Its size notwithstanding, the Hydra was surprisingly mobile. It flattened all the large trees and flora in its way, its nine-heads moving around and choosing all sorts of magical projectiles. Arrow-like projectiles made of poison, small wind-aspected tornadoes that ripped through everything in their way, bursts of purple flames, and even blasts of Holy Magic. Each head is proficient at a certain type of Magic. This is an artificial Hydra, not an authentic one. Leiu ignored the rambling of the curious Inos as he swept his greatsword upwards, blocking several projectiles and then somersaulting further back. Ella had just caught up with him and continued running away, not even daring to look back at the monstrously big pursuer. She was quite fortunate that the Hydra was dead-set on attacking Leiu and no one else. After cutting through a wave of purple flames, Leiu kicked his foot against a tree and used that as a momentum to reach one of the Hydra’s heads. [Invisible Strike] With t
“The Boss was gracious enough to wait for you!”Several armed men were in Wolfgang’s room. What little furniture decorated the place was destroyed or flipped upside down as the gang members took anything and everything that could be sold for money.Wolfgang in question was on the ground, bleeding from his nose and lips after getting kicked and punched by the shouting man.The second-in-command of the Harling Gang had come in person, and from the looks of it, he was a Player too.“E-Ella ran away with the loot! Just give me one more we-”Andrei of the Harling Gang punched the pleading Wolfgang again before cleaning his bloodied hand and smiling.“We’ve waited long enough, Wolfgang. We don’t care if Ivan died or Ella ran away. You borrowed money from us.”“The interest was too hig-”“Still speaking?!”Andrei gestured for his men, who ganged up on Wolfgang and gave him a brutal beating. Admittedly, Wolfgang didn’t suffer as much considering the tenacity of his body. Normal humans wouldn
“This is a total waste of time!”Izy walked around the now-abandoned and run-down apartment of Wolfgang. If it weren’t for the fact that Lao was their superior and a pretty high-ranking individual in the organization, she wouldn’t have come to such a filthy place.In contrast, Pablo was meticulously looking for any clues.“Mister Lao wouldn’t send us for a simple investigation. It seems this ‘side-job’ has transformed into something deeper.”The Italian man, Pablo, examined the leftover clothes and even used an artifact to sense any lingering energy but found nothing of note.“Fine.. fine!”Izy stomped on the ground before finally getting to work. After all, she was much more adept at finding hidden objects and tracking targets.“No ordinary Transcendent would be able to massacre the entire Harling Gang.”“They’re just ordinary humans. What's the big deal about it?”-Izy“Their leader was a relatively capable mage. Do you honestly think it’s normal behavior for someone to behead almos
Two days settling in the motelWolfgang didn’t laze around and went out of his way to contact many of his acquaintances to help Leiu.Unfortunately, finding a Transcendent that was ‘situated’ in the North was difficult.“As I said before, the players in the North belong to the Earth Coalition. There are many of them but they follow a set of rules and they cannot bring just anybody with them.”Wolfgang paused for a bit, seemingly hesitating about something.“However, I heard about someone gathering desperate people, mostly poor or homeless, to take them to the ‘other side’.”“Oh?”“But it’s not the North. It’s the Kantika Isles.”“...”Leiu frowned, remembering the Imperial Counselor.“Didn’t you say that the Queen of Noules had lost her Counselor five years ago?”“You mean Zeno? Yeah. It’s quite the known thing as Noules became very destabilised upon his departure.”‘A brief detour might not be a bad thing. Zeno knows quite a lot of things and I could use her help.’Leiu pondered for
The Kantika IslesBlack Whale IslandPort Heim“A-Adrian!!”A terrified blond-haired vampire barged into a spacious yet dimly-lit room within a luxurious villa South of the city.The vampire was out of breath and covered in blood, barely able to control his terror.Adrian, the one he had called for, stood up but didn’t berate his friend as he instantly knew that something was wrong.“They’re dead! I… I… can’t!”“Calm down and explain what happened.”Of course, Adrian knew that his friend, Iryan, went to procure more humans. There were seldom any mishaps with the human known as the Preacher. Adrian provided him with gold and safe refuse in return for regular supply of humans.Albeit frightened to the core, Iryan did his best to recount the horrors he had experienced and witnessed.The couple of guards Adrian would send with him were slaughtered in an instant by an unknown human.“It seems the Preacher brought a rather unsavoury individual. For now, go home and stay put. I will deal wit
Felix, known as the Preacher, didn’t waste any minute ever since he left his ‘hideout’. The thought of running away did cross his mind, but it went away just as quickly when the youth who had almost killed him planted something inside of his body.Admittedly, Felix knew that taking humans to the vampires was a risky job and that what happened today wasn’t that unexpected, however, he never anticipated that one of his clients would be so strong that he wouldn’t stand a chance.Felix was Lv176, which was neither too high nor too low in today’s standards, nevertheless, he was a Frost Mage and was able to defend himself. But, upon witnessing what Leiu was capable of, and adding to that how Felix himself was incapacitated in an instant, any attempt at retaliating became nothing more than suicide.Rather than trying to be clever, Felix opted for the safest route and immediately reached out to his contacts in the port city.It was much better to help Leiu and get this matter done with than r
