Reborn: Demon's Legacy Page 6
Once again when they landed, they were greeted by a large group of people. Ash had to blink his eyes a number of times before he was sure what was standing before him was real. He had seen a number of beautiful women before, but even the men seemed to radiate unfathomable beauty.
A large man at least eight feet tall with pale blue skin, bright blue eyes, and white hair stepped forward while a woman who was nearly as tall with the same crystalline features stood close behind him. “Welcome, my lord, to our humble home,” the man said in a deep booming voice. “I am the head of the Icsorth clan, Belgan. This is my niece Tolarea who has been chosen as your bride.”
Even though it was his third time being greeted in such a manner, Ash was still lost for words as he looked up at the large man. “M-my ple-sure,” Ash sputtered.
Belgan began to laugh loudly. “I see even the Maoh is left in awe at the sight of Tolarea.” Belgan grabbed Ash around the shoulders and pulled him close. Each one of his arms were the size of one of Ash’s legs and even with his abundant strength, Ash felt as if he was going to be crushed. “You are a lucky man, if she wasn’t my own blood, I would have taken her for myself,” Belgan bellowed with a hearty voice.
Suddenly Belgan let out a deep shout and moved away from Ash as he held his back. Turning his head, Ash saw that Tolarea was looking at Belgan with narrowed eyes. Seeing the look on her face, Belgan’s face seemed to blanch a little, though with his pale completion it was hard to tell.
“Sorry for my uncle’s actions,” Tolarea said as she massaged her slightly red knuckles.
“It is fine,” Ash said as his eyes drifted over the tall beauty in front of him.
“Good,” Tolarea said curtly. “Now let us go inside and see if this fool of a clan head can do his job of explaining what you will doing during your short time here.”
Without waiting, Tolarea turned and walked toward the largest of the ice buildings that looked more like a castle than a regular mansion. Before Ash had taken two steps, Belgan leaned down and placed his arm over Ash’s shoulder. “She has a bit of a temper, but that can be a good thing in the bedroom. I bet she will…ahhhhhh,” the clan head hit the ground holding his side.
“Keep it up and your son will be the next clan head before the sun goes down,” Tolarea said menacingly. Turning her eyes to Ash, she had a neutral look on her face as he took a step back. “If you would come with me my lord,” She said holding out her hand.
When Ash took her offered hand, he was surprised to find that it wasn’t cold. Instead he found his own hand covered in warmth though he felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that his hand looked like that of a child’s when held by her. Looking up, he noticed that the edges of her lips were curled up in an almost imperceptible smile and the cheeks were tinted just the slightest bit red.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, he noticed that Seia was shivering from the cold air that blew through the large ice castle. “Is there a place for Seia to warm herself?” Ash asked looking up at the large woman.
“My apologies,” Tolarea said as she looked toward the other women. “I am used to the cold temperature so I tend to forget that it can hinder others.”
Ash noticed the words elemental shield flash over Tolarea’s head and the suddenly he couldn’t feel the heat from her hand nor the cold from the blowing wind. Looking over to Seia, he noticed that she was still shivering slightly, but the pain on her face had disappeared. “Thank you,” Ash said grinning up at the taller woman.
Once again Ash saw the hint of a blush on Tolarea’s face, but it quickly disappeared. Though she had a stern, cold beauty to her, Ash thought she would look even more beautiful with a smile.
They were taken to a large room and Ash was happy to see that he wasn’t going to be forced to sit on the ground again. The only problem was that the chairs were so tall Ash’s feet dangled as off the ground. Seia sat at Ash’s left while Celina was on his right and Tolarea was situated across from him so that he couldn’t help but look at her emotionless face.
“My lord, since you have limited amount of time with us, I am sure you know what will be coming. First thing tomorrow you will enter the labyrinth along with my personal guards to gain eight new abilities. I know it will be tiring, but it was the shortest that I could narrow down the training. Unlike the other clans you have visited thus far, we have no long ranged skills, instead we focus on the sword and fight as vanguards. I have heard that you already have some training with the sword so I hope you will understand the abilities usefulness.”
