Remnant of Malachus

Chapter 5

Every single particle in this world is connected together by the energy called mana, in Dimiourgaism, the prominent religion in Malakai, the god Dimiourgious uses mana as a binder to merge all of the chaos in the universe into unity and created the world. As a result, those who can read the mana patterns in certain elements can control them, these results in skills called authorities, they could freely control the elements as they wish. Whether it's fire, the earth, water, or even weapons like swords or arrows, everything has a unique mana pattern to them, thus people who can sense the patterns could gain authority over them, and through these skills, people can gain power that could rival gods themselves.

Every living being has the potential to obtain power. All they need is the desire to do so.

~

I'M F*CKING RICHHHHHHHHH!

-Is what I wanted to scream, but I've only earned enough to pay for my mother's treatment this month. The loan shark might ask for a lot of money this month, I would only have four thousand left after I pay the monthly treatment fee, that's obviously not enough. Hunting has been rather painful for me, but the payoff is worth it. It's my first time earning this much from hunting monsters, I've only been hunting goblins for their ears up until now so there hasn't been much of a challenge.  I would rather not risk my life fighting that monstrous, chuck of a goblin ever again, but I earn a lot from it, the reward is quite worth it to me.

My knowledge of hunting is rather...low. For example, hunters have routes they use to hunt monsters, the fastest route for each floor, what type of monsters are there on each floor, I know none of that, as a result, I've been just wandering around aimlessly. So in order to minimize my loss of time wandering around, I decided to go to the library next, to study maps. How fun my teenage years have become. I'm being sarcastic. But who needs fun anyways? The only thing someone needs is money, right? RIght?

~

boring.

I sit alone at a wide table. Towering bookshelves cast their shadows down on me. This place could be described as simply, mystical. The smell of old paper and the shady, and gloomy environment that is lit up by several mana lamps, placed throughout the large halls of the library gives a sense of something mystical. The overwhelmingly, and intimidatingly large collections of books here are almost unbelievable. Not many people are here, and believe me, when I say this, it's like I'm deaf here. The silence is making me go insane, I'm also rather anxious. If I make a single sound, it's like everyone in a 30-meter radius will come and beat me up for disturbing the silence.

But the magical environment doesn't help with keeping me entertained, I've been trying to memorize the map of the first floor for a while now. The book I have in my hand is the 'Hunter's Guide to Malakain Dungeon', a book that contains tips, maps, and information about basically almost everything about hunting. It doesn't really go into anything specific and mostly covers the general idea of each topic. All this information has been compressed into a mini-sized dictionary. I figured if I'm going to find information about hunting in general, this book would be the place to start, it has a chapter devoted to routes and maps, they have maps of the dungeon until the 10th floor. It's a miracle how they shoved all these things into a book the size of my palm.

But one thing caught my eye, floor 1-4 is a bunch of tunnels, the fastest route to the next floor is pretty straight forward on these floors, with no twist and turns, but the 5th floor is different. The fifth floor is basically a wide, open, field. It circles around the circumference of the crater, which means there are no short cuts, to reach the next floor you must walk half of the entire distance around the crater itself. You might ask, why are there plants inside the dungeon where supposedly there is no sunlight, well the book explains that the plants can also feed on mana instead of sunlight, or something? The fifth floor's ceiling is made out of mana crystals, they illuminate a white glow, different from those on the earlier floors, these mana crystals are purer, hence the white color. Anyways, the fifth floor is dangerous, not only because of its length but also because of the surroundings there. The wide, open field, with no landmark to indicate where you are at all, you could get easily lost, the grass there is quite tall, and they are all the same color, a brownish, yellow.

I've decided, my next goal is to hunt on the fifth floor. Why? Because one specific monster there, the corpse hound. Being the most common monster on the fifth floor, these things are basically like goblins, but a lot scarier. They're about the size of a wolf, or a big dog, yellowish, gray fur that camouflage with the surrounding, they usually hunt in packs of 3-4, but can go all the way up to 12 at a time. They are scavengers that can hunt their own food, but they prefer eating corpses rather than hunting, that's why they got the name corpse hound, they also carry a unique scent according to the book, the smell of decomposing bodies. But wouldn't that be to their disadvantage? Like other monsters can smell them from far away or something?

So why would I go into such a dangerous place? Well, I've realized that I could earn more hunting here. The hobgoblin was pure luck, apparently, they're quite rare, and goblin ears won't give me a lot of money either. I want to be free from this debt as fast as possible, and I think I can handle the fifth floor. The fur of the corpse hound could sell up to about 100-150 coins, which is a lot more than the ears I've been depending on.

There are things that I would like to avoid though, the two apexes.

-Blood Hound

Description: Pack leader of the corpse hound, as big as a bear, black fur, smells like fresh blood.

Rating: 7/10

-Torraquise

Description: A giant ass turtle.

