^^ Xi Long ^^

The falling sensation persisted for quite a while, before suddenly halting. There was no impact, but rather we were simply set on a bloody floor, arranged as we had been while falling, it would seem.

I pulled a hand away from the floor, confused, and frowned at the sight of blood dripping off of my palm; looking up, I realized we were at the center of a ring of people wearing European plate armor, while around us lay the corpses of everyone else on the bus. To one side I saw survivors; the man named Manny was doing well with his bat, effectively keeping the knights away from an older woman who had smelled of bleach and antiseptic. I remembered that she was on the way to the hospital, as she was a doctor or surgeon there.

Billy groaned, under me, and slowly sat up, the empty wheelchair sliding off his back. "Did you land on me on purpose you jerk?" He groaned, cracking his neck.

"Yes, I did. Now stand up, William McCarthy; I believe we are about to be killed and sacrificed in some Satanic Ritual." I frowned, looking for Yin; had the celestial being reincarnated her somewhere else? That was probably for the best.

"What?!?" He hopped up, and the knight who'd been charging at us flinched, halting his forward progress, before yelling over his shoulder in a language that made my ears itch.

"A Tank!!! I found a Tank!!! Knight-Commander Goshawk, I found a Tank!!!"

I narrowed my eyes slowly, putting my back to Billy. "I... don't know what's going on. He's calling you a Tank... that means he knows what modern fantasy games are."

"Mm. Love those! Hey have you played that one with the dragon sidekick, what's his- oof!!!" Billy quickly picked up the wheelchair, using it to block the greatsword swinging at him in the hands of a man almost as tall as him, rippling with muscle and exuding an aura of raw strength. "Sorry about the wheelchair!!! Where's your sister? Or Vicky? Vicky, are you here somewhere?!?" He shouted suddenly, shoving the armored man back with a grunt of effort.

"Keep your eyes on the enemy, William!" I snapped, leaping over him and kicking the knight in the face, knocking him back several steps before his swing completed, and now all it did is scratch Billy's chest, instead of cut him in half.

"R-Right!" He stuttered, holding the wheelchair in front of himself again.

"Regroup with Manny and the old woman, they seem to be the only Survivors!" I growled, kicking the legs out from under the big knight and shoving Billy towards the pit of survivors.

"I protest!" The old woman snapped at me, and then pegged a handful of loose change into the face of one of the knights that was about to cut Manny, giving him the opportunity to slam the bat into his skull without blocking.

"Yeah, I like her better than these guys, I'm going over there!" Billy shouted, running over there and shoulder-checking one more knight before he could stab the old woman. The armor-plated man damn-near grew wings and flew from how far he was thrown by the impact.

I ducked under a swing of someone, grabbing his wrist and taking his short-sword, stabbing him through the eye with it without hesitation.

Instantly, time seemed to slow to a standstill, movements and voices distorting and halting entirely; then a feminine voice spoke. "Skills were Obtained Due to Systemic Interference within Akashic Disturbance Circle; Skills to be Distributed per Class. Class not found. Classes to be distributed to Xi Long, Emmanuel Ortiz, William McCarthy, Regina-Mae Carter, and Yin Long. Your Class is 'Monk'. Requisite Skill Recognized: Weapon-Master, Stealth, Swift-Movement, Phoenix-Soul, Cold-Heart, Keen Mind, and Iron-Body.  Skills obtained will now be distributed. You have obtained: Identification, Clear Magic."

Time began to speed up again, and I immediately threw myself to the side, rolling under the Commander's swing. "Yin is here... where?" I breathed to myself, my eyes whipping around as I dodged the swings of the roaring knight with ease. I spotted an Asian woman with a bleeding left eye at the edge of the circle, being held by three knights, one who was about to slit her throat. I arrived at her side in the blink of an eye, despite them being thirty feet away.

'You used Skill: Swift Movement.'

