Goats And Heroes

To me, qi control was a door that peaked open just wide enough to see inside. Behind the door, once shut, was an assortment of every food I never got to enjoy. Fried fish breaded with pineapple cake crust served on a bed of the highest quality sat in a bowl behind the door. Rare sea-king crab from the far-off northern sea bathed in finely churned goat butter steamed on a mountain of cheesy biscuits. Whole hogs stuffed with fruit roasted over an open fire on a mountain buttery boiled yam. Sitting on a golden platter was a three-inch-thick steak from golden cows basted with butter grilled rare and served with red wine. I saw line after line of positive effects with each meal that could help me grow strong.

I felt when I saw my 6 extra points appear from my familiar bond. Putting them in anything but my cultivation skill tree would end in a 5-hour lecture from my father. He would poke and prod at my insecurities until I was a crying wreck of myself. I could keep the power inside with qi control and finally enjoy food and their bonuses. It wouldn’t work on anything from the farm, but I could get bonuses from wild game or food from town.

But at the same time, I knew that I needed to train qi control myself first as much as I could. Once a skill passes 50, normal training methods wouldn’t work. Father would make me use my points as soon as he returned, so I needed to work on qi control.

From what I could tell, the best way to do that was to make more pills. There were still plenty of ingredients leftover.

Kara ran over and headbutted my knee. Even just born, the little goat had benefitted from my power. For once, I didn’t mind. She didn’t just benefit, but I did too. Really the more I helped her, the more I benefitted. I decided to bend this farm to make my familiar as strong as possible. The best thing I could do was make sure her Phoebe had plenty of hay.

Before I could go back to pill-making, all the dogs started barking. The carriage had arrived, and Ser Darron was at our door on behalf of Macduff, heir to the county. As I understood it, he was here to call on Violet today, and my sister chose to grind exp instead. I couldn’t blame her; Macduff was Macduff. While there was nothing wrong with being him, he stood to inherit the entire county. My sister didn’t seem interested, but he kept calling.

I heard the pounding of hooves, and by their sound, Ser Darron had stopped to snatch a peach from our trees. My familiar bumped my hand, and I shook my head. All my plans were up in the air. Violet most likely wouldn’t leave the woods until Macduff left and father wasn’t here to play host. So, it fell on me to treat these nobles as guests.

“Are you sure the boy is here? I haven’t seen anyone since we arrived? You would think a farm this size would have many laborers.” That voice wasn’t familiar, but the owner was of high standing by his vernacular. So I figured the speaker was a knight or maybe a priest.

The dogs continued to bark, and Fred bounded across the farm, ready to kill their horses. I doubted the red dog would listen to me; the only one he listened to was Violet. I rubbed Kara’s head and sent her back to Phoebe. While I couldn’t benefit from my cultivation skill, every animal and plant that partook could understand my commands. Whether they chose to listen or not was up in the air.

Ser Darron the Ogre Slayer lvl150
Rank: 2
Job: Knight lvl10

Ser Darron, dressed in casual clothes with only a sword at his side, was just as intimidating as when he wore heavy plate mail. The man was the third strongest in Noma County after the Count. Even with all the advantages our farm gave my sister, she wasn’t at this man’s level. While she had far higher base stats than him, Ser Darron had all the percentage multipliers. At Rank 2, his stats fell into a 2.5x multiplier, and his knight job boosted his VIT and STR by another 25% per class level. If Ser Darron wanted to steal a peach, there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop him.

I stepped out of the barn and saw Ser Darron riding beside the man. The man had a mop of greasy black hair and a strong chin. He wore white, a poor choice for traveling Noma’s dusty barrens. Though not a speck of dust-covered his robe. Father taught me to look at a man’s sleeves when his hands are empty, and in this man’s sleeves, I saw a glint of steel. A small circlet of chains wrapped around the man’s wrist, probably holding a medallion of the four gods. Every priest holds at least one on their person.

Friar Benjamin the Faithful lvl101
Rank: 2
Job: Priest lvl4

Priests were known to heal the sick and infirm in the name of their gods. They could cast out evil spirits left behind by diabolists, and they served the light lords. It wasn’t unheard of to see one in the party of a noble. This one looked middle-aged and had only just made it to the second rank. His odds of rising further were almost as low as mine.

“Four blessings upon you; I understand you work this farm. Do you know where the owner and his daughter have gone?”

Ser Darron bit into a peach larger than a melon and seemed content to let the priest talk. He had taken a knife to its tougher than hide peel.

“They have gone into the forest to grind exp. I’m sure they will return before long.”

“That is good to know, young man; we are guests of this farm’s owner, and it has been a long journey. Fetch me water from the well and see to our horses while we situate the young lord inside.”

“We don’t have a well, and don’t you have grooms, manservants, and stable hands to take care of your horses?”

Ser Darron looked over at the priest then to me and smiled as he took another bite of his peach. “Don’t be inconsiderate; we are guests of your employer. He would be quite displeased if he found your hospitality lacking. We’ve ridden here with the Count’s own son to call upon his daughter. And I am here to consecrate these grounds in the name of the four.”

“I know why you’re here, and we don’t want your consecration. Care for your own horses; they aren’t my concern.”

“When Ser Hero returns with his daughter, I’ll have words with him about your behavior.”

