Pre-note:
It's been a while but life happened, and when it didn't, school happened, and when that didn't, distractions (reading) happened and when that didn't, lack of motivation happened, and when I did find motivation, I knew where I wanted to go with my story but I didn't know how to get there
And I also got sick... three times
Lol
Anyways, I've decided to ignore cannon and embrace chaos. If I try to follow the plot rules of sl, I'm just going to stay too long on a chapter and loose motivation before I get to the fun parts
I will be making Cale a little (a lot) more creative with his ancient powers and making their abilities more assorted
This chapter was quite difficult to write since I wanted to make sure I didn't forget to add anything (I probably did) that will be for future scenarios
I'd also like to add that I suck at English
Yes, English is my first language
Updates will probably start speeding up after the next chapter since that's when the fun starts
I make no promises tho
Turns out that there are people who are actually waiting to me to update instead of reading then forgetting this exists only to remember when a new chapter comes out
That makes me happy
Also, praises make me more motivated to update :)
Cale's eyes blinked open. He felt the weight of the children stretched over him and stared at them.
It's rare for me to wake up before them. They must be tired.
On and Hong were still under each of his arms while Raon was sprawled out over him.
Cale looked around the cave, no light to indicate what time it was. A small buzz brought his attention to the now palm sized mirror lying next to him.
Ow.
He felt his neck throb with pain at his awkward position.
Even with all these pillows and blankets I managed to hurt myself.
Cale reached over to grabbed the divine object as it buzzed again. As his hand brushed again its surface, a small spark zapped his fingers making him quickly draw his hand away.
That never happened befo-
Almost like electricity was travelling up his body, he felt every part of him tingle as warmth blanketed around him.
What did he do. He glared at the object that just shocked him. Although it didn't hurt, it wasn't a good sign.
Cale, now carefully, once again reached for the mirror.
"Mmm, human, what was that?" Raon mumbled as he shifted in Cales' arms along with On and Hong.
"Ignore it. Go back to sleep"
"No!" Hong shot up and looked Cale in the eyes. "Whenever you say that something bad always happens"
"It it usually isn't my fault" he grumbled under his breath as he grabbed the divine object. It now didn't zap him this time and it grew to normal size at a thought.
<Hello my child! Since you are reading this, you must've received my gift. I've given you my blessing to help you in the future>
"...what?" Cale felt a headache form as he now realised what that spark was. I don't know how saints are appointed but shouldn't both parties consent first? It better be just a blessing and nothing else.
Ding~
Ding~
<Don't worry. I unfortunately didn't make you my saint or anything like that. It is just a very good blessing. One that I am quite proud of>
<But any position is always open for you~>
"...Amazing" he replied deadpan. "What does it do" I have to know what he did to me so I can deal with the consequences.
Ding~
<These are the benefits of my blessing:
- On nights with a new moon your powers will increase
- Affinity with individuals related to death or darkness
- You can understand all languages but speaking them is something that I need to edit later
- 40% immunity to most physical, mental, magical and divine attacks
- Ability to see what others can't
- Slight increase in body capabilities
- Sharper senses
- 30% less side effects of using ancient powers>
Ding~
<And just incase you are interested, these are some of the benefits of being my apostle:
- You can see the date of ones death with the exception of unique individuals that break the worlds rules
- Vow of Death. You already know what is is but now you will be able to perform it by yourself
- Shifting form based on the soul
- 85% immunity to most physical, mental, magical and divine attacks
- Resistant to all poisons
- Large increase in body capabilities
- Even sharper senses
- 70% less side effects of using ancient powers
- And some other things we can talk about later>
Ding~
<It will be easier to discuss face to face. So whenever you would like to talk about it, just ask. Please keep in mind, anything that you find uncomfortable in that position can be changed!>
(In case you can't tell, I'm making Cale so overpowered it puts the other op Cales to shame. Tho I'm not quite sure about some of these, that's to regret later)
Cale stared at the mirror. The conditions don't sound too bad but I definitely need to talk about what he wants me to do. I probably shouldn't do it now-
Ding~
<I made some changes to the mirror so it can now shift to a bracelet. Since you have no mana whatsoever and hunters measure themselves based on mana levels, this object will emit mana level or a D-Rank so you don't have to worry about being found out. I've also added a storage feature as I believe some of the items I will give you will not be safe with the dragon. Just imagine your hand going through the mirror and it should connect to the storage space>
Cale got chills thinking about what could be in there that 'will not be safe with the dragon'.
