Chapter 13: Chapter 13 – The Raid

“That went well!” Leo chimed obliviously.

“They’re going to attack us within the week.” Theseus stated the truth to the naïve Leo.

“Really? I thought they were so agreeable?”

“Of course, they are, we attacked them, and they don’t know how strong we are. They are going to raid Oceanus, and we will defend it.”

“Ahh I see!” Leo was enlightened.

Making their way back to the village, Gemini waited at the entrance, attempting to use Spirit Cultivation. Unsurprisingly, Gemini made no progress.

“When I get time, I should teach him real beginner’s skills…” Theseus thought.

Theseus felt bad, but Gemini would be preoccupied while he delt with these annoying bandits. Spirit Cultivation was a technique that would be difficult if not impossible to learn without prior aura experience.

“Welcome back master!” Gemini greeted Theseus gleefully.

“Prepare the guards, the bandits will attack.” Theseus said calmly.

“What?” Gemini was shocked.

“In about a week, the bandit chief is coming to ‘negotiate terms’ with us. Basically, they are going to raid us.” Theseus explained a little further but kept walking past Gemini. He had to personally tell the Elder while Gemini spread the rumors.

“Are you sure?” The Elder exclaimed. The Elder thought Theseus’s plan was too risky.

“I haven’t told you my aura realm yet. I am at the D Rank Sage Realm, and Leo here is the S Rank Sage Realm.”

“Sage… Realm?” The Elder asked awkwardly. Theseus forgot they used different names here.

“Sigh, the Greater Spirit Realm.” Theseus corrected himself.

“Oh my gods! Incredible!” The Elder nearly burst out of his seat in shock. The S Rank Great Spirit Realm was as strong as a Suzerain Lord’s captain! How lucky were they to randomly pick up a tamer with a beast this strong?

“Don’t freak out too much Elder. Just know that even if the chief comes personally, he won’t harm anyone in the village.” Theseus tried to calm down and reassure the Elder. The Elder took deep breaths at the behest of Theseus.

“Also, what’s your name? Do you prefer Elder?” Theseus asked, trying to calm down the village leader.

“Please, call me Gerald.”

Theseus was silent. What a plain name.

“Okay Elder Gerald, I advise you to have your guards on the ready but know that you probably won’t need them.”

“Yes, esteemed sir.” Gerald, the Elder, responded. These guards were all at the F or D Rank Mortal Realm, so they were useless in the fight. Theseus wanted to involve the villagers, nonetheless.

Theseus waved and left the Elder’s house where Leo was waiting patiently outside.

“We have about a week, let’s go teach that kid a real skill.” Theseus told Leo, who jumped up and down gleefully. They were really on a new adventure!

“Alright Gemini, I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have tried teaching you an advanced technique right off the bat. Before you can draw aura from your surroundings, you have to understand the aura itself.” Theseus explained the Gemini, who took out a notebook and scribbled down his words down religiously. Theseus marveled that the paper down here wasn’t smudged by the Ocean. He guessed that since the trees, ink, and pencils were grown from the ocean of souls, they could ignore the principles of the watery surroundings. Maybe if these normal, plain materials were taken to the world of the living, they might even be considered Mortal Realm Artifacts.

“First, you have to understand the natural aura within yourself. Developing your vessel’s internal and inherent aura comes from the constant use of common skills like elemental abilities or even commonplace household magic that practically anyone can use.

Scientifically, the aural gland in your body allows you to use the substance we know as aura. Aura is seen by mystics as the foundational energy in the universe while more scientifically minded people see aura as a kind of element that the aural gland allows us to manipulate from our bodies.”

“Wow, you know so much!” Gemini beamed.

“In my previous life, I was a researcher.” Theseus smiled at the kid and continued his lecture.

“We split aura use into five realms, the Mortal Realm, Sage Realm, Royalty Realm, Deity Realm, and Authority Realm. We can literally quantify aura capacity by these realms. For example, in order for you to cross the threshold between the F Rank and D Rank Mortal Realm, you need to be able to use at least 100 quantifiable aura power in your body at one time.”

“How can I tell?” Gemini asked, still furiously writing down the information.

“In the real world, we had devices and artifacts that could measure aura capacity, but here, we can tell by the skills that require a minimum threshold of aura to use since we don’t have those artifacts.” Theseus continued.

“Typically, Cultivation type magics are used to temper the body, or in the case of Spirit Cultivation, the soul. It is an intermediate to advanced skill that I shouldn’t have started you with because it requires an advanced knowledge and perception of aura.

Every person’s vessel is different, and some unfortunate people are even born without the aura gland. Aura Glands themselves can create natural aura anywhere from a 1-100 capacity. We won’t know how strong you are naturally until you start using weaker skills and train your aura gland to its maximum output.”

“Wow. I never knew I had an Aura Gland.” Gemini looked at his stomach, thinking it was there.

“For our first real lesson, I’m going to teach you and Leo the most basic fire skill, Flame.” Theseus ignited a small flame on the tip of his index finger. Theseus wanted to use this opportunity to teach Leo some lesser skills and was talking to both Leo and Gemini at the same time. 

The two students nodded, and their training continued all the way up until the bandits arrived.

***

“Wandering Tamer Theseus, come out!” A brooding bandit stood at the village gates and screamed. Behind him, at least five dozen bandits waiting with clubs and swords.

Theseus walked out nonchalantly with Leo.

“Hello, are you here to complete our deal?” Theseus asked condescendingly.

“Deal? Are you retarded? We’re here to teach you a lesson!” The bandit chief of the Scourge Bandits revved up his aura, displaying the equivalent of a C Rank Sage. To normal people including Gemini, it was impressive and scary.

