Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 1: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Chapter 2: The Encyclopedia Of Mana Manipulation
Chapter 3: Head Start
Chapter 4: My Life Now
Chapter 5: Let The Journey Begin
Chapter 6: Up The Mountain
Chapter 7: How I Wished
Chapter 8: Questions
Chapter 9: Ones Held Dear
Chapter 10: Road Ahead
Chapter 11: To And Fro
Chapter 12: Meeting
Chapter 13: Q & A
Chapter 14: What’S To Come
Chapter 15: The Other Side
Chapter 16: Next Step
Chapter 17: Companion
Chapter 18: Family
Chapter 19: Peaceful
Chapter 20: Proclamation
Chapter 21: Everybody Wins
Chapter 22: For Them
Chapter 23: Royalty
Chapter 24: Auction
Chapter 25: Aftermath
Chapter 26: Partners In Crime
Chapter 27: Worth Fighting For
Chapter 28: Examination
Chapter 29: Changes In Dicathen
Chapter 30: Sword And Body
Chapter 31: Last Leg
Chapter 32: Dire Tombs
Chapter 33: Dire Tombs Ii
Chapter 34: Dire Tombs Iii
Chapter 35: Rash Actions And Limits
Chapter 36: Precautions
Chapter 37: A Son, Brother, And Friend
Chapter 38: In The Meantime
Chapter 39: Introspection
Chapter 40: New Winds
Chapter 41: I’M Not That Nice
Chapter 42: A Ball
Chapter 43: A Ball Ii
Chapter 44: Xyrus Academy
Chapter 45: You Dare?
Chapter 46: Not Quite As Planned
Chapter 47: Wiser Than The Wise
Chapter 48: Attention
Chapter 49: Reminisce
Chapter 50: Disciplinary Committee
Chapter 51: Classes And Professors
Chapter 52: Classes And Professors Ii
Chapter 53: Classes And Professors Iii
Chapter 54: It’S A Pleasure
Chapter 55: Match Start
Chapter 56: This Is Going To Hurt
Chapter 57: Family Gathering
Chapter 58: Feelings And Old Memories
Chapter 59: First Day On The Job
Chapter 60: Confrontation
Chapter 61: Romantic Idiot
Chapter 62: My Team
Chapter 63: Baby Steps
Chapter 64: Field Trip
Chapter 65: Widow’S Crypt
Chapter 66: Widow’S Crypt Ii
Chapter 67: Widow’S Crypt Iii
Chapter 68: Widow’S Crypt Iv
Chapter 69: Widow’S Crypt V
Chapter 70: An Unfamiliar Burden
Chapter 71: Evolving
Chapter 72: A Confusing Day
Chapter 73: One Fallen
Chapter 74: A Will’S Last Breath
Chapter 75: Order Of Power
Chapter 76: Manifest Destinies
Chapter 77: Good To See You
Chapter 78: Allies?
