Larm Forest was a very dangerous place. So dangerous that humans dare not step foot in it. Well, it was human nature to step foot into the unknown regardless of the amount of danger. So, why exactly did no one dare step foot here?
It was due to the presence of five powerful creatures known as the Tyrants of Larm. These tyrants all possessed immense power and were said to be able to take down whole adventurer guilds by themselves. It was rumoured that the strongest of these Tyrants could take down an entire nation if they so pleased.
There was a nation that had suffered from a Tyrant's wrath before and this was a well-known fact. No one wanted to introduce such a monstrosity into their lives, so they dared not bother with Larm.
Right now, in the West, its resident Tyrant could smell a blossoming fire. The discoloured creature got off its arse and picked up a massive club that was twice its size and walked towards the entrance of its cave. When it got there, the sun was not visible. It was night time. Yet, the forest was bright. It could see and smell smoke. Tiny animals were running about, none daring to go near its cave, but they were running around.
The Tyrant sniffed the air, and it tilted its head to one side, confused. There was a forest fire, but strangely no humans. In fact, the forest fire shouldn't have been possible with the way the trees in the forest were. It was like the trees were willingly burning themselves.
The Tyrant put their hand in their nose, picking out boogers. With an annoyed yawn, the Tyrant kicked off to go investigate. Not as fast as a lightning strike, but very close. The Tyrant of West was going to meet a seemingly very boring sight.
Little did the Mad Witch of the West know that she was about to have her entire life turned upside down.
***
'Ah! Stop that you damned dog!'
I still struggled under the wolf's weight. In a desperate attempt, I activated [Poison Gas Creation] to hurt the wolf's nostrils. This worked after I lost about 60 more health points. The wolf jumped off me and I slowly managed to move. I noticed I had the status [Broken Bones]
[Status Name: [Broken Bones]]
[Status Effect: The target's bones are all broken. All base stats decrease by 70% and target is inflicted with [Pain], [Internal Bleeding]]
'That… isn't good…'
My health points were going down fast. Like insanely fast. It wouldn't be long till I was left with only 50 percent of my original health.
That wasn't the only problem now. The ground was burning. Smoke was everywhere, making it a bit hard to breathe and see. Well, vision wasn't actually a problem seeing as I used other perception skills.
"Grrrrrr."
I looked back at the agitated wolf. I dragged my heavy body away. I had no chance but to fully activate the plan since I had already started it.
'Do it!'
I sent an order to the twig brothers. Ichi, Ni and San descended from the tree tops where I ordered them to hide and they came with Ichi's hand in the form of a large chainsaw. Honestly, where was he getting the idea for some of these shapes? Did he have access to my memories from before reincarnating? Maybe because I was its creator it saw glimpses of my past? Something like that?
They came down, delivering powerful blows to the wolf's head one after the other, so it were almost as if it were bobbing its head. They then landed, all making teasing expressions at the angry wolf whose HP I barely even scratched.
San whipped the wolf's ass, causing it to turn around and almost bite off his tiny head, but Ni shut Kuro's maw tight where as Ichi began the process of trying to cut it in half with his chainsaw.
Kuro slapped Ichi away with his tail and forcefully opened its mouth, wide enough to stick its tongue out and grab the arms into its mouth to be torn to pieces. It was left with San who continued to annoy the living hell out of the wolf.
I coughed a bit and leaned against the tree. My skills looked numerous, but in the face of true raw power, they were nothing but mere party tricks. If I wanted to stand at the top, what I needed was not brains, or tricks. It was all brawn. I needed power for in the face of true power, all could only bow.
'Guys… go back and hide.'
So for now, I would simply live to fight another day. I coughed up a bit of fire. The sparks were reflected by a shiny substance hanging between trees. My black threads which were not actually black.
'From the very beginning, my plan wasn't a head to head confrontation. I simply wanted to trap you here, where I laced the floor with a bunch of leaves I already dried out during the day. Didn't you wonder why the ground was burning? Now that they lack moisture, do you know what would happen when fire touches them? I'm guessing you wouldn't since you are just a dumb dog. Mitsuki was right. Cats were always smarter.'
Damn it! I cringed so hard to the point where I was proud of myself. I said one of those cringey lines the wise mentors on their death beds in shounen novels always do! Yes, I became a damned novel character. Unlike them however, I wasn't dying today.
