"My lord I shall find the best hunters and track the man through the forest. Can I deploy my men?"
The baron nodded, "Take along five second tier warriors and fifty first tier warriors." The baron had a grimace as he looked at the dead warrior on the floor.
"Shame about him, perhaps I shouldn't have killed him." Second tier warriors were a precious resource to him. Killing one to vent his anger really wasn't worth it.
Arnand didn't comment, he only had a straight expression as he asked, "What should we do about his family, my lord?" a cruel expression passed through the baron's face
"Get rid of them. Can't let him be too lonely in the afterlife." Arnand had a hesitant expression, he looked like he wanted to speak up for them, but he ultimately nodded and moved to obey.
Meanwhile Reign was stumbling through the forest, aiming to put as much distance as he could from his pursuers. He also took the chance to bug mirage.
"Hey, Mirage where am I, who are you and how the f*ck am I still alive?"
He eagerly waited for her answer. As for the idea that he was in a dream? He had discounted that idea the moment he had been shot by the arrow. That shit had hurt like hell, and there was no way in hell he could feel such intense pain in a dream.
Not in a normal dream anyway. Besides, there was no way he could have dreamt up that dragon and that girl. Especially the beauty, visions of her round curvy ass, her luscious round breasts and her red kissable lips swam through his mind distracting him from where he was going.
Only Mirage's voice saved him from crashing headfirst into a tree, her regal voice echoed through his head as she explained. " I'll tell you the basics. You are not in your original world, you are in a higher world."
Reign interrupted her, "what do you mean a higher world?"
Mirage didn't appreciate the interruption. She snapped, "A higher world is a world that is higher."
Reign: "????"
Mirage was satisfied with his silence this time and explained, "A higher world is higher in Tier than your home world. An accident happened to me and I happened to land in your home world. I used an artifact to teleport you across space to this world. "
She waited for a while and seeing that he had nothing to say she continued,
"This world is known as Arivia. It is quite huge, many magnitudes bigger than your world it has many races and most importantly it has mana. Your world is considered lower tier because of size and lack of mana. Mana allows beings to rise in tier and gain strength and if they rise high enough life. There are a total of nine tiers, and right now you're tireless. The dragon's blood however gave you the basic attributes of a first tier warrior."
Reign interrupted again, "then why did you say that I am tireless? "
One could totally feel Mirage grind her teeth at the interruption, however she graciously answered. "In this world, there are certain paths you take as you rise in tiers. The most common one is the warrior path, and then there are the knight, rogue and mage paths. All other paths basically sprout from those. You are very lucky to have encountered what you did when you first came into this world. The dragon essence crystal and the bath in the divine essence pond basically mean that whatever path you pick will be smooth sailing."
Mirage suddenly paused and then her voice faltered as she said
"Forget I said that, your luck is atrocious."
He voice gained a careful edge as she whispered to Reign, "when I tell you to, turn and thrust your sword to your left."
Reign stilled, his heartrate spiked as he felt a mysterious sense of danger settle on him. He remained frozen in position, his senses suddenly stretched to the maximum. His sudden pause and tensing gave the enemy in the dark the chance to strike.
Reign was tense, his senses stretched to the limit, his heart beat in a fast rhythm and adrenaline raced through his veins.
Mirage's voice suddenly rose in his mind, "Turn around. Thrust your sword up."
Reign didn't even think, he robotically followed Mirage's instruction.
He whirled around and caught the sword with both hands, thrusting it up with all his might.
As he did he felt his sword connect and pierce through flesh, a pained yowl rang throughout the forest before a heavy body slammed into him.
He felt a piercing pain in his chest as a large mass crushed onto him, knocking him off his feet and sending him tumbling across the ground.
Reign quickly got back to his feet, ignoring the pain. He turned his body to face his opponent, sword in hand, blood and adrenaline pumping through his veins. He couldn't help but inhale in shock as he saw his opponent.
Before him was a gigantic panther, taller than him, with fur dark as night. Its body was sleek and streamlined, lined with muscles all over, suggesting a deadly grace even with its size .
Its eyes shone with ferocity as it limped around, courtesy of the wound in its leg. Reign's sword had pierced clean through one of its front legs, and blood could be seen streaming down, staining the ground.
However even with the wound, it still had a ferocious and fierce momentum. Each movement was fluid, silent, predatory, as though it were darkness given purpose.
It watched Reign silently and paced, looking for a chance to sink its long fangs into his neck. Reign remained still, entirely focused on the panther, not daring to shift his focus, his sword ready at the slightest movement.
Both man and beast sized each other up, each seeking to make a thunderous attack and end their opponent.
The panther suddenly leapt, it's claws flashing towards Reign. Reign swung his word, aiming at the panther's head. The panther nimbly avoided the sword, its body twisting eerily as its claws scratched heavily against Reign's arm. Reign hissed in pain but whirled, his sword pointed at the panther.
The panther limped around Reign, its eyes sizing him up for a chance to attack. It seemed weary of the sword that had so easily pierced through its tough hide.
Then the air shifted.