Bloody Crucible- Lone Wolf

by E C Chii

  Elemental Manipulation Level 1 (Channel, Progressive) – Channel various elements by fueling them with MP to affect the world around you. Requirements, causing a desired effect will increase the cost per second: Elemental usage is variable, 5MP per second. Cannot be used for direct damage.

  Wolf beamed with satisfaction that he now had the ability to use magic. Siris looked on confused that he would be so happy learning one of the most basic of magic.

  “Out of curiosity, it says that it cannot be used for direct damage? But doesn’t make any mention of not being useable in combat.” Wolf asked curiously and with a few ideas popping into his head.

  “No, I don’t think anyone has ever tried to do that, but I don’t think it would work. It would take way too much concentration to maintain a spell during a fight.” Siris responded

  Wolf had a gut feeling that she was right about maintaining a spell or channeling the element over a prolonged period in a fight. Though the idea that he had would not require such concentration. Sighing to himself he grabbed a torch, lighting it and walked to the back of the cave. When he arrived he quickly tried to summon a light sphere failing several times before he succeeded. Standing 10’ at its highest and being roughly 20x15 meters in dimension. In the center was the large nest that he assumed he had ‘hatched’ from. Aside from the now broken shell that he came from were two more that were in pristine conditions, one shimmering and changing colors constantly, while the other was a scarlet red. Walking up to the broken shell he picked up a piece. Using ‘Analyze” on it a notification window appeared

  You have found an Ancient Dragon Egg (Fragment)

  Name: Wolf’s Ancient Dragon Egg (Fragment)

  Quality: Pristine

  Creator: Unknown

  Durability: Indestructible

  Rarity: Unique

  Weight: 5 kg

  Using 5 fragments will have an unknown effect. Caution is advised as results can be unpredictable.

  ‘Curious’ he thought, picking up the remaining fragments he found a total of fifteen. Deciding to toss caution to the wind, he used five on himself.

  Congratulations! You have used five Ancient Dragon Egg Fragments. You have 1 racial point to distribute

  Well that was unexpected. Using the remaining ten resulted in two more notifications to appear.

  You have lost the Craft ‘Weaponcrafting’, this Craft will never be available to you again. In lieu of this, you are being refunded 1 skill point.

  You have gained +3 to all stats.

  Wow, that’s amazing he thought. Sort of sucks that I will never be get Weaponcrafting again…Let’s see for racial I am defiantly going to bump up ‘Hardened Scales’, but I think adding a point to ‘Elemental Manipulation’ would be good.” After leveling ‘Hardened Scales’ he went to ‘Elemental Manipulation’ to add the point. A bright red notification appeared.

  YOU CAN NOT ADD SKILL POINTS TO PROGRESSIVE ABILITIES. PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER SKILL.

  Changing over to Stealth he made it level 5.

  Stealth Level 5 (Active, Common) – Until broken you are 50% less likely to be discovered. Walking into well-lit areas, aggressive actions, and receiving damage will break stealth. Cannot be used in combat, movement speed is reduced by 86%. 3-minute cooldown

  Using ‘Analyze’ on the Ancient Dragon Eggs its information popped up but was largely useless as it did not display much if any useful information.

  Walking up to the closest Egg he found that it was rough, scaly, and cool to the touch. Nothing happened which disappointed him immensely, shrugging he laid down on the detritus to sleep. Waking up several hours later, night was just starting to break. Using a few eggs and other ingredients to make an omelet. Once again Siris woke to the smell of food being cooked.

  Saying in a playful tone as she woke up, “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey”

  Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, “Why are you up at such an ungodly hour?”

  “Hmm… took you for a morning person. Sorry don’t have any coffee so you will just need to wake up on your own.”

  “What’s Coffee? Is that some sort of food?” Siris asked quizzically.

  Panicking a bit, he asked, “This place doesn’t have coffee? I think I’m in hell. What do you usually drink in the morning to wake up?”

  She was confused by his worried look, “Most people drink a variety of teas. Why would you think you’re in hell if you can’t have it?”

  “Shit, coffee is one of my four basic food groups. Do they have tea that helps wake you up? I am going to need to find a replacement to one of my four basic food groups of Coffee, tobacco, bacon, and women.”

  “YOU EAT WOMEN!” she jumped back looking at the contents of the pot.

  “Yeah don’t men here do that? You know get between the legs and lick the shit outta their snatches”

  Siris blushed an intense crimson. “Why would someone do that? Isn’t it dirty?”

  “Only if you do it right” he quipped causing her face to get even redder.

  In a quite almost mumble she said, “…does it feel good?”

  “Hmm, what?” he asked letting the comments go. Figuring he will tease her about it later.

  Siris turned away saying, “Nothing! Is it done yet?”

  Scooping some of the stew out, “Yep. Just out of curiosity, do you have any combat skills?” and handing her the bowl.