Ding~
<And me being the amazing individual I am, made sure a slow-witted hunter will be leading the group of hunters that will be entering this dungeon>
That's good. Easier to fool. Cale smirked as he felt ruffling next to him.
The two kittens turned human peaked at the divine object in his hands while Raon floated off to look around the cavern.
"Did the bastard do something again?" On asked staring at the mirror.
"Somewhat. Can you see this?" Cale lowered the mirror so they could see.
"It looks like a normal mirror I think" Hong replied as he leaned closer, squinting his eyes.
Seems only I can see thi-
"Human! There is a skeleton here!" Cales attention was immediately grabbed by those few words and quickly stood up.
On and Hong followed to where Raon was. In a dark corner of the cave that they also happened to not look at yesterday.
"Oh..." Cale stared at the human skeleton on its side with its back resting against the wall and a sword in relatively good condition laid next to it.
Red scruffy locks of hair fell limply against the skull that was lying on the floor. Hung on the bones was a deteriorating shirt with a clean slice on the back with black crust around the area.
...I guess I found Cale.
He glanced at the kids, observing their reaction.
Raon watched the body with wide curious eyes.
Hong looked sad as his ears drooped downwards.
On looked shocked, glancing between Cale and the skeleton, seemingly connecting the dots. Smart girl.
He stared back at her nodding then looked at the bones. "...We should bury him"
Raon nodded as he waved his hand and the skeleton started to float.
As they walked outside, the sun hit their faces. Cale looked up to the sky which was a blend of yellows, pinks and blues. A few fading dots of light shone in the sky along with a crescent moon.
The text never explained what or where the dungeons were. It is almost like another world. It has a sun, stars and a moon so there is a chance that they might be other planets entirely.
He looked down and surveyed the surrounding area.
"Is here good?" Cale turned to Hong who stood at a flat patch of land near a tree.
"It's good" he replied as he and the other two went over to Hong.
"Don't do anything, weak human. I'll do it" Raon suddenly spoke.
Cale felt the ground trembling slightly as the land cracked a meter away from the tree. The dirt split into a rectangle and started to rise. Eventually, a large block of compact dirt floated out of the earth, landing beside the hole it left behind.
"See, I can do it myself!" The six year old turned to Cale and smiled brightly.
"Well done" Cale ruffled Raons hair.
It wouldn't make me feel good if we just threw the bones in a hole, buried them and called it a day so we need a coffin. I should be able to make one with Super Rock.
'It should be fine right?'
[Yes. It shouldn't put any strain on your body] Super rock answered.
[I personally think I've gotten stronger] the thief chimed in.
[Me too] Cale felt the joy emitting from the fire of destruction. [Imagine all the things we can bur-]
[I think I've gotten stronger too] glutton interrupted it.
[I'm definitely more powerful than before] the sky eating water joined in.
That's strange. Why would they be stronger?
He stared at the hole that started to wriggle around at the bottom. A stone rectangle that fit perfectly in the hole emerged. A click and grinding was heard as the top of the rectangle floated off, landing to the side, revealing a hollow interior.
Cale was about to open his mouth when a familiar feeling in the back of his throat crept up. He tasted the metallic flavour of his blood that started to collect in his mouth.
Okay, seems like it was a miscalculation on their part. Cale felt another clump of blood rise from his throat. Shit. I know I'm weak but seriously? And didn't the blessing include less side effects of Ancient Powers?
[This shouldn't be happening. You barely used your powers]
Cale reflexively reached up to cover his mouth as blood slipped from his lips.
That didn't escape the watchful eyes of the children.
"Human?! Are you bleeding again?"
"But you didn't use much of your powers yet?" On frowned, both curious and worried.
"It's because you're hurt right?!" Hong tugged at Cales shirt.
