Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Read online

  Get up on your toes...~

  She continued singing, and after a few verses passed the rats began to act strangely. First the ones closest to her did it, and then others chose to do it as well. The rats had begun to dance against their will!

  <<< * >>>

  The cave rats have become slaves to the rhythm! While the song’s effect lasts they will be unable to do anything but dance, dance, dance!

  <<< * >>>

  Scott would have taken advantage of the effect sooner, but he was enraptured by the beautiful voice of his comrade. He had never heard anyone sing with such a radiant and clear tone. No one human could have made such a sound, he was sure of it.

  He shook off the unintended side-effect of Rhea’s unadulterated awesomeness then set about the task of rodent extermination. Scott immediately began to stab, slash, beat, maim, and utterly destroy the dancing rodents with great zeal.

  They screamed as they danced, blood poured from their hapless bodies. An agile whirl wind of death danced alongside them, tearing their lives away while they helplessly shook their furry little groove thangs.

  Rhea continued to sing until her mana ran out completely. All but four rats had succumbed to their wounds. The remainder did not have much life left in them, either.

  Scott and Rhea nodded to each other then set about finishing the battle. The sorcerer ran to the right. The arcane blade ran to the left. Together they performed quick slashing movements that continued to whittle down the health of the remaining rodents while preventing the furry little beasts from gaining a single hit.

  After the final rat died and exploded in a shower of light, Scott surveyed the area while panting heavily from the exhausting battle. When no more monsters presented themselves, he looked at Rhea with a feral grin.

  The battle music faded away and a somber song took its place. It was a song filled with quiet tones and soft scuttling sounds. The battle report displayed immediately after the change in the musical score.

  <<< * >>>

  Victory!

  You have faced a thirty-two cave rat contingent and lived to tell the tale!

  +0 EXP

  +1152 Fayth

  +32 Ability Points

  Item(s) Acquired:

  Cave Rat Tail X 32

  Small Cave Rat Pelt X 48 (Poor Condition)

  Cave Rat Eye X 7

  Cave Rat Fang X 3

  <<< * >>>

  “No experience points? Let me check my ring.” Scott looked to his survival lore ring and read the experience information.

  After reading it for a moment he blinked then turned to look at Rhea. “Seven hundred eighteen experience points. Holy crap...”

  “Well, it was a swarm and the experience is doubled. Do you still think that you won’t be able to gain the experience points necessary to gain survival skills?” Rhea smirked at him then tossed her hair around with a sudden twist of her head.

  The sorcerer chuckled softly then happened to take in the sight of the blood and gore that had been splattered about on the floor and walls of the mine. The bodies had disappeared but the destruction had remained. Still, he did not care about that. His first instinct was something a bit more goofy than depressing. “You see that, rats! That’s the power of friendship, bitches!”

  Rhea could not help herself. She threw her arms up and cried out in a feminine display of comradery. “Yeah! Friendship, bitches!”

  Scott put his hand to his mouth and made a gasping noise. “Rhea, such language...”

  She pouted at him. “You said it first...”

  He could not keep pretending to be offended after seeing her devastating pout. He started to laugh. She laughed as well, and they enjoyed the moment. However, Scott decided to ruin it.

  “So much blood.” He leaned over and wiped his hand on Rhea’s armor.

  She squawked like an overly-excited chicken then asked, “What are you doing?”

  He grinned at her, “Sharing the spoils...”

  “Eww, stop that!” she cried. Rhea backed away from him with a horrified look on her face.

  Scott advanced on her position, “Comrades should share everything, even a bed. You remember that right?”

  She immediately turned and fled, her hair streaming behind her. “No, that sounds like something you made up!”

  “Stop running away and become my towel!” Scott laughed when his overly dramatic statement caused her to cry out. He gleefully began to chase the girl around the mine. Was it stupid to be playing around like this in a cave full of monsters? Yes. Still, there was something about the moment that he truly enjoyed. Maybe he was just designed to be an asshole? Either way, the moment felt nice.

  “Nooo!” wailed Rhea while she ran for the cave exit. They would need to rest a little to restore their mana anyway. They might as well head back to the tent and get cleaned up.

  Scott took off after her as his laughter filled the air. He had not had this much fun with someone in quite a while.

  --

  Three days passed as they hunted in the Red Rock Mine. Due to the absurdly high number of monsters that appeared whenever they entered the cave system, they had never had to go in too deeply. The tent proved to be invaluable during this time.

  Scott had thought that it would only last for twenty-four hours, but it turned out that his information had been wrong. The tents actually lasted twenty-four hours after each use. They could not be taken up and used again, but as long as you kept using the tent it would not disappear for one full day after each rest period.

  There were limits, however. A simple tent like the one that they were using degraded over time. It would stop working after a week at most, even if the tent did not disappear. That was more than enough time to fight and rest for training. They could purchase more in the future and never need to worry about having to run back to town to rest.

