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2024-10-29 19:42:56It took me checking how far I'd gone before I realised how much of a distance fifty kilometres was. I walked for what felt like hours until my throat was dry and parched, and swallowing became a nasty chore.
Tired, I sat in the sand to take a drink of the water, and I was well down a generous amount before calling onto Maia. “Yes,” she answered as the System Dashboard appeared, even bright in the sun. “How long is the distance I have covered?” “Approximately 4.8 kilometres.” Stunned, I swallowed. “And that means I have 46.2 kilometres to go?” “Yes. I would also advise you to be careful with your water ration as there is a long way to go, and to keep your katana close, as there are dangers to be encountered in the desert.” “What's the worst that could happen?” I growled, disgruntled by my condition. It would have been worth it if I could find somewhere and wait to die, but I was not afforded such luxury, only unless I could get through with these cursed levels. “Threats…” “I don't want to hear any more of it.” I fired. Instantly, my System Guide went quiet, and the screen disappeared. My mistake became clear to me then as I saw that Maia had simply gone off in a very human-like tantrum. I called her several times, but nothing happened, and I decided that I was left with no choice but to continue on my own. I put the bottle back in the bag, hung it over my back again, and continued to walk, until my throat felt parched again. Without paying any attention because of my terror of Maia's warning, I continued to walk while being too afraid to call her and ask how far I'd gone. The day was long and hot, only cooling when evening came, and I continued to walk until I saw a rock waiting, the only thing standing for miles about. I decided that I needed to camp near it and take the chance to jump into my biscuits as the hunger was starting to bite at my intestines. I sat down for the first time since I continued on my journey that afternoon, and leaned my back against the rock. Again, I attempted to call Maia, but she gave me no response, leaving me to sit alone where I was. How could I have known that my System Guide was this touchy, this sensitive to a retort made in anger? Sand started to billow all around me, and though I barely knew anything about sandstorms, I knew that they were frequent in the desert, and that this was most probably one of them. Desperate to be well covered during the sandstorm, I quickly took one biscuit, and was about to chew on it when my mask stopped me. No matter how hard I tried — to eat without taking off the mask — I could not open half my lips, and was forced to remove my mask, which did a lot to make me laugh. I had asked Hades for a mask that would cover my face all the time, and he left me one that would be taken off when I needed to eat. It was enough that I could not die, but now he sought to make my life torment, reminding me that half my face was burnt off. Again, he had tricked me, and must love watching me squirm. In the end, hunger prevailed, and I took off the mask, rushing through the biscuits before wearing the mask back, wrapping the hood about my head to protect myself from the sand that now threatened to rise even higher, and setting my head down. With my metallic body unable to feel anything, and my remaining head and skin well hidden under the cloth, I could dare to fall asleep. It must have been far into the night when a beeping alarm woke me up, jerking me awake. When I checked, it was from my System Dashboard. *1. New Notification Alert* Warning Alerts: 3x Sand Demons approaching. 0.2 km away. “Maia,” I cried out, hoping my moody System Guide would reply to me when I needed her the most, and nothing pleased me more than the sound of her voice. “Yes.” “Oh Maia. I've missed you so much. Please tell me what these Sand Demons are about…” “The Sand Demons are desert demons that fight and kill desert travellers at night, and are headed in your direction.” “How far off are they, and how do I defend myself against them?” My System Dashboard showed before me, and the map showed my current direction and how close the Sand Demons were. They were moving at a pace so fast they could have been humans running towards me. “Defend against them with your katana. Don't forget to cut through the heart.” “Where is a Sand Demon's heart in their body, Maia?” “You can find a Sand Demon's heart within its chest, sitting exactly in the centre. Getting into it will kill the Sand Demon in an instant. Goodluck.” With only seconds to spare, I dove into my bag and took out the night vision goggles, clasping them on my face at the very moment when a yowl in the distance echoed. I spun about on my heels to see what it was, as my System Dashboard disappeared into the darkness at the same time.
