A stranger with an even stranger story

And finally, the most heavenly and soul soothing sound entered his ears.

Creature killed: ??? abomination of the quater moon

[40 XP earned]

Ha...haha... all that for... a measly 40 XP...

Before Kai could even begin to complain about his newly upgraded Luck, his head hit the ground as he passed out from exhaustion.

********

"Well that didn't look very fun"

A voice Kai didn't recognise echoed through the air around him.

Voice... what?

Slowly opening his eyes, Kai felt them burn. Squinting, he lifted his hands to shield them as he let out a hiss.

T...there's light?

After his eyes adjusted to the light, Kai looked in the direction the voice came from and saw... the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

The woman sat elegantly on an outdoor chair with a cup of tea beside her on a table. Now that Kai looked around, he realised that the table and chair are the only thing in the area. Surrounded by endless sky and vast horizons, the sight couldn't help but feel a little... eerie.

Moments seemed to pass in slow motion, moments in which Kai didn't realise he was gawking at the bewitching lady.

The main feature of the woman's appearance was the metal collar around her neck. The dark gray collar looked as if it would weigh a ton, but she didn't react to it at all.

The woman had long black hair, down to her waist. She wore a red dress that looked like something only a supermodel could to pull of, but she does it easily. Her eyes were light green and had some sort of shine to them, like they twinkle as if they have a star in them... only there is.

Looking deeply into her eyes, Kai spotted a small, white star shining among the dense green of her pupil. He only realised he was gawking after she giggled slightly and said:

"Has no one taught you not to stare at a lady? Oh well, I haven't had a visitor in a long time so I'll allow it. Come, sit"

She gestured to another chair across from her, with a cup of tea appearing on the table as well. Looking back up at him, she smiled, and Kai couldn't resist that smile.

Blushing slightly, Kai approached the enchanting woman and sat down, looking at his lap as he could't bear to look her in her eyes. For some reason Nonchalance wasn't helping calm his nerves in this situation...

As if reading his mind, the dark haired lady took a sip of her tea  then said:

"Of course your little skill won't  help you, that only helps in situations many would find themselves stressed in, the only problem being that many wouldn't be in the situation you're currently in, so it has no idea what to do"

Kai glanced up for only a second, and the woman smiled, the smile more captivating than anything Kai had ever seen. If he had to describe it... he couldn't.

"Well, it could be worse... at least my apprentice is a cute one this time, the last one was so revolting to look at."

Kai blushed slightly, but then stopped himself after realising something that she said.

"Your apprentice... as in me? Are you-"

"Hush, child, can I not enjoy my last few moments of piece. If you are to end up like my last apprentice I will need all these moments of calm, no?"

Kai closed his mouth, waiting for them to continue... only they don't. They started giggling instead, then... their form changed.

Almost instantly, the woman's height decreased...

... and so does their bust.

After what seemed like only a second, standing before Kai was no longer a beautiful woman, now it was a boy who looked about his age. Short brown hair and about a few inches taller then Kai. Their outfit changed, now wearing just a bodysuit, though it's a different colour to the one Kai has on. The only thing remaining the same was the dark gray collar around their neck, only it's shrunk a little.

"What..." Kai nearly fell out of his chair after they changed form, causing the newly transformed boy to laugh even harder.

"Oh my... I always said the next apprentice I got I would tease them in that form, but I never thought I would actually get the chance."

They continued to cry with laughter, only after about half a minute do they calm down and wipe some tears from their eyes.

"Oh... I'm sorry Kai, it was too good to resist. You were blushing so much! Ah, it's a shame you had your internal training with Noelle to know where your eyes should be... a real shame, it would have been quite funny to scold you for looking at my bosom. And saying 'Hush, child'... ahahahaha!"

Feeling his face heat up in embarrassment, Kai spoke up to stop the teasing and asked:

"Alright then, how do you know my name? And my skills? And about Noelle."

"Oh please, as soon as you picked the class to become my apprentice I could see everything. It's the most fun I've had in a long time, considering all I've had for company is a cup of tea, an outdoor table and a chair."

