With her questioning remark, Odin also came to a realisation that he had never heard of words like power system before as well.

'Did this appear in my head because of ominira?'

That in turn lead to even more questions, Exactly how much information did he get from it?

Odin decided to think about it later on as he had to focus on this conversation now.

“By power system what I mean is that how a person becomes a mage or a warrior, what are the training or cultivation methods for them? And what are the various stages, ranks, and so on. Do you have any idea about these things?

“And why exactly are you interested in knowing all that?” she asked with a frown. Although she looked gentle with her wheat-colored skin and round face, once she gets serious, she becomes another person altogether.

Odin decided to tell her a part of the truth,

“I have a method to become strong, but before that, I need some information regarding the questions I have asked."

"..!"

"Don’t worry, before I do anything, I'll inform you beforehand and only if you allow me, will I act. That’s a promise.”

She looked at him with a stern gaze and replied with some hesitation,

“Alright then, but you have to remember your promise.”

“Sure.”

“It's not suitable for us to talk about this here, so give me some time."

Her lingering concern vanished as she looked at him nodding with sharp eyes.

"I will write the things I know and hand it over to you after a while. Make sure to burn it after you read that.”

Deep down, she felt complicated looking at 2709. She could still envision him as a child, chattering nonstop with his cute baby face about everything he saw.

Back then, she was annoyed at times but because he was all alone, she still did her best to spend time with him.

'That all changed on that day of that spring festival.' she sighed in regret as she looked at him.

His chubby face with silvery hair and blue eyes full of vitality, was now replaced with his remaining dark blue eye.

'If only I found him earlier that day...'

“That works for me, thanks again.” Replied Odin with a smile, bringing her back to reality.

“Well, I’ll be heading out then. I'll arrange your post in the next 2 days.”

She left the area with complicated feelings, leaving behind Odin who ate his lunch without a clue.

…

The day passed by without much happening.

At first, Odin wanted to know more about professions like mage and warriors and about their strengths and weaknesses before attempting the dungeon, but after waiting for a day he decided against that.

The reason for that was simple. He thought that absorbing more energy for synchronization would be simple but it went beyond his expectations. The increase in synchronization rate for eating had become significantly lower compared to the first day, and that wasn’t all.

The rate for vidre stone was also decreased by 0.05%, though it is negligible now, it might become more significant in the future. Meaning, now he had to complete the mission in order to complete synchronization within a month.

The first thing Odin did after deciding to act, was changing into this one and only old pair of clothes.

Why? Because there was no message indicating that whatever he was wearing would be recovered as well. It would be a pain to explain what happened to his clothes to others.

He took a deep breath and focused on his connection with ominira.

[Would you like to use the dungeon key?]

[Note: Upon usage the key will disappear forever]

"Yes," Odin clenched his fists and replied with determination.

Upon confirmation, a purple light flashed from his right eye and the tome appeared in front of him. As Odin stared at ominira with nervousness and excitement, he felt a pulling sensation from ominira as its pages flipped open and it stopped at a page where a diagram of a key was drawn.

Just as Odin was trying to observe the key's drawing, he was sucked into the page and neither his nor Ominira's trace remained in the underground mine.

...

Odin felt like he was falling from the central cliff to the bottom layer as he was sucked into the page. He closed his eyes and hugged his head to prevent damage, not that it would be of much help in this situation.

After a few seconds which seemed like an hour passed, the dizzying sensation receded from his mind and he stood up from the ground.

He dusted the dirt off from his face and looked around but failed to figure out where he was. It was no surprise as he had never left the underground mine, and the only visual information he had about the outside world came from the pictures.

On this moonless night, cold winds swept across the land. The cracked surface of the soil and some boulders were the only discernable things as far as his eyes could see.

He scratched the back of his head and thought 'How do I find “orc” when I don't even know what it is, much less challenge it?'

