《Path of Blood.》Chapter 49 - Training
Advertisement
Kifo hesitantly pressed down on his bronze badge that was significantly larger than Zilan’s, and suddenly a void door appeared before the trio.
“How?...How could he have found it? This is beyond odd.” thought Kifo as he stared at Zilan in both wonderment and slight annoyance.
“Would you mind telling me how you found the sacred grounds?” asked Kifo.
Zilan met his gaze as he said,
“If I tell you then you must agree to help me with something.”
Without giving it a thought Kifo immediately nodded,
“Fine.”
“Good! All I can say is that you are not the only one with special abilities.” laughed Zilan.
Despite the vagueness of those words Kifo’s eyes still widened. A thought that he had always doubted, never completely believing in, suddenly appeared in his mind again but this time for different reasons.
“Is something wrong?” asked Zilan.
“It’s nothing. We should get going.”
Directly after speaking those words, Kifo stepped into the void door and soon after so did Zilan and Jeza.
When they stepped out, Zilan found himself in a rather large court yard that had all manner of intriguing plant life and insects.
In the centre of the courtyard was a medium sized cottage that had four large and peculiar patterns drawn around it. They were constantly throbbing with golden light just like a heart does when it beats, pumping blood to the rest of the body.
“This is?” inquired Zilan as he took in the scenery.
“Huh, yes,...this is my family’s sacred land. I need to go alert Father that you’re here so feel free to go inside. Also, you have about an hour of daylight left so use that time to absorb and familiarize yourself with Brivata’s universe energy.
I’ll be back soon.”
After saying that Kifo once again pressed on his bronze badge and a void door appeared. He then walked into it, leaving Zilan and Jeza alone in the courtyard.
Advertisement
“This is Brivata! Is it what you’d imagined it to be?” smiled Zilan as he looked toward Jeza.
“That...isn’t as easy to answer as you might think. This place and what we were told as children, it’s like they’re two completely different places.”
“Oh! What exactly were you told?”
“Exactly what we wanted to hear. ‘In Brivata no one goes hungry, In Brivata there is no needless killing, In Brivata everyone is equal and everyone is happy’
However not even an hour since we arrived here and talk of protecting ourselves from dangers has already begun.
It’s honestly funny, when I think about the difference between the thoughts I had coming in here and what I’m thinking now.”
Zilan didn’t find it difficult to relate to Jeza’s mindset at all. However there exists a big difference between relating to something and understanding the other parties feelings.
“What are you thinking now?”
“I’m thinking that this is probably the most fitting version of ‘paradise’ for my species. After all what’s a little more suffering at the hands of your own people when compared to what we endure from humans? At least maybe here, I’m not a walking treasure.”
For some unexplainable reason, Zilan felt no remorse when he listened to Jeza’s words and it was clear that it wasn’t the work of the Gift of love influencing him.
“Strange.”
He took notice of this but didn’t know what to make of it. Little did he know that he was actually adapting and unknowingly because of his inhuman constitution, his body was somehow absorbing the Universe energy around him just from breathing in and out, although on a much, much, much smaller scale than when he was absorbing the ginseng.
This was causing his mental strength to grow slowly but substantially, and given the warnings from Kifo, Zilan’s mind and body were subconsciously putting on guards against everything including both emotional and physical impact. Preparing for anything!
Advertisement
Was this fortuitous discovery something amazing to possess or will it prove to be a hindrance as it develops further? Only time will tell.
“Hmm, from what I see Beasts share more things in common with humans than I was led to believe. Anyway, talking about this is meaningless let’s head inside. There are some things I’d like to try out.”
Jeza was confused as to whether that was an insult or a statement stemming from an insight. Regardless, she made sure to remember it.
Zilan calmly walked up the stone steps, opened the door to the cottage and walked in. Inside looked very much like what you’d expect an old man’s house to look like. There was old furniture and in some places none at all, the rooms had a distinct medicinal smell, but the thing that stood out the most was a large prayer mat with similar patterns as those on the outside of the building laid out in the sitting room.
Two stars appeared in his eyes as Zilan examined the prayer mat.
“Interesting....so this pattern has the ability to draw in and store all of the Universe’s power it can handle.”
“But what if I modified it to direct the energy to me? I can’t be the only one who’s thought of this, can I?”