The person of their concern looked just as confused as them. Cale swallowed the relatively small amount of blood and shudder at the taste. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as the red liquid smeared on it.
"You can put him in the coffin" Cale quickly changed the topic. Can that even be called a coffin?
Raon huffed as at skeleton moved to lay down in the poor excuse of a coffin. "Don't do anything" he glared at the man who was still wiping blood away from his lips. The little dragon closed the coffin up then covered the hole with the dirt and turned to Cale. Raon grabbed at something in the air, floated up and shoved it towards his humans face.
"Eat"
I'm hungry but it's not because of my powers. I just haven't had anything to eat.
Cale looked at the apple pie an inch from his face and open his mouth to retort but the dragon boy pushed it forwards, stoping his words.
"Thank you" he said after he was forced to have a bite every time he tried to speak until the slice was finished. "But you three need to eat too"
"Okay" Raon took two slices out, handing them out to his siblings, then took one for himself.
Cale looked up at the sky which was now a pale blueish yellow with no stars in sight.
To make our stay look convincing to the hunters we need to make a stable food and water supply. Probably change our clothes to something more dirty. Make the cave look more suitable for human- well, any intelligent life.
He went through what he should do in the coming days as the kids finished their food.
-♢-♢- Time skip brought to you by the slightly abused mirror -♢-♢-
Cale was photosynthesising on his chosen rock, lying in the sunlight.
He watch as On and Hong were teaching Raon how to walk in his human form.
It's been 3 days since they ended up in the dungeon and 1 day since they learnt that Raon refused to walk because he didn't know how to with his new body.
That was understandable since his centre of gravity changed drastically and even in his dragon form he didn't walk much, voting for floating as it was more 'majestic'.
Cale stared at the small black nubs sticking out from the dragon boys hair.
It's good he is able to shrink them. And since they are black, it makes it more difficult to see in his hair. Unless someone is actively looking for something, it's practically invisible.
Cale glanced at his hair that was draped over his shoulder. My hair is annoyingly oily even if washed in the stream. It seems I was getting used to clean hair. He lifted his hand to fiddle with his bangs. And it might be suspicious that I have perfectly cut hair. I'll just say after years of being by myself I learnt how to do that.
His gaze shifted downwards to the shirt he was wearing. It was on of the many that was put in Raon's spatial space along with other clothes for everyone. Also suspicious is we wear clean, unripped clothes after years of wearing them. I will just make one pair of clothes dirty and torn so it will look like it's been worn for years. And I'll sew up some of the others and make them smaller for the kids. I think I still have the knack for it. We will start wearing them when the hunters arrive. No way in hell am I going to wear something like this if there is a better options to choose from.
And there is hunting too. I'll say I set up traps around the forest and caught the animals here. The animals aren't noticeably different to Earth's and I already know how to set up traps.
We've been eating the variety of food in Raon's spatial space so we didn't need to hunt just yet. With the amount of food Raon said was in there we should last a week. If no one comes in three days, I'll start setting up traps.
Cale's mind sped through what he should do to make himself seem less of a threat.
A day ago they sorted out their story when asked. On, Hong and Raon wouldn't remember how they got here but after wandering around, they found Cale. That would be said to be around two years ago. Cale would then take care of them and eventually see them as family. Cale would say he taught them Korean and they taught him their own language, which they have no memory of learning.
Anything more detailed than that and they can say they don't remember. Can't force anything out of someone if they don't know the answer. If Cale should know the answer, he will just say his memories are fuzzy of his life before the dungeon.
Although it was a slight shock that the kids knew Korean, Cale didn't seem any problems. He guessed it was because of souls mixing or something since it comes second nature to them.
Once again, Raon tripped on his own legs but On and Hong who were on either side of him caught him.
"I sense something" The dragon boy looked up to Cale with wide eyes. "It feels like a monster"
"Is it close?" Cale asked, reaching out to Raon for his hand.
"Um, it's far, but it is suddenly appeared for some reason" the little dragon boy extended his hand and grabbed on for balance.
"What does it look like?" Hong asked curiously.
