A/N Sorry for taking so long, it will usually take about a week and half to publish a chapter but I've been prety busy these past few weeks so I should establish a schedule pretty soon.
"Hey Herald. I'm here for the gun. You got it?" Bell asked as Herald was smithing an axe.
He came back after two days as Herald couldn't finish it one day. Today was colder than before. There was sleet falling around the smithing place and the heat source was his forgery.
"Ye' I do. One sec," he said as he rummaged around a chest that was next to him. "Was surprisingly pretty easy to fix. Thought it would be harder. Then again I'm not familiar with these types of weapons."
"They are pretty new, I'll give you that." Bell chuckled.
"Welp, besides that how've ya' been? Has Kallskog been treatin' ye' well?" Herald asked a half awake Bell who was almost asleep.
"Good enough. My caretaker keeps checking up on me every. Single. Hour. Of. The. Night. It's annoying! It makes it so hard for me to sleep as I'm already a light sleeper!" Bell whined as he emphasized the bags under his red eyes.
"Become a smith! You ain't ever getting' sleep there! Use that lack of sleep for good!" Herald joked.
"In your dreams ol' man." He chuckled
"Yeah, yeah, I may be be old but atleast I ain't scrawny!" He shot back jokingly.
"That means I'm good to squeeze through places you can't." He smiled smugly.
"Shut yur' trap kid." He sighed as he continued to forge the axe with the occasional stray metal flying around.
Bell walked up to receive the revolver he gave to him two days prior. He looked at the gun which looked brand new. It had a new spruce wooden handle and a new muzzle. It had a new design on the metal and his name was carved into the side of the handle.
"I'm surprised. You went above and beyond." Bell marveled at his gun.
"You are a general, I don't wanna be hated or have a disappointed general in my book." Herald smiled.
"Treat me like any other customer. The high command doesn't even know I'm alive." He sighed
"Oh, alright then. Well, pay up. That'll be 15,000 valutor." He groaned as he stood up, being quite tall for a dwarf at about 4'11.
"Yep, coming right up." Bell said as he fetched for his wallet.
"Uh, here," He said as he handed the bag. "There's the money for you."
"Thanks Bell." The dwarf said as he tossed the money on a counter.
"Say, Herald, are there any clothing shops here and any armor shops around here? I want to check something out." He asked as he looked outside into the windy and cold atmosphere.
"Uh, I think there is. If my guess is right, probably about a street down from here" He said as he looked at his anvil.
"Thanks again Herald, I'll be back, I know it." Bell said as he walked out.
"Yeah, yeah, just get outta here, I wanna forge my axe!" He joked.
"Alright! Jeez old man, I'll get out of your hair, if you have any!" Bell joked at Herald's expense.
"Shut da' fuck up you man whore!" Herald retorted.
"See ya' old man!" He called out from outside.
"Yeah, yeah, get the hell outta here!" Herald shouted at the already gone Bell. He could hear Herald laughing as he left though.
"Alright… clothing store, clothing store, where are you?" Bell mumbled to himself as he walked around.
The downtown wasn't crowded for once as he walked down. There were, of course, a couple of people here and there. He scanned around the main downtown and saw a shop. It seemed to be perfect for his style which was, well, different compared to most people.
"That was fantastic! I have the best clothes ever!" He shouted as he looked at himself in the large alleyway right next to the building. Bell had a black trench coat with a gray line going down the back, a dark brown felt slouch hat on his head, a matching pair of black under clothes, a light vest black on top of his shirt, and large dark brown boots. Though, he could never forget the best part about his uniform. The gas mask. He used to wear that into battle to prevent debris from getting on his face but chose not to on that fateful battle.
"Hard to believe this only cost 50,000 valutors., I mean, not including the slouch, vest, trenchcoat, and gas mask." He smiled. "Those cost 300,000 valutors!"
"Seriously though, that's overpriced." He mumbled once again to himself.
At the moment, he only had his revolver on him with his hunting knife. They were holstered on his side which could easily be quick-drawn if need be.
He decided it would be a good idea to check out a small stand which appeared to be a snack stall. Those were not that uncommon but they were always enjoyed by civilians.
"Hello sir, may I take your order?" A female staff member said to the Bell who was quickly approaching the stall. She had a face that looked as if she was confused.
"Hello, I'll take uh, one second." He scanned the menu. "The 'famous chocolate covered jagamarukun' please." Bell said to the woman. As much as he hated sweets, he actually for once had a sweet tooth.
"Coming right up! That'll be 100 pengars please." The woman said as she grabbed it out of a small window covered cabinet.
"Here you go." Bell said as he handed the money to the woman. He had handed one bronze coin which was 100 pengars.
"Thank you sir!" The woman said in a cheerful manner. Her face was slightly different than before with her initial confusion to his outfit.
Bell nodded as he headed off to sit at a nearby bench. He gave a sigh of content as he unwrapped his snack and began to take off his mask. After he set down his mask, he began to nibble at the snack and taste it. Love the taste. Oh! Is it dark chocolate? Woah, that's so cool! I've never seen any piece of jagamarukun do that! New favorite stall! Bell thought to himself as he savored the taste.
After about fifteen minutes of eating that small jagamarukun, he began to get up when he heard some loud orders coming from the direction he was not looking at.
He looked at the source of disturbance and saw some Coralian soldiers pushing some men around. Geez, they're already here? And I thought I could avoid fighting for at least a week. Oh, but that makes it worth the while. Bell thought to himself as he saw some POWs of Njalulf. He began to reload his revolver and after he had done so, put it back in its holster.
He gave a bored sigh as he got up from the bench and put on his mask to confront the soldiers. He walked up to them as they continued making their way towards Bell as he also walked towards them.
