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Rise Of The Mao

Chapter

008

The morning sunlight shone through the small crack and holes in the tree hollow causing a weaving of light to fill the small hollow, Kael had been awake for a while already, browsing through the various screens on Dee's menu, beside him snuggled the small otter girl Leaf as he browsed Achievements list. He wasn't surprised to find he'd unlocked cooking as a skill from cooking the fish he'd been catching lately. He had also gained a decent amount of GP from his 'diligent' training <Nice to see I can get GP from training and leveling individual skills, makes training even more useful.> He had also gotten a large amount of GP from his activities with Leaf <Seems befriending and doing other 'friendly' interactions with the monster races is given a reward from the monster god.... Some things more so then others...> He tilts his head to look at Leaf, a soft smile on his lips, while it was certainly fun he had no real intentions of making such interactions a habit... but he was starting to think it wouldn't be that bad if it did happen now and then. Looking back to the screen he flicked through some other windows, his GP was about three quarters full towards level two now <If I keep training on my way through the forest I should probably level up again by the time I get out.> He let out a soft sigh <Seriously though, the GP for a level seems a bit ridiculous, if this was a computer game I'd be level ten by now with the GP I've earned... maybe that's why I got such a large amount of stat points though to counter the larger GP requirement.> He lets out a yawn and stretches a bit, his movement seems to rouse Leaf "Well... seems there's plenty of ways I can earn quick GP anyway." His last words spoken out loud by accident.

'GP?" Leaf was nuzzling up over his chest to look at Tablet in his hands curiously, having not noticed her rousing Kael was startled a little and dropped Dee, causing him to revert to his slime form and land in front of Leaf on Kael's chest. "Is... is that a morph?" She looks from Dee to Kael curiously.

"Yeah... I guess so." Kael shrugged lightly and wriggled his finger over the top of Dee's head.

Leaf blinked at this "Then you're an adventurer?" He could see a small shred of fear welling up in her eyes.

"Not that I'm aware of, I haven't harmed any of the monster races, nor do I intend to. Thought I would have proven that well enough yesterday hmm?" He grins at her and gently wraps his arm around to stroke down along her back gently, his gentle touch seeming to alleviate her fears.

"Mmmm, yeah, sorry." She smiles and snuggles up against him once more.

"No need to apologize, it's understandable." He looked at her curiously now as her expression changed, she leaned up towards him slowly.

"Mmm, but... perhaps you can prove it to me again just to make sure?" She grins at him.

Their lips were about to touch when heavy footsteps through the brush caught their ears, as well as voices, They both froze and looked to one another before Kael gently slid Leaf down off him and got onto his knees to peer out the holes of the hollow to find the source of the sounds, Leaf following suit not long after. Walking into the clearing of the river bank were three men, Kael could feel leaf shudder beside him leaving him no doubt that they were the men that chased her the day before. "Let me go!" A shout came from beside one of the men followed by a grunt as the source of the cry was given a boot to the gut and dragged towards the river. A small male otter, by its voice it was male.

"Shut it pest, hey you sure it was around here we lost track of the other one!?" The man tugging the otter along by a rope called out to the man in front.

"Yeah I'm sure, that damm storm would have washed away any tracks by now but we might be able to use this one to lure out the other one, then it's double the pay!" The man grinned back at the other two "All right make sure he's bound up properly and tie him to one of the trees here, then we just bunker down and wait, that other one probably hid somewhere nearby here when we lost it during the storm, setup a trap then hide in the bushes, it'll come out to save this one and then presto, two skins, two bags of Rezz.

The man with the otter dragged him over to a tree, pushing the otter against it and then wrapping the rope around it to tie the otter to it. "And if the other one don't show?"

"Ha, then we just torture this one till it spills the beans on where the village is, but it'd be easier if we have two we can torture, if we can find out where the village is we can really go on a hunting spree." All three chuckle at this.

Kael's fist was turning white from how hard he was holding it clenched and Leaf let out a soft gasp at the sight of the male otter, reaching up to tug on Kael's shoulder "K..kael p.please.. you have to do something... that's my brother." Kael went wide eyed, he was going to do something anyway but now it felt even more urgent. "He must have come looking for me after the storm since I didn't return home..."

Kael leaned over, hand resting on her back and planted a soft kiss to her lips "Don't worry, I'll get your brother back." Leaf just gave a small nod at this, but a cry of pain caused them both the quickly look back through the holes in the hollow tree to see two of the men had started beating Leaf's brother. Leaf was shaking now and falling into a state of panic and shock, tears welling in her eyes. Kael though only felt his anger burning, it filled him completely, intensifying with each punch they landed on boy bound to the tree.

"Hey why don't we start skinning him now? If the other ones here that'll draw them out, and if not then this one will talk before were even half way done." They all seemed to smirk at the suggestion, one man reaching into his pack to draw out a large curved knife. "All right fellas hold him still while I get to work, I've gotten pretty good at doing this but it still makes it hard if they struggle too much."

