The Dark King

by Steffen Schmidt

  "I volunteer to be on guard duty tonight," Mason said. "If you go to sleep, we won't know what to do."

  Dudian nodded, "Then you go and rest. Zach, go and collect dry wood. Sham, come over with me to build a shelter, we will find some stones." With his leadership, all of them began to get busy with their allocated jobs.

  ...

  ...

  Outside the desert, there was a solitary pub.

  Because of the erosion of desert, the pub was half-run down. The doors and windows have been repeatedly patched with wood. Right at this moment, a man and a woman was sitting in the pub, drinking iced wheat beer.

  "Three hundred and sixty people are to be assessed. How many can stay alive tonight?" Kris asked while she was using dagger to gently fiddle with the ice inside the wooden cups.

  Tobu indifferent smiled and said: "Absolutely more than you think."

  "Is it?" Kris raised her eyebrows in teasing manner: "Wanna make a bet?

  "Are we gambling?" Tobu showed interest.

  "How many people can stay alive after ten days," Kris squinted, "I bet two hundred children."

  Tobu smile and replied: "I bet three hundred students"

  "Oh?" Kris squinted at him. "You seem to have confidence in your students. But this time you will lose."

  Tobu sipped the beer from the cup and then asked: "How come?"

  "Haha ... ..." Kris covered her lips with her hand and said: "Did you not know, this desert used to be a part of territory held by the Ryan family a decade ago? It was one of the six most prosperous families in the commercial district. Unfortunately, they were done in by an evil alchemist. The thing is not only the family was destroyed but it's territories underwent complete desertification by that alchemist's evil forces."

  "That was ten years ago, I know, because I was there." Tobu replied.

  Kris giggled, and continued on, "But you do not know that evil alchemist who was later killed by the Holy Church left a few things behind in this damned desert. Now there are other evil alchemists who are quietly gathering here. The thing is the Holy Church has seen through their little tricks and knows about everything.

  Tobu's face expression suddenly changed, "What exactly do you mean?!"

  "The Holy Church is ready to wipe out those evil alchemists that reside in here. But the problem is that they are very well hidden. If the church sends a bright knight over, suspicions will be raised. Therefore, to lure those rats out from their nests another plan was made. It was done on purpose that the Scavenger's examination site relocated to here. These children will be used as bait to lure them out. Also, I believe those alchemists will fall into this scheme, as they won't try to miss the opportunity that is in front of them! "Kris said with a smile.

  Chapter 21: Night attack!

  Tobu's pupils shrank. He banged on the counter and retorted, "Are you the one behind the idea of using my students as bait?"

  Kris shrugged and replied, "I'm not so bold to do that, for I'm aware of your temper as we are old acquaintances. This arrangement was planned and decided by above, all we can do is to obey."

  Tobu's angry voice echoed, "Using a group of children as bait, ah! Is this how the Holy Church had plan to lure the alchemists?"

  Kris' face slightly changed and she spoke in a low voice," Criticism of Holy Church, even in private, is a major criminal offense. Stop spouting nonsense. In case, if they managed to apprehend an alchemist, it will be a great feat for them. Even in the future, if they are eliminated from joining the guard or qualified to become part of the Scavengers, this experience will be a valuable asset for them. You know that building a meritorious service is not an easy job!"

  "Well, do I have to thank them for this opportunity?" Tobu sneered sarcastically.

  Kris replied in a helpless manner, "Whether you are pleased or ungrateful, it will not change the fact that the current situation as such. Besides, if the assessment site changed at the last moment, suspicions would arise. These alchemists have a broad network. Moreover, after graduation, either as a guard or as a scavenger they will be fighting on the front lines. They will face alchemists in one way or the other, and nobody would be able to shelter them at that point. It's a valuable experience for them!

  Tobu frowned but didn't continue to argue. Instead he turned over to the old man behind the counter: "Old Luo, another cup!"

  "So much angst! Maybe I should give you more ice?" The old man behind the counter laughed.