The start of the snowfall, the eerie forest noises in the background, it made its own setting for a fight.
"Don't you think you're handling them a little too rough?" Bell told the Coralians who were pushing the POWs around.
"No, these filthy rats deserve it." One of the soldiers chuckled. "Get out of our way though, we could gladly make your line up with them.
"I'm good. I'm here to free them. After All, they are our men, not yours." Bell told the soldier.
"Don't get cocky boy. Come here." The man walked up to him holding a short sword.
Bell upholstered his revolver and aimed at the man's head.
"Get away from me." Bell said in a near emotionless tone. The man ignored Bell and continued to walk up to him when he suddenly fell down to the ground as a loud bang was heard.
"Juhn! No!" One of the other soldiers shouted. "Damn you!" He shouted as he charged towards Bell.
Bell upholstered his hunting knife and sidestepped when he was close enough and stabbed the man in the upper back. He dragged the knife to the man's shoulder blade and made a quick jerk up after doing so, effectively shattering his shoulder blade. After doing so, he jabbed at the man's uncovered face.
"You still want to try me?" Bell said to the remaining soldiers who grabbed their swords or axes.
"Overwhelm the man!" The leader of the squad shouted. Bell had fired at them all in the abdomen causing them to kneel in pain.
"Stay away from me, I don't need your filthy blood on me." Bell said as he took off his mask to reveal his emotionless face. It looked as if it was a neutral face except with the eyebrows perched downwards in a slightly disgusted look that barely showed.
The men looked up at Bell with disdain and pain. Bell put them out of their misery with swift jerks of his knife to their necks.
"So… your soldiers are gone, what now old man?" Bell questioned the leader.
"I… I… Bertrand will hear about this!" The man yelled. He began to run when Bell shot him in his left ankle.
"Aw, don't leave yet, the fun has just begun!" Bell's face morphed into a menacing smile.
"No… p-please… stop this! Just kill me already!" The man pleaded with Bell.
In response to the plea, he slammed his hunting knife down on the man's leg2, penetrating the entire thigh poking through the other side. The man let out a scream of agony.
"You think I would acknowledge your plea? You're just a filthy Coralian who's doing this in the name of liberation! We don't need liberation." Bell growled at the man.
"Just kill me already!" He pleaded again.
"I'm not done with you. Who is Bertrand?" Bell asked in a fake sweet voice.
"Like hell I'd tell you!" The man yelled at him.
"Hold on, all of you, stand by, commander's orders." Bell spoke to the POWs. "You want to play tough, alright then, play tough, and I'll play rough." Bell growled as he yanked the knife out of his thigh and stabbed it in the man's hand. One again he let out another pain filled scream.
"Want to play tough still?" Bell yelled at the man.
"No, no I don't I'm sorry." The man had tears streaming down his face now.
"THEN WHO IS BERTRAND?" Bell screamed at the man.
"My commander… he's in your mainland. He should be at... Breauxilievillieaes." The man sobbed.
"I've heard enough, I'm satisfied with you. So long." Bell yanked the knife out of the man's hand and slammed it to his head.
"That got a little too bloody for my liking. Bell wiped his knife off in the snow.
"You seven, you're going to be under my command. I am, if you do not recognize me, general Bell Cranel." Bell said as he walked towards the POWs.
"Anyway, enough of me, who was your commander or is he here?" He asked the POWs.
"Our commander is K.I.A. He was Captain Ervin. We were at a small outpost of about I think, 15 soldiers including him. We held out as long as we could until he ordered us to surrender. They took him and executed him in front of us so we would comply with anything they said. They said we were going to be released in this town but I doubt that. I heard from some resistance in occupied sections that that means you will be publicly executed." The POW closest to Bell told him.
"I see, such a shameful demise. I do not mean to talk ill about him, it is our custom thought to never surrender which is why I said that. No matter though, do you know why we have foreign aid from Orario? I was never informed about that." Bell asked.
"I have heard chats about that. Rumor is that Njalulf tried to set a quest but could not as it was a war so instead bribed Orario about 80,500,000,000 Valutors to them to give them these high tier adventurers with some healers alongside of it. So the guild of Orario chose to send the familia members. I think the one who approved was Royman? I heard that name from a high commander. From what I heard they are from the Loki, Hermes, Miach, and Dian-Cecht familias. I think they have a couple of Hephaestus famila smiths as well but I'm not sure about that." The POW informed Bell
"I haven't seen any Hermes or Hephaestus familia members but I have seen the rest." That explains that but why are they up here instead of the mainland?" He continued questioning the POW.
"Apparently they were heading to the mainland but travelled off course so that's why they are here. That's a guess though." He explained.
"So then why didn't they tell me?" Bell pushed on.
"My guess is that they didn't want to let you know that they messed up so they hid it from you which is pretty messed up." The POW expressed his opinion after informing Bell.
"But… they have a huge cabin, granted that this place is known for renting huge cabins but still, you have to reserve ahead of time." Bell questioned himself.
"They probably bribed the owner to let them stay there." The POW chipped in.
"Alright, now that that's settled, grab a weapon off one of the soldiers, I have use for you all. Follow me." Bell said as he put back on his mask and began to job back to the cabin.
As Bell pushed the door open, he was greeted by a group of worried adventurers fully geared.
"What the hell? What are you all doing?" Bell asked, awfully confused.
"We heard bullets, or gunshots, yeah, gunshots fire out. I think there's a battle going on." Lefiya responded.
"Calm down, I shot those. I took care of them anyway and also got some information out of them." Bell informed them nonchalantly.
"What did ya' get outta them?" Bete asked.
"Basic information that will help out in the long run." Bell said.
