Nornesh’s Lair,
11:21 pm. 19 th Banem 1092.
“Ugh…” Kashi groaned, clutching his chest as he sat up. The daeben winced, his brows furrowed in a tight frown as he thought back to Razznik’s beatdown, as well as the warrior’s final warning.
“You will die if you are still reliant on Ferulic’s abilities the next time we meet. See you soon.”
‘See you soon?’ Kashi cursed under his breath. ‘Like hell, you will.’ A raging fire burned in the daeben’s eyes, but it was soon quenched by the system’s prompt.
Warning: You have been revived by Second Wind. All injuries have been healed, and you are left with 600 HP.
Second Wind Cooldown Time: 14 days.
Kashi examined the prompt with a frown. Fourteen Days? This was the longest cooldown he had ever seen for a skill. There were people with self-revive skills in King’s Journey, and the longest he had ever seen was two days. Was the reason for the Second Wind’s absurd cooldown because the Circle was not fully established?
Kashi shook his head, choosing not to dwell on the matter. This was good anyway. It would reduce his reliance on the skill. After all, [Second Wind] wasn’t invisible. In fact, it was practically useless in a fight.
“Oi! How long are you gonna stare into space!”
Forced out of his thoughts, Kashi looked up to see a grinning Syèl squatting in front of him. Syèl chuckled as he patted the daeben’s shoulder, eyes wide in wonder. “You can come back from the dead? So, what is it? Are you immortal? Will you come back if I decapitate your head?” Syèl’s eyes shone as he raised his right hand, which was bathed in flames.
“I’d rather not find out,” Kashi refused with a subdued laugh as he rose to his feet. “More importantly,” said the daeben as Syèl stood up. “Did you receive any notice after I died?”
“Notice?” Syèl laughed, snaked his arm around Kashi’s neck, and then revealed the two last system prompts from the system log. “Notice? Boy, the gang is probably pissed the fuck off right now.”
“Fuck me.” Kashi cursed as he examined the prompts. The daeben rubbed his face and then let out a defeated sigh. “Well, that’s one trump card gone. Our enemies now know I can come back from the dead at least once.” Kashi groaned and then looked to his left, where a visibly embarrassed Nornesh stood. The daeben frowned and then spat, “You owe me.”
Nornesh chuckled and then shrugged. “I suppose I did renege on the terms of our challenge. You won, and I made a fool of myself. Fine, I shall add one more favor.”
“Three,” argued Kashi. “If I did not return, you would have been guilty of going back on your word. I imagine that would have been quite shameful for a Divine Dragon such as yourself.”
Nornesh revealed a toothy grin as a dangerous glint sparked in his eyes. He glared at the daeben, but Kashi was more than equal to his intimidatory tactics. Realizing that the daeben would not back down, the dragon laughed and then put up two fingers, “Two favors. I will add two extra favors for a total of three. How does that sound?”
Kashi hesitated but then agreed. “Fine. Two favors it is.” He extended his right hand, which Nornesh gripped in a firm handshake to solidify the agreement.
Nornesh’s grin turned sly following the handshake as he then proclaimed, “Great! Now, as your first favor, I shall definitely attend this battle of yours.”
“Huh!? That cannot count. You were going to attend. You already agreed!”
“Sure, but I neither guaranteed nor promised,” argued Nornesh. “We dragons are whimsical. Who knows? I might have changed my mind by sunrise. Now, I am giving my word that I will attend. You should understand the significance.”
Syèl noticed Kashi was about to explode with apoplectic rage, and thus soothed with a sarcastic chuckle. “Give it up Kash, old ginger is the spiciest. He has you on a technicality.”
“I know that!” Kashi spat as he yanked Syèl’s arm off his shoulder. “Fuck! Do you think I’m stupid too?”
“Whoa whoa,” called Syèl as he raised his hands. “I’m not the enemy here. What’s your deal?”
Kashi clucked his tongue but then shook his head and said, “Nothing. Nothing. I guess dying put me in a bad mood or something.” He then looked at Nornesh. “Our agreement still stands, right? You see how long I can last in the mana pool?”