Chapter 79: Meanwhile
Chapter 80: Meanwhile Ii
Chapter 81: Meanwhile Iii
Chapter 82: At Last
Chapter 83: Benefactor
Chapter 84: A Greater Scale
Chapter 85: Lineage
Chapter 86: Elven Kingdom
Chapter 87: Winding Down
Chapter 88: A Will’S Unwillingness
Chapter 89: A Stroll
Chapter 90: A Cursed Blessing
Chapter 91: The Start
Chapter 92: Collapse Of Xyrus
Chapter 92: Bird’S Cage
Chapter 93: Chosen Ones
Chapter 94: Arrival
Chapter 95: The Calm Before
Chapter 96: The Storm
Chapter 97: Outcome
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301
Chapter 302
Chapter 303
Chapter 304
Chapter 305
Chapter 306
Chapter 307
Chapter 308
Chapter 309
Chapter 310
Chapter 311
Chapter 312
Chapter 313
Chapter 314
Chapter 315
Chapter 316
Chapter 317
Chapter 318
Chapter 319
Chapter 320
Chapter 321
Chapter 322: Echoes Of Accusations
Chapter 323
Chapter 324
Chapter 325 Painless
Chapter 326 Backlash
Chapter 327 Enough For Now
Chapter 328 Face To Face
Chapter 329: A Plea For Help
Chapter 330
Chapter 331: The Trial
Chapter 332: Broken Chains
Chapter 333: Attention
Chapter 334: Last Mercy
Chapter 335: Haunting Peace
Chapter 336: Protection
Chapter 337: Layers
Chapter 338 A Weapon Against Him
Chapter 339 The Central Dominion
Chapter 340 Burden And Stakes
Chapter 341 Ashes And Dust
Chapter 342 Duality
Chapter 343 Professor Princess
Chapter 344 Eyes Locked
Chapter 345 Socialite
Chapter 346 A Dim Spark
Chapter 347 A Stroll With Gods
Chapter 348 Melee Enhancement Tactics
Chapter 349: Hope And Lies
Chapter 350: Colleagues
Chapter 351: Minimally Catastrophic
Chapter 352: Relic, Revived
Chapter 353: Paradigm Shift
Chapter 354: Somewhat Teaching
Chapter 355: Just His Name
Chapter 356: Closure
Chapter 357: Blood Relic
Chapter 358
Chapter 359
Chapter 360
Chapter 361: The Second Ruin
Chapter 362: Fate Intertwined
Chapter 363
Chapter 364
Chapter 365
Chapter 366
Chapter 367
Chapter 368
Chapter 369
Chapter 370
Chapter 371
Chapter 372
Chapter 373
Chapter 374
Chapter 374.5
Chapter 375
Chapter 376
Chapter 377
Chapter 378
Chapter 379
Chapter 380
Chapter 381
Chapter 382
Chapter 383
Chapter 384
Chapter 385
Chapter 386
Chapter 387
Chapter 388
Chapter 389
Chapter 390
Chapter 391
Chapter 392
Chapter 393
Chapter 394
Chapter 395
Chapter 396
Chapter 397
Chapter 398
Chapter 399
Chapter 400
Chapter 401
Chapter 402
Chapter 403
Chapter 404
Chapter 405
Chapter 406
Chapter 407
Chapter 408
Chapter 409
Chapter 410
Chapter 411
Chapter 412
Chapter 413
Chapter 414
Chapter 415
Chapter 416
Chapter 417
Chapter 418
Chapter 419: One Of Mine
Chapter 420: Shackles
Chapter 421: Black Doors
Chapter 422: Black Doors Ii
Chapter 423: One Last Ruin
Chapter 424: Through The Djinn’S Eyes
Chapter 425: Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 426: Changing The Narrative
Chapter 427: Amends
Chapter 428: Hoping
Chapter 429: A Dream Yet To Happen
Chapter 430 Opposition
Chapter 431 Time
Chapter 432 Overdue
Chapter 433 Respect And Regards
Chapter 434 Fellowship Forged
Chapter 435 Entourage
Chapter 436 Obscured
Chapter 437 Scales Of Understanding
Chapter 438 A Broken Path
Chapter 439 Holding Ground
Chapter 440 A Loose Idea
Chapter 441 The Message
Chapter 442 A Snapped Thread
Chapter 443 Horns Of Exeges
Chapter 444 A Sword Struck
Chapter 445 The Truth Of Power
Chapter 446 Scarred
Chapter 447 A Certain State In Time
Chapter 448
Chapter 449
Chapter 450
Chapter 451
Chapter 452
Chapter 453
Chapter 454
Chapter 455
Chapter 456
Chapter 458
Chapter 457: Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 459
Chapter 460
Chapter 461
Chapter 462
Chapter 463
Chapter 464
Chapter 465
Chapter 466
Chapter 467
Chapter 468
Chapter 469
Chapter 470
Chapter 471
Chapter 472
Chapter 473
Chapter 474
Chapter 475
Chapter 476
Chapter 477
Chapter 478
Chapter 479
Chapter 480
Chapter 481
Chapter 482
Categories Genre: All, Fantasy, Martial, Ongoing Status: Ongoing ______
Total Chapters in book: 485
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 485 Page No. 484 Page No. 483 Page No. 482 Page No. 481 Page No. 480 Page No. 479 Page No. 478 Page No. 477 Page No. 476 Page No. 475 Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Chapter 149: A Simple Cook
As I lifted the tent flap, I caught sight of the guard stationed outside. As soon as our eyes met, his giant body stiffened into a frantic salute. “G-Gen—”
“Remember...” I reminded, winking at the terrified guard as I pressed my finger to my lips.
