Author note: I decided to do a few bonus chapters here and there to act as a intermediate chapter of sorts. The Bonus chapters go back in time and tells about Tallon's journey as he left the Luminous sect and "died" in the Death Inheritance which caused current mc to reincarnate into the current body of Tallon. Basically its pre Chapter 1.
I would like to know what you think of this as this kind of thing I am practicing to improve my overall story telling.
Enjoy!
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It had been roughly 50 years after Tallon had transmigrated into this world, and he had only been able to achieve a Rank 3 Liquid Stage Dantian, Rank 3 Solid Body and Rank 3 Mind.
It was still incredible progress for someone like him within 52 years of Cultivating but in his eyes it was nothing compared to the protagonist Noah Balvan in the future who achieved the same result when he was 30 years old and achieved Rank 4 Solid when he was 58 years old.
Tallon was currently acting as a Mercenary taking contracts from the various Guilds which he could to earn Credits so that he could further his Cultivation.
Once he became a Heroic Cultivator, at least as a Rank 4 Cultivator he could get the attention of the Nobles and higher ups of the Elbas Royal Family.
His plan was to establish himself as a "loyal" retainer for the Royal Faction so that he can build up his influence while under the protection of the Royals led by King Elbas, a Rank 6 powerhouse, as his backing.
If he can prove himself to be a capable individual in the eyes of King Elbas himself, he could be under his protection in a similar way that Ravaging Demon was for him to keep the Noble factions in check.
Tallon was minding his business as he was walking back to the Inn he was staying at having just collected the reward for killing a Rank 4 Gaseous stage Dragon of the Wind Element.
It had been difficult to get the drop on this particular type of Dragon, but Tallon's intellectual planning and Foresight allowed him to Poison the creatures which it had eaten, masking the poison's scent.
It had been as easy as that to kill the Dragon but the sheer effort it took to prepare in killing a magical beast that was two Cultivation realms (and a entire rank) higher than him was the most troublesome part of this mission.
As Tallon was walking back to the Inn, he bumped into a small girl with white hair in ragged clothing and a steel collar on her neck.
"What do you think your doing brat?!" A middle aged man behind the girl roared as he saw her actions to bump into Tallon was intentional.
Tallon evaluated the man and could feel he was much stronger than himself.
'Definitely a Rank 4, maybe he might be in the Gaseous or Liquid Stage.'
Deciding not to play a Hero he walked past the girl who had fallen to the ground after he pushed her off without a second thought to challenging a Rank 4 Cultivator.
"Wait! Please help me!" The girl cried out, but Tallon ignored her pleas, this is a world where the strong rule and the weak die. There are many slaves already, she is just another unfortunate victim.
"Don't even think about it kid." The man said, wanting to make sure Tallon didn't interfere after the girl's begging.
Oh how he would come to regret that decision.
Originally, Tallon would gave ignored the girl and the man and been on his way, but the man's slight threat had been enough to irk Tallon.
He was still emotionally immature when it came to social interactions and was prone to anger.
"Sir, how did you come by the girl?" Tallon asked with a innocent smile hiding his true intentions.
"I bought her from her parents. She's mine." The man said, knowing full well he could kill Tallon if the two fought.
"He's lying! A group of men kidnapped me from my home in the night!" The girl shouted, hoping that Tallon would believe her.
However, she saw that he looked at her slave master and then to her before he sighed and spoke the words that broke her.
"I was merely asking out of curiosity. I could care less about how you obtained her, she is your property and I've no right to interfere. Good day to you sir." Tallon said as he bowed to the man before departing, turning his back on the girl as she continued to scream out for his help.
The girl felt a shiver run down her spine as she looked back with red and tear filled eyes, at her slave master who towered above her as he grinned evil back at her.
...
A few days later, late at night after tge sun had settled, the very same girl had been brutally beaten as punishment for her defiance in trying to seek help from others to free her.
"When are you going to accept what I'm telling you? You're parents sold you off and we're paid handsomely for someone like you to be sold off as a slave." The man said as blood dripped from his fists after having beaten the girl to an inch of her life.
