Elemental Accords Book 1-1&2

Good Evening everyone! I have been on a roll lately and i hate to let that end. I'm having just a bit of trouble with DR. Not plot-wise or anything, just getting started on it. So I'm uploading a side project that i've been working that was meant for later in the year. Mainly because I want to get some feedback though. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I panted as I stared wide eyed at the space around me. I should be dead. That truck was going way too fast. I would be lucky if they could identify me later. That served to raise the question as to why everything frozen around me? I also realized that the color appeared to have been drained leaving everything a strange grayscale.

“Welcome! I must say you are quite lucky. Or is it unlucky?” A booming voice sounded in my ear.

“Who are you?! What’s going on?!” I demanded looking around for the source of the voice though I could only move my eyes. A strange sensation that nearly distracted me from the issue at hand.

“Me. Well. I am whoever I want to be,” the voice said changing tone. The little girl on the street next to me turned her head in an unnatural fashion. “I can be here.” Then the man in the car at the red light looked at me. “Here.” My reflection in the mirror of another car moved though I hadn’t budged a muscle. “Even this is within my power.”

“So are you god?” I asked.

“Hmm. Yes, but also no. Either way that doesn’t concern you.” A bird suddenly landed on my shoulder. “What does is the fact that you died when you did. You see, there is a bit of a game about to start. The entire world is involved, and you get to participate as my representative. Now tell me your desire.”

My desire? I wanted to live. I wanted to be rich with gold surrounding me. It was a bit of a shallow dream, but it was the one that I’d had since I was young and saw an actual bar of gold. The luster had drawn me so strongly that my parents had actually been worried that I would do something stupid for a long time. I had even been on the path to reach that goal, but fate or whoever was in the bird had changed that.

I suddenly felt a burning sensation from my head. Looking back into the mirror, I found my dark brown hair turning to gold before my eyes. It even grew to the small of my back. What the hell was happening!?

“That desire might be shallow but the passion you carried for it was quite strong. Yes. I think I made a good choice with you. Well. Enjoy the fun new world.”

I blinked and everything started moving again, including the fact that my body was flying through the air towards a large pole. There was nothing I could do, I slammed full on with my back into the pole and slid to the ground. The pain was like nothing I had felt before, but I didn’t ignore the fact that I had still somehow survived.

Another voice rang through the air laughing loud enough that I thought my eardrums were going to burst. While the first voice had changed several times during our brief interaction, something in me was able to tell this was a different person or being. “Rejoice and Repent! For I have returned. It appears that you foolish mortals that call yourself humans have treated life like a game. Thus, I have decided to make it so!”

A wave of red light washed over the sky before everything returned to normal. Even the presence of the voice was gone. Everyone on the street sort of just stared at each other while I laid on the ground in agonizing pain, though I was surprised I wasn’t dead from such an impact and sequent tumble.

Placing a hand on the ground, I managed to lift myself up from the ground. “Maybe I’m not as hurt as I thought.” As I was thinking about myself, something… otherworldly happened. Something I had only read about before now when I was going through a rough time as a teenager.

--

Name: Aurum Lockfeather

Age: 25

Level: 1

Ability:

Midas Touch – Able to turn objects touched into solid gold. Currently can be used three times a day. Object size is limited.

Gold is Power – The more gold you possess, the stronger you become.

Gold is Steel – Gold in your hands has the strength of Steel.

Encroaching Greed – The longer you stay in a place the more likely other people are going to be affected by an overwhelming greed.

--

I stared at the screen for longer than I cared to admit. What nonsense was this? Memories of my friends and myself running around a playground pretending to throw magic spells at each flashed through my head. I wasn’t a middle schooler anymore. I didn’t get much time to process it however, as a scream from a nearby alley drew my attention.

A woman ran out from the alley, covered in blood. It only took me a second to tell it was her own as she had long jagged cuts running along her arm and chest. Her chest was fully on display, but the wonderful assets were hidden by the curtain of blood covering them. A bunch of ugly creatures ran out right behind her and tackled her to the ground.