Without waiting for a response, I made my way back to the growing cluster of soldiers cheering louder than before.
The fight between the half-elf girl named Cedry and the long-armed Jona seemed to have come to an end as a new pair of fighters brawled it out on an earthen platform a conjurer had erected.
The casual spar of the two soldiers had escalated into a full-blown event as the audience moved logs and tree stumps to make seats. Some of the more enthusiastic members of the crowd began making wagers with their peers, from the meat slices of their next meals to more precious resources like alcohol that they had smuggled inside hidden water pouches. All in all, the encampment had a jubilant atmosphere that was unbefitting of this continent’s current circumstances.
Blending myself in with the crowd, I made my way toward the front of the makeshift arena where I found Cedry and Jona spectating from the ground.
“It was a good fight,” I remarked, taking a seat next to the dagger-wielding soldier named Jona. “Who ended up winning?”
The half-elf who fought using gauntlets. just like my father. looked at me with a victorious smile as she raised up her hand flauntingly in front of Jona.
Jona ruffled his short, disheveled hair in frustration. “One time, Cedry. You’ve won one time.”
“The first victory of many to come,” she snickered.
I chuckled, looking at the two of them bicker. “I wish I could’ve seen how it ended.”
Letting out a laugh, Jona stuck out a hand. “My name is Jona, and the immature girl next to me is Cedry. I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Are you a new recruit?”
“I guess you can say that.” I shook both their hands. “You can call me Arthur.”
“Well, Arthur, judging by how things are going, it looks like we’ll be able to enjoy a lot more fights tonight,” Jona said, focusing back at the fight currently taking place.
The fight had just ended with a large, bear-like augmenter finally landing a finishing hit on his light-footed opponent. As the defeated soldier jumped off the stage, nursing his stricken cheek, my gaze fell on Jona and Cedry once more. Jona’s features were fairly ordinary, with sharp angles and a slight, beaked nose. Cedry, on the other hand, stood out a bit more. With her radiant gaze that seemed full of life and her playful demeanor. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were popular with both men and women. Just in the short time I’d sat down next to them, at least a dozen or so peers walked by, making jokes or congratulating her on her win.
“—country bumpkin! Get your head outta yer ass,” a loud, gritty voice snapped.
I turned toward the source of the voice only to see the bear-like augmenter staring back down at me.
I looked around until I realized that he was talking to me. “Do I really look like I came from the countryside?” I asked Jona.
“Stop going after fresh recruits, Herrick, and grow the balls to at least spar with someone in your weight class,” Cedry hissed back, eliciting a howl of laughter from the rest of the crowd.
I got up to my feet. “It’s okay. We’re just having fun, right?”
“Y-Yeah,” the balding Herrick quickly agreed. “I’m using this chance to show the new recruits some pointers!”
Taking off my cloak with Sylvie inside, I hopped up to the elevated stage and held out my hand. “Well then, please give me lots of pointers.”
Herrick grabbed my hand, squeezing it a little too tightly for it to be a warm gesture. “ I’ll give you the first move.”
Letting go of my hand, he spread his arms out with a smug grin pasted on his greasy face as his eyes glanced over toward a group of girls seated in the audience.
While Herrick’s body seemed a bit too round to be efficient in battle, the layer of mana enveloped around him told me he was a competent mage.
