Who knew that only after a single night passed, everything had changed?
Sammuel woke up to countless people frantically panicking. The current turn of events completely sent shockwaves all across the city of Aganth. It was all due to one singular entity, Alyur, the Great Dragon of Moonlight. She had waged war against the city of Aganth.
Jumping off his bed, he went downstairs to see Xeril pacing back and forth waiting for him. He had brought his spear with a serious expression on his face.
“Sammuel, it’s not good. The city is being sieged by countless creatures. Everyone who could fight was ordered to fight on the front lines. If it was before we entered the Reuge Institution then we could’ve ignored their summons but now…” Xeril bit his lip, this could not be more unfortunate for him.
Leaving outside, Sammuel looked up to the skies where a giant dome had been erected preventing anything from entering or escaping. And from beyond the horizon, a great while scaled dragon over looking the entire situation. It had looked down on everyone here as if they were mere obstacles to what she aimed for.
“That is…”
“Sir Weston’s spell. The only thing stopping that Dragon from killing everyone here.”
“If that’s protecting us then why are we being sent to the front lines? This doesn’t make sense.” Sammuel’s mind immediately started running through all his options. And by far, all his options were grim.
“Sir Weston and Alyur, the Great Dragon of Moonlight, struck a deal. She won’t go all out for as long as there’s a small gap where her forces could enter. He’s hoping that we’ll be able to delay long enough so that reinforcements come. As for Alyur…”
“She wants to use the pressure from the residents to force Weston into giving up the Hatchling. It’s mental warfare. God dammit! We’ve barely learned anything and now we’re being forced to go in to die!”
“Not yet, Sir Weston told us that we have an entire week… to prepare being we’re sent out. That’s when the first clash big clash happens. And a week after that… there’ll be another and another until we lose everyone. Sammuel, I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t think we’re going to survive this without a few sacrifices.” Xeril gripped his spear tightly.
A week… A week to what? Get strong enough? I’ve spent more than an entire month to get where I am! Sammuel raged.
“There’s no point delaying the inevitable. Let’s go to the Reuge Institution. Let’s learn as fast as much as we can.”
The duo filled with indignation entered Reuge Institution with a wrathful temper. An opportunity had turned into a death trap. Sammuel tried to think of ways to circumvent this but to no avail. He was going to be sent out to war and there was nothing he could do about it.
Entering their own room, they could see Jynnette meditating. She seemed as if there was nothing wrong outside at all. “Due to special circumstances, I’ll be teaching you my main technique. You cannot disobey me. Those things you have learned yesterday, throw them away.”
The both of them nodded along. Jynnette should have an incredible technique that would surely help them out. And she did not disappoint at all.
“I mainly practice, [Art of Killing]. If not for such a serious situation, I wouldn’t have even considered teaching you this. It’s a technique that solely focuses on, you guessed it, killing. It’s not an exaggeration that this technique could bridge the gap between masters. The only problem here is that, to properly utilize [Art of Killing] you need to awaken mana.”
Jynnette came over to the both of them and placed her hand above their heads. “This process should take months if not years, slowly letting your body awaken. But we don’t have the time. This will hurt, a lot. Don’t die.”
As Jynnette’s hand was placed on his forehead, Sammuel instinctively acted.
[Switch Ego: Hemorrhaging Bat]
A surge of mana entered Sammuel’s body, coursing through his veins. Months of accumulated power continued forming within his body. He didn’t even need to do anything as Jynnette was the one piloting everything as it happened. She had forcefully awakened their ability to sense mana.
Xeril kneeled down, his eyes blank. There wasn’t a smidgen of blood that came out of his body but the mental shock he received knocked him out. Even still his body convulsed, trying to escape the baptism of mana.
Sammuel had a completely different experience, blood poured out from all his orifices. The undeniable gush of blood that rushed out of him started corroding the arena he was on. Jynnette narrowed her eyes at how strange Sammuel’s body was. Fortunately, his blood wasn’t strong enough to leave a mark on her body.
Both of them felt the forced sensation of their pores breathing life. It was as if the world had turned brighter, shinier, bloodier. Between the two of them, Xeril was the first one that managed to recover.
[Status: Forced Breakthrough | Permanently Lose Combat Power: -6.23 | Xeril: 2.32]
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He felt all his organs cry out in agony. Jynnette took out a pill and shoved it down Xeril’s throat. His body immediately recovered, trying to regain what he had lost.
[Consumed Talent Recovery Pill | Permanently Gain Combat Power: +3.67 | Xeril: 5.99]
He had only managed to barely regain half he had lost. Though this wasn’t inherently too bad because this was exactly what was limiting Xeril from growing stronger.
[Leveled Up | Permanently Gain Combat Power: +124.66 | Xeril: 130.65 (10/50)]
Xeril had reached the Awakened Stage.
He was now no longer considered as a mortal for he could now wield mana. Such a terrifying increase was only on par for someone of Xeril’s caliber. Though this wasn’t inherently correct for he still hasn’t shown his full capability.
Only then did Sammuel regain consciousness. He looked around trying to make sense of the world. There was only a single thought that rushed through his red-tinted vision.
The world’s brighter than I remember.
[Status: Forced Breakthrough | Permanently Lose Combat Power: -17.72 | Sammuel: 12.6]
Jynnette also gave Sammuel a pill but the only thing it did was give him a regenerative pill healing him of all his injuries. “Sammuel, trying to save your talent would be useless. If you want to blame anyone then blame me. That is if you’re alive to blame me.”