I coughed the fire out. It was me adding an ember to an inferno at this point.
"AWWOOOOOOOOO!!!"
The wolf howled.
[The spawn San has been destroyed]
A message popped up and an automatic voice rang in my head. I paused in my tracks and looked back. The wolf was looking at me, the way its body was on fire and the ground around it burnt made it look like a beast from hell. I saw San's body burning before my eyes. It was a lump of charcoal.
I could feel all heat in my body drain away. My own heartbeat slowed, but was as loud as thunder. My body shook mightily as if I was going to cause an earthquake.
I knew I should have ran. With the threads I had tied all around and the way I had reinforced them, it would have taken the wolf quite a while to escape. So right now was the perfect time to run. So… why didn't I?
Why did I turn back with my severely wounded body? Why despite the odds was I able to fly at the creature? Why… why was I crying?
***
I looked all around me. My nest was in flames. There was so much smoke it was getting hard to breathe and see. My body felt numb. My feet especially. I saw blood dripping down then before me there was the wolf. It was covered in scratches, but it didn't have any serious damage on its body.
Damn it, all my preparations were still useless. I was still too careless. No, now I was going to die. I didn't want to die. Not now! I hadn't become a badass phoenix yet! I hadn't built a mansion yet! I hadn't gotten my monster girls yet!
I couldn't die now. Not after barely living in this piece of shit world.
I suddenly lost all sense of reasoning. The only thing that was on my mind was Survive. To survive I needed to Kill.
Kill. Kill. Kill. I couldn't die here. Not now! So I would kill.
An adrenaline boost caused me to surge with power as I flapped my wings hard, allowing me to meet the wolf on an eye-eye level. Through the pain of my leg being gnawed at by a wolf, I used my other leg to scratch the damned wolf's face.
Not even thinking I just let loose my attack. My claws had been transformed into bronze, then coated with my poison. I scratched the beast's eye out. Blood jutted out like a fountain and seeing as it had never known anything as painful as losing its eye, it let go of my leg which I hadn't expected. With how hard I was flapping my wings, I flew straight back, spiraling in the air till I fell on the ground pathetically.
'Ugh… Uuuggh! Aaaagghh! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! This hurts! This really, really hurts. My vision was all red now with blood. My body felt very numb and heavy. I doubted I could move now. Still, I couldn't simply die here, right? With all my will power, I stood on my one functional leg.
Not thinking straight, I activated [Fire Breath] and [Poison Generation]. I opened my beak wide as my stomach was getting gassy. I felt like I was getting the worst sort of stomach ache imaginable. The air literally burnt my nostrils. It was like the very atmosphere was acidic.
I saw a weird liquid leaking from my beak. It had this sort of green with a mix of bright orange in it. It looked so beautiful, yet it was destroying my beak.
Yes. This would be enough to injure that damned wolf.
I looked at it. The beast must've sensed my plan, because now it wasn't squirming about in pain. It looked at me, it's eye showed a sign of pure determination and rage.
Well, this was the kind of fight I wished for in the first place. To be put on the battlefield and feel the rush of a life death situation. This was all my fault for envying a bloody boar. No regrets now!
"Stop."
The skill deactivated. My body collapsed, my willpower was drained. This was all because I heard a voice resonate in my head. With [Auto Mapping], [Sensors] and [Feelers] I saw a being in about a 200m radius from where I stood.
In the next second, I could only hear a big boom and a massive dust cloud appearing. Next, the big black wolf had been replaced by a single creature. The creature possessed a sort of grey skin. It looked short. Its white hair settled down on its head. I looked around searching for the wolf but it was no longer there.
I remember golden eyes staring at me, before my mind itself collapsed.