As if it was waiting for him to ask that question, a runic text floated in front of him

[You have arrived at “The Ironclad keep”]

[Quest “The foe from afar” has started]

[Objective: Challenge the orc patrolling squad]

[You can erase the tattoo at the back of your hand to return]

[Time remaining till encounter with the patrol team: 00:04:59]

[Note: It is advised that you do not move around in order to avoid any unforeseen circumstances]

Odin let out a deep breath that he was holding after reading the text, and looked carefully at his surroundings.

'Whatever the orc is, challenging it means I'll have to fight after 5 minutes'

'Ominira should've just written five minutes without the 24-hour clock' He collected nearby twigs and stones and hid behind a medium-sized boulder which was nearby. He didn't know from which direction the enemies were coming from and what their numbers are, so it was of paramount importance that he discovers them first.

He placed the sharp stones in his right pocket and put the slightly big and blunt ones around the boulder. As he didn't know where the patrol team would come from, so he placed the stones on all sides so he wouldn't have to move once he found them.

His biggest advantage were his senses which had been enhanced by leaps and bounds after getting ominira, so he had to prepare an environment in which he could take advantage of that.

'Although I've gotten weaker after suppressing my bloodline, I'm as strong as a begginer warrior at the very least,' thought Odin as he scrapped the dry soil around him.

[Remaining time: 59 sec]

'It actually changed the time format!!'

He looked at the message and rubbed the dirt on his hair and clothes. His gray clothes and silver hair were a bit too conspicuous on this dark night.

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He put the remaining dirt in his back pocket and crouched close to the boulder while looking around with vigilance. Soon enough, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching in his direction

He saw a group of 4-5 creatures to his south coming towards him. Even with his extraordinary eyesight, he only saw them when they were about 150m away.

‘My striking range is within 100m, so I have to observe them and find their weakness before they come closer’ thought Odin as he took out a sharp rock in his right hand and a blunt one on his left.

The creatures looked humanoid, with a strong body and very short hair. They had green skin with two fangs sticking out from their mouth. Fortunately for Odin, they didn’t wear any head guards as he could see their red eyes that shone like gems on this dark night.

After he observed them for a while and was about to make a move, a text from Ominira floated up in front of him all of a sudden, along with a new known that flooded his mind.

[You are initiating to engage in combat]

[“SCAN” unlocked temporarily]

He figured that ‘Scan’ provided basic information about what he was looking at.

Without wasting any time, he used that on the orc that walked at the front.

Although they all looked the same to Odin, that one looked like the leader of this patrol team because only he had a sword strapped on, the rest of them had wooden clubs embedded with barbs hanging on their side.

[Lv 0 orc]

??

‘The fuck? This information is as good as nothing!’ Odin cursed and aimed with his right hand. They were approximately ninety meters away from him.

*swoosh*

Odin hurled the rock towards the orc's glabella while simultaneously throwing another to his side with his left hand.

"Grrrraaaahhhh"

He heard the sound of rock whistling by in the air, followed by the guttural scream of the orc leader.

'Bullseye' Odin grinned as he hid behind the boulder again.

He wasn't sure how much damage he dealt to the orc, but from the frantic shouts of the others, it should be significant.

The orcs were only confused for a bit by this sudden attack. After leaving two of them with the injured leader, the remaining two went in the direction where Odin had thrown the other rock.

'Their senses are quite good, just a bit weaker than mine' Odin thought as he picked up sharp rocks in both of his hands.

He couldn't defeat any one of them in a fair fight, but with darkness as a cover he might finish off one or two. He slowly crawled to the other side but a new message floated up which made him pause in his tracks.

[You have injured an orc and escaped undetected]

[Quest complete]

'Is this it?' thought Odin as he was perplexed by what he read.

'I thought I would have to engage in a bloody battle to complete the Quest, but this is too easy' he stood there unmoving as he wasn't sure whether or not to return as he had achieved his goal already. In the meanwhile, the orcs had reached within fifty meters to the place where Odin had thrown another rock.