Ser Darron could have ended this farce at any time, or I could have by giving my name. But at this point, the priest saw red, and I doubted words from me would help.

“Oh, my, you befriend everyone you meet.” I turned my attention to the young heir of Noma County, currently resting two fishing poles on his shoulder. Macduff had his father’s blond hair, blue eyes, and hawk-like nose with his mother’s unfortunate butt chin. That was something my little sister couldn’t get over. On the countess, the chin didn’t detract from her beauty, but her son hadn’t grown older enough to grow a beard to cover it yet. Besides his unfortunate chin, Macduff wasn’t a bad guy. He didn’t make fun of me for only being lvl10, so I didn’t comment on his chin. While my sister wasn’t around, our relationship was friendly.

Macduff the Bright lvl80
Rank: 1

“Young lord, do you know this hooligan?”

“Of course, he’s my dear Violet’s older brother, and why this farm is a slice of Utopia.”

The Count’s heir looked at me with his icy gaze. “This day, I will catch the legendary silverfish and regain my honor.”

Fat Cat was the largest catfish in the pond and probably weighed well over a ton. I didn’t think the flimsy fishing poles in Macduff’s hands would do anything. There was work left to do before I went inside to make lunch. Father would bring Violet back soon, and I should prepare lunch with many guests. Father was all about showing off how useful I could be to the young lord.

“You should give up now. So far, all you’ve lost is a little pride, and I don’t want hooks in our pond.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be an issue for much longer. Once the betrothal is set, you will all come with us to live in the castle. My wife-to-be will get access to my family grinding zones, and you will join the cooks as an apprentice chef.”

My mood plummeted. “The peach is 10 ounces of silver.” I expect it and anything else you eat here outside the kitchen to be paid for.”

“Gold for a peach, you must be out of your mind. Five of normal size sell 5 an ounce of copper. The young lord offered you a place in his castle, and you insult him.” The friar said.

“I know you resent your sister,” Macduff said.

A shard of ice stabbed my heart. I didn’t want to hear this noble say something like that.

“Fish if you want; we normally sell them 2 ounces of silver a pound.”

“Outrageous, you can’t even catch the monstrous fish yourself, from what I understand. So how is it yours to sell? You’re a peasant, and while you might work, this land is ultimately owned by the Count. I’ve seen your type before.”

“That’s enough, Friar; I brought you here to assist against the undead, not antagonizing my betrothed’s brother.” Macduff looked at me. “You were born to help your sister become great. That isn’t a bad thing; take pride in that, and you could live a pleasant life. However, while you can cook magnificent food, it would be an insult to my professional staff to place someone without a class ahead of them. Therefore, the most I could give you is an apprenticeship. In the future, that could change, but you must work with me.”

My hands shook as the Count’s heir’s words found their way into my heart. His charisma was too powerful; the world seemed to spin around me as his will attempted to swallow me up. Father never intended for me to be strong. All he wanted was to marry my sister well and to do that, I was tossed in to sweeten the pot.

I heard a loud baah from the shed and knew it was my familiar. An unsteady breath took me out of the moment and let me shake off Macduff’s influence.

“You can not make me surrender. I expect everything you take to be paid for. My father will return soon with my sister; until then, make yourselves at home.” I said.

“You have a familiar. But your stats don’t seem to be any higher. So you should give up; there is no way for you to equal your sister, much less your father.” Ser Darron said.

I turned my gaze to Macduff. “Truly, my sister would be happiest with you. Without a doubt, I’ll speak positively of this encounter.”

“Mention any of this to your sister, and I’ll insist on our meal being your familiar. A newborn goat is considered a delicacy in some regions. Your father agreed to this match. He wants your sister to marry me; why else would he often invite me here.”

“Don’t pretend to know the thoughts of my father. He is a hero and so far beyond your understanding that he might as well be one of the gods.”

The knight snorted. “You presume too much about him. To those powerful like myself, the actions of Ser Hero are quite predictable. He merely wants his daughter to marry well and his disappointment of a son taken care of. I think he still thirsts for adventure and wishes to leave his domestic life behind.”

Was that true? Did he want to get rid of us? He refused to let me strengthen myself. My every point has been spent on a skill tree that can only help others. What if I maxed it out? Would he let me spend the points on myself then? Why would he? I’m sure other skill trees could prove helpful to him. Maybe he will force me to max the next farming or cooking skill tree. That way, I’ll always be useful but dependent on him or others.

“I will not cook for any of you. You can fend for yourselves in the kitchen since you’re so powerful. Father will be back soon, so keep your theft to a minimum.” I said and walked away.

“Where are you going, young man?” The friar asked.

Macduff laughed. “It looks like you hit a nerve, Ser Darron. You probably have work to do, so go ahead and run away to finish up. I’ll just pick off Violet’s plate, then I know you won’t deny her.”

I smiled and turned around. “She’s cooking lunch; I hope you’re all prepared,” I said.

The sun was getting higher. Father and Violet should be getting back soon, but there was no sign of them. I stared across the farm to the small forest where we used to throw out our table scraps. Then, with minimum effort, a few squat trees into a towering forest full of monsters. Used to only small slimes appeared, but as our farm grew, so did the forest. Monsters started to hide within to make raids on our farm. Sometimes they got a chicken and made it back to eat. Some of them grew exponentially more powerful, and more monsters joined them.

