Now for my other issue. I was a bit lonely, and the little flesh constructs had given me an idea. Why not build a companion?
Chapter 7: Hopeless — Threscia
It had been my own personal hell. They had taken my arms, my legs, my tongue, my eye, and my hope.
It stank so bad. They kept me in a tent lying in a pool of my own blood and excrement. They would take me at all times of the day and night, depriving me of any form of sleep except the few times I died. But that blonde bastard would just bring me back, and the hell would resume.
All I knew now was pain and vulgarity. I stopped giving reactions at all after the first day. That's when the hitting started. They would beat me just to hear me cry out. Some had even gone so far that I had swallowed pieces of my own teeth. I knew they broke my jaw. I'm sure they broke my nose. My face felt like it was badly swollen. It felt like my neck would break from the number of times I had been violently shaken and strangled.
I thought back on my parents. Had they really only raised me to have me end life like this?
Mother, your daughter is dying. Father, your daughter is being raped.
A smoldering anger flared within me. I felt a mass of hatred washing over me. I was alive, damnit, but I was so helpless.
Were these things really human? How could they do this to another living, breathing person? I had heard stories of orcs kidnapping girls. But even then, they were kept in one piece and given food and water. Not taken apart and kept in a tent just to be made to suffer over and over again.
There was such cruelty here. This had nothing at all to do with survival. No one was forcing them to do this. They were enjoying it. Enjoying my suffering as, what? A form of entertainment?
I had been reduced to this for their pleasure alone.
I had heard stories of Therossa and Rosereth, how they watched and protected us all. My name itself came from the goddess's name. That blonde bastard had confessed to me that he was in the clergy. He said he would make sure I was too unclean to be allowed into paradise after my death.
Screw these so called goddesses! They had gifted my tormentor and allowed him to do this to me.
Screw humans. What humanity is here? What about this is noble and pure, as Therossa claimed humanity to be?
No! I simply cannot take it. I can't do this anymore. I bit my lip until I felt blood.
I call out to anything, any creature in the abysmal void, any god of destruction, anything at all, to let me kill them. I needed them to suffer like I was suffering. I wanted them to feel what I felt, to know what they had done to me.
I closed my remaining eye, focusing on the darkness, trying with all my strength.
I thought "Help! Help me! Kill them, kill me, anything please! I will give you my life! I'll give you my very soul!" Nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing came.
My eye flew open as I heard the leather flap slapping the side of the tent. The blond bastard was standing there with a crooked grin on his face.
He lazily flipped his knife in the air as he spoke."Well, little girl, today is your lucky day! Your replacement is coming, so we don't have any more use for you."
I stared at him, directing all my hatred, hoping he would burst into flames — hoping that he would just die.
"Oh ho, what's with that look? Well then, if that's how you want it, I'll treat you like the filth you are.” he said with a smirk.
He grabbed me roughly by the hair and began dragging me, letting my skin scrape against the ground as he went.
We had gathered an audience of men who whooped and whistled. It was plain to see that they expected a show.
I noticed a terrible smell growing stronger as he dragged me. No, he couldn't be going there...
I screamed as much as my dry, ragged throat could manage. If only I hadn't given him that look, maybe he would have killed me there.
One of the men who beat me had hinted at the possibility, but I thought it was just to get a reaction.
He dropped me roughly on the ground, my head hanging over a large trench. The smell was nauseating. The smell of human waste. In the hole I saw more bodies. One had hair as long as mine, one glossy eye staring up to the sky. The rest of her was completely submerged, but I could tell. This was probably the girl I had just replaced.
I felt a sharp pain as he dragged a knife along my throat. He kicked me into the hole. I heaved. I struggled to move with my stumps but only sank deeper. I gagged and gasped for air as the vile substance entered my throat and lungs.
When I looked up, he was walking away to the applause and cheers of the onlookers. I started convulsing until everything mercifully faded to black.
I cursed this world one last time.
Chapter 8: Companion — John
I thought for a long time about how to do it. The body would be tricky and drastically time consuming. I thought about which soul to infuse into it. If I made it female, I could likely use the lusty goblin's soul.
If I made it male, I could use Bob's personality — though I worried a bit at how deranged Bob may be. He did seem smart and grateful, however. There was also goblin number two, but he seemed entirely too timid to be of use. Dipshit was out of the question; he would stab me in the back the first chance he got, even if it was just his personality.
I decided I needed to finish things with my souls.
I opened up the soul screen once more.
I right-clicked on Dipshit and selected Convert to Mana.
A blue bar appeared in my interface with 40/40 written on it.
I assumed this was my mana bar. It was sad that I didn't regenerate mana like a normal person. But I didn't know any spells yet, either.
I opened up Bob's soul and converted his memory except for the last day into mana. I clicked on Magic and absorbed it.
You have learned the spell Dark Tendrils level 1
You have learned the spell Petrifying Gaze level 1
You have learned the spell Weakness level 1
I had the feeling that if Bob hadn't been so consumed from burning there for so long I could have learned more.
