlers that had an air of professionalism about them. Merlin snapped his fingers and the servants quickly took Xul's measurements, analyzed his current clothes to make designs that would suit him, and grasped a rough idea of his attitude by observing his movements and facial expressions. Surprisingly enough, Xul didn't bat an eye when, arguably, the most beautiful women brushed his skin with their hands while working.

This surprised Merlin, as when he did this with other guests they would have the light of greed and possession in their eyes when they looked at the women, however, Xul was calm and collected. Merlin began to think that Xul might actually be the one he was looking for. Merlin clapped his hands once more and the servants stood at attention before walking back behind him. "All right! Now, we shall have a feast to celebrate this wondrous day! Nathan!"

A young man, around the age of Kymil and Arthur, with ear-length brown hair that covered his eyes, and a rather athletic body that stood out from his black suit, stood straight as he said "Yes sir!" Merlin turned to face the man before saying "I need you to escort our esteemed guest..." Hearing Merlin's words begin to trail, Xul realized his own mistake as he hurriedly said "Ah, my actual name is Xul, sir."

Merlin nodded his head before continuing. "Escort Xul here to his room and prepare him a hot bath while we get to preparing the feast. Once you're done, come join us." Nathan bowed low as the rest of the servants followed behind Merlin and out the door to the hall. Nathan righted himself and let a kind smile appear on his face as he gestured toward the rather large ornate wood doors and said "Please, follow me Sir Xul."

Kymil pat Xul on the shoulder with a small smile as Arthur stuck his thumb out before gesturing for Xul to follow Nathan. The castle was indeed large with paintings of the previous owners hanging in the hallway for display; the silky red carpet lining the halls derived of dirt and grime, even if one was covered in mud and walked over them they would not change. Nathan eventually stopped outside of one of the many doors in the hall before opening it and bowing at the same time.

"Here we are, Sir Xul." The room was rather large with a dresser, that had a large mirror on top, against the wall to the left of the door while the bed was positioned in the middle of the far wall under a large window, and the bed was large enough to fit the adventurers, Xul, and still have room to spare. There were two sliding doors to the left of the bed that Xul assumed to be a kind of closet, however, when he opened the doors he saw a massive room with an alchemy table, a forge with an anvil, and even a tanning rack next to a grindstone.

Nathan explained after seeing Xul's surprised expression. "The dresser will be used for your clothes while this room will be a sort of private area that only you can use after sealing the doors with your blood. Though you can allow certain people to enter the room, you only have a limited amount that you can allow access to." Xul ran his hand over the forge with an appreciative expression before muttering "This is wonderful...I need to find who made this..."

Looking at this massive upgrade from what he had before, Xul couldn't help but think that he would be able to make weapons much better than the Legendary Rank weapons that were stolen from him. He felt like he would be able to finally atone for his sins with this, and kill the bastard that destroyed his home.