Fred, Violet’s massive shaggy dog, suddenly turned its head to the forest and took off in a sprint. I watched the red-furred dog leave and felt uneasy. My thoughts traveled back to the shadow. It had to be a goblin or something; there was no way something dangerous to my sister could be in the woods. If father was there, then nothing bad could happen.

With that final thought, I made another batch of pills, and this time 3 were successful.

Pill Making lvl16

I glanced out of the shed at old Slim glaring at the forest with all three of his eyes. Something was there that he didn’t like.

If I compared strength, he could probably take on Macduff and win. I turned my attention further upfield. Our donkey Bobby stood on its hind legs and let its spiked mace rest on its shoulders. The Rank 3 donkey had gone through 2 evolutions.

Bobby the Destroyer lvl213
Rank: 3
Job: Barbarian
Monster Class: Man Donkey

Bobby would bash them into paste if the noble or his party did anything. He had more stat bonuses from living here than any other animal on the farm. I had no idea how many thousands of VIT he had. When I was on a potion-making bender, he happily drank most of the including my failures. While he was around, I had nothing to fear.

Bobby yelled a war cry and charged for the woods. I blinked, rubbed my itchy scalp, and watched the flakes fall. My dandruff was back again. Even if it was a young forest dragon, Violet should be able to easily handle it. She had the Phoenix magic and sword techniques. If she couldn’t beet one of those green bastards at this point, then she should quit.

Father did leave to look for her, so maybe she was lost, and father needed help searching. That made sense.

I concentrated on the correct amount of power needed to get the pills successful and put them in another batch.

Qi Control lvl8
Pill Making lvl17
+1 INT
INT9

While it wasn’t much of a leap, the more I used it, the better I felt. The power that always poured out of me for once settled down. Of course, trying to hold it all in at once wouldn’t work with the amount of control I had now, but I could work on it, and maybe someday, I could be normal.

Once the pills were done, I counted my successful pills and tossed them in a mortar before grinding them into powder. I took some goat milk and mixed the powder into it. While food was great, pills were far more concentrated. I could measure out the effects I wanted in my pills. Having a personal benefit at the end of this process made me much more invested. I could feel how this would benefit me.

My current pills weren’t the same as what I made before. Bananas were used as the base to improve VIT AGL, and moon leaves to give her a higher chance of getting a moon-based skill tree. I’d never even heard of a moon-based skill tree until I saw it in the description for moon leaves. Concentrating it into a pill form increased the odds even more.

I grabbed a rubber nipple from one of the sheds and walked over to the goat pen. The sky was growing dark, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I looked up, and the sun was still shining, but it was still getting darker out. Rubbing my eyes didn’t do me any good. In the distance, the young lord and his party charged into the woods.

A sudden baah greeted me as I entered Phoebe’s pin. Kara charged out to greet me dutifully with eyes too intelligent for a young goat. Normally stat changes needed several days before they had a physical improvement. Still, younger bodies were known to adjust more easily to rapid changes. Her head was a little larger than it had been before. She also looked much healthier, and I couldn’t see her ribs anymore. The other newborn goat looked just as large, but it didn’t have the increase in awareness that Kara had.

I offered her the bottle, and she took it without complaint. Kara downed the whole bottle so fast that I was afraid her stomach would burst.

Kara
+40VIT
+30AGL
New Skill
Mind Of Dark Moon

While I knew something was happening, a part of me didn’t care. Father made sure I couldn’t do anything about it one way or the other. They could all be dead right now, and I couldn’t do anything. So what would rushing into the woods do for me? I should only focus on my skills, nothing else. Wasn’t that what father told me? Kara bumped into me and rubbed her fur against my leg.

Familiar Bond lvl2

I left the pin and snatched a fist-sized strawberry from a bush, and tossed it in my mouth. All I felt was the rubbery seedy texture of the strawberry. I tasted none of the sweetness or acidic bite that Violet loved. Even if I pulled my power away from it, the strawberry grew in a land filled with my power. While I lived here, I couldn’t even taste the food. This slice of utopia felt more like ruin to me.

The sun vanished, and darkness swallowed the world.

 

I stared out the window at the rising dome of shadows as it cut off the sun capping at the top. We were trapped inside, and the darkness took on an egg shape. I saw it as the blue sky shrank until the shadows met high in the sky, sealing us in. We were all consumed by the dark egg from the forest to the farm. I had read about it but never heard a rumor of this happening.

So, either no one had seen this happen in living memory or no one who has seen it has survived. I thought the second part was a little unlikely. Someone from the outside could probably see the massive black egg for miles. There were many small towns and baronies in the county of Noma, and they should all be able to see the egg.

Kara bleated and ran to the window, ears flopping while Phoebe struggled to catch up with her other kidnapping. I brushed Kara’s head feeling the beginning of her horns. She was too young to develop them, but her high VIT must have accelerated her growth. The kid bit at her leg and bleated at me again.

“Are the growing pains getting to you?”

“Pain?” I heard the voice bang around in my head until the echo finally stopped, only to be replaced with a pounding headache.

“Can you understand me?” I asked out loud.

“Stand?” The word boomed in my skull.


-10HP


Blood gushed out of my nose from the power of her voice. 8 more of those, and I would be dead. I smiled despite the pain. With some more experience, she could kill monsters and level up. Since she was my familiar, I would get some of her exp as well. Now I just needed to keep my mouth shut to avoid another booming attack.