  Tobu stifled but did not say anything.

  ...

  ...

  Night time arrived.

  As the sun set, the temperature in the desert plummeted. Sand is a poor heat insulator so the heat quickly dissipated. Dudian and Sham set up a fire covered by several stones to keep the flame in control. They used old dried plants to start the fire.

  They had managed to find enough firewood to keep the fire burning for the entire night.

  "I'm hungry ... ..." Zach patted his stomach.

  Dudian lied down near the edge of fire. He closed his eyes and said, "Ten days will soon be over!"

  Zach smiled and soon closed his eyes.

  Mason sat next to the fire and laughed, "Get a good sleep."

  "It's too difficult. At first, it was only hunger, now in addition we have suffer cold weather too." Sham clutched his clothes as he lied closer to the fire.

  Mason smiled. From time to time he picked up firewood and fed it into the fire pit. Per Dudian's instructions, the person keeping the night watch, had to constantly keep the fire burning so that beasts would not come close.

  Late at night, the temperature dropped further. From time to time a gust of wind blew. Even sitting next to the fire, Mason also felt cold shivers. His legs were slightly trembling. Because of frequent jitter and restlessness, he suddenly had an urge to pee.

  He looked at the other sleeping children. He stood up and walked away. He untied his pants to pee. In the darkness, a dry palm suddenly stretched out and grabbed his throat.

  Mason's pupils contracted. His heart began to beat violently and his eyes displayed fear. He saw a wrinkled face in the darkness. It looked at him and spoke in a slight husky voice: "Good. Do not scream!"

  All the hairs on Mason's body were erect. He wanted to call for help but nothing came out of his mouth as his throat almost snapped from the force of the palm. Nevertheless, because his body moved, few sounds echoed out in the darkness. Sand splashed from under his feet. Dudian's eyes suddenly opened. He slowly woke up as he tried not to disturb the silence.

  He grabbed a stone that was close by to fire.

  Not enough!

  The distance was too far!

  Mason was desperate.

  Now, the owner of the hand also noted Mason's action. Coldness swept through his eyes. He raised his other hand. Through the illumination of the weak fire, Mason saw the shape of a dagger.

  Sou!

  Bang, a sound resonated. Mason's mind was completely blank. Dudian has used the stone to hit the dagger. Dudian began to loudly shout as soon as he saw the dagger drop, "There are enemies, wake up!"

  Zach and Sham immediately woke up as they heard Dudian's voice. They each grabbed a stone and nervously watched their surroundings.

  Dudian stared at the stature of the slim figure in the darkness. He was always a shallow sleeper, especially in a dangerous environment such as this one. He immediately woke up and opened his eyes, grains of sand splashed onto his face. He didn't see Mason so he grabbed a stone in case of an emergency. But when he turned around to look he saw the breath-taking scene. He threw the stone at a whim and didn't expect it to hit the wrist of the figure.

  "Damn!" The old man who was dressed in black robes screamed. The dagger which he held fell to the ground. His wrist trembled slightly because of the severe pain. Angrily, he pushed the struggling Mason away. He took out a small green bottle from his chest. He opened the bottle and curling green smoke began to float out of it. Without losing an extra second he threw the bottle at Dudian's d
irection.

  Green smoke immediately floated.

  Dudian's face changed, and hastily covered his nose. He wanted to remind Zach, Sham, and Mason to be wary of the green mist but he was unable to speak as smoke drifted close to him at fast speed.?Plop, sound echoed as Mason was enveloped by the green mist and fell.

  Dudian's pupils shrank. He fell and played dead.

  He did not see but heard two bodies fall. He assumed that Zach and Sham also inhaled the green mist. He got curious about the mist, was the green mist a poison or was its purpose to just to make them fall unconscious.

  His heart thumped fast,full of tension and doubts. Is this one of the assessment? If so, he believed that, in exception to those large groups, other small groups will be eliminated!

  Was the purpose of the assessment to have everyone unite?

