Swords were drawn, orders were delivered, people rushed to and fro. Luke was lost in the mayhem and edged his way out of the crowd until he found himself on a balcony. From there, he could see what all the fuss was about.
The castle's outbuildings—the stables, the bakery, the armory—were all being ransacked by a group of intruders.
Luke recognized the one who seemed to be in charge. It was Bane, the Earth Wolf, one of the Demon King's five generals. He was tearing down King Liam's guards one by one, howling with pleasure as he did so. Luke had played him before. He'd even defeated him. But seeing Bane in the flesh was very different.
Luke accessed his stats:
Name: Bane
Age: ???
Race: Werewolf
Level: ???
"Where is your so-called savior?" Bane shouted. "Bring him out to me, and you will live!"
A hand touched Luke's arm, and he jumped. It was King Liam, his daughters at his side. "Illana, Elora," the king said, "take Luke to the ancient temple. Train hard, and whatever you do, don't return to the kingdom. We'll hold off Bane as best we can."
Tears streaked down Elora's face as she nodded. "I'll miss you, Father."
King Liam kissed his daughters. "I'll see you both again. Don't fret."
"I'll take good care of them," said Illana, her voice trembling.
"I know you will, my dear. Luke, your armor and sword have been received from Ethan, the blacksmith. He put a relic in your sword so that it will grow with you."
The king led the three to a bookshelf, which opened to reveal a secret room that was littered with armor and weapons. He handed a set of armor to Luke. "The more you level up, the more durable it gets. Take care of it. It may make the difference between a battle won and a battle lost." Then he turned to his daughters. "Take good care of yourselves, my dear ones."
Illana and Elora hugged their father quickly, then led Luke through a tunnel. It twisted and turned and went uphill and down until they emerged in the castle's back lawn.
The west wing of the castle was on fire now. Bane himself stood amongst the flames, laughing, as he approached King Liam and his guard. "If it isn't King Liam the weak," he said. "I'm surprised at how long your forces stood their ground. That ends today. I'll tear your kingdom apart and feast on everyone you hold dear."
King Liam smiled. "Why is it," he said, "that the Demon King has waited so long to battle against us? It is because he fears our powers, sir. And you haven't seen half of them yet."
With a howl, Bane attacked the king. Luke grabbed Elora, who watched her father with spellbound horror and dragged her into the woods. They ran through dark, brambly paths and forded a small stream. They changed directions often to confuse anyone following them. Surprisingly, it didn't seem as if anyone was.
"Wait," said Luke, when the sun began to rise. He knelt down and began to put on his new armor. The durable looking metal was colored half white and half black. Its ts effects made Luke extremely happy.
Holy and Dark Chest Plate Level 1: grants the user 200hp.
"What are you doing?" Illana hissed. "We can’t stop here. It's too open. And we can't fight off anyone, especially a high-level demon."
"I know. That's why I need this armor," said Luke. "I'm only a level ten. I need this so I won't be completely useless in battle."
Illana sighed. "Makes sense. Hurry up."
Luke gazed at the sword. Half of it was white, the other half black, and it might have been a hundred and twenty centimeters long. He used his insight ability to check out its stats.
Hand weapon: Holy Dark Claymore (legendary tier weapon)
System: Would you like to bind with this weapon?
"Yes," said Luke without thinking.
The sword's pommel turned sharper than it once had been, striking the palm of Luke's hand. He cried out in pain as the sword drew blood. Slowly, his face turned white, and his head grew empty as he crumpled to the ground.
"The sword," said Illana. "It's performing a ritual."
"Great," muttered Elora.
There was a rustling of grasses nearby, and the sisters drew their weapons. Faint laughter sounded. "Well, well, well," said a voice. "Looks like their precious savior is out for the count."
Two wolves came out of nowhere. Illana panicked. She was so sure they'd covered their tracks. She thought they'd be safe for at least a little while longer.
Elora glanced at her, wondering if the two of them were strong enough to defeat the wolves.
"Listen here, pretty ladies," said one of the wolves. "We can do this the hard way if you want to. Stay and fight, and we tear you to pieces."
"Or," said the other wolf, "you can go back to that nice home of yours. All you have to do is give up the boy."
"Of course we plan on fighting," Illana shot back. "Unless you're too scared, that is."
"Scared?" laughed the first wolf. "We are the twins Vain and Kain. We were trained by Bane himself. The slayers of all his enemies. We aren't afraid of princesses."
Illana raised her head proudly. "Perhaps you should be."
With that, Illana and Elora unleashed their most powerful attacks. It damaged the twins, but not much.
Just when they were about to strike back, an explosion rippled through the forest. The wolves snarled as their HPs faded to zero. Then, the wolves themselves turned into slivers of light and disappeared from reality.
And behind them stood Jay, panting, an adventurous grin on his face.
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