"I found out some very interesting information as well. I've been told that you went to the wrong location. And you were asked to help which means you're under my command. That's good. I have some very good use for all of you." Bell said, trying to hold back a smirk.
"Wait… I'm under your command?" Lefiya asked, confused.
"Pretty much since we apparently bribed Orario for you all to defend Njalulf. If I'm correct, 80,500,000,000 valutors is about 74,000,000,000 valis. That's quite a bit of money we used." Bell calculated.
"No… no… this dumbass can't and shouldn't boss me around!" Bete screamed as he held his head as if he lost his mind.
"So… I have a boss here, who's not Lord Miach?" Naaza questioned.
"Pretty much. I want the healers to check these men out for any injuries. I'm going to train them in a bit." He said as he motioned towards the POWs.
"Got it…" Naaza said as she walked as if she was contemplating life.
"SOLDIERS! STATE YOUR NAMES AND RANKS!" Bell screamed as the ex-POWs now soldiers.
They were in the yard of the cabin which was big enough for their training. The snow had stopped and now there were a couple inches of snow.
"Sir, I am Private Jeremiah of the capital city sir!" The tallest out of them all who was also an elf stated.
"Sir, I am Corporal Alden of the southeast city of New Marais sir!" The strongest out of the pack yelled who was a dwarf.
"Sir, I am Private Hemmings of the capital city sir!" The scrawniest out of them all shouted who was a chienthrope.
"Sir, I am Private Schulvi of the Vindil southwest sir!" A timid voice of pallum spoke.
Bell walked up to the pallum and kneeled down. He stared him down and eventually spoke:
"Just because you're a pallum does not mean I will treat you any more different than them. You are a soldier and you train like one, understood?"
The pallum merely nodded and Bell told the rest to continue telling him their names.
"Sir, I am Private White of the capital city sir!" A human spoke.
"Sir, I am Private Zuinx of the rural southwest sir!" A chienthrope informed Bell.
"Sir, I am Corporal Yuggli of the volunteer corp of Rikran sir!" Another human yelled.
The volunteer corps of Rikran was from the kingdom of Rikran who was a close ally of Njalulf. They were both island nations which made them close allies as they commonly traded materials with each other. Only recently, about 200 years ago, have they made their alliance militaristic.
"Alright, all of you, 100 pushups Now! After that I want you to do 200 sit ups and then have a free for all wrestling match to test your skills of combat. Understood?" Bell yelled.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers yelled.
'Then get on with it!" Bell yelled with a menacing face.
Normally, he was laid back but when it came to training, he had an angry and no nonsense persona.
"Don't you think you can not yell at them? I mean, I'm in no place to judge." Lefiya said as she pitied the soldiers. She had just come from talking with Alicia.
"Maybe, but it's military training. It's probably different from adventurer training. You want to join them?" Bell half-joked.
"Me? Wait what, me? No, no, no, I can't do that!" Lefiya yelled.
"Why not? Falna should make this exercise easy, I just might maybe make you fight them physically to see just how powerful falna is. If you win, I would like to fight you even though I'll probably lose. That's not the point for me though. I want to see how I could counter someone with falna if possible." Bell explained to Lefiya.
"Fine. I'll do it but that doesn't mean I want to!" Lefiya whined.
"I didn't say you had to. But if you are going to do it, that outfit is terrible. I'll go buy something that works out for it, unless you want to try in your current outfit. Blouses or corsets or whatever they are are terrible for fighting in my opinion but that's just me." Bell informed the putty Lefiya.
"I'm fine in this outfit!" Lefiya yelled.
"Then get moving! On the ground, 100 pushups, after that, 200 sit ups then you fight the others, START!" Bell yelled as he reverted back to his training persona.
"Geez, no need to yell…" Lefiya mumbled.
"Pardon?" Bell spoke. "Stand up."
Lefiya sighed as he got up to look at him.
"When you are training you show respect to your trainer and do not disrespect his ways of teaching in the military! Do you understand!?" Bell yelled.
"Yeah, I guess." Lefiya responded.
"When I address you, you say to me: Yes sir or sir yes sir. Am I clear!?" He shouted once again.
"Um, sir yes sir?" Lefiya said, slightly confused.
"Alright then! 200 pushups and 400 sit ups. Go!" Bell yelled at Lefiya.
What?! That much?! That's so unfair! Lefiya thought as she finished her tenth pushup.
Lefiya watched as she saw Bell yelled at one of the humans for struggling on his eightieth pushup and told him to keep pushing or he would never survive battle again.
Since when did he get so angry or something like that? All I've seen him be like was laid back and sort of a smart-ass. I guess it's a military thing. Lefiya thought as she concluded her first hundred pushups. She was beginning to break out a sweat as Bell walked over to her.
"You're already sweating? Come on! I've seen kids do better than you!" Bell yelled.
"And I thought you were an adventurer!" He snarkily said to get under her nerves to train her calmness and stress-level condition.
"Sir, with all do respect, I ask you to be quiet." Lefiya groaned.
"Well too bad, this is all training. Now understand that or I'll add an extra hundred to all of your exercises." Bell chuckled in a rude manner.
"I'd like to see you do it then dumbass!" Bete said as he walked towards them.
"Are you training these weaklings? Don't waste your time on being a weakling and training other weaklings."
"It's my job and I'll gladly prove you wrong about me not being able to do it." Bell said as he got down and began rapidly doing pushups. It took him around ten seconds or so to do ten pushups which sort of surprised Bete as he looked tall but slim and slightly unfit.
"I've always been fit so this is a breeze." Bell said as he casually got up from doing a pushup only to go back down again.
"Yeah, shut up." Bete spoke. "Also, why is that weakling training with the others?"