“Pain?”

“Yes, that hurt me.”

“Hurt pain?”

“Yes, good girl,” I said, and she jumped up. Kara's sheer amount of joy in her little hooves was almost enough to make me forget about being sealed inside a massive black egg.


System Corruption 10%


Suddenly parts of my display vanished. The system's voice hadn’t said something like that to me before. Was it the egg or Kara’s power?

The little goat’s display scrambled before winking out entirely. Kara bleated, then ran around me to hide in the corner of the barn.


System Corruption 40%


The green power that always erupted from my body suddenly clung to my skin. My heart raced as my power finally betrayed me in full. Without the system holding it back, the energy would finally destroy me. I stared out into the darkness as my body glowed green despite the darkness. Animals around the farm charged at my position, and I saw creatures making their way toward me in the darkness.

Tiny humanoids made of shadow seemed to float across the ground as they chased little green goblins. I watched in fascination as one grabbed a goblin before morphing into black ink and sliding inside the poor creature. As the poor creature shrieked, large black masses grew across the goblin’s green skin. They grew until the poor mob exploded into dozens of little shadowy creatures that looked almost like black goblins to me.

One of the goblins made it into the light, and the shadow creatures from before stopped at my light’s edge. However, the shadow goblins weren’t deterred. They charged even as my light burned their skin. A team of roosters attacked it, followed by one of our larger pigs. The great pig squealed as it rolled over and crushed the shadow goblins.


System Corruption 78%


What few system functions remained winked out, but I wasn’t feeling weaker. When the antiforms attacked, only those strongest in the system, like heroes, could endure. Their connection to the system meant it could take days for the corruption to overpower them. Father had scars from when an antiform attacked him.

I should be unimaginably weak without the system, but instead, I felt good. My nose had already stopped bleeding, and the light around me grew stronger. The shadow goblins that had been able to withstand my light before burned to ash. My light within the shed grew ever brighter, and I felt strange.

The shadows moved much slower than before, and the Kara seemed to freeze completely. I could help my family not by making them stronger but by showing my own strength with this power. This power that was never meant to benefit me, that could make a goblin into a dragon, flowed through my body.


System Corruption 90%


I could feel Rot’s Curse winking in and out. My power rose, and I couldn’t leave the animals unprotected. My eyes closed, and I concentrated on the light flowing through me. It felt like it was already well aware of what I wanted and guiding me by the hand. My hand rose, and there was a small ball of light between my fingers. Greenlight radiated off the little ball as bright as the sun had been.

My light illuminated the barn and most of the farm with my emerald light. Where it touched, no shadows dared to enter. Even the shadow goblins seemed wary. I moved, and the world seemed to stand still as I sped towards the darkness.

A shadow ogre emerged from the tree line and charged at me. It was a brute taller than a hill with hair like tentacles and sickly yellow eyes. Then, more ogres emerged from the tree line, hefting genuine tree branches.


System Corruption 95%


I felt stronger, like the power that was always mine had finally been returned to me. The ogres towered over me, but it felt like I was the one with the advantage. I moved, and the air cracked. I could hear it as craters exploded in the ground with my every step. Even as I raced towards the shadow ogres, I didn’t know what I would do. They were so high above me in stats, but I felt like that suddenly didn’t matter. A club raced after me with shocking speed even with my perspective slowed down. I had never fought before; my father wouldn’t allow it; I was too weak. My hands flew up to block, and the ground around me exploded. An incredible force slammed into my shoulders, but I stopped the club somehow. All that power behind the ogre’s swing, and I stopped it cold.

On reflex, I punched, and light exploded around my fist as it traveled in the form of a solid green blow. The darkness that made up the ogre’s body gave way, and ink poured out instead of blood. Four other ogres joined in and slammed down with their clubs as I tried to catch my breath. They struck, smashing me into the ground. The crater widened before a geyser erupted with the rupture of the underground spring. Water splashed against the ogres, and their bodies melted where the water touched them. I spat out a mouth full of blood into the water.


System Corruption 100%
Crashing All System Functions Ceased
Rebooting…
Failure To Connect


The egg, I realized why they bothered with enclosing this place in an egg of darkness. Even if the system is corrupted, it will only shut down and reboot unless they block it with the egg. I stood up as my power merged with my body with that in mind. I could feel my strength climbing with every beat of my heart. This was what I was always missing. Before, I had been incomplete close but always separated from my power. Everything had changed, and nothing had. Something was missing. I had a goal that I had forgotten. I closed my eyes; it felt like it happened so long ago that it hardly mattered now.

I would save my father and sister from the antiforms and never let them live it down. There was a problem the forest was huge. I focused, and I felt several sources of life; two of them were like infernos while others were candles. Knowing that my father would be fine, I charged after the second-largest inferno.

Everything either broke or exploded as I moved, and I loved it. This was what being powerful was like I could cross great distances in the blink of an eye. Trees exploded shadows of all kinds burned to ash as I moved. Nothing could stop me anymore, and soon I would be the strongest in the county and the world. My speed increased again, and I burst into a clearing.

Violet was covered in sweat, a fading torch in one hand and her prized sword in the other. Across from her was a woman who looked familiar. The woman was dressed in a cloudy silver plate mail and wielded a long double-edged sword one-handed. Just looking at the blade made my skin crawl. It felt like the weapon hated me.