Port Heim Xavier’s home “Punished?” Xavier solemnly nodded his head, “Yes. Master left the family years ago and began working for Noules, eventually becoming the Imperial Counselor. I do not know the details, but she had a dispute with her father, the head of the Kantika Family.” “But they accepted her back when she returned?” “They did… on the condition that she stays home and practices the Kantika’s Blood Arts, which would help her succeed as the Head.” Xavier paused and avoided Leiu’s gaze, a look of hesitation on his face, “Five years ago, when the Darkness came, Master… she broke a taboo. She offered her Blood Essence, which is something vital to the Original Vampires, to the Darkness.” “I know that I received help from the Red Moon or something like that. I didn’t realize the cost was that big.” Leiu shook his head and sighed. Including the Pixies and the Mermaid Queen, there was also the Red Moon buff, which was just as important and strong as the other two. It had sign
The Kantika Isle was the main small piece of land East of the continent. It was at the center of the Kantika Isles as well as the biggest of them all albeit housing only one of the Original Vampire Families and no cities or major settlements like Port Heim.There were a handful of small human settlements, mainly farms, all of which were owned by the Kantika family but managed by actual humans that worked under them.The trip to the Kantika Isle took a little over two hours. The boat occasionally rocked back and forth within the darkness of the night and the calm yet eerie waters.Xavier didn’t try to dissuade Leiu, but his facial expression betrayed and showcased his rising nervousness.Setting foot on the Kantika Isle without a proper invitation was strictly prohibited and warranted severe punishment, but Leiu was going to do something even more ridiculous.Attacking the strongest Original Family, especially single-handed, was nothing short of suicidal. Even so, as he saw Leiu’s comp
Outside of Black Mountain City“The Red Moon hasn’t changed.”Vins remarked as he looked to the sky. “I thought you’ll come back once it is time.”“I didn’t want to come fetch you at the last second. Plus, it won’t be long before the Hell Gate appears.”Vins didn’t argue back, he solemnly nodded once. Although his relationship with Leiu was bad, there was no need to provoke him at any given opportunity.They were enemies, and the fact that Leiu actually came back to get him meant that, to some extent, his words had convinced him a bit, at least enough to let him come along.“In the meantime, we’re going after Void Rifts. I trust you don’t mind?”“I said I will help.”“Good.”…One week laterAstriaThe Phantom Ocean (South-West of Weiji)Amidst the raging and haunted waters, there was a sky-piercing and unshakable spire that was unaffected by the ten-feet high waves crashing into it.The spire was relatively big and ominous, even at a glance. It was pitch-black, merging with the dark
Leiu spent quite a long time in the Studying Room. Unfortunately, the available information about the Reverie Comos was lacking and unsatisfactory. It just told him what he already knew: The Reverie Cosmos was a separate plane of existence in Mundus, not unlike the Harrowing. It was accessible only to those with ‘high’ spiritual energy, which was simply not enough to go on.Although, even if Leiu knew how to enter it, he wouldn’t go there, at least not now.There were much more pressing matters than delivering Lost Witch to the Reverie Cosmos. The Hell Gate was about to open and he needed to be there when it did. Once he was done with his pondering, Leiu went to talk to Sumbus Darrar.“So?”The old man was in the ‘Living Room’, gobbling down the delicious feast without a care in the world.After wiping his oily lips, the Necromancer awkwardly laughed,“Her name is Emilia. She told me she doesn’t remember what happened… only that you killed her and then she woke up after we killed
“It’s over…”The Elven Chevalier had a look of relief and fatigue on her face. She kept holding on her blade as she stared at Tenebris.Unlike her, he looked absolutely miserable. Whether it was his dirt-covered pale-face, his sweaty and greasy hair, his trembling and bloodied hands, or his shredded clothes.“Hold on. I’ll heal you.”With slow steps, she approached him, unaware that a tiny pit of flesh crawled on the ground and leapt at her arm.“Watch out!”Tenebris saw it first, but his warning came too late. Kusomi, panicking a bit, tried to the flesh but it dug into her skin and then went inside her body.Her body instantly flashed with a silver light, an attempt to use overwhelming energy to force out the worm-like flesh.“Ah…”Kusomi fell to her knees and let go of her estoc, her body convulsing and her mouth coughing blood. The light emitting from her body grew dim and then disappeared.As her body wobbled and then fell to the side, the elf- with all the strength she could mus