  “Not really, I know some spells but those are all beginner level. It was never really needed. Where did you learn that fighting style you used last night?”

  “Ah that’s called Aikido with a mix of Jujutsu. It’s a hand to hand technique I learned before joining the Army where I’m from.”

  “Ah, you seem different from last night, but I am not sure how. More attractive, did you put points into Charisma?”

  “Yeah, I went back there and found shards of the egg I came out of and the fragments boosted my base stats by 3.”

  “Well that was fortunate. How long until breakfast is ready?” She asked

  “Maybe a few more minutes.”

  Rolling off the bed her knees nearly gave out. “Ugh this Weakened debuff sucks to holy hell.” Suddenly she froze, a loud gurgling erupted from her stomach. Her face paled as she rushed out of the cave.

  “Well that just happened.” He said while he finished cooking his breakfast. After about twenty minutes she returned with a relieved look on her face.

  Like a smartass he said, “Yeah, I’m kinda like that too in the mornings. Don’t feel right until I’ve had my morning shit either. Feel better?”

  Her face reddened, “Don’t mock me. What was that word you used earlier? Asshat? Stop being such an Asshat.”

  Wolf couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh man, I knew some of the words and phrases I would use could catch on but for the first one to be asshat is just too much.” The laughter turned into uncontrollable giggles. “Oh, it hurts…It rolls of your tongue doesn’t it…” Amid all his laughing she got increasingly angry, reaching the breaking point she walked over and punched him in the chest.

  You have taken 2 Damage from Siris Yhelena (2.4 damage mitigated)

  This only made him laugh harder further antagonizing Siris thus invoking another punch, devolving in a perpetuating circle. Eventually he grew tired of the seemingly endless cycle he said, “Ok, I’m off to go get washed up in the spring. Let me know if there is something you need when I get back.” Receiving no reply but just a grunt, he went to the spring to wash up.

  A few hours later, Siris calmed down enough made her way to the spring to wash up herself. As she approached she heard Wolf talking to himself nude by the pool with a rag he took from the bodies of the dead Imperials. Mesmerized at the litany of scars crisscrossed across his back, some were smooth while others were jagged. Each scar told a different story of pain and war. She recognized the scars reminiscent of swords, knives and other melee weapons but the ones that looked akin to wasp stings in the front and on the other side was what looked like a small crater twice its
size. Her eyes widened at the sight of so much evidence of war and pain she became distracted by his muscled body. Other spots had small bumps that looked like bug bites.

  “So, what’s your game plan huh Richard? Get the lay of the land then what? Teaming up with the Empire is a non-starter, I won’t be able to tolerate those slaver shit stains. Maybe I should just work with that village from here? Living out here hasn’t been too bad it’s a defensible position, easy access to food, water, and other necessities. Though having Siris around has given me something to think about regarding having people around, having someone to talk to has been rather enjoyable. Not to mention she IS sexy as hell.” All the while he was talking to himself as soon as he said Siris’ name his tail began to wag a bit unconsciously.

  Siris took a step forward stepping on a twig. Wolf stood up drawing his sword with all the intent of murdering anything that was around. Seeing him rise and draw his sword so swift and smoothly even in his compromised condition shocked her. They stood there staring into each other’s eyes as seconds passed. His face was a façade of anger and aggression when she finally broke from the gaze, drifting down catching sight of all his assets.

  Relaxing he asked, “So, like the angle of the dangle?”

  Her face turned beet red as she scrambled away running back to the cave. Letting out a deep breath he slowly got dressed enjoying the wind on his nude body. Once dressed he too, headed back to the cave to load the rickshaw for the long trek to the village. At the cave, she refused to make eye contact which annoyed him, but he let it pass.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask. What are your plans, you know, after we get to the village?”

  Siris looked confused at first then remembered he was not from this world. “I am not sure, I have a pretty good idea, but until I find out what is really going on I won’t be able to say for certain. Though I am sure we will probably need much better gear than we currently have.”

  “We?”

  “What is that a problem? You don’t seem too keen on the Empire, so I just figured that, teaming up with me until you decide what to do long term would be a good idea.”

  “I suppose; I mean you are rather easy on the eyes. Also, your Weakened status debuff has already ended. I will make you a hanging sleeping back tonight, and we can leave for the village in the morning.”

  “A what?”

  “Nothing, never mind. That Elemental Manipulation ability, it’s telling me that it’s a progressive ability. How do you build on it?”

  “This is the simplest form of magic used to build a person’s affinity. To use spells, you must have a certain level of mastery in the spell’s respective element or elements. You can of course forgo the spell and just use the elements directly. However, using it this way pulls the element directly from yourself than from the surroundings. There are certain occasions where using a spell is not as effective as using an element directly, but those situations are few and far apart.”

  “So, your saying it’s like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets?”