“Get away from here; she’s too strong, get father.” I focused on my opponent. My power erupted, bathing the clearing in green light, but the antiform woman didn’t shield her eyes.

“Found you.” The whole forest, no, the world yelled those words with all its might. I punched forward, letting my light fist cover the distance. A dark barrier appeared around the woman and blocked my attack. I shot forward, gathering light between my fingers before throwing a light ball at her. The ball floated in the air but didn’t do any damage.

“You don’t remember a thing, do you. That’s amazing, and if you die here, the system won’t reincarnate you.”

Her sword flashed forward, and despite my improved perception, I barely moved in time. I raised my arms to block it and felt the blade pierce my skin. A scream tore through my throat as I felt something invasive crawl up my veins. I raised my finger, and a green beam fired. A blinding light flashed through the clearing as I tightened my control over my qi. It was the only thing I could do.

I felt a crack and pushed my power forward. The woman tried to pull the blade away, but I forced my muscles to harden. Even with all her strength, she couldn’t rip her sword out of my arm. I tightened my control, using everything the qi control skill taught me. I felt the shield shatter, and my finger beam blasted point-blank into the woman's dark armor. The shield fell away, but no matter how much I tightened my control, my beam couldn’t punch through it. I needed more practice with qi control.

The second I ended the attack, I punched the woman’s hand, forcing the sword away. Violet jumped into the fight and stabbed the woman under her chin. Flames lit up the clearing, and an ocean of black ink exploded from the woman’s throat. Violet’s blade glowed white as she leaped away.

I gripped its handle, and black lightning blasted up my hand. I couldn’t let go even if I wanted to as the lightning continued to shock me.

Even dying, the woman spoke. “That blade was not meant for your hands. Its ore was mined from the abyss and forged in the flames of hatred for your kind.”

The words I said next didn’t feel like my own. “This isn’t the first time I have taken something from the world.” My power surged forth into the blade, and slowly the lightning subsided. For a second, when my light-filled the blade and battled against the hateful presence, I thought it was over. I pulled the blade out of my arm, only for my power to tip the scales. Cracks covered the sword, glowing green along its dark metal blade. When it hit the point of no return, the weapon crumbled. The darkness would not serve my power for now.

A satisfied expression appeared on the antiform woman’s face. I shook my head; maybe she did deserve that. Then, I tossed the weapon's hilt to the ground and turned my attention to my father’s presence.

“Look out!” Violet pushed me out of the way as a massive club swung down. It hit her on the shoulder and threw her against one of the trees. I realized too late that the club belonged to Bobby. My heart started beating rapidly again as I prepared to fight the Man Donkey.

Then I stumbled and felt something racing up my arm. I stared down to see black veins standing out against my tan skin. My qi was fighting it, and with enough time, it would push it back, but if I fought at the same time, it would spread. I heard Violet’s labored breath as she pushed herself out of the remains of the tree. She tossed me her knife.

“Use it to cut open your arm and get the bad blood out. Sorry, we don’t have leaches or the time to use them. But, fighting with you is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Then I won’t take long,” I said and stabbed the knife into my forearm. The darkness infesting it had made my skin more than weak enough for the knife to pierce. With a way to force the darkness out, I used the power in my body to push. Horrible-smelling black ink poured out of the wound.

Violet matched blow after blow with Bobby, but she was slowing down. Her earlier fight had cost her stamina, and I wasn’t sure her system could last much longer before it was corrupted. They exchanged dozens of blows as the ink poured out of me. When it finally bled red again, I used my power to close the wound.

Bobby swung again, and I dashed forward and caught the club. The spikes on it didn’t even puncture my skin. The difference in the quality of the antiforms was staggering. I punched forward, ripping through links of shadowy chainmail and piercing the shadow man donkey’s chest. Light exploded off the shadow mob before its body rapidly dissolved into ink.

Violet swayed on her feet before leaning on my shoulder. Even with the system, she was nearly exhausted while I could keep going for a long time. Maybe it was because I was still fresh from the fight, or it could be my power supplementing my body.

Suddenly, I was pushed away. I turned just in time to see a stinger sticking through Violet’s body. Where did it come from; I hadn’t sensed a thing? I turned my head to see the darkness spreading through Violet’s body like venom. Attached to the tail was a long-segmented creature with massive reptilian hands, eagle talons, and the head of a princely man.

Violet raised her sword as it exploded with blue flames. She slashed the tail away even as the darkness spread through her body. The monster shrieked and darted to the side. I realized that its presence vanished again when it moved.

“I told you I would protect you, big brother,” Violet said.

“She’s going to be one of us soon.” I pointed my finger at the creature even as its presence vanished, and it darted out of the way. “I was made to kill you in the off chance you were here. How can you hit what you can’t sense, see, or predict? My shell can deflect the attacks of light lords, so your little beams won’t be a problem. What will you do? Tick tock, your sister will soon be one of us.”

“You were made to kill my brother.” A bird made of blue flames exploded from Violet’s blade and smashed into the monster mid dash.

“No fair heroes cheat. You weren’t supposed to fight us; we’re the good guys; he’s bad.” The monster cried as the flames burned up his body.