Day 12 The sound of bone snapping woke me up. Next was the scent of metal that tickled my nostrils. Oh I wished it was copper but it couldn't be. My body was heavy and I laid in a pile of… water? No wait… it's red. That was blood. I could see a few bodies around me. [Name: [] [Species: Timber Wolf [Status: Dead [A very ravenous creature that roams in thick forests and hilly areas. They are carnivorous beasts of honour, very territorial and believe in the system of power. They are powerful creatures that travel in clans.] I gulped. Dead? There was a dead timber wolf before me. How? When? Why? RRRIIIIIIIPPPP The sound of something being torn apart entered my ears. I dared not move my body. That was mostly because I couldn't move. Moving my eyes around again, I was surrounded by about five timber wolf corpses. 'W-What the heck happened?' <<Notice: You lost>> 'Sa sa! That's not so
The night was painted with the beautiful echoes of the organized howling of the Timber Wolves. Much like a well conducted orchestra, their symphony filled the hollow air and would fill the hearts of any who heard it with dread. It seemed the timber wolves were angry and didn't appreciate what had just happened.Well, who would be happy when their wise, powerful and just king just died? A lot of strife may follow, but not tonight. Tonight, they would all howl in sadness at the loss.Up in the sky, the moon was a deep yellow, unlike its usual silvery gleam. To the timber wolves, this was a symbol of sadness. They had a tale of their patron goddess, Arcarine of the Silver Moon, that said she would paint her own silver moon yellow whenever her champion died.The tale of Arcarine was one that created complete admiration and trust in the hearts of the wolves and their offspring to come. Particularly for this clan of wolves. It went like this.Once in the past,
Day 13This morning I managed to beg Minerva to let me go out of the cave with her. You would expect that a NEET would prefer to be in the dark quiet cave away from all the monsters, but no! The cave would be too boring!This NEET would rather plunge into the face of death than waste around in a cave.Ok, the honest truth was that, it was simply because Minerva was an absolute beast, so I would have nothing to fear in the forest. Especially if she had the [Overlord] skill. She was practically a goddess.My other priority was finding the remaining twigs. Not because I cared about them or anything. I just felt weird since I lost my connection with them. Apparently they were too far away from me and wouldn't receive any orders from me. That meant they would go crazy in the forest and probably get killed instantly. I couldn't sit by and just let them get killed. It might affect them seeing that two of their brothers were dead. Even if I accidentally killed th
Later in the afternoon, Minerva decided to take a nap. I decided to use this opportunity to search the forest for my shrubs. She would probably have been pissed if she woke up and I wasn't back in the cave so I would make sure to come back very early. No more than an hour out. I had the agent acting as a timer for me.So now, I was flying through the forest, testing how fast I could go and damn, was I fast. It was pretty cool zooming through the forest. So this was how fast I could go with 600 speed? Then how fast was Shiro? I think she had 200 plus speed. Was that average speed for humans? But that wasn't as fast this. Ah well.How fast was Minerva? Her agility stats were crazy high. I wondered just how fast she could go, and how long it would take for me to reach that level of capability.I decided to take a break and land somewhere on the ground so I could try using my special fusion of my perception skills. I once again tried the use of [Mana Perception], [A
When they got to the front, they were surprised by the sight. There were actually nineteen dead rabbits and there was an actual chicken. It was bigger than what he had been told by the chief. But much like the stories, it had yellow feathers and looked weaker than the average bird in Larm. What was alarming though was the antenna like structure on its head and the dark violet tips it possessed, as well as black beak and talons.This was an amazing development. He was certain his brother was the cause of their victory. He was interested in the story of how his brother managed to gather this much food. He wanted to hear all about it then boast to the chief once he returned.He looked around for his brother but couldn't find him, so he went to the leader of that hunting expedition. That goblin was considered the smartest of them all, right after the chief and the sorceress, but he was also one of the physically weakest goblins in the cave. And seeing as the goblins were s
I was led towards the deepest recesses of the cave, where the chief's "throne room" was. He wasn't what I was expecting from a Hob-goblin. From manga that I've read, goblins were savages that just killed without regard for their surroundings. As long as they were satisfied, they didn't care. Although weak, they were numerous and used that fact to their advantage. Hob-goblins, although not as numerous as goblins, weren't exempt from this fact. In fact, they rarely associated with goblins, so this was weird. Sitting in front of me, was the Hob-goblin chief, who I presumed to be the most violent goblin in this village, drinking a bowl of slime. Apparently slime was like a delicacy to these goblins. I had also been offered one but was cautious about it. I then took a sip of it and surprisingly, I acquired some skills and resistances. [Due to the unique skill [Evolver] you have acquired the following skills] [You have acquired the skill [Predator]] [You ha
