Chapter 17: Chapter 17.0 – First Job

Damon Asmodeus LVL. 13 (300/4420)

Charisma	Intelligence	Perception	Agility	Endurance	Strength	Mana
15	42 (+2)	30 (+1)	28 (+1)	17	18	123 (+6)

 

• All humanoid language acquisitions
• Arithmetic’s Lvl.6/7
• Black magic Lvl.3/10 (+1)
• Dark magic Lvl.3/10 (+1)
• Dark spirit communication Lvl.3/10 (+1)
• Detect diseases and viruses through smell Lvl.3/5
• Earth magic Lvl.3/5 (+1)
• Improved memory Lvl.3/5
• Medium disease tolerance
• Night vision
• Telepathy Lvl.3/10

“You want me to work as an assistant alchemist?”

Stolas nodded. “I’ll also give you a list of ingredients to go pick up on the way so you can hunt a bit. The alchemist you’ll be working for is also part of the sect, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Where will you send me?”

“It’s the capital of a viscounty. A succession crisis seems to be brewing. As such our services are required.”

“Is the Viscount already dead?” asked Damon.

“Not yet. But he should die soon enough.”

“How many sons are vying for the title?”

“Three, for now, but that’s always a variable. You’ll get more information there.” Stolas pulled out a cloth. “Inside you will find a new demonic item. Open it.”

Damon held it in both hands and unwrapped it with great anticipation.

“It’s intricate,” said Damon as he examined the ring. The ring was divided into three bands. The ones on the extremities were silver and in the middle tiny sapphires and emeralds were encrusted in a criss-crossed fashion. Damon placed the ring on his left hand’s middle finger next to the simple gold ring. A black chameleon appeared and stuck out his tongue onto Damon’s hand. The same warm feeling engulfed him. He instinctively understood the dark spirit’s power.

“Shape-shifting.”

“Well, it’s not that powerful. It’s still mainly aesthetic. However, if you keep it up you might be able to change your race in the future. With this spirit you can change your bone structure a bit but not enough to change your race. But you can change your skin colour easily enough. You won’t be able to change your appearance to that of a Norse or Minotaur, but you can easily turn into any of the different elf clans. Try turning into a sun elf.”

            

Damon did as recommended. His skin started to lighten in tone. His ears became slightly less pointed, and his hair changed from a purplish black to a golden yellow. Since the body proportions of dark elves and sun elves were identical, nothing else needed change.

Next Stolas handed Damon a new sword. He took it out of its leather scabbard and saw engravings.

“Unlike your other sword this one is made of steel and has a sharpness and durability enchantment. I could give you a better weapon, but it’d be wasted.”

Damon also received a replacement shield which wasn’t any different from his old one and a new set of leather armour. He’d have to keep his chain mail here since an alchemist with that kind of protection would draw some eyes.

Outside, a large leather bag at least half Damon’s height waited for him. On the bottom and the back of the bag, small wooden planks acted as supports. Inside Damon found camping equipment, an extra sword, shield, and dried food.

“Here’s the map,” said Stolas. “We are on the bottom middle of the map, to reach your destination you need to head straight for two hundred kilometres. I’ve marked the spots where you can find the material you need to collect. You should get there in a month if nothing goes wrong, but since that never happens in life, I’ve told the alchemist that you’d arrive in two months. I’ve also given you some material such as monster incense and recovery potions. Try your best not to make any sudden movements when carrying the bag or else you’ll end up like monster bait.”

Damon nodded, opened the map, and took a cursory glance. He could see large pictograms of monsters, caverns, and rivers. Next to them were marked crucial information such as the rank of nearby beasts, how to avoid them, their magical attribute, and the body parts to harvest. This was a valuable item, especially in a medieval world where maps could be considered military intelligence. Damon thanked the owl and followed the route marked on the map.

#

First Damon needed to get an orc’s cerebellum, and the eyes of four female orcs.

This first hunt greatly interested him since he’d never seen orcs. They lived in small villages which didn’t number more than fifteen souls near water basins. Orcs often fought for dominance inside their villages. The losers would leave to create their own villages. As such they were a scourge for small villages, but easy prey for adventurers.

When the first night came, he realized that the hardest part would be camping out at night. Although he knew how to make a fire and set up a tent, he couldn’t keep watch and sleep at the same time. Since there weren’t any beasts which could climb trees in the surroundings except for bears, he decided to sleep on a branch for the night. However, he’d need to find a solution for the next night.

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The next morning Damon set off with a sore back. He headed northeast towards the same rocky mountain range where he’d find an orc village. On the way there, Damon found a small region dense in trees. He interconnected the trees with earth walls and made a roof out of branches and leaves. He flattened the ground and set up his sleeping bag. With this he had a makeshift house.