“You are just intent on making me out to be a complete bastard, aren’t you?” complained Nornesh as he scratched his snout. “Of course, you can dip in the pool. I, too, am intrigued to see just how long you can survive in there.”
“Fine. Watch me,” stated Kashi as he walked to the pool. Under his breath, he muttered, “I’ll show you who’s weak.”
“Ah, remember to strip,” reminded Nornesh. “Most clothing is destroyed by the dense mana.”
Kashi raised a brow as he looked at the dragon. There was no way of knowing if Nornesh was bluffing or not. He had seen items disintegrate when injected with more mana than they could handle. The only difference was that those materials were actively enhanced with mana, whereas this was a passive soak. Well, rather than risk losing everything, the daeben decided to do as proposed and unequipped everything he wore save for a pair of boxer shorts.
Ready, Kashi walked toward the pool. However, his brows furrowed when he was but a meter away. Before even entering, it already felt like needles were prickling his skin. If this what the gaseous mana felt like, how would the pool itself feel? Kashi stared at the pool for a few seconds but then gritted his teeth as he ran forward and then leaped towards the center.
Kashi dropped into the lake, but contrary to expectation didn’t even make a splash. The mana was so thick, it felt more like falling into a bowl of custard or oatmeal. As a result, rather than sink right to the bottom, Kashi slowly submerged until only his neck was aboveground.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, causing Kashi to wonder if Nornesh was just pulling his legs. Just as he was about to ask the dragon if there had been a mistake somewhere, Syèl shouted, “What’s your safe word?”
Kashi’s brow shot up. “Safeword?”
“Yeah! In case you’re about to shit yourself and need rescuing,” Syèl encouraged with a sarcastic chuckle.
“What? You mean like ‘help’?”
“Help?” Syèl tested the word on his lips and then nodded. “Help. Classic.” The halben’s lips then curled in a teasing smirk as he joked, “…Or kinda kinky if you look at it another way. Wow, Kash, I had no idea you had such a wild side.”
Kashi, in turn, rolled his eyes and was about to retort, but Nornesh suddenly said, “It’s about time.”
“It’s about time? What do you me—AAAAGH!” Kashi’s sentence cut to a sharp, soul-piercing scream. The daeben’s eyes immediately turned blood red, strong veins popping along his neck as he struggled against impossible levels of pain. The punishment of the Out-of-Body Training was nothing compared to this!
Kashi felt like he had been dipped in lava. The violent mana melted his skin, muscles, and bones, but at the same time, healed him so quickly, he was in no danger of death. At times it felt like someone had taken shear pliers to raw nerves, other times like iron was burning along his veins.
Kashi screamed out loud, unable to endure the pain like he usually did. This was destruction on a subatomic level. It felt like the mana pool hated his body and had decided to restructure him from the ground up. What Kashi did not know was that the added difficulty was a result of his chosen race.
Dragons were known as creatures ‘loved by mana.’ As a result, even though Nornesh suffered immense pain, the damage was not unbearable because his cells already accepted mana readily. Kashi, on the other hand, was a daeben. Daebens, even more so than dwarfs, were disliked by mana. Their bodies could not store as much mana as other races, and their magic arts were usually much weaker.
The daebens’ mana weakness was one of the primary reasons they became the best rune crafters in the world. Runecrafting relied more on skill and external mana, as opposed to internal mana. The daeben mastered the art of runecrafting to position themselves as viable threats to other races. As history tells it, this strategy eventually worked. The devices built by the daebens using runic technology played a massive role in their eventual bid for world domination. Alas, they failed at the final stage.
Kashi was not aware the daebens’ innate flaw would cause his destruction to be so much worse than anyone anticipated. Frankly, the daeben was not aware of much at the moment. Every cell in his body screamed at him to jump out of the mana pool. Escape while he still could. While he could still muster the strength. However, just when he was about to give up, he recalled Razznik towering over him, sword in hand.
