All Chapters of Lustbound: The System Of Temptation: Chapter 51
- Chapter 60
145 chapters
Chapter 50
Nolruk stood on the far end of the cave looking at his father who was bare-chested and on his knees. The older man was kneeling before a small altar that he had set up to commune with whatever higher power he'd come into contact with. The man swayed from side to side, leaning far enough on each side that, by all logic, he should have fallen. However, some strange force seemed to be holding the man in place regardless of how far he leaned. The older man's form appeared weak and emaciated, almost like a stiff breeze would knock him over. Only Nolruk knew how wrong this assessment of his father was. He had seen the power that had been granted to the man, and it was by no means trivial. Nolruk was certain that if this man wanted to, he could take out anyone in the village with barely any effort. Which was why he couldn't understand his hesitation to go on the attack. They had watched Roka go hunting for four days straight, and done nothing! Nolruk could readily admit that he'd been wrong
Chapter 51
Nolruk could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he looked at the creature on the ground. It now occurred to him that, as terrifying as they had looked while they had been on his father's skin, it was nothing compared to the real thing. The thing was about three feet long and as thick as his arm. Its carapace had a metallic sheen to it and was completely black from one end to the other, making it next to impossible to notice in poor lighting or at night. The legs of the thing, which hadn't made much of an impression while it had been on his father's back, were the first thing that Nolruk noticed. The floor of the cave was made of solid stone that wasn't easily broken through. And yet, the sharp pointed claws of the creature casually broke through it with each of its numerous sharp-tipped legs. Nolruk doubted that the creature was even doing it on purpose, the thing was just crawling around as if it was trying to familiarize itself with its current surroundings. And yet, with ever
Chapter 52
After about ten minutes of walking, they came to a stop beside a gently flowing stream. His father raised the staff in his hand as he muttered something under his breath. With a firm 'thud', the staff was brought down on the ground. Rather than a small round indentation from the staff as Nolruk had been expecting, a large concave depression about a meter wide, formed on the ground before them. The surface of the depression that had formed wasn't flat but rather was marked by several strange symbols. Most others wouldn't recognize what they were looking at. Given that he'd been staring at one for the past four days, Nolruk quickly and easily recognized that these were the same symbols that were in the scrying pool back at the cave. With another movement of the staff towards the stream and more incomprehensible words, the water in the stream rose into the air of its own volition, making an arch and starting to fill the temporary scrying pool that his father had just made. When the scryi
Chapter 53
Greg tried to maintain a calm air as he walked into the infirmary. Though he wasn't going to be learning any magic today, he couldn't help but feel like he was taking the first step on that journey. A thought that left Greg filled with no small amount of excitement. Unlike most places back on earth that opened at eight in the morning, people in this town started operating their various enterprises at the first light of dawn, or approximately six in the morning. As such, despite the fact that, by Greg's estimation, it was only seven in the morning, he knew he wasn't too early. On the previous four days, Greg would have already walked out of the town through the main road and moved in the direction of the three-tusk boar territory. Today, however, Greg had no plan to set one foot out of the town. Whatever it is his uncle had planned for him was now no longer his problem as far as Greg was concerned. While Greg vaguely knew the layout of the infirmary, he had no idea what the morning s
Chapter 54
A hand unconsciously rose to scratch the back of Greg's head even as he blushed lightly. "Just one?" Greg confirmed. Noting the light blush on Greg's face, there was a slight look of interest in the healer's expression as she nodded for him to ask. "What is your name?" Greg asked. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed not only because of all that they'd done together but that he'd even managed to ask her to become his teacher and yet he still didn't know her name. The curiosity on the healer's face morphed into full-on amusement even as a smile spread on her lips. "Tell you what, if you work hard in learning potion-making and manage to impress me, I'll tell you my name," She offered. "Until then, you can just refer to me as teacher or healer, as is convenient for you," She offered. Greg could only nod in agreement. "Anything else?" The healer asked. Offering a small wry smile, Greg answered. "No, Teacher." "Good," The healer spoke up. "Now, do you know how to read?" She as
