∼ Day 20 ∼

Siphoning the blood from the bodies, or -ahem, what was left of them, my vision was filled with a prompt which was also followed by a new notification I hadn't seen before.

[Siphon]

[You've consumed the blood of 12 Hobgoblins!]

[180 points of EXP has been acquired and stats have been added]

[Congratulations! You have received a new skill from Siphon!]

[Skill - Iron Gut has been added to the skill list]

Whoop! I finally got a skill from siphon.

I had almost forgotten that siphon had that ability, as I've yet to get one before now. Although my excitement was quickly culled as I pulled up the skill information.

Name Type LVL -Iron Gut- Defensive 1 Allows your stomach to accept and process even the foulest of things.

Well, it's not like mere hobs really had any skills I would need in the first place...

Looking to the sky, I notice that dusk had already fallen. This marked the 20th day since I've arrived in this insane world.

Only twenty days -huh? It feels like a small lifetime.

Honestly, I had lived more in these twenty days than I had in my whole nineteen years of life back on earth. While this place was an insane and chaotic world where my life constantly hangs by a thread, I've never felt this alive and happy. Motivation, happiness, success, fulfillment, love. These things I have all experienced in a short twenty days of life in this crazy world, which are things I've never even experienced before, or at least only barely so in my previous life.

In my contemplation, I hadn't noticed Mia walking over to me. Seeing that I was lost in my thoughts, she gave me a small peck on my cheek, which immediately cleared all of my wandering thoughts.

"Come, let's get moving" - Mia

Looking lovingly at the beautiful girl before me, I simply nodded in agreement.

After having traveled for a while, I remembered something I had put off. Whilst moving through a particularly craggy series of undergrowth and hills, I began looking through my status and skills.

-Skill list!-

Skill list Name Type LVL -Appraisal- Information 5 ⇒ 6 -Blood Magic- Magic 1 ⇒ 5 -Blood Plague- Unique 2 ⇒ 3 -Blood Profiling- Information 5/5 -Blood Shaping- Unique 1 ⇒ 4 -Blink- Transport 1 ⇒ 4 -Greater Puncture- Offensive 4 ⇒ 6 -Greater Smell- Sensory 3 ⇒ 5 -Healing Surge- Defensive 2 ⇒ 5 - (Advance) -Iron Gut- NEW Defensive 1 -Language Adaptability- Information 1 ⇒ 2 -Lesser Enhanced Exoskeleton- Defensive 1 ⇒ 5 - (Advance) -Lesser Enhanced Organs- Defensive 2 ⇒ 5 - (Advance) -Mana Control- Magic 1 ⇒ 4 -Obscurement- Defensive 5 -Paralyze- Offensive 4 ⇒ 7 -Silent Flying- Defensive 3 ⇒ 4 -Thermal Sight- Sensory 1 ⇒ 3 -Swift Flight- Transport 5 ⇒ 6 -Weak Infusing Slash-

Offensive 4 ⇒ 7 -Spell Formation- Magic 1 ⇒ 4 -Blood Conversion- NEW Magic 1

It's been a while since I've taken a proper look at my skill list. Due to the skill list having become quite long, I just decided that for the descriptions of skills to only be shown when they were told to do so. I currently had three skills that needed advancement, and 17 skills points in the bank. But as I was about to pull up the first advancement, and get them out of the way, a deathly cold chill snaked its way down my spine.

Dashing towards Mia, I practically tackle her as I throw us both into the underbrush of a large tree. Immediately activating obscurement, I locked eyes with Mia as I whispered in urgency.

"Hide your presence, now!" - Me

Doing as I said, I was a bit surprised at her ability to blend in with the shadows and dissipate her own presence. But I just attributed it to the fact of her being a drow, and put it at the back of my as more pressing matters were present. Just a second ago, I felt an unmistakable familiar aura. It wasn't that of a certain person but rather the vile feeling of tainted darkness.

The Mistress...

This presence was tainted by the same feeling of unregulated power which Gurok, the warchief, had radiated when he gave in to the Mistress' mark in turn for its overwhelming power. Whoever this was, they were broadcasting their terrifying presence in all directions and we had just now been encapsulated in its reach. Tentatively observing the presence I could feel its source moving towards the region where the tribe was situated.

This was either the Mistress herself or a powerful servant of hers. I didn't have a single doubt in my mind that whoever this was were out here looking for the perpetrator who killed one of her servants.

She was looking for me...