He continued doing so for next four days, he then saw a small settlement near a small mountain. Just as he dealt with the trolls, he went up the side of the mountain and dropped off his bag. When night came Damon cast his greater shadow meld spell. His skin became nearly pitch black under the moonless sky, even to him, who could see at night. He used shadow agility to move with ease through the dense forest floor and reach the orc village. It had five large huts and a storehouse. Since orcs were monogamous, and had familial social structures, it was safe to assume that there were five males and females in the village. As soon as an orc could fight, he would either leave or build his own house so there wasn’t much room for variables.

Damon climbed down the tree he used to scout and went around the surrounding area in search of any orcish scouts. Surprisingly, he found none. This raised an alarm in his head. There weren’t any beasts without the reflex to set up enemy detection method, and in the case of orcs, they used patrol units. But it might also be the case that the orcs were the apex predators in this region.

He decided to search a bit further out. Since his mana had doubled in the past year and a half and the costs of his spells hadn’t increased. He could keep up his greater shadow meld skill for a nearly indefinite amount of time. However, in a battle situation his mana would swiftly be depleted. He figured that dark mage spells were meant to be permanently kept active, perhaps for long infiltration or tailing missions.

A bit further out he discovered that his caution was warranted. About a kilometre away from the orc village, he found a camp. He saw a campfire, tents, heard voices and the clatter of. Adventurers must have come for the orcs.

Damon felt the urge to go and quickly wipe out the orcs before the adventurers got to them before him, but he didn’t have magic powerful enough to accomplish that. He decided head back to camp and think up a plan.

The next morning, Damon went back to the area where the adventurers had set up their camp and carefully followed them all the way to the orc village.

The adventurers strolled with confidence towards the village. They were either very strong or very arrogant. Since they hadn’t noticed him, he guessed the latter.

Damon contacted Stolas, “Stolas, I’ve found the orc village, but there’s a group of four adventurers heading there as well. I can’t identify their strength nor their intent. Do you know of any another nearby village?”

Stolas took a second to reply, “I’ve talked to the alchemist in the city. Apparently, the conflict is progressing faster than expected. The second son hired a black mage the other week. He probably wants the same material as us. We can’t let that happen. Stop them at all costs. Well, not at the cost of your life, but if you accomplish this, I’ll give you a reward. Orcs are classified as rank three beasts so the adventures shouldn’t be stronger than you. I trust you can accomplish this.”

Damon reflexively nodded, “Yes.” He’d never heard Stolas as serious, say for that time he wanted to kill him. As such he’d try his best to accomplish his mission. This was to help a fellow alchemist of the sect after all. If he wanted to survive, they’d need to stick close together. If the noble, they supported did not come out victorious nothing good would come of it.

With the confirmation he needed, Damon climbed up the tallest tree near the settlement.

            

The next morning, when the sun shone, and humans could see the orcs were lined up at the village entrance. The disappearance of their scouts must have alerted them to the danger. The female orcs weren’t anywhere in sight. They were probably hiding inside their huts. If the adventures were mages this is when they would pummel, burn, and raze the village to the ground with spells. Damon sighed in relief knowing he didn’t have to deal with such threats.

             Three of them seemed to be regular warriors, and one had a bow and quiver. The warriors charged into the orc village.

When the orcs engaged the warriors, the archer started pelting the orcs with iron arrows which slowed them down and gave the edge to the humans.

Damon decided to act before the warriors took overwhelmed the orcs. He used his greater shadow meld, lessen reflection with double the required mana, and shadow agility to run towards the archer. He didn’t dare use his earth magic in fear it would alert his compatriots. Damon reached the archer without notice and slit his throat.

Damon poured some monster incense on the archer’s body and climbed the tall trees. Before the monsters could arrive, Damon switched his attention to the three warriors. Thankfully due to the orcs relentless attacks they hadn’t realized the lack of support from their backline.

The female orcs had also made their appearance since the males couldn’t handle the adventurers. In total two of the four male orcs had perished, and five female orcs had entered the fray. The adventurers noticed something was off since the archer would normally switch his shots to the female orcs and keep them occupied long enough for them to finish of the males. As such, one of them checked behind him and found a half-devoured corpse. Wolfs, bears, and many fist-sized wasps gathered around the body. The bear munched a leg, the wolves had their muzzles plunged in the man’s stomach, and the wasps’ carried chunks of flesh back to their nest. When nothing but an arm remained, the beasts started to fight amongst themselves. The beasts who lost ran towards the adventurers.

