WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 4 Read online

  WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior

  Volume 4

  Brandon Varnell

  Illustrated by

  Mikel Ferguson

  Edited by

  Crystal Holdefer

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior, Volume 4

  Copyright © 2020 Brandon Varnell

  Illustration Copyright © 2020 Mikel Ferguson

  All rights reserved.

  Brandon Varnell and Kitsune Incorporated supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  To see Brandon Varnell’s other works, or to ask for permission to use his works, visit him at www.varnell-brandon.com, facebook, twitter, Patreon, and instagram.

  ISBN:97-8-1-95-190412-8

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  Dedication

  This page is made in dedication to my amazing patrons. Without them, my characters would never get lewded by so many wonderful artists:

  Aaron Harris

  Adam

  Alarinnise

  Alexander Rodriguez

  Amando Pastrana

  Benjamin Morgan

  Brennan

  Bruce Johnson

  Bryce McClay

  C.L. Holgrahm

  Catcrazy9

  Chace Corso

  CosmicOrange

  DeseriDeri

  Dhivael

  DNAnime

  Edward Grindle

  Edward Lamar Stephenson

  Emery Moore

  Feitochan

  Forrest Hansen

  Ine Airlcana

  IronKing

  Jacob Flores

  Jacob Wonjo

  Jake Fedor

  Jason Davis

  Jason Grey

  Jeremy Schultz

  Jessica

  Jesus

  John Patton

  Kevin

  Lucid Fayt

  Mark Frabotta

  Matthew Wallace

  Max A Kramer

  Michael Moneymaker

  Nathan

  Nathan S

  Omegapudding

  Patrick Burns-popieniuck

  Phillip Hedgepeth

  Rafael Eriksen

  Raymond Tatton

  Red Phoenix

  Red Viking

  Repooc Ilahsram

  Samuel Donaldson

  Sean Gray

  Seismic Wolf

  Slim

  Smudi Corp

  Starwarsscout Jon

  Thomas Jackson

  ToraLinkley

  Victor Patrick Baur

  Virgil Gardner

  William Crew

  Yuriy Snyadanko

  Z

  Contents

  1. The Spiritualist Grand Tournament Begins

  2. Beginning of the Preliminaries

  3. Fay’s First Battle

  4. Eryk’s Strength

  5. Midnight Assault

  6. Tournament Day

  7. A Humiliating Defeat

  8. The Second Round

  9. The First Defeat is Always the Worst

  10. The Last Battles

  11. A Reward to the Victor

  12. Kari’s New Friend

  Thank you for reading!

  Afterword

  Sneak Peak

  Manga Page 1

  Manga Page 2

  Manga Page 3

  Manga Page 4

  Hey, did you know?

  Brandon’s LNs

  American Kitsune

  WIEDERGEBURT

  MMG

  Catgirl Doctor

  Incubus

  A Most Unlikely Hero

  Arcadia’s Knight

  Journey of a Betrayed Hero

  Rift

  Executioner

  Follow me!

  Chapter 1

  The Spiritualist Grand Tournament Begins

  There were many ruins scattered across the continent. Some were small. Some were vast. Some were buried deep underground, while some were even rumored to be floating amongst the clouds. I’d once heard rumors from people at a pub that there was a moving island that floated across the sea and would always appear at random. I was not sure I believed that rumor, but it was one of the few that persisted and had been told by multiple people.

  Very little was known about these mysterious ruins, which had been present since before the Great Catastrophe. Even after thousands of years of study, humanity was barely able to scratch the surface. We knew the ruins existed, had explored their depths for any treasure, and we had even extensively studied the hieroglyphs etched onto the walls, but for all that, we had no clue as to what the purpose of these vast places were.

  What had they been used for?

  The ruins that Kari and I were exploring were located deep within a mountainous region located far to the south of Midgard, at the very edge of the Northern Plains. According to what our colleagues had said, this mountain range filled with tall peaks that ascended into the clouds and deep ravines that seemed to have no end was all that separated the Northern Plains from the Rotfang Forest.

  It had taken us a total of thirty-six days to reach these ruins. They were located on a bluff so high the air had become incredibly thin, making it hard to breathe. My lungs felt like they were constantly starved for oxygen. This was my first time being up somewhere this high. Unlike our colleagues, who only seemed to be having minor issues, Kari and I were red-faced and huffing as though we’d jogged through the Endless Desert for months on end without stopping, which caused quite a few of our companions to laugh at us.

  I had to admit this: I felt a little ashamed.

  Here I was, a man who had reached the Second State of Spiritualism, and a couple of people who’d only just gained their Spiritual Aura significant of the First State were doing better than me.