  Many thoughts passed in Dudian's mind. He could not help but regret. Perhaps the intention behind the assessment was not about surviving for ten days but to see whether they unite together.

  "Damned little devil!" At this point, Dudian heard the footsteps of the old man.

  "They made me waste a bottle of lost souls elixir." The old man spoke to himself. Dudian did not know what to make out of his words. He grabbed sand in his hand, ready to move at any time.

  At that moment, Dudian felt a dry palm grasping his foot. It felt as if there was no meat but just bones grabbing at his foot. He secretly thought about attacking the old man in event the other side wanted to kill him. However, the old man seemed not interested in killing him, as he yanked his ankle and dragged him forward.

  Dudian's heart sank. He couldn't bring himself to decide.

  Attack?

  Or continue to wait for the opportunity?

  Chapter 22: The Creator

  Dudian slowly opened his eyes. From the fire that shimmered, he saw the old man dragging him into the darkness.

  His eyes flashed but he gave up on the idea of attacking. Throwing sand at the old man's back would not achieve any effect. Instead he would lose the chance of attempting a surprise attack. Furthermore, he had been dragged out for three or four meters. The best he could do right now was to grab a stone that was nearby the fire pit. But the stones placed near the fire pit were burning hot. Even if he grabbed a stone, he could only probably casually throw it without aiming properly.

  "I can't step into his lair." Dudian knew that he was in great danger right now. Many ideas spun up in his brain. He had to do something before being dragged into the lair. After all, he was not aware if there were anyone else in the old man's lair. He did not want to be left in the mercy of the old man.

  The old man went back to the place where Mason previously wanted to urinate. He bent down to pick up the dagger.

  Dudian decided that the right moment had arrived. His gaze fell on the side of the fire pit where stones laid. He grabbed a stone. It was scalding hot but he could still bear the pain. He stood up and using the strength of the momentum threw the stone the best he could.

  Bang!. The stone did not hit the old man's head but it hit his back.

  The old man cried out in pain, and then stumbled but didn't fall. He turned around to see Dudian running away. Never he would think that he will be tricked by a kid not once but twice. He angrily burst, "I'll kill you!". He made a flinging motion with his right hand. Something flew out of his gown's large sleeve.

  It hit Dudian.

  Dudian slammed to the ground. His back was in pain. A pain so bitter that he almost fainted. His heart was in a loss: "The old man should not be so fast to catch up, was it a stone?"

  He reluctantly looked back, his pupils tightened immediately.

  He saw a scene that was completely beyond his imagination. A snake like being which was attached to old man's sleeve was flickering in the light of the fire. It was as thick as baby's wrist and more than 3 meters long. The cuff was completely torn. Impressively, the external body part was attached to old man's shoulder and lied rooted there.

  What was horrifying though were the blood veins that were bulging on his arm's surface. It looked strange, hideous and disgusting.

  Two words emerged out in Dudian's mind: "biochemical transformation!"

  Born into a family of scientists, Dudian knew that biochemical transformation did exist. Except, back in the older days, experiments such as this were taboo. Any biochemical human experiments were illegal. In World War II only, they were publicly used as weapons of war.

  He heard his father and sister conversed about experiments of such nature. But he would never expect to see this incredible scene in a world which did not even reach the standards of industrial revolution.

  It shocked Dudian. The contact point of old man's shoulder and the transmutation grew for a few centimeters. The new section was stained with large number of silky tissue fluids.

  Old man stared at Dudian: "The little devil, I will not kill you so easily. I will cut you into tiny bits. Actually you shall become part of my experiments!" After he finished talking, he took big steps toward Dudian.

  Dudian's face turned pale. At this moment he finally realized that the situation was not part of the assessment but a real danger. He wanted to get up but back pain was so bad that he couldn't move. Moreover, the previous time when the old man had used the green fog, although he tried his best to hold his breath, but it [had] still affected him. His limbs felt weak.

  "Want to run?" old man looked at him ferociously. He used his big hands to grab at Dudian's hair and dragged him away.