Kashi recalled the condescending glare Razznik directed his way. The look that said he was less than trash. A mistake Razznik needed to fix. “…I. Am. Not. Worthless.” Kashi deliberately accentuated each word. He was not sure if it was for his own benefit or as a dig to Razznik. Maybe it was a mixture of both. It didn’t matter.
Those words affirmed Kashi’s resolve. He would stay until he passed out or died. Never would he willingly take a step out of that pool. It must be said that Kashi might have lacked in many areas, but one thing he had in abundance was stubbornness. Once he made up his mind, he folded his hands and then submerged his entire body in the pool. Even as he felt like his eyes were being burned with a branding iron, he stubbornly chose to egg on.
Nornesh watched the daeben, sparked interest shining in his eyes as he remarked, “It would seem he has a strong will. I half expected him to jump out in ten seconds.”
“Heh. You have no idea, do you?” joked Syèl as he shot the dragon a teasing grin. “I don’t know that kid too well, but from the little I know, he is one stubborn asshole. You’re gonna lose this bet.”
“Well, time will tell, won’t it?” stated Nornesh with a satisfied grin. Suddenly, his eyes shone as he recalled an important fact. “Speaking of, do I not owe you some blood? I believe you said you needed my blood, did you not?”
Syèl’s eyes immediately turned to stars with respectfully regarded Nornesh as he said, “Well, Great, Wise Divine Dragon, Nornesh-sama. Please, grace me with a bucket full of your blood.”
“Bucket full?” Nornesh sneered. “Sure, I can easily give you a bucket of my ordinary blood.”
“Ordinary blood?” Syèl cocked his head, confusion in his eyes. “What do you mean ordinary, and why does giving me a bucket-full sound rubbish all of a sudden? I’m a small dude. I don’t think there’s enough space in me for more than a bucket.”
Nornesh shook his head and sighed. “I initially had half a mind to deceive you, but killing the daeben was out of my plans. Now, I’m honor-bound to tell you the truth. All mana-beasts have two types of blood: Ordinary Blood and Essence Blood.” Nornesh winced and then pierced his right hand into his chest. Seconds later, he retrieved it and looked at the drop of blood floating above his palm. “This is Essence Blood. It is formed from concentrated mana and ki, right at your heart. Have you ever felt like you were out of mana but then suddenly exploded with one final move you didn’t know you had? More than likely, you burnt your essence blood to achieve that move.”
“What? So, it’s not just the power of Nakama?” remarked Syèl with mock-devastation.
“Friendship does not beat basic biology,” argued Nornesh with a snort. “You cannot burst with power that was not there, to begin with. The Essence Blood is what most people utilize in emergencies.”
Syèl pointed at his chest. “So, I have one of those too?”
“As long as you regularly utilize mana or ki. Yes, it will naturally form,” answered Nornesh. The dragon then said, “Now imagine. The amount of mana and ki compressed in your Essence blood is usually, at minimum, half of your full mana in your blood. Which do you think is worth more then: a bucket of mana-diluted blood or a drop of Essence blood?” Nornesh paused and then said, “Especially in a large beast like me. The mana in my blood is so diluted that that drinking it all will barely affect any change.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Huh.” Syèl nodded his head, and then scratched his chin in thought. “So, what you are saying is that when draining beasts or people, I should try to aim for their essence blood.”
Nornesh smiled. “Smart, but unfortunately, it is not so simple.” The dragon pointed at his heart. “Dragons are loved by mana, and so, we can easily access, control, and use our Essence Blood as we please.” He then pointed at Syèl. “Most other species, however, have their Essence Blood hidden. It usually only makes an appearance during critical situations or in times of excited emotions. Both of which are outside their control.” The dragon shrugged and then said, “I cannot teach you how to hunt for Essence Blood. You will have to find a vampire for that.”
“Damn,” cursed Syèl. “Where am I supposed to find one of those?”
