A faint shimmer shone all across the small cave that Franz had been inhabiting for the last 2 weeks. The glitter made the whole room sparkle slightly with violets, pinks, and light blues. The reason this was happening was because the spirits that had been residing and teaching in the Cave of Lineage had finally disappeared. Their time in the Physical World was up, and they would be returning to the Spirit World. The only reason Franz knew this is what was happening was because he was taught it by them.
Makes me a little sad to see them go. They weren't the fastest speakers, but they were good teachers. When I rise in sequence, I will have to get some spirits under me. Well, that depends on which pathway I choose to go down since I can't be a dual pathway beyonder. Ha, the researchers of Kaiya must be majorly disappointed with that.
Chuckling, Franz picked up the bag he had packed and glanced around the Cave one last time. He had been planning on what to bring with him for a while, and had finally decided on a couple of things.
He would obviously pack the Book of Beginning and End, since it was the most valuable possession he currently owned. He would also pack the pillow that was already in the room, and the thickest blanket. The temperature wasn't all that cold in this part of the world, but Franz would not limit himself to just staying in the surroundings of Kaiya. A couple of other books were packed - namely the Book of Monsters, Book of Plants, and Book of Craftsmanship - and all the writing materials that Franz found in the room.
The hardest part of the packing was choosing weapons since there were so many of them and Franz was, technically, proficient in all of them. Adding on the fact his next sequence would be Weapons Master, he had to bring as many weapons as possible without overbearing himself. Ultimately, he chose 7 to bring along.
The first was the greatsword, an absolute necessity to bring along when taking into account the Warrior pathways later mastery of the weapon. Then was the metal spear, the personal favorite of Franz. A shortsword for close combat, a dagger for plants, brass knuckles with spikes for more concealed attack opportunities, shurikens for long range options, and a small axe for trees and torture. Overall, Franz was really happy with the arsenal he ended up with.
On top of his books and weapons, Franz also took 2 Beyonder weapons. One being the Robe of Flame, and the other being the Ring of Faces. He hoped that these would majorly raise his survivability and let him rise in sequence until he can protect himself well enough.
Nodding to the Cave as a final act of respect, Franz turned on his heels and walked straight out through the golden door. He had a place he had to go to, and it would take a while to get there.
…
A couple hours had passed since Franz had left his training place and he was quickly coming up to Kaiya. In the far distance he could see the remnants of the walls that had been completely destroyed. According to the spirits a lone group of Demonic Wolves had coincidently attacked the village and completely destroyed it.
I really find this attack weird. The Demonic Wolves have been slowly going extinct over the last couple centuries. The leaders of Kaiya have written that they are in small packs now, no longer having a major leader to unify under. They were supposedly always mad, but once their god died they gained a higher level of intelligence. Though I don't think that they have enough brains to launch coordinated attacks, that apparently didn't stop them this time around.
By Franz's estimation he had about an hour left before he stepped foot on Kaiya premises again, since he was walking. When he was away from the battle, he managed to cover the distance much quicker, but why rush? In Franz's opinion, there is nothing like taking a leisurely stroll through a barren land with no Sun in the sky. He had to embrace his new world somehow, and the best way was by getting used to his surroundings. The walking time also let Franz lampoon inwardly, a nice plus since he hadn't had much time to rest the last 2 weeks.
How do I find chances to go and Act? My potion names are Gravedigger and Gladiator. The first is completely digested, but not the second. What does a gladiator do… fight I guess. I'm realizing it a bit late, but I haven't thought about my acting method plans at all…
A gladiator is someone who fights 1 on 1, so I guess I have to either fight like that or be at a numerical disadvantage. The ancient gladiators did have to fight against multiple opponents at once. I have to use my hands in combat, but I feel like that would be really difficult. I'm going to have to try to mostly use my hands. Besides those two methods, I don't think there are any more. Ugh, and I have to decide on which pathway I should take in sequence 7…
Audibly groaning, Franz rubbed his chin again. It was a nervous tick he picked up in the new body of Peus, since the teenager always rubbed his chin.
My options are Spirit Medium and Weapons Master. A Spirit Medium is more of a backliner, possessing the ability to talk to spirits and undead and have them do their bidding. The big downside is that summoning a good spirit is difficult, and the rituals are really complex. Past that, a Medium also has to get brand new spirits all the time if they don't form a contract with a spirit from before. Upsides however is that there are many weird and unpredictable spirits out there, allowing me to have a huge arsenal of attacks. I would be unpredictable, and I could get information much easier. But the Acting would be horrendous…
On the other hand, a Weapons Master is an incredibly simple sequence. I can magically master any weapon, and I get much stronger. This however needs me to be an infantryman instead of a sniper-esque role. Ugh, I never liked being a front liner damnit! The Acting method would be extremely easy though. Master different weapons, use different weapons in combat, and forge new weapons for oneself. That's so damn easy! And the later sequences are incredibly powerful too…
Suddenly, a loud noise dragged Franz away from his thoughtful state. Glancing around, he placed himself only a mile or two from Kaiya. The terrain was quite barren, making locating the source of the sound much easier: Demonic Wolves.
There were 2 small Demonic Wolves walking toward Franz. The first was slightly larger than the other with black fur and white lines, like a reversed zebra. The other was smaller, and had purely black fur. Instantly, Franz recalled the basic information he had on Demonic Wolves.
Larger wolves are wolves of higher sequence. The Demonic Wolves fall mostly under the Seer and Sleepless pathways. The abilities of low sequence Seers are mostly divination and magic tricks, the worst ones being an invisible "Air Bullet" and Damage Transfer spell. Low sequence of the Sleepless pathway possesses the ability to agitate the soul and pull them into dreams. This is most likely going to be a pair of low sequence wolves, but if they are not…
Franz, now being completely focused on the wolf pair in front of him, crouched down and put his right hand on a shuriken. He was expecting a brawl to break out immediately, but that didn't happen. To his incredible surprise the smaller wolf turned to his counterpart and started to wheeze loudly.
"..Are you fucking laughing at me!? You bastard!"
Unexplicably, Franz had gotten extremely agitated at the mockery. Even though he had years of experience in combat, such a simple taunt got to him immediately.
Now quite mad, Franz whipped out his spear and brandished it at the Demonic Wolves. If they wouldn't attack first, then he would.
"If you two think you're all that, then get a piece of me. I'll introduce y'all to who I really am!"
The smaller wolf stopped laughing and the larger wolf narrowed his eyes. In a moment, the smaller wolf broke away from the larger one and charged at Franz. And in a similar manner, Franz lowered his spear and charged at the wolf.
Just like that, the act of combat had begun.