Everyone at the intersection could only stare as what were obviously goblins proceeded to rape the woman. I was equally horrified then a burst of pain from my injured back broke my trance. I swept the intersection with my eyes looking for a weapon to deal with the monsters. I doubted those were the only things that I’d have to deal with either.

A bar from the truck that hit me was lying nearby. It must have flown after the driver tried to swerve. I braced myself then managed to get to my feet with some effort. A few pained filled steps brought me to the bar, and I dropped to my knees as I picked it up. My back just wouldn’t let me bend over to grab it.

Without any thought, the bar turned to solid gold. The bar was nearly three meters long making it more of a staff then a club, but I didn’t worry about that. As soon as the bar turned to gold, I felt incredible. All my pain vanished instantly. The first thing I did was pull in a deep breath as my lungs had hurt just as much as my back until now.

Another scream from the woman brought me as well as just about everyone else in the intersection back to life. While I rushed at the four creatures and the woman, everyone else was running away. I had never trained with a weapon before, but I wasn’t going for finesse. Bringing the staff around like a bat, I aimed for the head of the nearest creature.

Like a balloon popping, the creatures head exploded into bits and pieces from the attack. I thought I was more surprised than the remaining three creatures. They made a disgusting screeching scream and abandoned the woman to attack me. I barely managed to block their insane swipes with the staff.

Stumbling from one of the swipes, the creature managed to cut my leg. The pain fueled my own swing, and I sent the creature flying through the air after hitting its chest. The thing exploded on the wall of the building. Not stopping the swing, I spun in place like I had when I played with sticks as a child and managed to crack a third one near the waist. Its body twisted in a horrible fashion and it dropped to the ground.

The last creature decided to cut its losses and started running down the alley. I took aim as best I could and threw the golden rod like a javelin. That was a mistake. I managed to impale the creature, but as soon as the staff left my hand, all my strength vanished and my pain not only came back, but the wound on my leg flared to higher level.

“Fuck!” I dropped to the ground next to the woman that was staring off with out any focus in her eyes. I belatedly realized that she wasn’t breathing. Whether the creatures had given her a new wound, or it was from the first ones, but she had bled out. “Double fuck.” I rolled over onto my back when another window popped up.

--

See. A new and fun world. Either way congratulations! You are one of the first that managed to kill one of God’s monsters… at least on purpose. Take a reward.

--

Gold is Health – When you possess gold, your body will heal. With enough gold, even limbs can be regrown.

Gold is Death – When your gold touches an enemy, expend mana to deal increased damage. Amount of mana spent = how much damage you deal.

--

I groaned at the screens then swiped them out of the way. Looking down the alley way, I was nearly thirty meters from the golden staff. It would take several minutes to crawl that distance in the state of pain I was in. A glint from the woman’s body drew my attention and I saw a golden necklace. I hesitated for a few seconds but an explosion from somewhere in the distance made up my mind.

I reached out and took the necklace praying it was real. I felt a small surge of energy and sighed in relief. “Thank you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save you and will try to remember you.” I noticed her purse and searched for her I.D. “Miss Carol.” I bowed my head for a few seconds but screams and yells told me that it wasn’t safe to linger much longer.

With the necklace, I was barely able to stand up. Dragging my body to the alley, I retrieved the staff and my previous strength filled me like a spring deep inside. Staring at the blood covered staff, only one thought was in my mind. If I wanted to survive whatever hell this was, I was going to need more gold.

Looking around, I didn’t see any immediate danger, so I leaned against the wall and quickly checked my phone. I was surprised there was still signal and internet. Not waiting a second longer, I searched all the local pawnshops. They were the most likely places to have actual gold. With another tab, I searched for gold buying and selling locations.

“Mission one. Get the Gold!” I said to myself then left the alley moving toward the first location.

Walking for a few minutes, I could tell I was getting better in real time. My leg limped less, and I was able to straighten my back more and more. My suit was a mess, though. Damn thing cost me five grand. I tossed the thought from my mind and focused on the situation around me. There were a few people on the streets, but they were all running this way and that. Panic had definitely overrun the people.

