Opening his eyes, Drake was met with the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. It wasn't that of room built by human hand but rather the rough stone of a naturally formed cave. From how the surface beneath him felt it was clear he wasn't sleeping on a bed. He tried to recall what had led him to that place, that was when he remembered his fight against the shadow armor and what happened right afterward."Lily!"He shot up to his feet the moment the memory came back, however he had no strength in his limbs and end up tumbling to the ground. Struggling to lift himself he felt his tears flowing.He had done it. He had done it again.He tried to help someone, to protect them with his strength. However his efforts were in vein and ended up leading to just more suffering and death.The child was stabbed right in front of him and he couldn't do anything. He then remembered the state he was in and looked at his lower half.He had ran out of skills and was unable to move or evade. The shadow armor a
"I see you're finally awake." Roland said as he emerged from the dark."Ah…" Drake was unable to speak.He had known Roland was there. He saw the green dot on the map waiting a small distance away. The tall guy was trying to be considerate, leaving Drake to let it all out before coming in.Drake had cried for hours. It was the only thing he could do. His body was too weak to do anything, otherwise he would've gone in another rampage.Once the tears dried out he sat there staring at the bonfire with empty eyes. He was contemplating suicide. He felt there was nothing left for him in this world. Roland sat down beside him. He placed a small pot on the fire, filled with water, dried meat and some vegetables. He added in some herbs as a seasoning then some salt before letting it boil. The two silently stared at the pot for a while. Soon the sound of bubbling stew was heard and the cave they were hiding in was filled with a pleasant scent. "You must be really hungry." Said roland as he f
It has been eleven days since she had departed for the Nexus. Laura woke up in the inn she had spent the previous night in. It was a place she would usually avoid, however after riding her horse for several days and running out of food she had to stop at a town to resupply. While at it she looked for the best inn she could find. The ones she could find reeked like it was some stable, but that was to be expected since the town was a little isolated and not many travelers passed by it. She had been following the the path going in the direction pointed out by the device she had been given after her duel. The roads were thinning and disappearing at times which made the trip much more difficult. At some point even tbe dirt roads will just disappear and she'd have to take a step in the dark. She didn't if all of this would be doable if one didn't pass the Selection and got their hands on the device.Going downstairs the first one to greet her was the owner of the place. He was a weathere
"Did you summon me, father?"Rollo walked into his father's office with slumped shoulders and a sulky expression. His clothes were ripped and torn everywhere and his body was full of bruises and cuts. It was clear that he had received quite the beating not long ago and by the look on his face he didn't enjoy it all.It was the result of the intense training he had been forced into as part of his punishment for the mess he made a few months ago. Usually he'd try to be polite and respectful when summoned by his father, however he wasn't really in the mood for that. "Sit." Without looking up, Olaf Dragonspear gave the order in a dry tired voice. Not saying anything Rollo took one of the chairs in front of his father's desk. "Do you know what this is?" Olaf asked, holding up a piece of paper in his right hand.The boy was about to shout how would he know, however he held it in and waited for his old man to continue."It's the latest report from Helga."When he heard that Rollo's mood
A pack of wolves, black in color, carefully surrounded their prey. They were Blackwolfs, an A tier magical beast native to the mainland. One on it's own was a challenge but not a big one, however those beasts never wondered alone, always hunting in big groups. When they find a prey they all surround it then bite and claw at it until it's dead. In that prospect they weren't so different from the other wolf like beasts.The thing is, Blackwolfs have the dark element. One that's so rare only a few beasts below the S tier have. Their special skill, Black Smoke, allowed them to teleport short distances.Black Smoke is the fastest movement skill to ever exist, after all it is instantaneous. But that said, only a few are capable of using such a skill efficiently, and mindless beasts don't have enough intelligence for such feat.A white glowing blade slashed through one of the Blackwolfs the moment it puffed into the spot it teleported to. The moment the next one appeared it also suffered t
"You're a Beastkin!!?" Drake exclaimed, face full of surprises.He then started looking Roland up and down through squinted eyes trying to figure out what part of his was beast like, however he couldn't find anything."Blue Giants resemble humans the most." Roland said. "We can change our size at will, but generally we look the same as humans. Oh! And our skin goes blue the bigger we get. Hence the blue in our names."Drake was stunned for a few seconds, but it all made sense. The tall guy knew a lot about Beastkin compared to the average person. "I would've never noticed if you didn't tell me." Drake said."Well, being able to blend in is the reason I get to leave the village." Roland replied. "I can use my powers to a certain extent without changing my size. Just like what would happen if a human eats a Blue Giant Soul. It just looks like having super strength. Anyways, back to the main topic."Drake stayed kept his silence, staring at his hands for a few seconds."Can we really b
Roland's village was a two weeks' trip from the Ouroboros kingdom. It wasn't that far, however the only route leading to it were filled with beasts at the higher ends of the A tier, like the Blackwolfs.Sensing no one around Drake let loose and took his andlger and frustration on the beasts. Even with the restrictions, the Starless Night Beast Soul was way more powerful than what he was used to and it took him a while to get used to it.The Souls he gathered were stored as he had no use for them. The restrictions prevented him from cultivating the Starless Night and unless he finds a new SS tier beast or higher it would be pointless to eat the Souls. He also had an enormous amount of Soul Essence put aside so that was another reason.Drake was frustrated by the fact that he had lost his Thundercloud soul. It was consumed to help his main Soul ascend to the next stage of evolution, however it still felt like a waste. S grade souls and higher are too valuable to be turned into simple So
The Blue Giants village is located deeper into the mainland, supposedly hidden between three mountains called the Volcanic Spikes which, as the name suggests, are three active volcanoes infested with S tier magical beasts.Getting there was difficult on its own but finding the entrance was borderline impossible. Apparently there is a magical barrier surrounding the village that prevents outsiders from getting close, causing them to walk in circles before leading them away if they survive the beasts. Since he is unable to bypass it Roland came to the realization that he is no longer considered a part of the village.Drake tried searching from the sky using his flight skill but in the end found nothing. After camping for two days he started to have doubts about the information his friend provided, after all it has been fifty years since he came here last. On the morning of the third day the two woke up sensing a presence. Looking at the miniature map in the corner of his vision Drake sa