2024-01-02 08:47:29AWAKEN with the sensation of a gentle touch to his wounded back. Jie felt it was soothing, yet he couldn't move his body.
“Ouch!” he grunted.
“Stay put. Izora is healing your injuries.” Kafle held Jie’s shoulder to prevent him from moving.
“Thank god, I'm still alive.” Jie let out a sigh of relief. But he grimaced in pain with just a slight movement. He was lying on a thin mat on the cold floor.
The three of them were inside a small cell, and scent was tolerable compared to the first chamber he was brought into.
“You’re barely alive,” Kafle faced his daughter. “How's his healing progress?”
The little elf shook her head. “Not good. But the healing orb I have is enough to stop the bleeding.”
Jie gaped at the child. “You got a healing orb and didn't surrender it to the guards?!”
The young elf glared at him and whispered. “Ungrateful bastard!”
“Hey, kid! Watch your mouth. I'm older than you.” Jie again felt the searing pain in his back.
Izora rolled her eyes. “Dimwit!”
“Kafle, teach your daughter some manners.” He’d not tolerate a kid disrespecting him.
Kafle scratched his head. “Izora is like that. Please bear with her. She's just fifty years old.”
“F-Fifty years old?” Jie was taken aback.
“Well, our race has a very long lifespan. Anyway, we have a healing orb kept in secret in cases like this. That's why we survived for three years. We cannot use our magic, so we rely on the raw capability of a magical orb,” Kafle explained.
Jie looked at Izora. “My apologies and thank you. Shall I call you… Grandma?”
Izora gave him a death stare, so he kept his mouth shut. Jie realized that despite the young elf's look, the way she expressed her disgust seemed like an adult.
“Next time, I'll let you bleed to death.” Izora got up and looked around. “The guards are not here. Probably they are at the arena again.”
“Arena?” Jie tried to get up, and Kafle immediately came to his aid. “Thanks, Kafle. I'm really grateful for your help. I owe you a life debt, I'm sure I'll repay it sometime soon.”
“Don’t mention it. My daughter and I rarely interact with anyone here. But among everyone who came here, you have a distinctive scent that makes you different.”
“Scent? What do you mean?” The line on his forehead deepened.
“Elves have a strong sense of smell. We can determine anything—humans, monsters, and any living being—by just their scent. But you smell different, like I never knew before.”
“Really?” Jie wondered as well. But he concluded that maybe it was because he came from a different world.
Kafle nodded. “My instinct is telling me you're something else.”
Jie chucked. “It doesn't matter. All we need is to escape this hell hole. My sister needs me.”
Izora came at them. “I can hear the cheers. I bet Veris has been replaced by another warrior.”
“Poor Veris, he fought hard to gain his freedom. Only to be slaughtered in the end.”
Jie tried to grasp the conversation between the two. “What the hell is going on?”
“Those who fight in the arena chose their fate to die. No one wins there; they are just the mere entertainment of these bored guards and some orb hunters.”
“That's why you advised me to be whipped instead?”
“You need to mine an orb, Ethros. No matter how hard it is to find.”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “I was just born unlucky.”
Jie thought about his life. Was he transmigrated only to suffer again? Maybe the deities had a deep resentment toward him. They wouldn't let him be happy and have a peaceful life.
Even in this world, I became a slave. He silently chuckled in disbelief.
“Izora, can your magic fully heal him?” Kafle turned to his daughter. “He may be the key for us to leave here.”
Izora gazed at him as if lost in her thoughts. “What makes you think he’s the one we’re waiting for? A magical orb as small as this can’t do much, even if we exhaust its power. His injuries are nearly fatal. If only we could remove the impeding shackle.”
“My instinct never betrayed me. Besides, haven’t you noticed that he is healing faster than an ordinary human?” Kafle appeared puzzled. “Ethros, which ethnicity did you come from again?”
“A-Ardhians.” Jie lowered his gaze. He thought that this boy’s body was stronger than he initially imagined.
“Now that you mention it, I wonder about that, too. What are you?” Izora sauntered toward Jie and studied his face intently. “You look like a human, but I’m sure you are not.”
