Leveling up and getting gear is one hell of a drug.
Now that I was distracted, they were even closer. Their colours were brighter, as if they wanted to be seen, unlike those bandits. My hand tightened on my staff as the figures became more visible. It was too late to bolt, because they began marching straight towards me. That’s when I saw the full scope of how much trouble I was in.
It wasn’t just a few— it was a crowd.
My eyes swam over the entire wave of Plus Menu tags as they approached. Two Hunters riding on horses and… a group of level 10 Carrier Demons that were, of course, carrying a coffin, draped in a beautiful blue cloak with a golden trim. Why the hell is everyone level 10?
Based off their colors, I could tell that they definitely were from another House or organization. Even the demon minions seemed healthier somehow. Huh! Are coffins the only thing those guys were allowed to hold onto?
The Carrier Demons’ shiny golden armour and blue cloaks covering their bodies caught my attention more than the Hunters themselves. They had bat wings sprouting from their backs that flapped constantly, defying physics by never letting their feet touch the ground. I didn’t know what their heads looked like because their helmets were fastened snugly, revealing grey clammy necks. This whole ensemble seemed like they meant business.
A different emblem than the Ravenclast crest was depicted on their surcoats. The Plus Menu tag said that this party was hailing from House Beaumont. I recognized that Giselle was wearing a ribbon that had the same colour scheme. Didn’t that oaf belong to these guys?
“You there! Crossing into Beaumont, are you?” The one in the lead spoke a deep and magnetic male voice through his helmet.
I immediately got into a defensive stance. A chuckle came from him, while his shorter friend remained silent. He lifted his helmet off. He was quite handsome, I was sure. To someone else. Blonde hair fell out from under it, revealing oddly shaped ears and a jawline that could cut a Bloodstone Shard in half. An Elf…? I tried not to stare or judge. Unfortunately, his smirk made me want to gag. Too pompous. He gestured to his buddy, who gave a nod.
“At ease, my friend here possesses special senses, you see. You are of Bearer blood, aren’t you? As are we. As such, there is no need for hostility. You’re not a Nameless Hunter. So we can be civilized.”
He said that magnanimously, but his eyes landed on the small red band wrapped around my wrist and a knowing glint flashed in his eyes. I frowned. This guy certainly wasn’t afraid of being seen, what with his demon entourage clamoring around behind him. I swore I even could see the gleam from his ugly blonde hair bounce off his majestic horse’s armour. I was surprised it didn’t reflect off the snow covered grass.
I snuck another glance at the guy’s ears. Pointy and fair. Yuck. Those are a thing in this world. I supposed Elves would exist in a fantasy world like this— oh, what was I saying? This was reality now. I tilted my head at him and looked at him coolly, unable to form a single word. My silence didn’t seem to bother him. He gestured grandly at my wristband. It was exposed since I was holding my staff. Instinctively, I shifted so it fell beneath my sleeve.
“A lost Ravenclast Hunter, huh? Separated from your pack of… Fellows. You’re a peculiar one, aren’t you?” He squinted at me, then he addressed his friend. “Well, what do you think? She’s not a talkative one.”
He made another nod to them, who finally moved. I waited for them to do something, weighing my options. I glanced above them, where my Item Box’s menu screen appeared. Just in range. There was always the old “drop a giant minotaur horn on them” trick I could use if they were going to start shit.
The quiet one brushed their hips with their hands, causing their black cloak to flutter, revealing a pair of wicked daggers beneath it. An obvious gesture of disdain or distrust. The friend was shorter and slimmer than the boisterous elf guy, but they had thick chainmail and an ashen coloured cloak, looking completely dull compared to the rest of their golden and blue crew. These guys clearly did not coordinate their party’s gaudy image beforehand. I wasn’t impressed.
Then, the friend moved again. Glowing white eyes flashed through their helmet and I felt something tingle inside my head, but it fizzled out. I recognized the feeling. They were appraising me. How rude.
———————————————
+
— Host has received the effects of “Skill: Blood Tracking.”
— The Skill failed because the enemy is lower leveled.
— Host has gained 5 status points!
+
———————————————
Heh. Nice. I’ll take some free points for the trouble. A small, feminine gasp of surprise escaped the silent partner of the Elf’s. The two exchanged a look. His partner gave him a barely imperceptible shake of their head. I knew what that meant. To them, I was definitely not someone to mess with. If that’s the game they wanted to play, then I won’t give them privacy either! Their information appeared above their heads, but like everyone else, they did not seem to be aware of the bright blue screens hovering in front of my face spilling their insignificant secrets.