“I do not know,” replied Nornesh. “Vampires are notoriously difficult to find for obvious reasons. But, even if I knew, I would not tell you. I have only spoken this much to wipe off my karmic debt to that daeben.”
“Hear that, Kash. Thanks for dying!” Syèl laughed, saying as he looked to the mana pool, “Can you let him kill you aga—” The halben paused, his brow rising. “Hey, is it just me, or is that lake getting smaller?”
“That is—!” Nornesh snorted, but then the words seized in his throat. Before his very eyes, the lake slowly but surely shrank, as if sucked into a hole at its center. “ Impossible!”
Meanwhile, Kashi’s expression turned even uglier, if that was even possible. Amid the explosive, tendon-cutting pain, he barely felt mana begin to pour into his body at an increased pace. Naturally, this caused the pain he suffered to triple, but at this point, there wasn’t really much difference between the levels of pain to the daeben.
More importantly, the daeben was concerned by the mana that disappeared as soon as it entered his body. Perhaps it was because of Razznik’s warning, but Kashi was hyper-aware of anything related to Ferulic, Yggdrasil included.
Kashi, who intended on using the mana as the springboard to restart his body training, tried to block Yggdrasil from absorbing mana, at least until he was finished. However, for the first time, Kashi felt like Yggdrasil was a separate conscious entity. Try as he might, he could not stop the suction force in his heart that rapidly swallowed all the mana around him.
Fortunately, the rapid pace at which mana stormed Kashi’s body correspondingly increased the rate at which his cells were broken down. Typically, this would have killed the daeben as the cells would not have reconstructed in time. Luckily, however, Yggdrasil poured out healing aura in excess, as if in recompense for stealing the mana. This gave rise to a unique situation neither Razznik nor Kashi could have imagined.
Kashi never knew Yggdrassil could pour out a healing aura this quickly. Usually, he had to open a portal. Only then would Yggdrasil’s aura be free to pour out. This time, however, it felt like a direct channel had been opened to the World Tree. If this was possible, Kashi could very well consider himself an immortal. the rate at which he was getting healed was much faster than any being could realistically kill him.
All these thoughts ran through Kashi’s head, but rather than be overjoyed, he instantly became skeptical and paranoid. Not just because of Razznik’s warning, but also because more than most, he understood King’s Journey , and in turn, Live No Evil’s obsession with karmic justice. No one received a massive boon without paying the appropriate price in both games.
If Kashi came across this immortal healing ability after conquering the world, slaying Razznik, subduing the gods and every mythological creature known to man, he could accept it. But, for some barely above Lv. 150 hume to achieve such a reality-breaking ability? Not possible. There had to be a dangerous catch somewhere that he wasn’t seeing.
Unfortunately, despite Kashi’s wariness, all attempts to stop Yggdrasil proved futile. The tree relentlessly absorbed the mana, which in turn forced Kashi to focus on reaping as many benefits from this disaster as possible. The daeben shut his eyes, pushed the pain to the back of his mind, and then focused on his body, willing his cells to stop resisting the mana.
Kashi’s absolute destruction followed this decision, including his bones and internal organs. Several times, death lovingly wrapped her hands over the daeben’s shoulders, but Yggdrassils’s healing rebuffed her advances each time.
Thankfully, the daeben’s torture began to pay off. Initially, the mana completely destroyed his cells. But as time passed, those cells became harder to break down, signifying their improved mana absorption.
Kashi would have squealed in triumph were his mouth not already occupied by pained screams. Regardless, as time passed, the pain eventually reduced as his cells became tougher to breakdown. This finally allowed Kashi to regain enough mental clarity to take a peek into his inner world. The daeben gathered his wits, concentrated, and then forcefully delved into Orez, where he was met with a shocking sight.
A heavy storm raged in Orez. Rain poured down as a powerful thunderstorm rend through the sky. Yggdrasil’s branches waved and shook violently as if praising three massive tornadoes above it. If one looked closely, they would notice that most of the rain was concentrated on these tornadoes.