“Am I not a human?” Jie was dumbfounded. “Do I look like a monster to you?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
“Ardhians, it does not ring a bell.” Kafle shook his head. “Anyway, you can rest for the night. But expect to work in the mines again tomorrow; your wounds are not an excuse.”
“I understand.”
FOR the next three days, Jie was fortunate that he found magical orbs that somehow helped his wound heal. The elves were right, his body had such an amazing regeneration ability that, in just three days, all his wounds were nearly closed.
However, the more he wasted time in the mines, his hope to save Nyssa was slowly fading. Worse, it appeared he was already out of luck after seven days because Jie could not find an orb. It was also the same day when they overheard the conversation between two guards.
“The high mage is currently extracting the Luominen! Soon, the Terra Kingdom will be ours!” one of the Dreqin guards exclaimed.
“Yes, I heard. I hope we'll get our chance to be part of the Helios. The empire's elite army is my dream!” said the other.
Ethros stood frozen upon hearing them. He almost attacked the guards, but Kafle was quick enough to stop him.
“What did they do to Nyssa?”
“Ethros, calm down! Your wound might look healed on the outside, but we are not sure if it is fully cured. Take it easy! I don’t know much about extracting the power of the orb, but one thing is sure, your sister is still alive.” Kafle reminded him when he noticed the young man’s impatience.
“We are not sure about that, Kafle! I have a plan.” Jie gritted his teeth.
The elf's forehead creased. “What plan?”
“I will fight. I can't find an orb anyway, and I don't want to be flogged to death. You can’t always be saving my ass every time. I am not your responsibility, and I can’t always rely on anybody.”
Kalfe gazed down at Izora, who seemed uninterested in their conversation. “That's very risky.”
“I can't be idle here for a long time. My hand-to-hand combat will somehow give me an advantage,” he said confidently.
“Think twice, Ethros. Don't give away your life.”
Jie’s jaw tightened. “I've made up my mind.”
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 15 – Slave Pit
JIE voluntarily surrendered himself at night when he couldn’t mine an orb. He toughened himself despite seeing dead bodies around him; some were severely injured from the flogging while the others were being carried in the stretchers coming from the arena and going to the iron lift descending to the depths of Dreqin.“Ethros, please don’t do it.” Kafle persisted in persuading him, knowing his idea was suicide.Jie silently swallowed. His decision was firm. He’d rather take his chances to see what the fight was all about. Aside from his curiosity, it was his way of making penance because he couldn’t save Nyssa, no matter how hard he tried.“If I get killed, please tell my sister what happened here.”“Ethros…”“But I'll make sure to stay alive, so I'll be the one to tell her. That sounds better, isn’t it?” He stepped down the stairs and strolled towards the fighting chamber.Kafle could see that he was determined. The elf carried his daughter and scurried behind the young man.“Be caref
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 16 – A Royal Visitor
MAGIC had taken a toll on Jie’s body. He’d been unconscious for two full days, which made Kafle worried.“Do you think his body can withstand it? I've been dying to ask him how he did that. Does that mean the shackle curse did not affect him?” Kafle kept walking back and forth near Jie while Izora pressed a small orb to Jie’s chest.“His heartbeat is stable now, unlike yesterday. But he can't be going on like this. Sooner or later, Revie will retake him to entertain themselves until this boy surrenders and dies.” Izora quickly grabbed the orb when she heard incoming footsteps. He sat beside Jie, whose body was shaking involuntarily while sweating hard.“He's in a convulsive state again.” He held Jie’s forehead. “His temperature is dropping.”Captain Revie showed up and followed two guards into their cell. They got in and checked on the three of them.“Is he dead?” Revie checked Jie’s face using his foot. “I guess he won't last another day. Too bad, I was impressed by how he defeated th
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 17 – Pearl of the Hanum Sea
KING Malik scrutinized the elf child and the human young boy, who looked terribly sick. He couldn’t care less, even if he died. He never felt even the slightest pity for them. They were just lowly peasants.“What sorcery did you use to defeat my favorite executioner?” the king asked Izora.The young elf gazed up and met the eyes of the king, yet she didn't say a word. As if completely unconcerned by the king's royal presence, Izora sneered.King Malik raised his hand, and it landed on Izora’s cheek. “Insolence!”The young elf lost her footing and immediately got up, but Thora grabbed Izora’s hair.“How dare you look straight into the eyes of the king! Bow down!” The concubine forced the Izora to kneel.The king turned to Ethros. “Who is this useless brat? If he can't mine, just throw him up to the wasteland for the azugaurs to feast on!”Captain Revie crep