[User, there is an increasing fluctuation of energy from the g-]Eva’s voice turned into silence, but more surprising was the abrupt change of environment.Sumbus, Leiu, and Voido, were standing in an endlessly dark world, but the ‘Darkness’ was completely different from the norm. It wasn’t Primordial Darkness or simply an overabundance of Darkness energy. This was something else entirely.Before anyone could speak, innumerable lightning bolts pierced through the ‘darkness’, shattering like glass and revealing an empty space not unlike space itself.There were star wars that were far, far away, but most noticeably, the majority of them were caught one supernova after the other.Leiu and Sumbus felt immense dread as an overwhelming pressure assaulted them, locking them into that empty space. Leiu tried to use the Darkness to protect himself but, surprisingly, it wouldn’t come out. It seemed unresponsive and ineffective as if something was sealing it away.Sumbus fared even worse as h
4 days laterSouth of WeijiThe Dead Marshes[The Control Command is 350 meters North-East of your current location]Thanks to Eva’s precise instructions, it wasn’t particularly hard to find the quest’s destination.Leiu was still in a gloomy mood, but he persevered and didn’t waste time staying in the manor.He was accompanied by the Void Incarnate and Sumbusu Darrer, respectively User #3 and #4 of System Epsilon.As it turned out, Eva, after asking them, had integrated the System into them. Only after the fact was Leiu made aware of that. [Title: Void Fragment(E) User #3: VoidoLevel: 835(2%)Class: ????-Strength: 9999Intelligence: 13999Agility: 9999Wisdom: 29999Vitality: 39999Dexterity: 9999-Attack: 19999-29999Defense: 59999-69999-Health: 99999/99999Mana: 29999/29999Stamina: ????/????-30% damage reduction against physical attacks60% damage reduction against magical attacks-Skills: Elemental Magic(Passive/Active MaxLv) - Transformation(Active/Passive MaxLv) - Voi
“Huff… huff..”Leiu was gasping for air aboard the ship’s deck. Anne was hugging him, relieved that he made it out alive.Sumbus was also sitting down, his complexion paler than usual. Before returning to the surface, Leiu closed the Void Rift with the Primordial Darkness. He had less than 20% health remaining and his mind was still befuddled.“I’m… okay, Anne.”“Drink this.”She forced him to drink three Health Potions, which did help with the physical wounds.“Leiu.”The Mermaid Queen stood a couple of feet away. Her heavy injuries notwithstanding, she was faring relatively well, at least better than him.[Lanna ‘Mermaid Queen’(Race: Astral Mermaid)(World Boss ‘S): Lv1027][Health: 220,729/1,500,000]“Lanna…”Leiu scrutinized her, noticing some similarities with the mermaid he had met in the past.Lanna had grown more mature and, clearly, considerably stronger. Admittedly, she and Leiu weren’t the best friends, but they did help each other in the ‘past’.“We could’ve killed Him.”
Tenebris sat up and proceeded to wear his bloodied and dirty clothes back.‘I’ll be damned. You actually went through with it. I’m impressed, Tenebris.’While pretending as if he didn’t hear the voice, Tenebris looked to the side. Kusomi also properly sat up and stoically looked at him.“It hurt a bit. Other than that… it wasn’t anything special.”‘Hear that, dumbass? No chance you’re getting laid a second time.’After being pressed by the voice, Tenebris eventually relented and had sex with Kusomi. It wasn’t anything dramatic, and from beginning to end, it barely lasted an hour.Although he got to enjoy the soft body of a beautiful elf, Tenebris wasn’t that happy. He had hoped the two of them would ‘feel’ differently amidst the action and pleasure, but no such thing happened.The virgin elf was inexperienced, so he took the lead, but having sex like that didn’t really mean anything. At least not to him. He should have trusted his gut and refused, but feeble hope and lust persuaded hi
With the help of the Dark Archmage’s spell, Leiu and Anne were able to dive underwater and breathe. The Void Incarnate, which wasn’t even a living creature, simply jumped down and transformed into somesort of a hideous hammerhead shark.Leiu really wanted to question it as it never said it could change its appearance, but now wasn’t the time.The four swam deeper and deeper until the Void Rifts were in sight. They let out ominous purple glows, all haphazardly scattered everywhere.Albeit not at full speed, Leiu was able to swiftly reach them and used Primordial Darkness to forcefully close them down. Oddly enough, no Voidspawn came out to attack him. Only Void Riftss were present, which, rather than fortunate, felt like a bad omen.Thus, as they kept descending closer and closer to the seafloor, Leiu got rid of any Void Riftss in the way. It was a tedious but not overly-taxing process.Eventually, however, they reached the two, aforementioned, big Void Riftss. They were massive, but
“When is the Hell Gate going to open?”After talking with Elena and the rest, Leiu left Black Mountain City altogether. He looked at his newest companion, the fearful Sumbus Darrar.Startled, the old Necromancer looked at the red moon hanging in the sky. Night has yet to fall, but the moon stuck out like a store thumb. It was still waxing, albeit at a very slow speed.“Two weeks, at most.”“And where’s the gate?”“I… I can only locate it when it is about to open.”As he saw the suspicious stare of the Dark Knight, Sumbus vigorously nodded his head while waving his hands around. “I swear, Dark Knight! I do not dare lie to you!”Seeing how the old man behaved, it was hard to think of him as the one from the legends. He was like an obedient dog, following Leiu and doing everything asked of him.In fact, he was sensible enough to notice Leiu’s relationship with Anne, so he treated the Vampire with the utmost politeness and respect.[User, a suggestion: Eliminate the Administrator in-]‘I