Aaauggh I feel like shit. What the fuck happened? I stormed the castle with my forces and then there were the elites. I defeated them and confront the king having Lucius and Malcolm torture him... Oh wait, I got cucked by the stupid amulet. Wait am I really dead? I reach for my face and slap it. Hmm still bony as usual and I can still feel myself. I try to conjure a flame as wherever I'm at right now is extremely dark, I can barely see the floor 3 feet ahead of me. *fwoosh* I was relieved to find that I can still use my magic and all my stuffs seem the same inside the ring. What am I missing? I suddenly heard shuffling behind me and immediately activate the runic sword. Shining the flame over where I heard the noise I only see Sergei standing there... WAIT SERGEI? But how? I thought the amulet only affects the user's killer. Hold on, the amulet attacks the soul... and Sergei is a soul-bound familiar, must have gotten dragged along with me to this place.
I find myself in a large cavern with only one visible passage leading up. Even when i use true sight, i didn't see any anything out of the ordinary, no monsters or hidden passage. I really expected a dungeon in an ominous place like this or some threats at least considering this is where i end up when i supposedly died. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry so i cautiously follow the passage with Sergei, both our weapons drawn. The tunnel continues for a couple of minutes before i see... white light? The exit of the cave looks real suspicious and why is it so bright in the underworld? Peeking my head outside what greeted my eyes weren't anything like what i have expected. Instead of a barren wasteland/inferno or tortured souls screaming out in agony, there's only a lush forest filled birds chirping. This doesn't look like purgatory, heaven or hell... Did i really die? Sergei and i jump down the cave and land on the completely normal soil, the trees aren't any different from normal ones either. I know something is wrong, there's no sign of mana in the area. No matter what it is, all living things emit a small amount of mana though sometimes it's hard to notice by the tiny size, with my true sight and magic comprehension this forest should have mana in it yet i don't see any. . Which only means one thing that i could possibly think of. The amulet didn't kill me, it only sent me to yet another world. Well i'm glad not that i'm not dead but that bes the question, what reality or universe am i in, is this even Earth? I guess i can only know after i scout the area.
About 3 hours later, i have concluded that this is still Earth although i have no idea where exactly. The wildlife and vegetations are all normal except that all of the animals completely ignore my presence. Do they not see me or do they not see me as a threat? Either way, i made myself and Sergei cloaks made of shadows enchanted so that the cloaks will conceal out identity. It would be disastrous if undead doesn't exist in this version of Earth and people would brand me as the devil when they see me... Do humans even exist in this place? Using true sight, i look further this time to see if i could find any human souls around, so far there has only been deer, birds or bears. Still no luck but just as i was about to stop, i spot a lone human soul in the distance. But what's more is that closer examination shows there's black smoke coming from the direction of the soul. And this soul isn't normal either, it's way more dim than the normal ones and seems to be flickering out. Whoever this is, they're dying and they're dying FAST! Wasting no more time, me and Sergei dashes full speed at the area. The closer we get, the more smoke i could see and the smell of burning flesh lingers in the air. On the edge of the area the soul is in, flames were eating away at the forests and there's a clear trail of destroyed trees leading further into the flame. I conjure a large wave of water and a small snowstorm to extinguish the forest fire before once again looking for the soul.
Finally arriving at the site that is a clearing with boulders surrounding the edges, i found something i never thought i would see again. It was a plane! But this plane has crashed with only part of the body in the clearing and i could see charred bodies strewn across the grounds with luggage thrown everywhere. Focusing once more, i pinpoint the location of the dying soul and see that it's still trapped inside the wreckage of the plane. Tearing the still burning shell of the plane out, i finally catch sight of the dying soul. It was a young blonde woman whose hair is now red from her own blood wearing a green sundress with roses on it. The impact has caused her to hit her head violently on the seat in front leaving a rather large cut on the side of her face. Unfortunately, her chest was pierced by a large metal that rod that goes through the chair she is sitting in. This looks real bad and i can barely feel any pulse from her, she has long since passed out from blood loss. I had Sergei continuously cast healing spells on her as i slowly begin to remove the rod. *splish* a river of blood pours out the wound when the rod was removed but it was quickly halted when i combine both my healing and Sergei's to seal it back up. Looks like she's stable for now, we carefully move her from the seat and lay her on the grass outside before beginning to heal her again. With the help of magic, the process only took 8 minutes before she is fully healed. With that crisis over, Sergei carries her on his back as we search for a place to stay overnight. Luckily, there is a small cavern next to a pond nearby that looks perfect for shelter. Channeling earth magic, i start to grow various vegetables and fruits to cook, mostly for the woman but for me as well, i like the feeling of eating food even if it doesn't matter to me. Sergei didn't spend this time sitting around either, he went hunting and came back with 2 small rabbits the moment i finish growing the plants. With such simple ingredients i could only make a simple meal of shashlik with potato salad. The aroma from my cooking apparently woke the woman up. She groans and slowly sits up before looking around.