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 18 – Knights of Terra
DAMIEN commanded his enormous falcon to land at a safe place on the outskirts of Ankhe City. It took him a while to reach Vatre because he had to take extra precautions. He made sure to arrive at the Nebe Festival while the aerial army patrolling the sky was smaller so he could sneak in. “These Vatreans are so careless as hell amid every festivity,” Damien said with a smug grin as he removed the green cloak covering his body. He pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and whispered a few spells to write a report about his arrival in the empire. “All right, Habicht, you can go now. Bring this to General Mord.” He tied the handkerchief in a knot on the side of the bird’s magic leash. Habicht squeaked before it flew back into the sky and disappeared. It was not long when four other men gathered, wearing the same green cloak with an embroidered crest on the chest. They were in the darkest part of an abandoned town near the border of Dezertus District. Damien breathed out. “
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 19 – Wave of Destruction
IN THE prison, Jie and Kafle pretended that their injuries were still fatal. Although their wounds had already healed, their bodies were still soaking up blood that had dried up. They quickly formulated a plan before Commander Revie reached their cell. The two were still lying on the cold surface.“Izora, no matter what happens, just stay behind me.” Kafle reminded her daughter. “It seemed they’re going to feed us their favorite beasts just like they always do.”Izora nodded. “Father, let me remind you that if you get severely injured again, I don’t have anything to help you unless I am free from the curse.”Kafle smiled. “I promise, I won’t. All we need is to get out of here. Thanks to the Pearl of Hanum, it regained my vitality.”“There are thousands of guards in this mine!” Izora protested.“We don’t need to neutralize them. A proper strategy is all we need.”Meanwhile, Jie didn’t know what to say because guilt had gathered inside his chest. It was his fault that these elves sacrif
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 20 – The Cloaked Assassin
THEY abandoned the ship on a nearby shore. The other prisoners who were with them took it to escape on their own after giving them a small boat to ride on.“Thanks, dark elf!” one of the prisoners waved at Kafle.Ethros was still unconscious that Kafle had to carry him. It was already past midnight, and Kafle circumnavigated to prevent the empire from finding them quickly.Kafle destroyed the signal orb inside the ship when they left the Dreqin Mines. A few Vatrean navy ships were patrolling; thankfully, they managed to cross the mainland safely. It was an arduous voyage.“This is Zummertien Village, just a few hours ride to Ankhe,” Kafle said upon recognizing the place. “We need a place to rest. They’ll surely find us soon.”“Yes, father!” Izora did not complain even though she was also exhausted.After Kafle left them to hide in a dark alley, he soon returned after finding a safe place to stay. It was a two-story inn located near the cliff.“His temperature kept rising.” Izora touch
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 21 – The Heart of Vatre
THE headquarters of the Akatasuna Guild in Ankhe City was a vast estate. It was privately owned by the House of Vaughn, one of the powerful aristocrats in Vatre.The guild chamber was located underground because the place was always under the surveillance of the empire since they hated the insurgents’ guild.“Holy shit! You owned this estate?” Jie was too shocked to learn this. He was staring at the huge family portrait mounted on the great hall. It was Ryker along with his parents. “And you are the sole heir!”Ryker’s face darkened. “Nonsense! Continue walking.”“How come this place is not raided?” Jie asked after he finished his tour of the entire estate. Ryker was always with him to prevent him from escaping, which Jie had no plans of doing.Damien kept following them even though Ryker often showed disapproval of his presence, to which the former was unaffected. Jie was so
THE LOST GOD OF CHAOS Chapter 22 – Interrogation