Rating: Would not want to fight/10

For the apexes, I had to find the bestiary. Reading the descriptions is already making me nervous, would want to avoid fighting them if possible. I should leave now, I don't want to stay out for too long, considering what has happened these past few days, I would like to just relax.

~

There is a slight problem...

I'm lost...

I'm sure I took the right turn. The library wasn't that far from the entrance, after all, it's bound to happen sometimes, it's a relatively new area to me anyway, I've only come here a few times, there's a lot of people today so I guess I got lost.

I keep walking in the general direction where I think the entrance is.

Ah.

I end up in front of the library again. There's a sudden crowd of people, they kept pushing me backward, how troublesome. I was eventually able to squeeze myself out of the crowd and enter a small alleyway. The exact type where you find shady stuff in, it was dark, the light from the main street of the town couldn't reach this alleyway at all.

I look out into the streets. So many people, I sigh silently in my mind. Guess I'll wait...

All the bright flashing light and the loud chit-chats of people is rather unpleasant, but I couldn't help thinking about all the fun the people must be having, everyone is smiling, after all, I'm jealous. Maybe I could smile like them too if my family was still here. I remember my little brother was always the one that cheered me up. A distant 'Big Brother!' still echos in my mind, but that voice that called out to me also comes with memories of a separated arm.

...

How depressing...I lean against the crates behind me.

...

"Oi..." I barely heard it over the noises from the street. I turn around.

"Dude, be quiet...so you've heard of it right." I thought it was addressed to me, I turn around to watch for the streets to calm down again.

"Yea, I guess they really are going big this time, can't believe we're assassinating the crown prince!"

"You i***t! Quiet!" A sudden chill ran down my mind. What?

"So when is the plan gonna be carried out then?"

"The day of the parade of course!"

My mind goes numb, and think that is my queue to leave. Look, Nero, stay out of other's business, just leave, you can tell the guards later, just leave now so nothing will happen to you, blend in with the crowd and relax.

I stood up from my leaning position and was about to enter the crowded main street. So many questions pop into my mind.

Swiftly, my hand was pulled back, I take a look back. Oh crap.

"Hey, you heard anything kid?" A hooded man was gripping my wrist, he held it very tightly. There was another hooded man behind him, I couldn't see his face clearly, but judging by his demeanor, he was clearly distressed.

There was no time to hesitate, in this situation, there is only one correct answer.

"what are you talking about??" I try to feign ignorance. Pleaseletmego pleaseletmego pleaseletmego!

"Cut the Bullshit! Answer the question! Did you hear anything?!" He grabbed my collar and held me close to his face as he shouts with intimidation.

"No!" My heart is beating heavily, loud thumps could be heard throughout my body, and my mind is going numb.

...

It was silent.

...

He let go of my collar...

Then sucker punches me in my face.

"He's lying!" The first hooded man called out to the other,

No one around seems to notice the fighting that is about to happen.

I recovered from the punch. He threw a second one from the left, I bent down and evaded it. The moment he finished his punch I tried to make a run for it, just to be hit with a kick on the stomach, I fell on the ground. The second hooded man then repeatedly kick me while I was on the floor, the first one joined shortly after. Strike after strike, they kept kicking, just like the loan sharks, I've been beaten up like this several times in the past, it's nothing new, I've grown used to pain a long time ago.

As I was getting beaten, I could only think of one strategy that could help me, acting like I was at my limit, it usually works on the loan sharks,

I stop struggling and lay still, they continued to kick me. Eventually, they stopped.

"hah...I think he's out...hah...hah..." The second hooded man was breathing heavily.

"Yeah...Looks like it." The first hooded man answered. I kept my eyes closed.

"What are we gonna do then?"

"Let's restrain him first." I heard footsteps walking away, followed by some rumbling. He's probably searching for some ropes to tie me with.

"Found something!" My eyes are still closed, I was still laying down on the ground. I hear the sound of clanking irons.

"Nice, chain him up, and let's bring him back to base." My heart that was already vigorously pumping blood throughout my body began thumping even harder. A chain, he probably found a chain, this will be the perfect opportunity, I could surprise them since they have their guards down. I can't imagine what are they're going to do to me if they caught me, no matter what happens I have to escape!

The footsteps became louder, it stops right next to me...Now!

I shot up from the ground and kick the kneeling man in front of me. He was holding an iron chain, quite old, there was rust on it, he couldn't react on time.

The second hooded was on my left and watched his partner get kicked backward.

"YOU LITTLE B*TCH!" He punched me in the face, but I was prepared.

I retaliate back with my own punch. I could feel my hand impacting his ribs as I throw another punch. He grunted and throw a single punch from the right, I nimbly evade it. I took this chance and punch his unguarded face with my left fist. I could easily read his movements. I hear another someone running towards me, my focus shifted from the opponent in front of me. From behind the man, I was fighting, the first hooded figure I kicked away rushed towards me. I leaped backward to evade it.