———————————————
+
Gricar Beaumont
Elven Fighter, level 18
(Beaumont Search Party)
No Bio.
+
———————————————
———————————————
+
Beltrane Beaumont
Elven Tracker, level 10
Elven Rogue, level 9
(Beaumont Search Party)
No Bio
+
———————————————
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Well, they certainly were tougher than the bandits. They didn’t have bios, but perhaps that was because our Blood, or whatever, was not connected somehow. That Beltrane fellow even had two classes. If the Armoured One’s Mind read their powers, I wonder what silly rank name they’d get. Poor little me was a simple E rank, why did the tension rise between us? I was only a few levels higher than them. Mister Gricar bristled, shoving his helmet back on his head.
“Well, well, well, i-it’s an honor that the Ravenclasts have sent a Hunter such as yourself to our borders. I heard about the tragedy that happened at your House’s Rift. My condolences, friend. The Butcher, our problem, has been at large. It’s a shame,” Gricar said with conviction, but he was nervous. He was already steering his horse back to the road. “We’re hunting the same prey, you and I. It seems that our impeccable tracking has lead us to meet here. How about a jolly cooperation between us? We’ll bring her to justice.”
How strangely nice. At least these Hunters have the decency to act a little wary of me. I suppressed a scoff, but shrugged. If the tragedy he was referring to meant all those newbies getting slaughtered after the Rift closed, then I knew who he was chasing. Suddenly I became very interested. Wasn’t Giselle’s nickname the Butcher or something? Wasn’t she hired by their king? Didn’t that mean this is a cover up since not many people know that?
“You go on ahead,” I said. “I will follow.”
The Elf turned his head back at me, as if he didn’t expect me to actually take him up on his offer.
“Are you sure?”
“Brother,” Beltrane finally said something. It sounded like they were a woman. Honestly, I had no idea what kind of name either of them had. She gave me a wary glance. I could see the weakness in her eyes, even though her helmet covered her head. “Are you seriously letting this outsider come along with us?”
“Sister,” Gricar hissed, leaning over on his horse and quietly warned her about something. She was indeed a sister.
Why so suspicious of little old me? There were two of them. Finally, Beltrane relented, and rode off ahead. Gricar looked at me apologetically.
“That’s Beltrane. She’s… always wary,” he explained. “Don’t take it to heart. You should know already that our beloved Old Pnaumen’s Three Houses have been in a state of unease, well, ever since the Emperor—” He made a gesture across his throat. “—Are you certain you don’t want a ride? I assure you, one thing about House Beaumont, is that our Carriers have always been the best of the three.”
Those… Carriers carry people? It made sense, given their name. I was too busy to care about what he was droning on about and refrained from squirming as one of them flapped towards me. A heavy, ornate box platform was strapped to his back when he turned and knelt on his shriveled legs. I noticed that all of them had those human lifts. How utterly convenient.
Creepy noises came from underneath his helmet, but I couldn’t decipher if he was complaining about his job or telling me to step on him. I chucked my staff into the portal and got on, hanging onto the platform frame for dear life as he lifted off the ground. What I did with the Promised Sister finally registered in my mind a moment afterwards. Shit. I should not used my Item Box!
Thankfully, Gricar didn’t comment on my accidental use of my Plus Menu’s ability. Like Giselle, spacial magic must have been common knowledge to him, too. He only watched me silently accept his “jolly cooperation” and didn’t say anything more and steered his horse to follow Beltrane.
My ride made a gurgling noise and then joined the line of his buddies. He was either a pro at carrying people or I was too light, or both, since I didn’t have any problem balancing on this demon chariot. I didn’t miss my old figure, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly offended. The other Carriers didn’t seem to have any trouble carrying the coffin without his help. I scanned it for a tag.
———————————————
+
— Hunter’s Honored Weapon Coffin. Contains the sword of a Hunter recognized by their Bearer.
+
———————————————
I gawked at the tag and its extravagant description. This coffin was essentially just a sheath for this guy’s sword. I scoffed. Gricar must be a big deal, then. Having a little posse of silent demons ferrying me around didn’t seem like such a bad thing. I even felt cool, standing in the wind like this.
Still, there was nothing but plains around us. We must have traveled for an hour before I started seeing trees again. They weren’t like any I’ve seen around my old life, but that seemed on par with this fantasy world. Twisted trunks that were the colour of bruises, blue and black. They seemed like they were strangling each other for light. The path itself darkened, though the cold sun was out. I hesitated to ask whose territory we were in, but decided not to. Gricar looked like he was nervous, but didn’t seem lost. My breath fogged the air, but I still felt a tiny spark of amusement over my situation.