Below Yggdrasil, several centaurs closed their eyes and happily soaked in the rain. Like the humes, the beasts also forgot about hunting each other. Instead, they sat next to each other on the open plains, willingly allowing the rain to soak their furs and skin.
Elsewhere, Rayatha’s eyes would have popped out if he were present to see several plants grew at rapid speed from a set of flower beds he cultivated. Even for Orez’ mana rich world, this was a stupendous growth rate.
Kashi appeared in the sky and took in the sights. He then glanced suspiciously at Yggdrasil, but he could not see any sign of the tree absorbing the mana for itself. For all intents and purposes, it appeared the mana was absorbed primarily into the three whirlpools, and the rest were then distributed to the rest of the realm.
‘Ugh.’ Kashi groaned and then doubled over, clutching his head in pain. It appeared entering Orez did not eliminate the sensation of pain from his real body. Well, this was useful information. Painful as it was. The daeben bit his lips and then, focusing on that pain, flew over to inspect the whirlpools.
‘What the?’ One cocoon and two massive eggs sat at the center of each tornado, greedily sucking in the surrounding mana. Why was Yggdrasil forcefully nurturing the Hydra eggs and Kira? Even more so, judging by how frantically the mana was pouring into the realm, the World Tree appeared anxious.
Kashi turned his attention to Kira’s cocoon. Despite trying to play it cool, the daeben’s eyes lit up. It had to be understood that Kira was his oldest companion. She had been by his side through thick and thin. Not having her by his side felt weird and uncomfortable. His eyes shook with anticipation, hoping she awoke from her slumber.
CRACK!
Suddenly, a tiny, minuscule crack rang out, almost buried beneath the raging thunder. To Kashi, however, this crack resounded like the loudest explosion! The daeben’s eyes widened as he paid close attention to Kira’s cocoon.
…
Unfortunately, after a while, it became clear the crack did not come from Kira’s cocoon. Disappointed, Kashi then examined the eggs. As expected, both eggs now bore new sets of cracks on their shells.
As if in anticipation, the eggs’ tornadoes suddenly merged, creating a mega funnel that forcefully sucked in even more mana than their previous total. Fuelled by the relentless absorption, the cracks slowly spread across the shells as the beings within began to push against their shells.
At the moment, however, the baby hydras were still too weak. So they absorbed even more mana, causing their tornado to rotate even more violently. As a result, the hydra eggs seized the lion’s share of the incoming mana, leaving very little for Kira or the world itself.
Kashi frowned but could not bring himself to attempt stopping them. Since they were so close to birth, it was only fair he allowed them that final push. Kira would come along shortly. And so he watched as the cracks spread, till they formed an intricate web pattern around the eggs, and then…
BOOM!
The tornado blasted the eggs into the sky. Kashi watched, dumbfounded, as tiny heads pierced through the shells while airborne before both eggs suddenly crashed into the ocean. BOOM! Following the crash, two massive geysers erupted.
Kashi flew over the sea and kept his eyes peeled. Eventually, fourteen black, snake-like heads peaked out of the sea. All fourteen heads turned to Kashi in rapt attention, eel-like feelers floating in his direction. A short pause followed. After which, one head let out a strange cry as it bobbed up and down. Following this cry, the other heads simultaneously let out frantic cries as their feelers stretched toward the daeben as if wishing to ‘touch’ him.
Suzuki did not have pets growing up. Razznik was not interested in having one. Kira, as a cub, would have loved nothing more than to grind Kashi into paste. As a result of these ‘experiences,’ Kashi was not sure how to respond to these cries. However, perhaps due to an instinct in all living creatures, Kashi sensed they were calling out to him.
This instinct, coupled with the knowledge that the hydras had, at some point, been conquered by his world, gave Kashi the courage to descend into their midst. Kashi’s descent into the mass of heads was akin to throwing catnip amongst a group of cats. The hydras’ heads squealed in delight as the heads took violent turns rubbing up against Kashi’s chest.
By the way, tiny is relative. Tiny, by human terms, is a baby. Tiny by Hydra terms is a horse-sized being, with 6 foot long necks and a head larger than the average human's chest.