I raised my hand and blasted him. A beam of light overtook his body before it faded away. All that was left of the creature was the still wiggling bit of tail. I stared down at my hand and didn’t believe what I had just done. My power guided me through it like it had since my system went down. I raised my hand to do the same to the tail when Violet collapsed.

“Run; you can’t save me,” Violet said and pressed her sword against her neck. On instinct, I wrenched it away from her. “What are you doing? I don’t want to become one of those things?” The egg above shattered, and the sunlight returned.

“See, the sun’s back, and soon the system will be too,” I said.

Violet shook her head. “It hasn’t stopped spreading. I don’t want to be like mother.

“She died in childbirth,” I said as my eyes widened.

Tears filled her eyes. “I trained hard, and you helped me, big brother. Without you, I wouldn’t have become so strong. I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough.”

I pressed my hands against her wound and pushed in all the power I could. The darkness slowed to a crawl and then began to reseed. Violet gasped while my power worked against the darkness. But, as the egg vanished and the sunlight shown through, there was a problem.


System Rebooting…


“No system, don’t do this to me.”


System Rebooting 1%


In an instant, Rot’s Curse flashed, and the power I had just gained fell like a stone. Rot’s Curse was the first thing to come back online. Even as I fought the darkness and pushed with all my might and the ink from Violet’s wound flowed out, I knew I would lose. The darkness was still creeping back, but my power wouldn’t last.


System Rebooting 20%
-10HP
HP 80


Blood poured from my nose as I struggled to pull more power out of my body. What had once felt inexhaustible had quickly found its limit. Yet, I was so close, just a little more, and she would be saved.


System Rebooting 50%
-25HP
HP 55


The march of darkness was at a standstill with my power. I was holding it just around the wound; all I needed was a little more time, and I could save her.

“Help,” I yelled with all my might.

“Let me go; you’ll kill yourself.”

“Then we’ll both die; that’s better than failing you.”


System Rebooting 75%
-40HP
HP 15


The darkness pulled ahead and spread slowly through her body, retaking lost territory. Violet pushed me away, and I fell on my ass. She looked at me, and one of her blue eyes had turned yellow. The other had turned green with yellow invading it. I stared up at Violet as her wound closed. She walked over and picked up her sword as I gazed at her from the ground.

“This is the last time I will be able to say this. I love you, big brother, and I’m glad I protected you. No matter what I say in the future, remember that.” Violet said. “Dark Barrier,” The same shield the other antiform used appeared around me. “This should protect you from any monsters until father finds you. So, sleep,” Violet said, and I lost consciousness.

That day wasn’t over, and already I had lost my sister. I didn’t know then that I was set to lose even more.

 

Failure had never tasted so bitter. Even when I was stronger, I had been weak, and my sister was gone because of me. She was turned into an antiform, and I almost saved her. Even if the curse was what took my power, I could have done more. I could have done it if I had focused on my skills and improved qi control. This was all my fault; I should have worked harder.

I tried to lift my hand, only for pain to lance up my arm. The sun still shined through my window, and I could almost imagine it was all a dream. Maybe I had overworked myself the night before and had a nightmare. How else could I explain my being useful? I mentally shook my head.

My body was screaming, and I couldn’t move. That hadn’t happened since my father taught me strength conditioning.

Somehow father found me and took me home. That was the only thing that made sense. My door opened, and the man himself stepped inside. All I could see was his handsome and youthful face. I failed to inherit his heroic chin or strong jawline. The only thing I could claim from him was our shared brow and brown hair. Though Violet’s shared our father’s manageable hair.

Father’s words didn’t match his shaking shoulders. “Son, you fought remarkably well for your first time against the antiforms. Traces of your power still linger in the forest, and thanks to you, much of our livestock survived. You did well; if not for you, your sister would have fallen sooner, and I would have died.” Father said.

Stamina 112%
Debuff: Physical Exhaustion
+3VIT
VIT 12
+5STR
STR 25
+5AGL
AGL 17
Qi Control lvl15

I made more gains in a single fight than in years of farming. But the only time I could fight was against antiforms. My curse wouldn’t allow me to do anything more. Heroes were the only people who sought out the antiforms to fight. Even if I wanted to go after them, my father wouldn’t let me.

“You’re not fit to be a hero; you should remain a farmer. Life will be difficult without your sister, but I’m sure with time, you can manage. Suzie’s brothers have mostly left their father’s farm to seek their fortunes elsewhere, and if you marry her, you can combine the land. With time your intelligence will increase, and so will your influence.” Father said.

“Suzie doesn’t like me, and I don’t want to be a farmer. I want to be strong like you.”

My father sighed and sat on the floor. “I always knew this would happen, but I thought it was a sign when your ability to grow things manifested. Son, I’ve fought against antiforms, demons, and foreign powers for most of my life. The kingdom of Tudor treated me more like a branch of government than a person. Whenever it was time for me to retire and enjoy the riches I earned, there was always another catastrophe or some forgotten tomb opened. I missed my sister’s wedding, my father’s last years, and your birth. I finally left after you were born with talent suited for a quiet life. You weren’t like your mother or me. I took it as a sign. Then Violet was born, and the antiforms attacked. I was out in the field without my weapons, and your mother ran out to deliver them. I saw your mother again today. It’s been years.”

I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t listen to me. “Why did you tell me she died in childbirth?”