“You already know the sword?” Tolarea asked her eyes shining slightly.
“Tolarea, can you wait until we are finished before you start assaulting your future husband?” Belgan said, looking Ash with a wry smile.
Tolarea reached over her shoulder but her hand only grasped empty air. Muttering under her breath, she narrowed her eyes while looking at Belgan. Turning back to Ash, Belgan let out a soft cough. “As I said, we focus on the sword. Since we are…Hummm what would be the right word for it; descended, born, created from. Ah hell the ice giants were used to make us along with other large monsters. We have great strength. Out blood ability is overwhelm and it grants us ten points extra in strength per level. Out of all the demon clans, none are as strong as we are.”
“What abilities will I be gaining?” Ash asked as the clan head started going off subject about the heroes of the past.
“You will learn that tomorrow,” Belgan said with a short laugh. “No fun is spoiling the surprise.”
Sighing, Ash didn’t learn anything else and quickly grew bored with the clan heads boasting and begged off feigning tiredness. As soon as he stepped out of the room, something grabbed his arm forcing him to turn around.
“My lord, would you be so kind as to honor me with a duel?” Tolarea asked with sparkling eyes.
“Ok,” Ash said, fearing to turn down the giantess.
There was a large training field in the back of the castle where Tolarea took Ash. He was given a wooden sword close to the size he was used to, while Tolarea wielded a two handed sword that was almost as large as Ash’s entire body.
Tolarea didn’t say anything as she advanced on Ash with her large sword resting lightly on her shoulder. When she closed in on Ash, she swung the massive sword at him so fast that he was momentarily surprised, but he was still able to react in time to dodge the strike. As the wind from the wooden blade caused his hair to flutter, Ash’s eyes widened. Even if it wasn’t sharp, getting struck by Tolarea’s sword would be immensely painful.
Though the fight had just started, Ash could see the weakness of the large sword. Though it was better than a spear, when one got close it the sword would have limited maneuverability. Kicking off the ground, Ash moved to shorten the distance between the two, but before he could take five steps another strike came in from above.
Ash was moving too fast to make a complete change in direction, so he leaned back and slid under the strike digging his sword into the ground to help propel him back to his feet. As soon as he stood, Ash struck out with his sword and struck Tolarea on the left shin. The strike did little damage and Ash was already preparing himself for a counterattack, but it never came.
Tolarea dropped her sword and bent down and lifted Ash slightly off the ground. “Well done my lord,” She said, her face turning a bright red as she hugged him close to her body.
Ash tried to struggle, but even with his advanced strength, he couldn’t break free from her grasp. When he looked up, Ash noticed that Tolarea had a warm smile on her face. “Beautiful,” Ash said without thinking.
Before he could say another word, Ash’s lips were covered by Tolarea’s. Her lips were slightly cool, but his body still warmed up. The longer they kissed, the more strength Tolarea put into it and soon Ash was having trouble breathing.
“Stop,” Ash gasped, pulling away from Tolarea’s lips. “I can’t breathe.”
Tolarea blushed and sat Ash down on the ground. “Sorry,” she said ba
shfully.
“It’s ok,” Ash said, holding his side as he drew in deep gulps of breath. “I think I need to lie down.”
“I will take my lord to his lodgings,” Tolarea said, her face returning to its emotionless state.
Ash was slightly afraid that Tolarea would insist on staying with him in his room, so when she left, he let out a deep breath. Dropping onto the large bed, Ash didn’t even notice that Celina and Seia were watching him from the doorway.
9-8
The next day Ash was taken by four guards along with Tolarea to the labyrinth. Ash didn’t know what was coming, but was looking forward to it. Entering the labyrinth and not fighting was like entering the bath, but not washing. It just didn’t make sense.