Inside I felt bad about my planned looting. Before I had always criticized the people that did such actions whenever there was a crisis. I reasoned to myself that the world had changed in an instant. If everything managed to return to normal I would either return the gold or pay the equivalent price.

I was passing an alley when another batch of the creatures rushed out. Another person near me shouted the word goblins before he took off. I didn’t have that luxury as the creatures set on me as soon as they saw me. I decided not to give them a chance and started spinning with the staff acting as a counterbalance. The phrase spin to win echoed in my head, but I couldn’t remember where it was from. One, then two, then three thumps occurred as the stupid creatures walked right into the weapon.

Dizzy, I came to a stop and barely managed to strike the fourth one that was trying to flee again. Shaking my head to clear it, I noticed that one was still breathing and brought my staff down on its head. As soon as I lifted the staff, I felt a strange energy enter my body.

--

Level up!

Beginner Staff Technique Acquired – The teachings of the staff will be with you.

--

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes as the information on wielding a staff seemingly appeared in my head. I suddenly knew how to properly balance as well as direct the energy as I attacked. It would be a great boon, but I couldn’t help but feel that the world was slipping down some strange sort of rabbit hole. If it wasn’t for the pain, I would have questioned whether I was dreaming or not.

I didn’t get much time to contemplate it however, as a building that I could see a few blocks down exploded and started to fall. “Hopefully, that was the military and not some creature trying to fit in the street.”

I was feeling almost a hundred percent and as a quick test, I leaned the staff on the wall. While I felt much weaker, I didn’t feel like I was about to collapse. Grabbing my staff, I started to run down the street. The first store was less than two blocks away, I needed more strength if I wanted to survive.

Chapter 2

Running wasn’t something I enjoyed before. While I wasn’t out of shape per say, I didn’t enjoy exercise and only did the bare minimum. Even carrying a rod that should weigh close to fifteen pounds, certainly not heavy, but not something you want to run around with, I felt fine.

After a few minutes, the shop that I found on the internet appeared in view. It looked like I wasn’t the only one that wanted the valuables, as there were close to a dozen of the goblins as well as one that was almost half a meter taller than the others. A few bodies surrounded the group along with some women that were naked in the middle of them. Even from my spot a few dozen meters away, I could tell they were no longer breathing.

I hurriedly ducked into an alley before they saw me. I had managed to take on four, but the first time was while they were occupied, while the second was more of a surprise. Taking on a dozen of them at the same time would be suicide. I peeked around the corner to see if there was anything I could use to my advantage.

The street was empty of any people, well, any living people. There were quite a few corpses on the ground. I quickly offered a prayer for them in my head. That said, there didn’t appear to be anything useful for fighting. I was about to give up on the shop for now, when I spotted a truck which had an open door.

Glancing at the monsters, I crept over to the truck. It was four by four, with a large grill on the front. It was still on, the owner, missing. I climbed into the driver seat then closed the door as quietly as possible. Putting the truck into drive, I slammed my foot on the accelerator as I aimed at the group of goblins.

The screech I’d heard a few times went up as they scrambled to get out of the way. I opened the driver door, to add some more width to the truck as it collided with the group. Bangs and thuds followed as the truck bounced into the air nearly two meters before it impacted the wall. The airbag smacked me in the face hard, but I had braced for it.

I pulled the staff from the cab as I jumped out aiming at the first goblin I saw. With a solid thunk, the goblin was sent flying. I internally marveled at how strong I was with just this much gold. If I could cover my entire body, I might be unstoppable.

I managed to take out three more goblins before I ran out of steam. The larger goblin lunged at me with an actual weapon, nearly catching me across the chest. If I hadn’t gotten the Staff technique, I might have met my end right then and there. I barely managed to block the blow and hopped back.

Taking distance, I was able to see that there were three regular goblins left, with the large one acting as a guard. I would have to deal with him first or end up getting mauled from behind by the smaller ones. With drool and spit running down its mouth, the large one grinned at me while licking its lips.

“Want to eat me, you nasty fuck?!”