I went to goblin number two and converted his memories to mana.
My mana from him and Bob was now 60/60
I absorbed the goblin's skills.
You have learned Archery level 2
You have increased your level in Cooking to level 2 and learned the recipe Goblin Pie.
You have learned Hide level 1.
He had no magic option. I left him with just his personality.
I opened the lusty goblin soul and selected talk.
"AHHH! You kill him! You kill him! You kill me!" The goblin soul began to freak out, running back and forth on the screen.
Okay, this is unproductive. I closed out of Talk. I converted the goblin's memories to mana. I left skills and personality. My mana was now 70/70. Hmm, I wonder why I only got ten from that one. Maybe there is a quality factor to memory, or maybe she was younger than the rest.
I had the basics of a plan forming in my mind. I liked Bob and didn't want to consume him any further. I felt a bit guilty for leaving some memories of suffering, but I didn't want to have to go through introductions again, either.
The timid goblin's soul seemed to have a feminine vibe to it, and given his inferiority complex from the parts he was originally given, I didn't think he would mind becoming a female.
It just felt bad to leave my first flesh constructs to rot in a cave.
I picked up the male. I decided to give it some defenses of its own. I was basically creating a new race. I couldn't have it be little, ugly people. Not when I could do better.
I activated Fleshcrafting.
I decided to beef him up some more. I grabbed muscle and tendons from Dipshit's remains and made him much stronger. I lengthened his arms down to his knees. I changed the foot into a claw, grafting on the strong goblin toenails and condensing them down to size. I gave the claws sharp points like a bird of prey. Bird, huh, there's an idea. Why don't I give him flight? I thoug
ht about bat wings. I knew given his current size and weight I would need to make them big.
Using the bone from Dipshit and the skin from the goblins, I made them stretch from the top of his shoulders to just above his knees. I made his bones hollow throughout. I gave him razor-sharp teeth, kind of like my original set. I darkened his eyes to resemble mine, giving him night sight. I lengthened the ears a bit, making them pointed. I decided goblin yellow just wasn't his color, so I changed it to a dark grey similar to a bat’s.
Hmm, this looks a little familiar. Something like a small gargoyle. I decided to give him arm spikes like mine. As I was crafting them I thought of a snake's fangs and how they are hollow. That way they wouldn't slow him down in the air. Unfortunately I didn't have anything that could spit poison in the parts pile. I decided he could inject things with stomach acid. Probably not enough to kill anything, but it would certainly hurt and definitely get infected.
I made the same changes to the female construct, making her a slightly lighter grey. She looked like a small amazon gargoyle. I felt a tightness in my pants again. Damn Perverted Guy's curse.
I held up the male construct and dragged Bob's leftover memories and personality into it.
"Hello again, Boss! Why am I still here? Why are you more handsome?" Bob looked himself over and whistled. "Wow, this is new! I see you thought of something more interesting to do with my soul."
I couldn't help but notice that Bob was still speaking English.
"Like I told you Bob, you’re my only friend here. Plus, you have to admit this is kinda awesome!"
I set him down on the ground. He waddled around a bit before walking semi-normally. I guess walking with claws can be a little difficult. He looked at the spike protruding a bit from his forearm and shot it out a few times, laughing each time.
He looked up at me. "Wow, these things are great!" He alternated plunging them out and pulling them in with both arms.
"I know!" I responded doing the same thing with mine.
We sat there for a few seconds shooting out arm spikes and cackling like schoolchildren. Until Bob noticed the female construct. His face turned into a grimace.
"You're not bringing that arse back, are you?" he asked, looking angrily at it.
"Ha, no, that guy is mana now. No, this is for one of the goblins. I've wiped their memories, so they will probably take to this body quickly, but they may be dumber than a box of rocks for a while." I laughed. "All right, Bob, I'm going to get back to work here. Try getting used to your body, maybe even try to fly a bit." Bob nodded with some enthusiasm, admiring his outstretched wings.
I opened my Souls panel again.
I had already decided on the timid goblin because if I used the lusty one Bob would be utterly unproductive, though thoroughly reproductive. I decided to talk to the timid goblin soul now that it didn't have it's memories. I was hopeful that it would not freak out like the lusty one had done before.
I right-clicked on the timid goblin and selected talk.
A soulflame appeared with goblin ears. Its eyes looked at the floor.
"Hello there, how are you?" I said.
It pensively looked up at me. "I is fine, me thinks. Me feels like something missing, something important. Not tell what though. Me feels not right."
I wondered if it was its body or its memories it sensed missing.
"Well, one of the things you may be missing is a body. I have one for you here, but first I need to check on a few things. So please wait there."
I wanted the goblin to know English like Bob did. But something was bothering me about that.
I called the fairy, who appeared and looked at the soul and then at me.
"Fairy, I know that you've been holding out on me, and honestly I feel like you might be trying to manipulate me. I'm sure you know how the elder god feels about that. This GUI you've set up, and these tutorials, and even your form. I know you're using them to limit my capabilities, to hide what I can really do." The fairy looked taken aback.
