VRMMO Brink

Gambling is Bad.

Aeth is what my race call by the ancient text. They supposed to extinct but here I am life and well. Aeth is a race which controls aether as they please, they are blessed with long life like elves, high elves to be exact. I look like a normal human but with age and aether, no normal human can ever hope to achieve. When I reached my adulthood I passed the first circle with no obstacle which once again normal humans strive to achieve with their life on the line. Based on, by what a scholar brought home by father, he said that I probably mutated because my mother is a powerful witch and my father is a strong human with a large pool of aether. The scholar even said father's traits are leaning toward aeth than human.

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"The good stranger is a dead stranger." was something I always hear from my mother, while my father always said "be conscious of your surrounding there are only two kinds of people in this world. First is your family which you always can trust and second is stranger which someday may want to kill you so always check their weaknesses so you can kill them instantly if the need arises." With that motto, I'm growing up with literally zero friends.

From my experience, I only have one friend, a childhood friend. He is uncle Mar son and I'm older than he is but because of my race that grown unnaturally, he always is a big brother figure to me. He is kind and brave but he's pretty weak, I always win in a brawl or pure strength against him. He never cries in front of me but there is a time when I peeked that he was crying in his mother bosom, he's such a crybaby.

Still, I love him like I love mom, dad, uncle Mar, and aunt Daisy. I love all of my families. He will take me to travel around buying stuff and things in the town. Sometimes he takes me to villages or swims in the river.

When I was 8 father got sick and stay in bed for a month so do uncle Mar. I don't know what happens at that time but they got some sort of poison or curse from somewhere. Even after they healed, they look far older than before they got sick. I am sad and want to help but didn't know how. We stop traveling around and stay at the capital and create a beautiful house there.

A year after that uncle Mar son leaves us and join the adventure guild so he can explore the world. While he grew and exploring my growth is just weird. What I know from digging around was I stay as a baby for 3 years before my growth starts again and stuck again at 4, though not as long as my first year. It's totally random but it felt like my growth stop because my body needs to adapt to a bigger and more powerful aether in me.

Few years after, Morgan brought a baby with him and said she is his child and her mother died because of fiends attack while they are trying to get home, here. They name her Fanny Clyashet. After a few months of settling he choose to apply for an army specialized with dealing fiends. Now he's known as a bloody gold lion because of his striking gold and red eyes which he inherits from his father, though I remember when we were the kid his eyes is more pinkish than red.

Now Anny already big enough to understand that her father is busy so she usually plays with her grandma at the orphanage with other children's or goes to our farm to play with the wolves and animals we have there.

The sky starting to get dark so I walk home while reminiscing about the past and I spot uncle Mar wagon with his trusty 'shiny-horn bull' laying lazily under the shade of the tree in the front yard. I heard from mother this bull has been uncle's ride since a long time ago which means he goes to battle with this war bull. Still, this bull doesn't have the aggressiveness of one and I never saw him with his back-scale on. I want to see him in his battle-mode but he never seems interested no matter what I do and uncle Mar doesn't help either.

Looking inside the carriage I see a long box made of wood with uncle Mar logo on it, probably a weapon father request to increase his collection. Sure enough, when I open the box there is this weird looking weapon made mostly of wood and metal plus bones with energy crystal below the handle-like stuff.

I brought the weapon into father weapon chamber where any kinds of weapon stored and displayed. The room is laid with lots of magic formations sequences. This is one of the secret reasons why father got the named of unlimited weapon because he never ran out of weapon in battle; even though father always kill his enemy in one hit. There is rumor told that father kills Regen in one hit as well; regen is a variant of vampire, which has hyper-speed regeneration.

Going outside I go straight to the backyard I see uncle and father sitting and chatting. When I get closer, I got told to take the dead chicken into the cold house. Looking at the corpse, it probably dead by the blow from the left eye that travels through its brain.

When I return I see an unfamiliar man talking with father and uncle. Doing some kind of attack like movement, he looks kind of funny and weak. After that he goes to fight the chicken, I don't know if that can be considered as fighting but he looks hilarious with how he attacks and back away or positioning himself to search for a chance to hit. Still, he looks far weaker than when I was 4 years old. Probably he is as strong as big Morg when he was 7.