ANKHE City was so huge that Jie couldn’t check every place around the bottom layer within the day. They had to go back to Vaughn’s mansion since the charm was slowly wearing off.“I want to see the movement of people around here at night.” Jie insisted when Ryker was already mounted on his beast.“That's very risky. I should ask Winward to babysit you next time. I have a lot of important things to do, yet I am stuck here with you.” Ryker seemed filled with abhorrence.Jie exhaled sharply to control himself. Ryker’s tongue had always been sharp, and he better be careful not to trigger the assassin. What if Ryker suddenly decided to kill him?“Just teach me how to use the Imitation Charm, I can go on my own.” Jie pushed his luck to convince him.“No. Let's go home. You've already seen everything you need to see.”He jumped on his beast and followed Ryker. “Ho
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109 – Healed
IN Monte Peak, Princess Baharini requested Elder Chen to see Nyssa. The child was left in isolation to recover as she was battling with a severe traumatic experience.“Elder Chen, I can’t thank you enough for removing the shackle curse on me and Kafle. I have a favor to ask. May I see Nyssa? I need to talk to her,” Baharini said as she was on the balcony of the Great Healer’s residence. There was a heavy blizzard outside, and the house was protected by a thin shield preventing the snow from getting in. “She needs to recuperate. Although the curse had been lifted from her body, there’s a type of pain in her heart that I couldn’t heal. She kept looking for her brother, but I heard the Supreme General gave him a special task before he could visit.” Elder Chen poured hot tea into two crystal cups. He offered one to the princess, to which the latter accepted.Elder Chen continued to talk. “Although Nyssa could visit the Nefth Fortress along with the Knights of Terra, it's unsafe to do so.
Chapter 108 – Conditions
JIE took a week to finally recuperate with the aid of Keeva’s healing magic that sped up his recovery. And with his current health condition, he could escape the fortress with ease. But Jie was not that ungrateful. “Now is the time. The supreme general summoned you,” Keeva said upon entering his room. She deactivated the healing barrier.Jie stretched out his hands and body to ensure nothing was wrong. Indeed, he was feeling better. He was in the hallway with Keeva, and they were escorted by two armored soldiers going to the war room where General Ibri spent most of his time.The soldiers saluted the supreme general, and they were immediately dismissed along with Keeva.“How do you feel now?” General Ibri asked without looking at him. He was busy scrutinizing a map on the table. It appeared like a colorful hologram.Jie strolled near him and cleared his throat before answering. “Better now. Thanks for looking out for me.”“That certainly isn’t free.” General Ibri chuckled. He finall
Chapter 107 – Outside Forces
PRINCESS Tzeitel combined her fire manipulation technique with illusion magic to imitate the dark flame. Although her flame was lethal, it was not as destructive as the dark flame.She was just buying time to crack the barrier so they could get out, but the numbers of enemies attacking them were too much for her to handle.“I will never forgive the Elshers! All of you shall perish with me!” Tzeitel maintained his act of being possessed. As she kept attacking and defending without moving in her position since she was ensuring Izvern’s balance.She talked again in their mind link. “There are too many. We are running out of time.”But there was no response.Tzeitel released a significant amount of her mana to suppress the soldiers, who were already advanced. Fenton and Halix created a formation to trap them. It was not long before Lord Filus arrived; he summoned a fire net made of volcanic ash. Tzeitel and Izvern were caught. The princess tried to create an exit portal to escape, but th
Chapter 106 – Hostage
TZEITEL jumped from one portal to another along with her captor. Her face remained stern, but her senses were keen as they made progress going away from the castle.Soon the face of the elf changed after he removed his dark cloak. It was Agni, using an advanced level of imitation charm. Although it did not last long since it was mana-consuming.“This plan is too risky. What if your aides disobeyed you?” Agni blurted out. He switched the elf’s body with his, all according to his sister’s plan. “Princeling is dying, by the way. I hope he can make it out of the barrier alive.”Agni gave the blade to Tzeitel. The latter tightly held on to her brother’s arm as they progressed in running away.“Worry about yourself. You need to return quickly to avoid suspicion.” Tzeitel was confident about her plan. “I’m waiting for reinforcement. All we need to do is get out the barrier.”Agni clicked his tongue. “I thought you’d kill the youngest son. Why did you change your mind?”“I gave him another ch