Chapter 55
Greg watched as, from the image of the trunk holding up the six branches, thick roots appeared that seemed capable of holding up the tree regardless of what storms came along. "The arcane tongue," She relayed. "There is a lot of debate about this, but the majority of those in mage circles believe that the arcane tongue used in spells, rituals, and the like is what came before the origin tongue," The healer stated. "Whether that is true or not, is of no interest to us at the moment. To be a competent potion-maker, you will have to be acquainted with the language to a certain degree and that is all that matters," She stated. "Now, in order of most important to least, I'll be teaching you three languages," She informed him. "Most of your life will be spent with and among humans as, except for a few continents, most are dominated by humans. That's why, I'll put most emphasis on teaching you how to read and write in the human tongue. It'll be our sole focus for the next three months," Sh
Chapter 56
Greg was tempted to ask the familiar to stay in her corporeal form beside him. He, however, understood the importance of keeping her hidden for the time being. After all, a hidden blade was much more dangerous compared to one that was out in the open and exposed to one's opponent. With everything in place, Greg took the time to take a deep breath and calm his nerves. If he could avoid tipping off his foe that he was aware of them, then he could maintain the element of surprise when he struck. Pulling the door to the room he'd dived into open, Greg calmly stepped out and moved towards the entrance to the infirmary. The sun was still up in the sky when Greg stepped out of the infirmary. By Greg's estimate, the time was around four in the evening. People were still moving about in the town, probably organizing what they would have for dinner. One who casually looked at this scene would have no way of knowing that there was danger lurking here. Greg, however, wasn't calmed by the seemin
Chapter 57
Greg couldn't help the grim smile that crossed his lips even as he summarized the situation before him. "So, basically, what you are telling me is that my chances of coming out of this alive are somewhere between improbable and impossible?" Greg posed rhetorically. Anyone paying attention to the young man at that moment would have noticed that his gaze was growing increasingly cold even as he watched his cousin walk towards the forest. "Not if I have something to say about it," He ground out through gritted teeth.Zarek calmly stood in the grove with the staff that had changed his life at his side. The magic had taken a great toll on his body, no one was more keenly aware of that than he was. The pain sometimes got so bad that he wanted to just curl up on the ground and never move again. He, however, had always prided himself in his iron will. As such, despite it all, he made it a point to never let it show even when he was by himself. Which was why he could maintain a calm demeanor a
Chapter 58
Roka's shouted reply made him flinch in spite of himself. The boy had clearly seen right through his weak attempt at deflection and was having none of it. There was a long silence between the two of them. A part of Zarek wanted to ignore the boy and avoid the question. A bigger part, however, felt compelled to answer. Not just for the sake of the one before him, but for his own sake. The look of complete shock in his brother's eyes when he realized that his very own brother was to be his killer, had haunted Zarek every time he closed his eyes. Even worse than the pain that he'd been forced to suffer since he first picked the staff up, was the silent 'why?' that had been in his brother's eyes as life left him. Unbeknownst to him, when forced to face and answer for his actions, Zarek said something that would always stick with Greg throughout his journey to the top. "You may never get to understand this Roka," The man spoke with forced calm in his voice. "But power requires sacrifice,"
Chapter 59
At some point, one of the two dark crawlers that he'd had on standby under the boy, appeared behind Zarek. Unlike the tough shell that covered the back of the dark crawlers, the underbelly of the beast was nowhere near as tough. This action by the dark crawler saved the man's life. Zarek was certain that, at the speed with which he was moving, had he slammed into one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, he would have shattered his spine and the back of his head would have caved in. As things stood, while slamming into the worm wasn't exactly a comfortable experience, it was nowhere near as damaging as the tree would have been. Dropping down to the ground on his hands and knees, Zarek could feel his mouth fill with the iron taste of blood. Despite avoiding death by the skin of his teeth, he'd still suffered substantial internal injuries as a result of being body slammed by the worm along with the explosion that had followed. A look of rage and hatred filled the man's eyes as he