  Dudian grasped onto the old man's wrist in pain. It felt like his scalp would be torn out. The man stopped dragging him. They were in front of a pit which Dudian had seen before.

  "Roll in!" Old man kicked Dudian's body into the pit.

  Dudian rolled down. Along the way his body hit rammed a few stairs. His arms and back were in extreme pain. A few breaths later, his body hit the ground. He saw the place illuminated dimly. He was in an underground chamber.

  At the same moment, the old man climbed down the ladder.

  Dudian looked up and notice that the entrance to the chamber was covered in wood. Most probably one of them passed through the top of the shelter and alerted the old man.

  He smiled wryly. Wherever plantation was dense, there would also mean abundance of water. Logically that would make the most suitable location for a shelter. He should have thought about it.

  The Old man didn't even care to look at Dudian but quickly paced to a table not far from the entrance. There were lots of pills and vials on the table. He mixed and poured few of them into a glass of water and drank it.

  Dudian looked around. He saw few cupboards standing next to each other. There were large glass bottles sitting on the cupboards. Some of them had human hands, while one had a woman's head inside it. The rest of the bottles contained hearts, lobes and other organs.

  Old man noticed Dudian's eyes, "Don't be hasty. I'll find a big container for you too."

  Dudian face became ugly, and said: "The Holy Church said that people like you have sold their souls to the devil, right?"

  Ricky old man scoffed and said: "The devil? The Holy Church would use the creator and the devil argument to fool the world. When I am done with my experiments, I will be the Creator!"

  "What experiments?" Asked Dudian. Naturally he was not interested about the experiments. He wanted to use the conversation to buy some time to restore his physical strength, and even to think of a way to get out.

  The Old man sneered: "Don't even try to attempt to escape. Do you know what this is?" He opened a drawer and took out a small crossbow.

  Dudian's face changed, the situation was already stacked against him. However he didn't give up. He grit his teeth as he continued talking," Why would a creator use the murder as a tool?

  "Well, It is the wisdom of the Creator, it is not possible for you to understand," the old man replied with a sneer, "great alchemy will cast immortality and you should feel honored to be the material to my experiment."


  "Alchemy?" Dudian hesitated.

  He had some knowledge about the introduction to the Alchemy. It could be said that it was the foundation to chemistry which originated in Egypt. Conversion of a base metal into gold was one of the aims of alchemy tales.

  However, the holy grail of alchemy was to create the 'Philosopher's stone' or 'Sage's stone'. According to the legend it could turn a person into an immortal!

  In history, there have been many great people who were exposed because of their practice of alchemy. Even the famous physicist Newton was an alchemy enthusiast.

  "Are you an alchemist?" Dudian looked at the old man with alarm. "Isn't alchemy just about turning metal into gold?"

  Old man squinted his eyes and replied: "I did not think you knew so much. But there are two alchemist factions. One school studies the basic materials to manufacture the 'Philosopher's stone' to gain the eternal life. The other group, including me, study the living things to create 'life', to become the Creator!"

  Chapter 23: Retaliation

  Dudian finally understood how the old man's arm had turned into that monstrosity. Most of the experiments conducted by the alchemists were carried out on their own bodies. Though from the results it was apparent that the experiment had failed. The additional limb seemed to follow the nerve system signals for taking action. But each action taken would take its toll by having to pay a corresponding price. Otherwise, such body mutations in an era such as this one was without a doubt deemed to be an unstoppable war weapon.

  The old man seemed to want to take a rest, so he commanded Dudian in a cold voice: "Go there". The old man's palm gripped the small crossbow. He wanted to give the impression that if Dudian refused to move, he would immediately shoot.

  Dudian stood up. In this life and death situation, he was anxious and his mind was in a mess. He took deep breaths so that his mind would calm down. His body trembled, Dudian began to move towards the table that old man pointed at. It was a large table. On the edge there were a number of tools used for cutting. Some of them were stained with blood which had not been washed clean.