However, it didn’t take long for the eerie winds to change into danger. The clashing of metal sounded in the distance. Under the silent shadowy trees, the noise seemed amplified. My mood plummeted. Here we go. Beltrane kicked her horse into high gear, charging ahead of us immediately. I had to brace myself as we followed suit.
Sure enough, I saw the familiar glowing wound first, then the tall woman fighting off several Carriers and Hunters that found her first. I didn’t need the tag to know who it was. Giselle was surrounded by a lot of lower leveled Carriers and Hunters. But she was laughing. I wondered if she just liked fighting things. A nice pile of kills littered the floor around her. If I couldn’t see that the wound was a blazing violet color, I would have never guessed that she’d been fighting for a long time.
“It seems, my fellow Hunter, that we have found our prey,” Gricar said excitedly. “It is time to send her back where she came from, what say you?”
I shrugged. “Well, I have a bag to return to her. Let’s see.”
Gricar gave me a confused look, but I hopped off the Carrier’s stand. The comment seemed to reset his brain, so he urged me by pointing a finger at me. “You’ll aid us, right? Stand for justice.”
“I’m here to heal the mess,” I said coolly, trying to embody the arrogant aura the typical Ravenclast Main Family members had. It was quite easy to do. I even took the Promised Sister out and stood there with a smirk. “Whichever one is left standing, that is.”
“Brother…” Beltrane had already materialized from somewhere, but it was clear she disapproved of me. Gricar silenced her with a wave.
“Beaumont will see that monster to the light, lost one,” Gricar growled as he hopped off his horse. “You just watch— House Ravenclast will see how we will bring the Light in the world.”
With that, the Elf scoffed. I stood aside as the Carrier Demons dropped to their knees as he strode over, lifting the coffin up to him like it was a trophy and not a decorated rock the size of a refrigerator. A button clicked, though I didn’t know which of them pressed it, and the lid opened up like double doors. The most hideous bejeweled longsword I’ve ever seen gleamed back at me. God, it was too bright! It was lying on the coffin’s blue cushion interior, seemingly soaking up all the grey daylight around it and spitting it back out in gaudy gold rays.
For justice, I scoffed. How cute. I wondered why I couldn’t stuff it in my Item Box and choke out its light, but figured it was because its owner was still alive.
Gricar yanked it out and proceeded with Beltrane downhill to meet Giselle head on. I frowned as we drew close enough to the pile of bodies. She showed no sign of slowing down against the Beaumont’s onslaught, cutting anything that dared to get close down. Unfortunately for her, she had new wounds on her that were glowing red and she was level 10. Facing a pair of two higher leveled opponents was quite unfair, I thought.
Giselle hacked the last Carrier Demon in half, breathing heavily, and finally noticed us. She stabbed the sword into the corpse’s torso and waved her hands above her head in utter exasperation.
“Seven Princes,” she pointed at the Beaumont Hunters. “Just when I cleared the board of these little bastards, you esteemed Hunters have to show up and fuck my day up. What does it… You!”
Shock washed over her eyes completely when she noticed me standing behind them. Her pointing hand moved beneath her bloody cloak and pulled out a crimson potion. She ripped the cork off with her teeth and chugged it. The rushing sound of magic healing her cleared most of her wounds down and calmed the raging purple one at her Core down to red. Her hand moved to rub her eyes, but her metal fist clanked with the helmet she apparently forgot she was wearing. So she shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“You— How are you alive?” She looked at me with horror. Then she switched tactics, like the bitch she was. “Saviour, have you come to rescue me again?”
I immediately felt four pairs of eyes— no, also the ten Carrier Demons’ gazes as well— land squarely on me. This time, it was my turn to swear.
“Fuck’s sake.”
A PATH OF METAL TO AN AMBER DAWN
?
Fantasy LitRPG Adventure Time Travel Progression Crafting Sci-Fi Magitech Reincarnation Genetically Engineered Gamelit
Where flowers wilt, grow metal. Where animals die, build life.
Evelyn Anima has survived for years in the ruins of District Zero, a sealed-off land at the heart of a continent-sized magitek city shattered by a magical disaster that left millions dead—or twisted into monsters.
After countless failed attempts to become a Classer and earn the right to leave the exclusion zone, time is finally running out.
The experimental Core implanted in her as a child threatens to kill Evelyn and the last remnants of her mother's green dream with her.
To fix this broken future and herself, the answer may lie in a distant time. When druids still walked the world, and magic wasn’t trapped in circuits and metal.
But to know history is to live it, and Evelyn may be bringing more of the future with her than she intended.
* A Journey of Hope & Discovery*