I stared wide-eyed at the screen in front of me and heard a loud thundering voice approaching me from behind. “NOOoooOOOOooo!”

New Subset Skill: Song of Renewal

Title Revoked: The Conquerors Apprentice

I was wonderstruck at the series of messages that pervaded my screen. It seems I had unintentionally done something and acquired a class that I did not want. “I was able to get voice manipulation.” I muttered…looking up at my master’s angry face.

“No…no…no.” He kept repeating the same word over and over again. It was almost like he had lost his mind. The strangest thing happened next…he started to weep.

He had stopped flying and he was crying on the ground now. “Gor’thak did everything right. Gor’thak didn’t know baby was an idiot.”

I was a little annoyed at his comments, but I didn’t know why he was angry and upset. It was just a class. I was sure I could go somewhere and have it reset.

“Master its fine. I’ll just get rid of this class and you can continue teaching me.” I tried to cheer him up.

Gor’thak shook his head from side to side. “Initial classes are decided by the first class skill you learn. Gor’thak should have stayed instead of leaving…bad Gor’thak…bad.”

He smacked himself in the head a few times before calming down. “You were my last chance. Gor’thaks most promising apprentice.”

“What do you mean…shouldn’t their be a way to choose another class? Can’t you always find another apprentice?” I blurted out the thoughts that were on my mind.

“Classes can be changed only once you passed the 4th and 8th order ascension tests. Your stuck as a Bard until at least level 100.” Gor’thak looked like he was going to have a mental breakdown.

“Sorry…at least you can get another apprentice. I’ll get out of your hair…”

Gor’thak cut me off midsentence. “I’m dying, kid. I’ve been looking for methods to heal myself and detoxify the poison that’s slowly corroding my body, but to no avail.” I was completely caught off guard. My master was dying and this was the first time that he used the letter ‘I’ in reference to himself instead of his name.

“Who did this…can’t you visit a priest…what about alternative methods.” I was shocked and started to blurt things out one after another.

Gor’thak shook his head in response. “I’ve tried everything. My death is certain, but I was hoping to at least pass on my skills to the next generation of Cherubs. With my death…the Cherubim race will soon be swept away.”

“What do you mean the Cherubim race will be swept away? Are we moving or something.” I knew that point he was trying to get at, but I didn’t want to admit it aloud.

“They called Gor’thak a conqueror for a reason. This measly parcel of land that the Cherubim live on was a hard won fight. When Gor’thak was a young boy. Gor’thak was a slave along with the rest of his people. The Cherubim were considered a second-class race. They kept us in pens and in cages during the night, but during the day we worked manual labor for the magnanimous King Verith.” Gor’thaks voice was heavily laced with sarcasm.

“King Verith of Veratha…the slaver king. He kept us alive until we were old enough to mate and then he killed us and removed are gems in order to power his weapons and mages. How do you think the two races of Cherubim are so different? Decades of being forced to breed with other species in order to increase the amount of magic gemstones.”

“We fought and we fought hard…blood filled the streets of the capital. It was a common occurrence for Cherubim slaves to rebel. Unlike normal slaves we had no future. We knew that we would be killed when we were old enough to serve our purpose. In Gor’thaks youth the resistance was stronger than it had been in decades. Gor’thak joined and quickly amassed massive amounts of power. Revenge fueled my training. Gor’thak fought until he was the last one standing. Gor’thaks friends…Gor’thaks family. They all died.”

“Gor’thak alone pushed back the capitals troops, until the King finally realized that he was losing more than he was gaining. Gor’thak met with the slaver king and worked out a treaty. We were granted a large portion of land that solely belonged to us and the hunting of Cherubim would be forbidden within our territory. Gor’thak was tired of all the bloodshed…So Gor’thak agreed. Gor’thak knew he was only giving us a bigger cage, but at least with this we could finally live a normal life.”

I blinked a few times to keep myself from shedding a few tears, but the main emotion that was swirling up inside of me was anger…white-hot rage.

“Gor’thak has been monitoring and protecting this land ever since. The higher order you are the longer your lifespan becomes. Gor’thak has protected these lands for a few hundred years now and in doing so Gor’thak became complacent. The King had been planning a way to get back his lands you see. So he disguised a group of his best men as bandits and sent them into the Cherubim territory. Of course Gor’thak finished them off, but now without taking a scratch wound on my leg from one of their daggers.”

“The dagger was coated with an incurable poison…with my willpower. Gor’thak has been able to put off death for nearly twenty years, but my time is coming to an end. Gor’thak needed a disciple…someone stronger than me to keep the peace and lead the Cherubs to a new tomorrow. But you are a Bard. A flimsy…sing-songy Bard.”