" She wanted to try it out and get this, she's already sweating!" Bell laughed as he got down to do another pushup.
"Well, I'm done now, so shut it Bete." Lefiya sighed as she switched to do sit ups.
"That blouse or corset or whatever it is will get in your way, Lefiya. You really should consider buying more flexible clothing for the next training session as it will really help you in the long run." He tried convincing her again.
"I'm fine Bell." Lefiya said.
"What happened to the 'sir' part again huh!?" Bell yelled at her.
"Sir, I am fine sir!" Lefiya slightly fearfully said as she feared him adding more to her exercise.
"Alright, any person done, fall into line!" Bell pointed at a black line to his right with a free hand as he went down again.
After about five minutes, everyone had finished including Bell. Bete and Bell watched as Bell signalled for the fighting match to start. Lefiya since she was mage, slightly struggled with hand to hand when three came her way but due to her being a level 3, she had overcome them and defeated them.
"So she is pretty strong. Noted." Bell stated.
"Nah, she's pretty weak in my eyes." Bete disagreed.
"Well, you're a level five or six so of course she is to you." He informed Bete.
"Yeah, yeah." Bete spoke.
"Alright, they're all down, I'd like to fight you now." Bell said.
"Bring it on army boy!" She said in the heat of the moment.
"I'll let it slide this time."
They circled around each other and because they said that Bete would be the referee, he counted down and they began to fight. Bell began to do swift combinations of jabs, crosses, inner crescent kicks, hook kicks, and sidekicks, all at once. Lefiya mainly struggled to defend against the kicks which Bell quickly learned so he began to focus on kicking.
Lefiya grabbed one of Bell's legs and in response, Bell sprung his arms out as fast as a bullet and grabbed her arm, yanking it towards him. He then raised his hand and formed it into a hammer shape and slammed it down on her joint. Since she was a level 3, she barely felt most of it, but the concentrated part of the hit where it directly hit her joint, caused moderate pain.
"Ouch! You scoundrel!" She yelled as Bell quickly scrambled to a defensive position.
"Tip one, don't lose your temper in a fight, it never works and never has." Bell says.
"All it does is hinder your abilities. Keep your mind cool."
"Shut up you human!" She screamed as she sent in a barrage of punches and poorly formed kicks due to her anger and corset.
Bell was able to block most because of his center block. That did not mean it hurt in the least. It hurt a lot for him and he had to bite his tongue to not yell out. The occasional punch that Lefiya shot that strayed from where she wanted it to usually hit him in the ribs or shoulder.
Lefiya realised it would not work so she ran as fast as she could to flank him to his left. He successfully did and punched him in the kidney. That had caused a loud groan from Bell as he limped to defend himself by turning towards Lefiya.
"What'cha gonna do now army boy?" She said cockily.
"This." He said in a pained voice.
He kicked her knee which did not do much as the corset blocked most of it and then sent a backfist towards her cheek. She blocked all of them but then sent a reverse punch towards her neck. It had barely succeeded and he had caused minor damage to her.
"How are you so fast for a person without falna?" Lefiya questioned as she rubbed her neck.
"Secrets." He whispered.
People had began to gather after they heard the commotion. The first person to peek was Riveria. Soon after, Naaza came, then Airmid, Alicia, lower ranking adventurers, and his soldiers who had recovered.
"Damn it, what did he do now?" Naaza said as she watched.
"He didn't do anything. He challenged her to fight him." Private Zuinx informed.
"I see," Naaza sighed. "But what about his… oh yeah, I healed them."
"He should be resting." Airmid mumbled but still looked slightly intrigued at the fight.
"He's preparing for a knockout kick. He's going to do a reverse punch, then fake a low sidekick to charge up his spinning kick then jump snap kick." Riviera noted.
As she predicted, Bell did so but when he was about to execute a jumping snap kick, Lefiya, with a lot of force, punched him in the temple, knocking him out. He collapsed as a brick and his torso landed on his leg with his arms dangling at his sides.
"Oops, this isn't what I meant, hehe." Lefiya tried to brush off.
"Damn, I didn't even know a man could do that…" Bete whispered as he saw Bell's knockout pose.
"Lefiya, perhaps tone it down a bit? I know I'll probably hear him say "why tone it down! I want to fight a full force person because it's fun!' That man has no limits I tell you." Riviera said in an almost monotone voice with a touch of expression in her quotations.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry…" She said as she smirked. She only had to wait for him to wake up so she could give him hell about being knocked out by a mage.
As everyone but the soldiers and Lefiya dispersed, White went over to check on Bell.
"You really messed him up, his legs, god! His legs! How can a man do that!?" He said in an exasperated voice.
"Not my fault he went in for the kick…" She mumbled.
After a couple minutes or so, he eventually woke up.
"The hell happened? I thought I landed that kick" He whined as he sat up.
"You almost did, but you lost to a mage!" She laughed.
"Shut up… I could've if I was your level." He mumbled.
"But you not, so deal with it!" Lefiya laughed.
"Yeah yeah, I'm going out. Later." He groaned as he waved off.
His legs hurt and felt as if they were chopped in half by a dull knife which would prolong the pain.
He had to go visit Herald for a brief moment to ask him for a map and to see the locations of the new deities. If Herald knew, that would make his journey much easier and safer. If he did not, that would change everything so Bell hoped he knew.
"Hey old man, you got some time real quick?" Bell asked as he knocked on the door.
"The hell? Your already back? It's only been two hours or so you boye'!" Herald shouted as he looked at Bell slightly agitated.
"Yeah, I'm back. I was just wondering, do you have time for you to show me where the deities started out? Would really help me out." He said as he got out a map of Vindil.