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The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General SAND DEMONS
I pulled out my katana and gripped it hard with both my hands.They stood in the distance, as tall as seven feet to my measurement, with red blazes where I thought their eyes were supposed to be. They were large, looming figures, made of sand and with sand continuously pouring off their human-like forms. They also had what I thought were horns all over, and looked very much like walking desert lizards from where I stood.One of them stopped and yowled again, before rushing towards me. I ran towards it as well, cutting sideways with my weapon to attack. Alas, nothing met my surprise when I heard my katana ring upon the skin of the Sand Demon with an impact that was so hard it jarred through my entire metallic body and was felt by the rest of me.I pulled the katana away and rolled through the sand, while the demons followed after me. One held its hand open, and shot a gust of sand that missed me. I tried to get up as fast as I could, but another gust of sand hit me, knocking the katana
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE STONE HEART
The water I poured the first time had destroyed one of the Sand Demons' arms so that when it stood, it had only one arm. I sat on my bottom the entire time, now sure that they would kill me, as I'd run out of the water to use in fighting them, but nothing matched the confusion I felt when I saw them bow before me even as I sat in the sand.The one with an arm raised its head and spoke in a language that was strange to me. I found it imperative to call Maia.“Congratulations,” her voice intoned. “You have made your first kill.”I turned the stone heart of the Sand Demon in my hand, finding it almost unbelievable that I had killed such terrifying things with water. Only water.“I need you to tell me what the Sand Demon said. He said it in a language I don't understand.”“He speaks an ancient language, indeed. He said:I have terrified travellers across this distance for millions of years, but none has taken the heart of a Sand Demon since Alexandros the Great fought us on these plains.
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General THE WAY TO THE OASIS
The sun was rising when I returned with the katana to where I'd been, and there I found the Sand Demons were waiting for me with a camel. I thought it was odd, seeing creatures made of sand standing with one that had blood running through it. I was quick to ask Maia where they found one as my curiosity was riled up. “The Sand Demons are lords of the desert. There is scarcely anything here that they do not know of, as they have roamed here for thousands of years, killing any desert traveller who they come across and who has not killed them.” Once again, I thought of killing the two Sand Demons to raise my points so that I would reach the bronze coins I need. Certainly, I had the stone heart, and they would let me kill them, since I had no reason to feel pity for them myself. They seem to be evil beings to travellers, after all. “Can they allow me to kill them if I have the stone heart?” I asked, slowly convincing myself to do the deed. “You said they'll let me do anything, right?”
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General ODESSO
I was so pleased by the Oasis that I planned to sleep there.It was a beautiful place, a welcome change from the dryness that filled everywhere else in that desert, and I spread my hood and sat there after finding the camel a comfortable place to graze, simply absorbing the pleasantness of the place. The camel was like a gift from the Sand Demons, and the oasis was a place I would hate to leave, but I had to, if I wanted a body and not some cursed half-metal being unable to die..“Maia?” I called, looking over the oasis.“Yes.”“How far are we from the Sword of Pella?“You have covered 24.6 kilometres, which means you have 25.4 kilometres to cover.”I bit my lip in agony, seeing that I still had not reached up to half my journey. Getting up to my feet, I went and took the camel, speaking softly to it as my hands touched against the brown fur. When I felt I had spoken enough, I climbed it and looked at the night sky above me, killing all plans to sleep.The night was serene and gentle
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General AGAIN AND AGAIN
A small altar that was almost negligible gave it away.It stood close to a broken wall that was roughly triangular, with the jagged, chipped edges.I looked at the altar as my camel rode past, and then looked away, going forward till I looked again, and saw another altar like it, just as small and near a roughly triangular wall with jagged, chipped edges. Then I rode forward again, and saw another altar like it, just as small, and near another roughly triangular wall with the same jagged, chipped edges. All similar.At first, I thought this was something the king who destroyed the city had done, but it was all too similar. The same cracks and chips in the same places.Swallowing, I held up my hand and watched the shadow of me on my camel by my right side. From the map on my system dashboard, I could clearly recall that I had been heading north all along, and even now, it was proof that I was still heading north. Then, urging my camel so that it went in the straightest line that it cou
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General MOVING BRICKS
For the second time, my system alarm woke me up.I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet, my heart beating within my metallic chest as I checked my dashboard.*1. New Notification Alert*Warning Alerts: 173,789,537x bricks of Odesso moving. 0.0 km away.Swallowing to get something down my dried throat, I quickly wore my night goggles before looking around me, and not one of the bricks that I had studied so cautiously when I first came here was in sight. All had disappeared into emptiness, and it was simply sand all around.“Oh no.” I gasped. What was I to do? How would I know what challenge the bricks were going to pose for me?“Maia? What are the bricks about?”“They move.”If I had been angry before, I was right about to spiral into madness now. I knew the bricks could move, as that was clear in the notification alert. It told me that the bricks were moving.“And how do I fight them?”“Use what you have.”It was almost the same as the first time when I asked what to do against the S
