Somewhere on a mountain, there was a man. A despicable man, he was.
Somewhere on a mountain.
He was a mean one, he was. However, I didn’t believe them. I wanted to see for myself just how bad he could possibly be.
As I packed my bags, filled my canteen, and ate till I couldn’t stuff another bite into my mouth, I was on my way.
Mother tried to warn me. She told me it wasn’t worth it, the man was a criminal. But no more. I was bored that day.
Perhaps I should have listened to her.
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…
As I took another step up the mountain, I regretted my decision. I missed the warmth of my mother’s hug. The hot soup ready for me every evening.
I had been walking for 8 hours, or atleast, I assumed. That was when I could smell it.
A pungent smell. It made me retch in disgust. However, I remembered why I was there, and carried on.
That was when I saw it. Or him? Could what I had seen be described as a human?
Whatever I had seen, did not stop me from opening my mouth.
“Excuse me?”, I said.
The thing wheezed. I took the moment to search my surroundings. There was a cauldron in the middle of the cave. A hole somewhere in the back, presumably for doing business. And at last, an animal pelt laid out. There was another hole in the cave that had a light shining out of it, but I could not see into it.
The light was cold.
“What…? Who are you? Don’t you know to leave an old man in peace, you fool?”, asked the thing. He seemed to call himself a man, but to be sure, I kept my distance.
“I wanted to know if the rumours are true. They say a criminal lies in wait in the mountain.”, I answered.
“So you are a fool. A generally daft one, it seems. Why approach an ominous mountain that has rumours surrounding it? Do you wish for death?”, asked the old man.
Thinking about the sense he had spoken, I did seem pretty stupid.
“I was bored.”, I answered.
“Fine. I’ll tell you a story, then.”, said the old man, dropping what looked like a heart into his cauldron.
Steam boils into my face as I rear back in pain.
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"An ambitious one, I was. I seeked to roam the seas, adventuring and what not. There was a truly magnificent land I had stumbled upon, called Forumland. The leader of this land was welcoming. You may know the bastard as Vetex, the creator.
I, however, was not surprised or astounded. I was not afraid to criticize him.
I wanted him to make me his right hand man. He did not appreciate it, and told me to ‘back off’. The snake.
He was working on a new project. An Arcane Odyssey, he called it.
I thought it was hilarious. I saw multiple flaws in his project. For one, it was a game. I saw that the game was unbalanced, and I pointed this out. He decided to admit that it did have some flaws, and let me go.
Then, the next time I spoke with him, ended in tragedy. His game was close to finish, and he saw it was almost ready to release. But I was not happy.
He didn’t listen to me at all! The scoundrel!
If he wouldn’t listen… then I would pound the sense into him."
“Wait, wait, you picked a fight with Vetex? THE Vetex? Geno Arcturus?”, I asked. The old man was crazy, then and now. I’m not sure if he’s dead or not, but looking back on it, what he did was pretty stupid.
“Shut up and let me finish.”, scowled the old man.
“You see, back then, I wasn’t a joke. I had a reputation as ‘The Criminal’. I could rob any bank. And if the Grand Navy attempted to thwart me? It was a piece of cake… with my Enchanted Magic Book.
I approached the scoundrel, and opened my book.
It was almost comical, watching his face in astoundment. I bet the idiot never imagined I would use his own creation in such a way!
You see, I sent my spirit into his mind.
Now, he can no longer kill me in a single strike. It was almost an equal fight. I don’t know how long it took, but the battle was almost one sided. That bastard… he wasn’t even trying. I got the upper hand on him at first, but once he decided to put in the effort, he sent me out of his conscious and suspended me from the Forumlands.
I wanted people to see him lose, so I projected our battle throughout my flesh body. Perhaps that’s why I lost.”
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…
“I’ve been trying to find a way to enter the lands once more, but old age has gotten to me. I most likely will die before I find a way. Now… you have listened to my story. What do you have to say?”, said the old man, directing his eyes into mine. What I saw in his eyes was complete contempt.
I couldn’t say what was really on my mind, which was: ‘What an idiot!’. But, I didn’t know what would happen if I did, so I simply ran as fast as I could.
I’ll never know if I would have died or not that day.
I hope he never leaves that cave.