Chapter 81
Samael heard the news of the duke's assassination practically weeks after it had occurred. The monk supposed he should have felt something after all. He had been forced into ridiculous situations, and had likely nearly died several times thanks to the man. At best he felt a vague sort of relief. The duke had been a nebulous enemy on the face of it. Samael supposed that came with facing a bureaucrat instead of a monster. Your enemy was paperwork instead of claws and fists. Samael preferred the claws.
The monk eventually dismissed the entire affair. He had other, more poignant issues to handle. The town they were building was coming together now, and had nearly been rebuilt already and it there was a finishing touch that everyone wanted to do.
A memorial was being created by several mages to set in the center of the city now. Powered by the standard magical pillars that bordered the city, it was in the shape of a sphere that floated above a platform, courtesy of a fair bit of magical calculations. The sphere was made of glass, and inside it were a lot of smaller and indistinct people shaped figurines.
It was half a joke and half a token of appreciation. A symbol of the people who flew in on Camila's impromptu spell as reinforcements. There had been arguments that it was too frivolous to those that had died, but someone had taken the idea and run with it, and all the other ideas had been deemed too serious.
Adventurers reacted to death differently than other people really. There was always a chance that someone would die because of a mistake or just bad luck. The dungeon always took its due after all. All you could do was drink, laugh, and be merry while you could, and leave a space for those that have departed.
Samael had been there for the unveiling, and been there for the subsequent toasts. Loud and rude, they were nothing like the formal dinner. There had been cursing, fighting, and more. All of it vibrant and alive. Even the crying and the sobbing at the foot of the memorial.
That was why he was at the base of the memorial again. This time when the moon was high and full. He watched the large sphere wobble in midair and couldn't help the small chuckle to himself.
It was just a bit ridiculous. He reached out and jumped slightly to poke at the side of it. The ball wobbled again and even shifted up and down before re-centering itself. Samael wouldn't have chosen to use this himself, but strangely he wasn't disappointed by it.
He needed to remind himself to be humble too. Pride was something to watch too. He had looked like those little figures in the sphere coming here to help.
Clapping his hands together, Samael began to pray.
He gave thanks to the heavens above. To his family, and to his allies. To those that had helped him, and to the good fortune that had brought him to this point. The man wasn't ashamed to admit that he had gotten a lot of good fortune. He was thankful for that.
Now though, with the town starting to fix itself, the man needed to figure out what to do with his life. He was completely and totally free for the first time in his life. No obligations, no mysteries. He had no enemies that he knew of. There were no monsters on the horizon.
The thought was a bit daunting honestly. He had enough money that he could likely retire. He could teach for the rest of his days if he wanted too. He could spend the rest of his years passing on his style.
Samael looked down at his hand in contemplation, and then made a fist. He could rest if he wanted to. He really could.
That wasn't him though. The monk smiled to himself and jumped up to slap at the sphere again. It wobbled and did a turn.
No, Samael still had one obligation. He needed to learn how to fight. He wasn't done yet. He might have been elite, but that was just the beginning. Samael's next goal was elite dungeons.
Then more.
There were tales of monstrous world bosses in the deeper sea. Dungeons underwater that dwarfed nations. There were things in the sky waiting to drop down and cause havok. There was an entire world to explore. Continents that lay across the sea and filled with something new.
Samael wanted to fight it all. He wanted to put up his fists and test his mettle against everything. He wanted to fight, and win against monsters. To prove himself, to test himself.
One day, far in the future. Samael wanted to walk through the gates of heaven and say that he knew how to fight. That was his ultimate goal. He just had to continue down his path step after step. Practice, breath, and strive.
He would one day be known as Samael the monk.
--
AN: This is the last chapter of this particular book. I will fully admit that it likely ends on a poor note. This entire story needs to be edited and adjusted of course, but that's part of actually trying to write an actual book. This was a personal project just to prove to myself that I could possibly write something that could legitimately publish. I see a lot of how far I need to go unfortunately, but I can be satisfied that I actually gave the attempt. There are massive flaws with this, and I'm honestly just a bit daunted by them, but that's part of the process.