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General RUNNING THROUGH
There had to be some way for me to both dodge the bricks as they fell, and simultaneously cover the distance before the gate got too small for me to pass through it. I didn't even want to know what could happen if I didn't pass — I had spent too long in Odesso to want to spend any more time in this cursed, abandoned, dry place.Between me and the gate was a distance I mentally calculated to be two kilometres, and I started to run even faster, trying to be just as careful with dodging the bricks, but the gate was not waiting and I panicked, my fear and sense of urgency getting the better of me. I started to run, jumping over the bricks until one hit me and made me fall. Refusing to stop, I jumped to my feet and continued, only to get another brick to my face, stunning me with the force it used. I still do not know where the spirit came from — maybe from the sight of the gate becoming smaller, but I started to crawl when one of the bricks going through the sand hit my metallic hand and
The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General CLOSER TO PELLA
My system immediately brought the updates as I lay outside the hole I just got out of, tired but alive. I couldn't die, anyway.Updates to System Dashboard*Name: [Alexander]Level: 1Bronze Coins: 400/500 : +300 Bronze Coins for passing through the lost way of the ancient city of Odesso. 0 used.Experience Points (XP): 7,000/10,000 : + 5,000 XP for passing through the lost way of the ancient city of Odesso. 0 used.Health Points (HP): 7,000/10,000 : + 5,000 HP for passing through the lost way of the ancient city of Odesso. Magic Points (MP): 7,000/10,000 : +5,000 MP for passing through the Narrow Gate of Odesso.Strength: 5/10 : +4 for resilience.Intelligence: 9/10 : +2 for figuring out the way out of Odesso.Agility: 10/10 : +3 after dodging 173,789,537 bricks successfully.*Skill Section*Active Skills: +NEW Fire Breathing. Passive Skills: Night Vision. Skill Cooldowns: 5 hours (Night Vision). 3 hours (Fire Breathing).*Quest and Mission Log*Current Quests: Find the Sword of P
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- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
A CURSE
I felt much better when I washed all the blood off.With enough water in the pot, I watered both my Camel and my Pegasus, before settling to cook my own meat. It was an already dried and salted piece, and all I had to do was heat it up.As I cooked, some soldiers moved past with ragged, unsteady steps, and I waved them all, wishing them a good morning. They were quick to hail me, and some even stopped to give me their narratives of my action in the past day's battle in drunken tones. Others walked by with loot — horses and Eagle men's armour for the most part, and sometimes women. They, who I had not seen since I stepped foot in this camp, now appeared to have crawled out of their holes.When I was done cooking, I went back in to eat, and after that, set out to go bury my Pegasus' previous owner. He had been good while he lived, and might have been interesting if he wasn't fighting on the other side.The time to go came and I mounted the Pegasus, following the animal as it flew me to
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
BLOOD ON MY SKIN
The sky was lighting up when I woke up again.Nevertheless, I was groggy, and then went into the tent, forgetting that I had allowed myself a roommate, until I went in and saw her lying on the floor, clad in her armour. It cleared my eyes at once and I felt sympathetic, praying for the sun to rise so that she would meet Bruma. I was quite sure that he would take her in and still permit her the freedom she wanted without any sexual demands as well. He had Seni, and did not appear to be interested in women.With this in mind, I went back outside. There, I felt regret that I did not ask for any of the wells. I still carried the blood from the previous day’s battle, and now I needed a wash to keep me clean.I moved around, admiring the sight of my Pegasus and Camel together, both of them gifts to me. I did not have any plans on what to do with them, but I loved the beasts too much to let go.Once again, I looked down at myself and could still see the bloodstains. It amazed me that I had c
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
A CAMEL AND A PEGASUS
I did not turn until I reached my tent.Once there, I stopped the Pegasus and stepped back, in awe of the animal. Its magnificent white fur showed even in the dark, and I took off my armour — which had discomforted me so much that my body adjusted itself to the discomfort, and then threw it in the tent. I then returned to the animal and threw my arms around it.“Tomorrow, we'll bury your old master, and I'll take care of you.” I said to the beast.It huffed, and I laughed at the sound. It made me think of my camel as well, long forgotten in my inventory, and I asked Maia to bring it to me. This she did, and I had both of them with me, a Camel and a Pegasus. I tied both to the same anchor knocked in the sands, and sat on the ground not far from them, watching when something caught my eye from the side — a shadow.I took the pains to sit still and watch, curious about the spy. Whoever it was had their sights on me so hard that they did not even move while watching me, which allowed me t
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
THE PARTY BEGINS