As Zilan continued to analyze the prayer mat, Jeza saw no purpose for her presence there so she looked for a vacant room she could rest in and went inside.
Zilan on the other hand didn’t hesitate to sit on the prayer mat.
“This....”
His meridians enlarged to the point that they could be seen from outside his skin however, Zilan felt no pain or discomfort. In fact, he had never in his life felt so refreshed.
The power that was going through him, gave him a strange feeling of , “This is right. This is how it’s supposed to be.”
The Universe power that came flowing down from the skies of Brivata differed greatly from the energy he had absorbed from the ginseng.
After all, the ginseng was the same as Zilan now. It had once absorbed the universe’s energy directly from the sky. Therefore, the energy it contained obviously fell behind that of Brivata in terms of purity.
This was because Brivata’s Universe’s energy had much fewer impurities than those contained in the ginseng.
There was also a much simpler reason as to why Zilan was responding so well to Brivata’s energy and that was because of his Inhuman constitution.
Zilan’s body was designed to be able to contain the purest of Universe energy, therefore absorbing it somewhat directly from the Universe was simply a natural occurrence.
Unfortunately as Zilan was happily taking in all of the Universe energy he could, the patterns around the cottage suddenly ceased to glow.
Night had fallen and as per the rules no one was allowed to absorb the Universe’s energy.
Just as he was feeling down on why he couldn’t absorb more, Zilan turned to his wrist and saw that one mark of tribulation had shed off and the remaining one was noticeably fading.
“It looks like coming here was an even wiser choice than I thought it would be.” laughed Zilan.
“Hmm, what’s so funny?” The door to the cottage opened and in came Kifo with a small smile on his face.
“Nothing, I’m just starting to like this place.” Replied Zillan as he stood up.
“I should hope so, this place is our sacred land.” chuckled Kifo.
“What’s wrong with this person? One moment he appears shocked beyond words and now he’s here laughing with me.”
“Ah! That reminds me, what is the nature of the favour I owe you?”
“It’s very simple, I only want you to assist in my training.”
Advertisement
- In Serial61 Chapters
The Voice of the World
Jason Elric used to be an ordinary college student living in the heart of San Francisco. He had a part time job, he played online games with friends he got along moderately well with, and he earned reasonably good grades. The worst he really had to worry about in life was turning in his coursework on time and not being late to class. Now, though? Now fighting for his life and running from a horde of giant frogs that want to make him their next meal is just another Tuesday. Thanks to a summoning ritual gone terribly right, Jason has found himself trapped in a world eerily similar to the role playing games games he used to play for fun. Unfortunately for the now ex-college student, everything happening around him is terrifyingly real and if he wants to survive, he’ll have to figure out how to exploit the system for his benefit before it’s too late. The Voice of the World is the first part of what is planned to be a multi-book, Isekai LitRPG story with crafting elements, set in the fantasy world known as Verdania. This is my first time posting online for public consumption, so bear with me as I work to find a style that people like. While I may occasionally write scenes that may deal with heavy concepts, expect this story to be primarily light hearted high fantasy. There will be a lot of common fantasy tropes involved, as this story got its start as a simple practice exercise, rather than any plan to actually post it. However, it’s grown on me, so I felt it’s worth sharing after all. Thus, if you’re looking for more serious/original/unusual stories, you might want to look elsewhere. For the rest of you, feel free to leave suggestions, as well as to point out grammar and spelling mistakes; I’ll do my best to make edits to correct them. I do my own editing currently, and it’s easy to miss things when you know what’s supposed to be there, so such call outs are highly encouraged. Content TLDR: No harems, probably no romance (unless it makes sense for the story later on) (it did, eventually), definitely no sex (keeping this PG-13 or close to it), limited profanity. Does/Will contain mixes of magic and technology (think Warhammer, Final Fantasy); copious amounts of blue tables; race, gender, and sexual equality concepts; crafting sequences; and (slightly, but not overbearingly) strong protagonists. If you don’t like these things, go elsewhere instead of downvoting people for content instead of writing quality. Update Time currently varies, due to personal injury, but the goal is 1/week on Wednesdays, with a possible smaller chapter on weekends if time/health permits.