"Umm, human like but it is fat, ugly and the mana that's in it isn't human"
Cales mind flicked through his records of monsters from Kim Rok Soos world but nothing matched exactly. "Let's go back inside. We should prepare"
It's been three days since we got here. Death said it will only be dangerous after a couple of days. Guess he means that monsters will start to appear, perhaps quite literally out of thin air. Just lovely.
Cale picked up the black haired child in his arms and entered the cave, walking past the invisible traps set up around the walls. We will also have to put them down once the hunters arrive.
As they arrived at the cavern, Raon clenched his shirt and whipped his head to one of the tunnels.
"H-human. Another one appeared" his bright blue eyes shook at the thought of a monster so close by going undetected by him. "It's stronger than the other one too"
"Will that be an issue?" Cale still didn't know the extent of how much of Raon's power was left.
"No. It is weak"
"It is the shiny crystal cave right?" Filled with mana crystals. Where a boss usually is.
"Yeah" he mumbled. "And it looks different too. It's really long and has lots of legs"
A centipede maybe.
The red head placed Raon down and looked at the tunnel where he was staring. "Can we have a quick look?" Blue eyes stared twinkling at red-brown eyes.
"...okay. Just make sure to stay safe" Cale sighed and placed Raon down.
Just as he was about to walk away, he felt a tug at his shirt.
"You're coming with us" On stared unblinking at him.
"...why?" They are more than capable of taking care of themselves. I don't see the need to-
"You barely moved the past few days. The only work you've done is carrying Raon and he uses a lightening spell. At this rate your muscles with shrivel up and you will become a stick again" the silver haired girl frowned.
... what's wrong with being a stick?
"You need exercise so from now on, you will be going on a walk with us once a day with exception of when you are sick or already did something remotely active" On declared with a look in her eyes screaming 'try and refuse, I dare you'.
Cale sighed. "Fine, but no walks longer than a hour"
The silver haired girl smiled brightly and turned to her younger siblings with a look of victory on her face.
Cale followed reluctantly as the three children led him down the tunnel, occasionally casting glances over their shoulders to make sure he wasn't falling behind. The bright white orb that was floating above them supplied enough light to see a couple metres ahead.
As they walked further down, the tunnel became larger and more circular with the ceiling being as tall as two Cales. The slight slope of the cave system and the cooling of the air signalled they were going downwards.
A couple of minutes of comfortable silence later, they arrived at where the tunnel connected to an area. Cale gazed at the entrance, staring into the blackness that laid ahead. A veil of darkness covered the mouth of the cave leaving nothing to see inside. It was like staring into a void.
A new blob of light appeared just above Raon's head as it floated inside. It flew up, and up, and up, until it was just a little white dot attached to the now reached ceiling.
The light did nothing to change the darkness.
That's high. Cale felt his neck strain as he looked at the speck of white.
"Human, I'm going to make it really really bright now" Raon said from beside, signalling he should look away if he didn't want to be blinded.
Cale took a step back along with the kids and looked at the floor.
A few seconds later and a shine came from the large cave as light filtered through the entrance.
It didn't seem to get brighter so Cale looked up, followed by regret.
Holy shit. It's huge.
He stared at the mountain of scales and countless legs with a stoic face, contrasting his internal emotions.
"That's a big centipede!" Hong shouted with strange excitement in his eyes. Why would he be- "I smell something tasty!"
Oh. He must smell the venom.
Cale gazed at the ginormous centipede with little change in his face. He observed the slight movements of the creature before him. The centipede had a mainly black body, probably a meter in diameter, yellow legs as long as an arm and a large, red, eyeless head.
Along the walls of the now lit up cave, something shined dimly. Cale squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at whatever was there. The faint sheen reflecting the light revealed large blue crystals growing out from the edges. Mana crystals.
The arthropod shifted and the clicking of its legs hitting the stone echoed loudly through the cave.
"Okay, we had a look. Let's go back" Cale did not like the sound of angering something like that.
"Mmm, okay..." Hong mumbled slightly dejected.
The light on the ceiling faded until there was nothing left, making the cave go pitch black again. Hunters are supposed to fight that in this darkness as well as kill it? I wonder what grade this dungeon will be.