What I didn't understand though, was why they would broadcast their presence like this. At most, this would alert everybody in the vicinity to the person's presence and location. But if they were looking for me, wouldn't this be counterintuitive? After all, if I hadn't noticed the presence first, I wouldn't have been able to hide Mia and me in time.

This tactic was mostly just something used to keep weaker opponents from approaching, so why would they alert me to their presence if they were looking for me? Studying the overwhelming presence that had enveloped the obscured forms of Mia and me, I suddenly felt as is if my heart fell into a bath of ice.

They weren't broadcasting their presence to scare away weaker opponents or alert them. They were using their literal aura to scan the area...

It wasn't something I could exactly explain, just like trying to explain sight to a person who's been blind their entire lives. But I could distinctly feel the existence of a consciousness sweeping through the presence itself as if it was looking for something. I had no idea you could even use your aura in such a matter. If I hadn't activated obscurement and dampened Mia's presence, we would've already been found as the consciousness had roamed over our location. But there was one crucial problem here.

It wasn't going to last.

Obscurement wasn't going to run out anytime soon. But I simply knew that obscurement would do nothing to hide us if this presence approached our location any further, or scanned our location another time. Unfortunately for us, we were directly in the path that the person emitting this aura was traveling.

We couldn't even attempt to move out of the way as the ever encompassing range this overwhelming presence was too great. If we began moving, the consciousness would lock on to us in a heartbeat. With my mind going through a million different solutions, I tried to figure out how Mia and I would come out of this alive. Looking at the pale Mia under my embrace, I saw only one way out of this.

"Mia, keep hiding your presence. As soon as the aura is gone, go back to the tribe. I put you in charge of the tribe, and expe-" - Me

I was suddenly interrupted by the worried words of Mia

"B-but what about you?!" - Mia

Smiling lovingly at her, I place a kiss on her lips.

"Whoever this is, they're looking for me. The only way that we're surviving this, is if we give them what they want. You don't have to worry about me, I'm not one to die this easily. Whoever this is, I doubt they went looking for me just to kill me, so I should be fine. So I put you in charge of the tribe, and expect to find a flourishing settlement as soon as I return. Understand?" - Me

Since this person obviously has some relation to the Mistress, it meant that she knows that Gurok had been slain. I had expected someone to come looking, and if I were to guess I doubted that the Mistress knew anything more than just that her heart-bug died in a certain location and that someone killed it.

That would mean that she didn't know about the newly flourishing blood moon tribe or anything else than just, "someone killed her servant". But with the direction that this presence was going in, they were going to discover the tribe and everybody in it. By giving me up, I should be able to hide it from the Mistress' knowledge. And as I said, I highly doubted that the Mistress would just send someone all the way out here just to kill me. But the worry in Mia's eyes had only increased upon hearing my words.

"B-but-" - Mia

I only turn my firm gaze on the now silently crying Mia.

"No buts. This is an order." - Me

The pure steel that was in my voice was unshakable. I was NOT going to put her in any danger, so I allowed for no negotiation as we were running out of time.

"I command you as your master, to return to the tribe and await my return. Understood?" - Me

Mia had now lines of tears running down her cheeks, painting her beautiful face in a despondent and sorrowful expression. Cupping her cheeks, I place a kiss on her forehead. Putting a hand on her chest right above her heart, I whisper.

"As long as you feel this connection, it means that I'm alive. I will return to you, I promise you this." - Me

Before Mia could protest any further, I stood up. I only shot her one last look of love before I dashed away in a blur. As I was no longer using obscurement on Mia, her presence was now more noticeable, only suppressed by her own ability to blend in with the darkness. Feeling the sweeping consciousness moving through the presence, I let go of obscurement and let my presence flare out. This was the only way for Mia to stay unnoticed.

Instantly, the consciousness locked onto me. The feeling of being focused on by this terrifying presence felt suffocating due to the sheer palpable overwhelming power of the individual. Whoever this was, they were either as strong as Lily the guild master, or even stronger. While Lily hadn't had this oppressive air around her, I knew she hadn't let her own presence unfold to its fullest like this. Although I was very happy that all of the person's attention was directed directly at me, and not the still hiding Mia, I couldn't help but feel a pang of terror pulse throughout my body.

This individual's power was no laughing matter.

I was charging away from both Mia's hiding spot and the location of the tribe at break-neck speeds, to make sure I impose none of two's safety. Pushing my body to the limits, I ran at the fastest speed my body physically allowed, and then some more. But it was futile to even think I might be able to escape. The moment I had dashed away, the origin of the presence had rushed at me, with a speed multiple times faster than anything I could produce.