He continues to throw punches, I narrowly step back to avoid them and waiting for my chance to get a good hit, slowly going deeper into the narrow alley we were in. My heart began thumping heavier, the stakes of the situation is making my mind go numb, yet I was able to keep calm while fighting.

He throws a punch from the left, I dodge it, he lost his footing. Perfect timing.

I kick him in the stomach, he crouched down, I could use this to my advantage. He didn't get knockback far, this would've never happened if I was a bit more careful. Only if I was calmer in that situation, the outcome might've been different!

I grab the back of his head and knee his face, I could feel blood seeping into my pants, and again and again and again and again. I continuously knee his face, hoping he would faint at some point, there is no room to hold back here.

I was pushed back by him, without me holding his head up, he slumps to the ground. The second hooded man that was absent for the duration of that beatdown dashed at me with a metal tray, he most likely got it from the crates.

He smashed it down from above. I block it with my right hand. A sudden jolt of pain overwhelmed me, the wound I got from the goblin began bleeding again, it never got a chance to properly closed.

But I ignore the pain and bit my lips, and throw a punch with my left instead. I missed. I continue with my right arm, the punch just now seems slow and sloppy, he blocked it with the metal tray, my knuckles felt like they cracked open.

It seems hopeless now, I don't have my sword, I don't have any weapon, I can't fight back now. I'm being beaten down by the second hooded man mercilessly, punch and punch, I couldn't ignore the pain anymore and slump down to the ground, I try my best to guard my body with my arms, but all that does is increase the pain on my right arm. Blood came seeping out.

The first hooded man joined shortly after.

"DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!!!" He seemed to be overcome by anger, both of them repeatedly kicked me, while I was laying on the ground.

My body was aching like crazy, even breathing is painful right now. My chest feels tight, not because of my injuries, but because of anger. I felt so happy earning so much from all my hard work yesterday, but now? Why am I getting beaten up randomly by two guys I have never seen before? Why? Why? WHY?

I lay beaten on the ground, I try my best to ignore the pain one more time. I can't think of anything...I don't know how to escape from this situation.

...

"hah...Alright, let's chain this fucker up...hah" The first hooded man seemed to have calmed down, both men there were panting like crazy.

I did not have the energy to fight them back, I was quickly restrained by the chain.

"What are we gonna do?"

"You know what? Let's just kill him." My heart seems as if it was about to burst out of my chest, I feel it sink as I hear the words that man had just spoken. Sweat and blood ran down my face, my body had just been beaten to a pulp, but after hearing those words, the pain has gone away, it's like my body is telling me not to give up.

"Huh? You serious?"

I kept on squirming my body, but it was no use, I couldn't free myself.

"Yea, he heard what we were talking about, let's just kill this bastard!"

"Dude, calm down." The second hooded man was trying to snap the first hooded man out of it.

"We would get into trouble if the others know that someone found out about the plan! Besides, if we bring him back to base they'll just kill him anyway and we'll get into trouble also!"

Don't get distracted by their conversation just focus on one thing and one thing only right now.

Survive.

"Good point... But you sure about this..." The second hooded man seems hesitant.

"I'll go find something, you keep watch."

...

I don't want to die.

Not like this. Not after everything I've done, not after all the struggling, I endured. So many regrets...

The first hooded man walks back after a moment.

"Oi brat! Today's your lucky day! YOU'RE GONNA DIE! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID! THINK YOU COULD JUST KICK ME IN THE FACE LIKE THAT! Look what I've found!"

I look up, he was holding an ax, quite old, you could tell that it has been used for a long time. Looking at him carefully, his nose was bleeding, you could see the obvious beat down he got, hi lips were bleeding, there seems to be a wound on his left eye drow... So that's what he's so mad about.

He kept walking towards me. On his face was a sinister grin, wide and sharp, looks like he is enjoying this. Enjoying his sweet revenge.

My heart began beating even faster to the point where I can't even comprehend. My body was burning hot, the pain has all gone away, I feel my body tingling. But the only thing on my mind at this moment is

I don't want to die.

I try my best to move, but my body was restrained by the chains. If only I was able to move.

He moved closer and prepared for a swing.

I can't die here. My mother is still waiting to be freed. I can't die here. I promised my father to live. I can't die here. I CAN'T.

My body stings, like sparks are flying around in my body. It's burning hot, my mind is going crazy, the sensation became clearer.

If only these chains were gone! If only I could move, I could continue fighting now!

And just as he was about to swing, I heard a loud pop. The trembling sensation inside my body was gone, the stings stops, and I felt that something changed inside my body. I heard the sound of the ax separating the air.

In an act of desperation, I tried to free myself one last time. I watch the ax carefully.

This time was different.

The chains that were surrounding me burst out as they released their hold on me, like an explosion, the chains fly off and knock everything back including the hooded man in front of me. He dropped his ax in the process.

A single question pops into my mind.

What.