“Sometimes it's easier to lie than to let my son know his mother died because of him. The antiforms will hunt you until you die; you are cursed by one of the four gods. Violet has been turned into one of those things because of you.” My father sighed as I shook.” Is that what you wanted to hear, son?”

“No, I wanted you to train me so we can take revenge on them.”

The hero who lost his wife and daughter shook his head. “I won’t use my son as a tool or bait for revenge. You are too old to become a hero. And no number of items will help you reach my level. The only way to break the curse on you would be to find Rot’s reincarnation and kill them. Unfortunately, that’s impossible for you.”

My father looked empty of all hope. “I’m going to go get a drink and try to get some sleep.” He walked out, and I heard the clinking of his armored boots.

I closed my eyes and the day's events played over repeatedly. All the hours I wasted trying to gain a single STR had been a waste. If I had focused on my skills, things could have been different. Qi control had to be mastered if I wanted to defeat the antiforms. Father was right; I couldn’t beat them unless I mastered my power. The antiform that poisoned Violet claimed to have been built to defeat me. If that was the case, I needed to prepare countermeasures of my own. Maybe I could get more familiars.

From what I read of the familiar book, I could get up to 6 familiars. 1 in the beginning, then 1 for every 20 familiar bond levels. Every familiar I gained would rapidly increase my points. From what I could tell familiar bond could be increased by spending time with my familiar. There was also a familiar bond skill tree. Most people didn’t bother with it until they reached a point where they couldn’t get much more exp. One part of that skill tree was familiar care which greatly increased a familiar’s stat gains. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to unlock the skill.

Hours flew by as I heard movement in the house and then nothing. For hours more, I waited as my stamina gauge slowly ticked down. The inferno of power that was my father spent time in our stables before leaving.

The words left me before I could bite them back. “Wait, don’t go.”

For a moment, he stopped; maybe he heard me and looked back. I couldn’t say for sure. He left on horseback instead of on foot, and I didn’t think he would ever return.

The stamina gauge was slow to go down even with my increased STR and VIT. I was left bedridden the whole night as the monsters in the forest invaded our farm. Few of the powerful dogs remained to stop the goblins.

Morning came the next day, and I slowly rolled out of bed. I thought about doing pushups, but they wouldn’t do much for me. Instead, I needed to make my familiar strong and wait for the antiform to return. Next time, I would be prepared.

After going downstairs, I saw that the house was a wreck. Talismans and accessories were ripped off the walls our out of closets. Each were items that could have been sold for multiple fortunes. It was fine; they belonged to father anyway. Most of the pantry was emptied, so I ate a bite of toast and made my way outside. Most of our fruit trees were picked clean, and my pill recipe book was gone. That was fine. I knew the stat reactions to most ingredients well enough. Few of the rare ingredients remained, but that wouldn’t slow down my progress. I had water, dirt, and my power; what else did I need to grow anything I wanted.

The fruit trees would bear fruit again; beavers had managed to sneak onto the property and were already hard at work damning up the pond. The underground spring still poured water onto the farm at an alarming rate while the beavers worked. I searched for some ingredients to make pills even as I felt Slim’s presence change.

I approached the slaughter barn where the old goat had formed a chrysalis around himself. Slim was undergoing a change, and it would take at least a day to facilitate his rank up. I could stop the transformation and kill the goat if I acted now. That would give me more than enough exp to level up. While the temptation was there, it wasn’t powerful. Slim was worth more to me than a few levels. If he managed to rank up, he would be the strongest creature on the farm. That might deter some goblins in the forest from stealing from us.

My chores continued as the dogs ran up to me and rolled over, showing off their bellies. I clapped my hands, and they got up and let me pet their heads. Then I fed them a mix of chicken and goat and suddenly I had a problem. Their food supply wouldn’t last long. Bobby was gone, and we needed another donkey or several to keep the farm safe. Also, I hadn’t checked the money I had saved or if my father had cleaned out the accounts in the city.

Maybe I could try hunting in the forest. There were deer in there, and I had some dogs more than capable of hunting them down. I counted a little under 10-second rank dogs on the farm. We had another 20 high first rank and plenty of puppies. Normally we would sell the extra pups to other farmers, but I didn’t have the contacts my father did.

Kara needed time to grow older, and I needed to master all the cultivations skill tree skills. Qi control was a must, but I needed to finish potion and dig into pill making. Giving potions to the animals, I would rely on would help a lot.

I saw a rider some distance away. Depending on the seamstress, they were flying Baron Charles’ Rooster or hawk. They were about four hours ride from here; there were other farms if this was their destination, but they were a day down the road.

After feeding the dogs, I fed the goats and pigs while making plans to hunt in the forest with the dogs. But, of course, that wasn’t something my father would do. Instead, he would snatch up the deer himself or have Violet do it; I shook my head, refusing to think about it.

I made some successful potions and added them to the dogs’ food. They seemed to get a kick out of that and fed upon their meals even more hungrily. After that, I made a mental note to purchase a large cast-iron pot from the witch’s while I went to town.

My connections to the animals started to grow stronger, or I finally became aware of them. Whenever I thought an animal should do something, one came to do it. It was in the power that they consumed.