Dorm let out a yawn as he remembered the party that he had attended the last night. It was an extravagant one held by the goblin tribe of Krav. There was an event where chiefs of each of the goblin tribes met annually to share news about events on their sides. He didn't want to go, but as a chief and as the warrior that went on an adventure around the world, he needed to attend to trade very important information."Hey Chief! What's with the yawn? Didn't get enough sleep?"The one who asked this was a young goblin Dorm treated like his son. He had taught him a lot about fighting and survival skills needed and the young goblin looked up to him like a father. People who didn't know that Dorm had married a human woman sometimes thought that they were a father and son pair. (They knew him to act more like a human than a goblin)"Of course he didn't. Did you see all those human women they had?""I know right. Who would sleep when there was an all you can eat b
Dorm had left Ooo.That was all the goblins could think of. Their last line of defense had left them because of their selfish attitudes. They realized how grim their situation was and were arguing amongst themselves. They wanted to someone else to be chief but did not know who.There was no goblin nearly as smart or as strong as Dorm was. Even his protégé, who was the closest to him had left alongside him. The goblins reached a consensus. They needed to find Dorm and beg him to come back.Sadly when they tried, either the goblins came back with multiple injuries, or they didn't come back at all. They had sparked a very dangerous hatred in the heart of Dorm. That was why he left. He knew that if he had stayed he would have killed more of them.Now, Dorm just spent his days in the forest, searching for his child. The spirit had said that the child was safe, so he had assumed that the child was in the care of the spirit. He could only think of
‘It’s so booooorriiiiiiiiiingggg!’I was bored out of my mind surveying the edge of the dome for enemies. It was practically a ghost town at this point. And the only thing that used to be interesting was the notifications I kept receiving from my shadows about catching bombers. So far, we found three dozen pairs of people planting the bombs.It was shocking how many people had been coerced into doing this. And I still hadn’t tracked down an actual member from the invaders. What if the invaders actually weren’t coming? What if the princess was lying about this entire thing for a completely different reason?‘This princess is giving me a headache.’‘I know right? It’s like talking to a brick wall.’‘A-An overly in-intelligent one.’‘Hey guys!’‘Ah!?’‘New guy?’‘I-I have a j-junior now?’‘What will we call him?’‘Call me Hyakkiyago.’He told us out of nowhere. We were all stunned, since everyone who came so far didn’t even know that they were now sharing a mind with someone. Yet, this g
NANEK POVThe prince looked at the meal set before him. Skewered tentacles, seaweed wraps, jagged oyster shells, lunaris and so on, all in bountiful amounts. He felt like gagging from the mere scent of the food. Nanek never liked such food, and as such this was strictly removed from the meals his siblings served him regularly.This event was different. It was before the entire city and it was a meal that the goddess had chosen for this year’s feast. Him not eating it was an insult to the goddess and would make the people think less of him.He looked at his mother, the priestess, sitting blindly next to the king and being fed her meal by some of her personal assistants. She had no concern whatsoever when it came to this and he found it terrifying, since he had been told by the older generation that she hated these kinds of meals.Several years in service to the goddess must have changed her. Maybe if he spent several years trying to overcome his distaste for the meal, he would overcome
SUNALLA POVThe storm spirit had left off towards a chamber in the palace to enact the final plans of the princess. To be honest, she wasn’t expecting the princess to tell her what her final plans were, but after hearing them, she was completely stunned. For the princess to have planned all of this for just that, it was beyond her imagination.However, for something like that, she knew her father would give up his life in a heartbeat. At least, she could rest easy knowing that he died for a cause he had been fighting for all his life. Still, it hurt that she couldn’t even see his corpse even though it was delivered to them. Did they think she was so weak that she’d break down from seeing the body?She had definitely seen worse, so why wouldn’t they let her? Was this the royalty’s way of showing consideration to the Captain of the Royal Guard’s kin? If so, the royals really had no idea what people actually wanted in such situation.While swimming, a stray guppy came in front of her. Sh
