1 Chapter 1 The dreamer of Moore Aisle

A note to any who begin reading this series: Unfortunately, I have decided to stop writing Mercenary. The series ends unfinished, and I have begun the writing of a new series, and as such will likely never come back to this one. While this series will always hold a special place in my heart for being the first novel I ever wrote, I would highly recommend for anyone who is about to read this to instead take a look at my current series "into the depths"

It had been 1254 years since the surface was overrun by monsters. The use of magic, which had been vacant previously in the world, appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Not only humans, but animals and plants began to exhert various qualities and abilities they had not been able to use before.

With the appearance of magic, the humans, even with their millitary might and technological developments were driven back by the unknown that lurked in the wilderness.

Moore Aisle was a continent in the southwest, shaped like a circle with a natural landbridge that connected it to a much larger landmass, paramesia. Paramesia took the shape of an upside down L, which spanned from the northwest corner of the world to the southeast corner.

The humans, driven back by the newfound capabilities of the beasts, found new ways to survive. Over the periods of hundreds of years, entire empires were built underground, away from the reach of the creatures on the surface.

Magical radiation which entered the planet was strongest on the surface, and as a result any beings that lived underground remained mostly unaffected, and so humans lived their lives peacefully in the underground cities.

Our story takes place in Lardis, a bustling underground city in the southeast area of Moore Aisle.

The doors of the swindled pig saloon flapped open and closed. Shady figures entered and exited as they pleased. The voices of drunkards and gamblers could be heard multiple buildings over. Beer fizzed as it was poured, coins clanked as they were handed from one party to another. The job board was filled with wanted posters and other dangerous tasks, fit for only those who were willing to risk their lives.

A man with long black hair, and a scar across his eye, lit a cigarette as he plopped his boots onto the card table in front of him. Customers avoided his grimacing look, and he waited in solace impatiently.

The man let out a sign, and a frown drew itself upon his face as he thought to himself.

Memories flashed back to a week earlier. A red haired woman wearing leather armor and holding a crossbow watched the mans back, and a burly bald man who had overly large fangs and a spiked club, resembling a caveman took the lead. The black haired man held his sword in its sheath, ready to attack. A blonde short haired man wearing a green robe stood by the woman, and they all walked through a dense forest, jumping over thick roots and climbing over the brush.

They were a mile out from the underground entrance, tasked with clearing out a pack of wolves who had given even the city guards trouble, and caused multitudes of casualties.

The yellow haired man held his hands together and a bright aura glowed between them and then dispursed. (Scan Location). "Raggard, it seems there are 5 nearby! Prepare for battle!" Leonard said.

"Got it", Raggard stated, pulling out his sword. "Artus, Leonard, you guys take the left, me and Chantelle will handle the right." Raggard ordered, as they all shifted into position.

They heard a howl, and similtaneously two wolves jumped out from the right side. They charged towards Raggard, and Chantelle took aim at one of them.

A crisp sound emerged as the bolt shot through the air, and a splattering of blood came out of the wolf as it pierced its side, before it had reached Raggard. The other wolf, as if taking advantage of the first ones plight, jumped on top of the first one and used it as a springboard, leaping onto Raggard.

Raggard dodged and swung his sword, lightly grazing the wolfs face, however this only aggravated it further. The wolf reoriented itself and planted its feet to jump once more. The injured wolf had changed its target to Chantelle, and a purple aura surrounded it.

Its legs began to become larger and more muscular, and its speed far exceeded that of a cheetah. It flew towards Chantelle and gouged its fangs into her gut, tearing open her stomache. She let out a scream as the wolf feasted on her intestines, catching Raggard off guard. He looked over to see the horrifying scene and before he knew it, the wolf he was paying attention to had knocked him to the ground and began clawing at his eye.

He stabbed the wolf in the head and pieces of its brain flew onto his face. He spit them away and got up to help his comrade, only to see that the wolf was feasting on her corpse, and that she had already been mortified beyond recognition. He looked over to his other comrades, to see Leonards face mutilated as well, and the chest of Artus had been ripped in two, his bones crushed and lungs ripped open.

Three dead wolves lay next to them, and Raggard let out a scream of rage. The lone remaining wolf, injured, noticed him and began to limp away.

Raggard would not allow this to happen. He ran over to the live wolf and began to violently stab its body, over and over to the point where it could no longer move. The wolf twitched while Raggard stabbed it until it ceased all movement.

Raggard bent down, sheathed his sword, iron drenched in a bloody mess, and pounded the ground. Tears flowed endlessly as he screamed for his companions, and he knew this was the end. "Are there any more of ya!? Eh!?" he vented. "Finish me off wont ya! You took everyone else, why am I the only one who doesnt get to die!?"

Raggard snapped back to reality, in the pub. The doors squealed and a youth came through, with messy hair and rags for clothes. He had a white rope wrapped around his waist and a fancy black dagger tied to it. He wore a green beanie that made his yellow hair stick out from underneath, and his eyes were wide.

He held a cheeky smile and gained the attention of all the customers as he carelessly stomped around the bar. "Ragggggard! Where ya at old pal? Im ready to go take on the surface!"

The pub went silent, and everyone began to whisper. A large man with a buzzcut walked up to the kid and cut him off.

"Oi kid. This bar aint the place for you. And nor is the surface. Even right close to the cities are the wild animals that can use buffing skills to enhance themselves, but if you try and really go out there youre gonna encounter worse monsters than you can imagine. And even if you manage to get past them, the surface guild is gonna be out to get anyone who tries to take over their land. They got magicians who have bathed in radiation all their lives and are more powerful than any of us underground dwellers can imagine, and they dont take friendly to anyone who they consider weak. If it werent for them we woulda already tried to take back the surface from the monsters, but theyve destroyed anyone who tries to make an outside civilization, no matter how strong they are. You think you can deal with that? Lemme answer for you. No. You cant. Now you better run back to mommy before I beat you out of here."

The kid made a wierded out expression and stated "Ch! Youre no fun. Imma go out there to join them, and soon enough Ill lead them into taking back the surface for all of mankind. Just watch me old man!"

The man raged with anger at these words, as the surface guild was a gang of overpowered murderers who did as they pleased, and this kid was saying he was going to lead them.

"You think youre tough stuff eh? Lemme teach you a little lesson then so you know your place in the world". He pulled back his fist and swung hard at the face of the young man.

His fist was met with the finger of the young man, which was held up, and in front of it was a thin glass looking barrier. "Ah ah. Look what youve done old man. You tried attacking me and even made me waste some of my mana on you. Looks like youre gonna have to pay me back for that one"

The man jumped back in surprise. Rarely anyone in the underground could use magic, but to have deflected a full punch with a thin barrier, only by lifting a finger was only something the kings knights would be capable of.

"W-who are you? How did you obtain such skills? Are you a mage specialized in defense!?" The man exclaimed.

"Wrong! The names Dubiliaris. Call me Dubs! Nice to meet you! Now, its time to get that payback..."

Dubs held out his hand and pulled it back as if stringing a bow. A blaze of flames formed the shape of an arrow and he let go, and the arrow flew off towards the man. Dubs snapped his fingers and an explosion occured near the man, causing him to fly backwards, straight into Raggard, who caught him.

"Alright alright kiddo, we get it, youre a genius. Now, lets get going. We got work to do."