  “Precisely, some Elemental Manipulation is a very versatile skill but relying on it alone will not help. For example, there is no elemental healing capabilities, only through spells will you hasten recovery and HP. Also take into consideration that opposing elements do not mix well together and will reduce the effectiveness, and not using certain elements over a prolonged period will cause your affinity to decline. If it happens that a spell requires an affinity at a certain level, and it drops below the minimum, you will be unable to use that spell. That is why many try to specialize in two or even three elements. I apparently was in that accursed crystal for so long that all my affinities have dropped to 0%, I will be practicing too so if you need advice just ask.”

  “Okay, sounds pretty simple. Let’s get some sleep early, the next few days will be long and exhausting.”

  “I will go get bathed, this wilderness living is ruining my hair and nails.”

  When she returned, a smile was on her face. “Goodness I love a good hot bath.”

  “Hot bath? How?” Wolf asked incredulously

  “By using Elemental Manipulation. Didn’t you just heat up the water with fire magic?”

  Slapping his palm to his forehead, while saying, “Doh”. Once again Wolf had to remind himself that he was no longer on Earth and the same things that applied there would not necessarily apply here. While some things may be universal others were not.

  Chapter 12 – Foreigner from Earth

  The next day went on with them continuing their preparations for the trip to the village.

  Siris looked at him quizzically, “So I’ve been wondering, could you tell me about all those scars you have? Especially the ones that look like wasp stings, I have never seen one of those. What kind of weapon makes that type of injury?”

  Responding tersely, “Rifles, pistols and shrapnel.”

  “What are those?”

  Sighing he answered her, “Imagine a 1-meter staff that shoots a piece of metal faster than the eye can see using a controlled explosion piercing your body. It travels so fast that most armor is useless against it.” Picking up a stick he mimicked it being a rifle.

  “These weapons have ranges of up to 800 to 1500 meters. These weapons kill quickly, are easy to use, require little to no training to become proficient, and shoot quickly. Best way to think of it is either a bow, or crossbow that shoots up to 20-100 bolts or arrows per minute. I’ve been shot more times than I can count, and prefer not to count them either.”

  Her eyes widened, “That would change to face of war, thousands of people would die regularly.”

  Wolf’s eyes became unfocused and dulled, a distant look swallowing all life in sight, his gaze reminded her of a death reaper. Her blood ran cold when his dispassionate and monotone voice spoke up, “War at its core never changes. It’s always been about killing your enemy before they kill you. That’s why we humans, on my world we created these weapons, with the misguided idea that if we could create stronger, more powerful weapons we could stop it. Unfortunately, this never did happen, it simply spurring others to do the same. Soon enough we had weapons that could destroy entire cities containing several millions of people and rendering all the land surrounding it uninhabitable for dozens of years.”

  She saw him take several deep breaths, life returned to his face as he said, “I didn’t want to be a regular foot soldier. I was a Tactical Reaction Force Specialist, or Tactical Retarded Fighter if you want to be a dick about it. We specialized in quick extreme close combat within tight confined spaces like dense forests, caves, and cities. While passable as a regular rifleman I shine as a guerrilla fighter deep behind enemy lines or as a delaying force in a city. Naturally with such close quarters fighting we had a perchance for melee based weapons. A rifle is a great tool but when you are in areas with limited visibility it’s difficult to know who or what your shooting. Normally we went for six to twelve-month deployments as a seven-man team. Each week we would kill anywhere from sixty to seventy people on our slow weeks, and anywhere from two-hundred or more on our more active weeks.”

  Siris was speechless, if what this man said was true he himself had killed hundreds if not thousands of people. The thought horrified her, her stomach churned with nausea that washed over her. How could a man that hates slavers, so much be such a monster himself? What would change a man so much from being the human he had claimed to be, into to the figurative embodiment of death? “How did you become like this? What made you decide to become…this?”

  “When I was little, my father and grandfather were captured by the enemy. There they subjected to some of the worst tortures and experiences you couldn’t even imagine. The physical, mental, and emotional trauma they suffered, it boggles the mind how broken a person can become.”

  Humanity and life flooded back into his face, “Sorry, I just went into dark place. Imagine a few millions of your people killed in an instant and an entire section of your land turned into a wastel
and. Then if that were not enough, an army invades your homeland enslaving your people. Those unfortunate bastards unlucky enough to be caught are pushed into slavery. Men are literally worked to death, while the women are raped, or worse, and children are outright killed. All signs of their culture are systematically destroyed, their identity is eliminated entirely. Sadly, this is an occurrence that happened all too frequently. There are several common sayings within our world about this, from one of our most prominent figures of our history said, ‘For evil to succeed, all it needs is for good men to do nothing’.”

  “Who said that?” she asked

  “His name was Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. He fought against the oppression of his people and for equality through non-violent means. Another quote was made by one of our highest and greatest ranked officers, General Douglas MacArthur, ‘The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”