by A P Gore
He opened his eyes once more to look at her. Emotions overwhelmed him. He remembered his own ascension to level five. He was in his fifties when he achieved it, but his parents weren't there to celebrate with him. His gut clutched; he had visited the same fate upon Tia.
Damn! I miss you my love.
A tear dripped from his eye. His heart was flooded with mixed emotions; seeing Tia’s profile made him miss her more and more. This was the best day in his last twenty years, a the day when he got to see his daughter’s picture. If only he could screenshot it somehow and take it with him.
*ERROR* Non-privileged access detected. Logging out of all social networks. *ERROR*
Another stupid pop up covered his vision and his daughter’s profile vanished from the virtual display. He was back in his respawn room with clean clothes. At least leveling up was good for something.
He walked out of the respawn room with a radiant smile on his face. He had seen his daughter. How much better it could get?
It could definitely get worse. The moment he stepped out, a small demon girl landed on his face and scratched it with her long nails. Her eyes overflowed with tears, and her whole body convulsed.
“Daddy. Don’t. Go.” When she was finished scratching his face, she clutched his head in her tiny hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
“Ouch, Thia. That hurts.” He tore her away from his face and held her at arm’s length. Anger built up in his chest before he saw those innocent eyes begging for a hug. Her emotions had surfaced in her eyes, and she was desperate. “I’m sorry. But it was necessary.” He turned back and found the door had vanished. He deliberately ignored her emotional request—he had to keep a distance from her. Connecting emotionally with her would be painful for both of them. After all this, he couldn't forget his goal.
“Let's go.” He gave Thia a hand, let her climb on his shoulder, and started walking toward the inn. The day was almost over, and the effect of Sumara’s curse on the town was just starting.
Thia’s sleepy head leaned against his, and he realized how tired she was. Reaching for her waist, he wrapped his hands around her so she could relax.
Heck, he was tired too. He needed some good sleep and plenty of food. This was a reality for him after all, and they both needed sleep, he and his little demon who was rubbing her face on his head with half-closed eyes. Tia had also used to come to him while he was working and rub her face on his thighs, calling him for sleepy time. A tear slid down his cheek as he pulled Thia down from his shoulder and signaled her to sleep in his arms. With a sweet smile, she closed her eyes.
20. Companion
T he sun was already up when Noah walked back with Thia in his arms. The bright sunlight had changed the last night’s horror scene into a ruined town scene, and he liked it that way. Bright and shiny, and without any danger. He spotted few demon kids already out on the street, playing games. Mathial had said something about it but the lack of females in the town was strange. He had seen many male demons and male kids by now, but not a single demon female.
One of the kids, wearing a loose shirt that was at least two sizes too big, came toward him, peering at Thia. He had an intense curiosity in his dark brown eyes. “Girl. Demon. Play.”
“Yes, she is a girl child, but she won’t come to play right away. She needs sleep,” Noah said. He noticed the kid’s language delivery was a little off.
A male demon with a huge tummy came out of a nearby hovel. “Shmuel, come inside! What did I tell you? Don’t talk with strangers. Didn’t I?” He hissed at Noah and grabbed his son’s shirt, dragging him back inside the house—or whatever remained of the small house.
It was a reality check for Noah; he didn’t belong in this town. Nearly everyone hated him. He couldn’t entirely fault them. If a dark mage had been living in his city in the real world, everyone would have hated him too, including Noah. That was how the world worked, supporting one’s own race and protecting themselves from others.
“Daddy.” Thia pulled him out of his thoughts, licked his face, and went back to sleep. At least one demon would never hate him, no matter what. He tightened his grip around her torso and let her relax. He smiled to himself and pressed onward.
Noah stopped abruptly when he spotted Mathial walking out of an ally with bloody hands.
Noah paused for a moment, contemplating his next move before calling out to the blacksmith. “Mathial?”
Mathial stopped in his tracks. Growling, he turned back. His eyes were black, and his hand was on his hammer. Animosity oozed from his black eyes. Noah’s breath caught like someone had dropped a ten kilogram weight on his chest. Faced with Mathial’s sudden hostility, he took a step back. He didn't want to get in a fight with Mathial, not when the smith might harm Thia. But Mathial didn't act. He spun back and walked away.
It was a strange feeling, but as soon as Mathial turned away, Noah felt the weight on his chest lifted. With a thankful sigh, Noah pressed on while keeping a safe distance from Mathial. He even waited outside the inn for five minutes after Mathial went in. When Noah went inside, Mathial wasn't at the bar, which was fine with Noah. His tummy growled, but he didn’t want to face the demon again, so he went straight to sleep. But not until he’d closed the cellar door and bolted it tightly.
♦ ♦ ♦
Thia woke Noah sometime after noon. Looking at her big, broad smile was enough to lift his mood. She always found new ways to wake him up. Though somewhat annoying, they were filled with love and fun.
His head was hurting a bit due to little sleep, but it was already noon and the intense bright sun streaming in the window made it hard to sleep. On the up side, since it was after noon, the curse was lifted, and his life was back to full.