  “Are… are these the ruins?” asked Kari as she and I stood beside our three other companions. Like us, they were also members of the Explorers Guild, which we had joined on the recommendation of Erica.

  “Not quite.” One of the men beside us grinned. “This is just the entrance. The ruins are located inside the mountain.”

  The man who spoke was Danivan Fotturist. His large, well-built body made him look like a warrior, but he had no actual combat skills to speak of. He wore sturdy pants and a thick jacket. Scuffing his black boots against the ground, he gazed at the objective of our hike with his dark eyes as a stiff breeze swept his shoulder-length black hair into a frenzy.

  “So the ruins are located in the mountain.” Kari frowned as she gazed at the large door, which towered over all of us, long blonde hair billowing in the wind. It looked more like a massive slab of stone with an archway embedded into it. I could see no crack that would open this so-called door.

  Numerous runes were etched into the door, many of which I now recognized thanks to everything I’d learned in the last few months. Kenaz, open to
new strength. Bekano, the prospering of an enterprise or venture. Ehwaz Merkstave, a craving for change. I had no clue what these runes meant when they were combined, but I at least recognized them.

  “I’m surprised the people who found it didn’t try to open it,” I said with my arms crossed as goosebumps appeared on my skin. I should have worn a jacket. It was freezing! “Ruins always have treasures that were left over from the time before the Great Catastrophe. Most people would gladly commit murder to get their hands on whatever is inside.”

  Two of our other companions glanced at each other after I finished speaking, a pair of fraternal twins.

  The woman was a delicate-looking person with thin arms and legs. Her lithe body made her seem slight and some people had even mistaken her for a child before. I’m sure those people regretted their actions after she finished beating them to a pulp. She was a highly talented Spiritualist, or so I’d been told. I had yet to see her in action myself.

  “It’s not that the ruins were never opened,” her brother said. He was taller than his sister, standing about a head shorter than myself. Like his sister, he didn’t look very strong, but that was deceptive. I’d just witnessed this man climb up numerous sheer cliffs with nothing but the strength of his arms and legs for several hours without stopping.

  “What do you mean?” asked Kari.

  “The people who found these ruins were a small sect called the Mountain Sect,” said the female twin. Her name was Felicia Valentine. Her brother’s name was Markus. “They sent a small group inside of these ruins, but they never came out. After waiting for a month, they realized their team was probably dead and sent a request for us to explore these ruins and hopefully discover what happened to their members.” Felicia tilted her head. “Doors like this tend to close on their own. I suspect the team who went exploring got locked in after it closed on them from behind.”

  “That’s also why we brought you two along,” Danivan said with a grin. “You two might be new and not as good at discovering traps as we are, but the two of you are hella strong. If we run into trouble, we’ll be relying on you to get us out of it.”

  “Just leave it to us,” Kari said as she thumped a hand against her chest. Like me, she was wearing her normal clothes, which consisted of black pants, silver armor plating, and a flowing skirt made from the threads of a Metallic Spider—an A-Rank Demon Beast—that we had barely survived against during a quest two months ago.

  Since there was little point in us staying outside, Danivan walked up to the door and used Rune Writing to create a thin line of Spiritual Power that connected the runes at eye level. Once he did that, the Spiritual Power shot to the other runes higher up, which he couldn’t reach, and all the runes were soon connected by a glowing blue line. The energy made from the line suddenly swirled around, congealing in the center of the door. A crack soon appeared. It went from the top to the bottom, straight down the middle.

  The door opened with a loud groan.

  “Okay, everyone. Let’s go,” Danivan said. “I’ll be taking the lead to watch for traps. Felicia and Markus will take the rear.” The fraternal twins nodded. Danivan turned to Kari and me. “I want you two in the center. Keep your eyes peeled. If we run into something like a golem or some other autonomous defense system, we’ll be relying on you two to take care of it.”

  With Danivan leading the way, the remaining four of us formed up behind him, walking through the door, which led into a wide but dark hallway. Visibility was skewed. We could barely see two meters in front of us. Matters were only made more difficult when the door behind us suddenly slammed shut.

  “There’s no need to panic,” Danivan said as he pointed his finger in the air and made a circular motion. A ball of fire suddenly appeared above his palm, illuminating the dark area around us. “Come on.”

  I noticed that the walls of this hallway were slanted as we walked. They formed something of an inverted V-shape with the ceiling. Like the ruins that Kari and I had explored back in Litten, this one also had numerous carvings on the walls, though they were different. These carvings depicted a short creature with a vaguely humanoid appearance. What I noticed the most about this particular creature was its really thick beard.