He had greatly held back, but because of the girl's unique body since birth, she had a stronger Physiology than most, particularly in terms of her speed and agility, therefore she was able to endure the beating of a Rank 4 Cultivator while he held back his full strength for quite some time.
"Yo-u're ly-ing, my fa-mi-ly are mid-dle class no-bles, what little gold you claimed I was sold for means noth-ing to the-m for a single person." The white haired girl had barely been able to utter out, as she still had some vitality in her.
"Really, reality can be harsh sometimes, just as you'll find out!" The man said as he raised his fist to strike her again.
The girl closed her eyes expecting the punch to come...but it didn't.
She opened her one good eye, that wasn't stolen from the beating she endured, and saw that the man was clutching his chest with both hands.
He tried to scream out in what seemed like pain, but no sound left his lips.
Soon after, many black tree-like branches sprouted outwards from within the man's body as its origin, his body rapidly lost it's vitality as it became a husk of a lifeless corpse, drained of life.
The girl heard a pair of footsteps around the corner and when the figure emerged into view she was shocked.
"Being a Bounty Hunter can be a pain sometimes" the same man from before whom she begged for help had came to her rescue.
The saviour, Tallon approached the girl and broke the metal collar around her neck with his bare hands. He assessed the girl's injuries as he reached into his pocket and took out a Potion with a red liquid.
He forceably opened the girl's mouth, she didn't try to resist, not that she could if she wanted to, and let him pour the red Potion's liquid into her mouth as she drank it.
Almost instantly, the injuries she had sustained had all but vanished without a trace!
"I expect to be adequately compensated for all the trouble I'm going through for you girl."
"Definitely! My family are middle class nobles, they will definitely be able to pay you on my return to my home!" She instantly replied to the man's statement.
"What's your name? Calling you girl all the time would be troublesome."
"Yes! * ahem * My name is Ariel Atorra, Heiress of the Atorra household."
"That's an odd name, sounds like the name of a vegetable I've come across?" He muttered to himself rather loudly and Ariel had heard this.
"Hey! That's rude! Show some respect, I'm still a noble!"
"You're just a brat still. Being a noble in this world means nothing without the power to back up that title. Also weren't you a slave a moment ago before I freed you? And lastly, I'll just leave you here."
"Ha, nice bluff! How else would you get paid?"
"I could sell you into slavery again?" He stated coldly which causes Ariel to move away from him in terror.
He quickly grabbed her, halting her attempt to get away from him within an instant. She was panicking right now and started to hyperventilate.
"I'll sell you to your parents..."
"..."
"..."
"You bastard! You can't just say things like that out of nowhere!" She started to slam her tiny fists onto his chest as he still held her in his grasp.
"Calm down will you!"
"NO! Not until you apologise for playing with my feelings!"
"I'm suprised you had any to begin with..." He said with a blunt tone which caused Ariel to intensify her attacks on Tallon.
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So what did you think of the Bonus chapter?
Also yes, this is the same Ariel that is Tallon's subordinate, I felt that she as an oc didn't get any character development as of yet compared with all the other characters which already has established background lore for each and everyone of them.
Only Ariel was a bit of a mystery since all I mentioned of her is she is a loyal subordinate of Tallon, comes from a Noble family and as the title of the chapter says, her title which she earned as Tallon's assassin is called 'Whistling Death' because the sound of a Whistle results in the death of the victim of Ariel, that's about it. Not really much compared to other characters. I plan to do Bonus cha0ters like this every now and again just to give some slice of life and background character building so it makes these characters feel more interactive and alive then just another side character with no impact in the story's plot or history.
The planned Bonus chapters involve:
Ariel's past meeting with Tallon
Jade and Tallon's (pre transmigration) past childhood
And some charcter development with the Demigods of The Lands Between after Ranni's wedding
And the family building with Tallon as he tries to make amends with Jade and Lilith, I kinda skipped this and just said it in a abridged overview of events that happened in a time skip of decades and the relationship between them feels kinda Hollow, so the Bonus chapters will rectify that.
The Bonus chapters will be extra, and won't effect the upload speed of mainstream chapters with the main plot.
Farethewell since I have a job interview in two days!