My shortsword made quick work of the three men, and I began dragging her over towards Billy and Manny instantly, as time slowed again. That same voice appeared, speaking the same lines like an answering machine. "Skills Obtained due to Systemic Interference within Akashic Disturbance Circle; Skills to be Distributed per Class. Copied Skills found. Redistributing; You have obtained: Defense, Intimidation, Green-Magic, and Red Magic."

"You little Bastard!!!" The largest knight roared at me. "How DARE you kill my men?!?"

"Pretty easy, actually, they're not much of a challenge!!!" I laughed at him, taunting him and tossing Yin into the old woman's lap. Billy and Manny now stood back to back with the two ladies between them, both now armed with stolen weapons, and I was on my own. I was the clear target, and thankfully it worked, as they all rushed towards me.

'Skill discovered: Taunt.
You used Skill: Taunt.'

I grinned and dodged the wild swing of the knight-commander, stabbing through the gap in his lightly-armored armpit and into his lung, then swept his feet out from under him, dragging the sword forward as he fell. As I had hoped, it reached his heart, and his spine was severed as well.

'Skills Obtained due to Systemic Interference within Akashic Disturbance Circle; Skills to be Distributed per Class. Copied Skills found. Redistributing; You have obtained: Blue Magic, White Magic, Black Magic, Rage, and Commander's Shout.'

I grinned and then mentally thought of the Intimidation Skill, staring down the man coming towards me.

'You used Skill: Intimidation;
Skill: Intimidation, Commander's Shout, Cold Heart satisfies prerequisites.
You used Skill: Demon's Gaze.'

I frowned, confused, but the man fainted, so it was a win for me, until I heard that same message.

'Skills Obtained due to Systemic Interference within Akashic Disturbance Circle; Skills to be Distributed per Class. Copied Skills found. Redistributing; You have obtained: Lightly Armored, and Mobile Defense.'

"D-Demon!!! He just used a Demon Skill!!!" One of the knights yelled, making all the knights around the circle, who had been simply watching impassively until now, rush into the circle without hesitation. The good news was that they were ignoring the others of my little party; the bad news was that I was now surrounded by almost sixty heavily-armored knights.

I calmed myself, taking a deep breath, and then leapt into the fray, moving as swiftly as I could with the Swift Movement Skill. None of them were fast enough to catch me or even lay a hand on me, and the messages got longer and longer each time someone died; I realized the knights were included, and the list of people receiving skills was dwindling swiftly. I stopped receiving new skills, after a bit, and instead began to receive apparently advanced or higher-level versions of the skills I already had; maybe as a consolation prize? The system's way of saying 'hey, you did good, but this is all we've got for you right now.'

I noticed, as I used Demon's Gaze several times after its initial one-minute cool-down, (all of the skills had one, and I knew them subconsciously, but most were five or ten seconds, so that one was by-far the longest,) that it didn't just kill people outright, which I'd been worried about, but rather it simply drained life from them, and healed my wounds.

I hadn't had any wounds, the first time I'd used it, and only a small scratch the second time, which was why I didn't notice, but it was definitely useful towards the end, when only the strongest were left from the enemies. They were capable of keeping up with me, to an extent, and their battle-experience was above mine, so they couldn't be killed easily. Still, they died soon enough. I was healing from every wound they gave me, while draining their health, and they only managed to wound me three times, over the five-minute fight.

'Skill: Demon's Gaze, Phoenix Soul, Inspiring Leader satisfies Prerequisites.
You Used Skill: Dragon's Gaze.'

The last man standing screamed in agony as instead of the normal draining effect, a burn-wound appeared on his face, sending him flailing away from me to dunk his head uselessly into a shallow pedestal full of water.

"Oof. That's... morbid." I muttered.

"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!?" A man in expensive fur clothing slammed open the doors, roaring in a commanding voice; behind him was a woman in a robe who'd escaped the room when the fight started to take a turn for the worse (for them).

The knight who'd been trying to put out invisible flames flinched, kneeling towards the sound coming from the man who I could only imagine was the King.