Next step's going to be me working on editing and re-writing a lot of it. Which admittedly is going to hurt. I'll link something in this or on my profile page if I ever manage that and try to publish something.
Thank you for reading. I had fun, and I hope you did too.
The monk eventually dismissed the entire affair. He had other, more poignant issues to handle. The town they were building was coming together now, and had nearly been rebuilt already and it there was a finishing touch that everyone wanted to do.
A memorial was being created by several mages to set in the center of the city now. Powered by the standard magical pillars that bordered the city, it was in the shape of a sphere that floated above a platform, courtesy of a fair bit of magical calculations. The sphere was made of glass, and inside it were a lot of smaller and indistinct people shaped figurines.
It was half a joke and half a token of appreciation. A symbol of the people who flew in on Camila's impromptu spell as reinforcements. There had been arguments that it was too frivolous to those that had died, but someone had taken the idea and run with it, and all the other ideas had been deemed too serious.
Adventurers reacted to death differently than other people really. There was always a chance that someone would die because of a mistake or just bad luck. The dungeon always took its due after all. All you could do was drink, laugh, and be merry while you could, and leave a space for those that have departed.
Samael had been there for the unveiling, and been there for the subsequent toasts. Loud and rude, they were nothing like the formal dinner. There had been cursing, fighting, and more. All of it vibrant and alive. Even the crying and the sobbing at the foot of the memorial.
That was why he was at the base of the memorial again. This time when the moon was high and full. He watched the large sphere wobble in midair and couldn't help the small chuckle to himself.
It was just a bit ridiculous. He reached out and jumped slightly to poke at the side of it. The ball wobbled again and even shifted up and down before re-centering itself. Samael wouldn't have chosen to use this himself, but strangely he wasn't disappointed by it.
He needed to remind himself to be humble too. Pride was something to watch too. He had looked like those little figures in the sphere coming here to help.
Clapping his hands together, Samael began to pray.
He gave thanks to the heavens above. To his family, and to his allies. To those that had helped him, and to the good fortune that had brought him to this point. The man wasn't ashamed to admit that he had gotten a lot of good fortune. He was thankful for that.
Now though, with the town starting to fix itself, the man needed to figure out what to do with his life. He was completely and totally free for the first time in his life. No obligations, no mysteries. He had no enemies that he knew of. There were no monsters on the horizon.
The thought was a bit daunting honestly. He had enough money that he could likely retire. He could teach for the rest of his days if he wanted too. He could spend the rest of his years passing on his style.
Samael looked down at his hand in contemplation, and then made a fist. He could rest if he wanted to. He really could.
That wasn't him though. The monk smiled to himself and jumped up to slap at the sphere again. It wobbled and did a turn.
No, Samael still had one obligation. He needed to learn how to fight. He wasn't done yet. He might have been elite, but that was just the beginning. Samael's next goal was elite dungeons.
Then more.
There were tales of monstrous world bosses in the deeper sea. Dungeons underwater that dwarfed nations. There were things in the sky waiting to drop down and cause havok. There was an entire world to explore. Continents that lay across the sea and filled with something new.
Samael wanted to fight it all. He wanted to put up his fists and test his mettle against everything. He wanted to fight, and win against monsters. To prove himself, to test himself.
One day, far in the future. Samael wanted to walk through the gates of heaven and say that he knew how to fight. That was his ultimate goal. He just had to continue down his path step after step. Practice, breath, and strive.
He would one day be known as Samael the monk.
--
AN: This is the last chapter of this particular book. I will fully admit that it likely ends on a poor note. This entire story needs to be edited and adjusted of course, but that's part of actually trying to write an actual book. This was a personal project just to prove to myself that I could possibly write something that could legitimately publish. I see a lot of how far I need to go unfortunately, but I can be satisfied that I actually gave the attempt. There are massive flaws with this, and I'm honestly just a bit daunted by them, but that's part of the process.
Next step's going to be me working on editing and re-writing a lot of it. Which admittedly is going to hurt. I'll link something in this or on my profile page if I ever manage that and try to publish something.
Thank you for reading. I had fun, and I hope you did too.