Chapter 20 Azeraath of the Forge

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A typhoon of destructive magic bathes the landscape in its sickening green hue. The world struggles to process what effects the magic should cause. Burning, freezing, wind, electrocution, slicing, blunt, kinetic, explosive and many others trying and failing to activate all at once. The magic is a fusion of principals and physics from two different universes both trying to run their course and work counter to one another. The Tutorial Beta finally decides how this magic will work and its decision is pure destruction.

Under normal circumstances these counter intuitive systems would never clash and the universe would function how it always does. However, with System no longer the Administrator and Network spearheading the Tutorial Beta, incursions will only become more frequent. Everything would change in order to give Ke'an the challenges he needed to reach Transcendent level 5. Network did not care if that goal would lead to destabilizing a reality or two; he was too overworked as it was to care.

Azeraath slashes with his sword in all directions as he runs, causing streams of green destruction magic to ravage the town. Anything the emerald energy touches disintegrates as it extends from his blade like an angry whip. The range of his weapon now exceeds fifty meters in any direction he swings. He runs as fast as he can towards the massive temple where he can sense the presence of his prey.

The townspeople must die and their homes and businesses must be desecrated; everything must turn to rubble. He curses as he thinks of his past failings, against his two pursuers. His failing started when two of the five ice wraiths escaped him before he could turn them into useful items. If he had succeeded then his adversaries would be little threat. Azeraath lashes out at more of the town as his anger and bloodlust rises. Soon he would be victorious and the voice in his head would give him his reward.

Azeraath is from a hostile world where power meant everything.He was always amongst the powerful and feared. He is a Forge Master meaning that he can bend and shape anything to his will. He is one of the chosen few with this gift and nobility yet in the new world none of that mattered. The beings here in this cold world fought against him with mixed success. He is outraged to have items he forged taken from him and broken like common tools. Azeraath's fury only continues to rise as he runs along his war path to his true target. Soon he will have new trinkets made from the gutted souls of the townspeople. Then he will have retribution against the two adversaries he lost his items to, of that he is certain.

He thinks back to his last moments in his world. The servants brought him his next cup of wine as he held a banquet for the joining of his clan the Xiahanvy with that of his new third wife. She was the daughter of the chieftain of the rival Gogi clan of which they have had a feud for the better part of a century. He planned on double crossing his wife's clan and claim the head of the Gogi Forge Master during the feast. The man sat across the table more a slob than a Forge Master which disgusted Azeraath. The fact that he had to share the same room as the Gogi Forge Master was infuriating but it would have been worth it.

Azeraath had everything ready and his soldiers were awaiting the signal. However that signal never came, as the servant sat the cup of wine down, Azeraath's new wife stabbed him in the throat with a Forge Master's dagger. The magic necessary to kill a Forge Master as powerful as Azeraath surged through his body. It happened so quickly as he saw the banquet hall become a blood bath, his first wife and their children slaughtered and soldiers failed to hold back a hidden enemy. Most infuriating of all he saw the Gogi Forge Master laugh as he continued to eat his meal undisturbed.

As everything went black he heard a voice not of a god but of something far greater. The voice sounded monotone and disinterested as if it were doing a task it despised. The being's presence was like nothing he had ever felt, despite its impassiveness Azeraath could feel the absoluteness of the beyond Godlike being. Had he not been dead he would have been bowing and even so he felt his soul tremble.

"Entity identification: Azeraath Xiahanvy, race: whispered, local age: 124 solar cycles, class: Forge Master... yadda-yadda... I see... you seem to qualify for the Tutorial Beta. However, forced incursion this early may cause some destabilization." The disinterested disembodied voice mused. "This is one of her earlier realities but this can be a trial run of future incursions." The voice paused for a few moments. "Azeraath, you are dead and your clan destroyed. I give you a second chance to reclaim all that you lost today including your life. All you must do is destroy one little town and I will return you one day before your death so you can give it a second go. Hurry up and choose, I am busy."

A menu appeared in his vision in his native language.

Quest Menu

(1/1) A Second Chance Paid for in Blood

You have died but have been given a second chance to prevent your death. However life comes at a cost and yours is pretty high. Travel to a world beyond your reality and prove you deserve life.

Summon four greater snow wraiths (0/4)

Destroy Kal'sava village

Kill all of The Kal'sava villagers 0.00%

Reward for completion:

Resurrection

Ability to summon demonic creatures in your native reality

This is a main quest, failure to complete this quest will result in death.

This is an optional quest and refusal will allow you to remain dead. Do you accept this quest? Yes / No

Destruction of Kal'sava 0.00%

As he approached the temple he saw men of the town crowded behind crude barricades. Most of them had firearms, mainly hunting rifles and the occasional shotgun. The weapons were new to Azeraath as his world did not have guns of any kind. The weapons he saw before him were weak and not of any real concern or consideration. The only one he saw with the power necessary to harm him were the ones held by his male pursuer. Those were enchanted with dangerous magic which he could see with his magic perceptions.

The town defenders fired at him which he easily dodged or deflected with his sword although he believed he didn't need to do even that. However, the thought of letting one of these primitive weapons strike him would be another insult to his pride as a Forge Master. As waves of the tiny projectiles flew towards him, he barely slowed his trajectory towards the temple. His magic surged as he prepared to break through the pathetic defense and he anticipated the slaughter soon to begin.

He swings his weapon into the first poor excuse for a barricade that is little more than hastily constructed wooden fencing with random scrap metal as support. His sword even without his magic would cut straight through without issue. However, overwhelming power is the point, the green energy would cleave swaths of men too far outside of the reach of his blade.

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