Wanting to see how he fought, I limited the amount of mana I willed into my body as I stepped in range to attack.
As my fist approached his abdomen, I could see the mana gathering where he thought I’d hit. The giant augmenter barely flinched as my fist sunk into his heaping stomach.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that, country brat!” he chuckled as I pulled away.
I shook my hand. “So strong.”
“Now, let me show you some pointers.” His smile grew as he glanced again at the group of girls watching us.
He swung a giant hand to swat me off the platform. Taking the hit, I landed on my bottom rather embarrassingly but without any injuries. “Oh man, I couldn’t even react.”
There was a bit of irritation on my opponent’s face as he assumed I’d go sailing off the stage, but his arrogant smirk was still there. “You’re lucky I held back or you would’ve gone flying. Those Alacryan bastards aren’t going to go easy on you, though.”
“You’re right. Thank you.” I tried to sound enthusiastic like a country bumpkin who was now part of a military filled with mages of noble blood but it was becoming tiring.
The fight went on for several more minutes with Herrick trying to swat me out of the arena using his meaty hands while I pretended to get the full brunt of his attack only to stumble a few feet.
“Come on, Herrick. I know you’re going easy on him but don’t baby him all day!” a soldier cried out while his peers agreed.
“I-I just don’t wanna to hurt the twig, you know?” he replied, his frustration evident on his face.
So far, I’d gathered that by the callouses on his hands and the way his arms naturally attacked, he used a heavy axe as his primary weapon. However, besides his decent control in body-strengthening, he had no other tricks up his sleeve. Deciding that my assessment of him was over, I used the chance when Herrick reached over to grab me by twisting my body and tossing him over my shoulders off of the arena.
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The whole act looked like one big blunder. Even Herrick was surprised to see himself looking up at me from the floor.
“W-Wait, I tripped!” he cried, looking around desperately as he waved his hands. “That doesn’t count.”
The crowd erupted into laughter and jeers as they mockingly booed Herrick away from the stage.
Even while only using ten percent of my mana and withholding any use of elemental spells, Herrick was a joke. But I couldn’t say that out loud, of course.
“Looks like I got lucky,” I said helplessly up on the stage while scratching my cheek.
“I wanted to beat Herrick’s giant ass, but I guess it can’t be helped.” A tall woman with her black hair tied back tightly behind her head jumped up onstage. “Let’s see if you really were just lucky, greenhorn.”
“Please go easy on me,” I said placatingly.
My opponent was well over six feet, just a few inches taller than me, but her thin and toned frame made her look even taller than she actually was. With a dark complexion and sharp, narrow eyes to complement her straight black hair, she looked like a panther ready to pounce.
“I’m used to fighting with a staff so I’d appreciate it if you used a weapon as well,” she said as a wooden staff appeared out of the dimension ring on her finger. From the ring she had just used and the rich colors of her clothes, it was obvious that she was a noble but that fact seemed trivial to her.
“Don’t kill the kid, Nyphia!” her friend cried out in genuine concern.
I chuckled timidly. “Sorry, the smith is repairing my sword right now but I can—”
“Someone give the boy a sword his size,” Nymphia snapped impatiently as she stretched her neck.
An unfamiliar soldier threw me his short sword still in it’s sheath almost immediately. I let out a sigh as I carefully slid the blade out of its scabbard and covered it in mana to dull the edges.
Unlike Herrick, my new opponent didn’t let her guard down as she dropped to a low stance. She held her wooden staff out with it’s tip aimed at the ground while her feline eyes peered straight into me.
“Poor boy, getting marked by Nyphia,” someone muttered behind me.
Letting out a sigh, I took a stance as well. I was hoping to use this casual event to get a sense for some of the soldiers here but this girl seemed to have other plans. “Are you ready?”
The dark-skinned augmenter let out an irritated scoff, as if I’d somehow offended her. “Are you ready?”