“Thanks, Thia.” He had lots of work to do. Seeing his daughter’s picture had reminded him he couldn’t waste any more time. He needed to gain levels and find a way out of this demon town. The day wasn’t new, but there was still time to get some hunting done and earn some experience.
Mathial was pouring drinks for himself when Noah got upstairs. He looked hungover, but raised his mug upon seeing Noah. “Hey, human. You seem to be leveled up. Did you grind monsters last night?” The blacksmith tried to cast a joking smile, but his mouth seemed to resist any attempt to mold it into a smile.
“Nope. Just the blessing thing. Anyway, I have a question for you. Is there a way to party up with an NPC?”
“NPC?”
“Sorry, I meant Thia. I want to hunt small game, and she won't let me go alone. So, why not party up and try to level her up too? She too is just level two.”
“Hmm. It will cost you one copper for the information.”
Noah threw a copper at him. “You are a greedy demon…”
Mathial grabbed the coin and shoved it in his bag of holding, which glowed with blue energy, while Noah's bag looked like it was made of spare clothes. Mathial motioned him closer.
Noah leaned in.
“Will it,” Mathial’s voice was a bare whisper.
“What?”
“I said will it. Fock the goblins! Why am I wasting my time here?” He slammed his mug on the table and filled another glass with a grimy smile on his face.
Noah looked at the blacksmith's smug face in shock. The blacksmith had just fooled him for one copper. He turned to face Thia and willed to team up with her. A prompt appeared in front of him, allowing him to add Thia to his team.
“Thia, accept it please.”
Thia blinked and joined his party. Now he could access her character sheet as well, which was an interesting find. He turned the full description option on for her character sheet.
Name: Thia
Class: (Druid)
Stats
Strength 5
Dexterity 10
Constitution 10
Some stats are disabled due to reputation level.
Health: 215
Stamina: 175 (5.36/sec)
Mana: 20 (5.04/sec)
Spirit: 60 (5.36)
Skills
Tail Bash - Demonic Trait: Pierce with the tail to inflict heavy damage. Damage: 20. Type: Physical.
Primal Strength - Druid Trait: Can infuse stamina to increase strength and physical defense.
Primal Healing - Druid Trait: Can use own life to heal others.
Some information is restricted due to reputation level.
Wow! She was stronger than him in raw physical strength. She also had class and demonic traits, but she was missing a second class. Maybe that was only available to players? The third ability explained how she was able to save him when he was injured, but it also made him regret taking her with him. She used it whenever he was in danger, which was useful, but it also risked her life, which wasn't acceptable.
He ruffled the little girl’s long hair.
Let’s not keep doing it.
“Mathial. I can see only one class available for Thia. Is that same with you?”
“Yes and no. Travelers like you can select two classes from the moment you enter our world, but natives get to choose one class every twenty levels.” He scratched the top of the table with his wooden mug. “You travelers are weird in nature. An abomination, I say. Who comes back from death? No one but high level mages can do that.” Mathial finished his drink in one gulp and filled his mug once more. It was strange to see him drinking in the afternoon. He should have been in his smithy, hammering metal. Was it related to the state Noah saw him this morning?
“Thanks, friend. Thia, let's kill some monsters.” He was exited now. He would target smaller game and wouldn't worry about Thia getting injured after seeing her health and abilities. Anyway, he should be more worried about himself; she was much stronger than him for a level 2 druid.
He sighed and set off towards the forest. To hunt. To gain experience. To make his way to his daughter.
21. Demon Crystal
S neaking through snake and rat territory wasn’t a big problem anymore, and Noah could do it easily if he kept quiet. The problem was Thia. She sat on his shoulder, hissing at every nearby animal, and Noah had to restrain her from jumping ahead and charging the monsters without a thought. The girl was tough and powerful, but she was raw. For her, everything was black and white. He, on the other hand, wanted to avoid skirmishes with snakes and rats, as the experience gain wasn’t worth the effort anymore.
He needed about 4000 more experience to gain a new level. Less experience was bad, really bad, like demon poop.
Noah stopped and chuckled. He had made a poop joke, and it was as bad as Mathial's were. Thia chuckled too. Why, he couldn’t guess. Maybe she tried to imitate him; his little girl used to do that in real life. He sighed, missing her.
Noah needed to fight something else, something better so he would get more crystals to combine. Gold was once again dancing in front of his eyes when he collided with a tree branch and fell flat on his face. A swollen nose pulled him out of his daydream. He got further annoyed as the little demon giggled at him, holding her stomach.
“Daddy. Fall. Fun.” She giggled like she had seen something hilarious.
He glared at her until her laughter died, and the corner of her mouth curled down. “That's better. You don't laugh when someone falls.” His nose was broken. He touched it, and the bone moved in an unnatural way. Pain shot out of it too, and he felt the wetness of blood all over his fingers. Red hot blood.
Thia once again draw his attention by clapping. “Daddy. Fall. Thia. Laughs.” She sounded too cute to not smile back, but another shooting pain from his nose banished the smile. He checked his health, and it was sitting at 300. Wow, the tree branch and the fall had taken 25 points from his health bar. He needed a healing spell, but his class had none.
Damn!