Despite his pain, Kashi allowed himself to laugh as he patted the hydras’ heads. Emboldened by the daeben’s acceptance, a head bit his shoulder and then yanked him onto its back. Only now did Kashi realize that the fourteen heads were actually two pairs of seven heads as the massive bodies emerged from below the sea.
Two heads played with Kashi, three hissed at the other hydra, and the last two paid looked ahead as the hydra suddenly sped across the sea like a bat out of hell. Kashi suppressed a yell as he tightly grabbed onto the hydra’s neck. Jesus Submerging Christ! The fuck was that!?
Apparently, the hydra found Kashi’s expression delightful. Its heads bobbed in place, making strange cackling sounds that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Kashi glared at the heads playing with him, but apparently, the Hydra’s youthful exuberance had yet to understand fear. So, it only cackled louder as it sped up, sending sea spray flying into Kashi’s eyes and hair.
The hydra’s sibling cried out from the side as if offended by Kashi’s decision to stay with it. Kashi, for his part, laughed and then, after a minute, jumped from one hydra to the next. He nearly fell, but luckily, the hydra bit into his shoulder, stabilizing him before he slipped off.
Kashi had barely muttered thanks when this hydra, proving its more adventurous nature, suddenly delved into the ocean. Kashi’s eyes shot wide as he stared at the open sea. The duo blasted past thousands of interesting flora, but unfortunately, there was no aquatic life to populate the environment.
The daeben barely had time to ponder how to fix this when the first hydra zipped overhead and slyly stole him away. Kashi nearly threw up from the whiplash, but at the same time, he felt strangely liberated as he was pulled away. That sense of liberation only intensified as the hydras fought over him like children over a beach, only with supercharged speed.
That feeling intensified, reached its boiling point, and then… BOOM!
Kashi’s eyes widened as the hydra burst out of the ocean. The storm had cleared at some point, issuing in beautiful sunshine. Beautiful droplets captured the sunlight, sparkling like little, fleeting diamonds. A smile suddenly spread across the daeben’s lips and then slowly morphed into full-blown laughter.
Sensing Kashi’s mood, the hydras cackled as they gently brought him to the shore. When they reached the shore, Kashi hopped off the hydra’s back and then waded his way to the banks. He then collapsed onto the ground, taking huge gulps of air to regulate his breathing.
Kashi sighed and then raised his hand, blocking out the sun. Seconds later, however, that proved unnecessary as a dense net of necks formed a blockade. Kashi sat up and then looked at the hydras. Just as he was wondering what he should do about these two, Kashi got a notification.
Congratulations: Pseudo-Totem Unlocked
Through the birth of the Unbound Hydra, the Water Element has been temporarily stabilized. You are close to achieving full stabilization.
Stable Elements: Earth (Full), Water (Pseudo), Wind (Pseudo), Fire (Full), Lightning (Pseudo).
Unstable Elements: Metal.
Proficiency of Fully Stabilized Abilities increased by 100 %
Proficiency of Pseudo-stabilized Abilities increased by 50%
Congratulations: You Successfully Hatched Two Hydra Eggs
Congratulations, Daddy. You are now the proud father of two Hydras, one male, and one female. You can find out which is which in your won time. Hydras, although fiercely territorial, are also very loyal. These hydras have imprinted on you and will view you as their parent, more important than anything.
Warning: Hydras are fiercely territorial, Unbound Hydras even more so. Only one Unbound Hydra can exist in a world at a time. Enjoy your Hydra Babies, but remember to bring popcorn for their eventual battle to the death!
Congratulations: Beast Assimilation Complete!
Well done, you absolute cheat-code! Through conquering the unique beast: Unbound Hydra , the Hydra’s characteristics have been assimilated by you. Characteristics Gained
Underwater Breath: Your pores can absorb oxygen from water. Swim free, Ariel!
Poison Immunity : Total immunity to all poison. Eat comfortably at the enemy’s table.