I flicked the blood off the sword in my hand, settling a spear over my shoulder and watching as the girl approached the kneeling soldier, pressing a hand to his burn wound. A soft glow came from her hand, and the wound healed before my eyes, making me flinch. It seemed to hurt him tremendously, as he grunted and gritted his teeth to stop from screaming, but the skin regrew, nonetheless. His eyes were still ruined, curiously enough.

The old nurse made a Hmph sound, as if she was not impressed at all, and the four of them stood up, gathering together properly but keeping a distance from me, as I was the clear target. Also I was standing on a pile of corpses, so there was that. The blood, I noticed, had pooled inside the circle to be almost three inches deep, but hadn't left the circle at all.

"I apologize for failing you, My Liege..." the knight said upon regaining his ability to speak, bowing his head.

"Hmph... did you manage to receive any skills?" The King asked, gazing at the pile of bodies distastefully; oddly enough, though I'd assumed I'd find madness in his eyes, he didn't seem superior or hateful, just irritated and nervous.

"... no, my liege. The Greater Knights only entered they fray when he one of the knights saw him use a Demonic Skill; he used it to burn my eyes when they met his. I am sorry." The knight bowed again.

"I see... you, Boy! I would like to make you an offer, if you would only listen to my request." He glanced at me, not meeting my eyes.

"I am a fully-grown man, little King. And no offer you make will overtake the fact that you slaughtered these people like rats and tried to murder my sister, but I am a polite man, and so you may attempt a Parlay, as is your right." I sighed.

"Seriously? You're just gonna talk to this guy? He just killed my brothers!!!" Manny hissed.

"If they died, then they were weak, and their power went to the Stronger ones." The king said callously, his eyes hard and stern; clearly he didn't have the luxury of sentiment.

"I suppose there's some Great War with the Demon King and you need power to stop him, hmm? But you'd never sacrifice your own citizens, so why not people from another realm?" I reasoned, understanding his motives now.

He nodded. "I see you understand... people from other, more peaceful realms always have a great deal of Power and special skills, and not a clue how to use it; my ancestors summoned them and trained them, wasting valuable time and precious resources on them instead of strengthening their own soldiers. Soldiers who were already trained for the rigors of war-"

"And already fiercely, blindly loyal to you, of course." I shook my head. "We've been through wars like this in our realm before; they don't end well for anyone involved."

"So don't take part; be reincarnated in some other, more peaceful realm!" He frowned at me, and the implication that he needed fanatical soldiers because he was a tyrant.

"We were summoned here, though, and this circle halts Reincarnation; if we died in this circle we wouldn't reincarnate at all. But you already know that, right? You think you're clever, but you're not really very bright, are you?" I raised an eyebrow at him, and he gritted his teeth, lowering his head to hide the desperation and rage on his face.

"Wait, all those people who died... they didn't even go to Hell? They're just... dead?" Manny asked, looking horrified.

"Correct." I nodded.

"And you killed them anyway?" He asked.

"I was an atheist before, and I'd killed people then; it's no different now. If you're willing to kill, you should be willing to destroy your opponents entirely. If you're set to be worrying about your enemies' souls, you'd better be in a position of power." I shrugged.

"Damn... I'm glad I didn't try to fight you, man. You're one cold son of a bitch." He shook his head at me incredulously.

"You think? I think I'm pragmatic. Killing someone is a very final thing. If you're worried about what happens to them afterwards, you've clearly not yet steeled your mind enough to kill them, and you will break like cheap glass from the trauma." I shrugged, and then saw one of the knights Manny had knocked out with his bat start to move. I stabbed him in the back of the neck without hesitation, killing him and letting the system announcement happen.

"I guess... that's logical." He looked a little green, but nodded.

"How do I look at all my skills, by the way? Is there a special way or do I just have to figure it out on my own?" I glanced up at the king, cleaning the blade and sheathing it. I'd gotten a sword belt from one of the knights and put it on across my chest, so hanging from it were all the knives I had scrounged up, and at the bottom on my waist was the shortsword hanging.