Sammuel didn’t bear any great grudge against Jynnette at all. In fact, he was extremely grateful for her. So what if his talent was reduced to nothing? It was merely one of his [Ego], he had countless ones he could use but mana was something he didn’t even have an iota of understanding about.
Still, Sammuel couldn’t speak at all. He was left there to recover on his own.
After waiting for around two hours, both Xeril and Sammuel managed to heal right back up. It was only then did Sammuel learned about what he had just unlocked.
[Assimilation Requirements:
Breakthrough Condition: Awaken to Mana using [Ego: Hemorrhaging Bat] with a Bronze Card Quality or higher| Reward: Reach Star Quality 2
Condition Cleared: Awaken to Mana | Reward: Increase Mana Affinity]
[Name: Sammuel Arthus
Ego: Hemorrhaging Bat
Card Quality: Bronze
Star Quality: 2 | 10/50 | 0/100%
Affinity Level: 8.5%
Combat Power: 35.12]
He had only managed to reach a little bit higher in the end. A small price to pay in Sammuel’s opinion.
Although he didn’t know what Mana Affinity was, anything related to Affinity Levels was extremely welcome. It was a number that no matter how minuscule the increase, had drastic improvements to him.
“Stand up. There’s no time to keep dawdling around. It’s time for me to teach you [Art of Killing], the only person I’m focusing on will be Xeril. If you ever get left behind Sammuel, then you could only blame yourself.”
Sammuel nodded. All he cared about was receiving another skill. The specifics didn’t matter at all. Now that he could sense mana, the world felt smaller while contradictorily also feeling much bigger. His understanding of certain things increased drastically.
“Let’s begin.” Jynnette raised her hand and caused a few mannequins to rise up.
~~~
Within the Salvo Empire, Elias was in a meeting.
“Those lost elves have started thinking about switching over their allegiance to us in exchange for protection. Any in favor?”
“Nay.” A unanimous rejection.
“Either they agree to be slaves or they get nothing at all. They should know their place.” A priest wearing a grander crest on his cap spoke. He had held a high position within the Salvo Empire.
“The following, Alyur, the Great Dragon of Moonlight, has attacked Aganth due to a missing Hatchling. Anyone interested in leading the holy rescue?”
“I suggest we let Lord Elias take charge. He has grown quite well these past few months. It will be a great time to showcase to the world that our Empire has a Hero to lead the banner. It was worth brainwashing everyone involved to forget the matters back then.” Another high-ranking priest offered his suggestion.
“Me?” Elias pointed to himself. He had also worn a priest’s clothing yet this one was fully clad in gold and blue. He stood out even among these people.
“Worry not, our people will be the ones in charge of the battle. You only need to show yourself. That is enough.” Gaben had spoken out. His clothes had changed from before, apparently, he had been promoted.
“I have no problems with it if you’re willing to hear my demands.” Elias looked at everyone synchronously nodding. “Protect the elves.”
“That’s…” Gaben stood up. “May we hear your reason, Lord Elias? Such an inferior species has no right standing on equal ground as us.”
“I don’t need to explain myself. I own quite a bit of land, right? Send all of them there to settle down. Tell them to await my orders.” Elias already knew that this was bound to happen. No matter his demands, the Salvo Empire would act upon it as long as it soothed him.
“Very well. Now on to the next matter, the current rebellion forming from…”
~~~
Sadin madly laughed out loud as he faced against a druid of the forest. Sadin’s terrifying Fire Spirit formed right behind him and spewed out an ungodly amount of fire. It burned the entire forest down as he had wished.
“I surrender!” The druid laid down her arms.
As soon as he said so, Sadin raised his hand and summoned a Water Spirit to cleanse the forest of his fire. “You should’ve said that earlier! Hahahaha! Now to collect my spoils.” Sadin went up to the druid and took her mask off.
Her face was now laid bare, perfectly carved beauty that made those attracted to such a thing able to watch on for hours on end. Her green hair fell down and softly bounced off. Sadin held her up and took her away. Once he returned, countless people within his personal army celebrated another conquest conquered.
Sadin sent her off to be with the rest of the female girls he had laid his eyes on. He had completely sought after every treasure he could lay his hands on, all the women he could dream of, and all the land he could rule over. With the Vis Empire backing all his expeditions, Sadin was growing at a terrifying rate.
“Reporting in, the Vis Empire had called in for you to move towards Aganth.” A soldier bowed humbly before Sadin, fearing that he would lash out at him.
“I’m in a good mood right now. If the reason’s fun I’ll think about it.”
“Alyur, the Great Dragon of Moonlight has waged war against Aganth. She was looking after a Hatchling. Rumors stated that this Hatchling was a female.”
Sadin’s interest was acquired. “Men! Next off, Aganth! We’re going to war! Hahahahaha!”
“Hoorah!”
“Hoorah!”
“Hoorah!”
As a tyrant who actually treated his men like his brothers, they were willing to live and die for Sadin. With conduct that could only be described as manly, Sadin pushed on forward, enjoying his current life to the fullest.
~~~
Fian held Marie in her arms. The constant shouts and conflicts outside their humble sewing store scared them.
“Don’t worry, Marie. I’ll protect you. And if I can’t there’s always Sammuel.” Fian hid away inside. She had the foresight to stock up on supplies so there wasn’t a need for her to leave the house at all.
Marie closed her eyes and hugged her mother even harder.