The Risky Road to Power

  The doors and large window shutters to the warehouse remained closed to ward of the winter chill. The torches hanging on the walls nor the single oil lamp on the isolated table in the center offered little aid. Chu sat alone on the bench by the table with his hands folded.

  The focus of his thoughts lay in an issue that plagued him since the day the word Sersen joined his vocabulary.

  He possessed enough lifestones to create, if truly successful, eight formidable Sersens. Eight Sersens, with a full eighty-one ancient symbols powered by an unthinkable nine lifestones. Any one of these gifted individuals could easily wipe the floor with a Tower Talisman Sersen.

  Previously, Chu surmised he would try his luck in the Nord Pass and possibly find a lifestone for himself. In this world that lacked enforceable laws and policing, a lifestone offered the assistance of a hidden trump card. Now, he required not only a human guinea pig but had to consider an additional headache.

  Who would he choose?

  Understandably, Chu considered himself to be part of the masses.

  An ordinary human with no special traits from the world called Earth.

  As such, he owned a certain amount of pride, patience, and above all, a tinge of jealousy mixed with greed.

  Who on earth would not jump at the prospect of earning power?

  Only a fool would waste this sliver of opportunity that presented itself.

  Come hell or high water, if he needed to cast all the lifestones and talismans on himself to achieve success, he would.

  How many years did he live in this world without a shred of superpower? Would he remain as a mere peasant in this world?

  How long would he continue to hide behind Lucy?

  A few questions crossed his mind.

  Why waste a tattoo for nine common demon beasts?

  Shouldn't he hold out until he gained nine lifestones from a rare demon beast?

  One like the wolf demon?

  According to the mural in the ruins, why should he waste one of his only two talisman slots like this?

  But then again, did wolf demons grow on trees?

  And did he have the strength to kill nine within the limited timeframe?

  Ridiculous. Chances are, he might die of old age before then. Or more likely, serve as a meal.

  The large door creaked open to allow a group of children to barely squeeze through before closing. A few girls led the procession while leaving the two limping boys behind. Redflower had returned to the farm, searching for her gentle owner.

  The reappearance of the horse had caused Ming to scramble inside the walls for fear of retaliation. Fortunately, the horse trotted around the farm a few times before waiting patiently at the stables. Well acquainted with the mindset of the animal, Clod summoned the owner and caretaker.

  Yin and the racehorse currently fawned over each other in the stables. Nobody would suspect this little girl actually owned a formidable steed.

  "Clod, how do you make out with a limp, man? I'm struggling here. I really admire you. By the way, how about helping me convince Yin that her horse is too dangerous? Let's hand her a new foal so she can bond with it. As for such a dangerous animal, I will step up and take responsibility. If anyone has to face danger, it should be me."

  Ming sighed while speaking in a righteous tone.

  "I don't think Redflower has changed. She still seems like the same friendly farm horse. When Yin led her by the reins into the stable she didn't display any aggressiveness. She even allowed Toll and Jim to remove the harness and brush her down."

  Clod replied as he scratched his golden yellow hair. The straight answer along with the blockish face boiled a response from the hopeful profiteer.

  "Dammit Clod, you going to waste a horse like this on a child? Soon this brother of yours will become an indomitable Sersen of the whole Empire. Don't you want me to ride a steed suitable to my station?"

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  Lucy paused her steps at the front and turned around.

  "Chu said earlier that he might not have enough lifestones for everyone to become a Sersen. His modified talismans guzzle the stones faster than a hungry mouth."

  "Huh? When did he tell you this? Lucy, don't forget you owe me one. If it wasn't for me, Chu would have never met you. You can never pay back this Elder Brother of yours. This Elder brother of yours needs a talisman."

  Lucy narrowed her eyes while shaking her head. This self-righteousness had been used numerous times over the years to pilfer coppers from her during his buying sprees. She narrowed her oval eyes.

  "Why don't you tell Dyna this? She should be even more grateful than me since she and Sakura could not fend for themselves at the time."

  "Who? That devil? She's even more ungrateful than Clod here. Woe is the day this big Brother gathered you all and toiled in hardship to provide a better life..."

  Ming shook his head in disapproval before recalling what Lucy said. He shouted to Chu at the table.

  "Chu, don't let them fool you. Remember this Big Brother of yours has worked his whole life to deserve a talisman."

  "Alright, stop shouting, do you want the whole empire to know what we are doing?"

  Chu scowled as the group circled around him with shining eyes and fervent faces. If his companions remained ignorant of the empire like true rural residents then this scene would never occur. Rue be the day he introduced mandatory education.