At this time the adventurers had killed all the male orcs. The females were slightly smaller; however, they still posed a great threat, and now with a small pack of wolves on their heels they decided to retreat. However, before doing so a wolf bit one of the adventurers’ ankles. The swordsmen promptly dispatched the wolf with a well-placed thrust to the neck.

Damon hadn’t yet tested his shadow restraint. He didn’t dare use it on all the adventurers in fright they might escape, put two and two together, and report the incident. As such, he only cast the spell on the slowest adventurer, who had been bitten by the wolf.

A black tendril extended from the tip of Damon’s shadow. When it passed through shade it moved near instantaneously. However, it went at a snail’s pace through light. Thankfully, trees and their shadows were abundant.

#

The injured adventurer ran with a limp. Thankfully the wolves hadn’t chased them down; however, a female orc was on their tails. But, if they crossed the nearby river, they should be able to slow her down enough to break her charge and dispatch her. However, fifty metres from the river, something sapped his strength. He couldn’t run, but only jog. The man turned around in horror and saw the green blob of fat charge his position. He tried to increase his speed; however, he started to slow down once again. He was fucked. The man turned around brandished his sword. His sweat dripped into his eyes and blurred his vision. He suppressed the burning sensation from the salt. The orc couldn’t be further than ten metres away. He heard her cries, and he swung his sword. His vision and he himself disappeared.

#

“I’ve dealt with them, although two of them ran away, but they shouldn’t know that someone used a monster incense.”

“That’s good, now take the material and head to the second destination.”

The wolves didn’t attack the orcs. They minded their business and dragged away the adventurer’s corpses. The bear had long disappeared, and the wasps were busy at work in their nest. Damon decided to wait till night before he attacked the village. He didn’t know if the dead orcs would attract more beasts. Better safe than sorry after all.

Night fell, but before he left to attack the village, he tried to spot any stray animals in the surroundings. He found nothing. Damon snuck into the village without problems and entered the first house. The female orc seemed to be gathering items. Perhaps they were going to leave. He activated shadow agility, jumped and to cut off the orcs head to prevent her from making noise.

However, a second later he heard a cry.

Fuck, where is it coming from? Damon identified the sound and plunged the sword in the direction of the noise. Fuck, I never thought of that they’d have children. Damon turned around as soon as possible.

When he exited the house, he saw four female orcs with red in their eyes. Damon’s hands trembled a bit, and the next instant a fist sent him flying back into the hut. His hand felt warm. He wanted to scream and run away, however; the earlier punch had snuffed out his breath.

He didn’t have a choice. He activated smog, sandstorm and ran towards the back of the hut. His heart pounded furiously. He needed to catch his breath, so climbed onto the roof of the hut. The orcs had dispersed to find him, but he saw one go back inside the hut. He used his sword to cut open the straw roof. When a big enough groove opened, he fell and landed with his sword into the orc’s spine.

She twitched and fell over on her side. The orcs seemed to have a keen sense of hearing as they were already back at the hut’s entrance. This time they even formed a semi circle around the entrance. Damon stayed inside the hut and waited for them to make the first move. When one of them got tired of waiting, she charged in. Before she managed to cross into the house an earth spike impaled her. While the two remaining orcs let out a massive shout, Damon climbed out the hut through the previously opened hole in the roof. He shot a rock spear at their heads. This didn’t kill them. However, it distracted them long enough for him to jump over them without receiving a club to the groin. When he landed two metres behind them, he created another rock spear and impaled the closest orc and stabbed his sword into the other orc’s spin. She fell to the ground gasping for breaths. He pierced her neck to end her suffering.

He felt the rush once again. However, this time it was something other than fun, perhaps fright, perhaps guilt. But when had he faced such a precarious situation? A year or more? The sect seemed too comfortable. He also just realized the fact that beasts also had children. How had that passed right above his head for so long. When he killed those goblins with Emilia where were those screams. Where were the old and the frail? For the first time since his transmigration, this world felt a bit realer.

Damon went back up to his camp on the mountain side. He took his bag and entered the village once again. With his dissection tools, he harvested the required materials. This took him until early in the morning to finish. He placed the eyes and cerebellum in separate containers filled with preserving agents and packed his stuff.

He couldn’t stay in such a bloody place any longer. Although the nearby beasts had their fill yesterday it didn’t stop others from coming. He soon heard shrill noises. He didn’t know from where, or from which beast, but he heard them and they grinded against his skull. Damon ran away, then he remembered he hadn’t slept in a day, and it all made sense. He’d have to get a good night’s sleep when he found a more secure location.

            

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