With my katana in my hand, I jumped and stood on the altar, trying to listen.I could hear it. No… I could hear THEM. Their feet tapped gently on the stone floor, and the growls were low, and predatory. For the first time, I remembered my fire breathing power. Trying to do it just the way Maia had taught me to, I exhaled in the air, and was met with disappointment when all I did was huff into empty space.They felt even closer now, and I gave off two more huffs, before a final one set off a flame that illuminated the whole temple and showed me what I was locked in here with.Lions.Nine lions.For the first time, I got to understand how truly terrifying those animals were. From a distance, it appears majestic, even reminiscent of a cat, but when it comes so close that you can feel its predatory breath close to you, all you think of is how it can kill.Even then, my katana felt like a trivial thing to fight a lion with.One lurched forward, and before I knew what was happening, a might
Quietly, I moved back to the wall while they followed.I could feel all four pairs of eyes on me, and I sat, still waiting with my back to the wall for any of them to come close. However, they were just as wary of me as I was of them, and seemed to wait for me all the same.Overall, I wanted this over with. My broken shoulder hurt, but I held my katana tight in my left hand, deliberating on it. If I could wield enough force with my left hand to cut, then I would get one lion down and be left with three.I soon got up, and they watched, unsure of what I wanted to do. Without wasting another second, I ran forward and held my katana as tight as I could with my left hand, cut into the nearest lion. My weapon would've slipped, but not with my hand being made of metal, which proved to be my saviour.The moment I cut that one, I knew I had only succeeded in wounding it with how weak I cut, so I followed with a slash that put the tip of my katana through the lion's throat. Another lion, deci
I could not explain what I felt at that moment.A mix of relief, joy, and happiness coursed through what remained of my body, what was not metal, and I went to the altar, seeing a cavity beneath it. In the semi-darkness of that small quality was a sword in its scabbard, one of the most beautiful things I could have seen.It was made of gilded gold, with thin, intricate lines done on the body, and a handle made of some red material. I picked it up gently, and drawing the sword out, beheld a magnificent sword — maybe because I had not seen so many of them, but this one had a particular effect on me, one that made my jaw drop and hang open.The metal, which I could guess was made of iron that had somehow not rusted, was still sharp, glinting the lights off of it. It also had some lines etched on it, which I guessed was for beauty, and an inscription in some language that looked like Greek to me.“What does it say, Maia?”“Interesting quote there. It says ‘only the worthy achieve glory’.”
The camel was not the only thing waiting for me.My system dashboard also rang with new notifications.Updates to System Dashboard*Name: [Alexander]Level: 2Bronze Coins: 0/1000. 0 used.Experience Points (XP): 0/10,000 Health Points (HP): 0/10,000 Magic Points (MP): 0/10,000Strength: 10/10Intelligence: 10/10 Agility: 10/10 *Skill Section*Active Skills: Fire Breathing. Passive Skills: Night Vision. Skill Cooldowns: 5 hours (Night Vision). 3 hours (Fire Breathing).*Quest and Mission Log*Current Quests: +NEW: Loot the Ancient Tomb of the Invincible Soldier.Completed Quests: Find the Sword of Pella. *Statistics and Analytics*Kill Count: 0/15Distance Travelled: 0/310 kmResources Gathered: 0/10*Notifications and Alerts*System Messages: Congratulations on reaching Level 2, which will lead you to the Tomb of the Invincible Soldier. More challenges await you.Warning Alerts: NONEEvent Notifications: NONE *Equipment and Inventory*Equipment: 1x Steel Katana, 1x Sword of P
I like to think that surviving the road to Plateaea was only successful for one reason.My camel.We were roaming terrain that had once been buzzing cities now long forgotten and covered in sand, which my camel navigated with patience. I was spare with my water, and tried to preserve it in the best way I could for my camel, but the animal was resilient and needed no water.Also, those are days when loneliness got the better of me.Maia was a companion, but not the best one, especially when it came to fun. I liked her, but I wished she was funnier.We journeyed through the desert for a whole week, riding on my camel as it walked the way. This was when a few funny things happened, which I doubt that I can forget.First was a sandstorm that blew hard on the second night, and without a place to stay to block the storm, I could only stay close to my camel, who appeared to be well adapted to the scenario. I covered my head in my hood and buried myself in the sand where it lay to avoid any i
The joy of having my camel back soon faded away, as the pain from my fight with the Praying Mantis persisted. I tried to hold it in, but taking the hood with the blood out by myself hurt too much, which was when I decided that I needed help.“Get me the Sand Demon’s heart, Maia.”At once, it was in my metallic hand.“How do I assemble the Sand Demons?”“Speak to the heart like one would in a microphone, and say the words 'Ich Na Raho Kïö Se’.”I said the words just as Maia asked me to, and a second later there arose before me two figures in the sand, with red glowing eyes that were very familiar, and one of them with half an arm as they bowed in front of me.“Welcome,” I told them, waiting patiently for Maia to translate my words. “I want to thank you for your help, including the camel, which has been very useful to me. However, I must ask for your help once again, as I need a desert healer who can help me with a bruise I sustained in a fight.”Maia translated my words, and the Sand
I grabbed the mirror with both my hands and held it, looking at this reflection. Slowly, my metallic hand crept up to touch my face, but I could not even do so much as feel it, as I could not feel anything with my metallic parts.Nothing mattered anymore.I did not care so much that the desert healer could come and find me holding his mirror. All I could think of was how wonderful it was to see myself again, to see who I was before the night that Mancini scarred me and Debbie broke me.This moment was ruined by the desert healer clearing his throat. Slowly, I turned to look at him, and he stood there, seeming to not know what to tell me.“You know… it's not real, right?” he finally spoke.“What?”“The image in the mirror. It is a dream mirror, and only shows you what you want to see. I use it to pay homage to who I was before I was cursed to be a leper.”“Who were you?”“A prince. Of Odesso.”I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought of the fact that this was the city I had just pass
I rolled away as the axe’s edge sunk into the bed with a quiet thump, and then stood to look at my assailant, the healer.His chest heaved beneath the bandages, and I moved further behind, silently muttering to Maia to bring my sword. The sword was in my hand, and he rushed forward to attack me.I dodged the swing of his axe, and made sure to cut the wood of the axe. It fell to the ground with another thump, and I used my foot to kick the desert healer to the ground, holding the tip of my sword at his neck.“Surrender.” His eyes looked at me, and then he raised his hands in surrender. My heart thumped steadily in my metallic chest, and I took a step back, letting him go.“Did I not tell you that I was like you? Cursed to not be able to die?” I asked him, keeping a watchful eye on his surprisingly still body.“My desire to harm you was stronger than reasoning.”“And why would you want to harm me?”“Because you're sailing through your own Hades game so easily that even he would want to