  Naked anticipation and greedy expectation twinkled from the surrounding pairs of open eyes. A hollow cough escaped his throat while he raised his hand to cover a smile.

  "If our luck holds then by evening we will have eight Sersens. I have been scrutinizing the new talismans and they should not pose a problem in activation. Since Elder Pick doubled the amount of Black Opal powder, the result has proven itself."

  As he suspected, the ink, the paper, and the printing occupied key positions in forming a perfect talisman. By adding his own interpretation to this ancient process he achieved success. Only a person who possessed knowledge of modern-day technology could use an unknown approach to modify something that remained unchanged for centuries.

  Chu paced a few steps from the table while trying to control his own excitement. His companions might not understand the world-shattering discovery but he did. If word spread of their experiments in this tiny farm on the fringes of the Empire, chaos would ensue.

  If he shared this knowledge with the Tower, they might torture him into thinking he knew more. He had overstepped his boundaries and he knew it. Only by keeping this a secret could he live as he wanted. Luckily, he had secured some trustworthy companions. His family on the farm treated his word as gold and possessed sealed lips.

  Chu faced his most reliable companions who embarked on this journey from the very beginning. Pointing a finger at himself, he then moved it according to the sequence.

  "The order will be as follows. Me, then Ming, Dyna, Miki. After that, then Rose and the three wolves. A speed-type ability is not suited for Clod so I won't burden him with such a useless skill. When we become stronger, our goal will include finding a powerful one for him."

  Chu said. If they encountered failures during the process, he expected the order to stand. As a close combatant, Ming ranked high on the standings. Dyna usually prowled around on her own so providing her with a talisman would ease his mind in thinking about her safety. Miki occupied a position in his adventuring party while Rose supported Clod when they ventured out on adventures.

  Dyna bolted out from the warehouse to fetch her wolves and have them prepped for the experiment. Meanwhile, Chu spread a couple of the nine slotted talismans on the table. These talismans had the greatest probability of creating a modified Sersen. The next successful ones would be the Ancient talismans, pen drawn by Dyna. The ink in those, however, dropped their chances to about fifty-fifty.

  "Rose, when you awaken your ability, you can't bully Clod whenever we're not here. Lucy, in the event I lose consciousness, call over Bon, Old Hodge, or Elder Pick to assist you and Clod. Otherwise, you're going to run out of hands. Wait one hour to ensure I am ok, before continuing with Ming."

  "Chu what if something happened and it looks like you are in danger?"

  Lucy asked. her words splashed a bucket of cold water on the other participants as they looked up.

  "If it looks like I am in severe trouble and I remain unconscious for over a day, chop off my arm with the talisman. It's the only way for me to lose the majority of effect from it. Remember, only if I am in trouble."

  Chu rolled the words slowly off his tongue. The only safeguard against this operation lay in cutting the problem at the source. The situation of Mr. Thomas provided the only viable cure for him once the procedure started. He stressed the point in the event these companions decided to perform surgery too early.

  Luckily, most of them had witnessed the scenario played out in the barn during Lucy's awakening. If not then he would have called Old Hodge to act as supervisor.

  He had already informed Lucy to follow the guidelines of CPR he used on the Hoyle farm.

  Last night he scribbled the procedure for CPR in the hopes the group could use it to pull him back from the brink of death. Hopefully, they won't have to use it. His eyes fell on the ax his father left with Clod before departing.

  "Place all talismans on the upper arm near the shoulder. I'll speak to Sherry later about stitching a waterproof armband. We can use it to always cover the tattoos even while bathing."

  Chu slapped his hands and then rubbed his face. He was fully aware of his status as a lab rat but without life-threatening risk, how could he reap a life-changing reward?

  "Chu, you're sure you don't want me to try first? You know, just to be on the safe side."

  Ming asked. Redflower might be all well and dandy but she was still a horse. Chu glanced at the worried-looking faces. Experimenting with the wolves first didn't solve the problem. The true experiment required a human body. Gazing around, he then replied with firm assurance.

  "No. Ever since Simon introduced us to the world of a Sersen, I continued thinking about it. When Apprentice Tye visited the farm and shared his knowledge, I have always thought about this method. If this fails then I should rightly suffer my fate."

  He flashed a smile at them. For him, there remained a slim, minute possibility he might not die but return to earth. Desperate as the hopeless thought might be, it offered a chance unlike Ming and the others of this world. He rattled out a lie to console himself as well as these loyal companions.

  "But if I succeed then don't you think I deserve the right to be the first? Let's do this!"

  For some reason, his eyes fell on the gleaming ax blade and its wicked long shadow which seemed to reach out towards him...