Gor’thak stared blankly at the sky almost like he was already accepting the inevitable and preparing to die.

“That can’t be all. Your Gor’thak the Conqueror. The strongest man alive. No measly poison is going to keep you from accomplishing your goals. So what if I’m a Bard…I’ll be the strongest fuckin’ Bard in the whole universe if it means I can kill that bastard king and return the Cherubim back to their former glory.”

InheritanceType:Racial QuestDuration:UnlimitedRank:SWhether out of sheer stupidity or some other ideal. You have chosen to accepts Gor’thaks will and restore the Cherubim back to their former glory. How you do this is up to you. Quest fails if the Cherubim race is enslaved or completely massacred.

My eyes widened as the quest screen popped up in front of my face. I had never been on a single quest, never mind an S rank one.

Gor’thak looked at me with new eyes and he flew up and grabbed my shoulders. “You will become our savior…even if Gor’thak has to kill you to get you into shape. A bard…a bard hero.” He laughed at the thought and then began dragging me around to the front of his cottage.

Gor’thak kicked open the front door to his home and I was finally able to see what was inside.

For once I was looking forward to training. Gor’thaks story had lit a fire underneath me. The inside of his hut was lined with different types of weapons and items.

“Gor’thak planned to train his apprentice in quite a few different weapons, but now that you’re a bard…well your limited from wearing heavy and medium class armor and weapons.” Gor’thak spat the words out, because he was displeased but he began to gather a few weapons around the room.

He place a rapier, a set of dagger, a short staff, a katana, and a pair of brass knuckles on the table. “This is all Gor’thak has for wimpy baby like you. Pick one and Gor’thak will train you to not be a pansy.”

I scanned the items on the table and made a lit of pro’s and con’s for each of them. The brass knuckles were used for short-range combat and I wasn’t really a fan of close physical combat. They did look cool, but my mind was drawn to the bigger weapons.

The katana was nice and it would fit well with my name being Japanese, but it also seemed a little bit stereotypical and I wanted to be somewhat outside the box in my choice.

The staff was interesting, but it was half the height of a normal staff. I guess the normal size staffs are considered medium class weaponry.

The daggers were very ornate…almost pretty. I did like the idea of sneaking up behind people and slitting their throats, but the stealthy rogue play style didn’t really clash with the singing bard style.

The last one was a single ornate rapier and it was the one I had my eye on the moment I saw the set of items on the table. Not only was it a blade like I wanted, but it basically screamed ‘Bard’. I could be like one of the three musketeers or something.

While reviewing the items I decided to check the skills that I had received during meditation.

“Description: Voice Manipulation. Song Manipulation. Song of Renewal.”

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Voice ManipulationNovice122%Voice Manipulation is skill that allows you to use mana to manipulate the sound, pitch, range, and effect of your voice. It can be used to change the sound of ones own voice or to create a terrifying battle cry. The stronger the level the more effects and sounds you can create.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Song ManipulationNovice134%Song Manipulation is a class specific skill that is utilized by the bards to craft and manipulate songs. The stronger the level of manipulation the more powerful the songs become and the greater the effects on you or whoever your intended target is.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Song of RenewalNovice16%Song of Renewal is a skill that was created through the use of Song Manipulation to empower its target strength and vitality. Increases Strength and Vitality stats by 5 for ten minutes. Cost 50 Mana.

I nodded my head as I picked the rapier off of the table. I would have experiment with voice and song manipulation later to try and create new and improved combinations. It might not be a bad idea to stop by the Bard Guild later either.

“The rapier. Gor’thak thinks your choice is interesting. Not what Gor’thak would have picked, but interesting.”

That was the last kind thing that my master said to me before I willingly entered into what would be known as….’The week from hell.’

Chapter 6: Status

Status WindowName:KaiAlignment:NuetralLevel:1Class:BardRace:CherubGender:MaleTitlesNoneFame:70Infamy:1000-Health:100 / 100Health Regen:0.5 / SecMana:250 / 250Mana Regen:2.0 / SecStamina:300 / 300Stamina Regen:3.5 / Sec-Strength:6 (+4)Agility:11Vitality:10Intelligence:22Wisdom:27Endurance:35Luck:0 (+4)-Attack:1-2Defense:15 (+18)Physical ResistancesSlashing:5 (+6)Piercing:5 (+6)Crushing:10 (+6)Elemental ResistancesFire:10%Water:10%Wind:10%Earth:10%Light:10%Darkness:10%