King Zigruk ElrIek Sox Anon Den Yorul II waved at the people who were gazing at him admirably from outside the hall. After a considerable amount of praise appreciation and greeting, he sat down on his seat and dropped his trident.The trident floated by itself at his side. Strange enough, this weird sight was ignored by most of the onlookers. All of them except the candidates for the throne that knew the true value of the trident, all of them shocked by how carelessly their father handled it. Then again, if you were built just like the Zigruk Elriek Sox Anon Den Yorull II, you wouldn’t think too much of the trident.Once again, trumpets sounded thunderously, drawing the attention of everyone to the overly massive ship that was approaching them. Dubbed the Neptune, the largest piece of magical machinery ever made in the history of all the three kingdoms.One mermaid, much bigger than the rest emerged from the Neptune. She was dressed in a simple peplos, wearing a golden crown of leaves
OSVETA POVThe feast hall, the biggest part of the royal palace that went unused for many years till there was an important ceremony taking place. It was so large it could take in half the number of royal family members that lived. And that was saying much given the fact that there were over a thousand of them with each being at least three times as big as the average merman.The hall was a space next to the palace grounds shrouded in hardened Atlantean styled glass to prevent any peaking or breaking. Due to the occasion, the styled glass had been removed, revealing a large beautiful platform with a marble table in a U-shape set down. The table was big enough to occupy at the very least 20 members of the Royal family.However, today, only four members sat on opposite ends, with two extra, grander seats, being reserved for the most important guests. The King of Atlantis and the Chief Priestess of the Sea Goddess Temple.The current members were Rondel, the eldest son of the King, repre
Inside of Hinotori’s mind, somewhere deep in her subconscious where she would never notice anything happening, there was an announcement.[The Exclusive Skill [Legend of Pandemonium] Chapter 1, Act 1, Part 1: Army Drafting has been completed]-Hidden Events> Fight Against the Apostles of the Sea Goddess Temple (Completed)> Kill over a dozen members of the Sea Goddess Temple (Incomplete)> Enslave the members of the Sea Goddess Temple (Incomplete)> Establish friendly ties with the members of the Sea Goddess Temple (Incomplete)> Become an official member of the Sea Goddess Temple (Incomplete)---- Insufficient events completed to receive any rewards+[The Exclusive Skill [Legend of Pandemonium] has unlocked a new section]Chapter 1 - #@$^&!Act 1 – Battle For AtlantisPart 2 – Preparations--- Preparations for the incoming invasion have been set up. Hopefully they will be enough for the coming storm. ---*Rewards for creating this scenario will be delivered at the end of this Chapt
On the day of the Royal Feast, in the princess’ quarters, several mermaids about her size were attending to her. Brushing her hair, applying make-up, and carefully fixing ornaments in her hair. She was dressed in the most elegant lilac-coloured chiton that had silver lacings on it and a triangular pattern over at the bottom over her tail. Over her left hand, her peplos that was a whitish-blue with a similar design, but more transparent. The peplos also managed to serve as a sort of hood for her head.As the princess observed her features in the mirror, she couldn’t help but think along the likes of,‘Would Hiro like this appearance?’‘Maybe it’s too much make up for his taste?’‘Is this even enough to cover my blemishes?’Of course, Hiro was not going to be partaking in this event. In fact, he wouldn’t even know that it was happening and neither would he know about it. Still, a maiden in love could only dream, right?“You are looking absolutely stunning, your highness.”The one attend
The hell did I just hear? Did she just confirm that she was the mastermind? No way, right? There was definitely no way that she did it, right? No.I couldn’t doubt the possibility of her having done that. Knowing her, it was highly likely. And from what Sunalla said, the princess didn’t like it when things happened out of her control. A surprise invasion from an enemy nation definitely doesn’t sound like having everything under her control.Still, for her to go this far just for the throne. She was the worst kind of person. They’d do anything to achieve their goal, even if it negatively affected those looking up to her for support. She was worse than scum.I had several things to tell the princess, but no one else in the room heard our conversation. The princess simply said vague things in their eyes and ears. Maybe Sunalla and Osveta would believe that princess did something like that.The problem was if they gave a shit. They’d known her for sometime now so it was possible that they
That was completely sudden and out of nowhere for me. I never imagined to hear such a thing, least of all from an old man in a city that was thousands of feet underwater. Of course, after hearing such a thing I was intrigued in finding out more, but he kicked me out with the promise of trying to find a way to Minerva for me. He stole more strands of my hair though. Turns out he didn’t need the first strand for anything. He simply wanted it for his private reasons… creepy pervert.On the way back, I could tell that the princess was beaming with excitement. I asked why, but she told me not to think too much about it. In times like this, it was really annoying not being able to read her mind. The only solution was to keep pressuring her till she spoke, but she was tight lipped. In the end, I decided to ask if she knew about Vermillion.According to her, there wasn’t any concrete text about Vermillion, but her father had once told her that there was an individual named Vermillion who came