My Pegasus had come with a saddle, a parting gift from its previous owner.Gently, I mounted it to even louder cheers, almost falling off as it rose. The wing caught me just in time, and I held even tighter to the bridle, giving the Pegasus a gentle rub when I maintained my balance, shifting my helmet to one hand to enjoy my ride.They started to call for me to fly, and I gave it another gentle pat, which sent it into a trot. An even harder one set it running, and a pat on the wings sent it off the ground, and the body stopped swinging from side to side, giving way for a smooth, gentle motion through the air as we went even higher and higher. Our men and their torches were now reduced to tiny, candle-sized lights, while the Pegasus flew in a circle, going round and round without stopping.I was soon weary of flying, and we slowly descended to the ground, settling on a patch of clear ground the men vacated for us. More applause followed, and when I got down from the Pegasus, I was lift
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
ANDREAS
Andreas was a man I thought had gone mad.Certainly, I knew I was the one who killed the man. I pulled the arrow that killed him. I did it for the Warlock. How was he then going to feel if the Pegasus refused him in front of everyone else?“Which of you will go first?”I did not want to. So Andreas stepped forward amidst rounds of cheers and applause from the men, especially those who claimed to have seen him shoot at the Pegasus. Funny enough, I found that my mind started to play tricks on me too, and I even began to wonder if I had truly killed the man or if I had imagined myself doing it. Even now, the events of the battle were surreal as I thought of them, like things that had happened in a dream while I slept. The darkness was coming over, and a few men were holding torches to offer light. Andreas went closer to the Pegasus under their watchful glares, backed away when it snorted, and stood, as if uncertain of what he started to do. It made me roll my eyes.Still, he refused to
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
THE PEGASUS
All eyes were on me as I lowered my hand, including pairs from my fellow men and those from the enemy. It was as though they were waiting for an instruction, waiting for something to be said, and I felt the need to say it just as much.“VICTORY IS YOURS. TAKE UP YOUR SHIELDS AND ATTACK!” I boomed.With these words, I picked up a shield, grabbed my sword, and ran towards the enemy, starting to feel the now familiar thump-thump of their arrows upon my shield and armour. Not long after, I had the eerie feeling that I was attacking alone and surrendering myself to the enemy on a platter of gold, until I heard men yelling behind me. Together, we rammed into the ranks of the Eagle men and their horses, and I cut into the first man of them I saw on foot, dividing his face into two horizontal halves. He was not the first to die by my hand, and neither would he be the last, as they turned and started to run, ignoring those of them who stood and tried to call them to fight.“Don't stop.” I crie
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
FIGHTING THE EAGLE MEN
The closer we drew to them, the louder and more frequent the thumps.I looked through the ‘Y’ in my helmet and a gap in the shield and saw how they stood like statues, their bodies standing still, their arms working in an impressive mechanism as they shot at us while sitting on horses. They were doing it at exactly the same time, and firing at the same angle, following the orders of the man on the Pegasus, who flew all over the battlefield with his flying horse. I could also hear the sound of the whistles Bruma told me about when he first told me about them, with the sound very similar to the one an eagle makes.That was when I fully understood what Bruma meant by order. They were far more ordered, more arranged, and more composed, as though they could read one another's minds. I would still have pondered on this if an arrow did not pass through some opening in the shield and lodge itself in the neck of the commander next to me. I watched in horror as he stopped, his eyes surprised, a
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
THE MARCH
The commander of the Eagle men was a quick man, and that was what saved his life. His Pegasus took him up into the sky just as rocks and swords found their way to the exact spot he had been, allowing him to escape unscathed. It caused a ruckus in our ranks, while the commanders took pains to call for order.“He has done what he set out to do.” Bruma spoke coldly beside me, while his very presence beside me burned into my skin because of the amulet I was wearing. “To rattle our ranks, annoy the strong and arrogant, and shake up the weak and feeble. We might be fighting an already lost war at this point.”“No, Bruma.” I declared, suddenly incensed by the prospect of losing. All the anxiety that had filled me when I opened my eyes to the day was gone, leaving the blood pulsing through my veins so hard that I felt it flow through me. Pulling my sword out of its scabbard, I felt ready to kill all the enemy if need be, and ready to die.“I did want to ask you about your sword. Whose is it?
- The Reincarnated Heir Becomes A General
THE ART OF DISRESPECT
War is a strange combination of many things.It is fighting another man on another side in a bid to keep yourself and the men on your side alive. It is a real performance that has to be carefully put out by the actors, as the smallest slip can leave you dead and forgotten. It is a scenario where having your blood shed can erase you from memory, and shedding the blood of other men more often can bring you glory, power and fame, and scars that you tell the world boastful tales of, to prove yourself a warrior..When I woke up on the morning of the war, something weighed on my mind, and I lay in a spot and stared at the roof of my tent, trying hard to recall what it was. It came with a jolt.THE WAR IS TODAY!I jumped up to my feet, feeling my heart pulse in my chest as my throat instantly dried. What was left of my skin felt hot and sweaty, and as time passed, I even started to think I would throw up. However, that did little to stop me. It only slowed me.It took some time, but in an h