I only managed to burst out of a treeline about a dozen kilometers away from where I had originally hidden with Mia before I felt the suffocation aura of the person right behind me. Leaping, I turned around midair to take my stance and was now facing the treeline which I had just emerged from. While waiting, I tried my best to ready myself for when I had to face the monster on my heels.

But what appeared from the treeline, almost made my knees turn to mush. An absolutely giant dark-skinned figure was now standing in front of me. It kind of looked like an enormous bodybuilder orc that was clad in dark and grimy heavy metal, which at many places was even fastened to the body by boring directly its flesh.

On top of its head, it had a bulky and sinister-looking metal helmet that covered all but two slits, giving vision to its eyes. Long metal chains were wrapped around the giant orc's wrists and pierced through numerous holes in its arms holding them in place. They were no doubt used as some kind of ranged blunt weapons.

I could barely believe that this giant monster could even catch up to me with all its weight and size. It was easily more than the height of two adult men, and sported muscles that were so over-exaggerated making him look almost like a dark-skinned version of an armored Hulk.

But the most distinct feature about this monster was the same palpable aura of overwhelming power radiating from it, which Gurok also had when he activated the Mistress' mark. But how the hell could this monster have this effect on seemingly indefinitely?! Its body hadn't even atrophied as Gurok's had. While I don't know about its mind, it also seems to be intact, compared to the otherwise shattered mind of Gurok.

Stopping its mad dash towards me, it was now just standing looking at me. Before wasting any more time gawking at the absurdity of this monster, I used appraisal.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Morgath

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Morgath" STR 112 Skills ??? -Race- Ogre VIT 85 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI ??? Titles ??? -Rank- D DEX ??? Resistances

-Level- 5/50 INT ??? Health 835/835 CHR ??? Physical Resistance ??? Stamina 612/612 WILL ??? Magical Resistance ??? Mana 0/0 MAG ??? Mental Resistance ???

Okay, good joke - now show his real status.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Morgath

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Morgath" STR 112 Skills ??? -Race- Ogre VIT 85 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI ??? Titles ??? -Rank- D DEX ??? Resistances

-Level- 5/50 INT ??? Health 835/835 CHR ??? Physical Resistance ??? Stamina 612/612 WILL ??? Magical Resistance ??? Mana 0/0 MAG ??? Mental Resistance ???

Uh...

I'm so fucked...

Okay, so not an orc. But an ogre.

Why is this Ogre so fucking terrifying?

Before I could curse at the injustice of it all some more, I saw the ogre, Morgath, lift his palm out in front of him facing upwards. I was at first confused at what he was doing but then suddenly a swirl of thick darkness accumulated on top of his palm. It looked like the pure black swirl of smokey darkness drew upon the dark aura surrounding Morgath. Suddenly, the swirl stopped and shot itself directly towards me.

I was shocked and had no idea what he had just done, as I wasn't sure if this was magic or something else. He didn't have a core or any mana to drawn upon, so I could only attribute this to another of the Mistress' tricks. Unsure if it would be wise to try and block the ball of darkness, I tried to dodge it by using blink to the side. To my surprise and dismay, the ball of darkness simply changed its trajectory towards my new location.

It apparently had a homing function to it, and before I could use blink again, it suddenly stopped only a few meters away from me. Confused as to why it stopped, I carefully inspected it while I readied myself if I had to run or dodge again. Slowly, it began to pulsate with a familiar purple-dark light, an indication of the Mistress' magic. But to my surprise, the purple light was now not only glowing from the ball of light but began also glowing from a new location. Looking down, I see a splatter of the exact same purple-dark glowing light on the carapace of my chest.

Ah- fuck... I've been marked by her magic...

That was apparently what the giant ogre had been waiting for as it suddenly dashed for me. If I were to guess, then I had been marked back when I killed Gurok and the ogre used this ball of darkness to identify me as the perpetrator. Snapping out of it, I immediately re-used blink to dodge the giant hand reaching for me. But apparently, that was a bad move.

[You have taken 35 damage!]

The instant I had reached the end of blink, I felt a crushing force slam into my head, effectively dazing me and forcing my body to slam down into the ground with a dull thump. Although the attack might've not been a critical one or a serious injury, the fact that it was directly to my noggin caused my mind to be completely and utterly stunned.

Through the haziness of my mind, I could barely even register as the ogre, Morgath, picked me up and cuffed my hands with some big metal shackles. I only remember him throwing me over his shoulder before darkness claimed my vision and I lost consciousness.