As they arrived back at the main cave, Cale laid down in the make shift bed, which was just many blankets and pillows on a flattish rock. Although I've had way worse, I can't wait until I can sleep on a normal bed.
"Once we get out of here, we will end up in a place called Korea, like Death said. None of you have been to Korea so ask any questions you'd like" Cale sat up as the three children crawled into the pile of blankets. They might have seen my memories but I doubt they wouldn't be curious.
"Are the buildings so tall you can see the horizon?" Raon asked.
"It will be difficult to see the horizon since there are lots of those tall buildings but yes. You can see really far when in one of the top floors" Cale remembers walking in one of the skyscrapers in his first world. Though abandoned and surrounded by trashed buildings, it gave a beautiful view. If ignoring the constant smell of death that never really left after the world sorted itself out.
"Is the food really different from back home?" Hong looked at him with shining eyes.
"The food changes depending on where you go but the place we will go to will mostly have foods you've never seen before"
"What is the main option on cats?" On stared at him with curiosity in her slit pupils.
"It's-" Cale stopped himself when he saw Raon gazed distantly to the side, seemingly looking at something. "Have more monsters appeared?"
"Yeah" the little dragon boy nodded slowly. "This time a whole ground of them appeared. Maybe twenty of them. They are all weaker than the first two but are similar to the first one"
Cale reached out and patted Raon's head. "If something seems suspicious tell me right away"he nodded and Cale retreated his hand. "So cats-"
-♢-♢- Time skip brought to you by the very adorable centipede -♢-♢-
"K-Kim Chul... What do we do now?" A worried voice split through the silence.
"What else? We clear the gate" Said man replied gruffly. He whipped his head around and faced his raid team. It's my first raid as leader and it happened to be a red gate. When I get out of this my reputation with skyrocket. Kim Chul inwardly smirked. "Just follow my lead"
"Which direction do we go?" Someone asked nervously.
The leader of the team surveyed the area. They were in a clearing with a small stream along the edge. Birds chirped quietly and the sound of running water served as background noise. Such an environment is difficult so see as dangerous. But this is a B-Rank Gate.
"We go upstream. If the monsters have any survival instincts, they should stay near water"
✨Authors Notes✨
Be glad that Ao3 was annoying me when I was browsing for more things to read so you got the chapter earlier than what it would've been. I hate the fics where they have 10+ fandoms and I don't know most of them. They clog up my searches and it's starting to piss me off
The amount of struggle I went through to make this chapter is unreal. No one told me it was this hard to write (I know no one who writes)
Millipedes are cute and you can't tell me otherwise. Whenever I spot one I always pick it up and play with them. Centipedes and another story tho
I did more research on centipedes for this than any of my assignments
Lol
But when I looked up what a bite does, it either says it should sting a little for a day or two or you will be on the verge of death
No in between
So I did a little modification to my baby and made them venomous :)
This took so long since I wanted to get to a certain point but my lazy, procrastinating and unmotivated ass didn't like that idea
It is going to be painful for the next chapter but I'm just gonna wing it. The next update might take a while
Also, I'm thinking of adding Harry Potter, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End to my list of crossovers that I'm probably never going to get to. I should also probably start to watch/read them, considering that I haven't yet. I definitely need to reread tcf cause I don't remember anything past Cale getting his wind power other than very major events
On another note, I received information recently that we will be getting an official English hard cover of tcf later this year, around September I think.
It seems I'll be loosing money around the end of this year
❗️❗️❗️IMPORTANT❗️❗️❗️
This is a mandatory suggestion
Spoil me on the ending of orv
I don't want any 'he sacrificed himself, the end'
I need details on everything so that I can fully expect every sad thing and I won't cry
That's right, I've decided to finish reading orv
Why? I want to write a tcf x orv crossover, just not in this series
I have my plot planned out already I just need to know the details and I'll start writing right away
No matter how much the ending might wreck me, I'll persevere because that is what fan fiction is for. I will give everyone happy endings because I have the power to do that now
Yes, I'm making Cale too strong for his slacker life in that one too
Sorry for the long note
I'm lonely