The first monster was on the seventh floor and was a simple low level goblin warrior. He had fought them before, but the skin of the goblin was light grey and was slightly larger than the others he had seen before.
As the guards killed the goblins, Ash noticed that he wasn’t the only one that wanted to fight as Tolarea kept reaching for the massive sword that was strapped to her back. Ash absorbed the dead goblins, one after another while Tolarea stayed close to his side with her eyes ever wary. As he was absorbing the third goblin, Ash heard an expected sound.
“Tring.”
[You have reached level 36.]
With a smile on his face, Ash started absorbing the dead monsters at a faster pace. Seeing that he got a level up, Ash decided to check his page while he was putting points on his luck stat and check his absorption level as well. It was currently at 82% of the needed experience to reach the next level. He had been absorbing a lot of monsters and it was getting close to reaching its next level.
After absorbing the number required, Ash heard the sound he had been waiting for.
“Tring.”
[You have reached the required absorption rate needed for Goblin Guardian. Abilities available: Slash (active).]
“Tring.”
[You have been randomly awarded the ability Slash.]
[Slash- cost 5SP: create a blade of light that extends the reach of your blade. Level 1-0%.]
The skill was simple and not very strong as far as Ash could tell, but he didn’t see the harm in obtaining it. After the goblins were finished, they moved to the thirteenth floor where they fought ice ogres. Just as before, Ash could only follow behind while the guards did most the work. When Ash let out a heavy sigh, Tolarea nodded her head. “Normally the Maoh would fight his way through the labyrinth gaining abilities one week and training them the next. It is faster this way, but not nearly as satisfying,” Tolarea complained with a slight frown.
Just like the goblins, the ogres didn’t give the guards any trouble. With just one swing of their massive blades, the ogres were cut down as if they were nothing. It didn’t take long for Ash to gain his second ability for the day.
“Tring.”
[You have reached the absorption level for Ice Ogre. Abilities available: Sunder (active), Ogre’s Strength (passive).]
“Tring.”
[You have been randomly awarded the ability Ogre’s Strength.]
[Ogre’s Strength: +.1% to strength. Level- Max.]
Sighing, Ash took notice of the new ability and then continued following behind the guards trying to keep up with them. Once again, Ash noticed the dissatisfied look on Tolarea’s face. “Why don’t you fight with them?” Ash asked, knowing that she was more than skilled enough after their spar the night before.
“How can I?” She asked with her eyes narrowing. “My duty is to protect and stand by my lord. To do any less would be a dishonor to my family and clan.”
The sudden anger in her voice forced, Ash to take a step back. When he did so, her eyes softened and she turned away from him. “Hurry up and keep absorbing. The sooner you finish, the more time we will have to spar later.”
Watching her, Ash couldn’t help but smile. He couldn’t tell if she liked him or hated him, but he was relieved to see that she acted on her thoughts. After meeting Celina and Seia, Ash had feared that all the women meant to be on his guard would be as… serene. It wasn’t that he didn’t find them charming in their own way, but they lacked a certain willfulness that he found charming. Once again Ash’s thought about Emelia and how she would be beating him over the head from some of his actions. She never cared what others thought and did what she wanted. Part of him wondered if that was what he truly loved about her. Ash quickly shook off that thought. It was surely a part of her that he enjoyed, but he knew that there was far more to her than her thorny attitude.
While Ash was thinking he moved from body to body absorbing them paying little attention to his surroundings. It was at this time a loud roar sounded near him. As her turned his head, Ash found himself looking at a large ogre that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before he could draw his own sword, the beast was already on him, swinging a crude club of stone at his exposed head. Cursing his own inattentiveness, Ash tried to put power in his legs to dodge, but he knew that no matter how fast he moved it was impossible to completely evade the attack.
Just before the stone club hit Ash, a feeling of wind touched his cheek as a black and silver blur flashed through his vision. The club was turned to dust and pebbles as Tolarea’s massive sword collided with it, stinging Ash’s eyes and peppering his face. Before the ogre had a chance to understand what happened, Tolarea’s sword flashed again and the ogre’s head was quickly separated from his neck.