Chapter 105 – Wedding Night
TZEITEL finally came into the bridal chamber. She sat on the bed and waited for her husband to come inside. The festive music from the banquet hall was faint, as the chamber was located at the back of the castle, surrounded by the lake.The place was surely romantic as luminous pink butterflies flew above the water and the bright full moon reflected on its calm surface.In Tzeitel’s mind, she was waiting for the signal from Agni. He should be done with his plan by now. However, before she could make a move, Cariux came in the bridal chamber drunk.“Oh, the princess is still awake, and she seems to be waiting for me. It’s already past midnight.” Lord Cariux sat beside her on the bed.“It’s our wedding night, Lord Cariux.” Tzeitel kept her head straight without looking at him. She patiently waited to see whether Cariux would make the move of ending her life on their wedding night. Once he did not hesitate to to the deed, she would not spare him. “Yes, our wedding night!” Cariux chuckl
Chapter 104 – Ceremony
THE wedding march started at dusk. Tzeitel and Cariux wore their bright red with intricate gold pattern clothing as their wedding dress. Their crowns were blazing red flame, and they looked perfect as a couple.As expected, there were representatives from all the powerful houses and royal families to witness such union. Tzeitel remained calm as her face was covered by a gold veil.Cariux walked on the long aisle of the Elsher Castle along with Lord Filus and Lady Hamia. They stopped midway to wait for the bride.King Malik walked with Tzeitel. He kept reminding her to behave as he knew how she hated the marriage alliance.“If you mess this up, I will kill you,” King Malik whispered as he pretended to fix her wedding veil.“Don’t worry, brother. I will not disappoint.” Tzeitel grinned wryly as everything was already set in motion.Thousands of red rose petals rained as dragon chariots hovered in the sky, scattering the flowers.When the bridal procession reached Cariux and his parents,
Chapter 103 – Second Master
JIE was so puzzled by what was going on, especially when Ryker spoke again.“I shall take my leave, General Ibri.” Ryker bowed down to the elf general’s presence, then he looked at Ethros. “He is at your disposal now.”General Ibri nodded. “See you in the next war council meeting, Lord Vaughn.”“Ryker! What are to doing?” Jie was too stunned to hear Ryker. Did he betray him? Why it seems he was sold off to the supreme general?“This is for your own good, Ethros. Let’s see each other again in the imperial city,” Ryker smirked. He turned his back and did not look back.Jie’s knees wobbled as he tried to get up. He pointed his bamboo sticks at the elf. “What do you want?”“Guards!” General Ibri called out. The armored elf guards suddenly barged in. Two of them apprehended Jie.“Recuperate. Then we shall di
Chapter 102 – Supreme General
THE massive iron gate that served as the entrance to Nefth Fortress immediately opened as soon as Ryker showed the card of his identification—a medium-size blue rectangular thin crystal with an insignia of the War Council.“Hey, are you sure they are safe?” Jie was getting impatient because Ryker kept ignoring his question. “If something happened to Kafle and the princess. I will not forgive you!”“If I were you, Ethros, I’d shut my mouth. Nefth is the largest military camp in Advani, they can hear you. And with your current state, I doubt if you’ll survive even their lightest military punishment.” Ryker motioned his hand to hasten the speed of the six cloaked figures carrying Jie with the magic circle formation.“Can we just go to my sister? Why do I need to meet the supreme general?”“It would be rude if you don’t make an effort to meet him. Or would you rather r
Chapter 101 – Out of Control
JIE effortlessly shielded himself with his blue flame, while his two sticks gave out fatal attacks using a simple trick of Mizuagua Conjuration. The water magic perfectly balanced his defense. “I have no time for small fries!” Jie widened the reach of his blue flame, creating an opening enough for him to jump from one dragon to another towards the net where his companions were confined. There were too many imperial soldiers, and it seemed he underestimated the situation just because he could conjure an advance level of fire techniques. “Endure a little more; I’ll get rid of them!” Jie shouted. Kafle had once mentioned about the weakness of their kind—nets made of volcanic ash. Lefyr might survive the capture since he was not under the curse, but the princess and Kafle might not hold out for long.He chanted a complicated fire spell to summon his black flame. Jie did not hesitate to use it. The dark flame formed a peculiar type of dragon with blazing red eyes. “Kill!” Jie ordered.