"Yeah, yeah, I do. Hold on, lemme get my feather real quick." Herald said as he stood up and walked around to look for his feather. After a while, he only found the ink but no feather.
"I ain't got no feather boy. Sorry." He said as he walked back.
"Ah, here then!" Bell said as got the feather from his hat. "This should help."
"Good think boy." He chuckled as he dipped the feather in ink.
"So, you see this part of the island?" He said as he circled the southwest part slightly.
"That's us, Kollskog." He explained. "One of the deities started out about twenty or thirty miles from here in Helvetisk."
"If I'm correct though, he should still be there though, but I aint no expert so that's just my estimate."
"Oh, well at least you know that." Bell smiled.
Herald slapped Bell as he misinterpreted the comment as a snarky one.
"Hey! I didn't mean it to be snarky. Jeez, learn to decipher comments." Bell mumbled
"Shut up boy." Herald said, slightly smiling and grumbling.
They were talking some more about the type of deity and what to expect. Bell learned some extra information and that the town was not yet occupied by the Coralians. Bell also found out that the town got its name from the small lava streams and hot springs in that area. The hotspring part sort of excited Bell as he had never been to one and had always wanted to experience one.
"Looks I'm going to be having some fun while deity hunting. Thats nice!" Bell chirped which was slightly unusual.
"Well, good luck on yur' trip boy. I'll be waitin' for ye'. If it's a hot chick, bring it to me so I can rate her!" Herald joked.
"Maybe, I still have to focus on the main part of the trip though, so that's what I'll focus on." Bell chuckled back.
"Anyways old man, see ya'!" Bell said as he ran out of the stone doorway.
After explaining to everyone in the cabin about what he was going to do, he also recruited the soldiers to join him on the journey. They set out the following day, traveling at a nice pace, expecting to arrive by the next couple hours or so. The weather was tolerable with light snowfall. They had one person scanning their rear while two soldiers on each side protected the sides. The rest walked forwards.
When they arrived, they saw the town. The town seems arid in a sense that there was no water, only ice. It looked as if it did not rain, only snow, which is why they thought it seemed arid. They were quickly asking for directions of the deity. After about ten minutes of searching around, they came across the house which was similar to a cabin, though was painted crimson red at the pillars. They knocked on the door and was greeted by a woman who appeared to be at least 5'3.
"Hello?" The woman had an ambient voice though radiated divinity.
"Ahm, y-hello, my name is Bell Cranel, I was told that you were a goddess?" He explained to the woman.
"That I am, who's asking?" She questioned.
"Nobody but me," He replied. "I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me."
"Sure, come in." She said as she ushered them in, still with suspicious looks.
As they sat down, she poured some water in some cups and served it to them.
"Now, what did you wish to ask me?" She said with a curious look.
"I was wondering if you would allow us to join your familia." He said as he cut to the chase.
"Oh, uh, sure! You would be my first children if that is okay with you." She informed.
"That is very much so okay, as long as we are in a familia, that is perfect." He smiled.
"I would like to inform you though, I am associated with war as I am the goddess Zorya." She said as she stood up with her hands to her sides.
She wore a fancy tunic with decorations on the edges which were decorated golden. She had golden blonde hair which reached down to her waist and had eyes the color of the purest lake in the world.
Bell thought that she was a beautiful deity, but he still respected them and their everlasting knowledge of this world and the other world where they once roamed. He thought she was on par with some of the most beautiful women in the world, maybe even considered her to be a goddess of beauty but would not ask... yet.
"Anyway, I need to give you blessings so would you mind taking off your armour and shirts?" She asked without embarrassment.
"Sure," He said as he took off his armour and shirt. "But, do you intend on staying here the entire time? I have some contacts a bit far from here which should take about four hours to get from here to there."
"I don't want to start off here but nobody was interested in a war deity here, which is strange since I heard your country was militaristic." She explained, slightly puzzled.
She sat on a stool as she ushered Bell to sit on another stool in front of her. As they began to explain to each other their goals, she implemented her blessing on his back, officially making Bell a part of her familia.
Name: Bell Cranel Age: 19
Familia: Zorya Familia
Level : 1
Str: 0
Vit: 0
Dex: 0
Agi: 0
Mag: 0
Magic:
Skill: Vengeance: If one betrays or harms the the user in ill-will, user will be granted double the level in strength when fighting the wrongdoer
Alias: None
Bell looked at his sheet. He asked his goddess why he had a skill already and what causes a skill. The skill was odd to everyone. They were perplexed as they had studied a bit about the mechanics of familias and excelia on the way there.
"I don't know why you have a skill already, that's pretty weird to me. I know it isn't normal though. Do you have any person who wronged you, Bell?" Zorya asked.
"Yeah, I do, but it's not important." He brushed off the question.
"Well it certainly is considering you got a skill from it!" She practically yelled.
"Sir, if I may?" Corporal Yuggli spoke.
"Granted." Bell said as he looked at him.
"I think your desire was so strong that you actually earned that skill. I mean, how often do adventurers get a skill a level one? Almost none! As expected of you sir." He chuckled.
"Yeah, you have a point, I want my revenge so that's probably why." Bell sort of confirmed.
Bell in the inside of mind was happy but also fearful. Why would I want vengeance? I know I spoke of vengeance but I never meant to go through with it. Is that my journey as a man? Become the type of person? Cruel, sadistic, psychotic, angry, and hateful? If I do, I'll ask my men to stop me. If they can't I'll try to fight myself to ease them a bit. He thought to himself as he gained a slightly troubled look on his face.
"I'm- I'll wait outside, alright goddess Zorya?" Bell said as he walked outside onto the porch.
"Alright then!" She called out at the already gone Bell.