  “I’ve never seen a creature like this before,” Kari murmured. “What do you suppose it is?”

  “Nobody knows,” Danivan said with a small head shake. “I can tell you one thing, however. There is no race like this in our world. It is quite possible these ruins are depicting images of a race that went extinct during the Great Catastrophe.”

  “Hmmm,” Kari hummed noncommittally.

  The first room at the end of the tunnel reminded me of an entrance hall thanks to its spacious interior, numerous columns, and the staircase several dozen meters in front of us. However, while most staircases in entrance halls went up, this one went down.

  “I suppose we should head down the stairs,” Felicia said as she looked around with narrowed eyes. “It does not look like there is anything else up here.”

  “I do believe you are right.” Danivan nodded. “Let’s go down, but keep your eyes open and your wits about you.”

  Everyone nodded at his words as the five of us set off, traveling down the stairs, which turned into a stairwell that curved in a circle around a deep shaft. We needed to be careful when walking. Many of the stones used to form the stairs were loose at best and missing at worst. Several of the stairs nearly collapsed when Danivan touched them.

  The further we walked down these stairs, the more I realized how deep these ruins were. I couldn’t begin to guess at how far down we traveled. However, I could at least tell that we’d journeyed deep inside of this mountain.

  At last, we reached the bottom of the stairs. Everyone released a soft sigh of relief.

  I glanced at the bottom of the stairwell and discovered another long tunnel-like hallway that led further into the ruins. Danivan and the others also noticed it. With a gesture of his hand, the large man led us into the tunnel, careful to watch where he was stepping and paying close attention to the walls.

  “I’m surprised we haven’t run into any traps,” Kari murmured as she glanced at the motifs.

  “Most ruins don’t actually have traps,” Felicia said. “I mean, there are sometimes automated defenses like golems and such, but actual traps are pretty rare. Most of the ruins that have traps are ones that are the burial sites for important figures of the past.” She glanced at us. “That said, there will likely be some sort of defense mechanism here, so be careful.”

  “We will,” Kari and I said at the same time.

  The next room was even larger than the entrance hall. I couldn’t even see the ceiling, blotted out as it was in darkness, and the small fire in Danivan’s hand wasn’t bright enough to illuminate more than a few dozen meters in either direction.

  We walked along the stone floor, which was chipped and cracked from age. As we walked, I noticed several large dents in the stone and frowned. It looked like something heavy had smashed into these sections. The further we moved inward, the more dents and marks we discovered.

  Danivan soon stopped after reaching a certain point. I didn’t know why at first, but then I discovered a large crater that looked like something huge had pulverized the area. If that was the only interesting aspect, I might still have wondered what made him stop, but aside from the crater, there was also a body.

  The body only appeared to be half a body, the upper half, as its legs looked like they had been crushed into a pulp by whatever powerful force had created the crater. The torso was lying just outside the crater. Meanwhile, the stench of blood and rot filled the air as the corpse’s internal organs hung out from the bottom of its torso. This figure was wearing a black cloak that covered its body.

  Kari and I shared a startled look.

  “Well, damn. It looks like this might be one of the members of the Mountain Sect,” Danivan said.

  “I don’t think so,” Kari said as I walked up to the corpse. A
hood covered its face.

  Markus glanced at Kari, his brow furrowed. “What makes you say that?”

  Kari answered them as I knelt before the body. “When me and Eryk were in Litten, we ran into people who were similarly dressed. They had kidnapped a group of girls who wandered near the ruins there.”

  “I have heard of a cult that has been inhabiting ruins recently,” Felicia admitted. “There was a rumor about them a few years ago, but then they disappeared and no one heard from them again. It seems there has been a resurgence of this cult recently.” She gestured toward the corpse. “Do you think this person belongs to that cult?”

  I didn’t hear Kari’s reply. At that moment, I had pulled back the hood to finally get a peek at what was underneath, and what I saw made me gasp.

  This person did not look quite human, but made me think they were a combination of Demon Beast and human, a strange hybrid mix. Black spots covered their pale, sunken in face, which had more in common with a bare skull than a human head. The eyes of this creature were pure black. There were no whites in its eyes, and they had dark red irises. Aside from their face not looking quite human, I checked this person’s hands and noticed they had thick claws that blended into their fingers.

  “I don’t know if this person is part of a cult, but I can tell you right now that this creature isn’t human.” I stood up.

  Kari, Felicia, Markus, and Danivan looked at the creature, its face and hands now revealed. Their expressions had been filled with disgust before. Now, however, a new emotion was mixed into it. Uncertainty. Or perhaps even fear of the unknown.