  Rhea was extremely happy. She had finally reached level seven after their third hunting trip. If Scott had not been focused on developing his survival skills he would have gained several levels. However, once the bonus period ended he could just fight the monsters for normal levels of experience. He would still gain levels at an accelerated rate compared to fighting back in the Victory Station region.

  “I’m close to gaining another level, Scott.” said Rhea, excitement obvious in her tone. They had managed to find places in the early portion of the mine where they could use the terrain to their advantage. After that, they had found it much easier to deal with monster swarms, though the goblin parties they fought had been decidedly harder to deal with than the rats. Goblins also gave much more experience, however.

  “Yeah, I’m about one-third of the way to gaining my survival skill, too.” said Scott, a smile upon his lips.

  The elf girl acquired a thoughtful expression for a moment then sighed. “Scott...”

  “Yes, Rhea?”

  “I’m sorry, but I...need to go do elf stuff for a while.” She seemed both sad and annoyed.

  “I see. Do you really have to go now? Can’t you at least stay long enough to get that level that you were talking about?” Scott did not have any anger or frustration in his tone, but he clearly wanted her to stay.

  She looked down at the ground then nodded her head. “ I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t have to go...”

  “It’s OK. If you have to, you have to... But, when will you return?” asked Scott.

  “I... it, it’ll be about a week I think.” replied the girl.

  “So, long? Really?” he sat up on his bed roll and looked at her. What would make her need to leave for a week?

  Rhea looked down at the ground then softly said, “I’m sorry...”

  Scott saw the sadness in the girl’s face and posture. He was not mad at her, but she would be missed. They had grown a little closer as comrades in the last few days. “It’s OK, Rhea. I’ll just head to town and sell off my share of the loot and buy a new tent. By the time you return, everything will be good to go for us to hunt some more. We’ll get that l
evel.”

  The elf maiden’s eyes began to shimmer with unshed tears. She sniffled a little, but looked up at him with a warm smile on her lips. “OK. It’s a promise then?”

  “Sure, we’ll hunt some more when you get back.”

  She crawled over to him on her hands and knees and wrapped her arms around him. Rhea embraced him gently then kissed him on the cheek.

  Scott coughed a little after being exposed to her sweet maneuver. His face began to grow flush from the simple and beautiful moment. “Eww, girl cooties.”

  “Oh deal with it, you big baby.” said Rhea, before she puffed out her cheeks in an adorable and childish display of disapproval.

  He sighed in a loud and overly dramatic manner. “I suppose I should take my medicine. I mean, if I am not exposed to the cute girl elf cooties, how will I develop proper antibodies to ward them off in the future?”

  She patted him on the cheek then smiled sweetly. “There ya go champ, justify it any way you like.”

  Scott’s face began to burn a little once more the he shook his head and thought. ‘This girl...’

  “I have to go, but if you don’t behave yourself I will have to kiss you three times when I get back.” Rhea threatened him sweetly then brandished her index finger in an admonishing movement.

  Scott’s left eyelid started to twitch and he slowly raised his hand to his lips. He made his hand tremble slightly and in a show of faux-timidity he said, “How would I survive such a terrifying ordeal...”

  Rhea stared at him flatly for a moment then poked him in the chest. “I’ll be back, soon.”

  “OK.” said Scott softly.

  “Is that all you’re going to say to me before I go?” she asked, a tremor in her voice.

  “Well, I had wanted to poke you in the chest too, but I figured that you’d like that too much.”

  Rhea quirked her eyebrow then snorted at him. She reached down clasped one of his hands and then raised it up to eye-level. “This hand? Was it the finger of this hand that you intended to use?”

  “Yep, good ol’ pointy.” Scott wiggled his index finger at her.

  She smirked at him then drew the hand down to her left breast and pressed it against her armored chest. “This hand can touch anything it likes. I would definitely like it, but it could never be too much, OK?”

  “Rhea...” said Scott, his eyes wide due to his surprise at her actions.

  She sighed then looked down and to the side. “I’ve never made it a secret that I want to be with you.”

  Scott felt shame burn through his body. He liked the girl, probably far more than liked her, really. Yet, while they had to keep secrets it was hard to trust her completely. That lack of trust was leaving him as time passed, but he could not be as bold with his feelings as she had just been. He was confused, and possibly a coward.

  “Rhea... I...” Scott started to say something, but Rhea looked up at him once more. He could see that she was starting to cry a little. He did not understand why she felt so strongly for him, but unless she was an award winning actress her feelings were real. It had all started so suddenly, as far as he knew. She professed deep and potent feelings for him, but gave him only vague answers when he questioned her about their origin.

  “Yes...” She looked at him with wide, sad, eyes. She knelt there on the ground, her eyes shimmering softly in the light due to her softly trickling tears.

  Scott had intended to tell her one thing, but he found that he could not speak the words that he had originally wanted to say. Instead, a different urge overcame the man. He started to breathe in and out with greater force.

  Rhea looked at him curiously, noting his sudden change in posture. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but she never had the chance. The reluctant sorcerer leaned in suddenly and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes widened in shock. Did he really just do that?