The goblins took my words as provocation and charged at me. The rusted sword the leader was carrying was the biggest threat. I waited until the last minute, then spun the staff vertical, bringing the end up and through the leader’s jaw and chin. His head cracked back from the impact though I wasn’t sure he was completely done in yet.

The three smaller goblins continued their charge, one managing to bite my thigh. I brought the staff around from the upward arc taking one of the goblins out, then twisted just barely ignoring the pain in my leg to take out the last goblin. Unaware its companions were dead, I brought my fist down on the goblin biting me. While not as destructive as the staff, I still managed to bash its face in. Finishing it off with the staff, I limped over to the leader to make sure it was dead.

Breathing heavily while holding its face, he was still alive, but barely. I glared at him then brought my staff down on the creature’s head. Blood splattered against my face. I looked around making sure they were all dead then limped into the store, the goblins had just managed to tear off the door as I struck them with the truck.

“Hello?!” I called into the shop. While I needed the gold to survive, if the people were still alive in here, I wanted to help them if I could. After a minute with no reply, I sighed and closed the door. It was basically a sheet of metal, so even torn off its hinges it would be a good blockade for the moment.

Walking into the shop, I spotted a mirror as well as my reflection. I barely recognized myself. Blood covered part of my face and my hair, including my eyebrows and goatee had turned a solid gold color. I dropped to the ground and leaned against the counter. Everything catching up to me all at once.

I was always good at regulating myself. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply for several long minutes. I knew internally that every second counted, but it wouldn’t be good to become rash if my mental state worsened. Eyes on the prize. That was my quote, simple but effective in my opinion. A good ten minutes later, I opened my eyes after calming down completely.

I stood up and looked around the shop before moving to the jewelry section. I used my staff to smash the glass. I quickly went through all the items and placed the ones that gave me a feeling of growing strong in a pile to the side. A couple minutes later, I had about a kilogram worth of gold in random jewelry.

I placed them in a sack, feeling like a burglar the entire time. With my main objective complete, I checked the rest of the shop to see if there was anything else useful. Along one wall, I spotted a couple weapons from various different sports as well as civilizations. If I could get my Midas Touch to activate it would be a decent addition to my arsenal.

After going through everything, I grabbed a compound bow. There were a few guns, but I couldn’t find any ammunition for them, not to mention it might be hard to find bullets in the future. I had no idea how the world was going to adapt to these changes, but I could always make arrows.

Along with the bow, I also grabbed a spear. I was sure it was made for a game or one of those people that dressed as characters from shows, as it felt like it could barely be used for more than one or two uses. It was decorated with Japanese writing and had two blades sort of similar to a halberd. With some practice it would be a decent slashing weapon.

Finally, I grabbed a short sword. There was nothing fancy about it and I didn’t know the first thing about weapons. The blade was about my palm sized in width and under a meter in length. It was plain and simple.

Looking at the two weapons, I placed my hands on them. I hadn’t meant to use Midas Touch earlier, but this time I concentrated on the ability. A moment later, I felt my strength drain then return in a massive wave as the energy left me then my stamina returned in relation to be holding the newly turned gold.

I gave the short sword a few practice swings. Some of the original balance had been lost once it changed to gold, but the new weight only made it deadlier for downward strikes. At least that was my unknowledge opinion. There wasn’t enough room to practice with the spear, but I at least got accustomed to its weight.

Considerable better armed, I searched for a backpack and a few other supplies to hold my new weapons. I would need to consider finding some paint eventually, otherwise, I might attract undue attention in the future if I was a walking gold mine. I also found some work gloves that were thickly padded while being nimble on the inside.

The bag I’d commandeered was almost full when I heard a sound from further inside the shop. I grabbed the sword and carefully moved deeper. I wasn’t sure how these monsters were being created, but right now I felt they were weak to give us humans a chance. If I could take down a few of them during this time it will feed my growth.

Carefully pushing the door open, I saw that the shop was connected to a living space. The ones that managed the shop must have lived here as well. I crept through the rooms peeking around the corner before fully entering the room. I was at the last room and hadn’t yet found anything. I was starting to think it was my imagination when I heard a thump from the wardrobe.