Bell took a deep breath as he sorted out his feelings. He wanted to lose that anger he had against the king. If he could do that, maybe that would be one step closer to being a better person.
"If only I could do it… I don't think I have the will though. I'll have to talk to him, either make a fresh start or fight him." He said as he looked at the palm of his left hand.
"Of course I can do it, it only takes strong will." He said as he began to slightly smile.
"He's going to be pretty pissed about this." A mysterious voice which sounded hoarse and gravelly said from behind him.
"Who the hell are you?" Bell said as he turned around.
"Just a concerned citizen, now hold still!" The man said as he latched onto Bell before he could react. Bell felt the energy of his body drain as his legs and arms were limp to the side of him even though he was still awake. One of the man's hands was made of silver with strange devices on it.
He saw visions. Blizzards, volcanoes, destroyed cities, the iconic statue at the center of the capital, destroyed, a crow eating a dead civilian, a figure. A figure in the distance which was rising two volcanoes on each side of it using telekinesis. The thing was horrid, he could not see the looks, only the silhouette of the thing.
The man latched on him, showing him more horrid visions of what Bell could think was the future. He saw battles between beasts against humans, adventurers crumbling under a horde of monsters, civilians being picked off one by one by any monster that encountered them.
Bell tried to struggle though no matter what he did, he could not lift his arms or kick his legs. He was slipping in and out of consciousness with the visions enhancing if he lost consciousness. He tried to stay awake but it felt as if he had not slept for weeks, not eaten for days, and not breathing for hours.
Every second to Bell was a constant struggle as it felt as an eternity as one by one, the visions came and went. One of the visions was him, fighting that horrid thing only to be quashed instantly by the wrath of the thing.
"W-wh…" Bell tried desperately to speak but failed. "St-s-p..."
The final vision was Bell, with his family, one moment they were happy and enjoying themselves, the other, his family ran away from him. He saw himself grow into a tall being and then nothing. The vision faded and he was on a wooden porch. The wooden porch he was originally on.
"W-wh-how? W-what? W-w-wh-why?" He said weakly as he tried to process his thoughts. The entire ordeal lasted about ten seconds but for Bell, it felt like he had been in dozens of lives worth of time. He was shaking and shivering both in fear, confusion, and cold.
He slowly stood up and looked around. Every other second, the landscape changed to a destroyed land, the trees burning and the homes burnt to a crisp.
"What were those? What and why do they have me in them? I've never experienced that before… that man." Bell didn't bother to finish his sentence as he began to pace around.
"General Cranel?" Jeremiah said as he walked out.
"Private Jeremiah, hello…" He responded slightly surprised at his presence.
"I just received my blessing, so we finally got into a familia… great, right?" He said slightly worried for Bell.
"Yeah, good for us.." Bell replied, still thinking about the visions.
"Is everything alright sir?" He asked as he looked at Bell.
"Yes… everything is fine. I just had to think and have some time alone is all." He reassured him with a lie.
"Anyway, do you want to go inside, goddess Zorya wants us to spend the night here and move to the cabin tomorrow. Is that fine with you?" Jeremiah asked in a semi-professional tone.
"That is good, it's getting late anyway." Bell agreed in a fake casual voice. "Anyway, let's head inside, shall we?"
As they entered, Zorya was giving her blessing to Private Hemmings.
"Ah, Bell! I decided I wanted to make you captain of the familia since you seem to be good with that stuff." She said with a happy smile.
"I'm flattered, thank you very much!" He said with a genuine smile. It took off some confusion and some stress from those visions he had received only a couple minutes prior.
Being the captain of a familia was something Bell never thought would happen to him. It felt… good for him. At least for the moment, he could enjoy that feeling of being something that would be important for a deity.
"Bell, I expect you to train these people, I'll also train you some war techniques which you can learn and pass down to your successor when the time comes." She said as she began to work on her final member which was Private Zuinx.
"Anyway, I'll start making food, I only made enough for me since I didn't know you all were coming." She joked as she made her way to the kitchen.
"Dinner is served!" She said as she lowered down the food.
In front of Bell was… well… something barely edible. It appeared to have a fish head sticking out of it.
"It… looks appetising?" He said half confident.
"Right! I made it with my own hands and skill!" She said as she looked proud.
He took a bite and nearly gagged. The same wasn't for the others.
"What, you don't like my food? Bell likes it at least!" She said as she pointed at him. In response, bell meekly held up his thumb.
"I do… It's unique in a sense." Bell said as he took his time scooping up more food.
The aftertaste was worse. It tasted like rotten eggs, fish soup, fish oil, and cold tomatoes in one. It took everything for Bell not to gag.
"What ingredients did you use?" Bell asked in a heavily forced curious voice.
"Oh, I just used some tomatoes I bought last week, fish I bought two weeks ago, and eggs I bought last month, nothing special." She said as she waved it off.
"No wonder it's humphg! It tastes so unique!" Bell said as he let out his first gag. "Isn't that right?"
"Yes/yeah/definitely." The others responded weakly.
"Aw, thanks!" Zorya said as she began to smile.
That night Bell could be seen retching his guts out in the forest behind the town.
Bell awoke as he stared at a new ceiling which was colored a light yellow. His white hair obstructed his view as he got up and rubbed his eyes. He brushed off his white hair and with his ruby eyes, scanned his room. It was about the same size as the small room he was in back at the cabin. Everyone else was in a dormitory like room besides goddess Zorya which slightly bothered Bell as he didn't want that kind of special treatment. Given it was only about a few hours until they moved out, he still did not like it.
He let out a groan as he sat up and stood up at the side of the bed. He had time to process those visions. He had concluded that the man wanted to disorient him as he said that someone would be angry about him doing something. In return, he had disoriented him as his form of punishment which Bell thought was cruel.