"I told you, you are my Master! I have not withheld anything," she said with a look of resolution.
"Then explain Bob. He speaks English. He acts like someone from my world. His responses are all what I'd expect of a friendly person. Don't think I didn't notice how much he was changed and how you didn't give me any of those editing capabilities." I stared at the fairy with cold eyes.
My elder-god side had awoken a bit at its own mention and now seemed to stare, as well. Our attention was fixed on the fairy and on the book inside me.
The fairy shuddered. "You are part of a god, and I am now a part of you, as well. I could never — ”
I cut the fairy off. "I feel it throughout myself. You are not immune to me just because I absorbed you."
I felt a bit of longing well within myself. I wanted to consume this fairy, this book of souls.
"You know what's about to happen, don't you? Just give me a good reason not to, and I may reconsider." A malevolent smile spread across my face. I hope she lies to me again.
A deep, dark voice came out of the fairy — a voice that I had only heard once before. It was voice that told me it would take my soul from the first time I was consuming the book. Maybe this was even the same thing that kept me from leaving the cave back then.
The voice said, "Fool! You are too weak to be my Master! You have no power over me! I will tear your soul apart."
It started to chant the very same chant that Dipshit had done earlier, but it was much more effective. I felt myself beginning to fade again, that unpleasant pulling, but this time I was not worried.
My voice came out, my true voice: "I am he who is not! I am the end of things! The true nature of all. I am the void."
That's right, I had felt it for some time now within me. That insatiable hunger. I mentally laughed. You can't break something that is the essence of nothing. I started to consume the fairy, consuming completely, consuming it to the void. I guided my efforts to that one voice in the thousands that were a part of the fairy-book.
Convert to Mana.
The depiction of the fairy grimaced and lost form, turning to green flames. It seemed to be trying to repent. It seemed to regret. It tore at the things around it. Then it was no more.
Mana 10,070/10,070
Chapter 9: Bandit's Camp — Leader
We had been in this forest for so long now. We'd move camps only when the smell got too bad.
We got a fair amount of coin from the Duke's carriages. We didn't lack food or drink. One could almost be happy with this setup if it weren't for that bastard Thads and his disgusting habits.
In the Garanth Empire I was a general and a good one at that. I had worked my way up from the bottom through years of pain and struggling.
In Garanth if you were poor you had to chose between being a soldier or death. I was an orphan, the son of a prostitute who died bringing me into this world and a man I never met. There were no orphanages in Garanth. It was just assumed you would work, die, or get taken by the army.
Garanth had no beggars, no vagabonds. It was a right of passage that you must have at least one kill under your belt before you could claim to be a man. So most youths would hunt the streets looking for easy prey. They would cut off their victims’ ears and bring them to the barracks in exchange for a badge and better treatment when they enlisted.
There was no punishment for murder unless your victim was an officer or a noble. But there was honor. If you were seen stabbing someone in the back, everyone who was considered a man would be honor-bound to kill you. Fighting women and children would result in the same. There were no injured or elderly men in Garanth. You were expected to fight until you died. If you could no longer fight, a friend or family member would end your life out of consideration.
I was proud to be Garanthian because being Garanthian meant you were strong. It meant you had true honor.
There is no honor here.
This Thads bastard is an affront to everything. He is weak-looking,
skinny, whiny, and a girl-murderer. Just looking at him makes my skin crawl like having a spider on your neck.
He is not the only one, either. He has his own group of cutthroats and petty vandals who follow him around like he shits gold. If I could, I would kill him outright on principle alone. But this heinous assignment keeps me from it.
I was not the fool they all thought me to be. I knew I was only freed to lend Thads credibility in recruiting and to be the scapegoat when this was all done. I knew they were planning to blame it all on me and hang everyone except for Thads as soon as this merchant-guild bride business was done with.
I had often wondered why the Duke didn't place a female agent in a town and have her wed his son. The only answer I can think of is to get Thads out of the city and to hurt the merchant guild without retribution. We killed their drivers and their coachmen. We destroyed their carriages, and we kept their attention focused on something other than the Duke's odd dealings. The mercenary guild had even refused to work with them after we had killed so many of their men acting as escorts.
Thads was always drinking, fighting, and playing with his “toys” as he called them. So he never took much notice of what I was doing.
This whole assignment turns my stomach, and I'm not alone. Many of the defectors and deserters feel the same as I do. But with nowhere else to go and no better source of payment, their prospects are limited.
I had been gathering men with similar thoughts for a while now.
The criminals and punks would hang around Thad, but I had the military men, those with honor.
If we killed Thads and his group, we could take all the coin from the carriages and send the girls back on foot. We could probably get away with this for a few months before the Duke caught on. When he sent his soldiers we could take our coin and part ways.
I could join the rebellion like most of the other Garanthians had. I'm sure the coin I would get here would be enough to earn me a good spot.
"AAAHH! Nooo!"
I heard a shrill screech.
A Flesh Golem's Ascension Page 6