Woman: ooh...ahh... Where... am i?
Her eyes are hazy and unfocused as she looks around in a state of delirium before she spots me and Sergei sitting by the shashlik still wearing our cloaks. It takes a moment f the scene to register in her head before she yelps in surprise falling back down. Crawling away to hug the wall while constantly shaking, she fearfully speaks up.
Woman: W-who are you? wh-where am i?
Me: Oh, i'm Yosif and that's Sergei over there, he doesn't talk much. As for where you are, i can't really tell, all i know is that we're in a cave deep in the woods.
Woman: What happened to me, why do i feel so exhausted?
Me: Well uh, what's your name miss?
Woman: It's Lizzie Mayfield
Me: Well Lizzie, i don't know how to break this to you but you were in a plane crash.
Lizzie eyes widen and she clutches her head in pain at the mention of the crash. She remembered that she was reading a magazine when the pilot suddenly announced that they were experiencing bad weather. She tightens her seat belt but paid it no more mind... until lightning abruptly hits the wings of the plane. Everything turned into chaos as the plane was caught in the middle of a thunder storm that appeared out of nowhere, the wings were on fire and the windows cracked from the pressure outside. Next thing she knew, the entire plane got cut off like someone forcefully ripped it apart by force. She blacked out afterwards and woke up to cold blood running down her head with a metal pole stuck through her torso. Everybody else were dead and she is the only left, pinned there to die. She unconsciously reaches for her face and feels her chest only to see that she were completely without even a scar. Panic takes over as she looks at the two mysterious cloaked people. Are they ghosts here to take me away, have i died in the crash?
Me: What's with that look? Don't be so tense about it, we already fixed most of your injuries, you're just tired from a long day.
Lizzie: Wait i'm... alive?
Me: why wouldn't you be?
Lizzie: B-but i saw myself dying how am i still here?
Me: We saved you, duh. Before you ask how, let's just say it's trade secrets. It's nightfall already, aren't you feeling hungry?
As if my timing was planned, the moment i finished the sentence, Lizzie's stomach growls fiercely demanding food. She blushes madly and sheepishly looks at the meal i made with hesitation. I let her eat as much as i like while all i have as 2 sticks of shashlik. Seeing Lizzie eating the meal with such passion it gave me an idea. I've already done a lot of crazy shit lately, why not open a restaurant and settle down for a bit? *thump* During my musings, Lizzie has already finished her meal and falls asleep on the spot. She shivers every time a draft of cold wind passes by so i gave her a blanket made of leaves. It's better than nothing after all. Seeing nothing left to do and that I have to stay awake to look out for wild animals, i call Sergei over to practice magic until dawn. Sure it may be boring to cast the same thing over and over again but every time i cast it, i seem to develop new ideas on how to use them. Now using earth magic, i can perfectly make my own terracotta warriors and with lightning magic i can accelerate myself up 10 times my normal speed. Sergei has significantly increased his healing skills, the grass green glow of the healing spells is now a dark shade of jade. Time passes by quickly and before i know it, morning has arrived.
Lizzie wakes up under the warmth of sunlight shining on her and yawns somewhat alike to a kitten before stretching.
Me: sleep well last night?
Lizzie: Yea, that was the sleep i have had in weeks!
Me: now that it's daytime why don't we look around for civilization? I'm sure your family is worried sick about you.
Lizzie: *gasps* YOU'RE RIGHT! Oh Lauren would not eat or sleep if something wrong happens to me, i have to hurry back.
Me: Is she your sister?
Lizzie: Yup, she has been taking care of me since forever though nowadays we rarely see each other. She's a researcher and most of the time she has business to attend to, only visiting me on holidays instead of everyday like before.
Me: Well what are we waiting for, let's go.
The three of us wander through the forest for a few hours. *ahem* let me reiterate that. We all make our way through the forest with me and Sergei giving Lizzie piggyback rides constantly, she can't walk for 5 miles without taking a break so me and Sergei ended up taking turns carrying her so we can move faster. Fortune smiles upon us as we soon see a road with a sign pointing north saying "Wyoming, 15km". Huh, so we're in America, not the best place to be but also not the worst. If i remember correctly, this is also the least populated state, perfect for living a quiet life. About 6km from the sign we see a gas station and go in there so Lizzie can make a call to her sister. While that is happening, i was thinking of the ideal location to build my diner from scratch, i can already feel the pleasant retirement days. Little did i know, me saving Lizzie has attracted the attention of a certain organization.
Total inventory:
Ascended Wraith set
Enchanted runic sword
Diadem of supreme arcane might
Crystal of decay
Greater ironskin potion
76 copper 53 silver 39414 gold
Current familiars:
- Sergei the Skeleton Paladin