This was the last straw for Kael, something snapped inside him, in the back of his mind he could almost tell that a new ability had just been born inside him. His magic aura flared surrounding him then expanding out in all directions covering the entire area where he and the men stood, everything it touched he connected to, he could feel it all, the trees, the grass, the small flowers and plants, and for a moment he could have sworn the plants wanted the same thing he did. Blood.

Around the men the ground began to crack, causing them to startle and look about for what was going on, but before they could react any further vines erupted from the ground and trees around them, lashing down at the three men to wrap around there arms and legs, instantly binding them in place. "W..What the fuck!? What's going on!? Who's doing this!?" The men's cries fell on deaf ears as they were lifted into the air arms and legs bound up as though they were being crucified. Kael finally swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke, his voice though normal seemed to be echoed by all the trees in the area like a shout coming from every direction "You bastards... You think its all fun and games to destroy another living, breathing, thinking being? Just how many families have you destroyed!? How many women and children have you slaughtered just for a few extra coins in your pocket!?" The men all groaned as the vines pulled their limbs tighter, one crying out as his arm was pulled from its socket and dislocated.

"Fuck you monster! Why don't you shove your magic up your ass and come fight us like real men you coward!" The man that seemed to be the leader shouted. But Kael ignored him and turned to Leaf.

"Leaf, in my pack there's a knife, take it and get your brother out then make for your village, I'll keep these guys busy."

Leaf was stuck between awe and terror at the sudden events happening before her, Shaking her head clear she looked to Kael "b..but..you have to come with us then Kael."

Kael shook his head light "I don't know how long I can hold them like this Leaf, I would love to see your village but, I have to stay and take care of these guys... and... I don't want you seeing what I'm going to do.. do you understand?"

Leaf's mouth opened and closed on its own as though she was trying to say something, anything to convince him to come with her, but the look in his eyes right now was frightening... she knew his eyes was meant for the men outside the hollow.. but it frightened her still, every natural animal instinct inside her was telling her to run. Slowly she nodded. "O..ok." She fumbled with his pack till she found the knife and took it out, Kael made an opening in the tree in the direction away from where the men were, letting her slip out unnoticed and then step around from behind the tree towards where her brother was bound.

It only took a moment for the men and bound otter to notice Leaf approaching them somewhat hurriedly "S..Sis!!" The boy otter cried out as Leaf now raced over and began cutting the ropes off him.

The three men looking down at her almost dumbstruck "You bitch! Is this you're doing!?"

Swallowing her fear Leaf turned to the men that were bound in the air before her "No, you'll be meeting him shortly, I think you'll be really surprised." She smirked and gave as evil a grin as she could pull off "You won't be harming any of our kind ever again you bastards!" Dropping the knife she grabbed her brother's hand and quickly spirited him off into the forest, giving one final sorrowful glance back at the large lone tree where she had made a memory she would never forget.

Kael let out a sigh of relief as Leaf disappeared into the undergrowth, he could tell from his connection to the surrounding plants that she was moving away as fast as she could with her brother. He could feel his power fading fast though, he had to end this quick. Stepping out of the tree he moved around from behind it to come to a stop before the three men.

"Wow! Hey look another hunter! Quick! Cut us down from here, there's some monster with strong magic coming here!" Their words made Kael smirk.

"You never did answer me.. just how many lives have you destroyed, how many women and children have you carved open without any hesitation, with no care about the cries they made." As he spoke three large vines crept up from the ground to hover before each of the men like a snake, the tips of each one sharpening to a point.

"y..you!? You're the one doing this!? That's impossible! You're a human aren't you!?" Their eyes just moments ago that were filled with hope at sight of him now filled to dread

"Yeah... I'm human... but... if being human means being like you guys... then I'd rather be a monster!" The three spear tipped vines then lunged forward straight towards each mans chest, piercing straight through their hearts, there was no cries no shouts, just sharp gasps and gurgling as they then fell limp, the vines loosing strength and falling to the ground along with the bodies of the men. Kael also fell the ground, his power completely gone leaving him feeling as though he'd used more power then he even was capable of. As his eyes drooped closed he could see Dee hopping towards him hurriedly. "Just.. Going to sleep a bit buddy..." Darkness then took him.

Slowly Kael's eyes opened and a groan left his lips, his body sore and stiff, he hadn't moved an inch from the spot he had collapsed on which had left him in a rather awkward position to be sleeping in. Slowly he straightened his body, the ground felt damp and moist under him <Did it rain again while I was out?> Looking up at the sky it seemed close to sunset, had he been out since morning? Or was it the next day already? He wasn't sure. Slowly he sat up, blinking and looking to his hands as again felt a moist squish under his hands. Blinking as what he saw was not water but that he had been laying in puddle of a dark crimson, across from him the three men laid dead, their hearts pierced and bodies pale, their blood having drained out and pooled around him while he was passed out. Only now becoming apparent to him, the sight alone was enough to make him feel sick, quickly he scrabbled over to the river hung over the edge, pouring the contents of his stomach into the blue waters below only to then pass out once again.