8 309 - In Serial6 Chapters
Swindle
—A Celebration of all things chess... Shounen Sports–manga Style. Anasthese is the current reigning World Champion for the Junior Chess Female Division. For years, she's wanted nothing more than to beat the Male Division Champion, Rei. These two are considered prodigies way ahead of their age; none of their peers even come close to holding a candle against them. But be that as it may, Anasthese too, cannot hold a candle to Rei... She's never beaten Rei once he's serious. Anasthese has always considered Rei the best of her generation. It's her lifelong goal to beat and surpass him. That's why, when Rei's cancer had become fatal after their 3rd year running, Anasthese took it hard. Rei will die, with her never having beaten him, not even once. Things take an unexpected turn when Rei reveals that he is far from the "invincible" player Anasthese envisions him to be. Even he has someome he could never beat, not even if his life depended on it... a fellow apprentice who studied with him under GM Amane. A guy so-called "Net". This enrages Anasthese. A person stronger than Rei should not exist. Because if he did, then what has all her efforts for the past years been for? And if this Net "does" exist, why doesn't he challenge Rei for the title? Rei tells her it's not that simple... Net's playstyle is void. It's an enigma. It's chess that should not exist, and should physically not be possible to play. It goes against all logic, and it's power is not something that can be measured in numbers. It's something that would "absolutely not work" in a professional setting. Anasthese attends Rei's funeral as a last rite before setting off for Japan, bound towards the disintegrating Futenma Shintenkan Highschool chessclub, of which there are only two members left: Mukuro and Net. She has to see it with her own eyes, a playstyle that Rei lost to... And as Anasthese stays for the long-term, various misadventures are started at Futenma High, including rebuildung the club, Anasthese's "Royal Guards" (four girls dedicated to serving Anasthese and helping challenge Rei) coming to take her back to America, and unexpected guests gracing the local Sports Meet chess scene. From a guy who can only play well everytime money's involved, to a girl who plays on a weird "Magical Girls vs Orcs" chess set, get introduced to the quirky playstyles that make chess wonderful. (Disclaimer: I am not a chess pro, I'm only 1400. Expect me to have no idea what I'm talking about at certain times...)
8 294 - In Serial35 Chapters
Eternia Memories: 2+X
Eternia Memories: 3 In the aftermath of the critical fight between Class A and Class F, things finally returned to a state of normality for the Elites. Kato and co., together with Alice, joins forces to form a small band in their leisure time, but their short bit of peace and quiet are about to be overturned by an upcoming school-wide talent show that’s going to be the razor-sharp focus for many student organizations in Korolev Senior. In the midst of the coming storm of power struggles, Caius, the coolest of the men of the Elites, finds himself between a rock and a hard place; the epic return of an original Elite and his first love to their school, Mayumi, and a part-time softie delinquent from the drama department, Cecilia. Under the weight of his identity as an Elite and their commitment to their class’ anti-establishment agenda, his newfound role in the drama department will not be easy for him. He’ll have to, unfortunately, test the strength of his bonds with his friends once more, as he had done many years ago at Mayumi’s ill-timed departure. (Unlisted: Volume 1)
8 225 - In Serial31 Chapters
Of Demigods and Wizards
When Ron Weasley discovers that he's the son of Poseidon and a mortal woman, he has no idea of how much his life and the lives of his friends will be changed forever...
8 254 - In Serial15 Chapters
Devil's Basement: Colony Ragnarok
Far beneath the surface of a planet wrapped in a toxic atmosphere, competing political ideologies stare each other down over a heavily militarised line that cuts through the city on their border. Among the dark rail tunnels and mine shafts are an unfinished treaty up for negotiation; a fanatical terrorist group with questionable backers; and ordinary people caught in the middle. In this claustrophobic environment, those who desire peace must act quickly or these tunnels will collapse in the fires of war. _____ This story is based on a role-playing map game I GM'd awhile ago. The four main characters are based on the four players from that map game, and the general sequence of events follows the game as well. Cover art: inncect (formerly astrxphoria) from wattpad.com, where this story was first published.
8 73 - In Serial21 Chapters
Knights of Auran
We all have a life force known as the Spirit. What if there’s more to the spirit than life? Meet Kevin Riley, a teen that discovers he's part of an evolved sect of humans known as the Seirei Jin that have inhabited Earth for centuries. Abducted for their special powers by the government, Kevin escapes as he's summoned by an ancient stone that transports him to another world, Zonia. He's recruited by the Knights of Auran to help save their world from the evil Laban.
8 152