He stared at me for a moment, then at something only he could see over my head, and then waved his left hand at the girl. "Release the spell. Perhaps they will forgive us in their next lives, but for now, release them."

"Your Majesty, the Mana Accrued will be wasted!!!" She protested.

"Yes, it will, but our brave knights will be reborn." He nodded.

I snorted softly. "Right, Real brave, slaughtering women and children in a holding pen, but go on."

"Do it." He ordered her, ignoring me.

I frowned, realizing I'd been slightly off in my prediction. "So it was a delaying of their soul disappearing, holding it like a battery... curious. So it's not instantly expunged, it's just trapped?" I asked, curious.

The girl nodded. "Of course; eventually they lose power and become useless, so they have to be released for the next group to be summoned."

"I see... and does Knowledge pass over as well, or just Skills?" I asked.

"A little of the knowledge, usually the stuff related to the skills- Hey!!!" She snapped, confused, as I grabbed her wrist, while she reached for the edge of the circle, then pulled her in. She looked down at the blood splashing on her clothes, and her face paled. "No, nonono, please-"

'Skills Obtained due to Systemic Interference within Akashic Disturbance Circle; Skills to be Distributed per Class. Copied Skills found. Redistributing; You have obtained: Summoning Magic, Spatial Magic, Soul Magic, Healing Magic, Druidic Magic, and Spirit Magic.

Prerequisites have been satisfied.

Combine the Six-Colored Magic's?'

This was the first time it had given me a choice, I realized, and I nodded.

'You have Obtained: Six-Color Arch-Magic.
You may now cast 'Commune'.
You may now cast 'Arch-Mage's Shield'.
You may now cast-...'

The list was quite extensive, and I saw the others reeling slightly as they read through it, but I was done. I'd study it later. I looked up at the king, who was both pale and green at the same time, and tossed the body of the girl into the pile of bodies carelessly, holding the thick book she'd had at her side. "I hope she wasn't your only Sorceress capable of messing with magic?"

"... she was my daughter, actually." He frowned, not looking particularly distraught.

"One of many?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Mm... any other Sorcerers? Necromancers?" I wondered.

Regina flinched, and looked at the dead people, then me. "You think we can still save them?" She asked softly.

"I think with the little Arch-Mage's Magic, your medical knowledge for the healing required, a soul Jar, and a bit of luck, we could, yes. Would you like your daughter and your soldiers back? They'd probably have to regain their skills and strength, but it's better than dead, yes?" I looked at the king curiously.

"I... if that is possible? They're dead, though, and zombies wouldn't be useful to me. Or tolerable." He frowned.

I nodded and began dragging the bodies into piles, separating them out, sending Yin, Billy, and Manny to sit on one side of the circle, facing away; partly so they'd get out of the way, and partly so they didn't puke. "We'll try one of the soldiers first, in case it's some horrible abomination and I have to kill it." I murmured to her, and she nodded seriously, agreeing.

The Knight-Commander was dragged into the center, and then his body was slowly and carefully patched back together; we didn't know anything about magic, but medicine hadn't changed, so I fished around in the grimoire for a spell to mend flesh, then we started there.

After about an hour, we managed the basics, Healing smaller cuts, and then we managed to heal his spine and his lung, though it took another hour. Using water-Magic and Healing magic to gather his blood and put it back inside of him was a bit difficult, but was managed with another thirty minutes. Once he was fully healed, we used a Soul-Magic Spell to find his soul somewhere in the circle, and send it back into his body, simultaneously defibrillating his heart to get it pumping with my hands, which were clad in lightning magic.

"This stuff is pretty easy, yeah? You'd think it'd be more difficult." I hummed.

The knight-commander sat up quickly with a roar of rage, and I Cold-cocked him in the nose, knocking him out again.

"Well, it worked. He's alive." I smirked.