Odin saw that and without hesitation he started crawling again, finishing a half circle around the boulder without making a sound.

'The quest isn't the main point here, the key is' He didn't forget the reason he got the quest in the first place. The fact that he was given a tattoo instead of returning directly also indicated that there was more he could do here.

'Will I get extra rewards if I kill them all?' Odin thought as he slung the rock sideways towards one of the orc, hitting his eye.

'Besides, isn't this the freedom that I've always wanted?'

He wasn't able to maintain his stealth as the other orc had noticed something while looked in his direction. He had predicted as such and he swiftly hit him with another rock to his glabella.

Although he had blinded 3 of them with his enhanced senses and accuracy, he knew that this was the end of his tricks.

The two orcs guarding their leader had already predicted his approximate location, apparent by four red eyes staring at the boulder.

Odin smirked when he saw one of them madly rushing towards his direction with a raised club.

He sprent in the direction of the injured orcs with a stone in his right hand.

Compared to the orc who created a cloud of dust with his every step, Odin moved like a nimble cat. Even then, he wasn't much faster than the orc.

The orc's strength, agility, and battle senses made him feel horrified for a moment, but then again he had never planned to engage in a fair fight to begin with.

'I don't know which species you are from, but I hope you're a male' thought Odin as he hurled a slightly big rock again.

To its groin that is.

“Aaaaarrrggghhhhh”

The orc growled in pain, much more so when his eyes were hit. Hearing that pained howling the running orc stopped as everyone felt a chill down their spine, including Odin.

Odin got rid of his guilty consciousness first and moved again. He was only successful because the orc was completely blinded and caught off guard. it wouldn't work on the other orc who still had a remaining eye.

'Though I am no match for them, it is a different story for a half-blinded and traumatized orc' Odin rushed at the other orc, not giving it a chance to act.

Even with that sneak attack, when Odin reached the orc, he had already taken out its club to swing it towards Odin’s face.

He avoided it with his quick reflex, only feeling a wind breeze on his scalp.

But it terrified him even more.

'That’s a blunt weapon for fucks sake' thought Odin and punched hard on the orc's groin.

Odin did not dare to give the orc any chance to use the club again, throwing a jab at his right eye.

He didn't know anything about these orcs but most of the creatures shared the same weakness, so it's better to attack their sensitive areas rather than hitting on the head or stomach.

Dark red blood soaked his hand, and for a moment, Odin lost his focus.

No matter what, he was only an eighteen year old boy who hadn't even killed a chicken before. This was the first time he had drawn blood, and it made him panic.

His mind was filled with a whirlwind of emotions. Joy, fear, wisdom from ominira and his own desires, everything became jumbled at this moment.

Unbeknownst to Odin, when he lost focus, a purple light flashed from his right eye.

It was as if the time had stopped at this moment.

Odin hesitated as he looked at the wriggling orc under him as he felt bad for harming him. A tear streaked down from his eyes, washing away his façade of bravery.

Odin felt a choking sensation in his chest. He remembered his sister's tired eyes when she looked down from the central cliff, Darrick howling in sorrow while his friends held him back, and so, so many moments when he wanted to cry with them as well, but he didn't.

He had promised his sister that he wouldn't cry after he recovered from the trauma of that 'thing' in the third layer, but today he broke that promise.

He had promised that he would try to live a happy life, He tried to forget that but he couldn't anymore. The laughs he shared with his friends and the warmth he felt towards his sister made him who he is, but so did the hatred buried deep within his heart.

He had believed that one day he would be able to express both of them, but not now. He acted like everything was fine even if the ones close to him knew that it was not.

But not anymore.

His heart grew colder with every passing memory, killing a part of him that he would never recover.

'That’s right. I don't have the luxury to feel pity. I was just thinking too highly of myself. What right do I have to feel compassion when we are living like cattle in a cage?'

