Revenge of the Sorcerer King 20

Hey Guys! I will be adding to this chapter over the day. I couldn't really work on it until late last night. Been busy at work and reviewing the changes to Book 1 that my editor sent me. Just want to be level with you guys. So, I will be adding Alessa sometime today.

Chapter 20 

Oberon POV~~~~

“I’m glad the idiots used a wagon,” I said to Alessa as we made our way through the desert. I walked enough in my last life as an adventurer. I really wanted to skip that part if I could. The wagon was pulled by two horse sized lizards that were well suited to the sands. It was probably used by a caravan before the adventurers bought it as it was very rough. When we reached a village outside the desert, we would need to trade them for horses. 

“I agree. I know the sun won’t hurt me but being in it for long periods of time just turns my stomach,” Alessa said from where she sat in the deepest shadow she could find. 

I laughed and patted her knee. “Welcome to the dark side. I feel the same way,” I said. 

“I guess we can’t darken the day, can we?” Alessa asked half-heartedly.

“Well. In the past certain dark races tried to do something like that. You’ll find that once you take the sun away a lot more people rise up against you,” I said leaning back and looking out a rip in the canvas. 

A memory sparked when I mentioned the dark races. An elf with dark skin running along the roofs of buildings. But as quickly as it came it was gone. I vaguely recalled parts of my old life, but scenes like this were happening more often. When I said a phrase or saw something, a memory would flash before my eyes. 

I, of course, had little context to go on. Was I chasing the dark elf? Was it chasing me? Questions like this would rise up before I would have to just shrug it away due to not being able to ever get the answer. I sighed giving up the memory and returning to gaze outside. 

~~

“Are you sure you want to use the sword?” I asked Alessa as she fought a monster twice her size. Some sort of sand crab that sprung from the ground as we approached it. Both Alessa and I sensed it though and avoid the wagon from being damaged. 

“Yeah. I was forced to use daggers before because I was too weak for the sword, but I would rather use a sword for the extra reach,” Alessa said jumping to the side to avoid a crushing blow from one of the pincers. 

“Fair enough. I honestly thought after your change you might switch to clawed weapons. Seeing as you… enjoyed the chase so much.” 

“Well… I wouldn’t mind training in a little of everything, since my focus is going to be magic,” she said twisting in a weird way that allowed her to avoid the claw by only a few centimeters. 

“I guess. Still better to focus on one weapon,” I said with a nod. Not that I could talk, I played with over a dozen different weapons before I settled on the sword as my main. 

Alessa rolled out of her twist then sprang up into the air to land on top of the crab. I sensed some mana flow into her arm before she brought the blade down in the center of the crab’s shell. There was a boom as the force crushed the crab to the ground and pieces of shell rained down around us along with a spray of blue blood. 

She jumped down licking her hand. “How does a desert monster have a fishy taste?” she asked, and I wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. 

“If I find out, I’ll tell you.” I turned to Jack. “How much are the monster parts worth from this thing?” 

“Around twenty to thirty gold, My Lord. However, in that condition… ten maybe,” he answered with his head bowed.

I laughed. “Don’t hit it so hard next time,” I called over to Alessa as she poked at the crab. 

“Just getting used to Vaunn helping me out,” Alessa said defensively.

We gathered the few useful parts and left the rest to the scavengers. It was only day one of the weeklong trip, but we were making good time. Plus, we could travel at night with a bit of magic to refresh the lizards. I jumped back into the wagon and waited for Alessa to join me before ordering the servant to go. 

~~ A week later~~

“This is Guil,” I said with a disappointment.

“It’s a development town. I think its maybe twenty years old,” Alessa said from next to me as we looked at the approaching town. 

After a thousand years, even with the decrease in magic, I had hoped to see something new. The half stone, half wooden wall that surrounded the town made me want to turn around and just head home. I was like I just stepped back to my old village after being gone for a few days, rather than being gone for a thousand years. 

“Why has the world stagnated so much?” I mumbled. 

“The summoned hero. Or at least that’s what I heard from the schoolteacher. With his World Shift, it made it hard for people to grow past certain points. Yeah, it helped control our sins, but if it took fifty years to reach level hundred fifty in magic then what’s the point. Since then the desire to improve as slowly faded. Sure, some people still do but not enough to push the kingdom. Or at least that’s what my teacher said,” Alessa explained rubbing the back of her head having heard me. 

“I’ll have to look into this,” I said. 

“Hail! Any good hunting out there?” a traveler asked as we caught up to him.

“The usual, crabs and scorpions. Have to give it all to the guild to pay for repairs,” Jack called back from his seat in the front. 

“Hey. Hey, I know you! You went to look for that cursed family girl and the cursed city, right? How’d it go?” the traveler asked.

“Horrible thanks to him!” Jack shouted point at Kale who was tied up. “Him and his brother led us after the girl alright! Right into an ant mound. We’re the only ones that made it out.”

“That’s horrible! I guess you didn’t get the girl then?” the traveler asked. Even from my seat in the wagon I could hear the trace of greed that lined his voice. 

“No. Young girl like that, poisoned. I doubt she could have survived.”

“Damn. Alright, I’ll leave you to your own. Sorry for bothering you,” the traveler said with a nod then cracked his reins to urge his mount to speed up. 

“And that is another dead adventurer,” I said. 

“What do you mean?” Alessa asked. 

“When he heard they didn’t find you he immediately decided to head out either by himself or with a group to try and capture you. Right now, anything that steps into the central part of the desert is going to die,” I explained. 

“Got it,” Alessa nodded with a laugh. 

Alessa ~~

I felt, weird, as we entered the town. Normally, I just felt fear when I visited towns. I could cover my tattoo with cloths, but there were people that were able to read the flow of magic. There were also tools that could detect that type of magic as well. It was usually used for good, but in my case, I could only see it as evil. I do not know how many times I was walking near a church or temple and some priest out of ‘kindness’ ended up forcing me to flee the town I was in. 

Oberon assured me that I would be fine as long as I wore Vaunn. Something about concealment being one of the upgrades he set for her. I just shook my head. At the rate I was going, I was going to turn into a magic wielding berserker thanks to Vaunn. One of the monsters I fought on the way here, I ended up punching to death because my sword broke while Oberon laughed the entire time. 

Looking around at the oblivious towns people, I silently hoped that no one pressed their luck with Oberon. His regard for the living shifted by the day. At times they were useful, others it was hard for him to see them as more than garbage. At least we had our story straight for when we sent Jack to the Adventurers Guild. The only person that knows what the Cursed family member looked like was Kale and he was firmly under my control. I could show my face without too much issue. 

“Mistress, the Guild is just up the way,” Jack said from the front of the wagon. 

“Good.” I looked over to Oberon whose body just screamed depressed. “Cheer up. I’m sure we can find someone to kill in this town if that would make you feel better,” I said making a smile for him, not sure the effort was wasted when one of my fangs popped out. 

Oberon laughed at the sight. “I’m alright. Let’s get through this town quickly,” he said with a nod.