They came down in hoards and buried us underneath their sheer number.
- An unknown survivor
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Jack walked away with a smile on his face and three artifacts in his sack. Nick decided that giving someone that many artifacts every day might be overkill. But Jack was his only customer. He could not afford to lose him. At least not for now.
He eyed a ring on his finger and a gratified smile spread across his handsome face.
Name: [Dimensional Ring] (Inactive)
Type: [Artifact]
Rank: [Common]
Ability: [Contains a meter square storage space inside]
Activation Condition: [Let it soak in human blood]
“So,” Isabel spoke as they stood outside the Moonlight Relics. Hoisting his gaze, he found two captivating eyes gaping at him. “I will also take my leave, then.” She paused and clutched the pendant hanging in her neck. “Thanks for today.”
“Not a problem,” Nick hurriedly replied. “You were kind enough to help me twice without expecting anything in return. Wouldn't I be an ingrate if I didn't help you?”
A moment of awkward silence followed.
“Uh,” Nick hesitated. “Have you ever thought of joining a hunting party?”
A pained look sprung across her face as she reminisced about her past. Her companions… She took a deep breath. Reminding herself that they were no longer her companions. “I was a part of a team,” Isabel told him. “But I failed to keep up with their progress, so they decided to kick me out.”
“Uh, I see.” Another moment of odd silence trickled by. “Would you like to go out with me?” Nick asked abruptly.
“Huh?” Isabel raised her head abruptly, staring at him speechlessly, as if saying, We don't even know each other that well!
Nick instantly realised his mistake.
“N-no!” He turned flustered and fumbled amidst his sentence. “I did not mean that. I’m inviting you to go out on a hunt with me!”
Isabel breathed in relief. Then fell silent and questioned herself: Could she endure that pain—that humiliation—again? Could she swallow her pride and remain quiet after being treated so callously by the people she thought were her own? No. Not again! Lifting her head, she took a deep breath; however, when she looked into Nick’s expectant gaze, the coldness in her eyes faded.
“Can I think about it for a day or two?” she uttered.
“Sure,” Nick nodded. “Find me here if you want to contact me.”
He really hoped for her to join him. A healer was the most essential part of any team. He was just a level 1 beastmaster. Who could be better than Isabel?
After sending her off, Nick eyed the ring in his finger and decided to end today's business. He purchased a syringe from a pharmacy and headed towards his house.
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Isabel stood inside the private ward of Lifeline Hospital, and eyed her bedridden sister, who was still in coma. Memories of her past began flooding back to her: Her playful younger sister's laughter echoed in her ears. Her mischievous grin after a prank flashed in front of her eyes. Her tears after Isabel refused to buy her an expensive toy.
Now Isabel wanted to hear her laugh, experience her pranks, and buy her toys. No, that time was long past. Her sister, Bella, no longer needed any of that. Not ever since she suffered from Mana Saturation.
A disease that was caused due to mana intolerance. A very rare disorder. For some, mana was the most amazing thing that ever happened, but for others it was a poison, they got sick by coming into contact with it. Slowly their condition deteriorated, and finally they lost their ability to move and walk or even talk.
They became vegetative corpses.
It's not that there was no cure. But Isabel could not afford it. It all came down to money. Money and power.
Money. For which she had sacrificed her future and contracted a healing type monster, so she could earn a few extra coins to help Bella’s treatment.
Isabel peered at her sister's pale face, close eyes, and adjusted her tangled hair. She sobbed. The burning agony in her chest was too much to bear.
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Nick filled a ceramic cup with his blood before dipping the ring into it. As soon as it reached the bottom, the ring began vibrating. Soon the trembling intensified, so much so that the cup could not withstand it and shattered from the middle. Only half a minute later the ring ceased to quaver.
Holding the artifact in his hand, a gratified smile flashed across his face. He grabbed a broken piece of the cup, and willed it to enter the ring. The segment vanished. Nick laughed. And when he wanted it to come out it appeared in his hand. He laughed harder. What a marvelous artifact he got for himself.
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That night he, once more, entered Dream Space, played with Dream, and experimented with her skill. He wanted to know everything about it before he used it on someone. Could he hurt someone inside the Dream Space? He tried on himself by cutting his hand, but he felt only a tingling sensation.
Could he forcefully summon someone after Marking them? Maybe…maybe not. He needed to test it to verify his theories.
The next morning when he arrived at the Plaza, he found the atmosphere a bit peculiar. He spotted a number of adventurers roaming around, clad in armour, and armed with swords and bows and numerous other kinds of weapons.
After inquiring he found that a new type of monster had appeared around Aston, who were targeting farmers working on the fields, and adventures in the forest. It seemed these monsters knew how to hide and ambush. They weren't attacking like mindless beasts.
After knowing about them, the adventurers began forming teams to set out on an expedition. To hunt them. To slaughter these new creatures. Too eager to make a name for themselves and leave their legends in the annals of history. Nick knew that most of them would leave only rotten corpses and glazed eyes behind.
It had nothing to do with him, anyway. He gave a look to his right and failed to find Lucas. Must have gone to rob someone. That bastard! Nick gritted his teeth in sheer hatred.