“Are you ok my lord?” Tolarea asked, her voice holding a hint of panic.
“Yes,” Ash said, his voice nearly sticking in his throat. After a few breaths to calm himself, Ash looked up at the slight from on Tolarea’s face as she continued to look around for further threats. “Thanks to you,” Ash said as he returned to his feet and gave her a slight bow.
For the briefest of seconds Ash could have sworn that her cheeks had turned red but it happened so fast that he was unsure of himself. “You should continue,” Tolarea said turning her face away from Ash as she continued to look around.
Ash had the slight urge to tease the giantess, but he quickly thought better. Tolarea might not permanently hurt him, but there were many ways for a woman to see her own version of punishment though he doubted that Tolarea would do anything underhanded. Most likely she would just drag him out to the sparing ring and beat him until he was black and blue.
As he was thinking, Ash kept his sense of awareness moving over to the now dead ogre and started to absorb it.
“Tring.”
[You have reached the absorption level for Ice Ogre. Abilities available: Sunder (active.]
“Tring.”
[You have been randomly awarded the ability Sunder.]
[Sunder- cost 25SP 5MP: hard strike that has a large chance of crushing or cutting through armor. Level 1-0%]
Upon seeing the new ability, it wasn’t hard for Ash to understand how useful it could be. If he had been able to use the ability when he was fighting at the fort, things would have been much easier.
With the ogres finished, Ash was taken to another floor though he was left unaware of which one. This time, the labyrinth floor looked like a large open cavern with large pools of bubbling red liquid. At first Ash thought that it was a fire cave, but when a drop of the red liquid hit his face from the roof of the cavern he had to force the contents of his stomach to remain in place. “Blood,” Ash said as he looked at the viscous liquid on his fingers.
Before he could think of the meaning behind the blood around him, a large humanoid creature more than nine feet tall appeared from the darkness. With dark crimson skin and shining yellow eyes, the creature gave off an eerie feeling that Ash had never encountered before. “What is that?” Ash asked as the large creature sneered at them and a large yet slender red sword appeared in its hand.
“It is a blood titan,” Tolarea said calmly, as if she was simply naming a type of bird.
The blood titan moved fast, given its large size an
d the sword it wielded seemed to strike hard. It took two of the guards to take one down, though after watching the battle Ash was sure that one could do it, but not nearly as easily.
As Ash approached the dead titan, he had to once again hold the contents of his stomach in place. From afar it had just looked as if the skin was crimson in color, but up close Ash could tell that the titan had no skin. Its body was exposed and the red color came from the blood that dried and hardened giving the creature an earie glow in the torchlight. Forcing himself, Ash reached out and absorbed the monster. When he was finished, Ash had never been so happy to see a body disappear.
“Are you ok my lord?” Tolarea asked as she bent her waist slightly too look him in the eye. “Your face looks a little pale.”
Wiping the blood off his hand that had been left after touching the dead monster, Ash couldn’t help but suppress a shiver than threatened to run through his spine. “These titans are just a bit off putting,” Ash replied weakly.
“I have to agree,” Tolarea said though her face still showed no emotion. “They tend to leave the most undesirable stains on one’s clothes. I don’t understand why the gods deemed it needed to make such dirty creatures.”
Sighing at Tolarea’s words, Ash tried to find what was left of his shattered thoughts on the elegance of women. Looking back at Tolarea once again, Ash couldn’t help but shake his head before moving on to the next fallen titan.
“Tring.”
[Demon absorption has reached level 4.]
Just as he did every time it gained a level, Ash checked the description of the ability. When it changed from level one to three, there had been no change other than the number of monsters that needed to be absorbed but this time there had been. It no longer just needed 10MP to be used now it required 25MP. It wasn’t a large change, but if he used it a lot if could quickly drain him of mana.