Thia suddenly jumped at his face, knocking him back. He smacked his head hard on the ground. Twenty more points vanished from his health bar.
“Thia...” But Thia wasn't there. She was off chasing something else.
Noah quickly cast his perception skill on the thing Thia was chasing.
Mini Griffin: A bird, or a griffin. Who knows! A small griffin is not deadly when alone, but they never come alone. Only their scouts come alone. They travel in a group of twenty at a time and overwhelm their pray with the sheer number of physical and magical attacks. Life: 150. Mana: 20.
This was the first animal he had seen with mana. The orc might have had some, but perception check had failed that time, so he didn’t know for sure.
“Thia,” he shouted after her, but she was already on top of the tree, and the swarm of mini griffins was already on her, biting into her skin. Her tail was lashing relentlessly to push the griffins away, but the sheer number of them was too much for the little girl. On top of their numbers, the birds were agile enough to avoid most of her attacks.
Helplessness crawled under his skin as he stood there doing nothing but staring at the fight. Rage built up in his heart, moving swiftly toward a boiling point over his impotency in the whole situation. The way things were going, Thia wouldn’t survive for long. It was like watching a swarm of bacteria attacking a protein molecule under a microscope. They all moved in unison toward the single protein molecule, and they would show their unity, unless he introduced another protein molecule in their perception circle. Then it clicked. He had to distract the birds to save Thia. He needed to be that second protein molecule. If he died, he would respawn, but Thia wouldn’t.
“Thia, come down. Daddy will save you this time.” He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He’d given Thia's little dream meaning by calling himself her daddy.
She spun her head, stared at him with her big brown eyes, and jumped down. The birds followed her, but couldn't keep up. Thia was in his arms even before the birds got close.
“Get back. Stay away. Even if I die.” He wondered if coming to the new territory was a mistake. He could have easily grinded the rats and opted for slow experience, but he was impatient enough to put Thia in danger.
Thia smiled at him but didn’t detach herself from his shoulder. “Thia. Fight. Daddy. Fight.” Even at half of her health, she was willing to fight alongside him.
Damn you, girl! If you keep doing this, I can’t refuse your affection anymore.
The birds were on them by the time their conversation finished. Noah was ready. He had a poison orb on his palm, and he started a poison orb barrage at the birds, but soon he realized it wasn’t enough. At most, he was hitting them for 25—somewhere between 25-50 in case of a critical strike. He killed three of them, but after that they started targeting him rationally, avoiding his slow attack and hitting him when he was conjuring the spell. In between his spells and Thia's tail attacks, the birds were hitting them both hard.
His health started dropping along with Thia's.
“Thia, go away. Run for home! I'll be back.”
“No. Thia. Fight. Daddy. Fight,” she refused while trying to hit the birds with her tail.
Think, Noah, think. There has to be something you can do with this spell.
The birds avoided his next shot by moving to his left. They had figured out his spell hand by that time and were keeping themselves away from it. If only he could hit the birds with his left hand. Could he?
It wasn’t going to cost him an arm or leg for trying. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining his left-hand prime channel, and pushed his spirit into it. At the same time, he willed the spell to emerge out of his left hand. His left-hand spirit channel felt stretched by the sudden influx of spirit through it, but it adjusted the flow, and a green orb formed on his left palm.
“There you go, bitches!” He fired the spell simultaneously from both hands and caught two birds by surprise. He poured his spells out from both hands until he was down to 20 spirit. Between the two of them, they’d killed ten birds in total.
His spirit was low, and there were still ten griffins left. But thanks to his spells, the birds were keeping away from Thia and focusing on him.
He decided to
cast his new curse on the birds. The good things about it were the range of the curse and that it required only 20 spirit. He chanted the curse name and covered most of the birds within the default range of three feet. The birds paused in their tracks, forgetting to attack, then flew a few feet away and formed a close-knit group. Noah was wondering what they were doing when they formed a giant fireball in front of them. Shit! They were casting a combined fireball. That's how they used their mana. And there was nowhere to run.
Thia jumped into the fireball, fingers curled into claws. Her nails were longer than before. She passed through the fireball unaffected and tore apart two birds at once, breaking the spell. The birds scattered and flew away. Thia landed next to him with a smile on her face.
“How did you do that?”
“Thia. Resist. Magic.”
He wondered if this was one of her traits as well. Whatever it was, she’d saved their lives once again.
When they finally sat on the ground, resting, Noah opened his notifications. He’d finally figured out how to put them on silent earlier. They were distracting during battle, and it was much better fighting without them.
Congratulations! You have learned dual casting. If you try hard, you can cast the spell from both hands simultaneously. 1% skill effect per level in the skill. This skill can't be increased by skill points.
There was one particular notification about his new curse which he found interesting.
You have cursed 6 griffins with the curse of blood boiling. Aggro increased for you by 50%. Effect failed due to no blood exposed or target’s fire resistance was high.
He didn’t understand the aggro part from the text, but he understood it was related to the birds’ sudden behavior change.
A slew of notifications filled his vision once again. As a party, they had gained about 600 total experience, and out of it he got 320 for his contribution in the battle.