Where is Jack?
For three days Jack was always arriving before him. But today he was nowhere to be found.
Did something happen? Then he shook his head and reminded himself. No need to think too much. He is just a client.
At this moment a figure appeared in front of him. “Madam Healer,” he smiled when he raised his head, spotting a beautiful feature of the young lady.
“Isabel” she corrected him. “That's my name. You don't need to be so formal all the time. It's strange and tiring.”
Nick smiled in return. “What brought you here?” he asked.
“I accept.”
“Huh?” He eyed her bewilderedly, not comprehending what she was indicating before it all came crashing down to him. “Oh, oh. That's great!” he grinned.
“So, when are we setting off?” she asked. Nick glimpsed fire burning inside her eyes, or he thought he glimpsed it. “Should we go after these new creatures everyone is talking about?”
Nick shook his head. “We don't have enough information about them. Furthermore, with all the hunters in Aston going after them, their value would naturally fall down. We should hunt normal monsters.” Nick paused. “How about tomorrow?”
After bidding her farewell, Nick decided to visit Hammer Street. He needed a new bow as his old one was left in the forest, a few arrows and a bracer. He paid around hundred golds and forty silver. His heart ached, but what could he do? He wasn't delusional enough to go into the forest without any preparation while expecting for everything to go according to his plan. That would be foolishness.
“Are you ready?” Nick asked Isabel who was clad in a grey trouser and shirt, and black boots. A sword strapped on her slim waist and her eyes were bright.
“Yes,” she replied.
Nick hired an electric rickshaw which dropped them at the entrance of the town. After that the duo traveled on foot, corn fields grew in the distance, which was tended by the farmers. In another direction stood towering sugarcanes. All the fields were enclosed and surrounded by fences. He passed by the field of vegetables and smiled at the farmers working there.
Eventually, they crossed a rumbling stream, trekked for another half an hour on uneven ground, and entered the cedar forest in which Nick had barely survived the last time. His eyes became vigilant as he set foot into the dark shadows of the copse of trees. However, the forest today was uncanny and placid. Where were all the monsters? Where were the spine chilling howls? Why was it so quiet? Only an occasional gust of wind whispered through the sifting gaps of cedar trees.
After traveling into the forest for fifteen minutes, except for the ordinary squirrels and a few rabbits, the duo failed to encounter anything. Where did all the creatures flee?
Nick did not want to venture too deep into the forest. So he decided to halt. However, at this moment his heart began to thump in his chest.
“Something's not right,” Isabel whispered from his side.
Nick agreed. He activated his Talent and a fearful look emerged across his face. He spotted three panels popping up behind the shrubs. All three of them were identical.
Name: [#&/@& - Level 2]
Type: [Goblin]
Talent: [Stealth](Common) - A ghost amidst the trees, an apparition in the dark.
Evolution Path: [3] (Click)
Sweat rolled down Nick's back, feeling a strange cold in his spine when a gust of wind passed by him. Stealth? He had experienced it just recently. Was it a coincidence?
Sucking a deep breath of air, he tightened his grasp over his bow. He gestured to Isabel and knocked an arrow on the string before releasing it towards one of the hiding creatures.
Heeee!!
The goblin screeched. Then a message flashed in front of him and goblins mana coursed through his body. He had no time to admire his accomplishment because the other two creatures were bolting towards him, a glinting dagger in their hands.
Nick knocked another arrow and fired at the second goblin. Caught the creature on the shoulder, sending it tumbling on the turf. With an uncanny vitality of a beast, it climbed on its feet and lunged at him with freakish agility. Nick had never seen such a creature before.
And by this time the third goblin had reached ten meters away from him. No time for using another arrow. He gritted his teeth and summoned Dream. Two vines exploded out of the ground and went straight towards the unharmed goblin. The creature was caught off guard, it failed to react in time before a vine punctured through its heart like it was made up of tofu. It coughed a mouthful of blood and slumped on the floor.
At the same moment Nick and the last goblin came face to face. The yellow creature uttered something incomprehensible and waved its dagger towards his neck. Nick blocked the assault with his bow and kicked toward its groin. The goblin twisted in an impossible angle and dodged his strike.
And before Nick could pull his leg back, a terrible pain assaulted him through his limb. He screamed and tumbled on the turf and dirt. The creature laughed, revealing its bizzarily sharp teeth. It wrested its dagger free from Nick’s leg and sprung towards his throat.
Plow, What reached Nick’s throat, however, was only its green and wide eyed skull, dripping with grey blood. Its body had fallen on his groin.
Nick eyed Isabel standing in front of him, trembling. Her sword dripped with nauseating blood of the creature. Her eyes were still wide with fear. Nick pushed the goblin off himself and sat on the ground. “Thank you,” he said. “I'd have died if it wasn't for you.”
Isabel remained silent for a moment. Then she pointed towards the goblin corpses with a frightened gaze. “What are they?!” she asked.
Nick had no idea. Since when the earth became inhabited with these types of monsters? Where did they come from? Nick, however, knew that this was not the time, nor a place to ponder these festering questions. He eyed Isabel and uttered urgently, “Heal me. We need to leave this place!”