He also had a dream about the king who was at the capital, in their last stand with the capital beginning to fall under the enemy's hands. Bell thought about his and the capital's name over and over.
The door made a creaking noise as he entered the small hallway towards the kitchen and living room. He got on his toes and began to quickly but stealthy make his way to the living room then to the kitchen as the living room was in between the two.
"Like hell I'm eating that stuff again. I'm making my own food. If she doesn't have anything, I'm buying my own food. I just know… I just know… that I certainly can't eat that!" He whispered to himself as he searched cabinets for food or ingredients.
He had found nothing and gave a frustrated sigh. He had to go out in the cold, in the crack of dawn, to get food. Now, he had a heating passion of hating being cold when awakened. He wanted at least an hour of warmth before being exposed to cold air but he had no choice or he would have to eat the food Zorya made again.
Bell made his way back to his room to get changed to something warm. He chose to wear everything but his mask so he could see at least better and to not have to take it off. After he had done that, he opened the door to the front of the house and stepped out. The glacial air hit his face like a brick and he squinted. It did not help that it was windy outside.
The road had a couple piles of snow, not much with a few trails of snow here and there on the sidewalk. His boots were made for the frigid weather and gripped the sidewalk as if it were nothing and made his way to the shopping area.
While it was the crack of dawn, it still surprised Bell that people were already up and about, setting up shops or going shopping. It was the same in the capital but he had assumed that up north it wasn't as necessary.
While there were civilians, there were soldiers. Not Coralians, they were Njalulfans. Bell realised that if he had shown himself, he could be marked off as AWOL even though he was a general. Those rules still applied to him so he chose to be as incognito for certain circumstances such as this.
He decided to go into a small crowd and blend in as much as possible, putting one of his hands towards his face, blocking it so the soldiers could not see. He ambled around until he found a store, it was a small food store that had a design of a northern longhouse. Catching Bell's attention, he made his way to the door which was a heavy wooden door which was at least 3 inches thick.
"What can I get you?" A burly man with a long beard asked while he cleaned a mug.
"Do you have any breakfast recommendations?" Bell asked.
"Uh, yeah I do. I recommend the steak with peas and carrots or the oatmeal with apple cider. Your pick." He said as he leaned on a pillar behind the counter he was tending.
"I'll take the oatmeal." Bell said as he walked to one of the seats at the counter.
"Right…" The man said as he picked a bowl and went to another room, presumably the kitchen.
Bell heard a cutting board and some orders behind the door as he looked and fidgeted with his hands. Northern Njalulf was very different compared to the south. Here, people were less friendly and more concerned with benefits for them rather than others. After about five minutes, the man came out again.
"Here, enjoy," The man said as he grunted. "Or whatever."
Bell looked at the oatmeal, it was thick and slightly bluish. Bell didn't like sweets so he took a small spoonful and tasted it. It was bitter but warm. It was perfect. Bell always preferred bitter over sweet, he hated the sugar.
He finished after about ten minutes and flagged down the man who looked at Bell as Bell explained he finished as was ready to pay.
"1,000 pengars." He said as he looked at the outside which began to slightly snow.
"Alright, here you go sir." Bell said with a small smile.
"Thanks," Bell said as he took his leave
"Yeah, whatever." The man said as he grabbed a book from under the counter and began to read.
Now that Bell was full, he could say he was not hungry and be telling the truth upon Zorya. He didn't want to say to her face that her cooking was bad but at the same time, it was bad.
He creeped his way back to his room and waited about an hour until everyone awoke.
After a couple hours packing and preparing, they made their way back to the cabin where they originally were. The way there was not as bad as Bell predicted but it still was cold for him. He missed the palm trees and the lush plants that were in the south. The only thing he did not miss were the spiders and insects.
"Bell, how big is this cabin, are we talking… huge or what?" Zorya asked curiously.
"It's pretty big, enough for all of you to have individual rooms. This house is temporary though, I'm spending one month here and then heading back to the capital with the others since I'm apparently commanding some Loki familia members and some others from different familias." Bell informed Zorya.
"Oh." Zorya formed an O shape with her mouth. I've never seen the capital so until then I can't wait!"
"I sure can…" He said. There were two reasons for that. 1. He always had terrible sea sickness out in the sea, and 2. He didn't want to see the king. Bell usually forgave people but he just couldn't forgive him.
At the moment, they were in a trail that went through a forest. There were small animals though there weren't many, Maybe one to the left or to the right, it depended. The snow had temporarily stopped so they were fine for now.
As they approached Kollskog, it appeared that there was a minor battle and that Njalulfan soldiers were strutting up and down the street.
"Damn it, already?" Bell said. Kollskog was near the western side and the Coralians invaded for the east. They had advanced rapidly from a month's period. Just a week ago, they were only about forty miles offshore. Now they were about 230 miles closer to the west with about another 40 miles to spare.
Bell looked at the streets after he put on his mask. It had some blood stains but no more dead bodies. The town center looked minorly damaged with only one building fully collapsed.
Njalulfan soldiers were seen building barricades and roadblocks, checking every civilian who passed by.
They walked over to one of roadblocks which had a fair amount of soldiers. As they approached, one of the soldiers ran up to them and asked them help out as the soldier saw they were in uniform. What they failed to see was that Bell still was a higher rank but did what was asked.
Bell helped out digging a small tecnh in one of the roads to halt any wagons that could pull supplies to the enemy if they were to fall. The trench was about three meters deep to prevent it from being filled up by mud and other debris.
After the trench was made, which took about an hour, Bell made his way back to the cabin with Zorya and his small number of soldiers, vouching for them while begrudgingly telling them his rank so they could go.