It is weird seeing how father being so nice to him, even uncle feels nicer as well. Uncle is nice but never this good to a stranger. So it's new to me that father and uncle being this good toward him. Sitting beside them I found out that they only know him today and that was because he was asking around for directions, so uncle gave him a ride and he had a quest from grandmaster Ax.

"You must be wondering why we're close to him right? Can't you feel his bloodline? It's weaker but it's definitely there. You probably can't feel it because your bloodline evolving in a different direction."

"But he's weak, I'm far stronger than him when I was 4."

"Of course you're, my dear you even outclassed my stupid son by far."

"Though he's stronger now after joining the army. What quest did Grandmaster give him anyway?"

"Well, that's probably because he's been diving the great labyrinth. Now that I think about it whose stupid idea was it that prisoning fiends there. The situation inside is becoming more and more dangerous day by day. For the quest, he asks him to get him 10 chicken and 5 lambs."

While we talk about the weak guy, mother come and scold me like usual. Bla-bla-bla…

"I will do it in a minute and it's not like I won't do it so why are you always scolding me mom?" even while I do what she said I still get scolded until everything is set up on the table and he calls for the guy. I don't even know his name. Well, I'll just ignore him altogether and… I got scolded again for ignoring him. Mom, you said I shouldn't talk to stranger remember? Then I got stared at with her 'what did you just say girl' gaze. The word doesn't even leave my mind and I still get glared.

In this household mom's choice overturn everything because if we don't listen to her we won't get any food or in father case she would hide his wine or coffee.

The talk strayed from good sweet wine to my most embarrassing moment in the history of my life. The guy who I just found out the name's Vain, also told his story to us. What can I say, his life looks miserable from my view. I lived under the protection of my family so I don't know if his life is really as bad as I thought.

Then all of sudden uncle told his story, rather it's his story with father from their childhood. After that mother also told his story. From their story, it felt like my heart has been gripped by something and my throat is stuck with feeling as well. They talk until late at night and the guy goes here and there to search for his prey while occasionally meditate to recharge his energy. The skill was given by mom and then it turns into giving a present to the new guy.

I'm not jealous or anything but I'm baffled by what just happen. It's not like their style to be like that though he still got scammed by father asking for proof that he was really sent by Grandmaster. It's totally normal if it was any other people but it's the grandmaster 'The Titan' we're talking about, I mean who in their right mind would dare to sell his name. He even beat the prince for his wrongdoing after that he got the nickname as 'The Purple Prince' and it was in the palace to boot while they are in the conference or some sort. No one can't utter a word, not even his father the king. Well, he broke the balanced by just standing.

Revenge? The Prince indeed take his revenge but not to Grandmaster because he knows even he is a king with all subjects and power in his hands they still can't hurt him, over more to kill him is only an unachievable dream. So he takes his revenge to the girl who had reported him to the Titan. To be exact, her entire family but luck was never on his side. Once again Old Titan smells his deed and shreds him to pieces, physically still in front of his royal family. But this time, he leaves a statement: Species without honor is less than low-level fiends.

After that, the king makes rules, rather than rules it makes more sense to call it commandment or code of honor. The one who broke the code, be it from royal family to the lowest class commoner will get sent into the great labyrinth without support. Basically, it's just another word for a death sentence. With it comes the great crest named 'Honor'. The crest will give the one who wears it 30% boost of their original power and IF the wearer break pledge they will get 'dishonorable curse' and other negative outcome.

I heard from uncle Mar that was what makes this country can rival any other empire out there. Most of our army will get sent into the great labyrinth as the soldier, even with an only third of our soldier ready to be dispatch there is no country dare to attack. Because of Grandmaster power, just by staying in the capital makes all the dangerous fiends or magical beast go away only leaving some weak ones.

An hour later the talk only revolves around the two of them so mother starts tidying the leftover snacks and make a new one only for the two. With me helping mother cook the snack, of course, it would turn into a delicious one. 'Umu~ even I fear my own talented self'

"What are you thinking and smirking around in front on of those snacks? Don't put anything weird in there, you hear me. Ahh! I almost forgot, help me kill 5 lambs and put it into the storage, lil' Vain need that as well and he can't kill the grey-furred sheep with his current power. You can do it in the morning so don't oversleep okay. Or I'll wake you up."