The morning chirp of birds woke Kael this time, eyes opening to find an image of himself looking back at him, the cool clear waters of the river flowing past just before him, he reached out to cup some water only to find his hands covered in now dry crusted blood. "ugh..." Rolling over he slipped into the river completely and just floated there, letting the waters roll over his body, a stream of red coming from him and being taken down the river to slowly dissipate into nothing. His body was still slow and sore but he was more awake now, stripping his clothes off and washing them as best he could, thankfully the leather was rather easy to wash the blood off of, he spent a good couple of hours washing himself down though, going over himself again and again making sure he got every drop of blood off his body. Finally he crawled back onto shore, shivering from the cold now he quickly setup a fire to dry himself and his clothes out by, for the moment ignoring the bodies that lay not too far away. <I have to deal with them soon.. the smell is getting bad...> He sighs.

Once his clothes were dry and his body warmed enough he got dressed and steps over to the body, dry blood cracking under his boots as he approached them "Guess I should search them for anything useful....right?" He seemed to ask himself the question, eventually deciding he was in need of all the equipment he could get hold of at the moment he did a search of their packs and pockets. The most useful things he found was additional camping gear, another blanket and flint as well as some more bandages, there was some food rations but considering who they were he decided not to even think about what the dried meat actually was. He also found coin pouches on each of them amounting to a total of thirteen Rezz which he gave to Dee for safe keeping. <Hmm.. this group only had thirteen and the other group from the Deer village had twenty six, I wonder what the actual exchange rate for this coin is... ill have to look into it at the city once I'm out of this forest.> With his search over he pulled the bodies together in one group side by side and kneeled down nearby, placing his hands on the ground <I need to clean this whole area so they aren't found, I don't want anyone else stumbling here finding them, it could end up leading them to Leaf's village if its nearby.> Taking a deep breath he focused and joined his aura with that of the grass on the ground, he was still weak from his explosion of power before so it was a strain to even get the grass to move, lengthening it and making it stronger, wrapping the grass around the bodies and then having it drag them down deep into the ground leaving no sign of digging or disturbance, just a soft patch of grass, he was able to get the plants to speed up the erosion of the dried blood in the area as well, absorbing it into the ground to feed the plants. Once he was done he flopped down onto his back with a huff "Phew... that was an effort." Closing his eyes slowly he once again fell into a light sleep.

It was only a couple of hours before he awoke once again, standing up and stretching "Ok.. I should really clear out of here before anything else happens." Gathering his things he closed up the hollow of his temporary shelter and headed off down river once more. <I think I've spent nearly a week just in that one spot now, give or take a couple days since I don't know how long I was out for at one point... not like I've got any important meetings to get to anyway though.> He chuckled softly at his thoughts, it was strange, despite everything he'd just been through he felt calm at this point in time, relaxed and content. Yes, he had just killed three men but he was glad to be rid of such barbarians, to know he had avenged who knows how many lives, as well as having saved Leaf's brother from a terrible fate. Pausing for a moment then as he recalled the moment before his sudden rage, that feeling of something awakening inside him.

"Dee, skills menu please." Dee hoped down into his hands and shifted to the tablet, instead of showing the skills screen though he was surprised instead to see the bold text.

[LEVEL UP]

"Huh... guess those three must have handed out some decent GP... not sure if I should feel happy about leveling from killing real people though..." He shrugged lightly and closed the screen, he'd go to the level up menu in a moment, selecting the skills screen he looked down his skill list quickly and there it was.

[Magic Fury] A new skill, selecting it showed it to be a skill that acted like a berserkers rage but for a magic user, depending on how angry the person is and the level of the skill their magic could go from anything as little as one quarter stronger up to anything like ten times stronger, this gives a boost to all magic stats, the persons magic aura, control, skill levels everything. Once it ends though the person will be left severely weakened and completely drained of their magic, the duration of this weakness depending on how strong the boost was. <That... could be a problematic skill... I'm going to have to control my anger better... if possible.> He sighs and flicked back to the main menu, it looked like his plant manipulation skill had still raised a bit permanently during the rage at least. Pressing the level up button now he was presented once again with the congratulations screen, gaining another twenty five stat points and another skill point. Closing the popup he then went into the useSP menu to see if there was anything new to pick from of which there was just one new skill perk he could take which he looked at curiously.

[Demon God's Blessing]

"Huh.. so there not actually classed as monster races but demons?" Blinking he shakes his head "No no, that's not the surprising thing here." Curiously he presses the button to see its description.

[Demon God's Blessing] This unique trait is only offered to very few that have passed a strict selection criteria of the Demon god's choosing. This blessing will only be offered once however, the Demon God's Blessing will give a variety of permanent boosts, in addition by selecting this one is submitting their loyalty to the Demon God, who will in turn grant the blessed special missions and rewards for completing them.

"Wait wait... this.. is a quest giving system!?" Kael stared at the screen dumbfounded. <Ok.. so... it doesn't sound that bad really so far...> he continued to read the description.

However, performing actions that goes against the will of the Demon God may bring god's wrath upon the blessed. Kael gulped at this, he really didn't want to piss off a god, but he didn't think he would ever do anything that would. With only slight hesitation Kael reached down and pressed the accept button...