Odin felt scorn for himself and without hesitation, he thrashed the rock into the orcs neck, over and over again.

He heard the orcs dying screams while blood splashed on his face, but he didn't stop.

He looked as the orc died with his sharp blue eye, which now a tinge of red in it.

Odin had always been like this. He might not be the strongest of the slaves, but he was definitely the one who adapted the fastest.

He picked up the club from the fallen orc and headed towards the other one, stealing a glance at the remaining two orcs that were charging at him with fury.

The first orc who was chasing after him arrived at the scene, and their eyes met.

Blue and red, filled with the same desire to kill

Odin sensed his surroundings clearer than ever as hot blood pumped through his veins, giving him strength to face this adversity. He barely dodged the first blow to his head and hit the knee of the orc while ducking.

The orc stumbled a step back and Odin charged at it, but he didn’t manage to land a hit as the orc threw his club at him with his full strength.

Odin was no match for it in terms of strength and he barely managed to parry the blow to his chest.

Despite that, he flew back a dozen feet from the impact.

His pants were torn with fresh blood gushed out from his knees, but he didn’t feel the pain in the heat of the moment.

The orc had recovered, and he charged at him with a slumping lag. Odin pretended to be injured as he crouched on the ground.

Just as the orc was about to hit him, he jumped in his direction, missing the club by a hair's breadth.

He smashed the club with everything he had at the back of orc's head. Blood flew out from the his orifices and he fell to the ground with a thud.

‘3 down’ Odin panted as he looked at the last orc charging at him.

He stood up again with the club's support and hid his other hand behind his back.

The orc didn’t sense anything strange as he was furious. Looking at the charging orc, Odin walked sideways at a steady pace.

“Krrraaaaa” The orc mistook his actions as provocation as Odin was heading towards its fallen clansmen.

‘It’s not what I intended, but it's good nonetheless’ Odin spat at the second orc he had killed to provoke it even further.

The orc charged at him even faster with its club held high, intending to smash him into a bloody pulp. Odin knew that he couldn’t dodge or block with the orc's momentum, but he never planned for that to begin with.

He held the club in his hand with a loose grip and just at the moment of contact with the orc, he let it go completely. The club broke in splinters due to impact, tearing the skin between his thumb and fingers with sheer impact.

Even in the midst of wincing in pain, Odin threw the dirt he held in his other hand toward the orc.

The orc had let down its guard due to rage, and it lost eyesight momentarily. The orc swung its club randomly to hit Odin but he had already reached his destination. He tore off his pants from the knees and wrapped the cloth around his left palm.

He picked up the club and snuck closer to the orc without making any sound. He wanted to hit the orc's head or groin before it recovered, but the orc kept swinging the club, giving Odin no chance for that.

He made up his mind and hurled a rock at the orc's groin with full force.

The luck favored the orc this time and it miraculously blocked the stone. It became alert and kept the club near his stomach, which became his last and final mistake.

He smashed his club into the orc's face, stunning the creature completely. It was game over as killed it with repeated blows.

Odin knelt down in exhaustion and looked around, which wasn't the smartest thing to do at this moment.

He puked his dinner out after witnessing the blood and gore he had caused around him.

'Haa...Fuck..'

He Caught his breath while looking at the leader who was still on the ground.

‘His injury must be more severe than I’d thought’

Determined to put an end to this, Odin stood up again and walked towards the boulder. Taking risks wasn’t his forte.

‘Tch.. I can’t lift with my left hand’

He picked up rocks with both of his hands and walked towards the leader.

With a couple of hits and misses with his right hand throws, he managed to shatter the orc's skull.

*Huff* Huff*

‘Seems like there are no extra rewards for killing them all’ Odin slumped ahead to pick up the sword at the orc’s waist.

‘This will become handy while dealing with Shane’ Odin thought after he picked up the iron sword.

He moved his hand to wipe the tattoo, but just then, the rewards he desired so much came.

Unfortunately, they weren’t the only thing that did.