"Alright, we should be nearing the cabin in about a minute or so." Bell said as they walked down the familiar trail. "Like I said, it is pretty big so don't expect to feel cramped."
"Okay," Zorya replied. "I wonder how it is, too bad there are so many trees!"
Bell knocked on the door and waited outside until someone opened the door. Lefiya opened the door and let them come in.
"Who is she?" Lefiya merely asked.
"She's our deity. Although she appears to be pretty energetic." Bell replied.
"Tell me about it…" Lefiya mumbled as she walked away.
Bell began showing Zorya her room, which was about a couple rooms away from his. The room was definitely larger than his but he did not mind as he didn't have much belongings there anyway.
As Bell walked away and entered his room, he sniffed his clothes and made a face.
"Ugh, I really need to wash my clothes, they stink…" He mumbled as he took off his clothes and dressed into some shorts and a white shirt.
He walked out of his room with his clothes in hand, ready to clean his clothes. If Bell remembered correctly, it was on the second floor near a large chandelier.
He got a few strange stares and some flirtatious stares from some of the women but he tried to ignore it, causing a faint blush to appear on his face. As Bell walked in a hasty manner, he saw Bete arguing with Riveria in the distance. He gave a light chuckle and continued his journey to the laundry area.
When he arrived, he placed his clothes in a small bed of water and poured some soap in it. He grabbed what appeared to be a sponge on a stick and on the other side were bristles. He began scrubbing and smearing soap all over his clothes until he deemed it clean for his usage again.
When that happened, he put back on his clothes and made his next task which was to talk to Zorya and see how she was doing. When he got to her door, he gave a light knock and waited for a response. When he received one, he opened the door to see Zorya unpacking some of her clothes which were mainly made up of some battle gear and a few night wears.
Her room was different compared to his. It had a queen sized bed and had a stone base which built up to a light brown wooden wall. The room was well lit and by the looks of it, already slightly customized to her tastes.
"Did you forget this cabin was temporary?" Bell slightly smirked.
"Oh! Oh… yes, yes I did." She meekly responded as she remembered the situation.
"That's alright, it will be your house for about a month or so until we reach the mainland. I'm really dreading that journey. Between me and you? I got VERY seasick and could barely handle the way to this island. It was one of the toughest weeks of my life that journey. I was completely bed ridden!" He explained his little story; while forgetting the topic.
"Yeah… anyway, what is the capital like? Is it big? Is it diverse? How is it?" Zorya asked curiously with an excited tone.
"Yeah, you could say it's diverse, at least the west side is. The main royal or imperial part is in the south side which is also where the harbour is. There are quite a bit of castles with the famous castle, Castle Ameir which is on the small peninsula west of the harbour overlooking the bay? Its pretty famous for its design and placement so I'm sure you;'ve heard of it." He explained and took a quick breath before continuing. "The main downtown area is safe, it has small cafes and shops. The imperial area holds military parades monthly though I was told that they planned on shutting down the parades. The main royal castle is in the center of the city, on a large hill which overlooks everywhere. Well, I can't see far in the north and part of the east side as that area is very mountainous."
"Wow, the capital is high on my list." Zorya excitedly responded. "Anything else?"
"Well, it does have palm trees, not the very tall ones but the regular type which does not exceed four meteres in height. We're too far north for those types of trees."
"Well, I'm going to head out, if you need me, remember I'm two rooms down the hall to your left." Bell reminded Zorya.
"Right, I understand!" She responded.
"No, I mean left side."
"Right… I understand. "
"I mean the… oh… I'm not too bright haha…" Bell gave an awkward chuckle.
"It's fine," Zorya said, slightly smirking. "We all make mistakes.
"See you then!" Bell said as he left the room to head to his.
As he entered his room, he walked to his guns and held them admiring them, recounting the story of how they obtained them.
The story of the guns was when a mining corp was digging through a coal mine looking for any monsters to power their lights. They had gone a bit too far and saw this large room. After seeing it, they ran to their overseers and reported what they had found.
Being the cautious bunch of people they were, they send some soldiers along with the people who found it to investigate the room. They had swords, bows, and even cavalry investigate as they searched and found these gadgets and devices. They saw these columns of buttons on tables, all looking complicated with a language they could not understand. As they continued exploring, they found pictures of people, only humans, no demi-humans shooting the gadgets they had found. There were even pictures of how to use the and types of bullets. Finding these weapons was a revolutionary boost in technology. But it also made them question where they came from. They had never seen these devices nor gadgets. The flags in the room looked heavily decayed but still visible to the eye.
As years went on, they slowly began to decipher the language and found out about a "nuclear winter". Brining in their most intelligent mathematicians and anyone else relevant to figure out what happened, they learned that this event happened over 100,000 years ago!
Spreading their search for answers nationwide, they found out that surviving humans began to survive and some mutated into demi-humans such as chienthropes and elves. Though, luckily, they did not begin to discriminate against the races. They simply acknowledged them as anybody else would. It was not like anybody but elites know the story though. Bell learned about it through his grandfather who was his only immediate family. Only a small percentage of people knew it, from wealthy nobles to high ranking military officers.
Bell had loved that story and he made a few ridiculous theories when he was younger and much more naive. He had just accepted the already proven theory and loved to think about the interactions and reactions the people had when the revelation was revealed.
He had slightly forgotten about the visions until he saw the snowfall which quickly reminded him of the blizzard vision. That vision scared him the least though. What scared him the most was the vision where people were running away from him as he grew taller and taller until he could see most of the capital city with his height.
The warm bed he had just laid down in as he thought about the visions again countered the goosebumps he slightly felt as a scratcher scratching an unbelievably annoying itch.
The visions had come back once again to torture him.