Chapter 2 -captive audience-

Pain...all I can feel it pain.... And it's so hard to breath, I can't tell what's going on around me but I can hear what sounds like water lapping against a shore.....as I try to force open my eye life with nothing but pure will power because my body seems to have no strength at the moment.

As my eyes slowly open with difficulty, I see a blue sky wondering if I've been reincarnated again, but that thought flys out the window as soon as I tilt my eyes downward and see a traffic cone shaped and sized jagged rock stuck in my ribs, probably into my lungs too and that's what's making it so hard to breath…..

And I don't have the strength to pull it out at the moment….but I do have an option, I managed to open my inventory to pull out a spirit life elixir and pour it into my mouth with much difficulty.

And as the wound around the rock starts to sizzle…..the rock slowly pushes itself out of my ribs…..

Good it works, it would want to work after all the effort i put into getting this fucking thing, had to almost beg the elves for one even after all I did for them, I saved their capital of Mooshra from a demon invasion of tens of thousands with only a handful of volunteer soldiers and a plan to assault their commanders in a suicidal attack..….. and all They wanted to award me was 100 gold coins like some foot soldier, I told them I'd take the potion and nothing else...and it's almost impossible to make because it required a branch off their "spirit tree" which is like a shrine to the elves and takes hundreds of years to grow back.

And the potion is normally only effective for 3 months after it's concocted, but with space time magic, I've had it as an emergency life saving option for over 15 years…..I would have used to against in my ambush but Hugo locked my inventory…

But it seems to be working as intended, it's not helping much with the pain though as I can feel everything, I can even feel the arrowheads lodged in my heart. Removing themselves as the pop out of my chest.

As I'm feeling all of this I look to my left and see a megaladon sized shark next to me...dead with what looks like some holes in it just big enough for my fist to fit through.

Seems my body decided to fight some sharks while I was passed out, and it seemed to have kept me alive when I should by all accounts be dead. The hydra poison would never have killed me due to flaroonian body which is insanely resistant to most magics and poisons…..I can still get drunk, but it takes a hell of a lot more than it should….but it sure as hell slowed my movement speed and magic, enough for the "companions" of mine to finish the job.

I don't know how long I've been out or what happened besides going a few rounds with this big shark next to me, but it turns out I'm alive...heh.... I won't say I'm disappointed but I won't say I'm thrilled about it, I'm in a strange middle ground. I truely was ready for death after years of blood and gore that turned into betrayal of the ones I was protecting.

And I honestly can't even bring my self to hate them, all I can feel is utter indifference, which is nice so I won't have to get my revenge to feel complete.

They say the best revenge is to live a good life....and I say that's horseshit normally...but I genuinely don't really care about revenge. My last thoughts as I thought was approaching was about starting up a tavern….so that's what I'm going to do…..

But for now I can't move a muscle, took every ounce of strength I had to move to pour that potion into my mouth….so I guess I'll just lay here and work on my tan, heh….Funny

I hope I can move soonish…..because that shark is sitting directly in the sun and it's going to start stinkin soon…. I spent 30 years in demon blood and guts and i am more than familiar with it, but rotten seafood in the sun is a whole other basket.

I suppose I should figure out where I would want to establish my tavern….if I had to pick a kingdom I would definitely choose the dwarvan kingdom, but nowhere to popular, but not to put in the sticks either.

I spend the rest of the day since I seemed to have woken up around noonish according to the suns position thinking about possible locations for my theoretical new tavern and the best way to build it from scratch, because that's what I plan to do. Build it with my own two hands.

As the sun sets and nights settles in for the night I lay there as a captive audience to the glory of the stars and moon of this world and think about everything I've been through since being tossed into this world I can't help but be a little thankful.

I know I was betrayed after spending decades soaked in blood and shit, but the years before that were quiet fun, meeting the people, tasting the foods and alcohols of the whole continent, just the general feeling of freedom was intoxicating, and it's all starting to come back to me.

I have survived the worst the world had to throw at me and come out the other side stronger and wiser for it with my passion for my original dream still intact, which I doubt many people can say.

And all of a sudden the answer hits me…. I know where I want to start my tavern, right where my adventure began....Hellon….. it's just inside the borders of the dwarvan kingdom, very close to the human kingdom, only stronger adventurers and merchants head up that way, it's on a small trading route between the two kingdoms which makes it perfect for what I want.

Granted I'll need to disguise my self a little but that won't be hard if I shaved my head bald and changed the colours of my eyes, yes I'm still a 7'2 "human" man, it's rare but not unheard of, not to mention everyone thinks I'm dead, so it should be fine.

I could build a little spot just out of town, I'm not looking to the biggest tavern but I want to the known as the best around, which I'm confident in…..hahah, yes it's all coming together…..

As I'm overcome with an immense need to shut my eyes, I don't fight the feeling and let sleep take hold as I dream of my glorious tavern that will be built in the near future!"