I angled my sword at the furniture then carefully moved forward. With a yank, I pulled the doors open only for a girl to fall out. She nearly almost screamed but I shot forward and wrapped my hand around her mouth. “Quiet! You’ll bring the creatures here!” I stared into her eyes not blinking or looking away. It took a minute, but she finally calmed down and nodded.

I gently pulled my hand away and took a step back. I had to suppress a groan as I’d accidentally left red marks over her face from my hand. I’d need to practice with my strength later or I might kill someone I didn’t intend. She was probably sixteen or seventeen. Of Asian descent, she was very pretty with solid black hair and black eyes. I’d always enjoyed the Oriental’s facial structure. “Who are… you?” she asked with tears in her eyes while rubbing her mouth and cheeks.

I sighed and crouched down so we were on the same eye level. She was dressed in a hoodie and baggie pants making her look even younger as she looked at me with wet eyes. “My name is Aurum.”

“Like… Aurum for gold?” she asked tilting her head to the side.

I laughed, surprised she knew it. Not many people did. “Yes. My parents had a sense of humor, but not many people know that. You must be well learned.”

“Top of my class at the university.”

“University? Not high school?” I asked surprised.

She glared at me. “Yeah. Yeah. I look like I’m sixteen. I’m actually twenty.” She very much did not look her age. It would have been a nice thing in ten years if she had been able to keep her looks.

“I see. Well. Where are your parents? I sort of needed to take all the store’s gold.”

Her glare intensified. “You’re looting us?!” She demanded while backing away from me. It wasn’t surprising. Looters were generally bad people after all.

“Yes and no. Concentrate on yourself for a moment,” I said.

Her glare turned into a confused look, but she did as I told her. She was very expressive. When she gasped a second later, I knew she had succeeded as well as the fact that I wasn’t completely insane or unique. I asked her to read off her screen if she didn’t mind so I could get an idea.

--

Name: Rai Mami

Age: 20

Level: 1

Ability:

Knowledge is Power – The more information you possess, the stronger you become.

Magical Knowledge – Allows for the use of magic.

--

“Vague. I wish they included more in the description,” I said after she finished.

“What does it mean by knowledge that I possess? Do I need to carry around books?” she asked looking at me with hopeful eyes.

“Its hard to say. I have something similar only for gold. The more gold I possess, the stronger I become.”

“I see. Alright. I’ll trust you for now, until we find my parents.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. Do you have any books around here?” I asked looking around the room. “We might be able to test that theory.”

“Yeah. Hold on!” She started to get up then stopped suddenly. “Um. Could you give me a minute to change?”

“Change?” I asked looking her over, then realized that her pants were darker in the center. “Sure.” I left the room and closed the door.

“Alright. I’m done.” She pushed the door open and I found she was even shorter than I originally thought. She barely came up to my shoulder. “Also, I tested it while changing. It didn’t work.”

“Interesting. We’ll have to figure it out.” We moved down to the first-floor shop and I peeked out the window. I didn’t see anything on the street, but there were plenty of alleys that monsters could be lurking in. I turned back to Rai. “Can you use any sort of weapon?”

“I know karate, but I’m not sure I can really do anything against the monsters.”

“For now stay behind me, but it would be best to find a way to defend yourself. Come take a look to double check the street. Four eyes are better than two.”

“If you didn’t see anything, I’m sure I won’t either,” Rai said but moved forward anyway. She peeked out the window and looked around. A few seconds later, she pulled in a sharp breath.

“What is it? Did you see something?” I asked moved next to her.

“My… my parents,” she answered in a broken voice. I followed her gaze and saw two people of Asian decent that he been mauled by the goblins. They weren’t in the pile around the door, but a bit further down the street so I hadn’t realized that they might be her parents.

I quickly pulled her into a hug. I had zero experience for something like this. Hell, I didn’t think anyone in the world had experience for something like this yet. People involved in war might be the closest, but how often did you hear about someone’s parents being killed by monsters.

“I’m sorry, Rai.”