The boy's face changed, not to anything vastly different, only that a wistful smile appeared on their lips.

Feeling a little guilty, Kai asked:

"Who are you anyway, and what's with the collar around your neck?"

The persons wistful smile changed into a wide grin. They spread their arms wide and looked as if they were a sales person going door to door trying to pitch a dodgy product.

"I'm glad you asked, most know me as a name long gone, so now I'm referred to as The Ever-changing, but you can call me Master" They added with a wink.

Kai gulped slightly, if they're in the name of his class they must be pretty strong... right? Sadly, before he can ask another question, The Ever-changing continued speaking.

"About the collar though, its because I'm trapped here, obviously. So my dear apprentice, if you could be so kind as to take it off me..."

The Ever-changing turned their back to Kai, placing their hands on their hips as they wait.

Kai stood up and took a step forward, only just as he was about to reach for the collar, he hesitated and asked:

"Nothing bad will happen if I do this... right? Like you won't go and mass murder everyone in the tutorial or anything? Plus, I don't even know how to take the collar off..."

The Ever-changing chuckled. The words that came out of their mouth next, mixed with their young appearance made a shiver run up Kai's spine.

"Now Kai, why would I care about some weak humans from your planet? No no, the people I want revenge on are much stronger and important then them. And even then, I would need time to get used to my powers again after you unbind me. The only thing I can do right now is change form after all.

And even then I don't know how much time has passed since I've been imprisoned, so overall I need information, training and a free neck, and currently, you can offer me one of those three.

As for unlocking my collar, just touch it, anyone with your bloodline can do it so it's fine."

Kai froze. "My...my bloodline? The question marks? What is it?"

The Ever-changing sighed. "Maybe if you just take off the collar I might be more convinced to tell you"

After a few more moments hesitation, Kai touched the steel collar and... it just fell off.

"Ah... that feels so nice" The Ever-changing groaned as they cracked their neck and rubbed the back of it. "It might not look it, but that collar weighs a ton."

Not believing it, Kai frowned slightly and reached down to pick up the collar, he grabbed it and picked it up...

...He picked it up

...He picked it up!

Complaining under his breath, Kai gave up. The collar didn't even budge an inch, it's as if it weighed as much as a planet.

After being humbled, Kai grumbled as he looked at the happy looking Ever-changing "So... can you tell me what the question marks in my bloodline are?"

"Nope."

Kai, shocked, cried out "What do you mean no, I just took the collar off! You said you would!"

"Ah baba, I said I would consider it, not that I would. Also, it would spoil the surprise, that bloodline of yours will be a real treat to watch when the others find out"

The others? Kai frowned and was about to start giving out again, but The Ever-changing waved their right hand and said:

"Alright, alright, I'm just messing with you. I still won't tell you about your bloodline, but I can help your furry friend a little, I might have influenced their level ten skill selection... just a little though. I won't tell you what I did though, that's for me to know and you to find out, hehe."

Kai sighed, then opened his status menu, after scrolling down to Contract of Artemis and selecting Umbra, he froze at what it said...

Bahahaha, you thought your would make it that easy that easy? Try harder next time buddy.

Kai tried to act normal, as if he didn't try and look in the status menu, only his act failed when he looked back at his Master... and saw a massive, all-knowing grin on their face.

After gloating about how smart they are for a few moments, The Ever-changing sighed contently and said:

"Alright, it seems our time is up... You're about to wake up again. It was nice speaking with you, Kai. I look forward to our next meeting. I'll probably bring you back here sometime before the end of the tutorial, it's just, I get so immersed in my training sometimes and definitely not that watching you and Noelle is pure comedy to me. I wish you luck in finding your teammates, I'm sure you'll need it... Also, maybe you should trust the forest a little more"

After a... cryptic enough warning, The Ever-changing's form began to shimmer and was eventually replaced by one of the gargantuan trees of the forest.

"Well... what now?" Kai groaned as he stood up.