She pounced on me like a bolt of lightning as soon as I nodded in reply. Her body remained low even as she was in range while she pulled her staff in close to her body, ready to strike me.
Just from her first strike, I could tell what sort of fighter Nyphia was. Her control over mana was excellent—on a different tier than Herrick—but she lacked real experience. Her moves were fast but also obvious. Her intent all but leaked out of her body with each attack she attempted. Most likely, she only had experience fighting against guards or other professionals too scared to hurt her, which didn’t help her short temper and over-inflated confidence.
Each lunge, swipe, thrust, and swing she threw at me, I parried or dodged—but just barely. On the outside, it looked like I was getting pushed back as I desperately tried to keep up. To Nyphia, her temper reached a new high after each failed attempt to land a solid hit.
As my back foot leaned off the edge of the platform we were on, I used the momentum from Nyphia’s over-emotional thrust to send her out of bounds to end the match but she kept her balance with the help of her staff.
Leaping back to the center, she shook her head. “Not this time. Amber, raise a cage around the arena!”
“This is just a friendly competition, not a death match,” I argued.
She disagreed. “No, this is practice for the war that’s right in front of our noses. And in war, there are no ‘out-of-bounds’”—she whipped her head over her shoulder—“Amber. The cage.”
Her friend, or lackey, stood up and raised an earthen gate around the arena with a short chant and a wave of her wand, locking me up with this rabid cat that thought herself a mighty tiger.
I looked around and while some of the soldiers shared glances of concern, none of them spoke up. I was beginning to regret this whole idea of ‘blending in’ and was tempted to just blow apart the arena and walk out but I held myself back. With the possibility of an Alacryan ship, or several, veering down to this shore, I didn’t want to take any chances.
With experience from my past life, I’d come to realize that people become complacent when in the presence of a powerful ally. They come to expect to be spoonfed victory from the comforts of the backline when someone as revered as a lance is amongst them. At least, that was the case in my life. I might have it backwards here—who knows, maybe having a lance with them would give them the confidence and zeal to fight harder, but I was skeptical of that.
“You make a good point,” I faked a smile, staying in character. “Please teach me well.”
With our weapons at the ready, we began once more. A real fight, especially if it involved a sharp-edged weapon, took only a matter of seconds to draw to a conclusion. But with mana as abundant as it was in this world, making mistakes more forgiving than it did in my previous world, fighters did little to correct their flaws and instead, focused on making their strengths even stronger. Even I had succumbed to that mistake when I first came to this world; that is, until that was beaten out of me by the asuras back in Epheotus.
Nyphia dashed toward me once more, this time feinting left before using the other end of her staff in a quick, ascending swipe.
I dodged close enough to smell the oaky smell coming from her polished staff and countered by pushing her staff up with my free hand. This threw her off balance; I finished by sliding my foot behind her back foot and pushing forward.
With the strength of my assimilated body along with the added mana, Nyphia was sent tumbling backward. The crowd of soldiers that had become tense since the cage had been conjured let out cries of dumbfounded amazement at the turn of events.
Glaring at me balefully as her face turned bright scarlet with embarrassment and anger, Nyphia was unable to form the proper words to express herself when a mellow husky voice rang from the crowd. “Mind if I join in on the fun?”
“You’re not joining anything! I just trip—” the dark-skinned noble’s words got caught in her throat as she realized whose voice it was. “M-Madam Astera!”
Nyphia lowered her head as she spoke. “Forgive me for my rudeness!”
The woman that my opponent referred to as Madam Astera was none other than the head cook that regarded me with a respectful nod when I had first arrived here. The chef hopped up over the cage with a nimbleness that made Nyphia’s movement seem infant-like.
I gave a quick bow, remembering to keep in character. “May I have the pleasure of knowing who I’m sparring with?”
Madam Astera bobbed a quick curtsy with her apron. “Just a simple cook.”
Total Chapters in book: 485
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1771831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 8859(@200wpm)___ 7087(@250wpm)___ 5906(@300wpm)
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