I went to the stables to see several horses without their owners. Yesterday when the anti-egg formed, many of Macduff’s party charged into the forest. None but father and I made it out. Or if they were still alive, they were hiding somewhere. Each horse was branded with the count’s sign, and I couldn’t use them. Even plowing the field with them would be risky. So father left me with an unbroken yearling.

She was much stronger than me without even trying. Mary was a Noma horse bought from a local breeding farm shortly after weening, and our connection was weak because of it. There wasn’t a prompt to make her my familiar, which meant not even three of my stats were higher than hers. There was a familiar qualifications skill in the familiar bond skill tree that lowered the requirements to make a familiar bond, but I didn’t have it yet. I needed time to develop, and she was my only hope of getting to town quickly. Not only did I need to break her, but I needed to then increase her strength enough to pull a packed wagon alone

Of course, being unbroken wasn’t the same as being my enemy. So I filled her trough up with oats and poured a potion on top of it to give her a stat boost. Most of it was meant to boost her intelligence, but I had plenty of STR-boosting roots in it. She happily ate while I brushed her coat and slyly did a trick. I grabbed a rope and laid it across her back while brushing her.

The second the rope touched her back, she jumped and kicked her hooves out, shattering a board on her wall. Mary continued eating and didn’t even look at me. I went to the woodshed while she was eating, grabbed a replacement, and returned to see her zooming around the stables. Finally, Mary came to a stop and pranced up to me.

She glared at the rope in my hand, and her ears dropped. I knew what was coming. “Help,” I said and froze. No one was here to help me. The dogs were outside so they wouldn’t scare the horses, and Kara was a kid. I knew a single blow from Mary would kill me, but I couldn’t back down. I had to show that I was in charge. My instincts told me to run.

Just the day before, this wouldn’t have been a problem; I was strong enough to beat back almost anything. That power wouldn’t do a damn thing for me, but maybe I could use it. When I had that power last night, I felt confident and in control, like nothing could stop me. Maybe what I needed was that courage here.
I took a step forward, then another slowly but deliberately. Mary stomped her hooves, and I thought she could charge me at any second. My body was frail compared to hers, but that didn’t mean she was in charge. I had to show her that this was my farm, and she wasn’t going to do as she pleased. Even if I wanted to leave while I was here, I was in charge. I patted her shoulder, and the little yearling whinnied like it was all just a fun game. With her level of intelligence, it might have been.

While I kept a hand on her, I moved over to her side with the rope. She let me put it on her and didn’t kick. I left it there and took a step back. “If you leave it there while I replace the board, I’ll give you another treat,” I said, unaware if she could understand me, but she left the rope on.

Potion Craft lvl65
+1INT
INT 10

All morning it seemed like the only thing I did was make potions. Before, I only made potions off and on when I felt like it. Father and Violet got most or asked for them to feed some of the animals. Now that I needed the dogs to defend the farm, I wasn’t so greedy with them. While I had the ingredients, I would use as many as possible. I couldn’t replace Fred, but many of Fred’s pups were still around. His red fur was easy to spot. Mary would take some time to break, but we have made progress already. Now I needed to check up on my familiar.

“You’re sad.”
While her voice in my head was a little distracting, she had managed to quiet it down and gain some agency. That was rather scary. Goats weren’t normally like that. I wondered what was going on in her head or where she got the information. Did she read my mind all the time?”

I poured her smoothy into a bottle with some goat’s milk. She needed to be much stronger even than the others. I was weaker than I had ever been before. The beavers still hadn’t gotten the water under control, the goblins had clearly carried off a few goats and piglets, and we had an unknown visitor on their way.

Kara’s mental voice changed a little. “I’m sorry.” This time the words sounded without the vibrating effect.

I rubbed her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just weak.” I said

It shook its head, letting its black ears flop. “No,” The little goat said.

“Well, that’s not how I feel right now.” She turned her head to the side. “Was that too many words?”

“No, your strong.” She said.

“If we fought, you could easily overpower me,” I said.

“Wrong strength,” Kara said. She looked up at me wither her horizontal bar eyes. I could sense more of my power in her than most.

Familiar Bond lvl4
+1WIS
WIS 9

This farm was my power base, and there was a massive vacuum right now. But while I was here, it could be filled. Maybe it wouldn’t be filled as well, but it was possible. Two of the horses in the stables were stallions, one was a gelding, and the other two were mares. Not counting Mary, that gave me to potential to breed and sell horses. I could buy more horses and start breeding.

The next farm over was normally a day’s ride, and our property line was most of that day. My intelligence had increased again, and I could feel my influence spread even further. With more wisdom, my influence would spread faster. If I continued making potions, my intelligence stat would increase. I could raise my wisdom by making good decisions.

But then what would I do about the antiforms. How long did I have until they attacked again? Then there was the root of the problem. If I killed Rot's incarnation, I would be free of his curse.

With those thoughts, a seed of hope planted itself in my heart. Once I gained back my power and combined it with the system, maybe I could save my sister. No one had ever restored an antiform’s humanity, but I nearly beat it back before. With my full power, there had to be a way; if not, then what was power like that for.

I left Kara to nurse with those thoughts while I walked inside. Toads hopped around snatching up flies while fish snatched them up in turn. Massive bugs buzzed around only to be hunted down by larger animals. I had barely added another point to my intelligence stat, and already I saw green sprouts spread out around the property. New sprouts covered the outskirts of the forest as I made my way back to the potion-making shed.