"Okay, okay. Why are you always giving me works mom?" then I ran upstairs before she can say anything, though I still can hear her nagging from up here, even if my room is the farther away I can't just get away from her nagging.

Without anything to do I got bored and fall asleep. Waking in the morning with mother in front of me almost makes my heart stop. I'm glad I woke up in time before she releases her freezing water spell on me.

"Hoho… you woke up on time this time. Good for you, now wash up and help me preparing for breakfast."

"Of course! Who do you take me for mom?" then I see mother rolling her eyes on me after I said that. What is it? I only laze around sometimes you know and if I overslept it means I'm tired of not being lazy or something. "And why would we make breakfast for? Father and uncle probably only wake up at noon and I'm fine with eggs as my breakfast."

"Do I need to repeat myself young lady?" with her glared I can only get up with eyes filled with my yet fallen tears.

Finished washing up and preparing for breakfast I still need to kill the sheep's and replacing magic stone for the one that almost uses up. It was the most boring chore in the world, I need to check each magic or array formation and that takes more than two hours to complete.

Opening the door I see mother talking with the dude, what was his name again? Anyway, the talk concluded that I will go with him to town. This is great, uncle is here so I probably can do as I pleased in town, and there is this coliseum I heard about where you can watch a competition of raptor running to the finishing line. I don't know why uncle always prevents me from going there though. Nice. This is just a nice day.

Changing my clothes into my usual black-purplish gear I'm ready to set out but I need money for my cause so I can only ask for pocket money from mom and get bucket list of things to buy. Instead, I prefer getting money from dad, he doesn't ask lots of question, less chore, and the most important thing he gave more than what mother ever gives for pocket money.

"Let's go." Urging him I walk faster and ahead of him so that mother can't change her mind on something in the list for no reason. It was an uneventful walk with him trying to make some small conversation which I ignore completely, well not completely but I just replied to him coldly so he doesn't get any strange idea of me giving him some present.

Parting with him I go straight into the famous Coliseum where I can watch the famous raptor race in person. Apparently, I need to buy a ticket if I want to get in and the ticket cost is ten silver per person so it's not that expensive.

The first thing I noticed when entering were the rows of seats from lower to higher ground there is lots of seat and lot of people. Most of them are either cheering loudly or crying bitterly. Then suddenly the noise got lower and the person standing in the middle start talking which makes the one who previously cried get their hope back. That person's voice reverberate when she said "Place your bet and win!" the word win echoed a few times before it gets quiet again.

Spotting a man with a big flag on his hand. Wondering what he was doing there, then suddenly he swings it down and the lined-up cages open at once. Raptors with their riders come out and struggle to just advancing a little bit from their other competitor. The quiet place becomes noisier and noisier, chanting their favorite raptor and rider combo. The excitement and anticipation in the air getting ticker as the thousands of people with their loud voices.

Watching the black rider come out at first the old man dwarves beside me said "I know black will win. Don't you think so young lady?" chatting with him I found out why the rider wears a different color of clothes so the audience can differentiate between who is who and how the betting works.

I win five times in a row but such a shame that I only place the lowest bet which is ninety chopper, now with my money growing from 32 into 33 gold I felt awesome. I should've put a higher bet though. Now after a few matches, I realized I lost all of my money and thinking about what mother would do to me make my back sweat like a waterfall. This is not a nice day. Not nice at all rather this the worst day ever.

Running outside the coliseum I go straight to uncle home to ask for help and he's not home, so I ran again towards his store. Thanking her luck that her uncle is present and then cursing it after. She ran to him and told him the whole story. Her uncle scolds her for a while saying "didn't I said to you to not go to that place? Don't your father and I always said to not play with luck? Luck is a bullshit concept, there is no luck only chance you create yourself." and then he said he would buy the list her mother told her to buy.

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She helped her uncle in the store then go to the orphanage to help her aunt and play with her cute little niece until the little one gets too tired and fall asleep. But she still thinks she can win if she just checks the condition of the raptor beforehand or something and blame it on something else.

She still doesn't learn her lesson of not gambling all her money off.