“Leo, now.” Theseus spoke in the Soul Link space.

You are reading story Dungeon Rulers at novel35.com

“Skill: Hyperspeed.” Leo learned the skills Theseus taught him like a sponge. In the past, he fought purely on instinct, but now that he had skills to choose from, he fought more efficiently. Moving at absurd speeds, Leo appeared above the chief and slashed down with his talons.

In one moment, the chief’s threats scared everyone, but in the next, the leader of the Scourge Bandits lay on the ground dead. Leo appeared back next to Theseus.

“That’s it?” Leo was confused. He had secretly hoped the bandit chief would be somewhat of a challenge.

“If you want to follow in the footsteps of your chief, come and face me, if not, accept my terms.” Theseus roared imposingly.

“Monster!”

“Run!”

The bandits didn’t stay to answer Theseus’s question.

Their invincible leader was killed with one hit. There was no way they could beat Theseus.

“What happened?” Some of the villagers were confused.

“We’ve defeated the Scourge Bandit’s raid!” Theseus declared. Some celebrated, but others, were still confused.

“However,” Theseus cut off the cheering villagers. “They will be back. Once they come to terms that their leader has died, they will send their strongest fighters to avenge him. There will not be another raid. This will be an all-out battle.” Theseus said solemnly.

“What do we do esteemed sir?”

“Why did you get us in this mess?”

The crowd had differing opinions.

“For years, these bandits harassed you, and now you have a chance to break free from their chains. Leo and I are strong enough to save you. All you have to do is live your lives as normal. Actually, you must live like the bandits pose no threat at all.” Theseus told the crowd.

“I think the first order of business should be to rebuild the town. What do you think?” Theseus looked at a crumbled nearby building.

“Let’s do it!” People cheered, but some were still skeptical. Surely, Theseus had ulterior motives. Why would a secret expert like him suddenly start backing their village? Theseus ignored these doubters and started helping villagers move debris. For years, their village was in a sad state, but this could be a chance to finally be free of the Scourge Bandits!

“Looks like we have another week of peace.” Theseus remarked in passing to Gemini, who looked forward to more lessons. In less than a week, he found out that he had a pretty average physique and aura capacity. With more training and lessons, he would naturally hold around 50 Aura in his body.

In the real world, this average capacity was nothing to write home about, and Gemini would never succeed as a magician or wizard. Under Theseus’s tutelage, his plain potential didn’t really matter. After he learned the basics, the Spirit Cultivation technique would raise his aura realm above the average. Talent was a defining factor for picking apprentices in the former world, but in Hell, it was meaningless to care about a mere 50 Aura differential.

***

The next week, an army of bandits arrived outside the village, near the road. Even the territories of the nearby Suzerain Lords were concerned.

“Why are those bandits gathering?” Suzerain Lord Jezebel inquired to Suzerain Lord Virgo through a letter. Their unusual movement could put the region’s stability at risk.

“I wonder…” Lord Virgo pondered.

Meanwhile, Theseus confronted the gathering army outside the village. Ironically, the army gathered near the old home of Theseus, about a day’s travel from Oceanus.

“Leave Oceanus’s borders, accept our terms, or die.” Theseus declared over the hundreds of bandits on top of a small hill.

“Get him!”

“No mercy!”

“You’ll pay!”

The army had no intention of backing down.

“Leo, it’s time to cause a bit of a stir in the borderlands; are you ready?”

“Haha, today, we’ll crush a whole army!” Leo couldn’t hold back his battle lust. In the Phaunus Forest, he had to fight to survive, and it grew a habit of being a battle junkie over time. Being as well behaved as he had been with Theseus up until now took all Leo had.

Theseus had to be more careful than Leo however, since these Mortal and low Sage Realm bandits could still harm him. Afterimages shined throughout the army as Leo used his skills with bloodlust in his remaining left eye.

“Skill: Whirling Claws!” Leo chanted vehemently. Moving his claws side to side, Leo slashed bursts of aura through the bandits like a knife through butter. It was a messy scene, and even Theseus couldn’t help but be shocked at the beast’s merciless attacks. Killing put a strain on Theseus’s conscience, but there was no time to think anymore. He had to act.

“Skill: Speed Boost.”

“Skill: Slithering Slash.” Theseus used his snake dagger efficiently. Because his equipment had an affinity with the snake beast Leo killed, Theseus took advantage of his equipment with snake-like abilities. Theseus, an all rounder and researcher, master of none, was highly adaptable, and he could adapt his abilities to fit almost any situation. As Leo tore through the horde, Theseus stealthily cut down bandit after bandit. This sneaky style fit Theseus’s cautious nature, but his audacity to face an army alone also fit his riskier tendencies.

Hours went by, and the bandits grew fewer in number. Even Leo, who was the strongest in the area, had cuts all over his body from the battle. Theseus had long grown tired and had to rest, but Leo was cleaning up the remaining bandits.

In one day, the duo annihilated the Scourge Bandits, a group that notoriously held the power in the borderlands for years.

Theseus walked up the Leo, who was panting but had a happy look on his face.

“We did it!” Leo ran in circles, relishing in his bloodlust. He was really scary sometimes.

“Yes, we did it.” Theseus pat Leo’s back, showing his friend he did well.

“We need to get ready now.” Theseus said calmly.

“What for?” Leo asked absent mindedly. Didn’t they just defeat the bandits?

“Now, the Suzerain Lords will come.” Theseus said with a forlorn scowl.

You can find story with these keywords: Dungeon Rulers, Read Dungeon Rulers, Dungeon Rulers novel, Dungeon Rulers book, Dungeon Rulers story, Dungeon Rulers full, Dungeon Rulers Latest Chapter