  Scott pulled away from her then crawled back a little. It was as though he was afraid of what she would do. Neither of them spoke for a moment, but he broke the silence. “I... Just... Just give me a little more time, OK.”

  Rhea started to cry again, heavily this time. However, her expression was one of pure joy. “Yes! Yes, as much time as you need.”

  Scott grunted when she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a powerful embrace. For such a slender girl she was quite strong.

  She placed her head against his shoulder and snuggled in closely. Rhea could not stop crying, but now it felt good to do so.

  Chapter 4: The Legendary Blue Haired Boyfriend

  The soft hum of machinery echoed through the spacious bedroom just before Origin lifted her tiara from her head. The golden device was a spiritual link between her true existence and the avatar that she utilized. She did not actually need the device to manifest in that world, no god did. However, it was part of the mutually agreed upon lifestyle concept known as authenticity.

  Earth humans from many different universes were a subject of great interest among the divinities who lived in the celestial city. Those intriguing, incredibly finite, creatures had invented a pop-culture concept known as virtual reality. That concept included ideas such as the neural-link. Although most versions of Earth did not have technology levels that allowed for full-immersion virtual technology to exist, the gods had seen it as an interesting idea. They had decided to use it to limit their own consciousness prior to insertion into a mortal world. This would allow them to mimic the human fiction while accepting the differences in their true natures.

  The blue haired goddess sighed loudly then placed her tiara on its pedestal before she stood up. She absolutely hated to leave Scott when things were becoming cozy, but she had duties to perform.

  Origin walked toward her closet and snatched up a few clothing items that she would need. It did not matter what she wore at the moment, she would have to change later. She laid her clothes out on her bed then headed to her private bathroom.

  “I suppose I should take a shower.” The goddess sighed loudly once more. Why must real life be so tedious? She really did not want to deal with what she had to do today, at all. The life of an heiress was filled with difficulties, even if you were an immortal being of incomparable beauty.

  She looked into the full-length mirror on the back of her bathroom door then frowned. “I look like a mess.”

  Her idea of a mess involved hair that was slightly mussed combined with slightly rumpled clothing. Unlike when she spent her time running around as Rhea, Origin had to actually maintain appearances for the sake of the empire. Yes, the glorious empire.

  The young goddess, and heir to the family throne, stuck out her tongue at the image in the mirror. She lifted then tossed her hair with her hands. She turned one way and then the other. “I wonder what he would think if he saw me like this?”

  It was no idle speculation, really. Rhea was a creature that she had crafted to be almost too pretty to look at, but compared to her actual appearance the elfin avatar was a modest downgrade. Gods and goddesses were practically perfect in appearance most of the time. That was why even a single stray hair could send some of them into a tizzy.

  When they directly interacted with mortals they had always taken on an avatar, a sort of form that the mortal mind could handle. The old stories that passed among mortal kind regarding terrible things happening to anyone who saw the true form of a deity were based in reality.

  Origin stripped down then slipped into her shower. The hot water soothed her aching soul. It helped her to relax a little before it was time to get dressed and leave. As the soothing effect of the water calmed her faux-human body she could not help but smile. “Wonder what he would think if he saw me, now.”

  The goddess laughed gently at the idea of the soldier she had adored for so long, seeing her in the shower. It was such a beautiful domestic image that she began to fantasize about other things. Soon she lost track of time while daydreaming about Scott baking her cookies while wearing a cute frilly apron then meeting her at the door when she
came home from a hard day’s work.

  She bit her lip and reviewed that last fantasy one more time. That was how humans did things, right? Something about the image seemed slightly, off. However, she could not see the reason for her misgivings.

  She would have to research traditional domestic roles again later. They were not as interesting as the Earth human gamer culture, so she had not focused on that aspect of their lives for any lengthy period of time. If she remembered correctly, the bread winner went out to win bread and the cute little homemaker stayed home and baked. She was the heiress to the empire, so obviously that made her the bread winner.

  Origin tapped her chin lightly. “I do wonder why they consider bread to be a valuable victory reward, though. Would they not prefer experience and gold?”

  Time passed and the shower ended. The blue haired deity made her way down to the private garage of her family tower. An Earth human might call it an impossibly large sky-scraper. Origin just called it home. The fact that her home was large enough to accommodate an entire Earth human mega-city’s population was something that she did not really see as a big deal.

  On the way to her car she spied the rest of her companions for the day. “Hey Silence, Mid ...Mom.”

  “What’s with that long pause before saying hello to your mother, dear?” asked Era. The gorgeous goddess of fertility took a moment to shift her weight and thrust her hips to one side.

  Origin screwed up her bottom lip in a petulant display, but she did not need to answer her mother. Her brother did it for her. “She misses her man-toy.”

  “Silence...” said Origin in a dangerous tone of voice. Speaking the truth did not grant license for rudeness, after all.

  Mid chuckled at them both then tilted her hat down with two fingers. “Now, now play nice children.”

  The blue haired girl frowned at her older sister. Mid’s true form was a far cry from the old sage that Scott had met, and several times more alluring than her avatar Regal Alice.